Double Vision: Cornelius in Caesarea and Peter in
Joppa
Acts 10:1-23
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. 13
And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But
Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or
unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What
God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was
received up again into heaven. 17 Now while Peter doubted in himself
what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent
from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, 18
And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged
there. 19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto
him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee
down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. 21
Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and
said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? 22
And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God,
and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an
holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23
Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with
them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Introduction:
At the end of chapter nine we left the Apostle Peter in
the house of Simon the Tanner in Joppa where he had performed a miracle of
resuscitation of the dead after traveling from Jerusalem and performing a
previous miracle of healing in Lydda.
This set the stage for a further movement geographically and
miraculously to open the door to the Gentiles, and to usher in the third and
final major movement in The Acts of the
Ascended Christ through the Holy Spirit by His Apostles (Acts 1:8).
Outline:
I. The Vision of Cornelius in Caesarea (10:1-8)
II. The Vision of Peter in Joppa (10:9-16)
III. The Connection
Between Peter and Cornelius Established (10:17-23)
Transition:
There is miraculous electricity in the air on the coast
of Israel. A positive visionary terminal
presents itself first in Caesarea. Then a negative visionary terminal is
established to the south in Joppa.
Finally a connection is successfully established between them in order
for the fireworks to begin!
I. The Vision
of Cornelius in Caesarea (10:1-8)
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.
1. The Identification
of Cornelius (10:1-2)
2. The Vision
to Cornelius (10:3-6)
3. The Delegation
from Cornelius (10:7-8)
This is the “positive terminal”, the positive vision, in
this connection that is to be made.
1. The Identification
of Cornelius (10:1-2)
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.
1) His military profession
2) His exemplary devotion
See also verse 22!
Cornelius is in every respect the perfect choice, made by God, to be a
bridgehead for the Gospel of the New Covenant by the Apostles to the Gentiles.
Cornelius is a believer, a believing Gentile, or
“God-fearer”, and an “Old Testament saint”.
Cornelius must not be thought of as unregenerate, or
unconverted.
Cornelius must not be thought of as carnal, or
unspiritual.
Cornelius must be considered in the same light as the
Ethiopian eunuch, the 3,000 who responded to the preaching on the Day of
Pentecost, Anna, Simeon, etc. All of
them looked for the Messiah, since they believed their Bibles, the Law and the
Prophets, or what we refer to as the Old Testament. Each of them just needed to hear the Gospel of
the New Covenant, the Good News proclaiming the Advent, Death, Burial,
Resurrection and Ascension of the Messianic King in order to be baptized into
the Body of Christ.
2. The Vision
to Cornelius (10:3-6)
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.
Here is an amazing thing that should grip our hearts!
This has never been revealed to us by an angelic vision,
but is it true of us nevertheless?
3. The Delegation
from Cornelius (10:7-8)
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.
II. The Vision
of Peter in Joppa (10:9-16)
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. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14
But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common
or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time,
What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was
received up again into heaven.
1. The Context
of Peter’s Vision (10:9-10)
2. The Content
of Peter’s Vision (10:11-12)
3. The Conversation
of Peter’s Vision (10:13-15)
4. The Conclusion
of Peter’s Vision (10:16)
This is the
“negative terminal”, the negative vision in the connection that God is
establishing.
There are
actually two negatives in the account of this vision. Wait for it!
1. The Context
of Peter’s Vision (10:9-10)
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,
2. The Content
of Peter’s Vision (10:11-12)
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.
3. The Conversation
of Peter’s Vision (10:13-15)
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter;
kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never
eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake
unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou
common.
See Romans
14:14! This is the entire point of the
vision. It does not have primary reference to food items, although the removal
of the Mosaic Law’s dietary restrictions is a reality.
4. The Conclusion
of Peter’s Vision (10:16)
This
was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
III. The
Connection Between Peter and Cornelius Established (10:17-23)
17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this
vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from
Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, 18
And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged
there. 19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto
him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee
down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. 21
Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and
said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? 22
And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and
of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy
angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23
Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with
them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
1. The Arrival
of the Delegation (10:17-18)
2. The Announcement
of the Delegation (10:19-20)
3. The Anecdote
of the Delegation (10:21-22)
4. The Accompaniment
of the Delegation (10:23)
1. The Arrival
of the Delegation (10:17-18)
17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this
vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from
Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, 18
And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged
there.
2. The Announcement
of the Delegation (10:19-20)
19 While Peter thought on the vision, the
Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go
with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
3. The Anecdote
of the Delegation (10:21-22)
21 Then Peter went down to the men which were
sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is
the cause wherefore ye are come? 22 And they said, Cornelius the
centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all
the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee
into his house, and to hear words of thee.
4. The Accompaniment
of the Delegation (10:23)
Then
called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with
them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Conclusion:
I. The Vision of
Cornelius in Caesarea (10:1-8)
1. The Identification of Cornelius
(10:1-2)
2. The Vision to Cornelius (10:3-6)
3. The Delegation from Cornelius (10:7-8)
II. The Vision of
Peter in Joppa (10:9-16)
1. The Context of Peter’s Vision
(10:9-10)
2. The Content of Peter’s Vision
(10:11-12)
3. The Conversation of Peter’s Vision
(10:13-15)
4. The Conclusion of Peter’s Vision
(10:16)
III. The Connection Between Peter and
Cornelius Established (10:17-23)
1. The Arrival of the Delegation
(10:17-18)
2. The Announcement of the Delegation
(10:19-20)
3. The Anecdote of the Delegation
(10:21-22)
4. The Accompaniment of the Delegation
(10:23)
[Sermon preached 2
FEB 2014 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown,
PA.]
Resources:
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.
Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W.
Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).
F. F. Bruce, The
Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd
ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).
I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary,
Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1980; 2008 reprint).
David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentaries,
gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed.
David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).
William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,
series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville,
KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).
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