SIGHT UNSEEN
ACTS 10-11:18
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment… He (Jesus) commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and dead. (Acts10:1, 42)
Introduction: 10:1 It has been said that only wet babies like to be changed, even then they are not that excited about it. Seven words that stunt growth are: WE’VE NEVER DONE IT THAT WAY BEFORE. It was no different for the Early Church. They believed that salvation was not only for the Jews, but to be saved you needed to be a Jew first. Romans 1:16-17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
God was about to shake things up. Meet Cornelius, a soldier who wanted to get saved in Caesaria. The events in the city of Caesaria is the beginning of a major turning point for Christianity. Caesarea was 30 miles north of Joppa, built by Herod the Great, it became the capitol of the territory of Judea. Roman in obedience, Greek in culture, Jews were only a large minority. Friction between the Gentiles and Jews was endemic. Ceasaria was hated, called the “daughter of Edom.” The importance of the events in this city are important beyond measure. Peter uses the “keys” to conversely open a door of faith for the Gentiles, and he is led by God to do it without circumcision through a new vision. Observe:
I) ECSTATIC VISION: PETER
10:10-11 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It is best understand this theologically as saying that God kind of snuck up and hit him over the head, knocked him out, and gave him a purpose as an ekstasis overcame him. He had a dream induced vision filled with symbolic things that were designed to bring him even further in his abandonment of his orthodoxy. His experience was different than Cornelius (v. 3), with the difference being open vision vs. dream vision. It’s funny, the Gentile had the more intense experience. The voice Peter heard is what is called the bat qol “the daughter of the voice of God,” or the heavenly echo.
10:14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure (koinos common) or unclean.” Becoming converted isn’t an automatic release from prejudices and vices that can alienate people. The longer the discrepancy exists in life, the harder to get rid of it. Peter’s reaction was exactly like the prophet Ezekiel’s Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth (Ezekiel 4:14).”
10:15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Peter’s reply carries the implication of a contradiction. He called Jesus LORD, yet refused to do what Jesus was asking him to accomplish. We do the same thing. There are a number of issues that are raised in this exchange, most notably, Peter’s recognition of Jesus voice: “my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). These words are reminiscent of Jesus admonition in Mark 7:15 as to what really defiles. No wonder Peter recognized the three times voice. In his dialog, Peter shows the same spunk and argumentative spirit he had with Jesus years earlier over a conversation about the cross: “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22) Here Peter is demonstrating an aversion to an extreme departure from conservative practices and beliefs. Dead, leather bound conservatism can be harmful when it keeps us from the will of God.
10:17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. Peter’s wondering doesn’t imply doubt (diaporei) in the vision or theological doubts about the ability to receive a vision. He was having difficulty interpreting the meaning, as visions can have differing interpretations, but be certain of this one thing: he knew whose voice he had heard. The only real question that rises out of this discourse is the one that asks about how we differentiate between our experience with Holy Spirit and the risen Christ. The answer is a difficult one, as it is through Holy Spirit’s presence the Risen LORD manifests His presence and power.
10:20 “So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter expresses a lack of doubt (hesitation). A different Greek word is used here than in v. 17. Diakrinomenos: implies being at odds with oneself, wavering, which leads to a hesitation in action. Peter acted quickly without doubting the lawfulness of the challenge to go with Gentiles.
II) EXUBERANT VISION: CORNELIUS
10:23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The testimony of Cornelius implies he had been in the area for years as an occupier of the Land. The journey took about two days to get there as they were not on mounts
10:2, 3, 22 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said: Cornelius! Cornelius was known as a good man, devout, praying, God fearing. Many Roman soldiers were tired of the foolishness, idolatry and immorality of Greek/Roman emperor worship, with many converting to Mithraism before Christianity. He would have controlled about 100 men. Many scholars believe that Cornelius wanted to become a believer in Christ and to be filled with the Spirit. They think he may have been told that he would have to become a Jew first, submitting to circumcision and becoming a keeper of Mosaic Law, when his (phaneros) daylight vision occurred. Regardless of his religious affiliation and practice, now all he could do was stare at him in fear (v. 4). Cornelius had an open vision while awake, unlike Peter. The Angel of the LORD (v. 22) was as radiant as the Seraphim were in Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6. The designation Holy Angel tells us that the glory of God was on him. Notice the Angel doesn’t instruct in belief, that is the churches job. He just conveyed the means as to where salvation could be found.
10:5-6 “Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
10:7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. Cornelius and company were part of the men who were keepers of the “Roman Peace (pax romana).” They were to be protectors of peace, but they became seekers of a peace that Rome could not give: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives… (John 14:27).
10:25, 26 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” Cornelius and friends were waiting for Peter. God telling Peter to not think of them as unclean or impure becomes the apex of acceptability here. Peter’s dismay over the act of reverence (proskyneo: only for God) was expected. It would have evoked images of Haman in Esther, as he looked for this type of exaltation with people bumping their heads on the ground as they bowed before him. Cornelius met Peter in the same spirit as the other Centurion and Jesus: humbly (Luke 7:6). You can see effectively Peter learned his lesson in 1 Peter 2:17: Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
10:30-33 Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” Cornelius assumed that Peter was like him, a man under authority with authority. He expected him to come because God told him to go by command.
10:36-38 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. God hasn’t changed His mind or His purpose as revealed to Abraham (v. 36). His descendants were to be a blessing to the nations. This is carried over emphatically with the prophetic affixation Jesus good works, which were attributed to Holy Spirit and power. Luke is giving us a Pesher, revelation that was meant to transform.
Luke reconnects Isaiah 61, by declaring that God anointed (blessed) Him with in order to make His truth known to the nations. Some interpret this as Luke connecting this to the Incarnation: The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35), but it is better to see it differently, as it follows a direct reference to John the Baptist, which casts it in the light of Jesus Baptism. From a theological standpoint, Jesus was anointed at His baptism, when Spirit descended on Him. F.F. Bruce asserts that “part of the force of Peter’s words will come home to us if for a moment we render ‘God anointed Him’ even as God had made Him Messiah.” Once anointed, He embarked on a mission to fulfill Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn…
III) EXTRAORDINARY VISION: CHRIST
10:39-40 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.” Verses 37-40 form the groundwork for the theology of the Gospel according to Peter (Mark), as they focus on the earthly ministry and purpose of Jesus. We have to guess as to the source Luke uses, but we do assume he had a source (written) for Peter’s message. It is one of the most ungrammatically correct pieces Luke wrote, implying he was trying to be as true as possible to the source.
10:39-41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. This passage begs a question: what did these Roman soldiers think about the “Good News” coming through someone who had been crucified, an act they viewed as the most disgusting way to die? This is especially relevant, as their cohorts nailed Jesus to the cross (perhaps one of them were there). Also, Luke’s record of Jesus eating with the disciples (Luke 24:41-43) is an important proof of the resurrection, due to the Jewish belief that angels and apparitions cannot imbibe, as they do not have digestive systems.
10:42-43 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Jesus commissioned His witnesses (the Apostles) with a command. This is the same as in 1:4, with Luke repeating the command to preach, with an emphatic urgency. Luke also identifies Jesus main ministry as seen here as Judge, even over savior. The commission to proclaim Jesus as Judge is not found in any other account of His final charge. His description of judging the living and dead implies resurrection of both saved and unsaved.
10:37, 44 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached (Rhema)—While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. Peter reminds them of the “Word,” or the message (Rhema). The two words for word are used interchangeably as a synonym with Logos here… while Peter was still speaking these words (rhemata) a unexpected interruption came from heaven that was directed toward those who were listening to the word (Logon). He spoke rhema and they heard logos. The words are used interchangeably. What is the one essential to receiving the Spirit as infilling agent? Faith in Christ alone. Peter did not even finish his discourse, when the Upper Room of the Gentile world took place. Paul later summed up this experience when he wrote: “in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks (I Corinthians 12:13).”
10:45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. The Jews had a dictum that said that Holy Spirit never fell on a Gentile. Wrong again! To the Jews, Gentiles were godless, rejected by God and given over to every form of godlessness. They were generally seen as beyond hope and hell bound, in fact their was a statement that sums it up: Gentiles were “lesser breeds without the law.” God obviously met them and filled them, replicating the Apostles experience. This is the gentile Upper Room Day of Pentecost. They received the gift (genitive of apposition) of the Spirit Himself, with Tongues serving as the evidence of His presence. Additionally, when Peter testifies that they simply received, he connects their initial experience to the Upper Room initial experience, as there was no injunction to “repent and be baptized,” like the 3,000 in the streets.
10:46-48 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. Peter puts out a question: Can anyone keep (kolyein/prevent) these people from being baptized in water?
11:1-18 Peter was called to the carpet in Jerusalem for being the guest in a Gentile home. This was a serious breech in church protocol, which shows the deep feelings of bitterness and anger that existed toward Romans. The use of the term ‘uncircumcised men (v. 3)’ was a very derisive term, indicating they were outside the covenant. When Peter was originally told to go, he went without making distinctions between Gentiles and Jews. This was revolutionary. In the end, everyone accepted the report Sight Unseen.
