Acts 10
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. 9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. 17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” 30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” 44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. (Acts 10, ESV Bible)
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. (Acts 10:1-2, ESV Bible)
Kisrin
Herod the Great built Caesarea in the last decades before the birth of the Master. He needed a port city for the land of Israel, but he wanted a thoroughly cosmopolitan Roman city. Had the Jewish population of Joppa been more amicable to Herod's theaters, gymnasiums, idolatrous statues, and pagan temples, he might have chosen their city to rebuild as his great port city. Instead, he selected a city outside of Jewish political control:
He could not build it in Judea, for that would not have been tolerated. We are forbidden from paying any honor to images or representations of animals as the Greeks do. Still he did this in the land, and in the cities of the land but outside of our jurisdiction. The apology he offered the Jews was as follows: everything was done, not from his own desires, but by the commands and injunctions of others in order to please Caesar and the Romans, as if he had not Jewish custom in view as much as the honor due to the Romans. Actually, he had only himself in view. (Josephus, Antiquities 15:329-330/1X.5)
He went to the seaside town of Strato's Tower in Phoenicia and transformed it into the great city of Caesarea, named after Caesar Augustus. In order to make Caesarea into a first-rate harbor, he built massive underwater stone and concrete breakwaters. By amazing feats of Roman-era engineering, his builders poured and set concrete underwater to form foundations and seawalls. The harbor work resulted in a calm water port suitable for shipping.
He made the city itself extravagantly Roman, carved out of the sea and rock. He lavishly ornamented the streets with palaces, public buildings, and an enormous theater, which, after excavations, is in use today. Marble, granite, and expensive stone adorned every street. He built a temple dedicated to Caesar and Rome. He created a hippodrome and a massive aqueduct, sections of which can still be seen running along the coast of the Mediterranean. He built a splendid palace for himself on a promontory jutting out into the sea. Within the palace he placed a decorative pool surrounded by colonnades.
By the days of the apostles, Caesarea shone as a world-class Roman city and quickly became the Roman capital of the province. The locals called it "little Rome." The Roman administrators sent to Judea selected Herod's palace at Caesarea as the location for their praetorium. From within Herod's extravagant seaside palace, they exercised Roman control over the Jews of Judea.
The Jewish people condemned Herod for building an idolatrous city in the holy land, but they could neither stop him nor could they resist utilizing the city. The population could not boycott the Roman capital of the province, nor could they avoid using that important port on the Mediterranean. Thanks to the fine harbor Herod built, Caesarea became Judea's portal to the rest of the world.
A large, wealthy Jewish population flourished within Caesarea. The larger Gentile population of the city looked on them with distrust, and tensions between Caesarea's Jews and Gentiles sometimes exploded into violence as the two sides contended for control of the city. The Gentiles of Caesarea made no attempt to conceal their contempt for Jews and Jewish customs, nor did the Jews try to hide their disdain for Gentiles and idolatry.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The God-Fearers
Not all the Gentiles of Caesarea despised their Jewish neighbors. For example, Cornelius the centurion fell under the sway of the Jewish religion and became a God-fearer. As a centurion, Cornelius commanded as many as one hundred soldiers. His troops were stationed at the praetorium. Evidently, Cornelius had a private residence outside the barracks and maintained his own household with several personal servants. He was apparently a moderately wealthy man. Luke claims that Cornelius and all his family (and even some of his soldiers) were devout and God-fearing.
The term "God-fearer" described non-Jews who, for some reason or another, felt attracted to Jewish monotheism and attached himself or herself to Judaism. Monotheism and Torah-observant Judaism attracted many non-Jews throughout the Roman world. Many of the Gentiles drawn to the God of Israel elected to undertake a legal conversion (including circumcision for males) and become Jewish. Others did not. They were called God-fearers.
The God-fearers worshiped in the synagogue with Jews and proselytes, but chose not to undergo the ritual of conversion. They were not exactly idolatrous heathens anymore, but they certainly were not Jews. The Jewish communities generally tolerated their presence in the synagogue and appreciated their financial contributions. Nevertheless, God-fearers remained Gentiles unless they chose to undergo a formal, legal conversion to become Jewish. They did not enjoy the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the Jewish people.
God-fearers renounced idolatry and polytheism and attached themselves to the God of Israel and the Jewish community. For whatever reason, however, they did not make a formal conversion to Judaism. They remained content to keep the laws that the Jewish community determined as incumbent upon Gentiles, and they voluntarily took on additional aspects of Torah observance to varying degrees.
God-fearers commonly expressed their loyalty to God and the Jewish people by becoming patrons of the local synagogue. Synagogue donor lists from the Roman Era often included the names of God-fearing Gentiles. In Capernaum, a God-fearing centurion financed the construction of the synagogue.
What was the attraction to Judaism? The Greco-Roman world prized institutions with antiquity, and Judaism could already boast of two thousand years. The monotheism of the Jews and their separatist society intrigued outsiders. Judaism had a cerebral appeal, too. Gentiles pursuing Neo-Platonist ideas intellectually arrived at a form of monotheism. They saw Judaism as the only ancient religious expression of their philosophical conclusions.
During the Roman Era, women especially were drawn to engage in Judaism. The religion of the Jews offered women more dignity than the hyper-sexualized and chauvinistic pagan culture of the Roman world. Women appreciated Judaism for its high ethical values and moral standards. Josephus speaks of Gentile women "addicted to the Jewish religion."
Josephus makes reference to the God-fearer phenomenon at several points in his writings. For example, he mentions that non-Jews came to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple at Passover. In yet another passage, he states that God-fearers (probably Gentile disciples of Yeshua) could be found in every city in the empire observing the Sabbath, the holidays, the fast days, and even some of the Torah's dietary laws (Against Apion 2:282-284/xlix).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Cornelius the God-Fearer
Cornelius the centurion was the quintessential God-fearer. Luke says that he was a "devout" man, indicating some level of Torah observance.
Cornelius demonstrated that he had internalized the principles of Torah through his generous donations to the needy. He practiced charity (tzedakah, צדקה) and philanthropic support of the Jewish community. He was known for his alms, both on earth and in heaven. Although he had never met the Master, he practiced the principle of storing up treasure in heaven rather than on earth.
Luke says, "He prayed to God continually," a phrase indicating that he engaged in Jewish liturgical expression and prayed daily at the times of prayer. As a God-fearer, he would have learned the discipline of the daily prayers from participation at the synagogue.
Cornelius attended the local synagogues in Caesarea. He may have served as a liaison between the Jewish community and the army. He was "well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews" (Acts I0:22).
He had introduced his entire family, his slaves, several of his soldiers, and a circle of close friends to Judaism as well. They had all renounced the gods of Rome and embraced the God of Israel. His military service prevented him from actually undergoing a full conversion to Judaism. The Roman army did not exempt soldiers from serving on Sabbaths or from eating army-issued standard rations or from marching beneath the idolatrous Roman standards or from participating in obligatory, cultic ceremonies revering the emperor and the gods of Rome. Cornelius probably looked forward to his retirement when he could take on the full yoke of the Torah and become Jewish.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. (Acts 10:3-4, ESV Bible)
Cornelius and the Angel
It happened that one day, while Cornelius prayed at the time of the afternoon sacrifice an angel appeared before him. Cornelius himself later recounted, "I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments" (Acts 10:30).
The angel said, "Cornelius! Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God."
A "memorial before God" means a sacrificial service. As a Gentile, Cornelius did not have the privilege of entering the Temple in Jerusalem and personally offering sacrifices as a memorial before God. Gentiles could send animals for the priesthood to sacrifice as a burnt offering on their behalf.
Likewise, they could send money for the priesthood to use toward a burnt offering. Presumably, Cornelius the God-fearer occasionally did so, but he also offered up spiritual sacrifice. The LORD received his acts of charity and his devout prayers as if they were the pleasing aroma of sacrifices ascending from the altar.
The angel ordered Cornelius to send men to Joppa for "a man named Simon who is also called Peter." He explained that Simon could be found staying at a tanner's house owned by a man with the same name. The wealthy centurion did not question the orders. Cornelius summoned two of his slaves and one of his soldiers-a personal aide. Luke describes the soldier as "devout," indicating he was also a God-fearer like Cornelius. The slaves were God-fearers, too, for Cornelius "feared God with all his household" (Acts 10:1). Cornelius dispatched them to travel forty miles south to the Jewish city of Joppa to find the man of God. They continued through the night. They covered the entire distance in just over twenty-one hours.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance (Acts 10:9-10, ESV Bible)
All Foods Clean
A day or so after Cornelius' encounter with the angel, Simon Peter went up on the roof of the tanner's house to spend some time in quiet prayer while the disciples prepared a meal. From the rooftop, Peter had a magnificent view of the sea. He watched the north wind dash the waves up against the rocks as he prayed. Presently, he fell into a trance.
While the tanner's family prepared lunch downstairs, a different lunch was offered from upstairs. On the roof of the tanner's house, Simon had a vision of a sheet lowered from heaven by its four corners. The sheet contained a variety of zoological four-footed animals, rodents, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds.
The implication seems to be that Simon Peter saw a variety of unclean land animals and birds forbidden in Leviticus 2 and Deuteronomy I4. A bat kol (heavenly voice) instructed him to slaughter and eat. He objected that, as a Jew, he could not eat the forbidden animals. The voice replied, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider [common]" (Acts I0:I5).
He saw the same vision with the same message three times.
Traditional church teaching has almost universally misinterpreted the vision of the sheet from heaven to mean that God repealed the laws prohibiting the eating of unclean animals. According to that interpretation, the vision authoritatively declared all animals clean and kosher for consumption. We can refer to this popular interpretation as the "all-foods-clean interpretation."
The all-foods-clean interpretation assumes that God intended the Jewish people to disregard the prohibitions on unclean meats subsequent to Simon Peter's vision in Acts 10. That means that God changed His mind about His own divine mandates and failed to tell anyone other than Simon Peter (Leviticus II; Deuteronomy 13). The all-foods-clean interpretation contradicts the unchanging Torah. If He repealed His eternal and unchanging Torah, the God "with whom there is no change" is subject to change (Malachi 3:6); His character is malleable.
“I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” (Malachi 3:6)
“God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19)
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
The Master's prediction about the unchanging character of the Torah's commandments failed (Matthew 5:17-19). The Scriptures are left in contradiction, and the God of the New Testament contradicts the God of the Old Testament. In such a situation, no Scripture is certain, nor is any mandate of God definite.
The all-foods-clean interpretation seems to take it for granted that Simon Peter proceeded to kill and eat the animals in the sheet, enjoying a quick bite of wild beasts, reptiles, cats, and lizards. In the story, however, Peter does not kill and eat. He responds appropriately, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything [common] and unclean" (Acts 10:14).
The all-foods-clean interpretation does not correspond to the context of the story. Though the story does discuss the permissibility of eating with Gentiles, it implies nothing about eating the meat of unclean animals, neither before nor after the vision.
The all-foods-clean interpretation does not fit with the remainder of the Acts narrative, which continues to paint the believers as a Torah-keeping sect within Judaism. The Scriptures give us no examples of Jewish believers indulging in previously forbidden meats subsequent to the vision.
Finally, as we will see below, the all-foods-clean interpretation contradicts Peter's own interpretation of the vision, which he twice reports.
Despite the above objections, Bible teachers nearly unanimously explain the vision of the sheet as the cancellation of the Bible's dietary laws. A careful reading of the passage, however, reveals that the vision indicates nothing about a change in the Torah's dietary prohibitions.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Call No Man Unclean
Luke does not leave his readers guessing about the meaning of the vision. Simon Peter himself explains the meaning of the vision to Cornelius, and a few verses later, he explains the vision to his colleagues in Jerusalem. Peter interprets the vision to mean: "God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean" (Acts I0:28). That is to say, one should not designate one nation of human beings as ritually pure and another nation as common and ritually impure.
In other words, Simon Peter understood the unclean animals in the vision as symbolic of human beings. The vision is about people. Unless cannibalism is in view, the vision was not actually about food at all.
In apocalyptic Jewish literature, unclean animals often symbolize Gentile nations. Beginning with the vision of four empires symbolized by four beasts in Daniel 7, the rabbis made equations between various nationalities and various unclean birds and animals. For example, "Why is Rome compared to a wild pig? To teach you this. Just as the swine reclines and puts forth its cloven hooves as if to say, 'See, I am clean, so too does the kingdom of [Rome] boast of establishing judicial tribunals while engaging in violence and robbery" (Leviticus Rabbah 13:5. Cf. Matthew 7:6). The sages make similar connections with other animals mentioned in Scripture, including snakes, scorpions, lions, and leopards.
The sheet lowered by the four corners symbolizes the earth, filled with human beings. The four corners are the four directions. For example, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of "the four corners of the earth" (Isaiah II:12).
We can refer to Simon Peter's explanation of the vision as the "call-no-man-unclean" interpretation. It has many advantages over the all-foods-clean interpretation. It does not contradict the Torah or require God to have changed His mind or altered His unalterable law. It maintains the Master's prediction that the Torah will endure as long as heaven and earth and that even the least of its commandments must be practiced. The call-no-man-unclean interpretation explains why Simon Peter does not actually have to eat the unclean foods in the sheet. The animals are symbolic. The call-no-man-unclean interpretation fits the context of the story in Acts I0-II. Without the call-no-man-unclean interpretation, the vision seems unrelated to the story. Finally, the call-no-man-unclean interpretation lays the groundwork for the central thrust of the book of Acts: Paul's mission to the Gentiles and the inclusion of the Gentiles in the kingdom.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” (Acts 10:19-21, ESV Bible)
Wondering about the Meaning
The meaning of the vision was not immediately clear to Simon. It did not occur to him to interpret the vision as signifying that God had suddenly reversed the Torah and declared all food kosher. He was still wondering about what it meant when the three men from Cornelius arrived at the house. He could hear them calling out, "Is this the house where Simon called Peter is staying?" Suddenly, the Spirit of the LORD moved and spoke to him, explaining the vision, "Behold, three men are looking for you. But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself" (Acts 10:10-20).
A passage from Pirkei De'Rabbi Eliezer illustrates why Simon Peter might have hesitated to travel with them to enter Caesarea and a Gentile home:
Why did Abraham circumcise his servants? Because of ritual purity, so that they would not defile their masters with their food and with their drink, for whoever eats with an uncircumcised person is as though he were eating the flesh of an abomination [i.e., an unclean animal]. Anyone who bathes in the same bath as the uncircumcised is as if he bathed with a leper, and all who touch an uncircumcised person are as though they touched a corpse. (Pirkei De'Rabbi Eliezer 29)
Apparently, late Second-Temple Era legal rulings (such as the Eighteen Measures) prohibited Jews from entering the homes of Gentiles and from eating food potentially contaminated by Gentiles on the basis of concern over ritual purity. Since those particular concerns are no longer part of Jewish law, the sources provide little clear information on the exact nature of the prohibitions, but John I8:28, Acts 10:28, and Galatians 2:1 all infer that devoutly observant Jews in Judea avoided entering Gentile homes and eating with Gentiles primarily for reasons of ritual purity.
Some opinions in Second Temple Judaism regarded the homes of Gentiles as both unclean and ritually contaminating. The presence of idols could potentially defile food as offered to idols. Moreover, some families deposited the remains of relatives and loved ones within their homes. A quick duck into a Gentile's house might legally render a Jew just as ceremonially unclean as if he had stepped inside a tomb or touched a human corpse. This concern, however, would apply only to someone who was attempting to maintain an extremely high state of ritual purity. Apparently, the Yeshua believers in Jerusalem took the purity legislation seriously. After all, they needed to maintain ritual purity for the sake of the daily assembly in the Temple.
In obedience to the vision, the apostle entered the house of Cornelius. The centurion fell at his feet to prostrate himself before the holy man. Simon Peter stopped him and said, "Stand up; I too am just a man" (Acts 10:26).
As Cornelius stood up, the apostle said to the assembly of God-fearers, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him." As a God-fearing Gentile "well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews," Cornelius was aware of the taboo Peter had violated by entering his home.
Simon Peter explained that, although he would not have entered the home or eaten the food of even a God-fearing Gentile like Cornelius except that "God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean" (Acts 10:28). Notice that he did not say "God has shown me that I should not call any food unholy or unclean."
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” (Acts 10:28-29, ESV Bible)
Proselytes
Simon Peter realized he could no longer discount Gentiles simply on the basis that they were not Jews. He explained, "That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for." Prior to the vision of the sheet, he would have objected to entering a Gentile's home.
Having explained why he felt justified in violating the taboo, he said to Cornelius, "So I ask, for what reason you have sent for me?" The notion of Gentile inclusion in the kingdom had not occurred to him. Though the Master had told the apostles to "make disciples of all the nations" and to witness on His behalf "even to the remotest part of the earth," He had never implied that this might mean accepting Gentiles as Gentiles (Matthew 28:19-20). Simon naturally assumed that any Gentiles entering the kingdom and taking on the yoke of discipleship would necessarily first convert to become Jewish.
Judaism required a proselyte to go through three steps before receiving full, legal recognition as a Jew and full member of the Jewish nation of Israel:
Circumcision
Immersion
Sacrifice
Those who underwent the prescribed steps of conversion were regarded as proselytes and accepted into the nation of Israel as Jews. Naturally, circumcision did not pertain to women. Ideally, the proselyte brought a bull, goat, or sheep for a burnt offering, but in cases of economic hardship, the sages considered a bird offering sufficient. If the proselyte lived outside of Judea and was unable to bring the sacrifice, the omission did not invalidate his conversion.
The proselyte accepted upon himself full obligation to the commandments of the Torah. His immersion in the mikvah symbolized the transformation from Gentile to Jew: "When he comes up after his immersion, he is deemed an Israelite in all respects."
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35, ESV Bible)
Impartiality of God
As Cornelius recounted the story of the angel's message, Simon realized that God was calling him to present Yeshua to the Gentiles. He declared, "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” This revelation dramatically reversed Simon Peter's theology regarding non-Jews. Prior to the vision of the sheet and the unclean animals, Simon Peter assumed that God did show favoritism and excluded non-Jews from His favor. After all, was not the nation of Israel God's special treasure, His kingdom of priests and a holy nation?
With Cornelius, Simon found new criteria for receiving favor from God: "The man who fears Him and does what is right." The phrase "man who fears Him" should not be understood in a general sense as a vague awareness of deity. The description invokes technical language and pertains directly to God-fearers: Gentiles who reject idolatry and embrace the God of Israel, taking a position within the community of Israel and submitting to the Torah as it applied to them.
Prior to the revelation, Simon Peter thought of the messianic redemption only in terms of God's promises to the nation of Israel. The LORD promised a coming Messiah to the Jewish people. As Yeshua once said to a Gentile woman, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs" (Matthew I5:26). He had told His disciples, "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew I0:5-6). It never occurred to Simon Peter that non-Jews might also participate in the messianic salvation.
Then he remembered how the Master had once said, "Many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:I1).
Simon Peter's new revelation did not overturn Israel's unique status as the chosen people and center of God's affection. It did not invalidate the special position of the Jewish people as children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and inheritors of the covenants. It merely broadened Simon Peter's perspective to realize that God did not exclude individuals on the basis of nationality. The LORD receives any person who will turn to Him in sincere repentance.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:40-42, ESV Bible)
The Gospel and the Sent Ones
Simon Peter began by stating clearly that God sent the message of redemption to the children of Israel, i.e., the Jewish people. He preached peace to the Jewish people through Yeshua the Messiah. The message of Messiah came "to the Jew first."
He did not bother to retell the whole story of Yeshua of Nazareth. He assumed that because Cornelius and his household were God-fearers and well-connected with the Jewish community, they already knew most of the story. He could assume that they had heard of John the Immerser and how he proclaimed an immersion of repentance in preparation for a messianic redeemer. He could assume that Cornelius and his household knew the stories about Yeshua of Nazareth, a man anointed with the Spirit of God who did good and performed miraculous healings. They had surely heard about the charismatic prophet from Galilee.
He declared that he and his colleagues were "witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem" (Acts 10:39). He could testify to the veracity of the stories about Yeshua.
As he briefly recapped the story of the Master, Simon Peter conceded that Yeshua died by crucifixion. He hastened to add, "God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God." He introduced himself as one of those chosen witnesses, that is, one of the sent ones. He testified that the Master rose in a physical body, and he offered the proof that they "ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead." He explained his mission as an apostle-one sent to preach to the Jewish people and to solemnly testify that Yeshua was the one chosen by God to be the Messiah and eschatological judge of the living and the dead. He said, "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins" (Acts 10:43).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, (Acts 10:44-46, ESV Bible)
The Spirit Upon the Gentiles
While Simon Peter was still speaking, the Gentiles began to proclaim praises to God in the various languages of the world. Simon Peter later recounted, "The Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning" (Acts 11:I5). This indicates that God gave the same sign that the apostles experienced at Shavu'ot -the Gentiles began to extol the LORD in human languages they did not previously know.
The pouring out of the Spirit upon the uncircumcised Gentiles shocked and astonished the Jewish believers. They had not anticipated the possibility of the Spirit of the LORD resting on Gentiles. They considered the pouring out of the Holy Spirit as a pledge against the promises of the new covenant, a covenant that God promised to make "with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31). The prophecies about the new covenant made no reference to Gentiles. Apparently, they had not considered the universal application of Joel 2:28: "I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind." Simon Peter later explained the significance of the moment he saw the Spirit of God resting upon Gentiles. He said, "God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9).
The spiritual watershed in the home of Cornelius marks the third of three distinct outpourings of the Holy Spirit, each one corresponding to a different people group. As noted earlier, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon 1) Jews, 2) Samaritans, and 3) Gentiles represents three concentric spheres of outreach predicted by the Master:
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all [1] Judea and [2] Samaria, and to [3] the ends of the earth. (Acts I:8)
Simon Peter skipped conversion and instructed the Gentiles to immerse in the name of Yeshua. They immediately sought out an available mikvah, and, one at a time, Cornelius and his friends and family went into the water. As they came out of the water, Simon and the men from Joppa received them into the fellowship of the disciples.
The new disciples entreated Simon to remain with them for a few days. He consented to stay for a while and transmit to them the teachings of the Master.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.