Bibelkommentare

The apostle, in this chapter, continues the relation of his past life and conduct, which he had begun in the former; and, by some further instances of what had passed between him and the other apostles, makes it appear that he was not beholden to them either for his knowledge of the gospel or his authority as an apostle, as his adversaries would insinuate; but, on the contrary, that he was owned and approved even by them, as having an equal commission with them to this office. I. He particularly informs them of another journey which he took to Jerusalem many years after the former, and how he behaved himself at that time, Ga 2:1-10. And, II. Gives them an account of another interview he had with the apostle Peter at Antioch, and how he was obliged to behave himself towards him there. From the subject-matter of that conversation, he proceeds to discourse on the great doctrine of justification by faith in Christ, without the works of the law, which it was the main design of this epistle to establish, and which he enlarges more upon in the two following chapters.

The second chapter is closely connected in sense with the first, and is indeed a part of the same argument. Injury has been done by the division which is made. The proper division would have been at the close of Galatians 2:10. The general scope of the chapter, like the first, is to show that he did not receive the gospel from man; that he had not derived it from the apostles; that he did not acknowledge his indebtedness to them for his views of the Christian religion; that they had not even set up authority over him; but that they had welcomed him as a fellow-laborer, and acknowledged him as a co-adjutor in the work of the apostleship. In confirmation of this, he states Galatians 2:1 that he had indeed gone to Jerusalem, but that he had done it by express revelation Gal 2:2; that he was cordially received by the apostles there - especially by those who were pillars in the church; and that so far from regarding himself as inferior to the other apostles, he had resisted Peter to his face at Antioch on a most important and vital doctrine.

The chapter, therefore, may be regarded as divided into two portions, namely:

I. "The account of his visit to Jerusalem and of what occurred there," Galatians 2:1-10.

(a) He had gone up 14 years after his conversion, after having labored long among the Gentiles in his own way, and without having felt his dependence upon the apostles at Jerusalem, Galatians 2:1-2.

(b) When he was there, there was no attempt made to compel him to submit to the Jewish rites and customs; and what was conclusive in the case was, that they had not even required Titus to be circumcised, thus proving that they did not assert jurisdiction over Paul, and that they did not intend to impose the Mosaic rites on the converts from among the Gentiles, Galatians 2:3-5.

(c) The most distinguished persons among the apostles at Jerusalem, he says, received him kindly, and admitted him to their confidence and favor without hesitation. They added no heavy burdens to him Galatians 2:6; they saw evidence that he had been appointed to bear the gospel to the Gentiles Galatians 2:7-8; they gave to him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship Galatians 2:9; and they asked only that they should remember and show kindness to the poor saints in Judea, and thus manifest an interest in those who had been converted from Judaism, or contribute their proper proportion to the maintenance of all, and show that they were not disposed to abandon their own countrymen, Galatians 2:10. In this way they gave the fullest proof that they approved the course of Paul, and admitted him into entire fellowship with them as an apostle.

II. "The scene at Antioch, where Paul rebuked Peter for his dissimulation;" Galatians 2:11-21. The main object of mentioning this seems to be to show, first, that he did not regard himself as inferior to the other apostles, or that he had not derived his views of the gospel from them; and, secondly, to state that the observance of the Jewish rites was not necessary to salvation, and that he had maintained that from the beginning. He had strongly urged it in a controversy with Peter, and in a case where Peter was manifestly wrong; and it was no new doctrine on the subject of justification which he had preached to the Galatians. He states, therefore:

(a) That he had opposed Peter at Antioch, because he had dissembled there, and that even Barnabas had been carried away with the course which Peter had practiced; Galatians 2:11-14.

(b) That the Jews must be justified by faith, and not by dependence on their own law; Galatians 2:15-16.

(c) That they who are justified by faith should act consistently, and not attempt to build again the things which they had destroyed; Galatians 2:17-18.

(d) That the effect of justification by faith was to make one dead to the Law that he might live unto God; that the effect of it was to make one truly alive and devoted to the cause of true religion; and to show this, he appeals to the effect of his own heart and life Galatians 2:19-20.

(e) And that if justification could be obtained by the Law, then Christ had died in vain; Galatians 2:21. He thus shows that the effect of teaching the necessity of the observance of the Jewish rites was to destroy the gospel, and to render it vain and useless.

The apostle mentions his journey to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, Galatians 2:1. Shows that he went thither by revelation; and what he did while there, and the persons with whom he had intercourse, Galatians 2:2-8. How the apostles gave him the right hand of fellowship, Galatians 2:9, Galatians 2:10. Here he opposes Peter at Antioch, and the reason why, Galatians 2:11-14. Shows that the Jews as well as the Gentiles must be justified by faith, Galatians 2:15, Galatians 2:16. They who seek this justification should act with consistency, Galatians 2:17, Galatians 2:18. Gives his own religious experience, and shows, that through the law he was dead to the law, and crucified with Christ, Galatians 2:19, Galatians 2:20. Justification is not of the law, but by the faith of Christ, Galatians 2:21.

INTRODUCTION TO Galatians 2

In this chapter the apostle proceeds with the narrative of himself, and gives an account of another journey of his to Jerusalem, where he had a conversation with the chief of the apostles; in which they approved of his ministry, allowed of his commission, and took him into fellowship with them, but gave him no new instructions, nor added to his spiritual light and knowledge; from whence it appeared that the Gospel he preached was not after men, or received from men, as he had asserted in the preceding chapter; and he also gives an account of his meeting with Peter at Antioch, and how he reproved him for some judaizing practices; which leads him to assert the doctrine of justification by faith, in opposition to the works of the law; which is the grand point he had in view to establish in this epistle, and which he vindicates from the charge of licentiousness. He begins with an account of another journey of his to Jerusalem, the circumstances of which he relates, as the time when, fourteen years ago; the persons he took with him as his companions, Barnabas and Titus, Galatians 2:1 what moved him to it, a revelation from God; and the business he did when come thither, he communicated the Gospel, and that not to any but to such that were of reputation, and not publicly but privately; his end was, that it might appear how successful he had been in his ministry, and had not laboured in vain, Galatians 2:2 then follows a narrative of a particular event relating to Titus, who is described as one of his companions, and by his nation, a Greek; and who though an uncircumcised person, yet the apostles and elders at Jerusalem did not oblige him to be circumcised, which showed that they were of the same mind with the apostle in this point, Galatians 2:3 and the reason of it was because of the false teachers, that they might not give them any handle; who are described by their character, false brethren, by their private manner of getting in among the saints, and by their ends and views, which were to spy out their Christian liberty and bring them into bondage, Galatians 2:4 to whom the apostle opposed himself, and would not give way for the least space of time; for this end, that the truth of the Gospel might continue with the Gentiles, Galatians 2:5 and as for the apostles, though they were men of great character and reputation, nor would the apostle detract from it; yet they added nothing to him, he received nothing from them, Galatians 2:6 but, on the other hand, partly because they saw that as the Gospel to be preached to the Jews was committed to Peter, so the same Gospel to be preached to the Gentiles was committed to Paul; and partly because of the same efficacy and success in the ministry of the one as in the ministry of the other; as also because they perceived what gifts of grace were bestowed on the apostle; they gave to him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, as a token of their mutual agreement, and as being of the same society, Galatians 2:7 nor did they give him and Barnabas anything in charge, but only to remember the poor, to which he was forward enough of himself, Galatians 2:10 after which follows an account of an opposition made by the apostle to Peter, which was done at Antioch, and to his face, and not without reason, Galatians 2:11 for whereas some time before he ate with the Gentiles, which was commendable in him, he afterwards declined conversation with them, moved to it by fear of the converted Jews, Galatians 2:12 and such was the force of his example, that other Jews, who before did not scruple eating with the Gentiles, separated likewise, and even Barnabas himself, Paul's companion, Galatians 2:13 wherefore seeing this was not walking according to the Gospel of Christ, and with that integrity and uprightness which became such persons, the apostle publicly reproved Peter, and expostulated with him; partly on account of his former conversation with the Gentiles, though he himself was a Jew, and therefore it was absurd and contradictory in him to oblige the Gentiles to live as the Jews did, Galatians 2:14 and partly on account of the ledge which he and Peter and others who were Jews, and not sinners of the Gentiles, had of the doctrine of justification; that it was not by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ; for to this end they had believed in Christ that they might be justified, not by the one, but by the other; which doctrine is confirmed by a passage referred to in Psalm 149:2 and whereas it might be objected that this doctrine of free justification opened a door to licentiousness, the apostle answers to it by an abhorrence of it, Galatians 2:17 and by observing that this would build up what he had destroyed, Galatians 2:18 besides, he argues the contrary from his being dead to the law, that he might live unto God, Galatians 2:19 and from his crucifixion with Christ, and of the old man with his deeds; and from Christ's living in him, and his living by faith upon him, Galatians 2:20 and for the further confirmation of the doctrine of justification being by faith, and not by works, he suggests, were it otherwise, both the grace of God would be frustrated and made void, and the death of Christ be in vain, Galatians 2:21.

1–10. St Paul’s visit to Jerusalem

11–21. Visit to Antioch and disagreement with St Peter

This chapter consists of two paragraphs. We have, first, an account of a visit of St Paul to Jerusalem, and his conference with the Apostles of the Circumcision (Galatians 2:1-10); and, secondly, a narrative of his disagreement with Peter at Antioch and a conclusion upon the question in debate (Galatians 2:11-21).

CHAPTER 2

Galatians 2:5. οἷς οὐδέ] is wanting in D* Clar.* Germ. codd. Lat. in Jerome and Sedul., Ir. Tert. Victorin. Ambrosiast. Pelag. (?) Primas. Claudius autissidor. Condemned by Seml., Griesb., Koppe, Dav. Schulz. But the omission is much too weakly attested, and arose simply from δέ in Galatians 2:4 being understood antithetically, and from the belief, induced by the remembrance of the apostle’s principle of accommodation, that it was necessary to find here an analogue to the circumcision of Timothy (Acts 16:3); οὐδέ stood in the way of this, and with it, on account of the construction, οἷς was also omitted. This οἷς was wanting at most only in manuscripts of the It. (see Reiche, p. 12), and ought not to have been rejected by Grot., Morus, and Michael.

Galatians 2:8. καὶ ἐμοί] With Lachm. and Tisch., read, according to preponderating testimony, κἀμοί.

Galatians 2:9. Ἰάκωβος καὶ Κηφᾶς] D E F G, It., and several Fathers, have Πέτρος καὶ Ἰάκωβος. A transposition according to rank.

μέν, which is wanting in Elz. and Tisch. (bracketed by Lachm.), is to be deleted, according to B F G H K L א*, min. vss. and Fathers. Inserted on account of the δέ which follows.

Galatians 2:11. Here, and also in Galatians 2:14, Κηφᾶς and Κηφᾷ is the correct reading according to preponderating evidence. Comp. on Galatians 1:18. The very ancient fiction (see the exegetical note) that it is not the Apostle Peter who is here spoken of, testifies also to the originality of the Hebrew name.

Galatians 2:12. ἦλθον] B D* F G א, 45, 73, codd. It., read ἦλθεν. So Lachm.[40] Comp. Orig.: ἐλθόντος Ἰακώβου. An ancient clerical error after Galatians 2:11.

Galatians 2:14. The position of the words καὶ οὐκ (Lachm. and Tisch. οὐχ) Ἰουδαϊκῶς ζῇς is to be adopted, with Lachm., following decisive testimony. No doubt καὶ οὐκ Ἰουδαϊκῶς is wanting in Clar. Germ. Ambrosiast. Sedul. Agapet.; but this evidence is much too weak to induce us (with Seml. and Schott) to pronounce the words a gloss, especially as their omission might very easily be occasioned by the similar terminations of the two adverbs.

πῶς] Elz. Tisch. read τί, in opposition to decisive testimony.

The evidence is also decisive against the omission of δέ, Galatians 2:16 (Elz.), which was caused by εἰδότες being understood as the definition of what precedes, with which view δέ was not compatible. The omission was facilitated by the fact of a lesson beginning with εἰδότες.

Galatians 2:18. Instead of συνίστημι read, with Griesb., Scholz, Lachm., Tisch., συνιστάνω.

Galatians 2:20. τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ] Lachm. reads τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ, according to B D* F G, It. But most probably this reading arose from the writer passing on immediately from the first τοῦ to the second, and thus writing τοῦ Θεοῦ only; and, as the sequel did not harmonize with this, καὶ Χριστοῦ was afterwards added. If, as Schott thinks, τοῦ Θεοῦ κ. Χριστοῦ was written because God and Christ are mentioned in Galatians 2:19-20, the original τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ would have been turned into τοῦ Θεοῦ κ. υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. If, however, τοῦ Θεοῦ κ. Χριστοῦ had been the original text, there would have been no reason whatever for altering this into τοῦ υἱοῦ τ. Θεοῦ.

[40] Who (Praef. p. xii.) conjectures as to this reading that τινί should be read instead of τινάς.

CONTENTS.

Paul continues the historical proof of his full apostolic independence. On his second visit to Jerusalem, fourteen years after, he had laid his gospel before those in repute, and had been, not instructed by them, but formally acknowledged as an apostle ordained by God to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10). And when Peter had come to Antioch, so far was he, Paul, from giving up his apostolic independence, that, on the contrary, he withstood Peter openly on account of a hypocritical line of conduct, by which Christian freedom was imperilled (Galatians 2:11-21).

Ga 2:1-21.

HIS CO-ORDINATE AUTHORITY AS APOSTLE OF THE CIRCUMCISION RECOGNIZED BY THE APOSTLES. PROVED BY HIS REBUKING PETER FOR TEMPORIZING AT ANTIOCH: HIS REASONING AS TO THE INCONSISTENCY OF JUDAIZING WITH JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.

1. Translate, "After fourteen years"; namely, from Paul's conversion inclusive [ALFORD]. In the fourteenth year from his conversion [BIRKS]. The same visit to Jerusalem as in

Ac 15:1-4

(A.D. 50), when the council of the apostles and Church decided that Gentile Christians need not be circumcised. His omitting allusion to that decree is; (1) Because his design here is to show the Galatians his own independent apostolic authority, whence he was not likely to support himself by their decision. Thus we see that general councils are not above apostles. (2) Because he argues the point upon principle, not authoritative decisions. (3) The decree did not go the length of the position maintained here: the council did not impose Mosaic ordinances; the apostle maintains that the Mosaic institution itself is at an end. (4) The Galatians were Judaizing, not because the Jewish law was imposed by authority of the Church as necessary to Christianity, but because they thought it necessary to be observed by those who aspired to higher perfection

(Ga 3:3; 4:21).

The decree would not at all disprove their view, and therefore would have been useless to quote. Paul meets them by a far more direct confutation, "Christ is of no effect unto you whosoever are justified by the law"

(Ga 5:4),

[PALEY].

Titus . . . also--specified on account of what follows as to him, in

Ga 2:3.

Paul and Barnabas, and others, were deputed by the Church of Antioch

(Ac 15:2)

to consult the apostles and elders at Jerusalem on the question of circumcision of Gentile Christians.