Peter’s Report
TRANSLATION
(1) The apostles and believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. (2) So when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, (3) saying, “You entered the house of uncircumcised (Gentiles) and ate with them.” (4) So, starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. (5) He said, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and, in a trance, I had a vision. Something like a great sheet was let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to rest where I was sitting. (6) When I looked closely, I saw it contained four-footed beasts of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. (7) Then I heard a voice tell me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat.’ (8) But I responded, ‘Surely not, Lord, for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ (9) But the voice from heaven said a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean!’ (10) This happened three times, and then everything was taken back up again into heaven.
(11) “And right then, three men who were sent to me from Caesarea arrived in front of the house where I was staying. (12) The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me (as witnesses). When we entered (Cornelius’) house, (13) he told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house who said, ‘Send to Joppa, and bring back Simon who is called Peter. (14) He will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and your whole house.’ (15) As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he had come on us at the beginning. (16) Then I remembered what the Lord said: ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ (17) If God gave to them the same gift he gave to us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” (18) When they heard these things, they had no further questions and glorified God, saying, “Then even to the Gentiles has God granted repentance that leads to life.”
OBSERVATIONS
After his encounter with Cornelius and his household, Peter had to face a serious inquiry into his actions. The leaders of the Jerusalem church wanted to know why he had gone outside Israel to minister to a group of uncircumcised Gentiles. Repetitions in this segment point us to its thrust: the name, “Peter,” occurred three times standing alone (vss. 2, 4, & 6) and once as “Simon who is called Peter” (vs. 13). Other repetitions included “Gentiles” (vss. 1 & 18), “Joppa” (vss. 5 & 13), various names for “God” (six times in vss. 1, 9, 17. & 18) including “Lord” (vss. 8 & 16) and “the (Holy) Spirit” three times (vss. 12, 15, & 16), “heaven” (vss. 5, 9, & 10), “voice” (vss. 7 & 9), “house” (vss. 11, 12, & 13), and “baptized” (twice in vs. 16).
OUTLINE
I. Returning to Jerusalem, Peter reported to the church leaders about his ministry in Caesarea. (1-3)
II. Peter told the leaders how God had sovereignly directed his ministry to the Gentiles. (4-17)
III. The Jerusalem church leaders finally accepted Peter’s report. (18)
IDEA STATEMENT
Peter’s report regarding how God had compelled him to share the Gospel with Gentiles and then how they had received the Holy Spirit convinced the Jerusalem church to accept this as God’s will.
APPLICATION
The baptism of the Holy Spirit has been a controversial subject among believers for generations. After the Spirit first came audibly (rushing wind), visibly (tongues of fire), and with the gift of tongues (ability to speak in unknown languages) on the birthday of the church (Acts 2:1-4), believers have normally received the baptism of the Spirit simultaneously with trusting in Christ as Savior. That baptism incorporates a new believer into the body of Christ and marks the moment when the Spirit takes up permanent residence in that new believer’s heart.
Some Christians hold to what is called “the second baptism,” a special empowering by the Holy Spirit that comes through earnest prayer and is made evident by the gift of tongues. The experience of Cornelius and the other Gentiles in his house who received the Holy Spirit after having initially believed in Christ is one of the evidences cited in support of such views. Another is what happened with the twelve disciples of John who were also baptized with the Spirit after having initially believed in the Lord (Acts 19:1-7). In each case, the delayed arrival of the Holy Spirit was intended to convince those who were present that their conversion was genuine. Apart from these unusual manifestations, the baptism of the Holy Spirit has normally taken place at the moment when an unbeliever trusts Christ as Savior and becomes a child of God (1 Corinthians 12:13).