Shabbat Shalom. Open your Bibles, please, to Acts chapter 15. Let's read the second half of this chapter. To conclude in the will of the Lord with this 15th chapter of the book of Acts, we begin today in the reading from verse 22. And the theme of this second half of Acts chapter 15 is Jerusalem's council letter which had been sent to the believers at Antioch. And I begin in the reading in verse 22. "Then pleased it the apostle and elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judah, surnamed Bar Shabbat, and Silas, chief men among the brethren.

And they wrote letters of the apostles and elders and brethren. And they wrote letters by them after this manner. The apostles and elders and brethren send greetings unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. For as much as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words subverting your souls, saying ye must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we gave no such commandment. It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of the Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah.

We have sent, therefore, Judah and Silas, who shall also tell you the same thing by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things, that ye abstain from meat offered unto idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well, fair ye well. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle, which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. And Judah and Silas, being prophets, also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words and confirmed them.

And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. Notwithstanding, it pleased Silas to abide there still. Paul also and Barnabas continue in Antioch teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. And some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pimpilia, and went not with them to the work.

And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas, and departed being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. This is verse 41 of chapter 15, where I concluded my reading this meeting. And this second half of chapter 15, obviously, is a continuation of what we just had in a previous ministry meeting, where, if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, there was a real challenge to the first early believers in Syria, in the city of Antioch, where some of the Jewish people who came from Judea went down to the city of Antioch, and they said to the Gentile believers, except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moshe, Moses, ye cannot be saved.

What they have said, if you remember in a ministry meeting, they really said things that they ought not to have been said. Why? Because salvation is entirely by grace through faith in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, no more and no less. Circumcision would not help anyone to get saved. Keeping certain laws will not make someone saved and redeemed. We are only saved and forgiven on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. So, there was a problem because these Jewish believers who came from Jerusalem went down to these Gentile believers and kind of influenced them and said to them, "No, you cannot be saved unless you are keeping circumcision and the keeping of the law." And it troubled the Gentile believers.

So, Paul and Barnabas had to go to Jerusalem to deal with the issue of that request from those certain men. And we have talked about it, how Peter began to share with them in the council of Jerusalem, how he was used by the Messiah to open the door to the Gentiles and how the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit just the same like the Jewish believers. And then James, whose Hebrew name is Yaakov, he rose up and he gave what he instructed the brothers and sisters in the city of Jerusalem. He gave his statement. And he says, "Right now, God is taking out for himself from among the Gentiles the people for his name." And even though the nation of Israel is not gathered yet, God is going to restore the nation of Israel in the future day.

So he gave instruction, what to do, and now they were going to write a letter to the believers in Antioch. And so, brothers and sisters, this is very interesting because the second half of this chapter deals specifically with the letter that had been sent to the believers in Antioch. So, I think it is very beautiful because you can see that frictions arose in the earlier part of the church age and they needed to deal with it. And apparently, those men who did believe that the Gentiles had to be circumcised, they were quiet here. And they let James and Peter lead under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God.

And they did not cause trouble at that time, at that meeting. And they accepted the fact that the letter had to be sent to the Gentile believers. You know, by doing this kind of meeting, they avoided much trouble that could have happened already in the first century church. What could have happened that you would start to have two different churches, if you will, one only for Jewish people and one only for Gentiles. And that is exactly what was not the mind of the Lord. The Lord Jesus, the Messiah, died for mankind and he wanted to bring us into one body. So, the Jewish people and the Gentile people would be one united in the body of Messiah.

So, that was very important discussion that they had in the Council of Jerusalem. So, in verse 22, that's where we began today. The apostles, the elders and the whole assembly of Jerusalem decided to send this letter with some of the brethren to the city of Antioch. It says in verse 22, Then it pleased the apostles and elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judah, Sernim Bar Shabbat, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. Now, you see, that was a decision that the whole church decided. In other words, they were guided by the elders, they were guided by the apostles, but according to verse 22, it says with the whole assembly, with the whole local church in Jerusalem.

There was a united decision to send this letter with Paul and Barnabas. But in addition to that letter, they sent two individuals, which their name are Judah, Yehuda, a surname Bar Shabbat, and Silas. Those were chief men among the brethren. Interesting that the name of Judah, he was a son of a man by the name of Shabbat, or Sabbath, you would say in English. But in Hebrew, it is Bar Shva or Bar Shabbat, because the Shabbat was part of the law that God had given to our people Israel. And it is interesting that this man was sent with Paul and Barnabas and a man by the name of Silas.

Now, we don't read much about Judah. We know a little bit more about Silas, because Silas became a fellow worker with the apostle Paul in his second missionary journey. But some suggested that this man by the name of Judah, Bar Shabbat, may have been the brother of another who is mentioned in Acts chapter 1 and verse 23. In Acts chapter 23, a man by the name of Joseph called Bar Shabbat, in Acts chapter 1 and verse 23. They may have been two brothers who have accepted the Messiah, two Jewish believers. And one of them was named Yosef, Acts 1:23, and the other one by the name of Judah, in Acts chapter 15 and verse 22.

So, here the decision is to send this delegation. Now, this delegation was to go to the Gentiles. And you notice that four of them are Jewish believers. Paul, Shaul, Barnabas, Barnaba, Judah, and Silas. Four Jewish believers were sent back down to the city of Antioch, where there was a non-Jewish assembly. And they were the delegation to bring a letter from the brothers and sisters of the city of Jerusalem. So, it is showing that there is desire to have a harmony among the people of God. Jewish believers, Gentile believers, united in the Messiah. And let's deal with the problem that have already existed in the first century.

So, now look at this. Brothers and sisters, verses 23 to 29, we have the letter itself. What was written in this letter to the Gentile brethren in the city of Antioch? A few points, just to point out to us all. The first thing in that letter, they began with greetings. Acts 15 and verse 23, it says, "And they wrote letters by them after this manner. The apostles and the elders and the brethren send greetings unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia." The first thing they do in the letter is they kind of say, "Shalom, brothers and sisters in Cilicia." We are greeting you from the local assembly in Jerusalem to the local assembly in Antioch.

We say, "Shalom," we greet you, we wish you well, and it is all of us together. Notice, it is the apostles, it is the elders, and it is the brothers and sisters. The whole assembly sending letters. Those customs that we sometimes see today when a group of brethren writing letters to another assembly or another local church, this is something that some even carry on today. These practices that we practice today began already in the city of Jerusalem when the letter was written to the believers in the city of Antioch. It is so nice when you greet each other. I remember in my traveling in various places around the world in ministry, sometimes letters are being read, and you can see that a group of one assembly write a letter to the other assemblies, and they wish them the Lord's blessing, and they greet them, and there is a commendation to commend a certain brother or a certain sister into this assembly because they recommended the people that they are sending to this assembly.

So they send this letter, and it is the whole assembly together. The apostles, the elders, the brethren are there. The whole assembly are greeting the other believers of the Gentiles in the city of Antioch. And immediately when they wrote the introduction with the greetings, they began to deal with the issue that brought about all this problem. What was the issue? Some came down from Jerusalem saying to the believers at Antioch, you cannot be saved unless you are circumcised. And so here in verse 24, they are immediately pointing out the wrong teaching that certain men have taught. And they say right away in verse 24, For as much as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words subverting your souls, saying you must be circumcised and keep the law.

And notice they add at the end of verse 24, to whom we gave no such commandment. You see, they are telling to the believers at Antioch, he says, listen, we didn't send them. We didn't commend them to teach these things to you. We didn't expect from them to go and trouble you with words, subverting your souls. Actually, the word for trouble, it's like to cause you to be confused. Giving two kinds of messages. That's where we get the word Babylon, to confound, to confuse you. The second word here, subverting your soul. This is like ruining your souls. When you tell somebody who just simply accepted the Messiah, Yeshua, and got gloriously saved and confessed his or her sins, and says, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

And then they're saved and their sins are forgiven. And then they are starting to be taught with false teaching that ought not to be taught. It caused them to be confused. It's actually ruining their joy in their souls. So they said, listen, we're going to deal with this issue. In this letter, they immediately addressed it. Brothers and sisters, this is very important for us to get a hold of, because we are responsible not to give a wrong sound when it's come to teaching, when it's come to the truth of the word of God, especially with respect to salvation. When someone tells us in order for one to be saved, he has to also be circumcised or keeping a certain day or keeping a certain holiday.

Otherwise, he or she are not saved. This is wrong. This is not found in the Bible. And what it does to a believer, it's actually confusing him or her and also ruining the joy that they have in their hearts when they have accepted the Messiah and have their sins forgiven. And so that is very important. And so they immediately dealt with that issue. They pointed out to this issue. Apparently, there were some believers at Galatia in this area that actually have adopted this kind of teaching. And Pastor Paul had to instruct them in the book of Galatians that they were wrong in adopting it. Look, turn with me to Galatians 5, please.

The whole book of Galatians, the letter to the Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul in order to deal with these issues that rose later on. And some have adopted these kind of things. He said to them in Galatians 5 verse 1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith the Messiah has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Don't entangle with the yoke of bondage. This is exactly what we read earlier in Acts chapter 15 in the same chapter in verse 10. "This yoke neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." We read, Peter said this, and here Paul saying, "Don't entangle with the yoke of bondage." Verse 2 of Galatians 5, "Behold I, Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, the Messiah shall profit you nothing.

For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to the whole law. The Messiah is become of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace." Do you think that God will justify you by being circumcised or by seeking to keep the law so that God is going to justify you? Listen, you have fallen from the grace of God. In fact, if you think that you are justified by the law, you will find it very quickly that the law is only condemning you rather than justifying you because by the deeds of the law there is no flesh shall be justified.

It is only on the basis of the finished work of our Lord Jesus the Messiah who finished the work for us on the tree. That's how we get to be justified. So they are pointed to this problem. Those certain men, they came down from Judea, they trouble you, they subvert your souls. We did not send them to whom we gave no such commandment. They went on their own and they have taught these things on their own. And so in verses 25 and 26 there was a decision they write in the letter to deal with that problem. They said now in verse 25, you know, it seems good unto us being assembled with one accord to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul.

We have gathered together in Jerusalem and we made a decision they're going to send some men with Paul and Barnabas to you to deal once and for all with this problem. And then they pointed out something about these two Jewish believers, Paul and Barnabas, and they said about them that they were men that hazard their lives for the name of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. You know how much danger, both of them, Paul, Shaul, Barnabas or Barnabas, how much danger they have experienced in their ministry for the name of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. They're in danger of their lives. They have experienced persecution, misunderstanding.

In fact, if you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, in the previous chapter 14 and verse 19, it says, And there came certain Jews from Antioch to Aniconium and they persuaded the people and having stoned Paul. You remember that? We had this already before us in previous ministry. They stoned Paul and they drew him out of the city and they thought that he was dead. You know, the apostle Paul had endangered or hazard his life for the name of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. He paid a price. I don't know if any one of us can say that we have endangered our lives for the name of the Lord Jesus.

I don't think we can say that. I think we can say we had a little bit of discomfort here and there because we stand for the name of the Lord. And we can say that sometime I lost friends. And you know what? Some of my family members don't appreciate me anymore because I became a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah. But who of us have experienced such a thing that Paul and Barnabas have experienced? They have experienced persecution for the name of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, such as none of us would ever experience. We live here in this country. We have freedom. We have liberty.

We have all the mercies and the blessings that one can have in this country. But who of us can say that we have experienced trouble and persecution? Things such as the Apostle Paul mentioned in the Epistles. Look at this. Listen. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 23 we read: And are they ministers of the Messiah? I speak as a fool. I am more in labor, more in abundance, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in death often. Of the Jews, five times I received forty stripes save one. Three times was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I have been in the deep, in jeopardy often.

In perils of waters. In perils of robbers. In perils by mine own countrymen. In perils by the heathen. In perils in the city. In perils in the wilderness. In perils in the sea. In perils among false brethren. In weariness and in painfulness. In watching often. In hunger and in thirst. In fasting often. In cold and in nakedness. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 23 to verse 27. And on top of it. Paul is saying. In this chapter. Verse 28. Beside all these things. That are without. That which cometh upon me daily. The care of all the churches. Of all the assemblies. You know. Paul. And Barnabas. Have hazarded their lives. For the gospel.

For the name. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. They endanger themselves. So they were commended. By their Jewish brethren. In the city of Jerusalem. When they send them down back to Antioch. To give that letter. To the Gentile brethren. To show them. We are coming to you. We are moving forward. We are one body. We have to deal with this issue. These men. Have hazarded. Their lives. For the name of our Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. And so. As they continue in the letter. They are adding to these men. Paul and Barnabas. Two other men. That will testify about this letter. Which we read about them earlier. But here they mention again.

In this letter. Verse 27. We have sent. Therefore. Judah. And Silas. And Silas. Who shall also tell you. The same thing. By mouth. Here brothers. And sisters. In Antioch. We are sending a letter. We are sending. Paul and Barnabas. And we are sending. Judah. And Silas. To speak to you. Verbally. To show you. That what we wrote. Is truly. The truth. The decision. That we. In the city of Jerusalem. The council. Have decided. Before the Lord. And so. Now we find out. In the next verse. That what they decided. Brothers and sisters. Was not. On their own. It was a decision. That came. By God. It was a divine design.

The Holy Spirit. Of God. Assisted them. To come to that decision. You know. Sometimes. We do not know. How to handle. A situation. Problem rises. Among believers. Issues. Rise. And we do not know. How are we going to handle that? What are we going to do? How are we going to answer. This. Situation. Well. They had the same situation. Such as this. In that time. And the brothers and sisters. In the city of Jerusalem. The elders. The apostles. The brothers. And sisters. Needed the help. Of the Holy Spirit. Of God. To come up. To this decision. So. They tell them. In verse 28. It was not our own decision.

Only. And it seems. Good. To the Holy Spirit. And to us. To lay upon you. No greater burden. Than these necessary things. You see. It seemed. To the Holy Spirit. Of God. And then. To us. That we should not. Lay upon you. Any greater burdens. Than what we are going to tell you. To do right now. That shows us. That they were. Instructed. By the Holy Spirit. Of God. You remember. We have just studied. In the book of Ephesians. Be not drunk. With wine. But be. Filled. By the Spirit. Of God. The Holy Spirit. Of God. Is the one. That will guide. Us. And will instruct.

Us. And will help us. To understand. The things. That we have to do. How are we going to handle. Certain situation. And this was. Exactly. In line. With what. Yeshua. The Messiah. Said to the apostles. Before he died. In the upper room. In the city. Of Jerusalem. At the Passover. Table there. He said to them. I have yet. Many things. To say unto you. This is John 16. 12. And 13. But you cannot. Bear them now. However. When he. The Spirit. Of truth. Is come. He. Will guide you. Into all truth. You see. Yeshua. Knew. That he is going. To leave. To die. To go back. To heaven.

After the resurrection. And he is going. To send. The Ruach HaKodesh. The Holy Spirit. Of God. To indwell. The believers. The believers. So. If the Holy Spirit. Of God. Is going. To indwell. The believers. He will guide. The believers. He will instruct. Us. Even us. Brothers. And sisters. How do we. Understand. The Bible. The Hebrew Scriptures. The Brit HaChadasha. The New Testament. The Old Testament. How do we. Understand it. Unless the Holy Spirit. Of God. Help us. To understand. The Word of God. And how can we. Make decisions. In our lives. That are. Godly. That are. Sound. Unless we are. Getting the help. Of the Holy Spirit.

Of God. After all. He is a divine. Person. That is indwelling. Every believer. In our Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. He says. He will. Guide you. Into all truth. All truth. Do you know. The Bible says. Paul said it. In the book of Corinthians. The natural man. Receiveth not. The things. Of the Spirit. Of God. For they are. Spiritually discerned. He cannot. Understand it. Earlier. Yaakov and I. Spoke about somebody. Who is a commander. In the military. Or something. And he said. About the history of Israel. He says. When Israel. Left Egypt. In the wilderness. In other words. He made a deal. With Pharaoh. To send.

Some chariots. During the journey. That Israel. In the wilderness. To bring them. Manna. Every day. In other words. He made a deal. Now. They don't accept. The Bible. So they have. To make. Kind of. Imagination. You see. Moses. Made a deal. With Pharaoh. To send. Some manna. You know. Why he says it. Because he doesn't. Believe. The Bible. Give them. Man. To eat. Is a provision. Of God. And in order. To accept. This. A person. Have. To be. Divinely. Instructed. It is the Holy Spirit. Of God. That instructs us. You know. Truly. Unless the Holy Spirit. Of God. Will show. These things. To us. How do you figure out.

That every day. There is man. Coming from heaven. For 40 years. When Israel. In the wilderness. The natural mind. Do not believe it. This is nonsense. They say. This is not possible. How can the Red Sea. Is being open. And Israel. Walking on dry shard. To the other side. How is it possible? Maybe. With this kind of thing. They are trying to figure out. There was an earthquake. Or tsunami. That broke. Opened the sea. And they quickly got out. And went to the other side. They don't believe the Bible. They are not guided. They are not guided. By the Holy Spirit. Of God. Paul said. As I mentioned earlier.

First Corinthians. Chapter two. The natural man. Receive not. The things. Of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness. To him. He cannot. Even grasp it. Only. Those of us. Who are believers. As believers. We still need the help. Of the Spirit of God. To guide us. As Yeshua. The Messiah said. To his disciples. Already. Before he left. He. Will guide you. Into. All. Truth. John 16. And verse. 13. The Holy Spirit. Of God. So the brothers. And sisters. From the city. Of Jerusalem. Said to. The Gentiles. Brothers and sisters. Listen. It was the Holy Spirit. Of God. For it seemed. Good. To the Holy Spirit. And also.

To us. To lay upon you. No greater burdens. Than these necessary things. That's how the Spirit of God. Guided us. And those are the four things. In verse 29. That the Spirit of God. Guided us. To expect from you. To do. And that is found. In verse 29. To abstain from. Meat. Or food. Food. That offered to idols. From blood. From things. That are strangled. And from. Fornication. He reversed the order. A little bit. Because if you remember. In verse 20. Of our chapter. He began with the same one. Pollution. Or meats. That are offered to idols. But then he continued. With saying. Fornication. And things that are strangled.

And blood. Here. He began with the same thing. But the ending was the word. Fornication. What he's really saying. There are four things. That are a requirement. For the people of God. If they are to. Enjoy. The things of the Lord. And to be submissive to the Lord. Things. Meat. That is offered to idols. Would offend. The Jewish believers. Because when you offer. To idols. For a sacrifice. And then you eat it. It would offend. The Jewish people. In the book of Deuteronomy. In chapter 12. In chapter 12. Israel were told. Not to eat. Meat. That was offered to idols. Like the Gentiles. In the world. They are to be different.

Or eating. Food. That is offered to idols. By a Jewish person. Would not be a good testimony. For him. And it's not that. Which will be pleasing. Secondly. Blood. Blood is that which. As we mentioned earlier. Previously. The life of the flesh. Is in the. Blood. It speaks of life. Abstain. From drinking blood. Thirdly. Things that are strangled. Well. As we have mentioned before. Meat of food. And animals that are being strangled. And killed. The blood remain. In the meat. In the body. And therefore. When you are eating this. You are eating blood. And therefore. Drain the blood. Completely. Until. Then. You can eat that.

Meat. Without any blood. And of course. Fornication. Immoral life. In other words. Change. Things should be. Required. From those gentiles. Believers. In order to. Please the lord. And not. To affect. The jewish. Believers. In various areas. Of their town. Even the jewish community. At large. Because moses. Was preached. In every shabbat day. In many cities. And the jewish community. Would be offended. If we. Allow those things. In our lives. They would wonder. So you claim. That jesus is the messiah. Look at your life. Look at the way. That you conduct yourself. And that will offend them. And therefore. The brethren in jerusalem. Requested. That. From the gentiles.

Believers. In antioch. And then. They closed that letter. That they have sent. He says. From which. If you keep yourself. He says. You do well. Verse 29. And then they say. Fare ye well. The letter. They began. The letter. With greetings. Shalom. If you will. And they ended up. The letter. With greetings. Or with. Fare ye well. With shalom. That means. That they wanted. To simply. Harmonize. With the gentile brethren. Jewish brethren. Part of the body. Of messiah. And they wanted. Finally. To set. This issue. Outside. Completely. So they will not have. These things. Remaining. The letter. That the brethren. Wrote from Jerusalem. To Antioch. Now let's move on.

In the next verses. Brothers and sisters. Verses 30. To 35. The letter. Is being. Delivered. So they take. That letter. With them. In verse 30. We see. The arrival. To Antioch. When they were. Dismissed. They came. To Antioch. And when they had. Gathered. The multitude. Together. They delivered. The epistle. From Jerusalem. Arrived. Finally. To Antioch. And they. Presented. The letter. Together. To the brothers. And sisters. In the city. Of Antioch. In fact. What they have done. They gathered together. All the assembly. Because it was. An important issue. Everyone needed to listen to that and to see that is the decree, that is the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God.

That's what the Spirit of God guided the brethren in Jerusalem to gather the multitude together and they gave them the letter to be read. And can you imagine how they must have failed when the letter was read there before everyone there and how the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem have not expected from the Gentiles to be circumcised, keep the law and all this kind of thing in order to be saved. They did not have to become any more proselytes to Judaism. They not had to convert to Judaism to become Jewish in order to believe in the God of the Bible. No, they simply, as Gentiles, to accept what the Word of God says concerning the work of the Messiah that they needed for themselves as sinners to believe in it and they are saved.

They are part of the body of Messiah. And beautiful, and they must have felt so well because the next verse says to us, When they had read this, they rejoiced for the consolation, for the comfort. They rejoiced. This is verse 31. They were so thankful and they were comforted because they had an assurance, you know, there are people who are today are not sure that they are saved. They're not sure. Am I saved? Am I lost? Did the Lord actually forgive my sins? Have I done enough? Have I worked enough? Have I earned my salvation enough? Am I saved? Am I not? Many people like that today.

And you know, it's such a comfort to know, By grace, I is saved through faith. And this is not of yourself. It is a gift of God, lest anyone should boast. Because if it would depend upon our works, we probably will boast. We are going to stand before the Lord one day and say, Lord, look, yes, you died, but I have also did something to earn my salvation. And the Lord says, no, you are saved on the basis of the finished work of the blood that Yeshua the Messiah shed for you. So they rejoiced for the consolation, for the comfort that they received. And then, apparently, brothers and sisters, in verse 32, Judah and Silas were ministering to them.

So now you have these two Jewish brethren who came from Jerusalem, and they are the ones who are actually their local assembly in Jerusalem. They stayed there for a while, and they were actually prophets. You notice, verse 32 says that they've been prophets. They were speaking forth the word of God. They were ministering to the local assembly at Antioch. They were exhorting the brethren. They were sharing with them things to encourage them and to confirm them. That word in verse 32, to confirm them, to make them solid in their understanding of the word of God. Not like we have in the book of Ephesians, where we have that there are many go with every wind of doctrine.

You know, one day, oh yes, this one waving from right to left, not sure where they stand with regard to their relationship with the Lord. Every time a new preacher comes to town, they listen to what he has to say, and they are swaying to the right. And another preacher comes, they are swaying to the left. Well, they needed to confirm them. You know, that's why we have regular Bible study, regular meetings. Because when we have a consistent meeting, we are being established in the things of the Lord. We learn more. We teach each other. Iron sharpen iron. We are helping each other. We are encouraging each other to stay close to the Lord.

But also, we learn the word of God. And so, someone will ask us a question later on, we will have an answer. We'll have some solid answer from the word of God. We have an assurance with what we say. Not to be egoistic and proud, but to give a sound answer to those that ask us. Peter said, be always ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. Always ready. Somebody will meet with you on the street, or in the restaurant, or at school, or at the job. And they ask you, why do you believe what you believe? Well, you have an answer.

In fact, you can tell him, go to Matthew chapter 5. Go to John chapter 3. Go to 1 Peter chapter 1. Go to the epistle of John. Go to the Revelation. We have to know the scripture. And you know, it is not new, even among our Jewish people in the synagogue. You know, young men repeat the verses in the Bible. Again, and again, recite them, and learn them, and talk to each other. There is constant interaction. So they will memorize the word of God, and they will know what to say. Now, mind you, unfortunately, they have not acknowledged the Messiahship of Yeshua. But nevertheless, they are studying what they are studying.

And they know what they know when it comes to scripture. I mentioned to you before that every year, there is a worldwide competition. In Israel, actually, of the knowledge of the Bible. And young men, I mean, I am amazed. Young men coming there, and they ask them a question from Chronicles, or Esther, and they give you the answer. Where is it found? What does it say? What does it communicate? And you know, we call it in Hebrew, Chidon HaTanach, where the young Jewish men, boys, would learn the scripture to such an extent that they can tell you verse and chapter. They can recite chapters. It's amazing.

Those of us who grew up in a home where our grandparents were Jewish people who loved the Bible, they didn't know Yeshua. They didn't know the Messiah. But they knew what they knew. They knew the Hebrew scriptures. They kept it. They loved it. They treasure it. Because they knew that that's what will ever stand. Heaven and earth will pass away. But the word of the Lord will remain forever. So, here those Judah, Judah and Silas, they were prophets. They exhorted the brethren with many words, and they confirmed them. You know, since I became a believer, I never gone to a meeting without my Bible. And I always, in every meeting, those who led the meeting, always had a Bible in their hands.

And they always read a text and expounded. Every time. Reading the Bible again, and reading the Word of God, reading the scripture again. And little kids can tell you where is this verse found. That's what we really need, beloved brothers and sisters, in our life. We need to get a hold of the fact that the Word of God is confirming us, and encouraging us, building us up, in our most holy faith. That's what they needed. And again, it was an issue there, brothers and sisters. Forgive me for repeating myself. Unless you are circumcised, some said, you cannot be saved. And that was wrong. The circumcision was given to our Jewish people.

It was not given to the Gentile world. The Gentiles believers did not have the expectation from them. It was given to the Jewish people. Under the law. First of all, in Genesis 17 to Abraham. Then, in the book of Leviticus, in the law, given to our people. And it was from their own requirement by the people of Israel to have been circumcised. But to expect from a Gentile to be circumcised, and otherwise he is lost if he does not. That is a violation of the gospel. And that's why those two Jewish believers, Judah and Silas, were confirming the believers there and helping them to grow. And so, Acts 15 now, in verse 33 and 34, notice that we read, And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in shalom, in peace, from the brethren unto the apostles.

So, apparently, these two brethren who came from Judea, from Jerusalem, after they ministered the word of God among the Gentile brethren in Antioch, they were let go. They had to go back to their hometown. It's like a ministry. They went for a while out, did their ministry, came back home to the city of Jerusalem. They went back to the apostles. Now, you notice, by the way, that the next verse, 34, it says, Notwithstanding, it pleased Silas to abide there still. Now, some suggest that in the best manuscript, verse 34 is really not there. Because if the both of them, according to verse 33, went in peace to the apostles in Jerusalem, then people probably had a problem.

Well, how come then Silas, later on, was going with Paul to the second missionary journey? So, how did he go back to Jerusalem and then came back to Antioch? Well, apparently, that's what may have happened. That Silas went back to Jerusalem with Judah. And then later on, he went again to visit with the brothers and sisters in Antioch. And it was there and then that he went later on on the journey for the second missionary journey of the apostle Paul. He went to serve with him. So, they let them go after their ministry. They went back to Jerusalem. And then I'm reading now verse 35. Now, when they have gone, Paul and Barnabas continued to minister to the brothers and sisters in Antioch.

Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch. Teaching. Preaching. Now, here again, beloved brothers and sisters, listen. Teaching is very important. Paul said to Timothy, That's what the apostle Paul was teaching there and Barnabas in Antioch. Teaching is very important. There are certain teachings that apply to Israel, the nation. There are certain teachings that apply to the body of Messiah, the church, the assembly. There are certain teachings that apply to the unbelieving world. We need to sort them out and not to mix them. And not to make salad as it were. Not to mix them. Rightly dividing the word of truth. And that is exactly what Paul and Barnabas did in the city of Antioch when they were teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.

Constantly teaching. You remember what we read earlier in Nehemiah? Chapter 8, what we read in our reading? When Nehemiah and the people of Israel were in the water gate there, and Ezra came and he opened the book of the law. And our nation, Israel, when they heard the word of the Lord, they said, Amen. They bowed in worship because the word of the Lord was so precious to our people Israel of all. And here, the apostle Paul and Barnabas sink, if you will, the word of God again and again, presenting it before the believers at Antioch. So they will be instructed, sound teaching. That is so important here to see that.

So they continue there with preaching and teaching the word of the Lord with many others also. And they remain there for a while until the last verses here in Acts chapter 15, verses 36 to 41, up till the time when Paul had the exercise to go to visit the assemblies in many cities that they have already covered in the first missionary journey. So in verse 36, Paul had a desire to go again to visit the brethren. You see, he was used to sow the seed. He preached the message of the gospel. People came to faith in the Messiah. They formed a local assembly, local church. And as you remember, in chapter 14, we saw those various cities, Iconium, and then Lystra, and then Derbe, and then Antioch, and so on.

And we saw all these cities that the apostle Paul had been leading people to the Lord, and the assemblies were formed. So he had a burden in his heart to go to visit them now to see how they are doing. Any rabbis in all time would be desiring to see how his students have been doing. Any leader, any Bible teachers want to see how does his students are doing. Anyone that is teaching the word of God want to see how are they doing. So in verse 36, we read that some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do.

You know, it's a good exercise of a Bible teacher to see how the brethren are doing. Are they doing okay? Are they walking with the Lord? Are they growing spiritually? Are they really establishing the faith? Or are things coming in and all kind of problems occurring? So Paul had a desire to see them, to visit them, and to minister to them. But here, there was a conflict that had happened here between two good friends. Like it happened to us today, unfortunately. When Paul had this desire, he said this to Barnabas, let's go. Let's visit. So Barnabas apparently agreed with him on that. But they didn't agree on whom they are going to take with them.

Because it says in verse 37, that Barnabas determined to take with him John, Yohanan, whose surname was Mark, Yohanan Marcos. Apparently, this John, Yohanan Marcos, is a relative of Barnabas. He's a blood related to Barnabas. We read of him in the earlier chapters, in chapter 12. If you just please turn with me back to chapter 12 and verse 12, about Peter. It says, And when he had, considering the thing, this is when Peter came out of this jail, if you remember. He came to the house of Miriam, the mother of John. Here is that man. Whose surname was Mark, where they were gathering together and praying. You see, the early apostles, the early believers in Jerusalem, apparently were gathered together in the house of this man, young man, by the name of Yohanan Mark.

And that's where they were gathering together. And if you notice now, in verse 25, it says, And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they fulfilled their ministry, and they took with them John Mark, or John, whose surname was Mark. So apparently, they took him, and they used him. In other words, he ministered the gospel with them. He was a younger believer, Jewish believer, ministering among the Gentile world. Now, you know how it must have been difficult for this young man, as he is leaving his home, going to the Gentile world, pagan world, ministering the word of God with Shaul and Barnabas, with Paul and Barnabas, and he is exposing himself to all kind of things that he was never exposing himself before.

Like those of us who are Jewish here, that when we became a believer in Jesus, the Messiah, we never done certain things before we became a believer. Like, we never went to a church building. I will never forget, when I heard a bell, I ran. A bell ringing. Ding, dong, ding, dong. I was running. I was so afraid of so-called church. When I saw the stained glass windows and the stiples, and then you see the long-bearded man with the black clothes, the priest, and I was shivering. I was scared. We never gone to these things. We're Jewish, you see. We are coming back from that which our forefathers have taught us, and we were never reading the New Testament, never gone to church building, never have associated, never ate unkosher food like pork and so on.

That was scary for us. Now, what happened, apparently, was this young man by the name of John, Mark, Barnabas wanted to take him for the ministry with Paul, as they were going to get ready for the second missionary journey. For a while he was with them, but now please turn to Acts chapter 13. Notice what happened in verse 13. And when Paul and his company, they were together in a ministry, they loosed from Pappos, they came to Pelga in Pampilia, and look at this, what it says here, and John, this is Yohanan Mark, he departing from them, and he returned to Jerusalem. We don't read the reason why.

We do not know why, but apparently, he departed from the work of the Lord, and that's, perhaps he again, was too much exposure to paganism, and idolatry, and things that he was not used to. Maybe it was being Jewish, and maybe it could be that he was afraid to associate with the pagan world, with the Gentile world. We do not know the reason, but apparently here, when Barnabas wanted that John Mark will go with them, in Acts 15, verse 37, look what Paul said in verse 38. Paul thought it not good to take him with them. Why? He says, who departed from them from Pelpilia, and he went not with them to the work.

In other words, he held the plow for a while, and then he left the plow, and he went back home. In other words, he left the work of the Lord, and at this point of time, Paul says, no, we're not going to take him with us. Barnabas says, yes, we are going to take him alone. Paul says, no, we are not going to take, he left the work. Barnabas says, yes, we are going to take him with us. And apparently, brothers and sisters, that brought about friction, between two godly men, two men of God. Isn't it true, brothers and sisters, sometimes two men of God, who love the Lord Jesus, who love Yeshua the Messiah, who want to serve the Lord, but for some reason, things come between them, that cause them to be separated from each other.

And there is a contention, there is a friction, between them. They both love the Lord, they both want to serve him, but they see certain things, a little bit different. In this case, John Mark, relative of Barnabas, he wanted to take him along. Paul says, listen, he did not continue earlier. I do not think it is right for him, to come with us, in the second missionary journey. He left the ministry, he went not with us to work, he went back home to Jerusalem, he cannot come with us right now. Maybe later on, but not right now. Well, there was a contention, and the Bible teaches us here, beloved, look at this, in verse 39, there was contention.

You know, when I read that, about contention, there were two contentions here, in this chapter. Contention number one, began where those Jewish people, who came down from Judea, told the Gentile believers, that they must be saved, on a basis of circumcision. They must be circumcised. There was a contention, in the beginning of the chapter, and there is a contention, at the end of the chapter. And in the beginning of the chapter, it had to do, with something extremely important, that needs to be dealt with, that salvation is by grace, not through circumcision. But here, there was just two different opinions. There was contention, it's not a matter of salvation, it's not a matter of, who is going to go to heaven, and who is not going to go to heaven.

It is simply an outlook, at the situation of the moment, with respect to this young man, by the name of John Mark. So the contention was, look, it says in verse 39, it was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder, one from another. It must have been said, because it was Barnabas, who called Paul, Shaul, brought him to Jerusalem, introduced him to the brethren. It was Barnabas, who was first in Antioch, even before Paul came. It was Barnabas, it was perhaps maybe older or so, that he is the one, that had been used by the Spirit of God, to kind of help Paul, to be introduced to the believers, both in Jerusalem, and then Antioch.

They were friends, they ministered the message of the Gospel, to many of the cities, in chapter 13 and 14 of Acts. But now, they are going to be separated from each other. In fact, brothers and sisters, it says there, in verse 39, so Barnabas took Mark, and he sailed to Cyprus. And this is the last time, that we find the name of Barnabas, in the book of Acts. In fact, we don't find anymore, Barnabas et al, mentioned in the book of Acts, not because he was necessarily wrong, but the Holy Spirit of God now, was leading, the direction was to expound the life of the Apostle Paul, and his ministry to the Gentile world.

And from here on, we don't read anymore about Barnabas, at all, in the book of Acts. Paul mentioned his name, later on, in the book of Colossians, he mentioned his name, in 1 Corinthians 15, he mentioned the name of Barnabas, because they were brethren, not only both Jewish, but Jewish believers, but servant together, of the things of the Lord, of the things of Yeshua, the Messiah, but they were divided, on the issue, of John Mark. Some suggest, I would like to say, that perhaps it was used, by the Spirit of God, to have instead of only one team, of preaching of the Gospel, now we have two teams.

But the sad part, is that there are teams, two of them, because of contention. It's nice, when there are two teams, and three teams, and four teams, and ten teams, and twenty teams, but out of harmony, not out of contention. How many a times, we see it today, that there is a new church group in town, not because, we have growth, but because of contention, friction among brethren, among believers, that somebody says, well, I cannot take it anymore, I'm going to start another meeting, somewhere else, and work is growing, and work is growing, but not growing, because of harmony, growing because, of a contention. I must say here, that later on, Paul, did think highly, of John Mark, in 2 Timothy, in chapter 4, and verse 11, when Paul is writing to Timothy, he said to him, Timothy, only Luke is with me, and then he says, take Mark, bring him with you, Timothy, for he is profitable, to me, for the ministry.

You see, later on, perhaps, John Mark, need to be corrected, in some of the action, that he has done, like we need to be corrected, sometimes someone, we can be useful, in a ministry, but, maybe things crept, into our lives, and then we are not as faithful, as we used to be, and there is a time, that we need to kind of wait, on the Lord, and then later on, the Lord restore us, and use us in the ministry, and here we see, that the apostle Paul says, bring Mark with you, because he is profitable, for me, Paul is saying, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, in verse 11, now look at the letter, to Phinemon,

in verse 24, Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Lucas, my fellow laborers, and he is, again, you know, he is speaking about Mark, again, notice he mentioned, he is calling him, my fellow laborer, Mark, John Mark, in verse 24, of Philemon, in other words, he is commending him, and he is calling him, my fellow workers, but at this, point of time, before he was heading, to his second missionary journey, Marcus, for him, John Mark, was not to come, with him, and the division, have occurred, Barnabas went to Cyprus, and the last two verses, of this chapter, the conclusion here, Paul chose Silas, that was the Jewish believer prophet, who came from Jerusalem, who ministered the word, he

chose Silas, and he departed, and take a note of this, brothers and sisters, being recommended by the brethren, unto the grace of God, we don't read this, of Barnabas, but we do read it, of Paul, he was recommended, by the brethren, to the grace of God, in other words, the brethren, laid their hands upon him, commended him, to his second missionary journey, and he had the fellowship, of the believers, in the city of Antioch, and the conclusion, of this chapter, and he went through Syria, and Cilicia, and he was confirming, the churches, building them up, establishing them, in the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, and from here on, it is the beginning, of the second, missionary

journey, of the Apostle Paul, of which, in the will of the Lord, we will continue, in our next, ministry meeting, where the second, missionary journey, of the Apostle Paul, have been, well may the Lord, bless these thoughts, to all of us, and encourage us, to be confirmed, in the word of God, to be established, in the things, of the Bible.