And when Peter was now coming in, Cornelius met him, and falling down did [him] homage.
Peter arrives at the house of Cornelius, a Roman officer. At the door, Cornelius falls at his feet. Two questions follow: what was he doing, and why did Peter stop him at once?
Cornelius came out to meet the man he had sent for, and then went down at his feet. One writer explains why he did it.
It was all the more remarkable, since a Roman normally never bowed to the ground before a stranger. But the angel's message had raised this lowly, devout man's expectation so high that he failed to separate the preacher from the truth he was sent to make known. So he was ready to pay more honour than was fitting to the man God had told him to send for.
The word behind "worshiped" here is proskuneo. On its own it does not tell us whether the honour is divine or social.
The word most often used for worship is proskuneo. It comes from pros and kuneo, "to fawn or crouch," and "to kiss." Its first use in Scripture is in Genesis 18:2 [in the Greek Old Testament] when Abraham bows to the ground… It takes in all acts of outward honour, such as kneeling and bowing to the ground. People paid such honour to kings and other superiors, and also to a divine person, or to someone they regarded as such… So the word in itself does not decide whether the homage goes to God (which is its most constant use) or not. In most passages it could be translated "do homage."
One writer names both the reverence behind the act and the mistake in it.
Fully expecting Peter, Cornelius had already gathered his relatives and close friends to hear the word of God. However, out of deep reverence for the things of God, he made the serious mistake of falling at Peter's feet to worship him. Some men would proudly accept this, but not Peter, who knew that only the Lord is to be worshipped. Peter lifted him up, telling him to stand, for he was just like Cornelius, a mere man, and not God.
Another writer sees the mistake and the wonder in it together: "He carried his reverence too far; still it was no small thing that the haughty Roman should fall at the feet of a humble Galilean fisherman" (F. B. Hole).
Peter's refusal was not a one-off. Paul refused the same honour, and one writer draws a conclusion about Jesus from that.
It is remarkable that the Spirit of God has put it on record. Men offered homage to both Peter and Paul, and both stopped it at once and with force. "Stand up: I myself also am a man," was Peter's command to Cornelius when that centurion threw himself at his feet (Acts 10:26)… These were true men. They would not let anyone think they were more than men. They would not accept adoration even for a moment, because adoration belonged to God alone. From these events in the lives of His servants we learn by inference that Jesus was God when He accepted the adoration of Thomas. If not, what was He?
One writer turns the scene on those who claim to hold Peter's place today.
Oh, you who claim to be Peter's special and exclusive successor, are you not ashamed? Why are you of all men the furthest from his ways and the most opposed to his spirit? You have silver and gold, which he did not. But you deny and corrupt the faith he preached. And the lowliness he showed even to a Gentile who was not yet baptised is the most solemn rebuke to your pride, while the cardinals adore you again and again, each one falling down before you and kissing your slippered toe. Can the contrast be more complete? And this is "succession"!
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- Homage. The word here covers any deep bow — to a king or to God. Peter's answer, not the word itself, settles what the act meant.
- Expectation. Cornelius meant well. He could not separate the preacher from the truth the preacher came to bring.
- Refusal. Peter lifts him up instead of taking the honour. He stood there as a man and nothing more.
- Contrast. God's servants forbid such honour. Jesus received it — and that says who He is.
- Rebuke. Peter showed lowliness to a Gentile who was not yet baptised. That judges every later claim to his place that takes the homage he refused.
But Peter made him rise, saying, Rise up *I* myself also am a man.
Peter reaches Caesarea, and the Roman who sent for him falls at his feet. Peter will not take it: he lifts the man up and tells him they are both only men.
An angel had told Cornelius to send for Peter. By the time Peter came through the door, his hopes had risen so high that he honoured the messenger as if he were the message.
It was all the more remarkable, since a Roman would not usually bow to the ground in greeting a stranger. But the angel's message had lifted the humble and devout mind of Cornelius to such a pitch of expectation that he failed to separate the preacher from the truth he was sent to make known. So he was ready to pay more honour than was right to the man God had told him to send for. On the other hand, the dignity that goes with the truth fits with the deepest humility. It even produces and increases that humility, in proportion to the power grace gains over the soul.
The Greek word for what Cornelius did covers a wide range of bowing. By itself it does not tell you whether God or a man is in view.
The word most often used for worship is proskuneo, from pros and kuneo, "to fawn or crouch," and "to kiss."... It covers all acts of outward honour, such as kneeling and bowing to the ground — the wide sense the word "worship" once had in English (see 1 Chronicles 29:20). People paid such honour to kings and other superiors, as well as to a divine person, or one regarded as such... So the word in itself does not tell us whether the homage goes to God (which is its most common use) or not. In most passages you could translate it "do homage."
Peter does not lecture him. He gets him on his feet and states the one fact that ends the confusion.
Cornelius falls at the feet of this messenger, who he knew was God's messenger to his soul. This only shows how earnest the man was. "But Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up; I too am a man.'" You are a man, and so am I: we are on the same level.
The same scene happens twice, with two different apostles. Both men push the honour away, and their refusal tells us something about Christ, who did not.
It is remarkable that the Spirit of God has put it on record that men offered homage to both Peter and Paul, and that both of them stopped it at once and with force... These were true men. They would not let anyone think they were more than men, and they would not accept adoration even for a moment, since it belongs to God alone. From these incidents in the lives of His servants we learn, by inference, that Jesus was God when He accepted the adoration of Thomas. If not, what was He? Let the objectors supply the answer.
The same pull is still at work. We lean on the people God uses instead of on Christ.
We all recognise the tendency to make much of man. Without knowing it, we fall into idolatry. We give the glory to some instrument God in His grace has seen fit to use, instead of to Himself. We lean too heavily on the hand that would point us to Christ. Too often we make priests of the very people who remind us that we are all priests... When loved and honoured servants of Christ are taken away, one lesson at least we may learn is not to make too much of them — to "cease from man" — to cling more simply to Christ alone.
The correction did not cool Cornelius down. It turned the whole room toward God.
He accepted Peter's gentle rebuke, "I too am a man." Yet he knew God was at work, and that they must hold the meeting as in His presence. So he set himself and the whole audience "here present before God," ready to hear from the preacher "all things that God has commanded you." They were ready to hear ALL. Plenty of people do not mind hearing pleasant and comforting things, but they object to the sterner announcements the gospel makes.
- The mistake. Cornelius's eagerness blurred the line between the preacher and the truth he carried. A Roman ended up on the floor in front of a man like himself.
- The act. People bowed like that to kings as well as to God, so the act by itself proved nothing.
- The lift. Peter's answer was not a rebuke from above but a hand that raised Cornelius to his own level: you are a man, and so am I.
- The contrast. Peter refused what Paul refused too. Christ accepted it — and that tells us who He is.
- The result. Cornelius took the correction. He set the whole room before God, ready to hear everything God commanded.