“Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me“
Galatians 2 refers to a visit by a delegation from the Antioch church to the leaders in Jerusalem to resolve the issue of salvation by faith. The first half of Galatians 2 deals with salvation by faith (2:1-10) and the second half deals with sanctification by faith (2:11-21).
with Barnabas,
Luke mentions that Barnabas and “certain others” went to Jerusalem with Paul from Antioch. Barnabas was also with Paul when they founded the Galatian church on their first missionary expedition. The word “with” indicates Barnabas was a partner and colleague of Paul in the wonderful fellowship of ministry.
and also took Titus with me
“Took” comes from three Greek words: to take, with, alongside. Paul took Titus, a new convert, alongside him in his travel to Jerusalem. The idea is that Paul made him an assistant to accompany him in ministry. Luke uses this same word of John Mark in the book of Acts (12:25; 15:37,38).
The reason Paul took Titus to the Jerusalem Council is that he was an uncircumcised Gentile Christian. He was living proof that a Gentile can be a child of God. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, so the issue of Gentiles coming to Christ was of utmost importance to him. The Jerusalem Council resolved the issue that Gentiles can enter the family of God by faith and that they do not have to be circumcised (the symbol of becoming a Jew) to become a Christian.
Titus later became a mature leader. He helped settle a dispute between Paul and the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 3:13; 7:6, 13-14; 8:6, 16, 23; 12:18). At another time, Paul left Titus in Crete to organize the church there (Titus 1:4-5). He evidently was an outstanding mediator.
Titus’ name occurs 13 times in four different books of the Bible two times in Galatians; nine times in 2 Corinthians; once in 2 Timothy; once in Titus. Dr. Luke does not mention Titus in the book of Acts, yet he obviously took part in many of the activities in Acts. Do you think he was miffed because of this? This would hurt the feelings of many people today, but not Titus’.
Principle:
Mature Christians do not allow their feelings to get in the way of ministry.
Application:
If we neglect to give people what they deem to be proper recognition for work they do in ministry, they feel rejected and neglected. They say, “The pastor didn’t put my name in the bulletin after all the work I did for that church.” Mature Christians can transcend hurt feelings. They will not allow their feelings to get in the way of ministry. The issues are too great, and the need is too massive to blunt the ministry of Christ with feelings of rejection.
