by Harry BuererA troubling passage for me has been the section in Galatians 2 where Paul opposes Peter to his face, stating that he was clearly in the wrong. Both of these men were apostles, followers of Jesus. If they differed on an issue, how could we determine who was right? And why would they differ in the first place?
In looking at the passage in Galatians 2:11-14 based on what it says, trying to avoid presuppositions, we see that Peter was alternating between two courses of action. Sometimes he was eating with “Gentiles”. There is no indication whether the Gentiles mentioned here are believers in Jesus; they are simply described as Gentiles.
When a delegation of Jews comes, sent by James in Jerusalem, he acts differently, and withdraws from eating with these Gentiles. One of these actions is viewed by Paul as hypocrisy. But which one, and why?
There is some ambiguity around this situation, as I see it. But it seems to be cleared up a little by Paul’s direct words to Peter. “You are a Jew, but you live like a Gentile, and not like a Jew.” This seems to be the very definition of hypocricy, one’s life not matching his identity or claims.
In another epistle, the one to the Ephesians, Paul goes into more depth regarding what he thinks of living like a Gentile. Ephesians is the letter in which Paul points out that Gentile believers in Jesus were once “excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise.” (2:12) But in Christ they are now brought near, fellow citizens with God’s people. (2:19)
In Romans 11 Paul describes this same transformation as being wild olive branches grafted into the olive tree of Israel. Clearly a believing Gentile has a new identity, as part of the commonwealth of Israel, the larger people of God.
But in Ephesians 4:17 Paul points out the difference this should make in the believer’s life. “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do.” Clearly Paul does not approve of believers living like Gentiles. For a Jewish believer like Peter to do so would be even worse.
Paul goes on in the Galatians passage to say to Peter, “If you, a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how do you expect to get Gentiles to live Jewishly?” That, after all, is one of the results of the gospel, to get “Gentile sinners” (as Paul refers to them in the following verse) to embrace the God of Israel and the Israel of God, to leave a life of sin and begin to live according to God’s commands.
A sticking point for most translators in this verse is the Greek word that they take as meaning to force or compel. A quick review of the half-dozen times it’s used in the New Testament shows that it usually means something much weaker, like to influence.
There is apparently more to the story of Peter in Antioch that we’re not told. My best guess is that if Paul is accusing Peter of living like a Gentile, he is probably eating with Gentiles in situations which are inappropriate for a believer to be part of.
It’s true that Jesus ate with tax collectors a “sinners”. But these were Jewish sinners, and eating with them would not entail breaking God’s laws about what not to eat. Perhaps Peter, for the sake of evangelism, was going to the extent of eating foods that God had prohibited in his law. This is the only thing that I can see that would cause Paul to accuse him for living like a Gentile.
The point Paul is making in the context is that Gentiles are saved by faith in Jesus, not by becoming Jews. I’m not sure how this relates to Peter’s hypocrisy in eating with Gentiles. But I’m also not sure how it relates to the typical Christian interpretation of this passage of Peter drawing back from eating with Gentiles.
The lesson that I would draw from this passage is that there are lengths to which we should not go in our attempts to evangelize. If our lifestyle leads to breaking God’s commands to his people, then we are being hypocritical, even if our intentions are good.
As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 28:20, the essence of discipleship is following his commands. And that certainly includes following God’s commands to his people, as Jesus affirmed so strongly in Matthew 5:17-20 and elsewhere.