What was the yoke the Judaizers wanted to put on the Antioch believers who trusted Paul's gospel?
The yoke was circumcision and Law-keeping—legalism—that the Judaizers sought to impose on the Gentile believers at Antioch who had trusted Paul's gospel of grace. Peter called it a yoke on the neck of the disciples, meaning those Antioch believers, not the Twelve.
Les explains that the Judaizers and Jewish leaders were coming down hard on Paul for teaching grace to Gentiles, trying to convince him that Gentile believers had to practice circumcision and keep the Law. Paul adamantly refused. Peter later realized God had used him to bring the Word to Cornelius, and he asked why they should test God by putting a yoke on the disciples. Les clarifies that “disciples” here means the Antioch believers who had trusted Paul's gospel, not the Twelve. They were not under Law or legalism, but the Judaizers were trying to put that yoke there.
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
What was the yoke that Peter said no one could bear in Acts 15:10?
The yoke was the law. In Acts 15:10 Peter asks why they would test God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither their fathers nor they were able to bear. The context calls the law weak, beggarly, and a burden, while hearts are purified by faith, with no difference between Jew and Gentile.
Were the Antioch believers under the Law before the Judaizers came?
The Antioch believers were not under the Law before the Judaizers came. They had become believers of Paul's gospel and were not under Law or legalism. The Judaizers were the ones attempting to put them under the Law, as the context indicates.
More Questions
What does the yoke in Acts 15:10 refer to?
Les explains that the 'yoke' Peter referred to is the law; he says the law was a yoke and a burden.
What is the yoke that neither the fathers nor the apostles could bear?
The yoke of the Mosaic law was something neither the fathers nor the apostles, even Peter and the eleven, could bear.