Bro. Rushmore, I have heard many of our brethren speak of Cornelius living under the Patriarchal dispensation at the time of Peter’s visit. This is the reason most give for his prayers being heard according to Acts 10:4. My question is could there be the possibility that Cornelius was a proselyte Jew? My reason for wondering this is the fact that Acts 10:3 tells us that he was praying about the ninth hour, which according to Acts 3:1 was one of the common hours of prayer in the temple. Acts 10:30 also states that Cornelius was fasting. Was fasting and prayer at the ninth hour common practice for a Gentile still living under the Patriarchal law or could there be the possibility that Cornelius was a proselyte Jew, who still being of the Gentile race despised just as much by true Jews, being the reason for Peter’s vision? In Christ, Rayford Henderson
Inescapably, Cornelius was a Gentile originally from Italy (Acts 10:1), revered the true God and influenced his household to do the same (Acts 10:2), fasted as the Jews did (Acts 10:30), prayed as did the Jews at the ninth hour (Acts 10:30) and acted upon his confidence in the God of Judaism by giving to the poor Jews whose land he and other Roman soldiers occupied (Acts 10:2). Obviously, Cornelius was favorably inclined toward Judaism. However, had Cornelius proselyted to Judaism or was Cornelius still a Gentile when Scripture introduces him in Acts Ten? Overwhelming evidence confirms that though inclined toward Judaism, Cornelius had not become a proselyte to Judaism by the time he met the apostle Peter.
First, note that several Gentiles over time who had not become proselytes nevertheless were favorably inclined toward Judaism, or at least toward the Israelites. Scripture predicted as much.
“Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name” (1 Kings 8:41-43).
Ruth who hid the spies cast her lot with the Israelites though she was not then an inductee to Judaism (Joshua 6:25). After healed of leprosy, Naaman embraced the true God of Israel without becoming a proselyte (2 Kings 5:15-18). A centurion, during the ministry of Christ, had built a synagogue for the Jews of Capernaum and petitioned the Jews to seek a cure of Jesus for his ill servant (Luke 7:1-5).
In Acts 10:1ff. a Roman centurion of Caesarea in Palestine, one of the class of Gentiles known as ‘God-fearers’ because of their attachment to Jewish religious practices, such as almsgiving and prayer, for which Cornelius receives special mention. … The Cornelius of Acts is specially notable as the first Gentile convert to Christianity. As he and his household and friends listened to Peter’s preaching, they believed and received the Holy Spirit, whereupon they were baptized at Peter’s command. The importance of this occasion in Luke’s eyes is emphasized by repetition (cf. Acts 11:1-18; 15:7, 14).1
Second, the Gospel of Christ had been preached to Jewish proselytes already ten years before the occasion of the preaching of the Gospel to the household of Cornelius (Acts 2:10). The singular event to which two chapters are devoted respecting the conversion of Cornelius and his Gentile family and friends is irreconcilable with the fact that Gentile proselytes to Judaism had been converted up to ten years before (Acts 6:5) — completely without any recorded complaint by Judaizing teachers. Acts 10 and 11 portray the breaking of new ground regarding the fulfillment of the Great Commission to evangelize the world (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8) — namely the conversion to Christianity of Gentiles who did not first proselyte to Judaism — about which the Judaizing teachers never ceased to complain.
Third, the Judaizing teachers did not dispute that Gentiles could become Christians (Mark 16:15-16), as long as they became proselytes to Judaism first (Acts 15:24). Peter also was surprised and needed miraculous proof that he ought to take the Gospel to Gentiles (Acts 10:9-20). Likewise, the six Jewish brethren who accompanied Peter were dumbfounded that Cornelius and other Gentiles assembled that day were visited by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45). Neither Peter nor those six Jews would have been amazed regarding going to Cornelius or the Holy Spirit visiting those Gentiles had those Gentiles been Jewish proselytes, such as those in Acts 2 to whom the promises were alike to the Jews and proselytes.
The importance of the whole transaction to the development of the church seems to depend on the circumstance that Cornelius was probably not a proselyte at all. Thus we regard Cornelius as literally the first-fruits of the Gentiles. The step here taken by Peter was therefore one of tremendous importance to the whole development of the church. The significance of the incident consists exactly in this, that under Divine direction, the first Gentile, not at all belonging to the old theocracy, becomes a Spirit-filled Christian, entering through the front door of the Christian church without first going through the narrow gate of Judaism. The incident settled forever the great, fundamental question as to the relations of Jew and Gentile in the church.2
Fourth, Gentiles who proselyted to Judaism, though they faced restrictions placed upon them by the Jews, did intermingle with the Jews. The apostle Paul addressed Jews as well as Gentile proselytes in the synagogue of Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14-16). The phrases “… Men of Israel, and ye that fear God …” (Acts 13:16) refer to the Jews and Gentile proselytes, respectively. Acts 13:42 makes clear that the two ethnicities present when Paul addressed them were Jews and Gentiles (proselytes).
“And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:42-43).
Hence, the apostle Peter would not have declared regarding Cornelius that it was not permissible for a Jew to have contact with a Gentile, if Cornelius were a proselyte (Acts 10:28).
Fifth, the apostle Peter and James, the half brother of Jesus, categorized the conversion of Cornelius as from the Gentiles to Christianity (Acts 15:7, 14). Add the testimony of the Judaizing teachers who challenged Peter specifically because he took the Gospel to uncircumcised Gentiles.
“And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them” (Acts 11:2-3).
Judaism called for male proselytes to be circumcised (Exodus 12:48); the fact that Cornelius and those with him were not circumcised indicates that they were not proselytes when they encountered Peter. Acts 11 represents Peter’s defense of his conduct in taking the Gospel to the Gentiles, which complaint the Judaizing teachers would not have tendered if Cornelius and those with him were proselytes; circumcision was a cardinal badge of a proselyte, hence the phraseology “uncircumcised” and “Gentiles” were synonyms.
In conclusion, some commentators and religious reference works suppose Cornelius to have been a Gentile proselyte to Judaism before his acquaintance with the apostle Peter. “…his devotion, alms, prayers, and visions (10:2-3) merely signifying that he was a Jewish proselyte.”3 However, the foregoing observations are sufficient to discern that Cornelius and the others with him of Acts 10 and 11 were uncircumcised Gentiles and not proselytes when Peter brought the Gospel to them. The prophecy of Jesus respecting the progress of evangelism on the world included the Jews, the Samaritans and the balance of humanity or Gentiles; “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Further, the apostle Peter portrayed the same allotment of the Gospel to the world; “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). The “afar off,” Paul identified as Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11-22). The conversion of Cornelius and other Gentiles with him represents the final episode in the proclamation of the Gospel to all classes of humanity, effectively fully activating the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-16).
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1 The New Bible Dictionary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1962.
2 International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database. (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft) 1996.
3 The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press) 1988.
