Return to Jerusalem

In the previous passage, Paul showed that his Apostleship and message was from God. In the first half of chapter two, he shows that the other Apostles accepted both him and his message. He was not a renegade working alone, but he was a welcome member of the larger Christian community.


This passage begins “Fourteen years after that first visit, Barnabas and I went up to Jerusalem and took Titus with us.” (Galatians 2:1, The Message)

There has been some debate over the circumstances of this visit. The book of Acts records two visits to Jerusalem by Paul that could fit this time frame. The last part of Acts chapter eleven tells us that the Church at Antioch sent Barnabas and Paul to Jerusalem with an offering for the poor saints there. Acts chapter fifteen records the important Jerusalem council. The later seems to fit best.

The Jerusalem council dealt specifically with the issue that Paul is fighting in Galatians. The council debated whether a Gentile believer needed to become Jewish as well as Christian. This would seem the most likely background for what Paul records here in Galatians. If this is the case, Paul does not mention his trip to Jerusalem recorded in Acts eleven simply because it is not relevant to the topic under discussion.

Barnabas and Paul had brought the Gospel to the Galatians so Paul mentions Barnabas here. He also mentions Titus. Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile believer. Paul brought him to Jerusalem for this discussion as an example and test case. If the Jerusalem Apostles accepted Titus as a fellow Christian then Paul’s argument was proven.