Sunday, October 24, 2021
Acts 10:9-23a
“Altered Attitude”
Service Overview:
According to Jewish law, particular foods were to be avoided. These laws made it difficult for Jews to eat or even socialize with Gentiles without risking defilement. In this text, Peter’s vision expands his horizon as it further reveals how God was now on the move beyond the Jewish people, drawing others like Cornelius into the kingdom and mission of Jesus.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
Background Information:
- Before Cornelius could be welcomed into the Church, Peter had to learn a lesson. Strict Jews believed that God had no use for the Gentiles. Sometimes they even went the length of saying that help must not be given to a Gentile woman in childbirth, because that would only be to bring another Gentile into the world. Peter had to unlearn that before Cornelius could get in. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 80)
- While not overly scrupulous, Peter nonetheless had always observed the basic dietary restrictions of Leviticus 11, which distinguished the clean quadrupeds (chewed the cud and had cloven hooves) that were fit for food from animals considered unclean. And while clean animals were represented in the sheet, Peter was scandalized by the unholy mixture of clean and unclean and by the fact that no distinctions were made in the command to “kill and eat.” Indeed, it was a command given him by one he acclaimed as “Lord”- perhaps recognizable to him as the voice of Jesus (cf. Bruce, Acts of the Apostles, p. 220). But that did not leave him any less repelled by the idea. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 387)
- He did not choose [the Jews] and then give them special diets so that they could enjoy the best position before God forever. They were called for a purpose—to be a holy priesthood to the world. After a while, however, they began to think that ethnic separation—being Jewish—was what mattered for salvation. So to maintain their Jewish purity and identity, the dietary laws were added to the covenant until the coming of Christ, who tore down the wall of separation and began to build His church, not just with Jews but with Samaritans, Gentiles, and God fearers. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 153)
- That Peter prayed morning and evening may be assumed, for those were normal times of prayer. In addition he prayed at noon. Prayer three times a day was not commanded in the Scriptures, but Peter followed the example of pious men before him (cf. Ps. 55:17; Dan. 6:10). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 380)
- Peter was on the roof of the house of Simon the tanner in the middle of the day, waiting for his noon meal. The houses had flat roofs, and there was usually a staircase to the roof from the outside. So the roof was a nice place to go to escape the bustle within. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 176)
The big question…
Why is God suddenly “changing” laws he himself made long ago?
Answer…
God is not changing laws so much as he is further revealing their fulfillment in Jesus, and preparing Peter to accept the “new normal” as a result.
The word of the day is… Prepare
What’s crucial to know in understanding what just happened to Peter?
1. The distinctions that exist in God’s law, and the things that would change as a result.
(Mat. 5:17; John 1:17; Romans 7:1-6; 10:4; Galatians 2:15-21; 3:23-25; Colossians 2:16-17)
i) Moral
ii) Civil
iii) Ceremonial
God was not simply changing Peter’s diet; He was changing His entire program! (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 356)
2. Why God is doing this: To further prepare Peter’s heart and break down any prejudices that exist.
(John 7:24; 13:34-35; Acts 10:34-35; Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 4:32; Colossians 3:11)
Here in Acts we see that He gave Peter the identical vision three times (Acts 10:16). Did the threefold repetition take Peter’s thoughts back to the Sea of Galilee? There Jesus had told him three times to feed the Lord’s sheep (see John 21:15-17). Peter had previously grasped the need to care for the lambs; God at this moment wanted to teach Peter that God’s flock was much bigger than Peter had thought. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)
3. What God is at work to accomplish: inclusion of those who were once far from him into his family.
(Hosea 2:23; John 10:16; Acts 28:28; Romans 9:22-30; Galatians 3:14, 28; Colossians 3:11)
Peter’s vision was not about food or animals; it was about people. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 153)
Although Peter had become a Christian, he still thought as a Jew, and according to the Jewish way of thinking, God did not save Gentiles as Gentiles. They had to become Jews first. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 175)
Conclusion… How can a text like this inform, influence, and shape our faith?
A. By prompting us to audit ourselves for prejudice.
(John 7:24; 13:34; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:11; 10:12; Galatians 3:28; James 2:9)
Why did God give Peter this vision? Because Peter needed healing. God wanted to heal the death in Peter’s spirit—the death of prejudice and bigotry. Here was Peter—an apostle, filled with the Holy Spirit—yet he had a huge blind spot of bigotry in his soul. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 140)
God had already in Christ and His cross abrogated the ceremonial law. He had broken down “the middle wall of partition” between Jews and Gentiles. Those who were “far off’ had been “made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13-14). The warning was “Don’t thwart God’s plan by persisting in your prejudice!” (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 117)
B. By challenging our proclivity to focus our faith on do’s and don’ts.
(Mat. 23:23-28; John 6:28-29; Rom. 3:28; Galatians 2:16; 3:10-14; 5:16; Ephesians 2:8-9)
Though moral purity is important to our Christian walk, we shouldn’t define ourselves primarily by our negatives, by what we refuse to do. The grace of God is made manifest in us by our positive way of life, our love for God and others, our joy, our inner peace. The world is neither impressed nor attracted by the negative rules we keep. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 140)
“Why would people believe Jesus can change lives, if they don’t see changed lives.” (Buddy Briggs, 10-18-21)
When we become moralists, we miss the good news that our righteousness isn’t the point. There is nothing wrong with being righteous, of course, but when that defines “real Christianity,” we make a great love story into a methodology of socialization. In other words, we buy into the view that religion’s sole purpose is to make people good. (Steve Brown, A Scandalous Freedom, 84)
C. By preparing us to tear down barriers that may exist in sharing the good news of Jesus with anyone.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Ephesians 2:14; 1 Peter 3:15)
The Lord seldom gives vision without the challenge to live that vision. And because He knows our temptation to ponder and think too long. He presses us with an undeniable opportunity. It may come in a person who needs what we’ve learned, a problem that can be solved with the insight we’ve discovered, or with a next step in His strategy for us that must be taken because of the liberating truth that has dawned upon us. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 184)
Jesus came to break down the walls of partition between God and humanity and between people of different races, cultures, and generations. Our Lord said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters” (Luke 11:23). We can judge our lives by that statement. What is our effect on others? Are we gathering? Or are we scattering? Are we reconciling? Or are we dividing? (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 141)
Gospel Application…
Jesus came to make clean anyone who turns to him in faith. No barrier exists that can keep you from his grace and forgiveness if you turn to and trust him!
(Psalm 103:10-14; Acts 3:19; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 10:22-23; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:7-9)
We all start this life unclean, and in some respects we are still unclean, but if we have confessed Christ and put our hope and trust in Him alone for salvation, then He is in us and we are in Him. If that relationship exists in your life right now, do not let anybody call you unclean, because God has declared you clean. That is what justification is all about. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 153)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- Are there any particular kinds of people you hesitate to talk to? Why might these hesitations or prejudices exist in your heart and mind? How might you work to break down those barriers and hesitancies?
- Is there someone you sense God leading you to share the good news of Jesus with? How might you take practical steps toward doing that this week?
- When we looked at distinctions in the Bible’s laws, how might understanding those distinctions be helpful in talking with skeptics of the Bible and the laws of the Old Testament?
- In this text we see God at work to change and prepare Peter’s heart. How might God be at work changing and preparing your heart in this season of your life?
Quotes to note…
Are you trying to argue with God over some point that he has already made clear? (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 175)
The divine cleansing of food in the vision is a parable of the divine cleansing of human beings in the incident to which the vision leads up. It did not take Peter long to understand this: “God has taught me,” he says later in the present narrative, “to call no human being profane or unclean” (v. 30). Within the framework of the vision it is food that God has cleansed by dominical pronouncement, but in the wider narrative it is men and women, even Gentiles, whose hearts he has cleansed by faith (cf. 15:9). (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 229)
The law of Moses was a wall between the Jews and the Gentiles, and this wall had been broken down at the cross (Eph. 2:14–18). The Gentiles were considered aliens and strangers as far as the Jewish covenants and promises were concerned (Eph. 2:11–13). But now, all of that would change, and God would declare that, as far as the Jew and the Gentile were concerned, “There is no difference” either in condemnation (Rom. 3:22–23) or in salvation (Rom. 10:12–13). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 356)
The Lord usually works in three ways in expanding our understanding of His will for us: first He creates a willingness; next He gives us a thought-reorienting truth out of the Scripture; and this is followed by a sign in our relationships or daily responsibilities. Something happens that gives us a confirmation of the truth. When all these line up, we can be sure we are on the way to a new discovery. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 182)
God seeks to remove every trace of prejudice from our lives. Whether we are Gentiles or Jews, whites, blacks, browns, or any other color under the sun, we are all members of one human race. We all need the redeeming grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 142)
In that moment, centuries of dietary laws and legal requirements that God had sent to His people through Moses were instantly repealed. Keeping those laws had been vital to the Old Testament Jew. That was why Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace and why Daniel wound up in a lions’ den. Those men, held captive in Babylon, were keeping kosher. They refused to bow down and worship the king or to eat the king’s food because they wanted to be faithful to the law of God. They put their lives on the line for it. Now, all of a sudden, God changed the rules. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 152)
The experience challenged Peter’s whole system of values relative to the Mosaic laws concerning ceremonial defilement. Deeper still, it challenged his extreme racial bias relative to Gentiles, a bias which had been instilled from his childhood. As a Christian he had come a considerable distance in correcting his thinking, but still not far enough to be used as God’s instrument to bless the Gentiles. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 117)
The Lord couples insight and instigation. He shows us truth and gives us an opportunity to act on what we’ve learned. We need to share with people the implication of this for daily living. Following personal Bible study, a class, or sermon, the Lord usually provides the situation or circumstances of living the discovery the exposition has made clear. Action is an essential stage of learning. We know what we’ve acted. The times between study periods in the Word will be filled with the Lord’s perfectly timed, prearranged opportunities to act on what we’ve learned. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 183)