It’s happened too often to be truly surprising.
Yet still, I'm always amazed when I notice something new in a Bible passage that I've read for years. “What an amazing clause! Has that always been in this verse?” And of course, that clause has always been in that verse. It just took me until now to notice and seriously consider it. The Bible is stunning in that way. It’s a book with living words that don’t grow old. Acts 10:3-5 showed me that recently.
The passage deals with the conversion of Cornelius, a first century Roman centurion. He lived in Caesarea, a city by the Mediterranean Sea, and was known by the Jews there to be a devout man who feared God, along with his household. Cornelius was generous in his charity to the people of the city and he prayed continually to God. The Roman Gentile doesn’t seem to be a full circumcised Jewish proselyte, yet he looked to the God of heaven and earth. And that God heard and saw Cornelius. Just consider the following words from Acts 10:3-5–the verses I found so surprising in my recent Bible reading.
Acts 10:3-5
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.
Verse four of the passage is what got me. Cornelius’ charity and prayers had risen like a memorial offering before God. The picture is striking when you consider what this offering was in the Mosaic Law.
The memorial offering is mentioned in Leviticus. It was the portion of the grain offering the priest burned on the altar to God. The memorial offering is often described as “a sweet smelling aroma to the Lord” (Lev. 2:2, 9; 6:15). So picture the scene: Cornelius’ sincere giving to the poor in Caesarea and his faithful everyday prayers rose up like a memorial offering, a pleasing aroma before the Lord. God remembered the man and blessed him with the greatest of all gifts–Himself. The apostle Peter shared the gospel with Cornelius and his family and they were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48).
May your service and prayers rise before God as a sweet aroma.
Cornelius’ conversion account can teach us many things about the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles in the first century church. We see in this story that God’s salvation through Christ is for all the families of the earth. God shows no partiality but comes to redeem people from all nations. All this is true. But my focus today is on that small line in verse four. It makes me wonder: what if my service and prayers to God were like a memorial offering rising up as a pleasing aroma before His throne?
Friend, if you are united with Christ by faith, then God IS pleased with your Spirit enabled work. So whatever that work might be today—if it’s praying regularly for your children, studying to teach the Bible faithfully, serving families in your community, or facing a trial with endurance and hope—may your good works rise up like a pleasing aroma before God’s throne! Amen.