All Lives Matter!

The great miracle of healing the cripple and the greater miracle of raising the dead that was the bulk of what we studied last week in Acts, set the stage for a sneak peek at the greatest miracle of God’s grace, that is saving the lost! This week, we consider the further elaboration of that third miracle as we prepare to move into Chapter 10 today. Having shown us Christ’s power over disease and death, Dr. Luke has prepared us to see Christ’s power over discrimination.

What we now witness is a very human drama in 4 scenes, but first Luke introduces us to the main characters by noting that Peter is in Joppa (9:43), staying with Simon, a tanner.

Acts 9:43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

This is significant. Clearly God was already overcoming some of Peter’s cultural biases. A tanner was rendered perpetually unclean by the Jews because he dealt with dead animals in order to convert their skins into leather. In this strange place, Peter comes to terms with some of his own cultural prejudices. What Peter doesn’t yet know it that God is about to shatter an antigospel prejudice lurking in the apostle’s heart.

What is the most despised location in the world to you? Which nation, city, or part of town could you do without? Take a moment to consider why you feel that way. Now, imagine traveling to that location, working to befriend those you meet there, and offering them the good news. That’s Peter’s upcoming assignment.

Next in (10:1-2), we travel to Caesarea, the capital of the Roman occupation of Israel. It was a military town. It’s right on the coast, thirty-one miles north of Joppa. It’s important to know that the Jews hated Caesarea. They called it the daughter of Edom, a place of ungodliness, that is a symbolic name for Rome.

Acts 10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

Here we meet, Cornelius, a captain of the occupying Roman army. As a centurion, he would have commanded a hundred Roman soldiers posted in Caesarea, and he would have been paid as much as five times more than an ordinary soldier. So he’s a wealthy and influential man. Jews, however, surely resented him.

Luke doesn’t want us to miss Cornelius’s religious devotion (10:2). The man “feared God.” The term “God fearer” was applied to Gentiles who adhered to Judaism’s faith in one God as they obeyed the Ten Commandments while balking at the idea of submitting to circumcision or to following the kosher dietary restrictions of Leviticus. Jews tended to respect such people, though they kept them at arm’s length because of their practices. Luke also notes that the man’s piety involved the giving of alms and prayer. Such generosity explains why he was well spoken of by the Jews there (v. 22). In some ways he is like the centurion at Capernaum, who had a respectable relationship with the Jewish people, supporting their work (Luke 7:4-5).

Importantly, though Cornelius was a religious man, he didn’t have a salvation relationship with Jesus. Cornelius was like Nicodemus—the man to whom Jesus spoke the words of John 3:16—in that he was pious and respected. Jesus told the latter, “You must be born again.” That is, even a “good” man needs to be saved. The gospel isn’t just for irreligious people; it’s for religious people too.

Scene 1: Cornelius’ Vision

Acts 10:3-8 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Cornelius first receives a vision to meet with Peter (vv. 3-8). The former’s sundial was set to the temple’s time, to the time of the evening sacrifice, and during his time of prayer, he gets instruction from an angel. Cornelius isn’t a Christian when this happens, and it’s important that God doesn’t save him in this vision. In Acts 11 we receive a bit more detail about what happened:

[Cornelius] reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household will be saved.” (Acts 11:13-14; emphasis added)

In the vision God directs Cornelius to the evangelist. Cornelius becomes a Christian when he hears the message and believes it (cf. 4:12; Rom 10:14-17). While God began working in the heart of Cornelius by his initiating grace, Cornelius needed to know the gospel and embrace it.

This story, reminds us that even when God uses visions to nudge people toward faith in Christ, uses evangelists too who must still do the exciting work of explaining the gospel to them that they might understand and embrace it with confidence.

God doesn’t always speak to nonbelievers—or even to Christians—through dramatic dreams. Sometimes he draws people through a deepdown hunger of sorts. Sometimes he begins to nudge people toward faith in Christ by making them curious about the gospel or about spiritual questions involving what happens after death or why people follow moral codes. If you are hungering to know more about Jesus or find yourself drawn into a conversation with someone who expresses such desire, realize that God does actually seek us. Remember the Good Shepherd!

Scene 2: Peter’s Vision

Just as complementary visions between Saul and Ananias confirmed God’s call to Saul, so here we have complementary visions confirming the import of what would happen between Cornelius and Peter.

In 10:9-16 Peter receives a vision in which he is told to eat all kinds of meat without concerning himself with whether such foods are clean or unclean according to the Jewish dietary laws. Notice that Peter, like Cornelius, was praying when he received his vision. I’m not suggesting that something dramatic like this will happen every time we pray, but I do think it indicates that those who humbly seek the Lord in unhindered and unhurried prayer experience great blessing.

Peter is commanded to kill and consume diverse creatures, even those forbidden in Leviticus 11 (cf. Mark 7:19). While Peter doesn’t understand the symbolism at work in this vision yet, these unclean animals symbolize God’s cleansing of the unclean Gentiles. But Peter refuses to obey the command three times; he has a history of three-time rejection followed by affirmation! Food restrictions had long isolated the Jews from the Gentiles, but God was breaking down the wall.

To share food and drink at a table with others is a big deal. It’s a declaration of friendship, and in that way it’s like declaring a covenant. As Christians we should be willing to eat with anyone. Doing so has broken down many walls and allowed for several fruitful discussions, and some of these new friends might even become brothers and sisters in Christ.

Acts 10:9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean,

Peter is pondering the things he’s seen when the visitors arrive at the gate. They won’t enter it because they’re Gentiles. Peter is told he must not hesitate to go with them (v. 20). After all, a Roman official didn’t ultimately send them; God did. So Peter goes out to meet them. The men tell him a bit about Cornelius, the angel, and their purpose (v. 22). Then Luke says, “Peter then invited them in and gave them lodging” (v. 23). This hospitality offer may not seem like a big deal to us, but for Peter and other Jewish Christians it signaled a huge gospel moment! Peter and others are being “converted” out of the thinking that the good news is for the Jews alone.

Not only did Peter give the men lodging, but the next day he made a two-day journey to Caesarea, taking some of the brothers from Joppa with him (v. 23). These men would serve not only as companions but also as witnesses.

behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

Consider three ways we can display a love for all our neighbors, regardless of their ethnicity or background.

1. We can show no hesitation in befriending people unlike us (v. 20).

2. We can show hospitality toward everyone, opening our homes and lives to them (v. 23).

3. We can show humility before all people, regardless of their skin color or annual income, living with the understanding that we’re all made in God’s image (v. 26).

Would displaying love in these ways come easily for you, or might you first need to be “converted” like Peter? If you hesitate at the idea of befriending and associating with people unlike you or have never opened your home to those outside your usual circle, it’s possible that you do have an air of elitism. If so, ask the Lord to change your heart, to give you his perspective.