2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

April 9, 2025

Acts 10:1-48

1. Chapter 10:1-8. As we continue to examine the scriptures in Acts concerning witnessing/sharing our faith, today we learn how we are to share across racial lines and eliminate bigotry in our religious practices. The lst century Jews thought God’s blessings were only for them. God has always loved those who feared and revered his name. In Caesarea, there was a man who was a Roman centurion. He was not a Jew, but he was a believer in the Most High. His whole family was devoted to God. He often gave to those in need and prayed regularly. One day as he was praying, he saw a vision of an angel who spoke to him about Peter. The angel greeted Cornelius by stating that God heard his prayers and that his offerings came before God. The angel told Cornelius that he should send men to get Peter who were staying at Simons house, and bring him to Caesarea.

2. Verses 9-23. Just before the three men were to arrive at the home of Simon the tanner, Peter had a vision of Cornelius, to prepare him for the arrival of these three, and for the invitation of Cornelius, which they were to extend to him. Peter’s vision, like that of Cornelius, came at a time when he was in prayer. Peter became hungry while in prayer and began to have a vision about food. Unlike the vision of Cornelius, Peter did not immediately understand what the vision meant, in principle or in practice. That was to be revealed to him by the Spirit, at the time when the application of this truth was required. Peter’s vision is one about food, but it is not a vision of a meal. A sheet is lowered from heaven and later taken back up into heaven. On this sheet there were various kinds of animals. They are alive, and they must be killed, and then Peter can fix his own meal. There are various animals, some of which were deemed “unclean” and some of which were deemed “clean.” In Peter’s mind, because the animals that were clean were with the “unclean,” they were “unclean.” Thus, he could not kill or eat any of them. This would be consistent with his view of Jewish separation from “unclean” Gentiles. He, like the Pharisees, would avoid contact with the Gentiles because they felt that the mere association with them was defiling. The self-righteous Jews would keep themselves separate from the Gentiles and other “sinners” thinking that their association would make them unclean. This was based on bigotry and not their faith. Peter is slow to get the message of the dream. He was perplexed and was contemplating what he had experienced when the three men arrived. He could hear them asking for him by name. It was only then that the Holy Spirit told Peter what to do, allowing him to come to the realization that this was the meaning of the message he had just received in his vision. He was to go with these Gentiles, to the home of a Gentile, without agonizing over them being unclean. He must put his prejudice aside. Now remember Jesus told Peter and the other disciples that the gospel would go to the world (Acts 1:8). The universal scope of God's redemptive plan is hinted at in the Old Testament. In Genesis 12:3, God promises Abraham, " And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you." This covenantal promise indicates that the blessings given to Abraham and his descendants were ultimately intended for all nations. Similarly, the prophetic literature often envisions a time when the nations will turn to the God of Israel. Isaiah 49:6 declares, "I will also make you a light for the nations, to bring My galvation to the ends of the earth.". Both the men and the Spirit testified to the fact that this invitation was ultimately divinely directed. Significantly, Peter invited the men into the house, where they shared in the meal and spent the night. Barriers were already being broken down.

3. Verses 24-35 The next day, the group went to Caesarea, accompanied by a curious (it would seem) group of Jewish disciples from Joppa, who were divinely purposed to serve as witnesses to God’s handiwork in the house of Cornelius, the Gentile. Cornelius was waiting, along with a large group who were assembled in his house. He fell at Peter’s feet, either thinking him to be an angel, or giving him undue reverence, something which Peter corrected quickly. In effect, Peter forbade this act of worship on the basis that these two men were merely men and thus equals. The full force of his own words was yet to hit Peter. Peter then explained to his audience the reason for his reticence in coming, and the meaning of his vision in relation to his hesitance (10:27-29). In his explanation, Peter referred to his possible association with Gentiles (as a Jew) was unlawful. There is no Old Testament law prohibiting such association. Peter is therefore referring to something which was viewed as unlawful by Jewish custom and practice. It was this same custom and practice which Jesus and His disciples set aside, much to the displeasure of the scribes and Pharisees. When Peter said that God showed him not to consider any man unholy or unclean (10:28). Peter, like his Jewish counterparts, had wrongly extended the “clean” and “unclean” distinctions of the Old Testament to men, rather than applying them to that which God had specifically defined as clean or unclean. After Peter’s words, Cornelius explained to Peter and the others what prompted him to send for Peter. He was at prayer when he received his vision. In the vision, an angel appeared to him, informing him of the pleasure God took in his worship and instructing him to send for Peter who was dwelling in Joppa, at the house of Simon the tanner. Peter was the man God had intended to come. And now, Cornelius added, they were ready to hear what God had to say to them through Peter. These words were to be a word from God concerning the way of salvation for him and his household.

4. Here was the fundamental problem and barrier to the proclamation of the gospel. The Jews felt that they had a “corner” on Christianity. They believed that salvation was not just “of the Jews,” but that salvation was primarily “for the Jews.” The preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles as Gentiles was a completely foreign thought, based on the assumption that the Jews were somehow “clean” and that the Gentiles were “unclean,” and that taking the gospel to the Gentiles would be defiling to them and to the gospel. It is not only a New Testament principle, introduced with the coming of Christ, but a principle of God’s dealing with men down through the ages, from Old Testament times onward. It was a principle of which the Jews were deliberately ignorant. Most of the Jews thought of themselves as somehow superior to the Gentiles, and thus they thought of themselves as those whom God would bless because of their superiority. They were separate, by God’s calling and choice, but they were not, in and of themselves, superior. But they thought so.

5. Peter now understands that Jews and Gentiles are equal. They are equally sinful, and equally worthy of God’s wrath. They are equally lost. They are equally undeserving. The gospel is the good news that cleansing has come, through the Messiah, Jesus, to all who would believe in His death, burial, and resurrection on their behalf And when they have trusted in Him, whether Jew or Gentile, they are equal for their cleansing and worth are based upon the work of Christ, not on their own good works. When one’s righteousness is based upon God’s work, through Christ, there is no basis for self-righteousness, and thus no basis for superiority or pride. Peter now claims to understand this essential equality, which forbids him from withholding the gospel from those Gentiles who would hear it and receIve it

6. Peter still has a good way to go, in my opinion. He is now willing to go to the house of a God-fearing Gentile, to preach the gospel to him, and to receive him as a brother and equal in Christ. But the gospel requires more than this. As illustrated in the salvation of Saul (in chapter 9), the gospel requires that the good news of salvation be proclaimed to all men, even to the heathen who do not fear God. This is a step which is yet to be taken by the church, but Luke is bringing us to this point as he continues in the Book of Acts.

7. Verses 36-43. Peter breaks down the gospel in its simplest form. He has distilled the essence of the gospel in but a paragraph. Peter opens his preaching with the words “You Know.” He is speaking to people who already have knowledge of God. They feared God and heard of the promised Messiah. They just did not know it was Jesus. They were religious, but they had not yet put their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Peter quickly outlines some things the audience already knows. He tells them that God sent a message to the people of Israel through his son Jesus. Jesus went through Judea preaching, he was baptized by John, he was anointed with power to heal and he cast out demons. He was crucified, and buried in a tomb. God raised him from the grave and was seen by many. After his resurrection he commanded his disciples to preach the good news. The good news that if anyone believes in him receives forgiveness for their sins based on his name.

8. Verses 44-46. Peter did not get to finish this sermon! He began by summarizing the gospel, much of which his audience knew, He seems to have been planning to go on from here, spelling out and explaining the points he had summarized as he developed his message. He never got that chance. But what he did say was enough. They heard Peter and believed the message. They were saved, and thus the Spirit descended upon them. When Peter and those who accompanied hirn saw the manifestation of the Spirit just like they saw on the day of Pentecost, they had the evidence they needed to confirm that God was doing the same thing with the Gentiles as he did with the Jews. God was saving anyone who believed. The outward manifestation of the Spirit was a sign to Peter who was reluctant to believe that God was doing the same thing. If the people did not have the manifestation of the Spirit, the gentiles still would have been saved, but Peter would have assumed that they were getting a sort of second-class salvation. Peter and his circumcised friends needed to see a sign. The manifestation of the Spirit was more for Peter’s benefit than for the gentiles. Too often the church looked for the signs as opposed to simple faith, belief and trust in Jesus Christ. Salvation is not based on speaking in tongues or baptism; it is based on your belief in Christ as Savior and Lord. The two issues are our sins and forgiveness of those sins. We are all sinners, and the forgiveness of our sins comes through the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, the extent of God’s love for us.

9. Verses 47-48. Peter declared that those who believed should not be hindered from being baptized. Notice the people were already saved prior to baptism. Baptism was a way to be identified with Christ, and with His death, burial, and resurrection on behalf of sinners. Just as circumcision identified a Jew with Abraham, and Moses, baptism identifies the believer with Jesus Christ. When we are saved, we move from darkness to light, from judgment to salvation, from death to life. But we must also note that even in the case of the apostles (Peter, in particular), his theology (littered with his prejudices) changed gradually, and some of his sins and prejudices lingered on for a long period of time–longer than we would like to admit. Salvation changes our status with God instantly, but it does not instantly eradicate all sin or error or prejudice. Peter is now an apostle, but he is not infallible, nor is he free from all the errors of his past. So it is with us. God changes some things instantly and others gradually (through the process of sanctification). Let us consider this reality in our own lives and as we deal with others.

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