Acts 10: 1-23

(Acts 10: 1-23)

There was a certain man in Cæsarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.  And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:  And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.  This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.  Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,  And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.  Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.  Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.  Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

 

Simon Peter was staying at the tanner's house in Joppa. He doesn't stay overnight, but eats and sleeps many days. The tanner was a man who worked on the skin of an animal, and because he treated dead and unclean beasts, he was a target of blackmail to the Jews. It records an important event that marks the beginning of the Gentile mission. Cornelius the Gentile saw a vision.

『 now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 』. Cornelius was confused about what was going on, but nevertheless sent people to Joppa. When the people sent by Cornelius arrive in Joppa, Peter also sees a vision in prayer. It is an illusion of a large furoshiki containing an unclean beast, "Peter, eat it." This was a perplexing command from God. “Eat the unclean beast.” Peter said, “I cannot, Lord. I have never eaten anything that is unclean and vulgar.” It is a resolute refusal to not eat it before and not to eat it now. This embarrassing illusion is repeated three times.

Then God said, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 』 At this vision that initially frightened Peter, Peter began to question. Just as Peter's worries were deepening, those sent by Cornelius knocked on the door. Then the Holy Spirit speaks. 『The Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 』In this way, the missionary to the Gentiles began. 『And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 』

The Jews regarded the Gentiles as dogs and despised them. The Jews were forbidden from all intimate communication with the Gentiles, and they did not sit together at the table. This was because it was illegal in Jewish customs and traditions. They regarded contact with strangers as unclean. It was natural that Peter was also bound by the customs and traditions. So, even the generous Peter who could tolerate the tanner, who was the object of disgust, could never be accepted as much as a stranger. God broke Peter's exclusive sense of choice, its stubbornness, limitations, and prejudices. Peter himself did not break it, but God did it.

『 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 』 These are the words that Jesus asked his disciples to do just before his ascension. But the disciples did not try to escape Jerusalem. I tried to be witnessed only in Jerusalem. When great persecution began in the church in Jerusalem, countless disciples were scattered into Judea and Samaria. So the Gospel expanded. The expansion of the gospel was not in the zeal, vision, and power of the disciples, but in the work of God.