This question, both simple and complicated, is regularly asked by many believers, especially when in the churches, the subject is rarely discussed. Several preachers and teachers brush it aside, being convinced that the question is no longer relevant.
Yet the subject seems to have rocked the early church with the Antioch polemic. Returning from their first missionary journey, the Apostles Paul and Barnabas found themselves faced with a dilemma posed by the Christians of Antioch. Indeed, "Some men from Judea taught the brethren, saying, Unless you be circumcised according to the rite of Moses, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). We do not know precisely who were these men, but they have succeeded in disturbing the tranquility of the brethren in Antioch, and Paul and Barnabas had a discussion with them to clarify matters. And apparently, no one was able to convince the brethren to the point where they decided to set up a delegation to go and consult the Apostles and Elders of Jerusalem, which they did with Paul and Barnabas.
In Jerusalem, there was a kind of General Assembly, since the delegation was received by the « Church, the Apostles and the Elders ». It was an opportunity for the people of Antioch and the two Apostles who accompanied them to recount all that God had accomplished with them, causing the joy of all those present.
Then, former Pharisees who became Christians raised the question of the circumcision of the pagans and the obligation to observe the law of Moses.
To deal with the matter, the Apostles and Elders retired to debate. Peter spoke and recalled how God made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles and that all received the Holy Spirit and salvation by faith. The observance of the law of Moses, according to the Apostle, was "a yoke which neither our fathers nor ourselves could bear". To reinforce his position, Barnabas and Paul recounted the wonders that God wrought among the pagans during their missionary journey. Then it was the turn of James, brother of Jesus, known for his firm positions regarding the observance of the Law, to intervene. According to him, one should not “create difficulties for those pagans who convert to God”. On the other hand, there are essential things to which they must compel themselves, carefully avoiding “the defilements of idols, of fornication, of strangled animals and of blood ».
The consensus having been found, a letter was written for the brethren of Antioch, entrusted to the two Apostles who would be accompanied by Jude and Silas. In this short letter, we can read in substance: "It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no other burden than what is necessary, namely, to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols, from blood , strangled animals, and lewdness, things you will do well to be on your guard against.”
The subject that brought the delegation from Antioch to Jerusalem does not even seem to have been broached. It was included in a more global concern regarding the principle of applying or not the tradition of Moses. The Apostles and Elders seemed more preoccupied with more crucial and fundamental matters. As for the other subjects, James recommended that one address oneself to the persons in charge of the synagogues to treat them: "For for many generations Moses has in every city people who preach him, since he is read every Sabbath day. in the synagogues ».
And for good reason ! If the Apostles have the obligation to clarify the principles of the faith, it is at the local level that the teachings must be given. Believers would not return to Jerusalem each time a controversy is sparked by the interpretation of such and such a subject. It is essential that the synagogue and the local church take care of the teaching of the Scriptures.
This is the example of circumcision. The question, as raised by the brethren of Antioch, does not require the competence of the Apostles to be decided. It is the role of the local church to clarify such matters, "For Moses has people in every city preaching him, since he is read every Sabbath day in the synagogues." , Acts 15:21 tells us. In fact, it is essential to return to the Scriptures as defined by Jesus: The Law, the Psalms and the Prophets.
We thus learn that circumcision was first given to Abraham and not to Moses. "This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you, and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised" said God to Abraham (Acts 17:10). “At the age of eight days, every male among you will be circumcised, according to your generations”. Verse 12. In Acts 7, Jesus accounted that Circumcision has not been given to Moses but to the Patriarchs.
Now, in Antioch, no one questioned the principle of circumcision, but its relation to salvation. What Luke reported to us in Acts 15, "Unless you are circumcised according to the rite of Moses, you cannot be saved" shows that the men who came from Jerusalem without the agreement of the Apostles, had misunderstood the very meaning of the circumcision. First, as we have just seen, circumcision was not given to Moses, but to Abraham. The first having only applied it, even if it had been done in dramatic conditions. Second, circumcision does not guarantee salvation. It is a sign of belonging to the people of God, as specified to the patriarch. What saves is not any ritual, but only faith in the Son of God and his sacrifice on the Cross. Otherwise, all Muslims and all Jews would be saved, since they practice circumcision. And what would have been the use of the sacrifice of Jesus, if it was enough to be circumcised to be saved ? “If you get circumcised, Christ will be of no use to you », said Paul in Galatians 5:2.
God has promised that in the New Covenant it will be our hearts that will be circumcised. By believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we also become children of Abraham. For Paul tells us in the Epistle to the Galatians that "if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise." ". And he adds: "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has value, but faith which works through charity." And further: “For it is nothing to be circumcised or uncircumcised; what is something is to be a new creature”.
Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it and give it its true meaning. Nothing in the Scriptures can lead us to believe that circumcision has been abolished, but in Jesus we have access to a perfected covenant by which we have become children of Abraham and sons and daughters of the living God.
Nabil Z.
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