Acts 11:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.

NIV: I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.

NASB: and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky.

CSB: When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.

NLT: When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds.

KJV: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

NKJV: When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.

Peter is relating a vision he had to the church leaders in Jerusalem. He had been in Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv, on the rooftop of Simon the Tanner. While praying, he got hungry and asked for some food. Before it arrived, he had a vision of a large sheet drifting down from heaven (Acts 10:9–11).

The original account in Acts 10:12 merely says the sheet had "all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air"; Acts 10:14 infers some of them were not allowed as food per the Mosaic law (Leviticus 11). Here, Peter gets more specific. The law forbids pretty much every meat-eating animal, including carrion birds and birds of prey, anything with paws, and pigs. The law also forbids "the great lizard of any kind, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon" (Leviticus 11:29–30).

When Peter was traveling with Jesus, he saw the Pharisees criticize Jesus and His disciples several times for their eating habits. First, because Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors (Mark 2:15–17). Another time because the disciples were plucking wheat kernels on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–28). And again, because the disciples didn't ceremonially wash their hands before they ate (Mark 7:1–5).

The "circumcision party" that is questioning Peter about why he ate with Gentiles are probably former Pharisees who now worship Jesus (Acts 11:2). In fact, they may still consider themselves Pharisees, since Jesus-worship is the natural fulfillment of Judaism. If Peter, who watched Jesus interact with Pharisees and their overly rigid food laws, needed a vision to understand the kosher laws are lifted, these legalistic Jewish-Jesus-followers are going to need a lot more convincing.

Acts 11:1–18 describes Peter defending his actions in Acts 10. The Holy Spirit led him to share Jesus' story with a house filled with Gentiles. As he had barely started, the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles and Peter had them baptized into the church. Now, he has returned to the church in Jerusalem and has some explaining to do. Despite Peter being the most prominent of Jesus' twelve disciples, the legalistic Jews have already gained significant influence in the church. It's a good reminder we must always follow God and be ready to defend our response to His leading.

Acts 11 accelerates the journey of the message of Jesus into the Gentile world. Peter returns to Jerusalem and explains to the church leaders how the Holy Spirit has fallen on a group of Gentiles in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 11:1–18). Then the church hears how Gentiles are coming to faith far north in Syrian Antioch; they send Barnabas to investigate and Barnabas brings in Saul (Acts 11:19–26). Finally, prophets travel from Jerusalem to Antioch to request aid for the Jerusalem church (Acts 11:27–30). The scene is almost set for Paul's extensive evangelism career to begin.

Until the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), the story of Jesus' followers remained mostly in Jerusalem. Saul started persecuting the church and the members fled, taking Jesus' story with them. This included Philip who shared Jesus' story with Samaritans and an Ethiopian official (Acts 8). Saul's persecution even led to his own conversion (Acts 9). And Peter brought the gospel to a group of Gentiles (Acts 10). After one more story about Peter and rising persecution by the Roman government, the book of Acts will turn to Saul, who will use the Greek variation of his name, Paul, and his missionary journeys to southeast Europe.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.