What is the meaning of Acts 10:28? He said to them Peter has just stepped into the home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion (Acts 10:24–27). The apostle’s opening words are significant, because • They reveal his intentional obedience to the Spirit’s command in Acts 10:19–20. • They set the stage for a groundbreaking moment in which Jews and Gentiles stand under one roof, anticipating the same gospel blessing (Acts 10:33). • Similar moments of bold declaration appear later when Peter recounts the event to Jerusalem believers, “The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation” (Acts 11:12). You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him Peter points to a long-standing barrier: the ceremonial separation that marked Israel as distinct (Leviticus 20:26; Ezra 9:1–2). Though the written Law never strictly forbade entering a Gentile home, rabbinic tradition made such contact socially unthinkable (John 4:9). • This separation underscored God’s holiness and Israel’s call to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). • Yet it could foster pride and prejudice, as later seen when Peter himself drew back from Gentiles “fearing the party of the circumcision” (Galatians 2:12). • The moment highlights how human custom can harden beyond the intent of God’s Law, a pattern Jesus confronted in Mark 7:8–13. But God has shown me Everything pivots on divine revelation, not human reasoning. • The rooftop vision of the sheet (Acts 10:11–16) dismantled long-standing categories: “What God has made clean, you must not call impure” (Acts 10:15). • God’s initiative echoes how He led Philip to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-29) and later Paul to Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10), reinforcing that mission flows from heaven’s command. • The phrase stresses personal transformation: Peter moves from hesitation to conviction, mirroring the gospel’s power to renew minds (Romans 12:2). that I should not call any man impure or unclean Peter interprets the vision correctly: its ultimate target is people, not food. • In Christ, the dividing wall of hostility is broken (Ephesians 2:14-16). • God “made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). • The gospel’s reach fulfills promises that “all the families of the earth” will be blessed through Abraham (Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:8). • While dietary symbols of purity are fulfilled (Mark 7:18-19; Romans 14:14), the call to moral holiness remains (1 Peter 1:15-16). • The scene anticipates the heavenly chorus singing, “You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). summary Acts 10:28 captures the moment God dismantles cultural and ceremonial barriers, opening the door of salvation to Gentiles without requiring them to become Jews first. Peter, once bound by tradition, now stands convinced by divine revelation that no person is beyond the gospel’s reach. The verse affirms God’s impartial grace, the sufficiency of Christ’s cleansing work, and the calling of every believer to welcome all whom God calls clean. |
    |