Eating With Gentiles

Peter Explains His Actions

11 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him ³ and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. ⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. ⁷ Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

⁸ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’¹⁰ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

¹¹ “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴ He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

In today’s political climate it is very easy for us find ourselves in the midst of an argument with someone who holds much different opinions than ourselves.  I am sure a survey of political beliefs of those sitting here today would find that there are several different opinions.  Outside of politics, there are also many different situations where we find ourselves in the midst of disagreements.  We are free-thinking human beings which means that we are definitely run into those who think differently than ourselves but as Christians, God teaches how to handle such situations.  It may be at work, it may happen at home and it may also happen in this very building but today’s scripture offers us some insight into how to deal with those situations.  In this morning’s scripture, Peter went to visit his friend Cornelius who was a Gentile.  Upon his return, his Jewish friends were very angry with him and screamed at him saying, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them!”  On one hand, Peter’s Jewish peers are mad at him for eating with the Gentiles but he was just doing what God had told him to do.  But what does this teach us when we are caught between two groups of peers who have differing opinions?

It is difficult for us to understand the disdain that the Jews had for the Gentiles in the first century.  Peter with the Gentiles was not something that the Jews took lightly, they firmly believed that Peter had betrayed their trust; that Peter had gone completely against all that they believed.  The Gentiles were looked down upon, they were seen as people of lesser importance to the world and the Jews believed that God also looked down upon them and their heathen ways.  God had made it the mission of the disciples to go out and baptize everyone, and that included the Gentiles.  This was difficult for Jews to believe because they thought they were God’s chosen people and did not want to share the designation with anyone else.  How quickly they forgot that Jesus took care of all this problem.  Jesus death on the cross did not take care of only those who were called the chosen people of God, His saving grace was for all.  The way Peter responded to those who scolded him reminds us to hold true to the Spirit of God and what it calls us to do.  When we find ourselves in hostile situation, we must remember to respond with an answer that is Godly, an answer that remains true to our beliefs.  James 1:19 reminds us to “... be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry...”  I know this sounds simple but most of us find it fairly difficult to execute, especially in high stress situations.

On the one hand, it is difficult to blame the Jews for believing what they did in our scripture this morning.  Many generations had been the “Chosen People” and it was difficult for them to change their entire way of thinking.  Imagine yourself in the same situation.  What if you, and the many generations before you, had believed that you were the chosen ones only to find out that your group was not near as selective as it once was.  This would be a difficult pill for anyone to swallow.  There are many instances of Peter, Paul and others preaching the gospel to the Gentiles in many different situations but why so many repetitions of similar stories?  While the death and resurrection of Jesus is of the most importance, we must also understand the importance of God’s spirit descending upon us.  That is why there is so much repetition on this matter, so God could explain the benefits and blessings of this newfound tool that God had given to believers.  In today’s world, the Spirit of God is something that even Christians have a tendency to discount.  We have to understand that the disciples had difficulty accepting and implementing the teachings of Christ.  And these are the people who saw Jesus in the flesh!!  So you can imagine the difficulty those would have that had never seen Jesus face to face.  In this morning’s scripture we see that it took a vision for Peter to better understand that he no longer had to worry about clean vs unclean.  Through this scripture we are witnessing Peter’s fundamental change in theology due to what Jesus’ death and resurrection means but we are able to witness the change in the Gentiles as well.  This group of people who have been looked down upon for so long are now able to access the love of God just as anyone else is.  This change is similar to the changes we see to someone who realizes the love that God has for them.  The saving grace of Jesus has the ability to cause all of us to completely change who we are.  Upon accepting Christ into our lives we must do so with the understanding that this decision will fundamentally change who we are.  If it doesn’t, then we need to take a hard look at the sincerity of our words and our faith.  If it is not sincerity holding you back then it must be something else.  Sometimes the mistakes of our past can cause us to not allow God to change us the way it should.  We may hesitate because we feel that we may not be worthy.  Whatever it may be that is holding you back, let it go... Let go of whatever it is that is holding you back to giving God everything you have.  The disciples and other followers of the Jewish faith had to give up many, many generations of beliefs in order for the spirit of God to fully take effect and they had to let it go.  

So now the question then becomes how?  How do we let go of what is holding us back? And how to we better handle ourselves in difficult situations?  The answer is fairly simple, yet the answer may not be what you may think... God calls us to share our experiences with each other.  That is exactly what Peter did in our scripture this morning.  He shared the impact that God had on him with the Jews and through this sharing of experience, they were able to better able to understand God’s will and God’s passion to minister to the Gentiles.  Experiences, both good and bad, have an impact on our faith and our experiences can also help others better understand God’s calling to them.  I share a lot of my experiences with all of you but it is those of you who are sitting here this morning are the ones who make the difference.  It is you who share your experiences with those around, it is you who share the love of God with the world.  I get to share my experiences with you but your job is more difficult because you do not always know the reaction you may get when you share.  This scripture really emphasises the power of sharing your faith because Peter’s experience would be of limited value unless he shared it with the rest of the community of faith.  Had Peter not shared eating with the Gentiles, it would have only been the Gentiles who would have been affected by what was said.  But since he did share the Jews were able to understand that God’s spirit is for all of God’s people.  Verse 18 tells us, “ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.””  Because Peter shared his experience, Jews and Gentiles alike were able to celebrate together.  This lesson can be carried on into present day.  When we encounter difficult times, it is important to know that we are surrounded by people who care.   Recent events have solidified the fact that we are a family, we take care of each other... And like family, we may have our disagreements, we may not agree on everything but if we share with each other with open minds then we too will be able to celebrate together just as the Jews and Gentiles did.  When we find ourselves in difficult situations, we need to share those experiences because it is likely that there will be others who will either help you and you may even help others who are struggling.  

Peter really emphasizes that it is a gift from God that unifies the Jews and Gentiles.  However, it is not totally clear what that gift is.  It could be the Holy Spirit; it could be repentance that leads to life; it could be salvation. While the work of the Spirit seems to be the primary option, I would also suggest all of the above. The giving of the Holy Spirit, of repentance to life, and of salvation relate to each other; to receive one is to receive all. The importance again is on God’s initiative as the gift-giver to all of God’s people.  Maybe you are sitting there this morning looking for God’s gifts and cannot seem to find them... If that is the case, I encourage you to search the depths of your heart to share your experience of accepting God’s grace with all of us here today.  If you are not comfortable doing that, right there in your seat I would encourage you to let go of whatever it is that is holding you back and allow God to fundamentally change who you are.  In closing, Peter says something that is incredibly humbling and important for us all to understand.  In verse 17 Peter says, “So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”  Who are we to stand in God’s way.  It is important for us to remember that we do not fully understand the will of God so we cannot discount anything that God may be trying to accomplish.  Do not let your anger, disappointment or sorrow stand in the way of God’s will.  Remember, you worship a God who cares, who loves you more than you can imagine and as humans we have a tendency of being our own worst enemy.  Lift up those experiences and allow God’s love to work through them, just as Peter did.  Amen.