v 34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favouritism.
Jews were very clear that they had a special relationship with God. The Jew/Gentile divide was important to them. They were unlikely to cross boundaries of social friendship and share a home or meal with a Gentile, so Peter had a lot to process on this occasion. His sermon is one of the most direct and yet detailed explanations of Christian faith in the Bible. Jesus is at the centre of it; His death, resurrection and appearances to the disciples are noted, as is His command to go and preach to all nations, and his ultimate role as judge of all. The twin issues of sin and forgiveness are there, as is the need for the response of faith. In short, this is recorded as a 5 minute sermon that changed the relationship between Jews and Gentiles for ever. Peter’s eyes had been opened to the simple truth that God shows no favouritism. We may look at people and see all the advantages that they might have, all their education and good fortune in finding a job, all the blessing that they experienced in a good family and loyal friendships, the long run of excellent health they enjoyed, and the substantial pension they enjoy in their later years. WOW! we might say, aren’t they just lucky and blessed. But for all that, they are not favourites when it comes to a relationship with God. God actually seems to have a liking for the poor and marginalised too! And the widows and orphans. And the hungry and homeless. We may see social distinctions and ‘Special People’ (Celebrities?) but God is blind to all that.
Maybe the reality of being ‘Godlike’ in this respect is one of the marks of being a Christian. We can befriend all kinds of people and cross social boundaries to exhibit the love of God in them all.
That is what Jesus himself did, and here we find Peter learning the same kind of behaviour. This whole chapter marks a significant turning point in the development of our Christian Faith, AND it affects us all today!
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