And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
And he commanded them to be baptized. As "Jesus himself baptized not, but His disciples" (John 4:2), His apostolic representatives seem to have acted on the same principle, except on rare occasions (see the notes at 1 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 1:17).
In the name of the Lord. Lachmann's reading, 'in the name of Jesus Christ,' is perhaps best attested; but this (as Meyer says) is probably an alteration, to mark the Christian character of the act. Tischendorf abides by the Received Text.
Then prayed they him to tarry certain days - golden days (as Bengel says); spent in refreshing fellowship, and in imparting and receiving fuller teaching on the great topics of the apostle's discourse.
Remarks:
(1) We have adverted to the fact that the Gospel was preached with success to uncircumcised Gentiles before Peter was sent to Cornelius (see the note at Acts 8:4. and Remark 1, at the close of that section). The strong feelings of the dispersed believers, who, after Stephen's martyrdom, went everywhere preaching the word, would not suffer them, it appears, to confine themselves to their brethren of the circumcision. Meeting with Gentiles, equally needing and equally capable of salvation by the Gospel, they felt themselves impelled to proclaim the glad tidings to them also; and they did it not in vain. But since this was so new a feature in the divine economy, and the prejudices of the Jews against any breaking down of the distinction were so intense and general, that even after they believed, they could hardly shake it off, it seemed meet to the wisdom of God to give the extension of the Gospel to uncircumcised Gentiles a more august and formal sanction, once for all, than any success vouchsafed to the spontaneous labours of warm-hearted believers would have lent to it. And this is what we have in the present chapter. And the steps in this case were as notable as in the conversion and preparation of Saul of Tarsus to be a preacher of Christ, because in both cases the issues to the cause of the Gospel were to be so vast. Yet how different the two cases! Saul, nursed under divine revelation, and of 'the straitest' sect of his Religion, was up to the moment of his conversion a bitter enemy of Christ: Cornelius, born a pagan, but learning in Judea (where, as a military man, he had been quartered) that 'salvation was of the Jews,' had surrendered his heart to the God of Abraham, was regulating his life and household by the Faith which he had embraced, and had at least one of his soldiers, like-eluded with himself in spiritual things, on a more intimate footing with him than the rest.
Thus adorning his religious profession, the eye of God rested on him with complacency as an accepted worshipper; and as, like the Ethiopian eunuch before Philip was sent to him, he wanted only the knowledge of Jesus, the Lord brings this about in a way worthy of Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. That apostle, through whose instrumentality the first ingathering of Jewish believers took place on the day of Pentecost, is now honoured to open the door of faith unto the Gentiles, in the persons of Cornelius and his company. With this view Cornelius is directed in vision to send for Peter, while Peter, on the other hand, taught by a vision that the Gentiles are no longer unclean, is by the Spirit informed that messengers are waiting for him, whom he is to accompany, as men divinely sent to him. Cornelius, in full expectation of Peter's arrival, prepares to receive and cordially welcomes him; each having his respective party with him-the representatives of the two great sections of mankind, Jew and Gentile, coming together for the first time, with the formal recognition of heaven, on a footing of perfect religious equality.
The expectations of both parties are wound up, doubtless, to a high pitch; and silence having been broken-by each party explaining how, on his part, this strange meeting had come about-Peter delivers his Gospel message. While he is yet speaking the Holy Spirit descends upon the whole Gentile portion of the audience-evidencing His presence, as on the day of Pentecost, by their magnifying God in foreign tongues; the Jewish portion of the audience is tilted with wonder, and Peter, after challenging objection, orders them-all uncircumcised as they were-to be visibly admitted into the fellowship of believers by the rite of baptism. At their invitation Peter stays some days with these new Gentile brethren-eating and drinking with them freely, no doubt, in disregard now of all his old prejudices. Thus grandly was the admission of the Gentiles to be fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, established divinely for all time.
(2) The honour in this case put upon prayer-as before in the case of Saul of Tarsus-ought not to pass unnoticed. Just as some other sign of the change that had come over Saul might have been given to Ananias; but that which was fixed upon (the last, by the way, that would have been thought of by any but a simple relater of facts), as it was that in the convert's exercise which was the most befitting his new circumstances, so it shows what the eye of God beheld in him with the greatest satisfaction: even so here, it was "about the ninth hour" - the hour of evening Jewish prayer, and doubtless while himself in the act of prayer-that the angel of God appeared in vision to Cornelius. Perhaps he was praying for more light; and as the centurion in the Gospel-being quartered in Capernaum, and enjoying the advantage of familiarity with His mighty works and wondrous words-had outstripped his Jewish teachers, and passed from Judaism to Jesus; so this man, after having gotten all out of Judaism which he could extract without Christ, feeling still that his soul was not satisfied, was crying to God, "If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; yet shall thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.
For He is not a man as I am that I should answer Him and we should come together in judgment Neither is For He is not a man as I am, that I should answer Him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman between us, that might lay his hand upon us both." "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what He hath prepared for Him that waiteth for Him." "Show me a token for good" (Job 9:30-33; Isaiah 64:1; Isaiah 64:4; Psalms 86:17). If anything like this was the burden of Cornelius' prayer, how seasonable was the divine response to it! But at any rate, it was, beyond doubt, while he was praying that the promise of new light was sent him, and it was "his prayers" first that the angel told him had "come up as a memorial before God." Nor was it otherwise with Peter; for it was while on the house-top, where he had gone up "to pray," and about the noon-tide hour of Jewish prayer, that he had the trance which prepared him for the messengers of Cornelius, and the Spirit's directions to go with them.
`The saint beside the ocean pray'd, The soldier in his chosen bower,
Where all his eye survey'd Seem'd sacred in that hour `To each unknown his brother's prayer, Yet brethren true in dearest love
Were they-and now they share Fraternal joys above. `There daily through Christ's open gate
They see the Gentile spirits press, Brightening their high estate
With dearer happiness.' KEBLE
And does not the experience of the Church, and of individual believers in every age, attest, quite as decisively, the value which the Lord sets upon prayer? When has any remarkable revival of religion taken place, or light in darkness broken in upon struggling believers, which has not been preceded by much prayer? (Compare the example of Jesus Himself, Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:28, and Remarks there.)
(3) The principle, that where the Holy Spirit has been already conferred, the visible sign of entrance into the fellowship of the Church cannot reasonably be withheld, is plainly one of more extensive application than the particular case here recorded. One application of it, to facts brought to Jesus, has been noticed on Luke 18:15-17, Remark 5; and Calvin makes this application of it too, But it admits of very varied application.