Acts 10:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

NIV: They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

NASB: and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

CSB: They called out, asking if Simon, who was also named Peter, was lodging there.

NLT: they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

KJV: And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

NKJV: And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.

Simon Peter is at the home of Simon the Tanner in Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv. He is in Joppa because the friends of a woman named Tabitha asked him to come and raise Tabitha from the death. She is well, again, and Peter is finishing up praying on Simon the Tanner's roof (Acts 9:36–43; 10:9–16).

A couple of days before, an angel visited a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius, despite being the defender of the Roman king of Judea and Samaria, worships the Jewish God and is well known for his charity toward the poor. The angel told him that his kindness has been noticed in heaven and that Simon Peter will have a message for him. In response, Cornelius has sent two servants and one of his soldiers to find Peter (Acts 10:1–8).

It's a bit awkward that Peter is staying with a tanner. Tanners work with carcasses; if the animal is unclean to eat, the tanner will be unclean (Leviticus 11:4–8). In addition, tanneries stink. But Jesus told the disciples not to move from house to house when they entered a town. He also told them to eat what was offered (Luke 10:1–8). Jesus was already preparing the apostles to concentrate on the message of the gospel, and not strict adherence to the Jewish law He fulfilled (Matthew 5:17–18).

Acts 10:9–23 occurs as Peter is in Joppa, after having healed a paralyzed man in nearby Lydda and raising Tabitha from the dead in Joppa (Acts 9:32–43). Peter doesn't know that a Roman centurion who worships the Jewish God is sending three men to bring Peter to Caesarea. The centurion wished to learn what God has planned for him, which he will find is to be saved in Jesus' name. First, God makes Peter understand that Jesus' offer of salvation is as available for Gentiles as it is for Jews.

Peter has been a dominant voice in the spread of Jesus' message to Jews and proselytes. Now he brings the gospel to Gentiles. An angel tells Cornelius, a centurion, to ask Peter to come to him. Peter is praying when he receives a vision of food—including non-kosher food—and God's voice telling him to eat. When the centurion's messengers arrive, Peter realizes the dream meant that Gentiles are no longer unclean. He follows the messengers and tells Cornelius' household about salvation through Jesus. Before Peter can lay his hands on them or baptize them, the Holy Spirit falls on them.

Jesus told the disciples they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Oddly, the disciples didn't understand this meant the Holy Spirit would come upon Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles alike. After several years reaching Jews and proselytes in Jerusalem (Acts 1—7) and Samaritans in Samaria (Acts 8:4–25), God calls Peter to bring the message to Gentiles. Peter's witness that Gentiles can be saved (Acts 11) clears the way for Paul's ministry to Gentiles in modern-day Turkey, Greece, and Italy (Acts 13—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.