Acts 10:9-23 - The Lord Teaches Peter a Lesson

<p>Introduction</p> <p>     In the previous pericope, we saw where God worked providentially to connect Cornelius, a Roman Centurion living in Caesarea, with Peter, who was living in Joppa (30 miles south). Cornelius is described as a God-fearer (Acts 10:2, 22). God-fearers were Gentiles who were drawn to the simplicity of monotheism and the high morality offered through the Mosaic Law in Judaism. The Greeks and Romans were polytheistic and their fickle and violent gods were often at war with each other. Their gods were little more than amplified representations of humanity, and the multiplicity of gods made their whole religious system unstable. As a God-fearer, Cornelius showed signs of positive volition, and he sought the Lord in prayer and through acts of kindness. Prayer and acts of charity in an unbeliever have no saving value; however, in the case of Cornelius, they demonstrated positive volition toward God, so the Lord sent him gospel information so he could believe in Christ for salvation (Acts 10:24-44). Cornelius was not saved, but he would be, after hearing and responding to the gospel of grace (Acts 11:13-14). What follows is the account of God’s providence to orchestrate an evangelistic opportunity.</p> <p>Text</p> <p>     Luke tells us, “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray” (Acts 10:9). We observe these events occurring in time and space as Luke employs the words day and hour, city and housetop. Cornelius’ servants had traveled the 30 miles south from Caesarea to Joppa in a day, which either meant they were on horseback, or travelled all night. The sixth hour was about noontime and may have reflected a pattern in Peter’s prayer life. Other godly believers had a habit of prayer at certain times of the day (Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10). The Lord would use this situation to teach Peter a theological truth. </p> <ul><li>But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a