What did the believing Pharisees demand at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:5?
The believing Pharisees demanded that Gentile converts be circumcised and commanded to keep the Law of Moses, insisting this was necessary for salvation. They did not merely suggest it; they commanded it, attaching salvation to circumcision and Law-keeping, thereby perverting Paul's Gospel.
Les teaches that in Acts 15:5, certain Pharisees who believed rose up and said it was needful to circumcise the Gentile converts and to command them. These Gentiles had embraced Paul's Gospel, but the Judaizers were trying to pervert it. Les emphasizes they did not merely suggest Law-keeping as a way to be a better follower of Christ; they commanded it and attached salvation to it. This matches Acts 15:1, where men from Judaea taught that unless you are circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. Les notes this occurred around 52 A.D., some twelve years after Peter's visit to Cornelius and fifteen years after Paul's Damascus road experience, showing the issue persisted years after Pentecost. He also observes that many regular church attendees do not know this is in their Bible.
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.