2 minute read.
Daily Reading: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24 ESV, Acts 10:1-23 ESV, Psalm 133:1-3 ESV, Proverbs 17:7-8 ESV
Daily Verse: “And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” ( Acts 10:15 ESV)
KOINOS (2840): “Is translated “unclean.” Where the perfect participle, passive, is used with the article, hence “them that have been defiled.”[I]
Made clean.
Peter, praying on the roof, had a vision. The heavens opened, and a sheet descended with reptiles and birds. God commands, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat” (Acts 10:13 ESV). But Peter protests because eating these “unclean” animals goes against Levitical law. Three times the vision occurred before God pulled the sheet back to heaven.
For a knowledgeable Jew like Peter, God’s revelation truly baffles him. However, Peter quickly realizes the meaning of the vision:
“You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.” (Acts 10:28 ESV)
Equal in God.
Peter’s vision signifies the equality of man. Jesus’ actions on the cross fulfilled the law once and for all, opening the door for everyone to enter heaven. We know little about the thief on the cross who hung beside Jesus, but we know he’s enjoying paradise.
“And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43 ESV)
Equality in Christ applies to everyone. Ethnicity doesn’t decide entrance into heaven; faith does. God loves all. Whether they love the Lord in return remains their choice. But I believe that if we love others well for Jesus, giving Him the glory, others can’t help but love Christ.
Don’t call common what God calls clean. In Christ, everyone has the opportunity to experience paradise.
[i] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 141) Thomas Nelson
