The right hand of fellowship

It matters greatly to Paul that there is a successful mission to Jews. What he desires is not the formation of a Gentile church, independent of Jewish believers, but an interdependent fellowship of Jews and non-Jews in Christ. The “right hand of fellowship” ([Gal] 2:9) is the recognition that the “mission ” to Gentiles can proceed beyond the limits of the Jewish tradition but also that the Jewish mission can proceed within them. If Paul’s promise to “remember the poor” (2:10) relates specifically to “the poor” in Jerusalem, his commitment to Jewish believers, and to the Jewish mission, remains the final impression of the conference. Such a commitment, I shall suggest, finds an echo at the end of the letter [Galatians], in Paul’s prayer for mercy on “the Israel of God” (6:16; see below, 13.3.3), and is prominent in his hopes and prayers for Israel in Romans 9–11.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 363–64 (emphasis original)