“But it has been further inquired why they took Barnabas for Jupiter, and Paul for Mercury. Chrysostom observes, (and after him Mr. Fleming, Christology Vol. II. p. 226,) that the heathens represented Jupiter as an old but vigorous man, of a noble and majestic aspect, and a large robust make, which therefore he supposes might be the form of Barnabas; whereas Mercury appeared young, little, and nimble, as Paul might probably do, since he was yet in his youth. A more probable reason, however, and indeed the true one, (as given by Luke,) is, that Paul was so named, because he was the leading speaker. Now it was well known that Mercury was the god of eloquence. So Horace, Carmen Saeculare, 1, 10, 1. [a]Mercuri facunde nepos Atlantis Qui feros cultus hominum recentum Voce formasti cantus]. Ovid, Fasti, 5, 688. Macrobius, Saturnalia, 8, 8. Hence he is called by Jamblichus, de Mysteriis, θεὸς ὁ των λόγων ἡγεμὼν, a passage exactly the counterpart to the present one, which we may render, ‘for he had led the discourse.’” (Bloomfield’s Annotations, New Testament, Vol. IV. c. xiv. § 12.)
“They called Paul Mercury, because he was the chief speaker,” verse 12. Mercury was the god of eloquence. Justin Martyr says Paul is λόγος ἑρμηνευτικὸς καὶ πάντων διδάσκαλος, the word; that is, the interpreter and teacher of all men. Apology ii. p. 67. Philo informs us that Mercury is called Hermes, ὡς Ἑρμηνέα καὶ προφήτην τῶν θειων, as being the interpreter and prophet of divine things, apud Eusebius, Praeparatio evangelica, Lib. iii. c. 2. He is called by Porphyry παραστατικὸς, the exhibitor or representor of reason and eloquence. Seneca says he was called Mercury, quia ratio penes illum est. De Beneficiis, Lib. iv. cap. 7.——Calmet, Whitby, Stackhouse.
All this pelting and outcry, however, made not the slightest impression on Paul and Barnabas, nor had the effect of deterring them from the work, which they had so unpropitiously carried on. Knowing, as they did, how popular violence always exhausts itself in its frenzy, they without hesitation immediately returned by the same route over which they had been just driven by such a succession of popular outrages. The day after Paul had been stoned and stunned by the people of Lystra, he left that city with Barnabas, and both directed their course eastward to Derbe, where they preached the gospel and taught many. Then turning directly back, they came again to Lystra, then to Iconium, and then to Antioch, in all of which cities they had just been so shamefully treated. In each of these places, they sought to strengthen the faith of the disciples, earnestly exhorting them to continue in the Christian course, and warning them that they must expect to attain the blessings of the heavenly kingdom, only through much trial and suffering. On this return journey they now formally constituted regular worshiping assemblies of Christians in all the places from which they had before been so tumultuously driven as to be prevented from perfecting their good work,——ordaining elders in every church thus constituted, and solemnly, with fasting and prayer, commending them to the Lord on whom they believed. Still keeping the same route on which they had come, they now turned southward into Pamphylia, and came again to Perga. From this place, they went down to Attalia, a great city south of Perga, on the coast of Pamphylia, founded by Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamus. At this port, they embarked for the coast of Syria, and soon arrived at Antioch, from which they had been commended to the favor of God, on this adventurous journey. On their arrival, the whole church was gathered to hear the story of their doings and sufferings, and to this eager assembly, the apostles then recounted all that happened to them in the providence of God, their labors, their trials, dangers, and hair-breadth escapes, and the crowning successes in which all these providences had resulted; and more especially did they set forth in what a signal manner, during this journey, the door of Christ’s kingdom had been opened to the Gentiles, after the rejection of the truth by the unbelieving Jews; and thus happily ended Paul’s first great apostolic mission.
Bishop Pearson here allots three years for these journeys of the apostles, viz. 45, 46, and 47, and something more. But Calmet, Tillemont, Dr. Lardner, Bishop Tomline, and Dr. Hales, allow two years for this purpose, viz. 45 and 46; which period corresponds with our Bible chronology. (Williams on Pearson.)
THE DISPUTES ON THE CIRCUMCISION.
The great apostle of the Gentiles now made Antioch his home, and resided there for many years, during which the church grew prosperously. But at last some persons came down from Jerusalem, to observe the progress which the new Gentile converts were making in the faith; and found, to their great horror, that all were going on their Christian course, in utter disregard of the ancient ordinances of the holy Mosaic covenant, neglecting altogether even that grand seal of salvation, which had been enjoined on Abraham and all the faithful who should share in the blessings of the promise made to him; they therefore took these backsliders and loose converts, to task, for their irregularities in this matter, and said to them, “Unless you be circumcised [♦]according to the Mosaic usage, you can not be saved.” This denunciation of eternal ruin on the Gentile non-conformists, of course made a great commotion among the Antiochians, who had been so hopefully progressing in the pure, spiritual faith of Christ,——and were not prepared by any of the instructions which they had received from their apostolic teachers, for any such stiff subjection to tedious rituals. Nor were Paul and Barnabas slow in resisting this vile imposition upon those who were just rejoicing in the glorious light and freedom of the gospel; and they at once therefore, resolutely opposed the attempts of the bigoted Judaizers to bring them under the servitude of the yoke which not even the Jews themselves were able to bear. After much wrangling on this knotty point, it was determined to make a united reference of the whole question to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, and that Paul and Barnabas should be the messengers of the Antiochian church, in this consultation. They accordingly set out, escorted beyond the city by the church; and passing first directly southward, along the Phoenician coast, they next turned inland through Samaria, everywhere visiting the churches on the route, and making known to them the joyful story of the conversions among the Gentiles of Asia Minor, which was news to the Christians of Palestine, and caused great congratulations among them, at these unexpected triumphs of their common faith. Arriving at Jerusalem, they there, for the first time, gave to the twelve apostles, a detailed account of their long Asian mission; and then brought forward the grand question under debate. As soon as this point was presented, all the obstinate Jewish prejudices of that portion of the church who were of the order of the Pharisees, were instantly aroused,——and with great earnestness they insisted “that it was necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” This first meeting however, adjourned without coming to any conclusion; and the apostles and elders were called together again to consider upon the matter. As soon as they were assembled they all fell to disputing with great violence, and, of course, with no decisive or profitable result; but at last the great apostolic chief rising up, ended the debate with a very clear statement of the results of his own personal experience of the divine guidance in this matter, and with brief but decisive eloquence hushed their clamors, that they might give Barnabas and Paul a chance to declare in what manner God had sanctioned their similar course. The two apostles of the Gentiles then narrated what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the heathen by them. Such was the decisive effect of their exposition of these matters of fact, that all debate was checked at once; and James himself, the great leader of the Judaical order, rose to express his perfect acquiescence in the decision of the apostolic chief and the Hellenists. His opinion was, that only so much conformity to the Mosaic institutions should be required of the Gentile converts, as they might without inconvenience submit to, out of respect to the old covenant, and such observances as were necessary for the moral purity of a professing Christian of any nation. The whole assembly concurred; and it was resolved to dispatch two select persons out of their own company, to accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, and thus by their special commission, enforce the decision of the apostolic and presbyterial council. The decision of the council was therefore committed to writing, in a letter which bore high testimony to the zeal and courage of Barnabas and Paul, as “men who had hazarded their lives for the sake of the gospel,”——and it was announced as the inspired decision of the apostles, elders and brethren, that the Gentile converts should not be troubled with any greater burden than these necessary things:——“That you abstain from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication;” and if they should only keep themselves from these, they would do well. Jude and Silas were the envoys commissioned with the charge of this epistle, and accordingly accompanied Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch.
[♦] “acccording” replaced with “according”
“Those who maintained this position were Jews, of the sect of the Pharisees, Acts, xv. 5, converted to Christianity, but still too zealous for the observance of the law; and their coming immediately from Judea might make it rather believed, that the necessity of circumcision, in order to salvation, was a tenet of the apostles. The Jews themselves indeed were of different opinions in this matter, even as to the admission of a man into their religion. For some of them would allow those of other nations who owned the true God, and practised moral duties, to live quietly among them, and even without circumcision, to be admitted into their religion; whilst others were decidedly opposed to any such thing. Thus Josephus tells us that when Izates, the son of Helen, queen of Adiabene, embraced the Jews’ religion, Ananias, who converted him, declared that he might do it without circumcision; but Eleazer, another eminent Jew, maintained, that it was a great impiety in such circumstances, to remain uncircumcised; and this difference of opinion continued among the Jewish Christian converts, some allowing Gentiles to become converts to Christianity, without submitting to circumcision and the Jewish law: whilst others contended that without circumcision, and the observance of the law, their profession of the Christian faith would not save them.” (Stackhouse from Whitby and Beausobre.)
“It is very evident, that this is the same journey to which the apostle alludes in Galatians ii. First, from the agreement of the history here and the apostle’s relation in the epistle, as that ‘he communicated to them the gospel, which he preached among the Gentiles,’ Galatians ii. 2. which he now did, Acts xv. 4. That circumcision was not then judged necessary to the Gentiles, verse 3, as we find, Acts xv. 24, ‘that, when they saw the gospel of uncircumcision was committed to him, they gave to him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship,’ Galatians ii. 9, as they did here, sending their very decree with one consent to the Gentiles, ‘by the hands of Paul and Barnabas,’ Acts xv. 22, 25, who were received by the ‘whole church,’ verse 4. and styled beloved,’ verse 25.
“Secondly, it appears unlikely that the apostle, writing this epistle about nine years after this council, should make no mention of a thing so advantageous to a cause he is pleading here, and so proper to confute the pretenses of the adversaries he disputes against. And,