Day 9
Read: Acts 10
Introduction: The Bible is full of stories of God chooses the most unexpected. Think about the time that God chose David as the new king over Israel. David was the youngest of all the brothers and was small in stature. He was working a simple job as a shepherd at the time and was probably overlooked in every way. Yet, this young teenager was chosen as king. Or think about how God sent Jonah to Nineveh, filled with enemies of Israel, to preach repentance and show Nineveh grace. Up to this point in Acts, the focus has been the gospel going out to the Jews, but there is going to be a transition here in Acts 10 to the unexpected.
Acts 10:44-45
While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles
Think about it: Christians have historically been the ones to break down the racial barriers. For Peter to go to the house of Cornelius, who was a Gentile, and eat with him would have been unacceptable in Jewish circles. It would have appeared to others that Peter was unfaithful to God when entering the house of a Gentile and eating at his table. On the contrary, Peter was following God’s plan for the gospel. For the first time, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles! This would have been earth shattering for the Jews at the time. Jesus was the God of the Jews, but now they knew that Jesus is not just Lord over the Jews but the whole human race! This is the start of the end of the Great Commission. When Jesus said that the church would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth, he didn’t just mean geographically, but he also meant demographically. Jesus has poured his grace out on the Jews, Gentiles, blacks, whites, Republicans, Democrats, everyone. The church was starting to understand that the power of Jesus reached far beyond just people like them.
Take away: God’s grace goes beyond our expectations.