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).
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