The Truth of the Gospel

Galatians 2:114
Intro
The Christian movement spread not as a monolithic group of Christ believers. Within the
early Christian movement various theological streams could be identified. Two of those can
be gleaned from the writings of Paul. On one side we find a stream of Christian belief that is
marked by sole trust in the saving act of God through Jesus Christ. Inclusion in this group
does not have prerequisites. Paul, who did his missionary work in predominantly Gentile
(non-Jewish) regions, is very much visible in this particular stream. On the opposite side is a
stream that professes belief in Jesus Christ with the requisite of following the demands of the
Torah/Laws of Moses, especially the observance of circumcision and food laws, which are
significant identity markers of the Jews. We can see the tensions between the two in Pauls
letter to the Galatians.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is in an attacking mode. He wanted to defend himself
against those who want to twist the gospel he proclaimed. The prescript of this letter shows it.
He does not say any thanksgiving, which is usually present in his other letters. In chapter 1,
verse 6 he expresses his sentement right away: I am astonished that you are so quickly
deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.
Paul is so conviced that his gospel the right gospel, so that for him even if an angel from
heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one Paul and his co-workers preached, let that
angel be accursed (1:8). Paul narrates his personal circumstances, how he came to receive
such a gospel from God, and how the truth of that gospel transformed his life from being
persecutor to becoming proclaimer of the same gospel to Gentile or non-Jewish audiences.
Paul reports that the Christians in other places, for instance Syria and Cilicia, were happy to
hear and see him a transformed person.
In the so-called Council of Jerusalem, where Paul met with leaders there, basically the same
thing happened, although there was some kind of tension because there were those coming
from the circumcision group, who sneaked in so that they could manipulate Pauls gospel (cf.
Gal 2:4).
Having perceived Gods grace at work in Paul, the pillars of the faith in Jerusalem James,
Peter/Cephas and John acknowledged him as there co-worker. A handshake serves the
comity agreement: that Through a handshake, a comity agreement: Paul to minister among
the Gentiles, and they in Jerusalem led by Peter, James and John among the circumcised.
Conflict at Antioch
But something different happens in Antioch, where Christians there are composed of both
Jewish and Gentile adherents. Peters presence in Antioch seems to reciprocate Pauls visit in
Jerusalem. Peter mixes with the Christians there, especially eating with them. Perhaps he was
invited by some members for dinner in their private homes. Perhaps he joined celebrating
communion with them a number of times. Dining with the Christians in Antioch was for
Peter not a problem, only until the group of James came from Jerusalem.

As Paul narrates here, Peter draws back and separates himself for fear of the circumcision
group. His action has terrible effects: The rest of the Jews also did the same, even including
Barnabas, Pauls mission partner. Paul calls that action hypokrisis, translated hypocrisy. In the
ancient Greco-Roman world, hypokrisis was a word used to describe the role of stage actors.
Theatre performers were sometimes referred to as hypocriton or hypokrites. When stage
actors played their roles, they usually changed their bearing, their voice and language. In
other words they are not themselves when they are on stage, so that the verb hypocrinomai
meant to pretend or to practice deception.
For Paul, this is exactly what Peter and his Jewish counterparts do deceiving, not behaving
truthfully, and consequently twisting the message they have agreed to proclaim.
The Truth of the Gospel
For Paul, what is at stake is the truth of the gospel. He mentions this phrase twice in the
passage (verse 5 and verse 14). Paul thinks there is only one and single basis of Christian
conduct: the truth of the gospel. Peter falls short of it, so does Barnabas and the rest of the
Jews around during the incident.
It seems to me that Pauls idea of the truth of the gospel is of one that liberates. Imposing
some Jewish traditions on Gentile Christ believers is, according to Paul, enslaving and is
therefore contrary to the truth of gospel. This is not to say, however, that Paul is being antiJewish or against the Jewish laws, which he learned by heart as a Pharisee. In fact, he writes
to the Romans (7,12): the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and
good. As Rudolf Bultmann somewhat puts it, rigid enthusiasm about the law is the actual
sin, not so much the failure to obey it. If we try to apply this in many respects of human
existence, there is indeed danger in imposing ones political, religious or cultural convictions
on other individuals, groups or nations. To cite one example: Dr. Rainer Neu, a dear friend
and benefactor of Silliman University, once shared how he tried to convince the Green Party
in Germany not to support the move to make circumcision of babies on the basis of childrens
rights illegal and therefore punishable by law. He explained that doing it would not only
disturb the long-enduring cultural practice of the Jewish people but also destroy their
religious identity.
While the truth of the gospel is one that liberates, it lies also in its ability to break boundaries
and heirarchies. Pauls truth of the gospel does not envision a community of Christians with
like first class or second class members. He is straightforward at that when he says in Gal
3:28, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. His truth of the gospel envisions rather an
egalitarian community. In Germany people use a word egal to express that something does
not matter. Is not Christian community a place where status, race, cultural traditions and
gender do not matter? For Paul, there is no room for adversarial and polarizing attitudes. For
the truth of the gospel is not about us vs. them or meat-eaters vs. vegetarians or
book readers vs. facebook readers.
But we cannot completely blame Peter for his wrong actions, which due to his stature as

leader invited the rest of the Jews to follow suit. What Peter does here shows human tendency
to take the side of the more powerful rather than the side of the weak and marginalized. Look
at how our media promotes social boundaries and heirarchies, how it invites and manipulates
people to take the dominant side by buying and wearing or using particular products. This
tells us how many societies nowadays move far from the truth of the gospel.
Finally, related to the truth of the gospel as promoting no boundaries or heirarchies is its
power to draw people together. One concrete manifestation of this is when peoples from
differing traditions and cultures dine together. John Dominic Crossan, a New Testament
scholar, calls it commensality (Lat. cum + mensa). The Latin mensa alludes to a round table
at which all members have equal status. Jesus demonstrates how it is to practice
commensality. He dines with the outcast and sinners. He touches the sick, risking himself
also to become unclean. Paul also does it in his own way. He writes to the Corinthian
Christians (1 Cor 9:20), To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under
the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might
win those under the law. His commitment to exercise commensality has prompted him to
admonish Peter: If you, though a Jew live like a Gentile and not like a Jew [that is, taking
part at the dining table among the Gentiles], how can you afford to compel the Gentiles to
live like Jews [that is, that the Gentiles should observe Jewish food laws and circumcision]?
Brothers and sisters, Silliman is an opportune place where the truth of gospel can be made
manifest, where liberation, the breaking of boundaries and heirarchies, and commensality can
take place. This is not mainly to transform those whom we proclaim the gospel to, but more
so to let transformation take place in the community our faith community that represents
the truth of the gospel. Amen.

Rev. Dennis T. Solon, Dr.theol.

Preached at Silliman University Church
September 2014