PETER SEES A VISION OF GOD

Acts 10:1-11:18
Key Verse: 10:13

      "Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."'

   Today's passage is a story about two persons: one is Peter, a Jew,
and the other is Cornelius, a Roman soldier. God moved Peter's heart
through a vision to visit Cornelius. God also moved Cornelius' heart to
welcome Peter and accept the gospel of salvation. The gospel of Jesus,
which began in Jerusalem, had not yet reached Rome. But it reached to a
Roman soldier. In this way, a new landmark in church history was made.

I.  The visions of Peter and Cornelius (10:1-23a)

   In this part, two persons, Peter and Cornelius, see God's vision.
Let's learn how they could see God's vision, and the contents of their
visions.

First, Cornelius' vision (1-8). Look at verse 1. "At Caesarea there was
a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian
Regiment." Cornelius was a Roman soldier stationed at Caesarea, the
headquarters of Roman government in Palestine. Cornelius was a
centurion of the Italian Regiment. Mostly, Roman soldiers were Africans
drafted or hired by the Roman government. But there were a minority of
Italian soldiers--crack units of the Roman army. Cornelius was an
Italian centurion with 100 Italian soldiers under his command.
Centurions were the backbone of the Roman army, and they were expected
to win victories or otherwise, to stand fast and die at their posts.
Therefore, Cornelius must have been a well-disciplined Roman officer
with the spirit and loyalty of a Roman soldier. At that time, the world
was a Roman world, and Cornelius was a Roman centurion. Humanly
speaking, he was a lucky person. It seemed that he didn't need anyone's
help, and that he didn't have to seek God. He could claim to be his own
man. But to our surprise, Cornelius sought God earnestly until he
learned of God Almighty from the Jews. The prosperity of the Roman
Empire and being recognized as a man of Roman spirit made him happy
from time to time, but these human conditions could not satisfy his
soul. His soul was thirsty for the holiness of God. His soul was hungry
for the truth and grace of God. He was a pompous Roman soldier, but he
wanted his heavenly Father because he was made in the holy image of
God.

   In the New Testament times, there were many thirsty souls. For
example, the Ethiopian eunuch was the treasurer for the Ethiopian
queen. He lived in a palace, but he came to Jerusalem to seek and
worship God. Probably he was tired of all the luxury and immorality and
empty way of palace life. He was suffering from deep fatigue and
boredom. He came to Jerusalem to seek and worship God.

   Commonly, soldiers are very wild and enjoy the fleeting pleasures of
life in order to forget about present realities. But Cornelius was
different. He was a very pious man. He was also a good influence to his
family members.  Because of his good influence, his family members were
also devout and God-fearing. He was a blessing to the people around
him. Cornelius also gave generously to those in need. His love for God
made him love others. And he was a man of prayer. Obviously, he learned
how to pray regularly from the Jews. In brief, he was a Roman
centurion, but he had the fear of God in his heart. He was a man of
integrity; he was not far from the kingdom of God.  However, he needed
to hear the good news about Jesus.

   Once, in the afternoon at the regular prayer time, Cornelius prayed
earnestly. Then God visited him in a vision. Look at verses 3-5. "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.'" So many people calculate this and
that and are finally swallowed up by the worries of life. But Cornelius
prayed and saw a vision of God. There were so many things to seek, but
he sought God (Dt.4:29; Mt.7:7,8). God saw this man Cornelius and told
him in a vision to welcome Peter and hear the message of salvation.  It
is amazing to know that Cornelius saw a great vision of God while he
was praying.

Second, Peter's vision (9-23a). About noon the following day as
Cornelius' servants were approaching the city, Peter went up on the
roof to pray. As he was usually, he was hungry and wanted something to
eat. 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 of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told
him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!" In this short phrase, "Kill and
eat," all God's plan for world salvation is passionately summed up, and
it was revealed to Peter.

   How did Peter respond to the voice? Look at verse 14. "'Surely not,
Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.'"
We understand why Peter protested. He was brought up in a society where
food laws were strictly kept. According to Leviticus 11, the Jews could
eat only the animals that chewed the cud and whose hoofs were not
divided but cloven.  Peter had never eaten pigs or lizards or
squirrels. He had never eaten animals that were unclean. Because of
these food laws, the Jews despised the Gentiles, who ate raw and rare
meats of any kind. The Jews thought that the Gentiles were like unclean
animals because they ate all kinds of unclean animals. The Jews felt
nauseous even to think about the Gentiles because of their way of
eating.

   The Jews also despised Gentiles because they thought they were not
God's chosen people. They thought God's favor was not extended to
Gentiles and that the law of God could not be applied to them. The
Jews' view of Gentiles was blindly prejudiced and traditional; it
lacked the universality of God. So Peter, who was brought up in these
rigid traditions, could not accept God's voice, "Kill and eat!" But in
order to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, Peter had to unlearn the old
habits and traditions of the Jews. According to the voice, Peter had to
kill and eat. But his stomach was too weak to digest all kinds of
insects and animals wiggling on the sheet.

   What did God do with this man who had such a weak stomach? Look at
verses 15 and 16. "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." In these verses,
all kinds of animals and insects represent all kinds of peoples on
earth. "Kill and eat," meant, "Go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation" (Mk.16:15). For Peter, world evangelization
was an impossible task as long as he called anything impure that God
had made clean. He needed to change his outlook on the Gentiles. He
needed to train his stomach until it could eat deliciously any kind of
food. Above all, he needed to obliterate the solidarity of Jewish
exclusivism from his heart so that he could rise above his own culture
and traditions and learn the universality of God's love.

   While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men
sent by Cornelius found Simon's house. While Peter was still thinking
about the vision, the Spirit told him to go downstairs to meet them and
go with them without hesitation. In this way, Peter and the men from
Cornelius met together at the house of Simon. Peter was not ready to
invite them into the house as guests. But the Holy Spirit helped him to
do so. It is interesting to note that although Peter only thought about
delicious food, God showed him a great vision of his world salvation
plan.

II.  Peter's message to Cornelius (10:23b-48)

   The next day Peter arrived in Caesarea. As Peter entered the house,
Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence, together with his
relatives and close friends. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he
said, "I am only a man myself" (23b-26). There was a large gathering of
people inside the house. Peter said to them, "You are well aware that
it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit
him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or
unclean" (28). Again Peter says in verse 34, "I now realize how true it
is that God does not show favoritism..." At this point Peter realized
that God is not only the God of the Jews but also the God of the
Gentiles. A great revolution had erupted in his heart. As soon as Peter
finished telling the whole story of how he had come to their house,
Cornelius asked Peter to speak God's message to them. In verses 34-43
Peter spoke of the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord
of all. In this we learn several things about Jesus.

First, Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit. Look at verse
38.  "...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." Why did God anoint
Jesus with the Holy Spirit? It was because God, through his Son Jesus
Christ, who was anointed with the Holy Spirit, wanted to deliver all
those who were under the power of the devil. Mankind seems to have many
problems. But the root problem of mankind is that they are suffering
under the power of the devil.  Jesus is the only one who saves people
who suffer under the power of the devil because Jesus is anointed with
the Holy Spirit.

Second, Jesus died on a tree. Look at verse 39. "We are witnesses of
everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They
killed him by hanging him on a tree..." Jesus was sent by God. While on
earth, he healed the sick and preached the good news of the kingdom of
God. His life was truly beautiful, so much so that during the last
2,000 years many people have made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to feel
his footsteps. Even now there are so many people who want to follow in
his footsteps. Everything he did was life-giving, and an invitation to
God's kingdom, where there are no more tears.  But evil men killed him
by hanging him on a tree. They did not like Jesus because they were so
sinful and Jesus was so beautiful. They killed Jesus simply because
Jesus was so beautiful. But he was not just a victim of sinful men; his
death was for the sin of the world. John 1:29b says, "Look, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

Third, Jesus rose again. Look at verse 40. "...but God raised him from
the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen." When Jesus was
crucified on a tree and died, the power of sin and death seemed to win
the victory over the good Jesus. But this was not true. "God raised him
from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was
impossible for death to keep its hold on him" (Ac 2:24). Through his
death Jesus destroyed the power of sin and death. Through his
resurrection he won an eternal victory for us. There is victory for all
who believe in him.

Fourth, God appointed him as judge of the living and the dead. Look at
verse 42. "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."
No man is worthy to be a judge over others because we are all the same
sinful human beings. But Jesus is worthy to be the judge of all men
because with his blood he purchased men for God from every tribe and
language and people and nation (Rev 5:9). Death is not the end of
everything. After death, each of us must stand before the Judge to
receive a report card.

Fifth, Jesus is the giver of forgiveness of sins. Look at verse 43.
"All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name." No one can be happy
when he is sick with sins. No one can enter into a new relationship
with God without the forgiveness of sins. No one can enter the kingdom
of God except through Jesus' grace of forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the
only one who gives the grace of forgiveness of sins to those who come
to him.

   What was the response to Peter's message? The Holy Spirit came on
all who heard the message from their hearts. Cornelius' attitude in
listening to the message was so sincere that the Holy Spirit began to
work in him and in his people. The circumcised believers who had come
with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been
poured out even on the Gentiles and that they spoke in tongues,
praising God. Peter said to the circumcised believers in verse 47, "Can
anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have
received the Holy Spirit just as we have." In this Peter was saying
that since the Gentiles had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
they could be baptized with water and declare that they too were God's
people.

III. Peter defends himself (11:1-18)

   Look at 11:1-3. The circumcised believers were boggled on the inside
because of Peter's visiting Cornelius. Because of this incident, Peter
became a target of criticism. They criticized Peter that he went into
the house of a Gentile, and that he ate with Gentiles. Their criticisms
were so funny. They were slaves of their own traditions.

   What did Peter do to explain his actions? In verses 4-16, Peter told
them the whole story once again about how he saw a vision of unclean
animals, and how he met Cornelius, and how he spoke to him and what
happened after his message. In conclusion, Peter said, "So if God gave
them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" (17) After
listening to Peter, the Jewish Christians agreed to accept Gentiles as
the same human beings and as the same fellow Christians.  Look at verse
18. "When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised
God, saying, 'So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance
unto life.'"

   In this passage we learn that Peter and Cornelius saw a vision of
God when they prayed. Let's pray earnestly until we meet God personally
and see God's vision. It is the time for all young men to see God's
vision. Sometimes we think, "What's the use of the life of faith in
this generation?" But this is not right. God used the lives of faith of
Peter and Cornelius when they saw the vision of God. God used them to
make a bridge between Jerusalem and Rome for future world
evangelization. May God bless you to be men and women of God's great
vision through prayer.




STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Read 10:1-18. What kind of man was Cornelius? What does it mean that
   he was an Italian Centurion? Describe his vision. How did he
   respond?  What does this event reveal about him? About God? (Dt
   4:29; Mt 7:7,8)

2. Read verses 9-16. Where was Peter and what was he doing? Describe
   his vision. Why did he cringe at the thought of obeying God's
   command? (14; Lev 11) How is this command (10:13) related to Jesus'
   command in Mark 16:15?

3. Read 10:17-23a. How were the guests who arrived related to Peter's
   vision? What did Peter do? Read 10:23b-26. What did he find in
   Cornelius' house? Read 10:27-35. What was the revolution that had
   taken place in Peter's heart?

4. What is the good news? Why did God anoint Jesus with the Holy
   Spirit?  (36-39) What does this tell us about people's real needs?
   What can we learn about Jesus' beautiful life? About his death? (Jn
   1:29)

5. Read 10:39-43. What was God's great victory? (10:40; 2:24) What are
   the evidences? What does it mean thta Jesus is the Judge? (Rev 5:9)
   Read verse 43. Why is forgiveness of sins so important?

6. Read 10:44-47. What was the response to Peter's message? What did
   Peter learn?

7. Why did the Jewish believers criticize Peter? How did he defend his
   actions? How did the apostles and brothers respond? What is the
   significance of this event in God's world mission plan?