Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10)

12:30 AM





I love the story of Peter and Cornelius. It is an amazingly well orchestrated and pivotal event full of supernatural wonder and revelation. When I read this story, several things stand out to me.
  1. The importance of our personal prayer life.
  2. God’s sovereign intervention in the details of our lives.
  3. God’s desire to unite His people to accomplish amazing things. 
Let’s explore each point.

Personal Prayer Time: Have you ever wondered if your prayer life really mattered to God? In this story, God not only noticed that these men were fervent in praying, but communicated to them in astounding ways during their prayer time.  The Scriptures tell us Cornelius was “a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.”(v2) It was during his prayer time that God sent an angel to Cornelius and the angel said “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.” (v31) That lets us know that God pays attention to our devotion to Him and it matters to Him. God communicated to Peter also during his prayer time with a very visual and symbolic vision meant to get Peter’s attention and impact his thinking in a bold, new way. 

God is in the details: The timing of Peter’s vision is orchestrated by God. First, he communicates to Cornelius and Cornelius dispatches men to find Peter some 30 miles or so away. Then he sends the vision to Peter at just the right time to really get his attention and let him know that God is truly directing him. “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 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them."” (v17-20) When he meets Cornelius, he is told the details given by the angel: “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.'” (v32) How amazing is that? God took two strangers, inhabitants of two different places, members of two different  religious affiliations ( one Jew and one Gentile) and overrode the barriers that would otherwise have kept them isolated from each other. “And he (Peter)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.” (v28)

God’s desire to unite His people: Before Christ ascended into heaven, he commissioned the disciples “And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15) Peter knew God wanted the gospel message preached abroad but this was the first time that Peter would understand that God wanted the Gentiles to be accepted as they were ( without conforming first to Jewish custom and religious observance.) “”So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”” (v34-35) Because of God bringing Peter and Cornelius together, many were impacted in a radical way. Cornelius had gathered relatives and friends and Peter also brought companions. “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 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.”
(v44-45) And because of what was witnessed that day, the world was never the same. 

This story should encourage each of us. It should increase our faith in prayer and remind us that our personal prayer lives are important in the grand scheme of things. It should increase our confidence, knowing that God orchestrates the details of our lives, to include the people he may choose to bring into our lives. And finally, it should cause us celebration because this event bridged Christian Jews and Christians Gentiles into one unified church, equally blessed and accepted by God. 


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