SOAK Galatians 2:11-16

This is one of the most interesting passages in scripture to me. What really impresses me is not the open conflict between Paul and Peter, but so many things left unsaid and so many little questions that are unanswered.

First, who are these men who “come from James.” The wording here seems to imply that the group of Christians who believe that a “Jewish Christian” is at least slightly more spiritual than a Christian who does not follow Jewish laws were under the leadership or inspiration of James, the brother of Jesus, who is clearly a pillar of the Jerusalem church.
It is easy to see how being the brother of Jesus would help one be a leader, and it is also easy to see that living in Jerusalem and being based there would keep someone like James from encountering a lot of non-Jewish Christians, so he had no occasion to adjust his theology to include Christians who did not obey Jewish laws in his immediate circle. Easy to look down on those you hardly ever encounter.

Why did these men influence Peter? Did he accept their premise (“better not eat those unclean things or dine with those who do”), was he just trying to keep the peace with the James faction, or did he figure it didn’t make much difference.
Paul rightly saw this as an offense against the gospel, but was he also upset because Peter had influenced Barnabas, who was his partner. To influence Barnabas must have been adding insult to injury.

What is the big lesson for us in this account? Remember that only by grace are we saved and acceptable to God. We can never look down on other believers because their behavior is different than ours, because there is nothing about our behavior that made us right with God.
By the same token, we can never look down on non-believers in Christ, because it was certainly not any action or activity of our own that brought peace with God. Our sins were just as bad as theirs.