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The following article is an excerpt from a 2008 sermon given by Cole Brown.

I have spent most of my life as a nerd. And I have very vivid memories of what that looked like, especially in my middle-school and high-school days. My least favorite part of the school day was lunchtime. That was everyone else’s favorite part of the day, right? Everybody was excited to sit down and talk with their friends at lunch. But lunchtime was miserable for me. Because I didn’t really have anyone to sit down and talk with. I remember often walking into the cafeteria with my lunch and scanning the room for a place to sit. I would see the girl I had a crush on and I would want to go sit by her. But there was no seat at the table for me. I would see the guys who I admired and I would want to go sit by them. But there was no seat at the table for me. Finally, I would see the nerds who gathered together at the far table. But there was no seat at the table for me there, either. Sometimes I was just too much of a nerd even for the other nerds. On most days there was no seat at any table for me so many times I would end up eating my lunch outside and alone. I think it goes without saying that this was painful for me.

Unfortunately, this type of division and separation doesn’t end with high-school. Certainly it takes on different forms as we get older but it still remains. Some of us still feel like outcasts. Some of us still feel like we’re excluded from the table. And some of us still create these divisions. We still want to separate ourselves from certain groups of people or certain types of people. So which of these are you? Are you the one who often feels excluded from the table? Or are you the one who excludes others from the table? You probably don’t want to hear this but most of us are both. God’s Word has a lot to say about this. We’ll see this t as we look at the story of Peter and Cornelius found in Acts 9:32-11:18.

The Prologue

The story of Peter and Cornelius is the longest narrative found in the entire book of Acts. As Luke tells us this true story he takes us from one location to another, from one scene to another, much like a movie. And, much like a movie, this narrative is packed with tension and conflict. This tension and conflict produces change in these characters so that by the end not one of them is the same as they were at the beginning.

The prologue directs our attention to Peter. In Lydda he found a man who was paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. He healed him in the name of Jesus Christ and people all over the city turned to faith in the Lord. He remained in Lydda telling people about Jesus until two men from Joppa came to him and urged him to come back to Joppa with them. He did. And when he arrived he saw Dorcas lying dead while women mourned. Peter prayed for her, Jesus raised her from the dead, and people throughout Joppa turned to faith in the Lord. And Peter stayed in Joppa, continuing to tell people about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. The prologue presents Peter to us as a powerful witness of Jesus Christ. As one who went from place to place preaching Jesus and healing people in his name – even raising one woman from the dead. That’s impressive, isn’t it? Well, as impressive as that is, it is nothing compared to what Peter will do as this story unfolds.

Scene 1 – Cornelius’ Vision

Fade in to scene one to reveal Cornelius in prayer at three in the afternoon. He is introduced to us as an admirable character. We are told that he and all his family were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to all who were in need and he prayed regularly to the True God. In other words, Cornelius was sympathetic to the theology of the Jews and the ethics of the Jews. And all of this is very significant. Because Cornelius is not a Jew. He’s a Gentile. Even worse, he is a Roman Centurion, meaning he commands the army that occupies Israel. Worse still, he lives in Caesarea. The Jews hated Caesarea. They called it “the daughter of Edom,” partially because the city had more Gentiles than Jews. So it is interesting that we find Cornelius praying at 3 in the afternoon, one of the traditional Jewish prayer times. And it is beyond interesting – it is amazing – to see how his prayers are answered.

In the midst of his prayer God gave Cornelius a vision. Cornelius distinctly saw an angel of God who came to him and called him by his name. “Cornelius!” As should be expected Cornelius stared at him in fear. He asked, “What is it Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” The angel did not tell Cornelius why he should send for Peter. He did not tell him what Peter was supposed to do for him, or what Peter was supposed to tell him. The information he gave him was sparse at best. But here we see again Cornelius’ faith, we see again his trust in the God of Israel, though he himself was not a Jew. Because Cornelius does not wait to act until he receives specifics. Cornelius acts in response to the little revelation he has been given. Let me say that again: Cornelius acts in response to the little revelation he has been given. He called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants and he sent them to Joppa to bring back Peter, just as the angel had told him to do.

Scene 2 – Peter’s Vision

Fade out of Caesarea and fade into scene two to reveal Peter, in Joppa, praying on the roof. Now, if you drove by my house and saw me praying on the roof you might think was something was wrong with me. And there would be something wrong with me because I have a debilitating fear of heights. So much so that I find it hard to even stand on a chair to change a light bulb. But my fears and inadequacies are not the point. The point is that praying on the roof was a normal practice in Peter’s day and time. The roofs were flat and there were stairs outside of the house leading up to them. So Peter is praying on the roof and as he is praying he receives a vision, just as Cornelius received a vision as he prayed. Peter saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. As Peter saw this image he heard a voice, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” The text tells us that Peter was hungry and he did want to eat – but he wasn’t going to eat that. So Peter replied, “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Now, Peter’s not just being a picky eater as some have accused me of being. Peter is also not just trying to be a good Portlander and turn vegan. Peter’s trying to be a good Jew. As a Jew he knew that many of the animals before him had been deemed unclean and impure in Old Testament Law. And the dietary laws of the Old Testament were not a matter of preference or even health. They were a matter of identity, a matter of holiness and purity. Peter refuses to eat the food before him because Peter wants to obey God. But God is now speaking to Peter and giving him new revelation. The voice speaks again, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Notice that the voice doesn’t say, “Do not call anything impure that is clean.” He says, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” It’s not that Old Testament Laws were always invalid. It is that something has changed. God has taken what was previously impure and he has made it clean. “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean,” the voice says. And then, to emphasize just how serious this message is, God gives Peter the same vision three times. Little does Peter know, God has sent him this vision to prepare him for what will come next.

Scene 3 – The Messengers Arrive

Fade out from Peter’s roof and fade into scene three to reveal Cornelius’ messengers arriving at the gate. Unbeknownst to Peter the men begin to call out, asking for a Simon called Peter. Jump cut to Peter, still on the roof, contemplating the meaning of the vision when he hears the Holy Spirit speak clearly, “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.” Peter is given very little information, just as Cornelius was. He’s not told who these men are, or why he should go with them, or where they’re going, or what he should do once they arrive at their destination. But he decides to go down and introduce himself to these strangers. Not because he’s crazy. But because, like Cornelius, he trusts in God. Tracking shot of Peter standing to his feet, walking down the stairs, and calling out to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” At this point Peter finally gets some specific information. “We have come from Cornelius the centurion,” they answered. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Peter still doesn’t know precisely what’s going on. But he knows God is in this. And he’s beginning to see that his vision has something to do with this. So he invites them into the house and the next day he sets out with them toward Caesarea.

Scene 4 – Peter and Cornelius Meet

Fade out of Joppa, fade into scene four to an interior shot of Cornelius’ home in Caesarea. His house is packed with all of Cornelius’ relatives and close friends. He’s brought them there to hear the message God will speak to him through Peter. And as Peter walks through the door he sees Cornelius and he sees all of his guests and he still enters the house. Now you might think, “Well, yeah, why wouldn’t Peter enter the house. That’s what he came there for.” And that’s true. But Peter also wanted to live as a faithful Jew. And as a faithful Jew it was unlawful for Peter to walk into a houseful of Gentiles and visit with them. To do so would make Peter unclean. It would make him impure. It’s almost impossible to overemphasize the severity of this division. To put it simply, there was no place at Peter’s table for Gentiles. And Cornelius, and his relatives, and his friends knew this. So when Peter walked into the house they must have been baffled. They must have been asking themselves, “Why? Why is this Jewish man coming into our home? Doesn’t he know we’re not Jewish?” Of course he did. And in any other circumstance Peter would not have been there. But something had changed. Something had changed in the way God dealt with his people. Something had changed in Peter. And this was clear as he began to speak, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with Gentiles or visit them. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.” This is the pivotal verse of this entire narrative. “God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.” The gravity of this statement is overwhelming. Peter is saying that the Law – the Jewish Law – has been made void. And that now Gentiles have a place at the table with Jews, and people of any and all types have a place at the table with God. In the verses that follow Peter will explain how Jesus made this possible. He does that by preaching the gospel. The gospel that gives men and women a seat at the table with God. The gospel that gives men and women a seat at the table with each other.

That gospel begins with the message of Jesus’ perfect life. Peter explains that Jesus went around doing good and setting people free from their slavery to the devil. Following a discussion of Jesus’ life of righteousness, Peter takes them to the center of the gospel message, he tells them that Jesus – though righteous and innocent – was hung on a cross and killed. But the gospel doesn’t end there, of course. Peter continues to tell them that three days later God raised this same Jesus from the dead and allowed Peter and others to witness the physically resurrected Christ with their own eyes. This gospel, Peter says, has three consequences. First, he says that Jesus commands that the message of his life, death, and resurrection be proclaimed to all people! Second, he says that Jesus is the Judge of the living and the dead, which is a frightening thing. And this is what makes Peter’s third point so glorious. Peter says, third, that everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ receives forgiveness of their sins. In other words, Peter is saying that Jesus Christ has himself fulfilled the demands of the Law and received the wrath that comes from failing to meet the demands of the Law. He did this in our place and then rose from the dead so that our sins could be forgiven and so he could present us to God as clean and acceptable. The dietary laws no longer matter. The national identity of Israel no longer matters. What a person eats does not make them clean or unclean. Where a person is from does not make them pure or impure. Apart from Jesus Christ every single one of us is unclean and impure. But, in Christ, even the filthiest of us is made clean and pure. There is a seat at God’s table for anyone and everyone who gives their trust to Jesus Christ.

Jump cut from Peter to his audience as he continues to speak. In mid-sentence Peter’s speech is interrupted by a houseful of Gentiles praising God and speaking in languages they do not know. Instantaneously, Peter recognizes what has happened. God has filled these Gentile men and women with his Holy Spirit. God has saved these Gentiles. God has made these Gentiles part of his holy community, part of the people of God. And he has done it without demanding that they become Jewish. He has done it without demanding that they be circumcised. He has done it without demanding that they meet a certain standard of righteousness. He has done it without demanding that they change the way they eat, or dress, or groom themselves. He has done it purely and simply on the basis of their faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. Peter recognizes this. So he has every one of them baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And then he stays with them for several days, living with them and eating with them. There was a seat at God’s table for every one of them. And because of that Peter and Cornelius were able to sit at the same table as well.

Scene 5 – The Jewish Christians Approve

Fade out of Cornelius’ house, fade into Jerusalem – scene five — as Peter returns. As we’ve said already tonight, the significance of this event cannot be overemphasized. Jews believed that Gentiles could be saved – but only by becoming Jewish in their culture and in their practice. Until they became Jewish proselytes no Jewish person was to eat with them. Ever. To do so would be to make yourself unclean and impure in God’s eyes. So when Peter returned to Jerusalem the Jewish Christians were upset with him. They criticized him. “You went into the house of the uncircumcised and ate with them,” they said. So Peter told them the whole story. He told them about his vision. He told them about Cornelius’ vision. He told them how the Holy Spirit came upon his Gentile audience just as it came on the Jewish Christians at Pentecost. Then he asked, “If God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” When the Jewish Christians heard this they agreed. “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Even to the Gentiles. They were amazed that God had granted the Gentiles a seat at his table.

Scene 6 – Your Response

Fade out of Jerusalem fade into scene six: Close up. No…extreme close up. On you. Peter and Cornelius’ story is over. But the story is not. The story continues. And now the camera is on you. How will you respond to the story? How will you respond to who Jesus is and what Jesus has done? Will you allow everyone a seat at your table? Will you treat everyone as though they may have a seat at God’s table? Will you – like Peter – repent of your favoritism and prejudice? “Oh, he must be talking to someone else,” you say, “I know I am not prejudiced.”  And that is precisely why we must talk about this. Because, of course, you’re probably not overtly prejudiced. You are not waving the banner of the Ku Klux Klan or of the Black Israelites. But that does not therefore make you innocent. Though you are not overtly prejudiced in all likelihood you have prejudices that you are not even wholly aware of. These prejudices influence where you go to church, where you live, where you send your kids to school, who you date, who you pursue friendships with, how you trust people, how you classify people when you first encounter them, who you share the gospel with, and who you feel most comfortable around. Think about this. Why do you sit where you sit when you go places? Why do you converse with the people you converse with when you’re at work? School? Why? Why do you find it easier to trust some people than others? Why are you open to sharing the gospel with some people but not with others? Why?

As Peter spoke with Cornelius he said these words, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts those from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” In light of that, Peter repented of his favoritism. You must likewise repent of yours. You must repent of your racial favoritism, your tendency to give more attention and trust to those who look like you. You must repent of your cultural favoritism, your tendency to give more attention and trust to those who share your cultural style, language, and values. You must repent of your generational favoritism, your tendency to respond differently to one age group than another. You must repent of your interest favoritism, your tendency to give preferential treatment to people who have the same interests as you. You must repent of your national favoritism, your tendency to give preferential treatment to America and Americans at the expense of other nations. You must repent of your financial favoritism, your tendency to treat those of a certain financial status differently than those of another. You must repent of your lifestyle favoritism, your tendency to treat people differently based on their past or current lifestyle.

You must repent of all favoritism. But the truth is, this is easier said than done. On Friday I found myself in line at the Post Office. There were two clerks serving customers. One of them clearly shared my cultural background. One of them clearly came from a different cultural background. I was next in line. And I thought to myself, “Man, I hope the white lady calls me up first because she’s going to be easier to communicate with.” Moments after I had that thought God reminded me of this story in Acts and I had to repent. This favoritism and prejudice is so deeply ingrained in most of us that we’re not even aware that it exists! We are born into this world at odds with God. And because we’re at odds with God we’re at odds with everything God has created. Including each other. The source of our favoritism, the source of our prejudice, is our idolatry – our desire to find our value and our identity in something other than God himself. And there is no human cure for this problem. No amount of education, no amount of dialogue, no amount of human experience can erase the things that divide us from each other because none of these things can erase the things that divide us from God. The only cure, the only solution, is not a human one but a divine one. And that is this: that God became like us, and came to us, in order to save us. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, who is both fully God and fully man. Jesus did what we’re supposed to do but cannot do. He lived every instant of his life in right relationship with God and, as a result, he lived every instant of his life in right relationship with all of God’s creation. We failed to do this. We couldn’t do this. So he did this for us. He did this so that his righteousness could be counted as our righteousness. Then, Jesus received what we’re supposed to receive upon himself. He received upon himself all of God’s wrath for your favoritism, for your prejudice. He received upon himself all of God’s wrath for all of your sin and rebellion. In doing this, Jesus, who was eternally united with God, willfully separated himself from the Father so that you – who should be eternally separated from God — could now be united with him. The innocent and perfect Jesus was judged. The innocent and perfect Jesus was cast out. The innocent and perfect Jesus was cut off so that you wouldn’t have to be. Jesus willfully excluded himself from God’s table so that you could finally have a seat at God’s table. And then Jesus rose from the dead defeating death, and evil, and sin’s power over us once and for all. Jesus then ascended into heaven where he is right now preparing a banquet for his people where we will sit at the table and feast with God himself, celebrating who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for his people.

You see it doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter if everyone ignores you. It doesn’t matter if everybody seems to love you. It doesn’t matter if the people you know have all rejected you. It doesn’t matter if everyone accepts you. It doesn’t matter how much evil you have done in your life. It doesn’t matter how much good you have done in your life. If you reject Jesus Christ God’s wrath remains upon you and you will be excluded from his table forever. But if you believe in Jesus – if you worship him – God’s wrath has been removed from you and placed on his own son, and you have been adopted as God’s child. If your faith is in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done you have a seat at God’s table right now, you have a seat at God’s table when Jesus returns, you have a seat at God’s table forevermore, and that seat can never be taken away from you.

And because Jesus has made a seat at the table for us we must make a seat at the table for everyone. It’s the appropriate response to what Jesus has accomplished. When Jesus removed the division between you and God he removed the division between you and your brother, between you and your sister. By making peace between you and God Jesus has made peace between you and me so that no matter how different we are we can share a seat at the same table. Peter realized that and Peter repented. Let us do the same. And let this be visible in word and in deed.