NOTES for Act 10:37-43

Today, when speaking of Christianity, we most often mean a certain new religion founded by Jesus Christ. The most correct religion, containing the fullness of truth, saving, but still a religion. Meanwhile the apostles, bearing witness to Christ, do not speak of any religion at all. They speak of something completely different. First of all, of course, of the Messiah, of Christ, who has finally come and revealed God's power to the world. Christianity is first of all Christ Himself. It begins with Him, and He alone bears in Himself both the fullness of living truth and salvation.

But Christianity is not only Christ Himself. It is also our relationships with Him. Precisely the relationships as such, and not what we think about these relationships, what we feel and experience in connection with them, and still less the rites and rituals that accompany them. Everything listed may exist or not exist, may take one form or another, may differ depending on place and time. But relationships with Christ are absolutely important for Christianity; they are its human dimension. These relationships, properly speaking, are the Kingdom that Christ brought into the world.

Place now plays no role: the breath of God, the breath of the Kingdom, is now felt in the world everywhere. Only the desire of the seeker is needed. But in order to become not simply a guest of the Kingdom but its inhabitant, one must also become a subject of the King who rules it. Here one cannot do without relationships with Christ, relationships deeply personal and always completely unique. But such relationships inevitably include an element of Judgment.

We come to Christ as we are, with all our problems and sins. We will have to be freed from the problems and cleansed from the sins and their consequences. Without the corresponding assessment from Christ and rethinking followed by repentance on the part of the one seeking the Kingdom, nothing will come of it. But if a Christian passes through this path, then he has no other Judgment to await: he has passed through his Judgment. For those who live in the Kingdom there is no Judgment. For them there is the life of the Kingdom. In abundance.

This phrase has to be examined word by word. "All the prophets": what matters here is "all," not "each one." Not every prophet spoke about the Messiah, not every prophet spoke about forgiveness of sins... But together they all reveal to people God's plan of salvation through Christ's redeeming sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins.

"Bear witness": we are used to thinking that prophets anticipate the future, while testimony is a story about something that has already happened. But prophecy differs from a forecast precisely because in it a person tells about a fact that has been revealed to him, regardless of what time that fact belongs to, past, present, or future. Thus a prophet is a witness to a fact.

"Will receive... through His name." Let us picture this: we have received by mail an invitation, an admission pass to a coming distribution of certain definite gifts. After reading the invitation, we can say, "I do not need these gifts," or "I do not believe they will be giving them out there," or "I do not have time," or "How tastelessly it is designed," or "Will I really receive something because of this little piece of paper?" - AND NOT GO! In order to go, we need to take seriously this invitation and the thing to which we are being invited. God invites us to enter His life through the forgiveness of our sins; the living invitation, the living letter to us, is God's Son, His name, given to us as a pass to God. We simply need to trust and receive this name as a treasure, as a pledge of eternal life, and then come to God and present this pass.

It is necessary to analyze this sentence word by word. "All the prophets": it is important here that "all", and not "each". Not every prophet spoke about the Messiah, or every prophet who spoke about the remission of sin... But they all together open to people the intention of God concerning salvation through the expiatory sacrifice of Christ for the remission of our sins.

"Witness": we are used to the fact that prophets forestall the future, while witness is a narrative of what already took place. But prophesy distinguishes itself from forecast by the fact that, in the first one, the person relates a fact that was opened to him, independently of the time or period this fact belongs to- in the past, in the present or in the future. So, a prophet is a witness of fact.

"Shall receive…through His name ". Let’s fancy such scenario: we received an invitation by post-office - a pass to the forthcoming distribution of some presents (quite concrete). Having read the invitation, we can say: " I do not need these presents ", - or: " I don’t believe that they shall give them there", - or: " I have no time ", - or: " as it is badly drafted ", - or: " Will I really receive something for such a slip of paper? " - AND DON’T GO! To go, it will be necessary for us to take this invitation seriously and what we are being invited for. God invites us to enter His life through the remission of our sins; the Son of God is the lively invitation, the lively letter sent to us, His name was given to us as pass to God; we just have to trust and accept this name as jewel, as guarantee of everlasting life - and after come to God and present this pass.

This is the story of how, once and for all, God separated His Church from every kind of nationalism. For God there are no "unclean peoples," no "rogue states." He is equally merciful to all, the righteous and the unrighteous, and anyone in any nation who acts according to truth is pleasing to Him.

That is in theory. In practice, we Christians have too often become bearers of all sorts of "anti-isms": anti-Semitism, anti-Islamism, anti-Americanism, and so on. The apostle Peter's hesitation can still be explained by the fact that he had been raised in the concepts of the separateness and election of his people. But how can our behavior be justified?

Fortunately, God acts actively to overcome these sinful prejudices: as soon as Cornelius's relatives and friends hear from Peter the first words of the Good News, He pours out His Spirit on them, thereby showing that His Church is for everyone.