Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, May 9, 2021
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Paul demanded integrity and honesty from Jewish Christians, who were examples of faith to the Gentiles.
The early Christian churches, now spread across the land, had a terrible challenge in determining how to reconcile Gentile believers with the Jewish laws. They had already decided that Gentile believers would not be required to adhere to the Jewish laws in order to be cleansed and saved by Christ. That alone was a gift from God. Their salvation stood apart from the law.
But what of the Jewish Christians? They had been following God’s laws since birth. And yet, once Gentiles began to join their communities, many of the Jews, including Peter and Barnabas, were abandoning their Jewish traditions and customs when they were around their Gentile companions, yet following them around their Jewish friends. Paul criticized their choice as hypocrisy. They were not being consistent, nor were they honoring the tradition into which they were born. While Gentiles were allowed to stray from the laws, Paul insisted that the Jewish Christians maintain their traditions. Not for salvation, but because following Jewish laws was in their blood. It was who they were. To stray from the laws was to become less than who they could be.
Paul’s argument was about integrity. He demanded that Jewish Christians be true to themselves and show the world who they truly were, rather than waste time and energy experimenting with the things of the Gentiles. There was more important work to do, and they needed to continue to be examples of honesty and integrity to those they served.
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