And on the next day he rose up and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him. 24 And on the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 And when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man defiled or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was summoned. So I ask for what reason you have summoned me.”
30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been ordered by the Lord.” Acts 10: 23-33 LSB
Acts 10: 23-33
V. 23b And on the next day he rose and went a way with them - We left off with Peter meeting the men sent by Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, and giving them lodging. Now Peter is heading to Cornelius' house. It always intrigues me to see Middle Eastern hospitality, and I always think, yea, but my house still needs work on this, and what do I feed these people, yet I do remember my mom taking in abused women and their children when we didn't have much. We have to be discerning as well because the Bible also teaches us to protect our immediate family and extended church family from spiritual wolves, but Peter has been prepped for this. He is to go with these men.
…8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.… 1 Peter 4: 8-10
V. 24 He entered Caesarea - Peter, along with some of his Christian brothers and the men sent by Cornelius, entered a city that Herod had dedicated to Caesar. It was about a 2 day walk from Joppa, about 38 miles. It's crazy, I drive over 70 miles one way to work every day, but in the ancient world that would have been impossible.
John Phillips - Caesarea! The very name evoked thoughts of a far-flung Gentile world, of an imperial Caesar, of a world that was anathema to the Jew, a world with which his exiles and wanderings had made him familiar, a world whose commerce and profits he loved but whose customs and people he loathed. (Exploring Acts)
Now Cornelius was waiting for them - The verb waiting is prosdokao which depicts Cornelius' eager, expectant, hope-filled attitude at the imminent arrival of his guest of honor. The imperfect tense pictures Cornelius again and again looking to see if Peter was yet on the horizon. In addition, the fact that Cornelius was waiting reflects his faith, his belief that since God had motivated him to call Peter, God would consummate the encounter. - Precept Austin
V. 25 Fell at his feet and worshiped him - Now a Jew would know that it is wrong to worship any created being or thing, including men, animals, the sun, angels. We are to only worship God, and some devout Jews have even made this mistake when in the presence of holy angels, beings that were sent from before the throne of God, that reflect his otherliness. I don't think that is the same issue here. Cornelius is a Roman and a common cult of their culture is emperor worship, which would be the worship of a man that people felt deserved this due to their station, their position and power. Satan was the father of such lies, and many love to feed the ego in all sorts of ways, calling themselves divas, saying, "I am the greatest", it's all pride and delusion because none of them made themselves, none of them created the gifts and talents that they possess. We all live as God has given us breath.
…29As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen. 30And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. Daniel 2: 29-30
…7So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.” 8But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” 9Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here.… Luke 4: 7-9
…9Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 11Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.… Revelation 19: 9-11
…2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3You shall have no other gods before Me. 4You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.… Exodus 20: 2-4
…24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. 26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.… Romans 1: 24-26
V. 26 Stand up, I too am just a man - Peter knows his lane and he is staying in it. He has met God incarnate and will not rob Him of glory, nor distort this man's view. He is going to want this man to meet Jesus too, to worship Him and not emperors, nor Apostles, nor angelic beings or Mary. We worship Jesus because He isn't just a man. He is God with us, Immanuel, God adding to His deity, humanity. He is the perfect mediator, for it is the eternal God that man has offended, and all of creation has fallen in Adam, so Who can take the just wrath of the infinite God? Only Christ. Jesus accepted worship from His followers, and in Hebrews we see that God the Father tells His angels to worship Him as well.
…7to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house. 8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols. 9Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”… Isaiah 42: 7-9
…32And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!” 34When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.… Matthew 14: 32-34
…10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight. 11On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2: 10-11
…5For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”? 6And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.” 7Now about the angels He says: “He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire.”… Hebrews 1: 5-7
…27Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”… John 20: 27-29
…8So they hurried away from the tomb in fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. 10“Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. “Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see Me.”… Matthew 28: 8-10
…21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).… Matthew 1: 21-23
Vs. 27-29 You yourselves know how unlawful it is - What law? Now God did tell the Israelites not to commit the sins of the pagans that were in the land He was bringing them to. He told them not to worship idols like they did, and they had dietary laws that even helped keep them separate in that way. If you don't eat all the things they eat, and you are not eating food offered to idols then you probably have a good idea not to be participating in the festivals and ceremonies of those that were worshiping idols. But he didn't say you couldn't go to the home of a gentile, and they, Israel, were to be a light to the nations. Remember, Jesus even set out to go to the home of a gentile centurion before, but the centurion stopped Him probably because of his own understanding of Jewish laws, but many of these laws were extrabiblical. This is going to be a difficult one for Peter as we saw in his initial resistance to the vision. It is difficult in the same way for Roman Catholics, not because of what the Bible teaches, but because of their traditions. They're going to be upset with Peter when he returns to Jerusalem as well. Sadly, the struggle for Peter will raise it's head again later.
…2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him 3and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:… Acts 11: 2-4
…7“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied. 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”…
…10When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”… Matthew 8: 7-12
11When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.…
…14When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” 15We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile “sinners” 16know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.… Galatians 2: 11-16
Generally, the prohibition that is inherent in a taboo includes the idea that its breach or defiance will be followed by some kind of trouble to the offender. In this case Peter ran the risk not of being in trouble with God but with the his Jewish brethren who held fast to their traditions! In the present context the Mishnah stated that it was taboo for Jews to associate with Gentiles and to visit them in their homes. Peter was now in direct, overt disobedience to the Jewish writings and the traditions that had long been ingrained into his mind. As we all know old habits are hard to break, even for those of us who have been born again and are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor 5:17+).
Jack Arnold - What happened in Acts chapter ten is sometimes referred to as the Gentile Pentecost since the exact things happened to these Gentiles when they believed in Christ and were made part of the Church as when the Jews in Acts chapter two believed in Christ and were made part of the Church....Remember it had been at least eight years since the Apostles and the first Christians were given the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Eight years after our Lord told His disciples that they were to be witnesses to the remotest parts of the earth, the Lord set up circumstances for Cornelius, a devout and benevolent Gentile, to come into contact with Peter so Peter could give Cornelius and his household and friends the gospel. (Acts 10:23b-48 He Is Lord of All)
Peter was not saying this was an Old Testament (Mosaic) prohibition, because there was none. He was saying it was "unlawful" according to the Jewish traditions which made it virtually impossible to associate with a Gentile without becoming ritually unclean in the eyes of other Jews! It was a cultural barrier that could only be penetrated and broken down by God as we see in Acts 10-11. - Precept Austin
Vs. 30-33 To hear what you have been ordered by the Lord - He tells him all he knows thus far, but then turns it back over to Peter. His heart has been prepared for a message, so God now sends the messenger, Peter, the leader of the twelve, is about to take this gospel key and open the door to the gentiles. After all he has seen and yet there is still room for amazement, room for learning. The centurion is waiting for his marching orders.
In John 6:44 Jesus declared that "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." The verb draws is helkuo which conveys the idea of an irresistible force and was used in ancient Greek literature of a desperately hungry man being drawn to food and of demonic forces being drawn to animals when they were not able to possess men. Clearly the Father was drawing Cornelius. - PA
James Montgomery Boice asks "“When you go to church, do you want to receive a good message? If so, the best way is to come with a prepared heart. I know that the preacher must be prepared too. But when God prepares the messenger as well as those who are to hear him, then tremendous things happen as they did in Caesarea in the household of Cornelius..”
Presence (before, in sight of) (1799)(enopion from en = in + ops = the eye/see [cp optanomai = see, perceive with eyes, look at, implying not only the mere act of seeing but actual perception of what one sees]) means literally in sight, in front of, in the presence of. Before the face and thus the idea of face to face! Of doing something in someone’s presence.
Stott - It was a remarkable acknowledgement that they were in God’s presence, that the apostle Peter was to be the bearer of God’s word to them, and that they were all ready and open to listen to it. No preacher today could ask for a more attentive audience. - PA
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