the day ol' Pentecost is n rded, the baptism of < lorne-
lius. A.D.32. That was the crown and consummation of Peter's ministry, l'eter. who had first preached the resurrection to the dews, baptized the first converts,
Confirmed the first Samaritans, now. without the advice or CO-OpeTation of any of his colleagues, under direct
communication from heaven, lirst threw down the bar- rier which separated proselytes of the gate from Israel- ites, thus establishing principles which in their gradual application ami full development issued in the complete fusion of the Gentile and Hebrew elements in the
Church. The narrative of this event, which stands
alone in minute cireunist am iaiit y ol incidents and ac- cumulation of supernatural agency, is mice recorded by Luke. The chief points to he noted are. lir-t. the pe- culiar fitness of Cornelius, both as a representative of
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Roman force and nationality, and as a devout and liber- al worshipper, to be a recipient of such privileges; and. secondly, the state of the apostle's own mind. What- ever may have been bis hope- or fears touching the heathen, the idea had certainly not yet crossed him that they could become Christians without lirst becoming dens. As a loyal and believing Hebrew, he could not contemplate the removal of Gentile disqualifications without a distinct assurance that the enactments of the law which concerned them were abrogated by the divine Legislator. The vision could not therefore have been the product of a subjective impression. It was, strictly speaking, objective, presented to his mind by an external influence. Yet the will of the apostle was not controlled, it was simply enlightened. Tin' intimation in the state of trance did not at once overcome his reluctance. It was not until his consciousness was fully restored, and
he had well considered the meaning of the vision, that he learned that the distinction of cleanness and unclean- ness in outward things belonged to a temporary dispen- sation. It was no mere acquiescence in a positive com- mand, but the development of a spirit full of generous impulses, which found utterance in the words spoken by l'eter on that Occasion— both in the presence of Corne- lius, and afterwards at Jerusalem. His conduct gave great offence to all his countrymen (Acts xi, 2), and it needed all his authority, corroborated by a special manifestation of the Holy Chost, to induce his fellow- apostles to recognise the propriety of this great act. in which both he and they saw an earnest of the admis- ' sion of Gentiles into the < lunch on the single condition of spiritual repentance. The establishment of a Church, in great part of Gentile origin, at Antioch, and the mis- sion of Barnabas, between whose family and l'eter there were the bonds of near intimacy, set the seal upon the work thus inaugurated by P< t r.
This transaction was followed, after an interval of several years, by the imprisonment of our apostle. A.D. 44. Herod Agrippa, having first tested the state of feel- ing at Jerusalem by the execution of .lames, one of the most eminent apostles, arrested Peter. The hatred which at that time lirst showed itself as a popular feel- ing may most probably be attributed chiefly to the offence given by Peter's conduct towards Cornelius. His miraculous deliverance marks the close of this second great period of his ministry. 'I he special work assigned to him was completed. He had founded the Church, opened its gates to .lews and Gentiles, and distinctly laid down the conditions of admission. Prom that time we have no continuous history of Peter. It i- quite clear that he retained his rank as the chief apostle, equally so that he neither exercised nor claimed any right to control their proceedings. At Jerusalem the government of the Church devolved upon .lame- the I rother of our Lord. In other places peter seem- to have confmcd his ministrations to his countrymen — as apostle of the circumcision. He left Jerusalem, but it is not said where he went. I ly not to Koine, where there are no traces of his pres- ence before the last years of his life; he probably re- mained in Judaea, visiting and confirming the churches; some old but not trustworthy traditions re] n • as preaching in Caesarea and other cities on the western .oid of Palestine ; three years later we find him once more at Jerusalem when tin- apostles and elders came together to consider the question whether converts should be 'in umcised. l'eter took the had in that discussion, and urged with remarkable cogency the principles settled in the case of Cornelius. Purifying
faith ami saving grace ( \v. 9 and 11) remove all dis- tinctions between believer-. Hi- arguments, adopted and enforced by .lame-, decided that question at < n.v
ami forever. It is, however, to be remarked that on that occasion he exercised no one power which Roman- ists hold to be inalienably attached to the (hair of l'e- ter. He did not preside at the meeting; he neither summoned nor dismissed it ; he neither collected, the
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