Why did Peter say 'Not so, Lord' to the vision of unclean animals in Acts 10?
Peter refused because he was a law-keeping Jew committed to kosher dietary laws; he had never eaten anything common or unclean and was not about to break the law by eating non-kosher food. This reflected Israel's separated calling to avoid Gentile co-mingling and pagan practices.
Les teaches that Peter's answer, "Not so, Lord," came from his identity as a law-keeping Jew who was not about to break the law by eating something that was not kosher. The context explains that God had long emphasized Israel was to be a separated people, not intermarrying with Gentiles, not having anything to do with the pagan Gentiles around them, and never being told to evangelize them. That division carried all the way into the New Testament. Even in Acts chapter 10, when the Lord gave Peter the vision and told him to kill and eat, Peter replied that he had never eaten anything common or unclean. Later, at the threshold of Cornelius's house, Peter told Cornelius that it was unlawful for him, a Jew, to keep company with Gentiles of another nation, but God had shown him otherwise. God was now going to turn to the Gentiles, though up until that time it was predominantly only His covenant people.
Why did Peter say he had never eaten anything common or unclean in Acts 10?
Peter said he had never eaten anything common or unclean because he was a law-keeping Jew who strictly observed the kosher dietary laws and would not break the law by eating non-kosher food. This reflected the long-standing separation between Jews and Gentiles that God had emphasized.
What did the Lord tell Peter to do in the vision of the sheet with animals?
In the vision, the Lord commanded Peter to kill and eat the animals shown to him. Peter objected, saying he had never eaten anything unclean, but the Lord was teaching that freedom in grace means not worrying about kosher distinctions.
More Questions
What did Peter say to Cornelius about a Jew associating with a Gentile?
Peter told Cornelius at the threshold of his house that it was unlawful for him, a Jew, to keep company with a Gentile, which illustrates how strong the Jew-Gentile separation was right before God turned to the Gentiles.
How does Peter's vision of the sheet of unclean animals in Acts connect to Paul's teaching about eating meat?
In Acts, the sheet of animals and the command to kill and eat was the Lord teaching Peter something totally different, yet it was the same analogy as Paul's point about food.