Righteous anger? (2)

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

We’ve been focussing on the need to stay united in Christ, as he prayed in John 17. If we must disagree, let’s do it agreeably!

But we saw last time how Jesus himself could be ferociously angry with those who were in opposition to the purposes of God, not least the scribes and Pharisees, the “brood of vipers” (Matthew 23). And Paul too, the very man who pleaded with the Christians of Rome not to fall out with one another (Romans 14), got involved in a furious dispute with no other than Simon Peter – Cephas, the “Rock” appointed by Jesus, the human head of the church – in a way that becomes more and more remarkable every time you look at it.

Just glance through the little passage above…

1.    1. Paul “opposed Cephas to his face” (verse 11), indeed “in front of them all” (verse 14). This, remember, is Paul talking, the new kid on the block, the man who had viciously persecuted the early believers, whereas Peter had been with Jesus from the very start in Galilee. How dared he!

 2.   Paul stated that Peter “stood condemned” (verse 11). That’s a strong word. To many Christians it means something like “eternally lost”, but that surely is inconceivable here. More likely it means simply “in the wrong”, “seriously out of line”; but whatever, it’s not exactly friendly.

 3.   Paul accused Peter of “hypocrisy” (verse 13). It seems that at first Peter was perfectly happy to sit and eat with the Gentile believers who had come into the church in Antioch. And so he should be, of course! - according to Acts 11 God had given him a personal vision to make very clear that in Christ the dividing line between Jew and Gentile was totally wiped out, including the taboo on sitting at the same table; what more could he ask? Yet under pressure from “certain men from James”, otherwise known as “the circumcision group” (verse 12), Peter “drew back and separated himself from the Gentiles”. Well, we know from  the gospels that Peter could be emotional, headstrong – and sometimes downright weak; but this…!

 4.   To make matters even worse, Peter’s bad example had the effect of leading others astray: “other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy”. Peter, remember, was the leader – and leaders, obviously, tend to get followed, that’s what they’re there for. Then Paul adds some words which, I think, are among the saddest in his letters: “… even Barnabas was led astray” (verse 13). Barnabas! Oh, my dear brother Barnabas! my mentor and friend! my missionary travelling companion! my right-hand man at that tense, difficult conference in Jerusalem when these things were thrashed out (Acts 15) - You too? Surely not!... And yet it was so.

Something big was brewing at Antioch, and, as Paul saw it, it could have worked out for either good or bad. If Peter had been unchallenged about his withdrawal from his Gentile fellow-Christians, that would have amounted to a denial of the gospel of God’s free grace available to all, Jews and Gentiles – of what Paul called “justification by faith”, for that was ultimately about the uniting of all men and women in the one church, the body of Christ. Not that Peter wanted or intended any such thing, of course, but he seems to have been timid, and that could have been the effect of his influence.

Precisely who the “certain men from James” were and why they did what they did, and precisely who “the circumcision group” were, isn’t completely clear. No doubt they were true followers of Jesus, but they wanted the new wine of the gospel of justification by faith alone to be poured from wineskins that belonged to the old era of Judaism. Paul’s intervention, together with the big church conference described in Acts 15, ensured that that didn’t happen.

So… where does this episode leave us? I suggest five lessons…

First, respect and love your leaders – but don’t put them on a pedestal.

To me, the sheer fallibility of Peter is one of the things I like most about him. (Perhaps I’ve just got so much in common with him!) But Jesus loved him after failure, restored him, and entrusted him with great responsibility.

Second, if we disagree on doctrinal matters, make sure the doctrines in question are the cardinal ones.

Differences over how the Spirit is given, or kinds of water-baptism, or the timing of the second coming of Jesus, or whether every believer should speak in tongues, or whether God created the world in six literal days, or what exactly we mean by “the authority of scripture” - (I could go on, but I won’t) - such differences, ultimately, don’t really matter all that much.

Third, let’s keep in mind, if Peter could lose his way, so might you or I.

None of us are infallible - are we? (Enough said under that heading.)

Fourth, be wise if/when various outside groups infiltrate the church.

We don’t know a lot about “the men from James” or “the circumcision group”, but they clearly carried some weight and wielded real influence. For us, “infiltrators” could be sent by God – yes, don’t automatically rule that possibility out – but they could also be trouble-makers. Be alert; be discerning.

Fifth, take Jesus’ prayer in John 17 seriously.

He didn’t pray these words for fun: “so that they may be one… so that they may be brought to complete unity” (verses 22-23). Unity in Christ isn’t just an optional extra; so far as it depends on us, it’s an absolute must.

Dear Father, you sent Jesus to save us from our sins, to make us new men and women, and to create unity and harmony within your church and wherever we can. Forgive us the ignorance, the failures, the arrogance and the sheer indifference of which we are often guilty, and teach us to love all our brothers and sisters, however different they might be from us. Amen.