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Jesus Is Lord of All
Jesus Is Lord of All Acts 10:1-48 Key verse: 10:34-36 “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” The last time we met we thought about how the Holy Spirit began to work powerfully in the early Christian church after Jesus met and converted Paul to the faith. Paul immediately began to preach that Jesus was the Christ in the synagogues of Damascus. The persecution following Stephen’s martyrdom began to die down and Peter and the other Apostles were able to go on visiting ministries strengthening and encouraging the young churches scattered throughout Judea, Samaria and Galilee. Luke also gave us two accounts of a powerful healing ministry that the Holy Spirit accomplished through Peter. We learned that through the change of just one person God can do great works and His world salvation plan can advance powerfully. This week Luke records how God began reach out to the Gentiles, not through His chosen instrument Paul, but through Peter. Two men who most likely never would have had any interaction, received visions from God which drew them together. Their meeting brought about a great changed in the spread of the Christian message. It also sowed the seeds of a controversy which still reaches into the church today. May God bless our study of this passage and enable us to clearly understand what it means that Jesus is Lord of all. First, a vision is given to a devout, God-fearing gentile. (1-8) Chapter 10 opens with the story of a gentile from the town of Caesarea. Caesarea was a port city named in honor of Caesar Augustus and built up by Herod the Great into a major city. It was located about 100 kilometers north west of Jerusalem. According to Acts 8:40 Philip had gone there and preached the Gospel. There was a certain centurion named Cornelius who lived there. It is unclear whether Cornelius heard the gospel message from Philip or from anyone else, but what we do know about him was that “He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.” (Verse 2) What does Luke mean when he says that Cornelius and his family were devout and God-fearing? If we look down at verse 22 we can get a better idea of what Luke means here. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people.” This must mean that Cornelius had abandoned the pagan practices of the Romans and decided to worship the one true God. Apparently, he did this according to the Jewish laws and traditions. The Bible tells us that Cornelius was a generous man who gave to the needy and he was also a man of prayer. Cornelius was a man who was looking for the truth and praying that God would provide it to him. God answered his prayer. Look at verses3 and 4. “One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, ‘Cornelius!’ Cornelius stared at him in fear. ‘What is it, Lord?’ he asked. The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.’” If we look down at verse 30 we can see that this vision took place while Cornelius was praying. It is interesting to note here that Cornelius vision was of an angel of the Lord, while the corresponding vision of Peter and actions were directed by the Holy Spirit. Later Cornelius and all those gathered in his house would also receive the Holy Spirit, but now he was being directed by an angel of God. Of course, when Cornelius saw this angel he was full of fear and all he could do was stare at him and stammer, “What is it, Lord?” Here I am reminded of the many times in scriptures when humans are confronted by the angels of God. In almost every account of this happening it is mentioned that the person or people who see the angel are overcome with fear. Why is that? It is because they are being shown just a glimpse of the glory of God. It reminds me that we need to have this holy fear of God always before us. It also reminds me of my own lack of this fear. Like everyone else, I am going to have to stand before the judgement seat of the glorious, perfect God. I cannot hide anything from him and there will be no where to run, so I should live my life with this constantly in mind. But do I live with this holy fear always before me? Unfortunately, I cannot say that I do. But I thank God for His word which is always there to remind me of my shortcomings and help me to repent. The angel tries to calm Cornelius down by giving him a message of hope. He tells Cornelius that generosity and prayers had been noticed by God. The angel doesn’t directly tell Cornelius directly that God had answered Cornelius’ prayer, he just goes on to tell Cornelius what he should do. I think this is also a very interesting point, because as we can see if we look at the passage, neither Cornelius nor Peter really have any idea why it is that the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter. This only becomes clear when each of them obey the instructions they are given by God. We may not always know why it is that God calls us to do something, but we must simply obey believing that God always works for the good of those who love Him. From verse 7 and 8 we can see that Cornelius simply obeyed the angel and sent three men to get Peter. Second, a second vision is given to an Apostle. (9-23) Verse 9 tells us that at about noon the following day Peter went up to the roof of Simon’s house to pray. Peter’s vision, just like Cornelius’, begins with prayer. Time and time again we can see this in the Bible. When men or women of God get down on their knees and seek God, God answers them. We shouldn’t expect to be hearing from God if we are not actively seeking God. How can we seek Him? We seek Him through prayer; bringing our petitions before Him and listening carefully for His reply. While Peter was praying suddenly he became very hungry and wanted to stop praying to get something to eat. But before Simon’s servants could get his lunch ready something happened to Peter. He fell into a trance and he saw a vision from God. Verses 11 and 12 describe Peter’s vision. He saw heaven open up and something that looked like a large sheet was lowered to earth by it’s four corners. On this sheet there were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds. I don’t know if all of the animals on that sheet were unclean according to the Jewish food laws, but from the conversation that follows we know that at least some of them were. Look at verses 13-14. “Then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ‘Surely not, Lord!’ Peter replied. ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’” Peter was instructed to get up, kill an animal and eat. This is exactly what he wanted to do, but there was a problem. At least some of the animals on that sheet were unclean according to Jewish law, and if there were any clean animals on that sheet they would have been contaminated by the unclean ones. Peter may not have been the most observant Jewish person, but he had apparently kept the Jewish food laws just like most other Jews of that time and even today. One thing that I find very interesting about this is that apparently Jesus had never taught His disciples that it was ok to eat unclean animals. This simply was not something that Jesus had taught. If He had taught this, certainly Peter wouldn’t have raised this objection. What God said next just proved to confuse Peter more. Look at verse 15. “The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’” This vision was given to Peter 3 times, so by this Peter would know a couple of things. First of all, it must be very important to God. God did not want Peter to forget this, so He repeated it 3 times. Second, by repeating it three times God was telling Peter that it was not a mistake. God was saying exactly what He wanted Peter to know – later on, we will think more about what the true meaning really was. Verse 17 tells us that Peter was not sure at all what the meaning of this vision was. The NIV says that Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, but the KJV uses the stronger word “doubt.” Peter had no idea what this vision was about, but he was about to find out. Just after the vision ended and Peter was left in doubt as to its meaning, the three men from Cornelius arrived at the house and called out for Peter. Look at verse 19-20. “While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.’” (NKJV) Just like the angel did with Cornelius, here the spirit doesn’t explain why Peter should go these men, He just tells Peter not to doubt and go. Without explanation, Cornelius obeyed the angel and Peter obeyed the Spirit and very shortly, both will discover God’s intention in all of this. When Peter went down to the men and heard what they had to say, he did a very unusual thing, he invited them into Simon’s house as his guests. This was not only unusual, because Jews didn’t treat Gentiles as guests in their homes. What would be even more unusual is what Peter was going to do the next day. Third, Peter visits Peter. (23-33) The next day, Peter, the three men sent from Cornelius and several of the believers from Joppa headed of to Cornelius’ house in Caesarea. The believers in Joppa were all apparently all Jewish or at least Jewish proselytes (Gentiles who were converting to the Jewish religion). Cornelius was expecting them and he had invited all his relatives and close friends to come and here what this man named Peter had to say. Cornelius wasn’t converted yet as far as we know, but he was already participating in God’s world salvation work by inviting these people. Because of his eager search for the truth many people were about to be saved. When Peter arrived at the house, Cornelius showed just how much he wanted to hear the truth. He ran to Peter and fell at his feet in reverence. Cornelius believed that Peter had the very words of God, because the angel had told him to send for Peter. Of course this reverence made Peter uncomfortable and he made Cornelius stand up, stating an obvious fact: “I am only a man myself.” Peter was indeed an eye witness of God’s truth in Jesus and he did have a message from God that could bring salvation to Cornelius, his relatives and his friends, but he was still only a man just like Cornelius. God alone should be worshipped. His messengers should be listened to but not reverenced – the message they bring is not theirs, it belongs to God. As they began to talk, Peter reveals the meaning of his vision, but, at the same time he reveals that he is still unsure of why he was sent for. Look at verses 28 and 29. “He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” In Peter’s mind the mystery of the vision had been cleared up. God was showing him that He accepts all kinds of people and therefore, Peter should as well. That mystery was cleared up for Peter but why he was there was still a complete mystery. In verses 30-33 Cornelius tells Peter why he sent for him and he ends with these words: “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” Cornelius and all of his relatives and friends were gathered together in the presence of God to listen to God’s servant and learn what God wanted them to know. Fourth, Peter preaches the Gospel to Cornelius and his household (34-43) Let look at our key verses. “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.’” Once again, Peter explains the meaning of the vision God had given him. God does not show favoritism among men or women. God will accept anyone who genuinely searches for Him with all their heart, soul and strength. Notice that Peter says God will accept anyone who fears him and does what is right. It is not simply a matter of saying a simple sinners’ prayer and saying I accept Jesus. We must fear God and struggle to do what is right, like Cornelius. This is something I have become more and more aware of over the past few years. Too many people today think that becoming a Christian is as simple as saying a simple prayer and saying that Jesus is there savior. But this is not what I read in the Bible. God says that if we seek Him with all our heart, soul and strength we will find him. Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Jesus says much the same thing in the Gospel. He says that if we seek Him we will find Him, if we ask for Him we will receive Him. But he also says that the way is narrow and only a few will find it which means that we must search very carefully. We must fear God and give all of our heart, soul and strength looking for Him. And this all begins in prayer, but it doesn’t just end there. Peter then went on to preach the Gospel to Cornelius and his household beginning by declaring that Jesus brought good news of peace to not only to Israel but to all people because Jesus is Lord of all. Israel were God’s chosen people who God used to bring about the salvation of all mankind through His one and Only Son Jesus. It is a message of profound peace to those who accept it. It is also a message of profound hope. However, in this message there is a key word I don’t want any of us to overlook. The title of this message is Jesus is Lord of all. Lord means sovereign. It means that Jesus must be obeyed. Notice that without knowing what they were doing, both Cornelius and Peter obeyed God and then salvation was poured out. Let’s remember that Jesus is Lord and we must obey Him. Peter went on to give a brief summary of the gospel message. It is likely that Luke greatly summarized Peter’s message. The point is that what God commanded Peter to speak was just his eyewitness account. Nothing more. Peter was just to simply tell the gospel message. That is all that God requires of any of us. We don’t need to know the theology of Augustine or Calvin or anyone else. All we need is the simple gospel message found in the four gospels and nothing more. Fifth, the gentiles received the Holy Spirit. (44-48). What happened when Peter preached this simple message? Look at verse 44. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.” While Peter was preaching the simple Gospel message, God poured out His holy spirit of all who heard the message. The word of God is simple but powerful. We must have absolute faith in God’s word. One final thing to note in this passage is verse 45. “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.” The circumcised believers were those brothers that came with Peter from Joppa. As I said they were all Jews – practicing Jews. Jesus had also been a practicing Jew and He had fulfilled the law. How was it then that these Gentiles who didn’t have the law could benefit from the Jewish message of Jesus. Didn’t one have to be circumcised and obey the law? This would be a question that will come up again and again in the book of Acts, and to a large extent, these questions are still with the church today. Chapter 15 really gets into this question, so we will save the discussion of it until then. What was undeniable was that the Holy Spirit had been poured out on these people so there was nothing left to do but baptize them and welcome them into the body of believers. Jesus is Lord of all so we need to be ready to accept anyone who is truly seeking Him. |
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