THE GENTILE PENTECOST – LESSON 2
Cornelius bowing before Peter
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
An angel met Cornelius and told him to send messengers to Joppa and bring the Apostle Peter back to Caesarea. Cornelius chose two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything the angel had said and sent them to Joppa.
Peter was fully obedient to the Holy Spirit when the Spirit told him to go with the three men to Caesarea.
Looking at the Big Picture.
In the divine fulfillment of the plan of salvation, several major events had to take place in thirty years, including the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Messiah, and the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
Think about it: Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection was sufficient to save the world, but to fulfill the plan of salvation as expressed in our Lord’s Great Commission has required a host of Pentecostal outpourings through the centuries.
The world can be won for Jesus Christ only in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The launching pad for this march to the nations was the Gentile Pentecost in Caesarea, the capitol of the Roman Empire in the Middle East. Caesarea, yes, unlikely Caesarea, hosted a family of Romans who were eager to hear the Gospel.
Can you believe it?
The Scriptures include three formative Pentecost’s. The first two were largely Jewish; the third was Gentile. The fact there were three when the church was an infant indicates many more, a multitude more, would be required for the Gospel to go around the world (see Acts 2, 8, and 10). The Holy Spirit would be the on-the-scene power source and the guide to fulfill the Lord’s Great Commission (see Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:18-20).
This understanding reveals just how important the Gentile Pentecost was then and has remained to this day. It also explains why it was necessary for Peter to be in Joppa, where he was willing to make the journey to Caesarea. In fact, the Lord had already chosen Peter as the leader and spokesman for each of the three Pentecost’s.
OH! For the Lord’s church to cry out again for another Pentecost.
In the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were to make disciples of all nations. They were also to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
With this broad picture in mind, we now turn to the Gentile Pentecost at Caesarea.
Peter Receives Specific Instructions.
The Holy Spirit’s timing, of course, was perfect. About noon the next day as the visitors were approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. While in prayer he fell into a trance, and in that setting received his orders. “He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds… then a voice told him, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” This happened a second, and then a third time (Acts 10:11-16).
Don’t miss it, dear brothers. and sisters. It was the Holy Spirit, not Cornelius, who sent for Peter, and the Spirit had Cornelius, a Roman centurion, ready to be the Spirit’s willing agent.
Oh! to be so in touch with the Spirit that He has a place for us and sends for us too.
While Peter was pondering the vision, the men from Caesarea arrived. They were knocking at the gate when the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter: “Simon, three men are looking for you. So, get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them” (Acts 10:19-20).
The Holy Spirit was launching a whole new sphere of ministry in the Gentile world, and in this case, using Rome’s military as the launching pad. The Spirit knew Gentiles all over the empire would receive the Gospel while the Jewish people would largely reject it. Peter’s response was very apostolic.
The Holy Spirit began a new ministry destined to circle the globe; in fact, most Jews thought it impossible.
“The next day Peter started out with them,” along with six of the brothers in Joppa (Acts 10:23; 11:12). When they arrived after the thirty-mile journey, “Cornelius was expecting them and had called his relatives and close friends” to be present (Acts 10:24).
In the book of God so precious
We are told of Pentecost,
How the blessed Lord’s disciples
Tarried for the Holy Ghost.
Pentecostal fire fell on them,
Burning up their sin and dross,
Filling them with pow’r for service,
Making them a mighty host.Refrain:
Pentecostal fire is falling
Praise the Lord it fell on me,
Pentecostal fire is falling,
Brother, it will fall on thee.
By: George Bennard
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LESSON THREE WILL FOLLOW NEXT WEEK
