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Acts 10.1-12
August 7th 2016
Milk
So here we go – another landmark chapter that brings in a very important part of Christian history – especially for us non-Jew pagan Hellenist Gentiles – the reception of the Good News – and God gets it all going using . . . food.
Of course chapter 9 set this up with the conversion of Saul and the preparation God makes in his life to teach him in Sinai before embarking on his ministry to the Gentile world.
Last week we read how Peter, who was given the keys to open all the necessary doors of the Gospel, has been primed to open this last door before essentially disappearing from the New Testament narrative until we get to his epistle at the end.
Before this chapter the Gospel, of course, was preached only to the Jews and we probably cannot fathom how foreign it would be to them to mentally receive who they called the “Great Unwashed” into fellowship.
When it comes to humans we love, love, love groups. We love belonging to exclusive communities – ones where only those like us are allowed and permitted to belong.
This tendency is in almost everything we do – but the call to heaven is entirely different – or it ought to be.
Mary and I went looking for a wallet the other day because mine was about done. By necessity, not being cool, I have to have my wallet chained to my person – I have lost it so many times before. So we naturally went to motorcycle stores where they are sold.
Inside two different places I discovered the same thing we discover in churches, gay bars, country clubs and street gangs – a group of people all gathered together under the banner of their brand of motorcycle, and finding their family and identity therein, having attitude toward those who are not members.
But the Good News – the gospel – was, is and should always be completely inclusive, accepting not just bikers, gays, straights, accountants, derelicts, and deviants but all people of all cultures, races, religious appeals, genders, ages, and political bents – without exception and without any qualifications but faith in Him who God sent to save us.
Because God had covenanted with the Nation of Israel – the twelve tribes specifically, and it was through them that we received what Paul calls the oracles (the written word) the Prophets, the Law and the very Messiah, the gospel would (and should) be offered to them first.
It was – and this book is a record of this happening – with some extensions to the Gentile world included.
But again, the whole tendency of the Christian religion is to enlarge and liberalize the mind; to overcome the narrow policy and prejudices of the Jewish people; and to diffuse itself over all the nations of the earth as a result of Jesus having overcome, Sin, Death and Satan.
As expected, there was what seems like endless resistance and trouble as a result of what happens in this chapter – even out to this very day.
The Jewish converts to Christ believed that the Law ought to still be maintained – at least the cultural applications of it.
And the Gentile converts were still seen as the Great Unwashed – and apparently lived up to the title.
All of this division and difficulty occurred as a direct result of what we are going to read happening here in chapter 10 of the book of Acts.
From this we learn some interesting things. First, God will have His way even if it causes problems among His people. What I mean by this is God could have kept the Good News exclusive to members of the House of Israel – that would have to some extent kept the peace, right?
But while convenient and clean, it would not have accomplished what God sought for “a world that He so loved – and sent His only begotten Son into to save.
So we can see that in the ultimate goal of peace there is going to be a long road of unrest.
We also learn clearly that what was once demanded and commanded of God can and will change. He does not change, but His demands and commands among Men is certainly flexible.
This bothers some people – so much so that they refuse to accept changes as they come along – and what we will read here in chapter ten is a really good example of this.
We also learn that Jesus words that it is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles him but what comes out of that mouth – a concept we’ll address more when we come to it.
Finally, we have to note that this change was not sudden. The Old Testament clearly alludes to God reaching out to the Gentiles of the World as do many of the teachings and parables of Jesus.
So the information was present there among the Law, the Prophets and the teachings of the Lord, but like most things, were not clearly seen – until people were ready.
So let’s read our text for today and see where we wind up. Last week we read that Peter wound up in a place called Joppa in the house of a man named Simon the Tanner. Remember this.
(And chapter 10 verse 1)
Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Okay back to verse 1 where Luke, having placed Peter in Joppa at the house of one Simon the Tanner at the end of chapter nine now takes us to Caesarea and says:
Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
Cornelius is a Latin name showing us that that he was in all probability a Roman.
Within Judaism there were men known as “proselytes of the gate,” which means someone who had renounced idolatry and had observed some of the Jewish rites – except circumcision and were therefore not considered Jews.
Many think that Cornelius fit this description but we don’t have any evidence for this other than conjecture.
I like that title though and see many people in and around us as “proselytes at the gate,” people standing outside of the Kingdom but just about ready to step in.
Nevertheless, while he may have been a proselyte at the gate of Judaism he was certainly seen as a non-Jew Gentile.
In our next chapter we open with the following from Luke discussing what happens with Cornelius:
Acts 11:1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
From this its obvious that the other apostles regarded Cornelius as a gentile.
He was what is called “a centurion.” This was a commander of a division in the Roman army that had a hundred men and this was in a “band” of men in the Roman army which consisted of four to six hundred men.
This band was called, the Italian band, so in all probability it was a regiment that was composed of soldiers from Italy, which would have been distinguished from soldiers from Roman providences.
Now, remember, these were Romans, they were Gentiles, they were soldiers, they were Italians, and they were men – in other words, these were in all probability a pretty raw crowd.
But verse 2 describes Cornelius in a very different manner, saying that he was . . .
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.
Devout in the Greek means he was pious, he worshipped God, and “one that feared God.”
Cornelius didn’t need to be a Jew but somehow he tapped into the True and Living God whom the Jews worshipped, and not only also worshipped Him but also feared Him.
Psalm 111:10 says it well:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
There is the old saying that there are “people who are not afraid to drive up to the gates of heaven and honk” – this does not seem to be the make-up of Cornelius.
The Greek word for fear is fobeos and it means “frightened” and “awestruck,” and “deeply reveared.”
There’s a reason God sent His only begotten Son, the Word made flesh and not Himself – He is a fearful presence, especially in the face of our humanity and inherit corruption.
The beginning of wisdom, which is defined as knowledge applied, is the fear of the Lord.
It’s not a fear that is afraid because He’s evil, it’s a fear that exists because He is so, so, so darn good.
Sort of like meeting up with someone of power on this earth who is truly our moral, intellectual, financial, and spiritual superior – we are in awe and therefore we possess fobeos. This was the heart of Cornelius and not only him but Luke says, “with all his house,” meaning, with all his family.
In the midst of these characteristics we learn that Cornelius also gave “much alms,” (he had a generous heart for those less fortunate than himself) and that he
“prayed to God always,” a term that better means, constantly.
I love this because it is doubtful that Cornelius was equipped to pray as a trained Rabbi nor from the Apostles in Jesus name but the HEART was there – for God – which is what matters. He communicated to the God he knew at that place and point in his life.
Also note that Cornelius did NOT know Jesus, He had by all appearances received the Holy Spirit so he had not been born again (or from above) and yet something led him to seek and fear and pursue God.
The Calvinist maintains that there is NOTHING in a person at all that will get them to seek God and until God animates him or her by His Spirit he is utterly incapable of seeking truth or God at all.
Cornelius (and all of his house) just might be an exception to this stance. And if an exception is possible in something so stiff and restricted then the door is wide open in my estimation. Verse 3
3 He (Cornelius) saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
This (the ninth hour) was about three o’clock in the afternoon, a traditional hour of evening worship among the Jews.
And while praying an angel of God was sent to him.
And what is the first thing the angel says?
His name.
The name he was given by his pagan parents. How he is known. I find this comforting for some reason.
What else do we notice? Verse 4
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
The terms “Lord” here, as we have seen in other cases, is similar to “sir,” just so we don’t wonder if it was Jesus visiting the man.
Nevertheless the heavenly visitor frightened Cornelius and according to Luke he was quite attentive to his purposes in being there.
The first thing the angel said to him was to reassure him and he did this by confirming to him that both “the prayers” he had offered up and “the alms” he had given “had come up for a memorial to God,” or so says the King James.
What does this mean, had come up for a
memorial to God?
First of all, most of the translations keep the term memorial. Discovering this I went to the Greek to see what term was used to translate to memorial and the word is “mnay-moss-oo-non” and it means a record has been kept, even a reminder.
The term isn’t used all too much in the New Testament (three times) but one place that might round out its meaning to us is when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the Leper and the woman broke open the alabaster box of creamy ointment and some criticized her for using it on the Lord (who was about to be crucified) and in this setting Jesus said:
Matthew 26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial (mnay-moss-oo-non – a record, a reminder) of her.
Here the angel tells Cornelius that both his prayers and his almsgiving “had come up for a memorial to God.”
Now, we know from scripture that people can (and will) do many wonderful works in the name of the Lord and His response will be that “He doesn’t even know who they are, right? That’s Matthew 7. He will actually tell them, “depart from me you who work iniquity.”
So we know that there is a vetting or a testing of our prayers and almsgiving in heaven. By the very fact that the angel takes the time to tell Cornelius that his prayers and almsgiving had come up to God as a record tells us that some prayers and almsgiving is recorded and I would suggest also that some are not.
Jesus addressed these very two topics in order in His sermon on the Mount and said in Matthew 6 verse 1
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
The word for alms in Greek is “el-eh-ay-mos-oo’-nay” and it comes from the Greek root word eleos which means mercy and/or compassion.
In scripture this is most often described in terms of giving support to the poor and is always translated “alms” in the King James but the other translations take much more liberty on translating the word and say . . .
Mt 6:1 (ASV) Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men,
Mt 6:1 (MKJV) Take heed that you do not do your merciful deeds before men,
Mt 6:1 (NKJV) “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men,
Mt 6:1 (RSV) “Beware of practicing your piety before men
Mt 6:1 (WNT) “But beware of doing your good actions in the sight of men,
Mt 6:1 (TCNT) Take care not to perform your religious duties in public
Mt 6:1 (WEB) “Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving
Mt 6:1 (YLT) `Take heed your kindness not to do before men
So it’s not just giving money, its any good act of compassion or mercy upon we do on behalf of others. Do it privately, not letting the left hand know what the right hand does.
From the angels message we have insight into the heart of Cornelius don’t we? And according to Jesus, the “Father, which Himself saw his deed in secret would reward him openly.”
I think we are seeing this very thing happening in Cornelius’s life – he and his family are being rewarded openly.
Speaking of prayer Jesus said in Matthew 6
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
So again, we get insight into the heart of Cornelius through the angel’s message to him because according to the words of Jesus the Man must have prayed from an honest heart in a closed closet (so to speak) and the Father, just like in almsgiving, saw this about him and was rewarding him openly.
Taking all of this into account I tend to think that we can look at our prayers and our giving as private matters between ourselves and God – the more private the better. Because what is done privately, and without the need to be seen of men, is seen of God, and His will openly reward.
But the angel does not stop at commending Cornelius for his approach to compassion and prayer but adds –
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
So far in the book of Acts we have seen God employ a number of new people in his service – let’s see, we’ve seen 120 people come together in Acts 2 with the apostles in the upper room.
These were all disciples of the Lord who were following Him first.
Then we saw the apostles cast lots to replace Judas – from who – men who had been with them from the beginning and were witnesses of all that Christ did.
Then we’ve seen the apostles choose seven men to wait tables. Any old men? Nope. Devout men of good reputation.
Then we’ve seen Him call Saul – and while definitely in opposition to Jesus He was devout toward God and the truth.
Then we watched Him used Ananias – who was devout first – to go and heal Saul’s blindness.
And now we find Peter residing in a house and an Angel comes to a man who while neither a Jew NOR a Christian yet was devout, compassionate toward the poor and one who prayed to God.
The point? God is looking to use any and all who are willing and open to Him, and His ways. People who from the heart are devoted to Him. I firmly believe He continues to do this today.
I received an email from a man the other day who said, “I want to be used by God at CAMPUS. What can I do? Tell me and I’ll do it.”
I wrote him back and said, “how about you start by . . . attending sometime?”
It’s not that attending is mandatory to helping but we all start somewhere and God seems to meet us according to where we are – not really where we “really, really want to be.”
So Cornelius has been given an assignment by the angel.
“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.”
Joppa was a sea-side town with a seaport on the Mediterranean. Growing up by the sea and knowing a little about the Mediterranean climate, I would imagine that Joppa was a real destination of sea-salt air and warm breezes. (verse 7)
7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
Three men – two household servants and a devout soldier who was probably assigned to wait on Cornelius and his needs. Verse 8
8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
Apparently, and in the fulfillment of scriptural types and pictures, Jonah was in Joppa when he was sent to preach to the Gentiles at Nineveh. Now we see Peter fulfilling this type in being sent to the same and from the same departure site.
At this point Luke, a great storyteller and historian now brings us up to speed on what is happening on Peter’s end, and says:
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
These small rooms or roof tops were common places for Jews to retire to pray.
The sixth hour would have been around noon. Traditionally the Jews had two stated seasons of prayer–morning and evening but history seems to suggest that some of the more devout added a third time which was around noon which is why David says in Psalms 55:17 “Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud,” and Daniel 6:10 says that he “kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed.
History also says that it was customary in the early Christian church to offer prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours.
So imagine the scene. Peter is surrounded by salty warm air and sun, and living at the house of a tanner there was probably some sort of critter or meat stewing on the fire below and wafting up into his nostrils as he prayed. And here God steps in and starts working to bring His will before the one given the keys to the Kingdom. (Verse 10)
10 And he (Peter) became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
Interestingly enough the Hebrews and the Romans and the Greeks all, at that time, had meals around 10 or 11 am (which consisted of fruit and dairy) and then again at 6 or seven in the evening.
Being this later it could be that it was a special feast for Peter or a late morning meal. We don’t know.
What we do know is some food was being prepared and while this was happening Peter “fell into a trance.”
The Greek word translated trance here is “ek-stasis” which is from the root for ecstasy but also means “an astonishing bewilderment.”
In Acts 11:5, Peter says that while he was in a trance “he saw a vision” and so putting these two records together it seems like he fell into a state of mind where he was so absorbed into thought or whatever that his external senses were somehow suspended.
We understand the state a bit when we stare off in thought sort of oblivious to what is being said or done around us. Same kind of thing but apparently deeper.
It was while in a trance that Balaam in the Old Testament is said to have seen a vision of the Almighty (Numbers 24:4,16) and we also will read that Paul, while praying in the temple, also fell into a trance.
Luke writes at verse 11
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, “as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:”
This is very figurative language common to the Hebrews and their way of writing. Since Luke was a Greek it tells me he was certainly reciting a story he had been told.
I would also suggest that this is a description to best of both Peter and Luke and whomever else was involved in the telling and retelling of it.
I’m not sure we can take it literally though the description is quite detailed.
In an actual physical representation we know that a sheet knit at the four corners and let down to earth would cause all the animals to slide and slump down into the middle but this sheet seems to have been able to provide a stable foundation so we know it was a spiritual vision Peter was seeing and some suggest that this sheet was a universal symbol of the nations and all the animals of these nations upon it – which were representing the gentile world and were animals eaten by such. (verse 12)
12 Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Peter was hungry and it could be that the Lord used this time teach him a new way about eating which would help break down the cultural barrier the Jews had between them and the rest of the world.
What we take into our bodies, as people, even from state to state let alone across the world, is very relational, extremely cultural, and something that makes people groups unique and independent.
What we take into our bodies as a culture is unifying, is founded on deep geographic ties, and speaks volumes when it comes to whom we will take into our hearts.
Here in Utah there is a product I cannot eat nor appreciate no matter how hard I try – and we are only seven hundred miles from where I grew up. Its called Fry Sauce.
I want to enjoy and eat Fry Sauce because I want to honor the people of this community and engage with them at every level. But I am not a sauce kind of person. Scones are also a cultural phenom known mostly in Utah.
In the Pismo Beach, Ca area there is a strong affinity to Tri-Tip. I’m not a Tri-Tip guy either. They RAVE about it. It bonds them as a people and you have to enjoy Tri-tip if you really want to say you are from that geographical area.
With the globalization of our economies and the information age many foods have cross pollinated in our world today.
I mean just forty years ago few would eat Sushi, Edamame, couscous, Schnitzel, Tilapia, pot stickers, even fajitas and avocados weren’t really known here.
And then we know that there are people and cultures out there that live off things like rotten duck eggs, reptiles, dogs, rats and even insects.
Jesus said – so what.
It’s Not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man. This view and standards was an enormous departure from a 1500 year history of the Jew. I mean, the very idea was so anathema to the Hebrew heart that they would not even sit with or touch a person based on what they ate!
And right here and now God is going to show Peter that that way, that approach, while serving a purpose on earth for a time, was about to end . . . FOREVER.
(Beat)
We’ll pick it up here next week.
Q and A
Prayer –
Marinetta
Heidi
