Act 10:1-6 | Clarke | STEP | An angel appears to Cornelius, a centurion, and directs him to send to Joppa, for Peter, to instruct him in the way of salvation, . He sends accordingly, , . While the messengers are on their way to Joppa, Peter has a remarkable vision, by which he is taught how he should treat the Gentiles, . The messengers arrive at the house of Simon the tanner, and deliver their message, . They lodge there that night, and on the morrow Peter accompanies them to Caesarea, where they find Cornelius and his friends assembled, waiting the coming of Peter, , . Peter makes an apology for his coming, and inquires for what purpose Cornelius had sent for him, . Cornelius answers, . And Peter preaches unto him Jesus, as the Savior of the world, and the Judge of quick and dead, . While he speaks the Holy Ghost descends on Cornelius and his company; and they speak with new tongues, and magnify God, . Peter commands them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, , . I have already observed (see the conclusion of the preceding chapter) that hitherto the apostles confined their labors among the Jews and circumcised proselytes, not making any offer of salvation to the Gentiles; for they had fully imbibed the opinion that none could enter into the kingdom of God, and be finally saved, unless they were circumcised, and became obedient to the law of Moses. This prejudice would have operated so as finally to prevent them from preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, had not God, by a particular interposition of his mercy and goodness, convinced Peter, and through him all the other apostles, that he had accepted the Gentiles as well as the Jews, and would put no difference between the one and the other, purifying their hearts by faith, and giving the Gentiles the Holy Ghost, as he had before given it to the Jews. The means which he used to produce this conviction in the minds of the apostles are detailed at length in the following chapter. Verse 1 There was a certain man in Caesarea - This was Caesarea of Palestine, called also Strato's Tower, as has been already noted, and the residence of the Roman procurator. A centurion - Ἑκατονταρχης, The chief or captain of 100 men, as both the Greek and Latin words imply. How the Roman armies were formed, divided, and marshalled, see in the notes on (note). A centurion among the Romans was about the same rank as a captain among us. The band called the Italian band - The word σπειρα, which we translate band, signifies the same as cohort or regiment, which sometimes consisted of 555 infantry, and 66 cavalry; but the cohors prima, or first cohort, consisted of 1105 infantry, and 132 cavalry, in the time of Vegetius. But the cavalry are not to be considered as part of the cohort, but rather a company joined to it. A Roman legion consisted of ten cohorts; the first of which surpassed all the others, both in numbers and in dignity. When in former times the Roman legion contained 6000, each cohort consisted of 600, and was divided into three manipuli; but both the legions and cohorts were afterwards various in the numbers they contained. As there were doubtless many Syrian auxiliaries, the regiment in question was distinguished from them as consisting of Italian, i.e. Roman, soldiers. The Italian cohort is not unknown among the Roman writers: Gruter gives an inscription, which was found in the Forum Sempronii, on a fine table of marble, nine feet long, four feet broad, and four inches thick; on which are the following words: - l. maesio. l. f. pol. rvfo. proc. avg. trib. mil. leg. x. appollinaris. trib. coh. mil. ITALIC. volunt. qvae. est. in. syria. praef. fabrvm. bis. See Gruter's Inscriptions, p. ccccxxxiii-iv. This was probably the same cohort as that mentioned here by St. Luke; for the tenth legion mentioned in the above inscription was certainly in Judea, a.d. 69. Tacitus also mentions the Italica legio, the Italic legion, lib. i. c. 59, which Junius Blaesus had under his command in the province of Lyons. We learn, from the Roman historians, that the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth legions were stationed in Judea; and the third, fourth, sixth, and twelfth in Syria. The Italic legion was in the battle of Bedriacum, fought, a.d. 69, between the troops of Vitellius and Otho; and performed essential services to the Vitellian army. See Tacitus, Hist. lib. ii. cap. 41. The issue of this battle was the defeat of the Othonians, on which Otho slew himself, and the empire was confirmed to Vitellius. Wherever he sees it necessary, St. Luke carefully gives dates and facts, to which any might have recourse who might be disposed to doubt his statements: we have had several proofs of this in his Gospel. See especially (note), etc., and (note), etc., and the notes there.