Acts 10

Acts 10:1-48 . ACCESSION AND BAPTISM OF CORNELIUS AND HIS PARTY; OR, THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THE GENTILES.

We here enter on an entirely new phase of the Christian Church, the "opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles"; in other words, the recognition of Gentile, on terms of perfect equality with Jewish, discipleship without the necessity of circumcision. Some beginnings appear to have been already made in this direction and Saul probably acted on this principle from the first, both in Arabia and in Syria and Cilicia. But had he been the prime mover in the admission of uncircumcised Gentiles into the Church, the Jewish party, who were never friendly to him, would have acquired such strength as to bring the Church to the verge of a disastrous schism. But on Peter, "the apostle" specially "of the circumcision," was conferred the honor of initiating this great movement, as before of the first admission of Jewish believers. upon the stage was to eclipse this "chiefest of the apostles."

1, 2. Cæsarea--(See on Ac 8:40 ).
the Italian band--a cohort of Italians, as distinguished from native soldiers, quartered at Cæsarea, probably as a bodyguard to the Roman procurator who resided there. An ancient coin makes express mention of such a cohort in Syria. [AKERMAN, Numismatic Illustrations of the New Testament.]

2. A devout man, &c.--an uncircumcised Gentile proselyte to the Jewish faith, of whom there were a very great number at this time; a distinguished proselyte, who had brought his whole household establishment under the hallowing influence of the Jewish faith and the regular observance of its principal seasons of worship.
gave much alms to the people--that is, the Jewish people, on the same principle as another centurion before him ( Luke 7:5 ); thinking it no "great thing," if they had "sown unto him spiritual things, that they should reap his carnal things" ( 1 Corinthians 9:11 ).
prayed to God alway--at the stated daily seasons.

3-6. saw . . . evidently--"distinctly."
the ninth hour of the day--three o'clock, the hour of the evening sacrifice. But he had been "fasting until that hour" ( Acts 10:30 ), perhaps from the sixth hour ( Acts 10:9 ).

4. What is it, Lord?--language which, tremulously though it was uttered, betokened childlike reverence and humility.
Thy prayers and thine alms--The way in which both are specified is emphatic. The one denotes the spiritual outgoing of his soul to God, the other its practical outgoing to men.
are come up for a memorial before God--that is, as a sacrifice well-pleasing unto God, as an odor of a sweet smell ( Revelation 8:4 ).

5. send to Joppa . . . for one Simon,

7, 8. when the angel . . . was departed, he called--immediately doing as directed, and thereby showing the simplicity of his faith.
a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually--of the "soldiers under him," such as the centurion at Capernaum had ( Matthew 8:9 ). Who this "devout soldier" was, can only be matter of conjecture. DA COSTA [Four Witnesses] gives a number of ingenious reasons for thinking that, having attached himself henceforth to Peter--whose influence in the composition of the second Gospel is attested by the earliest tradition, and is stamped on that Gospel itself--he is no other than the Evangelist Mark.

9-16. upon the housetop--the flat roof, the chosen place in the East for cool retirement.
the sixth hour--noon.

10. a trance--differing from the "vision" of Cornelius, in so far as the things seen had not the same objective reality, though both were supernatural.

12. all manner of four-footed beasts, &c.--that is, the clean and the unclean (ceremonially) all mixed together.

14. Not so, Lord--See Marginal reference.
I have never eaten anything that is common--that is, not sanctified by divine permission to eat of it, and so "unclean." "The distinction of meats was a sacrament of national distinction, separation, and consecration" [WEBSTER and WILKINSON].

15. What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common--The ceremonial distinctions are at an end, and Gentiles, ceremonially separated from the chosen people ( Acts 10:28 ), and debarred from that access to God in the visible ordinances of His Church which they enjoyed, are now on a perfect equality with them.

16. done thrice--See Genesis 41:32 .