It was a sticky situation, and Peter was in a muddle. He'd just been publicly admonished by Paul, who'd said he'd been acting like a hyposcrite. His actions would have exceedingly serious detrimental implications that would affect believers in Jesus from then until Jesus comes for them/us on the clouds of Rapture.
Step back a bit and see where this is coming from. Peter was the 'Trailblazer' the Lord used to bring the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles. A Jew, who would never in a million years even think of entertaining a Gentile in his home, much less go and enter a Gentile home AND eat with them; eat their food, that is. Peter did though because Jesus told him to.
Remember the visions he had about the sheet let down from Heaven with all manner of unclean-to-a-Jew, food? God told him to "kill and eat". Peter protested but eventually got the message, with God's assuring words ringing in his ears, "What I make clean, do not call unclean".
Then came that knock upon the door. Lo and behold, a bunch of Gentiles stood there beckoning Peter to come to their master's home, a master who was a Gentile! Peter went, obediently mindful of his vision and the Lord's words. What's more, Peter took other Jews along with him. Always good to have eye-witnesses.
The Holy Spirit came upon this Gentile Cornelious and those in the house at the time of Peter's visit, because of their belief in Jesus and salvation - justification through faith. They believed the message and God did the rest - He sent them the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was not imparted to these Gentiles by the laying on of Peter's hands nor any of the Jewish brothers' hands either. This was God's doing, pure and simple, and it is marvelous in our eyes!
This was ground-breaking breakthrough. This was what God was aiming at. The "whosoever will" who may come to Jesus whether Jew or Gentile. Neither faction had to do any deeds to have this salvation except to believe. This is an important point to note because it is at the crux of Paul's challenging admonishment to Peter.
Peter would continue to eat with Gentiles but at one point when there were some very dogmatic Jewish brothers come to visit, he suddenly segregated himself to eat only with the Jewish contingent.
Paul had been the apostle sent to the Gentiles once that door had been blasted open by Peter. Paul had preached "justification by faith alone". Yet here was Peter mucking about. This had potential to turn all Paul's hard work of preaching to the Gentiles upside down.
Paul was not going to allow that to happen nor let Peter, for his own good, allow it to happen. Paul was definitely justified in his sharp rebuke to Peter. This should not be: not in the matter of food, nor in the matter of circumcision or any other such chain of 'slavery'.
The reality was, there was indeed further hoo-hah about it when the Judaizers from Jerusalem stuck their oar in. They said the Gentiles needed to be circumsized in order to be fully saved. It teetered on the brink of catastrophic division, but was averted by another continent going up to Jerusalem to the council and them sorting it out there among the apostles.
To get back to the hypocritical behavior of Peter...He should have known better but seems he kowtowed to peer pressure; thus his quandary. Thus, the Pauline rebuke.
We could point fingers at Peter and judge him for his actions. Nevertheless, would we have been any better in such a given situation?
After all, they were sort of all new at this Christian living -- their being the first believers of the "early church". Yet, this timing was many years in, about ten or more, I'm told, and there were already established local churches of Gentile believers in and around Antioch. In fact, it was from these churches that the believers were first called "Christians;" albeit in derogatory manner.
In many varied places since that time, there have been so many rules and regualtions -- even unwritten ones, that have bound believers with grievous burdens to be borne for many a year or even for some, a lifetime.
I believe it very possible, that anyone of us would have been sorely tempted, and even succumed to Peter's actions. Peer pressure is a powerful motivator. Or we have been brought up only knowing and being drenched in such legalistic dark clouds. We don't know any better and believe it to be "truth".
Pray and ask the Lord to send someone to rebuke you if you are ever stuck in such a delimma and miry pit. When you have gotten out, don't go back. There is a most wondeful verse in Galations (5:1 NIV) that would be a great help to anyone in such a predicament and who may be lured back into the strict conformity of previous attachments.
Read and re-read and re-read the verse,
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
With courage and determination, coupled with heaping doses of God's grace, let's stand firm in faith; nothing wavering. Don't give in to temptations of restriction that are not God-given, nor to those who would sway you from the truth. This even if they are from the "spiritual" leadership of those who purport to know God's Word well.
Arm yourself with God's Word, prayer, and ask the Lord for discernment to continue to follow our Savior, by faith. Whatever you do, don't fall into Peter's muddle.
~ERC January 2021~
Read Acts 1 and the book of Galations for background (backstory) on Peter's muddle.
A recommended book, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse
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