Peter's Shocking Revelation (Acts 10:1-33)
Introduction
The book of Acts traces the Gospel moving from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Lord promised that the nations would be blessed through Abraham. (Genesis 12 and 17)
Acts 10 reminds us that sometimes the hardest part is convincing God's own people that the grace of God is bigger than the boundaries we may have placed around it. We can set boundaries where God has not set them.
Peter has to overcome a conviction that there is a strong distinction between Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles were considered unclean and outside the fellowship of God's covenant people. Sure, a Gentile might be able to worship the true God, but a Jew cannot fully fellowship with a Gentile.
So, when the Lord gives Peter a vision of animals, and then commands Peter to “kill and eat,” we can understand why Peter is reluctant, but we also need to realize this is more than revealing a new diet. This is the assurance that the Jews and Gentiles have table fellowship together. They are unified as one people in Christ.
An Unlikely Recipient
The story begins with Cornelius, a Roman centurion stationed in Caesarea. Peter would want to avoid this man.
Cornelius is a Gentile. He is a Roman military officer holding Israel under its authority. Yet Luke tells us that Cornelius was a devout man who feared God, cared for the poor, and prayed continually. This means that he worships the Lord, but is not necessarily integrated into the Lord’s community. He is a follower of God, but not in fellowship with God’s people.
Caesarea is a Roman stronghold that would be filled with a large Gentile population. This is a place that Jewish people would deem unclean. The man and his city remind Israel that they are in exile. They are under foreign rule.
Luke reminds us that this man is devout. He fears God. He is committed to the true God of Scripture. This unlikely recipient receives a vision to summon Peter. He does not know why, but that is what the Lord tells him to do.
Acts 10 reminds us that the Gospel comes to people we would not expect. God does not choose people because they have earned his grace. This is humbling and encouraging to realize that God displays his grace in unlikely people. Many times we give little thought to the fact that we ourselves are unworthy of Christ. Praise be to God that his grace is not limited to our boundaries.
The Unlikely Vision
Cornelius sent his men about a day’s journey to fetch Peter. Peter has his vision while these men are en route.
Luke tells us that Peter goes up to the rooftop to pray and falls into a trance. Peter sees a sheet of animals coming down from heaven. This sheet contains clean and unclean animals. Peter hears the unthinkable, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Leviticus allows God’s people to kill animals and consume their flesh. However, there are certain animals that a pure Israelite is not to eat. Peter sees unclean animals that he is commanded to eat. This is troubling.
Peter's response is very much in character: “By no means, Lord.” This is not necessarily defiance, but Peter’s immediate reaction. The Gospels show that Peter responds impulsively rather than spending hours reflecting on tactful responses. Think of this as Peter reacting rather than rebelling.
God responds, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” The Lord repeats this three times, and Peter is still contemplating the Lord’s intention in this vision.
We might think that Peter’s vision is just about food. Yes, it is true; food is involved. However, if we limit the vision only to a dietary command, we miss the bigger picture. The vision is about table fellowship. It is about fellowshipping with the nations. God is bringing the peoples together. This vision is making explicit that Peter is to dine with a Gentile. Luke’s Gospel shows that true fellowship is dining in the presence of the Lord and all his people. Christ goes into the significance of banquet meals and fellowshipping together in Luke 14. God was simply preparing Peter to fellowship with a Gentile.
One of the things we miss is the significance of Peter contemplating the vision. He receives direct revelation from God, but Peter still has to discern the vision’s meaning. This tells us that Peter does not stand above the Word of God, declaring the Word of God, but Peter must submit to the Word of God. This means we cannot declare what God should say, but we should be seeking to submit to what God has said.
This is an important practice in our personal introspection because sometimes the Lord’s Word confronts assumptions that we did not even realize we were carrying. It calls us to turn from those assumptions and align with the Lord’s intention. We can have our own cultural or traditional assumptions that we never put against the Lord’s Word. It is not to say that all traditions are bad, but we need to know the roots of our convictions.
The Unlikely Hosts
When Cornelius' messengers arrive, Peter is still wrestling with the meaning of the vision. Peter is not given much more time to contemplate the vision’s meaning. The Holy Spirit tells him to go with these men because God has sent them. Peter invites the men in to receive his hospitality. It seems Peter is beginning to understand the Lord’s intention.
The next day Peter arrives at Cornelius' house, and there he finds a gathering of Gentiles waiting to hear the Word of God. Peter enters the home and receives their hospitality. The Gospel has crossed social boundaries. This means that as the Gospel goes to the ends of the earth, God’s people will join together across cultural boundaries and fellowship with one another.
We learn the Lord’s intention in this vision when Peter says, “but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” (Acts 10:28) The vision was about food, but Peter discerns the deeper meaning. This is not really about food so much as kingdom and table fellowship. It is only in Christ that the nations are worthy to be the Lord’s people. His Gospel has gone out to the nations. The people are no longer seen as unclean Gentiles. No, they are recipients of the Gospel and Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
The message of Acts 10 ultimately gives us confidence in the apostolic Gospel. The apostles were not simply expressing their opinions. They themselves had wrestled with the Lord’s revelation. They also had to submit to the Lord’s Word. Peter, even as an apostle, had to learn that his assumptions did not stand above God's revelation.
Israel was never chosen because Israel was inherently more worthy than the nations. God chose his people to display his glory. And now, in Christ, that same grace reaches outward to the nations.
Our worthiness is only in Christ. This is humbling and exalting. We are humbled because we must confess we do not pull ourselves up by our own strength. We find our worthiness and strength in Christ.
This is exalting because we commune and fellowship with Christ. We are seated in Christ in the heavenly places. We are joined to our Redeemer. The peoples and the nations will dine at the feast of the Lamb.
Let us be a people who wrestle with the Lord’s Word and his will. Let us be a people who see ourselves grounded in Christ. A people destined to dine at the Lord’s table because Christ has made us worthy. Let us discern how to please the Lord in this age, not to show our worthiness, but because in Christ we are cleansed and empowered to live for him.