NOTES for Act 14:5-18

Today’s passage from the Book of Acts presents us with an interesting picture. Among the Pharisees who had already come to believe are people who demand that the Gentiles who have joined them be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses (see Acts 14:5). And how understandable this demand may seem to us. After all, “one does not bring one’s own rule into another’s monastery.” If they are joining us, then let them do what we do. Does this remind you of anything? How are these people different from the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32)? Like the elder son, these people remember their own labor and effort very well: while those Gentiles were somewhere else believing in their gods and living for their own pleasure, they—the Jews who believed in the one God—had to labor to fulfill the Law. Instead of rejoicing over the salvation and recovery of their brothers, there is resentment and a desire to make them pay... But fortunately, there are the merciful father from the parable and the Apostle Peter, in whom the image of the loving God is reflected. The grace of Jesus is available to all, and this means that salvation is available to all as well. For “we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved” (Acts 14:11).