Rev. Taylor Mills, Ann Street UMC, Beaufort
“Who was I that I could hinder God?” Peter asked himself and the Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem. Peter was in hot water with them for baptizing Cornelius who was a Gentile and a Roman centurion (Acts 10:44-48). Why did this upset them? Because the earliest church was made up of Jews who became Christians.
Peter told them all that happened in Acts 10: how Cornelius had received a vision telling him to send for Peter, how Peter received a vision of unclean food which God told him to eat, how Peter went to Cornelius’ household and told them about Jesus, and how “the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word” and “the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-45).
The Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem fell silent when they heard Peter’s story. Then they praised God for giving even the Gentiles “the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18)! The Holy Spirit who came upon the Jewish-Christians in Acts 2 came upon the Gentile-Christians in Acts 10:44. The gospel message made a leap from Jews to Gentiles.
This was cross-cultural disciple-making! Think of all the barriers the gospel crossed. First you have the religious barrier — Jews to Gentiles — which was the most obvious and significant. But there was also a race barrier: one had to be born a Jew (there was no conversion to Judaism), and Cornelius was a Roman of “the Italian Cohort” (Acts 10:1).
Maybe there was also a language barrier. Peter probably spoke Aramaic and Cornelius likely spoke Latin. And there was probably a class barrier. Peter was a fisherman and Cornelius was a ranking military officer. There’s a good chance Cornelius was from a ruling class family.
When Peter returned to Jerusalem he told his fellow Jewish-Christians what God had done in bringing the Holy Spirit upon Gentiles. Rather than closing their hearts and minds to the Gentile-Christians, the early church rejoiced!
The gospel crossed many barriers to come to you too. Someone told you about Jesus. But someone else told that person about Jesus. And another person told that person and so forth. Consider what barriers the gospel crossed on its way to you. Religious? Cultural? Linguistic? Racial? Class? Distance? Time?
On the Sound District Dismantling Racism Task Force we are champions of the Holy Spirit’s power to cross all boundaries, including and especially racial ones. What happened in the early church can happen in the church today if believers will truly open their hearts, minds, and doors.
Then we will be the rejoicing church, rejoicing because God has given anyone and everyone “the repentance that leads to life” that is the gospel of Jesus Christ!