LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 93

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CONVENTION ESSAYS AND BIBLE STUDIES
four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the
Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept
in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by
the church.”
A climactic moment in the church’s mission occurs when
Peter has a dream that sends him to Cornelius, a Gentile,
at Caesarea. Peter comes to Cornelius to announce that the
kingdom of God is now coming to the Gentiles, as Peter continues the role of Jesus who is the first missionary to the
Gentiles. What Peter brings to a Gentile household is the
peace of the Kingdom and fellowship at the table that
breaks down the barriers that exist between Jew and Gentile. Peter abides with the Gentile Cornelius for some days,
eating with the uncircumcised and thus fulfilling the mission of the church to invite all people “from east and west,
and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom
of God” (Luke 13:30).
When Peter comes to Cornelius’ house, he preaches a
sermon that encompasses the essence of Jesus’ mission
proclamation. He follows the pattern of mission of bringing
peace to the household—the essence of the Gospel that announces the good news of God’s invasion in Christ who
brings a new creation. Peter’s sermon begins with this
greeting of peace that summarizes Jesus’ entire ministry of
peace, beginning from Galilee:
Acts 10:34–37—The Greeting of Peace
“And Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I perceive
that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one
who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.
You know the word which He sent to Israel, preaching good
news of peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all), the word
which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning
from Galilee after the baptism which John preached ...’ ”
Peter follows Jesus’ pattern of preaching the Gospel as
he announces to Cornelius the objective facts of Jesus’ ministry and life: His baptism, teaching, and miracles; suffering, death, and resurrection:
Acts 10:38–40a—The Objective Facts of the Gospel
“... how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and with power; how He went about doing good and
healing all that He did both in the country of the Jews and

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in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a
tree; but God raised Him on the third day ...”
Some of Jesus’ most important teaching took place after
He rose from the dead, as Luke testifies with the Emmaus
story, the appearance in the upper room, where Jesus
greets them with peace and eats broiled fish in their presence, and then His final climactic teaching that lays before
the church the pattern for Gospel preaching. Jesus appeared to many after He rose from the dead, particularly
at the table, where He ate and drank with them and shared
with them the gift of the forgiveness of sins in His name:
Acts 10:40b–43—Table Sharing and the Gift of
Forgiveness in His Name
“... and made Him manifest; not to all the people but to
us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and
drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that He is
the One ordained by God to be judge of the living and the
dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that every one
who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through
His name.”
Many other examples in the Acts of the Apostles and in
the mission of the apostolic church bear witness to Jesus’
instructions on how the church is to preach the Gospel to
the ends of the earth. The church follows Jesus’ pattern of
mission as she proclaims the passion and death of Christ
and announces the forgiveness of sins, as she gives the
greeting of peace and shares His body broken and blood
poured out in a meal that is a foretaste of the feast to come,
and as she experiences the same violent destiny of persecution, rejection, and martyrdom for the sake of the Kingdom. The witness of the apostles demanded that they be
joined with Jesus Christ even in His death. A confessor of
Christ follows Him on His pilgrimage through death to His
eternal presence, for suffering and death are essential to
how the church accomplishes her mission. And as these
witnesses testify to the crucified, risen, and exalted
Christ—who is Himself the Father’s Eternal Witness—the
world is bathed in His forgiveness that flows from His word
and witness.
“Peace to you!”
Arthur A. Just, Jr.
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne