In today’s passage, Paul will continue to recount the events from fourteen years earlier, when he had visited the church leaders in Jerusalem to discuss the issue of circumcision and the gospel.

6 But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism —those leaders added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. 8 For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.

9 And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Mercy Saw

Two things stand out to me from today’s passage. Firstly, Paul emphasises that God is the one behind his mission. He points out that the church leaders who people esteemed as the “original” apostles had not added to or changed Paul’s message. Instead, Paul had received the gospel directly from God. The church leaders recognised that Paul’s gospel was the same as theirs, and his authority came from God entrusting him to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised Gentiles.

This encourages me especially when thinking about sharing the gospel with others. Often when thinking about evangelism, we can esteem certain engaging big-name preachers or charismatic personalities who are good with words. I tend to look down on my own efforts and feel that they are small in comparison to those who seem more gifted. While we are not apostles and don’t have the same authority as they were given, we too have been entrusted with the gospel and the task to share this good news with those around us. We show God’s authority when we faithfully pass on the gospel to others, and can have confidence that God is the one at work by his grace through our efforts.

Secondly, the apostles were united in their mission of bringing the gospel to all people, circumcised or uncircumcised. They recognised that God’s gospel of grace welcomes in those who are far off and unites us all together as those receiving his forgiveness in Christ. This reminds me how radical it is that God’s promises to his chosen people in the Old Testament are now freely accessible to all who put our trust in Jesus. This also reminds us as Christians to keep basing our unity on belonging to Christ and our shared mission of going out to make disciples all of nations. This includes continuing to prioritise welcoming those who may seem like outsiders, and ensuring that our gospel message is backed by our practical love and care for those in need.

Let's give thanks to Jesus for the way his death has extended God’s salvation to Gentiles like us, and keep asking for his power to be at work in us as we share this good news.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mercy is a member of our Fairfield Morning congregation.