Galatians 2:1

Fourteen years after. Paul’s line of thought continues without interruption. It is not clear whether this 14-year period began with his conversion or with his visit to Jerusalem three years later. For comment on the problem see p. 100 and Additional Note Acts 15. The purpose in mentioning the 14 years is to point out how long it was after his conversion before Paul had an extended contact with the Twelve. He had not borrowed from them the gospel he had been preaching for some 14 (or 17) years.

Again to Jerusalem. If the 3-year and the 14-year periods are successive, it was 17 years from Paul’s conversion to the time of his second visit to Jerusalem, and 14 years since the brief 15-day visit there with Peter (ch. 1:18). As already noted (vs. 18, 19), there had been little opportunity for Paul to learn anything from the apostles at the time of that first visit. In ch. 2:1-10 Paul makes it clear that he is in no way indebted to the apostles for the message he has been preaching (see on vs. 6, 7). For the relation of the visit of Gal. 2:1-10 to that of Acts 11:25-30 see pp. 318, 319. This commentary favors equating the visit of Gal. 2:1-10 with that of Acts 15.

With Barnabas. When the apostles Paul was sent by the church at Antioch to attend the council in Jerusalem certain others accompanied him, one of these being Barnabas (see Acts 15:2). Considering the accounts of Acts 15 and Gal. 2 to be parallel, one of them was Titus. Luke makes no mention of Titus in connection with any of Paul’s journeys. Paul’s first reference to him is in the second Corinthian letter, where he evidently considers him a most valuable helper (see on 2 Cor. 2:13).