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Easter 6 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 5, 2024
Acts 10:34-48, 1 John 5:1-8, John 15:9-17
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After Jesus’ resurrection, and before His ascension into heaven, He gave this command from a hilltop in Galilee, Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) 18 … “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
During this season after Easter instead of Old Testament readings we get readings from the book of the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 1, 40 days after His resurrection, just before His ascension from the Mount of Olives, Jesus tells the apostles, Acts 1:8 (ESV) 8 …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Ten days later they receive the power when the Spirit comes with the sound of a rushing wind and the apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit and able to speak in the languages of all the Jews from around the Mediterranean who had come to Jerusalem for the Jewish Pentecost festival. Peter preaches to the assembled people, and after, Acts 2:37–39 (ESV) 37 … when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:41 (ESV) 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” These unlikely people bring the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection back to their home countries.
Peter continues to preach the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection and ascension at the temple and throughout the city of Jerusalem. Many people are hearing the Good News and the Jewish authorities are upset and arrest the apostles and put them in prison, but God opens the doors and frees them. God enables the Word to spread. The fledgling Church becomes more organized and appoints deacons to help with the day to day distribution of food so the apostles can devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.
One of these deacons, named Stephen, is brought before the Jewish council and Stephen preaches to them about Jesus and how He fulfills scripture. Stephen tells them that they always resist the Holy Spirit and kill the prophets and now they have betrayed and murdered the righteous one. The crowd grows so angry they seize Stephen, cast him out of the city and stone him to death. During the stoning, a man named Saul watches the garments of those throwing the deadly rocks at Stephen. The stoning of Stephen causes many followers of Jesus to flee Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria. The Jewish leaders try to silence the followers of Jesus, but instead of snuffing out the Way it just spreads to a larger area as believers bring the Good News of Jesus with them.
While Saul makes it his work to attack followers of Jesus and have them put in prison, the apostle Philip goes to Samaria and proclaims to them the Christ. As the Samaritans receive the Word of God Peter and John go to Samaria to lay hands on the new believers and they receive the Holy Spirit. Philip then makes his way to the road from Jerusalem to Gaza and teaches and baptizes the Ethiopian court official who brings the Good News of Jesus back to the palace in Ethiopia and to the whole nation. The apostles are indeed witnesses to Jesus in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Saul is then miraculously converted from being an enemy of Jesus to a being a faithful follower as Jesus appears to him on the road to Damascus. Saul, later known as Paul, becomes the greatest missionary to the nations, making disciples wherever He went around the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. Jesus uses His unlikely people to spread the news of His resurrection.
And then, in Acts 10 we meet Cornelius. This is a Bible character that I must have read about many times over the years, but He did not stick with me. The only Cornelius I recall is Yukon Cornelius from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. But as we were studying the Book of Acts in my Sunday School class I found this account of Cornelius to be fascinating. Cornelius is a centurion in the Roman Army in the Italian Cohort. A centurion is an officer in charge of 100 soldiers. Cornelius is a Roman, from Italy, serving in Caesarea where the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, has a palace on the shore of the Mediterranean.
With Cornelius we see again how God works to spread the Gospel using unlikely people. Cornelius believes in God. He gives generously and prays continually, but he does not know the truth about Jesus. An angel of God appears to Cornelius and instructs him to send men to Joppa which is about 40 miles south. It is now called Jaffa and is on the south end of modern day Tel Aviv. Cornelius is to send for Simon who is called Peter. Simon Peter is staying with Simon the tanner, in a house by the sea. Cornelius obeys the angel and sends two servants and a soldier to go get Peter.
Peter is in Joppa on the tanner’s roof praying when he has a vision from God of a sheet being let down filled with all kinds of animals. A voice from heaven says, “Rise Peter, kill and eat.” Acts 10:14–16 (ESV) 14 But Peter [says], “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.”
What God has made clean, do not call common. This applies to food, thus undoing Old Testament food laws, but Peter will soon see that it also applies to people. While Peter is pondering all this there comes a knock at the door; a Roman soldier and two others looking for Peter. The people in the tanner’s house must be afraid that a Roman soldier looking for Peter cannot be good, but the Spirit tells Peter to go with the men.
After a two day journey Peter arrives at Cornelius’ house, Acts 10:28–29 (ESV) 28 And [Peter] [says] to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
Cornelius explains that the angel instructed him to send for Peter. Acts 10:33 (ESV) 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” This is not Cornelius and Peter acting on their own with their own plans, this is God is directing the action.
And that brings us to today’s lesson from Acts. Peter is bringing the Gospel to a Roman Officer from Italy at the Roman Governor’s Judean seaside palace. Peter teaches how God shows no partiality, and about Jesus’ ministry and His death and resurrection and how Peter is one of the eyewitnesses of the resurrection, and then Peter says, Acts 10:43 (ESV) 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
While Peter is still speaking the Holy Spirit fills those who hear the word and they begin to extoll God in various languages. Peter declares, Acts 10:47–48 (ESV) 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.” This is a Gentile Pentecost as the people are filled with the Holy Spirit and are baptized.
God works to bring the Gospel to Cornelius and his people in Caesarea, and then back to Italy when they return home. He brought the news of Jesus’ resurrection to the Ethiopian palace and now to the Judean seaside palace. We see God here making disciples of all nations using unlikely people. The apostles are truly Jesus’ witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. The Good News has traveled to the end of the earth, even here… to Hamilton, Ohio, where still today we bask in the truth that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins is for both Jews and Gentiles. This Good News began in Jerusalem and has now spread to your unlikely ears and heart.
Rejoice that Jesus forgives your sins, for, Acts 10:34–35 (ESV) 34 …God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
And so, with God’s direction and help, unlikely as we are, we continue what the apostles started; making disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching. And we continue to share the eyewitness testimony that Jesus rose from the dead to conquer death forever. The same proclamation Peter gave in Jerusalem still echoes here today, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.