Galatians 2: The Cross—Vertical and Horizontal Truth That Breaks Down Every Barrier
"### Galatians 2: The Cross—Vertical and Horizontal Truth That Breaks Down Every Barrier
10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ""You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?"" 16 We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
1. Spiritual Hypocrisy at the Table of Truth
The table fellowship at Antioch was far more than a simple meal. It was living worship—a powerful declaration that Jews and Gentiles had become one family in Christ. But the moment Peter, conscious of the gaze of those who came from Jerusalem, quietly withdrew from eating with the Gentiles, that worship collapsed. His action was a direct betrayal of gospel truth. The very wall that the cross had torn down—the dividing wall of the law—was being rebuilt brick by brick through fear by the leader of the church himself. This was clear spiritual hypocrisy dressed up as political prudence. Paul's public rebuke of Peter wasn't driven by personal emotion. What hung in the balance over that table was nothing less than the essence of the church—the truth of the gospel of the cross. Peter's retreat gave dangerous credibility to a false gospel, one that whispered, ""The gospel alone isn't enough; you still need the alpha of Jewish customs and law."" Paul knew this compromise could stop the heartbeat of the gospel itself. He couldn't back down.
2. From Human Zeal to Divine Zeal: A Great Reversal
The foundation for Paul's fierce reaction to Peter's behavior is captured in the magnificent declaration of verse 16: salvation comes not through works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. This is more than doctrine—it's a complete reversal of direction. The way of the law is the path of desperate human zeal reaching up toward God, like young Saul racing toward Damascus. But the way of the gospel is God's unconditional grace reaching down toward humanity, like Jesus appearing in blinding light on that same road. Paul himself was the living proof of this great reversal. There's a danger here of misunderstanding faith itself as our decision or merit. But our faith is not a perfect vessel capable of containing God's grace. Rather, it's like a sieve full of holes—all our merit drains away, leaving only God's grace pouring through. Salvation doesn't rest on the firmness of our faith but on the faithfulness of Christ, who gave himself for us.
3. Perfect Agreement Found in the Place of Greatest Weakness
These two apostles, Paul and Peter, engaged in such heated debate over gospel truth. Yet their very imperfection reveals God's infinite grace all the more clearly. The gospel isn't transmitted through perfect messengers; its power is proven through the brokenness of earthen vessels—it is God's story (deus dixit, the God who speaks). In fact, even Paul, who rebuked Peter, wasn't always a hardliner insisting on principle alone. He himself circumcised Timothy to open doors for Jewish mission (Acts 16), shaved his head at Cenchrea in fulfillment of a personal vow (Acts 18), and willingly paid for purification rites in Jerusalem to promote unity with Jewish believers (Acts 21). This wasn't hypocrisy on Paul's part, but wisdom—a pastoral sensitivity that allowed him to humble himself for the sake of love and unity, as long as the essence of the gospel (the conditions of salvation) remained intact.
What's remarkable is this: these two apostles, who wrestled with reality and sometimes made different choices, found one concrete practice on which they were in complete and unique agreement. It was this: ""remember the poor"" (verse 10). The truth of the cross doesn't stop at the vertical dimension—where I die and Christ lives (verse 20). That truth must necessarily extend horizontally, tearing down the barrier between Jew and Gentile, and even breaking the stubborn dividing line between rich and poor. Perhaps the church needs to return to this point of agreement rather than getting consumed in debates about law versus gospel. The church's truest identity is proven not through perfect doctrine, but when it practices Christ's love by embracing the world's most broken places."