Author: Administrador

Peter and Cornelius and Trouble in Jerusalem This lesson for the 5th Sunday of Easter is the concluding episode of the narrative of Peter and Cornelius that starts at the beginning of chapter 10. It is one of the longest stories of Luke-Acts and thus also one of the longest in the New Testament. Luke … Continue reading “Acts 11:1-18 Commentary by James Boyce”

According to several interpreters, there is an apparent redundancy in this passage.  The Cornelius episode and its effects have been the focus since the beginning of chapter 10. We get the point! God is accepting Gentiles without the requirement that they participate in Judaism. But this is not just repetition for repetition’s sake. Each time … Continue reading “Acts 11:1-18 Commentary by Kyle Fever”

The Jewish leaders in Judea, the circumcised, criticized Peter for sharing a meal with the uncircumcised, the Gentiles (cf. Galatians 2:11-14). This situation betrays a dichotomy between what is and what is not. Peter proceeds to tell how it happened that he engaged in table sharing with Gentiles, the uncircumcised. God sent Peter a vision … Continue reading “Acts 11:1-18 Commentary by Mitzi J. Smith”

How can we ever forget the celebration in Chicago’s Grant Park the evening that Barack Obama was elected our forty-fourth president? The crowds were overflowing. The excitement was palpable. There before our eyes, we watched Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson with tears of joy streaming down their cheeks. What were the crowds so overjoyed about? … Continue reading “Acts 10:44-48 Commentary by Richard Jensen”

This is the best kind of transition: it’s tight, provocative, and suggestive of the theme of the entire story. In Acts 10:44-48 Luke displays his narrative prowess by seamlessly resolving one storyline (begun with the introduction of Cornelius in 10:1) while simultaneously setting the stage for the ethnic and theological drama about to unfold in … Continue reading “Acts 10:44-48 Commentary by Jacob Myers”

The brief portion of this story assigned for this Sixth Sunday after Easter is the climax of a rather lengthy episode that, again, highlights the expansion of insider/outsider boundaries within the early decades of the church.1 We are told of “a centurion from the Italian cohort” named Cornelius, a “pious and God-fearing person with his … Continue reading “Acts 10:44-48 Commentary by Coleman Baker”

This text for the Baptism of Jesus is a short sermon that summarizes the entire story of Jesus. The baptism proclaimed by John the Baptist is mentioned as the starting point for Jesus’ public ministry (Acts 10:37). Then the sermon offers several perspectives on the significance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. As the sermon … Continue reading “Acts 10:34-43 Commentary by Craig R. Koester”

“This one (touton) God raised from the dead on the third day” (Acts 10:40). We appropriately turn this Easter season to the book of Acts, as it narrates the early church’s pioneering witness to the resurrection across the eastern Mediterranean world. In the present text, the apostle Peter proclaims the resurrection in an unconventional setting.–not … Continue reading “Acts 10:34-43 Commentary by F. Scott Spencer”

Our text begins with Peter addressing a most unlikely audience. He is speaking to the household and friends of Cornelius, a notable leader of Roman soldiers who is nevertheless described as “God-fearing” (10:2, 22). This means that he helped the poor and was also known for his regular prayer life (10:2, 32). Peter’s “sermon” is … Continue reading “Acts 10:34-43 Commentary by Mark Tranvik”

Julia Foote (1823-1900) a nineteenth-century black female preacher wrote in her autobiography: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, for this wonderful salvation, that snatched me as a brand from the burning, even me, a poor, ignorant girl! And will he not do for all what he did for me?  Yes, yes; God is no respecter … Continue reading “Acts 10:34-43 Commentary by Mitzi J. Smith”