After John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus continued God’s New Testament ministry, and He thoroughly accomplished that part of the ministry. Then the day of Pentecost came. On that day Peter was strong, and he was pure in every way. In chapters two through five of Acts we can see a young man, probably still in his thirties, clean and very pure in every way, in intent, in desire, in motive, in the heart, in the spirit, and in the understanding. He had no consideration about anything other than the Lord’s ministry, even no consideration about his life. With him at that time there was no problem in any point.
However, in Acts 10 Peter’s attitude caused a problem for God; it troubled Him. In Matthew 16 the Lord told Peter that He would give him the keys of the kingdom. There are at least two keys because the word keys is plural. On the day of Pentecost Peter used one of the two keys to open the gate for the Jewish people to enter into God’s New Testament kingdom. However, when God was going on to use him with the second key to open the door for the Gentiles this contradicted Peter’s background and tradition. On the day of Pentecost all that was necessary was for the Holy Spirit to descend upon Peter, but for the house of Cornelius God used two visions, one vision to Peter and another vision to Cornelius. This indicates that God was troubled because He was forced to take the Old Testament way of visions and dreams.
The New Testament way is to follow the anointing within, to follow the indwelling Spirit. Peter had the Spirit dwelling within him inwardly, but he could not understand the indwelling because of his background and his tradition. Peter had the outward outpouring of the Spirit and also the inward indwelling of the Spirit, but he could not understand the indwelling. This is a crucial point.
To carry out God’s ministry there is the need of a clean person. How clean Peter was on the day of Pentecost and in chapters two through five of Acts! Nothing was there as a veil covering him, and he was absolutely pure as crystal. But after a short time, even when he was praying in Acts 10, there was a veil covering him. That veil was tradition and his Jewish background, covering him and keeping him from the New Testament way. Nevertheless, God overcame him, subdued him, and even convinced him to go to the house of Cornelius to use the second key to open the door for the Gentiles to come in.
We need to read and reread Acts with much consideration. After Peter used the second key, Acts 12 tells us that he was put into prison, and then released from prison. Nevertheless, after Acts 12 there is nothing in Acts 13 concerning Peter. Chapters thirteen through twenty-eight are for Paul, and in Acts there are no more chapters for Peter. Peter’s ministry was finished in the New Testament ministry of God in Acts. Peter was good, and I believe he wrote both his Epistles after this time. (The date of 1 Peter is uncertain, whether before or after the time of Acts 13.) It was very good that Peter wrote those two Epistles. Especially in the second one, he was very genuine and bold, because he recommended one who had rebuked him to his face (2 Pet. 3:15-16).
After Acts 12, we do not see Peter until chapter fifteen. However, in Acts 15 Peter was no longer the first among the apostles nor even the first among the elders in Jerusalem. At that time in Jerusalem the atmosphere, the tendency, and the influence were not in favor of Peter, but were altogether in favor of James, who somewhat might be considered a semi-New Testament apostle, a great part New Testament and some part Old Testament.
Something colored gray can blend in either with something colored white or with something colored black. James can be compared to something colored gray, something that can fit in with either side. Peter should have been compared to something pure white, but he did not dare to be what he was. Under that atmosphere, influence, and tendency, what Peter was would not have been welcome. However, James was welcome because he could fit in with two sides at the same time.
From what we have seen in the Life-studies of James and Mark, we can realize that even the situation in Acts 15 was not entirely pure. We need to see the decision that was made in Acts 15 in the light of what happened in Acts 21. Although “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit” (v. 28), that decision was made mainly under James’s influence, and it was not purely according to God’s New Testament economy. What happened in chapter twenty-one came out of the decision that was made in chapter fifteen. In other words, we could say that the weakness that was there in chapter fifteen was exposed in chapter twenty-one. In Acts 21 James was very bold to declare that there were tens of thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem zealous for the law (v. 20). James was even so bold that he advised Paul to take the same way.