Galatians 2:11-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:1-21

The chapter falls into two sections. Of these, viewed in their leading purport, the first ( Acts 15:1-10 ) exhibits the recognition formally accorded to St. Paul's gospel and work by the highest authorities of the Church of the circumcision; the second ( Acts 15:11-21 ) displays in a very stalking light the independence and co-ordinateness of his position when standing face to face with the very chiefest of the apostles. But while these seem to be their leading objects, we find the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:11

In the narrative which the apostle next proceeds to give, several points, we may suppose, were definitely meant by him to be intimated to his readers. Thus to those Gentile Galatians who were wavering in their attachment to himself and to the gospel which he had preached to them, he shows his claim to their firm affectionate adherence, on the ground of the steadfastness with which, as before at Jerusalem so now afresh in Antioch, he had successfully asserted their rights and their equal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:11

A bold rebuke. There can be no doubt that this rebuke offered by one apostle to another was real and earnest, and not, as St. Jerome tried to maintain, a dramatic pretence. We have here, then, the startling spectacle of the two leading apostles in conflict. Yet it is plainly implied that they were not opposed in their general work. It was not their teaching nor their normal practice, but one particular act of weakness that occasioned the trouble. I. APOSTLES ARE FALLIBLE .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:11-14

The apostle's rebuke of Peter at Antioch. There is no record of this scene elsewhere in Scripture. It is a further proof of the apostle's independence as well as of his devotion to Christian liberty. I. CONSIDER THE CONDUCT OF PETER . 1 . The seethe of this interview between Peter and Paul—Antioch. It was a city on the Orontes, in Syria, the seat of the Macedonian empire in Asia, chiefly inhabited by Greeks, liberalized in thought by considerable culture. It was the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:11-18

The apostolic strife at Antioch. Passing from the Jerusalem conference, Paul next mentions the strife which Peter and he had at Antioch. Peter had come down to see the work of God among the Gentiles. In his large-heartedness he had not only approved of it and rejoiced in it, but, laying aside all his Jewish prejudices, he had taken his seat at the table of the Gentiles, and had eaten whatever was placed before him. But certain "false brethren" having come round, and having urged the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:11-21

Withstanding of Peter at Antioch. "But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face." From the public conference at Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas went down to Antioch, where, it is said, they tarried. They separated after this stay. The visit of Peter to Antioch must be referred to this period, seeing Barnabas is mentioned as still with Paul. There was more than resistance made to Peter; there was the going up to him, meeting him face to face, and charging him with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:12

For before that certain came from James ( πρὸ τοῦ γὰρ ἐλθεῖν τινὰς ἀπὸ ἰακώβου ) . Since the apostle writes " from James," and not "from Judaea" (as Acts 15:1 ) or "from Jerusalem," the surmise suggests itself that these men had a mission from St. James. Alford's view appears probable, that St. James, while holding that the Gentile converts were not to have the observance of the Law forced upon them, did nevertheless consider that the Jewish believers were still bound... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:12

The Judaism of the earliest Pentecostal Church not rabbinical. Any one who will be at the pains of reviewing the contents of the four Gospels with an eye to this particular subject, cannot fail to be struck by the frequency with which Christ in his own conduct placed himself in even the sharpest antagonism to the "traditions of the eiders," and encouraged his disciples in likewise setting them at nought. And this he did in cases in which the contrast of his behaviour to the abject... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 2:13

And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him ( καὶ συνοπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἰουδαῖοι ); and the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him. "The Jews," i.e. the Christian Jews who were at Antioch before these brethren "from James" arrived there, and who, as Cephas had done till their coming, associated quite frankly with the Gentile Christians. "Dissembled with him;" they as well as he acted in a manner which did not faithfully represent their own inward man.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 2:11

But when Peter was come to Antioch - On the situation of Antioch, see the note at Acts 11:19. The design for which Paul introduces this statement here is evident. It is to show that he regarded himself as on a level with the chief apostles, and that he did not acknowledge his inferiority to any of them. Peter was the oldest, and probably the most honored of the apostles. Yet Paul says that he did not hesitate to resist him in a case where Peter was manifestly wrong, and thus showed that he was... read more

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