The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Cleansed” it comes from the Greek Word “katharizo” which means “to cleanse, to purify.”
Two men in two different cities receive visions on the very same day, and the gospel is about to reach further than anyone expected. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Acts 10.
Cornelius, a Roman centurion in Caesarea, described as devout and generous, though a Gentile, sees an angel in a vision instructing him to send for Peter in Joppa. The next day, while Cornelius’s men are on their way, Peter goes up to pray and falls into a trance, seeing a great sheet descending from heaven filled with all kinds of animals, and a voice telling him to kill and eat. Peter protests that he has never eaten anything common or unclean, but the voice responds, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common,” the Greek word for cleansed being “katharizo.” This happens three times before the sheet is taken back up. While Peter puzzles over the vision’s meaning, Cornelius’s men arrive, and the Spirit tells Peter to go with them without hesitation, since God has sent them. Arriving at Cornelius’s house the next day, Peter finds a large gathering waiting, and explains that though it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with Gentiles, “God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean,” and now understands that “God is no respecter of persons,” accepting anyone who fears Him and works righteousness in every nation. As Peter preaches Jesus Christ to this gathered household, the Holy Ghost falls on all who hear the word, and the Jewish believers who accompanied Peter are astonished that the gift of the Holy Ghost has been poured out even on Gentiles, evidenced by their speaking in tongues and magnifying God. Peter asks who can forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Ghost just as the Jewish believers did, and commands them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Peter needed a vivid, repeated vision to overcome a lifetime of assumptions about who belonged inside or outside God’s family. His willingness to actually change his mind when confronted with clear evidence of what God was doing opened the door for the gospel to reach far beyond anything the earliest church had imagined possible.
Visit Us At: www.youtube.com/@BibleLifeBasics
Support Us On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/BibleLifeBasics