Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Acts 10 and Psalm 78

God told Ananias that Saul was His chosen ambassador to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15) but in Acts 10 He laid the foundation for Saul’s extensive missionary work through Simon Peter.

Knowing how difficult it was going to be for the Jewish apostles and all the Jewish followers to go against a lifetime of excluding Gentiles from God’s people, the Lord Himself intervened to make His desires clear.

First, through giving Cornelius instructions in an angelic vision and speaking to Peter in a vision, the Lord cleared the way for Peter to go and preach the Gospel to Cornelius and his household.

Second, Peter obeyed the Lord’s instruction, went against every ingrained instinct of exclusivity, and entered Cornelius’ home. He explained, ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.‘ (v.34-35). He proclaimed the Good News of Jesus and explained that ‘everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name’ (v.43). And then, spectacularly, the Lord showed His approval by pouring out the Holy Spirit into the Gentiles gathered there in the very moment they received the message.

As far as Peter and the Jewish believers were concerned, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit accompanied by the gift of tongues was all the evidence they needed that God had accepted the Gentile believers into His Kingdom Family too. So, as a sign of the Gentile believers’ faith in Jesus and of God’s acceptance, they were baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ (v.45-48).

By God’s wondrous intervention, a racial barrier to the Kingdom of God was beginning to crumble, and the growth of the early Church would soon accelerate dramatically.

Life application: In a world often deeply divided along racial lines, the Lord Jesus receives into His Family all who repent of their sins and believe in Him. How might you cross an invisible wall of race to build a relationship with a fellow believer today?