Acts 10:1-11:18 A man named Cornelius I have chosen this passage as the subject of of our examination of Scripture for 2 reasons. 1st, it is about salvation - the most GLORIOUS theme there is in ALL creation, among ALL Humanity. If I can have only ONE topic to address among men, it MUST be THIS ONE. To discuss any other subject would be as silly as my walking into an exam room in which the pt anxiously awaits news of a test regarding a LIFE or Death disease, and then spend the time chatting about their wt, or their diet, or the latest vitamine supplement - SURE, they're "medicine", BUT it is NOT the CRUCIAL issue at HAND. And as any good doctorwould, I MUST speak to you of ESSENTIALS 1st; and as I don't KNOW any of you, I dare NOT take the chance there's someone here who NEEDS this ETERNAL Life or ETERNAL Death news and then fail to tell it. Then, the 2nd reason why I want to take us through this passage is because of WHO this salvation message was delivered to - Cornelius, a most unique man we will see AND YET VERY MUCH LIKE US TODAY. And so, what mattered to him should and does also matter to us. I have become very taken with this man - he is in all respects a "spiritual" forefather for ALL of us who are gentiles yet called to drink freely of the Grace of God - and a wonderful choice of forefathers he was. v1 - They called him "a man"; >just< a man, NOT "The Great Centurian Cornelius", but rather, a man named Cornelius, who, oh by the way, happens to be this REALLY POWERFUL MILITARY LEADER of the area; ha! Luke is so >careful< to insure we know >exactly< who this "man" is, his name, rank, location, even his military unit of assignment - so ALL who read would know >precisely< who he is withOUT a doubt. Cesarea is a BIG key city - a MAJOR center of commerce, of ROMAN presence, estimates of its population at that time are 125,000 people. He is a Centurian. According to one author (Ryrie), this rank is equivalent to a NonCom in command of 100 troops of a Cohort of 300-600 troops - The Italian Cohort, to be exact. A cohort typically would have about 6 Centurians leading it, with one of them senior to the rest and possessing overall command of the unit. Hence, I do NOT agree with Ryrie - I see a more equivalent rank to that of an Infantry Captain or Major. A reveiw of several histories of the Roman Legions unfortuantely do not offer anything regarding this Unit, which is not surprising as there is still some disagreement regarding entire Legions, much less a sub-unit. There is some evidence that by naming the unit the "Italian" Cohort, it indicates that it's members were selected from a voluntary "draft" of natives from the Italian provinces around Rome. These "National Guard"-like units often were led by "Professional" Centurians who had may have had a career of experience in the "Major League" Legions before taking these assignments for their "Home" provinces. Hence he was a man of VERY REAL ABSOLUTE MILITARY POWER and therefore CIVIL Power and authority in Cesareaand the surrounding territory. A man to be respectged and feared. v2 - He's described as a "devout man" who "feared God" - THE God. How many of you have come out of a "religious" background? Cornelius came from a culture tht might have been religious in some degree, but which CERTAINLY did not have Judaism or Christianity as it's focus. He was an initial stranger to this One Living God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. BUT, as he learned more, he clearly began to see a superiority of this God over all else he had formerly believed, all else he had seen through-out all his travels as a Military Commander in the most powerful military power in the known world. He had also come to see the supriority of this God over his own personal resources. So, he began to pursue this One God with an honest heart and a willing spirit - and God responded to him. And he was a man of such personal influence and presence as to have influenced his ENTIRE household to also come to acknowledge this Jewish God as their own - and he clearly did not apper to be a man to demand such slavish or mindless submission to his personal whims. Such men just don't command the respect and sincere honor he seemed to enjoy in both his house and his unit, as we'll see later in this passage. "he gave alms" - he LIVED OUT his beliefs - he was such a man as to DEMONSTRATE for ALL to see that HE >did< acknowledgeGod as supreme over him - incredible! ANd he "prayed continually". But do NOT miss this CRITICAL POINT: Though he knew OF God, he did NOT KNOW God PERSONALLY. BUT, he WAS determined to ACT on what little he DID know - he earnestly >yearned< to KNOW God and the only way HE knew to do taht was to LIVE his life on OPEN UNAPOLOGETIC recognition of God's supremecy over him, and to >pray<, HOPING that he might someday come to know the God whom he had discovered to be SOVEREIGN over the WHOLE universe, over HIS universe. He was an honest open seeker after God - knowing OF Him, yet also apparantly realizing he DID NOT know Him personally - perhaps such a possibility never occurred to him, raised, no doubt, as a ROMAN and Judasim then would not have told him he could have a personal relationship with THE Supreme Being - so he did what he could, acted on what little he know to be true...and prayed...for what??The text doesn't say - yet I would venture that, based upon how God answered his prayers, he certainly must have prayed to >know< Him more, deeper, more fully. v3-6 (and also 11:14) - Was he therefore "saved" because of all his "good works"? NO - he was as lost as the most pagan devil-worshiper Rome could produce. So what WAS the difference? HE KNEW HE NEEDED MORE than what his culture and his religion and his life were giving him. At least he KNEW he needed something more - do YOU? Here he is, successful, powerful, >well< respected by men and neighbor alike - and he KNEW it wasn't ENOUGH. he was a GOOD man, and yet HE KNEW it was not ENOUGH. What he did NOT know was this: WHAT >WAS< "GOOD ENOUGH"?? He >needed< to know what God had done to provide for him; v3 - God answers v4 - NOTICE - his alms and prayers did NOT save him, they did NOT gain him "credit" towards salvation - they reflected a spiritual hunger that GOD has now acted to satisfy. They were a "memorial" to God, NOT an appeasement, NOR a satisfaction of his sins before a righteous God - THEY WERE HIS PLEA. And God ALWAYS ANSWERS a honest sincere cry for Him. v5-6 - The angel understood how to give a good military briefing. He told Cornelius >exactly< WHO, WHERE and WHAT to do, and in 11:14, he told him WHY. v7 - For Cornelius, this was PLENTY. He acted INSTANTLY. See the sense of URGENCY! He didn't >wait< since it was late in the day and it was about a 2 day journey. HE KNEW HOW TO MOBILIZE >NOW<. He acted instantly. See HOW he acted: 2 servants AND a military suborndinate. I am impressed that by his PERSONAL character, the testimony of his personal life, one of his jr non-coms had ALSO come to see his need for the one true God. Now THAT is powerful evidence of his presence and charactrer as a military leader. You can sometime tell MORE about a military leader by how his MEN act than by how >he< "appears" to the casual observer - a leader will ALWAYS influence the character and behaviour of his unit, either for good OR for ill. The unit will, with time, take ON the character of their leader. So, why these three men? He could just as easily sent a summons, a supena to Peter to appear before him. But instead he sends these 3 men - why? The servants are to >serve< this man called Peter it's apparantly a full overnight and days journey,and Cornelius is >determined< to honor and insure Peter's trip is COMPLETELY taken care of, neals fixed, lodging arranged, beds made with a mint on the pillow! Why the >military< escort? To insures Peter's SAFETY and to guarantee NO one interferes with his travel, neither citizens, natives NOR OTHER Roman Officials. This was the assurance of a successful "mission". And not >any< old troop - it was his >personal< exec his most >trusted< and valued troop - a man whom he KNEW believed as HE did so >he< would be JUST as motivated as Cornelius was to SEE this mission completed successfully - a man who could and would >grasp< the >criticality< of the task assigned to him and would zealously and faithfully carry it out - NOTHING was going to get in THIS troops way in fulfillment of his "orders" from Cornelius. v8 - What a LEADER. He explained EVERYTHING to his man, insuring they not only understood the simple facts of the tasking, but it's IMPORTANCE, it's purpose, it's GOAL. He insured THEY were personally as motivated as HE was to FIND adn MEET this man named Peter. It wasn't just "HIS" command, it was now also THEIR mission as well. I believe that the ONLY reason he did not PERSONALLY go find Peter is because the Angel told him to "dispatch some men" in vs5. He knew how to obey EVERY aspect of "orders" given to him as well as to GIVE orders. God made SURE that Peter >personally< witnessed the ENTIRE household of Cornelius recieving salvation, and then the Holy Spirit - NOT just Cornelius; the ONLY way to insure that was to get >Peter< to go to >Cornelius<. v9 - God leaves NOTHING to chance - even as he was working in Cornelius' life, even so He was preparing Peter. Why Peter and NOT one of the others? Because for SUCH a HUGE issue (Gentiles included as >gentiles< and NOT as Jewish proselites) ONLY Peter had the stature and clout in the Church to MAKE them listen, to MAKE them HEAR this powerful truth. He was the ONE UNIMPEACHABLE witness to God's next move in bringing salvation to the world - the rest might not "feel comfortable" with it, or even LIKE it, but they could NOT >deny< it either - NOT when PETER said it was so. Peter went to pray - he was ALSO praying even as Cornelius was - not knowing whatr was to come, but ALWAYS going to the One Who loved him. God MET him there - in prayer. v10-14 - I don't think Peter was being presumptious with God. I'd rather instead think that he must have seen it as some sort of test - to prove his devotion to what he THOUGHT he knew was all there was to know. He was about to learn that the LAW had LIMITS - even as Paul wrote later. The Law was not the END of the matter, but rather, only the BEGINNING of what God has to say to us about Himself and about ourselves, and about our relationship with Him. We are too casual when we consider these dietary things - NOT SO PETER. He'd honestly rather >starve< than eat such "things", such garbage, such grotesque fare. Have you ever eaten worms? Dead rat or roadkill? You get the idea. It was just as unmentionable to him. v15 - The Law is NOT ALL there is to God. God is NOT "kosher" - He called Israel to be that as their >1st< lesson towards learning the FULL revelation of Himself through Jesus Christ. And now comes the >next< lesson - God decides what is clean or not, NOT traditional interpretation of Mosaic Law. See, it says, "What God >has cleansed<" - God can purify the impure - HE can and does and has and will FOREVER be the ONE Who Cleanses - THIS is our Hope and Israels as well. Keeping the Law did NOT cleanse them, Nor will ANY such thing "cleanse" US. It merely postponed thier/our just judgement for sin until the One Who would come and cry out froma cross, "IT IS FINISHED!" and thereby make a way for eternal cleansing, FOREVER making pure what they could only see as "UNCLEAN". NOTE - This should also show us how >remarkable< thing it was to ask Peter to accompany SUCH HEATHEN; see 10:28 and 11:1-3; The unclean animals could NEVER change themselves into some other clean animal! GOD MADE THEM CLEAN. Under the old law, they ere forever unclean, BUT NOW, under the NEW Covenant, the NEW relationship established by Jesus at the Criss, what was before UNclean, NOW CAN BE CLEAN; v16 - The Lord KNEW Peter - ONCE WAS never ENOUGH FOR this GUY, besides, there were THREE people about to hit his doorstep, even PETER would be able to see THAT connection; v17 - God did NOT immediately explain what was going on - so being perplexed at what He does sometimes is VERY appropriate and reasonable and "OK" for us, too. But now, the OTHER Divine shoe drops for both Pete AND the eager though equally perplexed travelers from Cesarea. v18-19 - Even WHILE Pete's pondering! God's timing is PERFECT. v20 - Get up and GO. Don't worry about WHO or WHAT they are! v21 - Pete GOES. Braver than it sounds when you realize what BITTER hostility existed between "subject" and "conqueror". This was like asking a NAZI to come in and dine and sleep in his house - we can NEVER appreciate the feelings of a conquored people towards their MASTERS, their Conquerors. - and yet, Peter bids them: Come in. v22 - Another precise military briefing. SEE? A WARNING to LISTEN AND TO ACT. Other translation, "a message". v23 - Peter NEVER did things half-way. He invited them INTO HIS HOUSE, and thereby ceremonially contaminating it, making it ritually UNCLEAN. He ALSO took witnesses. SMART move based on what happened after he got back (Acts 11:1-3) v24 - Cornelius has now waited FOUR DAYS. He even invites EVERYONE ELSE he knew - certainly his vision would ahve stirred up a LOT od interest and attention. He was NOT the kind of guy to "have visions" - he was NOT the sort of man to be thought hysterical or easily spooked or fooled. Remember, he was the ULTIMATE PRAGMATIST - A CENTURIAN OF THE ROMAN LEGIONS. They just don't GET any more HARD TO MOVE, HARD to SPOOK, HARD to STIR UP than THAT. ANd he was NOT embarrased to have them ALL over to do what? LISTEN to some JEWISH STRANGER?? v25 - Cornelius FALLS DOWN - IN PUBLIC, IN FRONT OF HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. WHY?? Well, if some divine being of blazing light says, "Go get this guy", are YOU gonna treat him like a door-to-door salesman?? NO WAY. As far as Cornelius knew, Pete was ANOTHER angel or even a god only in disguise. Either way, he knew where HE fit into the scheme of things! v26 - Peter understands why Cornelious did this and quickly moves to change Cornelious's ,is-understanding - Peter knew what C. did not yet know - it's the MESSAGE, NOT the messanger that matters here! v27 - he walks with C. into a house NOW PACKED with people ALL eagerly awaiting to knowing WHAT Peter had to say; imagine his surprise! All HE had been told was, "Get up, go see a pagan man about an angel." v28 - Peter realized that C. >knew< Judaism, >knew< HOW "wrong" it was for him to BE there; What is the >1st< part of the Gospel they hear? THIS: GOD has said NO ONE IS BEYOND SALVATION - NO ONE IS TOO "UNCLEAN" FOR HIM. BUT WAIT! C. was "good"! How can HE be unclean? He had NO PERSONAL relationship with God - "Clean" is NOT about WHO you are (soldier or bum, doctor or drunk), it's about WHAT we ALL are - Humans LOST in our SINE; members, all of us, of a fallen and lost people standing before an INFINITELY Righteous God. v29 - What's that mean? Pete doesn't argue or turn up his nose - He GOES AND NOW IS THE QUESTION: WHY did you ask me here? WHAT do you want from ME? v30-32 - C. recounts the events v33 - Acknowledeges what Pete had done, this PROVES C. understands, and is a good and gracious man; v34-43 - THE GOSPEL v34 - Pete realizes God is NOT impressed by who" we are, NO special "deals" for ANYone; v35 - God RESONDS to ANYone who yearns to KNOW Him; v36-43 - Jesus He is God (v36) He is Man (v37) He PROVED it in PUBLIC (v38) WE SAW it OURSELVES (v39) He DIED (v39) He was RAISED PHYSICALLY AND LITERALLY AND PUBLICALLY (v40-41) So WE tell what WE KNOW now He is Judge (v42) v43 - BELIEVE AND BE FORGIVEN v44 - The PROOF! God >acts< to prove to Pete AND the other 6 men - the MEANT, BTW, that there were SEVEN witnesses - a FULL and COMPLETE number - IRREFUTABLE testimony v45-46 - Well, if there ahd been ANY doubters in the bunch BEFORE, they're ALL seeing it NOW; See - "circumcised" - the emphasis was to >prove< that THESE gentiles were NOT saved because they were actually Jewish converts - NO! God took them exactly as the WERE - NO promises to change, NO making deals or having to "get religious" 1st - THEY BELIEVED AS THEY WERE - and God SAVED them; v47 - Pete SAW what the heart of the matter was - God ALREADY had saved them, so WE had better get with GOD'S program here and treat them JUST LIKE JEWISH BELIEVERS - let's BAPTIZE them; note the order - FIRST believe, THEN get wet; if ANYone thinks getting wet is gonna save them, SEE THIS PASSAGE. v48 - Pete MADE the other Jewish believers do the baptizing. He got THEM involved TOO, so NO GOING BACK. ANd once saved, they just CAN'T get ENOUGH!