For All
Notes
Transcript
The Lord’s salvation extends to every kind of person, any kind of person. There is no favoritism with the Lord, and there shouldn’t be any kind of favoritism among the Lord’s people.
The narrative of Acts now turns back to Peter; we haven’t seen him since chapter 8, and before that, chapter 5. The focus had mostly shifted away from Peter and turned to Stephen, and then Philip, and then to Saul. And now, we’re back to Peter.
Our good friend Peter has been traveling around the country, preaching the gospel and visiting the saints/ the Lord’s people. He’s ministering in the name of Jesus.
Peter’s ministry takes him in these chapters to three different people (Aeneas, Dorcas, and Cornelius), each with unique circumstances, each of whom teach us something abut Jesus, and how we—as Jesus’ people—should relate to those around us.
>If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Acts 9, beginning with verse 32:
32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Jesus is FOR Those Who Have Been Written-Off
Jesus is FOR Those Who Have Been Written-Off
This is a kind of reintroduction to Peter. It’s a reminder, like, “Oh yeah, Peter ministers with some power. This is going to be good!”
What Peter does for Aeneas and Dorcas is very much like what Jesus did for people during His earthly ministry.
Like other paralytics in the NT, Aeneas is told to “Get up and roll up your mat.” Jesus once told a fella, “Get up, take your mat, and go home.”
Dorcas, also known as Tabitha, is resuscitated. If Peter would have spoken Aramaic here, he would have said, “Tabitha koum,” like when Jesus resuscitated Jairus’ daughter, saying, “Talitha koum.”
Peter would have only had to change one letter from what Jesus had said.
Peter follows the example of Jesus. He ministers as Jesus had.
And Peter depends upon Jesus’ power.
He tells Aeneas: “Jesus Christ heals you.” It’s not Peter doing this; it’s Jesus.
This book is not “The Acts of the Apostles”, not really. This book (known to us as “Acts”) would more accurately be titled, “The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus.” Jesus is at work through His people, then and now.
It’s not Peter; it’s not us.
It’s Jesus working through Peter, Jesus working through us.
After Peter kicks all the old biddies out of Dorcas’ room, he kneels and prays to the Healer. He got down on his knees and prayed.
Peter can’t raise people from the dead. But the resurrected Jesus can bring to life those who are dead, literally and spiritually. Don’t expect to be able to raise the dead today. But please do expect our Savior to bring spiritually dead people to life! It happens every day.
Any other people in the world would have written-off a paralytic and a dead woman.
“It’s too late. Just push them to the side, to the periphery.”
“Dude’s been lying in bed for nearly a decade. Leave him be.”
“She’s gone. She’s dead. Say your goodbyes.”
These two—Aeneas and Dorcas—are not disposable cast-offs. Peter comes to Aeneas and, as a representative of Jesus, heals him in Jesus’ name. And immediately Aeneas got up.
And, when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda (just down the road), they sent two men to [get Peter]. Peter arrives in Joppa, and through the power of the resurrected Jesus, Peter is able to present Dorcas alive to the believers.
In both situations, we read the larger reason for these miracles:
35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
Never forget that Jesus is FOR those who have been written-off, those who are too far gone, those who are too far away from faith. Jesus is FOR them, and Jesus’ people should be for them as well.
>As we’re (re)introduced to Peter, we see that he has responded boldly to the issues/challenges of sickness and death. How now will he respond to the challenge of racial and religious discrimination?
We see a hint of openness in Peter’s relationship/friendship with Simon the Tanner. A tanner worked with dead animals, taking their hides and preparing them for use and sale.
It’s pretty progressive of Peter to be hanging out with him. Simon the Tanner, due to the nature of his job, would often be left in a ceremonially unclean state.
This paves the way for what’s coming. Peter is about to face something exceedingly difficult for him and for those in his community. We’re introduced to the issue in Acts 10:
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Cornelius is a captain in the Roman army. He commands about one hundred soldiers posted in Caesarea. He makes about five-times a much as an ordinary soldier. He’s a wealthy and important man. This is all stacked against him. His race, his occupation, his status would be obstacles for Peter (or any person of Jewish descent) to overcome. The prejudice and hatred ran deep.
Peter meets this man from Caesarea. Jewish people hated Caesarea with the power of a thousands burning suns.
It was an outpost for the occupying Roman army. Caesarea was the most despised location around. When Peter is summoned to Caesarea by a Roman Centurion, we have to wonder how it will all go down.
Once we realize the general feeling of hate that Jewish people felt for the Gentiles, especially the Roman occupiers, we’ll begin to understand how monumental a moment this truly is.
What is the most despised location in the world to you? Which nation, city, or part of town could you do without? Imagine traveling to that location, working to befriend those you meet there, and offering them the good news.
Luke doesn’t want us to miss Cornelius’ religious devotion. The man feared God. A “God-fearer” was a designation applied to Gentiles who believed in the one God and worked to obey the 10 Commandments, but balked at the idea of getting circumcised or following the dietary restrictions.
Cornelius also gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
It’s important for us to understand this: Cornelius was a religious man, but he wasn’t a regenerate man. Like Jesus told Nicodemus, Cornelius needed to be born again.
Even a “good” man must be radically converted.
Cornelius has a vision about a Peter and Peter is going to have a vision about Cornelius:
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
If this sounds a little weird, that’s because it is. It’s a weird story. Peter even wondered about the meaning of the vision.
Peter is commanded to kill and consume diverse creatures, even those forbidden in Leviticus 11.
Peter doesn’t understand it yet. But he will soon realize these unclean animals symbolize God’s cleansing of the unclean Gentiles.
Peter refuses to obey the command three times. Someone should’ve tattooed the number 3 on Peter’s forehead. When choosing basketball jerseys, Peter probably picked the number 3. He has a history with three-time denial and now rejection. The Lord knew it was going to take three times for it to sink in with Peter.
Food restrictions had isolated the Jews from the Gentiles for a long, long time.
But God was breaking down the wall that divided.
What Cornelius had seen, what Peter had seen, were not just empty visions; they were to be acted out.
Peter is still trying to figure out what his thrice-repeated vision was all about when some visitors arrive at the gate. They won’t go in because they’re Gentiles.
But the Spirit says to Peter:
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.
So Peter goes out to meet them. The men tell him a bit about Cornelius, the angel, and their reason for coming to get Peter. Peter ends up inviting these Gentiles into the house and gives them a place to stay.
This might not seem like a big deal, but this is radical. This is huge gospel moment.
Peter and others are being “converted” out of the thinking that the good news is for the Jews and no one else.
The next day, Peter travels two days to get to Caesarea along with these men and some of his Christian brothers with him.
When Peter and his traveling companions arrive, Cornelius—a high-ranking Roman official—bows down before this Jewish fisherman. And the Jewish fisherman has to remind the Roman official that both are simply men, created by God (v. 25-26).
Peter goes inside Cornelius’ house and finds a large gathering of people:
28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
At this, Cornelius replays his vision for Peter (vv. 30-32), explaining why he sent for Peter. And then expresses some eagerness to hear what Peter has to say on God’s behalf:
33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Incredible and incredibler!
Cornelius just lobs one over the plate—slow-pitch softball style—and Peter knocks it out of the park. “We’re here to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
What Peter says next, in verse 34, is one of the most ground-breaking truths at this point in history (maybe an all-time moment in the life of the church).
The early church, the people of God belonging by faith to Jesus Christ, was from this moment forward completely counter-cultural, upside-down, radical, world-changing.
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
*Mind blown*
This is an unbelievable statement.
This God-directed, Jesus-led, Holy-Spirit-inspired moment sets the world on fire and teaches an unmissable lesson:
Jesus is FOR Those We Might Despise
Jesus is FOR Those We Might Despise
No Jew was supposed to have anything to do with a Gentile. Almost every resident of Israel would immediately despise any member of the Roman government.
And now we see Peter cutting against the grain and swimming upstream.
He’s preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his household. Peter preaches (vv. 36-43):
Jesus, the Messiah, is Lord of all;
Jesus came to free those held captive by sin and Satan;
Jesus died under the curse deserved by others;
Jesus was raised up to reign as King forever;
Jesus will judge everyone; the Bible teaches this and promises forgiveness for people from every nation who trust in Jesus’ name.
After Peter’s gospel presentation, the previously unthinkable happens:
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
This—Gentiles as recipients of the Holy Spirit—is a shocking moment for Peter’s friends. …the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
The Spirit is opening a new chapter in the spread of salvation to the ends of the earth. The Gentiles are also children of Abraham, not by circumcision, but by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Peter, likely a little astonished himself, says:
47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
The Gentiles, upon hearing the gospel, were saved. They had received the Holy Spirit, just as Peter and his friends had at Pentecost. As believers, as recipients of the Holy Spirit, the next natural step was for them to be baptized. And they were.
We (hopefully) would rejoice to see anyone come to faith in Jesus, even a person or people we aren’t fond of.
Sadly, not everyone is pleased at what Peter has done.
When Peter returns to Jerusalem, he gets an earful. Some people like to gripe no matter what’s going on.
1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
News spreads quickly, even then. And something scandalous like this spreads like wildfire.
Some of the strict Jewish Christians known as “the circumcision party” objected to Peter’s actions.
“How dare you, Peter? You ate with them? You let them sit at the same table as you? They have their own tables, their own food! We shouldn’t mix with them. They need to stay with their kind, and we’ll stay with ours.”
It wasn’t long ago that a similar division along race lines was present in this country, even in our churches. Despicable. May it never be so again! Jesus-people should not draw barriers where Jesus hasn’t.
Jesus is FOR those we might despise, those we might hate, those we reject, those we have cast off.
No one is too far off for Jesus to reach. And if we think the grace of Jesus is only for white, middle-class Americans, we will be very surprised and some will be outraged.
What comes from Peter’s ministry, what we see here is God’s grace extending to those of every people group who cry out to the Savior for salvation.
EVERY people group. Every kind of people.
This is difficult for some Christians to apply. It’s difficult because there is some deeply embedded prejudice lurking in even a redeemed heart.
There’s an all-too-common, sinful attitude Christians display toward outsiders and people who look different than themselves.
Mahatma Gandhi shares in his autobiography that in his student days in England he was deeply touched by reading the Gospels and seriously considered becoming a convert to Christianity, which seemed to offer a real solution to the caste system that divided the people of India.
One Sunday, Gandhi attended church services and decided to ask the minster for enlightenment on salvation and other doctrines.
But when Gandhi entered the sanctuary, the ushers refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go elsewhere to worship with his own people.
He left and never came back.
“If Christians have caste differences also,” he said to himself, “I might as well remain a Hindu!”
The sad fact is we have all heard other stories just as heartbreaking as this one. I’ve known church members, pastors, leaders who have expressed a similar attitude toward certain groups of people.
A bigoted Christian, a Christian who hates, a Christian who discriminates, a racist Christian—these are impossibilities.
It’s a contradiction in terms to say, “Well, I’m a Christian and I’m kind of racist.” No. It doesn’t work like that. You cannot love God and harbor hatred for another. The two are at odds.
Jonah, for instance, ended up in the belly of a great fish because he was trying to run away from where God wanted him to go. Jonah ran in the direction opposite Nineveh. Why? Because he hated the Assyrian people who lived there. When God showed the Ninevites mercy, it really bothered him.
I’m not going to say that God will send a great fish to swallow you up, but He will continually work on you until He works out of you all hatred, all racism, all discrimination, all prejudice, until you understand that Jesus is FOR those we might despise.
It takes a work of the Holy Spirit for prejudice to disappear.
Peter explained to his critics, starting at the beginning, recounting his vision, the men who came to get him, Cornelius’ vision, and what happened:
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Even to the Gentiles...
Even to the republican, to the democrat, to the libertarian; even to the Muslim, to the Hindu, to the Buddhist; even to the African, the Saudi, the Chilean; even to the blue-collar, to the white-collar; even to the poor, to the working-class, to the uber-wealthy.
Even to you, God has granted repentance that leads to life.
It should blow your mind that God has granted you repentance. And we should rejoice whenever anyone—whoever they are—is saved by the gracious hand of the Almighty God.
One of my favorite pastor-authors challenges us:
“Let us wash our minds and our mouths of all racial slurs and ethnic put-downs and be done with all alienating behaviors. And let’s be the Good Samaritan for some ethnic outcast. Let’s be like Christ to some untouchable leper. And let’s be Peter for some waiting Cornelius.”
We do not get to place boundaries on the grace and mercy of God. God will save and use whomever He pleases.
Jesus is FOR Every Kind of Person
Jesus is FOR Every Kind of Person
While some of the Jewish brothers and sisters struggled to welcome the Gentiles, God welcomed them. God confirmed His welcome through signs that demonstrated Jew and Gentile are on equal ground upon accepting Christ.
Of this, we can be sure: Heaven will be filled with people who look different and have different backgrounds than us. And it will be a glorious thing!
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
Those who were critical of Peter didn’t necessarily come around completely, nor were they necessarily convinced of the Gentile mission.
“Although there were some silent detractors, the church joined Peter in praising God for His gift to the Gentiles.”
And they were right to glorify God. No one deserves salvation. Those who experience it—Jew and Gentile alike—should give the Savior ceaseless praise.
The gospel is for the nations. The Church’s commitment to get the gospel to the nations will now unfold throughout the rest of the book of Acts.
We must work hard to display a love for all our neighbors, regardless of who they are, where they are from, or what they’ve done.
Do not hesitate to befriend people unlike yourselves.
Show hospitality toward everyone, open your homes and lives, so that you might share the gospel with them.
Love all people, regardless of their skin color or annual income or status, understanding that we’re all made in God’s image.
We, church, brothers and sisters, must believe that Jesus is for every kind of person...
“...all the people of the world; red, brown, yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves all of the people of the world.”
Let’s pray: “Father in Heaven, help us to boldly and for your glory proclaim the name of Jesus, preaching the Good News about Him far and wide. Lead us in worship. May we stand amazed at what you have done and are doing. Holy Spirit, give us the strength and enable us to imitate Jesus, day-in and day-out, that we might love all people and reach them for Christ. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.”