Acts 10:24-48
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Verses 24-26
Verses 24-26
You remember who else is in Caesarea?
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
We don’t know if Peter calls for him to come for this but it is interesting to note that he is there because we wonder why God didn’t just send Philip to Cornelius.
Perhaps it is because God wanted to send an Apostle so that there would be no question of whether or not it was a true work of the Holy Spirit since the Holy Spirit is about to show up in a huge way.
Maybe God sends Peter instead to avoid Philip from being called into question for going to a Gentile’s house and bringing them into the full family of God as we will see happen to Peter in the next chapter.
Whatever the reasoning is, it is interesting, at least to me, that God doesn’t just have Philip walk over to Cornelius’ house and instead sends for Peter.
Cornelius was waiting for them - Cornelius seemed to have an eager expectation that God would indeed bring Peter to speak words to Cornelius and his household as well as his friends and other family members.
fell down and worshiped him - Don’t bow down and kiss my toe - If you are unaware of the reference in Rome at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican there is a statue of St Peter that for centuries people have bowed down to kiss and iso many people have done this that the toe which is made of bronze has actually worn away! Clearly that is not what Peter ever wanted to happen. He didn’t want any worship given to him, only to Jesus.
In fact in Scripture whenever worship is offered like this to men or angels they reject it because they know they are not worthy to receive worship, which makes the fact that Jesus received worship such a huge statement!
I love this quote from John Stott...
“Whether consciously or unconsciously, Peter had just now repudiated both extreme and opposite attitudes which human beings have sometimes adopted towards one another. He had come to see that it was entirely inappropriate either to worship somebody as if divine (which Cornelius had tried to do to him) or to reject somebody as if unclean (which he would previously have done to Cornelius). Peter refused both to be treated by Cornelius as if he were a god, and to treat Cornelius as if he were a dog.” (Stott)
Verses 27-29
Verses 27-29
We don’t know how many were gathered but it must have been a pretty large group since Cornelius would have had a large home being a centurion.
Peter went in the house. He violated all the so called rules that had been laid out by religious leaders (though not by the word of God) by going into the home of a Gentile and Centurion at that! But God had spoken to Peter in that rooftop trance and his mind and heart were changed by God.
Notice how Peter immediately tells them what a strange thing it is for him to be there and why it is that he decided to go.
Verses 30-33
Verses 30-33
Cornelius now recounts the events of his vision to Peter and the men who traveled with him from Joppa.
Please take note that Peter has prepared a message by the Holy Spirit to share with them and they have prepared their hearts to receive that message from the Holy Spirit through Peter.
They were willing and ready to hear what God had to say to them before hand and they will indeed receive something more than a word that day!
What about us? How do we come here to the church? Do we come with hearts prepared to receive a word from the Lord or do we come out of habit or obligation with our hearts somewhere else? Do we come with an eager expectation and full of faith, or do we come with a critical or lazy mindset?
If this chapter is the test case than I would say that you will receive according to how you come prepared.
Verses 34-43
Verses 34-43
Because of that encounter on the roof of Simon the Tanners house Peter now knows that God wasn’t partial to the Jews when he sent Jesus, but rather that Jesus died for the sin of the world not just the Jews. The mindset in those days was that God only loved the Jews and that God made the Gentiles for hell. Peter learned far more on that rooftop than merely about eating bacon wrapped shrimp in melted butter!
God shows no partiality (no favoritism)
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.
Now we need to clarify something that Peter says in the next verse (verse 35)...
he is not saying that a person can earn their way into heaven. If that was the case then Peter wouldn’t have continued his sermon preaching about the blood of Jesus that brings forgiveness of sins.
The obvious point is that God saves people from ever nation, from all places, all walks of life, all social standings, male, female, rich, poor, slave, free, Jew and Gentile.
Don’t forget the theme verse of Luke’s gospel...
10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Jesus could come and save the Lost because he is as verse 36 declares the Lord of all!
It is only through Christ Jesus that a person finds peace, knows peace, and has peace.
Notice that word or those sayings and teachings that everyone heard about starting in verse 37 Peter says in verse 39 that he and others were eyewitnesses of all those things.
Now also notice the simple gospel message that the early church proclaimed at the end of verse 39 and into verse 40.
Jesus was crucified yet He was raised again (resurrected)!
Jesus wasn’t raised in secret either. He was seen by many of His followers according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 He was even seen by over 500 at once.
This is the simple message about Jesus that stands out from every other message from every other religion or philosophy. Jesus is the only one in the history of the world who was resurrected from the dead.
Take note that Peter doesn’t preach a different gospel to the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house than he did to the Jews who gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost...
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—
23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
He commanded us...
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins...
Whoever is the key word. Sound familiar...
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Verses 44-48
Verses 44-48
While Peter was still speaking these words - What words?
Whoever believes in Him will receive remission (forgiveness) of sins.
This means that the people believed what Peter was preaching about Jesus and even before he could give an altar call they were saved!
I’m not sure if you realize this but with the Holy Spirit coming the way that He did, this makes Peter the only person in the Bible who has been interrupted by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When he was on the mount of transfiguration saying that it was good for them to be there and that he was going to build 3 tabernacles (tents) it was the Father who interrupted him and said “This is my beloved Son. Hear Him. When Peter was arguing with Jesus about how He was going to go to Jerusalem to die and Peter argued with Him, Jesus said “Get behind Me Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men”
And now as Peter is just getting midway into his sermon to these Gentiles, the Holy Spirit interrupts him and falls mightily upon them!
Now, I’m mostly kidding about the Holy Spirit interrupting Peter as he was no doubt speaking to them as the Holy Spirit gave him words to speak. It is just a bit comical to me as we have grown to know Peter and his personality.
Please notice again what happens with these gentiles. They received the message of the gospel, and the Holy Spirit fell upon them in the same way He fell upon the 120 who were in the upper room on the day of Pentecost so that they both spoke in tongues and magnified the Lord.
It reminds me of what the Psalmist wrote...
16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”
So instead of finishing his sermon, Peter realizes what is going on and he calls for water so that these Gentiles could be saved!
Communion
Communion
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;
18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.