Verboten 3-17-19

Overview

Verboten: When God Crosses the Lines We Draw

In Acts 10:17–23, Peter is left puzzling on the rooftop after his vision of the sheet lowered from heaven and the voice declaring, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." For an Orthodox Jew, this command struck at the very center of daily life. The dietary laws of Leviticus 20:24–26 were not merely rules about food; every meal was a reminder that Israel had been set apart by a holy God to be holy. To suddenly hear that what had always been forbidden was now clean was deeply disorienting. Notice, though, that Peter has moved past his initial "By no means, Lord." He is now turning the vision over, trying to discern what God is saying.

The answer arrives at the gate. While Peter is still pondering, the Spirit speaks directly: "Look, three men are searching for you. Get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation, for I have sent them." This is no angel and no voice from a vision—it is the Spirit commanding action. There comes a point when pondering must give way to obedience. Peter still does not fully grasp the implications, but he trusts the Spirit who, as Jesus promised in John 16:13, guides his people into all truth. Peter goes down, hears the servants describe Cornelius—a centurion, upright, God-fearing, well-spoken of—and then does the unthinkable: he invites these Gentiles into the house as guests. For a Jewish man, this was verboten, forbidden by every traditional boundary he had known.

Yet Jesus had already laid the groundwork for this moment. In Mark 7:14–23, he taught that nothing entering a person from outside can defile; defilement comes from within—from the human heart, from which flow envy, deceit, pride, and every evil intention. The ceremonial law could set Israel apart, but it could not make a heart clean. In truth, we are the verboten. Pride, deceit, and envy live within each of us. But forbidding food and forbidding fellowship was never God's final plan. His final plan was a new covenant sealed in the blood of Jesus—not a new law, but a promise of forgiveness, hope, and life. Under the old covenant, the unclean had to be pronounced clean by a priest through sacrifice. Under the new, God himself has pronounced the unclean clean through the sacrifice of Christ.

The pastoral call is plain. Like Peter, we are summoned to step past barriers we have built—barriers of comfort, custom, and category—and to welcome those whom God has already declared clean. Obedience may come before full understanding; it usually does. But the Spirit who orchestrates divine appointments is still moving the gospel forward, still expanding the kingdom, still leading us to the truth so we may lead others to him. Crossing those barriers in faith is never forbidden. That is never verboten.

Transcript

So we're going to do a quick review of last week because where we're picking up today is right in the middle of a really really important and key story within all of Scripture. 0s

Last week in the reading we first heard about a Roman centurion Cornelius who was visited by an angel and the angel told him to send for Peter. 12s

Then we moved over to Peter and we saw him on the rooftop where he had a trance and he had a vision and in verse 11 it says he saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down being lowered to the ground by its forecoorners. 23s

In it we're all kinds of forefooted creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. 41s

Then he heard a voice saying get up, hit Peter, kill and eat. 45s

But Peter said by no means Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean. 49s

The voice said to him again a second time, what God has made clean, you must not call profane. This happened three times and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven. 55s

So as we heard last week Peter's first reaction when faced with this vision and this voice from heaven was to adamantly refuse to eat what he had considered profane because as an Orthodox Jew, the laws of his religious tradition had been so ingrained into his life that his first reaction was to deny this new direction that he was being given. 65s

But think about this every single meal. 93s

An Israelite would have to take care to follow these dietary laws both in how the food was prepared and how he or she ate it every single meal was a reminder of how life needed to be ordered to honor the holy God with whom they were in. 97s

A covenant, ceremonial laws, particularly these food laws, they called a person to be holy as God is holy. In Leviticus 20 it says, but I have said to you, you shall inherit their land and I will give it to you to possess a land flowing with milk and honey. 118s

I am the Lord your God. I have separated you from the peoples, you shall therefore make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean. You shall be holy to me for I, the Lord and holy and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine. 136s

So there was a real struggle happening with Peter and this is where we are picking up with our reading today. Peter had just had this vision telling him, what God has made clean, you must not call profane and it happened three times. 155s

It was repeated so he knew it was something that was very, very important and then it was taken up to heaven and we see at verse 17. 172s

Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen this vision from heaven three times about food. 181s

Obviously God was saying something to Peter. A vision does not happen every single day. The word that he was receiving seemed to negate the strict law that he had obeyed his entire life. 192s

So it was really, really perplexing for Peter and this was something that he was puzzling that he was working through. 206s

Notice he moved past that immediate response of by no means Lord, by no means. But now he was trying to figure out what this vision meant. 213s

He didn't know what to make of it. It was very confusing and he was turning the vision over and over in his mind as he attempted to discover the meaning. 226s

He wasn't rushing to get down from the roof. He wanted to make sense of what he had just seen. 238s

And as he's trying to figure this out, part of the answer is at the same time approaching the house. 245s

Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. 254s

They were asking for Simon's house and were standing by the gate. They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. 262s

Do you see it? 272s

Do you see it? Do you know where we're going here? 273s

Do you see the orchestration that is happening in this story? 276s

Just as God set a divine appointment for Philip and the Ethiopian Unic for Ananias to meet with Saul, there is an appointment that has been made for Peter. 282s

And just as with all the other divine appointments, God had set this one up by no coincidence. 295s

But for a very, very specific reason, there was another shift that was happening within the church and God was preparing Peter for this shift. 303s

At the very moment that he was working through the vision that he had just received, God was bringing the key to unlocking it. 314s

Verse 19, while Peter was still thinking about the vision, the spirit said to him, 324s

Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down and go with them without hesitation for I have sent them. 330s

Even though the vision had Peter at a loss to know what was happening, the spirit of the Lord helps him to begin sorting out what was taking place. 343s

The spirit commanded Peter to act because there always comes a time when pondering becomes a need to turn to action. 356s

The spirit told him exactly what he should do. It was not spoken to him by an angel as Cornelius had been spoken to. 369s

It was not like the voice that had accompanied the vision. Here we have a command given directly by the spirit. 378s

He was told before any of the servants had come up to him. He was told by the spirit that three men were waiting for him below wanting to speak with him. 387s

What did that spirit command Peter? The spirit said, get up, go downstairs and go with them. 398s

When the spirit says, go with them without hesitation, the spirit is saying, you can object, but you cannot refuse. 405s

You can object, but you cannot refuse. Peter is to go without greater disarmament, 416s

without discrimination about what is going on. He still doesn't quite grasp the vision or the implications of the vision, but he doesn't argue. 424s

And he doesn't refuse like he did when he had originally had the vision. 438s

There is no more by no means, Lord. He's to go. There's no argument. 444s

Peter is to go with the men because the spirit is the one who had sent them. 449s

And he obeyed. He didn't have the full understanding of this vision, but he heard the spirit and he obeyed the call because he knew he could trust the spirit. 456s

In the gospel of John, Jesus told his disciples, when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. 467s

For he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears. 476s

And he will declare to you the things that are to come. He was being guided by the spirit in this moment and he obeyed and he went, picking up with verse 21. 481s

So Peter went down to the men and said, I am the one you're looking for. What is the reason for your coming? 493s

They answered Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and god-fearing man who was well-spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say. 498s

So Peter goes down to meet with them. He questions them why they've come and he begins to piece together the reason for the vision. 514s

The men retell the story of why Cornelius had sent them. 523s

And here we get a very similar description of Cornelius as we did earlier in the chapter. Remember, in the first couple of verses of chapter 10, 529s

we heard that Cornelius was a centurion of the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household. 540s

He gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. 548s

His servants description of him, they replaced devout with upright and his acts of kindness with an affirmation of Cornelius by the whole Jewish nation, 552s

telling Peter that the entirety of the Jewish nation approves of Cornelius. 567s

And the fact that they can explain in detail that Cornelius had sent them because he was being sent by an angel. 573s

They have details from Cornelius. He didn't keep anything from them as they were heading to find Peter. He had explained to them very precisely their role in this. 582s

And Peter realized as he's talking with these men that there was something very supernatural about these Gentiles showing up on the same day that he had experienced a heavenly vision. 594s

And we begin to see this shift in Peter. In verse 23, so Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. 609s

He didn't just coldly say, well, come in. He didn't send them off to a hotel or a motel down the street. He readily received them. 619s

He warmly welcomed them and entertained them as guests. He had fellowship with them. He had not yet eaten. 629s

And he was inviting them in to eat with him, to sit with him, to stay in his in the home that he was staying in. 638s

And this was a very, very major breakthrough. A Jewish man inviting a Gentile in was absolutely verboten. 648s

It was forbidden and completely out of line with the traditional boundaries. Remember in Leviticus, it says, I am the Lord your God. I have separated you from the peoples. You shall be holy to me for I am either Lord and holy and I have separated you from other peoples to be mine. 658s

To invite the Gentiles in would have been very difficult for Peter because of his deeply rooted faith practices. 682s

But by inviting them into the same home for the night to stay, we see that Peter is beginning to piece together the meaning of this vision. 692s

He's stepping out in faith based on the revelation that he's been given and the word that he received from the Spirit. 702s

And he accompanied them the next day to Japa. 712s

There was a covenant between God and the Jewish people. Part of that covenant was to refrain from foods that people that were considered to be unclean. 717s

But it was more than a simple refraining as we might do on a diet. To associate with let alone fellowship with an unclean person was absolutely forbidden. 727s

It was verboten, but that was not God's final plan. 742s

Long before Peter's vision, Jesus had already laid the groundwork for removing the barriers that separated the Jews and Gentiles, the clean and the unclean. 747s

In Mark, chapter 7, Jesus called the crowd and he said to them, listen to me all of you and understand. 759s

There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. 766s

When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 775s

He said to them, then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile? 780s

Since it enters, not through the heart, but the stomach goes out into the sewer, thus he declared all foods clean. 790s

And he said, it is what comes out of a person that defiles for it is from within. 798s

From the human heart that evil intentions come, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, averace, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, 805s

envy, slander, pride, folly, all of these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. 818s

The laws were in place to set Israel apart as holy and pure, but it's not the law that makes one holy. 831s

It's not what one puts into his mouth or with whom he associates that makes him unclean. 841s

Man kind is defiled by his own heart. We are the verboten. 849s

From within myself, I find deceit, I find envy, I find pride, but forbidding food and forbidding relationship that was not God's final plan. 858s

God's final plan was to establish a new covenant, not only with Israel, but with all people, a covenant that was founded upon the sacrifice of Jesus. 876s

So when one broke the law under the old covenant, he needed to be pronounced clean by a priest, and a sacrifice needed to be made. 888s

Under the new covenant, God has already pronounced the unclean clean by the sacrifice of Christ, the new covenant allows us, allows you to live under the blood of Jesus that was poured out for you. 896s

And it's not a new law. It's a promise. It is a promise. The new covenant is always a promise through the blood of Jesus Christ. 915s

It's a promise of forgiveness. It's a promise of hope, and it's a promise of life. 927s

Peter puzzled over the meaning of the vision, but he did the verboten. He did what was forbidden. He listened to the spirit, and he invited the unclean in. 935s

We have God's final word on purity, on the clean and the unclean. It's not always comfortable for us. It wasn't comfortable for Peter either. It's not always comfortable for us, but we are called to step out in faith, to cross those barriers that we have put in place for ourselves. 948s

I love these stories from the early church, these stories of divine appointments because they're always moving that gospel forward. They're always expanding the kingdom of God. 971s

When we read God's word, we know that he has a purpose in everything, and that he sets events in motion for his purpose. 988s

As we continue in this story, we'll see this purpose of Peter having this vision of those three men sent from Cornelius, we'll see them combine to expand the kingdom. 1000s

And what God's purpose is in this divine appointment, he leads us over and over again to his truth. He leads us to truth so that we may also lead others to his truth with us. 1016s

And that is never verboten. 1035s

Thank you. 1057s