As we continue our forensic study of the early church, we are going to examine another pivotal event in the early church.

The view of the Jewish leadership concerning Gentiles was not favorable. This came as no surprise since rabbinic Judaism utilized the Talmud as its central text. Gentiles were relegated to the same category as animals with no soul. It was the hateful Talmud – not the Mosaic law – which specified that Jews were not allowed to mingle with Gentiles or to go to their homes and share a meal with them.

The apostolic leadership had been raised with this insidious doctrine and they accepted it as truth. The fact that a Moabite woman – Ruth – who had married Boaz, was the grandmother of King David, and therefore in the lineage of the Messiah was overlooked.

The apostles were in a state of disarray, because they and the seventy others believed that the second return of Jesus was imminent. They were certain He would come back during their lifetime. As a result, the four Gospels were not written until some twenty-five years after the resurrection of Jesus. There were no plans being laid for the future.

The great commission was largely being ignored because the early church did not see any in the Gentiles. Unless the Godhead intervened, most of humanity would be ignored and perish because of a false doctrine.

The intervention was initiated by an angel as the Holy Spirit selected a Roman army officer to send for the apostle Peter, who in turn was given a vision about unclean animals. In hindsight, it is clear that the real issue is not food, but the Gentiles who were considered unclean by the Jews. The Holy Spirit emphatically told Peter that what God had declared to be clean should not arbitrarily be disregarded by the early church.

With impeccable timing, a delegation of Gentiles came to see Peter, who recognized they were sent from God. This resulted in Peter visiting the home of Cornelius and watching incredulously as the Holy Spirit began to work sovereignly upon the Gentiles, just like with the Jews.

Peter finally understood that God loves the Jews and the Gentiles. The men and women who were not Jews had value in God’s eyes. Jesus died on the cross for everyone. Then he was off to share the news with the church leadership in Jerusalem, who held the same bias toward Gentiles because of the distilled hatred and discrimination of the Talmud.

However, Peter’s testimony soon made it clear that the Gospel and baptism of the Holy Spirit was for the Gentiles as well. This was a radical change for the early church as it changed from a Jewish church to a church for all nations.

Print out the sermon outline and let's examine the Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John S. Torell