Acts 10:17-23 - Peter's Receptivity

By now Peter was left puzzling over the vision from the Lord to him. And just as he was grappling with the meaning of the vision, the messengers sent by Cornelius arrived at the gate of Simon's house. It was no co-incidence that they should arrive just as Peter was musing over the heavenly message.

The three messengers called out, inquiring if Peter was staying there. And just at the same time, the Spirit of the Lord informed Peter of the arrival of Cornelius' men. He was told explicitly that they were sent at the initiation of the Lord Himself.

Peter was instructed to go downstairs from the rooftop to accompany them. And he obeyed the voice of the Spirit and made his way downstairs.  Making himself known to Cornelius' men, he asked them why they were looking for him.

The messengers began by describing the character of Cornelius.  Luke was re-iterating Cornelius credentials. As we know, he was a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation.

Then they proceeded to tell Peter that it was the holy angel who instructed Cornelius to seek him out.  Although the detail of the conversation was brief, they must have given Peter enough exact information to convince him. So he took the first step to a great movement. He invited them in to lodge for the night.

Peter responded to the vision by making time to muse over it. How many of us would spend time pondering over a God-given message? From Peter we take a lesson. As puzzling as a truth maybe to us, we must make time and take the effort to meditate and think through them.

It's also heartening to note here, that God would take close note of a person. What's encouraging is that God took note of Cornelius even before his conversion. God saw his heart and knew his tenderness toward Him. There isn't anything too small that we do for the Lord, that would escape His notice.

Through Cornelius' receptivity and obedience to His prompting, God opened up a brand new path for the Gospel to advance. We need to know that God's promptings must be acted upon. Any prompting of God to us, if not acted upon, would become a wasted opportunity.