CORNELIUS AND THE PHYSICIAN

CORNELIUS

Acts 10-11:18

As to actual happenings, the account of Cornelius occupies the tenth chapter of the Acts, and the first eighteen verses in chapter eleven. The results of the events recorded run on to the end of the book. Necessarily the chief interest of the account is discovered in the effect which the things that happened produced on Peter, and the way in which it prepared for the wider work of the Church of God. The conversion of Cornelius produced nothing short of convulsion in the Church as it then existed. This is shown by the fact of the account which Luke gives of how Peter, when he arrived at Jerusalem, had to enter into a very full explanation of all that had happened.

Our present article, however, is necessarily confined to the account of our Lord's dealing with an individual. We are still following the line of our meditation upon the great Physician at work, now seeing how He continued that work, operating through members of His mystical Body, which is the Church, by the Holy Spirit. It is the same Lord. He is still seen as the great Physician confronting human needs, and meeting them in varied ways.

So far as our records reveal Cornelius was the first Gentile, entirely separated from Hebraism, to be admitted to the Christian Way. It goes without saying that there may have been others, because we have by no means a complete record of all that was transpiring in those wonderful years. It is true we have had the account of the Ethiopian eunuch, but he was a proselyte to the Jewish faith. That was not so in the case of Cornelius, although, as we shall see, he was undoubtedly a man who had been influenced by that faith.

His very name, Cornelius, marks him as a Roman. It may leave us a little in doubt as to what was his status in the Roman Empire. He may have belonged to the patrician people, or the Plebian. There was a great patrician family of the Cornelians. On the other hand there was another large family, slaves freed by the edict of an emperor, known as the Cornelii. This man may have belonged either to the Cornelians or the Cornelii, but the name does mark him as definitely a Roman. Such was his race.

His calling in life is distinctly told. He was a centurion, which means that he was commanding a hundred soldiers in the interests of Rome, under the government of Herod Agrippa, who at that time had been given, by courtesy of Rome, the title of king. We are told, moreover, that he was a centurion of the Italian band, which means that the hundred soldiers under his command were all of them Romans. Thus we see that he was a man exercising authority, ultimately under the mastery of the emperor. Thus he and those closely associated with him, were entirely outside anything like direct relationship with the Hebrew people.

When we come carefully to look at the man we find that we have a remarkable and arresting portraiture. He was not a proselyte, but I think there can be no question that he had been brought under the influence of the teaching of the Hebrew religion, at least concerning the fact of there being one God. Undoubtedly he did entertain the Hebrew view of God, and unquestionably was thus a monotheist.

Here, then, we find a Roman, resident for the time being in a country far removed from Rome, who had almost unquestionably been brought up in paganism, and had known of the gods of the Roman people. Perhaps he was familiar with the fact that there was an approach on the part of the emperor to a claim to deity, which the empire eventually accepted, and offered him worship. Nevertheless, here he is seen believing in one God and that so sincerely that his faith is expressed in three ways that are named. First of all in the behavior of his life, he was devout; second, he gave much alms, that is he was a man moved with compassion; and finally, he was a man of prayer. The statement of this last particular is remarkable, in that Luke says he "prayed to God alway."

Thus we see a man outside the Hebrew economy, but who most probably, through Hebraism, had learned of the fact of the one God, and accepting it, acted in accordance with it. It is probable that there were many in that strange, wild, weird, pagan world, driven by the surplus of deities to the quest for the one God. Be that as it may, it was certainly true in the case of Cornelius that he was devout. Moreover, he expressed his belief in the one God in his love of his fellowmen. He gave much alms to the people.

The account reveals a further fact concerning him. Believing in one God, expressing his belief in a devout life, in the giving of alms, in constant prayer, he was yet seeking something which he did not possess. This is made clear by the account of the visit of the angel to him, who in answer to prayers that he was offering, commanded him to send men to Joppa and fetch one named Simon, who would give him instruction. Then we have further light as we see him immediately obeying the command, personally responding to the light that came to him. This is really manifest in all his account. He had been responsive to the light that had dawned upon his soul concerning the falsity of all other gods except one. And now in spite of the fact that the vision had filled him with fear, he recognized it as a Divine message, and immediately obeyed.

As we look at Cornelius, then, we see everything that seems to be admirable, and we are inclined to ask what more was necessary. As in the case of Nicodemus and the young ruler, Cornelius was a man of excellent character. It is fitting, however, to remember that neither of them was satisfied. Each was seeking for something, not knowing what it was. What that something was, in each case was revealed in contact with the Lord.

The commencement of our Lord's dealing with Cornelius is very full of vital interest, and more than that, it is full of beauty. Two things were happening at a distance of thirty miles from each other. In the one case a man received an open vision, that is, a vision in the daylight, not one when he was asleep. Thirty miles away, on the sea-coast at Joppa there was a man named Simon Peter. He also received a vision, but in a state of trance, that is, in a condition of high ecstasy. To Cornelius there came an open vision and an angel of God. To Peter, a strange vision of a vessel let down out of heaven. Thus two men were prepared by visions, of a different nature, for making contact with each other.

The account, therefore, is definitely a supernatural one, and we may at once say that to eliminate the supernatural from Christianity is to have nothing left that is vital.

The speech of the angel of God to Cornelius was a revelation first of the fact that his life was acceptable to God. He was told:

"Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God."

This declaration was a ratification of all the past in his own experience. The word told him that in his attitudes and activities he had not been wrong, but rather right, and taught him that whatever it was he was seeking at the time, he must not undervalue the experiences through which he had already passed.

Then came the command which must have been to Cornelius a very strange one. He was to send to Joppa, and was told that there by the sea shore, in the house of a man named Simon, who was a tanner, he would find lodging another man named Simon, who would give him the instruction for which he was waiting. Thus Cornelius was prepared for the contact with Simon Peter.

The account of Peter's preparation is equally remarkable. There is a human touch in it which arrests us. He had gone on to the house-top; and was hungry, and being hungry, was waiting for his meal. On the human level there is no question that the trance resulted from the hunger. He became, on the human level, semi­conscious, possibly bordering on the realm of sleep. In that condition he saw strange things. A sheet was lowered from heaven, and as he looked into it, he saw all manner of animals, and unquestionably among them animals which were forbidden in the Hebrew economy to be used as food. Looking at them he heard a voice saying:

"Rise, Peter, kill and eat."

Instinctively and immediately all the Hebrew within him revolted against the idea. The prejudices of the years expressed themselves. A literal rendering of what he then said is:

"By no means, Lord. I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."

The only reply that he received was that startling statement: "What God hath cleansed make not thou common."

It is quite certain that the ultimate meaning of the vision did not come to him then. He learned it afterwards; but recognizing that he had received a communication from God, he was obedient, and immediately, travelled the road commanded him, towards the house of the Gentile Cornelius.

Then followed the events which resulted from the vision of Cornelius and the trance of Peter. The men Cornelius had sent arrived at the house in Joppa, and were questioning whether Simon was there. At once the Spirit spoke to him. The trance itself had vanished, but the memory of it was still with him. While he was undoubtedly wondering what was meant by the declaration concerning things God had cleansed, the Spirit commanded him to accompany these men. Thus we see him starting upon that journey in the company of these men, in simple obedience to the command that had been laid upon him. Ten of them travelled together, Simon and six brethren from Joppa, and the three men who had come from Caesarea. The brethren who accompanied him were of the circumcision, that is, they were Hebrews by race. There can hardly be any question that he took that journey trembling as he went, because it must have seemed to him that he was crossing a boundary line. Nevertheless he was doing so in obedience to what he was convinced was the command of his Lord. Thus we see the Lord Himself acting through a member of His mystical Body, and reaching Cornelius through him. Having arrived, Peter went immediately to the case in hand, as he said:

"I ask, therefore, with what intent ye sent for me?"

I repeat that he was certain that he was there by Divine authority, and in obedience; and even yet probably perplexed, he asked Cornelius that simple, direct, immediate question.

We remember how in one of the earliest stories of the work of the great Physician, that of His dealing with Andrew and John we listened to the Master as He said to them, "What seek ye?" That is, What do you want? Why are you coming after Me? The question that Peter asked was, in effect, the same question, though in another form. To what intent did you send for me?

Now from Cornelius' answer we take the central declaration. He told him that he had sent for him:

"To hear all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord."

Thus in effect Cornelius said, you ask what I want, for what intent I sent for you. The answer is that I am seeking God, and to know things which I do not know. There are things which perplex me, and I need light. An angel visitor commanded me to send for you. You have done well to come; and now that you have arrived, I want to hear the Word of God from your lips. Thus Christ through His intermediary said to Cornelius, What seek ye? And Cornelius answered, expressing the quest of his soul which was already remarkably illuminated by contrast with the darkness in which he had been born and brought up. I seek the Word of God to me. I desire to know what God has to say to me.

Then Peter answered him. We cannot attempt to go over all the ground of his wonderful address. It is, however, arresting to notice how all these early messengers of Jesus, again and again put into brief statements all the cardinal facts of their faith. Reverently we may epitomize the answer of Peter thus. He first declared to him that Jesus is Lord of all. He had declared that Jesus had come to the people of Israel, and evidently revealing the new conviction that was coming to himself as the result of all that was taking place, he thus declared the Lordship of Jesus over all, not over Israel only, but overall. He then told him that this Lord had been crucified by His own race, but that He had been raised from the dead. The proof of this was to be found in the fact that he and others were witnesses of the resurrection, for they had eaten and drunk with Him after the resurrection. Thus the declaration made to Cornelius was that of the Lordship of Jesus over all, and of the fact that He had been crucified and raised from the dead.

The ultimate meaning of the great facts declared was that of the possibility of the remission of sins. That was exactly what Cornelius needed, something he had never found. He had obeyed the measure of light that had come to him, and heaven had accepted his alms and his prayers. There had remained something, however, trouble his life not dealt with; and the message of God to him through Simon Peter concerned One Who is Lord, and Who, by the way of His death and resurrection, was able to give to the human soul cleansing and the remission of sins.

As I read this account I am always inclined to the conviction that Peter had not finished his discourse to Cornelius. I am convinced that at this point his speech was interrupted by the great thing that happened. The Spirit fell upon all who listened:

"While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word."

Notice carefully it was while he, Peter, "yet spake." Quite evidently as Cornelius listened, he had made definite contact with Christ, and accepted Jesus as Lord. He had trusted his soul to Him as his Savior by the way of 'His Cross and resurrection. In answer to .his faith he received that which his heart had been seeking, the remission of sins; and in that moment as he yielded to the evangel declared, he was born again, receiving the Holy Spirit.

The wonder of the occasion and the evident power of the apostolic message is seen in the fact that not only Cornelius, but that all that heard the word shared the experience.

Observe carefully that the Spirit fell before baptism, and without the laying on of hands. Undoubtedly we have occasions on record when the Spirit fell after baptism, and after the laying on of hands. That which happened, however, to these Gentile souls, who had been born and brought up in the darkness of paganism, and who had been obedient to the light that had come to them when they heard and accepted the great declaration of the apostle, was that immediately they became new creatures, old things passed away; all had become new.

We may safely make the affirmation that if Cornelius had been writing about his own experience thirty years later, he might have written in the very language of Paul, and declared that with regard to the righteousness which had been revealed to him, he was blameless; but that having found Christ, and Christ having found him, he counted all the past as loss.

And then followed the open confession of that great change which had come to him. Having received the Spirit, he made his confession of allegiance in the solemn act of baptism.

We ask what this account really has to say to us, and the first thing is that it reveals the fact that all Cornelius had was not enough. There was something lacking in his life, and he was conscious of it. This was true, as we have said of Nicodemus, and of the young ruler. Nevertheless all that he had already was preparatory to what he was to receive. The picture of Cornelius before this contact with Christ is in itself a very arresting one. Convinced of the existence of one God, he had so far as he was able, squared his life with that conviction. Because he walked in the light as he had received it, he was led into fuller light, and at last found his own life incorporated into the very life of Christ. This is still the one thing lacking in multitudes of lives which otherwise appear and are admirable. But this lack makes all else valueless.

The great fact revealed to Peter and the rest, as the result of the experience was that God is no Respecter of persons.

Looking at the account again, we see the living Lord acting through His intermediaries. He employed the open vision, the trance, the angel, and supernatural voices. Necessarily these were secondary and incidental things, and we must be careful not to put an undue emphasis on such things. The central truth is that a man, Peter, was ready though imperfect, obedient though not understanding, and so became the medium for the carrying out of the will of his Lord, and for the exercise of His power. Though still unquestionably perplexed, he was obedient, and therefore capable of hearing the voice of the Spirit, and ready to obey, even though he could not at the moment see the issue of the thing he was called to do.

But after all, the ultimate revelation is not that of angels and voices and utterances and visions, or even that of a man, but rather that of the Holy Spirit of God Himself acting for the Lord, and the Lord acting through that Spirit in reaching the enquiring soul in Caesarea, and employing the obedient man in Joppa. Thus it is the same great Physician Who is revealed to us in this matchless account.