The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 141

Vers. 1-10.-Period of third visit to Jerusalem. 'l'hree· preliminary points a.r!) mentioned. (1) Time. "Then after the space of fourteen years I went up a.gain to· Jerusalem." It is possible to date this from his conversion, but it is m9re Iiatura.l and quite tenable to date it from the last-mentioned visit. If so, then we have seventeen important years, during which all the interccurse that Paul had with the senior apostles extended to fifteen days spent with Peter in Jerusalem. That, surely, was.very little· on which to found a. representation of his being a pupil of these apostles, or one acting under their orders. (2) Companions. "With Barna.bas; taking 'fitns also with me." 'l'he mention of Barnabas as bis principal companion helps to identify the visit with that recorded in the fifteenth of the Acts. Titus also is' brought in, as a.fterward to be referred to. Both may have been known to the Galatian Churches, and would be able to bear witness to the accuracy of his account of ~he conference. (3) •Impulse, "And I went up by revelation." The impelling influence was a supernatural communication lllde to him, that it was his duty to go up to Jerusalem. It may have been with or against his own inclination. It was certainly conjoined with the action of the Gentile Churches. But what determined his action was no feeling of his own as of doubt about his teaching, or summons from Jerusalem to give an account of his teaching, but· simply the intimation to him of the Divine will. The private ccmference. 'l'he great feature of the third visit was conference. There was the public conference, of which we have a re~ord in the fifteenth of the Acts. But there seems to have been beforehand a private conference with the men of repute, which alone is mentioned here, as being that which affected the question of his independence as an apostle. (1) Supject of conference. "And I laid before them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles." He laid not before some, but before all the Christians at Jerusalem, the gospel which he was sti!i in the habit of preaching among the Gentiles. He made it a public enough matte::- that he preached fustiji,cation by faith. Be made it equally public that, as an inference from that, he taught that there was no necessity to impose circumcision on Gentilo converts. (2) Reason j(IT private conference. "But p~ivately before them who were of repute, lest by-any means I should be running, or had r~n, in vain.'' While courting publicity, he had a regard to prudence. The gospel he preached might have a strange sound to them at Jerusalem. He did not,.therefore, in the first place lay it before the general body of Christians there. ~ot he began by laying jt ptiva~ely bef~re the thre" afterward mentioned, viz. James, Peter, and John. 'l'he:fhad sp~c1al qualifications for understanding what was to come'up for· public conference. And experiences, r~asons, 1 er. F. de Rougemont's 'La Vie Humaine,' pp. 96, 97. C:H, n, 1-21.] THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 107