Good weekend to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,’
When is the last time someone asked you to try something way outside your comfort zone? Maybe skydiving or scuba diving or public speaking in front of a large audience? And when was the last time you sensed GOD was inviting you to something that was way outside the boundaries of what is comfortable for you? What have you done when presented with those adventurous opportunities?
Yesterday I left you sitting on a rooftop in Joppa, about 2000 years ago. Looking west, you can see the Mediterranean Sea and the fishing boats. Looking north, the road toward the Roman regional capital city of Caesarea. Looking south east, if you could see 50 miles or so, you’d see Jerusalem. Peter is on this rooftop praying at midday. As Peter prays he has no idea but three men are approaching Joppa, if you look over there you’ll see them. One is dressed like a Roman soldier, the other two dressed like normal men of that era. I presume all three are Gentiles and they have been sent on an urgent mission from a Roman military officer based in Caesarea. The mission is to find Simon Peter the apostle who had spent so many months with Jesus, and bring him to Caesarea to meet with this Roman officer named Cornelius.
Now that would frighten any Jew, but especially one of Jesus’ closest friends. I’m confident the apostles were always on the watch, looking over the shoulder to see if some Roman soldier or Temple guard was coming after them, to arrest them. And their crime? They were passionate followers of Jesus who refused to be silent as they proclaimed the stories, the message, and resurrection of Jesus. Peter had been arrested at least twice before, imprisoned, threatened by the authorities and even flogged! Yet, Peter was determined he would never again deny his Lord Jesus, and he would share, with anyone who would listen to him, about the dramatic change Jesus had made in his life!
Oh my, look, Peter is talking, out loud, toward heaven, with his arms open wide and a furrowed brow. He looks confused? Luke records for us in Acts 10:9-16 that as he was praying, Peter grew hungry and he had a vision. “He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, ‘Get up Peter, kill and eat’. Peter replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Here we are… Peter is being invited by God to do something way outside his comfort zone. In fact, it’s more serious than that. Peter, as a good Jewish man, was very careful about what he ate. Jews knew the Old Testament laws were very clear about diet. You’ll find that in Leviticus 11.
Pigs and certain other animals, including some reptiles and birds, were NOT to be eaten, they were considered ‘unclean’. Particularly in ancient times, certain animals carried diseases simply by virtue of their eating habits, the filthy water they drank, their living environment. Much of that has changed in more recent times, especially with modern pork production, but for Peter, he had always been very careful about this. He’d starve to death before eating any of the things God called “unclean”, much of which he saw before him in this vision. Peter was confused by what it seemed God was inviting him to do! Has this ever happened to you? What did you do?
I’m sure Peter felt good about himself as he said “no” to this vision. Perhaps he felt he was being tempted just to see how strongly he’d hold to his convictions. He wasn’t about to fail this test. But Luke reports: “The voice spoke to Peter a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (Acts 10:15) Now Peter was really confused! He knew beyond any shadow of a doubt, the God given Old Testament laws about food, (Leviticus 11) there was no room for error in this. Was he hallucinating? Was this a trick of some type? Luke tells us three times Peter and the voice from heaven debated about what animals were clean and unclean in the vision, and yet neither Peter nor the voice from heaven changed their position! They were at a stalemate! Can you imagine? God and Peter at a no-win, no compromise position, neither willing to budge? Look around your world, are there people at a ‘stalemate’ with God about so many things, refusing to budge… redefining marriage, or the sanctity of life or who decides a person’s gender or what is truth or how did the universe come into existence??
I have a feeling Jesus was smiling in heaven as He watched this. He was proud of Peter. This Peter was not the same man as the one who wilted when a young girl asked him if he was one of Jesus’ disciples that night after their time in the upper room! (Matt. 26:69,70) Peter was standing tall this time, strong, immovable! The kind of strength of character which Peter would need if he was going to be a strong leader in the Jesus movement as it swept across the Roman empire!
“Hello… anyone home here”? It’s a shout coming from the road-side gate in front of Simon’s house. “We are looking for Simon known as Peter… is he here?” Peter walked over to the edge of the roof to look down at the voices below. A Roman soldier and two what appear to be Gentiles!? What could they possibly want with Peter? Time froze for Peter. Should he hide, should he tell them he never heard of this Peter or they must have the wrong house?
God spoke in that moment, through the Holy Spirit, into Peter’s heart and mind: “Simon, three men are looking for you. Get up and go downstairs. Do NOT hesitate to go with them for I have sent them to you.” Oh my! Peter knew this voice, and he had learned when Jesus speaks, obey…now. But… Do you sometimes find yourself hesitating when you sense God stirring in you to do something? I have to believe Peter hesitated, even if only for a moment. A Roman soldier could only mean bad news for Peter. But the voice in his mind was clear, Jesus had sent them, delay or deceit were not options. “I am Peter, stay right there, I’m coming down to you.” I think Peter may have shouted from the rooftop.
Luke records: “Peter went down and said to the men, “I am Peter, the one you are looking for, why have you come?” The men replied ‘We have come from Cornelius the Roman centurion. He is a righteous, God-fearing man, who is respected by the Jewish people in Caesarea. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” (Acts 10:21,22) Now pause right there. You and I are still on the rooftop watching all this, as we have been from the time Peter came up here to pray. So what do you think? Is it a set up? A scam? A trap for Peter? Could it possibly be true? A Roman military officer in Caesarea known to be a worshipper of God and generous to the Jewish people, really? That seems impossible! But with God nothing is impossible, right? (Luke 1:37)
So Peter did what any good Jewish man would do with travelers, he invited them into the house for refreshments! Can you imagine what they talked about? As Peter told his story of his time with Jesus, and all he had experienced with Jesus, and how his life had changed with Jesus, I can imagine those guys, their eyes getting bigger and bigger! Without realizing it, hours passed, soon it was time for supper and then of course it was much too late to begin the trip back to Caesarea. Perhaps they talked about what time they’d start their journey tomorrow morning…and the awkward question that probably no one wanted to address: where would these three travelers stay the night?
Now I presume Simon the Tanner was a Jewish man, for surely Peter would not have stayed in his house if he was Gentile. By this time I’m sure Simon, the tanner, has joined in the conversation so we have two good Jewish men, both of whom are Christ followers, and three men I presume are Gentiles, who say they are God worshippers, and a big decision… where should these three men sleep for the night? Amazingly Luke doesn’t address the problem! That means either the three visitors from Cornelius are NOT Gentiles, as I have assumed, but are really Jews themselves, OR Simon and Peter believe that since God sent them, they should offer hospitality and invite them to stay the night, no matter who they are! Regardless, Luke tells us “The next morning Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along.” (Acts 10:23)
Let’s pause right here for the weekend. Do you think Peter slept much that night, thinking about the vision, the three travelers, the information they’ve given about Cornelius, their proposed trip tomorrow taking Peter to Cornelius in Caesarea, of all places? My guess is Peter prayed most of the night, seeking to know what Jesus wanted him to do. And if he would go with them, what awaited him in Caesarea?
I invite you, my friends, to consider that God was doing a deep work of changing Peter’s heart and maybe God wants to do the same with you and me? Does God find you pliable, flexible, available, willing to join with HIM in whatever the Holy Spirit leads you into, even if it’s way outside your comfort zone? Could it be Jesus has some really big things He’d like to accomplish with you, but it’s going to require a change of your attitudes, your habits, your heart? Are you willing?
If Peter had a guitar, I wonder if this video song might have been what he did that night as he asked the Holy Spirit to guide him. . .
Today’s Scripture is Acts 10:9-23.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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