Acts 10

This chapter belongs to the section of Acts in which the gospel spreads beyond Judea. At the end of the previous chapter, Peter had raised Tabitha in Joppa and was staying at the house of Simon the tanner; this chapter continues from there.

Outline

• Verses 1–8 At about the ninth hour (around three in the afternoon), Cornelius, a centurion in Caesarea, sees an angel in a vision and is told to send for Peter in Joppa. Cornelius sends two of his household servants and a devout soldier.
• Verses 9–16 The next day, about the sixth hour (around noon), Peter is praying on the housetop when he sees a vision of a vessel like a great sheet, filled with animals, being let down. A voice says, "Kill, and eat"; when Peter refuses, the voice answers, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This happens three times.
• Verses 17–23a The men sent by Cornelius arrive, and the Holy Spirit tells Peter to go with them, doubting nothing. Peter gives them lodging.
• Verses 23b–33 Peter goes to Caesarea with some of the brethren from Joppa. When Cornelius falls at his feet and worships him, Peter raises him up, saying, "I myself also am a man." Peter states that it is unlawful for a Jew to keep company with a Gentile, but that God has shown him not to call any man common; Cornelius then recounts what happened four days earlier.
• Verses 34–43 Peter declares that God is no respecter of persons and proclaims Jesus' ministry, His death, His resurrection on the third day, and the remission of sins received by those who believe in Him.
• Verses 44–48 While Peter is still speaking, the Holy Spirit falls on all who hear the word, and they speak in tongues. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter are astonished, and Peter commands that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Key Verses

• Acts 10:15 "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" — the words of the vision that mark the turning point of the chapter.
• Acts 10:34–35 "God is no respecter of persons" — frequently cited as the basis for receiving Gentiles.
• Acts 10:44 "The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word" — the event in which Gentiles received the Holy Spirit, treated separately in the article Acts 10:44–46.

People and Places

• Cornelius A centurion (a commander of one hundred soldiers) of the Roman unit called the Italian band. He is introduced as a devout Gentile who gave much alms.
• Peter One of the twelve apostles.
• Simon the tanner A tanner (one who worked with hides) who lived by the sea in Joppa; Peter stayed at his house.
• Joppa A port city on the Mediterranean coast.
• Caesarea A city on the Mediterranean coast where Cornelius lived.

Points for Reflection

• The meaning of the sheet vision: In verse 28, Peter interprets the vision as concerning people. Many interpreters read it together with Mark 7:18–19 and conclude that it also signifies that the Old Testament dietary laws no longer bind believers. Others hold that the focus of the vision is the acceptance of Gentiles and that the matter of food serves only as a figure for it.
• The order of the Spirit and baptism: In this chapter the Holy Spirit comes first and water baptism follows. This differs from the sequence in Acts 2:39–41. Pentecostal denominations count the speaking in tongues in verse 46 among the passages they cite for tongues as the sign of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Presbyterian and Reformed traditions tend to view the event as redemptive-historical (a turning point in the history of salvation), publicly confirming that Gentiles had been received into the church.
• "All his house" and baptism: The phrase "all his house" in verse 2, along with Acts 11:14, is cited in the infant baptism debate over household baptisms. Baptists hold that this chapter, too, records baptism given to those who had heard the word and received the Holy Spirit.
• When Cornelius was saved: Verse 35 raises the question of whether Cornelius was already saved before meeting Peter. Acts 11:14 records that he would be saved through the words Peter would speak.
• Traditions outside the text: Some later church traditions relate that Cornelius became bishop of Caesarea, but this does not appear in the New Testament text.
• Connections within the New Testament: In Acts 11, Peter reports these events to the believers in Jerusalem. The episode is mentioned again at the Council of Jerusalem and is read together with the Antioch incident in Galatians 2.

In the Korean Church

This chapter is frequently used in sermons on Gentile missions. Cornelius's "prayers and alms" also commonly serve as a text for sermons encouraging almsgiving and piety. In Pentecostal and charismatic churches, including those of the Full Gospel tradition, verses 44–46 are often used as a text for sermons and meetings on baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.