Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God. At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God.
Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the seaside.
When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually. Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”
But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.” This was done three times, and immediately the vessel was received up into heaven. Now while Peter was very perplexed in himself what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there. While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men seek you. But arise, get down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”
Peter went down to the men, and said, “Behold, I am he whom you seek. Why have you come?”
They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house, and to listen to what you say.” So he called them in and provided a place to stay. On the next day Peter arose and went out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. On the next day they entered into Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them, having called together his relatives and his near friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell down at his feet, and worshiped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up! I myself am also a man.” As he talked with him, he went in and found many gathered together. He said to them, “You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn’t call any man unholy or unclean. Therefore I also came without complaint when I was sent for. I ask therefore, why did you send for me?”
Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour, I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and summon Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying in the house of a tanner named Simon, by the seaside. When he comes, he will speak to you.’ Therefore I sent to you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all things that have been commanded you by God.”
Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him. The word which he sent to the children of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all— you yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree. God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.”
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. They of the circumcision who believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in other languages and magnifying God. Then Peter answered,
“Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.” He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay some days.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 1. Luke passeth over now unto a worthy history,…
1. Luke passeth over now unto a worthy history, to wit, that God vouchsafeth to advance a stranger, and one uncircumcised, unto singular honor above all the Jews, because he doth both send his angel unto him, and for his sake bringeth Peter to Cesarea, that he may instruct him in the gospel. But first of all Luke showeth what manner of person this Cornelius was, for whose cause an angel descended from heaven, and God spake to Peter in a vision. He was a captain [centurion] of the Italian band; a band [cohort] did consist upon [of] a thousand footmen, and he which was chief captain was called a tribune, (or marshal.) Again, every hundred had a captain. A legion had for the most part five bands. That band was called the Italian band, because the Romans did choose soldiers oftentimes from amongst those which dwelt in the provinces; but they had the strength of the army out of Italy; therefore, Cornelius was an Italian born; but he was at Cesarea with his hundred, to guard the city. For the Romans were wont so to distribute their places of abode, that every city of renown might have a garrison to stay sudden uproars. A rare example that a soldier was so devout towards God, so upright and courteous towards men! For at that time the Italians, when as they were carried into the provinces to live in warfare, ran to and fro like hungry wolves to get some prey; they had for the most part no more religion than beasts; they had as great care of innocency as cutthroats; for which cause the virtues of Cornelius deserve the greater commendation, in that leading a soldier’s life, which was at that time most corrupt, he served God holily, and lived amongst men without doing any hurt or injury. And this is no small amplification of his praise, in that casting away superstition wherein he was born and brought up, he embraced the pure worship of God; for we know what account the Italians made of themselves, and how proudly they despised others. And the Jews were at that time in such contempt, that for their sakes pure religion was counted infamous, and almost execrable. Seeing that none of these things could hinder Cornelius, but that forsaking his idols he did embrace the true worship of the true God alone, it must needs be that he was endued with rare and singular sincerity. Moreover, he could find scarce any thing amongst the Jews wherewith he could be allured unto the study of godliness, because there was then scarce one amongst a thousand which had even some small smattering of the law; and, undoubtedly, Cornelius had lighted upon some good worshipper of God, who being sound from corrupt opinions, did expound unto him the law faithfully, without mixing any leaven therewith; but because Luke giveth him many titles of commendation, we must note them all [singly.]
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 25, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 44, 47 Peter consecrateth the firstfruits of the Gentiles to God…
Peter consecrateth the firstfruits of the Gentiles to God by the means of two miracles.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–48 1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called…
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
Ver. 1. A centurion of the band] He might well have been a commander in the thundering legion, qui plus precando quam praeliando potuerunt, κεραυνοβολος. Preces sunt bombardae et instrumenta bellica Christianorum, said Luther, who also spared not to tell the Elector of Saxony, his protector and patron, that he by his prayers would secure his Highness’s soul, body, and estate engaged in the gospel’s cause. Sive id credat Celsitudo vestra, sive non credat. Imo Iudico, saith he, C. V plus a me praesidii et tutelae habiturum esse quam mihi praestare, &c. Yea, I am of the mind that your Highness hath more safety from me than I have from you.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–48 In Caesarea; in Caesarea Palestine, as it was called…
In Caesarea; in Caesarea Palestine, as it was called in contra distinction to Caesarea Philippi.
Cornelius; a Roman by his name; which name was ordinarily to be found amongst the families of the Scipios and Syllas.
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A band answers either to a regiment amongst us, or to a legion amongst the Romans (this latter was far greater than the former).
It was called the Italian band, as being composed of Italian soldiers, and might be used as a guard of the proconsul, who dwelt at Caesarea, who was that Felix we read of, Act 23:24.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 17, 21, 30, 34, 36, 44 Observe here, 1. The person described to whom St.…
Observe here, 1. The person described to whom St. Peter is sent to preach the gospel: by his name, Cornelius: by his occupation, a soldier; by his religion, a proselyte or converted Gentile, of which there were two sorts; some were proselytes of the covenant, that is, such Gentiles as submitted themselves to circumcision, and the whole Mosaical Paedagogy: These were counted as Jews, and freely conversed with as such.
Others were called proselytes of the gate; These were not circumcised, nor did they conform to the Mosaic rites, but were obliged only to observe the seven precepts of Noah; namely, to worship the true God, and not idols; to abstain from blood, from fornication, from robbery, to administer justice impartially, and to do as they would be done unto. Such a proselyte as this the Jews would not converse with, but counted unclean, being a Gentile, and such an one was this Cornelius; but though a Gentile, though a soldier, though a commission-officer, yet a pious, charitable, good man.
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In all nations, in all places, of all employments, God has a number of holy and gracious persons to honour him in the world, according to their present measures of light received from him.
Observe, 2. The evidence which Cornelius gave of his religious fearing God; He feared God with all his house, he gave much alms, and prayed to God always. Cornelius was therefore really, because relatively, religious: he obligeth his family to fear God as well as himself, and together with himself, like Abraham, He commands his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, Gen 18:19.
And thus the blessing of Abraham came upon this Gentile, Cornelius. He feared God with all his house; and his charity was as eminent as his piety: He gave much alms to the people: that is, to the people of the Jews, to whom alms was not unclean, though given by an heathen person.
It is further added, That He prayed to God always; He prayed to the true Gods not to idols; and he prayed to God always: that is, at every fitting season, and convenient opportunity for the duty.
We are said in scripture to do a thing continually, when we do it seasonably. Thus to pray always, to pray evermore, to pray without ceasing, is,
first, to keep the heart continually, as much as may be, in a praying frame and disposition;
and secondly, To embrace the proper seasons and opportunities for prayher.
The beauty of religion lies much in the harmonious performance of the duties of it; when one duty doth not interfere with another, but we prudently find time for all.
Thus did Cornelius here; He feared God with all his house, gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 19, 34, 44 The bringing of the gospel to the Gentiles, and…
The bringing of the gospel to the Gentiles, and the bringing of those who had been strangers and foreigners to be fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, were such a mystery to the apostles themselves, and such a surprise (Eph 3:3, Eph 3:6), that it concerns us carefully to observe all the circumstances of the beginning of this great work, this part of the mystery of godliness - Christ preached to the Gentiles, and believed on in this world, Ti1 3:16. It is not unlikely that some Gentiles might before now have stepped into a synagogue of the Jews, and heard the gospel preached; but the gospel was never yet designedly preached to the Gentiles, nor any of them baptized - Cornelius was the first; and here we have,
I. An account given us of this Cornelius, who and what he was, who was the first-born of the Gentiles to Christ. We are here told that he was a great man and a good man - two characters that seldom meet, but here they did; and where they do meet they put a lustre upon each other: goodness makes greatness truly valuable, and greatness makes goodness much more serviceable. 1. Cornelius was an officer of the army, Act 10:1. He was at present quartered in Cesarea, a strong city, lately re-edified and fortified by Herod the Great, and called Cesarea in honour of Augustus Caesar. It lay upon the sea-shore, very convenient for the keeping up of a correspondence between Rome and its conquests in those parts. The Roman governor or pro-consul ordinarily resided here, Act 23:23, Act 23:24; Act 25:6. Here there was a band, or cohort, or regiment, of the Roman army, which probably was the governor's life-guard, and is here called the Italian band, because, that they might be the more sure of their fidelity, they were all native Romans, or Italians. Cornelius had a command in this part of the army. His name, Cornelius was much used among the Romans, among some of the most ancient and noble families. He was an officer of considerable rank and figure, a centurion. We read of one of that rank in our Saviour's time, of whom he gave a great commendation, Mat 8:10. When a Gentile must be pitched upon to receive the gospel first, it is not a Gentile philosopher, much less a Gentile priest (who are bigoted to their notions and worship, and prejudiced against the gospel of Christ), but a Gentile soldier, who is a man of more free thought; and he that truly is so, when the Christian doctrine is fairly set before him, cannot but receive it and bid it welcome. Fishermen, unlearned and ignorant men, were the first of the Jewish converts, but not so of the Gentiles; for the world shall know that the gospel has that in it which may recommend it to men of polite learning and a liberal education, as we have reason to think this centurion was. Let not soldiers and officers of the army plead that their employment frees them from the restraints which some others are under, and, giving them an opportunity of living more at large, may excuse them if they be not religious; for here was an officer of the army that embraced Christianity, and yet was neither turned out of his place nor turned himself out. And, lastly, it was a mortification to the Jews that not only the Gentiles were taken into the church, but that the first who was taken in was an officer of the Roman army, which was to them the abomination of desolation. 2. He was, according to the measure of the light he had, a religious man. It is a very good character that is given of him, Act 10:2. He was no idolater, no worshipper of false gods or images, nor allowed himself in any of those immoralities to which the greater part of the Gentile world were given up, to punish them for their idolatry. (1.) He was possessed with a principle of regard to the true and living God. He was a devout man and one that feared God. He believed in one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and had a reverence for his glory and authority, and a dread of offending him by sin; and, though he was a soldier, it was no diminution to the credit of his valour to tremble before God. (2.) He kept up religion in his family. He feared God with all his house. He would not admit any idolaters under his roof, but took care that not himself only, but all his, should serve the Lord. Every good man will do what he can that those about him may be good too. (3.) He was a very charitable man: He gave much alms to the people, the people of the Jews, notwithstanding the singularities of their religion. Though he was a Gentile, he was willing to contribute to the relief of one that was a real object of charity, without asking what religion he was of. (4.) He was much in prayer: He prayed to God always. He kept up stated times for prayer, and was constant to them. Note, Wherever the fear of God rules in the heart, it will appear both in works of charity and of piety, and neither will excuse us from the other.
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II. The orders given him from heaven, by the ministry of an angel, to send for Peter to come to him, which he would never have done if he had not been thus directed to do it. Observe,
1. How, and in what way, these orders were given him. He had a vision, in which an angel delivered them to him. It was about the ninth hour of the day, at three of the clock in the afternoon, which is with us an hour of business and conversation; but then, because it was in the temple the time of offering the evening sacrifice, it was made by devout people an hour of prayer, to intimate that all our prayers are to be offered up in the virtue of the great sacrifice. Cornelius was now at prayer: so he tells us himself, Act 10:30. Now here we are told, (1.) That an angel of God came in to him. By the brightness of his countenance, and the manner of his coming in, he knew him to be something more than a man, and therefore nothing less than an angel, an express from heaven. (2.) That he saw him evidently with his bodily eyes, not in a dream presented to his imagination, but in a vision presented to his sight; for his greater satisfaction, it carried its own evidence along with it. (3.) That he called him by his name, Cornelius, to intimate the particular notice God took of him. (4.) That this put Cornelius for the present into some confusion (Act 10:4): When he looked on him he was afraid. The wisest and best men have been struck with fear upon the appearance of any extra-ordinary messenger from heaven; and justly, for sinful man knows that he has no reason to expect any good tidings thence. And therefore Cornelius cries, "What is it, Lord? What is the matter?" This he speaks as one afraid of something amiss, and longing to be eased of that fear, by knowing the truth; or as one desirous to know the mind of God, and ready to comply with it, as Joshua: What saith my Lord unto his servant? And Samuel: Speak, for thy servant heareth.
2. What the message was that was delivered to him.
(1.) He is assured that God accepts him in walking according to the light he had (v. 4): Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. Observe, Prayers and alms must go together. We must follow our prayers with alms; for the fast that God hath chosen is to draw out the soul to the hungry, Isa 58:6, Isa 58:7. It is not enough to pray that what we have may be sanctified to us, but we must give alms of such things as we have; and then, behold, all things are clean to us, Luk 11:41. And we must follow our alms with our prayers that God would graciously accept them, and that they may be blessed to those to whom they are given. Cornelius prayed, and gave alms, not as the Pharisees, to be seen of men, but in sincerity, as unto God; and he is here told that they were come up for a memorial before God. They were upon record in heaven, in the book of remembrance that is written there for all that fear God, and shall be remembered to his advantage: "Thy prayers shall be answered, and thine alms recompensed." The sacrifices under the law are said to be for a memorial. See Lev 2:9, Lev 2:16; Lev 5:12; Lev 6:15. And prayers and alms are our spiritual offerings, which God is pleased to take cognizance of, and have regard to. The divine revelation communicated to the Jews, as far as the Gentiles were concerned in it, not only as it directed and improved the light and law of nature, but as it promised a Messiah to come, Cornelius believed and submitted to. What he did he did in that faith, and was accepted of God in it; for the Gentiles, to whom the law of Moses came, were not obliged to become circumcised Jews, as those to whom the gospel of Christ comes are to become baptized Christians.
(2.) He is appointed to enquire after a further discovery of divine grace, now lately made to the world, Act 10:5, Act 10:6. He must send forthwith to Joppa, and enquire for one Simon Peter; he lodgeth at the house of one Simon a tanner; his house is by the sea side, and, if he be sent for, he will come; and when he comes he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do, in answer to thy question, What is it, Lord? Now here are two things very surprising, and worthy our consideration - [1.] Cornelius prays and gives alms in the fear of God, is religious himself and keeps up religion in his family, and all this so as to be accepted of God in it, and yet there is something further that he ought to do - he ought to embrace the Christian religion, now that God has established it among men. Not, He may do it if he pleases; it will be an improvement and entertainment to him. But, He must do it; it is indispensably necessary to his acceptance with God for the future, though he has been accepted in his services hitherto. He that believed the promise of the Messiah must now believe the performance of that promise. Now that God has given a further record concerning his Son than what had been given in the Old Testament prophecies he requires that we receive this when it is brought to us; and now neither our prayers nor our alms can come up for a memorial before God unless we believe in Jesus Christ, for it is that further which we ought to do. This is his commandment, that we believe. Prayers and alms are accepted from those that believe that the Lord is God, and have not opportunity of knowing more; but, from those to whom it is preached that Jesus is Christ, it is necessary to the acceptance of their persons, prayers, and alms, that they believe this, and rest upon him alone for acceptance. [2.] Cornelius has now an angel from heaven talking to him, and yet he must not receive the gospel of Christ from this angel, nor be told by him what he ought to do, but all that the angel has to say is, "Send for Peter, and he shall tell thee." As the former observation puts a mighty honour upon the gospel, so does this upon the gospel ministry: it was not to the highest of angels, but to those who were less that the least of all saints, that this grace was given, to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph 3:8), that the excellency of the power might be of God, and the dignity of an institution of Christ supported; for unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come (Heb 2:5), but to the Son of man as the sovereign, and the sons of men as his agents and ministers of state, whose terrors shall not make us afraid, nor their hand be heavy upon us, as this angel's now was to Cornelius. And as it was an honour to the apostle that he must preach that which an angel might not, so it was a further honour that an angel was despatched on purpose from heaven to order him to be sent for. To bring a faithful minister and a willing people together is a work worthy of an angel, and what therefore the greatest of men should be glad to be employed in.
III. His immediate obedience to these orders, Act 10:7, Act 10:8. He sent with all speed to Joppa, to fetch Peter to him. Had he himself only been concerned, he would have gone to Joppa to him. But he had a family, and kinsmen, and friends (Act 10:24), a little congregation of them, that could not go with him to Joppa, and therefore he sends for Peter. Observe, 1. When he sent: As soon as ever the angel which spoke unto him had departed, without dispute or delay, he was obedient to the heavenly vision. He perceived, by what the angel said, he was to have some further work prescribed him, and he longed to have it told him. He made haste, and delayed not, to do this commandment. In any affair wherein our souls are concerned it is good for us not to lose time. 2. Whom he sent: Two of his household servants, who all feared God, and a devout soldier, one of those that waited on him continually. Observe, a devout centurion had devout soldiers. A little devotion commonly goes a great way with soldiers, but there would be more of it in the soldiers if there were but more of it in the commanders. Officers in an army, that have such a great power over the soldiers, as we find the centurion had (Mat 8:9), have a great opportunity of promoting religion, at least of restraining vice and profaneness, in those under their command, if they would but improve it. Observe, When this centurion had to choose some of his soldiers to attend his person, and to be always about him, he pitched upon such of them as were devout; they shall be preferred and countenanced, to encourage others to be so. He went by David's rule (Psa 101:6), Mine eye shall be upon the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me. 3. What instructions he gave them (Act 10:8): He declared all these things unto them, told them of the vision he had, and the orders given him to send for Peter, because Peter's coming was a thing in which they were concerned, for they had souls to save as well as he. Therefore he does not only tell them where to find Peter (which he might have thought it enough to do - the servant knows not what his Lord doeth), but he tells them on what errand he was to come, that they might importune him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–48 A devout man,.... A truly religious person, who had…
A devout man,.... A truly religious person, who had forsaken the Roman idolatry and superstition, in which he was brought up:
and one that feared God: the one only living and true God, the God of Israel; he had the fear of God wrought in his heart, which is a part of the covenant of grace, a blessing of it, and the beginning of wisdom; he was truly a gracious man, a converted person, and who from an internal principle worshipped God externally:
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with all his house; he brought up his family in a religious way, as every good man should; and which was very remarkable in a Gentile, a soldier, and an officer:
which gave much alms to the people; to the Jews that dwelt at Caesarea, and therefore was of good report among them, and much beloved by them, Act 10:22 he had regard to both tables of the law, both to the worship of God, and the love of the neighbour: and prayed to God always; every day, at the usual times of prayer; prayed privately in his closet, and with his family, as well as attended public service of this kind.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48 And there was a certain man - The first…
And there was a certain man - The first fruits of the Gentiles, in Cesarea - Where Philip had been before, chap. viii, 40; so that the doctrine of salvation by faith in Jesus was not unknown there. Cesarea was the seat of the civil government, as Jerusalem was of the ecclesiastical. It is observable, that the Gospel made its way first through the metropolitan cities. So it first seized Jerusalem and Cesarea: afterward Philippi, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome itself. A centurion, or captain, of that called the Italian band - That is, troop or company.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 An angel appears to Cornelius, a centurion, and directs…
CHAPTER X.
An angel appears to Cornelius, a centurion, and directs him to
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send to Joppa, for Peter, to instruct him in the way of
salvation, 1-6.
He sends accordingly, 7, 8.
While the messengers are on their way to Joppa, Peter has a
remarkable vision, by which he is taught how he should treat
the Gentiles, 9-16.
The messengers arrive at the house of Simon the tanner, and
deliver their message, 17-22.
They lodge there that night, and on the morrow Peter accompanies
them to Caesarea, where they find Cornelius and his friends
assembled, waiting the coming of Peter, 23, 24.
Peter makes an apology for his coming, and inquires for what
purpose Cornelius had sent for him, 25-29.
Cornelius answers, 30-33.
And Peter preaches unto him Jesus, as the Saviour of the world,
and the Judge of quick and dead, 34-43.
While he speaks the Holy Ghost descends on Cornelius and his
company; and they speak with new tongues, and magnify God,
44-46.
Peter commands them to be baptized in the name of the Lord,
47, 48.
NOTES ON CHAP. X.
I have already observed (see the conclusion of the preceding chapter) that hitherto the apostles confined their labours among the Jews and circumcised proselytes, not making any offer of salvation to the Gentiles; for they had fully imbibed the opinion that none could enter into the kingdom of God, and be finally saved, unless they were circumcised, and became obedient to the law of Moses. This prejudice would have operated so as finally to prevent them from preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, had not God, by a particular interposition of his mercy and goodness, convinced Peter, and through him all the other apostles, that he had accepted the Gentiles as well as the Jews, and would put no difference between the one and the other, purifying their hearts by faith, and giving the Gentiles the Holy Ghost, as he had before given it to the Jews. The means which he used to produce this conviction in the minds of the apostles are detailed at length in the following chapter.
Verse 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea] This was Caesarea of Palestine, called also Strato's Tower, as has been already noted, and the residence of the Roman procurator.
A centurion] εκατονταρχης, The chief or captain of 100 men, as both the Greek and Latin words imply. How the Roman armies were formed, divided, and marshalled, See Clarke on Mt 20:16. A centurion among the Romans was about the same rank as a captain among us.
The band called the Italian band] The word σπειρα, which we translate band, signifies the same as cohort or regiment, which sometimes consisted of 555 infantry, and 66 cavalry; but the cohors prima, or first cohort, consisted of 1105 infantry, and l32 cavalry, in the time of Vegetius. But the cavalry are not to be considered as part of the cohort, but rather a company joined to it. A Roman legion consisted of ten cohorts; the first of which surpassed all the others, both in numbers and in dignity. When in former times the Roman legion contained 6000, each cohort consisted of 600, and was divided into three manipuli; but both the legions and cohorts were afterwards various in the numbers they contained. As there were doubtless many Syrian auxiliaries, the regiment in question was distinguished from them as consisting of Italian, i.e. Roman, soldiers. The Italian cohort is not unknown among the Roman writers: Gruter gives an inscription, which was found in the Forum Sempronii, on a fine table of marble, nine feet long, four feet broad, and four inches thick; on which are the following words:-
L. MAESIO. L. F. POL.
RVFO. PROC. AVG.
TRIB. MIL. LEG. X.
APPOLLINARIS. TRIB.
COH. MIL. ITALIC. VOLUNT.
QVAE. EST. IN. SYRIA. PRAEF.
FABRVM. BIS.
See Gruter's Inscriptions, p. ccccxxxiii-iv.
This was probably the same cohort as that mentioned here by St. Luke; for the tenth legion mentioned in the above inscription was certainly in Judea, A.D. 69. Tacitus also mentions the Italica legio, the Italic legion, lib. i. c. 59, which Junius Blaesus had under his command in the province of Lyons. We learn, from the Roman historians, that the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth legions were stationed in Judea; and the third, fourth, sixth, and twelfth in Syria. The Italic legion was in the battle of Bedriacum, fought, A.D. 69, between the troops of Vitellius and Otho; and performed essential services to the Vitellian army. See Tacitus, Hist. lib. ii. cap. 41. The issue of this battle was the defeat of the Othonians, on which Otho slew himself, and the empire was confirmed to Vitellius.
Wherever he sees it necessary, St. Luke carefully gives dates and facts, to which any might have recourse who might be disposed to doubt his statements: we have had several proofs of this in his Gospel. See especially Lu 1:1, &c., and Lu 3:1, &c., and the notes there.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 23, 25, 28, 30, 34, 36, 39, 43, 44, 47 Act 10:1-2. There was a certain man in Cesarea…
Act 10:1-2. There was a certain man in Cesarea — That is, Cesarea of Palestine, (of which see note on Act 8:40,) where Philip had been and preached before, and where, therefore, the doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ was not quite unknown. It had been preached, however, by him, as it was now at Jerusalem and elsewhere, only to the Jews, Samaritans, and such Gentiles as were circumcised, and complete proselytes to Judaism. But God was now determined to open a way for the publication of it to the uncircumcised Gentiles, and to admit them into his church by baptism, on the terms of true repentance and faith in Christ, without obliging them to be circumcised, or proselyted to the Jewish religion. This remarkable change in the economy of divine grace toward mankind; this discovery of the gospel to the Gentiles; and the bringing of them, who had been strangers and foreigners: to be fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God, without laying them under any obligation of observing the ceremonial law, was such a mystery to the apostles themselves, and such a surprise, (Eph 3:3; Eph 3:6,) that it concerns us carefully to observe all the circumstances of the beginning of this great work, this part of the mystery of godliness, Christ preached to the Gentiles, and believed on in the world, 1Ti 3:16. No doubt, before this time, some Gentiles had occasionally entered into the synagogues of the Jews, which Christ and his apostles continually visited, and had heard the gospel preached by them; but the gospel had not yet been designedly preached to the uncircumcised Gentiles, nor had any of them been baptized; the person here mentioned was the first. Of the conversion of this man, the first-fruits of the Gentiles in the Christian Church, we are here presented with a most interesting and edifying account. We are informed that before his conversion, although a Roman soldier, (a centurion, or commander of one hundred men, in what was called the Italian band, or cohort, the soldiers composing it, it seems, being Italians,) and although an uncircumcised heathen: he was a devout man — A man of real piety, as ευσεβης, the expression here used, signifies; one that feared God — Who believed in the one living and true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, reverenced his glory and authority, and had a dread of offending him by sin. Yea, he feared him with all his house — Had not an idolater or profane person in his family; but took care that not himself only, but all his, should serve the Lord. He was also a very charitable man, one who gave much alms to the people — Namely, the people of the Jews, notwithstanding the singularities of their religion. Though he was a Gentile, he was ready to contribute to the relief of any one that was a real object of charity, whatever his religious sentiments or mode of worship might be. Add to this, he spent much time in prayer; yea, he prayed to God alway — Living continually in the spirit of prayer; and having, and constantly observing, stated times for prayer in private and in his family, esteeming it an important part of his daily business and pleasure to employ himself in such sacred exercises. Observe, reader, wherever the fear of God rules in the heart it will show itself in works both of piety and charity; both equally necessary, and neither of which will excuse our neglecting the other.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 In Cesarea - See the notes on Act 8:40.
In Cesarea - See the notes on Act 8:40.
Cornelius - This is a Latin name, and shows that the man was doubtless a Roman. It has been supposed by many interpreters that he was “a proselyte of the gate”; that is, one who had renounced idolatry, and who observed some of the Jewish rites, though not circumcised, and not called a Jew. But there is no sufficient evidence of this. The reception of the narrative of I Peter Act 11:1-3 shows that the other apostles regarded him as a Gentile. In Act 10:28, Peter evidently regards him as a foreigner - one who did not in any sense esteem himself to be a Jew. In Act 11:1, it is expressly said that “the Gentiles” had received the Word of God, evidently alluding to Cornelius and to those who were with him.
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A centurion - One who was the commander of a division in the Roman army, consisting of 100 men. A captain of 100. See the notes on Mat 8:5.
Of the band - A division of the Roman army, consisting of from 400 to 600 men. See the notes on Mat 27:27.
The Italian band - Probably a band or regiment that was composed of soldiers from Italy, in distinction from those which were composed of soldiers born in provinces. It is evident that many of the soldiers in the Roman army would be those who were born in other parts of the world; and it is altogether probable that those who were born in Rome or Italy would claim pre-eminence over those enlisted in other places.
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Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 15, 25, 26, 28, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 44, 47 A cohort, with the Romans, was a body of…
A cohort, with the Romans, was a body of infantry 500 strong. There were ten cohorts in each legion. There were, generally speaking, two centurions appointed to the command of each cohort. (Bible de Vence)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
John Nelson Darby 1862 · Public Domain On v1 Acts Chapter 10
Acts Chapter 10
The undiminished power of Peter, his apostolic authority, in the midst of which the entrance of Cornelius into the spiritual house of God takes place, in connection with Peter’s ministry, and that, after the calling of Saul, which opened a new perspective-all these facts taken together confirmed that which went before. The original work was in no wise set aside to bring in another. Nevertheless, Peter’s vision did not reveal the assembly as the body of Christ, neither did the admission of Cornelius. They only shewed that in every nation he who feared God was acceptable to Him-in a word, that the favour of God was not limited to the Jews, and that there was no need of becoming a Jew in order to share the salvation that is in Christ. The oneness of the body united to its Head in heaven was not brought out by this event; but it prepared the way for the promulgation of that truth, since in fact the Gentile was admitted on earth without becoming a Jew. The thing was done on earth individually, although the doctrine itself was not taught. Repentance unto life eternal was granted to the Gentiles as such. The Holy Ghost-the seal of Christian blessing among the Jews, the fruit of redemption accomplished by Jesus-was given to Gentiles as to Jews. The latter might be astonished at it; but there was no resisting God. Through grace they could praise Him for it.
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From chapter 9:32 to 11:18, we find then, the power of the Spirit of God with Peter in the midst of Israel, and the admission of Gentiles into the earthly assembly, without their becoming Jews, or submitting to the ancient order which was passing away; the seal of the Spirit put upon them; and the heads of the assembly at Jerusalem, and the most ardent of the circumcision, accepting the fact as the will of God, and praising Him while submitting to it, in spite of their prejudices. The door then is open to the Gentile. This was an immense step. The precious doctrine of the assembly had yet to be announced.
Peter had proclaimed the call of the Gentiles in his first discourse; but to realise it, and give form to its conditions, in connection with that which had already existed historically, required the intervention, the authority, and the revelation of God. Progress is evident through the patient grace of God; for it was not the wisdom of man. Altogether Jewish at the commencement, the people of Jerusalem were taught that Jesus would return if they repented. This testimony of grace is rejected, and, in the person of him who maintained it, the firstfruits of the assembly go up to heaven. The Holy Ghost, in His sovereign liberty, acts in Samaria and among the proselytes. The assembly being scattered by the persecution, Saul is brought in by the revelation of a glorious Christ, and by a testimony from His mouth which implies the union of saints on earth with Himself their Head in heaven as only one body. After this a pious Gentile, converted but still a Gentile, receives faith in Christ and the Holy Ghost; so that, marked out by this testimony-this seal from God Himself to his faith-the apostle and the disciples who were the most attached to Judaism receive him; Peter by baptising him, and the others by accepting Peter’s act.
Let us notice here, that salvation is not only the fact of being quickened and pious, but that of complete deliverance so as to present us to Himself in righteousness, which God grants to every one who has life through the operation of God. Cornelius was pious and earnestly so; but he hears words of a work done for him whereby he may be, and (as we know) was saved. Finally the seal of the Holy Ghost, upon believing in Jesus, [17] is the ground on which those whom God accepts are acknowledged. That is to say, it is the full evidence for man.
Footnotes for Acts Chapter 10
17: If we examine closely the scriptures in its statements and facts, we shall find, I think, as to detail, that it is faith in the work of Jesus for the remission of sins which is sealed.
John Nelson Darby — Synopsis of the Books of the Bible: the New Testament (c. 1857–1862) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 24 § I. The devout Roman centurion Cornelius, at Cesarea,…
B.—CONCURRING DIVINE REVELATIONS CONDUCT PETER FROM JOPPA TO THE ROMAN CENTURION CORNELIUS IN CESAREA, TO WHOM HE PROCLAIMS CHRIST; AND WHEN THE GIFT OF THE HOLT GHOST IS IMPARTED TO CORNELIUS AND OTHER GENTILE HEARERS, PETER DIRECTS THAT THEY SHOULD BE BAPTIZED
Act_10:1-48
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§ I. The devout Roman centurion Cornelius, at Cesarea, is induced by the appearance of an angel to send to Joppa for Peter
Act_10:1-8
1There was [But]1 a certain man in Cesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which [who] gave much alms to the people [(of Israel)]; and prayed to [besought]God always. 3He saw [Saw (om. He)] in a vision evidently [distinctly], about2 the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming [entering] in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4And [But] when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And [But] he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine almsare come up for a memorial before3 God. 5And now send men to Joppa, and call for one [a certain]4 Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6He [This one] lodgeth with one [a certain] Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side [by the sea]: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do [om. he shall … to do]5. 7And [But] when the angel which [who] spoke unto Cornelius [him]6 was departed, he called two of his household [om. household] servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on himcontinually; 8And when he had declared [related] all these things [om. these things] unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act_10:1-2. A certain man in Cesarea.—This city (Cæsarea Palestinæ), situated on the Mediterranean, and provided with an excellent harbor, which was visited by many vessels, was built by Herod the Great. It was inhabited chiefly by Pagans, but several thousand Jews also resided in it. At a somewhat later period, it was permanently occupied by the Roman procurators, and is hence called by Tacitus (Hist. II. 79) Judææ caput. Cornelius was the commander (centurio) of the Italian band (cohors), which, without doubt, received that name in order to distinguish it from other troops that had been levied in Palestine, or Syria, and then been incorporated with the Roman army. The Italian band consisted of natives of Rome, or, at least, of Italians, and these formed the nucleus of the garrison. The procurator had, probably at that time already, established himself in Cesarea, since the Roman garrison lay there. This centurion Cornelius was, doubtless, himself also an Italian by descent. Luke describes his character as that of a devout man (εὐσεβής, the most general term, which may be applied even to a strictly pagan form of devoutness), and of a man who feared God with all his house (the phrase: φοβ. τὸν θεόν denoting that fear of God, of which the one true God is the object). These sentiments he manifested, partly, by diligence in offering prayer and supplications to God, and, partly, by habitually performing acts of charity for the Israelites (ὁ λαός, the people of Israel [as in Act_10:42; Act_26:17; Act_26:23; Act_28:17]). Thus he resembled the centurion of Capernaum, who also loved the people of Israel, and built a synagogue for them with his own means (Luk_7:5.). Such generosity is a beautiful and touching trait of character, not merely in general, in an experienced soldier, but, in particular, in a Roman, when it appears in his intercourse with the Jews, who were subject to Rome, and were, commonly, a despised people.—The whole account allows us to assume that Cornelius, like many of his contemporaries, was dissatisfied with the pagan religion which he had inherited, and, as an inquirer, had turned to the faith of Israel, and to the knowledge and worship of the one true God. We are not surprised that he gained the esteem of all the Jews. Still, the narrative before us affords no grounds for assuming that he was a proselyte, in the strict sense of that term, as it is generally supposed (Grotius; Neander and others); for he is regarded in the whole course of the narrative (Act_10:28; Act_11:1) as being, in a legal and social respect, nothing but a heathen. He had simply turned, in an entirely voluntary manner, to Judaism, with respect to his mode of thinking and his domestic worship, without attaching himself to it outwardly by any decisive act.
Act_10:3-6. He saw in a vision … an angel of God.—The angel appeared to him about the ninth hour (3 o’clock, P. M. [see above, Act_2:14-15. c.]), or the third hour of prayer, which the devout pagan probably observed of his own accord, in company with the Jews. He then saw in a vision (that is, by an internal process, of which God was the author, but, in other respects, distinctly, φανερῶς, not by a deception of the senses) an angel of God, who entered the chamber, and addressed him by name. [“The popular idea of winged angels is derived from the cherubim, (Exo_25:20) and seraphim (Isa_6:2) but is never suggested by any of the narratives of angelic visits to this world and its inhabitants.” J. A. Alexander, ad loc.)—Tr.]. Cornelius looks up, gazes attentively at the form before him, is alarmed by the unexpected and dazzling [Act_10:30] appearance, and replies to the address by respectfully asking a question. The angel informs him that his prayers and alms were always remembered before God (ἀνέβησαν εἰς μνημόσυνον—[i.e.] γενησόμεναι μνημόσυνον [comp. the word in Mat_26:13], that is: ‘they have ascended to heaven, like the smoke of the sacrifices, so that they remind God of thee.’). [See below, Doctr. and Eth. No. 3.—Tr.].—And now Cornelius is commanded to send to Joppa [see Exeg. note on Act_9:36], for Peter, in order that the latter may conduct him onward in the way of salvation. (The term Σίμωνά is used, as the apostle was yet unknown to the Roman). The house, and the man whose guest the apostle is (ξενίζεται, hospitatur), are indicated with sufficient precision, [“παρὰ θαλάσσαν, on account of his business, for which water was needed. (de Wette).—Tr.]
Act_10:7-8. He called two, etc.—Cornelius without delay obeys the instructions which he had received, and calls two of his servants (οἰκέτης, generally a more honorable appellation than δοῦλος) who, as belonging to his οι̇͂κος, feared God, Act_10:2, and also a devout soldier (εὐσεβής, see, above, Act_10:2), selecting them from the whole number of his personal attendants (as orderly officers). He communicates to them without reserve (ἄπαντα) all that referred to the appearance which he had seen, and sends them with the necessary instructions to Joppa.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. That all the circumstances connected with this conversion of the first pagan, were controlled and shaped exclusively by divine Providence, is apparent from the fact (without referring to others) that Cornelius was brought into contact, not with the evangelist Philip, who was much nearer to him (since he undoubtedly resided already at the time in Cæsarea, according to Act_8:40, compared with Act_21:8), but with Peter, who was not on the spot. It was so ordered, that the first pagan should be baptized and received into the Church, not by an ordinary member of the church, [see above, Doctr. and Eth. No. 3, on Act_9:10-19.—Tr.], nor by an evangelist like Philip, but by one of the Twelve themselves, and, indeed, by that one, who had, by his words and deeds, become the most prominent of their number.
2. The angel who appeared to Cornelius, was not appointed to be himself the agent of the conversion of the latter, but was simply commissioned, as a messenger from heaven, to convey the command of God, that Peter should be called. It was, accordingly, Peter who first proclaimed the Gospel to him, and received him into the church of Christ. According to the decree of God and the method which He established, repentance and the remission of sins were to be preached to all nations in the name of Jesus, so that it is the Word of the Gospel, and, indeed, the word to which men bear witness, that is the appointed means of salvation. No case ever occurred in which an angel was sent for the purpose of converting a soul, and no man should ever allow his faith to be dependent on such an extraordinary appearance from the higher world.
3. A high value is attributed to the prayers and alms of Cornelius, not only in the description of his character furnished by the historian, but also in the message of the angel. The first place is assigned by Luke, Act_10:2, to the alms, but by the angel, Act_10:4, to the prayers, since God first looks at the heart. The message of the angel, indeed, connects this revelation of God, which will lead to the salvation of the Roman, with those devout works. Does this fact imply a meritoriousness of works, a meritum ex congruo, according to the Romish view? [According to the Scholastics, who follow Thomas Aquinas, a work acquires meritum ex or de congruo (meritum congrui), when it proceeds from the free will of man, but meritum ex condigno, when it is wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The former—they explain—is not meritoriousness in an absolute sense, but there is a certain congruitas or suitableness in the divine recognition and recompense which it receives, and by which, ultimately, salvation is merited. (Chemn. Exam. Conc. Trid. I. Loc. IX. § 1. p. 179. Berlin. 1861).—Tr.]. We answer in the negative, for the following reasons: (a) These works, viewed as external works, have no value of their own, but derive it from the devoutness of the heart, from which they proceed as their source; (b) Even the fear of God, from which the good deeds performed by Cornelius for the people of God, like his diligent prayers, proceeded, depended for its own existence on the grace and the revelation of God under the old covenant, which came to meet him, and had already sought him after afar. [“Nihil enim precibus conseqi potuit quin fides præcibus consequi potuit quin fides præcederet, quæ sola nobis ad orandum janum aperit.” (Calvin, ad loc..)—Tr.]. It was with the susceptibility of Cornelius for the truth, and with his faithful application of the knowledge which had hither to been imparted to him, that God was well pleased. He who us faithful in tha what is least, will be intrusted with that which is much. Cornelius demonstrates this faithfulness—by his immediate compliance with the instruction which he had received, Act_10:7.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
See below, (Act_10:9-23.)
Footnotes:
[1]Act_10:1. η̇͂ν [text. rec.] after τις is omitted in all the principal MSS. [A. B. C. E. G., and Cod. Sin.], and was only inserted by those who did not perceive that ει̇͂δεν, in Act_10:3, is the verb belonging to Act_10:1-2. [Omitted by Lach. Tisch. And Alf., as well as τε in Act_10:2 after ποιῶν, which occurs in G. but not in A. B. C. E, Cod. Sin. etc.—Tr.]
[2]Act_10:3. The reading ὡσεὶ περί is found, it is true, in A. B. C. E., and has been preferred by Lachmann, but ὡσεί without περί is attested by G., as well as by Chrysostom and Oecumenius; περί is by no means necessary, and is probably an interpolation. [περί is omitted in text. rec.; Alf. reads ὡσεὶ περὶ with A. B. C. E. The reading in Cod. Sin. is ὡς (corrected by a later hand: ὡσει) περί. De Wette and Meyer regard περί as a gloss.—Tr.]
[3]Act_10:4. [In place of ἐνώπιον after μνημ., as in text. rec. and C. E. G., Lach., Tisch. and Alf. with A. B. read ἔμπροσθεν, the less usual word. The latter is also the reading of Cod. Sin.—The words εἰς μνημόσυν. were originally omitted in Cod. Sin., but added by a later hand.—Tr.]
[4]Act_10:5. The insertion of τινα after Σίμωνα, is better attested than the omission [in text. rec.] of the word. It is found not only in A. B. C, but also in many ancient versions [Syr. Vulg.]; it probably seemed [to copyists] to be inappropriately employed in the case of the apostle who was so widely known. [Adopted by Lach. Tisch. and Alf. but omitted in Cod. Sin.—Tr.]
[5]Act_10:6. The concluding words: οὖτος λαλήσει σοι, τί σε δεῖ ποιεῖν, in text. rec. [from Erasmus], are undoubtedly spurious. They are wanting in all the MSS. of the first rank [A. B. C. E. G. and Cod. Sin.] and in ancient versions, and were derived from Act_10:32 below, and Act_9:6. [Omitted by Lachm. Tisch. and Alf. and also in Cod. Amiatinus of the Vulg., although inserted in the usual printed text of the latter.—Tr.]
[6]Act_10:7. [The text. rec. after λαλῶν reads τῷ Κορνηλίῳ with G., for which αὐτῷ (adopted by Lach., Tisch., Stier and Th., Alf.) occurs in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin. Syr. Vulg.—αὐτοῦ after οἰκ. of text. rec. and G. is omitted in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin., and by Lach. Tisch. and Alf.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 A devout man, &c.--an uncircumcised Gentile proselyte to the…
A devout man, &c.--an uncircumcised Gentile proselyte to the Jewish faith, of whom there were a very great number at this time; a distinguished proselyte, who had brought his whole household establishment under the hallowing influence of the Jewish faith and the regular observance of its principal seasons of worship.
gave much alms to the people--that is, the Jewish people, on the same principle as another centurion before him (Luk 7:5); thinking it no "great thing," if they had "sown unto him spiritual things, that they should reap his carnal things" (Co1 9:11).
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prayed to God alway--at the stated daily seasons. (See on Act 10:3).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 III. GENTILE INDUCTION—NEW CHRISTIAN CENTRE—ANTIOCH, Act_10:1 to Act_11:30.
III. GENTILE INDUCTION—NEW CHRISTIAN CENTRE—ANTIOCH, Act_10:1 to Act_11:30.
1. Cornelius’ Vision and Mission to Peter, Act_10:1-33.
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Luke now unfolds a new and positive advance in the secession of Christianity from Judaism. (See notes on Act_4:1; Act_6:8; Act_6:13.) The martyrdom of Stephen had sealed the certainty of such a separation, and now head of the movement must be the leading Apostle Peter, under angelic guidance, at the Gentile capital, Cesarea. This was a vital question not for Judaism only, but for even us in this nineteenth century, and in this land of America: Must we be circumcised Jews in order to be Christians? So believed the first Jerusalem Church; so, at first, Peter held; and from this yoke it was Paul, the apostle of us Gentiles, preeminently, who was our emancipator!
That Gentiles should be admitted into the Church was clear; they could be admitted even into the Jewish Church. (See note on Act_3:26.) The Old Testament predicted that Christ, the Messiah, should be a light to the Gentiles, a salvation to the ends of the earth. Jesus commanded his apostles to Go teach all nations, that is, go disciple all Gentiles. This the apostles well understood. But this they could not understand, that the Mosaic ritual, circumcision and all, should, as the Church expanded to universality, fall off, like a dry, outgrown shell, from its back. Of this great truth the Hellenists caught the first glimpse, Stephen the first clear view, and Paul embraced the great conception as the one idea of his life. The Epistle to the Romans is his written and forever permanent expression of this great truth.
1. Cesarea—See note on Act_8:40.
Cornelius—A common Roman name, and belonging to one of the oldest and noblest Roman lineages.
A centurion—Captain over a hundred men.
Italian band—A cohort of native Italians, forming the body guard of the Roman procurator, just as an English governor in India needs a body of English troops for safeguard. Cornelius, therefore, as a Roman and a military man, was the proper representative of Gentilism to be met by Peter, the representative of Jerusalem Christianity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48 1. There was a certain man in Cesarea] The…
1. There was a certain man in Cesarea] The oldest MSS. omit the verb was here, and make the sentence read, “Now a certain man in Cæsarea … a devout man … which gave much alms … saw in a vision, &c.” Cæsarea is the same place which is mentioned Act_8:40, and was usually the residence of the Roman Procurator (see Act_23:23-26, Act_25:1-4). The soldiers over whom Cornelius was centurion were the necessary troops to support the state and authority of the Roman representative, who at this time was Herod Agrippa, whom Claudius had made king over Judæa and Samaria.
called Cornelius] Lit. “Cornelius by name.” The name shews he was a Roman, and perhaps he may have been of the famous Cornelian Gens. But there were also many plebeians of this name, for Sulla (Appian B. C. i. 100) bestowed the Roman franchise on 10,000 slaves and called them after his own name, “Cornelii.”
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a centurion] This was not a distinguished office. He was commander of the sixth part of a cohort, i.e. of half a maniple. The name must have been given to such officer when his command was over a hundred men. The Roman legion in these times was divided into ten cohorts, and each cohort into three maniples, so that the nominal strength of the legion would be 6000 men.
of the band] i.e. the cohort. Such a troop was stationed in Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion (Mat_27:27).
called the Italian band] The name at first would be given to it from the country in which it was raised, but no doubt it would afterwards be recruited from other parts, and yet still retain its original title. Tacitus (Hist. i. 59 &c.) mentions an Italian legion. A centurion of a similar band, which was styled “Augustan,” is mentioned (Act_27:1) below.
Act_10:1-8. Cornelius is divinely warned to send for Peter
St Luke now brings to our notice the circumstances which attended the first preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. The Apostles, though informed by Christ’s commission that they were to “teach all nations,” yet tarried the Lord’s leisure, and waited till the Spirit, who was their constant guide, shewed them a door opened for such extension of their labours. The first Gentile converts seem to have been living in some sort of communion with the Jews of Cæsarea, for Cornelius, the representative figure among them, was “of good report among all that nation,” but yet from the complaints of the brethren at Jerusalem, when they heard what Peter had done, we can see that Cornelius was one of the “sinners of the Gentiles.” “Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and didst eat with them” expresses the shock, which the strict observers of the Law experienced in this new development of the Church, and even Peter himself, though chosen to inaugurate the preaching to the Gentiles, was not always proof against the scruples and remonstrances of his brethren of the circumcision (Gal_2:12).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48 (1) There was a certain man in Cæsarea.—We enter…
X.
(1) There was a certain man in Cæsarea.—We enter on a new stage of expansion in the Church’s growth, the full details of which St. Luke may have learnt either from Philip the Evangelist during his stay at Cæsarea (Act_21:8; Act_24:27) or, possibly, from Cornelius himself. His admission into the Church, even if it were not the first instance of the reception of a Gentile convert as such, became, through its supernatural accompaniments and (in the strict sense of that word) its “prerogative” character, the ruling case on the subject. Whether it were earlier or later than the admission of the Gentiles recorded in Act_11:20, we have no adequate data for determining. (See Note on that passage.)
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Cæsarea was at this time the usual residence of the Roman Procurator of Judæa, and was consequently garrisoned by Roman troops. Greeks, Jews, and Romans, probably also Phœnicians and other traders, were mingled freely in its population.
Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band.—The office was a comparatively subordinate one, the centurion commanding the sixth part of a cohort, the sixtieth part of a legion. The Greek implies that he belonged to the cohort, not that he commanded it. The name Cornelius may indicate a connection with the great Cornelian gens which had been made famous by the Gracchi and by Sylla. The bands, or cohorts, stationed at Cæsarea consisted chiefly of auxiliaries levied from the province (Jos. Wars, ii. 13, § 6), who were not always to be relied on in times of popular excitement, and this cohort was accordingly distinguished from the others as Italian, i.e., as being at least commanded by Roman officers. A first Italian legion is repeatedly mentioned by Tacitus (Hist. i. 59, 64; c. 100; iii. 22), but this is said by Dion (lv. 24) to have been first raised by Nero; and the term which St. Luke uses for band (spira) was, strictly speaking, not used of the legions, the latter term being applied exclusively to Roman troops. In Act_27:1 we meet with another of these cohorts, also at Cæsarea, known as the Augustan.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 Now there was (two last words in italics) for…
Now there was (two last words in italics) for there was (in roman), A.V. and T.R.; Cornelius by name for called Cornelius, A.V. A glance at the map will show that Caesarea (see note to Act_9:30) was but a short distance, some thirty miles, from Joppa. It was doubtless with a view to Peter"s momentous errand to Caesarea that Luke recorded his previous visit to Lydda and his residence at Joppa, consequent upon the restoring of Dorcas to life: the origines of Gentile Christianity being the prime object of the Acts (see Introduction to the Acts). The Italian band; or, cohort (speira). The speira, or cohort, was used in two senses. When spoken of strictly Roman troops, it meant the tenth part of a legion, and consisted of from four hundred and twenty-five to five hundred or six hundred men, according to the strength of the legion. Its commander was called a chiliarch, and it was divided into centuries, each commanded by a centurion. But when spoken of auxiliary provincial troops, it meant a regiment of about a thousand men (Josephus, "Bell. Jud:," 3:42). It is in this last sense probably that it is used here. Josephus, in the passage above quoted, speaks of five such auxiliary cohorts coming from Caesarea to join Vespasian"s army, and he tells us in another place ("Bell. Jud:," 2:18, 7) that the principal portion of the Roman army at Caesarea were Syrians. It is pretty certain, therefore, that the Italian cohort here spoken of were auxiliaries, so called as being made up in whole or in part of Italians, probably volunteers or velones (Farrar, vol. 1:278, note). Another reason for this conclusion is that it does not seem likely that one of the divisions of a legion should have a name (though it was very common for the legions themselves to be distinguished, in addition to their number, prima, secunda, decima, etc., by such names as Italics, Parthica, Augusta, etc.), but that separate regiments would naturally have appropriate names for the same reason that the legions had. Thus, besides the Italian cohort here named, we have the Augustan cohort in Act_27:1. It might be important for the security of the procurator, in so turbulent a province as Judaea, to have at least one cohort of Italian soldiers at the seat of government. Renan ("Apotres," p. 202) thinks the full name of the cohort may have been "Cohors prima Augusta Italica civium Romanorum;" and adds that there were in the whole empire not fewer than thirty-two cohorts bearing the name of Italian.
Vers. 1-33. The indenture.
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The meeting of Peter and Cornelius is one of those binges upon which, small as they seem at the moment, vast interests turn. It was one of those moments when revolutions in the whole state of human society are at the birth; when that is being unconsciously enacted by the doers which will powerfully affect mankind to the end of time and beyond it. From the call of Abraham to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the covenanted mercies of God had been restricted within the narrow bounds of the Hebrew race. The very ordinances which were necessary to preserve them as a separate people, able to have the custody of the great truth of the unity of God, and of the great promise of a Messiah which should come, erected an impassable barrier between them and the rest of mankind. But this state of things was designed to be only temporary, and to pass away when it had accomplished the purpose for which it was set up. The time was to come when that knowledge of God which had been confined in the narrow reservoir of the Jewish people was to burst its embankment and flood the whole world with truth. But the embankments were very strong. The institutions which were intended to isolate the seed of Abraham had done their work well. The mind of the Jew was built in by a wall of prejudice, which it might have seemed impossible to break down. But it was to be broken down, and that by the band of God. The manner of doing it was remarkable. Among the things which powerfully persuade the human mind coincidences occupy a foremost place. An event which, happening alone, might not have any very commanding power, happening concurrently with another event which has distinct marks of special relation to it, acquires enormous influence. And when all possibility of human agency in producing the coincidence is removed, the sense of a Divine purpose falls irresistibly upon the mind, and with a peculiar energy of conviction. The edges of two events, wholly independent as far as the will of man goes, fitting into one another with the precision of the two edges of an indenture, produce the absolute certainty that the two events were foreordained of God, and have their unity in his eternal purpose. Such a coincidence broke down the barrier in Peter"s mind between Jew and Gentile, and was the first beginning of that wonderful movement which transferred the religion of the Jews, purified and spiritualized, to the possession of the Gentile, and brought Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem. Little did the good men whom Cornelius sent to Joppa think what would be the results of their embassy to Simon; and even Simon Peter, when he went with them to Caesarea, probably scarcely understood the magnitude of his errand. He opened the gates with the keys of his apostolic office, but scarcely realized the multitudes who would enter through them to the kingdom of heaven. To us there is something wonderfully instructive in standing where we can see the simultaneous events on both sides of the wall. The messengers of Cornelius wending their way to Joppa, to find the unknown teacher. Peter praying and seeing his vision, and perplexed about its meaning, in utter ignorance that the Italians were approaching his door and bringing its interpretation with them. Their arrival makes the vision plain, and the voice of the Spirit within him concurs with the voice of the men without. One sees at once the irresistible effect of such a coincidence in overcoming the strongest prejudices, and forcing upon a reluctant mind the conviction that duty lay in a hitherto untrodden path. "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" was the just conclusion to which all who heard it were brought. And even so in our own lives, if we watch with a careful eye, shall we see many coincidences of a like nature giving us the clearest evidence of God"s watchful care for us, revealing distinctly his hand and his purpose, and making our own path of duty clear in the light of his providential ordering. Sometimes it will be a coincidence between our thoughts and feelings and the events which come unexpectedly upon us; sometimes a coincidence between our own thoughts and the thoughts of others previously unknown to us. It may be some word of wisdom coming home to us at some crisis in our life; some guide sent to us at the very moment when we were in danger of losing our way; or some comfort poured into our heart by a stranger "in his simplicity;" but anyhow a coincidence in which the two edges of the indenture so manifestly fit into one another that we are constrained to hold our peace and to glorify God, and say, "This is God"s work.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON. Vers. 1-8. Piety, its place, its associations, and its reward.
We gather
I THAT GOD HAS HIS SERVANTS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES. We look for piety in certain quarters where it may be supposed to flourish; in others we do not look to see it; yet in these latter it may be found. Who would have expected that a centurion in a Roman regiment would prove to be a worshipper of God one that feared God with all his house"? He and his family must have been living in a way that contrasted strangely with the great majority of those in a similar position. We must never conclude that men are irreligious because of the class to which they belong or of the occupation in which they are engaged. Sometimes, in spite of the most uncongenial surroundings, and sometimes taking part in avocations which few godly men could possibly embrace, there are found simple-hearted and sincere Christian men. Christ has his servants, not only on the exposed hillside and the open plain, but in the most secluded glen, hidden where no eye can see them, living in the very last place where we should go to find them.
II THAT PIETY SHOULD BE INSEPARABLY ASSOCIATED WITH CHARITY, Cornelius was "a devout man .... who gave much alms to the people" (ver. 2). In certain lands and at certain times, as in the country and at the period to which our text belongs, devotion and almsgiving were very closely conjoined in the public mind. It is quite possible, as was then too painfully evident, that these may be found existing together in outward form, with no acceptableness to God. But it is not the less true that God demands of us that reverent thought directed toward him should be found in close connection with generous thought directed toward our brother. (1Jn_4:20) Christian charity should be both deep and broad.
1. It should spring from a deep sense of the worth of human souls whom Christ pities and seeks to save.
2. It should extend beyond occasional gifts to those who are in extremity of want. It should include an intelligent endeavor to do that which is really best for the lasting well-being of the people.
III THAT A SPIRIT OF DEVOUT INQUIRY IS ONE SURE SIGN OF GENUINENESS IN RELIGION. Taking the expression, "Thy prayers are come up for a memorial" (ver. 4) with "he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do" (ver. 6), we conclude that Cornelius was deeply conscious that he needed to know more of God than he knew, and that he was prayerfully endeavoring to find his way into the path of truth and heavenly wisdom. This is a mark of reality. Those who complacently conclude that they know all that is to be known, that wisdom dwells with them as in its chief home, that they have no need for spiritual solicitude as to themselves, these are they whose piety we may distrust. But the humble and earnestseeker after more light and truth is the man about whose moral integrity there cannot be two opinions. He bears the stamp of sincerity on his brow.
IV THAT GOD WILL FULFIL THE DESIRE OF HIM WHO IS THUS SEEKING AND STRIVING. God gave to this devout inquirer that which he sought. He granted him a vision, and instructed him how to obtain the further truth he needed that he might find rest unto his soul (vers. 3-6). Thus he will treat us also. Only we must fulfill his Divine and constant conditions, viz.:
1. Earnest, repeated, patient inquiry. (Mat_7:7, Mat_7:8)
2. Living up to the light we have. (Joh_7:17) Half-hearted or impatient prayer will wait in vain for the door to be opened into the kingdom. Inconsistent piety will never know the doctrine which is of God. But let a man seek with his whole soul and let him live according to the known will of God, and then let him "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him," and God will give him his heart"s desires. (Psa_37:4, Psa_37:7) C.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-8. The pious centurion.
I THE SCENE OF THE STORY. It was at Caesarea. Hitherto we have heard of Judaea, Samaria, and Galilee. Here the fiery baptism had descended, and here the martyrs had sealed their testimony in blood. Now the second part of the early Church history begins, and the great thought of the gospel, the conversion of the Gentiles to Christ, begins to be an accomplished fact.
II THE GENTILE SUBJECT OF CONVERSION.
1. A centurion; a captain; a soldier. An old proverb says that "There is no faith and piety with men who follow the comp." Not always so, and Cornelius is an early type of those who have united the calling of the soldier with simple faith and loyalty to a Divine Master. Whatever view be taken of the military profession, such an example makes it clear that God has his chosen in places, as it may seem to us, the most unlikely, in callings the most unfavorable, as we may think, to the growth of piety. But in reality, religion shows its power in transmuting the raw material of external circumstance. Were piety dependent on happy external circumstances, it would be merely a matter of grace of manners. We cannot expect elegance of the boor, refinement of savages and roughs, but the sparks of Divine love may be struck from the roughest flint of human nature. Those characters which present naturally the greatest resistance to the gospel become often its brightest illustrations when subdued by the power of the truth.
2. Moral preparation for the gospel. He was pious, recognizing the reality of religion, reverencing God in the life of the household, and practicing known duties with diligence and zeal. Almsgiving, it is well known, was commended and enjoined by the rabbis as the chief duty in religion. And this was connected with the habit of constant devotion. Not to self-neglected hearts does God come; not on eyes unused to watch does the vision of heavenly forms beam. The oratory is the reception-room for God, and the heart is the true oratory.
3. Fulfillment of secret yearnings. He sees and hears that which satisfies deep desires of his heart. He beholds an angel of the Lord coming in to him, and hears his name pronounced, Cornelius!" Let us not distract ourselves by considering whether this was a dream. The point is not how the centurion saw and heard, but what he saw and heard; not the mode but the matter of the revelation. Evidently here was a Divine visit a personal and particular visit a visit of Divine recognition, sympathy, and blessing. We may notice:
(1) The invariable fear excited in the soul by Divine revelations. The brave soldier feels it, no less than Moses the stern leader of men, or Isaiah the leal-hearted prophet, or Peter the rock-like and bold. "Woe is me; for I am a man of unclean lips;" "Hide thy face, or I die such is the language of those to whom God appears and speaks.
(2) This is followed by inquiry, "What may God"s will with one so selected and singled out be? What is it, Lord?" So Isaiah, after the vision in the temple, expresses his readiness for service, "Here am I; send me.
4. Clear directions of providences. "Send men to Joppa, and cause Simon Peter to be fetched." Here, again, is the ministry of man to man. That Cornelius is bidden to send for Peter, and that Peter is bound to follow him, shows, not that Cornelius is turning to Judaism, but that the kingdom of God is turning to the Gentiles. Cornelius, with prompt and soldier-like despatch, sends two servants under the escort of a soldier to Joppa. We should be ready to meet our mercies half-way, as unhappily we are too ready to meet our troubles. J.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD Vers. 1-8. The Spirit of God in the Gentile world, Caesarea.
Roman spirit there. Philip"s visit. (see Act_8:40) Herod"s influence. Possible contact of Cornelius with gospel truth. Necessity that the entrance of the Church on its new territory should be solemn, authorized, undoubtedly firm, because of the subsequent controversies which would be largely settled by reverting to the facts.
I CORNELIUS, A TYPE of the religious heathen under the influence of the Spirit.
1. Devotion may be sincere, while unenlightened; yet needing the higher teaching.
2. Almsgiving, when accompanied by prayer, a sign of real religion.
3. Household piety. The true man lives his faith, however imperfect. As best he could he feared God in the regulation of his life.
II SUPERNATURAL HELP leads on the seeking minds. The resources which were open to the heathen world insufficient. Philosophy dumb on the greatest questions. Heathen priests mostly deceivers. Cornelius was not satisfied. Sense of sin awakened. The heathen must be evangelized, even though we admit that their religious position is not absolutely hopeless. The gospel is not a mere individual message; it proclaims a remedy for universal ills. The centurion was a man of great influence. His conversion would open the way of the truth to many others.
III LESSONS FOR GOD"S PEOPLE to be learnt from those without.
1. Responsibility for light.
2. Position to be faithfully employed for God.
3. Family religion even soldiers in the house had learnt devoutness from their master.
4. Follow the leadings of God"s voice. R.
HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER Vers. 1-48. Broadening foundations.
The promises of God to "Abraham and his seed for ever" are not going to be diminished now, but something of the extent of them is to be made more plain. Nothing shall be taken from the Jew which he is willing to have and to keep; but much is going to be given, with a manifestation unknown before, to the Gentile. With some form of vision, of dream, of angel-appearance, the covenant of long ages ago was made with the patriarch, and it seems that now, some nineteen centuries later, similar august realities shall be graciously put into movement, to inaugurate the abundant entrance of the whole Gentile world to the blessings of revealed religion. Multifarious as the detail of this chapter is, it is knit together by strongest bonds. It is one in spirit and in subject, and its impression is one. It is the moving drama-like representation of a very real and very significant transition in universal history. We are in the presence of a landmark that shall be seen far and wide and to the end of time. And we may observe
I IN WHOM THIS GREAT TRANSITION IS ILLUSTRATED. Confessedly indications of it had not been wanting, while Jesus lived on earth, in the eulogy he pronounced upon the faith of such as the centurion whose servant was ill, and the Syro-phoenician woman. And within the actual ministry of Peter as an apostle, the Ethiopian eunuch, his conversion and baptism, had given similar indications. But more than indications are now arrived. The time is ripe for manifestation. And the illustration, nay, the full and. distinct announcing, of the universal privileges and universal blessings of the gospel of Christ are made in the personal history of Cornelius.
1. He is a Roman. No larger, better type of the world could be chosen.
2. He is a Roman of the profession of arms. No profession could be chosen fitter to yield in fullest surrender to the message of the Prince of peace.
3. He is a man of large and liberal heart, of large and open eye. One detail after another of this history betrays it.
4. He is already of a religious and devout disposition. He is held in her our for his practical goodness among the people. His character as a religious man is regarded by them as a consistent character. But past these, he has been a genuine seeker after God in prayer. Though a Gentile, he had a soul like that of the true Israelite. His gaze was to the East; he would not bow down to the West. Some of the gospel"s grandest triumphs are, and are set forth in Scripture as, over the worst lives. But signally the grandest revelations of truth and of things to come have been vouchsafed to the pure and the watchful, those devout in heart and devoted in life ay, from Enoch to the shepherds of Bethlehem, and on by the Ethiopian and Cornelius to John of Patmos.
II IN WHAT MANNER THIS GREAT TRANSITION IS FORMULATED. The one great effect is that we are impressed with the Divine initiative and the Divine conduct in even the details of what took place. The Divine purpose shall be carried out with Divine attention.
1. A vision, and an angel in the vision, appear to Cornelius. Instruction lies, no doubt, both in what is said to Cornelius in this vision, and what is left even to him to fill up.
(1) He is graciously and approvingly advised that his prayers," though he was not of the favored nation, and his "alms" have been noticed of Heaven, and have been accepted. They have availed even as though they had been "incense" and the "evening sacrifice.
(2) He is told to send to a certain place for "Peter," whose name, possibly enough, he had heard by this time; whom, however, it is evident he did not personally know, both from the mode in which the angel described him, and from what we read of the way in which Cornelius received him (vers. 5, 6, 25).
(3) He is left to gather that Heaven"s own clock has signified that the time is ripe for some event on earth worthy of its marking, and, with exemplary promptitude, he does to the letter what he is commanded and waits the issue. Let alone what was left to Cornelius to surmise, it is left to us also to imagine how this interval was passed by him how devoutly he mused, how surely he expected what was divinely worth the having from the manner in which communication had been made to him, how he talked about it with any like-minded, and invited such together, that with himself they might share the privilege and responsibility of receiving the illustrious visitor, and hearing his mission.
2. A trance, and a vision in the trance, a voice distinctly repeated, and the direction of the Spirit (ver. 19), are given to Peter. These were to act as
(1) strong impulse to him;
(2) deeper instruction in the understanding of the one universal God and Savior, and one large family of mankind "of one blood," though spread among many a nation of the earth;
(3) literal guidance in the path of duty, and especially when the close of the trance and vision was timed to the hour of the arrival of the embassy from Cornelius. A wondering and awed and asking mind in Peter is in some measure satisfied as well as relieved by the errand and practical work to which he is immediately challenged by the three messengers. We may note that all this is mere myth and idle tale on the page of Scripture, or that it strongly begs our study of providence and a very grateful faith in such providence. Though the age of vision and trance be passed, the age of providence and of the Spirit has not passed and never will pass.
3. A designed and manifestly adapted meeting of instructor and instructed carries on what may be designated without irreverence the divinely planned program of the occasion. Companions and witnesses go with Peter, who has already entertained for one night in the same "lodging" with himself the strange messengers of Cornelius, and arrived at the abode of Cornelius the next day but one after the "trance." Peter finds a little congregation of Gentiles to see him and receive, not so much him, as God"s Word by him. All these things must be viewed as the arrangements and preparation for that which was to follow, and to prove itself the great object in the Divine purpose. Forces long estranged are led toward one another in happiest and most impressive omens, and very soon they find themselves one in one "Lord of all." Often have there been larger congregations to hear Peter and brother apostles and the true successors of these to the present; rarely have there been more expectant or more rightly and devoutly prepared.
4. God"s own great sermon to the world is now spoken by lips prepared to speak to hearts prepared to receive. The text is that God accepts every man who is ready "to walk humbly with him, to do justice and to love mercy". (Mic_6:8) And the real sermon consists of this, that Jesus Christ is the only way hereto. His Name, his anointing, his unwearied goodness, his oneness with God, his crucifying, his rising from the grave, his charge to the apostles in that mystic forty days that they now should preach him "to all the world," as, in fine, Judge of living and dead, these are the touching, thrilling, inspiring heads of Peter"s discourse, a summary of the way of life. And the practical exhortation in the conclusion amounts to this, that to Jesus all men are to have recourse he, the one object of faith for the forgiveness of sins: Every one that believeth on him shall through his Name receive remission of sins." With these words the errand of Peter was very nearly finished. The visions and the trance, the intimations of the Spirit, and the journeyings to and fro of messengers, the expectant Cornelius and friends, have all found their meaning face to face with one another. Men might little think today what lay in that brief address of Peter, or that matter of such precious import could lie in so simple a rehearsal. Yet it was so. Those few words of Peter were even burdened with the material of hope, comfort, joy. They were like the charter of liberty, of right, of wealth, to a household and a nation. They were really such a charter to the world.
III THE SANCTION BY WHICH THIS GREAT TRANSITION IS CONFIRMED AND CROWNED. This consisted in the descent of the Holy Ghost, with his wondrous powers. It was another scene of Pentecost; nay, it was the other scene of Pentecost, its counterpart. Pentecost in its divinest significance, let us say, in the Divine eye itself, awaited this perfecting. The world, it is true, does not yet lie at the feet of Jesus, but "this day is salvation" proclaimed to the world, and "the Son of man" is announced as "come to seek and to save that which was lost," of whatsoever nation, tribe, tongue. Again, "there was great joy in that city" and in that house. Notice:
1. The stress that is laid on "those of the circumcision" being witnesses of the effects of the descent of the Holy Spirit "upon the Gentiles.
2. The respect shown to the administration of the initiatory rite of baptism.
3. The little stress that is laid upon the matter of who should be the administerers of that rite. It is only said that Peter uttered forth the deciding word that this congregation of Gentiles, upon whom the gift of the Holy Ghost had fallen, and who were showing manifestly forth his "gifts," "should be baptized in the Name of the Lord." We are reminded of the words of Paul, "I thank God I baptized none of you, save," etc.. (1Co_1:14) The apparent abstinence on the part of Peter now, and the language of Paul subsequently, whatever else may possibly underlie them both, may certainly be justly understood to "magnify the office" and the work of preaching. In how little honor do we sometimes hold that which was now honored so highly alike by the anxious longing and attention of Cornelius and his friends; by the conduct of Peter; and by the Divine preparation of vision, trance, the Spirit, and some coincident providences! The "words" of Jesus are spirit and are life." Near the fount itself they were sometimes honored as such. They spread light and life. They have lost nothing of their own force as time has gone on, nor ever will to time"s end, though men may neglect or reject. B.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 9, 24, 28, 29, 30, 34, 36, 38, 39, 44 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius,…
Act_10:1-48
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion.
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Peters vision
The record of the advance of the young Church gives in quick succession three typical conversions: first, that of the eunuch, a foreigner, but a proselyte to the Jewish faith; secondly, that of Saul, born and bred a Jew; thirdly, this of Cornelius, a Gentile seeker after God. Within the range of these experiences the whole world was compassed. The highest apostolic sanction for an unfettered gospel was the need of the hour.
I. The vision of the Roman (Act_10:1-8). The home of Cornelius lay thirty miles north of Joppa. Built by Herod the Great in honour of Caesar Augustus, the seat of the Roman rule in the land of the Jews, a city of splendour, with spacious artificial haven, having a temple erected to the emperor that held his statue as Olympian Zeus, and lying, as it did, within the sacred territory, yet a centre of Grecian influence and plagued by the corruptions of a pagan worship, Caesarea afforded every possible phase of contrast to the age-long intolerance of Peters countrymen. Romes wide empire flashed before the eye of this true-born Italian, nor could he dream that faith in a Nazarene peasant would give the Cornelian name its truest honour. Yet he was one of those rare souls of whom not a few have illuminated the darkness of heathenism, whom heart hunger leads to the truth. He was a devout man. He feared God. The second word is simply a closer definition of his religious character. His fear was not a superstitious dread of the wrath of God, but a brave mans dread of failing to do the will of God. Furthermore, his piety had power in it, and this, mingled with peace, won over to his faith all his house. No mans religion can, without great hurt, fail to set forth the two sides of the character of his God. In the man who orders his household in the fear of God mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Cornelius, constant in alms-giving and prayer, draws near to the kingdom of Gods Son. The kingdom is about to be entered. The order is, Now send. The time had come. The outlying Gentile world had grown sick at heart. The middle wall of partition was falling to the ground. Cornelius, for the pagan world, was to learn that the Cross was the centre of the circle, and Peter, for the Jewish world, that the circle was as big as the globe. The Divine direction is very exact. Both of the apostles names are given. Whether Cornelius knew it or not, Philip, a resident of Caesarea, might have been called to his side within an hour. But Philip was not the man for the occasion. Of all men Peter was best fitted to preach Jesus to Cornelius, of all men the one most needing the results of his preaching. He will tell thee what thou oughtest to do. These words emphasise two important truths:
1. They point to the value of human agency in the salvation of men. The value of human testimony to a historic fact was never lost sight of in the foundation of the Church. The answer to Hume and Strauss may be found in the meeting of these men. A man not a myth has entered our world, and God has committed to men first of all, not to books, nor papers, nor tracts, the publishing of the gospel. The true witness of true men is the surest way of redeeming China to God. A shipload of Bibles sent to Africa will, unaided, amount to little. Ten holy men turned loose will leaven it for the twentieth century, The man and the book together are invincible.
2. They point to Jesus as the consummate revelation of God. When He can be found all else is insufficient. And it was because He could be found that Cornelius was not, could not be, allowed to remain where he was. His devoutness was not enough. No one dare teach that faith in specific doctrines of Christianity is superfluous. The opening words of Peters sermon cannot be bent to prove that all religions are of equal value or that faith in the Redeemer is needless.
II. The vision of the Jew (verses9-20). Gods providences make a perfect fit. The messengers reached the tanners door not an hour too soon, not a moment behind time. Was the man on the house top ready? A great thing was about to happen. A huge prejudice had come to its death. Let us pause to scan the past life of the fisherman. He had been in part prepared for the nearing duty. A more scrupulous Jew would not have entered a tanners house. Peter lodged there. He had not been without much previous training. He had been taught, tried, had fallen, had been forgiven and restored to honour. Yet he was not ready for a worldwide need. The words of Jesus never took the place of the educating activities of after life. Peter had been called to be a fisher of men (Mat_4:19). He had heard the centurion commended (Luk_7:7). He had learned how meats defile, and how they do not (Mar_7:18). Near the tragic close of his Lords life he had seen that certain Greeks sought Him (Joh_12:20), and that in them the Gentile world was welcomed. Yet he was not ready. Like his fellows, he saw in the direction of his prejudices. It required the surgery of events to insert a new truth into their minds. Yet he was Gods best man for this hour, for, as Bruce has well said, Everything may be hoped of men who could leave all for Christs society. To learn that spirit is more than form, and that God is not partial, was a great lesson. Through the opening in heaven a great sheet was let down, held by four rope ends (Alford), or attached with four ends, namely, to the edges of the opening which had taken place in heaven (Meyer). In it were all kinds of animals without exception, clean and unclean. From these Peter was told to choose. With old-time bluntness he refuses. He knows not who speaks, but calls him Lord. What did it mean? Little wonder that he was perplexed. The most outward mark of difference between Jew and Gentile had been set at naught. He knew why these regulations had existed (see Lev_11:1-47 and Deu_16:1-22). The descendants of Abraham were not alone in making distinctions of animals. Yet none others were so thorough as those of the Jews. The ordinance of Moses was for the whole nation. It was not, like the Egyptian law, intended for priests alone; nor like the Hindu law, binding only on the twice-born Brahman; nor like the Parsee law, to be apprehended and obeyed only by those disciplined in spiritual matters. It was a law for the people, for every man, woman, and child of the race chosen to be a kingdom of priests, an holy nation (Exo_19:6). He thought on. Was the hedge between races to be destroyed? Possibly. Was the vision meant for his own enlargement of privilege? Surely not. The sight, the order, shocked his sanitary creed, his patriotic sentiment, his conscience. It was hard for a Jew to yield even to a command from the skies. His thought may have taken in the city spread below. (R. T. Stevenson.)
Peters vision
Jesus Christ is the focus of all good tendencies in history. His light, lighting every man that cometh into the world, is their origin; His triumph is the conclusion toward which they move. The story of Cornelius and Peter shows the bringing together in Christ of two great religious elements--that of devout paganism and that of faithful Judaism. Both make sacrifices, for in Judaism as well as in paganism there is somewhat that is to be left behind. Yet in both there was imperfection. Cornelius had yet to put on the gospel life, Peter had yet to renounce the imperfect Jewish life. Both needed advancement more closely toward Christ, where they could meet as one.
I. Cornelius, the Gentile, is one of the noblest figures of pre-Christian life that we have. It has often been pointed out that the Roman centurions are always well spoken of in the New Testament. But Cornelius is more plainly set before us than either of the others.
1. As a man Cornelius is deserving of our admiration. We see in him a high religious longing. He was not a dabbler in speculation, such as he might have been if he had been a Greek, or a Roman of a hundred years later. He was one of the sort of men Archdeacon Farrar has called, seekers after God: men like Socrates, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius; men to whom the utmost heathenism could offer in the way of religiousness was unsatisfying (as God meant it to be) to the wants of the soul. The quantity of religiousness offered by the Roman religion was not at fault; there was an abundance of theory to appeal to the mind, plenty of supernatural legend about the gods, and a ritual elaborate enough to gratify the most ardent longing for the externals of worship. But there was not that quality in it all which could appease the cravings of the heart. It was not Divine. Cornelius longed for something better. He had been led to Judaism. Here were no idols, here were no debasing legends of deity, here was real spiritual religion. The purity and spirituality of the Hebrew monotheism, and the loftiness of its code of morals, must have come like a revelation to thoughtful hearts. They came so to Cornelius. The God of the Jews was a better God to him than Jupiter. Yet Cornelius made a discriminating use of Judaism. Cornelius penetrated to the eternally true elements of the Hebrew religion, and disregarded those parts of it which were merely typical and temporary and had no power to satisfy the soul. For his characteristics, named at some length, are spiritual and not ritualistic. He was a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house (Act_10:2). The word devout, it is true, says Lechler, may be applied even to a strictly pagan form of devoutness. It designates a worshipful bent of mind, full of reverence toward Heaven. But in Cornelius case this reverence was rightly directed, for it rose toward the true God. It is said also of Cornelius that he gave much alms to the people (of Israel), and prayed to God always. His religiousness was shown not only in devoutness, but in the outward life. Because, says Calvin, the Law is contained in two tables, Luke in the first place commends Cornelius piety; then he descends to the second part, in the fact that he practised the duties of charity towards men. That such a man should have no influence was impossible, above all in those days when the possibilities of the pagan religions were exhausted and men were reaching out after something more satisfying, after that, indeed, which Cornelius had found. We are not surprised, therefore, to learn that all his house joined him in his fear of the true God (verse 2). A man like Cornelius, reverent and thoughtful, cannot but influence others toward the same traits. And the reason for this was his strength of character. Roman soldiers were not, as a general thing, very reverent. Out of this same strength of character also, doubtless, came his patience. He had prayed earnestly to God, we know not for how long, but no unusual answer had come.
2. Such a man in himself is a delightful study in character; but he is much more valuable in this case because of his spiritual significance in relation to the gospel. He shows us plainly, by his obedience to it, the obligation of the universal law of living up to the light one has. Religious emancipation is by means of the principle of exhaustion. You use an imperfect form of religion faithfully, and you are led out of it into something better. So those who, like Paul, were zealous Jews were offering themselves to God as fit subjects for something higher still. Because all phases of belief have in them the potency of better things, men are rightly to be judged of God by their use of what they have. And no one need fear, whatever his present phase of belief Godward, that his aspirations toward something better are ever overlooked by God. The angel said to Cornelius, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God (verse 4). It is a comforting thought that not a single hope for religious advancement in any human soul is ever overlooked by God. Cornelius was a good man, a religious man. Even these, however, did not merit the gift of the gospel. The best of men can never claim anything at Gods hands, because even the best of men never use all their privileges and perfectly fulfil the will of God. But although Cornelius had not by his life come to deserve the gift of the gospel (which is impossible), he had by it prepared himself for the gospel, and plainly evinced to God his desire for it, although the knowledge of just what it was that he desired and craved for had not crossed his mind. To those who ask it shall be given, and by his good life Cornelius had shown himself to be one of those who ask. God gives grace in exchange for grace. Using what light we have leads on to the desire for more, until we are led to want Christ, who is the final and best gift of God.
II. Peter, the Jewish-Christian, gives us a study in advancing Christianity. Cornelius shows how Judaism helps to Christ; Peter shows how Judaism must be thrown off in order to reach Christ. The same thing which is set before us as a help in Cornelius is shown a hindrance in Peter. Do you wonder that a mans early training should stay by him? Was it not intended so to stay? Peters prepossession against Gentile ways of living was fortified by the knowledge that Jewish life was founded upon Divine ordinances. The things unclean to Judaistic thought had not been made unclean by the Jews themselves, but by the very declaration of God. And yet it was narrow. It did not rise to the idea that God might be planning to displace even His own work. Peter could not see that a thing might be instituted of God and yet be temporary. He could not advance to the full conception of the possibility of progressiveness in Gods revelation. Not that there was anything defective, improper, or bad in any part of Gods ancient work. Bat He meant it for a certain purpose which was temporary. And it was a wonder so great that it took a miracle to dispel it. So hard is it for us to get away from our own set ideas of how God must work when He works at all. And yet God can do the difficult, even what seems the impossible. He can give a form of religion to men that seems perfect, and then He can displace it by another to which the former is but as night to noonday. Peter was to learn that a Gentile soul as such is as ready for the kingdom as a Jewish soul as such, if it is truly longing for salvation. And as this came to him it brought a lesson in humility, for he learned that the judgment of God was far better than his own. He had his prepossessions, founded in the very Word of God. He was asked to give these up by the same God. Here seemed inconsistency, impossibility. But Peter must yield. The ways of man must submit to the ways of God. Our conceptions of God, religion, piety, must all yield before Gods thoughts. And if He displaces His own revelations by better ones who shall say Him nay?
III. The general lessons of our study are apparent.
1. Cornelius and Peter, Jew and Gentile, both had visions granted by God. God is no respecter of persons. Some very ignorant, uneducated man, despised in our eyes, may find the truth as well as we.
2. Christ takes what is best out of all as the foundation of advance into new truth concerning Himself. Gods Spirit makes a preparatio evangelica everywhere.
3. All men need progress religiously--progress not beyond Christ, but progress deeper into the mysteries of the sublime truth given to us in Him. Let no one ever say he has no more to learn about the Son of God. (D. J. Burrell D. D.)
Dreams
The subject of dreams and dreaming is a fascinating one. There have been many extraordinary dreams; but there is an element of mystery in all dreams. They are witnesses to our spiritual nature. They reveal the spirit that is in man. They give us glimpses of the inner life of the soul. Sometimes they may indicate our moral state. Some dreams are the children of an idle brain; others are shaped by the master passion of the soul. President Edwards entered all his dreams in his diary, and carefully examined them. He looked upon them as indicating the real bias of his waking thoughts. Good seeds sown in the day meant a good crop of dreams at night. Undoubtedly there is much truth in this view. Dreams are sometimes instruments of Divine teaching. The Holy Spirit speaks to men by dreams and visions. Many of the inspired parts of Scripture came through that channel. Jacob, at Bethel, saw the ladder of mediation between heaven and earth in a dream. Peter received his commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles in a dream. The spirit world was unfolded to Paul in visions. He saw heaven, but not with his mortal eyes; and heard the language spoken there, but not with ears of clay. The panorama of the ages passed before John in Patmos while in a state of bodily unconsciousness. The Spirit of God can waken the resources of thought in man, and impress his mind without disturbing a single eyelash, or one beat of the heart.
For human weal Heaven husbands all events,
Dull sleep instructs, nor sport mans dreams in vain.
(G. H. James.)
Cornelius
1. Caesarea was situated on the Mediterranean, about thirty miles north of Joppa. It was built by Herod the Great, B.C. 22, and named after his imperial patron. It was a civil and military capital, the residence of the Roman procurator. It was garrisoned mostly by native soldiers, bat there was one cohort composed of volunteers from Italy, and over a division of that there was the centurion Cornelius. He belonged to an illustrious clan which had given to the state some of its most distinguished men; but greater than the glory of Sulla and the Scipios, who had made the Cornelian family everywhere renowned, is that which is conferred on this centurion in verse 2.
2. Cornelius was not a proselyte, for had he been Peter would have had no difficulty, and Act_15:14 is decisive against it. He belonged to that large class of thoughtful men who had become weary of the worthlessness of paganism. He had outgrown idolatry, and perhaps made himself familiar with the Septuagint, and certainly was convinced that God was the hearer of prayer. He might have become a proselyte, and possibly was contemplating that step when he heard of Jesus, and being a genuine truth seeker he determined to wait for light. This will enable us to understand the object of his fasting and prayer. There had come to him the inevitable question, What wilt thou do with Jesus, that is called Christ? and in his anxiety as to the answer he cried to God for light. And not in vain (Act_15:3-6).
3. In response to the Divine direction he dispatched two of his servants and a soldier to Peter; but God had gone before them, and was even now preparing His servant for their appearance (Act_15:9-16), who received a symbolic revelation of the fact that the restrictions of the Mosaic law were removed, and that the distinction between Jew and Gentile was abolished. It indicated that creation itself had been purified, and rendered clean for our use by the satisfaction of Christ. But Peter did not understand it so, but was helped by the message of the servants of Cornelius, and putting the two together he determined to go to Caesarea. As a precaution he took six brethren with him. Convinced that some important event in the history of the Church was going to happen he desired to have Jewish witnesses: an action which shows that, in spite of his impulsiveness, he was not destitute of prudence.
4. On arriving Peter found a considerable assembly, and after a preliminary discussion and explanation delivered a sermon as remarkable as any recorded in the history. While he was speaking the Holy Ghost descended, which--
(1) Certified the truth of Peters words.
(2) Proved to Peter and his companions the genuineness of the faith of these Gentile converts.
(3) Indicated that those who received Him should be then and there admitted to the Church (Act_11:17).
5. This was the Pentecost of the Gentiles, and so Peter opened the door for their admission as the Lord had promised him. Thus the infant Church took a new departure, and entered on that worldwide mission in which it is still engaged. Learn then--
I. That the way to get light is to act up to what we have and pray for more. Cornelius had not found Christ (Act_11:14), but he had found something, and whereto he had attained he walked by that rule. This is a uniform method of Gods procedure (Deu_4:29; Psa_112:4; Mat_25:29; Joh_7:17; Jam_1:5-6). F.W. Robertson stayed himself up with this principle during that dark wrestle with doubt in the Tyrol. Everything else went from him, but he could hold by this: It is always right to do right; and in the acting out of that he regained his hold of Christ.
II. That in all spiritual matters we should be prompt.
1. Cornelius lost no time in sending for Peter; nay, after Peter came he took in all he said while he was speaking, and so received the Holy Ghost. Do, therefore, at once what is needed to secure your souls welfare. When Pharaoh was asked by Moses when he should entreat the Lord, he said, Tomorrow! and you marvel at his folly. You would have said, The sooner the better; but beware lest you condemn yourself. Today, if ye will hear His voice, etc. You need not send to Joppa, The word is nigh thee (Rom_10:8-9).
2. But the promptitude of Peter is quite as noteworthy (Act_15:29), and we who have to deal with men about their souls should take a lesson. I once preached to an enormous audience in a circus. When I had finished I was quite prostrated, and while in that condition a man wished to speak with me about the way of life. I made an appointment for the next morning. But he never came. And I have written down that as one of the lost opportunities of my life, and its memory has been a spur to me ever since. The Kings business requires haste. Now--alike for preacher and hearer--is the accepted time.
III. That preachers and hearers are prepared for each other by God. Cornelius is led in a peculiar manner to send, and Peter to go: when they come together the result is blessing. It is the same now. The preacher is led through a special spiritual history; he is guided to the choice of a particular subject, to treat it in a peculiar way, to preach it at some distant place. The hearer is brought through circumstances of trial perhaps; he is led on a certain day to a certain place of worship, how he knows not, but there he hears the message God sends for him. It seems as he listens that the preacher must know his past life, and so speaking to his circumstances he is blessed in his conversion. This is no uncommon history. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The character and conversion of Cornelius
I. The character of Cornelius.
1. He was a devout man, and one who feared God. His morality was not of that mean character, or dwarfish stature, or unhallowed allowance, which satisfied the scanty requirements of paganism and idolatry. He had reverence for the demands, he had zeal for the glory, he had impulse from the love of God.
2. He was a charitable man. To heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, was his delightful employment.
3. He was a man of prayer. Here lay the great excellence of his character; here the grace which sanctified every other, implanted by the Holy Spirit in his heart; and here the secret of that mercy of which he was made a partaker. His supplication was no transient, hasty homage of the lip or knee, but the settled habit of his mind, the unwearied uninterrupted practice of his life.
4. He was a man of family religion.
II. The course of Divine dealing towards Cornelius. Lessons:
1. God is no respecter of persons.
2. What should be the character of ministerial labour and duty.
(1) The more earnestly and faithfully a minister of religion labours, the more certainly will he find cause to know that the way of God is not as his way, nor the thoughts of God as his thoughts.
(2) The more earnestly a minister is engaged in private prayer for himself, and for the success of the great cause of mercy and of man in which he is engaged, the more surely will he learn the mind of God, the more enlarged will be his views, the more certain his success in preaching the gospel. (R. P. Buddicom, M. A.)
Cornelius
We learn from the history--
1. That it is possible to live a life of piety under unfavourable circumstances.
2. That goodness, wherever found, is noticed and remembered by God.
3. That God gives more light to him who is conscious of his need of it and who humbly seeks it.
4. That in order to impart this greater light the human ministry of the Word has been appointed. (James Owens.)
Cornelius
I. He was a devout man. This takes him out of the ranks of those whose religion is not a religion of devotion. The religion of too many is a religion of fashion. They are expected to go to church, to pray and sing and hear while there, but they are glad when it is over, and that it will not have to be repeated for a week. As a devout man Cornelius was--
1. Thoroughly in earnest. Earnestness alone will never take a man to heaven, but no one ever got there who was not in earnest.
2. Impressed with the majesty of God. He had realised something of the glorious character of Him with whom he had to do. Are you overshadowed by the august presence of the Most High? If not, you are not in the same category as Cornelius.
II. He feared God with all his house. He took an interest in the well-being of his subordinates. He did not regard himself as a mere ruler. Too many officers treat their men as mere automata, made to stand before them in a line and go through their evolutions like machines. Is it a matter of solicitude with us that our servants should feel the power of Gods grace? How many ladies speak to their maids about their souls?
III. He gave much alms to the people. He was a man of large-hearted liberality. How many professing Christians would be startled if they asked the question faithfully, What proportion of my income do I give to God? Remember the generosity of the Pharisees, and our Lords declaration, Except your righteousness shall exceed, etc.
IV. He prayed to God always. How many are content with a few hurried moments of prayer, and think that a trouble.
1. He prayed for greater light. Many are perfectly satisfied with their attainments, or even with their non-attainments, and prefer darkness or twilight to light.
2. He prayed like a man who expected to receive the answer. Would anything surprise some of you more than if God were to answer your prayer?
3. When his prayer was partially answered, he took pains to secure the full blessing.
V. We have said a good deal in Cornelius favour: Now what do you think of him? Some may say, That is an excellence I cannot hope to attain. Stop! Cornelius, with all his excellence, was an unsaved man. Let me not be misunderstood. He had been faithful to the light he had, and if he had been called away he would have been judged according to that, and not by a standard that he was unacquainted with. Peter lays down this principle clearly in Act_15:34-35. But Cornelius was so far unsaved that if when the gospel reached him he had rejected it, he could not have escaped condemnation (see Act_11:14). You cannot save a man who is saved already. If so good a man could yet be a lost soul, what must be the case with many here? (W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
Cornelius of Caesarea
1. In religious biography army Christians have a recognised place and honour for simplicity and thoroughness. To the soldier the very conditions of his life render compromise an impossibility. In discipline, in the habit of obedience, in the self-restraint and self-effacement required of the true man in arms, are also to be found true elements in the education of the man of God. In Bible history, many of those whom we most admire were warriors--the simple Joshua, the lordly Gideon, the Sweet Singer David, the pious Josiah; and in what book is more praise given to worth than is given to faithful Ittai, grateful Naaman, My sergeant Cyrus, the courteous Julius, and the nameless but immortal centurion of Capernaum?
2. When introduced to us, Cornelius is an officer of the Roman garrison stationed at Caesarea, then the civil capital of Judaea. His name at once attracts attention. What the name of Howard, or Russell, or Talbot is to English, or Douglas, or Gordon, or Stewart to Scottish history, that was the gens Cornelia to the City of the Seven Hills. A cadet of a noble house we may therefore conceive him to have been. The benign influence of noblesse oblige would be upon him and help to preserve a stainless name from stain. The regiment to which he was attached seems to have been one of special honour, and the position of an officer in it would be correspondingly eminent. Later on we encounter an officer of an Augustan cohort at Caesarea, Julius, the courteous custodier of St. Paul. It is quite possible that Cornelius and Julius may have been officers of the same regiment, which would readily account for the kindly feeling which the latter manifested towards his prisoner.
3. As regards the piety of Cornelius the narrative speaks enthusiastically (verse 2). This eulogy seems to describe a proselyte of the gate. The more exclusive Jews made the gate to be as high and forbidding as possible, but the Hellenists gloried in the tribute paid by every inquirer to the spiritual supremacy of the prophets, and encouraged them to study the Scriptures and to attend the synagogues. So it came that there was, more or less loosely, connected with the synagogues in almost every great centre, a floating body of students of all shades of opinion, from those who were merely attracted by the simple and central principle of the unity of the Godhead, on to those who were on the threshold of circumcision. Among these it is strange if we cannot find room for one to whom the terms applied to proselytes are given, devout, and one that feared God; who gave alms to Jews; observed the Jewish hours of prayer, and was manifestly familiar with the Jewish Scriptures.
4. The narrative at once lets us see that this man is thoroughly in earnest. He is one of those violent ones who take the kingdom of heaven by force. We find him spending a whole day (verse 30) in fasting and prayer. At the ninth hour (3 p.m.), the hour of evening prayer, the answer comes. He had heard about Jesus (verse 37, Ye know); his mind, enlightened by Jewish prophecy, and unobscured by Jewish prejudice, saw neither stumbling block nor foolishness in a suffering Saviour. The angelic visitor does not constitute himself the expounder of Divine truth; he only tells where such an expounder may be found. The miracle ceases, as it always does, at the earliest possible point.
5. There is a fitness in the Roman from Caesarea seeking the Jew at Joppa. For Caesarea was new-built and heathen; Joppa from time immemorial had been the port of Jerusalem, a town Jewish in all its history and relations, and associated with many of the most stirring events of Jewish history. It is still further fitting that the city of Jehovah should linger on, like the Jewish people, dejected but not destroyed, whilst that of Caesar has ceased to be.
6. But meanwhile a preparatory work had to be accomplished in the mind of the prejudiced fisherman of Galilee. It is impossible for one who has not encountered it to gauge the mastering tyranny of religious caste. Our class distinctions exist in spite of religion, under its mollifying influence, and, when they pass beyond certain bounds, under its ban. But in caste religion adds its sanction to the distinctions, and stereotypes and stamps them as Divinely appointed, permanent and necessary. Caste had crept into the Jewish Church. The Jews, instead of regarding themselves as Heavens instruments for the sake of others, had come to plume themselves on being Heavens favourites for their own sake. The atmosphere of such a caste pride is like a spiritual sirocco, drying up the moisture of charity, and parching into an unbrotherly Pharisaism. In such an atmosphere St. Peter had been born and bred. Then he and the other disciples are called of Jesus Christ. For three or four years they are within the sweep of His liberalising love. Then comes Calvary, the Resurrection, and thereafter Pentecost. On that day Peter expounded the prophecy: I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh. Surely the truth has now entered into him, and will never more leave room for caste. But no I It is in him still, living and strong, and He who knows what is in man has a feeling for His servants infirmity, and provides that special symbolic teaching which he needs before he may dare to enter upon the work whereunto he is now called.
7. Thus prepared the apostle goes with the messengers of the centurion. And now the two are face to face. It is a strange meeting--the servant of Christ and the soldier of Caesar. That Cornelius did not resent or recoil from such a teacher proves at once how truly religion had done its royal work within him. Two men more opposed as to race, birth, breeding, and habits, can scarcely be conceived; and it could not but be that there was much in the peasant calculated to rasp the Patrician, yet the soldier of Caesar deems it no dishonour to bow the knee before the legate of Jehovah.
8. We need not trace the interview through its details. The significant fact--one of overwhelming importance in the development of the idea of the Church--is that Cornelius and his household are received as Christians, not through the preliminary gate of circumcision, but directly through that of baptism. What the significance of that fact was it now concerns us to see. The infant Church was surrounded by dangers on all sides and far ahead. It had to face those which arose from the hostility of the worlds governments and from the contact of Oriental theosophies. But its nearest, and deadliest danger arose from the Church from which itself sprung. Springing forth from the bosom of Judaism, the Christians were, at the outset, regarded as a Jewish sect, amenable to Jewish ecclesiastical law and discipline. They worshipped in the synagogues and in the temple. In this aspect the danger was that the hierarchy might crush them. This was a danger that could be measured. But the Churchs friends were more to be feared than her foes. Those without might cruelly seek to destroy, but those within conscientiously sought to corrupt. Every Jew was brought up to believe that the Law was eternal in its minutest details, ceremonial and judicial. Other than Jews might enter the kingdom of God, but only by the entrance of circumcision. The majority of the Jewish Christians carefully dovetailed their conceptions of the Messiah into conformity with this fundamental requirement. The popular thought placed the law first; and the Messiah was to be gloried in as the magnifier of its scope and the extender of its authority. If we rightly understand this prejudice, so deeply bedded in the Jewish mind as to be with difficulty dragged out of the hearts of even apostles, we shall be in a position to understand the danger to the Church from the influx of Jewish converts. They came into the Church devoutly believing Jesus to be the Messiah; but they continued to believe that, first of all, He was a Jewish Messiah, and all the citizens of His kingdom must first become Jews. This was the position assumed by an active and aggressive party they of the circumcision, i.e., Judaizing Christians. The position taken up by the Church and by all the apostles, but most strongly by St. Paul, was antagonistic to this. The law was but a pedagogue to lead up to Christ; in all its ceremonial it was local and temporary, designed for a special purpose of preparation, which purpose was accomplished when the Saviour came; it was therefore no longer required. Here was the momentous issue, whether Christianity will shrink into a mere Jewish sect, or swell into the Catholic Church. When we consider the character of the danger, we cease to be surprised that Paul became a chosen vessel to bear the gospel to the Gentiles, free from all the demands of a ceremonial Judaism. Neither the training nor the temperament of St. Peter fitted him for the task; the cause was therefore taken out of his hands. In those of St. Paul it was safe. But let us not forget that the older and less qualified man was the instrument selected of God for the introduction of the first heathen into the Church. As was to be expected from the presence of such a party as I have described, his action was promptly challenged at Jerusalem. The defence was a simple narrative of facts. What was I that I should withstand God? The reply was satisfactory to the Church, and ought to have been final to all. But caste dies hard.
9. And so we have the noble Roman recognised as a member of the Visible Church. The baptism did not make him a Christian; it proclaimed a fact that already existed. God owned him first; man afterwards. (G. M. Grant, B. D.)
Cornelius; or, new departures in religion
Cornelius marks the beginning of a new epoch. Like the first flower of spring he is the sign and herald of the new forces at work changing the face of the whole earth. His history carries us to the final fighting ground of the decisive battle between the narrow and fettering forces of Judaism and the catholic energies of Christianity. He stands at the head of Gentile Christianity, and is to Saul of Tarsus what John the Baptist was to Jesus Christ. Coming up out of the darkness of heathenism, he bursts upon the vision of the Church like a flash of unexpected light. No prophet announces his advent; no visible teacher prepares him for his work. He is outside the churches, but in the kingdom. The building of the City of God offers room for the lowliest worker as well as demands the man of transcendent gifts. It welcomes the inconspicuous Ananias of Damascus not less than the famous pupil of Gamaliel, and advances to its perfection by the experience and toil of Cornelius, the Roman soldier, as well as by the practical wisdom of James, the chief pastor of the Christian flock in the holy city. Let each man, therefore, heed the light he now sees, do the duty that is next him, fill with unfaltering faithfulness his own sphere in the Divine will, and it is enough. God orders our way. If we know and do our own work all is well--its value, its near or far off results, we cannot estimate. In some callings men easily assess their gains, and take their true place in a graded scale of workers. We cannot. They know what they earn. We never do. Gold is easily counted; but where is the ledger account of new ideas disseminated, of spiritual renewals accomplished, of human justice and right established, of souls made true, and peaceful, and strong? Saul, unlikeliest of all the Jews to human seeming, will take up and advance the labours of the martyred Stephen; and Cornelius, unlikelier still, for he is not a Jew, will make the crooked straight and the rough places plain for the advent and ministry of the Apostle of the Gentiles.
I. Approaching in this spirit of trust and hope and ardour, the study of Cornelius, as he appears in Lukes history, revealing the methods and movements of God in securing new departures in religion, we note first that Cornelius gathers into himself in cooperating fulness the chief providential forces of the age, and so becomes the fitting instrument for incarnating and manifesting the remedial energy and wide range of the religion of the Saviour. The historian compels us to see that Cornelius is a Roman. The whole atmosphere is Roman! How, then, could he whose chief business it was to trace in his two Gospels the gradual growth of Christian work from Nazareth to Rome, pass by this first Christian Roman of them all, as he is led into the clear radiance of the light of the world. Cornelius was not a proselyte. He is still within the circle of alienated heathendom, and yet by one step he passes into the school of Christ, and enters into living relations with Him, without being detained for a moment or a lesson in the training school of Moses. It is this which marks the crisis. Herein is the revolution. The germ of the Christian religion is planted in this uncircumcised, uninitiated Gentile, finds in his devout yearnings for God, loyalty to Christ, generous love of the needy, and beautiful largeness of soul, the appropriate conditions for rapid and sure development, and forthwith gives incontrovertible signs that though the planting may be Peters, yet the increase belongs first to the germ itself, and has been secured, in the Divinely-prepared soil, by the operation of the Spirit of God. Religious particularism is in Him exposed, condemned, and cast out for evermore. Gods great universalities of love, provision, and ministry to souls are manifest; Christianity has a new starting point, and henceforth pursues a new line of progress. As a river it had entered into human history in Nazareth and Jerusalem, and had made its channels deep and wide; here in Caesarea, at the borders of the non-elect world, it starts along a new course, cuts for itself wider and deeper channels, and makes everything to live whithersoever it comes. So the Judaism in which Christianity was born is left behind, and that transference of the religion of Jesus to the Latin world, by which it was to work as a regenerating leaven in the European races, is commenced. In Cornelius the centurion, the glorious gospel of the blessed God makes its auspicious start for the Great West. Now this, it must be remembered, is the first proof of the realisation of the world purpose of God in the gift of revelation. The universe, as Renan has said, is incessantly in the pain of transformation, and goes towards its end with what he calls a sure instinct, but with what we believe to be a Divinely-redeeming impulse; that end being the salvation of all men through a universal religion. The first fathers of the Hebrew faith caught a glimpse of that world-embracing aim, and the exile of Israel in Babylon lifted it on high, brought it into the life of the people, so cleansing their conceptions of God and man, and preparing them for their worldwide mission. Then the victories of Alexander the Great brought in their train the diffusion of the Greek language, Greek thought, and Greek culture, throughout the world. To these beneficent ministries were added the discovery of new routes to the East, the development of traffic, and the commingling of the different races of men; all to be perfected and crowned by the ascent to the summit of power of Roman Imperialism, and the shaping of the nations into that one political federation which became the basis for that universal civilisation which was the material condition for the reception and dissemination of a really universal religion. But for us, living in the midst of dreaded religious changes, the biography of Cornelius is not only an argument, but also a message of peace and hope. It bids us trust in the living God--the God who is a consuming fire, but whose fires only burn up the waste materials of old religions to make room for the building of the new and better edifice. The kingdom of truth and of redemption is His. He rules it, and all new departures in religion are under His sway. He prepares for its advances by processes out of sight, continues the succession of heroic souls, who free us from the tyranny of dead dogmas; who gather up the results of His manifold working in all the departments of life, scientific and social, political and religious, and who then, vitalising and unifying them all by the Spirit of Christ Jesus, lead the life of the world to higher and heavenlier places. Lessing says: The palace of Theology may seem to be in danger through the fire in its windows, but when we arrive and study the phenomenon we find it is but the afterglow from the west which is shining on the panes, really endangering nothing, but yet for a moment or two attracting all. Let us not fear. The God of Cornelius is the Father of Jesus Christ, and the Saviour of all men.
II. Advancing to a further point in the record, it appears that God perfects the spiritual education of Peter by Cornelius; ill short, He finishes the work that was commenced on and in the chief apostle by John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, by the agency of a saint of paganism. Peter was a dull scholar, and required to be converted a good many times. It was a hard task to surrender his Jewish exclusiveness. All his traditions and preferences were against the sacrifice. He could not see the bearing, and did not admit the far-reaching applications of the truths he proclaimed. Thus the soldier comes to the aid of the seer. So the saint of heathendom goads into bold and aggressive action the disciple of Jesus Christ. Christianity advances through vision and service; through prophets on the heights of meditation and warriors confronted with crowds of foes in the valleys of evil. Some men require arousal. They see, but they stand still; they know, but they will not do. They linger shivering on the brink, waiting for the leadership of a more venturesome spirit. We need one another. The men of intelligence require the men of action; the press cannot dispense with the pulpit, nor the pulpit with the press: even apostles may learn from the humblest inquirers. The Reformation, prepared by Erasmus and the Humanists, waits for the moral fervour and splendid courage of Martin Luther. Peter, leader and apostle though he was, owes an unspeakable debt to the God-trained soldier of Caesarea.
III. Truth, like a torch, the more it is shook it shines. The new light in the house of Cornelius sends out its radiance to Jerusalem, arresting the attention and arousing the opposition of the fathers and brethren of the new Christian society. Peter appeared before the Church and told his simple tale. The appeal was victorious. God was understood and glorified, and the verdict was given by the Church with heartiness and praise, saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life. Is not that the way God is working amongst us today? Is He not preparing a glorious future for the Churches by the work and experience of individuals here and there, in and out, of the Churches? Cornelius is a religious reformer. God puts into his experience the truths of His Gospels in their widest range, and thereby they are built into, and operate as part of, the working energies of the Christian system. The centurion himself, in the fulness of his spiritual gifts and achievements, demonstrates that God is not a respecter of persons and races, but of aims and faiths, of yearnings and character. The unit of the Christian theology is a Christian man; a man who has come to Jesus Christ as he was, with all God has done in him and for him, with all he has acquired, in intellect and character, at home and in contact with men; and has come through Jesus Christ to the possession of the ideas, motives, and powers of the Holy Spirit; and is by that Spirit made a new man. I adopt the language of Milton: Now once again by all concurrence of signs, and by the general instinct of holy and devout men, God is decreeing some new and great period in this Church, even to the reforming of the Reformation itself. Let us be hopeful and patient. No knowledge can be a menace to the truth of Christ Jesus. It must glorify Him. The wise men will bring their gifts and lay them at the feet of Christ. A new Cornelius--now outside the Churches not unlikely--will God give to His children who, himself freighted with the rich results of the intellectual, social, and spiritual activity of the century, will force us into the presence of God, to hear what He Himself has commanded His Peters to say to us; and He will fellow the preaching with such signs of salvation and power, that the Churches will gratefully say: Then hath God granted unto the learned and scientific, and to the social outcast also repentance unto life.
IV. Finally, the portrait of Cornelius, together with the glimpses we obtain of Peter, reveals the men in whom God preferably works for the truest spiritual progress of men.
1. Cornelius is a devout man. He cultivates communion with God. Strong impulses urge him towards the higher significance of life, prepare his spirit for visions of the unseen world, and open his soul for the larger faith he avers, and the sublime inspirations he receives.
2. With this intense spiritual yearning he blends a wise management of his house, as if himself consciously under Gods authority, and responsible for the well-being of those under him, so theft some of his soldiers catch the infection of his devoutness, and his domestics share his solitude to hear Gods messenger.
3. In him also is seen the Roman love of rectitude and fair dealing. He is a just man.
4. He has not taken advantage of his place to plunder, as too many others did. But he gave much alms to the people. His social sympathies were as strong as his religious. You cannot hope to take any helpful part in hastening the arrival of an era of purified and enlarged thought of God, of intenser love of God and men, of spiritual quickening and social regeneration, unless, conscious of your weakness and sin, you make it your business, whilst believing in Him who is the propitiation for our sins, to walk in the light as He is in the light, and so to have fellowship with men and experience that continuous cleansing from all sin which is the pledge and guarantee of Divine adequacy for faithful and fruitful work. (J. Clifford, D. D.)
Cornelius, an example of piety
Here is one man who is a truth seeker, and there is another who is a truth teacher. One has what the other needs; but they are unknown to each other, and separated by a great chasm. How can they be brought together? God commissions an angel to appear to Cornelius, and to tell him to send Peter. God appears to Peter, and shows him that nothing that He has made is common or unclean. The scholar and the teacher are soon face to face; and then, while Peter spake, the Holy Ghost fell on those who heard the word. This incident shows that every step in the work of conversion is known and arranged by God. The text affords a beautiful illustration of--
I. Personal piety. Cornelius was a devout man, and one that feared God. A devout man now is one that is devoted to the service and worship of God. This word seems originally, however, to have had the meaning of thoughtful, serious, and reverently inclined. Cornelius had not found the pearl of great price, the one thing needful, but he was an earnest seeker, prayerful, and, according to his light, sincerely pious. The Word of God--
1. Points out the necessity of personal piety. It affirms first that we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God; and then, that without holiness, no man can see the Lord. Jesus said, Except ye be converted, etc.
2. Explains the nature of personal piety--a change of heart that leads to a change of life. Godliness is Godlikeness--in thought, and spirit, and life: If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, etc. It is possible to observe the outward forms of religion without experiencing its saving power, and to have a name to live, but to be dead. Knowledge, liberality, morality, prayer, cannot save us. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
II. Domestic piety. With all his house. We are not told how many members it contained, nor whether they were old or young; but we are told that they feared God. Cornelius not only renounced idolatry himself, but he taught his children to renounce it. If we want our children to give themselves to Christ, we must lead the way. Example is better than precept. Domestic piety adds very much--
1. To the general comfort of the family circle. In the most orderly households there may be much to disturb the peace and try the temper, but where the home atmosphere is pervaded by a devout spirit, there will be a kindliness of speech and a tenderness of spirit that will lighten the burdens of life.
2. To the spiritual welfare of the family circle. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but the Lord blesseth the habitation of the just. The poor man may not enjoy the dainties that are found on the rich mans table, or the pictures that adorn his walls; but the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow thereto. Are we not more anxious about the mental culture and the social status of our children than about their spiritual growth? Do not our prayers pull one way and our lives another?
III. Practical piety. Who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. It is not every servant that has a good word for his master. If there be any defect in a mans character, no one can detect it sooner than his servant. But Corneliuss servant says, His master is a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nations of the Jews.
1. True piety manifests itself--
(1) In generous deeds. This was not a speaking, but a shining religion. He sounded no trumpet, but his light streamed forth, like the light from a lighthouse, far over the troubled sea of life. True piety must report itself. Benevolence is one of the natural fruits of piety. Pure religion and undefiled before God, etc.
(2) In a prayerful spirit. This combination is very beautiful. Work and worship; profession and practice; grace and generosity. (J. T. Woodhouse.)
The character of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert to the faith of Christ
Although it seemed good to Almighty God, under the old dispensation, to separate for Himself a peculiar people, and to make Himself known to them in a wonderful manner, He gave frequent intimations that this knowledge should, in the fulness of time, be extended to the Gentiles also. In this incident, in the conversion of Cornelius, we behold the rise of that mighty stream which has poured its healing waters over so large a portion of the civilised world, fulfilling in its course the prediction of the evangelical prophet: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined (Isa_9:2).
I. The character of Cornelius. He is introduced in the text as a Roman soldier, a centurion, an officer of considerable rank and distinction, in the cohort or regiment called the Italian band, quartered at Caesarea. He had been a heathen, but by the grace of God had been delivered from the vain and idolatrous worship of the gods of his own country to serve the true and living God. How, or in what way, this change had been effected, we know not with any certainty. It is not improbable that, in consequence of his residence in Judaea, the scriptures of the Old Testament had fallen in his way, and he had been led to study them in an unprejudiced and teachable spirit, and had become convinced that the gods of the heathen were no gods, and that the God of Israel He was the true and only God. He is introduced to us as one that feared God with all his house. And such must ever be the result of an honest fear or reverence of God, drawn from the Word of God, and wrought by the Spirit of God. It is the beginning of wisdom: it works in the mind of the individual to produce conviction. But conviction once produced, it stops not with the individual; it moves him to exert his influence for the benefit of others, and especially of those of his own household; and, if we are right in our conjecture that it was from the Holy Scriptures that the centurion had become acquainted with Israels God, there can be little doubt that these same Scriptures would be employed by him as the means of instructing those about him. If you, like Cornelius, fear God, are you not afraid to neglect His Word? Let me urge it upon you to assemble your children and the members of your house once at least on every day, and read aloud some portion of that blessed Book, and then conclude with a few words of supplication. But it is stated of Cornelius, whose conduct suggests to us these remarks, that he prayed to God alway. It may be, that whilst I have been urging on you once at least each day to gather your families together for a few minutes to read the Word of Life, you have been finding out excuses in your manifold engagements, and saying within yourselves, It is impossible, it is utterly impossible: at such an hour I have to be at such a place, and at such and such a time to do such and such things: it is quite impossible. Listen to me, if it be really and truly impossible, God may possibly accept the excuses you have been framing. But here the question naturally arises, Had Cornelius, concerning whom it is recorded that he prayed to God alway, no engagements? Had he, a Roman soldier, appointed to command at least a hundred men, and to communicate continually with the authorities at Rome concerning the conduct of the refractory Jews, at this time subjects to the emperor his master, had he nothing to do? Might he not easily have found excuses? But how, it may be inquired, could he, if thus fully occupied, how could he possibly pray to God alway? Listen to me whilst I endeavour to supply the answer. He feared God, felt reverently and gratefully His mercy in making Himself known to him; and he was afraid lest, if left an instant to himself, he might, at some time or other, relapse into his former state of idolatry and heathenism; and it was his aim, therefore, to live in a constant spirit of prayer, so that the fire might ever be burning on the altar of his heart: his very duties were so performed, and his mind so carefully regulated by continual meditation upon and intercourse with his heavenly Friend, that it was no exaggeration to say of him, He prayed to God always. Cornelius was a soldier--a profession, generally but too hastily, supposed unfavourable to the growth of grace in the heart. Undoubtedly some callings seem, from their very nature, to afford larger opportunities of the means of grace and association with Gods dear children than do others: but I should say, in general, that the state of all others the most unfavourable to vital godliness is a state of idleness and inactivity. God appoints us duties; and it is, I am thankful to be enabled to state from extensive personal experience and observation, quite possible diligently to attend to them, and yet sedulously to cultivate the paramount interests of the immortal soul; nay, more, so to perform things temporal that they may minister to the attainment of things eternal. In this view of the subject, let us stay a moment to see what the profession of Cornelius would teach him. First, then, his profession would teach one who prayed to God alway, faithfulness to his earthly sovereign, who had committed to him the overseership of that portion of the Roman empire; and thus such a one would be reminded of the fidelity and integrity which he owed to his heavenly Master, to his own soul, and to the interests of those who formed his household. Next, his profession, the very life of which is vigilance, would suggest the need there is of continual watchfulness, lest the adversary, who goeth about seeking whom he may devour, should obtain an advantage over him. I will mention only one other lesson which he would learn, referred to in pointed terms by the apostle in 2Ti_2:4 : No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath called him to be a soldier. To sit loosely by all earthly matters. I might pursue the thought: and if you were each to tell me what are the occupations to which God has called you--whether you be one to whom God has committed the responsibility of wealth and influence; whether you be lawyer, physician, student, man of business, mechanic, handmaid, or domestic servant--it would not be difficult to make out before you how each particular department of your earthly calling might be made subservient to the growth of some spiritual grace, and to suggest the exercise of that blessed state of mind which possessed Cornelius, who prayed to God alway. But the Roman soldier did not restrict himself to his privilege of prayer; neither was he watchful only, as became him. We are therefore in no respect surprised to find it written of him that he gave much alms. He discovered a liberal disposition in relieving the distresses of the poor, as well as a peculiar fervour of mind towards God by the constancy and devoutness of his prayers. His benevolence and his piety were intimately connected, and they reflected a lustre upon each other. They who are always asking, and as constantly receiving, will not fail to be continually communicating. Other particulars are recorded of this most exemplary soldier which I can only cursorily glance at. In the thirtieth verse we read that it was while fasting that the man in bright clothing stood before him; in the twenty-second verse that he was a just man, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews; and this notwithstanding the hatred which they entertained towards the Romans, whose servant Cornelius was; so justly had he conducted himself, so unspotted had he kept himself from the world, that God had given him favour in their sight, and he was well reported of amongst all the nation of the Jews. How lovely and consistent is his character in the view of man! There is not a shade upon it to dim its lustre.
II. The reasons wherefore he was selected from the heathen world as the first convert to the faith of a crucified Redeemer. Some have thought it vain for us to seek the reason wherefore he obtained this honourable preference, and have contented themselves with the reflection that God distributes His favours as He pleases. This is indeed true: He giveth not account of any of His matters (Job_33:13); but I think a reason may be gathered from the history itself, viz., that such was his amiable character before his extraordinary call, that he seemed less likely than many others to offend the prejudices, of the Jews. I do not think this enough. I think the facts of the case supply a more probable and instructive reason. Something more was needed in the counsels of Jehovah than this bright and lengthened catalogue of gifts and graces. What I shall the man who is exemplifying in his daily walk and conversation an amount of excellence so near perfection that there is, perhaps, no merely human character in the New Testament which surpasses it--does he need to be told words whereby he and all his house may be saved? and shall there be no salvation for them without? It is even so. The Word which states the need informs us what it was which Cornelius needed, and which all have need to know as well as he. You will find it in the discourse addressed by Peter to Cornelius, and his near kinsmen and near friends, whom his piety had called together upon the occasion. Speaking to them of Jesus of Nazareth--of Him whom God anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power--the apostle says, at the forty-third verse of the chapter whence our text is taken, To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. These were the words whereby he and all his house were to be saved: these were the things which God had commanded to be heard. These were the fundamentals of the Christian dispensation.
III. We must at this point seek to gather up from the entire subject some practical instruction, which may, by the gracious influence of the Holy Ghost that fell on all who heard the apostles word, be blessed to us. And first, let those who, like Cornelius, are just, devout, prayerful, liberal, self-denying, and of good report among the people, let them know assuredly that they are sinners as Cornelius was, and have need to learn, if they have not yet learned, words whereby they must be saved. All their virtues are inadequate to the blotting out one single sin. It must be confessed that the case of the Roman soldier, whose character we have been considering, is a very strong one; but if the view which I have taken of it be correct, it would seem to have been selected in order to lay the axe to the root of all self-righteousness, of all regard to and dependence upon works as the ground of mens acceptance before God. But are there none, on the other hand, who profess to have laid hold upon Christ, to believe on Him, to depend on Him alone, who reject the merit of good works; are there none of these who are yet negligent to adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things, in their tempers, in their moderation, in their freedom from selfishness? who possess but little of the energy and benevolence, the charitable, prayerful, estimable spirit of Cornelius? If such there are among ourselves, let them, let all of us, be stirred up by the example of the Roman convert to greater faithfulness and watchfulness and diligence and love. (G. Spence, D. C. L.)
Cornelius, a monument of the omnipotence of grace
A Gentile, a Roman, a soldier, a centurion: all barriers, one would think, to Divine grace; but it goes through them all. (K. Gerok.)
Cornelius the truth seeker
I. The scriptural portraiture of his character.
1. He was devout; he reverenced the Supreme Being. This he might do as a sincere pagan; and in this the pious heathen of all lands may put to the blush the irreligious man in Christian lands.
2. He was God-fearing. His character was not built upon any mere materialistic philosophy that makes all virtue spring from self-interest.
3. His influence was felt throughout his household. A mans religion that does not affect his family is a very weak, sentimental thing, not worth the having. The religion of Cornelius made his very soldiers devout.
4. In him there was a happy blending of subjective piety and of objective goodness.
(1) He prayed--not merely the instinctive prayer of nature, nor the sentimental prayer of the naturalist. His was the intelligent cry of a personal soul to a personal God. And that not in some moment of distress, as does the terrified atheist whose fear overmasters his creed; but always--habitually. Herein does Cornelius rebuke the prayerless man.
(2) He gave much alms--not to his own kindred and friends alone, the limit of many a mans benevolence, but to the despised Jews. There are many whose religion is all breath and no bread. The prayer of faith and the gift of love, like the two wings of a bird, bear the hearts burden up to the bosom of the Infinite, and come back again like a white dove of peace, with a new blessing and a Divine strength. The alms of Cornelius had no merit in themselves; but, as an index of the hearts longing and aim, they were acceptable to God.
5. He was sincere--a word signifying without wax and originally applied to pure honey. Applied to man it indicates the pure honey of honest desire and purpose without the wax of self-deception, prejudice, or pride. God loves a true, sincere man, though his head be enveloped in clouds of error and of doubt.
6. He was an honest seeker after truth. Paganism had not satisfied him; he wandered through the halls of philosophers, but the vision of truth came not to his weary eyes. With yearning of heart he had fled to Judaism, and in its clearer vision of God he had rejoiced; but even there he had not rested, for he felt that the revelation was not full. So he waited and longed for the completed vision as travellers on the mountains watch and wait for the rising of the sun.
7. He was susceptible and receptive. There is many a man, dissatisfied with old formulas and dogmas, calling himself truth seeker and progressionist, who yet has in his heart no open door for truth. There are many, like Pilate, whose intellects cry, What is truth? but whose souls have no eye to perceive it, and no welcome for it. Cornelius cried for it, hailed it, and was therefore led on by the angel into the fair kingdom of truth, down to its deepest mysteries, up to its gleaming heights.
II. Gods dealings with him.
1. Cornelius was praying when he saw an angel, who said, Cornelius, thy prayers and thine alms, etc. This was Gods response to the prayer of that devout, sincere thinker, and everywhere God seeks the soul that seeks Him.
2. But the angel does not preach the gospel to Cornelius. No angel ever preached Christ since that first announcement of His advent. Man preaches to his brother man--the sinner saved, to the sinner lost. To Peter shall be given the distinguished honour of gathering in this first Gentile fruit to the Christian Church. But even he is not prepared for so great a mission, and it required a miracle to induce him to open the door for Gentiles to come in. Prejudice is an evil spirit not easily cast out of the human mind. Hardly yet is the entire Church free from its pernicious influence. Are there not high walls surrounding sections of the Church today, outside of which there is believed to be no salvation? Each in his own way the radical, the sceptic, the free-religionist, and the agnostic is alike the bigoted slave of prejudice. Let us heed this Divine rebuke of all unscriptural distinctions in Christs kingdom. What is their basis? Wealth, social position, colour, and nameless other foolish dividing lines.
3. While Peter hesitated, the messengers from Cornelius arrived, and Peter returned with them, yielded to the heavenly teaching, declaring, Of a truth, etc. And preached Jesus; the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard, who were immediately received into the Church.
III. The great lesson concerning the sufficiency of moral excellence for the individual character, or of natural religion for the race. Let us be candid.
1. God does set a value upon moral excellence. Good works springing from right motives are good in His sight, and nothing is gained, but much is lost, when Christian teachers speak too disparagingly of moral virtues. Whether there be or be not a hereafter, it is far better to be moral than immoral.
2. True moral excellence is an important and hopeful foundation upon which to build. It is not a matter of surprise that men are alienated if they find themselves classed with criminals without a word of qualification. Let us, then, put a right estimate on moral character and good works. The misguided religionist says, Good for nothing; the moralist says, Good for everything; God says, Good according to the spirit that prompts them.
3. It is important that this whole matter should be better understood. The imputation of teaching a religion that does not fully recognise the value of morality is a libel upon Christianity. The Christian religion alone contains an absolutely perfect system of morals, inseparably connected with its facts and doctrines. And wherever Christianity has been faithfully presented the highest type of character has been its unfailing fruit. And yet it is quite possible that the moral element is sometimes less emphasised than the spiritual. But the religion of Christ is not chargeable with such confusion of ideas, or failure in application of Christian ethics. It is not only a gospel of grace, but a gospel of character. It does recognise all that is good in man; but in seeking his highest development it bids him beware of trusting his own deceitful heart, and of seeking to build his character on the sandy foundation of self-righteousness.
4. But there is nothing in this narrative to prove that simple morality is all that a man needs to fit him for heaven, and that the religion of nature is all-sufficient.
(1) Cornelius was no mere moralist; he placed no dependence on good works. He received the gospel under the influence of the first gospel sermon that he ever heard.
(2) The history teaches us that even this mans character was not in its natural state sufficient, and could only find completeness in Christ. Were his condition and character all that could be desired, why did not God leave him as he was? This, then, is the prime thought that underlies this entire subject. There is no completeness of character, of happiness, or of life, apart from Christ. Grant that you are thoroughly moral, is it not better to be Christly too? What if in winter you say, The air is crisp and bracing, the hearth fire is cheerful; I want no better climate than this? Will you shut yourself in when spring comes? (C. H. Payne, D. D.)
Family devotion
Sir Thomas Abney had been accustomed to have family prayer at a certain time. Be was made Lord Mayor of London. His hour of family prayer being some time about the time of the banquet, he begged to be excused for a little, for he had an urgent engagement with a special friend. He then went and called his family together to meet with God in prayer. Do the same; if even a banquet should come down upon you, quit the table for the altar, and your guests for your God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Cornelius, the truth seeker
I. His character. He was no mere moralist.
1. He acted up to the light he had, which the moralist does not.
2. His morality was only the outward proof of his devoutness.
3. He did not depend upon his good works, but sought something better.
4. He embraced Christ when revealed to him.
5. He impressed others with his devoutness.
II. The heavenly interest in him. This shown by angels, who take active part in the work of human recovery. This interest is seen--
1. In their minute acquaintance with our circumstances. Cornelius mentioned by name, and Peter, and the town, house, situation, host all indicated.
2. In their joy over repenting sinners.
3. In their ministry during the whole career of the heirs of salvation. Thus angels are our examples.
III. His human guide. Peter rather than the angel.
1. This is Gods plan. Man and man only employed to prophesy, give Divine news, to be a vehicle of Christs manifestation.
2. Salvation is a practical work. We need the living illustration of a human life. We need not only a teacher but a witness; one who can verify from experience.
3. It redounds more to the glory of God and Christianity. The greatness of the result is heightened by the feebleness of the instrument.
4. It confers honour upon and promotes unity among men. The most important work reserved for men.
IV. The obstacles removed out of his way. There were great barriers of race, rank, culture etc., but all were broken down (J. G. Hughes.)
Cornelius, or grace operating beyond the pale of the visible Church
I. The workings of redemptive providence are manifold and complex. Paul is converted, and is being trained for his future work. Peter receives a vision intended to break down exclusiveness. Cornelius receives Divine instructions to send for the apostle. Each is done separately and miles apart. Yet Divine power and wisdom unite them, and bring out of them the subjection of the Roman empire to Christ and the creation of modern Europe. How much depended on these three men, strangers to each other!
II. Divine grace operates beyond the pale of the visible Church. Cornelius a good man according to his light. Reverent and charitable, two indubitable marks of religion. Not a proselyte, but not counted common or unclean. Entered the kingdom of Christ without passing through the Jewish gate. Many like Cornelius at Rome and in Greece, and now in India, China, etc.
III. The limits and insufficiency of natural religion. The prayer and alms of Cornelius went up as a memorial to God; but these were not enough, or he would not have been bidden to send for Peter. But faithfulness to the light of nature led up to the Christian revelation.
1. A caution against latitudinarian indifference. There is no foundation for a belief in the sufficiency of natural light.
2. The breaking down of natural impediments to the progress of the gospel. In every nation.
3. Here is the ground of hope for humanity.
4. Here is the essential character of the provisions of the gospel. There is none other name, etc. (Preachers Monthly.)
Cornelius: a model for volunteers
1. How often Roman officers are honourably mentioned in Scripture. I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, etc., was the humble language of one of them. Truly this man was the Son of God! cried another, as he witnessed the Crucifixion. How humane and prudent the chief captain who saved St. Paul from scourging and treachery; or the centurion who saved all the prisoners from execution at Melita, in order to secure the life of St. Paul! It says much for the discipline of the Roman army that men of such humanity and intelligence were promoted to places of authority, and partly accounts for the marvellous successes of that wonderful nation; while, again, it testifies to the power of Christianity, that men so much opposed to it should be induced to admire those in whom it was seen most conspicuously. Look now, however, at this centurion mentioned in the text. You, who have volunteered to buckle on the sword in defence of your country, may well contemplate the picture of this good soldier of Caesar and of Christ.
2. Note his bravery. Some say that Christianity and bravery cannot co-exist, Nonsense! The Christian is the only brave man in existence. Ungodly men are the cowards! Why is it that so many never enter the house of God, or make a profession of religion? Because they are ashamed to be taunted with the title of saint or Christian. Not so, Cornelius. He was valiant as a soldier serving beneath the Roman eagles. He was brave, too, as he showed his anxiety to enlist under the banner of the Cross!
3. He was also religiously brave, for he is described as a devout man, and one that feared God. He was at this period in a most interesting state of mind. He had come over from Rome a worshipper of false gods. While in Judaea, he appears to have become convinced that heathenism was wrong; and, in searching after truth, he was probably influenced by the proceedings of the devout among the Jews in Caesarea. He also became devout. How he reproves the careless talkers in Christian England, whose lips are often glib for the oath, and ready for the immoral jest!
4. The acorn contains the oak, and the hero may be often discovered in the recruit. It is beautiful to notice in the centurion the early germ which needed only the fuller light of the gospel to bring it into maturity. This devout man already feared God. It would require more moral courage than many who have been enlisted under Christs banner possess, to enable them to say, I fear God. It is a noble testimony when a man can put down the scene of godless hilarity and the foolish jesting of the scoffer by any such noble confession.
5. And now observe a yet more eloquent proof of the reality of the work which was proceeding in that mans soul! Cornelius, if he had been a hypocrite, might have disguised the fact from his soldiers and from his neighbours; but he would hardly succeed with his household. What a testimony it is to this noble centurion, that he stood not alone in his family, while he avowed his creed in Jehovah as the Lord God of heaven and earth! He feared God with all his house. It may be one great cause why we have so few specimens of thorough family religion that the consistency which adorned this centurion is not found in modern professors.
6. And there is yet another testimony to his sincerity. It is usual for officers to select their attendants and servants from amongst the soldiers of their regiment. Cornelius did so, and when he was bidden to send for Peter, to whom could he look for ambassador on so important an enterprise? Does it not tell a tale that he found no sort of difficulty? He could look at home and find persons whose character fitted them to go, ay, and in the ranks of his own men as well (verse 7).
7. Notice further how excellently this truth seeking man endeavoured to live according to his profession. He gave much alms to the people. True religion is an active, living energy, which influences you in everyone of your proceedings. It enforces acts of self-denial; and in this list of self-denying deeds is the act of almsgiving.
8. Thy prayers too! I can remember when it was considered a soldier-like act to swear lustily. Happily that day is over; but the day has not yet arrived when a prayerful soldier, or indeed a prayerful civilian, is not exposed occasionally to scorn and derision for his piety. Conclusion: You who have come forward so nobly, when your queen and country were imperilled, aim to rival the Roman in bravery, and see that you are not outdone by him in the heartiness of your piety, and in your confession of Christ. (G. Venables, M. A.)
A good mans conversion
(Act_10:24):--
I. Gods word treats all men as needing to be saved. It is interesting to notice how the language changes as the story runs on. In his vision Cornelius is informed that Peter shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do (Act_10:6). When the man comes to relate it to others, he quotes it thus, Who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee (Act_10:32). But Simon declares that what he had been sent to do was to tell Cornelius words whereby he and all his house might be saved (Act_11:14). It becomes evident, therefore, that this centurion was as yet an unsaved man And this is worth noticing, when we look at his character.
1. He was a thoroughly religious man (verse 2).
2. He was prayerful. That is a great felicity which in the New Revision changes our tame expression into, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house (verse 30). It is likely that Cornelius had family prayers regularly.
3. Twice, also, it is stated that he was liberal in benefactions.
4. He was a useful man. There comes out a fact which is in many respects more impressive because of its artless form. His servants and orderly were religious. It might be conjectured that Cornelius had had something to do with the training of these people.
5. He was of good reputation among his neighbours (verse 22). What could anyone need more? Yet Gods inspired Word declares here that Cornelius was not saved.
II. Gods Word gives us to understand that all men can be saved. Simon Peter is dispatched on the errand of saving Cornelius. Just think, for a moment, of the disabilities of this man. If we should doubt anybodys chance, we should doubt his.
1. He was a heathen from Italy at the start.
2. He was a soldier. His daily life led him constantly to be in the barracks, and among the followers of a legion of loose homeless creatures whose lives were apt to be immoral. Still, we must be fair: there are four centurions mentioned in the New Testament, and each of them has left behind him a most creditable record. One of them Jesus commended for his remarkable faith (Mat_8:10). One of them bore witness to the divinity of the Lord Jesus on the Cross (Mar_15:39). One of them was of much help and comfort to the Apostle Paul at what was very nearly the lowest point in his fortunes (Act_27:3). And this is the fourth one, and he certainly shows well. But war is a hard trade; piety in military life is pitifully like an alpine flower pushing up through the snow, and trying to blossom on a rock beside a glacier. And so it is the more beautiful when it succeeds in its pure purpose.
3. Cornelius was a government officer. That army of possession was in a sense political. It is natural always for the spirit of authority to generate arrogance; and true piety invariably demands humility and charity. As a matter of fact it is known now that Palestine in those days was a hot bed of corruption; the Roman officers oppressed and fleeced the conquered inhabitants unmercifully. All this was against Cornelius: he was once a heathen, military, politician. But it is edifying to learn that even he could be saved (verses 34, 35).
III. Gods word prescribes the conditions of every mans being saved.
1. The two conditions which Simon Peter lays down plainly are faith (Act_10:43) and repentance (Act_11:18). There is a voluminousness in his argument that renders this quite clear.
2. It is of inestimable advantage for any teacher of the gospel that he should surrender all other dependences, and rely only on the pure gospel for the conversion of souls. It is manifestly of the highest moment that Simon Peter should have been intelligently informed, and now humbly possessed, of the doctrines of grace. We do not see how he could have made his speech and fulfilled his duty that day, if he had not felt precisely what the prophet Isaiah once said (Isa_50:4).
IV. Gods Word settles the conclusion that even a good man, if without Christ, cannot be saved.
1. One may be aroused in conscience, and yet remain unsaved. Suppose Cornelius had been mortified, and wounded, and grown petulant, and so refused to obey the angels command!
2. One may be diligent in religious routine, and yet remain unsaved. How exemplary this man appears to us now!
3. One may be virtuous in his life, and remain unsaved. Cornelius was just and devout; but he was yet lacking.
4. One may be counted excellent, and yet remain unsaved.
5. One may even be instrumental in saving others, and yet remain unsaved. Cornelius needed the whole gospel still. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The conversion of the Gentiles
I. There are three dramatic chapters in the Bible that stand out with special prominence and significance. Take--
1. Genesis
1. How worlds are made, and light is parted, and arrangements are completed as if some stupendous event were about to transpire! Something is going to happen! The secret is revealed in these words, and God said, Let us make man.
2. Mat_1:1-25. The first of Genesis turned into human history. There again you have that movement, urgency, and great rapidity. The reading of the genealogical record means something. The secret is revealed in the statement that Jesus was born to save His people from their sins.
3. Act_10:1-48. What movement, what dreaming and visioning and singular combination of events! Having read the first of Genesis and the first of Matthew, I feel that all these visions and trances must lead to something. What is it? The secret is revealed in these words, God is no respecter of persons, etc. In all the three chapters, therefore, I find a result which explains the process and satisfies the imagination.
II. What unconscious preparations are proceeding in life!
1. We cannot tell what we do. No occasion ends in itself. We know not what a day may bring forth, but tomorrow will certainly bring forth the seed of today. Always know that you are being prepared for some Divine issue. Your coming to church today may be the making of you! The introduction to a friend this morning may change every aspect of your coming history! The grave you dug but yesterday may be the altar at which your first heart prayer was uttered!
2. How wondrously Peter was prepared for this marvellous outcoming of Divine purpose. We read in the preceding chapter, last verse, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner. He has got so far on the road to the Gentiles. A Jew of Peters temper who could lodge with a tanner may tomorrow go to convert a Gentile. God fixes lodgings. An ancient Rabbi said, It is impossible that the world can do without tanners, but woe unto that man who is a tanner. The address is given--whose house is by the seaside. The reason being that the Jews would not have tanneries in the towns. If a man married without telling his bride that he was a tanner, she could instantly demand release. The law which provided that the childless widow was to marry the brother of a deceased husband was set aside in the event of that brother being a tanner. You see, then, how stubborn were the prejudices against tanning, and yet we read as if it involved no extraordinary principle that Peter tarried many days with one Simon a tanner. It means everything, there is a revolution in these words. This makes a breach in the wall, buttressed with the traditions of generations--a breach that will widen until the whole falls, and man everywhere hail man as brother!
3. The point to be observed is, how unconsciously men are being prepared for higher communications and wider services. God leads us on step by step. We do not jump to conclusions in Divine Providence. We go forward a step at a time, and we never know how far we have advanced until we come to the last step, and find that it is but a step. This is Gods way. This is how He trains you, dear children, for the last step which we now call death. Now in this early morning of your life you do not want to die. But little by little, day by day, suffering by suffering, trial by trial, loss by loss, a time will come when even you will say, I have a desire to depart. God deals thus gradually and gently with us. Sometimes His providences seem to be abrupt and even violent, but in reality they move along a gradation settled and adjusted by the tenderest love. Things that are impossible to you today will be the commonplaces of tomorrow. You do not speak to the farthest-off man at once; but you speak to the man who is next to you, and then to the one following, and so, a man at a time, you move on until the distance is traversed and he who was once far off has been brought nigh! Upon this daily and inevitable process rests your confidence that prejudice of the most stubborn kind shall be broken down, and one day we shall know that every land is home and every man is brother!
III. What mysterious combinations of experiences and events are continually taking place.
1. Cornelius saw in a vision an angel. Peter fell into a trance and heard a voice. That is our daily life. We cannot be shut up within the four corners of a vulgar materialism. God has still over us the mysterious reign of dreams. Why wonder if dreams will come true, when dreams are true? You should have spoken to the angel, and said, What is it, Lord? You should even have contradicted the angel, and said, Not so, Lord, and then further conversation would have ensued. Instead of that you continue to sleep, and in the morning ask if dreams come true! You had your chance and missed it. The night is full of crowds. In the infinite galleries of the night the angels walk, visiting the beloved of God. Dreams of your own causing are not the dreams we are now speaking about. Physical nightmare is one thing, spiritual vision is another.
2. But even apart from the ministry of the night we have in our day dreams events sufficiently spiritually mysterious to inspire the religious imagination. How strange, say we, that it should have been so. How remarkable that our letters should have crossed. Why, at the very time I was doing this you must have been coming to me! How singular! This is an irreligious way of talking about human history and Divine issues, I want to cleanse my life of all mere accidents, and to feel that my down-sitting and my up-rising, and my out-going, my in-coming are matters of importance in heaven--that the very hairs of my head are all numbered! Why do we belittle our experience and deplete it of everything that could give nobility, and enlargement, and apocalypse to our highest nature? Rather be it mine to say the vision was from heaven, and an angel spake to me, than to vulgarise the universe and to find in it nothing that I cannot mark with plain figures.
IV. Here we have a higher law swallowing up a lower one--God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. It requires God to show that to some men. This is nothing short of a Divine revelation--to see the man within the creature. I see the poor clothing, the unkempt body--there is something behind! I see the roughness, rudeness--there is something behind. A man! Said the murmuring multitude respecting Zacchaeus, Christ hath gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. But Jesus called the sinner a son of Abraham. Lord, open our eyes that we may see one another! Christianity has come to eat up and absorb all our little laws and to set us under a nobler legislation. Said Christ, Who is My mother, and who are My brethren? And turning to His disciples, He said, Whosoever doeth the will of My Father that is in heaven, the same is My mother, and sister, and brother. We are under the foolish notion that a man is a brother because we were born of the same mother. Nothing of the kind. There may be no greater stranger in the universe than the one born of the same mother. They are brothers who are one in soul, one in conviction, one in hope! (J. Parker, D. D.)
The providential guidance of the Church
The conversion of the Gentiles was no new idea to Jews or Christians, but it had been universally regarded as to take place by their reception into Judaism. A gospel of the uncircumcision however soon began to be recognised by some. Stephen, carrying out the principles of his own apology, could hardly fail to recognise it, and the Cyprian and Cyrenean missionaries of Act_11:20 preached the Word to pure heathen certainly before the conversion of Cornelius. This state of things might have given rise to a permanent schism in the Church. The Hellenists, and perhaps Saul, with his definite mission to the Gentiles, might have formed one party, and the Hebrews, with Peter at their head, the other. But as Neander observes: The pernicious influence with which from the first the self-seeking and one-sided prejudices of human nature threatened the Divine work was counteracted by the superior influence of the Holy Spirit, which did not allow the differences of men to reach such a point of antagonism, but enabled them to retain unity in variety. We recognise the preventing wisdom of God--which, while giving scope to the free agency of man, knows how to interpose His immediate revelation just at the moment when it is requisite for the success of the Divine work--by noticing that when the apostles needed this wider development of their Christian knowledge for the exercise of their vocation, and when the lack of it would have been exceedingly detrimental, at that very moment, by a remarkable coincidence of inward revelation with a chain of outward circumstances, the illumination hitherto wanting was imparted. (Dean Alford.)
The supernatural preparation
This consisted in a miraculous communication--
I. To Cornelius. It required a special Divine interposition to prepare in the Gentile world an audience for a gospel sermon, and one occurred in the case of this heathen soldier. An angel--
1. Visited him.
(1) The form was human. Painters and poets give angels wings, the Bible does not.
(2) The appearance was appalling. The sentimental may talk about the beauty of angels, but to the sinner their manifestation is always connected with terror.
2. Encouraged him (Act_11:4).
(1) Genuine goodness includes piety and philanthropy.
(2) The virtues of good men are recognised in heaven. What more encouraging than this?
3. Directed him (Act_11:5). Why not tell him what to do thyself, angelic spirit? Because the gospel is to be preached by men, not angels. The supernatural communication answers the end. Cornelius is prompt to obey. What Abraham is to Jewish saints, Cornelius is to the Gentile Christians--the first called out miraculously by God, the moral father of the great family. The preparation of the heart for the reception of the gospel is a work of the Lord. When the Great Husbandman prepares the soil the seed will germinate.
II. To Peter. Observe--
1. His circumstances.
(1) His spiritual exercise. He had just been employed in prayer. He who would see heaven opened must pray.
(2) His physical state--hungry. Both soul and body therefore were craving, the one for communications from God, the other for food.
(3) His mental state--in a trance, a state of utter abstraction from all external objects. Then the vision came. There was a natural connection between his hunger and the creatures he saw. In Gods revelations the human often plays a conspicuous part. The vision was symbolic. The vessel may denote the human creation containing Jews and Gentiles: its descent from heaven the equal Divine origin of both; the command to kill and eat the advent of a dispensation to annul all that was ceremonial and narrow in Judaism. The vision teaches--
(a) The Divine origin of the race. All let down from heaven. Every birth is a Divine emanation. There is nothing new but souls.
(b) The great diversities of the race. All manner, etc. Great are the distinctions among men--physical, mental, and moral; yet all from heaven.
(c) The ceremonialisms which divide the race. They are to be killed by the apostles of Christianity.
2. His strong antagonism to the purpose of this wonderful vision (Act_11:14). The fact that the vision occurred thrice plainly indicated how potent his religious antipathies were.
3. The providential agency by which this antagonism was removed. While Peter was in doubt, just at that point the centurions emissaries came. If our doubt is honest, as was Peters, Providence will send an interpreter. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 9 Chapter 5
Chapter 5
THE FIRST GENTILE CONVERT.
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Act_10:1-6
WE have now arrived at another crisis in the history of the early Church of Christ. The Day of Pentecost, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the call of Cornelius, and the foundation of the Gentile Church of Antioch are, if we are to pick and choose amid the events related by St. Luke, the turning-points of the earliest ecclesiastical history. The conversion of St. Paul is placed by St. Luke before the conversion of Cornelius, and is closely connected with it. Let us then inquire by what events St. Luke unites the two. German commentators of the modern school, who are nothing unless they are original, have not been willing to allow that St. Lukes narrative is continuous. They have assigned various dates to the conversion of Cornelius. Some have made it precede the conversion of St. Paul, others have fixed it to the time of Pauls sojourn in Arabia, and so on, without any other solid reasons than what their own fancies suggest. I prefer, however, to think that St. Lukes narrative follows the great broad outlines of the Christian story, and sets forth the events of the time in a divinely ordered sequence. At any rate, I prefer to follow the course of events as the narrative suggests them, till l see some good reason to think otherwise. I do not think that the mere fact that the sacred writer states events in a certain order is a sufficient reason to think that the true order must have been quite a different one. Taking them in this light, they yield themselves very naturally to the work of an expositor. Let us reflect then upon that sequence as here set forth for us.
Saul of Tarsus went up to Jerusalem to confer with St. Peter, who had been hitherto the leading spirit of the apostolic conclave. He laboured in Jerusalem among the Hellenistic synagogues for some fifteen days. A conspiracy was then formed against his life. The Lord, ever watchful over His chosen servant, warned him to depart from Jerusalem, indicating to him as he prayed in the Temple the scope and sphere of his future work, saying, "Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles." {see Act_22:21} The Christians of Jerusalem, having learned the designs of his enemies, conveyed Saul to Caesarea, the chief Roman port of Palestine, whence they despatched him to Cilicia, his native province, where he laboured in obscurity and quietness for some time. St. Peter may have been of the rescue party who saved Saul from the hands of his enemies, escorting him to Caesarea, and this circumstance may have led him to the western district of the country. At any rate we find him soon after labouring in Western Palestine at some distance from Jerusalem. Philip the Evangelist had been over the same ground a short time previously, and St. Peter may have been sent forth by the mother Church to supervise his work and confer that formal imposition of hands which from the beginning has formed the completion of baptism, and seems to have been reserved to the Apostles or their immediate delegates. Peters visit to Western Palestine, to Lydda and Sharon and Joppa, may have been just like the visit he had paid some time previously, in company with St. John, to the city of Samaria, when he came for the first time in contact with Simon Magus. St. Luke gives us here a note of time, helping us to fix approximately the date of the formal admission of Cornelius and the Gentiles into the Church. He mentions that the Churches then enjoyed peace and quietness all through Palestine, enabling St. Peter to go upon his work of preaching and supervision. It may perhaps strike some persons that this temporary peace must have been obtained through the conversion of Saul, the most active persecutor. But that event had happened more than two years before, in the spring of 37 A.D., and, far from diminishing, would probably have rather intensified the hostility of the Jewish hierarchy. It was now the autumn of the year 39, and a bitter spirit still lingered at Jerusalem, as Saul himself and the whole Church had just proved. External authorities, Jewish and Roman history, here step in to illustrate and confirm the sacred narrative.
The Emperor Caius Caligula, who ascended the throne of the empire about the time of Stephens martyrdom, was a strange character. He was wholly self-willed, madly impious, utterly careless of human life, as indeed unregenerate mankind ever is. Christianity alone has taught the precious value of the individual human soul the awful importance of human life as the probation time for eternity, and has thereby ameliorated the harshness of human laws, the sternness of human rulers, ready to inflict capital punishment on any pretence whatsoever. Caligula determined to establish the worship of himself throughout the world. He had no opposition to dread from the pagans, who were ready to adopt any creed or any cult, no matter how degrading, which their rulers prescribed. Caligula knew, however, that the Jews were more obstinate, because they alone were conscious that they possessed a Divine revelation. He issued orders, therefore, to Petronius, the Roman governor of Syria, Palestine, and the East, to erect his statue in Jerusalem and to compel the Jews to offer sacrifice thereto. Josephus tells us of the opposition which the Jews offered to Caligula; how they abandoned their agricultural operations and assembled in thousands at different points, desiring Petronius to slay them at once, as they could never live if the Divine laws were so violated. The whole energies of the nation were for months concentrated on this one object, the repeal of the impious decree of Caligula, which they at last attained through their own determination and by the intervention of Herod Agrippa, who was then at Rome. It was during this awful period of uncertainty and opposition that the infant Church enjoyed a brief period of repose and quiet growth, because the whole nation, from the high priest to the lowest beggar, had something else to think of than how to persecute a new sect that was as yet rigorously scrupulous in observing the law of Moses. During this period of repose from persecution St. Peter made his tour of inspection "throughout all parts," Samaria, Galilee, Judaea, terminating with Lydda, where he healed, or at least prayed for the healing of Æneas, and with Joppa, where his prayer was followed by the restoration of Tabitha or Dorcas, who has given a designation now widely applied to the assistance which devout women can give to their poorer sisters in Christ.
We thus see how God by the secret guidance of His Spirit, shaping his course by ways and roads known only to Himself, led St. Peter to the house of Simon the tanner, where he abode many days, waiting in patience to know Gods mind and will which were soon to be opened out to him. We have now traced the line of events which connect the conversion of Saul of Tarsus with that of Cornelius the centurion of Caesarea. Let us apply ourselves to the circumstances surrounding the latter event, which is of such vital importance to us Gentile Christians as having been the formal Divine proclamation to the Church and to the world that the mystery which had been hid for ages was now made manifest, and that the Gentiles were spiritually on an equality with the Jews. The Church was now about to burst the bonds which had restrained it for five years at least. We stand by the birth of European Christendom and of modern civilisation. It is well, then, that we should learn and inwardly digest every, even the slightest, detail concerning such a transcendent and notable crisis. Let us take them briefly one by one as the sacred narrative reports them.
I. I note, then, in the first place that the time of this conversion was wisely and providentially chosen. The time was just about eight years after the Ascension and the foundation of the Church. Time enough therefore had elapsed for Christianity to take root among the Jews. This was most important. The gospel was first planted among the Jews, took form and life and shape, gained its initial impulse and direction among Gods ancient people in order that the constitution, the discipline, and the worship of the Church might be framed on the ancient Jewish model and might be built up by men whose minds were cast in a conservative mould. Not that we have the old law with its wearisome and burdensome ritual perpetuated in the Christian Church. That law was a yoke too heavy for man to bear. But, then, the highest and best elements of the old Jewish system have been perpetuated in the Church. There was in Judaism by Gods own appointment a public ministry, a threefold public ministry too, exercised by the high priests, the priests, and the Levites. There is in Christianity a threefold ministry exercised by bishops, presbyters or elders, and deacons. There were in Judaism public and consecrated sanctuaries, fixed liturgies, public reading of Gods Word, a service of choral worship, hymns of joy and thanksgiving, the sacraments of Holy Communion and baptism in a rudimentary shape; all these were transferred from the old system that was passing away into the new system that was taking its place. Had the Gentiles been admitted much earlier all this might not have so easily happened. Men do not easily change their habits. Habits, indeed, are chains which rivet themselves year by year with ever-increasing power round our natures; and the Jewish converts brought their habits of thought and worship into the Church of Christ, establishing there those institutions of prayer and worship, of sacramental communion and preaching which we still enjoy. But we must observe, on the other hand, that, had the Gentiles been admitted a little later, the Church might have assumed too Jewish and Levitical an aspect. This pause of eight years, during which Jews alone formed the Church, is another instance of those delays of the Lord which, whether they happen in public or in private life, are always found in the long run to be wise, blessed, and providential things, though for a time they may seem dark and mysterious, according to that ancient strain of the Psalmist, "Wait on the Lord and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, upon the Lord."
II. Again, the place where the Church burst its Jewish shell and emerged into full gospel freedom is noteworthy. It was at Caesarea. It is a great pity that people do not make more use of maps in their study of Holy Scripture. Sunday evenings are often a dull time in Christian households, and the bare mechanical reading of Scripture and of good books often only makes them duller. How much more lively, interesting, and instructive they would be were an attempt made to trace the journeys of the Apostles with a map, or to study the scenes where they laboured-Jerusalem, Caesarea, Damascus, Ephesus, Athens, and Rome-with some of the helps which modern scholarship and commercial enterprise now place within easy reach. I can speak thus with the force of personal experience, for my own keen interest in this book which I am expounding dates from the Sunday evenings of boyhood thus spent, though without many of the aids which now lie within the reach of all. This is essentially the modern method of study, especially in matters historical. A modern investigator and explorer of Bible sites and lands has well expressed this truth when he said, "Topography is the foundation of history. If we are ever to understand history, we must understand the places where that history was transacted." The celebrated historians, the late Mr. Freeman and Mr. Green, worked a revolution in English historical methods by teaching people that an indefatigable use of maps and a careful study of the physical features of any country are absolutely needful for a true conception of its history. In this respect at least secular history and sacred history are alike. Without a careful study of the map we cannot understand Gods dealings with the Church of Christ, as is manifest from the case of Caesarea at which we have arrived. The narratives of the Gospels and of the Acts will be confused, unintelligible, unless we understand that there were two Caesareas in Palestine, one never mentioned in the Gospels, the other never mentioned in the Acts. Caesarea Philippi was a celebrated city of Northeastern Palestine. It was-when our Lord was within its borders that St. Peter made his celebrated confession, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," told of in Mat_16:13-16. This is the only Caesarea of which we hear in the Gospels. It was an-inland town, built by the Herods in joint honour of themselves and of their patrons the Emperors of Rome, and bore all the traces of its origin.
It was decorated with a splendid pagan temple, was a thoroughly pagan town, and was therefore abhorred by every true Jew. There was another Caesarea, the great Roman port of Palestine and the capital, where the Roman governors resided. It was situated in the borders of Phoenicia, in a northwesterly direction from Jerusalem, with which it was connected by a fine military road. This Caesarea had been originally built by Herod the Great. He spent twelve years at this undertaking, and succeeded in making it a splendid monument of the magnificence of his conceptions. The seaboard of Palestine is totally devoid to this day of safe harbours. Herod constructed a harbour at vase expense. Let us hear the story of its foundation in the very words of the Jewish historian. Josephus tells us that Herod, observing that Joppa and Dora are not fit for havens on account of the impetuous south winds which beat upon them, which, rolling the sands which come from the sea against the shores, do not admit of ships lying in their station; but the merchants are generally there forced to ride at their anchors in the sea itself. So Herod endeavoured to rectify this inconvenience, and laid out such a compass toward the land as might be sufficient for a haven, wherein the great ships might lie in safety; and this he effected by letting down vast stones of above fifty feet in length, not less than eighteen in breadth and nine in depth, "into twenty fathoms deep." The Romans, when they took possession of Palestine, adopted and developed Herods plans, and established Caesarea on the coast as the permanent residence of the procurator of Palestine. And it was a wise policy. The Romans, like the English, had a genius for government. They fixed their provincial capitals upon or near the sea-coast that their communications might be ever kept open. Thus in our own case Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Capetown, Quebec, and Dublin are all seaport towns. And so in ancient times Antioch, Alexandria, Tarsus, Ephesus, Marseilles, Corinth, London, were all seaports and provincial Roman capitals as Caesarea was in Palestine. And it was a very wise policy. The Jews were a fierce, bold, determined people when they revolted. If the seat of Roman rule had been fixed at Jerusalem, a rebellion might completely cut off all effective relief from the besieged garrison, which would never happen at Caesarea so long as the command of the sea was vested in the vast navies which the Roman State possessed. Caesarea was to a large extent a Gentile city, though within some seventy miles of Jerusalem. It had a considerable Jewish population with their attendant synagogues, but the most prominent features were pagan temples, one of them serving for a lighthouse and beacon for the ships which crowded its harbour, together with a theatre and an amphitheatre, where scenes were daily enacted from which every sincere Jew must have shrunk with horror. Such was the place a most fitting place, Gentile, pagan, idolatrous to the very core and centre-where God chose to reveal Himself as Father of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews, and showed Christs gospel as a light to lighten the Gentiles as well as the glory of His people Israel.
III. Then, again, the person chosen as the channel of this revelation is a striking character. He was "Cornelius by name, a centurion of the band called the Italian band." Here, then, we note first of all that Cornelius was a Roman soldier. Let us pause and reflect upon this. In no respect does the New Testament display more clearly its Divine origin than in the manner in which it rises superior to mere provincialism. There are no narrow national prejudices about it like those which nowadays lead Englishmen to despise other nations, or those which in ancient times led a thoroughgoing Jew to look down with sovereign contempt on the Gentile world as mere dogs and outcasts. The New Testament taught that all men were equal and were brothers in blood, and thus laid the foundations of those modern conceptions which have well-nigh swept slavery from the face of civilised Christendom. The New Testament and its teaching is the parent of that modern liberalism which now rules every circle, no matter what its political designation. In no respect does this universal catholic feeling of the New Testament display itself more clearly than in the pictures it presents to us of Roman military men. They are uniformly most favourable. Without one single exception the pictures drawn for us of every centurion and soldier mentioned in the books of the New Testament are bright with some element of good shining out conspicuously by way of favourable contrast, when brought side by side with the Jewish people, upon whom more abundant and more blessed privileges had been in vain lavished. Let us just note a few instances which will illustrate our view. The soldiers sought Johns baptism and humbly received Johns penitential advice and direction when priests and scribes rejected the Lords messenger. {Luk_3:14} A soldier and a centurion received Christs commendation for the exercise of a faith surpassing in its range and spiritual perception any faith which the Master had found within the bounds and limits of Israel according to the flesh. "Verily I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel," were Christs almost wondering words as He heard the confession of His Godlike nature, His Divine power involved in the centurions prayer of humility, "I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed." {cf. Mat_8:5-13} So was it again with the centurion to whom the details of our Lords execution were committed. He too is painted in a favourable light. He had an open mind, willing to receive evidence. He received that evidence under the most unfavourable conditions. His mind was convinced of our Lords mission and character, not by His triumphs, but by His apparent defeat. As the victim of Jewish malice and prejudice yielded up the ghost and committed His pure, unspotted soul to the hands of His Heavenly Father, then it was that, struck by the supernatural spirit of love and gentleness and forgiveness-those great forces of Christianity which never at any other time or in any other age have had their full and fair play-the centurion yielded the assent of his affections and of his intellect to the Divine mission of the suffering Saviour, and cried, "Truly this man was the Son of God." {Mat_27:54} So it was again with Julius the centurion, who courteously entreated St. Paul on his voyage as a prisoner to Rome; {Act_27:3} and so again it was with Cornelius the centurion, of the band called the Italian band.
Now how comes this to pass? What a striking evidence of the workings and presence of the Divine Spirit in the writers of our sacred books we may find in this fact! The Roman soldiers were of course the symbols to a patriotic Jew of a hated foreign sway, of an idolatrous jurisdiction and rule. A Jew uninfluenced by supernatural grace, and unguided by Divine inspiration, would never have drawn such pictures of Roman centurions as the New Testament has handed down to us. The picture, indeed, drawn by the opposition press of any country is not generally a favourable one when dealing with the persons and officials of the dominant party. But the Apostles-Jews though they were of narrow, provincial, prejudiced Galilee-had drunk deep of the spirit of the new religion. They recognised that Jesus Christ, the King of the kingdom of heaven, cared nothing about what form of government men lived under. They knew that Christ ignored all differences of climate, age, sex, nationality, or employment. They felt that the only distinctions recognised in Christs kingdom were spiritual distinctions, and therefore they recognised the soul of goodness wherever found. They welcomed the honest and true heart, no matter beneath what skin it beat, and found therefore in many of these Roman soldiers some of the ablest, the most devoted, and the most effective servants and teachers of the Cross of Jesus Christ. Verily the universal and catholic principles of the new religion which found their first formal proclamation in the age of Cornelius, met with an ample vindication and a full reward in the trophies won and the converts gained from such an unpromising source as the ranks, of the Roman army. This seems to me one reason for the favourable notices of the Roman soldiers in the New Testament. The Divine Spirit wished to impress upon mankind that birth, position, or employment has no influence upon a mans state in Gods sight, and to prove by a number of typical examples that spiritual conditions and excellence alone avail to find favour with the Almighty.
Another reason, however, may be found for this fact. The Scriptures never make light of discipline or training. "Train up a child in the way he should go," is a Divine precept. St. Paul, in his Pastoral Epistles, lays down one great qualification for a bishop, that he should have this power of exercising discipline and rule at home as well as abroad: "For if he knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?" {1Ti_3:5} By discipline, the discipline of Egypt and the wilderness, did God prepare His people for Canaan. By the discipline of captivity and dispersion, by the discipline of Greek philosophy spreading novel intellectual ideas, by the discipline of Roman dominion executing mighty public works, carrying roads and intercommunication to the remotest and most barbarous nations, did God prepare the world for the revelation of His Son. By the discipline of life, by joy and sorrow, by strife and suffering, by parting and by loss, does God still prepare His faithful ones for the beatific vision of eternal beauty, for the rest and joy of everlasting peace. And discipline worked out its usual results on these military men, even though it was only an imperfect and pagan discipline which these Roman soldiers received. Let us note carefully how this was. The world of unregenerate man at the time of our Lords appearance had become utterly selfish. Discipline of every kind had been flung off. Self-restraint was practically unknown, and the devil and his works flourished in every circle, bringing forth the fruits of wickedness, uncleanness, and impurity in every direction. The army was the only place or region where in those times any kind of discipline or self-restraint was practised. For no army can permit-even if it be an army of atheists-profligacy and drunkenness to rage, flaunting themselves beneath the very eye of the sun. And as the spiritual result we find that this small measure of pagan discipline acted as a preparation for Christianity, and became, under the Divine guidance, the means of fitting men like Cornelius of Caesarea for the reception of the gospel message of purity and peace.
But we observe that Cornelius the centurion had one special feature which made him peculiarly fitted to be Gods instrument for opening the Christian faith to the Gentile world. The choice of Cornelius is marked by all that skill and prudence, that careful adaptation of means to ends which the Divine workmanship, whether in nature or in grace, ever displays. There were many Roman centurions stationed at Caesarea, yet none was chosen save Cornelius, and that because he was "a devout man who feared God with all his house, praying to God always, and giving much alms to the people." He feared Jehovah, he fasted, prayed, observed Jewish hours of devotion. His habits were much more those of a devout Jew than of a pagan soldier. He was popular with the Jewish people therefore, like another centurion of whom it was said by the Jewish officials themselves "he loveth our nation and hath built us a synagogue." The selection of Cornelius as the leader and firstfruits of the Gentiles unto God was eminently prudent and wise: God when He is working out His plans chooses His instruments carefully and skilfully. He leaves nothing to chance. He does nothing imperfectly. Work done by God will repay the keenest scrutiny, the closest study, for it is the model of what every mans work in life ought as far as possible to be-earnest, wise, complete, perfect.
IV. Again, looking at the whole passage, we perceive therein illustrations of two important laws of the Divine life. We recognise in the case of Cornelius the working of that great principle of the kingdom of God often enunciated by the great Master: "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly." "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine"; or, to put it in other language, that God always bestows more grace upon the man who diligently uses and improves the grace which he already possesses; a principle which indeed we see constantly exemplified in things pertaining to this world as well as in matters belonging to the spiritual life. Thus it was with Cornelius. He was what was called among the Jews a proselyte of the gate. These proselytes were very numerous. They were a kind of fringe hanging upon the outskirts of the Jewish people. They were admirers of Jewish ideas, doctrines, and practices, but they were not incorporated with the Jewish nation nor bound by all their laws and ceremonial restraints. The Levitical Law was not imposed upon them, because they were not circumcised. They were merely bound to worship the true God and observe certain moral precepts said to have been delivered to Noah. Such was Cornelius, whom the providence of God had led from Italy to Caesarea for this very purpose, to fulfil His purposes of mercy towards the Gentile world. His residence there had taught him the truth and beauty of the pure worship of Jehovah rendered by the Jews. He had learned, too, not only that God is, but that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Cornelius had set himself, therefore, to the diligent discharge of all the duties of religion so far as he knew them. He was earnest and diligent in prayer, for he recognised himself as dependent upon an invisible God: He was liberal in alms, for he desired to show forth his gratitude for mercies daily received. And acting thus he met with the divinely appointed reward. Cornelius is favoured with a fuller revelation and a clearer guidance by the angels mouth, who tells him to send and summon Peter from Joppa for this very purpose. What an eminently practical lesson we may learn from Gods dealings with this earliest Gentile convert! We learn from the Divine dealings with Cornelius that whosoever diligently improves the lower spiritual advantages which he possesses shall soon be admitted to higher and fuller blessings. It may well have been that God led him through successive stages and rewarded him under each. In distant Italy, when residing amid the abounding superstitions of that country, conscience was the only preacher, but there the sermons of that monitor were heard with reverence and obeyed with diligence. Then God ordered the course of his life so that public duty summoned him to a distant land. Cornelius may have at the time counted his lot a hard one when despatched to Palestine as a centurion, for it was a province where, from the nature of the warfare there prevalent, there were abundant opportunities of death by assassination at the hands of the Zealots, and but few opportunities of distinction such as might be gained in border warfare with foreign enemies. But the Lord was shaping his career as He shapes all our careers, with reference to our highest spiritual purposes. He led Cornelius, therefore, to a land and to a town where the pure worship of Jehovah was practised and the elevated morality of Judaism prevailed. Here, then, were new opportunities placed within the centurions reach. And again the same spiritual diligence is displayed, and again the same law of spiritual development and enlarging blessing finds a place. Cornelius is devout and liberal and Godfearing, and therefore a heavenly visitor directs his way to still fuller light and grander revelations, and Cornelius the centurion of the Italian band leads the Gentile hosts into the fulness of blessing, the true land flowing with milk and honey, found only in the dispensation of Jesus Christ and within the borders of the Church of God. This was Gods course of dealing with the Roman centurion, and it is the course which the same loving dealing still pursues with human souls truly desirous of Divine guidance. The Lord imparts one degree of light and knowledge and grace, but withholds higher degrees till full use has been made of the lower. He speaks to us at first in a whisper; but if we reverently hearken, there is a gradual deepening of the voice, till it is as audible in the crowd as it is in the solitude, and we are continually visited with the messages of the Eternal King. Now cannot these ideas be easily applied to our own individual cases? A young man, for instance, may be troubled with doubts and questions concerning certain portions of the Christian faith. Some persons make such doubts an excuse for plunging into scenes of riot and dissipation, quenching the light which God has given them and making certain their own spiritual destruction. The case of Cornelius points out the true course which should in such a case be adopted. Men may be troubled with doubts concerning certain doctrines of revelation. But they have no doubt as to the dictates of conscience and the light which natural religion sheds upon the paths of morals and of life. Let them then use the light they have. Let them diligently practise the will of God as it has been revealed. Let them be earnest in prayer, pure and reverent in life, honest and upright in business, and then in Gods own time the doubts will vanish, the darkness will clear away, and the ancient promises will be fulfilled, "Light is sown for the righteous," "The path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day," "In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death."
But the example of Cornelius is of still wider application. The position of Cornelius was not a favourable one for the development of the religious life, and yet he rose superior to all its difficulties, and became thus an eminent example to all believers. Men may complain that they have but few spiritual advantages, and that their station in life is thickly strewn with difficulties, hindering the practices and duties of religion. To such persons we would say, compare yourselves with Cornelius and the difficulties, external and internal, he had to overcome. Servants, for instance, may labour under great apparent disadvantages. Perhaps, if living in an irreligious family, they have few opportunities for prayer, public or private. Men of business are compelled to spend days and nights in the management of their affairs. Persons of commanding intellect or of high station have their own disadvantages, their own peculiar temptations, growing out of their very prosperity. The case of Cornelius shows that each class can rise superior to their peculiar difficulties and grow in, the hidden life of the soul, if they but imitate his example as he grew from grace to grace, improving his scanty store till it grew into a fuller and ampler one, till it expanded into all the glory of Christian privilege, when Cornelius, like Peter, was enabled to rejoice in the knowledge and love of a risen and glorified Redeemer.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 24, 25, 28, 33, 34, 36, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48 1. A certain man in Cæsarea named Cornelius. Cæsarea,…
1. A certain man in Cæsarea named Cornelius. Cæsarea, at this time the chief seaport of Palestine and the Roman capital, was their military headquarters. Cornelius, a Gentile, a Roman officer, is one of three centurions named favorably in the New Testament: Julius (Acts 27:1–3), the centurion at the cross, and the centurion who built the synagogue at Capernaum (Luke 7:2). The office corresponded to the modern captain. The Italian band. A cohort, composed of about 600 men. Many of the conquered races served in the Roman armies, but this cohort was made up of Italians. At the residence of the Roman procurator would be placed a body of troops on which he could rely.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv1, 17, 24, 34 Act_10:1. There was.—Omitted in best MSS. Centurion.—ἑκατοντάρχης (Act_27:1) =…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_10:1. There was.—Omitted in best MSS. Centurion.—ἑκατοντάρχης (Act_27:1) = ἑκατοντάρχος (Act_21:32; compare Luk_7:2-6; Luk_23:47). Italian band, or cohort.—The legio Italica of Tacitus (Hist, i. 59, 64), raised by Nero (Dion. Cass, Leviticus 24). was not at this time in existence. “An inscription in Gruter informs us that volunteer Italian cohorts served in Syria—i.e., Italian or Roman cohorts who enlisted of their own accord instead of being obliged to perform military service” (Hackett). The number of soldiers in a cohort was usually six hundred, though the term was frequently used for a maniple, which was a third of a cohort (Holtzmann).
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Act_10:2. Devout.—εὐσεβὴς. different from εὐλαβεῖς in Act_2:5, Act_8:2, describes “the special type of devotion that belonged to Gentile converts” (Plumptre), though there is no ground for believing that Cornelius was a proselyte (Olshausen, Neander, Wendt). Against this stand (Zöckler):
(1) the word ἀλλόφυλος of another nation, applied by Peter to Cornelius (Act_10:28);
(2) the characterisation of Cornelius and his family as belonging to the Gentiles (Act_10:34);
(3) the great excitement kindled by their reception of the Spirit, and their baptism by Peter (Act_10:45; Act_11:1 ff).
Act_10:3. Evidently = openly, so that the vision was not purely subjective (Neander).
Act_10:4. For a memorial before God.—Alluding to “that part of the meat offering which is burnt, and whose savour was intended to remind God of the worshipper” (Ewald). It is doubtful, however, if this is not somewhat fanciful.
Act_10:5. Send men to Joppa, etc.—Zeller correctly observes (Die Apostelgeschichte, p. 181) that this minute acquaintance of the angel with Peter’s name and residence with Simon the Tanner shows that Cornelius’s vision was not a mere fancy, ein blosses Phantasiegebilde des Betenders, but an objective appearance.
Act_10:6. The best MSS. omit the words, he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do, as an insertion in accordance with Act_9:6 and Act_11:14.
Act_10:7. For unto Cornelius read unto him. Of thom that waited on him continually may point to similarity of disposition, as in Act_8:13 (Zöckler, Holtzmann), as well as to menial service (De Wette, Overbeck).
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_10:1-8
Cornelius’s Vision; or, a Gentile Inquirer directed
I. Cornelius’s person.—
1. His name. This “may indicate a connection with the great Cornelian gens which had been made famous by the Gracchi and by Sylla” (Plumptre). There is no reason to suppose he was the individual mentioned in Luk_7:5.
2. His profession. A soldier. “A centurion of the band called the Italian.” The military profession not incompatible with Christianity. Christianity has won numerous converts from the army. Yet modern soldiers too seldom resemble Cornelius. The special cohort commanded by Cornelius may have derived its name from having been either composed of native Italian soldiers, or at least commanded by Italian officers. Another cohort, called the Augustan, is mentioned later (Act_27:1). The ordinary cohorts stationed at Cæsarea, which consisted of levies from the provinces, were not always reliable (Jos., Ant., XIV. xv. 10; Wars, I. xvii. 1).
3. His rank. A centurion or captain of a hundred, the sixth part of a cohort and the sixtieth of a legion.
4. His residence. Cæsarea, situated on the Mediterranean Sea, was the headquarters of the Roman procurator, and the seat of a Roman garrison. Built by Herod the Great, it was inhabited mostly by Gentiles, though it contained a considerable sprinkling of Jews (see on Act_8:40).
II. Cornelius’s character.—A devout—i.e., pious man, a worshipper of Jehovah, not necessarily a proselyte. The word here used differs from that employed to describe serious and religious-minded Jews (see “Critical Remarks”). His piety exhibited itself in four ways.
1. In cherishing the fear of God in his own soul As the absence of such fear is characteristic of the wicked (Psa_36:1; Rom_3:18), so does its presence mark the good or righteous man (Psa_2:11; Psa_103:11; Pro_1:7; 2Co_7:1; Eph_5:21). That Cornelius’s fear, of God was sincere, was attested by his own domestics (Act_10:22).
2. In seeking the spiritual welfare of his household. In caring for the religious training of all committed by providence to his care, his family, his slaves, his soldiers; like Abraham (Gen_18:19), Job (Act_1:5), and David (2Sa_4:12). A proper exemplar in this respect to Christian husbands, fathers, masters, and superiors (Eph_6:4; Eph_6:9). “It is the highest ornament of a house when both the master and the dependants acknowledge and fear God” (Starke).
3. In practising benevolence towards the poor. In distributing much alms among the people—i.e., of the Jews (see Act_10:42; Act_26:17; Act_26:23; Act_28:17), though not necessarily to them exclusively. Kindness to the needy (Psa_112:9), a grace enjoined upon Christians (Luk_10:37; Joh_15:17; Rom_12:10; Gal_5:13; 1Jn_3:17), as well as a dictate of ordinary humanity. There may have been in Cornelius’s philanthropy “something of the service of works,” yet was it not on that account to be adjudged as hypocritical.
4. In habitually maintaining the exercise of prayer. This was another mark of indwelling grace. A religion that does not prompt men to pray is not a true religion (Rom_12:12; Eph_6:18; Php_4:6; Col_4:2; 1Th_5:17, etc., etc.). Among other matters carried by Cornelius to the throne of grace, it may be assumed, was the new religion which had been brought by Philip to Cæsarea (Act_8:40), and concerning which he most likely desired to be guided. N.B.—All the centurions of scripture (Act_27:3; Mat_8:5; Luk_17:2) are presented in a favourable light.
III. Cornelius’s vision.—
1. The time. “About the ninth hour of the day”—i.e. somewhere in the course of it (the force of ὡσεί). As this was 3 p.m., one of the hours for temple worship (Act_3:1), it has been suggested that Cornelius may have been a proselyte, but this hardly harmonises with subsequent statements (Act_10:28; Act_10:34; Act_11:1; Act_11:8; Act_15:7; see “Critical Remarks on Act_10:2”). The most that can be inferred is that along with his family he had adopted some of the forms of Hebrew worship.
2. The manner. Evidently, or openly; meaning clearly and distinctly, not obscurely and faintly, neither in a dream (compare Mat_1:20; Mat_2:13), nor in a trance (compare Act_10:10; Act_22:17), but with his bodily eyes, “thus asserting the objective truth of the appearance” (Alford).
3. The appearance. “An angel of God” (as in Act_8:26; Act_27:23). Cornelius, it should be observed, did not call him an angel of God, but described him as “a man in bright apparel” (Act_10:30). Yet Cornelius must have recognised the apparition as an angel, since his messengers used this appellation (Act_10:22); which suggests that Cornelius was accustomed to read the Scriptures in his household (Eze_1:13-14; Dan_10:6). In any case Peter, who had witnessed the Ascension and seen the two men in white apparel (Act_1:10), had no difficulty in identifying the “man in bright apparel” as a celestial intelligence (Act_11:13); and this fact that Cornelius’s visitor was from heaven presumably weighed with him and his fellow-apostles in deciding whether right had been done in admitting an uncircumcised Gentile into the Christian Church. That Cornelius saw the angel coming in, and heard him speak, accords with the Biblical representation of these heavenly messengers (Act_5:19; Act_12:8; Act_27:23).
4. The impression.
(1) Cornelius having fastened his eyes upon the angel, was afraid, no doubt, at his dazzling appearance. That men should be alarmed at unusual phenomena, and in particular at the presence of the supernatural (Job_4:15), is an indirect witness to the fall.
(2) Having recovered from his fright he inquired the reason of the angel’s coming—“What is it, Lord?”
IV. Cornelius’s commendation.—His prayers and his alms, said the angel, reversing Luke’s order, perhaps to show that God regarded chiefly the heart (Lechler), had been—
1. Noticed by God. The Supreme is an indifferent spectator of nothing, least of all of what is done by them that fear Him (Job_34:21; Pro_15:3; Mal_3:16; Heb_4:13).
2. Remembered by God. Gone up “for a memorial before God;” before God not as a plea in justification but as requests to be kept in mind and answered (see “Critical Remarks”). God forgets nothing but pardoned sin. Never in any instance the supplication of a humble heart (Psa_65:2; Isa_65:24; Mat_7:8.)
V. Cornelius’s instruction.—Given by the angel.
1. Whom to send for. “One Simon, who is surnamed Peter.” The angel did not attempt to convert Cornelius. Neither had he been sent for that purpose. His mission was to direct Cornelius to send for Peter.
2. Where to find him. “He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner in Joppa” (see Act_9:43), “whose house is by the seaside.” N.B.—God’s knowledge of men extends to their names, surnames, residences, trades, etc.
3. What to do. “He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” (But see “Critical Remarks.”)
VI. Cornelius’s obedience.—
1. Prompt. Immediately the angel had departed he took steps to carry out the injunctions received. Faith commonly brooks no delay. “Straightway” a familiar word in Faith’s vocabulary.
2. Exact. He did precisely as the angel had commanded. He sent men to Joppa. Faith never attempts to improve on Divine instructions. As the Lord commands so does faith (Gen_6:22).
3. Prudent. The messengers were carefully selected—two of his household servants, who, no doubt, like himself, were God-fearing, and a pious soldier who usually waited on himself. Faith never abandons prudence, but looks well to her goings.
Learn.—
1. That piety may exist and flourish in any rank and station in life.
2. That God’s salvation is nigh them that fear Him.
3. That “more servants wait on man than he’ll take knowledge of.”
4. That prayers and alms are twin advocates of great influence with God.
5. That God never leaves the meek without guidance. 6, That good men should study to have pious servants about them.
7. That pious households are often visited by angels.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_10:1. The Centurion of Cæsarea.—A Roman from head to foot, Cornelius had still no heart for the Roman gods; he was one of Japhet’s children, who in the conquered tents of Shem had himself been conquered by the God of Shem. Certainly he was still a heathen; Jerusalem’s desolate temple had not had for him attraction enough to cause him to become a proselyte; had he sought to find peace there, he would have returned from Jerusalem just as unsatisfied as the Treasurer from the East.—Besser, Bibelstunden: Apostelgeschichte, III. i. 514).
Cornelius the Centurion.—An example of—
I. Goodness in high station.—A Roman soldier of exalted rank, and yet obviously kind to and considerate of his dependants as well as of the poor; two marks of moral excellence not always found among Christians, though they should be (Rom_12:13; Rom_12:16).
II. Piety outside the pale of the Church.—A devout man who prayed to God always and gave much alms to the poor, though by birth and education he was a Gentile. God has other sons besides those who are called by His name (Hos_2:23; Rom_9:25-26), and Christ other sheep than those who belong to the recognised foid (Joh_10:16).
III. An earnest soul seeking after God.—Though pious, he was yet conscious of a want. Though no longer in heathen darkness, he realised he had not yet attained to perfect light. Though delivered in a measure from fear, he was not at rest. For more light, fuller knowledge, deeper peace, his prayers were doubtless directed.
IV. Meekness instructed by God.—“The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way” (Psa_25:9). This promise was signally illustrated in the case of Cornelius.
V. Faith proving itself by obedience.—No sooner did the angel command than with military promptitude he obeyed. (Compare Luk_7:8.)
Act_10:2. Praying Always.
I. Enjoined in Scripture.—By Christ (Luk_18:1) and by Paul (1Th_5:17).
II. Not impossible.—Except as a mere external performance or bodily service (Mat_26:41). As a spiritual exercise (1Co_14:15) by no means unattainable, as the cases of the Twelve (Act_6:4), of Cornelius, and of Paul (Col_1:9) prove. The heart may be always in an attitude of prayer, though not every instant conscious of desire.
III. Eminently reasonable.—The man who prays always shows himself to be good—i.e., humble and wise.
IV. Never unprofitable.—The soul that communes much with God will not only receive much from God (Mat_7:8), but will gradually become like God.
Act_10:5-6. Simon the Apostle and Simon the Tanner; or, Christian Preachers and Christian Tradesmen.
I. Both known to God.—Their names, callings, and residences.
II. Both serve God.—Their callings may be different; their Master is one.
III. Both advance Christ’s kingdom. The preacher (the apostle) directly by publishing the gospel; the tradesman (the tanner) indirectly by lodging the preacher.
IV. Both honoured by God.—Their names stand together in the annals of the Church and on the page of inspiration.
Act_10:7. A Model House.
I. Religious.—Characterised by the fear of God and sanctified by prayer.
II. Harmonious.—Master and servants, doubtless also parents and children, living in concord and love.
III. Benevolent.—Mindful of the wants of others; distributing to the necessities of the saints.
IV. Blessed.—Visited by angels, God’s ministers of salvation.
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_10:1. There was.—Omitted in best MSS. Centurion.—ἑκατοντάρχης (Act_27:1) = ἑκατοντάρχος (Act_21:32; compare Luk_7:2-6; Luk_23:47). Italian band, or cohort.—The legio Italica of Tacitus (Hist, i. 59, 64), raised by Nero (Dion. Cass, Leviticus 24). was not at this time in existence. “An inscription in Gruter informs us that volunteer Italian cohorts served in Syria—i.e., Italian or Roman cohorts who enlisted of their own accord instead of being obliged to perform military service” (Hackett). The number of soldiers in a cohort was usually six hundred, though the term was frequently used for a maniple, which was a third of a cohort (Holtzmann).
Act_10:2. Devout.—εὐσεβὴς. different from εὐλαβεῖς in Act_2:5, Act_8:2, describes “the special type of devotion that belonged to Gentile converts” (Plumptre), though there is no ground for believing that Cornelius was a proselyte (Olshausen, Neander, Wendt). Against this stand (Zöckler):
(1) the word ἀλλόφυλος of another nation, applied by Peter to Cornelius (Act_10:28);
(2) the characterisation of Cornelius and his family as belonging to the Gentiles (Act_10:34);
(3) the great excitement kindled by their reception of the Spirit, and their baptism by Peter (Act_10:45; Act_11:1 ff).
Act_10:3. Evidently = openly, so that the vision was not purely subjective (Neander).
Act_10:4. For a memorial before God.—Alluding to “that part of the meat offering which is burnt, and whose savour was intended to remind God of the worshipper” (Ewald). It is doubtful, however, if this is not somewhat fanciful.
Act_10:5. Send men to Joppa, etc.—Zeller correctly observes (Die Apostelgeschichte, p. 181) that this minute acquaintance of the angel with Peter’s name and residence with Simon the Tanner shows that Cornelius’s vision was not a mere fancy, ein blosses Phantasiegebilde des Betenders, but an objective appearance.
Act_10:6. The best MSS. omit the words, he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do, as an insertion in accordance with Act_9:6 and Act_11:14.
Act_10:7. For unto Cornelius read unto him. Of thom that waited on him continually may point to similarity of disposition, as in Act_8:13 (Zöckler, Holtzmann), as well as to menial service (De Wette, Overbeck).
Act_10:9. The house-top was frequently employed for devotion. The roof, almost flat, only sloping enough to let the rain run off, was surrounded by a balustrade as directed by the law (Deu_22:8), and formed thus a terrace which served as a place of retirement (Stapfer’s Palestine in the Time of Christ, p. 175).
Act_10:10. Would have eaten should be desired to eat, felt the demands of appetite consequent upon long fasting.
Act_10:11. And saw should be and seeth. Omit unto him after descending. As it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth, according to the R.V. should be as it were a great sheet let down by four corners upon the earth—δεδεμένον καὶ being wanting in the best MSS. In the former case the sheet was tied at its four corners with ropes which let it down towards the earth; in the other it was let down by its four corners or ends (to which, however, ropes may have been attached, though this is not stated). The sense is not materially different. Alford, Hackett, Lechler, Plumptre, and others, prefer the first reading; Lachmann, Zöckler, Holtzmann, with Westcott and Hort, whom the R.V. here follows, decide for the second.
Act_10:12. Should read all manner of, or simply all the four footed beasts (omitting and wild beasts, a clause introduced from Act_11:6) and creeping things of the earth, with the sanction of the best texts (Tischendorf, Lachmann, Meyer, Westcott and Hort).
Act_10:14. Common or should be common and unclean.—“Common” is the opposite of “holy,” hence unholy.
Act_10:16. Substitute straightway, εὐθὺς, for again, πάλιν. Thrice.—For the sake of emphasis. (Compare Dan_6:10; Dan_6:13; 2Co_12:8.)
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_10:1-16
Peter’s Trance; or, the Apostolic Agent prepared
I. The circumstances.—
1. Where?
(1) In Joppa (see Act_9:36-43). How Peter came to be in that seaside city has already been related.
(2) In the house of Simon the tanner (Act_10:6). A good man is near to heaven anywhere and everywhere.
(3) On the flat roof of Simon’s mansion, whither he had retired for devotion. Since Christ came every place is holy ground. Oriental houses were commonly constructed like Simon’s (Mar_2:4).
2. When?
(1) On the morrow after Cornelius’s vision, after the departure of his messengers and as they were approaching the city.
(2) About the sixth hour—i.e., about noon. This also was a favourite hour for prayer with devout Jews (Psa_55:17).
(3) While Simon’s domestics were making ready (Act_10:10)—i.e., while they were preparing the midday meal, which in all probability would consist of “fish, locusts baked in flour or honey, onions, and (perhaps) butcher’s meat” (Stapfer’s Palestine in the Time of Christ, p. 189).
3. How engaged? In prayer, for which roofs of houses were often used (Mat_10:27; Mat_24:17; Luk_17:31), as being both secluded and safe, in consequence of ordinarily having a balustrade of three or four feet high running round them (Deu_22:8). It was not surprising that Peter should have a heavenly vision while engaged in prayer (see “Hints on Act_10:11”). Glimpses within the veil are most likely to be enjoyed by them who live nearest it.
4. In what condition? “Hungry,” very (Hackett), and desirous of eating. He had probably partaken of no food since the morning, more especially if the day was one of those (the second and fifth of the week, Monday and Thursday) which were habitually observed as fasts by pious Jews (Stapfer’s Palestine in the Time of Christ, p. 381). Although Jews often fasted from strange motives, as, e.g., “to secure pleasant dreams, to find the explanation of a dream, or to avert some evil omen” (Stapfer, p. 381), it cannot be supposed that either Cornelius (Act_10:30, A.V.), or Peter was similarly actuated. By them, doubtless, abstinence from food, either wholly or in part, was regarded as a valuable, if not necessary, preparation for high spiritual exercises (Psa_35:13; Psa_69:10; Dan_9:3; 1Co_7:5; Act_14:23).
II. The occurrences.—
1. The trance. “He fell into a trance; or there came upon him an ecstasy or rapture (= being in the Spirit, Rev_1:10), by which, as it were, he was carried out of himself and put into a mental state in which he could discern objects beyond the apprehension of man’s natural powers (Hackett). Compare Act_11:5, Act_22:17; 2Co_13:3; perhaps also Num_24:4 and Eze_8:3.
2. The sights.
(1) Heaven opened. So it happened to Christ on the occasion of His baptism (Luk_3:21); to the beloved disciple in Patmos (Rev_4:1; Rev_19:11); and to Stephen in the council chamber (Act_7:56). Compare also in the Old Testament the oases of Jacob (Gen_28:17), Isaiah (Isa_6:1), Ezekiel (Eze_1:1), and Daniel (Dan_4:13).
(2) A great sheet descending out of it, let down by the four corners upon the earth—i.e., either the sheet, which in form resembled a vessel or receptacle, was fastened to the four corners east, west, south, and north of heaven (Meyer), or the ends of the sheet were fastened to and upheld by ropes let down from heaven (see “Critical Remarks”).
(3) The cavity in the sheet filled with “all manner of four-footed beasts and creeping things of the earth and fowls of the heaven.”
(4) The sheet swaying and moving towards Peter. The words “unto him,” though omitted by the best MSS. (see “Critical Remarks”), probably express what Peter beheld (compare Act_11:5).
(5) The drawing up of the sheet into heaven after a threefold repetition of the scene.
(6) Whether Peter saw any personal form or figure is not stated, but seems almost implied in what follows.
3. The sounds.
(1) Rise, Peter. The apostle may at this moment have been kneeling in prayer, or most likely prostrate in awe and wonder before the vision (compare Rev_1:17). The mysterious voice, recognised by Peter as that of a heavenly being (compare Act_10:4), addressed him by name. Compare the cases of Moses (Exo_3:4); Samuel (1Sa_3:10); Saul (Act_9:4); and Cornelius (Act_10:3).
(2) Kill and eat. Any of the creatures, without regard to the distinction of clean or unclean, was what the voice intended. That Peter understood this his answer showed: “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common (unholy) and unclean,” or, according to Peter’s own version, “Nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth” (Act_11:8). Peter’s scrupulous conscientiousness as a Jew caused the commandment to come upon him with a shock of surprise. In the times of the Maccabees (1Ma_6:18; Act_7:1) the Jews suffered death rather than submit to the seeming indignity here proposed. Peter’s refusal accorded with his well-known character for impulsiveness (compare Joh_13:8).
3. “What God hath cleansed call, or make, not thou common.” Like the former voice this came from heaven, and implied that all meats were originally alike clean, that the distinction of clean and unclean had been of God’s making, that henceforth God had abolished all such distinctions, and that the perpetuation or institution of such distinctions was an express violation of the Divine ordinance. Compare Christ’s teaching on defilement (Mar_7:14-23).
III. The teachings.—These were all such as concerned the Church, and in particular—
1. Its universal character. It was henceforth to embrace all nationalities, not Jews only, but also Gentiles. Ceremonial distinctions were no more to operate as dividing lines between the peoples of the earth. The Church’s gates were to stand open continually for the admission of all comers. All souls were in future to be equally precious in God’s sight (Rom_1:14-16; Rom_2:22; Rom_2:29; Rom_3:1; Gal_3:28; Eph_2:14-22).
2. Its absolute permanence. Not even an apostle—and far less a Church council, and least of all a private member—should be at liberty to change its constitution, restrict its freedom, or impose conditions which would deny entrance therein to a heathen. “What God hath cleansed make not thou common.” “Three times had the Lord formerly commanded Peter to feed His sheep and lambs: three times He here admonishes Peter to make the door into the sheepfold no narrower than God will have it” (Besser). The Church of Christ in all ages has suffered from the illegal intrusion of man’s power into her sacred domain.
3. Its sole sovereign. God or His Son Jesus Christ, to whom alone pertains the right of making laws for His kingdom—of admitting to or excluding from the fellowship of His Church (Eph_1:22).
Lessons.—
1. The reality of a supersensible world.
2. The possibility of Revelation 3. The world-wide destiny of the Church. 4. The dignity of human nature.
5. The headship of Christ within and over His own Church.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_10:11. Heaven opened.
I. Heaven may open to any man.—To a Jacob (Gen_28:12), an Ezekiel (Eze_1:1), a Stephen (Act_7:56), a Paul (Act_9:3), as well as to a Peter—and in any place, on a hillside, a river bank, a council chamber, a public high way, or a housetop.
II. Heaven mostly opens to them who have prepared themselves for it—By prayer, meditation, or other suitable exercise. God is mostly found of them who seek Him.
III. Heaven seldom opens without imparting new revelations—Either of truth or duty. God has promised to instruct and guide those who wait upon Him in humility and faith.
IV. Heaven never opens to the spiritually blind.—“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God.” The eye must be opened before it can discern visions. “He that is of the truth heareth Him who is the truth.”
Act_10:15. No Difference.
I. The one broad level of humanity, in the sight of God, for blessing.—There are various levels in other respects, various ranks and differences; national, personal, intellectual, educational; but here, in connection with spiritual blessing,—acceptance, favour, and the like, all these disappear.
II. The rebuke here given to national pride.—The Jew despised the Samaritan, and the Samaritan the Jew, both despising the Gentile. There was the pride of birth, the pride of descent, the pride of race. Here was God’s rebuke to all such pride.
III. The rebuke given to spiritual pride.—This spiritual reward is twofold—the personal and the ecclesiastical.
IV. The open door for all.—There is no restriction now. God’s free love goes out unconditionally—without restriction or qualification—to the lost.—H. Bonar, D.D.
Act_10:16. The Number Three in the New Testament.—That some special significance, most likely that of solemn emphasis, was designed by the threefold repetition of an event becomes apparent from a study of the instances in which this occurs.
I. In the history of Christ.—
1. The three temptations in the wilderness (Mat_4:1-11).
2. The three raisings of the dead (Mat_9:25; Luk_7:14-16; Joh_11:43-44).
3. The three prayers in Gethsemane (Mat_26:44).
II. In the history of Peter.—
1. The three denials of Christ (Mat_26:69-75).
2. The three questions of the Saviour (Joh_21:15-17).
3. The three voices in the vision.
III. In the history of Paul.—
1. The three requests about the thorn (2Co_12:8).
2. The three scourgings (2Co_11:25).
3. The three shipwrecks (2Co_11:25).
Act_10:9-16. Peter’s Vision on the Housetop; a Mirror for the Heathen Mission. To show—
I. Its heavenly origin.—Appointed by God.
II. Its immense field.—The whole world, Jew and Gentile.
III. Its severe work.—To make all nations obedient to the faith.
IV. Its doubts and difficulties.—The first from within, in the prejudices, fears, and unbelief of Christ’s people; the second in the hardness and hostility of the natural heart.
V. Its Divine promise.—Of continual assistance and ultimate success.—Adapted from Gerok in Lange.
Lessons from Peter’s Vision.—In this vision we see the beginning of a great era—the first important breach in the iron partition wall that divided the human race into two hostile ranks. We have here the annexation of the whole Gentile world, without shedding a single drop of blood or wasting a single pennyweight of gunpowder. Peter saw the vision when engaged in prayer on the housetop of Simon the tanner, at Joppa. Prayer is a great revelation, and the stronger the prayer the grander the vision. He who would see the heavens opened must first open the heavens with the key of prayer. Ecstasies and visions are rewards of importunate prayer. Peter prayed from the housetop of a tanner; was there anything strange in that? Undoubtedly. Tanners were looked down upon as the pariahs, the outcasts of Jewish society. For Peter, the orthodox Hebrew, to lodge with a tanner, an outlaw, was the first step out of his miserable narrowness; and we are not surprised to find the tanner’s lodger entering the Gentile centurion’s house a little later. How striking these coincidences of history! There is as much Divine design in the movements of the centuries as in the formation of the rocks or the clustering of the stars. Cornelius prayed in Cæsarea, and Peter prayed in Joppa. How exquisite these dovetails, these morticings of history, and how marvellously well timed the correspondence! Surely the world is not governed by a fortuitous concourse of blind atoms, but by intelligence and unity of design. The first lesson of this vision of the great sheet is:—
I. The Divine origin of the Christian gospel.—Peter “saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth.” The gospel did not spring up from the ground; it came down from the upper skies, and it bears innumerable evidences of its Divine origin. If God be not its parent, who is? The angels could not have invented it, for in inventing a false system and labelling it with the Divine name they would have become demons instantly. Demons could not have invented this system, whose main purpose is to destroy the works of the devil. The science of comparative religion proves that Christianity is as much loftier than all other systems as the heavens are loftier than the earth. A religion well adapted for the whole race must have the following elements:
1. An adequate revelation of God.
2. A provision of mercy for the guilty which satisfies the conscience.
3. Power given to lead a new life of virtue and holiness.
4. An ideal pattern of life which men may imitate.
5. A refuge for man in sorrow and bereavement.
6. Such a revelation of the future life as shall help man to prepare for his duties and destinies. All these important elements are in the Christian gospel, and are not in any other system under heaven. Does not this one fact establish its unquestionable preeminence?
II. The Divine origin of the human race.—The sheet, with its miscellaneous contents, came down from the heavens, and this suggests the Divine origin of all men. The contents of the sheet, as well as the sheet itself, came down from above. The gospel that gave the world a new conception of God has also given it a better conception of man. It teaches us to say “Our Father,” that we may the better be able to say “My brother.” In this respect for man as man the gospel stands alone among the great religious systems of the world. Look at man through the eyes of Jesus, and if the man be only a London dock labourer or a Dorset farm labourer, you will be able to see something of the Divine in him. Positivism boasts of its love for the race, and talks of “the parliament of man, the federation of the world.” Where has Positivism found its fundamental doctrines? I charge it with being a plagiarist. The doctrines of the brotherhood of man and the oneness of the race are stolen from Christ.
III. The universality of the gospel.—Man is the heaven-sent ambassador to man. Cornelius sent for Peter. Why not send an angel to preach to him? The angel would have been the very first to object. Indeed, it was the angel who suggested Peter’s name. Methinks the angels know a great deal about us. The angels seek for a man to preach to men. A preacher is never so effective as when he speaks to us in the first person. Cornelius must have a man named Peter to preach the sermon. Why not send troops of angels into the heart of Africa, or to the isles of Polynesia to evangelise those blacks? Thank God He has dignified man by making of him a minister to men. He sent a Divine Man to reveal the gospel, and he commissions man to preach it. When Cornelius fell down at Peter’s feet and worshipped him, the apostle instantly cried out, “Stand up; I myself also am a man.” Man must neither be worshipped on the one hand nor maligned on the other.—J. Ossian Davies.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 17, 24, 25, 26, 27, 38, 44, 48 1-48. Cornelius was a noted Roman officer living at…
SANCTIFICATION OF CORNELIUS
1-48. Cornelius was a noted Roman officer living at Caesarea, the seat of the imperial government in Judea. The Holy Ghost pronounces him Eusebees, i. e., godly, and certifies that he “feared God with all his house, doing much alms to the people, and praying to God always.” The application of these inspired adjectives to a sinner is an irreconcilable contradiction. Of course, he was a Gentile Roman, having never been proselyted to Judaism; but he was not simply a pious heathen, like multiplied thousands who are now in heaven, but he knew and worshipped the God of Israel, having lived many years in that country. Meanwhile, since the revival at Pentecost, eight or ten years, the whole country had been overrun by blood-washed and fire-baptized Pentecostal evangelists, preaching from house to house, on every hill-top and under every green tree, till he had actually become familiar with the gospel of Christ. As Peter certifies (v.37), “This word you have known, and know yet better than ever, which was throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Act 10:14-15
Act 10:14-15
The Comprehensiveness of the Gospel.
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I. The gospel is here compared to a great sheet,— a clear hint as to the cosmopolitan character of Christianity. It is noteworthy that Christianity as let down from heaven is larger than Christianity as represented in human creeds.
II. The gospel is compared to a great sheet let down from heaven. This idea is emphatically Divine. (1) You will not find it in heathenism; (2) you will not find it in Judaism.
III. The gospel is compared to a great sheet let down from heaven and knit at the four corners. What the precise meaning of this phrase is we cannot positively tell; it would, therefore, be wrong of us to try to make it prove anything. But commentators see here an intimation that the gospel is to extend its frontiers, and to exert its influence over the four quarters of the globe.
IV. Peter is here taught that the distinction between clean and unclean is abolished.
V. After the vision came the interpretation. God always explains His supernatural revelations by natural events. Providence is the best commentary on the Bible. Just when God was stirring large thoughts in Peter respecting the universality of the gospel, He was also working silently, but effectually, with Cornelius to send a messenger to the Apostle desiring a fuller knowledge of salvation at his hands.
J. C. Jones, Studies in the Acts, p. 240.
Act 10:15
The Transition from the Old to the New.
I. The questions raised by this narrative are not met by the simple consideration of the narrow prejudice and even bigotry of the apostle of the circumcision, and the liberal teachings of the vision which inaugurated a new era in the heart of the apostle, and through him in the world. From our Christian standpoint the views were narrow—narrow as the discipline of school is to the student, narrow as the discipline of the student seems to the man. But whatever they might be, they were God’s handiwork; and that is a matter much overlooked in the judgment of a boastfully liberal age like this. God knew how much zeal for God was at the bottom of the "not so" of His sturdy servant, and dealt gently with prejudices which hitherto had been a shield to all that was most precious to Peter’s heart. Consider the exclusions of the Mosaic law. Read Lev 11:2-20 and Deu 14:3-21. Let us, while we see how much prejudices like Peter’s, blindly nursed, would stand in the way of progress, recognise how much good there was in his steady determination to cleave to that which, for the present, had strong evidence of being Divine.
II. In the early stages of human culture nothing is strong enough to curb man’s desires on the one hand, and to stimulate the exercise of the faculties of discernment and election on the other, but the solemn power of religion. And God began from the beginning with the Jews, and made the simplest matters of right or prudence matters of religion from the very first. They were to eat every morsel, frequent every place, and fulfil every function of personal or social life, "because He, the Lord their God, the holy God," would have it so.
III. The progress of society has tended to release men from these bands of religious law, and to bring all that concerns man’s welfare and culture under the influence of the special faculties which have charge of the separate departments of his life. The progress of Christianity tends to place all man’s acts or habits under the rule of his natural faculties, given to him for this very end, and to make the right use of those faculties the most sacred duty of his life before God. First law, then liberty, in order to the discovery of the diviner law, "the perfect law of liberty," wherein to continue is to be blessed.
J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, May 12th, 1875.
References: Act 10:15.—J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 296; C. Morris, Preacher’s Lantern, vol. iii., p. 440.
Act 10:19
Visions and Tasks.
I. The power of man to stand between abstract truth upon the one side and the concrete facts of life upon the other, comes from the co-existence in his human nature of two different powers, without the possession of both of which no man possesses a complete humanity. One of these powers is the power of knowing, and the other is the power of loving. The more perfectly these two constituents of human nature meet the more absolutely they are proportioned to each other, and the more completely they are blended so much the more ready will the human nature be for the fulfilment of every function of humanity. And as one of the loftiest functions of humanity is to stand between the absolute truth and the world’s needs, and to transmit the one in such a way that it can really reach and help the other, then it will also follow that the more perfectly the knowing faculty and the loving faculty meet in any man the more that man’s life will become a transmitter and interpreter of truth to other men.
II. Every truth which it is possible for man to know it is good for him to know with reference to his brother men. Only in that way is the truth which he knows kept at its loftiest and purest. This is the daily meaning which I want to find in the picture of Peter seeing his vision on the house-top and the three men knocking in the street below. Cast off your sins, not for yourself, but for some soul which possibly may learn from you what it could not learn in any other way, how good and strong and forgiving is the sinner’s God. It is a terrible thing to have seen the vision, and to be so wrapped up in its contemplation as not to hear the knock of needy hands upon our doors. But there is no greater happiness in all the world than for a man to love Christ for the mercy Christ has shown his soul, and then to open his whole heart outward, and help to save his brethren’s souls with the same salvation in which he rejoices for himself. May none of us go through life so poor as never to have known that happiness.
Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 1.
References: Act 10:19.—Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 1. Act 10:28.—Homilist, vol. vi., p. 261. Act 10:29.—Parker, Cavendish Pulpit, vol. i., p. 3. Act 10:33.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 104; Parker, The Ark of God, p. 192; C. J. Vaughan, Church of the First Days, vol. ii., p. 78.
Act 10:34
I. The warning contained in the text is not unnecessary. For though few or none, I suppose, consciously hold in the grossest sense that God is a respecter of persons, yet in all things, from supposed religious enlightenment down to the smallest advantages of personal gifts or outward circumstances, we see men under temptation to act as if they thought so. In other words, we see them accepting privileges of all kinds with a certain complacency which betrays no sense of a correspondingly enhanced responsibility. If we recognise this, the commemoration of Christian verities which we make on Trinity Sunday ought to be much more than a technical exposition of beliefs. It can hardly be less than a call to a higher morality. What we want, as Frederick Robertson truly says, is a gospel for the guilty. And this is what assuredly comes to believers in the revelation of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
II. Let us remember that even when we seem to be using our gifts profitably, we may be using them in a spirit of blindness and presumption before God, as unlovely as that of those who more openly misuse them. High intellectual culture, good as it is and stimulating, often carries with it an element of moral weakness in developing a man’s acuteness out of all proportion to his training in judgment and moral strength. It has a tendency, especially in early life, to lead to a very false estimate of qualities so common as mere cleverness, or even cleverness combined with learning, to overrate them as possessions, and as keys to unlock what is really deepest in human life,—to make a man overlook the fact that others whom he perhaps despises for their beliefs, are able to rest in them, not because they are less acute than their critics, but because they are of a more earnest mood and a finer spirit. May God keep us all from yielding to the temptations to which our several temperaments or circumstances may most naturally incline us—from idleness and selfish indulgence—from coldness and vanity—that none of these things may ever blind us to our true position and duty as in the sight of the great Judge who is no respecter of persons.
D. Hornby, Oxford Review and Journal, May 24th, 1883.
Act 10:34
This statement cannot mean (1) that God cares for no man; (2) that God treats all men alike; (3) that God exercises no sovereignty of choice in the communication of His grace to men. If the text does not mean these things, what does it mean?
I. First, that Jehovah is not God of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also.
II. Next, the God of the whole earth had regard to all nations in the gift of His Son. He excluded or excepted no people, or nation, or kindred—no section, or class, or family of the human race, in the provision that He made in the gift and sacrifice and resurrection of Christ for human salvation.
III. Again, the gospel of that salvation is to be preached in the power of the Spirit unto all nations. There is no difference in the need that all nations have of that gospel. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. As the old world needed it, so also does this modern world; as the Eastern world, so the Western world,—all round, the world wants this salvation, and God, who is no respecter of persons, would have His Church more impartial than she has been hitherto in making known to all the world the gospel of His grace.
IV. In His present providential government, God’s thoughts and ways are not partial and unjust. The exterior aspect of things is so much to us, while it is nothing at all to Him. It is only in so far as we have the mind of God that we penetrate the superficial skin of things and are able to judge righteously.
V. In the great day of the judgment of men, God will render to every man according to his works. Every work or fact of a man’s life will be estimated in the full light of all the surrounding circumstances,—the temptations if it were evil, and the inducements if it were good, and with God’s unerring knowledge of the spirit in which it was done, and the real motives from which it proceeded. And when things are thus laid bare in God’s light, shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
D. Fraser, Penny Pulpit, No. 426.
References: Act 10:34.—J. Pulsford, Three Hundred Outlines on the New Testament, p. 113; G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines, p. 329; Homilist, vol. vi., p. 406. Act 10:34, Act 10:35.—T. T. Munger, The Freedom of Faith, p. 47. Parker, Cavendish Pulpit, vol. i., p. 75; M. Nicholson, Communion with Heaven, p. 339. Act 10:35.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ix., p. 44. Act 10:36.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvi., No. 952; Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 73; G. T. Coster, Ibid., vol. xvi., p. 189. Act 10:38.—Ibid., vol. xi., No. 655; vol. xvi., No. 929; Bishop Ryle, Contemporary Pulpit, vol. i., p. 294; Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 127; Church of England Pulpit, vol. xvii., p. 277; G. Litting, Thirty Children’s Sermons, p. 90.
Act 10:42
Christ the Judge.
Both by natural right, and by a special claim acquired and superinduced on that, the Son of God is Judge of mankind; the natural right putting—as Creator—all things into His hand, and man among these, as their final Arranger and Disposer; the acquired claim giving an especial fitness to His being Judge of men, inasmuch as they are His own peculiar possession, and the family of which He is the undoubted and manifested Head. But there are some subordinate and lesser reasons why He and no other should be the Judge of mankind.
I. He unites in Himself those proprieties for the high office which none other could. The judgment will be for the deeds done in the body, and will not take place till the dead are again united to their bodies. By God’s eternal laws of self-manifestation to His creatures, none other than the incarnate Son of God can be the Judge of mankind; can stand visible and audible on this earth of ours, exercising over us all a right of disposal, inherent in Him, because He is our Creator; purchased and assured to Him, because He is our Redeemer.
II. It would be requisite for the final assurance of God’s people and conviction of God’s enemies, that one should be the chief agent who might cause the greatest possible joy to the one and the greatest possible remorse and dismay to the other. For remember, that judgment will be set to redress the wrongs of the whole lifetime of the world.
III. The day and hour of the final judgment are hidden in the counsels of the Father. We have Christ’s own word for two things respecting it, the one of which we may well set against the other as a corrective, and both of which form solemn incentives to watchfulness. The first is, that when that day is near there will be plain and undeniable signs of its approach; as plain to those who are watching for them as the budding of the trees is a token that summer is nigh. The other is, that when the day actually does come, it will be sudden and unexpected, as a thief breaking into the house at dead of night. In other words, the Church will, on the one hand, not be left uninformed of the signs of her Lord’s near approach; and on the other, she will not lay these signs so deeply to heart as to be thoroughly awakened and on the look out for Him.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. vi., p. 53.
References: Act 11:1-18.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. ix., p. 239. Act 11:8.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 53.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Subdivision 5. (Act 10:1-48; Act 11:1-30.)
Subdivision 5. (Act 10:1-48; Act 11:1-30.)
The Gentile brought to God.
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The quiet and gradual way in which preparation has been made for the disappearance of the barrier between Jew and Gentile must be apparent to all. Israel has had full and patient trial, all possible proof given her of its being God who was appealing to her, God whom she was resisting, fully displayed in goodness ready to forget all past offences, -the very death of His Son, if only now at last, they would turn to Him. When it is manifest that they will not, then the door is opened to Samaria, a circumcised people, not without Jewish admixture, partially obedient to the law, and who are compelled to own Jerusalem in the reception of the distinct characteristic of the new faith that has gladdened them. Then God Himself leads on in a special way to the reception of the eunuch, with whom the grace of Christ goes out to lands afar off. After this it is that the apostle of the Gentiles is raised up, although only very slowly does his mission become known; he himself only slowly awaking to it; himself a "Hebrew of the Hebrews," yearning over his kinsmen after the flesh, and but now a rigid Pharisee. But even so, he is not to lead in the admission of the Gentiles; but an unexceptionable instrument is provided for this, -no less than the foremost of the apostles of the circumcision, Peter himself.
In this also now God manifests His will with unmistakable plainness in the double vision, at Joppa and Caesarea; then by the outpouring of the Spirit in view of all who came with Peter: those who are ready to oppose at Jerusalem have to own that God has granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life.
After this the way is opened by which certain disciples without any prominence of gift or position can speak at Antioch to the Gentiles, and gather an assembly there; and this becomes a new point of departure from which the first direct mission to the Gentiles is sent out; but this by a special revelation of the Spirit, which sets apart Barnabas and Saul for the new work.
1. The first section here manifestly takes in the work at Caesarea, by which the principles are established which henceforth govern the Assembly. It is in effect constituted by them as now outside the Jewish fold. The exodus is really complete, though there may be an effort afterwards really to undo this, and bring all the disciples under the law of Moses. This is resisted, however, on the very ground of what has been established here.
(1) All through this fresh movement, as already said, God is Himself the Mover. He begins, with the care which we see manifested all through, with an unexceptionably good example of the Gentile, a man "borne witness to by the whole nation of the Jews," and therefore, not perplexing the matter by any extraneous question. He is moreover a devout man, a worshiper of the true God, and one that truly fears Him, all his house participating with him also in this. Although not outwardly united in any way to Israel, yet his heart necessarily united him to the people of Him he worshiped, and he manifested this by his alms-giving. He was a man of prayer; praying to God continually. But all this, true as it was, and the fruit of faith, (without which it would not have been true, nor could God, as He presently does, have owned it,) had not sufficed to set him where grace sets the believer now, in conscious salvation. God was now "preaching peace by Jesus Christ"; and to those far off, and to those that were nigh, He had to preach it (Eph 2:17).
At the ninth hour of the day, the Jewish third hour of prayer, God owns and answers the man that seeks Him, and an angel of God visits him. The fear that falls on men so naturally in the presence of the supernatural, falls upon him, but the message is one of grace alone; and he is assured that his prayers and alms have come up for a memorial before God. He is directed therefore to send for Peter from Joppa, who shall tell him words (it is added in the account afterwards given at Jerusalem), whereby be and all his house shall be saved.
In such a declaration, if we are to understand it aright, we must remember that we are here in the overlapping of two dispensations. It is as evident, on the one hand, that Cornelius was already a believer, as that, on the other, he had not yet the faith of Christ. In the midst of Christendom today, such a condition would be perfectly anomalous and unintelligible; and so for most it would he to talk of a soul having life and being still unsaved. Cornelius undoubtedly had life; he was one of those sheep not of the Jewish fold, of which the Lord had spoken, whom He would bring and unite with those of Israel, and there should be one flock, one Shepherd (Joh 10:16). He was in fact now causing these to hear His voice, and this accounts for what is strange apparently in the Gentile here; but which is at once intelligible when we consider his position between the dispensations. And though Cornelius was a believer of that which was passing away, yet for final salvation he needed to receive the Christ who had come; and would do so if the Shepherd’s voice fairly reached him: for His sheep hear His voice. If it be final salvation that is spoken of here; all difficulty disappears as to the words used. Of a present salvation Judaism, as a legal system, could know nothing; much less, if possible; a Jewish proselyte, or one like the Roman centurion, converted to God, and yet outside the law. Into the precious assurance of this nothing but Christianity could bring him.
Let us notice, before we pass on, the blessed announcement, "who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." They are in fact the paschal announcement of Christianity. Of the Jewish feasts, as we have them given in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, only those of the seventh month, in their typical significance; belong to Israel nationally, -the number seven being, as we know, the sign of completion -the complete time reached. Passover, the Sheaf of Firstfruits, Pentecost, were all offered to Israel, but rejected by them, and are become the peculiar Christian feasts, a silent gap of time intervening between these and the national seasons -the Blowing of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles -of the seventh month.
Passover is not national, in the sense in which the offerings of the Day of Atonement covered all Israel. It was kept by families, and might be held a second time by those who were hindered by defilement or a journey at the first celebration: just as now it is not nations that are contemplated, but believers from among the nations; however freely the gospel is addressed to all. Yet here nevertheless God would assure us of a grace that would not forget the links of relationship by which He has bound us together. "Thou and thy house" reminds us still of the family ordinance; though unbelief, in a dispensation whose principle is, "Thou standest by faith," may make all this void. For there is, of course; no possible reason for so wild an imagination as that the comforting promise to Cornelius’ house; or any other, is "irrespective of faith." Rather, if faith be in any sense the gift of God, are we assured by this, and the general thread of such intimations woven into Scripture; that He is ready to bless the households of His people still, wherever the Abrahamic faith shall be accompanied with that Abrahamic diligence of heart which seeks God’s blessing in His appointed ways. However much the gospel might be preached to Cornelius’ household, such an assurance would mean very much for him. We all have the comfort of knowing that it is the same gracious God with whom we have to do today, who has given us too, as some of us have the consolation of believing, in other ways, an assurance akin to that here vouchsafed the centurion; but which only faith can have and plead with Him aright. Here is not the place further to enlarge upon it.*
{*The name Cornelius is no doubt significant as all is here, though we may not see its significance. It was the name of a prominent Roman family -the Cornelian -and this, with his being the centurion of the Italian band, seems to emphasize the fact of his being absolutely a Gentile. The word Cornelius means, "pertaining to a horn." S.R.}
The angel does not preach the gospel to Cornelius, but sends Peter to him for this; so thoroughly does the Lord cleave to His own methods and appointments. Peter moreover, as we have seen, is specially needed here; and that need is seen the more in the means taken to prepare the apostle for what is before him. The Lord goes in advance of the messengers from Caesarea to the house of Simon the tanner* by the seaside; and that house is the lowly birthplace of a wide and far-reaching movement in His ways with men.
{*The occupation of tanner was considered unclean by the Jews. A large part of the tanning was the preparation of skins for water bottles. May there not be a suggestion here of the passing of that ceremonial uncleanness which is brought out in the history of Cornelius? Peter was already lodging at the house of this Simon, a preparer of unclean things to be vessels for holding pure water. That his house was by the seaside seems also to suggest the sea of the Gentiles, -a familiar thought in Scripture -upon whose border Peter indeed was. S.R.}
The vision sent to Peter is founded on that distinction of clean and unclean meats which operated so largely in keeping the Jew apart from the Gentile. The Gentile was himself in fact the unclean liver with whom the one who sought conformity to the mind of God could not indeed go far without danger of pollution. The law, entirely apart from the typical significance in which so much of the interest attaching to it is found by us today, served as a useful barrier to unlimited intercourse with the idolatrous world around, which in these very things had upon it, as we know, the stamp of its idolatry. The question of meats offered to idols could in this way become a serious one for Christians themselves, though now for the uninstructed only (1Co 8:1-13). But Judaism as a rule for a people in the flesh, externally rather than spiritually set apart to God, was of necessity negative and prohibitory in its requirements, -a fold shutting in, rather than a principle of liberty: for liberty would be in their case concession, instead of victory over opposing forces. Christianity with its spiritual power alone could permit liberty. It was a sign of weakness for Judaism that it had no missions, preached no evangel: how could the word, "No man can see My Face and live," be this? So the Jew went beyond the law in his restrictions, built the fence higher and higher, but found none sufficient.
With Christianity a new power had come; Godward and manward there was a significant change. The Jew himself was gone morally: what use of a fence to keep from contamination the crucifiers of the Son of God? It was not merely that the mind of the flesh was not subject to the law of God; it was enmity to God Himself. And what the end of this long experiment proved as to the Jew, it proved really as to man at large; there was nowhere any betterness. Jew and Gentile had been united at the Cross; they had no need to separate after this: for the believer in Christ, the world was crucified by it, and he crucified to the world.
From that side the fence had gone; but from God’s side it was gone also. For those who had crucified Christ, it must be now either judgment wholly, or else pure grace. But Christ need not have died to ensure man’s condemnation; nor would He have died to increase man’s doom. Thus, if there is to be any fruit of His death whatever, it must be grace. If God then means by it to show His grace, how great will that grace be!
In fact man by the murder of the Son of God has consummated his sin, and demonstrated his condition; but on the other hand Christ gave Himself for our sins, and grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. Thus the fence is down from God’s side; the veil that hid His blessed face is rent from top to bottom, and to all men, guilty alike; and with no pretension to title, Jew or Gentile, God has come out, and whosoever will is welcome in.
In such light as this, then, the contention of Jew with Gentile is at an end; to maintain it is mere self-righteousness. The vessel that Peter sees comes down from heaven; and as seen thus the distinctions made by Judaism are ended and over. "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." "He" too "that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God overcometh the world;" there is a new power, and with it a new liberty: the true Shepherd is calling His sheep out of the sheep-fold, and with Him, His hand over them, His voice in their ears, liberty is safe.*
{*The unclean beasts and creeping things contained in the net were forbidden in Leviticus (Lev 11:1-47). The food of a clean people must be clean. But as man is assimilated to that upon which he feeds, we see here the character of all men -no doubt Jew as well as Gentile, though prominently the latter. The heavenly vessel is seen to be full of that which is represented by these unclean beasts and creeping things, the foul, vile, violent sinners -cleansed by grace and made meet for heaven. "And such were some of you." S.R.}
The vessel comes down from heaven and returns again there: it is the Church, heavenly in origin, and heavenly in destination; and those within it are alike those whom God has cleansed, and who must not be called common.
But Peter still doubts the meaning of the vision, until the three men sent by Cornelius are at the door, inquiring after him, and the Spirit bids him rise and go with them, for He has sent them.
(2) Upon all this history the inspired writer dwells, not heeding repetition, for the heart of God is pouring itself out in this getting back to it now of those so long self banished. The Gentile is truly the prodigal here restored; and we as Gentiles may well be touched at the interest displayed in those for whom the ring and robe are waiting. Things are told out at length, and we realize the response upon the other side, as we learn of the company which without prompting, save of a heart opening to the grace that greets him, Cornelius gathers to hear what, if he know not yet, he knows, so heralded, is good news from God. Upon all these, gathered up in the stretched out Arms, the Father’s kiss is pressed in the Spirit presently outpoured, -the Spirit of adoption! What a scene to melt the last bit of legal ice out of the soul of Peter, as he realizes how impossible it is for him to withstand God! Truly it is impossible! the flood-gates are giving way, and all the fulness of divine love, long kept back by the requirements of divine righteousness, is hastening to manifest itself. The ages to come are to bear witness of the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Nothing can keep back now what all the sin of man in its worst display has only shown in its supreme and glorious power.
Arrived at Caesarea, Peter rebukes his would-be successors of today by raising up him who had fallen at his feet as the messenger of God; and having explained how God had delivered him from his Jewish prejudices, preaches Jesus as Christ and Lord to those assembled. He now fully realizes that in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is acceptable to Him. How could He indeed ignore what is but the fruit of His own work in the soul, wherever found?
They were not unaware of the word which He had sent to Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ. As a word to Israel they had only as yet known of it; but He is Lord of all; and as that they were also now to have to say to Him. Of His mighty works they could not indeed be ignorant, who through all Judea and Galilee went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. How plain was it that in all this God was with Him! Yet what they had done to Him was as well known also; they had slain and hung Him on a tree! There for the nation He had disappeared: they indeed had seen Him no more; but God had raised Him up the third day, and manifested Him to chosen witnesses, who (as the one who stood before them now) had eaten and drunk with Him after He was risen from among the dead. From Him had these commission to proclaim Him to the people; and that as One divinely appointed to be Judge of the living and the dead.
There was a breach, then, as to the nation; Israel had rejected the Lord: God had answered it by setting Him high above all, and putting judgment into His hands; yet the testimony of it was already an intimation of grace. How far, and in what manner would that grace be shown? Here Peter brings in the witness of the prophets, by whom from the beginning God had been speaking to men. It could not be; in fact, that such things should take place without having been anticipated and announced in the ages of which they were the consummation. That which affected the whole world could not be isolated from all its previous history. Central in their relation to all human things, the Cross and the Resurrection are in reality their explanation. With the testimony of the ages the glory of the miracle was only in harmonious correspondence. Its exceptionality was its fitness for the place it occupied.
They knew (the men whom the apostle was addressing) the testimony of the prophets, which, just as being Gentiles, would have for them an attraction of a special kind. Did it not speak of nations upon whom the Lord’s name would be called? (Amo 9:11-12.) And in Abraham’s Seed were not all the families of the earth to be blessed? But Peter more definitely interprets and applies the gospel of their predictions, that through the name of Jesus whosoever believed on Him would receive remission of sins. According to such a principle; the Gentile who believed had equal assurance of this with the Jew. If even to the Jew acceptance were by faith alone; then for the Gentile who had faith there was acceptance also.
(3) Thus far had the apostle reached, -and he tells us himself, that it was but the beginning of what he intended to say (Act 11:15) -when he was arrested by a sign of precious significance: without the administration of baptism, as with the pentecostal audience, -without the imposition of apostles, hands, as at Samaria, -the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word! God again was the Mover; and in anticipation of every question that might be raised, setting aside all thought of human succession, or of sacramental endowment, -"by the hearing of faith" alone (Gal 3:2), the Gentiles received the Spirit, and were thus gathered into the assembly. The barrier between Jew and Gentile had been removed by the hand of God Himself, and the Church had assumed the character it was hereafter to retain. In Christ there was to be now neither Jew nor Gentile. The bond was not to be that of nationality nor of legal observance, but of the One Spirit uniting into one body. Not that the body of Christ was yet known doctrinally; nor even of the House of God have we yet heard, though the indwelling of the Spirit would give rise to a growing consciousness of this which would soon find support in the Lord’s words to Peter, with the name given to him. In his first epistle we have the development of this, to which Paul, however, gives completeness. The fact anticipated the doctrine; and that which hindered the development of this had now given way (Eph 2:14-15).
Baptism takes here, therefore, another place from that which it had before this. It follows, instead of preceding, the reception of the Spirit. Peter makes this a manifest reason why baptism cannot be denied them: "Can any one forbid water," he asks, "that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?" It was not necessarily the place which this was to take henceforth; for after this we find the Jewish disciples of the Baptist (Act 19:5-6), having not only to be baptized, but to have the imposition of hands, in order that they may receive the Spirit. The Gentiles, on the other hand, having had no legal status hitherto, are dealt with in pure grace alone; the ground upon which they are met is manifestly this, and this only: hence God can give way to His love with more simplicity; and He does so, to the astonishment of "those of the circumcision," who find all their own scruples and hesitation set aside with a decisive authority, against which they have no power to protest. To do aught but accept it would be plainly to "withstand God," as Peter himself says. He commands, therefore; that they should be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, and, accepting frankly all the consequences of this, stays with them at their desire for some days.
(4) The history is pursued further, and with the same carefulness of detail, to the recognition of this place given to the Gentiles at Jerusalem itself, notwithstanding the objections on the part of the disciples there. In fact, the eating with men uncircumcised seems to have been heard of, before the way of the grace of God. Peter gives an account of all, therefore, from the beginning; and all resistance is silenced by the simple narration. The question with which he ends it is quite unanswerable. They needs must glorify God that He has granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life. Not even a breath is heard about the need of circumcising them to keep the law of Moses; the act of God is too conspicuous; He is so completely in it from end to end. And thus the all-important transformation is effected without a dissenting voice.
2.(1) The principle being now established, the free action of the Spirit is seen in raising up at Antioch what becomes characteristically a Gentile assembly. For this there is not even the putting forth of a man like Philip. None are allowed to be conspicuous in this work, for the eye to fasten upon: God would make it manifestly His own. Scattered by the same persecution which had been already made to minister to the need of Samaria, Phenicia, Cyprus and Antioch are visited by those whose hearts, filled with the grace which they have themselves experienced, lead them out to minister to the need of others. But at first it is to Jews only that the good news is proclaimed; the effect also is not apparent, -certainly seems in marked contrast with the success among the Greeks, to whom at last they turn. The hand of the Lord is with them, and a great number of converts is the result of their evangelistic labor. It is remarkable how officialism is discredited in all this. We do not know the name of a single person used in the work. The great apostle of the Gentiles is yet in comparative obscurity in his native city; Barnabas is not yet upon the scene: God is acting in conspicuous sovereignty by what instruments He will; and this in the case of the first Gentile assembly is surely designed to attract our notice. Antioch is to "stand over against" Jerusalem, as even its name may imply, as identified with such freer action; and it is noticeable that the disciples are first called Christians here in Antioch. In Jerusalem they were but "the sect of the Nazarenes."
(2) Still the new work is not to drift into independence of the old, but to be acknowledged and accepted at Jerusalem itself, as in the case of the reception of Cornelius and his company at Caesarea. The report, therefore, reaching the Jewish capital, Barnabas is sent forth to go as far as Antioch, -a well-chosen representative. He does not go with authority, nor seek to exercise it; nor has be in hand, as the apostles in their visit to Samaria, to supply any deficiency in the condition of these Syrian brethren, who have evidently received the Spirit, as they did at Caesarea, without need of apostles, or of imposition of hands. Barnabas sees the grace of God in them, and is glad, and simply exhorts them all, that with purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord; -a word never uncalled for. It is his character that is dwelt upon in this connection, not his office: "he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith;" and this is seen in its effect, doubtless, in the progress of the work there: "a great multitude was added to the Lord."
It is Barnabas who is the means of introducing Saul into this field of labor. We may naturally suppose that he recognized in him a special fitness for the great work now beginning; but we see how simply his connection is brought about with the field to which from the commencement of his apostleship he is destined. God is not in haste, and His purposes are worked out often in what we may call the homeliest ways. The man who had introduced him to the apostles at Jerusalem, and who there had been witness to his energy and power, now seeks him out at Tarsus, no great distance off, and Saul returns with him to Antioch. There the work still progresses; and there the Christians get what is henceforth their distinctive name. We are not told whence it came; but the argument is just that Jews who refused Jesus as the Christ could not have given it to them; and that we only find it elsewhere, either in the mouth of those outside; as king Agrippa, or where the thought is of one suffering as such from the hands of unbelievers, as Peter uses it (1Pe 4:16). It was therefore given by men outside, as one would infer, and in connection with the notable work accomplished at this time. The disciples were no more looked at as a mere Jewish sect. The weaning-time of Isaac was accomplished; and, while the children of the bondwoman "mocked" at the feebleness of the true heirs of grace; and cast them out, it was really they themselves who were being cast out. The Church’s unity in Christ was being proclaimed, even by the lips of unbelievers; the One Name covering alike Jew and Gentile, while it separated them from all, whether Jew or Gentile; who did not confess Him.
(3) The Spirit of God gives a little glimpse, in closing this portion, of the recognition on the part of the assembly at Antioch of their relationship and obligation to those from whom they had received spiritual blessings so great. Indeed it is from a prophet from Jerusalem that they have warning of the approach of the famine which occasions this ministry, and which seems especially to have affected the province of Judea. It is the first time that Christian prophets are mentioned in the New Testament; although they seem not to have been few in number, and are placed second only to the apostles themselves in the enumeration of gifts bestowed by Christ upon the Church. Prophecy also, as we shall find elsewhere; is in a special way characteristic of Christianity. Unsuccessional, springing out of close intercourse and communion with God, the disclosure of His mind so as to bring souls into His Presence, -it should be and is, in closest relation with the rent veil of the Sanctuary and the ability to draw near to God which mark the present period. Prediction was never more than a comparatively small and variable part of it; although this is what we find in the prophesying of Agabus upon the only two occasions in which he appears in the history. Indeed he is a prophet of sorrow at both times, although of that which God overrules for good; but then, of what sorrow may not this be said?
The disciples do not think little of this ministry of means, when they choose the two most prominent among them to administer it; and Barnabas and Saul, on the other hand, do not think it a matter that they should not be burdened with. Indeed, we know from the epistles of the latter what he thought upon the subject. In those fresh days, when it could be said that every one gave "according to his ability," how much love -divine love -was there not expressed in it! How different when it would have rather to be said, as in many of the sad days of decline since then, "every one a little of his superfluity, and the richest in proportion least of all!" Everything is degraded or spiritualized by the heart that is in it, -or is not in it.
We hear, too, for the first time; of "elders" in the Jewish assemblies, who, though doubtless an adoption from what was an immemorial custom in Israel (for we have no account of any distinct origin), yet seem from the epistle of Peter to be hardly officially appointed (1Pe 5:1), but rather the natural result of wisdom and experience attaching to age, which would make the "elder" the natural leader in the counsels of a people. In the Gentile assemblies we read of their appointment afterwards, where (and perhaps because) the patriarchal custom did not have the same recognition; and there with some restrictions which were only necessary to right "oversight," which (and not preaching) was that which was their work. The incidental notice here hardly requires the examination of the subject of eldership which it must receive when we come to the epistle to Timothy. It is well to note; however, that neither was it a gift, nor did it need one for qualification, which was almost wholly moral; while for preaching or teaching there needed no authorization from man, but the gift entailed the responsibility of using it, and manifested itself wherever there was an ear to hear. But all this must wait for its development elsewhere.
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv1, 30 Act 10:1 - Act 10:20.
Acts
WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED
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Act 10:1 - Act 10:20.
The Church was at first in appearance only a Jewish sect; but the great stride is now to be taken which carries it over the border into the Gentile world, and begins its universal aspect. If we consider the magnitude of the change, and the difficulties of training and prejudice which it had to encounter in the Church itself, we shall not wonder at the abundance of supernatural occurrences which attended it. Without some such impulse, it is difficult to conceive of its having been accomplished.
In this narrative we see the supernatural preparation on both sides. God, as it were, lays His right hand on Cornelius, and His left on Peter, and impels them towards each other. Philip had already preached to the Ethiopian, and probably the anonymous brethren in Act 11:20 had already spoken the word to pure Greeks at Antioch; but the importance of Peter’s action here is that by reason of his Apostleship, his recognition of Gentile Christians becomes the act of the whole community. His entrance into Cornelius’s house ended the Jewish phase of the Church. The epoch was worthy of divine intervention, and the step needed divine warrant. Therefore the abundance of miracle at this point is not superfluous.
I. We have the vision which guided the seeker to the light.
Caesarea, as the seat of government, was the focus of Gentilism, and that the Gospel should effect a lodgment there was significant. Still more so was the person whom it first won,-an officer of the Roman army, the very emblem of worldly power, loathed by every true Jew. A centurion was not an officer of high rank, but Cornelius’s name suggests the possibility of his connection with a famous Roman family, and the name of the ‘band’ or ‘cohort,’ of which his troop was part, suggests that it was raised in Italy, and therefore properly officered by Romans. His residence in Judaea had touched his spirit with some knowledge of, and reverence for, the Jehovah whom this strange people worshipped. He was one of a class numerous in these times of religious unrest, who had been more or less affected by the pure monotheism of the Jew.
It is remarkable that the centurions of the New Testament are all more or less favourably inclined towards Christ and Christianity, and the fact has been laid hold of to throw doubt on the narratives; but it is very natural that similarity of position and training should have produced similarity of thought; and that three or four such persons should have come in contact with Jesus and His Apostles makes no violent demands on probability, while there was no occasion to mention others who were not like-minded. Quartered for considerable periods in the country, and brought into close contact with its religion, and profoundly sceptical of their own, as all but the lowest minds then were, Cornelius and his brother in arms and spirit whose faith drew wondering praise from Jesus, are bright examples of the possibility of earnest religious life being nourished amid grave disadvantages, and preach a lesson, often neglected, that we should be slow to form unfavourable opinions of classes of men, or to decide that those of such and such a profession, or in such and such circumstances, must be of such and such a character.
It would have seemed that the last place to look for the first Gentile Christian would have been in the barracks at Caesarea; and yet there God’s angel went for him, and found him. It has often been discussed whether Cornelius was a ‘proselyte’ or not. It matters very little. He was drawn to the Jews’ religion, had adopted their hours of prayer, reverenced their God, had therefore cast off idolatry, gave alms to the people as acknowledgment that their God was his God, and cultivated habitual devotion, which he had diffused among his household, both of slaves and soldiers. It is a beautiful picture of a soul feeling after a deeper knowledge of God, as a plant turns its half-opened flowers to the sun.
Such seekers do not grope without touching. It is not only ‘unto the seed of Jacob’ that God has never said, ‘Seek ye Me in vain.’ The story has a message of hope to all such seekers, and sheds precious light on dark problems in regard to the relation of such souls in heathen lands to the light and love of God, The vision appeared to Cornelius in the manner corresponding to his spiritual susceptibility, and it came at the hour of prayer. God’s angels ever draw near to hearts opened by desire to receive them. Not in visible form, but in reality, ‘bright-harnessed angels stand’ all around the chamber where prayer is made. Our hours of supplication are God’s hours of communication.
The vision to Cornelius is not to be whittled down to a mental impression. It was an objective, supernatural appearance,-whether to sense or soul matters little. The story gives most graphically the fixed gaze of terror which Cornelius fastened on the angel, and very characteristically the immediate recovery and quick question to which his courage and military promptitude helped him. ‘What is it, Lord?’ does not speak of terror, but of readiness to take orders and obey. ‘Lord’ seems to be but a title of reverence here.
In the angel’s answer, the order in which prayers and alms are named is the reverse of that in Act 10:2. Luke speaks as a man, beginning with the visible manifestation, and passing thence to the inward devotion which animated the external beneficence. The angel speaks as God sees, beginning with the inward, and descending to the outward. The strong ‘anthropomorphism’ of the representation that man’s prayer and alms keep God in mind of him needs no vindication and little explanation. It substitutes the mental state which in us originates certain acts for the acts themselves. God’s ‘remembrance’ is in Scripture frequently used to express His loving deeds, which show that their recipient is not forgotten of Him.
But the all-important truth in the words is that the prayers and alms {coming from a devout heart} of a man who had never heard of Jesus Christ were acceptable to God. None the less Cornelius needed Jesus, and the recompense made to him was the knowledge of the Saviour. The belief that in many a heathen heart such yearning after a dimly known God has stretched itself towards light, and been accepted of God, does not in the least conflict with the truth that ‘there is none other Name given among men, whereby we must be saved,’ but it sheds a bright and most welcome light of hope into that awful darkness. Christ is the only Saviour, but it is not for us to say how far off from the channel in which it flows the water of life may percolate, and feed the roots of distant trees. Cornelius’s religion was not a substitute for Christ, but was the occasion of his being led to Christ, and finding full, conscious salvation there. God leads seeking souls by His own wonderful ways; and we may leave all such in His hand, assured that no heart ever hungered after righteousness and was not filled.
The instruction to send for Peter tested Cornelius’s willingness to be taught by an unknown Jew, and his belief in the divine origin of the vision. The direction given by which to find this teacher was not promising. A lodger in a tan-yard by the seaside was certainly not a man of position or wealth. But military discipline helped religious reverence; and without delay, as soon as the angel ‘was departed’ {an expression which gives the outward reality of the appearance strongly}, Cornelius’s confidential servants, sympathisers with him in his religion, were told all the story, and before nightfall were on their march to Joppa. Swift obedience to whatever God points out as our path towards the light, even if it seem somewhat unattractive, will always mark our conduct if we really long for the light, and believe that He is pointing our way.
II. The vision which guided the light-bearer to the seeker.-
All through the night the messengers marched along the maritime plain in which both Caesarea and Joppa lay, much discussing, no doubt, their strange errand, and wondering what they would find. The preparation of Peter, which was as needful as that of Cornelius, was so timed as to be completed just as the messengers stood at the tanner’s door.
The first point to note in regard to it is its scene. It is of subordinate importance, but it can scarcely have been entirely unmeaning, that the flashing waters of the Mediterranean, blazing in midday sunshine, stretched before Peter’s eyes as he sat on the housetop ‘by the seaside.’ His thoughts may have travelled across the sea, and he may have wondered what lay beyond the horizon, and whether there were men there to whom Christ’s commission extended. ‘The isles’ of which prophecy had told that they should ‘wait for His law’ were away out in the mysterious distance. Some expansion of spirit towards regions beyond may have accompanied his gaze. At all events, it was by the shore of the great highway of nations and of truth that the vision which revealed that all men were ‘cleansed’ filled the eye and heart of the Apostle, and told him that, in his calling as ‘fisher of men,’ a wider water than the land-locked Sea of Galilee was his.
We may also note the connection of the form of the vision with his circumstances. His hunger determined its shape. The natural bodily sensations coloured his state of mind even in trance, and afforded the point of contact for God’s message. It does not follow that the vision was only the consequence of his hunger, as has been suggested by critics who wish to get rid of the supernatural. But the form which it took teaches us how mercifully God is wont to mould His communications according to our needs, and how wisely He shapes them, so as to find entrance through even the lower wants. The commonest bodily needs may become avenues for His truth, if our prayer accompanies our hunger.
The significance of the vision is plain to us, though Peter was ‘much perplexed’ about it. In the light of the event, we understand that the ‘great sheet let down from heaven by four corners,’ and containing all manner of creatures, is the symbol of universal humanity {to use modern language}. The four corners correspond to the four points of the compass,-north, south, east, and west,-the contents to the swarming millions of men. Peter would perceive no more in the command to ‘kill and eat’ than the abrogation of Mosaic restrictions. Meditation was needful to disclose the full extent of the revolution shadowed by the vision and its accompanying words. The old nature of Peter was not so completely changed but that a flash of it breaks out still. The same self-confidence which had led him to ‘rebuke’ Jesus, and to say, ‘This shall not be unto Thee,’ speaks in his unhesitating and irreverent ‘Not so, Lord!’
The naive reason he gives for not obeying-namely, his never having done as he was now bid to do-is charmingly illogical and human. God tells him to do a new thing, and his reason for not doing it is that it is new. Use and wont are set up by us all against the fresh disclosures of God’s will. The command to kill and eat was not repeated. It was but the introduction to the truth which was repeated thrice, the same number of times as Peter had denied his Master and had received his charge to feed His sheep.
That great truth has manifold applications, but its direct purpose as regards Peter is to teach that all restrictions which differentiated Jew from Gentile are abolished. ‘Cleansing’ does not here apply to moral purifying, but to the admission of all mankind to the same standing as the Jew. Therefore the Gospel is to be preached to all men, and the Jewish Christian has no pre-eminence.
Peter’s perplexity as to the meaning of the vision is very intelligible. It was not so plain as to carry its own interpretation, but, like most other of God’s teachings, was explained by circumstances. What was next done made the best commentary on what had just been beheld. While patient reflection is necessary to do due honour to God’s teachings and to discover their bearing on events, it is generally true that events unfold their significance as meditation alone never can. Life is the best commentator on God’s word. The three men down at the door poured light on the vision on the housetop. But the explanation was not left to circumstances. The Spirit directed Peter to go with the messengers, and thus taught him the meaning of the enigmatical words which he had heard from heaven.
It is to be remembered that the Apostle had no need of fresh illumination as to the world-wide preaching of the Gospel. Christ’s commission to ‘the uttermost parts of the earth’ ever rang in his ears, as we may be sure. But what he did need was the lesson that the Gentiles could come into the Church without going through the gate of Judaism. If all peculiar sanctity was gone from the Jew, and all men shared in the ‘cleansing,’ there was no need for keeping up any of the old restrictions, or insisting on Gentiles being first received into the Israelitish community as a stage in their progress towards Christianity.
It took Peter and the others years to digest the lesson given on the housetop, but he began to put it in practice that day. How little he knew the sweep of the truth then declared to him! How little we have learned it yet! All exclusiveness which looks down on classes or races, all monkish asceticism which taboos natural appetites and tastes, all morbid scrupulosity which shuts out from religious men large fields of life, all Pharisaism which says ‘The temple of the Lord are we,’ are smitten to dust by the great words which gather all men into the same ample, impartial divine love, and, in another aspect, give Christian culture and life the charter of freest use of all God’s fair world, and place the distinction between clean and unclean in the spirit of the user rather than in the thing used. ‘Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled. . . is nothing pure.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Peter and the Gentiles
Peter and the Gentiles
1-48. Conversion of Cornelius. The baptism of Cornelius was an event of farreaching importance, and is, therefore, described by St. Luke in great detail. If it was not the first actual baptism of a Gentile (see Act_8:38), it was, at any rate, the first such baptism which was publicly acknowledged. The historical character of the incident has been called in question because St. Peter in Galatians is represented as opposing St. Paul on the Gentile question (Gal_2:11.). But, (1) Galatians represents Peter as in complete agreement with Paul on all essential points (Gal_2:6, Gal_2:12); and (2) the Jewish prejudices of Peter are fully recognised in the narrative in Acts. Indeed, it required a thrice-repeated vision to remove them (Act_10:9.)
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1. Cæsarea] built by Herod the Great on the site of an insignificant town called Strato's Tower, and renamed Caesarea Augusta in honour of his patron Augustus. There was a theatre, an amphitheatre, a royal palace, and a temple containing images of Augustus and of Rome. The majority of the inhabitants were Greek, but Jews enjoyed equal rights. At this time Cæsarea was the capital of the Roman province, and the residence of the governor.
Cornelius, a centurion] A legion consisted of about 6,000 men, and was divided into ten cohorts, each commanded by a tribune (or chiliarch, see Act_21:31). A cohort was divided into six centuries, each commanded by a centurion. Centurions were men who had risen from the ranks, and were therefore, as a rule, men of capacity and good character: cp. Luk_7:5.
The Italian band] rather, 'cohort.' In the smaller provinces legions were not stationed, and therefore St. Luke is doubtless right in saying that there was only a cohort of Roman soldiers at Cæsarea. The men were recruited in Italy, and were probably Roman citizens.
2. One that feared God] i.e. a believer in the one true God, but not a circumcised proselyte. The baptism of Cornelius would not have been an innovation if he had been circumcised: see Act_6:5. Cornelius was diligent in the three recognised religious duties of prayer, fasting (Act_10:30), and almsdeeds; he kept the Jewish hours of prayer (Act_10:3).
3. Ninth hour] i.e. 3 p.m.
4. A memorial] Acts of genuine piety cause God to remember us for good. Cornelius, by using well the grace already vouchsafed him, was thought worthy to receive greater grace.
8. To Joppa] A distance of about 40 m.
9. The sixth hour] see on Act_3:1. The flat housetop of Oriental houses is used for prayer, meditation, recreation, and sleeping (2Ki_23:12)
Neh_8:16; 1Sa_9:25-26; (RV) 2Sa_11:2.
10. Trance] Trance, ecstasy, or waking vision, is only one of the modes of divine revelation, and that by no means the most frequent or most important. For examples see Isaiah 6; Daniel 7, 8, Dan_9:21; 2Co_12:2; Rev_1:10. Visions play a somewhat important part in the history of Acts (Act_9:10; Act_16:9; Act_18:9; Act_22:17 : cp. Act_27:23; Act_2:17).
16. Thrice] the vision was repeated to confirm and establish the lesson taught by it (Gen_41:32).
The question of the distinction of meats was important, because, so long as it was observed, the Church (like the Jews) was cut off from all real social intercourse with Gentiles, who placed 'unclean' food on their tables. A special revelation was accordingly made to the chief of the Apostles announcing that the distinction of meats was abrogated, and that henceforth Jew and Gentile were to associate and eat together, on terms of equality (Act_10:28). Jesus had already laid down this principle (Mar_7:19 RV), but St. Peter had not understood it.
28. An unlawful thing] cp. Joh_4:9; Joh_18:28; Act_11:3; Gal_2:12, Gal_2:14.
30. Four days, etc.] RV 'Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house.' The reference to fasting, omitted by the RV, has considerable ancient attestation.
36-38. The construction is confused, reflecting St. Peter's deep emotion. Adopting the reading of the RM, we may freely translate thus: 'He sent the word unto the children of Israel, preaching peace (for all mankind) through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all men). Te know the things that were done throughout the whole of Judæa, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached, (even the deeds of) Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good,' etc.
41. Eat and drink] see on Act_1:4.
42. Quick] i.e. living: see 2Ti_4:1; 1Pe_4:5 cp. Rom_14:9.
43. All the prophets] cp. Act_3:24; Act_26:22.
44. As a rule, the Holy Spirit was given after baptism, with the laying on of the Apostles' hands (Act_2:38; Act_8:17; Act_19:6). In this particular case the Holy Spirit was given before baptism, as a miraculous assurance that the Gentiles were not to be excluded from the gift of the Holy Spirit, but were to be baptised.
46. Speak with tongues] see on Act_2:4;
47. Water] the water, viz. of Baptism.
48. In the name of the Lord] RV 'in the name of Jesus Christ': see on Mat_28:19
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv1–48 X: 1, 2. The scene changes from Joppa to…
X: 1, 2. The scene changes from Joppa to Cæsarea, about thirty miles northward along the Mediterranean shore; and we are introduced to another case for conversion, a Gentile and a soldier. (1) “ There was a certain man in Cæsarea named Cornelius, a centurion of the cohort called Italian, (2) a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God continually.” We desire to examine, with great care, the process of this man's conversion, and begin by noticing the present religious elements of his character. He is a “devout man” a man of deep religious feelings. He is not a devout pagan, but he “fears God,” the true God. He must, then, be somewhat acquainted with the Jewish religion. He is not identified with the Jews, being uncircumcised. He is not a timid or unfaithful worshiper of God, but has taught all his family the same worship. He gives much alms to the people, and is a praying man.
At first glance, it might appear strange that such a man should need conversion. There are many men, at the present day, in whose favor not so much can be said, who flatter themselves that their prospects for eternity are good. They are honest in their business, honorable in their intercourse with men, good husbands and fathers, generous to their neighbors, and benevolent to the poor; what have they to fear at the hands of a just and merciful God? They forget that their obligations to God are infinitely higher than those to men, even to the dearest friends on earth; and that, therefore, it is the most inexcusable of all sins persistently refuse him the worship which is his due. This offense takes the hue of the blackest ingratitude, when we remember the blood which has been shed to touch our hearts, and to open up to us the way of pardon and eternal life. Of this crime every man is guilty who does not worship the living God, and submit to the ordinances of Jesus Christ. But Cornelius was a praying man, a devout worshiper of God, besides possessing every other virtue claimed by self-righteous sinners; yet it was necessary for even him to hear “words by which he might be saved.“ Until a man can claim for himself something more than is here said of him, he may not flatter himself with the hope of salvation.
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Under the former dispensation, the piety and fidelity of Cornelius would have given him an honorable place among the holy men of God; but this alone could not suffice him now. Jesus the Christ had stepped in between God and man, and opened, through the rent vail of his flesh, the only access to God. All heaven had confessed his authority, and the holy disciples on earth had come to the Father by him. But Cornelius was still calling upon God, without the name of Christ, and seeking to approach him by the old, not by the new and living way. He was in the same condition with any pious but unbelieving Jew of that or of our own age. It was necessary to his salvation that he should believe in Jesus and obey him. This would secure to him the pardon of his sins, which he had not and could not secure by worshiping according to the law.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv3, 7, 35, 43, 44 (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
angel
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. Cornelius of Caesarea and his Preparation (Act 10:1-8).
CHAPTER 10
1. Cornelius of Caesarea and his Preparation (Act 10:1-8).
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2. The Trance-vision of Peter (Act 10:9-16).
3. Peter with Cornelius at Caesarea (Act 10:17-33).
4. Peter Preaching to the Gentiles (Act 10:34-43).
5. The Interrupted Message (Act 10:44-48).
The ending of the preceding chapter tells us that Peter tarried in Joppa in the house of Simon the tanner. Was he breaking with his Jewish law and customs? Tanning as a trade was considered unclean by the Jews.
In Eph 2:11-18 we read of the Grace of God to the Gentiles. Up to this time in the Book of Acts we have seen nothing of this gracious purpose, the blessed result of the finished work of Christ on the cross. Jerusalem heard the Gospel first. Once more the good news of the Kingdom was preached with a full offer of forgiveness to the Jews. God was willing to blot out their transgressions and to make good all He had promised to the nation. Many signs and miracles had been done in Jerusalem in demonstration of the resurrection from the dead of the Prince of Life, whom they had crucified. We have seen how the seventh chapter in this book marks the close of that special offer to Jerusalem. Immediately after the death of Stephen, the Gospel was carried into Judea and Samaria. In Samaria a people heard and accepted the glad tidings. They were a mixed race and practiced circumcision and obeyed parts of the law. In the ninth chapter the conversion of Paul is recorded and the Lord makes known that the persecutor of the church is to be the chosen vessel to bear His name before the Gentiles. Paul, however, was not chosen to open first the door to the Gentiles as such, but Peter, the Apostle of the circumcision. A new work is given him to do, which was indeed a strange work for a Jew. He was to go to the Gentiles, whom the Jews considered unclean. It was unlawful for a Jew to join himself to any Gentile; an insurmountable barrier divided them. For this reason the Jews considered the Gentiles as unclean, common, spoke of them as dogs, and had no intercourse with them. It is of interest to notice that Peter tarried in Joppa; from this old city he is to be sent forth to preach the Gospel to Cornelius and his household. Centuries ago another Jew had come to Joppa with a solemn message from his God, which he was commissioned to bear far hence to the Gentiles. Jonah, the prophet, took a ship from Joppa and refused obedience to the divine call.
But here is one who is obedient to the heavenly vision and who is to bring a higher message to the Gentiles, the good news of a free and full salvation. That Peter, the Apostle of the circumcision, was chosen for this great errand, was all important hint that the middle wall of partition had been broken down and that believing Jews and Gentiles were to form one new man.
Cornelius belonged to that class of Gentiles who, illumined by the Holy Spirit, had turned to God from idols, to serve the true and the living God. He was therefore a converted man, for God acknowledged him as such. Of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ and the blessed assurance of that salvation he knew nothing. His prayers had been heard. The angel who appeared gave Cornelius the full directions where Peter was to be found. While the messengers were hastening to Joppa, Peter had his vision.
And what is the meaning of the vision? The vessel is the type of the church. The four corners represent the four corners of the earth. The clean animals it contained, the Jews; the unclean, the Gentiles. But all in that vessel are cleansed. The Grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ has cleansed those who are in Christ. “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1Co 6:11). Jew and Gentile believing, redeemed by blood, saved by Grace, washed and sanctified, are to be put into one body.
Then Peter reached Caesarea and preached to Cornelius and those who were gathered together. How different this message from those he delivered in Jerusalem. There are a few introductory remarks followed by a declaration of the facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Then he pressed the message home to their hearts. “To Him give all the Prophets witness that through His Name whosoever believeth on Him shall receive remission of sins.” This was his last word to the assembled company. It is the first time we find the word “whosoever” in this book. He had nothing to say to this Gentile company about repentance and baptism. His message was interrupted. They believed and the Holy Spirit fell on them.
Something new had taken place. On Pentecost it meant water baptism as a condition of receiving the Holy Spirit (Act 2:38) and the remission of sins; in Samaria the Apostles Peter and John, according to the wisdom of God, had to lay on hands, but here without water baptism and laying on of hands the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles. Nor was there any process of seeking, surrendering, examining themselves, giving up, praying for it, but by hearing of faith, in believing the message of the Gospel the Holy Spirit fell on them. And to show that every barrier between Jew and Gentile had been removed, that nothing inferior had been bestowed upon Gentiles, than that which came upon the believing Jews on the day of Pentecost, Cornelius, his kinsmen and friends spoke with tongues and magnified God. It was the conclusive evidence that Gentiles, uncircumcised and unbaptized, received the Holy Spirit like the Jews.
Water baptism follows. Up to this chapter water baptism preceded the gift of the Holy Spirit. This shows the place water baptism holds on the ground of grace. Water baptism has no place in the proclamation of the Gospel of Grace. It is not a means of grace, nor a sacrament. Peter, however, does not slight nor ignore baptism. “Can any man forbid water?” Then he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 17, 23, 30, 34, 39, 44 Cornelius the Centurion.
Cornelius the Centurion.
The vision of Cornelius:
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v. 1. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
v. 2. a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
v. 3. He saw in a vision, evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
v. 4. Anti when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
v. 5. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter;
v. 6. he lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside; he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
v. 7. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
v. 8. and when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
While Saul, in his own city of Tarsus, was awaiting the time when the Lord would assign definite work among the Gentiles to him, or, as some think, was bringing the Gospel to the province of Cilicia, God was Himself stirring the hearts of some few people outside of the chosen nation. A certain man there lived in Caesarea by the seaside, the residence of the Roman governors of Judea, whose name was Cornelius. This man was a heathen by birth, as his Latin name seems to indicate. His official position was that of centurion of the company known as the Italic cohort, the tenth part of a Roman legion, which was stationed at Caesarea. The Italic cohorts were made up of volunteer Roman citizens born in Italy, and are shown by history to have existed in several eastern provinces. Cornelius was not only good and generous, but devout, pious, a God-fearing proselyte, a man who with his family, and probably his servants as well, had come to know the true God, much like the centurion of Capernaum, Mat 8:5. From the Jews, among whom he lived for so many years, Cornelius had heard of the coming Messiah, by whose coming and work the true righteousness before God would be his: this faith had taken hold of his heart and gave sufficient, evidence of its presence in his many alms and in his continual prayers to God. Thus Cornelius was not merely an upright, honorable man of the world, but a believer in the Messiah, whose coming he, however, with many of the devout Jews, put into the future, not knowing that all the prophecies had been fulfilled in and through Jesus of Nazareth. But the Lord knew the condition of his heart and determined to give him and his entire house the full revelation of the New Testament. Accordingly, God arranged it so that Cornelius, about the ninth hour of the day, about the time of the evening sacrifice in the Temple, one of the hours of prayer, saw in a vision distinctly, manifestly, plainly, making an illusion impossible, an angel of the Lord coming in to him with a message. The heavenly messenger, first of all, called him by name, in itself a distinction, Isa 43:1. But Cornelius instinctively shrank back, as sinful men are liable to do in the presence of a sinless being. His eyes were fixed upon the angel and he was filled with fear, as he said, "What is it, Lord?" for he recognized the messenger from God. But the angel’s calm words reassured him. His prayers had been heard by God, and his works of mercy had come to the attention of God; they were credited to him in the memory of the Lord. The eyes of God are ever watching those that fear Him, whose hearts trust in Him by faith, and whose hands are willing to serve Him. He hears their prayers and remembers all their works. But the angel now told Cornelius that he should send some men to Joppa as his messengers, to fetch one Simon, distinguished from other men of the same name by his surname Peter. His place of lodging was with Simon, the tanner, who lived near the sea, outside of the city proper, on account of the nature of his business. This Peter would be able and willing to give him such information as he needed at this time. For while Cornelius was a true believer according to Old Testament standards, See Joh 1:47, he lacked the knowledge of the Messiah that had appeared, and this should be supplied by Peter. Note: Although the angel might well have given Cornelius a full understanding of the Gospel, the Lord does not commission him to that end, but directs the centurion to one of His preachers of salvation. Through His holy Word, as proclaimed by the mouth of men, God calls men to salvation. No sooner had the angel delivered his message than Cornelius proceeded to act upon the command which he had received. Though it was now late in the afternoon, he summoned two of his own domestic servants and a soldier who, like himself, was devout and God-fearing, one who belonged to the smaller guard of sentries whom he could trust implicitly, since they were truly devoted to him. To these three messengers Cornelius explained the entire matter in all confidence, withholding nothing from them which might serve for the understanding of the situation, and then sent them off to Joppa, which was located almost due south of Caesarea, at a distance of some thirty miles. Note: The relation between Cornelius and those employed by him and under his jurisdiction, as here pictured, might serve as an example to all employers and servants alike. If such conditions of mutual respect and confidence, based upon the fear of the same God, obtain, there will hardly be a servant problem or a dissatisfaction of labor.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 17, 19, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 34, 36, 39, 42, 44, 46 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
This is the beginning of the part of the story about Cornelius.
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General Information:
These verses give background information about Cornelius. (See: Background Information)
Now there was a certain man
This was a way of introducing a new person to this part of the historical account. (See: Introduction of New and Old Participants)
Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment
"his name was Cornelius. He was an officer in charge of 100 soldiers from the Italian section of the Roman army.
He was a devout man, one who worshiped God
"He believed in God and sought to honor and worship God in his life"
worshiped God
The word for "worshiped" here has the sense of deep respect and awe.
he constantly prayed to God
The word "constantly" is a generalization. AT: "he prayed to God a lot" or "he prayed to God regularly" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
translationWords
Caesarea
Cornelius
centurion
worship
household
pray
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 9, 14, 17, 25, 34, 36, 43, 44, 48 10:1-8 a Roman army officer: Literally a centurion, the…
10:1-8 a Roman army officer: Literally a centurion, the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in the Roman army, in command of a century, a subdivision of roughly 100 men. Luke often describes centurions in favorable terms (10:22; 21:32; 22:25-26; 23:17, 23; 27:6, 11, 43; 28:16; Luke 7:1-10; 23:47). It was important for Luke to show that Christianity was not hostile to Roman officials or institutions and could, like Judaism, be permitted in the Roman Empire (see Acts Book Introduction, “Purposes of Acts: Politics”). • a captain of the Italian Regiment: A regiment included six centuries; a Roman legion was usually divided into ten regiments. The New Testament mentions the Italian Regiment and the Imperial Regiment (Acts 27:1).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.