February 10 / Acts 10:17-23

Acts 10:17-23

In an unworthy, hastily written post late yesterday I remarked on the “voice” (Acts 10:13, 15), with a comment that it was a “voice”, not an angel or the Holy Spirit. Today we correct that observation. Today’s reading specifically says …the Spirit said to him… (v. 19). Interestingly the delegation from Cornelius tells Peter that Cornelius …was directed by a holy angel… (v. 22). So, is this contrast important – that the Spirit spoke to Peter, a believer, while an angel spoke to Cornelius, not yet a believer? With Jesus Himself appearing to Paul as an exception, I wonder if God sends angels to nonbelievers and the Holy Spirit to believers. Back in chapter 8 it was both an angel and the Spirit (Acts 8:26, 29, 39) speaking to and acting upon Philip. I don’t think we can nail God down on this one!

Cornelius is again accorded high praise by Luke (Acts 10:22), just as we pointed out in yesterday’s discussion. But here we have him …well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, which is even stronger than we saw in the earlier passage: the whole Jewish nation!! Consider the implications of that phrase. Cornelius is a centurion in the Roman Cohort, a man highly visible to all the residents of Caesarea. Caesarea, itself, is a major city, a seaport and one of the leading cities of Judea, second only to Jerusalem. We will see Cornelius’ conversion in the next few days. Imagine the multiplication impact his conversion might have had for the whole Jewish nation!! Could this event have been the beginning of an evangelistic “crusade” in Caesarea? Recall that Philip was already likely residing there! Luke will have Peter back in Jerusalem to report on this event, with not much more said of Caesarea. So we’ll never know what wonders God worked there.

But there is a bottom line to all this: God has worked His wonders out with common people and with highly-placed people – even with those of us who are writing and reading these words!!

Slava Bohu!