After studying the text in front of us today, I could not help but to be reminded of an old favorite movie of mine called Top Gun. While it is definitely a favorite movie of mine, it is not necessarily the movie that I am reminded of; I am reminded of one of the songs from the soundtrack of that movie called, “Danger Zone”. Can you hear the lyrics of that song?
Whenever I hear that song, I am taken back to some of the visuals of that movie: jets screaming through the air, pilots doing everything they can to avoid enemy fire, teams of jet fighters working together to eviscerate the enemy, and a solid sense that what we are witnessing is something that is so dangerous that it kind of makes your heart pound a little. It kind of makes you wonder why anyone would agree to go to those levels of danger or why anyone would attempt something so audacious just to accomplish the mission.
That song is what comes to mind when I read the text in front of us. It is as though God is on the offense; he is not playing defense, he is playing for keeps, and he has no problems sending his soldiers into some of the most uncomfortably dangerous places he could send them. God is sending his people – beginning with Peter – into some of the most uncomfortable and potentially dangerous places they could ever fathom going. No Jewish person would ever think about going to the geographical places or even ethnic places that we see Peter going to in this passage of text.
Think about God’s call on your life to be about the mission of spreading the gospel. There are places that you and I have been conditioned to avoid. Sometimes we avoid a place or a people because it or they are much different than we are. Other times we avoid a place or a people because it or they are too dirty or too weird for us. Places and people that are too different or too dirty for us are places that we naturally feel afraid of – they are dangerous places – therefore we typically avoid them and by doing so, we shrink the mission field of God down to these little bite sized chunks that we are ok with.
The problem here is that when I read the book of Acts (especially these verses today), I get the sense that God is up to something pretty big – probably something much bigger than we could possibly understand after a mere cursory reading of the text. In the previous three chapters (CHS. 7 – 9) we can see an unexpected trajectory of God’s plan to mobilize the message of the gospel to the ends of the earth by any means necessary.
This becomes especially obvious when he radically saves, transforms, and enlists a ruthless terrorist named Saul onto his team who becomes the worldwide evangelist we now know as the Apostle Paul. The reality here, is that the God of the Universe does not have any problems playing outside the sandbox of our human expectations and prejudices to make the gospel accessible to the lost and to make himself famous.
God is serious about calling, and equipping, and sending his gospel witnesses to the ends of the earth with the message of the cross of Jesus Christ. Time and time again throughout the book of Acts we will find ourselves immersed in a story that is full of intrigue, miracles, and danger as the Holy Spirit works in and through the most unnerving of situations to help people hear the message of Christ crucified, risen, and returning.
Over and over and over again, the Spirit of the living God sends his soldiers into the danger zone where the lost can be saved. Check out the first stop for Peter as he heads into the proverbial danger zone with a mission to be a gospel witness to the ends of the earth.
9:32Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. 36Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40But Peter put them all, outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
10:1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5Now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 9The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. 17Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is 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.” 23So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
#1: PETER MEETS A PARALYTIC IN LYDDA (9:32 – 35)
The first place we see Peter going is a place called Lydda (vv. 32 – 35) where he meets an eight-year paralytic named Aeneas, he heals him miraculously (similar to Jesus healing a paralytic at Bethesda in John 5), and then because of this miracle, the text tells us that “all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord” (v. 35).
The significant thing we need to notice here is that Peter is no longer ministering in the comfort of his own hometown in Jerusalem; he is literally out of his comfort zone, in the danger zone, ministering in a pagan environment that would have typically been avoided at all costs by any serious religious person, but God is showing us that his power operates even in the places we tend to avoid based upon our own prejudices.2
What places or people have you been avoiding because of your fear of the differences or the dirtiness you perceive to be present? Could it be possible that even your own spiritual growth (not to mention the extension of the gospel) has been limited because of your unwillingness to run into the danger zone of your own prejudices on behalf of the kingdom of God? Notice where Peter goes next.
#2: PETER FINDS A DEAD WOMAN IN JOPPA (9:36 – 43)
In the next chunk of our text (vv. 36 – 43), Peter goes to Joppa at the invitation of some of the disciples who heard he was near and upon his arrival he finds a dead woman named Tabitha who was deeply loved by the believers there because of her charitable acts as she labored to help keep the widows fully clothed. We know that Peter heals her in a very similar fashion to the Lord Jesus who healed Jairus’ daughter back in Mark chapter 5 – and even the original language of both Jesus’ healing and Peter’s healing sound similar to the ear: Peter said “Tabitha kumi” (Tabitha arise) and Jesus said “Talitha kumi” (little girl, I say to you, arise).
The point here is that Jesus’ ministry and Peter’s ministry are undeniably similar; it is as though Jesus is carbon copying (or imaging) his own ministry by the power of the Spirit through the lives of his people in places that they would naturally avoid. And of course, we know that the outcome of this is that this miracle “became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43And he [Peter] stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner” (v. 42 – 43) which is even more evidence of God moving Peter even further outside his comfort zone because a tanner’s house was known to be a filthy, stinky, place that would require tons of cleansing rituals for a Jewish religious person. The text literally begs us to examine our prejudices that are based upon our perceived differences or our perception of filthiness. And if this is not enough, the Spirit of God moves the story even further in the next section of the text.
#3: GOD REACHES OUT TO A GENTILE NAMED CORNELIUS (10:1 – 8)
Unbeknownst to Peter, God is orchestrating his next encounter in the background (vv. 10:1 – 8) as God reaches out to a gentile centurion named Cornelius (a man who would be considered a complete outsider in terms of who is in and who is out, in regards to the community of faith).
Cornelius is basically part of the early Italian Mob, but he is also a God-fearing man who was generous and prayerful (vv. 1 – 2). God comes to Cornelius in a vision and instructs him to send some men to fetch Peter from Joppa and Cornelius, being a soldier as well as the commander of soldiers, immediately obeys the Lord’s instructions as he chooses some men and sends them on their way.
Once again, the significance of this cannot be dismissed; God is sending some despised Italian Mob members to fetch the righteous and pious minister named Peter and the immediate obedience of Cornelius is something we all need to take note of. It begs us to consider our own levels of eager obedience as it pertains to making disciples in places that we consider to be uncomfortable, different, or filthy; places we consider to be the danger zones. How eager are we to obey the Lord as it pertains to his mission to seek and to save the lost in places that we typically avoid?
#4: PETER HAS A VISION OF COMMON/UNCLEAN THINGS (10:9 – 23)
If Peter (and if we) are still holding onto any forms of prejudice, fear, or barriers in terms of where and how we engage the mission of the gospel, God makes it absolutely clear that our boundaries are not always his boundaries as he gives Peter a vision of quote unquote common or unclean things in this final portion of the text (vv. 9 – 23).
God uses Peter’s physical hunger to show him a vision of things that had historically been regarded as things to avoid eating because of they were common or unclean. For centuries, the Jewish people had been accustomed to avoiding things that God had said were filthy – such as certain foods, certain behaviors, and even certain people. But now God is showing Peter that he is in the business of saving people, even amongst the filthiest of places and filthiest of things and that we should not place a barrier in between ourselves and those filthy places that are full of filthy people. God confirms this when he says, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (v. 15).3
Peter seems to get the point after the vision plays on repeat three times (maybe reminding him of his own threepeat prior betrayal of Christ) solidifying the seriousness of the need for obedience as he places his trust in his own captain – Christ – to lead him into the danger zone of mission despite his own differences and prejudices. Peter’s faithful obedience is highlighted when Cornelius’ guys show up and we are told that Peter “invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him” (v. 23). Once again, we are confronted with what it looks like to be obedient to God in our participation of his mission to seek and to save the lost in the danger zone of our own differences and prejudices.
CONCLUSION…
In conclusion we have to ask, why this matters to us; what difference this should make on our lives. A passage like this should definitely make us evaluate the places and the people we typically avoid because of our perceived differences or our perception of the filthiness of a place or its people.
In reference to what Peter experienced in his vision as he ministered outside the comfort zone in the proverbial danger zone, another preacher had these things to say about our avoidance of certain places and certain people:
“…we also bundle up whole nations of men and throw them into that same unclean sheet. Whole churches that we know nothing about but their bad names that we have given them, are in our sheet of excommunication also. All the other denominations of Christians in our land are common and unclean to us. Every party outside our own party in the political state also. We have no language contemptuous enough wherewith to describe their wicked ways and their self-seeking schemes. They are four-footed beasts and creeping things. Indeed, there are very few men alive, and especially those who live near us, who are not sometimes in the sheet of our scorn; unless it is one here and one there of our own family, or school, or party. And they also come under our scorn and our contempt the moment they have a mind of their own, and interest of their own, and affections and ambitions of their own.”4
What this old preacher is saying is that our prejudices, our self-imposed limits on the gospel, our refusal to engage those whom we deem to be too different or too filthy for our time, knows no bounds. And the remedy for us to repent and to run to Christ once again as we remember that Jesus left his perfect place in heaven to come to this filthy, sin-soaked, place called earth where sinners have created the most dangerous zone of all. Jesus came willingly to this place for you and I and he sealed his mission trip into the danger zone with his own shed blood and broken body at the cross of Calvary – the filthy place of the skull or the filthy place of death; a place that far outweighs the filthy places or different places we avoid even now.
That old preacher I quoted a few moments ago, also said this:
“it would change your whole heart and life this very night if you would take Peter and Cornelius home with you and lay them both to heart. If you would take a four-cornered napkin when you go home, and a Sabbath-night pen and ink, and write the names of the nations, and the churches, and the denominations, and the congregations, and the ministers, and the public men, and the private citizens, and the neighbors, and the fellow-worshippers – all the people you dislike, and despise, and do not , and cannot, and will not, love. Heap all their names into your unclean napkin, and then look up and say, ‘Not so, Lord, I neither can speak well, nor think well, nor hope well, of these people. I cannot do it, and I will not try.’ If you acted out and [spoke] out all the evil things that are in your heart in some such way as that, you would thus get such a sight of yourselves that you would never forget it.”5
Maybe the Lord has spoken to you through this sermon and you can see the faces of the people beginning here at home in your own church that have neither welcomed nor invited into your life; you give them a passing glance on Sunday mornings but you have not invested yourself into their lives by inviting them into your home or spending time in their home or even simply getting their contact info and shooting them a welcome message or offering to pray for them.
And maybe there are people and places you have judged as being outside your calling because they make you uncomfortable or because they make you feel filthy and so you have made excuses for a very long time and now it is just normal for you to pretend to love the outsider while not really loving in any tangible ways at all.
I think, that if the Lord is convicting of any sin regarding your involvement with the mission of the gospel, you should first think upon the work of Christ as he left perfection to enter into the danger zone of our sin-filled world with your picture in his pocket as he journeys toward the cross with joy in his heart. Begin there and then commit yourself this week to reaching out to someone right here in your own Jerusalem (this church family) as well as someone in your Samaria (someone you have avoided outside this church family for a very long time).
Ask God to forgive you for your sin and to strengthen you with the presence of his Spirit and then get going in obedient trust that he will answer and that he will do miraculous things in and through you as you not only kneel at the foot of the bloody cross, and look through the doorway of the empty tomb, and hold fast to the hope of heaven, but also courageously and obediently get on mission in the danger zone. If you would jump into this truth – that outside the doors of this church building is mission begins and then get after it with all the energy the Spirit gives you, I promise you, you will experience things that you never thought you would experience because you would experience the power of God to seek and to save the lost through you. – Amen!
1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).
2 Kent, Hughes, Acts: The Church Afire, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 1996), 142 – 143.
3 Ibid., 144 – 146.
4 Ibid., 146.
5 Ibid., 148.