Acts 10
New Catholic Bible
Baptism of the Centurion Cornelius
Chapter 10
The Vision of Cornelius.[a] 1 In Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius who was a centurion of the so-called Italian cohort.[b] 2 He was a devout and God-fearing man, as were all the members of his household. He gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.
3 One afternoon about three o’clock,[c] he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God approaching him and calling to him, “Cornelius!” 4 He stared at him in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send some men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 He is lodging with another Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier on his staff. 8 He told them all that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
The Vision of Peter.[d] 9 About noon[e] the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He then saw heaven opened and something that looked like a large sheet descending, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles and birds of the air.
13 A voice then said to him, “Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord. For I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke again to him, for a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 16 This happened three times, and then immediately the object was taken up into heaven again.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision he had seen, suddenly the men who were sent by Cornelius appeared. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house, and now they were standing at the entrance 18 and inquiring whether Simon known as Peter was lodging there.
19 As Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Some men have come to see you. 20 Hurry down and go with them without any hesitation, for I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason you have come?” 22 They replied, “A centurion named Cornelius, who is greatly respected by the entire Jewish nation as an upright and Godfearing man, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day, he set out with them, accompanied by some of the brethren from Joppa. 24 On the following day, they reached Caesarea. Cornelius had been expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter arrived, Cornelius came out to meet him and, falling at his feet, did him reverence. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I am only a man myself.”
27 While they conversed together, they went inside where a large crowd had gathered. 28 Peter said to them, “You are well aware that Jews are forbidden to associate with or visit a Gentile. However, God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. 29 That is why I came without offering any objection when I was summoned. I would like to know exactly why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago, at this very hour, three o’clock in the afternoon,[f] I was in my house praying when suddenly I saw a man in shining robes standing before me. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving has not been forgotten by God. 32 Therefore, send to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is also called Peter. He is lodging at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 33 And so I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now all of us have assembled here in the presence of God to listen to everything that the Lord has commanded you to say.”
34 Peter’s Speech. Then Peter addressed them: “I now understand how true it is that God has no favorites, 35 but that in every nation all those who fear God and do what is right are acceptable to him. 36 He sent his word to the children of Israel and proclaimed the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of all.
37 “You are well aware of what was proclaimed all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism of John, 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses to everything he did in the Jewish countryside and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him to life on the third day and allowed him to be seen 41 not by all the people but by witnesses who were chosen by God in advance—by us who ate and drank with him[g] after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to bear witness that he is the one designated by God as Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the Prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
44 The Baptism of Cornelius. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon all who were listening to his message. 45 The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and proclaiming the greatness of God.
Peter said further, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 Then he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 49 Afterward, they asked him to stay with them for a few days.
Footnotes
- Acts 10:1 The moment in which the Christian movement entered into the Gentile world was a major event for the Church. Luke speaks of God’s initiative that captures the world through the Resurrection and the Spirit and expresses itself in the dynamism with which the Lord animates the first community. To illustrate it, he elevates an account of conversion to the rank of an historic event and an irreversible theological fact. Indeed, it is the longest account in the Acts of the Apostles.
Cornelius, a Roman official in Caesarea—the city that is the seat of government—is, along with his entire family, a “God-fearing” man, i.e., one who has accepted the beliefs and principal practices of Judaism, though not going so far as to share the Jewish way of life and become part of the people through circumcision.
In his inner righteousness and generosity, Cornelius is recognized by God as suitable to enter into communication with him. However, to find the truth that he desires he must hear the announcement of the facts concerning Jesus from the mouth of eyewitnesses and thus must meet Peter—who is living some 30 miles away. Only then will these Gentiles master the word of Christ and make it their own through the inspiration of the Spirit (Acts 10:40).
Thus, Cornelius is no longer the central figure of our account. Luke wishes to stress a fact: the initiative of God to liberate the Gospel from being shut up in the Jewish world. The community of Jerusalem, still bound by its Jewish ties, opens itself to the outside world by a series of encounters, but it is blocked from doing so by a redoubtable problem. The Jewishness of the first disciples prevents them from frequenting the Gentiles’ houses of prayer and from sharing their tables without incurring a legal uncleanness and violating the Law. How then can they live in community and partake in the Eucharist, for example?
Must not the Gentiles first be made part of Israel through circumcision? In the face of the gift given by God to the Gentiles “as . . . upon us at the beginning” (Acts 11:15), in the face of this Pentecost of the Gentile nations (Acts 10:45), the community of Jerusalem must also be converted and realize that the religious and ritual appurtenances can no longer provide superiority or priority, that these are no longer to be regarded as a wall of separation—finally, that no person can be declared unclean (Acts 10:27).
The text is carefully constructed. Each personage has a vision that presents itself as an enigma. Then it becomes clear in the concrete action, the encounter, and the mutual hospitality. Peter’s discourse is the pivotal point of the account. Like its predecessors (Acts 2:14-41; 3:11-26), it relates the major themes of the announcement of Jesus. The Spirit authenticates the word concerning Jesus and inspires Gentiles to become witnesses of the Resurrection.
The concrete problems of the entry of Gentiles into the Church and of contacts between Jews and Gentiles will be definitively regulated at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:10, 19-21), but Paul will struggle all his life against the Judaizing practices and theories that tempt certain communities of Israelite origin (see Gal 2; 5). The encounter of Peter and Cornelius leads to the formation of the first Christian community made up of the two most difficult milieux: the Christian and the Gentile. Henceforth, the Church will no longer be able to shut herself up within her own confines. - Acts 10:1 Italian cohort: an auxiliary unit of soldiers.
- Acts 10:3 Three o’clock: literally, “about the ninth hour.” This time period was a Jewish hour of prayer (see Acts 3:1).
- Acts 10:9 The vision that now occurs makes it possible for Peter to sit down at table and eat with Gentiles without feeling any guilt. Hence, it is clear that at first not even the apostles fully understood the Lord’s teaching about the Law. However, with the aid of this vision and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the apostles ultimately arrive at a fuller understanding.
- Acts 10:9 Noon: literally, “about the sixth hour.”
- Acts 10:30 Three o’clock in the afternoon: literally, “about the ninth hour.”
- Acts 10:41 Ate and drank with him: those who shared a table with Jesus after he rose from the dead were given unmistakable evidence of the Lord’s bodily Resurrection (see Lk 24:42f; Jn 21:12-15).
