About a month ago, my son, Daniel, spent two weeks in Kenya on a school-sponsored medical mission trip. While there, he and six other pre-med students from Grove City College worked alongside a Physician’s assistant and a Pediatrician to staff a clinic for the Masai people out in the bush near a village called Lemeck, which I believe is about an 8 hour drive from Nairobi. When he finally got home, Daniel brought us all gifts-and this is mine. It’s a Masai chieftain’s scepter. He carries it with him everywhere he goes in the village he rules, as a symbol of his authority. It’s a spiffed up version of the kind of club all Masai men carry. These clubs are used to prod cattle or bonk lions on the head. I’m thinking of using it at our weekly Staff meetings!
Now, in addition to gifts like this, Daniel of course brought back hundreds of pictures – and my favorite is this one because I think it captures the purpose of his mission trip: (SHOW SLIDE). It’s taken from inside the clinic where the doctors worked and you can see all the people patiently sitting in line outside waiting for medical treatment. Daniel says the Masai people were always there every morning waiting for them to arrive. Many had walked great distances to see a doctor or to bring their child to see a doctor.
While he was in Kenya Daniel kept a daily journal where he chronicled his experience and when he got back he shared it with us. It was very moving to see the experience through his eyes. And after listening to all he had seen and heard and done I noticed that my future-doctor-son had learned a very important lesson-he realized that illness is not always just a PHYSICAL thing. I think he came to this conclusion because of two observations he made while there. First, he saw that several of the people they treated were not physically sick. They were just “infected” with FEAR. They feigned physical illness in order to get medicines because they were AFRAID they might need these medicines later after the clinic was closed. I can understand their fear can’t you?
And then, the second observation that helped Daniel understand this is was his realization that as many as 80% of the physical illnesses that they treated were caused by what you might call a “plague of IGNORANCE”-IGNORANCE as to proper nutrition and basic hygiene. He saw that many of the Masai people lacked enough basic knowledge to see the need to boil water before drinking it or to know how to clean wounds properly. And the fact is, one way doctors heal people who are sick or injured here in the U.S. is by helping them to deal with their FEAR and by teaching them things they need to KNOW to recover.
Sermon:
Well, I’m not a doctor-just a proud dad-but I think the fact that Daniel saw this principle of medical care first hand will make him a better doctor some day. Being a part of this medical mission trip to Kenya was a very eye-opening experience for him. I bring all this up because in this next portion of the book of Acts we read about a time that the Apostle Peter was involved in a “medical mission trip” of his own-one that was VERY eye-opening for this fisherman-turned-Apostle.
A few weeks ago we read about Peter’s visit to Samaria to help Philip with his work, and after that Peter apparently began an itinerant ministry among the dispersed Christians of Judea. I think of this itinerant ministry as a “medical mission trip” because while in Lydda, a town about 25 miles from Jerusalem (MAP) God used him to heal a cripple named Aeneas-a man who had been physically helpless for eight years. Then, Peter’s second “patient” was a devout woman named Dorcas living north of there in a town called Joppa. And Dorcas wasn’t just lame-she had actually died and when her friends learned that Peter was in the area they summoned him. He came and God empowered him to raise her back to life. Well, as in all medical mission trips these healings gave Peter an opportunity to share the gospel. As Acts 9:42 says, all this “…became known all over Joppa and many believed in the Lord.”
So like my son, Peter was having a wonderful medical mission trip experience! But as we begin to read the 10th chapter we learn that Peter himself was ill-and like many of the Kenyans Daniel treated, Peter’s illness was not physical. Plus he wasn’t the only person “infected” with this illness. No-it was VERY widespread. You see, Peter-and many of his fellow Jewish believers-suffered from a particular plague of ignorance that has hurt many millions of people over the millennia. In fact, many people still suffer from this same malady today-it poisons their minds and clouds their thinking. We refer to this plague as PREJUDICE. And-as I said, Peter-and most Jewish believers of his day-were infected. You see, they believed that, as Jews-as God’s chosen people-they were better than anyone else. It was their conviction that everyone could become a Christian but first they must become a Jew.
Now, let’s back up a bit so I can define this illness as simply as I can. Prejudice in any of its many forms is basically a preconceived judgement. It’s the act of classifying people in one way or another and then generalizing our thoughts about them and actions toward them accordingly.
And the sad truth is almost all people suffer from some strain of this evil “plague of ignorance.” In fact let’s do a little self-diagnosis right now so you can see if you’re infected.
What images come into your mind when you think of blacks or whites or Hispanics or Asians? Do you lump them all together in any way? Or…do you categorize people by their clothes or tattoos or the cosmetics they wear or don’t wear? Do you look at someone’s hair color and jump to conclusions about their mental ability?
I’ll do a little confession myself at this point. Many years ago, a couple called and asked if I would do their wedding. I agreed and we scheduled our first pre-marital counseling session. When they showed up bride to be had ORANGE hair and I remember thinking, “She must be an air head-this is going to be a difficult session.” But I was wrong. She was very intelligent-and they were a great couple. She was a beautician and tried out various hair colors to see how they looked before she used them on her customers. And…I really enjoyed getting to know them both and being a part of their big day.
Well, the fact is, my attitude toward her was prejudiced. I PRE-JUDGED her based on her hair color. Have you ever done anything like that? Okay, let’s continue our self-diagnosis. And here’s a touchy one: Do you lump people together according to their political party? Do you ever think ALL Republicans are like this or that OR that ALL Democrats are such and such? Do you make assumptions about people who’s kids are home-schooled or about people who send their kids to public school? How do you feel about people who have failed morally in life? Do you make assumptions about their FUTURE behavior based on their PAST actions? Do you prejudge people who are divorced or who’ve been in psychiatric hospitals?
Perhaps the strain of prejudice that infects your thinking has to do with Christian denominations. You may be like many believers who think their particular denominational acronym is the only one that will be in heaven. This reminds me of a girl that Harry Emerson Fosdick once described. She was VERY proud of her own protestant denomination. In fact when she was told that Jesus was a Jew she lashed out, “Well Jesus may have been a Jew but God is a Baptist!” Think of it. This girl is now in heaven-so she’s learned that all people who put their faith in Jesus are there. I wonder how she felt as she met Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Episcopalians? I wonder how ashamed she was to discover that all denominational acronyms are dropped at the pearly gates? Praise the Lord!
Well, I hope you can see that all of us from time to time suffer from some form of prejudice and the fact is, prejudice in any form is indeed a disabling ailment because it blinds us to the truth. It’s like being in a smoke-filled room-in that it makes it hard for us to see through all the negative preconceptions we’ve had all our lives about certain “types” of people. And Christians should never embrace this evil way of thinking. We should know better. As Chuck Colson once said,
“Certainly evil is to be expected in a fallen world. What is not expected is for a holy people to accept it.” So, once we realize we are “infected” with prejudice we should immediately seek treatment!
Now-one thing Daniel and his fellow classmates did in Kenya was study disease…
…so as to know HOW to treat it-so let’s do a little of that this morning.
Let’s study Peter’s particular form of this disease-his prejudice toward Gentiles. Perhaps our study will help us to find healing for our own strain of this malady. So, how did this ailment that plagued so many Jews of Peter’s day get started? Well, like all forms of prejudice, this one was TAUGHT and Peter “learned” his prejudice toward Gentiles from his parents and peers. You see, they believed that anything other than a Jew or anything touched by anyone other than a Jew was unclean. It was much like the game of “cooties” that we used to play as children. But this was no game. From childhood Peter had been taught to DESPISE anything Gentile.
Alfred Edersheim does a good job at describing the extent of the “inbred” prejudice that Jews like Peter held against Gentiles. Listen to what he says:
“Every Gentile child, so soon as born was to be regarded as unclean…The Mishnah goes so far as to forbid aid to a Gentile mother in the hour of her need or nourishment for her baby, in order not to bring up another child for idolatry…It was not considered safe to leave cattle in their charge, to allow their women to nurse Jewish infants, or their physicians to attend the sick, nor to walk in their company…They and theirs were defiled; their houses unclean, as containing idols or things dedicated to them; their very contact, was polluted by idolatry; Milk drawn by a heathen, if a Jew had not been present to watch it was unclean, bread and oil prepared by them, was unlawful. Their wine was wholly forbidden…the mere touch of a heathen, polluted a whole cask; even to put one’s nose to heathen wine was strictly prohibited.”
So understand. This prejudice was so strong that most Jews would have nothing to do with Gentiles. They would not be guests in Gentile homes or invite Gentiles to their homes. Dirt from a Gentile country was considered defiled, and a Jew would shake it off his sandals before entering the borders of Israel. Jews would not eat food prepared by Gentile hands. Cooking utensils purchased from a Gentile had to be purified before being used. Jews of this day even had huge pools called “Mikvehs” that were designated for washing Gentile furniture-tables and chairs-before Jews could “safely” use it. In short, Gentiles were considered completely unclean and their presence defiling. You may remember our study of how the Jews felt about Samaritans-but understand, as much as the Jews hated the Samaritans, it was nothing in comparison to their feelings about Gentiles. I guess they thought, “At least a Samaritan is HALF-Jewish!”
Now, Peter was a Christian but he still thought like a Jew, so as I said earlier he believed God could not save a Gentile as a Gentile. First that person had to “clean” himself up by becoming a Jew-only then God would save him. Now, you may be thinking, “Well, pastor, what about those Gentiles in the Old Testament that God used? What about Rahab from Jericho or Ruth from Moab?” Well, if you’re thinking that, you’re pretty sharp because both of these Gentiles became heros of Judaism-BUT ONLY AFTER EMBRACING THE JEWISH FAITH! Do you remember Ruth’s bold affirmation to her mother-in-law? “Your people shall be my people and your God my God.” In other words, Ruth became a Jew. So did Rahab.
Now to fully comprehend this chapter of church history, we must understand that this hatred of Gentiles was deeply ingrained in Peter and the other Jewish believers. And the fact is, prejudice is very powerful. I mean once you are taught to embrace this way of thinking it is very difficult to stop it-to stop being prejudiced. This reminds me of an episode from the old TV show, Star Trek Voyager. The second in command, Chakaotay crash landed on a planet embroiled in a war between two races. One race captured him and brainwashed him to think the other race was evil and cruel-which they weren’t. But he was taught they were the most horrible group of people in the universe. Well, he was eventually rescued by his shipmates on Voyager who had sided with the true “good guys”-the race of beings that he had been taught were his “enemy.” His fellow Star Fleet crewmen explained to him the truth of the planetary conflict and how he had been brainwashed. Then they introduced him to the ambassador from the race he has been fighting- the man from “the other side” who had in fact been helping the Voyager crew rescue Chakotay.
But when he met his former “enemy” he was repulsed so much that stormed out of the room.
Captain Janeway followed him and asked him to explain his rude behavior. He said, “I guess it is easier to START hating than it is to STOP.” And that is true.
As we see here in Peter’s situation, it is much easier to START hating someone based on your prejudice than it is to stop. Perhaps that’s because we are fallen creatures who are “bent” toward sinful behavior-but it’s one reason prejudice is an “illness” that is very difficult to cure. Just like instantly healing that man who had been crippled for eight years or raising Dorcas from the dead-to heal prejudice requires the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit of God.
Well, the good news is that the Spirit was already working on Peter-already “treating” him. In fact, Acts 9 shows that he was making some progress because while in Joppa he was the houseguest of a tanner named Simon. And this WAS progress because tanners were considered “unclean” by Jewish rabbis since their line of work forced them to touch dead animals-which in their minds made him unclean. I mean Simon the Tanner would have been shunned at the local synagogue. But since he was a believer Peter accepted him. So, Peter WAS moving in the right direction-even though he had a long way to go before he experienced complete recovery.
Now, we’re picking up in Acts 9:32 and at this point in his history book, Luke takes us from Joppa, where Peter was staying, to Caesarea which was about 30 miles north. (MAP) Caesarea was the headquarters for the Roman procurator. An cohort-about 600 seasoned soldiers-was stationed there to protect him and to keep order. Now a Roman cohort was divided into groups of one hundred men and in charge of each group there was a noncommissioned officer called a centurion. These centurions were held in high esteem in the ancient world because they were the backbone of the Roman army. One historian said:
“Centurions are required not to be bold and adventurous so much as good leaders of steady and prudent mind, not prone to take the offensive or start fighting wantonly, but able when overwhelmed and hard pressed to stand fast and die at their post.”
This is not the only time we meet a centurion in the New Testament and whenever they are mentioned they always they are highly commented. You may remember one came into contact with Jesus and our Lord said, “I tell you the truth I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (Matthew 9:10) Well in Acts 10 we meet a centurion like this-his name was Cornelius who had great faith-faith in our God, the God of the Hebrews.
Luke refers to Cornelius as a “God-fearer” which meant that although he worshiped Jehovah, he had not been circumcised so as to become a full-fledged Jew. God-fearers like himself were allowed to attend the synagogue but they had to sit in the back-much as African Americans were treated in the 50’s and 60’s when they were forced to sit in the back or in the balcony of churches.
Anyway, unlike most Romans who were polytheistic-worshiping many gods-Cornelius chose to serve the one God of the Jews and not only in word but in deed as well. You see Cornelius was a Godly man-a true seeker, sincerely desiring to not only know ABOUT God but to KNOW God. And God responded to his seeking by sending an angel to him. Look at verse 4 where the angel says:
“Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
As a soldier, Cornelius knew how to obey orders so immediately he called two of his servants and another God-fearing soldier and dispatched them to Simon’s house in Joppa. Well-at this precise moment Peter was 30 miles south in Joppa on the roof praying. It was about lunch time and while he is waiting for his meal to be prepared he fell into a trance and God gave him a vision-one that I’m sure you are familiar with. Peter saw a four-cornered sheet coming down out of the sky and it was filled with all kinds of food-but not all of it was kosher. There was ham and lobster and snakes and other meat that the Jews considered unclean. Peter heard a voice from heaven say, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat.” (Vs 13) Peter’s response was “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unclean.” (Vs 14) The Lord’s response was, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (Vs 15) Well, God had to repeat this vision three times before Peter began to see through his prejudice and understand. Think of it as multiple rounds of antibiotics, required to kill a certain bacteria.
Well, just as Peter is beginning to understand-just as he was beginning to think, “Oh yes, I get it! Four corners of the sheet…four corners of the earth…all people are equal in God’s sight.”
Well, just as these thoughts were entering his head there was a knock on the door and God said,
“Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” (Vs 20) And, remember, these three men were Gentiles. So really God was saying, “Simon, guess who’s coming to dinner!?”
Now, in his response to this surprise company Peter showed he was indeed beginning to heal-God’s treatment was working-because Peter did something no Jew would ever do. He invited these three “unclean” Gentiles into his house. Most Jews would have said, “Nice to meet you, but let’s talk out here on the street.” or “There’s a Motel 6 outside of town.” But Peter invited them in as his guests and even gave them lodging for the night. The next morning Peter and some of the Jewish Christians joined the three Gentiles and set out for Cornelius’ home in Caesarea. (MAP) It was probably the first time Peter had ever journeyed with Gentiles. I imagine as they walked along he thought, “Hey these Gentiles are humans after all. They’re not so different!” And then, when they arrived Peter showed another indication that he had indeed embraced God’s way of thinking because Cornelius bowed down before the Apostle and Peter said, “Stand up, I am only a man-just like you..”
I also want you to note that Cornelius was ready for Peter. According to verse 27, he had gathered a large group of people to hear what Peter had to say. He had apparently calculated how long it would take Peter to get there and had enlisted a house full of fellow seekers, waiting, hungry to hear the gospel. This should teach us that our almighty God always goes before us in every witnessing encounter. I mean, we are never on our own when we share our faith because as Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him.” And, as Peter learned when he arrived, several people in Caesarea had been responding to God’s DRAWING. Well, when they sat down Cornelius explained the angel’s visit 4 days prior and that’s where I’d like us to start reading so take your Bibles and turn to Acts 10. We’ll begin with verse 34.
34 -Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35 – but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
36 – You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, Who is Lord of all.
37 -You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-
38 -how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.
39 – “We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him by hanging Him on a tree,
40 -but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen.
41 -He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen-by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.
42 -He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 -All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
Now, at this point in his sermon-which as you can see was the basic Gospel message-Cornelius and his friends respond by putting their faith in Jesus-they received the Holy Spirit and as you and I know we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion. Well, this puzzled the Jewish Christians who had come with Peter-because they also knew that if the Holy Spirit was in these Gentiles then they had indeed become Christians. They had been thinking these Gentiles would have to become Jews first-including being circumcised. In fact, I imagine they had been sharpening their knives all the way to Caesarea. So, like Peter, their prejudice was healed. They learned that God really IS no respecter of persons.
Okay, how did God do this? I mean, what exactly was His treatment? How did He cure Peter and his friends of his mental malady?
Well, the fact is, God patiently led them to understand three basic truths-truths that we need to embrace if we are to be healed of our own prejudice-freed from this kind of thinking. Remember, as Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) Let’s review quickly these three FREEING truths that Peter and his peers learned.
1. First, they learned that God LOVES all people the same.
You see to be freed of his prejudice Peter had to realize that God’s love is for ALL people-that the Jews were chosen-but chosen to tell the entire world of God’s great love. I mean, in the same way that an older child he has to learn that his parents love his younger siblings just as much as they love Him, Peter had to realize that God loves all people in the world equally.
If you’ve been a member here at Redland for any length of time then you know we have a lot of Texan members-and most of them seem to be very proud of their state. This week I read about a popular bumper sticker in the Long Horn State that says, “Texan by the grace of God.” And that just about sums up how most Texans feel. They are proud of their home state-and, like our Youth Minister, they are especially proud of their football team! In fact, I’ve been told that the reason Texas Stadium has a huge opening at the top is so God can watch His FAVORITE football team play. Well, this is the kind of attitude many Jews had in the 1st Century. They knew they were God’s chosen people-but they thought that meant they were God’s FAVORITE people. And God used this experience in Acts 10 to help Peter learn that His God was not only the God of the Jews but of all people-that as Jesus had said, “For God so loved THE WORLD-not just the Jews-that He sent His only Son…”
This fact is, this is something we must understand if our prejudicial thinking is to be corrected. God loves everyone the same. He doesn’t have favorites. He doesn’t favor America over other nations or one race over another or men over women or rich over poor. It doesn’t matter who you are. God loves you as much as He does everyone else. Anyone can know Him. Anyone can experience His love. Anyone can be forgiven. Anyone can do His will. Anyone can talk to Him in prayer. Anyone can live a life that brings Him glory. Last week we talked about God’s love as being unconditional. Well this morning I hope you learn that it is also UNIVERSAL and UNBIASED. God genuinely, passionately, loves everyone the same. Okay, the second thing Peter had to learn to be cured of his prejudice was this…
2. God JUDGES all people the same.
As Peter said in verse 42, Jesus “…is the One Whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” In other words Jesus will judge anyone-living and dead-regardless of their skin color or education or how good a life they live-He will judge all people equally.
In 1994 three American citizens conspired together to smuggle heroin from Thailand into the United States. They were all caught but in different places. The person caught in the United States was given a 2 year suspended sentence and sent to rehab. The one caught in Holland spent two years in a Dutch prison. The one caught in Thailand was sentenced to death. Same crime, three different punishments because the idea of justice differs from nation to nation. In America it differs from state to state and even from judge to judge. And, we can argue till we’re blue in the face over which judge or which nation is “right”-but the fact remains that there is tremendous inequity whenever we try to administer justice. Some have rightfully argued that in courtrooms across our nation, rich have the advantage over the poor, and whites over everyone else. But praise the Lord, it doesn’t work that way with God. Human courts may fail at administering justice, but God judges everyone the same with absolute fairness.
And, the fact is we will all be judged equally by one thing and one thing only-whether or not we repented of our sin and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We will not be judged by race or nationality or denomination or intellect or prestige or by how much good we did. No, we will all be equally judged by our response to the cross of Christ. Like many of you, I stayed tuned to President Reagan’s funeral and however you feel about his politics you must admit he was a much-admired man. Leaders from all over the world came to pay their respects. He was greatly-loved and did a great deal of good-but Ronald Reagan entered heaven in the same way you or I will because of his faith in Jesus Christ. He would tell you today that he received no special treatment. He was judged on that one decision alone. All people are judged that same way.
And, as Christians, we must never forget this. We are all sinners-equally dependent on the grace of God. Harry Ironside tells a personal story about the death of his father. As his dad was dying, he kept muttering something and the family couldn’t quite understand what it was. But finally they realized that the elder Mr. Ironside was thinking about this vision of Peter’s-the sheet full of animals. He was saying, “A great sheet and wild beasts and, and …” He couldn’t quite finish it. A friend bent over and whispered, “John, the Bible says, ‘creeping things.'” “Oh, yes,” he said.”That’s how I got in. Just a poor good for nothing creeping thing…but I got in, saved by grace.” To be cured of his prejudice, Peter had to understand this basic truth-that God judges all of us equally because all of us have sinned and fallen short of His glory.
And this leads to the final truth Peter had to understand…
3. God offers SALVATION to everyone the same.
As John 3:16 says, “For God so-loved the world that He sent His only Son that WHOSOEVER believes…” God’s arms are open for any sinner who will come to Him in repentance. Like the old chorus goes, “WHOSOEVER will, may come!” And we know Peter understood this truth because in verse 43 he said to Cornelius and the other Gentile seekers, “Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins in His name.” And years later in his 2nd epistle Peter put it this way, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Salvation is offered to anyone the same way-in Jesus’ name. It doesn’t matter what your race is or how much money you have or how intelligent you are or how good looking you’re not. God offers YOU salvation-salvation through His Son. So the fact is, it’s not who you are, it’s Who you know. That’s what really matters!
You know, every year Macintosh sponsors a computer convention called “MacWorld”. Thousands of dealers and distributors and software developers attend. One year one of the scheduled speakers was STEVE JOBS, one of the founders of Apple Computers-Macintosh. Well, in order to get into the convention you had to have a convention ID badge. Steve left his at the hotel that day and didn’t realize it until he got to the convention center. “No problem,” he thought. “After all, I’m Steve Jobs.” Unfortunately the security guard at the door didn’t recognize him and refused to let him in without a badge. One of Jobs assistants offered to let him use his badge but when the security guard heard this, he threatened to have them both arrested. After a flurry of frantic calls on their cell phones, the Mac people were finally able to locate the security guard’s boss, who came to the main entrance. Steve Jobs knew this man, and he was finally let in to speak at his own convention. So you see, it didn’t matter that he was founder of the company, if Steve Jobs had not known the security guard’s boss, he never would have gotten in the door. In the same way, it doesn’t matter who you are-it only matters Who you know.
Invitation:
Well, let me ask you-do you KNOW Jesus? Have you prayed to Him and admitted that, just like everyone else, you are a sinner in need of His forgiveness? If not, then do so right now. Come to the ground at the foot of the cross-it is the level-and ask Jesus to forgive you and then invite Him into your heart and life as Savior and Lord. And-if you’re already a Christian-but you realize that you are infected with prejudice, you need to kneel at that level ground at the food of the cross as well and ask for God’s forgiveness and healing. Ask Him to heal you as He did Peter. You may even need to go to someone and ask for their forgiveness so that your relationship with him or her can be healed.