Lange Commentary - Acts 10:1

Lange Commentary - Acts 10:1 - 10:8

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Lange Commentary - Acts 10:1 - 10:8

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

B.—CONCURRING DIVINE REVELATIONS CONDUCT PETER FROM JOPPA TO THE ROMAN CENTURION CORNELIUS IN CESAREA, TO WHOM HE PROCLAIMS CHRIST; AND WHEN THE GIFT OF THE HOLT GHOST IS IMPARTED TO CORNELIUS AND OTHER GENTILE HEARERS, PETER DIRECTS THAT THEY SHOULD BE BAPTIZED

Act_10:1-48

§ I. The devout Roman centurion Cornelius, at Cesarea, is induced by the appearance of an angel to send to Joppa for Peter

Act_10:1-8

¹There was [But] a certain man in Cesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, ²A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which [who] gave much alms to the people [(of Israel)]; and prayed to [besought]God always. ³He saw [Saw (om. He)] in a vision evidently [distinctly], about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming [entering] in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. ⁴And [But] when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And [But] he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine almsare come up for a memorial before God. ⁵And now send men to Joppa, and call for one [a certain] Simon, whose surname is Peter: ⁶He [This one] lodgeth with one [a certain] Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side [by the sea]: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do [om. he shall … to do]. ⁷And [But] when the angel which [who] spoke unto Cornelius [him] was departed, he called two of his household [om. household] servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on himcontinually; ⁸And when he had declared [related] all these things [om. these things] unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Act_10:1-2. A certain man in Cesarea.—This city (Cæsarea Palestinæ), situated on the Mediterranean, and provided with an excellent harbor, which was visited by many vessels, was built by Herod the Great. It was inhabited chiefly by Pagans, but several thousand Jews also resided in it. At a somewhat later period, it was permanently occupied by the Roman procurators, and is hence called by Tacitus (Hist. II. 79) Judææ caput. Cornelius was the commander (centurio) of the Italian band (cohors), which, without doubt, received that name in order to distinguish it from other troops that had been levied in Palestine, or Syria, and then been incorporated with the Roman army. The Italian band consisted of natives of Rome, or, at least, of Italians, and these formed the nucleus of the garrison. The procurator had, probably at that time already, established himself in Cesarea, since the Roman garrison lay there. This centurion Cornelius was, doubtless, himself also an Italian by descent. Luke describes his character as that of a devout man ( åὐóåâÞò , the most general term, which may be applied even to a strictly pagan form of devoutness), and of a man who feared God with all his house (the phrase: öïâ . ôὸí èåüí denoting that fear of God, of which the one true God is the object). These sentiments he manifested, partly, by diligence in offering prayer and supplications to God, and, partly, by habitually performing acts of charity for the Israelites ( ὁ ëáüò , the people of Israel [as in Act_10:42; Act_26:17; Act_26:23; Act_28:17]). Thus he resembled the centurion of Capernaum, who also loved the people of Israel, and built a synagogue for them with his own means (Luk_7:5.). Such generosity is a beautiful and touching trait of character, not merely in general, in an experienced soldier, but, in particular, in a Roman, when it appears in his intercourse with the Jews, who were subject to Rome, and were, commonly, a despised people.—The whole account allows us to assume that Cornelius, like many of his contemporaries, was dissatisfied with the pagan religion which he had inherited, and, as an inquirer, had turned to the faith of Israel, and to the knowledge and worship of the one true God. We are not surprised that he gained the esteem of all the Jews. Still, the narrative before us affords no grounds for assuming that he was a proselyte, in the strict sense of that term, as it is generally supposed (Grotius; Neander and others); for he is regarded in the whole course of the narrative (Act_10:28; Act_11:1) as being, in a legal and social respect, nothing but a heathen. He had simply turned, in an entirely voluntary manner, to Judaism, with respect to his mode of thinking and his domestic worship, without attaching himself to it outwardly by any decisive act.

Act_10:3-6. He saw in a vision … an angel of God.—The angel appeared to him about the ninth hour (3 o’clock, P. M. [see above, Act_2:14-15. c.]), or the third hour of prayer, which the devout pagan probably observed of his own accord, in company with the Jews. He then saw in a vision (that is, by an internal process, of which God was the author, but, in other respects, distinctly, öáíåñῶò , not by a deception of the senses) an angel of God, who entered the chamber, and addressed him by name. [“The popular idea of winged angels is derived from the cherubim, (Exo_25:20) and seraphim (Isa_6:2) but is never suggested by any of the narratives of angelic visits to this world and its inhabitants.” J. A. Alexander, ad loc.)—Tr.]. Cornelius looks up, gazes attentively at the form before him, is alarmed by the unexpected and dazzling [Act_10:30] appearance, and replies to the address by respectfully asking a question. The angel informs him that his prayers and alms were always remembered before God ( ἀíÝâçóáí åἰò ìíçìüóõíïí —[i.e.] ãåíçóüìåíáé ìíçìüóõíïí [comp. the word in Mat_26:13], that is: ‘they have ascended to heaven, like the smoke of the sacrifices, so that they remind God of thee.’). [See below, Doctr. and Eth. No. 3.—Tr.].—And now Cornelius is commanded to send to Joppa [see Exeg. note on Act_9:36], for Peter, in order that the latter may conduct him onward in the way of salvation. (The term ÓßìùíÜ is used, as the apostle was yet unknown to the Roman). The house, and the man whose guest the apostle is ( îåíßæåôáé , hospitatur), are indicated with sufficient precision, [“ ðáñὰ èáëÜóóáí , on account of his business, for which water was needed. (de Wette).—Tr.]

Act_10:7-8. He called two, etc.—Cornelius without delay obeys the instructions which he had received, and calls two of his servants ( ïἰêÝôçò , generally a more honorable appellation than äïῦëïò ) who, as belonging to his ïé ̇͂ êïò , feared God, Act_10:2, and also a devout soldier ( åὐóåâÞò , see, above, Act_10:2), selecting them from the whole number of his personal attendants (as orderly officers). He communicates to them without reserve ( ἄðáíôá ) all that referred to the appearance which he had seen, and sends them with the necessary instructions to Joppa.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. That all the circumstances connected with this conversion of the first pagan, were controlled and shaped exclusively by divine Providence, is apparent from the fact (without referring to others) that Cornelius was brought into contact, not with the evangelist Philip, who was much nearer to him (since he undoubtedly resided already at the time in Cæsarea, according to Act_8:40, compared with Act_21:8), but with Peter, who was not on the spot. It was so ordered, that the first pagan should be baptized and received into the Church, not by an ordinary member of the church, [see above, Doctr. and Eth. No. 3, on Act_9:10-19.—Tr.], nor by an evangelist like Philip, but by one of the Twelve themselves, and, indeed, by that one, who had, by his words and deeds, become the most prominent of their number.

2. The angel who appeared to Cornelius, was not appointed to be himself the agent of the conversion of the latter, but was simply commissioned, as a messenger from heaven, to convey the command of God, that Peter should be called. It was, accordingly, Peter who first proclaimed the Gospel to him, and received him into the church of Christ. According to the decree of God and the method which He established, repentance and the remission of sins were to be preached to all nations in the name of Jesus, so that it is the Word of the Gospel, and, indeed, the word to which men bear witness, that is the appointed means of salvation. No case ever occurred in which an angel was sent for the purpose of converting a soul, and no man should ever allow his faith to be dependent on such an extraordinary appearance from the higher world.

3. A high value is attributed to the prayers and alms of Cornelius, not only in the description of his character furnished by the historian, but also in the message of the angel. The first place is assigned by Luke, Act_10:2, to the alms, but by the angel, Act_10:4, to the prayers, since God first looks at the heart. The message of the angel, indeed, connects this revelation of God, which will lead to the salvation of the Roman, with those devout works. Does this fact imply a meritoriousness of works, a meritum ex congruo, according to the Romish view? [According to the Scholastics, who follow Thomas Aquinas, a work acquires meritum ex or de congruo (meritum congrui), when it proceeds from the free will of man, but meritum ex condigno, when it is wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The former—they explain—is not meritoriousness in an absolute sense, but there is a certain congruitas or suitableness in the divine recognition and recompense which it receives, and by which, ultimately, salvation is merited. (Chemn. Exam. Conc. Trid. I. Loc. IX. § 1. p. 179. Berlin. 1861).—Tr.]. We answer in the negative, for the following reasons: (a) These works, viewed as external works, have no value of their own, but derive it from the devoutness of the heart, from which they proceed as their source; (b) Even the fear of God, from which the good deeds performed by Cornelius for the people of God, like his diligent prayers, proceeded, depended for its own existence on the grace and the revelation of God under the old covenant, which came to meet him, and had already sought him after afar. [“Nihil enim precibus conseqi potuit quin fides præcibus consequi potuit quin fides præcederet, quæ sola nobis ad orandum janum aperit.” (Calvin, ad loc..)—Tr.]. It was with the susceptibility of Cornelius for the truth, and with his faithful application of the knowledge which had hither to been imparted to him, that God was well pleased. He who us faithful in tha what is least, will be intrusted with that which is much. Cornelius demonstrates this faithfulness—by his immediate compliance with the instruction which he had received, Act_10:7.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

See below, (Act_10:9-23.)

Footnotes:

Act_10:1. ç ̇͂ í [text. rec.] after ôéò is omitted in all the principal MSS. [A. B. C. E. G., and Cod. Sin.], and was only inserted by those who did not perceive that åé ̇͂ äåí , in Act_10:3, is the verb belonging to Act_10:1-2. [Omitted by Lach. Tisch. And Alf., as well as ôå in Act_10:2 after ðïéῶí , which occurs in G. but not in A. B. C. E, Cod. Sin. etc.—Tr.]

Act_10:3. The reading ὡóåὶ ðåñß is found, it is true, in A. B. C. E., and has been preferred by Lachmann, but ὡóåß without ðåñß is attested by G., as well as by Chrysostom and Oecumenius; ðåñß is by no means necessary, and is probably an interpolation. [ ðåñß is omitted in text. rec.; Alf. reads ὡóåὶ ðåñὶ with A. B. C. E. The reading in Cod. Sin. is ὡò (corrected by a later hand: ὡóåé ) ðåñß . De Wette and Meyer regard ðåñß as a gloss.—Tr.]

Act_10:4. [In place of ἐíþðéïí after ìíçì ., as in text. rec. and C. E. G., Lach., Tisch. and Alf. with A. B. read ἔìðñïóèåí , the less usual word. The latter is also the reading of Cod. Sin.—The words åἰò ìíçìüóõí . were originally omitted in Cod. Sin., but added by a later hand.—Tr.]

Act_10:5. The insertion of ôéíá after Óßìùíá , is better attested than the omission [in text. rec.] of the word. It is found not only in A. B. C, but also in many ancient versions [Syr. Vulg.]; it probably seemed [to copyists] to be inappropriately employed in the case of the apostle who was so widely known. [Adopted by Lach. Tisch. and Alf. but omitted in Cod. Sin.—Tr.]

Act_10:6. The concluding words: ïὖôïò ëáëÞóåé óïé , ôß óå äåῖ ðïéåῖí , in text. rec. [from Erasmus], are undoubtedly spurious. They are wanting in all the MSS. of the first rank [A. B. C. E. G. and Cod. Sin.] and in ancient versions, and were derived from Act_10:32 below, and Act_9:6. [Omitted by Lachm. Tisch. and Alf. and also in Cod. Amiatinus of the Vulg., although inserted in the usual printed text of the latter.—Tr.]

Act_10:7. [The text. rec. after ëáëῶí reads ôῷ Êïñíçëßῳ with G., for which áὐôῷ (adopted by Lach., Tisch., Stier and Th., Alf.) occurs in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin. Syr. Vulg.— áὐôïῦ after ïἰê . of text. rec. and G. is omitted in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin., and by Lach. Tisch. and Alf.—Tr.]