Text: Acts 15:1-11
Prayer Pointers:
To pay close attention to what God is doing
To be careful of the “yoke” we place on others
THE ACCOUNT OF THE famous Jerusalem council is at the midpoint of the story of Acts. As the Spirit of God moves out into the world and carries God’s people with it as the tide carries ships, the “new thing” God is doing is revealed. The core question of the council is one which we have all asked from time to time: what does it mean?
The Jerusalem council grappled with a question that consumed Paul, as his ministry was primarily directed to Gentiles. The Mosaic Law, which dictated for Jews both spiritual life such as liturgy and ritual and physical activities such as food consumption and clothing choices, was the essential marker to be a part of the covenant with God. Should Gentiles, whose approach to God was through Jesus Christ and not through birth into the nation of Israel, be expected to fulfill all the Mosaic Law’s requirements? To borrow the words of the council, should the converts have to take up the yoke of Moses?
In the end, the Church answered the question decisively: Jesus Christ is the marker of the covenant with God, and it is in relationship with him that we live out our spiritual and physical lives. What Jesus commands and where Jesus leads is our yoke.
May your day be grace-filled ~ Pr. Dave Brooks