Acts 10

Outline

God gives Cornelius a vision

God gives Peter a vision

Peter journeys to Cornelius

Peter preaches the Gospel to Cornelius

The Holy Spirit falls upon the Gentiles who hear the Word

Peter is staying at the house of Simon the tanner. His profession as a tanner requires him to work with animal hides, the skin of dead animals, which puts him in a state of uncleanness.

God gives Cornelius a vision

Caesarea. Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine, not to be confused with Caesarea Philippi. This Caesarea was known as Caesarea by the Sea. It was the regional headquarters for the Roman army, about 48km north of Joppa where Peter was.

Now, there are six things to know about Cornelius from this chapter.

First, Cornelius was a gentile. He wasn’t a Jew by birth, which is what makes this passage so special. God uses Peter to bring Cornelius into the fold. And by the end of this chapter, Peter confesses, “Now I understand that God does not show favoritism, but welcomes people from every nation.” (Acts 10:34-35).

Second, Cornelius was a centurion. A centurion was a non-commissioned officer in the Roman army. A century is a hundred years, a centurion commanded a hundred men.

Third, Cornelius was a devout man. The word for devout is εὐσεβής (eusebēs), which means to be pious or reverent. It tells us that he gave much effort to the things of the spirit.

Fourth, Cornelius was a God-fearer. Luke uses this term to describe a Gentile who worships the God of the Jews and perhaps attends the local synagogue, but has yet to take the final step of circumcision. Gentiles who are circumcised are called proselytes. Cornelius was not a proselyte. He would have been barred from going into the temple, along with the disabled and those who are unclean.

Fifth, Cornelius gave alms generously to the people. He was a man of charity. He didn’t give for the sake of public approval, but he gave generously at personal cost to himself.

Sixth, Cornelius prayed continually to God. In Greek, it’s dia pantos, pantos meaning all. All the time, constantly, he sought the Lord in prayer.

So no matter what angle you take, Cornelius is an outstanding man. He’s attained a high rank in the military. He’s pious in his spiritual devotion to God. He leads his family well. He’s well loved by the community. He gives generously to the needy. And he prays all the time.

But even that is not enough to be saved. Even a good man like Cornelius must hear the Gospel and believe. All his achievements, all his righteousness, all his goodness, it’s not enough. How do we know this? We know this because God doesn’t leave him alone. For his sake and for his salvation, God sends an angel, and the angel says two things.

First, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” This is sacrifice language from the Old Testament. It’s a pleasing aroma that goes up to the Lord when part of the grain offering is burnt. It symbolizes dedicating your entire life to God. And when the grain offering is burnt, the aroma goes up to the Lord. That’s what the angel’s saying.

But that’s not all. The angel then gives an instruction. “Send men to Joppa, and bring the man called Simon, who is called Peter.”

So Cornelius sends three men to Joppa.

The next day, Peter receives a vision from God, and sees the heavens open, and a big sheet coming down with all kinds of animals, and some of them prohibited by the Law.

Why does God now command Peter to eat the animals deemed unclean by the Law?

The Law of Moses was, from the very beginning, a spiritual Law, a Law of love. If it were only about outward compliance, then the Pharisees would have been considered most righteous. Jesus says in Matt. 5:20 that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. I have come not to abolish the Law, says Jesus, but to fulfil it. To accomplish it. To satisfy what it requires. To love.

On another occasion, Jesus’ disciples ate without washing their hands, something that ran against the customs at the time, but not the Law. That’s in Mark 7. And so the Pharisees accuse Jesus and His disciples of being disobedient. What does Jesus say? A person isn’t defiled by eating dirty things. Why? Because it enters the stomach, but it doesn’t enter into the heart (Mark 7:19).

So what we have here isn’t God telling Peter to disobey the Law. Rather, God is guiding Peter to fulfil the spiritual requirement of the Law. To be the good samaritan. To love his neighbor as himself.

The command not to eat pork was never about the porkiness of the pork, but the way that pigs refused to conform to the rest of the other animals by way of behavior. That’s what made it ritually unclean.

On the other hand, here we have Cornelius, who lives according to the Law spiritually but not physically. He loves his neighbor as himself but he hasn’t been circumcised. But God hears his prayers, and looks with favor upon his acts of charity.

Jews would never stay under the same roof as a Gentile, since Gentiles were considered unclean. But Peter welcomes them as his guests, and they stay the night. How do we know this? Because it says, “The next day”.

God confirms through Peter that Gentiles have the same access as Jews to the salvation available through Jesus Christ.

It is God, not Peter, who orchestrates these events and initiates the mission to the gentiles.

How many times does the Holy Spirit speak in the Bible?

The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot’ (Acts 8:29).

The Spirit speaks to Peter, ‘Behold, three men are looking for you’ (Acts 10:19).

The Spirit says to the disciples, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul’ (Acts 13:2).

The Spirit speaks through the prophet Agabus (Acts 21:11).

Key verse: Acts 10:34-35

Acts 10:34–35 ESV

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.