No Partiality

Leaving prejudice behind is never easy; it’s part of our human nature to desire superiority over others. Rich are prejudiced against poor and poor against rich, educated are prejudiced against uneducated and uneducated against educated, men are prejudiced against women and women against men, ethnic groups are prejudiced against different ethnic groups, etc.

The Apostle Peter was prejudiced, too, and he couldn’t change his mind on his own. He needed a revelation from God to do the work for him. When on the roof of Simon the Tanner in Joppa, he experienced a trance. He saw a sheet come down from heaven not once but three times. Each time the sheet was filled with creatures that he, a Jew who observed dietary laws, could not eat. Then he heard a voice say, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (Acts 10:13b NKJV)

Almost immediately—while he pondered the meaning of the trance—men sent by a Gentile named Cornelius who was a Roman centurion came to the door asking for him. They told their story and said God had revealed he should preach to them.

But the Gentiles were not Jews. They were of a different ethnic group and a different religion. In that moment God gave Peter opportunity to receive and obey the revelation he received as well as the revelation the Gentiles received. And he rose to the occasion. In truth, he replied, I perceive that God shows no partiality. (v. 34)

Peter recognized that the kingdom of God through Jesus belongs to all people.

Originally published April 14, 1989.
Picture: Tulips, West Fargo, 2009. Photo by Solveig.

Surprised by the Message

God knows how to make life interesting by surprising His followers. Peter had no desire to minister to Gentiles. After receiving the Holy Spirit, he traveled around Palestine where he shared the gospel of Jesus with fellow Jews. In Lydda, he healed Aeneas who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. (Acts 9:33b NKJV) In Joppa, he raised Dorcas from the dead and presented her alive to the saints and widows. (9:41b)

When he was in Joppa, however, life changed. While staying with Simon the tanner and waiting for dinner one evening, he went up on the housetop to pray and fell into a trance. (10:9a,10a)

God spoke to Peter in the trance, and the message was couched in food. But its significance extended beyond food into every aspect of life: What God has cleansed you must not call common. (10:15b)

Peter had always lived an observant Jewish lifestyle. He resisted the message because it offended practices he'd learned as a child and lived as an adult. But when Gentiles came seeking his help, he capitulated: "God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." (10:28b)

Only God can bring about deep, abiding change in people. Peter's worldview was forever altered; he had to leave his former mindset behind.

Originally published June 12, 1992.