Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem.
St. Paul’s return to Jerusalem
He returned from a spiritual as Ezra had from a bodily captivity, and to his renewed mind all things appeared new. What an emotion smote his heart at the first distant view of the Temple, that house of sacrifice, that edifice of prophecy. Its sacrifices had been realized; its prophecies fulfilled. As he approached the gates, he might have trodden the very spot where he had assisted in the death of Stephen, and he entered them perfectly content, were it God’s will, to be dragged to the same fate. When he entered the city, what deep thoughts were suggested by the haunts of his youth, and by the sight of those spots where he had so eagerly sought that knowledge which he had now so eagerly abandoned. What an intolerable burden he had cast off. He felt as a glorified spirit may be supposed to feel on revisiting the scenes of its fleshly sojourn. (Archdeacon Evans.)
The abode with Peter
The fifteen days were doubtless spent in conversation about the mission and life of Christ; and it seems certain--though St. Paul repudiates the presumption that he derived any part of his authority, or of the exposition which he gave of the gospel, from any person whatsoever--that he must have heard during this fortnight many of those facts of the private life of Christ, which were so well known to the chief of the Twelve, and many of those discourses which Peter so clearly remembered. (Paul of Tarsus.)
Christian friendship
I. The visit to peter.
1. After three years’ seclusion Paul would yearn for fellowship with such a heart as Peter’s.
2. The visit shows us that
(1) he was not primarily in quest of knowledge, nor
(2) to secure an ecclesiastical status.
3. It was a visit of pure friendship.
II. The lessons it suggests. That Christian friendship is--
1. All-embracing. It includes differences of rank, gifts, culture, temperament.
2. No men could be more diverse than Peter and Paul, and yet neither disparaged or envied the other.
II. Equalizing. Paul could now meet on equal terms the most distinguished men of his day: Peter the premier apostle, James the Lord’s brother. “One is your Master, etc.”
III. Hospitable. Paul, once a dreaded persecutor, now found a welcome and a home from the chief of the persecuted. Peter a married man. Fraternal intercourse and fellowship:--
I. The nature of Christian fellowship.
1. A fellowship in Christ.
2. A fellowship of love.
3. A fellowship in which individual interests are advanced by mutual help.
II. The advantages of Christian fellowship.
1. Their fellowship would be profitable, because each would contribute towards a clearer apprehension of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
2. The fellowship would be profitable, because it would assure each that the Christian life is one of great trial.
3. The fellowship would be profitable, because each of the apostles would see that the Christian life is one of certain comfort.
III. To secure Christian fellowship often requires personal sacrifice. To see Peter and the others, Paul undertook a considerable journey, and exposed himself on the one hand to the scorn and enmity of his former friends, and on the other to the coldness and suspicion of the disciples in Jerusalem. Lessons:
1. That the opportunities for Christian fellowship are usually brief; they should therefore, when presented, be diligently improved. Paul could only remain fifteen days at Jerusalem: the persecutions of his enemies compelled him to leave.
2. Such opportunities being made the most of, lead to glorious results in time and eternity. Who can tell how much the Christian world is indebted to the harmonious fellowship of Peter, James, and Paul at Jerusalem? (R. Nicholls.)