Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
- Acts 10:5-6

When last we saw the Apostle Peter, he lived in Jerusalem and led a community of Christians that numbered in the thousands. That community had issues (see Acts 5-6) but managed to work them out.

Then, suddenly, local religious leaders arrested Stephen (one of the deacons from Acts 6). After a trial and a bold speech by Stephen, a mob dragged him out of the city and killed him. Persecution spread throughout the city like wildfire. Christians were arrested and dragged off to prison. The church scattered. And Peter left Jerusalem.

He ended up in Joppa, ministering there and staying at the home of Simon the tanner (i.e. leather-worker / leather-maker). And that’s kind of a big deal. Tanners’ work was dirty, smelly work. And they dealt with dead animals, which made them ritually unclean in the Jewish religion.

Peter’s willingness to stay with Simon shows that he’s willing to relax his practice of the purity laws he grew up with in order to follow God’s mission.

Although Peter didn’t know it, he was being positioned by God to extend God’s mission across a barrier that had never been crossed: the barrier between Roman and Christian. Peter’s positioning was set in motion by horrific events and persecution of Christians in Jerusalem. What looked like tremendous loss for the church was going to be used by God for good. If Peter had remained in Jerusalem, surrounded by his safe and comfortable community, he might not have been willing or able to break through that divide. And even with that preparation, Peter put up a fight.

How has God prepared you to break through the divides you see around you? How open are you to that preparation that appears to come as a loss, pain or set-back?