Acts 10

Introduction

I made the point last week that we haven’t heard much about Peter since chapter 5. Since then, Luke has told us about Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr; and Philip the Evangelist; and Saul — or Paul as we now know him — who was converted to faith in Christ and appointed an apostle after meeting the Risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus.

But then, at the end of chapter 9, Luke once again focusses on Peter and his ministry in Lydda and Joppa where the Risen Lord Jesus worked through Peter to heal Aeneas and to revive Dorcas. And Luke will continue to focus on Peter in chapters 10 and 11 and 12.

And today’s passage is an important one, because in today’s passage the Lord directed Peter to preach the gospel to Cornelius and his companions. And Cornelius was a Roman centurion and a Gentile. And as Peter preached the gospel to Cornelius and his companions, the Holy Spirit came on them, just as he came on the believing Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and just as he came on the believing Samaritans in Samaria in chapter 8. And God’s willingness to give his Spirit to Cornelius and his companions demonstrates that salvation and eternal life is not just for Jews and it’s not just for Jews and Samaritans, but it’s for Jews and Samaritans and Gentiles: it’s for everyone who believes in Christ, who is the only Saviour of the world.

Verses 1 to 8

Let’s turn to verse 1 where Luke introduces us to Cornelius, this Roman centurion who was stationed in Caesarea. Luke describes Cornelius and his family as being devout and God-fearing; and Cornelius was generous to those who were in need and he prayed to God regularly. One of the commentators describes him as a sympathiser with Judaism who had adopted its piety. So, he hadn’t actually gone the whole way and been circumcised, but he both respected and worshipped the God of the Jews and tried to walk in his ways.

And one day, at about three in the afternoon, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a vision and commanded him to send men to Joppa to fetch Simon Peter. And according to verse 7, as soon as the angel had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and one of his men and told them about the vision and sent them to Joppa.

Verses 9 to 16

Luke then takes us to Joppa. It’s now the next day. It’s around noon. And Peter decided to go up on to the flat roof of the house where he was staying to pray. And as he prayed, he became hungry. And while he was waiting for his meal, he too received a vision from the Lord. He saw a large sheet being let down from heaven. And on the sheet were different kinds of animals.

I should explain that according to the Old Testament laws, which the Jews kept, there were clean animals which they were allowed to eat and there were unclean animals which they were not allowed to eat. You can read about these laws in Leviticus 11. And the animals on the sheet in Peter’s vision were unclean.

And the thing to bear in mind is that God’s laws about clean and unclean animals, and about other things which were regarded as unclean, were taken seriously by the people, because the Lord said to Moses in Leviticus 15:

You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling-place which is among them.

So, God allowed his chosen, but sinful, people to come before him in the temple in Jerusalem. But in order to come before the Lord, you had to keep yourself from whatever was unclean.

And that’s why Peter reacted as he did when a voice told him to get up and kill and eat the animals on the sheet. ‘Surely not, Lord!’ Peter said. And Peter went on to say that he had never eaten anything impure or unclean.

But the voice spoke to him again and told him not to call anything impure which God has made clean. So, if God was prepared to regard these animals as clean, then Peter should do the same. And, as we’ll see, the point of this vision is not so much to do with animals, but it’s to do with people. If God is willing to accept Gentiles, who were regarded as unclean in Old Testament times, then Peter and his fellow believers should accept them too. That’s the point of the vision. And the vision was repeated three times just to ensure that Peter got the point.

Verses 17 to 23a

And Luke tells us in verse 17 that as Peter was wondering about the vision and what it meant, the men sent by Cornelius arrived at the house where Peter was staying and they asked for him. And the Holy Spirit told Peter that three men were looking for him and he should go downstairs and go with them, because God the Holy Spirit had sent them.

And so, Peter presented himself to the men and told them that he’s the one they’re looking for. And when Peter asked them why they had come, they explained about Cornelius and how an angel of the Lord told him to have Peter come to his house so that they could hear what Peter has to say.

And it’s interesting, isn’t it? Cornelius was told to get Peter, but you get the impression that he doesn’t know why. He believes that Peter must have something to say to him, but he doesn’t know what it might be. And Peter was told to go with these men, but he doesn’t really know why they have come for him. And so, up until this point, Cornelius and Peter are obeying the Lord, but they don’t really know what the Lord is doing. And there’s a lesson there for us. Some of us like to know exactly what’s happening and why. But often the Lord keeps us in the dark about his plans and purposes. And perhaps what he’s doing doesn’t make sense to us. Nevertheless, even though we don’t understand what he’s doing or why, we’re to obey his word. That’s our job. That’s what we’re to do. We’re to obey his word and we’re to leave the rest to him.

Verses 23b to 29

But let’s move on. The three men stayed the night with Peter and they set off for Caesarea the next day. Cornelius was expecting them and had invited his relations and friends to his house to hear what Peter had to say.

When Cornelius met Peter, he fell at his feet in reverence, as if Peter deserved some kind of worship. But, of course, Peter told him that he was only a man and so Cornelius should not worship him. And in verses 28 and 29 Peter went in to the house full of Gentiles and he explained to them that it is against the law of the Jews for him to associate with them in this way. The Jews were to keep away from anything unclean; and the Jews always regarded the Gentiles as unclean. However, God has shown Peter that he should not call any man impure or unclean.

Remember: this was the point of the vision. If God was prepared to regard the animals on the sheet as clean, then Peter should do the same. And if God is willing to accept Gentiles, then Peter and his fellow believers should accept them too. And since that’s the case, Peter was willing to come to Cornelius’s house, even though it was full of Gentiles.

Verses 30 to 33

And yet, Peter still isn’t sure why he’s been brought to Cornelius’s house. Does Cornelius know? And in verses 30 to 32 Cornelius explains to Peter about the vision he received from the Lord, telling him to send for Peter. And in verse 33 he tells Peter that he obeyed the vision and sent for Peter immediately. And he says that we’re now all here in the presence of God and we’re ready to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us. Once again it seems that Cornelius doesn’t really know why he’s been asked to get Peter.

Verses 34 to 43

But Peter now knows what to do, because what has the Lord commanded him to preach? What has the Lord commanded all of his apostles to preach? The Lord Jesus commanded them to preach the good news about his life and death and resurrection for sinners. And so, that’s what Peter did.

And what follows is probably only a summary of a longer message, but Peter tells them in verse 36 about the message which God sent to the people of Israel concerning the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. He’s Lord of all, because after his death and resurrection, God exalted him to the highest place to rule over all things in heaven and on earth. That’s where he is now and that’s what he’s doing now.

And then, in verse 37, Peter takes them to the beginning of the Lord’s ministry when he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power so that he was able to go around doing good and healing all who were under satan’s power. And God was with him.

And in verse 39 Peter says that we are witnesses of these things. He’s referring to the apostles who were appointed by the Lord as his official eye-witnesses. And they saw that the Lord Jesus was killed when his enemies hung him from a tree. But God raised him from the dead on the third day and God caused him to be seen afterwards by the apostles who were his official eye-witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he was raised. And the Risen Lord Jesus commanded them to preach to the people and to testify that the Lord Jesus is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. And indeed all the Old Testament prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

And note carefully what the prophets testify: everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins. Everyone who believes, be they Jews or Samaritans or Gentiles. As Peter said back in verse 34: God does not show favouritism. In the past, he favoured the Jews. Salvation was for the Jews alone. They alone of all the nations of the world knew God and his salvation. But now God does not show favouritism and he accepts men and women and boys and girls from every nation who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and who subsequently fear God and who do what is right in his sight. Salvation is for everyone who believes in Christ.

Verses 44 to 48

And no doubt, Peter would have gone on to urge the people in the audience to repent and to believe in Christ for forgiveness. But while he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. And the circumcised believers who were with Peter — or the Jewish believers — were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. They were astonished, because they hadn’t seen this before or heard of it. On the Day of Pentecost, Christ poured out his Spirit on believing Jews in Jerusalem. When Philip was in Samaria, Christ poured out his Spirit on believing Samaritans who were kind of half-Jews and half-Gentiles. But now the Lord Jesus has poured out his Spirit on these Gentiles. And they could tell that the Spirit had been poured out on them because the people began to speak in foreign languages as they did in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and they also praised God.

And since these Gentiles received the Holy Spirit just as the believing Jews had received him, then they should be baptised as members of Christ’s church, which he’s building on the earth through the preaching of the gospel.

Application 1

As we begin to think about the lessons we can learn from this passage, let me point out to you the method God uses to create faith in the hearts of people.

You see, I don’t think we can doubt that the people who gathered in Cornelius’s house believed what they heard from Peter about Christ’s life and death and resurrection for sinners. I don’t think we can doubt it, because Peter would not have baptised them unless they first believed. So, I don’t think we can doubt that the people who gathered in Cornelius’s house and heard the message believed in Christ for salvation.

And so, how did God create faith in their hearts? There were various methods available to him. For instance, he could have sent an angel to them. After all, he sent an angel to Cornelius. This angel appeared to Cornelius in a vision and the angel spoke to him and told him what to do. So, he could have sent an angel to Cornelius and his companions and the angel could have told them about the Lord Jesus. God is able to communicate with people through angels. So, he could have done that. Or I suppose he could have revealed the gospel to them in a dream. Or he could have created faith in their hearts in an entirely supernatural and direct way. There were lots of things the Lord could have done.

But what did the Lord do? He sent a preacher to Cornelius and his companions. Go back to verse 22: the three men explained to Peter that the angel told Cornelius to have Peter come to his house so that Cornelius could hear what Peter had to say. And then jump to verse 33: Cornelius said to Peter that we’re all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded him to tell them. How does God create faith in the hearts of his people? How does he convert people to faith in Christ? How does he build his church in the world? He sends preachers into the world to tell people the good news of Christ. He could have sent angels, but instead of sending angels, he sends preachers.

And I think I’ve said before that there’s a shortage of preachers in the PCI. There are lots of vacant congregations and not enough ministers to fill the vacancies. And so, we need to pray to the Lord and ask him to raise up more and more and more preachers to fill these vacancies and to plant new churches and to take the gospel into other nations, because the way God has chosen to make the gospel known and to build his church on the earth is by sending preachers to preach his word to men and women and boys and girls. And so, we should pray to the Lord to raise up preachers of the gospel.

Application 2

And, of course, what did the Lord command Peter to preach? He commanded Peter to preach about Christ. And so, Peter’s message in verses 36 to 43 is all about the Lord Jesus and who he is and what he did and how he died and was raised and is coming again one day to judge the living and the dead. It’s all about him.

And so, if you ever have the opportunity to tell someone what you believe — if someone comes to you and asks you what you believe — tell them about Christ the Saviour and who he is and what he did and how he died and was raised and is coming again one day.

Christians are often encouraged to give their testimony and to explain how they came to faith. But how you came to faith is not the gospel, because the gospel is about Christ and what he has done for sinners by his life and death and resurrection. The gospel is not about you and what happened to you. The gospel is about him and what he did for us.

And some people think they’re proclaiming the gospel when they tell someone that they need to be saved. But that’s not the gospel. The gospel is not ‘You must be saved’. The gospel is the good news of what Christ has done to save us by his life and death and resurrection.

The Lord Jesus commanded Peter to tell people about his life and death and resurrection for sinners. That’s the gospel. That’s the good news. And that’s the message we’re to tell people whenever we have the opportunity. And God uses the gospel message to reveal his glory and to convert sinners to faith in Christ.

Application 3

And now let me say something about the Holy Spirit. The believing Jews were astonished that these believing Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. just as the Jews have.

Let me explain why they had no reason to be astonished. And I want to explain this by taking you back to Genesis 12, where we read of the time the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him to leave his country and go to the land which God will show to him. And the Lord made certain promises to Abraham. Implicit in his command to go to the land which God will show him was the promise to give him a land for himself. And then the Lord promised to bless Abraham by making him into a great nation and by making his name great. In other words, Abraham would have many descendants so that a whole nation would come from him. And his name would be great: everyone would know of him. And the Lord also promised that all the nations of the world will be blessed through him.

And it’s that last promise I want you to notice especially, because God was promising to bless, not just the Jewish nation, but all the nations of the world through Abraham.

And now I want to take you to Galatians 3, where Paul says in verse 14 that the Lord Jesus redeemed us. That is to say, he delivered us or he freed us from the curse of the law and from the punishment we deserve for our sins by his death on the cross. So, the reason the Lord Jesus gave up his life on the cross was to save us from the condemnation we deserve for all that we have done wrong. He paid for our sins with his life. He shed his blood to cleanse us. And through faith in Christ we are justified: pardoned and accepted as righteous by God.

However, Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes on and he says that Christ redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus. So, Paul points out that God’s promise to Abraham about a blessing from God was for all the nations. It wasn’t just for the Jews, but it was for the Gentiles too. It was for everyone. That is to say, it was for everyone who believes in Christ Jesus.

But what is the blessing? The blessing includes justification: being pardoned and accepted by God because of Christ who paid for our sins with his life and who covers us in his perfect righteousness. But here’s the thing to note: there’s more to the blessing than justification. Paul says that Christ redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive … what? So that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit or the promised Holy Spirit.

So, when God promised that all nations will be blessed through Abraham, he meant that one day people in every nation who believe in the Saviour will be justified — pardoned and accepted by God the way Abraham was — and they will also receive the Holy Spirit. The promise of the Holy Spirit was never for the Jews alone. The promise of the Holy Spirit was always for everyone who believes.

And having the Holy Spirit is indeed a blessing from God, because having the Holy Spirit is the deposit and guarantee of eternal life in the presence of God, when we will be made perfectly holy and perfectly happy for ever and for ever. Whoever has the Spirit has life: eternal life with God because of Christ.

And until we come into God’s presence in the life to come, the Holy Spirit renews us in God’s image and enables us to be the kind of people we were always meant to be, which is people who love the Lord and who want to honour him in our daily lives by the things we say and do and who live our lives for God and his glory. And the promised Holy Spirit renews us and helps us to live like that. He helps us to be better people: better husbands and better wives and better parents and better children and better neighbours and better friends and better workers.

And since this was always God’s plan, then it’s no surprise that Cornelius and his fellow Gentiles received the promised Holy Spirit, because God gives salvation and the gift of his Spirit and eternal life to everyone who believes in his Son.

And the fact that they were enabled by the Spirit to speak in foreign languages, just as they did on the Day of Pentecost, underlines that this blessing from God is for everyone. It’s for everyone and it’s not just for people who speak Hebrew or Aramaic as the Jews did. But it’s also for people like Cornelius who spoke Greek and it’s for people who speak English and Spanish and French and German and Chinese and all the other languages of the world. Everlasting life in the presence of God is for everyone who believes in the Saviour, because God’s love and mercy is infinite and it extends to people in every age and in every place. His love embraces the whole world and he gives salvation and eternal life to everyone who believes.

And so, in John’s vision of heaven in Revelation 6, he saw a great multitude that no-one could count from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne of God and in front of the Lamb who is Jesus Christ. And they are standing together as one and they’re worshipping God and the Lamb, who gave up his life on the cross so that we might receive salvation from our sins and the promised Holy Spirit and eternal life in the presence of God.

And since the gospel is for the whole world, then we should welcome every believer who comes into our church, no matter where they have come from. Since God accepts people from every nation, then we must accept them too and welcome them in Christ’s name. And one day we’ll stand with them in glory and we’ll join with them to worship God and the Lamb who is our Saviour and the only Saviour of the world.