Acts 10 “Unthinkable!” (or “Food On A Stick”)

Ruins of Caesarea (Looking north at Herod's Palace)

In this post, I will be including the complete text of Acts 10 in a simple outline I developed for our church. At the end, I will simply list a few lessons which we might learn from amazing narrative. We should all hold this passage (along with the next chapter) dear to our hearts. It was as a result of this incident that the gospel, formerly reserved for the Jewish people alone, was extended to the gentiles. It is this incident that Peter uses as an apologetic for non-Jewish ministry at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. God’s plan was for the gospel to go into all the world but his servants couldn’t see past their own customs and the Lord had to push them a bit…for such a development was culturally unthinkable! Let’s read it again with fresh eyes!

1) A People Prepared for the Message (v. 1-8)

         At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius,

                                            a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 

                                            a devout man who feared God with all his household,

                                                                           gave alms generously to the people,

                                                                    and prayed continually to God. 

  About the ninth hour of the day     

                              he saw clearly in a vision 

    an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 

  And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?”

  And he said to him, “Your prayers and

                                    your alms have ascended 

                                                              as a memorial before God.

  And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

                                    He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner,

                                                                                    whose house is by the sea.”

  When the angel who spoke to him had departed,

        he called two of his servants

                                    and a devout soldier

                                                      from among those who attended him,

                                    and having related everything to them,

        he sent them     to Joppa.

Let me take a moment to ask if the city of Joppa rings a bell for you? Did anything else in the Bible ever happen there? Ancient Joppa was a town on the Mediterranean coast, the closest port to Jerusalem, is now the modern city Jaffa. Centuries before Christ, the prophet Jonah was told to go north to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh with a warning of God’s judgment. However, he refused to go and set sail from Joppa for Tarshish (in Western Spain) likely the furthest known destination from Nineveh he could have picked.

2) A Messenger Prepared for the People (9-23a)

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city,

                      Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. [noon]

   And he became hungry and wanted something to eat,

                                           but while they were preparing it,

           he fell into a trance  and saw the heavens opened

                                                       and something like a great sheet descending,

being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 

   In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 

   And there came a voice to him: 

            “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 

                But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; 

   for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 

                    And the voice came to him again a second time,

 “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 

   This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

    Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed      

                              as to what the vision that he had seen might mean,

     behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius,

                          having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate 

                and called out to ask whether Simon

 who was called Peter was lodging there. 

     And while Peter was pondering the vision, 

                                                       the Spirit said to him,

“Behold, three men are looking for you. 

   Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, 

                      for I have sent them.” 

             And Peter went down to the men and said,

“I am the one you are looking for.

What is the reason for your coming?” 

   And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion,

                                           an upright and God-fearing man,

                                           who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation,

                                           was directed by a holy angel to send for you

                                             to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 

                So he invited them in to be his guests.

God had to prepare the messenger to take his message in this “unthinkable” direction. When we read of these visions with the various unclean animals that Peter was instructed to eat, I don’t think that we Americans, with our fixation on food, quite get how disturbing this was for Peter. Portland, Oregon is well known for its abundance of food carts serving many wonderful things to eat. Well, Beijing China also has lots of food carts, serving all kinds of “food on a stick.” However, the things which they serve are culturally unthinkable for most of us. I am going to provide a few pictures that will hopefully help us to understand how unthinkable this vision was to Peter.

Can you relate to Peter now?

3) God’s Mission Made Visible (v. 23-27)

The next day he rose and went away with them,

                           and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 

   And on the following day they entered Caesarea.

                           Cornelius was expecting them and

                                            had called together his relatives and close friends. 

   When Peter entered,

                           Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 

       But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 

    And as he talked with him,

                he went in and found many persons gathered.

God showed his servant Peter and the Gentile “seeker” what to do. As the plan unfolded they even had an opportunity to share their respective visions with each other.

A) Peter’s Proclamation (v.28-29)  

     And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is

                              for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation,

but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 

                              So when I was sent for,

                                             I came without objection.

                                             I ask then why you sent for me.”

What He had learned (28): “God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”

What he had done (29): “So when I was sent for, I came without objection.” He came without any discrimination or profiling. He didn’t try to hide, run away, or argue. He obeyed God, as opposed to Jonah, the Hebrew prophet, who left Joppa in the opposite direction from that of the mission God was sending him to complete.

What he wanted to know: “I ask then why you sent for me.” A great question to ask and have answered before one starts sharing what you think they want to hear.

B) Cornelius’ Proclamation (30-33)

Cornelius promptly filled Peter in on what he had heard from the angel that started this unthinkable chain of events four days earlier. He shared…

What he had seen (30): And Cornelius said,  “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour,  and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing.” 

What he had learned (31):   ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and

your alms have been remembered

before God. 

What he had been told to do (32) Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 

His readiness to hear (33) So I sent for you at once,

                                                                   and you have been kind enough to come.

                          Now, therefore, we are all here in the presence of God

                                                  to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

I wonder… how often do we share our God-dreams with each other? You know, the things he has told us to do that are so far outside our comfort zone that we don’t even want to talk about it? We can be hesitant to tell others because then we might actually have to do what God told us, or we might be afraid that they will think we are crazy.

4) Gospel Message was Delivered at the Right Moment (v.34-43)

   So Peter opened his mouth and said:

“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 

   but in every nation

                anyone who fears him

                and does what is right is acceptable to him. 

  As for the word that he sent to Israel, 

preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 

   you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea,

beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 

   how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth 

                          with the Holy Spirit and with power.

                                        He went about doing good and

                                                                 healing all who were oppressed by the devil,

      for God was with him. 

   And we are witnesses of all that he did

                                                both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. 

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 

     but God raised him on the third day

             and made him to appear, 

                           not to all the people

                           but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses,

                                            who ate and drank with him

      after he rose from the dead. 

   And he commanded us to preach to the people

                                   and to testify that he is the one appointed by God

                                                                        to be judge of the living

                                                                                        and the dead. 

                        To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone

    who believes in him             receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

5) The Message is Confirmed by the Holy Spirit (v.44-48) [Gentile Pentecost]

   While Peter was still saying these things, 

                                      the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 

   And the believers from among the circumcised

                                who had come with Peter were amazed,

        because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 

             For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.

    Then Peter declared,  

    “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people,

who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 

   And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

    Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Seven Simple Yet Encouraging Lessons…

• Prayer to God and service to others is remembered (v. 4)
• God prepares us in anticipation of our next assignment (But we might not understand it at first.)
• God will surprise us when we listen to him (v. 44)
• God’s plan advances as he has said (Acts 1:8; Gen. 12:3)
• Our prejudices are not God’s (2 Cor. 5:16; Eph. 2:11-22; Gal. 33:28-29)
• When people gather together to hear the gospel, they do so in the presence of God (v.33)
• God goes to great lengths to bring the Gospel to those who need it.

There is so much more I could have said, but I am leaving the lessons to be found mainly in the reading of the narrative itself! 

By the way, it is important enough to Luke the Spirit-inspired author of Acts that he repeats the whole story in the next chapter! It is so profound that we must need to hear it more than once.

“Such As I Have”: Miracle, Message, & Mandate (Acts 3)

This week, we continue our journey through the Book of Acts by examining Chapter 3.

1) A Miracle: A Lame Beggar Healed (v.1-10)

      Now Peter and John were going up         to the temple

                                              at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 

  And a man lame from birth was being carried, 

                    whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple

                     that is called the Beautiful Gate 

                            to ask alms of those entering the temple. 

  Seeing Peter and John about to go           into the temple,

                                  he asked to receive alms. 

       And Peter directed his gaze at him,

                    as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 

  And he fixed his attention on them,

                                 expecting to receive something from them. 

       But Peter said, “I     have no silver and gold,

                  but what I do have I give to you. 

                    In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

                                             rise up and walk!” 

  And he took him by the right hand and raised him up,

                          and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

  And leaping up he stood and began to walk,

                                                       and entered the temple with them,

                                                                walking and

                                                                  leaping and

                                                                    praising God. 

  And                   all the people saw him walking  

                                                             and praising God, 

             and recognized him as the one

                        who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple,

                                  asking               for alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

This “time of prayer” was the last of the three daily times of prayer (9 am, Noon, 3 pm). The early church continued to participate in the customary times of prayer. One interesting observation is that two named apostles headed to the temple together and were used by God to pronounce healing on this lame beggar. Why two of them? This glimpse of Peter and John ministering together is in keeping with the ministry methodology established by Jesus when he sent out the 12 and also the 70. Witnessing in pairs was normal for them and meshed perfectly with the cultural expectation that required the testimony of at least two witnesses to establish the truth of a matter.

The lame beggar was at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. Giving alms was highly regarded in the Middle East. However, to beg, you had to be deserving of it due to illness or disability (e.g., blind, lame, leprosy); you couldn’t just panhandle because you didn’t want to work. Beggars would then give a blessing in return and declare the praises of the one who gave to them. In this case, Peter and John engaged him more personally than was customary. They didn’t just throw a coin in his cup, but he looked steadfastly at him and got the beggar’s attention as well. The picture is one of an eye-to-eye human connection. The apostles didn’t avert their gaze in superiority or aloofness; neither did they allow the beggar to remain distant by going through the motions mechanically. This certainly led the man to expect to receive something. He got what he needed, which far exceeded what he asked for.

I have always loved this story because I have fond childhood memories of my Grandmother singing the chorus based on the KJV translation of Peter’s words.

“Silver and gold have I none;

but such as I have give I thee:

In the name of Jesus Christ

of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Each morning, during our summer visits to her home, my brother and I would wake to hear her singing this song while using an old carpet sweeper, in the next room, that would squeak twice at the end of each line, “Silver and gold have I none [squeak, squeak]”! Go ahead and sing along!

Two things I want to point out from this situation. First, Peter and John gave what they had, not what they didn’t have. They didn’t have money, which would only have marginally maintained the man’s miserable existence. But what they did have—Jesus’ authority—they gave to the man. Jesus has given his authority to work transformation in the world.

Second, before we get to all of the walkings, leapings, and praisings, we should notice that when the man was told to rise and walk, he did nothing. This is understandable since he had been lame since birth. He had never been able to stand and walk…so why would he think in a moment that he would be able to do so? We have probably done the same thing ourselves. In his classic reference set, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Robertson wrote, “Peter had to pull him up on his feet before he would try to walk.” We, too, may have to be willing to grab the needy by the hand and help them to stand before they will be made strong to walk, run, and leap.

When God moves personally in power, people will notice. Jerusalem was no different. When the people heard that the familiar lame beggar had been healed, they were “stopped in their tracks” with wonder and “beside themselves” with amazement. When the Lord works healing in our lives (spiritual, emotional, physical, relational), people notice!

Our God is a miracle-working God!

2) A Message: Peter Pointed People to Jesus (v.11-18)

  While he clung to Peter and John,

         all the people, utterly astounded,

                       ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 

    And when Peter saw it he addressed the people:

                   “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this,

                                       or why do you stare at us,

                         as though by our own power or piety

               we have made him walk? 

             The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, 

              the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus,

                                                       whom you delivered over

                                                                 and denied in the presence of Pilate, 

                                 when he had decided to release him.

                                                 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One,

                                and asked for a murderer

                             to be granted to you, 

                                                   and you killed the Author of life,

            whom God             raised from the dead.

                                                                  To this we are witnesses. 

                And his name—by faith in his name—

                                                                   has made this man strong

                                                                                  whom you see and know,

                             and the faith

                                  that is through Jesus has given the man

                                                                                          this perfect health

                                                               in the presence of you all.

   “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance,

                                                             as did also your rulers. 

       But what God foretold by the mouth of all      the prophets,

                                  that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 

The miracle produced a wonder beyond measure—it was like the whole city dropped what it was doing and ran to the spot. This led Peter to do a lot of explaining. 

     “Why do you wonder at this,

  or why do you stare at us,

                            as though by our own power or piety

                                      we have made him walk? 

Peter and John took no credit for the miracle, but pointed people to Jesus, for it was Jesus’ name and authority that had healed the man. It’s as if Peter and John said, “We didn’t do it!” They made it clear that it was not their power, nor their piety (i.e., their godliness, merit, or spiritual maturity) that had accomplished the miracle. They didn’t say, “I meant to do that!” Instead, they established that it was the covenant-keeping God of Israel’s patriarchs (v.13) that had done it, even though the people and their leaders had turned Jesus over to the Romans and denied that he was their king. In Greek, this is a paragraph of emphatic pronouns. Perhaps we should read it with such intensity, “You, yes you!”, “he had decided, yes, him”, and “You denied him, yes, you!” You killed the prince of life and asked for a murderer instead. Yet God raised the Messiah—Jesus Christ—from the dead! This was the real miracle of which Peter and John were witnesses.

Peter perhaps softened his emphatic accusation of their delivering and denying Jesus Christ by recognizing that they and their leaders had acted in ignorance. Jesus had said this from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) and Paul would write of this to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2:8). It makes me wonder what things I do because I am ignorant of the purposes of God in any given circumstance.

3) A Mandate: Repent & Turn Back (v.19-26)

   Repent therefore, and turn back,

                      that your sins may be blotted out, 

                               that times of refreshing may come

                                         from the presence of the Lord, and

                      that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 

                                                              whom heaven must receive

                until the time for restoring all the things about which

                    God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Moses said,

    ‘The Lord God      will raise up for you 

                                                         a prophet like me from your brothers.

                         You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 

And it shall be that every soul

              who does not listen to that prophet 

                                                   shall be destroyed from the people.’ 

And                                        all the prophets who have spoken,

                    from Samuel and those who came after him,

                                                             also proclaimed these days. 

                  You are the sons of the prophets and

                                        of the covenant that God made with your fathers,

         saying to Abraham, 

           ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 

                         God, having raised up his servant,

                                                      sent him to you first,   

                                                           to bless you           

                                   by turning every one of you from your wickedness.

The mandate that Peter and John delivered to this audience (a different group from that in Chapter 2) was the same. Summed up as, "Repent and return to the Lord. Turn away from your wickedness and turn back relationally to the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ." Peter cited their most revered prophet, Moses, as the one relaying the mandate to listen to Jesus. Moses basically said, “Pay attention! If you don’t listen, you will be destroyed from out of the people.” The truth is, they were already headed for destruction, but Jesus’ words were calling them away from certain death. Certainly, there was also a connection with the approaching destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Peter followed this with a second witness in the Abrahamic covenant specifically referring to God raising up “his servant” a reference to the Messiah as the “suffering servant” as found in Isaiah (42:1-4; 52:13-15; 53:5-6)

In the final verse of this chapter, we find that God sent Jesus the Messiah “to you first” [Why?] “to bless you...” [How?] “By turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Chapter 4:4 tells us that many heard the word and believed, bringing the number of men in the church to 5,000 (counting women and children would probably have brought the number closer to 20,000 or more.

Silver and Gold Have I None…

Let me conclude this post by asking three questions that arise from this passage…

1. What is it that has you begging? This man had been lame from birth through no fault of his own. Some of us are “lame” because of our choices, and some because of the choices of others. Too often, instead of being transformed by God, we just settle into the role of victim and beggar, assuming nothing will ever change. So what keeps us from being a giver instead of a taker? What are the handicaps and disadvantages in our lives? What are the physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, economic, racial, and educational challenges we face?

This man had always been lame and considered a helpless beggar. He had settled into that unchanging life. All he expected to receive was what he had received in the past…a coin or two. It is one thing to be content; it is another to lose hope. Where have we become settlers? What do we expect to receive from the Lord? (See James 4:2b-3; Hebrews 11:6)

2. What am I willing to give to others?

Can we say with the apostles, “What I have, I give to you”? Such a concept did not begin with them but with a Trinitarian concept of ownership. “The doctrine of the social Trinity, however, claims that God’s owning is not grounded in self-possession but rather in self-giving.”[1] If God’s ownership of all things is established not by possessing but by giving, how should that affect the way we view that which has been entrusted to us? We would then realize that we have it for this very purpose…to give it to the one who needs it. In fact, what we have needs to be given. Some gardeners grow their produce for the food bank, some who knit make "prayer shawls" for those in the hospital, others repair bicycles, some can cook, while others can pull weeds and mow grass really well.

Peter and John declared the authority of Jesus over the lame beggar, and he was completely strengthened and made whole. The Greek word for “salvation” (sozo) is not unlike the Hebrew word for peace (shalom) in its holistic effects. Here, the apostles had the authority and compassion of Jesus Christ to bring to bear upon the man’s condition, and they did so freely.

3. What needs to change in my life? (v. 19-22)

In verse 19’s call for the people of Jerusalem to repent and return, do we see our own need for our sins to be blotted out? The Greek word is exaleiphō, and the blotting out took place at the cross of Christ. As it is written,

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Col. 2:13-14)

If we have put our faith in Christ and been led by his love to turn from our sins, we may still need to allow the Holy Spirit to bring godly changes to our lives. So, is there something in my life that is delaying the arrival of “times of refreshing”? Nazareth missed out on times of refreshing because of their unbelief, their resistance to extending the goodness of God to the nations, and in rejecting Jesus’ work in their midst.

God has given us all things in Christ so that we might share his goodness with the world instead of keeping it for ourselves!

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[1] M. Douglas Meeks, in God’s Life in Trinity, edited by Miroslav Volf, 18.