Comentario crítico, práctico y explicativo sobre el Antiguo y el Nuevo Testamento, por Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset y David Brown

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments: Acts: Acts Introduction

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Acts Introduction

Acts

act 0:0

THIS book is to the Gospels what the fruit is to the tree that bears it. In the Gospels we see the corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying: in the Acts we see it bringing forth much fruit (Joh 12:24). There we see Christ purchasing the Church with His own blood: here we see the Church, so purchased, rising into actual existence; first among the Jews of Palestine, and next among the surrounding Gentiles, until it gains a footing in the great capital of the ancient world--sweeping majestically from Jerusalem to Rome. Nor is this book of less value as an Introduction to the Epistles which follow it, than as a Sequel to the Gospels which precede it. For without this history the Epistles of the New Testament--presupposing, as they do, the historical circumstances of the parties addressed, and deriving from these so much of their freshness, point, and force--would in no respect be what they now are, and would in a number of places be scarcely intelligible.

The genuineness, authenticity, and canonical authority of this book were never called in question within the ancient Church. It stands immediately after the Gospels, in the catalogues of the Homologoumena, or universally acknowledged books of the New Testament (see Introduction to our larger Commentary, Vol. V, pp. iv, v). It was rejected, indeed, by certain heretical sects in the second and third centuries--by the Ebionites, the Severians (see EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, 4.29), the Marcionites, and the Manicheans: but the totally uncritical character of their objections (see Introduction above referred to, pp. xiii, xiv) not only deprives them of all weight, but indirectly shows on what solid grounds the Christian Church had all along proceeded in recognizing this book.

In our day, however, its authenticity has, like that of all the leading books of the New Testament, been made the subject of keen and protracted controversy. DE WETTE, while admitting Luke to be the author of the entire work, pronounces the earlier portion of it to have been drawn up from unreliable sources (New-Testament Introduction, 2a, 2C). But the Tubingen school, with BAUR at their head, have gone much farther. As their fantastic theory of the post-Joannean date of the Gospels could not pretend even to a hearing so long as the authenticity of the Acts of the Apostles remained unshaken, they contend that the earlier portion of this work can be shown to be unworthy of credit, while the latter portion is in flat contradiction to the Epistle to the Galatians--which this school regard as unassailable--and bears internal evidence of being a designed distortion of facts for the purpose of setting up the catholic form which Paul gave to Christianity in opposition to the narrow Judaic but original form of it which Peter preached, and which after the death of the apostles was held exclusively by the sect of the Ebionites. It is painful to think that anyone should have spent so many years, and, aided by learned and acute disciples in different parts of the argument, should have expended so much learning, research, and ingenuity in attempting to build up a hypothesis regarding the origination of the leading books of the New Testament which outrages all the principles of sober criticism and legitimate evidence. As a school, this party at length broke up: its head, after living to find himself the sole defender of the theory as a whole, left this earthly scene complaining of desertion. While some of his associates have abandoned such heartless studies altogether for the more congenial pursuits of philosophy, others have modified their attacks on the historical truth of the New Testament records, retreating into positions into which it is not worth while to follow them, while others still have been gradually approximating to sound principles. The one compensation for all this mischief is the rich additions to the apologetical and critical literature of the books of the New Testament, and the earliest history of the Christian Church, which it has drawn from the pens of THIERSCH, EBRARD, and many others. Any allusions which it may be necessary for us to make to the assertions of this school will be made in connection with the passages to which they relate--in Acts, First Corinthians, and Galatians.

The manifest connection between this book and the third Gospel--of which it professes to be simply the continuation by the same author--and the striking similarity which marks the style of both productions, leave no room to doubt that the early Church was right in ascribing it with one consent to Luke. The difficulty which some fastidious critics have made about the sources of the earlier portion of the history has no solid ground. That the historian himself was an eye-witness of the earliest scenes--as HUG concludes from the circumstantiality of the narrative--is altogether improbable: but there were hundreds of eye-witnesses of some of the scenes, and enough of all the rest, to give to the historian, partly by oral, partly by written testimony, all the details which he has embodied so graphically in his history; and it will appear, we trust, from the commentary, that De Wette's complaints of confusion, contradiction, and error in this portion are without foundation. The same critic, and one or two others, would ascribe to Timothy those later portions of the book in which the historian speaks in the first person plural--"we"; supposing him to have taken notes of all that passed under his own eye, which Luke embodied in his history just as they stood. It is impossible here to refute this gratuitous hypothesis in detail; but the reader will find it done by EBRARD (The Gospel History, sect. 110, Clark's translation; sect. 127 of the original work, Wissenschaftliche Kritik der Evangelische Geschichte, 1850), and by DAVIDSON (Introduction to New Testament, Vol. II, pp. 9-21).

The undesigned coincidences between this History and the Apostolic Epistles have been brought out and handled, as an argument for the truth of the facts thus attested, with unrivalled felicity by PALEY in his HorÃ&brvbr; PaulinÃ&brvbr;, to which Mr. BIRKS has made a number of ingenious additions in his HorÃ&brvbr; ApostolicÃ&brvbr;. Exception has been taken to some of these by JOWETT (St. Paul's Epistles, Vol. I, pp. 108 ff.), not without a measure of reason in certain cases--for our day, at least--though even he admits that in this line of evidence the work of PALEY, taken as a whole, is unassailable.

Much has been written about the object of this history. Certainly "the Acts of the Apostles" are but very partially recorded. But for this title the historian is not responsible. Between the two extremes--of supposing that the work has no plan at all, and that it is constructed on an elaborate and complex plan, we shall probably be as near the truth as is necessary if we take the design to be to record the diffusion of Christianity and the rise of the Christian Church, first among the Jews of Palestine, the seat of the ancient Faith, and next among the surrounding Gentiles, with Antioch for its headquarters, until, finally, it is seen waving over imperial Rome, foretokening its universal triumph. In this view of it, there is no difficulty in accounting for the almost exclusive place which it gives to the labors of Peter in the first instance, and the all but entire disappearance from the history both of him and of the rest of the Twelve after the great apostle of the Gentiles came upon the stage--like the lesser lights on the rise of the great luminary.

Next: Acts Chapter 1

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments: Acts: Acts Chapter 1

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Acts Chapter 1

Acts 1:1

act 1:1

INTRODUCTION--LAST DAYS OF OUR LORD UPON EARTH--HIS ASCENSION. (Act 1:1-11)

former treatise--Luke's Gospel.

Theophilus--(See on Luk 1:3).

began to do and teach--a very important statement, dividing the work of Christ into two great branches: the one embracing His work on earth, the other His subsequent work from heaven; the one in His own Person, the other by His Spirit; the one the "beginning," the other the continuance of the same work; the one complete when He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, the other to continue till His second appearing; the one recorded in "The Gospels," the beginnings only of the other related in this book of "The Acts." "Hence the grand history of what Jesus did and taught does not conclude with His departure to the Father; but Luke now begins it in a higher strain; for all the subsequent labors of the apostles are just an exhibition of the ministry of the glorified Redeemer Himself because they were acting under His authority, and He was the principle that operated in them all" [OLSHAUSEN].

Acts 1:2

act 1:2

after that he, through the Holy Ghost, had given commandments, &c.--referring to the charge recorded in Mat 28:18-20; Mar 16:15-18; Luk 24:44-49. It is worthy of notice that nowhere else are such communications of the risen Redeemer said to have been given "through the Holy Ghost." In general, this might have been said of all He uttered and all He did in His official character; for it was for this very end that God "gave not the Spirit by measure unto Him" (Joh 3:34). But after His resurrection, as if to signify the new relation in which He now stood to the Church, He signalized His first meeting with the assembled disciples by breathing on them (immediately after dispensing to them His peace) and saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (Joh 20:22) thus anticipating the donation of the Spirit from His hands (see on Joh 20:21-22); and on the same principle His parting charges are here said to have been given "through the Holy Ghost," as if to mark that He was now all redolent with the Spirit; that what had been husbanded, during His suffering work, for His own necessary uses, had now been set free, was already overflowing from Himself to His disciples, and needed but His ascension and glorification to flow all forth. (See on Joh 7:39.)

Acts 1:3

act 1:3

showed himself alive--As the author is about to tell us that "the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" was the great burden of apostolic preaching, so the subject is here filly introduced by an allusion to the primary evidence on which that great fact rests, the repeated and undeniable manifestations of Himself in the body to the assembled disciples, who, instead of being predisposed to believe it, had to be overpowered by the resistless evidence of their own senses, and were slow of yielding even to this (Mar 16:14).

after his passion--or, suffering. This primary sense of the word "passion" has fallen into disuse; but it is nobly consecrated in the phraseology of the Church to express the Redeemer's final endurances.

seen of them forty days--This important specification of time occurs here only.

speaking of--rather "speaking."

the things pertaining to the kingdom of God--till now only in germ, but soon to take visible form; the earliest and the latest burden of His teaching on earth.

Acts 1:4

act 1:4

should not depart from Jerusalem--because the Spirit was to glorify the existing economy, by descending on the disciples at its metropolitan seat, and at the next of its great festivals after the ascension of the Church's Head; in order that "out of Zion might go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa 2:3; and compare Luk 24:49).

Acts 1:5

act 1:5

ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence--ten days hence, as appears from Lev 23:15-16; but it was expressed thus indefinitely to exercise their faith.

Acts 1:6

act 1:6

wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?--Doubtless their carnal views of Messiah's kingdom had by this time been modified, though how far it is impossible to say. But, as they plainly looked for some restoration of the kingdom to Israel, so they are neither rebuked nor contradicted on this point.

Acts 1:7

act 1:7

It is not for you to know the times, &c.--implying not only that this was not the time, but that the question was irrelevant to their present business and future work.

Acts 1:8

act 1:8

receive power--See Luk 24:49.

and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . in Jerusalem . . . in all Judea . . . and unto the uttermost part of the earth--This order of apostolic preaching and success supplies the proper key to the plan of the Acts, which relates first the progress of the Gospel "in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria" (the first through ninth chapters), and then "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (the tenth through twenty-eighth chapters).

Acts 1:9

act 1:9

while they beheld, he was taken up--See on Luk 24:50-53. Lest it should be thought He had disappeared when they were looking in some other direction, and so was only concluded to have gone up to heaven, it is here expressly said that "while they were looking He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." So Elijah, "If thou see me when I am taken from thee" (Kg2 2:10); "And Elisha saw it" (Act 1:12). (See on Luk 9:32.)

Acts 1:10

act 1:10

while they looked steadfastly toward heaven--following Him with their eager eyes, in rapt amazement. Not, however, as a mere fact is this recorded, but as a part of that resistless evidence of their senses on which their whole subsequent testimony was to be borne.

two men in white apparel--angels in human form, as in Luk 24:4.

Acts 1:11

act 1:11

Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven, &c.--"as if your now glorified Head were gone from you never to return: He is coming again; not another, but 'this same Jesus'; and 'as ye have seen Him go, in the like manner shall He come'--as personally, as visibly, as gloriously; and let the joyful expectation of this coming swallow up the sorrow of that departure."

Acts 1:12

act 1:12

RETURN OF THE ELEVEN TO JERUSALEM--PROCEEDINGS IN THE UPPER ROOM TILL PENTECOST. (Act 1:12-26)

a sabbath day's journey--about two thousand cubits.

Acts 1:13

act 1:13

went up into an upper room--perhaps the same "large upper room" where with their Lord they had celebrated the last Passover and the first Supper (Luk 22:12).

where abode--not lodged, but had for their place of rendezvous.

Peter, &c.--(See on Mat 10:2-4).

Acts 1:14

act 1:14

continued with one accord--knit by a bond stronger than death.

in prayer and supplication--for the promised baptism, the need of which in their orphan state would be increasingly felt.

and Mary the mother of Jesus--distinguished from the other "women," but "so as to exclude the idea of her having any pre-eminence over the disciples. We find her with the rest in prayer to her glorified Son" [WEBSTER and WILKINSON]. This is the last mention of her in the New Testament. The fable of the Assumption of the Virgin has no foundation even in tradition [ALFORD].

with his brethren--(See on Joh 7:3).

Acts 1:15

act 1:15

in those days--of expectant prayer, and probably towards the close of them, when the nature of their future work began more clearly to dawn upon them, and the Holy Ghost, already "breathed" on the Eleven (Joh 20:22), was stirring in Peter, who was to be the leading spirit of the infant community (Mat 16:19).

the number . . . about an hundred and twenty--Many, therefore, of the "five hundred brethren" who saw their risen Lord "at once" (Co1 15:6), must have remained in Galilee.

Acts 1:18

act 1:18

falling headlong, &c.--This information supplements, but by no means contradicts, what is said in Mat 27:5.

Acts 1:20

act 1:20

his bishopric--or "charge." The words are a combination of Psa 69:25 and Psa 109:8; in which the apostle discerns a greater than David, and a worse than Ahithophel and his fellow conspirators against David.

Acts 1:21

act 1:21

all the time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--in the close intimacies of a three years' public life.

Acts 1:22

act 1:22

Beginning from the baptism of John--by whom our Lord was not only Himself baptized, but first officially announced and introduced to his own disciples.

unto that same day when he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection--How clearly is the primary office of the apostles here expressed: (1) to testify, from personal observation, to the one great fact of "the resurrection of the Lord Jesus"; (2) to show how this glorified His whole previous life, of which they were constant observers, and established His divine claims.

Acts 1:23

act 1:23

they appointed--"put up" in nomination; meaning not the Eleven but the whole company, of whom Peter was the spokesman.

two--The choice would lie between a very few.

Acts 1:24

act 1:24

prayed and said, Thou, Lord, &c.--"The word 'Lord,' placed absolutely, denotes in the New Testament almost universally THE SON; and the words, 'Show whom Thou hast chosen,' are decisive. The apostles are just Christ's messengers: It is He that sends them, and of Him they bear witness. Here, therefore, we have the first example of a prayer offered to the exalted Redeemer; furnishing indirectly the strongest proof of His divinity" [OLSHAUSEN].

which knowest the hearts of all men--See Joh 2:24-25; Joh 21:15-17; Rev 2:23.

Acts 1:25

act 1:25

that he might go to his own place--A euphemistic or softened expression of the awful future of the traitor, implying not only destined habitation but congenial element.

Acts 1:26

act 1:26

was numbered--"voted in" by general suffrage.

with the eleven apostles--completing the broken Twelve.

Next: Acts Chapter 2

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments: Acts: Acts Chapter 2

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Acts Chapter 2

Acts 2:1

act 2:1

DESCENT OF THE SPIRIT--THE DISCIPLES SPEAK WITH TONGUES--AMAZEMENT OF THE MULTITUDE. (Act 2:1-13)

when the day of Pentecost was fully come--The fiftieth from the morrow after the first Passover sabbath (Lev 23:15-16).

with one accord--the solemnity of the day, perhaps, unconsciously raising their expectations.

Acts 2:2

act 2:2

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, &c.--"The whole description is so picturesque and striking that it could only come from an eye-witness" [OLSHAUSEN]. The suddenness, strength, and diffusiveness of the sound strike with deepest awe the whole company, and thus complete their preparation for the heavenly gift. Wind was a familiar emblem of the Spirit (Eze 37:9; Joh 3:8; Joh 20:22). But this was not a rush of actual wind. It was only a sound "as of" it.

Acts 2:3

act 2:3

cloven tongues, like as of fire, &c.--"disparted tongues," that is, tongue-shaped, flame-like appearances, rising from a common center or root, and resting upon each of that large company:--beautiful visible symbol of the burning energy of the Spirit now descending in all His plenitude upon the Church, and about to pour itself through every tongue, and over every tribe of men under heaven!

Acts 2:4

act 2:4

they . . . began to speak with . . . tongues, &c.--real, living languages, as is plain from what follows. The thing uttered, probably the same by all, was "the wonderful works of God," perhaps in the inspired words of the Old Testament evangelical hymns; though it is next to certain that the speakers themselves understood nothing of what they uttered (see on 1Co. 14:1-25).

Acts 2:5

act 2:5

there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation--not, it would seem, permanently settled there (see Act 2:9), though the language seems to imply more than a temporary visit to keep this one feast.

Acts 2:9

act 2:9

Parthians, &c.--Beginning with the farthest east, the Parthians, the enumeration proceeds farther and farther westward till it comes to Judea; next come the western countries, from Cappadocia to Pamphylia; then the southern, from Egypt to Cyrene; finally, apart from all geographical consideration, Cretes and Arabians are placed together. This enumeration is evidently designed to convey an impression of universality [BAUMGARTEN].

Acts 2:14

act 2:14

PETER FOR THE FIRST TIME, PUBLICLY PREACHES CHRIST. (Acts 2:14-36)

Peter, standing up with the eleven--in advance, perhaps, of the rest.

Acts 2:15

act 2:15

these are not drunken--meaning, not the Eleven, but the body of the disciples.

but the third hour--nine A.M. (see Ecc 10:16; Isa 5:11; Th1 5:17).

Acts 2:17

act 2:17

in the last days--meaning, the days of the Messiah (Isa 2:2); as closing all preparatory arrangements, and constituting the final dispensation of God's kingdom on earth.

pour out of my Spirit--in contrast with the mere drops of all preceding time.

upon all flesh--hitherto confined to the seed of Abraham.

sons . . . daughters . . . young men . . . old men . . . servants . . . handmaidens--without distinction of sex, age, or rank.

see visions . . . dream dreams--This is a mere accommodation to the ways in which the Spirit operated under the ancient economy, when the prediction was delivered; for in the New Testament, visions and dreams are rather the exception than the rule.

Acts 2:19

act 2:19

I will show wonders, &c.--referring to the signs which were to precede the destruction of Jerusalem (see on Luk 21:25-28).

Acts 2:21

act 2:21

whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved--This points to the permanent establishment of the economy of salvation, which followed on the breaking up of the Jewish state.

Acts 2:22

act 2:22

a man approved of God--rather, "authenticated," "proved," or "demonstrated to be from God."

by miracles . . . which God did by him--This is not a low view of our Lord's miracles, as has been alleged, nor inconsistent with Joh 2:11, but is in strict accordance with His progress from humiliation to glory, and with His own words in Joh 5:19. This view of Christ is here dwelt on to exhibit to the Jews the whole course of Jesus of Nazareth as the ordinance and doing of the God of Israel [ALFORD].

Acts 2:23

act 2:23

determinate counsel and foreknowledge--God's fixed plan and perfect foresight of all the steps involved in it.

ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain--How strikingly is the criminality of Christ's murderers here presented in harmony with the eternal purpose to surrender Him into their hands!

Acts 2:24

act 2:24

was not possible he should be holden of it--Glorious saying! It was indeed impossible that "the Living One" should remain "among the dead" (Luk 24:5); but here, the impossibility seems to refer to the prophetic assurance that He should not see corruption.

Acts 2:27

act 2:27

wilt not leave my soul in hell--in its disembodied state (see on Luk 16:23).

neither . . . suffer thine Holy One to see corruption--in the grave.

Acts 2:28

act 2:28

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life--that is, resurrection-life.

thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance--that is, in glory; as is plain from the whole connection and the actual words of the sixteenth Psalm.

Acts 2:29

act 2:29

David . . . is . . . dead and buried, &c.--Peter, full of the Holy Ghost, sees in this sixteenth Psalm, one Holy Man, whose life of high devotedness and lofty spirituality is crowned with the assurance, that though He taste of death, He shall rise again without seeing corruption, and be admitted to the bliss of God's immediate presence. Now as this was palpably untrue of David, it could be meant only of One other, even of Him whom David was taught to expect as the final Occupant of the throne of Israel. (Those, therefore, and they are many, who take David himself to be the subject of this Psalm, and the words quoted to refer to Christ only in a more eminent sense, nullify the whole argument of the apostle). The Psalm is then affirmed to have had its only proper fulfilment in JESUS, of whose resurrection and ascension they were witnesses, while the glorious effusion of the Spirit by the hand of the ascended One, setting an infallible seal upon all, was even then witnessed by the thousands who stood listening to Him. A further illustration of Messiah's ascension and session at God's right hand is drawn from Psa 110:1, in which David cannot be thought to speak of himself, seeing he is still in his grave.

Acts 2:36

act 2:36

Therefore--that is, to sum up all.

let all the house of Israel--for in this first discourse the appeal is formally made to the whole house of Israel, as the then existing Kingdom of God.

know assuredly--by indisputable facts, fulfilled predictions, and the seal of the Holy Ghost set upon all.

that God hath made--for Peter's object was to show them that, instead of interfering with the arrangements of the God of Israel, these events were His own high movements.

this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified--"The sting is at the close" [BENGEL]. To prove to them merely that Jesus was the Messiah might have left them all unchanged in heart. But to convince them that He whom they had crucified had been by the right hand of God exalted, and constituted the "LORD" whom David in spirit adored, to whom every knee shall bow, and the CHRIST of God, was to bring them to "look on Him whom they had pierced and mourn for Him."

Acts 2:37

act 2:37

pricked in their hearts--the begun fulfilment of Zac 12:10, whose full accomplishment is reserved for the day when "all Israel shall be saved" (see on Rom 11:26).

what shall we do?--This is that beautiful spirit of genuine compunction and childlike docility, which, discovering its whole past career to have been one frightful mistake, seeks only to be set right for the future, be the change involved and the sacrifices required what they may. So Saul of Tarsus (Act 9:6).

Acts 2:38

act 2:38

Repent--The word denotes change of mind, and here includes the reception of the Gospel as the proper issue of that revolution of mind which they were then undergoing.

baptized . . . for the remission of sins--as the visible seal of that remission.

Acts 2:39

act 2:39

For the promise--of the Holy Ghost, through the risen Saviour, as the grand blessing of the new covenant.

all afar off--the Gentiles, as in Eph 2:17), but "to the Jew first."

Acts 2:40

act 2:40

with many other words did he testify and exhort--Thus we have here but a summary of Peter's discourse; though from the next words it would seem that only the more practical parts, the home appeals, are omitted.

Save yourselves from this untoward generation--as if Peter already foresaw the hopeless impenitence of the nation at large, and would have his hearers hasten in for themselves and secure their own salvation.

Acts 2:41

act 2:41

BEAUTIFUL BEGINNINGS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. (Act 2:41-47)

they that gladly received his word were baptized--"It is difficult to say how three thousand could be baptized in one day, according to the old practice of a complete submersion; and the more as in Jerusalem there was no water at hand except Kidron and a few pools. The difficulty can only be removed by supposing that they already employed sprinkling, or baptized in houses in large vessels. Formal submersion in rivers, or larger quantities of water, probably took place only where the locality conveniently allowed it" [OLSHAUSEN].

the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls--fitting inauguration of the new kingdom, as an economy of the Spirit!

Acts 2:42

act 2:42

continued steadfastly in--"attended constantly upon."

the apostles' doctrine--"teaching"; giving themselves up to the instructions which, in their raw state, would be indispensable to the consolidation of the immense multitude suddenly admitted to visible discipleship.

fellowship--in its largest sense.

breaking of bread--not certainly in the Lord's Supper alone, but rather in frugal repasts taken together, with which the Lord's Supper was probably conjoined until abuses and persecution led to the discontinuance of the common meal.

prayers--probably, stated seasons of it.

Acts 2:43

act 2:43

fear came upon every soul--A deep awe rested upon the whole community.

Acts 2:44

act 2:44

all that believed were together, and had all things common--(See on Act 4:34-37).

Acts 2:46

act 2:46

daily . . . in the temple--observing the hours of Jewish worship.

and breaking bread from house to house--rather, "at home" (Margin), that is, in private, as contrasted with their temple-worship, but in some stated place or places of meeting.

eat their meat with gladness--"exultation."

and singleness of heart.

Acts 2:47

act 2:47

Praising God--"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works" (Ecc 9:7, also see on Act 8:39).

having favour with all the people--commending themselves by their lovely demeanor to the admiration of all who observed them.

And the Lord--that is, JESUS, as the glorified Head and Ruler of the Church.

added--kept adding; that is, to the visible community of believers, though the words "to the Church" are wanting in the most ancient manuscripts.

such as should be saved--rather, "the saved," or "those who were being saved." "The young Church had but few peculiarities in its outward form, or even in its doctrine: the single discriminating principle of its few members was that they all recognized the crucified Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. This confession would have been a thing of no importance, if it had only presented itself as a naked declaration, and would never in such a case have been able to form a community that would spread itself over the whole Roman empire. It acquired its value only through the power of the Holy Ghost, passing from the apostles as they preached to the hearers; for He brought the confession from the very hearts of men (Co1 12:3), and like a burning flame made their souls glow with love. By the power of this Spirit, therefore, we behold the first Christians not only in a state of active fellowship, but also internally changed: the narrow views of the natural man are broken through; they have their possessions in common, and they regard themselves as one family" [OLSHAUSEN].

Next: Acts Chapter 3

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] at sacred-texts.com

Acts Chapter 3

Acts 3:1

act 3:1

PETER HEALS A LAME MAN AT THE TEMPLE GATE--HS ADDRESS TO THE WONDERING MULTITUDE. (Acts 3:1-26)

Peter and John--already associated by their Master, first with James (Mar 1:29; Mar 5:37; Mar 9:2), then by themselves (Luk 22:8; and see Joh 13:23-24). Now we find them constantly together, but John (yet young) only as a silent actor.

went up--were going up, were on their way.

Acts 3:2

act 3:2

a certain man lame from his mother's womb--and now "above forty years old" (Act 4:22).

was carried--was wont to be carried.

Acts 3:4

act 3:4

Peter fastening his eyes on him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed--that, through the eye, faith might be aided in its birth.

Acts 3:6

act 3:6

Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee--What a lofty superiority breathes in these words!

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk--These words, uttered with supernatural power, doubtless begat in this poor man the faith that sent healing virtue through his diseased members.

Acts 3:7

act 3:7

And he took . . . and lifted him up--precisely what his Lord had done to his own mother-in-law (Mar 1:31).

his feet--"soles."

and ankle bones, &c.--the technical language of a physician (Col 4:14).

Acts 3:8

act 3:8

leaping up, stood . . . walked . . . entered the temple walking, leaping, and praising God--Every word here is emphatic, expressing the perfection of the cure, as Act 3:7 its immediateness.

Acts 3:9

act 3:9

all the people saw him, &c.--as they assembled at the hour of public prayer, in the temple courts; so that the miracle had the utmost publicity.

Acts 3:10

act 3:10

they knew that it was he which sat for alms, &c.--(Compare Joh 9:8).

Acts 3:11

act 3:11

the lame man . . . held, &c.--This is human nature.

all the people ran together unto them in the porch, &c.--How vividly do these graphic details bring the whole scene before us! Thus was Peter again furnished with a vast audience, whose wonder at the spectacle of the healed beggar clinging to his benefactors prepared them to listen with reverence to his words.

Acts 3:12

act 3:12

why marvel at this?--For miracles are marvels only in relation to the limited powers of man.

as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk--Neither the might nor the merit of the cure are due to us, mere agents of Him whom we preach.

Acts 3:13

act 3:13

The God of Abraham, &c.--(See on Act 2:22; Act 2:36).

hath glorified his Son Jesus--rather, "his Servant Jesus," as the same word is rendered in Mat 12:18, but in that high sense in which Isaiah applies it always to Messiah (Isa 42:1; Isa 49:6; Isa 52:13; Isa 53:11). When "Son" is intended a different word is used.

whom ye delivered up, &c.--With what heroic courage does Peter here charge his auditors with the heaviest of all conceivable crimes, and with what terrific strength of language are these charges clothed!

Acts 3:15

act 3:15

killed the Prince of life--Glorious paradox, but how piercing to the conscience of the auditors.

Acts 3:16

act 3:16

his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, &c.--With what skill does the apostle use the miracle both to glorify his ascended Lord and bring the guilt of His blood more resistlessly home to his audience!

Acts 3:17

act 3:17

And now, brethren--Our preacher, like his Master, "will not break the bruised reed." His heaviest charges are prompted by love, which now hastens to assuage the wounds it was necessary to inflict.

I wot--"know."

through ignorance ye did it--(See marginal references, Luk 23:34; Act 13:27; Act 26:9).

Acts 3:18

act 3:18

that Christ--The best manuscripts read, "that His Christ."

should suffer--The doctrine of a SUFFERING MESSIAH was totally at variance with the current views of the Jewish Church, and hard to digest even by the Twelve, up to the day of their Lord's resurrection. Our preacher himself revolted at it, and protested against it, when first nakedly announced, for which he received a terrible rebuke. Here he affirms it to be the fundamental truth of ancient prophecy realized unwittingly by the Jews themselves, yet by a glorious divine ordination. How great a change had the Pentecostal illumination wrought upon his views!

Acts 3:19

act 3:19

when the times of refreshing shall come--rather, "in order that the times of refreshing may come"; that long period of repose, prosperity and joy, which all the prophets hold forth to the distracted Church and this miserable world, as eventually to come, and which is here, as in all the prophets, made to turn upon the national conversion of Israel.

Acts 3:20

act 3:20

he shall send Jesus Christ--The true reading is, "He shall send your predestinated (or foreordained) Messiah, Jesus."

Acts 3:21

act 3:21

until the times--embracing the whole period between the ascension and the second advent of Christ.

restitution of all things--comprehending, probably, the rectification of all the disorders of the fall.

Acts 3:22

act 3:22

a prophet . . . like unto me--particularly in intimacy of communication with God (Num 12:6-8), and as the mediatorial Head of a new order of things (Heb 3:2-6). Peter takes it for granted that, in the light of all he had just said, it would be seen at once that One only had any claim to be that Prophet.

him shall ye hear in all things, &c.--This part of the prediction is emphatically added, in order to shut up the audience to the obedience of faith, on pain of being finally "cut off" from the congregation of the righteous (Psa 1:1).

Acts 3:24

act 3:24

foretold of these days--of Messiah; all pointing to "the time of reformation" (Heb 9:10), though with more or less distinctness.

Acts 3:25

act 3:25

Ye are the children . . . of the covenant--and so the natural heirs of its promises.

in thy seed, &c.--(See on Gal 3:8, &c.).

Acts 3:26

act 3:26

God, having raised up--not from the dead, but having provided, prepared, and given.

his Son Jesus--"His Servant Jesus" (see on Act 3:13).

sent him to bless you--literally, "sent Him blessing you," as if laden with blessing.

in turning away every one of you from his iniquities--that is, "Hitherto we have all been looking too much for a Messiah who should shed outward blessings upon the nation generally, and through it upon the world. But we have learned other things, and now announce to you that the great blessing with which Messiah has come laden is the turning away of every one of you from his iniquities." With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on resistless facts, here drive home to the conscience of his auditors their guilt in crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakened minds by assurances of forgiveness on turning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the Personal Return of Christ from the heavens whither He has ascended; ending all with warnings, from their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to receive from Him the blessings of salvation.

Next: Acts Chapter 4

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments: Acts: Acts Chapter 4

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments: Acts: Acts Chapter 4

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] at sacred-texts.com

Acts Chapter 4

Acts 4:1

act 4:1

PETER AND JOHN BEFORE THE SAMHEDRIM. (Act 4:1-13)

the captain--of the Levitical guard.

of the temple--annoyed at the disturbance created around it.

and the Sadducees--who "say that there is no resurrection" (Act 23:8), irritated at the apostles "preaching through (rather, 'in') Jesus the resurrection from the dead"; for the resurrection of Christ, if a fact, effectually overthrew the Sadducean doctrine.

Acts 4:4

act 4:4

the number of the men--or males, exclusive of women; though the word sometimes includes both.

about five thousand--and this in Jerusalem, where the means of detecting the imposture or crushing the fanaticism, if such it had been, were within everyone's reach, and where there was every inducement to sift it to the bottom.

Acts 4:5

act 4:5

their rulers, &c.--This was a regular meeting of the Sanhedrim (see on Mat 2:4).

Acts 4:6

act 4:6

Annas . . . and Caiaphas--(See on Luk 3:2).

John and Alexander--of whom nothing is known.

Acts 4:7

act 4:7

By what power or . . . name have ye done this--thus admitting the reality of the miracle, which afterwards they confess themselves unable to deny (Act 4:16).

Acts 4:8

act 4:8

Then, filled with the Holy Ghost, said--(See Mar 13:11; Luk 21:15).

Acts 4:10

act 4:10