The gospel brings salvation to all

Acts 10:34-43
34 Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Literal - The early church struggled to understand that “making disciples of all nations” meant “making disciples of all nations.” The Apostle Peter and many in the early church seem to have thought that people might first have to become Jewish and then Christian to receive Jesus the Messiah as their Savior and Lord. There had been many indications that God was going to work with the Gentiles nations in a more dramatic way once Messiah came (Isaiah 11:10; Psalm 2). Even Peter’s first sermon had talked about the Holy Spirit being g poured out on all humanity regardless of social status or power (Acts 2:17). Yet, it seemed impossible that God could include the “unclean” Gentiles into His kingdom plans without first cleaning them up by their becoming Jews.
Then God sent to the Apostle Peter a vision telling him to eat all the types of meat forbidden by Jewish dietary laws. The Apostle’s cultural habits are so strong that even at the command of God he refuses for he claims he has been ‘kosher’ all his life. God then tells him not to call unclean what God has called clean. The Messiah Jesus himself has already attempted to teach his disciples that the days when we need to worry about ‘kosher’ food is over and what really matters is the condition of the human heart (Mark 7:19). Yet, cultural and religious training runs deep in us and is not easily overcome. Only a direct vision by God moves the Apostle to begin to believe and see what God is doing.
As God is working in the heart of the Apostle Peter so He is also working in the heart of the Centurion Cornelius. He is a “God Fearer” which was a particular group of people in the New Testament. According to F.F. Bruce “God-fearers were Gentiles who attached themselves in varying degrees to the Jewish worship and way of life without as yet becoming full proselytes.” Those who were “Godfearers” were those who were worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and accepted the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s ethical will but had not become Jewish in culture and tradition. They were many times people who supported the synagogues and came to listen to the Law being taught. Cornelius was such a man who practiced prayer to the true God and gave to the poor. His prayers to be forgiven were answered by God having him send for Peter and giving to Peter an additional insight into God’s amazing grace.
Here we see the Apostle Peter sharing that he has had a personal and profound insight. God shows no partiality based on if a person is a Jew or a Gentile (Romans 2:11). Everyone who has come to truly fear, honor, respect, and be in awe of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who created heaven and earth is a person who God’s Spirit is at work calling them to faith and repentance.
Now no idol worshiper fears God. There is greater hope for the Gentiles when they seek God at the altar of the “unknown God” than when they turn to the darkness of idols (Romans 1:18ff; Acts 17:23). Idol worship shows a lack of fear of God while seeking to worship the God who is revealed in the creation would lead one to worship in spirit and truth, the opposite of moving towards idols. Hinduism cannot save.
This chapter not only represents the Centurion Cornelius’ receiving the forgiveness of sins by believing in Jesus the Messiah and the embrace of God in the baptism of the Holy Spirit but also the beginning of the conversion of the early church to fully accept God’s mission to the Gentiles. Today perhaps we need to be converted to believe in God’s mission to the Jews and that He could make disciples of them as well as of us.
Such an insight might be needed especially in light of Jerusalem no longer being under the control of the Gentiles and the time of the Gentiles having been fulfilled in 1967 (Luke 21:24). The first Messianic Jewish synagogue was founded in 1967 and the growth in Messianic Judaism represented by such groups as Avodat Yisrael has brought more Jews to faith in Jesus as their Messiah than ever before in the history of the Christian Church. God’s Spirit is again moving to bring multitudes to salvation in the gospel of Messiah Jesus.
The message of the Apostle Peter is simple and straight forward. It is the Apostle’s Creed. Christ has died for our sins, been raised up in glory, and will come again in judgment. All who call on Messiah Jesus to have mercy on them will be forgiven their sins and receive the Holy Spirit. The one hope for sinners, both Jew and Gentile, is only to be found in Messiah Jesus. He is our one hope of salvation.
This is the message of Good Friday. This is the message of Easter. This is the message of the Christian faith universal. Let us affirm our faith this resurrection week and renew our trust in Messiah Jesus as our one hope of salvation. Amen.