Acts 10:17-48
10:17. Joppa was a large town, but knowing Simon’s profession and that his house was near the sea would make it easy to find him. (In many cities of the Roman world, people of the same trade would live in the same district.) That Simon has an outer gate indicates that he is a man of some means.
10:18. Being knowledgeable about Judaism themselves (10:2), Cornelius’s messengers “call out” rather than simply going up to the house to enter (10:28), although as representatives of a Roman centurion they could surely have done so with impunity under Roman custom.
10:19–21. Peter “went down” to them by the outside staircase leading from the flat roof.
10:22. Although many stories tell of Jewish teachers talking with Gentiles, strict Jews would not enter a Gentile’s house or allow a Gentile in theirs. Thus Peter faces a problem in being invited to Cornelius’s house. Although more lax Jews would probably not object (v. 23a), Peter has to be concerned about stricter elements within the Jewish church, which eventually included even Pharisees (15:5)
10:23b. Peter’s companions are no doubt brought partly to serve as witnesses that he behaves properly (10:45; cf. Deut 17:6; 19:15).
The term translated “relatives” (NASB, NIV) can also mean “countrymen” and probably does here. If it means relatives, it could mean distant relatives who were soldiers stationed in the same city, although that coincidence is unlikely. It is not the usual way to describe one’s immediate family (cf. also on 10:2), but it is even less likely to include servants. That he had “called them together” suggests that they are not infants (cf. also v. 46), and nothing in this passage supports the reference to infant baptism that some writers have seen here (v. 48).
10:25–26. Greco-Roman paganism believed not only in gods but in semidivine men, often sons of the gods, who had supernatural powers (14:11; 28:6). One would offer obeisance to gods by falling at their feet and worshiping them, as Cornelius does to Peter here. Cornelius should know better (10:2) than to treat Peter with such reverence; perhaps he intends only a special form of homage, which a servant of Jesus finds inappropriate (cf. Lk 22:25–27).
10:27–29. Devout Jews would not enter into idolaters’ homes lest they unwittingly participate in idolatry; they apparently extended this custom to not entering any Gentile’s home. It was considered unclean to eat Gentiles’ food or to drink their wine; although this purity regulation did not prohibit all social contact, it prevented dining together at banquets and made much of the Roman world feel that Jews were antisocial. Cornelius is undoubtedly accustomed to accepting reluctant (10:22) snubs, so Peter’s statement in 10:28 would mean much to him.
10:34–43 This message to the Gentiles is unique among the sermons of Acts in providing a summary of Jesus’ ministry. It contains no scriptural proofs and was cut short before Peter could give an invitation to trust in Christ. It is quite likely, of course, that the speech was an extended one, of which Luke gives an abbreviated account.
10:34–35. Judaism heavily emphasized God’s impartiality; cf. Romans 2:11.
10:37. “Judea” here apparently includes Galilee and is used in the broader sense of “the Jewish land” instead of its usual more narrow sense as the southern region of Palestine.
10:42. In most Jewish literature, God himself is the judge.
10:45–47. Most Jewish teachers felt that the Spirit inspired only the most pious with divine utterances, or that the Spirit would mark God’s people in the future age. Gentiles obviously could not receive the gift if God had not accepted them, so he clearly had accepted them—even without circumcision.
10:46 Speaking in tongues and praise of God outwardly demonstrated the Spirit’s presence and God’s acceptance of Gentiles without circumcision (which had been required for conversion to Judaism).
10:48 To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (see also 2:38; 8:16) is not different from being baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). Even though different words are used here in Acts, the meaning is the same because in biblical usage a person’s “name” represents the person’s character, everything that is true about the person. The “name” (character and attributes) of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is the same as the “name” (character and attributes) of Jesus Christ. In fact, in Matt. 28:19, the word “name” (Gk. onoma) is singular, indicating that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share one “name” (i.e., one character). To be baptized into that name is a sign of identifying with that name and taking on Christ’s character, as well as committing to live one’s life from that point on as a representative of that name. remain for some days. Peter’s willingness to stay with them likely involved his sharing meals with the Gentiles, a bold step for one who formerly was so concerned about clean and unclean foods (see also notes on Gal. 2:11–21).