The Lord
Sends Cornelius to Peter
[Acts
chapter 10, verses 1-16]
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Last
week when we concluded chapter 9, Peter had just raised Tabitha from
the dead after being summoned through the Lord by Aeneas. Today as we
move on together to chapter 10, we find the Lord once again moving
his servants like chess icons on a chess board. This time the
servant's name is Cornelius, and he is being commissioned to send 2
men to Joppa, where the apostle Peter was staying at that time with
Simon the Tanner, to bring him to his house for yet another
assignment. Cornelius himself was a man of no small reputation.
Although he was a Roman centurion, he was evidently a secret convert
of sorts who was well respected by the early Church. So let's move on
together to chapter 10 of the Book of Acts, beginning at verse 1.
“At
Caesaria there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was
known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and
God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God
regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision.
He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said,
'Cornelius!'. Cornelius stared at him in fear. 'What is it, Lord?',
he asked. The angel answered, 'Your prayers and gifts to the poor
have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa
to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying
with Simon the Tanner, whose house is by the sea.' When the angel who
spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a
devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything
that had happened and sent them to Joppa.”
(Acts 10, verses 1-8)
The
first thing that needs pointing out here is that Cornelius had what
we now call a personal relationship with Christ. He prayed regularly
on a daily basis, keeping his lines of communication with his Savior
open at all times. He prioritized helping the less fortunate while
balancing that with his own priorities and that of his family. This
was and still is a particularly rare breed of human being – someone
determined to use the mind God gave him to the best of his or her
ability, while giving all the credit for his/her success right back
to God again. Cornelius was a man who had life and how to live it
worked out sufficiently in his own mind that he was a good example to
others and loved being so. That is the very definition of righteous
living and of a righteous man in a Biblical context.
“One
day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly
saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, 'Cornelius!' Cornelius
stared at him in fear. 'What is it, Lord?', he asked. The angel
answered, 'Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a
memorial offering before God.”
See what I mean? You know what this also means, right? It means if
we're not operating on Cornelius' level in our faith and our walk
with Christ, we're falling short of the mark! The time is getting
short, people. It's time to pick up the pace! This is more applicable
to some people than to others, depending on who we are in our walk
with the Lord (Those reading this to whom this applies, you know who
you are). And so Cornelius obeyed the angel and sent his two servants
to Joppa to fetch Peter and return with him personally to Cornelius.
So now let's move on to the second half of this week's lesson,
beginning at verse nine.
“About
noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching
the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and
wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he
fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large
sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all
kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and
birds of the air. Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and
eat.' 'Surely not, Lord!', Peter replied. I have never eaten anything
impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not
call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three
times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.”
(Acts 10, verses 9-16)
So
while the two servants of Cornelius, together with an armed soldier
to watch over them, were approaching Joppa where Peter was staying,
all these other things were taking place on the roof where Peter was
praying. “....while
the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven
opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by
its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as
well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air.”
The word 'trance' in this context simply means Peter was in a
semi-conscious state (see http://www.dictionary.com/browse/trance).
The sheet likely represents the four corners of the earth – north,
south, east and west. The various kinds of animals that were on this
sheet-like substance represent all the edible creations of the earth,
some of which were specified in the Law of Moses as not to be eaten
(see Leviticus chapter 11 for a detailed explanation).
This
explains Peter's response when he says, “Surely
not, Lord!', Peter replied. I have never eaten anything impure or
unclean.'”
My NLT Bible translates verse 14 a little better, and I quote: “I
have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish
laws.”
I don't think this was Peter refusing to obey or even questioning the
Holy Spirit. It appears that Peter thought he was being tested, a
likely byproduct of his being in a trance induced by the Spirit. But
that was not the case this time around, as we find out in the next
verse: “The
voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that
God has made clean.' This happened three times, and immediately the
sheet was taken back to heaven.”
No creation of Almighty God's can be called impure or unclean. For
anything on earth created by God to be called impure is to challenge
the purity and goodness of God. I, for one, question the 'wisdom' of
making such a rash and ill-advised judgment about our Creator.
In
the beginning of the Bible in Genesis chapter one, we have the story
of creation, which is capped off in verse 18, as it is written: “God
saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.”
From this we can deduce that there is no such thing as an illegal
human being, neither is there any such thing as an illegal plant.
Meaning, our war on immigrants – who are actually economic or war
refugees – and our criminalization of marijuana and a certain
species of mushroom, are all sins against Almighty God! (For the full
story regarding this topic, check out my 2016 book, “Cannabis
Legalization and the Bible: Compatible or Not?”, available on
Amazon or
from my website)
There isn't a man or woman alive who has any such authority!
One
final thing that is noteworthy about the conversation between the
angel and Peter – it took three times for all these things to occur
before Peter finally got the message that everything made by God is a
good thing, serving a useful and even a noble purpose. One example
would be cannabis oil derived from the marijuana plant that is now
being used to cure all kinds of illnesses, from seizures to mental
illness to cancer patients who are in chemotherapy. This also applies
to all the people in God's creation. Under no circumstances may we
ever express hatred, contempt, or prejudice – which mainly happens
for racial, religious or nationality differences – towards our
fellow human beings. Because, at the end of the day, we all have the
same Creator in common. Having said and written all these things, be
sure and return next week for part 2 of Acts chapter 10.
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