Peter visits a Roman centurion - Acts 10:1-33 - N. T. -
One of the centurions of the Italica cohort stationed in Caesarea was called Cornelius. He and the whole of his household were devout and God-fearing, and he gave generously to Jewish causes and prayed constantly to God.
One day at about the ninth hour he had a vision in which he distinctly saw the angel of God come into his house and call out to him, 'Cornelius!' He stared at the vision in terror and exclaimed, 'What is it, Lord?' 'Your offering of prayers and alms' the angel answered 'has been accepted by God. Now you must send someone to Jaffa and fetch a man called Simon, known as Peter, who is lodging with Simon the tanner whose house is by the sea.' When the angel who said this had gone, Cornelius called two of the slaves and a devout soldier of his staff, told them what had happened, and sent them off to Jaffa.
Next day, while they were still on their journey and had only a short distance to go before reaching Jaffa, Peter went to the housetop at about the sixth hour to pray. He felt hungry and was looking forward to his meal, but before it was ready he fell into a trance and saw heaven thrown open and something like a big sheet being let down to earth by its four corners; it contained every possible sort of animal and bird, walking, crawling or flying ones. A voice then said to him, 'Now, Peter; kill and eat!' But Peter answered, 'Certainly not, Lord; I have never yet eaten anything profane or unclean'. Again, a second time, the voice spoke to him, 'What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane'. This was repeated three times, and then suddenly the container was drawn up to heaven again.
Peter was still worrying over the meaning of the vision he had seen, when the men sent by Cornelius arrived. They had asked where Simon's house was and they were now standing at the door, calling out to know if Simon known as Peter was lodging there. Peter's mind was still on the vision and the Spirit had to tell him, 'Some men have come to see you. Hurry down, and do not hesitate about going back with them; it was I who told them to come.' Peter went down and said to them, 'I am the man you are looking for; why have you come?' They said, 'The centurion Cornelius, who is an upright and God-fearing man, highly regarded by the entire Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to send for you and bring you to his house and to listen to what you have to say'. So Peter asked them in and gave them lodging.
Next day, he was ready to go off with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Jaffa. They reached Caesarea the following day, and Cornelius was waiting for them. He had asked his relations and close friends to be there, and as Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, knelt at his feet and prostrated himself. But Peter helped him up. 'Stand up,' he said 'I am only a man after all!' Talking together they went in to meet all the people assembled there, and Peter said to them, 'You know it is forbidden for Jews to mix with people of another race and visit them, but God has made it clear to me that I must not call anyone profane or unclean. That is why I made no objection to coming when I was sent for; but I should like to know exactly why you sent for me.' Cornelius replied, 'Three days ago I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, when I suddenly saw a man in front of me in shinning robes. He said, "Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been accepted as a sacrifice in the sight of God; so now you must send to Jaffa and fetch Simon known as Peter who is lodging in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea". So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Here we all are, assembled in front of you to hear what message God has given you for us.'
Peter's address in the house of Cornelius - Acts 10:34-43 - N. T. -
Then Peter addressed them: 'The truth I have come to realise' he said 'is that God does not have favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.'
'It is true, God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ - but Jesus Christ is Lord of all men. You must have heard about the recent happenings in Judaea; about Jesus of Nazareth and how he began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now I, and those with me, can witness to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and also to the fact that they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses - we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead - and he has ordered us to proclaim this to people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.'
Cf. - Acts 15:7 -
Cf. - Luke 7:2-5 - N. T. - A centurion there had a servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death. Having heard about Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him.
Cf. - Galatians 2:12 - N. T. - His custom had been to eat with the pagans, but after certain friends of James arrived he stopped doing this and kept away from them altogether for fear of the group that insisted on circumcision.
Cf. - Acts 2;11+ -
Cf. - Luke 12:33-34; 18:1 - N. T. - Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Then Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart.
Cf. - Acts 27:23 -
Cf. - Matthew 1:20-23 - N. T. - He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'.
Cf. - Acts 9:10 -
Cf. - Luke 1:12-13 - N. T. - The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, 'Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John.
Cf. - Acts 2:14+; 16:9; 11:15-17 -
Cf. - Leviticus 11:1-47 - O. T. - III. Rules Concerning The Clean And Unclean.
Cf. - Ezekiel 4:14 - O. T. - I then said, 'Lord Yahweh, my soul is not defiled. From my childhood until now, I have never eaten an animal that has died a natural death or been savaged; no unclean flesh has ever entered my mouth.'
Cf. - Genesis 1:31 - O. T. - And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.
Cf. - Acts 1:8+ -
Cf. - Luke 7:4-5 - N. T. - When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him. 'He deserves this of you' they said 'because he is friendly towards our people; in fact, he is the one who built the synagogue.'
Cf. - Acts 3:12-14 -
Cf. - Revelation 19:1 - N. T. - After this I seemed to hear the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, 'Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our God!
Cf. - Acts 11:3 -
Cf. - Galatians 2:1 - N. T. - It was not till fourteen years had passed that I went up to Jerusalem again. I went with Barnabas and took Titus with me.
Cf. - Deuteronomy 10:17-21 - O. T. - For Yahweh your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, triumphant and terrible, never partial, never to be bribed. It is he who sees justice done for the orphans and the widow, who loves the stranger and gives him food and clothing. Love the stranger then, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. It is Yahweh your God you must fear and serve; you must cling to him; in his name take your oaths. He it is you must praise, he is your God: for you he has done these great and terrible things you have seen with your own eyes.
Cf. - Romans 2:11 - N. T. - God has no favourites.
Cf. - Galatians 2:6 - N. T. - As a result, these people who are acknowledged leaders - not that their importance matters to me, since God has no favourites - these leaders, as I say, had nothing to add to the Good News as I preach it.
Cf. - 1 Peter 1:17 - N. T. - If you are acknowledging as your Father one who has no favourites and judges everyone according to what he has done, you must be scrupulously careful as long as you are living away from your home.
Cf. - Isaiah 52:7 - O. T. - How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, bring happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion. 'Your God is king!'
Cf. - Nahum 2:1 - O. T. - See, over the mountains the messenger hurries! 'Peace!' he proclaims. Judah, celebrate your feasts, carry out your vows, for Belial will never pass through you again; he is utterly annihilated.
Cf. - Romans 10:12 - N. T. - All belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help.
Cf. - Luke 4:43-44 - N. T. - 'I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do'. And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.
Cf. - Acts 1:8+; 4:27+ -
Cf. - Isaiah 61:1-2 - O. T. - The spirit of the Lord Yahweh has been given to me, for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh, a day of vengeance for our God.
Cf. - Matthew 3:16-17 - N. T. - As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him'.
Cf. - Acts 2:22 -
Cf. - Matthew 8:29-32 - N. T. - 'What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the time?' Now some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding, and the devils pleaded with Jesus, 'If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs'. And Jesus said to them, 'Go then'.
Cf. - Acts 2:23+, 1:3-4 -
Cf. - John 14:22 - N. T. - Judas - this was not Judas Iscariot - said to Jesus, 'Lord, what is all this about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?'
Cf. - Luke 24:41-43 - N. T. - And as Jesus said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so Jesus said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.
Cf. - Acts 2:36, 2:23+, 2:38+; 3:16+ -
- PAGE 112 -
Baptism of the first pagans
While Peter was... - PAGE 113 -
IF WE LIVE BY THE TRUTH AND IN LOVE, WE SHALL GROW IN ALL WAYS INTO CHRIST JESUS, WHO IS THE HEAD BY WHOM THE WHOLE BODY IS FITTED AND JOINED TOGETHER, EVERY JOINT ADDING ITS OWN STRENGTH, FOR EACH SEPARATE PART TO WORK ACCORDING TO IT FUNCTION. SO THE BODY GROWS UNTIL IT HAS BUILT ITSELF UP, IN LOVE." - EPHESIANS 4:15-16 -
