Are You Placing Yokes That Others Can’t Bear?
Do you make it hard for other Christians to follow Christ? In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are imprisoned when a miracle occurs. The jails are opened, and all the prisoners' bonds are unfastened.
Acts 15-16
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Do you make it hard for other Christians to follow Christ?
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are imprisoned when a miracle occurs. The jails are opened, and all the prisoners' bonds are unfastened. But the main reason for their arrest is the message they shared—the message that the good news of the gospel was for everyone.
The first part of Acts 15 describes a pivotal dispute in the early Christian church regarding the necessity of circumcision for Gentile converts. Some believers from Judea were teaching that non-Jewish converts must be circumcised according to the Mosaic law to attain salvation. This teaching led to significant debate and disagreement. To resolve the issue, Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles and elders.
As Dean Pinter remarks, “The apostolic council in Jerusalem is a crucial moment in the story of the early church. The stakes were high. The decision the early church would make here would shape who they would be (identity) and how they would be together (unity).”[1]
Many believe this event occurred after Paul spoke up against Peter in Antioch in Galatians 2:11-12 for his hypocrisy of eating with Gentiles at one point, but then avoiding this same practice when certain influential Jewish leaders came into town. Ajith Fernando writes, “If this council met after the humiliating confrontation in Antioch where Peter was publicly rebuked by the younger Paul (Gal. 2:11–21), as we think it did, it is indeed creditable that Peter should be the first to get up and speak on behalf of Paul’s side in the controversy.”[2]
