Ten cohorts make up a Roman legion, and with 30 legions, Rome maintains peace in the habitable world.  The so-called “Italian Cohort” is headquartered in Caesarea, and its 400 men form five centuries, each with a centurion in command.

Cornelius is one of these centurions, one of maybe 3,000 across the empire – but no ordinary centurion is Cornelius.

He wouldn’t want me to write this about him, but he is a devout man who fears God and inspires his entire household to do the same.  Not only that, but he is generous with his income, giving to any who have need.

Does that sound like an ordinary centurion to you?

Of course not, but that’s not all.  The Roman army is built on discipline and all centurions depend on it.  However, Cornelius also applies discipline to himself: he prays continually.

Well, all of these outstanding qualities must have pleased God too, because one afternoon while Cornelius was praying, God sent an angel to give him some instructions.

Being who he is, Cornelius decided that if these instructions were important enough for God to send him an angel, they must be urgent, so he immediately called two of his personal servants and a soldier who was also a worshipper of God.  He quickly passed on the instructions and told them to leave first thing in the morning.  The journey would take about a day and a half,[1] so there was no advantage in trying to leave that night.  If they left at daybreak, they could travel all day and arrive sometime around noon on the following day.

As any experienced centurion would, Cornelius carefully calculated how long various components of the journey would take and discussed the results with the messengers he was sending.  Tomorrow they would stop for the night about two thirds of the way to Joppa.  The following day would take them to Joppa and give them time to find the man they were looking for and arrange for him to return with them.

“But what if he won’t come?” asked the soldier.

“Don’t worry, he will come – God will make sure that he is ready and willing.  Then, if you set off again the next morning, you should arrive back here with him at about mid-afternoon on the fourth day.”

“Yes, sir, we’ll do our best.”

Cornelius smiled at the three men and said, “Don’t worry, it will work.”

Four days later, they were back and Cornelius was waiting for them, with his relatives and close friends in attendance.  There, I told you that he isn’t an ordinary centurion, and you can tell for yourself that he isn’t an ordinary man either; he has extraordinary faith.

As far as could be told, he was not evenly mildly impressed that, when his messengers had arrived in Joppa and asked for the house of Simon the tanner, they had been shown immediately to a house beside the sea – exactly as the angel had said.  His family and friends were all intrigued to hear how the three had arrived at the house and called out to ask if a man called Simon was staying there, only to be met by the man himself as he came down the stairs from the roof!  But Cornelius seemed simply to expect it.

Then, when he was introduced to Simon Peter, he revealed another of his amazing characteristics: humility.  He, a Roman centurion, bowed down to this unknown Jew – who turned out to be merely an uneducated Galilean fisherman!  Well, Peter immediately lifted him up again, saying that he was a man just the same as Cornelius and should not be worshipped.

It was only when Peter explained about a vision that God had shown him while he was up on the roof that Cornelius began to marvel at the extent of God’s preparation for this event.  Peter described his vision of a great sheet being let down from heaven, full of all sorts of unclean animals, and the instruction that he should kill and eat.  He also told how, when he had expressed his disgust at the idea, a voice had insisted three times that what God had made clean, he, Peter, should not call common.

Cornelius could see that the vision had been given at just the right time to achieve what God wanted.  He was amazed that God should have performed such a marvel for him, his family and friends.  This demonstration of God’s planning going so far beyond what he had expected delighted Cornelius.

It was wonderful to watch as the fisherman spoke to the centurion.  An experienced centurion like Cornelius is used to being the one in authority while others obey, yet his attitude toward Peter was that of a man who needed help and was willing to beg for it.  Peter, in his turn, displayed none of the grudging acknowledgement of the Roman soldier that is typical of the conquered peoples of the empire.  Instead, he showed genuine pleasure in knowing that someone wanted to hear about the God of Israel, and about Jesus, his master and closest friend.

It was clear from the start that there was a meeting of minds as two righteous men conferred, eager to come to understand God better together.  As a Jew, Peter had the advantage of a background in God’s laws, but now he was seeing an opportunity opening up for the Gentiles that he didn’t quite understand.  On the other hand, Cornelius was beginning to sense that God was actually inviting him to join a fellowship in which he could genuinely take a part, rather than being only an observer.

Simon Peter and his six companions were enthralled by Cornelius’ explanation of God’s unexpected intervention in his life.  Peter marvelled at this foreigner’s willingness to risk losing the respect of his family and friends, his standing in society, and even his job itself.  Of course, he already knew from Cornelius’ messengers that their master was dedicated to the Jewish religion, seeing in its laws a beauty and justice that he could not resist, but this was going even further.  And Peter was also astonished at God’s obvious approval of this Gentile’s attitude, to the extent that an angel had been dispatched to instruct him how to find the truth about Jesus that leads to salvation.

Nobody quite knew where this meeting would – or should – lead.  God had arranged it, so the people involved were trying to feel their way within the framework that God had established.  Peter knew that God had pronounced these people clean, so he must enter these unfamiliar surroundings amid such unfamiliar company, and be ready to speak to them about Jesus.  Cornelius knew that he was about to hear something from Peter that God considered important enough to warrant sending him an angel from heaven.

The excitement in the room was almost palpable as Cornelius invited Peter to tell everyone all that he had been commanded to speak.

So Peter spoke and told them all about the good news of peace that had come through Jesus.  He reminded them of the events that they all knew about: how Jesus had been baptised by John the Baptist and anointed by the Holy Spirit.  Speaking with the conviction of a true eyewitness, Peter recounted how Jesus had travelled about doing good and healing many.  His eyes shone as he described the master he had walked with; even the painful story of Jesus’ death could not take away the joy in his voice because of the glorious resurrection that had surprised them all just three days later.

Cornelius and the rest of the audience had heard the rumours of resurrection, but now they were hearing of it from a man who had actually eaten and drunk with Jesus after his resurrection.  Cornelius didn’t mention it, but he had also heard from many sneering Roman soldiers about how Jesus had been completely abandoned by his followers even before he was killed.  He knew that Peter had been one of the followers who had abandoned Jesus, which made his infectious certainty about Jesus’ resurrection all the more compelling.  Despite having been too afraid to stand beside his leader at his trial and execution, Peter was now willing to stand up for Jesus because he was certain that he was alive.  Cornelius found it utterly convincing.

Peter went on to report how Jesus had commanded his followers to preach the hope of salvation and the forgiveness of sins – and how thousands of Jews had already answered the call.

As Cornelius listened, he felt a growing closeness to God and an inexpressible thankfulness for God’s generosity in sending Jesus – and in sending the angel as well.  Then, suddenly, it was as if the power of God was inside him: the closeness was greater than he had ever believed possible.  All at once, the rumours he had heard about how these followers of Jesus were able to speak in foreign languages were confirmed.  Aramaic, that difficult language that the Jews spoke among themselves, was inside his mind, coming out of his mouth in words of complete understanding.  He praised God in Aramaic and saw Peter stare at him in astonishment.  His family, his friends, his devout soldiers, all were speaking to each other in many different languages, but mostly, they seemed to be speaking to God, praising him and giving him glory.

Broad smiles lit up the faces of all the Gentiles who had received this incredible gift of the Holy Spirit, and Cornelius almost laughed at the amazement on the faces of Peter and the believers who had come with him.  Clearly they had not expected anything like this!

It was God’s work; God’s miracle; God’s clear lesson.  Nobody could possibly deny God’s decision to include the Gentiles in his chosen flock.

Cornelius and all who had responded to his invitation to listen to Peter were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and as Cornelius gazed around at everyone afterwards with a look of wonder in his eyes and a smile of joy on his lips, he kept shaking his head.  God’s preparation and liberality had left even him speechless.

God truly had heard Cornelius’ prayers and seen his generosity.  And since then, millions of Gentiles have benefited from his prayer that fateful afternoon in Caesarea: Gentiles too can become children of Abraham.

[1] From Caesarea to Joppa is 60km (37 miles).