Good Tuesday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Let’s get right to it today. I left you yesterday standing on a roof with the apostle Peter in the seaside town of Joppa, remember? He’d seen a vision and been instructed by the Holy Spirit to expect visitors whom God had sent! He heard voices calling his name and saw three men standing at the gate below, so Peter went down to meet them, as the Holy Spirit had instructed. Who could they be? Why had they come looking for Peter? Let’s find out…
Acts 10:22 tells us these men said to Peter “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Pause.
Freeze this moment. What would you have thought and done if you were Peter? Cornelius is obviously a Gentile, and a Roman military officer who wants an audience with you! WHY? And it appears Cornelius assumes Peter has something important to tell Cornelius…WHAT? Does it sound almost like a set up? Would you be suspicious if someone, especially a uniformed law enforcement officer, showed up at your door with a similar message?
The next verse amazes me and tells me how far Peter’s boundaries and prejudice barriers have been stretched by God in those recent days. “Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.” Evidently the apostle Peter and Simon the tanner had developed quite a good friendship in these few days Peter stayed there. But inviting them in as his guests means Peter was prepared to pay Simon whatever would be required for them to eat and possibly stay the night and even care for their animals, if they had any! It’s safe for us to assume these were Gentile Roman soldiers Cornelius had sent!
The very next sentence in Acts 10:23 tells me these soldiers did stay the night, and the next morning not only did Peter go with them, but other followers of Jesus from Joppa also went along. Why? Luke gives us no answer to that question, but we can assume they were amazed by what they experienced at Cornelius’ home and upon their return to Joppa, they had quite a story to tell! I wonder what Peter expected when the soldiers brought him to Cornelius’ home?
I wonder if Peter had ever been to Caesarea before? For a fisherman from Galilee, centurion Cornelius’ compound was probably quite a culture shock, especially since the record tells us Cornelius had called together his relatives and close friends, and probably several soldiers to meet the apostle Peter. (Acts 10:24,27)
But the record tells us: “as Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up saying, ‘stand up, I am only a man myself.” (Acts 10:25,26) Now why would Gentile, Roman centurion, Cornelius bow or fall at Jewish, fisherman, apostle Peter’s feet? What had Cornelius heard about Peter? We can presume all Peter knew about Cornelius is what the soldiers who came to fetch him might have told Peter.
Peter’s next statement is powerful and gives us deeper insight into the transforming work God was doing in Peter. And it calls us to consider what transforming work God is doing in each of us? Peter said to those gathered at Cornelius’ house: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So, when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why have you sent for me?” (Acts 10:28,29) Oh my, I love Peter’s brutal honesty and his humility! Truth is, we don’t see that too often in our day do we, my friends?
I’ve often wondered if THIS very moment in Cornelius’ house, surrounded by a large group of people, most of whom were probably Gentiles, was the conceiving moment of an important thought which Peter wrote many years later to Christians all across the Roman empire. I find it in 1 Peter 3:15 “In your hearts revere Jesus Christ as Lord! Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…”
Cornelius explained about his vision and the instructions he had received from God to send for Peter. Then Roman centurion Cornelius said: “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.“ (Acts 10:33) Oh my! Can you feel the tension in the room? Can you imagine how traumatic this moment would be for Jewish Peter the disciple/apostle of Jesus?
I wonder how long Peter paused, and probably prayed, asking the Holy Spirit for great wisdom what to say. All eyes and ears were focused on Peter. I imagine the thoughtful silence was long. Then Peter spoke, carefully, and his words are very important for us 2000 years later.
“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism…” (Acts 10:34) Pause. Think deeply about that statement and then begin to run through your mind all types of people in our world. Healthy and sick; rich and poor; educated and illiterate; every skin color, every language; people living in big cities and jungles; people well dressed and naked. Now think about homeless and disabled and mentally handicapped and terminally ill people. And what about those in palaces or prisons? Is the powerful statement Peter made TRUE: ‘that God does not show favoritism’? And what does it mean, how does it apply to you and me, especially if we are people who DO show favoritism?
Peter continued his statement: “…God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the person who fears God and does what is right.” (Acts 10:35) Peter probably was stunned by the words coming out of his mouth! From the time of his boyhood Peter, and every other Jewish boy, had been taught God DOES show favoritism and God’s favorite people were Jews who faithfully kept the Jewish Laws starting with the Sabbath and Circumcision, the Jewish festivals and the sacrifices. From boyhood Peter had been taught that all other people, especially Gentiles, were unclean before God and God did not care about them.
But then Peter met Jesus and over and over again Peter heard Jesus say “whoever” and Peter watched Jesus heal cripples and blind people when others overlooked them. And Jesus cared for women and orphans and elderly, when others ignored them. And Jesus offered Samaritans God’s love and sin forgiveness. Finally, it appears Peter was believing what Jesus had told and taught and modeled for Peter! Peter’s heart was changing! Peter was becoming like Jesus!
We need to pause right here. I probably don’t need to lay out a series of questions to consider, I presume the Holy Spirit is already doing that in your heart and mine. I urge you to simply sit quietly for a few moments and let Jesus search our hearts.
Let the “lessons learned” notes search your heart and mind, and the worship song draw you to reflection and worship. Tomorrow we’ll come back here to Cornelius’ house for God is about to do something remarkable, in Caesarea!
Today’s Scripture: Acts 10:19-35.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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