And he told us how he had seen an angel in his house, standing and saying to him: Send to Joppe and call hither Simon, who is surnamed Peter,
απηγγειλεν τε ημιν πως ειδεν τον αγγελον εν τω οικω αυτου σταθεντα και ειποντα αυτω αποστειλον εις ιοππην ανδρας και μεταπεμψαι σιμωνα τον επικαλουμενον πετρον
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
He did not mention what the angel said to Cornelius: “Your prayers and your alms have come up for remembrance before God.” He avoided this so as not to offend them.
Instead, he mentioned what contained nothing great: “He will speak words to you by which you and all your house will be saved.” Do you see how hastily he explains himself, for the reason I gave above? He says nothing about that man’s meekness.
He does not mention what the angel said to Cornelius: “Your prayers and your alms.” He does not recount the uprightness of this man.
Nor does he report that he acted so because the Spirit sent him, or that God commanded him, after calling him from there through an angel. Rather, he confirms by the last thing, because this was, even in itself, an undoubted proof.
The news of the event in Cornelius's house quickly spread among the Christians and reached, among others, the Church of Jerusalem. There it stirred up serious misunderstandings. Christians from among the circumcised were perplexed and even indignant, above all because the Apostle Peter had allowed himself to go into the house of uncircumcised men and eat with them. Therefore, when Peter came to Jerusalem, they reproached him for what they regarded as defiling himself through fellowship with Gentiles. But the Apostle Peter's detailed account of all the extraordinary circumstances, in which God's will concerning the Gentiles was expressed, completely calmed their minds. All the Christians glorified God, saying that it was evident God had also granted the Gentiles repentance unto life.
Peter began to recount everything to them in order. He considered the best means of clarifying the matter, justifying his conduct, and calming the circumcised who had reproached him, to be a complete account of what had happened. The narrative is entirely the same as the one given above and explained by us. Only a few particulars in it require brief explanation. The reason why the writer of Acts recounts this narrative a second time is, of course, the special importance and great significance of the event itself for the Church. Verse 12: "These six brethren also went with me." From this it is clear that the Christians of Joppa who accompanied Peter to Caesarea, to the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:23), also accompanied him from Caesarea to Jerusalem and were now there with him.
Peter undoubtedly could suppose that the event in Caesarea might stir up misunderstandings among the Jerusalem Christians from among the Jews, since it was new and extraordinary. It was natural, therefore, that Peter took these men with him to Jerusalem as witnesses of God's special guidance in this matter.
The Apostle Peter's account of Cornelius and of those in his house is not as full as the account of the vision that came to Peter himself. It seems the apostle was afraid, as they say, to pour oil onto combustible matter, lest he cause it to burn more fiercely. Therefore he kept silent about what pertained to Cornelius's praise, for example, his prayers and alms. Concerning himself, however, he again says that those who were sent came for him, and that the Spirit told him to have no doubt at all. Yet the apostle's reference to the six brethren had special importance. They had been both his witnesses and his fellow participants. Therefore, if one were to judge him strictly, one would have to judge not him alone. These brethren were present there.
The fact that the apostle was not alone had manifold significance. They too received no small honor from the truly faithful. They had not been negligent, but had taken pains to come to Jerusalem as witnesses of the Church's great and glorious triumph over the Gentile world in the person of its best representatives. As Saint John Chrysostom observes: "The apostle says what was necessary and keeps silent about the rest. He did not say what the Angel said to Cornelius: Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God, lest he offend them. He says only what contained nothing great: He will speak to you words by which you and all your household will be saved (Acts 10:4, 6). Nor does he say anything about the man's meekness. And see how free he is from pride and vainglory. What could be humbler than Peter's appealing also to the testimony of the brethren?"
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 23 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS