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Acts 9:43-10:8  CORNELIUS SENDING FOR THE APOSTLE PETER

Introduction:  

	The Apostle Peter was at the city of Joppa when Dorcas was raised from the 
dead.    In the meantime there was a Roman centurian by the name of Cornelius in 
the nearby city of Caesarea who needed to be saved and God was dealing with this 
man concerning salvation.  In our text Cornelius is told to send for the Apostle 
Peter who would tell him how to get saved.  

I.  Simon Peter still at Joppa

	V. 43, “And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one 
Simon a tanner.”  Luke informs us that Simon Peter stayed at Joppa many days 
after Dorcas was raised from the dead.  He does not say how many days.  I think 
that is safe to say that it was not as long as a year nor even a half a year.  
It could have been as long as a month, but not many months.  If it had been many 
months no doubt Luke would have used the word “months” instead of  “days.”  
Simon Peter was evidently kept busy during those days explaining to people about 
Jesus Christ by whose power he had raised Dorcas from the dead.  
	Luke also informs us that during the time that Simon Peter stayed at Joppa 
he stayed at the home of another man by the name of Simon.  This Simon was by 
trade a tanner.  That is he tanned the hides of animals for a living.  He took 
the fresh hides and treated them chemically so that they became pliable leather 
which could be used for making clothing or other useful items.  
	The fact that this man had a Hebrew name and plus the fact that Simon 
Peter was willing to stay in his home informs us that he was not a Gentile; he 
was a Jew.  But the fact that he was willing to open up his home to Simon Peter 
indicates that he was also a Christian.  He was a Christian Jew.  I am not 
certain whether he was one of the Christian Jews who fled from Jerusalem under 
persecution by Saul of Tarsus or whether he was one of the residents of Joppa 
who got saved after Dorcas was raised from the dead.     
	It is somewhat surprising that the Apostle Peter would stay at the home of 
Simon the tanner.  I am sure that he must have been a kind and generous host, 
but his house would smell awful.  The hides of the dead animals which Simon used 
for making leather would put off a terribly bad odor.  Even if he kept the hides 
in another building separate from his home, still  the entire area would reek 
with a terrible odor.  
	The fact that the Apostle Peter would stay there in that terrible 
overshadowed two things about the Apostle Peter.  First of all, it showed the 
humility of Simon Peter.  He was not a proud and haughty man who thought himself 
too good to stay in such a smelly place.  He just gritted his teeth or held his 
nose or whatever he had to do to stay there and he made himself at home.  
	Another thing it shows us about the Apostle Peter is that he did not 
believe that one must keep the Law of Moses in order to go to heaven.  The Law 
of Moses declared that anybody who touches any part of a dead body is 
ceremonially unclean.  The law further declared that anybody who touches anyone 
or anything which a ceremonially unclean person touches is also ceremonially 
unclean.  Therefore, according to the law of Moses, not only was Simon the 
tanner ceremonially unclean because he touched the hides of dead animals, but 
Simon Peter was also ceremonially unclean because he touched the household items 
which Simon the tanner had touched.  But Simon Peter believed that what really 
counted with God is not being ceremonially clean by the Law of Moses, but being 
made spiritually clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.  If Simon Peter had 
believed that one gets to heaven by keeping the Mosaic Law he would not have set 
foot in the home of Simon the tanner.  

II.  Cornelius at Caesarea

	V. 1, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion 
of the band called the Italian [band].”  The city of Caesarea was located on the 
seacoast about twenty-five or thirty miles north of Joppa.  Its inhabitants were 
chiefly Gentiles, but since Caesarea was also a good seaport and was located on 
a main trade route there were several thousand Jews who lived there.  Most of 
these were not Christian Jews who had fled from Jerusalem under persecution by 
Saul of Tarsus, but were simply business men who came to Caesarea because it was 
a good trade city. 
	Caesarea was also the seat of the Roman governor who ruled over Judah at 
the this time.  It was probably because this was city in which the Roman 
governor lived that a large number of Roman soldiers were stationed there.  Luke 
tells us that a Roman centurian by the name of Cornelius lived there.  A Roman 
centurian was an officer in the Roman army who was in charge of one-hundred 
Roman soldiers.  Cornelius had an elite group of soldiers serving under him who 
were known as “The Italian Band.”  
	V. 2, “[A] devout [man]...”  Luke says that Cornelius was a devout man.  
That is, he was deeply religious.  Some have speculated that under the influence 
of the large number of Jews who lived at Caesarea he had left the worship of 
idol gods and joined the Jewish religion which worshipped only the one true and 
living God. 
	 There seems some justification in our text for this conclusion because 
both he and his household were worshipers of the true God.  (V. 2), “...and one 
that feared God with all his house...”  The word, God, in this verse does not 
refer to an idol god, but to the true God, which the Jewish people worshipped.  
He not only worshipped the true God, himself, but he had influenced all of his 
family and all of his household to worship the true and living  God.    
	(V. 2), “...which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”  
Cornelius was not only a very religious man, but he was a man who was very 
generous in helping people in need.  It was very common in that time for a Roman 
soldier to take advantage of his position of power over the people where he was 
stationed and to abuse them.  But this was one Roman officer who was kind and 
generous to the people of the city where he was stationed.  He was a blessing to 
them.  He never abused them in any way.  Instead, he helped them.  Let me point 
out to you that Cornelius at this time was not a Christian, but he was showing 
the kindness and generosity to others which Christian people ought to show.  

III.  The vision of Cornelius

	V. 3, “He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day...”  
Luke informs us that Cornelius had a vision.  He had this vision about the ninth 
hour of the day.  This was about three o’clock in the afternoon.  (V. 3), “...an 
angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.”  In the vision 
Cornelius saw an angel of God come up to him and call him by his name.  The 
angel said, “Cornelius.”  Just seeing an angel of God  was enough to get his 
attention, but when the angel spoke to him and called him by his name, that most 
certainly got his attention.   
	V. 4, “And when he looked on him, he was afraid...”  Cornelius was not 
really thrilled to see the angel.  He was certainly not thrilled to have the 
angel call him by name.  So far as he knew, this could spell trouble for him.  
It could be that he had displeased God in some way and that the angel had been 
sent to punish him.  I think it would frighten any of us if a mighty angel of 
God were to suddenly make his appearance before us and call us by name.  
	(V. 4), “...and said, What is it, Lord?...”  This was as if to say, “What 
is the matter, Lord?  Have I done something wrong, Lord?”   But Cornelius was in 
for a pleasant surprise.  Instead of rebuking him, the angel of God commended 
him.  (V. 4), 
“... And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial 
before God.”  The angel told Cornelius that his prayers had come up to heaven as 
a memorial before God.  God had taken notice of his prayers and was pleased by 
them.  Furthermore, the alms that he had given had also come up to heaven as a 
memorial before God.  God heard his prayers and saw his generosity to the poor 
and God was pleased.  
	Now let me point out something very important to you.  God was not pleased  
simply because Cornelius could pray a beautiful prayer.  I am not sure whether 
his was worded beautifully or not.  God does not take heed of a payer simply 
because it is worded well.  God told the prophet Samuel that man looks on the 
outside of a man, but God looks on the heart.  Even so God was not pleased with 
Cornelius because of the words of Cornelius.  God was pleased because of what he 
saw in the heart of Cornelius.  Cornelius was a man who was seeking to do the 
will of the Lord in his life.  It was the desire of his heart to please the 
Lord.  It was the desire of his heart for the Lord to forgive the things that he 
had already done which displeased the Lord.  
	The same thing is true concerning the alms which Cornelius gave to the 
people.  Cornelius was not trying to buy his way into heaven by his generosity.  
He was simply trying to do that which he thought to be God’s will.  In his heart 
he wanted to please the Lord and the Lord looked at his heart.  Furthermore, it 
was not the size of the gift that pleased the Lord, it was the desire in his 
heart to do the will of God.  

IV.  Cornelius instructed to send for the Apostle Peter

	V. 5, “And now send men to Joppa, and call for [one] Simon, whose surname 
is Peter.”  The Lord instructed Cornelius to send somebody to the nearby city of 
Joppa and to locate a man there whose name was Simon Peter.  The angel of the 
Lord even told Cornelius just where to locate Simon Peter.  V. 6, “He lodgeth 
with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side...”
	All right, so Cornelius is told to send someone to find Simon Peter.  He 
is told where to find him.  But why?  Why was it important for him to send 
someone to get the Apostle Peter?  He is then told --- at least in part --- why 
he was to send for Simon Peter.  (V. 6), “...he shall tell thee what thou 
oughtest to do.” 
	Cornelius was a very religious man, but being religious was not enough.  
In his heart Cornelius sincerely wanted to do the will of the Lord and to be 
found acceptable in His sight, but that was not enough.  Cornelius had turned 
from his worship of idol god’s to acknowledge that the God of the Jews is the 
true God was not enough.  Cornelius had gone to God in sincere prayer, but that 
was not enough.  Cornelius had given many alms to the poor and needy, but that 
was not enough.  His prayers and his alms had come up before the Lord, but that 
was not enough.  Cornelius was still lacking something.  He was still not right 
with God.  
	The angel of the Lord said in effect, “Cornelius, I want you to send for 
Simon Peter.  Simon Peter is one of God’s preachers.  Simon Peter will tell you 
what you need to do in order to get right in the sight of God.  Simon Peter will 
tell you what you need to do to go to heaven.”  
	Cornelius was obedient to the instructions which were given to him by the 
angel.  The angel of God did not preach the gospel message to Cornelius, but he 
instructed him that God had a preacher who would preach the gospel to him and 
tell him how to be saved.  

V.  Cornelius obedient to God’s message 
  
	V. 7-8, “And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he 
called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited 
on him continually;  And when he had declared all [these] things unto them, he 
sent them to Joppa.”  Cornelius immediately called two of his most faithful and 
trusted servants and one of his most faithful and trusted soldiers and he 
appointed them the task of going to Joppa and finding Simon Peter and bringing 
him to Caesarea.  
	Listen, whenever God sees a heart that is truly seeking the truth about 
how to please God and how to go to heaven, God will provide someone who will 
tell him what he must do to be saved.  God provided the Apostle Peter to tell 
Cornelius how to be saved.  
	If anybody wants to be saved and is willing to listen to God’s way of 
salvation, God has somebody who will tell that person what he must do to be 
saved.  It may be a preacher.  It may be a Sunday school teacher.  It may be a 
youth worker.  It may be a neighbor.  It may be a mother or day or grandmother 
or granddad.  It may be a fellow worker.  It may be a school mate.  But if God 
sees a heart which really and truly wants to be saved, God will provide someone 
to give him the gospel message.  
	But one must be willing to hear God’s plan of salvation.  One must be 
willing to believe what God has to say.  One must be willing to lay aside 
whatever else he has been taught and whatever else he has formerly believed.  
One must be willing to be saved God’s way or he will never be saved at all.  

Conclusion:  

I want to ask these questions:

1.  Is there anybody here who is unsaved who deep down in his heart wants to be 
saved?
2.  Are you willing to let God’s word tell you know to be saved?  If so, listen 
to these          
     Scriptures:  Eph. 2:8l-9; Jno. 3:16; Rom. 10:13; Acts 16:31.  
3.  If you are saved, let me ask you this:  Are you willing to go to somebody 
else and tell 
     them how to be saved?  
4.  If you are saved and in need of a church home are you ready to let God lead 
you to       
     membership in this church?