Acts 10:23

ACTS 10:23

In this part of Acts the Apostle Peter has just been contacted by men who were sent from the Roman centurion, Cornelius, requesting that Peter would go with them to see Cornelius. The Bible says in Acts 10:23-26, “Then called he them in and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the day after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.”

Peter would not allow anyone to treat him any differently than any other human being. Peter did not think that his relationship with Christ nor his authority as an apostle made him any better than any other man. Perhaps it was his roots as a fisherman from Galilee that helped him to stay so level headed. Perhaps it was showing his true spirituality. Those who think they are better than others are not spiritual: they are carnal and self-righteous. You can always tell when someone is close to the Lord: they want the Lord to receive all the praise, and all the honor, and all the glory.

It says in Acts 10:27-28, “And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or to come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” Peter had to learn a lesson about human beings that one would think to be evident to all, but it is not. In almost every culture there seems to be an ever-present capacity of human beings to be prejudiced against other humans for one reason or another. Humans tend to identify something different about some others, and then view that difference as a reason to revile or to look down upon. True Christians, of all people, should be the least prejudiced of all.

We know all of the reasons for which people are equal in status and in value. No matter what race or nationality or language or religion, we know that certain things make all human equal. We are all equally in the image of God. We are equally related to Adam and Eve. We are all sinners. “There is none that doeth good, and sinneth not, no, not one.” “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We are all loved by God equally. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” We are all saved in the same way through faith in Christ. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Once we become saved we have an equal status in the church of Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

If more people in the early days of America had learned this lesson, we would have never permitted slavery. If more people after slavery was abolished had learned this lesson, we would have never had the serious racial problems between black and white that have existed in America. If you are white, you should regard all other races equal to your own, and treat people with dignity and respect. You should love black people because they are human beings that God has placed upon this earth along with yourself. If you are black, you should regard all other races equal to your own, and treat people with dignity and respect. You should love white people because they are human beings that God has placed upon this earth along with yourself. To do any less is to prove yourself a prejudiced person in need of learning a great lesson about the equality of all human beings.

Peter, a Jew and a Christian, was learning his lesson about the equality of all humans, and so Peter went to see Cornelius, a Roman and a Gentile. If Peter was going to be used by God in every way possible in the ministry that God was going to give him on this earth, then Peter had to lose this prejudice. By the way, this gulf between Jew and Gentile in the first century was much greater than even the separation between black and white that has existed at times in the prejudiced neighborhoods of America.

When Peter came to Cornelius, Peter continued speaking to him in Acts 10:29, and he said in Acts 10:29-33, “Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for; I ask therefore for what intent you have sent for me? And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side; who when he cometh shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.”

The one thing that Cornelius needed that he did not have was to hear the words of God from another person who understood the Word of God and who was gifted and called to deliver those words. Cornelius had become a very devout and respected person. He had a meaningful prayer life. God noticed Cornelius and the kind of person that he was, and God sent an angel to speak to him. But it was not enough. There was one thing lacking: to hear the Word of God from a human being who had the Word and who was prepared and called to deliver God’s Word to those who have ears to hear. Jesus said to Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Too bad that more people have not had a good teacher to find the spiritual food for their soul that they really needed. How much they have missed. Cornelius did not have that problem. Once he was told by God what teacher to listen to, Cornelius did not hesitate.

The Bible says in Acts 10:34-38, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. That word I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.” Peter learned what he needed to learn: “that God is no respecter of persons.” You need to learn this in regards to your attitude to other people, and you need to learn it in regards to your attitude to yourself and your relationship with God. Do not take God’s grace for granted. You are not a special case. The way that God must deal with others is the way that He must deal with you also in response to your behaviors. You are not going to be allowed to get away with anything, because the holy and righteous Judge watches over all the earth.

God knows if someone fears Him, and God knows if someone desires to work righteousness. No matter what is someone’s religious background, if they truly want to do what is right, then they will respond positively when they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter said, “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” The important thing is that the gospel be taken to every nation so that those in each nation who seek God like Cornelius did have a chance to know Him personally. Anyone who truly wants to do what is right will believe the gospel once they hear it. That is the psychology of salvation, and that is what Jesus said would happen when people made a decision to accept the gospel or not. Jesus said in John 3:20-21, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” If someone wants to do the right thing, then they gladly believe the gospel once they hear it, because they want more truth about God. On the other hand, those who want to remain in their selfish and sinful ways, do not want to hear more truth about God and will not believe the gospel when they hear it.

Cornelius did want to hear more truth, and so Peter gave him the most important truth of all: the truth about Jesus Christ. Look at all the things that Peter told Cornelius in just these few verses. In verse 36 Peter said that peace comes by Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is Lord of all. In verse 37 Peter told Cornelius that the word about Jesus was spread after the time of John the Baptist. In verse 38 Peter said about Jesus that He was anointed by God with the Holy Ghost and with power, that Jesus went about doing good, that Jesus healed those who were oppressed with the devil, and that God was with Jesus. In Acts 10:39-40 Peter said the things about Jesus that are at the core of the gospel message: the fact that Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose again from the dead. Peter said, “And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly.”

One of the things that Peter is emphasizing in these verses is the fact that there is tremendous evidence that these things about Jesus are true. Neither Cornelius nor anyone else is asked to just believe a story. If something is true, there is going to be evidence that it is true. There is real and substantial evidence that the things said about Jesus are true: the type of evidence that would hold up in a court of law. First and foremost there is the evidence of eyewitnesses. If you have many eyewitnesses, and their testimonies agree with one another, and the eyewitnesses are of exemplary character; then you have evidence that cannot be refuted in a court of law. We are not talking about a few witnesses here: we are talking about hundreds of witnesses. In verse 39 Peter said, “we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.”

In Acts 10:41 the Bible says, “Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.” There were the witnesses of those who were the contemporaries with Jesus, and there were the witnesses of those prophets who came before Jesus and who spoke of things to come. Anyone who respects the prophets and their messages should look at the fact that when they spoke of the Messiah, they spoke of Jesus. Acts 10:43 says, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

In Acts 10:42 Peter said to Cornelius, “And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of living and dead.” When individuals are touched concerning their need for salvation, often the thing that touches them is the truth about judgment that is coming. Everyone will be judged. No one will escape facing the consequences of their actions. And Jesus is the Judge of the living and the dead. The choice is yours: have Jesus as your Savior or have Him as your Judge.

Peter just told Cornelius great things about Jesus the Messiah: how Jesus performed miracles, died and rose from the dead, was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and was the anointed of God. Jesus was called the Lord of all, and the Judge of the living and the dead. Now the question is: how can Cornelius or anyone enter into the benefits of all that Jesus did and all the Jesus is? The answer is found in the last part of Acts 10:43 that says, “Whosoever believeth in Him shall have remission of sins.”

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