But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
Some of my most embarrassing moments have been when I was publicly disciplined. This did not necessarily end as an adult either; the embarrassment factor simply ramped up more. Just imagine being Peter. Jesus had set him up as the leader. He gave him the keys and tasked him with the feeding of the sheep. Then, after the unfortunate denial episode, Peter went about faithfully proclaiming that Jesus was the Risen Christ. He was healing and preaching and everything was great. That is until the former persecutor got in his face.
The problem was that Peter was a leader and people were going where he led. He avoided the Gentiles when James was around and so the others did, including Barnabas. Paul proved to be the more courageous leader and one wonders if that was about the time the focus of Acts shifted from Peter to Paul from chapter 13 on.
There is a great lesson for leaders here. Indeed, it is for parents, grandparents, anyone. You are leading someone and what you are doing will be seen by them and imitated by them. May they see us stand up for right like Paul did and not give in to the path of least resistance like Peter did. The keyword is fear. Peter feared the circumcision party. Who do you fear today? Are they more powerful than Jesus Christ? I think not. If you want future generations to know the Way…
Lead the way.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church