Verse 9: “But the voice answered me a second time from the heavens, ‘What God has cleansed you not common.”

God has cleansed: This word ‘cleanse’ means to be put into a fit order. This cleansing is significant. It is removing any obstacle (perceived or unperceived, legitimate, or illegitimate) from the issue of kashrut (the dietary laws). 

As an example, let us look at cleansing in Judaism today: Someone inspects an animal and they pronounce it unclean (it would never be
slaughtered for sacrifice). If an authority comes and looks at the same animal but decides that it is clean, despite the previous judgement of it, they say, “I cleanse it.” The authority does not tell the individual, who initially pronounced it unclean, that he is wrong or that his view was incorrect. This would be putting the other individual down. Instead, when the authorities say “I cleanse it’ – whether there was a problem (perceived, unperceived, legitimate, or illegitimate) or not- it becomes acceptable.

God is the authority who can legitimately say “I cleanse it”, and it becomes clean, no matter what had been wrong with it previously.
Note: This Scripture is dealing with God cleansing the Gentiles and does not deal with the issue of food laws.

Verse 10: “And this came about three times and all of it was taken up into the heavens.”

Three times: See comment in chapter 10v16.

Verse 11: “And behold! Immediately three men stood at the house in which I was. They were sent from Caesarea to me.”

Behold: The word behold alerts us to pay attention, because what follows this word is foundational in arriving at the right understanding of the text.

Three men: Ties it back to the previous event.

Verse 12: “The Spirit said to me to go with them, and do not contend with them. And they went with me, these six men, and we entered into the house of a man.”

Contend: This is the same word translated ‘contend’ in 11v2.

Six men: Six is the number related to grace. Peter and these men took a message of grace to the Gentiles in Caesarea.

A man: Cornelius

Verse 13: “He (Cornelius) proclaimed also to us how he saw the angel in his house being stood, and he (the angel) said to him, ‘Send to Jaffa for a man, Simon, the one who is called Peter.’”

Being stood: It is written in the passive – meaning that the angel did not do this on his own. He was sent there by God.
 

Verse 14: “Who will speak words to you (meaning to Cornelius) in order which you will be saved and all your household.”

Words: The word used here is ‘rhema’.

Note: There are two Greek words for this concept of word: logos and rhema.

Logos refers to a pattern, a blueprint, that relates to the will of God. It represents what is logical to God – His purpose, plan and will.

Rhema is the word that is spoken/proclaimed and produces the fulfilment of that blueprint. It is a word of power and of transformation.
You will be saved: It was a message of salvation.

Verse 15: “In the beginning I (Peter) was speaking and the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as also He fell upon us in the beginning.”

The Holy Spirit fell: The sign of their faith was that the Holy Spirit fell upon them. In the beginning: At Pentecost/Shavuot.

Verse 16: “And I remembered the word of the L-rd was which said John (The Baptist) baptized with water but you will baptize in the Holy Spirit.”

Baptize in the Holy Spirit: These Gentiles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 8v17, when the Holy Spirit was given in Samaria, the text showed us the authority of the Apostles who came and laid hands on the people who then received the Holy Spirit. This is now different. Peter was still speaking the gospel when the Holy Spirit was poured out.