Day 239: Acts 10:9–28

“You know it’s forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner. But God has shown me that I must not call any person common or unclean” (v. 28).

One of the main differences between Peter and Paul was the contrast in their callings. Peter was entrusted with the Jews; Saul was entrusted with the Gentiles (Gal. 2:7). I suspect that Peter often thought of Saul’s calling and was relieved it wasn’t his! Imagine how many times he must have thought about Saul’s being called to minister to the Gentiles and thought, “Better him than me!” Saul might as well have been called to lepers. Peter may have even wondered if Saul’s punishment for persecuting the church was to get the leftovers. But in no time at all, God taught Peter a very important lesson through the vision we read about in Acts 10. God always dishonors prejudice.

Peter probably not only saw himself as different from the Gentiles, but better. His attitude is nothing new. Like most of us, his prejudices were handed down through the generations. Many otherwise strong, God-serving, Bible-believing Christians are steeped in prejudice. Peter was one of those. Yet his willingness to have his closed mind pried open was testimony to his godly sincerity.

Having our minds pried open is rarely easy, but vision is rarely given to those who refuse. We are challenged to overcome prejudice on many levels, certainly not just race. Economics divide. Denominations divide. Ministries divide. Differences will always exist, but division doesn’t always have to result. Although God chose Peter and Saul to minister to different groups of people, He intended for each of them to see the importance of the other in the overall vision. Saul later wrote, “He who was at work with Peter in the apostleship to the circumcised was also at work with me among the Gentiles” (Gal. 2:8 hcsb). God had driven the point home to Peter through a series of visions in which He commanded, “What God has made clean, you must not call common” (Acts 10:15 hcsb). Praise God that all who are in Christ have been made clean.

We must be careful to avoid spiritual elitism. Everything we are and anything we possess as believers in Christ is a gift of grace. Pure hearts before God must be cleansed from any hint of spiritual pride. We must aggressively fight the enemy when he seeks to nullify our growth and good works by making them invitations for pride and prejudice.