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Gal 2:1-10 (ESV)
2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
November 9, 1989, is a day that I will never forget. It’s the day that the Berlin Wall began to come down and I watched the amazing celebration of Berliners as they used picks and hammers to knock out chunks from the wall. The Berlin Wall was literally a wall that separated Communist East Berlin from the democratic (and free) West. The wall stood for over 20 years, separating people from one another, and at least 171 people were killed trying to flee from the East to the West.
As the Cold War began to come to an end across Eastern Europe, East Berlin’s Communist Party announced that citizens of East Berlin were finally free to cross over to the West. What once separated people was no more.
Tearing down what separates is at the heart of the passage as we begin to learn more about Paul’s story and his meeting in Jerusalem. Did you catch that it was at least 14 years after Paul had received his vision from Christ that he finally went up to Jerusalem? There is some debate regarding if this visit to Jerusalem took place after the three years mentioned in 1.18 which would make it 17 years, but the best evidence is that this visit is around the time of Acts 11 rather than the Jerusalem visit in Acts 15—either way it’s a long time! It’s clear that Paul has been teaching and proclaiming the Gospel but now, 14 years after Paul has entrusted his life to Christ, he begins his missionary journeys.
We also get a sense of what Paul is up against in verses 4-5. In the early church, the vast majority of Christians were Jewish and, as such, were circumcised. But now, many non-Jews are entrusting their lives to Jesus, and they are not circumcised. This doesn’t seem like a big deal to us today, but in that cultural context, circumcision was a marker that identified a person as Jewish and someone who kept the Law of Moses, surely someone who believed in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, would keep the law as well, which was the argument of the false brothers. The false brothers insisted that a person must be circumcised first before they could accept Christ.
Paul clearly disagrees. Paul understood that Jesus is Lord of all and that anyone who entrusts their life to Jesus is part of the family of God, circumcised or not.
So the “freedom” in Christ Jesus that Paul speaks of in verse four is the freedom from the imposition of circumcision that had separated Jewish people from non-Jewish people.
There is something else that is awesome in this passage. It’s something or rather someone that we all need: a Barnabas in our lives. Barnabas was an awesome figure in the New Testament. He gave up everything to follow Jesus. He gave up his position as Levite, he gave up land, and he probably had many conflicts with his family regarding his decision to follow Jesus (Acts 4:36-37).
But what does Barnabas do for Paul? He is the one who connects Paul to the Apostles, and he is the one who encourages Paul in his ministry and probably his faith as well.
Over the years I have come to know, more and more, that we all need a Barnabas-like person in our lives: a person with whom we can be open, who will encourage, comfort, and at times urge us to do better in our relationship with Jesus as we seek to live our lives for Jesus in all that we do.
I want to challenge you to have that Barnabas-like person in your life. Make it a priority to seek that person out. It is vital to your spiritual health and well-being to have someone who will encourage, comfort, and urge you to live your life for Jesus. Without such a person in your life, your walk of faith will suffer at times, and it’s easy to feel isolated and alone spiritually. However, with that person, your journey in faith will become steady, and you will grow in amazing ways.
Who is our who might be that Barnabas for you?
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott
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