Acts 10:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’

NIV: Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’

NASB: Therefore send some men to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’

CSB: Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner’s house by the sea.’

NLT: Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’

KJV: Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.

NKJV: Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.’

Cornelius, a centurion stationed in Caesarea Maritima, the Roman capital of Judea and Samaria, is explaining why he asked Peter to come visit him. Peter had been in Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv, staying at the home of a Jesus-follower named Simon who was a tanner.

Cornelius is a Gentile, most likely Italian, but a faithful follower of the Jewish God. He is well known in the city for his fervent prayer and his generous giving to the needy. He has just explained to Peter that, a few days before, an angel told him God accepted his alms as a "memorial" (Acts 10:4, 31). This means that not only does God credit Cornelius' giving to Himself, God considers Cornelius worthy of having a meal with Him. The Gentile, who is "devout" but not a full convert to Judaism, is clean in God's eyes (Acts 10:1–4).

This is a bit ironic because Simon, Peter's host, is a tanner. Any animal he tans or butchers that is not permissible to eat according to the Mosaic law makes him unclean until evening (Leviticus 11:4–8). Peter was comfortable enough to stay with a Jewish Jesus-follower who was regularly unclean from his work, but the only reason he is at the home of a Gentile is because the Holy Spirit told him to go.

The instruction came after an odd vision in which God repealed the kosher food laws (Acts 10:9–16). Peter is just beginning to understand the vision wasn't entirely—or even primarily—about food. Yes, God is saying that all food is clean, but He's also saying all people can be, too.

Acts 10:24–33 describes the onset of the last step of Jesus' command for the disciples: to share His story in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Upon an angel's prompting, a Roman centurion named Cornelius has sent for Peter. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit has been teaching Peter that Gentiles are no longer unclean (Acts 10:1–23). Peter will go to Cornelius and bear witness of Jesus. Everyone in earshot will believe Peter and receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:34–48). The way will be open for Paul's ministry in Syria, modern-day Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, and Italy.

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.