But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
5. Certain of the sect of the Pharisees. It is not without cause that Luke expresseth what kind of men they were which went about to trouble or hinder Paul, even at Jerusalem also. And it is to be thought that the evil flowed from that fountain; and that Luke doth now more plainly express, that there brake out now also fans [disturbers] out of...
Even the most flourishing church cannot rest secure. These Judaizers came to Antioch, the stronghold of Gentile Christianity, and insinuated themselves as friends, only to demand that new converts become Jews before they could truly be Christians. It was leaven designed to spread poison through all the Gentile churches.
AI summary
Commenting on Acts 15:1-5
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees,.... Which was the strictest sect of religion among the Jews: which believed; that Jesus was the Messiah, and professed their faith in him, and were members of the church, though they still retained many of their pharisaical tenets, and are therefore said to be of that sect: these rose up in opposition to Paul...