Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.
Summary: Paul tells us about an event that validates his message from Jesus.
“Hi, Peter, I’m Paul.”
“You might remember me as Saul. I was the guy who was throwing Christians into prison three years ago.”
“Remember?”
Talk about awkward introductions! It would be interesting to know what led up to this meeting. Did Paul send an emissary? Did he write a letter first? Did he just show up in Jerusalem?
When Paul and Peter (aka “Cephas”) sat down to talk, I wonder what they talked about. Who spoke first? Was Paul explaining things to Peter, or did Peter explain things to Paul?
Knowing that our Lord Jesus orchestrated all that happened after his ascension, my guess is that the meeting was cautious but cordial. In my imagination, Paul wants to confirm what the Lord Jesus has told him by revelation. I can picture Paul and Peter swapping stories about Jesus and what he wants for his church.
Remember that Peter also learned from Jesus by revelation (Acts 10:9-23). The story in Acts, chapter ten, explains in detail what the vision was and tells us how and where Peter experienced it. Both men had experienced direct revelation from Jesus.
Did this common experience that Peter and Paul shared help these two men bond? I think it must have. Yet the men were very different.
Peter, a fisherman, was “unschooled” and “ordinary” (Acts 4:13). Paul, a scholar, was far more educated and sophisticated. Yet, each man knew that in Christ they were the same. They understood that there is no room for pride of self when we stand before the Author of Life.
At this point in his letter to the Galatians, Paul is explaining the background of the gospel he preached. He explains how it came to him by direct revelation from Jesus, the same way Jesus taught Peter that all food is clean. He explains that Peter double-checked what he had learned from the Lord.
So, what did Peter think of Paul after their meeting? Here is what he wrote about Paul:
“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3: 15-16)
Peter has complete confidence in Paul’s gospel. So should we.
Application: Paul’s testimony about Jesus is trustworthy.
Food for Thought: What do you think Peter and Paul would have discussed during the two weeks they were together?
While we obviously can only speculate about the details , clearly knowing and serving Christ was the central theme. They would have shared the same passion to know Christ Jesus and pursue Him as Lord (Philippians 3: 7 – 11: 1 Peter 3: 15a).
Thank you, Rich!
Great passages!! I added a link for those who would like to read the reference you gave.
I agree with Rich, it is hard to speculate. I do image though, it would have been a humble conversation, each one speaking about their life before Christ, with Christ and probably how Christ brought them to redemption despite their failures to serve Him. It would have been a conversation that united them in spirit under Christ and with Christ.
1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
Paul and Peter both could have approached the initial meeting with fear, but both trusted Christ. As they spoke, I am sure that each one began to trust in the other’s faith in Christ. I think that is an important distinction, because as we begin to trust in each other’s faith in Christ, instead of the person, the past fades away, and the future opens up.
Thanks Chris,
I like how you point us to their common trust in Christ. That trust, in the final analysis, is what holds us all together.
01-08-2024, What do you think Peter and Paul would have discussed during the two weeks they were together?
No-one knows for certain, Paul is very specific and careful to number his years and even count his days: three years after his conversion he spent only fifteen days with Peter. Galatians 1:18. Paul did not come to be taught by Peter or to place himself under Peter’s authority, but to get acquainted with Peter. Pauls commission had come directly from God and Paul would have been seeking harmony in the church, not permission to do God’s will.
Issues which Paul and Peter discussed, could have been, resolving issues such as liberty, judging others, eating meat, or when it was agreed Paul would minister to the uncircumcised while Peter would minister to the circumcised.
Romans 8:1-3, Romans 14:1-23, Romans 2:28-29
Ron,
Great points!
The question of “authority” is an important one. If all Christians placed themselves under the Lord’s authority, there would be less abuse of authority here on earth.