Atos 10

Atos 10

Barclay - Cornelius was a God-fearer. In New Testament times this had become almost a technical term for Gentiles who, weary of the gods and the immoralities and the frustration of their ancestral faiths, had attached themselves to the Jewish religion. They did not accept circumcision and the Law; but they attended the synagogue and they believed in one God and in the pure ethic of Jewish religion. Cornelius then was a man who was seeking after God, and as he sought God, God found him. Larkin - Luke does not quite use “God-fearer” (hos phoboumenos or hos seboumenos) as a technical term (Acts 10:2, 22, 35; 13:16, 26, 43, 50; 16:14; 17:4, 17; 18:7). But it does point to that class of monotheistic Gentiles who worshiped the God of the Old Testament, kept the Old Testament ethical code, attended synagogue, observed the sabbath and practiced the main requirements of Jewish piety (Levinskaya 1990). Because they refused to become proselytes, Jews still regarded them as ritually unclean Gentiles. ( (The Mission Is Inaugurated Through Peter Acts 9:32-11:18) The fear that Cornelius had of Yahweh reminds us of Solomon's descriptions that "fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Pr 1:7) and "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Pr 9:10). Cornelius' fear of God was about to lead to full knowledge of the Holy One and His way of salvation! Feared God with all his household - What is the Holy Spirit teaching us? It is a testimony to the winsome, winning character of Cornelius (THOUGHT: O, to be such a holy aroma to our family and friends! cf 2 Cor 2:14-16) He led them by example. His trust in Yahweh along with this integrity (his talk matched his walk), led his family (including his household slaves) to follow, so they too became "fearers" of the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Keep in mind, much like modern day America (with its manifold, variegated "gods and goddesses"), his children would have had a plethora of pagan gods and goddesses to choose from (cf List of Roman "deities"), but they chose Yahweh. And notice Cornelius "evangelistic" act in Acts 10:24 where he "called together his relatives and close friends" to hear what Peter had to say. I have frequently read (and heard from various pulpits) a common, cute saying "Go into the world and preach the Gospel. If necessary use words." Yes, our lives are to "make room" for our lips. Our good actions are to make room for the good news. But Cornelius presents us with the proper pattern - a good man is to be a gospeling man. Of course, in this case Cornelius did not yet know the Gospel, but he clearly knew Peter had some sort of news and he wanted all to hear. And so I say Cornelius gives us a good pattern to pursue. This ancient Roman Centurion "throws down the gauntlet"! Brothers and sisters, will we accept his challenge and be bold "gospeling" men and women for the glory and honor of our King? As R C H