Why were Paul and Barnabas sent to Jerusalem after many years?
After many years, the controversy caused by Judaizers—who claimed Gentile converts had to keep the Law of Moses and practice circumcision to be saved—came to a head. By the Lord's direction, Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem to confront Peter and the hierarchy there.
Les explains that the church in Antioch, up in Syria, had become predominantly Gentile, and Paul and Barnabas labored there and moved out from Antioch into the Gentile world of Asia Minor and Greece. Everywhere they went, their little congregations were constantly subjected to Judaizers who tried to bring them back under the Law, claiming Paul's converts could not be saved unless they kept the Law of Moses, practiced circumcision, and so forth. Finally, after many, many years, this came to a head. By the Lord's direction, Paul and Barnabas were sent up to Jerusalem to confront Peter and the hierarchy there. Paul rehearses this in Galatians chapter 2.