Galatians 2:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

NIV: Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

NASB: But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

CSB: But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

NLT: And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.

KJV: But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:

NKJV: Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

Paul, on a trip to Jerusalem to deliver famine relief, has a private meeting with some of the influential leaders of the Christian church, which includes other apostles. He wants to talk to them about the gospel of Jesus he has been preaching to the Gentiles, including the Galatians. He appears interested in hearing from them that the gospel he has received from Christ fits with the gospel as they understand it.

In short, Paul has been preaching that salvation comes through God's grace alone and by faith in Christ alone. Specifically, he has said in this letter that Jesus gave Himself on the cross for our sins (Galatians 1:4). He stood in our place as the substitute and received the full payment for our sin. By faith in Him, Paul will go on to say, our sins are fully forgiven, eliminating the need to follow the law of Moses.

Would these influential apostles, trained by Jesus, disagree with Paul? They are Jewish, but would they be like the Judaizers, demanding that Gentiles essentially convert to Judaism before being accepted as Christians? To Paul's great relief, the apostles themselves did not agree with the Judaizers. Instead, they perceived the gospel in exactly the same way as Paul: as one of faith, not works, or of rituals and traditions.

As evidence of their support, Paul points to his friend and follower Titus. Titus was Greek, and a Christian. The law of Moses would have required that Titus be circumcised to be included with the Jewish people of God (Exodus 12:48). The other apostles did not require that Titus be circumcised, however, to belong to the church of God as a Christian.

Galatians 2:1–10 describes an important meeting in Jerusalem between Paul and the other apostles. Paul is pleased to learn they preach the same gospel of God's grace through faith in Christ that he does. They agree that Gentiles should not be made to follow the law, and they endorse Paul's God-given calling to preach to the Gentiles. Peter, James, and John offer to him and Barnabas, his partner in ministry, the right hand of fellowship, a symbol of their support, approval, and unity with them.

Paul holds a crucial meeting with the other apostles. Do they preach, as he does, that salvation can only be found through faith in Christ and not by following the law? He learns that they do, though ''false brothers'' in their midst are opposed to this gospel of God's grace. After receiving official approval from Peter and the others, Paul later opposes Peter for publicly trying to distance himself from Gentile Christians out of fear of how others might respond. Paul declares that justification comes only through faith in Christ and not by the works of the law.

In Galatians 1, Paul defended himself in order to defend the trustworthiness of his message. He made the case that he was a legitimate apostle. He shows in Galatians 2 that the other apostles stand with him in teaching the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ. He describes a moment in which he rebuked Peter for hypocrisy and then makes the case that only faith in Christ can bring justification for any person in the eyes of God. The works of the law can never make anyone righteous, or Christ would not have had to die.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.