Notes from the Wayside: Perspective: Surprised by the Spirit

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Surprised by the Spirit

I have much more to say to you, but you can't handle it now. However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. He won't speak on his own, but will say whatever he hears and will proclaim to you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and proclaim it to you.

John 16:12-14 (CEB)

I make you uncomfortable
When I'm around
You always find a reason
To shut me out
You don't understand me
So you push me away
And you claim
Jesus lets you live that way

From "Unlovable" by Plumb

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that one day the apostle Peter, a leader in the growing community of Jesus' followers, finds himself in hot water. Some of his fellow believers in Jerusalem are appalled by some of his recent actions, so he shares with them a surprising story.¹

One day not long ago, while Peter was staying with a friend in Joppa, he withdrew to the rooftop to pray. As he grew hungry, he fell into a trance and saw a strange vision. A giant sheet was lowered to Earth from Heaven, and on this sheet were animals of all kinds. A voice from Heaven called out to Peter, saying, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat."²

Peter was born and raised in the Jewish faith, so he was taught to faithfully follow the Jewish Law, including dietary rules found in the Book of Leviticus. Many of the animals on the sheet lowered from Heaven were forbidden to eat or even to touch.³ Surprisingly, Peter was being instructed by God to do something he had been explicitly taught not to do, something contrary to the holy scriptures of his religion. Naturally, Peter objected to the voice's instructions, claiming that he had never eaten anything "profane or unclean."⁴

The voice from Heaven called out to Peter again, saying, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." This verbal exchange happened three times, and then the giant sheet covered with animals was taken back up to Heaven. Peter sat on the rooftop, trying to figure out what in the world he had just seen.⁵

Peter would soon realize that the strange vision he was just shown was not about food specifically. It was meant to teach him that God will sometimes call him to do something he had been previously taught was out-of-bounds.

While Peter was still mulling over what he had just seen, some men arrived at the house and started asking for him. The Holy Spirit said to Peter, "Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them." Peter met with the three men and learned that they had been sent by a Roman centurion named Cornelius, whom they described as "an upright and God-fearing man." Peter invited the messengers to stay with him for the evening, and, the next day, he set out with them to Cornelius's house in the city of Caesarea.⁶

Cornelius was a "God-fearer,"⁷ meaning that, though he had not fully converted to the Jewish religion and started following the Jewish Law, he worshiped in the God of the Jewish people.⁸ He was also known for his generosity.⁹ All that said, there were a couple of things that would make Peter hesitant to associate with him. First, Cornelius was a Gentile, a non-Jewish person. In the same way that Peter had been taught to not eat any foods considered unclean, he had been taught to not closely associate with Gentiles, who were also considered unclean. Second, Cornelius was a high-ranking officer in the Roman military, meaning that Peter's people would have considered him an oppressor.¹⁰

When Peter arrived at Cornelius's house, he saw that the centurion, his family, and his friends had all gathered to hear what Peter would say to them. Peter, who had come to realize that his strange vision was not about animals or food but about human beings, said, "You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean."¹¹

Peter asked Cornelius why he sent for him, and Cornelius revealed that a messenger of God appeared to him and instructed him to send for Peter. Peter then said, "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."¹²

Peter proceeded to tell everyone gathered at Cornelius's house about the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. While he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon the centurion, his friends, and his family and empowered them to speak in languages they did not know previously, in the same way that the Holy Spirit descended upon Peter and Jesus' other disciples on the day of Pentecost. Astonished, Peter asked, "Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"¹³

Peter concludes his story, asking, "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" Those who had questioned Peter's actions now find themselves awestruck and full of praise.¹⁴

Peter's surprising story had some profound implications for the early Church. The first followers of Jesus were Jewish like He was, and naturally they thought that the movement He started was for people of their own faith. The Holy Spirit called Peter to reach out beyond the boundaries of his own faith tradition and to welcome people he had been taught to exclude, and his story showed his fellow believers that God's intentions for the Church were greater than they ever imagined, that not just their own people but all people were called to follow Christ.

Is it possible that Peter's story also has implications for the modern-day Church? Is it possible that God is calling us to minister to others in ways that we were taught were out-of-bounds? Is it possible that God is calling us to start including certain people we were taught to exclude?

I wonder how many Christians nowadays are capable of being led and taught by the Holy Spirit in the surprising way that Peter was, because so many of us assume that God will abide by our theology or our interpretations of the Bible. Jesus told His first followers that they had not yet learned everything they would ever need to know and that they would need to continue learning from the Holy Spirit.¹⁵ The same is true about His followers today.

For more thoughts on including those we've been taught to exclude, see my 2020 perspective "What Matters Most."

Notes:

Acts 11:1-4
Acts 10:9-13 (NRSV)
Leviticus 11
Acts 10:14 (NRSV)
Acts 10:15-17 (NRSV)
Acts 10:17-24 (NRSV)
Acts 10:1-2
William Barclay. The Acts of the Apostles, Revised Edition. 1976, Westminster Press. p. 79
Acts 10:2
William H. Willimon. Acts (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching). 1988, John Knox Press. p. 95
Acts 10:24-28 (NRSV)
Acts 10:29-35 (NRSV)
Acts 10:36-47 (NRSV)
Acts 11:17-18 (NRSV)
John 16:12-13