Yesterday we read a sample of the biblical purity law. That's to give us a sense for some of the divisions that kept Jews and gentiles separate in the first century. It's important to appreciate what a divide there was because we are starting the story of how the gospel came to gentiles for the first time. This is a favorite passage of mine. Notice that while Cornelius is a gentile, he worships the God of Israel. There seems to have been a significant number of gentiles who were attracted to Israel's faith; this group was important in the spread of the gospel.
God bless,
Sam
Acts 10:1-9
In Caesarea
there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was
called. 2He was a devout man who feared God with all his household;
he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.
3One
afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an
angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” 4He stared at
him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your
alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5Now send men to Joppa
for a certain Simon who is called Peter; 6he is lodging with Simon,
a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” 7When the angel who spoke
to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks
of those who served him, 8and after telling them everything, he sent
them to Joppa.
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