Sometimes, in some way we can’t fully explain, we get a vision of something. It may not make sense, but we are certain that it means something significant. Or it may make perfect sense, and clarifies for us what we should be doing. In either case, or some in-between case, we are convinced that it came from beyond us, and that we need to take it seriously as something to follow up with. Sometimes it’s when we’re praying, and asking for clarity, for insight, for discernment.
The 23 verses at the beginning of Acts 10 are about two different people, who have never met before, both having visions while praying, and those visions, we will discover (in the rest of the chapter), line up, and are part of each other.
First, Cornelius, who is not a Jew—doesn’t come to faith in God from that longstanding family and ethnic heritage. He is a Roman soldier, living in Caesarea, and is a “God-fearer”—the term in those days for those who worship the God that Jews worship, but not necessarily with all of the same required ritual practices. Cornelius is very devout, and while praying has a vision of an angel of God, who tells him about a man named Peter, who is staying with another man named Simon. Cornelius is told to send men to Joppa to bring Peter to see him. Caesarea and Joppa are about 35 miles from each other.
Meanwhile in Joppa, Peter, Apostle and one of Jesus’ closest disciples, is praying on the roof of Simon’s home the next day—while the men sent by Cornelius are on their way. Peter also has a vision, and in that vision he is told to kill and eat a variety of animals that are understood in his Jewish faith to be unclean. Peter protests, but the voice says “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” (Acts 10:15b). Three times this happens. Peter doesn’t’ know what to make of this, but when the messengers from Cornelius arrive, beckoning him to go with them to Joppa, Peter knows that he should, and he does. We’ll find out next week that when he meets Cornelius he will understand what this vision meant.
Two men having visions while praying. The one vision is clear—go find this guy and have him come to visit you. The other vision is vivid, repeated three times, and yet mysterious. But both men trust that God is seeking to show them something important, and they trust these visions as coming from beyond themselves.
It doesn’t always happen when we pray, but sometimes when we pray God gives us a clear picture, clear guidance, and we have no doubt what the answer to our prayer is. Other times God gives us an answer, and we know it’s an answer, but discovering just what it means calls us to take some action, to do something, to go somewhere, that we don’t entirely have explained to us—but we know that God is guiding us to do it. That can be a bit scary—not that the first one can’t be, but it gives us more obvious information. But what we need to trust is that God is indeed behind it, and it will be made clear. God is faithful; so should we be.
NEW TESTAMENT Acts 10:1-23
1 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. 2 He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. 3 One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius.’ 4 He stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; 6 he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.’ 7 When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, 8 and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.
9 About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 Then he heard a voice saying, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 14 But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.’ 15 The voice said to him again, a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 16 This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon’s house and were standing by the gate. 18 They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Look, three men are searching for you. 20 Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.’ 21 So Peter went down to the men and said, ‘I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?’ 22 They answered, ‘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.’ 23 So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him.