Galatians 2:1-10

The context

Galatians 2 continues Paul's autobiographical defense. He describes going up to Jerusalem again after fourteen years with Barnabas and Titus, presenting his gospel to those of repute, and refusing to have Titus circumcised. The chapter then reports the agreement reached and turns at verse 11 to the confrontation at Antioch.

What it establishes

The passage establishes that Paul's gospel was submitted to the Jerusalem leaders and acknowledged by them, with a division of labor agreed and a request to remember the poor. It is an argument from recognition, aimed at teachers who claimed the apostles' authority for a different message.

What it does not establish

It is one side of a contested history. Paul writes in a polemical letter, and Acts gives a parallel account that differs in sequence and emphasis. The passage does not settle how the two accounts fit together, and it does not describe the Jerusalem meeting from anyone else's perspective.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Didn't Paul invent Christianity? Why should I trust letters Jesus never wrote?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.