Acts 9:31–43
The growing church is peaceful, encouraged by the Holy Spirit, grew in numbers, and retained respecting fear of God.
The two miracles of physical healing tells us at least two things:
1) ONLY through our deep faith in Jesus Christ can the apostles heal. Similarly, ONLY through our deep faith in Jesus Christ can we be healed (Mark 10:52, Luke 7:50, 18:42, etc.).
2) And just as Christ can physically heal us to bring us more comfort during our limited time here on Earth, Jesus will also spiritually heal us to bring us eternal comfort and joy. All we have to do is graciously accept this awesome gift from God.
Acts 10:1–11:18
Cornelius’ and his family (and perhaps even his staff, Acts 10:7) were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (Acts 10:2). He also righteousness and respected by all the Jewish people (Acts 10:22).
Acts 10:9–18
Leviticus 11, 17:10–14, 20:25
Jesus fulfilled the laws of the Old Testament. Because of His sacrificial death, He washed away our sins and fulfilled ALL Old Testament prophesies, thus PROVING He is the Messiah, the only one who can fulfill ALL of the Law. His resurrection proves He is a conqueror of death, and that He is our savior. Laws of the Old Testament acted as a guideline to teach Jews how to live according to God’s will and how to temporarily atone for their people’s sins. However, there is no way we can ever live according to God’s will in perfection. ONLY JESUS CAN. Living by the Law only grants us brief atonement. This is best exemplified by the fact that yearly sacrificial of a lamb was necessary to atone for the people’s sins for only that year. ONLY JESUS could fulfill the Law PERFECTLY. Hence, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He atoned for our sins PERFECTLY and ETERNALLY. This is why ONLY THROUGH JESUS can we be deemed ETERNALLY righteous in the eyes of God. Thus, when we place our complete faith in Jesus and devote our lives to be more like Jesus, we are freed from the Law (Matthew 5:17-20).
God commanded Peter, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15).
We know it was God who instructed Peter because...
1) Peter saw Heaven opened with “something like a large sheet being let down to Earth” (Acts 10:11)
2) Peter was instructed 3 times, followed by immediate return of the sheet to Heaven (Acts 10:16).
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." (Acts 10:19-20).
Acts 10:35
God accepts people from every nation and does not show favoritism. That is, He offers salvation to EVERYONE. HOWEVER, salvation needs to be RECEIVED. Thus, ONLY those who consciously make the decision to sincerely repent of past, present, and future sins and accept salvation can enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 10:34-35). And since salvation is offered ONLY through the death of Jesus, we can receive salvation ONLY through our faith in Jesus, for Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
Zondervan NIV footnote:
* Acts 10:34 God does not show favoritism. God does not favor individuals because of their station in life, their nationality or their material possessions (see Ro 2:11; Jas 2:1 and notes; see also Dt 10:17-19, 2Ch 19:17; Job 34:19; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; 1Pe 1:17). He does, however, respect their character and judge their work. This is evident because God "accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (v. 35). Cornelius already worshiped the true God, but this was not enough: He lacked faith in Christ (v. 36).
* Acts 10:2 devout. In spite of all his good deeds, Cornelius needed to hear the way of salvation from a human messenger. The role of the angel (v. 3) was to bring Cornelius and Peter together (cf. 8:26; 9:10). God-fearing. The term used of one who was not a full Jewish proselyte but who believed in one God and respected the moral and ethical teachings of the Jews.
Peter was criticized for associating with uncircumcised men and eating with them (Acts 11:3). The Jewish Christians criticized Peter because they were still very aware of the Old Testament laws, and a couple of those laws forbade them to interact with non-Israelites and eat unclean food.
However, Peter explained to these Jewish Christians how he was instructed by God to do what he did and concluded, “If God gave them (Gentiles) the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” (Acts 11:17).
I think this is a great example of how we need to remember that following Jesus is the ONLY way to God. Obeying the laws will not get us anywhere, for we will never do it perfectly and thus will never be good enough. Furthermore, THE LAWS HAVE NO MEANING SINCE THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST! Jesus has already fulfilled the Law so that we may be freed from it. If we receive salvation from Jesus, then we need understand what that salvation means: freedom from sin. Once we truly understand that, we can then learn to appreciate the significance and magnificence of Jesus’ sacrificial death.
Zondervan NIV footnote:
* Acts 10:14 Surely not, Lord! So deeply ingrained was the observance of the laws of clean and unclean that Peter refused to obey immediately. impure or unclean. Anything common (impure) was forbidden by the law to be eaten (cf. Ezr 4:14).
* Acts 10:15 God has made clean. Jesus had already laid the groundwork for setting aside the
laws of clean and unclean food (Mt 15:11; see also 1Ti 4:3-5).
http://www.gci.org/bible/acts10
Peter does apparently follow the Jewish dietary laws based on the Torah. He knows from Leviticus 11:47 that a Jew needs "to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten." The Jews’ adherence to the dietary laws profoundly affect their relations with Gentiles. Food laws have the effect of keeping the people separated from each other. A Jew visiting a Gentile can’t be sure he will be served a "clean" food, or that the food is prepared according to the requirements of the law, or whether it has been tainted by an idol. To eat with Gentiles is to risk defilement, and this is a strong inducement for Jews not to fellowship with them. Since food is at the center of social life, it is the thing that perhaps more than anything else creates a barrier between Jews and Gentiles. And as an ideal, Jews have no dealings with Gentiles. Food regulations are a point of heated debate in the church (Romans 14:1-8, 17; Corinthians 8:1-13; Galatians 2:11-14).
Acts 11:19–30
Four events in early history of the church at Antioch:
1) They began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:20).
2) The church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:22). Barnabas then went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So, for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught a great numbers of people (Acts 11:25-26).
3) The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26).
4) During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch (Acts 11:27). One of them, Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. They sent their gifts to the elders by Barnabas and Saul (Acts 11:28-30).
The Lord’s hand was with them because of the following events:
1) The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord (Acts 11:21).
2) When Barnabas saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord (Acts 11:23-24).
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