Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 10

There was a certain man in Cæsarea.—We enter on a new stage of expansion in the Church's growth, the full details of which St. Luke may have learned either from Philip the Evangelist during his stay at Cæsarea (Acts 21:8; Acts 24:27) or, possibly, from Cornelius himself. His admission into the Church, even if it was not the first instance of the reception of a Gentile convert as such, became, through its supernatural accompaniments and (in the strict sense of that word) its “prerogative” character, the ruling case on the subject. Whether it was earlier or later than the admission of the Gentiles recorded in Acts 11:20, we have no adequate data for determining. (See Note on that passage.)

Cæsarea was at this time the usual residence of the Roman Procurator of Judæa, and was consequently garrisoned by Roman troops. Greeks, Jews, and Romans, probably also Phoenicians and other traders, were mingled freely in its population.

Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band.—The office was a comparatively subordinate one, the centurion commanding the sixth part of a cohort, the sixtieth part of a legion. The Greek implies that he belonged to the cohort, not that he commanded it. The name Cornelius may indicate a connection with the great Cornelian gens, which had been made famous by the Gracchi and by Sulla.

The bands, or cohorts, stationed at Cæsarea consisted chiefly of auxiliaries levied from the province (Jos. Wars, ii. 13, § 6), who were not always to be relied on in times of popular excitement, and this cohort was accordingly distinguished from the others as Italian, i.e., as being at least commanded by Roman officers. A first Italian legion is repeatedly mentioned by Tacitus (Hist. i. 59, 64; c. 100; iii. 22), but this is said by Dion (Leviticus 24:0) to have been first raised by Nero; and the term which St. Luke uses for band (spira) was, strictly speaking, not used of the legions, the latter term being applied exclusively to Roman troops. In Acts 27:1 we meet with another of these cohorts, also at Cæsarea, known as the Augustan.

A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house.—The word for “devout” is not the same as that used in Acts 2:5, Acts 8:2, and Luke 2:25, and appears to be used by St. Luke, as again in Acts 10:7, for the special type of devotion that belonged to Gentile converts to Judaism. The phrase “those that feared God” is employed distinctly for this class in Acts 10:22, Acts 10:35, and again in Acts 13:16, Acts 13:26. There is a special significance in the addition “with all his house.” The centurion was not satisfied with having found a higher truth for himself, but sought to impart it to the soldiers and slaves, possibly to those nearer and dearer to him, who came under his influence .

Which gave much alms to the people—that is, to the Jews of Caesarea as distinct from the Gentiles (Compare to Acts 26:17, Acts 26:23, and Acts 28:17).

And prayed to God alway.—As the vision that follows may rightly be regarded as an answer to the prayers thus offered, it is natural to infer that Cornelius was seeking guidance regarding the new faith which Philip had brought to Caesarea, and of which he could scarcely fail to have heard. Was it really a new revelation from God to man? Could he be admitted to the fellowship of the society which confessed Jesus as the Christ without accepting the yoke of circumcision and the ceremonial law, from which, as a “proselyte of the gate,” he had until then kept back?

In a vision, evidently. The adverb seems added to distinguish the manifestation from that of a dream like Joseph’s in Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:13, or of a trance like St. Peter’s (Acts 10:10) or St. Paul’s (Acts 22:17).

About the ninth hour of the day. This was, as in Acts 3:1, one of the three hours of prayer, the hour when the evening sacrifice was offered in the Temple. Cornelius had therefore, thus far, accepted the Jewish rules of devotion, and for him also the Law was a schoolmaster bringing him to Christ.

Are come up for a memorial before God.—The word so used was emphatically sacrificial and liturgical, as, for example, in Leviticus 2:2; Leviticus 2:9; Leviticus 2:16; Leviticus 5:12; Leviticus 6:15; Sirach 45:16; and elsewhere. The words implied, therefore, that the “prayers and alms” were accepted as a true sacrifice, more acceptable than the blood of bulls and goats.

If we ask, in the technical language of a later theology, how they could be accepted when they were offered prior to a clear faith in Christ, and therefore before justification, the answer is that the good works were worked by the power of God’s grace already working in him.

He was believing in the Light that lighteth every man, though he did not yet identify that Light with its manifestation in Jesus as the Christ (John 1:9). He had the faith which from the beginning of the world has justified—the belief that God is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

Call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.—The circumstances of the communication, it is obvious, present a striking parallelism with those accompanying the revelation to Ananias in Acts 9:10-17. To those who regard both narratives as fictitious, the resemblance will appear as characteristic of St. Luke’s style as a writer. Admitting, however, the possibility of divine guidance being given by a supernatural message, it will not seem strange to us, as has already been said, that it should in each case take the form that made it most effective, giving directions about names and places, and yet leaving something open as a test of faith.