COUNCIL in JERUSALEM

Council in Jerusalem

The Passage: Acts 15:1 – 16:5

Structure:

a. 15:1-2, Circumcision

 b. 15:3, Visit of towns

  c. 15:4-6, report at Jerusalem

   d. 15:7-11, yoke

    e. 15:12, Paul and Barnabas

     f. 15:13-21, Words of Jacob/James

    e’. 15:22, Paul and Barnabas

   d’. 15:23-29, burden

  c’. 15:30-35, Report at Antioch

 b’. 15:36-41, Visit of towns

a’. 16:1-5, Circumcision

Historical and geographical context: Chapter 8 tells us that everyone left Jerusalem during great persecution but apostles. Two things to note here: first, during these years Jerusalem church re-gained more people (due to evangelism and return). Two: one of the strongest parties within the church became the Pharisaic party – Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah but pushed the necessity to obey “the customs of Moses” to be saved. Their “mission” to Antioch resulted in Jerusalem council.

Paul and Barnabas are the main proponents of Una Sancta – One and Holy church. Their mission experience impacted their theological presuppositions.

On their way to Jerusalem Barnabas and Paul go through Phoenicia and Samaria. Two Gentile territories whose representatives accepted Jesus – Syrophoenician woman (Mk. 7:24-29) and the woman at Samaritan well (John 4). 

Theology:

Development of the authority structure in Jerusalem church. It used to be apostles with St. Peter as a spokesman (see ch. 6 – decision about diaconal office). Now, it is apostles and elders. Knowing what duties St. Paul assigns to bishops/overseers (1 Tim.3) and elders (Tit. 2), we need to differentiate elders in the Bible from the elders in the LCMS (unfortunately). Yet, the point remains – by the time of Jerusalem council, the church was governed not only by the apostles who “saw Jesus” but also by the godly men who came to faith later on. 

To understand the point of the story, we need to ask ourselves: what was the question? The answer: the way people come into the com-unity, not their sanctification. It was a challenge for “admission office” of the church – who and how can be counted as a full-right church member. This chapter should not be used as a background for antinominalism (cp. FC, 6 [both Epitome and SD]). At the same time, we should not forget the immediate example of Timothy. Comparing it with Ex. 4, we can see his circumcision as a dedication to a particular mission.

What does the restoration of the Tent of David point to? When Jacob refers to theology of Zion (vv. 16-17) he addresses two questions: first closeness of relationship with God, as the Tent of David allowed. Second, the other nations will be attracted to this closeness and will join Israel (cp. Is. 2:2-3).  

The very end of chapter 15 presents a sad story of a major disagreement between St. Paul and Barnabas. Two strong and godly men had a completely different attitude toward fitness of John Mark for the outreach ministry. So, this mission split – did it ruin or multiply the possibilities. The answer is “yes”. On one hand, the ruined unity was somewhat impactful – right after the unity of the church in decision over the acceptance of Gentiles into the full membership of the people of God, we see a story of breaking up the bond of togetherness. On the other hand, we know that Barnabas and [John] Mark were very active in their ministry. Therefore, God was able to use even this split for the spreading of the Gospel. To conclude, it is possible that apostle Paul and [John] Mark got re-united (2 Tim. 4:11; Philemon 23).   

Other themes:

Ecumenical Councils and Jerusalem council. There is an opinion that 7 Ecumenical councils are as authoritative as the Council in Jerusalem. This position leads to [at least] two opposing wrong conclusions: (1) the decisions of the Ecumenical councils are Divinely inspired. No, they are not. (2) the decision of Jerusalem council has only “suggestive” character. Again, being a part of the Bible, the description and the decision is fully inspired.

ST. PAUL and BAR-NABAS in LYSTRA and DEBRE

Paul and Barnabas in Lystra and Debre  

The Passage: Acts 13:50 – 14:28

Structure:

a. 13:50-52, Travel of evangelization

 b. 14:1-4, Increasing disciples

  c. 14:5-7, Stoning

   d. 14:8-13, crowd wanted a sacrifice

    e. 14:14-17, Words of apostles

   d’. 14:18, restraining crowd from a sacrifice

  c’. 14:19-20, Stoning

 b’. 14: 21-23, Increasing disciples

a’. 14:24-28, Travel of evangelization   

Historical and geographical context: This story concludes the First Mission trip. After St. Paul’s miraculous resurrection at Lystra (see below), he visits Debre, converting many, after which Paul and Barnabas begin their trip back. Passing through the same cities avoiding Cyprus they return to the church (Acts 14:27). Apparently, Antioch (of Syria) became a center of the church development.

The name of town Debre – the final destination – is derived from Persian Derbent which stands for “narrow gate” (lit. “barred gate”). It is interesting that the city with this name has accepted the Gospel without any hesitation or reservation. Debre is mentioned 4 times in the Book of Acts (14:6, 20; 16:1; 20:4). First time it is just a geographical pointer, then St. Luke simply states that “they preached the Gospel to that city and made many disciples”. Interesting, that the city with such name is fast to believe in Jesus (as He preached, Mt. 7:13-14).    

In comparison, two other cities mentioned in the story are Iconium and Lystra. The meaning of Iconium is based on “icon/image” – city of [the large or mass produced] Image. What is surprising is that regardless of the prohibition to create the images for “acknowledgement” (Ex. 20:4-6) there was a Jewish synagogue in town (Acts 14:1). The exact meaning of Lystra is lost, but it could mean something within a range of “loose goats, pain relief, or city of madness”. If the last one is true, no wonder St. Paul was stoned there. To conclude, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Debre are Galatian cities St. Paul writes his famous letter to. 

PSALM 119:129-136. Bits and pieces!

PSALM 119:129-136. Block Pe. 

Psalm 119 is an alphabetic psalm – arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet. 176 verses are divided into 22 blocks (following the flow of the alphabet) 8 verses each. So, in verses 1-8 – all verses begin with the letter alef or aleph. Then each verse in 9-16 block begins with beth, and so on… Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to translate this beauty into English (or any other language for this matter). The prime reason – we have different alphabets, and then – it is hard to line up the words with a particular meaning which will begin with a certain letter.

Now, going into out set of verses (used for the 15^th Sunday after Pentecost, year B):  

This block exhibits many interesting features. I will point out only two of them. First, 8 lines as usual, and each line begins with a word that starts with the letter Pe. But there are two more words that begin with the same letter – simple (v. 130) and precepts (v. 134). Total 10 words – like 10 Words or 10 commandments. No wonder the last word of this block is Torah.

NEW READING of ANNA KARENINA

 

New reading of Anna Karenina. 

Leo Tolstoy begins his famous novel with these words (literally, an opening line):

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. 

I've never thought about it in the context of Eph. 5:22-33. She is definitely not a submissive wife. At the same time I am not sure that Karenin was ready or willing to die for her... And that's what makes their relationship unique - as Tolstoy said - to create a beautiful novel.  

PAUL and BAR-NABAS in ANTIOCH of PISIDIA

Paul and Barnabas in Antioch of Pisidia

The Passage: Acts 13:14-49

Structure:

A. 13:14-23, Israel is chosen by God (13:17)

 B. 13:24-25, proclaiming baptism of repentance (13:24)

  C. 13:26-30, God raised Him from the dead (13:30)

   D. 13:31-32, We proclaim this good news (13:32)

  C’. 13:33-37, Jesus is raised (13:33)

 B’. 13:38-41, proclamation of forgiveness of sins (13:38)

A’. 13:42-49, Word of God spoken to you first (13:46)  

Historical and geographical context:

By the time of Jesus (maybe even earlier) Jewish community developed Scripture reading calendar. It is mentioned here in v. 15 and 27. Books of Torah (5 books of Moses) were divided into 54 parashot – weekly passages. These readings were also supplied with readings from the Prophets (the block of books of Prophets differs a little from our understanding of prophets, see Overview of the Bible: Introduction). Our reading calendar is based on Gospels with additional readings from OT, Psalms, and Epistles.      

SAUL and BAR-NABAS COMMISSIONED

Saul and Barnabas commissioned  

The Passage: Acts 12:24 – 13:13a

Structure:

a. 12:24-25, They took with them John, called Mark 

 b. 13:1, List of the disciples

  c. 13:2-5, Holy Spirit

   d. 13:6, a magician

    e. 13:7, the Word of God

   d’. 13:8, a magician

  c’. 13:9-11, Holy Spirit

 b’. 13:12, becoming a disciple

a’. 13:13a, John left them and returned to Jerusalem  

Historical and geographical context:

Turns out that Barnabas and Saul were in Jerusalem when St. Peter was released from prison. The story of St. Peter being released from a prison by a hand of an angel is so beautiful that we can lose the chronological order. Barnabas and Saul came to Jerusalem with financial support for the suffering saints of Jerusalem.

The WHOLE ARMOR of God: The SWORD of the SPIRIT

The Whole Armor of God: Sword of the Spirit

I. Intro. A short reminder:

1. Belt of Truth 2. Breastplate of Righteousness 3. Shoes of readiness of the Gospel of Peace

4. Shield of Faith 5. Helmet of Salvation

 

II. Sword of the Spirit – Word of God.

St. PETER'S PRISON STORY

St. Peter behind the bars story  

The Passage: Acts 12:1-23

Structure:

a. 12:1-2, Death of Jacob, brother of John, by an order of Herod (by sword)

  b. 12:3-5, group of soldiers

    c. 12:6-10, Lord’s angel

      d. 12:11, Peter is released   

    c’. 12:12-17, His angel

  b’. 12:18-19, group of soldiers

a’. 12:20-23, Death of Herod (by worms)

CHURCH in ANTIOCH

Church in Antioch  

The Passage: Acts 11:19-30

Structure: two parts: A and B

I. Conversion of Hellenists (11:19-24) 

a. 11:19-21, Many believed and turned to the Lord

  b. 11:22-23, Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem

a’. 11:24, Many added to the Lord 

   “A” part has its own chiastic structure:

a. [Many] scattered because of the persecution

  b. Steven

    c. Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch

    c’. Cyprus, Cyrene, Antioch

  b’. Hellenists

a’. great number believed

 

II. Barnabas and Saul – first task together (11:25-30)

a. 11:25-26, Barnabas is looking for Saul

  b. 11:27-28, Prophets came with the news from Jerusalem

a’. 11:29-30, Sending Barnabas and Saul   

Historical and geographical context: Persecution is never fun for those who take part in it. Yet, Tertulian (church father of II century) put it this way: Blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church. Similar effect we can attest here. The Book of Acts in the first 7 chapters speaks only of the church of Jerusalem. Acts 8:1 indicate the outbreak of the “great persecution”, which triggers the world-wide mission work of the believers.

There is a cultural connection between parts of Phoenicia, Cyprus and Cyrene – Phoenicians were great travelers and explorers. 800 – 300 BC they went South side of Mediterranean (also parts of Cyprus, Sicily, and Sardinia) searching for silver, other metals, and trade (History of the World, Map by map, p. 56).

Two Antiochs – a valuable geographical reminder. There are [at least] two cities with this name in the Book of Acts. This one is founded by late IV century BC by the successor of Alexander the Great – Seleucus I Nicanor – after his victory over Syria in the battel of Ipsos 301 BC (it is possible that he built 16 Antiochs – Wikipedia). But in Acts 13 St. Paul and Barnabas come to Antioch in Pisidia where Paul preaches his first recorded great sermon in a local synagogue. This is one of those 16 Antiochs and was situated more in-land in the modern Turkey.      

Theology:

Conversion of Hellenists. There are two noteworthy facts about this event. First, the conversion of Hellenist was the result of the testimony of the members of Jerusalem church who fled from the persecution. We don’t know their names or status – a great lesson on Evangelism. Second, so far, the Hellenists have been the troublemakers. Hellenists raised a complaint about “wrong distribution of social care” by the church (6:1). Not being part of the Church, they allowed themselves to critique the community of believers. Response to this challenge led to the establishment of the office of deacons. Then in chapter 11:29 we have a record of their intent to murder Saul (St. Paul). As a result of this plot, he ended up in his hometown – Tarsus. That’s where Barnabas finds him in our current lesson.       

Figure of Barnabas. Two reflections: following the fact of conversion of Hellenists by “laymen” of Jerusalem it should not a be a surprise that the headquarter send Barnabas – he was not an apostle. At the same time, he was native of Cyprus like the men who brought the Word to Antioch (Acts 11:20). He would speak their language in a literal and symbolic/theological sense. We also talked about the possibility of identification Barnabas as Joseph Barsabas (Acts 1:23, cp. lesson 11, other themes).   

Regardless of this possible connection, note that Antioch church sends him back to Jerusalem with financial support in accordance with the prophecy (Acts 11:28-29). Apparently, he was known to be a trustworthy person in relations with money (4:36-38). He is sent by the elders of the congregation and accompanied by Saul (St. Paul). NB: it is Barnabas that vouches for Saul back when the apostles were suspicious of Saul’s conversion (Acts 9:27). Therefore, Barnabas could be trusted both with the money and the people.  

THE WHOLE ARMOR of GOD: HELMET of SALVATION

The Whole Armor of God: Helmet of Salvation

Service can be reached here (go to mark 30:00)

I. Intro. A short reminder:

Belt of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

Shoes of readiness of the Gospel of Peace

Shield of Faith

Helmet of Salvation

 

II. Helmet covers head – protects mind.

St. Paul talks about the main difference between the believers and Gentiles – mind and speech. (Eph.4:17-19)

Talk is a reflection of inner patterns – we believed that’s why we speak

Either all the dirt of life,

example, (1) news is mostly negative. Regardless of the fact that “God daily and richly blesses me and all creatures” (SC II:1).

(2) within the community of believers, see the Jews who followed Jesus, John 6:41-42.

Or the salvation that will work for the benefit of the church. Eph. 4:25-27, 29-32

Application of 8^th commandment! SC I:8

 

III. Take away: What do you say about Zion when you leave the sanctuary

a. Do you mention Zion at all?

b. Spill the problems?

c. Zion is great – for an obvious reason: not because you or me –

but because at Zion God

offers salvation,

assists in growth,

and leads us to maturity.

Peter reports to Jerusalem Church

Peter reports to Jerusalem Church

The Passage: Acts 11:1-18

Structure:

A. 11:1-3, a complain of circumcision party

  B. 11:4-10, Peter’s report A: his vision – symbolic unity

    C. 11:11-12, Peter’s report B: timely arrival of messengers

  B’. 11:13-17, Peter’s report A’: realization of the vision – the real unity

A’. 11:18, silence and then praise   

Historical and geographical context:

St. Peter comes back to Jerusalem. Prior his arrival apostles and brothers heard about full unity with Gentiles. Therefore, by the time he came back from his “mission trip”, the circumcision party had prepared a set of complaints. This is a familiar Biblical paradigm – when the rumors travel faster than people (Gen. 50:16-17). Also, the way St. Peter responds we’ll discuss in Theology.      

Theology:

Receiving the Word of God. Two things: there are two terms that Bible use translated as “word” – Logos and Rhema. Logos is a conceptual Word – John 1:1. While Rhema is a preaching word – the word delivered in a sermon or proclamation. So, they received the Word – Jesus Christ. It is interesting to see how the accents begin to shift – from the theology of the Name we are moving to theology of the Word. Psalmist – king David – in a crisis appeals to the Word rather than to the Name (Ps. 138:1-2, lit. You have exalted Your Word above Your Name). Later in the Book of Acts we’ll see an even stronger accent on the Word (cp. Acts 17:11, note that they received the Word examining the Scriptures).    

Unity through eating. We already talked about the unity of believers as the heme for these three stories (see more, lesson 22: Visions of Cornelius and Peter, theology: Unity of believers). Here I just want to point out the parallel between the complaints of the circumcision party and the promotion of the [very] Closed Communion (11:3). For circumcision party the houses were micro-temples – eating together is a sharing of thanksgiving meal which should be dedicated to the only God the Creator and Redeemer.       

Pentecost as the beginning. Note how St. Peter draws a connection between the event of Pentecost and his current situation, using the reference to the beginning. It is interesting on a few levels. First, the refence to the beginning should direct us to the creation story – B’reshit, In the beginning (Gen. 1:1). For sure, both stories talk about the presence of the Spirit and Water (Gen. 1:2 and Acts 2:38). The new world/new creation came into existence with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and emergence of the Church (cp, 2 Cor. 5:17).

On the other hand, the beginning of a new creation can be associated with the Incarnation (John 1:1, Mk. 1:1). This is one of the examples of two stage development of God’s plan – Moses then Joshua, David then Solomon, John the Baptizer then Jesus, Jesus then the Church (cp. Acts 1:1).         

Gift of the Holy Spirit. It is important to reiterate the difference between the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Here, the gift means forgiveness of sins (salvation). See more lesson 6, “other themes”.

Hard decisions – accepted through silence. The circumcision party came to the meeting with very heavy accusations. Yet, when St. Peter tells them the story of outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles and reminds them of the words of Jesus, they had nothing to back up their understanding of the Law. Also, note how the apostle leads the discussion – in order (Heb. be-seder) and humility or, as he will put it later, with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15). 

Repentance [that leads] to life. Lutherans stress justification by grace through faith. It doesn’t mean that after baptism or conversion a believer can relax thinking “once saved – always saved”. Justification opens the doors to the path of sanctification.  

Other themes:

Interconnectedness of Scripture. St. Peter states that he remembered the words of the Lord (11:16). One can find these words in the Book of Acts 1:5. Right before His Ascension Jesus promises to the apostles that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This promise is based on the teaching of John the Baptizer (Lk. 3:16).

The WHOLE ARMOR of GOD: SHIELD of FAITH

The Whole Armor of God: Shield of Faith

I. Intro. A short reminder:

Belt of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

Shoes of readiness of the Gospel of Peace

Now a “special” piece of armor. Why special? Because St. Paul preceded with a caution or a warning, then provided with a description of purpose. Eph. 6:16: In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.  

 

II.A. Warning – the most important warning before sending his brothers into the battle.

Example: Lt. Dan instructing Forrest Gump and Bubba. What did he tell them? 

 

II.B. The Shield of Faith – Eph. 4:4-6

Trinitarian faith – basis for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3)

Spirit – builds up the Body (the Church) – one hope, one call.   Lord/Son – faith, comes in one baptism.   Jesus discusses the basics with the crowd after the feeding of 5000. John 6:28-29: they: what shall we do?                              Jesus: believe! Have faith! In Him whom He (Father) has sent.   God and Father – over all, through all, and in all.   See Small Catechism, part II

 

III. Take away:

Three types of darts/arrows of the evil one:

a.      I’m not good enough

b.      They are not good enough

c.      God is not good enough

 

Shield of Baptismal faith [in God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit], nurtured by the Word and Sacraments, extinguishes ALL these arrows! 

YouTube service. 

LIFE of DISCIPLESHIP

Life of discipleship

We are at a regular time of the Church year. Regular time might sound like a boring idea – non-eventful, every Sunday our beautiful Zion altar is covered with green, many familiar faces left for their vacation places… On the other hand, it is a good time to think about the walk in Christ or life of the discipleship (Col. 2:6-7). When you read the Bible, you do not find a verse about napping in Christ or – take an another extreme – running in Christ. The discipleship is a walk in Christ – steady, sometimes non-eventful, sometimes with no familiar face around or even alone…

When you come to our Fellowship Hall, you’ll find a passage from the Book of Acts 2:42 on the back wall of the stage: and they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the praying. “They” to be the members of the First Messianic congregation in Jerusalem – Jewish believers who recognized Jesus as the promised Christ, the foretold Messiah. They formed the community being moved by the Holy Spirit, for their hearts were pierced when St. Peter told them that the Messiah was killed because of their sins. Actually, he was more poignant: Let the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:36). First congregation was built on this very message: every one of them and every one of us was a reason for the crucifixion, but God in Him won the battle with the death and devil, resurrecting Jesus, and reconciling the whole world to Himself. Whole world! Every one of us!   

This happened about 2000 years ago miles and miles away from our beloved Zion Lutheran church. How the Good News of Jesus was able to make it to the Central Coast? The answer is both simple and difficult. The difficult part is discussed in the books on the Church History – thousands upon thousands of names, places, and dates can and should be remembered, faith heroes honored (not worshiped), and great ideas that shaped our theology and practice commemorated. The simple option sounds like this: daily, weekly, monthly, every year in every century the Church of Christ continued in the same manner. They were studying the Holy Scriptures, meeting with one another, partaking in the sacrament at the Table of the LORD, and spending time in prayer (both communal and private).

The thing is – the reach of Good News to the Central Coast is not a matter of milage only, it is a generational challenge – I’ll repeat myself, 2000 years. So, the life of the discipleship is a life of acquiring deep Biblical convictions, practicing them in daily life, teaching them to your children and to your children’s children or – as psalmist put it – “from generation to generation” (Ps. 78:6), and also sharing these convictions with others.

Therefore, there are three basic challenges to godly discipleship. First, a church can stop sharing the Good News with others, living comfortably as a good family of believers. The second one, is stopping to teach our children. And the third one, going through gestures and motions with no reflection on what the deep conviction of forgiveness is about.

Life at Zion IS a life of overcoming these challenges – we share the love of Jesus distributing the gifts provided via Harvest Bag, Zion Preschool should become a center of godliness. LWML is reaching out to organizations like Fort Hope that look for the lost and/or abandoned. Our Sunday School is full of laughing, singing, and studying children of our families. And we have many opportunities for adults to dive into the Word, enjoy the Fellowship and Communion of the Saints. Recently, the Bord of Elders decided to begin a prayer service – every Wednesday at 11:30. We will hold them in the sanctuary, but if you are unable to attend – join us wherever you are, praying to the needs of the church, giving thanks for the outpouring of His love in our lives, and praising His holy name, giving glory to God, creator, redeemer, and provider. 

St. Peter goes to Cornelius

St. Peter goes to Cornelius

The Passage: Acts 10:24-48

Structure:

a. 10:23b-24a trip to Cornelius’ home

  b. 10:24b-27, Cornelius fell at the feet of Peter

    c. 10:28-29, Peter’s initial enquiry

      d. 10:30-33, Cornelius describes his vision

    c’. 10:34-43, Peter’s answer/sermon

  b’. 10:44-47a, Holy Spirit fell upon them  

a’. 10:47, staying at Cornelius’ home     

Historical and geographical context:

Theology:

St. Peter did not travel alone this time. We noticed two lessons ago that Peter undertook the whole visitation journey by himself [singlehandedly]. It is important to pay attention to the fact that this time he is escorted not only by messengers from Cornelius but also by some brothers from Joppa congregation. I personally believe it is recorded to contrast these facts. Do know exactly why – that’s for the next generation of Bible students.        

Cornelius is a complicated character. On one hand, he has leftovers of pagan habits (even though he was introduced to a reader as a God-fearing gentile).  Yet, seeing Peter he bows down, and Luke has no hesitation to add that he worshiped the apostle (10:25). Note how Peter responds to this situation – no chewing up, at the same time no pride exhibition. He simply corrects his mistake (that’s how he takes it), lifting him with his own hands. Good leaders lift up people, not put them down.     

At the same time Cornelius “walks by faith” – the only commandment he got from an angel is to send for Simon-Peter. Similar to the situation of Abraham – father of our faith – when God told him to go to the land which he doesn’t know. In a sense the story of Cornelius is a NT retelling of a guy who was raised as a pagan and called by God to walk into an unknown situation – land or unfamiliar house, being fully transformed through this experience into faith heroes.

Peter’s initial statement goes back to the idea of unity within the community of believers. He does not interpret his vision on the roof (10:9-16) as a delicatessen challenge. His immediate interpretation is a challenge of associating with gentiles and God’s encouragement “not to call any person common or unclean” (10:28). As Cornelius describes his vision (10:30-33), Peter comes to an understanding that God has no partiality, because in Jesus Christ all the people of all the nations can be accepted to God for He – Jesus – is the Judge of the living and the dead (note the usage of this phrase in the Creed). Also, all the prophets prepared the OT Church by bearing witness about Jesus who is the reason for forgiveness of sins of the believers (10:43).

Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Gentiles was a big surprise to the circumcised believers. Two things about that: first, they used to have converts in the community (proselytes, cp. 2:11) and God-fearing Gentiles (who were not allowed to come to Passover celebration). Now, when the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles, there should be no distinction between the believing Jews and Gentiles. Second, it is very interesting to notice the contrast between the First Church and current situation. Now the Gentiles have no problem to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit (one way or another), while the conversion of a single Jew leads people to shock (positive or negative).     

The baptism of those who are converted by the preaching of the Word is a seal of God’s promises. This historical account is accurate – the Bible is the Word of God, but it doesn’t contradict the statements of St. Paul (Col. 2:11-12) and St. Peter (1 Pet. 3:21) on efficacy of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.         

Other themes:

Coordinated prayers – angel of God appears to Cornelius at the same time when Peter prays on the roof-top. Which tells us about the grandiose plan of Almighty God Who brings people to salvation then and there He desires (AC V). 

VISIONS: Cornelius and Simon

Visions of Cornelius and Simon  

The Passage: Acts 10:1-23

Structure:

a. 10:1-2, Cornelius, devout God-fearing man

  b. 10:3-6, angelic call to Cornelius

    c. 10:7-8, messengers are sent

      d. 10:9-16, the vision of Peter in a trans

    c’. 10:17-18, messengers arrive

  b’. 10:19-20, Holy Spirit addresses Peter

a’. 10:21-23a, Cornelius, devout God-fearing man  

Historical and geographical context:

Simon (St. Peter) stayed at the house of another Simon in Joppa – a tanner – for many days (Acts 9:43). The next two-part story is a part of St. Peter’s “pastoral vacation.”

Cornelius lives in Caesaria – about 40 miles north of Joppa, on the same Mediterranean shore. Note that the whole story takes 4 days. Day 1, Cornelius sees a vision and sends the men. His servants and a soldier arrive on the next day little after noon – at noon St. Peter was praying. The messengers stay overnight at Simon’s house, which makes it Day 2. Day 3, two servants, a soldier, Simon/Peter, and “some brothers from Joppa” went to Caesarea. (Acts 10:23). Day 4, the party arrived at Cornelius’ house (Acts 10:24).      

Theology:

Unity of the believers. The main point of these stories – visions of Cornelius and Peter, outpouring of the Holy Spirit during St. Peter’s sermon, and the reception of the news by Jerusalem congregation – is the unity of believers in God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regardless of the national background.

Under the institutions of Torah there was a separation between Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. People were born or converted into Jewish lifestyle. Yet, a gentile who believed or trusted to God of Abraham, Isaak and Jacob did NOT have to convert – he or she could maintain a status of God-fearing believer. To be a God-fearing gentile is not the same as to have the fear of the LORD (cp. Pr. 1:7). This status had some ramifications – for example, a non–circumcised person could NOT participate in Passover ceremony – Seder. Later, in the times of the Second Temple, apparently there was a wall that would separate the “house of men” from “the house of women and gentiles”. It is possible that St. Paul mentions this partition in Eph. 2:14, building up his theological argument of universal grace.       

The most profound expression of the theology of unity is a meal together (apart for intimate relationship that reserved only for a husband-wife pair). Eating and drinking together creates a very special environment of companionship, trust, and ultimately love. Think about your own birthday parties – who do you want to see there? Or high school or college graduation? Or a wedding or wedding anniversary? Usually, you do not invite strangers there. No, you invite people who shared their lives with you, and you want this “togetherness” to go to another – deeper – level.  

That’s what triggered a harsh response on the side of the Jerusalem congregation – “you ate WITH them” (Acts 11:2-3), will talk about it in a couple of weeks. To be a God-fearing gentile would presuppose that a person would follow the dietary laws of Torah (Lev. 11). Therefore, the vision of Simon/Peter should be interpreted in this light – as a symbolic revelation of unity of brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, the vision of St. Peter is not about the food, it is about the communion of the saints where everyone has an equal part in the distribution of the Lord’s gifts because “God has no partiality” (Acts 10:34).       

Other themes:

Angel of God vs. the Angel of the LORD. The term angel (lit. messenger) in the Bible can be used in a variety of meanings. First – most obvious one – a specially created being (not a human) for a specific task God would require (cp. Geb 28:12). Second, it can be a human being who delivers a message of God. We have a whole Biblical book named after such a guy – Malichi, lit. my messenger (cp. Mal. 1:1; 3:1). Third, the Angel of the Lord – the Second person of the Trinity, appearing during the times of the Old Testament or technically before Incarnation (cp. Josh. 5:13-15; Judges 13:21-23; John 1:14). After the Incarnation in Christ humans are restored to their high position of creation leadership (cp. Ps. 8:3-5; 1 Cor. 6:1).