What does Acts 10:5 mean?

An angel has appeared to Cornelius, a Roman centurion, in Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Samaria. Despite his responsibility to protect the Roman occupiers from rebellion by the Jews and Samaritans, Cornelius faithfully worships the Jewish God, praying to God regularly and offering charitable donations to the needy (Acts 10:1–4).

Simon, as named here, is the apostle Peter. "Simon" is a variation of the Hebrew Simeon and is Peter's original name (John 1:40–42). Jesus changed his name to Cephas or Peter. "Peter" is the English translation of the Greek Petros, which means stone or rock. "Cephas" is the Latin version of Kefa, the Aramaic version of Peter.

Jesus made a pun of Peter's name in Matthew 16:15–18. Peter witnessed that Jesus was the Messiah; Jesus responded, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…" (Matthew 16:18). While the Roman Catholic Church takes this to mean Peter was the head of the church and the first pope, it's more likely Jesus is using Peter's name as a pun and means that the church will be founded on Peter's confession that Jesus is the Savior. Still, it's interesting to note that Peter validates the salvation of the Jews (Acts 2), the Samaritans (Acts 8:14–17), and the Gentiles (Acts 10:34–48).

Joppa, today, is Jaffa, a city next to Tel Aviv. Peter is there because after healing a paralyzed man in Lydda, Jesus-followers brought him to Joppa to heal a respected woman named Tabitha. By the time Peter arrived, Tabitha had died, but Peter brought her back to life. Peter stayed in Joppa with a tanner, also named Simon (Acts 9:32–43).