The Big Story: Peter's Vision at Joppa


What do you do when God does something completely unexpected and wonderful?  In the story of the apostle Peter's vision at Joppa, God did something like that.

The story starts at the beginning of Acts 10.  A God-fearing Roman Centurion living in Caesarea named Cornelius has a vision of a an angel.  The angel tells him to send to Joppa for a man called Peter, who's staying at the house of Simon the tanner.  Cornelius immediately dispatched two servants and one of his aides to go to Joppa.

The following day, around noon, the three men are nearing Joppa.  While people are preparing the big meal of the day, Peter goes up on the roof to pray.  Though he's hungry, he falls into a trance.  In the trance, he has a vision of a large sheet coming down from heaven.  In the sheet are all kinds of unclean animals, animals the Jewish law said Peter should never eat.  A voice called out, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat."

Peter recoiled at the command.  Observance of dietary laws was essential to Jewish identity.  Peter calls out, "Surely not, Lord.  I have never eaten anything impure or unclean!"

The voice responds, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."  This happened three times, and the sheet went back to heaven.

Just as Peter is puzzling about this vision, the three men from Caesarea arrive at the house.  When they tell Peter his story, he welcomes them as his guests.

The next day, Peter and the men set out for Caesarea.  When they arrive at Cornelius' house, the centurion welcomes him and escorts him inside.  This was a huge deal, because Jews didn't enter the houses of Gentiles.  You never knew what kind of unclean things might be in there!  

Peter now understands the meaning of his vision.  He tells them that Jews just didn't go into Gentiles' houses.  But God had showed him that he couldn't consider any person unclean whom God declared clean.  When Peter asks Cornelius why he sent for him, Cornelius tells his story.

In vs 34-35, Peter makes the great statement, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." God loves all people equally!  This was a great breakthrough!

Peter began to preach the good news to the Gentile crowd.  Then something stunning happened!  The Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles.  They starting praising God and speaking in tongues! It was like a Gentile Pentecost!

This was the first time the Holy Spirit fell on Gentiles.  What was stunning about it was that they didn't become Jews first!  This meant God accepted them as they were!

This story teaches us that God accepts us as we are.  We don't have to "clean up our acts" to follow Christ.  We follow Christ and let him clean us up!  

It also teaches that God wants us to love people the way he loves them.  We can't show favorites either.  Like Peter, we need to go outside our comfort zones and engage people outside the church.  When we do that, we fulfill the mission God gave us!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God's Dynamite: The Battle Within

Image
"It was on fire when I lay down on it."  Robert Fulghum wrote about reading this statement in a small town newspaper.   Smoke was billowing from a second story window.  The Fire Department arrived, broke down the front door, ran up a set of stairs, and pulled a man off a burning bed.  Later, when they asked him how he got in that predicament, he said, "It was on fire when I lay down on it." Why on earth did he do that?  We don't know, but his story reveals a human truth.  We often do self-destructive things.  We testify, "People told me not to do it, but I did it anyway."  "I knew it was wrong, but I did it." The apostle Paul wrote about our human propensity to sin and self-destructive behavior in Romans 7:14-25.  Verse 15 sums up his point, "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do and what I hate I do."   He describes an intense inner battle.  On one side is the "flesh," his
Read more

God's Dynamite: More than Conquerors

Image
One person goes through a terrible experience and emerges from it stronger, more mature, and more loving.  Another goes through a similar experience and emerges from it weaker, less mature, and bitter.   What's the difference? I think it has to do with what's in the person's heart.  It has to do with his or her faith and perspective of life.   In Romans 8:35-39, the apostle Paul asked, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?''  Is there any person or place or experience that can remove us from Christ's loving presence?  Trouble? Hardship? Danger?  Sword? Paul could answer this question because he experienced all the above and more.  He said, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."  We conquer all these things through Christ's love for us. To be sure, we can have times when Christ's love seems far away from us. In the depths of suffering in times like these, we can won
Read more

God's Dynamite: Resurrection Transformation

Image
Easter is about more than you going to heaven.  That's part of it, but not near all!  It's about your death and resurrection. In Romans 6, Paul was answering opponents.  Those opponents said that if salvation is by God's grace through faith, then you have no motivation for righteous living and good works.  Why not sin more to get more grace? Paul answered by using the image of baptism.  He said when the pastor plunged you under water, he symbolized your death in Christ.  Through faith you died on the cross with Jesus.  Your old self was a slave to sin and rebellion against God.   Paul said when the pastor raised you up from the water, he symbolized your resurrection in Christ.  Not just in the future but in the present.  In faith, you identify with Jesus' death and his resurrection.  You're raised to a new life, free from slavery to sin. So Easter is about more than personal salvation.  It's about transformation: dying to an old life and ris
Read more