At
about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!” He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is also called Peter. He lodges with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the seaside.
Acts 10:3-6
Acts 9 [40.] Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand, and raised her up. Calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. He stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
Acts 10 [1.] Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God. At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
Acts 10 [4.] He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?”
He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is also called Peter. He lodges with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the seaside.
Acts 10 [7.] When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually. Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”
Meaning:
Cornelius, a Roman centurion in Caesarea, was “a devout man, and one who feared God with all his house” who “always prayed to God” (Acts 10:2). Now God answers that life of prayer. These verses open one of the great turning points in Acts: the good news about Jesus is about to enter a Gentile home.
- “At about the ninth hour of the day”
The ninth hour was about three in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice and of prayer at the temple: “Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour” (Acts 3:1). Cornelius, a Gentile, kept the Jewish hour of prayer in his own home. Like Zacharias, who saw an angel while “the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense” (Luke 1:10), he was met by God while praying.
Caesarea, rebuilt by Herod the Great and named after Caesar Augustus, was the seat of the Roman governors of Judea. Luke’s Gospel tells of another centurion whom the Jewish elders praised: “he loves our nation, and he built our synagogue for us” (Luke 7:5).
- “He clearly saw in a vision an angel of God”
This was no vague dream. Cornelius “clearly saw” the angel in daylight and heard his own name. He was “frightened,” as Zacharias was when “fear fell upon him” (Luke 1:12) and as the shepherds near Bethlehem “were terrified” (Luke 2:9).
His question, “What is it, Lord?” is respectful and ready to listen. It recalls Saul, who asked, “Who are you, Lord?” one chapter earlier (Acts 9:5). Both men were then directed to a human messenger.
- “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God”
The angel uses temple language. Offerings burned on the altar rose before God, and a portion was called a memorial. A psalm applies the picture to prayer: “Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice” (Psalm 141:2). Cornelius could not offer sacrifices in the temple, but his prayers and generosity rose to God like an offering.
Jesus taught that the Father “who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:4).
Readers ask what this says about Cornelius’s standing before God. Some stress that God accepts sincere seekers; others note that he still needed the message about Jesus, for Peter “will speak to you words by which you will be saved, you and all your house” (Acts 11:14). The text holds both: God honoured his prayers, and the answer was the good news.
- “Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is also called Peter”
The angel does not preach the gospel himself; God spreads it through human witnesses. “How will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).
Joppa, modern Jaffa, lay about thirty miles (fifty kilometres) south along the coast. After raising Tabitha, Peter “stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon” (Acts 9:43). Tanners handled the skins of dead animals, work many Jews regarded as unclean. Peter was already lodging where a strict Jew might hesitate, and God was about to take him further.
The Significance of Acts 10:3-6
- God hears the prayers of those who seek him
Cornelius had no place among God’s covenant people, yet his prayers reached heaven. God “is a rewarder of those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
- God works through ordinary people and practical obedience
Cornelius’s part was simple: send men to Joppa. Many of God’s great works begin with a plain instruction obeyed without delay.
Cross-References:
Psalm 141:2: “Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.” Prayer as an offering rising to God.
Luke 1:10: “The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.” An angel appears at the hour of prayer.
Hebrews 13:16: “But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Generosity as an offering.
Romans 10:14: “How will they hear without a preacher?” God sends human messengers.
Conclusion: At three in the afternoon, the hour of prayer, an angel told the Roman centurion Cornelius that his prayers and gifts had gone up as a memorial before God, and instructed him to send for Peter in Joppa. God honoured a Gentile’s sincere devotion and answered it by sending him a witness with the message about Jesus. The scene shows that God hears those who seek him and chooses to work through ordinary people who obey.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible