We all know the jokes about lawyers.
Three men are stranded in a leaking boat, a priest, an electrician, and a lawyer. The priest says a prayer and jumps out, and he is immediately devoured by sharks, a tasty snack.
Next the electrician says he can’t be the cause of another man’s death, and he’s overboard, also consumed by the sharks.
When the boat goes under, the sharks safely convey the lawyer to shore. He thanks them and asks why they didn’t eat him.
They look at him in amazement. “What do you think we are? Cannibals?”
Let's look at Paul and his alter-ego, Peter.
Paul was one of the most spiritual men in the New Testament. However, Peter was the elder of the two. Both were adamant followers of Christ, faultless in their dedication to the message of Jesus.
It was unthinkable in the New Testament age for a man to openly reprove an elder. Respect was as ingrained as wearing proper clothes to the Temple.
Yet, in Galatians 2:11, we read Paul’s words telling of a time he and Peter butted heads. Paul openly reproved Peter for joining with the sharks.
Joining with the sharks.
Yes, Peter sided with the lawyers. The law, to be precise. He intermingled with the gentiles, yet he insisted that gentile converts to Christianity adhere to Jewish law.
Why did Jesus come to earth, Paul wanted to know. Was it to uphold the law? Or to supplant the law?
In Galatians 2:16, Paul yanked the feet out from under the lawyers of his day. He said:
“A man cannot be justified by the law, but only by faith in the cross.”
Paul was a lawyer’s bane, for he cast the law aside and gave all credit for salvation where it was due: Jesus Christ, born in a manger and resurrected from the grave, come to give life to all mankind.
When others come to us with their rules and regulations, we need to grab hold of the cross, for there is where our salvation is found.
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Originally Published: 1-05-14 in Discipleship