Peter speaks out – Acts 10:34-48

While this is the Sunday in the year when we hear again the record of the baptism of Jesus by John in the river Jordan, I wanted to turn our attention to one of the first disciples of Jesus and examine a little bit of his life both with Jesus and after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Peter is ever the archetypal disciple as he embodies so much of the successes and failures of those first disciples.  Ever bold to go wherever Jesus would be and yet afraid of what his decision may lead him to.  One thing I believe we can be sure of is that when Peter met Jesus – whether it was in that encounter while mending his nets or when he was brought to Jesus by his brother Andrew – Peter’s life changed.  From leading a relatively peaceful and predictable life as a fisherman to being a disciple of Jesus to becoming an apostle, a healer, and a preacher, Peter’s journey with Jesus led him to see the world and life in a whole new way.  He learned more about the God of his people and what it meant to be loved by this God than he could ever have imagined. He discovered that he had a part in spreading this new message of God and he was continually challenged as he learned more each day of what God wanted him to do and be. Yet even though Peter had seen how Jesus welcomed people from outside the Jewish nation – including Greeks, Romans and Samaritans - Peter still saw this God as the One who had come to redeem the people of the covenant and to save them from their sins.

If we had lived in those early days after the life of Jesus here on earth, we would have discovered that the leaders of new way were not as united as we may imagine. They struggled to remain within the umbrella of the Hebraic faith and tradition and the challenges that they faced were causing strains and divisions within their ranks. Peter – along with others - still felt strongly that the message of Jesus from God was meant for the renewal of the historic people of faith, the ones to whom God had first come. The prophet’s vision of the people being a light to the nations had still not dawned on them.

Sharing the good news of God in Christ was something that would still require an acceptance of the rites and traditions of the historic Jewish faith - circumcision for all male converts, acceptance of dietary restrictions and observance of all temple sacrifices and rituals.

Peter was reluctant to believe that the good news shared by Jesus was not just for those who had traditionally embraced the faith they had inherited through their connection to the patriarchs and the covenant that Moses brought to the people from God. But things began to change for Peter when, in a dream, it was revealed to him that all things created by God were clean and that the old restrictions need no longer be followed.  And just as Peter was asked by Jesus three times: Do you love me, so he is told three times that what God has made clean you must not call profane or unclean.  Yet while the dream was about food and what food could be considered clean, the meaning behind the dream ran deeper. God was revealing to Peter that the message that had come through Jesus was one that was intended not just for the people of the covenant made between God and the people in the time of Moses; it was intended for anyone who would hear and believe.

The record we are given in the book of Acts of the centurion called Cornelius becomes the opportunity for Peter to step out in faith and begin to appreciate the wider scope of God’s plan. Peter is approached by three men sent by Cornelius. At first he is hesitant, even suspicious. But the Spirit of God encourages him to receive them and listen to them.  They relate to him that an angel has visited Cornelius and instructed him to invite Peter to come and talk to him.

Peter’s changed perspective that came as a result of his dream enabled him to take the bold step of going to the house of Cornelius along with some of the believers from Joppa who shared his new perspective.  That vision enabled him to see that no one was outside the scope of God’s love and that it was not for him to decide who could or could not be received by God or come to faith in God.

Cornelius then shares with Peter the vision he received - an angel came to him in a dream and encouraged him to have Peter visit. This vision led Cornelius to gather not just his immediate family but also his extended family and his closest friends. They all agreed to come, and they all agreed to listen to whatever message God would give Peter to say.

Then Peter begins to speak, saying: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him”. (Acts 10:34)   He then proceeds to recount the ministry of Jesus highlighting his anointing with the Holy Spirit, the freedom he brought to many from illnesses of mind, body, or spirit, the death he suffered and the joy that his resurrection brought. He finishes by saying that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name “(Acts 10:43).

At that moment while Peter was speaking, it is recorded that the Holy Spirit fell on those who heard his message and that the circumcised believers from Joppa who had chosen to go with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit could be given to Gentiles. They heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Peter then makes a bold declaration that signalled a change in the course of the new faith from that time forward. He said,  “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (Acts 10:47)

Peter came to understand that day that it was not for him or anyone else to decide who was worthy to believe it and be forgiven of their sins. His task was simply to share the good news of Jesus Christ – his life, his teaching, his death and resurrection. He was to let people know that there is freedom from the sin that bound them and that God wants nothing more or less than to have them experience mercy, grace, peace and love.

Today as we remember the moment of Jesus’ baptism by John in the river Jordan, let us not forget the moment of own baptism and the moment when we confirmed our belief in God and received for the first-time forgiveness for our sins.

To God be the glory and the honour and the praise.

AMEN