Antioch: The Confrontation That Preserved the Gospel

Total Time: ~60-75 mins
Focus: Examining the intense confrontation between the apostles Peter and Paul to understand the subtle danger of hypocrisy, the corrosive nature of the fear of man, and the absolute necessity of defending the pure truth of the Gospel of Grace.

🧱 The Single Session: A Clash of Apostles

Theme: When Peter, the leading apostle, compromises the truth of the Gospel out of fear, Paul is forced into a public confrontation to protect the core message of Christian freedom and unity.

📖 Reading
Galatians 2:11–21 — Paul recounts the incident in Antioch where he opposed Peter “to his face, because he was to be blamed.”

📖 Key Passage
Galatians 2:11–14 —
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”

📚 The Setting & The Stakes

The Church in Antioch: This was the first great multi-ethnic church, a vibrant mix of Jewish and Gentile (non-Jewish) believers. It was the launching pad for missionary work to the rest of the world.
Table Fellowship: In the ancient world, sharing a meal was a profound sign of acceptance and unity. For Jewish Christians to eat with Gentile Christians was a radical declaration that the old dividing walls of the Law had been torn down by Christ. They were one family, with equal standing.
The Core Issue: Peter’s action was not just a personal mistake; it was a public sermon. By withdrawing from the Gentiles, he was visually preaching a “false gospel.” He was acting as if faith in Christ was not enough, and that to be a “first-class” Christian, one also had to adhere to Jewish customs and laws. He was rebuilding the wall that Jesus had destroyed.

🔍 The Key Players

Peter (Cephas): The lead apostle, “the apostle to the circumcision” (the Jews). He was a pillar of the Jerusalem church and a personal disciple of Jesus. His actions carried immense weight.
Paul: The “apostle to the Gentiles.” His entire ministry was dedicated to the truth that non-Jews could be saved by faith alone, without becoming Jews first. For him, this was not a minor issue; it was the Gospel itself.
“Certain from James”: These were legalistic Jewish Christians from the Jerusalem church (led by James, the brother of Jesus). They believed that adherence to the Jewish law was still necessary, creating the “works front-loading” that Paul fought so fiercely against.

🧠 Reflection & Analysis

The Sin of Fear: Peter’s motive was clear: “fearing them which were of the circumcision.” He was afraid of what the legalistic faction from Jerusalem would think of him. His fear of man became greater than his faith in the truth of the Gospel he knew and had lived. How does the fear of disapproval from other people cause us to compromise our own convictions today?
The Contagion of Hypocrisy: Peter’s action was so influential that even Barnabas, Paul’s trusted missionary partner, “was carried away with their dissimulation.” This shows how powerfully the actions of a leader can affect the entire community. Why is hypocrisy, especially from leaders, so damaging to the church?
The Necessary Confrontation: Paul didn’t speak to Peter in private. He confronted him “before them all.” Why was a public confrontation necessary in this specific case? What does Paul’s reason—“they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel”—tell us about when such a stand is required?
The Heart of the Matter: Paul’s question to Peter—“why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"—exposes the core error. Peter’s actions were putting a burden of works and performance back onto the Gentile believers. He was implicitly telling them that Grace was not enough. Where do we see this same pressure to perform or conform to human traditions in the church today?

✝️ Final Encouragement: Guarding the Pure Signal

This brief, tense, and uncomfortable story from Galatians is one of the most important in the New Testament. It serves as a permanent, blazing warning that the purity of the Gospel of Grace is paramount and must be defended at all costs. It shows that no one, not even a great apostle like Peter, is immune to the subtle pull of legalism and the fear of man. And it teaches us that our unity as believers is not found in conforming to one another’s cultural standards, but in our shared, equal, and unshakeable standing as justified sinners at the foot of the cross of Christ.