Acts 10:9-23

    About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."

 

    "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."

 

    The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

 

    This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

 

    While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

 

    While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."

 

    Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?"

 

    The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

 

To bring Cornelius the opportunity of salvation, God needed to deliver two divine messages, not just one. He had already spoken to Cornelius through an angelic vision. But when God spoke to Cornelius and told him to go find Peter, Peter was not yet at a point where he was willing to associate with Gentiles like Cornelius. God had to speak to Peter, too.

 

He did so through a vision centered on food (God knows just how to speak to us men, doesn’t He?). Peter, who had been brought up and had lived according to the Jewish food laws God had commanded the Jews to follow, was told to eat animals he thought of as unclean. And God told Peter not to reject what God made clean. God could make anything clean.

 

When the vision was over, Cornelius’ men arrived and the Holy Spirit told Peter to go with them without misgivings. That was the point of the vision: Peter was supposed to go on a two-day trip to be with Gentiles! Without the vision, who knows what Peter’s response would have been? (Note: Many today justify eating foods the Jews consider unclean based on this vision. This may be a correct application, but not necessarily, since the vision was really an illustration telling Peter to accept Gentiles. For a direct Scripture teaching on eating non-Kosher foods, see Mark 7:18-19.) But Peter’s response following the vision was to invite these Gentile men in as his guests.

 

Peter, even as a believer and an apostle, didn’t understand everything he needed to understand right from the start. As Peter followed Jesus, Jesus continued to teach and grow him. And as Peter listened to his Lord and obeyed Him, Peter did what Jesus wanted. Had Peter just shaken this vision off, saying, “I shouldn’t have let myself get so hungry. I’m getting delirious!” and not received the teaching of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ mission to the Gentiles would have been hampered.

 

But it was God who was at work. And what God wants done is done. So God spoke to Cornelius through an angel, directing him to find Peter for an important message. And God spoke to Peter through a vision, instructing him to welcome Gentiles and go with them, despite the fact that he had been taught to see them as unclean. God was at work, and so men did His will.

 

Father, Thank You for Your work among us. Thank You that You don’t expect us to know everything or be wise enough to know Your will in every situation. You teach us and grow us as we follow You. You prepare us to walk in Your plans. May we who believe in Your Son Jesus Christ remain humble and open to being taught fresh ideas from You. May we admit that we do not understand Your words perfectly, and may we therefore be all the more alert to listen to You, the one we call our Lord. You are all-wise and all-righteous. Your plans are good. Help me and all Your children learn from You.