James Acknowledged St. Peter’s Exegesis In Acts 15

Our video called Did St. Paul Really Rebuke St. Peter In Galatians 2? covers many important points that are relevant to the biblical proof for the Papacy. One of those, which is explained below, is a particular term that James used about Peter’s statement at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. Concerning Peter’s unique role in the incorporation of the Gentiles, Acts 15:7 says this about St. Peter’s actions at the Council of Jerusalem:

“And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose from among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.’” – Acts 15:7

As the visible head of the Church, Peter spoke first and pronounced the definitive doctrinal decision at the Council. Contrary to what some say, it was Peter, not James, who made the decisive doctrinal statement at the Council.  Peter proclaimed that gentile converts do not need to be burdened with the yoke of circumcision and all the requirements of the Old Law. 

Peter said: “… and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?  But through the grace of the Lord Jesus we believe them also to be saved in the same manner.” – Acts 15:9-11

When Peter ended his speech in Acts 15:11, the very next verse (Acts 15:12) says:

“Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul…”

Scripture mentions the silence immediately after Peter’s words finish. This indicates that the multitude recognized the authority of St. Peter’s decision and position. As non-Catholic commentator on Acts Darrell L. Bock admitted: “The assembly became silent (ἐσίγησεν, esigēsen) as a result of Peter’s remarks (an ingressive aorist, Moulton and Turner 1963: 71).” (Darrell L. Bock, Acts, 15:12.).

The particular proposal made by James, the local bishop of Jerusalem, that Gentile converts should abstain from food that has been sacrificed to idols, from blood and from what has been strangled, which the Apostles decided to adopt, was a recommendation involving Church discipline, not dogma. It was a disciplinary measure adopted by the Church for that particular apostolic period, in which a single Church of Christ was forming from those who had observed the Old Law and Gentiles who had not. However, it did not bind for all of Church history, unlike Peter’s dogmatic declaration about incorporating Gentiles into the Church. Thus, Peter proclaimed the key doctrinal truth that would stand for all of Church history, not James. 

In the first part of James’ speech, he makes reference to what Simon Peter had already said.

Acts 15:14- James said: “Simeon has expounded how God first visited to take from the Gentiles a people for his name…”

Using the Hebrew form of Simon (‘Simeon’), James refers to St. Peter’s speech near the beginning of his speech; yet, when Peter began to speak, he didn’t reference any other man. He simply mentioned how God chose him. Further, when James says Simeon ’expounded’, the verb used in Greek is ἐξηγήσατo, a form of ἐξηγέομαι. The verb can mean to expound or relate, and it was often used in antiquity for purporting to reveal divine things. In fact, each time the verb is used in the New Testament, it refers to those who are reporting acts or statements of God or Heaven. The term ’exegesis’ (ἐξήγησις in Greek) derives from the verb ἐξηγέομαι. Thus one could translate Acts 15:14 as: “Simeon has exegeted how God first visited to take from the Gentiles a people for his name”.

A Protestant commentator named Adolph Schlatter noted that Josephus (the ancient historian) used the verb as a “technical term for the interpretation of the law as practiced by the rabbinate”. The New Testament uses the verb six times, including for how Cornelius made the angel’s message known, and for how Paul and Barnabas, after Peter’s speech at the Council, related God’s miracles in Acts 15:12. So, when James references Peter’s speech near the beginning of his speech, he describes Peter’s statement as an exegesis of God’s revelation on the Gentile issue. That exegesis came first at the Council after Peter stood up and it silenced the assembly.

There are also the striking parallels between St. Peter’s role at the Council in Acts 15 and King David’s role at an assembly in Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 28.  They are discussed in the video mentioned above on Galatians 2 and in our video called The Bible Proves The Papacy.