THERE WAS A CERTAIN MAN IN CAESAREA,.... This was the Caesarea formerly called Strato's tower, not Caesarea Philippi; for the former, and not the latter, lay near Joppa: CALLED CORNELIUS; which was a Roman name, and he himself was a Roman or an Italian: A CENTURION OF THE BAND CALLED THE ITALIAN B... [ Continue Reading ]
A DEVOUT MAN,.... A truly religious person, who had forsaken the Roman idolatry and superstition, in which he was brought up: AND ONE THAT FEARED GOD: the one only living and true God, the God of Israel; he had the fear of God wrought in his heart, which is a part of the covenant of grace, a blessi... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SAW IN A VISION EVIDENTLY,.... He was not in a dream, or in a trance, but he was thoroughly awake, and his eyes open, and was himself; it was not in the night, but in clear day: ABOUT THE NINTH HOUR OF THE DAY; or three o'clock in the afternoon, which was the hour of prayer, Acts 3:1 in which ex... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE LOOKED ON HIM, HE WAS AFRAID,.... What with the brightness of his clothing, Acts 10:30 and the lustre of his countenance, and the majestic form in which he appeared, he perceived there was something uncommon and divine in this vision, and therefore was filled with awe and reverence, yea,... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NOW SEND MEN TO JOPPA,.... Which lay near to Caesarea; AND CALL FOR ONE SIMON, WHOSE SURNAME IS PETER: the angel was not sent to instruct Cornelius himself, but to direct him to an apostle of Christ, and minister of the Gospel, who should do it; for not angels, but men, are employed in the mini... [ Continue Reading ]
HE LODGETH WITH ONE SIMON A TANNER, c] Simon the tanner was his host this man very probably was a good man, and one that lodged strangers; of his trade, Acts 9:43 WHOSE HOUSE IS BY THE SEA SIDE; Joppa was a sea port, 2 Chronicles 2:16 Jonah 1:3 hence we read of ימא דיפו, "the sea of Joppa" x; and a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THE ANGEL WHICH SPAKE UNTO CORNELIUS WAS DEPARTED,.... For when be had delivered his message, he either disappeared, or withdrew, and immediately Cornelius showed himself ready to obey the heavenly vision: for HE CALLED TWO OF HIS HOUSEHOLD SERVANTS; who were not of the band of soldiers un... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE HAD DECLARED ALL THESE THINGS UNTO THEM,.... Which he had heard and seen in the vision, and of which he gave them a particular account; partly to engage them the more cheerfully to go on the errand, and partly that they might be able to give a distinct relation of it to Peter, that so he... [ Continue Reading ]
ON THE MORROW, AS THEY WENT ON THEIR JOURNEY,.... From Caesarea to Joppa; Joppa is said to be six and thirty miles distant from Caesarea; so far Caesarea was from Lydda, but it seems to be further from Joppa; for according to Josephus b, from Joppa to Antipatris were a hundred and fifty furlongs, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE BECAME VERY HUNGRY,.... It being in the middle of the day, when it was usual to eat; and perhaps he had ate nothing that day, for those were reckoned the most religious persons, who eat nothing before the Minchah: AND WOULD HAVE EATEN; though the Jews say e, a man ought not to eat near the M... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAW HEAVEN OPENED,.... Not literally, as at the baptism of Christ, and the stoning of Stephen; but in a visionary way, and which was an emblem of the opening and revealing the mystery of the calling of the Gentiles, which in other ages was not made known, as it now and afterwards was: AND A CER... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREIN WERE ALL MANNER OF FOUR-FOOTED BEASTS OF THE EARTH,.... Not as if they were painted upon it, and these were only pictures and representations of them made on the linen sheet; but as if they really add actually were upon it alive; since Peter is afterwards called upon to kill and eat: and the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE CAME A VOICE TO HIM,.... Formed by an angel, or rather by Christ himself: RISE, PETER, KILL AND EAT; he might be on his knees when he fell into this trance, being at prayer, and therefore is bid to rise; and he is called by name, the more to encourage him to do as he was ordered; and he i... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT PETER SAID, NOT SO, LORD,.... God forbid I should do this, so contrary to the law of God, and to my own practice, throughout the whole course of my life: FOR I HAVE NEVER EATEN ANYTHING THAT IS COMMON OR UNCLEAN; in a ceremonial sense, which was in common use with Gentiles, but unclean by the l... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE VOICE SPAKE UNTO HIM AGAIN THE SECOND TIME,.... The following words, WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED; that is, hath pronounced clean and lawful to be used, as he now had all sorts of food, Matthew 15:11. [THAT] CALL NOT THOU COMMON; or pronounce it to be unholy or unclean, and unlawful to be used:... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS WAS DONE THRICE,.... That is, either the voice spoke the same words three times, or the sheet was let down three times; and it may be both; it may be, that every time the voice was spoke, the sheet was let down: this was done, not with respect to any mystical meaning in the number three, but fo... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW WHILE PETER DOUBTED IN HIMSELF,.... For notwithstanding what he had heard and seen, he had not at once a full knowledge of this matter. Beza's most ancient copy reads, "as he was in himself, he doubted"; that is, when he came to himself, for he was before, as it were, out of himself, and was in... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CALLED, AND ASKED,.... That is, they called to the people of the house, Simon's family; and in a civil and courteous manner asked them, WHETHER SIMON, WHICH WAS SURNAMED PETER; which they said to distinguish him from Simon the master of the house, and as Cornelius was directed, and they were in... [ Continue Reading ]
Ver. 19 WHILE PETER THOUGHT ON THE VISION,.... Which greatly amused him, affected his mind, and employed his thoughts what should be the meaning and design of it: THE SPIRIT SAID UNTO HIM; the holy Spirit of God, either by an articulate voice, or by making an impulse on his mind; BEHOLD, THREE MEN... [ Continue Reading ]
ARISE, THEREFORE, AND GET THEE DOWN,.... From the top of the house where he was: AND GO WITH THEM; the three men, to Caesarea DOUBTING NOTHING; whether it is right or wrong, lawful or unlawful, to go with them, because not Jews, but uncircumcised Gentiles, laying aside all such Jewish scruples: F... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN PETER WENT DOWN TO THE MEN,.... The Ethiopic version adds, "from the third floor"; to the place where the men were: the following clause, WHICH WERE SENT UNTO HIM FROM CORNELIUS, is not in Beza's most ancient copy, nor in the Alexandrian copy, nor in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY SAID, CORNELIUS, THE CENTURION,.... A certain person, by name Cornelius, a Roman or Italian, as his name shows, and by office a "centurion", that was over an hundred soldiers: a just man; before God, and in his sight, through the imputation of Christ's righteousness to him; and who was a ne... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN CALLED HE THEM IN,.... Into Simon's house; not "into his own house", as the Ethiopic version adds; as yet they stood without, before the gate of the house; he took them in, no doubt, with the leave of Simon, his host, and set provisions before them, and lodged them that night: AND IN THE MORNI... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE MORROW AFTER THEY ENTERED INTO CAESAREA,.... So that they were one day, and part of another, on their journey: AND CORNELIUS WAITED FOR THEM; he had an eager desire to hear the word from Peter's mouth; and was longing and looking for the coming of him, with the men he sent for him; and he a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AS PETER WAS COMING IN,.... Not into the city of Caesarea, for his entrance there is mentioned before, but into the house of Cornelius: CORNELIUS MET HIM, AND FELL DOWN AT HIS FEET; to testify his great affection for him, and reverence of him: AND WORSHIPPED [HIM]; not with a religious adorati... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT PETER TOOK HIM UP,.... As he lay at his feet, and lifted him up and set him on his legs: SAYING, STAND UP; and continue in this posture: I MYSELF ALSO AM A MAN; a mortal man, a man of like passions with others, no better than others by nature: and it was by grace, and not any merit of his own,... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AS HE TALKED WITH HIM,.... About the excessive respect he showed him, and his own infirmity and frailty, and unworthiness, as a creature: HE WENT IN; to Cornelius's house, at the door, and through the porch, to some interior room and apartment in it: AND FOUND MANY THAT WERE COME TOGETHER; bes... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SAID UNTO THEM,.... The whole company that were met together, who were chiefly, if not altogether Gentiles: YE KNOW THAT IT IS AN UNLAWFUL THING; what is forbidden by the law of Moses, Deuteronomy 7:2 and by the traditions of the elders, which carry the matter further than the law did, and m... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE CAME I UNTO YOU, WITHOUT GAINSAYING,.... Readily and cheerfully, without objecting to it, or saying one word against it, or making any excuse to put it off: AS SOON AS I WAS SENT FOR: he immediately consented to go, as soon as ever the messengers from Cornelius acquainted him with their m... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CORNELIUS SAID,.... The Syriac version adds, "to him", to the apostle; the following he said, in a very submissive and humble manner: FOUR DAYS AGO I WAS FASTING UNTO THIS HOUR; in the Greek text it is, "from the fourth day unto this hour I was fasting": which looks as if he had been fasting fo... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SAID, CORNELIUS, THY PRAYER IS HEARD,.... What he was now particularly making to God, as well as others he had before put up to him: AND THINE ALMS ARE HAD IN REMEMBRANCE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD; Acts 10:4.... [ Continue Reading ]
SEND THEREFORE TO JOPPA,.... Acts 10:5, Acts 10:6. WHO WHEN HE COMETH SHALL SPEAK UNTO THEE, is left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions, but agrees with Acts 10:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
IMMEDIATELY THEREFORE I SENT UNTO THEE,.... This he said, to show his obedience to the heavenly vision, and his faith in it; and to remove from himself any suspicion of pride, vanity, and imperiousness: he did not send for the apostle of himself, but by a divine order; which as soon as he had, he ex... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN PETER OPENED HIS MOUTH,.... Acts 8:35 AND SAID, OF A TRUTH I PERCEIVE THAT GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS; which is to be understood, not of the substances of men, but of the outward state and condition, circumstances and qualities of men; he respects the proper persons of men themselves, but... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IN EVERY NATION,.... In any Gentile nation in the Roman empire, and in any part, even in Scythia, or in the most uncultivated parts of the universe, as well as in Judea: HE THAT FEARETH HIM; God, not with a slavish fear, or with the fear of punishment to be inflicted by him, with a fear of hell... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORD WHICH GOD SENT UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,.... Now the apostle enters on his sermon or discourse, of which the above were only a preface, or an introduction; and his sense is, that the doctrine which he was now about to preach to them, was the doctrine of the Gospel; which it pleased God,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORD [I SAY] YOU KNOW,.... By common fame and report, which had for some years past been published by John, Christ, and his apostles, in Judea and Galilee; especially some parts of it, or points in it, such as the apostle hereafter mentions must have reached their ears: WHICH WAS PUBLISHED THRO... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW GOD ANOINTED JESUS OF NAZARETH,.... And so declared him to be the Messiah, that was promised to the Jews, and expected by them; the anointed prophet, priest, and King; who because his parents lived at Nazareth, and he was educated there, and there he chiefly preached and wrought his miracles, he... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WE ARE WITNESSES OF ALL THINGS,.... That is, Peter, and the rest of the apostles, were witnesses, even eyewitnesses, of Christ's going about from place to place, and of the good he did every where, and of the miracles which he wrought; and even of every thing WHICH HE DID BOTH IN THE LAND OF TH... [ Continue Reading ]
HIM GOD RAISED UP THE THIRD DAY,.... According to the Scriptures, particularly Hosea 6:2. The resurrection, of Christ, though it is sometimes ascribed to himself, as God, whereby he was declared to be the Son of God, yet generally to God the Father, as here: AND SHOWED HIM OPENLY; in a glorious bod... [ Continue Reading ]
NOT TO ALL THE PEOPLE,.... Of the Jews, who crucified him; nor to the whole body of the Christians, though at one time to a large number, even five hundred brethren at once: BUT UNTO WITNESSES CHOSEN BEFORE OF GOD; by Christ himself, who is God: EVEN TO US, WHO DID EAT AND DRINK WITH HIM AFTER HE... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE COMMANDED US, TO PREACH UNTO THE PEOPLE,.... Not only of the Jews, but of the Gentiles; to all nations, to the whole world, and every creature; for the apostle seems to refer to the commission given to him, and the rest of the apostles, after Christ's resurrection, Matthew 28:19. AND TO TEST... [ Continue Reading ]
TO HIM GIVE ALL THE PROPHETS WITNESS,.... As David, Psalms 32:1 Daniel 9:9 THAT THROUGH HIS NAME, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM, SHALL RECEIVE THE REMISSION OF SINS; the meaning is, that whoever believes in Christ with a right and true faith, with the heart, he shall receive, not as what his faith pro... [ Continue Reading ]
WHILE PETER YET SPAKE THESE WORDS,.... As he was thus discoursing concerning Christ, his person, his miracles, his death and resurrection, and the efficacy of his blood for pardon, before he had done speaking, THE HOLY GHOST FELL ON ALL THEM WHICH HEARD THE WORD. This is not to be understood of the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY OF THE CIRCUMCISION WHICH BELIEVED,.... Or "of the Jews that believed", as the Ethiopic version renders it; the circumcised Jews who believed in Jesus Christ: WERE ASTONISHED, AS MANY AS CAME WITH PETER; who were six brethren, as appears from Acts 11:12 these were amazed, BECAUSE THAT ON... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEY HEARD THEM SPEAK WITH TONGUES,.... With divers tongues, which they had never learned, and before did not understand: and magnify God; they spoke of the wonderful works of God in these languages, as the apostles did at Pentecost, Acts 2:11 they spoke greatly in the praise of God, and gave th... [ Continue Reading ]
CAN ANY MAN FORBID WATER,.... The use of his river, or bath, or what conveniency he may have for baptizing persons: which shows, that it required a place of some quantity of water, sufficient for baptism by immersion, otherwise it would not be in the power of any man to hinder them having a little w... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE COMMANDED THEM TO BE BAPTIZED,.... By some of the six brethren that came with him from Joppa, who might all of them, at least some of them, be ministers of the Gospel: and this he ordered to be done IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; that is, of the Lord Jesus Christ, though not to the exclusion of th... [ Continue Reading ]