5) The Gentiles and Cornelius—Acts 10: 1-48
· So far, all of the 5000+ converts to Christianity have been Jews.
· Acts 10 talks about the first Gentile (non-Jew) to become Christian: the Roman centurion Cornelius.
· Remember that Cornelius is an officer in the Roman army occupying Israel (Acts 10: 1).
· Still, Cornelius was personally a good man who gave alms and prayed with the people he helped conquer (Acts 10: 2)
· This was very unusual for a Roman, much less for a soldier.
· In Acts 10: 9-16, Peter receives a vision:
- Peter was told to eat non-kosher food.
- Peter, following the Law of Moses, refuses.
-“What God has made clean, do not call profane (unclean)” (Acts 10: 15).
- Peter does not understand this dream:
* by custom, he isn’t allowed to eat non-kosher food
* God is telling him to do so and break Jewish custom
· In Acts 10: 19-33, the vision is explained.
- Cornelius sends men to summon Peter
- Normally, Peter would not accept Cornelius’ invitation because Jews weren’t allowed to visit Gentiles (Acts 10: 28).
- Because of the vision, Peter accepts the invitation and finds Cornelius and his friends ready and willing to listen (Acts 10: 24).
· It is now that Peter fully understands the vision:
- The mission Jesus gave the Apostles was to preach his message to all nations.
- Peter now realizes that this includes the Gentiles, even though for centuries they were considered profane by the Jews (Acts 10: 15).
· So Peter preaches to Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10: 34-43).
· In the end, he winds up baptizing Cornelius and his entire household (Acts 10: 44-48).
· Peter’s decision to baptize Gentiles caused a controversy in the early Church, and it had to be resolved.
Assignment
1) Explain what Peter’s vision was and what it meant.
2) How is Peter’s speech in Acts 10 similar to the ones before? Use biblical citations.
3) Read Acts 15.