Read Acts
10:21-33
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re
looking for. Why have you come?” 22 The men replied, “We have come from
Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is
respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to
his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited
the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with
them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he
arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his
relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him
and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he
said, “I am only human myself.” 27 While talking with him, Peter went inside
and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware
that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with Gentiles or visit them.
But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when
I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent
for me?” 30 Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at
this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood
before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered
your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a
guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for
you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the
presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
As you can see on the map above, the distance from Joppa to Caesarea
was not insignificant – it is about 30 miles. This wouldn’t be a long way in
the car but by foot or horse it was a bit of a trek. I am, therefore, impressed
by the faith of Cornelius who – following his vision – not only immediately
sends people to get Peter (who presumably he’d never met) but also gathers his
family and friends to his house so they can meet him when he arrives. If I
try to imagine what my response would have been, I sadly suspect that I would
have waited to check this guy was actually going to show up before getting
people round! His faith resonates with the faith of the centurion in Luke 7, of
whom Jesus’ famously (and provocatively!) remarked: “I tell you, I have not
found such great faith even in Israel.” And his faith is rewarded as Peter
arrives poised with a proclamation from God that will impact not just his
life, nor just that of his friends and family, but one that’s about to burst
out amongst the whole Gentile world.
- Do a quick faith audit! In what ways have you put you faith into practice this week? Have there been times when you could have exercised more faith?
If you have a bit longer :-)
Jesus’
commendation of the centurion in Luke 7 was provocative because he was
basically saying that a Gentile soldier had exercised more faith than any of
the Israelites he had met. The Israelites, however, would have no doubt
imagined themselves to be the people with the most faith – not this outsider!
- Are there any groups of people, or particular individuals, who you (perhaps subconsciously) do not really believe would ever demonstrate faith in Christ? Ask God to change your heart in this regard and impact the lives of these people or person.
- Are we ever too quick to judge the faith of others? Similarly, are we ever too quick to judge our own faith by comparing ourselves to the faith we perceive others to have?
- For example, it is easy to judge faith just by the external indicators we see in people’s lives. However, perhaps in God’s eyes the person desperately clinging on to faith in him through difficulty and pain has more faith than the person who appears to be flying but has not faced such great challenges? Similarly, it is interesting to read the role-call of faith in Hebrews 11 and see a whole mix of very different lives all commended for their faith. For example there is Noah, who uncomplainingly got on and built a massive boat, but also Sarah, who laughed in disbelief when told she would finally have a child. There is Rahab, the prostitute, who protected Israel’s spies and Jepthah, who foolishly pledged a human sacrifice – something God hates! There is the mighty (but reluctant) leader Moses and the devoted (yet mistake ridden) King David. Then there is a whole list of others, some who saw amazing miracles and others who were rejected and mistreated. However all these people, in their success… in their weakness… in their strength… in their failings… all had faith. On the inside, they all trusted God. On the outside, the results looked very different.
- One of the most helpful talks I have ever listened to concerns the relationship between faith and theology. I massively recommend it. It’s called “The Dangers of a Strong Faith and a Weak Theology” and you can access it here! (You do have to pay for it but it would be £3ish – it’s $4.95 – well spent!)
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