Then Peter, going down to the men, said: Behold, I am he whom you seek. What is the cause for which you are come?
καταβας δε πετρος προς τους ανδρας ειπεν ιδου εγω ειμι ον ζητειτε τις η αιτια δι ην παρεστε
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Why, then, did he not receive them at once, but ask? He saw soldiers among the visitors. Therefore he does not simply ask, but first identifies himself and then inquires into the reason for their arrival. This was so they would not think he was asking because he wished to hide. He asks in order that, if they required it, he might immediately go with them, but if not, receive them into his house.
"Behold, I am he." First he acknowledged that he was the one whom they were seeking. Only then did he ask the reason for their coming, so that either he might immediately be ready and go with them, or, if this were not needed, arrange for them in the house.
The Spirit told him that soldiers had come, but remained silent about the matter for which they had come. For, in order to preserve a humble way of thinking in a man, the Spirit of prophecy "sometimes touches the soul in part, and in part does not touch it."
When the Apostle Peter's vision and ecstatic state had ended, he was perplexed and reflected within himself on the meaning of the divine lesson.
Then those sent by Cornelius came to the house of Simon the tanner, where Peter was staying, Acts 9:43; Acts 10:6. They asked for Simon, called Peter.
The Holy Spirit said to him: behold, three men are seeking you. Arise, go down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.
After this new prompting of the Spirit of God, only one thing remained for the Apostle Peter in order to clarify the meaning of the vision.
He had to learn who those seeking him were, with whom he was to go without any hesitation.
The Spirit of God foresaw doubt in the Apostle, but forestalled it. He commanded him not to doubt the rightness and God-pleasing character of the steps he was being called to take.
Therefore, when Peter then learned from questioning Cornelius's messengers that he was being called into the house of unclean Gentiles, he undoubtedly understood at once who those cleansed by God were.
He must no longer regard them as unclean, and he must go to them without any hesitation.
To quiet Peter's conscience, he was told that those seeking him had been sent by the Spirit of God.
From Cornelius's messengers he learns that Cornelius is indeed calling him by the command of an angel.
Thus no room for any doubt remained. The next day Peter set out for Caesarea with Cornelius's messengers and some Christians from Joppa.
"For what reason have you come?" The Holy Spirit commanded Peter to go without any conceit with those sent for him, yet He did not reveal why they had been sent to him. So the apostle, after declaring who he was, directly asks them why they have come.
The meeting of the Apostle Peter with those sent by Cornelius took place with the assistance of the Spirit of God.
He appeared here, evidently, so that Peter might be assured by God concerning all that had happened.
Therefore Peter went at the summons with complete confidence in its full goodwill and fruitfulness. Otherwise one might have thought that a soldier, accompanied by servants, wanted to seize him and bring him to judgment, and perhaps even to death.
As for guilt, Peter knew from the example of Saint Stephen, and even of Jesus Christ Himself, that the authority of that time could put the innocent to death.
Therefore this divine warning was very necessary and comforting for him.
After coming down to the messengers, Peter said: I am he. This recalls the words of the Lord, spoken by Him to the soldiers who came to seize Him in the garden of Gethsemane.
Of course, here everything differed in spirit, yet in form it had something similar. Therefore a likeness appears here also in the speech.
By asking the messengers about the matter for which they had come, Peter shows that it had not been revealed to him why he had to go. Only the command to go had been given.
And so, ready at once to fulfill the will of God if the course of events required it, he asks them decisively: for what matter have you come?
They answer, but not so briefly. They do not know that this matter is not momentary, since they had been entrusted to tell everything about it in detail.
Thus Peter could judge what kind of matter it was, and what should be done for its further grace-filled direction.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 18 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS