²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, ²³and they sent this letter by them, “The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. ²⁴Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, ²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: ²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

This is the first recorded letter to the churches in the New Testament and was particularly written to the new churches in Galatia. Many (though not all) commentators think Paul’s letter to the Galatians may have been written at this time and refers to the same situation that caused the Jerusalem Council. Regardless, the letter is a tremendous example of a letter of appeal or instruction. We draw attention to only a few salient points:

First, the letter was accompanied by verbal affirmation by “leading men among the brethren.” The apostles and elders at the Jerusalem church communicated their instructions by written and spoken word. In our day of electronic text communication, we do well to stress the benefits of dealing with conflict face to face.

Second, the letter affirmed the perspective of Paul and Barnabas, identified as “men who have risked their lives,” emphasizing the cost they paid to spread the message of grace.

Third, the letter carried the decision of “apostles and brethren who are elders,” men recognized as leaders, not just some disgruntled voices speaking on their own authority.

Fourth, the letter from the Jerusalem council recognized the recipients as “brethren . . . who are from the Gentiles.” This showed respect and acceptance of Gentiles into God’s family. Apart from circumcision and the Law of Moses, they were “brothers” in Christ with Jewish believers. Truly, as Paul wrote to the Galatians, “In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek . . .” (Gal. 3:28).

Lord, may we all, as believers in Christ, be one in our treatment of each other.