"Break Kosher" Sermon: Acts 10:1-48

“Break Kosher”
[Acts 10:1-48]
February 7, 2010 Second Reformed Church

Before Jesus ascended, the disciples asked Jesus when He would restore the kingdom to Israel, and Jesus responded, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8, ESV).

Up to this point in our look at the book of Acts, we have seen the apostles and disciples bring the Gospel to Jews and converts to Judaism in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. With this morning’s Scripture, we see the Gospel going to the end of the earth.

Cornelius was a Roman Centurion. He was the commander of one hundred soldiers. He was stationed in Caesarea where he and his family had a home. And we understand that at some point Cornelius and his family had come to believe in and worship the God of Judaism. They had not converted to Judaism formally – they had not been circumcised and they did not participate in the bringing of sacrifices to the Temple, but they believed the Scriptures of the Old Testament and looked forward to the coming of the Messiah – the Jewish Savior. They joined together in regular prayer and gave alms to the needy.

During one of these times of prayer, an angel of God came to Cornelius and brought a message to him from God: Cornelius’ prayers had been heard, his giving had been noticed, and God had answered his prayer. Although we don’t know what specifically he prayed, we understand by God accepting and answering his prayer that he prayed in faith. So, when God told him to send for Peter, Cornelius immediately obeyed, dispatching a soldier and two household servants to bring him to Cornelius’ home.

Meanwhile, Peter went up on the rooftop of the home where he was staying – with Simon the tanner – to pray while he waited for the meal to be made. While he was praying, a giant sheet descended from heaven – held at the four corners – and it was filled with all types of animals – both clean animals and unclean animals. And a voice from heaven said, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

Now Peter was a good Jewish Christian. He kept the kosher food laws. So some of those animals would have been forbidden for him to eat. God had said, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, you may eat. Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you” (Leviticus 11:1-8, ESV).

God goes on to say that of the creatures in the waters, everything that has both fins and scales is clean, all other creatures are unclean. God lists a number of birds that are unclean. Then God explains that four-footed insects that have jointed legs are clean, all others are unclean. And so forth. Leviticus chapter eleven explains which animals are kosher – clean – and which are unclean. Peter, as a Jewish convert to Christianity, recognized that many of the animals in the sheet were on God’s list of unclean animals that God-fearing people were not to eat, so Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

The sheet went up into the air and came back down again, and God told Peter to eat and Peter again objected. But God said, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” And the sheet went up into the air and came back down again, and God told Peter to eat and Peter again objected. But God said, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” And Peter was confused.

Just then, Cornelius’ men arrived at the house, and God told Peter to go with them. And then Peter understood what God was saying to him, so Peter immediately went downstairs and left with the men.

Upon seeing Peter, Cornelius fell on his face and worshiped Peter, thinking he must be divinity – an incarnation of the Voice he had heard. But Peter stopped him and assured him that he was a mere human like Cornelius. And Peter explained to Cornelius that according to the Law of God, he should not be in Cornelius’ house or eat with him, but God had shown him that the ceremonial food laws were symbolically fulfilled and now they had been disbanded. More importantly, they symbolized that no person was to be avoided – no person was unclean in the ceremonial sense. Every type of person was to be given the Good News of the Gospel of God.

Cornelius was obviously thrilled to hear this and recounted to Peter how he came to have him brought to his home, and he asked Peter, before them, and in the presence of God to tell them all that God had commanded him to speak.

Peter began by telling them that he now understood that every person, no matter what their heritage – no matter what country they came from – no matter what religion they were raised in – no one is to be excluded from the Gospel Message. And anyone who believes in God and the Savior that He sent will be received by God. God shows no partiality.

The Good News is this – sent to Israel through Jesus Christ. Now, having lived in Caesarea, they had heard of Jesus. They knew about John and the baptism that he proclaimed. They knew that Jesus had been anointed by God – set apart by the Holy Spirit. And that He went throughout Israel doing good works, healing the sick, and delivering people from the oppression of the devil. What they had not heard – and Peter and his friends were there as eyewitnesses to them – is that after Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, God raised Him from the dead, and He appeared to a number of eyewitnesses, including Peter and his companions. Now Jesus commanded them to preach and testify that Jesus is the God who will judge the living and the dead at the end of the age. And Jesus is the One of whom all the prophets spoke that would be He through whom all those who believe would receive the forgiveness of sins.

We can imagine Cornelius’ heart beating faster and harder. He had believed in the writings of the prophets. He worshiped and prayed to the God of the Jews. He looked forward to the promised Savior of Israel. And now Peter was telling him that the Savior has come, and He is Jesus. And anyone – even Cornelius and his family – who were never Jews – anyone who believes in Jesus Alone for their salvation will be forgiven of their sins – made right with God – saved – and enter into His Kingdom. They must have been about to burst!

And in that moment, the Holy Spirit fell upon and indwelt Cornelius and his family, and they began to speak in tongues and praise God in the highest. Notice, that even after everything Peter had said, he and his companions were still amazed. They understood that God was receiving all types of people into His Kingdom – all types of people could be received by Jesus as their Savior. But they still thought that the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit was just for the Jews – but here they were, evidencing that God had indwelt them So, Peter said, if they had believed and been indwelt by God, they must be baptized, and so they were – Cornelius and his whole household – the beginning of the ends of the earth.

What does this history teach us?

First, the Ceremonial Law – including the laws about food – was given to the nation of Israel, fulfilled in Jesus, and is no longer necessary for Christians. All those laws in the Old Testament about what to eat, how to dress, the sacrifices that are to be made, etc. – these laws were fulfilled in Jesus and we, Christians, do not have to obey them. There is nothing wrong with obeying the food or clothing laws if you would like to – if a person ate kosher, he or she may be healthier – but it is not necessary for life and salvation. Obedience to those laws of food and clothing, if we choose to keep them, are matters of Christian liberty and have no bearing on our standing before God. (However, we ought not to offer up the sacrifices of animals and grain as prescribed in the Old Testament Law, because the Final and Eternal Sacrifice was made through Jesus.)

Second, let us understand that God does not show partiality. All people are the same before God – all equally needing salvation through Jesus Alone. It doesn’t matter if you were born in Haiti, or Trinidad, or Africa, or Puerto Rico, or New Jersey. It doesn’t matter if you were raise a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or with no religion at all. God has made One Way through Jesus Christ Alone for our salvation. Thee is no other way to be right with God. For all people, Jesus is the One and Only Way.

Thirdly, let us understand that God gives faith, salvation, and the Gift of the Holy Spirit to whomever He pleases. Salvation is God’s choice; we are all born lost and hopeless, and God intercedes as it pleases God to save a people for Himself. And we may wonder why God chose one person and not another. Some of us may wonder why God chose you or me. But that is not our business. Our business is to tell everyone that there is salvation in Jesus Alone and then God brings whomever God will to faith and belief.

And fourth, in breaking down these distinctions – not merely of kosher and non-kosher food – but between Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised, and any other distinction we may put to separate one people from another, God has fulfilled His Promise to Abraham. Remember what God promised: “Now the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV).

How ought we to respond to this?

Let us trust God to keep all of His Promises which have yet to be fulfilled. God cannot lie, and we have the history of God keeping His Promises recorded in the Bible. We have good reason to believe that God will keep each and every promise He has ever made.

Let us not hold people to requirements that God does not hold us to. We may want people to dress a certain way. We may want them to look and speak a certain way. We may want people to listen to certain types of music. And so on. But none of these things are required by God, so we dare not require them of those who come looking for His Salvation. God says that everyone who believes that Jesus is God Incarnate, Who lived, died, rose from the dead, and ascended back to the Father, bearing God’s Wrath for our sin and crediting us with His Perfect Life – all such as these will be saved.

And let us proclaim the Gospel to all people without distinction. The President needs Jesus just as much as the homeless person on the street. You and I need Jesus just as much as those people who we have looked down upon. All people are equally in need of Jesus. There is Only One Way.

So let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You that You are the God Who keeps His Promises. We thank You that You came to save all those who will believe, not merely the nation of Israel, for if You had, most of us would be lost forever. Keep us from looking down on people who are not like us and for adding requirements to Your Gift of Salvation that You have not made. Cause us to go forth boldly, telling others about the salvation that You provide through Jesus Alone, and let us not be deterred by those who hate us or dismiss us. For You are the God of Salvation and Your’s is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever and ever, Amen.