Written ~ 6-14-2024
Read Acts Chapter Ten
Acts 10
In our last chapter (Acts 9:32-43); Peter is traveling from place to place, in the town of Lydda he heals a paralyzed man and many people who witnessed this miracle turned to the Lord. In a town called Joppa he raised a beloved woman from the dead! This kind of news spread quickly, so Peter stayed in Joppa for a while, and many people came to the Lord. While in Joppa, Peter stayed with a man name Simon.
In chapter ten we have a very surprising turn of events and what happens here sets a new course for the spreading of the Gospel message.
In the city of Caesarea we are told about a Roman army officer by the name of Cornelius. He is described as being a devout, God-fearing man, same with his entire household.
Acts 10:3-4…
3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!
Here we have Cornelius… in broad daylight an angel comes to him and calls out his name. What we need to notice is that though he was greatly afraid (stared at him in terror), Cornelius did not hesitate to respond. In his startled state he was able to ask, “What is it, sir?” The word “sir” in other Bible translations is “Lord.” Cornelius may not have known who he was addressing at the time, but he was reverent and attentive. When the angel told Cornelius that God had heard his prayers and He saw the gifts he gave to the poor, this would have been reassuring to Cornelius and it gave him the peace to know that this was indeed a messenger from God.
Acts 10:5-8…
5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
The angel went on to tell Cornelius to send for Peter. There wasn’t any explanation, just that he was to summon Peter. The angel told him where Peter was staying and that was it! Here is another important thing for us to notice. Verse 10:7, “As soon as the angel was gone…” Again there was no hesitation before Cornelius jumped into action. He called two of his household servants, a devout soldier and one of his personal attendants and sent them off to find Peter.
Let’s take a moment and evaluate how we would respond to the voice of the Lord. When we hear the word of the Lord piercing our hearts, do we respond quickly with “Yes, Lord?” Then do we wait anxiously for His instructions? Or do we stand there paralyzed, fearful, not sure if we should respond? Do we spring into action when the Lord calls our name? Cornelius is a wonderful example of a man who did not hesitate, he had no idea what to expect from the request to summon Peter, but he recognized it was a message from the Lord and did as the angel said.
Meanwhile in Joppa we are directed to a rooftop where Peter is praying and we are invited to see a vision Peter is having that winds up being quite perplexing to him…
Acts 10:9-21…
9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”
14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”
15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.
17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.
19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”
When Peter greeted the men Cornelius had sent, he was still in a state of confusion over the vision he saw and what it could’ve meant. I can almost picture Peter shaking his head like he was trying to clear the vision from his mind before greeting the men at the door.
The Holy Spirit didn’t tell Peter why the men were there, only that they were sent by God and not to worry. And again we see the immediate act of obedience when the word of the Lord is spoken. Peter got up without hesitation and went down to see what the men wanted.
Acts 10:22-24…
22 They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” 23 So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa. 24 They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
What we are learning here is the distinction between Jewish law and tradition and the heart of God. In verse 10:28 Peter says to Cornelius, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.”
This was an “Ah Ha” moment for Peter, the vision he had flooded back into his mind and the meaning was made clear to him in that moment. There was no longer to be a separation of Jews and Gentiles, or “clean and unclean.” God had made everyone “clean.”
So, when Peter entered the home of Cornelius, the proverbial walls were broken down and something brand new was beginning to happen. When Cornelius shared with Peter the reason he summoned him, it became obviously clear that the Gospel message was going to spread throughout the Gentile people as it had been with the Jewish people.
Acts 10:34-35…
34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.
Peter went on to tell Cornelius and his household all about Jesus. In verses 10:36-43, Peter tells those gathered around all about the eyewitness accounts of the wonderful things Jesus did. He told them about the crucifixion, but then he told them that Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day and how Jesus appeared to those who would later be His witnesses and proclaim His glory to the nations. When Peter ended with the following words, the most astonishing thing happens!
Acts 10:43b…
43b “…everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His Name.”
The people in that house were listening to every word with intention, they would have been amazed by what they were hearing. They probably never heard the Gospel message before, so their hearts and minds were bursting with anticipation and yearning for Salvation.
Then…
Acts 10:44-48…
44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God.
Then Peter asked, 47 “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterward Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several days.
WOW! What started with a perplexing vision given to Peter, ends with these non-Jewish people receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit! What was once thought that only the Jewish believers could receive the Holy Spirit, God stepped in and made it evident that the Salvation of Jesus Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit was for everybody.
This is a very exciting, very important day! This day is the pivotal moment where it becomes evident that you and I (or non-Jewish people) were always a part of God’s plan to receive Salvation. That is inspiring news! We should be shouting it from the rooftops that we are saved by the Grace of God!
Thank You Father for making me clean, in more ways than one. First by hearing my plea of repentance and cleansing me from my sin, You made me whole and worthy to stand before You. Then by including me in your Salvation plan and filling me with the Holy Spirit, I have become fully clean. Thank You Lord!
~AMEN~