“And there came a voice to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” (Acts 10:13-14 RSV)
Peter was undoubtedly one of the closest disciples of Jesus Christ. He was undoubtedly the most zealous and outspoken one among the chosen twelve disciples who followed Jesus Christ everywhere during His earthly ministry.
When the Lord Jesus called Peter to follow Him, he promptly left all his fishing boats and nets to follow Jesus.
Matthew 4:18-20 – NKJV
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Moreover, when the band of soldiers and the officers of the Jews came to arrest Jesus, it was Peter who rose to defend the Lord Jesus by drawing out his sword to strike and cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant.
John 18:10-11 – NKJV
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
Peter’s love for Jesus was genuine and earnest. He was indeed willing to risk his life for Jesus’ sake.
On the day of Pentecost, having been filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter boldly testified to the multitude who had gathered at the instance of the miraculous descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in the upper room, saying, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36 NKJV).
As a result of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, three thousand souls were saved, baptized, and added to the Church.
After the miraculous healing of the lame man at the temple gate called Beautiful by Peter, he was arrested alongside John. When the rulers and elders of the Jews queried Peter, asking, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly replied, “Let it be known to you all, and all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.” (Acts 4:10 NKJV).
Even when Peter and John were sternly threatened, warned, and commanded by the rulers and elders of Israel that they should never again speak nor teach in the name of Jesus, Peter with John sharply responded, saying, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20 NKJV).
Surprisingly, there came a time when Peter refused to obey a clear command and instruction of the Lord Jesus, whom he loved dearly and had boldly declared and preached to the multitude as the Lord and Christ.
What could have come upon Peter?
What could have hardened Peter’s mind against his Lord?
It is indeed wisdom for us today to find out why Peter would not gladly want to obey the Lord Jesus for whose sake he had endured much persecution.
After raising Tabitha from the dead, Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with Simon, a tanner. One day while Peter was praying on the housetop, he fell into a trance.
Acts 10:9-16 – RSV
9 The next day, as they were on their journey and coming near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.
10 And he became hungry and desired something to eat; but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance
11 and saw the heaven opened, and something descending, like a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth.
12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.”
16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
Peter certainly knew that the Lord Jesus was saying to him in a trance, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” Nevertheless, he refused to obey the Lord’s clear command and instruction.
Even though Peter was given the opportunity three times to repent and obey the Lord’s voice, his constant response to the Lord’s voice was, “No, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
What a shocking surprise!
Peter’s blunt refusal to obey the Lord’s voice in a trance resulted from his allegiance or adherence to the Mosaic law, which forbids the Jews from eating any common or unclean animal (Lev. 11:4, 20:25).
Although Peter was rebuked in a trance for calling common or unclean what God has cleansed, he chose to cling to his former religious beliefs, rules, and rites.
Peter’s unwillingness to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made him free from the bondage of the law was the cause of his disobedience to the Lord three times on the same issue.
Even though the Lord Jesus had taught Peter that it is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him but the things that proceed out of a man’s mouth, Peter chose to remain under the yoke of the law (Matt. 15:17-20, Gal. 5:1).
When it was the appointed time for God’s Kingdom to advance to the Gentiles, the Lord offered Peter a prominent role in His new plan, but his allegiance to the Mosaic laws caused him to reject the Lord’s offer.
Similarly, many believers today are not walking in God’s purposes for their lives because of their allegiance or adherence to some religious laws, rules, rites, traditions, or culture.
As seen in the life of Peter, it is impossible to fully embrace the gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ without renouncing your allegiance or adherence to vain religion, human philosophy, culture, or tradition that are contrary to the doctrine or teaching of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
The Mosaic Law teaches that eating an unclean or common animal defiles a man. On the contrary, the Lord Jesus teaches, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” (Matt. 15:11 NKJV).
Sadly, Peter chose to submit to the law rather than walk in the liberty of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Like Peter, many born-again believers today still ignorantly yield their necks under the yokes of religious rules, rituals, and human traditions rather than walking in the liberty by which Jesus Christ has set them free from the Old Testament rules, rituals, or sacrifices.
Paul warns the Galatian Christians of the danger of yielding themselves again under the yoke of the Mosaic Law.
Galatians 5:1-4 – NKJV
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
All the Old Testament rules, offerings, rituals, or ceremonies are a copy or shadow of the good things to come. They are not the real things God intended for the New Testament believers.
Jesus Christ is the substance or the reality!
Hebrews 10:1 – NKJV
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
Colossians 2:17 – NLT
17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ Himself is that reality.
Therefore, your adherence or allegiance to them is baseless, useless, or profitless. It is like someone chasing after a shadow; it is simply a waste of time and effort.
Faith in the grace of the Lord Jesus (the finished work of Jesus) alone brings God’s salvation and blessings.
Romans 10:4 – NKJV
4 Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of all the Old Testament rules, rituals, or sacrifices. Therefore, the born-again believers are not expected to subject themselves to the Old Testament rites.
Colossians 2:20-23 – NKJV
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations–
21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”
22 which all concern things which perish with the using–according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Beloved, you have become dead to the law of sin and death through the body of Christ. Therefore, don’t put your neck under the yoke of the Mosaic law or any religious rule, human tradition, or culture that is contrary to the teaching of Christ (Rom. 7:1-5, 8:1-4).
Romans 7:4-6 – NKJV
4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another–to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.
6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Therefore, arise today to walk in the complete liberty of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, serving the Lord in the newness of the Spirit.
Colossians 2:16-17 – NKJV
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for setting me free from the law of sin and death through the body of Jesus. Today, I renounce my allegiance to every religious rule, ritual, or tradition that will hinder me from walking in the complete liberty of the gospel of the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus’ name. Amen.