Acts 15:14

‘Symeon has rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.'

This use of Peter's Hebrew name ‘Symeon' was both tactful and fully understandable. Tactful because it linked Peter firmly with his Jewish background. It would make clear that in the end Peter was essentially Jewish. And understandable because James probably always thought of Peter as ‘Symeon'. He had in one way or another had contact with him from the very earliest days under that name. When Peter had come to their house at Nazareth he would have been ‘Symeon'. To him at least, Peter would always be ‘Symeon'. It is a touch of authenticity. Furthermore it may suggest that James was speaking in Aramaic.

James then refers to Peter's description of his evangelisation of Cornelius and his fellow-Gentiles. All knew about this, and how through it God had undoubtedly taken from among the Gentiles ‘a people for His name'. Given the acceptance by the general enquiry carried out by the Jerusalem church of what Peter had done earlier, and that in the light of all the facts (Acts 11:1), this was really not open to dispute. And if the uncircumcised Gentiles were already ‘a people for His name', then no necessity for circumcision arose.

(We should note that even though a number among them may never have really been satisfied about that situation and simply have put up with it rather than welcoming it, it would still be seen as the settled position of the Jerusalem church. All of us are familiar with minority groups of Christians who hold unusual positions not held by all, but whose views are not seen as disturbing the accepted view. Their views are allowed to stand in tension as long as the main truths are held).