Who wrote the account of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15?
Luke wrote the account of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. The text identifies Luke as the historian, not Paul, writing the record. He describes the council at Jerusalem and the dispute over whether Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.
Les teaches that the writer of Acts 15 is not Paul but Luke. In the context, Luke is called the historian, and he is writing the account. The chapter opens with certain men coming down from Judea to Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas had ministered primarily among Gentiles. Those men taught the brethren that unless they were circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved. Les explains this was what Paul was up against, since these people came from Jerusalem with authority as emissaries of the Twelve. Later, at the council in Jerusalem, certain Pharisees who believed rose up saying it was needful to circumcise the Gentile converts and command them to keep the law of Moses. Les notes that the people in Galatia were falling for that, and Paul had to constantly remind them.
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
Where did the men of Acts 15:1 come from and where did they go?
The 'certain men' of Acts 15:1 came down from Judea to Antioch, the city where Paul and Barnabas had been ministering primarily among Gentiles.
When did the events of Acts 15 take place?
Acts 15 took place around 52 A.D., about 12 years after Peter's visit to the house of Cornelius and about 15 years after Paul's Damascus road experience.