Acts 11:11-15

 

Acts 11:11 (KJB)

And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.

 

(Acts 10:19 KJV) While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. While Peter was still meditating on the vision, God had already dispatched three men from the house of Cornelius. This also teaches us that God wastes no time. Peter was receiving the vision and the dispatched men were already nearing his home. When God calls a person to do something, they are to be ready to move out. This is why the Bible always speaks about the believer being ready and prepared. This is why it is necessary for the Christian to be well-versed in the Scriptures. We need to be ready when we receive our clarion call for a mission or our life’s ministry.

 

Acts 11:12 (KJB)

And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:

 

The Holy Spirit then told Peter that he was to go along with them and he was not to doubt anything because God was in control of the whole situation. He was not to walk behind them or away from them but with them to fellowship as they walked and maybe to witness to them. Peter also took six witnesses with him so he would have corroboration of his story and would not be accused of treason against his own people. The law stated that a good witness was by two or three witnesses, here Peter doubled that number. So the ten of them had left Joppa and went to Caesarea to the house of Cornelius.

 

Acts 11:13 (KJB)

And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

 

Peter’s story was further corroborated by the fact that Cornelius told him that an angel had stood in his house and told him to send to Joppa and bring Peter. This was a definite angel visitation because he told Cornelius exactly where Peter was staying. Cornelius would not have been able to ascertain that information so quickly. This showed how God was leading this meeting all the way.

 

Acts 11:14 (KJB)

Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.

 

The angel not only told Cornelius where he would be able to find Peter but also told him what message Peter was going to bring them when he arrived. Cornelius and his family plus his friends would have known the Hebrew Scriptures since he was one who had studied them and attended feasts. Now they were going to learn the fulfilled meanings of those Scriptures and the feasts. They were going to learn all about salvation though the Lord Jesus Christ. Cornelius, with the rank of Centurion, would have definitely known about Jesus and the events which happened in Jerusalem less than one year ago.

 

Acts 11:15 (KJB)

And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

 

(Mat 11:15 KJV) He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Martin Luther once told his hearers (paraphrasing) that “he can only get the Gospel as far as their ears and beyond that it was the Holy Spirit who had to apply it.” Peter could have spoken to these people for days and without spiritual ears, they would not have understood. However, in this case as soon as Peter started to speak, the Holy Spirit had now indwelled them and they were now spiritually qualified to hear the words Peter was speaking and to understand them. When Jesus spoke about having ears, He spoke about having spiritual ears, ears that were saved and could understand the teaching of spiritual things. (1 Cor 2:14 KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. An unsaved person cannot understand spiritual things because they are not qualified to be able to. So the Holy Spirit gave understanding to Cornelius and all those who were in his home. They had all become saved the moment Peter started speaking the true Gospel to them. One of the best examples of this is the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:32 KJV) And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? They were able to know that it was Christ who walked with them because it was Christ who opened up the Scriptures to them. We do not interpret the Scriptures with a dead, closed mind. Only those who are saved are able to understand the Scriptures as they are understood through the indwelling Holy Spirit. He teaches and interprets for us to give us understanding.

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