The events with Peter and Cornelius would cause a great stir. The news spread, some would welcome it and be excited, but others would react against it. The same things happens today with any move of God. The text refers to the circumcised believers. This would seem to imply either that not all Jews were circumcised, or that there were already some Gentile believers. The latter seems unlikely as it does not fit with what has just happened. Whatever the case, the circumcised believers were annoyed that Peter had eaten with non-Jews.
Before being too harsh with them, we need to remember what a monumental event had taken place, for Peters' actions went against all that they had known. So Peter explains all that happened. God's actions and way of working were chosen (i) to convince Peter of the right thing to do; and (ii) to give him a tale to tell so that he could convince others that it was actually God at work.
Having heard all that Peter said the objectors accepted what had happened and praised God. "Repentance that leads to life". This is a key element of the gospel, it involves a turning away from worthless things, and turning to the living God.
No comments:
Post a Comment