Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? (Acts 10:47)

When you go out in your community, or even to church, do you feel at home, or like a stranger? Any number of things can leave us feeling like an odd duck: moving to a new area, changing jobs, or being in an ethnic or political minority may leave us on the outside looking in.

            People of a certain age – or who listen to oldies music – may recall Dobie Gray’s 1964 hit: “I’m in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes, I’m in with the in crowd, I know what the in crowd knows….” We naturally yearn to be accepted and included by others. Today’s text is a reminder that with God, everyone can be “in.” 

An act with seven scenes

The lectionary text is a snippet drawn from a longer account stretching from Acts 9:32-11:18, so an overview of the big picture will help to clarify the small picture.

Acts 10:44-48 can be seen as one of several scenes in a two-act play featuring the temperamental Peter, a faithful Jew who had become a leader among Christ’s disciples – the same Peter of whom Jesus said, “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18).

            Luke, the author of Acts, wanted to emphasize how the young Christian movement grew to include Gentiles as well as Jews, and who better to have endorse that idea than the influential Peter?

            Act One (9:32-43) includes two scenes in which Peter leaves Jerusalem to work among Jewish believers in Lydda and Joppa, effecting miracles and drawing many to faith in Christ. [DD]

            Act Two (10:1-11:18) moves into the Gentile world. Scene One (10:1-8) opens with Peter in Joppa, a port city just south of modern Tel-Aviv. Peter is staying in the home of a man identified as Simon the Tanner. Meanwhile, about 35 miles to the north in the coastal city of Caesarea, a Roman centurion is moved by a vision from God.

            Cornelius was a “God-fearer,” a Gentile who worshiped the God of the Jews but had not fully converted through circumcision. The text emphasizes his piety as a man who prayed constantly and gave generous alms for the poor. One afternoon, as he knelt for the regular Jewish prayer time, an angel instructed him to send messengers to find Peter and bring him to Caesarea.

            The narrative shifts back to Joppa for Scene Two (10:9-16), about noon on the following day. There we find Peter praying alone on the flat roof of his host’s home. Peter also has a vision from God, and he finds it troubling.

            Luke says Peter was both prayerful and hungry when he saw a large sheet filled with four-footed animals, birds, and reptiles descend to the roof. A voice told Peter to “kill and eat,” but the crusty disciple objected. None of the creatures in the sheet met the kosher requirements of the Jews (see Leviticus 11), and Peter insisted that he had never eaten any profane thing.

            The heavenly voice, however, insisted that “What God has made clean, you must not call profane” (10:15). The vision was repeated three times, apparently to make sure Peter got the point.

Threefold repetitions are a theme in Peter’s story. The gospels recount that he denied Jesus three times (e.g., Luke 22:34-61). John records a post-resurrection encounter in which Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me?” three times (John 21:15-17). Here, Peter experiences the same vision three times.

Peter may have needed some convincing. Old Testament law and Jewish custom drew a clear connection between eating unclean food and associating with unclean people (Lev. 20:24-26). Peter would soon be faced with doing both. [DD]

            Three messengers from Cornelius show up in Scene Three (10:17-23a), and the Spirit instructs Peter to accompany them without hesitation. Employing a lesson learned from the vision, Peter invited the men to come in and rest overnight, something that strictly observant Jews would not have done. But Peter was lodging with a tanner, whose work with hides from dead animals made him ritually unclean, so rules were already being stretched.

            Scene Four (10:23b-33) relates Peter’s journey to Caesarea and his opening conversation with Cornelius and others who were gathered in his house. Recognizing that he wouldn’t normally visit a Gentile’s home, and being accompanied by other Jewish Christians, Peter sought to explain his behavior – and perhaps to convince himself that it was an acceptable thing: “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean” (10:28). Cornelius then described his own vision and asked Peter to proclaim to them “all that the Lord has commanded you to say” (10:33).

            Peter’s sermon (10:34-43) comprises Scene Five, in which he proclaimed the basics of the gospel message, the death and resurrection of Christ, and the command to proclaim the good news to all, calling for repentance and promising the forgiveness of sins.

            The running theme of this section is emphasized in Peter’s opening statement, something he has recently learned: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (10:34-35).

            Peter’s sermon was quickly interrupted, however, for Scene Six (10:44-48) relates how the Spirit of God was poured out on all who were gathered. The Gentile believers spoke in tongues and praised God, demonstrating the same evidence of the Spirit that Jewish believers had experienced in Acts 2. Some of those people had apparently accompanied Peter, and “were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,” the text says (10:45). No one objected when Peter called for the Gentile believers to be baptized just as they had been.

            Scene Seven of the lengthy story (11:1-18) relates Peter’s recounting of his experience when he got back to Jerusalem and spoke with other church leaders. Some criticized him for having lodged and presumably eaten with the Gentiles, but Peter’s forthright defense silenced the critics: “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” (11:17). Unfortunately, the silence did not last, and the issue would have to be revisited (Acts 15).

Scene six redux

(10:44-48)

Now we can consider the chosen text more closely, and note that Peter didn’t get to finish his sermon: Luke says he was still speaking when “the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word” (v. 44). Peter apparently had not invoked a formula or laid hands on anyone to prompt the Spirit’s presence. The sending of the Spirit was entirely at God’s initiative, and Peter was as surprised as anybody.

            The new believers manifested the Spirit’s presence by speaking in tongues, something that “astounded” the Jews who had come along with Peter (vv. 45-46). Readers naturally wonder if the gift of tongues in Caesarea – where Cornelius’ guests were Greek-speaking Gentiles – mirrored the Pentecost events in Jerusalem. There, people from many lands were gathered and the gift of tongues appeared to reflect known languages, thus facilitating the spread of the gospel. Whether the tongues of Acts 10 refer to spoken languages or the unknown “tongues of angels” Paul later referenced (1 Cor. 13:1) is unclear, but also beside the point. Whatever their flavor, the gift of tongues was interpreted as clear evidence that the Spirit made no distinction between Jewish and Gentile believers.

            Peter ordered the new believers to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ,” just as Jewish believers had been baptized. Notably, he did not say they should be circumcised or restrict themselves to kosher food before fully entering the family of faith.

            As we contemplate this passage, we rejoice in Peter’s newfound knowledge and the courageous obedience he showed in listening to the Spirit and extending acceptance to the Gentiles.

The story is incomplete, however, without noting that Peter apparently drew back from his bold position later on. Paul charged that Peter ate with Gentile believers until “certain people who came from James” pressured him to stop, and he did (Gal. 2:1-14).

            How accepting of others are we? Are there people who would not be welcome to join our church due to their ethnicity, their background, or some other aspect of their identity?

            Even within the membership of our churches, are there some who are considered “insiders” and “outsiders”? Do we earnestly welcome new attenders, or do we have our own set of friends and ignore those we don’t know well when siting in worship or at a church meal? 

            Some of us might be able to relate stories of specific encounters that helped us overcome prejudice and become more inclusive, while for others it is still a growing thing. Some of us may have a lot of growing to do.

Peter’s experience reminds us of how hard it can be to accept Christ’s command to show inclusive love to all people. It takes intentional work to overcome our cultural, institutional, and even supposedly biblical prejudices – but it is work worth doing, work God’s Spirit will help us to accomplish.