This is the thirty-second
entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. In this
entry Cornelius explains why he called for Peter and Peter shares the Gospel
with Cornelius and his friends, with surprising results for Peter.
For previous entries, please now go to the Complete Acts of the Apostle Commentary, where you can find links to each of the
entries updated after each new blog post.
3. Contents:
E) Preparation for
the Gentile Mission: the Conversions of Paul and Cornelius (9:1-12:25): Cornelius
sends men to fetch Peter (10:30-48):
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at
this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man
in dazzling clothes stood before me. 31 He 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 staying in the
home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 Therefore I sent for
you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are
here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to
say.”
34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I
truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every
nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You
know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus
Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout
Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was
with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea
and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but
God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not
to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate
and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded
us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as
judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify
about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins
through his name.”
44 While Peter was still speaking, the
Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised
believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy
Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46 for they
heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can
anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy
Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days. (NRSV)
This section begins with Cornelius answering Peter’s question from Acts 10:29, “Now may I ask why you sent for me?” While Peter might have his suspicions,
based on his own visionary experience, and the men who have come to get him, this seems to be a genuine question. Cornelius
then replays his own experiences, which we as readers already know, in answer
to Peter’s query. He says that a man in “dazzling
clothes” appeared to him as he was praying (Acts 10:30), which is
unquestionably an angelic being (Gilbert, JANT, 219). The circumlocution
is slightly interesting, since in Acts 10:3 Cornelius’ visitor is identified as
an angel and Cornelius addresses the angel as “Lord” (Johnson, Acts,
190). This might simply be a subtle way, however, to indicate this devout
Gentile’s confusion regarding the nature of divinity in a Jewish context.
Cornelius recounts that the angel assured him that his “prayer has been
heard and your alms have been remembered before God” (Acts 10:31). Luke Timothy
Johnson notes that in the LXX (Septuagint), the verb mimnêskomai is used
of God “remembering” his covenant with Israel, which gives a sense of the
importance of this verb for God’s relationship with this Gentile (Johnson
offers Gen. 4:1, 9:15; Exod 2:24, 6:5; Lev 26:42; Ps 105:45, 135:23 as
examples; Johnson, Acts, 190-91).
It was also the angel who instructs Cornelius to send for Peter and so he
says: “I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So
now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord
has commanded you to say” (Acts 10:32-34). Cornelius states they are all there
to listen to Peter, but even then he acknowledges that they are in “God’s
presence” and that what Peter will say is only “all that the Lord has commanded
you to say.” Cornelius assumes, that is, that Peter will have a message from
God (Johnson, Acts, 191). “Cornelius' recapitulation of his
own vision (vv. 30–3) heightens the solemnity of the scene: we find ourselves
alongside the listeners, poised and expectant ‘in the presence of God’ to hear
what God has commissioned Peter to say (v. 33).” (“Commentary on Acts” in The
Oxford Bible Commentary). In some sense, Peter only realizes right then
himself that he has a message from God for Cornelius and the others. But does
he even know what his message is to be?
Whether he did when he arrived, he knows it as he begins to speak. “Peter
then moves into a recapitulation of the gospel message he has preached in
Jerusalem, subtly adapted for this Caesarean setting. This is the fullest
summary Luke gives of the gospel story in Acts.” (“Commentary on Acts” in The
Oxford Bible Commentary). Gary
Gilbert states that “the speech summarizes major themes in Acts: Jesus is the
prophesied anointed one and Lord (2.36; 4.33; 8.16; 15.11; 16.31; 19.5; 28.31);
his death has been vindicated by God (2.24, 32; 3.15; 4.10; 5.30; 13.30); the
apostles are chosen witnesses to proclaim Jesus (1.8; 2.32; 3.1513.31; 23.11;
26.16); all experience forgiveness of sins through believing in Jesus (2.38;
5.31; 13.38; 26.18)” (Gilbert, JANT, 220).
Richard Dillon argues that this speech of Peter indicates Lucan composition
and its relationship with early Church tradition more than any other speech in
Acts. In Acts 2-3 Dillon says we have the focus on the call for repentance,
particularly from fellow Jews, now “comes a kerygma of universal forgiveness
under the one appointed judge of the world (vv 42-43), matching the conclusion
of Paul’s speech to the Gentile Athenians (17:30-31) and the argument of 1
Thess 1:10” (Dillon, NJBC, 746). Dillon’s crucial question is this:
“does this sermon represent a traditional teaching pattern out of which the
Synoptic Gospels developed” or “has Luke reshaped the Petrine kerygma into an
outline of the narrative gospel in his own literary genre”? (Dillon, NJBC,
746).
Would it be possible to answer both? It is difficult to see, regardless
of Lucan composition and skill, that this scene does not represent the
realities and decisions that the early Church confronted in bringing the Gospel
to the Gentiles and which included Peter’s own experiences and decisions. What
this speech does is take the “expanded Jesus kerygma,” which begins with “Good
News” to Israel (Acts 10:36), and connects the “Gospel” with Jesus’ earthly
activity (Acts 10:37) (Dillon, NJBC, 746). This speech, therefore, “brings
out the characteristic shape of the story, starting in Galilee after John's
baptism (v. 37), and stressing the charismatic power of Jesus' healing
ministry: nowhere else does Luke make it so clear that he sees all healing as
liberation from demonic power (v. 38 ) (“Commentary on Acts” in The Oxford
Bible Commentary).
This “healing” is now seen as available to anyone as Peter states that
he now understands that “God shows no partiality” but that the experiences of
Cornelius indicate that God is for all who “fear him” and “do what is right” (Acts
10:34-35). Gary Gilbert states that according to the Hebrew scripture “previously
God had not distinguished on the basis of wealth or status (Deut 10.17-18; Sir
35.12-13), but now God does not attend to one’s ethnicity” (Gilbert, JANT,
220). God’s “impartiality,” says Johnson, becomes a “central theological axiom,”
which “Peter is just now grasping or coming to understand” (Johnson, Acts,
191).
“In every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is
acceptable to him” (Acts 10:35). Indeed, “acceptability before God is open to
those ‘in every nation’ (v. 35) who fear him and perform righteous acts (cf.
Rom 2:10–11, where the same word is used)” (“Commentary on Acts” in The
Oxford Bible Commentary). “Fears him” is found in Ps 15:1-2 and is a
description of Cornelius in 10:22 (Gilbert, JANT, 220). Dektos the
adjective for “acceptable” is used in the LXX to describe “acceptable”
sacrifices received by God (see all of the passages cited in Johnson, Acts,
191). Cornelius is being described, that is, by terms formerly used to describe
righteous Jewish behavior. Gilbert states that the twin themes of “fearing God”
and “doing right” echo the Jewish teachings, pronounced by Jesus also, to love
God and love neighbor (Gilbert, JANT, 220).
The rest of the speech, Acts 10:36-43, give a basic creedal statement
of the early Church. Acts 10:36, “You know the message he sent to the people of
Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all,” is an oddly worded
summation of Jesus’ work, but stresses two themes: peace brought by the
Messiah; and Christ’s Lordship. “God sends the message about his fairness to
Israel through the work of the Messiah, expressed as the good news of peace,” which
is a messianic blessing (Johnson, Acts, 191-2). Gilbert stresses that,
particularly in this context, preaching peace is the message of reconciliation
(Gilbert, JANT, 220). “Lord of all” might have a particular resonance
for the Gentile Cornelius and his friends since it assumes for Jesus the title
of pagan gods, roman emperors and God (Gilbert, JANT, 220), such as Osiris
for instance (Johnson, Acts, 192).
The next verses, Acts 10:37-38, offer an account of Jesus’ ministry: “That
message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that
John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by
the devil, for God was with him.” In Acts 10:38, the “anointing” of Jesus,
which uses the verb chriô, shows how Luke understood Jesus’
messiahship in prophetic terms (Johnson, Acts, 192). Jesus is anointed
with the Holy Spirit and dynamis, power, a connection found throughout Acts,
but Jesus “doing good” utilizes the verb euergeteô, which is found only here
in the whole New Testament (Johnson, Acts, 192). The absence of euergeteô
from the New Testament is fascinating and somewhat surprising, since it was
a common verb that described kings and their benefactions; in fact it appears
as a key element of divine kingship in the Pythagorean kingship documents of
the Hellenistic period. Is it used here by Luke because of its connections to
Gentile kingship as a means of connecting Cornelius and his friends to Jesus’
Messianic kingship? One usage is hardly enough to make a decision, but the
context might be telling.
Part of Jesus’ “doing good” is healing those who were “oppressed by the
devil” (katadynasteuô), a verb which appears only here and in James 2:1,
where it indicates the rich oppressing the poor. “Nowhere else does Luke make
it so clear that he sees all healing as liberation from demonic power (v. 38 )”
(“Commentary on Acts” in The Oxford
Bible Commentary). Peter’s speech indicates that God must do battle with
Satan’s kingdom and in fact has overcome evil (Johnson, Acts, 192).
Peter then switches to the witnesses of Jesus’ ministry: “We are
witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death
by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him
to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses,
and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to
preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge
of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:39-42). “Peter now repeats the charge that
Jesus was ‘put to death’ (v. 39), though without specifying who was responsible
(for ‘hanging on a tree’ cf. ACTS 5:30) (“Commentary on Acts” in The Oxford
Bible Commentary), but Gilbert must be correct that Luke has in mind the
Jewish leaders as the ones who put Jesus to death in Acts 10:39 (Gilbert, JANT,
220). Though the Romans “put him to death by hanging him on a tree,” the tree (xylon)
evokes the curse text of Deut 21:23, “cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree” (Johnson,
Acts, 193).
The witnesses testify to the events of Jesus’ life (10:39) and the
events of his death and resurrection (10:41) (Johnson, Acts, 193).
Johnson is certainly correct to see the explicit connection between
resurrection appearances and eating with Jesus, which certifies that their
witness is grounded in real, concrete human events (Johnson, Acts, 193).
This Jesus, who commanded them to witness to his life and resurrection, is also
the judge – a word only used elsewhere in Acts in 17:31 – “of the living and the
dead.” It is Jesus’ role as judge of living and the dead which makes sense of
his role as “Lord of all” (Johnson, Acts, 193). Finally, it is not only
these living and breathing people who are witnesses to Jesus’ Lordship, but the
Scripture, however relevant this is to Cornelius and his friends at this point:
“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43). Not only is prophetic
fulfillment “central to Luke-Acts” (Johnson, Acts, 193), it is the
promise of “forgiveness of sins through his name” to “everyone who believes in
him,” even Gentiles.
Peter’s speech ushers in a new Gentile Pentecost in Acts 10:44-48. “While
Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The
circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of
the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them
speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold
the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as
we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then
they invited him to stay for several days” (Acts 10:44-48).
The key in Acts 10:44 is that the Holy Spirit falls upon the “all who
heard the word” and thereby “repeats the events of Pentecost” (Gilbert, JANT,
220). It is the third outpouring of the Holy Spirit (2:1-4; 4:3; 8:17) in Acts
and it shocks the “circumcised brothers” who had come from Joppa that the “gift
of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:45). There was no question that it must be the Holy
Spirit because the Gentiles were speaking in tongues, just as the Jewish believers
were at Pentecost. Peter’s understanding of the event proceeds in this manner:
since they are speaking in tongues, the Holy Spirit must be the cause. Since
they have the Holy Spirit, God must have accepted these Gentiles. Since God has
accepted these Gentiles, we must ratify God’s acceptance with baptism.
For Johnson, they significant phrase is Peter saying the Gentiles have
received the Holy Spirit “just as we have” (Johnson, Acts, 194). “The
act of baptizing Gentile believers (v. 48) follows as a logical consequence:
the structure of Luke's narrative makes it quite clear that the initiative in
this case is God's. The form of the question (‘Can anyone withold?’ v. 47)
recalls the Ethiopian's question about baptism in 8:37: within the narrative,
this is a rhetorical question which expects the answer ‘No’, but the very
existence of the question implies that some at least in Luke's audience might
have preferred to answer ‘Yes’.” (“Commentary on Acts” in The Oxford Bible
Commentary). Peter understands that the presence of the Holy Spirit
indicates that they show evidence of belief in Christ Jesus and so unilaterally
decides to baptize them.
While it is difficult to find “a climax” in Acts of the Apostles, even
to this point in the book one could argue for Pentecost, or the arrest of Peter
and John, or Stephen’s martyrdom, or Paul’s conversion, the conversion of the
Gentiles here ranks high on the list of events which might be considered as the
“core” of this Gospel. It is hard to imagine Acts without the Gentile mission,
and while the Ethiopian eunuch scene raises questions about previous Gentile
conversion, this is the central conversion event for Luke, the point at which
Acts turns its attention in full to the Gentile mission as the story of the
Church.
Next entry, Peter reports
the Gentile response to the Gospel and his decision to baptize Gentiles to the
Jerusalem Church.
John W. Martens
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This entry is cross-posted at America Magazine - The Good Word
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