Peter’s Dream
based on Acts 10:1-48

Reading time: about 8 minutes

Reader one: The first Christian Church was a Jewish sect centered in Jerusalem. All the members were Jewish, and observed the Jewish practices and rituals. They didn’t think of themselves as anything but Jewish. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah promised to the people of Israel.

Reader two: Then suddenly, the Christian Church burst out into the Gentile world. How did this happen?

Reader one: The Roman Empire ruled most of the Mediterranean world at that time. And there were small groups of Jews who lived all over the Roman Empire. The Roman religion was the religion of the Emperor. The Caesars. That wasn’t optional.

Like the Greeks, the Romans had gods for pretty well everything – thunder, fertility, wine. Many different Gods. But you could believe and worship almost anything you liked, as long as you were prepared to bow to the statue of Caesar and say, “Caesar is Lord.” That was the law.

Here and there, a few Romans became interested in the Jewish faith and practices. They were still loyal Romans, but often they prayed to the Jewish God. They liked the idea of one God, rather than the many gods the Romans worshipped.

Cornelius was such a person. He was a centurion, which meant he commanded a troop of a hundred soldiers. But he was not Jewish.
It’s hard for us Christians to understand just how radical a thing it was for Peter to go into the house of a non-Jew. That would have made Peter ritually unclean. It was even more inconceivable for Cornelius to become a Christian, without becoming a Jew first.

This is the story, as it is told in the book of Acts, of how Cornelius and his whole household, became Christian.

Reader two: In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household. He gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.

Reader one: One afternoon at about three o'clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.”

Reader two: “What is it, Lord?”

Reader one: “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”

Reader two: When the angel who spoke to him had left, Cornelius called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.

Reader one: About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. Peter became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.

Reader two: In the sheet were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

Reader one: “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.”

Reader two: “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

Reader one: This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

Reader two: Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen.

Reader one: Just then, the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon's house and were standing by the gate. They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there.

Reader two: While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit spoke to him.

Reader one: “Look, three men are searching for you. Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them.”

Reader two: So Peter went down and spoke to the men.

Reader one: “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”

Reader two: “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”

Reader one: So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him. The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

Reader two: On Peter's arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him. But Peter made him get up.

Reader one: “Stand up; I am only a mortal.”

Reader two: Then Peter went inside and found that many had assembled. So he asked them. . .

Reader one: “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask, Cornelius, why you sent for me?”

Reader two: “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o'clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.'

herefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So Peter. All of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say.”

Reader one: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee.

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. God sent Jesus about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.

They put Jesus to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.

Reader two: While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The Jews who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter spoke again.

Reader one: “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

Reader two: So Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then the people of Cornelius’ household invited Peter to stay for several days.

Reader one: There were many such events, all over the Mediterranean world. Most of them were not as dramatic. But bit by bit, the Christian church moved from being a sect of Judaism to being a religion of the Gentiles.

NOTE: The above is written in the style of “Reader’s Theatre,” a very simple but effective way of presenting the biblical story that can be done in any church, large or small. For more information about how to do Reader’s Theatre, click on this link.

Note: You have permission to use this in any worship service. No credit line is required, though it would be nice if you put in something like, “A Readers’ Theatre presentation of the Story-Lectionary.com project.”

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