THE VISION OF PETER

Acts 10:9-16 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

God's call to salvation through His Son, Jesus, was about to be extended universally; it was to be extended beyond the Jewish nation and offered to Gentiles, that is, to all people of the entire world. And, as the first eight verses of this chapter of Acts of the Apostles tells us, it was to be offered to a centurion of the Roman army, a Gentile who was, more importantly, a devout man that was obedient to the will of God. His name was Cornelius, and, through an angel, God had told him to send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do (Vss. 5-6). Obediently, Cornelius did so immediately, and the lesson text tells us that the following day, the men that he sent,went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city.

As these emissaries of Cornelius approached the city of Joppa, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. It seems to have been the custom to go privately into an upper room or on a housetop to offer prayers to God. Even our Savior told us not to pray in order to be seen of men. But, in order to offer an acceptable, fervent prayer, it is best to privately retreat to a secluded place in order to reverently pray to thy Father, which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (See Matt. 6:5-6). It is evident that Christians should pray often, and regularly, to our Heavenly Father, and not only in worship services, times of crisis, or when personal needs arise. This is exactly what King David meant when he penned a psalm containing this passage: As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice (Ps. 55:16-17).

It seems that after Peter had privately petitioned God in prayer, he descended from the housetop into the living area of the home of Simon the tanner. As a meal was being prepared, Peter became very hungry. He would have eaten, but God intervened and caused Peter to fall into a trance. While in this state, Peter received, from God, the vision recorded in the lesson text. It appeared to be a very large sheet that was tied at its four corners making it into a vast container, which contained animals of all kinds that were created by God. A voice from heaven told Peter that these were provided for him to eat. However, Peter recognized that the Law of Moses given to the Jewish nation, by God, on Mount Sinai, prohibited some of the animals the sheet contained from being eaten by Jews. These common or unclean animals Peter refused to eat. But three times the voice from heaven reprimanded Peter's refusal to eat by saying, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common, ...and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

The following verses tell us that when this vision came to an end, Peter doubted in himself what this vision, which he had seen, should mean. He doubted not that it was a message from Lord, but he did not understand what meaning it revealed to him. While he was musing over the meaning of the vision, the messengers came to the home of Simon the tanner and, while standing outside at the gate, they asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. By this vision, the seed had been planted in the mind of Peter precisely at the moment that would allow him to fully realize salvation through Christ Jesus was to be extended to all people of the world, both Jew and Gentile. That which was hidden from the beginning of time was now to be revealed. Indeed, God's providence is shown and His will revealed.