Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 2:1

"Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me." — Galatians 2:1 (ASV)

The “fourteen years” are most likely to be reckoned from the end of the three years mentioned in 1:18. Paul’s main point is not how long after his conversion he made this visit to Jerusalem, but how long after last seeing the apostles he went up to see them again. Besides, Paul undoubtedly thought of the years of labor in Syria and Cilicia as a set period of his ministry, and his point is that these years were broken only by the trouble from the legalizers and by the revelation that he had to go up to Jerusalem to argue the cause of Gentile liberty. The council in Jerusalem, therefore, likely took place in A. D. 49 . Barnabas and Titus accompanied Paul, though Luke does not mention the presence of Titus in his account of the council. The presence of Titus is best explained by Paul’s desire for a test case (see vv.3–5).