9 BC: The Book of Acts Speaker Notes 9

Date: 03/24/2022

Location: COAH Sunday School

Main Scripture Reference: Acts 10

Acts 10

v1-2

Cornelius is a centurion

A Roman army commander of a unit of 100 men

He is a gentile (really important)

He is not a jew

He is a follower of God, and his entire house were followers of God.

What does this tell us?

There are people other than the Jews who followed God

Some would have you believe that before the gospel went out to the gentiles, that the only ones who were saved were Jews. Here is a clear example of someone who was not a Jew, yet he followed God.

The reach of God extended far past the Jews. When we read the Old Testament, and it is mostly Jew focused, we tend to think they were the only people that God had anything to do with. It is entirely possible that God was working through people all over the earth in similar ways that he worked through Jewish men and women, and we know that there were always servants of God outside of the Jewish people.

The Old Testament is the story of the Jewish people, not the story of the entire world. To assume everything God did in the world is recorded in the OT would not be accurate.

v3-4

Let’s take this a step further. There are more things we can learn from this.

Remember we are in a transition period here. There is a transition from the old covenant of the law to a new covenant of grace.

It is not like the moment Jesus died on the cross that all of the sudden everyone who had followed God previously were now on their way to hell, and God was displeased with them. We have already looked at examples of this. God offers much grace to individuals who have not heard of the death of Christ yet, and in many cases, including this one, individuals are sent to share that message them.

God is pleased with Cornelius, he has not heard of the gospel of christ yet, but God is still pleased with him because he is faithful in what has been revealed to him at the time.

v5-8

Cornelius obeys God, and sends men to go find Peter in Joppa.

v26-28

You have to remember at this time they didn’t have social media and phones to communicate with. When Saul meets the apostles here, they do not know of his conversion, and they are scared he is there to persecute them.

Barnabas was a member of the church in Jerusalem. He was part of this group of people mentioned in Acts 2 that sold their land and gave the money to the apostles. He was a fairly rich man who owned some land, but he gave it up to the apostles for the work of the ministry.

Somehow he had heard about Saul’s testimony, and he vouches for him to the apostles.

Barnabas would go on to be one of Saul’s closest ministry partners.

v9-16

In the Old Testament law God had separated all animals into clean and unclean animals. These were animals they were allowed to eat, and ones they were not.

Clean animals:

Land animals that chew the cud and have a divided hoof, such as cattle, deer, goats, and sheep;

Seafood with both fins and scales, such as bluegill, grouper, and cod;

Certain birds, including chickens, doves, and ducks;

Some insects, such as grasshoppers and locusts.

Unclean Animals

Land animals that either do not chew the cud or do not have a split hoof, such as pigs, dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and rats;

Seafood lacking either fins or scales, such as shellfish, lobster, oysters, and catfish; some birds, such as owls, hawks, and vultures;

Other animals, such as reptiles and amphibians.

Now the main reason for God doing this was to show separation of the Israelite people, the importance of being separated from the world, but God was also protecting them. The clean animals were often far healthier and safer to eat.

You will still see this today with foods that are considered kosher.

Peter would have followed this law very closely.

Remember that when Jesus died he fulfilled the law, there was no longer any need for it. This included the separation of clean and unclean animals.

So God gives Peter a vision of a large sheet full of clean and unclean animals, and it descends down to Peter, and God says to him, kill the animals and eat them.

Peter says I can’t because they are unclean

God says don’t call what I have cleansed uncommon.

What is he saying? That through Jesus the law is fulfilled, what was unclean is cleansed through the blood of Christ in the fulfillment of the law

This sheet comes down and Peter has this response 3 times

v17-23

Peter is still trying to understand what in the world the vision meant, when Cornelius’s servants come to Simon’s door.

While they are standing there, the Holy Spirit tells Peter that they are there, and that he needs to go with them.

They explain that an angel told Cornelius to send them to find Peter and to bring him back.

They sleep there that night, and the next day a group of them travel to Caesarea.

This would have been about a 30 mile trip (from our church to Indianapolis)

v23-27

Peter comes up to Cornelius and, Cornelius bows down to worship him. Peter responds by saying stand up, I am also a man.

Peter consistently shows his humility. Over and over and again Peter has the opportunity to become one of the most famous and powerful people in the world, and every time he is given praise he directs them to Jesus.

v28-29

I would imagine on the trip over Peter is still thinking about the vision he had. And the wheels started to turn about the gravity of what God said.

It was clear that he could eat unclean animals now, but as Peter started to think, he realized that this also meant the law in it’s entirety had been fulfilled.

So the separation that was placed in the law of Jew and Gentile, was no longer there either.

v 30-33

Cornelius explains the Peter what had happened.

v 34-43

In these 9 verses Peter grieves a brief demonstration of the gospel and the history of what happened with Jesus.

No Favorites

Peter now sees why God gave him the vision when he did. Peter has already realized the gravity of what God has said about the law being fulfilled, but now he is applying it spiritually.

The point of this story is that there is no separation between Jew and Gentile.

You probably are not seeing the importance of this because you have never experienced that separation. But for a gentile like Cornelius to receive a vision from God, and one of Jesus’s apostles to come visit him like this was a really big deal.

Now this is talking about the separation between Jew and Gentile, but this verse is broad enough that it can be applied to many other areas.

God has no favorites

No favorites in service

No favorites in culture

No favorites in spiritually history

No favorites in personality

Whenever you feel like maybe God prefers others before you, remember this verse. Even the symbolic and cultural separation the existed with the Israelites is no longer present.

2. The Story

Notice the different areas of focus in this short passage.

1. He focuses on the anointing of the father to the son

He clearly states that Jesus is the son of God

2. He focuses on the Resurrection

He explains not only how Jesus died and arose from the dead, but that people saw him after too

3. He focuses on the Commission

He makes the current state of his job clear

He is telling Cornelius that they are not to only accept the gospel but to spread the gospel

v 44-48

The all except Christ and are baptized.

Notice the focus on the Holy Spirit

It is clearly the power of the Holy spirit falling on these people that is the proof of their salvation

It is all just words until the Holy Spirit comes

Still today the proof of salvation is the Holy Spirit

This was a turning point in the gospel reaching the world.