Acts 10:41 - Printer Friendly

ESV: not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

NIV: He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

NASB: not to all the people, but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

CSB: not by all the people, but by us whom God appointed as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

NLT: not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

KJV: Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

NKJV: not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

Peter is explaining to a house filled with Gentile God-followers why they may not have heard the details of Jesus' resurrection. His host is a Roman centurion in Caesarea Maritima and certainly would have heard rumors that this Jewish teacher had either risen from the dead or His disciples stole His body and claimed He had. Peter explains that after His resurrection Jesus didn't show Himself to everyone. Specifically, Jesus appeared and ate with the disciples (Luke 24:30, 41–43; John 21:13). Jesus didn't try to prove His resurrection to all His detractors; He sent the disciples as witnesses (Acts 1:8). This is a similar strategy to His silencing of the demons who identified Him as the Son of God (Mark 1:24–25; 3:11–12). His witnesses would be followers who were trained to give the correct context, not enemies who could twist the truth, although hundreds did see Jesus after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3–7).

"Witness" is from the Greek root word martys. It means a legal or historical spectator who can swear to what he has seen, a role Jesus bestowed to the apostles right before His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:8). Peter says, "we are witnesses" (Acts 10:39). He is with six unidentified men from Joppa (Acts 10:23; 11:12), but apparently at least some of them saw Jesus after the resurrection. In Roman law, as in the Mosaic law, two witnesses are required to validate any testimony.

But martys is also the origin of the English word martyr. It is someone who embodies the example of Jesus by being willing to die for what they believe about Him. The apostles fulfilled Jesus' commission; all but John are recorded to have been martyred for their faith.

Acts 10:34–43 describes the first group of Gentiles receiving salvation. A Roman centurion in the Roman capital of Caesarea Maritima has filled his house with friends and family to hear from Peter, one of the leaders of a new Jewish sect. As a God-fearing Gentile in Samaria, the centurion knows about the prophets and the events around Jesus' ministry and crucifixion. He apparently needs to know about the resurrection and Jesus' role in God's plan of forgiveness. Before Peter is even finished speaking, the Holy Spirit falls on the group, and the era of Gentile Jesus-followers begins.

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.