For today’s meditation let us read from Acts 10:15, “Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”” We know the context of this verse. Let us read another verse from Mathew 15:24, “But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”” This was Jesus reply to the Canaanite woman who came pleading to him to heal her daughter. We see in the following verses her persistence and we see how Jesus applauded her faith and healed her daughter. Jesus emphasizes here that he was send to save the children of Israel but we see after Jesus death how in the Acts of the Apostles that God had no differentiation between the Gentiles and the Israelites.
Let us look at another verse in Luke 24:49, “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” This is how the Gospel of Luke ends. We know that the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles was written by the same author – Luke. We can consider the book of Acts as the continuation of the gospel of Luke. In Luke we see the works of Jesus and in Acts we see how by the power of the Holy Spirit the disciples witnessed Jesus’ life. In Acts 1:5 we read, “for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” And in verse 8 we read, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” In Mathew we read how Jesus said that He came only for the Israelites; however in the book of Acts we see that Jesus tells the disciples that they shall be witnesses in every part of the world with the power of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 2 of Acts we read of the Holy Spirit coming down on the disciples and we see from verse 14 onward the message that Peter gave. We see how Peter was able to witness Jesus before all the people who had gathered there. It is only with the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be witnesses for the Lord.
Let us come back to Acts 10. In verse 1 we read about Cornelius – he was from Caesarea, a centurion and a devout man. He and his household feared the Lord. Even though He was a gentile, He feared God. He saw a vision. God had heard his prayers and seen his giving of alms. You don’t have to be an Israelite for God to hear your prayers; rather you should have a pure heart. In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” God told Cornelius that he was to summon a man named Peter. Cornelius immediately obeyed even though he had no idea who Peter was. Around this time we see that Peter was hungry and while he waited for the food to be prepared he went to the housetop to pray but being tired he fell into a trance. He too saw a vision. He saw the sky open up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. A voice commanded Peter to kill and eat. We see here a Peter who immediately remembered the laws he had been taught as a child and refused to eat these unclean and unholy animals. The voice immediately corrected Peter by saying, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy”. This happened 3 times. When Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men send by Cornelius arrived at the house. In verse 19 and 20 we read, “While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” In our lives too, according to our knowledge, our culture, our upbringing, we decide that many things are right and many others are wrong. We make decisions based on our own understanding. At that time, what God wants to remind us is the same thing, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy”. In our lives, what is our foundation? Is it our knowledge? Is it our culture? Is it our feelings? Faith should be our foundation. We cannot judge another person. If God has made a man righteous, who are we to question that? In verse 28 we see how Peter explains the lesson God taught him, “And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.”” Peter was still holding onto some culture of the Jews and God had to teach him something before God could use him to save the gentiles. Whoever it may be, it is not our works that make us holy but only God can make us holy. In verse 34,35 we read, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” This is what Peter learnt. In verse 44 we read that the Holy Spirit came upon the household of Cornelius. The household of Cornelius had faith and God saw that. There is no partiality with God.
In Mathew 28 we read the great commission – Jesus said make disciples of all the nations. He doesn’t specify any race or particular people. We see how this was becoming true in the book of Acts. This is what we all have been called to do also. In John 14: 6 we read, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”” Jesus is the only way to the Father. We are indebted to believe it, make it a reality in our lives and teach this to others. Let us do our part, God will do His part. In John 14:12 we read, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” What is the work that Jesus did? He obeyed the will of the Father fully. What is the greater work that we can do? To be in unity as a church with the help of the Holy Spirit and to fulfill the great commission. It is not an individual task but to be in unity as a church to fulfill God’s will for us.
God spoke to Moses through the flaming bush. God spoke to Balaam through a donkey. God spoke to Elisha through a still quiet voice. God speaks to each one in a different way. When we meet together also, God can speak to each one through different ways. One brother may be blessed through a song, another through a testimony. Are we willing to head to God speaking to you today? Moses could have gone away from the flaming bush. Balaam could have gone the other way from the donkey and Elisha could have not heeded God’s voice. What will we decide today? Will you listen to what God speaks to you today?
God gave a vision to Cornelius and another to Peter. These visions did not contradict each other. We may have various ideas and thoughts. We may feel that things done in a certain way is the only right way. We may have certain plans. Can we put all of that aside and listen to what God wants to tell us today so that we can be witnesses for Jesus? There is no other name than Jesus through which we can be saved. Do others see this as a reality in our lives? Without any words, we can be witnesses of Jesus by the way we live. May God bless us all!
