Peter had been with Jesus when He raised a young girl to life (Luke 8:51-56). Now he was faced with a similar situation. Tabitha, a godly woman whose gracious behaviour had touched many in her community, had been dead for several hours and was laid out in a bedroom. The local believers were convinced that Peter could do something to help, and sent for him to come immediately (Acts 9:36-38).
The story of the early church advances another step in this chapter. Initially all the new believers were Jews. In Acts Chapter 8 the gospel reached mixed race Samaritans and an Ethiopian eunuch – both were barred from worshipping with the Jews in Jerusalem's Temple. In Acts Chapter 9, Saul of Tarsus (a Jew and also a Roman citizen) is converted as he went into Syria.
Cornelius, the Roman army officer posted to the military HQ for the occupying forces, wanted to know God. He was kind, generous and God-fearing: but he was a Gentile. But God knew his heart's hunger to know Him. An angel spoke to him in a vision, telling him that God knew all about him, and then told him what to do. It was not a vision of God or mystical experience of His presence; it was a set of instructions which set the pattern for Gospel ministry for the church.
Peter was chosen by Jesus to be a disciple (Learner) and apostle (commissioned representative who is sent out). He knew the Jewish law of the Old Covenant was devout and strictly religious. But he did not know that Jesus was preparing him to invite Gentiles into God's presence. Neither did he know that the Lord had told the Gentile Roman Centurion, Cornelius, to invite Peter to explain the gospel to him and his household.
The Lord was preparing Peter to visit the house of a Gentile Roman army officer - to tell him about Jesus and how to be saved (Acts 10:1-6). But Peter believed that God only welcomed Jews into His kingdom, and not Gentiles (unless they first became Jews). However the Old Covenant, which spiritually de-prioritised Gentiles, was superseded by the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:25).
God had been preparing Peter to go to a Gentile's house (something strict Jews would refuse to do) in order to preach the gospel. A vision of ceremonially unclean animals, accompanied by the Lord's voice telling Peter not to treat anything as unclean any more (Acts 10:9-16), came just before the three men arrived from Caesarea (Acts 10:4-8) asking that he go with them to the home of a Roman centurion.
Peter arrived at the home of Cornelius after two days' journey of about 30 miles along the coast road (Acts 10:24). When he got there, Peter was greeted by Cornelius, and a large gathering of his friends and relatives inside the house. Cornelius believed that God had instructed him to invite Peter to explain the gospel; it was so important that the centurion invited as many people as possible to hear what God had to say. It was an honest and humble response to an opportunity to hear very good news.
Peter had travelled the 30 miles from Joppa to Caesarea along the coast road with a few Jewish friends who believed in Jesus, and an escort sent by the centurion, Cornelius. The house was packed with people who the soldier had invited, expecting the apostle to tell them what God wanted them to hear. So Peter humbly asked, "Why have you sent for me?" (Acts 10:29)
Cornelius was a Gentile Roman soldier. And Peter was a Jew who should never have gone into the home of a Gentile, according to the strict ceremonial laws. But God had prepared Peter to understand that in Christ there was no longer a special right of access to God for the Jews. Of course they were privileged to know what pleased God in the Old Testament law, and to have prophecies about Jesus coming as the Saviour God. They were also intended to announce the coming of the Messiah to the whole world.
Peter's address to Cornelius about Jesus had none of the feel-good sentiments of some modern preaching. It was not designed to excite emotions by showing how trusting Jesus can make for a happier life. It was a succession of facts; historical evidence of the life, death, resurrection and future rule of Jesus Christ. The presentation was raw evidence from the mouth of an eye-witness (2 Peter 1:16).
