The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles
Tom Shrader walks through Acts 9:32–10:48, covering three accounts: Peter healing Aeneas, raising Tabitha from the dead, and bringing the gospel to the Roman centurion Cornelius. Each story advances the book's central theme of transition, as the gospel moves from an exclusively Jewish church outward to the Gentile world. Shrader draws practical lessons about prayer as the foundation of ministry, the universal reach of the gospel across race and social status, and the importance of deflecting glory to God rather than to human instruments.
“The gospel message of Christ, more than any other message in the world, is a message of liberation.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 1999 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 36 min
Themes: evangelism, prayer, humility, miracles, missions, gospel, giving glory to god, service, new believer, feeling unworthy, skeptical of missions, pastor, struggling with pride, young adult exploring faith, church member wanting to serve, questioning racial barriers
Scripture: Acts 1:8, Acts 9:32-43, Acts 10:1-48, Acts 5, 1 Peter 4:11, Romans 15, Romans 3, Proverbs 31:20, 1 Corinthians 12
Theological Themes: soteriology, salvation for all, pneumatology, holy spirit, gentile inclusion, signs and wonders, biblical transition, universal gospel
Full Transcript
Introduction: A Book of Transition
Open your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 9. We are going to cover approximately 60 verses this morning, so you will need to follow along in your own Bible. Let me use this as an opportunity to remind you there is something powerful about having your own copy of the Bible in your hand, along with a notebook. I would never presume that I am going to say anything worth writing down, but God may use this time to remind you of something, teach you something, or put a thought in your mind. If you are with us on a regular basis, we think it would be helpful for you to bring a Bible with you to church on Sunday morning.
Let me remind you of what we said on the very first Sunday we began our study in the book of Acts. We said this is a book of transition. Acts chapter 1 verse 8 is the key verse: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you. You'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, through the remotest parts of the earth." Because it is a book of transition, we see some things here that are for that day and that age, not necessarily normative for our culture. One of those things is the signs and wonders that accompanied the message — the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit. We see that again this morning in the stories we look at, and it would be wrong for us to say that because we saw it in Peter's ministry, we should expect to see it in ours. We must make sure we understand the context.
The gospel message is moving from a relatively small area, largely isolated to Jerusalem, and now spreading throughout the world. One of the things God does as the message spreads is use signs and wonders to validate that message. The message is also moving from an exclusively Jewish church into the Gentile world, and there are all sorts of issues attached to that. Today we look at two areas and three stories.
Peter Heals Aeneas at Lydda
The first story begins in verse 32: "Peter came about, was traveling through those parts, and he came also to the saints who lived at Lydda." This is an area right outside of Tel Aviv. If you have ever been to Israel, you have been to this city — it is where the airport is today. To Peter's credit, he is not staying in Jerusalem. He is out visiting the churches, providing encouragement and comfort, and also learning. It is something of an educational tour for him.
Verse 33 introduces us to a certain man named Aeneas. We are fairly confident this man is not a believer. The phrase "a certain man" indicates he was a non-believer, and God is about to do a miracle in his life. John MacArthur tells us there is no example in the New Testament of a believer being healed — though we could argue that being raised from the dead would constitute healing, as with Lazarus or Tabitha. This reinforces the idea that the message is going out to the world. Aeneas has been bedridden for eight years, paralyzed. We are not told why, only that he apparently has no hope of getting better.
Peter goes to him and in verse 34 says, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." And immediately he arose. A healing takes place, and Peter is very clear: it is not he who is doing this, but Jesus. Over and over again in the ministry of the apostles, we see them pointing not to themselves but to the Savior.
A little later, Peter would pen these words in 1 Peter 4:11: "Whoever speaks, let him speak as it were the utterance of God. Whoever serves, let him do so by the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever." Paul understood exactly the same thing, as he writes in Romans 15: "Therefore in Christ Jesus I found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me." He then speaks of the results in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and by deed.
Peter comes into this man's room, says "Arise," and the man gets up. The healing is instantaneous. And the result is seen in verse 35: "All who lived in this region turned to the Lord." They heard of what happened, and because the miracle in and of itself is not the gospel, they came, the Word was preached, doors were opened, and repentance took place. The idea communicated in "turned to the Lord" is not merely that salvation is a change of mind — it is a change of direction. The word "repent" means to turn. When I turn from you, two things happen: I turn away from you, and by definition I turn toward something else. I turn away from my sin, my selfish ambition, my own agenda, and I turn to the Lord. These people saw the miracle, and the result was they turned to the Lord.
Peter Raises Tabitha at Joppa
Verse 36 introduces the second story: "Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha." She is identified differently from Aeneas. The text calls her a disciple — a follower, a believer. Her name is Tabitha, or Dorcas in the Greek. She is described as "a woman abounding in deeds of kindness and charity, which she did continually." At that time she fell sick, and she died, and they washed her body.
A Woman Renowned for Kindness
She was a magnificent woman, renowned for being a kind and loving person. Her behavior was absolutely predictable. She was a Proverbs 31 woman. In the fulfillment of Proverbs 31:20, she extended her hand to the poor and stretched out her hand to the needy. She seemed continually to have her antenna up, trying to find the people around her who were in real need, and she was predictably there to fill that need.
That type of woman generates a strong response from the people around her. There is a reciprocal love — people want to give back. I was in Beth Hancock's office the other day, and the mail came in, and she said, "I'll bet this is from —" and then she identified the person. I said, "How do you know that?" She said, "Because we just had an event, and whenever we have an event, she sends me a card to thank me and encourage me." How would you like to be predictably known by that kind of behavior?
She dies. They prepare her body, wash it, and prepare it for burial, but as was the custom of the day, they did not bury her. They put her in the upper room. Custom would indicate that you would bury her that very day — we saw that in Acts chapter 5 with Ananias and Sapphira. They did not do that here.
Why They Waited
Perhaps verse 38 has the answer: since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, saying, "Do not delay, come with us." It appears they may have expected Peter. They had heard what Peter had done, and perhaps they expected him to come and do the same.
He arose and went with them, and when he had come, they brought him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him, weeping. Look at verse 39 — they were showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas, Tabitha, used to make while she was with them. Can you imagine this scene? Into this room comes Peter, and it is filled. Tabitha is there in the front. She is dead. The widows are gathered around her. The widows were the downtrodden — the church had the responsibility then, and still does, to take care of them.
Inevitably the conversation turned to Tabitha, and they began to say, "Look at this. She made this. Isn't this beautiful? She made this." They went around the room, and there were the remnants — not merely of garments, but of her love and kindness for these people. Imagine all of the emotion in that room.
Peter Prays
Verse 40: Peter sent them all away. He got by himself, he knelt down, and he prayed. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." It is important for us to understand that any successful, meaningful ministry will begin with prayer. I would confess to you that the area of greatest weakness in my own life would be in the area of prayer. As you look at this passage, here is Peter understanding that his power comes from the Lord, and the significant response that demonstrates that understanding is that he prays.
Years ago, five college students went to visit Charles Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. When they arrived, the doors were locked, so they sat on the front steps waiting for someone to let them in. Finally a man arrived and said, "Would you like to see the heating apparatus for this church?" These men wanted to get in, so they said yes, with no real interest in how the building was kept warm. The man took them down a hallway to a large door that led into a large room, and in it were 700 people on their knees praying. That man, who happened to be Spurgeon himself, said, "That is the heating apparatus of this church." I am convinced that all ministry flows from that — from the ministry of prayer, which is such an important part of our lives individually.
Are you a man or woman of prayer? Here is a good test — here is how we can tell. This morning, sometime before you got here, did you pray for me? Did you pray for Gary and the praise team? Did you pray for the teachers who are over there serving? Did you pray that God might use this service today to bring people to Himself? Some of you fancy yourselves as people of prayer, but you may have just failed a very easy test.
She Is Alive
Peter understands that this is all of God, not of him. He sends everyone out. He says, "Tabitha, arise." She opens her eyes. She saw Peter. She sat up. He gave her his hand, raised her up, called in the saints and the widows, and presented her alive. That is all the text says. It does not record their response, but can you imagine what that must have been like? Still tears, but a whole different motive now. The joy in that room. He says, in effect, "Here she is. You never thought you were going to see her again. Here she is."
Verse 42: it became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. That is synonymous with turning to the Lord — they put their faith and trust in Him, they followed Christ, and Christ alone became their Savior.
The Walls of Prejudice Begin to Fall
It came about that Peter stayed many days in Joppa with a certain tanner named Simon. This tanner was a Jew involved in a business looked down upon by first-century Jewish society. He dealt with the dead skins of animals, and Jews would not ordinarily have anything to do with such a man. But understand what is happening here — the walls and barriers of prejudice are beginning to be broken down. To his credit, Peter says, "No problem. I will stay here."
Remember, as we head into chapter 10, that the first church was exclusively Jewish. The apostles were Jews. These were Jewish men. It was a Jewish church. And while they were open to the idea that God might take —
The Gospel Breaks Down Barriers
The early church wrestled with the idea that people would have to become Jews before they could become Christians. In their minds, there was still a prejudice — a society they looked down upon. They held themselves in high regard and looked down their noses at everyone else. Bigotry, whether racial, religious, economic, or educational, is always ugly to see.
Christ comes along and changes all of that. The gospel message of Christ, more than any other message in the world, is a message of liberation. In a society where women were chattel and children were valued even less, Christ comes along and elevates all to a position of equality. There is no partiality. That is the message Peter is going to learn in these verses today — that God does not show special favor to the Jews. Paul writes it this way in Romans 3: "Is God just a God of the Jews, or is He not also a God of the Gentiles?"
That is what Peter is going to learn today. It is a message he will struggle with even beyond this point in his life, but at least for today, he gets it.
The Man Named Cornelius
Acts chapter 10, beginning in verse 1, opens with the story of Cornelius. There is a certain man in Caesarea named Cornelius, and he is a centurion. In the Roman army, a centurion had responsibility for overseeing a hundred men. A legion would have 6,000 soldiers, a cohort 600, and a centurion within the cohort would be responsible for a hundred men. It is a position of leadership, responsibility, and authority.
Verse 2 tells us he was a devout man, one who feared God with all his household. He gave alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. He was a God-fearing man who had left the pagan gods and was worshiping Jehovah. He had become a follower, in a sense, of the Jewish faith, although he had never completed the ceremonial requirements. Therefore, he was not considered a Jew. He was what Scripture calls a God-fearer — he would go to the synagogue, but he would not participate. He would sit in the back. He was a good man, a religious man.
Someone came up after the first service and noted that the story of Cornelius is especially effective when sharing with Muslims, or really with any religious person. God wants far more than just your money. Look at what Cornelius is doing — he is giving money. Most of us think that has to be enough. We are giving, not just change but folded bills. We are involved. What more could God want? But God does not want your money. He wants your heart. He wants your life. He is not interested in you engaging in religion. He is interested in you entering a relationship with Him.
The Vision of Cornelius
At the ninth hour — an important time of prayer — this God-fearing man is praying, and he sees a vision. An angel of God comes to him and says, "Cornelius." Cornelius fixes his gaze on the angel and says, "What is it?" The angel replies that his prayers and his alms have ascended. Then, in verse 5, the angel instructs him: "Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying with a tanner." The angel then departs, and Cornelius summons two servants and a devout soldier from among those in constant attendance on him. After explaining everything to them, away they went.
It is important to understand that God had an angel right there and could have used that angel to share the gospel directly. But God not only chooses who He will save — He chooses how He will save. This is worth repeating: how exciting it is to know that at this very moment, God may be preparing you, your heart, and your mind to take a message to someone in your sphere of influence, while at the same time He is working in that person's heart. You will be the instrument God uses.
Consider something far greater than physical miracles — to be able to speak to someone who is spiritually dead and say, "Believe in Christ, and you will be made alive." Every physical healing in Scripture is ultimately a picture of something spiritual. So off these three men go, with God at work in Cornelius' life and moving him along.
Peter's Vision on the Rooftop
Verse 9 tells us that the next day, while the men are on their way, Peter goes up to the housetop at the sixth hour — noon. Verse 10 tells us he is hungry. He goes up there to get away, to pray, to meditate, to be alone, and to think about God and who He is. While there, he sees an object lowered from the sky — something like a great sheet held at four corners, containing all kinds of four-footed animals, crawling creatures, and birds of the air. A voice says, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat."
Peter responds in verse 14: "By no means, Lord! I have never eaten anything unholy or unclean." The voice comes back a second time: "What God has called clean, you are not to consider unholy." Peter is not so much being disobedient as he is clinging to the forms of Judaism. He seems to be saying, I can pass this test. This is not even a challenge for me. I have never fallen for this, and I am not going to fall for it now. But God comes back and says, in effect, this is not a test — I am trying to teach you something. Then, as verse 16 notes, it happened a third time. It seems Peter has a pattern of needing to go through things three times before he gets them.
God Prepares Both Parties
While Peter is greatly perplexed about what the vision could mean, the men sent by Cornelius have been asking directions to Simon's house. They arrive at the gate and call out, asking for Peter. And here is the key thing to see: God is not only preparing Cornelius — God is also preparing Peter.
God's Perfect Timing
Peter is doing it in His perfect timing. If these men had arrived two hours earlier, Peter would have said, "Get out of here. I'm not going to have anything to do with you." But God had just given him a lesson: there is nothing unclean or unholy under that dietary law anymore. He was freed from that. And God was saying to him, "You are the one who is going to move this message beyond the Jewish religion, the Jewish tradition, and the Jewish culture. You are going to take it to a world, Peter, and they are just like you."
And they arrive. Peter is still thinking about the vision, and the Spirit said, "Behold, three men are looking for you." He goes downstairs and there they are. He said, "Behold, I'm the one you're looking for. Why are you looking for me?" In verse 22, they explain: "Cornelius the Centurion, a righteous man, a God-fearing man, a man well-spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come and to hear a message from you." They were there because God told them to be there.
Peter is sitting there putting it together: God is working over there, God is working in my life here, God has brought this together, and I am supposed to give them a message. But before he does, he invites them in and does something no Jew would ever do — he gives them lodging. In our minds, the word is red carpet treatment. No Jew would bring in nonbelievers, especially a member of the occupying Roman army, and say, "Come and stay with us."
These walls are starting to tumble down. They have to, so this Jewish church can begin to take the gospel to a Gentile world.
Peter Meets Cornelius
The next day they get up and away they go. When they arrive, Cornelius is waiting for them. Look at verse 25 — Cornelius falls to his feet and worships Peter, and Peter says, "Stand up. I'm a man just like you." It is so interesting that the Roman Catholics would call the Pope the successor of Peter. I wish he would follow Peter's example here and say, "You don't need to kneel down and kiss my ring. I'm no different than anybody else."
Peter's message is clear: all of us are ordinary people, some of whom God uses in an extraordinary way, but that does not make us any less ordinary. God will use you. I believe that with all my heart, and I saw it again this week. God will use ordinary people — you, me, Jim, the staff — to do extraordinary things. If we yield to Him, we are still ordinary people.
To me, it is amazing He uses us at all. My poor, degenerate mind and heart — He uses it for His glory. I do not fully understand it, but I am thankful for it. That is exactly what Peter is saying. If anyone has ever had a little praise heaped on them, it would be easy to deflect it half-heartedly while quietly welcoming it. Peter says no — get up, I am just like you.
Peter Shares the Gospel
So they recount the story: the angel appeared, Cornelius responded, the messengers were sent, Peter came, and now they are all gathered to hear the message. Peter says, "Here is what I have learned lately." Verse 34: "I most certainly understand now that God is no one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Christ — He is Lord of all."
Then Peter shares the gospel. He says, "Here is what I have learned: this gospel is not just for Jews. It is for Jews and Gentiles. It is for all races, for male and female, for children. It does not matter what your economic status is. The gospel is for all people, in all places, for all times." And Peter says, "I am learning that this Jewish tradition I have been clinging to is not something you need to embrace, and I need to let go of these things if they are stumbling blocks to you."
He talks about John the Baptist and about Jesus. Look at verse 39: "We are witnesses of all things he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put him to death by hanging him on a cross. God raised him up on the third day and granted that he should be visible, not to all people, but to the witnesses that he chose beforehand, and he ate with us and he drank with us." They saw Him in His risen body. "He ordered us to preach to people, solemnly testifying that this is the one who is appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets bear witness of him." That is the message: Jesus Christ is Lord, He is the Messiah.
The Divine Interruption
It is as though Peter has finished point one and is about to move to point two, and God says, "Take a break, Peter." Here comes the divine interruption at verse 44: "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed."
Now here is what had happened leading up to this moment. Look back at verse 23 — when Peter leaves Joppa and comes to Caesarea, some of the brothers come with him. I believe Peter invited them along because he sensed what was beginning to take place. Peter knew that if he went down to Caesarea, and if God did this saving work, and then Peter came back and told the story alone, it would be just his word. The Jewish tradition places such emphasis on two, three, and four witnesses. So Peter takes a group of converted Jews with him.
The Holy Spirit Poured Out on the Gentiles
As Peter delivers this message, God begins to move. The Holy Spirit comes upon these people, and the followers who had come from Joppa are amazed — because the Holy Spirit was being poured out on the Gentiles. That is the whole point of this section. The point is not some manifestation of the Holy Spirit that we should run out and look for today. The manifestations to look for today are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control — the fruit of the Spirit.
All who are believers in Christ have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. When somebody says to you, "Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?" you say yes, for 1 Corinthians 12 says we have all been baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is why Acts is a book of transition. God is not doing something here that is normative, something we should expect as a regular pattern. God is doing a work here for a singular purpose: to demonstrate to the Jew and the Gentile alike that this gospel is for everyone, and that there are no second-class citizens in the body of Christ.
Peter hears them speaking in tongues and exalting God, and he says, "Surely no one can refuse them baptism." What is happening is that God is moving them into one body, one mind, one Spirit, one Lord, one teaching — over and over again. The walls are falling down. Peter orders them to be baptized, and they ask him to stay a few days.
Healing as a Sign That Validates the Message
As we take the lessons from these narratives, the first is this: healing is a sign that validates the message. That is what is taking place here. We should not be swept away in worshiping or even seeking the sign itself. If you are driving down the street and there is a billboard that says "Coke's the real thing," the distributors of Coca-Cola do not want you to go and stand at the sign. They want you to go to a store and get a Coke. That is the whole point. And yet there is something in us, humanly, especially when we see something dramatic, that causes us to focus on the sign. All you have to do is turn on Christian television almost any hour of any day and they are talking about the sign. The sign is not what we need. We have the Word. We know the message is real.
When we talk about healing, notice also that in both instances in Scripture, the healing was instantaneous. When someone is up front going on and on, and then says to a person, "You have been healed," and the person says, "Well, I only have one leg," and the response is, "You have to go home and claim that healing" — that is not biblical in its pattern. In Scripture, healing is instantaneous. "Arise" — and he is up. "Get up" — and he gets up. That is the word: instantaneous.
Does God heal today? Certainly He does. We have seen Him heal people in this church — not through anyone saying "arise," but through physicians, through God moving in, and then in His own power, just in and of Himself. We have seen people rid of cancer. We have seen all sorts of things happen. God heals today — but not, in our culture and in our time, in quite the way we see in these narratives.
Obedience Produces Results
If there is one singular thing to be learned from twenty years of walking with God, it is simply this: obey. Trust and obey — there is no other way. You do what is right because it is right, until it feels right. You obey. And obedience produces results.
The Gospel Is for All People
The gospel is for all people, in all times. After the first service, a professor from ASU was describing a seminar he had just attended on the Hispanic population — what is about to happen within that population over the coming decades, and what that means for this country. He was swept away with all of this information. It is so important for us to understand that this gospel is not a white middle-class gospel. The demographics of this country are going to change, and we need to understand that our gospel is not an irrelevant gospel. It is a gospel for all people, for all time.
There was a man featured on a television program — they called him "the Scary Guy." He had tattoos all over his face and arms, and piercings unlike anything you might expect. When he came on screen, the name on his jacket said exactly that: "The Scary Guy." He was going around to high schools saying, "You should see that I am just like you." The point he was making, underneath all of it, was about connection and common humanity. And here is the truth: the message for the Scary Guy, the message for the rich and the poor, the message for men and women, for students and senior citizens, is the same. Jesus Christ is Lord.
Giving God the Credit
There is one thing I keep coming back to — and I don't think it's a stretch — over these last couple of weeks and again this week: you and I have the privilege of being part of what God is doing in this earth.
On Ronald Reagan's desk there used to sit a plaque that read: *There's no limit to what you can do or where you can go if you don't care who gets the credit.* At its heart, that is a message of humility, which is the most important quality in a leader. I love that sentiment. But there is a small tweak that makes it even better: *There's no limit to what you can do or where you can go if you're certain to give God the credit.*
That is exactly what Peter is doing here. Peter is saying, "It's not me — there is nothing special about me." When Paul and Barnabas arrive in the city, they begin to praise God and say the same thing: "It's not us, it's Him." You and I are called to continually deflect glory away from ourselves and toward God. I believe God will do things far beyond anything you can imagine in your life if you will give Him the honor and the glory.
There is one more small tweak I find myself making. When I change the singular personal pronoun to a plural one, the statement applies to the church as a whole: *There's no limit to what we can do or where we can go if we are certain to give God the credit.* The people here — at least the people on this staff — understand that well. It is all about God, not about us. The most frequent answer I give is simply, "I don't know — He just did it."
We have our plans and our schemes, and we bring those things prepared. But I believe God will take you into places and do things you never dreamt possible — using you to touch other people's lives, perhaps in the matter of salvation, and certainly in the matter of simply witnessing and living this faith — if you will live it and give Him the credit. That is exactly what I see in Peter's life right here.
What's Ahead
Peter is not done. The spotlight falls on him for the second half of Acts chapter 9, and then through Acts chapters 10, 11, and 12. He becomes our case study for the remainder of this year, and we will pick up right there next week.
Father, please apply this message to our hearts individually and corporately. Use us to bring glory to You. We pray to You in Jesus' name. Amen.