Acts 15:23

Acts 15:23. And they wrote letters by them after this manner. The word ‘letters,' printed in the English version in italics, is superfluous; it does not appear in the original Greek. There was only one official document sent round, a faithful transcript of which St. Luke has no doubt given us.

The apostles and elders and brethren. An important variation in the text of the original Greek occurs here. The older MSS., with the exception of Codex E. (Laudianus), omit καὶ οἰ, ‘and,' before the word ‘brethren' the verse, then, must be read thus: ‘The apostles and the elder brethren,' or: ‘The brethren which are elders, sent to the brethren, etc.... greeting.' Upon this reading of the older MSS. Wordsworth remarks: ‘(1) Paul and Barnabas are said to go up to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem concerning this question, Acts 15:2. (2) The apostles and elders are said to have met together to consider this matter, Acts 15:6. (3) Paul is said to have gone through the cities, delivering to them to keep the decrees determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, Acts 16:4. This triple mention of apostles and elders, without the addition of any other party, is significant. It seems to indicate that the apostles and elders constituted the Council, as far as the deliberative voice and definitive sentence were concerned; and therefore the decree was promulgated in their names.'

Unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. This geographical notice of the peoples mentioned specially in the decree of the Council gives us some idea how widely the preaching of Paul and his companions had extended, and how great had been the harvest of the Lord already in those early days. The mention of Syria here gives us an insight into the activity of the missionary enterprise of the Antioch Christians. Successful missions had been carried on through that great and rich province, of which we have no record in the ‘Acts,' missions, doubtless, conducted by men of the school of Paul and Barnabas; in Cilicia, too, the native country of Paul, congregations of believers in the Crucified had sprung up, and apparently were already flourishing communities.