Chapter 19—Meeting with the Elders
“And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us
gladly.” Thus Luke describes the reception of the apostle to the Gentiles
on his arrival at Jerusalem. Although Paul everywhere encountered
prejudice, envy, and jealousy, he also found hearts that were open to
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receive the glad tidings which he brought, and that loved him for the
sake of Christ and the truth. Yet, cheering as was the kindly greeting
he received, it could not remove his anxiety as to the attitude of the
church at Jerusalem toward himself and his work. Their real feelings
would be more fully seen in the meeting with the elders of the church,
to take place on the morrow.
Paul longed to be fully united with these. He had done all in his
power to remove the prejudice and distrust so unjustly excited because
he presented the gospel to the Gentiles without the restrictions of the
ceremonial law. Yet he feared that his efforts might be in vain, and
that even the liberal offerings of which he was the bearer might fail to
soften the hearts of the Jewish brethren. He knew that the men whom
he was to encounter were persons of great firmness and decision, and
he looked forward with considerable apprehension to this meeting
with them; yet he could not avoid the ordeal, trying though it might
be. He had come to Jerusalem for no other purpose than to remove the
barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding which had separated them,
and which had so greatly obstructed his labors.
On the day following Paul’s arrival, the elders of the church, with
James at their head, assembled to receive him and his fellow-travelers
as messengers from the Gentile churches. Paul’s first act was to
present the contributions with which he had been intrusted. He had
been careful to guard against the least occasion for suspicion in the
administration of his trust, by causing delegates to be elected by the
several churches to accompany him as joint trustees of the funds
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collected. These brethren were now called forward, and one by one
they laid at the feet of James the offerings which the Gentile churches
had freely given, although often from their deepest poverty. Here was
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