The Greatest Missionary Report in the History of the Church

Most of us who have spent a significant portion of our lives in an evangelical, Bible-believing church are used to hearing missionary reports. According to the usual pattern of things, local churches give monthly financial support to many missionaries, and each missionary is expected to return to his supporting churches every four years or so to give a report of what he has done while serving as a missionary. Often these reports include an impassioned call for people in the sending church to become missionaries themselves. Many missionaries say that they were originally inspired to do missionary work through the testimony of a missionary who spoke at their church.

Many modern missionaries have delivered extraordinary reports of God’s work through them in foreign lands, and have motivated new generations of missionaries. But for the most impactful missionary report ever told, we must turn to chapter 15 of the book of Acts….When Paul and Barnabas returned from their successful missionary journey, they first gave a report of their mission work to the church at Antioch, which had commissioned them (Acts:14:26-28 [26] And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. [27] And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. [28] And there they abode long time with the disciples.
See All...). But trouble quickly arose, when Christians with a background in rabbinic Judaism came to Antioch and began to argue that the Gentiles who had believed through the work of Paul and Barnabas had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses (Acts:15:1And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
See All...). Paul and Barnabas were unable to convince these “Judaizers” otherwise (Acts:15:2When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
See All...).

While schism in the church is, in itself, a bad thing, this particular quarrel resulted in something very positive, for it led the church at Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas to meet with the apostles and elders at Jerusalem (Acts:15:2-3 [2] When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. [3] And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
See All...). There at Jerusalem, a church council was called to resolve the theological dispute (Acts:15:4-6 [4] And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. [5] But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. [6] And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
See All...). One positive result of this council was the promulgation of an official statement by the church on the issue of salvation by grace through faith, apart from the works of the Law (Acts:15:22-29 [22] Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: [23] And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: [24] Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: [25] It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, [26] Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. [27] We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. [28] For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; [29] That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
See All...). But the detailed report given by Paul and Barnabas to the other apostles of the mass conversion of Gentiles through their Spirit-empowered ministry (Acts:15:12Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
See All...) had another very significant result.

When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem early in AD 49, they found the original group of Twelve apostles (minus James the brother of John, who had been murdered) still living in Jerusalem, ministering to the Jewish church that was there (Acts:15:6And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
See All...; cf. Acts:8:1And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
See All...). Peter had had a temporary ministry in some coastal towns in Palestine, but had returned to Jerusalem. The apostles basically had not moved at all from the place where the church had originally begun. They knew that Jesus had commanded them to take the gospel to the farthest parts of the earth (Acts:1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
See All...), but in the sixteen years since Jesus’ resurrection their missionary efforts had not advanced beyond Jerusalem.

It is evident from church history, as well as from circumstantial evidence in the New Testament, that, shortly after Paul and Barnabas left Jerusalem, the other apostles followed Paul’s lead and scattered…to take the good news about Jesus Christ to the whole world, some traveling as far as Ethiopia (Matthew) and India (Thomas). It seems that it suddenly occurred to the apostles that it was indeed possible for a Gentile church to exist apart from Jewish support. Paul’s stories of the rejection of the gospel by the Jews and the acceptance of the gospel by the Gentiles must have made the other apostles decide that the time had come for them to give up on their efforts to reform institutional Judaism through a mass conversion of the Jews, and to instead focus on building up the church as a transnational entity. They were also stirred up and impassioned by the missionary report given by Paul and Barnabas, and they determined to go forth and do the same sort of work themselves.

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