Acts Episode 20: The First Gentile Converts to Christ

Wes

Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study Podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now on to today’s episode. This is episode 20 in our Acts Bible Study Podcast. This episode is entitled The First Gentile Converts to Christ, where we’ll discuss Acts 10:1-48. I’m Wes Treadway and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?

Andy

This is yet another exciting and significant chapter in the Book of Acts. We just had one in Acts 9 with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and now we have the movement out of the gospel from essentially Jew only to Jew and Gentile. And we know that from the vision and Revelation 7, the vast overwhelming majority of believers, redeemed people in heaven who’ll be wearing the white robes will be Gentiles and not Jewish people. We’re grateful for all of our Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ, and we’ll be excited for every one of them as the apostle Paul himself would be. But the over, overwhelming majority will be Gentiles, and so this was always God’s plan. This was not plan B. This was what God intended that through Abraham all the peoples on earth will be blessed, and we’re going to see that movement here in Acts 10.

Wes

Well, let me go ahead and read all of Acts 10 for us to set the stage for our conversation that we’re having.

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation for, I have sent them.” And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you were looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well-spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.'”

And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and asked for Simon, who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now, therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Andy, this chapter in Acts begins by telling us a little bit about Cornelius, who is a main character in this passage we’re looking at today. Why do you think God chose to work first through a centurion?

Andy

Well, it seems like centurions always are great men in the New Testament. They’re just great guys. It’s a centurion that testifies at the cross, “Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). The centurion sent messengers to Jesus that he would come and heal his paralyzed servant. And he said, “I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed, for I’m a man under authority with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Matthew 8:8-9). So, centurions were middle level managers. Maybe the word means they had 100 men under them, influential men, men of dignity, men of authority, but not at the highest level. And also, there are just some certain things that we learn about Cornelius, why he was chosen for this, namely his patterns of piety.

Wes

In verse 3, we are told that Cornelius has a vision of an angel of God. How does Cornelius’s prayer life factor into this account, and what does verse 4 teach us?

Andy

Well, he has a regular pattern of piety and devotion. He has a heart for the poor and needy. It says, “I pray to God regularly.” And God heard his prayers. People asked, “Does God hear the prayers of an unbeliever?” And I think what we need to learn here, and there’s definitely a pattern of this in the Muslim world, how God uses dreams and visions to prepare individuals for the gospel, but he doesn’t deliver the gospel to them by those means. And we get that here, an angel appears to him in a vision as always having a dream and tells him what he needs to do in order to hear the gospel. So very important principle that I’m sure we’ll talk about, which is that God doesn’t use angels normally to deliver the gospel itself but to set people up whereby they can hear it. So, we learn things about this man, Cornelius, his piety, his pattern of prayer, his concern for the poor and needy. He seems like a fit vessel and is ready to hear the gospel.

Wes

All right, let’s talk a little more about this vision of the angel. What does the angel instruct Cornelius to do and why doesn’t the angel simply preach the gospel to Cornelius? Like you mentioned, that’s not why he came. So, what does he do and why doesn’t he preach the gospel?

Andy

Well, especially because the word angel means messenger. Angelos is a message giver. So, they could give the greatest message ever, the gospel. And as a matter of fact, in the Book of Revelation it says, “There is an angel flying mid-heaven and he has the eternal gospel to preach to those on earth” (Revelation 14:6). So, angels can do it, we have very clear evidence of this early in the Gospel of Luke at the time of the birth of Jesus, “For to you a Savior is born who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). So those are significant aspects of the gospel. They are able to articulate it. But God in his wisdom has chosen that the ministry and the message of reconciliation through Christ would be given to us as human beings. He wants us involved. Now the angels would do a bang-up job, there’s no doubt about it. Utterly fearless, there’s no doubt.

God in his wisdom has chosen that the ministry and the message of reconciliation through Christ would be given to us as human beings.

But the angels are given, in this particular case, this angel is given the role of setting the whole thing up rather than actually doing the preaching. He does instruct him to send some men to Joppa to get the messenger to come. And so, what we’re going to see definitely beautifully in this chapter is lived out Ephesians 2:10, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,” listen to this part, “Which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them.” This is God preparing Cornelius in advance for Peter’s good work of preaching the gospel to him. So, isn’t that exciting? When we think about evangelism, that God has gone ahead of us and is preparing people to hear the message that we’ll bring? That’s very exciting. God actually in this chapter works both sides of the equation. So, he prepares Cornelius for Peter, and he prepares Peter for Cornelius.

Wes

What did Cornelius do after the angel had gone and do we have a sense of what his messengers thought about Cornelius and his vision?

Andy

Well, it says that Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier, so three men to go to Joppa and get Peter. And it specifically mentions that the soldier was devout, so he was a pious or a godly man. So, Cornelius’s patterns are rubbing off on this other soldier and certainly on his messenger. So, he’s chosen these men wisely. They’re men who are not going to think he’s out of his mind. They’re on board, they’re excited and interested in what is happening here so they don’t fully know it either. But I think the fact that the Spirit specifically mentions that the soldier is devout. What does your translation say in verse 7?

Wes

In verse 7, it says, “When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and two devout soldiers among those who attended.”

Andy

So why does the Spirit mention through Luke that this soldier devout except that he’s on board with what Cornelius, the way he lived his life, the kind of man he was.

Wes

So, in the next verses we turn, like you mentioned, from God preparing Cornelius for Peter to God preparing Peter for Cornelius. What happens in Peter’s vision? What was the point of the vision and what do we learn from Peter’s vigorous objection to the heavenly command?

Andy

Okay, so this is a big deal. So, we’ve got Peter, he is the apostle to the Jews, he is the leader of the church in Jerusalem. And it says that he goes up on the roof to pray. So, we think again of those ancient near Eastern homes with flat roofs, sun baked roofs, you could go up there by some stairway on the side of the building or something like that and he would go up there and would kneel down and pray and spend time in prayer. As the prayer time went on, he became hungry, wanted something to eat. And the person whose house he’s staying at in Joppa, Tanner named Simon, maybe his family is there offering hospitality and they’re willing to make a meal. So, they’re in the process of making a meal. All of this is set up for the vision. And so, Peter’s hungry but continues to pray.

And while the meal is being prepared, it says he fell into a trance. So, some kind of a mental state comes over him, a visionary state which is characteristic of prophets and apostles as they’re having visions from God. And so, he saw it says, “Heaven open,” and something like a large sheet being let down from heaven held by its four corners. And as it descends to the earth, maybe it lands on the earth and flattens out and he can see inside of it contains all kinds of four footed animals as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. And you’ve got to understand the Jews grew up with dietary regulations that are very clearly specified of what they may and may not eat. So, it comes down to these dietary regulations.

Now, we already know that Jesus has declared all foods clean, so there is no spiritual reason not to eat a reptile. There may be many other reasons not to eat a reptile, but there are no spiritual reasons once Jesus declares all food clean. So those ceremonial laws of the Old Testament were temporary. They were in place until the Messiah came, until the Christ came, identifying the Jews as a unique or peculiar people and giving the Messiah a setting so that He could come to the Jew first and then after that to the Gentile. So, the dietary regulations were part of that, but Jesus was already loosening those when He said that, “It is not what goes into a man’s mouth that makes him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth makes him unclean.” In so saying, Mark’s gospel tells us, Jesus declared all foods clean, but they didn’t understand that at that point. It took time for that fact to register with the Jewish believers.

Peter doesn’t have it yet at this point. So, he still believes in what the Jews would call kosher food, food that you’re allowed to eat versus food that you’re not. And clearly this sheet contains some things he is not allowed to eat. Then along comes this voice from heaven, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat.” Now for the fourth time in Peter’s career in the New Testament, he says, “Never, Lord.” At least in one translation, “Never, Lord.” That’s four times, three times before Jesus dies. And now once after the resurrection, Peter is Peter. And even though he’s been sanctified and he’s learning not to say, “Never, Lord.” When the Lord tells you to do something, you best do it. When he tells you that this very night before the rooster crows three times, it’s going to happen. Don’t say it will never happen.

And don’t say to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Not even into eternity. He’s going to be washing your feet moments later. So, so much for that and certainly don’t tell Jesus that he would never die on the cross for our sins. That’s four times Peter says never, that’s just who Peter is. So, the Lord is telling him to kill and eat in the vision, and he says, “No way.” Now this is by the way, very similar to Ezekiel who pushes back on the Lord telling him that he’s going to bake his food over human excrement. And he says effectively the exact same thing Peter says, “I’ve never eaten anything impure or unclean.” And the Lord at that point changes and says, “Fine, I’ll let you bake it over cow manure instead of human excrement.” It’s like he gets it.

In this case though, the Lord doesn’t budge at all. He says this very important statement, “Do not call anything impure unclean that God has made clean.” So, God is able to clean the unclean. Now how important is that for the issue of salvation? It’s the symbolism of the foot washing. He talks about that in spiritual terms, in terms of a person who’s had a bath needs only to wash his feet and, “You are clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). Think about that. And so, Cornelius and his family are about to become clean by the word spoken to them.

Wes

Wow.

God is able to clean the unclean.

Andy

Declared clean by God. So don’t call anything unclean that God makes clean. God is able to make the unclean clean. That’s the lesson. Does Peter actually kill and eat? Doesn’t seem that way, but this whole thing happens three times. There’s a strong emphasis. And Peter is a strong personality, so he needs this vision three times to get the lesson.

Wes

Again and again and again.

Andy

Exactly.

Wes

So, after this vision, the messengers from Cornelius arrive, how did the vision of animals prepare Peter to meet Cornelius’s messengers? And why would Peter have been hesitant to go with them so much so that the Holy Spirit had to command Peter to go in verse 20?

Andy

Well, there’s a backdrop here that’s very important, I think, concerning the way the Jews related to the Gentiles that I think needs to be talked about. We need to understand that the Jews had gone far beyond the Mosaic regulations concerning interactions with Gentiles. They were not allowed to intermarry. But especially after the exile, the idea that they would not have any interactions or even go into the house, what text from the Old Testament would you point to saying that a Jew is forbidden from going into a gentile house? What command would you have that Jews are not allowed to eat with Gentiles? There are clear commands concerning not allowed to eat unclean foods. But suppose the Gentile were serving kosher food, still can’t eat with them. Where’d you get that? But it’s a tendency that the Pharisees had of the Jewish legalist to go beyond the law of Moses and establish boundaries way beyond what the Lord had said.

Now you may point back to the original time in Joshua when they’re clearing the promised land of Canaanites, and at that point they weren’t eating with any of these Canaanites, they were slaughtering them, they were killing them all. But as things settled down and life continued and there were regular interactions between Jews and Gentiles, these kinds of laws, there are no established laws that you’re not allowed to eat with a Gentile, not allowed to go in their house, but that’s what they thought. And Peter’s going to say, “You know that it’s against the law for a Jew to go into the house of a Gentile or eat with him.” So, the Lord is already needing to change some things. And my guess is after Cornelius’ conversion and all that, they’re going to share a meal together, they’re going to have some time together.

And Peter’s going to begin at least up to a certain point, a pattern of eating food with Gentiles until some men show up from the group with James, the circumcision group. And in Galatians 2 he sinfully, Peter sinfully draws back from table fellowship with gentile believers. And Paul has to absolutely read him the riot act on that in Galatians 2. So, at any rate, all of that is the heritage here. So, the vision, the triple vision of the unclean animals, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat.” “Never Lord, I’ve never eaten anything impure or unclean.” “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean,” gets him ready to go with some Gentiles. And they’re all Gentiles, the messengers are, to go meet with a Gentile and to preach the gospel to them.

Wes

Yeah, it’s really powerful, especially at the end of verse 20, we get that statement when the Spirit says to Peter, “I have sent them.” So, we see this working of God in bringing these men from Cornelius to Peter, preparing Peter for this interaction. And then we see the response. So, what did the messengers tell Peter when they arrive and what was his response?

Andy

Yeah, I love that by the way. That’s a good point. He says to not be afraid to go with them because, “I’ve sent them,” and that’s what the Spirit said. And again, the same thing with Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit is orchestrating evangelistic encounters. This is what the Spirit does. It’s really, really exciting. So, at any rate, he goes down having been forewarned about some men, and here they are, here are the men, and they’re looking for Peter. And he comes in, and they call out asking if Simon who’s known as Peter is there, and he’s coming down, the whole thing. And it’s really very much like the book of Esther where while this is happening, then this happens. And even while that’s happening, then the Lord… It’s all timing. There’s this providential timing feel here. Everything’s working like a vast machine of timing.

And so, he goes down and he says, “All right, I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come? What is it you want?” And here’s the answer. “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man who is respected by all the Jewish people.” All the Jewish people know him and care about him because of the kind of man he is. Now, a holy angel has told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear whatever it is you have to say. Now Peter knows what it is he’s going to say. He’s going to preach the gospel to them. And he knows if this whole thing’s being orchestrated by the Spirit, he knows what’s going to happen. So, this is pretty amazing. But at any rate, the men come in and stay with Peter to be his guest, which is an interesting thing because it’s not his house. So that’s another moment. It’s kind of like Jesus inviting himself off to Zacchaeus’ house.

Wes

Hospitable with someone else’s space.

Andy

“Yeah, I must stay at your house today, so you need to feed me lunch,” that kind of thing. So, he’s like, “Please come and stay at Simon’s house.” So, at any rate, they come in.

Wes

So, the next day it says, “He rose and went away with them. Some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.” So, Peter goes, takes some of those who are with him there in Joppa and they go to meet Cornelius. What did Cornelius do to prepare for Peter and what does this teach us about Cornelius’s heart and God’s ways?

Andy

Well, Cornelius is obviously a very intelligent man. He’s a commander of a hundred men. He gives orders, he manages this whole thing. He knows logistics, he knows practicalities. And he’s like, “All right, this isn’t just about me.” And so, I understand, and we’re going to find out, we don’t know this yet, but later we’re going to find out that the angel said, “He will tell you a message by which you and your household will be saved.” So that was part of what the angel said. We just don’t know that yet. But I know it because I read ahead in the chapter. But at any rate, he knows that this is part of the angel’s message to him. “You better get your whole family together. You want them to be saved, don’t you, Cornelius? Not just you.” And not just that, but he calls together close friends as well. So, he’s got a whole bunch of gentile people in his house and they’re waiting for Peter.

Wes

What was Peter’s initial interaction with Cornelius and the crowd like and how does Peter apply the vision of the sheet to Cornelius’s situation and the future of the church?

Andy

Okay, so his initial reaction is he deals with him with reverence. It’s like he wants to kiss his hand or bow down and kiss the hem of his garment or something like that. Again, notice the incredible humility. The Romans were the conquerors of the world. The Romans ran the world, they’re in charge. Cornelius is a commander of a hundred Roman soldiers. He’s in charge of that district probably. And look what he’s doing, he’s on the ground before Peter the Apostle because he just sees him as a messenger from Almighty God. And is so grateful that he would come. And knowing regular interactions with Jews, he understands what a big deal it is that Peter would come to his house. And so, he knows the Jews, and Peter even says, “You’re well aware.”

And so fundamentally, this issue of Jew/Gentile separation or what Ephesians 2 calls the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile through the legal requirements is torn down here between these two men in a beautiful way. Both of them are really humble toward the other. So, he falls down in reverence, and Peter says, “Get up. I’m a man myself. I’m nothing but a man. I am not going to accept that worship.” Just like the angel himself does twice with John in the Book of Revelation, “Don’t fall down and worship me. Don’t worship the messenger, worship the giver of the message.” So anyway, he goes in, and Peter finds a large gathering of people in there. He’s like, “All right, we got a lot of people here.” So that’s probably not a surprise. And he begins his message.

“You’re well aware that it’s against our law,” he says, “For a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him.” I mean, where does this come from? Except perhaps that universal slaughter law given to Joshua and the armies as they’re crossing the Jordan River, there was no one left alive. But I don’t think that’s going to apply permanently to all interactions with Gentiles. How could it? How could the Jews be told to slaughter all the Gentiles in the world? So no, that was just for the promised land for that one time. Anything beyond that, you’re not going to find anything in the law of Moses saying, “You’re not allowed to associate with Gentiles or eat with them or interact with them.” But that’s what Peter thought. But the Lord is moving him because of the triple vision. He’s moving him away from understanding it that way. “God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.” He did that and he learned a lesson. He had time to think. It took, what was it? Three days?

Wes

Three times.

Andy

Yeah. Three times where it’s also-

Wes

Three times and then the time he traveled as well.

Andy

Right. Was it a three day journey to get there? I don’t know. There’s somewhere in here about how long it took following day.

Wes

Maybe two. The next day he rose and the following day they entered-

Andy

Yeah. Yeah, two-day journey. So, he’s got time to think about it, “But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objections. Now what is it you want? May I ask why you sent for me?” Then Cornelius gives him this answer. “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon, suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the Tanner who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we’re all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

So that’s his rehearsing of what the angel said. Now I want you to know the rehearsing slightly different in chapter 11 where he says, “He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.” So that’s Acts 11:14. So just how it works, you get a little more information every time. Same thing with Saul’s conversion story, it’s just always a little more information. Anyway, “I got everyone together. We’re all ready. It’s good of you to come. What do you have to say to me?” All right, so now Peter, you’re on.

Wes

Yeah. And like you mentioned, Peter knows from the outset what he’s going to declare, the same message he’s declared since the day of Pentecost, the gospel that is the power of God for salvation.

What lesson does Peter say that he’s learned through this, and do you think this was hard for him to learn, especially in the case of a Roman soldier?

Andy

Yeah. All right. The lesson is God does not show favoritism. And this is something Paul says, writes frequently, in the Book of Romans a number of times, “For there is no favoritism with God.” God’s not putting one over the other. So, what that means is to the Jew first and then to the Gentile is not favoritism, its sequence, it’s strategy perhaps. But God in the end will not love his Jewish believers more than he loves his gentile believers. He doesn’t love his Jewish children, adopted children, any more than he loves his gentile adopted children. God does not show favoritism. That’s what Peter learns here. And yeah, I think that was hard for him to learn. “We’re the chosen race, we’re the people here.” But he actually accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right, basically saying who are genuinely born again, who are transformed by the Spirit. That’s what we’re talking about. So, then he digs in and begins to give the message here.

Wes

How does Peter summarize the events of Jesus’ life and how does he know that they have heard of these things?

Andy

Well, you know the message God has sent to the people of Israel. So, this message did come first to the Gentiles, sorry. So, this message has first come to the Jewish nation. Jesus himself said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel,” but it wasn’t intended to stay there. It’s very clear in Luke’s gospel, Luke 24 and all the gospels that a worldwide expansion of this gospel message beginning in Jerusalem to the

ends of the earth and the distant islands and coastlands was always intended by God. So, this is the message God sent first to the people of Israel telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. What a great statement. So that there is peace, forgiveness of sins available through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all. What a great statement, King of kings and Lord of Lords, the greatness of Jesus.

He said, “Then you know what has happened throughout Judea beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power and how he went around doing good and healing all who are under the power of the devil because God was with him.” So, this is a very brief summary of the life and ministry of Jesus. Wes, you know it is from this statement that I got the insight that I had only recently developed, that Jesus did every single one of his miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t do some of them by the Spirit and some not by the power of the Spirit, that is absurd. It would make no sense, any more than he did some of his teachings or his miracles by the direct will of his Father and others he did on his own.

Jesus said, “I do nothing on my own” (John 5:30). So, if he does nothing on his own, in reference to the first person in the Trinity, it seems he did no works, no miracles of his own apart from the third person in the Trinity. God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and delivering people who are under the power of the devil. Not just the exorcisms, but some of the healings were overtly connected to Satan’s work, like the woman that was hunched over and bound, and it says, “Satan has kept bound all these many years” (Luke 13:16), heals her on the Sabbath. Remember, “Why shouldn’t I release this woman? You untie your animals and lead them to water, why can’t I set this woman free who’s been bound by Satan?” So, he went around freeing people from all of Satan’s works, doing good because God was with him.

And then he says, “We’re witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews in Jerusalem. We are eyewitnesses.” That’s what they were there for. That’s what the apostles did. They were little living camcorders or little GoPro videos. So, they’re watching and remembering and learning what he did. He said, “We’re witnesses. We are the ones who saw what he did in the country of the Jews in Jerusalem.” Now he gets to the point, “They killed him by hanging him from a tree.” So, he speaks of the crucifixion. “But then,” and every time the apostles in the Book of Acts preached the gospel, they always refer to the resurrection without fail. “But God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.” Now he’s not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen by us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

So, “We were witnesses, we ate and drank with him. We touched him. We are standing here telling you that God raised this dead man to life on the third day, we’re witnesses of that.” So that’s the basics of the gospel. “And he commanded us to preach to the people and testify that he,” meaning Jesus, “is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” So, you look at that and you got a very simple truncated gospel message. There’s a lot of things, my guess, is that he said that are not recorded here, but this is a very simple summary of it and the things that he said to Cornelius so that he would understand how forgiveness of sins could come. This is the gospel.

Wes

Yeah. And it’s powerful because like you mentioned, Peter highlights his role as an eyewitness having seen these things. He acknowledges and highlights Christ’s role as judge of the living and the dead. And then he summarizes with that call to belief, that anyone who would believe in him would be forgiven of their sins. Why would this presentation that he’s made, this powerful presentation of the gospel, why would it be inadequate without that final statement in verse 43?

Andy

Yeah. “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name,” that’s the statement. And I think the reason that this is just a summary is that there is a necessity to be certain that Cornelius and all the people there understand what sin is and the need for forgiveness of sins, that it’s not assumed that they all understand, especially as a gentile people. So, a full explication of the nature of sin as essential to an unfolding of the gospel is clear in Romans. Romans 1-3, effectively half of Romans 1, all of Romans 2 and half of Romans 3 summarize one lesson, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So, my feeling is that Peter went through all of those things. But what’s the point in him being there if there’s no chance of forgiveness?

“The fundamental good news is Cornelius for you, for your family, for all your close friends that are here, your sins can be forgiven.” And going back to that word “peace” that he said earlier that there is this message of peace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Verse 36, “Telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ.” That’s peace with God who was at war with you, but now he’s not if you have faith in Christ. So why is it essential? Because it is by faith alone, not by good works. It is by faith. His good works have been mentioned multiple times. He’s a pious man who cared for the poor and needy. Good for you, not going to save you. What you need is faith in Jesus Christ. Now that will save you.

Wes

In the final verses of this chapter, we see the impact of this gospel proclamation and the response and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. What does it mean that the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard and how did the Spirit manifest his coming in sight and sound here?

Andy

Okay. The last question first, it is probably by speaking in tongues whenever the Spirit comes, it seems in the Book of Acts, there are outward manifestations that make it very clear that these people have received the Holy Spirit. So maybe speaking in tongues, there might be other things like, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 10:11). Saul would fall on the ground and begin prophesying. So, I don’t know, but there are just some manifestations, could be a little Pentecost, could be a sound of rushing wind and a shaking, the room is shaking. Doesn’t say this, so we’re speculating. But there is clear evidence to the believers that are with Peter, these Gentiles have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. Now, this is going to be a big deal, and we don’t need to spend a lot of time on it now because it is very much the issue in chapter 11 and very much the issue in chapter 15 with the Jerusalem council.

But what is the significance? They’re not circumcised. They just heard a message and believed it. This is Galatians 3:2: “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by believing the message you heard?” This is Cornelius living this thing out. It was by believing a message he heard. An uncircumcised Roman receives the full gift of peace, forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the whole thing by faith. Just like the thief on the cross, no works needed just faith, and you receive salvation fully. Circumcision is not relevant to salvation at all. That’s a pretty significant feature, and we’re going to be talking about it in chapter 11 and 15.

Wes

Absolutely. So, the reaction of the circumcised believers who had come with Peter is astonishment, right? They’re amazed the Holy Spirit has been poured out on these Gentiles. What was the significance of the pouring out? I know you mentioned, we’ll talk more about this in the next chapter, but the pouring out of the Spirit at this point in redemptive history, this is really a seismic shift in how we’ll think about the message of the gospel going forth from here on.

Andy

Right. I mean, the key figure going forward from Acts 13 on, will be Paul the apostle to the Gentiles. And that’s because the over, over, overwhelming numbers of conversions for the next 19 and a half centuries will be Gentiles all over the world. And this is the work. So, it’s going from Jew-only to Jew-plus-Gentile and to predominantly Gentile. That’s the movement. But it starts with Peter the apostle to the Jews. So, it’s a beautiful thing how God knits them together. It’s not separate works he’s doing. It starts with the Jewish nation. It starts with the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem through Judea and Samaria, but then it goes to the ends of the earth. So, this is a seismic shift and a very important chapter in redemptive history.

So, Cornelius and his family receive the gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and they are seen to be full members of the body of Christ, full members of the family of God. They are adopted sons and daughters of Abraham. There are all kinds of things. They don’t even know all this yet, but this is going to come and it’s going to be developed. And it’s amazing the reaction of the people with Peter. They’re astonished, they’re amazed, but what could they say? They’re just standing there and they’re seeing what God is doing. And then Peter says, “Look, why don’t we water baptize these people? Can anyone stop these people from being water baptized? They’ve received the Holy Spirit the same as we are, so there’s no reason not to.” And so, I think this is the proper order. Individuals are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ, and then water baptism comes as an outward sign of that internal transformation that’s already happened. So, they get water baptized.

Wes

Andy, why did they ask Peter to stay, in this very last verse of the chapter we’re looking at today, and any final thoughts that you have for us?

Andy

Well, they’re new Christians and they need to be taught the gospel more fully. They need to understand aspects of the Christian life. They need to be prepared and made ready. And at this point in history, what better man to do it than Peter? He’s the leader of the church on earth and he’s there to pour the truth of the gospel into them. There’s so much they don’t know. There are so many things from the Old Testament, a heritage that they don’t really have. They’re Gentiles. And so, for them to understand the Jewish roots of their faith, to understand those things. And then the practical aspects of Christianity, how Christian marriage should work, how Christian parenting, how they should relate to their pagan overlords, their masters and all that, in the Roman army. There’s a lot of things to learn and so he wants Peter to pour this out. But at any rate, just simple friendship, they’re now brothers in Christ and they can spend fellowship time together.

Wes

Andy, any final thoughts for us on this passage as a whole?

Andy

Yeah, what a great chapter, looking forward to the next ones. It motivates me to want to be involved in the spreading of the gospel. There are, as yet, right here in Raleigh Durham area where we live, and wherever you are listening to this podcast, unconverted people that God wants us to reach out to. So, for me to say, “Lord, who are you preparing me to speak to, and who are you preparing that I should go to them and speak?” That’s a very exciting way to look at life.

Wes

This has been Episode 20 in our Acts Bible Study Podcast. We invite you to join us next time for Episode 21, entitled Peter Defends His Actions where we’ll discuss Acts 11:1-18. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys Podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.