Paul is writing to the Galatians who are victims of a covert spiritual attack by false teachers. A group of Judaizers snuck into their midst pretending to be followers of Jesus, only to preach a counterfeit gospel and steal the freedom the apostle proclaimed in Christ (Gal 2:4).
These despicable men accused Paul of being a rogue apostle who preached an incomplete message. Paul reassured the Galatians that he met with the boys in the home office and confirmed they were all on the same page about the Good News (Gal 2:2, 6-10).
But the issue about God's inclusion of Gentiles into His kingdom was far from over. Paul lets us in on some of the dirty laundry from the early days of the church. This is another example of how the writers of Scripture didn't varnish the truth. It would have been very easy to edit out this paragraph and never tell anyone of Paul and Peter's ugly and public face off in Antioch.
But here it is. Here we read of Peter, the leader of the apostles and one of Jesus' inner circle, making a mess of things. Even the well-respected Barnabas doesn't escape. The lesson here is that these people are sinners just like us. They continue to goof up and fall short. Yet Jesus continues to use them. That's grace.
The scene is Antioch in Syria. This is first great mega-church outside of Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit had so gripped the city that Barnabas had to call in Saul for reinforcements (Acts 11:19-26). This where Jesus' disciples first earned the nickname Christians. It's also the same church that commissioned Barnabas and Paul on their first mission trip (Acts 13:2-3).
Paul describes how the Apostle Peter "came to Antioch" (v11). It wasn't long before things blew up into one of the biggest controversies in the NT. At first, things were great. Pete was hanging out and eating with people from non-Jewish ethnic groups (v12).
What happened in Antioch should be happening in every church today. God has removed racial and ethnic barriers through the death of Jesus (Gal 2:28). As the saying goes, the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
But everything changed when "certain men came from James" (v12). James is Jesus' brother that Paul talked about earlier (Gal 1:19; 2:9).
He had become a big dog in the church in Jerusalem while the apostles hit the road to tell the world about Jesus. James even wrote the first book of the NT, which bears his name. But when this posse arrived representing him, it all went down in Antioch (v11).
The first thing that happened is Peter's reaction. "He drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party" (v12). The Greek verb for "drew back" is ‘υποστελλω/hupostello. It's actually a military term that describes a calculated and strategic retreat. In other words, Peter knew EXACTLY what he was doing. He had been hanging out with Gentile Christians until his Jewish buds rolled into Antioch.
Pete was worried about what these Jewish Christians would think when if they saw him having dinner with non-Jews. The so-called "circumcision party" believed that Gentiles could become followers of Jesus but they had to basically become Jews first. Follow the Mosaic Law. Become circumcised. But church leaders ruled that NOT to be the case (Gal 2:1-10; Acts 15:1-29).
It's hard for us to wrap our heads around the scope of this controversy some 2,000 years later. Jesus' inclusion of Gentiles was revolutionary and radical. The Jews were God's chosen people. Up until this point, the only way to know the blessings of Yahweh was to convert to Judaism. The Gentile Controversy is THE issue in the book of Acts.
The Apostle Peter continually struggled with the idea. At times he clearly supports the idea. In the wake of the incredible vision God gives him on a rooftop in Joppa, Pete undoubtedly understands this to be divine instructions to reach out to non-Jews (Acts 10:1-48).
As a result, he tells the Good News of Jesus to the Gentile Centurion Cornelius and his family. Its Pete who tells the church leaders about the breathtaking move of the Holy Spirit among non-Jews (Acts 11:1-18). Yet Pete's the problem in Antioch. This tells us how this apostle continued to wrestle with this radical new concept.
The problem is that it didn't stop with Peter. His actions have an impact on many others. "And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with them" (v13). The church in Antioch was a marvelous mixture of Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus. When Pete distanced himself from the non-Jews, so did all of the other Jews.
As the leader of the apostles, people are watching Peter to see what he does. We need to remember that others are watching us too. Whether we like it or not, we set an example for others to follow. Will it be a good or bad one?
Pete's bungle even impacted one of the most respected members of the early church. "Even Barnabas was led away by their hypocrisy" (v13). This Cypriot Jew played an incredibly important role in the early days. He made a huge contribution of his personal wealth by selling some real estate to help struggling brothers and sisters (Acts 4:36-37).
Barney vouched for Saul/Paul when he first came to Jerusalem at a time folks wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole (Acts 9:26-27). He was a valuable teacher in the early days of God's work in Antioch (Acts 11:22-24). He was the leader of the first mission team that the church commissioned that Paul accompanied (Acts 13:2-3). Yet, Pete's hypocrisy even brought down Barnabas.
That's why Paul had to do something. He "opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned" (v11). Paul didn't mess around and strategize about how to handle the situation. He didn't go behind Pete's back and work through his friends. He "opposed him to his face.”
Paul knew without a doubt that Pete was WAY wrong. Pete was sinning and needed to be corrected. The biblical way of handling this is a loving but firm confrontation.
Paul went to Pete. Face to face. Man to man. He pulled no punches. And it's what God calls each of us to do. Trust me, I HATE confrontation. I'll do what I can to avoid it. As a matter of fact, I'm more likely to be like Peter and worry about my reputation among others.
But Scripture is clear. When we are in sin, confrontation is in order. It's time for a face off.
©2012
Jay Jennings
No comments:
Post a Comment