Peter and Cornelius Acts 10:1-16
We’ve looked at a few events from the beginning of Jesus ministry. Today I want to look at an event from the early church. I think it’s important to look at what the disciples and the early church were going through, because we can see things that can help our modern churches.
Verse 1 “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian regiment.” It goes on to say that, “He and his family were devout and God fearing…” In an area and time when the countries around Israel were full of false Gods, here is a Gentile and his whole family hearing about God, hearing about Jesus. They’ve heard of the redemption and salvation offered through Christ and they accept Christ as their own.
Why is this important? We already know that God’s plan was to offer salvation to all people who believe. It’s important because it shows the changes the early church had to go through. It shows how they had to change what was expected by society’s norms. And by pointing this out it shows us that even today society’s norms are not the churches norms.
God called the people of Israel into a special relationship with himself. They were his people, his witnesses and missionaries to the rest of the world. And somewhere along the way they forgot their purpose, they started to put up barriers between themselves and the rest of the world. They believed salvation was only for them.
Peter was born into this belief system. And even though he spent more than three years with Jesus it’s hard for him to break such culturally ingrained beliefs. But norms had to be challenged and broken so Christ could establish his church. Norms had to be broken so Christ’s church could include all that Jesus came to save.
If you read through Acts 9 and 10 you see God moving Peter in an intersect course with Cornelius. The Holy Spirit is moving Peter from one person in need to another until he ended up in the city of Joppa at the home of Simon the tanner. We’ll come back to Simon in a minute.
We also have God talking directly to Cornelius, telling him to have Peter brought to him. Acts 10:4-5, “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.”
God has set up everything to bring the Jewish believer and the Gentile believer together.
But Peter’s culture tells him that if he even touched a Gentile he would be unclean, he would have to go and wash. With this belief engrained in him how could Peter welcome Cornelius into the church?
God is about to teach Peter a lesson that will affect the world. Actually the lesson has already started. Remember Simon the tanner? He touches dead things to make leather. Peter should not want to even be near him or he could be defiled. The fact that Peter stays in Simon’s home shows God is gradually moving him away from his prejudices and manmade legalistic attitudes.
So now God has all the players in place and he is ready to bring it all together in a final lesson.
We are aware that our Jewish cousins have food restrictions and using them is how God is going to teach Peter. God addresses Peter and tells him to eat what he sees before him, tells him to eat something that is prohibited by Jewish law and tradition. And as expected, Peter rejects the idea.
This happens three times. Three; we’ve talked about three before. By seeing “three” as representing the trinity; Father, Son, Holy Spirit, it assures us this vision is not just a dream because Peter is hungry; it is truly a vision from God. By seeing “three” as representing Jesus ( Jesus preached for three years, was pierced by three nails, was in the tomb three days) we see it points to Jesus redeeming sacrifice at the cross. How faith in Jesus removes the stain of sin from believers.
And to make sure Peter; and through Pete, us, understand exactly what God means by this vision he spells it out in verse 15, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Again, remember Peter is Jewish; clean and unclean food is a big deal. But food is not the central theme here. Because we see “three” pointing us toward Jesus we know God is not trying to change Peter’s diet. He’s trying to change Peter’s view of people.
As we said Peter grew up in his cultures traditions and beliefs. He believes Jews are “clean”, God’s chosen people. Gentiles are “unclean”, sinners separated from God. This is the attitude God is changing.
Ecclesiastes 7:20, “Indeed there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one does what is right and never sins.” This is what God wants planted in Peter’s mind, Jews and Gentiles alike need Christ for redemption. All mankind needs Christ for redemption. Whoever turns to Christ, whomever the Holy Spirit brings into the church is to be welcomed. Whoever turns to Christ, whomever the Holy Spirit brings into the church has been moved from “unclean” to “clean.’
If we continue to read from the Book of Acts we see Peter got it. He preached to Cornelius, his family and others in his house and they turned to Christ. Peter argued for bringing Gentiles into God’s family to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, and his reasoning convinced them of God’s teaching; Acts 11:18, “…they had no further objections and praised God saying ‘So then even to the Gentiles God granted repentance that leads to life.’” Through the work of Peter and Paul, Christ’s church can expand to every nation and people on earth.
This nice little history lesson of Peter and the early church can be a lesson for the church all through the years.
Cornelius teaches us we have to let go of what we think a proper Christian looks like. One’s family, one’s upbringing, one’s nationality, where or how one lives; none of it means a person cannot be a believer and a child of God.
Becoming a believer does not mean your life will suddenly change all at once. And because someone’s life doesn’t completely turn when they accept Christ doesn’t mean their belief and conversion is not sincere.
Simon the tanner teaches us that no matter who someone is, no matter what they look like, no matter their circumstances; we should not avoid them. I used to live across the street from a young man who was challenged. I admit I was uncomfortable around him, so I tended to avoid conversations with him. Is this what God wanted me to do? No. In this I fell short for a long time. Eventually I started living my faith in my dealings with this young man.
The tanner was seen as unclean yet Peter stayed in his house. We see people who are poorer than us. People who may be homeless, disheveled, people in or just out of prison, addicts and people in need. We need to ask God to help us live out our faith; help us to reach out a hand and to lift then up.
There was a time I was embarrassed by my son’s addiction, what would people think. No offence, but I came to see who cares what others think. Jared is my son. My love for him is absolute. We are God’s children; his love for us is absolute. The tanner, the man crucified with Jesus show us that no one is beneath God’s dignity; no one is beneath God’s ability to lift them up. They should not be beneath us either.
The food in our reading shows us that we need to let go of thinking that someone different from us is wrong, that they are unable to come to God. I’ve been in churches where I was told people who were in jail, people who lived differently, people who were in certain countries, were unable to be saved. The accounts of the adulterer and the sinner who washes Jesus feet and the woman with five husbands; the accounts of the centurion with the sick servant, the man possessed with demons, the crucified man; all of these accounts show us the falseness of that belief. God’s mercy and reach have no limit.
As believers we need to stop looking at those around us with man’s eyes and look at them with God’s eyes. No one is beneath God and outside his ability to save. No one should be beneath us or beyond our ability to reach out to.
Some churches teach that to work with “sinners” we can be stained with their sin. We cannot be made sinner by someone else. We cannot be made sinners by who we reach out to in God’s name. I heard one minister put it this way, “What is unclean cannot make the clean unclean, but what is clean can make the unclean clean.”
God offers salvation to everyone, no matter who they are. Today’s churches cannot hold themselves above those living in their communities. Church membership does not mean we never sin. Accepting Jesus as our personal savior does not mean we never sin. It means we have a saving relationship with God. And as those saved by God’s grace, today’s church should never forget our purpose as witnesses for God.