12 Why Gentiles Gave to Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9 Background)

by Krisan Marotta | Oct 1, 2025 | 01 Podcasts, Corinthians

Why Gentiles Gave to Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9 Background)

Paul devoted more than a decade of his ministry to the Jerusalem Collection. Understanding the story behind it helps us understand 2 Corinthians 8-9. Today we’ll explore the origin, purpose, and implications of the Jerusalem Collection, using events in Acts and Galatians to trace the evolving relationship between Paul, the Jerusalem apostles, and the Gentile churches.

Paul has finished his long defense of his ministry. He started in chapter 1 and ended with his plea for the Corinthians to make room in their hearts for him again. Now he moves on to the next concern of the letter, which we find in chapters 8-9.

From Defense to a New Concern

Throughout his ministry, Paul spent time collecting money from the Gentile churches he founded and sending it to Jerusalem.

Historically, this collection addressed relief from famine and persecution in Judea around AD 46-57, culminating in Paul’s delivery of the funds in Acts 24:17. At its most straightforward, the collection was a pragmatic response to material need in the region. But it is also about the relationship between the Gentile believers outside Judea and the Jewish believers in Judea, and Paul’s relationship with the apostles in Jerusalem.

We are going to look at the key events that explain the relationship between Paul, the original apostles, the Jerusalem church, and the Gentile churches outside Judea.

Paul’s Conversion and First Visit to Jerusalem (Acts 9; Galatians 1)

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the first followers of Jesus congregated in Jerusalem. At this point, his followers were almost all Jews.

A believer named Stephen gave a powerful sermon in Jerusalem about how their Jewish ancestors killed the prophets and now they had killed the Messiah, Jesus. The crowd became enraged and stoned Stephen to death. Watching this execution with approval was a man named Saul, whom we will later know as the apostle Paul. But at this point he is called Saul (Acts 6-7).

Saul became a persecutor of the church, dragging Christians off to prison.

As he traveled to Damascus to find even more Christians to arrest, he had an encounter with the risen Jesus. He saw a bright light. He heard a voice. Jesus called Saul not only to become a follower of Jesus, but to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He also renames Saul as Paul (Acts 9).

For three years after his conversion, Paul stayed away from Jerusalem. He stayed in Damascus for a while, went to Arabia for a while, then returned to Damascus. He got himself in trouble and had to leave again. Finally, after three years, he made his first trip to Jerusalem as a believer.

And when he [Paul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. – Acts 9:26-30

In Galatians, Paul comments on this event.

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [Peter] and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. – Galatians 1:15-19

Paul encountered Jesus on the Damascus road. Although he was now an apostle, he did not visit Jerusalem for three years. When he did go, nobody wanted to talk to him. His old Jewish allies wanted to kill him, and the followers of Jesus did not trust him.

Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, believed Paul. He took Paul to talk to Peter and James. Paul stayed for 15 days. Then people sought to kill him, so he left. At this point, Paul had a very tenuous relationship with the believers in Jerusalem. In 15 days, he barely managed to convince them that he was a genuine follower of Jesus, largely through Barnabas’s help. After 15 days, Paul left and did not return to Jerusalem for over a decade.

Peter, Cornelius, and the Gentiles (Acts 11)

After Paul left, God gave Peter a vision telling him that God had accepted the Gentiles. God told Peter to visit the Gentile Cornelius and his family. Peter obeyed and then returned to Jerusalem.

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: – Acts 11:1-4

Peter explained his vision and how God had sent him to Cornelius.

[Peter speaking] As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way? When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” – Acts 11:15-18

From our point in history, we are used to the idea that Gentiles can be believers without becoming Jewish. But this was a huge issue then. Peter eating with Gentiles was earth-shattering news. The Jews were confused and upset with Peter. Peter explained his vision. They calmed down and accepted that God is accepting the Gentiles.

But the issue of the Gentiles was not settled. It had only begun.

Antioch and the Rise of a Gentile Church

We see another big event relating to the Gentiles in Acts 11:19-26.

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. – Acts 11:19-26

After Peter’s vision and encounter with Cornelius, the gospel began expanding to the Gentiles. Prior to this, most of the Jewish believers who went out from Jerusalem talked to other Jews. But in Antioch they spoke to Gentiles, and a large number became believers. The Jerusalem leadership heard about this and sent Barnabas to see what was going on.

Barnabas embraced this Gentile group of believers and encouraged them to persevere in the faith. But he realized they were going to need help.

He remembered Saul, whom he had met in Jerusalem a few years back. He traveled to get Saul, whom we know as Paul. Paul worked with Barnabas in Antioch, teaching the Gentiles for a year.

Famine Relief and Paul’s Second Visit

Now we come to Paul’s second visit to Jerusalem. Acts 11:27-30:

Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. -Acts 11:27-30

Several important events emerge. God revealed to Agabus that a great famine was coming. The believers in Antioch realized that Judea would be hit hard. They decided to collect money from the predominantly Gentile believers in Antioch to send to the predominantly Jewish believers in Judea.

They sent the money with Paul and Barnabas. This was Paul’s second trip to Jerusalem after his conversion.

Next we look at Galatians. Scholars debate whether what follows in Galatians refers to this famine visit. I believe it does. I go into that debate in my series on Galatians.

See 04 The Gospel to the Uncircumcised (Galatians 2:1-10)

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in (who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery), to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. – Galatians 2:1-10

Paul made his second visit to Jerusalem around 14 years later. He met privately with Peter (Cephas), John, and James. Paul told them what he had been preaching among the Gentiles, and they had no problem with it.

But the problem of the Gentiles had not been settled.

Some Jews wanted Titus, a Gentile, to be circumcised. Paul refused, and the leadership in Jerusalem agreed. They did not compel Titus to be circumcised, which Paul pointed to as evidence that they were in agreement about the place of the Gentiles in the people of God.

Remember why Paul wrote Galatians. Some Jewish believers had come to the Galatians insisting that Gentiles must become Jews. They argued Gentiles must be circumcised and embrace Jewish practice to be saved by Jesus. We refer to them as the Judaizers. They claimed Paul was not really an apostle. They said the true apostles were in Jerusalem, and Paul was kind of a renegade who allowed the Gentiles in. They claimed Paul stole the gospel message from Peter and the rest, then added his own heretical twist that allowed the Gentiles in.

Paul wanted to make it clear that Jesus made him an apostle independently of the other apostles. He first met them three years after his conversion and then only for 15 days. Over a decade later he met them again, explained the gospel he preached, and they accepted it.

Paul did not steal the gospel from the apostles and then change it. Paul was called and taught by Jesus himself, and the other apostles recognized that.

The important thing here is that they put no restrictions on Paul. As the leadership in Jerusalem, they could have said, Paul, you need to submit to us, add this, remove that. They did not.

They put only one obligation on Paul: remember the poor. Paul says they only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.

In the context of Acts and Paul’s letters, it becomes clear what they meant. He is referring to the Jerusalem Collection. This is not just take care of the poor in the various cities you visit. They meant, collect money from your Gentile churches to help the poor here in Jerusalem. We know that because that is what Paul went on to do.

After all, that is why Paul and Barnabas had come in the first place. They brought money from the Gentile church in Antioch to help the poor among the Jewish believers in Jerusalem and Judea.

The apostles in Jerusalem asked Paul to continue this effort. They wanted him to collect money from the Gentiles he interacted with in his ministry for the needy in Jerusalem.

That is what he did. Paul planted churches in Asia Minor and Greece, and he told all of them to collect money for the church in Jerusalem.

The Judaizers and the Jerusalem Council

After Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, Peter visited Antioch. Peter was eating with the Gentiles. He had seen the vision. He knew that Gentiles had been accepted and ate with them freely.

Then some Judaizers from Jerusalem came. These were Jewish Christians who believed that Gentiles must be circumcised and live like Jews. The church in Jerusalem at this point was divided about how to deal with this issue. They had not settled how to handle Gentile converts.

Peter knew it was okay to eat with the Gentiles. He knew God had accepted them without becoming Jews. But when these Jewish believers came from Jerusalem, Peter was afraid there would be a big blowup. To avoid a huge confrontation, Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles.

Paul publicly rebuked Peter because Peter was sending the wrong message about the Gentiles. We read about that in Galatians 2.

See: 05 Did Jesus Die for Nothing? (Galatians 2:11-21)

The end result was a meeting in Jerusalem to deal with this issue. We read about that meeting in Acts 15. Paul presented his case. The Judaizers presented theirs.

In the end, both Peter and James stood up and strongly supported Paul’s position. They decided to send a pronouncement from Jerusalem to the Gentile churches, saying what they decided.

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. – Acts 15:22-31

For our purposes, notice the important place that the Jerusalem leadership had in the life of the entire church. Jerusalem functioned like the supreme court. When they settled a dispute, that settled it for the churches everywhere.

The leaders in Jerusalem wrote an official letter to the other churches. Basically, they said Gentiles do not have to become Jews and live like Jews to be believers. We are not going to require you to become Jews, but we ask you to respect issues very sensitive to your Jewish brothers. Paul delivered this letter to Antioch, and they rejoiced.

This means that twice the Jerusalem church pronounced that they approved of Paul. They approved of Paul’s teaching. They were okay with the growth of Gentiles who were not becoming Jews. This is what God wants, and we approve.

Paul then resumed his ministry to the Gentiles, traveling through Asia Minor and Greece planting churches. But he did not see himself as independent of Jerusalem. He did not want the Gentile churches to see themselves as independent of Jerusalem.

The Gentile churches had a connection back to the Jerusalem church. One way they fostered this connection was through the collection of money from the Gentiles to send back to Jerusalem.

Instructions to Corinth

We next read about the Jerusalem Collection in 1 Corinthians.

Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. – 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Paul told the Corinthians that he had given the churches in Galatia instructions on how to collect money for Jerusalem. Now he gave them the same instructions. He said let each person set aside some money on the first day of the week. Then when Paul came he would arrange to have the money sent to Jerusalem.

That is not how it turned out. Paul had to make an emergency visit to Corinth to deal with a bad situation. Some man was causing a lot of trouble and publicly attacked Paul. There was so much turmoil that Paul had to leave before dealing with the collection. As Paul wrote Second Corinthians, he had still not returned to Corinth.

The issue of the collection for Jerusalem had not been resolved. That is what we are going to see in 2 Corinthians 8-9. Paul was writing to them about how to handle this collection. As you might imagine, it is complicated with a group like the Corinthians.

Paul’s Concerns

I want to look at one more letter where Paul mentions the Jerusalem Collection. Paul wrote Romans after 2 Corinthians. Titus brought 2 Corinthians to Corinth. Paul followed afterward. While he was in Corinth he wrote the letter to the Romans. In Romans 15 we read Paul’s last comment about the Jerusalem Collection.

This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. – Romans 15:22-33

Paul was writing to the Romans from Corinth. He told them that Macedonia and Achaia (where Corinth is) had been pleased to contribute to the Jerusalem Collection. Evidently Paul had settled things with the Corinthians. They agreed to make their contribution. Paul was going to take it to Jerusalem.

In Romans 15:27 he said, Paul emphasized the relationship between the Gentiles outside Judea and the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. The Gentiles were indebted to the Jewish church in Jerusalem. The Gentiles shared in spiritual blessings provided by the Jewish church in Jerusalem. Therefore, it was appropriate for the Gentiles to share material blessings with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem.

This strongly suggests that Paul did not see the Jerusalem Collection as just any gift to the poor. This was a gift from Gentile churches acknowledging their connection to and debt to the Jewish believers and leadership in Jerusalem.

Paul was worried about how he would be received when he visited Jerusalem with this money. He had good reason to be worried.

Arrival in Jerusalem and Arrest

When Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem, he greeted James and the other elders in the Jerusalem church. They warned Paul that some in Jerusalem had been spreading lies about him. His critics claimed that he was teaching that the Jews should stop being Jewish, stop practicing the law, and stop circumcising their children.

Paul did not teach this. To vindicate himself, they advised Paul to do something Jewish. They advised him to pay for a vow along with a group of men so that everyone would see he had not abandoned his Judaism.

Paul agreed, but this advice did not turn out well.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them. When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. – Acts 21:26-31

Paul had asked them to pray for his safety when he went to Jerusalem. When he went, he was arrested on trumped-up charges. There was a plot to kill him. To save his life, Paul appealed to Caesar, and he was taken to Rome as a prisoner.

His other prayer request was that his service for Jerusalem would be acceptable to the saints. Paul wondered how they would respond when he delivered the money he had collected. It was a legitimate fear because some there believed he was an enemy of Judaism.

He was bringing money from Gentile churches, but the whole issue of the Gentiles was the sticking point with the church in Jerusalem to begin with. Would they recognize his spirit of service, or would old tensions remain? He was genuinely concerned about how he would be received when he brought this collection.

What the Jerusalem Collection Was Meant to Do

Let’s put this together. I think we see three elements to the Jerusalem Collection. It had three goals.

Care for the needy. There was a great need in Judea. This collection was motivated in part by a desire to help in the coming famine. It was an act of compassion: people with abundance helping those in need.
Strengthen the relationship between Gentile and Jewish believers. There were great needs everywhere, yet Paul did not collect money for the poor everywhere. The Gentiles were asked to think of the needs of their Jewish brethren and remember they are one church.
Affirm unity between Paul and the original apostles. Jesus called Paul to be an apostle apart from the original twelve. Paul ministered to Gentiles far from Jerusalem with very little direct contact with the Jerusalem church. Pursuing this collection was a way of saying we are all on the same church.

Fundamentally, the Jerusalem collection was designed to nurture and maintain the relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers.