In broadcast journalism, a news organization must report breaking news accurately to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Journalists will use all of their resources to get the word out. TV. Radio. The web. Smart phones. They report the same news. But they use a variety of methods to reach different audiences.
That's what we see happening in verses 7-10. After meeting with Paul, the leaders of the church conclude that they all have the same Good News from the same good God. They simply are to broadcast that Gospel to different audiences as accurately as quickly as possible.
Paul is in Jerusalem to meet with the heavy hitters of the church, Peter, John and Jesus' brother James. For 14 years, the former assassin and persecutor not only joined the team but taken Jesus' message to non-Jews throughout the Roman empire.
On that fateful trip to Damascus, Christ turned Saul's life upside down, making him His handpicked messenger to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). The apostle brought his boys Barnabas and Titus with him to Jerusalem for this crucial convo (Gal 2:2). They were in town to confirm that their Gospel was the very same Gospel preached by the apostles.
One of the very first things Pete and the guys did was to add nothing to Paul's message (Gal 2:6). This is HUGE. You see, false teachers had rolled into Galatia on Paul's coattails and perverted his Gospel. They told these new believers that the man from Tarsus was a rogue apostle who was not telling them the full story.
These false teachers peddled a counterfeit gospel of works and "do better." But Pete, Johnny and Jim disagree. Paul's Gospel lacks nothing.
As a matter of fact, "they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the Gospel to the circumcised" (v7). It's one and the same message. It's one and the same Gospel.
This is Paul's 11th and 12th use of either the noun or verb form of Good News or Gospel so far in this letter. He sets his readers' focus on Jesus' core message of salvation. The Gospel.
These church leaders realized that Jesus had given Paul the responsibility to reach out to non-Jews. What proof did he have? Certainly he shared the stories of what God accomplished through them on their amazing trip to Cyprus and Galatia (Acts 13:4-14:23). As a Jew and trusted friend of the apostles, Barnabas, was there as an eyewitness of what happened during their journey.
And then there is Titus. He's the Gentile follower of Jesus who's made the trip to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas. While Luke never mentions him in the book of Acts, Titus apparently came to faith in Christ during the swing through Galatia. Paul is telling everyone who will listen that God is calling to everyone through Jesus.
No longer does someone have to be a Jewish convert to worship Yahweh. Gentiles can come AS GENTILES! No observance of Jewish ritual. No circumcision. Titus is living proof of what God is doing among non-Jews, not only in Galatia but throughout the world. No doubt when the church leaders met Titus and saw Christ's fingerprints all over him, they knew for certain that Paul's ministry was legit.
The apostle describes how both he and Pete "had been entrusted" with this amazing message (v7). This is actually the Greek term πιστευω/pisteuo. It's the very same word used to describe believing or trusting. Here the verb is in the perfect passive tense.
Perfect means a completed action that has ongoing implications. Passive indicates that it is not Paul or Peter doing the trusting but that God is entrusting them with this radical information that will turn the world upside down. It carries a heavy sense of responsibility and accountability. This is no small assignment. It is not to be taken lightly.
They conclude that they have the same message.
The man from Tarsus goes on to tell the Galatians that God has clearly called both Pete and Paul to be His apostles (v8). Peter is an apostle. Paul is an apostle.
He talks about the One who is behind both of their ministries. It's God "who worked through Peter" and "worked also through me." The Greek verb here is ενεργεω/energeo. Yup, it's where we get our word energy or energize. It means to work effectively, to display power. As Capt. Kirk would say on Star Trek, "Energize!!”
God Himself has not only entrusted these men but energized them to do what He's called them to do. What a great reminder that is to anyone serving Jesus. He not only gives us assignments and missions but provides the power to do them. Paul talks about how God places His unlimited divine power source "in jars of clay" so that the world will clearly know that He's behind it all (2Cor 4:7).
They conclude that they not only have the same message, but it is from the same God.
Paul runs down the list of who attended the meeting (v9). James, the brother of Jesus. Cephas, that's Aramaic for Peter. John, the surviving Son of Thunder (Herod murdered his brother James several years before, Acts 12:2).
Pete and Johnny were members of Jesus' closest inner circle of disciples. Jimmy came to believe his Brother was Messiah when he saw Him risen from the dead (1Cor 15:7). He went on to be the leader of the church in Jerusalem while the apostles were on the road. These are the church's heavy hitters.
Once they realized the veracity of "the grace that was given to" Paul, they shook on it. Extending the right hand in near eastern cultures was a solemn vow of friendship and partnership. It was their way of saying Paul is good to go. And in some way, it was Paul's way of approving of their message and mission as well.
The same message. The same God. But they were headed to different audiences. They parted company knowing "that we should go to the Gentiles and they do the circumcised" (v9).
This isn't a hard and fast rule. We consistently read of Paul using the Jewish synagogue as his base of operations when he reaches a city that has a Hebrew population. And Peter doesn't turn down the chance to tell non-Jews like Cornelius about Jesus (Acts 10).
Christ may have given us a specific focus but He has called each of us to not miss the chance to tell anyone about Him (Mt 28:19-20). When we come in contact with people who don't know Jesus, we're to "make the most of every opportunity" (Col 4:5). That's what Pete and Paul did throughout their lives.
The Apostle Paul says that they concluded their summit by encouraging him "to the remember the poor" (v10). No problem. There was a worldwide famine raging. It was particularly difficult on Palestine. Paul spent much of his third missionary journey collecting money from the churches throughout the Roman empire for famine relief (2Cor 9).
Same Message.
Same God.
Different Audiences.
©2012
Jay Jennings
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