Who were the Pharisees in Acts 15:5 and what did they want?
In Acts 15:5, certain Pharisees who believed rose up and insisted Gentile converts be circumcised and commanded to keep the Law. They did not merely suggest it; they commanded it, attaching salvation to circumcision and Law-keeping. They wanted Gentiles who embraced Paul's Gospel to submit to Moses' rite and Law.
Les teaches that Acts 15 comes about 52 A.D., some 12 years after Peter went to Cornelius and about 15 years after Paul's Damascus road experience. Certain men from Judaea taught Paul's converts, who had recently come out of paganism, that unless they were circumcised after the manner of Moses they could not be saved. Then in verse 5, certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed said it was needful to circumcise the Gentiles, because they had embraced Paul's Gospel and were now trying to pervert it. They did not merely suggest that keeping the Law might make someone a better follower of Christ; they commanded circumcision and Law-keeping, attaching salvation to it.
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.
More Questions
What did the believing Pharisees say at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:5?
At the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:5, some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying it was needful to circumcise the Gentiles and to command them to keep the law of Moses.