A COLLECTION OF SERMONS AND ARTICLES
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A COLLECTION OF SERMONS AND ARTICLES
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ACTS SERIES:The importance of the story of Peter and Cornelius© Phil Hopwood, June 23rd, 1998 Introduction The conversion of Cornelius was a major stepping stone in the growth of the Church, even seen from our day, some two thousand years later. It marked the public beginning of the great commission, to "make disciples of all the nations" not only of the Jews, but of Gentiles as well (Matthew 28:19). This essay will discuss the importance of this event that Luke chose to give a lot of emphasis to both in length, and by repetition (Acts 10:1-11:18-48; 11:1-18; 15:7-9).
Background The earliest converts of the Church were Jews, both "Hellenist" and "Hebrew," as Luke informs us in Acts 6:1. The Hellenistic group were those of the diaspora, they were Greek by culture and language, whereas the Hebrews spoke Aramaic, and mostly lived in Palestine.1 Since the time of the dispersion of many members of the fledgling Jerusalem church (consequent to the stoning of Stephen), the gospel message had begun to spread to Samaria and Damascus, encompassing Samaritans in addition to more Hellenistic Jews (Acts 8:4-5, 25, 40; 9:31). Philip had been led by God to teach and subsequently baptise the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), who was apparently a God-fearer from Meroe, a kingdom on the Upper Nile. 2 The converts in this early geographical growth of the Church were mainly Greek speaking Jews and Samaritans. In other words, at this stage, besides Philip’s private contact with the Ethiopian god-fearer, who had consequently continued his journey home, (if it in fact took place before the conversion of Cornelius)3 the gospel had not been taken to Gentiles. Cornelius, thus becomes the first public Gentile convert. His conversion is the first one that grabbed attention at the time, the one that first broke the shackles of preaching just to the Jews, and the launching point from which the gospel was taken more and more to the Gentiles.
The story Peter had been staying for quite a while in Joppa, a town on the coast some 60km from Jerusalem. It is now a suburb of Tel Aviv. He had been summonsed there, while in nearby Lydda, by some of the local church members in order to heal one of their group, named Tabitha (or Dorcas), who had died (Acts 9:36-43). The healing naturally gained great attention, and so Peter stayed on to take advantage of the opportunity to preach the gospel to a ready audience. While Peter was in Joppa God did remarkable things through two dreams. 1. God spoke to a gentile, a Roman centurion and a god-fearer named Cornelius in Caesarea, a town further up the coast. God told him to send for Peter (Acts 10:1-6). 2. The next day God spoke to a Jew, Peter the apostle, in Joppa. Through the vision, God prepared Peter to receive and accept the invitation to go and visit the gentile, Cornelius (Acts 10:9-18). The obstacle that stood in front of the gospel going to the Gentiles and their inclusion in the church was, as I. Howard Marshall indicates, "that it would bring law-abiding Jews into contact with people who were reckoned unclean, and with their food which was also unclean."4 The further question, as to whether the Gentiles who became part of the church would have to abide by the laws of Moses, would be settled later on after some lengthy disputation (Acts 15, Galatians 1-3). Cornelius and his family were devout God-fearers (Acts 10:2). He was not circumcised (Acts 11:3), and therefore not a proselyte, not one who had taken on circumcision and its commitment to fully submit to the Jewish laws and religion.5 He would therefore still be treated as "unclean", as a pagan by the Palestinian Jews, including Peter.6 Peter’s beliefs needed to be changed in order for him to preach the gospel to, baptise and fellowship with Gentiles.7 He was to no longer treat them as unclean, because God was moving to include them in his Church. To this end, God gave him the vision of the sheet containing all sorts of creatures (Acts 10:9-12). Upon being told to "kill and eat" (v. 13), Peter replied predictably, "Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean" (v. 14). He found the vision hard to comprehend. To kill and eat from this "unholy mixture of clean and unclean" was abhorrent.8 The voice clearly stated to Peter the startling command, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean (v. 15)." We read in verse 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." The Greek word for "wondering" means, "going this way and that."9 He had trouble coming to a conclusion because of his deeply rooted beliefs regarding the Jewish laws of clean and unclean.10 In view of Peter’s difficulty and confusion in understanding and accepting this momentous change, God made it easier for him to accept by synchronising the message of the vision with the arrival of the servants of Cornelius, and by telling him through the Spirit to go and meet them. "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them" (vv.19-20). The fact that the visitors related to Peter the message of the angel to Cornelius to have him invite Peter to his house, must have been further assurance to Peter that God wanted him to make this giant step. With these assurances, Peter then proceeded to invite the Gentile messengers into the house, and to eat with them (v.23), something he and other Palestinian Jews and Christians would not have done previously. This was not the same as entering a Gentiles home and eating with him there, which would involve a much greater defilement, but it was as F.F. Bruce puts it, "a step in the right direction."11 Luke confirms again this revolution in Peter’s understanding by recording for us Peter’s actions and words when he travels up to Caesarea and makes the further new step forward of entering the house of the gentile, Cornelius. "He said to them: ‘You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection.’" (Acts 10:28-29a). It was forbidden for Jews to even touch or enter Gentiles buildings or touch their possessions, or accept their hospitality as it would make them ceremonially "unclean". Many strict Jews would not even allow themselves to be guest of a Jewish commoner.12 Clearly, Peter understood the message of the vision and the voice he heard at Joppa to not only include an abrogation of the food laws,13 but of the need to accept and associate Gentiles, no longer treating them as unclean. He not only understood the message from God, but in this historical incident, he acted on it. Though not without some further debate and difficulty, from this point on the Church came to understand that the laws of Moses pertaining to clean and unclean foods, and disassociation from Gentiles were no longer in force. As time went on the Church came to understand that this was part of the implications of the new covenant brought by Jesus. We read Mark’s editorial comment regarding Jesus word’s that "Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him" (Mark 7:15), where he adds in verse 19b, "(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’"). Paul makes the same point in Romans 14:14. Bruce observes of the passage in Mark 7;
God was no longer separating people by race, he was calling out of the world people of all races and nationalities, solely by grace. Cornelius was acceptable to God because he willingly desired to hear from God and follow his ways in faith. His being a Gentile was not an issue, his heart and attitude, his faith were the sole concerns to God (Acts 10:35). In his address to those gathered at the house of Cornelius, we are told "Then Peter began to speak." The original expression, literally "Peter opened his mouth" was one used to signify a statement of great importance. 15 As the Bible Commentary puts it; "these words of Peter were revolutionary."16 Peter begins by making clear the significance of how God was now working with people of all nations by saying, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (v.34-35). He then moved on to preach the same message of good news to the gentiles gathered there as had been given to the Jews. "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." (v.36). It is significant that he makes the point that "Jesus is Lord of all" which clearly now includes the Gentiles. The message of "peace" is about reconciliation between God and all men, not just God and the Jews, and includes reconciliation between men. The word "peace" in this context is synonymous with "salvation."17 An interesting translation of this passage by H. Riesenfeld, links the "message" or "word" of verse 36 with the statement of verses 34-35, suggesting that the message God sent to Israel was that God doesn’t play favourites, but "accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." If this is so, then there is even more of a focus in Peter’s message on the fact that God does not show partiality. His translation is as follows;
After further testifying of Jesus Christ, Peter says "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (v. 43). The everyone now includes all men, not just all of Israel. This message is very similar to the outline of material covered in Mark’s gospel.19 C.H. Dodd suggests "that the speech before Cornelius represents the form of kerygma used by the primitive Church in its earliest approaches to a wider preaching."20 Before Peter could say anymore, God caused the Holy Spirit to be poured out on the Gentiles, and caused them to speak in other tongues and praise him. Speaking in other languages could be counterfeited, but not the praising of God.21 The Jewish witnesses who accompanied Peter were astonished. It was good that they were there to observe God’s further miraculous confirmation of his will in this matter, as they were then able to later back up Peter’s story to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem (Acts 11:6), and no doubt further afield later on. The giving of the Holy Spirit shows that the Gentiles had responded to the gospel with faith, and that God had "accepted them and sealed their faith with the gift of the Holy Spirit."22 Peter had the Gentiles baptised, observing the similarity of their experience to that of the original Jewish Christians at Pentecost and asking if anyone could possibly object to this in the light of God’s involvement (vv. 47-48). Their baptism symbolised their acceptance by God, their reconciliation to him, and their inclusion in the body of Christ, the people of God. They were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, symbolising that he was Lord of all, both Jews and Gentiles. It is notable that there is no note of their being circumcised, which would have been the requirement under Jewish law for a convert to undergo.23 Acts 11:3 makes clear implication that they remained uncircumcised, otherwise it would be hard to imagine the protests of the Jerusalem members. Bruce quotes F.H. Chase, who called this the "Pentecost of the Gentile world." Bruce claims along with N.B. Stonehouse, that the occasion was "not so much a second Pentecost, standing alongside the first, as the participation of Gentile believers in the experience of the first Pentecost."24 Peter stayed on with the Gentile converts at Caesarea for a number of days, again showing his acceptance of them as fully and bona-fide brothers and sisters in the Lord.25 The story doesn’t end in Caesarea. There are two more important parts to come. Firstly the reaction of the leaders and members of the Church in Judea, and secondly as we will note in conclusion, the ramifications for the future of the gospel, and the Church, beyond Judea. On his return to Jerusalem with his companions, the news from Caesarea had already arrived in one form or other (Acts 11:1). Because of their history of strict food laws and disassociation with those who didn’t keep them, most Jewish Christians would not accept fellowship with Gentiles, even if they were converted. Predictably enough, not everyone was at peace with what they were hearing about Peter and the Gentiles in Caesarea. The depth of the problem is found in Galatians 2, where we find even Peter was still not completely free of the old thinking. Their fears would no doubt be added to by the likelihood of Jewish antagonism and worse if they were found to be associating with Gentiles.26 Although initial acceptance is observed in Acts 11, it will take some time for full acceptance to come. The book of Galatians and Acts 15 illustrate the serious problems caused in the Church by lingering opposition by a noisy minority to the acceptance of the Gentiles. After Peter’s relating the full story, with particular emphasis on what God had done to confirm his will that Gentiles be saved and made part of the Church, the members in Jerusalem found they had nothing further to object to, and were able to praise God and state what serves as a good summary of the whole story of Peter and Cornelius, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life" (Acts 11:18).
Conclusion The further consequence of this event was the opening up of the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles further and further out into the world beyond Judea. Subsequently the next large evangelisation of Gentiles took place in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:20. After the story of Cornelius, Luke goes on to show how the church at Antioch "moved naturally and easily" to become a single body composed of both Jews and Gentiles.27 As mentioned, this did not appear to be so natural and easy for the Jews in Judea, and it is significant that from this time on, and no doubt as result of their difficulty with the Gentile issue, the church at Jerusalem plays becomes less and less, and Antioch becomes the centre of the mission to the Gentiles.28 Not only does the length and second repetition of the story of Peter and Cornelius reinforce its importance in the history of the spread of the gospel and growth of the church, but the associated miracles in the story bear out the fact that this history making taking of the gospel to the Gentiles was "no merely human decision, but that it was the result of God’s clear guidance". 29 "Prayers, visions, angels, and the ministry of the Spirit" all bear witness to it being God’s decision to bring Gentiles into his Church.30
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