Galatians 2:2 – Paul went up to Jerusalem to meet privately with the leaders to present what he had been teaching. To show them the way? No, “to make sure [he] was not running or had not run in vain” I like that he went privately, to not stir up controversy but to find unity, and that he went not to teach but to learn.
Galatians 2:8-9 – The ESV speaks of ‘Peter’ in verse 8 and ‘Cephas’ in verse 9 (also in verse 11, and in chapter 1). NIV uses ‘Peter’ in both places.
Galatians 2:14 – He went originally in private and reached an agreement, but when he saw Peter acting publicly contrary to that agreement, he challenged him publicly.
Paul sets himself up here as one who has championed the Gospel of freedom over the slavery of the law. Galatians 1:1-2:14 seems to be establishing who he is and what he has stood for as back ground to what he’s about to lay out.
Galatians 2:15-16 – Paul contrasts Jew with ‘Gentile sinners’ in verse 15, which might be offensive if he didn’t essentially lump them both in the same group in verse 16 saying that “by works of the law no one will be justified”.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
I wonder if we really understand the implications of this. Romans 6 describes how we die with Christ in baptism, do we really understand it? Do we live as if the death that comes to all has already come and gone for us? That which most men dread and attempt to put off, death, we have willingly embraced with Jesus. We are already dead and are only now truly alive in Christ.
I think if we really understood this concept, that we are already dead, we’ve already passed from death to life, we’d live differently. (Check out my study of Romans 6 from 2 years ago where I elaborated on this powerful idea more.)