Acts 10 Commentary

The Lord Tells a Centurion to Seek Out Peter A centurion named Cornelius worships the God of Israel and financially supports the Jewish people in the city of Caesarea. An angel visits him and tells him that God has taken note of his prayers, and to send for a man named Simon Peter who is about 30 miles south in Joppa. Cornelius obeys and sends some servants on the errand.

Peter Sees a Vision of Unclean Animals While Cornelius’s servants are arriving at Joppa, Peter is on the roof of his host’s house praying. He sees a bizarre vision of unclean animals being lowered down from heaven on a blanket. The voice of the Lord tells him to eat the unclean animals, but Peter refuses to eat anything "unholy." The Lord tells Peter to no longer consider what God Himself has cleansed to be "unholy."

The Holy Spirit Tells Peter to Go with Cornelius’s Servants. Peter wonders what the vision meant. The men from Cornelius arrive at the house where he is staying, and the Spirit prompts him to go away with these men to wherever they will take him; to trust them, because they were sent by the Spirit. Peter obeys. He greets the men, hears how their master was visited by an angel, who told Cornelius to find Peter in Joppa. Peter invites them to stay for the night before they leave. The next morning Peter and a few other Jews head to Caesarea with Cornelius’s servants.

Peter Tells the Gentiles that He, a Jew, No Longer Sees Gentiles as Unclean. Peter arrives at Cornelius’s house. Cornelius has gathered his friends and family to hear Peter speak. Peter points out that it is unlawful for a Jew to become friends with or visit a Gentile’s house, but that God had recently taught him to never again consider non-Jewish people as uncommon or unclean. This was the meaning of the vision of the animals. He asks Cornelius why he was summoned to his house.

Cornelius Asks Peter About God’s Message Cornelius recounts the moment where the angel visited him, telling him that God had heard his prayers, and that he should summon a man named Simon Peter from Joppa to come to him, that God had commanded Simon Peter to give a message to Cornelius.

Peter Shares the Message of Salvation to Gentiles Peter preaches the good news of Jesus Christ to Cornelius and his friends and family. He tells them that everything they had heard about Jesus of Nazareth was true, that He is Lord of all and He came to earth to preach peace throughout Israel. He was crucified and raised back to life by God. Peter informs them that he was an eyewitness to Jesus’s miracles, as well as His resurrection from the dead. He concludes by explaining that Jesus will one day judge all people, and that everyone who believes in Him will be forgiven.

The Gentiles Believe in Jesus and Receive the Holy Spirit. The Gentile Roman audience to Peter’s gospel message believe in Jesus. Immediately the Holy Spirit enters their hearts. They begin praising God in various languages, like at Pentecost. The Jewish believers who escorted Peter to this house are dumbfounded to see Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter declares that the Gentiles should be water baptized in Jesus’s name, because they had received the same Spirit as the Jews. God’s deliverance was for all people groups. No one was to be considered unclean or unholy.