The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 98

the Gentiles." In connection with his call there was given the facb,of the Mcssinhehip of Jesus, but there was also needed the expansion of its meaning. So it was the ,goou pleasure of God, not only to give him an outward appearance, but an inward revelation. The revelation of God's Son here is to be identified with the revelatiQn of Jesus Christ in the twelfth verse. It probably succeeded, as it was based on, ~he appearance of Jesus. It was not a natural excogitation, but a supernatural communication to his min~ of the great truths about Christ. It was this, that he might be Jittedfor preaching Christ among the Gentiles. _III. THE PERIOD FOLLOWING THE CRISIS OF HIS LIFE. "Immediately I conferred not ~-,th flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were, apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus." So satisfying were t-he communications made to him by God that he needed nothin.,. from man. Immediately (made emphatic by position) he conferred not with fle;h and blood; neither went he up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles (as th'll.lgh he needed to get authority or instruction from them); but he Wt!nt away into '3.ra.bia. The retirement is mentioned to show that, during a most important period, .he kept away from Jerusalem. His first attempts at Damascus seem to have convincer! him of the need of lengthened preparation for his work. In silent comm.union with God he sought what the other apostles got in a three years' course of training under Christ. He had to adjust himself to the new situation; he had to .recast his thoughts. The contents of the gospel, which had been supernaturally communicated to him, had in a natural way to be exa.mined and inwrought with his own thoughts .. The fac.ts con- nected with the earthly manifestation of Christ had to be gone over and assigned their place in his thoughts. If we are to suppose him drawn to the sceno of the giving of the Law (as is suggested in the fourth chapter), he would be helped thereby to read the old in the light of the new. He had withal to brace his own soul i11 the new truth against all contingencies connected with his work. After his retirement he returned to the Christian circle at Damascus, only, however, to be compelled to leave. it after a brief experience of preaching. , IV. THE PERIOD OF ms· n&sT VISIT TO J EBUSALEM. Four. facts to which he attach!ld importance as showing that his independence was not compromised by this vi?it were these. L He did '11,()t visit Jerusalem till three years after his cpnversion. ," 'l'hen after three years I went up to Jerusalem." He was converted at the age of thirty. At that time his powers had been matured. He had been accustomed to lopk closely int.o the nature, drift, causes, worth of things. Three years of his application. would suffice to achieve his independence as a Christian thinker, so that it could 1;1.0t be disturbed even by Peter. 2. He visited Jerusalem then to make the acquaintance of Peter. '' To visit Cephas." It was not of purpose that he kept away from, ,Jerusalem. It WIJ.S. simply that, in the sati.t;fying call and communications, he felt no need to draw to th~: .senior apostles. He freely recognized the work done by Peter, and; .when the opport1-1nity olfered., he was moved to pay him a brotherly visit. Beyond that his visit bad not significance. 3. His visit extended over no more than.fifteen days. '' And tarried, "!ith him fifteen days." .As his objeet was to visit Peter, he stayed wit~him. He recalls the precise length of his stay. He had not set that as t~e limit bl!'orehan<l. But he had to make a hurried escape from Jerusalem. .And he recalls it npw as a singular providence, inasmuch as it took away the appearance of his being a pupil of the Apostle Peter. 4. His visit brought him into contact only with one man of note besides Peter. "But other of the apostles saw I none, save Ja.mes the Lord's brother." Jame11 was labourina with Peter in Jerusalem; the other apostles were Jabouring elsewhere. This James w~s not of the number of the twelve. The reason for mentioning him is that, thouo-h not an apostle (in the strict sense which is necessary for the argument here), he was the Lord's brother. He was brother in the sease of having the same mother .as our Lord. The perpetual virginity of Mary is not to be thougbt of. Our, feeling~ aro no more shocked in thinking of James as her Ron than in thinking of her $B the wife of J osepb. The difficulty is that our Lord at the last commi~ted his mo,tber to _t?e ca.r_e of tho Apostle John. But the difficulty to a large extent remains on the supposition ot James being only her stepson. Why pass over one who in that relation (whatever he wa~ at the time) had the maki..ag of such a man in him? Th,e conclusion to be come to is, not that James was no son of Mary, bllt that we are left in ignorance of the reason of OJI, I, 1-24.] THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 63