Acts 10

Acts 10:1

10:1, 2 The chapter opens in Caesarea, about thirty miles north of Joppa. Cornelius was a Roman military officer. As a centurion he commanded about one hundred men. He was attached to the Italian Regiment. Even more remarkable than his military prominence was his piety. He was a devout, God-fearing man, who gave alms generously to impoverished Jewish people, and prayed consistently.

Ryrie suggests he was probably a proselyte of the gate; that is, he believed in the God of Judaism and His government, but had not yet taken any of the steps to become a full-fledged proselyte.Whether he was a saved man is open to question. Those who say he was refer to verse 2 and 35, where Peter says with obvious reference to Cornelius, that whoever fears Him (God), and works righteousness is accepted by Him. Those who teach Cornelius was not saved point to Act_11:14, where the angel is quoted as promising him that Peter would tell him words whereby he might be saved. Our view is that Cornelius is an example of a man who lived up to the light which God gave him. While this light was not sufficient to save him, God insured that he was given the additional light of the gospel. Before Peter’s visit, he did not have the assurance of salvation, but he did feel a kinship with those who worshiped the true God. 10:3-8 At about 3:00 p.m. one day Cornelius had a clear vision in which an angel of God appeared to him and addressed him by name. Being a Gentile, he was not as aware of the ministry of angels as a Jew would be, and so he was afraid and mistook the angel for the Lord. The angel spoke reassuringly of God’s appreciation of his prayers and alms, then told him to send south to Joppa for a man named Simon Peter, then lodging with Simon, a tanner … by the sea. With unquestioning obedience, the centurion sent off two of his household servants and a military attache9 who was also a God-fearing man. 10:9-14 The next day, at about noon, Peter went up on the flat roof of Simon’s house in Joppa to pray. He was hungry at the time and would like to have eaten, but the meal was still being prepared down below. His hunger, of course, provided a fitting preparation for what was to follow. Falling into a trance, he saw a sheet … let down from heaven by its four corners, with all kinds of four-footed animals … , birds, and reptiles in it, clean and unclean. A voice from heaven directed the hungry apostle to Rise, … kill and eat! Remembering the Law of Moses which forbade a Jew to eat any unclean creature, Peter uttered the historic contradiction, Not so, Lord!

Scroggie comments, Whoever says not so should never add Lord, and whoever truly says Lord will never say Not so.10:15, 16 When Peter explained his past unbroken record in the matter of eating only kosher food, the voice from heaven said, What God has cleansed you must not call common. Three times this dialogue took place, then the sheet returned to heaven. It is clear that the vision had deeper significance than the mere matter of eating foods, clean and unclean. True, with the coming of the Christian faith, these regulations concerning foods were no longer in effect. But the real significance of the vision was this: God was about to open the door of faith to the Gentiles. As a Jew, Peter had always looked upon the Gentiles as unclean, as aliens, as strangers, as far off, as godless. But now God was going to do a new thing. Gentiles (represented by the unclean beasts and birds) were going to receive the Holy Spirit the same as the Jews (clean beasts and birds) had already received Him. National and religious distinctions were to be dissolved, and all true believers in the Lord Jesus would be on the same level in the Christian fellowship. 10:17-23a While Peter was pondering this vision in his heart, the servants of Cornelius arrived at the gate and inquired for him. Directed by the Spirit, he went down from the housetop to greet them. When he learned the purpose of their visit, he invited them in and gave them accommodations for the night. The servants paid high tribute to their master as a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews.10:23b-29 On the next day Peter set out for Caesarea with the three servants of Cornelius and some brethren from Joppa. They apparently journeyed all day, because it was on the following day that they reached Caesarea. In anticipation of their arrival Cornelius … had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter arrived, the centurion fell down at his feet as an act of reverence. The apostle refused such worship, protesting that he was only a man himself. It would be fitting if all self-appointed successors of Peter would imitate his humility by forbidding people to kneel before them! Finding a crowd assembled inside the house, Peter explained that as a Jew he would not ordinarily have come into a Gentile house like this one, but that God had revealed to him that he should no longer think of the Gentiles as being untouchables. Then he asked for what reason they had sent for him. 10:30-33 Cornelius readily described the vision he had seen four days before when an angel assured him that his prayer had been heard and directed him to send for Peter. The hunger of the Gentile heart for the word of God is praiseworthy. He said, Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God. Such an open and teachable spirit is sure to be rewarded with divine instruction. 10:34, 35 Peter prefaced his message with a frank admission. Up to now he had believed that God’s favor was limited to the nation of Israel. Now he realized that God did not respect a man’s person because of his nationality, but was interested in an honest, contrite heart, whether in a Jew or a Gentile. In every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.There are two principal interpretations of verse 35:

1. Some think that if one truly repents and seeks after God, he is saved even if he has never heard about the Lord Jesus. The argument is that although the man himself might not know about Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice, yet God knows about it and saves the man on the basis of that sacrifice. He reckons the value of the work of Christ to the man whenever He finds true faith.
2. The other view is that even if a man fears God and works righteousness, he is not thereby saved. Salvation is only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But when God finds a man who has lived up to the light he has received about the Lord, He makes sure that the man hears the gospel and thus has the opportunity to be saved. We believe that the second view is the proper interpretation. 10:36-38 Peter next reminds his hearers that although the gospel message was sent to the Jews first, yet Jesus Christ … is Lord of allGentile as well as Jew. His audience must have heard the story of Jesus of Nazareth; it had begun in Galilee, at the time John was baptizing, and had spread throughout all Judea. This Jesus, anointed by the Spirit, had lived a life of selfless service for others, doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. 10:39-41 The apostles were witnesses to the truth of all Jesus did. They traveled with Him in all Judea and in Jerusalem. In spite of His perfect life, men killed Him by hanging Him on a stake. God raised Him from among the dead on the third day, and He was seen by witnesses chosen before by God. As far as we know, the Lord Jesus was not seen by any unbelievers after His resurrection. But the apostles not only saw Him; they ate and drank with Him. This, of course, shows that the Savior’s resurrection body was tangible, material, and physical. 10:42 In resurrection, the Lord commissioned the apostles to proclaim Him as Judge of the living and the dead. This agrees with many other Scriptures which teach that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son (Joh_5:22). This means, of course, that as Son of Man He will judge Jews and Gentiles alike. 10:43 But Peter does not linger on a note of judgment. Instead he introduces a grand statement of evangelical truth, explaining how the judgment can be avoided. As all the prophets of the OT had taught, whoever believes in the name of the Messiah will receive remission of sins. It is not an offer to Israel alone, but takes in all the world. Would you like to know the forgiveness of sins? Then believe in Him! 10:44-48 While Peter was still speaking … , the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles. They all spoke with tongues, praising God. This was a sign to those present that Cornelius and his household had indeed received the Holy Spirit. The Jewish-born visitors from Joppa were astonished to think that Gentiles could receive the Holy Spirit as such, without becoming Jewish proselytes. But Peter was not bound to the same extent by Jewish prejudices. He sensed immediately that God was making no distinction between Jew and Gentile, so he proposed that the household of Cornelius should be baptized. Notice the expression, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. These Gentiles had been saved in the same way as the Jewssimple faith. There was no suggestion of law-keeping, circumcision, or any other ordinance or ritual. Notice, too, the order of events in connection with the reception of the Holy Spirit by the Gentiles:
3. They heard the word, that is, they believed (v. 44).
4. They received the Holy Spirit (v. 44, 47).
5. They were baptized (v. 48). This is the order of events that prevails for Jew and Gentile alike in this dispensation, when God is calling out of the nations a people for His Name. It is not surprising that after this gracious work of God’s Spirit in Caesarea, the believers prevailed on Peter to stay with them a few days.