Were the people in the
Bible any different to us today?
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Or ordinary
people like you and me.
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What can we find out
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from their lives
that will help us?
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Find out with
Pastor Geoff Youlden
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and Rosemary Malkiewycz
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here on People Just Like Us.
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Some people teach that God
only saves those He chooses to,
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to give salvation to,
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whether it is
certain individuals,
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a particular nation
or some other group.
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The early
Christians had to learn
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to accept God's way
to grace because as Jews,
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they had been taught
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that they alone
were chosen by God
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and ordained to salvation.
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But God had a
lesson to teach them
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before they could go
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to the world as
His representatives.
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That salvation is for everyone
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who chooses to be
saved by God's grace,
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which is received
through faith in Jesus Christ.
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Today, Pastor
Geoff is going to tell us
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the incredible story
about this amazing lesson.
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So welcome, Geoff.
Thank you very much, Rosemary.
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Yes, well, the story
of "The Roman Centurion"
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is really a watershed
event in the 1st century.
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Because up until that stage,
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the Jews believed
that the only people
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that could be saved were them.
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You know, they
were the anointed one,
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and so this idea of a
Gentile coming in to the church
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is just such a new thought,
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and it really caused disruption
in the early Christian Church.
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And they thought that they,
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that the Gentiles
had to become a Jew?
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Yes, yes. That's right.
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If they allow a
Gentile into the church,
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it wasn't a given that
if they allow a Gentile
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to come into the church,
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they certainly had
to become a Jew first
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and follow all
the Jewish practices
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including circumcision,
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so forth, in order to
become accepted by God.
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And a Christian,
and a Christian as well.
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Yes, well, Christian Jew.
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Yeah, because the Judaism said,
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Paul was fighting
against so much of the time,
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they was saying that
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the Gentiles had
to be circumcised,
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so that they had
to become a Jew first.
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Because the Jews
believed to be accepted by God,
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you had to be
physically circumcised.
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Where as in Deuteronomy
and in Jeremiah 4:4 for start,
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as well as in the New Testament,
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God says that
it's a circumcision
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of the heart.
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So it's actually in
Old Testament teaching
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that Paul talks about,
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it's not the
physical circumcision
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that God wants,
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it's the
circumcision of the heart,
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the fleshy heart to be there
and not this heart of stone.
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Yes, well, actually, Rosemary,
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the story even gets
worst as we think about it,
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because the Jews
detested the Gentiles,
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and said some very,
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very horrible things about them.
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And they said, for example,
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the Gentiles were idolaters
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and they ought to be killed.
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And kill with the sword.
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And then they said, the
best Gentile is a dead one.
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That's a bit rough. It is.
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And then they taught,
out of all the nations,
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God only loved Israel.
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So you can understand that,
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that there was a tremendous
resistance in their mind.
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They had been brain washed
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with this
thinking for so many years.
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And the rabbis taught
that it was not lawful
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for a Judah help a
Gentile women give birth,
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as it would be helping bring
another Gentile into the world.
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So you can see
how ingrained it was.
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And if a Jew dared
to marry a Gentile,
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he was from that time
forward considered dead.
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In fact, just entering a Gentile
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home would make a Jew unclean.
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And so a Gentile
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visiting the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem
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was only allowed to go
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as far as the
court of the Gentiles,
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which really was
the first and lowest
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of the various courts
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in the
introduction to the temple.
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But even if a
Gentile came there,
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he was not really
welcomed as is often shown
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by the contempt that
they had for Gentiles.
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This was the area
where the Jews sold,
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and bought, and traded
their animals and change money.
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Then that was
followed, Rosemary,
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by the court for women,
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and then there was
the court of Israel
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and finally the
court of the priests.
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Now, if Gentiles
approached the court of women,
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they couldn't
get pass the barrier
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that had been erected.
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It was about two
meters in height,
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and the barrier was
called the wall of partition,
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the middle wall of partition.
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Now, I've heard
of that in the Bible.
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Yes, and we'll
refer to it in a moment.
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If a Gentile went past
that, the penalty was death.
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Because you may
remember that Paul
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now he lost his
life, and at one stage
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because it was reported that
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he took a Gentile
past this barrier.
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So, Rosemary, you can understand
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the reaction of the Gentiles
and if you were regarded
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by that by the Jews.
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You can understand that,
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there's going to be a
reaction and there was.
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And the Gentiles hated the
Jews as were seen by the Romans.
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Oh, that's right.
They were heathen.
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Yes, and they
persecuted them mercilessly.
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But as far as God is concerned,
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that division between Jew
and Gentile was taken away.
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In fact, the verse that
you're referring to, Rosemary,
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is found in Ephesians Chapter 2.
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It'll be good if
we just read it from,
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I'm in Ephesians Chapter 2.
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In fact this
whole chapter is about,
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getting rid of petitions.
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Yes, yes.
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Well, verse 15 makes reference
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to this middle
wall of partition.
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It says here, "Having abolished
in His flesh the enmity,
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that is, the law of commandments
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contained in ordinances,
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so as to create in Himself
one new man from the two,
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thus making peace."
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Because the verse before,
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it talks about the
middle wall of partition
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or division been taking away.
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Verse 14, yes, the
middle wall of separation.
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Well, it's...
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That's the language,
it's coming from the temple.
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I never realized that.
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And every person
would understand exactly
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what Paul was writing about.
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And so the Bible teaches
that there is no such thing now
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as a Jewish Church
or a Gentile Church.
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It's really only one church
that has no barriers of race
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or color or gender.
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And little did
Peter realize that
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the day he walked from Joppa,
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up north down to Caesarea
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and into the home
of a Gentile soldier,
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what a huge event
this was going to be
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in the Christian Church.
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Because already the Samaritans
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had been
invited into the church,
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and this had been followed
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by the Ethiopian Jews proselyte,
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and now a full blooded Gentile
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and his family were
going to come into the church.
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Oh, that's a real change.
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A proselyte is one thing,
but then an actual Roman...
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Yes, and particularly
considering the standing
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that he had in Rome as well,
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I'll refer to it
in a few moments.
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And soon churches
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would spring up
everywhere in Europe
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and in Asia, Galatia,
and there was Corinth,
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and there was
Ephesus, and of course in Rome.
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And soon Antioch
would replace Jerusalem
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as the churches capital.
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And Greek would replace Hebrew
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as their language of the Bible,
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and Gentiles would far
outnumber Jewish believers,
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as they accepted the
teachings of the apostles.
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Now, it's interesting
that at a city called Caesarea,
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it was, it's situated today
on the Mediterranean coast,
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and it was lead
there by a Roman,
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by the name of Cornelius.
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Now, Caesarea is
between Tel Aviv and Joppa
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down in the south,
and Haifa in the north.
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Yes, that's right.
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Sort of, almost halfway between.
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In between, yes.
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And this seaport, that
is Caesarea had been built
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by Herod, who named it
in honor of Caesar Augustus.
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You know, if we were living back
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in those days, we
would probably have thought
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that Herod was trying to do
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a little bit of
a crawl to Caesar
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by naming the
city in honor of him,
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he would get
some kudos from that.
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And Herod was a great builder,
actually, if you read his story
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and his aim was to
create a metropolis
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that would outdo
Alexandria in Egypt.
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Caesarea, you see it was
on the direct trade route
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from Babylon over to Rome.
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And here he built a
forum, he built barbs,
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and offices, there
were temples there,
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houses and marble statues.
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There was actually a
lighthouse of all things
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that guided the
ships into the port,
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because it was a
very difficult port
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to get into, so they
built this lighthouse.
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And one of the
most amazing things
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that you can
still see there today
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is this aqueduct.
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Yes, actually I've
got photos. Have you?
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I've got some
photos of Caesarea,
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would you like to see them?
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I'd like to see them. Okay.
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I'm sure everyone would
like to have a look at it.
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This here, this photo
is of the amphitheater
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and everywhere that Herod
went, he built amphitheaters,
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because they were very Roman.
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And this is how close it
is, that's the Mediterranean Sea
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over the back there, so
it's really close to that.
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And then, that's me
standing by this amphitheater.
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They were beautifully made
and they worked marvelously.
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The person down in the
centre of the amphitheater,
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at the front of it,
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they could whisper and
everybody could hear them.
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It was just
amazing, the acoustics.
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Well, they were
amazing builders.
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Oh, they were.
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And I've got
some other photos too.
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This area here,
where you can see
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the water in that big square,
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that was the swimming pool
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that Herod had
built out into the water.
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He hated salt water,
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that's why he
built the arch aqueduct.
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And so he would
have swimming pools
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everywhere he went.
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He always built a
swimming pool for recreation
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for his guests and all.
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And that's what the
remnants of that are.
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This is the hippodrome
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where they used to
have chariot races,
00:10:50.18\00:10:51.78
and you can see
the seats up there.
00:10:51.81\00:10:54.88
I'm sitting on the seats
that they used to actually sit
00:10:54.92\00:10:57.35
on those stones
during the chariot races.
00:10:57.39\00:11:01.46
So I'm sitting where the people
00:11:01.49\00:11:03.02
that did sit back in those days.
00:11:03.06\00:11:04.69
It's quite amazing to think that
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they are that old, you know?
00:11:07.23\00:11:10.57
And then, I've got a
picture here of the harbor.
00:11:10.60\00:11:14.10
You can see there,
the rocks coming out
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on to both sides
00:11:16.20\00:11:17.84
and the ships would come
into this little haven here,
00:11:17.87\00:11:21.88
the Mediterranean
Sea in the background.
00:11:21.91\00:11:23.98
This is some of
the mosaic floors.
00:11:24.01\00:11:26.55
You could see how
rich they were throughout
00:11:26.58\00:11:28.98
all of their buildings
there, they were just beautiful.
00:11:29.02\00:11:32.52
And some of the ruins
that they are digging up today,
00:11:32.55\00:11:36.52
they're always
finding more things.
00:11:36.56\00:11:39.49
And you can see
how they're excavating
00:11:39.53\00:11:41.30
so much of the city now.
00:11:41.33\00:11:43.60
This was all under dirt
and here's the aqueduct.
00:11:43.63\00:11:46.80
It was about 40
miles long I think.
00:11:46.84\00:11:50.64
Not 40, 14 or something.
00:11:50.67\00:11:53.17
It was very large and
there is John standing
00:11:53.21\00:11:54.84
in one of the archways.
00:11:54.88\00:11:56.21
He's keeping it up. Yes, he is.
00:11:56.24\00:11:57.68
He's being Hercules.
00:11:57.71\00:12:01.32
And he's there underneath the,
where the water would travel.
00:12:01.35\00:12:04.15
Well, they brought the water
00:12:04.19\00:12:06.35
in this aqueduct
from Mount Carmel...
00:12:06.39\00:12:08.02
Yes.
00:12:08.06\00:12:09.39
At 14 kilometers
away, so it's quite amazing.
00:12:09.42\00:12:12.63
And the Roman
engineers had overcome some
00:12:12.66\00:12:15.10
very, very difficult
problems to build the harbor.
00:12:15.13\00:12:18.10
They had even been able
to use hydraulic concrete
00:12:18.13\00:12:21.34
which hardens under the water.
00:12:21.37\00:12:23.00
Mm, that's
amazing. It is amazing.
00:12:23.04\00:12:25.27
And the city was an
outstanding monument
00:12:25.31\00:12:28.41
really to the
Romans' ability at building.
00:12:28.44\00:12:30.58
The very fact that
00:12:30.61\00:12:31.95
it's still standing
after all of these years.
00:12:31.98\00:12:33.31
Yeah.
00:12:33.35\00:12:34.68
It is actually a very
fascinating place to visit
00:12:34.72\00:12:36.05
and to know that
Cornelius was there in
00:12:36.08\00:12:37.79
and that Paul was
there talking to Agrippa
00:12:37.82\00:12:40.72
and things that makes it
00:12:40.76\00:12:42.09
a very
biblically historic place,
00:12:42.12\00:12:43.83
but it was very, very Roman,
00:12:43.86\00:12:47.80
and you know that
the things that went on
00:12:47.83\00:12:49.73
in there would've
been extremely materialism,
00:12:49.76\00:12:53.00
you know, ruling
and bad behavior.
00:12:53.03\00:12:56.67
The stands are
almost talking to you
00:12:56.71\00:12:59.01
when you visit these places.
00:12:59.04\00:13:01.04
Now, Cornelius that we
are talking about today
00:13:01.08\00:13:04.41
was a noncommissioned officer
00:13:04.45\00:13:06.48
in the 10th
legion of the Roman army.
00:13:06.51\00:13:09.52
And he had a cohort
of a thousand Italians,
00:13:09.55\00:13:14.06
whose duty it was to
keep the peace in Palestine.
00:13:14.09\00:13:17.83
And Cornelius was chosen
for his ability to lead men,
00:13:17.86\00:13:21.66
and his men were
chosen for their courage
00:13:21.70\00:13:24.33
and for their willingness
00:13:24.37\00:13:25.70
to stand and
fight till the last man.
00:13:25.73\00:13:29.30
Now, Cornelius was
a God fearing Gentile,
00:13:29.34\00:13:32.01
the Bible tells us.
00:13:32.04\00:13:33.38
And he had become disillusioned
00:13:33.41\00:13:35.01
by the pagan
religions of the day,
00:13:35.04\00:13:37.25
and was greatly attracted
by the morals and the ethics
00:13:37.28\00:13:40.92
and the spiritual
beliefs of the Jews.
00:13:40.95\00:13:44.35
There must have been
some Jews around for him to,
00:13:44.39\00:13:47.82
to notice to
and actually be able
00:13:47.86\00:13:49.82
to come to know of their God.
00:13:49.86\00:13:51.19
Yes.
00:13:51.23\00:13:52.56
Well, he would have
been traveling around.
00:13:52.59\00:13:54.56
But Cornelius drew the
line, and you can understand
00:13:54.60\00:13:57.83
by what we were saying before
00:13:57.87\00:13:59.53
he drew the line
at becoming a Jew.
00:13:59.57\00:14:02.70
You can understand
that with the feelings
00:14:02.74\00:14:04.77
that existed between
the Jew and the Gentile.
00:14:04.81\00:14:08.18
Rosemary, you may have also
00:14:08.21\00:14:09.54
read the expression in the Bible
00:14:09.58\00:14:11.51
where it talks about
the proselytes of the gates.
00:14:11.55\00:14:14.68
No, I haven't.
00:14:14.72\00:14:16.05
And also sometimes
God refers to these people
00:14:16.08\00:14:19.29
or the Bible refers
to him as God fearist.
00:14:19.32\00:14:22.26
And now as far as
the Jews were concerned,
00:14:22.29\00:14:25.16
these proselytizes
were still Gentiles and,
00:14:25.19\00:14:29.33
of course, outside
the blessing of God,
00:14:29.36\00:14:33.80
even though
they were interested.
00:14:33.84\00:14:36.27
In fact, back in the
Book of Acts Chapter 10,
00:14:36.30\00:14:38.87
let me just read
this, this is interesting.
00:14:38.91\00:14:41.41
Acts 10:1-2, here it says,
00:14:41.44\00:14:46.98
"There was a certain man
in Caesarea called Cornelius,
00:14:47.02\00:14:52.62
a centurion of what was
called the Italian Regiment,
00:14:52.65\00:14:57.89
a devout man and
one who feared God
00:14:57.93\00:15:00.20
with all his household,
00:15:00.23\00:15:01.76
who gave alms
generously to the people,
00:15:01.80\00:15:05.53
and prayed to God always."
00:15:05.57\00:15:07.97
Do you notice there,
00:15:08.00\00:15:09.34
it says a couple of really
interesting things about him
00:15:09.37\00:15:13.14
that he actually gave alms
00:15:13.17\00:15:15.94
is meaning you helping the poor,
00:15:15.98\00:15:18.31
and it said he
gave it generously.
00:15:18.35\00:15:20.25
He was giving up his
own money to help Jews,
00:15:20.28\00:15:23.49
they weren't, it
wouldn't have been Romans
00:15:23.52\00:15:25.52
who were the poor ones.
00:15:25.55\00:15:27.26
And so he's giving
to Jews who are poor,
00:15:27.29\00:15:30.63
that is an incredible
thing for him to be doing.
00:15:30.66\00:15:32.86
But also his whole
household believed as he did.
00:15:32.89\00:15:37.40
And that would have
been his servants as well,
00:15:37.43\00:15:39.70
because they were
close to his household.
00:15:39.73\00:15:41.07
Yes.
00:15:41.10\00:15:42.44
So and then it says
he prayed to God always.
00:15:42.47\00:15:44.31
Now, the sad thing about this,
00:15:44.34\00:15:46.07
Rosemary, is that
the Jewish Christians
00:15:46.11\00:15:48.68
cared little about him.
00:15:48.71\00:15:50.51
This is the sad thing.
00:15:50.55\00:15:52.31
I mean, in the eight years
since the day of Pentecost,
00:15:52.35\00:15:55.38
nobody from Jerusalem had
come from Jerusalem to tell him
00:15:55.42\00:15:59.25
anything about the fact that
Jesus had died on the cross,
00:15:59.29\00:16:03.32
that He had been
raised from the dead,
00:16:03.36\00:16:05.23
and that He ever
lives for us today,
00:16:05.26\00:16:08.00
and He wants us to be
His friend and His helper.
00:16:08.03\00:16:12.30
And Caesarea too was a
city that no Jew would visit.
00:16:12.33\00:16:18.31
I didn't know also.
00:16:18.34\00:16:19.67
No, it was a Gentile city
and they didn't want to be
00:16:19.71\00:16:22.14
contaminated by being there.
00:16:22.18\00:16:23.91
So they had
little concern obviously
00:16:23.95\00:16:26.51
for its inhabitance.
00:16:26.55\00:16:27.88
You can understand
that was their attitude
00:16:27.92\00:16:29.25
they didn't
wanna be contaminated.
00:16:29.28\00:16:30.62
They didn't want
to be made unclean.
00:16:30.65\00:16:31.99
They can go to hell,
and let them stay there.
00:16:32.02\00:16:33.86
You know that would
be the Jewish attitude.
00:16:33.89\00:16:36.26
So it's interesting
that God had to actually send
00:16:36.29\00:16:39.16
an angel to Cornelius,
00:16:39.19\00:16:43.03
because no one else
would have told him.
00:16:43.06\00:16:45.07
But it's interesting
00:16:45.10\00:16:46.43
what the angel
said and didn't say.
00:16:46.47\00:16:49.50
Because the angel didn't
preach the gospel to him,
00:16:49.54\00:16:53.68
because God had given
that to mankind to do.
00:16:53.71\00:16:56.48
He only allowed the angel
to say one thing, in fact,
00:16:56.51\00:17:00.15
in verse I think it
is here in 10:5 it says,
00:17:00.18\00:17:05.89
"Now send men to
Joppa, and send for Simon
00:17:05.92\00:17:10.06
whose surname is Peter.
00:17:10.09\00:17:12.69
He is lodging..."
00:17:12.73\00:17:14.06
This is verse 6, "He
is lodging with Simon,
00:17:14.10\00:17:17.57
a tanner, whose
house is by the sea.
00:17:17.60\00:17:20.70
He will tell you
what you must do."
00:17:20.74\00:17:24.81
Now, that's interesting
00:17:24.84\00:17:26.41
because that's
the only instruction
00:17:26.44\00:17:28.21
that the angel received.
00:17:28.24\00:17:29.84
Don't tell him anything
else, just say you go to Simon
00:17:29.88\00:17:33.92
and you'll find over
there tanner and find...
00:17:33.95\00:17:37.75
But that's even
interesting, go to Simon,
00:17:37.79\00:17:39.95
who's a tanner by the sea...
00:17:39.99\00:17:41.89
In Joppa, I mean,
00:17:41.92\00:17:44.33
there's a bit
of coastline there.
00:17:44.36\00:17:45.69
You've got to
find the right house,
00:17:45.73\00:17:47.40
but that was enough.
00:17:47.43\00:17:49.03
Yeah, well, I think,
00:17:49.06\00:17:50.40
I just think that's a
very, very interesting thing.
00:17:50.43\00:17:53.23
Now, the Jews, of
course, Simon being a tanner,
00:17:53.27\00:17:57.77
the Jews held being
a tanner in disgust,
00:17:57.81\00:18:01.11
as it involved handling
the skins of dead animals.
00:18:01.14\00:18:04.68
So to touch something
dead rendered them unclean
00:18:04.71\00:18:07.58
according to
their Levitical law.
00:18:07.62\00:18:10.15
So according to Rabbinic
law, a tanner's house had to be
00:18:10.19\00:18:13.62
at least 50 cubits
outside the city walls,
00:18:13.66\00:18:18.03
because for fear
of contamination.
00:18:18.06\00:18:20.96
And also... There's
always contamination.
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.33
Yes.
00:18:22.36\00:18:23.70
Well, also if a
Jewish girl married a man
00:18:23.73\00:18:27.00
and then she found out
after she had married him
00:18:27.04\00:18:30.94
that he was a tanner,
the Jewish law allowed
00:18:30.97\00:18:34.94
their marriage to be annulled.
00:18:34.98\00:18:36.85
That was Jewish
law, not Biblical law.
00:18:36.88\00:18:39.45
No, Jewish law. Yes.
00:18:39.48\00:18:41.32
So the Apostle Peter
00:18:41.35\00:18:42.68
was really getting
over his prejudice,
00:18:42.72\00:18:46.35
if he could
stay, imagine this now,
00:18:46.39\00:18:48.26
Peter is now staying
with this Simon the tanner.
00:18:48.29\00:18:51.19
Yes. That's amazing.
00:18:51.23\00:18:52.56
With all his
background, so obviously...
00:18:52.59\00:18:53.93
I've never thought of that.
00:18:53.96\00:18:55.33
Peter is moving in his own mind.
00:18:55.36\00:18:58.80
In fact, it says in Acts 10:9.
00:18:58.83\00:19:04.14
It says, "The next day,
as they went on their journey
00:19:04.17\00:19:07.58
and drew near the city,
00:19:07.61\00:19:08.94
Peter went up to
the housetop to pray,
00:19:08.98\00:19:10.71
about the sixth
hour," about midday.
00:19:10.75\00:19:13.68
"Then he became very
hungry and wanted to eat,
00:19:13.72\00:19:16.08
but while they made ready,
00:19:16.12\00:19:17.62
he fell into a
trance and saw heaven opened
00:19:17.65\00:19:21.12
and an object like a great sheet
00:19:21.16\00:19:23.36
bound at the four corners,
00:19:23.39\00:19:25.09
descending to him and
led down to the earth.
00:19:25.13\00:19:28.40
In it were all kinds of
00:19:28.43\00:19:29.80
four-footed
animals of the earth,
00:19:29.83\00:19:32.07
wild beasts, creeping
things, and birds of the air.
00:19:32.10\00:19:37.37
And a voice said to him,
'Rise, Peter, kill and eat,'
00:19:37.41\00:19:42.01
But Peter said, 'Not so, Lord!
00:19:42.04\00:19:43.71
For I have never eaten
anything common or unclean.'
00:19:43.75\00:19:47.62
And a voice spoke to
him again the second time,
00:19:47.65\00:19:49.92
'What God has cleansed
you must not call common.'
00:19:49.95\00:19:54.79
This was done three times.
00:19:54.82\00:19:57.03
And the object was
taken up into heaven again.'
00:19:57.06\00:19:59.86
" It's very a strange vision.
00:19:59.89\00:20:01.73
Well it's, well, it is
strange for many people
00:20:01.76\00:20:04.33
I met, many people
misunderstand this,
00:20:04.37\00:20:06.33
but, Rosemary, the thing
that I find interesting is that
00:20:06.37\00:20:09.10
this was given three times.
00:20:09.14\00:20:10.54
Now that would indicate to me
00:20:10.57\00:20:12.24
that God saw this as
very, very important.
00:20:12.27\00:20:15.54
Yes.
00:20:15.58\00:20:16.91
Things in the Bible
are always repeated two
00:20:16.95\00:20:18.85
or three times if
it's an important thing,
00:20:18.88\00:20:20.62
that Jesus would
say verily, verily...
00:20:20.65\00:20:22.88
Yes, exactly.
It's important, listen.
00:20:22.92\00:20:26.82
So this story is really a story
that marks a big change now.
00:20:26.86\00:20:32.53
There's something
about that vision,
00:20:32.56\00:20:34.46
that's going to
completely change
00:20:34.50\00:20:36.63
not only Peter's attitude
but all of Jewish attitudes,
00:20:36.67\00:20:42.60
because the church is
now opened up to Gentiles.
00:20:42.64\00:20:46.88
For up until it's time,
00:20:46.91\00:20:48.68
the church
consisted mainly of Jews.
00:20:48.71\00:20:52.01
That's right.
00:20:52.05\00:20:53.42
And verse 24
goes on to say here,
00:20:53.45\00:20:58.59
"And the following day
they entered Caesarea."
00:20:58.62\00:21:01.72
Oh, this was the three
people that Peter found that
00:21:01.76\00:21:05.46
came to the house to see him.
00:21:05.49\00:21:06.83
Yes, that's right.
00:21:06.86\00:21:08.20
And asked, if he
would go with them.
00:21:08.23\00:21:09.56
Correct.
00:21:09.60\00:21:10.93
Yes, "And the following day
00:21:10.97\00:21:12.30
they entered,"
verse 24, "Caesarea.
00:21:12.33\00:21:13.67
Now Cornelius
was waiting for them,
00:21:13.70\00:21:15.64
and called together
00:21:15.67\00:21:17.11
his relatives and close friends.
00:21:17.14\00:21:19.41
As Peter was coming
in, Cornelius met him
00:21:19.44\00:21:21.44
and fell down at his
feet and worshiped him.
00:21:21.48\00:21:25.71
But Peter lifted him up, saying,
00:21:25.75\00:21:27.12
'Stand up, I
myself also am a man.'"
00:21:27.15\00:21:32.82
Now, this is the
Interesting I find
00:21:32.85\00:21:35.72
because the
centurion treated Peter
00:21:35.76\00:21:38.83
as if he were more than human.
00:21:38.86\00:21:41.33
Now the reason I
found that interesting
00:21:41.36\00:21:43.00
is because there
are many Christians
00:21:43.03\00:21:45.53
who've been
brought up to believe
00:21:45.57\00:21:47.20
and been told by their church
00:21:47.24\00:21:49.20
that the leader of their church
is the successor of Peter.
00:21:49.24\00:21:53.54
Yes.
00:21:53.58\00:21:54.91
And I noticed, and
I'm sure every viewer
00:21:54.94\00:21:57.85
has noticed that
00:21:57.88\00:21:59.21
when this particular
man shows up in public,
00:21:59.25\00:22:03.18
there are people he
accepts people bowing down
00:22:03.22\00:22:05.62
and worshiping him.
00:22:05.65\00:22:06.99
And if he's supposed to
be the follower of Peter,
00:22:07.02\00:22:10.23
Peter did the opposite.
00:22:10.26\00:22:11.59
He said, "Stand up,
00:22:11.63\00:22:13.43
don't you bow
down to me at all."
00:22:13.46\00:22:15.56
And Cornelius
would have been bowing
00:22:15.60\00:22:17.20
because an angel
said, "Go and get this man."
00:22:17.23\00:22:20.04
So he would have thought Paul
was some special agent of God.
00:22:20.07\00:22:22.80
That's right, yes.
00:22:22.84\00:22:24.17
So you can
imagine or understand him
00:22:24.21\00:22:26.37
as a pagan doing that.
00:22:26.41\00:22:31.28
But it's just not to be done,
to Christians, for Christians.
00:22:31.31\00:22:34.45
No, so here we
find that this story,
00:22:34.48\00:22:37.69
that as I said that
many have been bought up
00:22:37.72\00:22:39.62
to believe that
they are to worship,
00:22:39.65\00:22:43.93
but the Bible
says especially no.
00:22:43.96\00:22:46.13
Now something
else about the story.
00:22:46.16\00:22:48.03
How many of us
have ever been visited
00:22:48.06\00:22:50.63
by an angel and
our address is given
00:22:50.67\00:22:55.17
by the angel to someone else.
00:22:55.20\00:22:56.74
I mean, that's
a very interesting
00:22:56.77\00:22:58.11
part of the story too.
00:22:58.14\00:22:59.47
Oh, it is.
00:22:59.51\00:23:00.84
And so we find here
such a wonderful story.
00:23:00.88\00:23:06.11
Now Cornelius's
friends and relatives
00:23:06.15\00:23:08.05
that heard that
Cornelius had seen an angel
00:23:08.08\00:23:09.98
and many of them thought,
00:23:10.02\00:23:11.42
"I can't believe that
Cornelius has seen an angel."
00:23:11.45\00:23:13.86
Perhaps it was Mrs.
Cornelius they've thought,
00:23:13.89\00:23:16.99
because you don't get to be
00:23:17.03\00:23:18.36
a centurion in
the Italian cohort
00:23:18.39\00:23:20.20
if you're the
type that sees angels.
00:23:20.23\00:23:22.06
That's right.
00:23:22.10\00:23:23.43
So, then Peter explains
what this vision is all about,
00:23:23.47\00:23:26.90
and he saw all those animals.
00:23:26.94\00:23:29.07
Now, many people have
misunderstood this verse.
00:23:29.10\00:23:31.64
And I think that this
does away with un-cleaned food
00:23:31.67\00:23:36.64
and that we can
eat anything now.
00:23:36.68\00:23:39.28
But this story
is telling us that,
00:23:39.31\00:23:41.62
that's got nothing to do
what we eat, and what we...
00:23:41.65\00:23:46.12
and what we don't eat,
00:23:46.15\00:23:47.82
because it's
not to do with that.
00:23:47.86\00:23:51.16
The story is dealing
00:23:51.19\00:23:52.53
with the issue of
Gentiles and the Jews,
00:23:52.56\00:23:55.80
because the Jews regarded
the Gentiles as being unclean.
00:23:55.83\00:24:00.40
That's what he talks
about in verse 28 of Chapter 10.
00:24:00.44\00:24:05.01
Yes.
00:24:05.04\00:24:06.37
In fact, we can read that,
00:24:06.41\00:24:09.01
verse 28, "Then he said to them,
00:24:09.04\00:24:11.08
'You know how
unlawful it is for a Jewish man
00:24:11.11\00:24:14.25
to keep company with or
go to one of another nation.
00:24:14.28\00:24:18.99
But God has shown me that
00:24:19.02\00:24:21.26
I should not call any
man common or unclean.'
00:24:21.29\00:24:25.96
" That's right.
00:24:25.99\00:24:27.33
He's talking about human beings,
00:24:27.36\00:24:28.80
not about animals.
00:24:28.83\00:24:30.43
Now you would think that
00:24:30.47\00:24:31.80
the Jewish Church would
have been delighted about
00:24:31.83\00:24:33.74
what was happening in Caesarea
00:24:33.77\00:24:35.30
or at the home of Cornelius.
00:24:35.34\00:24:37.21
Not so, they were
absolutely horrified.
00:24:37.24\00:24:39.61
In fact, Peter, they
felt had disgraced himself
00:24:39.64\00:24:42.18
and betrayed the church.
00:24:42.21\00:24:43.55
He was unclean now.
00:24:43.58\00:24:44.91
Yes, and
practically denied the faith.
00:24:44.95\00:24:46.88
In fact, in Chapter 11, it says,
00:24:46.92\00:24:48.55
"Now the apostles and brethren
00:24:48.58\00:24:50.05
who were in Judea heard that
00:24:50.09\00:24:51.92
the Gentiles had also
received the word of God.
00:24:51.95\00:24:54.66
And when Peter
came to Jerusalem,
00:24:54.69\00:24:56.49
those of the circumcision
contended with him, saying,
00:24:56.52\00:24:59.33
'You went in to
uncircumcised men
00:24:59.36\00:25:01.26
and ate with them!'
00:25:01.30\00:25:02.63
" Wow!
00:25:02.66\00:25:04.00
Now this shows
again that this is,
00:25:04.03\00:25:05.37
remember this is the
church that had the Holy Spirit
00:25:05.40\00:25:07.40
poured out on them
at the Day of Pentecost,
00:25:07.44\00:25:09.57
and it's only a few years later,
00:25:09.60\00:25:11.14
and it shows how
they had deteriorated
00:25:11.17\00:25:13.84
in their understanding.
00:25:13.88\00:25:15.24
And their Jewish mind
set was very much in charge.
00:25:15.28\00:25:19.25
Yes, so their
spiritual condition
00:25:19.28\00:25:21.75
was not very good so
soon after Pentecost.
00:25:21.78\00:25:27.12
And so here we find
the headquarters church
00:25:27.16\00:25:30.33
acting like that.
00:25:30.36\00:25:31.69
And it goes on
to say in verse 15,
00:25:31.73\00:25:34.63
"And as I began to speak,
00:25:34.66\00:25:36.26
the Holy Spirit fell upon them,"
00:25:36.30\00:25:38.33
that is the Gentiles,
00:25:38.37\00:25:39.70
"as upon us at the beginning."
00:25:39.73\00:25:41.34
So Peter was giving a
defense of why he had done that?
00:25:41.37\00:25:45.64
But even with this
knowing that Peter's preaching
00:25:45.67\00:25:49.48
to Cornelius was of God,
they never invited Cornelius
00:25:49.51\00:25:53.18
to meet the church in Jerusalem.
00:25:53.21\00:25:55.82
They never sent
missionaries to Caesarea.
00:25:55.85\00:25:59.55
And we can just be thankful
00:25:59.59\00:26:01.02
that God had his man in Caesarea
00:26:01.06\00:26:03.93
by the name of
Philip and he lived there.
00:26:03.96\00:26:07.16
What I really like verse 18
in Chapter 11, 'cause it says,
00:26:07.20\00:26:10.83
"When they heard these
things, they became silent."
00:26:10.87\00:26:13.30
Yes.
00:26:13.34\00:26:14.67
And they glorified God's saying,
00:26:14.70\00:26:16.04
"Then God has also granted
00:26:16.07\00:26:18.07
to the Gentiles
repentance to life."
00:26:18.11\00:26:20.41
Yes. They finally got it.
00:26:20.44\00:26:22.94
Amazing story. Well, it is.
00:26:22.98\00:26:24.75
It's a watershed moment
in the Christian Church.
00:26:24.78\00:26:28.98
And one of the
things that encourages me
00:26:29.02\00:26:31.35
about this story,
00:26:31.39\00:26:32.72
Rosemary, is the fact
that God has His people
00:26:32.75\00:26:35.19
like Cornelius everywhere.
00:26:35.22\00:26:38.09
You know, in every city
that may not be named Caesarea,
00:26:38.13\00:26:41.20
but it, it's named the
cities that we live in.
00:26:41.23\00:26:44.97
God has His people
00:26:45.00\00:26:47.64
in those cities
and I guess that,
00:26:47.67\00:26:49.20
that means that
your responsibility
00:26:49.24\00:26:51.91
and mine is to make sure that
00:26:51.94\00:26:53.84
we share the gospel with those,
00:26:53.88\00:26:57.25
with those people, and
we have a responsibility
00:26:57.28\00:27:01.48
the same as Peter did
00:27:01.52\00:27:03.65
and same as the early Christians
00:27:03.69\00:27:06.35
as they went out to
share the message of God.
00:27:06.39\00:27:09.56
And so the lesson
that I'm learning here
00:27:09.59\00:27:11.69
as I read this story,
00:27:11.73\00:27:13.26
is that there are honest
hearted people everywhere.
00:27:13.29\00:27:17.33
They may not understand
much about Christ and the Bible,
00:27:17.37\00:27:20.20
but they are honest
and they are good people.
00:27:20.24\00:27:23.20
Jeremiah 29-11,
sorry 13 and 14 says,
00:27:23.24\00:27:27.68
"If you seek for me
with all your heart,
00:27:27.71\00:27:30.11
you'll be found of me."
00:27:30.15\00:27:31.81
And so that's what
we've got to remember.
00:27:31.85\00:27:33.65
You know, salvation is not
only for a few select people
00:27:33.68\00:27:37.22
chosen by God's will made fancy,
00:27:37.25\00:27:39.95
but for all who'll receive it
00:27:39.99\00:27:41.89
through faith in Jesus Christ.
00:27:41.92\00:27:44.26
Ask God to help you
tell this incredible news
00:27:44.29\00:27:46.83
to those around you.
00:27:46.86\00:27:48.20
And as you do this,
00:27:48.23\00:27:49.56
you'll have testimonies
to share like Peter did.
00:27:49.60\00:27:51.80
We look forward to
seeing you next time.
00:27:51.83\00:27:53.37