Paul Confronts Peter About Hyprocrisy.
June 26, 2024
Commentary
Apparently sometime after the conference described in the previous verses, Peter came from Jerusalem to Antioch (v. 11). At first he mingled freely with the Gentiles, enjoying their fellowship. Then some men from Jerusalem arrived who were following strict Jewish traditions. They considered those who did not comply with Jewish ceremonial cleanliness and circumcision to be unclean.
Peter was an impulsive man. He could show amazing faith and courage one minute and fail completely the next. Peter who was not afraid to preach the Gospel before unbelievers suddenly becomes fearful of this peer pressure and withdrew from his Gentile friends (v. 12). Not only did he exhibit a hypocritical attitude but he led Barnabas and others astray with him (v. 13). Paul sees this as a threat to Christian freedom so he confronts Peter about this inconsistency before everyone (v. 14). He charged that by joining the judiazers Peter was saying that Christ was not sufficient.
Paul’s words must have stung Peter as he said, “you are a Jew, yet you have been living like a Gentile. The law cannot save us; but after we have become Christians, it can guide us to live as God requires. Now you want the Gentiles to live like Jews. What kind of inconsistency is that? “ Three Biblical principles we can glean from this are:
We are to be accountable to one another.What we do has an effect on others.Our commitment to truth cannot be merely intellectual but must be lived.
Application
How do I rate myself in the following areas (Excellent, good or poor)?
Accountability with Christians _________Impact on others _________Commitment to truth _________
Galatians 2:11– 14 (NET)
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. 12 Until certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”