“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days”
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter,
The word “then” means thereafter, referring to the time following Paul’s three-year stay in Arabia and Damascus. After waiting three years, Paul finally went to Jerusalem to see Peter (Acts 9:26-30). When Paul first left Jerusalem, he had gone to Damascus to murder and imprison Christians. However, he came back as a Christian! He left as a beast but came back as a champion for Christ.
We get the English word history from the Greek word for to see. When Paul says he went to see Peter, the word carries the idea of making a social call on his fellow apostle. Paul wanted to get acquainted with Peter. They told each other their story. This must have been a great time of fellowship. In fifteen days, they told of God’s grace and work in their life.
and remained with him fifteen days
Paul wanted to get to know Peter. He stayed in Jerusalem only a short time because his life was threatened (Acts 9:29). There was no time for Peter to train Paul theologically or certify his ministry, so Paul did not get his doctrine of grace from Peter.
After fifteen days, Paul fled for his life. It took some courage to go back to Jerusalem. He was not afraid to face the past. We cannot get away from our past by running away from it. We deal with it by facing it.
Principle:
Iron sharpens iron.
Application:
Christians do not live to themselves. Christians do not live by themselves.
To meet someone who spent 3years day and night in the presence of our Saviour must have been awesome. Peter must have shared most intimate testimonies with Paul.
Dear Grant,
Is the Peter in Galatian 1:18 same as Peter in Galatians 2:11? If yes, why is apostle Paul confronting him with Inconsistency in character?
Olawale, yes, both passages refer to the same Peter. Did you go the the study in Galatians 2:11? You can do that if you have a smartphone by going to the bottom of the page then 1) choose the book of the Bible you want (in this case Galatians) and then another popup will appear where you can choose Gal 2:11. Here is a shortcut for you: https://versebyversecommentary.com/galatians/galatians-211/