“The men from Caesarea said.
‘Cornelius,
A centurion,
An upright man,
A God-fearing man,
Who is well spoken of
By the whole Jewish nation,
Was directed
By a holy angel
To send for you
To come to his house,
And to hear
What you have to say.’”
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν Κορνήλιος ἑκατοντάρχης, ἀνὴρ δίκαιος καὶ φοβούμενος τὸν Θεὸν, μαρτυρούμενός τε ὑπὸ ὅλου τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἐχρηματίσθη ὑπὸ ἀγγέλου ἁγίου μεταπέμψασθαί σε εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ῥήματα παρὰ σοῦ.
The author of Acts indicated that the men from Caesarea said (οἱ δὲ εἶπαν) that Cornelius (Κορνήλιος), a centurion (ἑκατοντάρχης), an upright man (ἀνὴρ δίκαιος), a God-fearing man (καὶ φοβούμενος τὸν Θεὸν), who was well spoken of (μαρτυρούμενός) by the whole Jewish nation (ὑπὸ ὅλου τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν Ἰουδαίων), was directed (ἐχρηματίσθη) by a holy angel (ὑπὸ ἀγγέλου ἁγίου) to send for Peter (μεταπέμψασθαί σε) to come to his house (εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ), and to hear (καὶ ἀκοῦσαι) what he had to say or words from him (ῥήματα παρὰ σοῦ). Acts was the only Greek biblical writing that used this word μεταπέμψασθαί, that means to send after, send for, or summon. These men from Cornelius in Caesarea were very effusive in their description of Cornelius, who they worked for. Obviously, he was a Roman centurion, but also a righteous and God-fearing man. Then they added a comment that was said about Rabbi Gamaliel in chapter 5:34, that the whole Jewish nation spoke well about Cornelius. After this glowing description, they said that a holy angel had appeared to Cornelius to send for Peter to come to his house, so that he could hear what he had to say. Thus, the connection with Peter was made through this angel that had appeared to Cornelius. Once again, this is somewhat like Ananias and Saul in chapter 9. Are you concerned about the background and reputation of people that you meet for the first time?
