it seemed good to us, having arrived at a common judgment, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Acts 15 settles a crisis. Some teachers had told Gentile believers they must be circumcised and keep the law. The apostles, elders and the whole assembly at Jerusalem met and answered them by letter. Verse 25 comes from that letter. How did a divided company reach one mind, and why send men and not just a letter?
One writer explains how this decision was made and who shared in it:
The assembly did not vote. All consented, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to what had been expressed. All agreed — apostles, elders, and the whole assembly — to send men chosen from among them. These men would confirm by word of mouth the account of Barnabas and Paul, and the written decision they carried from Jerusalem. The apostles and elders assembled together to examine the question, but all the brothers joined with them in the letter they sent to the Gentiles. So the Gentiles did not hold their rights against the assembly at Jerusalem. By the wisdom and grace of God, it was that assembly which acknowledged the freedom of the Gentiles from the law. This is what preserved unity.
Some had opposed this earlier in the chapter. Another writer explains why "one accord" still fits:
Notice that "with one accord" is rightly said, even though some had opposed. Their opposition had proved to be against God, and it fell silent. The unity of the believers held firm through it.
One writer sets out what they had before them, and how the outcome changed the standing of two men:
Three things were before them. First, Peter's testimony about what God had done with Cornelius. Second, the account Barnabas and Paul gave of God's actions during their missionary journey. Third, the voice of Scripture, as quoted by James. What God had said agreed with what God had done. They had come together to seek His mind. By His word and His actions they saw it clearly, and all were of one accord. So they settled a difficult question that might have divided the whole church, and it ended by drawing them together. When Barnabas and Paul went up to Jerusalem, it was as men whose service was open to challenge and suspicion. When they left, they carried a letter that called them "our beloved Barnabas and Paul."
Cornelius was a Roman officer, and not a Jew.
Elsewhere in the chapter the names run the other way round. One writer shows that the order carries meaning:
Notice that in the letter of the council the order is "Barnabas and Paul" (v. 25), as in verse 12. Earlier in the chapter, in verse 2, and later in verse 35 and after that, it is "Paul and Barnabas". The believers in Jerusalem felt it the first way, as believers elsewhere did in the early days of the great apostle's testimony… The reader of the Old Testament may find a similar principle in Exodus 6:13, 20, 26 and 27. In the order of nature it is "Aaron and Moses"; in sovereign grace it becomes "Moses and Aaron".
Barnabas and Paul could have carried the letter alone. Judas and Silas went with them, and that choice was wise for two reasons. First, no one could say these two were pleading their own case:
Their way of acting truly shows the spirit of grace and wisdom. They give their full backing to Paul and Barnabas, and they send with them men of note from the assembly at Jerusalem. No one could suspect these men of bringing an answer that supported their own claims, as people might have supposed in the case of Paul and Barnabas.
Second, they had been there while the matter was debated:
It was important to have the presence of men who were themselves competent witnesses of what had been debated and decided at Jerusalem. This was far more than being the mere and cold bearers of a letter. They knew what drove the opponents. They knew the spiritual interests at stake, and they knew the feeling of the apostles and of the church at large.
This council also sets a pattern for later gatherings. One writer quotes the verse from an older translation and marks the limit of what any assembly may decide:
The assembly is the place where the inspired Word of God rules and directs. In Acts 15:13-29 we read, "Simon has related… with this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written… therefore I judge… it seemed good to us, having arrived at a common judgment." In the assembly, God's will as expressed in His Word is the only thing that counts. So it is never permissible to enforce a discipline that is more rigorous than Scripture directs.
- Accord, not arithmetic — nobody voted. Apostles, elders and the whole company agreed under the Spirit, and the earlier opposition proved to be against God and fell silent.
- Accord grounded — Peter's account, the missionary report and Scripture all agreed. What God had said matched what God had done.
- Accord expressed — two men once under suspicion left Jerusalem as "our beloved Barnabas and Paul."
- Accord carried — Judas and Silas travelled with the letter as witnesses with no case of their own to plead, so it came as more than cold paper.
- Accord bounded — in the assembly God's Word alone rules, so no one may enforce a discipline stricter than Scripture directs.
men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The letter from Jerusalem to the Gentile believers carries more than a decision. It also describes the two men who had argued the case, calling Barnabas and Paul beloved because they had already risked their lives for the Name they preached.
The trip to Jerusalem changed how these two men were seen.
When Barnabas and Paul went up to Jerusalem, they went as men whose service was open to challenge and suspicion. When they left, they carried a letter that called them "our beloved Barnabas and Paul."
That warmth was not one man's opinion. It was the agreed voice of the whole gathering.
Notice that the account rightly says "with one accord," even though some had opposed. It had become clear that their opposition was against God, so the unity of the believers held firm in the face of it, and the opposition fell silent. It is good to see how they valued Barnabas and Paul. They speak of them as men who had risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The ESV says these men "risked" their lives. Older translations read "hazarded" or "delivered up," and the difference matters.
They were also spoken of as "men who have hazarded [or delivered up] their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." To hazard your life is to risk it, the way a gambler risks his money on a throw of the dice. To deliver up your life is to accept death as a certainty, not just a risk. Anyone who gives up his life in this way should be counted beloved in the church of God.
The same writer presses the stronger reading elsewhere.
If you turn to another translation you will find an even stronger wording: "Men who have yielded up their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus." There was no gamble about it at all. They did not have an even chance. The outcome was settled in advance. They were men who would step into the gap and lay down their lives.
Conditions in those days decided what kind of worker was needed.
The ministry of Christ in those early days called for courage. Armchair soldiers were no use then! "Men who risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" were needed, and thank God, such men came forward. That was the credential for the field in days when the fire burned, the sword struck, and the lion roared!
The men who carried the letter shaped how it was received.
We can well understand why such a letter cheered the hearts of the believers. It was sent by such apostles and brothers, and carried by them — men who had risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 26). Leading men among the believers stood behind it too (verse 22). So we read that the crowd gathered together "rejoiced because of its encouragement" (verse 31).
Few believers today face what these two faced. The same devotion is still open to everyone.
Even in our own day some have "risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:26). But it is open to each one of us, moved by the love of Christ, to give our whole life to His interests. We can be sure that blessing will be the result.
- The Name first. Barnabas and Paul risked their lives for one thing: "the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is why the letter honours them.
- Risk, then surrender. One reading of the word pictures a gambler's throw. The stronger reading, "delivered up," treats death as settled, not just possible.
- Suspicion answered. Men whose work was questioned at Jerusalem left it called "beloved." The whole gathering agreed, even though some had opposed.
- Credential, not decoration. Courage for Christ was the qualification for the work, not an extra for gifted speakers.
- Result: joy. Such men carried the letter, so Antioch welcomed it and rejoiced. That same whole-life devotion is open to any believer today, and blessing follows.