Changing Your Mind For Love

"Easter People, Raise Your Voices"

Does Easter make a difference?

We continue this week an Easter Season series from the Book of Acts. We are exploring various “Easter People” – people such as Paul, Tabitha, Peter, and Lydia – and in our contemporary world.

Praise to the Lord!

Peter – Acts 11: 1-18

The apostles and the brothers and sisters throughout Judea heard that even the Gentiles had welcomed God’s word. ² When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him. ³ They accused him, “You went into the home of the uncircumcised and ate with them!”

⁴ Step-by-step, Peter explained what had happened. ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying when I had a visionary experience. In my vision, I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came all the way down to me. ⁶ As I stared at it, wondering what it was, I saw four-legged animals—including wild beasts—as well as reptiles and wild birds.^{[a] 7} I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’ ⁸ I responded, ‘Absolutely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ The voice from heaven spoke a second time, ‘Never consider unclean what God has made pure.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, then everything was pulled back into heaven. ¹¹ At that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them even though they were Gentiles. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered that man’s house. ¹³ He reported to us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is known as Peter. ¹⁴ He will tell you how you and your entire household can be saved.’ ¹⁵ When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as the Spirit fell on us in the beginning. ¹⁶ I remembered the Lord’s words: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then who am I? Could I stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ Once the apostles and other believers heard this, they calmed down. They praised God and concluded, “So then God has enabled Gentiles to change their hearts and lives so that they might have new life.” (Common English Bible)

Perhaps you have heard the silly jokes that begin with “There are two kinds of people in the world…” For example –

“For my grandfather, there were two kinds of people in the world:  Those who agreed with him, and those who hadn’t yet agreed with him.”

OR

There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who know math and those who don’t.

OR

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who divide everybody into two kinds of people, and those who don’t.

The early Church movement as depicted in the book of Acts also contained two kinds of people. On the one hand, Some Jewish believers of Jesus wanted to maintain certain rituals like circumcision and particular regulations like not eating with non-Jews. They wanted to keep their Jewish practices that were important to them. They desired to conserve their heritage, to maintain their clear identity in the face of changing times and situations. They were people of God’s covenant and they wanted to maintain that covenant loyalty as Jews, even as Jesus followers. So even though Gentiles are slowly hearing the word of God and becoming followers of Jesus it is not clear to this group of people that they the Jewish followers should be eating with these Gentiles. Could meals be holy if shared with unclean people?

Eating and fellowshipping with Gentiles is an intimate act. These actions might result in these Jews losing some of their identity and religiosity as God’s people. The story calls this group the “circumcised believers” in verse 2.

On the other hand, another group of Jewish believers of Jesus – Paul would be in this group and now Peter – are beginning to sense that they can loosen some of these restrictions in order to welcome Gentiles into the movement.

The first group of Jewish believers who want to continue to emphasize their Jewish practices as they follow Jesus – they are demanding answers from Peter about why he enters the houses of Gentiles and eats with them (verse 3). Had Peter abandoned his Jewishness?

Two kinds of people. But importantly they are all 1st-century Jewish followers of Jesus arguing over the way forward.

Peter responds to his critics with his experience. Not with doctrine. But with his vision of a sheet from heaven with different animals all of which are declared clean by God. Furthermore, the Spirit tells him in v. 12 “to go with a group of people even though they were Gentiles.”

Peter has changed his mind. He has grown in his understanding of the situation. He is considering the outpouring of the Spirit on these Gentiles as the same outpouring Jewish believers have received.

We might say that Peter has changed his mind for love. For love of God and love of neighbor.

A Benediction (Or Miscellaneous Thoughts)

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