What does "Get up, Peter, kill and eat" reveal about God's new covenant? Setting the Scene - Acts 10 narrates Peter’s rooftop vision in Joppa. While praying, “he became hungry and wanted something to eat” (Acts 10:10). - “And a voice spoke to him: ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat!’ ” (Acts 10:13). - Three times the sheet descends; three times the command is given (Acts 10:16). God drives home a pivotal truth about the new covenant through repetition. Breaking the Old Food Barrier - Under the Mosaic Law, Israel lived by strict dietary boundaries (Leviticus 11). - The new covenant inaugurates the end of ceremonial distinctions: • “What God has made clean, you must not call impure” (Acts 10:15). • Jesus had already hinted at this shift: “Whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated… thus He declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:18-19). - The vision’s immediate impact: Peter hosts Gentile messengers (Acts 10:23) and enters Cornelius’s home—actions unthinkable under prior restrictions. Unfolding the Larger Purpose - Food symbolizes people. God’s command abolishes not merely food taboos but the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. - Peter’s confession sums it up: “God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean” (Acts 10:28). - The gospel now extends freely: “God shows no favoritism, but welcomes from every nation the one who fears Him” (Acts 10:34-35). Confirming the Covenant Shift - Gentiles receive the Spirit exactly as Jewish believers did (Acts 10:44-47). - This fulfills prophetic expectation: • Jeremiah 31:31-34 promised a new covenant written on hearts. • Isaiah 49:6 foretold salvation reaching “to the ends of the earth.” - Peter defends his actions before Jerusalem believers by retelling the vision (Acts 11:1-18). His argument rests on God’s clear initiative, not human innovation. Practical Takeaways for Today - God’s cleansing work in Christ is comprehensive—no person is beyond reach. - Cultural or ceremonial boundaries must yield to gospel unity (Ephesians 2:14-16). - Freedom in food underscores freedom in fellowship (Romans 14:1-4). - Obedience sometimes means relinquishing long-held traditions when God’s Word reveals their completion in Christ. Summary “Get up, Peter, kill and eat” marks a decisive turn from old-covenant shadows to new-covenant reality. Through the literal vision, God announces that, in Christ, ceremonial barriers have fallen, the nations are welcomed, and the Spirit is poured out on all who believe. |
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