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§8 Paul’s Commission Is Acknowledged (Gal. 2:7–10)

2:7–8 / Although Paul does not present himself as needing the backing or agreement of the Jerusalem leaders in order to defend his gospel, he asserts that he has this backing: these men came to see that he had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. The Jerusalem leaders accept his gospel and understand Paul to be in a comparable position to Peter, who has a gospel for the Jews.

Paul’s claim that he was recognized as having been commissioned with preaching the gospel to the Gentiles reads in Greek, “the gospel of the uncircumcision.” This can also mean the gospel with reference to the uncircumcised. Paul’s gospel is contextual, as is Peter’s. Moreover, in describing his gospel this way Paul gives honor to being uncircumcised, which was a negative category from the Jewish perspective. From the perspective of being “in Christ” Paul turns the category of not being circumcised into a positive one. The gospel of the uncircumcised is a gospel of completeness; it is a gospel to which nothing need be added.

Paul describes the meeting with the Jerusalem Christians as one in which he was recognized as a leader on a par with Peter. With this presentation Paul hopes to counter some of the negative reputation that he has been getting in Galatia and show that the Jerusalem church is in agreement with his gospel. It is those preaching a law-observant gospel to Gentiles who are at odds with Jerusalem.

Peter’s influence and importance at this point in the Christian movement is clear. Paul thinks he can best convey the credibility of his own position by putting it on a par with Peter’s. Peter’s mission is to the Jews, “to the circumcised”; Paul’s is to the Gentiles (2:7–8). Paul goes on to assert that the leaders saw that God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter … was also at work in my ministry. The decision of the Jerusalem leaders to recognize Paul’s ministry was not a political or bureaucratic one but rather an acknowledgment of the activity of God. Since the most significant people in the Christian movement recognized God’s work in his ministry, the Galatians should not let themselves be swayed by the rival evangelists’ deprecation of his gospel.

Paul refers to his apostleship as “to the Gentiles” (v. 8). This is a literal rendering of the Greek and functions in parallel with “to the circumcised” of verse 7. While Paul continues to refer to Peter’s gospel and apostleship as for “the circumcised,” Paul changes the description of his own mission field from that of “the uncircumcised” to “the Gentiles.” This indicates perhaps that when recounting the incident at Jerusalem, he begins from the categories established by the opponents—circumcision versus uncircumcision. But as Paul continues his presentation he demonstrates that he primarily understands his role to be preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, to those who are the nations, the ones for whom God’s promise to Abraham was extended from the beginning. This accords with the apostle’s description of his call and commission in 1:15–16; the people to whom he is to preach the gospel are “the Gentiles/nations.” Paul’s gravitation to using the word “Gentiles” strongly suggests that the issue of circumcision versus uncircumcision came from those opposed to Paul’s law-free gospel. For Paul the gospel that was revealed to him was beyond the categories of circumcision and uncircumcision (6:15).

Paul says that God worked through Peter for the purpose of making him an apostle to the Jews, or the circumcised. He does not refer to himself as an apostle in this context, perhaps because he has already stressed this point (1:1) and because his certainty of his own apostleship allows Paul to recognize Peter as an apostle also.

2:9 / For Paul it is God who is the source of his and Peter’s ministry. In the Greek there is a parallel between verse 9 and verse 7. In verse 7 the leaders see God’s work through Paul, and in verse 9 they recognized God’s work (this same word “work” occurs twice in v. 8). By the end of his time with the important Jerusalem church leaders Paul had convinced them of the validity of his gospel. As a result of their recognizing the grace that had been given to Paul, James and Peter and John gave the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas. Paul’s explicit mention of his acceptance by the three most prominent leaders in the church of the time serves further to validate his own position. Early Christian tradition generally connected Peter, James, and John (e.g., Mark 9:2). Their direct link with Jesus accounted in large measure for their unparalleled authority within the early church.

James is mentioned first in the list. He is featured also in 2:12, where he is presented as one whose authority intimidates even Peter, and 1:19, where he is described as the brother of the Lord. Paul’s atypically plentiful references to James in this letter (the only other time he mentions James is 1 Cor. 15:7) and his mentioning James first suggest that subsequent to Paul’s leaving Galatia his converts have come to regard James as the most important leader of the faith. This is the only place in his letters where Paul mentions John, who is usually understood to be the disciple John the son of Zebedee (Mark 3:17).

2:10 / The only thing that the Jerusalem church required of Paul and Barnabas was that they should remember the poor. The tense and mood of the Greek verb mnēmoneuōmen, translated “remember,” conveys the sense of continuing action and could denote either that Paul was already remembering the poor and is encouraged to continue to do so or that he is directed now continually to remember the poor. The context would suggest the former meaning. Just as the church affirmed his gospel so they encourage him to continue to do what he is already doing—remembering the poor. Paul’s expression is not the expression of one eager to please but an affirmation that he wishes to continue to do the same thing to which he is already committed. Paul’s point is that he is not under the Jerusalem church’s authority; rather, he is an equal partner in the gospel.

It seems to be the case that “the poor” refers to the Jerusalem Christians (see Additional Notes). Thus this request to remember the poor further emphasizes Paul’s good standing with the Jerusalem church. By the end of his meeting the divine authentication of his gospel had been recognized and the Jerusalem believers were willing to remain in a position of some dependence upon him, since they would expect him to bring financial aid from the Gentile churches. There could not be a much greater sign that the mother church had fully accepted his ministry. The fact of the collection indicates that there was at this stage a high degree of unity between the churches of Paul and the leadership in Jerusalem.