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Chapter 14
A Seeker for Truth
IN the course of his ministry the apostle Peter visited the believers at
Lydda. Here he healed Aeneas, who for eight years had been confined to
his bed with palsy. "Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole," the
apostle said; "arise, and make thy bed." "He arose immediately. And all
that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord."
At Joppa, which was near Lydda, there lived a woman named Dorcas, whose
good deeds had made her greatly beloved. She was a worthy disciple of
Jesus, and her life was filled with acts of kindness. She knew who
needed comfortable clothing and who needed sympathy, and she freely
ministered to the poor and the sorrowful. Her skillful fingers were more
active than her tongue.
"And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died." The
church in Joppa realized their loss, and hearing that Peter was at Lydda,
the believers sent messengers to him, "desiring him that he would not
delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was
come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood
by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made,
while she was with them." In view of the life of service that Dorcas had
lived, it is little wonder that they mourned, that warm teardrops fell
upon the inanimate clay.
The apostle's heart was touched with sympathy as he beheld their sorrow.
Then, directing that the weeping friends be sent from the room, he
kneeled down and prayed fervently to God to restore Dorcas to life and
health. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise. And she opened
her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up." Dorcas had been of great
service to the church, and God saw fit to bring her back from the land
of the enemy, that her skill and energy might still be a blessing to
others, and also that by this manifestation of His power the cause of
Christ might be strengthened.
It was while Peter was still at Joppa that he was called by God to take
the gospel to Cornelius, in Caesarea.
Cornelius was a Roman centurion. He was a man of wealth and noble birth,
and his position was one of trust and honor. A heathen by birth,
training, and education, through contact with the Jews he had gained a
knowledge of God, and he worshiped Him with a true heart, showing the
sincerity of his faith by compassion to the poor. He was known far and
near for his beneficence, and his righteous life made him of good repute
among both Jews and Gentiles. His influence was a blessing to all with
whom he came in contact. The inspired record describes him as "a devout
man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to
the people, and prayed to God alway."
Believing in God as the Creator of heaven and earth, Cornelius revered
Him, acknowledged His authority, and sought His counsel in all the
affairs of life. He was faithful to Jehovah in his home life and in his
official duties. He had erected the altar of God in his home, for he
dared not attempt to carry out his plans or to bear his responsibilities
without the help of God.
Though Cornelius believed the prophecies and was looking for the Messiah
to come, he had not a knowledge of the gospel as revealed in the life
and death of Christ. He was not a member of the Jewish church and would
have been looked upon by the rabbis as a heathen and unclean. But the
same Holy Watcher who said of Abraham, "I know him," knew Cornelius
also, and sent a message direct from heaven to him.
The angel appeared to Cornelius while he was at prayer. As the centurion
heard himself addressed by name, he was afraid, yet he knew that the
messenger had come from God, and he said, "What is it, Lord?" The angel
answered, "Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before
God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is
Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the
seaside."
The explicitness of these directions, in which was named even the
occupation of the man with whom Peter was staying, shows that Heaven is
acquainted with the history and business of men in every station of
life. God is familiar with the experience and work of the humble
laborer, as well as with that of the king upon his throne.
"Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon." Thus God gave evidence of
His regard for the gospel ministry and for His organized church. The
angel was not commissioned to tell Cornelius the story of the cross. A
man subject, even as the centurion himself, to human frailties and
temptations, was to be the one to tell him of the crucified and risen
Saviour.
As His representatives among men, God does not choose angels who have
never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they
seek to save. Christ took humanity that He might reach humanity. A
divine-human Saviour was needed to bring salvation to the world. And to
men and women has been committed the sacred trust of making known "the
unsearchable riches of Christ." Ephesians 3:8.
In His wisdom the Lord brings those who are seeking for truth into touch
with fellow beings who know the truth. It is the plan of Heaven that
those who have received light shall impart it to those in darkness.
Humanity, drawing its efficiency from the great Source of wisdom, is
made the instrumentality, the working agency, through which the gospel
exercises its transforming power on mind and heart.
Cornelius was gladly obedient to the vision. When the angel had gone,
the centurion "called two of his household servants, and a devout
soldier of them that waited on him continually; and when he had declared
all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa."
The angel, after his interview with Cornelius, went to Peter, in Joppa.
At the time, Peter was praying upon the housetop of his lodging, and we
read that he "became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they
made ready, he fell into a trance." It was not for physical food alone
that Peter hungered. As from the housetop he viewed the city of Joppa
and the surrounding country he hungered for the salvation of his
countrymen. He had an intense desire to point out to them from the
Scriptures the prophecies relating to the sufferings and death of
Christ.
In the vision Peter "saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending
unto them, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and
let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of
the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter
said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or
unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God
hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the
vessel was received up again into heaven."
This vision conveyed to Peter both reproof and instruction. It revealed
to him the purpose of God--that by the death of Christ the Gentiles
should be made fellow heirs with the Jews to the blessings of salvation.
As yet none of the disciples had preached the gospel to the Gentiles. In
their minds the middle wall of partition, broken down by the death of
Christ, still existed, and their labors had been confined to the Jews,
for they had looked upon the Gentiles as excluded from the blessings of
the gospel. Now the Lord was seeking to teach Peter the world-wide
extent of the divine plan.
Many of the Gentiles had been interested listeners to the preaching of
Peter and the other apostles, and many of the Greek Jews had become
believers in Christ, but the conversion of Cornelius was to be the first
of importance among the Gentiles.
The time had come for an entirely new phase of work to be entered upon
by the church of Christ. The door that many of the Jewish converts had
closed against the Gentiles was now to be thrown open. And the Gentiles
who accepted the gospel were to be regarded as on an equality with the
Jewish disciples, without the necessity of observing the rite of
circumcision.
How carefully the Lord worked to overcome the prejudice against the
Gentiles that had been so firmly fixed in Peter's mind by his Jewish
training! By the vision of the sheet and its contents He sought to
divest the apostle's mind of this prejudice and to teach the important
truth that in heaven there is no respect of persons; that Jew and
Gentile are alike precious in God's sight; that through Christ the
heathen may be made partakers of the blessings and privileges of the
gospel.
While Peter was meditating on the meaning of the vision, the men sent
from Cornelius arrived in Joppa and stood before the gate of his
lodginghouse. Then the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men seek thee.
Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing:
for I have sent them."
To Peter this was a trying command, and it was with reluctance at every
step that he undertook the duty laid upon him; but he dared not disobey.
He "went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and
said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are
come?" They told him of their singular errand, saying, "Cornelius the
centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report
among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to
send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee."
In obedience to the directions just received from God, the apostle
promised to go with them. On the following morning he set out for
Caesarea, accompanied by six of his brethren. These were to be witnesses
of all that he should say or do while visiting the Gentiles, for Peter
knew that he would be called to account for so direct a violation of the
Jewish teachings.
As Peter entered the house of the Gentile, Cornelius did not salute him
as an ordinary visitor, but as one honored of Heaven and sent to him by
God. It is an Eastern custom to bow before a prince or other high
dignitary and for children to bow before their parents; but Cornelius,
overwhelmed with reverence for the one sent by God to teach him, fell at
the apostle's feet and worshiped him. Peter was horror-stricken, and he
lifted the centurion up, saying, "Stand up; I myself also am a man."
While the messengers of Cornelius had been gone upon their errand, the
centurion "had called together his kinsmen and near friends," that they
as well as he might hear the preaching of the gospel. When Peter
arrived, he found a large company eagerly waiting to listen to his
words.
To those assembled, Peter spoke first of the custom of the Jews, saying
that it was looked upon as unlawful for Jews to mingle socially with the
Gentiles, that to do this involved ceremonial defilement. "Ye know," he
said, "how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep
company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that
I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you
without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what
intent ye have sent for me?"
Cornelius then related his experience and the words of the angel, saying
in conclusion, "Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well
done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before
God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God."
Peter said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is
accepted with Him."
Then to that company of attentive hearers the apostle preached
Christ--His life, His miracles, His betrayal and crucifixion, His
resurrection and ascension, and His work in heaven as man's
representative and advocate. As Peter pointed those present to Jesus as
the sinner's only hope, he himself understood more fully the meaning of
the vision he had seen, and his heart glowed with the spirit of the
truth that he was presenting.
Suddenly the discourse was interrupted by the descent of the Holy
Spirit. "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all
them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed
were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard
them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
"Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be
baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord."
Thus was the gospel brought to those who had been strangers and
foreigners, making them fellow citizens with the saints, and members of
the household of God. The conversion of Cornelius and his household was
but the first fruits of a harvest to be gathered in. From this household
a wide-spread work of grace was carried on in that heathen city.
Today God is seeking for souls among the high as well as the lowly.
There are many like Cornelius, men whom the Lord desires to connect with
His work in the world. Their sympathies are with the Lord's people, but
the ties that bind them to the world hold them firmly. It requires moral
courage for them to take their position for Christ. Special efforts
should be made for these souls, who are in so great danger, because of
their responsibilities and associations.
God calls for earnest, humble workers, who will carry the gospel to the
higher class. There are miracles to be wrought in genuine
conversions,--miracles that are not now discerned. The greatest men of
this earth are not beyond the power of a wonder-working God. If those
who are workers together with Him will be men of opportunity, doing
their duty bravely and faithfully, God will convert men who occupy
responsible positions, men of intellect and influence. Through the power
of the Holy Spirit many will accept the divine principles. Converted to
the truth, they will become agencies in the hand of God to communicate
the light. They will have a special burden for other souls of this
neglected class. Time and money will be consecrated to the work of the
Lord, and new efficiency and power will be added to the church.
Because Cornelius was living in obedience to all the instruction he had
received, God so ordered events that he was given more truth. A
messenger from the courts of heaven was sent to the Roman officer and to
Peter in order that Cornelius might be brought into touch with one who
could lead him into greater light.
There are in our world many who are nearer the kingdom of God than we
suppose. In this dark world of sin the Lord has many precious jewels, to
whom He will guide His messengers. Everywhere there are those who will
take their stand for Christ. Many will prize the wisdom of God above any
earthly advantage, and will become faithful light bearers. Constrained
by the love of Christ, they will constrain others to come to Him.
When the brethren in Judea heard that Peter had gone to the house of a
Gentile and preached to those assembled, they were surprised and
offended. They feared that such a course, which looked to them
presumptuous, would have the effect of counteracting his own teaching.
When they next saw Peter they met him with severe censure, saying, "Thou
wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them."
Peter laid the whole matter before them. He related his experience in
regard to the vision and pleaded that it admonished him to observe no
longer the ceremonial distinction of circumcision and uncircumcision,
nor to look upon the Gentiles as unclean. He told them of the command
given him to go to the Gentiles, of the coming of the messengers, of his
journey to Caesarea, and of the meeting with Cornelius. He recounted the
substance of his interview with the centurion, in which the latter had
told him of the vision by which he had been directed to send for Peter.
"As I began to speak," he said, in relating his experience, "the Holy
Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the
word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water; but
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave
them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"
On hearing this account, the brethren were silenced. Convinced that
Peter's course was in direct fulfillment of the plan of God, and that
their prejudices and exclusiveness were utterly contrary to the spirit
of the gospel, they glorified God, saying, "Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
Thus, without controversy, prejudice was broken down, the exclusiveness
established by the custom of ages was abandoned, and the way was opened
for the gospel to be proclaimed to the Gentiles.
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