As I was wondering what to find for a sermon in the church, my attention was brought to Acts chapter 10. When I studied this chapter, so many wonderful thoughts came to my mind and I would like to share them with the readers of the Messenger.
Acts chapter 10 contains a great lesson for us, how God is calling people from all classes, from all nations, and from all races. It starts with Cornelius’s background. He was a centurion (which is equal to a captain over one hundred soldiers), of the band called the Italian band. Obviously he was expected to keep law and order in a certain area. In the Roman Empire there were many Roman officials around the occupied territories. Unfortunately, many of them were corrupt, seeking their own gain and not caring for the general population. It is said that many Roman officials came to rich areas as poor men; and when they left, the area was poor, but the officials were very rich.
I cannot remember when my home country, Denmark, was occupied by the Germans because I was only two years old at the end of the Second World War, but I have heard some stories from that time. A friend of my family’s was a waitress in a restaurant during the Second World War. Food was very scarce and everyone had to have food stamps in order to buy food. This waitress’s husband was a blacksmith and had to work very hard; but with the limited number of food stamps per family, it was not easy for him to do heavy work. At the same time the German officers would come into the restaurant and order an extravagant meal, way more than they could eat, and half of it would end up in the garbage. Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour is very common of those who are in power—they will look after themselves and not their fellow men.
Cornelius was different. “A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.” Acts 10:2. A wonderful testimony of a centurion. As a Roman official, he most likely was in charge of collecting the taxes and sending a portion to Rome. But he also looked after the poor in his territory and it says that he prayed to God always. Where do we find a civil servant who constantly asks for the Lord’s guidance in all he does? In very few, I am sure. This man was an exception to the rule. People may not have paid so much attention, but God did; even so much that He sent an angel to visit Cornelius visibly.
There are many angels around us to protect and guide us, but very seldom are they visible to our human eyes. Only a few times in the Bible do we read about angels that were seen by human beings: Isaiah, Zachariah, and the shepherds, just to mention just a few, and now Cornelius. All reacted the same way; they were afraid. We can understand that Cornelius would be afraid when suddenly a man stood right in front of him in bright clothing. Now the angel said to him, “Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” Acts 10:4. How often do we receive confirmation that our prayers have been heard? Does God pay attention when we help others? Yes, for sure He does. Besides that, what did the angel tell Cornelius? “And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” Acts 10:5–6. The angel could speak in a language which he could understand. The angel could have explained to him the whole plan of salvation, right from the beginning to the end, much better than any human being. But that was not the angel’s job; he was there to make a connection.
Remember when Jacob left his home, because he was afraid that his brother would kill him? What did Jacob see? He saw a ladder between heaven and earth where angels were ascending and descending. Jesus is that ladder; He is our connection to heaven. If it was not for Jesus, there would be no purpose for the heavenly angels to come to this earth. Now, how far is it from heaven to earth? Can you imagine how far these angels are travelling? The angels could easily have carried Jacob to his uncle Laban’s place, approximately 1,400 km away. They could have saved him a lot of sore muscles; and I wonder if his shoes still had soles when he arrived and met Rachel. But this was not the angels’ job. Neither was it the angel’s job to tell Cornelius about salvation. The angel was sent to make the connection between Cornelius and Peter. The angel explained exactly where Peter was: in Joppa, in a house by the sea, the landlord’s name is Simon, he is a tanner; and in his house you look for a man by the name Simon and his surname is Peter. Cornelius did not waste any time. Immediately he sent three men that he trusted completely and told them what the angel had said. Cornelius sent them to Peter to ask him to come to his house.
The next day before the visitors came to Peter’s place, Peter went up on the house top to pray. It also says that he was very hungry and he fell into a trance. There he saw all kinds of unclean animals coming down from heaven and a voice which said, “kill and eat.” But Peter said, “Not so Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” Acts 10:13–14. And a voice spoke to Peter in Acts 10:15, second part, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” Some people love Acts 10 because they believe that the Bible here teaches that we are allowed to eat anything. But Peter’s conclusion was, and I believe it should also be our conclusion, according to Acts. 10:28, second part, “but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” Not only did God show Peter this vision, but when the men arrived at the door, the spirit said to Peter, “Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.” Acts 10:19–20
Peter invited the visitors in after they had travelled 60km, most likely by foot; they were ready for a good night’s sleep. If God had not impressed Peter in a special way, he might have been very hesitant to go with them to Caesarea.
“And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.” Acts 10:25. How often do you think the Romans would bow down before the Jews? I do not think it was the norm. And Peter could have said, “It’s about time you show us some respect.” But Peter said, “Stand up; I myself also am a man.” Acts 10:26. You see how the Gospel brings us together on the same level? There is only one God and one Saviour. The rest of us are all equal. If the Spirit of God controls the heart, we are not going to be like the world. We will all appreciate one another, but we will never worship any human being. Worship belongs to God only.
Cornelius did not even know what it was all about; most likely he had never seen Peter or heard of him before, but he was already doing missionary work. He had invited relatives and friends. Do you think that Peter and Cornelius would ever have found one another, if the angel would not have visited Cornelius, and God had not sent a vision to Peter? See how God brings us together. Try to look around in your church. Would you have met each other if it was not for the Gospel? If I would not have been a member of this congregation, I would never have seen the Hamilton church building and the believers who worship here. Why do we come together? I hope for the same reason that Peter and Cornelius came together—to study the Word of God so that we know what we should do. We never read anything else about Cornelius in the Bible. We do not know if they met later on in life and spent more time together. But this chapter ends with a wonderful baptism. In the first century, the Lord brought people together in a miraculous way—can that also happen today?
What led them together? Did you notice verse 30? “And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing.” And see verse 9, “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the house top to pray about the sixth hour.” We know that they were both praying and we know that Cornelius was fasting; but it says that Peter was hungry, so he might also have been fasting.
If we pray and we fast together today I believe the Spirit of the Lord can bring us together now, just as He did in the first century; this is my wish and my prayer. Amen.
Evald Pedersen