The Judaizers at Antioch seem to have claimed the sanction of James and the rest at Jerusalem in their opposition to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:1, 24 f.), and it is entirely possible that on this occasion the visitors from Jerusalem claimed a connection with James that was not true. Hort[33] thinks it probable that James merely meant “to send cautions to Peter,” with no thought of a rebuke, and that the messengers proceeded to frighten Peter with threats of a report to James about his conduct at Antioch. It is undoubtedly true that the horizon of Jerusalem was not that of Antioch and that Paul would have less sympathy for what Peter did under fear of consequences at Jerusalem than for James in Jerusalem, who might not fully comprehend developments at Antioch. But the Epistle of James and his speech at the Conference make me slow to believe that he had gone over to the position of the Judaizers, as Peter did at Antioch. Paul boldly charged Peter, and even Barnabas, not with a change of conviction but with hypocrisy (Gal. 2:13 f.). Fortunately, it was only a temporary lapse, and both stepped back to the side of Paul in his championship of a gospel of equality and freedom for all. Paul makes no formal charge against James, and under all the circumstances I prefer to think that James has been misrepresented at Antioch by the visitors from Jerusalem, who dared to use his powerful name to whip Peter into line. At any rate, James, not Peter, seems to be the master spirit at Jerusalem, as Paul is at Antioch. Befriending Paul on His Last Visit Paul came to Jerusalem for the last time in the spring (probably 57 or 58) with a heavy heart. He reveals his apprehensions in Romans 15:31-33 and in his address at Miletus (Acts 20:18-35). He has made a brave fight for liberty in Christ almost all over the Roman Empire, but the Judaizers have not ceased their attacks upon him. In particular, during his long absence from Jerusalem he has been grossly misrepresented there. He has been frequently warned of trouble if he came, but he is determined to come in the hope of setting matters right in Jerusalem and so preventing a schism in Christianity. He had won at the Conference at Jerusalem some seven or eight years before. Hort[34] thinks that Paul entered the city “with much precaution and avoidance of observation” under the shelter of Mnason (Acts 21:16). At any rate, the brethren received him gladly (21:17), and on the next day Paul made a formal call on “James; and all the elders were present” (21:18). So here James is still at the head of the work in Jerusalem as at the Conference. The apostles were present then as they seem to be absent now. This is not a conference but merely a friendly meeting. Paul’s rehearsal of his work among the Gentiles meets with the most cordial expressions of satisfaction (21:20).