Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #17 - 10:23b-48)
4. 10:23b-43 PETER EXPLAINS THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION
a. 10:23b PETER WITH BRETHREN - ACCOMPANY THE MEN
Tede ePAUri-on a-naSTAS eXELthen sun auTOIS,
And on the morrow he arose andwent forth with them,
KAI ti-nes ton a-delPHON ton aPO IOPpes suNELthan auTO.
and certain of the brethren :from Joppa went with him.
b. 10:24a And on the morrow he entered into :Caesarea.
tede ePAUri-on eiSELthen eis ten KaiSAri-an.
c. 10 24b CORNELIUS WITH RELATIVES AND FRIENDS AWAIT PETER
ho de KorNEli-os hen pros-doKON [4228]auTOUS,
And :Cornelius was awaiting them,
sun-ka-leSAme-nos [4779] tous sug-geNEIS [4773] auTOU kai tous a-nagKAIous [316] PHIlous [5384].
having called together his :kinsmen and near :friends.
d. 10:25 CORNELIUS WORSHIPS PETER
Hos de eGEne-to tou ei-selTHEIN ton PEtron, su-nanTEsas auTOho KorNEli-os,
And when it came to pass that :Peter entered, :Cornelius met him,
peSON ePI tous POdas, pro-seKUnesen [4352].
andfell down at his:feet, and worshiped him.
e. 10:26 But :Peter raised him him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am aman.
ho de PEtros Egei-ren auTON, leGON, A-NAste-thi; kai eGO auTOS ANthroPOS ei-mi.
f. 10:27-29a PETER INTERPRETS HIS 3-FOLD VISION TO CORNELIUS
kai su-no-miLON auTO, eiSELthen, kai heuRIskei su-ne-le-luTHOtas [4905]polLOUS:
And as he talked with him, he went in, and finds many come together:
Ephete pros auTOUS,
28and he said unto them,
HuMEIS ePIstas-the [1987] hos aTHEmiTON [111]es-tin anDRI IouDAIo
YOU know how unlawful it is for [a man]a Jew
kolLASthai [2853] heproSERches-thai [4334]al-loPHUlo [246];
to join himself or come unto one of another nation;
ka' 'MOI ho TheOS Edei-xen meDEna koiNON eaKAthar-ton LEgein ANthro-pon:
and yetto me has :God shown to call no man common or unclean:
di' HO kai a-nan-tiREtos [369]ELthon, me-ta-pemphTHEIS [3343].
29awherefore also I came without gainsaying, when sent for.
g. 10:29b I ask therefore for what reason you sent for me.
punTHAno-mai [4441] oun TIni LOgome-tePEMpsasTHE [3343]me.
h. 10:30-31 CORNELIUS RECOUNTS THE ANGEL'S MESSAGE
kai ho KorNEli-os Ephe, A-PO teTARtes heMEras, MEchri TAUtes tes HOras,
And :Cornelius said, Four days ago, until this :hour,
Emen ten eNAten pro-seuCHOme-nos en toOIko mou;
I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my :house;
kai iDOU, aNER EsteeNOpi-on mou en esTHEti [2066]lamPRA [2986],
and lo, a man stood before me in bright apparel,
kai pheSI, KorNEli-e, ei-seKOUSthe[1522]sou he pro-seuCHE,
31and says, Cornelius, your :prayer is heard,
kai hai e-le-e-moSUnai [1654]sou emNESthe-san [3415]eNOpi-on tou TheOU.
and your alms are remembered before :God.
i. 10:32 THE ANGEL COMMANDS CORNELIUS TO SEND FOR PETER
PEMpson oun eis IOPpen, kai me-taKAle-sai SImona, hos e-pi-laLEItai [1941]PEtros;
Send therefore to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter;
HOUtos xeNIze-tai [3679] en oiKIa SImo-nos burSEos [1038], paRA THAlas-san.
HE lodges in the house of Simon a tanner, by the sea.
j. 10:33a Right away therefore I sent for you; and YOU have done well to come.
e-xauTES [1824]oun Epem-psa pros se; SU te kaLOS ePOIe-sas pa-ra-geNOme-nos.
k. 10:33b CORNELIUS ANNOUNCES THEIR READINESS TO HEAR PETER
nun oun PANtes heMEIS eNOpi-on tou TheOU PAres-men,
Now therefore WE are all here present before :God,
aKOUsai PANta ta pros-te-tagMEna [4367] soi huPO tou KuRIou.
to hear all thingscommanded you of the Lord.
l. 10:34-35 PETER ACKNOWLEDGES THE GOD WITHOUT RESPECT OF PERSONS
aNOIxas de PEtros to STOma, EIpen,
And :Peter open his:mouth, and said,
Ep' a-leTHEIas ka-ta-lamBAno-mai [2638]HOti ouk EStin pro-so-poLEMP-tes [4381]ho TheOS:
Of a truth I apprehend that :God is no respecter of persons:
all' en panTI ETHnei ho phoBOUme-nos auTON, kai er-gaZOme-nos di-kai-oSUnen, dekTOS auTO es-tin.
35 but in every nation who fears him, and works righteousness, is acceptable to him.
m. 10:36-38 PETER SKETCHES JESUS' MINISTRY
ton LOgon aPEstei-len tois huiOIS Is-raEL,
He sent the word unto the sons of Israel,
eu-ag-ge-liZOme-nos eiREnen diA IeSOU ChrisTOU (HOU-TOS es-tin PANton KUri-os) -
preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all) -
huMEIS OIda-te, to geNOme-non 'REma [4487]
37that saying YOU know, which was published
kath' HOles tes IouDAIas, arXAme-nos aPO tes Ga-liLAIas, meTA to BAPtis-ma [908]ho eKEru-xen IoAnes;
throughout all :Judea, beginning from :Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
IeSOUN ton aPO Na-zaRETH, hos Echri-sen [5548]auTON ho TheOS
38Jesus :of Nazareth, how :God anointed him
PNEUma-ti HaGIo kai duNAmei: hos diELthen eu-er-geTON, kai iOme-nos [2390]PANtas tous
with theHoly Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all those
ka-ta-du-na-steu-oMEnous [1616] huPO tou di-aBOlou [1228]; HOti ho TheOS en met' auTOU.
oppressed of the devil; for :God was with him.
n. 10:39 APOSTOLIC WITNESS OF JESUS' DEEDS AND DEATH
kai heMEIS MARtu-res PANton hon ePOIe-sen en te te CHOra ton IouDAIon, kai Ie-rou-saLEM;
And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem;
hon kai aNEIlan [337], kreMAsan-tes [2910] ePI XUlou [3586].
whom also they slew, hanging himon a tree.
o. 10:40-41 APOSTOLIC WITNESS TO GOD'S RESURRECTION OF JESUS
TOUton ho TheOS Egei-ren teTRIte heMEra, kai Edo-ken auTON em-phaNE [1717]geNESthai,
HIM :God raised the third day, and gave him to be made manifest,
ou panTI to laO, alLA MARtu-si tois pro-ke-chei-ro-to-neMEnois [4401]
41not to all the people, but to witnesses :chosen before
huPO tou TheOU, heMIN, HOIti-nes su-nePHAgo-men [4906]kai su-nePIo-men [4844]auTO
of :God, to us, who ate and drank with him
meTA to a-naSTEnai auTON ek neKRON.
after he rose from thedead.
p. 10:42 GOD'S COMMISSION: PREACH JESUS AS JUDGE OF ALL
kai paREGgei-len [3853]heMIN keRUxai to laO,
And he charged us to preach to the people,
kai di-a-marTUras-thai [1263] HOti HOU-TOS es-tin ho ho-risMEnos [3724]huPO tou TheOU
and to testify that this is he :ordained of :God
kriTES ZONton kai neKRON.
asJudge of living and dead.
q. 10:43 LEADING DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL
TOUtoPANtes hoi proPHEtai [4396]mar-tuROUsin, Aphe-sin [859]ha-mar-tiON [266]laBEIN
To him all the prophets witness, that through his :name
diA tou oNOma-tos auTOU PANta ton piSTEUon-ta eis auTON.
every one that believes unto him receives remission of sins.
5. 10:44-48 GOD'S STARTLING ACCEPTANCE OF GENTILES
a. 10:44 GOD CONFIRMS WORD BY GRANTING GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Eti laLOUNtos tou PEtrou ta 'REma-ta TAUta,
While :Peter yet spoke these :words,
ePEpe-se [1968] to PNEUma to HAgi-on ePI PANtas tous aKOUon-tas ton LOgon.
the Holy :Spirit fell on all that heard the word.
b. 10:45 THE GIFT ON GENTILES AMAZES JEWS
kai eXEste-san [1839]hoi ek pe-ri-toMES [4061]piSTOI,
And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed,
hoi suNELthan toPEtro, HOti kai ePI ta ETHne
who came with :Peter, because that on the nations also
hedo-reA [1431]tou PNEUma-tos tou HaGIou ekKEchu-tai [1632].
was poured out the gift of the Holy :Spirit.
c. 10:46a For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify :God.
Ekou-on gar auTON laLOUNton GLOSsais [1100], kai me-ga-luNONton [3170]ton TheON.
d. 10:46b-47. PETER QUESTIONS RIGHT OF BAPTISM ON BASIS OF SPIRIT GIVEN
TOte a-peKRIthe PEtros, MEti to HUdor DUna-tai koLU-SAI [1410]tis, tou mebap-tisTHEnai TOUtous,
Then Peter answered, 47Can any one forbid the water, that these should not be :baptized,
HOIti-nes to PNEUma to HAgi-on Ela-bon hos kai heMEIS?
who have received the Holy :Spirit as well as we?
e. 10:48:a And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
proSEta-xen de auTOUS en to oNOma-ti IeSOU ChrisTOU bap-tisTHEnai.
f. 10:48b Then they asked him to tarry certain days.
TOte eROte-san [2065]auTON e-piMEInai [1961]heMEras tiNAS.
NOTE: 10:23b-43 - Look at the overall wisdom of the Holy Spirit in the words He gave Peter to say to Gentiles in the first real sermon directed exclusively to them - on the basis of the 3-fold vision just preceding.
But first, he was led to bring along 6 Jewish believers from Joppa to be witnesses for what God was about to do. How wise! For when Peter on his return to Jerusalem was called on the carpet by Judaizers - he hadthese 6 men to corroborate point by point what had taken place in the home of Cornelius. This was a very serious departure for Peter - not only to enter a Gentile home, but also to eat with them their non-kosher food. Later on in Antioch, Peter broke down under Judaizing pressure, and left Gentile tables there. Paul had to confront Peter publicly for the breach and failure on his part. What he did in obedience to God in Caesarea, he later failed to follow through on in Antioch. The book of Galatians clearly brings out the danger of Judaizers. Acts 15 is the basis for this.
See how the 3-fold vision God gave Peter prepared him to break Jewish protocol and kosher principles with Cornelius. It also helped Peter to hear from Cornelius' lips the angelic visitation to him that set up this second confirmation to Peter. This enabled him to act boldly in following through the will of God in such a new and precarious venture from his point of view.
Peter scarcely got started on his sermon, before the Holy Spirit stepped in and fell upon these new Gentile converts. What a shock to Peter and his six guests from Joppa! The Greek word “eXEste-san” in 10:45 is as strong a word as possible to express the Jewish amazement. God's act as this point brought them right out of themselves! In the light of such an unexpected act of God, the six willingly went along with Peter's command to baptize these new Gentile converts. It was like a modern marriage ceremony where the minister says just before performing the ceremony - “If any man knows any just cause why this couple should not be joined together in holy matrimony, let him nowspeak, or forever hold his peace!” The six Jewish Joppa witnesses held their peace!
Note also that our word “do-reA” again appears in verse 45. Remember that we firstsaw it in John 4:10, with its definition as an “artesian well”. Then Peter used it in Acts 2:38, referring to it as the culmination of a valid repentance and baptism on the Day of Pentecost. Then in Acts 8 Peter showed to Simon the sorcerer the great valueof this gift! It cannotbe purchased with money, because of the great cost to Christ by His life's blood on Calvary as it's purchase price for us! And the context for all the above is the second “key of the kingdom” Peter used to usher Gentiles in the the Kingdom. The first use of this key was in Acts 2, when he opened the door to 3000 Jews! J.A.W.
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