Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

LESSON 8

The Reluctant Message to Cornelius

Lesson Text:

Acts 10:34-48

Key Terms
Centurion • The commander of a group of soldiers in the ancient Roman army.

Hearsay • Information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate; a rumor:
Paradigm Shift • A fundamentaly change approach or underlying assumptions.

Suggested Emphasis

Peter developed a traveling ministry visiting new Christian communities throughout Judea (somewhat with the same intent as when he and John investigated the breakout church in Samaria in Acts 8). Peter arrived in Lydda (Acts 9:32) and Joppa (Acts 9:37) in the northwest region of the country, to encourage the Saints. And while he "tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon the tanner" (Acts 9:43), he was set up for another move of God. Contem porarily a centurion named Cornelius had a visitation from an angel in response to his God-seeking lifestyle. Cornelius lived in Caesarea, only a few miles north of Joppa, and he was instructed to reach out to Peter. The angel had been dispatched to facilitate Cornelius' conversion, but it is always the duty of other believers to actually share the Gospel message. To prepare Peter for the paradigm shift he was about to experience, the apostle was given a vision that could be summarized, I'VVhat God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:15). Shortly after his vision, Peter encountered the messengers that invited him to Cornelius' home. Once he arrived, the apostle was informed of the centurion's experiences, and became convinced that he had to share the Gospel with this Gentile household.

Emphasis 1:

God Was No Respecter of Persons

What Peter had just heard was profoundly revelatory, and inspired his subsequent extemporaneous speech. "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). He could see now that the Lord was impartial in His love for humanity. His covenant with Israel did not mean He wouldn't have relationships with Gentiles. Peter believed that Cornelius' testimony proved that the centurion was a proselyte. It demonstrated that God accepts anyone who fears Him and does what is right (Acts 10:35). "Acceptance with God does not depend on the fact of being descended from Abraham, or of possessing external privileges, but on the state of the heart" (Barnes, 1962).

The message was comprised of the basics of the Gospel: "the word God sent unto the children of Israel." This was the peace treaty God gave us through Jesus Christ. This was a message that first leaked from Galilee with Jesus' baptism and identification by John the Baptist. The message permeated all of Judea: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" (Acts 10:38). And then his fame began to grow, as Jesus had an itinerant ministry of healing and deliverance throughout the region. All the miracles performed by Christ were beneficial for the populace. He was simply "doing good."

Emphasis 2:

We Were Witnesses

Peter then accentuated his personal witness of the Messiah: "And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem" (Acts 10:39a). He wanted his hearers to know this wasn't hearsay. As he said elsewhere, 'For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). Of course, the primary sense in which he and the other apostles were witnesses was in their testimony of the Resurrection. Peter quickly pivoted to that assignment.

He begins by referencing Jesus' crucifixion: ' ..whom they slew and hanged on a tree" (Acts 10:39b). The choice of pronoun ("they," implying the Jews, rather than "you," meaning the Romans) seems intentional. Of course, his audience at Cornelius' house would have been aware of the role Pilate and the Roman occupiers played in Jesus' execution. Peter emphasized how the Jewish leaders had rebelled against God before he described how God was now turning His attention to the Gentile world. This same Jesus was whom God raised from the dead and made appear before "chosen" witnesses (v. 41 a). The apostles "did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead" (v. 41b). Jesus was not a phantom or spirit-being; he appeared before His disciples in a resurrected body; He could physically be touched (Luke 24:39), He could eat (Luke 24:41—43). With His disciples fully persuaded, He sent them out with a great commission to share the Gospel and to affirm the fact of His resurrection.

Emphasis 3:

A Spontaneous Response

It appears that Peter could have said more on this occasion, but the service was subject to the leading of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit suddenly fell upon every Gentile in the house, astounding the Jews in their company. Cornelius and his family hadn't even had hands laid on them! There was no religious ceremony through which the anointing had been imparted. The spontaneity of this outbreak of the Spirit indicates that it was entirely due to the preaching. Peter acknowledged that the conversion of these Gentiles was now inarguable; they deserved all of the rights and privileges of any other Christian, including water baptism.

Missions Application Questions

1 How did Peter's visions while in Joppa prepare him to meet with Cornelius?
2. Why is it important to realize that God is no respecter of persons?

World Missions Prayer Points

Let us pray to impart the Gospel to all without respect of persons.
Let us pray to witness powerful outpourings of the Spirit in our church gatherings.