Did you grow up isolated from or associating with other ethnic groups? How does that affect your interactions with others who are different than you today?
People sometimes call this passage “the Gentile Pentecost,” the day when God’s Spirit is poured out on all people, not just God’s chosen, an unprecedented and unexpected turn of events. Think back on your life and remember a story when God’s unprecedented grace and Spirit fell upon you. How did that experience change you?
“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people?”, Peter says. By ordering his followers to baptize these Gentile Christians, Peter makes room in the church for people traditionally outside of the group. This move would cost him and the church dearly, in persecution and disdain from the established believers. Evangelism is like that. It calls people to respond to God’s good news, but it also calls those inside the church to welcome the newcomer as well. How successful has the church been in welcoming the newcomer? Where might the Spirit be calling us to reach out today, to include the outsider with joy and surprise?|