Don’s Daily Devotions

Acts chapter 10:42-48:

V42:  God has commanded the Apostles to preach these things ” to the people” – perhaps initially to the Jewish people, but as Peter is learning here, to all people. ( So Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8.)  Within this gospel, they must proclaim the truth that this same Jesus is the appointed judge before whom all will one day stand ( Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10.)

V43:  And all the OT prophets point to Jesus, and to the forgiveness of sins that He gives to all who believe in Him. God’s purpose has always been this – there is no “wedge” between the OT and the NT. ( John 5:38-40; Luke 24:25-27.)

V44:  As Peter speaks, the Holy Spirit falls on all who are listening to him. This must mean that as they listen, grace opens their hearts to believe – and clearly there is some outward visible sign, as on the Day of Pentecost. ( See also v46.) Some speak of this as “the Gentile Pentecost” – a seal of God on what He is doing here, and to all Gentile believers hereafter. 

V45-46:  This amazes the Jewish believers who have accompanied Peter. They are in fact God’s chosen witnesses to the authenticity of what is taking place!

V47-48:  Peter asks if any present can doubt that these Gentiles, who have received the same grace as the Jewish believers, are eligible to be baptised, and at once they are, in the Name of Jesus, their new Saviour and Lord. ( They are not actually the first non-Jews to be baptised, of course, the Ethiopian Eunuch had been baptised by Philip in ch 8:38.)

Acts chapter 10:34-41:

V34-35:  Peter now realises that God has shown him He has His people, not only from among the Jews but from ” every nation”, so clearly he does not see this as a “one-off” exception. Again, we must not take this verse to mean that Cornelius ( or anyone else ) has earned merit with God by their good works. Ephesians 2:8-9 remain the absolute truth about salvation – it is all by grace! Nevertheless, God is mindful of how people respond to every token of grace in their lives, as with Cornelius here.

V36-37:  Now Peter begins to point them to Jesus, first declaring how God sent His Word first to Israel, proclaiming “the good news of peace through Jesus Christ “- Peter emphasises that Jesus is Lord of all, again declaring His divinity. This wonderful peace is spoken of in Romans 5:1, and Ephesians 2:14-16 – verses very relevant to what is happening here. He reminds them of what they are surely aware of, what happened in Judea and Galilee following John the Baptist’s ministry…

V38:  …how God ” anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power”. Even God the Son, then, in His human nature and ministry, needed the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to equip Him – how much more do we!! He sums up the Lord’s ministry in terms of ” doing good” and healing, because truly God was with Him – He who was Himself ” Immanuel” – God with us!

V39:  The importance of the witness of Peter and the other Apostles (” we”) is stressed – they were with Jesus, can testify to all that He did ( and said ) – and how he was then put to death on the cross ( the ” accursed death”, remember – Galatians 3:13 – where He bore the curse for all He would redeem.)

V40-41: They are also witnesses to the vital truth of the Resurrection, on which the whole hope of the gospel stands ( Romans 1:4: 1 Corinthians 15:14-20.) Their testimony is that of personal experience, and God has chosen them for this. Throughout  Acts the Cross and the Resurrection are always proclaimed together, as they still should be.

Acts chapter 10:27-33:

V27-28:  Finding a large number of non-Jews gathered, Peter shows he has understood and accepted what God is saying to him – he must no longer hold to the Jewish laws about avoiding contact with Gentiles, nor call anyone “common” or unclean before God because of race or background. So, Paul would write later Galatians 3:28, but here God is teaching this lesson to Peter, though his prime ministry is to be to the Jews and Jewish believers.( Galatians 2:8.)

V29:  So, Peter has come to Cornelius, as God has directed him. He asks the centurion why he has sent for him.

V30-32:  Cornelius tells him all that has happened, the vision he was given, and how God’s messenger (which is what angels are, of course ) told him to send to Joppa for Peter.

V33:  So, he sent, and Peter has come to him. Now all in the house are gathered to hear what Peter has to tell them from God. He already anticipates a clear and important message from the Lord, and is eager that all those he has gathered should also hear it. Here clearly is a heart God has prepared for the gospel.

Acts chapter 10:17-26:

V17-18:  As Peter is puzzling over what his vision means, the men from Cornelius arrive at the house and ask for him. There are no ” coincidences” in God’s dealings with His people, only the working out of His sovereign purposes. 

V19-20:  Still pondering over what God is saying to him ( or is he resisting it, as we may do at times?) Peter is told by the Holy Spirit to go down to the men who are seeking him, and to go with them – for God has sent them.

V21-22:  He goes to them, asks why they have come, and they tell him of the devout centurion, well-regarded by the Jews who know him, and how an angel had appeared to him, telling him to send for Peter.

V23:  Peter invites them in – already going against the Jewish ” taboos” about contact with Gentiles – and next day sets out with them for Caesarea, accompanied by some Jewish believers from Joppa – who will be God’s chosen witnesses to what happens.

V24:  When they arrive, Cornelius has gathered “his relatives and close friends” in anticipation of what Peter has to tell them. Clearly, he is a man concerned to share what he knows of God with others – an example to us all.

V25-26:  He falls down before Peter, offering him homage, but Peter quickly corrects this – he is only a man, like Cornelius himself. What belongs only to God must not be given to him!

Acts chapter 10:9-16:

V9:  As God is working His purpose out, even in small details ( Romans 8:28.) Peter goes up to the roof of his host’s house to pray, just as Cornelius’ messengers are approaching the city. The roofs, remember, would be flat, often with a parapet around them.

V10-11:  Peter feels hungry, but even as a “real” meal is being prepared for him, he falls into a trance in which he sees a vision of “something like a great sheet”, held up by its 4 corners, coming down from heaven to earth.

V12: In this “sheet” are a mixture of many creatures, some of which are specifically ” unclean” according to OT law – and by proximity to them, even any ” clean” beasts would have been rendered unclean.

V13-14:  A voice tells Peter to kill something from the sheet, and eat. Peter protests he has never eaten anything unclean, or forbidden by the law – common as opposed to that “set apart” by God’s ordinance, and so “Holy” ( See Leviticus 10:10.) He realises it is the Lord who speaks to him, and perhaps thinks this is a test of his piety.

V15-16:  But he is told he must not call anything God has made clean ” common”. The whole sequence is repeated 3 times. Peter is of course being prepared for God’s dealings in grace with the Gentile Cornelius and his household.

Acts chapter 10 v1-8:

V1-2:  We learn of a Roman centurion named Cornelius – the “Italian cohort” suggests something of an elite regiment, as against those which contained many non-Roman troops from other parts of the Empire. He is now living ( and  stationed ) at Caesarea, about 40 miles north of Joppa. He is, we’re told, ” a devout man”, a God-fearer, as Gentiles who had come to worship the living God of Israel but not become full proselytes, were called, and all his household it seems share this awareness of God – who by His grace is preparing many Gentile hearts for the gospel at this time. He is also a man of genuine compassion, and of prayer.

V3-4:  God sends him a vision of an angel, who addresses him by name. He is awed and frightened, addressing the angel as “Lord” – a title properly applied only to God, and to the Lord Jesus in particular, in the NT. Perhaps there is a confused recognition that this is a messenger from God. The angel tells him that God is mindful of his charitable acts and of his sincere prayers, this does not, of course, mean that he has “earned” God’s grace by these things, but that God is nevertheless aware of them.

V5-6:  The angel tells Cornelius to send to Joppa for Simon Peter, and where he will be found. Truly, all things are known to the Omnipotent God, and His eye is ever upon His people.

V7-8:  Cornelius at once sends trusted messengers – 2 servants ( from his “devout household” ( v2.) and a soldier, who is also a “devout” man. Seemingly, Cornelius, even as a “God-fearer”, has a godly influence on those around him. Do we?

Acts chapter 9:36-43:

V36:  We learn of a Christian woman, named Tabitha ( in Aramaic ) or Dorcas  ( in Greek )  She was well known for her acts of Christian charity and love to many in Joppa, where she lives.

V37-38:  She becomes very ill, and dies, causing great grief among the believers. Joppa is near to Lydda, and knowing that Peter is there, they send urgently for him.

V39:  Coming at once, he finds many widows who had been the particular focus of Dorcas’ acts of charity, mourning in the room where her body has been laid.

V40:  Putting them out of the room, Peter kneels by her body and prays. Then – prompted it must be by the Holy Spirit – he calls to her to “get up” – above all, he is calling on the Lord to restore her, of course. Her eyes open, she sees Peter and sits up – restored indeed by the power of the Lord of Life, working through His servant, another seal on the witness of those early days when Christ is establishing His Church.

V41-42:  Peter calls the believers, including the widows who had so grieved for her, and restores her to them. This has a great gospel impact in Joppa, people not only amazed, but coming to true faith as they see the power of Jesus at work and are pointed to Him. Here, as in Lydda in v35, Peter must surely have declared the gospel as well as been instrumental in healing.

V43:  The chapter ends by telling us Peter then stays some time in Joppa, lodging with Simon, a tanner by trade. This is to prepare for the significant events in chapter 10 to follow. 

Acts chapter 9:27-35:

V27: But the Jerusalem Christians – even it seems the Apostles, are fearful of a trap, doubting the reality of his conversion. How it must have cast his heart down – until we read the lovely words ” but Barnabas took him” – that great encourager we met in chapter 4 v36 – who listens to Saul, discerns and trusts what the Lord has done, and brings him to the Apostles, standing we might say as his mentor.

V28:  With Barnabas’ support, Saul is now accepted, and is soon preaching boldly in the Name of Jesus here at Jerusalem, just as he had at Damascus.

V29:  He disputes with the ” Hellenists” – the Greek speaking Jews, remember – who soon seek his life. Might these include the very men who had been instrumental in Stephen’s death, with whom Saul had once stood? ( ch 6  v 9ff ; 7 v58.) 

V30:  So the believers, truly Saul’s “brothers” now, get him out of Jerusalem for his own protection, first to Caesarea, then to his own home city of Tarsus.

V31:   A period of peace is then granted to the churches in Judea and the surrounding areas – seemingly the one time persecutor had become the focus of persecution at this time – and those churches know a time of blessing and growth. Their lives are summed up in the lovely phrase ” walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit”. May it be true of our lives, by God’s grace.  

V32-33:  The focus changes back to Peter for a while. We learn he is in a town called Lydda, witnessing and encouraging the believers there He meets a paralysed man, bed-ridden for 8 years.

V34-35:  Peter heals him in the power and by the Name of Jesus, telling him to get up and take up his bed ( just as Jesus had done himself, in Mark 2:1-12.)  This has a great effect on many people, not just exciting their wonder, but turning them gto the Lord, whose power is seen at work in such a way.

Acts chapter 9:19b-26:

V19b:  Saul is now found among the disciples in Damascus – and clearly accepted by them, the very ones he came to persecute, as a brother in Christ. He is truly a transformed man – so he could later write 2 Corinthians 5:17.

V20-21:  So, he is found immediately preaching in the synagogues, proclaiming that Jesus is truly the Son of God – which once he would have seen as blasphemy – and such a ” turning about” ( the root meaning of conversion ) amazes those who witness it – here is the man who came to Damascus to persecute those who did what he is now doing!

V22: But Saul ” increased all the more in strength”, both physically and spiritually, we may be sure.Here is the living proof of the truth he now proclaims, and of Jesus living in him, the source of all that he now is and does.( Galatians 2:20.)

V23-24:  And almost at once he who had once persecuted believers knows persecution for Christ’s sake himself. But a plot to ambush Saul at the city gates and take him off to kill him is made known to him.

V25:  We don’t know how long he has been in Damascus, but clearly he is already seen as something of a leader among the disciples there, and concerned for his safety, they smuggle him out of the city, as described here.

V26:  So, he comes back to Jerusalem, and seeks to join the believers there.

Acts chapter 9:13-19a:

V13-14:   Ananias for a moment protests – small wonder – he has heard of Saul as a persecutor who has come to Damascus to attack the church there, with authority from the chief priests – which Saul himself had sought, of course ( v1-2).

V15:  But the Lord tells Ananias how Saul is His sovereignly chosen instrument for a great gospel ministry, preaching the Name of Jesus – the name he had previously hated – to both Jew and Gentile, and even before kings! Paul expresses his wonder at such undeserved grace in Galatians 1:13-16, but again, so should we all.

V16:  From the very first, Saul will be told that his service for Christ will involve great suffering for His sake. Acts will show something of this, and some references in Paul’s letters will give more detail – especially 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. As the verses before us show, nothing that happens to Paul – or to us – is outside of God’s plan and purpose – He knows!

V17:  Ananias goes to Saul as Christ has directed, lays his hands on him – calling him, note ” brother Saul” – his doubts are gone – telling him Jesus has sent him to restore his sight – and that he might be filled with the Holy Spirit!

V18-19a:  At once “something like scales” – human language seeking to explain something beyond normal human experience – fall from Saul’s eyes and he can see again – see what he has never seen before, of course, that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord.

At once he is baptised, and only then does he break his fast, and is immediately strengthened.