Peter Goes to the Gentiles

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Introduction

Last week we used our time to talk about the conversion of Saul as recorded in Acts 9. Saul’s conversion was a radical event that took a murdering blasphemer and turned him into a persistent evangelist who proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of many forms of persecution. God had changed his heart after knocking him to the ground and blinding him for three days. Saul turned from his wickedness to trust in Jesus as the Savior he had learned about while studying the Scriptures as a strict Pharisee.

• Why is Saul’s conversion such an important example of the gospel’s power? As Paul later wrote in Romans 1:16–17, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Saul’s radical conversion is an example of how God can turn a murderer into a bold preacher, changing a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

  Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Saul immediately began preaching Christ to the Jews in Damascus whom he had expected to help him arrest the followers of the Way.

• Against what do we need to guard ourselves when we hear of a dramatic conversion like Saul’s? We need to remember that every conversion is a miracle that is accomplished only by the grace and mercy of God granted to his enemies while they are still sinners (Romans 5:6–8). We can use our testimonies, regardless of how dramatic, to tell people of the goodness and holiness of God compared to our sinfulness.

  That power of the gospel and work of the Holy Spirit spread through the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. And the church multiplied. Peter was part of the spreading of the gospel, and Acts 9 ends with several accounts of Peter’s work such as healing a paralytic in Lydda and then raising a woman from the dead in Joppa. As a result of the message accompanied by the signs, many turned to the Lord for salvation. That is where we pick up the storyline of Acts. Peter stayed in the city of Joppa at the house of Simon the tanner.

Cornelius Sends for Peter

Let’s read Acts 10:1–23 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• Where was Cornelius living? Caesarea, a city on the Mediterranean coast of Judea. Note that this is not Caesarea Philippi, which is an inland city north of Galilee where Jesus traveled.
• What was Cornelius’ position? He was a Roman centurion over a group in the Italian Cohort of the Roman army. A centurion was in charge of 100 men, hence the “cent” prefix.
• How is Cornelius described? He was a devout man who feared God, was generous to the poor, and prayed always.
• Who spoke to Cornelius? An angel spoke to him in a vision.
• When did this happen? It was the ninth hour, so three in the afternoon (counting from sunrise, or six in the morning).
• How did Cornelius react to the vision? He was afraid and replied, “What is it, Lord?”
• What did the angel acknowledge about Cornelius? He acknowledged his prayers and generosity.
• What does the phrase “have ascended as a memorial before God” mean? With the imagery of God in heaven above, the prayers had “ascended” to God. Our prayers and sacrifices rising up to God is common imagery. God remembered and acknowledged Cornelius’ prayers and alms as a fragrant offering to God.
• What did the angel instruct Cornelius to do? He was to send for Peter to come to his house.
• Whom did Cornelius send? Three men who were his closest servants, one of them being a soldier under his charge.
• Where would they find Peter? In Joppa at the house of Simon the tanner.
• What is a tanner? A tanner makes leather from animal skins.
• How long did it take them to get to Joppa? If they left in the afternoon (the ninth hour) and arrived at around noon (the sixth hour) the next day, they traveled the 30 miles in about 21 hours.
• What was Peter doing as they were approaching? He was praying on the roof of Simon’s house.
• What was Peter feeling on the roof? He got very hungry.
• What happened to Peter as he was on the roof? He entered some sort of trance and saw a vision.
• What did he see in his vision? He saw something like a sheet gathered at the four corners, being let down from heaven.
• What was in the sheet? All kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds.
• How did Peter describe the animals? He said they were common and unclean.
• What did he mean by “unclean”? These were animals that God had forbidden the Jews from eating.
• Without losing your place in Acts, turn to Leviticus 11. What are some of the creatures he may have seen? 11:4–7 mentions the camel, the rock badger, the hare, and pigs among the beasts. 11:13–19 identifies bats, storks, vultures, eagles, owls, and other flying creatures as unclean. 11:20–23 allowed crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts to be eaten, but not other flying insects with four walking legs. 11:27 identifies things that walk on paws, like cats and dogs, as unclean. 11:29–31 lists mice, moles, and various lizards as unclean, and snakes would have been included, as well.
• What did God call Peter to do? He told him to rise, kill an animal, and eat it.
• How did Peter respond to the command? Even though he was very hungry, he said he would not eat them as he had never eaten anything unclean.
• What might Peter have been thinking as God gave this command? He may have been thinking God was testing him, or he may have been confused about why God would be testing him in this way. But we must remember that God does not tempt people to sin (James 1:13), so God was not asking him to do something sinful. We can understand Peter’s desire to be faithful to God’s law regarding foods.
• How did God respond to Peter’s refusal? “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
• What does this response indicate about the animals being offered to Peter? God had cleansed them, so they were no longer unclean and could be eaten.
• How many times was the sheet and command given to Peter? Three times.
• Where have we seen Peter interacting with God in a set of three? He denied Jesus three times, and Jesus asked him three times if he loved him.
• What does this three-part repetition indicate? It is a sign of surety in the communication—God meant what he was saying.
• Did Peter immediately understand the vision? No, he was inwardly perplexed and wondered what it meant.
• Who were approaching at that moment? The three men sent by Cornelius.
• What did the Spirit tell Peter while he was thinking about the vision? He told him to go and meet the three men and accompany them without hesitation.
• How did Peter respond to their message? He believed them, invited them inside, and lodged them for the night.
• What did they likely do as they entered Simon’s house? They likely ate together since the meal was being prepared (v. 10).
• When did they leave for Caesarea? The next day.
• Who went with them? There was Peter, the three men from Cornelius, and some disciples from Joppa who were Jews since Acts 10:45 says they were among the circumcised (11:12 tells us there were six of them).
• Was it normal for a Jew to invite Gentile Romans into the home to eat and sleep? No, Jews were not to eat with Gentiles, so this was an uncommon act.
• Why was Peter willing to violate this command? This actually wasn’t a direct command from God, but a rule the Jews employed to keep from being defiled. It seems that Peter had understood what he would plainly state in 10:28—that the Gentiles were not unclean.

Discover the Truth

As we think about this section of Scripture, it is also interesting to note that Peter was staying at the house of a tanner. Handling the hides and carcasses of animals every day would make Simon unclean based on Leviticus 11:39–40 and the restrictions on handling dead animals. Simon would have been considered a social outcast by the Jews, so Peter was already involved in breaking a social taboo. Inviting the Roman Gentiles into the house and eating with them was another step in that direction.

• What do we learn about God’s character in this passage? He was able to orchestrate the events so that the men got to the house at noon when Peter was hungry and was receiving the vision, demonstrating his sovereignty. Even though circumstances were changing, God is still immutable, and his unchanging character endures.

  God was using all of these circumstances to help Peter understand more fully how the gospel was to spread—even to the Gentiles. While things about the old covenant and the practices of the Jews were changing, God was still faithful to his promises and his character. The real significant change is revealed as we follow Peter to meet Cornelius.

Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit

So let’s look at what happened when Peter arrived in Caesarea in Acts 10:24–48. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• How did Cornelius act when Peter entered his house? Cornelius fell at his feet and worshipped him.
• Was this an appropriate response? No. Peter rebuked him and reminded him that he was just a man.
• Who was in the house? Many close friends and relatives of Cornelius.
• What did Peter relate about his vision? He reminded the Gentiles of the taboo against entering their home, but told them that God had shown him not to call any man unclean.
• How does this idea relate to Peter’s vision? Beyond just the animals being made clean, the vision was to teach Peter that the Gentiles were not to be considered unclean.
• What did this free Peter to do? This gave him freedom to interact with the Gentiles so that the gospel could spread.
• What did Cornelius want Peter to do? He wanted the group to hear all Peter had been commanded by God to share.
• Whom did Peter immediately begin speaking of? He quickly spoke of Jesus.
• What things did Peter say about Jesus? God sent him to bring peace; he is Lord of all; he was anointed with the Holy Spirit; he healed and cast out demons; he was killed by the Jews; he was raised to life; he appeared to witnesses chosen by God; he commanded the apostles to preach to the people.
• What message did Jesus command the apostles to preach? Jesus was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead and that whoever believes in his name will receive forgiveness of sins. It is possible that this is a condensed form of what Peter preached to the crowd.
• How long did it take the people to respond to this good news? They responded while he was still speaking, so the response was immediate.
• What signified their conversion? They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
• How did the Jewish believers with Peter respond to seeing this? They were amazed that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit just as the Jews had.
• What previous account does this sound similar to? It is similar to what happened on Pentecost as they spoke in tongues glorifying God with their words.
• What does the fact that the Jews knew they were glorifying God indicate about the tongues they spoke in? They must have recognized them as known languages to know they were glorifying God.
• What did Peter command the new believers to do? He told them to be baptized.
• What is the significance of Peter asking if they should be forbidden to receive baptism? He was speaking to the Jews who had come with Peter to show them that God had granted repentance and the Spirit to the Gentiles. It seems more of a rhetorical question than a question of permission.
• How is the order here different from the order of the conversion of the Samaritans in Acts 8? The Samaritans were baptized and then received the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands. There is no consistent description of the order of baptism and receiving the Spirit in the early part of Acts.

Discover the Truth

God moved mightily in the hearts of the Gentiles. They believed the words spoken by Peter, and the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. While these were not the first Gentiles to be converted (e.g., the Ethiopian eunuch and some of the proselytes on Pentecost), this was a significant shift in the pattern the Jewish believers had been following. Acts 11:19 explains that those who were dispersed after Stephen’s death preached to the Jews as they spread.

Even as Peter returned to Jerusalem and told the other Jewish brothers what had happened, they were indignant that Peter would even eat with a Gentile (Acts 11:1–3). But Peter explained his vision and how the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, as the six witnesses with him affirmed, and told them:

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way? (Acts 11:15–17)

The next verse goes on to say, “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (Acts 11:18). Just as the Jewish and Samaritan believers had received the Spirit and repentance by God’s grace, so had the Gentiles. The sign Jesus had promised was evident in them—salvation had come to the Gentiles in a significant way. So from this point on, the gospel was spread among all people, and not just primarily among the Jews. We will talk more about those efforts in future lessons.

Pick and Choose Activity

Some skeptics point to the fact that many foods were considered unclean under the laws described in Leviticus, and Christians who eat those foods are just picking and choosing which parts of the Bible they want to believe. Basically, the skeptics believe it is hypocritical to say you believe everything the Bible teaches and yet eat bacon-wrapped scallops off the grill or wear a poly-cotton shirt.

The argument often sounds something like this: “Christians are hypocritical because they say they believe the Bible is all true and should be obeyed, but they pick and choose which laws they want to obey. For example, they are happy to eat shellfish and bacon when the Bible clearly says those foods are unclean and forbidden.”

In your Student Guides, you will find the Pick and Choose activity. Your job is to use the provided passages to develop an argument to answer the skeptic, showing him his error and explaining the truth to him (Proverbs 26:4–5). You don’t need to use every passage for your argument, but they are there for your reference. You may also wish to use other passages not listed. Write out your argument in the space provided. Work in groups to come up with an argument from Scripture to counter this claim of hypocrisy, and we’ll share our conclusions in a few minutes. Some students may believe the Old Testament food laws are still to be followed. If that is the case, graciously dialogue with them, and encourage them to interact with the scriptures provided. Ultimately, this is a secondary issue and is not something that should cause division in the church (see Romans 14). Have the students work in small groups to complete the activity.

Connect to the Truth

• Who would like to share their argument? Have one group share their argument. Whether this topic is approached from a dispensational or covenant perspective, most would agree that the laws that governed the civil affairs of the nation of Israel are no longer in effect. These dietary laws were established primarily to distinguish the Israelites from their neighbors. Now that the separation between Jews and Gentiles has been abolished (Acts 10; Ephesians 2:11–22), the dietary laws are no longer needed. This change does not mean that God has changed—his character is immutable—but that he has chosen different rules for different periods or covenants. God had originally commanded all creatures to eat a vegetarian diet (Genesis 1:29–31); he then allowed all meats to be eaten after the flood (Genesis 9:1–4); then he provided specific clean meats for food to the Israelites, beginning in the wilderness (Leviticus 11). In Mark 7:14–23 and Acts 10:9–16, there is a clear New Testament removal of the prohibition on eating the unclean meats—Jesus declared all foods clean, and God told Peter to eat of the unclean animals. Further, Paul affirmed that all foods can be eaten with thanksgiving to God (1 Timothy 4:1–5; Romans 14:1–3). We must explain to the skeptic that God is free to change the rules and that he has told us what rules have changed in the new covenant in the pages of Scripture. We are free in Christ to eat all foods as long as we do not do so in a way that causes a weaker brother to stumble or that violates our conscience.

  While we can show the skeptic the error of his thinking, we must also remember that biblical apologetics is done to point to the hope we have in Christ. This would be a great opportunity to also share with him about how the sacrificial system changed from the blood of bulls and calves being offered over and over to the blood of the Lamb of God whose sacrifice was done once and for all (Hebrews 9:11–15). We can take this skeptical argument and direct it to a call for the skeptic to look to Christ in repentance and faith, laying his arguments aside and submitting to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Application

I think it is very safe to say that most Christians today are not from a Jewish background. Even in the Old Testament, God had intended for the Gentiles to hear of his name and come under his care with the nation of Israel. In fact, Abraham was called out of a Gentile nation and became the father of the Israelites. When Jesus died upon the cross, he broke down the wall of separation between Gentiles and Jews. Paul described this to the Gentile Christians living in Ephesus, telling them that they had “been brought near by the blood of Christ” when they had previously been “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12–13).

But in Christ, those barriers are removed, and Jews and Gentiles are fellow citizens as saints in the kingdom of God. Before the day they met, Peter and Cornelius would have been at odds in some senses. If they met at the temple in Jerusalem, Peter would have to leave Cornelius behind in the Court of the Gentiles while he ventured to the inner parts of the temple. But once God had helped Peter to understand that those divisions were no longer appropriate, they were able to eat together and enjoy all foods with thanksgiving, lodge together, and even worship God together in fullness of joy. They were both covered by the blood of Christ, baptized into union with Christ, and partakers of the same Holy Spirit.

Let us not forget that the gospel is for everyone without distinction. Each of us was called by the Spirit into fellowship with the Father and the Son that we might be partakers together of eternal life. One day, we will have the privilege of standing around the throne of God, offering him worship alongside people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.

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  How does this passage we studied today help you rejoice in your salvation? Discuss various answers, focusing attention on the fact that salvation is available to Gentiles, though that was not typically the case in the history of Israel.
• Why is an understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation important to understand the changes that happened as the Gentiles were brought into fellowship with the Jews? As we see in the early parts of Acts, the work of the Holy Spirit was a demonstration of the unity between Jews and Gentiles. Peter pointed out that Cornelius and his friends and family were to be baptized because they had “received the Holy Spirit just as we have” (Acts 10:47). As Jesus had promised, the Spirit came to empower all of his disciples, regardless of their ethnicity.
• How have you understood the dietary laws that distinguished the Jews in the past and why we do not follow them? Has this lesson helped you understand this better? Discuss various answers.
• As you consider the challenges that skeptics bring regarding consistently applying the Bible’s truth to our lives, what questions are hard for you to answer (or what questions do you still have)? Discuss the students’ questions and encourage them to pursue the answers so that doubt does not creep up in their minds regarding these apparent inconsistencies.
• As you consider your own attitude, are there any people or groups that you consider “unclean” and avoid sharing the gospel with? What can you do to change this attitude? As you discuss this question, remind the students that we are all unclean and unholy (in our sinful state) before God, yet Jesus humbled himself to come to earth and offer us salvation. He interacted with all kinds of people, from Pharisees to lepers to prostitutes, in order to call them away from their sin and to freedom in Christ. We must not discriminate when it comes to loving others and sharing the gospel with them.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for providing his grace and mercy to all kinds of people.
• Ask God for a thankful heart to enjoy all of the privileges we have as his sons and daughters.
• Thank God for breaking down the barriers that separated Jew and Gentile, uniting them in Christ.