Where did the Jewish nation begin? Let's go back to a man named Abram. Later God would rename him to Abraham. He told him that He would make of him a great nation and the nation that comes from you will be a blessing for all nations. But . . . how? We know that the answer has to be through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. God said He would bless the nations of the world through Israel. It is prophesied through the words of the Hebrew prophets.
For example, Isaiah 42:1 says . . . “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles." Gentiles meaning the non-Jewish world, the world beyond the shores of Israel.
In v.6 Isaiah says, “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles" THAT'S exactly what Jesus did! He fulfilled those words!!!
Isaiah 49:6 says: "Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’” The Good News of Jesus of Nazareth was carried from the shores of Israel - the disciples boarded ships and took the Good News to the nations.
So . . . this is great stuff - right? Now the question is raised . . . where does the church actually begin??? There are those who say it began on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 believers in Jerusalem. As far as we know - they were Jewish believers. Some take this a step further and say that the church began just down the coast at a placed called Caesarea (sess-a-RE-a) AND it began with a life changing experience of a Roman Centurion and his entire household.
Two things were happening simultaneously . . . farther down the coast in a town called Joppa (which was actually our very first stop from the airport when we landed in Israel in 2014) . . . the Apostle Peter was staying. In the book of Acts we are told that Peter goes up on the rooftop around noon this day and he falls into a trance. He sees a sheet coming down from heaven - it is filled with all kinds of beasts. Now remember, Peter was an orthodox Jew who had been raised his entire life about clean and unclean animals and therefore there were certain ones you could eat (clean) and ones you could not eat (unclean). So imagine how he must have recoiled when he saw this sheet filled with both clean and unclean animals. We are told the sheet goes up and down 3 times and eventually God says, "you shall not call unclean that which I say is clean."
So . . . as this was happening with Peter something else was happening back in Caesarea when this Roman Centurion was praying to God. He ALSO would touched . . . (read Acts 10:1-8). Cornelius (Centurion) sends two of his servants to Joppa to find a man named Simon Peter. They arrive just as Peter's vision (with the sheet) has just completed.
The next day Peter goes with them to Caesarea. Now, what we all need to understand is that Caesarea was a Roman city . . . a "Gentile" city. An orthodox Jew would not have entered this city . . . they wouldn't have been "caught dead" there. Peter was the same as all Jews - he would not have wanted anything to do with Gentiles but . . . he took that vision about the sheet coming down 3 times with clean / unclean animals as a message from God . . . to change his mind. So basically, God was saying, "I want my message, my salvation, to go to the Gentiles and YOU are going to be one of the instruments that will take this message to them." (Does this ever happen to you? That you feel God has give YOU a message so that YOU will take that message to others?)
So . . . in Caesarea Peter meets up with Cornelius and his family. What does Cornelius do? He "fell down at his feet and worshiped him." (Acts 10:24-25). Let's think about this for a minute . . . imagine the humility . . . this "Roman Centurion" who doesn't need to bow down to anyone except his superior officers is bowing down to a Jewish man called Simon Peter - in fact it says he "worshiped him." The next verses say "they talked" - surely they exchanged their stories . . . Cornelius tells Peter about the angel who spoke to him and Peter tells Cornelius about how God changed his heart about the Gentiles and that's why he had come to Caesarea. This is truly incredible when you think about it because up until that time Peter would have thought "only to the Jews has God come. WE are the chosen people and the Gentiles are on the outside looking in." But . . . he can no longer say that because God has shown him that He has a message for the Gentiles as well.
Peter preaches (vv. 35-41) and God moves in His power (v.44) . . . "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word." Do we get this??? This means . . . what happened in Jerusalem on Pentecost to the 120 Jewish believers NOW was happening to Cornelius and those in his house in Caesarea!!! WOWOWOWOW!
Acts chapter 11 opens with the Apostles and their brethren back in Judea. They have heard that the Gentiles also received the word of God. They are not happy!!! First off, they weren't happy that Peter even went to Caesarea (remember . . . an "unclean Roman city"?) They also weren't happy that the Holy Spirit descended on the Gentiles (as if . . . ). So they challenge Peter about the events that took place along the coast (Acts 11:3) "You went in to uncircumcised men and you ate with them?" (I can actually visualize their reaction to Peter when they confront him.)
Peter explains what happened (vv. 15-17) and . . . HOW could he or anyone stand against the will of God?
So . . . in a sense, in Caesarea the Gentile church was fully born at the house of a Centurion named Cornelius. WHY did God choose one man - a Roman Centurion at that - and why this one out of all the Roman soldiers in Israel at that time? John Tweedie believes the answer is in the words at the opening of Acts 10 . . . Cornelius was a devout man - he was praying always - he gave alms to the people of Israel - he blessed the people of Israel.
Do you remember what God had said 2,000 years earlier to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 . . . "I will bless those who bless you." THIS is a Roman Centurion stationed in Caesarea - part of the occupying army of the Roman empire . . . but he cared for the Jewish people - he gave alms to them and God chose HIM and his household to be the first recipients of the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Gentile world. And from there . . . to wherever the ships would take the disciples across the seas to other continents where the Gentiles lived - the message of Jesus Christ went far beyond the borders of Israel - the fulfillment of the prophecies.
This story of Cornelius and his family whose lives were changed is one of the keys of life. The fact that Cornelius blessed the Jewish people God kept His word in Genesis 12:3. And as we bless others . . . God will bless us.