People who received the letter (v 30-35)

“So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.” (1) The group arrived in Antioch and held a meeting with the entire church. The phrase “they read it” refers to a public reading of the letter. (2) Those who understood the content of the letter rejoiced. It contained words of encouragement and the official decision that Gentiles were saved by grace and faith alone. “Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message. After they had spent time there…” (1) Following the reading of the letter, there was encouragement through preaching. Judas and Silas, as prophets, gave long exhortations to encourage and strengthen the Gentile believers. (2) After spending some time there, they returned to Jerusalem. Although some versions include verse 34 where it says, “But it seemed good to Silas to remain there,” this verse is absent from the earliest manuscripts. “But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.” (1) Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch. (a) This was a time of significant growth in evangelism within the Antioch church. (b) In addition to Paul and Barnabas, there were many others teaching and proclaiming the gospel. (2) Paul and Barnabas were likely preparing for their next missionary journey, planning to depart when spring arrived.

Significance of the Jerusalem Council

(1) The Holy Spirit guided this council. As it says, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials” (Acts 15:28). While there is no direct description of the Holy Spirit intervening, the participants strongly felt the guidance of the Holy Spirit throughout the proceeding. (2) Here we see a typical pattern of how the Holy Spirit’s guidance operates: (a) There were no dramatic phenomena taking place. (b) The participants freely expressed their opinions and sought to discern what God’s will was. (c) Those filled with the Holy Spirit could sense His presence during the meeting. (d) They knew that if they remained obedient to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, they would reach consensus. (3) The questions we should ask are these: (a) Can we only recognize the Holy Spirit’s guidance through supernatural phenomena? (b) Does human preparation, thinking, or speaking hinder the Holy Spirit’s guidance? (c) Does the Holy Spirit work independently of the Word of God? The answer to all three questions is “NO.”