Context: Peter is in Joppa and he has recently raised a faithful servant, Tabitha (Dorcas), from the dead. He is staying with a tanner named Simon. At the same time, a God-fearing centurion named Cornelius had a vision telling him to go find Peter.
Text:
9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."
15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
17While 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. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."
21Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?"
22The 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." 23Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. (NIV)
Footnotes:
Acts 10:19 One early manuscript two; other manuscripts do not have the number.
Taken from www.biblegateway.com
Have you ever had an experience that totally changed your perspective about something? This may seem like frivolous example, but it's one I haven't been able to shake for several weeks.
In December I saw the musical, Wicked. This is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. I grew up with the Wizard of Oz on big screen -- we looked forward to getting free tickets to the show at the end of each school year and making the fun trip to the movies. I'll always remember covering my face and peeking through my fingers when the camera did a close up on that hideous green face of the Wicked Witch of the West!
Well, without giving away too much of the story, this musical shows the witch of the West as a real person who has been discriminated against and exiled because she didn't want to go along with the 'politically correct' violent actions of the Wizard! The good witch was also caught up in circumstances, but she was so concerned about the perceptions of others that she did what she was 'supposed' to do, not what she believed to be right. I hope I never make assumptions about the character of other people based on their actions again!
If we look at the situations that caused us to totally rethink a value or tradition that we have grown up with, we have an inkling of the shock Peter's dream was to his system. Not only had he never eaten pork, but no upstanding Jew had eaten pork since the days of Moses! It was completely ingrained in them that this was a major sin, requiring the sacrifice of animals in order to be back in God's good graces. Add this change to the multitude of others Christ brought -- following the rules won't get you to heaven, circumcision is no longer a prerequisite, socializing and even intermarrying with Gentiles was no longer a sin, and even working on a Saturday (the Sabbath) was now allowed -- and you see an incredible shift in the foundation of a religion that has remained strong for centuries.
All of this due to the death of one Jew on the cross, among some ten thousand Jews who died on the cross during this time frame, and you have some pretty strong circumstantial evidence that he was more than just a man.
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