Galatians 1:18-24
Peter, Paul, and James
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Resurrection of Jesus Appearances
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Acts 15:1-21
Early Christian Council
1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart,showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16 “‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’—
18 things known from long ago.
19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
St. Paul writes to the Galatians that he went to Jerusalem and met two men...St. Paul specifically names meeting with Peter and James...He also writes to the Corinthians about resurrection appearances...St. Paul says that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...St. Paul says this as a matter of fact, which it is to him...Then St. Paul mentions that Jesus after His death had been seen by three men -Peter, James, and himself...When we read St. Luke's account about the Early Christian Leaders of the Jerusalem Council, we also read that St. Peter is at the meeting and speaks to the council, and St. Paul and St. Barnabas speak, and also St. James, brother of Jesus also speaks...I think we can take from all this that Peter, James, and Paul are the three Early Christian Leaders of the Church of Christ or the very First Christian Church...
There are other important figures like St. Barnabas, but it seems that St. James, St. Peter, and St. Paul are leading the way of the gospel of Jesus Christ...And in the verses about these men it says this: The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them....The council shows respect for Barnabas and Paul...When they finished, James spoke up...“Brothers,” he said, “listen to me...Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for His name from the Gentiles...The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent..Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—things known from long ago...“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God...Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood...For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”...It appears in these verses that James has an authority over the council...And James feels he can resolve this matter on circumcision of Gentiles, and no one seems to oppose his authority or the solution he comes up with...No one disputes what he proposes...
In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he writes he went to learn more about Jesus in Jerusalem...So he meets with Peter for fifteen days and then he meets with Jesus' brother James...One thing interesting about these three men is that Paul was originally against Jesus and His followers and persecuted them (Acts 7:58)...Peter had denied Jesus three times before His death (John 18:15-27)....And Jesus brother James, originally did not believe Him (John 7:5)...At one time in each of these three men's lives they were skeptics, and did not believe in Jesus...But after Jesus' death and resurrection, these three men take Him very seriously and lead the Church of Jesus...
So when we today think of skeptics and nonbelievers, we can see even the three key leaders first spreading the gospel had a hard time at one point believing that Jesus, is our LORD and our God...Jesus, it seems like only after His death, did He leave a powerful impact on the three key leaders lives...And when they saw Him (after His death) they were forced and wanted to remember all that He had said, taught, and done and they take it all now so very seriously...They had to, because it is a matter of eternal life, or eternal death...We also can see, in all this, that one of the most important historical facts of mankind (if not the most important historical fact) is the resurrection of Jesus Christ...