It is true that Peter once before denied his own affirmed principles, but that was when he was younger, when he was a mere pupil, when a terrible strain was put on him ; but this denial is supposed to have been made when he was in the maturity of his power, after he had experienced the quickening sense of responsi- bility as a leader of the Church for many years, and after his mind and will had been enlarged and strength- ened at the great Pentecost (see p. 365).
Further, according to the view stated by Lightfoot, the feeble action of Peter and Barnabas in Antioch
1 66 The Apostolic Council. Chap. VII.
produced lasting consequences : it " may have prepared the way for the dissension between Paul and Barnabas which shortly afterwards led to their separation. From this time forward they never appear again associated together." If it was so serious, the total omission of it by Luke becomes harder to understand and reconcile with the duty of a historian ; whereas, if it was (as we suppose) a mere hesitation when the question was first put explicitly, it was not of sufficient consequence to demand a place in his history.
Peter's visit to Antioch was not of the same charac- ter as his visits to Samaria and other Churches at an earlier time, in which he was giving the Apostolic ap- proval to the congregations established there. The first visit of Barnabas to Antioch, followed by the Anti- ochian delegation to Jerusalem (XI 28, XII 25), and the recognition of Paul and Barnabas as Apostles {Gal. II 9), had placed Antioch on a recognised and inde- pendent basis (XIII 1). In Luke's view, therefore, as in Paul's, Peter's visit was not a step in the development of the Church in Antioch, as Barnabas's had been.
3. THE COUNCIL. (XV 4) AND WHEN THEY WERE COME TO JERUSALEM, THEY WERE RECEIVED BY THE CHURCH AND THE APOSTLES AND THE ELDERS, AND THEY REHEARSED ALL THINGS THAT GOD HAD DONE WITH THEM. (5) BUT THERE ROSE UP CERTAIN OF THE SECT OF THE PHARISEES WHO BELIEVED, SAYING, " IT IS NEEDFUL TO CIRCUMCISE THEM, AND TO CHARGE THEM TO KEEP THE LAW OF MOSES". (6) AND THE APOSTLES AND THE ELDERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER TO CONSIDER OF THIS MATTER. (7) AND WHEN THERE HAD BEEN MUCH DISCUSSION,
Sec. 3. The Council. 167
PETER ROSE AND SPOKE. ... (l2) AND ALL THE MULTITUDE KEPT SILENCE ; AND THEY HEARKENED UNTO BARNABAS AND PAUL, WHO REHEARSED WHAT SIGNS AND WONDERS GOD HAD WROUGHT AMONG THE NATIONS BY THEM. (13) AND AFTER THEY HAD CEASED, JAMES SPOKE.
At Jerusalem there occurred in the first place a general meeting of the Church as a whole to receive and welcome the delegates. The Apostles and the Elders are specified as taking part in the meeting ; and the separate article before each name implies distinct action of each body. At this meeting the delegates explained the circumstances which had caused then mission ; and the extreme members of the Judaising party, who are described here as Pharisees, stated their view forthwith.
A mark of the developed situation since Paul's last visit must be noted in v. 4. Paul and Barnabas now expound in a formal and public way all their missionary experience ; but on their previous visit, Paul privately submitted to the leaders of the Church his views as to missionary enterprise.
Thereupon, a special meeting of the Apostles and the Elders was held to consider the matter, and a long dis- cussion took place. Peter delivered a speech in favour of complete freedom for the new converts ; and the effect which he produced was shown by the patient hearing accorded to Barnabas and to Paul, as they recounted the proofs of Divine grace and Divine action in the Gentile congregations : these congregations fulfilled the test that God was with them. Thus, the course of the meeting was very similar to the discussion that followed