The Gentiles have now heard the gospel of Jesus Christ from Peter. The Holy Spirit has fallen on them. They have been baptized in the faith, because God shows no partiality – Jew or Gentile. Peters returns to Jerusalem to a surprising reaction from the Jewish believers:
“Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them’” (Ac 11:1-3).
Here we see a potentially explosive emergence of disunity within the fledgling church of Jesus! Here is the fork in the road to perfect unity. What will determine the outcome? Which fork will they take, and what is the key to making that decision?
They key is: Listen carefully to each other without condemning:
“But Peter began and explained it to them in order: ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat’’’” (Ac 11:4-7).
To try and convey how astonishing this is to Paul, imagine today that Jesus himself commanded your pastor to stop serving communion with bread and wine. You would likely say something akin to Peter’s response:
“But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing uncommon or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven’” (Ac 11:8-10).
Those listening carefully to Peter see that Jesus has given four commands to Peter, three of which are repeatedly exactly. Instead if accusing Peter, I imagine his audience now leaning forward to hear more:
“And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household’” (Ac 11:11-14).
The listeners now see a balanced picture of commands from the Lord. in two completely separate locations to two completely separate peoples, causing them to come together. Peter concludes:
“’As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way’” (Ac 11:15-17)?
If those in Jerusalem had not listened carefully before condemning, the fledgling faith might have never survived, much as many churches today are not surviving. So the timeless lesson for us comes at the very end of Peter’s testimony:
“When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (Ac 11:18).
So what is the sign at the fork in the road to perfect unity that determines whether we divert to the dead end of disunity or not?
Mutual repentance in total submission to the Holy Spirit! This is both a personal and corporate requirement, based on the strong commands of the resurrected Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth.
Meet at the fork in the road and repent – together. We are “common” in our disunity. It is God who makes us “clean” – together, in perfect unity.