Acts - 27

Acts - 27

Acts 10:1-33

Introduction

We’ve all done it. You walk into a room to get something and then totally forget why you went into the room in the first place. Or you think, I need to look that up online. But when you go into the dining room to get your computer and open up your browser, you have no idea what you were planning to look up. It happens to us all and is not at all an indication that your memory is fading. It is known scientifically as the “Doorway Effect.”

First solidified by Gabriel Radvansky, a Psychology Professor at the University of Notre Dame, the Doorway Effect is a real phenomenon that happens when you walk through a doorway, into another room, and you forget why you went in the room. This is because a doorway is known as an “event boundary” in the mind. Your brain compartmentalizes your memories from room to room. When you walk through a doorway it is like your brain closes out one document and opens up a new one.

All that needs to happen for your way of thinking to change, for your worldview to change, for you to see things differently than before, is to walk through a doorway. In Acts 10, the Apostle Peter is going to walk through a door that will forever change him, and will forever change the faith of Christianity.

Peter has been on quite a journey already that is slowly transforming him. He comes out of a good Jewish heritage. He loves God and wants to honor Him with His life. To do that, he obeys God’s revealed Law in the OT. He’s done it his entire life. He doesn’t know any different. What he does know is that God elected the nation of Israel to be His people on the earth. They hold privileged status. They aren’t like the other nations in the world, that much is crystal clear. The nations are full of pagan idolatry with pagan lifestyles that match. But God’s people are distinct. They are set apart. They are holy like their God is holy. Most of their Laws are designed to be a means of distinction, that sets them apart from the pagan nations around them. Most well-known among them are the kosher food laws. For example:

Leviticus 11:41-47 - 41 ‘Now every swarming thing that swarms on the earth is detestable; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, whatever has many feet, in respect to every swarming thing that swarms on the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable. 43 Do not render yourselves detestable through any of the swarming things that swarm; and you shall not make yourselves unclean with them so that you become unclean. 44 For I am Yahweh your God. Therefore, set yourselves apart as holy and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that move on the earth.

45 For I am Yahweh who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” 46 This is the law regarding the animal and the bird and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, 47 to separate between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.

Leviticus 20:22-26 - 22 ‘You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to inhabit will not vomit you out. 23 Moreover, you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I will cast out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them. 24 Hence I have said to you, “You yourselves shall possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am Yahweh your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You are therefore to separate between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean. 26 Thus you shall be holy to Me, for I Yahweh am holy; and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine.

Do you see the connection? Their diet is part of what marks them as God’s covenant people. Don’t be like the pagan Canaanites that once occupied this land. You are mine. You are separate from the nations. Therefore, eat this way. But the laws went much further than just food. The clothes they wore, the places they went, the people they interacted with…all was to be done with a concern about clean and unclean, holy and unholy.

So when Jesus told the apostles in Acts 1:8 that the Gospel would go out from Jerusalem into Judea and all Samaria, and even to the nations…well, that was quite confusing. The nations are bad. The nations are evil. The nations are unclean. These Gentiles (nations/ethnos) cannot become part of God’s holy people, they are unholy. Therefore God hates them. He condemns them. We are in, they are out. The only people God would ever concern Himself with saving are His own good and godly people.

But they were wrong. They had totally missed the fact that the ultimate point of God electing Israel to salvation, to choosing them, to blessing them, was so that they would be a light to the Gentiles. So that the nations would flood into Israel to worship her God. Jesus came and sought to remind them of this great truth. In Matthew 8, Jesus encounters a Roman centurion who needed help. This centurion is a Gentile of Gentiles, a pagan military officer who is enforcing the Roman, pagan way of life onto the world. Listen carefully to the encounter:

Matthew 8:5-13 - 5 And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

8 But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not good enough for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this man, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

Do you see it? The pagan, Gentile centurion is presented positively. Jesus marvels at his faith. Jesus fulfills his request to heal the servant. And Jesus declares that indeed the nations will come and sit at the table (be equal with) God’s covenant people. Surely not! God doesn’t save outsiders, right? God wouldn’t make us less special by saving them, right?

Acts 10:1-33 - Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the people and prayed to God continually. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And looking intently on him and becoming afraid, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 Now send some men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; 6 he is lodging with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.” 7 And when the angel who was speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 9 And on the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat. And while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise up, Peter, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.” 16 And this happened three times and immediately the object was taken up into heaven. 17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 But rise up, go down and accompany them without taking issue at all, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and hear a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging. And on the next day he rose up and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him. 24 And on the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 And when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was summoned. So I ask for what reason you have summoned me.” 30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been ordered by the Lord.”

We are introduced to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. What do we know about him?

he lives in Caesarea. That was the capital city of the region that hosted one of the Roman military regiments. He is a centurion. That means he is not only a soldier, but a military officer. He leads a regiment of 100 soldiers, one of 6 such groups in all of Judea. Meaning he is one of the six highest ranking officers in the land. Six groups together formed a cohort of 600 soldiers. They would then join in with 9 other cohorts to form a Roman legion, a battalion of 6,000 troops. He is devout. A word that is always used in a religious sense. He faithfully lives out his religious beliefs, which turn out to be pretty good. He fears God, or better, he is a God-fearer. This is a title used for Gentiles who were sort of religiously Jewish but not ethnically Jewish. They believed in the one true God of Israel, and worshiped Him. They typically grew tired of the Greek/Roman pantheon of gods and were attracted to the simplicity of one God who had clearly revealed His will. God-fearers could attend synagogue but were still not allowed to enter into the Temple in Jerusalem. Because they were still Gentiles. No matter their devotion to God, they were still outsiders. He has done all this with his entire household. So he has faithfully led his family well. He is generous with his financial resources by giving alms. He continually prays (giving alms and prayer were two key Jewish signs of faithfulness to God). He is a Gentile. Comes from a pagan background and is an outsider to the faith.

We like Cornelius. He is a good man who is trying to figure out who God is and what God wants from him. And though he holds some biblical beliefs, he is not saved. He believes in God. He is generous with his money. He prays. That sounds like a lot of vaguely spiritual people in our culture today. Good people for sure. People who believe in God, pray, and practice some religious behaviors…but are still on the margins. They aren’t Christians in that they have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ. This is a lesson to learn from Cornelius…you can believe in God, be religious, and still need to be saved.

God is at work. In fact, you can see God’s initiative in saving Cornelius throughout this entire encounter. It begins with a vision. At the 9th hour (3pm), one of the daily Jewish times of prayer, an angel visits him. Why the note of what time it is? To show that Cornelius is not asleep. He isn’t dreaming. He isn’t making this up. An angel from Heaven shows up and talks to him. God has been watching. He has heard your prayers. He sees you trying to figure all this out. And God knows what you need. Call for Peter. God is initiating a work in Cornelius’ life and God is in process of doing a work in Peter’s life too. And God is going to bring them both together for an incredible meeting.

As soon as the angel leaves, Cornelius gets to work. He is obedient. And he is expedient. He immediately calls in guys that he trusts and does what the angel had directed him to do. Meanwhile in Joppa, Peter goes up to the roof of Simon the Tanner’s house to pray, a common thing to do. It's the sixth hour, noon the next day. It’s lunch time and Peter gets hungry. While lunch is getting ready God is going to show up and teach him a lesson about food.

Peter has a vision too. He sees Heaven opened and a large sheet coming down out of Heaven. In it are all sorts of animals. And they happen to be the kinds of animals that had been explicitly forbidden back in Leviticus. The voice of the Lord Jesus thunders down for him to get up, kill the animals, and eat them. Wait a minute! Hadn’t God forbidden these animals? They were unclean. Eating them makes you unclean. No way! And that is how Peter responds. v. 14 - But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and unclean.” Not a chance. This must be some sort of test. I’ve always honored God’s law and I always will.

But things are changing Peter. Jesus has fulfilled the Law. Those dietary restrictions are no longer in place. v. 15 - What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled. Translation: go have some bacon. All the talk about clean and unclean are no longer valid Peter. Don’t you remember when Jesus said in Matthew 15:11,17-20 - 11 It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man…17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and goes into the sewer? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

It’s a new day Peter! The judgment calls you’ve been making about food (and about the people who eat it) are not valid anymore. This is a tough lesson to learn…so much so that God does this two more times. It typically takes Peter a few times before it sinks in. When Jesus restored Peter after Peter had denied Him three times, Jesus asked him 3x, “Peter do you love me?” It takes awhile, but he eventually gets it.

And in an amazing coincidence, just as the vision ends, the three men that Cornelius had sent happen to arrive at the house and ask for Peter. Yeah right! No coincidence at all. God’s sovereignty in salvation is on full display. He already initiated everything with the vision to Cornelius. He does the same here with Peter. And God has timed it perfectly that just as Peter is trying to figure some things out, these men arrive. v. 19 - And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.” Vision repeated 3x…don’t call something unclean that God has made clean. And then 3 Gentile men show up…come on! But notice what the Spirit says to him in v. 20 - But rise up, go down and accompany them without taking issue at all, for I have sent them Myself.

It’s like a parent lecturing their kids…now you go down there and you be nice. Don’t be rude. Peter, go down to these Gentiles and don’t ‘take issue.’ Some translations put ‘don’t doubt’ or ‘don’t have any problem.’ All are pretty good. The Greek word used there is the word for judgement. It means ‘to separate.’ That is what a judgment is…this is good, this is bad, this is right, this is wrong. Peter, go down there to those Gentile men and do not make a separation. Do not judge. Because I sent them to you.

Peter goes down and they recount the vision Cornelius had. Peter invites them in and they stay for the night. That is no small thing right there. Peter has invited Gentiles into the home he is staying at. Their very presence implies bringing unclean things into the home. But it is about to get very real for him. The next morning they get up and head to Caesarea. Cornelius is pumped! But notice the language.

v. 25-27 - And when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am just a man.” As he talked with him, he entered and found many people assembled.

Though Cornelius has some solid theological beliefs, his paganism is showing. Peter is a messenger of the gods, someone to be worshiped. Nope. He got that one wrong and Peter corrects him. Do you see it, though? Twice it is recorded…Peter entered. The significance of this moment cannot be overstated. To go into a Gentile home is to become unclean. Listen to an ancient Jewish document…Jubilees 22.16 - “Separate yourself from the nations, And eat not with them: And do not according to their works, And become not their associate; For their works are unclean, And all their ways are a pollution and an abomination and uncleanness.”

So Peter has this moment as he stands at a doorway. He could refuse. He could condemn. He could continue to separate. He could hold on to his former judgments against them. Or he could obey. He could follow God on this adventure. He could do the hard thing and be transformed. And he does. He steps through that doorway and his life explodes. His worldview transforms. His faith expands. He has learned the lesson of the vision. V. 28 - And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean.”

Cornelius recounts the vision to Peter and they sit ready to hear from him. v. 33 - So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been ordered by the Lord. Never has any preacher ever had a more ready and excited audience than in this moment! We talked last week that God has prepared you for what He has planned for you. We see that clearly throughout the entire text. God has initiated and sovereignly orchestrated all of this to go down. And now here sits an entire room full of unsaved pagans ready to hear the Gospel preached to them by Peter.

Here are some takeaways: first, God wants to save people who are not like you. That was the challenge for the Jews in general, and for Peter in particular. They had taken the glorious doctrine of election by God and twisted it into wicked favoritism. In their minds, God only cared about them. God loved them and hated everyone else. But God’s concern was always for the nations. And He has always wanted to use His elect people to reach the nations. And He still does. Isn’t it interesting that an angel (word means messenger) appears to Cornelius and only tells him to call for Peter? The angel could have just told Cornelius the gospel message. God could have just overwhelmed Cornelius and saved him, like He had done with Saul of Tarsus. But He didn’t. He leaves it up to one of His people to preach the gospel, He doesn’t do it for them.

Romans 10:8-14 - 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, 13 for “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

God sends you. And He sends you to the people He has ordained for salvation. People who may not look or talk like you. Who do not believe/politics/morals like you do. People you have judged. People you have condemned. People you have declared to be unworthy of saving, God delights in saving. Good thing…b/c that includes you.