Galatians 2:12

Peter knew that God accepted the *Gentiles (Acts 10). Jesus unites *Jews and *Gentiles when they trust him. So Peter was happy to accept *Gentile Christians. In Antioch, they ate together. This means that they regularly ate meals together. Also, they had the ‘*Lord’s Supper’ together (see 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). The *Jewish laws said that a *Jew must not eat with *Gentiles. But *Jewish Christians are free from these *Jewish laws.

Paul did not name the men who went to Antioch. These men came from James’s *church, in Jerusalem. It seems that the men knew James. But Paul did not say that James sent them. Perhaps these men were *Jewish Christians whom Peter wanted to impress. But perhaps these men were false teachers. If so, they did not teach the true *good news about Jesus. They believed that *Gentile Christians should become *Jews. Peter knew the truth, so he should have opposed such a message. Instead, he was afraid of these men. He did not continue to live freely. He began to avoid the *Gentile Christians. In Acts Chapter s 2 to 4, you can read how Peter confidently *preached to the *Jews about Jesus. But still, he was too afraid to oppose the false teachers at Antioch.

This verse shows that even important leaders may behave in the wrong way. Peter did not just make a mistake. He chose to act against the truth on purpose. He tried to protect himself. Instead, he should have protected God’s truth.