Bible Strands
Acts 15:4
On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul and Barnabas arrive in Jerusalem and are welcomed by the local church, apostles, and elders, to whom they deliver a report. This occurs immediately after their journey through Phoenicia and Samaria and directly precedes the debate over Gentile circumcision.
The words — παραγενόμενοι (paragenomenoi) denotes "having come" or arriving, while παρεδέχθησαν (paredechthēsan) carries the passive sense of "they were received" or welcomed. These terms frame the narrative shift from travel to communal reception.
The thread — The pattern of missionaries reporting God's work to the church appears in Acts 14:27, while the Jerusalem assembly's attentive listening continues in Acts 15:12. This reporting sequence directly precedes the Pharisaic demand for circumcision in Acts 15:5.
Why it lands — The text records a factual account of apostolic reporting to church leadership upon arrival in Jerusalem. It establishes the procedural step of accountability before addressing the theological conflict over Mosaic law.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Acts 14:27 When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
- Acts 15:12 The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
- Acts 15:3 Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
- Acts 21:17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us joyfully.
- Romans 15:18 I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
- Matthew 10:40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
- Acts 18:27 When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
- Acts 21:19 Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
- Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.