What did the men from Judea tell the Gentile believers in Antioch?
Certain men from Judea taught the Gentile believers in Antioch that unless they were circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved. These Jewish believers, still saturated with the law, sought to bring Paul’s Gentile converts under it.
Les explains that Acts 15:1 is a direct parallel to what Paul reports in Galatians 2. Certain men came down from Judea and taught the Gentile believers at Antioch that except they be circumcised after the manner of Moses, they cannot be saved. He notes this was about 52 AD, roughly 22 or 23 years after Pentecost. These Jewish believers at Jerusalem were still so saturated with the law that they tried to bring Paul’s Gentile believers at Antioch under it, because they could not fathom that the God of Abraham would go to those pagans and bring them salvation without bringing them under the law of Israel.
And 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.
More Questions
What did the Judaizers from Judaea teach the Gentile converts in Acts 15:1?
The Judaizers who came down from Judaea taught Paul's recent Gentile converts that unless they were circumcised after the manner of Moses they could not be saved.