Acts 10:34-48 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Acts 10:34-48. Let’s go!
Acts 10:34-35 (NIV)
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
On verses 34-35: Peter recognizes that it was the Holy Spirit who gave him and Cornelius each a vision around the same time and used those visions to bring the two of them together. Even as he is preaching to Cornelius’ household, Peter himself is realizing that truly God’s heart is for people from every nation.
Acts 10:36-43 (NIV)
36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached–
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen–by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
On verses 36-43: Peter then goes into the specifics of the Gospel message. Peter speaks of Jesus’ incredible, Holy-Spirit anointed life (v37-38), of Jesus’ death on a cross (v39), of Jesus’ resurrection (v40-41), and of the mission Jesus gave Peter and his other disciples to preach. He declares that Jesus is the judge that we must all answer to (v42), the one that all the prophets of the Old Testament testified about (v43), and the one in whom there is forgiveness of sins (v43).
From his sermon we learn that:
– The gospel brings peace through Jesus Christ (v36)
– Jesus is Lord of all; in other words, Jesus has authority over everything (v36)
– The power of God is greater than the power of the devil (v38)
– Jesus’ resurrection was not merely a spiritual or mystical resurrection but an actual, physical resurrection from the dead, as Peter and the other disciples ate and drank with him (v41).
Acts 10:44-48 (NIV)
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,
47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”
48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
On verses 44-48: Here we have what you could call the “Gentile Pentecost”. Just as the Holy Spirit fell on the Jewish believers in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, so here the Holy Spirit falls upon Cornelius and his entire household as they hear Peter preaching about Jesus. It is a watershed moment in the history of the church as Peter realizes that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are just as much for Gentiles as they are for the Jews. Cornelius and his household are baptized to declare their faith in Jesus.
Jesus is for every person from every nation, regardless of their background or culture.
Jesus, thank You for the amazing ways that You bring people together, all for a purpose that is greater than they themselves realized. Thank You for Your heart which beats for every person from every nation, ethnicity, race and background. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
