Thursday Acts 10:17-33

Peter visits Cornelius.

Click here for an online Bible. Acts 10:17-33

I love this passage. We think we have God figured out. Even in our deepest “Aha moment” God is way ahead of us waiting for us to catch up. Luckily for us, He leaves a trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow.

Peter has just had an amazing vision from God. He knows it was from God, but he is trying to figure out what it meant. He was hungry and the vision seemed to be about food. It would be easy to conclude that this lesson from God was limited to lifting the Jewish dietary restrictions.

Just as the men from Cornelius came to the house of Simon the tanner, the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter and told him to go with the men “without any doubts.” So, Peter went downstairs and told the men that he was the one that they were looking for. They told Peter why they were there and that he should go with them to Caesarea.

God’s message now makes sense to Peter (or so he thinks). It would be unthinkable for a Jew to go to the home of a Gentile and eat with them. But the lesson from God has shown him that it is OK for him to go to Cornelius’ house. The men spent the night at Simon’s house in Joppa and they set out for Caesarea in the morning.

When they get to Cornelius’ house, Cornelius gets a little overwhelmed and wants to worship Peter. I have to cut him a little slack. Just think about this from Cornelius’ perspective. An angel appeared to him and told him to send for Peter. The message that Peter would give him could not be given by the angel. So, from Cornelius’ mindset, Peter must be pretty important in God’s plan.

Peter told Cornelius to get up and then explains that he had received a new revelation from God that it was OK for him to be in Cornelius’ house. Just like I have to cut Cornelius some slack, I think we have to cut Peter some slack. The concept that Gentiles could become disciples of Christ probably never crossed his mind. When Philip took the gospel to the Samaritans, Peter went and investigated. But Gentiles? No way!

Peter thinks that the vision from God and the prompting of the Holy Spirit were just to get him go and talk to Cornelius. So, he says to Cornelius, “Here I am. What do you want?”

Cornelius explains the encounter with the angel. He tells Peter that he has assembled his family here to hear a message from God through Peter. Oh, to have been there with a video camera. This would be all over You-tube. I’ll bet that Peter’s head almost exploded. He thought that he got it before, but now he really gets it.

The message from God is not just that it is OK for Peter to go to the home of a Gentile, but that God says that it is OK for a Gentile to enter the Kingdom of God. See how God has orchestrated the events. He wants this to happen through Peter. Why Peter? He was the leader of the apostles. This must have God’s stamp of approval on it to be acceptable to the other Christians. God has brought Peter to this place geographically. He came to Lydda then Joppa then Caesarea. He has brought Peter to this frame of mind progressively. The gospel has gone to the Jews and the Samaritans and the half-proselytes. Now the gospel is going to the Gentiles. It is not just the ends of the earth geographically, but to all the people on the earth.

God is still orchestrating events. He brings people into our lives that He wants us to interact with. And He has already been working in their lives preparing them for an encounter. We have to be sensitive to other people and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.