Paul and Peter

“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. 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. 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. 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?” Galatians 2:11-14 NET

Paul's unwavering courage in standing up for the truth is truly inspiring. In his time, there were two factions of the Gospel: the Jewish believers who continued to adhere to their practices even after receiving the Gospel, and the non-Jewish believers who embraced their freedom in Christ, choosing not to adopt Jewish practices. Peter, in particular, was in need of a 'come to Jesus' moment regarding circumcision. His actions were leading other Jews to behave hypocritically towards non-Jewish believers, as Paul pointed out, 'They were not behaving consistently with the truth of the Gospel.'

Peter’s views concerning circumcision and eating with non-Jews were what was the problem. Peter would eat with non-Jews if there was no controversy, but if there were a hint of backlash, he would separate himself, and other Jews would follow his lead. Paul got in the face of Peter and the other Jews that accompanied him and withstood them and argued that grace means grace, and there were no exceptions when it comes to the Gospel, especially between Jew and non-Jew. Paul was appealing to consistency with their behavior, not about a point of law or sin or anything like that. Paul believed that Peter was making the freedom of Christ of no effect if Peter could not model it effectively for his followers.

Peter and Paul saw things differently when it came to those who were non-Jews. Paul’s rebuke of Peter was bold and forceful, but necessary to keep the Gospel message consistent. Like Paul, Peter was having to face everything he had previously learned about Jewish law and tradition and leave it all behind so he could move on in relationship with Christ Jesus without the trappings of the Mosaic law handicapping him and others from the freedom offered in Jesus.

The Lord confronted Peter directly in a vision: “About noon the next day, while they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him. He saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet descending, being let down to earth by its four corners. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and wild birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; slaughter and eat!” But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!” The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!” This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.” Acts 10:9-16 NET

The impact upon Peter was immediate, for he understood that this was a direct challenge to his tradition from the Lord Himself. This was proved the next day in the following verses “Peter continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together. He said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile, yet God has shown me that I should call no person defiled or ritually unclean.” Acts 10:27-28 NET

Peter literally had an epiphany from none other than God Himself. The revelation he received changed his messaging and his behavior to include non-Jews with as much respect and Jewish believers, for he now saw that there is no partiality in Christ Jesus.

How many times do Christians encounter a person who has chosen a life that seems to contradict or is out of step with the teachings of Jesus, and they tend to judge them based on their choices? It's crucial to remember that Jesus found us in sin, and He never condemned us for our choices. Instead, He forgave us and welcomed us into a relationship with Him. That same empathy is what we can demonstrate to others, just as Paul did when he corrected Peter's misunderstanding of the Gospel in his mission to the non-Jews. Yes, Paul was defending the Gospel, but he was also winning over his brother in the faith.

On a personal note, if we are prone to judging others who are Christian, or even those who are not by their behavior or life choices, we are no different from Peter's hypocrisy with the non-Jews. If we ask the Lord to break our hearts for the things that break His heart so that we can respond to others with the sensitivity of Jesus' heart, with acceptance and compassion, so that the Gospel may be spoken and we and they move forward with mercy and forgiveness. That is the heart of the Gospel, Christ in us the hope of glory.

Stephen Barnett