Visions
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This week we begin to transition into the 3rd phase of Jesus’s mission to the apostles and to the church at large. We’ve seen the apostles and other disciples of Christ being witnesses in Jerusalem. We’ve seen them being witnesses throughout Judea and into Samaria. The last phase of the mission in for them to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. In our text this morning we’ll see Peter witnessing to one of the Roman soldiers who are part of the occupying force in Israel. Now we’ve already seen someone from outside the country becoming a believer and taking that message back to his country when we talked about Philip and the Ethiopian official a few weeks ago. The difference here is that God makes it explicitly clear to Peter, one of the 12 apostles, that the message of the gospel is for everyone, not just the Jewish nation. Our text this morning is all of chapter 10 which is a pretty long chapter, so let’s get to reading.
Acts 10:1-
1 There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God. 3 About three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.”
4 Staring at him in awe, he said, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel told him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. 6 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, who was one of those who attended him. 8 After explaining everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
So here we have a Roman centurion, an officer who was in charge of a troop of one hundred men. In today’s terms that would be the equivalent of about a Captain in the Army or a Lieutenant in the Navy. It seems that he’s been stationed in Judea for quite a while because he has converted to Judaism. Verse 2 tells us he and his entire household were devout and feared God. As part of the Italian Regiment he was most likely actually from Italy, but the Bible tells us he did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people. So he’s become a part of the community in Caesarea. He’s from Italy, but he’s adopted local customs and even converted to the local religion. But then we see this angel appear to him and tell him that God has heard his prayers and the angel instructs him to send for Peter in Joppa. Now let’s pick up reading with verse 9.
9 The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon. 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth. 12 In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky. 13 A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 “No, Lord!” Peter said. “For I have never eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.”
15 Again, a second time, the voice said to him, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.” 16 This happened three times, and suddenly the object was taken up into heaven.
Acts 10:9-
So Cornelius had a vision in the first section we read, and now here we see Peter having his own vision. Repeatedly God shows Peter these “unclean” things and tells him, “Kill and eat.” Repeatedly, Peter refuses saying “I have never eaten anything impure or ritually unclean.” And repeatedly, a voice tells Peter, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.” Now many people reading this passage see the order for Peter to kill and eat animals that were considered unclean under Jewish law as an end to the dietary restrictions that God had given to Moses back in the Old Testament. And that may be partially true, but that’s not really what this passage, what this vision, is about. You have to realize that the apostles were already beginning to move away from many aspects of the ritualistic cleanliness laws. We see that by the very fact of where Peter was staying in Joppa. Twice in just a few verses Luke mentions the occupation of the man that Peter was staying with. In verse 43 of chapter 9 he says that “Peter stayed for some time in Joppa with Simon, a leather tanner.” And then again during Cornelius’s vision in verse 6 that we just read he says, “He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” Now that may not seem like a big deal to us today, but to Jewish readers, this was huge. Under Jewish law anyone that touched a dead body, or even part of a dead body was considered ritualistically unclean. Simon made is living by tanning the skins of dead animals. Curing them, preparing them, and making leather. Now the leather was considered clean because it had been prepared and blessed and whatever had to happen to it to make it clean, but the process brought Simon in contact with dead animals on a regular basis, so he would have regularly been ritualistically unclean, as would his house, and anyone staying there. So this vision isn’t really about unclean animals. It’s about the spread of the gospel outside of the Jewish nation. It’s about spreading the witness from the Jews to the Gentiles. And we see that connection in the next section.
Now this is a long one but bear with me as I read beginning in verse 17.
17 While Peter was deeply perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, right away the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions to Simon’s house, stood at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon, who was also named Peter, was lodging there.
19 While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, “Three men are here looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men and said, “Here I am, the one you’re looking for. What is the reason you’re here?”
22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who has a good reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was divinely directed by a holy angel to call you to his house and to hear a message from you.” 23 Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day he got up and set out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him. 24 The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him.
26 But Peter lifted him up and said, “Stand up. I myself am also a man.” 27 While talking with him, he went in and found a large gathering of people. 28 Peter said to them, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean. 29 That’s why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in dazzling clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered in God’s sight. 32 Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’ 33 So I immediately sent for you, and it was good of you to come. So now we are all in the presence of God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.”
Like I said, it’s a long section, and it kind of rehashes what we’ve already read with Cornelius’s men telling Peter about his vision and then Cornelius telling Peter about his vision but there’s some important stuff in here if you look between the retellings.
First, Luke tells us that while Peter was trying to figure out what his vision meant, right away, immediately the men that Cornelius sent were standing at the gate calling out for Peter. That’s the first clue that maybe this vision isn’t about dietary laws. It’s the first connection to the Gentiles.
Then in verse 19 and 20 it says that “While Peter was thinking about the vision, the Spirit told him, “Three men are here looking for you.” Get up, go downstairs, and go with them with no doubts at all, because I have sent them.” This is a more direct connection because as Peter is still trying to figure out the vision the Spirit speaks to him about the Gentiles coming to him.
But then we see the most direct connection in the middle of these retellings of Cornelius’s vision. Peter has gone to Caesarea and is at Cornelius’s house and when he sees all the people gathered there he says in verses 28 and 29, “You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner, but God has shown me that I must not call any person impure or unclean. That’s why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So may I ask why you sent for me?” Peter makes the connection explicit here. According to Jewish law simply being in that house would make him unclean, but he says that God has shown him that no person is impure or unclean. Now he’s not saying that everybody’s perfect. No, what he’s saying here is that no one is unworthy of hearing the gospel. That’s what this whole chapter is about. Peter sees it now and so he begins to share with them beginning in verse 34.
34 Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, 35 but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him. 39 We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree. 40 God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”
34 Peter began to speak: “Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, 35 but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil, because God was with him. 39 We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree. 40 God raised up this man on the third day and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and declaring the greatness of God.
Then Peter responded, 47 “Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.
Acts 10:34-
Peter shares the gospel with them and then this amazing thing happens. The Holy Spirit comes down on those who heard immediately. Remember as we’ve gone through the book of Acts we’ve seen the Spirit come down on believers often, but many times they have had to wait for it. Even the apostles and disciples who received the initial blessing of the Spirit at Pentecost had been waiting for a while after Christ’s ascension back into heaven. But here we see these Gentiles, these people who aren’t even a part of the nation of Israel, who aren’t heirs of the promise of the Messiah, receiving the Spirit immediately upon believing. And it says the Jewish believers who had come with Peter were amazed. Maybe they didn’t think the Gentiles could actually be saved. Maybe they thought that since they weren’t Jewish that the salvation of the Messiah didn’t apply to them. But here for the first time we see Gentiles responding to the gospel and receiving the gift of the Spirit. And then Peter says, “Can wee prevent them from being baptized since they’ve received the Spirit just like we have?” So he baptizes the entire household of Cornelius. And the conversion of Gentiles has begun. And the gospel begins to spread outside the nation of Israel. One of the leaders of the Roman legion has come to belief in Christ. And not just the leader, but his whole household, his family, his servants, his guards which would have included some of the soldiers under his command. And they would go back to the barracks and share with the other soldiers, and with their families. And when they rotate back to the Roman homeland or to other areas of the empire, the gospel would go with them.
You know, Christ came at the perfect point in history. He came at the time that the Roman Empire had conquered much of the known world. Why is that so important? Because the Romans built roads that allowed for much quicker, safer travel than had previously been possible. This allowed the gospel to spread farther and faster than it would have prior to Roman times. The Roman empire also brought a common language to the known world. When the Romans conquered an area they brought the Greek language with them so at the time Christ came most people spoke Greek. They may have spoken another language at home, like the Aramaic that most of the Jewish people of the time spoke, but Greek was the language of business, it was the language of the empire, so it made the spread of the gospel easier.
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and declaring the greatness of God.
Then Peter responded, 47 “Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.
Today we have things even easier than the believers in the early church did. Where they had Roman roads which would allow them to reach anywhere in the empire within a matter of weeks or months, we have modern airlines so that we can reach anywhere in the world within a matter of hours. We also have modern communications systems which make it possible to talk to someone anywhere on Earth in real time, as if they were sitting right in front of you. And while we still speak thousands of different languages we have bibles translated into most of them and there are projects in place to translate the scriptures into the remaining languages that have not been reached. We also have computer technologies like Google translate which make it possible to communicate with someone even if we don’t speak a common language.
But the important thing to remember is just what Peter learned from his vision and the subsequent call by Cornelius. No one is unworthy of the gospel. No one is too far gone in sin. No one is too unclean to hear the healing power of salvation that comes through Jesus Christ.
Would you pray with me?