Luke brings to
the surface two major issues in the Cornelius incident and keeps them before
our eyes throughout the rest of Acts: first, the religious disposition of
Cornelius prior to his becoming Christian, and, secondly, the fact that Peter,
a Jew enters into table fellowship with Gentiles.
In Acts 10.2,
Cornelius is described as ‘pious and God-fearing’ (ευσεβης και φοβουμενος
τον
Θεον) with all his household doing many works
of charity for the people and praying to God continually. A little later he is
described as ‘a just and God-fearing man [ανηρ δικαιος και φοβουμενος
τον
Θεον], highly regarded by the entire Jewish
people’ (10.22). This phrase φοβουμενος τον Θεον does not appear to have the force of a technical expression here,
especially since in 10.2 φοβουμενος is one of the
three present participles used in succession to extol the virtues of Cornelius.
Of course, the only Gentiles likely to reverse the Jewish God are those who
have come in contact with Jews, as had Cornelius. We are not told if Cornelius
attended synagogue, but from what we have learned of God-fearers [it] would be
rather surprising if he did not.
. . .
A most
striking feature of the Cornelius story is that the qualities which the
centurion manifests, especially the fact that he worships God, are not merely
descriptive of his character or useful in locating him among a particular group
of pious Gentiles. They are also presented as essential prerequisites for the
conversion of Gentiles to Christianity. This little-noticed but highly
important fact is revealed when Peter says to Cornelius and those gathered in
his house: ‘Truly I understand that God does not have favourites, but that
anyone in any race who fears him [ο φοβουμενος αυτον] and acts justly is acceptable to him’ (10.34-5). This means that it is
not just any Gentile who is worthy to receive the Gospel, but only someone like
Cornelius who fears God and acts justly. As this conversion paves the way for
and legitimates all later Gentile conversions, we must assume that Luke is
endorsing Peter’s conditions as being applicable in all those later cases. This
interpretation is confirmed in Acts 15.17, where it appears that the Gentiles
singled out for inclusion in God’s people are those already consecrated to his
name. It comes as no surprise that the usual source of Gentile converts in Acts
is among those associated with synagogues, for only in that context were there
normally to be found Gentiles who did fear God. (Philip Francis Esler, Community
and Gospel in Luke-Acts: The Social and Political Motivations of Lucan Theology
[Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 57; Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1987], 37, 38)