He drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
Galatians 2:12
When Gentiles came to faith in Christ, the circumcision party went around the churches saying, “It’s great that you have come to faith in Jesus, but now, you need to adopt the distinctives that have been given to us.” These distinctives included circumcision, dietary laws, Old Testament festivals, etc. This group put pressure on Peter and Paul with very different results.
What happened when they turned the heat up on Paul? “Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you” (2:4-5).
What happened when they turned up the heat on Peter? “When they came [Peter] drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party” (2:12).
Soon there was a great division, and Paul had to stand up to Peter. “When I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to [Peter] in front of them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force Gentiles to live like Jews?’” (2:14).
The circumcision group believed the gospel, but they felt that Christian unity depended on everyone adopting their treasured distinctives. “Anyone is welcome, but you have to become like us.” If they had prevailed, the gospel would have stayed within the bounds of Jewish culture.
But Jesus told the disciples that their calling was to reach the world with the gospel. That’s our calling as well. Don’t limit your horizon to a narrow band of people who are like you. Look for ways to reach people who are different from you so that they can hear the gospel message.
Think of one person in your life who is very different from you and may not know Jesus. Pray for an opportunity to share the gospel with them today.
