Acts 10:9-33 Peter's vision and the trip to Cornelius

          Acts 10:9-23 Peter has a vision, which coincides with the arrival of Cornelius' messengers. This seems a little strange. The vision is repeated three times, which according to Genesis 41:32 indicates that it will quickly come to pass. Why would Peter, who had known The Lord in the flesh before His death, and seen Him in His glorified body after the resurrection, hear an abstract voice from heaven? And then, when Cornelius' messengers arrive, the Holy Spirit speaks to Peter in a manner much more consistent with the rest of the New Testament. Perhaps the vision is a concession to Peter's Jewish roots, or perhaps the combination of the vision and the Holy Spirit speaking to Peter indicates that he is on the cusp of an event that will bring the old covenant and the new covenant revelations of God into a single, unified architecture of faith.

          The vision itself uses the metaphor of unclean food to symbolize God's acceptance of stuff outside of the old covenant. In the case of kosher laws, which are laid out in great detail in the Pentateuch (Leviticus 11), Jesus had indicated that true cleanness and uncleanness come from the heart, not from things external to a person. (Mark 7:18-19) So this Gentile who is outside the covenant of Moses is to be recognized by Peter as someone who has been cleansed by God and therefore should not be considered unholy.

          From an external view, this entire interaction was complete orchestrated by God, on both ends.  If either party to the events had not been spoken directly to supernaturally, it would never have happened. God, in His sovereignty, brought this to pass. Perhaps, in the end, God chose to bring Peter and Cornelius together so that later on, when the question arose of what Gentiles need to do to be saved, Peter would have in his mind this experience (Acts 15:7-11).

Acs 10:24-33 Peter travels to Caesarea and enters Cornelius' house. Each summarizes what had happened the previous few days by way of supernatural revelation. Perhaps at this point both sensed that God was at work in a powerful way. Cornelius can perhaps be excused for attempting to worship Peter; this is not the last time that God's anointing on the apostles was so strong that those acquainted with pagan worship mistook them for divine beings. (Acts 14:11-15) At least Peter, knowing his own shortcomings, immediately put a stop to it. Humans under the anointing of the Holy Spirit take on many of the characteristics of God, but worship is reserved for God alone.