Galatians 2:11-14
11: But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12: For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
13: The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
14: But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Paul had just explained that during his trip to Jerusalem James, Cephas (Peter), and John had agreed with what he had been preaching for fourteen years, that the Gentile converts to Christianity did not need to be circumcised since salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not in keeping the Law. Yet he said that ever since “certain men from James” came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Christian Gentiles like he used to. Whether these men from James were indeed sent by him or just a part of the Jerusalem church isn’t clear. James did, however, tend to lean more towards legalism, which gave him more influence with the Jews in Jerusalem where he was called (Acts 21:17-26).
Peter, although being the one who opened the door for the gospel to be preached to the Gentiles (Acts 10), was called to the Jews also, but more toward those who were dispersed from Jerusalem (1 Peter 1:1). Peter had a vision about not calling unclean what God had cleansed. He previously explained this vision as his reason for eating with the Gentile Christians when questioned by the Jews (Acts 11:2-18).
Yet here in Antioch, Peter fell back into this hypocrisy of not accepting the Gentile Christians as equal and did not socialize with them. Other Christian Jews started doing the same thing so even Barnabas got caught up in their hypocrisy. Paul openly confronted Peter asking him why he was enjoying his freedom from the Law yet requiring the Gentiles to come under it.
The matter was settled in Paul’s mind that the Christian Gentiles were just as equal in their right standing with the Lord as the Christian Jews, and Peter had agreed to the same thing while in Jerusalem. Yet there came a time when he did not accept them on the same social level and gave out an air of arrogance toward the Gentile Christians. Was Paul pointing this out just to badmouth Peter? I don’t think so. He didn’t want anyone to be deceived into falling into the same error of thinking.
12: For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
13: The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
14: But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
***
Paul had just explained that during his trip to Jerusalem James, Cephas (Peter), and John had agreed with what he had been preaching for fourteen years, that the Gentile converts to Christianity did not need to be circumcised since salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not in keeping the Law. Yet he said that ever since “certain men from James” came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Christian Gentiles like he used to. Whether these men from James were indeed sent by him or just a part of the Jerusalem church isn’t clear. James did, however, tend to lean more towards legalism, which gave him more influence with the Jews in Jerusalem where he was called (Acts 21:17-26).
Peter, although being the one who opened the door for the gospel to be preached to the Gentiles (Acts 10), was called to the Jews also, but more toward those who were dispersed from Jerusalem (1 Peter 1:1). Peter had a vision about not calling unclean what God had cleansed. He previously explained this vision as his reason for eating with the Gentile Christians when questioned by the Jews (Acts 11:2-18).
Yet here in Antioch, Peter fell back into this hypocrisy of not accepting the Gentile Christians as equal and did not socialize with them. Other Christian Jews started doing the same thing so even Barnabas got caught up in their hypocrisy. Paul openly confronted Peter asking him why he was enjoying his freedom from the Law yet requiring the Gentiles to come under it.
The matter was settled in Paul’s mind that the Christian Gentiles were just as equal in their right standing with the Lord as the Christian Jews, and Peter had agreed to the same thing while in Jerusalem. Yet there came a time when he did not accept them on the same social level and gave out an air of arrogance toward the Gentile Christians. Was Paul pointing this out just to badmouth Peter? I don’t think so. He didn’t want anyone to be deceived into falling into the same error of thinking.
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