Peter's vision of the sheet filled with unclean animals (Acts 10:9-16) does not abolish the laws of clean and unclean meats. Acts 10 is entirely devoted to the conversion of Cornelius, the first Gentile baptized into God's church, and the vision must be read against that background. Peter did not at first understand it and certainly did not conclude that all meats were now clean. God orchestrated events by sending Cornelius' delegation. Peter had lived with Christ for over three years, and a decade later he still held no notion that Christ's death had abolished the dietary law. His reply to the Voice, "Not so, Lord!", was vehement, and he never changed his mind even when the command was repeated twice more. Peter himself reveals the meaning in verse 28: "God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." The unclean animals were only an illustration to teach that salvation was open to Gentiles previously held at arm's length (Acts 11:18), confirmed by the Holy Spirit being poured out on them. Neither Peter nor Luke says anything further about foods. Nowhere does the context say God cleansed unclean meats; that is an assumption of readers predisposed against the statute. What God cleansed is the Gentiles, not unclean foods.

Peter's vision did not nullify the law of clean and unclean meats. Three times Peter refused to eat the unclean animals shown to him in the great sheet, and God did not rebuke him for refusing. The meaning of the vision is plainly stated in Acts 10:28: "God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." The vision concerned people, specifically the acceptance of Gentiles, not food. Peter's words in Acts 10:34-35 confirm this, and in the ensuing dispute recorded in Acts 11:1-18 no mention is made of clean or unclean foods. Because the vision's own interpretation applies to men, it cannot be used to claim that God abolished the dietary distinctions He established, which predate the Old Covenant and remain in force.

In the progression of the gospel's outreach from Jerusalem, a pivotal moment occurs in Acts 10 with Peter's vision, which plays a crucial role in breaking down barriers between Jews and Gentiles. While in Joppa, staying with Simon the tanner, Peter went up on the housetop to pray around noon and became very hungry. As he waited for food, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened, with a great sheet descending, bound at the four corners, containing all kinds of four-footed animals, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. A voice commanded him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." Peter resisted, declaring, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." The voice responded, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." This happened three times before the sheet was taken back to heaven. As Peter pondered the meaning of this vision, three men sent by Cornelius, a Roman centurion from Caesarea, arrived at the house. The Spirit instructed Peter to go with them without doubt, for He had sent them. Peter met the men, learned of Cornelius' vision and divine instruction to summon him, and invited them to stay overnight. The next day, accompanied by six brethren from Joppa, Peter journeyed to Caesarea. Upon arriving, he found Cornelius waiting with relatives and close friends. Peter acknowledged the Jewish custom against associating with Gentiles, yet declared, "God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." Thus, he came without objection. As Peter spoke to the gathered Gentiles about God's impartiality and the message of peace through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard, astonishing the Jewish believers with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on Gentiles as well. They heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Peter then asked, "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" He commanded their baptism in the name of the Lord, and they asked him to stay a few days. Later, in Jerusalem, when confronted by those of the circumcision for associating with Gentiles, Peter recounted the vision and events step-by-step. He explained how the Spirit directed him to go with the men from Caesarea, how Cornelius had seen an angel instructing him to send for Peter, and how the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles as it had on the original believers at Pentecost. Peter concluded, "If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I should withstand God?" Hearing this, they became silent and glorified God, acknowledging that He had granted repentance to life to the Gentiles as well.