Yesterday, we were talking about letting the Holy Spirit speak through you – just open your mouth and let Him loose. A few weeks ago, we talked about Peter, blurting out his Big Idea after seeing the Transfiguration.
Something we also know about Peter is that he underwent an amazing change after the crucifixion — or, more accurately, after the “breakfast on the beach” scene, when Jesus appeared to Peter, John and the others after He had risen (John 21).
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day …”
— Acts 2:14-15
And then compare two situations later on, when Peter is called to preach Christ to Cornelius.
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
— Acts 10:34-35
But just before that, when Peter opened his mouth …
In [the great sheet lowered from Heaven] were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter: kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”
— Acts 10:12-15
The difference? Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and there, and when he was speaking to Cornelius and his household and friends, he opened his mouth and let the Holy Spirit do the talking. On the roof of Simon the tanner’s house, where Peter saw the vision of the animals, Peter was speaking from his own mind. He was well-versed in the law, that he was not to touch certain animals, but he resisted an instruction (apparently) from Jesus Himself to eat.
There are a few important angles to consider here. First, you can see how the trip from living in a “religious” background into a full, Spirit-filled relationship with God is a process — not a cataclysmic SHAZOOM! where everything is turned upside-down in your life and you suddenly are no longer the person you used to be. You’re on that road, but you still have a journey to take.
Second, if you look hard enough, you’ll see how the instruction to eat the creatures previously considered “unclean” is not a sudden “180” by God, as if He said, “Remember that bit about ‘thou shalt not eat …’? Ha-ha! Just kidding!” In fact, doesn’t it fit in with the statement that God shows no partiality? Peter is reminded that God intends to bless all of us by cleansing the unclean — and isn’t that what the Cross is all about?
Two Minutes for Cross-Checking! 