11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 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 because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. – Galatians 2:11-13
Peter approved of Paul’s gospel and ministry when Paul came to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9), and God used Peter himself to welcome Gentiles into Christianity without the precondition of becoming Jews (Acts 11:1-18). Though Peter was previously in agreement with welcoming Gentiles into the church without bringing them under the Law of Moses, when Peter came to Antioch (Paul’s home church), it was another story. He refused to associate with Gentile Christians once certain Jewish believers from Jerusalem came. These men were Christians of Jewish background. Paul called them “certain men… from James” and “those who were of the circumcision.” Knowing their background, Peter knew they would be offended at his fellowship with Gentiles who had not come under the Law of Moses. In their eyes, these uncircumcised Gentiles were not really Christians at all. Therefore, to please them and to avoid a conflict, Peter treated these Gentile Christians as if they were not Christians at all.
Peter had known that God did not require Gentiles to come under the Law of Moses for salvation. He learned this from the vision God gave him in Acts 10:10-16. He learned this from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles who believed (apart from being circumcised) in Acts 10:44-48. He learned this by the agreement of the other leaders of the church in Acts 11:1-18. Now, Peter turned back on all that he had known about the place of Gentiles in the church, and he treated uncircumcised Gentiles as if they were not saved at all.
“I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (v11) ” This shows how serious the matter was to Paul. He had a public confrontation with Peter over the issue. This was also serious because it involved the issue of eating together. Before the certain men came from James, Peter would eat with the Gentiles. Yet once they came, Peter withdrew and separated himself. This separation was probably at the church potluck dinner, which they called “the agape banquet” or the “love feast.” They would also remember the Lord’s death at this dinner and take communion together. Therefore, it is possible that Peter turned these Gentile Christians away from the communion table.
This evidence of hypocrisy on the part of Peter is also evidence of our natural tendency to give in to peer pressure. This is exactly what we would call Peter’s mistake. Peter gave in to peer pressure. He wanted the other Jews to like him. He was willing to forgo God’s will in favor of his own reputation. That is quite lofty. Can our own reputation be more important than God?