Acts 10:1-8

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

 

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius."

 

And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea."

 

When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

 

This is the story of Cornelius, the story of how God saved a man who by most people's thinking was either already "ok" with God or was hopeless. When Luke describes him, he sounds wonderful: devout, fears God (with his family), generous and continually praying to God. It is this description that polarizes people in their perceptions of Cornelius. Some say, "He sounds so pious, of course he's right with God." Others say, "But this could describe a serious adherent to any religion. He's so committed to his own religious practices - so dependent on his own works to earn him a place with God - that he is in terrible danger of God's judgment. What should we believe?

 

The story itself gives us some hints. God sends an angel to Cornelius. And that angel’s message begins by saying that God has taken note of Cornelius’ prayers and generosity. But what kind of notice has God taken? Has the angel come to assure Cornelius that he and his family will live forever at God’s right hand?

 

No. The angel tells Cornelius to send for the apostle Peter, and where to find him. Isn’t that strange? If God were truly pleased with Cornelius, would He not have been more likely to send a message such as, “Cornelius, you are among the best of my servants on earth, even if you aren’t a Jew. You are such a good person. Listen, you need to know that you will definitely be staying in My house when the time comes. You’ve earned it.” That’s the message we would expect if Cornelius was actually right with God. But instead, the angel says, “Cornelius, God has noticed that you are striving to serve Him by your prayers and your generosity. So here’s what you need to do: find Peter.”

 

Why did Cornelius need to find Peter? Well, when Peter comes to Cornelius, Peter preaches the gospel to him (Acts 10:34-43). Peter says that Cornelius already knows something – the earthly history of Jesus Christ (10:37-38). But Peter adds some information that Cornelius does not know – that Peter and the other disciples have been appointed to testify that Jesus is the final judge, and that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of his sins (10:39-43). So while Cornelius was devoutly following God, and may even have had high respect for Jesus as a man of God, Cornelius did not yet know that Jesus was actually the God-appointed judge of all humanity, the one before whom all of Cornelius’ sins would be laid bare. Cornelius did not yet know that he needed to place his trust in Jesus if he wanted to be forgiven of his sins. In other words, Cornelius had not yet placed his trust in Jesus. Cornelius had not yet been forgiven for his sins.

 

Rather than looking at what happened to Cornelius when Peter told him these things (that will come soon enough), let’s return to the verses above. Cornelius was a man who cared deeply about pleasing God. He was a man actually seeking God. And God had noticed his efforts. But God had not yet forgiven Cornelius’ sins. In His great mercy, God sent an angel to Cornelius and told him to find the very person who could help this passionate God-seeker to actually find God.

 

So was Cornelius right with God or not? No. Cornelius, at the beginning of this story, was actually in terrible danger of facing God’s wrath. His sins, despite his prayers and his generosity, had not yet been forgiven. Cornelius was still seeking. And so when the angel told him to find Peter, Cornelius did what a seeker does: he kept seeking. He sent men to find Peter and bring him back, because Cornelius was eager to find out what God had in store for him through Peter. Cornelius was not yet right with God. But God was fulfilling His promise to this seeker: “Seek and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). God had seen Cornelius’ blind, hopeful prayers and generosity, and God was placing Himself squarely in the path of this lost seeker. God was choosing to be found.

 

Father, thank You so much! This story is amazing. Even though Cornelius was not a member of Your chosen people – at least according to his national background – You, the God of the Jews, willingly opened the door for him to know You. Cornelius might never have heard of Jesus and might never have had the opportunity to have his sins forgiven. He deserved Your grace no more than anyone else. But You saw him seeking. And You had compassion on him. And You spoke to him through an angel, giving Cornelius specific directions from where he was to where Your people were. As I read this story, I recognize more than ever how much grace You had toward me. I have lived like Cornelius, seeking You by what I do, trying to imitate what people who seem to know You do and say. And like You did with Cornelius, You made sure that at some point I heard the truth about Jesus. In Cornelius’ life, You directed him to your words of life via an angel’s message. In my life, You directed me to your words of life by having me be born to a man and a woman who knew You and spoke your words all the time. But in both my life and Cornelius’, it was Your guiding hand that led us to Your truth. Thank You for caring about seekers. Thank You for caring about people who have no clue how to find You on their own – for caring enough to speak to us instead of hiding.