Acts 15:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

NIV: The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

NASB: The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

CSB: And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

NLT: And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:

KJV: And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

NKJV: And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

The church in Jerusalem is tasked with determining whether Gentiles must be circumcised and bound to the Mosaic law to fully follow Jesus (Acts 15:1–6). James has leaned on the testimony of Peter as evidence that God never intended Gentiles to become Jews (Acts 15:7–14). Now, he quotes "the prophets," giving scriptural weight to Peter's life experiences (Acts 15:16–18). James quotes the Septuagint translation of Amos 9:11–12, borrowing phrasing from Jeremiah 12:15 and Isaiah 45:21, and switching around a couple of lines.

Despite James' looseness with the translation, he says nothing that isn't found elsewhere in the Old Testament. These differences have no effect on the inerrancy of Scripture. It's important to remember that Luke is recording what James said, not what Amos recorded God saying. In Acts 7:43, Stephen also slightly alters Amos' words, using different, more familiar names of old pagan gods. In Acts 1:20, Peter uses Psalm 109:8, an imprecatory plea that David's enemies be destroyed, to convince the Jesus-followers they must find a replacement for Judas. Luke didn't destroy the integrity of Scripture by recording their words. Likewise, Peter, Stephen, and James did not misuse Scripture when they were led by the Holy Spirit to use and quote Old Testament passages as they did.

The fact that James can combine three different prophets into one thought proves the prophets do, indeed, agree.

Acts 15:12–21 continues the account of the church of Jerusalem's debate. They are discussing whether Gentiles must convert to Judaism to be saved by Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. Paul, Barnabas, and Peter say salvation is through the grace of Christ (Acts 15:2, 7–11). Jewish Christians from the Pharisee sect disagree (Acts 15:1, 5). Now, Barnabas and Paul will relate their work among the Gentiles on their first missionary journey. James, the half-brother of Jesus, will share his conviction: God has not placed ritual requirements on Gentiles for salvation. However, Gentiles should make reasonable concessions to maintain unity with Jewish brothers and sisters.

Paul and Barnabas are in Syrian Antioch, home from their first missionary journey. Legalistic Christians from Jerusalem arrive and insist Gentiles must convert to Judaism. When negotiations fail, a delegation travels to Jerusalem to request clarification from Jesus' closest students. The leadership in Jerusalem agree with Paul and Barnabas. They write a letter that Gentiles should only make concessions, mostly dietary, which will ensure unity with the Jews in their congregation. After delivering the letter to Antioch, Paul takes Silas and Barnabas takes John Mark to share the letter to other churches they have planted.

Acts chapter 15 resembles Acts 11:1–18, where Peter testified before the leadership of the church in Jerusalem. His subject was how the Holy Spirit had fallen on uncircumcised and unbaptized Gentiles. Here Paul and Barnabas also testify that Gentiles are coming to faith in Jesus without being circumcised. The issue the leadership must decide is the extent Gentiles must be responsible to follow the Mosaic law. Their decision is that the Law is in no way required to be saved, but Gentiles should graciously make concessions so their Jewish brothers and sisters feel free to live in community. This forms a partial background to the rest of Paul's missionary journeys as explained in Acts.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.