There’s a story about a mother who handed her six-year-old son two candy balls, and told him to share with his four year old brother. She said, “He may spit it out, because they’re kind of sour tasting. But if he keeps sucking on it, there’s bubble gum in the middle”. The older boy ran outside to find his little brother. As the mother watched out the kitchen window, the four-year-old put his piece of candy in his mouth. His big brother watched in obvious suspense while the four-year-old’s face began to screw up with the bitter taste. As he slowly began to drool out the corner of his mouth and raise his hand to his face, palm up, his older brother yelled, “Don’t spit yet!”
In Acts chapter 10, God gives Peter a lesson in preparation for ministering to a group of people that Peter has always considered, well, unpalatable.
On the surface we read this passage as relating to the division between Jew and Gentile, and we rejoice that through Christ the dividing wall has been torn down. But there is much more to this scripture account, and some of that much more involves a sometimes bitter lesson for us.
(Read Acts 10:9-16)
As we read the chapter, we see Peter making application of this vision, in verse 28:
“And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean”.”
Now I want to follow the steps of Peter in the learning process, and we’ll see some lessons for ourselves as we go along.
If you look at Mark 7, you’ll see something that has a close connection with the attitude we see expressed by Peter in Acts 10.
The Pharisees had just criticized Jesus for allowing His disciples to eat without performing the ritualistic hand washing ceremony that their traditions called for. So Jesus has entered upon a discourse to correct their error, and when He is done, having left the area, His disciples ask Him in private what He meant by the things He said.
So I start reading from verse 18 of Mark 7
“And He said to them, ‘Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him; because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?’ (Thus He declared all foods clean) And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.’”
Now note that He was speaking privately to His disciples here, including Peter, and He was saying things that apparently, in their hearing, was tantamount to a declaration that all foods are clean and ok to eat. We know, because the gospel writer includes that statement in the text: “Thus He declared all foods clean”. Interestingly, it is commonly accepted that Peter was probably the one dictating this gospel to John Mark as his scribe.
Now if you’ll turn just for a moment to Matthew 15:15, you’ll see this same discourse recorded, but Matthew actually names Peter as the one who specifically asked for clarification of the parable.
So there can be no supportable argument made for Peter’s ignorance about Jesus declaring all foods clean during His earthly ministry. We don’t know how many times He may have touched on this subject; not everything Jesus said and did is recorded for us. But we know he said it this once, and we know that it was in Peter’s presence.
Yet here in Acts 10, we find a post-crucifixion and resurrection Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit, having to learn the lesson anew.
Let’s begin by discussing this propensity we all seem to have, for talking back to the Lord.
In one of C.H. Spurgeon’s sermons, he talked about what contrary creatures we are. In our speech, he says, there is, “...faith mixed with unbelief, love defaced with a want (lack of) submission, gratitude combined with mistrust, humility flavored with self-conceit, courage undermined with cowardice, fervor mingled with indifference.”
Now, here in verse 10 of Acts 10, we see this trait in Peter. “No Lord...”
If we’re going to say ‘no’ to His commands, then why call Him ‘Lord’? If we are humble enough to know and to accept that He is our Lord, then ‘no’ should never be considered an acceptable response to His commands!
This was certainly a habit of Peter. When Jesus spoke of His upcoming sufferings in Jerusalem, Peter’s unthinking response was, “God forbid it, Lord!” “NO!”
When Jesus dressed Himself as a servant and knelt to wash Peter’s feet, in shock, Peter said, “Never shall you wash my feet!” “NO!”
And here he says ‘NO’ again. I want you to notice that the intent is good. It is out of a good heart that Peter says ‘no’ to his Lord, but it is a misguided intent, and not in line with the Lord’s mission and purpose.
How often do we say ‘no’, adhering to some tradition of men, or some standard imposed on us by cultural Christianity, thinking that were saying ‘no’ in obedience to the Lord, when in fact our adherence to that extra-biblical standard may be thwarting His mission through us and His purpose in us?
Let’s not be so quick to say, “No Lord!” “May it never be!” “God forbid it!” to Jesus.
Although it’s not recorded for us in the Bible, historians tell us that Peter was in Rome when he learned that Nero had ordered his arrest, wanting to put him to death. His friends pleaded with him to escape the city to safety, and so finally, for their sakes, he prepared to leave.
As he approached the city gate he saw Jesus walking toward him, coming into the city. Peter asked, “Where are you going, Lord?” And the Lord replied, “To be crucified again”.
Once more, and finally for all the right reasons, Peter said ‘no’ to his Lord. He turned and went back into the city where he was arrested and later crucified upside down.
We should always be prepared to stand back and question our own motives and standards, and hold them up to the light of scripture, and ask ourselves; “Is this the attitude scripture exhorts me to have? Is this a Biblical standard? Or is it self-imposed, or culturally imposed, or imposed by the Christians around me? Am I judging someone else according to the traditions of men?”
Because, you see, these are the things that cause strife and hinder our usefulness in the Kingdom of God.
The next lesson we get out of this account, is that God knows what’s going on, even if we don’t. Well, that should be obvious to us, shouldn’t it? So why do we so often act as though God is as much in the dark about things as we are?
Let’s look at the circumstances here.
First, from Peter’s point of view:
Being a devout Jew, Peter’s habit was probably to pray several times a day. He is staying with his friend Simon, and has gone up to the roof at noon for prayer. While up there he begins to feel hungry, so he apparently calls down and asks for a meal to be prepared, and while he’s waiting he falls into this Spirit-induced trance.
I wonder what he had been praying. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done”?
Kind of humorous, in a way, that he was hungry and had called DOWN for food; then food comes to him from ABOVE.
Now just for clarification, the wording of verse 12, according to those who know the Greek, indicates that there was a mixture in that sheet, of animals declared unclean by the Law, and of animals declared clean by the Law. The ones that were clean would have, nevertheless, been unacceptable to Peter because they would have to be killed ritualistically, according to Levitical law. So even they were not to be eaten as presented, according to Peter’s past life. Never mind that they were being offered by the Giver of the Law!
Something else I want to bring to your notice here, is that there was a mixture. We know that this vision was to teach Peter that the Gentiles were included in God’s plan of salvation, so the mixture would indicate to me that God was showing Peter that Jew and Gentile were now one in Him, and that in God’s eyes there was no difference. Peter finally catches on to that, as we see later in the chapter.
But for now, all Peter sees is that he’s doing his daily prayers, sees this vision, hears a very familiar voice telling him to kill and eat, gives his Lord a lesson in the Levitical traditions, receives a gentle rebuke from the Lord, then hears from the Holy Spirit that he has visitors. As the story progresses, Peter goes to the house of Cornelius and only then realizes what the vision meant for him.
That is our usual line of spiritual sight, believer; it is hind sight. It is usually only after the fact that we look back and see how God’s hand was working in our lives through a given situation.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were so in tune with Him, that we could see Him working in our lives as he worked? Working with Him and moving with Him as He moves?
Now let’s look at it from God’s point of view, which we only see because the whole story is written out for us, beginning to end.
Calvary’s work is done. In Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all. (Col 3:11)
Peter hasn’t quite learned the lesson.
So God sends an angel to speak first to this God-fearing gentile, telling him to send some servants to Peter, and even tells him exactly where to find the Apostle.
Peter is not ready! The gentile is ready! Peter has the Holy Spirit; the gentile does not. Peter has been with Christ. Cornelius has not. Peter has heard Jesus say many times that the nations would come from East and West to sit at His Father’s table. He has not yet accepted that in his heart. This -as yet unsaved- gentile has a heart that is submissive and ready to receive God’s truth.
You see folks, we need to be very careful about our attitude toward the unbeliever (or unchurched). God is Spirit and deals with us on a spiritual level. When we have become so focused on the mechanics of religion (which are all done in the flesh) that they become our goal and our purpose instead of the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then the seeking repentant may be closer to God and more receptive of His Spirit than we are.
When being a ‘good Christian’, to us, means doing some things and not doing other things, then the next step is that we look down on all those who don’t or do, according to those standards.
How often does the church in our culture shut out a particular portion of our society, because we see them as undesirable, and think we’re staying ‘holy’ or ‘separated unto the Lord’ by keeping our distance from them, when going to them with the gospel is precisely what we should be doing?
I wouldn’t advise an alcoholic to do this, and I don’t think the Lord would specifically call and alcoholic to do it; but what if you were faced with an opportunity to go into a bar and sit at a corner table with a group of acquaintances and tell them about Jesus?
‘Oh, no! I’d never go into a bar. That would be a poor witness!’
What if an opportunity arose for you to be in some other place where typically ‘Christians just don’t go’? If you would have an opportunity to freely give the gospel, would you go? Or would you demand that they come out to you?
You see, we have this tendency, whether in word or in attitude, to give the world this message; “You come out from among them and be separate, and I’ll give you what I have”.
Let me remind you, Christians, that our Lord was criticized for sitting and eating and drinking with sinners. The worst that particular society had to offer. Prostitutes and tax collectors.
“No, Lord” we say “...I would never associate with those people, or put myself in the way of criticism by mingling with them. I’m a Christian now, and I have to live the life. I have to keep myself clean. I’ll put up a poster or send them a card and invite them to church. Then if they come, I’ll direct them to the right Sunday School class, or introduce them to the pastor, but I won’t dirty my Christian image by going down to the mud with them.”
Jesus said, “It’s the SICK who need a physician”
The Scythians, mentioned in Colossians 3:11, which I quoted just a few minutes ago, were a culture from the North that were considered the wildest and most savage of barbarians. Yet Paul mentioned them as a part of the group now benefited by the gospel, if they heard and believed, equally with anyone else. So who do we have a right to shut out? How bad does someone have to be before they are not worthy of hearing our message? How sinful must they be before we can justly say, “Salvation is not for them”?
Folks, we even do this to each other within the church!
Just a few days ago I heard part of a sermon, where the preacher was saying that some of the folks in the church that we’d like very much to be gone, because they’re a trouble-maker,...a strife-causer...a dissenter...may be there according to God’s will, to be used in that particular body to accomplish His purpose.
This preacher pointed out that prior to choosing the twelve apostles, Jesus spent the entire night in prayer, seeking the Father’s will; and in the morning one of the ones He chose was Judas. Was it the Father’s will that He choose Judas; even knowing what he would do?
Yes it was.
So we need to be careful who we shut out, or ask to go away, or try to pray away.
We’re not seeing things as God sees them.
Peter is protesting the Lord’s command to take of these animals and eat, while gentiles who need to hear the gospel are literally walking up to his door! God sees the whole picture! God’s sees the outcome and knows exactly where He’s going and where He’s leading, Believer!
Finally, let’s talk about the ‘sweet gum in the middle of the candy’.
Peter is still scratching his head about this vision, when the Spirit speaks to him and says, “Three men are looking or you. Get up, go with them, and relax your guard a little Peter; I sent them.”
So Peter goes down and receives his visitors, hears their request, gives them lodging for the night, and the next day, goes with them to the house of Cornelius.
Now in all fairness to Peter here, I want to point out that this was a very big step for any Jew. Extending an invitation to gentiles to spend the night in the home of a Jew was unheard of. For a Jew to step foot inside the home of a gentile was to invite ridicule and persecution.
So there’s more going on here than just a change in Peter’s understanding of biblical doctrine. It’s an upheaval of all the traditions he has been taught and has held dear since boyhood.
But the outcome of his obedience is also much more far-reaching than the salvation of Cornelius and his household.
To get this whole picture we have to read a couple portions of this chapter and the next. So look on with me if you like. First, note that Peter declares that God has shown him that he should not call any man unholy or unclean. (Vs 28) Then he goes on to preach an evangelistic sermon to Cornelius and his family. The end of that sermon comes in verse 43, then God fulfills His word in the lives of the listeners and we read about that in verses 44 through 48:
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. And all the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues, and exalting God. Then Peter answered, ‘Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?’ And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.”
As chapter eleven begins, notice that it says, “...the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them’.”
So Peter wasn’t the only one who needed a lesson in grace, was he? It is interesting that it says the ‘apostles’ were among those who heard. In verse 2 it says that ‘those who were circumcised’, meaning Jewish believers, took issue. It doesn’t specifically say the apostles took issue, but that seems to be the implication.
Also notice that their grievance is that Peter went in and ate with gentiles.
Fellow believers, this is a good example of the shallowness of legalism. It criticizes form, method, custom, habit, violation of tradition or commonly accepted standard, with little or no thought given toward spiritual need or what God might be doing in the situation.
They criticized Peter for eating with gentiles; did anyone ask why he was there? Did anyone ask what the purpose of his visit might have been? If indeed the apostles in Jerusalem were among those taking issue with Peter’s actions, did even those who knew him best stop to think? “Hey. This is Peter we’re talking about here. If Peter went to the home of a gentile, there must have been some godly purpose in it...let’s ask”.
NO! They took issue with his violation of Jewish tradition.
Christians in the church often take issue with the actions of other believers; even believers in other churches or other denominations, never asking, “Has God led them to do this? What is He accomplishing through their ministry? Are they reaching someone that could otherwise not be reached?
Well don’t spit yet. If you have private doubts or questions about the actions or methods of a brother or sister in Christ, pray for them. If you really need to, ask them. Is there something about either their present or their past that ‘tastes bitter’ to all that you have understood as proper Christian behavior, or the image you hold of a ‘valuable, usable vessel’? Don’t spit. God sees the whole picture, and your brothers and sisters are accountable to Him; not to you.
Don’t hinder them. Don’t criticize them publicly. Don’t use your position or your influence to bring ridicule on them or stop their efforts. God’ may be using them in ways that you don’t understand, to accomplish goals of an eternal value that far outweigh your human standards and traditions.
See the sweet outcome of Peter’s obedience.
One, the salvation of the household of Cornelius.
But it didn’t stop there. Peter gently and in an orderly fashion, explains to his comrades the events of chapter 10.
Then we pick up in chapter eleven, verse 17:
“If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also (referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit) after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
And when they heard this they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, ’Well then, God has granted to the gentiles also the repentance that leads to life’.”
See the divinely orchestrated outcome of this whole story? God has saved an entire family; a family in a position of influence so that probably many were saved as a result of their later witness. He has taught Peter, and then through Peter, the other apostles and Jewish believers in Jerusalem a fundamental lesson about the all-encompassing nature of the gospel message and God’s extended grace to all who believe; and by so doing He has made them all more fit for His service, and He has brought glory to His name.
Here is our lesson for today, Christians. Let go of your extra-biblical traditions. Ask God to show you the distinctions between essentials and non-essentials. Stand firmly for declared biblical truths and the doctrines of your faith, but show liberty and grace toward those things that are not specifically addressed; and understand that God sees the whole picture.
If you will be sensitive to His leading and willing to learn and be changed, you may have to swallow some bitter things that go against your traditions and your pre-conceived notions, or the standards that have been handed down to you by men but not from God.
But if you are sensitive to His leading and obedient to His Spirit, you will finally come to the sweet ‘gum’ that will bind your heart more firmly to His, and to the hearts of your brothers and sisters in Christ, as you see Him accomplish His purpose in and through you.
Then, you and those around you and many who come after, will glorify God and rejoice in His wisdom and His goodness. And Christ will be proclaimed.
And in the end, that is our reason for existing.
