Why was Peter no longer the chief spokesman by Acts 15?
By Acts 15, Peter was no longer the chief spokesman because the kingdom program had slipped, and he had been sidelined from leadership. He sat off in the corner, no longer part of the decision-making “wheels,” while James, Christ’s half-brother, moderated. God sovereignly brought Peter forward only to testify that Gentiles could be saved as Jews.
Les explains that when studying Acts, Peter begins in Acts 1 and 2 as the spokesman, moderator, and head man. By Acts 15, however, Peter has been sitting off in the corner, not really having a part in the whole discussion because he is not even part of the wheels anymore. The moderator is now James—not the James of Peter, James, and John, for that James had been beheaded—but James, a half-brother of Christ who was not even a believer during Christ’s earthly ministry. Les says this shows how far the kingdom program has slipped already, that Peter is no longer the chief spokesman. Sovereignly, God shakes Peter up, brings him to the forefront, and he makes his statement that God had shown him Gentiles could be saved even as Jews.
Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
See the rest