Lesson
10
The
Gospels to the Gentiles/Peter
III. The Gospels
to the Gentiles/Peter
A. Cornelius and
the Angel (Acts 10)
The gospel then spread
from Jerusalem and judaea and Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Chapter 10 gives a new and remarkable turn in the Book of Acts. Before Chapter
10 the apostles only preached to the Jews, now, the door of faith opened to the
Gentiles as well. Cornelius, a centurion in the Roman Army, was a moral
man, generous to the poor, who feared God and was faithful in prayer. His
prayer life brought Peter to him. God will give guidance through prayer. Cornelius saw a
vision and an angel of God told him what to do. He did it willingly and
immediately. The angel told him to send to Joppa and call for one called Peter
and he would tell him what to do. "Send men to Joppa, and call for one
Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house
is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do" (Acts
10:-6).
B. Peter on the
Roof Top
While Cornelius' men
were on the road, Peter was in Joppa at Simon the tanner's house. While Peter
was on the roof top, he had a vision, in which he saw a sheet descend out of
heaven containing unclean animals. The Lord told him to "rise, slay, and
eat." Peter, with all of his Jewish pride, would not eat lest he partake
of that which was unclean, but God was preparing Peter for a ministry to the
Gentiles who the Jewish apostles thought were unclean. It was at this
time that the messengers sent from Cornelius arrived. Peter journeyed with them
to Caesarea. There he learned that God was no respecter of persons and that the
Holy Ghost was "for whosoever will" (Acts 10:34-35).
C.
Gentiles Receive the Holy Ghost
As Peter
preached to Cornelius and his household, the Holy Ghost fell upon them just as
it had fallen upon the Jews in Jerusalem. Peter then commanded them to be
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 10:48). The power
talked about in Acts 1:8 was starting to propel the Church to witness into all
the parts of the earth.