Galatians 1:18-21 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days, 19but I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie. 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Paul continues to show how he did not need the approval of anyone about the message he preached. Although his message was the true gospel, he still sought out Christian fellowship. He had a strong doctrine of the church and believed anyone who believed in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God was part of this church. He was a team player and had many people who were part of this team. When he went to Jerusalem after three years and stayed with Peter, this was not to confirm or check on whether he was preaching the right message. It was likely more that he wanted to build bridges of fellowship and common mission with other early Christian leaders. Fifteen days with Peter must have been a great time of deep brotherly love. Old enemies had become closer than blood family. This is evidence of new creation and what Jesus can do for people.
During Paul’s visit he only saw James. Paul says two interesting things about James here that are easy to overlook. First, he calls James an apostle. This is not James the son of Zebedee, one of the original twelve apostles. This implies that other people beyond the original twelve were known as apostles. Second, Paul identifies this James as the Lord’s brother. This is James the brother of Jesus and the same person who wrote the book in the New Testament by his name. He was the naturally born son of Joseph and Mary. Jesus’ brothers did not at first believe in him (John 7:7) but later came to believe. According to Acts 15, James was one of the key leaders in Jerusalem.
Verse 20 is an odd insertion in the middle of Paul’s autobiographical account of his visit to Jerusalem. It may simply be adding weight to his overall purpose and argument in this section. He wants the Galatian churches to realize the significance of what he is claiming. He did not go to Jerusalem to confirm his message. He did not need to consult with the key leaders of the Christian movement at the center of where it all began. His mission was not dependent upon “headquarters” or the approval of even the significant Peter or Jesus’ own brother. After his brief visit to Jerusalem, Paul went on to the area of Syria and Cilicia. He would have been familiar with this area. This area of ministry included his home town of Tarsus. He was began his mission of going farther away and taking the gospel to new areas by first returning to the area he knew well. We do not know what happened during this time but we can be certain that Saul of Tarsus was no longer the same person people may have remembered from previous years.
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