A dedicated Jew fastidiously observed all the laws concerning food. There were certain creatures that were considered clean which they ate. There were other creatures that were considered unclean which they refused to eat such as a pig. Peter may have vacillated on many things, but never did he violate the regulations about food. By eating an unclean creature, he would then be considered unclean himself.
Our text presents a true predicament for him. Three times he was offered food of various kinds, and three times he refused. There was a lesson for him in this vision. In one sense of the word, it was also a prophecy for the identity of the church as Jesus planned. In times past Israel and Israel alone was considered God’s people. God was trying to convince Peter that there was a page being turned for the appearance of the new church. Jesus established the church. The church, represented by 120 people gathered together in the upper room, was baptized by the Holy Spirit also as a fulfillment of prophecy in Joel.
Peter was apparently dedicated in his prayer life because that’s where we find him in our text on a house top ready to commune with God. There is no wonder why Peter was confused. It was his intention to be obedient to the Scriptures. It was also his intention to be obedient to the following that Christ placed on his life. It would seem that Peter’s dedication created a contradiction in obeying God. Would he be faithful to the dictates of the law as he always had been? Would he be faithful to the vision that God presented to him in his prayer?
This is one of those passages in the Bible that had a double meaning. Broadly speaking, he needed to learn a lesson from God about those who would compose the church which would be Jews and Gentiles. In the immediate sense of the word, he needed to understand his mission because God was sending him to the house of Cornelius who was a Gentile. Because the Jews failed in evangelizing the world, the Lord opened the doors for believing Gentiles to become central figures in the church.
This seemed to be a hard lesson for Peter because he withdrew himself from Gentiles when Jews were present at a meal. Paul found it necessary to withstand him, correct him. (Galatians 2: 11-14) On some matters, it seems that Peter was a slow learner. This lesson that Peter was taught is applicable to us today because prejudices against fellow church members is unacceptable. More than once Jesus said that the world would know us because of the love that we have for each other. This is not to say a lesson about those living in sin. It is a lesson for those who are serving the Lord to the best of their ability even though they may have certain physical characteristics different from ours as Paul explained in Romans 9: 4-8. Believers are united together through the Holy Spirit as the church. This gives us a challenge and an opportunity in our service to the Lord.
