Howbeit even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, had not been compelled to be circumcised. The last verse related the steps taken by Paul to disarm opposition. He was, however, no less resolute in his resistance to any encroachment on Christian freedom. The presence of Titus with him attested his determination; for the circumcision of Titus had been demanded, and resisted evidently by Paul himself. It is a strange misconception of critics to argue as if this struggle over Titus took place at Jerusalem. The demand for the circumcision of all converts was made at Antioch and pressed against the authority of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 20:2): the express object of the deputation was to protest against this demand, which they did with entire success. The Greek aorist ἠναγκάσθη answers here to the English pluperfect, as often elsewhere (cf. Winer, xl., 5).

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Old Testament