Visions of a Prophet, Acts 11:1-18
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
SERMON - Acts 11:1-18, Visions of a Prophet:
Old and New Covenants
“Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
The accusational question was from the Jewish community who were holding steady to their purity laws. Peter, what have you done! Why are you defiling yourself with those outside the covenant? The covenant set forth through Abraham to circumcise all males born so that they would then be included as part of the chosen people. It was the distinction of how one was to be known as part of the insiders. The outsiders did not circumcise, and they did not follow the rest of the law either, the parts that pertained to what to eat and how to live.
The covenant was a sacred part of the Jewish lifestyle. It was a way to identify with the community in the midst of their diaspora. Their dispersal to many lands instead of the promised land. Their long arduous time spent without a country or city to call their own. Deuteronomy 26 recounts the time before their land was settled saying that when they inherit the land they will give of the first fruits of the land, bringing it to the priest and will say, “5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression.”
When the New Testament came along they were once again a wandering tribe being oppressed and crying out. The Roman Empire had devoured all the land. It was important in this context to cling to the community identity. That identity had grown from love of the LORD God YHWH into a very long and complicated set of rules and laws. Then Jesus boiled all those rules and laws back down to the basic ingredients. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’... 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Peter defends himself as many a prophet before him. “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.” The Old Testament and the New Testament side by side in a ‘well which is it?’ debate. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not wipe it away. Yet here we are with Peter looking like he was disregarding decades of tradition. Merriam-Webster’s definition of tradition is – “an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (such as a religious practice or a social custom). A belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable. The handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction. And cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions.” Or as we say today, but it’s always been done that way.
Last week we had miracles. This week it’s visions. Do we read this text and last week’s text and believe in the long-ago mindset? Does it only happen in the Bible? Are there modern-day prophets? Who are they and can we trust them? Prophets of anytime period are under great scrutiny. Jonah when to Nineveh and feared he would be killed because if he told them they would be saved if they repent, and they repented and nothing happened… Would he be called a false prophet? False prophets usually met with swift death. Some killed by God on the spot, others left to the same fate as their misguided followers.
Peter had to put on his big boy pants, remembering his earlier failure of denying, and tell his side. No matter how fantastical it sounded or looked or was… No matter if it seemed like he was breaking the ‘traditional’ rules. Rules that grew out of a need to build a rule around a law that was intended to be inclusive but quickly became exclusive. The God of Abraham and Isaacc and Jacob called for love. Love of God, love of neighbor. Peter’s vision would have been seen as highly controversial. To include foods that they did not eat, and people they should not mix with.
One of the most intimate things we do is eat together. It involves someone cooking the food with their hands. It involves spit and back then most ate with their hands dipping into various bowls one after the other. To eat with someone that was unclean made you unclean. A law that was to help them be separated from idol worshipers in order to not be tempted into false god worship, became a way to exclude those worshiping the same God. The living God of creation and the Son who came to bridge the gap leaving the Spirit as a guide.
Well, there IT is. The Spirit. The Spirit moves wherever, whenever and to whomever she pleases. Peter ate with believers sent by the one and only Holy Spirit. He ate with them because he had a vision. During the vision he was overcome with awe. In a trance, astounded to the point that his state of mind reached far beyond the powers of ordinary perception. (BibleHub) Visions as described by the Topical Lexicon, the continuity of the concept of divine visions from the Old Testament to the New Testament, emphasizes the role of visions in conveying God's will and purpose. “These visions are often characterized by their supernatural nature and serve as a medium through which God imparts knowledge, guidance, or prophecy.”
Furthermore, “these visions often serve to direct the actions of the early Christians, providing them with divine insight and instructions. The use of the Greek word horama (ὅραμα) underscores the belief in a God who actively communicates with His people, guiding them through supernatural means. The visions are not merely dreams or hallucinations but are considered authoritative messages from God, often leading to significant developments in the narrative of the early Church.
Of course, there are those that abuse others by claiming falsely to have visions. There are those that use this tactic to control or lure others into unsafe situations. To take their money or worship a false idol, usually themselves. Some do it because it helps you win elections. Power after all is just control over those that believe. With enough believers or enough followers, including the ones that follow even knowing they are lying but will gain wealth and power by proxy. To ride the coat tails of the winner. God morns the loss of each of these lost sheep. Do not be fooled. God loves even them, yes even the false prophet. But even in love there will be justice. Matt. 25 is clear: 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…” for I was hungry, and you stopped my food stamps, I was thirsty, and you gave me” unclean water, I was an immigrant, and you sent me to concentration camps, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and you took my healthcare away, in prison and you sent me to a foreign land. They will stand in judgement.
But what about a prophet that speaks truth? One that speaks of love and kindness? One that includes groups instead of excludes? One that you have known, and has integrity and speaks truthfully. Peter fits that bill. His vision changed his mind about Gentile believers, and he listened. He heard with open ears and understood with a heart wide open. He then explained all that he had seen. Courageously giving them the truth even if the consequences were dire. Speaking truth can be dangerous.
What about today? I followed a conversation in January on Bluesky, a non-Meta social media platform. Bishop Mariann Budde had just spoken to a large well-respected group in a well-known and respected denomination. Old school and traditional. Her sermon pleaded for mercy and kindness for immigrants and other fringe society groups that often get trampled in the pursuit of power. Not liberty, power. An unknown poster wrote: “I didn’t think Mainline Protestants would have such a large role at this time in history…” A response: “The Mainline Protestants = Prophets in waiting, now actively proclaiming justice! I preached this morning that Jesus came to help those who are oppressed and today that’s our DEI group who need our protection and support. (@Pastor-RemiF.bsky.social)
Jesus came to fulfill the heart of the law. The essence of what God calls all people, especially the chosen to be. Hospitable, loving, kind, and accepting. Peace loving people of all genders and races. A host of harmonious groups working together for the common good of all. But we are fallen. Sin is in the world. We will always have the poor within our society. Nations and governments will always be corrupt and power thirsty. This does not mean giving up. It means pull together and unite. Find each other of like mind to act in nonviolent peaceful protest, against injustice. Open your ears to the Spirit. Your heart to understand. Your body to move into action. Small acts from everyone can make a difference. But maybe we need bigger acts? Pray for guidance. Then listen. Listening in each breath we take, each meal we eat, each person we talk to, each social media interaction, each sunrise, each sunset, each devotional moment, and in all the ways we live and move and have our being. Then act.
This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel as stated in Acts 2:17.
17 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
Let it be so. Amen.
Bibliography
https://biblehub.com/greek/1611.htm
https://biblehub.com/greek/3705.htm
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tradition
Green, Joel B., Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, Cynthia L. Rigby, General Editors, Connections: Year C, Volume 2, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018. Kindle version.
Jennings, Willie James, Acts a Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief Series), Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017. Kindle version.