Acts. Acts 10:1-16 Walk or Work

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1 Acts Acts 10:1-16 Walk or Work I m sure you ve never heard anyone say this. I can t believe in a god who would send someone to hell simply because they never heard about Jesus. Well there are so many problems with this statement that I could take a full session just to point them out. But this section does answer at least part of the false premise. J. Vernon McGee spoke to this when he noted: This is God s answer to that oft repeated question, What about the poor pagan, that good heathen, who wants to know God but never had a chance? Is he lost? The answer is that God will get light to such a person. God will enable him to hear the gospel. Now how will God get the gospel to Cornelius? The barriers seem insurmountable. The church at this time and for the first eight years was exclusively Jewish. These Christian Jews were still going to temple and observing many Jewish customs. They could do that under grace because they were trusting Christ. Then the gospel broke over into Samaria. The Jews in Jerusalem were surprised, but they recognized the hand of God in this. Now how is God going to open the door of the gospel to the Gentiles? Paul is to be the great missionary to the Gentiles, but God has Paul out in the desert of Arabia, training him there. It is Simon Peter who must open the door to the Gentiles. God used perhaps the most prejudiced and religious bigot, the greatest extremist of the day. 1 To the Jew First (Judea and Samaria) C. The Church Scattered by Persecution 8:1-12:24 4. Peter and the Coming of the Spirit to the Gentiles 10:1-11:18 a. Cornelius Vision Verses 1-8 b. Peter s Vision Verses 9-16 c. Peter s Mission Verses d. Peter & Cornelius Verses Introduction: Some things never change. There is much confusion, by choice, about what it means to be religious. Generally, it means a whole lot of work to earn God s approval. This was the problem Christ was constantly addressing in His discussions with the Pharisees and others. I know of one group, not Seventh Day Adventists, who believe we must keep the Sabbath, dietary laws, etc. And they are quite ugly to others who don t agree with them. They are the only true church. As we ll see this incident mitigates against this position. a. Cornelius Vision: i. Background: First of all let s take a moment to consider 1 McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. IV, Matthew Romans, Thru The Bible Radio, Pasadena, CA, 1983, p. 555.

2 CAESAREA (CÅe s aå reœ aå) Located on the Mediterranean Sea 23 miles south of Mount Carmel is the city of Caesarea, known also as Caesarea-on-the-Sea (Maritima), Caesarea Sebaste, Caesarea of Palestine, and Caesarea of Judea. Because of the lack of natural harbor between Sidon and Egypt, a Sidonian king, Abdashtart, established an anchorage in the forth century B.C. It became known as Strato s Tower, using the king s Greek name. A fortified town developed on this site. The first literary record is from the archive of the Egyptian Zenon who put in there for supplies in 259 B.C. The Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus brought it under Jewish control in 96 B.C., but Pompey returned it to Gentile rule in 63 B.C. The Jewish community apparently continued to thrive. Mark Anthony gave it to Cleopatra, but Octavian or Augustus defeated Antony at Actuim and placed Caesarea under Herod in 30 B.C. Herod determined to build a fine port facility and support it by a new city. The harbor, which he named Sebastos (Latin, Augustus), was a magnificently engineered project. The southern breakwater was built of huge mortared stones placed in a semicircle about 2,000 feet long, and the northern one is of similar construction almost 900 feet long. Great statues of Augustus and Roma were erected at the entrance. An inner harbor appears to have been dug into the land where mooring berths and vaulted warehouses were constructed. Josephus described the construction of the harbor and accompanying city in grandiose detail. The city was Hellenistic in design and style and named Caesarea for Caesar. In addition to the many buildings, a platform was raised near the harbor upon which a temple was built for Caesar with a colossus of Caesar. After Archelaus was removed in A.D. 6, Caesarea became the capital of the province of Judea and served as the official home of the procurators. Hostilities between the Jewish and Gentile population apparently had been a way of life in this city. One of the public outbreaks resulted in the desecration of the synagogue Knestha d Meredtha in A.D. 66 that precipitated the Jewish-Roman War. Vespasian gave it the status of colony. 2 Now as for CORNELIUS [who] was a centurion, a commander of 100 men, and a member of the Italian Cohort. (A cohort consisted of 600 men under the command of six centurions, but with auxiliary forces in remote areas such as Judea a cohort might have as many as 1,000 men.) Ten cohorts formed a legion. Centurions were paid very well (as much as five times the pay of an ordinary soldier), so Cornelius would have been socially prominent and wealthy. 3 ii. The Gentile Promise: I do find it a bit interesting that it seems Roman soldiers seemed a bit more open to Jesus and the Gospel. Consider When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And he said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes, and to another, Come, and he comes, and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And to the centurion Jesus said, Go; let it be done for you as you have believed. And the servant was healed at that very moment. (Matthew 8:5 13). 2 Brand, Chad, gen. ed., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN, Dennis, Lane T. and Wayne Grudem, eds., English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible, Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL, ) 190 (

3 This event became an opportunity for Jesus to prophecy about the Gentile involvement in God s kingdom. We also find a centurion at the scene of the crucifixion. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God! (Mark 15:39). When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly this was the Son of God! (Matthew 27:54). The fact Gentiles would come into the kingdom was never much of an issue, but the general assumption had been they would come in by becoming proselytes to Judaism, finally being circumcised. It hadn t occurred to the Jew, or even the early Jewish believers, that much of the ceremonial aspects of Judaism, including keeping the Sabbath, though not rejecting a Sabbatic principle, dietary laws, and circumcision were no longer a requirement to be part of God s kingdom. iii. The Passage: Now as to the text itself. Cornelius is described as a devout god-fearing man. Luke then gives specific examples to support this description. God-fearing generally referred to a Gentile who was a follower of God, a believer, but one who hadn t gone as far as being circumcised or committing himself to the full range of Jewish religious activities. This, in a sense, would have set the stage for what would come to be expected of Gentile Christians. Cornelius apparently was a true testimony for the Lord, which probably explains why God chose to send him a vision. His household, which would have included family and servants, followed after God. He was charitable, giving to the poor. And he was a man of prayer. Consider what God considered of worth, and how little it had to do with the Pharisaical walk. But more on that in a moment. So, at three o clock in the afternoon, the time that tradition had defined as a time of prayer. Cornelius while praying had a vision of an angel of God who called to him. The angel tells him that God had observed his commitment. the angel said to him, Your prayers and your [generous] gifts to the poor have come up [as a sacrifice] to God and have been remembered by Him (Acts 10:4b AMPLIFIED) As previously noted the proofs of commitment were defined first as prayer and second as alms giving. Clearly this weren t want earned God s approval, but were signs of his commitment to God. Next the angel give Cornelius the specifics of God s message. He was to send men to Joppa to get Peter who was currently staying at the house of Simon the tanner. He doesn t say why and Cornelius doesn t ask. He just selects a couple of men and a soldier and sends them off to Joppa to round up Peter. ) 191 (

4 b. Peter s Vision: Meanwhile is another neighborhood. It was the next day and Cornelius men were arriving in Joppa. It s noon and Peter is up on the rooftop praying. Not surprisingly, he s also hungry. Accordingly he too has a vision though his is of a radically different nature. The purpose of the vision becomes quickly obvious. Something that looks like a giant sheet is lowered from the sky. It contains a variety of creatures that would not be seen on any Jewish restaurant menu. They were very nonkosher. Say to the Israelites: Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales you are to detest. These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you. (Leviticus 11:2-3, 9-10, 13, 20), etc. A voice comes from heaven and instructs Peter to kill and eat from among the unclean animals. But of course he refuses because he has always kept kosher. Keep in mind Jewish people had preferred death to eating unclean (nonkosher) food in the time of the Maccabees; thus Jewish readers would be appalled that God would require anything so disgusting (from the perspective of cultural cuisine) and impious (from an Old Testament perspective). 4 But, the voice makes it clear that since God has commanded Peter to eat, he shouldn t consider the food unclean. This give and take reoccurs three times. Now some who take this command as God doing away with the dietary laws as well as all the ceremonial Jewish law. And while one can certainly make a case for the doing away with these from NT writings, (see Galatians 2), this doesn t seem as the necessary to the primary focus. Considering the context I really don t believe the dietary laws have to be the issue. The primary point God seems to be making here will be understood when the spokesmen from Cornelius arrive. God s point is that the message of salvation is to go out to both Jew and Gentile. Thought I suppose that this may also be taken as Peter being given permission to eat in a Gentile s home. And as we ll see it takes a lot for Peter to overcome his xenophobia. Grounding the vision in unclean animals is not strange. God tied the nonkosher food to nonkosher people so Peter would be free to minister to Cornelius. Historically, the Jew was to be separate from both. This linkage is found in the following Leviticus passage. But I said to you, You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations. You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or 4 Keener, Craig S., IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Downers Grove, IL, ) 192 (

5 bird or anything that moves along the ground those which I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own (Leviticus 20:24-26). God was preparing Peter s heart, and just as he was mulling over his vision, Cornelius men arrived. But for now let us draw the curtains. We will part them again in two weeks. Conclusion: There are two very important points to be found in these few verses. The importance of prayer and the importance of a heart held faith rather than a ritualistic one. This is the case whether we re considering nonkosher food or people. i. Prayer: In the case of both Cornelius and Peter, God spoke to them when they were waiting on Him. We don t know the content of their prayers. Were they praising, petition, interceding? Luke doesn t say. But one place God can speak to us is when we speak to Him. Oh, yes and when we are listening as well. One of the most powerful prayers we can offer up, therefore pleasing to God, is prayer for the lost. For as with Cornelius, at times the Spirit is touching hearts and causing them to seek after God. This is a prayer God answers in ways we can t always understand. Can you think of any examples you have experienced/observed? Sending Peter to Cornelius is an excellent example. Dr. McGee notes. Obviously, the Holy Spirit directed every more in getting the gospel to the Gentiles. all genuine Christian work is directed by the Holy Spirit. No other work amounts to anything. The Holy Spirit had to work in the heart of the Gentile; the Holy Spirit had to work in the heart of the Jew. The Holy Spirit directed the bringing of the gospel to the gentile world. 5 Parenthetically, it should be noted there is another truth regarding prayer found here. Christians have generated a bit of hostility when stating, correctly, that God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers. But a clear except are the prayers of those seeking Him, those whom He is calling to Himself. ii. Heart Faith: Cornelius was known for good works and prayer. They didn t make him righteous. Instead they were a product of his desire to serve God. God has always desired a heart over self-righteous works. As He notes in Micah, With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:6-8). 5 McGee. ) 193 (

6 Do we serve from our heart, or to earn God s approval? Even in a biblically sound church we can fall into the trap of confusing works with maintaining salvation rather than a product of such. If that person was saved she d or he wouldn t Do we give of our time and material goods because we have to or because we re blessed? Some teach we are required to tithe. (By the way the Israelite gave three not just one tithe.) But God loves a cheerful giver, that is one who gives in gratitude rather than obligation. Is the Sabbath a burden or the Sabbatic principle a blessing? Conveniently, churches that stress OT legality generally pick and choose what they want to keep or not! Cornelius sought God because God drew Him. Peter obeyed God even when it made him uncomfortable and even afraid. We see the works that flowed from the hearts of these men. God He saw their hearts. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23). And so all truth, all answers, all blessing, all righteousness, comes not through works but through a righteous heart directed to God and depending on and trusting His sovereignty. The sovereignty of God does not override the want, the will, the tears, the cry of his children; but does, in the first instance, express itself through that very want those tears and those strong desires. It is not that man changes God s purpose, but that man verily and indeed discovers that purpose through his own earnest prayer. ~ W. R. Reynolds. ) 194 (

7 Acts Acts 10:1-16 Walk or Work To the Jew First (Judea and Samaria) C. The Church Scattered by Persecution 8:1-12:24 4. Peter and the Coming of the Spirit to the Gentiles 10:1-11:18 a. Cornelius Vision Verses 1-8 b. Peter s Vision Verses 9-16 c. Peter s Mission Verses d. Peter & Cornelius Verses Introduction: a. Cornelius Vision: i. Background: CAESAREA CORNELIUS ii. The Gentile Promise: (Matthew 8:5 13; Mark 15:39; Matthew 27:54) iii. The Passage: (Acts 10:4b AMPLIFIED)

8 b. Peter s Vision: (Leviticus 11:2-3, 9-10, 13, 20, 20:24-26; see Galatians 2) Conclusion: i. Prayer: ii. Heart Faith: (Micah 6:6-8; Psalm 139:23) Personal Application: Consider those around you who need the Lord. Pick one individual and make them the focus of your prayers this week. Prayer for the Week: Lord, may our prayers be an instrument of Your work in the lives of others. In Christ s name, amen.