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CORNELIUS - EXHIBIT A!

As a student at Arizona State University in the early 1960’s I was required to take two years of ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Core). It didn’t take me long to decide that I would rather be in the program ran by the Air Force as opposed to the Army. In the Army I would’ve been required to keep a rifle clean as well as my shoes. I figured keeping my shoes spotless was the least I could do so I signed up for the Air Force program.
In addition to attending class twice a week, this meant being properly dressed and out on the field every Thursday morning. At 6:30 sharp, the drill instructor called roll, growled at some of us for being late, and then barked out a few commands such as left face, right face, and about face. We would than spend the next forty-five minutes marching. Well, while others marched I strolled. While others took a thirty inch step, I must have taken something less than thirty inches. While others looked straight ahead, I looked around to see what was happening.
Needless to say, I was always catching the attention of the lieutenant in charge. He soon called the platoon to a halt, commanded that I step to the front of the platoon, and proceeded to show me how to skip into step. I listened, watched, practiced skipping in step, and was returned to my designated spot. I would be okay for about five minutes before I was back to strolling with something less than a thirty inch step.
Before too long the platoon was called to a halt and again I would be singled out. As I look back on those days, I now realize that I wasn’t very respectful toward those in charge. I wasn’t deliberately disrespectful, I wasn’t aiming my disrespect at anyone in particular, but the casualness of my effort to stay in step with others was naggingly disrespectful to the lieutenant in charge. For I certainly wasn’t there to serve him, I was just there doing what I had to do to serve my own self-interest.
What this means is that I would never have found myself in the Italian Regiment headed up by a centurion name Cornelius. Or if by chance I found myself in his battalion, we probably wouldn’t have gotten along. Too bad, for Cornelius was someone worth knowing, both as a soldier and as a human being.
As a soldier he had been promoted to the rank of a centurion. This in itself, as we shall see, is noteworthy. As a human being he had divorced himself from the paganism of his day and turned his heart toward the God of Israel, the God of the Old Testament. More importantly, he was someone who knew how to stay in step! We find his story in Acts 10:1 - 8. We read:
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Stationed at Caesarea, home of the provincial governor for Rome, Cornelius was in command of sixty to one hundred men. His rank was the equivalent of an army captain or a company commander. In a very real sense, the centurions were the backbone of the Roman army.
For in promoting them to the rank of centurion it was said, “They wish centurions not so much to be venturesome and daredevil as natural leaders, of a steady and sedate spirit. They do not desire them so much to be men who will initiate attacks and open the battle, but men who will hold their ground when worsted and hard pressed and be ready to die at their posts.”
Such was Cornelius, he was a man who had staying power. He was a man who knew how to stand his ground. He was steady, in that once he made up his mind he could not be moved. He was a man who knew how to wait for whatever was headed his way. But above all, he knew how to wait for God.
In Scripture there are some interesting verses that deal with “waiting,” the “need” for it and the “how” of it. For example, in v. Isaiah 30:18 - 19 (RSV) we read:
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Yea, O people in Zion who dwell at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.
At the time, the people of Judah were running every which way looking for answers. They were doing everything but standing still before God. So Isaiah reminded them that God was so anxious to bless them that He would wait until they learned to wait for him.
Then in Isaiah 40:29 - 31 (RSV) we read:
He gives power to the faint, and to who him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
What is noteworthy about this verse is that the word “wait” means to collect or bind together. To carry a heavy weight we would bind together several poles, or as we wait for God we would bind together appropriate promises. In short, the best way to wait is by doing something constructive.
Well Cornelius, as a man devoted to the God of Israel, knew how to wait and he waited by staying in step with what he knew was pleasing to God. He evidently had memorized Micah 6:8 and stayed in step with it. It reads:
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
He stayed in step by sharing what he knew about God with others, by living out what truth he had, by giving generously to those in need, and by turning to God in humility and prayer on a regular basis. In regards to sharing his faith, it is clear that his family, his household, was equally devoted as were the three men he sent to Joppa.
Furthermore, in sending them he openly shared everything that had happened to him. He was a man who didn’t simply want others to do as they were told, he wanted them to understand why they were doing it. I suspect he was equally open about his faith and, as others observed him, they saw that his deeds matched his words.
As a side note, it is interesting to note how the New Living Translation handles Cornelius’ response when the angel of the Lord revealed himself. In the NLT verse four in translated:
Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
The Greek word that is normally translated “Lord” can mean anything ranging from “courteous sir” to a divine title. While some might think “sir” is a little weak, it fits in nicely with the fact that Cornelius was a soldier and, from what little we know about him, a very respectful soldier. So, at least in our day, it makes sense to see the word “sir” used as the angel suddenly entered the room.
While the three men headed toward Joppa, Cornelius didn’t simply sit around twiddling his thumbs. We pick up the story in vv 23b - 33. We read:
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
While he was waiting for this man called Peter he gathered together his relatives and close friends so that they too could hear Peter’s message. Do you think this man had an impact on those around him? You bet! He was unashamed of sharing what he knew about God and, as opportunities presented themselves, he didn’t hesitate to invite others to the event.
Then, when Peter said, “May I ask why you sent for me?”, Cornelius gave a response that every preacher in the world would love to hear. He said, “We are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” Wow! We’re here, and we know we’re in the presence of God so you can be sure we don’t take this lightly. In short, we are ready to listen to what God has to say through you and we’re taking notes.
Peter jumps into his sermon entitled The Six Spiritual Laws (see the footnote at the end of the lesson) but he no sooner gets started and is interrupted by the Holy Spirit. In vv. 44 - 46 we read:
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Pentecost all over again! Clearly, this Gentile crowd was not simply curious. They listened intently to what Peter had to say and received it for what it was - God’s Word. They said they were ready to listen to the message Peter had for them and they did. They listened to every single word and responded to it with all their hearts.
In a vivid reenactment of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell on these Gentiles. As John, Peter, and others did in Acts 2, they spoke in (other) tongues and exalted God. If a stranger had entered Cornelius’ home at that very moment his initial impression would’ve been that these people were drunk. And, in a sense they were, for they were under the influence of the Holy Spirit. A fact that Peter recognized and proclaimed as undeniable proof that God was also calling Gentiles to himself.
Now let me ask you a question. We know that Cornelius impacted others for good when all he knew about God was what he learned from the Old Testament. After Pentecost, his Pentecost, do you think he continued to impact others? Sure! For he was a man who knew how to stay in step. If he boldly shared what he knew about God prior to his knowledge of Christ, then surely he shared the good news after he invited Jesus Christ into his life as his Savior and Lord.
What is more, he became Exhibit A as Peter defended his actions in regards to welcoming Gentiles into the kingdom. As such his name, or reference to what happened in his household, would again and again be brought forth as evidence that with God there is no favoritism. A fact, that some in the early church, as in today’s church, needed to be reminded of again and again.

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