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The meeting of Peter and Cornelius:
v. 23. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
v. 24. And the morrow after they entered in to Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
v. 25. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshiped him.
v. 26. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
v. 27. And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together.
v. 28. And he said unto' them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
v. 29. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for. I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me.
It was not possible for Peter to leave Joppa at once, principally because he wanted some of the brethren from Joppa to accompany him on this trip. But the next morning the messengers set out with Peter, and some of the members of the congregation at Joppa went with them. Since they did not travel quite so fast as the servants with the soldier had in coming down, they were on the road all day and did not reach Caesarea until the next morning. But Cornelius, versed in military matters, had figured out with considerable exactness when be might look for them. He was confidently expecting them on that morning, and had therefore called together his relatives and his intimate friends, such upon whose discretion he could depend, and who were probably of a like mind with him concerning the worship of the true God. The state of mind in which Cornelius found himself on this morning may be pictured from his behavior when Peter finally entered his house. Acting upon the idea, no doubt, that the servant and messenger of the Lord, whose very coming was directed by an angel, must be worthy of extraordinary relevance, he advanced to meet Peter and fell down at his feet to worship him, to honor God in him. But Peter wanted nothing of such worship. He lifted Cornelius to his feet, gently chiding him meanwhile, by bidding him get up, since he himself was only a man. Note: This plain statement of Peter ought to discourage every idea of saint worship; for if he refuses to accept such adoration while he could hear the prayers that might be directed to him, how much more must it be considered foolish and harmful to address prayers to him now that he is removed from the presence of the Christian congregation! Immediately after this greeting the two men started a conversation and, while they were conversing together, entered into the inner room, the atrium, where Peter found many people assembled, all waiting, in interested expectation, for the words which Peter was to speak to them. The apostle first of all addressed a few words to the assembly to make the situation clear; for they were very well aware how "unlawful," how much at variance with the Law as understood by the Jews, his behavior must be, since he, a Jew, was here coming to, and intermingling with, Gentiles, people of a foreign race, in any way becoming intimate with them. Note the tact of Peter in using the word "of foreign race" instead of the harsher "heathen. " There was no express prohibition of such behavior by Moses, but the traditions of the rabbis carried the principle of separation to such an extreme. But Peter here declares, not only that God had told him, but that He had distinctly and unmistakably shown him, that he should not speak of nor call any person common and unclean. The men present in the house of Cornelius may not have been members of the Jewish Church by virtue of circumcision, but they belonged to the people for whose sake the Messiah had come, and were therefore entitled to the preaching of the Gospel. Knowing this, Peter had come to them without contradiction or resistance, in simple obedience to the word of the Lord, when they had' sent for him. And now his question was for what purpose they had sent for him, what object they had in making him travel this distance and appear before them.