"Though Peter was not by training or inclination an overly scrupulous Jew, and though as a Christian his inherited prejudices were gradually wearing thin, he was not prepared to go so far as to minister directly to Gentiles. A special revelation was necessary for that, and Luke now tells how God took the initiative in overcoming Peter's reluctance."435
10:9-10 Most Jews prayed twice a day, but pious Jews also prayed at noon, a third time of prayer (Ps. 55:17; Dan. 6:10). However, Peter may have been praying more because of the recent success of the gospel in Joppa (cf. 9:42) than because praying at noon was his habit.436He probably went up on the flat housetop for privacy and the fresh sea air. Luke's reference to Peter's hunger, which God evidently gave him, explains partially why God couched His vision in terms of food. Food was what was on Peter's mind. Peter's trance (Gr. ekstasis, v. 10) was a vision (horama, vv. 17, 19; 11:5).
". . . on weekdays Jews ate a light meal in mid-morning and a more substantial meal in the later afternoon."437
10:11-13 The sheet-like container, similar perhaps to an awning on the roof or a ship's sail, was full of all kinds of animals, clean and unclean (cf. 11:6). The issue of unclean food was the basic one that separated observant Jews like Peter from Gentiles.
". . . the point is that the Lord's command frees Peter from any scruples about going to a Gentile home and eating whatever might be set before him. It would be a short step from recognizing that Gentile food was clean to realizing that Gentiles themselves were clean' also."438
10:14 Peter resisted the Lord Jesus' command strongly, as Ezekiel had done when he received similar instructions from God (Ezek. 4:14).439He had either not understood or not remembered Jesus' teaching in which He had declared all foods clean (Mark 7:14-19, cf. Rom. 14:14). Peter's "No, Lord,"is, of course, an inconsistent contradiction. Nevertheless Peter's response was very consistent with his impulsive personality and former conduct. He had said, "No,"to the Lord before (cf. Matt. 16:22; John 13:8). His reaction to this instruction reminds us of Peter's similar extreme reactions on other earlier occasions (e.g., John 13:8-9; 21:7). Paul's response to the voice from heaven on the Damascus road had not been negative (9:5-8).
"The cliché, If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all' is simply that--a cliché and not a biblical or theological truth. He can be Lord of aspects of my life while I withhold other areas of my life from His control. Peter illustrated that as clearly as anyone that day on the rooftop when the Lord asked him to kill and eat unclean animals. He said, By no means, Lord' (Acts 10:14). At that point was Christ Lord of all of Peter? Certainly not. Then must we conclude that He was not Lord at all in relation to Peter's life? I think not."440
10:15-16 Peter's Jewish cultural prejudices were overriding the Word of God in his thinking. For this reason God repeated the vision two more times so Peter would be sure he was understanding God's command correctly.
"The threefold repetition might also remind Peter of an interview on a familiar beach [cf. John 21:15-17]."441
"The message pervading the whole [of Peter's vision] . . . is that the disciples are to receive the Gentiles, not beforecleansing, but afterGod has cleansed them as He will do later through the cleansingGospel which Peter will share with them the next day."442
"The particular application had to do with nullifying Jewish dietary laws for Christians in accord with Jesus' remarks on the subject in Mark 7:17-23. But Peter was soon to learn that the range of the vision's message extended much more widely, touching directly on Jewish-Gentile relations as he had known them and on those relations in ways he could never have anticipated."443
I wonder if Peter remembered Jonah as he thought about the mission God had given him of preaching to the Gentiles. God had also called that prophet to carry a message of salvation to the Gentiles in Nineveh, but Jonah had fled from that very city, Joppa, to escape his calling. Now Peter found himself in the same position.
