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Galatians 2:12 |
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For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Note 1 at Gal. 2:12: Peter knew that the Gentiles did not have to conform to Jewish law for salvation. The Lord had shown Peter in a vision that the Gentiles were to become heirs with those who receive Jesus by faith. Peter acted on this conviction when he shared the gospel with Cornelius and his household. All of this is recorded in Acts 10. So, Peter was to blame for not standing up for this truth which the Lord had given him.
But here Paul gives us a little more detail about Peter's time at Cornelius' home. Apparently Peter and his company did stay with Cornelius as requested in Acts 10:48. During that time Peter and his Jewish friends ate with the Gentiles, which was against Jewish tradition (see note 2 at Jn. 18:28, p. 520). When messengers from James came to check out what was happening, Peter and company separated from the Gentiles, fearing the Jews. Therefore, Paul says Peter was at fault. He knew better and could not claim ignorance. His actions proved his hypocrisy (see note 4 at v. 13).
All these things happened to Peter prior to the Jerusalem counsel recorded in Acts 15. This counsel was to determine if Paul's Gentile converts had to be circumcised (conform to Jewish law-see note 2 at Acts 15:1, p. 659). Peter could have made it much easier on Paul to convince the apostles if he had spoken up in Paul's defense. But there is a noticeable silence on Peter's part. Paul didn't say anything to Peter about this in front of the Jerusalem church, but when Peter came to Antioch, Paul rebuked Peter publicly (v. 14).
According to Acts 11:3, Peter's eating with the Gentiles was made known anyway, so his hypocrisy didn't gain him any advantage. It never does. He would have been better off to have stood on the truth God showed him.
Note 2 at Gal. 2:12: Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare. . . ." This is a classic example of that truth.
The Lord had already shown Peter that he was not to call Gentile Christians unclean (Acts 10:28). Peter acted on this revelation and broke with Jewish tradition by eating with the Gentile believers of Cornelius' household. But when Jews sent from James arrived, Peter went against the revelation in his heart and operated out of fear of what these Jews might think.
