““Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?””
Acts 10:47 (NLT)
Peter doesn’t get very far into his message about Jesus—his cross, his resurrection, and the peace he brought to all peoples without favoritism—before Holy Spirit shows up. Nobody lays hands. Nobody asks for the gift to be poured out. But because there’s belief in the room, Holy Spirit falls upon all who are listening. Not just some—all. Some translations say he “cascaded” upon them. Like a waterfall, pouring down, through, upon, and over everyone in the room.
The Jews who came with Peter from Joppa are amazed—perplexed—that the gift of Holy Spirit is poured out on Gentiles too. And they know it happened because they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. In that moment, God is the one doing the convincing. The power of God on display leaves no room to refute what he’s doing, and no honest way to dismiss what you’ve seen and heard.
Then Peter asks the right question: “Can anyone object…?” Does anybody want to oppose God and prevent the Gentiles from being baptized in water, since they got Holy Spirit just as we did? There is no rejection in that room. So Peter gives orders for them to be baptized in water by the name of Jesus Christ. And afterwards, Cornelius asks Peter to stay a few days—because an encounter with God isn’t the end; it’s the beginning of a foundation that grows deeper through teaching, understanding, and being strengthened in faith.
This passage moves me because it connects to the whole progression we see in Acts: Holy Spirit fell in Jerusalem (Acts 2), then on the Samaritans (Acts 8), and now on the Gentiles (Acts 10). And Peter’s words tie these events back to Pentecost—they received Holy Spirit just as we did. This gift can be received or rejected. Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22), yet Jesus told those same disciples to wait until Holy Spirit came upon them for power to witness (Acts 1:8). This reveals the difference in Holy Spirit within us at Salvation versus upon us for Power. Jude says we build up our faith as we pray in the Spirit (Jude 20) and Paul says we pray God’s will perfectly by the Spirit (Romans 8:26-27). So, today the question for us is: will you object, or will you embrace the gift Jesus wants to pour out according to Acts 2:33?