Chronological
15 Their peace was disturbed, however, when certain Judeans came with this teaching: “Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas argued against this teaching and debated with the Judeans vehemently, so the church selected several people—including Paul and Barnabas—to travel to Jerusalem to dialogue about this issue with the apostles and elders there. 3 The church sent them on their way. They passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, stopping to report to the groups of believers there that outsiders were now being converted. This brought great joy to them all. 4 Upon arrival in Jerusalem, the church, the apostles, and the elders welcomed them warmly; and they reported all they had seen God do. 5 But there were some believers present who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees. They stood up and asserted,
Pharisees: No, this is not acceptable. These people must be circumcised, and we must require them to keep the whole Mosaic law.
6 The apostles and elders met privately to discuss how this issue should be resolved. 7 There was a lot of debate, and finally Peter stood up.
These debates give a glimpse of the cultural tensions present between Jewish and Gentile believers throughout the New Testament writings. The early Jewish believers still follow the traditional Jewish practices of Sabbath rest and kosher food. This is fine, until Jewish and Gentile Christians must share a table. How can they be truly unified as one church without being able to sit down together for a meal? This council affirms—under the influence of the Spirit’s work—that the outsiders may become Christians without becoming Jews first; but the outsiders should respect their Jewish brothers’ beliefs so they can fellowship together. The decision is a model for church unity: artificial hurdles should not be imposed for inclusion, but groups should willingly sacrifice their freedoms to promote unity in the church.
Peter: My brothers, you all know that in the early days of our movement, God decided that I should be the one through whom the first outsiders would hear the good news and become believers. 8 God knows the human heart, and He showed approval of their hearts by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did for us. 9 In cleansing their hearts by faith, God has made no distinction between them and us. 10 So it makes no sense to me that some of you are testing God by burdening His disciples with a load that neither our forefathers nor we have been able to carry. 11 No, we all believe that we will be liberated through the grace of the Lord Jesus—they also will be rescued in the same way.
12 There was silence among them while Barnabas and Paul reported all the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among outsiders. 13 When they finished, James spoke.
James: My brothers, hear me. 14 Simon Peter reminded us how God first included outsiders in His favor, taking people from among them for His name. 15 This resonates with the words of the prophets:
16 “After this, I will return
and rebuild the house of David, which has fallen into ruins.
From its wreckage I will rebuild it;
17 So all the nations may seek the Eternal One—
including every person among the outsiders who has been called by My name.”[a]
This is the word of the Lord, 18 who has been revealing these things since ancient times.[b]
19 So here is my counsel: we should not burden these outsiders who are turning to God. 20 We should instead write a letter, instructing them to abstain from four things: first, things associated with idol worship; second, sexual immorality; third, food killed by strangling; and fourth, blood. 21 My reason for these four exceptions is that in every city there are Jewish communities where, for generations, the laws of Moses have been proclaimed; and on every Sabbath, Moses is read in synagogues everywhere.
22 This seemed like a good idea to the apostles, the elders, and the entire church. They commissioned men from among them and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent two prominent men among the believers, Judas (also known as Barsabbas) and Silas, 23 to deliver this letter:
The brotherhood, including the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, send greetings to the outsider believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. 24 We have heard that certain people from among us—without authorization from us—have said things that, in turn, upset you and unsettle your minds. 25 We have decided unanimously to choose and send two representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul 26 who, as you know, have risked their lives for our Lord Jesus the Anointed. 27 These representatives, Judas and Silas, will confirm verbally what you will read in this letter. 28 It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to keep you free from all burdens except these four: 29 abstain from anything sacrificed to idols, from blood, from food killed by strangling, and from sexual immorality. Avoid these things, and you will be just fine. Farewell.
30 So the men were sent to Antioch. When they arrived, they gathered the community together and read the letter. 31 The community rejoiced at the resolution to the controversy. 32 Judas and Silas, being prophets themselves, offered lengthy encouragements to strengthen the believers. 33 After some time there, their mission was complete; so the leaders in Antioch released Judas and Silas to return to Jerusalem with a blessing of peace. [34 But after some thought, Silas decided to remain behind.][c] 35 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, where they teamed with many others to teach and preach the message of the Lord.
36 Some days later, Paul proposed another journey to Barnabas.
Paul: Let’s return and visit the believers in each city where we preached the Lord’s message last time to see how they’re doing.
37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to bring John Mark along, 38 but Paul felt that was a mistake since John Mark had abandoned them in Pamphylia and hadn’t finished the previous mission. 39 Their difference of opinion was so heated that they decided not to work together anymore. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus, 40 while Paul chose Silas as his companion. The believers in Antioch commissioned him for this work, entrusting him to the grace of the Lord. 41 They traveled through Syria and Cilicia to strengthen the churches there.
16 1-3 When Paul reached Derbe and Lystra, he invited a disciple named Timothy to join him and Silas. Timothy had a good reputation among the believers in Lystra and Iconium, but there was a problem: although Timothy’s mother was a believing Jew, his father was Greek, which meant Timothy was uncircumcised. Because the Jewish people of those cities knew he was the son of a Greek man, Paul felt it would be best for Timothy to be circumcised before proceeding.
4 Leaving there, now accompanied by Timothy, they delivered to the churches in each town the decisions and instructions given by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 The churches were strengthened in the faith by their visit and kept growing in numbers on a daily basis.
6 They sensed the Holy Spirit telling them not to preach their message in Asia at this time, so they traveled through Phrygia and Galatia. 7 They came near Mysia and planned to go into Bithynia, but again they felt restrained from doing so by the Spirit of Jesus. 8 So they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 That night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was pleading with him.
Macedonian Man: Come over to Macedonia! Come help us!
Luke now shifts his narration from impersonal observation to a first-person account of events because he has joined Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
10 This vision convinced us all that God was calling us to bring the good news to that region.
11 We set sail from the port city of Troas, first stopping in Samothrace, then the next day in Neapolis, 12 finally arriving in Philippi, a Roman colony and one of Macedonia’s leading cities. We stayed in Philippi for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day, we went outside the city walls to the nearby river, assuming that some Jewish people might be gathering for prayer. We found a group of women there, so we sat down and spoke to them. 14 One of them, Lydia, was a business woman originally from Thyatira. She made a living buying and selling fine purple fabric. She was a true worshiper of God and listened to Paul with special interest. The Lord opened her heart to take in the message with enthusiasm. 15 She and her whole household were ceremonially washed through baptism.[d]
Lydia: If you believe I’m truly faithful to the Lord, please, you must come and stay at my home.
We couldn’t turn down her invitation.
16 One day, as we were going to the place set aside for prayer, we encountered a slave girl. She made a lot of money for her owners as a fortune-teller, assisted by some sort of occult spirit. 17 She began following us.
Slave Girl (shouting): These men are slaves like me, but slaves of the Most High God! They will proclaim to you the way of liberation!
18 The next day as we passed by, she did the same thing—and again on the following days. One day Paul was really annoyed, so he turned and spoke to the spirit that was enslaving her.
Paul: I order you in the name of Jesus, God’s Anointed: Come out of her!
It came right out. 19 But when her owners realized she would be worthless now as a fortune-teller, they grabbed Paul and Silas, dragged them into the open market area, and presented them to the authorities.
Slave Owners: 20 These men are troublemakers, disturbing the peace of our great city. They are from some Jewish sect, 21 and they promote foreign customs that violate our Roman standards of conduct.
22 The crowd joined in with insults and insinuations, prompting the city officials to strip them naked in the public square so they could be beaten with rods. 23 They were flogged mercilessly and then were thrown into a prison cell. The jailer was ordered to keep them under the strictest supervision. 24 The jailer complied, first restraining them in ankle chains, then locking them in the most secure cell in the center of the jail.
25 Picture this: It’s midnight. In the darkness of their cell, Paul and Silas—after surviving the severe beating—aren’t moaning and groaning; they’re praying and singing hymns to God. The prisoners in adjoining cells are wide awake, listening to them pray and sing. 26 Suddenly the ground begins to shake, and the prison foundations begin to crack. You can hear the sound of jangling chains and the squeak of cell doors opening. Every prisoner realizes that his chains have come unfastened. 27 The jailer wakes up and runs into the jail. His heart sinks as he sees the doors have all swung open. He is sure his prisoners have escaped, and he knows this will mean death for him, so he pulls out his sword to commit suicide. 28 At that moment, Paul sees what is happening and shouts out at the top of his lungs,
Paul: Wait, man! Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here! None of us has escaped.
29 The jailer sends his assistants to get some torches and rushes into the cell of Paul and Silas. He falls on his knees before them, trembling. 30 Then he brings them outside.
Jailer: Gentlemen, please tell me, what must I do to be liberated?
Paul and Silas: 31 Just believe—believe in the ultimate King, Jesus, and not only will you be rescued, but your whole household will as well.
32-34 The jailer brings them to his home, and they have a long conversation with the man and his family. Paul and Silas explain the message of Jesus to them all. The man washes their wounds and feeds them, then they baptize[e] the man and his family. The night ends with Paul and Silas in the jailer’s home, sharing a meal together, the whole family rejoicing that they have come to faith in God.
35 At dawn the city officials send the police to the jailer’s home with a command: “Let those men go free.”
Jailer: 36 The city officials have ordered me to release you, so you may go now in peace.
Paul (loud enough that the police can hear): 37 Just a minute. This is unjust. We’ve been stripped naked, beaten in public, and thrown into jail, all without a trial of any kind. Now they want to release us secretly as if nothing happened? No way: we’re Roman citizens—we shouldn’t be treated like this! If the city officials want to release us, then they can come and tell us to our faces.
38 The police report back to the city officials; and when they come to the part about Paul and Silas being Roman citizens, the officials turn pale with fear. 39 They rush to the jail in person and apologize. They personally escort Paul and Silas from their cell and politely ask them to leave the city. 40 Paul and Silas oblige—after stopping at Lydia’s home to gather with the brothers and sisters there and give them parting words of encouragement.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.