Acts 15:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then a common decision is made. See: they do not simply make this decree. So that the decision may be trustworthy, and so that those who came with Paul may not fall under suspicion, they send men from among themselves. “Then,” says the writer, “it seemed good to the Apostles and presbyters, with the whole Church, to choose men from among themselves.” They do not send just anyone, but men “chosen from among themselves,” after election. “To send them to Antioch,” he says, where the sickness had arisen.

When this proposal had been accepted by all, an epistle was written from the whole Church, the first apostolic epistle, to the Churches of the Gentiles in Syria and Cilicia. Its purpose was to put an end to the disturbances caused by the Judaizers.

The decree of the Apostle James was accepted by the assembly. Then they resolved to write it down and send it to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. But in order to remove every possibility of doubt that the Jerusalem Church had given precisely the decision expressed in the letter being sent, they resolved to send two chosen members of the Jerusalem Church together with Paul and Barnabas. These men could also testify orally that the apostles, presbyters, and all the brethren in Jerusalem thought about this matter exactly as they had written in the letter, verse 27. For this, Judas called Barsabbas was chosen. He is a person nowhere else mentioned in the New Testament books. Silas was also chosen, Acts 15:40; Acts 17:4; Acts 18:5.

Then, after the preliminary discussions, the narratives of Barnabas and Paul, and the speeches of Peter and James, they decided. More precisely, they laid down a decree. The Greek word used here was used of formal decisions of the senate, popular assemblies, judicial verdicts, and the like. Those who decided, or laid down the decision, were first the apostles, second the presbyters, and third the whole Church. This means the full body of its members, of course those who had reached maturity and with it the right to take part in the deliberations and decrees of the assembly. In the common work of bringing peace to the Church, the whole Church appears as active, not only authorized delegates or representatives of the Church.

The decree of the Apostolic Council consisted, first of all, in sending two representatives of the Church to Antioch together with Paul and Barnabas. They were to say what had taken place at the Council and what decision had been reached there concerning the question raised in Antioch. As if to confirm this, they were also entrusted with an epistle. It is noteworthy that, according to the sacred historian, all the other members of the Church took part in the judgments of the Council together with the apostles and presbyters. Little is known about those who were sent. Silas later became a companion of the Apostle Paul. Almost nothing is known about Judas. "So that the decision might be trustworthy, and so that those arriving with Paul would not be suspected, they send men from themselves.