Acts 21:25

We wrote (epesteilamen). First aorist active of epistellw, to send to and so to write like our epistle (epistolh). Old verb, but in the N.T. only here and Acts 15:20 ; Hebrews 13:22 . It is the very word used by James in this "judgment" at the Conference ( Acts 15:20 , episteilai). B D here read apesteilamen from apostellw, to send away, to give orders. Wendt and Schuerer object to this as a gloss. Rather is it an explanation by James that he does not refer to the Gentile Christians whose freedom from the Mosaic ceremonial law was guaranteed at the Jerusalem Conference. James himself presided at that Conference and offered the resolution that was unanimously adopted. James stands by that agreement and repeats the main items (four: anything sacrificed to idols, blood, anything strangled, fornication, for discussion see Acts 15:1 ff.) from which they are to keep themselves (direct middle pulassesqai of pulassw, indirect command after krinante with accusative, autou, of general reference). James has thus again cleared the air about the Gentiles who have believed (pepisteukotwn, perfect active participle genitive plural of pisteuw). He asks that Paul will stand by the right of Jewish Christians to keep on observing the Mosaic law. He has put the case squarely and fairly.