The Two Conversions of Acts 10

Good News

Fantasy Baseball

The first time I won Fantasy Baseball

Something that is incredibly meaningful and good news to me, but seemingly irrelevant or even annoying to others.

I often feel the same way about the actual Gospel.

I think:

They aren’t interested

They won’t care

They’ll get annoyed with me

And then I start to believe:

I should leave “that part of my life” out of our relationship

There’s nothing I can do about it

It doesn’t matter if they know anyway

Acts 10 tells a story that we can relate to.

Acts 10:1–6 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:

A few years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Just after the conversion of Saul.

At the beginnings of the apostles’ missionary journeys around the Mediterranean.

Where:

Caesarea (Maritima) (to cut) (the sea): major city

Joppa: close to modern Tel Aviv

Who:

Cornelius, a centurion

A gentile

Peter, aka Simon Peter

A disciple (an infamous one)

Law-abiding Jew

Acts 10:9–10 NIV

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.

Peter had the hungry sleepies. Can’t blame him.

Acts 10:11–12 NIV

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.

Who knows if Peter recognized this as a vision from God, or if he just thought he was literally so hungry he would eat any four-footed animal, reptile, or bird.

Acts 10:13–14 NIV

Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

Okay, here is where Peter shows himself.

Peter, law-abiding Jew, will not eat impure or unclean animals.

Deuteronomy 14:4–21 NIV

These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses. Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean. You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. But any winged creature that is clean you may eat. Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

This is Peter trying to do what is right in the eyes of God. But watch how God responds:

Acts 10:15–16 NIV

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.

Why would God say that?

Why would God give Peter that vision that day?

The men find Peter and invite him to Caesarea to meet Cornelius and Peter agrees to go the next day.

Acts 10:24 NIV

The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

Acts 10:27–28 NIV

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.

This is where we see that when we tell this story, we almost always tell it as the amazing good news that after Jesus’ death and resurrection, God now welcomes ALL people (including Gentiles) in to his people here on Earth—and that is indeed the best news! Cornelius and his family are converted and:

Acts 10:47–48 NIV

“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.

But the critical point of the story for us to see tonight is that Cornelius and his family are not the only ones God converted that day.

Peter was converted too.

How we know: “But God has shown me...”

Peter wanted to change the world, he wanted to spread the Gospel, he wanted to see the world claim Jesus is Lord, but before he could do that, God completely transformed foundational ideas Peter had about what that meant.

Before Peter could go and participate in this amazing work of Jesus’ kingdom, he had to be stopped dead in his tracks, prayerful, and changed by God.

Cornelius didn’t actually need Peter to receive God and follow Jesus—but through this encounter we get to see that as God was sending Peter to work in his Kingdom, he was continually doing Kingdom work in Peter.

If we feel like we have good news to share, we are like Peter today.

I share this story and these words to invite you in to asking these questions of yourself and of God:

What are the times, places, situations where I feel “stuck” in sharing good news?

What ideas and beliefs do I have that God wants to change?

How does God give me vision and ideas for how to proceed?

As you reflect and pray on those today and later, let me also offer you some encouragement from this story and from myself:

God may give you “big vision” and he may not. Neither one is better than the other.

What’s important is the lifelong journey of faith and trust.

Consider that these two traits of Peter in Acts 10 might just be the secret for all of us to changing the world and spreading good news:

Hospitality

Friendship

Still nobody cares about Fantasy Baseball, and my wife Celeste is the perfect example. But let me tell you about the last 4 years of life:

How I invited her in to my life with baseball (and how I didn’t)

This might just be how God does things, and it may just be that he has equipped you, in every way possible, to live out the same kind of hospitality and friendship that Peter and Cornelius had. Remain open to God shattering your existing thoughts and giving you new ones.

And remember Peter’s words as he reflects and realizes what God is up to in Acts 10:

The Message Chapter 10

“It’s God’s own truth, nothing could be plainer: God plays no favorites! It makes no difference who you are or where you’re from—if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open. The Message he sent to the children of Israel—that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again—well, he’s doing it everywhere, among everyone.