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14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
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[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 2:14
Ver. 14. "But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel."

Neither let this phrase disturb you, for in using it he does not condemn Peter, but so expresses himself for the benefit of those who were to be reformed by the reproof of Peter.

Ver. 14. "I said to Cephas before them all."

Observe his mode of correcting the others; he speaks "before them all," that the hearers might be alarmed thereby. And this is what he says —

Ver. 14. "If you, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how do you compel the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"

But it was the Jews and not the Gentiles who were carried away together with Peter; why then does Paul impute what was not done, instead of directing his remarks, not against the Gentiles, but against the dissembling Jews? And why does he accuse Peter alone, when the rest also dissembled together with him? Let us consider the terms of his charge; "If you, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how do you compel the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" for in fact Peter alone had withdrawn himself. His object then is to remove suspicion from his rebuke; had he blamed Peter for observing the Law, the Jews would have censured him for his boldness towards their Teacher. But now arraigning him in behalf of his own peculiar disciples, I mean the Gentiles, he facilitates thereby the reception of what he has to say which he also does by abstaining from reproof of the others, and addressing it all to the Apostle. "If you," he says, "being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews;" which almost amounts to an explicit exhortation to imitate their Teacher, who, himself a Jew, lived after the manner of the Gentiles. This however he says not, for they could not have received such advice, but under color of reproving him in behalf of the Gentiles, he discloses Peter's real sentiments. On the other hand, if he had said, Wherefore do you compel these Jews to Judaize? His language would have been too severe. But now he effects their correction by appearing to espouse the part, not of the Jewish, but of the Gentile, disciples; for rebukes, which are moderately severe, secure the readiest reception. And none of the Gentiles could object to Paul that he took up the defense of the Jews. The whole difficulty was removed by Peter's submitting in silence to the imputation of dissimulation, in order that he might deliver the Jews from its reality. At first Paul directs his argument to the character which Peter wore, "If you, being a Jew:" but he generalizes as he goes on, and includes himself in the phrase,

Source: Homily 2 on Galatians
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 2:14
I said unto Cephas before them all.

Observe his mode of correcting the others; he speaks before them all, that the hearers might be alarmed thereby.
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Galatians 2:14
What is Paul’s design? To preempt suspicion in his reproach. For if Paul had said, “You do wrong in observing the law,” those from Judea would have reproached him, as one who insulted the teacher. But now, rebuking Peter on account of his own disciples—those of Gentile origin I mean—Paul makes his argument palatable. And not in this way only, but by declining to reproach everyone and making the whole reproof fall on the apostle [Peter] alone.

Source: HOMILY ON GALATIANS 2.14
[AD 420] Jerome on Galatians 2:14
(Verse 14.) But when I saw that they were not walking straight towards the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of everyone. Just as those who pretend to limp with healthy steps do not have a fault in their feet, but there is some reason why they limp, so Peter, knowing that circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing, but the observance of God's commandments does, used to eat with the Gentiles, but for a time he withdrew from them, lest he should make the Jews lose faith in Christ. And so Paul, using the same tactic as Peter had pretended, confronted him to his face and spoke openly in front of everyone; not so much to accuse Peter, but rather to correct those for whose sake Peter had pretended, or even to remove pride from the Jews and despair from the Gentiles. But if someone does not like this interpretation, in which neither Peter is shown to have sinned nor Paul to have boldly accused him, they must explain in what way Paul criticizes this in the other case, which he himself committed.


If you, being a Jew, live as a Gentile and not as a Jew, how do you force the Gentiles to live as Jews? Peter is strongly convinced by an unbreakable argument, or rather, through Peter, those who were compelling him to engage in disputes: If, Peter, you being a Jew by nature, born a Jew and observing all the precepts of the Law, now know that these things have no inherent usefulness but are examples and images of things to come, and if you, eating with those who are from the Gentiles, do not live in a superstitious manner as you did before, but now live freely and impartially; how then can you compel those who believed from the Gentiles to Judaize, now separating yourself from them and considering them unclean? For if those from whom you separate are unclean, and yet you do separate, it follows that you compel them to be circumcised and become Jews; while you yourself, being born a Jew, live like a Gentile. And he joyfully shows the reason why he disputed against him: namely, because he was compelling the Gentiles to judaize through his own hypocrisy, as they desired to imitate him.

Source: Commentary on Galatians
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 2:14
Those who wish to defend Peter from error and from the depravity of life into which he had fallen overturn the very way of religion in which lies the salvation of all. This shatters and diminishes the authority of the Scriptures. They do not see that in this defense they are implicitly charging the apostle Paul not only with the crime of lying but even with perjury in the very teaching of piety, that is, in the letter in which Paul proclaims the gospel. It is for this reason he says, before narrating these things [in 1:20], “What I write to you, understand before God that I do not lie.

Source: On Lying 43
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 2:14
That he rebuked him “before all” was necessary, in order that everyone might be bettered by his rebuke. For it was not expedient to correct in secret an error that was doing public harm. It should be added that in his steadfastness and charity Peter, to whom the Lord had said three times, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep,” was very ready to bear this rebuke from a junior shepherd for the salvation of the flock. For the one who was being rebuked was himself more remarkable and more difficult to imitate than the one rebuking. For it is easier to see what one should correct in others than to see what ought to be corrected in oneself. It is easier to correct others by admonishing and rebuking than to be corrected readily even by yourself, let alone by another, still less if you add another and “before all.”

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 15 [1B.2.11-16]
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Galatians 2:14
So that one might fulfill the works of the law, his infirmity being assisted not by his own merit but by the grace of God, they were not to demand from the Gentiles a fleshly observation of the law but were to understand that through the same grace of God they were able to fulfill the spiritual works of the law.

Source: EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 15 [1B.2.11-16]
[AD 585] Cassiodorus on Galatians 2:14
He says this so that Hebrews no less than Gentiles may be compelled to accept the grace of faith, not the impositions of the law, which no one could fulfill.

Source: SUMMARY OF GALATIANS 3.2.6
[AD 749] John Damascene on Galatians 2:14
Namely that they did not cease altogether from [observing] the tradition of the Law. As we already said, he spoke in this way on account of the economy; for the whole event was an economy, including the rebuke made by Paul, and the silence and condescension of Peter. For both of them sought one thing, namely, that those who believed in Christ should cease to observe the Law. “If you are a Jew and live as a pagan, and not as a Jew.” Namely, you do not keep the observance of the Law, but like those believers from the nations, you no longer keep the new months and the sabbaths. “How then do you force the nations to do this?” This too indicates the economy of this affair. Although he does not force you, nor does he attempt to persuade the nations to Judaize, Paul says that he does so that the rebuke addressed to Peter might be found to be a useful occasion to him with respect to his own disciples. By saying all this he educates the Galatians to easily cope with the weight of the rebuke for if Peter, being from the Jews, and persuading others to Judaize, was rebuked, and accepted the rebuke, as having been properly addressed to him, how much more should the Galatians, who are from the nations, and believed in Christ, and subjected themselves again to the slavery of the Law should accept the rebuke when it is addressed to them.
[AD 9999] Pseudo-Augustine on Galatians 2:14
The apostle Peter would not have been rebuked if he had separated himself from the Gentiles for fear of giving scandal to the Jews. But what was rebuked in the apostle Peter was that, when he previously had been living in Gentile fashion with believers, he started to teach that the Gentiles ought to follow Jewish practice because he was overcome by fear upon the arrival of Jews from James. Therefore it was said to him, “If you, being a Jew, live in Gentile fashion, why do you force the Gentiles to follow Jewish practice?” For he had introduced doubt about discipleship in the gospel, which is a crime, since he was destroying what he had built. Thus it is that the apostle Paul calls this “insincerity.

Source: QUESTIONS ON THE NEW TESTAMENT, APPENDIX 60.2