Asbury Bible Commentary – C. Return to Antioch (15:30-35)
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C. Return to Antioch (15:30-35)

C. Return to Antioch (15:30-35)

With the return to Antioch, the Jerusalem church has appeared for the last time in Acts. Even when Paul returns to Jerusalem for a final visit, there is only a passing reference to the Christians in Jerusalem (21:20). Antioch, and especially Paul’s missions from Antioch, now take center stage as Luke portrays Christianity’s outreach to the Hellenistic Roman world. Not only has God had to move beyond the old covenant community to fulfill the new covenant, but God also has had to move beyond the limitations of the Jewish Christian community to extend the new covenant to the Gentiles. There should be lessons here for any denomination or group that begins to believe it has the last word on how the presence, power, and purpose of God are fulfilled in the world.