Sunday, December 1, 2013

Galatians Two (vs. 1-10)


Galatians Two (part one)

Paul is in the middle of telling his personal history, which demonstrates the impossibility of receiving his apostolic gospel message from any human source, especially from the apostles or other leaders (together viewed as “pillars”) of the Jerusalem church.  There is a conflict raging, and the issue may pit Paul against Jerusalem.  That would put Paul at a disadvantage, first, because Paul was not one of the Twelve apostles who walked with Jesus during the incredible three years of His messianic ministry.  Paul will deny this inferiority on the grounds that his gospel, no less than that preached by any of the Twelve, was sourced directly from the Lord by means of revelation.  A second disadvantage might come against Paul if any can successfully demonstrate that Paul gets his message or his authority from Jerusalem.  In such case, Paul would be obligated, if there is some discrepancy, to go back to Jerusalem and to concede to them.  As we enter Chapter Two, Paul has demonstrated that his time in Jerusalem totals 15 days over 17 years, that he met only with Peter (Cephas) and James (the brother of Jesus), and that he had been working his gospel message in active ministry before any of this.

Now, 14 years after the first visit, Paul makes a second to Jerusalem.  He takes with him Barnabas and a Gentile (uncircumcised) Christian named Titus.  Barnabas is important because he had been an emissary from Jerusalem to Antioch, where he was sent to investigate the mixing of Gentiles and Jews in Christian fellowship.  And, it was Barnabas who sought-out Paul and brought him to Antioch.  Titus is even more important.  As an uncircumcised Gentile Christian, he is a living example of the result one might expect after Paul’s gospel message is preached.  He is “Exhibit A” for the case that Paul wants to present at a meeting with the top-tier authority in the church established by Jesus.

Paul attends this meeting in response to a revelation.  This would seem to be the episodic sort of direction that Paul sometimes received, and not the revelation (mentioned in 1:12) that first brought to Paul the message that he was to preach.  It is important to note that, in this meeting, Jerusalem is not dictating to Paul and looking to see how he measures up.  He is the one presenting to “those who were of reputation.”  The authority of the Jerusalem leaders was recognized within the church, but Paul is positioning himself to discount that authority if it should deny the validity of his gospel.  Paul knows its source, and thus its validity.  Any discrediting of his gospel thus implies a fault in the critic(s), even if they possess uncontested authority from people.  Still, Paul is worried at the possibility, past or present, of “running in vain.”  This should not be understood as if Paul were toying with the possibility, after all, that his gospel message might have been flawed.  Rather, Paul understands that those who are potential opponents in this conflict are his brothers.  They belong to the same team.  And should a rift between them be indicated, it would mean the team members were working against rather than working with each other.  This would have meant “running in vain.”

The outcome of the meeting is that Titus leaves just as he arrived—uncircumcised Christian.  The Jerusalem leadership did not compel him to go under the knife to keep his status as an insider to the Christian community.  He was accepted, as is!  This, in itself, is a demonstration that Paul’s gospel has been validated, not faulted, by the top authority in Jerusalem.  However, a third group attended this meeting.  Besides Paul’s company and the Jerusalem leaders, there is a group of “false brothers” who were brought in to “spy out the freedom to be had in Christ Jesus.”  It looks suspiciously as though the meeting has been sabotaged, that someone has set Paul up for a confrontation.  My guess is that the instigator here was James.  He is identified in 2:12 as the one who sent a delegation to Antioch, and Paul would have also considered them to be false Christians.  In fact, they seem to be the ones targeted by the curse attached to preaching a “different gospel” in 1:6-9.  They are Jewish Christians who, since they believe the Law/Torah is still the identifying center for the true people of God, believe that compliance with the “old covenant” is binding upon Christians, even if they happen to be Gentiles.  And compliance was bound up primarily in three “works of the Law”:  circumcision, kosher food requirements, and keeping Sabbath. 

Paul resisted their pressure and saw it as a threat to the truth of the gospel.  It is important to attend to the issues of “slavery” and “freedom/liberty” that first surface here, for they begin a theme that flows through the letter.  Having just emerged with Titus intact, Paul refuses to credit Jerusalem with making any improvements on what Paul brought to the table.  The quality of his gospel was there without their help.  In fact, their esteem and prestige (in the eyes of people) offered nothing to Paul; nor to God!  Literally, Paul says that “God does not receive a man’s face.”  Recall in 1:22 that Paul declared himself to be “unknown by face” to the Judean churches.  And watch in 2:11, where Paul will oppose Peter “to his face.”  These face references are an interesting window to the culture in which this conflict takes place.

In spite of the interference of the false Christians, who would impose Jewish law on non-Jews, there is no rift between Paul’s side and the Jerusalem side.  However, they jointly agree to divide their labors in ministry into separate spheres of responsibility.  Paul will attend to Gentiles (the uncircumcised); Peter will focus on evangelizing Jews (the circumcised).  Both ministry endeavors advanced the purpose of the same Lord.  The team was intact, and working cooperatively for shared goals.  The cap on the validation of Paul’s gospel came when, as the meeting concluded, Paul and Barnabas were extended “the right hand of fellowship” from Jerusalem.  The only additional burden placed on Paul (and it involved not the slightest tweaking of his gospel) was that he attend to the poor.  Paul complied gladly, and his fundraising within his Gentile churches would bring famine relief back to Jerusalem.

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