There was a man in Caesarea a named Cornelius, who was a captain b in the Roman army regiment called “The Italian Regiment.” 2 He was a religious man; he and his whole family worshipped God. c He also did much to help the Jewish poor people and was constantly praying to God. 3 It was about three o’clock one afternoon d when he had a vision, in which he clearly saw an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius!”
4 He stared at the angel in fear and said, “What is it, sir?”
The angel answered, “God is pleased with your prayers and works of charity, and is ready to answer you. 5 And now send some men to Joppa for a certain man whose full name is Simon Peter. 6 He is a guest in the home of a tanner of leather named Simon, who lives by the sea.” 7 Then the angel went away, and Cornelius called two of his house servants and a soldier, a religious man who was one of his personal attendants. 8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
9 The next day, as they were on their way and coming near Joppa, Peter went up on the roof e of the house about noon f in order to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; g while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. 11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and wild birds. 13 A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat!”
14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! I have never eaten anything ritually unclean or defiled.” h
15 The voice spoke to him again, “Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.” i 16 This happened three times, j and then the thing was taken back up into heaven.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of this vision, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was, and they were now standing in front of the gate. 18 They called out and asked, “Is there a guest here by the name of Simon Peter?”
19 Peter was still trying to understand what the vision meant, when the Spirit said, “Listen! Three men are here looking for you. 20 So get ready and go down, and do not hesitate to go with them, k for I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down and said to the men, “I am the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 “Captain Cornelius sent us,” they answered. “He is a good man who worships God and is highly respected by all the Jewish people. An angel of God told him to invite you to his house, so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Peter invited l the men in and had them spend the night there.
The next day he got ready and went with them; and some of the believers from Joppa went along with him. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was waiting for him, together with relatives and close friends that he had invited. 25 As Peter was about to go in, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and bowed down before him. m 26 But Peter made him rise. “Stand up,” he said, “I myself am only a man.” 27 Peter kept on talking to Cornelius as he went into the house, where he found many people gathered. 28 He said to them, “You yourselves know very well that a Jew is not allowed by his religion to visit or associate with Gentiles. But God has shown me n that I must not consider any person ritually unclean or defiled. 29 And so when you sent for me, I came without any objection. I ask you, then, why did you send for me?”
30 Cornelius said, “It was about this time three days ago that I was praying in my house at three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man dressed in shining clothes stood in front of me 31 and said: ‘Cornelius! God has heard your prayer and has taken notice of your works of charity. 32 Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner of leather, who lives by the sea.’ 33 And so I sent for you at once, and you have been good enough to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God, waiting to hear anything that the Lord has instructed you to say.”
a Caesarea was located 48 km (30 miles) north of Joppa and was named in honour of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. It was rebuilt by Herod the Great and he made it the centre of government for the Roman administration of Judea. It was also the headquarters of the Roman army in Judea (see chap 8, note z for other details).
b Other versions translate this as ‘centurion’. A centurion commanded a military unit that normally numbered at least a hundred men. Centurions were carefully selected and all those mentioned in the NT had noble qualities. A centurion would take command of a group of soldiers within a Roman legion (about a sixth of a regiment).
The Roman legion (about 6,000 men) was divided into ten regiments, each of which had a designation or name. This was the Italian Regiment whose troops were originally recruited in Italy.
c Other versions translate this phrase as ‘God-fearing’. Cornelius was thus not a full Jewish proselyte but a God-fearer, one who believed in the God of the Jews and respected and followed the teachings of the Jewish religion.
d Three o’clock in the afternoon was the Jewish hour of prayer, the hour of the offering of evening incense at the Temple. This was another indication that Cornelius followed Jewish practices.
e It was customary for houses to have flat roofs with outside stairways. The roof was used as a convenient place for relaxation and for privacy.
f Jews who took seriously the pattern of praying three times a day would take this hour as the second hour set for prayer.
g This was not the usual Jewish mealtime. On weekdays, Jews ate a light meal in mid-morning and a more substantial meal in the late afternoon.
h This was all wrong as Peter’s conscience told him. According to the food laws in Lev 11, unclean animals could not be used for food at all. And even ‘clean’ animals had to be slaughtered with the right rituals before their flesh could be eaten.
i The effect of the vision was to announce to Peter that the distinction made in the OT between foods that were ‘clean’, i.e., fit to be eaten, and ‘unclean’ was now cancelled by God. Peter soon learned that this ‘cleansing’ was not only to apply to just foods, but also to all men and women, including Gentiles
(see v. 19).
j The repetition was to make an impression on Peter.
k The dream had prepared Peter for this situation where he was to go with the Gentiles and not consider any person ritually unclean whom God has declared clean (see v. 28).
l By inviting the men in and providing them lodging, Peter was already taking the first step towards accepting Gentiles.
m Cornelius’ first act on meeting Peter was to kneel before him as a sign of reverence. But Peter refused to accept such respect because that should only be offered to God.
n Peter recognised that his vision had deeper significance than just the removal of the distinctions between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ food. God was declaring to him that the barrier between Jews
and Gentiles had also been removed.
Describe Cornelius. Give an account of his vision and what he did in response to it (vv. 1-8, 22).
2. Give an account of Peter’s vision on the roof-top (vv. 9-16).
How do we know from this account that this was an important lesson for him?
What did Peter learn and what was he being prepared for (vv. 19-22; 28-29)?
3. Who were waiting for Peter at Cornelius’ house (v. 24)?
How did Cornelius respond to the presence of Peter in his home (v. 25)?
How did Peter react to him (v. 26)?
4. How did Peter explain to Cornelius the reason for his coming to Cornelius’ house (vv. 28-29)?
5. Describe how Cornelius explained why he had sent for Peter (vv. 30-33).
34 Peter began to speak: “I now realise that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. 35 Whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what race he belongs to. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace o through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know of the great event that took place throughout the land of Israel, beginning in Galilee after John preached his message of baptism. 38 You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured out on him the Holy Spirit and power. He went everywhere, doing good and healing all who were under the power of the Devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses of everything that he did in the land of Israel and in Jerusalem. Then they put him to death by nailing him to a cross. 40 But God raised him from death three days later and caused him to appear, 41 not to everyone, but only to the witnesses that God had already chosen, that is, to us who ate and drank with him p after he rose from death. 42 And he commanded us to preach the gospel to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God has appointed judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets spoke about him, saying that everyone who believes in him will have his sins forgiven through the power of his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his message. 45 The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed q that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speaking in strange tongues r and praising God’s greatness. Peter spoke up: 47 “These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did. Can anyone, then, stop them from being baptised with water?” s 48 So he ordered them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay with them t for a few days.
o This refers to the peace between God and man, i.e., reconcilia- tion between God and man because of what Jesus has done.
p Those who ate and drank with Jesus after he rose from the dead received unmistakable evidence before their very eyes that he had indeed been resurrected. They were chosen by God to witness this so that they could go out and testify to all about Jesus.
q Apparently the early Jewish Christians failed to understand that the gospel was for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews, and that they would share alike in the benefits of salvation which included
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
r God showed His acceptance of the Gentiles by giving them the same gift as the Jewish believers and affirming it by the same sign of tongues as at Pentecost. Undoubtedly the sign of tongues was given mainly for the sake of the Jewish believers right there in Cornelius’s house.
But it was also given for Jerusalem believers, who would later hear of what happened, so that all would see the conversion of these Gentiles as being entirely of God. They would thus not go back to their old prejudices and see these new converts as second-class Christians.
s Convinced that God’s action in giving the Holy Spirit showed that these Gentiles had received forgiveness of their sins, Peter called for the next step – for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus. In baptising them, Peter was confessing that God in His sovereignty was inviting both Jews and Gentiles into His kingdom.
t Now that God had broken the traditional barriers between Jews and Gentiles, Peter allowed himself to stay with them for a few days.
Describe briefly Peter’s message to Cornelius and his house- hold (vv. 34-43).
2. What happened to those who were listening as Peter was speaking (vv. 44-46)?
3. How did Peter respond to what happened (vv. 47-48)?
4. What did Cornelius and his household ask Peter to do at the end of his time with them (v. 48)?
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