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In our next series we are going to see a major breakthrough, Christ being preached to the Gentiles. Strangers and foreigners being welcomed into the household of faith. Paul says in Eph. 3:1-6, that this was a surprise to the Jews. Perhaps some Gentiles had heard the Gospel by now and even professed to believe but none, up till now, had been baptized, Cornelius was the first.
Verses 1 and two of Chapter 10 is a biographical sketch on Cornelius. The name Cornelius was a popular name among the Romans. It was a family name of many of the noble families of Rome. It is said that Cornelius was a great and good man, two characteristics that seldom meet. He was a Roman Army Officer. He was stationed at Caesarea. Caesarea was originally named Paneas but was rebuilt and fortified by Herod the Great and renamed Caesarea in honor of the Districts (Philippi) Caesar, Emperor Tiberius. It, at one time, was known as Strato's Tower. Herod not only rebuilt the city but he also built a harbor second to none. Caesarea was a very beautiful city and Pontius Pilate had set up his headquarters there and it became the base of operations for the Roman Army in the Middle East. There was stationed there a Roman Regiment called an Italian Cohort and Cornelius belonged to that regiment. He held the rank of Centurion. A Centurion was the commander of 100 Roman soldiers. It was a blow to the Jews that the first convert to be taken into the Church was a soldier, and even worse, a Roman soldier. Fishermen and unlearned Galileans were the first Jews but the first Gentile was a polite man with a liberal education.
We see that Cornelius was a religious men. Luke says he was a devout man who
feared God. This simply meant that he did not worship idols nor indulge in the
immoralities that were common in the Gentile world at that time. It also appears
that he accepted the doctrine of one God, creator of heaven and earth. He feared
this Creator and sought not to offend Him. It seems that he ran his household well
and had instilled the fear of God in them also. He gave liberally to the poor and
this was particularly amazing when you consider that the poor around him were Jews.
Cornelius' Vision
["Click here for Acts 10:3-8"]
Now lets look at verses 3 thru 8 and learn about Cornelius' vision. This vision came during a time of prayer. It would appear that Cornelius had a knowledge of Judaism and kept the stated times of prayer. These stated times of prayer at the time of Jesus was 9 AM, 12 noon and 3 PM, the 3rd, 6th, and 9th. hour. It was during the 9th hour, 3 in the afternoon, the hour of sacrifice, that an Angel of God came to him and called him by name.
Notice if you would have asked Cornelius how he knew that it was an Angel he would have said to you the same as Philip and Stephen, it was by the "brightness" of his countenance. It had to be a Heavenly Messenger. Notice also that Cornelius saw "clearly" this Angel which indicated that it was not a dream or his imagination but rather a vision presented to him, clearly seem by his eyes.
Notice the Angel calls him by his name. There was no doubt that God had noticed this man and knew him by his name. How does Cornelius take all this? Here was a Roman soldier who had faced death many times in battle but now he faced an Angel and Luke says, "He stared at him in terror." Would we have done any less? Then he did as Saul did when he realized that he was in the presence of a Heavenly Person, he said, "What is it Lord?" More accurately translated, "What is the matter Lord?" What have I done now?
Notice we usually think the worse when approached by the Lord, we immediately wonder what we have done that we should not have done. How nice this must have been for Cornelius to learn that condemnation was not the reason for this visit but rather commendation. "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before me." Cornelius did not pray or give alms as the Pharisees did, he prayed in private and gave in secrecy, not seeking the phrase of men.
"I have seen your sacrifices, now send men to Joppa and have them bring back a man there called Peter." Notice, like Nicodemus, morality and good works will not save a person, there was something that he yet lacked. So he was instructed to send for a man who would tell him what he yet needed. Send for Peter, he was staying as we know, at the home of Simon a tanner, by the sea shore in Joppa. Why didn't the Lord just send Cornelius to Peter? Two reasons are suggested. One, as we shall see later, Peter had a prejudice to get over and two, there were others of the household of Cornelius to be considered also.
Notice who Cornelius sent. Servants from his personal household, those who also feared the Lord, plus one soldier, from his personal guard, who also feared the Lord. The Roman Centurion had great power, this power is recorded for us in another story in Matt. 8:5-10. The three men that were sent to Joppa, were not sent as puppets at the command of an officer, they were completely informed as to the vision and as to the instructions given to Cornelius by the Lord. So they left Caesarea to go to Joppa, a distance of about 40 miles, to find the home of a man named Simon who lived on a street called Straight, and there they hoped to find Peter.
So Cornelius has been prepared and his Ambassadors are prepared and on their way to
Joppa and now Peter must be prepared.
Peter's Vision
["Click here for Acts 10:9-16"]
Verses 9 thru 16 of Chapter 10, record the vision that Peter had. The question is, why did Peter need any preparation for this mission? Well, the Lord knew Peter better than anyone, Peter was prejudice. God had spoke to Cornelius and he had carried out the Lord's instructions, the question now was would Peter come to Cornelius when the men arrived for him?
Why did the Lord think that Peter might not do this? It wasn't because Peter thought Cornelius was beneath him, it wasn't because Peter needed more notice, and it wasn't because he was afraid of Cornelius. It was simply because Cornelius was a Gentile. Peter was a Jew. God in His Law had forbid His people from even involuntarily touching a Gentile. If they did, they would be ceremonially unclean. Peter had never gotten over the years of training and bigotry. God knew this, and caused Peter to have a vision.
The Old Testament Scriptures taught plainly of the bringing in of the Gentiles and Jesus had instructed them to go to all nations, but Peter did not, at this time, understand this. He was still a devout orthodox Jew.
It was noontime and Peter had gone up on the roof to pray. It was the hour of prayer and the rooftop provided privacy and a view of the heavens. As he prays he realizes that it is time to eat and he is hungry, but lunch was not ready yet, so he continued with his prayers. It is not clear what happened to Peter then. He may have dozed off but all the translations that I have say that he fell into a trance. His hunger was used by the Lord to instruct Peter and help him overcome his prejudice.
Matthew Henry says that Peter lost himself to the world and so his mind was free to dwell upon divine things. This mode of communication was used by the Lord many times. In Revelation, John saw a vision while in a trance, whether in or out of the body, he did not know. Paul relates over in Chapter 22 of the Book of Acts that he was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance and God told him to get out of Jerusalem. In Gen. 15, Abraham had a vision, whether asleep or in a trance he did not know but it put him in communication with the Lord. In 2nd. Cor. 12, Paul tells of being caught up into third heaven in a trance and he did not know weather he was in the body or not, but he knew he was in communication with the Lord.
Notice how Peter knew that this vision was from God. Verse 11 says, that Peter saw the Heavens open up, in the Bible this always indicates the revealing of a mystery. Now, what did he see? He saw something descending like a great sheet, let down by the 4 corners of the earth. It would appear that the sheet was let down from heaven to a point where Peter could clearly see it and what was in it.
Peter saw in the sheet, all kinds of animals, reptiles and birds of the air. What was this indicative of? The sheet represented the Church, filled from the 4 corners of the earth. All that was in it was safely lowered to the earth and safely raised back into Heaven. In the sheet were those things which the Jews considered unclean. God was telling Peter that now, with the abolishment of the ceremonial Law, man was at liberty to use all the creatures that God had created. Nothing that God created was unclean. Notice the order to Peter was to "rise, kill and eat". Do this without differentiating between what you think is clean or unclean. We might want to stop and remind ourselves why God forbid the Jews to eat some things before. The distinction of meats was made so that there would be a difference between the Jew and the Gentile, that it might be difficult for them to eat together. Now the Lord was telling Peter that this distinction was no longer necessary. Now, in Christ, Jews were free to dine, touch and converse with Gentiles. In Christ, there was neither Jew nor Gentile.
Notice how Peter reacted to this newfound freedom. "No Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." We may think this was silly but it was not so to the pious Jew. The story is told that during the Maccabean era, around 250 BC, Antiokus, a Syrian King, tried to get the Jews to eat pork and seven brothers chose to be tortured to death rather than eat it. So there were certain things that were considered unclean and they were not taken lightly by the Jew.
When Peter refused to eat, God repeated the command to kill and eat. Three times
the Lord told Peter to do this, and three times Peter said, "No Lord, I will not
eat anything unclean." Then the Voice said, "What God has cleansed you must not
call common or unclean", and the sheet was taken up at once into Heaven.
The Men at the Gate
["Click here for Acts 10:17-22"]
Verses 17 thru 22 record how Peter reacted to this vision. First, he didn't understand it. He didn't doubt the origin of it, he knew that it was a "heavenly" vision, but he did not understand what it meant. We see that Peter did not have to wait long for the understanding of the vision for verse 17 says that while Peter wondered, behold the men sent by Cornelius arrived at the gate to the house, and the Spirit of God said to Peter, three men are down stairs and are seeking you. Go and meet them and then go with them wherever they ask you to go. Do not doubt anything.
Notice the lesson here. Peter did not understand but he did not deny its source. He did not harden his understanding but remained open minded and considered the vision. Paul suggests the in the area of things that we do not understand, that we "meditate upon them, day and night". Peter did this and the Holy Spirit brought further instructions. "Go downstairs for three men have need of your services." Go without reluctance or hesitation. Go without doubting.
Notice the last instruction. Go without doubting. Do not doubt if you should go to a Gentile. Do not doubt that it is your duty. Do not doubt this calling or be concerned what other Jews might think. Go without doubt because I have sent you. Matthew Henry says that when we see our duty clear, we should not worry nor be perplexed with doubts concerning our former prejudices or fear men's displeasure.
Did the Holy Spirit get any argument from Peter? No. At least, he went down
stairs, introduced himself and questioned the three men. "For what cause have you
come?" Even at this early stage, we see a lessening of his prejudices. The men
relate to Peter that their commander, a man by the name of Cornelius, an officer in
the Roman Army, an honest gentleman, a man who had more religion than most of his
neighbors, a man of good report amongst the Jews, a man who was consciences and
charitable, one with whom it would be of no discredit to be seen with, this man
had a vision. It was a vision brought from God by an Angel. In the vision he
received instructions to send someone here to Joppa for you, that you might come to
his house, for he and his brothern are ready to hear and receive the saving words
of the Gospel.
Peter Leaves Home
["Click here for Acts 10:23-33"]
Well did Peter find that hard to believe? No. Peter was familiar with God's means of communication and in verses 23 thru 33 we see how He responds to their request. Peter invites the men to spend the night, no small compensation for a Jew to make. Was Peter beginning to understand his own vision? Spending the night would mean eating , eating with people that he had always considered unclean. It was just shortly after noon, as Peter was waiting on lunch and surly there was time enough to start back to Caesarea, but Peter ask them to stay that he might talk to them. He needed to inquire about Cornelius and his family. God leads, but we must still use whatever common means is at our disposal, to prepare ourselves for the work of the Lord.
The next day, Peter and six (Ch. 11:12) of his brothern go back to Caesarea with the three men sent by Cornelius. Why did six men accompany Peter back to Caesarea? Three reasons are suggested. Peter may have desired them to come along as witnesses, or they may have volunteered to go along to tend to Peter's needs, or they might have desired to learn more from whatever teaching Peter would do to Cornelius and his family, or they may have simply been concerned as to how Peter would fair with Gentiles. How would he present the Gospel to Gentiles?
So the 10 men leave on what was probably a two-day walk to Caesarea. On the afternoon of the second day, they entered Caesarea. They found Cornelius waiting for them. It had been four days. It would have been too much to expect that Cornelius would have waited patiently, for an Angel had appeared to him and told him to send for a man who would tell him something wonderful. Cornelius may not have waited patiently, but he did wait with great expectation.
The reception encouraged Peter. To see so many waiting expectantly, to hear the Gospel, encouraged him. Cornelius, his family and his friends, all were invited to come hear first hand. Notice what Cornelius does when he sees Peter coming. Verse 25 says that he went to meet Peter and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. Matthew Henry says of this, we have here in this first meeting between Peter and Cornelius, profound and indeed, undue respect and honor being paid to Peter. What should Cornelius have done? What had he been trained to do? The Roman soldiers were well trained in what to do and how they would be treated when they went to Israel. Had Cornelius been a Jew he probably would have embraced Peter. Had Peter been a Gentile, he probably would have saluted or offered his hand in friendship. But Cornelius looked upon Peter as a divine Person, someone representing God, thus he fell down and worshipped him.
How did Peter respond to this? Most believe that Peter took the hands of Cornelius and lifted him up and said, "Stand up, I to am a man." One of the commentaries says of this that Peter wanted Cornelius to know that God's treasure was in earthen vessels and the value was in the treasure not the vessel. I like that. Peter, humbled by the experience of denying Christ, was careful in everything that he did that no one would think that he was anything more than just a man.
After Peter set Cornelius straight, the two of them went into the house and Peter found that many people had gathered to hear his words. Now the first item of business was to set these people at ease. These people knew that Peter was a Jew and that his presence in this home was contrary to Jewish Law. But Peter suddenly realized what God was telling him in the vision, and he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." He wanted these people to know that this was not something that he had took upon himself but rather was a revelation from God. God having taken down the wall of separation, Peter was now ready to do for them what he could.
Peter assured them that he knew before he came that they were Gentiles, but he also knew that they were looking for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There were no surprises for Peter accept maybe the number of those who were gathered. He wanted them to know that he came without any objection.
Peter having put all at ease, Cornelius tells Peter of his vision. "Four days ago, at the 9th. hour of prayer, a man stood before me in bright apparel." "The man said to me, Cornelius, your prayers have been heard in Heaven." "Send to Joppa for a man called Peter and he told me where you were staying." "So I sent for you at once and you have come." "Now, therefore, we are all gathered together here to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord to say."
Notice the characteristics of this gathering. They had come to learn, to worship,
with open minds, expecting divine revelation. They were there because they wanted
to be there and were prepared to receive what they did not know, but what they
truly believed was something very special.
Peter's Sermon
["Click here for Acts 10:34-43"]
Now lets see what Peter had to say to this assembled group of Gentiles. Verses 34 thru 43 of Chapter 10, records Peter's words. Notice he covers the whole life of Christ in these verses. I am sure that Luke only recorded the "high lights" of this sermon. Lets take a brief look at it.
Luke says that Peter opened his mouth and spoke. This was an expression that Luke got from Paul. Paul, speaking to the Church at Corinth, said, "O ye Corinthians, my mouth is open to you and you shall find me communicative if you are inquisitive." Peter had found these people to be inquisitive. Luke was also saying that prior to this, Peter's mouth had been closed to Gentiles, but now it was open. Thus Peter was extending to these Gentiles the right hand of fellowship and assuring them that they were entitled to hear the Gospel and if they accepted it, would receive the benefits and be equal to the Jews in the sight of the Lord.
Matthew Henry gives us these words on this point. "God never perverts judgment upon personal consideration, nor judges a wicked man in a wicked thing on the basis of his beauty, statue, wealth, parentage, relations or position in this world."
Peter tells these people that any one who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God. Now we must define what Peter meant by being "acceptable to God". We believe that salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ and so did Peter, even though it sounds here like he was saying that fear and doing what is right was all that was necessary. What Peter was saying was that their fear of God and their moral living gave them access to the Gospel, the Word that defines God's plan of salvation.
Notice Peter knows that these people were knowledgeable about Jesus. Here, like John, Peter refers to Jesus as the Word. Having lived in the area they could not help but have heard about Him and His ministry. We are often told in the Gospels how the fame of Jesus spread throughout Palestine. Apparently, they also must have known a great deal about the teachings of Jesus. Certainly what they heard, they had gotten "second handed" as even the 70 that were sent out were instructed to go only to the Jew. But they had heard of His healings and how He had power over the Devil.
But now, Peter assures them, that what they are going to hear will come "first Hand". "We, Peter says, are Apostles." "We witnessed all that He said and did." Then having established his own credentials, he proceeds to establish Christ's credentials.
Peter establishes Christ's credentials by establishing three points:
But in spite of this, the Jews put Him to death by hanging Him from a tree, but they, the believers, did not think of Him as dead and neither should they in spite of the rumors that the Disciples had stolen His body and made up a story that He had risen from the dead. Certainly these people had heard these rumors, but Peter assured them that they were not true, but rather Jesus had risen from the dead on the third day and proof of this was undeniable. He had appeared to the 12 and to the Mary's and others a sufficient number of times to attest to the truth of His resurrection.
Those who saw Him did not do so by chance but by design. They were chosen to be a witness to the resurrection. They did not just have a vision or passing view of Him, rather they talked with Him, they walked with Him and they ate with Him. These chosen few were commanded to tell the world what they had seen and heard.
This means that Jesus was empowered to dictate the terms of salvation. The rule by
which we will be judged. By Him the everlasting condition of all people, will be
determined. Then Peter explained the terms of salvation. You must accept Him as
your Judge. You must believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God. You must
repent and accept the forgiveness that is offered by faith, because all who believe
in Him, receives forgiveness of sins. Where sin is forgiven, salvation is granted.
The Coming of the Spirit
["Click here for Acts 10:44-48"]
Verses 44 thru 48 of Chapter 10, record for us the results of Peter's sermon. Three things happened:
Notice the process. "While Peter was still preaching, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard. Many believe that this was visible, audible and un-mistakable evidence of God's approval of Peter's efforts and the enlighten conversion of these people. Peter preached and God gave the increase which was and still is, His prerogative. Previously, the Holy Spirit fell on the believer after baptism, but beginning with the Ethiopian Eunuch, the process changed to this:
No one can go through this process without showing evidence of it. We become changed persons, going from death to life, from sin to salvation. All of this is a gift of God, apart from works, less anyone should boast.
The Salvation experience is not the same with everybody. To some it is a gradual experience of coming to know Christ and the assurance of their salvation. To others it is a "Damascus experience". Then to others, it may be a "quiet time" of prayer and communing with God and a realization that God had granted you faith to believe. Here in the home of Cornelius we might well have seen the evidence of all three of these experiences.
"They began speaking in tongues, an experience similar to Pentecost. At Pentecost the Apostles spoke in tongues that were unknown to them before, but tongues that were known by some who heard them. Tongues of many nations who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. This gift made the Apostles able to witness to all in their native tongue. Many believe that it was also a miracle of hearing. As the Apostles spoke in a form of Hebrew, each heard in his own tongue.
Now what would have been the purpose of this for those who were here at the home of Cornelius? Tradition has it that all of these devoted people became witnesses. To do this they would have to be able to speak tongues that previously had been unknown to them. So they received from the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues. Verse 46 says that those Jews that came with Peter heard these converts speak in tongues, extolling God, glorifying God, and magnifying God. "Unknown tongues" as some understand it, would not have edified anyone unless someone was there to translate. The six men who accompanied Peter were amazed at the enlightenment of these new converts and their ability to understand the scriptures. Remember these new converts were Gentiles.
Then Peter conferred with the six that came with him concerning water baptism for the new converts. Notice the question that Peter puts to these men. "Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people?" Does anyone have a reason why these people should not be baptized seeing as how they have already received the Holy Spirit? Peter had been commanded to go speak to these people, he had not been told to baptize them, but seeing the evidence of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, he could see no reason for denying them baptism.
So, Peter receiving no objection from the six, commands that they be baptized. Notice he does not do it himself. Peter and Paul baptized very few converts. It has nothing to do with them being Gentiles. Paul said many times, "I have been called to preach not baptize." Being baptized by one of the Apostles became a "badge of honor". This caused problems in the early church as some, who had been baptized by one of the apostles, thought they were better than anyone else. Maybe this was why Peter did not baptize these new Gentile converts.
Finally in acknowledging God's work through Peter in their midst, they asked Peter to remain on with them for a few days even though they realized that he had work to do in other places. He had done what God had instructed him to do and God had honored his efforts. He would have much work to do in Jerusalem where he would be called to explain why he had gone to the home of a Gentile. But these new converts had much to learn and they wanted Peter to teach them.
It is unfortunate today that Christians do not see the need for spiritual growth. Real Bible Study is not popular in churches today. Only about 30 percent of all Christians have ever studied the Bible from cover to cover. Most remain "babes in Christ" all their lives and never reach spiritual maturity.
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