Daily Devotional | To the Gentiles

While Saul traveled toward Caesarea, Peter was on the move, preaching the gospel and performing miracles at Lydda and Joppa (modern Jaffa). While there, a “devout and God-fearing” man from Caesarea named Cornelius, a Gentile and a Roman officer, had a vision of an angel urging him to send for Peter (10:2–6). “God-fearer” was a label given to Gentiles who followed some of the customs of the law but were not full converts to the Jewish faith.

Peter also had a vision in which a voice from heaven ordered him to eat foods that the Mosaic law had forbidden. Its meaning wasn’t really about food, but people. Peter summarized it this way: “I should not call anyone impure or unclean” (10:28). The vision and the arrival of the three servants of Cornelius showed Peter that God was willing to include Gentiles in the promises of the gospel. God confirmed this for Peter by the same kind of signs in the house of Cornelius that the church had experienced on the day of Pentecost. These signs weren’t just for Peter’s benefit but would later be cited as proof of God’s acceptance of the Gentiles when he returned to Jerusalem.

You may wonder, Shouldn’t Peter have already known that the gospel would include the Gentiles? After all, Jesus had commanded His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). But like Christ’s teaching about the resurrection, it took time for the church to grasp the full significance of what Jesus had commanded. Peter would eventually discover that he needed to have this important lesson reinforced by a blunt reminder from the apostle Paul (Gal. 2:1–16).

>> Let’s be honest. Is there someone you think would never become a believer? Our study in Acts should remind you that we mustn’t be so sure! We can be too quick to write off people whom God is calling, simply because they are different from us.

Pray with Us

Is there a “Cornelius” in your life? Someone, you think will never come to Christ? God overcomes all the unlikely scenarios to bring people to Himself. Praise Him today and ask for courage and insight in sharing the gospel.

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.