Preach It, Brother!
Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; Acts 10:17
Perplexed In Mind – Why in the world would Peter be confused about the meaning of the vision? Doesn’t it seem obvious? The sheet lowers from heaven. It’s full of clean and unclean animals. God instructs Peter to eat. Peter protests. God says, “What things God made clean, you do not make profane.” How could Peter miss it? It’s about setting aside the dietary laws, right? If it’s so obvious to us, why did Peter have any doubt?
The Greek is en eauto dieporei. Literally, it means “was thoroughly confused in himself,” or “was hesitating greatly in himself.” It’s a synonym for the idea of being double-minded. Peter just couldn’t figure out what God was trying to tell him. This should give us an important clue. Peter knew that the vision wasn’t about clean or unclean animals. Violating the commandment about food was simply impossible for a Torah-observant follower like Peter. The vision was just the analogy. The meaning had to be about something else, but he didn’t know what it could be. It’s time to do some detective work.
First, we see that ten years after Pentecost Peter is still a torah-observant Jew. When the animals are presented to him, he says that he has never eaten anything unclean. Ten years after the supposed beginning of the “church”, Peter is still following the Torah. It never crosses his mind that there is any other way to live in obedience to God. He is confused because he knows that the Torah was never abolished. Clean animals are still the only kind of acceptable food. He just can’t figure out what God is talking about because he knows that God would never set aside the torah. Jesus didn’t set it aside, and he won’t either.
Secondly, we must notice that for ten years Peter has been a leader in the Messianic movement in Jerusalem. Ten years ago he preached that famous sermon proclaiming that the prophecy of Joel was now fulfilled. Ten years ago he announced that God’s grace had come to both Jew and Gentile. But for ten years he still continued to withdraw from Gentiles. In spite of what he said, he wasn’t living it. He could preach it, but he wasn’t demonstrating it. In fact, Peter doesn’t realize that the vision is about people until he sees what is happening at the home of Cornelius. Notice what Peter says in verse 28. Peter still believes that it is unlawful for a Jew to even come near a Gentile. Of course, there is no such provision in the torah. This is strictly tradition; a tradition that was preventing Peter from fulfilling the commission of reaching the Gentiles; a tradition that God decided to break.
Finally, we discover that once Peter realizes what God has done in the house of Cornelius, he is no longer confused about his vision. He realizes that his traditional practice concerning Gentile interaction stands in the way of God’s plan and his own previous announcement. Peter is changed. But the change is not about the way he eats. It’s about the way he evangelizes. And it only took ten years.
Topical Index: Traditions
