Thursday, January 9, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Acts 14-15
Key Verse
Acts 15:7 — “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.”
Devotional Thought
The church at Antioch had just sent Paul and Barnabas out on a journey that would carry the gospel into the heart of Asia Minor, and what a journey it proved to be. In Iconium they spoke so boldly that a great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed, but the unbelieving stirred up the city until it was divided. Threats of stoning drove them to Lystra and Derbe, where Paul, beholding a man lame from his mother’s womb, perceived faith in him and cried, “Stand upright on thy feet.” The man leaped and walked. Then the same crowds who called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius, and would have sacrificed oxen to them, were persuaded by hostile Jews to stone Paul and drag him out of the city as dead. He rose up and went back in. On the return trip, they strengthened the disciples with the sober word that “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
Chapter 15 turns from the mission field to the council chamber. Certain men from Judaea insisted that Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. Paul and Barnabas disputed with them, and the church sent them to Jerusalem. There Peter asked the question that settled the matter: why put a yoke upon the disciples “which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Salvation is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, for Jew and Gentile alike. James agreed from the prophets, and the council wrote to the Gentiles laying on them no greater burden than a few necessary things. The letter was read at Antioch, and the people rejoiced for the consolation.
The closing verses are startlingly human. Paul proposed revisiting the churches; Barnabas wanted to take John Mark; Paul refused, remembering how Mark had departed from them in Pamphylia. The contention was so sharp that these two companions parted ways. Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus; Paul took Silas through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. God’s work went forward, but not without friction between good men.
In the cold of early January, when the year stretches ahead and our resolutions already feel heavy, this passage speaks plainly. The Christian life is not a smooth ascent but a road through tribulation, and the church is not a gathering of the flawless but of the forgiven. Grace, not law-keeping, is our foundation — and even when faithful laborers disagree and separate, the Lord builds His church.
Reflection
- Peter asked why anyone would put a yoke on the disciples that neither the fathers nor they could bear. Where in your own life are you still trying to earn what God has already given by grace?
- Paul and Barnabas parted over John Mark, yet God used both men afterward. How might you trust God’s purposes even in sharp disagreements with fellow believers?
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee that salvation is by Thy grace and not by the works of the law, for we could never bear that yoke. Purify our hearts by faith as Thou didst purify the Gentiles at Antioch, and keep us from adding burdens to Thy gospel that Thou hast not laid. Give us courage like Paul and Barnabas to speak boldly, to endure tribulation, and to return again to strengthen the brethren. When we contend with one another, grant us humility and peace, and let no division among us hinder the work of Thy kingdom. Confirm our souls in the faith, we pray, and commend us to Thy grace. Amen.