‘But when Cephas came to Antioch I resisted him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James he ate with the Gentiles, but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews dissembled in the same way, in so much that Barnabas was carried away by their dissimulation.'
The example cited is concerning the behaviour of the Apostle Peter. It appears that when Peter visited Antioch he was happy to eat with the non-Jews, ignoring Jewish restrictions on ‘cleansing' and on eating with those who ate ‘unclean' food, as the voice from Heaven had made clear he could do in Acts 10:9-16. This would be at the ‘love-feasts' which were common in the early church as Christians gathered to eat together in an act of love and fellowship, which would be accompanied by the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20-21). But when some Jewish Christians arrived from Jerusalem, who stressed the need to keep the rituals of the Law of Moses, he had stopped eating with the non-Jews lest he be accused of not conforming with certain Jewish ritual requirements, even though previously he had been quite satisfied that he did not need to conform with them. And by this he had thus led astray other Jews who were there, including Barnabas. This ties in with the man who could deny his Master under stress. Peter was a brave and good man, but he had a tendency to panic when challenged.
The result of this behaviour was that it affected fellowship around the Lord's Table (Holy Communion) for this would come under the same restrictions. It resulted in a division between Jews and Gentiles. Thus the rift was both social and religious. The church was being rent in two.
These details of this incident serve to confirm that it took place before the gathering at Jerusalem in Acts 15. For there the clear decision, when interpreted, had to signify that as long as Gentiles abstained from blood and from eating things that were strangled, Jews could enjoy table fellowship with them, otherwise there would be little point in the regulations. And that being so Paul would have been able to cite the decision of the gathering to Peter. As he did not it confirms that that decision had not as yet been reached. Alternately it might suggest that he saw it as a compromise that in certain circumstances should be put aside.
Whatever be the case with regard to that, the incident here demonstrates.that many of the more conservative attached to the Jerusalem church still refused to eat with Gentiles. Indeed feeling was so strong here that even Barnabas had temporarily sided with them. We can see why Paul was horrified. He could see the consequences that would follow. The result could only be that two churches would be built up, one of which would be legalistic and separatist, and the truth of the Gospel would then be put in jeopardy.