_Cæsarea_ _and Cornelius,_ 1, 2. Acts 10:1. THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAN. In the Authorised Version there is no equivalent to the little particle δὶ but this little particle is not without its importance. It serves to connect what we read here with what we read in the latter part of the preceding chapte... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:2. A DEVONT MAN, etc. We enter here upon the description of the personal character of Cornelius; and the particulars contained even in this verse are copious and impressive. It is useful to enumerate them separately: (1) He was a ‘devout' or religious man. The word (ευ ̓ σεβη ̀ ς) used here... [ Continue Reading ]
_Vision of Cornelius at CaesareaMessengers sent to St. Peter at Joppa,_ 3-8. Acts 10:3. HE SAW IN A VISION EVIDENTLY. The language seems carefully chosen so as to assert the certainty and absolute distinctness of the vision. This was not a dream or a trance. What Cornelius saw was addressed to his... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:4. LOOKING ON HIM AND BECOMING AFRAID. The first of the phrases used here is exactly that which Peter uses (Acts 11:6) to describe his own earnest attention to what appeared to him at Joppa. There is no part of the description of Peter's trance corresponding with what we read here of the ‘fe... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:5. SEND MEN TO JOPPA. The exact mention of the place is very emphatic: and it recurs again both in the account given by Cornelius to Peter (Acts 10:32), and in the apologetic statement made by Peter before the apostles and elders (Acts 11:13). We should notice, too, with what definite force... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:6. WITH ONE SIMON A TANNER. This, again, is part of the minute exactitude conspicuous throughout the narrative. Even this is repeated by Cornelius (Acts 10:32) when he relates his experience to St. Peter (see Acts 9:43 and Acts 10:17). WHOSE HOUSE IS BY THE SEA-SIDE. Here is the first intim... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:7. WHEN THE ANGEL WAS DEPARTED (see note above on Acts 10:3). The phrase used by Cornelius himself (Acts 10:33), when he tells his story to St. Peter, is, ‘Immediately therefore I sent unto thee.' There is something of military promptitude in this (comp. Matthew 8:9; Acts 23:23; Acts 27:32).... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:8. WHEN HE HAD DECLARED ALL THINGS UNTO THEM. This would include ‘the vision, the Divine command, and the expected revelation.' It might be asked why Cornelius did not send a letter to Peter, as Claudius Lysias did to Felix (Acts 23:25). It has been suggested that Cornelius probably could no... [ Continue Reading ]
_St. Peter's Trance at Joppa,_ 9-16. Acts 10:9. ON THE MORROW. The distance from Cæsarea to Joppa is thirty-five miles along the coast-road due south. The messengers started late in the afternoon. Hence they would naturally arrive about the middle of the next day. If they travelled by night, this w... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:10. AND HE BECAME VERY HUNGRY. The vision presented to him in the trance was adapted to the physical condition in which he was at the moment. WOULD HAVE EATEN. The Greek word is γευ ́ σασθαι, and it is worth while to observe that the words in modern Greek for breakfast and for the midday m... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:11. SAW HEAVEN OPENED. The verb in the original denotes that he gazed upon the opened heaven, and carefully surveyed it. Peter's own phrase afterwards (Acts 11:6) is that he ‘fastened his eyes' on what he saw, and ‘considered.' In his trance he was conscious of an exercise of close attention... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:12. ALL MANNER OF BEASTS. It is useless to speculate on the way in which the impression of the appearance of ‘all' animals was conveyed. Calvin, quoted by Gloag, says very justly: ‘We must not measure this seeing according to the manner of men, because the trance gave Peter other eyes.' WI... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:13. RISE, PETER. He may have been reposing, or he may have been on his knees in prayer. The voice addresses him by name, as in the cases of Moses (Exodus 3:4), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10), Cornelius (Acts 10:3), and St. Paul (Acts 9:4). KILL AND EAT. In Acts 11:7, in the Authorised Version, we... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:14. NOT SO, LORD. This expostulation, so to speak, addressed by St. Peter to the Deity, is quite according to the analogy of Divine visions recorded in Scripture (comp. especially St. Paul's expostulation in the Temple (Acts 22:19), when he is required to quit Jerusalem). I HAVE NEVER EATEN... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:15. A second time. The mention of this fact is a pointed part of his statement at Jerusalem (Acts 11:9), and he adds there that this second voice came ‘from heaven.' WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED, THAT CALL NOT THOU COMMON. The peremptory command now becomes the emphatic statement of a principle.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:16. THIS WAS DONE THRICE. Evidently to fix all this occurrence in Peter's memory, and to convince him that that which he had seen was no mere dream or fancy of his own, but a really Divine communication. Moreover, there was a sacred emphasis in the number three, as we see from various parts... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arrival and Reception of the Messengers at Joppa,_ 17-23. Acts 10:17. WHILE PETER DOUBTED IN HIMSELF. Again we should give close attention to the coincidence of _time._ It is manifestly intended that we are to see here the marks of a providential pre-arrangement. The messengers who had been ‘drawi... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:18. CALLED AND ASKED. More literally, ‘having called out' so as to attract the attention of some one in the house, ‘they were asking.' SIMON, WHICH WAS SURNAMED PETER. See note above on Acts 10:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:19. WHILE PETER THOUGHT ON THE VISION. This gives renewed emphasis to what is said in Acts 10:17. This phrase is stronger. He was silently pondering on the vision and revolving it in his mind. In the former case the historian had simply named the fact of the arrival of the messengers coincid... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:20. Get thee down. He descended, doubtless, by an external stair, which would bring him at once to the outer gate, at which the messengers were standing. Sec on Acts 10:17. GO WITH THEM. HE KNOWS not whither. But an intimation is given of some journey to be undertaken. This is similar to t... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:21. THEN PETER WENT DOWN TO THE MEN, See note on the last verse. This coming down the outside stair, and suddenly standing face to face with the strangers, with whom he was presently to make such intimate acquaintance, is one of the most vivid passages of the narrative. WHICH WERE SENT TO... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:22. CORNELIUS THE CENTURION. The correct translation is _‘a_ centurion.' St. Peter as yet knew nothing of Cornelius; and there were in Palestine many officers of the same military rank. A JUST MAN, AND ONE THAT FEARETH GOD, AND OF GOOD REPORT AMONG ALL THE NATION OF THE JEWS. Here, through... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:23. THEN CALLED HE THEM IN, AND LODGED THEM. Already Peter seems to have learned something of the significance of what had been communicated to him in the trance. To join together in social intercourse with Gentiles was precisely the point of Hebrew scruple. For a Jew to receive a Gentile as... [ Continue Reading ]
_Journey from Joppa and Reception by Cornelius_, 23-29. ON THE MORROW, _i.e._ after the arrival of the messengers. No time was lost. On the other hand, there was no undignified haste. This was not a case for excitement, but for deliberate action. Moreover, some preparation for the journey was requ... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:24. THE MORROW AFTER. The Greek word is the same as in Acts 10:9; Acts 10:23. The same remark may be made on the distance and time as on Acts 10:9. All is naturally consistent. The journey was by land. When two voyages by sea between Troas and Neapolis are named (Acts 16:11-12; Acts 20:6), t... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:25. AS PETER WAS COMING IN, CORNELIUS MET HIM. If we have read this narrative with a due sense of the life that is in it, we shall be able in some degree to enter into the feelings of the two men at this moment. This first meeting of Cornelius and Peter is one of the great incidents of histo... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:26. STAND UP: I MYSELF ALSO AM A MAN. We are at once reminded of the horror expressed by Paul and Barnabas, when the attempt was made at Lystra to give them Divine homage (Acts 14:14), and of the repudiation of this kind of homage by the angel in St. John's vision (Revelation 22:8-9); and we... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:27. AS HE TALKED WITH HIM, HE WENT IN. Free and friendly intercourse with a Gentile is now become comparatively easy to Peter. He has reached a further step in the learning of his great lesson. The conversation at this point probably related to casual matters, such as health or the incidents... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:28. YE KNOW. We find the same form of appeal to the knowledge of the hearers below, Acts 10:37. Those to whom St. Peter spoke were familiar by hearsay with the main facts connected with the early promulgation of the gospel; and they were familiar by experience with the impediments to social... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:29. WITHOUT GAINSAYING, AS SOON AS I WAS SENT FOR. He says that he had at once obeyed instructions which he felt to be Divine (see Acts 10:21; Acts 10:23, and Acts 11:12). I ASK FOR WHAT INTENT YE HAVE SENT FOR ME. Peter knew what the messengers had told him; but it was still needful that... [ Continue Reading ]
_Statement by Cornelius in his own house,_ 30-33. Acts 10:30. FOUR DAYS AGO. Questions have been raised as to the meaning of this phrase. But the simplest meaning is the best. It was exactly four days since Cornelius had seen the vision. I WAS FASTING. It is from this place only that we learn that... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:31. THY PRAYER IS HEARD. In the actual words of the angel ‘prayer' is mentioned before ‘alms;' whereas in the direct narrative (Acts 10:2), ‘alms' are mentioned before the ‘prayers.' Moreover, two separate verbs are used in this place. It is to be observed further that ‘prayer' here is in th... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:32. SEND TO JOPPA. Cornelius repeats to Peter with exact precision the instructions which had been given in his vision (Acts 10:5-6). The city is named to which the message is to be sent, the surname of Peter is given, also the name and trade of his host, and the exact position of his reside... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:33. IMMEDIATELY I SENT UNTO THEE. See Acts 10:7. WE ARE ALL HERE PRESENT BEFORE GOD. Both in this phrase and in that which follows, ‘all things that are commanded thee of God,' we have evidence of the deeply reverential and attentive attitude of the mind of Cornelius. We must remember that... [ Continue Reading ]
_St._ _Peter's Address in the House of Cornelius,_ 34-43. Acts 10:34. THEN PETER OPENED HIS MONTH. This denotes that something grave and deliberate, and demanding serious attention, is about to be uttered. The most solemn instance of the use of this phrase is in Matthew 5:2. What had been said befo... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:35. IN EVERY NATION. The stress is on this part of the sentence. Nationality, even a divinely-appointed nationality, like the Jewish, constitutes, in the sight of God, no essential mark of difference between one man and another. ACCEPTED WITH HIM. The true distinction between one man and an... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:36. THE WORD WHICH GOD SENT. The grammatical thread is very difficult to follow through this verse and the two subsequent verses. It is really impossible to disentangle the construction satisfactorily. Nor is it essential that we should do this. The simplest view, perhaps, is this, that we h... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:37. THAT WORD YE KNOW. It has been pointed out above that the Greek term here translated ‘word' is different from that translated in the same way in the preceding verse. The emphasis is on the word ‘ye,' and there is an intentional contrast between it and the ‘we' of Acts 10:39. It was inevi... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:38. Bow God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power. Some see in this an allusion, wholly or in part, to the action of the Holy Spirit in the incarnation of Jesus. It seems more natural to refer the words to the baptism of Jesus, an event on which the Evangelists lay the greatest s... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:39. WE ARE WITNESSES. There is an emphatic stress in this sentence on the word _‘we'_ Dean Alford adds very justly, that by this emphatic word Peter at once takes away the ground from the exaggerated reverence for himself individually, shown by Cornelius (Acts 10:25), and puts himself, and t... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:40. HIM GOD RAISED UP ON THE THIRD DAY. Here, as everywhere in the Acts of the Apostles, the Resurrection is the culminating point of the apostolic testimony concerning Jesus Christ (see, for instance, Acts 2:24; Acts 17:31; Acts 26:23). SHOWED HIM OPENLY. Literally, ‘gave Him to become vi... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:41. NOT TO ALL THE PEOPLE. Alexander's remark here is just, that to commit the testimony to select eye-witnesses was ‘more in keeping with the dignity and glory of the risen Saviour, which would now have been degraded by the same promiscuous and unreserved association with men, that was nece... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:42. COMMANDED US TO PREACH. The quoting of this royal command puts Christ before Cornelius in the position of supreme dignity. ORDAINED OF GOD TO BE THE JUDGE OF QUICK AND DEAD. Again the Lord Jesus, and in a more awful manner, is set forth in the position of supreme dignity. His judicial... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:43. TO HIM GIVE ALL THE PROPHETS WITNESS. It would be quite perverse to object here that no explicit reference of this kind is found in each several prophet of the Old Testament. St. Peter alludes to the general class of the prophets, and to the general drift of their writings. Some knowledg... [ Continue Reading ]
_Second Pentecost at CæsareaBaptism of Cornelius and his Friends,_ 44-48. Acts 10:44. WHILE PETER YET SPAKE THESE WORDS. In his own account afterwards (Acts 11:15) he says that the miraculous interruption came ‘ _as he began to speak'_ He was, therefore, evidently intending to address the assembly a... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:45. THEY OF THE CIRCUMCISION WHICH BELIEVED WERE ASTONISHED, AS MANY AS CAME WITH PETER. The expression in the original is very strong. They were almost out of their mind with wonder. As to the persons whose wonder here forms so prominent a part of the scene, see Acts 10:23 and Acts 11:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:46. THEY HEARD THEM SPEAK WITH TONGUES. It is not said here, as in Acts 2:4, that they spoke with _other_ tongues. See note above on Acts 10:44.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:47. CAN ANY FORBID WATER? The true translation is ‘ _the_ water,' the baptismal water, the ‘water sanctified unto the mystical washing away of sin.' The highest blessing of all, the Holy Spirit, had been received: hence the minor gift, which was emblematic of the other, and which procured ad... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 10:48. HE COMMANDED THEM TO BE BAPTIZED. St. Peter did not administer the baptism himself. This was in harmony with the practice of St. Paul, who seems to have been very anxious lest baptism or any outward ordinance should be unduly elevated in comparison with the preaching of the Word. See 1 C... [ Continue Reading ]