LESSON IX. NOVEMBER 26, 1876 PETER'S VISION. ACTS 10: 1-20. 1 There was a certain man in Cesarea, called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2 A devout man,1 and one that feared2 God with all his house, which gave much alms to3 the people, and prayed to God always. PARALLEL PASSAGES. 1Ch. 8:2. Ch. 22:12. 2Ch. 18:8. Gen. 18:19. Ps. 101:2-7. Ps. 41:1. Ps. 119:2. Prov. 2:3-5. Luke now unfolds a new and positive advance in the secession of Christianity from Judaism. The martyrdom of Stephen had sealed the certainty of such a separation, and now the head of the movement must be the leading apostle Peter, under angelic guidance, at the Gentile capital Cæsarea. This was a vital question not for Judaism only, but for even us in this nineteenth century, -Must we be circumcised Jews in order to be Christians? So believed the first Jerusalem church; so, at first, Peter held; and from this yoke it was Paul, the apostle of us Gentiles, pre-eminently, who was our emancipator. That Gentiles should be admitted into the church was clear; they could be admitted even into the Jewish Church. The Old Testament predicted that Christ, the Messiah, should be "a light to the Gentiles, a salvation to the ends of the earth." Jesus commanded his apostles to "go, teach all nations," that is, go, disciple, all Gentiles. This the apostles well understood. But this they could not understand, that the Mosaic ritual, circumcision and all, should, as the church expanded to universality, fall off like a dry, outgrown shell from its back. Whedon. 1. Cæsarea, a noted city of Palestine on the coast of the Mediterranean, on the great road from Tyre to Egypt, about half-way between Joppa and Dora, is frequently alluded to in the Acts of the Apostles. The distance of Cæsarea from Jerusalem is given by Josephus as six hundred stadia. The Jerusalem Itenerary gives sixty-eight miles. In a direct line the actual distance is forty-seven English miles. The place was originally called "Strabo's Tower." Afterward the city was built by Herod the Great in ten years, with the most lavish outlay, calling it Cæsarea Sebaste. Josephus tells us it was a most magnificent city. He describes a breakwater built of vast blocks of stone, sunk to the depth of twenty fathoms in the sea. Broad landing-wharves surrounded the harbor, and conspicuous from the sea was a temple dedicated to Cæsar and Rome, and containing colossal statues of the emperor and the imperial city. Herod made this city his residence, and thus elevated it to rank of the civil and military capital of Judea. Whitney.-Cornelius. Cornelius was an officer in the Roman army. No name was more honorable at Rome than that of the Cornelian house. It was the name borne by the Scipios, and by Sulla, and the mother of the Gracchi. In the Roman army, as in the army of modern Austria, the soldiers were drawn from different countries and spoke different languages. Along the coast of which we are speaking, many of them were recruited from Syria and Judea. But the corps to which Cornelius belonged seems to have been a cohort of Italians separate from the legionary soldiers, and hence called the "Italian cohort." He was no doubt a true-born Italian. Educated in Rome, or some provincial town, he had entered upon a soldier's life, dreaming perhaps of military glory, but dreaming as little of that better glory which now surrounds the Cornelian name as Peter dreamed at the Lake of Gennesareth of becoming the chosen companion of the Messiah of Israel, and of throwing open the doors of the catholic church to the dwellers in Asia and Africa, to the barbarians on the remote and unvisited shores of Europe, and to the undiscovered countries of the West. Howson. A centurion was strictly the commander of a hundred men; but the title was applied, with some degree of latitude, to those who led the subdivisions of a legion. The band here properly means such a subdivision. The Italian, probably so called because composed of Romans, although stationed in the east, as the European officers and soldiers in India are distinguished from the native troops or sepoys. Alexander.—It is a remarkable fact that all the centurions mentioned in the New Testament are favorably noticed. There is the centurion in Capernaum, whose faith our Lord commended (Matt. 8:5); the centurion who attended at the crucifixion, and who acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 27:54); the centurion who accompanied Paul to Rome, and was so favorably disposed to him (Acts 27:3-43); and here, Cor. nelius, the first-fruits of the Gentiles. Gloag. 2. A devout man, etc. These terms denote Gentiles, who, though not proselytes, had abandoned heathenism and, by living among Jews, had become worshippers of the true God. In this Gentile mind 3 He saw in a vision evidently, about the ninth hour of the day, an angell of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy PARALLEL PASSAGES. prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial2 before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6 He lodgeth with one Simon3 a tanner, whose house is by the sea 1Heb. 1:14. 21s. 45:19. Ch. 9:43. there was thus a preparedness for the reception of Christianity, brought about by the Spirit of truth, and pointing to Christ. With all his house. He was not only pious for himself and privately, but he gave proof of his sincerity by so guiding and controlling his household. "I know Abraham," etc. Personal religion will lead to family religion, and prove itself by its fruits in the household. Much alms, literally, "doing many charities to the people" (the Jewish people). This is also remarked of the other Roman centurion (Luke, 7:5), and it is always a fruit of true piety if not a proof of it (James 1:27). Yet this conduct was strongly contrasted with that of these heathen officers in general, who plundered the people of the provinces wherever they could. Prayed, praying. It would seem most probable that this relates to his habitual devotions at the regular hours of prayer. Not unlikely he was praying for guidance in the way of life, and for light on the subject of this new faith spreading everywhere in Judea and through the empire. (See verses 4, 5.) Jacobus. - It has been supposed by many that the expressions here used denote that Cornelius was a Jew, or was instructed in the Jewish religion, and was a proselyte. But this by no means follows. It is probable that there might have been among the Gentiles a few, at least, who were fearers of God, and who maintained his worship according to the light which they had. So there may be now persons found in pagan lands who, in some unknown way, have been taught the evils of idolatry, the necessity of a purer religion, and who may be prepared to receive the gospel. The Sandwich Islands were very much in this state when the American missionaries first visited them. They had thrown away their idols, and seemed to be waiting for the message of mercy and the word of eternal life, as Cornelius was. A few other instances have been found by missionaries in heathen lands, who have thus been prepared by a train of providential events, or by the teaching of the Spirit, for the gospel of Christ. Barnes. 3. Saw in a vision. Not a dream, which would be otherwise expressed (as in Matt. 2:13, 19, 22), but a supernatural communication, addressed not merely to the mind, but to the senses. Evidently. Clearly; certainly; not doubfully or dimly. About the ninth hour. Not far from three o'clock in the afternoon. The object then and there seen was an angel of God; a messenger sent by him from the other world, belonging to a race of superhuman spirits, but no doubt clothed in human form. The popular idea of winged angels is derived from the cherubim (Ex. 25:20) and seraphim (Isa. 6:2), but is never suggested by any of the narratives of angelic visits to this world and its inhabitants. Alexander. 4. And when he looked on him. Greek, "Having fixed his eyes attentively on him." He was afraid. At the suddenness and unexpected character of the vision. What is it, Lord? This is the expression of surprise and alarm. The word "Lord" should have been translated "sir," as there is no evidence that this is an address to God, and still less that he regarded the personage present as the Lord. It is such language as a man would naturally use who was suddenly surprised; who should witness a strange form appearing unexpectedly before him, and who should exclaim, "Sir, what is the matter?" Are come up for a memorial. Are remembered before God. (Comp. Isa. 45:19). They were an evidence of piety towards God, and were accepted as such. Though he had not offered sacrifice according to the Jewish law, though he had not been circumcised, yet having acted according to the light which he had, his prayers were heard and his alms accepted. Barnes.-This only shows that already this man must have had some faith leading him to pray, and such a faith as brought forth Its fruits in his life and made him already yearn for the benefits of the gospel. There is no idea here of anything meritorious in his prayers and alms, but that he went forward in duty so far as he had the light; and in such case he had the promise of more light, and grace for grace. (John 1:16.) Jacobus. For Joppa and Simon a tanner, see Lesson VIII, verse 43. 5, 6. Whose house. The site of Simon's house was pointed out to us by the sea-side in Joppa. There we found skins and oil still dealt in, and we saw abundant reasons for such a trade being located near the sea and in the suburbs of the city, as it was required by law. Oughtest. Literally, "what is necessary "(namely, according to God's plan). This made it his duty. Observe: (1) How could Cornelius imagine what duty or burden was now to be laid upon him, and what would be shown him that he ought to do? Yet he went forward, ready and anxious to learn his duty. (2) God might have side: he shall tell theel what thou | the city, Peter went up upon the oughtest to do. house-top to pray, about the sixth hour: 7 And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; 8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. 9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw3 heaven opened, and. a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: PARALLEL PASSAGES.-1Ch. 11:14. 2Ch. 11:5, etc. Ch. 7:56. revealed to Cornelius his will by direct disclosures; but he would employ human instrumentality, and bade him send for Peter Jacobus. 7. Cornelius promptly obeys the divine direction. He was not thrown into perplexity, but was met in the way of his prayers, and doubtless saw this to be the answer from above. Household servants. Literally, "domestics." Devout soldier. One of the private soldiers who attended on this officer. (Matt. 3:9; Matt. 8:9.) Da Costa, in his work entitled "The Four Witnesses," holds that this soldier was most probably Mark the Evangelist, and that so he was the first convert of Peter, or one of the very first, and hence called his son. A whole household is thus placed in contact with Christianity, when they are in a state of readiness to receive the truth, all in sympathy with Cornelius. Several witnesses were provided to testify to the miracle. Cornelius does not sternly command, but kindly opens the case. Jacobus. 9. On the morrow. Joppa was about thirty miles south of Cæsarea, and thus the journey would occupy more than one day. The messengers of Cornelius would leave Cæsarea about three in the afternoon, and they arrived at Joppa next day at noon. Gloag.-Upon the house-top. The roof, which, according to the Oriental manner, was flat, or but slightly inclined. It was the place often chosen for the performance of religious duties. The situation does not expose one necessarily to public view. A wall or balustrade three or four feet high surrounds many of the roofs in the East, where a person may sit or kneel without being observed by others. Moses required (Deut. 228) that every house should have such a protection. Hackett. — About the sixth hour. About twelve o'clock at noon. The Jews had two stated seasons of prayer, morning and evening. But it is evident that the more pious of the Jews frequently added a third season of devotion, probably at noon. Thus David says (Ps. 55: 17), "Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud." Thus Daniel "kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed." (Daniel 6:10, 13.) It was also customary in the early Christian church to offer prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours. Barnes. 10. And he became very hungry. From the connection, where it is said that they were making ready, that is, preparing a meal, it would seem that this was the customary hour of dining. The Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans, however, had but two meals, and the first was usually taken about ten or eleven o'clock. This meal usually consisted of fruit, milk, cheese, etc. Their principal meal was about six or seven in the afternoon, at which time they observed their feasts. Barnes. - A trance, or rapture, whereby (if we may so express it) he was transported out of himself and put into a mental state in which he could discern objects beyond the apprehension of man's natural powers. (See ch. 11: 5; 22:17.) In the mode of instruction which God employed in this instance, he adapted himself to the peculiar circumstances in which Peter was placed. "The divine light that was making its way to his spirit revealed itself in the mirror of sensible images which proceeded from the existing state of his bodily frame." (Neand.) Hackett. 11. A certain vessel, receptacle, more definitely, a great sheet. Bound by four corners, or ends, and (thus) let down upon the earth. The conception of the scene suggested by the text is that of the sheet upheld by cords attached to its four points, and suspended from above by an unseen power. This is the common view, and I think the correct one. Hackett. -The four corners are by many supposed to denote the four quarters of the globe; that the whole world, north, south, east, and west, was included in the kingdom of God. Bengel, Lange, Neander, Alford.—While his thoughts are running upon food, it is exhibited in great abundance and variety, but in an extraordinary manner, showing that something was intended very different from the satisfaction of the appetite, or even the relief of an unusual hunger. Alexander. 12 Wherein were all manner of 17 Now while Peter doubted in four-footed beasts of the earth, and | himself what this vision which he wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is1 common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time. What God hath cleansed that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. had seen should mean, behold the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry3 for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, 18 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. 19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit4 said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise5 therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. PARALLEL PASSAGES.-1Lev. 11:2, etc.; 20:25. 2Verse 28. Matt. 15:11. Rom. 14:14. 1 Cor. 10:25. 1 Tim. 4:4. :Ch.9:43. 4Ch.11:12. 5Ch. 15:7. 12. All manner of four-footed beasts, etc. The contents were as surprising as the vessel, comprehending all kinds of animals, — beasts, birds, and creeping things, including, therefore, both the two great classes which the law of Moses and the Jewish practice recognized, the clean and the unclean. (See Lev. 11 and Deut. 14.) This is the grand idea meant to be conveyed, and it was therefore as indifferent to Peter as it ought to be to us into how many classes a zoölogist would have divided them, or what might be the strictly scientific application of the terms, quadrupeds of the earth, beasts, reptiles, and birds of heaven, or of the air. The distinctive names might have been more numerous or less so, more precise or less so, without varying the essential fact that the vessel seen by Peter contained "all manner" (i. e. all kinds) of animals, both clean and unclean. Alexander. 14. Not so, Lord. Peter responds to this command as any conscientious Jew or Jewish Christian would have done, by representing it as inconsistent with the whole previous tenor of his life. The emphasis and positiveness of this refusal is in curious contrast with the title of respect which follows, and which can scarcely be translated "Sir" in this connection, but must imply that he regarded the voice as that of a superhuman if not divine person. Alexander. 15. To this the voice replied, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This, whether the entire vision or the voice only is not certain, was repeated three times, either to impress it more strongly upon Peter's mind, or to confirm in the strongest manner the truth and certainty of the truth thus conveyed. Kitto. 17. But what things were in this case denoted by the vision? This was the question on which Peter pondered. He seems to have been in doubt whether by this vision God meant only to indicate that every distinction of meats was abolished by the Christian religion, and therewith, perhaps, the ceremonial law, of which practically that distinction formed a most prominent part; or whether a yet deeper meaning was not concealed under it, namely, that the Gentiles, who did not observe this dis. tinction of meats, and were on that and other grounds accounted impure by the Jews, were to be so regarded no longer nor their society to be any longer shunned, but the doctrines of the gospel were to be freely preached to them. His doubts on this point were soon resolved; and he speedily learned that this vision had been sent to him in order to determine and guide his conduct, under circumstances which might otherwise have perplexed him greatly. Kitto.-Stood. Were present at the gate, the door opening upon the court from the street. This is the style of the more ordinary Oriental houses; others, and superior ones, have a porch or vestibule between the gate and the court. The Eastern custom is for strangers to stand at the outer gate, and call out, "Who lives here?" or to give warning of their coming. Jacobus. 19. Neander supposes that Peter on the house-top heard the messengers of Cornelius calling on him from below. But there is nothing of this in the text; the arrival of the messengers is first made known to Peter by the Spirit. This was necessary to impart to him undoubted certainty as to the meaning of the vision. We must always remember, in these numerous supernatural interventions and minute divine directions, the infinite importance of the truth revealed,-that Christianity should no longer continue a Jewish sect, but become the destined religion of the world; that God was not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Gloag.-The two men to whom the revelations were made, and even the places where the divine interferences occurred, were characteristic of the event. Cornelius was in Cæsarea and St. Peter ir Joppa; the Roman soldier in the modern city, which was built and named in the emperor's honor; the Jewish apostle in the ancient seaport which associates its name with the early passages of Hebrew history, with the voyage of Jonah, the building of the temple, the wars of the Maccabees. All the splendor of Cæsarea, its buildings and its ships, and the temple of Rome and the emperor, which the sailors saw far out at sea, all has long since vanished. Herod's magnificent city is a wreck on the shore; a few ruins are all that remain of the harbor. Joppa lingers on, like the Jewish people, dejected but not destroyed. Cæsarea has perished, like the Roman Empire which called it into existence. And no men could well be more contrasted with each other than those two men in whom the heathen and Jewish worlds met and were reconciled. We know what Peter was, -a Galilean fisher. man, brought up in the rudest district of an obscure province, with no learning but such as he might have gathered in the synagogue of his native town. All his early days he had dragged his nets in the Lake of Gennesareth; and now he was at Joppa, lodging in the house of Simon the tanner, the apostle of a religion that was to change the world. Howson. PARALLEL PASSAGES.- 1Deut. 10:17. 2 Chron. 19:7. Job 34:19. Rom. 2:11. Gal. 2:6. CONNECTION. Peter waited until the next morning before he departed with the messengers of Cornelius, who, doubtless, needed some hours of repose. Six men, who belonged to the Christian congregation in Joppa, and whose precise number Luke afterwards states in chap. 11:12, voluntarily accompanied him; they were possibly encouraged by the apostle himself to do so. They accordingly constituted a small caravan of ten men. But they required more than one day in order to complete a journey of thirty Roman miles, and consequently did not reach Cæsarea until the following day, that is the fourth day (verse 30) after the intimation which Cornelius had received from the angel. Cornelius could easily calculate that they would arrive on this day, and awaited, with deep interest and reverence, the appearance of the apostle with his own messengers. He had besides, in view of such a highly valued visit, which God had arranged, invited both his relatives and also certain intimate friends, all of whom, without doubt, entertained sentiments resembling his own and were susceptible of religious impressions. When, therefore, Peter and his nine travelling companions arrived, they found not only the entire household of Cornelius (verse 2), but also many relatives and friends assembled, who already formed quite a numer ous household congregation. Peter at once addresses, in general terms, the persons whom he finds assembled, and while he speaks very frankly of his appearance in the house of a pagan, desires them to state the reason for which they had called him. He premises that they are doubtless aware that a Jew ought not to enter into such relations with a foreigner as to become intimately connected with him, to come to him, or to enter his house. The Mosaic law does not contain a direct and literal prohibition of this kind, nor does it agree in spirit with such a principle, but rabbinical Judaism did unquestionably carry the principle of separation to such an extreme, and we have an evidence of this in the fact that in the age of Jesus the Jews believed that they became Levitically unclean by entering the house of a heathen. (John 18:28.) He declares, however, at the same time that God had showed him that he was not at liberty to call any man common or unclean or treat him as such and avoid him. In obedience to the divine directions, he adds, he had offered no objections, but had come at once as soon as the call had reached him. Cornelius first gives a detailed account of the instructions which he had received from the angel, and then requests Peter to communicate to him and his assembled friends all that he, as a messenger of God, had been commissioned to say. (Verses 30-33.) Lechler. 34. Then Peter opened his mouth. These words inform us, with great solemnity, that the following address contains important truths. It consists of three parts: (1) The introduction (verses 34, 85), stating that all men, without regard to national distinctions, may alike be received into the kingdom |