Peter and Cornelius Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Olympia, WA August 2008 The lesson material sometimes contains information and ideas posted on http://www.rotation.org by various other authors; that material is available without copyright restrictions as long as credit is given to the original authors and it is not used for commercial purposes. Gail Smith is the author of this background information for Silverdale United Methodist Church. Bible Text: Acts 10:1 48,11:1 The story of Peter and Cornelius and the Holy Spirit coming on the Gentile believers in Caesarea Biblical Explanation and Background The story of Peter and Cornelius is a story of God responding to the faith of a Godseeking Gentile and of God transforming the messenger, Peter, a Jew, and the recipient, Cornelius, a Gentile. It was always God s plan to include the Gentiles in salvation by Christ. (Isaiah 45:22, Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 49:6, I will also make you a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. ) Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matthew 5:6) In Proverbs 8:17 God says, I love those who love me, and those who seek me will find me. God knew Cornelius hunger and thirst for righteousness; he saw that Cornelius and his family were devout, generous, and God-fearing persons. Just as Jesus had responded to the faith of the Roman centurion in Capernaum (Luke 7:1 10), so God heard the prayers of Cornelius in Caesarea. God gave Cornelius a vision of an angel telling him that God heard his prayers and saw his good works, and telling him to send men to Joppa to get Peter from the tanner s house near the seaside. Cornelius was probably a well-known man in Caesarea; he held a prominent position working for the Italian regiment. Caesarea itself was the Roman capital of Palestine, the military headquarters, and the place where the Roman governor lived. Philip the evangelist, who had shared the good news of Jesus the Savior with the Ethiopian man, also lived in Caesarea, although he does not come into this story. Peter was about 25 miles south of Caesarea in the coastal town of Joppa. About eight hundred years earlier, Jonah had sailed from Joppa in his attempt to flee God s call to preach to the Gentiles in Nineveh. Peter, about to be called to share about Jesus with the Gentile Cornelius, had been used by God to do miracles in Joppa, and many people had chosen to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. It s interesting Background 1
that Peter was staying at the home of Simon the tanner. By nature, the work of a tanner brought him into contact with dead animals; it was considered ceremonially unclean for Jews, and it was neither pleasant nor prestigious. And yet, God would have to change Peter s attitude about being with unclean Gentiles, such as Cornelius and his family and friends. Peter had been staying with Simon the Tanner for some time (Acts 9:43) when God spoke to him in a vision. Peter s vision came after Cornelius had sent two servants and a devout soldier from Caesarea to Joppa to find Peter. Cornelius men were almost at the door when Peter saw, three times, a sheet containing ceremonially unclean animals being lowered before him from heaven, and of being told, Get up, Peter. Kill and eat. In his dream, Peter protested to God that he would never eat unclean foods, but God answered him, Do not call anything impure that God has made clean. (Acts 10:15) This vision reoccurred three times in succession to Peter, setting the stage for him to respond favorably to the request brought from Cornelius. As Peter was still pondering his surprising vision, Cornelius men called from the gate, and the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter to go with them (Acts 10:19-20). God had to prepare Peter in this way, because Peter, like most Jewish men of his time, thought associating with Gentiles was unclean and that the good news about Jesus the Son of God was mainly for the Jews. Jewish believers would not admit a Gentile into their fellowship unless that person first became a Jew. (That would mean circumcision for a man, although we will not get into that topic with the children.) Peter s viewpoint was about to be radically changed. Two days later, Peter, along with some other Jewish believers from Joppa, arrived at Cornelius house in Caesarea. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Not only was Peter prepared to do the good works that God had planned for him, but we also are prepared to do God s works. Even children, if they believe in Jesus, Son of God, Savior, and are empowered by His Holy Spirit, are prepared to do good works that God has planned. Children, just like adults, can ask Jesus to fill them with His Spirit, to guide them into His truth and enable them to do His good will. Cornelius was waiting, along with his friends and relatives. He was anticipating the visit of a man anointed by God; after all, an angel had told him to send for Peter. He treated Peter with great honor. Peter told the assembled non-jewish people that God had shown him that he was indeed called to share about Jesus with them, and Peter was faithful to his calling. He presented Cornelius with the life of Jesus (vs. 38), the death of Jesus (vs. 39), the resurrection of Jesus (vs. 40-41), the future judgment by Jesus (vs. 42) and the opportunity for the forgiveness of his sins through faith in Jesus as the Son of God (vs.43). Apparently, Cornelius and the others listening to Peter were responding in faith; the Holy Spirit came on them just as He had come on the Jewish believers in Jerusalem on Pentecost. Peter recognized this as God s work and as God approving the faith of these Gentiles. He immediately offered them the opportunity to be baptized, a sign of their being believers accepted by Christ and accepted in Christian fellowship. Again, the prophecy of Joel 2: 29 & 32 was fulfilled, I will pour out my Spirit on all people And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. Acts Background 2
10:45 says that the Jewish believers who had come with Peter to Cornelius house were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. They had not been prepared as Peter had been prepared for this new move of God, but remembering God s promise to pour out His Spirit should have prepared everyone. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Jewish believers gathered in the Upper Room on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:1-4), the people were empowered by God to share about Jesus the Savior in a powerful way. Acts 10:46 does not give many details about the people at Cornelius house, but it says, they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. That is also what the people in Jerusalem on Pentecost had done. Acts 11:1 shows that this move of God must have been very significant, however, because it says, the apostles and brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. We do not know how much the conversion of this Roman centurion and his friends and family may have eventually influenced the spread of Christianity to Rome and other places. We know that when Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome in A.D.57 or 58, there was a strong body of believers there. The conversion of Cornelius probably occurred in A.D. 35 40 (dates are unsure), so a church in Rome surely had time to grow during the approximately 20 years between the Holy Spirit coming on the Gentile believers in Caesarea and Paul writing his letter to the Romans. Likewise, who knows the influence of a child who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ today and is filled with the Holy Spirit? God has plans for each individual believer to share the good news about Jesus Christ, and no two people are called to exactly the same plan and purpose. Whatever God s plans are for each person, he wants each of us to be filled with His Spirit and to be empowered to do His will. God promises in Jeremiah 31:33, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. When Jesus promised to send the helper, the Holy Spirit, he said, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17) Jesus also said in John 16:13,14, When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you. We do need the Holy Spirit s help to know the truth about God and the truth about us, to apply that truth to our lives, and to share the truth with the world about us. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is essential to the Christian life, and even a child can ask God to give him more of the Holy Spirit, so that the child s life is filled with the life of Jesus. Background 3
The following background information is copyright 2004 Lisa Martin. Permission is granted for use within the local church setting only. Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ in Pottstown, PA Bible Background This story is placed in the middle of Acts as part of the spreading of the gospel beyond its Jewish origins to include the gentiles. Paul was already doing this, but Peter was a little more reluctant he was part of the establishment after all. This passage reflects Peter s change of heart due to a vision he has from God that he should not call profane anyone that God has deemed acceptable. Along with stories such as the call of David -- where God doesn t see with human eyes, but instead looks in the heart (1 Samuel 16:1-13) this is ultimately a story that declares the sovereignty of God. In the case of Cornelius, it is a declaration that God made the rules about cleanliness and separation and therefore God can eliminate those same rules. This of course can raise a lot of issues in the modern church, just as it did in Peter s day. The answer that arises from this story seems to be that we in the church are not following a set of rules, but rather opening ourselves to a process of discernment: listening to God s voice, and determining upon whom the Holy Spirit rests. In full humility we must declare that the choice to include or exclude is not ours to make, but rather God s. This is not the only case where someone surprising receives the Holy Spirit and baptism. In Acts 8:26-39, Phillip is directed by the Holy Spirit to an Ethiopian eunuch; in Acts 9:1-19, the murderous Saul is converted on the road to Damascus. And now in Acts 10, Cornelius. The spread of Christianity in the early church is tied to the idea of being guided by the Spirit to overcome prejudices. The prejudices of our world are different than the prejudices of Peter s day, but prejudices still exist, even among people who think of themselves as very open-minded. Themes Baptism Which comes first: the act of baptism, or the decent of the Holy Spirit? In Jesus baptism and other baptisms in Acts, the Holy Spirit seems to appear after the baptism. But this case is different. Were human beings withholding baptism because they felt Cornelius, as a Gentile, to be unacceptable? This story points out that God won t be thwarted by human inaction. Clean/unclean this refers to ritual, spiritual cleanliness under existing Jewish law which are found in Exodus Deuteronomy and the Talmud. If you followed the law you were clean/acceptable. If you didn t you were unclean/profane, and must go through a process of purification and adherence to the laws. This included circumcision for males (not a very inviting prospect for adult men in an age without anesthesia) which was a leading reason that pagans who were attracted to the God Background 4
of the Jews refrained from actually joining the faith. It also included rules that were very difficult for poor or marginalized people to follow. Christianity at its core is a religion for the marginalized. Conversion Cornelius has been converted to Christianity. But what of Peter? He is already a Christian, but has undergone a conversion experience as well? He now accepts a people that he previously avoided because he sees that as God s plan. Is conversion a one-time event, or something that occurs to us again and again? Is conversion always a sudden experience, or can it come upon us little by little? Evangelism This is a story about bringing the word of Christ to others. Peter is acting very bravely when he goes to the house of a gentile with anti-christian political status: Cornelius was a centurion of the Italian cohort (main Roman force). Sometimes evangelism means being willing to risk for the sake of the gospel. How much are we willing to risk, lay on the line, to proclaim the word of Christ? Jewish/Gentile In the early church this was a debate between Jews and Gentiles, which should be read as being between people who knew the one true God (Jews) and people with pagan practices who did not know God. It is not correct to understand this passage to be about modern Jews and modern Christians (Gentiles) with the emphasis on the latter being acceptable to God. Rather we should read this as a story about Christian believers/insiders (Jews) and non-believers (Gentiles) who might have been making life choices that are questionable to the faithful. Or we can see this story culturally as a story about established people (Americans) and newcomers (immigrants); or in congregational life as people who grew up in the church and new members. All are acceptable analogies, and should call us to question ourselves: who do we declare unclean/profane/unacceptable? Who would we be very uncomfortable moving in next door to us or sitting in the next pew? Where do our prejudices lie? And what does God say to that God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. (Acts 10:28b) Revelation God s will is revealed to Peter when he is in prayer. Sometimes our prayers are too much talking (telling God what we want) and not enough listening (telling us what God wants). Teaching this Story to Kids Jewish/Gentile Care must be taken to avoid sounding anti-semitic. In modern American culture the real meaning of this passage is reversed: Christians, the majority, are the insiders and Jews, a minority group, are the outsiders. The newly identified rule is that God doesn t want the insiders to call the outsiders unclean or profane. Children may have questions about Jewish dietary laws and other laws. Look up a few laws and be familiar with kosher laws in the attachment. Clean/unclean A good modern debate that gets to the heart of the issue is what do you wear to church? Should you dress in Sunday best or is it okay to be comfortable because God loves you as you are? This parallels the debate in ancient time of do Background 5
we still need to follow the minutia of the law, or is it okay to disregard the law and rely on grace? In some parts of scripture, Jesus seems to be abandoning the law. In other places, he defends the law and claims he s not rewriting one letter of it. How can we make sense of this? One way of answering both modern and ancient questions is that it depends upon what is in your heart. If in your heart you believe that the law is from God, then disregarding the law is disrespectful. If you don t believe in your heart of hearts that the law is from God, then there s no point in keeping to it. If in your heart you believe you should dress in your Sunday best to show God respect, then coming in jeans is disrespectful. If you re new to church and in your heart that sounds like a silly idea and not from God, then wearing jeans is not disrespectful. It depends on how you were brought up. Paul, a Jew, kept the law but didn t insist that others kept to the law. A person brought up in the church continues to dress in their Sunday best but doesn t hold others to that same standard. Holy Sprit discernment -- How do you know that the Holy Spirit was on Cornelius? How do we know if the Holy Spirit rests on someone? Holy Spirit is the least tangible person of the Trinity and can sometimes be hard for children to get their minds around. We use imagery like wind and breath, but we do the Holy Spirit a disservice if we cling to those too closely. Essentially the Holy Spirit is having an experience of God that you can t put into words or even thoughts. Evangelism -- Bringing others into the church sometimes means bringing surprising or unexpected people into the church. Who would the church feel uncomfortable including? We detest racism and long to embrace people of all races, but would we be welcoming of racists? In a child s term, we are taught to empathize with the child getting picked on but would we invite the bully? That gets a lot closer to what Peter and the early church were dealing with. Cornelius was a centurion (and Paul a persecutor of Christians); Cornelius (unlike Paul who changed his ways) as far as we can tell he kept being a centurion, albeit a good and upright centurion. Prayer/revelation. By going to the roof to pray, Peter understood God more clearly. How does prayer help us understand the mind of God? How can we change from an asking form of prayer to a discernment form of prayer? Many children in your classes will have a rote prayer/prayers that they say at certain times of day. How can you push them to move into an asking/listening form for prayer? Bibliography General lesson planning: www.rotation.org Kosher laws: http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm Kosher recipes: www.recipesource.com Background 6