Acts 10:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

NIV: About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

NASB: On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

CSB: The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the roof about noon.

NLT: The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

KJV: On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:

NKJV: The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.

Peter is in Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv, praying on the roof of a tanner named Simon around noon. The day before, a kind, faithful man who worships the Jewish God—though he is also a Gentile and a Roman military commander—received a message from an angel. He was told to send for Peter who would explain more about God. The centurion sent two servants and a soldier who also worships God. They'd left Caesarea the day before. Now, they are coming close to Simon the tanner's house (Acts 10:1–8).

In the earlier days of the church, the apostles realized they needed to delegate. Specifically, they need to "devote [themselves] to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). It is well-documented that the church first selected deacons because the Hellenistic widows who followed Jesus were not getting enough to eat (Acts 6:1–6). Peter's commitment to prayer is an outworking of this and other lessons.

Peter had followed Jesus for three years. He was one of Jesus' closest friends, and the clear leader of the apostles—though not the leader of the church in Jerusalem, a role held by James, the half-brother of Jesus. Peter makes prayer a priority. Prayer is part of what marked the early church (Acts 2:42) and something to which the apostles knew they needed to be devoted (Acts 6:4). Peter takes his lead from Jesus who "would withdraw to desolate places and pray" (Luke 5:16). Just a few examples include Jesus spending time alone with the Father at the beginning of His ministry (Mark 1:35), after He fed the five thousand (Mark 6:46), and the night before the crucifixion (Mark 14:32–36).

We sometimes forget how important prayer is. We sometimes forget just how much we need God's grace and wisdom in our lives. We can get so caught up in the day-to-day doing that we just don't take the time to listen. If Peter can take the example of Jesus to carve out time for prayer, we should follow Peter's lead.

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.