Today's Devotion

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 - Acts 10:1-17

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

At this point in St. Luke’s narrative of the earliest days of the Early Church, we see the focus begin to shift from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and the door of the church’s ministry to “the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) is being opened. For up until this time, the preaching of Jesus by the apostles has been mainly in Jerusalem among the Jews, with forays into Samaria among the Samaritans. But now, the Holy Spirit is moving the apostles on a mission to open the church to the Gentile world: the Greek and Roman Pagans, who worship many gods.

And so, an “angel of God,” a messenger, appears to a Roman centurion, an army officer who commands one hundred men. The soldier’s name is Cornelius, and he is the commander of the “Italian Cohort.” Though he is terrified by the vision, he responds obediently as would a “man under authority” (Matt 8:9). “What is it, Lord?” he asks. The angel gives the centurion orders to seek out the apostle Peter. Cornelius knows how to give orders (Matt 8:9), and he sends his servants on a mission to carry out his own mission.

At the same time, Peter is given orders from his Lord regarding the Old Testament dietary regulations regarding clean and unclean animals. The Old Covenant having been fulfilled, the purpose for the separation of the Israelites from the Gentiles having been completed with the coming of Jesus – the Lamb who is the sacrifice not only of Israel, but for the entire world (John 1:29) – Jesus repeals the regulations that divided Jews and Gentiles from one another. “What God has made clean, do not call common,” He commands. And calling to mind three other encounters between Peter and Jesus: our Lord’s prayer at Gethsemane (Matt 26:36-46), Peter’s denial (Matt 26:69-75), and like Peter’s restoration (21:15-19) – this event is repeated three times. There can be no mistake, for Peter or for us, that this is Jesus. And it is the good and gracious will of the God of Israel, that Jesus should be proclaimed “in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32).

And to make this point even clearer, at that very moment when Peter “was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean,” there are visitors at the gate: “the men who were sent by Cornelius.” Things are about to change. The scope of the mission is widening.

This mission is under the command of Jesus, who orders angels and men of different backgrounds and stations in life to carry out their part in what will be the biggest counterinsurgency in history: the recapture of the entire world from its usurping prince (John 12:31). For the mission is to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19).

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.