YouVersion Logo
Search Icon

Acts: To The Ends Of The EarthSample

Acts: To The Ends Of The Earth

DAY 27 OF 50

The God of the intersection laid down in eternity is about to bring Peter and Cornelius together in a groundbreaking, evangelistic encounter.

Peter, the opportunistic evangelist of earlier chapters, seems quite blind to the opportunity he has of preaching to Cornelius and his friends. Here he is a reluctant evangelist (vv. 28–29). He still hasn’t realized that God’s saving purposes could include non-Jews. When Cornelius tells Peter about God’s dealings with him, the "penny finally drops" (v. 34). Peter preaches a three-point sermon that closely follows the overall structure of Mark’s Gospel (Peter was the primary source of Mark’s Gospel).

  1. The exemplary life of Jesus (vv. 37–38).
  2. The death and resurrection of Jesus, which Peter witnessed (vv. 39–41).
  3. The coming judgement by Jesus, and that forgiveness of sin is available through Him (vv. 42–43).

In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes before the preaching, and in Acts 8, after the preaching. Here in Acts 10, he comes during the preaching, before Peter reaches the call to repent. God takes control of this evangelistic encounter.

In verse 45, the witnesses to this event are called "circumcised believers." The critical point is that the Holy Spirit has fallen on the uncircumcised, without them meeting the prerequisite of baptism or circumcision. The distinction between clean and unclean people has been removed. Peter stays on with the new Gentile believers for a few days (v. 48). No doubt they ate together. We are not told what was on the menu, but in God’s eyes it was all clean, just as all those present were clean, because of the peace that comes through Jesus Christ (v. 36).


Reflection

God is directing Peter to "press beyond the fringe" in his evangelistic concerns. In what ways does this section encourage you to reach out? What does this episode tell you about God? (See 1 Tim. 2:3–4.)

Scripture

About this Plan

Acts: To The Ends Of The Earth

The book of Acts is one of the most exciting parts of the whole Bible. Jesus has ascended to heaven, the Spirit has come to the church and we see God at work. The Spirit empowers God’s people to fulfil the command of Jesus to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, and in this fast-paced section of the Bible we see the growth of the church.

More

We would like to thank 10ofThose for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://10ofthose.com