Peter, Cornelius, and the Gentile Mission

The event

Cornelius was a Roman centurion stationed at Caesarea, "a devout man who feared God with all his household" (Acts 10:2) - a Gentile "God-fearer" drawn to Israel's faith but not a full convert to Judaism. An angel instructed him to send for Peter, who was staying nearby in Joppa. At the same time, Peter received his own vision: a sheet lowered from heaven filled with animals the Jewish law classified as unclean, and a voice commanding him to kill and eat, three times over, concluding, "What God has made clean, do not call common" (Acts 10:15).

Peter grasped the vision's true meaning only when Cornelius's messengers arrived and he went with them to Caesarea: God was declaring the Gentiles clean, not merely the food. Peter preached Christ to Cornelius's assembled household, and the Holy Spirit fell on them exactly as He had on the Jewish believers at Pentecost - tongues and all - before a single hand had been laid on them or a word of instruction given about circumcision. Peter's Jewish companions were "astonished" (Acts 10:45), and Peter, seeing that God had already made His decision, ordered them all baptized.

Back in Jerusalem, Peter defended this decision point by point to skeptical Jewish believers (Acts 11:1-18), and his argument - "who was I to stand in God's way?" - carried the day. This event is the theological hinge of Acts: it establishes, ahead of any formal council decision, that Gentiles enter the church by faith alone, on the same terms as Jews.

Scripture references

• Acts 10:1-48
• Acts 11:1-18

Further reading

• Bible Odyssey (SBL): Early Christian Converts