Acts 11:4-10 4But beginning, Peter explained it to them in order, saying, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and I saw in a trance a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6Looking closely at it, I saw four-footed animals of the earth and wild animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 7And I heard a voice also saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8But I said, ‘Absolutely not, Lord, because nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10And this happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.
The circumcision party was a roadblock to the mission because of their narrow perspective. They were stuck in poor theology and narrow nationalism and failed to see the hand of God. All was not lost yet, however, as Peter explained his experience that provided the evidence to change their minds as well. The style of Peter speech is one of defense that provides a narratio, a “narration,” of the facts of the case. This form of speech draws upon proofs to support a claim. The central claim is that salvation through Jesus Christ is not just for Jews but for all people. In addition, those who come to Jesus do not need to first become Jews, particularly with male circumcision. Peter defended himself by pointing to God as the actor and source of all that happened. This was not Peter’s decision but God’s direction.
Peter recounted his experience in order or in sequence of what happened to him. He retold the story from his perspective. His account is abbreviated and repeats the key details from 10:9-16, beginning with his vision in Joppa. One minor difference is that he added wild animals not found in the early account. By stating his reluctance to eat of the unclean animals, he identified with those of the circumcision party. He was like them as an observant and kosher Jew. He did not want to eat anything unclean. Verse 9 was the shock to Peter when it happened, and it was probably a shock to his listeners when he told them. Everything that followed was in response to the voice from heaven and God’s directions. Either one can doubt Peter’s integrity and think that the vision was not real or only his imagination, or one can accept that God speaks through such visions. Sometimes we may doubt that God has spoken to us or that we have discerned the quiet leading and convicting of the Holy Spirit. We can look for confirmation through open doors or encounters with others, like what happened to Peter.
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