Introduction
Today’s reading marks a bit of a watershed in our series of sermons from Acts. In many ways the theme up til now has been looking back to Easter – rehearsing the basics of the faith and calling on people to repent and be saved. Today’s passage has us looking forward to Pentecost as Cornelius and his household are filled with the Holy Spirit. In a minute I want us to look at this under three headings but first a bit of context.
Who can remember when we looked at the verses immediately preceding these ones? It was the set reading for Easter Sunday and we looked at it alongside the one set for that day on the first Sunday after Easter. The context for this passage is Peter’s visit to the house of Cornelius. Chapter 10 starts with Cornelius. He is described as being “devout, God-fearing” and it is noted that he prayed regularly and gave to the needy v.2. An angel appears to him and tells him to send for Simon Peter who was staying in Joppa, this he does. Meanwhile in Joppa Peter is feeling peckish. While waiting for the meal to be cooked he has a vision of all kinds of creature both “clean” and “unclean” being let down in a sheet with the instruction to kill and eat. This happened three times. While pondering the meaning of this the men from Cornelius’ house arrive and Peter understands in the Spirit that he is to go with them. After Peter and Cornelius exchange stories of how they came to be there Peter starts to preach. The start of the sermon is what was in the previous, Easter reading, but as he was in full flow something happens “While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” v.44 Three things about this:
It was Unexpected
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit was entirely unexpected – possibly even unwelcome, interrupting Peter in full flow. It is hard for us to grasp just how unexpected this was, but for Peter and the other “circumcised believers” ie Jews who had become believers it was astonishing. Just think back for a moment to the lengths God had to go to to get Peter to come to Cornelius’s house. Whilst this outpouring of the Spirit, like so many recorded in Scripture and church history, was unexpected the conditions were right. We hear that Cornelius and his household were devout, God-fearing and prayerful. Both they and Peter were open to God and obedient to his word
It was obvious
Secondly it was obvious. The people who came with Peter could immediately see (or should I say hear) that something had happened “ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God” v.46. Over the years there have been many debates about speaking in tongues and whether everyone who is filled with the Spirit experiences this or not. This is not the time or place to dwell on this, suffice to say that this is what happened to Cornelius et al
It was linked to baptism
Thirdly this experience of the Holy Spirit was linked to baptism (water baptism). We really love to have things neat and systematic and in an ideal world the order is: believe, repent, be baptised and be filled with the Spirit. We do not live in an ideal world and sometimes things are just left untidy.
Application
As we draw near to the festival of Pentecost let us be open to God in devout living and prayerfulness and maybe He will surprise us.