The Showdown in Antioch Town
Galatians 2:11-14 NKJV
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
More clickbait in the title, but now that you are here, there are important lessons from Paul’s conflict with Peter. Paul called Peter out because he was not being straightforward about the truth of the gospel.
Paul was given a revelation about the Gentiles, those without Jewish heritage, coming to faith in Christ. In Antioch, Barnabus had seen God’s grace in that Gentiles were being saved. Barnabus went and brought Paul to Antioch, where they taught the people for over a year. Antioch was where believers were first referred to as Christians. When Peter came to Antioch, he ate with the Gentile converts. Peter knew that God had cleansed all who would come to Christ by faith. Peter knew that anyone who called on the Lord would be saved, even Gentiles. So Peter was good with eating with the Gentiles even though that was forbidden under Jewish law. Peter was good until leaders of the church at Jerusalem came to Antioch. When these men came, who would report back to James, a key leader of the Jerusalem church, Peter withdrew from eating with Gentiles.
This was not good. Why would Peter do this even though God had used him to first bring the message of salvation to the Gentiles? Paul tells us the reason was fear. Peter was afraid of what the men from Jerusalem would say when they reported back to James. And an even bigger problem was that Peter’s fear impacted the other Jewish believers at Antioch, and even Barnabus was carried away with their hypocrisy. Paul minced no words. Peter was afraid and living as a hypocrite. Peter was not living according to the truth of the gospel. He was not living by what he believed. And because of Peter’s position as an acknowledged leader in the church, he was causing other believers to stumble. So Paul called him out to his face.
Application
There are some good takeaways from this passage. The first is that we must stay with what we believe and know to be true. Peter knew the truth but did not live it. The second is that fear of what other people think can cause us to back off from our beliefs. To take an easier route. Peter must have known that he would face some heat when he went back to Jerusalem, so he took the easier path. He may not have factored in that Paul was not going to let him get away with it. The third thing we must recognize is that any of us in positions of leadership need to be aware that we can impact others for good or bad. Peter’s example impacted Barnabus, a strong, solid believer. How much more can younger believers who are not as strong in their faith be impacted by those in leadership?
Thank God for the Pauls in life who stand for the truth and are not afraid to go face-to-face with those who are having a negative impact. Peter later referenced Paul in one of his letters, calling him “our beloved brother Paul.” Peter must have been big enough to not let the showdown in Antioch create bitterness in his heart.
Prayer
Lord, help me to walk in the truth that I know and not back away. Help me be an influence for good in Your kingdom.