Acts 11:11-14 11And behold, immediately three men arrived at the house in which we were, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction, and these six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13And he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’
To verify that the vision was indeed from God and not Peter’s daydreaming in a trance, the details in verse 11 indicate God’s perfect timing with the arrival of three men from Caesarea. Peter did not say they were Gentiles, but verse 12 implies that with the mention of how the Holy Spirit led Peter to make no distinction (diakrinanta, a form of judgment based on appearance or other factors) among people. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, the curse of separation and broken relationships between people began to be reversed. The Holy Spirit brings healing and reconciliation between individuals and groups. The church is called to embody the “unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Peter and the early church were beginning to understand this powerful purpose of God as part of the new creation unfolding in his kingdom. Peter added the small detail that there were six brothers who went with him to Caesarea. These six were further witnesses to all the events and could verify the truth of what Peter spoke.
Peter did not name the man but recounted Cornelius’ vision in verses 13-14. Cornelius’ identity as a Roman centurion was not as important as his being a Gentile and recipient of a vision of an angel. Adding the additional details at this point would have served no purpose but possibly only raised more issues with the conservative Jewish Christians listening to Peter at that moment. The details of Cornelius’ vision about whom to find and where added further proof to the truth and divine source of Peter’s account. Verse 14 shows that salvation was at stake. Salvation was the central topic of early Christian preaching, beginning with Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (2:21). It can be assumed that since those who heard Peter were believers, they would know what salvation meant. The unmentioned central figure was Jesus Christ. The obvious agent of change was the Holy Spirit. Focusing on the core foundations of God’s sovereignty and the response of faith helped Peter convince the circumcision party that Gentiles should be included in the mission of good news.
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