Acts 10 In chapter 10, Gd begins t prepare Peter s heart t pen the Gspel t the Gentiles As we learned last week, the respnsibility fr the preaching f the Gspel t Gentiles rested primarily n Paul s shulders Peter s ministry was always a ministry t the Jew And yet Peter s willingness t reach ut t the Gentiles was critically imprtant t the utward mvement f the Gspel Peter hlds the keys t the kingdm (Matt 16:19) S bringing Peter t an awareness f Gd s plan fr the Gentile Church was a necessity And chapters 10-11 tell the stry f hw Peter s heart is pened t receiving Gentile cnverts Acts 10:1 Nw there was a man at Caesarea named Crnelius, a centurin f what was called the Italian chrt, Acts 10:2 a devut man and ne wh feared Gd with all his husehld, and gave many alms t the Jewish peple and prayed t Gd cntinually. Acts 10:3 Abut the ninth hur f the day he clearly saw in a visin an angel f Gd wh had just cme in and said t him, Crnelius! Acts 10:4 And fixing his gaze n him and being much alarmed, he said, What is it, Lrd? And he said t him, Yur prayers and alms have ascended as a memrial befre Gd. Acts 10:5 Nw dispatch sme men t Jppa and send fr a man named Simn, wh is als called Peter; Acts 10:6 he is staying with a tanner named Simn, whse huse is by the sea. Acts 10:7 When the angel wh was speaking t him had left, he summned tw f his servants and a devut sldier f thse wh were his persnal attendants, Acts 10:8 and after he had explained everything t them, he sent them t Jppa. Crnelius as we learned last week was a Rman sldier He is a devut man, but his religius devtin was directed tward the Gd f Israel Crnelius is giving alms - religius dnatins - t the Jewish peple And he prayed t the Lrd cntinually 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 2 This pattern f wrshipping the true Gd but with a limited understanding is evidence f Gd s handiwrk Paul himself teaches abut this kind f spntaneus respnse t Gd in Rmans 2 Rm. 2:14 Fr when Gentiles wh d nt have the Law d instinctively the things f the Law, these, nt having the Law, are a law t themselves, Rm. 2:15 in that they shw the wrk f the Law written in their hearts, their cnscience bearing witness and their thughts alternately accusing r else defending them, Paul is describing the way Gd will step int lives f His elect and bring faith, smetimes withut any direct cnnectin t human revelatin He describes a Gentile wh knws nthing f Gd s expectatins fr Law yet still strives t live in a way that pleases Gd Where did such a persn get the desire and understanding t live in a gdly way? Paul says the Law f Gd is written n their hearts Remember the prmise f the New Cvenant? Jer. 31:33 But this is the cvenant which I will make with the huse f Israel after thse days, declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and n their heart I will write it; and I will be their Gd, and they shall be My peple In ther wrds, the way the ccasinal Gentile becmes a fllwer f the Living Gd is n different than the way all men and wmen cme t that place The Lrd reveals Himself t ur hearts by His Spirit It is a supernatural prcess, nt ne dependent n human agency But nce the Lrd makes that change, it will drive us t seek Gd in a new and earnest way Fr Crnelius, it was thrugh alms and prayer And then Gd transitined frm the supernatural revelatin f Himself t a reliance n human agency t transfer that knwledge 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 3 Always under the guidance f the Hly Spirit Fr us tday, the prcess is still the same Our faith mment is a supernatural wrk f Gd t write the Law upn ur hearts But then Gd mves us frward thrugh the help f thers wh have gne befre us in this prcess Recent experience with Jewish cnvert When the time was right, the Lrd sent an angel t Crnelius s that he wuld cme t knw Peter and understand and receive the full testimny f the Gspel He s tld t find Simn, nt Peter Prbably because f Crnelius affinity fr Jews and his identificatin f their Gd with His peple And based n the angel s instructins, Crnelius mves quickly t cmply Acts 10:9 On the next day, as they were n their way and appraching the city, Peter went up n the husetp abut the sixth hur t pray. Acts 10:10 But he became hungry and was desiring t eat; but while they were making preparatins, he fell int a trance; Acts 10:11 and he saw the sky pened up, and an bject like a great sheet cming dwn, lwered by fur crners t the grund, Acts 10:12 and there were in it all kinds f fur-fted animals and crawling creatures f the earth and birds f the air. Acts 10:13 A vice came t him, Get up, Peter, kill and eat! Acts 10:14 But Peter said, By n means, Lrd, fr I have never eaten anything unhly and unclean. Acts 10:15 Again a vice came t him a secnd time, What Gd has cleansed, n lnger cnsider unhly. Acts 10:16 This happened three times, and immediately the bject was taken up int the sky. The trip frm Caesarea was a tw day walk On the secnd day at nn (sixth hur) Peter ges t the rftp t pray The rftp was a place f privacy While he was praying, the text says he became hungry 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 4 The sentence cnstructin in Greek indicates he was extremely hungry Gd appears t have created this strng sensatin f hunger in Peter With the pwer suggestin, Gd then leads Peter int a trance Frm Heaven a large sail r sheet (literally, linen clth) held up by fur crners begins t descend t earth Inside the sheet are all kinds f fur-fted animals and ther creatures Ntably, the sheet held many types f animals that were nt lawful fr Jews t eat accrding t the Msaic Law Peter felt great hunger, but nt enugh t eat smething he had been taught and trained never t eat S Peter respnds indignantly He begins, N, Lrd... Thse tw wrds shuld never appear tgether in that rder They are self-cntradictry Peter is behaving in a pattern similar t days past When he heard that Jesus wuld die, he declared, Gd frbid it Lrd He then says he has never eaten anything that wasn t ksher and killed prperly The Jewish dietary laws require that nly certain kinds f animals be eaten And even thse must be killed in a specific way that remves the bld The animal can t be killed in the cmmn way, which was strangling - r any methd that left the bld in the bdy 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 5 Gd s respnse t Peter is that Peter shuldn t cnsider smething unclean if Gd has cleansed it And in the case f the dietary restrictins f the Law, they were n lnger in effect because the Law n lnger held authrity ver thse wh had received the Messiah Furthermre, Gd is teaching a principle t Peter We fllw Gd where Gd ges And as Gd changes His expectatins and purpses, we are bliged t change with Him The dietary rules came at a pint in time fr a purpse Once that purpse has been met, then Gd will remve thse restrictins This was Paul s essential argument in Galatians Gal. 3:17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came fur hundred and thirty years later, des nt invalidate a cvenant previusly ratified by Gd, s as t nullify the prmise. Gal. 3:18 Fr if the inheritance is based n law, it is n lnger based n a prmise; but Gd has granted it t Abraham by means f a prmise. Gal. 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because f transgressins, having been rdained thrugh angels by the agency f a mediatr, until the seed wuld cme t whm the prmise had been made. Gal. 3:20 Nw a mediatr is nt fr ne party nly; whereas Gd is nly ne. Gal. 3:21 Is the Law then cntrary t the prmises f Gd? May it never be! Fr if a law had been given which was able t impart life, then righteusness wuld indeed have been based n law. Gal. 3:22 But the Scripture has shut up everyne under sin, s that the prmise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given t thse wh believe. Gal. 3:23 But befre faith came, we were kept in custdy under the law, being shut up t the faith which was later t be revealed. Gal. 3:24 Therefre the Law has becme ur tutr t lead us t Christ, s that we may be justified by faith. Gal. 3:25 But nw that faith has cme, we are n lnger under a tutr. The ultimate purpse in this message t Peter was t create a willingness in him t preach the Gspel t Gentiles The previusly unclean natins f pagans were abut t becme children f Gd by faith 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 6 Despite the clear message, Peter resists. The whle cnversatin is repeated twice mre Can yu imagine deny Gd s cmmand in a persnal cnversatin? One cmmentatr suggested that Peter may have heard Jesus vice in this cnversatin and prbably recgnized it frm memry If s, I wnder is Peter had thughts f a previus cnversatins f three s? Jesus asks Peter if he lved the Lrd three times Which fllwed Peter s denial f the Lrd three times Which itself fllwed his refusal t believe he culd ever frsake the Lrd Peter has a histry f stubbrnness when it cmes t listening t the Lrd Nevertheless, the Lrd has made his pint and Peter Acts 10:17 Nw while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as t what the visin which he had seen might be, behld, the men wh had been sent by Crnelius, having asked directins fr Simn s huse, appeared at the gate; Acts 10:18 and calling ut, they were asking whether Simn, wh was als called Peter, was staying there. Acts 10:19 While Peter was reflecting n the visin, the Spirit said t him, Behld, three men are lking fr yu. Acts 10:20 But get up, g dwnstairs and accmpany them withut misgivings, fr I have sent them Myself. Acts 10:21 Peter went dwn t the men and said, Behld, I am the ne yu are lking fr; what is the reasn fr which yu have cme? Acts 10:22 They said, Crnelius, a centurin, a righteus and Gd-fearing man well spken f by the entire natin f the Jews, was divinely directed by a hly angel t send fr yu t cme t his huse and hear a message frm yu. Acts 10:23 S he invited them in and gave them ldging. And n the next day he gt up and went away with them, and sme f the brethren frm Jppa accmpanied him. 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 7 Peter is trubled and puzzled by what he received in the visin While still thinking abut it, the men frm Crnelius arrive The fact that these tw events are s clsely assciated in time is further evidence that the message Peter received is related t the arrival f these men In fact, Peter gets a secnd visin frm Gd The Spirit tells Peter that these men are lking fr him and he must g dwn immediately and fllw them Since these were Rman sldiers asking fr Peter, his hst may have tried t hide Peter r deny he was in the huse S Peter himself was directed t greet the men Furthermre, the Spirit has sent these men t Peter, s dn t fear their intentins G with them withut cncerns And yu have t lve the dedicatin t the missin f Rman sldiers They deliver the precise message Crnelius gave them Peter receives them, and gives them ldging They had arrived at the end f a secnd day s walk, and it was t far t set ut n a trip t Caesarea until mrning They left the next mrning, and six ther Christians in Jppa accmpanied Peter, We learn the number in Acts 11 A ttal f seven Jews witnessed the first Gentile cnversin This pint in the bk f Acts is the turning pint fr Gentiles Here the man with the keys t the Kingdm is abut t turn the key fr the sake f Gentiles Beginning with this centurin And t shw hw mnumental this mment is fr the Church, cnsider what it tk t get here? 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 8 Peter brught t Jppa thrugh a series f circumstances An angel sent t Crnelius, a delegatin cming t Peter s hme, a vice frm Heaven t Peter, and the Hly Spirit caching Peter t respnd Acts 10:24 On the fllwing day he entered Caesarea. Nw Crnelius was waiting fr them and had called tgether his relatives and clse friends. Acts 10:25 When Peter entered, Crnelius met him, and fell at his feet and wrshiped him. Acts 10:26 But Peter raised him up, saying, Stand up; I t am just a man. Acts 10:27 As he talked with him, he entered and fund many peple assembled. Acts 10:28 And he said t them, Yu yurselves knw hw unlawful it is fr a man wh is a Jew t assciate with a freigner r t visit him; and yet Gd has shwn me that I shuld nt call any man unhly r unclean. Acts 10:29 That is why I came withut even raising any bjectin when I was sent fr. S I ask fr what reasn yu have sent fr me. Crnelius first reactin is t wrship the ne sent t him This is understandable The centurin received his instructins frm an angel and must have been waiting fr this encuntered with tremendus anticipatin But Peter crrects him and reminds Crnelius that Peter s presence in his hme is a risk fr Peter Because he s vilating the religius rules f the Jewish peple And Peter says he came withut bjectin, s he s dne his part S let s get n with this The tne and sense f Peter s wrds suggest he s nt cmfrtable and he s here smewhat reluctantly Despite his wrds t the cntrary The Centurin repnds... Acts 10:30 Crnelius said, Fur days ag t this hur, I was praying in my huse during the ninth hur; and behld, a man std befre me in shining garments, 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 9 Acts 10:31 and he said, Crnelius, yur prayer has been heard and yur alms have been remembered befre Gd. Acts 10:32 Therefre send t Jppa and invite Simn, wh is als called Peter, t cme t yu; he is staying at the huse f Simn the tanner by the sea. Acts 10:33 S I sent fr yu immediately, and yu have been kind enugh t cme. Nw then, we are all here present befre Gd t hear all that yu have been cmmanded by the Lrd. By his wn wrds, Crnelius describes hw the Lrd spke t him and instructed him t find Peter And he invites Peter t present the truth Crnelius has missed up t this pint He knew f Gd and he knew that the Gd f Israel was the nly true Gd But he lacked the fulfillment f what he sught There was a piece missing, and he was ready fr that piece S Peter respnds with anther versin f his Pentecst and Sanhedrin speeches Acts 10:34 Opening his muth, Peter said: I mst certainly understand nw that Gd is nt ne t shw partiality, Acts 10:35 but in every natin the man wh fears Him and des what is right is welcme t Him. Acts 10:36 The wrd which He sent t the sns f Israel, preaching peace thrugh Jesus Christ (He is Lrd f all) Acts 10:37 yu yurselves knw the thing which tk place thrughut all Judea, starting frm Galilee, after the baptism which Jhn prclaimed. Acts 10:38 Yu knw f Jesus f Nazareth, hw Gd aninted Him with the Hly Spirit and with pwer, and hw He went abut ding gd and healing all wh were ppressed by the devil, fr Gd was with Him. Acts 10:39 We are witnesses f all the things He did bth in the land f the Jews and in Jerusalem. They als put Him t death by hanging Him n a crss. Acts 10:40 Gd raised Him up n the third day and granted that He becme visible, Acts 10:41 nt t all the peple, but t witnesses wh were chsen befrehand by Gd, that is, t us wh ate and drank with Him after He arse frm the dead. Acts 10:42 And He rdered us t preach t the peple, and slemnly t testify that this is the One wh has been appinted by Gd as Judge f the living and the dead. Acts 10:43 Of Him all the prphets bear witness that thrugh His name everyne wh believes in Him receives frgiveness f sins. 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 10 Peter begins reminding himself f what he s always knwn The language is Greek, but the phrase is a direct translatin f the Hebrew in Deut Deut. 10:17 Fr the LORD yur Gd is the Gd f gds and the Lrd f lrds, the great, the mighty, and the awesme Gd wh des nt shw partiality nr take a bribe. On the cntrary, Peter affirms that Gd welcmes anyne wh fears Him (has faith) and accmplishes wrks f righteusness (gives evidence f faith) Then Peter gives the presentatin f the Gspel t this Gentile In his delivery f this message f hpe, Peter uses his keys t pen the Kingdm t the Gentiles accrding t Gd s purpse and leading Acts 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these wrds, the Hly Spirit fell upn all thse wh were listening t the message. Acts 10:45 All the circumcised believers wh came with Peter were amazed, because the gift f the Hly Spirit had been pured ut n the Gentiles als. Acts 10:46 Fr they were hearing them speaking with tngues and exalting Gd. Then Peter answered, Acts 10:47 Surely n ne can refuse the water fr these t be baptized wh have received the Hly Spirit just as we did, can he? Acts 10:48 And he rdered them t be baptized in the name f Jesus Christ. Then they asked him t stay n fr a few days. Here s the pattern we expected t see as a new categry f believers receive the Gspel Even as Peter was speaking, the Hly Spirit falls upn all wh were listening Ntice that the effect extends beynd the Gentiles Even thse wh were previusly indwelled by the Spirit are respnding in this mment This fact means that the respnse is nt a respnse f new faith It is smething altgether different 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 11 It is a special manifestatin added t this mment by the Hly Spirit t mark the ccasin in a unique way The Jews understand the meaning f these signs It s been seen twice befrehand First at Pentecst and then with Samaritans But nw with Gentiles? It s smething n Jew ever imagined wuld happen And the mment cmes cmplete with all the signs and wnders we ve cme t expect when the kingdm arrives fr a new categry f believers Finally, the Jewish bservers have n chice but t accept what they ve seen And they agree they can t refuse baptism This cnversatin at the end is imprtant in the way it keeps baptism in it s prper rle Crnelius and his husehld were made children f Gd by faith in the Gspel And the arrival f Hly Spirit gave prf f their acceptance by Gd At that pint, the Jewish bservers culd nly acknwledge what was bvius Then they agreed that since these Gentiles were believers, therefre they must be baptized Their wn reasn fr nt withhlding baptism was that they had already received the Hly Spirit Water baptism pictures the baptism f the Hly Spirit S if the HS had arrived, then water baptism was the natural next step 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 10! 12 But we see that baptism didn t make them believers It was a recgnitin f their faith But it was imprtant (Peter rdered...) and it was the means by which Crnelius jined int the Church and int fellwship with believers 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.