The Acts of the Apostles

1. Acts 10:1-8: Cornelius and His Vision Cornelius was a Roman and centurion A non-commissioned officer who commanded a division in the Roman army, consisting of a 100 men. A regiment(band) was 600 men, 10% of a Roman legion of 6000 soldiers. Five centurions mentioned in the NT Cornelius and others in Matt 8:5-13; Luke 23:46,47; Acts 22:24-26; Acts 27:1 Caesarea was on the Mediterranean ~30 miles north of Joppa. Was Cornelius a believer? He was described asdevout (pious), one who feared God and gave alms generously and prayed continually (presumably to the Jews’ God). More about Cornelius - Acts 10:28,34,44; 11:1,8; 15:7 The vision occurred at the 9th hour - ~3:00 PM, the hour of prayer. See also Ps 55:17; Dan 6:10 The Acts of the Apostles “Acts 10:1-22 “Peter with Cornelius & the Great Sheet” 1 June 8, 2014 Bob Eckel

2. Notice the gender of the angel (v4) – masculine Why were Cornelius’ alms and prayer called a memorial before God? See the prayers of the saints in Rev 8:4 If Cornelius is unsaved, doesn’t this experience remind you of Paul? What’s similar? What’s different? Why didn’t the Lord bring Peter to Cornelius rather than the opposite? Notice the command was to send men not himself. Acts 10:9-16: Peter’s Vision The men are on their way and ~12:00 Peter is up on the (flat) roof praying. And Peter got hungry and proceeded into a trance(ecstasy) (hypoglycemia?) and then had a vision of clean and unclean animals coming down on a white sheet. The Acts of the Apostles “Acts 10:1-22 “Peter with Cornelius & the Great Sheet” 2 June 8, 2014 Bob Eckel

3. Like similar states described in II Cor 12:2; Rev 1:10 Seems like a reasonable vision for a hungry man doesn't’ it. And he saw heaven open up (v11) Like Steven in Acts 7:55,56 And there are other visions in the book of Acts Acts 7:31; 9:10-12, 12:9, 16:9,10, 18:9 What do make of the sheetbeing bound at the four corners? And this was difficult for Peter because these animals were not all Kosher (Lev 2:11-45). Who was speaking to Peter? What was the message – repeated 3 times? An important turning point - let’s leave the Law behind Peter! Constable – ‘He had either not understood or not remembered Jesus' teaching in which He had declared all foods clean (Mark 7:14-19, Rom. 14:14). Peter's "No, Lord," is, of course, an inconsistent contradiction. Nevertheless Peter's response was very consistent with his impulsive personality and former conduct. He had said, "No," to the Lord before (Matt. 16:22; John 13:8).’ The Acts of the Apostles “Acts 10:1-22 “Peter with Cornelius & the Great Sheet” 3 June 8, 2014 Bob Eckel

4. And calling someone ‘common’ should have become invalid – Acts 10:28 Can you think of ways in which our response to legality continues today? Acts 10:17-22 Peter’s Response to the Vision and Men Sent by Cornelius Peter’s response of wondering or doubting about the white sheet phenomenon was in the imperfect tense – continual and repeated wondering and doubting Notice how the Holy Spirit leads (v19) The timing of the visit – related to Peter’s roofly experience That Peter was to come down and greet the men sent by Cornelius and realize the Lord had brought them to him. In addition to being called by angels of the Lord (vv.3,22) and the ascended Lord Jesus Christ (vv.4,14). How unexpected this all must have seemed to Peter Gentile men being sent to him from another town. The Acts of the Apostles “Acts 10:1-22 “Peter with Cornelius & the Great Sheet” 4 June 8, 2014 Bob Eckel

5. Summoning him to the house of Cornelius and sharing words with him. Presumably the gospel. The heart of Cornelius had been prepared. Is this the way God works today? How important do think it was for them to describe the attributes of Cornelius? I Pet 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” The Acts of the Apostles “Acts 10:1-22 “Peter with Cornelius & the Great Sheet” 5 June 8, 2014 Bob Eckel