The Way - Day 034 (Acts 10)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
Acts 10:1-16
Luke had documented two instances of Peter healing people in Acts 9:32-43 and at the very end of the chapter the reader is told that he remained in Joppa in the house of Simon, a tanner.  It is interesting to note that Peter, a Jew, was staying with a tanner who handled the skin of dead animals, which would have been very offensive to the Jews (Leviticus 11:40).  

While Peter was taking up residence with Simon, Luke introduces the reader to a Gentile man named Cornelius who was an officer in the Roman army (10:1).  Cornelius is described as "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always" (10:2).  In the middle of the afternoon, Cornelius sees a vision when an angel of God calls out his name and he responds by saying "What is it, Lord?"  The angel begins to inform him that his prayers have been heard by God and that he was to send men to Joppa who could bring back Peter from the house of Simon the tanner (10:3-6).  Cornelius obeyed the voice of the angel and sent two servants and a soldier to bring Peter from Joppa (10:7-8).

As this group journeyed to Joppa, Peter retreated to the housetop to pray.  "He became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance" (10:9-10).  Peter saw "heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.  In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air" (10:11-12).  God then speaks to Peter saying, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat" (10:13).  Since Jews still followed the Old Testament dietary laws (Leviticus 11:24-47), touching or consumption of an unclean animal would cause them to be unfit for worship.  In the Old Testament law, God used clean and unclean animals to give a visual reminder to Israel about the difference between what is holy and what is not holy meaning that there were certain things which were acceptable to God and certain things which were not.  Peter was a Jew and felt like he should adhere to the law God had given to the Jews, so he responded to the voice of God's command to eat of the unclean animals, "Not so, Lord!  For I have never eaten anything common or unclean" (10:14).  The voice answers Peter, "What God has cleansed you must not call common [or unclean]" (10:15).  What Peter did not fully understand is that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, "abolished...the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both [Jew and Gentile] to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity" (Ephesians 2:15-16).  Jesus' sacrifice on the cross not only did away with the ceremonial law of the Jews, but also made unity of the Jew and Gentile possible within the church.  God was about to do something incredible in unifying the Jew and Gentile in their worship of God, but it would not be without its difficulty.

Acts 10:17-48
Cornelius, an officer in the Roman army, had received a vision from an angel of the Lord who commanded him to send people to the house of Simon and bring Peter back to the Gentile officer (10:1-8).  Cornelius sent people to fetch Peter from the house of Simon and while they were on their way, Peter fell into a trance and saw a sheet bound at all four corners descending from heaven to the earth.  Within the sheet were all kinds of clean and unclean animals and the voice commanded Peter to "kill and eat" (10:9-13).  Peter objects to this command because Jewish law prohibited the eating of certain animals (10:14a).  The voice speaks back to Peter saying, "What God has cleansed you must not call common [unclean]" (10:14b-16).

"Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate.  And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodged there" (10:17-18).  Luke writes that while Peter was still contemplating the meaning of this vision, the Spirit of God informed him that three men were seeking him and that he should go with them in faith (10:19-20).  Peter descends from the housetop to meet the men and asked, "For what reason have you come?"  They answered Peter by saying that Cornelius, "a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and hear words from you" (10:22).
 
On the next day, Peter departed with these Gentile men to the house of Cornelius (10:23).  When they arrived, "Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends" and as Peter entered the home Cornelius "fell down at his feet and worshipped him" (10:24-25).  However, "Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up; I myself am also a man'" (10:26).  Upon entering the house, Peter found all kinds of people gathered to see him and he said, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation.  But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (10:28).  The vision was now clear to Peter.  The sheet which contained clean and unclean animals represented the Jews (clean animals) and Gentiles (unclean animals) coming together in worship of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for sin.  Cornelius recounts the vision he had received about seeking Peter in the house of Simon and then turns to Peter saying, "we are all present before God, to hear all things commanded you by God" (10:30-33).

Peter speaks to the Gentiles who had gathered at the house of Cornelius saying, "...God shows no partiality.  But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (10:34-35).  In many more words Peter preaches Christ to them - how He had been killed and then raised up by God on the third day (10:36-40).  Peter continues to speak that after His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself to a few people who have now become witnesses "that through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission [forgiveness] of sin" (10:41-43).

As Peter was speaking these words to the Gentiles, "the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard his word" (10:44).  When the Jews who had accompanied Peter on this journey saw that the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles, they were astonished (10:45-46).  Following their faith in Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit, the Gentiles were baptized (10:47-48).  Although the gospel had been preached to the Gentiles in the past (Genesis 12:3; Jonah), this happening brought new meaning to the church.  God's intention has always been to bring the gift of salvation through the Jewish nation (Jesus Christ) to the entire world and now God's desire was being fulfilled in a miraculous way!  God was eliminating the long-time partiality of Judaism and bringing Jew and Gentile together into one church.

Dear God, thank You for the promise You made to Abraham thousands of years ago that through him all the world would be blessed (Genesis 12:3).  We now know that Jesus Christ brought the forgiveness to all people that we so desperately needed in order to restore our relationship with You.  Use the church to spread this message to the entire world!