Peter's Vision

On the housetop. “Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour” (10:9). The sixth hour was about twelve noon. Peter stopped in the middle of his day to talk with God. Very hungry. “Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat” (10:10). While the meal was being made ready, God had something to show him. A trance. Peter “fell into a trance” (10:10). A trance is a little like a dream while you are awake. God used it to show Peter a vision. Heaven opened. Peter “saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners” (10:11). It came down from heaven, so the message came from God Himself. All kinds of animals. In the sheet were “four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air” (10:12). God’s law said some animals were clean to eat and some were not. Most likely the sheet held both kinds together. Right on time. While Peter prayed, Cornelius’ men “drew near the city” (10:9). God was getting Peter and Cornelius ready at the same time. Joppa. Long ago Jonah ran from God’s call to another nation. He “went down to Joppa” and found a ship (Jonah 1:3). Many Christians see Peter in Joppa as the one who would go where Jonah would not go. What we learn. God loves to speak to people who pray. Make time to talk with Him, even in a busy day, and He will lead you.

The sixth hour (10:9). “Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.” The sixth hour was noon. David wrote, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17). Prayer was part of the middle of Peter’s day, not only its beginning and end. While they made ready (10:10). “Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance.” God met Peter right where he was: hungry and waiting for a meal. The lesson God was about to give him began with food. A trance. In a trance a person’s mind is taken up with what God is showing him. Peter saw it clearly. Later he could describe every part of it to the church in Jerusalem (11:5-10). Heaven opened (10:11). He “saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.” The sheet came from heaven and went back to heaven (10:16). The message was God’s, not Peter’s idea. Every kind (10:12). “In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.” Most likely clean and unclean animals were in the sheet together, the very kinds the food laws of Leviticus 11 kept apart. Two men, one plan. As Peter prayed, Cornelius’ men “drew near the city” (10:9). God had already spoken to Cornelius in Caesarea. He was preparing the messenger and the hearer at the same time. Joppa. Jonah “went down to Joppa” to run from God’s call to preach to another nation (Jonah 1:3). Many Christians see Peter, in Joppa, going where Jonah would not go. Application. God speaks to those who make room to pray. Bring Him your day, even the middle of it, and be ready for Him to change your plans.

Peter was staying in the town of Joppa. At noon he went up on the roof to pray. While he prayed, Peter became very hungry. Then God gave Peter a vision. In a vision, God shows a person a picture of His message. Peter saw heaven open. A big sheet came down, full of all kinds of animals. At that same time, Cornelius’ men were coming near Joppa. God was getting Peter ready for something new. Long ago, Jonah ran away from God and sailed from Joppa. He did not want to take God’s message to another nation. Many Christians see Peter going where Jonah would not go. You can talk to God at any time of day too.

Peter went up on the roof to pray. God showed Peter something new while he prayed. God speaks to people who pray to Him.

“Rise, Peter.” “And a voice came to him, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat’” (10:13). Peter was hungry, and here was food. “Not so, Lord!” Peter answered, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean” (10:14). Lord means the One in charge. Not so and Lord do not belong in the same sentence! When Jesus is your Lord, the answer is yes. God’s food rules. God had given Israel rules about which animals were clean to eat and which were unclean (Leviticus 11). The rules were good. They marked Israel as a people set apart for God, and Peter had kept them all his life. Common and unclean. Common meant ordinary, not set apart for God. Unclean meant not fit for God’s people to eat. Cleansed by God. The voice spoke again: “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (10:15). God gave the rules, so God had the right to say what was clean now. Three times. “This was done three times” (10:16). Peter heard the same words again and again, so he could not miss them. Jesus said it first. Jesus had already taught that food goes into the stomach, not the heart, so it cannot make a person unclean (Mark 7:18-19). More than food. Soon Peter understood that God was talking about people. He later said, “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (10:28). What we learn. When God’s Word shows you something new, say yes to Him. And never treat any person as too dirty or too different for God to love.

Kill and eat (10:13). “And a voice came to him, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’” The command touched the very thing Peter had been taught all his life never to do. Not so, Lord (10:14). “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” Peter refused out of loyalty to God’s law, not out of rebellion. Yet his words pull against each other, because the One who is truly Lord is not told no. Akathartos. The Greek word for unclean is akathartos (say: ah-KAH-thar-tos), not clean, unfit for God’s holy people. Common meant ordinary or unholy, the opposite of set apart. Why the food laws? In Leviticus 11 God told Israel which animals they could eat. He said He had “separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine” (Leviticus 20:26). Every meal was a reminder that Israel belonged to God. The laws were good gifts, and faithful Jews like Peter kept them with care. Cleansed (10:15). “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” The God who gave the law now declared what He had made clean. Peter was not setting God’s Word aside. God Himself was speaking. A shadow. Paul later wrote that rules about food were “a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:17). The shadow pointed to Jesus, and now He had come. Jesus first. Jesus had taught that food “does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods” (Mark 7:19). Three times (10:16). “This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.” The repeating left Peter no room to think he had heard wrong. The real meaning. The vision used food, but its main point was people. In Caesarea Peter would say, “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (10:28). Application. When God’s Word corrects what you have always assumed, follow Him. And never call anyone common whom God has made clean.

A voice told Peter to kill and eat. But Peter said, “No, Lord!” Lord means the One who is in charge. When God is your Lord, you say yes to Him. God had given the Jewish people rules about food. Some animals were clean to eat. Other animals were unclean, so God’s people did not eat them. Peter had kept those rules all his life. The rules showed that Israel belonged to God. Now God said He had made these things clean. God said it three times! Later Peter understood what God meant. God was teaching Peter not to call any person unclean. Nobody is too far away for God to make clean.

A voice told Peter to eat. Peter said, “No, Lord!” God said He had made the animals clean. God was teaching Peter about people too.

Wondering. “Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant” (10:17). Peter did not understand everything at once. At the gate. At that very moment the men from Cornelius “stood before the gate” (10:17). God’s timing was exact. The Spirit speaks. “The Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are seeking you’” (10:19). The Holy Spirit is a Person. He speaks and He leads. Doubting nothing. The Spirit said, “Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them” (10:20). Doubting nothing means not holding back or arguing in your heart. Obeying first. “Then Peter went down to the men” (10:21). He obeyed before he understood the whole picture. A good report. The men said Cornelius was “a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews” (10:22). Come in. “Then he invited them in and lodged them” (10:23). Lodged means he gave them a place to stay. Peter welcomed Gentiles as his guests. The vision was already changing him. Brothers along. “Some brethren from Joppa accompanied him” (10:23). Later Peter said there were six of them (11:12). What we learn. You do not have to understand everything before you obey God. Take the next step He shows you, and trust Him with the rest.

Wondering (10:17). “Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate.” God’s answer was at the gate while Peter was still asking the question. The Spirit (10:19). “While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are seeking you.’” The Holy Spirit is a Person who speaks and directs, not a force. Diakrino (10:20). “Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” Doubting translates diakrino (say: dee-ah-KREE-noh), to separate or judge between, and so to waver. Peter was not to hold back. The same word. In 11:2 the Jewish believers “contended with” Peter, and the Greek word is diakrino again. I have sent them. The Spirit said, “for I have sent them.” Peter could go with confidence because God had arranged the meeting. A good report (10:22). They said Cornelius was “a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews,” who had been “divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house.” Guests (10:23). “Then he invited them in and lodged them.” A Jewish apostle gave Gentiles a place to sleep in the house where he was staying. The lesson of the sheet was already being lived out. Witnesses. “Some brethren from Joppa accompanied him” (10:23). Six went in all (11:12), and their witness would matter in Jerusalem. Application. Obedience often comes before full understanding. When God makes the next step clear, take it without arguing in your heart.

Peter did not understand the vision yet. He wondered what it meant. Just then the men from Cornelius stood at the gate! God’s timing was perfect. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter. The Holy Spirit is not a thing. He is God, and He speaks to His people. He said three men were looking for Peter. He told Peter to go with them without doubting. The Spirit said that He had sent the men. Peter obeyed before he understood everything. Then Peter invited the men inside to stay the night. They were Gentiles, which means people who were not Jewish. You can obey God even when you have questions.

Three men came to find Peter. The Holy Spirit said, “Go with them.” Peter went with the men.

The news spreads. “The apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God” (11:1). An argument. In Jerusalem some Jewish believers “contended with him, saying, ‘You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!’” (11:2-3). They most likely wanted to keep God’s law, and they did not yet understand what God had done. In order. “Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning” (11:4). He told them exactly what had happened. The same gift. Peter said, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning” (11:15). God gave Gentiles the same Holy Spirit. Jesus’ promise. Peter remembered Jesus’ words: “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (11:16). Who was I? “Who was I that I could withstand God?” (11:17). To withstand means to stand in the way. Peter would not stand in the way of God’s work. Silent, then praising. “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God” (11:18). Their argument turned into praise. Repentance to life. They said, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” (11:18). Repentance means turning from sin to God. It leads to life with Him, and God gives it to people from every nation. What we learn. When God’s Word shows you that you were wrong, be humble like those believers and praise Him. Never stand in the way of anyone coming to Jesus.

Received the word (11:1). “Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.” The news from Caesarea traveled ahead of Peter. Contended (11:2-3). “Those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, ‘You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!’” Those of the circumcision were Jewish believers. Sitting at a Gentile’s table was what troubled them. Kathexes (11:4). “But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning.” In order translates kathexes (say: kath-ex-AYSS), one thing after another. Peter answered with the facts, one thing after the next. As at the beginning (11:15). “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.” The beginning was the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Gentiles received what Jewish believers had received. The word of the Lord (11:16). “John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus had said this before He went back to heaven (Acts 1:5). Withstand God (11:17). “If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?” Peter’s case rested on what God had done, not on his own opinion. Silent, then glorifying (11:18). “When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God.” They did not sulk. They praised. Repentance to life. “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” Repentance is a change of mind that turns a person from sin to God. It leads to life, and God Himself grants it. Application. Let God’s Word settle your arguments. When you see God at work in someone you did not expect, glorify Him instead of resisting.

Peter went back to Jerusalem. Some Jewish believers there argued with him. They said, “You even ate with them!” Most likely these believers wanted to keep God’s law. They were surprised that Peter ate with Gentiles. Peter told them the whole story from the beginning. He told how the Holy Spirit came on the Gentiles. Peter said, “So could I stop the work of God? No!” Then the believers stopped arguing. They praised God instead! God was letting people from every nation turn to Him. Turning from sin to God brings new life with Jesus. When God does something new, be glad about it!

Some believers argued with Peter. Peter told them what God had done. Then they all praised God together!

🎉 All words found!