10:23b-24 Peter wisely took six other Jewish Christians with him (11:12). A total of seven believers witnessed what took place in Cornelius' house. The trip from Caesarea to Joppa took part of two days (v. 30). Cornelius was so sure Peter would come that even before the apostle arrived he gathered a group of his relatives and friends to listen to him. The text gives no reason to assume that Cornelius knew that Peter was the foremost apostle among the early Christians (cf. v. 5). Cornelius had an exemplary concern for the spiritual welfare of others even before he became a Christian (cf. v. 27).
10:25-26 Cornelius met Peter like the apostle John responded to God's angelic messenger on another occasion. Nevertheless Peter, like the angel, refused this unwarranted veneration (cf. Rev. 19:10; 22:8-9).
". . . Simon Peter would never have let you get down to kiss his big toe [as pilgrims to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome do to the statue of Peter there]. He just wouldn't permit it."446
Later Paul and Barnabas received a similar reception from the Lystrans and likewise refused worship (14:11-15).
10:27-29 It was taboo for Jews to associate with Gentiles and to visit them in their homes.447Gentiles did not observe the strict rules Jews followed in eating, preparing, and even handling food, nor did they tithe or practice circumcision. Any physical contact with Gentiles laid a Jew open to becoming ceremonially unclean because of the Gentiles' failure to observe these Mosaic laws. Food was the crux of the issue that separated them. However, Peter had gotten the message of the sheet full of food: food does not make a person unholy or unclean. Consequently he had come without further objection. Peter's explanation in these verses stressed the fact that God had convinced him to go against traditional Jewish custom, which was well-known among the Gentiles.
"If the food laws of the Jews no longer were valid, there was no real reason to avoid social contact with gentiles, for those distinctions lay at the heart of Jewish clannishness."448
"He [Peter] violates the first rule of homiletics when he begins his message with an apology. What he says is not a friendly thing to say. In fact, it is an insult. . . . How would you feel, especially if you are a lady who is a housekeeper, if some visitor came into your home and his first words were, I am coming into your home, which I consider dirty'?"449
Nevertheless Peter quickly and humbly explained that he had been wrong about how he formerly felt about Gentiles (v. 29).
10:30-33 Cornelius then related the vision he had had to Peter. The angel in Cornelius' vision (v. 2) had looked like a man dressed in shining garments (v. 30). The vision God had given him was a response to the centurion's prayers and alms.
". . . there are certain things that do count before God. These are things which can in no way merit salvation, but they are things which God notes. . . . Wherever there is a man who seeks after God as Cornelius did, that man is going to hear the gospel of the grace of God. God will see that he gets it."450
Cornelius had responded to God admirably by sending for Peter immediately (cf. Peter's "By no means, Lord,"v. 14). Cornelius then invited Peter to tell him and his guests what God wanted him to say to them. What a prepared and receptive audience this was!
Luke stressed the significance of Cornelius' experience by repeating certain details (cf. 11:4-10). This is another example of his doublet style, which increases emphasis. Other examples are the repetition of Jesus' miracles by his followers and the repetition of the same types of miracles that Peter performed by Paul.
