Paul and the Other Apostles

According to the book of Acts, Paul almost always gets on well with the apostles in Jerusalem. From his own letters, it appears that Paul himself has quite a different view of this. He thinks that other apostles do not always take him seriously and sometimes even oppose him.

According to Acts 15:1-29 and Acts 21:15-26 there is a warm bond between Paul and the other apostles. They are in agreement on all points and proclaim the same message. On just one occasion there is a quarrel between Paul and Barnabas, namely about John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin. This quarrel leads to Paul and Barnabas no longer travelling together to preach the gospel (Acts 15:36-39).

From Galatians 1:17-19 it seems that Paul himself does not think it necessary to seek contact with the apostles in Jerusalem immediately after his conversion. It is only three years later that he visits Jerusalem to make the acquaintance of Peter.
Fourteen years later, Paul goes from Antioch to Jerusalem again, together with Barnabas. There, they speak with the other apostles about the Jewish law (Galatians 2:1-10; Acts 15:1-29).

Back in Antioch, Paul gets into a quarrel with Barnabas, Peter and a few other people sent to Antioch from Jerusalem. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians we read that this quarrel is about the Jewish law. No one supports Paul. Thereupon, Paul leaves Antioch and preaches the gospel elsewhere (Galatians 2:11-14).

Paul goes to places where there is no Christian congregation as yet. He preaches the gospel to all. Other apostles focus mainly on Jews or go to places where there is already a Christian community. Often they require all Christians to keep the Jewish law. In this they come into conflict with Paul, who takes a very different view of this (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:1-23).