11 And he saw the heavens opening, and a vessel coming down, like a great cloth let down on the earth, 12 In which were all sorts of beasts and birds. 13 And a voice came to him, saying, Come, Peter; take them for food. 14 But Peter said, No, Lord; for I have never taken food which is common or unclean. 15 And the voice came to him a second time, What God has made clean, do not you make common. 16 And this was done three times: and then the vessel was taken back into heaven.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 10:11-16
Commentary on Acts 10:9-18
(Read Acts 10:9-18)
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services are before us, and how to prepare us; and we know the meaning of what he has taught us, when we find what occasion we have to make use of it.