And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation. There was no express prohibition to this effect, and contact to a certain extent was undoubtedly kept up, as is evident from the Gospel History; but intimate social fellowship was not practiced, as being contrary to the spirit of the law, and (as is usual in such cases) the law was strained injuriously in this direction (see John 18:28).
But God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean - from which it is evident that the apostle had already caught the import of the vision, and was prepared at once to carry it out.