For our 15th wedding anniversary several years ago “Annie and I” got each other matching trout coffee mugs. Romance at its best folks. We went up to a little spot for the night on the Au Sable River. You’re wondering how I got her to agree to that for an anniversary getaway. I’ll tell you (men, take notes): my pitch focused on time alone far away from the kids in a tranquil location surrounded by nature’s beauty. But what really sold her was my proposal that while she enjoyed no sound of pestering, or whining, or bickering, and no daily chores of running a home with however many kids we now have – what really got her was that I would even be willing to make the sacrifice of leaving her alone for long periods and spend my time doing something nowhere near as wonderful as being with her: casting flies on a world-class river for world-class trout.
So while we’re there we perused the always outrageously-priced sports shop. What caught “our” eyes and was within our price range were the big trout-patterned coffee mugs. I suggested a his and hers – so his was the Brown Trout pattern and hers was the Brook Trout pattern. I thought it was the best anniversary by far we’d had. Anyway, fast-forward to today, and the “hers” coffee mug is never used by “her.” Instead, as a token of our love, it sits on the windowsill behind the kitchen sink and is used exclusively for watering the dog dish.
So, a few weeks ago I came out and the cup was on the counter, filled with water next to a plate. I panicked and thought “Oh no! Someone was using the dog watering cup – the former symbol of our undying love!” But what I didn’t know was that someone had in fact washed it. When I found out, I knew in my head that it was clean as could be. But – I still felt uncomfortable with the thought of using it. Why? Because I was so used to that cup being used for the dog, and so I was so used to seeing it as unclean.
That was the problem for many Jewish Christians in the early days of the Church – they knew the Gentile Christians ahd been “washed” by Christ, but they still “felt” uncomfortable around them because they had been so used to seeing them as unclean their entire lives and for over a thousand years. This is part of the problem being dealt with in Galatians, and in our passage this morning (2:11-14).
In the earliest days the Church was composed of Jews in Jerusalem exclusively. Then persecution caused Jewish believers to flee, and where they went they spread the gospel (Acts 8, 11). The place that exploded with people coming to faith was in Antioch – north of Jerusalem by about 350-400 miles. There in Antioch, however, along with Jews were large numbers of Gentiles coming into the faith (Acts 11). Eventually the leaders in Jerusalem went to inspect what was going on, just like they did when the Gospel spread to Samaria (Acts 8). And just like Peter was sent to Samaria, he was sent to Antioch later as well (v11).
To summarize our text this morning: Peter showed his approval of all he saw happening in Antioch, which was evident from his fellowshipping with Gentile Christians and eating meals with them. However, when some Jewish believers from Jerusalem arrived Peter changed his ways and began to separate from those same Gentile Christians he was fellowshipping so much with. Peter’s actions influenced many other Jewish believers there – even the great Barnabus – so that they also began separating themselves from the Gentile believers. When Paul saw this he immediately, in front of everyone, confronted Peter and rebuked him for not acting “in line with the Gospel.”
We will go under 3 headings today: 1) Condemnation, 2) Contagion, and 3) Confrontation
CONDEMNATION (11-12)
First we see condemnation. We see Peter being condemned. Look at verse 11, “When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” Peter is also called Cephas. Peter is Greek and Cephas is Aramaic. They both mean the same thing: rock.
Here Paul says that Peter “stood condemned.” This doesn’t mean condemned in that he was no longer saved. It simply means that he stood “in the wrong.” He was at fault and guilty for some wrongdoing. He was worthy to be blamed for his actions.
What exactly was he condemned for? Notice the language in each verse Paul uses, and then we’ll explain it all: Peter “separated himself from the Gentiles” according to verse 12; and then in verse 13 Paul says he was being hypocritical; and then in verse 14 Paul says Peter was not “acting in line with the Gospel.” So how exactly was this separation from Gentiles a form of hypocrisy and how was that at odds with the Gospel?
Lets look first at verse 12, which is Paul’s explanation of what it means Peter was condemned, “For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles…” So Peter acted one way when those men from James weren’t there, and another way when they were present.
This is what Paul meant by Peter’s “hypocrisy,” a word that means to give false appearances and hide one’s true feelings. It’s a word that refers to the “acting of an actor on a stage,” which makes sense because an actor sets aside who they really are in order to pretend to be someone else on stage. Peter was acting. When those men came he set aside his real views and pretended to be on the same page as those men.
Can you imagine the confusion and the hurt and even the offense the Gentile believers would have felt as they watched the great Apostle Peter essentially “disown” them? And then also as they watched lots of other Jews follow Peter and avoid them? “What’s wrong with us? I thought we were all together? Peter, you said God showed you not to call anyone unclean that He has made clean? You told us that Christ cleansed us from our sins the same way He cleansed you Jews of your sins: by faith in Jesus Christ. Why are you Jewish brothers all treating us now like we’re dirty and you need to stay away from us?”
What was happening right in front of Paul was a division along racial lines that if not dealt with immediately would have split the church at Antioch and everywhere else in the world. A little bit of leaven works through the whole batch. And if Peter was influencing people already with his actions, that would have spread far and wide.
But is that what Christ died for? A divided Church? Turn to Ephesians 2:11-18 with me…READ What Peter was putting into jeopardy was the unity that Christ made possible through his death. What Peter was putting into jeopardy was ALL the work of unity Paul and others had created through their ministry in Antioch over several years. Notice Barnabas was a core part of the unity in Antioch and in that moment he was now undoing all that unity by following Peter’s example!
Why would Peter act this way? Paul tells us: fear. Notice verse 12, “…..BECAUSE he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.” Peter was intimidated by those men and what they would have thought of him when they saw him eating with Gentiles. Here I want to offer two thoughts. First, fear of man leads to sin against God. Second, unity is worth persecution. Lets unpack both of those thoughts as they relate here.
First, fear of man leads to sinning against God. Peter’s fear of what man thought is what led him to act so as to gain the approval of man. And in doing so he sinned against Christ. This is the opposite of Paul, who said in 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man I would not be a servant of Christ.”
APPLICATION: Everyone is susceptible to the fear of man. Peter was the highest and most influential leader in the early Church. And that status did not protect his heart from succumbing to being afraid of man and seeking man’s approval at the cost of God’s. Fear God – not man. Be willing to forgo man’s approval to gain God’s.
Second, unity is worth persecution. What I mean by that is that while Jews in Antioch were fellowshipping with Gentiles it was causing quite the conflict for Jewish believers in Jerusalem. That conflict was both internal among Jewish believers, and external from hostile unbelieving Jews. Let me explain: As far as Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were concerned, Gentile Christians didn’t have to become Jewish, but Jewish Christians were not supposed to stop being “Jewish.” So the question was: were Jewish believers in Antioch abandoning Moses now that they were Christians? If they were letting go of certain Jewish rules then Jewish Christians in Jerusalem would have much more difficulty with that. Again – Gentiles didn’t have to become Jewish, they could accept that. But Jews couldn’t just stop being Jewish just because they became Christians. Turn to Acts 21:17-26 with me…
Plus, add to all that, the Jews in Jerusalem who rejected Christ and persecuted believing Jews would have had even more reason to persecute Jewish Christians in Jerusalem since they heard that Paul and others were telling Jews they don’t have to follow Moses anymore. These Jewish Christians were a threat to Jewish identity and Jewish ways! So – those Jewish Christians from James may have been motivated in part by a concern for fellow Jewish believers back home in Jerusalem and not wanting to see them undergo anymore hardships because of the news that Jews in Antioch were relaxing their obedience to Jewish customs.
To maintain unity between Jewish Christians and other Jewish Christians, they urged all Jewish Christians to still honor the law. But when it came to Gentile Christians they were not required to follow the law the way their Jewish brothers were. Paul was in agreement with that to preserve unity on all fronts. What Paul was absolutely NOT in agreement with however, was Jews treating Gentile believers like pariah and second-class Christians. Jewish Christians can continue to circumcise each other and follow Jewish customs, but they cannot refuse to accept and fellowship with Gentile Christians because they are not adhering to the law and Jewish customs.
CONTAGION (13)
Second, in our passage we see the contagion. Peter’s sin spread to others. Look at verse 13, “….” READ. Peter’s sin spread first to “other Jews,” and then so many others were following Peter’s sin that eventually Barnabus was also led astray and followed the whole group of Jews in distancing from the Gentiles in their church.
The nature of sin is that it spreads. Paul is going to say later in 5:9, “A little yeast SPREADS and works its way through the whole batch of dough” (also, 1 Corinthians 5:6). In another letter, Paul would say, “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:33) – meaning bad character in one person spreads to another. That’s what unchecked sin does – it spreads.
- The first person to ever sin was Satan. But his sin did not remain with him – according to the Bible he led a full ⅓ of the angels to rebel against God with him. He then spread his sin to Adam and Eve as well, leading them to sin against God.
- Sin was spreading through the camp of the Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai, and the Levites rallied to put a stop to it by killing those who were defiling themselves before the holy mountain.
- Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 23, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!” See how the Pharisees spread their sin?
And here in our text we see how Peter’s sin spread to others. Sin is a contagion that spreads if it is not corrected. Why does sin spread?
- People sinning who are not corrected continue to sin and thus increase how much they are sinning.
- If Christians are doing something it must be okay.
- If leaders are doing something then it must be okay.
- People in a church who don’t want sin to spread will leave if its not dealt with. Thus leaving the church filled with people who don’t care about righteousness, and only care about their flesh, their sin and the world.
We are all “followers” a lot more than we want to admit. A big deal is made of “being a leader” today. But the reality is we all are shaped and influenced by others much more than we want to admit. So
APPLICATION: Be good stewards of your influence. All of us have influence on others – some more than others. But all have influence on others. How do we influence others? Don’t justify sin in your life by lying to yourself that your actions don’t affect others. Have you ever heard someone say, “I can do what I want, it’s not hurting anyone.” Our actions have consequences for ourselves, but they also influence other people. Therefore, we all as Christians need to steward our influence so God is glorified in others.
APPLICATION: choose carefully who you allow to influence you. That means the friends you keep. In our day and age it also means the online influencers you submit yourself to.
Peter’s sin was a contagion and it was spreading fast.
CONFRONTATION (11, 14)
Lastly we see the confrontation. Paul confronted Peter. Look at verse 11, “When Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned.” Paul opposed Peter man-to-man, face-to-face. Then look at verse 14, “When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel I said to Cephas in front of them all….” A couple of quick points to note:
First, Paul confronted Peter because Peter was the reason for the whole problem. If Peter was corrected everyone else would also be corrected. What’s more, Peter was Peter, arguably the highest leader in the entire church and the most influential person.
Second, Paul confronts Peter immediately, face to face in front of the whole group. He doesn’t pull Peter aside privately. He doesn’t write a letter complaining to Jerusalem. He doesn’t say nothing and then go run down Peter’s name to all the Gentiles. Man to man, face to face. Since Peter was acting sinfully in public, and influencing those in public to cause division, then Paul needed to publicly put a stop to it.
Third, by immediately responding to this situation, Paul accomplished two things: 1) corrected the growing error, and 2) stopped Peter from continuing his hypocrisy both there in Antioch and anywhere else he would go.
APPLICATION: Reason out from the Gospel. When it comes to your decisions, your actions, etc, start with the Gospel and reason outward from there. This will help you thoughtfully align your actions with the Gospel. Notice carefully that Paul did not say that they denied the Gospel. They weren’t denying the Gospel. They were not acting in a way that was consistent with it. They were acting contrary to it.
APPLICATION: Live by the rules you expect others to live by. Paul rebuked Peter by telling him that he expected the Gentiles to do something that he didn’t do: live by Jewish customs. Peter realized this at some point. In Acts 15:10 Peter explained to everyone regarding the Gentiles, “Why do you Jews try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke [the Law of Moses] that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?” See Peter’s grasp of the failure of Jews to live up to the Law of Moses? And how hypocritical it would be to force the Gentile Christians to live by Moses when not one single Jew had ever truly lived by Moses?
One of the easiest ways to discover your own faults is to pay attention to the faults you criticize in others. I guarantee it is the most effective way to put your finger on where you yourself are at fault. I’ve seen it personally in my own life, in the lives of so many others, and it is all based on Jesus’ famous line, “Remove the plank in your own eye before you try and remove the speck in someone else’s eye.” The plank and the speck are both made of wood, the same substance. So a person is criticizing the stuff in someone else’s life that is the same stuff in their own. But a plank is bigger than a speck, and Jesus is showing us that we tend to make a very big deal out of other people’s little speck of a fault and completely ignore the giant plank of fault in our own lives.