King James Version
Acts 10
48 verses with commentary
Cornelius Sends for Peter
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Cornelius, a Roman centurion of 'the Italian band,' represents the first clearly documented Gentile conversion. His military rank indicated significant responsibility - centurions commanded approximately 80 soldiers. The 'Italian band' suggests soldiers from Italy itself, a prestigious cohort.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**X.**
(1) **There was a certain man in Cæsarea.**—We enter on a new stage of expansion in the Church’s growth, the full details of which St. Luke may have learnt either from Philip the Evangelist during his stay at Cæsarea (Acts 21:8; Acts 24:27) or, possibly, from Cornelius himself. His admission into the Church, even if it were not the first instance of the reception of a Gentile convert as suc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35-41. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge, &c.--**Here, again, "the stone which the builders refused is made the head of the corner" (Psa 118:22).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
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KJV Study Commentary
Cornelius was 'devout' and 'feared God with all his house' - a God-fearer, attracted to Judaism without full conversion. His 'alms to the people' and continual prayer showed genuine piety. Yet this moral excellence couldn't save him apart from Christ (Acts 11:14).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house.**—The word for “devout” is not the same as that used in Acts 2:5; Acts 8:2, and Luke 2:25, and appears to be used by St. Luke, as again in Acts 10:7, for the special type of devotion that belonged to Gentile converts to Judaism. The phrase “those that feared God” is employed distinctly for this class in Acts 10:22; Acts 10:35, and aga...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
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KJV Study Commentary
The angel appearing at 'the ninth hour' (3 PM) during prayer indicates God responds to seeking hearts. 'Cornelius' - the angel called him by name, showing personal divine knowledge. God's particular attention to this Gentile signaled the coming expansion of salvation's scope.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **In a vision evidently.**—The adverb seems added to distinguish the manifestation from that of a dream like Joseph’s in Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:13, or of a trance like St. Peter’s (Acts 10:10) or St. Paul’s (Acts 22:17).
**About the ninth hour of the day.**—This was, as in Acts 3:1, one of the three hours of prayer, the hour when the evening sacrifice was offered in the Temple. Cornelius had ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Cornelius's fear and question - 'What is it, Lord?' - showed reverent openness. The angel's response - 'Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God' - indicates God noted his devotion. Yet devotion required completion through the gospel message.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Are come up for a memorial before God.**—The word so used was emphatically sacrificial and liturgical, as, *e.g., *in Leviticus 2:2; Leviticus 2:9; Leviticus 2:16; Leviticus 5:12; Leviticus 6:15; Ecclesiasticus 45:16; and elsewhere. The words implied, therefore, that the “prayers and alms” were accepted as a true sacrifice, more acceptable than the blood of bulls and goats. If we ask, in the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
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KJV Study Commentary
The angel commanded sending for 'Simon, whose surname is Peter' - the gospel requires human messengers, not angelic preachers. Peter's location in Joppa 'with one Simon a tanner' indicated growing openness to ceremonially unclean associations. God prepared both evangelist and hearer.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5, 6) **Call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.**—The circumstances of the communication present, it is obvious, a striking parallelism with those attendant on the revelation to Ananias in Acts 9:10-17. To those who regard both narratives as fictitious, the resemblance will appear as characteristic of St. Luke’s style as a writer. Admitting, however, the possibility of a divine guidance being...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter would 'tell thee what thou oughtest to do' - salvation required specific instruction, not intuitive discovery. Though Cornelius was pious, he needed to hear the gospel message. Authentic religious experience requires revealed truth.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
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KJV Study Commentary
Cornelius 'called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier' - immediately obeying the vision. His household's shared devotion indicated family religion. The 'devout soldier' suggests Cornelius influenced those under his command spiritually.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **A devout soldier.**—The word implies that the man was, like his superior officer, a convert to the faith of Israel, though not, in the full sense of the word, a proselyte. It is natural to infer the same of the two slaves to whom their master imparted the vision, which to those who were living as heathens would have seemed strange and unintelligible. It is obvious that all such facts are int...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Cornelius 'declared all these things unto them' - sharing the vision openly. He 'sent them to Joppa' - faith acted on the angel's command. Cornelius's transparency and obedience positioned him for breakthrough.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 10
Chapter Outline
Cornelius directed to send for Peter.(1-8)
Peter's vision.(9-18)
He goes to Cornelius.(19-33)
His discourse to Cornelius.(34-43)
The gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out.(44-48)
**Verses 1-8**
Hitherto none had been baptized into the Christian church but Jews, Samaritans, and those converts who had been circumcised and observed the ceremonial...
Read full commentary →On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter went 'upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour' (noon). Rooftop prayer utilized private outdoor space. The timing - as Cornelius's messengers approached - shows divine coordination of events. God prepared the messenger while sending the seekers.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **As they went on their journey . . .**—The distance from Cæsarea to Joppa was about thirty Roman miles.
**To pray about the sixth hour.**—As in Acts 3:1, we again find St. Peter observing the Jewish hours of prayer. The “hunger” mentioned in the next verse implies that up to that time he had partaken of no food, and makes it probable that it was one of the days, the second and fifth in the we...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter's hunger during prayer became the occasion for vision. The 'trance' (<em>ekstasis</em>) suspended normal consciousness for divine revelation. Physical need and spiritual experience intersected in God's timing.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **He fell into a trance.**—St. Luke characteristically uses, as in Acts 11:5; Acts 22:17, the technical term *ekstasis* (whence our English *ecstasy*) for the state which thus supervened. It is obvious that it might in part be the natural consequence of the protracted fast, and the intense prayer, possibly also of exposure under such conditions to the noontide sun. The state was one in which ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-50. gave them up--**judicially.
**as ... written in the book of the prophets--**the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25.
**have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--**The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter saw 'heaven opened' - indicating divine revelation. The 'great sheet' descending with 'all manner of fourfooted beasts' contained clean and unclean animals together. This vision challenged dietary distinctions that separated Jews from Gentiles.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **A certain vessel descending . . .**—The form of the vision corresponded, as has just been said, with the bodily condition of the Apostle. Its inward meaning may fairly be thought of as corresponding to his prayer. One who looked out from Joppa upon the waters of the Great Sea towards the far-off Isles of the Gentiles, might well seek to know by what process and under what conditions those w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**51-53. Ye stiffnecked ... ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, &c.--**It has been thought that symptoms of impatience and irritation in the audience induced Stephen to cut short his historical sketch. But as little farther light could have been thrown upon Israel's obstinacy from subsequent periods of the national history on the testimony of their own Scriptures, we should view this as the su...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
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KJV Study Commentary
The sheet contained 'all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.' This comprehensive list covered all categories of unclean creatures. Nothing was excluded from the vision's scope.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **All manner of four-footed beasts . . .**—The classification seems to imply the sheep, the oxen, or the swine that were used as food by the Gentiles, as coming under this head, the deer and goats, and conies and hares under that of “wild beasts.” Stress in each case is laid upon there being “all manner” of each class, those that were allowed, and those also that were forbidden by the Jewish ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**51-53. Ye stiffnecked ... ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, &c.--**It has been thought that symptoms of impatience and irritation in the audience induced Stephen to cut short his historical sketch. But as little farther light could have been thrown upon Israel's obstinacy from subsequent periods of the national history on the testimony of their own Scriptures, we should view this as the su...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
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KJV Study Commentary
The command 'Rise, Peter; kill, and eat' directly contradicted Peter's lifelong observance. The divine voice commanded what Torah prohibited. This created cognitive dissonance that would lead to theological breakthrough.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.**—In the symbolism of the vision the natural promptings of appetite were confirmed by the divine voice. That which resisted both was the scruple of a hesitating conscience, not yet emancipated from its bondage to a ceremonial and therefore transitory law. It is natural to infer that the spiritual yearnings of Peter’s soul were, in like manner, hungering and thirs...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**51-53. Ye stiffnecked ... ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, &c.--**It has been thought that symptoms of impatience and irritation in the audience induced Stephen to cut short his historical sketch. But as little farther light could have been thrown upon Israel's obstinacy from subsequent periods of the national history on the testimony of their own Scriptures, we should view this as the su...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter's protest - 'Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean' - showed sincere resistance based on lifelong obedience. The terms 'common' (<em>koinon</em>) and 'unclean' (<em>akatharton</em>) were distinct ceremonial categories.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Not so, Lord . . .**—The emphatic resistance even to a voice from heaven is strikingly in harmony with the features of St. Peter’s character, as portrayed in the Gospels, with the “Be it far from thee, Lord,” when he heard of the coming Passion (Matthew 16:22), with “Thou shalt never wash my feet,” in John 13:8. He had been taught that that which “goeth into the mouth cannot defile the man”...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**54-56. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, &c.--**If they could have answered him, how different would have been their temper of mind!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
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KJV Study Commentary
The divine response - 'What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common' - declared God's sovereign right to determine cleanness. The perfect tense 'hath cleansed' indicated completed action. God had already cleansed what Peter still called common.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.**—In the framework of the vision, the clean and the unclean beasts stood on the same footing, were let down from heaven in the same sheet. That had purified them from whatever taint had adhered to them under the precepts of the Law. In the interpretation of the vision, all that belongs to humanity had been taken up into heaven; first, when ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**54-56. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, &c.--**If they could have answered him, how different would have been their temper of mind!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →This was done thrice : and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
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KJV Study Commentary
The vision repeated 'thrice' for emphasis, then 'the vessel was received up again into heaven.' Triple repetition established certainty (Genesis 41:32). The heavenly origin and destination confirmed the message's divine authority.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **This was done thrice.**—The three-fold repetition was at once general and personal in its significance. It was mystically the token of a complete ratification of the truth proclaimed. It reminded him of the three fold command, “Feed My sheep,” and taught him to take a wider range of work in obeying it (John 21:15-17).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**54-56. When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, &c.--**If they could have answered him, how different would have been their temper of mind!
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →Peter's Vision
Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean , behold , the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
While Peter 'doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean' - honest perplexity about revelation - Cornelius's messengers arrived. Peter's confusion would find resolution in divine providence. God clarified through circumstances.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **While Peter doubted in himself . . . .**—A doubt might well arise whether the teaching of the vision went beyond its immediate scope. The Apostle might have admitted that it abrogated the old distinction between clean and unclean meats, and yet might hesitate to answer the question, “Did it do more than this?”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**57-58. Then they cried out ... and ran upon him with one accord--**To men of their mould and in their temper, Stephen's last seraphic words could but bring matters to extremities, though that only revealed the diabolical spirit which they breathed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
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KJV Study Commentary
The servants 'called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.' Their inquiry confirmed Peter's identity and location. The vision's meaning would become clear through this encounter.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**57-58. Then they cried out ... and ran upon him with one accord--**To men of their mould and in their temper, Stephen's last seraphic words could but bring matters to extremities, though that only revealed the diabolical spirit which they breathed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-18**
The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services a...
Read full commentary →While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
While Peter thought on the vision of clean and unclean animals, 'the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.' The Spirit's direct speech shows His personal agency in guiding the church. The timing was perfect - while Peter pondered the vision's meaning, messengers from Cornelius arrived. Reformed theology sees God's providence synchronizing Peter's preparation with the Gentiles' approac...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **The Spirit said unto him, . . . .**—The words seem to imply a state of consciousness intermediate between the “trance” that had passed away and the normal state of every-day life. The “voice” no longer seemed to come from heaven to the outward ear, but was heard as not less divine in the secret recesses of his soul.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**59-60. calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, &c.--**An unhappy supplement of our translators is the word "God" here; as if, while addressing the Son, he was really calling upon the Father. The sense is perfectly clear without any supplement at all--"calling upon [invoking] and saying, Lord Jesus"; Christ being the Person directly invoked and addressed by name (compare Ac 9:14). Even Groti...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The Spirit commanded Peter: 'Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.' The command to go 'doubting nothing' addressed Peter's hesitation about associating with Gentiles. The phrase 'I have sent them' reveals the Spirit's sovereign orchestration - the Gentile messengers came at the Spirit's sending, not mere human initiative. Reformed theology em...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Go with them, doubting nothing.**—The command was specially addressed to the perplexed questionings of the disciple. For a time he was to walk, as it were, blindfold, but trusting in the full assurance of faith in the Hand that was guiding him. As once before (John 13:7), he knew not yet what his Lord was doing, but was to know hereafter. He and the messengers from Cornelius were alike acti...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**59-60. calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, &c.--**An unhappy supplement of our translators is the word "God" here; as if, while addressing the Son, he was really calling upon the Father. The sense is perfectly clear without any supplement at all--"calling upon [invoking] and saying, Lord Jesus"; Christ being the Person directly invoked and addressed by name (compare Ac 9:14). Even Groti...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?</strong> Peter's immediate, direct response demonstrates readiness to embrace God's revealed will, transitioning from vision's perplexity to obedient action.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.</strong> The messengers' description of Cornelius establishes his credibility while emphasizing divine initiative in this revolutionary Gentile outreach.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Cornelius the centurion.**—The description seems to imply that the name of the soldier-convert was not altogether unknown at Joppa. It could not fail to remind Peter of that other centurion whose name is not recorded, who was stationed at Capernaum, and had built the synagogue (Luke 7:5), and with that recollection there would come back to his memory the words which his Master had spoken in...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 8 Ac 8:1-4. Persecution Continued, in Which Saul Takes a Prominent Part--How Overruled for Good.
**1. Saul was consenting unto his death--**The word expresses hearty approval.
**they were all scattered abroad--**all the leading Christians, particularly the preachers, agreeably to their Lord's injunctions (Mt 10:23), though many doubtless remained, and others (as appears by Ac 9:26-30) s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.</strong> Peter's hospitality toward Gentile messengers and willingness to travel to Gentile home demonstrated immediate application of vision's lesson about clean/unclean distinctions being abolished.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Then called he them in.**—As it was about noon when Peter went up to the house-top to pray, the arrival of the messengers, allowing an adequate interval for the trance and the vision, may be placed at some time in the afternoon.
**Certain brethren from Joppa.**—We learn from Acts 11:12, that they were six in number. They were obviously taken that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses ever...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. and devout men--**pious Jews, probably, impressed with admiration for Stephen and secretly inclined to Christianity, but not yet openly declared.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them , and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.</strong> Cornelius's preparation—gathering household and friends—demonstrates expectant faith and desire to share spiritual blessings with his community.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **His kinsmen** **and near friends.**—These, we may well believe, were, like the soldiers and slaves under his command, more or less in sympathy with Cornelius. He, at all events, was seeking to bring them also within the range of the new illumination which he was expecting to receive.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. Saul ... entering into every house--**like as inquisitor [Bengel].
**haling men and women, &c.--**See his own affecting confessions afterwards (Ac 22:4; 26:9, 10; 1Co 15:9; Ga 1:13; Php 3:6; 1Ti 1:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
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KJV Study Commentary
When Peter entered Cornelius's house, 'Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.' Cornelius's gesture, whether reverence or worship, was inappropriate. Peter's response (v.26) corrected this immediately. This incident warns against offering to any human the worship due God alone. From a Reformed perspective, this safeguards against the Catholic error of venerating saints an...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.**—The attitude was the extremest form of Eastern homage. So Jairus had bowed down before Jesus (Matthew 9:18), so St. John bowed before the angel (Revelation 22:8). Peter’s answer, in strong contrast with the words and acts, the very ceremonial, of those who claim to be his successors, shows that he looked on it as expressing a homage such as God a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching--**Though solemnly enjoined to do this (Lu 24:47; Ac 1:8), they would probably have lingered at Jerusalem, but for this besom of persecution which swept them out. How often has the rage of Christ's enemies thus "turned out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel" (see Php 1:12, 13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter's response - 'Stand up; I myself also am a man' - demonstrates appropriate humility and proper theology. Peter refused any special status beyond fellow humanity. This equality before God establishes that ministers are servants, not mediators between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Reformed theology maintains the priesthood of all believers - no human mediator stands between believers and God ex...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ac 8:5-25. Success of Philip's Preaching in Samaria--Case of Simon Magus.
**5. Then Philip--**not the apostle of that name, as was by some of the Fathers supposed; for besides that the apostles remained at Jerusalem, they would in that case have had no occasion to send a deputation of their own number to lay their hands on the baptized disciples [Grotius]. It was the deacon of that name, who come...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.</strong> The casual conversation while entering demonstrates Peter's growing comfort with Gentile interaction, while the gathered crowd shows widespread spiritual hunger.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **And as he talked with him.**—The word implies a conversation of some length; possibly, as the sequel seems to show, leading to the resolve that each should state separately how they, who had previously been strangers to each other, had thus been brought together.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. the people with one accord gave heed to ... Philip--**the way being prepared perhaps by the fruits of our Lord's sojourn, as He Himself seems to intimate (see on Joh 4:31-38). But "we may mark the providence of God in sending a Grecian, or a Hellenistic Jew, to a people who from national antipathy would have been unlikely to attend to a native of Judea" [Webster and Wilkinson].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter explained: 'Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.' The vision's meaning became clear - it concerned people, not merely food. God was abolishing ceremonial distinctions between Jews and Gentiles under the new covenant. Reformed theology sees ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing.**—St. Peter speaks from the standpoint of traditional Pharisaism rather than from that of the Law itself; but the feeling was widely diffused, and showed itself in forms more or less rigorous wherever Jews and heathens came in contact with each other. The strict *Jew* would not enter a Gentile’s house, nor sit on the same couch, nor eat or drink out...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. the people with one accord gave heed to ... Philip--**the way being prepared perhaps by the fruits of our Lord's sojourn, as He Himself seems to intimate (see on Joh 4:31-38). But "we may mark the providence of God in sending a Grecian, or a Hellenistic Jew, to a people who from national antipathy would have been unlikely to attend to a native of Judea" [Webster and Wilkinson].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?</strong> Peter's directness demonstrates complete abandonment of previous hesitations, acknowledging divine orchestration while seeking clarification of specific purpose.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. the people with one accord gave heed to ... Philip--**the way being prepared perhaps by the fruits of our Lord's sojourn, as He Himself seems to intimate (see on Joh 4:31-38). But "we may mark the providence of God in sending a Grecian, or a Hellenistic Jew, to a people who from national antipathy would have been unlikely to attend to a native of Judea" [Webster and Wilkinson].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,</strong> Cornelius's account establishes chronology while emphasizing spiritual disciplines (fasting, prayer) that preceded angelic visitation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **I was fasting** **until this hour.**—The hour is not stated, but the facts of the case imply that it could not have been much before noon, and may have been later. Assuming that Cornelius in his fasts observed the usage of devout Jews, we may think of his vision as having been on the second day of the week, and Peter’s on the fifth. It is probable, accordingly, that the meeting in the house...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-13. used sorcery--**magical arts.
**some great one ... the great power of God--**a sort of incarnation of divinity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.</strong> The angel's message affirms that God noticed Cornelius's spiritual devotion and charitable works, though these didn't earn salvation but demonstrated genuine faith.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Thy prayer is heard.**—The singular number gives a greater definiteness to the object of the prayer than in Acts 10:4. It must have been, in the nature of the case, a prayer for fuller light and knowledge of the Truth. One who had heard, through Philip’s work at Cæsarea, or, it may be, through the brother-officer who had been stationed at Capernaum (Luke 7:2), of the teaching and the life o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-13. used sorcery--**magical arts.
**some great one ... the great power of God--**a sort of incarnation of divinity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.</strong> The angel's specific instructions—name, location, detailed address—demonstrate divine omniscience while directing Cornelius to human messenger for gospel proclamation.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-13. used sorcery--**magical arts.
**some great one ... the great power of God--**a sort of incarnation of divinity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.</strong> Cornelius's immediate obedience and assembled audience's reverent posture demonstrate ideal conditions for gospel reception—expectant faith, gathered community, and recognition of divine authority.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Thou hast** **well done.**—The peculiar turn of the phrase, in social usage, made it the expression, not of mere approval, but of heartfelt gratitude. (Comp. St. Paul’s use of *it* in Philippians 4:14.)
**Now therefore are we all here present.**—The words imply that the circle that had gathered round Cornelius were sharers in his solicitude, ready to comply with whatever might come to them ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-13. used sorcery--**magical arts.
**some great one ... the great power of God--**a sort of incarnation of divinity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 19-33**
When we see our call clear to any service, we should not be perplexed with doubts and scruples arising from prejudices or former ideas. Cornelius had called together his friends, to partake with him of the heavenly wisdom he expected from Peter. We should not covet to eat our spiritual morsels alone. It ought to be both given and taken as kindness and respect to our kindred an...
Read full commentary →Peter Preaches to the Gentiles
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons</strong>—Peter's declaration marks epochal shift: salvation is offered to Gentiles without requiring Jewish conversion. The phrase 'no respecter of persons' (οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης) means God shows no partiality based on ethnicity, status, or religious pedigree. The vision of clean/unclean an...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.**—In regard to all distinctions of social rank, or wealth, or knowledge, Peter had seen in his Master that absence of “respect of persons” which even His enemies acknowledged (Matthew 22:16; Luke 20:21). St. James lays stress on that element of character, within the same limits, as essential to all who seek to be true disciples of t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-13. used sorcery--**magical arts.
**some great one ... the great power of God--**a sort of incarnation of divinity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter continued: 'But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.' This doesn't teach salvation by works but describes the character of genuine faith - it produces godly fear and righteous works. The Reformed understanding sees this as evidence of regeneration, not the basis of acceptance. True faith, wherever found, manifests in fear of God and righteous ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **In every nation he that feareth him.**—The great truth which Peter thus proclaimed is obviously far-reaching in its range. It applies, not to those only who know the name of Christ and believe on Him when He is preached to them, but to all who in all ages and countries “fear God” according to the measure of their knowledge, and “work righteousness” according to their belief and opportunitie...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. the apostles ... sent Peter and John--**showing that they regarded Peter as no more than their own equal.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter began his gospel presentation: 'The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all).' Peter emphasized that though the gospel came first to Israel, its scope is universal - Christ is 'Lord of all,' not merely Israel's Messiah. The message is peace with God through Jesus Christ, resolving the enmity caused by sin. The parenthetical '(he is...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **The word which God sent . . .**—The structure of the sentence, beginning with the object and carried on though a series of clauses, is both in the Greek and English somewhat complicated, but it is characteristically like that of St. Peter’s speech in Acts 2:22-24, whether the actual form in which both now appear is due to the speaker or the reporter. It is possible, though the construction ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. the apostles ... sent Peter and John--**showing that they regarded Peter as no more than their own equal.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;</strong> Peter's sermon assumes Cornelius's basic familiarity with Jesus' ministry, showing how widely Jesus' story had spread and establishing common ground for gospel explanation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **That word, I say, ye know.**—The Greek for “word” differs from that in Acts 10:36, as including more distinctly the subject-matter of the message. In the words “ye know” we may trace the result of the conversation held before the more formal conference. The main facts of the life and ministry of the Christ were already known, either through that conversation, or through the previous opportu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. the apostles ... sent Peter and John--**showing that they regarded Peter as no more than their own equal.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter testified: 'How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.' The anointing with the Spirit (at Jesus' baptism) equipped Christ for His messianic ministry. Peter summarized Jesus' earthly work - doing good, healing, and liberating those oppressed by Satan. This demonstrate...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth.**—In the Greek structure the name stands in apposition with the “word” in the two previous verses—“Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him.” The word “anointed” is used with distinct reference to the name of Christ in Acts 10:35, and assumes a knowledge of the facts connected with His baptism, as in Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:21-22, as the divine wit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-17. the apostles ... sent Peter and John--**showing that they regarded Peter as no more than their own equal.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:</strong> Peter's eyewitness testimony combined with the stark reality of crucifixion provides historical foundation while introducing the gospel's central event.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **And we are witnesses of all things.**—The Apostle still keeps before him the main idea of his mission as laid down in the command given by his Lord (Acts 1:8).
**Both in the land of the Jews.**—Speaking as St. Peter did at Cæsarea, and as a Galilean, we must probably take the word in its narrower sense as meaning the inhabitants of Judæa. So taken, the words have the interest of implying th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly ;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;</strong> The resurrection declaration presents Christianity's foundational claim—God vindicated crucified Jesus by raising Him from death, demonstrated through visible appearances.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(40) **And shewed him openly.**—Literally, *gave him to be manifest.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.</strong> Peter explains resurrection appearances' selectivity while emphasizing physical reality (eating, drinking) and divine sovereignty in choosing witnesses.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(41) **Unto witnesses chosen before.**—Better, *appointed.* The precise word which St. Luke uses occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but is connected with the word rendered “ordained” in Acts 14:23.
**Who did eat and drink with him.**—The three recorded instances of this are found in Luke 24:30; Luke 24:42; John 21:13. This was, of course, the crucial test which showed that the Form on which...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter declared Christ 'commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.' The risen Christ commissioned apostolic preaching and testimony. The message centers on Christ as the divinely appointed Judge of all - both living ('quick') and dead. This establishes Christ's authority to judge and the necessity of responding t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(42) **And he commanded us to preach unto the people.** No such command is found in terms in the Gospel narratives of the words of the risen Lord, but it is partly implied in Matthew 28:18-20, and is covered by the general teaching as to the things of the kingdom of God in Acts 1:3. It is interesting to note that St. Peter and St. Paul agree in thus connecting the Resurrection with the assurance t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins</strong>—Peter's sermon climax unifies Old Testament witness: all prophets testified to Christ's saving work. The phrase 'through his name' (διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ) emphasizes Christ's authority and person as salvation's sole ground. <strong>Whosoever believeth</strong> (π...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(43) **To him give all the prophets witness.**—As in St. Peter’s earlier speeches in Acts 2, 3 so here, we trace the result of our Lord’s teaching given in the interval between the Resurrection and Ascension as to the method of prophetic interpretation which discerns, below all temporary and historical references, the under-current of testimony to the kingdom of which Christ was the Head.
**That t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 34-43**
Acceptance cannot be obtained on any other ground than that of the covenant of mercy, through the atonement of Christ; but wherever true religion is found, God will accept it without regarding names or sects. The fear of God and works of righteousness are the substance of true religion, the effects of special grace. Though these are not the cause of a man's acceptance, yet the...
Read full commentary →While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
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KJV Study Commentary
The Spirit's falling during Peter's sermon (before baptism or apostolic laying-on of hands) demonstrates God's sovereign freedom in giving His Spirit. This 'Gentile Pentecost' validated Cornelius' household as full participants in salvation without Jewish rituals first. The interruption of Peter's preaching shows divine initiative superseding human plans.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(44) **The Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.**—The words imply a sudden thrill of spiritual joy and elevation which showed itself, as it had done on the Day of Pentecost (see Note on Acts 2:4), in a burst of unpremeditated praise. Now, as then, the “tongues” manifested themselves, not as instruments of teaching, but in “magnifying God.” As there is no mention here of the utterance ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 44-48**
The Holy Ghost fell upon others after they were baptized, to confirm them in the faith; but upon these Gentiles before they were baptized, to show that God does not confine himself to outward signs. The Holy Ghost fell upon those who were neither circumcised nor baptized; it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. They magnified God, and spake of Christ and...
Read full commentary →And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
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KJV Study Commentary
The Jewish believers' astonishment that 'the gift of the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Gentiles' reveals their stunned recognition of God's radical inclusion. The Greek 'exestēsan' (amazed) indicates overwhelming shock. Their prejudice dissolved before undeniable divine evidence—the same tongues and Spirit-manifestation witnessed at Pentecost.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(45) **And they of the circumcision which believed . . .**—St. Luke obviously dwells on this as a testimony, beyond suspicion, to the reality of the gift. Those who came with Peter were apparently not sharers at the time in the exultant joy which they were yet compelled to recognise as the Spirit’s work. They listened with amazement as they heard the rapturous chant burst from the lips of the as y...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-24. offered them money--**Hence the term simony, to denote trafficking in sacred things, but chiefly the purchase of ecclesiastical offices.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 44-48**
The Holy Ghost fell upon others after they were baptized, to confirm them in the faith; but upon these Gentiles before they were baptized, to show that God does not confine himself to outward signs. The Holy Ghost fell upon those who were neither circumcised nor baptized; it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. They magnified God, and spake of Christ and...
Read full commentary →For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
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KJV Study Commentary
They heard the Gentiles 'speak with tongues, and magnify God.' Speaking in tongues (languages) echoed Pentecost (Acts 2:4), providing audible confirmation of the Spirit's presence. The purpose was magnifying (praising) God - worship in the Spirit's power. This convinced Jewish witnesses that these Gentiles had genuinely received the Spirit. From a Reformed perspective, tongues served a sign functi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. and they--**Peter and John.
**when they had ... preached--**in the city where Philip's labors had been so richly blessed.
**returned ... and preached ... in many villages of the Samaritans--**embracing the opportunity of their journey back to Jerusalem to fulfil their Lord's commission to the whole region of Samaria (Ac 1:8).
Ac 8:26-40. The Ethiopian Eunuch.
"With this narrative of t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 44-48**
The Holy Ghost fell upon others after they were baptized, to confirm them in the faith; but upon these Gentiles before they were baptized, to show that God does not confine himself to outward signs. The Holy Ghost fell upon those who were neither circumcised nor baptized; it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. They magnified God, and spake of Christ and...
Read full commentary →Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
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KJV Study Commentary
Peter asked: 'Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?' The rhetorical question highlights that Spirit-reception precedes water baptism, showing baptism doesn't confer grace but signifies grace already received. The phrase 'as well as we' emphasized equality - Gentiles received the identical Spirit. Reformed theology sees baptis...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(47) **Can any man forbid water . . .**—The question was an appeal to the voice of reason. Could the outward sign be refused, when thus the inward and spiritual grace had been so manifestly bestowed? Ordinarily, as in the case of the Samaritans (Acts 8:15-17), the gift of spiritual powers followed, by the subsequent act of laying on of hands, on the grace given in baptism. Now even that gift had b...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26-28. the angel of the Lord--**rather, "an angel."
**go ... south, the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza--**There was such a road, across Mount Hebron, which Philip might take without going to Jerusalem (as Von Raumer's'S Palæstina shows).
**which is desert--**that is, the way; not Gaza itself, which was the southernmost city of Palestine, in the territory of the ancient Philistine...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 44-48**
The Holy Ghost fell upon others after they were baptized, to confirm them in the faith; but upon these Gentiles before they were baptized, to show that God does not confine himself to outward signs. The Holy Ghost fell upon those who were neither circumcised nor baptized; it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. They magnified God, and spake of Christ and...
Read full commentary →And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.</strong> Peter's command to baptize newly-converted Gentiles demonstrates full inclusion in Christian community, while their request for extended teaching shows spiritual hunger.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(48) **And he commanded them . . .**—It would seem from this that St. Peter acted on the same general principle as St. Paul (1Corinthians 1:14-17), and left the actual administration of baptism to other hands than his own. Who administered it in this instance we are not told. Possibly there may have been an *ecclesia* already organised at Cæsarea, as the result of Philip’s work, and its elders or ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26-28. the angel of the Lord--**rather, "an angel."
**go ... south, the way that goeth down from Jerusalem to Gaza--**There was such a road, across Mount Hebron, which Philip might take without going to Jerusalem (as Von Raumer's'S Palæstina shows).
**which is desert--**that is, the way; not Gaza itself, which was the southernmost city of Palestine, in the territory of the ancient Philistine...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 44-48**
The Holy Ghost fell upon others after they were baptized, to confirm them in the faith; but upon these Gentiles before they were baptized, to show that God does not confine himself to outward signs. The Holy Ghost fell upon those who were neither circumcised nor baptized; it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. They magnified God, and spake of Christ and...
Read full commentary →