St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Epiphany 1 -- Baptism of Jesus -- January 6^th and 9^th, 2005

Acts 10:34-38

Dear Children of God,

What would make this world a better place? I think that most people would agree that this world would be much better if there was peace. If there wasn’t so much hatred and wars, then things would be so much better. I guess I can’t argue with that thought, but it is one that will never happen while on this earth. But at the same time, we can see in the words of our text that there is a peace that has been offered to all people. It is a peace that most certainly can change this world. It is a peace that would make this world a much Berber place. It is the peace of the Good News. The peace that Jesus won for us on the cross of Calvary. It is the peace that we want the whole world to know about. That is what our theme is about and that is what the Epiphany emphasis is all about.

The text recalls one of the critical points in the history of the church. The gospel-witness is about to go to the ends of the earth. It already had done so in a geographical sense, for Jews from every nation under heaven were in Jerusalem at Pentecost. But now the gospel-witness was coming to an uncircumcised Gentile. That the blessings of the Seed of Abraham were for all was revealed from Genesis on. The words of our Old Testament reading for this Sunday also clearly indicate that God sent a blessing for all nations in the person the Servant-Messiah. About this the apostles had no doubt, and if they had had any, the miracle of Pentecost would have dispelled it.

But they did have the idea that these nations would have to come under the Old Covenant before they could come into the New. Peter received an emphatic revelation through a repeated vision. Cornelia also needed a vision to ask Peter to come to his house. The centurion in Capernaum did not come to Jesus, did not obligate Jesus to come under his roof, and let a delegation of Jewish elders carry his request to Jesus, as Luke reported in his Gospel (7:1-10). In the same way, Cornelius would have known that the Jews would avoid the house of a Gentile. "Touch no unclean thing" was taken very seriously. You might not be able to avoid the uncircumcised in the market place, reasoned the rabbis, but you should avoid their houses. It was deeply ingrained in their tradition.

But now not only had this provision been set aside, but everything that was an expression of the ceremonial law had been set aside. Christ was the fulfillment of the law! Peter and the other apostles knew this. But it took time for them to work out all the practical implications. Even a devout man like Cornelius, whose worship and life had received God’s approval, was still uncircumcised. By himself Peter was no more ready to go into his house than to eat pork. But Peter was not alone. He went at God’s direction. He came to speak the words of our text:

"Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." The word with which our text describes a person who plays favorites indicates ‘‘someone who looks at the outward appearance,’’ and so does not treat people fairly. Peter grew up in a society which believed that God accepted the Jews simply because they were Jews, and that rejected the Gentiles simply because they were Gentiles. Peter was taught to judge by the externals of the law, and he thought God would judge in the same way.

Now he knew better. The condition of the heart is the important thing, and not the customs with which one was raised. Cornelius had abandoned the gods of his fathers and had been converted to the God of one of his nation’s captive peoples. He had sent for Peter because he wanted to hear the full truth about Jesus. There was no thought, nor could there be, that Cornelius was still a worshiper of Jupiter or Janus. Cornelius had been prepared for his meeting with Peter. He had been prepared by the Spirit working through the Word. He knew and believed what God in Moses and the Prophets, even though he had not submitted to circumcision. In his heart he worshipped the true God. To "fear" God often simply means to worship him truly. To fear him means to react appropriately to his word, to recognize him for what he is in the light of what you are, to believe in him.

For a redeemed child of God the appropriate reaction is praise and glory and devotion. The heart of a child of God beats with loving concern for others, and his life is dedicated to doing God’s will in every way. The pattern of Cornelius’ life was to do what is right, to live his whole life as an offering of praise to God. His worship and his life of charity toward a captive race were not the grounds of his acceptability to God, but they were the proof and the result of the fact that God had accepted him.

Peter acknowledges the truth. Customs, and external ordinances, have nothing to do with the true worship of God. The old external restrictions, whether written in the law of Moses or spoken as a part of the oral tradition, were not binding and were not to keep Gentiles from hearing the good news. Peter now joyfully speaks the good news about Jesus:

"You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached — how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." This is the message, Peter says, that the Lord has commanded us to tell you. This message is why you have been told from heaven to summon me, and this message is why I have been directed by a vision from heaven to come to you, contrary to every custom I have practiced all my life.

The natural question may be, "Then why was Peter there? If Cornelius knew the gospel, why did Peter have to go to him?" Cornelius knew the gospel from his study of the Law and the Prophets, and the proof of the knowledge was his devotion to God and his love for others. He had heard of Jesus and his teaching and his miracles. He also would have known about Jesus’ anointing by the Holy Spirit, as Luke 4 records it. John the Baptist also testified that he had seen the Spirit descend on Jesus and remain on him Cornelius also knew that Jesus had died on the cross, that there were conflicting reports about the disposition of the body, and that the followers of Jesus were still preaching in his name.

But Cornelius did not know that Jesus really was the Christ, that he really was the Lord of all. He did not know this because he did not know that Jesus rose from the grave. Nor did he know that Jesus was the long-promised Messiah in whose name forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed. Peter did not bring a totally new message. What was new was the resurrection of Jesus and how it designated Jesus as the genuine Messiah. The message of the empty tomb meant that all the positive things that Cornelius had heard regarding Jesus were true, and all the opposing remarks were false.

The good news is that there is peace through Jesus Christ. The term "peace" not only indicates the absence of war, though it certainly communicates that, too. It also means that everything is all right, that everything necessary for the well being of a person is present. The proclamation of peace is another way of communicating the verdict of justification. God not only has forgiven us our sins, he also has credited to us our Savior’s life of love and obedience. He went about doing everything that is good. In the same way, God not only declares peace with us, but he also treats us as conquering heroes and supplies us with everything we need, now and for eternity.

This message has been commissioned by God, and therefore we may believe it with absolute confidence. The message is sure and compelling. It is the good news of peace "through Jesus Christ." Jesus is the agent through whom God’s peace could be proclaimed to men. Jesus had borne the brunt of God’s wrath against sinners. He paid the full price and met the terms of the peace treaty, written in his own lifeblood. He won the victory through what looked like a great defeat, the cross. And he won it for us and for all men.

This peace comes from him who is the promised one, the "Lord of all." Isaiah foretold the coming of the Prince of Peace, who would be "the everlasting Father, the mighty God." This was nothing new. What was new to Cornelius was that the crucified Savior rose again to show himself to be the judge of the living and the dead (v. 42). To him all people must render an account, even as all things eventually must bow to his will and pleasure and work for his glory. With these words, "Lord of all," Peter discloses Jesus’ full deity.

Cornelius was aware of what had happened. These happenings took place throughout the land of Israel, not just in Judea. Judea, in its wider sense, includes the entire land of the Jews. The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the things about which Cornelius heard, included the baptism of repentance proclaimed by John.

The "baptism" refers to the entire ministry of the forerunner, which prepared people for the revelation of the Savior by exposing their need for one. John’s baptism culminated in the baptism recorded in the day’s Gospel, the baptism in which the Trinity and the Savior were revealed. The proclamation of John reached its high point when he said of the Savior, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29).

"Jesus of Nazareth" was a common way of designating the Savior, in contrast to others who also may have been named after Joshua among the public figures of Palestine. This is the name that Cornelius knew, the name by which the Savior was known to his contemporaries.

Peter speaks of "how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power." It is proper to say that this refers to Jesus’ baptism. In our Savior’s state of humiliation, he put himself in the position of needing the Spirit for his ministry, even as he put himself in the position of needing to commune with his heavenly Father in prayer. Matthew, Mark and Luke all refer to the fact that Jesus was led into the desert "by the Spirit" after the baptism. Luke calls Jesus "full of the Holy Spirit," while Mark says that Jesus was "driven by the Spirit." The anointing with the Holy Spirit and with power is also believed by some to refer to the resurrection. Romans 1:4 says, "And who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

Peter summarizes the ministry of the Savior with these words: "He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." This, in all simplicity, sums up our Savior’s active obedience. Jesus healed those who were exploited by the devil. This refers not only to demoniacs, nor does it refer solely to those with physical or mental ailments. But it also includes everyone who has been delivered from the dominion of darkness by the message he spoke. In a broader sense, the passage refers to all that Jesus did to deliver us from the evil one.

Although we know that Jesus healed many people from their earthly ailments, the words of our text for today area beautiful reminder that God wants all people to know with certainty that Jesus gave us and the whole world an eternal peace that brings eternal rest for our souls. It is this peace that god wants us to proclaim to all people of all races and all countries. May God gives us the strength to trust in this peace and the boldness to share this peace. Amen.