Galatians 2:1-10 – a verse by verse devotional commentary

Main Reading: Galatians 2:1-10

“Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

When you read that passage, one theme jumps out so often that it’s borderline uncomfortable. Circumcision. Before we go any further into Galatians, we should probably stop and address this. To do that, let's to go back to the life of Abraham, which was nothing short of eventful!

God called Abram to leave his hometown and promised to make him a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3). During a famine, Abram went to Egypt and told Pharaoh Sarai was his sister (Gen. 12:10–20). To avoid conflict, Abram and his nephew, Lot, part ways, and divvy up the land (Gen. 13:5-18). Abram defeats a group of kings to rescue Lot (Gen. 14:1-16). Abram meets a priest, named Melchizedek (Gen. 14:17-20). God visits Abram, promises descendants as many as the stars, & cuts a covenant with him (Gen. 15). Taking the advice of his wife, Abram sleeps with Hagar and has a son, Ishmael (Gen. 16:1–16). And then, after all that, God renames Abram and introduces circumcision (Gen. 17:1–14).

There’s still much more to Abraham’s story after this, but it’s safe to say that this moment left a mark on him—circumcision pun intended. God had promised to give Abraham—a 99-year old, mind you—a son and a multitude of nations. So, it’s fitting that the sign of God’s promise to Abraham would be on his reproductive organ.

And it’s understandable that Abraham’s descendants would want to keep and require this practice, which was instituted by God generations before. But somewhere down the line, circumcision had become, for the Jews, less about God’s promise and more about their pride. Looking down on anyone because they aren’t circumcised, or refusing to have fellowship with Gentiles, doesn’t line up with the gospel. And in this section of Galatians, Paul’s gonna prove it with a real-life scenario.

v. 1 – “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me”

The first thing we read in chapter two is “after 14 years…” and, well, 14 years after what? I think it’s best to hear this as the total number of years since Paul’s conversion but it could be the amount of time that had passed since his stay in Arabia. Whatever it was, 14 years had passed, and Paul is making his way up to Jerusalem. “Up”—not north, because Jerusalem was in the south, but “up” because the city was on a mountain. Some people think this trip is a reference to a council meeting in Jerusalem in Acts 15, but I think that event happened later… Remember, Paul's preaching in Galatia took place in Acts 13, and he accused them of “so quickly” turning away from the gospel (Gal. 1:6). Here, it sounds like Paul is giving us an overview of his own history, from his calling as an apostle until now, and he hasn’t reached the most recent events yet. So, I think Paul’s referencing an earlier trip to Jerusalem, perhaps this one:

“So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:29-30)

“And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark” (Acts 12:25).

Tagging along with Paul for this journey are Titus & Barnabas. Titus was a Greek, and one of Paul’s dearest and best students. Just listen to how he addresses him via letter. “To Titus, my true child in a common faith” (Titus 1:4). Barnabas, Paul’s trusty coworker, was a Jew, and he’d been there since Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:27)! He went with Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 11:19-26), and he was specifically called by the Holy Spirit to be a missionary. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).

v. 2 – “I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.”

Whichever event brought Paul to Jerusalem, we know the true reason why he was there. Paul was compelled by a revelation from God to go meet with the other apostles. It wasn’t Peter or another church leader who summoned Paul, but a divine instruction. While he was there, he gave a presentation to Peter and the others that went into detail about the Gospel he’d been preaching. He wanted to make sure all his work was not “in vain," or useless. See, if Paul had been traveling around saying one thing, and Peter or James had been preaching something contrary, they would just end up canceling each other out. But the good news is, all of the leaders agreed on what the Good News was! Paul didn’t get the gospel from the apostles, but once they met, they agreed on what he said. We’ll hear more about this as we move on.

v. 3-5 – “But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”

It’s funny how there was a rising movement of people in the church, who claimed to have authority to force people to live like Jews, get circumcised, eat kosher, recognize Sabbaths & feast days, etc. And yet, the apostles—you know, the leaders established by Jesus Himself—weren’t forcing anyone to get circumcised. And we have a real life example of this: Titus. If the apostles didn’t require Titus to undergo outpatient surgery, why should anyone else be campaigning to cut off his foreskin?

Well, the sad truth is that there were some people who claimed to be Christians but refused to have fellowship with anyone who didn’t have the same anatomy as they did “down there”… Paul calls them “false brothers”—meaning not actual Christians—who snuck in. And why did they creep into the Church? “To spy out our freedom.” Billy Graham’s grandson once said: “The Church should be filled with such freedom that religious people leave and sinners have their noses pressed up against our stained glass windows to see how they can join the party.”

But instead of these spies desiring to share freedom, they were looking to shut it down! Like the spies that were sent into Canaan, who looked into the Promised Land and said: “It looks dangerous in here,” these intruders looked at Christians living apart from the Old Covenant and said: “Uh uh, no way, we can’t allow people to live like this!”

Much of Paul’s letter to the Galatians will focus on Christian freedom (2:4, 5:1, 13). And Jesus Himself said He came to set you free (Jn. 8:31-36). But there were imposters looking to put everyone in the church in chains. Thankfully, for sake of everyone who needs to hear the true Gospel—and that’s everyone—Paul didn’t give in to these guys at all!

Now, Paul’s the kind of preacher who was willing to relate to Jews as a Jew and to Greeks as a Greek. He says: “I’ve become all things to all men in order to save some,” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Paul was comfortable around all kinds of people with all kinds of cultures, but as soon as someone made their particular practice a requirement, Paul says “Uh uh!”

As Christians, it can be good for us to have traditions, like celebrating religious holidays. We can have certain rituals, practices, or disciplines, such as fasting. We can even have personal commitments and convictions, like choosing to abstain from alcohol. But…as soon as someone says: “you’re not a true Christian, unless…” Paul makes it sound like we are obligated to do the opposite! If a Christian pulls you aside and says: “You can’t dance! You can’t play cards! You can’t have drums in church,” and they don’t have a verse in-context to prove it, you must dance all the more, host a bingo night, and turn up the music! You can’t give an inch to people who sneak in their own standards, or else they’ll take you for a mile.

Imagine what the gospel would sound like now if down through the centuries, people had been allowed to tack on their own preferences and prerequisites. Sadly, in some cases, you don’t have to imagine…in some corners of Christianity, the pure gospel has become so hard to find or identify. But that wasn’t the case among Paul and the apostles!

v. 6-9 – “And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for He who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

Now, imagine this: Paul—the ex-persecutor—meeting Peter & James for the first time. The tension. The suspense. Perhaps the suspicion. So, how did this meeting go?

When the other apostles heard what Paul was preaching about the Christian faith, they added nothing to it—instead, they shook his hand! And the point is—if Peter, James, & John weren’t adding to the gospel, what gives you or anyone else the right? Now, it's not like those guys were better than anyone in and of themselves…

Paul’s main reason for mentioning the other apostles is that some people were claiming “Peter told us to do this, you know!” in order to give their teaching about circumcision more weight. But Paul proves that this wasn't the case.

He adds the detail that “God shows no partiality”—this, of course, is a fitting quote or reference to an experience that Peter had. “And Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.’ So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality’” (Acts 10:30-34).

The fact is this: the apostles were on the same page when it came to the Gospel. Peter & Paul had the same message, but for the most part, different audiences. Paul was sent to the Gentiles and Peter to the Hebrews. (Although each of them preached to both groups several times). The divvying up of responsibilities between Peter and Paul for the Jews and Gentiles was probably more regional than racial.

v. 10 – “Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

The only request the other apostles made for Paul was that he, and everyone with him or listening to his teaching, remembered the poor. And Paul was going to do that anyway!

Now, in this context, “the poor” likely refers to a specific situation. All throughout the New Testament, you’ll see hints that the Church in Jerusalem was very poor. Paul mentions this at the end of his letter to the Romans (16:26), and he even takes up a collection for them in Acts 11:29.

Now, why would that church in particular have become so poor in the first place? Think about it: they were in Jerusalem—the headquarters for all things Judaism. And all of a sudden a group of people in that city is talking about Jesus & freedom from the Law?! They undoubtedly faced a great deal of persecution, some from Paul himself earlier on, and, on top of that, a famine struck this part of the world (Acts 11:30), making matters worse.

Since this discussion between Paul, Peter, & the others dealt with Jew/Gentile relations, I’m willing to bet that Peter said: “Hey, we love what you’re preaching! Go on your way! But don’t forget about the Christians in Jerusalem—help us take care of them!” This was something Paul wanted to do! And we know Barnabas also had a desire to help the poor (Acts 4:36-37).

Not only was Paul eager to do and teach this—he actually followed through. “Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do” (1 Corinthians 16:1). These are the kinds of good works Christians are supposed to do! Not ones that supposedly benefit ourselves…not attempts to move ourselves up God's ladder…Instead, just as when Jesus did good, we received the benefit, now when we do good, our neighbors—others—benefit.

Paul was zealous for doing good deeds, he just wasn’t banking his salvation on them! Our hope in eternal life doesn’t rest in how much activity we do or how many mouths we feed, but we do these things out of freedom and love! And the freedom that we have results in a willingness and an ability to do good to others.