The next day he rose and went off with them, and some of the
brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And on the following day they entered
Caesare'a. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his kinsmen and
close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet
and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am a
man." And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons
gathered; and he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for
a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation; but God has shown
me that I should not call any man common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I
came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me." And Cornelius
said, "Four days ago, about this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of
prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel,
saying, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been
remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called
Peter; he is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the seaside.' So I
sent to you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we
are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all that you have been
commanded by the Lord."
In a Nutshell
Peter visits Cornelius and asks why he has been called for. Cornelius tells him.
Questions
Why, do you think, does Luke go over the story again in such detail?
Often Peter has been depicted as the blustering fisherman from Galilee who talks first and thinks second. But let us look carefully at what Luke says. Peter was under the guidance of God's Spirit. He takes no glory for himself. Cornelius must stand. He is not to worship him. He puts it straight. "I too am a man." In other words: if we are to relate we do so "man to man" under heaven. Jesus had said that though the one who sits at table is greater, He had been among them as a servant (Luke 22:25-27). He had also strictly warned them against adopting Gentile ways of giving honour and respect. We see here that Peter was learning.
As well, Peter took it one step at a time. He does not presume
upon Cornelius' answer. He patiently points out that what is happening in Cornelius'
house is, to both of them, something that breaks with the traditions that are
usually in place between Jews and Gentiles. They knew that they were engaged in
an exchange that broke with the traditional was of Jews relating with Roman
Centurions. Peter assumed Cornelius knew this and is totally "up
front". He tells Cornelius what he had been learning in recent days about the
way God wants him to relate to people of other nations. It is as if Peter said:
"I'm here, Cornelius, because God has been
teaching me matters I had not previously understood. Now you tell me why you
sent for me!"
Cornelius obliges Peter. He too is under constraint by what he
has been commanded in a vision. In effect Cornelius says: "That's the vision I had. Now you tell me why I have
called you here!"
When we compare this exchange with the one when the Sanhedrin warned the apostles, we can say that Peter and Cornelius were pioneers in giving new respect to each other, because of the peace pouring into their lives when God's Spirit arranged for them to meet.