Acts 15:1
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
"Down from Judaea" indicates that these men came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Although Jerusalem and Judaea is south of Antioch the record says these men came down from Judaea. Jerusalem was built upon hills and was the location of the Temple of Solomon. When people go to Jerusalem in the book of Acts it always says that they go "up to Jerusalem." When people leave Jerusalem in the book of Acts it always says they come "down from Jerusalem or Judaea." It does not matter which direction people are heading.
These "believers" came to Antioch from Jerusalem and told those Gentiles who had believed under the ministry of Paul and Barnabas that they had to be circumcised and keep the law or they could not be saved. The church in Jerusalem had acknowledged the Word of God regarding the ONE BODY and the salvation of the Gentiles around 15 years before this record when the Apostle Peter went to the house of Cornelius! However, the Judean believers had continued to keep the law and had never "in practice" accepted the gospel of the grace of God.
Galatians 2:1-2a
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.
And I went up by revelation, . . .
The Biblical research principle of narrative development must be used to get the whole picture of what happened at this critical time in the book of Acts. Acts 15:2 makes it sound like Paul and Barnabas just decided in their own minds to approach the church in Jerusalem regarding the question of law or grace. This record also just tells us that they took one other person with them. Paul's account in the epistle to the Galatians adds much light in telling us that Paul went to Jerusalem "by revelation." He went because God told him to go. It also tells us that he and Barnabas took Titus, an uncircumcised Gentile believer, with them so that the church at Jerusalem could see the grace of God without the law "first hand."
Acts 15:3
And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Penice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
"By the church" indicates that the believers paid the bill for Barnabas, Paul, and Titus to travel to Jerusalem. On their way they declared what they had been teaching in Antioch and the great grace of God toward the Gentiles who had heard the Word of God and been saved by believing without the works of the law. Even though they were going to Jerusalem about the question of law or grace, Paul was well established in the truth of the gospel of the grace of God that had been revealed to him and he was bold in holding it forth along the way.
Gladly
Acts