RSV ~ Galatians 2 Notes

Gal 2:1-10 | ISB Notes

Scholars disagree over the precise circumstances of this Jerusalem visit. Some link it with the trip that Paul and Barnabas made to provide famine relief for the Judean Christians in Acts 11:28-30. More probably, Paul is referring to his presence at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:1-29. Notice that the two accounts concern (1) the same people (Paul, Barnabas, and companions, Acts 15:2), (2) the same place (Jerusalem, Acts 15:4), (3) the same leaders (Peter and James, Acts 15:7, 13), (4) the same issue (circumcision, Acts 15:1), and (5) the same opponents (the circumcision party, Acts 15:5).

Gal 2:1 | ISB Notes

after fourteen years: Probably calculated from the time of Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem (1:18).

Barnabas: A Levite and native of Cyprus. See note on Acts 4:36.

Titus: One of Paul’s trusted companions (2 Cor 2:13; Tit 1:4). He is mentioned here to illustrate that, although Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile, the Jerusalem apostles welcomed him into their fellowship (Gal 2:3).

Gal 2:2 | ISB Notes

I laid before them: Paul received his gospel directly from Christ (1:12), yet he submitted it for approval to the senior apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2). This was to confirm that his message was in line with the doctrine of the Twelve and to remove suspicions that his missionary efforts were at odds with the authority of the Church’s recognized leaders. In the end, the pillar apostles “added nothing” to his message (Gal 2:6) and openly affirmed his ministry by giving him the “right hand of fellowship” (2:9).

Gal 2:3 | ISB Notes

compelled to be circumcised: The Greek expression here and at 6:12 is used by ancient writers like Josephus and Ptolemy to describe forcible circumcision. The idea is historically linked with Jewish military efforts to subjugate neighboring Gentiles during the Maccabean period by forcing them under the yoke of the Mosaic Law (cf. 1 Mac 2:46) and the administration of the Judean State centered in Jerusalem. The Judaizers are doing something analogous in Galatia by insisting that Gentiles submit to circumcision in order to be incorporated into the commonwealth of the covenant people.

Gal 2:4 | ISB Notes

false brethren: Judean believers who promoted circumcision as a necessary prerequisite for salvation (Acts 15:1).

our freedom: Christ liberates believers from the curses and ceremonies of the Mosaic Law (3:13; 5:6; 6:15). The danger here is that the Judaizers will enslave the Galatians if they successfully persuade them to receive circumcision (5:1-3).

Gal 2:6 | ISB Notes

reputed to be something: The Jerusalem apostles were held in high esteem. Though his tone seems distant and cool, Paul neither affirms nor denies them this honor.

Gal 2:7 | ISB Notes

uncircumcised . . .circumcised: Epithets for Gentiles and Israelites, respectively (Eph 2:11-12). This does not mean the divisions of missionary labor were drawn along purely geographical lines, since Peter traveled extensively and Paul also evangelized his Israelite kinsmen living among the Gentiles. See note on Acts 13:5.

Gal 2:9 | ISB Notes

James and Cephas and John: i.e., James, the brother of the Lord (1:19), Simon Peter (Jn 1:42), and John, the son of Zebedee (Mt 10:2). The order of the names is unusual, as Peter is always mentioned first in the apostolic lists of the NT (Mt 10:2; Mk 3:16; Jn 21:2; Acts 1:13). Perhaps Paul lists James first as a way of undercutting the claims of the Judaizers, who, along with other Jewish conservatives, had a deep respect for James as the spiritual shepherd of the Jerusalem Church at this time (after Peter fled the city, Acts 12:17). By stressing that James endorsed his gospel, Paul shows that the Judaizers have no official backing from Jerusalem, even from its most conservative leadership. For more on James, see note on Gal 1:19.

pillars: Important leaders in the Church, which is pictured as the living Temple of God (Rev 3:12; cf. Eph 2:19-22).

Gal 2:10 | ISB Notes

remember the poor: This was the inspiration behind Paul’s effort to collect charitable contributions for the believers in Jerusalem living in poverty (Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 8-9). The Galatians themselves donated to this fund (1 Cor 16:1-3).

Gal 2:11 | ISB Notes

Antioch: The capital of the Roman province of Syria, north of Palestine. The Antiochene Church was the first to bring Christian Jews and Gentiles together in fellowship (Acts 11:1926) and the first to organize missionary outreaches to the Gentiles (Acts 13:1-3). Cephas probably came to the city after the Jerusalem Council, as did Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:35).

Gal 2:12 | ISB Notes

separated himself: Peter reverts to the custom of traditional Judaism, which discouraged social contact, especially shared meals, between Jews and Gentiles (Acts 10:28; Jubilees 22, 16). It was feared, among other things, that Gentile food might violate the purity standards of the Torah, i.e., it might be either unclean or improperly prepared (Lev 11:1-47; 17:1013). The problem here is that Peter has already been informed that the Jewish dietary laws have been set aside in the New Covenant and that Gentiles are now welcome members of the family of faith (Acts 10:9-16, 28).

men came from James: Either a delegation sent by James or loyal associates of James who came on their own initiative. The former seems more likely, but, for the possibility of the latter, see Acts 15:24.

the circumcision party: Jewish Christians who discouraged table fellowship between Jews and Gentiles. Peter had been criticized by them on this issue once before (Acts 11:2-3).

Gal 2:14 | ISB Notes

before them all: It is precisely Peter’s authority and influence in the Church that made it necessary for Paul to correct him in public.

to live like Jews: Literally, “to Judaize”, or “to adopt Jewish customs”. Peter’s conduct implied the very thing he had denied at the Jerusalem Council, namely, that Gentile Christians must adopt the ritual laws of Judaism in order to secure their standing in the covenant and obtain salvation (Acts 15:7-11).

• The same expression is used once in the Greek OT, where it describes how Gentiles from Persia were circumcised and Judaized for “fear of the Jews” (Esther 8:17). Here too, in the case of Peter (Gal 2:12) as well as the Judaizers (6:12), fear is once again the driving force behind the impulse to Judaize.

Gal 2:16 | ISB Notes

justified: Established in a right relationship with God. Justification involves the cleansing of sin, the infusion of divine life, and the adoption of the believer into the family of God through Baptism (1 Cor 6:11; Tit 3:5) (CCC 1987-95).

See word study: at Rom 2:13. works of the law: See essay: The Works of the Law at Gal 2. shall no flesh be justified: Identical to the statement in Rom 3:20 and probably an allusion to the Greek version of Ps 143:2.

• The Psalmist begs the Lord to suspend judgment on his life, for he knows that no one is without fault and thus no one can stand before God in perfect righteousness.

• Some claim that if no one is justified by the law, but only by faith in Christ, then the Patriarchs and Prophets who lived before Christ were imperfect. The saints of old, however, were justified by faith in Christ (St. Jerome, Commentary on Galatians 2:16).

Gal 2:17 | ISB Notes

found to be sinners: i.e., living like Gentiles, who do not follow the Mosaic Law (2:15).

Gal 2:18 | ISB Notes

which I tore down: The Torah stood as a protective barrier between Israel and the idolatry of the Gentiles (Lev 15:31; 20:26). This dividing wall of separation has now been dismantled by Christ (Eph 2:14), who brings Jews and Gentiles together in the New Covenant (3:28).

Gal 2:20 | ISB Notes

crucified with Christ: United with the Cross, Paul has died to an old order of things, namely, the slavery of

sin and the regime of the Old Covenant. He describes this elsewhere as a sacramental union with Jesus effected through Baptism (Rom 6:3

-8). lives in me: Believers possess life that is natural and biological (human life) as well as supernatural and theological (divine life). who loved me: Jesus endured the torture and shame of the Cross for the entire world collectively and for every person individually (CCC 478, 616).

Gal 2:21 | ISB Notes

died to no purpose: Paul reasons that if the Mosaic Law had been sufficient all along to remove sin, establish us in righteousness, and bring us into God’s family, then the Cross would have been completely unnecessary (3:21).

• The Law can neither remit sin nor triumph over eternal death nor free those held captive because of sin. Christ died to provide those things that the Law could not (Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Galatians 2:21).