It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon when the man was confronted by a sight he had never seen. He was a soldier, a man of courage and had seen much that would shake lesser men. But this was unlike anything he had ever confronted on a battlefield. It frightened him. His name was Cornelius, a Roman centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment, and what he saw was an angel from God.
According to Acts 10, Cornelius and his family were devout and God-fearing and gave generously to those in need. He was also a man who prayed regularly. As Cornelius stared at the angel in fear, the angel gave him a message. “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” [Acts 10:4-6 NIV]
Cornelius obeyed. The Apostle Peter also obeyed a message from an angel and went with the men to the house of Cornelius. And with that, the Gospel was opened to the Gentiles. Paul would become the principle Apostle to the Gentiles, but it was Peter who first opened the door through his obedience.
As I was reading the story of Cornelius this morning, I was touched by one part of the message brought by the angel. “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
Cornelius apparently had aligned himself with the True God of Israel. He would have still been excluded from the Temple, held to the Court of the Gentiles, yet his prayers and what he did for the poor were seen and received by God Himself. While excluded from the earthly Temple, He would soon be included in the Heavenly One. Peter’s visit would lead Cornelius and his family to Christ, and the Holy Spirit would fall on them just as He fell on those in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost. What a wonderfully amazing God!
