PETER OPENS A DOOR

Acts 10-11

Pay attention!

We're about to look at a breaking barrier!

Remember the Great Commission: Judea, Samaria, the ends of the Earth. So far the stories have mostly happened in Judea. Philip has preached in Samaria and won the Ethiopian Eunuch. But Luke's tale goes from Jerusalem to Rome, from legalism to a flood of grace. And Peter is just about to discover that.

Luke introduces us to a Centurion in Caesarea. This office commanded 100 men, similar to today's company commanders, perhaps a captain. Centurions are always spoken of respectfully in the New Testament. Romans took their officer corps seriously and put good men there.

This man was also a God-fearer. Such a person was participating in the Jewish faith without actually becoming a Jew. To enter fully into Judaism required circumcision, which many were not willing or ready to do. Still they would attend services, pray, read scripture, observe many of the rules including dietary laws. Luke says he also gave to the needy and prayed regularly.

For whatever reason, the Lord decided to enfold this commander in His plans. He had the first of two dreams or visions in this chapter. The second will be to Peter. At any rate Cornelius saw an angel stand before him and calling him by name. That messenger, like his commanding officer, instructed him to send to Joppa and bring back Simon Peter. He even gave his address! Cornelius immediately sent for two men to go to Joppa and return with the disciple.

Let's keep that in mind as we watch Simon Peter climb the outside staircase to the roof for a nap while lunch was preparing. Asleep or awake, he had a vivid dream or vision in which he saw a huge tablecloth dropping from the sky with all sorts of meat arrayed on it. A voice announced,

“Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!”

“No way, Lord. I've never eaten anything unclean.”

The Voice thundered back:

“DON'T CALL ANYTHING UNCLEAN IF GOD SAYS IT'S CLEAN!”

This vision and exchange happened three times before Simon woke up.

And he woke to knocking at the gate. Led by the Spirit's direction he went downstairs and heard the invitation of Cornelius's men. The timing was fantastic!

In those days many Jews, especially Pharisees would rise every day to a morning prayer of thanksgiving: Lord, I thank Thee that I was not born a woman nor a Gentile. One of the major barriers to the spread of the Gospel was just that prejudice. Throughout the Acts and Paul's letters we see an intense discussion going on with those who insisted one must first become a Jew and only then become a Christian. The dream of clean and unclean animals with God's booming voice cut through this into Peter's mind. Or almost did.

Note in v 22 the men tell Simon that Cornelius wants him to come tell him about Jesus. So Peter makes the journey in two days and found the centurion had gathered a crowd of friends and relatives. The centurion fell at Peter's feet as if bowing to royalty! The big fisherman had the grace to tell him to stand up, “I also am just a man! Bow to God!'

Peter told the group his story of the many animals, and somewhat proudly, I think, said, I came without any problem.” Then he blew it. “Why did you send for me?” Folks, this is Peter who preached to a huge crowd resulting in 3000 becoming disciples! I believe he was still trying to wrap his mind and emotions around God's Great Commission. But the Spirit was getting through!

“I'm beginning to catch on that God is no respecter of persons, and He accepts all who fear Him from every people and nation.” THIS IS A MAJOR STEP FORWARD. It's part of the reason Luke wrote the book. When the Jewish church got past the ethnic barrier, the Gospel took off! This is so important we all need to examine and re-examine ourselves. What kind of prejudice do we have that forms a barrier from our reaching someone?

Peter went on to say they were witnesses of the things he was preaching. He was a man on fire. He had met Jesus and his life was forever different. Do you have that same spirit and radiance about you? A changed life is an unanswerable testimony!

He continued to preach Christ, and as he did, Luke tells us the Holy Spirit came over his listeners in an obvious way. They were given the gift of tongues as part of the evidence. The men with Peter, Jewish Christians, were amazed that God obviously accepted these others that Jews looked down on.Peter looked at his group and pointed out no one could refuse baptism for these, since the Spirit came on them just as He had on the original Pentecost.

Now catch this! The story pivots from Jerusalem to the centurion, from Jews to God-fearers. Now it will pivot again to Gentiles from paganism. We have seen Steven killed and Paul plunging ahead to chase down and punish other believers before the Lord called him to switch sides. That persecution chased a lot of new Christians out of Palestine and all over the then-known world. Some from the island of Cypress in the Mediterranean and Cyrene in North Africa. But it was the age of the Pax Romana, Roman peace, and in their travels some landed in Antioch, the third largest city of the Empire after Rome and Alexandria. These men had a shorter learning curve than Peter and some others, for they began witnessing directly to the Greeks and Romans. The Spirit was with them and many believed.

When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas as an emissary to check it out for them. When he arrived, he saw the Lord at work among them, and so encouraged them, teaching and adding to their message and number. At some point the Spirit sent him to Tarsus to find Saul/Paul and bring him back. Remember Barnabas stood up for Saul in Jerusalem. Now he would bring him in as an apprentice and further his discipleship training. The two of them worked side by side for a whole year in Antioch.

Healing and Resurrection
Acts 9:32ff

The scene shifts back to Judah and Peter, who is going to visit a group of new Christians in Lydda. Today, that city is on the outskirts to the east of Tel Aviv, and it is  quite modern. Google it, locate it, and look at some pictures. This is likely still the first year or two after Pentecost, and excitement is still high. The church is finding its way, rapidly expanding, and developing organization by the seat of its pants.

In visiting those people of the Lord, Peter finds a paralyzed man named Aeneas. He's been unable to move much for eight years! Scripture does not mention Peter's asking him or his asking Peter to heal him. The big fisherman just does it. “Aeneas,” he begins by calling his name. Peter gives Jesus credit up front: “Jesus Christ heals you.” Get up and roll up your mat! And he did! No hesitancy is recorded, nor rehab. Perhaps Peter offered a hand to pull him to his feet, but he got up at once for the first time in eight years!

The result was evangelism! The result of everything Christians do in Acts is the flourishing of the gospel and more people following Christ. What's the result in your life, your class's life, and your church life?

Ancient Joppa is now south Tel Aviv. Pictures show adobe-like buildings there as opposed to modern structures in the city. Tabitha or Dorcas lived there as a disciple. She was well thought of because of her servant lifestyle, “always doing good and helping the poor.” Dorcas fell ill and died. Her friends cleaned her body and laid her in an upstairs room for burial. News had reached Joppa the Peter was only ten miles away in Joppa, so the believers sent two men to see if he would come. It would have to be quick, because the Jewish burial practice was to bury the same day they died if at all possible.

Peter came back with them immediately. They met him at the door and took him straight to her body. He was surrounded by her grieving friends, remembering her and showing examples of her sewing ability. For whatever reason, Peter cleared the room. (Jesus had done the same thing on a similar occasion.)  Then he knelt beside her and prayed. We don't know how long, nor what he prayed. But eventually Peter stood and turned to the dead woman. “Tabitha, get up!” in response she opened her eyes. I'm sure she looked into Simon Peter's smiling face and took his outstretched hand.  He helped her stand up.
Then he opened the door and let the mourners back in, to mourn no more! Again the news spread all over Joppa, and many believed in Christ. So Peter stayed in the area for a good while, living with a  tanner named Simon.

Notice how Luke is following his theme of expansion, moving point by point further from Jerusalem. And again evangelism took place everywhere. Do we need to examine ourselves and our institutions to see how what we are doing as believers is spreading the good news?

A good thing to think about here is your belief about healing and death. Jesus in John 14:2 says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Peter gives evidence here of that prophesy coming true. In spite of the effort to get rid of Him through crucifixion, He was still working through His disciples.

Remember Jesus on earth was incarnate as a man. He had to play by our rules. Therefore the verse above is one of the scariest. I ask you: is He saying you and I should be able to do much more than we attempt? I submit that I criticize the faith healers who make a production of it and build their ministry around it. They focus on themselves and not proclaiming Christ. Note Peter did not call a crowd to watch. Yet I, probably you, and thousands of ministers across the country pray daily for people to be healed. And there is abundant testimony (check a recent day on your Facebook page) that God still answers prayer. So let's keep believing and praying.

I do not say we should pray for the dead. But I do say we should use the various resurrections in scripture to reassure ourselves that death is not the end. The Bible clearly represents life for believers with the Christ who has risen!

THE DAMASCUS ROAD
Acts 9

Paul perhaps wrote 12 of the NT books, a dozen letters. To grasp the depth of those letters, we must remember this man who writes has been radically changed. That change, that conversion, underlies every word, every sentence he ever wrote. The Damascus Road experience has become a common phrase for a dramatic conversion, though few are that dramatic. Luke thought it important enough to repeat it three times in Acts, first with his telling it, then twice more from Paul's own mouth. The story is familiar to most of you, but don't let it's familiarity blind you to new truth.

We first met Saul as a witness to the stoning of Stephen, a coatkeeper for the executioners. Apparently, he ran with that crowd and shared their hostility to this new Way. He had been raised Jewish with an excellent education, finishing off with studies under Gamaliel, whom we already met. In Galatians we find he kept the law better than most and was climbing the ladder of Jewish religious success. Luke tells us Saul went to the high priest, the same one who executed Jesus and had arrested and beaten some of his disciples, and got authorization to go to Damascus and arrest any Jews in the synagogues who were following the Way, one of the names for what we now call Christianity. The letter made no difference whether they were men or women, he could bring them to Jerusalem under the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin.

God had other plans for him. (In Galatians he says God set him apart from the time he was born to preach!) The French mathematician Blaise Pascal entered in his journal, “FIRE! FIRE  all day from morning til night!” In like manner Saul was hit by light, bright, blinding light flashing all around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say clearly to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Saul replied, “Who is this? Who are you, Lord.” Note his use of the word “Lord.” He could have meant only “sir,” but he may even then have divined divinity! The answer must have jarred him to his core! “I'm Jesus, the one you are persecuting.”
Later Paul would insist that this was an experience of the risen Christ every bit as much as when the disciples saw him in the upper room or by the seashore. He referred back to this again and again as constituting his authority as an apostle.

Now note carefully. Jesus did not ask him whether he accepted this or not. The same risen Christ gave him a direct command, assuming – knowing – he would obey. He told him to go on into Damascus to the home of one of those Christians he had intended to arrest. When the light went away, he stood and opened his eyes. He could not see. He was blind. His friends had heard the voice but saw no one. Still they led him into the city and to a place to stay.

We now meet the first visitation program we know anything about. And Ananias was about to receive his visitation assignment! In a dream or a vision Jesus called him. The Lord instructed him to go find Judas's house on Straight Street and inquire for a man named Saul. The man has been praying and has dreamed of your coming to place your hands on him so he can see again. But Ananias had heard of this guy and didn't like what he had heard one bit. “He's been tearing  up your church in Jerusalem and is planning to do the same thing here. And he has the authority to do it!” Who have you avoided visiting or witnessing to because they were too something or other. Too rich, too poor, too educated, too mean?

The Lord did not argue. He was Nike before Nike. “Just do it! He's going to be a great proclaimer of my name to Jews and Gentiles alike. He will even suffer FOR me!”

So Ananias went and did as he was told. He relayed his experience to Saul, and anyone else who was around I suppose, then laid hands on him. The Bible says something like scales fell off Saul's eyes, and he could see again. Since he had been fasting for three days, he broke that fast to regain his strength. Then he was baptized. Did Ananias baptize him? The scripture doesn't tell us. I'd guess Ananias, but it could have been someone else. Next time you hesitate to accept a visitation request, remember Ananias. Then just do it!

Saul immediately started preaching, sharing his testimony and showing how the scriptures pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. Even more he insisted He was the Son of God, divine! He was so effective the Jewish party he used to represent plotted to kill him. To escape he sneaked out of town in the dead of night, being lifted down from the wall in a basket.

He proceeded back to Jerusalem, a very different man than when he left. But the disciples were still wary. Could they trust him or was he undercover to arrest and convict them. Finally, Barnabas took Saul in tow and vouched for him to the apostles. This is the same Barnabas who had sold property to donate to the young church. He would later accompany Paul on his first missionary journey, then stand up for John Mark after his dismal failure. Possible his taking Mark on another mission saved him for service and gospel writing!
Once again his preaching stirred up opposition and schemes to murder him. So the disciples carried him to the coast and sent him back to his home in Tarsus. If  you are an experienced and mature Bible student, now would be a good time to compare Paul's story in Galatians 1:11 through chapter 2. He tells basically the same story, but inserts some gaps. Take a look.