Become A Christian? (part 1 of 3)

Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?” – Acts 26:28  (NET)

The setting for this passage is the occasion at which the Apostle Paul is “on trial” in Caesarea.  At this point, he has been there for quite some time.  As Acts informs the reader, Paul had been taken prisoner while in Jerusalem, and later transferred to Caesarea, into the custody of the Roman governor named Felix, with whom Paul seemed to enjoy a cordial relationship.  Felix had been succeeded in his position by a man named Festus. 

Sometime after taking his position, Festus was in Jerusalem.  There, according to Luke’s presentation of the Paul narrative, “the chief priests and most prominent men of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul to him…they urged Festus to summon him (Paul) to Jerusalem, planning an ambush to kill him along the way” (25:2b, 3b).  However, “Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself intended to go there shortly.  ‘So,’ he said, ‘let your leaders to down there with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, they may bring charges against him’.” (25:4-5)  When the accusations and charges were then leveled against Paul in Caesarea, he replied by stating that “I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar” (25:8).  It should be noted that Paul makes it a point to reference Caesar in relation to the accusations against him.   

While Festus was in Caesarea, “King Agrippa and Bernice arrived…to pay their respects” (25:13b).  This “Agrippa” was “Herod Agrippa,” one of the Idumean, Roman-sanctioned kings of a large region of Palestine.  He was also the final member of the Herodian dynasty.  Undoubtedly finding the situation of Paul to be an interesting one, “Festus explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion” (25:14b).  Upon hearing the story, “Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would also like to hear the man myself’.” (25:22a)   This gives an insight into the mindset and attitude of Agrippa, as it also effectively sets the stage for the events that followed.

Entering upon the scene and taking up a position as a member of the audience of this event, an observer would see that “Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have permission to speak for yourself’.” (26:1a)  Paul, not surprisingly, seized upon this opportunity to preach the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Jesus is Lord of all).  He spoke of the “hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors” (26:6b), and posed the question of “Why do you people think it is unbelievable that God raises the dead?” (26:8).  This question concerning the raising of the dead makes sense in light of the fact that this hope of resurrection itself was part of the great hope held by the people of Israel.  This is why Paul poses the question in such a way, doing so in relation to his insistence that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Following that, Paul offers testimony concerning his own experience while on his way to Damascus, as he had been on his way to imprison and sentence to death those who were proclaiming this message about Jesus (He was raised from the dead and is Lord of all). 

As one bears in mind that Paul is presenting his case to a king in the Herodian line, at least one of whom (in that line) had proclaimed himself as Israel’s messiah, it is well to remember that Agrippa would have had a more than passing understanding of messianic expectations and their implications.  Therefore, it is easy to understand why Paul says, “so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen: that the Christ was going to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles” (26:22b).  This calling of Jesus “Christ” or “Messiah” was significant, in that Agrippa was well aware what was implied by such a title, especially in relation to the proclamation of a resurrection, as in the minds of many, it pointed to the exaltation of Israel and its messiah above all nations, including Rome and its Caesar.

Commanded By The Lord

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. – Acts 10:33  (ESV)

It is likely that we have read these words dozens of times, yet have never taken their full measure or grasped the significance and importance of what it is that is being said here.  What is significant is not only what is said, but by whom it is being said.  These are the words of a man named Cornelius, a Roman centurion and commander of the Italian Cohort.  Cornelius speaks these words to the Apostle Peter, who has been brought to his house from Joppa, having just received a vision from the Lord in regards to things clean and unclean.

Earlier in this chapter of Acts, we read that Cornelius “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?’”  (10:3-4a)  That statement is worth noting because of the consistent, underlying message that we find in the New Testament, which sets Jesus in contrast to Caesar.  In that day, “Lord” (kurios) was a title that was reserved for Caesar.  Yet here we find this title on the lips of one of Caesar’s soldiers, as it is directed to the “angel of God.”  Then we see him using the title again in our text above. 

Now Cornelius was in Caesarea.  As a ranking military official in the land in which the events of the life and death of Christ had taken place, it would be unreasonable to think that he was unaware of the things that were being said about Jesus, or that he was unaware of the activities of the main proponents of that message.  He would have known the claims that the followers of Jesus were making for Him.  Indeed, the speech that he made in welcoming Peter to his house indicates his awareness of the message of Jesus that Peter carried, and perhaps of his growing understanding of the significance of the claim, as he says, using official, military language, that “we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”  Clearly, Cornelius, the Roman centurion and subject of Caesar, with his use of both “God” and “Lord” and “commanded,” makes a distinction that shows us that he himself had come to think of Jesus as “Lord.”  Coming from him, as the commander of up to one thousand soldiers of Lord Caesar, this would be no light matter.

Having been encouraged by Cornelius to speak of the Lord Jesus, “Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him’.” (10:34-35)  With that as a preface, Peter continues and says, “As for the word that He sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)” (10:36).  Here, before a Roman military commander, and likely, before a group of Roman government officials and probably some soldiers as well, Peter uses some startling language.  He speaks of the “good news of peace.”  This is the Gospel of peace.  For the Roman hearer, this would be the good news of the Caesar and of the peace (pax Romana) that he brings.  Peter applies it to Jesus.  Then, in the same breath, while a number of his hearers are contemplating the depth of this statement and its inherent challenge to the Lordship of their emperor, Peter extends his claim and says frankly that it is Jesus that is “Lord of all.”  A bit later, Peter adds that Jesus “is the One appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” (10:42b).  This claim is made in stark contrast to the well-known fact that it is Caesar, the all-powerful ruler of the world, that has the power to judge, and who has the power of life and death. 

While it is said of Cornelius that he was “a devout man who feared God” (10:2a), and that he used the language of “Lord” in reference to Jesus, this would not necessarily apply to all those that were around him, so Peter is being quite bold.  Cornelius himself is being quite bold, revealing his revolutionary beliefs to the people closest to him, inviting certain scrutiny, possible persecution, and probable removal from his position.  This should tell us something about the revolutionary and resolute faith that is demonstrated by those that confess their belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Just as “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (10:38a), He does the same for all those that choose to testify of His Son.  

Everyone Who Believes (part 1 of 2)

To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name. – Acts 10:43  (ESV)

Forgiveness of sins is for everyone, with the caveat to that being that it only comes to those who believe in Him, that being Jesus.  What is it that must be believed?  In its most basic form, what must be believed is that Jesus is Lord, that He is supreme above all other rulers and authorities, and that His Lordship extends to the whole of creation (human, animal, vegetable, mineral).  With the words of our text, we find that Peter is speaking here to a man named Cornelius, a Gentile, and presumably, to a group that consisted predominantly of Gentiles, consisting of “his relatives and close friends” (10:24b). 

Peter, of course, is a Jew, a member of the nation of Israel.  Cornelius was a Roman centurion who lived in Caesarea, and was said to be “an upright and God-fearing man” (10:22b).  In addition to that, he was “well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation” (10:22c).  To that, we can add that he “feared God with all his household” and “gave alms generously to the people” (10:2b).  His being well-spoken of by the whole Jewish nation is obviously hyperbole, meant to inform us that the people with whom he dealt on a regular basis were quite fond of him.  This was probably due in part to his giving of alms to the people.  Clearly, he was a shrewd man that knew how to deal with the people that were, in some sense, subject to his authority. 

Owing to all of this, it is highly likely that Cornelius was familiar with the great, national aspirations of the people of Israel, their understanding of their plight of ongoing subjection to pagan rulers, and the continued exile from the promises of their God that such subjection represented.  With that, it is reasonable to presume that he well understood the way that Israel generally looked upon Gentiles, which goes back to what had to be one of the main factors in his generous contribution of alms. 

If he did in fact understand these things, then it is also likely that he had a very basic grasp on the importance of Israel’s national symbols of circumcision, land, Torah, and Temple.  We must also hold to an idea that Cornelius would be quite surprised to be instructed to send for a Jew to come to his house, as Jews did not generally enter the house of a Gentile, and especially the house of a Roman centurion, who would represent their hated oppressors.  Not only would the instruction be a surprise, we would have to figure that Cornelius would also be surprised with the fact that Peter did in fact come into his house.  This makes the fact that upon meeting Peter, Cornelius “fell down at his feet and worshiped him” (10:25b), all the more interesting.    

Peter addresses an obvious sense of relief on the part of Cornelius when he says, “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.  So when I was sent for, I came without objection” (10:28-29a).  With this, Peter is, of course, referring to the vision he had received while on the roof of the house of Simon, in Joppa.  In that vision, Peter heard God say to him, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (10:15b).  When Peter was found by the men that Cornelius had sent to bring him to Caesarea, he immediately connected the words of God with future association with Gentiles, so he did not hesitate to answer the request to come.  One has to wonder what happened to this willingness to extend the fellowship of the Gospel (Jesus’ Lordship over all nations and peoples) when we find out about his behavior in Antioch, which we learn about in the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.     

Returning to the subject of exile, it must be pointed out that exile was one of the results of the sin of Israel, and their faithlessness to God’s covenant with them.  When we look through the books of the Hebrew Scriptures that chronicle the history of Israel, whenever we find the people in subjection to foreigners, whether in their land or outside their land, they are considered to be in a state of exile.  This exile will always be connected with sin, usually idolatry.  When the people would have the yoke of subjection and oppression broken, and are either enabled to overthrow those who ruled them in their own land, or to return to their land (in the case of the Babylonian exile and the return under the Persians), we find that it was because the people were said to have repented from their sin, receiving the forgiveness of their God.  So return from exile was equated with the forgiveness of sins.  We can surmise that Cornelius, with all that is said of him, was familiar with this idea.