What does Acts 10:18 mean?

Simon Peter is at the home of Simon the Tanner in Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv. He is in Joppa because the friends of a woman named Tabitha asked him to come and raise Tabitha from the death. She is well, again, and Peter is finishing up praying on Simon the Tanner's roof (Acts 9:36–43; 10:9–16).

A couple of days before, an angel visited a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius, despite being the defender of the Roman king of Judea and Samaria, worships the Jewish God and is well known for his charity toward the poor. The angel told him that his kindness has been noticed in heaven and that Simon Peter will have a message for him. In response, Cornelius has sent two servants and one of his soldiers to find Peter (Acts 10:1–8).

It's a bit awkward that Peter is staying with a tanner. Tanners work with carcasses; if the animal is unclean to eat, the tanner will be unclean (Leviticus 11:4–8). In addition, tanneries stink. But Jesus told the disciples not to move from house to house when they entered a town. He also told them to eat what was offered (Luke 10:1–8). Jesus was already preparing the apostles to concentrate on the message of the gospel, and not strict adherence to the Jewish law He fulfilled (Matthew 5:17–18).