So Peter went to Caesarea. Cornelius, meantime, had gathered all his family and friends. Obviously Cornelius was expecting something significant to happen.
When Peter arrived, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet, but Peter told him to get up for he was only a man. Peter then went inside and started to address the crowd.
He starts off by reminding them of the wall that existed between Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:13), but that God had told him to treat them as equals. He came because God had told him to. Now he asks why they sent for him.
Cornelius explains the visit he had from an angel. As often is the case, the angel appeared as a man, though with a brilliant appearance. He then related what the angel had said. Now they wanted to hear what the Lord was going to say through Peter.
They were about to hear one of the most effective sermons ever. One of the reasons it was so effect was because of the expectation, humility and submission on the part of the hearers. If we want our preachers to be more effective one of the best things we can do is to be more expectant and prepare ourselves better.
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