The Jerusalem Council convenes to address the circumcision controversy raised by Judean visitors to Antioch who teach that Gentiles must be circumcised and keep Moses' law to be saved. After much debate, Peter recounts the Cornelius episode, Barnabas and Paul report signs and wonders among Gentiles, and James proposes the solution citing Amos's prophecy that Gentiles called by God's name are not to be troubled with the law but should abstain from idolatrous pollution, sexual immorality, strangled meat, and blood. The council's letter, delivered by Judas and Silas, brings rejoicing to Antioch, but Paul and Barnabas later separate sharply over taking John Mark, with Barnabas and Mark sailing to Cyprus while Paul chooses Silas and travels through Syria and Cilicia strengthening churches.
Leader of early Jerusalem church
Apostle to the Gentiles, missionary
First Christian martyr
Prophet and Lawgiver
Son of Encouragement
Son of God, Messiah, Savior
Leader of the Jerusalem Church
The One Who Saw Salvation
King of Israel
The Betrayer of Jesus
Missionary Companion of Paul
Author of the Gospel of Mark
Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel and later became the name for the entire region between Judea and Galilee. After the Assyrian conquest, the population became mixed, and the Samaritans developed their own form of worship. Jews and Samaritans had deep hostility. Jesus broke social barriers by speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well and telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The Tabernacle was the portable sanctuary that Israel built according to God's instructions at Mount Sinai. It served as God's dwelling place among His people during the wilderness wanderings and early settlement in Canaan. It contained the Ark of the Covenant, the altar, and the holy place.
Cyprus is a large island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It was the home of Barnabas and an early destination for Christian missionaries. Paul and Barnabas began their first missionary journey here. The proconsul Sergius Paulus became a believer when Paul blinded the sorcerer Elymas.
Gentiles accepted without full Jewish law.
The book of Acts contains 28 chapters chronicling the explosive growth of the early church from Jerusalem to Rome. Written by Luke as a sequel to his Gospel, it begins with 120 believers in an upper room and ends with Paul preaching boldly in the capital of the Roman Empire.
ActsIn Acts 16:10, Luke suddenly switches from 'they' to 'we,' revealing he personally joined Paul's missionary journey. These 'we passages' (Acts 16, 20-21, 27-28) provide eyewitness accounts showing Luke was present for key events including Paul's shipwreck.
Acts 16:10
