Acts 10 - The Message is for Everyone (2022)
Acts 10 NLT
Through the first ten chapters of Acts, several themes have become clear and we see them all again in this chapter...
Divine Appointments - Peter & John with the crippled beggar in Jerusalem (ch 3), Philip & the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza (ch 8), Saul & Ananias in Joppa (ch 9), and now Peter & Cornelius in beautiful Caesarea (Acts 10:30-33). This whole chapter is a beautiful example of how the Lord often will orchestrate opportunities in our lives if we will pay attention.
Eye Witnesses - Consistently they refer to the fact that they were witnesses - it is difficult to refute first hand experience. Once again here: "We are witnesses of everything He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem..." (vs 39)
The Resurrection - Nothing was more important to the early disciples than the fact that Jesus did not stay in the tomb but that He had, in fact, risen. "...but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen." (vs 40)
The Name of Jesus - This was a new thing in the book of Acts because before that, Jesus himself was physically present in the Gospels. But now, the authority for everything they are doing comes from the name of Jesus. "...everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness from sins through HIS NAME." (vs 43)
The Gift of the Holy Spirit - Beginning with Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:4-8, to the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, if the authority came from the name of Jesus, the POWER came from the filling of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is a more prominent theme in Acts than this. "...they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." (vs 47)
And the fact that the Holy Spirit came to these gentiles in Caesarea was the most significant thing about this chapter: "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers (Jewish followers of Jesus) who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles!" (vs 44-45)
Peter now realized that something significant had happened: "God accepts people from every nation who fear him and do what is right." (vs 34)
Prayer: Lord, thank you that the Message is for ALL people. Help me to be your messenger. Help me to hear your voice when you are trying to lead me a certain way. And let me be a person like Cornelius - "righteous, God-fearing, and respected by all".
