The First Gentile Christians (Acts 10:25-48)

 Sermon for Milledgeville and Centenary UMC...

[Slide] The First Gentile Christians (Acts 10:25-48)

 

Cornelius has been called the very first Gentile Christian. His conversion takes center stage. Church leadership in Jerusalem were concerned that Peter broke holiness customs by entering the home of a Gentile. Not only that, Peter entered the home of Israel’s oppressor, a Roman centurion. I wonder if Cornelius truly is the first Gentile Christian. There are other contenders like the Samaritans.

 

[Slide] In Acts 8, Philip, one of the seven men commissioned by the apostles as servant leaders, went to Samaria. He preached the gospel, freed the demon possessed, and healed the paralyzed. Many came to faith in Jesus, including a sorcerer by the name of Simon. The locals called him The Great Power of God. When Peter and John arrived, they discovered none of the Samaritan Christians had received the Holy Spirit. Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed for them and they received the Spirit. [Slide] This gift amazed the magician, so Simon offered to pay Peter for this power to give others the Holy Spirit. Peter rebuked him.

 

[Slide] The Samaritans were considered by Judeans to be half-breeds and heretics. We could call Samaritans Gentiles, but that is only half-true. They have Jewish DNA mixed with other races. The Law of Moses is their sacred scripture. But they were behaving like Gentile pagans by giving honor and credence to a sorcerer like Simon.

 

[Slide] Philip encounters an Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah. By the end of their conversation, the eunuch asked to be baptized as a Christian. Is the Ethiopian the first Gentile Christian? A eunuch was often a castrated slave, but the Greeks also used the word to describe high ranking court officials, castrated or not. The term Ethiopian means “burnt face,” a term used by Greeks to describe Africans south of Egypt.

 

The eunuch served as treasurer for his queen, Candace. Candace is not her name, but rather a title of Nubian royalty. It is pronounced kandake.

[Slide] Archaeology suggests one of two women from history that the eunuch treasurer may have served, Nawidemak or Amanirenas

 

The eunuch may have been Nubian. [Slide] He may or may not have been a slave. If he were a slave he could be any nationality. Jews had settlements all along the Nile. If he were a Jew, he may have become a slave at a young age. That would explain why he came to Jerusalem to worship, but does not understand how to interpret the prophet, Isaiah. Luke only tells us that he is a eunuch, a treasurer, and Ethiopian. If he was not a Jew, then the Ethiopian eunuch is the first Gentile convert, if we don’t consider Samaritans to be Gentile.

 

I realize after all this digging, it really doesn’t matter. Luke is not interested in labeling Cornelius or the Samaritans or the Ethiopian as the first Gentile Christians. He is interested in showing how the gospel is spreading just as Jesus said. [Slide] After the stoning of Stephen, a great persecution began led by Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee. The disciples of Jesus scattered and told people about Jesus wherever they went. We get a version of what the disciples said about Jesus in our reading today. The message to Cornelius is consistent with what Peter shared in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. [Slide]

 

·       Jesus is the fulfillment of scripture

o   All the prophets testify about Him

·       Jesus is from God

o   God was in Jesus. God anointed Jesus with power

·       The Church is witness to Jesus

o   We ate and drank with Risen Jesus, preach Jesus as Lord

 

[Slide] Cornelius is not your average Roman soldier. He is a proselyte to Judaism. He worshiped the God of Israel, prayed along with all the Jews three times a day at 9:00 in the morning, at noon and at 3:00 in the afternoon. He gave generously to the poor and needy. God rewarded Cornelius’ heart of compassion and his faithfulness. God sent Peter to bring good news about Jesus.

God prepared Peter. [Slide] While Peter was staying in Joppa, he was praying and the Lord showed him a vision. A sheet came down from heaven holding animals, birds and reptiles which the Law of Moses forbids Jews to eat. A voice from heaven said, Get up, Peter! Kill and eat.”

 

Don’t you find that to be strange? God is telling Peter to break the Law of Moses. [Slide] The Bible says it is unlawful for Jews to eat these kinds of animals. The purpose of these dietary restrictions was to set Israel apart from other nations. They were a sign of holiness to Israel and all who cared to notice. A Jew will not eat pork as a sign of their utter devotion to God. A Jew will not wear clothing of blended fabrics. They will wear clothing only of one singular material as a sign of their singular devotion to God. Jews do not mix with the idolaters around them. Why, then, would God ask Peter to break His holy law?

 

Peter responded to the voice from heaven. “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” In other words, Peter has been a law observant Jew and faithfully observed the dietary restrictions.

 

[Slide] The voice from heaven said to Peter, “Do not call anything impure that I have made clean.” (Acts 10:15) Now this vision occurred not once, but three times. God was preparing Peter to engage with Gentiles, people with whom his religion forbade contact.

 

God is operating by a new covenant. The covenant through Moses was broken. That is why God sent them into exile in Babylon. [Slide] God’s covenant with Abraham always had the rest of the world in mind. God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation.

 

and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:3b)

 

 

 

In Jeremiah 31, God promised a new covenant. [Slide]

 

It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
³³ “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    
[Slide] “I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.

 

For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

 

As a Christian we understand how the new covenant in Jesus Christ fulfills this promise. The Holy Spirit living in us reminds us of all Jesus has said. The Spirit connects us to the mind of Christ. And Christ Jesus is God.

 

[Slide] God is moving beyond the law of Moses to establish true righteousness through Christ dwelling in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit, God’s law is written on the heart, [Slide] and God’s law is love.

 

After God restores Jerusalem, Isaiah proclaimed that Gentiles will come to Israel’s God. So it should not surprise Jewish Christians that Gentiles are coming to faith in Christ. [Slide]

 

the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.
Nations (Gentiles) will come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60:2b-3)

 

God is operating by a new covenant, a covenant of love, forgiveness and the Spirit of Christ.

 

[Slide]The voice from heaven told Peter, “What God has cleansed, you shall no longer count as unclean.” 

 

This is atonement language. [Slide] Through the blood of sacrificed animals God cleanses Israel of guilt, making them once again holy. Atonement restores holiness. When God’s own Son shed His blood, His sacrifice cleansed us of all sin for all time. [Slide]

 

For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:14)

 

Holiness is granted, not by our perfect obedience, but by the blood of Christ. We sin. We stumble and fall from grace. Every time we participate in the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) we are reminded that God has made us clean and holy through the blood of Jesus.

 

This is the new covenant reality. And Peter is beginning to see it.

 

[Slide] While at Cornelius’ home, Peter gave the good news about peace through Jesus, resurrection, and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit filled them all. They began speaking in tongues, a sign that they are experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter is amazed. “If God gives the Holy Spirit to Gentiles, how can I stand in the way of God?” “I cannot refuse these people. We must baptize them and welcome them into the Church.”

 

And what are we to make of this story? [Slide] I am encouraged to know that salvation is not up to me. God has washed us clean of our guilt once for all in the cross of Jesus. Because of Jesus, we are holy, able to stand unblemished and without shame before God.

 

[Slide] Holiness is for all people. What God did through Jesus is for all people. Christ gave his life for sinners, murderers, thieves, and prostitutes, for the vile, the crude, and immoral. All have sinned and fall short, and Christ has died for all. Whoever you may think do not belong to the Church, think again. Anyone who comes to Christ is a new creation.

 

The only thing that stands in the way between you and peace with God is faith. Those who believe this good news have passed from death to life. They stand purified before God. Holiness is for everyone.

 

[Slide] Repent of distancing yourself from those you think sinful or unclean. To repent means changing your mind and behavior. Christ didn’t come for people who think they don’t need cleansing. He came to save sinners. We all are sinners. Like Peter, open your eyes to the truth. God shows no partiality. All are loved. All are welcome.

Do not call unclean what God has made holy.

 

[Slide] A tattooed young woman entered a church and sat down to worship. Rather than welcome she received stares. People spoke to one another in hushed tones as they judged her. No one introduced themselves. No one made an effort to get to know her. She came looking for Jesus, looking for peace and fulfillment. She walked away feeling rejection. Had God rejected her? No, of course not, but will she ever know that? God had not rejected her, but will she ever walk into a church again?

 

Untied Methodists aspire to be people with open hearts, open minds and open doors. Open your hearts to the seekers, the lost, and the marginalized. Join God in breaking down our social barriers and offer love and mercy to all.

 

Do not call unclean what God has made clean.