I love how when I diligently seek after the voice of the Lord, He speaks to me.
I had never thought very hard about this particular passage before.
Acts 10:30-33 --> And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”Earlier in Acts 10 the Lord gives Cornelius the vision to send for Peter. Peter has a vision about eating unholy and unclean animals then God tells him to go with the men that come to find him.
If you think about the time and the persecution of the church, it would be kind of scary to give yourself up in case they might be there to put you to death. Also, Peter defies social norms by inviting them in (Jews would never invite Gentiles in, especially Roman soldiers). Cornelius was the first gentile believer, so it would have been weird for Peter to regard a Roman solider (the enemy) as a fellow brother in Christ.
Wow, the trust that Peter had in the Lord that he trusted that these Roman soldiers were not there to kill him.
This particular passage really stuck out to me today - how cool is it to share what the Lord is doing in our lives? How exciting would it be to recount how God brought Peter to meet Cornelius and stay with him? I can just imagine the joy that Cornelius had as he recounted for Peter what the Lord had said to him and how it all fell into place. Wow. God is cool. Thanks, Lord, for sharing this with us.
Also, in verses 34-43 Peter realizes that "God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation for man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him." This is where God's heart for the nations really starts to piece together. God doesn't just love His chosen people, but He desires a relationship with people from every nation.
How cool would it have been to hear the first hand experiences of the disciples that followed Jesus? How awesome would it have been to listen to Peter as he described the miracles that Jesus did in vivid detail, because he was there? Or to hear of the teachings of Jesus from John? To even sit in the company of one of the apostles for an hour to glean insider information into the inner workings of Jesus' heart. Wow. How powerful would that be? And Cornelius got that chance through Peter.
