Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 10:36

"The word which he sent unto the children of Israel, preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all.) --" — Acts 10:36 (ASV)

The Greek of vv.36–38 is syntactically awkward, probably stemming from Peter himself as he spoke before his Gentile audience in somewhat “broken” Greek. The apostle captions his sermon as “the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” This caption contains three emphases that set the tone for what follows. (1) It is a divine revelation, a message from God. (2) Peter emphasizes the proclamation of the Gospel “to the people of Israel,” its immediate recipients. (3) His third emphasis relates the bringing of that Gospel to the Gentile world in terms comprehensible to Gentiles, characterized by the expression “Lord of all” (both Jews and Gentiles). This phrase was a pagan title for deity, but it was rebaptized by the early Christians to become an appropriate christological title (cf. Colossians 1:15–20).