How does Acts 10:28 connect with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20? Setting the Scene - Acts 10 describes Peter’s encounter with Cornelius, a Gentile centurion. - In the middle of that story Peter confesses, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or visit a foreigner. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean” (Acts 10:28). - This turning point happens years after Jesus issued His Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). Key Link: All Nations Means All Nations - Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19-20 was crystal clear—“all nations” (Greek: panta ta ethnē) leaves no ethnic, cultural, or social group outside the gospel’s reach. - In Acts 10:28, Peter finally grasps that “all nations” includes Gentiles who were once considered outside the covenant people (cf. Isaiah 49:6). - The vision of the sheet (Acts 10:9-16) and the Spirit’s prompting lead Peter to live out what Jesus had already mandated. Progressive Obedience to the Commission 1. Jesus gives the command (Matthew 28). 2. The church receives power (Acts 1:8—“you will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth”). 3. Persecution scatters believers (Acts 8:1,4), pushing them toward Samaria and beyond. 4. Acts 10 breaks the final ethnic barrier, showing the Commission in real-time motion. Doctrinal Anchors - God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34-35). - Salvation is through faith in Christ alone (Acts 10:43; John 14:6). - The Holy Spirit seals Gentile believers exactly as He does Jewish believers (Acts 10:44-48; Ephesians 1:13-14). - Therefore, any gospel proclamation that withholds Christ from a people group contradicts Jesus’ mandate and God’s revealed character. Practical Implications for Today - Resist every cultural, racial, or social barrier that would keep the gospel from anyone. - Embrace gospel conversations that feel “unlawful” to fleshly preferences or traditions. - Measure ministry success not only by conversions but by teaching disciples to obey “all that I have commanded” (Matthew 28:20). - Expect the Spirit to confirm the message with changed lives, just as He fell upon Cornelius’s household (Acts 10:44). Harmony of the Texts - Matthew 28:19-20 supplies the universal command. - Acts 10:28 demonstrates its first explicit Gentile fulfillment. - Together they reveal one seamless plan: Christ’s authority commissioning obedient disciples to reach every people and culture, empowered by the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God (Romans 15:8-12). |
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