126. Beginner Bible Course: Peter's story - opening the Church to the Gentiles

EPISODE 126:  PETER’S STORY – OPENING THE CHURCH TO THE GENTILES

Once asked Leonard Bernstein, the famous conductor, what's the most difficult instrument to play in your orchestra. His astute reply was second fiddle. As we worked our way through the gospels, it's pretty obvious. Peter was first fiddle. He, along with his brother, Andrew were the first disciples to meet Jesus in that first meeting around Jesus baptism, Jesus connects with Peter in a big way. That's where he names him. Peter, the rock as the disciples followed Jesus around his apprentices. Peter is in the inner circle of three. He's the spokesman for the disciples. Peter is the one that gets high-fived by Jesus. When he declares you are the Christ, the son of the living, God, and it's at this point, Jesus declares.

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You are Peter the rock and on this rock, I will build my church. I will give you the keys to the kingdom after Jesus' resurrection. Peter's the recipient of that special lengthy conversation in John 21 at the sea of Galilee that Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep recommissioning after Jesus' Ascension it's Peter. Who's leading them as they stay in. Wait for the Holy spirit. When the Holy spirit comes the day of Pentecost, Pete's the one who stands up and provides the perspective to the assembled throng. He preaches that short spirit directed message and 3000 men from all over the world, turned to Jesus as both Lord and Christ in acts chapter three, the power of God flows through him.

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As he heals of beggar, the temple gate, then he uses that sign as a signpost preaches and at least 2000 more go all in on Jesus. And that's not even counting women and children in acts four. He defends Jesus and the gospel to the council. The rock is just fearless in acts chapter five. He rebukes the council again. This is the place the council grinds their teeth and wants to murder all the apostle standing in front of them. This is the place Gamaliel talks them off the ledge in acts chapter eight. It's Peter who comes to Sumeria to check out these new Samaritan. Half-breeds who've gone all in on Jesus.

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When Peter and his partner, John lay hands on them, they received the Holy spirit. That brings us to the end of acts. Chapter nine. Peter is traveling around encouraging those. Who've gone all in on Jesus. He gets to the town of Joppa there. He finds a man who's been lame for years. He says to the man, Jesus Christ heals. You get up and fold up your bed and get outta here. The man gets up, but Peter's day is just getting started. Messengers from the nearby town litter, come to him and urge him come immediately. We've got a problem there. Inlyta he's brought to an upper room. The room is stuffed full of weeping. Old ladies.

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They're showing each other pieces of clothing. They didn't get them at a little garage sale. The corpse laying there had made these items for them. And most of these women were widows and poor. The deceased's name was Dorcas. Now. I'm not sure what got into Peter's mind. I'm guessing he was nudged by the Holy spirit, but he dismisses all these widows from the room, leaving himself alone with Dorcas, Peter kneels down at the side of the bed and he prays. Then he turns to the body and says arise. She opens her eyes, looks at Peter and sits up with that action. Peter joins Elijah, Alicia and Jesus on Mount Rushmore of signposts.

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These four men who have raised dead people to life. Now we want to save a little granted because there's one more face. That's going to get carved up there in the book of acts. Undoubtedly, Peter used the raising of Dorcas as a signpost toward Jesus. As he continued to preach Jesus as both Lord and Messiah, he goes back to Joppa where he's staying with a Tanner named Simon acts chapter 10, then introduces us to perhaps the most significant contribution Peter makes to the church while that in his two amazing letters at the back of your new Testament, we'll get to those in later episodes around lunchtime.

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Peter goes up on the roof. Luke tells us he was hungry, waiting for lunch. As he's up there on the roof, he falls into some sort of trance or dream and what a vision or dream he has. Something like a sheet is let down by four corners out of heaven. And this sheet looks like Noah's Ark. It is stuffed full of reptiles, birds, and animals of every kind. Then a voice speaks up Peter kill and eat. Peter replies with two words that probably should never be stuck together. No lowered. I'd never do that. There are really icky unclean animals in there, never in my life. Have I violated old Testament law about what our diet should be?

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The voice replies, what God has declared clean. Don't you dare declare unclean. This vision repeats three times throughout the old Testament. We've had several occasions where dreams were repeated twice. Joseph had two similar dreams. Pharaoh had two similar dreams. Nebuchadnezzar had two similar dreams. In each case, it appeared the two similar dreams were like the testimony of two witnesses. One dream could be chance, but two dreams back to back. We're like, God seconding it. This is going to happen. In this case, Peter gets this dream or vision three times.

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That should give us an idea just how hard this message was to get through the head of the rock or for that matter. Any of the other Jewish people, God is declaring all people through belief in Jesus, as both Messiah and Lord are clean before God, there is no difference. This shouldn't have been strange at all to Peter. The old Testament is chock full of clues. God wants all his kids back and Jesus himself live this out. He spent the first two years of his ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles. He had to go through Sumeria and have that conversation with the woman at the well, he almost danced over the faith of the Roman Centurion who believed Jesus could order the disease out of his servant from afar.

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And then there were parables. He taught like the parable of the wedding feast, where the King said, go out into the highways and byways and get any of the riff-raff. You can find, bring them into my house that it might be full, but make sure they're properly clothed. When the stream revision is done, Peter's rocked. Peter doesn't know what to make of it, but that doesn't last long for the previous day. And in the city of Cesarea, there was a Gentile, a righteous man named Cornelius, who was praying to God at three in the afternoon, we're told about this man. He was a captain of a regiment. We're also told about his heart. He was devout and feared the God of Israel.

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He was generous and gave much to charity and he prayed to God on a regular basis. At three o'clock, the Jewish hour of prayer. He's praying to God when he gets a vision or a dream of an angel, the angel says, Cornelius, your prayers and gifts have been seen by God. Send some men to Joppa, to Simon, the Tanner's house. Find a man named Simon. Peter asked him to come. Cornelius immediately sends off a messenger party. As a quick aside, I tell my students, Cornelius is perhaps the best representative in all of scripture of religiously, devout God, honoring God, seeking people in their world.

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I asked them if they know any people who are moral or devote, who are generous and kind who believe in God, but who not necessarily believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Messiah. They nod their heads. And tell me about neighbors or people that come to their door. Those are Cornelius's good. Devout, generous, honorable people who are not aware of Jesus or who haven't made the step. He is Emmanuel God with us. The door of the sheep, the bread of life, the resurrection and the life. While Peter's coming out of this vision. He hears the men sent by Cornelius at his gate. They won't come into Simon's house because they're Gentiles.

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Peter goes down and meets them. He informs them. I'm a Jew and you're Gentiles. Theoretically. We really shouldn't be mixing it up here, but I just had a vision. And God told me to go with you, men, Peter then does something fairly shocking. He invites to spend the night in Simon's house. That's a big deal. The next day he goes to Cesarea. He goes into Cornelius's house. That's a big deal too. When he enters Cornelius's house, Cornelius bows worship flee before him. Peter grabs him by the arm and pulls him up. Cornelius acts the worship. I'm a guy just like you.

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I've been taught. I'm really not supposed to be mixing it up with you. But God told me those rules have changed. I had a vision and God rebuked me. Don't call unclean. What I have called clean Cornelius then explains to him the vision he had and it all comes together on hearing the story. Peter says to Cornelius. Now I get it. I clearly understand God is not one to show partiality, starting at the baptism of John and proceeding through his resurrection. Peter describes the story of Messiah Jesus and that through the name of Jesus. Everyone who believes in him will be made right with God, write us a right relationship with God.

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While Peter was speaking. These words, the Holy spirit fell on all of Cornelius's household. Cornelius household began speaking with tongues and exalting God, Peter and others. He brought with him were shocked by all this. When Peter recovers, he says, who can refuse water for these people to be baptized? I mean, Jesus has sent the Holy spirit on them for heaven sakes. They ties Cornelius and his entire family in the name of Jesus in acts chapter eight, Peter had gone up to Samarria when Samaritans had believed in Jesus, he and John had laid hands on these Samaritans and they received the Holy spirit.

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Now Samaritans were hated. They did, but at least they were seen as half-breed distant Jewish relatives, but Gentiles are straight up Gentiles. They're no breeds. God sends Peter the man with the keys to open the door, the church to these Gentiles. When the leaders in Jerusalem heard about this, they didn't exactly throw a party. They summoned Peter back to Jerusalem to explain all these things to them. These Jerusalem believers took issue with the way he had used his kingdom keys. So Peter goes through the whole story with them at length. Peter ends his defense of how he's used as keys before this group of apostles and others.

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With this, I remembered the word of the Lord, how we used to say John baptize with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy spirit. If God gave them Cornelius's family Gentiles, the same gift as he also gave to us after believing in the Lord, Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God's way, give these Christ following leaders credit. When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God. Well then God has also granted to the Gentiles, the repentance that leads to life. And with that statement, Peter has maybe made his most significant contribution. Well done, Peter, you really are the rock, but Peter is about to switch chairs to move to the second violin yielding the first chair to Paul and chapter 13 and following.

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But before he does, we have one last incident with Peter Herod. Antipas the rascal who beheaded John and the guy who had that early morning, brief trial mocking Jesus decides to do some more damage to the church, to please the Jews. He laid hands on some believers, including James, the brother of John. He has James killed with the sword. Most think that means beheaded. James, the brother of John was one of the inner three. He's the only disciple that we specifically know his fate who inherits saw how this pleased the Jews, James losing his head. He goes after the guy with the keys, the rock Peter, he puts him in prison and under locked guard, four squads of soldiers guarding him.

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Meanwhile, the church in Jerusalem want the man with the keys spared. They're pouring their hearts out in prayer for Peter on the night before Herod was going to bring them out for execution. Peter cell gets a nightlight. One of heaven's bellboys, an angel. He must have put the soldiers out. The chains fall off and he tells Peter get dressed and let's get outta here together. They pass by the first and second guard. They come to the iron gate that leads to the city and it opens automatically for them. Once outside the angel departs and Peter comes to himself, he thought it was a dream. He heads to the place. They often met Mary's house.

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Mary, the mother of John Mark. And sure enough, there were a bunch of believers in Jesus gathered there, pouring their hearts out for Peter's safety. Peter starts banging at the lock gate. And if I know anything about this fisherman, he was pounding on it. Real good. One of the servants heard it and came out when she recognized Peter's voice, she runs back inside to tell the good news, leaving Peter outside, inside the house. She claims Peter is at the gate knocking. These are Christ followers pouring their hearts out to the God who can do anything that he will spare. Peter now told Peter's been spared in his outside, wanting to come in.

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They tell the servant girl, you're crazy. When she insists, they say it must be as angel. I don't know about you, but I'm very encouraged by that. You ever prayed for anything for 30 years, how do you think you'd respond? If one day you found out those prayers were answered. My guess is you gotta be kidding. Might come out of your mouth. But Peter kept banging on the gate. And when they finally opened it, they were amazed. Acts chapter 12 ends by describing the end of King Herod Agrippa. God decided this man had done enough damage. One day, some folks from Tyre and Sidon had come down for an audience with King Herod with much pomp.

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He took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering to them an address. His audience repeatedly cried. This is the voice of a God, not of a man. Herod really liked that. He soaked it all in. Luke tells us immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he didn't give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. That's what it says. Adios Herod Agrippa. But while Herod died, this new force, the church of Jesus continued to grow and multiply other than a brief but important cameo appearance in acts 15 at the Jerusalem council and an encounter with the apostle Paul and Antioch one that Peter isn't real proud of.

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Peter slips into obscurity. He's not mentioned again in the entire book of acts, but he'll show up again at the end of your Bible in two amazing letters, one on suffering for Jesus and the other on the critical importance of God's word in the life of a follower of Jesus. And once you've read those two letters, you may think that Simon Peter's best work. As we turn the page to acts 13, the apostle Paul moves to the first chair he Barnabas and John Mark are packing their bags for the first missionary tour to as Jesus commanded, bring the gospel to the ends of the earth and we'll follow them on their first missionary journey in our next wordpicture.