Gentiles and the Gospel

Welcome

Good morning everyone. Today in the Gospel Story sermon series we are going to see in important step in the process of spreading the gospel, the message of Jesus, to the entire world. Up to this point in the book of Acts, we have largely seen the disciples ministering to other Jewish people. However, if we think back to Abraham and the covenant that God had made with him, we are reminded that it wasn’t only Israel that would be blessed by God, but that through Israel, all nations would be blessed. And so today we are going to look at how Peter’s attitude was changed as a result of God showing him that the gospel was meant for Gentiles as well as Jews.

Prayer

Engage / Tension

As we begin this morning, I want us to think about a time in life when your thoughts on a topic have changed considerably. So, for example, I have two kind of silly illustrations on topics that I have completely changed my mind on, and both of them deal with food. The first one happened when Amy and I were on a trip one time. We needed something to eat and so we went to the restaurant that was just across the road. I ordered fajitas and they came with everything you would expect, including sour cream. Now, I did not like sour cream at all. I had tried it in the past and couldn’t stand it. For some reason that night I thought, hey, I’ll give this a second try. Tried it again and there it was, I loved sour cream apparently now. I had a total 180 on what I thought of sour cream. The second time this happened was tomatoes. I was really sick at one point when Amy and I had just gotten married and after I got over it, for some reason I just wanted tomatoes. Once again, up until this point I did not like them. But I had some that day and just like sour cream now, I’m a big fan.

I bring up this examples because we all have topics that we have have had our minds changed on. We have all gone from thinking something or maybe someone is the worst and then we realize that we were wrong. That thing or person really isn’t bad and we quite enjoy them! In our passage this morning, Peter goes through a change of heart when it comes to the Gentiles, and we see this in how God works in the life of a Roman centurion named Cornelius.

Acts 10:1–20 NIV

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 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!” 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. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 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. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While 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. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

Cornelius

First, let’s look at who Cornelius was. We are told a few important things about it. First, Cornelius is a gentile, he is not a jewish man. On top of that, he currently serves in the Roman Army. Immediately we should see that this man is different than who we are used to reading about in the gospels. We would expect this man to be far from God, to be following all of the other gods that people worshiped back then, but that is not the case. Cornelius is a man who fears God, he understands that Yahweh is the true God and he recognizes this by praying on a regular basis and helping the poor in his community. One day while he is praying he has this vision and conversation with an angel of the Lord and is told to send people to a city named Joppa to get a man, “Simon, who is called Peter.” Cornelius is obedient and he sends some people off to Joppa to go get his Simon Peter guy.

Peter

On the other side of this story we have Peter. Peter was going about his day and was getting hungry. While the food was being made for lunch Peter goes up on the roof of the house to pray. As he is praying he goes into this trance and sees this very perticular scene. God uses Peter’s hunger to actually speak to him. In this trance / vission, heaven is opened and this sheet is lowered down with all kinds of animals on it. Then a voice tells him to get up, kill, and eat. To which Peter immediately responds by saying no. Peter has never eaten anything that was considered “unclean” by the Jewish laws. Peter was raised only to eat what was considered ceremonially clean and Kosher. He would have been repulsed by all the unclean animals touching the clean ones. But the voice tells him to not call anything unclean that God has made clean. So in total, this happens three times and eventually this sheet is taken back into heaven. Peter is slightly confused, he’s wondering what all of this means when the group of people from Cornelius’ household show up. God tells Peter to go with them because it was him who actually sent them.

Before we continue reading and see what happens, I think it is helpful to get a better understanding of just what the relationship was like between Jews and Gentiles. If a Jew went into a Gentile country, they would “shake the dust” off their feet before returning to Israel because Gentile dirt was considered defiled. If milk was drawn from a cow by Gentile hands, a Jew could not drink. No Jew would ever eat with a Gentile. No Jew would even let a Gentile come into their house.

In this passage then, we begin to see God changing Peter’s attitude towards Gentiles. God gives him this amazing vision to see that the message of Jesus is not just for Jews, but for Gentiles as well. Now we get to see how Peter is changed as a result of this.

Acts 10:21–48 NIV

Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The 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 ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 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. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 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.” Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 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.

Right away, we can see that Peter’s attitude has been changed. He doesn’t just talk to this group sent by Cornelius, but he invites the into the house. Then the next day, Peter and some other Jewish believers go with this group back to Cornelius’ house. When Cornelius meets Peter he falls down before him but Peter tells him to get up, that he is just a man. Peter goes in to the house and it is packed with Cornelius’ family and friends. Peter then addresses the elephant in the room. This isn’t normal. It is not normal that a Jewish man has travelled with Gentiles to the home of another gentile. He then explains how his mindset towards Gentiles has changed. God has shown him that no one is unclean, that the gospel isn’t just meant for a select group of people. For people from the same nation, for people who all look the same. The gospel is meant for everyone. And so Peter asks why they sent for him and they tell him about the miraculous encounter that Cornelius had with this angel of the Lord.

Peter then begins to preach. He explains to them the message of the Gospel. That Jesus is the Messiah the prophets talked about, that he was killed and rose from the dead. And he explains that anyone who believes in him with recieve forgiveness for their sins. While Peter is still talking the Holy Spirit filled all the people who were hearing this. The Jewish believers who had travelled with Peter are amazed at what is happening because they didn’t think that Gentiles were a part of this. Peter tells them to be baptized because of their belief and then ask Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Application

I want us to see two big points from this passage this morning.

I was us to see how the gospel challenges any kind of prejudice we might have towards a group of people. The gospel is meant for all people, from all nations, for all ethnicities. People who look the same and have similar life experiences and people who look completely different and have totally different experiences in life. Peter was among a group of people who would not associate with Gentiles and yet, because of God, he recognizes that all people are clean because God has made them. Every human was made in the image of God and so every human is deserving of hearing and recieving the gospel and the hand of fellowship from us. One quote I love on this topic is from a sermon that Billy Graham gave when he was talking about prejudice and race, he said...

“Jesus was not a white man; He was not a black man. He came from that part of the world that touches Africa and Asia and Europe. Christianity is not a white man’s religion, and don’t let anybody ever tell you that it’s white or black. Christ belongs to all people; He belongs to the whole world.”

Jesus is meant for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you look like, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was meant for you just as much as anyone else. All people can encounter Jesus, repent, and believe in him as their saviour.

2. The second point I was us to see is how amazing this truth is that the gospel is meant for everyone. We are here, in this building, worshipping Jesus because God did not withhold the savior of the world from the gentiles. This passage directly deals with how we are all asitting here this morning. This passage should spur us to worship and praise God because Jesus truly is the savior of the world. How grateful, and thankful, we can be because God included all of us to be able to hear and recieve the message of the Gospel.