Circumcision - Acts 15:1-12

Backtracking just a little bit, it seems that before Paul and Barnabas left Antioch for Jerusalem, “certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” Let’s take a minute to remember that circumcision had been practiced among the Jews for centuries and that this single act represented a divine identity to them as a people. I don’t know why people are so obsessed with other people’s stuff, but apparently it is one of those things that everyone thinks is their business. Because the teaching that circumcision should be continued by these men coming up from Judaea goes against what Paul and Barnabas had been teachings, and after some disputing with these men, Paul and Barnabas decided to “go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.” They were going to set the matter straight once and for all with the church leadership. It was probably causing a lot of concern for the converted gentiles, because it’s one thing to have a skilled practitioner perform the circumcision on an 8 day old baby, but it’s something completely different to perform it on a grown man.

On their way to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas “passed through Phenice ad Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.” Once they reached Jerusalem, they debriefed the church leadership on their journeys, then a “sect of the Pharisees which believed” brought up the need for the gentiles who accept the gospel “to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” This man is a Pharisee; he has spent a lifetime in the study of the Mosaic law and clearly knew enough about it to understand that it pointed to the coming of a Messiah. He also was aware enough to recognize the true gospel when he was presented with it, despite most of his colleagues rejecting it. He would have understood the purpose of the law of Moses in preparing the people for the gospel and because he saw the value in it, he would have wanted others to have that opportunity as well. It’s also possible that he wanted to use it as a control over other people.
It’s also possible that he saw the new Christian approach to religion as being more lax and not intensive enough and might have been worried that if not controlled in every aspect of daily life, people might corrupt the religious statutes. The IM says that although these men were probably simply trying to protect the covenant God made with Abraham, “Judaizers (those who wished to retain the law of Moses) failed to understand that circumcision was merely a sign of the covenant rather than the covenant itself… In the new covenant instituted by Jesus Christ, the token of circumcision was replaced by the ordinance of baptism. In a revelation given to Mormon ad recorded in the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ said: ‘The law of circumcision is done away in me’ (Moroni 8:8). The debate over circumcision concerned not only the interpretation and application of doctrine, but also the accepting of new revelation through Church leaders.”
By having these questions or not understanding the changes, these people are not evil or wrong, they had centuries of tradition and commandment on which they had built a solid religious base, and they were just trying to make the change from strictly adherent Judaism to the higher law of Christianity. By coming to Jerusalem to seek a solution and meet with other church leaders about these new topics, the apostles formed a “council” which the IM reminds us “Councils seek revelation from God.” A council is not a dictation from one leader to another, it is not a steam roll of commands, but a meeting of the minds and a desire for the correct guidance from the Holy Ghost.
The IM quotes President Stephen L. Richards as saying, “the genius of our Church government is government through councils… I have no hesitancy in giving you the assurance, if you will confer in council as you are expected to do, God will give you solutions to the problems that confront you… When we act in a united effort, we create spiritual synergism, which is increased effectiveness of achievement as a result of combined action or cooperation, the result of which is greater than the sum of the individual parts.” The most important part here, I think, is that all opinions are heard and considered, no one is considered “unqualified” to be there, because those whom God calls he qualifies.” It is a team effort, with a common goal and the same motivations.
The first question addressed in the council was whether or not the gentiles needed to be circumcised before being admitted into the church. Verse 7 says that “there had been much disputing” which the IM means “members of the council were free to voice their opinions.” Even though it seems to us that they were fighting ad hostile towards each other, we would be more correct in thinking that this was a time when all could speak and be heard and listen. Finally, “Peter rose up” and puts forth his opinion on the matter, which is basically that God had commanded them to take the gospel to the gentiles, which was many years previous, let’s keep in mind. It’s easy to think that all this happened over night because reading can be done so quickly, but at this point we have to remember that there had been gentiles admitted to the Church for several years who had not first been circumcised.
This brings Peter to his next point which is that as the gentiles were baptized in to the church, “and God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” Just like when Peter was given the vision to take the gospel to the gentiles and saw his first gentile convert receive the Holy Ghost after baptism just like he had, then he knew that all were equal in the kingdom. The IM comments that Peter “related how uncircumcised Gentile converts had received he Holy Ghost, proving that God had ‘put no difference between us and them.’ Peter affirmed that circumcision was no a requirement for their salvation. For both Jew and Gentile, salvation came through Jesus Christ.”
Interestingly, Peter makes a statement that I don’t quite understand, asking the members of the council, “why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” In the commentary on Biblehub.com about this verse, we read, “no words of St. Paul’s in relation to the Law, could be stronger or clearer than these. They reproduced our Lord’s own language as to the ‘heavy burdens’ of the Pharisaic traditions and His own ‘easy yoke.’” This is an excellent cross reference to the Savior’s earlier teaching that the man-made tediousness of the law was too much for the people to be expected to do, and it wasn’t spiritually progressive.
The commentaries continue, “Why tempt ye God? –Why provoke him to displeasure? Why, since he has shown his determination to accept them without such rites, do you provoke him by attempting to impose on his own people rites without his authority and against his manifest will? The argument is, that God had already accepted them. To attempt to impose these rites would be to provoke him to anger to introduce observances which he had shown it was his purpose should now be abolished.” Peter is pointing out that most of them had lived under the law of Moses previously, and that it was harmful to their spirituality then, and it would continue that way if it was reinstated.
Hearing Peter’s words, “all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.” The members of the council were thinking about what Peter had said, and because there was no disputation or retort, it was signified that all were in agreement that God desired the gentiles to be accepted into his kingdom without the requirement of circumcision for them. And I would imagine that hearing about the mission Paul and Barnabas just returned from among the gentiles, that would have strengthened the understanding and convincing of the people that this was a new and correct principle for the Church moving forward.