Note: Acts 10 is NOT about kashrut (the dietary laws) or cleansing food to make it acceptable. It is a renewal of Israel’s calling. Israel, in their unbelief, did not take the call of God seriously. She was created to bless the nations with the truth of God, but, unfortunately, most of Israel moved away from that calling. The message that God gave initially, exclusively, to the Jewish people is now a message to be taken to all people. As Gentiles receive the gospel they can share equally in this call (joint heirs).

Verse 1: “A certain man was in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, and he was a centurion. He was from the brigade that was called Italian.”

Caesarea: It was the capital of the Roman Empire within Israel. It was a Roman city with lots of Gentiles in it, so was considered an unclean city by the sages and within Jewish tradition.

Cornelius… centurion: He was a Roman man, an Italian soldier who was in charge of over at least 100 up to 999 other soldiers.

Brigade that was called Italian: He was from an elite group, and as a centurion he was probably that group’s leader.

Verse 2: “He was pious, also he feared God – with all of his house, doing many alms to the people. He was praying to God on behalf of all.”

Pious: He desired to apply G-dly truth to his life.

He feared God: He was a Gentile who feared God. He believed in the God of Israel and took Scripture seriously, but he had not been converted (meaning, he had not gone through a circumcision in order to convert to Judaism)

All of his house: His family also feared God.

Alms: These are acts of kindness coming from a character who shows mercy to others.

To the people: This would have been to the Jewish people.

Praying to God: He had a very active prayer life. Prayer brings G-dly activity (the ministry of the Holy Spirit) into our lives. It empowers, positions, and equips us so that God can move in our lives.

Verse 3: “And he saw in a clear vision, it was about the ninth hour of the day that the angel of God entered in, to him, and spoke to him: ‘Cornelius!’”

Ninth hour: The number 9 speaks about a deed, an act, an activity. The text gives us a hint that we can anticipate that something is going to happen that is going to be foundational in this passage of Scripture.

Verse 4: “(Cornelius) Gazing upon him and becoming fearful said, ‘Who are you L-rd?’ He (the angel) said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.’”

L-rd: He understands that he is called to submit.

Your prayers and your alms: Giving of alms impacts our prayers and our prayer life. When we pray, accompanying our prayer with faithfulness, these go up before God, into His presence.

Verse 5: “Now send to Jaffa men; that they summon Simon, the one who is called Peter.”

Verse 6: “This one is lodging at Simon the Tanner; whose house is by the sea. This one shall speak to you and (tell you) what you it is necessary to do.”

Necessary: This is a very significant word and refers to something of absolute necessity – which cannot be altered and changed if the will of God is going to be manifested in a situation.

Verse 7: “The angel that was speaking to Cornelius departed. He called two of his servants and a pious soldier, who was among those who served him steadfastly.”

Angel…departed: The angel gave one commandment, made it clear what Cornelius was to do and then left it up to Cornelius to respond in obedience.

Verse 8: “And he clarified to them concerning all these things and sent them to Jaffa.”

Clarified: Spoke very intently to them. The Greek word used here is ‘exegesis’. It means to clarify in a very accurate, significant, and clear manner the meaning of something.