The Beginning:
Peter is staying in Joppa when a Roman centurion named Cornelius in Caesarea receives a divine message to send for him. Around midday, Peter goes up to pray and becomes hungry, setting the scene for a vision that will reshape his understanding of God’s work.
The Middle:
Peter sees a great sheet lowered from heaven containing all kinds of animals—both those considered “clean” and “unclean” under the Mosaic law. A voice tells him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat,” but Peter refuses, insisting he has never eaten anything common or unclean. The voice replies that what God has made clean must not be called common, and the vision occurs three times. As Peter wonders about its meaning, men sent by Cornelius arrive, and the Spirit directs Peter to go with them without hesitation.
The End:
Peter travels to Caesarea and, in Cornelius’s home, realizes the vision points to people rather than food: God is not showing partiality and is calling Gentiles to hear the gospel. As Peter proclaims Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentile listeners, confirming God’s acceptance of them. Peter then orders them to be baptized, and later defends this outcome to the Jerusalem believers by emphasizing God’s initiative and the Spirit’s witness.
This event shows God actively extending the saving message of Jesus Christ beyond Israel to the nations, not by erasing God’s holiness but by redefining purity around God’s cleansing action. The vision teaches Peter that “unclean” is no longer the defining category for Gentiles who receive God’s word, because God grants repentance and life by the Holy Spirit. The story highlights God’s impartiality and the unity of the church: Jews and Gentiles are gathered into one people through Christ, confirmed by the Spirit’s presence.
In Second Temple Judaism, food laws and table fellowship strongly shaped social boundaries; avoiding “unclean” foods often went together with avoiding intimate association with Gentiles. Luke’s account connects Peter’s vision with his entering a Gentile household—an act widely seen as religiously compromising—showing how early Christian identity was being defined around Christ and the Spirit rather than ethnic boundary markers.
“What God has made clean, you must not call common.” — Acts 10:15
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. What did Peter see lowered from heaven in his vision?
2. What happened as Peter proclaimed Jesus’ death and resurrection to the Gentile listeners in Cornelius’s home?