Why did Peter stop eating with Gentiles in Antioch?
Peter withdrew from eating with Gentiles at Antioch because he feared what Jews from Jerusalem might say. He still struggled to accept that believers were no longer under the law and were free to eat and converse with Gentiles, and he was not yet fully convinced Paul was on the right track.
Les explains that the last account between Peter and Paul was a confrontation in Galatians chapter 2, where Paul withstood Peter to the face because Peter was to be blamed. Peter’s problem was that he could not recognize he was no longer under the law and was now free to eat and converse with Gentiles; it still bothered him. While visiting the Gentile church at Antioch, he had evidently been eating with Gentiles, but as soon as some Jews came up from Jerusalem, he withdrew because he was afraid of what the Jews might say. Les notes that Peter was not yet that convinced Paul was on the right track.
More Questions
Why did Paul confront Peter in Galatians 2?
Paul and Peter had their confrontation in Galatians 2 because Peter could not get Israel's separation mindset out of his system; he could eat with Gentile believers at Antioch, but when his fellow Jews came from Jerusalem he withdrew.
Why did Paul and Peter have a confrontation in Galatians 2?
Paul and Peter's confrontation in Galatians 2 happened because Peter could not get out of his system that he could associate with Gentile believers, and he withdrew when Jews came from Jerusalem.