Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 10:4

"And he, fastening his eyes upon him, and being affrighted, said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God." — Acts 10:4 (ASV)

“One day about three in the afternoon,” an angel of God appeared to Cornelius in a vision and called him by name. The time element here emphasizes that the vision happened in broad daylight. In response, Cornelius “stared in fear” and could only blurt out the words “What is it, Lord?” While the Greek title kyrios (“Lord”; GK 3261) was used in antiquity for everything from polite address to worshipful acclamation , Cornelius undoubtedly meant it in some sense of worshipful acclaim—even though he might not have had any firm idea of whom he was addressing (cf. 9:5). In his consternation he heard the reassuring words that his prayers and alms had arisen as a memorial before God (cf. Leviticus 2:2; Hebrews 13:15–16), a biblical and traditional way of saying that he was commended before God and that God was attentive to his situation.