CROSSING THE LINE

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” —Acts 10:19, 20

In a small back street of Old Jaffa, just to the south of modern Tel Aviv, is a small house that is sign-posted as the traditional site of the home of Simon the Tanner. The rooftop looks out over the Mediterranean Sea and seems an ideal location to get some sun and fresh air and to pray while waiting for a midday meal. This site is a significant marker of the church’s growth beyond its Jewish roots. In the minds of the Jewish people, the line between themselves and the Gentiles was deeply demarcated and should be strongly defended.

Even when Jesus first sent out the disciples, He told them not to go to the Gentiles (see Matthew 10:5). But after His resurrection, Jesus told them that they needed to begin to broaden their expectations of who would be included in His kingdom.

He told them that after the Holy Spirit came, they would witness for Him beginning in Jerusalem, then Samaria, and beyond. Now, that time had come. Such was Peter’s reluctance that He was given the same vision three times before the men arrived who would invite him to the home of Cornelius, the Roman centurion who was devout in seeking and serving God (see Acts 10:1, 2). As Peter tried to make sense of what he had seen—a sheet from heaven filled with all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds, including those that were considered “unclean”—the Spirit made it plain: “Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them” (Acts 10:20, NLT). As a first step, “Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests” (Acts 10:23), and the next day, they set out together to nearby Caesarea—and into the future of the church.