And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea.
In Jerusalem, Peter is defending himself. He retells the story of Cornelius from the start, and here he reaches the hinge: while he was still puzzling over his vision, three men from Caesarea stood at the door.
Why the story is told twice
Luke already told this story in the previous chapter. Now it comes again from Peter's own mouth.
F. B. HoleThis led Peter to go over the matter from the beginning and set it out in order, so that everyone might see that the thing was clearly of God. It is remarkable that the Spirit of God has seen fit to put Peter's own account on record. Luke, as a historian, had already given us his account in the previous chapter. This shows how important that quiet, hidden event in the house of the Roman officer really was. It was in truth an event that marked a new era.
"At that very moment"
Peter points to the timing. This is not the first time in the book that God brings two people together to the minute.
F. B. HoleIn Acts 8, we saw how accurately God timed Philip's meeting with the Ethiopian's chariot. Now we see the servants of Cornelius arriving at the precise moment to settle the divine instructions in Peter's mind. The thing was of God, and it carried Peter forward with a force he could not resist.
Three separate strands, one hand
Peter's case does not rest on one witness. There was a vision in Joppa, a vision in Caesarea, and the Spirit's own word.
William KellyPeter also told them how the three men from Cornelius, a Gentile, stood in person before the house in Joppa at that very moment. He told them how the Spirit said to go with them without a question. Such a threefold cord could not be broken; each part was independent of the other, and all of them were from God. For Cornelius in Caesarea had a vision no less than Peter in Joppa. But Peter had more. While he was thinking about the vision, the Spirit directed him to go with the messengers of Cornelius. This came before he knew that the three men were asking for him at the gate.
Sent by Cornelius, sent by God
The three men came from Cornelius. Notice who tells Peter about them, and who claims to have sent them.
W. T. P. WolstonHe does not learn this lesson at once. He "was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean" (Acts 10:17). But "while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Behold, three men are looking for you.'" Notice, "the Spirit said" — it is not an angel who speaks. When it is a question of dealing with the soul, and carrying the truth to the soul, the Spirit speaks. The Holy Spirit whispers to Peter, and what does He say? "Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them" (Acts 10:19-20). Peter goes down at once. There are the men at the door. They have found the place where Simon lives. They are looking for the evangelist. Meanwhile God has prepared the evangelist to carry His message to an anxious soul.
A doorway that changed everything
Three men from a Gentile city at a Jewish apostle's door looks like a small event. It marks a turn in the whole direction of the gospel.
William KellyIt was plain to everyone that Peter had openly crossed the distinction God had set up for so long between Jew and Gentile... The moment had come for the seeds the Lord Jesus Himself had sown to germinate and bear fruit visibly... With Jerusalem they had begun. But now the tide was turning. From Jerusalem the saints had been scattered abroad. Samaria had already received the word of God... And now God had left nothing unclear about His will concerning the Gentiles. The gospel from now on must go out without distinction. The holiness of Israel had come to nothing in the cross of Christ. By the blood of the cross God could and would wash even the Gentiles clean. Ritual had come to its end. From now on there must be reality by faith.
Summary
- Sent — the men came from Cornelius, but the Spirit said, "I have sent them." A household errand was God's own sending.
- Timed — they arrived at the precise moment. Their knock settled the meaning of the vision while Peter was still puzzling over it.
- Threefold — a vision in Joppa, a vision in Caesarea, and the Spirit's own word. Each stood on its own, all came from God, and together they made a cord no one could break.
- Recorded — the Spirit kept Peter's retelling next to Luke's account. That shows how much hung on one hidden hour in a Roman officer's house.
- Turned — at this doorway the tide turns. Peter crosses the old line between Jew and Gentile, and from here the gospel goes out to all alike.