What was Peter's problem in the Galatians 2 confrontation?
Peter's problem was that he could not recognize he was no longer under the law and was free to eat and converse with Gentiles. At Antioch, after eating with Gentiles, he withdrew when Jews came from Jerusalem because he feared what they might say, still not 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, Paul says, "I withstood him to the face," because Peter was to be blamed. Peter's problem was that he just could not recognize he was no longer under the law and was now free to eat with Gentiles and converse with Gentiles. It still bothered him. While visiting the Gentile church at Antioch, Peter evidently had been going in and eating with those 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 these are normal people, and Peter was not yet that convinced that Paul was on the right track.
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
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