Memorial Offering
Cornelius was a Roman centurion, a soldier within the Italian Regiment. He lived in Caesarea, in the province of Palestine, within the Roman Empire. Cornelius lived during and just after the time of Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth. Being from the region where Jesus lived and ministered, it is likely that the Roman soldier heard of the Jewish teacher, but may not have had much interaction with Him or the disciples that followed Jesus, the proclaimed Jewish Messiah.
The book of Acts refers to this Roman centurion and his family as “devout.” They were “God-fearing” people who followed the statutes outlined in God’s word, helped others, and “prayed regularly.” Apparently, Cornelius’ actions caught Almighty God’s attention, because He sent an angel to instruct the Roman on what steps he should take. After announcing himself, the angel told Cornelius that his “prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
This announcement is fascinating on many levels. First, the fact that God is sending a messenger to a Roman soldier. While there is certainly precedent for God speaking to and through people who Christians traditionally thought were in opposition to His plan, Cornelius represented the oppressor of the Jewish people. He was a soldier in the occupation of the land of Israel. Yet, God sent a special messenger to him? Second, having anything about you come up to the Creator of the universe is a big deal! Imagine the President of the United States having your resume go across his desk. That would be a big deal. Cornelius’ resume went before the all-powerful God. Yahweh knew who Cornelius was, and He had a plan for the Roman.
What about the prayer and giving thing? According to the angel, Cornelius’ prayers and his good deeds toward the poor were a “memorial offering” before God. That sounds really good. But what is a memorial offering? According to Bible Hub, a memorial offering is a "specific type of offering that serves as a reminder before God.” In other words, it is an offering that reminds God of the devotion of the individual who offered the sacrifice. It is God’s way of ensuring us that He knows!
Here’s the even cooler part: the memorial offering is associated with the grain offering. The offering intended to remind God of one’s service is tied to the offering where kernels of grain are sacrificed. Why are those kernels of grain important? Jesus told us in the Book of John, “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” According to Jesus, it is the sacrifice of the kernel that allows for the production of many more seeds, each of which can become many more, and so on.
The angel’s message to Cornelius revealed that our Creator keeps tabs on the offerings of those devoted to Him. He does not keep track of such things so that He can punish those who do not make offerings. He is remembering the offerings, so that through them, He might bestow an eternal blessing on the one who sacrifices. Cornelius’ offering of prayers and generosity to the poor was a memorial, an offering of grain kernels, before God. The Almighty remembered, and because of the soldier’s devoted sacrifices, God decided to turn that kernel into many seeds. How so?
The angel instructed Cornelius to send men to a particular home in Joppa. Once there, they were to call on a man named Peter. Cornelius did as instructed, and the men brought Peter to the centurion’s home. By the time God was done remembering this devout Roman’s offering, the man’s entire house was filled with the Holy Spirit, and all who lived there were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Remember that when you pray and when you give to those in need, the power of God is behind your offering. Remember that when you sacrifice one kernel of grain, it has the ability to become many seeds. Remember God in your offerings, because He remembers you.