Dennis Tuuri

The sermon text is found in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 10, verses 23 through the end of the chapter, verse 48. Please stand for the reading of God’s word. Acts chapter 10 beginning at verse 23.

Then called he them in and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea and Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.

And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter took him up, saying, “Stand up. I myself also am a man.” And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. 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.

Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, saying, as soon as I was sent for. I asked, therefore, for what intent ye have sent for me. And Cornelius said, Four days ago, I was fasting unto this hour, and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard. Thine alms are held in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter.

He is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak unto thee. Immediately, therefore, I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now, therefore, we are all here, present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. That word I say ye know which was published throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power. Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. For God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

Whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him God raised up the third day and showed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify, that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all of them which heard the word.

And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, “Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Please be seated. We thank God for his word. And let us pray now that he would illuminate to our understanding. Let’s pray.

Father, we thank you for your scriptures. We thank you that they are unlike any other book. They’re not a book that can be understood on the basis of our logic or our own thoughts. It is a book, Lord God, that is revealed to us by your Holy Spirit, using, of course, our logic and our mind, but beyond that, providing us understanding and insight and illumination.

We pray, Lord God, that you would remove the scales from our eyes so that we could see in these scriptures the truth the Holy Spirit would teach us. Help us Lord God to be attentive to this word. Give me Father clarity of thought and clarity of mind as I speak forth the meaning of the scripture. And we pray Lord God that through all this your Holy Spirit would minister this word to our hearts that we may be built up to a greater obedience and a greater joy in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In his name and for the sake of his kingdom we pray. Amen.

We have in the text before us obviously a continuation of the account that we began a couple of weeks ago. And next week, the first portion of chapter 11 deals with this same subject. We’ll see then that this report of the baptism of these uncircumcised Gentiles will be carried back to other brethren who dispute this matter. But after hearing a third account of these details of this story—the second one we’re hearing mostly in this particular portion of the text—at the third rendering of this account, we will see then that the brothers in Jerusalem accept the uncircumcised Gentiles.

The problem of course will not be settled there. It is a continuing theme of the book of Acts. This battle between those who had come to the faith through Judaism and those who were now coming to the faith, not going through Judaism, not going through the ritual of circumcision.

And this will reach a climax, of course, and we’ll see a contention about this and later a council held to determine the matter. But this story now continues on. We were talking about in the first half of chapter 10, and we’ll continue on to the first half of chapter 11. I guess we’ll just go through this account.

It is interesting to ponder the life of Peter who’s one of the central characters here. Of course we’ll be doing that as we go along. Now we will see Peter so befuddled by a deliverance from jail later on in a couple of weeks that he doesn’t even know if he’s really seeing what’s happening or if he’s in a vision or a dream. And if you consider what Peter has gone through in these few years of his becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ—God revealing to him the basis of the faith that Jesus is the Son of God, and then Peter’s denial of our savior, three-fold denial, the three-fold affirmation of Peter’s ministry by Jesus in his resurrection at the seaside, a different sea but still at this sea that is a picture of the nations of the world.

And then Peter being raised up, thrown in prison, preaching the gospel in these early chapters of Acts, and now getting a vision, not understanding the vision, understanding it only as God ministers through the spirit in the context of men, understanding the need to go in response to the request of these uncircumcised god-fearers—this is a traumatic set of occurrences we read in a man’s life.

And it should be a reminder to us that as God takes us and moves us as he will, the events in our lives can be quite astounding and confusing to us. Our sin can be disgusting to us as it was to Peter. The grace of God can be amazing to us as it was to Peter. And the empowerment for service to us, as well as it was to Peter, of course can be tremendous.

And so among other things, these accounts should remind us to keep on the track, keep pointed in terms of God’s word, obedience to God in heaven, that word being mediated through his church through the circumstances that God brings us into. But cleaving to his word in the scriptures we have security, we have stability in the context of extremely unsettling circumstances.

Well, let’s talk about this text before us then. There is a trip mentioned in the first verse. I don’t have an outline for you—it’s been one of those weeks in which it’s a no-outline kind of a week for me—but in verse 23 we have this trip. We talk about the end of last week or two weeks ago, the account where he lodges the uncircumcised Gentiles, the god-fearers in the house of Simon the tanner, a circumcised believer. That in itself is significant.

And on the morrow Peter went away with them and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. So Peter goes with these men back to Caesarea and that trip is described for us in verse 23 very briefly. And the only thing I wanted to note there is that certain men from Joppa did accompany Peter. Now there’s a reason for that, a significance to that which will become clear at the end of the text as we get to the last few verses and the baptism of the Gentiles.

But just in passing, I thought I would read a comment from Matthew Henry in terms of this. When Peter goes—and what I’m trying to do here is remind you that Peter is not part of the pantheon of Christian gods or something. He is a man. And we see that repeated here of course in the text where Cornelius falls down and worships him and Peter says I’m only a man like you are.

And it’s important for us to see of these very texts correlations to our lives and applications of them. And Matthew Henry commenting on the fact that certain brethren from Joppa accompanied Peter said this: He said this was one way in which the primitive Christians very much showed their respect to their ministers. They accompanied them in their journeys to keep them in countenance, to be their guard, and as there was occasion to minister to them with a further prospect not only of doing them service but of being edified by their converts.

“It is a pity that those who have skill and will to do good to others by their discourse should want an opportunity for it by traveling alone.”

Kind of, you know, Matthew Henry’s language is somewhat archaic, but you get the point. I hope that one of the things this shows us is that men would go along with Christian ministers for a couple of different reasons. They would be ministering to Peter, undoubtedly, helping him, encouraging him, providing for any needs he might have. As well as looking for an opportunity then in the providence of God to be edified by him on the course of the trip. This trip took a number of hours. There’d be conversation, an opportunity to be with one who was a minister of the gospel and to be edified by it.

And I, as I frequently do—and I hope you don’t tire of hearing me say these kinds of things—but as I frequently have thought over my last ten years of my life, one of the things that greatly affected me early on with the death of Judge Beers is a realization that people leave and you don’t know from day to day who you’ll see next.

And so when you have an opportunity to be with people of the faith that you may glean something from it, it’s good to make use of that opportunity. So I would give you that by way of application of that particular text. So this trip is one in which people accompany Peter and we should be accompanying each other to whatever degree possible as well. It’s not good for man to be alone for a wide variety of reasons, and it is profitable for us to congregate with each other, even in formal occasions such as these.

Well, in any event, this trip then goes on and there is then described for us in verses 24, 25, and 26 the meeting between Peter and Cornelius, the men who had the two visions that brought them together. God had providentially arranged for their meeting. And this meeting is described for us in verses 24-26.

“And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea, Cornelius waited for them and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter took him up, saying, ‘Stand up. I myself also am a man.’ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many that were come together.”

So we have this recitation of course that Peter does not accept the worship of Cornelius—unlike some tele-evangelists today who are all too happy to have people fall down at their knees. Peter wasn’t like that.

And I think too, by way again of application of this, it is interesting to note that Cornelius has given us, I think, among other things a model of a good, righteous, pious man here called by God, regenerated by him with a new heart to do alms, for instance, to fear God. That is a description of him. We talked about that two weeks ago.

And here we have another example of what Cornelius does that should be a positive application to us and reminder of us of our responsibilities as well. He’s going to hear from a messenger of God and he does not—as Matthew Henry says—eat his morsel alone. Job talked about how he wouldn’t eat his food alone. He would invite in those who had need of food to eat food with him.

And so Cornelius here is going to receive message and instruction from God. And he calls together both his relatives and his near friends. He assembles a congregation as it were. And so he brings people together to hear the word of God.

And it is a good reminder to us as well not to have our spiritual exercises alone necessarily, to invite friends and near relatives to hear things of the word of God. Whether it’s bringing them to church, whether it’s bringing them to a seminar which a particular minister might speak, or whatever. It is a good example to us.

Again, Cornelius provides a tremendous example to us. He was, after all, probably the first uncircumcised gentile. We don’t know the state of the Ethiopian eunuch completely or fully, but certainly Cornelius here is a model to us. We were the ones who are in Cornelius—essentially grafted into the household of faith from outside of the circumcised people. And so he’s an example to us of piety. He’s also an example to us of a proper view of community and of the need to bring people together to hear the word of God.

Well, Peter then goes on to inquire of Cornelius. Essentially, we have this trip, we have this meeting, and now we have Peter saying, “Well, what am I doing here exactly? What do you want to hear me say?” He says this, he goes again, and to explain to them why he is there.

He says unto them in verses 28 and 29, he inquires of them. In verse 28 he says unto them, “Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or to come unto one of another nation. But God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, saying, as soon as I was sent for. I asked, therefore, for what intent ye have sent for me.”

Now it is important here that most translations I think are mistranslating this word when it reads that it is an unlawful thing. There’s a specific Greek word that would mean unlawful. This is a Greek word that means disorderly, unlawful according to the traditions of men, not to the law of the councils of God’s word. God’s word did not prohibit such a meeting. But the extra—the pharisaic additions to God’s word had provided for this and it was an unlawful thing in that context.

We talked about that two weeks ago, but it is important to understand in the context of this text. God isn’t changing his law here relative to social intercourse of Jews and Gentiles. He is correcting the additions to that law that the Pharisees had added on to it.

Well, in any event, Peter then says in verse 29, “Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying. Saying, as soon as I was sent for, I asked therefore for what intent ye have sent for me.” One was not going to dispute or doubt now that God had revealed these things to him.

One other point of application before we move on to Cornelius’s response to Peter’s inquiry of why am I here. And this is by way really somewhat of review. How had Peter been corrected by God relative to this matter of Jew and Gentile?

Well, he’d been corrected in a couple of ways. God had used a couple of means to correct Peter and to show him what had actually was going on now in this meeting. He had a vision by God and in that vision God had showed him clean and unclean animals mixed together told him to eat. You remember the vision?

But secondly, in addition to that vision, he used the—he used men as secondary means to help Peter understand what he had revealed to him by way of vision. Remember that Peter gets the vision and he’s pondering this. He’s not sure what he’s seen. He hasn’t gotten the message totally yet. That’s what it tells us back in the first half of chapter 10.

That’s an example to us, a good reminder to us that when God reveals things to us through the preaching of the word, through our reading of the word that we don’t understand, we should meditate on it. That meditation is a good Christian virtue, to chew over what God has revealed in his scriptures. It’s an important thing for us to do.

The faith is not easily or simply discerned in many elements of it. Why? Because we have great big thick hides of sin around us. God’s word is clear, but our ears are frequently stopped up. So we should meditate.

God wants us to work and discover the truth of various passages of scripture. But secondly, and this is a very important point—I’ve made this point before, but it’s important to stress it again—that the message, the central message of what God had told Peter did not clear up for Peter simply on the basis of his meditation over the personal revelation to him through this vision.

No. Peter understands the message when the three men knock at the door and inquire of him and the spirit tells Peter they’re asking for you, go with them. Then Peter goes down and gets it—he gets it—when he takes the word and applies it in the context of his life and specifically of the men in his life that God has brought him into interaction with.

You understand what I’m saying? God uses this message to remind us that his secondary means of the word are combined with the church, with God-fearing people at the door, to help Peter understand what that word means. And so it’s important for us to recognize that when we understand truth from the scripture, we understand it by receiving the revelation of God in that scripture, by not doubting it, by pondering its message, and then by applying it in the immediate context of our lives.

This is really important for us to hear. Seems real simple. What’s the big deal? The big deal is that the adversary that we have prowling about—if he cannot pry us away from the word of God, he will pry us away from the people of God. He’ll pry us away from those circumstances in our life of interaction with the church of Jesus Christ, God-fearing people, believers. And as a result of that, will pry us away from understanding and applying the message of God’s word.

You know, I have been involved in this sort of vocational calling as a pastor, as a minister in the church of Jesus Christ for over a decade now. And what I have learned, one thing that I have learned in spades is that when sin comes to our life, the effect of it will be that we’ll want to separate from the people of God. That is a temptation from the pit of hell.

And Peter’s example here is one that we must apply to ourselves repeatedly, particularly in those times when we have sin that clouds for us the vision of what God’s word means to us and how we must apply it. And so we should take from this short little example of Peter’s understanding the message—the secondary means of God’s word mixed with interaction with God’s people—a commitment on our part to not separate from the people of God when troubles come our way.

People of God are very important means, secondary means, that God uses to reveal his will to us. He doesn’t call us to some solitary walk. Our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ is not primarily characterized by a personal relationship with him if we mean by that in contradistinction from relationship with his people. Those things are linked. They’re linked in Peter’s understanding of this. They’re linked for us as well.

And I would just want to drive that point home very, very clearly. Make a commitment in your heart right now that if sin enters your life or confusion, that you do not allow that to separate you from believers and from the council of godly people.

So a very important point there. I think that I wanted to stress that very clearly.

And so Peter understands what this vision means. And now says to Cornelius, “Okay, well, we’ve come here now. Why am I here? I understand now that I was supposed to come. I came and I’m doing things that Jews don’t like, but I’m going to do it anyway because that’s what God wants me to do. Why am I here?”

So Cornelius then responds. We have this meeting or this trip rather. We have the meeting between Peter and Cornelius. Then we have Peter’s inquiry of Cornelius—why am I here? And Cornelius responds. And then he goes through the same recitation. We’ve heard most of this before.

Cornelius says, “Four days ago, we didn’t know that exactly. He was fasting until this hour and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house. We didn’t know that before really—all we knew before was that in response to his prayer. Now we know that Cornelius fasts. He keeps the Jewish hours of prayer.”

Remember there are three prayers during the day. Those correlate to the three periods of sacrifice at the temple showing a relationship between sacrifice and prayer. A model for us I think that is good to keep as well. Peter also kept this model even after the Lord Jesus Christ had come and met all the sacrificial requirements that they all pointed to. Peter kept these three hours of prayer.

It’s a good thing for us to keep hours of prayer and it’s a good thing to remind ourselves just as the hours of sacrifice in the temple were pointers forward to what God would do ultimately when Messiah came—and they knew that back then—so we can look at the hours of sacrifice and look back and understand fully the significance of Jesus Christ as we ponder the offerings of the Old Testament.

Well, in any event, it is good to build a schedule, a regularity of prayer into our life. Cornelius had done this and he fasted as well. And he says that in response to this he was praying in his house, and behold, a man stood before him in bright clothing—that’s an angel—so there’s nothing new here for us. And said rather, “Cornelius, thy prayer is heard. Thine alms are held in remembrance in the sight of God.”

Again, prayer and alms—heard and held in remembrance by God. Very important. Those two characteristic elements of the Christian faith are repeated for us here again, and we don’t want to miss that.

“Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. Simon means to hear and Peter is the rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the seaside, who when he cometh shall speak unto thee.

Immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore we are all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.”

So Cornelius says, “Well, you’ve assembled here now because this is what God wants us to do. Now speak to us, please.” And Peter will speak.

But before we get to Peter’s sermon, I want to talk a little bit, again by way of application, about this last phrase of verse 33: “Now therefore, we are all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.”

They were assembled not in the presence of Peter ultimately. Now he understood the distinction between Peter and God. “We are assembled here in the presence of God.” Cornelius says this company that he had gathered together had an appreciation, had a sense of perspective that they were gathered in the sight of God, as if God’s eye was looking upon them, gazing upon them as they stand there waiting for the message that God will reveal to them.

And so they are assembled with a sense of dignity and propriety and reverence for the God in heaven who sees all men, whose eye roams over the entire earth. God wants us to think that way. Okay? Let’s not do away with these images that God has for us of God’s eye roaming the earth and say, “Well, he doesn’t really have eyes.” He wants us to think that way. He wants us to think of his eye being upon us.

You know, I—there’s a movie I think it was called Crimes and Misdemeanors, the Woody Allen movie with Martin Landau. Very interesting movie where Woody Allen wrestles so much in many of his movies with the reality of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet never obviously comes to repentance and salvation, at least not seen through his movies.

But that movie is a very interesting movie. Martin Landau plays an eye surgeon, and he becomes an eye surgeon because he was raised in a Jewish family and his father already stressed the idea that God’s eye was looking upon him and seeing him in all things. Martin Landau commits a sin, a terrible sin in this movie, several of them. And he feels a sense of conviction from God’s eye looking upon him.

Well, that’s what God—it would be good if Christians were raised in Christian homes that had that same perspective, of reminding ourselves that God’s eye sees everything that we are doing. Certainly that’s true.

And we are convocated together to hear from God’s word. And that’s what we do here in the Lord’s day. In a very special sense, God’s eye is upon us as we sit here, in heaven so to speak, having ascended to heaven with our thoughts, with the declarations of our heart to see God’s perspective on the earth and of who we are. We’re assembled in a very special sense in the Lord’s day in the presence of God, with his eye upon us.

And if you do not understand that, and if you do not dwell upon that fact that we are gathered in the presence of God to offer up worship and praise to him for who he is in the Lord’s day, then that sense of perspective in the rest of your life will not be fulfilled either. Your life will be seen as, you know, somehow off in a corner that God doesn’t see.

Now, if you think intellectually about it, you will of course know that God knows what you’re doing. But God wants to drive home to us that we’re assembled in his presence. And Cornelius understood that.

Secondly, Cornelius says that we’re here in the presence of God, and we’re here to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Matthew Henry reads this in his commentary: “We are ready to hear all, to come at the beginning of the service and to stay to the end, to be attentive all the while. Else how can we hear all?

We are desirous to hear all that thou art commissioned to preach, though it be ever so displeasing to our flesh and to our blood, and even so contrary to our former notions or present secular interests. We are ready to hear all.”

And therefore let nothing be kept back that is profitable for us. This is Cornelius and his friends and his relatives’ perspective. They want to hear whatever is commanded by God whether it convicts them, smites them, or reassures them. They want to hear the message of God and they want to hear all of the message of God.

One of these people is not going to run away after fifteen minutes and say, “I got to go, you know, get ready for tonight’s meal or whatever it is.” No, they’re there to hear the word of God.

Lensky in his commentary said: “Here indeed is a model congregation, model in its whole attitude toward God, toward his word and towards his minister. Here is true willingness to receive, believe, and obey. Here is not here is no if or but—all things they will accept. Why? They are from the Lord God.” These things, that is—here is implicit faith, but resting as it must on the explicit. They do not yet know what Peter will say, but they do know that what he will say comes from God and so are they willing to believe.

When this example is held up to our congregations today, let it not be overlooked that our congregations must have the same assurance regarding their preachers that what they say is indeed all that has been commanded to them by the Lord. For in this expression, Cornelius paints the model preacher.

So we have here a picture of the model congregation who should come together to hear God’s word. Now this is not a formal worship service we’re reciting. But again, if the principle of this truth does not reside in the formal worship services of God, how will it penetrate into the rest of our lives?

We have been called here in the providence of God. You are under command of God to worship him. The Sabbath day is the day first and foremost of worship. Rest in the scriptures is linked to the worship of God. It is not a physical rest primarily. It is a rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Now there is a physical picture of that where we do not do things strenuous on the Lord’s day that would be tiring to us. But primarily that rest is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the primary focus of the Lord’s day is worship—to come together to praise God and to hear what he has to say to us in his word.

Now this means that when we congregate together in the presence of God, we should be here just as Cornelius’s model congregation was, to hear all that God has to say. And this means that when we are convocated together, it is your responsibility to be here hearing the sermon as much as possible. And so people shouldn’t be someplace else discussing things. People shouldn’t be out in the foyer. They shouldn’t be unless it is in the providence of God necessary for them to be in the nursery or to be in the Sabbath school as a teacher.

As much as in you is possible, you should be hearing the preaching of God’s word in the sermon. This is a model for us. This is an exhortation and admonition to the congregations of the Lord Jesus Christ who read this period, this portion of the text, to be together, to gather together in the Lord’s day to hear what God has to say through his preacher. That’s a positive obligation on us.

Our minds can think of all kinds of other things to do, all kinds of distractions Satan will bring to our mind. But God says, “Be rested. Be ready to hear the word.” You cannot hear the word if you’re not rested. You cannot hear the word if thoughts distract you. You cannot hear the word if those thoughts become so bad as to distract you so that you’re not even present with the congregated host to hear the word of God preached.

Now that’s what God says to the congregation. God says something to the preachers too. Of course, as the commentary from Lensky points out, the preacher must preach what God has commanded, not his thoughts.

Jay Alexander says of this text, he says: “We all of us here are present before God. In other words, under the omniscient eye and providential guidance and with our thoughts and expectations fixed upon him to hear all the things without exception and without invidious distinction ordered or commanded thee by God.”

Alexander says: “It is remarkable how clearly and explicitly Cornelius twice in this short sentence distinguishes the man who he at first had worshiped and to whom he still looked upon as an inspired instructor from the divine authority by which he was commissioned. It was not before Peter that they considered themselves now assembled, but before his master, before God, that is.

It was not Peter’s own views and opinions that they waited and desired to hear, but his inspired instructions and communications, whatever they might prove to be, even all the things enjoined upon him or entrusted to him as a messenger from God. His claim to be such does not seem to have been questioned by Cornelius or questioned by him for a moment because amply attested to by the angelic message to himself.”

So the reminder here to the preacher is that he must preach what God has commanded, not his ideas, not his thoughts ultimately, that are not bounded upon the word of God—what God commands in the scriptures. What preachers are supposed to preach. And that’s what Cornelius and the congregation are gathered to hear.

Now they expect Peter to do that. They don’t sit there with a critical attitude necessarily toward Peter. They expect him to be a messenger of God because he’s been attested to by angelic ministry. And you should expect as well in this congregation and any Bible-believing congregation that is consistent with the scriptures: The preacher should be expected also to deliver the message of God. That should be the presupposition because he is attested to by not an angelic message, but an ordination, a selection by the congregation, by various forms of testimony of that man’s fitness to come and preach the gospel. And the gospel and the congregation’s assent to him through their membership covenant. And so it is an example to us.

So that’s what they were there to hear. And then we have this sermon by Peter, and this is really the bulk of what I’d like to speak on. Now I’ve given simply some overviews and some applications. But now we get to really the central part of this text. Without repeating what has gone before, we now have new, totally new material: this sermon by Peter, this talk by Peter to the assembled coast. And that begins in verse 34.

Just going through this quickly, let us first of all look at, I think, a very brief sort of an outline of what this talk is.

Peter opens his mouth. He—the picture here is that he doesn’t just talk. He opens his mouth. He fully expounds to the Gentiles the things of God’s word. And he says, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel preaching peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all.”

I think that these first few verses here form the introduction to this text, this sermon. Verses 34, 35, and 36 are essentially the introduction to the message that Peter will give them.

Verse 34 is essentially a repetition, as is verse 35, that there is no distinction in God’s mind between Jew and Gentile any longer. But there is a distinction only on the basis of men’s evidence of God’s regenerative power.

You could look at this as Peter looking at common ground, so to speak. He establishes the relationship between the preacher and the congregation. He says that “I perceive God is no respecter of persons. God doesn’t judge by a person’s nationality, race, tongue, whatever it is. God is not a respecter of persons.”

Okay? In terms of his judicial actions, he is a just judge. The scriptures repeatedly portray throughout the scriptures that’s the that is portrayed of God—his just judgment and his justice. And so Peter says these things to him. He says, “Well, I’m here. I know I’m here. I know that you guys fear God and you do righteousness and that you’re with him. And I know too that you know that this word is Lord of all.”

In verse 36, when we read, “The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all, is the King James version.” I believe there is evidence in the original text for this being “Lord of all” to refer actually to the word and not to the Lord Jesus Christ in this particular instance.

Now the fact that Jesus is Lord is clearly stated throughout the scripture and again later in this text, but here I think that translators have struggled with wording that is hard to interpret. But my understanding, without giving you the reasons why I think this—you can test it out for yourself—but my understanding of verse 36 is that he’s saying to them that “the word which God sent unto the children of Israel, that is those who were circumcised, preaching peace (Shalom) by Jesus Christ, that word is Lord of all, Jew and Gentile.”

And so I think that the subject of what he’s going to be doing in this sermon is the word that goes forth, the message from God, the religion that it portrays, the lifestyle, the message of God. And that message, that word, is Lord over all.

Now there’s really, if you think of it, there’s really no distinction between Jesus Christ being Lord of all and his word being Lord of all. The word is the word of the king. And the king being Lord of all is mediated through his word. Word, of course. And so that word can be said to be Lord of all.

And I think that specifically verse 36 is a transition from the statements in 34 and 35, saying “I know that there’s no distinction. God doesn’t respect people. Here we’re the same in God’s sight you god-fearers and us circumcised Christians.” And he goes on to say—the transition to the word that he’s going to speak of—that word is Lord. It has dominion and exercises authority over all men, Jew and Gentile alike. I think that’s what’s going on.

And then in verse 37 then he begins to talk about that word. He says, “That word I say ye know which was published throughout all Judea.”

He says first of all the word has been published. You’ve heard this word. You know this message. Okay. And then he recites for us the critical elements of that message.

So we have an introduction. We have a transition. We have the word being spoken of. The word that has been preached to everyone. And then he lists a series of historical facts. He recounts these historical facts for us in verse 37b and following.

“That word began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.”

That’s the first historical reality. The baptism John preaches in Galilee, and specifically referring there to the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there’s that first historical fact.

Second historical fact: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.”

The anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Ghost and with power—the spirit sending upon the Lord at his baptism, the spirit of power. So the anointing of Jesus Christ.

And then third fact: “Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.”

In that clothing of the Holy Spirit, empowered Jesus in his humanity goes about then doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. The devil—that term devil means slanderer. Good thing to keep in mind that the devil is the accuser. That specific name devil means to slander someone. That is the work of the devil when we slander brothers in the faith and accuse them. That about doing good and healing—that’s the third historical fact.

Then we have, in the context of these historical facts being laid out—1, 2, 3: the baptism, the anointing, and then the work of the Lord Jesus Christ—then we have the declaration that God was with him and “we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.”

So we have three historical facts. Then we have a couple of very important points made: that God was with the Lord Jesus Christ in his humanity and we are witnesses of these things that he did.

And then he returns to a recitation of historical facts: “Whom they, that is the Jews, slew and hanged on a tree.”

Jesus died on the cross—hung on a tree, sign of curse. Fifth—that’s the fourth historical fact.

The fifth historical fact: “Him God raised up the third day.”

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is a historical fact that is laid out here by a man who has said, “We are witnesses to these things” in verse 39.

And then the sixth historical fact: “Showed him openly.”

God raised up Christ. Historical fact. And then there was an actual witnessing of that fact. God showed the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrection openly. Not to all the people but unto witnesses chosen before of God.

And now he describes this witnessing. That those who are witnesses—as he has been said that he is—these witnesses were elect of God. They were chosen. They were not indiscriminately made aware of but instead these witnesses were chosen before of God, “even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.”

Peter says that it is witnessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his seeing and attesting to these facts, that Jesus was indeed baptized, that he was indeed anointed with power, the spirit descending upon him, that he did indeed go about healing people and doing good, that he was indeed killed on the cross, killed, slain, that he did indeed—God did indeed resurrect him—and then that resurrection was demonstrated. He, people saw him. Peter saw him. And not only did people, Peter see him, he ate and drank with him.

Now, that has, you know, significances, I think, for a communion, which we may speak of below. But I think as well what we’re talking about here is the detail of the witnessing capability of Peter. He ate and drank with the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrection body. God revealed them unto us. We were chosen before of God.

The election of God is portrayed in these passages as the election of Cornelius and his believing entourage. These will also be witnesses of a somewhat different type. Not firsthand witnesses—that’s what Peter’s talking about here. But they will also testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they, as well, are chosen or elected by God.

Well, these witnesses, as Peter did, eat and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us. So now Peter has talked about—he’s talked about some common ground with the Gentiles. God’s word is universal over us all. You’ve heard that word. It’s been proclaimed—that you already heard the extent of this word. And now he talks about the details of that message, these six historical facts.

And in the middle of those six historical facts—the fact that God was with Christ, and we are witnesses to these things. He returns to the idea of witnessing there at the end of those six historical facts. And now he gets to the message that is to be proclaimed as a result of these historical facts.

And he says, in verse 41 or 42, “He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify, that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

What is this message that they preach forth on the basis of these historical facts? What are they called to preach and to testify to?

It is two things. First, that Jesus Christ is ordained by God to be the judge of quick and dead. And secondly, they also witness to the fact, as the prophets did, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one through whose name whoever believes in him receives remission of sin.

And so this sermon moves from a declaration that the audience who hears it are also accepted of God. Talking about the historical account of the word, stressing the witnessing aspects of Peter first, and then the prophets also. And the end result of all that message—the thing that Peter preaches to them, the content that pours forth then on the basis of these historical facts and the witnessing and the universality of the word—is the fact that Jesus Christ is judge and he is also savior.

That’s an overview of the sermon. Let’s go back now and look at it in a little bit more detail.

Jesus Christ is portrayed here as the one who is anointed. And I want to read from the Heidelberg Catechism. “Why is he called Christ, that is anointed?”

The answer in the Heidelberg Catechism is: “Because he is ordained of God the Father and anointed with the Holy Ghost. What is the significance of this in Peter’s sermon?”

In other words, he is anointed by the Holy Ghost to be our chief prophet and teacher, who has fully revealed unto us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption. And he is also our only high priest, who by the one sacrifice of his body has redeemed us and ever lives to make intercession for us with the Father. And our eternal king, who governs us by his word and spirit and defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.

When Peter testifies to the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Ghost and with power, he certainly by way of implication talks about the three offices of Jesus Christ: that he is indeed our prophet and teacher. He is the high priest. And he is the king.

They are there to hear the words of the prophet and teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, given through the words of his faithful witnesses. They are there to hear that Jesus Christ is the judge of the quick and the dead—he is the almighty king who will sort men’s lives out, who will judge from the dead at his final coming, his second coming. And that he is also anointed as the high priest who makes redemption possible for his people, who pays in his own body the price for our sins.

It is himself both the priest and the offering and the altar that achieves salvation for his people. Jesus Christ is anointed in that sense. And so Peter stresses these things.

It is important, I think, in this context of this talk by Peter to point out four specific items that are also modeled to us of how our gospel, as we preach forth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, should be founded upon.

And the first thing is historical facts. Peter here gives historical facts as the at the center of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This isn’t just Dennis, you know, well, it’s very important that we remember, remember that Christianity is not a philosophy, in its ultimate sense. It has a philosophy to it. It doesn’t rest upon well-placed ideas or persuasions of men.

The foundation, rock of the Christian faith is the historical reality that Jesus Christ came. He lived a life in total obedience to the law of God. He died for our sins on the cross. He was buried, and the third day he rose again from the dead. And in that resurrection body was seen and attested to by people.

You see the importance of people, men and women, in the—as secondary means of God. It is their attestation to these historical facts that is the very center of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, it has significance. It’s not in and of itself enough, so to speak. We must understand that those facts validate Jesus Christ’s claims to be both judge and savior. But nonetheless, those historical realities are absolutely critical to preaching forth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so with Peter here, a great amount of his time is spent with a recitation of historical reality and facts. Never doubt these things, and never exclude these things when you’re preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Testify that you know—the scriptures give us account. There are eyewitnesses, many of them, of which Peter here is one, who attest to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, historic in time and space, suffered on the cross, died, and yet was resurrected and raised up by God, and appeared to men in that resurrection body.

So first of all, the first element of Peter’s sermon are these historical facts.

The second element of Peter’s sermon, repeated throughout this text, is the concept of the witness. Peter is a witness. He is supposed to testify—a sharpened form of giving witness. He’s a witness to these things. It’s repeated three, four, or five times in the context of this sermon, this short sermon that Peter gives, in the context of witness.

Now, it’s important to make a couple of distinctions here. I want to read from the Covenantal Gospel, which the author talks about this concept of witness relative to the covenant. We read these things so often with the twentieth-century mindset. We don’t think of the whole Bible. The biblical message is a message of covenant. God’s covenant with his people.

Witnesses are not in the sense of—I want to get up and testify to the fact of what Jesus Christ has done for me. That is a subjective witness. Witnesses here in the context of this sermon, and most of the time used in the scriptures, are an objective witness to the realities of what has occurred. Okay? They’re witnesses to the covenant that God has made in the Lord Jesus Christ. And God calls forth witnesses in covenantal actions.

Let me just read these characteristics of witnesses according to this author of the Covenantal Gospel. “When establishing the meaning of the word witness, the following should be noted. A. The witnesses in Jewish law acted as prosecutor or defense counsel. Having a witness meant one who was in a judicial position. Being a witness…”

(Transcript ends)