Acts 10:34-43 is Peter's kerygmatic speech to a Gentile god-fearer's household. The context of the speech is Peter's meeting with Cornelius who was instructed in a dream to send for the apostle while he was residing at Joppa. Below is the outline of Acts 10:1-48 illustrating the place of the speech.
- 1 - 8: Cornelius, his dream and his sending for Peter
- 9 - 16: Peter's dream of the unclean animals and the command for him to kill and eat.
- 17 - 23: Peter receives Cornelius' messengers
- 24 - 33: The meeting of Peter and Cornelius
- 34 - 43: Peter's Speech
- 44 - 48: The Pentecost in Cornelius' House and his baptism
Within the plan of Luke's Acts, Peter's speech in Cornelius' house is the first proclamation of the nascent Church to Gentiles about the Christ-event. In contrast to two previous kerygmatic1 discourses (Acts 2:14-40;3:12-26) that explicitly called for repentance, this one is characterized by a universal offer of forgiveness2.
Here is an outline of the speech
- Introduction (vv. 34-35)
- Kerygma Proper
- God's word of peace through Jesus Christ (v. 36)
- Jesus' ministry (vv. 37-38)
- Jesus' death and resurrection (vv. 39-40)
- The apostles' commissioned as official witnesses (vv. 41-42)
- Forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name (v. 43)
Structurally, the speech has a concentric arrangement with the outermost parallel elements gospel of peace--forgiveness of sins and at the center, the death and resurrection of Christ. Framing this central element are two declarations about Christ "He is Lord of all" and "God designated him Judge of the Living and the Dead"
The speech begins with the declaration that God is a not a prosopolemptes literally, "an accepter of persons" (a judge of appearances). In the OT, the idea corresponds to God's impartiality as judge towards the rich and the poor. Here the concept is broadened to include Divine impartiality towards Jews and Gentiles. The speech is thus connected to the situation of Cornelius who has been described as upright and doing good (cf. vv. 1-8). But since the speech leads to a declaration about Christ being designated as Judge of all, it has been compared to Romans 2:11-16.
Romans 2:11-16 is a part of Paul's opening discourse about all -- whether Greek or Jew -- as under God's judgment (Rom. 1:18-3:20), for all have sinned (cf. Rom. 3:9). It begins with the declaration that God is impartial (Rom. 2:11) and judges both Jews and Gentiles according to the Law (v. 12). The Gentiles prove that they have the Law written in their hearts by their instinct to do what is good (vv. 14-15). And their own conscience will be accussing them according to the tenets of the Law written in their hearts when Jesus Christ comes to judge "the secret thoughts of all" (v. 16). This Pauline theme may as well be at the background of early Christianity's proclamation to the Gentiles which finds a sample expression in the text under consideration.
Verse 36 of Peter's kerygma identifies God's DABHAR (Word) -- the Good News of peace -- to Jesus' work after the Baptist's ministry, the baptism for the forgiveness of sins. From verse 37 onwards, we find this word unfolding as Jesus heals and exorcises (38b), dies on the cross (39b), rises from the dead and his manifestation as the Risen One (40). It should be noted that these verse are similar to a rough outline of the Marcan gospel which begins with John's ministry and ends with the resurrection account.
Intertwined with the narration of the Jesus-event is the declaration of the legitimacy of apostolic witness. The apostle is a witness to all that Jesus did (39) of his death and resurrection (40) and has been commissioned by God to preach Jesus Christ.
Jesus is "Lord of all" (36b), a title that pagans attributed to Zeus and Osiris. In the OT, Yahweh is "Lord of all the earth" Anointed in the Spirit and with power, he was successful in his ministry because "God was with him." The Aramaic layer beneath this statement also means "God was IN him", a theme developed in John's gospel. Jesus was put to death, suspended on wood. This last is an allussion to the curse of Deut. 21:22-23, the same text which Paul explains in Gal. 3:13-14 as fulfilled in Christ in a salvific sense. Raised from the dead God designated him Judge of the Living and the Dead (42b). In his name, forgiveness is offered to all (43) in accord with the witness of the prophets.
The apostle is the "official" witness to the Christ-event. In Acts 1:21-22, Peter lists the qualities of one who can take the place vacated by Judas. The apostle's role is described like a frame around the central proclamation of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The death and resurrection of Christ is after all at the core of apostolic preaching.
In verse 43 is mentioned another witness, the "prophets". As the apostles are witnesses to the Christ-event and his designations as Lord and Judge of all, so the "prophets" -- the Scriptures -- is witness to the forgiveness of sins offered in Christ's name. Passages like Ezekiel 36:25-27 or Isaiah 53:1-12 would have served as examples among others. Two witnesses are given then, apostolic tradition (such as Peter's speech) and scriptures. And both proclaim that there is no salvation except in Christ.
A Note on the Liturgy of Easter Morning
The liturgy of Easter Sunday offers selected portions of this Petrine discourse (34b.37-43). Focus is on the narration of the Jesus-event: from Jesus' ministry in Galilee to Jerusalem which began after the Baptist's work. The Responsorial Psalm is taken from Psalm 118. Its exclamation "This is the day the Lord has made" transfers an Israelite cry of thanksgiving for God's saving acts to a celebration of Christ's resurrection. He is the stone rejected by the builder which has become the cornerstone of a new edifice, the Church.
1.The preaching of Christ when turned towards members of the Church is called "catechism." When turned to non-members, it is called "kerygma".
2.To say that this kerygmatic discourse is characterized by a universal offer of forgiveness in Christ does not imply that repentance is not required. The offer of forgiveness in fact makes the need for repentance more urgent. The discourse merely highlights the aspect of forgiveness in evangelization (see Luke 24:44-48).
