w 
 
Division ^ ^ * ' 
 
 Section I *^ ^ ' 
 
 r:q4 
 
-J 
 
 Clath's ipeoplcs Comnientac^ 
 
 THE 
 
 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 
 
 A POPULAR COJOIENTARY UPOX A CPvITICAL 
 BASIS, ESPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR PASTORS 
 AND SUNDAY SCHOOLS <S>'S><S><S><J'<S>'S>^^<»<$><$><$>^ 
 
 APR 2C 1924 
 GEO. AV. CLARK, D, D. ^^'<SiOBim %l^ 
 
 Author of "A New Harmony of the Gospels," etc. 
 
 -A. nsTEVT" ^ft-nsriD pieviseid 'Etdttxcdtst 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 
 
 1701 Chestnut Street 
 
 1917 
 
Copyright 18% 
 By the American Baptist Publication Society 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF THE ACTS. 
 
 The Book of the Acts may be traced back to the first century of the 
 Christiiin era. It is found in the Greek original in no less than about 
 two hundred and sixty of the later or Cursive manuscripts ; and in eight 
 or nine of the chief Uncial or earlier manuscripts. Of the latter are 
 the four oldest, the Ephraim in the Imperial Librarj^ of Paris, and the 
 Alexandrine in the British Museum at London, ))oth written about the 
 middle of the fifth century ; the Sinaitic in the Imperial Library at St. 
 Petersburg, and the ^'atican in the Vatican Library at Eome, both 
 written about the middle of the fourth century. Earlier manuscripts 
 than these are presupposed by the ancient veisions of the New Testa- 
 ment extending further back over two centuries. Thus the Acts is 
 found in the Latin version of Jerome of the fourth century, the Bash- 
 muric, an Egyptian version of the third century, and, besides other 
 earlier versions, in the Peshito Syriac, and the Old Latin, near the 
 beginning of the second century. The two latter implj^ an earlier Greek 
 original of the first century. To this may be added the testimony of 
 the early catalogues of the New Testament books, and of early Christian 
 writers. Thus the book of the Acts is named in the catalogue of 
 Eusebius (A. D. .315), of Origen (A. D. 2.37), and of the Peshito version 
 early in the second century, implying that it was already recognized as 
 a part of the New Testament writings. It is referred to frequently by 
 Tertullian, who lived about A. D. 200, and by Clement of Alexandria, 
 who flourished about A. D. 100. It is mentioned in the Muratorian 
 fragment written before A. D. 170. Hcgesippus, Avho lived in the early 
 part of the second century, is said to have written a commentary upon 
 it. Polycarp, who was martyred A. D. 167, appears to quote Acts 10: 
 41 in his P^pistle to the Smyrneans, (^3) ; and Ignatius, who died A. D. 
 107, seems to allude to Acts 2: 41 in his Papistic to the Philippians, (?1). 
 All these imply its previous existence ; and as a sequel to the third Gos- 
 pel it manifestly appears as the pi-oduct of the first century. And this 
 accords with the exact character, historical contents, and vivid style of 
 the book, as written at or near the time of the events, and with the 
 voice of antiquity. All attempts to prove that it was written in the 
 second century have resulted in signal failures. 
 
 3 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ITS AUTHENTICITY. 
 
 Of the truthfulness and con-ectness of the narrative in the Acts 
 there can he no doubt. This appears : 
 
 1. In its minute agreement with contemporaneous history and 
 geography. It alhides to more tlian a hundred towns and cities with- 
 out a single error. Its references to persons, places, and events in Pales- 
 tine exhibit remarkable accuracy. It traces more or less closely the 
 journeys of Paul through Asia ]\Iinor, Greece, and to Rome, and every- 
 where accords with ancient history and geography. Its descriptions of 
 customs, mannere, and usages correspond with what we know of them 
 from other sources. Its allusions to public officials at Paphos, Philippi, 
 Thes.«alonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, ]Melita, and Rome are confirmed 
 by contemporaneous writers and ancient inscriptions. And in all tliis, 
 the whole narrative, without any eflTort toward consistency or any indi- 
 cation of contrivance, exhibits that simplicity and artlessness which 
 accompany the testimony of one in whom there is no guile. 
 
 2. In the agreement of the speeches and P^pistles of Peter, James, 
 and Paul, in style and thought. Each of these had striking peculiari- 
 ties, and their individuality is marked in their respective addresses and 
 Epistles. The unstudietl character of these agreements, without the 
 least sign of any attempt at imitation, is an evidence of their truthful- 
 ness. (See notes on 2 : 41 ; 3 : 2fi ; 4 : 20 ; 15 : 29 ; 20 : 18, 19. 24, 32.) 
 
 o. In the many remarkable correspondences between the narrative 
 of the Acts and the P^pistles of Paul. These have reference to the inci- 
 dental and pei-sonal experience.^?, and are such as could not have been 
 the result of accident or design. There is no trace of the use of the 
 Epistles in the Acts, nor of the use of the Acts in the Epistles. Yet the 
 one confirms and supplements the other without a single contradiction. 
 These correspondences are aptly styled by Dr. Paley " undesigned coinci- 
 dences." And the more obscure they are the stronger the argument 
 derived from them. By their means Dr. Paley in his Horx Pmiliux has 
 unanswerably demonstrated the truth of the Acts. These are presented 
 to the eye and noted upon in Clark's Harmonic. Armniyrmml of the Acts. 
 
 4. In standing the test of modern criticism. No book has been 
 more thoroughly examined, compared, and sifted, both by friends and 
 foes, than the Acts of the Apostles. Everj- journey and every voyage 
 have been retraced, and every place has been revisited f(ir the purpose of 
 verifying the narrative. With it the results of modem discovery liave 
 been carefully compared, and to it the latest scientific investigations 
 have been applied ; and in every instance the book of Acts lias stood 
 the test. Its minute and topographical peculiarities, and its hundreds 
 of incidental allusions, have stood the sharpest criticism, and have been 
 confirmed by the writings of profane historians, the coins and monu- 
 ments of the apostolic age, and the researches of travelei-s and scholars. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Such wonderful accuracy indicates, not only the carefulness and coi-rect- 
 ness of the writer, but also his divine guidance in the avoidance of 
 error. 
 
 ITS AUTHORSHIP. 
 
 The author of the Acts was with Paul at Philippi (is : 10-13), and 
 afterwards his traveling companion from thence to Jerusalem, and from 
 Ciesarea to Home (ciiapteis 21, ^7, m). This is evident from the use of 
 the fii'st person. It could not have been Silas (16:19.40) nor Timothy 
 (20:4,5), for these are spoken of in the third person, whereas the 
 writer speaks of liimself in the first person, and is thus distinguished, 
 not only from them, but also from all other persons named in the Acts. 
 The most natural conclusion is that it was Luke who was with Paul at 
 Rome (puiiem.i4; Col. 4:1*), aud is styled by him, "Luke the beloved phy- 
 physician" (coi.4:i4). This is confirmed by its relation to the third 
 Gospel. It is evident that both books were written by the same author. 
 Both are addressed to Theophilus, and a reference is made to a former 
 treatise in Acts 1 : 1. There is a strong resemblance in the style of the 
 two books. Dr. Thayer in his Greek Lexicon of (he New Testament notes 
 sixty-one words which are found only in the Gospel of Luke and in the 
 Acts. We find in both a knowledge of disease and the use of 
 medical terms such as we should expect in the writing of a physician. 
 
 (Luke 4 : 38 ; 8 : 43, 44 ; Acta 3 : 7 ; 12 : 23 ; 13 : 11 ; 28 : 8.) The narrative tlirOUghout the 
 
 Acts exhibits the same careful research as that shown in Luke's 
 Gospel; and the style is everywhere the same, except Avhere it re- 
 ports the speeches or writings of others. It is manirestly not the 
 work of two or more authors, nor a mere compilation, but the con- 
 tinuous and harmonious narrative of one man, that of Luke, the writer 
 of the third Gospel. Such, too, is the uniform testimony of early 
 Christian writers, and there comes to us no dissent from early tmdition. 
 Very little is known of Luke, and he is only mentioned three times 
 in the New Testament. See references above. Paul probably speaks of 
 him in 2 Cor. 8: 18, 19, when writing from Philippi, as "the brother 
 whose praise is in the gospel througliout all the churches " (20:6). That 
 he was a Gentile appears from Col. 4: 11-14, Avhere he is distinguished 
 from those of the circumcision, and from his name Lucas, an abbrevia- 
 tion of Lucanus. The purity of his Greek and his intimate knowledge 
 of that language point also to his heathen extraction. At the same 
 time his familiarity with the Jewish religion, ceremonies, and customs, 
 makes it probable that in early life he had been at least a proselyte of 
 the gate. Early tradition fixes his birthplace at Antioch. The tradi- 
 tions regarding his later life do no agree. According to one he died a 
 martyr in Greece in his eightieth year. According to others, perhaps 
 more trustworthy, he died a natural death. Jerome in his life of Luke, 
 says that he died at the age of eighty-four, that hia bones weie trans- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ported from Achaia to Constantinople in the twenty-eighth year of 
 Constantino. Compare Introduction to Luke's Gospel. 
 
 TIME AND PLACE OF ITS COMPOSITION. 
 
 The most probable date of Paul's arrival at Eome was the spring of 
 A. D. ()1 ; and the narrative of the Acts extends two years later to A. D. 
 63. But it is implied throughout that Jeiusalem and the temple were 
 standing and there is no reference to their destruction, which occurred 
 A. D. 70. It may therefore be said that the Acts was published be- 
 tween the Spring of A. D. 63 and 70. But its abrupt termination, and 
 the absence of any reference to Paul afterward, either to his liberation 
 or martyrdom, seem to point to the close of the two years of Paul's im- 
 prisonment as the time of its completion and publication. And if this 
 be the date, then it is most natural to conclude that Luke wrote it at 
 Rome during these two years, and under Paul's direction, 
 
 SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 
 
 In about one-third of the Acts Luke writes as an eye witness — 
 16 : 10-40 ; 20 : 6, to the end of the book. From Paul he would naturally 
 get accounts of his persecution, conversion, and missionary journeys. 
 From Philip of Ciosarea he would learn regarding the appointment of 
 the seven, the preaching in Samaria, and the convei-sion and baptism of 
 tlie eunuch ; and in connection with Paul, of the speech and martyrdom 
 of Stephen. From James, as well as Paul, he could obtain all needful 
 information regarding the Apostolic Conference at Jerusalem, and 
 most of the events recorded in the early part of the Acts. While Paul 
 was imprisoned at Cjcsarea, Luke was doubtless gathering materials 
 from " eye witnesses and ministers of the word " and preparing his 
 Gospel (Luke 1:2), and at the same time he would naturally gather 
 much material for the Acts. He very likely met with Peter, and John, 
 and INLary the mother of Mark, and with many others of tlie one hun- 
 dreil and twenty (i ; i'), from whom lie gatliered accounts of Pentecost 
 and of subsequent events. At C;esarea he could receive corroljorative 
 accounts of the convei-sion of Cornelius and the death of Herod. 
 
 In this connection it is interesting to notice the speeches of the 
 Acts, given more or less fully by Luke, A\ith marks of condensation. 
 All of these in style and thought indicate their respective authors ; yet 
 their setting into the narrative shows the hand and style of Luke. 
 Alford has shown from Paul's speech in Hebrew before the Jewish mob 
 (22:1-21), that Luke probably translated it into Greek from having 
 heard it delivered. So probably the speeches of Peter and Stephen 
 were written out by some who heard them ; and Luke, under the guid- 
 ance of the Spirit, has truly presented their substance or their very 
 words, as the Spirit deemed important. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE DESIGN AND NATURE OK THE ACTS. 
 
 The design of a writer must be distinguished from the objects 
 accomplished by his work, or the providential uses made of it. This is 
 especially true of the Acts. As a sequel to Luke's Gospel it naturally 
 has a similar design. This Luke thus expresses to Theophilus, "That 
 thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou 
 was instructed." (Luke i: 4.) Not that it was intended for Theophilus 
 alone, but he was selected as a person of rank, representing Chris- 
 tians generally, both Jews and Gentiles. The same general design is 
 manifested in the Acts. As in his Gospel Luke tells " concerning all 
 things that Jesus began to do and teach " (1 :i), so in the Acts he contin- 
 ues to narrate what Jesus, after his resurrection and ascension, began to 
 do and teach through his Holy Spirit in connection with his disciples. 
 The doing consisted in organizing and developing the church at Jerusa- 
 lem, its baptism in the Holy Spirit, in the conversion of men, and in 
 planting churches both among Jews and Gentiles. The tmchhuj con- 
 sisted in the guidance of the Apostles in preaching the gospel, training 
 the converts, and gathering them into churches ; also in the apprehen- 
 sion of truth, and making known its relations to both Jews and Gentiles, 
 and their relation to each other. The book is emphatically a book of 
 heghinings, at Jerusalem, in Samaria, throughout Judea, at Antioch, 
 throughout Asia Minor, and Greece and at Rome. It consists of sketches 
 of the success of the early preachers of the gospel, attended by the 
 Holy Spirit, from Jerusalem the capital of Judaism to Rome the metrop- 
 olis of the heathen world. It thus presents the fulfillment of our Lord's 
 prediction, " Ye shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all 
 Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth " (1 ^ ») ; 
 with the methods and measures by which this Avas accomplished. 
 
 ITS RELATION TO THE GOSPELS AND THE EPISTLES. 
 
 The Acts of the Apostles is the central book of the New Testament. 
 Toward it the Gospels converge, as pi'eparatory ; from it the Epistles 
 diverge, as complemental. Tlie Gospel narratives culminate in the res- 
 urrection of Christ ; the book of Acts starts with the risen and ascended 
 Saviour, and narrate how he wrought with and through his disciples by 
 the Holy Spirit. And each step in the progress of this work is attributed 
 with equal distinctness to the Lord Jesus and to the Holy Spirit. (1 : 2; 2 : 4, 
 17,33,38; 4: 10,31; 5: 14,19.) The prescuce of Jcsus with his di.sciples for forty 
 days, and the account of his ascension, connect the Acts with the Gos- 
 pels. The baptism of John (lo: 3T; i3:24; is: 25; 19: 4), the baptism of the 
 Holy Spirit (i: 5, 8; u: 16), the preaching of Jesus and the re.surrection (4: .1, 
 33; 17; 18; 24: is), the appeaniuce of Jesus to Stephen and to Saul of Tarsus 
 (7: 53; 9: 17), aiid his prcscncc with his disciples in fulfillment of his 
 last commission, are connecting links between the Acts and the Gos- 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 pels. Viewed as an account of the continued work of our Lord, it has 
 been styled the Fifth Gospel ; as illustratin<;: the power and work of the 
 Holy Spirit, the Gospel of the Spirit; and, as combining the two, the 
 Gospel of the Post- Ascension. 
 
 No less vital is the relation of the Acts with the Epistles. The for- 
 mer in numerous places are supplemented by the latter, and the latter 
 cannot be fully understood without the historical details of the former. 
 As the Gospels present the fundamental truth.s of Christianity, and the 
 Acts its individual and church life, so the Epistles present more fully 
 and systematically its doctrines and piac-tical teachings. The gifts 
 of the Spirit (Acts2an(jicor. 12), the benevolence, the authority, and the 
 othcials of the church, the passing away of the Old Testament Economy, 
 the throwing down of the middle wall of paiiition between Jews and 
 (lentiles, the doctrines of repentance and justitication by faith, of the 
 resurrection and the final judgment, and the practices of baptism, the 
 Lord's Supper, and the ordination of the ministry, are some of the 
 many links connecting the Acts with the Epistles. The following par- 
 allel passages, taken from the Author's Hannonir Arrangement of lite Acts, 
 exhibit the principal historical connections of the two : 
 
 ACTS. 
 
 1: 3. 
 2 : 15, 16. 
 2: •A2. 
 2: 33. 
 6: 1. 
 9: 20-22. 
 9: 25. 
 9 : 2t;, 30. 
 12 : 25. 
 13: 14. 
 14 : 5, 6. 
 14: 19. 
 15: 1-10, 
 15: 23. 
 
 16: 1. 
 
 16: 3. 
 
 16: 6. 
 16: 13 
 
 16 : 23, 24. 
 
 17: 3. 
 17: 5,6. 
 17: 14,15. 
 
 EPISTLES. 
 
 1 Cor. 15 : 3-8. 
 a Peter 1 : 21, 
 1 Cor. 15 : 6 
 1 Peter 1 : 12. 
 
 1 Tim. 5: 9,10. 
 Gal. 1 : 15, 16. 
 
 2 Cor. 11 : 32, 33. 
 Gal. 1 : 18-24. 
 
 2 Cor. 12 : 2 
 
 2 Cor. 11 : 2fi. 
 
 2 Tim. 3: 10,11, 
 
 2 Cor. 11 : 25. 
 
 Gal. 2 : 1-10. 
 
 James 1 : 1. 
 
 2 Tim. 1 : 5. 
 
 2 Tim. 3 : 15. 
 
 1 Cor. 9 : 20. 
 
 1 Tim. 4: 14. 
 
 Gal. 4: 13. 
 
 Phil. 4: 2.3. 
 f Phil. 1 : 29, 30. 
 \ 2 Cor. 11 : 25. 
 (.1 Thess. 2: 2. 
 
 1 Thess. 1 : 5-9 
 
 1 Thess. 2: 9, 14. 
 
 1 Thess. 3: 1,2. 
 fl Cor. 4: 11,12. 
 12 Cor. 11: 8,9. 
 
 18: 5. 
 
 18: 8,17. 
 18: 26, 
 19: 20, 
 19: 21. 
 19: 27. 
 
 20: 1. 
 
 20: 2. 
 
 20: 4. 
 
 20 : 34, 35. 
 21 : 2:i-26. 
 23: 5. 
 
 24: 17. 
 
 26: 20, 
 28: 16, 
 
 28 : 30, 31, 
 
 EPISTLES, 
 
 /2Cor. 1: 19. 
 \ 1 Thess. 3 : 6. 
 
 1 Cor. 1: 1,14. 
 
 1 Cor. 16 : 19. 
 
 1 Cor. 16 : 8-10. 
 
 Rom. 1 : 13. 
 
 Eph. 2: 20,21, 
 (2 Cor. 2: 12. 
 \ 2 Cor. 7 : 5. 
 { Rom. 15 : 19. 
 f2Cor. 1: 16. 
 ■{ 2 Cor. 12 : 14. 
 ( 2 Cor. 13 : 1. 
 JRom. 16: 1.21.23. 
 (Rom. 15: 25,26, 
 
 1 Cor. 4: 11,12, 
 
 1 Cor. 9 : 19-22, 
 
 Rom. 13: 1. 
 f Rom. 15 : 25, 26. 
 J 1 Cor. 16 : 3. 
 1 2 Cor. 8: 1,2. 
 I 2 Cor. 9: 1.2. 
 
 Rom. 15 : 18. 19. 
 
 Phil. 1 : 12-14. 
 fEph. 6: 18-20. 
 J. Phil. 2. 23, 34. 
 (Philem. 9, 22, 
 
 QUOTATIONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 The relation of the Acts to the Old Testament is seen in its histori- 
 cal and incidental allusions, but especially in its numerous quotations. 
 There are ninety places in the Acts where quotations are made from no 
 less than one hundred and thirty passages of the Old Testament. The.se 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 are found principally in the speeches of I'oter and Paul, James and 
 h^tephen. Of these, twenty-seven are from the l)ook of Exodus, twenty 
 from the Psalms, nineteen from ( Jenesis, fourteen from Isaiah, eleven 
 from Deuteronomy, six from Jeremiah, three from Numbers, two from 
 Joshua, first Kings, and Amos, eai-h, and one from Leviticus, lirst Samuel, 
 first Chronicles, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Habakkuk, earh. By " book of 
 the prophets " (' : *'^), is meant the twelve minor prophets, whom the 
 Jews reckoned in one collection. 
 
 The quotations principally follow the Greek of the Septuagint ver- 
 sion, which was in common use in that day, especially among foreign 
 Jews, but with freiiuent variations, and sometimes apparent corrections 
 from the Hebrew, f^uch variations may be jiartly accounted for from 
 the custom of quoting fiom memory. It was also the inner meaning, 
 the spiritual significance which was sought after. Thus Peter and 
 others in the Acts generally used tlie Septuagint as their guide and 
 source of quotation, following its defects in unimportant points, but, 
 under the guidance of the promised Spirit, correcting it and even inter- 
 preting it, where it was necessary. 
 
 These quotations may be divided into five kinds: (1) Complete 
 quotations, complete both in sense and form. That found in 28 : 26, 27, 
 from Isa. 6: 9, 10, is a good example. Others may be found in 2: 25- 
 28; 4: 25, 26; 13: 33. (2) Abridged quotations, from which words or 
 phrases are omitted, generally from the body of the quotation. Thus 
 7: 3 is quoted from Gen. 12: 1, and the phrase "and from thy father's 
 house" is omitted after "from thy kindred." The latter clause, how- 
 ever, includes the idea of the former. In such abridgements nothing is 
 generally lost from the essential sense. (3) P(»r/ /<// quotations, consisting 
 of words and phrases. Thus Stephen {^ ■■ 2) quotes " God of Glory " 
 from Ps. 29: 3, and "Turned back again to Egypt" (7:39) from Num. 
 14: 3. (4) Composite qviotaiioTiif, in which two or more are united and 
 merged into one. Thus in 3 : 22, 23, Peter quotes from Deut. 18 : 18, 19, 
 and subi5titutes for the last clause of verse 19, " I will require it of him," 
 the last clause of Lev. 23 : 29, " Shall be destroyed from among his 
 people." The latter is more definite, and as a legal formula, defines the 
 mode of punishment. Other examples are found in 2: 30 and 7: 51. 
 (5) Complex quotations, which cannot be assigned to anj'^ of the above, 
 but combine together several species. Thus 7 : 6 is an indirect quo- 
 tation from Gen. 15 : 13, with some changes in the order of the words, 
 and is continued in verse 7, Avith a direct quotation from Exod. 3 : 12. 
 So, also, in 15 : 16-18, there is a peculiar combination of three quo- 
 tations principally from Amos 9: 11, 12. It begins with "I will return,'' 
 fromJer. 12: 15, and closes with, "Saith the Lord who maketh these 
 things known from of old " (Revised version), from Isa. 45 : 21. 
 
 The design of these quotations was fivefold: (1) To note the ful- 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fiUment of prophecy. Twenty-two predictions are quoted, sixteen of 
 which have reference to the Messiah. These Messianic predictions were 
 given as a ground of confidence in God and are of three kinds : First, 
 those that have direct and exclusive reference to Clirist, as in 2 : 34, 35, 
 from Psalm 110 : 1. Second, those that are direct, but are inclu.'^ive, having 
 primary reference to Christ, but including others secondarily in their 
 fulfillment. Thus the quotation from the second Psalm (« : 25-28) refers 
 primarily to Christ, but it may include also a secondary reference to 
 those who preceded his advent as representative of his divine sover- 
 eignty. Its fulfillment need not be restricted to any one event or com- 
 bination of events, but may be found all along the line of man's opposi- 
 tion to Christ. TJiird, those wliich refer typically to Christ as the 
 antitype. Thus Acts 4 : 11 probably referred primarily to Zerubbabel, 
 who was himself a type of Christ. (2) To give emphasis to some truth, 
 as in 7: 51; 13: IS; 17: 31. (3) To present some historical fact. Many 
 examples are found in Stephen's defense and in Paul's address at 
 Antioch, in Pisidia. (4) To comfort and encourage. Thus the Lord 
 encouraged Paul at Cornith, " Be not afraid, for I am with thee," from 
 Isa. 43: 5, and Jer. 8: 1, reminding him of his presence with his 
 prophets of old and their faithful obedience. (5) As the best and most 
 appropriate vehicle of expression. The Scriptures were the classics of 
 the Jewish people. In them the Jewish youths were taught from their 
 earliest j-ears. (2 Tim. 3:15.) It was natural that their thoughts should 
 often take the garb of Scripture, especially when the language was 
 familiar for its beauty, force, or sublimity. Doubtless some of their 
 quotations were entirely undesigned. In every address in the Acts their 
 familiarity with the Scriptures is noticeable. Paul's mind seemed over- 
 flowing with Scripture truth and phraseology, (see is : 10 ; u : 15 ; 17 -. 24, 25 ; 20 : 
 28 32). While the Old Testament was thus freely quoted, no instance can 
 be found in the Acts, where a passage is improperly used, or unbecom- 
 ingly applied. 
 
 THE EVinEXTIAL V.\LUE OF THE ACTS. 
 
 The discussion thus far has shown the reliability of Luke as a wit- 
 ness, and the trustworthiness of his writings. It is doubtful whether 
 any ancient or modern historian could be subjected to such an ordeal as 
 he has undergone and come forth unhurt. No real error has been made 
 out against him ; but such an exactness has been discovered, as to be 
 suggestive of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But if this appears to be 
 true of the Acts, it is natural to believe tlie same in regard to his Gos- 
 pel. The Acts of the Apostles thus becomes a strong evidence of the 
 truth of Christianity. And even this is strengthened when we consider 
 particular portions, such as the Conversion of Paul, and his Vovage and 
 Shipwreck. But more than this. While it incidentally confirms other 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 portions of the New Testament, by its relations to them, it especially, 
 by its relations to the Old Testament Scrii)tnres, gives the weight of its 
 authority to their historical facts and to the books as they have come 
 down to us. Not only is every part of the Old Testament quoted, as 
 p.bove noticed, but the whole is alluded to at least five times in the 
 Acts. (i3;i5, i7;2. 11; 18:24 2.S.) And tliese are appealed to as standards 
 of authority, as the word of God. They who would make the taber- 
 nacle a later structure and rearrange the books of Moses, run not only 
 against Peter, Stephen, Luke, and Paul, but ignore their guiding spirit, 
 and that historical knowledge within their reach, but unknown to us. 
 
 INSPIRATION OF THE ACTS. 
 
 1. The arguments for the inspiration of the third Gospel may be 
 largely used for the inspiration of the Acts, which is a sequel to that 
 Gospel. 2. The proofs of the authenticity of the Acts tend also to prove 
 its inspiration. 3. The Apostles had been promised inspiration by the 
 Spirit, both for their guidance into all the truth, and also for special 
 occasions, (joha i6: 1315; Matt, lo; 19,20.) Otlicrs had inspired gifts. Paul 
 was a "called Apostle" (Rom. 1: 1), and recognized special supernatural 
 guidance both for himself and certain co-laborers (1 cor. 2: e, lo: 12: 10). 
 Miraculous gifts of the Spirit were bestowed upon many others besides 
 the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. Prophets were common in the 
 apostolic age. (11:27; i3:i; 21 -.4,9.11 ; icor.urir) Stephen and Philip were 
 full of the Spirit and received special divine guidance, (s ■• 3, 5, 15 ; s : 13, 26, 39.) 
 Thus the Apostles and Christian leaders were inspired men, and 
 we may regard their deeds and addresses, recoi'ded in the Acts, 
 as inspired. If it was important that they should be inspired in 
 what they then did and said, it is equally, and even more important, 
 that the record of their acts and addresses, intended for all ages, 
 should be so inspired as to be free from error. Hence, we may 
 reasonably infer its inspiration. 4. It seems evident that the writer of the 
 Acts should be included among these leaders, though with the modesty of 
 the Apostle John, in his Gospel, he only implies himself by the use of the 
 first person. His companionship with Paul implies that he was a teacher, 
 and Paul includes him among his fellow- workers. (Phiiem24.) That he 
 should have written the third Gospel and this record of the apostolic 
 churches, under such circumstances, puts him in the rank of a fellow- 
 writer as well as fellow-worker. From the earliest historical references 
 to him, it appears that, in his writings, he received the sanction of the 
 Apostle Paul. All these are evidences of his inspiration. 5. He writes 
 as one having the authority of the truth, and with an unaffected sim- 
 plicity and impartiality which has no parallel in historical writings out- 
 side of the Holy Scriptures. 6. The Acts, also, in its facts and doctrines 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 is in harmony with the inspired Scriptures of the Old Testament, and 
 Avith tlie writings of I'eter, James, John, and Paul. 7. It appears to 
 have been regarded by early Christians as a part of the Holy Scriptures, 
 and Mas classed with the four Gospels to which it formed a sequel, and 
 was read in the churches. 8. From these considerations and from a 
 careful study of the Acts for many years, I have a settled conviction 
 that it is the inspired word of God, intended, not merely for the early 
 ages, but for all time. 
 
 PRACTICAL USES OF THE ACTS. 
 
 The uses of this book are manifold and can only be touched upon. 
 Like the earth with its vast external and internal treasures from which 
 scientists collect and classify, so the Acts presents a vast field from which 
 the devout student of Scripture may gather and classify into doctrine 
 and practice. 
 
 1. Church organization and order. The church is first seen in the 
 upper room, the one hundred and twenty, in its preparatory and waiting 
 condition. It receives its jmljlic divine recognition and its baptism in 
 tlie Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It is later equipped with Deacons, 
 and with Elders who were Overseers or Pastors. The Apostles appear 
 as special officials of Jesus Christ, whose office from its nature and duties 
 necessarily ceased with them. The Evangelists appear as missionary 
 and traveling preachers Avithout charge of local congregations. It also 
 ai>pears from the Acts that Christ is the Supreme Head of the church ; 
 that the Holy Spirit is among his people, working in and through them, 
 for Christ and with Clirist; and that the Holy Scriptures are the stand- 
 ard of appeal. The book also teaches regeneration before baptism, and 
 a converted church membei"ship ; the restriction of the Lord's Supper 
 to immersed believei-s ; the self-g<jverning local church ; the total sepa- 
 ration of church and state ; and the absolute liberty of the individual 
 conscience. See further on Church Polity in the Acts. 
 
 2. ReriraJs of rclir/ion. The presence and work of the Holy Spirit 
 are emphasized throughout the Acts, (seeoni: i.s.) Seasons of refresh- 
 ing are to come from the presence of the Lord, (see on 3 : i9.) Revivals 
 and consequent ingatherings are noted at Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, 
 and Antioch ; at Corinth and Ephesus. They were connected with 
 prayer, turning to the I^ord, and i^reaching the word. 
 
 3. MisKiouari/ methods and work. The Acts consists largely of mis- 
 sionary sketches, travels, and work. The two great centres of missionary 
 activity were Jerusalem and Antioch, the one among Jews, the other 
 among Gentiles. Thus the former represents home missions ; the latter 
 foreign missions. The Apostles and other missionaries generally went 
 out two by two, as Peter and John {»■■ is), Paul and Barnabas, etc. They 
 generally began their operations at great centres of population an in- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 fluence, an Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, and Epliesus, and from these 
 centres worked out into the surrounding regions. Their method of 
 evanghzation was threefold: pul>lii- preaching; private and personal 
 conveisation and appeals; and the written page as present in the Old 
 Testament Scriptures and their own letters or a\ ritten documents. They 
 announced the glad tidings to unbelievers, and taught inquirers and 
 converts, (is: 35; 28: 31.) Believers were baptized. (2: «; s: 12; lo: «; is: 8.) 
 Thej^ emphasized the doctines centering in the risen Lord, and the 
 duties of repentance and faith, and shrank not from declaring the whole 
 
 counsel of God. (-'0 : 20, 27 ; 24 : 25 ; 26 : 22, 23.) 
 
 4. Miracles and supernatural gifts. These appear to be not so much 
 noticed as the ordinary means. The gift of tongues is mentioned only 
 at Pentecost, at the conversion of Cornelius and his company, and with 
 the twelve at Ephesus, and is implied at Samaria. («: i6i«.) So, also, 
 but few miracles are described. These are the healing of the lame man 
 in the temple, and ^Eneas, a palsied man at Lydda, and the raising of 
 Dorcas at Joppa. The miracles of Paul were at Paphos, Lystra, Philippi, 
 Troas, and ]\Ielita. Besides these, it is generally said that "many signs 
 and wonders were wrought through the Apostles" (2:4.-,; 5:12), that 
 Stephen " wrought great wonders and signs" (s: «), that signs and won- 
 ders were granted Paul at Iconium (h: 3), also at Ephesus. (19 : n.) In 
 connection with these it should be noted that they spake with tongues 
 "as the Spirit gave them utterance," that miracles were said to be 
 "granted" or "wrought through" Peter, Paul, and others. Thus it 
 appears that these gifts were not at the option or will of the Apostles, 
 but were dependent upon the Spirit and his promptings. Accordingly, 
 Paul asks : " Are all workers of miracles ? Do all speak with tongues ? " 
 (1 Cor. 12 : 29, 30 ) Miracles and supernatural gifts seem to have had their 
 place and design at the beginning of the Gospel Dispensation. But the 
 same condition and necessities did not exist in after ages. Indeed, there 
 are indications of their decline toward the end of the apostolic age. 
 The later epistles of Paul, Peter, and John, make no mention of them, 
 while emphasizing the ordinary means of the ministry, prayer, sanctifi- 
 cation of the Spirit, and preaching the word. 
 
 5. 3ffssianic Predidions and Christ\? Sirnnd Coming. The Messianic 
 and other predictions referred to in the Acts and the Gospels were not 
 fully understood till after their fulfillment. Even our Lord's disciples 
 and constant attendants had but dim perception of the Scriptures which 
 spake of him. It Avas necessary th.at Jesus should breathe upon them, 
 saying: "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," and that he should "open their 
 mind that they might understand the Scriptures." Yet even then they 
 seem to have had confused views of Christ's kingdom, and especially 
 of his coming, when they ask: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore 
 again the kingdom to Israel?" The predictions which Peter quotes, 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and explains so clearly and forcibly, were understood by him only after 
 their fulfillment in Jesus, and after he was taught by him and the 
 Spirit. 
 
 The same was true in regard to the gospel and the Gentiles. Pro- 
 phets had foretold that its blessings would be enjoyed by the Gentiles, 
 but the disciples utterly mistook the manner of its accomplishment. 
 Neither the instructions of Jesus, nor the Spirit at Pentecost, had en- 
 lightened them on the subject. Peter must be taught by vision at Joppa 
 and by actual occurrence at Csesarea. 
 
 May it not be so now with future fulfillment of prophecy? Much 
 remains unfulfilled regarding the kingdom of God, the conversion of 
 Israel, and the second coming of Christ. The spiritual and the discern- 
 ing doubtless catch many glimpses of the mysterious future. But, rea- 
 soning from the past, can we be certain? Surely none have attained 
 unto full knowledge. IMust we not, like prophets and apostles, wait for 
 the events themselves before Ave fully comprehend the intent and the 
 meaning of the prophetic word ? The experience of God's people in 
 the past teaches us at least to be cautious and humble ; ready to accept, 
 even joyfully, whatever interpretations God's providences and the 
 events themselves may surely indicate. 
 
 6. A hook of general education. No other ancient book of its size is 
 of such great educational value. In ecclesiastical history it fills a place 
 wbich no other treatise could occupy. It is rich in its variety of places 
 and character illustrative of the institutions of the Koman Empire, and 
 of the influence and spread of the CJreek language. Its geographical 
 notices are most important, and its field for archaeological research is 
 extensive. Classical antiquity and heathen mythcjlogy are l)oth illus- 
 trated, and Greek philosophies and Oriental sorceries are brouglit vividly 
 into view. Ancient literature has nowhere presented so lifelike and 
 truthful a picture of Ephesus of Imperial times as that in the nineteenth 
 chapter of the Acts, and no such account of seafaring life aa that of 
 Paul's voyage and shipwreck. 
 
 CHURCn POLITY IN THE ACTS. 
 
 This is of sufl^cient importance, to give a further separate notice 
 of it. AVhen Jesus said (Matt. is: n) : "Tell it to the church," he bad in 
 view those local societies which were to be organized by the Apostles, 
 under the guidance of the Spirit. And when he promised the Apostles 
 that the Holy Spirit should teach them all things, and guide them into 
 all the truth (John 14 : 26; 16: 13), he included all that was necessary to Chris- 
 tian doctrine and practice. Throughout the book of the Acts it is im- 
 plied and indicated that this guidance was granted them. Churches 
 were organized, deacons chosen, elders and pastors appointed, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 persons were set apart, by the laying on of liands, to particular offices or 
 Avork (6: 6; u: 23; 13; .f)^ Under the superintendence of inspired men. The 
 Spirit commanded the Antioch church to set apart Paul and Barnabas 
 for their mission (i':?), and Paul speaks of the elders at Ephesus as 
 having been made overseers by the Holy Spirit. (20:28.) At first the 
 church organization was in a formative state (1:23:6:35), but soon it 
 appears to have taken a permanent form, (is: i; u-. 27; 15; 3,22; i8:27; 20:n.) 
 All this is confirmed in the Epistles. Peter would have the churches 
 keep his instructions in remembrance. (2 peter 1 : 1215.) Jude (vcr.3) 
 exhorted them to contend earnestly for the faith delivered once for all 
 to the saints. Paul received the gospel from Christ himself (Gai.i:i2), 
 and directed how to observe the Lord's Supper as he had received it 
 from the Lord. (icor. 11:23.) He exhorts the Corinthians to be imita- 
 tors of him, even as he also was of Christ, and said : " I praise you, 
 brethren, that ye remember me in all things and keep the ordinances," 
 including, especially, the usages taught by him, "as I delivered them 
 to you." (1 Cor. n : 1, 2.) John indicates fully organized, independent, 
 local churches, and also a completed revelation, (aev. 1 :?: 22:6, 7, 10, is.) 
 Thus it seems evident that a completed church organization was 
 developed by the Apostles, under divine authority, during the period 
 of the Acts. 
 
 The model as seen in the Acts, has the beauty and excellence of a 
 divine simplicity. "Among others, its ministerial parity offers less 
 temptation than any other to ministerial rivalries and jealousies, and a 
 carnal ambition. Its elective franchise offers less opportunity than any 
 other to a priestly lording over God's heritage. Its congregational form 
 begets, more than any other, a sense of individual responsibility, an 
 active interest in church matters, and the exercise of private judgment. 
 Its cardinal principle of a converted church membership tends more 
 than any other to maintain the purity of the church. Its independent 
 form guards better than any other against schism. Indeed, when this 
 independence is faithfully observed, there cannot be any schism to 
 which a great confederated church is liable." — William Williams, 
 Apostolical Church Polily, p. 70. 
 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 The date of our Ix)rd's crucifixion could not have been later than 
 A. D. 30, and appears to have been on April seventh of that year. The 
 death of Agrippa Herod, at Cfesarea (12:23), occurred, according to 
 Josephus, A. D. 44 ; and the recall of Felix and the coming of Festus, 
 occurred A. D. 60. Taking these dates as starting points, in connection 
 with other historical allusions, the chronology of the Acts may be ap- 
 proximately arranged, as in the following table. Compare, Author'e 
 Harmonic Arrangemenl of tht Acts. 
 
16 
 
 INTRODUCTIOIC. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF THE ACTS. 
 
 A. D. 
 
 EVENTS. 
 
 ROMAN EMPEROKS. 
 
 30. 
 
 31. 
 
 35. 
 
 The Ascension, May 18th. 
 Pentecost, May 2.Sth. 
 Martyrdom of Stephen. 
 Conversion of Saul. 
 
 Tiberius, a. d. 14-37. 
 
 38. 
 39. 
 
 Saul visits Jerusalem (9 : 2G). 
 Conversion of Cornelius. 
 
 Caligula, a. d. 37-41. 
 
 42. 
 
 44. 
 
 41. 
 
 45-48. 
 
 50. 
 
 51-54. 
 
 Saul returns to Damascus (11 : 26). 
 Martyrdom of James. 
 Saul again visits Jerusalem. 
 Paul's First Missionary Jouruey. 
 The Conference at Jerusalem. 
 Paul's Second Missionary Journey. 
 
 Claudius, A. D. 41-54. 
 Nero, A. D, 54-68. 
 
 54-57. 
 
 5.S. 
 
 58-60. 
 
 60-61. 
 
 61-63. 
 
 Paul's Third Missionary Journey. 
 Paul's last visit to Jerusalem. 
 Paul's Imprisonment at Ca;sarea. 
 Paul at Melita (winter). 
 Paul's Imprisonment at Rome. 
 
 
 SOME OF THE TOPICS BRIEFLY DISCUSSED IN THE NOTES. 
 
 PAOK. 
 
 The Kingdom, Apostles, Church 25 
 
 Gift of Tongues 28,303 
 
 Organization of the First Church 43 
 
 Membership of the Church 44 
 
 Young Men and the Church 83 
 
 Laying On of Hands 88, 12"> 
 
 Stephen and Paul 116 
 
 Sanhcdrin and Capital Punishment 115 
 
 Rite of Confirmation 12i! 
 
 Christianity and Judaism 91 
 
 ICnlightened Heathen and Missions ITOf 
 
 Elders, Origin and Office 186 
 
 Teachers 200 
 
 Elders, How Chosen, Their Work 22'<f 
 
 Two Orders of Church Officers 230 
 
 PAOE. 
 
 Apostolic Council, What? 233 
 
 Circumcision and Christianity 2:?3, 243 
 
 Paul's Attitude Toward Circumcision... 251 
 
 Infant Baptism 2.i8 
 
 Children and the Church 268 
 
 AVas I'aul a Failure at Athens? "s.) 
 
 Believers and the Church 299 
 
 When was Epistle to Gal. Written? 304 
 
 The First Day of the Week 318 
 
 Pluralitv of Elders or Pastors 321 
 
 Of a Thi'rd Order in the Ministry ."21 
 
 Nf> Priestly t'unctions in the Ministry. 3'j2 
 
 Pastors and Churches 3l'8 
 
 Evangelists 332 
 
 Paul's Knowledge of His Gentile Work. 346 
 
 CO^' TENTS. 
 
 L Chapters 1-7. Advent of tlie Holy 
 Spirit, and growtli of the Jerusalem 
 church. The .Suveii chosen. l>eath 
 ef Stephen. 
 II. Ciiaptkus 8, 9. Spread of the gospel 
 in Judea, Samaria and Damascus. 
 Baptism of the eunuch. Conversion 
 of Saul. 
 
 III. Chapti:ks 10-12. The beginning of 
 
 Gentile churches. Conversion of 
 Cornelius. Saul in Cilica. The 
 gos|)cl at Antioch. Renewed perse- 
 cution at Jerusalem. 
 
 IV. Chapticks 13, 14. Paul's first mis- 
 
 sionarv journey. Passes through 
 Cyprus. At Antioch in Pisida, Ico- 
 nium, Lystra and Derbe. 
 
 v. CiiAPTEK 15. The council or confer- 
 ence at Jerusalem. 
 
 VI. CiiAi'TKKS I.t; 40-18 : 22. Paul's sec- 
 ond missionary journey. Vi.'-lls 
 Phrygia and Galalia, I'hili^^:■!, 
 Tlie.'^salonica, Berea, Athens ami 
 Corintli. 
 VII. Chapters 18: 2,'5-21 : 16. Paul's third 
 missionary journey. Galatia, Phry- 
 gia, Ephesus, Macedonia, (jreeco, 
 Tioas, Tvre and Cesarca. 
 VIIL CiiAPTEKS 21: 17-26:32. Paul's arre.H 
 and imprisonment at Cesarea. Clau- 
 dius Lysias, Felix, Feslusand King 
 Agrippa. 
 
 IX. Chaptkp.s 27, 28. Paul's voyage and 
 shipwreck. A winter at Malta. Im- 
 prisoned two years at Rome, 
 
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 Jnlroduclion ; our Lord's last words to his dis- 
 ciples, and his ascension, 
 
 1 THE former treatise have I made, 
 »Theophiliis,of all that Jesus begaa both 
 
 2 to do aiidteach,'>untiltheday in whichhe 
 was taken up, after that he," through the 
 Holy Spirit, <• had given commandments 
 unto the apostles whom he had chosen. 
 
 • Luke 1:1^. >> Mark 16 : 19 ; Luke 24 : 51. « John 20 : 22, 23. 
 
 28 : 19, 20. 
 
 4 ch. 10 : 41, 42 ; Matt. 
 
 Title. It is not claimed that the 
 title is apostolic. The book, how- 
 ever, must have been very early desig- 
 nated by some name, even if at first it 
 had none. Its most ancient title, ac- 
 cordins; to the oldest manuscripts, was 
 Acts oj Apuafh's, which is both ap{)ro- 
 priate and truthful. It does not con- 
 tain the acts of all the apostles, but 
 simply the names of the eleven and 
 their official act with the brethren in 
 the first chapter, and certain life 
 sketches of Peter, John, and Paul in 
 the narrative that follows. It presents 
 specimens of a]K>stolic work, and cer- 
 tain acts of apostolic men. 
 
 Ch. 1 : The writer begins by refer- 
 ring to his former narrative ; speaks of 
 our Lord's appearances and instruc- 
 tions during forty days and of his as- 
 cension ; records the names of the 
 apostles, the number of tlieir attend- 
 ants, and their continuance in i)rayer ; 
 and relates the circumstances of the 
 election of Mattliias in the place of 
 Judas. This cha]>tcr is preliminary to 
 the history that follows. 
 
 1-11. Introduction. Our Lord's 
 Instruction to his Disciples and 
 
 HIS Ascension. (see Luke l : l-4; 3 : IR ; 
 21:50-53; 1 Cor. 15:3-8.) lu the author's 
 
 Harmonic .•Irra^jremewf these and other 
 ])assages are ]>laced on the same page, 
 so as to be easily compared. 
 
 1. The former treatise — Luke's 
 Gospel, of which this was a continua- 
 tion. This indicates that Luke was the 
 writer of the Acts. Theophilus — 
 
 meaning a lover of God. Not a fictitious 
 name, as some have supposed, a jjcr- 
 souification of Christian love, l)ut a per- 
 son of rank, probably a Gentile Chris- 
 tian. See author's note on Luke 1 : 3. 
 Both Luke's Gospel and the Acts were 
 intended for general circulation, and 
 their dedication to a person of influence 
 would naturally promote this object. 
 Of all that Jesus began — a brief 
 summary of Luke's Gospel. Notice, 
 that in all that Jesus did he only began. 
 The Gospel relates tlie Ijeginnings ; the 
 Acts takes up the record and relates 
 how Jesus through the Holy Spirit con- 
 tinues the work. (See on ver. 5; also 10 : 36-45.) 
 
 2. Was taken up^-an act of the 
 
 Father. (Ver. 9, u.) Through the Holy 
 Spirit.. Our Lord in his human 
 nature was dependent on the Holy 
 Spirit. He was anointed and filled 
 
 with the Spirit. (Luke 4 : 1, 14, 18; John 3 : 34.) 
 
 Thus under the influence and in the 
 power of the Spirit he had given 
 commandments, or rather com- 
 mandment. Luke makes prominent 
 the day of our Lord's ascension. Part- 
 ing woi-ds and commissions are neeiiful 
 and especially prized. Some of these 
 are recorded in ver. 4-8, which imply 
 the last commission. (Matt. 28: is. 19.) 
 The apostles — "a title which ac- 
 cords well with all the contents of the 
 book ; their discip/eship was now over." 
 (Bengel.) Yet somewhat in the style 
 of Luke, who in his Gospel si.x; times 
 applies the name ajjostles to the twelve. 
 Matthew and Mark use the name but 
 once each, while it appears thirty times 
 
 17 
 
THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii. I. 
 
 3 «To whom also he showed himself alive 
 after his passion by many infallible 
 proofs, being seen of them forty days, 
 and f speaking of the things pertaining 
 
 4 to the kingdom of God. « And, being as- 
 
 Bemb'ed together with them, [he] com- 
 manded them that they should not 
 depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the 
 promise of the Father, ^ which, sailh he, 
 5 ye have heard of me; 'for John truly 
 
 • Mark 16 : 14 ; John 20 : in, 20, 26 ; 21 : 1-14. ' Luke 24 : 44-48. tE Luke 24 ; 49. t Luke 
 24 : 49 ; John 14 : 16, 17, 26 ; 15 ; 26. i ch. 11 : 16 ; Matt. 3 : 11. 
 
 in the Acts. They are no longer styled 
 simply disciples. 
 
 3. To Avhom also — to his apos- 
 tles. They were to be eye-witnesses 
 of his resurrection, (ver. 22.) Showed 
 himself— literally, presented himxe/f 
 a /ire, talking, walking, and eating with 
 them, giving them the clearest proof 
 that he was with them in reality, in 
 his own body, and not in appearance 
 
 only. (See Luke 24 : 39, 43 ; John 20 : 27 ; 21 : 13.) 
 
 After his passion — after he had 
 suffered death. Ten appearances are 
 recorded in the New Testament, seven 
 of them to the apostles. (See author's 
 Harmony of the Gospels, p. 312.) But 
 these composed only a part of his 
 many api)earances from time to time 
 during the forty days lietween his res- 
 urrection and ascension. Many in- 
 fallible proofs. A verj- strong ex- 
 pres.sion. The juoofs were many and 
 convincing, admitting not a shadow of 
 doubt. Being seen of them — rather 
 appearing to them. Tlie proofs of his 
 resurrection appealed to their sight, 
 their touch, and their hearing. The 
 fact that he tiiught and declaretl tilings 
 pertaining to the kingdom of 
 God, the Messiah's kingdom, was con- 
 firmatory of his actual living-i)reseiice 
 among tliem ; for this was the substance 
 of his teaching before his suflerings. 
 (Mark 1 : 15.) For examples of his teach- 
 ings, see Luke, ch. 24, and John, ch. 21. 
 There is no discrepancy between 
 Luke's account of the ascension in his 
 Gospel and in the Acts. The latter is 
 exj»lanatory of the former, fuller and 
 more minute. He does not limit, as 
 some have asserted, the resurrection 
 and ascension to a single day in his 
 Gospel. After speaking of certain ap- 
 j>earances he ])asses without note of 
 time to the ascension, which he notices 
 very briefly. It is in accordance with 
 Luke's manner to exercise great brevity 
 at certain points and pass rapidly over 
 intervals of time. Thus between verses 
 17 and 18 of the ninth chapter of Luke 
 
 about three months must have inter- 
 vened. (Luke 9: 28.) In the Same man- 
 ner he rai)idly clcses his Gosi)el. In 
 the beginning of the Acts the ascen- 
 sion was of the first importance, for the 
 coming of the Holy Spirit was depend- 
 ent on this (John 16:7), and |Luke was 
 about to relate the fulfillment of the 
 promise of the Father, (ver. 5.) Luke 
 therefore rejieats the account of the as- 
 cension with further details, and desig- 
 nates the time when it occurred. The 
 one account is in perfect harmony with 
 the other. 
 
 4. To the general description of our 
 Lord's appearances is now added the 
 account or two interviews with his dis- 
 ciples. The first is related in this verse 
 and the next. Being assembled 
 together with them — on some occa- 
 sion during the forty days, with a pur- 
 pose, it would seem, of seeing him and 
 hearing more of tlie things pertaining 
 to his kingdom. The Revised Version 
 gives in the margin the reading, eating 
 vith them, ado))ted by several of the 
 Greek Fathers iind by Jerome. It has 
 generally been regarded as an ancient 
 explanation. It has but a weak manu- 
 script support, ileyer, however, pre- 
 fers it. Not depart from Jerusa- 
 lem, etc. — reminding us of the same 
 charge recorded in Luke 24 : 49, re- 
 ferred to in the words, which ye 
 
 have heard of me, (Sec also John is : 
 
 26: 16 : 13.) Thus this meeting was prob- 
 aidy not the same as that in Luke 
 24 : 4!", l)ut subsequent to it. The 
 promise of the Father — volun- 
 tarily made, in the prophecies of the 
 Old Testament (Joei 2 : 28-32 ; isa. 44 ; 3-5), re- 
 peated by John the Baptist (Matt. 3: 11), 
 and renewed by our Lord. They were 
 to Avait for its fulfillment. 
 
 5. Baptized — literally, immersed. 
 This has been the meaning of the word 
 in the original in every stage of the 
 Greek language, and still its mean- 
 ing in the modern Greek. With 
 (rather, in) water. We have here what 
 
[Ch. I. 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 i;) 
 
 baptized with wafer; ^ but ye shall be 
 baptized with the Holy Spirit not many 
 days hence. 
 6 When they therefore were come to- 
 gether, they asked of him, saying, Lord, 
 wilt thou at this time ' restore again the 
 
 7 kingdom to Israel? And he said unto 
 theui, m It is not for you to know the 
 times or the seasons, which the Father 
 
 8 hath put in his own power. ■■ But ye 
 shall receive power, after that the Holv 
 Spirit is come upon you ; and » ye shall 
 
 k ch. 2 : 1-4 ; Joel 3 : 28. 1 Gen. 4'.t : 10 ; Isa. 1 : 2(1 ; Dan. 7 : 27. 
 
 Dent. 29 :2!): Matt. 24 ; 
 
 36 ; 1 Thess. 5:1,2. " cli. 2 : 1, 4 ; Luke 24 : 49. o ch. 2 : 32 ; John 15 : 27. 
 
 scholars style the local dative, defining 
 place. (See author's Notes on Luke, 
 3 : 16.) So, also, in the Holy Spirit, 
 as the element of spiritual life. Tliis 
 was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, 
 when they were pervaded, stirrounded, 
 and completely under the copious in- 
 fluences of the "Holy Spirit. Not many 
 days hence — a few, but how many 
 not known ; ten days, however, after 
 
 the ascension. (Ver. 9 and u.) 
 
 The promise of the Father, the l)ap- 
 tism in the Holy Spirit, is one of the 
 connecting links between the four Gos- 
 pels and the Acts. (Matt, 3 : II ; Mark 1 ; 8 ; 
 Luke 3:16; John 16 : 7.) The prOUliuenCe 
 
 given to the Holy Spirit in this book 
 should also be noted. He is more fre- 
 quently spoken of than in the whole 
 four Gospels, and in such a manner 
 that the Acts has been beautifully and 
 truly styled "the Gospel of the Holy 
 Spirit." This could be illustrated 
 tliroughout the whole ))ook. It shows 
 how the risen Christ carried on his 
 work through the Spirit by his disci- 
 ples. (See2;4; 4:8; 6:3,5; 8:39; 10:19,45; 
 13 : 2, 9; 15: 28; 16:6.) 
 
 6. When they were come to- 
 gether. Some regard this appearance 
 as the same related in ver. 4. It is l>et- 
 ter to regard this as a different and 
 later appearance. It accords also bet- 
 ter with Luke 24 : 49, 50, where the 
 promise of the Fatlier and the com- 
 mand to tarrj' at Jerusalem seem to 
 have been given liefore this hist meet- 
 ing, when he led them out to the 
 confines of Bethany, on the Mount of 
 Olives. They asked — unitedly, a 
 question in which all were interested, 
 which they may have feared to ask in- 
 dividually, and which miglit thus gain 
 an easier and fuller reply. It related 
 principally to time, Wilt thou, at this 
 time f His conversation had interested 
 them in the kingdom, (ver. 3.) But 
 the promise that they should be soon j 
 baptized in the Sjtirit led them to con- I 
 
 nect it with Christ's kingdom. While 
 they had been greatly enlightened in 
 regard to tlie necessity of Christ's death 
 and resurrection and their work in the 
 world (Luke 24: 44-49), they still had some 
 worldly views concerning the Messianic 
 kingdom, expecting deliverance from 
 Roman dominion, and a great central 
 power at Jerusalem. Things did not 
 then look very favorable. They were 
 in doubt how soon this result might be 
 brought about or how far it might be 
 attained by the promised baptism. 
 Hence the question, suggested by such 
 passages as Isa, 9:7; Jer. 23 : 5, 6 ; 
 33 : 15, 17 ; Dan. 7 : 13, 14, 27. 
 
 7. The reply, like the question, re- 
 lates chiefly to time. Jesus does not de- 
 sign to anticipate the illumination and 
 guidance of the Spirit, and further rev- 
 elations regarding the nature and de- 
 signs of his kingdom. It is not for 
 you — not your province or privilege. 
 The times or the seasons. Omit 
 the article. Times or occasions ; of longer 
 or shorter duration, general periods, or 
 exact times. Our Lord's wise and ten- 
 der answer implies that, though they 
 had a right to ask, it was not their 
 privilege to know the time. The 
 Father — the liackground, as it were, 
 of Deity, distinguished from the Son. 
 (Matt. 24:36.) Hath put in his own 
 poAver — appointed by his own author- 
 ity, in the exercise of his .sovereign 
 will. Though the Son was no longer 
 in humiliation, he guards the sovereign 
 }>rerogatives of the Father. 
 
 8. But while you are not to know 
 times and occasions, you will have a 
 work and be qualified for it. Secret 
 things belong to God, but things re- 
 vealed to us. (Deut. 29 : 29.) Receive 
 power — every needful qualification, 
 including the working of miracles. 
 (Mark 16: 17, 18.) After that the Holy 
 Spirit, etc. — pointing to the source of 
 their power and the time of its recep- 
 tion. (2:2-4.) Witnesses unto me — 
 
20 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cu. I. 
 
 be witnesses unto me both p in Jerusalem, 
 and in all Judaja, and i iu Samaria, and 
 ' unto the uttermost, part of the earth. 
 9 s And when he had spoken these things, 
 while they beheld, he was taken up ; and 
 a cloud received him out of their sight. 
 10 And while they looked steadfastly to- 
 
 ward heaven as he went up, behold, two 
 men stood bj them 'in white apparel; 
 11 which also said, » Ye men of Galilee, why 
 stand ye gazing up into heaven 7 This 
 same Jesus, which is taken up from you 
 into heaven, » shall so come in like man- 
 ner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 
 
 P ch. 3 : 20 ; 1:5 : 40. 1 eh. 8 : r>-2: 
 24 : 51. » ch. 10 : 3, 30 ; Matt. 2S : 3 
 14 : 4; Luke 21 : 27. 
 
 ' ch. 13 : 47 ; Matt. 24 : 14 ; Rom. 10 : 18. ' Luke 
 John 20 : 12. " ch. 2 : 7. » Dan. 7 : 13, 14 ; Zech. 
 
 according to the oldest manuscrijits, 
 My wit)iesses; by words, deeds, suffer- 
 ings, and blood. (John 15:27.) In Je- 
 rusalem (Luke 24: 47, 48) . . . all Ju- 
 
 dea . . . Samaria . . . the utter- 
 most part of the earth — the begin- 
 ning, progress, and extent of the work. 
 The restriction of Matt. 10 : 5 is taken 
 away. Tlie narrative of the Acts fol- 
 lows this outline. (» : 1, 5. 27 ; 11 : is ; 26 : 23 ; 
 
 Rom. 15 : i«, 19.) The idea of the last com- 
 mission is included here. (Matt. 28 ; 19, 20 ; 
 Mark 16: 15, 16.) The full meaning was 
 unfolded, as events demanded. They 
 must have now understood from the 
 explicit declarations and commands 
 given them, that the gospel was to be 
 extended to the Gentiles ; but they mis- 
 took the terms and method. Thev ex- 
 pected to reach Gentiles through Juda- 
 ism ; that, first becoming proselytes, 
 Gentiles would accept of the ilessiah 
 of Israel, and thus jirophecy would be 
 
 fulfilled. (Isn.i :2; Mic. 4: 1, 2"; Amos 9: 12.) 
 
 A revelation was even needed to correct 
 false views in Peter. (ii):9.i6.) 
 
 9, Had spoken these things and 
 more. His last words were a blessing. 
 (Luke 24: 51.) While they beheld. Our 
 Lord did not simply disappear as on 
 other occasions (Luke 24:3i), but was 
 taken or borne up into the air and a 
 cloud (symbol of the divine presence 
 and glory) took him away from their 
 
 sight. (See Matt. 17:5; Luke 9 : 34.) The ilS- 
 
 cension is thus presented in two jiarts, 
 into the air and on the cloud from their 
 sight into heaven. It appears tliat he 
 ascended, not as a flash of lightning, 
 but slowly with majesty, so that those 
 who saw might be assured of the fact. 
 
 (M.irk 16: 19; Luke 24 : 51.) 
 
 In regard to his resurrection and his 
 ascension body, there has been much 
 conjecture. When he ascended we may 
 be assured that liis body was glorified, 
 such a body as the risen saints will have 
 
 at the last day. (i Cor. 15:51-54) But 
 whether before his ascension he had 
 simply a natural body such as were 
 tho.se of tlie widow's son and Lazarus, 
 or a body gradually transforming into 
 a spiritual body during the forty days, 
 or an ethereal body, something between 
 body and sj>irit, or the same body as 
 before but endued with new jniwers, 
 properties, and attributes, it is impossi- 
 to be assured. The last view, however, 
 agrees best with the Lord's declara- 
 tion (Luke 24: .39), with his passing through 
 closed doors (John 20:19, 26), and with his 
 vanishing from sight (Luke 24: 31.). 
 
 10. They looked steadfastly — 
 mere looking intently into heaven as he 
 disa])peared in tiie cloud. Two men 
 in white apparel — angels, but in 
 a]>j)eai"ance like men. (see Mark i6:5; 
 Luke 24 : 4.) Or possibly Moses and Elijah. 
 
 (Luke 9: 30.) 
 
 11. Men of Galilee — the apostles 
 
 wlio were (lalilcaus. M hy stand ye 
 gazing up? — in mingled surpri.se and 
 sadness. It is useless thus t-o do. Jesus 
 had rejieatedly told tliem that he must 
 a.scend to the' Father (John 6: 62; i6:i6,28; 
 20 : 17) ; and the words of tlie angels ap- 
 pear like a gentle rebuke for their sur- 
 prise and a .solace for their grief, by as- 
 suring them of Ills return at some future 
 time. It also would remind tlicm of liis 
 farewell commands and promises, and 
 their duty to return to .Jerusalem, and 
 wait to l>e endued with power from on 
 high and prepared for their work. 
 (Luke24:49.) So. .. iu like manner — 
 visibly, in the air and on the clouds in 
 his glorified humanity. (Rev.i:?.) The 
 second coming of Christ, unlike his first 
 coming in obscurity and Inimiliation, 
 will be in power and great glory, with 
 his holy angels witli him. (Matt. 24:30,si ; 
 
 (1 Thc<s. 4: Ifi; 2 Thess.l :7, 8.) 
 
 12-26. Keturn of the Apostles 
 TO Jp:rusalem and the Appoint- 
 
[Ch. I. 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 21 
 
 12 yThen returned they unto Jerusalem 
 from the mount called Olivet, which is 
 from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. 
 
 13 And when they were come in, they went 
 
 up into an upper room, where abode both 
 Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, 
 Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and 
 Matthew, James the son of Alphajus, and 
 
 T Luke 24 : 52. 
 
 MENT OP AN Apostle in the Place 
 
 OK Judas. (see Uatt. lO: 20; 27:3, lO; Ps. 
 
 41;: 9; 69;'.!5: 11)9:8.) The author's Jlar- 
 munic Arrangenwnl can be consulted 
 here and throughout the book in coin- 
 paring references, the divisions into sec- 
 tions being substantially the same in 
 both volumes. 
 
 12. This and the next two verses form 
 the transition between the first and la.st 
 portions of this chapter. Olivet (mean- 
 ing olive-yard) a long and high ridge east 
 of JeriLsalem, rising about two hundred 
 feet above the highest point of the city. 
 Olive trees still grow thereon, but less 
 thickly than of old. The manner in 
 which Luke speaks of it shows that 
 Theophilus was not personally ac- 
 quainted with the location ; literally, 
 Jroui a motont, the o)ie called Olivet. 
 His speaking of the distance, from, 
 (rather, near) Jerusalem, a sabbath 
 day's journey, indicates the same. 
 This was a space of two thousand cubits, 
 or about seven furlongs, supposed to be 
 the distance between tlie ark and the 
 tents, following tradition. (Josh. 3:4.) 
 As it was a sabbath duty to go to the 
 ark, this two thousand cubits was re- 
 garded as a lawful sabbath day's jour- 
 ney. Some infer that the ascension was 
 on the .sabbath. Possibly, but not nec- 
 essarily, for the designation was a well- 
 known and familiar one, and could have 
 been ai)plied to the distance on any day. 
 This verse, however, shows that our 
 Lord ascended from Olivet — tradition 
 says the summit, but more probably in 
 some retired spot over the slope toward 
 Bethany. Luke in his Gospel (2* : 50) 
 saysj " He led them out as far as" — in 
 the vicinity of — " Bethany," or, accord- 
 ing to some of the oldest maniiscri])ts, 
 toward or over agaiiist Bethany. Yet 
 Luke does not really give the distance 
 of the place of the ascension, but of 
 Olivet. 
 
 13. Come in — into the city. An 
 (rather, the) upper room — the large, 
 uppermost chamber under the flat roof, 
 used for devotion and religious assem- 
 
 blies. (20:8; Dan.6:io.) The definite 
 article points to a well-known room, or 
 one previously mentioned, and makes 
 it probable that it was the " large upj)er 
 room " where Jesus had celebrated his 
 last passover. (Luke 22 : 12.) It was natu- 
 ral and fitting to retain this room and 
 await the power from on high. (Luke 
 24:49.) It would not have been in the 
 temple, for the di.sciples were not abid- 
 ing there, nor would the Jewish rulers 
 have allowed it, nor would such a place 
 be likely styled the upper room. C'on- 
 tintially i)i the temple (Luke 24 : 53) means 
 merely that the discii)les were present 
 at all sea.sons or occasions for worship. 
 Abode — that is, where they, the ai)08- 
 tles, were abidiiuj, perhai)s their resi- 
 dence, but not necessarily, for it may 
 have been the place where they spent 
 most of their time in the services de- 
 scribed below. There are four cata- 
 logues of the apostles in the New Testa- 
 ment. The other three are found in 
 Matt. 10 : 2-4 ; Mark 3 : 16, and Luke 
 G : 14. The order of names is slightly 
 varied, but Peter is always first, Philip 
 the fifth, and James the son of Alpheus 
 the ninth. The names of the eleven apos- 
 tles are fittingljr given here at the begin- 
 ning of apostolic history, and ju,st before 
 the account of the election of a twelfth 
 in place of Judas Iscariot. Further re- 
 garding these, see author's Notes on 
 Matthew. (10:2-4.) All but Peter, James, 
 and John appear here the last time in 
 Scripture. Simon Zelotes — Simoii 
 the Zealot. From the times of the 
 Maccabees there appears to have ex- 
 isted among the Jews a class called 
 Zealots, who rigoroush' adhered to the 
 Mosaic law, and probal>ly received their 
 name from the dying exhortation of 
 ilattathias t^) his sons : " Be ye zealous 
 for the law, and give your lives for the 
 covenant of your ifathers." (1 mmc. 2 : 49-51.) 
 Tlie later party arose about the time 
 of the Roman census (a. d. 6), and was 
 headed by Judas the Galilean. See 
 on ch. 5 : 37. It is uncertain whether 
 Judas was the brother or son of 
 
22 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. I. 
 
 « Simon Zelotes, and » Judas the brother of 
 
 14 James, ^i These all continued with one 
 accord in prayer and supplication, with 
 « the women, and Mary the mother of 
 Jesus, and with '^ his brethren. 
 
 Appointment of an apostle in the place of 
 Judas. 
 
 15 AND in those days Peter stood up in 
 
 the midst of the disciples, and said, (the 
 number of the names together were about 
 
 16 an hundred and twenty,) Men and breth- 
 ren, this Scripture must needs have been 
 fulfilled, » which the Holy Spirit by the 
 mouth of David f spake before concerning 
 Judas, G which was guide to them that 
 
 17 took Jesus. For >> he was numbered with 
 us, and had obtained part of this minis- 
 
 « Luke 6 : 15. ' » Matt. 10 : 3 ; Jude 1. *> cli. 2 : 1, 4fi. <= Matt. 27 : 5.5, 56 ; Luke 24 : 10. 
 d Matt. 13 : 55. « 2 Sam. 23 : 2. ' Ps. 41 : 9 ; John 13 : 18. i Luke 22 : 47. ^ Matt. 
 10 : 4 ; Luke G : 16. 
 
 James. Probably the former, from 
 Jude 1. 
 
 14. These all continued, were 
 
 persevering, with one accord — one 
 
 word in the original, found frequently 
 
 in the Acts (2 : l, « ; a : •24 ; 5 : VJ ; S : 6 ; I5 : 25), 
 
 and but once elsewhere in the New 
 Testament (Rom. 15 : 6), and denotes entire 
 harmony of views and feelings. In 
 prayer — though not immediately an- 
 swered. This continued for about ten 
 days till Pentecost. (2: «•) And sup- 
 plication — not found in the best te.\t. 
 With the ^vonleni wit hu'oine)i; prob- 
 ably some of those who ministered to 
 Jesus in Galilee (LuiteS: 2), and were at 
 the cross (Joiinis: 25), and at the sejjul- 
 chre (Mark 16: i), aud others. Mary. 
 The last mention of her in the New 
 Testament. One tradition says that slie 
 died at Jeru.salem ; another, that she 
 lived to an advanced age, and died in 
 John's home at Ephesus. His breth- 
 ren — the younger brothers of Jesus 
 (Luke 2: 7), who at first did not believe 
 on him (J.>hn 7; 5), but now are united 
 with the disciples in obeying Christ's 
 command. This mention of them in 
 connection with Mary atfords an argu- 
 ment tliat they were the brothers, not 
 cousins, of our Lord. See further dis- 
 cussions in Author's Notes on Mark, 
 6: 3. 
 
 15. Here begins the account of the 
 election of a new Apostle. In those 
 days — the ten days between the as- 
 cension and Pentecost. Peter stood 
 up. He aro.te, imjilying a formal and 
 important act. Peter still takes the 
 lead (Luke 9 : 20 ; 22: 32), but he never 
 claims or exercises authority over the 
 ajwstles, or independently of them. 
 
 (Il::i, -4: 15:7; JHet«r5:l.) DisciplCS — 
 
 hrethroi, according to the highest criti- 
 cal authorities. The number — the 
 
 multitude, a promiscuous gathering of 
 apostles and brethren. Names — equiv- 
 alent to men or persons. The word 
 was used in taking a census, or mak- 
 ing an enrollment. (Rev. 3:4; 11:13.) 
 Together — ^ meaning that they had 
 gathered together in this place and at 
 this time, making the whole number 
 one hundred and twenty. There was 
 great interest, and j)rayerfulness, and 
 expectancy. This in round numbers 
 may be regarded as the entire disciple- 
 ship in Jerusalen). Many more were 
 in Galilee, where five hundred met the 
 Lord at one time. (1 Cor. 15 : s.) 
 
 16. Men, brethren. A respectful 
 and formal address. Besides, all men 
 are not brethren, or fellow Christians. 
 Peter al.so addresses them as equals, not 
 as subordinates. This Scripture — 
 including the two quotations in verse 20. 
 Must needs have been fulfilled — 
 regarding Judas. The betrayal of Jesus 
 was according to the purpose of God, 
 but it did not lessen the guilt of the 
 betraj'er, who acted freely. (Matt. 26 : n-, 
 27:4.)' Which the Holy Spirit . . . 
 spake. David was inspired in writing 
 these psalms and the Holy Sjiirit as the 
 ultimate author spoke through him. 
 Who was guide, to them that seized 
 Jesus. Notice how mildly Peter refers 
 to tlie crime of Judas, perhaps i>ainfully 
 recalling his own denial of his Lord, 
 whose intercession (Luke 22 : 32) only saved 
 him from fatal apostasy. 
 
 17. This verse gives a reason why 
 this prophecy which Peter had before 
 
 ' his mind (p*. 109 : .'-s. 8), apj)lied to Judas. 
 
 I He had fulfilled its conditions, aud had 
 held the ottice (ver. 20) to which another 
 must be elected. He was numbered 
 among the apostles and received part, 
 the (iltotinent or the office of tliis minis- 
 try. But though he obtained this al- 
 
Ch. L] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 23 
 
 18 trv. ' Now this mau purchased a field 
 with I' the reward of iniquity; and fall- 
 ing headlong, he burst asunder in the 
 midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 
 
 19 (And it was known unto all the dwell- 
 
 ers at Jerusalem ; insomuch as that field 
 is called in their proper tongue. Acel- 
 dama, that is to say, The field of blood.) 
 20 For it is writteu in the book of Psalms, 
 ' Let his habitation be desolate, and let 
 
 1 Matt. 27 : 3-10. k Matt. 20 : l."). 
 
 lotment among the twelve it was not 
 his true place, (ver. -n.) He answered 
 the conditions of the prophecy, (ps. los: 
 2 5.) He had the deceitful mouth, the 
 lying tongue, enmity without cause, 
 and rewarded evil for good. 
 
 18. This verse and the next are re- 
 garded by most critics as an ex2>lana- 
 tory note of Luke, and not a part of 
 I'eter'a address. Perhaps, but not nec- 
 essarily ; for Peter as an orator might 
 remind them of his terrible end, so as 
 to impress upon their minds more 
 deeply the fulfillment of the divine 
 threatening, Purcliased — gave occa- 
 sion for the purchase. Judas did not 
 pay the money, but lie furnished it, and 
 with it the priests purchased a burial 
 ground for strangers. This account is 
 consistent with Matt. 27 : 3-10, in which 
 we are told that Judas hanged himself. 
 ^Matthew states how he came to his 
 death ; Peter describes the frightful 
 condition in which his body was found. 
 He probably hung himself to a tree 
 overhanging the valley, and, the rope 
 or limb breaking, he dashed upon the 
 rocks below. "As I stood in the valley 
 south of Jerusalem, and looked up to 
 the rocky terraces which hang over it, I 
 felt that the proposed explanation was 
 entirely natural. . . . Trees still flour- 
 ish quite near the edge of these rocks, 
 and no doubt in former times were still 
 more numerous in the same place. A 
 rocky pavement exists, also, at the bot- 
 tom of the ledges ; and hence on that 
 account, too, a person who should fall 
 from above would be liable to be 
 crushed and mangled, as well as killed. 
 The traitor may liave struck, in his fall, 
 upon some pointed rock, which entered 
 his body and caused ' his bowels to gush 
 out.'" (Dr. Hackett, in Illustra- 
 tions of Scripture, page 275.) In the 
 midst — in the middle of his body. 
 There is no intimation in the passage 
 that he fell in the field which was pur- 
 chased with his thirty pieces of silver. 
 
 (Matt. 27:3.) 
 
 19. It was known — it becinnr 
 
 known. Inasmuch — so that that field 
 ■is called Aceldama. All this in rhetori- 
 cal language would be perfectly natural 
 in the mouth of Peter. In their 
 proper tongue . . . that is to say, 
 The field of blood — the words of 
 Luke. Meyer well puts it when he 
 says, that tliere " are two explanations 
 inserted by Luke, the distinction be- 
 tween which and Peter's own words 
 might be trusted to the reader." Acel- 
 dama is Aramaean, and Peter spoke in 
 Aramaean, which was the language 
 sjwken by the Jews after the Babylon- 
 ish Captivity; but Luke, writing 
 in Greek, would naturally explain 
 to his readers that the word meant 
 'the field of blood.' "If a French 
 orator should allude to the origi- 
 nal meaning of the word Twileries 
 in speaking of the famous palace, an 
 English reporter of his speech could 
 scarcely fail to add, ' which in French 
 means a brick-kiln,' without dreaming 
 that the reader would supjjose these 
 words to have been uttered." (Dk. J. 
 A. Alexander.) Aceldama — tlie 
 site is unknown. It is now jiointed out 
 south of Jerusalem, on the southern 
 slope of the valley of Hinnon, near 
 the eastern end of the valley. (See 
 author's Notes on 3IaUhew, 27 : 7.) 
 
 20. Peter returns to the fulfill- 
 ment of Scripture spoken of in ver. ItJ. 
 For it is written — appealing to 
 Scripture as an authoritative standard. 
 The first quotation is from Ps. 69 : 25, 
 the second from Ps. 109 : 8. The first 
 is quoted freely, with a change of his 
 for their. The singular is included in 
 the plural ; besides, Judas was the pre- 
 eminent human foe of Christ. Both of 
 these predictions belong to that class 
 of psalms in which David was a type 
 of the Messiali and his enemies a tyj)e 
 of the enemies of the Messiah. He 
 utters his own deep experience, but, 
 animated by the Holy Spirit, he uncon- 
 sciously utters thoughts and words 
 which would find their highest fulfill- 
 ment in Christ and Judas. (See 
 
24 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. I, 
 
 no man dwell therein ' and ' his bishopric 
 
 21 let another take.' Wherefore of these 
 men which have companied with us 
 all the time that the Lord Jesus went in 
 
 22 and out among us, i beginning from the 
 baptism of John, unto that same day 
 that he was taken up from us, must one 
 be ordained 1° to be a witness with us of 
 his resurrection. 
 
 23 And they appointed two, Joseph called 
 n Barsabas.who was surnanied Justus, and 
 
 24 Matthias. And " they i)rayed, and said. 
 Thou, Lord, p which knowist the hearts 
 of all men, show whether of these two 
 
 25 thou hast chosen, that he may take part 
 of this ministry and apostleship, from 
 which Judas by transgression fell, i that 
 
 I Matt. 3:13. » ch. 4 : 33 ; John 15 : 27 ; 1 John 1 : 1-3. ■> ch. 1.5 : 22. » ch. 13 : 2, 3. 
 p 1 Chron. 28 : 9 ; John 16 : 30 ; Rev. 2 : 23. q Matt. 25 : 41, 46 ; 26 : 24 ; John 17 : 12. 
 
 author's Notes on Matthew, 1 : 23.) 
 His bishopric — his overseership, or 
 office. No argument can be drawn 
 from this that the early church was 
 governed by diocesan bishops. The 
 apostles were certainly not such bishojxs. 
 So Dk. J. B. LiGliTFOOT on The Chris- 
 tian Ministry, Com. on the Philippians, 
 pp. 195, 196. 
 
 21. Wherefore, according to pro- 
 phecy, the place vacated by Judas 
 must be filled. Who have compa- 
 nied with us — who had been attend- 
 ants ujwn Jesus as tlie twelve had 
 been. >^'ent in and out — in private 
 and public, during his official ministry. 
 His bishopric— office, literally, his 
 orerseership; his ministry and apostle- 
 ship. (Ver. 25.) 
 
 32. Beginning . . . unto. From 
 the time that John was baptizing to the 
 ascension of Jesus. This is the time 
 occui)ied by Mark in his Gospel. Some, 
 if not all of the twelve, had been John's 
 disciples and received his baptism. It 
 is well to notice here that the baptism 
 of John is one of the connecting links 
 between the Acts and the Gospels. 
 
 (10:37; 13 : 24 ; 18 : 2i ; 19:4.) Ordaiued tO 
 
 be a witness of his resurrection. 
 
 The resurrection was the crowning act 
 and evidence of the Messiahship of 
 Jesus. " It proves him to be the Son 
 of God, the Ju.stifier and Eedeemer of 
 men, their Sovereign and Judge." (Dr. 
 IIackktt.) Hence this was the bur- 
 den of apostolic preaching. (2 : 31-33 ; 3 : 
 
 15 ; 4 : 33 ; 4 : 37 ; IT : 1». 31.) It waS nCCCSSaiy 
 
 that an apostle should be a witness to 
 Christ's resurrection. The ajwstles then 
 could have no successors. How Paul 
 fulfilled this condition, see 1 Cor. 9:1; 
 15 : 8. 
 
 23. They— the whole company pre- 
 sent. Appointed — they put forward 
 two, ercoguizing in them the conditions 
 
 which Peter had just named. They 
 had probably been, like the eleven, 
 disciples of John, and early disciples of 
 Jesus. Barsabas — son of Sabba, or 
 Saba. Justus — his Eoman name. It 
 was very common for Jews to use a 
 Gentile name among Gentiles, (is : 9.) 
 He is not to be confounded with Joses 
 Barnabas (4 : 36) or with Judas Barsabas. 
 (15:22.) Matthias — meaning Gift of 
 Jehovah. Nothing more is known of 
 these men. Doubtless they were promi- 
 nent men, and may have l)elonged to 
 the seventy. ( Luke lo : i.) Why only two 
 were nominated we can only surmise. 
 Very likelj- they were the only two of 
 those present, outside of the eleven, 
 who fulfilled the conditions laid down 
 by Peter in ver. 22. 
 
 24. Thou, Lord. To whom is 
 this prayer addressed? Probably to 
 the glorified Saviour ; for he had chosen 
 the other eleven (ver.:?), and Peter had 
 just ai)i>lied the name Lord to him 
 (ver. 2)), and a few years later he chose 
 Saul of Tarsus as an apostle. (26; le-is; 
 G»i. 1:1.) Prayers were also afterward 
 addressed to "Christ. (7:59, 60.) Peter 
 also ascribes omniscience to Christ in 
 John 21 : 17, " Lord, thou knowest 
 
 all things." (See slso John J : 24, 26.) 
 
 Knowest the hearts. They could 
 recognize the external qualifications, 
 but the Lord alone could decide regard- 
 ing the heart. Whom thou hast 
 chosen. Neither the apostles nor the 
 as.sembled disciples would assume to fill 
 the vacancy. That was the Lord's 
 work. 
 
 25. May take part. According to 
 the best manuscripts. May take the 
 place, the post, or position of this apos- 
 tolic ministry which he should receive. 
 By transgression fell (aivay). 
 That he might go. The transgres- 
 sion by which Judas fell away from his 
 
Ch. L] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 25 
 
 26 he might go to his own place. And ' they 
 gave forth their lots ; and the lot fell ujtou 
 
 Matthias ; and he was numbered with the 
 eleven apostles. 
 
 Num. 26 : 55; Josh. 7 : 10; Prov. IG : \i\i. 
 
 apostkship was the crowniug act in his 
 coui-se of sin, deciding liis doom. His 
 own place. He was " tlie son of per- 
 dition" (Johu 17 : 1-'), and to perdition he 
 must go. The only ol)vious and natu- 
 ral meaning is, that after connnitting 
 his terrible deed of treachery and add- 
 ing to it the sin of self murder, he went 
 to his own place among the lost. All 
 other explanations are weak or mean- 
 ingless. 
 
 'Zti. They gave forth their lots, 
 rather, according to the best reading, 
 g(tre forth lots for Barsabas and Mat- 
 tiiias. Their names were probably 
 written on slips of parchment, or tab- 
 lets, and shaken togetlier, and the first 
 drawn decided the choice. The lot 
 was religiously used under the Old 
 Dispensation, and divinely directed. 
 (Prov. 16: 33.) It was uscd in detecting 
 crime (Josh. 7 : u; Jonah i :7), in designat- 
 ing persons for office (i sam. lu : 20, si), in 
 choosing men for an invading force 
 (judg. 20 : 9), iu dividing the land among 
 the tribes. (Josh. 18 : 10.) Peter and tlie 
 assembled disciples were still under the 
 shadow of the Old Dispensation. They 
 used the lot, but after the descent of 
 the Spirit on Pentecost the lot was 
 no longer needed among believers. 
 There is no instance of its use afterward 
 in the New Testament. He was num- 
 bered with — a strong exi)ression. He 
 was enrolled among the eleven ai>os- 
 tles, and henceforth was regarded as 
 the twelfth. This alone ought to settle 
 the question that no mistake was made 
 in electing him. He was recognized as 
 a complete substitute for Judas, Avith 
 all tlie qualifications of tlie eleven. 
 That this was so is evident from tlie 
 fact that the apostles, after the <leath of 
 Judas, are styled " the eleven " (Matt m : 
 
 Ifi; Mark 16 : U ; Luke « : 9. 3a), but after this 
 
 election " the twelve." (2 : u ; 6 : 2.) But 
 Matthias is not heard of after tliis ; so 
 were not most of tlie apostles. But 
 Jesus chose Paul afterward. Yes, as 
 the apostle to the Gentiles, but he is 
 never referred tfl as one of the twelve. 
 As by the division of Joseph into two 
 tribes there were thirteen tril)es in 
 
 Israel, so perhai>s we may see some 
 analogy with the thirteen apostles. 
 
 The Kingdom, thk Apostles, 
 THE Chukch. In the four Gospels, 
 the kitigdoin of God is spoken of as ever 
 present, and pertaining to this world 
 and the workl to come. The church 
 is mentioned only twice, and that by 
 Matthew alone (le-. 18; is: 17), and re- 
 garded as future, though near at hand, 
 and pertaining to tliis world. The 
 kingdom is spiritual, having no earthly 
 organization, and its subjects are the 
 spiritual children of God. The church 
 is the outward manifestation of the 
 kingdom, and is matle up of a con- 
 verted and consecrated membership. 
 This is its conception and ideal ; yet 
 practically, as it exists in this world, 
 there is chaft'with the wheat, and there- 
 fore it can only be said to be composed 
 of professed believers. 
 
 The church may be regarded as hav- 
 ing started on its mission on the day of 
 Pentecost. Tliat was the day of its 
 manifestation to tlie world, and its 
 divine recognition as an organization, 
 and its consecration to its work. So 
 far as we are informed in the Acts, the 
 upontles were the only officials con- 
 nected with it at first. Yet these were 
 rather the officials of the kingdom, the 
 missionaries (for such is the meaning 
 of the word apostles) of Christ tlie Lonl, 
 the connecting link between the spirit- 
 ual kingdom and the outward church, 
 the representatives of Christ the King 
 and Hea<l, who were to organize the 
 church. They had been chosen, en- 
 dowed with spiritual gifts, and sent 
 forth by Christ himself. Somewhat 
 later the seventy had been sent forth 
 on a brief and special mission (Luke lo : 1), 
 and nothing more is said of them. But 
 the apostles had special endowments. 
 They were inspired men, workers of 
 miracles, witnesses of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion, and the organizers of the first 
 Christian churches. As such, they offi- 
 cially stand alone. As the church 
 could be originally organized but once, 
 and as none of succeeding generations 
 could be eye witnesses of Christ's resur- 
 
26 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 rection, they could have no successors. 
 Haviug performed their work, they 
 were no longer needed. With them 
 the office ceased. 
 
 Practical Keuarks. 
 
 1. One design of the Acts is individual in- 
 struction. (Ver. 1 ; Luke 1 : 3.) 
 
 2. As Christ did not discharge his official 
 duties independent of the Holy Spirit, and 
 as he still works among his people through 
 the .Spirit, so we should constantly seek the 
 Spirit's guidance, (Ver. 2; 10:38; Heb. 
 9 : 14 ; John 14 : 20.) 
 
 3. The fundamental facts of Christianity 
 rest on no uncertain basis. (Ver. 3 ; 1 Cor. 
 15 : 3-8.) 
 
 4. There are times for waiting, rather than 
 working, but they should be seasons of 
 prayerful ness. (Ver 4 ; Lam. 3 : 2.t, 26.) 
 
 .">. As the new-boru disciple is to be bap- 
 tized in water, so the new-boru church is to 
 be baptized in the Holy Spirit. (Ver. 5 ; 2 : 2.) 
 
 6. Erroneous opinions, especially of long 
 standing, are hard to be overcome. (Ver. 6.) 
 
 7. By our not knowing times and seasons, 
 God excites in us watchfulness, and gives 
 opportunity for the exercise of human 
 agency. (Ver. 7 ; 3 : 17, 18 ; Luke 12 : 3.')-37.) 
 
 8. Better than to know the future, is to do 
 our part in spreading that kingdom which 
 will be the glory of the eternal future. (Ver. 
 8 ; Ps. 2 : 7, 8 ; Ezek. 21 : 27 ; Dan. 4 : 3.) 
 
 9. The cloud of our Lord's ascension points 
 forward to the clouds of his second coming. 
 (Ver. 9; Matt. 24:30; 2G : 64 ; Rev. 1:7; 
 Dan. 7 : 13.) 
 
 10. We may not gaze toward heaven after 
 Jesus, but we should look up to him as our 
 Intercessor, our Lord and .Saviour. (Vers. 
 10 : 11 ; .i : 31 ; Heb. 7 : 25.) 
 
 11. Since Jesus died for us, and now in- 
 tercedes for us on high, we should antici- 
 pate his coming with confidence and joy. 
 (Ver. 11 ; Rev. 22 : 20.) 
 
 12. From the mount of blessing the dis- 
 ciple should return to the scene of his earthly 
 duty. (Ver. 12 ; Luke 9 :37,) 
 
 13. If we would enjoy times of great re- 
 freshing we must observe seasons of united 
 prayer. (Ver. 13, 14 ; Ezek. 36 : 37.) 
 
 14. Mary was just as dependent as all 
 others for salvation on the rich grace of God 
 in Christ. (Ver. 14 ; Luke 1 : 47.) 
 
 15. Even the apostles did not transact busi- 
 
 ness pertaining to the church independent 
 of the assembled discipleship (Ver. 15 ; 6:2; 
 15:22.) 
 
 16. The Scriptures must be fulfilled be- 
 cause they express the divine will. (Ver. 
 16 ; 2 : 22-25.) 
 
 17. Even Judas is a silent witness for 
 Jesus. Having enjoyed opportunity of 
 knowing his life, he could say nothing 
 against him. (Ver. 17 ; Matt. 27 : 4.) 
 
 18. The price of wickedness often leaves 
 its impress and monument in this world. 
 (Ver. 18; 2 Peter 2 : 15, 16.) 
 
 19. The deeds and punishment of men 
 who plot in secret will in due time be made 
 manifest. (Ver. 19 ; 2 Tim. 3:9.) 
 
 20. Christ may for a time employ wicked 
 men in important places. But how great 
 will be their fall ! (Ver. 20 ; Matt. 7 : 22, 23, 
 27.) 
 
 21. How terrible the results of avarice ! 
 Through it Judas becomes a traitor and 
 Jesus is betrayed. (Ver. 18-20 ; Josh. 7 : 20, 
 21; 1 Tim. 6:10.) 
 
 22. How rich the experiences of compan- 
 ionship with Je.sus ! But in place of it we 
 can enjoy his spiritual presence. (Ver. 21 ; 
 Matt. 28 : 20.) 
 
 23. Apostles were for the first gospel age. 
 They were missionaries for the introduction 
 of Christianity and the full organization of 
 the church (Ver. 21-23; Eph. 2:20; John 
 16:13.) 
 
 24. Jesus was an object of worship, hence 
 divine. (Ver. 24; John 5: 23: Heb. 1:6; 
 Phil. 2 : 10, 11.) 
 
 25. All at last go to their own place— that 
 for which their charactsrs fit them and to- 
 ward which are the inward tendencies of 
 their natures. (Ver. 25 ; Rom. 2 : 7-9.) 
 
 26. It is an honor to be numbered among 
 our Lord's ministers and be truly called by 
 him. (Ver. 26 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 12 ; 3 : 1.) 
 
 Ch. 2 : In this cha)>ter Luke records 
 the l)ai>tism of the Holy Si>irit and the 
 eft'ect upon the foreign Jews who wit- 
 nessed the gift of tongues ; the address 
 of Peter in which he points to the ful- 
 tilhuent of ancient prophecy and 
 preaches to them Jesus, the risen Lord 
 and Christ, who luid sent forth tlie 
 Spirit. Then follows the eflect of Peter's 
 discourse and the consequent addition 
 of three thousand to the church ; clos- 
 ing with a descrijitiun of their stead- 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 27 
 
 The gij'l of the Hulij Siiirital Pentecost ; Peter's 
 address, and its results. 
 
 3 AND when the day of Pentecost was 
 fully come, sihuy were all with one accord 
 
 2 in one place. And suddenly there came 
 a sound from heaven 'as of a rushing 
 mighty wind, and "it filled all the house 
 
 3 where they were sitting. And there 
 appeared unto them cloven tongues like as 
 
 1 ch. 1 : li. '1 Kings 19 : 11, 12. « ch. 4 : 31. 
 
 fastness, social state, growth in popu- 
 larity, and number. 
 
 1-13. Descent of the Holy 
 Spirit at Pentecost, (see Matt, lo ■. 20 ; 
 Mark 16: 17.) Probably Sunday, May 
 28th, A. D. 30. 
 
 1. When the day of Pentecost 
 was fully come — when the interval 
 before the feast was completed and the 
 day had arrived. Pentecost, meaning 
 fiftieth, came to be used as a noun and 
 was api)lied to the festival which oc- 
 curred fifty days after the Passover 
 sabbath. (Lev. 23: 1012.) It was also 
 called /«<*'< of weeks (Deut. 16: 10), because 
 seven weeks from the Passover; and 
 the feast of harvest (Exod. 23;i6), and the 
 feast of first fruits (Num. 28 : 26), because 
 it was a ifeast of thanksgiving and the 
 day for the offering the first fruits of 
 the wheat harvest unto God. Accord- 
 ing to certain Jewish tradition, it also 
 commemorated the giving of the law 
 from Mount Sinai, which occurred on 
 the fiftieth day after the departure of 
 Israel from Egypt. It may be regarded 
 as a striking coincidence that the or- 
 ganization of the Christian Church was 
 divinely recognized on the anniversary 
 of the giving of the law to Israel. (See 
 note at the end of ch. 1.) On the man- 
 ner of its observance, see Lev. 23 : 17-20. 
 
 The day of tlie week on which the 
 coming of the Spirit occurred has been 
 much discussed, many calculating the 
 time in such a manner as to make this 
 Pentecost fall on Saturday, the Jewish 
 sabbath. But the earliest Christian 
 traditions, and the Christian commem- 
 orations of the day, as far back as it can 
 be traced, point uniformly to Sunday as 
 the day. Pentecost occurred on " the 
 morrow after the seventh sabbath " (Lev. 
 23 : u), and if this was a weekly sabbath, 
 then it must fall on Sunday. Or, as 
 the fifty days were reckoned from the 
 second day of the Passover, the 16th of 
 Nisan, which in A. D. 30 came on Sat- 
 urday, April 8, therefore Pentecost 
 came on Sunday, May 28. (See further 
 
 discussion in author's Harmonic Ar- 
 rangement of the Acts, pp. 149-153.) 
 
 This day was appropriate for the 
 manifestation of the Spirit, because of 
 the great number of native and foreign 
 Jews who had assembled for worshij). 
 Thus perhaps a larger multitude wit- 
 nessed the proof of our Lord's exalta- 
 tion and glory than witnessed his deep- 
 est humiliation. All — all of the dis- 
 ciples in Jeru.salem at that time (1 : is.) 
 One accord. (seei:ii.) One place 
 — probably "the upper room." (i:i3.) 
 
 2. Suddenly — without any pre- 
 vious iutiuiation. The disciples were 
 expecting the fulfillment of Christ's 
 promise (1 : *, 5, 8), but did not know how 
 it would be fulfilled. A sound from 
 (out of) heaven — indicating its heav- 
 enly origin as coming from God him- 
 self. As of a rushing mighty 
 Avind — the wind was a symbol of the 
 
 Holy Spirit. (Ezek. 37 : 9 ; John 3:8; 20 : 22.) 
 
 The coming of the Spirit was fittingly 
 revealed to the ear by a wind-like 
 sound. It filled all the house — tlie 
 sound, symbolic of the presence of the 
 all-pervading Spirit, filled all the house 
 in which they were accustomed to as- 
 semble. (1 : 13.) " For as he, who sinks 
 down in the waters and is baptized, and 
 is surrounded on all sides by the waters, 
 so also they were completely baptized 
 by the Spirit." (Cyril of Jerusalem, 
 Instruction, viii., on the Holy Spirit, 
 ii., 14.) Sitting — in the morning 
 (ver. 15) ; waiting and longing for the 
 fulfillment of their Lord's promise. 
 
 3. Unto them — to all present. As 
 the Spirit appeared in fitting visible 
 form at the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3 : 22), 
 so here to the assembled discijjles. 
 Cloven tongues as of fire — rather, 
 tongues distributing fhemsefaes among 
 them as of fire, and it — a tongue — sat 
 upon each of them — the twelve, tlie 
 brethren and the women, (i = "•) We 
 may perhaps conceive of this manifes- 
 tation as a tongue-shaped flame divid- 
 ing so that a like flame sat on each. 
 
28 THE ACTS. [Ch. IL 
 
 of fire, 'and it sat upon each of them. 
 
 4 And J they were all filled with the Holy 
 
 Spirit, and began ^to speak with other 
 
 tongues, >as the Spirit gave them utter- 
 ance. 
 
 X Matt. 3:11. y ch. 1:5; John 14 : 26. » ch. 10 : 40 ; 19 : C ; Mark 10 : 17. » Exod. 4 : 
 11, 12; Jer. 1 : 7-'J; Micah 3:8; Matt. 10 : 19, 20. 
 
 Fire was a symbol of the divine pres- 
 ence (Kxod. a : z; 19:18; Ezek. 1 : 4 ; Rev. 1 : 14); 
 and also of prophetic power, (isa. 6: 
 6,7.) Here the tongues as of fire were 
 also symbolical of the gift of tongues 
 and the fiery zeal which attended the 
 coming of the Spirit. This was need- 
 ful to complete the baptism in tlie Holy 
 Spirit and fire, foretold by John the 
 Bapti.st. (See author's Notes uii Mat- 
 theic, 3 : 11 for a further discussion.) 
 
 4. Having described that which was 
 external, Luke proceeds to the internal 
 power from on high with which they 
 were endued. (Luke ■.!4 ; «.) They were 
 all, including both sexes and various 
 ages. (ver. n.) Filled Avith the Holy 
 Spirit. The Spirit came, not in part 
 or by measure, but in his fullness (Johu 
 3 : 31), pervading tlieir whole being and 
 imparting extraordinary j^owers in ad- 
 dition to his ordinary intluence. (6; s; 
 10: 44-46; 11 : la. 16.) Uiidcr the Old Dispen- 
 sation the Spirit of Gotl was specially 
 given to prophets, inspired leadei-s of 
 the people, and certain skilled work- 
 men (Eiod. 31:2,3; Deut. 34:9; Neh. 9:30; 2 
 
 Peter 1 : 21) ; and Elisabeth, Zachariali, 
 and John the Bai>tist were filled with 
 the Holy Spirit (Lukei :i3, 4i, 67) ; but 
 the influence was more or less occa- 
 sional and transient. Under the New 
 Dispensation the Holy Spirit has come 
 to be permanently with (jod's peo])le ; 
 his abiding presence is tlie privilege 
 
 of all believers. (Rom. 8:14; l Cor. 3:16; 
 
 John 14: 16, 17.) The Apostles had pre- 
 viou.sly enjoyed the ordinary infiuences 
 of the Spirit (John 20:22); and Ciod's 
 people in former ages had felt his in- 
 fluences on the heart (ps. 51 : 10, 11 : isa. 
 6:i : 10), and men had resisted the Holy 
 Spirit as his power attended the pro- 
 pliets and their teachings. (7: 51.) But 
 now the wish of Moses is fulfilled, that 
 the Lord would put his Sjnrit upon all 
 his people. (Num. 11 : 29.) Began— im- 
 plying that this had never occurred 
 before, and that it contiiined afterward. 
 Other tongues — besides their own, 
 and of course new to them. (Mark 16 : 17.) 
 
 Many attempts have vainly been made 
 to explain away, or modify the great- 
 ness of this miracle. The language is 
 decisive, and the narrative that follows 
 shows that they actually spoke in dif- 
 ferent tongues. The miracle was not 
 a change in the hearing of the multi- 
 tude who assembled, for the use of 
 other tongues preceded their coming 
 together. (Ver. 6.) Nor did the disci- 
 ples merely speak in the different dia- 
 lects of tlie Greek language, for each of 
 the multitude heard in his own native 
 tongue. (Ver. 8.) Pentecost and its 
 many tongues, reaching the representa- 
 tives of the known world, stand op- 
 posed to Babel and its confusion of 
 tongues. While this miracle was 
 adajited t« teach that the gosj>el was 
 for all people, it was especially an evi- 
 dence of the reality, power, and pres- 
 ence of the Holy Spirit among believ- 
 ers. It was also an attestation to the 
 truth of tlie gos])el, and to the charac- 
 ter of the apo.stolic preachers as divinely 
 autliorized messengers. It was a sign 
 to unbelievers (1 cor. 14 : 22), and it minis- 
 tered to the progress of the gospel on 
 this occasion (ver. 12), and doubtless at 
 many other times. Whether the apos- 
 tles afterward used the endowment of 
 tongues in preaching the gosi)el we are 
 not informed. It was not really neces- 
 sary within the Eonian Empire, where 
 the Greek language was in verj' general 
 use. It seems to be unknown in mod- 
 ern times. Having served its purpose 
 as an evidence of the reality and ])re.s- 
 ence of the Holy Spirit and the truth 
 of the gospel, it has passed away. The 
 Spirit remains, but its miraculous man- 
 ifestation is no longer needed. " While 
 it is true that now the Holy Spirit does 
 not confer the power of speaking in 
 new languages, it is yet true that a 
 baptism in the Holy Spirit does confer 
 the power of new and other speech. 
 When now a man has opened his heart 
 for a baptism in the Holy Spirit ; when 
 he liegins to know, by secret and won- 
 derful consciousness that that Spirit is 
 
Cu. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 29 
 
 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem 
 Jews, devout men, out of every nation 
 
 6 under heaven. Now when this was noised 
 abroad, the multitude came together ; and 
 
 [they] were coiifoundeJ, because that 
 
 every man heard them .speak in his own 
 
 7 language. And they were all amazed and 
 
 marvelled, saying one to another, Behold 
 
 in him ; when the grand liberty of the 
 sons of God has broken the shackles 
 from his soul, tlien does he not begin to 
 speak with new and other tongues, with 
 the tongue of a deep personal exper- ! 
 ience, with the tongue of Joy, with the 
 tongue of victory? Surely, in this 
 sense even the gift of tongues remains." 
 (Wayland Hoyt, D. D.) As the 
 Spirit gave them utterance — to 
 make address. They did not speak 
 what they chose ; neitlier did they sim- 
 ply recall what they had heard. Tlius 
 through the Spirit they were fully pre- 
 pared to be witnesses of Jesus to all 
 people. (1:8) Further on the gift of 
 tongues, see 10 : 46 ; 19 : 6 ; Mark 16 : 
 17 ; 1 Cor. 12 : 10, 28. 
 
 5. Dwelling — permanent residents, 
 sojourners, and pilgrims. Some aged 
 persons were spending their last days 
 at Jerusalem ; others, who were look- 
 ing for the Messiah, wished to be at 
 Jerusalem at the time of his coming; 
 and others still had come to stop awhile 
 and be at the feast. Devout men — 
 God-fearing. The word is applied to 
 Simeon (Liike2:25), and to the men who 
 buried Stephen. (s : 2.) They were 
 Jews and proselytes, (ver. 10.) The 
 most ])ions of the scattered Jews would 
 most naturally return to Jerusalem and 
 be at the feast. They were thus com- 
 petent and trustworthy witnesses of the 
 ])ower of the Spirit. Out of every 
 nation under heaven. A strong 
 popular expression meaning from many 
 and distant lands. From the time of 
 the Babylonish Captivity the Jews had 
 become extensively dispersed, Avhere 
 they had come to speak the language of 
 the peojjle among whom they lived. 
 They had, however, retained their faitli, 
 establishing everywhere their syna- 
 gogues and their worship. They were 
 very numerous in Alexandria in Egypt, 
 at Antioch in Syria, at Ephesus and 
 tliroughout Asia Elinor. Many also 
 were living at Corinth, Rome, and other 
 distant cities throughout the Koman 
 Empire. As the Greek language was 
 generally ditfused, the Septuagint, the 
 Greek Version of the Old Testament, 
 
 was generally used by the dispersed 
 Jews. 
 
 G. When this was noised 
 abroad — literally, this noise haviug 
 Ofciinrd, that is, when this sound was 
 heard, referring to the noise of ver. 2. 
 Some suppose it to mean the rumor of 
 this whole phenomenon having spread 
 abroad ; but this does not agree well 
 with the original Greek. Others sup- 
 pose it to refer to the new tongues in 
 which the disciples spoke so loud as to 
 be heard throughout the neighI)orhood, 
 perhaps the city. But this word is sin- 
 gular, a voice or sound, but the tongues 
 were many, and those who adopt this 
 view have to regard voice as a collective 
 term. We regard tlie first view as the 
 most natural. The loud sound from 
 heaven, like the rushing noise of a 
 mighty wind, was heard throughout the 
 city, passing in its circuit or course 
 toward the house where the disciples 
 were congregated, and ending there, 
 thus attracting tlie people to that spot. 
 The house may have been situated on 
 a thoroughfare, along which the people 
 were going to the temple, or near an 
 open sj)ace where the people could 
 assem))le, and where Peter and others 
 addressed them. It is possible also 
 that when the disciples began to speak 
 with tongues, they went outside and 
 continued to sjwak as the multitude 
 came together. Were confounded — 
 were confused and greatly perplexed in 
 their minds. Heard them speak — 
 not all in each langmige, but some in 
 one and some in another. In his own 
 language. Oum is emphatic, his own 
 jiarticular tongue, (ver. 8.) The mira- 
 cle was not in the ears of the hearers, 
 but in the lijis of the speakers. 
 
 7. All should be omitted accord- 
 ing to the highest critical authorities. 
 Amazed and marvelled— were 
 filled with intense wonder, which they 
 expressed in various ejaculations, 
 amounting substantially to the ex- 
 clamatory questions that follow. To 
 one another is omitted in many of 
 the oldest manuscripts. Alford ex- 
 I^lains it as "an explanatory gloss" 
 
30 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 are not all these which speak <> Galileeans 7 
 
 8 And how hear we every man in our own 
 
 9 tongue, wherein we were born ; Parthi- 
 
 ans, and Medes, and Elamites, and the 
 dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judsea, 
 and <: Cappadocia, in ^ Pontus, and Asia, 
 
 d ch. 18 
 
 added by some copyist. Galileans. 
 They were all Jews of Palestine, but 
 the apostles and leading persons were 
 Galileans and the rest were snpj)Osed to 
 be so. It was fjenerally known at Je- 
 rusalem that Jesus and his disciples 
 were princij)ally from Galilee (Luke m : 
 5-7; John 7 : n) ; and eveu strangers i-esid- 
 ing a short time at Jerusalem could not 
 remain ignorant of the fact, when we 
 consider the wonderful phenomenon 
 attending our Lord'.s death and resur- 
 rection. Besides, Galileans would be 
 quite easily recognized by travelling 
 strangers, since Galilee had a mixed 
 population, a peculiar dialect, and was 
 a thoroughfare to travelers of various 
 nations to the north and east. 
 
 8. And how — how then, since they 
 are all Galileans, do we hear them 
 sjieak our own languages? The sen- 
 tence ends with ver. 11. Notice also 
 how strong and accumulative the ex- 
 pression. Not only do they repeat our 
 own tongne of ver. 6, but add in 
 which W'G Avere born, our mother 
 tongue. Thus it is evident that the 
 disciples were not using unmeaning 
 expressions in a state of ecstacy, l)ut 
 were speaking in foreign tongues which 
 were understood by their hearci"s. 
 
 9. A list of names is given, follow- 
 ing a geograpliical order of most of the 
 countries in whicl\ tlie Jews were dis- 
 persed, beginning witli the northeast 
 and proceeding to the west and south. 
 The persons described are Jews born in 
 foreign countries or jiroselytes from 
 heathenism to the JcAvish foith. (ver. lo.) 
 This list agrees with Philo's survey of 
 the Jewish dispersion. (Legat. ad 
 Cai'tim, 36.) Tlie Jews outside of Pal- 
 estine prolnibly outnumbered the popu- 
 lation of Palestine itself. Parthians— 
 mentioned only here in the New Testa- 
 ment. Parthia was a somewhat ill- 
 defined country in the extreme north- 
 east and east, lying soutli of the Cas- 
 pian Sea and east of Media. It became 
 independent about B. c. 250, and was 
 still powerful in New Testament times, 
 and coutiuued till A. D. 226. Medes. 
 
 Media lay midway between the south 
 end of the Caspian and the head of the 
 Persian Gulf. In the seventh century 
 B. c. it was a great Oriental mon- 
 archy, l)ut it fell into tlie hands of the 
 Parthians in the second century B. C, 
 and was subjift to them at this time. 
 Elamites. Elam was an ill-defined 
 district east of the Tigris and south of 
 Media. It was originally inhabited by 
 the descendants of Shem (Geu. lo : 22), 
 and a])2>ears to have been a province 
 of Babylon in the days of Daniel. 
 (Dan, 8:1, 2.) Ca])tives from Israel were 
 located there. (isa. 11 : 11.) Sura or 
 Shushan, its chief city, became the 
 Persian cajiital, and Daniel, Esther, 
 Mordecai, and many other Jews re- 
 sided there. (Esther* "15, 16.) MesOpO> 
 tamia, meaning between the rivers, 
 was the jdain country lying between 
 the Tigi-iS and the Eujdi rates, from 
 whence Abraham was called and Ba- 
 laam came. (Gen. 24:10; Deut. 23;4.) In 
 
 New Testament times it belonged to 
 the Partliians. Possibly converts from 
 Pentecost carried back the gospel to 
 their own country and founded the 
 church in Babylon. (1 Petei 5:i:).) Ju- 
 dea. Why is Judea mentioned, as if 
 it was strange that the disciples should 
 speak in the language there? But 
 they were enumerating the languages in 
 which they heard the disciples speak, 
 and the Arama;an of Judea was one of 
 them. Besides, in passing from Meso- 
 potamia to Asia Minor, Luke Avould 
 naturally introduce Judea, which lay 
 between them. The dialect of Galilee 
 was also ditferent from that of Judea, 
 and native Jews must have composed a 
 part of the audience. Cappadocia — 
 the most easterly Roman province of 
 Asia Minor, south of the Black Sea 
 and west of Armenia. Its inhabitants 
 seem to have been of Syrian origin, 
 and Plolemy places the cities of Ico- 
 nium antl Derl)e within its limits, 
 where the peo])le used " the speech of 
 Lycaonia." (i4:ii.) Peter addressed 
 his first epistle to Jewish Chris- 
 tians of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 31 
 
 10 • Phrygia, and ' Pamphylia, in Egypt, and 
 in the parts of Libya about e Cyrene, and 
 •'strangers of Rome, Jews and 'prose- 
 
 11 lytes, ^ Cretes and ' Arabians— we do bear 
 
 them speak iu our tongues the wonderful 
 
 12 works of God? And they were a!l 
 amazed, and were in doubt, saying one 
 
 13 to another, What meaneth this? Others 
 
 •ch. IG :C; 18 :23. ' ch. 1:5 : 13; U : 24. g ch. 11 : 20. >■ ch. 18 : 2. ich. 6:5;13: 
 
 43. 
 
 k Titus 1 : 5. 
 
 I Gal. 1 : 17. 
 
 Asia, and Bithynia, all provinces 
 in Asia Minor. Poiitus — nortii of 
 Cappadocia, and having tiie Black Sea 
 as its northern boundary. Large num- 
 bers of .Jews dwelt there. (18:2; l Peter 
 
 11.) Its language seems to have been 
 the Persian, witli a mingling of the 
 Greek. Asia — the Roman province 
 of that name iu Asia Minor, its limits 
 varying from time to time, witli Ephe- 
 
 SUS as its principal city. (6:9; Rom. 16 : 5; 
 Rev. 1 : 4, U.) 
 
 10. Phrygia occupied the western 
 part of the table lands of Asia Minor. 
 It was not a separate province, but 
 belonged largely to the province of Asia. 
 It is mentioned l>ecause it represented 
 a distinct people and a diflerent lan- 
 guage or dialect. Its inhabitants emi- 
 grated from Armenia and were an Indo- 
 Germanic race. Iconium of Lycaonia 
 and Colosse of Asia were Phrygian 
 towns, and Jews resided in them (i*: i, 
 19; Col. 2: 8-M), and the church in the 
 latter place may have been founded by 
 the Pentecostal converts. Pamphylia 
 was a Roman province on the south 
 coast of Asia Minor, of which Perga 
 was an important city, where there was 
 proI)ably a synagogue, (i*;^-) In 
 Egypt. Having given tlie principal 
 provinces of Asia Minor, they cross 
 tlie Mediterranean to Africa. Egypt 
 became a Roman province in B. c. 30. 
 Vast numbers of the Jews resided 
 there, especially at Alexandria, where 
 the Hebrew Scriptures were translated 
 by the seventy into Greek about B. c. 
 '2<0. Libya. All the then known 
 portion of Africa outside of Egypt was 
 called Libya, here applied especially 
 to that region west of Egypt. One 
 of its principal cities was Cyrene, 
 a Greek colony and a seaport. It was 
 nearly soutli of the west extremity of 
 Crete. Many Jews resided there, and 
 a synagogue of Cyrenians existed at 
 Jerusalem. (H.9. Seealsoch.ll : 19,20.) It 
 might be noted that the first Latin ver- 
 sion of tlie Bible was made especially 
 for North Africa. Strangers of 
 
 Rome — sojourners from Royne, who 
 had come to reside temporarily at 
 Jerusalem. Rome was the capital of 
 tlie whole western world, situate on the 
 Tiber, and having over two millions of 
 inhabitants, including many Jews. 
 Tiberius was then emperor. JeAVS 
 and proselytes— referring to the en- 
 tire class described, embracing Jews 
 born in those countries and using their 
 languages, and proselytes, Gentiles who 
 had emijraced the Jewish faitli. 
 
 11. Passing toward the south we 
 come to Crete, now Candia, a large 
 island in the Mediterranean, south of 
 the yEgeau Sea. (27 : s is ; xitus 1 : 5, 12.) 
 Arabians— from Arabia Petrea, south 
 of Palestine. This list of various peo- 
 ]>les, each representing a language or 
 dialect, is followed by the conclusion 
 of the sentence, begun in ver. 8. The 
 leading verb, we do hear, is repeated ; 
 and tliat the miracle was not in their 
 hearing, but in the actual utterances of 
 the disciples, is further evident from 
 their renewed declaration, them speak 
 in our tongues. These tongues con- 
 sisted of dialects of Aramiean, Arabic, 
 Latin, Greek, and other native lan- 
 guages, fifteen mentioned above. As 
 this was a general survey, it may not 
 include all the languages and dia- 
 lects spoken at that time. The theme 
 of these utterances was the wonder- 
 ful {the majestic) works of God, 
 which he had done through Christ for 
 the salvation of men. The discijdes, 
 filled and enlightened by the Holy 
 Spirit break forth in praise ■ and 
 thanksgiving to God for the gift of 
 Christ and the glories of his salvation. 
 They view the life, death, resurrection, 
 and work of Christ as never before. 
 
 12. The more serious ones can find 
 no satisfactory explanation. All are 
 astonished and perjtlexed. They are 
 convinced that there is something real 
 in this. Assuming that it must mean 
 something, they ask, What meaneth 
 this, What may this be f 
 
 13. Others. The scoffing party, 
 
32 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 mocking said, These men are full of new 
 wine. 
 14 But Pet«r, standing up with the eleven, 
 lifted up his voice, and said unto them. 
 Ye men of Judsea, and all ye that dwell 
 
 at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, 
 
 15 and hearken to my words. For these ar« 
 not drunken, as ye suppose, "seeing it is 
 
 16 but the third hour of the aay. But this 
 is that which was spoken by the prophet 
 
 1 Thess. 5 : 7. 
 
 probably very largely natives of Jeru- 
 salem and Judea, who, not understand- 
 ing the foreign languages spoken, in 
 their prejudices regarded the unknown 
 tongues as so much babble and unin- 
 telligible jargon. Mocking — deriding 
 (jreally, scoliing. " The world begins 
 with i-idicule ; thence it proceeds to 
 queMioniufj {i:i); to threats (*:"); to 
 iuiprisonings (» : \») ; to stripes (5 : w) ; 
 to murder." (7:58-) (Bengel.) New 
 wine— rather, sweet wine. It was now 
 the 28th of ilay (ver. i) ; the first vin- 
 tage occurred in August; it would 
 not therefore have been new wine. 
 Some regard it as the nnfermented 
 juice of the grape, which had been 
 preserved in air-tight jars; and tliey 
 suppose these deriders sjioke in irony. 
 But if they did not mean to charge 
 these disciples with drunkenness, why 
 did Peter rei)ly, " These men are not 
 drunken, as ye suppose." And if he 
 knew that the sweet wine would not 
 intoxicate, why did he not tell them so ? 
 Peter evidently saw that they meant 
 what they said. To their prejudiced 
 minds the disciples doubtless appeared 
 and sounded like drunken men. A 
 sweet wine, very intoxicating, was 
 made from grapes dried in the sun and 
 soaked in old wine. To ))e fulf of such 
 sweet wi)ie was to be verj^ drunk. 
 
 14-.3(5. Peter's Address to the 
 Multitude. ( Joei 2 ; 28-s2 ; fs. le : 8-11 ; H9 ; 
 
 3.4; 110:1; Dan. 9:26; 1 Peter 1 : 10-12.) The 
 
 three appellations applied to his hear- 
 ers at the l>eginuing of vcr. 14, 22, 
 and 29 divide his speech into three 
 parts. In the _first, Peter defends the 
 disciples and explains the miracle ; in 
 the second, he j)roclaiins Jesus as rai.sed 
 from the dead according to the predic- 
 tion of David ; and in the third, dwell- 
 ing still further on David's prediction, 
 lie affirms that he and his brethren are 
 Avitnesses of the resurrection of Jesus, 
 who is proved thereby to be the true 
 Messiah. 
 
 14. With the eleven — Peter being 
 the twelfth. (i:'.'6) The apostles proba- 
 
 bly came forward from the company of 
 believers, and Peter sjjoke in the name 
 of all. As the multitude was very 
 great the others may also have spoken 
 to different companies of persons. Ye 
 men of Judea, etc. — Jewish men, and 
 all inhabiting Jerusalem, permanently 
 or temporarily. It does not ajtpiar . 
 that the disciples were now speaking * 
 in new tongues. That had been occur- 
 ring in the hearing of the multitude. 
 Now explanations are made of the won- 
 derful miracle, and Chri.st is preached. 
 Peter especially addresses the men of 
 Judea, and doubtless speaks in the 
 Aranucan, the common language of the 
 country. His lifting up his voice and 
 the formal beginning of his addre-ss, 
 indicate that he sjwke loudly, dis- 
 tinctly, and solemnly. Hearken — to 
 what may be unexpected and unwel- 
 come. 
 
 15. Peter first of all denies the 
 charge of drunkenness. As ye sup- 
 pose — as ye have taken up, or scof- 
 &y\^\y assumed. But the third hour 
 of the day — between eight and nine 
 o'clock in the morning, the first of the 
 three stated hours of prayer. (See 
 
 Ps. 55 : 17 ; Dan. 6 : 10, 13 ; ch. 3 : 1 ; 10 : 9.) The 
 
 Jewish principle was well-known, that 
 no Jew should taste anything before 
 this hour had expired on the Sabbath 
 and other feast days. The supposition 
 was unreasonalile that there could be a 
 drunken assembly at so early an lioiir, 
 and that too on a feast day. Lowest 
 revellers only would be drunken so 
 early, (isa. 5:ii.) Observe the self-jios- 
 session and calmness of Peter. He 
 heeds not their mockery and insult, but 
 prudently shows how groundless is 
 their charge. 
 
 16. But. Passing by the charge of 
 drunkenness as absurd and groundless, 
 Peter proceeds to explain what the 
 multitude had seen and heard. It is a 
 fulfillment of prophecy spoken by 
 God speaking through the prophet 
 Joel. The passage (Joei 2 : 28-32) is quoted 
 from the Hebrew Avith several varia- 
 
Cn. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 33 
 
 17 Joel ; ' Ami it shall come to pass » in the 
 last days, saith God, » 1 will pour out my 
 Spirit upon all flesh : and your sons and 
 pyour daughters shall prophesy, and your 
 young men shall see visions, and your old 
 
 ■> Isa. 2 : 2 ; Heb. 1 : 2 ; 2 Peter 3:3. « ch. 10 : 45 ; Isa. 44 : 3 ; Ezek. 11 : 10 ; 36 : 27 ; Zech. 
 12 : 10. P ch. 21 : 9. q 1 Cor. 12 : 10, 2S ; 14 : 1, etc. 
 
 18 men shall dream dreams. And on my 
 servants and on my handmaidens I will 
 pour out in those days of my Spirit ; q and 
 
 19 they shall prophesy. And 1 will show 
 wonders in heaven above, and signs in 
 
 tioiis, very nearly in the words of the 
 Septuagint, or Greek Version. JSoiue 
 sui)pose, with consideral)le reason, that 
 it formed a i)art of the Scri])tural read- 
 ing in the synagogues in the Pente- 
 costal service. Joel prophesied about 
 15. c. 800. 
 
 17. In the last days. In the 
 Hebrew aftenrard. As afterward refers 
 to the times of the Messiah, Peter uses 
 the familiar prophetic phrase, " the last 
 days," which was ai>i)lied to tlie Messi- 
 anic age. (Isa. 2:2;Micah4: 1 ; 2 Tim. 3:1 , Heb. 1 : 
 2 ; James 5 : 3 ; 2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2 : 18 ; Jude 18.) 
 
 Saith God is introduced very natur- 
 ally by Peter at the beginning of the 
 quotation. It is found a little before 
 in Joel 2 : 22, and also at the end of 
 the quotation in ver. 32. I will 
 pour, etc. — pour forth of my Spirit, 
 signifying the abundance of gifts and 
 influences. " Not in drojis, as under 
 the Old Covenant, but in streams." 
 (Titus 3: 6.) The Hebrew in Joel has 
 simply my Spirit, but here of my 
 Spirit, showing that while the Spirit 
 himself came forth abundantly, there 
 was an exhaustless reserve witli God. 
 (jiai. 2:15.) All flesh — all mankind. 
 (Gen. 6:12.) So that the Spirit can be 
 resisted, grieved, quenched, (t : 5i ; Eph. 
 4 :30; 1 Th«s3. 5 : 13.) Its powcr is to be 
 enjoyed by both sexes, old and young, 
 and in various conditions. Prophesy— 
 meaning not merely the predicting 
 future events, but also in general tlie 
 uttering of religious truth under divine 
 guidance. (i cor. u: i-s.) Notice that 
 daur/hlers and hanilmaids (next verse) 
 are among those who sliould ]n'ophesy. 
 The women enjoyed the gifts of the 
 Spirit at Pentecost, and they have their 
 work in the church. The manner in 
 which they shall exercise their gifts 
 must be decided by tlie word of God. 
 
 (18:2S; 21:9; Gnl. 3:28; Phil. 4 : 3.) Peter 
 
 places young men first, but .Joel 
 places old men first. Perhaps the 
 apostles and most of the disci2iles were 
 comparatively young men, and he 
 C 
 
 would make the fact i^rominent. Vis- 
 ions — an appearance seen in a wak- 
 ing, conscious state. Dreams — vis- 
 ions seen in sleep. " The visions com- 
 spond to the lively feelings of yoxt/i ; 
 dreams to the lesser excitability of //(<//■/■ 
 advanced age, yet the two are to be 
 taken not as mutually exclusive." 
 (Meyer.) For exam])les of visions, 
 see 10 : 10, .30 ; 16 : 9 ; 18 : 9. Dreams 
 make up an inferior form of divine reve- 
 lation, and are not mentioned in apos- 
 tolic times. Josei)h the husband of Mary 
 was instructed and warned of God in 
 dreams. (Matt, i :20; 2 : 13, 19, 22.) Paul had 
 " visions and revelations " (2 Cor. 12 : 1) ; 
 the latter may have included dreams. 
 His vision of an angel by night in his 
 shipwreck (27 : 23) may have been in a 
 dream. Dreams and visions in a dark 
 age supplemented a deficient revelation. 
 They are no longer needed by those 
 enjoying the clear light of a com- 
 pleted revelation. 
 
 18. And — and even upon the lowest 
 walks in life, viale and female slaves. 
 My. "Servants according to the flesh 
 are meant, diflerent from the children 
 (ver. 17), but at the same time the ser- 
 vants of God." (Bengel.) They 
 should enjoy the gifts of the Spirit, no't 
 only of tongues, but also of prophecy. 
 Among such the go.s2jel early had many 
 
 trOJlllieS. (1 Cor. 1 : 26-28; Phil. 4 : 22; Philcm. 
 
 10-16.) Doubtless the fulfillment of this 
 projAecy extends throu'^liout "tlie last 
 days," the Gosjjel DisjH'usation, y.-t 
 the miraculous gifts a)>pear to lia\ e 
 been limited to the a})o.stolic age. 
 
 19. "Thelastdays" were to be noted, 
 not only by the coming of the Spirit, 
 but also by terrible visitations preced- 
 ing the second coming of Christ. Proph- 
 ecies of such dreadful events would 
 arouse the fears of the multitude, an 1 
 indicate what their doom would be if 
 they rejected Clirist. And— after tlte 
 outpouring of the S])irit. The predie- 
 tion finds its si)ecial fulfillment at the 
 end of the dispensation, when Christ 
 
34 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii.II. 
 
 the earth beneath; blood, and fire, aud 
 
 20 vapour of smoke : ' the sun shall be turned 
 into darkness, and the moon into blood, 
 before that great and notable day of the 
 
 21 Lord come. And it shall come to pass, 
 
 that ' whosoever shall call on the name of 
 the Lord shall be saved ' 
 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; 
 Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of 
 God among you ' by miracles and wonders 
 
 ' Mark 13 : 24; Luke 21 : 25. ' Rom. 10 : 13 
 
 t Matt. 11 : 2-6 ; .lolin 3:2; 6 : 14. 
 
 comes to judgment, (i Thess. 4 ; is-n ; 2 
 
 Thcss. 4:7; 1 Cor. 15:52.) A tvpical ful- 
 fillment may douhtless be fouuil in the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. (Compare 
 author'.s Notes 0)i Matthew, ch. 24.) 
 Similar language in Matt. 24 : 29, 30, 
 Jesus used iu regard to the time just 
 j)receding his second coming. Peter 
 quotes the language, not knowing but 
 that these terriljle things miglit be near 
 at hand, and imder the power of the 
 8}>irit the peoi)le would feel that they 
 were inevital>le and close upon them. 
 Wonders in heaven ... in the 
 earth — prodigies, terrific plienomena 
 foretokening calamities and judgments. 
 In explanation, and to make it more 
 impressive l)y contrast, Pettr adds, 
 above, si§;ns, and beneath. The 
 wonders would be evidences of divine 
 power aud of Christ's coming, (.\iatt. 
 21 : 33.) They will consist in blood and 
 lire and vapor of smoke, in sui)er- 
 natural bloody and fiery api)earances 
 and dense columns of smoke. Some 
 take the language, symbolically, to 
 mean ware, bloodshed, and conflagra- 
 tion. But since the day of the Lord 
 and the coming of Christ are to be taken 
 here literally, it .seems best to take tlie 
 language literally. Besides tliese are 
 the signs and wonders, the miracles, 
 preceding the great day of the Lord. 
 Josephus sj)eaks of some remarkable 
 portents preceding the destruction of 
 .Terii.salem (JeiriKh War, vi., .5 : 3), and 
 if such preceded the ty})e we may nat- 
 urally expect similar iihenomena ]ire- 
 <';iling the antitype, Christ's second 
 coming. 
 
 20. The sun . . . the moon. The 
 sun shall become dark, the heavens 
 Mack, aud the moon appear bloody. 
 Compare the darkness of the crucifixion 
 (Mult, 27 : 45) aud iu the plague of Egypt. 
 (Kxod. 10: 23, 23.) Great and notable 
 day of the Lord — (//tc//, decisive, and 
 vuniifest before all the world (Rev. 
 6: }:>,iii), i/histn'otts as a day of justice 
 and of divine retribution. 
 
 31. The quotation closes with a cheer- 
 
 ing assurance and promise. A nd it shall 
 be, iu these times of the Spirit's presence 
 up to that great day. Whosoever 
 sJjall call — shall have called in re- 
 pentance and faith. ( Ver. S8, 44, 46, 47 : le : SI.) 
 
 Xame of the Lord— that is, of Christ. 
 This is a strong proof of his divinity. 
 (Rev. 22 :9.) Comjjare the account of the 
 dying thief in Luke 23 : 42, 43. Shall 
 be saved — from the doom coming 
 upon the wicked, and shall be per- 
 mitted to share tlie joys and glories of 
 his kingdom. Salvation has two sides : 
 from sin and its consequences into holi- 
 ness and its results. (Matt. 1 : 21 ; 24 : 46.) 
 
 22. Here begins a new division in 
 Peter's address, and he uses an appella- 
 tion again: Men of Israel, that is, 
 Israelites. This is broader than " Men 
 of Judea" (ver. 14), representing them 
 as the representatives of the chosen 
 l>eople, the Israel of God. Jews were 
 Israelites, and after tlie Babylonish 
 captivity and in the New Testament, 
 tlie two terms were generally synony- 
 mous. But in verse 14, " Men of Judea," 
 while it might be taken by the audience 
 as a general <lesiguation, would be of 
 local aj>plication, especially to those 
 Jews who had derided tlie disci])les as 
 drunken, (ver. is.) Having denied the 
 charge of drunkenness as absurd, and 
 explained the wonderful )>henomena as 
 the fulfillment of Joel's i)roj)lii.'cy, Peter 
 proceeds to jircach Jesus to tlieni as the 
 Messiah, and in doing tliis lie uses tlie 
 honorable and conciliatoiy a])i>ellation, 
 " Men of Israel." Hear these words. 
 Calling special attention and giving 
 emphasis to the unexjiccted trutli he 
 was about to utter, the pioof of which 
 was the niira(de of tongues they had 
 witnessed and the jjrophecy wliich was 
 then being fulfilled. Jesus of Naza- 
 reth — rather, (he Nazarene (Matt. 2 : 23) 
 whom many of you knew and desjiised. 
 A man approved — proved to yon from 
 God. No mere adventurer, but one 
 whose authority from God was well at- 
 tested by what he did. Miracles^re- 
 garded as the manifestation of divine 
 
Ch. IL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 35 
 
 and signs, "which God did by him in the 
 midst of you, as ye yourselves also know : 
 
 23 him, » Iieing delivered by the determinate 
 counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye 
 have taken and by wicked hands have 
 
 24 crucified and slain : J whom God hath 
 raised up, having loosed the pains of 
 
 death: because'it was not possible that 
 
 25 he should be holden of it. For David 
 speakelh concerning him, ' I foresaw the 
 Lord always before my face, for he is on 
 my right hand, tliat 1 should not be 
 
 26 moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice, 
 and my tongue was glad ; moreover also 
 
 1 Matt. 12 : 28. » Dan. 9 : 24r-27 ; Luke 22 : 22 ; 24 : 44 ; 1 Peter 1 : 20. y .li. 4 : 1(1 : l:! : 
 30, :i4; Horn. 6 : 4; 1 Cor. 15 : 15 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 14; Gal. 1:1; Col. 2 : 12; 1 Peter 1 : 21. ' John 
 1 : 4 ; f) : 26 ; 10 : 18. 
 
 power. Wonders — extraordinary phe- 
 iiouK'na exciting astonishment or terror. 
 .Siijns^evidences of his divine mis- 
 sion. (.iohu2:ii.) See furtlier on mira- 
 cles in author's JVotes on Matilieir, ch. 
 8, introductory remarks. Which God 
 did by him. Peter is speaking of 
 "Jcsns the Nazarene, a man," etc., the 
 
 man C'lirist Jesus (l Tim. 2:5; John U: 10), 
 
 in the days of his humiliation. As 
 Mediator lie is subordinate to the 
 Fatlier. Peter also appeals to them as 
 having witnessed tliese evidences, as 
 ye yourselves know. The best au- 
 thorities omit also. 
 
 23. Him being delivered up to 
 you by Judas. Some refer this to tiie 
 divine act of giving Christ over to the 
 world to suffer. But this is not as nat- 
 ural and faitliful to the original as the 
 preceding vieM'. By the determinate 
 coun.sel — according to the fixed coun- 
 sel. Not Ijecause Jesus was heljiless, 
 but hecau.se it was God's purpose. (4 : 2s; 
 Luke 22 : -.'2.) And forclf Howledge. 
 God's jjurposes and foreknowledge are 
 harmonious and co-e.xistent, and neither 
 one independent of the other, (i Peter 
 1:2,20.) Ye have taken sliould be 
 omitted according to the oldest and best 
 manuscrij)ts. By wicked hands, etc. 
 — rather, ye sleiv, having imiled him to 
 the cross, hi/ the hand of kiw/esf^ men. 
 The death of Jesus was publicly de- 
 manded by the Jewish people, and ju- 
 • lit'ially resolved upon and accom- 
 jdish^d by the Sanhedrin in the name 
 
 of the nation. (Jobn 19 : 6-16; Luke 23 : 1. 21.) 
 
 Tlie instigators were the most guilty. 
 Notice that Peter does not say, but im- 
 j)lies, crucifixion, by stating a charac- 
 teristic act in that cruel mode of ]iutting 
 to death, having fastened., tliat is, Ity 
 nails to tlie cross. 77ie (aw/c.s.-^ oiie.s 
 were Gentiles, Pilate, and the Itouian 
 soldiers. The trial of the Sanhedrin 
 was in violatiou of their own law (Matt. 
 
 27 : 18, 24) ; and Pilate pronounced Jesus 
 innocent, but, yielding to the infuriated 
 cries of the .Jews, delivered him to be 
 crucified. (John I9:i2-i6.) The whole pro- 
 cedure was the act and the outcome of a 
 lawless mob. 
 
 24. In contrast with their treatment 
 God raised- him np from the dead. 
 (ver.32.) Having loosed the pains 
 of death — having delivered him from 
 tlie results of the i)angs of death, that 
 is from lieiiig held in the grave and 
 from corrni)tion. Many derive pains 
 of death from the Septuagint rendering 
 of Ps. 18 : 4; 116 : 3, where the He- 
 brcAv has " bands of death." Peter, 
 perhajis almost unconsciously, used 
 this familiar phrase. Because it 
 Avas not possible that, contrary to 
 God's purpose, Jesus should be held by 
 death, as shown Ijy the quotations 
 which follow. 
 
 25. Peter (piotes from Ps. 16 : 8-11, 
 wliieh indicated (Jod's ])lans regarding 
 the ^Messiah, that lie must be raised 
 from the dead. The quotation is from 
 the Se])tuagiut version. It is quoted 
 by Paul (13:36), and by him also ap- 
 plied to Christ. The whole psalm is a 
 unit, and Messianic. " We have in it 
 but one s]K'aker from commencement to 
 end, and in other resj^ects such a 
 marked unity of thouglit and structure, 
 that it would be an arlntrary procedure 
 to assign one ]>art to David and another 
 
 to Chri.st." (HA(nvETT.) (Seeon »er. an.) 
 
 Concerning him — in reference to 
 him, impersonating him. I foresaAV 
 — rather, I saw the Lord before me 
 alwai/s, having reference not to time, 
 but to place. On my right hand — 
 as a i)rotection and defence. That I 
 should not be moved or disturbed 
 in labors and suiferings. Constant fel- 
 lowship with God gave assurance and 
 stability. 
 
 26. Therefore— on account of this 
 
36 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 27 my flesh shall rest in hope : because thou 
 wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt 
 thou suffer thine Holy One to see cor- 
 
 28 ruption. Thou hast made knowu to me 
 the ways of life ; thou shalt make me full 
 of joy with thy countenance.' 
 
 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak 
 unto you of the patriarch David, that he 
 is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre 
 
 30 is with us unto this day. Therefore 
 a being a prophet, i" and knowing that God 
 had sworn with an oath to him, that of 
 
 » ch. 1 : IG. l> Ps. 72 ; Luke 1 : 31-33, GU ; ,Tuhn 18 : 36, 37. 
 
 confidence in his Divine Protector. 
 Heart — the seat of the moral emotions 
 and of the will. My tongue. In the 
 Hcl)rew my glory, representing tlic soul, 
 tlie noblest part and glory of man. 
 The tongne was regardeil as an instru- 
 ment of praise and the glory of man, 
 and thus the meaning in the Hebrew 
 and the Greek is substantially the 
 same. Ilis spiritual being rejoiced and 
 exulted. Moreover also — not this 
 alone, but more. My flesh — my body, 
 distinguished from the soul. Shall 
 rest — literally, slutll tabernac/e, shall 
 sojourn in tbe grave ill hope, in 
 security and confidence of a speedy res- 
 toration to life. His body in the grave 
 shall be as one who pitches his tent for a 
 short season. 
 
 27. Because — introducing the 
 ground of the confidence expressed in 
 the preceding verse. Thou wilt not 
 leave my soul in hell — thou iri/t 
 not uhamlon my soul in Hades, the vni- 
 seen world, the place of dejjartcd .spir- 
 its. He// here is not Gehrnuu, the 
 abode of the lost (Matt. 5 : n), but J/adrs, 
 corresponding to S/ieol in the Hebrew, 
 the world of departed spirits. Into 
 this abode tlie soul of Chri,st entered, 
 that portion of which, where he was, 
 he himself called paradise. (Luke 23 : 4.i.) 
 Further di.scussion, see author's Notes 
 oil iMatt/ieir, ch. 11 : 23 and Kotcs on 
 Ijike, ch. 23 : 43. Thine Holy one. 
 In the Hebrew thy favored or beloved, 
 meaning the Messiah. Here Christ's 
 holiness is made ])rominent. (Heh. 7:20.) 
 To sec corruption — experience dis- 
 solution, referrim,' to iiis body, sutler 
 l)utrefaction. He would not allow his 
 l)ody to decay and return to dust. The 
 idea of extinction of being or annihila- 
 tion is not in the word. 
 
 28. Thou hast made, etc. Thou 
 didst miike kiioiru those ways that lead 
 to life, referring to Christ's resurrec- 
 tion. Full of joy, etc.— /«// of ylad- 
 iicss with t/iy j^resence, in the presence 
 of God, referring to Christ's ascen- 
 
 sion to heaven. To the same effect is 
 the la.'^t clause of the Psalm, " Pleasures 
 at thy right hand for evermore," which 
 Peter omits as unnecessary and familiar, 
 and easjl)' supplied from memory. In 
 the Hel)rew there is but one verb in 
 this verse, "Thou wilt show me the 
 path of life, fullness of joy in thy 
 presence," etc. (Dr. Conant, Bible 
 Union IVr.) 
 
 29. Men, brethren omitting and. 
 Peter had addressed them as Jews 
 (ver. 14), as belonging to the chosen peo- 
 ]ile of God (ver. 22), and now he uses the 
 familiar, the conciliatoiy, and the more 
 endearing a])])ellation of brethren. 
 , This ojjens the third pail of Peter's 
 s])eech, though closely connected with 
 j the j)receding. He ai)plies the Script- 
 ure ju.st quoted, fir.«t negatively in this 
 I verse, and positively to Christ in the 
 I next two verses. Let me freely 
 I speak. Rather, / may be allowed to 
 I spea/: freely and frankly without seem- 
 ing to be lacking in respect for the 
 patriarch David, the fatlier and 
 I founder of the royal family. See 7:8; 
 1 Heb. 7 : 4, where the .^ame title is ap- 
 t plied to the sons of Jacob, as the fath- 
 ers of tiie tribes, and to Abraham tbe 
 j father of the nation. Is both dead 
 '• and buried — rather, he buth died and 
 ; iras buried and his sepulchre is among 
 us, etc., in that part of the city known 
 as the city of David or Mount Zion. 
 
 (1 Kings 2 : 10 ; Neli. 3 : 16.) It WaS tllUS evi- 
 dent that David's lueiliction did not 
 apply to himself. Josepbus says tliat 
 the toml) was ojiened successively, by 
 Hyrcanus and King Herod, in order to 
 rifle it of its sui>posed treasures. 
 {Anti(j. xii. 15. ;>.) It was still known 
 in the reign of Adrian and probably 
 in the days of Jerome in the fourth 
 century. The mosque covering the 
 sujjposed site on the southern brow of 
 Mount Zion is probably not far from the 
 actual one. 
 
 30. Therefore, since David could 
 not have meant himself, he must as a 
 
Cn. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 37 
 
 the fruit of hi.s loins, iiccordiiig to the 
 flesh, he would raise up Clirist to sit on 
 
 31 his throne; he, seeing this before, spake 
 of the resurrection of I'hrist, that his soul 
 was not left in hell, neither his flesh did 
 
 32 see corruption. This Jesus hath God 
 raised up, " whereof We all are witnesses. 
 
 33 Therefore <! being by the right hand of 
 God exalted, and <■ having received of 
 the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, 
 hofhath shod forth this, which ye now 
 
 34 see and hear. Kor David is not ascended 
 into the heavens: but he saith himself, 
 e ' The Lord said unto my herd, Sit thou 
 
 i Eph. 1 : 20-23 ; Phil. 2 : i». 
 f eh. 10 : 45. 
 
 eh. 1:4; Luke 24 : 40 ; .lolin 14 : IG, 20; 1.') 
 B Ueb. 1 : 13 ; 12 : 2. 
 
 prophet have meant the Messiah. 
 tinowing that liod had sworn 
 \vith an oath. The prophet Nuthan 
 had foretold this to David. (viSam.T: 
 
 I-.'IK: 1 Chn.u. 17: 17; Ps. 89 : :), 4 ; i:S2 : U.) Tlte 
 
 words, " aeeordina; to the flesh, he would 
 raise u]) Christ," are not in the oldest i 
 niamiscripts and are omitted by the [ 
 hi'^hest eiitieal authorities. The i)rom- [ 
 Ise implied an interrupted line of male ] 
 descent from David to the one who 
 n/iou/d sit on his throne. The .lews held 
 that the ilessiah would dseend from 
 David, and Peter here makes jirominent 
 his kinifly office, wliich he applies to 
 
 Jesus. (Ver. :h6.) 
 
 31. Seeing this before — David as 
 a prophet knew and/orr.fff (r this throiiifh 
 the promises and revelations from (iod. 
 It need not l)e understood tiiat David 
 had a full knowledge of this, hut that 
 he had caught i)rophetic glimpses, 
 (i Pete.- 1 : 1012.) Christ — rather, the. 
 Christ, not a proper name, but the offi- 
 cial title, referring to Jesus, whom he 
 mentions in the next verse. Peter re- 
 fers to the prediction again, and applies 
 it to the Ciirist, as foreseen by David. 
 His soul is omitted by the best criti- 
 cal authorities. Instead, read he, tliat is, 
 the Christ who was not left in a disem- 
 bodied state, and whose flesh, though 
 he died, was not corrupted. 
 
 3;i. This Jesus— whom Peter had 
 introduced in ver. 22, and whose resur- 
 rection he affirmed in ver. 24. Only 
 one thing now was needed to complete 
 Peter's argument — the i)roof of Jesus' 
 resurrection. This he now gives : 
 whereof we are all witnesses, 
 consisting of the apostles who were 
 specially chosen to testify to that event 
 (1:8,22) and many others, (icor, i5:6.) 
 Whereof^o/ which fact, his resurrec- 
 tion. 
 
 33. Therefore — in consequence of 
 his resurrection, of which his exalta- 
 tion was a necessary result. By or to 
 
 the right hand. Eitlier is gram- 
 matically and theologically correct. 
 He M'as exalted hj God's power and to 
 
 God's right hand. (l Peter .1 : 22; Kpli. 
 
 1; 20-22.) The latter rendering is prefer- 
 able, being more in accord with the 
 next two verses and the ])arallel pas- 
 sage. (5:»I. See Col. 3 : 1 ; Heb. 1 : 3; 10:12.) 
 
 Having received of the Father 
 the jiroinise, etc. — the bestowment 
 of the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of 
 the promise of the Father (1 : 4), made 
 in such passages as Joel 2 : 28-32, 
 quoted by Peter, ver. 17 f. He, Jesus, 
 liath shed forth just now. Jesus 
 had promised that he would do this. 
 (jniin 15: :ii;; 16: 7.) See and hear. The 
 phenomena connected with the coming 
 of the Holy Spirit were both seen and 
 heard, (ver. 7, s. 11.) The whole company 
 engaged in praising God, and all speak- 
 ing in unknown tongues. 
 
 34, 35. For, in proof of the .state- 
 ment that Jesus had ascended to the 
 right hand of God, Peter adduces the 
 prediction of David Iiim.self, found in 
 Ps. 110:1. This Psalm was regarded 
 as messianic, and was so recognized by 
 Christ himself. (Matt. 22 : 4i-46.) The argu- 
 ment is : David did not ascend into 
 heaven, but he called him who is to 
 ascend my Lord, thus distinguishing 
 him from liimself. David's Lord was 
 Chri.st who was thus to be exalted. 
 The Lord said, etc. In the Hebrew, 
 Jehovah said to my Lord, that is, to the 
 Messiah, as Peter's hearers would 
 readily acknowledge, according to the 
 common interpretation of the Jews. 
 Sit thou on my right hand — not 
 merely as a position of honor, but as a 
 partner of my sovereignty and power. 
 Till I make, etc. — till t make thy foe^s 
 the footstool of my feet, implying utter 
 defeat and abject submis.sion. The 
 figure is borrowed from the usage of 
 ancient warfare. (Josh. 10 : 24 ; 2 sam. 22 : 41.) 
 (See author's JVotes on Matthew 22 : 43, 
 
38 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 35 ou my right hand, ^ imtil I make thy foes 
 86 thy footstool. [Hsa. ex. 1, /iepr.] There- 
 fore let all the house of Israel know as- 
 suredly, that God hath made that same 
 Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord 
 and Christ 
 
 37 Now when they heard this, ' they were 
 pricked in their heart, and said iiiitu 
 Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Meu 
 Kitd brethren, * what shall we do? 
 
 38 Then Peter said unto them, ' Repent, 
 and™ be baptized every one of you "in 
 
 h Eph. 1 
 
 ■ Zocli. VI : U); .John If, : 8, 9. k ch. 0:5, 6; Luke 3 : 10. 1 ch. 3 : 19; 
 
 Liiko 24 : 47. 
 
 'ch. 22: Ki; Matt. 28 : 19. 
 
 Rom. 6 
 
 44.) It is as Mediator that Christ is I 
 spoken of as at the right hand of God. 
 
 (Rom. 8 : 3+ ; Eph. 1 : 2tf-2:) ; I Cor. 15 : 23-28.) | 
 
 36. Therefore . . . assuredly — i 
 
 au emphatic conclusion from Avhich \ 
 there couUI be no appeal. Be it i 
 knoAvn — from all the evidence ad- 
 duced. Conci.sely and imj)ressively, 
 Peter sums uj) his discourse in a sintijle 
 sentence. God . . . ye. A .strong ] 
 contra.st. God hath made — hath di- 
 mnely constituted him both Lord and 
 Christ, (vcr. 21,. SI.) Jesus is luYiught 
 to view, as in the jn-eceding verso in 
 his Mediatorial character. Tlie en<l of 
 the sentence and of tlie discourse in tlie 
 original is very pointed — this Jesus 
 'whom ye crucijied. It wasfittetl to ji re- 
 duce conviction in his hearers, as indi- 
 viihials and representatives of the 
 Jewish nation, for having disowned 
 and crucified tlie Messiah. "The sting 
 at the end." (BicxOEL.) 
 
 This discourse of Peter is one of great 
 force and lieaiity. It is a model as a \ 
 siniph' ]>re.seMtation of tlie truth. It is i 
 foundeii on the word of God and ap- 
 )>lied to those facts which were known 
 to tlie hearers, and to otlier facts at- 
 tested liy tile apostles and their bretliren 
 from tlieir personal knowledge. It was 
 evidenced by prophecy, miracles, and 
 the presence of the Holy Sjiirit, and 
 eminently suited to ])rodiice conviction ' 
 and a sense of sin. "The apostle de- 
 mands of the house of Israel that they 
 acknowledge him, who a few weeks he- 
 fore was crucified, as their Lord and 
 Christ. And t/iei/ bf/ieiv ! A stronger 
 proof cannot well he imagined than 
 this, that it was the power of the Holy 
 Spirit which made the words of the j 
 preacher move the hearts of the hearers ! 
 To all .lews the cross of Christ was a j 
 stumbling-block, yet they recognize, on I 
 the word of a private individual, the j 
 crucified and deeply abased Jesus as [ 
 their Saviour." j 
 
 37-47. The Effect of Peter',s I 
 
 Address. Conviction, conversion, and 
 baptism. Steadfastness, benevolence, 
 joy, and daily increase of disciple- 
 ship. 
 
 37, They Avere jfriclied—2rierced 
 to the heart — with pungent sorrow and 
 alarm by the truth that they had re- 
 jected and crucifie<l the Messiah. 
 They — not necessarily all the multi- 
 tude, but large numbers of them. This 
 effect upon them sliows the Holy 
 Spirit's power in ])roducing conviction 
 (j«imiC:K), as well as in the gift of 
 tongues. Men, brethren — the same 
 appellation tliat Peter used (vcr. 29), 
 showing, not merely a return of the 
 comj)linieiit, but a mellowing of their 
 hearts. M hat shall we do? We 
 have jnit tlie Me.';siah to death and have 
 incurred the most dreadful guilt ; we 
 cannot undo the deed : what shall we 
 do to enjoy the divine favor and escape 
 the consequences of our great folly and 
 guilt. Their conversion began with 
 this anxious inquiry. 
 
 38. Repent. The word expresses 
 an inward change of views and feel- 
 ings, implies a sorrow for sin and a re- 
 formation of life as the fruits. I See Mmt. 
 3: 2. note.) Be baptized — literally im- 
 mej-sed. (See Matt. :i: 6, uoie.) Bai>tism fol- 
 lows repentance, and is a symbol of the 
 thorough change denoted and im])lied 
 by repentance. Every one of yon. 
 Bajitisiu is a personal act which imist 
 be intelligently received by each candi- 
 date. In — rather, vpon — the name 
 of Jesus Christ, as the only Saviour, 
 and relying upon him, accepting all 
 that his name implies. Their ba])tism 
 was to be received in faith, and by it 
 they professed their faith in Jesus 
 Christ. Comj)are our Lord's early 
 preaching in Galilee, " Repent and 
 believe the gospel," here to be i>cr- 
 formed both in act and symbol. (M»ik i 
 15, note.) For — rather, unto — the re- 
 mission of sins, as the beneficent 
 end of repentance and faith in the Lord 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 THE ACrS. 
 
 39 
 
 the name of Jesus Christ for tlie rciuis- 
 sion of sins, "and ye shall receive the gift 
 39 of the Holy LSpirit. Kor I'the promise is 
 unto you, ami 'i to your children, and ■'to 
 all that are afar oil', creii ' as many as the 
 
 ch. 8 : 1.5-17. P Gen. 12 : 1-3 ; 17 : 7, 8 ; Jer. 32 : 30, 40. q Isa. 44 : 3 ; Joel 2 : 28. ' ch 
 10 : 4.-) ; Zech. 6 : U ■ Eph. 2 : 13-22. » Heh. 3 : 1 ; 2 Peter 1 : 10. '2 Cor. « : 17. 
 
 40 Lord our (iod shall call. And with many 
 other words did he testify and exhort, 
 saying, <Save yourselves from this un- 
 toward generation. 
 
 Jesus Christ, as clo.sely united to and 
 expressed in their baj)tisui. Kepentanee 
 and its first fruits, obedience, are iu- 
 separaido ; an<l iienee thougli forgive- 
 ness of sins is ))roniised on repentance 
 
 and faith (-l ; la ; « : 22 ; 10 ; 43 ; 11 : 18 ; 13 : 39 ; 
 
 16 : 31 ; Horn. 3 : 26), yet as Clirist had com- 
 manded baptism, by whicli tliey should 
 Erofess their re])entance and faitli in 
 im, there would have lieen wanting 
 sufficient evidence of tlieir inward 
 change and outward reformation, if 
 tliis precept were not obeyed. "And 
 ill the circumstances of titat day a will- 
 ingness to be baptized was no slight 
 evidence of a new heart." (i)R. 
 HOVEY, in Dr. Ilackett's (JoniiurtUavy, 
 
 the Acts.) (See Mark 16: 17, Doic. and Remark 
 
 17.) The sins forgiven included not 
 only that of crucifying the Messiah, 
 but all other sins. \n addition, tlhc c/ift 
 of the Holy Spirit is promised, whose 
 wondrous power they saw and felt. 
 They should enjoy, not only the ordi- 
 nary sanctifying power of the Spirit, 
 but the extraordinary gifts which were 
 displayed on that occasion aird enjoyed 
 by the apostles and other disciples. (10 : 
 45; 11:17.) Water baptism is enjoined; 
 jiartaking in the Spirit's baptism prom- 
 ised. 
 
 39. For introduces the explanation 
 or reason for what he had just stated. 
 The promise — of the Spirit referred 
 to in the preceding verse and verses 
 
 17, 18. (See 1:4; Eph. 1 : 13.) UlltO yOU — 
 
 emphatic, to you Jews (u), Israelites 
 (22), both native and foreign (s-ii). To 
 your children may mean either 
 children (21 : 5), or descendants (i3:33), 
 the latter agreeing better with the con- 
 text, which is far-reaching. Tlie pi'om- 
 ise is to such as are capable of exercis- 
 ing repentance (ver. ;w), and who may 
 see visions and prophe.sy (ver. 17). To 
 all that are afar off— not to the 
 foreign Jews, for they are included in 
 iinto you (above), but to the Gentiles who 
 were regarded as afar off. (Kph. 2 : 11, i.t, 17 ; 
 
 Isa. 4a : 1 ; 57 : 19; Zech. 6 ; 15.) SoiUe objCCt, 
 
 that Peter was not aware that the gos- 
 pel was to l>e preached to the Gentiles. 
 (11:18.) But pious Jews expected tliat 
 the reign of the Messiaii wouUI be uni- 
 versal. Prophets had foretold the con- 
 version of the Gentiles (Geu. 49:iO; Ps. 2; 
 
 8; 72 : 11 ; Isa. 45 : 22; 60 : 3, 11, 16; 62 : 2 ; 61:1; 
 
 66 : 19 ; Dau. 7 : u) ; and Christ had in- 
 cluded Gentiles in his last commands. 
 
 (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24 : 47.) Peter 
 
 and the rest expected through Judaism, 
 to reach Gentiles who would become 
 Jewish pro.selytes before being admitted 
 
 to full gospel privileges. (see 1 : 8, note.) 
 
 As many as the Lord our God 
 shall call — s/uill hare called by the 
 invitations botii of the Old Testament 
 and of the gospel message. Others 
 translate with the lievised Version, 
 shall call tinto himself, by the jireaching 
 of the gosjiel. While effectual calling 
 by the Sjjirit is taught in other passages 
 
 (Rom. 8 : 30 ; Kph. 4 : 4 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 9), it doeS not 
 
 seem to be distinctively referred to here. 
 The invitations of the gospel are at- 
 tended with promises (3:19; Rev.22:17), 
 
 which become effectual in those who 
 believe. It was within the divine pur- 
 pose that there should be general calls 
 of the gospel and effectuar calls of the 
 Spirit in individual hearts, and that the 
 promises should be held up before all 
 those to whom these invitations came. 
 It should be noted that this is a free 
 quotation from Joel 2 : 32, or it may 
 have been suggested by that passage. " 
 40. With many other words. 
 From this it appears that we have only 
 the substance of what Peter said. The 
 character of the preaching is indicated 
 by the two words testify and exhort. 
 The first exiiresses argument and wit- 
 ness for the truth, illustrated in ver. 14 
 and 36 ; the second relates the practi- 
 cal part, urging to immediate accept- 
 ance, illustrated in ver. 38, 39, 
 and by the solemn advice that fol- 
 lows. Save yourselves, or he ye 
 saved — in separating yourselves by re- 
 pentance, and evidencing your foi'th in 
 
40 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 41 Then they that ghiJly received his word 
 were baptized: and the same day there 
 
 were " added unio l/iem about three thou- 
 sand souls. 
 
 Christ by baptism. Either the uiiddle 
 or passive sense is allowable here, and 
 iu harmony with other KScripture. (Kzek. 
 
 3:1: 11; 1 Tim. 4:16; Eph. 2 : 8.9; Titus 3 : 5.) 
 
 From this untoward, crooked or 
 perverse generation — from their evil ' 
 and contaminating inliueiiee and from 
 their guilt and doom. (2 Cor. 6 : n ; pwi. ^ 
 
 2 : 13; Deut. 32 ; 5.) 
 
 41. Then— (herrfore. They— re- \ 
 ferring to the penitents mentioned in 
 ver. 37. Gladly, exjnesses a true 
 idea, but is a later addition, and is 
 omitted in the oldest and l)est manu- 
 scripts. Received the word — /(«(•- 
 ing received the gosi)el message. It 
 seems from this verse and ver. .S7 that 
 the larger i)art of the multitude ac- 
 cepted the testimony of the ai)0stles 
 and acted upon tlieir exliortation. 
 Were baptized — immediately fol- 
 lowing repentance and acceptance of 
 Jesus Christ as a Saviour. If this 
 clause is joined closely to that datj in 
 the next clause, according to some 
 editors, then the natural inference is 
 that about three thousand were bap- 
 tized some time durinu the day. But 
 if, with other editors, the two clauses 
 are separated by a colon, then the bap- 
 tisms could have occurred at sucli times 
 and places as were most convenient to 
 all concerned. There need be, how- 
 ever, no hesitancy in accepting the 
 view that tlie whole number were bap- 
 tized on that day. For there were a 
 large number of administrators — tlie 
 twelve apostles, many of the seventy, 
 and others whom the ajiostlcs could 
 invite to assist. .Jerusalem was also 
 abundantly supjdied witli water, and 
 the rite of immersion could be adminis- 
 tered in many places, ])ublic and })ri- 
 vate. The city was almost encom- 
 passed l>y a circle of artitieial lakes. 
 The lower and ujjper Pools of Gihon, 
 iu the Valley of Hiniiom, were two 
 large reservoirs, the former about six 
 hundred feet by two hundred and tifty, 
 tlie latter about two-thirds this size. 
 The Pool of Bethesda was three hun- 
 dred and sixty feet by one liuudred and 
 thirtv. There were also the Pool of 
 
 Ilezekiah and tlie Pool of Siloam, be- 
 sides other public and private pools, 
 tlie ruins of which in i)art remain. 
 There was, therefore, " mueli water," 
 and the customs of the East would not 
 forbid or hinder such a use. The awe 
 that came upon the people (ver. «) re- 
 strained any opjiosition. Added unto 
 them — vuto them is an addition of the 
 translators, to till out wliat they sup- 
 posed to be the sense. Otliers would 
 supply the church, as in ver. 47. Were 
 added, however, is absolute ; no words 
 need be sup)>lied. The meaning is that 
 about tliree tliousand were added to the 
 company of disciples. Souls — per- 
 sons, according to the usage of the 
 Hebrew and many other languages. 
 
 Tliis verse may lie said to close the 
 account of Pentecost. Peter is the 
 leader and spokesman, though doubt- 
 less others did tlieir part by word and 
 deed. It is interesting to compare 
 Peter with liimself. In his Pentecostal 
 discourse he (juotes the prophecy, 
 " Whosoever shall call on the name of 
 the Loi-d sliall be saved" (ver. 21) pre- 
 sents Jesus as "liotli Lord and Christ," 
 and promises " tlie gift of the Holy 
 Sjiirit." A little later he presents liim 
 as " the Prince of Life " (•) ; lo), and de- 
 clares, " neither is there salvation in any 
 other" (4:12), and later still he holds 
 him up as "a Prince and a Saviour, to 
 give repentance unto Israel and the 
 1 forgiveness of sins." Thirty or more 
 ' years after this, Peter, with ripe exjie- 
 rience, writes his first epistle, in style 
 resembling his speeches, the .same tire 
 and energy, somewhat tempered by age. 
 He refers to "the Holy Sj>irit sent 
 t down from heaven " ; to liaving been 
 \ " begotten unto a living hojie by the 
 j resurrection of Jesus Christ"; to the 
 I death of Christ as a fulfillment of juo- 
 ■ phecy ; to " salvation," a favorite word, 
 the object and result of fsiith ; and to a 
 risen Saviour, the object of love, tiie 
 i source of joy, and the ground of faith 
 
 and hope. (1 Peter 1 :3-10.) 
 
 I 42. The following verses, to the end 
 of the chapter, describe the condition 
 of the church immediately after Peute- 
 
Cm. II.] 
 
 THE ACTR. 
 
 41 
 
 Iieitccu/('iicc,Jny, and increase of disciples, 
 
 42 AND they continued steadfastly in the 
 apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and »in 
 
 43 breaking of bread, and in prayers. And 
 
 : Luke 22 : 19 ; 1 Cor. 10 : 10. 
 
 ych. 5 : 12; Mark 16 : 17. 
 9:6-15. •cli.4 :34-37. 
 
 fear came upon every soul. And .'many 
 wonders and signs were done by the 
 
 44 apostles. And all that believed were to- 
 
 45 gether, and '' had all things common ; and 
 "sold their possessions and goods, and 
 
 ' ch. 4 : 32, 34; 2 Cor. 8 : 14, 15 ; 
 
 cost. How long a time this account 
 covers is not indicated, but probably a 
 few months of j>eacefiil ijrowth between 
 the day of Pentecost and the Feast of 
 Tabernacles. They — the young con- 
 verts. Continued steadfastly in 
 the apostles' doctrine — pcrsever- 
 iii(//i/ atlnidincj upon the teaching of 
 the (i/wxt/cx, sought their instruction 
 regarding Christ and their new faith. 
 FellOAVship — a second item. The 
 word in the original means « sharing 
 in common, and may be applied to 
 social or sjiiritual fellon'ship, to distri- 
 bution of charities, or to mutual par- 
 ticipation of goods. Later than this it 
 was applied to cominunion, as of the 
 Lord's Supper, but not here. The 
 Lord's Supper seems to be indicated by 
 the next phrase. The word seems to 
 denote some act connected with wor- 
 ship, as do the three other items men- 
 tioned. To translate fellowship is too 
 general, for there is fellowship in all 
 acts of social worship, in prayer, praise, 
 contributions, and in the Lord's Sup- 
 per. It is, therefore, best to render the 
 distribution, underlying which, of 
 course, wouhl l)e the feeling of brother- 
 hood and fellowship in sharing the 
 necessities of needy brethren. It was a 
 fraternal distribution of goods. This 
 .sense of the word is confirmed by Rom. 
 15 : 2(5 ; 2 Cor. 9 : i;5, where it means a 
 contribution, and by Heb. 13 : 2(3, where 
 it has t!ie kiudred idea, to communicate. 
 Breaking of bread. The Jews be- 
 gan a meal by giving thanks and 
 breaking a loaf, {n ■■ 35 ; Luke 24 ; :i5. ) The 
 phrase here has a religious setting with 
 tiie three other acts, and can hardly 
 mean merely a common meal. As the 
 breaking of bread was the leading fea- 
 ture of the Lord's Supper, it came to 
 denote the ordinance itself. (21): 7,11; 1 
 Cor. 10:16.) As the institution of the 
 ordinance followed the Paschal Sui)per 
 (Luke22:u, lii), so doubtless it often fol- 
 lowed the ordinary meal. (ver. 46: 1 cor. 
 11:20 22.) The prayers — not merely 
 
 individual prayer, but the service of 
 praj'^er and various kinds of prayer at 
 their religious gatherings. 
 
 43. This verse describes the impres- 
 sion made upon those outside of the 
 discipleship by the wonderful events of 
 Pentecost, and the miracles ■wrought 
 through the apostles. Fear — religious 
 awe and reverence. Every soul — 
 every one who witnessed or heard of 
 the gift of tongues and the conversion 
 of the multitude. The miracles wrought 
 through the ajjostles are described as 
 Avonders and signs, (see ver. 22.) Thus 
 God wrought through them for their 
 preservation (4:.to; 15 : 12), and for per- 
 mitting the developmeut of the church 
 life. 
 
 44. The social condition of the dis- 
 cijileship is described in this verse and 
 the next. All that believed — in 
 Jesus as the Christ. One of the names 
 early given to them was believers. 
 (5 : 14.) Were together— daily in the 
 temple, and in their private gather- 
 ings. Mauy of the three thousand 
 were pilgrims, and, after receiving 
 needed instructions, returned to their 
 homes, and by so many lessened tlie 
 number of believers at Jerusalem. This 
 helps to relieve the difficulty of their 
 assembling often in one place, as well 
 as daily in the temjjle. Had all 
 things in common — regarding their 
 possessions, not as their own, but as a 
 trust for the benefit of those that had 
 need. (i:32.) Their supreme love to 
 Christ, their consecration of their all to 
 him, and the needs of converted pil- 
 grims while remaining at Jerusalem 
 and of poor converts, led those believers, 
 who had property, to share with them 
 ill daily sustenance. 
 
 45. What they did in carrying out 
 this beneficent purpose is now related. 
 They sold their jn'operty, real and jier- 
 sonal. Possessions — proj)erty ac- 
 quired ; some regard the word as refer- 
 ring to houses and lands. Goods — that 
 which belongs to any one ; regarded by 
 
42 THE ACTS. [Ch. II. 
 
 1" parted them to all men, as every man 
 46 had need. And they, continuing daily 
 
 with one accord «in the temple, and 
 breaking bread from house to house, did 
 
 b Prov. 11 : 24, 25 ; lea. 58 : 7 ; 1 Julin 3 : 17. « ch. 5 : 42 ; Luko 24 : 53. 
 
 some as movable posf5essions, personal 
 property. Parted tliem — the proceeds 
 of sales, to all — not to all men, but to 
 all of the cliscii)leship as any one had 
 need. Thus the sales and the dis- 
 tribution were regulated by the in- 
 dividual necessities of the disciples. 
 
 From tliis j)assai;e, and from 4 : 32-37 : 
 6 : 1, it is evident : (1) That tliere was 
 a community of goods in the cliurch at 
 Jerusalem. It was the carrying out 
 the command (Luke 12: 33), in reference to 
 the whol(- cliurch, and the continuation 
 and eidari,'(iiniit of tlie plan, pursued 
 by Jesus and the twelve, by which their 
 expenses were defrayed from a common 
 purse. (2) While it was entered into 
 by all it was carried on by the vo/ioi- 
 tary principal. No one was compelled 
 to sell ; and after the sale it was left 
 free to give little or much. (5: *•) Thus 
 Mary the mother of Mark owned a 
 house several years later. (12 : i^) There 
 was no breaking up of tlie fiimily rela- 
 tion, (ver. 46.) (3) It Avas conjincd to 
 the church at Jerusalem. There is no 
 trace of it found elsewhere, in any of 
 the early churclies, but on the contrary 
 there is evidence that it did not exist 
 in them, and that tiie rich and poor 
 lived side by side. (2 Cor. 8 : 13, is ; 9:6, 7 ; 
 
 1 Tim. 6; S, 17-19; James 2: 1-5; 4:13.) It WaS 
 
 a temporary ex])edient adapted to .Jeru- 
 salem, where the ajjostles and other 
 devoted discijdes continued to retride, 
 and where many of the ])ilgrims com- 
 ing to the feast, would be converted, 
 and afterward might continue for a 
 time for instruction, and perluips for 
 residence. 80 doul)tless many devout 
 Jews, wlio were spending their last 
 days in the Holy City, believed in 
 Jesus, and needed help from their 
 brethren. Doubtless, the large liber- 
 ality displayed by the Jerusalem dis- 
 ciple-ship helps to ex]>lain tlieir general 
 poverty somewhat later. (Rom. io:'.'6.) 
 We are not, however, to regard it as a 
 mistake, but a wise expedient for the 
 time and ]ilace, and an eminent exhi- 
 bition of zeal, consecration, and benefi- 
 cence. Not only were the early disci- 
 ples looking for the coming of their 
 
 Lord, but they were living in that 
 city which, by their Lord's own predic- 
 tion, had l)eeii devoted to terrible judg- 
 ments anil utter de.stiuction. Why 
 then should they amass jiroperty there ? 
 AVhat better than to use their posses- 
 sions in Chri.st's service while the city 
 still remained ? The a])ostles and the 
 brethren made no mistake in devoting 
 to beneticence things which might be 
 destroyed or desolated, and thus en- 
 tirely lost to the good of Christ's king- 
 dom. And we may l)elicve that they 
 were guided by tlie Sjiirit. The same 
 conditions j)revailed nowliere el.se, and 
 hence no other diurch adopted the 
 plan. 
 
 4G. Their habits and religious spirit. 
 Continuing, perfcverinff day by Jay 
 with one mind. On the meaning of 
 the phra.se, see 1 : 14. In the temple 
 — at the appointed hours of prayer. 
 (3:1.) Their daily presence would show 
 that they were not opposed to the law, 
 and that they entered heartily into the 
 public worshij) of Go<l. It gave them 
 oi)poitunity also to l)ear witness to 
 Jesus, and instruct imiuirers. (3:ii-2»; 
 5:21.) It ap])ears that for a considera- 
 ble time they continued to observe the 
 Mosaic laws and worship (21:20), and 
 also the rites of the new feitb. The 
 Old Dispensation .strictly ended with 
 the di'ath of Clirist, yet it was not at 
 once outwardly sui>planted by the New. 
 The services of the temj)le and of the 
 ■synagogue gave tlie very best o])])ortii- 
 nity for dis.seininating the doctrines of 
 Jesus. The transition from the Old 
 into the New was made Mithout that 
 violent sliock wliich would otherwise 
 have been experienced. Coini)are how 
 the ministry of tlie Baptist and the 
 ministry of (."lirist overlajiped. (John3: 
 22, 23.) Jewish believers were gradually 
 prepared for entering uiioii the full 
 liberty of the gospel. In contrast to 
 their jiublic worship in the temple were 
 their private gatherings, breaking: 
 bread, observing the Lord's Supper 
 (seeoDver. 42.) from house to housc, 
 rather, at home or in private. Either 
 translation is allowable, though the 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 43 
 
 cat theii- meat with gladness and ''singlc- 
 
 47 ness of heart, praising (4od, and = having 
 
 favour with all the people. And ' the 
 
 Lord added to the church daily such as 
 should be saved. 
 
 d Matt. 6 : 22 ; Kom. 12 : 8, Gr. ; 2 Cor. 1:12; Col. :i : 22. « Koni. 14 : IS. f ch. 5 : 14 ; 11 : 24. 
 
 latter is preferable. Both, however, 
 contain truth. Tliey met in private in 
 ditierent phices, doubtless going from 
 house to house. Tlie expression does 
 not neeessarily mean that they all met 
 in one place ; nor tliat the Lord's Sup- 
 per was observed daily. Did eat 
 their meat — their ordinary meals. 
 With gladness — with Joyous exulta- 
 tion ; the result of their fiiith, tin; fruit 
 of tlxe Spirit. Singleness— simjilicity 
 of heart towai'd God and one aaothei', 
 without deceit, jealousy, or envy on the 
 part of any. 
 
 47. Closely connecteil with wliat 
 precedes, the writer adds, praising 
 God, not merely giving tlianks at 
 meals, but at all times and everywiiere 
 praising and glorifying God. Having 
 lavor with, receiving the general aj)- 
 probation of all the people— of all 
 classes. This does not probably include 
 the Jewish leaders (^ : i ), who were awed 
 into comparative silence by the won- 
 derful events of the resurrection (Mau. 
 28 : 11-15) and of Pentecost. The Lord — 
 Christ the Head of the church added, 
 through the Spirit and the preaching 
 of the truth. (i6;u.) To the church. 
 This is omitted by tlie oldest manu- 
 scripts and versions. Some snp])ose 
 that it was omitted l)y copyists to make 
 it conform to ver. 41. The meaning, 
 however, is substantially the same, 
 whether it is said the Lord added to 
 the cliurch, to them, or to himself. 
 The high critical authorities that maive 
 this omission join to this verse to- 
 gether from the beginning of the next 
 chapter, translating the Lord added to- 
 gether daily, that is, added to them, 
 through the Holy Spirit and in fellow- 
 ship, one with another. On the word 
 church, see note on 5 : 11. Such as 
 should he saved— rather, the saved 
 ones. Tliose who believed were re- 
 garded as already saved, having ob- 
 tained acceptance with God through 
 Christ, and were spoken of as " de- 
 livered from the power of darkness 
 and transhited into the kingdom of 
 God's dear Son." (coi, i : is.) 
 
 The Organization of thk First 
 Christian Church is generally re- 
 ferred to the day of Pentecost. Per- 
 hajis it would be more correct to say 
 that it was then publicly and divinely 
 recognized. During the forty days be- 
 fore our Lord's ascension he ai)i)ears, 
 not only to have taught the diseiiilcs 
 the things of the kingdom, but also to 
 have treated them as a missionary body 
 for proclaiming the gospel throughout 
 
 the world. (Matt. 28 : 1«'20; Maik 16 : 1518; 
 
 Luke 24: 48, iS".) Aiul immediately after 
 his ascension they continued together 
 in worship and transacted business as 
 an organized company, (i ; u, is, 2.s 'ie,) 
 
 The young church, however, received 
 its ))aptism and was manifested to the 
 world on Pentecost, and then began to 
 fulfill its mission. It did not, however, 
 at once recognize the greatness of its 
 work, nor its relation to Judaism and 
 the world. Instead of comj)rehending 
 that Christianity was to sujiersede 
 Judaism, the early disciples appear to 
 have thought that it was merely to sup- 
 ])lement it by faith in Jesus as the Mes- 
 siah. Their attachment to the Mosaic 
 law was, therefore, unabated, and they 
 worshiped in the tem])le like other 
 Jews. But in addition they held their 
 own meetings in private houses and 
 convenient places, as believers in Jesus, 
 for the breaking of bread and other re- 
 ligious observances. 
 
 They were consequently slow in ex- 
 tending the gospel outside of .lerusalem 
 and in organizing churches elsewhere. 
 Jesus had ministered to the entire 
 discipleshi]) of Palestine, and why 
 might not they do the same. So for a 
 long time the church at .lerusalem 
 seems to have Iteeii the only church 
 embracing believei-s in all parts of Pal- 
 estine. (9:31.) At the same time these 
 believers would hold their religious as- 
 semblies where they lived (»:3-), which 
 might sometimes be very naturally 
 called their synagogue, and is so styled 
 in .Tames 2 : 2. Other local churches 
 did not probably exi.st much before the 
 conversion of Cornelius, perhaps not 
 
44 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. II. 
 
 till after that event. It was? about that 
 time when, accor(lin!>; to Gal. 1:22, 
 churches apix'ar to have existed iu 
 Juilea. 
 
 Membek.ship of the Church. — 
 From tills cliapter it appears that the 
 Jerusalem churcli consisted of persons 
 who professed conversion, and who were 
 first baptized as believers in Jesus as 
 the Christ. And this seems to have 
 been the uniform case with this and all 
 other cliurches mentioned in the Acts. 
 
 (8:12, as ; 9 :18; 10:48; 16: 15,3:1,40.) This prac- 
 tice is also confirmed throughout the 
 epistles. The churclies and their mem- 
 bers are addressed as "saiuts," fol- 
 lowers of the Lord," " faitiifiil breth- 
 ren," "the children of Uod," "sancti- 
 fied in Christ Jesus," " the elect of God 
 and sucli as love tlie Lord," and are 
 "new creatures in (!iirist Jesus." (i c,„r- 
 1 : 1, 2; Eph. 1 : 1.) Everywhere it is im- 
 plied that only such were members as 
 were caj)able of i)ersonal devotion to 
 Christ and faith in him. (5;U;9:3i; 
 
 11 : 21, 24, 26.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. It is fitting that God's people should be 
 together with one mind on days appointed 
 for religious service. (Ver. 1 ; 20 -. 7 ; Heb. 
 10 : 25.) 
 
 2. They usually receive the most signal 
 blessings, who assemble and are waiting in 
 united prayer. (Ver. 1, 2; 4 : ?,1 ; 12:12, 
 Matt. 18 : 19.) 
 
 3. The special influences of the Holy 
 Spirit is the privilege of the individual 
 believer. (Ver. rs ; 1 .Tchn 2 : 20.) 
 
 4. When the heart is filled with the Spirit 
 the tongue will be unloo.sed to witness for 
 '"bri.st and speak his praise. (Ver. 4; 4 : 8, 
 31 ; 6 : 10.) 
 
 5. God prepares a way for his coming and 
 hearts to receive him. (Ver. 5; Luke 1 : 17 ) 
 
 G. The outpouring of the Spirit will 
 always be noi.seil abroad, and call the people 
 together. (Ver. 6 ; 8 : 18 ; 3 : 10.) 
 
 7. The displays of divine grace will always 
 excite the wonder of those who know not its 
 power (Ver. 7, 8; 3 : 10; 8: 18.) 
 
 8. God often u'>es the humblest instrumen- 
 talities to accomplish his work. The fisher- 
 men of Galilee, whose speech was somewhat 
 Uucouth, are the leaders iu the Pentecostal 
 
 work. (Ver. 7, 8 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 26, 27 ; 2 Cor. 
 4:7) 
 
 9. The grandeur of Christ's work through 
 the Holy Spirit is too great for any one lan- 
 guage of earth to describe. (Ver. 9-11; 
 1 Cor. 2 : 9, 10.) 
 
 10. The Pentecostal tongues foreshadow 
 the preaching of the go.spel in all tongues 
 and among all nations. (Ver. 9-11; Watt. 
 28 : 19; Rev. 14 : 0,7.) 
 
 11. The works of God had been sung at 
 creation (Job 38 : 7), but new strains of won- 
 derful works of grace were added at Pente- 
 cost, to be continued and perfected in the 
 kingdom of glory. (Ver. 11 ; Rev. 5 . 9-13 ) 
 
 12. Revivals of religion call out honest 
 inquirers and profane deriders. (Ver. 12, 13 ; 
 13 7-12,41,42,4.5,48.) 
 
 13. Many are skeptics, not for want of evi- 
 dences to the truth of religion, but for a 
 want of disposition to investigate. (Ver. 13; 
 17 :32; John 5: 40.) 
 
 14. The Gospel appeals to our reason and 
 commends itself to the judgment. (Ver. 14, 
 15 ; Isa. 1 : 18 ; 1 Peter 3 : 15, 16.) 
 
 15. We should answer opposers and slan- 
 derers of God's work with calmness, kind- 
 ness, and self-possession. (Ver. 14, 15; Prov. 
 15 : 1 ; 1 Peter 2 : 15 ) 
 
 16. The Old Testament is the word of God 
 and the prophets were inspired to write 
 what they did. (Ver 16 ; 2 Peter 1 : 21 ; 2 
 Tim. 3 : 16.) 
 
 17. Scripture is often interpreted by Script- 
 ure. From its interpretations of prophecy 
 we may learn much how to interpret those 
 predictions which are yet unfulfilled. (Ver. 
 17-21 ; 2 Peter 1 : 19, 20 ; 1 Peter 1 : 10-12.) 
 
 18. Revivals of religion are a part of the 
 Spirit's work iu the world. All the objec- 
 tions, which are made against them, might 
 have been urged against the Pentecostal 
 season. (17-21.) 
 
 19. The Spirit gives all believers something 
 to do; but to each his own work and gift. 
 (Ver. 17, 18; 1 Cor. 12 : 4-9.) 
 
 20. In preaching the gospel its warnings 
 and threatenings, as well as its invitations 
 and promises, should be used. (Ver. 19, 20; 
 Rom. 2:4; 11 : 21, 22 ; 2 Cor. 5 11.) 
 
 21. How easy to be saved ! How plain and 
 simple the way ! Salvation is to be had for 
 the asking. (Ver. 21; Isa. 45: 22; 55 : 7; 
 Luke 23 : 42.) 
 
 22. Even iu his humiliation Jesua gare 
 
Ch. II.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 45 
 
 abuudaul proof that be was the Christ, the 
 Saviour of the world. (Ver. 22 ; 10 : 38 ; 
 John 3:2; 15 : 24.) 
 
 23. The purposes of God are in harmony 
 with the free agency of luau. Men act freely 
 in accomplishing what (jod has determined 
 to bring to pass, and hence may be very 
 guilty. (Ver. 23 ; 4 : 27, 28 ; Gen. .50 : 20.) 
 
 24. As death could not hold the Prince of 
 life, so it shall not be able to hold the bodies 
 of his saints at the last trump. (Ver. 24; 1 
 Cor. 1.5 : 52 ; 1 Thess 4 : 16.) 
 
 2.") The prophecies of the Old Testament 
 com re in Jesus. David was both the type 
 of Christ, and he spake of Christ. (Ver. 25- 
 28; Rev. 19: 10.) 
 
 26. Jesus approached death with the full 
 expectation of overcoming it, and rising 
 from the grave. (Ver. 25-28 ; Luke 18 : 33 ; 
 Heb. 12 : 2.) 
 
 27. Conflicts add to the joy of the victor, 
 and to ihe glory of his crown. (Ver. 2.5-28 ; 
 2 Tim. 4 : 6-8.) 
 
 28. The example of Jesus should stimulate 
 us to look to him and overcome, and share 
 with him in his glory. (Ver. 28; 2 Tim. 
 2: 12; Rev. 3 : 21.) 
 
 29. The death and burial of David, and 
 the death and resurrection of Christ are 
 equally facts of history. (Ver. 29-o2.) 
 
 30. Death puts an end to earthly glory ; 
 but Christ's glory and the Christian's glory 
 are beyond death and the grave. (Ver. 30, 
 31 ; Phil. 2 : 9 ; 1 Cor. 15 : ,55, .56.) 
 
 31. The Father, Son, ami Holy Spirit, the 
 triune God, are engaged in the great work 
 of redemption. (Ver. ;t! ; John 15 : 1, 26.) 
 
 32. David's Lord will reign supreme over all 
 his foes. (Ver. 34,35 ; Kph. 1 ; 20 ; Heb. 1 : 13.) 
 
 33. The presence of the Holy Spirit is an 
 evidence of a crucified, risen, and exalted 
 Jesus. (Ver, 33, 36 : 1 IMer 1 : 12.) 
 
 34. In Peter's sermon, we have a model of 
 gospel preaching. Scriptural, simple, direct, 
 embarrassed by no metaphysical or abstruse 
 teaching, it sought immediate results, con- 
 viction of sin and conversion to Christ. It 
 was an argument from facts and the word 
 of God, adapted to convince his hearers that 
 they had rejected their Messiah, the Saviour. 
 (Ver. 14-26.) 
 
 35. Gospel truth may convince the intel- 
 lect, but the Holy Spirit must take it to the 
 heart. The word of God becomes the sword 
 of the Spirit. (Ver. 37 ; Heb. 4 : 12.) 
 
 36. Conviction of sin is essential to repent- 
 ance, but is not repentance. Peter exhorts 
 his convicted hearers to repent. (Ver. 38 ; 
 John 16 : 9-11.) 
 
 37. " Baptism is the divinely appointed 
 method of making an open confession of 
 repentance and faith. It draws the lines 
 between the professed friends of Christ and 
 his enemies. It is the only act which the 
 believer in Jesus is required to perform but 
 once." (Pendleton.) (Ver. 38 ; Gal. 3 : 27.) 
 
 38 How full and free the gospel message! 
 How it should stimulate believers to send it 
 speedily to all nations ! (Ver. 39 ; Rev. 22 : 
 17.) 
 
 39. It is the duty of sinners to yield and 
 be saved from eternal ruin, by repenting of 
 their sins, believing on Christ, and confess- 
 ing him before men. (Ver. 40; 3 : 19.) 
 
 40. The glad reception of the word, fol- 
 lowed by prompt obedience, is an evidence 
 of true repentance. (Ver. 41 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 4-6.) 
 
 41. Repentance, faith, and baptism are but 
 the beginnings of the Christian life. Study- 
 ing the word; private, social, and public 
 worship ; and benevolence enter into the 
 warp and woof of holy living. (Ver. 42 ; 1 
 Cor. 15 : 58 ; 1 Thess. 5 ; 14-22.) 
 
 42. The Lord's Supper never came before 
 baptism, but always after it, in apostolic 
 churches, (Ver, 42 ; 20 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 11 : 18-22.) 
 
 43. Great seriousness and solemnity is 
 generally the result of an extensive work of 
 grace in a community. (Ver. 43 ; 18 : 8-H ; 
 19 : 10.) 
 
 44. While a community of goods did not 
 exist in any othrr church than [that at 
 Jerusalem, and it is not practicable nor de- 
 sirable among professing Christians gen- 
 erally, yet the spirit of brotherly love and 
 sympathy underlying it is no less a duty 
 now than it was then. The opitosite spirit 
 is of the world and not of Christ. (Ver. 
 45, 46 ; 1 John 3:17; James 2 : 15 ; 5 : 1-6.) 
 
 45. Religion brings joy to the private an \ 
 public worship, to family and social life, to 
 the body and the soul. (Ver. 46, 47 ; 8 : 8.) 
 
 46. Consistent Christian living will com- 
 mand the respect of men. (Ver. 47 ; 27 : 
 4;!.) 
 
 47. A spiritually minded church, earnest 
 in the cause of Christ, and united in love 
 and effort, will continually increase in num- 
 bers from those who are saved. (Ver. 47 ; 
 11:21,24,26.) 
 
46 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 LCii. III. 
 
 Healing of a lame man; Peter's address io the 
 
 people, 
 3 NOW Peter and John went up together 
 
 into the temple at the hour of prayer, 
 
 2 8 tieing the ninth hour And ^ a certain 
 
 man lame from his mother's womb was 
 
 carried, whom they laid daily at the gate 
 
 i Dan. 9 : 21. ^ ch. 14 : 8. 
 
 Ch. 3 : In this chapter and the uext 
 Luke records the first opjiositiou and 
 jH'rsfcution endured by tlie first church. 
 ("Iiristianity was not to be national or 
 local, but universal. Pressure from 
 w itiiout and an impelling force within 
 were needful to scatter the disciples 
 and send them forth to preach the word 
 and plant churches elsewhere. The 
 minor hostilities recorded till the gen- 
 eral persecution ui)on tlie death of Ste- 
 j)!ien, were the providential steps to a 
 wider dissemination of the gospel. 
 Luke records the miraculous healing of 
 a lame man by Peter and John, which 
 astonishes the sj)ectators, and calls forth 
 an address from Peter, in wliich he 
 ascribes the miracle to the power of 
 Jesus, and urges the peojde to repent- 
 ance. 
 
 1-11. Healing of the Lame M.\n 
 r.Y Pr;ter axd John. This was one 
 of many miracles (•-:«), given because 
 it was tlie occasion of another telling 
 discourse of Peter, and of the first hos- 
 tile movement against the church. The 
 time is not stated, but a break is im- 
 plied in the peaceful growth following 
 Pentecost. Some place it a year lati-r ; 
 others think the feast of Pentecost had 
 not yet ended, because of the number 
 of priests present in the temple. (■« : i-) 
 The latter view gives too little time for 
 the development of cluirch life recorded 
 in 2 : 42-47, and the former allows 
 more than is necessary. It is better to 
 )iiit it between four and five months 
 biter, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 
 wliich occurred early in October, A. D. 
 
 1. Peter and John. Leaders 
 a';io!ig the ajiostles, as well as chjse 
 ])''rsonal friends. Their nnitnal friend- 
 siiijt may be traced in tiieir history. 
 Tliey were jiartners in fishing (Lukes : in), 
 went together to jirepare the last Pass- 
 over (Luke 22 :s), were together at the 
 trial of Jesus (John 18 : 15. 16), at the sepul- 
 chre, and at the Sea of Galilee after the 
 resurrection. (John 20 : 2 ; 21 : 7. 21.) They 
 were among the more intimate com- 
 
 panions of our Lord. (Luke9:2S.) Went 
 up — were going up. True to life ; the 
 temple was on Mount Moriah, and they 
 were on their way, when they reached 
 the gate Beautiful, (vcr.2.) Together 
 should be connected with the last verse 
 of the preceding chapter, according to 
 high critical authorities, (see 2 : 47.) At 
 the honr of prayer, the ninth 
 hour — al)out three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, being also the hour of eve- 
 ning sacrifice. There were three 
 liours of prayer, 9 A. M., noon, and 3 
 
 P. M. (Ps. 55: 17; Dan. 6: in.) The apOS- 
 
 tles were going up to the temple to 
 worship. They did not fully under- 
 stand tlie relation of the gospel to tiie 
 Mosaic law nor enter into the full 
 meaning of Christ's teacliing concern- 
 iTig spiritual worship, and tluit time and 
 j)lace were unimportant. (John 4: 21-21.) 
 " From the Jewish synagogues, on the 
 contrary, they must have separated at 
 once, as soon as tlieir distinctive views 
 became known. It was impossible to 
 avow the Christian faith and remain 
 connected with those communities." 
 
 (IlAt'KETT.) (Speoii2:+fi.) TllCy had 
 
 assemblies of their oM'n. (2 : 42, 46.) 
 
 2. The miracle here related was one 
 of the wonders and signs wrought by 
 the apostles. (2:4.1.) It was liy no 
 means the first, but probably the most 
 remarkable up to that time. Its im- 
 portance was enhanced by the ])ul>licity 
 given and the results which followed. 
 The man upon whom the miracle was 
 ])erformed had been lame from his 
 birth, and he was now over forty years 
 old (4:22), anil was laid daily at the 
 gate of the temple. He was thus well 
 known ; his lameness was of the most 
 serious nature ; there could be no doubt 
 about the miracle. Was carried — 
 just at the time when Peter and John 
 arrived. >\ horn they laid — vhom 
 thfy, his friends, icere voni to kn/ daily 
 in that public spot. "Tlie j>ractice of 
 jilacing objects of charity at the en- 
 trances of tem]des, both on account of 
 the great concourse and the supposed 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 47 
 
 of the ♦eniple wliicli is called Beautiful, 
 'to ask alms of tlii'in ihat entered iuto the 
 
 3 temple, who seeing I'tter UDtlJohD about 
 
 4 to go into the temple asked an alms. And 
 Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with 
 
 5 John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed 
 unto thein, expecting to receive some- 
 thing of them. 
 
 6 1 hen Peter said, ^ Silver and gold have 
 I none; but such as 1 have give 1 thee; 
 
 1 John 9:8. k 2 Cor. 6 : 10. 
 
 tendency of devotional feeling!? to pro- 
 mote those of a charitable kind, was 
 coniiuon among Jews and Gentiles, and 
 is still ke])t up in some parts of the 
 Christian world," (Dr. J. A. Alex- 
 i)!iK,) Tlic gate . . . called Beau- 
 tiful — which gate is not certainly 
 known. It j)rohal)ly took this popular 
 a))jH'llation from its magnificence, and 
 very likely was the great eastern gate 
 thus described by Josej)hus (Jewish 
 War, V. 5, 3): "But there was one 
 gate that was without [the inner court] 
 of the holy house, which was of Cor- 
 intliiaii brass, and greatly excelled 
 those which were only co\'ered over 
 with silver and gold. . . . Now the 
 mairnitudes of the other gates were 
 equal to one another, but that over the 
 Corinthian gate, which opened on the 
 east over against the gate of the holy 
 house itself, was much larger, for it,s 
 height was fifty cubits, ancl its doors 
 were forty cubits, and it was adorned 
 after a most costly manner, as having 
 mueii richer and thicker |ilates of silver 
 and gold upon them than the other. . . . 
 Now there were fifteen steps which led 
 from the wall of the court of the women 
 to this greater gate." Again (Anticj., 
 XV., 11, .5) he says, doubtless referring 
 to the same gate : " But on the east 
 quarter, toward the siinrising, there 
 was ou(; large gate, through which such 
 as were jiure came in, together with 
 their wives; but the temj)le farther in- 
 ward in that gate was not allowed to 
 the M'omen ; but still more inward was 
 tiiere the third [court of the] temjjle, 
 wiiereunto it was not lawful for any 
 but the priests alone to enter." From 
 tiiis it would appearthat this great [rate 
 was situated between the court of the 
 Gentiles and the court of the women. 
 The sacred narrative implies that it 
 was the most frequented entrance to 
 the tem]ile, and on this account was 
 selected for the cripjile as the best place 
 for his daily solicitations. Ask alms 
 — a donation to the poor. There were 
 no almshouses then. It does not follow 
 
 that cripples should be placed now at 
 church doors seeking aiil, as in some 
 countries. 
 
 3. About to go. The two apostles 
 were detained, just at this ])oint, by tiie 
 one addressing them. Asked an 
 alms. The expression is full, askfd to 
 receive a donation. He was seeking 
 not mere pity or kind words, nor was 
 he expecting deliverance from his life- 
 long ills. His heart was bent on re- 
 ceiving some needful gift. 
 
 4. Fastening his eyes— ZooAZ/u/ 
 intently, the same verb used in 1 : 10. 
 Both Peter and John were deeply 
 moved by the Spirit toward this man, 
 by which it became evident to them 
 that a miracle was to be wrought 
 through them. Both may have spoken, 
 but more probably Peter spoke for 
 both. Look on us — in order to gain 
 his attention and arouse his expecta- 
 tion. " When thou see.st misery in thy 
 brother's face, let him see mercy in 
 
 thine eye." (QUARLES.) (SeeNum. al :8j 
 Isa, 45:2-J ) 
 
 5. This verse shows that Peter and 
 .John had aroused both the attention 
 and expectation of the lame man. He 
 gave heed — gave attention, fixing his 
 eyes and his mind on them. Expect- 
 ing something — not a miracle, but 
 some material gift, as is evident from 
 the next verse. 
 
 6. Silver and gold have I none 
 — what the lame man was asking for 
 and expecting. Silver and gold are j>ut 
 for money. But such as, etc. — bat 
 what I have in my j)ower / give thee 
 herewith. Yet he does not arrogate 
 independent power, but at once adds. 
 In the name, by the authority and as 
 a representative, of Jesus Christ of 
 Nazareth, a name now generally 
 known in Jerusalem and doubtless 
 know.'i to this cripple. Notice it is not 
 merely Jesus, but also C'hrint, the 
 Messiah. Thus Jesus C!hrist is brought 
 to this man's heart, by whose power he 
 is commanded to walk. The original 
 has the Nazarene as iu 2 : 22, which is 
 
4S 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii.lll 
 
 ' In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth 
 7 rise up and wallc. And he took him by 
 the right hand, and lifted Aim up: and 
 immediately his feet and ancle bones 
 S received strength. And ho ""leaping up 
 stood, and walked, and entered with thera 
 into the temple, walking, and leai)iug, 
 and praii-ing God. 
 
 9 And all the people saw him walkings 
 
 10 and praising God : and they knew that 
 it was he which sat for alms at the Beau- 
 tiful gate of the temple: and they were 
 tilled with wonder and amazement at that 
 
 11 which had happened unto him. And as 
 the lame man which was healed held 
 Peter and John, all the people ran together 
 
 1 ch. 4 : 7, 10; Matt. 7 : 22; Mark 16 : 17. 
 
 Isa. -.io : 36. 
 
 equivalent to from Nazareth, with an 
 allusion to the coutem2)tuous usage of 
 the name, (see Jiutt. -i -. w, note.) He would 
 share the reproach of his Lord. Notice 
 that while Jesus performed miracles by 
 his own authority (Matt. 8: :;), often with [ 
 au "I say unto thee" (Luke 5: 2+), the! 
 ai>ostles performed them in the name 
 
 of Christ. (9:34; 16:18; Mark 16:17, 18.) 
 
 Rise up and Avalk — walk about, 
 something which he was to do and con- 
 timie to do. Several of tlie oldest 
 manuscripts, and the late.st critical 
 authority, omit rise up and. If they 
 originally belonged to the text, they 
 may have been omitted by cojjyists, 
 because in the ne.\t verse Peter is said 
 to have raised uj) the lame man. 
 
 7. And he took him — rather, and 
 seiziu'j him by tite right hand. The 
 act was instantaneous, accompanying 
 the command to walk. This he did to 
 encourage and .«trengtlien his faith. 
 The miracles of Jesus were often at- 
 tended with .some outward act. (.vatt. t>: 
 
 15; U : 31; Mark 7 : :j;i ; w : ■11.) Lifted — • 
 
 rained him up. "The lame man had 
 merely to yield himself to the 2>ower 
 that came upon hini." (Bekgel.) 
 Imniediatly — liis feet and ankle 
 joints were strengtliened. He had been 
 a cripple from weakness in the muscles 
 and liu'ametits of tlie feet and ankles. 
 The ]iartieularity of this description of 
 the disease and cure is characteristic of 
 Luke as a jiliysician. 
 
 8. The cure is manifested by leap- 
 ing up or forward from tlie jdace 
 wiiere he was sitting (ver ^n)^ then by 
 standing, and then by walking al)Out, 
 as if to make trial of his strength ; a 
 natural gradation. In doing that 
 which he had never learned to do we 
 recognize a wonderful feature of this 
 miracle. (Seeon ver. 11.) His natural, 
 and religious joy and gratitude were 
 indicated in that he entered with 
 them into the temple, walking 
 
 about, and leaping and praising 
 God. He enters into the court of 
 Israel (ver. 2) with the apostles, perhaps 
 taking hold of their hands (ver. ii), 
 leaps for joy, and ascribes his cure to 
 the almighty power of God. We may 
 assume tliat he recognizes Jesus as the 
 Christ, and his divine power exerted in 
 his behalf, (see ou ver. ifi.) 
 
 9. This vense adds the fact, tliat the 
 miracle was public and widely known. 
 All the people — all those who had 
 come to the temjile to i)ray. Tliere 
 must have l)een a great multitude of 
 witnesses, esi)ecially if it was at tlie 
 Feast of Tabernacles, as we have suj)- 
 posed. The healed man keeps near the 
 apostles, ascribing tliauksgiving and 
 praise to God. Li thus doing he not 
 only acknowledges that the apostles 
 are' servants of God, but that Jesus is 
 the Chvi.^t of God. 
 
 10. Luke luings to view the certain 
 identity of the lame man, and the 
 great astonishment of the people. 
 They kneAV, or recognized him to be 
 the lame beggar who liad been accus- 
 tomed to lie helpless, close to the beau- 
 tiful gate of the temple. There would 
 be no doubt about either the num, or 
 the cure. Filled with Avoi'.der — 
 with feelings of surj)rise, mingled with 
 awe. Amazement — transported as it 
 were out of themselves by sudilcn 
 emotions of astonishment. At that 
 Avhich had happened unto liini. 
 His weak feet and ankles made strong ; 
 a crijijde from birth walking about, 
 leaping for joy, and loudly ju'aising 
 God. Such a sudden, uiifxi)eetetl, and 
 unheard-of sight was fitted to arouse 
 astonishment to the highest degree. 
 
 11. According to the most ajtproved 
 reading this verse begins, A)id holding 
 fast to J'etrr and John ; which the lame 
 man had been doing and was still 
 doing. C)lshausen and some others re- 
 
 1 fer tills to a siiiritual holding fast, au 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 49 
 
 unto them in the porch "that is called marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so 
 
 Solomon's, greatly wondering. earnestly on us, » as though by our own 
 
 And when Peter saw it, he answered power or holiness we had made this man 
 
 unto the people. Ye men of Israel, why I 13 to walk? The God of Abraham, and of 
 
 ■ch. 5 :12: John 10 : 23. 
 
 >ch. 14 : 11-15; Gen. 41 : 16. 
 
 inward attachment, a cleaving of the 
 mind to Peter and John. But there is 
 not siilhcient reason for this view. Tlie 
 former view is the more natural and 
 agrees better with the context. But 
 why did he liokl fast to tliem ? Doubt- 
 less excited gratitude would lead liini to 
 seize hold of them. But would this ex- 
 })lain his continuing to do this while 
 they enter the temjjle and return to 
 Solomon's porch? Would not kee])iug 
 near them suffice ? It is to be noted 
 that Peter first took him by the hand 
 (ver. 7)j that the lame man went with 
 the ajiostles into the temjjle (ver. 8), and 
 a little afterward was continuiug to 
 hold fast to them in Solomon's porch. 
 Is it not natural to suppose that during 
 all this time he was holding fast to 
 their hands or otherwise, with perhaps 
 sliglit intermissions? In his new ex- 
 perience he would naturally feel the 
 need of guidance into that portion of 
 the temjjle where he had never been ; 
 of help and direction in walking till he 
 gained full command of every muscle 
 and full conlidenee in his power to con- 
 trol himself. His leajiing (ver. s) seems 
 to indicate that liis movements at first 
 were somewhat irregular ; and thus he 
 needed the steadying and guiding 
 liands of tlie apostles. We must neither 
 add to nor take away from the great- 
 ness of the miracle. It was marvelous 
 indeed, though he was guided at first 
 by Peter and John. The porch that 
 is called Solomon's — imj)lyingthat 
 tliere were other porticoes and that 
 tins was much noted. It is also men- 
 tioned in ch. 5 : 12 and John 10 : 23. It 
 was a portico or hall ujKni the eastern 
 side, in the court of the Gentiles, and 
 |)robably where Solomon had erected 
 the entrance i)orch to the first temple. 
 Joseplius (Antiq., xx., 9, 7) regarded it 
 as that built by Solomon himself, which 
 had been left uninjured in the destruc- 
 tion of the temple by the Babylonians. 
 12-2t). Peter's Address to the 
 
 People. (Oen 22:1.m; Ex.3:6; Lev. 17 : 2!) ; 
 Deut. 15 ; 18, 19 ; 1 Peter \:20,2\; 2 Peier 3 : 12.) 
 
 D 
 
 This address is similar to the Pente- 
 costal one, in that it presents Jesus as 
 the Messiah and a]>j)eals to the Old Tes- 
 tament Scriptures and enforces repent- 
 ance. It goes a stei> beyond it in the 
 motives derived from the future bless- 
 ings of Christ's kingdom and his second 
 coming. It must be liorne in mind 
 that Peter was addressing many devout 
 Israelites, who were looking for the 
 Messiah, and were ready to acce])t of 
 Jesus as the Christ as soon as con- 
 vinced. (♦:■!•) This helps to exj)lain 
 the diilerence of direction (ver. 19-21) from 
 that of Pentecost (2 : 38) and from that to 
 the jailer. (ifi:3i.) 
 
 12. When Peter saw it — the hasty 
 and excited concourse of the people and 
 their exhibitions of amazement. An- 
 swered — not to any question, but to 
 the wish for information implied in 
 their looks and wonderings. Addresses 
 are often introduced in tliis way in the 
 New Testament. (Matt. 11 :2.5, nc.te.) Men 
 of Israel— an honorable designation, 
 fitting to the jjeople who had come to 
 the temple for worship and were repre- 
 sentatives of the Jewish nation. (2 : 22.) 
 Why marvel at this thing which had 
 occurred (ver. 10), or at this man \\\\o 
 has been cured (ver. 11. le) — either con- 
 struction Ijeing allowable, but the latter 
 pei'haps somewhat prefera))le. They 
 had cause for wonder, but they failed 
 to see til rough whose power this great 
 miracle had been done. Their wonder- 
 dering was fundamentally wrong. 
 Why look ye so earnestly on us ? 
 Why on us fasten ye yinn- eyrsf Us is 
 emphatic. Peter would make Christ 
 emphatic and turn their interest to 
 him. As though by our own 
 power or holiness, (jodliness, piety. 
 The cure had not been effected by their 
 own indej)endent power, nor as a re- 
 ward of piety, as some of them miglit 
 suppose. 
 
 13. In contrast he points to the author 
 of the cure, the God of the patriarchs, 
 whom he reverently named according to 
 their customary formula. (7:32;Kio(1. 
 
60 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. III. 
 
 Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our 
 fathers, p bath glorified his Son Jesus ; 
 whom ye delivered up, and i denied him 
 in the presence of Pilate, ■when he was 
 
 14 determined to let him go. But ye denied 
 the Holy One and the Just, and ^ desired a 
 
 15 murderer to be granted unto you ; and 
 killed the Prince of life, whom God hath 
 
 p John 12 : IC; 17 : 1. i Matt. 27 : 20. 
 
 ■ Luke 23 : 18, 19. 
 
 3 : 16) He also says, the God of our 
 
 fathers (ver. asaiso) — ranking himself 
 with his hearers as an Israelite and a 
 worshiper of the same God. Thus he 
 carefully and wisely selects his words, 
 that he might not only at the beginning 
 favorably impress his hearers, but also 
 remind them that the new religion was 
 not inconsistent with the old, that in 
 fiict it emanated from the God of Israel. 
 Ilath glorified— in a state of glory 
 
 in heaven. (Luke 24 : 26 ; John 7 : .".9 ; 12 : 16; 
 
 17 : 1, 5.) This miracle, and all of Christ's 
 miracles, his resurrection and ascension 
 and the sending and the workings of 
 the Holy Spirit, were manifestations 
 and evidences of his glory. (2:22,:w.) 
 Meyer limits it to the honor conferred 
 at this time upon Jesus by this mira- 
 cle, which is too narrow a view. 
 Peter exj)laius the miracle (vcr. is) ; but 
 here the glorified and exalted Messiah 
 accords better with the Holy and Right- 
 eous one (ver. u) and the Prince of life 
 (ver.is), and with what is said elsewhere 
 of God glorifying the Son. (J"im 13 : :ii. k-) 
 See also references above. His Son, 
 ratlier, /lis xenntnt, Jrsiis. Aiiotlier 
 word is used where Jesus is sixtkeii of 
 as Son of God. The word scrnoit, 
 literally, a boy, was used of a servant of 
 any age and, in imitation of the iJe- 
 biew, came to be used of a devout wor- 
 shiper of God, oue who fulfills God's 
 will (4:23: Lukei:6H), and was ju'oplieti- 
 cally applied to the Messiah, (isa. 4; : 1 ; 
 52 : 13 ; S3 : u. See Matt. 12 : 18. ) Jesus was per- 
 sonally a son, but officially a scrvaiif, 
 and is so styled here and in ver. 2(3 
 ami 4 : 27, oO. Peter thus at once jn-e- 
 sents Jesus with a Messianic appella- 
 tion whom God had glorified. This 
 word reiideied servant is never applied 
 to the apojstles or the disci])les, hut a 
 less tender and stronger word is fre- 
 quently applied to them, meaning bond- 
 servant or slave. (Kom. 1 : 1 ; Col. 4 : 12 ; Kph. 
 
 6:6) The hearers of Peter doubtless per- 
 ceived the i>rophetic use of the term, as 
 ai>i>lied to Jesus. Whom ye de- 
 livered up, through your leaders and 
 rulers, to Pilate, the Roman governor. 
 
 And denied him as your Messiah. 
 (Luke23:2.) In the presence of Pi- 
 late, literally, to the face of Pilate, 
 
 before his eyes. (John 19. 15. See Gal. 2:11.) 
 
 Was determined, etc — ivlien he de- 
 cided to release him. (Matt. 27 : 24; Luke 
 23 : 14-16.) As a judge, Pilate had decided 
 to release Jesus, but he retracted his 
 decision and yielded to the clamor of 
 the people ancl the threats of the rulers. 
 
 14. But ye — in emphatic contrast to 
 Pilate. Peter repeats the terrible 
 charge that they liad denied the 
 Messiah, wliom he here styles the Mo/)/ 
 and Hiffhteous One, a fitting title of 
 the sercfoi^ of Jehovah, (ver. 13.) Jesus 
 was not merely the Hu/i/ One morally, 
 but officially, the one set aj^art and con- 
 secrated, the Messiah, the Son of God. 
 
 (Luke 4 : .■!»; John 6 : 69.) He WaS the Jiif^ht- 
 
 eons or Jnst One, not merely as inno- 
 cent as adjudged by Pilate, Init posi- 
 tively upright in his external life. (John 
 16:10; 1 John 2:1.) As ail epithet of the 
 Messiah, see also 7 : 52 ; 22 : 14. In em- 
 phatic contrast Peter mentions Barab- 
 i>as, a murderer — literally, a man, a 
 m t(rderc): Tliat they should have as/ced 
 not merely a man, but a imirderer, to 
 be gracious/)/ delivered to them, that he 
 might go free, was indeed infiuiious in 
 itself, l)ut more so in contrast to their 
 denying the Messiah (this verse), and to 
 killing liim (next verse). 
 
 15. And killed — tlirough Pilate 
 and the Roman tribunal, the only way 
 tliey could judicially put him to death. 
 The Prince or Author of life (as in 
 Heb. 12:2). Jesus was tlic Author of 
 
 eternal life (JuhuS: I6; 10:2S; 2Tim. 1 :10), 
 
 of all life (Johui:;t, 4), and the first 
 fruits of those that rise from the dead. 
 (1 Cor. 15:23.) The fiict that they I'i lied 
 him, and that he through the apostles 
 had brought increased vitality and 
 strength to the feet and ankles of a 
 cripple (ver. 16), leads us to include 
 physical as well as sjiiritual life. How 
 great the aggravation of their sin and 
 guilt in taking the life of liim from 
 whom all life proceeds. But God 
 raised, awakened and recalled him 
 
Cii. III.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 51 
 
 raised from the dead ; ' whereof we are 
 16 witnesses. Aud his name 'through faith 
 in his name hath made this man strong, 
 whom ye see and liuow : yea, the faith 
 which is hy him hath given him this per- 
 
 fect soundness in the presence of you all. 
 
 17 And now, brethren, 1 " wot that through 
 ignorance ye did ('', as did al.so your 
 
 18 rulers But those things, which Uod be- 
 fore had showed ^ by the mouth of all his 
 
 ich. 1 :22;2 : 32. 
 
 « ch. 14 : !» ; Matt. 9 : 22 ; John 14 : 12. » Gen. 21 
 50 : 6 ; 53 : 5, etc. ; Dan. 9 : 26 ; 1 Peter 1 : 10, 11. 
 
 26. 
 
 I Ps. 22 ; Isa 
 
 from among the dead. Notice how 
 Peter dwells upon their great sin in 
 rejecting and killing their Messiah, 
 showing step by step, and hy successive 
 contrasts, their crime and guilt. Ills 
 words were eminently fitted to produce 
 conviction of sin. 
 
 16. Having held up the slain, the 
 risen and the glorified Jesus, Peter 
 presents him as the cause of the cure, j 
 And his name, etc. Upo)i (he faith j 
 in his name, whose character as the 
 Messiah has been presented, has his 
 name made this man strong, whom ye j 
 see healed, and know as formerly a ' 
 cripple ; even the faith whieh is throuc/h 
 him, who is the Author and the end of j 
 faith (Heb. 12:2), gave him this perfect \ 
 soundness, this unimpaired condition [ 
 of the body, all of the members being i 
 healthy and fit for use, in the presence j 
 of yon all. Notice what prominence j 
 Peter gives to the name of Jesus and | 
 to the faith, by mentioning each of j 
 them twice. Name is used for every ' 
 thing which the name covers, fin- all j 
 that is recognized and jjrofessed in 
 Jesus, and especially those things which j 
 Peter had just declared concerning him, ! 
 as the Messiah, the Holy and Rigiiteous I 
 One and the Author of "life. The faith 
 of course was exercised hy the apostles, 
 but does it not also include faith as 
 exercised by the man him.self ? There 
 is nothing to exclude the supposition. 
 In Matthew 17 : 20, and Murk 9 : 2.3, 
 24, faith in the agent and sui)ject are 
 both presented as necessary to the work- 
 ing of a miracle. It is natural to sup- 
 pose that the lame man had heard of 
 Jesus and his miracles and of the large 
 increase of his disciples, and tiiat the 
 words of Peter, inspired by the Si)irit, 
 and the name of Jesus, came to his 
 heart, with quickening power, encour- 
 aging him to attempted obedience to 
 the command to walk. His faith also 
 manifested itself in praising God, (see 
 
 on ver. 7. S.) 
 
 17. Having faithfully reproved them 
 
 for rejecting and killing him who was 
 evidenced as the ilessiah, by his resur- 
 rection aud l)y this miracle in thei.i 
 very presence, he softens his tone and 
 prepares in fraternal kindness to lead 
 them to repentance. And now — as the 
 matter stands. Brethren — intimating 
 his fellow feeling and love for them. 
 More conciliatory than in ver. 12. (.see 
 2; 22, 29.) I wot, etc. — J know ye acted 
 in ignorance, Peter concedes this, not 
 as an excuse for their sin, but as a pal- 
 liation of their guilt, (i Cor. 2 : s.) Jesus 
 made the same concession in his prayer 
 for his murderers. (Luke n -.-m.) As "the 
 sin was committed in ignorance there 
 was hope that it might be forgiven, and 
 an encouragement to I'epent. Compare 
 Paul's declaration concerning himself. 
 (iTiiu. 1 : 13-16.) The siii of ignorance 
 was recognized in the Old Testament, 
 and a sin offering provided for it. (Num. 
 15:27,28.) There were different degrees 
 of ignorance, and hence different 
 degrees of guilt. Their ignorance, how- 
 ever, resulted from unbelief, and existed 
 notwith.standing the light that shone 
 from Christ's cliaracter and life, aud 
 from his words and works. These they 
 ought to have examined and })elieved. 
 (johui:; :.-i8 40.) Paul was the chief of 
 sinners notwithstanding his ignorance 
 (iTiin. i:in); and they were guilty of 
 most heinous sin. (2 . 23.) 
 
 18. Continuing in the same strain of 
 kindness, Peter says, But, what was a 
 crime on your part, was an accomplish- 
 ment of a divine purjiose. This fact 
 was a ground of hope for repentance, 
 but did not lessen their guilt. They 
 acted freely. (2.23.) God's sovereignty 
 and human freedom and responsibility 
 may be illustrated by the case of Josepli. 
 
 (Gea. 45:8, 50:20.) All hlS {the) proph- 
 
 ets, viewed as a whole, (ver. 21, 23. see 
 Luke 24: 27. 44.) The drift of prophecy 
 had pointed toward Christ, his suffer- 
 ings and death. That Christ — rather, 
 according to tlie most ajtproved read- 
 ing, his Christ, his anointed. Should 
 
62 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. III. 
 
 prophets, that Christ should suflfer, he 
 19 hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, 
 
 and be converted, y that your sins may be 
 blotted out, when the ' times of refresh- 
 
 J Isa. 43 : 25. 
 
 ■ I's. 72 : 6-17 ; Isa. 61 : 1-3, 10 ; Slatt. 11 : 28, 29 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 7, 10. 
 
 suffer — death on the cross. So ful- 
 filled — God has thus accomplished, as 
 related in verses 14, 15, 17. 
 
 19. Therefore, since your crime is 
 not unpardonable, and the Messianic j 
 redemption, foretold by the prophets, i 
 has been realized in the sufferings of i 
 Jesus. Repent, (see on 2 :m.) Be I 
 converted — rather, turn, that is, to j 
 God. (Matt. 13 : 15.) The preceding word 
 refers to the inner change of mind ; 
 this to the positive results, the corre- 
 sponding change of life. In turning to 
 God, faitli is implied, which had been 
 mentioned in ver. l(i. That your 
 sins may be blotted out — that the 
 guilt of your sins may be totally 
 erased. Instead of forgiveness (2:38), 
 Peter here uses the stronger figure of 
 erasure, as of a handwriting, (coi. 2 : u.) 
 The same figure is found in the Old 
 Testament, (isa. « : 25 ; Ps. 51 : 9.) When 
 the times, etc. This translation is 
 not grammatically sustained. Rather, 
 In order that times, or seasons, of re- 
 freshing may eonie. The original word 
 for refreshing, according to its deriva- 
 tion, means literally a cooling, or relief 
 from the effects of heat, hence a reviv- 
 ing, a refreshing. It may here be ap- 
 plied either to the consolations of 
 religion and the spiritual blessing at- 
 tending and following turning to the 
 Lord, or to the Messianic joy and bless- 
 edness to be ushered in by the return 
 of Christ from heaven. Commentators 
 are divided on these views. The for- 
 mer view seems the most natural, if 
 this verse be taken by itself. The word 
 tines is in the plural and without the 
 article, and thus rather indicates re- 
 peated occasions, instead of one occa- 
 sion. It also accords with rei)entance, 
 as a condition, and the results of re- 
 pentance, as elsewhere presented in 
 
 the Bible. (2: 38; 8. 4. 8: JohuS : IS; 7:38; 
 
 Rom, 8 : 12 ; Ps. 51 : 8-15.) On the Other hand 
 the next verse appears to refer to the 
 second coming of Christ, and this verse 
 is closely connected with it, and the 
 two verbs, may come and shall send, 
 may very naturally be referred to the 
 same pei'iod of time. An interpreta- 
 
 tion which touches both of these sides, 
 bearing a relation to present influences 
 of the Spirit and to Christ's second 
 coming would have much to commend 
 itself as the true one. Such an inter- 
 pretation may be found in the blessings 
 of the Gospel Dispensation with special 
 reference to the Jewish peo])le. The 
 early Christians were not only looking 
 for the second coming of Christ, but 
 for the reception of the gospel by the 
 people of Israel. Prophets had fore- 
 told three blessings (isa. 32 : 1-3, 15-18; 65,: 17- 
 25 ; 5!i : 2i>. 21 ; jer.31 : 33), and Paul, who later 
 doubtless understood God's designs 
 toward his ancient chosen jjeople better 
 than Peter now did, foretells the fulfill- 
 ment of such predictions in the restora- 
 tion of Israel. (Rom. u : 26,27.) The 
 times of refreshing may thus refer to 
 all those seasons of revival, either 
 among Jews or Gentiles, which pre])are 
 the way, or bring about this happy re- 
 sult to the Jewish nation. These bless- 
 ings and the return of Christ are to be 
 connected with and to follow repent- 
 ance, reformation of life, and prayer. 
 God has seen fit to connect these as the 
 means and the end or as the antecedent 
 and consequent, so that in his plan the 
 one is necessary to the other. (Kzek. .3fi: 
 
 37 ; Zech. 13 : 9. See Mark 6.5: Heb. 4 : 16 ; 2 Peter 
 
 3 : 12.) Both John and Jesus had made 
 
 the coming kingdom a reason for re- 
 
 Ijentance (Matt. 3 : 2. 17), and the blessing 
 
 of that Dispensation, especially to the 
 
 Jewish people, were a strong motive to 
 
 Peter's hearers to exercise repentance. 
 
 Neitlier could they expect to enjoy 
 
 tliem and see those glorious seasons fol- 
 
 ; low, except they repented of having 
 
 I rejected the Messiah, turning to him, 
 
 j and heartily receiving liim as tlieir 
 
 Saviour, and the jjiomised One of 
 
 Israel. When such seasons might be 
 
 enjoyed, or how soon the Lord might 
 
 I return were unknown to the discijiles. 
 
 (1:7. II.) Thej' were longing for it, and 
 
 expecting it, and laboring to be pre- 
 
 I)ared for it. (2 veters : 11. 12.) They 
 
 j were to be witnesses to the Jewish peo- 
 
 ! pie, and as they then thought, through 
 
 I them to all nations. (1:8; Luke a -. 47.) 
 
Ch. III.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 53 
 
 Ing shall coiue from the presence of the 
 
 20 Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, 
 which before was preached unto you: 
 
 21 whom the heaven must receive until the 
 times of "restitution of all things, which 
 
 (iod hath spoken by the mouth of all bis 
 holy projihets since the world began. 
 
 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, 
 '■'A Prophet shall tin; Lord your God 
 raise up unto you of your brethren, like 
 
 ■ Isa. 1 : 26, 27 ; Mai. 3 : 3, 4 ; Matt. 17 : 11 ; Rom. 8 : 18-25. i" Deut. 18 : 15, 18, 19. 
 
 They had not leavneil yet God's plaus 
 of work auioiiEf Jews and Gentiles, and 
 how far distant was Christ's second 
 com i III,'. 
 
 20. Motives for repentance are still 
 pressed. And he shall send- 
 rather, And that he may send the Christ 
 appointed fur yoit, Jesns. (i Peter i : ?o.) 
 Peter here leturns to Jesiis the Messiah, 
 ■\vliom lie presented at the beginning of 
 his address, (ver is ) He was chosen and 
 appointed for their salvation. The 
 Common Version, Which before was 
 preached, is not in accordance with the 
 best niamiscripts. Tiie most natural ref- 
 erence in this verse is, not to Christ's first 
 coming, nor to his spiritual presence 
 in the hearts of his disciples (Matt. 28 : 20), 
 bnt to iiis visiljle return, which had 
 been promised. (1 r n.) To be prepared 
 for tins, and to share in the I)lessing of 
 the Messiah's coming, and of the restora- 
 tion of all things (ver 21), they needed 
 repentance and reformation, (hos. H: 1 1., 
 
 Zech 12 : 10.) 
 
 21. Whom the heaven must re- 
 ceive — his presence there being a 
 present and fixed fact, until the 
 times of restitution, the restoration 
 of all things, not only of the true 
 theocracy, but also of that more ))erfect 
 state of order, purity, and happiness 
 wliicii existed before the fjill. The 
 Jews expected a golden age of jiurity 
 and blessedness under the Messiah, 
 when all evils would be set right, 
 (i : fi.) Peter's hearers were thus pre- 
 pared to understand somewhat his lan- 
 guage. Doubtless he himself afterward 
 understood it better than he did then. 
 The times of refreshing (ver. 19) and the 
 times of restoration are not the same, 
 thougli doubtless they overlap each 
 other. The former is prejiaratory, and 
 runs into the latter. Tlie restoration 
 of all things will take place after the 
 second coming of Christ, and is referreil 
 to in Matt. 19 : 28 as the renovution or 
 new birth of all things. There will be 
 " new heavens and a new eartli, wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness " (2 Peter s : 13), 
 
 and the deliverance of the whole crea- 
 tion from the bondage of cori-uption. 
 
 (Rom 8 • 19 23. See Rev. 21 : 1-5: 1 Cor 15 ; 24 28.) 
 
 SVhich refers not to "things," but to 
 "times." All his holy prophets — 
 
 All should lie omitted, according to the 
 highest critical authorities. Since 
 the world began— //-om the begin- 
 ning of prophetic revelatiou. This 
 verse met any doubt regarding prom- 
 ised blessings growing out of Christ's 
 ascension into heaven. Peter intimates 
 that this is not a final withdrawal, but 
 a temjiorary absence till tlie time of 
 that gloi-ious era of restoration toward 
 which all jirophecy ])ointed. (see isa ii: 
 
 6 9; Dau. 2 : 44 ; 7 : 14 ; Mie. 4 : 3. 4 ; Z.ich. 14 : 20 ) 
 
 Heaven — where God dwells, without 
 any definite regard to its locality. 
 Times — in general with an idea of 
 continuance; times, in ver. 19, is an- 
 other word, witli an idea of a limited 
 period, seasons. Both words are used 
 in 1 : 7. 
 
 22. Peter adduces some passages 
 from the Old Testament in confirma- 
 tion of what he had said, and which 
 might lead them to heed his admoni- 
 tion to repentance. (Ver. 19.) For and 
 unto the fathers are not found in 
 the oldest and best manuscripts. Mo- 
 ses truly — Moses indeed said, as well 
 as all the prophets (ver. 24) who agree 
 with him and corroborate his state- 
 ments. Peter naturally and fittingly 
 begins with Moses, their first and great- 
 est prophet. (Num. 12:6,7.) The passagc 
 quoted is from Deut. 18 : 15, 19. It is 
 partly taken from the Septuagint ver- 
 sion and partly a new translation from 
 the Hebrew. Stejihen cites this passage 
 in 7 : 37, with the same application 
 to Christ. A like reference of this pas- 
 sage to Christ is imi)lied in John 4 : 25 ; 
 1 : 25 ; 6 : 14, 15 ; 7 : 40, 41. See notes 
 on these passages. This appears to 
 have been the interpretation among the 
 Jews. Like unto me — as projiliet, 
 lawgiver, but especially as mediator. 
 Moses had acted as mediator at Horeb, 
 so God would send them another medi- 
 
54 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cir. III. 
 
 unto me; him shall ye hear in all things 
 
 23 whatsoever he shall say unto you. And 
 it shall come to pass, that every soul, 
 which will not hear that prophet, shall 
 be destroyed from among the people.' 
 
 24 Yea, and all the projihets from ■^ Samuel 
 
 and those that follow after, as many as 
 have spoken, have likewise foretold of 
 25 these days. * Ye are the children of the 
 prophets, and of the covenant which God 
 made with oui- fathers, saying unto Abra- 
 ham, ' And in thy seed shall all the kin- 
 
 : ch. 13 : 20 ; 1 Sam. 3 : 20 ; 2 Sam. 7 : 16. d ch. 2 : 39 ; Kom. 9 : 4, 5, 8. 
 
 ator. (Deut. 18: 16-18.) Christ both re- 
 sembled Moses and excelled him. (Hcb. 
 3:2-6; 8: 6.) The less may be compared 
 with the greater and the greater witli 
 the less. (Matt. 5: 48.) But uiauy with 
 margin of the Revised Version and the 
 Improved Bihle Union Version, would 
 translate here and in 7 : 37, As he. 
 did me — that is, in the same manner as 
 he raised up me. Inferentially, these 
 words thus translated, as well as the 
 Avhole quotation, imi)ly a likeness of 
 that prophet to !Moses. Him shall 
 you hear, etc. You shall be able to 
 liear him and it Mill be your duty 
 to obey him. Tliis finds its fultillnient 
 throughout the whole Gospel Dispensa- 
 tion, esiwcially when Israel shall re- 
 ceive the gOS])ol. (Ver. 19.) 
 
 23. Evciy soul wliich Avill not 
 hear, so as to obey that propliot. 
 Shall be utterly destroyed from 
 among the people. The pas.sage in 
 Duet. 18: 19 is "I will recjuire it of 
 him," which is fall of meaning. Tlie 
 Septuagint's translation, " I will take 
 vengeance," brings out the implied 
 meaning positively. Peter emphasi zes 
 it bv using the words found in Lev. 
 23:29, "shall be utterly destroyed," 
 etc., thus pointing to the highest 
 kind of punishment. Tliey shall be 
 deprived of all their ])rivileges and 
 visited with utter destruction. The 
 expression was of frequent occurrence 
 
 (Gen. 17 : 14 ; Exod. 12 : 15. 19), and deilOteS 
 
 capital punishment. As ajijdied to the 
 soul under the gospel, it means exclu- 
 sion from tlie kingdom of God, and 
 death, which is the wages of sin. (John 
 3 : 18 ; 8 : 24 : M:nt. io : 46.) We havc here an 
 example of a composite quotatiou ; tliat 
 is, where two or more quotations are 
 merged into one. 
 
 24. Samuel is named here, and 
 also in Ps. 99 : fi, as he was the next 
 great prophet after Moses and the first 
 in a long line of ]u-ophets who foretold 
 the coming of the Messiah and his 
 kiuiidom. This line continued, with 
 
 scarcely any interruption, to the daj-s 
 of Malachi, about seven hundred and 
 fifty years. In Heb. 1 : 5, a quotation 
 from 2 Sam. 7 : 14, " I will be to him 
 a Father, and he shall be to me a 
 Son," is applied to Christ. And 
 those that follow after, or even 
 those hi order, succeeding one an- 
 other through a long i)eriod. Have 
 foretold — rather, haie also told. Of 
 these days — of which he had been 
 speaking, and of which Moses liad 
 foretold, (ver. 2H.) Not merely the days 
 of restoration (ver. 21), but rather the 
 days then present as connected with 
 and leading on to the .sea.sons of refresh- 
 ing (ver. 19), and to the times of restora- 
 tion of all things. 
 
 25. Peter makes an em]iliatic and clos- 
 ing appeal to his hearers. Ve are the 
 children (sons) of the prophets and 
 of the covenant — a Hebrew mode of 
 speech, meaning those to whom the 
 l>ro})Iietic promi.ses and covenant 
 belong. (Roiu. 9 : 4.) See a similar use 
 of tht^word son in Matt. 8 : 12; 13 : 38. 
 Tliey were the participators — the in- 
 heritors of the blessings which the 
 pro])liets foretold ami of covenanted 
 mercies. Hence IVtcr enforces their 
 duty to accej)t the i)romised bless- 
 ings, and therefore the go.spel is first 
 preached to them. (ver. 26.) He specifies 
 the covenant, the arnni(je)nent and 
 promise which God made with Al)ra- 
 ham, centering in the one great des- 
 cendant in whom all families of the 
 earth should be blessed. Tliis promise 
 wa.s made three times to Abraliam. (oeu. 
 12:3; 18: 18; 22 : 18.) It was repeated to 
 Isaac and Jacob. (Gen. 26 : 4; 28 : 14.) (see 
 
 Rom. 4:13-16; Gal. 3 : 7-9, 14. 29.) In thy Seed 
 
 — thy deseendant, the Messiah (as in 
 Gal 1 : 16). He was the seed of Abraham 
 toward whom all proj)hecy centered, 
 and from whom salvation and all 
 spiritual blessings have come to men. 
 Kindreds— families in the wider sense 
 of nations, peoples. 
 2G, IJuto you first — as heirs of the 
 
Cii. III.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 55 
 
 26 dreds of the earth be blessed.' eUnto 
 you iirst, God, having raised up his 8on 
 
 Jesus, sent him to bless you, fin turning 
 away every one of you from his iniquities. 
 
 « ch. 13 : 4G ; Luke 24, 47. ' Isa. .59 : 20 ; Matt. 1 : 21 ; Titus 2 : 11-14. 
 
 covenant — arraugenient — and belong- 
 ing to that people whom God had 
 chosen and to wliora he had given 
 special promises. Panl as well as Peter 
 i-ecognized that the gospel was first to 
 be preached to the Jews. (i3:4fi;R~.m. 
 1 : 1H-) Peter here implies that the bles.s- 
 ings of the Messiah shonld also be ex- 
 tended to Gentiles. This was also in- 
 cluded in the covenant-promise to 
 Abraham, (ver.25.) Peter expected that 
 tlie Gentiles would first embrace Juda- 
 ism and througli it the gosjiel. (see 2 : ;!9, 
 note.) Having raised up his Son, 
 rather, Servuid. (seeonvor. 13.) Haised 
 up, accoi-ding to the }u-ediction of 
 Moses, (ver.22.) The refei-ence is not 
 to Christ's resurrection, but to his ap- 
 pearance as the promised Messiah. 
 Jesus should be omitted according to 
 the highest critical authorities. Sent 
 him to bless you — that thus the 
 promise, "be blessed" (ver. 25), might 
 first be fulfilled in them. In turning 
 away every one — showing how they 
 were to be blcs.sed. Not collectively, 
 but individually ; not merely )»ai"don- 
 ing the sins that are i>ast, but saving 
 them from sins that are future ; not i)i 
 their sins, but from their sins. Thus 
 Peter excludes the idea that his Jewish 
 hearers could enjoy the promised Iiless- 
 ings of the Messiah without repentance 
 and reformation. A fitting close of 
 such an address, containing a strong 
 reason why they should repent, (ver. 19.) 
 Though the priests came upon them 
 siuklenly (4:i), Peter had reached a 
 good stopping place. 
 
 In comparing this address, as well as 
 the one in tlie preceding ehai>ter (see 
 closing uote on 2 : 41) with Petcr's cpistles, 
 we see striking resemblances, tempered 
 by age and a richer experience, and by 
 the fact that in the former he is address- 
 ing the unconverted, while in the latter 
 he is writing to Christians. In both he 
 recognizes the fulfillment of prophecy 
 in Christ and his gospel (ver. is; 1 Peter 
 1 : 10) ; in both he is a witness of the suf- 
 ferings and resurrection of Christ (ver. 13 ; 
 1 Peter 5:1); lu both he presents the glory 
 of Christ and the power of faith, (ver. 
 
 13, 16; 1 Peter 1 : 21.) In vei". 13 JeSUS is 
 
 Jehovah's servant, and in 1 Peter 2 : 
 21-23 his obedient and submissive servi- 
 tude is held up to view. Here are fore- 
 told the seasons of refreshing and the 
 times of the restoration of all things; 
 in 2 Peter 3 : 10, the day of the Lord, 
 and the new heavens and earth. In the 
 former Peter seems to regard it as near 
 at hand ; but in the latter, after years 
 of exiJerience and growth in knowledge, 
 he views it as jjerhajjs far distant. In 
 connection with !)oth he speaks of re- 
 pentance and derives from the last days 
 a motive for reformation and holy 
 
 living. (Ver. 19, 26 ; 2 I'eter 3 ; 11.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Christians should love and honor the 
 place and hour of prayer. Christian fellow- 
 ship is especially fitting such seasons. 
 Ver. 1 ; 16 : 13 ; Dan. 6 : 10 ; Isa. 56 : 7 ; Ps. 
 55 : 14.) 
 
 2. The cripple from birth, carried to the 
 temple gate, illustrates the inability of the 
 sinner. (Ver. 2, 3 ; Mark 2, 3, 4 ; Jer. 18 : 23 ; 
 Matt. 7 : 18 ; Rom 8 : 7.) 
 
 3. We must first arrest the attention of the 
 needy if we would do them good. (Ver. 4, 5; 
 8:6;"l6:28.) 
 
 4. The child of God should be kind and 
 compassionate, ready to do good as he has 
 opportunity. The poor awakened and hun- 
 gry soul should not expect in vain. (Ver. 
 4,5; Gal. 6:9, 10: Luke 6:30.) 
 
 5. The servants of Christ have the true 
 riches, which they ofter to poor and perish- 
 ing souls. (Ver. 6 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 20 ; 6 : 10.) 
 
 6. The seeking sin-sick soul, needs not 
 only our directing and encouraging words, 
 but often our helping hands. (Ver. 7 ; 
 9 : 17.) 
 
 7. How many forget to thank God for 
 bodil.v recovery ; but such as are spiritually 
 healed remember God and his people, (Ver, 
 8 ; Luke 17 : 15-19 ) 
 
 8 As the cripple was widely known, so 
 God sometimes converts notoriously wicked 
 men, in order to manifest widely the power 
 of his grace, (Ver. 9, 10 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 15, 16) 
 
 9. Note the account of the miracle. Its 
 
56 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 simplicity, sincerity, honesty , and evident ! 
 truthfulness. The man, lame from his birth ' 
 and well-known ; he could not have been an | 
 impostor. Friends and foes of Jesus, all ! 
 were convinced of the reality of the cure. 
 (Ver. 9-11 ; 4 : 16.) 
 
 10. The work of God generally excites won- 
 der, calls together the people, and gives op- 
 portunity to preach the gospel. (Ver. 10, 11 ; 
 2:6,7; 8:5-13.) 
 
 11. Whatever success attends the minister 
 of the gospel or however great his talents or : 
 personal piety, he should ascribe all the j 
 glory to Jesus Christ, since it is only through 
 him that sinners can be saved. (Ver. 12; 
 4:12; 2 Cor. 3:3:5, 6.) 1 
 
 12. God of the Old Dispensation is God of 
 the New The Messiah was promised and j 
 foreshadowed in the One and manifested and ! 
 glorified in the Other. (Ver. 13 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 20 ; 
 Rev. 19 : 10.) ' 
 
 13. How great the guilt of those who know- \ 
 ingly reject the Holy and Righteous One and 
 the Prince of life. ; Ver. 14-17 ; Heb. 10 ; 29.) 
 
 14. The resurrection of Jesus, the miracles 
 performed by him and his disciples, are evi- 
 dences that he is the Author of life. (Ver. | 
 16 ; Heb. 5 : 8, 9 ) i 
 
 15. The highest success is only attained 
 through faith in Christ by both preacher 
 and hearer. (Ver. 16 ; 1 Thess. 2 10-12.) j 
 
 16. Ignorance may mitigate, but not ex- 
 cuse crime. (Ver. 17 ; Luke 23 ;^4 ; Hos. 4 6.) ] 
 
 17. Wicked men may fulfill God's designs, 
 and God may make the wrath of man to 
 praise him, but this does not excuse them 
 since their own wicked purposes and deeds 
 are voluntary. (Ver. 18 ; Ps. 76 . 10 ) 
 
 18. The purposes of God, the sufferings of 
 Christ, and even the ignorance of men, may 
 afford reasons for repentance. (Ver. 17-19 ; 
 Kom. 2:4.) 
 
 19. Repentance and pardon of sin precede 
 spiritual refreshment. (Ver. 19, Isa. 57 . 15 
 -18.) 
 
 20. We may, as it were, hasten the coming 
 of our Lord by the exercise of repentance 
 and faith, and by prayer and efforts. (Ver. 
 19,20; 2Peter3: 12; .Matt.6: 10; Rev. 22 ; 20.) 
 
 21. Revivals of religion are especially char- 
 acteristic of the present Dispensation If 
 not enjoyed, the fault is ours, not Christ's. 
 (Ver. 19,20; Isa. 61 1-3.) 
 
 22. While our Lord is absent we should be 
 diligent in seeking the salvation of souls, 
 thus Increasing the vast multitudes who 
 
 shall welcome his return. (Ver. 21 ; Matt. 
 24 : 14 : 1 Cor. 55 : 58.) 
 
 23. The second coming of Christ will re- 
 sult in the restoration of all things to the 
 order and harmony of universal holiness. 
 (Ver. 21; Isa. 11: 1-9.) 
 
 24. Jesus the Prophet brings salvation to 
 all who hear him, but destruction to all who 
 reject him. (Ver. 22, 24 ; Mark 16 : 16.) 
 
 25. There is a unity in all of God's revela- 
 tions. Christ is the great center. (Ver. 24 ; 
 Eph. 1 : 4-14.) 
 
 26. It is a great blessing to have a godly 
 parentage and early to hear the gospel ; but 
 a greater blessing to be turned from sin and 
 saved from it. (Ver. 25,26; Luke 10:20; 
 11:28,) 
 
 Ch. 4 : la the preceding chapter Luke 
 gives the occasion of the lirst assault up- 
 on the church ; in this cliapter he des- 
 crihes the assault itself, led on by the 
 Sadducean party. Peter and John are 
 imprisoned, arraigned before the San- 
 hedrin, and released. Many believe; 
 the church is united and i)rosperous; 
 and a spirit of generous lil)erality pre- 
 vails, a noted instance in the case of 
 Barnabas being given. 
 
 1-22. The Arkest, Arraignment, 
 Defense, and Release of Peter 
 
 AND John. (l Peter2: 4 8: Ps. 118:22.) 
 
 1. As they spake — while theyioere 
 speftking. They were interrui)ted, 
 though Peter had reached a fitting 
 close in his address, (see on 3: 26.) Came 
 upon them, with the idea of sud- 
 denness. (See the same woni 1116 . 12, 12 . T ; 
 
 Luke 10: 40.) A favoritc word with Luke, 
 but used only three times by Paul, and 
 by no other writer in the New Testa- 
 ment. The priests — those on duty in 
 the temple ; who also acted as the 
 guard or police force. See Luke 1 : 9, 
 in reference to their tcmjile service. 
 According to some ancient authorities 
 it should read chie/ priests, comprising 
 the high priest, and those who had been 
 deposed from the highest priesthood, 
 and the merai)ers of the families from 
 whom the high priest was selected. 
 (Ver. 6.) It has been common to include 
 the heads of the twenty-four classes 
 into which the priesthood was divided. 
 (See on ver. 2x.) Peter was addressing 
 the peoj)le in the temple, and if it was 
 at the time of one of their feasts, a 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 57 
 
 Ptler iiiul Jdhv imprisoned. Their defence be- 
 fore l/i€ Hdit/iedriii. Their release. 
 4 And as I hey spake unto (he peoitle, the 
 I)riests, and the g captain of the temple, 
 
 and the Saddiicees, came iijion them, 
 
 2 h heing grieved thai tliey taught the peo- 
 ple, and preached llirough Jesus the res- 
 
 3 urreclion from the dead. And they laid 
 bands on them, and put them in hold 
 
 s ch. 5 : 24 ; LuUe 22 : 4. ^ ch. 23 : 8 ; Matt. 22 : 23. 
 
 greater niiniher of priests would be on 
 duty. See note on introductory remarks 
 on section. (3 iii.) Captain of the 
 temple— tlie most important personage 
 connected witli the temple, next to the 
 iugh priest. He had under him a body 
 of J^evites, and was probably himself a 
 priest, and kept guard in and around 
 the temple, and was responsible for its 
 safety, as well as for the moneys and 
 other treasures it contained. Josephus 
 sjieaks of an ofticer of the same name. 
 {Jewish War, vi. 5, 3; ii. 17, 2.) In 
 tiie A]ioerypha the Prefecf or Guardian, 
 of the temple is mentioned (2 Mace 3:4), 
 also governors of the temple. (Esdras 
 i;8) The same or a similar olhce 
 seems to have existed from an early 
 
 date. {'■ Chri.u 9 : 11; 2 Kings 12:9; 25: IS; 2 
 
 Chion. 31 . 13; jer. 20:1 ) There maj'' have 
 been several similar officers, and hence 
 the plural in Luke 22 : 4, 52, who 
 served at the temple in turn, or who 
 commanded ditl'erent bands or guards. 
 (.Seei'a 134 1.) The Sadducecs — a 
 sect of Jews who rightly rejected all 
 tradition, but denied many important 
 truths, such as the resurrection of the 
 body (i.uke 20 : 27), the existence of angels 
 and spirits (23:8), and the immortality 
 of the soul and future retribution. 
 (JosKPHUS, Jewish War, ii. 8, 14.) 
 They recognized the authority of the 
 Old Testament alone, especially the 
 Law, in matters of faith and morals. 
 Josephus says (vIh//^. xviii. 1, 4) that 
 their doctrine is received but by a few, 
 yet by those still of the greatest 
 dignity. Tliey were mostly men dis- 
 tinguished by birth, wealth, and official 
 ]iosition, and not averse to the favor of 
 the Herod family and the Romans. (Murk 
 3-6, note) The word Sadducee is of 
 doubtful origin. Some trace it to a 
 Hebrew word meaning righteous, de- 
 noting their content to be simply right- 
 eous people ; but others, to Zadoc, who 
 was high ]n-iest in the time of David, 
 and exhibited great fidelity to the king 
 and his house (1 Kings 1 : 32 1.) ; and hence 
 his descendants and adherents appear 
 
 to have been called Zadokites, or Sad- 
 
 ducees. (see 5: 17.) 
 
 2. The motive of their attack upon 
 Peter and John is given. Beiii§: 
 grieved — being stirred up, indigiiaiht, 
 at the frequent repetition and continu- 
 ance of the cause assigned. The Revi.«ed 
 Version renders, being sore troubled. 
 This word is also found in Ki : 18. A 
 questiou arises whether this clause de- 
 scribes the Sadducees only, or the priests 
 and the cajttain also. The Sadducees 
 probably instigated the arrest. The 
 priests and ca]itain of the temple may 
 also have been Sadducees or sympathiz- 
 ers with them. (5: n.) It may also be 
 added that the apostles were teaching 
 without official authority, and by ini- 
 })licatiou they taught the resurrection 
 through the resurrection of Jesus. 
 Thus while the latter was pre-emi- 
 ently the instigating cause, the priests 
 who were not of the Sadducean party 
 would naturally be displeased that such 
 men as Peter and John should teach 
 the people at all, especially that Jesus, 
 whom they themselves had crucified, 
 had arisen, and was the Messiah. 
 (5:28.) The captain of the temple 
 would also be desirous of preventing 
 any disturbance within the sacred in- 
 closure. Preached through, rather, 
 in, Jesus the resurrection, etc. — in 
 his case they proclaimed a resurrection 
 from the dead, and thus incidentally 
 and l)y inference they taught a general 
 resurrection. (Seei7:3i) The fact that 
 Christ had risen was fatal to a leading 
 doctrine of the Sadducees. (23:6-8.) 
 Here we may see one reason why the 
 Phai'isees were no passive in their 
 treatment of the disciples, and the Sad- 
 ducees their most violent persecutors 
 
 (See Malt Ti ■ 34 ; Luke 20 : .39.) 
 
 3. Laid hands on them — with an 
 idea of some violence in the arrest. 
 In hold — Mi custody — in a guard 
 house or prison. Eventide — evening. 
 It was 3 P. M. when the miracle 
 was performed, which was the begin- 
 ning of the first evening, the decline 
 
58 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 unto the next day : for it was now even- 
 tide. 
 4 ■ Ilowbeit many of them which heard 
 the word believed ; and the number of 
 the men was about five thousand. 
 
 5 And it came to pass on the morrow, 
 (hat their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 
 
 6 and "t Annas the high priest, and Caia- 
 phas, and John, and Alexander, and as 
 many as were of the kindred of the high 
 
 i Phil. 1 : 12-14. k Luke 3:2; John 11 : 49 ; 18 : 13, 14. 
 
 of day. Then Peter and the others 
 entered the temple, and leturned to 
 Solomon'.s porch. His address was 
 doubtless imich longer than the re2>ort 
 given in the ])receding chapter, so that 
 erening here would seem to refer to the 
 second evening, or close of day. The 
 time is given as a reason for putting 
 them in prison till the next day. Prob- 
 ably the Sanhedriu could not be as- 
 sembled that night at so short a notice. 
 
 4. Howbcit — but notwithstanding 
 all tliis, and in contrast to the con- 
 duct of tlieir ojjposers. The word — 
 a common term denoting the gospel 
 message concerning .Jesus as the risen 
 Saviour. (6:4; 8:4.) Bclieved — re- 
 ceived it as true and accei>ted Jesus as 
 the Christ. This is one of the Scrip- 
 tural expressions for conversion, (s : 12; 
 13:48; 18:8.) Nuiiiber of the men. 
 Some sujipose that both sexes are in- 
 cluded ; but the word rendered men 
 here generally refers to males. As in 
 modern missions, the first converts were 
 largely among men. It was also more 
 common to number the men. (Matt, u : 21.) 
 Was, rather, become, about five 
 thousand. Not five thousand new 
 converts, but the numberof l)elieversat 
 Jerusalem. This was probably the 
 resident membership, for doubtless 
 some foreign Jews, converted at Pente- 
 cost, liad returned to their homes. 
 
 5. On the morrow — the next 
 morning. (Luke 10 :3d.) The Sanhedrin 
 usually met aft^rthe morning sacrifice. 
 Possibly an early meeting had been 
 arranged. Their rulers — of the peo- 
 ple, tiie Jews. Eulers here designated 
 the Sanhedrin, the highest civil and 
 ecclesiastical court of the Jews. Two 
 of the cla.sses composing it are named, 
 the elders, the heads of families, men 
 of rank and influence, and the 
 scribes, learned men, whose duty it 
 was to preserve, copy, and expound the 
 Scriptures and the traditions ; called 
 also doctors (Luke5:n) and lawyers. 
 (Matt. 2-2 : 35.) The chief pricsts formed 
 
 the third class, and are referred to 
 in the next verse and in ver. 1. The 
 Sanhedrin took its ri.se after the Baby- 
 lonish captivity and consisted of sev- 
 enty-one persons, who are said to have 
 been divided as follows : twenty-four 
 priests, twenty-four elders, and twenty- 
 two scribes, presided over liy a i)resi- 
 dent, the high priest, if he were a suit- 
 al)le jierson. They were to be )iersons 
 morally blameless and sound physi- 
 cally ; middle aged, good looking, 
 vealthy, and learned, married and 
 having children. This verse closes at 
 this point in the Common Version. It 
 is better, with the Revised Version, to 
 insert here (from the end of ver. 6, 
 Common Version) were gathered to- 
 gether at Jernsalein. There was a 
 meeting of the Sanhedrin. vSome an- 
 cient manuscripts read into Jerusalem, 
 implying that some of the Sanhedriu 
 lived out of the city. But the greater 
 weight of critical authority favors in 
 Jeru.salem. The Sanhedrin generally 
 held its meetings in one of the halls of 
 the temple-court, on the south side or 
 the east side. Tlie members of the city 
 assembled. 
 
 6. Annas the high priest. He 
 was appointed high priest, a. d. 7, and 
 was removed by tlie Roman jirocurator, 
 A. D. 14. " He had five sons M-ho had all 
 performed the oflice of high priest to 
 God, and he had himself enjoyed that 
 dignity a long time formerly." (Jo- 
 SEPHrs, Ant., XX., 9, 1.) His son-in- 
 law, Joseph Caiaphas, was now the 
 acting high priest, holding the oflBce 
 from A. D. 25 to A. D. 3G. The.se facts 
 help to explain the gre.at influence of 
 Annas through a long period. The high 
 priesthood, according to the Mosaic 
 law, was for life, and hence, though de- 
 posed, Annas would still be regarded 
 by the Jews as the legitimate high 
 priest. Luke (s : 2) mentions the high 
 priesthood of both Annas and Caia- 
 phas, doubtless because the former was 
 regarded iu some sense as sharing the 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 59 
 
 piipst, were t,'alliero(i together at Jerusa- 
 
 7 leiii. And when they had set them in 
 the midst, tliey asked, ' Ky what power, 
 or by what name, have ye done this? 
 
 8 °> Then Peter, tilled with the Holy Spirit, 
 said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, | 
 
 9 and elders of Israel, if we this day be ex- 
 amined of the good deed done to the im- 
 potent man, by what means he is made 
 10 whole ; be it known unto you all, and to 
 all the people of Israel, ■> that by tlie 
 name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom 
 
 1 Matt. 21 : 23 ; Luke 20 : 2. 
 
 Luke 12 : 11, 12. 
 
 ' ch. 3 : 6, 16. 
 
 office with the latter. Some regard 
 Caiaphas as the actual high priest and 
 Aiiiuis as the president of the Sanhe- 
 driu ; others thiuli that Annas acted as 
 tleputyof ("aiaphas. (Jouais :)3.) John 
 and Alexander. Nothing is linowu 
 of tliese persous beyond the fact that 
 tiiey were priests. The kindred of 
 the high priest — the high-priestly 
 family. It would appear from 5 : 17 
 that tliey were Sadducees. Thus 
 this meeting of the Saiihedrin was a 
 I):icked one, the Saddueean party being 
 out in full force, (ver. i.) 
 
 7. The )>risoners formally arraigned. 
 Had set them — caused them to stand 
 — in the midst, where all could see 
 them. It is said tliat tlie Sanliedrin sat 
 in a circle, or a semi-circle. By Avhat 
 power — in the exercise of what sort of 
 i)Ower ? Physical strength or eihcacy 
 IS meant. ]\Iedical or magical power, 
 or do you pretend to some superltumau 
 strength ? Imvhat sort of name — Jewish 
 exorcists and enchanters used the name 
 of God and other names in their arts — 
 Have ye, or, did yon do this miracle? 
 Vou is emphatic and used somewhat 
 contemptuously. They do not ask for 
 information, for they knew that Peter 
 had affirmed that they had performed 
 the cure in tlie name of Jesus, (sie, i6; 
 i-'i.) A judicial examination would 
 naturally go hack to tlie very beginning. 
 They doubtless hoped to catch hold of 
 the words of their confession, so as to 
 make some charge of heresj^ or blas- 
 ))hemy, or rebellion, or treason. Or 
 failing in these, they may have hoped 
 to frighten the apostlos to retract or 
 modify their claim. 
 
 8. Through the aid of the Holy Spirit 
 Peter so answers the Jewish rulers as to 
 frustrate their designs. Filled with, 
 etc. Tlie Holy Spirit comes upon him 
 with special power, and Christ's prom- 
 ise is fulfilled in him. (Lute 12 : n, 12.) 
 Ye rnlers, etc. He gives due honor 
 to them and their office. Of Israel 
 if wanting in several of the oldest and 
 
 best manuscripts. Rulers and elders 
 here describe the Sanhedriu as a whole. 
 
 (Ver. 5; 3 : 17.) 
 
 9. The reply of Peter shows tact, 
 wisdom, and courage. To his faith he 
 added vigor. (2 Peier 1 : 5.) If, in jjoint 
 of meaning, is equivalent to since, but 
 the sentence is rhetorical, and its force 
 does not come at once into view. If it 
 be true, and confessedly it is true. We 
 is emphatic. Meyer calls it the empha- 
 sis of surprise. Tiiis day adds to the 
 force of tliought, such a day as this, 
 when we are to l)e judicially exam- 
 ined — called to an account, concerning 
 a good deed to an impotent man. Surely 
 the law is for the wicked, and courts of 
 justice are not to try deeds of kindness. 
 (Rom. 13:3.) Wc are reminded of our 
 Lord's reply, " Many good works have 
 I showed you from my Father ; for 
 which of those works do ye stone me ?" 
 (John 10: 32.) By what m'eans — in the 
 exercise of whctt power or in what 
 name. (ver. 7, 10.) He — this one, the 
 man upon wliom the miracle had been 
 performed was present, (ver. h.) He had 
 been eitlier detained, or summoned, as 
 necessary to make the investigation com- 
 plete. Is — has been — made whole. 
 The word in its widest sense means 
 saved from all evil, spiritual as well as 
 natural. The preceding narrative and 
 the connection limit it here to the cure 
 effected on the lame man. " Bodily 
 health is, as it were, a type and mirror 
 of spiritual health." (Bengel.) The 
 sentence is completed in the ne.xt verse. 
 
 10. Peter increases in boldness, and 
 states the truth witli great ])ungency. 
 Unto you all, and to all the peo- 
 ple. He recognizes them as the repre- 
 sentatives of Israel, and tlirough them 
 would s])eak to the whole people of 
 that whioh was of great national con- 
 cern. He introiku'.es it solemnly and 
 formally, Be it known — a favorite 
 expression with Luke. (2:U;i3:38; 
 28:2«.) By, in, the name— iu the 
 power of him whom the name repre- 
 
60 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. IV 
 
 ye ctucilied, whom God raised from the 
 (load, ei'en by him doth this man stand 
 11 here liefore yoii whole. "This is ' the stone 
 whioh was set at nought of you builders, 
 which is become p the liead of the corner ' 
 
 12 (Ps. 118 ; 22.) q Neither is their salvation 
 in any other: for there is none other name 
 under lieavcn given among men, whereby 
 we must be saved. 
 
 Isa 28 . 16 : Luke 20 : 17. 
 
 P Eph. 2 : 20-22. q Matt. 1 : 21; John 14 : 6 ; 1 Cor. 3 : 11 ; 1 
 Tim. 2 : 5, 6 ; Ileb. 2, 3. 
 
 .sents. Notice how fully he gives the 
 name : Jesus —the Saviour — Christ— 
 the Messiah — of Nazareth, or the 
 
 Nazarene, the desj)ised. (»-6) He 
 atlds descriptive epithets : crucified by 
 them, but raised from the dead by God. 
 (n : 23, 24; 3 :14, 15.) Peter thus reminds 
 them of their crime, and of the high 
 dignity of Jesus. By him— )« this 
 name, or rather ;'/( tJiin one, in the ex- 
 ercise of his j)Ovver. Doth tliis man — 
 who had been a crij)ple from birth — ■ 
 Stand here before you, a monument 
 and witness of superhuman ])()wer. 
 Whole — sound and in full health, as 
 they themselves could see. Thus he 
 arraigns his accusers, proclaims the 
 Messiahship of Jesus, attested l)y a mira- 
 cle which they could not deny, and in 
 accordance with prophecy (next verse). 
 Like Jesus, he makes l)odily healing a 
 text for ])roelaiming the gospel salva- 
 tion. (Malt. 9: 6.) 
 
 11. This — he is the stone, Jesus 
 Christ, tlie leading sul)ject of the dis- 
 course. Tlie words used are from Ps. 
 118 : 22. It appears like a proverbial 
 expression. The stone points to some- 
 thing well known, naturally to the 
 prophecy. Jesus quoted it and ap- 
 plied it to himself. (Malt. 21 : 43 ; Luke 20: 17.) 
 
 Compare note on latter passage. Set 
 at nought — despising it and making 
 no account of it, it was rejected, cast 
 aside. Of you the builders — a])i)liod 
 to the Jewish rulers, who had been offi- 
 cially the regularly constituted builders 
 of tlie spiritual house of God. Is be- 
 come — was made, liy God's purposes, 
 and through the death, resurrection, 
 and ascension of Chri.^t. (2: 83-36; 5: 29-31.) 
 The head of the corner — the corner 
 stone, which lies at the foundation of 
 the building, where the two walls come 
 together, binding them firmly, and giv- 
 ing support and strength. Thus Jesus, 
 whom the Jewish rulers had despised 
 and rejected, God had made the corner- 
 stone of his si)iritual tem})le, the great 
 foundation of eternal life. (Rom. 9 ; 33 ; 1 
 
 Cor. 3 : 11 : Eph. 2 : 20-22.) Peter tlius shows 
 that both Christ's rejection hv them 
 and his exaltation were in fulfillment 
 of prophecy. In his first Epistle (2: b) 
 Peter applies substantially the same 
 figure to Christ, " the chief corner 
 stone," quoting from Isa. 28 : 16. 
 
 12. Peter now droi)s the figure, and 
 gives a practical conclusion. Salva> 
 tion — rather, the salvation, which 
 comes through the Messiah and which 
 the gospel brings. The definite article 
 points to the salvation as known to his 
 hearers, and ])romised tli rough the 
 ]\Iessiali, who had been mentioned in 
 tl\e ]irecetling verses, (is ; 26, 47 ; isa. 9 : 6.) 
 The reference cannot be limited to the 
 cure of the lame man. Both what pre- 
 cedes and what follows show that it is the 
 Messianic salvation among men, which 
 Jesus himself proclaimed and the 
 apostles ])reached. (ueb. 2:3.) Neither 
 ... in any other person. Peter had 
 proclaimed Jesus as the Christ through 
 whom the lame man had lieen made 
 whole. Having passed to the general 
 ^Messianic character of Jesus, he now 
 adds that there is no salvation outside 
 of him. For introduces the reason — 
 no other Saviour had been provided. 
 None other name (ver. 10) under 
 heaven — in all the earth. Given — 
 by God, from whom alone salvation 
 must come. Among men — among 
 whom the saving benefits are to be 
 known and enjoyed. Notice Peter does 
 not limit it to the Jews. Whereby — 
 in which name, believing, confessing, 
 and through the exerci.se of his power. 
 We must be saved. Peter puts hiin- 
 .self with the crucifiers of the Lord, as 
 fellow-.sinners, needing salvation, and 
 only saved through Jesus Christ. 
 Must indicates necessity according 
 to the divine purpose in providing 
 the way of salvation. They must be 
 saved through Christ, if .saved at all. 
 See 1 Peter 2 : 4-10, where the same 
 truths, as in these verses, are taught 
 more fully : Believers on the one hand 
 
Ch. IV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 61 
 
 13 Now when they saw the Imldiiess of 
 Peter and John, ''and perceived that they 
 were unlcarnea and ignorant men, they 
 marveled ; and they took knowledge of 
 them, that they had been with .lesus. 
 
 14 And beholding the man which was healed 
 
 standing with them, they could say noth- 
 
 15 ing against it. But 'when they had com- 
 manded them to go aside out of the coun- 
 cil, they conferred among themselves, 
 
 16 saying, ' What shall we do to these men ? 
 for that indeed a notable miracle hath 
 
 r Matt. 11 : 25 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 27. » ch. 26 : 31. t John 11 : 47. 
 
 are admitted to the hitjhest blessing 
 tliroiigh their union with C'lirist; but 
 all rejecters of the gospel are given over 
 by (jiod's appointment to ruiu. ( JoUn :i : 
 is--'i; iThess. 1 :H.) Salvatiou begins in 
 this life and is perfected in the next. 
 It is sometimes spoken of as a present 
 possession (JohoiO:3), and sometimes as 
 yet future. (Rom. 5: lo.) Peter here, in 
 addressing the unregenerate, speaks of a 
 salvatiou which they might enjoy now, 
 and which consists in a change of heart, 
 j)ardon of sin, and reconciliation with 
 God. In his Epistles, in writing to his 
 brethren who had sutl'ered persecutions 
 and various trials, while not overlook- 
 ing salvation as a present })ossessiou, 
 lie especially views it as a crowning 
 blessing at the end of their conflict. 
 
 (I Peter 1 : S; 2 : ■-' ; 5:4.) 
 
 13. The etTect on the Sanhedrin. 
 They wonder and are perplexed, (sce 
 13:41.) They saw — they beheld — 
 implying attention and consideration. 
 The boldness — the freedom, of 
 speech. They did not have that hesi- 
 tation in speaking which indieatetl 
 timidity, but that courageous freedom 
 which was ))orn of trust in God. It 
 would appear that John also freely 
 uttered words of assent to wliat Peter 
 liad said. Perceived — taking note, 
 now and before, of their manner, lan- 
 guage, and pronunciation. Un- 
 learned — illiterate. The epistles of 
 Peter and John show that they could 
 read and write. The meaning is that 
 they were unversed in the learning of 
 the Jewish schools. They were not of 
 the educated class. Ignorant — pri- 
 vate or obscure men of the common 
 people, (i Cor. 1 : 27.) They were of low 
 social po.sition. They marvelled — 
 so they did at Je.sus. (John 7 : 1.5.) They 
 took knowledge — thei/ recognized 
 who they were, that they ivere accus- 
 tomed to ))e n'ith Jei^us. Some of the 
 council would probably recollect the 
 features of tlie apostles. Their Galilean 
 speech also might indicate them. John 
 
 also had been known to the high 
 priest. (Johui8:i5.) Their freedom, 
 courage, and boldness of speech re- 
 minded them of their great teacher, 
 under whose instruction they had been. 
 " Their astonishment sharpened now 
 their recollection." (Meykr.) What 
 a contrast in Peter? At the trial of 
 Je.sus, he cowardly denied his Lord 
 l)efore a maid ; now he glories in Jesus 
 before the highest Jewish tribunal. 
 
 14. While all engaged in consider- 
 ing Peter and .loliu, turning their eyes, 
 they see (a momentary act) the man 
 that had been healed standing with 
 the a|)Ostles, erect like other men, an 
 evidence to tlie miraculous cure. It 
 would seem that the healed man had 
 been arrested with the two apostles, 
 and brought with them. The w'ratli of 
 tlie rulers may liave been upon him, 
 just as upon Lazarus whom they 
 l)lanned to put to death. (John 12 ; 10.) 
 They could say nothing against 
 it — to what Peter and John had said 
 and to the reality of the miracle. In- 
 deed, they jjrivately acknowledge the 
 miracle, (ver. le.) 
 
 15. Commanded them to go 
 aside — so as not to hear their discus- 
 sions. So Gamaliel, at a later trial, 
 commanded to jiut forth the ajtostles a 
 little while, when he wislied to advise 
 and caution the Sanhedrin. (5 : 34.) 
 This was no disrespect to the prisoners, 
 but an expedient for free discussion 
 and making up a verdict. On coun- 
 cil, see on 5 ; 21. They conferred 
 among themselves — comi»ared o]>in- 
 ions, and di.scusseil the matter. The 
 substance of their deliberations is 
 given in the next two verses. Tlie 
 court sat with open doors, so that it 
 could be known what was said. Saul 
 of Tarsus may have been present. 
 Afterward a great com])any of the 
 priests, some of whom were doubtless 
 present, were obedient to the faith. 
 (6.7.) 
 
 16. What shall we do to these 
 
62 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 been done hy them is "mauifest to all 
 them that dwell in Jerusalem ; and we 
 
 17 cannot deny it. But that it spread no 
 further among the people, let us straitly 
 threaten them, that they speak henceforth 
 
 18 to no man in this name. »And they 
 called them, and commanded them not 
 
 to speak at all nor teach in the name of 
 Jesus. 
 
 19 But Peter and John answered, and 
 said unto them, y Whether it be right in 
 the sight of God to hearken unto you 
 
 20 more than unto God, Judge ye. ^'For we 
 
 " ch. 3 : 9, 10. 
 
 ch. 5 : 40. 
 
 J ch. 6 : 29 ; Dan. 3 : 18 ; 6 : 10, 11. 
 Num. 22 : 38 : 1 Kings 22 : 14. 
 
 'ch. 17 : 16, 17; 18:5; 
 
 men, to restrain them and stop the 
 progress of the cause of Jesus. The 
 leaders of Judaism !<re at a loss how 
 to deal with two tisiiermen about the 
 healing of a poor cripi)le ! The trouble 
 is: A well-known miracle lias ))een 
 performed by these men, all Jerusalem 
 was aware of it, and they could not 
 deny it. Miracle, etc. — sign has 
 been done by (through) them. 
 They concede evidence of wonderful 
 power through them. (See joUn 2 : ii, 
 note.) We cannot deny it — though 
 they would, if they could oidy have 
 explained it at all jdausibly to the 
 
 people. (M:.It. 28:12-15.) 
 
 17. But that it — the report of the 
 miracle, and as a result the teaching 
 and doctrines of which it was a sign or 
 evidence. Tlie rulers feared lest they 
 lose their spiritual authority over the 
 people, and they suftier for their murder 
 of Je-sus. (5:-'s.) atraitly or strict/)/ 
 is wanting in the oldest manuscripts, 
 and omitted by tlie highest critical 
 authorities. That they speak 
 henceforth to no man, etc. The 
 prohibition is al)Solute and universal. 
 They were never to speak to auy one 
 in or 111)011 the name of Jesus, makiug 
 him the subject or basis of discourse. 
 
 18. They called them, who were 
 waiting for the decision of the f^anlie- 
 drin, not knowing whether it would l>e 
 imprisonment, scourging, or lil)ertv. 
 Now ends tlieir suspense. Com- 
 manded them. Notice that the 
 charge is in some res|)ccts fuller tliau 
 ill the ])receding verse: not to speak at 
 all, nor to teach in, or njmn the name 
 of Jesus, They were not in their 
 public speaking and instructions to 
 introduce the name of Jesus, ajipeal to 
 his authority or commands. 
 
 19. The answer of Peter and 
 John was manly, heroic. Christlike. 
 Whether it be right. It was with 
 them a matter of conscience and duty. 
 
 In the sight of God, who seeth not 
 as man seeth, and wlio judgeth right- 
 eously. (1 S:im. 16 : 7; Ji r. 11 : 20-) To 
 
 hearken — to hear, consider, and obey. 
 More than — rather than to God. One 
 or the other must be disobeyed. Judge 
 ye, for yourselves. We ought to do as 
 we have been doing, " even our enemies 
 themselves being judges." P^ven the 
 enlightened heathen recognized the 
 truthfulness of the ijrincijile underly- 
 ing tlie jiosition taken by Peter and 
 John. Parallels have been cited from 
 Herodotus and Livy. The finest is in 
 the ajiology of Socrates as recorded by 
 Plato : " O ye Athenians, I embrace 
 and love you ; but I will obey God 
 rather than you ; and if you would 
 dismiss me, and sjiare my life, on con- 
 dition that I should cease to teach my 
 fellow citizens, I would rather die a 
 thousand times tlian aecei)t the pro- 
 posal." In 2 Mace. ch. 7, is recorded 
 tile cruel death of seven sons for their 
 heroic fidelity to Ciod's law. One of 
 them expresses the feedings of the rest, 
 saying: " We are ready to die rather 
 than to transgress tiie laws of our 
 fathers." Inspiration has given us the 
 ! nolde example of the tiiree young 
 j Hebrews, who, threatened with the 
 ! burning fiery furnance, answered, " Be 
 ] it known unto thee, O king, that we 
 will not serve thy gods, nor worship 
 the golden image which thou hast set 
 I up." (Dan. 3 : 18.) Surcly the Sanhe- 
 j drin must have felt that the apo.stles 
 placed themselves on a principle 
 wiiicli was sustained by reason, con- 
 science, and the example of their 
 fathers. 
 
 20. AVliatever the decision of the 
 Saulu'drin, Peter and John must follow 
 tiieir convietioiis. The reason is given. 
 For we cannot, etc. — for it is morally 
 impossible for ns not to Rpeah the thinus 
 ii'hic'i ve saw find heard, the deeds and 
 works of Jesus. Jeremiah (20 : 9) felt 
 
Cii. IV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 63 
 
 cannot V)ut speak the things which » we 
 have seen and heard. 
 
 So when they had further threatened 
 them, they let ihem go, finding nothing 
 bow they might punishithem, ''because of 
 the people: for all men glorified (jod for 
 
 22 that which was done. For the man was 
 above forty years old, on whom this mira- 
 cle of healing was sliowed. 
 
 23 And being let go, "they went to their 
 own company, and reported all that the 
 chief priests and elders had said unto 
 
 ' 1 John 1:1,3. 1> ch. b : 2(i ; Mutt. 21 : 26 ; Luke 20 : 6, 19 ; 22 : 2. « ch. 12 : 12. 
 
 the same constraining power: "There 
 is iu my heart as it were a Inirning fire 
 shut tip ill my bones, and I am weary 
 with forbearing, and I cannot contain." 
 In his second epistle (i : ■« is), Peter 
 refers to their being "eye witnesses of 
 bis majesty," and hearing a voice from 
 " the majestic glory." John also in his 
 tirst epistle (i :i) speaks of that which 
 we have heard, that which we have 
 seen with our eyes, that which we be- 
 held and our hands have handled con- 
 cerning the Word of life." Peter dis- j 
 jdays the same courage, mellowed by 
 age and trial, in his epistles, (i Peter [ 
 
 3 ; 15 ; i : 19 ; 5:9; 2 Peter 2 : •i-.!2 ) John is the i 
 
 same sou of thunder which he luul been, 
 and which he continued to be to the 
 end. (Luketf ; 54; 1 Johu2 ; 4 ) The Con- 
 duct of the apostles is consistent with 
 Peter's exhortation : " Submit your- 
 selves to every ordinance of man," 
 every human institution connected with 
 human government, " for the Lord's 
 sake." (iPeter2:i:i) With Paul, Peter 
 regarded civil government as of divine 
 appointment. (Rom. is :i 7.) But he also 
 recognized duty to God as well : " Honor 
 all men, love the brotherhood; fear 
 God; honor the king." (iPeter2:i7) 
 Hence when government left its legiti- 
 mai-e work of punishing evil-doers and 
 praising those that did well (i Peter :? : h), 
 and infringed upon the rights of con- 
 science, he recognized a higher law and 
 affirmed : "We ought to ol)ey God 
 rather than men," and patiently suf- 
 fered the coiise<iuences. " For this is 
 acceptable, if a man for conscience to- 
 ward God endure grief, su fieri ng wrong- 
 fully." (l Peter 2: 19. See 1 Pfter 3 : 14-17.) 
 
 21. Further threatened them— 
 
 having added l/irca/fiiin;/s to tliose pro- 
 po.sed in ver. 17, and doubtless given 
 with the command in ver. IS. Find- 
 ing nothing how — finding no way to 
 punish them without stirring up "the 
 people. (See 2 147) For all glorified 
 God, etc. They saw the power of God 
 iu the miracle and they were praising 
 
 God for it. To them it was a sign of a 
 risen Jesus, and of the good news 
 jjieached by the apostles. " Often the 
 ]jeo|)le are more reasonable than their 
 rulers." (Bengel.) 
 
 "i'Z. For introduces the special rea- 
 son why the people were glorifying God ; 
 the healing was performed upon a man 
 over forty years old. It was an in- 
 veterate infirmity, Incurable by human 
 means and widely known. (3:2) This 
 miracle, etc. — this sign of (he heaiiiuj. 
 Notice how the evidential character of 
 the miracle is kej>t in view. Like the 
 blind man iu John 9, the name of this 
 mail is not given. But the purpo.se 
 was not to immortalize a luiman name, 
 but to witness to and glorify the name 
 of Jesus. 
 
 23-31. The Release of the Apos- 
 tles AND THE United Praise and 
 Prayer of the Church, (ps. 2:1.2 
 146 : 6 ) Their release occasions renewed 
 prai.se to God among the disciples 
 (ver. 2:i 24), who perceive the prediction 
 of David (Ps. 2:1,2) fulfilled by the ene- 
 mies of Christ (ver. 25-28), and are encour- 
 aged to pray for greater courage and 
 greater power iu working miraculous 
 signs (ver. 29, 30) ; which prayer was at 
 once granted. (Ver. 31.) 
 
 23. They went to their own 
 company, or friends. The expression 
 is general, and is not necessarily limited 
 to their fellow apostles, or to" the be- 
 lievers Avho resided with them, nor ex- 
 tended to the whole body of believers, 
 who were doubtless too many to be as- 
 sembled in any one place. They went 
 to tlieir brethren, either calling them 
 together, so far as convenient, and re- 
 ported to them ; or, more probably, they 
 were gathered together in some place, 
 a com])any of disci])les, praying for 
 them, as in 12:12. (Seeon ver. ;ii-) The 
 account that follows most naturally im- 
 plies that the report was made to an as- 
 sembly of believers, who united in 
 praise and prayer. The Sanhedrin is 
 here indicated by chief priests and 
 
64 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 24 them. And when they heard that, ^ they 
 lifted up their voice to God with one 
 accord, and said, Lord, « thou art God, 
 which hath made heaven, and earth, and 
 
 25 the sea, and all that in them is: who liy 
 the mouth of thy servant David hast 
 said, f ' Why did the heathen rage, and 
 
 26 the people imagine vain things? The 
 
 <iPs. ri-A :5-8: Jer. 20:13. 
 
 •■ 2 Kings 19 : 15. ' I's. 2 : 1-G. 
 
 elders, (ver. i.) Chief priests — in the 
 original the ])lural of high priest; tbe 
 word has been variously applied to the 
 heads of the twenty-four classes of the 
 priesthood, as divided hy David (i chrou. 
 M : i-i'j), or priests appointed over cer- 
 tain parts of the teni])le service, or to 
 tlie several high priests who were then 
 living. Recent examinations go to show 
 that neither in the Old Testament (8ep- 
 tnagiut Version) nor in Josephus is the 
 word chief ])riests ever a]jj)lied to the 
 heads of the twenty-four classes, but that 
 it is limited in its ai)plicati()n to those 
 who were high ])rie.sts, or had been, to- 
 gether with tiie inHuential members of 
 families from which the high priests 
 still continued to l)e selected. (Thay- 
 EK'S Greek Lex. of N. T.) 
 
 *24. They lifted up their voice 
 to God. This could be said of them, 
 if one led aloud, the others following in 
 their hearts and giving audible assent. 
 (i Cor. 14 : 16 ) The language was largely 
 from the Old Testament, and was doubt- 
 less so familiar to them that many could 
 witli ease join aloud. Moreover, the 
 Spirit may have especially im])ressed 
 the minds of the wliole company with 
 these Scri])tures so fitting tiie occasion, 
 autl so suited to their ])resent ]nir]>ose 
 in prayer. With one accord — witli 
 one mind, witli a union of hearts. 
 (i:U;2:4e.) This is the tir.st recorded 
 prayer of believers in the New Testa- 
 ment. Some have su]i]iosed, but with- 
 out sufficient reason, that this wns a 
 form of prayer already introduceil into 
 the early church and the beginning of a 
 lituriry. But there is no evidence in 
 the New Testament that tliis or any 
 otluT form of prnyer was used by the 
 early chtirches. There is no intimation 
 even of the use of the Lord's Prayer. 
 Neither does history record any liturgy 
 in the apostolic church. The ]n-ayer is 
 given as an outlmrst of hearts imbued 
 with the Holy Spirit, lifted to and grow- 
 ing out of this very occasion. Lord — 
 Ma.<iter, Soi-ereiqn ; not the usual word 
 translated Lord, but a word from which 
 
 is derived our English word despot. It 
 was the correlative of slave, and de- 
 noted absolute ownershij) and uncon- 
 trolled power. It is applied twice to 
 Christ ('i Peter 2.1; jude t.) It is here ap- 
 plied to God by those who address him 
 as servants, (ver. 29.) Thou art God, 
 etc. According to the most aiijiroved 
 text, l^hou. that didst male hear en, etc. 
 The words are found in Exod. 20 : 11 ; 
 Ps. 146:6, and tliey indicate how the 
 minds of the early disciples were filled 
 M"ith Scripture. Paul quotes the same 
 words to the Lycaonians (u i5), which 
 suggest that it was one of the familiar 
 jiassages often used fi'om the sacred 
 writings. The discijdcs adore God as 
 the Almighty Creator, who Avould pro- 
 tect, against whom all ojijiositiou of his 
 creatures must be unsuccessful. (SeeNeh. 
 
 » : 6; Jer. 32 : 17 ; Rev. 14 ; 7.) 
 
 25. By the mouth, etc. The 
 Greek text here is somewhat uncertain. 
 The Revi.sed Version prefers. Who by 
 the Holy Spirit, through the mouth oj 
 our father David, thy servant, didst 
 say. (P^- 2 : 1. 2.) The ((notation is from 
 the Se])tuagint version. The second 
 Psalm j)resent.s the exaltation of Christ 
 and the j)rogressof liis kingdom against 
 all o])]iosition. It was then l)eiiig ful- 
 filled, and its fulfillment is still in pro- 
 gress. The Psalm is without a title, 
 but it is here ascribed to David and ap- 
 plied to Christ. Its Jlessianic charac- 
 ter is recognized by other quotations in 
 the NcM' Testament, (is : « ; Heb. 1 : 5; 5 : 5.) 
 Servant. See on 3 : 18, where tliis 
 word is translated son in our Common 
 Version. Thelieathen — tlie nations, 
 the Gentiles. Rape — used ])riniarily 
 of the neiijliiug and snortintj of horses; 
 here of tumultuous, noisy o]»]>osition. 
 The people, or people.i — the tribes, 
 ]wrha])S includint; other nations besides 
 the tribes of Israel. Imagine a vain 
 thing— devise that which is eni])ty and 
 worthless and which will surely be 
 frustrated. 
 
 26. The quotation from the second 
 i Psalm continues. Stood up — ready 
 
Oh. IV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 65 
 
 kings of the earth stoofl up, and the rul- 
 ers were gathered together against the 
 Lord, and against his Christ' (Ps. 2 : 1, 2, 
 
 27 Sept.) For ?of a truth against '' thy holy 
 child Jesus, ■ whom thou hast anointed 
 both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the 
 (ientiles, and the people of Israel, were 
 
 28 gathered together, for to do whatsoever 
 thy hand and thy counsel determined 
 
 29 before to he done. And now. Lord, be- 
 hold their threatenings: and grant unto 
 
 thy servants, ^ that with all boldness they 
 
 30 may speak thy word, by stretching forth 
 thine hand to heal ; and that signs and 
 wonders maybe done 'by the name of 
 thy holy child Jesus. 
 
 31 And when they had prayed, "the place 
 was shaken where they were assembled 
 together; and they were all filled with 
 the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word 
 of God with boldness. 
 
 ( Matt 20 : 3 ; Luke 22 : 2. ^ ch. 3 : 14 ; Luke 1 : 35. i Ps. 2 : 2, 6 ; John 10 : 36. k ch. 
 13 : 46 ; 19 : 8, 26 . 26; 28 : 31 ; Eph. 6 : 19. ' ch. 3 ; 6, 16. >" ch. 2 : 2, 4; 16 : 26. 
 
 for assault. Were gathered to- 
 gether—with hostile design, for com- 
 bined resistance, and answers to Took 
 coitnse/ together in Ps. 2 : 2, which 
 would be connected with, and result 
 from, their gathering together. His 
 Christ— /(/-sff/^o/?;/'*/, for so the word 
 
 means. (Matt, l ? I note ) 
 
 27. For of a truth— /or in fact, 
 ju.stifying this use of the i)roj)hccy, and 
 illustrating its application to the cir- 
 cumstances. According to the oldest 
 manuscripts and versions the words in 
 this city, should be here suj>plied. 
 Thy holy child, rather, servant, the 
 word being the same as that a])]ilied to 
 David in ver. 25. (seeS: i3 oote.) Holy, 
 in character, and set apart and conse- 
 crated to his holy office and work. 
 (jobuio:M.) Hast anointed, didst 
 anoint, by the Holy S])irit, especially 
 at his baptism, (lu ".-h; i.uken -n-i^-. i -. is"; 
 isa 61 : 1 ) Both Herod and Pon- 
 tius Pilate. Herod Antipas is meant, 
 a sou of Herod the Great, tetrarch of 
 Galilee and Perea. (see Luke 2:!: 112.) 
 People. The |dur;d is used, peophs of 
 Israel, pi'olnibly referring to tlie tribes. 
 (Ver ib ] " Tiie present prayer of the 
 disciples clearly answers to the second 
 psalm, as a comparison shows; the 
 kings answers to Herod, the rulers to 
 Pontius Pilate, the heathen to the Gen- 
 tiles, the peo])les to the peoples of 
 Israel." (P>enc;kl.) 
 
 28. For to do — not their intention, 
 for their purpose was malicious anil 
 destructive. They were unconsciously 
 carrying out God's plan for the salva- 
 tion of men. God's sovereignty and 
 mau's accountability are a.ssumed. (Sne 
 Gen. 50; 20) Thy hand — syml)ol of 
 power. Counsel — purpose, (see on 
 J; 23.) The disciples regarded them- 
 
 selves as inseparably connected with 
 Christ and his cause. 
 
 29. And now — respecting present 
 matters. Lord— God. (ver. 24.) Be- 
 hold — look upon their threatenings, 
 that they be not accomplished. Thy 
 servants — literally, slaves, or bonds- 
 men, those sustaining permanent ser- 
 vile relations to another (not the word 
 translated servant in ver. 25), correla- 
 tive of Lord in ver. 24. Lord there and 
 servants are used in a strong, good 
 sense, without any idea of op2))"ession 
 on the one hand or of degradation on 
 the other. (i6:i7; 2Peter i :i.) The apos- 
 tles and others who preached the word 
 are meant. With all boldness — with 
 utmost freedom, implying fearless con- 
 fidence, as in 4 : 13. 
 
 30. By stretching forth thy 
 hand — exerting thy power in healing, 
 thus rendering them courageous. But 
 some, with the Revised Version, trans- 
 late. While Ikon stretchcst forth thy 
 hand to heal, confirming their coura- 
 geous preaching by attendant miracles. 
 By, through, Iiy means of the name. 
 Holy child, or servant, Jesus. (See 
 
 on ver 27.) SlgUS and AVOndors. (See 
 
 on 2: 22.) There was n<'e<l of these to 
 prove the truth of ajHistolic ])reaciiiiig 
 and the resurrection of .lesus. 
 
 31. The answer to their prayer comes 
 speedily. The place was shaken 
 — as with an earthquake (K\o<3. iic it<; 
 psfis:8), where they Avere assem- 
 bled, showing that there was a gath- 
 ering of the discij>les (ver. 23) in some 
 customary place, pei-haps in the up])er 
 room. (Tn.) Filled Avith the Holy 
 Spirit. The Holy Sj)irit had come on 
 the day of Pentecost. It is not a new 
 coming ; but this presence and jmwer 
 are manifested iu them in large meas- 
 
r>6 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. IV. 
 
 The united and mutual love of the disciples, 
 and the Uberality of Barnabas and others. 
 
 •62 And the multitude of them that be- 
 lieved o were of one heart and of one 
 soul: "neither said any of Ihem that 
 aught of the things which he possessed 
 was his own ; but they had all things 
 
 33 common. And with p great power gave 
 the apostles witness of the resurrection of 
 
 the Lord Jesus; and i great grace was 
 
 34 upon them all. Neither was there any 
 among them that lacked: for as many as 
 were possessors of lands or houses sold 
 them, and brought the prices of the 
 
 35 things that were sold, 'and laid thfm 
 down at the apostles' feet : sand distribu- 
 tion was made unto every man according 
 a.s he had need. 
 
 n Ezek. 11 : 19; Rom. 15 : 5, 6 ; 2 Our. 13 : 11 ; Eph. 4 : 2-6: Phil. 1 : 27 ; 2 : 2 ; 1 Peter 3 : 8. 
 och. 2:44, 45. P 1 Thess. 1 : 5. q ch. 2 : 47. ' ch. 5 : 2. » ch. 2 : 45; 6 r 1. 
 
 ure. They receive spiritual power for 
 their work, and they are enabled to 
 s))eak the word of tJod freely aud cour- 
 a<<eous]y. Not the apostles alone, but 
 all enjoy this Idessing. 
 
 It may be worthy of note that Des- 
 poll's, .Vaster (ver 2i), is used, aside from j 
 
 Paul (1 Tim fi ; 1 ; '2 Tim. 2 : 21 ; Tit. 2 : !l), only ' 
 
 by Luke {2 : 29), Peter, and Jude. 
 (2Peter2- 1; Judei.) The cxhortatiou of 
 the latter is of interest here (Ju'ic -'>) : 
 " But ye, beloved, buildins; up your- 
 selves on your most holy faith, jiraying 
 in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in 
 the love of God, looking for the mercy 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal 
 life." James lays special stress on 
 prayer. (Jaities 1 : 5; 5 : i:i-i8.) Both James 
 and Jude may iiave been i)resent at 
 this time and learned new lessons on 
 unity and jiraycr. 
 
 32-37. The United and Peosper- 
 OTJS Condition oFTHECirrRCH, and 
 
 THE LllJEKALITY OF the AVeaLTHIER 
 
 Brethren. 
 
 These verses should be compared 
 with 2 : 42-47. As after tlie great Pen- 
 tecostal ingatheiiiig the s])iritna! and 
 social ehurcli life is described, so liere, 
 after another great increase of di.scijiles 
 and a signal victory over the iSanhe- 
 drin, a siinilar stiitc of thiuLTS is dc- 
 sciibed. The latter s'idws some advance 
 on tlie former, lioth descriptions to- 
 gether )>rescnt the cotulition of the 
 (•h'.irch at Jerusalem up to tlie arrest 
 anil martyrdom of Stt'phen. Tliis also 
 [irejiares the way for the account of the 
 liberality of Barnabas and tlie lying 
 covetousness of Ananias and Sapphira. 
 
 32. The niiiltitiide of thf>iii 
 that believed — not merely the new 
 eon verts, but the church at large. 
 S\ ere of one heart and of one 
 soul — in sympathy, affection, fellow- 
 
 ship, and spiritual interest. The mind 
 that was in Christ was in them. This 
 union of hearts simwcd itself j>racti- 
 cally. Neither said any of them, 
 etc. Not one was disposed to speak of 
 his possessions as his own, but treated 
 them as if they belonged to the church 
 at large, (sce Rom 12: 9^13.) They had 
 all things common. They ^wwwsvsrci 
 ])roperty and did not renounce it. but 
 used it in common for the good of the 
 brethren, especially of those who had 
 need. (ver. :!5.) They were inspired 
 with their oneness in Christ and 
 witli their consequent oneness in inter- 
 ests. (See Udie on 2 : 4,1.) 
 
 33. Witli unity of love, fervency of 
 ]>rayer, and gcneroti.s liberality, their 
 preaching was effective, and tlie favor 
 of God largely attended tiiem. Mith 
 great poAver^a result of tlie Holy 
 Sjiirit (ver. ai) manifested in jniwerful 
 ]n-caching and in attendant miracles. 
 Gave the apostles witnes.s — by 
 testifying that they had seen the risen 
 Lord, by quoting the projihets, and by 
 signs evidencing the tiiithfiiliiess of 
 their preaching. To the resurrec- 
 tion of the Lord Jesus. The great 
 tlieme of their ])reaching. They did 
 not wait for Easter Sunday, but daily 
 ])roclaimed the fact. (2 : 2^, :i2 ; 3 : .!6 ; 10 : .ra, 
 
 40; 13::tO-.17; 17::U.:i2; 2(i: 2:!.) Great graCC. 
 
 Some regard it as the faror of the jieo- 
 )de as in 2 : 47. It is more natural in 
 this connection to understand it as the 
 foror of God. And in thus jircaching 
 effectually they would also enjoy much 
 favor from men. (Luke 2 ,• 52.) l^pon 
 them^with the idea of resting upon 
 them as the dove rested on Jesus. All 
 — not the ajiostles only, but all the be- 
 lievers. 
 
 34, 35. These two verses form one 
 sentence. Neither ... For — iutro- 
 
Cu. IV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 67 
 
 Sfi And Joses, who by the apostles was Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 
 
 suruaiued 'Barnabas, (which is, being 37 "having land, sold it, and brought the 
 interpreted. The son of consolation,) a j money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 
 
 ' ch. 11 ; 22-2"), 30 ; 13 ; 1 ; Gal. 2:9. » Matt. 19 ; 20. 
 
 ducing the proof of grace resting ujion 
 all. The favor of God and the conse- 
 quent favor of men were shown hy the 
 practical exhibition of heneticence, so 
 tiiat (here was no one (inionf/ them Ihut 
 Inched. There was not a poor or desti- 
 tute person. Lands or fielih, jjrohably 
 ill the eountry. The same word in 1 : 
 IS. Houses— perhaps in the cit}'. 
 !Sold them. This describes wliat they 
 were wont to do. It implies that tliey 
 had jiossessions, but not that they sold 
 all tliey had. Laid them at the 
 ai>ostles' feet — placing their offering 
 at the disposal of the apostles. " They 
 intnnated that the apo.stles, under the 
 guidance of divine wisdom, should have 
 all tlie control over their i)roperty." 
 (Bengel.) The amount received for 
 jiroperty sold was brought and placed 
 at the feet of the aj)ostles, as they sat 
 teaching, or as teachers. (Matt. 5: i.) At 
 the beginning of this common distribu- 
 tion nothing is said of the ajjostles tak- 
 ing part in the work ('2:42); it was 
 ]>robably done by volunteers, but as the 
 disciples increased, and the work grew, 
 it appears that the apostles found it 
 necessary to take charge of the matter. 
 (6 :2-t.) Distribution ... as each 
 had need. There was not a general 
 and miscellaneous distrilmtion, but a 
 liberal supply to those who needed it. 
 
 (2:«.) 
 
 36. The self-sacrifice and nuitual 
 liberality of the disciples are illustrated 
 l>y a noted exainjile, followed by one of 
 an o])i)osite character in the ne.xt chap- 
 ter. And — in accordance with what 
 had been just stated of believers in 
 genei-al. Joses — l)etter Joseph. By 
 the apostles was siirnamed — be- 
 cause of certain ability and spiritual 
 ]>ower. Barnabas — a son of exhorta- 
 tion, one gifted in teaching, admonish- 
 ing, and consoling. (Rom 12: H; 1 Xhess. 
 
 2 ■ 3.) He was a distinguished Christian 
 teacher, and afterward became the com- 
 panion and colleague of Paul. (9 . 27 . 
 
 11 : 22, :?0 ; 12 : 23 ; 13-15 ; 1 Cor a : 6 ; Gal. 2:1,9 13 ; 
 
 Col. 4 : 10) A Levite — though probably 
 not a priest, or descendaut of Aaron. 
 
 I Cyprus — a large and fertile island, 
 
 I situated in the nortlieast corner of the 
 
 >Ie<literranean Sea. It was settled by 
 
 I Kittim the son of .lavan. (Gen.io:*.) 
 
 It was one of tiie many countries into 
 
 wliich the Jews were scattered. 
 
 37. Having land. The tribe of 
 [ Levi did not share in the original dis- 
 : triljutiou of the land. (Num. is : 20-24; 
 Josh. i»;7.) But this did not seem to 
 I exclude them from ownership in the 
 [ forty-eight cities and suburbs allotted 
 i to them. (Josh. 21 :.i r ) And later, indi- 
 ' vidual Levites could hold inoperty. 
 j Jeremiah, the son of a priest, purchased 
 a field as private property, according to 
 1 the forms of law. ( Jer. 1 :" 1 ; 32 : 9.) This 
 I instance of Barnal)as is mentioned, 
 j probably l)ecause of his eminent use- 
 fulness; the important position he 
 occupies in the book of Acts; and as 
 contrasting strikingly with Ananias 
 and Sapphira. (3:1.) It also tends to 
 show that such acts of benevolence 
 were voluntary. Some suppose that 
 the land sold was in Cyprus. It is a 
 wonderful example of a wealthy Levite 
 giving up his property to tiie dispo.sal 
 of j)oor men. How unwilling a .Jew 
 was to sell liis inheritance may be .seen 
 in the case of Naboth. (1 Kings 21 : 1-3.) 
 By this act Barnabas evinced his entire 
 consecration to God, and that " he was 
 a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit 
 and of faith." (11 : 24.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. If trials and opposition must come, let 
 theui find us in the path of duty. (Ver. 1 ; 
 1 Peter 4 : 15-19.) 
 
 2. Grief because the gospel is preached in- 
 dicates a depraved heart. (Ver. 2 ; Ps. 112 : 
 10.) 
 
 3. Preaching the gospel in face of oppo- 
 sition evinces sincerity, and generally 
 reaches the heart. (Ver. 3, 4 ; Jer. 20 : 8, 9, 
 11.) 
 
 4. " Men may bind the preacher, but the 
 word cannot be bound." (Ver. 4; 2 Tim. 
 2:9.) 
 
 5. Persecution generally reveals its own 
 
68 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IV. 
 
 wickedness, and in the end advances the i 
 truth. (Ver. 4; Ps. 76: 10.) 
 
 6. The opposers of Christ will leave no 
 means untried to injure his cause. (Ver. 5, 
 6 ; Rev. 12 : 12.) j 
 
 7. None are so blind as those who will not | 
 see. Notwithstanding the miracle and the 
 presence of the man healed, the Jewish i 
 rulers ask the apostles their authority. (Ver. ' 
 7; 2 Thess. 3:2.) 
 
 8. Men who are in the right can afford to 
 be respectful and give to every man his due. 
 (Ver. 8; 1 Peter 2 ; 1:^-16.) | 
 
 9. The once vacillating and denying Simon 
 is now the l)old and courageous Peter. 
 Nothing but tlie presence of the Spirit, aud j 
 a consciousness of a living Christ could have I 
 accomplished this. (Ver. 10 ) 
 
 10. There are many builders, yet none | 
 build aright but tbose who build on Jesus 
 Christ. (Ver. 11 ; ch. 10 : 42, 43.) 
 
 11. Salvation in none other! Unbelievers 
 need to tremble aud believers rejoice. Surely 
 Jesus should be proclaimed to all nations. 
 (Ver. 12; 10: 42,43.) 
 
 12. Successful preaching depends more 
 upon a deep experience and honest convic- 
 tions of the truth, than upon natural enaow- 
 ments, learning, aud arts of eloquence. (Ver. 
 13; 1 Cor. 1 : 2:5, 24.) 
 
 13. Opposers to Christ are often silenced, 
 but not always convinced. (Ver. 14 ; 19 : 
 3G-41.) 
 
 14. Let us be so acquainted with Jesus 
 that his Spirit shall be manifested in our 
 whole deportment. (Ver. 14 ; 1 Cor. 14 : 2.5.) 
 
 l.i. Darkness cannot stand the light, nor 
 falsehood before the truth. (Ver. 15 ; John 
 3 : 20, 21.) 
 
 IG. Wicked men continue to oppose the 
 gospel, even when aware that the evidences 
 arc .^ll against them. (Ver. 16 ; 13 : 8.) 
 
 17. What they cannot deny or destroy, 
 they endeavor to hinder. (Ver. 17, 13; 18: 
 
 18 Every one has the right of private 
 judgment aud the liberty of conscience, 
 subject only to God. (Ver. 19, 20; Rom 
 14 : 3.) 
 
 19. We are under no obligation to obey 
 human laws which require us to disobty 
 God (Ver. 19, 20 ; 5 : 29 ; Dan. 3 : 18 ; Matt. 
 10 : 37, 38.) 
 
 20. The miracles of the New Testament 
 were strongly attested, and acknowledged by 
 all classes. (Ver. 21, 22 ; John 11 : 47-52.) 
 
 21. Christians naturally seek their own 
 brethren, and among them find comfort and 
 encouragement in trials. (Ver. 23 ; Phil. 1 : 
 7 ; 1 Thess. 3 : 6, 7.) 
 
 22. Trials teach the Clirisiian both to 
 praise and pray. (Ver. 24 ; .5 : 41 ; 16 : 25.) 
 
 23. We should pli-ad the word and prom- 
 ises of God in prayer. (Ver. 25 ; Dan. 9 : 
 2,3.) 
 
 24. He that opposes Christ opposes God. 
 (Ver. 26 ; I.uke 10 : 16 ; Heb. 1 : 3.) 
 
 25. Christianity has been opposed by the 
 wicked of all ages, and that it still survives 
 is an evidence of its divine origin. (Ver. 27 ; 
 Ps. 2 : 8, 9.) 
 
 26. For the wisest and best of reasons 
 God suffers the wicked to oppose aud obstruct 
 his cause, which he overrules for the highest 
 good of his people. (Ver. 28 ; Rom. 8 : 
 28.) 
 
 27. God's sovereignty and man's freedom 
 and responsibility are great truths taught in 
 life and by Scripture. (Ver. 28 ; Dan. 4 : 34, 
 35;Prov. 9: 12.) 
 
 28. Preachers of the gospel need wisdom, 
 faithfulness, and boldness in proclaiming 
 the truth. (Ver. 29 ; Eph. 6 : 19.) 
 
 29. We should be more anxious for the 
 presence and power of Christ with his word, 
 than for our own personal safety. (Ver. 30 ; 
 20 : 22-24.) 
 
 30. The path of duty is ultimately the 
 path of safety. God will take care of those 
 who commit themselves to him. {\er. 31 ; 
 
 1 Ps. 46 : 1.) 
 
 I 31. The true unity of the church is in love 
 
 ! and in the truth. (Ver. 32; John 17 : 17, 20, 
 
 21.) 
 j 32. Great blessings rest upon those who 
 
 are united in Christ's service and work. 
 
 (Ver. 33 ; Matt. 18 : 20.) 
 1 33. Love to Christ and to the brethren 
 
 will be manifested, not iti words only, but 
 
 also in deeds. (Ver. 34 ; Gal. 6 : 10 ; 1 John 
 
 3 : 18.) 
 34. Every Christian, like Barnabas, should 
 
 be a son of consolation to the inquiring 
 
 sinner, to the poor, aud to the sorrowing 
 : saint. (Ver. 35-37 ; Isa. 40 : 1 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 4.) 
 
Cii. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 69 
 
 The sin of Ananias and Sajiphira. Great in- 
 crease of the church. 
 
 a But a ciTtaiii man named Ananias, 
 with Sapphiia his wife, sold a possession, 
 
 2 and 'kept back part of the price, his wife 
 also being privy to it, J and brought a 
 certain part, and laid it at the apostles' 
 
 o feet. I But Peter said, Ananias, why hath 
 " Satan filled thine heart "> to lie to the 
 
 1 Tim. 6 : 10. J Matt. « : 2, 3. » Num. 30 
 John 8 : 44. 
 
 2 ; Di'ut. 23 : 21 j Eccl. 5:4. » Luke 22 ; 3 : 
 b vor. y. 
 
 Ch. 5 : 1-16. The Covetousnkss 
 
 AND FaI.SKHOOD OF AXANIAS AND 
 
 S.vpi'iiiuA. God'.s .Judgment upon 
 Tiiic.M. Great Ixckease of the 
 CiiiiU'll. Tlie time of these occur- 
 rciie>'s was most prolciWy A. D. .'52. 
 'I'lu' prosperous eoiiditiou of the church 
 <lfscribc(l in 4 : 'V2-35 most likely cou- 
 tiiuic.I several mouths, jjcrhaps a year 
 or two. 
 
 1. But introduces a contrast to the 
 dosiuif incident of tiie preceding chap- 
 ter. The division of tlie chapters are 
 here infelicitous, and many readers 
 theretiy fail to discover the connection. 
 The lirst recorded shadow falls uj)on 
 tiie early church-life. What at first was 
 tiie voluntary impulse of glowing love 
 to Christ and tiie brethren, is made an 
 occasion of hypocritical imitation. 
 Ananias — meaning Jehovah is gra- 
 ciuus. >\'ith indicates tliat tlieir action 
 was preconcerted as expressed in the 
 next verse. Sappliira — meaning, ac- 
 cording to the Aramaean, beautiful, or 
 according to Greek, Sapphire. " Their 
 names were favorable and beautiful ; 
 their principles bad." (Bengel.) A 
 possession — defined as a laitd or 
 /ie/d in ver. 3. It is not .stated 
 wliether this was all of his property or 
 only a part. 
 
 2. Kept back, etc. — purloined, em- 
 bezzled from the price. So used in 
 Titus 2 : 10, tl»e only instance in the 
 New Testament, outside of this passage, 
 where the word is found. In the Sep- 
 tuagint the word is used in the case of 
 Achan. (jos1i.7:1.) It was not a mere 
 keeping back, but it was a keeping 
 back with the intent to conceal, and to 
 deliberately act out a lie. His wife 
 also being privy to it — beinrf aware 
 of it, thus consenting and in collusion 
 with him. The sin was deliberate and 
 planned ; and was thus the more aggra- 
 vated. Brought a certain part — 
 pretending that it was tlie wliole. 
 Bengel thinks that he brought the 
 larger part ; but J, A. Alexander lays 
 
 stress on a more exact rendering, some 
 ■part, and suggests that lie reserved 
 tiie larger part for himself, wliicli i)er- 
 haps is the more probable. Tlie char- 
 acter of the moral act was tlie same in 
 either case. It is very probal)le that 
 Ananias intended to give tiie whole 
 when he sold tlie land, l)ut that when 
 he saw the money tlie love of it led 
 him to reserve a portion for his own 
 use. (1 Tim. 6: 10.) lie wisiied, Iiowevcr, 
 to appear to tlie apostles and to the 
 whole church, as disinterested and .self- 
 denying as Barnabas and others. In 
 him avarice, hypocrisy, and lying 
 unite. At the apostles' feet. It 
 would seem tliat this was done at a 
 religious service (ver. a. ii) and as a reli- 
 gious offering. This was the notoriety 
 Ananias desired. It was not only 
 hyjmcrisy before men, l)ut a lie to the 
 Holy Spirit. (Vei. :).) It was a sin 
 which, if permitted, would result in 
 spiritual disaster to the church, and 
 was especially heinous to God. The 
 punishment must be immediate and 
 effectual. (See the case of Achan, 
 Josh. (3 : 17-19 ; 7 : 1, 1.5.) 
 
 3. Peter speaks in behalf of the 
 ajiostles at whose feet the gift had lieen 
 placed. (Ver. ■>.) His inspiration is in- 
 tlicated in his address, and his power 
 of discerning of .spirits, (i Cor. 12 : lo; 1 
 johu4:i.) Satan means adversary, 
 and is used as a proper name of the 
 prince of fallen angels. (,iob 1 : 7; Rev. 
 12:!), in.) He is also the great temjiter 
 
 of men. (Mink h : :« ; 2 Cor. 11 : 2.) The 
 
 form of tlie question, Why, implies 
 freedom of action, and tliat Ananias 
 ought to have resisted the temptation. 
 " Wliy did you permit Satan," etc. 
 (See James 4: 7.) Filled thine heart — 
 so as to take full possession of it. Why 
 did Satan po.sxess thy lieart ? " Satanic 
 fullness of heart is the highest grade of 
 wickedness." (Bkngei..) To lie to 
 the Holy Spirit. The word fie here 
 means to play false, to deceire by acting 
 out or uttering a falsehood. Ananias 
 
70 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 Holy Spirit, and to keep back pari of the 
 
 4 price of the laud? Whiles it remained, 
 
 was it not thine own? And after it was 
 
 sold, was it not in thine own power? Why 
 
 hast thou conceived this thing in thine 
 
 heart? «Thou hast not lied unto meu, 
 
 5 '* but unto God. And Ananias hearing 
 
 « Exod. 16 : 8 ; see refs. Luke 10 : 16. d See ver. 3. 
 
 acted a lie, thou<?]i it docs not certainly 
 appear that he littered one. He is said i 
 to have lii-<l to the Holy Si>irit, hecause 
 the a|)osties were inspired hy, and pos- i 
 sessed witli, the gifts and jiowers of tlie 
 Spirit; l)ecause tlie ehuieli was tlie ' 
 tenii)le of God, tilled witii the Holy [ 
 Spirit ; and l)ecaiise lie professed to ha 
 moved hy the Spirit to do an act of 
 self-sacrifice, when he only wished tfl 
 " make a fair show in tlie fiesli." 
 The Spirit may have moved him to a 
 course of lieneticence in response to 
 whicli lie sold and devoted tlie i)roj)erty, 
 and then i)roved false liy seei-etly witli- 
 holding a part, and liypocritieally pre- | 
 tending to give tiie whole. To keep ' 
 back — to purloin, the same as in ver. 
 2. " Possession " (ver. i) is here specified 
 as land, a Jicid or piece of grouml, 
 prohalily in the coniitry. ( i : :'«■) 
 
 4. Hhile it reinaiiied, etc., when 
 it iriiKiiucd did it not remain t/iinef 
 The form of tlie question is one whicii 
 would l)e followed hy an affirmative 
 answer. >* as it not in tliy own 
 power — at tiiy discretion to tin with 
 the money as it pleaseil tiiee ? Ananias 
 acted freely aiul was not under obliga- 
 tion to do it. God lia<l not commanded 
 it, nor had the apostles (hMiiandcd it. 
 It is evident that tlie community of 
 goods was not compulsory ; neither was 
 it universal among tiie disciples, nor 
 ahsolnti'. The natural inference from 
 tile lariiruage also is, tiiat lie had not 
 devoted the land to tiod liefore he sold 
 it, nor the whole price of it till after he 
 had received it. Why hast thou — 
 how is if thiit thou didsl jmt this thintj 
 in tinj hnirt. Anania.s did it delii)er- 
 ntely. lie was not responsil)le for tlie 
 suggestion of Satan (M.itt. 4::i, 6. 9), but 
 for taking hold of the suggestion, har- 
 boring it in his heart and acting upon 
 it. Thou hast not lied, etc. Peter 
 does not deny that Anania.s had lied to 
 men, but he emphasizes the sin a.s 
 against God (.^eePs. si : 4.) His lying 
 to God was so heinous that his lying to 
 Peter and the apostles was hardly to be 
 
 tliought of, or mentioned, at the same 
 time. Notice that the Holij Spirit and 
 irod are used iiiterchangably, a .strong 
 proof of tlie divinity of "tlie Holy 
 Spirit. It is also imi)iied that Peter's 
 knowledge of Ananias' heart and the 
 nature of his sin was not from any in- 
 formation obtained from others," but 
 tliroiigh the iiisj)iration of the Sjiirit. 
 " These modern sins of our }dansil)le 
 Giiristian society, — protits made, for- 
 tunes realized, reputation inflated, by 
 means that will not bear scrutiny,— all 
 having tlieir cankered root in tlie desire 
 to seem rather than to he, to seem right- 
 eous in the world's eye, — is it not well 
 for us to see them in the burning light 
 of an apostle's indignation ?" (J. P. 
 NoHKi.s, D. D.) 
 
 5. Ananias hearing . . . fell 
 down and gave np the ghost — liter- 
 ally, breathed out his soul or life. This 
 was evidently a direct judgment from 
 God. There is nothing to indicate that 
 Ananias died from the sudden shock 
 jiroduced by Peter's rebuke. Pxith 
 Simon Magus (8 : 20-24) and Elymas tlie 
 .sorcerer (i.t:9-ii) w'ere more fearfully 
 rebuked without physical injury ; for 
 no one would say the rebuke of Paul 
 blinded Elymas. Peter pronounced no 
 .sentence upon Ananias, and there is no 
 evidence tlutt he ex})ected his deatli. 
 He foret(dd the death of Sai>phira, but 
 he did tliis by inspiration, after he saw 
 what the purpose of God was in pun- 
 ishing the sin. Yet it is entirely con- 
 sistent with superhuman power, that 
 (>od acted through the senses and the 
 mind. It was ujion heorituj liis terrible 
 sill tiiat Ananias fell down and died. 
 The punishment was deserved. Tlie 
 wages of sin is death, temporal and 
 eternal. Lying to the Holy Spirit is 
 the most aggravated of all lying. (Sie 
 M:iit. 12 :.-.i,s2.) And this sin was com- 
 ])licated with avarice, pride, .selfishness, 
 and hypocrisy. The punishment too 
 was necessary, at the beginning of the 
 Christian Dispensation, to deter others 
 from repeating the offence. Severe 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 71 
 
 these words e fell down, and gave uj) tlio 
 
 ghost. And great fear came on all them 
 
 6 that beard these things. And the young 
 
 men aro.se, 'wound liini up, and carried 
 hii4i. out, and buried him. 
 7 And it was about the space of three 
 
 t John lU : 40. 
 
 pimishment upon first transgressors acts 
 as a solemn and mi'reiful warning to 
 others. So it was under tlu; Old Dis- 
 pensation. Thus God signally punished 
 Cain (oeu. * ; 11-15), the profaner of the 
 Sabbath (Num. 15 :.V2-:i6), Korah and his 
 company (Num. le : :ii-:t5), Nadab and 
 
 Abihtt (Lev. 10 : 1, z), and Uzzah (2 Sam. 6 : 
 
 6. 7). The same princii)le holds true in 
 human government. At one time many 
 hundreds were lost yearly by duels in 
 France. Richelieu revived an old law 
 and gave notice that the 2>ractice -would 
 be punished with death. Two noljle- 
 men fought; he haiige<l both; and a 
 stop was put to duelling while he lived. 
 Thus by the death of two men he saved 
 many thousands to France. Great 
 fear — terror and awe at the majesty of 
 God, and a terrible sense of the danger 
 of offending him. Sudden death in 
 connection with crime is esjiecially 
 fitted to affect the mind. How much 
 more so when death comes manifestly 
 as a divine judgment. This was espe- 
 cially true of Ananias' death, as it 
 was sudden, and the first infliction 
 from God in the church. 
 
 6. The young men — literally, the 
 younger, equivalent to attendants, ser- 
 vants. See Luke 22 : 20, where younger 
 is used in opposition to greater, " he 
 that is greater among yon, let him 
 become as the younger." The younger 
 are regarded as inferior to the older. 
 The latter are rather to be waited on, 
 the former should rather serve. There 
 is no evidence that the word here is 
 used to designate an official title of 
 church officers. The younger men are 
 conceived of, as the ones who did vari- 
 ous needful things in connection with 
 numerous meetings. " It devolved on 
 them naturally to perform this service, 
 both on account of their greater activ- 
 ity and out of respect to their superiors 
 in age." (Hackett.) And even more, 
 this was regarded as their appropriate 
 work. They were ready as helpers and 
 for service. See further on ver. 10. 
 Wound him up, wrapt him up in 
 grave clothes, or more probably, on 
 
 account of the haste with which the 
 burial was performed, in bis own gar- 
 ments. " It was customary among the 
 Jews to bury the Ixidy in the same gar- 
 ment used in life, or in one n sem))iing 
 it." (AiiUOTT.) The Jews used no 
 eofiins. Carried him out, not 
 merely from the house, but out of tlie 
 
 city. (Luke 7 : 12; John U : 31-JK.) Kings, 
 
 proi)hets, and distinguished persons 
 alone were buried within towns. 
 Buried him. It was customaiy 
 among the Jews to bury soon after 
 death, generally the same day. This 
 was necessary because in ralestine 
 decomposition takes place very rai)idly 
 after death. The extraordinary manner 
 of Ananias' death doubtless hastened 
 the burial. The Jews used vaults, 
 graves dug in the earth, lateral excava- 
 tions in the hillside, or caverns. At 
 the present day at Jeru.salem burial is 
 not generally deferred more than three 
 or four hours. The funeral processions 
 move very rapidly. The three hours 
 mentioned in the next verse was suffi- 
 ciently long for the young men to attend 
 to the burial. " I stood on the Mount 
 of Olives and watched a funeral i)ro- 
 cession. The procession was entirely 
 of men, mostly under thirty-five years, 
 and moved at an astonishing, almost 
 a breathless speed. The whole time 
 occupied, from the Jews' quarter in 
 Jerusalem to the burying-grouud and 
 back, including the sepulchre, could 
 not have been much more than three- 
 quarters of an hour." (Rev. T. A. T. 
 Hanna.) 
 
 7. About the space of three 
 hours after . . . came. Itisnio.«t 
 natural from this language, to supjiose 
 that the exercises of the Christian 
 assembly had continued during this 
 wliole interval. Many, however, tliiuk 
 that Ananias came at one hour of 
 prayer, and Sapphira at the next, 
 which would occur three hours later. 
 His Avife not knoAviiig what Avas 
 done— what had occurred in regard to 
 her husband. It is vain to conjecture 
 how she bad remained ignorant. It 
 
72 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 hours after, when his wife, not knowing 
 
 8 what was done, came in. And Peter an- 
 swered unto her. Tell me wht'thcr ye sold 
 the land for so much? And she said, Yea, 
 
 9 for so much. Then I'eter said unio her, 
 How is it that f ye have agrcLiI together 
 ^ to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? IJeliold, 
 the feet of them which have buried thy 
 
 husband a/r at the door, and shall carry 
 10 thee out. 'Then fell she down straight- 
 way at his feet, and yielded up the ghost. 
 And the young men came in aud found 
 her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried 
 U /ifi- by her husband. ^And great fear 
 came upon all the church, and upon as 
 many as heard these things. 
 
 K Prov. 11 : 21. *> Exod. 17 : 2 ; Matt. 4:7. » ver. 5. k ch. 2 : 43 ; 19 : 17. 
 
 was of the Lord that she was uot 
 told. 
 
 8. AnsAvered — ^perhaps to her sahi- 
 tatiou, or more prol)abIy to her thoiiglits 
 or looks. (See4:ia.) For so much — 
 prol)al)ly naming the sum, aud perhaps 
 P'ointiiig to tlie money. 8he is given 
 an opportunity to retraee and sj^eak 
 the tnitli witfi penitence. Yea, for 
 so luuch. 8ite neglects her opportu- 
 nity for mercy ; liardeiis her iieart, aud 
 not only acts out, hut tells a lie. 
 
 y. liow is it— \V/i)/ is it f Agreed 
 together — showing tiiat tiiey had I 
 formed tlieir plans (leliherately. Hence | 
 tlieir sin was tlie greater. It was not 
 connnitted hastily nor ignorantly, Imt 
 l)resumi)tuously. To tempt—//// the 
 Spirit wlio was in the apostles, as if he 
 might not detect or punish tlie fniud. I 
 " The sin itself is liere deserilied ah that 
 of tempting God, tliat is, trying his pa- ! 
 tience, or putting to the test, and ; 
 thereby imi)iously questioning, not \ 
 merely his omniscience, but liis veracity ; 
 aud Ills power to ])unish. The term is : 
 repeatedly applied to God (ueut. 6:i6; 
 
 M:iit. 4 ; 7 ; Luke 4 : 12 ; Heb. 3 : 8, 9) and Once to 
 
 Christ (1 Cor. 10 : 9) ; but here to the Spirit 
 of the Lord, that is, of God, or accord- 
 ing to the prevalent New Testament 
 usage, of Christ himself. Paul says, 
 ' (Jod hath sent forth the Sj>irit of his 
 Son.' (Oui. 4:0.) See also John 14 : 2i3 ; 
 1.) : :2(i, where tlie Spirit is said to he 
 sent, not only in the Son's name liy tlie 
 Father, but from the Father by the Son 
 himself. . . . Ananias and Sai)phira 
 had eonsi>ired to tempt tlie omniscient 
 Sj)irit by agreeing to practice a decej)- 
 tion on the men in wliom he manifestly 
 dwelt in an extraordinary manner, and 
 tlirough whom he now spoke and acted 
 as the ruler and guardian of his infant 
 church." (Alexaxdek.) Behold 
 usually introduces something unex- 
 pected or surprising, here calls atten- 
 tion to the approaching footsteps. The 
 
 feet of them .... at the door. 
 
 Who had returned from burying her 
 husband, aud were about entering the 
 place of meeting. IWt is aj)2jlied to 
 persons or messengers going on foot. 
 
 (Isa. 52 : 7; Nahuiu t : 15 ; Kom. 10: 15.) Shall 
 
 carry thee out. Peter does not pro- 
 nounce sentence as a jmlge, but he fore- 
 tells as an inspired apostle, (see i Kings 
 
 14: 5, fi.) 
 
 10. straightway. Her death was 
 instantaneous, i in mediately upon Pe- 
 ter's declaration. At his feet. The 
 money had been laid there (ver. 2), and 
 now she dies there. Yielded up, etc. 
 — expired, the same word as in ver. 5. 
 Tlie young meu — a ditferent word 
 from that in ver. 6, meaning yout/ix, 
 and in colloquial language may be used 
 of attendcDits or serrant.'i, very much 
 like our colloquial "boys." (See on ver. «.) 
 Found her dead. God arranged 
 tbat the young men should return at 
 the right moment. Buried her by 
 her husband. In life in sin united, 
 in death not divided. Botli may have 
 been laid in a family tomb, which Ana- 
 nias, its a man of projierty, may have 
 owned. 
 
 11. Great fear — great religious awe 
 and dread of God's displea.sure and 
 judgment. The same as in ver. o, and 
 extending not only to the whole church, 
 or cotujreyntioa of believers, but also to 
 those outside, who heard tliese things. 
 This was doubtless one of the things 
 whicli God intended to accomplish by 
 the death of Ananias and Sapphira. 
 Tile Cireek word ccrleaia, which is trans- 
 lated church, means literallj' the called 
 out, an assembly, co)igref/atio)i. In the 
 New Testament it is used twice for a 
 lawful assembly for business. (Acts 
 19 : :!».) It is twice a])) died to a tumul- 
 tuous assembly. (Actsi9:S2,«.) It oc- 
 curs twice in the Jewish sense of a con- 
 gregation convened for sacred purposes. 
 (7 : 38; Heb. 2 : 12.) In all othcr cascs it if 
 
Cir. v.] 
 
 TTIE ACTR. 
 
 12 And ' t>y tlio hands of the apostles were 
 tuauy signs and woudera wrought among 
 
 t lie peopli'. "1 And they were all with one 
 accord in .Solomon's porch. And » ol' the 
 
 >ch. 14 : 3; Mark 10 : 17, 18; Hum. 15 : lit; 2 Cor. 12 : 12; Hob. 2 : 4. 
 n John 12 :42; 19 : 38. 
 
 ch. 2 : 42, 46; 3 : 11. 
 
 api)lied, First, to the local cliurch, a 
 congregation of belifvers, organizetl for 
 M'orship, ohsin-ving the ordinances and 
 ni:unt;uning discipline among tliem- 
 
 SelveS. (n : -n -, l Cor. + : 17 ; 6: 1 ; U : 18 ; 2 Cor. 
 
 8: ID.) Second, The collective body of 
 discipleship, wherever found. (20:2s; 
 
 G:il. 1 : l.i ; Kph. 1 : 22 ; Col. 1 : 18, 21 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 15.) 
 
 In Heh. 12 : 23, church appears to be 
 applied to the whole body of believers 
 registered in heaven. Tiie word is 
 never applied in tlie New Testament to 
 a nation, a family, the eldershij), a 
 council, hierarchy, or to a hou.se of 
 worship. (See author's Xofcs on Mat- 
 thew, 16 : 18. But see also on 9 : 81.) 
 
 In regard to tlie suddenness of tlie 
 punishment of Ananias and Sappliira, 
 Dr. J. A. Alexander well remarks, 
 " that no man thinks it needful tlius to 
 ' vindicate the ways of God to man,' in 
 reference to the multitude of cases, in 
 wliich unconverted siimers are continu- 
 ally swejit into eternity witiiout imme- 
 diate warning and without repent- 
 ance." Rev. Lymau Abbott remarks 
 that " the punisliment of Ananias and 
 Sa]>i>hira contrasts, but does not con- 
 flict, witli Luke 9 : 53-^6 ; for there the 
 di.scijtles ])roi)osed to destroy a village 
 which, ignorant of Chri.st's true charac- 
 ter, refused hiiu hospitality ])ecause he 
 was a Jew ; here Gotl struck dead pro- 
 fessed disciples who did tlieir worlts to 
 be seen of men. He has infinite pa- 
 tience with ignorance and prejudice, 
 l)ut not with deliberate hypocrisy and 
 false jn-etence." 
 
 In comparing this incident with Pe- 
 ter's epistles we note that he speaks of 
 ])utting away all hypocrisies (i Peter2 : i), 
 and exhorts the younger to be subject 
 to the elder, (i I'eters : 5.) He ap])ears 
 as the .same rel)uker of sin, and ])ro])liet. 
 He speaks of Judgment beginning at tlie 
 house of God (i Peteri: n) ; of those 
 " having a heart exercised unto covet- 
 ousness; children of cursing; forsaking 
 the right way, they went astray, having 
 followed the way of Balaam, the son of 
 Beor, Avho loved the hire of wrong- 
 doing." (2 Pecer 2 : H, 15.) 
 
 12. As the account of the Pentecostal 
 
 outpouring of the Si)irit and that of 
 the first open opjiositiou to tlie churcli 
 are followed by brief descrii)tions of its 
 peaceful jn-ogress (2 : 4:)-47 ; 4 : 31-35.), so 
 here are added similar statements of 
 the prosperity that followed the signal 
 judgments upon Ananias and Sapjiliira. 
 The results of the divine iliscipline of 
 the church : The Spirit manifests his 
 l)Ower through the a2)0.stles in signs 
 and wonders (2:22); meeting undis- 
 [ turbed in Solomon's porch (3:u); 
 believers more distinct (ver. in) ; and 
 ; large numl)ers added to tiie Lord (ver. 
 I u). Wrouglit — were wrought from 
 ; time to time. They were all with 
 i one accord from day to day. Hack- 
 ' ett, Alford, and some otiiers refer this 
 ' to the apostles, while Meyer, Alexan- 
 ! der, Lange (Lechler), and others refer 
 it to tlie congregation of believers. On 
 tlie one hand, " apostles " is tiie subject 
 I of the preceding sentence, and woul.l 
 natui-ally appear to be the grammatical 
 I antecedent ; but, on the other hand, the 
 j expression seems to partake of a loose, 
 popular form with " they all," con- 
 j trasted with "the rest" (ver. i.',), the 
 ! peoijle outside of the com]>any of be- 
 lievers. An intermediate view may be 
 I suggested which really condiines" the 
 two: They — the apostles — and those 
 with them — that is, the company of 
 believers tcere frequently all 'with o)ie 
 accord (see on I : 1.1) in Solomon's jnrrch, 
 which was sufficiently large to accom- 
 modate them ni their more public re- 
 ligious services. That they were thus 
 jiermitted to hold meetings undisturbed 
 shows how great was the effect of the 
 signal judfjment of God and the mira- 
 cles tliat followed. 
 
 13. Of the rest — those outside of 
 the apostles and their com])any ; " the 
 people " who were still unbelievers. 
 Durst no man (no one) join him- 
 self to them — to tlie aposth-s and the 
 believers witli tliem, hohling religious 
 gatherings in Solomon's porch. The 
 word ren<lered ji>in himself is a strong 
 word, meaning to enter into the closesl; 
 
74 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 rest durst no man join himself to them : 
 
 14 "but the people magnified them. (And 
 
 believers were the more added to the 
 
 Lord, multitudes lK)th of men and women.) 
 
 15 Insomuch that they brought fortL the 
 sick into the streets, and laid them on beds 
 and couches, v that at the least the shadow 
 of Peter passing might overshadow some 
 
 ■ ch. 2 : 47 ; 4 : 21. P Matt. 14 : .30 ; John 14 : 12. 
 
 relation as an associate, or a member 
 of a company. (9 : 26 ; in : 28 ; n : u.) Un- 
 believers were deterred from hypocritic- 
 ally joining themselves to the brother- 
 hood and from mingling freely with 
 them. The discipleshi]} became more 
 distinct, and they were left alone more 
 than formerly in their religions assem- 
 blies. Alford's interpretation, that all 
 believers and unbelievers were insjjired 
 with great awe Ijy the apostles and dared 
 not join them, but kept aloof from 
 them, is far-fetched, and inconsistent 
 with the social relations of tlie early 
 churcli. (2 :42*7: I : :!2, :i3.) " Such a vicw 
 is inconsistent with the whole cliaracter 
 of the life of the churili, as it is de- 
 scribed in The Acts." (Lechler, in 
 Lange.) Mas;iii(ied them — regarded 
 them with wonder and praised them. 
 
 14. And believers — and those be- 
 lieving from among the peo]>le — were 
 still more added to the Lord 
 (n : 24), and lunce added to the church. 
 Hypocrites were repelled, unbelievers 
 were ke])t in awe, and believers were 
 attracted. Notice the different expres- 
 sions : the three thousand were "added," 
 "added to them," or to the church 
 (2 : 41, 47), and here " added to the Lord," 
 which they .should he, if they united 
 with the church. A church, according 
 to the apostolic idea, consisted of a con- 
 verted nunibershii). Multitudes — 
 indefinitely larire numbers. Luke had 
 spoken of tlie " three thousand " and 
 the " five thousand " (2 : 4i : 4 : 4), but the 
 stream flows on so continuously and so 
 freely that lie eea.ses to number them. 
 And these both of men and women. 
 Doubtless at first the converts hat! liee.n 
 most largi-ly from among the men, as 
 has been the case at fii"st in modern 
 mis.sions. But from the fii-st, women 
 had been among the di.scipleship (1 : u), 
 and doubtless were rei)resentt'd among 
 the converts. Yet the mention of 
 tt'omen here is significant. It would 
 seem that the death of Sai>i)liira was 
 specially blessed in a great work among 
 the women. They are also presented 
 
 as equal iu privileges with the other 
 sex (Gal. 3:28), a thing somewhat new 
 both to Jew and Gentile. 
 
 15. Insomuch that — so that; con- 
 nected with the preceding verse. Many, 
 especially the older expositors, make a 
 parenthesis, some beginning with the 
 middle of ver. 12, Ami they qrere 
 all with one accord, etc., and ending 
 with ver. 14; others include only 
 ver. 14. The tendency among recent 
 critics has been to assume no jiarenthe- 
 sis at all. Indeed, tliere seems to be no 
 necessity for one. For Mliat more 
 natural than that the great accession of 
 converts should attract the people for 
 the healing of various diseases. " The 
 words, so that along the streefg they 
 brought forth the sich, etc., are very 
 aptly connected with ver. 14 ; the two 
 facts, that tlie people held the a2iostles 
 in high estimation, and that the num- 
 ber of believers increased rapidly, ex- 
 plain why the sick were brought out 
 into the streets. The words, indeed, 
 connect themselves with ver 14 far 
 more neatly than with ver. 12. Are 
 we to understand by many signs and 
 vonders vrought among the people, 
 merely the jncceding events, the effect 
 of which was so that they brought forth, 
 etc.? To a.ssume this would be to sacri- 
 fice the ])ersi)icuity of the narrative. 
 For what else could these many signs 
 have l)een but miracles of healing? 
 Thus in the words so that along, etc., 
 wiiat had been only briefly indicated 
 in ver. 12, recurs in another connec- 
 tion to be nariated more in detail. 
 (Ver. 15 f.) Accordingly, I cannot bring 
 myself to make ver. 14 a parenthesis." 
 (Winer, Grammar of i\\ 7'., An- 
 dover, 1809 p. nCA.) They brought 
 forth. The meaning is, that the sick 
 vere brought forth by any of the peo- 
 ple, such as friends, those who had 
 them in charire or weie interested in 
 them. Streets, or broad ways. See 
 Luke 14: 21, where the word is con- 
 tra.sted with lanes. Beds — according 
 to the best Greek text, little couches — 
 
Cri. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 75 
 
 16 of them. There came also a niullitude 
 out of the cities round about unto Jerusa- 
 lem, bringing m siclc folks aiiJ them 
 which were vexed with unclean spLi-its ; 
 and they were healed every one. 
 
 The imprisonment, and viiraculoiis deliverance 
 of tlie, ajiost'r.i : their bold confession be- 
 fore the Sdiihedrin, and release, 
 
 17 'THION the high priest rose up, and 
 all they that were with him, (which is 
 
 q Mark IG : 17, 18. 
 
 ■ eh. 4 : 1, 2, G. 
 
 such as could ))e easily liancUed. 
 Couches — a du-ap lis,'lit inattrc-ss, or 
 caini)-l)f(l, capable of holding only one 
 person, and used l>y tlie poorer people. 
 Thus all classes, tiie rich and poor, 
 were represented. That at tlie least 
 the shadow of Peter, etc. This 
 graphically describes the excitement, 
 enthusiasm, and faith of the people 
 bringing their sick. Whether they 
 were healed is not stated ; tlie j)rol)a- 
 bilities are that they were. Not an in- 
 stance is recordcMJ in tlie New Testa- 
 ment wliere any one who came was not 
 healed. Why should there be an ex- 
 ception here? Tlie great crowd seek- 
 ing the shadow of Peter sliowed great 
 earnestness and childlike faith, (la : 12; 
 Mark 6: 56.) A sliadow might counect 
 the recipient with the instrument of 
 God's blessings, as well as a look (Num. 
 vi :8), a fringe of a garment, (M.itt. 9: 20), 
 a word (M^tt. 8 : 10-13), or a touch. 
 
 10. There came also. In addi- 
 tion to all this whicli had occurred at 
 Jerusalem, there came the multitude 
 out of, rather, of the cities round 
 about JerusoJeni. The mass of the 
 people of tlie surrounding country 
 brouglit their sick. Many cities were 
 within ten miles of Jerusaleni, such as 
 Bethany, Rethphag'.^ Dethleliem, Em- 
 maus, and Bethel. Vexed. Tlie word 
 tlius translated is used in the New Tes- 
 tament only by Luke (here and in Ivuke 
 C : IS), but often used liy medical wri- 
 ters. Unclean spirits — called un- 
 clean because of their moral vileness. 
 Ou demons and demoniacal ]>ossessioiis, 
 see Author's Notn^ on Matthcir. (4: 21.) 
 Were healed every one — a strong 
 expression, meaning all without excep- 
 tion were healed. 
 
 17-42. The Impimsonment .\nd 
 Miraculous Escape op the Apos- 
 tles ; THEIR BOLD (\lXFESS10N AND 
 
 Release. Pro])ably about a. d. 38. 
 
 17. Here arises the second attempt 
 at persecution, the first bi>ing tliat 
 recorded in 4 : 1-22, Then — not the 
 
 adverb of time, but the conjunction 
 tntd, or but, denoting that this hostile 
 movement was the result of the great 
 intiuence of tiie apostles and the jiros- 
 perity of tlie church. The high 
 priest. (Seeon4:6.) Thought by 
 some to l)e I'aiaplias, l)ut i)robably 
 Annas, who acted as high ))ricst iu 
 the former movement, prol)ably several 
 months before. (+:6) By what fid- 
 lows, it is most natural to infer tiiat 
 Annas was a Sadducee. Some liave 
 supposed that Caiaphas was a Pharisee, 
 which is certainly possible, as only the 
 high priest is mentioned here. Rose 
 up — proceeded to enii)loy active meas- 
 ures. All they that were with him 
 — in sym])athy aud opinion ; namely, 
 the Sadducees, as ex])laine<l in the next 
 clause. Sect — from the Greek word 
 comes the English term heresy. It 
 here means //if y;rtr/y, the same as the 
 Pharisees are spoken of in 15:5; 26 : 5. 
 Christians are so named (24 : 5, u; 28 .- 22), 
 witli a suggestion of reproach. See 
 Gal. 5 : 20';" 1 Cor. 11 : 19, where the 
 word means parties or factions and 2 
 Peter 2:1, where it is used of heresy, 
 or perhaps rather factions, holding 
 heretical views. The Pliarisees and 
 Sailducees were not two sects, in the 
 modern sense of the word, indeiiendent 
 of eacii other like two denominations, 
 but two religious parties in the Jewish 
 community, or body politic, holding 
 distinct and oj)posing views, (sw ou 4 : 1 .) 
 They denied the existence of angels 
 and spirits, as well as the resurrection 
 of tlie body. (23 :8; Luke20: 27.) lleuce 
 their opposition and indignation at 
 the apostles and their j)reaching. Ac- 
 cording to Josephus, tlicy di'iiied the 
 immortality of the soiil and future 
 retribution; and niaintaiiu'd man's 
 freedom in opposition to the doctrine 
 of divine predestination. (Autiq. IS: 
 1, 4 ; Jew. War, 2 : H, 14.) The indig- 
 nation here spoken of, seems from the 
 original word as used here and in l.S : 45 
 to be a maliguant jealously, resulting in 
 
76 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 the sect of the »8ailducees,) and were 20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the 
 
 18 lillcd with iiidiguation, 'and laid their 
 hands on the apostles, and put them in j 
 
 19 the common prison. But " the angel of 
 the Lord by night opened the prison 
 doors, and brought them forth, and said, | 
 
 21 people I all the words of this life. And 
 
 when they heard that, they entered into 
 
 the temple early in the morning, and 
 
 taught. 
 
 But the high priest came, and they that 
 
 » ch. 23 : 8. 
 
 t ch. 4 : 3 ; Luke 21 : 12. » ch. 12 : 7-11 ; 16 : 20 ; Pb. 2 : 4 ; :J4 : 7 ; Prov. 21 
 30. » ch. 11 : 14; John G : 68; 17 : 3; 1 John 5 : 11, 12. 
 
 iiuligiiation. The Sadducees saw in 
 the jjreachiiig of Christ's resurrection 
 a refutation of their system, and were 
 jealously indignant at seeing the thou- 
 sands following the preaching of Jesus. 
 There was an outburst of party feeling. 
 18. Laid their hands — luid /icnidK, 
 seized, arrested, the a])ostles through 
 the temi)le ])i>lice or otiicers. Mark 
 the ])rogress in i)ersecution : previously 
 they had seized only Peter and John 
 (4 : 3) ; now all the apostles. Put them 
 into the common prison — rather 
 the pub/ic pri.-ioti, or irard, Avhere they 
 were kei>t for security, until the nuiru- 
 int; wlien the Sanhedrlu would convene 
 for the trial. It seems to have l)eeu 
 some i^rison or guard-house outside of 
 the temple, (ver. •.•!.) 
 
 19. The angel — not the angel of 
 the Lord, used in the Old Testament of 
 the Son of Ood, but on (un/cl. "It is 
 a thing to be remarked, how often the 
 angels were employed in tlie New Dis- 
 ])ensation. Tliey were sent generally 
 for one or other of these two jnirpo.ses : 
 either to announce sonu'thing wliich 
 the hearer would iu>t credit if spoken 
 merely of a hunuin being, or to do 
 some act wliieh was beyond the power 
 of God's human .servants to do. Ex- 
 amples of the former are the messages 
 to Zachariah, Mary, and Joseph. (Matt. 
 1:13,19; i.iike 1: ii,2fi".) ; also to Paul be- 
 fore the slilpwrcck. ('-'7:23.) Exam]des 
 of the latter are tlie rolling away tlie 
 stone at the resurrection, the deliver- 
 ance of Peter, and the case before us." 
 
 (Matt. W: 2: Acts 12: 7.) (REV. T. A. T. 
 
 Haxx.\, Kiin/s intit Apostles.) This 
 miraculous interposition would encour- 
 age the ai>ostlcs, and tend to make 
 tlieir ]iersecutors hesitate. It is not 
 unlikely tliat it heljied Gamaliel to de- 
 cide as to his lenient course. (Ver. si-sa.) 
 By nis^ht — probably toward the morn- 
 ing hour. (Ver. 20.)" Opened the 
 prison doors — brought out the apos- 
 
 tles and shut the doors (ver. 23) either 
 so quietly that the keepers did not hear 
 uor see them, or else their senses were 
 restrained by divine power. 
 
 20. Go, stand and speak — pro- 
 ceed on your way to the temple, and 
 having taken your stand there, pro- 
 claim the gospel to the people. Preach- 
 ing is the work of men, not of angels. 
 All the words of this life — which 
 they preached and was becoming known 
 by their preaeliing— the sj)iritual, the 
 eternal life which C'lirist brought to 
 liglit through the gosi>el. (2Tim. i:io.) 
 8ee " tlie word of this salvation " (i3 : 2«), 
 and " the words of eternal life." (John 
 6 : 6f.) They were to preach in the same 
 )dace, to the same people, and the same 
 truths, not withholding anything con- 
 cerning Jesus and the resurrection. 
 
 (4: 2, .33.) 
 
 21. M hen they heard, etc.,— /(w/- 
 
 ing it they went. They needed but to 
 hear to obey implicitly, going into the 
 temple eagerly and i)Uiictually, early 
 in the moxviiw^, at Jnybreok oi- earl ij 
 Jaioi, for such is the meaning of the 
 word in Greek. Into the temple — 
 the sacred enclosure, douI)tle.ss in Solo- 
 mon's j)orch, where they had been ac- 
 customed to teach. (Vir.i2.) The j)oo- 
 ple in the East are accustomed to rise 
 early and begin their work, giving ii]) 
 midday as far as po.^siljle to rest. Dr. 
 Hackett, Jl/nstratiuiis of Scripture, p. 
 129, says : " Men and women may be 
 seen going forth to their labor in the 
 fields, or starting on journeys, at the 
 earliest break of day . . . Being 
 anxious at Jerusalem to attend the ser- 
 vices of a Jewish synagogue, I was 
 summoned to rise for that pur])Ose l)e- 
 fore it was light. In one instance I 
 went thither at an early hour as we 
 should call it, but found myself too 
 late ; the service was ended, the pcojde 
 gone, and the svnagogue closed for the 
 day." 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 77 
 
 were with him, aiiJ called the council to- 
 gether, and all the senate of the children 
 of Israel, and sent to the prison to have 
 
 2'2 them brought. Hut when the officers 
 eanie, and found theiu not in the prison, 
 
 23 they returned, and told, saying. The 
 l>ris(]n truly found we shut with all safety, 
 and the keepers standing without before 
 the doors : but when we had opened, we 
 
 found no man within. Now when the 
 high priest and J the captain of the tein- 
 }ile and the ^ chief priests heard these 
 things, they doubted of them whereuiito 
 this would grow. Then came one and 
 told them, saying, Heboid, the men whom 
 ye put in prison are standing in the tem- 
 ple, and teaching the j)eople. 
 Then went the captain with the officers, 
 
 y ch. 4:1; Luke 22 : 4. • Matt. 2 : 4. 
 
 The high priest . . . and 
 they . . . with him. (see oq ver. n) 
 
 The high jirie.st came, being pirseiit, 
 oil hand, at the teiiipk-, prohably iu 
 tluit i>()rtioii wliere the Saiihedrin held 
 their meetings. He and tho.se with 
 hiin called the council, the Sauhe- 
 driii. This was the highest court of 
 the Jews, (see on 4:5.) The more im- 
 portant cases were brought liefore this 
 council. They could pronounce the 
 peualt}' of death, but it was not valid 
 unless confirmed by the Roman gov- 
 ernor or procurator. The .Jews trace its 
 origin to Num. 11 : 16. All the sen- 
 ate, or eldcrs/n'/). Tlie word in the orig- 
 inal occurs only liere iu the New Testa- 
 ment. Tlie Se))tuagint version uses it 
 for elders of the whole people, or of 
 any particular place. In the Ai)ocry- 
 pha (1 Mace. 12 : 6) and Josejjlius it is used 
 of tlie Sanhedrin. Some think that 
 the elders of the nation are here meant, 
 who were called in to give their advice. 
 But the larger miinlier regard it as 
 rather emphasizing a full meeting of 
 the Sanhedrin: and indeed all the 
 senate, or Sanhedrin, that is, all the 
 eldeivhip connected with that body. 
 The word translated prison is not the 
 one used in ver. 18, but tlie one in 
 ver. 23 and 16 : 26 — a place of bondage, 
 a jail. 
 
 22. The officers, or servaiits of 
 the Sanhedrin. Found them not. 
 (See 12: 19-) "The Lord's messenger 
 (angel) was earlier at work than tlie 
 officers of either Annas or Herod." 
 (Rkv. T. a. T. JIanna.) Prison (the 
 same word used in ver. 19, but differ- 
 ent from those used iu ver 18 and 21) — 
 a place of custody, where prisoners 
 were kept and guarded. 
 
 23. Shut Avith all safely — closed 
 and securely fastened. Keepers 
 standing without before, or at, 
 according to the best manuscripts. The 
 
 guard were standing at the doors, totally 
 uncon.scious of what had occurred 
 during the night. When we liad 
 opened. The keys were not in the 
 hands of the keepers, liut of the chief 
 l)riests. It would seem that the apos- 
 tles were the only prisoners, as no one 
 was found Mithin. 
 
 24. High priest — not in the origi- 
 nal. Some maiiuscrij)ts have the priest, 
 by way of pre-eminence tlie high 
 priest. But the oldest manuscripts and 
 versions omit it, as does also the 
 Revised Version. Alford and Meyer 
 would retain it, on the ground that the 
 great variety of readings, intended as 
 corrections, indicate that it was origi- 
 nally present. The captain of the 
 temple, (see on 4 :i.) Chief pricsts. 
 (See ou 4 : 2.1.) They doubted of them, 
 etc. Thei/ were at a lotis, or perplexed 
 concerning them, the apostles, irhat this 
 ironld become, what would occur next, 
 unless somehow prevented ; and what 
 would be the influence and the result 
 of this. 
 
 25. While the Sanhedrin were in 
 this i:)erplexity there came one, wlio 
 announces the surprising fact, that the 
 apo.stles were teaching puldicly iu the 
 temple. Notice how implicitly they 
 obey the command of the angel, Go, 
 stand and speal:. (ver.20.) 
 
 26. Then, in consequence of this 
 announcement, the captain of the 
 temjile (4: 1) and the officers (ver. 22) 
 went and brought them Avithout vio- 
 lence, showing that the apostles 
 offered no resistance. For they 
 feared the people — indicating the 
 influence and ])rogress of the gospel 
 among the common peojde. (See 4: 21.) 
 Some would put this in parenthesis, 
 and translate what follows, that they 
 might not be stoned ; any violence done 
 to the apostles might result in stoning. 
 Others, according to many of the best 
 
78 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 aii(i l)r()Ught them without violence: *for 
 they feared the people, lest they should 
 
 27 have been stoned. And when they had 
 brought them, >> they set //ie»i before the 
 council : and the high priest asked them, 
 
 28 saying, »Did not we straitly command 
 
 . Matt. 21 : 21!. 
 
 b Mark 1:5 : 9. <= oh 
 2;} : 35 ; 27 
 
 you that ye should not teach in this 
 name? And, behold, ye have filled Jeru- 
 salem with your doctrine, '^ and intend to 
 bring this man's « blood upon us. 
 
 Then Peter and the other apostles an- 
 swered and said, ' We ought to obey God 
 
 Matt. 
 
 4:18. ich. 2 : 23, 3G;4 : 10, 11; ' 
 :2.3. fch. 4:1'J, 20. 
 
 ;52. 
 
 manuscripts, make uo parentheses and 
 om\i that, and render, ks( they should he 
 stoned. So the Kevised Version. "The 
 stoiiin:,', so often mentioned in the New 
 Tcstiuiient, is not mere pelting, as an 
 act of pojiuhir violence, bnt au ancient 
 ttieocratii-al exjjrcssion of abhorrence 
 for some act of )>hispltemy or treason to 
 Jehovali. This form of capital pun- 
 ishment, for such it was, liad been i)re- 
 ferred to others in the hiw, because it 
 made the death of tiie otiender, not the 
 act of a hated executioner, but that of 
 all the peo])le who were present, and 
 es]>ecially of those who had acted as 
 informers and witnesses. From this 
 arose the ]ie<uliar Jewish custom of 
 taking np stones to stone one, as a sort 
 of testimony against him. (John s : o; 
 10::il-:i:i; u : t.) . . . Sucli was the jtojiu- 
 lar regard for the apostles, tliat the men 
 sent ito arrest them were afraid, not 
 merely of bodily injury, but of being 
 denounced, and disowned by the 
 jieople, as untrue to the theocracy and 
 law of Moses." (Dr. J. A. Alexan- 
 der.) 
 
 'Z7. They set them before the 
 council. The only time when all tiu^ 
 apostles were on trial together. In con- 
 lU'ctiou with ver. 4(1, there was a fulfill- 
 ment of Christ's words in ^lark 13 : 9. 
 Tlie higli priest as president of the 
 Sanhcdriu and the theocratic head of 
 (he nation asked them, expostuhiting 
 A\ ith them. 
 
 3S. Did Ave not straitly, etc. 
 Xot is omitted according to the higlu-st 
 ciitical authorities, which reject the 
 interrogative form and read. We iftrict/i/ 
 enniiKi iided you not to /each, etc. In, 
 or H/>o)i, this name, the ground of 
 their jireaching, })ut the name Jesus 
 the high priest refrains to mention, 
 either from luitred or from a secret con- 
 sciousness of guilt. This j)rohibition 
 shows what a power the name of Jesus 
 wiis having upou the j>eople. Behold 
 introduces the surprising fact that 
 
 these preachers had filled Jerusalem 
 with their doctrine, rather teaching, 
 A testimony to their faithfulness as 
 preachers. To bring this man's 
 blood upon us — to fix ui)on us the 
 crime of putting to death an innocent 
 person. (2 : 23 ; 's : i4 ; 4 : 10.) They had 
 said, " His blood be upon us and u]ion 
 our children." (Matt 27: 25.) Now they 
 began to feel it was coming. Here we 
 see the principal cause and animus of 
 their hostility. " This uian is not 
 
 itself contemptuous, (sec I.uke 23 : 47 ; Jiilin 
 
 7 : 4(1), but could have tliat turn given to 
 it by the voice, and was so uttered 
 probably at this time." (llACKETT.) 
 
 29. In their answer the a])Ostles 
 declare tiiat their paramount allegiance 
 was to tiod wherever there was a con- 
 flict between human and divine law ; 
 they <lo not relieve tlie Jewish rulers of 
 the crime of shedding innocent Idood, 
 but so far from designing to luring jmn- 
 isliment upon tliem, they proclaim 
 Jesus as a Prince and a Saviour to give 
 rei)cntance and forgiveness of sins to 
 Israel, of which these very rulers 
 formed a part. Peter acts as spokes- 
 man, the other apostles assenting and 
 speaking tlirf>ugli him. Me oujjht to, 
 or mKut, obey God rather than 
 men. A principle that commends 
 itself to every man's conscience. See 
 exami)les in notes on 4 : !!>, 20, where 
 the same i)rinciple is presented more 
 pointedly. Notice that the apostles 
 claimed tiie riglit to judge for them- 
 selves wlutt was right or wrong regani- 
 ing religiims and civil duties ; and to 
 disobey a human law which opi)Osed 
 obedience to a divine requirement. In 
 practice they cheerfully submitted to 
 the penalties enforced against them 
 (ver. 41), fled persecution (2 cor. 11 ::i2, .13) 
 and never forcibly resisted the public 
 authorities. In their teaching tbey 
 enforced tlie general principles of 
 obedience to human law as a duty to 
 the Divine Originator of all law (Rom. 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 79 
 
 30 ralbor than luen. eThe God of our fath- 
 ers raised up Josus, whom ye slew aud 
 
 31 '' hanged on a tree, ' Him hath God ex- 
 ulted with his right hand to be '^ a. Prince 
 aud ' a Saviour, ■" for to give repentance 
 
 32 to Israel, and ■■ forgiveness of sius. And 
 "we are his witnesses of these things; 
 and so is also theHoly Spirit,? whom Goii 
 hath given to them that obey him. 
 
 8 ch. 3 : 13, 15. ^ ch. 10 : 39 ; Deut. 21 : 23 ; 1 I'eter 2 : 21. i Ps. 110 : 1, 2 ; Phil. 2:9; 
 Ilel). 12 : 2. k pg. 2 : 6-12; Dan. 9 : 2.'), 2G. i Matt. 1 : 21; Luke 2 : 11. m ch. 3 : 2«; 
 Ezck. 3G : 2.V27 ; Zech. 12 : 10. " ch. 1:! : 38 ; Blark. 2 : 7, 10; Eph. 1:7. » ch. 1:8; John 
 15 : 20, 27 ; Heb. 2:4. P ch. 2 : 4, 38, 39 ; John 7 : 39. 
 
 13:1,2), to whom they should commit 
 themselves wheu ■wrongfully treated by 
 legal tribunals, (i Peter ■-• : t2, 23.) 
 
 30. The God of our fathers— 
 a eovenant-keeping God, Avho had 
 watched over their natiou, giving them 
 a godly ancestry, prophets, aud prom- 
 ises. (3:24,25.) They speak as Jews 
 and as worshiping the same God with 
 their rulers. Raised up Jesus, in 
 whom God's covenants and promises 
 are ful tilled. (3:26.) This means raised, 
 either from the dead, or as one sent of 
 God into tlie world. The latter suits 
 tlie connection best. See 13 : 22, where 
 tile word has a similar use. " Meyer, 
 wlio adopts the view of Erasmus and 
 otliers, supposes that the phra.se : God 
 raised up jesns refers to the resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus from the dead ; hut when 
 rdi-sed up has this sense in the Acts it 
 is always connected with from the dead 
 (:i: 15; 4:10; 13:30) or the coutcxt indi- 
 cates the seiise. (10:40; 13:37.) Besides, 
 the secjueiice of the clauses beginning 
 with raised up — ye sfrw — exalted, indi- 
 cates that the succession of events, in 
 tlie order in which they really occurred, 
 was intended to be set forth. Hence 
 raised up cannot refer to any other 
 event than the public ajipearauce of 
 Jesus as the messenger of God. In 
 accordance with this interpretation 
 'exalted' in ver. 31 includes both I 
 the resurrection and ascension." ! 
 (LucHi.ER, Lange Cum.) With this 
 treatment of God toward Jesus their 
 treatment of him is contrasted : Whom 
 yc slew, etc. Observe a similar con- 
 trast in 2 : 23, 24 ; 3 : 13, 15; 4 : 10. 
 Slew— the word thus translated occurs 
 in the New Testament only here and in 
 26 : 21, and means to lay hands upon, 
 despatch, shty by laying iiands upon. 
 Hanged on a tree — rather, hanging 
 him on the tree, or the wood, a Hebrais- 
 tic and softened May of referring to the 
 cross. (13 : 2».) For the origin of the 
 
 expression, see Deut. 21 : 22. The idea 
 here is, sleiv by hanging on, the tree, ))y 
 crucifixion. (See Peter's use of tlie 
 word tree in 10 : 39 ; 1 Peter 1 : 24.) 
 
 31. Him hath God exalted, etc. 
 Rather, Jlim a Prince, who is a Prince 
 and Saviour, hath God exalted. The 
 two functions of the Messiah are here 
 brought to view, the princely or kingly 
 and the i-edemj»tive, indicating his au- 
 thority and his saving power, (isa. 9 : « ; 
 
 19: 20; Dan. 8 : 25 ; 9:25; Ueb.2: 10; 5 :9.) Tlie 
 
 word prince is tlie same as in 3 : 15, 
 and here means chief leader, eai>taiii, 
 prince. With, rather to, his right 
 hand — to sliare in the honor and 
 2>ower of that position. (2 : 23. See un 
 2:33.) To give repentance. Jesus 
 not merely gives a time or place or 
 opportunity, but also the disposition of 
 repentance itself. A soul dead in tres- 
 j)asses and sins can no more quicken 
 it.self to repentance than it can give to 
 
 itself spiritual life. (See U : la : Rom. 2:4; 
 
 2 Cor. 2:25 Joim 10: 7, 8.) Excuses of Un- 
 renewed ])ersons, such as they cannot 
 repent, and they luive no proper sense 
 of sin, are vain, for C'lu-ist is exalted 
 for tlie very purpose of giving to sin- 
 ners such penitent feelings as they 
 need. On repentance, see note on 2 : 38. 
 Forgiveness of sius. The same as 
 rendered remission, of sins in 2 : 38, 
 on wliicli see note. Forgiveness is 
 pardon to let sins go as if never com- 
 mitted, and to remit the ])enalty. In re- 
 pentance and forgiveness of sins a change 
 of heart, life, and purpose is imjjlied. 
 
 (3:19; 26:20; Matt. 3:8.) TO Israel. This 
 
 does not restrict it to them, but this 
 was all the ai)0.stles needed then to 
 preacli. (3:26.) The time for ottering 
 the gospel to tlie Gentiles had not yet 
 come. 
 
 33. We are his Avitnesses — as 
 foretold in 1:8; and as appointed by 
 Christ himself. (Luke 24: 47-49.) Com- 
 pare the latter passage with this, and 
 
80 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 33 1 When they heard thai, they were cut 
 to the hmrt, and took counsel to slay 
 
 34 them. Then stood there up one in the 
 
 council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a 
 doctor of the law, had in reputation 
 among all the people, and commanded to 
 
 q ch. 2 : 37 ; 7 : 54. 
 
 notice their similarity, an incidental 
 evidence of the truthfulness of the two 
 accounts. Of these things, or say- 
 ings, which are the sul)Jcct-matter of 
 this discourse. The word translated 
 things means literally words, sayings, 
 and hence is sometimes used for tlie 
 suliject-niatter of a narration or dis- 
 course. {See 10 : 37 ; Luke 1 : 65 : 2 : 15, 19.) Alld 
 
 SO is also the Holy Spirit — l)y his 
 
 special gifts conferred upon them on 
 the day of Pentecost (2:4; io:4t-»(i; i9:6; 
 Mark IK : 20), such as Speaking witli tongues 
 and working miracles ; also by tlie in- 
 ward witness atibrded believers. (Rom. 8 : 
 
 16; Oal. 4:6:1 John 3 : 24.) " SiuCC the Holy 
 
 S)>irit testified to the gospel in both 
 ways, and since the remark here is 
 niKlualified, we have no reason to con- 
 sider the expression less e.xtt-nsive than 
 the facts in the ca.se." (II.vckett.) 
 Whom God hath given to them 
 that obey him — hence, those who be- 
 lieve on Jesus and follow him. The 
 Spirit had been promised them (i:5) 
 tliat tiiey might testify as Christ's wit- 
 nesses. (JoUu 15 : 26. 27.) "They were obey- 
 ing God (ver. 29) in testifying concerning 
 Jesus, and the Spirit through theui and 
 with tliem corroborated their testinionv. 
 33. Theeffectof this address. The'y 
 were cut to the heart— literally, 
 T/iey were saini asunder, that is, men- 
 tally. They were greatly irritated, ex- 
 asj)erated, convulsed with rage. The 
 truth nierces the lieart with what difter- 
 eiit ettects. On tlie day of Pentecost it 
 produced sorrow for sin (2 : :!7) ; here it 
 awakened revengeful wrath, mingled 
 j'crhaps with conscious guilt. Took 
 counsel — were taking eoiinsel how 
 they could slay them. However 
 much they might jmrpose to slay, to do 
 it needed "deliberation ; for what charge 
 could they bring against them ? Not 
 blasphemy, for the apostles had spoken 
 reverently. Besides, the Roniau gov- 
 ernor aloiie could inflict capital punish- 
 ment, and neither treason nor insurrec- 
 ti(m could be charged against any of 
 the disciples. The Jewish rulers would 
 also dread to run counter to public 
 
 opinion, which was strongly in favor 
 of the apostles (ver. 13, 26), even though 
 their rage might prompt them to slay 
 without law. 
 
 34. "While these things were going 
 on, Gamaliel interposed couciliatoiy 
 words. He was a Pharisee, and in 
 symi)athy with the doctrine of the res- 
 urrection preached by the apo.stles, and 
 in a measure not in sympathy with tlie 
 Sadducees, the leaders of tliis ])ersecu- 
 tiou. (See note on 4 : 1.) The Pliarisees 
 originated about one hundretl and fifty 
 years before Christ, aiul were noted 
 for their rigid observance of the letter 
 of the law and their traditions. Gama- 
 liel was also a doctor — teacher and 
 interpreter — of the laAV of Moses, and 
 of the traditions or oral law. The same 
 word is found in Luke 5 : 17 ; 1 Tim. 
 1 : 7. Had in reputation — honored 
 — by all the people for his learning 
 and influence. He may be regarded as 
 the people's leader and reju-esentative 
 in the Sanhedrin, in opjiosition to the 
 persecuting party. Tlius <iod had the 
 man to helj) the apostles at tlie rigiit 
 time and jilace, for they were yet to be 
 witnes.'ses in Judea, Samaria, and to the 
 ends of tlie earth. (i:8) Gamaliel is 
 said to have been of the rojal line of 
 David and grandson of the eminent 
 Hillel, of whose school he was the most 
 distinguished exponent. " From the 
 fragments which have his name at- 
 tached to them, we see that (inmaliel 
 was endowed with great intelkctual 
 jiowers, a fondness for study and for 
 definitely settling every j)oint of diffi- 
 culty, refined taste, and good judgment ; 
 that he was humane, anxious to amelio- 
 rate the condition of the li('li>]iss, a 
 .strict Pharisee, yet liberal minded, and 
 averse to persecute those who diHered 
 from him. . . . His mental jiowi'is, 
 ta.stes, and liberal-mindedness may be 
 seen from the fact that he extended his 
 studies to Greek literature, and infused 
 into the minds of his disciples a taste 
 for the Greek poets, (n : 28 ; i cor. is : ss; 
 Titus 1 : 12.)" {Alexander's Kitfo's Cyelo- 
 jpicdiu.) He was the teacher of Paul 
 
Cu. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 81 
 
 35 put the apostles forth a little space ; and 
 said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take 
 heed to yourselves what ye intend to do 
 
 36 as touching these men. For before these 
 
 (21:3), and was tlie first one to whom 
 the title " Rahbaii," "our ^faster," was 
 given. Tradition makes him a secret 
 disciple of Jesus, and afterward openly 
 baptized by Peter and Paul ; Init of tliis 
 there is no evidence, and it appears 
 improbable. He lived about ei,i,diteen 
 years after this, and died A. D. 52. He 
 IS to be distinguislied from his grand.son 
 of the same name. Commanded — 
 an authoritative exhortation. The word 
 thus translated here and in 4 : 15 usu- 
 ally designates verbal orders, commonly 
 from a superior. The time and manner 
 olf giving it and the way it was obeyed 
 sliow the influence of Gamaliel with 
 the Sanhedrin. Peter and John had 
 had the same experience before, (i : i5.) 
 A little space — rather, a little ivhile. 
 
 35. And said unto them. Here 
 follows the outline of his speech. Af- 
 ter a note of warning of i:)ossible error 
 and danger to themselves, addressed to 
 their fears, he cites two historical ex- 
 amjjles (rer. 36,37), and then states and 
 applies the principle of action to the 
 case before them. The speech illustrates 
 the prudence and shrewdness of Gama- 
 liel, and is in this respect worthy of his 
 reputation. He Itegins by ranking the 
 apostles with certain impostors, but 
 ends by sviggestiug that their work may 
 be of God. What ye intend — tchat 
 ye are about to do. 
 
 36. For before these days in- 
 troduces a reason for the warning. It 
 was not a new tiling for impostors, 
 fanatics, and seditionists to appear. 
 For there rose up Theiidas. This 
 is not the one mentioned by Josephus 
 (Antiq., 20 : 5, 1), and beheaded a. d. 
 45, eleven or twelve years after this ; 
 for the Theudas of Gamaliel had com- 
 l)aratively few adlierents, wliile the one 
 mentioned by Josephus had a great 
 " company of people." " Since Luke 
 represents Theudas as having preceded 
 Judas the Galilean, it is certain that he 
 could not have apj^eared later, at all 
 events, than in the later years of Herod 
 the Great. The very year of that mon- 
 arch's death was remarkably turbu- 
 lent ; the land was overrun with bellig- 
 
 days rose up Theudas, boasting himself 
 to be somebody ; to whom a numlier of 
 men, about four hundred, joined them- 
 selves : who was slain ; and all, as many 
 
 erent parties, nnder the direction of 
 insurrectionary chiefs or fanatics. Jo- 
 sephus mentions but tbree of these dis- 
 turl^ers by name; lie jiasses over the 
 others with a general allusion." (Dk. 
 Hackett, Smith's 7>/f<(o?i«r!/.) Theu- 
 das may have been among these. A 
 person of little note and small follow- 
 ing might well be passed over at such 
 times. The name Theudas was not an 
 uncommon one, and it is not strange if 
 two insurgents of that name appeared 
 within a space of tifty years. Josejiiius 
 mentions four named Simon within 
 forty years, and three named Jndas 
 within ten years, who were all leaders 
 of rebellion. (See Smith's Dictionary 
 for this and other ways of harmonizing 
 Luke and Josephus.) Boasting — j^ro- 
 claiming himself to be somebody, some 
 important one. (See the fuller expres- 
 sion in 8:9.) But in opposition to 
 this, he was slain, his followers were 
 scattered and came to nothing. 
 
 37. After Theudas, Judas of Gal- 
 ilee appeared. Josephus calls him 
 the Gaulonite, a native of the town of 
 Gamala, and also styles him a Galilean, 
 his education or his usual residence be- 
 ing in Galilee. At the time of the 
 taxing, or, rather, the registering, un- 
 dertaken by Cyrenius (the Greek form 
 of Quirinus), Judas headed an insurrec- 
 tion against the Roman supremacy, 
 calling upon his countrymen not to 
 submit to human des])0tism, and claim- 
 ing that God was their only ruler and 
 Lord. Large numliers flocked to his 
 standard. The rebellion was suppressed, 
 many captured and crucified by the Ro- 
 mans. The spirit of Jndas, however, 
 continued to manifest itself in the Zeal- 
 ots and Sicarii, from his time down to 
 the destruction of Jerusalem and tlie 
 scattering of the Jewish race. (soe..u 
 1:13.) Luke tells us that Judas per- 
 ished ; and that while the attempt of 
 Theudas came to nothing, the followers 
 of Judas were only dispersed, an inci- 
 dental evidence of the accuracy of 
 Luke's record. According to Josephus, 
 after the banishment of Archelaus, A. D. 
 6, Cyreuius became governor of Syria, 
 
THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 ns oJieyi^rl him, were scattered, and 
 
 37 brought to nought. After this man rose 
 up .ludas of Galilee in the days of the 
 taxing, and drew away much people after 
 him : he also perished ; and all, eren. as 
 many as obeyed him, wei'e aispersed. 
 
 38 And now I say unto you, Uefraiu from 
 these men, and let them alone: ^ for if 
 
 this counsel or this work he of men it 
 
 39 will come to nought : = but if it be of Godj 
 ye cannot overthrow it ; lest haply ye be 
 found even Mo tight against God. 
 
 40 And to him they agreed; and when 
 they had called the apostles, " and beaten 
 them, they commanded that they should 
 not speak in the name of Jesus, and let 
 
 ' Prov. 21 : 30; Isa. 7:5-7; 8 : 9, 10; Lam. 3 : 37. » Job 34 : 29; Isa. 43 : 13 ; Luke 21 : 15. 
 ' ch. 23 : 9 ; Isa. 45 : !(. ^ Matt. 23 : 34 ; Mark 13 : 9. 
 
 Jinlca was converted into a Roman 
 province witli a view of taxation, and 
 the enrollment which excited the oppo- 
 sition here related was undertaken or 
 comi)leted. (Josei)hus' Ant., 18 : 1,6; 
 20 : o, 2; Jewish War, 2:8, 1.) This 
 enrollment is to be distinguished from 
 that mentioned in Luke 2 : 2, on which 
 see Author's note. 
 
 38. And now — as respects the case 
 in liand. Gamaliel proceeds to apply 
 the principle deduced from the two ex- 
 amples given. Refrain from these 
 men — attempt not to slay them, as you 
 propose. For introduces the reason 
 for such advice. If this counsel, 
 or ]>urpo)ie, and the execution ofit, 
 should be of men, without regard to 
 God and in defiance of liim, it Avill 
 come to nou§;ht — literally, it will 
 ilii^so/re, like many fanatical niove- 
 nients in the p;ist, without any inter- 
 ference on your part. " The ex])ression 
 is peculiarly ap])ro]>riate to that inter- 
 nal dissolution which, even in the ab- 
 sence of all outward force, awaits every 
 system of religious faith which lias a 
 merely human origin." (Di;. J. A. 
 Alexander.) Gamaliel is not sj)eak- 
 ing of all enterprises in general, many 
 of which should be stopped by law ; Init 
 of religious movements, and this in 
 particular, wliieh was either of men or 
 of God, which must eventually either 
 stanil or fall. 
 
 31). But if it be, etc. — but if it is 
 of Ooil, a case which I a.ssume, ye 
 cannot, rather, according to the most 
 approved text, yc will not be able, by 
 anything that ye may do to these 
 men or to their followers, to over- 
 throw it, and indeed ye ought not to 
 attempt it, lest haply ye be found 
 even to be JightiiKj against God, and 
 thus guilty of rebellion against him. 
 Neauder reuuirks that Gamaliel "on 
 the one hand had a clear conception of 
 
 the fact that fanatical movements are 
 generally rendered more violent by op- 
 position, and tluit what is insignificant 
 is often raised into importance by for- 
 cible attempts to supjiress it. On the 
 other hand, the nianne)' in which tlie 
 a])ostles spoke and acted must have 
 made some impression on a man not 
 wholly prejudiced ; while their exact 
 observance of the law, and their hostile 
 attitude toward Sadduceeism, must 
 have disposed him more t<trongly in 
 their favor, and hence the thought 
 might have arisen in his mind that, 
 after all, there was something divine in 
 the cause they advocated." {Planting 
 and Training, p. 46.) It has l)eeu said 
 that the i-easoning of Gamaliel was fal- 
 lacious and temporizing. But it fitted 
 his audience and tlie occasion and ac- 
 complislied tlie end lie bad in view. And 
 it is true that ultinuitely God's cause 
 shall ])revail over all ojiposition, and 
 that every false system of religious be- 
 lief will come to nought, ilohammed- 
 aism nijiy thrive, and religious errors 
 may fioiirish, but their end draweth 
 nigh, (i Peter 2 : i-:i.) Thcv will be over- 
 come, not by physical force, or the power 
 of civil laws, but liy the power of truth, 
 and the glory of Christ. 
 
 40. To him they astrced — rather, 
 tlteji were persuaded by him. They 
 yielded so far as not to kill tlie ai)ostles. 
 The great power of Gamaliel's influ- 
 ence and persuasiveness is seen in the 
 fact that Sadducean Iciidership and 
 murderous rage should yield to a Phar- 
 isee counselling forbearance. Notwith- 
 standing, the rulers determined to 
 j)uiiish, in some way, the disobedience 
 of the apostles (ver. ax), iuul thus carry 
 out their previous tlireats. (4: 17.21.) 
 Beaten them. Tlie Greek verb 
 originally meant to flay, in which sense 
 it is never used in the New Testament, 
 where it meaus to beat, smite, scourge. 
 
Ch. v.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 83 
 
 41 them go. And they departed from the 
 presence of the council, » rejoicing that 
 they were counted worthy to suflTer shame 
 
 42 for his name. And daily in the temple, 
 and in every house, y they ceased not to 
 teach and preach Jesus Christ. 
 
 » ch. IG : 23-25 ; Matt. 5 : 10-1-2 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 10 ; Heb. 10 : 34 ; 1 Peter 4 : 13-lG. J ch. 9 : 20; 
 
 29 ; 17 : 3. 
 
 Its use may be seen in the following 
 
 passa^'es : (^6 -. 37 ; T> -. 19, Luke Vi : 47 ; 20 : 10 ; 
 i-l : m ; John 18 : 21! ; 2 Cor. 11 ; 20 ; Mark 13 : «.) 
 
 The apostles probal)ly received the 
 Jewish scourge, and not the more 
 cruel Roman scourge which was in- 
 flicted on Jesus. See Matt. 27 : 26, 
 Mark 15 : Ij, where a different word is 
 used, and Luke 18 : 33 where still 
 an other word is employed, found also 
 in Acts 22 : 25. Beating w-ds a common 
 ])unishment among the Jews. It was 
 very likely borrowed from the Egypt- 
 ians, who used the bastinado either on 
 the feet or back. The Jewish scourg- 
 ing consisted of blows upon the back 
 with a rod or whip. " It was limited 
 to forty stripes — a number which the 
 Jews in later times were so careful not 
 to exceed, that they inflicted only thirty- 
 nine. (-'Cof. 11 : 24.) It was to be in- 
 flicted on the ofiender lying on the 
 ground, in the presence of a judge. 
 (Deut. 22 : w ; 25 : 2, 3.) Wc havc al)undant 
 evidence that it was an ancient Egypt- 
 ian punishment." (Alexander's Kitto's 
 Cyclopedia.) Commanded them 
 
 not, etc. (See on 4: 17, IH.) ThisSeCOlul 
 
 command was to prove as vain as the 
 first, and the Sanhedrin was placed in 
 an unenviable light. 
 
 41. Rejoicing. Remembering the 
 teaching of their Lord : " Hai)i)y are 
 ye, when they shall revile and persecute 
 you." (Matt. 5 : 10-12.) Joy was a promi- 
 nent characteristic of the early dis- i 
 
 Ciples. (2 : 46; .4 : 24, :;i.) COUUted 
 
 worthy to sufler shame. A choice 
 union of words of opposite meaning, a 
 wonderful paradox — the honor of 
 being dishonored ! We catch here tlie 
 first view of the martyr spirit in tlie 
 early church, esteeming it a privilege 
 to suffer for Christ, (pmi. i : 29.) No one 
 can attentively read tlie first epistle of 
 Peter and compare it with this passage 
 without recognizing the subdued yet 
 hopeful and rejoicing spirit of one who 
 had experienced the sorrows and joys 
 of the fiery trials through whicli he 
 
 had passed. (See 1 Peter 3 : 1318; 4 : I, 2, 
 
 12-19.) For his name — rather, /or the 
 name, which they had been forbidden 
 to teach, which to them was more than 
 all other names, the name by which 
 they wrouglit miracles and by which 
 alone men could be saved, the name 
 aliove every name that is named. (1 tii 
 
 2 ; 9, 10 , Epb. 1 : 21 ; Heb. 1:4.) ScC 1 Pctef 
 
 4 : IG, Avhere the ajiostle speaks alxmt 
 suffering as a Christian. 
 
 43. They do that which they were 
 commanded not to do. (v,r. 4i; 4: i8.) 
 Daily in the temple and in every 
 house— //■(>/;(, house to hoinse, or at 
 home. (See note on tliese words in 2 : 
 46.) They labored publicly, privately, 
 personally, and perseveringly. Wliat 
 they did : teaching and preaching. 
 The two methods are here distin- 
 guished. By the one they addressed 
 the understanding, expounding and 
 instructing concerning the great truths 
 of .lesus as the Messiah, (is : ii ; -a -. si ; 
 15:35.) By the other, events, facts, and 
 truths are procluinied as good news and 
 of public importance. They preached 
 Jesus Christ, the good news of Jesus 
 the Christ. Preaching here in the 
 original is a joyous word, and a favor- 
 ite one with Liikeaud Paul, ))eing used 
 only six times by the other writers of 
 the New Testament. (.Matt, n :5, i Peter 
 
 1 : 12, 25 : 4 : 6 ; Rev. 10 : 7 ; U : 6.) FrOUl it are 
 
 derived our words evangelize, evangel- 
 ists. (See Luke 2 : 10 ; 4 : 18 ; 9 : 6 ; Kom. 10 :" 15.) 
 
 xVnother word translated preach or 
 herald, is used in 8 : 5, and fretiuently 
 throughout the New Testament. It is 
 used in the last commi.ssion (Mark ifi : 16", 
 with gospel, or the good news, being 
 tlie noun of the A'erb above, wliile in 
 tlie commission in Matt. 28 : 20 teaching 
 is found. The latter being u.sed espe- 
 cially of the instruction of believers. 
 
 Young men and the chukch. 
 Young people want work, and pastors 
 and churches should give them some- 
 thing to do. Otherwise they will throw 
 their energies into other enterjjrises 
 and outside channels. The apostles 
 and the church at Jerusalem had their 
 
84 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. V. 
 
 young men ready for service, (s : 6, lo.) 
 Paul sought out Timothy at Lystra, 
 aud selected him as an atteudaut, 
 (i6:i-;i.) Jesus too chose the twelve 
 from young men. And the beloved 
 disciple, near the close of his life, said, 
 " I have written unto you, young men, 
 because ye are strong." (iJohu'2:i4.) 
 Christianity is hopeful and cheerful 
 and is thus especially adapted to youth. 
 It gives opportunity, and the young 
 can find no where else work so noble 
 and so glorious in results There 
 siiould be a mutual co-ojieration and 
 helpfulness between the older and 
 younger members of our churches. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. What a contrast was Ananias to Barna.- 
 bas! "Where there is light there -will also 
 be a shadow. Where God builds a church 
 the devil builds a chapel by its side." 
 (Lechler.) (Ver. 1 ; John 6 : 70 ; Matt. 13 : 
 24-30.) 
 
 2. There are those who still " keep back 
 part of the price " They profess to give up 
 all to Christ, yet live unmindful of their 
 vows. (Ver. 2 ; Mai. 3 : 8-10.) 
 
 3. Lying and hypocrisy will sooner or 
 later be detected. (Ver. 3; .Ter. 17:10; 1 
 Chron. 28 : 9 ; Rev. 2 : 2:j ; 21:8.) 
 
 4. Satan may tempt men to sin, yet the 
 sin is their own. lie cannot enter and take 
 possession of their hearts without their per- 
 mission. (Ver. ,?, 4; John 8:44; 13:27; 
 James 4 : 7 ; 1 Peter 5 : 9.) 
 
 5. Beneficence should be exercised volun- 
 tarily and cheerfully, as unto God. (Ver. 4; 
 Ps. ^0 : 10-14 ; 2 Cor. 9 : 7.) 
 
 6. Sinners may well tremble before God, 
 in whose hands are their lives and breaths. 
 (Ver. 5, 10 ; Deut. 4 : 24 ; Gal. 6 : 7 ; 2 Peter 
 2:3.) 
 
 7. It is not upon the dead body, but upon 
 the living soul that punishment is to be 
 executed. (Ver. 6, 7 ; Ezek. 18 : 4, 18.) 
 
 8. A sin under the excitement of the 
 moment is bad enough ; but deliberately 
 planned transgression is greatly more aggra- 
 vated. (Ver. 8, 9 ; Micah 2:1.) 
 
 9. Marriage is perverted when it contrilv 
 ntes to partnership in sin. (Ver. 9 ; Deut. 7 : 
 3,4; Heb. 13:4.) 
 
 10. "As Cain stands at the very threshold 
 of human history, as a warning against un- 
 
 der-valuing man's life, so Anaui.-is stands at 
 the threshold of the Christian Church, as a 
 warning against insincerity toward God, 
 and undervaluing his holiness." (Dr. 
 ScH*FK.) (Ver. 10 ; Gen. 3 : 9-1.5.) 
 
 11. God's judgments should awaken a holy 
 fear, and lead to watchfulness and search- 
 ings of heart. (Ver. 11 ; Heb. 12 : 25-29.) 
 
 12. Though God brings judgments upon 
 the ungodly, he will not turn away from the 
 cry of the needy. (Ver. 12 ; Ps. 72 : 12 ; Hab. 
 3:2.) 
 
 13. The judgments of God are used by the 
 Spirit both for deterring hypocrites and 
 multiplying true converts. Proper discipline 
 tends to healthfulness and increase of the 
 church. (Ver. 13, 14 , ch. 13:12; Ps. 55 : 
 22,23.) 
 
 14. Christianity has elevated woman to 
 her projjer place and sphere by the side of 
 man. " The present childish seclusion of 
 women, their complete separation from all 
 public society in the East, is a fair represen- 
 tation of the existence which they led in all 
 the Oriental kingdoms before the days of 
 Christ." (Dr. J. S. HowsON.) (Ver. 14; 
 21 : 9 ; Phil. 4 : 3.) 
 
 15. God often accomplishes his work by 
 the weakest means,— as by " the shadow of 
 Peter." (Ver. 15 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 26-29 ; Matt. 9 : 
 21, 22.) 
 
 16. In Christ and his gospel there is a full 
 supply for all who seek bis saving power. 
 (Ver. 16 ; John 6 : 37 ; James 5:14, 15.) 
 
 17. It is better for God's people that bless- 
 ings and trials alternate. Thereby humility 
 faith, patience, and purity are the better de- 
 veloped. (Ver. 17, 18 ; Rom 5 : 3-5 ; 2 Cor. 
 4 : 17 ; 1 Peter 4 : 12.) 
 
 IS. When Christ wills, prison bolts are aa 
 nothing before him. (Ver 18, 19 ; John 20 : 
 19 : 26.) 
 
 19. A divine " but " often disconcerts the 
 plans of men, and brings to nought the 
 devices of Satan. (Ver. 19, 22, 34; Gen. 
 50 : 20.) 
 
 20. Duty performed in danger is better 
 than safety with duty neglected. (Ver. 20, 
 21; John 3: 2, 3.) 
 
 21. God sometimes delivers us from one 
 danger, in order to prepare and strengthen 
 us for another. (Ver. 19-26 ; 1 Kings 19 : 
 13-18.) 
 
 22. Wicked men dread the light of truth. 
 The Jewish rulers do not ask the apostlee 
 
Ch. VI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 85 
 
 Appointment of Alms-Distributers ; growing 
 
 prosperity. 
 
 6 AND In those days, when the number 
 
 of the disciples was multiplied, there 
 arose a murmuring of the 'Grecians 
 against the Hebrews because their wid- 
 ows were neglected "in the daily ministra/- 
 
 :ch. 9 : 29; 11 : 20. 
 
 how they escaped. They wish no more tes- 
 timony of miraculous deliverances. (Ver. 
 22-24; John 3: 19, 20.) 
 
 2.3. Sinners need not be in doubt or per- 
 plexed regarding the truth. Both external 
 and internal evidence accompany " the 
 words of this life." (Ver. 20-25 ; John 7:17; 
 14:11,12.) 
 
 24. Christianity recognizes civil authority, 
 and enjoins obedience to all just laws and 
 respect for all in authority. (Ver. 26, 'SI ; 25 : 
 11; Rom. 13: 1-7.) 
 
 25. Godliness makes heroes ; wickedness 
 makes cowards. (Ver. 26 ; Prov. 28 : 1.) 
 
 26. The motives of good men are often 
 misjudged. The apostles wished the salva- 
 tion of the Jewish rulers, not their destruc- 
 tion. (Ver. 28, 31 ; 21 : 28.) 
 
 27. " Moral heroism reached its climax 
 when Peter and his fellow apostles said : ' We 
 ought to obey God rather than men.' " (Dr. 
 J. M. Pendleton.) (Ver. 29 ; Matt. 10: 28.) 
 
 28. Jesus is sent from God and should be 
 welcomed to our hearts. (Ver. 30; John 3 : 
 2 ; Rev. 3 : 20.) 
 
 29. Jesus is Prince and Saviour. We 
 should therefore honor and obey him. (Ver. 
 31 ; Rom. 6 : 16, 17 : Heb. 9 : 9.) 
 
 30. Human and divine agency unite in the 
 work of salvation. Repentance and faith are 
 both gifts of God, yet human acts. (Ver. 
 31 ; Phil. 2 ; 12, 13.) 
 
 31. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the 
 hearts and consciences of men for Christ and 
 his salvation. (Ver. 32 ; John 16 : 8-10 ; Rom. 
 8: 16; Heb. 10:15,16.) 
 
 32. Gospel preaching awakens repentance 
 and leads to forgiveness, or awakens opposi- 
 tion, remorse, or anger, and leads to increased 
 guilt. (Ver. 33; 2 Cor. 2:16.) 
 
 33. When God has a work to be done he 
 has some one to do it. (Ver. 34 ; Judg. 2 : 16 ; 
 3 : 9, 15.) 
 
 34. Contrast the false prophet with the 
 true. The one rises up of himself, the other 
 is raised up of God (3 : 22) ; that one " boasts 
 himself to be some one," this one ascribes 
 the honor to the Lord (3 : 12-16) ; the former 
 " draws much people " after himself, the lat- 
 ter leads men to God (ver. 31) ; these perish 
 
 'ch. 2 :45; 4 : S.'i. 
 
 with their own delusions (Jude 13), those live 
 to shine as the stars forever. (Ver. 36, 37 ; 
 Dan. 12:3.) 
 
 35. It is impossible to be neutral in 
 Christ's cause. (Ver. 38-40 ; Matt. 12 : 30.) 
 
 36. If the opinion of Gamaliel is just, then 
 surely Christianity is from God, for it has 
 stood the test of eighteen centuries, living 
 without arms or human power, overcoming 
 external opposition and persecution, and in- 
 fernal treachery and secret foes, and increas- 
 ing in spite of all the devices of Satan and 
 wicked men. (Ver. 39.) 
 
 37. To fight against God is an act of su- 
 preme folly and wickedness. (Ver. 39 ; Neh. 
 1 : 3, 6.) 
 
 38. The wicked will oppo.se the gospel just 
 so far as their selfish interests and circum- 
 stances will permit. (Ver. 40 ; Jer. 3 : 5.) 
 
 39. Faithfulness to Christ often requires 
 ' resistance unto blood,' but its reward is the 
 crown of life. (Ver. 41,42; Rev. 2:9-11.) 
 
 40. It is an honor to be partners of Jesus 
 whether in suffering or in glory. (Ver. 41 ; 1 
 Peter 4 : 14-16.) 
 
 41. The apostles are an example, who for- 
 got themselves and their sufferings, and con- 
 stantly preached Jesus, the Christ. (Ver. 
 42 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 5.) 
 
 Ch. 6 : During thi.s period of pros- 
 perity a difference arises in the church, 
 in consequence of which seven men are 
 chosen to attend to tlie distrihution of 
 alms. Stephen, one of the seven, dis- 
 tinguishes himself in his work, and be- 
 comes involved in a controversy with 
 certain foreign Jews, who bring him 
 before the Sanhedrin with the charge 
 of blasphemy. The time of these occur- 
 rences may be put down as near the 
 end of A. D. .S3 or early in a. d. 34. 
 
 1-7. The Appointment op Alms 
 distribptors in the church at 
 Jerusalem, (see i Tim. 3 : s-is ; 4 : u-ie ; 5 
 
 9, 10.) 
 
 1. In those days. In these days 
 of faithful labor just recorded (ri : «), 
 the disciples — a favorite term in The 
 Acts for those who confessed that Jesus 
 
THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VI. 
 
 2 lion. Then the twelve called the multi- 
 tude of the disciples unlo them, and said, 
 >> It la not reason that we should leave 
 
 the word of God and serve tables. 
 
 3 Wherefore, brethren, « look ye out aLoong 
 
 you seven men of honest report, lull of 
 
 »> Neh. 6 : 3 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 14-lf) ; ^ Tim. 2 : 4. 
 
 ' Duut. 1 : 13 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 7-10. 
 
 was the Christ (ver. 2, 7 ; 9 : 1), — having 
 multiplied, numbered ])robably not less 
 than ten thousand. (4:-t;5:if.) The 
 events here recorded are closely con- 
 nected with the history of Stephen, and 
 must have covered a short period, of a 
 few weeks or months, before his death. 
 There arose a murmuring, imply- 
 ing that it was a new tiling ; a iiiutttr- 
 ing, a suppressed dissatisfaction ajid 
 discontent which were making them- 
 selves felt in words and acts. Of the 
 Grecians against the HebrcAvs. 
 The former were the converts from the 
 foreign or Grecian Jews, called Hellen- 
 ists, who spoke the Greek language and 
 used the Septuagint, tlie (jreek version 
 of the Old Testament. They were also 
 called the Disjiersion. ( John 7 ■. .'ss ; jamos 
 1 : 1; 1 Peter 1 : 1.) The Jlihrev's werc na- 
 tives of Palestine and others who used 
 the Hebrew Scriptures and spoke the 
 Aramten, the dialect of the Hebrew 
 then current. This difiereuce, not of 
 race, but of language, ap])ears to have 
 given rise to jealousy and party spirit, 
 though not thus early to a difference of 
 faith and practice in tlie cluirch. Some 
 among the Hebrews became tlie .Tuda- 
 izers a few years later, (ij : 1.) From 
 the fact that " Nicolas, a proselyte of 
 Aiitioch," was chosen as one of the 
 seven (ver. r,)^ it may be inferred that 
 some ])rosolytes were jiopularly in- 
 cluded among those here styled Grecian 
 Jews. Widows under tlie Mosaic law 
 were not provided for, but were de- 
 pendent upon relatives, and especially 
 upon the eldest son, ytt they were 
 special objects of compassion. (Exod. 22 : 
 
 22; Deut. 10: In ; Ua. 1 : 17 ; Ji-r. 7 : « ; Zech. 7 : 10.) 
 
 The early Christian Church made cer- 
 tain provision for widows, esjiecially 
 for those who had been faithful to one 
 husband and had devoted their better 
 days to family duties and good works, 
 and had reached the age of sixty. 
 (1 Tim. 5:3-5, 9. 10.) Were neglected— 
 not intentionally, but probaldy from 
 the fact that these women were less 
 known and had no relatives to report 
 their necessities. The language implies 
 
 that it was common. In the daily 
 ministration — in the distrilmtion of 
 food, and perhaps souietiuies of money, 
 which was daily made from the com- 
 mon supply. (4 : ,)5.) Tlie apostles had 
 superintended this, and probably had 
 called others to aid them as it might be 
 necessaiy, and this also may in part 
 account for the partial manner in which 
 the work was done. 
 
 2. The tAvelve— the apostles, in- 
 cluding Matthias, showing that the 
 choice of the latter to the apostleship 
 was valid, (.seeoni : 26.) Called the 
 multitude of the disciples — the 
 whole body of believers. All were in- 
 vited, but it is not necessary to suppose 
 that all came. Many would be kept at 
 home, and many foreign Jews had left 
 the city. It was a i)ul)lic meeting of 
 the church, and all could eome who de- 
 sired. It would seem tliat the church 
 did not regularly meet as a wliole, but, 
 being large, had several meeting-places 
 at the same time. Yet when a matter 
 was to be decided every one had a right 
 to take part in the decision. The apos- 
 tles prescribe the mode of action, as in 
 the election of Matthias (1 -. i.vifi), and 
 refer the matter to the body of believers 
 for their determination. It is not 
 reason, etc. — literally, Forsdking the 
 vord of God to serve tables is vot p/eas- 
 ing to vs. It was not pleasing to them, 
 nor to God, that they should aliaiidon 
 the ])reachiiig of the gospel, in order 
 to minister at tables, taking care of and 
 distrilmting the things neces.saiy to sus- 
 
 ! tain life. (Luke8:3; le :34.) From the 
 Greek verb to serve, our word deacon is 
 derived. The apostles, here and in the 
 next two verses, contrast the higher 
 work of feeding and taking s])iritual 
 charge of souls witli furnishing food for 
 tlie i)ody and sujiplying the ijhysical 
 wants of the poor. 
 
 3. Brethren, of the church, look 
 ye out from among you. The choice 
 was to be made by the members of the 
 church, and from among themselves. 
 Seven men of honest report — seven 
 approved men, of attested character. 
 
Cir. VL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 87 
 
 the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we 
 4 may appoint over this husincss. But we 
 <" will givfe ourselves continually to prayer, 
 and to the ministry of the word. 
 
 5 And the saying pleased the whole 
 multitude: and tney chose Stephen, a 
 man full of faith and of the Holy .Spirit, 
 aud « Philip, and I'rochorus, and Ki- 
 
 ii ch. 2 : 42 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 13 ; 2 Tim. 4:2. • ch. 8 : rt-Vi, 20-40 ; 21 : 8. 
 
 Why scveyi were chosen is unknown. 
 Different reasons have been assigned, 
 such as that the church was divided 
 into seven congregations, or that seven 
 nations were represented in it. Prob- 
 ably it was because as many as seven 
 were needed for tlie work ; and seven, 
 also, was a number having sacred asso- 
 ciations. It is worthy olf notice that 
 the early churches, for two or three cent- 
 uries, observed the number sfroi in the 
 selection of deacons, thus following as 
 their model the account here given. 
 Full of the Holy Spirit. Ho/i/ is 
 omitted by the higlu^st critical authori- 
 ties. Literally, fit// of Spirit, impreg- 
 nated, as it were, witii the Spirit. They 
 were to be under the iiilUien(^e aud en- 
 joy the personal abiding of tiie Spirit 
 of God, such as they needed for the dis- 
 charge of the special duties of the oflice, 
 perha]is also his extraordinary super- 
 natural endowments. Wisdom^abil- 
 ity to act discreetly in all emergencies. 
 They would need to be " wise as ser- 
 pents." Whom we may appoint — 
 or, set, over ; the apostles will confirm 
 the choice of the church. This 
 business — or, this necessity which 
 had arisen in the church. A similar 
 necessity was to continue in the Chris- 
 tian church, though under different 
 circumstances, and hence what here 
 seemed to be a local and perhaps tem- 
 porary expedient, became a permanent 
 ottice, that of deacon, in the churches. 
 (Phil. 1 : 1 ; 1 Tim. :i : 8.) These ofiiccrs of 
 the Jerusalem chiii-ch appear to have j 
 been styled, "The Seven" by way of j 
 pre-eminence and with reference to 
 their original number. (■-'i:t.) The 
 office in other churches, which this first 
 appointment appears to have originated, 
 was called Deacon, from tlie word de- 
 noting their service. Their qualifica- 
 tions, mentioned by Paul (l Tim.:t :8i:)), 
 are similar to those here given. In 
 hierarchical churches deacons constitute 
 tlie third order of clerical officers, and 
 are empowered to preach and bajitize. 
 But " the seven " were choseu to the 
 
 service of tables in distinction from 
 preaching the word. And in the quali- 
 fications prescribed by Paul " aptness 
 to teach " is omitted, and those quali- 
 ties are euij)hasized which esjjecially fit 
 for secular duties. Philij), it is true, 
 preached and baptized, but it cannot 
 be shown tliat he did this as a deacon, 
 for he was an evangelist, (a : 4-40 ; 21 : n.) 
 Deaconesses appear also to have ex- 
 isted in some churches. (Rom. I6 : 1 ; 1 Tim. 
 3: u; Phil. 4:3.) While the church was 
 in a certain sense a growth, it was a 
 growtli under divine direction. The 
 a])ostles were iusi)ired to develop the 
 order and the organization of the 
 church (John i«: 13), and the Acts and 
 the ejiistles make it ])lain that it and 
 its ordinances had a m cll-defined form 
 
 and order. (U : 23 ; 15 : « r. ; Uom. 1; :3 ; 1 Cor. 
 U : 2, 20-34; 1 Tim. 3 :I f. ; Titus 1 : 5.) 
 
 4. But we, on our part, Avill give 
 ourselves continually, that is, give 
 
 constant attention to prayer, public, 
 and especially private. Peter's long 
 continued prayer on the roof at Jop])a 
 is a commentary on this. (10 : 9, 10.) See 
 Paul's reference in his epistles to his 
 almost ceaseless prayers in behalf f)f 
 his brethren in dif}"erent churches. ( Rom. 
 
 10: 9; 1 Cor.l : 4-8; Eph.lilC; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1: 
 
 3 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 2.) In Pcter's two cpistlcs 
 we have an example of his ministry, 
 or service, of the word, rather than 
 of prayer. As the seven were to be 
 7n/inisters, or deacons, at the tables, so 
 they, the apostles, wouLl be ^ninistcrs 
 or deacons of the word, j)reaching pub- 
 licly and from house to house. (20 : 20, 21 . ) 
 
 5. And the saying, tlie speech 
 proposing the plan, pleased the 
 whole multitude, was unanimously 
 adopted by tlie church. Stephen 
 means a crown, especially of a con- 
 queror, a fitting name for the first 
 Christian martyr. It has been inferred 
 from the fact that all the seven have 
 Greek names that they all belonged to 
 the Hellenist or Grecian Jewish party, 
 but this, though very probable, is un- 
 certain. After the time of Alexander 
 
THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. TI. 
 
 canor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and 
 6 Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch ; whom 
 they set before the apostles ; and f when 
 they had prayed, s they laid their hauds 
 on them. 
 
 7 And •> the word of God increased ; and 
 the number of the disciples uiultiplied in 
 Jerusalem greatly ; and a great company 
 'of the priests were obedient to the faith. 
 
 »ch.l:21. Bch. 8 :17;9: 17; 13 :3;lTim.4:14;5 : 22. i> ch. 12 : 24. i John 12 : 42. 
 
 Greek names among the Jews were [ 
 common, and were Ijorne l)y two of the 
 apostles. Stephen and Philip are the 
 only members of the seven again I 
 mentioned in the New Testament, and [ 
 of the others nothing further is known. 
 Full ol'laith and the Holy Spirit. 
 See on ver. 3, where instead oi faith is 
 wisdom. But faith is a foundation 
 grace, and wisdom or spiritual i^rudeuce 
 
 is a fruit of faith. (Seever. H, lO; 11:2I.) 
 
 Stephen is mentioned first and des- 
 cribed more fully, because he soon 
 became the leading character in the 
 discussions held with foreign Jews, and 
 the principal object of hate and perse- 
 cution. One objeet of this chajjter is 
 to introduce Stephen preparatory to liis 
 defence and martyrdom. I'hilip, 
 lover of horses, tnay be mentioned 
 second, because after Ste])})cn his work 
 as an evangelist is to be notice<l. 
 Prochorus, meaning lemhr of the 
 choral danre. Nicaiior means c<ni- 
 queror. Timon — honorable. Parnio- 
 nas — steoilfast. Nicolas, comjueror 
 of the j)eople, a proselyte of Anti- 
 och. He was a Gentile who had em- 
 l)raced Judaism, and had been con- 
 verted to Christ. (See 2: 11.) A tra<lition 
 connects with his name that of the 
 Nicolaitans so severely denounced in 
 Rev. 2 : 6, 1.5, Imt this is unjiroved, and 
 generally discredited by .scholars. 
 Antioch was doulitless the capital of 
 Syria, a city of more than five hundred 
 thousand inhabitants, situated on tlu? 
 river Orontes, fifteen miles from its 
 mouth, and about three hundred miles 
 north of Jerusalem. Nicolas may have 
 gone tliere, when the di.sciples were 
 seattereil abroad, (see ii ; i:>-ti, 26.) 
 
 6. Whom they, the multitude of 
 believers, having chosen them from 
 their own numljer (ver. 5), set before 
 the apostles both for their approval 
 and their confirmation. When they 
 had prayed — or, praying — they laid 
 their hands on them — the two acts 
 probably being performed at once. 
 They prayed, recognizing their depend- 
 
 ence on God, and invoking his sanction 
 and blessing and the bestowment of 
 those gifts necessaiy for jjcrforming the 
 duties of their office. They laid their 
 hands on them, not to communicate the 
 Holy Spirit (s : i7), for they were already 
 full of the Spirit, but to sanction the 
 choice of the church, recognizing them 
 as suitable persons for the office, and 
 thus solemnly setting them ajiart for 
 their work. Two instances besides 
 this of setting ajiart to a church 
 service, and commonly styled ordina- 
 tion, are found iu the New Testa- 
 ment, that of Barnabas and Saul 
 (13:1-1), and that of Timothy (iTim. 
 1 : 11). Added to tliese is the injunction 
 of Taul to Timothy (i Tim. a :'.'2), "Lay 
 hands suddenly on no man." From an 
 examination of these it will ajjpcar 
 that ordination confers no new grace or 
 j>ower; for the ordained person was 
 selected because the church saAv in him 
 the qualifications requisite for the 
 office ; and a solemn public sanction 
 and recognition for the office was made 
 l)y the laying on of the hands, with 
 prayer, invoking God's blessing and 
 consecrating him to the work. Dr. 
 Ilackett finely remarks : " It was of 
 the nature of a prayer that God would 
 bestow the necessary gifts, rather than 
 a pledge that they were actually con- 
 ferred." 
 
 7. Peace and harmony in the church 
 is followed by great prosperity. The 
 two departments of church work are 
 now attended to thoroughly. Renewed 
 zeal and activity prevail, and the 
 word of God increased — the gospel 
 was spreading among the people, and 
 gaining strength as a system of doc- 
 trine. The disciples multiplied — 
 ■were increasing in Jei'^isalem exceed- 
 ingly. The progress was not limited to 
 a few days, but was continuous. A sur- 
 jirising evidence of tbis internal and 
 external growth was, that a great 
 company, or multitude, of the 
 priests Avere obedient to the 
 faith. Obedience includes repentance. 
 
Uir. VI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 89 
 
 Stephen's seal ; his violent apprehension. 
 8 AND Stephen, full of faith and power, 
 
 did great wonders and miracles among 
 the people. 
 
 faith, aud submission to Christ's re- 
 
 quiremeutS. (l r^ler l : 2, 22 ; 4 : n ■, Rom.6 : 17.) 
 
 This new aud large accession to the 
 church was wonderful, because the 
 priests had been especially opposed to 
 
 the gospel (1 : 1 : Luke 23 : 4, 5, %\ ; Mark 15 : 3l), 
 
 and after this were among its active 
 persecutors. (9 : u ; 22 : 30 ; 2ii : 10.) The 
 Spirit, however, is al)le to overcome the 
 greatest obstacles. The rending of the 
 vail of the temple, the report of the 
 guard to the truth of the resurrection 
 of Jesus, the conciliatory conduct of 
 Gamaliel, and the miraculous gifts and 
 powers of the apostles doul)tless all con- 
 tributed somewhat to this end. The 
 large number converted is not at all in- 
 credible. Four thousand, two hundred 
 and eighty-nine priests returned from 
 the captivity with Ezra (Ezra2 : 36-:i9), and 
 at this time the number must have been 
 very largely increased. A great multi- 
 tude of them might be converteil, yet 
 multitudes be left behind. " The 
 faith— faith system — that is, the gos- 
 pel. (See Rom. 1:5; Gal. 1 : 23.) Tllis lUode 
 
 of epitomizing the plan of salvation 
 confirms the Protestant view of it, in 
 opposition to that of the Roman Catho- 
 lics. (See Rom. 11 : 6.) " ( DR. HaCKETT.) 
 This appears to have been the highest 
 jioint of popularity attained by the 
 church at .Jeru.salem. The Sadducean 
 attempts at persecution had been 
 checked ; the people were accepting 
 the gospel in large numbers ; the priest 
 were being won to the faith, and the 
 conversion of Israel seemed more and 
 more promising. But the development 
 of gospel truth in the testimony of 
 Ste)>lien aroused tlie bitter hostility of 
 the foreign Jews and the opposition of 
 the Pharisees, culminating in the death 
 of Stephen, the cruel persecution that 
 followed, and the scattering abroad of 
 believers from .Terusalein. 
 
 8-15. The Zeal and Violent Ap- 
 prehension OF Stephen. It is in- 
 teresting to trace the events whicli 
 culminated in the a]iprehension and 
 death of Ste})hen. Only an outline can 
 here be given. There were two at- 
 tempts at persecution before that which 
 arose upon Stephen : (1) The one after 
 
 the liealing of the lame man l)y Peter 
 and John, i>robably a few inontlis after 
 Pentecost, in the autumn of A. D. 30. 
 (2) Tlie other after the great increase 
 of the church following tlie death of 
 Ananias and Sai>])hira, about A. i>. 32 
 or 33. Both of these ju-oved failures, 
 because (1) They were started by the 
 less influential sect of tlie Saddncees. 
 (2) The more influential Pharisees stood 
 aloof. (3) The power of the Lord was 
 with the disciples. (4) Tliey were popu- 
 lar with the people. The things which 
 tended to bring about a general perse- 
 cution were: (1) Tlie di.sciples became 
 more distinct in their organization and 
 more separate in their gatherings. (2) 
 They advanced in doctrine ; and thus 
 came into direct conflict with Pharisees 
 as well as Sadducees. Stephen appears 
 to have proclaimed these doctrines most 
 distinctly, and that too to the strictest 
 of the sect. Hence his arrest, trial, 
 and death. See note at the end of the 
 preceding verse, and the notes that 
 follow. 
 
 8. Stephen becomes now the cen- 
 tral figure; a leader among the Seven, 
 as Peter had been among tiie Twelve. 
 Full of faith— rather, according to 
 the best manuscripts, of grace, the 
 blessed influences of the Holy Spirit, 
 including the fruits of the Spirit (Oai. 
 5:22); and outwardly manifested in 
 power, supernatural gifts, including 
 the working of miracles. Compare 
 what is said of Jesus, "full of grace 
 and truth." (JotmirU.) Stephen was 
 eminently Christ-like. Did, rather, 
 was doing, great Avonders and mir- 
 acles, or signs, among the people. 
 These were not performed at one time, 
 but repeatedly, as he went about dis- 
 charging the duties of his office. Doubt- 
 less among the sick and suffering as be 
 ministered to the jioor. This is the first 
 instance of miracles performed by any 
 Christian outside of the apostles. It 
 was also an early fulfillment of Christ's 
 promise in Mark 16 : 17, 18. 
 
 9. Then there arose — but there 
 started up, the words bringing to view 
 a somewhat sudden and unexpected 
 arising. Synagogue — an assembly for 
 
90 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VI. 
 
 9 Then there arose certain of the syna- 
 gogue which is called the synagogue of the 
 
 Libertines, and k Cyrenians, and Alex- 
 andrians, and of them of Cilicia and of 
 
 k ch. 2 : 10. 
 
 offering prayers and for reading and 
 expounding the Scriptures, held every 
 Sabbath and feast-day, and also on the 
 second and fifth days of every week. 
 Synagogues seem to date their origin 
 from the Babylonish exile. In the time 
 of Christ and the apostles every town, 
 not only in Palestine, but wherever 
 there was a considerable number of 
 Jewish inhabitants, bad at least one 
 synagogue, and the larger towns several 
 or even many. In Jerusalem, accord- 
 ing to the rabbins, there were four hun- 
 dred and eighty synagogues to accom- 
 modate foreigu Jews who visited the 
 tejnple. In view of the two and a half 
 millions of Jews who came to Jerusalem, 
 from all countries to celebrate tiie pass- 
 over {Josepbiis Antiq. vi. 1>, 3), this 
 number will not seem too large; though 
 all of them may not have been formally 
 organized for holding trials am inflict- 
 ing punishment. (9: 'i; Matu lO: n.) 
 They appear to have been independent 
 of each other. Libertines — frceilmen, 
 Jews whose fathers were carried cap- 
 tive to Rome by Pompey about B. C. 58, 
 afterward freed by their mastei-s, and 
 allowed to retain their religion, and 
 while living at Rome may have had 
 their synagogue at Jerusalem. These 
 Jewish freedmen were expelled from 
 Italy, on account of their religion, by 
 Tiberius, A. D. 19. It is very probable 
 that j)art of these exiles returned to 
 Jerusalem, and were the more watch- 
 ful against any innovations upon the 
 religion for which they had suffered. 
 Some have maintained that Libertines 
 were Jews from a ])lace in Africa, 
 called Libertum, but of this tliere is no 
 proof, and tlie existence of such a town 
 IS uncertain. The explanation, which 
 was cnWeA^ or so-called, Dr. Ilackett 
 suggests is inserted here because this 
 was an umisual designation. 
 
 How many synagogues are here men- 
 tioned has been a suViject of discussion. 
 Some suppose but one, comjiosed of 
 freedmen from Cyreue, Alexandria, 
 Cilicia, and Asia ; others sui)pose two, 
 one including the first three names, the 
 otliers, the last two. But the simpler 
 
 and more natural interpretation sup- 
 poses five. Cyrenians — from Cyrene, 
 a large city in North Africa, a fourth 
 jiart of whose inhabitants, according to 
 Josephus, were Jews. Simon who car- 
 ried the cross of Jesus was from Cyrene. 
 (Matt. 27 : 32.) Jews froui parts about 
 Cyrene were present at Pentecost. 
 (2: 10.) Cyrenian Jews are mentioned 
 in 11:20; 13:1. Alexandrians— 
 from Alexandria, the great city of 
 Egy])t, and at that time the second 
 city of the Roman Empire, where 
 about one hundred thousand Jews re- 
 sided, having their own quarter, their 
 own governor and laws. Cilicia — a 
 Roman province in the soutli-eastern 
 corner of Asia Minor. The great higli- 
 way of travel between Euro])e, western 
 Asia Minor, and Syria ran through this 
 province and gave it imi)ortance. 
 Through the Cilician gates, a gap in 
 the Taurus range, the armies of the 
 younger Cyrus, of Alexander, and of 
 the Romans passed ; and through it 
 also runs the modern caravan road be- 
 tween Tarsus and the west. Among 
 the Cilicians who disputed with Stephen 
 was probably Saul of Tarsus. (21:39.) 
 Asia — the Roman province, having 
 Ephesus as its capital, (see 2: 9.) 
 
 Disputing with Stephen — imply- 
 ing that these foreign Jews began the 
 debate, questioning him perhaps at first, 
 discussing the matter, and ending, on 
 their part, in a heated disputation. He 
 very likely met them as friends and 
 acquaintances of the Grecian Jews 
 among whom he ministered. Begin- 
 ning privately, it at length became 
 public. He doubtless at times spoke in 
 synagogues and public assemblies. We 
 would infer this from the descrijition 
 of him in ver. 5. Before his choice 
 among the seven, he may have been 
 what is sometimes called in these days 
 a lay preacher. And after entering 
 upon his ofiice, like Philip, he may 
 have become also an evangelist. The 
 fact that strong nationality had brought 
 these foreign Jews to Jerusalem, to 
 reside there, explains how they would 
 be the strongest adherents to Judaism, 
 
Cii. VL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 91 
 
 10 Asia, disputing with Stephen. 'And 
 they were not al)le to resist the wisdom 
 and " ttie spirit by which he spake. 
 
 11 "Then they suborned men, which said, 
 We have heard him speak blasphemous 
 words agaiust Moses, and against God. 
 
 >ch. 
 
 : 39 ; Matt. 10 : 19, 20 ; Luke 21 : 15 ; see Exod. 4 : 12 ; Isa. 54 : 17. 
 n 1 Kings 21 : 10-13. 
 
 1 Cor. 2 : 4. 
 
 and to the strictest sect, the Pharisees, 
 and thus the foremost iu resisting 
 Stephen, concerning the superiority of 
 the New over the Old Dispensation. 
 Foreign influences may have had an 
 opposite eii'ect on Stephen, or, lilce Saul 
 of Tarsus, enlightened by the Spirit, he 
 may, like a pendulum, have swung 
 toward the other extreme. 
 
 At this point began the open and 
 organized opposition of the Pharisees 
 to Christians. Previous to this, Christi- 
 anity had appeared as a sort of reformed 
 Judaism. There ap])eared but a single 
 change in the Jewisli faith. Instead of 
 a Messiah yet to come, was substituted 
 a Messiah already come, who had lived, 
 died, and risen again. Two rites had 
 been addeil, — baptism and the Lord's 
 Su])i)er. The disciples met on the first 
 day of the week to celebrate the resur- 
 rection of Jesus. But they still observed 
 the Jewish Sabbath. Thej' circumcised 
 their children, were daily in the temple, 
 and o1)served the Jewish ritual. They 
 were still Jews in faith and practice, 
 though theirs was a glorified Judaism 
 by their faith in a ri.sen and exalted 
 Saviour. Jesus had indeed taught the 
 coming of a universal religion (John i ., 
 23, 24.), but this the apostles had very 
 imperfectly comprehended. They doubt- 
 less expected that the blessings of the 
 gospel would be extended to men of all 
 nations, but only through the gate of 
 prosi-lytism. There was a providence 
 in this very short-sightedness. A too 
 early proclamation of the spiritual and 
 universal character of Christianity 
 would, no doubt, have brought upon 
 the church persecution before it had 
 gathered strength to meet it. But the 
 time had now come for a fuller procla- 
 mation of these great truths and for the 
 fiery ordeal. In botli of these Stephen 
 is the leader. 
 
 10. The wisdom and the spirit 
 — a variation of the phrases in ver. 3, 
 5, 8. The Holy Spirit is here meant, 
 and the wisdom is that which the Spirit 
 imparted to Stephen. The words of 
 
 Jesus were fiilfilled (Lake 21 : 15) : " I will 
 give you a mouth and wisdom which 
 all your adversaries shall not be able 
 to gainsay or resist." Calvin says: 
 "Thus iu our own age the Spirit has 
 been so miglity in the mouth of the 
 martyrs who were liurried to tlie tor- 
 turing flame, and down to this hour 
 afibrds such force that, even when they 
 were uneducated men, tliey, liy their 
 simple speech left tlie highest theolo- 
 gians of the Papacy dumb, as if thun- 
 derstruck." Compare Paul at Antioch, 
 in Pisidia, where the Jews, unable to 
 answer Paul, could do nothing but con- 
 tradict and blaspheme. (13 : 45.) 
 
 11. Then — at that time, just after 
 what had occurred. Suborned— 
 privately instructed, instigated, men, 
 as to what they should do and say. It 
 is not necessary to suppose that bribes 
 were used, though such may have been 
 the case. We have heard him 
 speak blasphemous words. What 
 these M'ords were are told in ver. 14. 
 And so was Jesus accused. (itarit2:7; 
 Matt. 26 : fia.) Blasphemy was speaking 
 against, reviling, or railing against God 
 and divine things. It was regarded 
 under Jewish law as an attempt to 
 turn away the people from their alle- 
 giance to the one true God, and hence as 
 treason, and was punishable with 
 death by stoning. (Lev. 24 : 1123 ; oeut. is : 
 6-10.) Against 3Ioses— against the 
 laws given l)y him, not only tho.se con- 
 tained in the five books, but also the 
 traditions which they maintained were 
 handed down from Moses. And to 
 speak against Moses was to s])eak 
 against God, for God spake through 
 Moses. The charge indicates his 
 teaching — that he had announced the 
 tran.sitory nature of the Jewish laws, 
 temple, and worship, and the intro- 
 duction of a new and better covenant, 
 and thus in a striking manner antici- 
 pated what was more fully proclaimed 
 by the apostle Paul. 
 
 12. The foreign Jews, unable to 
 meet Stephen iu argument, resorted to 
 
92 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. VI. 
 
 t2 And they stirred up the people, and the 
 elders, and the scribes, and came upon 
 him, and caught him, and brought Iiitit 
 
 13 to the council, and set up false witnesses, 
 which said, This man ceaseth not to 
 speak blasphemous words against this 
 
 14 holy place, and the law : for we have 
 
 heard him say, that this Jesus of Naz- 
 areth shall "destroy this place, and shall 
 change the customs which Moses de- 
 15 livered us. And all that satin the coun- 
 cil, looking steadfastly on him, saw his 
 face P as it had been the face of an angel. 
 
 o Dan. 9 : 26. p Exod. 34 : 29, 30. 
 
 foul means, and stirred up, aroused 
 with excitement, the people, who 
 
 before this had treated believers with 
 favor (2 : 47 ; 4 : 17; 5 : 26), and with them 
 the elders and the scribes (see on 
 4:5) and coming upon him suddenly, 
 seized him violently, and brought 
 him into the very midst of the 
 council, or Sanhedrin. We may 
 suppose the Sanhedrin just conveninsr. 
 The charge of blasphemy was well 
 fitted to predjudice the jieople against 
 Stephen. It was imjiortant for the 
 rulers to have them on their side. A 
 change in public opinion occurred in 
 the last week of our Saviour's life, the 
 people welcoming him with Ilosannas, 
 and soon after crying, " (."rucify him." 
 " The people — powerful in numbers. 
 The elders — powerful in authority. 
 The scribes — powerful in learning." 
 (Bkxgel.) 
 
 13. Set up false witnesses — 
 perhaps some of the suborned men, or 
 those under their influence. They were 
 false witnesses in that they unfairly 
 and perversely reported what Stephen 
 had said, thereby giving a wrong mean- 
 ing and producing a false impression. 
 Blasphemous is not found in the 
 oldest manuscripts and slioukl be 
 omitted. The idea of l)Iasphemy, how- 
 ever, is implied (Luke 12: 10.) Instead of 
 Moses and God (ver. 11) we have now 
 the words this holy place, the 
 temple, in which they were now as- 
 sembled, the centre of the worship and 
 tlie glory of the Jew, and of the 
 law of Moses, -which came from God. 
 To speak against these was indeed to 
 speak against God and holy things ; 
 and this Stephen was represented as 
 doing continuously. This man 
 
 ceaseth not to speak. (see John 11 : 
 
 48-52 ) 
 
 14. Now for the proof of the terrible 
 charge : For we have heard him 
 say, professing to be ear-witnesses, 
 that this Jesus, the Nazarene, 
 
 uttered contemptuously, shall de- 
 stroy this place, this temple and 
 city, and shall change the cus- 
 toms, the usages and rites prescrilied 
 by law, which Moses delivered to 
 us, in his writings and tluough oral 
 traditions. " Every slander," Bengel 
 says, "lays hold of some portion of 
 truth." Stephen taught that the New 
 Dispensation was superior to the Old 
 and was designed to supersede it, not 
 that they were antagonistic, but rather 
 one preparatory to the other. Sound- 
 ing a note of warning against the un- 
 belief and ojiposition of the rulers, 
 he may have used words fiom the 
 discourse of Jesus regarding the des- 
 truction of Jerusalem and the end of 
 the world. Such words could easily be 
 perverted and distorted l)y the enemies 
 of Stephen. So the false Mitnesses 
 against Jesus charged that he said : " I 
 will destroy tiiis temple that is made 
 with hands, and within three days I 
 will build another made without 
 hands " (Mark 14 : 58 ; John 2 : 19), a misquo- 
 tation, a misapi)lication of his lan- 
 guage and a misapprehension of his 
 meaning. In Stei)hen's ease the truth, 
 such as in 7 : 48-50, probably gave rise 
 to the accusation. His accusers may 
 have used his words, but slightly mis- 
 quoting them, taking them out of their 
 connection and falsifying their spirit. 
 A half truth became a whole lie. Com- 
 pare the charges against Paul (21 : 21. 28; 
 24 : 5, 6; 25 : 7, 8), indicating tlie similarity 
 of the teachings of Stephen and Paul, 
 15. All that sat, or sitting, in 
 the council — high-priests and chief 
 priests, elders and scribes, Pharisees 
 and Sadducees, members of the Sanhe- 
 drin, besides Stephen's accusers, the 
 false witnesses and perhaps sjiectators. 
 Looking steadfastly, or intently — 
 a strong emphatic exj»ression, the same 
 as usetl in 1 : 10 ; 7 : 5.5. Stephen was 
 the jirincipal object of every one's gaze, 
 because he was about to answer the 
 
Ch. Vl.J 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 ?S 
 
 charges i)referred agaiust him ; and 
 also there was something about his I 
 manner and pei'sou that increasingly j 
 attraeted their attention. Saw his 
 face as it had been the face of 
 an angel. There was a supernatural 
 glow and brightness upon his couute- ! 
 nance, like the shining face of Moses I 
 when he came down from the mount. ' 
 
 (Exod. :U: 35. See Luke »: 29.) "The COm- 
 
 ])arison was an unusual one, and the 
 Jews supjjosed the visible ap])earance ! 
 of angels to corresi>ond witli their super- j 
 
 human rank. (see l: lO; Matt. M: 3; Luke i 
 ■it: 4; Ri'v. 18: 1, etc.)" (DR. HACKETT.) | 
 
 The meaning is that tliere was some- : 
 thing superhuman and celestial about j 
 his ai)pearance. The Holy Spirit shone, I 
 as it were, through him, attesting him 
 a.s a true witness of Christ and the 
 New Covenant (i Peter i: la.u), and as 
 truly God's servant as was Moses. 
 "Moses' face shone with the law; 
 Stephen's with the Gospel. Moses was 
 brigiit when he came down from earthly 
 Sinai. Stephen was bright ere he as- 
 cended to the heavenly Zion. . . . 
 The eyes of the council were turned 
 Stephenward, and the eyes of Stephen 
 were turned Christward. The glory of 
 the tlirone beamed from his eyes as the 
 splendor of the sun shines back from 
 rolling ])lanets through a sky of dark- 
 ness." (T. A. T. Hanna.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Church troubles arise from human im- 
 perfections, and can be best overcome by a 
 calm, gentle, just, and generous treatment. 
 (Ver. 1-3; Rom. 15 : 1 ; 1 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 
 6:1.) 
 
 2. Gospel preachers should devote them- 
 selves to the word, and ought not to be im- 
 peded by the secular cares of the church, or 
 by pecuniary anxiety. (Ver. 2 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 15 ; 
 1 Cor. 2 : 1-5.) 
 
 3. The special duty of deacons is to care 
 for the secular all'airs of the church. As 
 deacons they are not ajjpointed to preach or 
 administer the ordinances. (Ver. 3.) 
 
 4. If the preacher would be in the highest 
 degree successiul, he must devote himself 
 much and earnestly to prayer. Luther some- 
 times would say, " I shall have so much to 
 
 do, that I cannot do with less than three 
 hours of prayer." (Ver. 4 ; 1 Tim. 2:1.) 
 
 5. The Scriptural form of church govern- 
 ment is congregational. Under Christ the 
 authoritative power is with the membership. 
 (Ver. 4, 5 ; Matt. 18:17; 1 Cor. 5 : 1-5 ; 2 Cor. 
 2:6,7; 1 Cor. 14 : 40 : 16 : 3.) 
 
 6 Jesus did not at once give a fully organ- 
 ized and complete church. The di.scipleship 
 were not prepared for it. He empowered 
 his inspired apostles to complete its organiz- 
 ation, as the Spirit and providence might 
 direct. (Ver. 6 ; John 16 : 12. 13.) 
 
 j 7. The gospel is adapted to ail classes and 
 conditions of men. (Ver. 7; Rom. 1 : 16 ; 
 
 ! Col. 3 : 11.) 
 
 I 8. United and earnest labor in all depart- 
 ments of church work will generally be fol- 
 lowed by prosperity, and the increase of dis- 
 ciples. (Ver. 7 ; 15 : .30 ; 16 : 5.) 
 
 9. He who is faithful in whatever the Lord 
 gives him to do will receive enlargement and 
 more important trusts. (Ver. S , Luke 16 : 
 10 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 13.) 
 
 10. They who are most bitter in contro- 
 ! versy are generally the least qualified for it, 
 
 mentally, rcligiou.sly, or in their knowledge 
 of the subject. (Ver. 9; 1 Tim. 3 : 4.) 
 
 11. The seven were appointed to oversee 
 i temporal matters. But God called some of 
 
 them to higher spiritual work"; Philip to be 
 an evangelist (21 : 8) ; Stephen to take a step 
 beyond Peter in unfolding the prophecies 
 and the plan of salvation, and to be the first 
 
 ' martyr. (Ver. 10; ch. 7.) 
 
 I 12. Hatred and prejudice against the truth 
 will lead men to prevert it and to use the 
 foulest means against it. (Ver. 11-13 ; 13 : 
 45 ; 17 : 5, 13.) 
 
 13. Stephen formed the connecting link 
 between Peter and Paul. He taught that a 
 New Dispensation had come, and that Jew- 
 ish rites were to give way to a more spiritual 
 worship. (Ver. 13, 14; ch. 7.) 
 
 14. Christianity is from God. No array 
 of numbers, talents, or learning can refute 
 its claims, or meet its arguments. (Ver. 10- 
 14 ; Titus 1:9; 1 Cor. 1 : 25.) 
 
 15. Stephen with his angelic countenance 
 was himself an evidence to the power of 
 the Holy Spirit, and to the spirituality and 
 glory of that religion he proclaimed. (Ver. 
 15 ; 2 Cor. 3:2,3, 18.) 
 
94 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 LCu. VII. 
 
 Ch. 7 : The Speech of Stephen 
 has giveu rise to much discussion and 
 ijiiich misunderstanding. To the super- 
 ticial reader it may appear rambling 
 and lacking point, but to the close ob- 
 server and prayerful student a thread 
 of truth underlies the whole, upon 
 which is strung a skillfully arranged 
 historic argument. The uiithenticitij 
 of the speech appears from its nature 
 and contents. Wliowouhi have thought 
 to j)ut such a defence into 8tephcn's 
 mouth? Tradition would have made 
 it more }K»inted and argumentative 
 throughout, and more directly related 
 to the charges in ch. G, and the question 
 in ver. 1. The rcjiort of the speech 
 seems to have come from an ear-witness, 
 possibly from some silent friend of 
 Jesus, as Nicodemus, or more probably 
 fiom Saul of Tarsus, upon whom 
 Stephen seems to have made a life-long 
 imi)ression. (2^:20.) The pccnliuriliets 
 of tlie speech: (1) It is unfinished, 
 having been broken off suddenly. (2) 
 It is historic in form and in argument. 
 Thus he gained the attention of his 
 hearers, softened their jn-ciudices, 
 showed that he was a full believer in 
 the Scrii>tures, and reverenced the God 
 of Israel. At the same time he brought 
 to view great fundamental truths in 
 God's dealings with men, and prejiared 
 the way for anMouucing Jesus as the 
 Messiah aiul ai)]>lyiiig his address to 
 his hearers, (.i) It was a i)reseiitation 
 of positive trutlis, a vindication not so 
 much of himself as of the great doc- 
 trines which he had maintained. (4) 
 He weaves into his Scriptural address 
 certainthingsfromJt'wish tradition. In 
 this he followed the i>o])uhuly-nceivcd 
 liistory of his time as is shown from 
 Philo and Josephus, who in some in- 
 stances accord with him. Tluse a]>par- 
 ent discrepancies Mill be noticed in tlie 
 verses where they belong. With these 
 compare Author's Harmonic Ada, 'i VI, 
 notes. {r>) In ])as.sing rapidly over the 
 history, Stej^hen leaves much to l)e 
 supplied, and he so presents his facts 
 as to allow his hearers to silently infer 
 and make the ap]>lication. We would 
 need to put ourselves in the exact situa- 
 tion, modes of thouirht and surrouud- 
 ings of both sj)eaker and hearers, in 
 order to appreciate the force of the 
 
 speech as a part and a whole. (6) The 
 Sjiirit element of the speech must not 
 be overlooked Stephen was full of 
 the Spirit and under his direction, and 
 therefore his address must have been 
 modified and somewhat shaped thereby. 
 This with the fact that it is recorded 
 and handed down to us, indicates that 
 it fills an imjjortant place in the pro- 
 gressive revelation of truth, and de- 
 serves our uu)St careful study. 
 
 The Spkix'II It.self. Its structure 
 and i)ur]»ose have been hinted above. 
 The teaching of Stei)hen had been 
 assailed, anil he had been charged with 
 blasphemy against the temjjle and 
 2>Ioses. (6:ia, 14.) His S]>eech was a 
 defence by showing what lie did tcac/i. 
 He seems to have caught above all 
 others the meaning of our Lord's words, 
 " The hour cometh, and now is, wheu 
 the true worsliippers shall worship the 
 Father in sjiiritaud in truth : for such the 
 Father seeks to woi"ship him. (>od is a 
 Si)irit, and they thatworshij) him must 
 worship in sjtirit and in truth." (John 4: 
 21-24.) Thus he so presents the facts re- 
 garding the patriarchs, Moses, the tab- 
 ernacle, and the temple as to show his 
 innocence of the charge of Idasphemj^, 
 and at the same time intiicate that in 
 every age God had recognized the 
 spiritual worshiper and retpiired spir- 
 itual wor.ship, and that this was not 
 liniited to any time or j)lace. Abraham 
 was called before the rite of circum- 
 cision was given, and the i)atriarchs unto 
 Mo.ses worshiped God before the taber- 
 nacle and the giving of the law. The 
 I tabernacle was a movable tent going 
 i with the children of Israel, and was 
 [ nevvr designed to be permanent. 
 I After hundreds of years God granted 
 1 the earnest request of David, and per- 
 mitted Solomon to build him a house. 
 I r>ut in allowing this God did not ignore 
 ! the great truth that his wor.ship could 
 I not l)e limited to a single place, that 
 heaven vas his throne, that any where 
 j on tlic ( artli the true worshiper could 
 ; api>roach him, and that indeed the 
 j huuii>le lieait was a temjile in which 
 I God coiuiesceiided to dwell. All these 
 I wore ]>arts of that progressive revela- 
 tion of trutli jtrejiaratorj' to the full 
 revelation l)y liim whom Moses fore- 
 I told ; and the tabernacle and the tern- 
 
Cu. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 95 
 
 Stephen's defence be/ore the Sanhedrin, and 
 his death. 
 7 THEN said the high priest, Are these 
 things so? 
 
 2 And he said, iMen, brethren, and 
 fathers, hearkeu ; The God of glory ' ap- 
 peared unto our father Abraham, when 
 he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt 
 
 q ch. 22 : 1. ' Gen. 12 : 1. 
 
 pie were but a repeated tyi^e of the 
 grander temple of God's universal wor- 
 ship under the Messiah. 
 
 At the same time Stephen had shown 
 tlie perversity of their fathers. Joseph 
 had been evil entreated and sold by his 
 brethren ; Moses had been rejected in 
 in Egypt and afterward forsaken in the 
 wilderness by Israel when they made a 
 ealf. Turning from the law, their 
 fathers had gone into idolatr)'. Thus 
 Steplien showed, on the one hand, that 
 so far from blaspheming the temple and 
 Moses, he was teaching the great spir- 
 itual trutlis recognized by God in all 
 ages, foretold by Jloses, and typified by 
 the tabernacle and the temple. And 
 on the other hand that his accusers 
 were only following in the footsteps of 
 the fathers who rejected God's mes- 
 sengers and forsook his law. Here 
 Stephen hastens to his appliaition, 
 caused perhaj^s by the looks of his 
 judges. Had he goue on, he would 
 very likelj' have shown how the 
 predictions of the pi'ophets were ful- 
 filled iu Jesus, and presented him as a 
 Saviour able to save his crucifiers and 
 murderers. But he sees his hearers 
 are incorrigible ; and with a sudden burst 
 of righteous indignation he charges 
 tliem with resisting the Holy Sjjn-it 
 even as their fathers did ; and as their 
 fathers had murdered the prophets so 
 they had murdered the Righteous One 
 of whom the prophets had spoken. 
 
 This address has been compared with 
 tliat in Luke 4 : 24-29, in which Jesus 
 hinted at the universality of the gospel, 
 with like efl'ect upon his audience. 
 The indications are that Stephen spoke 
 iu Greek. He is generally regarded as 
 a Hellenist, or Grecian Jew, and his 
 quotations from the Old Testament geii- 
 erally agree with the Greek version. 
 The prevalence of the Greek language 
 was so general in Palestine, and espe- 
 ciallj'' in Jerusalem, at that time, that 
 he could have lieen easily understood 
 by the Sanhedrin. 
 
 1. Then, rather, And, connecting 
 
 this verse closely to the preceding chap- 
 ter. The high priest, the president 
 of the Sanhedrin, questions the pris- 
 oner. So he had done to Jesus. (Matt. 
 26 : 02.) While the Sanhech'in are gazing 
 upon the brightened countenance of 
 Stephen, the high priest breaks tlie 
 silence by asking, Are these things, 
 alleged by his accusers (6;ii-u), so? 
 Under Jewish law the accused had a 
 right to be heard in his own defence. 
 Pleadere were unknown to the Jewish 
 courts. Comj^are Paul i)efore the San- 
 hedrin (23:1), and alsc l)efore a Roman 
 tribunal. (25. s.) The following dis- 
 course is in answer to this question, and 
 must contain a refutation of this cliarge. 
 In order to apprehend its parts more 
 clearly, it will be divided into sections. 
 2-16. The Patriarchal Age, in 
 which were foretold bondage 
 AND Deliverance. God with Abra- 
 ham before circumcision and with his 
 descendants before the giving of the 
 
 law. (Gen. 12 : 1 ; 15 : 1316; 37 : II ;39 :2; 42 : 2 ; 
 45: 1-4; Josh. 24: 32.) 
 
 2. Men, addressing all, both breth- 
 ren, the spectators, and fathers, the 
 
 members of the Sanhedrin. Thus Ste- 
 phen begins with conciliatory terms of 
 respect and reverence. See the same 
 beginning l)y Paul in 22 : 1. Hearken 
 — attentively and patiently. (i3:i6; 
 22:1.) The' Ciod of glory — a fitting 
 beginning of one wliose soul was filled 
 with the Spirit, and upon wliose coun- 
 tenance was reflected gleams of the 
 divine glory. Literally, The God of the 
 fjfori/, that whicii was peculiar to him, 
 the visible splendor, the cloud of glory, 
 symbol of his presence, in which he 
 a]ii)eared unto his people (Exod. 40: 34; Lev. 
 
 9 : H ; Ezek. 1 : 28 ; Heh. 9:5), and wllO dwells, 
 
 as Paul says, " in the light which no 
 man can approach unto." (iTim. 6:i6.) 
 By this reverential reference to God, 
 Stephen at once begins to counteract 
 the reiiort that he had spoken blas- 
 phemous words against God. (6:ii.) 
 His mind, too, is filled with the views 
 of that majesty and glorious sover- 
 
96 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. VII. 
 
 3 "in Charran, and said unto him, 'Get 
 thee out. of thy country, and from thy 
 kindred, and come iuto the land which I 
 
 4 shall show thee.' Then « came he out of 
 the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in 
 
 Charran ; and from thence, when his 
 father was dead, he removed him into 
 5 this land, wherein ye now dwell. "And 
 he gave him none inheritance in it, no, 
 not so Trmch as to set his foot on : ^ yet he 
 
 'Gen. 11:31. t Gen. 12 : 4, 5. " Gen. 23 : 4. » Gen. 12 : 7; 13 : 1-5; IS : 13,18; 17 : 8; 26 : 3. 
 
 eignty which God had exercised in 
 appearing to his peojjle, fi'oni the days 
 of Abraham to Christ, the most glorious 
 manifestation of himself. (Heb. i:i,a; 
 John 1 : 14.) Appeared, revealing some 
 of his splendor and majesty to Abra- 
 ham as the Grod of glory. Notice that 
 Stephen says our lather Abraham, 
 thus giving honor and recognizing rela- 
 tionship to the founder of their race. 
 So far from blas])heiniug, he virtually 
 says, I honor the fathers and acknowl- 
 edge God's glory revealed to them. 
 3Iesopotamia — meaning between the 
 rirers, t!ie region between the Tigris 
 and Eui)hrates. Abraham first resided 
 at Ur, of the Chaldees (Gen. u : zs)^ jn-ob- 
 ably the modern Miigheir, about six 
 miles west of the present channel of 
 the Euphrates, and one hundred and 
 twenty-five miles from its mouth. 
 Charran — Hanni (r,eo. u ::n), in the 
 northwestern part of Slesopotamia, on 
 the bank of a small tributary of the 
 Euphrates, the river Belik. 
 
 3. And said unto him, Get thee 
 out, etc. Quoted from Gen. 12 : 1, 
 Avhere the call in Haran is meant. But 
 Stephen here .speaks of a previous call 
 of Abraham, " before he dwelt in Ha- 
 ran." But the discrepancy is only ap- 
 parent. An earlier call at Ur is im- 
 jdied in Gen. 1-^:7; Neh. 9 : 7. The 
 object and import of both calls were the 
 same, and the words of these calls 
 would be sul)stantially alike. Notice 
 the words " from thy father's house " 
 (Gen. 1-2; I) are omitted here. When 
 Abrain removed from Ur his father 
 went with him, but when he left Haran 
 he left his brother Nahor and his 
 father's house. (Josh. 24 ; 2.) This is in 
 harmony with Gen. 11 : 31, where it is 
 related that Abram starts from Ur to go 
 into the land of Canaan, but was de- 
 layed at Haran. With this, also, Philo 
 agrees, who speaks of these two calls. 
 " A beautiful comment is aflbrded by 
 the last clause of the parallel passage 
 in Heb. 11 : 8, ' he went out, not know- 
 
 ing whither he went.'" (J. A. Alex- 
 ander.) 
 
 4. The land of the Chaldeans— 
 
 the southern portion of MesojKJtamia, 
 including a ]iart of tlie low country 
 west of the Euphrates. It is imjdiecl 
 here that Chaldea did not tlien ex- 
 tend so far north as to include Haran. 
 When his father was dead. But 
 his father Terah died at the age of two 
 hundred and five (Gen. 11 : .s-.-j, and in 
 Gen. 11 : 26 it is said that "Terah 
 lived seventy years and begat Abram, 
 Nahor, and Haran," and in Gen. 12 : 4 
 that Abram was seventy-five when he 
 came forth from Haran. This would 
 make Abraham's dej)ai'ture to have 
 been sixty years before Terali's death. 
 This diificulty is readily removed liy 
 supposing tliat Abram was not the old- 
 est son, but the youngest, and named 
 first because of his importance in 
 Hebrew historj'. Such is the view of 
 some Jewish writers. Similarly Shem 
 is mentioned first among Noah's sons, 
 (Gen. 5 :.T-'), yet Japlieth was the old- 
 est. (Gen. 10:21; 9; 24.) Tliis exi)lanation 
 would make Terah one hundred and 
 thirty years old when Abram was born. 
 This agrees well with the Jewish tradi- 
 tion that Sarah, Abram's wife, ten 
 years younger than he, M'as his niece, 
 the daughter of Haran ; and also with 
 the marriage of Lsaac Avith Rebecca, 
 Nahor's granddaughter, through Beth- 
 uel, the eighth son of Nahor. (Gen. ti:%\.) 
 He removed him. //c, tliat is, God, 
 cnuseil him to remove into this hind by 
 renewing tlie command. Thus Stephen 
 continues to recognize the God of glory 
 (ver. 1) as behind Abram, directing him. 
 
 5. None inheritance . . . not so 
 much as to set his foot on — not even 
 afoot breadth. How does this agree 
 with his purchase of the field and cave 
 of Machpelah at Hebron ? Jleyer ex- 
 plains that this " refers only to the fir.st 
 period of Abraham's residence in 
 Palestine before the instittition of cir- 
 cumcision (ver. 8) while the purchase of 
 
b 
 
 Vll. 
 
 TIIK ACTS. 
 
 97 
 
 promised that, he would give it to him 
 for a possession, itnd to his seed after him 
 6 when uj yeMie had uo child. And God 
 spake on this wise, ' That his seed should 
 sojourn in a strauge land ; and that they 
 should bring them into bondage, and 
 entreat l/iem evil 7 four hundred years. 
 
 jExod. 12:40; GaJ. ;J : 1" 
 17 
 
 7 And ' the nation to whom they shall be 
 in bondage will I judge, said (Jod ; and 
 after that shall they come forth' and 
 
 8 "' serve me in this jilacc.' i" And he gave 
 him the covenant of circumcision ; "and 
 so Abriiham begat Isaac, and circumcised 
 him the eightn day; <> and Isaac beynt 
 
 ^ Geu. 
 
 . 'E.\od. ch. 7 toch. 14; Ps. l:50: 10-15. • Exod. 3 : 
 'J-14. " Gen. 21 : 2-i. * Gen. 25 : 21-26. 
 
 the field falls luucli later." Al)raham, 
 however, received no inheritance and 
 he purchased none, but only a liurial 
 place. (Gen. 23:20.) Yet God proiniscd 
 the land to him and his descendants 
 when he had no child. Ishmael was 
 not l)oni, and Isaac till after Abrani 
 had sojourned in Palestine twenty-five 
 years, (oen. n : i, 2.-) ; n ■. s.) Thus the 
 strong faith of Ahrani, Iwth for the 
 child and the iuiieritance is implied, 
 and that both of these were the free 
 gift of God. And this great promise 
 and this great faitli were while Abram 
 was yet uncircumcised. (See Paul's 
 reasoning in Rom. 4 : 9-12 ; Gal. 3 : 
 15-19.) 
 
 6. God spake on this Avise. To 
 Abram (gcu. i5:i3, u) and to ilo.ses — 
 last clause in next verse (E.\oa.:i : n), 
 q^uoted freely from the Septuagint Ver- 
 sion. Stephen's language implies that 
 he does not quote exactly. Four 
 hundred years— a round number, 
 about that time. From tlie liirth of 
 Isaac to the departure of the cliildren 
 of Israel from Egypt was four hundred 
 and five years. In Exod. 12 : 40, tlie 
 .sojourning of Israel in Egypt is saiii to 
 have been four hundred and tliirty 
 years, and Paul, in Gal. 3 : 17, makes 
 the entire ijcriod between the arrival 
 of Abram in Canaan to the giving of 
 the law, in round numbei-s, to l)e four 
 hundred and thirty years. A very old 
 solution regarils tlie four hundred and 
 thirty years in Exod. 12 : 40 as includ- 
 ing the previous residence in Canaan as 
 well as that in Egyj)!, as follows : 
 from the promise to the l)irtli of Isaac, 
 twenty-five years ; from the birth of 
 Isaac to that of Jacob, sixty years. 
 (Geu. 25:26.) .lacob was One hundred 
 and thirty years old wlien he Ment 
 down into Egyi>t. The time in Egyjjt, 
 two hundred and fifteen years, making a 
 total of four hundred and tliirty years. 
 So Josephus in Anliq. ii. 15 ; 2. The 
 
 Septuagint Version and the Samaritan 
 text follow the same comi)utatiou. 
 Josephus in another ])lace (Aiitiij. ii. 
 9 : 1) speaks of the Israelites spending 
 four hundred years in Egyi)t, wliicli 
 would seem to imply that there weie 
 two ways of stating the time, and tliat 
 Jo.sephus did not regard one incon- 
 sistent witli the other. 
 
 7. To the (luotation from Gen. 1,"> : 
 14, Stephen adds, and serve me in 
 this place — which is implied in tlie 
 promise, that Abraham's descendants 
 would on tlieir return to jiossess the 
 land serve God who gave it to them. 
 Tlie language, however, is a free (juota- 
 tion and application of Exod. 3 : 12, 
 " Ye shall serve God n])on tliis mount- 
 ain," referring to the worshij) which 
 should l)e offered in the vicinity of 
 ilount Iloreb. But Steplien looks 
 beyond Ilorcb and views the worship 
 and service of God in the returned 
 Israelites in Canaan, wliieh could l)e 
 traced back to llorelj where it liad been 
 renewed and enhanced. To Stejilien's 
 audience, mIio were well acquainted 
 with these facts, various thoughts would 
 be suggested, such as the strong faith of 
 Abraliam npoii a promise which was to 
 be fulfilled under such circumstances, 
 and so many hundred years after; the 
 vservice of God not confined to any one 
 place since Abraham and liis descend- 
 ants were sojourners; and not exclu- 
 sive, since Abraham had been called 
 from among idolaters (J«sh. 2i: 2), and as 
 yet was uncircumcised. 
 
 8. Stej>hen pa.'iscs over fifteen years 
 of Abraham's liistory, during wiiicli 
 time Ishmael had been born, and liad 
 grown to a lad of tliirteen years. And 
 after this long walk of faitli, twenty- 
 four years since Al)rahani eanu- to 
 Canaan, (iod gave liim — iieiiig an 
 act of free grace on God's part — th.e 
 covenant of circumcision — the In- 
 stUution or arranyemcnt of which 
 
OS 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cu. Ml 
 
 Jacob ; and • Jacob begat the twelve patri- 
 archs. 
 9 f And the patriarchs, moved with envy, 
 sold Joseph into Egypt; ebut God was 
 10 with him, and delivered him out of all 
 his afflictions, •> and gave him favour 
 
 « Gen. 29 : 31, etc. ; 30 : 5, etc. ; 3.'> : 18, 23-20. ' Gen. .37 : 4, 11, 18-20, 28 ; I's. 100 : 17. e Gun. 
 
 and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, 
 king of Egyi>t ; and he made him gov- 
 ernor over i^gypt and all his house. 
 ' Mow there came a dearth over all the 
 lauil of Egypt and Chanaan, and great 
 affliction ; and our fathers found no 
 
 39 : 2, 21, 23. >> Gen. 41 : 37-46 ; 42 : G. 
 
 ' Gen. 41 : 54-57. 
 
 circumcision was the sign. (Gen. i7:io, 
 11; Rom. 4: u.) Aiid SO — ill accordance 
 with tlie covenant God gave a son to 
 Abraham, even Isaac, and Abraham 
 conii)lied with the covenant which was 
 obligatory ujiou him, and circum- 
 cised Isaac the eighth day. (oen. 
 21 : 4.) In the covenant tiod promised 
 to make Abraham the father of many 
 nations, and required of Al)raham and 
 his descemhints the observance of the 
 rite of circumcision. And Isaac 
 begat Jacob, etc. Literally, ^Ind 
 Jmac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve 
 patriarchs, meaning. And Isaac begat 
 and circumcised Jacob, and Jacob begat 
 and circumcised the twelve patriarchs. 
 The covenant of circumcision is the 
 prominent thought and circinnci.fed the 
 emphatic word. Thus !Stei)hen notices 
 the change that God made in tlie out- 
 ward condition of his chosen people, in 
 which they continued for hundreds of 
 years before the giving of the law, in- 
 dicating also that the jiromise and the 
 rite were not dependent on the law. 
 (G«i. 3:15-18.) Thus also, .so far ficmi 
 blaspheming, Steplicn reverently recog- 
 nizes this divinely ai>pointed rite. 
 
 9. Stephen pas.ses to the next import- 
 ant change in the condition of the 
 chosen peoj)le, their going into Egypt, 
 resulting from the sale of Jose))h 
 thither. (Geo. .i7 :28.) Moved with 
 envy — an euvicnis jealon.sy. This is 
 tlie first sin noticed by Stephen, .sug- 
 gestive of the many sins of Israel that 
 followed. But, rather ami, running 
 )i:iniilel « itli the envy aud hatred of 
 ti'.e [latriarchs, his bretliren — God 
 v» as with him— as his protector and 
 jiicscrver. Here begins a parallel be- 
 t.veen faithful leaders and unfaithful 
 ji'.'ople. Stephen has in view tlie sinii- 
 l.:ir malicious treatment of Jesus, the 
 Inimaniiel, God with as (M.iit. i : w) ; and 
 i:i tilt' ill-used Josejih and the rejected 
 ,M<),;cs, both of whom enjoyed tiie favor 
 and presence of God and became the 
 
 deliverers of the people, he sees types 
 of Christ. This best explains why he 
 devotes so much space to them. 
 
 10. Tliis verse explains how God 
 was with Jo-seph. The account is given 
 in the forty-first chajiter of Genesis. 
 Gave him favor and Avisdom in 
 the sight of Pharaoh — through his 
 power in interjireting dreams and man- 
 aging the aft'airs and finances of Egypt. 
 Pharaoh said to .Joseph, " There is none 
 so discreet and wise as thou art." (Gen. 
 41:39.) Pharaoh — a common title of 
 the ancient sovereigns of Egyjit, signi- 
 fying the k-i)i(j, similar to the " C'tesars " 
 of Ivome or "the Czar" of Kussia. 
 Governor over Egypt — viceroy or 
 prime minister. And all his house, 
 lord chamberlain, holding the second 
 position in tlie royal household. Thus 
 in civil all'airs and the family he was 
 second only to Pharaoh, and practi- 
 cally the ruler of the land. What a 
 foi'shaddwing did Stephen doubtless .see 
 of the exaltation of Jesus at the right 
 hand of the Eather! 
 
 11. How Joseph became the means 
 of bringing his whole family to Etjypt. 
 A dearth — still common in the I'^ast. 
 Eor famines in Canaan, see Gen. 12 : 10 : 
 21 : (5. These were owing to failures in 
 the autumn and spring rains. In 
 P>gyi)t famines are generally owing to 
 a deficiency in the rise of the Nile and 
 to drying winds. All of these causes 
 probably united in Canaan and Egyjit 
 in the days of Joseph. (Gen. 41 .54-37.) 
 In A. D. ld(i4-lU71 there was a seven 
 years' famine in Egyi>t of terrible 
 severity. (Compare Stanley's Jewish 
 Church, Lecture IV.) Our "fathers — 
 Stej)lien thus recognizes with his hear- 
 ers relationship and sympathy. Sus- 
 tenance — literally, fodders in the 
 plural, here doubtless meaning the 
 various kinds of necessary food for 
 botli beast aud men. "A scarcity of 
 fodder, to which especially belong the 
 want of cereal fodder, is the most 
 
Ch. VI I.J 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 99 
 
 12 susfon;ince. * But when Jacob heard 
 that I here was corn in Kgypt, he sent 
 
 13 out our fathers first. ' And at the second 
 time Joseph vas made known to his 
 brethren ; and Joseph's kindred was made 
 
 14 known unto Pharaoh. "Then sent .Jo- 
 seph, and called hi.s father Jacob to /dm, 
 anit " all his kindred, three-score and fif- 
 
 15 teen souls. "So Jacob went down into 
 
 16 Egypt, p and died, he, and our fathers, and 
 
 * Gen. ch. 42 to ch. 4.=> 
 
 ' Gen. 45 : 4, IG. 
 
 ' Gou. 40 : .5. P Gen. 4!t : 33 ; Exod. 1 : 0. 
 
 i Gen. 4.5 : 9, 27. " Gi'n. 4C : 27 ; Deut. 10 : 22. 
 
 urnt'nt difficulty, in the failure of crops, 
 to the jios.sc.^sors of large herd.s of cat- 
 tle." (Mkyek.) 
 
 12. Heard that there was corn 
 — rather ijraiii, doul)tle.ss referrinj,' par- 
 ticiilaily to wlieat for which Egyjit 
 was uoted in tiie ancient world. It 
 was the ]>rincipal granary of Ivonie in 
 ajiostolic days. (« : 6. ^8; 28 : II.) First 
 visit, recorded in Gen. 42 : 1 f. 
 
 i:i. Joseph was made known — 
 WHS rrroifttized by his hrcthrcti — upon 
 Ins saying, " I am Joseph." (Otn is : s.) 
 Joseph's kindred. His name is 
 repeated Avith perhaps patriotic pride, 
 and also eniphasizing him as the chief 
 among his hrethren, on whom they 
 were dependent. Instead of kindred 
 some would translate race, as in ver. 
 19 ; 4 : 30. Untfainilij seems hetter as 
 in 4 : 6 ; 18 : 2(). (See" Thayer's Lex. of 
 N. T.) Made known to Pharaoh. 
 His race was already known to Pha- 
 raoh. (Gen. H: 12.) His jjarticular fam- 
 ily now became known to him, his 
 brethren with Joseph, and his father 
 still alive in Canaan. (Gen. « : ig-jo.) 
 No one of the hretiiren was presented 
 to Pharai)!i till afterward, (cou. -t? : ■>.) 
 
 14. His kindred — his relations 
 collectively and personally. Three- 
 score and fifteen souls — seventy- 
 five. According to the Hebrew text of 
 Gen. 40 : 27 ; Exod. 1 : .5 ; Deut. ](» : 22, 
 the number is .seventy. But in all of 
 these places the Sejituagint Version 
 has seventy-five. In tlic latter version 
 (ten. 40 : 27 has the iMter])o]ation, 
 " And tlie sons of J()s<'ph l)orn to him 
 in the Uuid of Egypt were !iin(- souls," 
 which may include t'oe live .sons of 
 Ephraim and Maoasst-h afterward born 
 to them. (Sum. •-'R:2>-;;7.) These nine 
 added to tlie .sixty-six of .Taeol)'s 
 household that came down into Egypt 
 (Gen. 4fi;26) make .seventy -live. Ste- 
 phen's statement accords with the 
 tireek Version of tlie Old Testament of 
 this day ,aud doubtless with the popular 
 understanding of the narrative at that 
 
 time. We need not regard his state" 
 ment as an error. It does not contra" 
 diet the Hebrew text, but simply adds 
 certain members of Joseph's family 
 not included in the original reckoning. 
 Another way of harmonizing the two 
 statements is to regard the seventy-five 
 to be the number of persons actually 
 sent fur. Stephen may have included 
 the wives that came down into Egyj)t. 
 In that case Joseph and his family 
 would not be included, and Judah's 
 wife was dead ; and probably Simeon's 
 wife al.so, for his youngest son was 
 born of a t'anaanitish woman. Tlitis 
 the nine wives added to tlie sixty-si.x 
 descendants of Jacob would give the 
 nundier recpiircd. 
 
 15, 16. So, etc., rather, And Jacob, 
 connecting t'lis verse with the preced- 
 ing in a continuative narrative. And 
 Avere carried over, etc. — and were 
 7'emnved to SJiec/iein, a city of great 
 antiiinity, locateilin the valley between 
 Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, about seven 
 miles south of Samaria. The Old 
 Testament records that Jacob was 
 buried at Machpelah (Gen. 50 : 114) and 
 that Joseph's l)0(iy was cndialnied and 
 carried out of Egypt and buried at 
 Shcehem. (kx.>.). 13 fio: josh.24 : .«.) Noth- 
 ing is said of the burial of the otlier 
 sons of Jacoli. (Kxod. i;6.) Stephen's 
 account may be regarded as supple- 
 mental. Joseph us says the sons of 
 Jacob were buried at Hebron ; but 
 Kabbinical traditions say that they 
 were buried in Shcehem. Jeiome, who 
 died at IJetblehem, A. n. 420, says that 
 the tombs of the twelve patriarchs 
 were to be seen at Shcehem in his day. 
 Jacob and his sons may all have been 
 buried at first at Hebron, and after- 
 ward removed to Shechem. Or were 
 carried over may refer only to the sons 
 of Jacob who were buried in Shechem. 
 The Revised Version renders. They 
 were carried over, etc. The mention of 
 the burial of the patriarchs in hated 
 Samaria was suggestive of the fact that 
 
100 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VII. 
 
 <i were carried over into Sychem, and laid 
 ill ' tlie sepulchre that Abraham bought 
 for a sum of money of the sons of Em- 
 mor (he father of Sychem. 
 
 17 But when "the time of the promise 
 drew nigh, which God had sworn to 
 Abraham, 'the people grew and multi- 
 
 18 plied in Egypt, till another kiug arose, 
 
 « Exod. 13 : 19; Josh. 24 : 32. 
 
 ' Gen. 22 : 9-20; 33 : 19. b Gen. 15 : 13. 
 Vs.. 105 : 24, 25. 
 
 ♦Exod. 1: 7-12: 
 
 God's people in their burial are not 
 limited to any particular place, aud 
 that Samaria had lieeu aud might lie 
 the abode of God's children. 
 
 The sepulchre that Abraham 
 bought, etc. The rest of tliis verse 
 has given much difficulty. Here it is 
 stated that Abraham bought the tomb 
 of the sous of llaiuor in Sliechem, but 
 in Gen. 2.S : 15, it is said that Al)rahaiu 
 bought the cave of Machpelah at 
 Hebron of Ephron the Hittite, and in 
 Geu. .33 : 19, it is said that Jacol) 
 liouglit the field at Shecliem, which 
 afterward became a Ijuryiug place. 
 (jo>h. v!i: -.yi-) Some think that an error 
 had cre}>t into some early mauuscrijit, 
 aud thiit tlie nanu^ Abraham in some 
 way had been substituted for that of 
 Jacob. Or, that neitliei' name was in 
 the original nuiuuserijit, aud that it 
 read, " in the tomb tluit one bought," 
 etc., and some officious transcriber, 
 \thinking the verb needed a nominative 
 case, i)ut in the luime Abraliam. Othi'rs. 
 however, Ijelieve that Abraham jmr- 
 cha.sed or acquired a piece of ground 
 at Shechem, on which he built an altar. 
 ((;cn. 12:6, 7.) TIlis for many years Mas 
 occupied liy otliers, 1)ut was recovered 
 liy Jacot>, ])erhaps by force (Gen. 4r :•.'•_>), 
 and more land ])urchased aud an altar 
 built. (Gen. .-ia : iH.) Tluit tile sons of 
 Hamor apjiear in both j)urcliases afi'ords 
 no serious difficulty, since five hundred 
 years later we find tlie same name con- 
 nected witli Sliechem. (Juiig. 9 : is.) 
 Eitlier of the above suppositions ex- 
 ]>laiiis the difficulty. We cannot suji- 
 i)i>sc that Slci>bcn, Luke, or Paul could 
 nave been ignorant of the facts in tlu' 
 case. Stci>hen passeil ra]>idly over 
 liistory familiar to his hearers, leaving 
 much to be snj)i)lied in their own 
 iriinds. To us who know so little of 
 these events, it is not strange that 
 tliere are tilings hard for us (o explain. 
 The troulde is in our ignorance, not in 
 Ste])hen or those who heard him. 
 Thus far Stepheu has shown great 
 
 adroitness in his answer to the high 
 jiriest's question. Tracing the early 
 history of their race, and using almos"t 
 tiie exact words of the Scrijjtures, he 
 indicates his reverence for God, his 
 brotherhood witli the Jewisli people, 
 and his regard for their institutions. 
 His words also are suggestive of the 
 spirituality and universality of tlie 
 worship of God, and of the changing 
 forms aud circumstances in which at 
 difl'erent times and places it may be 
 otfered. 
 
 17-43. How THE Projiise was 
 
 FrLEII.I.ED UNDER jMo.SES ; THE 
 
 Tkkat.ment HE Received. (Exod. i : 
 
 7. 8. -n : 2 : 11. U ; 3 ; 2-10; 7 : 8, 4.) God faith- 
 fully fulfills his promise, though the 
 Ijcojilc arc slow to believe him. The 
 rejected one l)ecanie the leader and the 
 (hdiveier of Israel. God protected Moses 
 in infancy, and, after years of jirovi- 
 <]eiitial guidance and training, aj)i)ears 
 to him in the wilderness, commissions 
 him as a ruler aud redeemer, aud for 
 forty years gives liim success in his 
 leailership. Yet Israel was di.sobe- 
 dient to Closes aud God. 
 
 17. Stephen ])asses from the times of 
 Jo.sepli to tlio.se of Moses. As in tlie 
 )(ast, (iod is not confined to outward 
 forms, or times, or places of worship. 
 But when, etc.. But ac or in propor- 
 lion (i.-i llir time of the promise drew 
 )ie(ir, iniiilyiug a progressive increase 
 of the peojtle, in numbers and influence, 
 and consequently in power. They 
 increased more and more rajiidlv. 
 » Iiich God had sAVorn — aceordiiiu' 
 to the oldest and best manuscripts, 
 irhir/i God hod declared to Ahridunn. 
 (Gen. 15: 13.) 
 
 18. The sentence of preceding verse i.' 
 completed ill this. Till. The Isiai'liti s 
 were coutinniug to increase when this 
 king arose, and when he endeavored to 
 put a stop to it. Another king— 
 another kind of kinei, another dynasty. 
 Josejihus says that " the crown had now 
 come into another family," aud that the 
 
Ch. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 101 
 
 19 which knew not Joseph. The same 
 dealt suhtilly with our kiiiilred, and evil 
 entreated our fathers, "so thai they cast 
 out their young children, to the end they 
 might not live. 
 
 20 » In which lime Moses was horn, and 
 J was exceeding fair, and nourished up in 
 
 21 his father's house three months: and 
 I when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daugh- 
 ter took him up, and nourished him " for 
 
 22 her own son. And Moses was learned in 
 all the wisdom of the lCgy)jtians, and was 
 b mighty in words and in deeds. 
 
 23 "And when he was full forty years 
 
 Exod. 1 : 22. 
 
 Exod. 2:2. J Heb. 11 : 23. 
 24 ■ 19. " Exod. 2 ; 
 
 ' Exod. 2 : 3-10. 
 11-15; Heb. 11 ; 25. 
 
 Il.b. 11 : 24. b Luke 
 
 Ei^yptians had " forgotten the benefits 
 tlifV IukI receiveil from Joseph." 
 (Aiitiij. ii. 9, 1.) Westcottuiiil llort, fol- 
 k)\viiig some of the oldest maiiuseripts, 
 read, another king ocer Egypt. Knew 
 not Joseph — wlio had never seen or 
 known Joseph, and was partially or 
 wiioUy ii^norant of the threat benefit of 
 his ])uMic services. This might arise 
 from the change of dynasty, the length 
 of time that had intervened since 
 Josejih, and the indifference of this king 
 to those of a former dynasty. (Ktmi. i : 8.) 
 Olshaiisen, Hacliett, and some others, 
 however, take a llel>raistic meaning of 
 the word, and i-ender n'ho did nut regard 
 the merit of Joseph, was indifferent to 
 his memory and services, (i Thesa. 4:1-.!; 
 
 Sept. Gen. 39: fi.) 
 
 19. Dealt subtilely, craftily «'(7A 
 our race, by enslaving them and de- 
 stroying the male children through the 
 midwives and the Egyjitians. (Kxod. 
 i.s--'2.) Evil-entreated, oppressed 
 our fathers so that, rather, that they 
 might cast out or expose their infants, 
 in order that these might not be pre- 
 served alive. The king of Egypt hoped 
 by bitter oppressions to cause the Israel 
 ites to destroy their own children. But 
 in this he failed ; and hence he com- 
 mandeil that all the Hebrew juale chil- 
 dren should be destroyed at I)irth, or 
 cast into the Nile; and this was to be 
 executed by his Egyptian subjects. 
 (15x0(1.1:22.) The rendering so that is 
 le.ss accordant with the Greek and with 
 history. There is no evidence that the 
 Israelites voluntarily destroyed their 
 own children. If so, why the com- 
 mand of the king to murder them ? 
 
 (Kxod. 1 ; 16.) 
 
 20. In which time, or season, of 
 oppression, very probably when at its 
 height. Was exceeding fair — liter- 
 ally, fair to God, God Ijeing judge. 
 This is a form of a Hebrew superlative. 
 Thus iu Hebrew we read of " the 
 
 mountains of God,'' and "the cedars of 
 God," indicative of lofty mountains 
 and towering cedars. The Sei)tnagiiit 
 (Joiiau:i :2.) calls Niueveli a city "great 
 unto God," that is, an exceeding great 
 city. Both Josephus and Philo relate 
 tlie traditions regarding tlie sui)erlative 
 beautv of the child Moses. {A)iti<j. ii. 
 9, 7, and Philo, Vit. 3Ios. i. }.. G04.) 
 
 21. When he was cast out, or 
 e.rposed. Took hiiu up — took him up 
 for herself as her own, implying that 
 she adopted him, an idea brought fully 
 out in the next clause: and iwiirishe'd 
 him for herself as a son. 
 
 22. And Moses was learned — 
 rather, was instructed. It is not Moses' 
 proficiency, but his education, tiiat is 
 here mentioned. Stephen does not de- 
 rive this from the Old Testament, but 
 from trailition. Tlie adopted son of 
 Pharaoh's <laugliter would surely be 
 educateil in tlie learning of the country. 
 Concerning the wistiom of Egvpt, see 
 1^ Kings 4 : 30 ; Isa. 19 : ll-il The 
 Egyptians cultivated mathematics, na- 
 tural philosoithy, and medicine, gave 
 attention to astronomy, chemistry, ge- 
 ometry, anatomy, and surgery,' and 
 were skilled in manufactures, architec- 
 ture, sculpture, painting and music. 
 Mighty in word— rather, according 
 to tlie l)est reading, mighty in his words 
 (tnd deeds. Moses was indeed inferior 
 to Aaron in mere fluency, and he dis- 
 trusted his own ability, but he excelled 
 in thought and matter, as his recorded 
 discourses show. (See Dent., especially 
 ch. 27-33.) Tradition makes Closes an 
 inventor of boats, and engines for Ijuild- 
 ing, and instruments of war. Josephus 
 relates that when the Ethiopians in- 
 vaded Egyj)t, Moses was tlie general of 
 the army which defeated them. {Antiq. 
 ii. 10.) 
 
 23. When he was full forty 
 years old. His age is not given in 
 Exod, 2 ; 11. The Old Testament sim- 
 
102 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch-. VII. 
 
 old, it came into his heart to visit his ; 
 
 24 brethren the children of Israel. And j 
 seeing one oj Ihem suffer wrong, he de- I 
 fended fiim, and avenged him that was j 
 
 25 oppressed, and smote the Egyptian : for j 
 he supposed his brethren would have un- | 
 derstood how that God by his hand 
 would deliver them : but they understood 
 
 26 not. 4 And the next day he showed liim- 
 self unto them as they strove, aud would 
 have set them at one again, saying, .Sirs, 
 « ye are brethren ; why do ye wrong one 
 
 27 to another? But he that did his neigh- 
 bour wrong 'thrust him away, saying, 
 s Who made thee a ruler and a judge over 
 us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the 
 
 * Exod. 2 : 13. 
 
 > Gen. 13 : 8. » Prov. 9:7. e Luke 12 . 14. 
 
 ply states that he was eighty years old 
 wheu he stood l>efore Pharaoh (Exod. 7:7), 
 and one iuindred aud twenty when he 
 died. (Dent. :m:7.) Stephen divides the 
 life of Moses into tliree equal periods of 
 forty years (ver. so, 36), which agrees with 
 Jewish tradition and current belief. 
 It came into his heart, (see the ix 
 
 pression in Jer. 3 : 16 ; 32 : 35.) " It might 
 
 seem to have come casuallj' into Closes' 
 mind, aud yet Moses was divinely 
 
 impelled." (BENGEL.) (See HcI.. ii : 24.) 
 
 To visit his brethren — to loitk after 
 them, iu order to sympathize witli and 
 help them. The verb liere iise<l is a 
 very expressive one. (la: u; mkei i?**; 
 
 Mau. 25:36; James 1 : 27.) " Com})aring the 
 
 language here with that of Luke 1 : ti.S 
 and Heb. 2 : 6, we may see how ]\I<)ses 
 was a type of Christ aud how Christ 
 was a prophet like unto Moses (3:22), 
 like him leaving a royal court and 
 going out to look after and to redeem 
 those whom he was not ashamed to call 
 brethren. (Heb. 2:11.)" (AliUOTT.) 
 
 24. Wronged — unjustly treated 
 with blows. (E,N0(i.2: ii.) "Avenged 
 the wrong, vindicated the right. Him 
 that was oppressed, being over- 
 come and wearied out (2 eter2:7), and 
 almost ready to die ; very probably suf- 
 fering, according to an old o])inion, 
 from one of Pharaoli's taskmasters. 
 Smote the Egyptian so that he 
 killed him. (Exud. 2: !••.) Mo-ses deter- 
 mined boldly to espouse the cause of 
 God's people, renouncing tlie advan- 
 tages of his rank among the P^gyi)tians. 
 (Heb. 11 : 25. 26.) He had doubtless been 
 taught his descent and about Israel's 
 God by his mother. ( kxoj. 2 : ii, 10.) 
 
 25. For he supposed, etc — ra- 
 ther, And he was thiukiiKj that his 
 brethren understood that God, bjj his 
 hand, vas (jrvinfj safvalion, or deliver- 
 ance to them, this very act l)eing the 
 l)eginning of it. But why did Moses 
 thus think? Probably (1) because the 
 
 time of deliverance i)romised to Abra- 
 ham and predicted l)y Jacob and .Tosej)h 
 drew nigh. These prouii.><es liad doubt- 
 less been handed down from generation 
 to generation. (2) Because of his provi- 
 dential deliverances and guithmce thus 
 far. His own convictions were so deep 
 and clear that he was to ]>v tlieir deliv- 
 erer that lie thinks it iiuist be clear to 
 tlieni. (3) Because of liis rank aud jK)- 
 sition at the royal court, which gave 
 hiin sj)eeial advantages, and might re- 
 mind them of Joseph. But notwith- 
 standing the many circumstances and 
 j)rovidences])oiutingto Moses as Israel's 
 deliverer, Stephen adiis, But they 
 understood not. So the Jews un- 
 derstood not that Jesus was the Clirist 
 when he came, notwith.standiiig tlie 
 many things that proved him to be the 
 Saviour foretold by the projihets. (.i-im 
 1:10.11.) Notice how Stei)lien uses the 
 word salvation, suggestive of tlic .'ialva- 
 tion whicli he preaclied tlirotigli .Ii-sus. 
 20. Nor was this all ; but ilo.^es was 
 rejected the following day, when he 
 showed himself suddenly, iu the 
 character of a leader aud deliverer, 
 to them as they strove, qiiarr(iin(j. 
 Two Israelites. (Exod. 2:13.) Stephen is 
 brief, since the circum.'^tances were fa- 
 miliar to all. Would have set them 
 at one again, constrained them by 
 e,\liortation, inv/^^ them to he (tt peace. 
 Moses ajipears to have stojjjied their 
 strife, at least momentarily. Sirs, or 
 men, ye are brethren ; hence ye 
 should not fight; your relationship 
 makes it a greater wrong and more un- 
 seemly than if you were of difterei.t 
 
 nationalities. (see Gen. 13 : 8.) 
 
 27. But he that did his neigh- 
 bor wrong — he who icas wronejiiKj his 
 neighbor, showing that he was not 
 reconciled, and that the other was act- 
 ing on the defensive. Neighbor, one 
 by race a brother. Thrust him, that 
 is, Moses, away, repelling and rei»u- 
 
Ch. vir.] 
 
 THE ACT? 
 
 10.". 
 
 29 Kgyptiati yesterday ? '■'I'tien Heil Muses 
 at this snyiiig, ami was a stranger in llio 
 land of Madiau, where he begat two sons. 
 
 ' And when forty years were expired, 
 tlicru appeared to liiiu in the wilderi.ess 
 of mount 8iua au angel of the Lord in a 
 
 i> Exod. 2 : 15, 22 ; 4 : 20 ; 18 • 3, 4. 
 
 Exod. :! : 1-10. 
 
 (Hating him as oue liaviug no right or 
 authority to interfere. Who made, 
 appointed, thee a ruler in general, or 
 a jiidsfe in particular over us? The 
 question deniaiuls a negative answer, 
 and was thus au euiiihatic rejection of 
 the claims of Closes. Tiiis appears to 
 represent the general feelings of the 
 Israelites toward him. They understood 
 his claims, but not God's intention con- 
 cerning him, and rejected him. So 
 the Jew understood not, and rejected 
 Christ's authority. (:i • it ; va -. w.) " 
 
 28. Wilt thou, etc. Thoii, will 
 not surelji put me out of the way like 
 as thou diJ.st, etc. — insinuating his 
 knowledge of what Closes had done 
 and perhaps his secret manner of 
 doing it. (Kxod. 2: 12.) So far from 
 acknowledging the authority of Jloses, 
 this Israelite accuses Moses of lawless 
 violence and murder. So Jesus was 
 counted among transgressors. (laa. 53-. 
 8,9.) Thus Ste])hen is i)rej)aring the 
 way for showing that in their rejection 
 of Christ they were but following the 
 steps of their fathers, always resisting 
 the Holy Spirit. (Ver. si.) 
 
 29. Then tied Moses at this 
 saying — tiuding that his own people 
 did not accept him as their leader, and 
 that the facts had come to Pharaoh's 
 ears, who sought to slay him. (Exod. 
 2 : 19.) " Pharaoh's cotirt was, of course, 
 no longer a home for the patriot, who 
 loved his own oppressed jieople better 
 than the splendid future of an l'^gy])t- 
 ian prince. (Heb. ii;25)" (Dr. J. S. 
 HowsoN.) His expectations of leader- 
 ship were blasted, and during an exile 
 for forty years, enduring the hardshijjs 
 of a humble shepherd, the early con- 
 viction that he was to l»e the ajipointed 
 deliverer of his peo]>le faded (piite away 
 from his mind. But his youthful aui- 
 bition and self-confidence were checked, 
 and he was taught that meekness which 
 was ever afterward his marked charac- 
 teristic. (Num. 12 : ,1.) At the first Moses 
 undertook to deliver (Exoa. 2 : 12) and he 
 expected the Israelites to receive him 
 with gratitude. But afterward God 
 
 declares himself to l)e the deliverer, 
 and M<ises his agent (Kx.hI. 3 : *<iii), wiio 
 undertakes it with humility and .self- 
 di.strust. And was a stranger — 
 became a nojonrner, like tiie patriarelis, 
 without a jiermanent home or country. 
 The land of Midian — named after 
 one of the sons of Abraham by Ketnrah 
 (Geii. 25:1-4), )iy whose descendants it 
 was inhabited. They were a wandering 
 jieople inhabiting tlie Sinaitic {)euiii- 
 sula, reaching from the wilderness of 
 Sinai on one side to the territory of 
 Moab on the other. Begat two sous 
 — Gershom and Eliezer. (Exod. 3 : 22; 4 : 
 
 25, 2«; 18 : 2-t.) 
 
 30. Forty years having passed, 
 according to the current tradition of 
 the Jews. (SeeoDver 2.i.) In the Avil- 
 derness,or desert, of mount Sinai. 
 
 He " came unto the mountain of God 
 unto Horeb." (ixod. 3:i.) In the Old 
 Testament l)f)th names are used of the 
 same locality; in the New Testament 
 only Sinai occurs. Horeb appears to 
 designate the whole mountain range ; 
 Sinai, the particular mountain from 
 which God gave the law. An angel 
 of the Lord. The highest critical 
 authorities omit of the Lord. In Exod. 
 3:2, it is " the angel of Jehovah," a 
 manifestation of God himself, espe- 
 cially of the second person, the Loijos. 
 He is also called " the angel of his 
 presence " (isa. 63 : 9), " the angel of tlie 
 covenant" (Mai. .tii)^ and he speaks as 
 God himself (ver. 31; Exod. 3 : fi). Com- 
 pare Exod. 13 : 21 with 14 : 19. In his 
 great brevity Stephen simply says un 
 angel, but .since he ap])ropriates t!ie 
 titles of God (ver. 32), he mu.st l)e no less 
 than " the Son of God," since God will 
 not give his glory to another." (isa. 42 : 
 H; iM ; II.) In a flame of fire, or fiery 
 fiame, symbol of the divine presence. 
 It was not natural fire, for it did not 
 consume the bush, but the supernat- 
 ural light of God's glory. (Exod. 19 : 1H; 
 Isa. 6:4; Ezi-k. 1:4; Rev. 1:14.) In of a 
 
 bush — a thorn or bramble hush, out of 
 the mid.st of it. The whole phrase is 
 equivalent to a fiaminy burniny bush. 
 
104 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VII. 
 
 31 flame of fire in a bush. When Mosi>s saw 
 //, he wondered at the sight ; and as he 
 drew near to behold i7, the voice of the 
 
 32 Lord came unto him, .s(i(/(/i.'/, ^'lam the 
 God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, 
 and the God of Isaac, and the (iod of 
 .iacob.' Then Moses ' trembled, and durst 
 
 3;! not behold. " Then said the Lord to 
 him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet : for 
 the place where thou staudest is holy 
 
 34 ground. I have seen, I have seen the 
 altliition of my people which is in Egy|)t, 
 and 1 have heard their tiroaTung, and 
 "am come down to delivci them. And 
 now come, I will send thee iuto Egypt. 
 
 35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, 
 'Who made thee a ruler and a judge?' 
 the same did (iod send /o he a ruler and 
 a deliverer "by the hand of the angel 
 which appeared to him in the bush. 
 
 k Matt. 22 : 32 ; Heb. 11 : 10. 
 
 03 
 
 1 .ludg. : 22; 13 : 22; Isa. 6 : 5. 
 I. » Exod. 14 : 19 ; Num. 20 : 10. 
 
 ' Josh. 
 
 ■> Isa. 
 
 31. To behold. Moses drew near 
 to oltnerre more closely the sight, what 
 it 2(mlil be. The voice of the Lord 
 
 — of Jehovah. (Kxod. 3 : s, 4.) From this 
 ami tlie deelaration in the next verse it 
 is evident tliat it was the angel of 
 .lehovah, the divine Son, the Jtevealer 
 under l)oth the Old and the New Dis- 
 ]>ensations. 
 
 32. Home of the oldest manuscripts 
 omit God liefore Isaac and Jacob, 
 making tlie form the same as in ;5 : i;i. 
 Christ dethices the doctrine of a future 
 life from these words (Matt. 21 r ai'), indi- 
 cating that tlie ]>atriarehs were still 
 living, one (U»y to l)e reunited with 
 their bodies. Then Moses trembled 
 and durst not behvJld, ohscrrc, con- 
 temjtlate it, which he was ))roj>osing to 
 do. (ver. 31.) Ilenee the lni]>roved 
 Bible Union Version translates, Jhircd 
 vot coiwhler it. "And .Moses hid his 
 face, for he was afraifl to look upon 
 
 God." (Exnrt. :!:«.) 
 
 33. In the account iji Exodus tliis 
 verse is brought in liefon' tlie j)receding 
 one. In his hasty survey Sti-phen 
 simply adds this command al.'io. Not 
 Tlieii, but Att'i the Lord said nnto 
 him : Put oil", etc. Loam- tin' xim- 
 la Is from off thi/frct — a mark of rever- 
 ence in tiu' East in the ])resciiee of a 
 sujierior. The jiriests offieiateii liare- 
 foot in the tabernacle and the temple. 
 Mohammedans always enter their 
 mos(|iu'S with naked feet. Founded 
 probably on the idea of i>utting otl' all 
 impurity, to which the feet are peculi- 
 arly exposed in walking. (Josh. 5; 15.) 
 Is holy ground — because of the jires- 
 ence of Jehovah. This was five hun- 
 dred years before the temjile was built, 
 and the fact shows that God was not 
 confined to place in the nuuiifestation 
 of bis presence. Thus Ste}>hen grad- 
 
 [ iially and incidentally brings to view 
 
 1 the great doctrine of spiritual worshij). 
 34. In this verse Ste])hen comjiletes 
 
 1 his account of God's call and commis- 
 sion of Closes. It is a ]iartial (|Uotation 
 
 \ of Exod. :i : 7-10. 1 have seen, etc.— 
 
 j literally, Seiinij I s(ni\ an em]ihatic 
 expression, aurely I saw, so also 1 heard. 
 
 I . . . I came down. God is presented, 
 after the manner of men, as having 
 come down from lieavan to attend to 
 
 ' the matter. From his throne he saw 
 the oppression of his ])eo]>le, and heard 
 their (jroanuujs and siijhimj for relief, 
 and he came down to see as it were for 
 himself, his presence being manifested 
 in the burning bush, and his jiuri)Ose 
 
 j was to deliver his people from their 
 0]ij>ressors, and lead them to the land 
 of promise. Four hundred years had 
 
 i passed, and the time of fulfillment of 
 God's word was at hand. He comniis- 
 
 I sions Closes and sends him into Egy])t. 
 
 I 35. With this verse 8tei>]ien begins 
 an apiilieation witli reference to Jloses, 
 as a type and jiredictor of the Messiah. 
 Two jjarallels become more ap])arent: 
 that between Closes and Jesus, with a 
 
 ' careful withholding of the name of the 
 latter; and that between disobedient 
 Israel of Moses' day and of Stejdien's 
 day. This Moses. The demonstra- 
 
 i tive pronoun this is very emphatically 
 
 I used four times at the lieginning of this 
 
 ! and the next three verses. Whom 
 
 j they refused — rejected ; the one man's 
 act rejiresenting the sjiirit of the nation. 
 
 ■ He who was rejected as a ruler and 
 judge is commiss:ioved liy God as a 
 ruler and a deliverer— «. redeemer. 
 The last word is carefully chosen, sug- 
 gestive of Jesus as the ransomer. This 
 
 [ noun is only found here ; but the verb, 
 to redeem, from whicli it is derived, is 
 
 I found in Luke 24 : 21 ; Titus 2 : 14 ; 1 
 
Cii. VTL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 10.' 
 
 M V Il<; brought them out, after that lie had 
 'i shewed woikUts and sii^iis in the land 
 of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, ■■ and in 
 
 37 the wilderness forty years This is that 
 Moses, which said unto the children of 
 Israel, ' A Prophet shall the Lord your 
 
 P Exotl. 33 : 1. <1 Exod. eh. 7 to <h. 14. 
 
 <iod raise up unto you of your brethren, 
 38 like unto me ; him shall ye hear.' 'This 
 is he, that was in the church in the wil- 
 derness with 'the angel which spake to 
 him in the mount Siua, and with our 
 fathers : " who received the lively ^ oracles 
 
 ' Exod. ch. 19. 
 
 Exod. 10: 1, 3o; Nfh. 9: 12. 
 
 t Gal. 3 : 19 ; Heb. 
 
 <■ Deut. 5 : 27, 31. 
 
 Kom. 3:2; 9:4. 
 
 Peter 1 : IS, and its allied noun redemp- 1 
 tioi, in Luke 1 : 68 ; 2 : 38 ; Heb. 9 : 12. 
 By, with, the hand of the angel— 
 with the guidance and helping power 
 of the unereated ani^el, the Son, who 
 appeared to him in the bush. 
 Musi'.'^ l)ecauie a reseuer of a nation 
 from a nation, and through the giving 
 of the law, with its tyi)es, .sliadows, and 
 prece])ts, lie brought to them a personal 
 salvation (ver. 25) through iiim,of whom 
 he himself and his teachings were a 
 t3'pe and a prophecy. 
 
 3G. He brought them out — 
 rather, 2'his same one did briny them 
 OKt. Thus lie executed the commission 
 which he had received of God. After 
 that he had shewed — better, having 
 ivnn(<jht wonders and signs (-' : 22) both 
 before and after going forth out of 
 Ilgypt. Dr. Hackett notes " that the 
 participle here expresses an accouijiany- 
 ing act, . . . since the leading forth 
 formed a general epoch with which the 
 associated events, whether historically 
 prior or subsequent, could be viewed 
 as coincident in point of time." The 
 language was suggestive to Stephen's 
 hearers, that there had been lately one 
 who had done many mighty works 
 among them, by whose power also the 
 apostles, and he himself, had wrought 
 miracles. (6:«.) The Red Sea— the 
 Indian Ocean with its two gulfs, tlie 
 Persian anil the Arabian. In the New 
 Testament (only here and in Heb. 11 : 
 29) it is applied to the Arabian gulf 
 lying east of Egypt and Nul^ia, about 
 fourteen liundred miles long and two 
 hundred miles wide at its widest point. 
 Through its northern extremity the 
 Israelites passed. (Kxod. u: 21, 22.) The 
 forty years of the.se wonders and 
 leadership would also suggest the dis- 
 obedience and hardness of heart of the 
 children of Israel. 
 
 37. This was that Moses — who 
 was not only a type, but also a predictor 
 of the Messiah. A prophet shall 
 
 the Lord your God raise up. (see 
 
 on 3: 22; Deut. IK: I.).) Stephen aud his 
 hearers were agreed in referring this 
 proi)hecy to the Messiah, and they 
 knew that he and the discii>les held 
 that it was fulfilled in Jesus. Stejihen 
 leaves much unsaid, here and all 
 tlirougli his speech, making silent ap- 
 jilications to be drawn by his hearers 
 from the facts presented and his man- 
 ner of putting them. They could not 
 accuse him of blaspheming Moses since 
 he revered Closes and followed him 
 whom iloses foretold ; but they them- 
 selves in rejecting Jesus were dishonor- 
 ing Moses. (Johira ;4«, 47.) Him shall 
 ye hear — the omission of this by the 
 highest critical authorities is in har- 
 mony with Steiilien's brevity, which 
 could easily be supplied l)y his hearers. 
 And perhaps the very omi.ssion of this 
 clause was suggestive to them that they 
 were not the hearers, but the rejectors 
 of him who, like Closes, w'as a prophet, 
 lawgiver, mediator, and founder of a 
 new order of things. 
 
 38. This is he who was signally 
 favored of God l)y intimate intercourse 
 and association, the receiver and giVer 
 of the law. The high position and 
 dignity of Moses is })resented in this 
 verse in contrast with the disobedience 
 of the peojjle in the next verse. In the 
 church, in the eongregutiou, in the 
 wilderness — not a church in the 
 New Testament sense, but the congre- 
 gation of the Israelites gathered for a 
 sacred purjK)se, here referring espe- 
 cially to the gathering of the people be- 
 fore Blount Sinai when they received 
 the law. (E.Tod. lit: 17.) See Heb. 2 : 12, 
 and the Septuagint, Deut. .SI : 30 ; .losh. 
 8 : 35; Judg. 21 : 8; 1 Chron. 29 : 1, 
 where ecclesia is found, (see on 5: 11.) 
 With the angel of the covenant 
 (ver. :io) on the one hand, and Avith our 
 fathers on the other hand, between 
 which parties Moses acted as mediator, 
 receiving and giving God's communi- 
 
106 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VH. 
 
 39 to give unto us. yTo -whom our fathers 
 would not obey, but thrust him from 
 theni, I and in their hearts turn back 
 
 40 again into Kgypt, saying unto Aaron, 
 ' JMake us gods to go before us : for us for 
 this Moses, which brought us out of the 
 
 land of Egypt, we wot not what is bo- 
 
 41 come of him.' "And thi-y made a calf in 
 those days, andoftered sacrifice unto the 
 idol, and rejoiced in the works of their 
 
 42 own hands. Then ^God turned, and 
 gave them up to worship"^ the host of 
 
 J Neh. 9 : IG; Ps. lOli : 1(>. ^ K.vod. 14 : 11, V>. » K.vod. 32 : 2-S. >> Ps. 81 : 11, 12; Kom. 
 1 : 28. Dfut. 17 : 3; 2 Kings 17 : 10; 21 : 3. 
 
 cations to them. (Xam. 12 : 7, 8 ; Deul. 34 : 111 ; 
 
 Gal. 3 : 19.) And thi.s would suggest that 
 Stephen liad uttered no l)lasj)heiny 
 against (iod or Moses hy holding up 
 Jesus Christ as the mediator hetweeu 
 God and men ; for it accorded with the 
 divine arrangement in the i)ast, and 
 ■with Moses as the type of the Messiah. 
 The living oracles — uotdead words, 
 but the lifitifj Ktteritiicfs, tlie divine 
 words^ posse.ssing a divine force and ef- 
 ficacy. (HlI). 4 : 1:!. See Dent. 3'2 : 4B, 47 ; Joliu 
 
 6 : 51 ; 1 Peter 1 ; i, Si.) The law is holy, just 
 and good and given for life (itom. 
 7 : 1214), and the reason why we do not 
 have life thereby arises from the cor- 
 ruption of human nature. (Luke lO: 28.) 
 
 39. The treatment of Jlo.ses here 
 contrasted with the high honor con- 
 ferred on him by God. To whom 
 our father.s Avould not obey, be 
 obedient. They were not willing to 
 obey him and submit to his guidance; 
 but thrust him from them (ver. 2-), 
 as the unjust Israelites had done forty 
 yeai-s before. Ste])hen seems to take 
 special pains to show that a disobedient 
 and rebellious spirit against God was 
 no new thing in Israel. As the media- 
 tion of Moses had been contemi)tuously 
 refused in a quarrel, so tiie people re- 
 jected his mediation between them and 
 God. Turned back again into 
 Egypt does not refer to any attempt to 
 retrace their stejis, but rather in their 
 hearts abandoned God, longing for 
 the mode of life and the idolatrous 
 
 WOrshij) of Egyi)t. (Kxo.I. 32 :1, i; Neh. 
 
 9: IS.) They grew weary of the de- 
 mands, restraints, and tests of the wor- 
 ship of Jehovah, ami lonu;ed for the 
 license j>ermitt*'d by idolatry. (Kxod. ni : 
 3; 17:3; Num. 11 : 4.) " Tlicir wish to re- 
 turn to Egvjit was not till later, (xum. 
 
 U:«.) 
 
 40. This verse shows how the Israel- 
 ites returned back into Egypt in their 
 hearts : By saying unto Aaron make 
 US gods, etc. Yet Aaron made but 
 
 one calf. This is best explained by re- 
 garding it as an example of the Hebrew 
 plural of e.xcellenee for the singular, ap- 
 jilied to God. The phrase make nn gods 
 is a literal translation of Exod. 32 : 1. 
 (See Exo.i. r.2 : 8.) This IS Confirmed by 
 Neh. 9 : 18. Yea, when they had 
 made a molten calf, and said : " This 
 is thy God that brouglit thee up out of 
 Egypt." They wislied an image rep- 
 resenting the Lord to go before them, 
 as Jehovah had gone hefore them in a 
 pillar of cloud, (kjcou. i:i :zi.) For in- 
 troduces the reason: This Moses 
 (spoken contemptuously), our leader, 
 has disappeared, and we need another 
 rciiresenting God to guide us. We 
 wot — ice k)wn' — not what is be- 
 come of him — showing their unbe- 
 lief and loss of confidence in Moses and 
 God. 
 
 } 41. And they made the image of 
 i a call', or bullock ; one full grown, but 
 ! not put into the yoke, in imitation of 
 I the bull Apis, worshiped at ^Iein})his, 
 j or the bull Miievis, worshiped at He- 
 lioi)olis, in Lower Egypt. Mummies 
 of the sacred bulls are still found 
 in the catacombs. The Israelites were 
 tenacious of this symbol of idolatry. 
 Jeroljoam set nj) a golden calf both at 
 Bethel and Dan. (i Kings 12 : 28; 2 Kingi 
 10 : 2!i.) In all these cases Jehovah 
 seems to have been represented, but 
 under a forbidden form. (Kxod. 20:4,5 ; 
 32 : 4.) Rejoiced — made merry, as part 
 of their idolatrous service. (E.\od. 32:6; 
 1 Cor. 10:7/) lu the worlis of thtir 
 own hands — of the calf and what 
 might ajipertain to it, as the result of 
 their joint labors. (Ex..d.32 :6) All re- 
 ligious self-glorification and rejoicing 
 is of the nature of idolatry. 
 
 42. And God turned — withdrew 
 his favor, and in retribution gave 
 them up from time to time until the 
 days of Amos and afterward. (Josh. 24 •. 
 
 10;' Isa. «;i:10; Rom. 1 : 2k ; Acts 14:1(1.) TO 
 
 worship the host of heaven. The 
 
Cri. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 107 
 
 bcavoii ; as it is written in tlie hook of 
 the I'rophcts, 'O ye houso of Israel, have 
 ye ottered lue slain beasts and sacrifites 
 bi/ Ihn sjxice of forty years in the wildcr- 
 43 ness ? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of 
 
 Moloch, and the star of your god, Icom- 
 phau, fignrt's which ye made lo worship 
 them : and 1 will carry you away beyond 
 Babylon. 
 
 sun, moon, and stars are so called on 
 account of their number and order 
 Tills form of idolatry is called Sal)a?ism 
 from the Hebrew Word mcaiiin!^ host; 
 and was common in Chaldca and Phoe- 
 nicia, as well as iu Egyi>t. (Deut. 4 : 19; 2 
 Kings 17:18; Isa. .H : 4 : t Chrou. X) : :t, 5.) To 
 
 sustain liis assertion Stephen appeals 
 to Amos 5 : 'liy-'Il, ipioted mostly from 
 the Septuai,'int Version. In the book 
 of the Prophets — the twelve minor 
 prophets, of which Amos was one, 
 reckoned by tlie .Jews as a sinijle vol- 
 ume. Have ye ottered to me, etc. 
 The question in the original requires a 
 negative answer, Did ije (i{ft:r, etc. Ye 
 cannot maintain tliat ye offered to me 
 slain beasts and sacrifici-s forty years in 
 the wilderness. Professing to serve 
 God, they approached him witii wrong 
 motives and a wrong spirit, and so 
 vitiated their offerings by idolatry as 
 to render their otferings unacceptable 
 
 to God. (Lev. 17 : 7 ; Deut. S2 : 17 ; Lev. 10 : 1 ; 
 
 Num. 16 ; 1 f. ) " This accusatiou of Amos 
 was no contradiction of the story of 
 the Pentateuch, which indeed speaks 
 of the ordinary daily sacrifices daring 
 the desert wanderings, but wliat counted 
 iu God's eyes the formal rites and sacri- 
 fices performed by priests under the 
 immediate influence of Moses, com- 
 pared to the spontaneous offerings 
 made, and to the service done to the 
 golden calves, and to tlie host of 
 heaven ?" (Dr. J. S. HowsoN.) 
 
 43. Yea, rather And, ye took up 
 the tabernacle of Moloch. The 
 most natural meaning is that they 
 carried in procession this tabernacle 
 similar to that consecratt^d to Jehovah. 
 But we cannot sujipose that Moses 
 would have allowed idolatrous proces- 
 sions in the wilderness. Others sxip- 
 pose a reference to small slirines simi- 
 lar to those of the Ephesian Diana 
 (19: 24), which the people secretly car- 
 ried about with them and worshiped. 
 Yet it may be asked, ^V()uld (iod, who 
 punished the sin of Aehau, have i)assed 
 over such a secret idohitry among his 
 people ? Besides, there is no mention 
 
 I of anything of the kind in the Penta- 
 teuch. It would seem that tlie prophet 
 refers to the idolatries which from age 
 to age had been developed from that 
 begun in the wilderness by the worship 
 of the golden calf and i>ther associated 
 and closely consequent false worshij). 
 (Deut. 32; 17.) And this view seems to 
 receive confirmation from the hist 
 clause of this verse, for we can hardly 
 suppose that the sin in the wilderness 
 was the cause of the captivity eiglit 
 hundred years later, though in connec- 
 tion with other sins in succeeding ages 
 God might rememlier that. (Exod. 32 : :n.) 
 Moloch was the name of the idol-god of 
 tlie Amiiiouites. Its image was a hol- 
 low brazen figure, with the head of an 
 ox and outstretched human arms. It 
 was heated from within and little ones 
 were jilaccd on its arms to be slowly 
 burned, while the priests beat drums to 
 prevent the parents from hearing the 
 dying cries of their children. Hence 
 the image was called Tophet from 
 tophi in, dvwms. (jer. 7:3i.) Its worslup 
 was forbidden by Moses (Lev. 19 : 21 ; 20 : 2), 
 but afterward practiced. (1 Kings 11 ; 7; 
 Jer. 32::i5.) The Star of yout god — 
 the star image, the image resembling 
 a star of the god Remphan, or 
 Rephan, the Coptic name for Saturn, 
 who was worshiped by tlie Arabians, 
 Phffiiiicians, and Egyptians. The child 
 sacrifices which were offered at Car- 
 thage to Saturn, as described by Dio- 
 dorus Siculus, were similar to those 
 offered to Moloch. Figures or imaries 
 which ye made to worship. Thus ifar 
 this verse follows the Sejituagint Version 
 of Amos 5 : 26. The Hebrew varies 
 somewhat and has different readings. 
 See margin of the Revised Version. 
 The Septuagint may represent an 
 ancient and essentialiv true text. A 
 tablet lately discovered in Ei^ypt repre- 
 sents a group of gods, two liearing the 
 names of Rempjiu and Keu. The 
 Hebrew in Amos has the name Chiun, 
 and the Septuagint Raephan ; therefore 
 Stephen, for unknown rea.sons, substi- 
 tutes the name Remppu or Remphan, 
 
108 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VII. 
 
 44 Our fathers had Jthe tabernacle of wit- 
 ness in the wilderuess, as he had ap- 
 pointed, speaking ^unto Moses, ° that he 
 
 should make it according to the fashion 
 
 45 that he had seen. 'Which also our 
 
 fathers that came after brought in with 
 
 d Exod. :J8 : 21. 
 
 Exod. 2(i : 30 ; Heb. 8:5. ' Josh. 3 : 11-17 ; 4 : 10, 11. 
 
 But Dr. Hackett has well said, " It was 
 unnecessary for Stepheu to correct the 
 current version ; for he adduced the 
 pas.sane merely to establish the cliarge 
 of idolatry, not to ilecide what ])articu- 
 lar i<lol was worsliipeil." Both tlie 
 Hebrew and the Septuagint end the 
 verse with beyond Damascus. Stephen 
 naturally substitutes the actual place 
 of exile, beyond Babylon. It was 
 a Baliliiuical custoiu thus to modify and 
 extend according to historical facts and 
 actiuil fultillment. (Meyer.) Besides 
 beyond the remoter place was also 
 beyond the nearer ; beyond Babylon 
 was beyond Damascus. 
 
 Thus in regard to Moses, Steplien 
 sliows that so far from blaspheming 
 him and tlie law, he held him in the 
 highest honor as a lawgiver, type, and 
 predictor of Christ. 
 
 44-53. The tabernacle, the temple, 
 and the prophets. Tlie tabernacle was 
 not confined to any place, was temj)oi'a ry 
 and typical of a heavenly and spiritual 
 worsliip. The tem})le was of like 
 nature, and was not intended to limit 
 tlie presence of Ood. Tiie prophets 
 had been pei'secuted by their fatliei's, 
 whose spirit his hearers manifested in 
 slaying the Righteous One, resisting 
 the" truth and disolieying the law. 
 
 44. Stejdien begins a new section in 
 his historical argument, that of the 
 tabernacle and temple, in connection 
 with whicli there were changes and 
 modifications of worship. As he had 
 lieen aeoused of blas))heining the tem- 
 ple, he wisely shows bis iiigh reverence 
 for the Siicred jilaces as ai>pointed by 
 God, and at the same time corrects any 
 false conceptions of them which the 
 Jews miglit entertain. Our fathers 
 had, etc. Literally, the tabernacle of 
 iritnrss, or tent of tcsNmony was to our 
 fathers in the u'i/deniess. It was for 
 Iheni especially suggestive of its tem- 
 porary nature; for the instruction of 
 the nation, es))ecially suited to their 
 migratory condition ; and this the j»eo- 
 
 fle carried over into the promised land, 
 t was more commonly called the tent 
 
 ! of meeting (Num. is : is), because it was 
 
 the place of meeting l>etwecn Israel or 
 
 I their representative and Jehovah. It 
 
 I was also called the tent of testimony 
 
 j (Exud. 38 : 12 ; Num. 1 : .i(t ; 17. l^), bccaUSe it 
 
 I contained the ark of testimony, in 
 
 which were the two tallies of the law, 
 
 I (Exod. 2,1: Hi.) It was a movable struct- 
 
 1 lire forty-five feet long, fifteen feet wide 
 
 and fifteen feet high. It was divided 
 
 j by a curtain into two rooms, the Holy 
 
 , Place and the Holy of Holies. In tiie 
 
 first was the talde of shew-bread, the 
 
 j golden candlestick, and the altar of 
 
 j incense; in the second was the ark of 
 
 i the covenant with tlie mercy-seat aliove 
 
 ! tlie ark, and the cheruliim of glory 
 
 ! overshadowing the mercy-seat. (F.xoi. 
 
 •-•6 : -i",.) As he appointed — as he who 
 
 spoke to 3/oses commanded, on Mount 
 
 j Sinai. (Exod. 24 : i^-is.) That he should 
 
 make it according to the fash- 
 
 j ion, the palter)!, he had seen. (Exod. 
 
 25 : 40: Heb. ^ : 5.) Tllis WOuld give JH'CU- 
 
 llar sanctity to the tabernacle, the 
 : image of the heavenly pattern ; but 
 Solomoii's temi)le, the second temjile, 
 and Herod's temple were patternecl 
 after the tabernacle. At the same time 
 tllis would suggest the transitory nature 
 and suboidinate value of the taliernaele 
 and temple worship, which must in 
 due time give way to the si)iritual wor- 
 ship under the New Covenant of the 
 Messiah. See this thought develojjed 
 in the eighth and ninth chapters of the 
 epistles to tlie Hebrews. 
 
 45. This ver.se is diflicult to trans- 
 late so as to bring out the main idea, 
 tliat the tabernacle which was brought 
 in with Joshua continned unto the days 
 of David. With David the epoch of 
 the temple worship began to dawn. 
 The following rendering brings out the 
 leading thought: Which tabernacle 
 oar fathers receiced in succession tinto 
 the days of David, havincj brought it in 
 with Joshua into the territory possessed 
 by the heathen, irhom God drove out 
 before our fathers. Some have thought 
 that Stephen by the words, unto the 
 days ol' David, indicates the gradual 
 
Ch. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 109 
 
 « Jesus iuto the possession of the Gen tiles • 
 ii whom God drave out before the face of i 
 our fathers, unto the days of David ; 
 46 > who found favour before God, and ^ de- 
 
 sired to find a tabernacle for the (iod of 
 
 Jacob. 
 47 ' But Solomon built him an house. 
 
 t Jos. 3 : fi, 7, Joshua ; Heb. 4:8. •> Nell. 9 : 24 ; Ps. 44 : 2. 
 10 : 1. k 2 Sam. 7 : 1-13; 1 Kings 8 : 17 ; 1 Chrun. 22 : 7. 
 
 ich. i:i : 22; 1 Sam. 15 : 28; 
 1 1 Kings ch. 5; cli. 0. 
 
 expulsion of the Canaanites until the 
 reii^n of David. " But this, although 
 historically true, would not have been 
 expressed hy the aorist (drove out), 
 which denotes an act performed once 
 for all. Nor is it relevant to Stephen's 
 purpose to relate how tlie Canaanites 
 were driven out, hut ratlier to describe 
 the condition of the .sanctuary during 
 that long interval. From .Josliua to 
 David, God abode aiuong liis j)eo[de in 
 a movable tent, which was often 
 sliifted from place to place, antl handed 
 down from one generation to another." 
 (Alexander.) Similar, Meyer, and 
 ilackett, who adds that " it exalts the 
 Kul)ordiuate clause (whom God drove 
 out before our fathers) aljove the prin- 
 cii>al one." Jesus, the Cireek name of 
 tlie Hebrew Joshua. So also in lleh. 
 4 : 8. The tabernacle passed over 
 Jordan with Josliua and was set up by 
 him at Shiloh, about twenty miles 
 north of Jerusalem (josh, is :i), where 
 it remained during the Judges. After- 
 ward it was removed to Git>eon, a1)0ut 
 five miles northwest of Jerusalem 
 (i chron. 21 :29) ; but David ])repared a 
 new tent, probably similar to tliat of 
 Moses, near his own residence on Mount 
 Zion, for the reception of the ark. (2 Sam. 
 6: 17; 1 ohioii.if. : 1.) It appears from 1 
 Chron. (i : 31-48 ; 16 : 4-(), 37-42, that 
 David arranged a service of worship in 
 connection with this tabernacle, so as 
 not to interfere with the duties of the 
 j)riests and the sacrifices at the altar. 
 Asaph and other Levites were ap- 
 j)ointed over this service, which con- 
 sisted chiefly of prayer and praise. 
 
 46. Tlie dawn of the temple period 
 l)egins with the words Who found 
 favor before God. It was thifi furor 
 with God that gave David confidence 
 to ask permission to l>uild him a house. 
 It was a further favor and condescen- 
 sion on God's part to grant the request 
 (2 Sam. 7 : 5-u.) Israel, since the days of 
 iloses, had been constantly going 
 astray. The tabernacle had failed to 
 
 unite and concentrate the worship of 
 God. If tliere could be only a per- 
 manent central place and a splendid 
 temple, Daviil may iiave thought, tlien 
 the worship of Jehovah would beconic 
 establislied and universal throughout 
 Israel. The granting of the temjde 
 was thus a concession and an adai)ta- 
 tion to human weakness. And de- 
 sired — (Dtd asked Jor himself as a 
 favor. The prayer is not given, but it 
 is implied in 2 Sam. 7 : 2 ; 1 Kings 8 : 
 17 ; 1 Chron. 22 : 7. The sjiirit and 
 frame of mind begetting sucli a request 
 are beautifully indicated in Ps. 132. 
 To find, etc. To express David's re- 
 quest, Stephen uses the language of Ps. 
 132 : 5 from the Septuagint. Notice 
 the rejx'tition of the verb find. First 
 David found favor with God ; tlien lie 
 asked tliat he might "find a jjlace for 
 Jehovah, dwellings for the ^Mighty One 
 of Jacob." (Ps. i.)2 : 5, Hebrew.) There 
 may be some allusion, as Alexander re- 
 marks, to the di.scovery of the place 
 wliere the temple was to be built, which 
 was made known by revelation to 
 David. (1 chroa. 21 : 22, 2K; 22 : 1.) A tab- 
 ernacle. The Greek word is not the 
 same as that rendered tabernacle in 
 the ]ireceding verses. It means a 
 habitation, ivferring to tlie temple as 
 the habitation of God. Instead of the 
 movable tabernacle David asked for a 
 more permanent dwelling place for 
 Jehovah. For the God of Jacob — 
 as the God of his clioseii |)eople. Herein 
 " lies the holy national motive for the 
 request of David." ( Mkykk.) 
 
 47. But— though David asked for 
 himself the privilege, it was denied 
 him, and Solomon built him a 
 house, that is, a temple. David in- 
 .><tead had the greater promise, that he 
 should have a hou.se and kingdom for- 
 ever, pointing to the Messiah who 
 should descend from him. (2 Sam. 7 -. 
 11, 16.) David also holds a higher jdaee 
 than Solomon in the Scri])tures : yet 
 the former all his days worshijted with 
 
110 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VII. 
 
 43 Ilowheit ■» the Most High dwelleth not in 
 icm^iles made with hands ; aa saith the 
 
 49 jiriiphet, " ' Heaven is my throne, and 
 earth is my footstool : what house will ye 
 
 build me? saith the Lord, or what isihe 
 50 place of my rest? Hath not my hand 
 made all these things ? ' 
 
 ' ch. 17 : 24 : 2 Chron. 6 : IS. 
 
 Matt. 5 : 3-1, 35. 
 
 the tabernacle, the latter builds a 
 temple. Thus the inferior to David, 
 and also to Moses the builder of the 
 tabernacle, builds a temple. It was 
 not necessary to tlie piety of David, nor 
 essrjitial to aeeeptal>le worship. By 
 iini)lication also Stephen answers the 
 eliar!j;e of Masphemy. If he had said 
 of tile temple, that it wouhl not endure 
 forever, was it blasphemy, wlien David, 
 tbe man after God's own lieart, did not 
 build it, but worshij)ed in the taber- 
 nacle, sis well as Moses, Josluia, and 
 Samuel, and the people of God for 
 hundreds of years ? And if the taber- 
 nacle desiicned upon the model (ver. ♦*) 
 received from God himself, of whicli 
 the temjile wa.s a copy, did not endure 
 forever, was it blas])hemy to speak of 
 the tenii)le as preparat^try and transi- 
 tory in its nature? TIius wlsile Stephen 
 treats the temple with reverence as the 
 liouseofGod, he at the same time in- 
 dicates that whatever he had taught 
 regarding it.s transitory nature, or even 
 said of its destruction, was in harmony 
 with its sacred history. 
 
 48. Si»iritual worsliip, not confined 
 to time or place, which had V>een im- 
 plied throughout the speech, Stephen 
 now brings more clearly into view, by 
 summai^izing Solomon's own language 
 at the dedication of the temple (i Kiug< 
 »■■■■!-,): Howbeit the 3Iost High 
 dwelleth not iu temples made 
 with hands. The best manuscri]>ts 
 omit templfs, and rea<l dirclleth not in. 
 Iliat made hi/ the hnnd, that is, by tlie 
 skill of man. What a contrast betwien 
 fh<- Most Ilinh wliom he liad styled 
 " the (iod of glory " (vcr. '^j aiid hand- 
 made dwellings, such as houses and 
 t^'raples ! Surely Solomon did not 
 think Muit God could be confined to one 
 place : " But will God indeed dwell with 
 men on tlie earth ? Behold, heaven, 
 and the heaven of heavens cannot 
 contain thee ; liow much less this house 
 which I have built." (2 ohron. 6 : it(.) 
 Stephen would guard against a super- 
 stitious reverence of the temple and 
 agaiust robbing God of the gloiy ofhis 
 
 omnipresence. And to further confirm 
 and bring out the great jirineiitle of sjdr- 
 itual worship he quotes from their great 
 evangelical prophet, Isaiah. " His 
 eye was already sweeping across the 
 long interval to the advent of Jesus, 
 and the quotation from the prophet 
 Isaiah would tend to give more em- 
 jihasis to Ids main thought than one 
 from Solomon would liave done." (Dk. 
 S('II.\FF, in Internativnul JRcvision 
 j Commentary.) 
 
 49. The quotation is from Isa. 66 : 
 1, 2, deviating l)ut slightly from the 
 Sei>tnagint. It is from the last cliapter, 
 the winding up, of his proi)Iiecies, that 
 Isaiah foretells the coming of the new 
 sidritual economy, when Jehovah will 
 no longer dwell in material temples, 
 but in human hearts. The ])rophecy 
 was jiecnliarly appropriate to Stephen's 
 j)urpose, ]iointing to tiie great spiritual 
 truth underlying all dis])ensations, and 
 to the changes which were then going 
 on in the sui>erseding of the Old Dis- 
 j>ensation by the Mew. Heaven is 
 my throne. The meaning is: I per- 
 vade all space ; heaven and earth are 
 filled with my all-ruling presence: 
 
 li7/<(/ manner of hou.^e then uill yebiiild 
 me, or what is the place of my 
 rest — my permanent ))laee or exclu- 
 sive abode ? (Compare Paul at Athens, 
 17 : 24.) 
 
 50. Continuing the quotation from 
 the last verse, but substituting an in- 
 terrogation for an affirmation in the 
 original jnophecy. The meaning is 
 the same, since tlie question requires an 
 affirmative answer. Hath not my 
 handmade all these things? Is 
 not tlie universe the dwelling place and 
 tiie tenipli' of it.s great Architect, and 
 may I not be worshiped anywhere 
 within its bounds by the true and hum- 
 ble sni>))lieants? Stephen does not 
 conqilite the quotation, but the passage 
 was doubtless familiar to Stephen's 
 hearei-s ;uid would suggest its conclu- 
 sion : " To this man will I look, even to 
 him that is jioor and of a contrite 
 spirit, and that trembleth at my word." 
 
Cu. VlJ.l 
 
 TiiE ACTS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 61 Ye stiffnecked and P uncircumcised in 
 heart ;ind ears, ye do always resist the 
 Uoly Spirit : as your fathers <lid, so do ye. 
 
 52 I Which of the prophets have not your 
 fathers persecuted ? And they have slaiu 
 them which showed before of the coming of 
 
 'Exod. 32 : 9; Isa. 48 : 4. 
 .U'f. 2: 30; 
 
 P Lev. 26 : 41 ; Ezek. 44 : 9 ; Eom. 2 : 2^', 20. 
 Matt. 23 ; 31-3G : Luke 13 : 31-;i5; 1 Tlicss. 2 
 
 q 2 Chron. 36 : 16 ; 
 
 Thus is broujjht into view the nobler 
 temple of the renewed and contrite 
 
 lieart. (Isa. 57:15; P3. .14:18; 138:0; 2 Cor. 
 6: Ifi.) 
 
 51. One line of Stephen's argument 
 was really now complete. lie had 
 siiowii tluit the Mosaic law was only a 
 j)ait of a i>rogressive revelation, which 
 began before there was any temple, tab- 
 enuR'le, or rite of circumcision; that 
 all these were preparatory and types 
 and shadows of a better covenant; aiitl 
 that according to their own prophetic 
 Scriptures the temple was only a type 
 of that grander temple of God's uni- 
 versal worship, wiile as the world ami 
 lofty as the heaven. The argument 
 skillfully arranged mu.st have burst 
 with overwhelming force upon the 
 minds of his hearers. He suddenly 
 changes his manner of utterance. Per- 
 haps he saw the disturbed, confounded, 
 and angry looks of his judges, indicat- 
 ing hardness and .stubbornness of heart, 
 witii impatience on tlie one hand and a 
 determination to condemn on the other. 
 He saw there was no further need of 
 historic argument, no readiness to listen 
 to rea.soning. To show tliat tlie Mes- 
 sianic prophecies were fulfilled in 
 Jesus, and to hold him up as a Saviour, 
 were worse than useless, casting as it 
 were ))carls l)efore swine. He turns at 
 once to the other line of thought, Mliicli 
 lie had been liringing to view in his 
 liisturic argument, tliat the Jews had 
 always lieeii uiifaitliful to (iod, and he 
 applied it to his hearers in a burst of 
 rigliteous denunciation. Tliey are not 
 the words of auger, but those of lioly 
 rebuke, uttered under the power of tlie 
 Spirit, the stern ajiplication of truth to 
 tile hearts and conscience. See the 
 words of John tlie r>ai)tist (i.Hke.i : v-fl) 
 and of .Jesus in tlie twenty-third chap- 
 br of :Matthew. 
 
 Ye stitfiiecked — stubborn, head- 
 strong, obstinate. (Fxo.t. .Si : » ; SS : a, ft.) 
 
 Uncircumcised in heart and ears 
 
 —with souls and senses closed to di- 
 
 vine admonitions. ( Jer. 6 : lO ; 9 : 2fi ; Lev. 
 
 •2G:4i.) Ye arc. heathenhh, a terrible 
 indictment to a Jew. Tliey were like 
 the stubljoru ox that refuses to receive 
 the yoke (Neh. a : c), and their hearts and 
 ears were like those of the heathen 
 without spiritual renewal, and not 
 open to the iiiiluences of the Divine 
 S])irit. (Deut. 10: ifi.) Ye do always 
 — in the past and up to the present 
 time — resist the Holy Spirit — re- 
 sisting and oi)})osing the ministers of 
 Ciod M'ho spoke under the guidance of 
 the Sj)irit. As your fathers did, 
 so do ye. In resisting the ju-ojdiets 
 who s])oke as they were moved l)y tlie 
 Holy Spirit. (isa.R!:io.) That tl'iis is 
 the meaning is very evident from the 
 following vei"se. 
 
 53. Stephen indicates the facts in 
 support of what he had charged against 
 them and their fiithers. Which of 
 the prophets have not your fath- 
 ers persecuted ? This is descriptive 
 of tlieir general spirit and conduct. 
 The question does not refpiire that all 
 were ]ierseentfd, yet most of them in 
 fact sutilrrd ill usage, (i Kingsig: lo; 2 
 Chion. .)(; : 10. ) Notice that it is now not on r 
 but t/onr fathers. The guilt of their 
 fatliers was deeji'iied in that they had 
 slain the i)roi)hetswlio/i'*(vy«AZ the com- 
 ing of t'le Just, or Ritjhtcoits, One- 
 Jesus Clirist being absolutely just, 
 
 witilOUt sin (3 : 14 ; 1 I'eter 2 : 22) ; aud wllO 
 
 v.oiild "justify many." (isa. 33: 11.) Li 
 llalfbiiiieal literature the Jlessiah is 
 designated " Tlie Just One." Tlie cli- 
 max Mas their own guilt, in that they 
 were the betrayers and murder- 
 ers, two of tlie blackest crimes which 
 tliey could commit against a fellow 
 man, but even these they had com- 
 mitted against the Messiah. (James 5:6; 
 Matt. 2.1: 2;!-:'.(i.) Ye and now are em- 
 ])hatic and in contrast to their fathei-s 
 of ancient times. They were the be- 
 trayers through .Tudas whom they em- 
 ployed, and the mnnJii-irs by con- 
 demuiug Jesus aud deliveriug him to 
 
112 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VII. 
 
 ' the Just One of whom ye have now heen 
 the betrayers and murderers : ;» who have | 
 
 received the law by the disposition of 
 angels, < and have not kept it. 
 
 ■ ch. 3 : 14 ; 22 : 14. 
 
 I Gal. 3 : 19 ; Heb. 2:2. i John 7 : 19. 
 
 Pilat* for rli-ath, and demanding his ' 
 
 crucifixion. (Matt. 26: U, IS; J- : l. 2, ai-iK.) 
 
 53. Who have received the law 
 by the disposition of angels — ye 
 
 v'/io rea'irril the /air «.< orJhiinices of 
 auf/eh; infiiR^nced by tlu'ir authority 
 to receive it and uu(Ut ohlii,'ation to 
 accej)t tiuit which was enjoined by 
 angelic agency. Sec Gal. 3 : 19, where 
 Paul speaks of the law as " onUiined 
 through angels," the verb being used 
 from which the noun ordinaiicix is 
 derived ; and Heb. 2:2, " The word 
 spoken through angels." It is not ex- 
 })ressly stated in the Old Testament 
 that angels were employed in giving 
 the law (Exod. 19: n-19), but it may be 
 fairly implied. In Deut. .33 : 2, it is 
 said (Revised Version) " lie came from 
 the ten tliousands of his holy ones," 
 from amidst countless angels who attend 
 liim; "at liis right hand was a fiery 
 law unto thi'in." For the latter clause 
 the Sejjtuagint lias, " On his riglit liand 
 were angels with liim." So also Ps. 
 68 : 17, "The diariots of God are 
 twenty tliousaiul, even thousands upon 
 thousands : the Lovd is among them 
 as in Sinai, in his sanctuary." The 
 Jews held that angels acted as am- 
 bassadors or interpreters between (lod 
 and Mo.ses. Philo and Josephiis both 
 bring out this belief. " For we our- 
 selves have learned what is most beauti- 
 ful and holy in our doctrines and laws 
 from God tlirougli tlie medium of 
 angels." {Antit/. xv. ."> : 3.) On tlie 
 one hand tlie angelic connection with 
 the giving of the law cniiol>led it in tlie 
 eye of the Jew, but on the otlicr liand 
 it also indicated its inferiority to the 
 gospel. (Heh. 2:3-1.) Tlie plural onli- 
 vanres is used with reference to the 
 single acts coin|»osing tlie law. The 
 intervention of angels at the giving of 
 the law is clearly reveale<l, but the 
 exact part they did is not so certain. 
 Meyer regards them as tlie arrantrers of 
 the divine acts, like arrangers of a fes- 
 tival, in the )>roiinilgation of the law. : 
 Olshausen regards them as the jiowers 
 mediating between God and man. Dod- 
 dridge infers from Heb. 2 : 2 and Gal. 
 3 : 19, " that God made use of aujjels as ' 
 
 instruments of forming the voice heard 
 from Blount Sinai." Alexander re- 
 gards them " as messengers or heralds 
 tiirough whom the divine communica- 
 tions ]«issed as a military word of com- 
 mand does from rank to rank, or from 
 orticer to otKcer until it reaches the 
 whole corjts or army." One of the 
 Bible Union translators says, "To me 
 it would seem, as if the tables were 
 handed down through ranks of angels, 
 as to ])crsons standing on the rounds of 
 a ladder, one below another in a line 
 reaching from the threshold of heaven 
 down to Closes." Amid so many o])iii- 
 ioiis, in allof Avhich tiiere may be some 
 truth, it will be safe to say with the 
 careful and cautious Hackett, tliat the 
 angels were not tlie authors, but the 
 medium through wliom God communi- 
 cated the law. And have not kept 
 it — but violated its commands, and 
 rejected the Messiah. The fact tiiat 
 tlie law was given by God through tiie 
 grandeur of angelic agency to Moses, 
 enhances the guilt of tlie ]>eo})le whose 
 disobedience found its climax in the 
 murder of the Messiah. See the same 
 argument expanded bv Paul in Kom. 
 2 : 17-23. Thus Stei>hen turns tlie 
 tables coni])letely ujion his judges. 80 
 far from blas])li('iiiing Moses ami (iod, 
 the temple and tlie law, he is proclaim- 
 ing the great truths of (iod, underlying 
 all his disjieusatioiis, and in so doing 
 he gives glory to tiod, and all ]>ioper 
 honor to all liis institutions and ser- 
 vants; but tliev liy tlie transgression of 
 the law <lishoMori'd (iod, and in l»etray- 
 ing and murdering the Messiah were 
 even worse tlian blasphemers. The 
 S)>eech ends suddenly, but ]>f>iiitedly, 
 with elo(jnence and jwiwcr. Further 
 concerning the speech and the relation 
 of Stephen to Paul, see end of the 
 chajiter. 
 
 54-60. The Death of Stephen. 
 A wonderful contrast is liere presented 
 between the infuriated lu'arers turning,' 
 into a murderous mob, and Stephen, 
 calm, full of faith and the Spirit with a 
 vision of heavenly glory, liolding no 
 resentment, praying, and dying as one 
 who falls asleep ! 
 
Uii. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 113 
 
 54 " When they heard these things they 
 were cut to the heart, and they gnashed 
 
 55 on him with their teeth. But he, ^ being 
 full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stead- 
 fastly into heaven, J and saw the glory of 
 
 Goil, and .lesus standing on the right hand 
 
 56 of God, and said. Behold, ' I see the heav- 
 ens openetl, and the 'Sou of man stand- 
 
 57 ing on the right hand of God. Then iliey 
 cried out with a loud voice, and stopped 
 
 u oh. 5 : 33. 
 
 ; ch. 6 : 
 
 y Isa. 6 : l-:5. « Ezok. 1 ; 1 ; Matt. 3 : 16 » Dan. 7 : 13. 
 
 54. When, i-ather, And heaving 
 these things, the terrible rebukes of 
 ver. 51-53. Tlie present tense har- 
 monizes with the al)ni]it terminatiou 
 of the speech. They were cut to 
 the heart — their hearts were deeply 
 penetrated and conviihsed with rage. 
 See on 5 : 33, where the same verb is 
 used. Gnashed on him with their 
 teeth — as if ready to devour iiim 
 alive : an expression used in the Old 
 Testament to signify furious rage. 
 
 (Job 16 :a; Ps. 35:16; Al ; Vi.) There WaS 
 
 probably an audible outburst of irre- 
 pressible anger, whicli found full vent 
 soon after, (ver. 57.) 
 
 55. But he — in contrast — being 
 full of the Holy Spirit, as had been 
 manifest in his very countenance before 
 the beginning of his speech. (6:i5.) 
 With no concern about himself or his 
 judges, he looked up steadfastly 
 — intently — into heaven, (see on 6: 
 15.) His thoughts are on heaven 
 and the Lord .Jesus. The vision may 
 have been a mental one, but the more 
 natural implication is that the San- 
 hedrin was convened in some room 
 where the heavens were visil)le, i)er- 
 haps in one of tlu' open courts of the 
 temple, or j)ossihly the courtyard of| 
 the high priest's palace. Compare ! 
 Matt. 2(3 : 3, 58 ; on which see Author's ■ 
 note. Saw the glory of God — that \ 
 unapproachable light, in which he 
 dwclleth. (1 Tim. 6 : 16.) Aiid sec on ver. j 
 2. He began his address with " the I 
 God of glory," and now he sees the Son 
 of man partaking of that glory. Jesus 
 standing — not sitting — the posture in 
 which he is on other occasions pre- 
 sented. ( Matt. -if. : 24 ; Kph. 1 : iO : Col. 3 : 1 ; Ps. 
 
 110:1.) He has risen from his throne 
 in sympathy, interest, and approval, 
 ready to receive his faithful servant. 
 On the right hand of God — the 
 place of honor and co-e(iual power, 
 (.seeonu ;33, 3i.) Vcrv likely Stephen 
 was one of the one hundred and twenty, 
 or one of the live hundred who had 
 
 seen the risen Lord, and he now 
 instantly recognizes him. 
 
 56. Behold — calling attention to 
 something unexj)ected and surprising. 
 1 see the heavens — the plural indi- 
 cating he saw into the third heaven 
 (2 Cor. 12: 2), the immediate ]>re.sence of 
 God. Opened — by dividing asunder, 
 such being the literal meaning of the 
 verb. The Son of man — the title 
 which Jesus frequently aj)plied to him- 
 self, but wliich our Lord's disciples do 
 not elsewhere apply to him. It is the 
 designation of the Messiah according 
 to Dan. 7 : 13. See Author's note on 
 Matt. 8 : 20. Stephen thus styles Jesns 
 of the last verse, because he saw his 
 glorified humanity, and probably also 
 to remind many of those present that 
 his prediction to Caiaphas had begun 
 to be fulfilled : " Henceforth ye shall 
 see the Son of man sitting at the right 
 hand of power, and coming on the 
 clouds of heaven." (M.Ttt. 2r,:f,(.) The 
 appearance of the glorified human 
 Christ would also till his soul with joy 
 and courage, as he beheld that nature 
 in which he suffered clothed in glory. 
 Thus Stei)hen stands before the saiue 
 tribunal at which Jesus stood, and 
 charged with the same crime, of blas- 
 phemy ; and there gets a view of his 
 victorious Lord. These concluding 
 words of Stephen, like those of our 
 Lord (Miitt. 2H:r,f,. 69) gave color to the 
 charge of blasjihemy, and exasiierated 
 his hearers to the utinost. 
 
 57. Then they cried out with a 
 loud voice. Prolnibly beginning 
 with the Sanhedrin, and extending to 
 all the others present (6:9,12); some 
 ciying out one thing and some anotb.er ; 
 .some doubtless shouting, blasjjhemy ; 
 others, telling him to be silent ; aiid 
 .still others, "stone liim, stone him ; he 
 
 is worthy of death." (See 19: 32 : .John 19: 0, 
 
 15.) Stopped their ears with their 
 hands, indicating their utter abhor- 
 rence, and that they might not hear 
 his supposed blasphemies. Ran upon 
 
114 THE ACTS. [Ch. VII. 
 
 their ears, and ran upon him with one 
 58 accord, and >> cast Mm out of the cily and 
 
 stoned him : and « the witnesseB laid 
 down their clothes at a young man's feet, 
 
 b Lev. 24 : 14 ; 1 Kings 21 : 13 ; Luke 4 ; 29. « ch. 22 : 20 ; Deut. 17 : 7. 
 
 him with one accord — rushed upon 
 him in a body. Thfir judicial pro- 
 cetdings were turned into a mob. It 
 does not appear tliat tbere was any 
 formal vote or any judicial sentence. 
 Yet by tlieir actions tlie Sanhedrin con- 
 demned him to death. " The tumultu- 
 ous excitement here described may 
 seem incredible in a grave national 
 assembly, and especially in one of a 
 religious character. But it is perfectly 
 in keeping with the treatment of Paul 
 and of our Lord himself, before tlie 
 same tribunal. (2^:2; johni8:J2.) It also 
 agrees with wluit we know, from other 
 sources, of the growing fanaticism of 
 the zealots, which precipitated, if it did 
 not cause, the final downfall of Jeru- 
 salem, and with it the destruction of 
 the Hebrew state." (ALEXANDER.) 
 
 58. And cast him out of the 
 city — so that the city, regarded as 
 holy, miglit not be defiled with blood. 
 Thus the blasphemer in the wilderness 
 was stoned without the camji. (Lev. 
 J4: 14.) So ako Nalioth was stoned out- 
 side the city of Samaria. (1 Kings 21 : 13.) 
 See 14 : 19, where the Jews did not have 
 the same .sacred regard for tlie heathen 
 city, Iconiuni. Stoned him — the 
 severest Jewish punishment. Blas- 
 ])hemers, idolaters, and flagrant moral 
 transgres.sors were thus executed. (Exod. 
 
 19:13; Dcut. 17 : 5; Josh. 7 : 25.) The ([Ucstlon 
 
 arises, How could Ste])hen liave l)een 
 stoned, when it was not lawful for the 
 Jews to put any man to death ? (John 
 18 : 31.) According to the Talmud tlie 
 Romans took away the power of life 
 and deatli from the Sanhedrin forty 
 years before the destruction of the tem- 
 ]de, probably in the last year of our 
 Lord's life. The act is best explained 
 as an illegal tumultuous outbreak, such 
 as the Roman governor, desirous of 
 tlie favor of the Jews, sometimes con- 
 nived at, provided tlie Roman interest 
 suffered no detriment. During the last 
 years of his procuratorship, Pilate 
 wished the favor of the Jews with the 
 emperor, and they in turn may have 
 taken unusual lil)eities. The place of 
 Stephen's death is uncertain. Tradi- 
 
 tion puts it at " The place of stoning,'' 
 a little outside of the Damascus gate, 
 near Jeremiah's Grotto, on the road 
 leading north. "The site of Jermiah's 
 Grotto is peculiarly fitted tor a place of 
 execution iu consequence of its com- 
 manding position. From the summit 
 the eye roams above the city walls over 
 the greater part of Jerusalem, while 
 on the west the ground rises beyond 
 the intervening valley like a theatre. 
 There is hardly another sjiotnear Jeru- 
 salem so fitted to be the central point 
 for any public spectacle." (Captain 
 Condor, Twenty-One Years in the 
 Holy Land, ji. 18S.) The Avitnesses 
 — those who had borne false witness 
 (6 : 13), who were to begin the execution. 
 (Deut. 17 : 7.) There were to be at least 
 two witnesses, and the Rabl)inical 
 writers say that the first stone was to 
 be cast by one of them ujion the breast, 
 and if this failed to cause death, the 
 bystanders were to complete the execu- 
 tion. Laid down their clothes — 
 /AfM' loose outer (jarments, so as to have 
 the free use of their arms. The .stones 
 first east are said to have been large. 
 At a youne: man's feet whose 
 name Avas Saul. Saul of Tansus 
 a])i)ears for the fir.st time in .sacred 
 history. The act implies, not only tiiat 
 the garments were de])osited for .safe- 
 keeping, but also that Saul was a zeal- 
 ous opposer of Jesus, and a leader in 
 the persecution of Stejihen. (s : i ; 22 ; 20.) 
 Tarsus was the capital of Cilicia, and 
 Saul was doubtless a member of the 
 Ciliciaii Synagogue (fi: 9), and had dis- 
 jdited with Stephen. The ex])ression 
 young man is ijuite indefinite. Philo 
 makes it embrace from twenty-one to 
 twenty-eight years of age. Varro .says 
 a mail is young at forty-five and aged 
 at sixty. Dio Cassius calls Cresar a 
 young man when he was forty. The 
 " young man " Absalom must have been 
 over thirty when he was killed. Saul 
 was 2>robably thirty or more, since the 
 Sanhedrin shortly after employed him 
 as a chief agent on an important mis- 
 sion to Damascus, which they could 
 hardly have entrusted to a mere jouth. 
 
Ch. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 115 
 
 69 whose name was 4 Saul. And tbey stoned 
 Stephen calling upon God, aud saying, 
 
 60 Lord Jesus, 'receive uiy spirit. And he 
 kneeled down, and cried with a loud | 
 
 voice, ' Lord, lay not this sin to their 
 charge. And wheu he had said this s he 
 fell asleep. And •> Saul was consenting 
 unto his death. 
 
 4 ch. 9 : 1-13 ; 13 : 9. • Ps. 31 : 5 ; Luke 23 • 46. ' Matt. 5 : 44 ; Luke 23 : 34. g John 
 
 11 ;11. 
 
 i> ch. 7 : 58. 
 
 An ancient tradition put the birth of 
 Saul at Tarsus in A. D. 2, which cannot 
 be very far out of the way. ( See 
 Autlior's Harmonic Arruyujemcnt of 
 the Acts, § 13, Notes.) 
 
 Dr. Norris, in his Key to the. Acts (pp. 
 145-9), and some before hiiu, have at- 
 tempted to prove that the Sanhedrin 
 had not lost the power of Uiflicting 
 capital punishmoit, and that the death 
 of Stephen was an orderly judicial pro- 
 cedure. Their arguments, however, are 
 not decisive, while the .lewish authori- 
 ties (John 18:31) distinctly aud unquali- 
 fiedly state, " It is not lawful for us to 
 put any man to dcatli." To suppose 
 that they merely meant, " It is not law- 
 ful at this holy festival to do this," is 
 unnatural and improbable. Besides, 
 according to the Talmud, as quoted by 
 Selden and Lightfoot, this power was 
 taken away forty years before the 
 destruction of tlie temjtle by Titus. 
 The passages quoted to jDrove that they 
 
 still had this power (John 5 : is ; 7 : 25. 32, 51 ; 
 8 : 5, 7, 59 ; 11 : 5:! ; 1.! : 10 ; Acts 2+ : 6; -.'6 : 31) Only 
 
 show that the Roman governors some- 
 times winked at acts of violence. The 
 speech of Titus (.Josephus, War, vi. 
 2 : 4) in which he reminds the Jews of 
 the indulgence of the emperors toward 
 them in allowing them to put to death 
 any foreigner, even a Roman, who 
 might pass beyond the partition-wall of 
 the temple, separating Jews from Gen- 
 tiles, at the most only shows that an 
 exception in an extreme case was made 
 to general rule. But even in this 
 the Roman governor may liave given 
 or confirmed the sentence and directed 
 the execution. See note at the begin- 
 ning of this verse. 
 
 59. And they stoned Stephen — 
 botli the witnesses aud the people gen- 
 erally. The repetition adds vividness 
 to tlie narrative, and opens the way to 
 the particulars connected with Ste- 
 phen's death. Calling upon God 
 and saying — invoking and saying, 
 Lord Jesns. God should be omitted, 
 not being in the original. It was upon 
 
 Jesus that he called. (John 22 : 20.) Re- 
 ceive my spirit. Imitating one of 
 the prayers of Jesus on the cross (Luke 
 23 : 46), Stephen sliows the same confi- 
 dence in the Lord Jesus as Jesus 
 showed in the Father. On prayers to 
 Christ, see 1 : L'4 ; 9 : 14, 21 ; 22 : 16. 
 
 60. With a loud voice — like our 
 Saviour, and in imitation of his prayer. 
 (Luke 23: 46, :n.) " Tlic last expenditure 
 of his strengtli of love, the fervor of 
 which discloses itself in the kneeling." 
 (Meyer.) Not only an expression of 
 religious feeling, but perhaps of ex- 
 hausted strength. Having no further 
 concern regarding himself, his thoughts 
 are taken up in com])assion for liis 
 murderers. liOrd — this term here and 
 in the preceding verse apj)lied to Clirist, 
 is used most frequently in tlie New 
 Testament as a designation for God, 
 the Supreme Ruler of the universe, or 
 to Jesus Christ, exalted to tiie Media- 
 torial throne and Head over all things 
 
 to the church. (Acts 10 : 36; Rom. 14 : 8; 1 
 Cor. 8: 6; Phil. 2 : 911 ) Lay UOt, etC. — 
 
 Weigh not out to them this sin, do not 
 reckon to them or call them to account 
 for, this sin. " No parallel to this 
 prayer of Stephen can ))e found out of 
 Christian history." (H.vckett.) It 
 was answered in the case of Paul. " If 
 Stephen had not prayed, the church 
 would not have had Paul." (Araus- 
 TINE.) With the two prayers of Ste- 
 phen compare Paul's declaration " He 
 IS sxhle to keep that which I have com 
 mittedtohimuntothatday "(2Tini.i : 12), 
 and his prayer, " Maj^ it not be laid 
 to their charge." (2 Tim. 4 : is.) He fell 
 asleep. A peculiar and beautiful Chris- 
 tian expression for death. What a 
 contrast to the outward circumstances 
 of his death ! The righteous of the 
 Old Testament " lay down with their 
 fathers " or " were gathered to their 
 fathers" (Judg. 2 : 10; 1 Kings 2 : 10, 
 Dr. Conant's translation) ; but to the 
 Christians of the New Testament death, 
 roljl>ed of its terrors and peaceful, is 
 
 but as a sleep. (13 : 36; John U : 11 ; 1 Cor. 1 ; 
 
116 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VII. 
 
 39 ; 11 : 30 ; 15 : 6, 51 ; 2 Peter 3:4.) Cemetery 
 
 from the word translated sleep was first 
 used by Christians of a place where 
 the body sleeps iii hope of resurrection. 
 The first sentence of the next chapter 
 concludes the account of Steiiheii's 
 death. Saul was consenting with the 
 others to his death. 
 
 Stephen and Paul. Stephen ap- 
 pears to have made a deep and life- 
 long impression on Paul, in his discus- 
 sions (6 : 8-10), in his defence, and in his 
 death. lie appears as a connecting 
 link between Peter and Paul, having 
 clearer views of the Gospel Dispensa- 
 tion than the former, and within a step 
 of the developed views of the latter. 
 He has been very justly styled the fore- 
 runner of the Apostle Paul. This ap- 
 pears: First, from the similarity of 
 ciiarges made against them (6:ii,i3, h; 
 21 : 21 ; 24 : 5-9 ; 25 : 8), Indicating similarity 
 of views and teaching. Second, from 
 similarity of methods. Both employ 
 the historical argument. Paul's ad- 
 dress at Antioch of Pisidia (3:i6-4i) 
 seeuis born of Stephen's speech at Jeru- 
 salem. He briefly traces the history of 
 tiie chosen people from Egypt to David, 
 notices that the law proved unavailing 
 for justification (is : 39), and his closing 
 appeal (is : 40. 41 ) reminds us of Stephen's 
 final upbraiding words. Third, from 
 verbal and logical coincidences. Tlius 
 Stephen speaks of the fathers " who 
 received the living oracles" (ver. ss); 
 and Paul (Rom. 3 : 2) says, " They were 
 entrusted with tlie oracles of God." 
 Stephen again (ver.51), " uncircumcised 
 in heart;" and Paul (Rom. 2:29), "cir- 
 cumcision is that of the heart." See 
 also the idea concerning circumcision 
 ill ver. 8, exjmiuled in Rom. 4 : 11 f. 
 Again Stephen says (ver. 53) that the 
 law " was ordained by angels ;" Paul 
 (Gal. 3 : 19), that it " was ordained through 
 
 angels." (see ver. 3S; Heb. 2 i 2; Gal. 4: 14,) 
 
 Further Stephen as well as Paul ex- 
 hibits the Cliri.stian Dispensation as 
 superior to that of Moses (vcr. ,i2) and 
 thatit was to supersede Judaism (ver. 37). 
 See the Epistles to the Pi,omans and the 
 Galatians ; com])are also the Hebrews. 
 Fourth, from their agreement regard- 
 ing the sinrituality and universality of 
 true worship. Here was an important 
 source of Stephen's ofl'ending. " The 
 
 God of glory" (ver. 2) surely could not 
 be confined to human temples or any 
 one i»lace (n : 24,25, 29),;and for hundreds 
 of years was with the patriarch and 
 their descendants without any earthly 
 dwelling place. Tlie tabernacle and 
 temple Avere both tempoiary and were 
 recognized as such by Solonion and the 
 prophets. (ver.47-.w.) He brings into 
 view the nobler temjjle of the renewed 
 heart (see note on ver. 50) and tlius fore- 
 shadowed Paul (1 Cor. 3 : 16) ; " KllOW yC 
 not that ye are the temple of God, and 
 that the Spirit of God dwelleth in 
 you?" (See also 2 Cor. 6: 16.) Tlius Stephen 
 was the first to meet boldly and com- 
 prehensively the great question con- 
 cerning the relation of the gospel to 
 the law, of the New Dispensation to 
 the Old. He was tlie first to break the 
 bonds of Judaism ; and it was left for 
 Paul to develop tiie teachings, and 
 carry on the work, which seemed to be 
 overwhelmed in ruin when the stones 
 mangled and crushed the body of 
 Stephen. See also note on ver. 60. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. We are to treat with respect, and honor 
 those in authority though opposed to reHg- 
 ion. (Ver. 1, 2; Rom. 13:7,8; 1 Peter 2: 
 17.) 
 
 2. God is glorious in himself, in his attri- 
 butes, providence, and in all his dispensa- 
 tions to men. (Ver. 2; Fxod- 1.5 : 11 ; Ps. 145: 
 5 ; Isa. 63 : 1 ; 2 Cor. :! : 7-10.) 
 
 3. God's plan is one both in revelation and 
 providence. The entire course of events 
 under the Old Dispensation was preparatory 
 to the coming of Christ and the Gospel Dis- 
 pensation. (Ver. 2-50; Gal. 3 : 2:}, 24: 4 : 4.) 
 
 4. Scripture is a mighty weapon in tlie 
 hands of God's people, and should be ready 
 for use in giving a reason of the hope that is 
 in them. (Ver. 2-50; 17 : 2, 11 ; )« : 24, 2.5.) 
 
 6. Faith in every age has been the taking 
 of God at his word. (Ver. 2-8 ; Heb. 11 : 1, 
 8-18.) 
 
 6. Grod's promises, though slow, are sure. 
 (Ver. 2-7 ; 2 Peter 3:9.) 
 
 7. The promises of God are both an en- 
 couragement and a test of our faith. (Ver. 6, 
 7 : Rom. 8 : 18, 19, 23-25.) 
 
 8. In the father of the faithful we see the 
 nature and effects of justifying faith exer- 
 cised in uncircumcision, and the lack of ite 
 
Cn. VII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 117 
 
 fruits in the patriarchs who sold Joseph into 
 ICgypt. (Ver. 4-9 ; Rom. 4 : 3-12.) 
 
 9. The godly have ever been followed by 
 the hatred and envy of the world. (Ver. 9 ; 
 Matt. 10 : 36.) 
 
 10. Because God sees fit to bring good out 
 of evil is no reason why any should " do 
 evil that good may come." (Ver. 9-15 ; Rom. 
 
 3 : 8.) 
 
 11. In the humiliation and exaltation of 
 Joseph we see a type of Jesus. (Ver. 9-14; 
 Phil. -i. : o-lG.) 
 
 12. Israel in Egypt a type of God's people 
 in this world. (Ver. 15, 16; Rev. 11 : 8; Gal. 
 
 4 : 24, 25.) 
 
 13. God is faithful to fulfill his word in its 
 time. (Ver. 17 ; Gal. 4:4: Eph. 1 : 10.) 
 
 14. God directs his providences so as to 
 secure the accomplishment of his designs. 
 (Ver. 17-21 ; Hab. 2 : 3.) 
 
 15. How soon are benefits receiyed forgot- 
 ten ! (Ver. 18 ; Gen. 40 : 23.) 
 
 16. " God so protects his people that even 
 enemies become their servants." (Ver. 21 ; 
 28 : 17-21.) 
 
 17. God often makes human learning sub- 
 servient to his cause, and uses it in his ser- 
 vice. (Ver. 22; 22:3.) 
 
 18. Moses was a striking type of Christ. 
 (Ver. 23-28, 35-37 ; Heb. 2 : 12.) 
 
 19. We see in Moses the power and triumph 
 of faith, in visiting his kindred and making 
 their case his own. (Ver. 2:J-27 ; Heb. 11 : 
 24, 25.) 
 
 20. Learn concerning God's dealings with 
 men. For forty years God is preparing 
 Moses to take charge of his chosen people, 
 while they justly continue in bondage, and 
 learn not to spurn God's deliverer. (Ver. 
 27-30.) 
 
 21. In the burning bush which was not 
 consumed, we see an emblem of God's people 
 preserved in this world amid E'cry persecu- 
 tions. (Ver. 30 ; Dan. 3 : 25-27 ; Matt. 16 : 18.) 
 
 22. The words of God from the bush were 
 evidences, not only of his presence, but also 
 of a future state of existence. (Ver. 32; 
 Matt. 22 : 32.) 
 
 23. God is not confined to time or place. 
 He manifested himself in Mesopotamia, in 
 Egypt, and in the wilderness as well as at 
 Jerusalem. (Ver. 33 ; John 4 : 21.) 
 
 24. God exercises a fatherly care over his 
 people. (Ver. 34; Ps. 103 : 13.) 
 
 85. GoU oftea brings deUveraoce to his 
 
 doubting and rebellious people through un- 
 exjiectcd means and instrumentalitiea. (Ver. 
 35, 36; Luke 24 : 21.) 
 
 26. Miracles will not always convince men 
 of the authority of God's messengers. (Ver. 
 36 ; Luke 16 : 31.) 
 
 27. Moses and the prophets all pointed 
 toward Christ as superior to themselves. 
 (Ver. 37 ; John 1 : 17 ; Rev. 19 : 10.) 
 
 28. Happy .are they to whom God entrusts 
 his living word. (Ver. 38 ; John 17 : 14, 17 ; 
 Rom. 3 : 2.) 
 
 29. In the mission of Moses and the treat- 
 ment he received of Israel, we have a strik- 
 ing illustration of the grace of God and the 
 ingratitude of men. (Ver. 35-41.) 
 
 30. How many professed Christians have 
 in their hearts turned back to Egypt, and 
 been guilty of jiractices as opposite to 
 Christ's commands as the idolatry of the 
 golden calf was to those of Moses. (Ver. 
 39-41 ; Rev. 2 : 14, 15.) 
 
 31. Jesus Christ, the Revealer of the 
 Father, is the only image of God. (Ver. 41- 
 44 ; Col. 1 : 15 ; Heb. 1 : 3.) 
 
 32. It is a terrible punishment when God 
 abandons men to themselves. (Ver. 42; 
 Rom. 1 : 28.) 
 
 33. In all our services God demands the 
 homage of the heart. (Ver. 42 ; Ps. 51:17; 
 Isa. 66 : 2.) 
 
 34. God may long delay punishment, but 
 it will surely come upon the sinner. (Ver. 
 43 ; Num. 32 : 23 ; 2 Peter 2 : 3.) 
 
 35. God adapts his revelations to the con- 
 di:ions of men. The tabernacle (or tent) was 
 specially suited to Israel in the wilderness. 
 (Ver. 44 ; John 16 : 12.) 
 
 36. Tlie earthly is but the shadow of the 
 heavenly. Material ordinances are the types 
 and patterns of the spiritual. (Ver. 45; 
 Heb. 10 : 1.) 
 
 37. God often yields to the desires of his 
 children, and accommodates himself to their 
 infirmities. (Ver. 46, 47 ; 1 Sam. 8 : 6, 7, 22.) 
 
 38. Temples and outward observances 
 have their place, but may be abused and 
 become idols, and hindrances to true wor- 
 ship. (Ver. 47, 48 ; Mark. 7 : 3-7.) 
 
 39. The abandonment of the tabernacle 
 and the destruction of the temple have not 
 atfected God's presence with his people. The 
 universe is God's dwelling place, and re- 
 newed hearts the temples in which Uod 
 delights. (Ver. 49-51 ; John 14 : 23.) 
 
118 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii. VIII. 
 
 40. "When the heart is uncircumcised, 
 the ears are in the same condition." ( Ver. 
 51 ; 8 : 21.) 
 
 41. Kesisting the Holy Spirit indicates 
 great depravity of heart. (Ver. 51 ; Isa. 63 : 
 10.) 
 
 42. The Scriptures may be entrusted to us, ! 
 and yet, giving attention only to the letter, 
 and not discerning the Spirit, we may fail 
 to understand them. (Ver. 52 ; 2 Cor. B : 6.) 
 
 43. Rejecting one truth leads to the re- 
 jection of others. Rejection of the propheis 
 culminated in rejecting the Messiah. (Yer. 
 52, 5;J.) 
 
 44. The evidences and glory of divine 
 revelation aggravate the guilt of those who 
 reject it. (Ver. 53 ; Luke 12 : 47.) 
 
 45. The unrenewed heart hales the truth, 
 and so wicked men often treat despitefully 
 those who desire to save their souls. (Ver. 
 54; John 4: 19, 20.) 
 
 46. A view of Jesus is a foretaste of 
 heaven, and the best preparation for afflic- 
 tions and death. (Ver. 55 ; Phil. 1 : 23.) 
 
 47. The human and divine Christ is the 
 channel of communication between earth 
 and heaven to either the living or dying 
 believer. (Ver. 56 ; John 1 : 51 ; Rev. 5 : 
 6,9.) 
 
 48. Prejudice and malice blunt the moral 
 sense, distort the mental vision, and lead to 
 the disregarding of all forms of law and to 
 the most atrocious crimes. (Ver. 57, 58 ; Ps. 
 10 : 4-10.) 
 
 49. " They stone one witness, but God is 
 preparing another to take his place. ' 
 (Stakke.) (Ver. 58.) 
 
 50. Jesus is divine. We have an inspired 
 example and warrant to pray to him. (Ver. 
 59 ; John 20 : 2S.) 
 
 51. If we comraH our all to Jesus in life, 
 we shall be prei)ared to commit our souls to 
 him in de.ith. (Ver. 50.) 
 
 52. To forgive our enemies and to pray for 
 them are evidences of the divine love shed 
 abroad in our hearts. (Ver. 60 ; Rom. 5:5; 
 12 : 19-21.) 
 
 .53. The death of the Christian is but as a 
 sleep, through the hope of a resurrection 
 and a glorified life. (Ver. 60; 1 Cor. 15: 
 55-57.) 
 
 54. Stephen (meaning crmrn) was crowned 
 in life with grace, crowned at death as a 
 martyr, and in heaven crowned with glory. 
 (Ver. 60 ; Rev. 2 : 10.) 
 
 Ch. 8 : With this chapter begins a 
 new era in the history of the Christian 
 church. Christianity is no longer con- 
 fined to the mother church of Jerusa- 
 lem, but it spreads abroad among Jews 
 and i)roselytes, and churches are 
 formed in Judea, Samaria and Damas- 
 cus. The account of tliis extension of 
 tlie gosjjel is given in tliis cliajiter and 
 the next, covering a j^eriod of perhaps 
 four or five years. In the death of 
 Jesus the Jewish nation throtigh their 
 ecclesiastical rulers had rejected him, 
 and now the same authorities, repre- 
 senting especially Jerusalem, reject the 
 Holy Spirit and the gospel. (7:ai.) 
 Because of the presence of the Sj)irit 
 and the greater light given, the later 
 sin was greater than the former. This 
 may be regarded as ending the Mes- 
 sianic week foretold by Daniel (9 : 25-27), 
 in the midst of which the Messiah was 
 cut off. If this week of seven years 
 began with the jmblic ministry of 
 Jesus, which ministry lasted a little 
 over three years, than the apostles had 
 bean carrying on the work at Jerusalem 
 three and a half, or nearly four years. 
 According to this theory the death of 
 Stephen occurred the latter part of A. D. 
 33, or early in a. r>. 34. From this 
 time began the emancii)ation of tlie 
 disciples from the temple worship, with 
 which they had thus far been out- 
 wardly connected. Thereafter we hear 
 no more any special increase of the 
 church at Jerusalem. The gospel is 
 now preached to the Jews outside of 
 the cajiital city, in Judea and Samaria, 
 for a like period of time, after which it 
 is through Peter extended to the Gen- 
 tiles. (10; 1.) 
 
 1-3. The Bukial of Stephen— 
 The Persecution and Scattering 
 OF THE DisclPLE.s. This forms a fit- 
 ting close of the last chapter. (22 : is. 20.) 
 
 1. And Saul was, etc. Closely 
 connected with the last chajfter anil 
 forming a connecting link between the 
 death of Stephen and the persecution 
 that ensued. Consenting — approv- 
 ing ivith those who accomplished the 
 vmrdn- of Ste]ihen, implying that he 
 was pleased at Steplien's death. Ac- 
 cordingly, the Improved Bible Union 
 version translates : "And Saul was 
 well pleased with his death." The 
 
Ch. VIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 im 
 
 Persecution and scattering of the disciples; 
 
 PkUip in Saiuaria ; followed by Peter and 
 
 John, 
 
 8 AND at that time there was a great per- 
 
 secutiiin against tbe church wliich was at 
 
 Jerusalem ; aud ' they were all scattered 
 
 abroad tlirougliout the region of Jud%a 
 and Saiuaria, except the apostles. 
 
 2 Aud devout men carried Stephen to his 
 burial, and i' made great lamentation over 
 
 3 him. As for Saul 'he made havoc of the 
 church, entering into every house, aud 
 
 «ch. 11 : 19-21. k Gen. 50:10. 1 ch. 9 : 1-13, 21 ; 22 : 4 ; Gal. 1 : i:5. 
 
 same word is used in Luke 11 : 48, 
 " Ye allow," api)rove witli satisfaction, 
 " the deeds of your fathers." (See 22 -. 20.) 
 Thus Saul shared their t;uilt (Rum. 1 : 32), 
 which Paul doubtless often confessed 
 (22.20), and no doubt in the hearing of 
 J^uke. Some have supposed that Saul 
 was a member of the Sanhedrin. But 
 the language here rather iuij>lies that 
 he was not one of them, but that he was 
 pleased to act in concert witli them in 
 thus hastily and suninuirily killing one 
 whom he regarded as guilty of a most 
 heinous crime. Some infer from 2(3 : 10 
 tliat lie soon after became a member of 
 that body. 
 
 At that time — on that day of 
 Stephen's death and burial, and as an 
 immediate consequence there arose a 
 great persecution. (u:i9.) This 
 violent and sudden outbreak spread 
 against the discipleshi]) generally. 
 The Pharisees and the tickle populace 
 now unite with the Sadducees. 
 Against the church — or congrega- 
 tion of believers, (seeoi. s: 11.) All 
 were scattered abroad. All used 
 in a popular sense, meaning a general 
 dispersion. Thus we say, " It is known 
 to all," when we mean it is generally 
 known. The Christian assemblages 
 and the arrangement of alms-distrib- 
 utors were broken up, and the body 
 that gathered in daily worship was 
 scattered. Many, doubtless, afterward 
 returned. Judea and Samaria — 
 all of Palestine south of Galilee. Why 
 Galilee is omitted is uncertain, as some- 
 what later churches were there. (» • si) 
 Pehaps that region, where many of the 
 five hundred disciples resided (1 Cor. 
 15 : 6), did not so much need these evan- 
 gelists. Except the apostles. 
 They doubtless remained under the 
 general influence and direction of the 
 Holy Spirit. As the divinely appointed 
 leaders, they seem to have felt it their 
 duty to stay and watch over the inter- 
 est of the church at the centre of Jew- 
 
 ish Christianity. A divine providence 
 appears to have protected them. " It 
 is not unlikely tliat tlie ]>ersecution 
 was principally directed against those 
 who symi)atlazed with Stej)hen, and 
 boldly avowed their belief in a change 
 of the customs of Moses. There is 
 nothing in Peter's speeches to show 
 that he had gone as far as Stephen. 
 lie was more conservative; and it may 
 be that he and the other aj)Ostles for 
 this cause escaped awliile." (Dk. P. 
 ScHAFF, iu International Jlec. Corn- 
 men tar >/.) 
 
 2. And— carrying back the mind to 
 the expiring Stephen. (V:60.) De- 
 vout men — pious Jews, who did not 
 approve of ]»utting Stei>heii to death, 
 and in this way showed their belief in 
 his innocence. (2:5.) The Idind fury 
 of persecution would not have allowed 
 Christians to formally bury him. 
 Notice that they are not called be- 
 lievers (5 : 14), or disciples. (6;1;9:1.) 
 Stephen must be buried according to 
 Jewish custom, but the fact stated is 
 that it was done by devout men, a 
 phrase never used in the New Testa- 
 ment to describe Christians. Ch. 22 : 12 
 is no exception, for Paul is describing 
 Ananias to a Jewish audience accord- 
 ing to a Jewish standard. Carried — 
 jointly bore away, or buried Stephen. 
 They united in giving him a religions 
 burial. Made great lamentation — 
 with beating of the breaat, as a sign of 
 grief, according to the Jewish custom. 
 Over him — over his body, as they 
 stood around his bier. (See Author's 
 Notes on Matt. 9 : 22.) 
 
 3. As for Saul — but Saul, in con- 
 trast to the devout .Tews who mourned 
 over Stejihen and gave him rites of 
 burial. He ignored the conservative 
 advice of his teacher, Gamaliel. (5 : 34.) 
 The persecution at first was doubtless 
 severe and fitful, but Saul enters into it 
 systematically and perseveriiii^ly. He 
 made havoc — wasted or ravaged the 
 
120 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VIII. 
 
 haling men and women, committed them 
 to prison. 
 4 Therefore "they that were scattered 
 
 abroml «eiit every where preaching th« 
 
 5 word. 'J Lien Philip went down to the 
 
 city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto 
 
 ' ch. 11 : 19. 
 
 church, like a fierce wild beast. This 
 is confirmed by Paul's description of 
 
 himself. (26:9, lO; l Tim. 1:13.) llow he 
 
 devastated the church is told in tlie 
 rest of tlie verse. Entering into 
 every house — liouse after house. His 
 intense zeal sliowed itself iu not stoj)- 
 ping witli ])u]jlic places and gatherings, 
 liut iu searcliing privately for disciples, 
 and in haling — druf/ying both men 
 and women. His violent seizure of 
 tpomen indicates his severe cruelty, and 
 is mentioned twice after tliis. (9:2; 
 22:4.) Committed them to prison 
 — for trial (':■•)) and sometimes as a 
 punishment. ('j6;Io.) Our Lord fore- 
 told this form of persecution. (Luke 21 ; 
 12.) Tlius he pei"secuted " beyond meas- 
 ure " (Gal. 1 : i:i), put some to death (22 : 4 ; 
 26:10), and used every effort to mal^e 
 Christians blasi)hcme the holy name of 
 Jesus. (26:11.) He appears to have 
 continued this for several months, and 
 his fame as a persecutor spread far and 
 wide, even into foreign cities. Thus 
 Ananias at Damascus had lieard of him. 
 
 (9:13, 21; Phil. .1:6; 1 Cor. 15:9.) He acted 
 
 under the authority of tlie Sanhedrin 
 (9:2), and iu the meantime may have 
 become a member of that l)od}'. 
 
 4-25. The Gospel Preached in 
 Samaria, by Philip, Peter, and 
 John. The false conversion of Simon 
 tlie Sorcerer. (Ps. 78: 37.) 
 
 4. They therefore — resuming the 
 thought of ver. 1, and introducing the 
 results of the persecution, the rapi(l dif- 
 fusion of tlie gospel. Thus what ap- 
 ])eared to be a terrible calamity is over- 
 ruled for good in fulfilling our Lord's 
 words, " Ye shall lie my witnesses, both 
 in Jerusalem and in all Judea and 
 Samaria." (1 ■■».) "We have here the 
 first exemiilificiition of Tertiillian's 
 noted saying: "The blood of tlie mar- 
 tyrs is the seed of the church." Went 
 everywhere — or through the towns 
 and villages of Palestine. As they con- 
 tinued their missionary labors their 
 circuit was greatly extended, going as 
 far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and An- 
 tioeh, (u ; 19.) Preaching, wmQunC' 
 
 ing, the Avord as glad tidings respect- 
 ing Christ and his salvation. The dis- 
 ci])les geiieially thus liecame the pro- 
 claiujcrs of tiie go.sjiel, some more 
 formally than others, but all joyfully 
 and sjiontaiKOiisly. Here it would 
 seem that evangelists among the minis- 
 try arose. (21 : 8; ei,ii.4 : 11.) It is also to 
 be noted that they were not appointed 
 by the aito.-ths, but entered upon their 
 ministry under the direction of God's 
 providence ami Spirit. 
 
 5. The general statement of the pre- 
 ceding vei-se is illustrated by a single 
 exami>le, si leeted not only because it 
 was one of the first remarkable suc- 
 cesses of the gospel, but also because it 
 fulfilled our Saviour's words (i:8) in 
 extending the tnith into a race that 
 held an intermediate j'hice between 
 Jews and Gentiles. Then, rather, 
 And, simply continuing the narrative. 
 Philii> — one of the seven. (6:7.) Not 
 the apostle, for he remained at Jerusa- 
 lem. (Ver. I.) The persecution would 
 naturally be hottest among the foreign 
 Jews, since it began among them (s : s-ii), 
 and Saul of Tarsus was their leader. 
 Philip is called " the evangelist " (21 : a), 
 indicating that he had well earned that 
 title, and his ministry as an evangelist 
 probably now began. There is no evi- 
 dence that he preached, because he was 
 a deacon. Indeed, the persecution must 
 have interfered with the distribution of 
 goods. And with the scattering of the 
 discijiles the alms distributors must 
 have had comparatively little to do. 
 Pbili]> was no longer needed at Jeru.sa- 
 lein as a deacon. Under the direction 
 and call of the Spirit, he enters upon 
 the work of an evangelist. (See closing 
 note on jireceding verse.) The city of 
 Samaria, ilany manuscripts read a 
 city, etc. Hence some suppose Sychar, 
 or the ancient Shechem, to be meant. 
 (John 4:5.) But Wcstcott and Hort, fol- 
 lowing the most ancient authorities, 
 read the city of Samaria, the royal capi- 
 tal of the kingdom of Israel for two 
 hundred years, founded by Omri, B. C. 
 y25, about thirty-eight mijes worth of 
 
Ch. VIIL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 121 
 
 6 them. And tlie jieojjle with oue accord 
 gave heed unlo those things wliich I'liilip 
 spake, hearing and seeing the luiraclis 
 
 7 which he did. For •> unclean spirits, cry- 
 ing with loud voice, came out of many.thai 
 
 were possessed u-illi th- m : and many taken 
 with jialsies, and that were lame, were 
 8 healed. Aud there was great joy in that 
 city. 
 
 ■> ch. 5 : IG ; Mark 10 : 17. 
 
 Jerusalem. It was more than once 
 destroyed, but was restoreil aiul rebuilt 
 by Herod the Great, and called Sebaste, 
 the Greek eciuivaleiit of Augusta, in 
 honor of Augustus Giesar. It was still 
 often called Samaria. In regard to 
 tiie Samaritan, see 2 Kings 17 : 24-41 ; 
 Ezra 4 : 1-3 ; John 4 : 9. Preached 
 Christ to them — was procUiiming to 
 thcnt the Christ, that he had come, and 
 that Jesus of Nazareth was he. The 
 Samaritans were expecting the Messiah. 
 ( jiihn 4 : ib. ) The Verb translated preached, 
 means to make proclaination as a pub- 
 lie herald. This appears to have been 
 the iirst public preaching of the gosjiel 
 outside of the Jewish nation. Jesus 
 had visited Sychar on his way from 
 Jerusalem to Galilee, and had con- 
 versed with the woman at tlie well 
 aud with the inhabitants of the city 
 regarding himself, but there is no 
 record of his preaching publicly there. 
 (John 4: 27-43.) And wheu he sent forth 
 his apostles, two by two, he exjiressly 
 charged them, " Go not into the way 
 of the Gentiles, and into a city of Sa- 
 maritans enter not." (Matt, lo ; 5.) 
 
 It was a bold step of faith in Pliilip 
 to preach the gospel to the half- 
 heathen Samaritans. It was the 
 first step in overcoming the barriers of 
 prejudice that surrounded the Jewish 
 nation. (JohQ4:9.) " He who eats the 
 bread of a Samaritan," said the Jewish 
 doctor, " is as one who eats swine's 
 flesh." " No Samaritan shall ever be 
 made a proselyte. They have no share in 
 tlie resurrection of the dead. To be a 
 Samaritan was to have a devil in the 
 eyes of a rigid Jew." (John 8 : «.) (Dr. 
 J. B. LiGHTFOOT, Com. 011 Gal., p. 
 299.) Yet Jesus had prepared the way 
 at Sychar. (Joha 4 : 5-42.) 
 
 6. And the people — the multitude 
 — gave heed. They trere unanimouali/ 
 attentive to Philip's preaching. (16 ; 14 ; 
 Heb. 2 : 1.) Hearing and seeing — the 
 occasion of their favorable interest. 
 Whm they h^ard the message which 
 
 was welcome to them, and saw the 
 si(jns irhieh he did, being evidences of 
 the truth he uttered and of his own 
 commission from the Lord. (2 : 22 ; 6 : a.) 
 The visit of Jesus, a few years before, 
 doubtless contributed to Fliilip's suc- 
 cess. The announcement of the Mes- 
 siah was pleasing to the Samaritans, 
 and also that God was no respecter 
 
 of persons. (JoUu 4 : 25-42: see ver. 8.) The 
 
 miracles of Philip also were most im- 
 portant, since Simon Magus had de- 
 luded the i>eople with his lying won- 
 ders. (Ver. 9-11.) 
 
 7. The signs are here given. The 
 demoniacal jiossessions are expressly 
 distinguished from the natural diseases. 
 For unclean spirits. The oldest 
 manuscrijits read : For many of those 
 ■who had unclean spirits. Not all of 
 them. Crying with a loud voice. 
 Confessing, perhaps, the power of 
 
 Christ. (See ilarkS : 11 ; Luke 4 : 41 ) On lin- 
 
 clean spirits and their possession of 
 men, see note on Mark 1 : 23. The 
 three maladies here mentioned were 
 probably the worst of those healed. 
 " It is worthy of note, tliat Luke in tlie 
 Acts, in speaking of those possessed, 
 never uses the term demons {daimonia), 
 which he himself in the gospel has 
 nevertheless employed oftener than the 
 other Evangelists. From which one 
 may infer that the power of possession 
 was feebler after Christ's death. (1 Joim 
 
 3:8; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14.) " (BENGEL.) It 
 
 may also be noted that no possession of 
 an Israelite is recorded m the Acts, 
 but among those only where Chri.'it's 
 power had not come in direct contliet 
 with evil spirits, such as Samaritans 
 aud Gentiles, (is : le-is ; 19 : ii-iti.) 
 
 8. There Avas great, or much, 
 joy in that city. The great joy arose 
 from the general interest of all the peo- 
 ple, from the wonderful cures effected, 
 and from the welcome tidings of par- 
 don and salvation. (See on ver K.) It " is 
 to be restricted, neither to the natural 
 eujoyweut ot" lecovereiJ health, io o»e's 
 
122 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii. VIII. 
 
 9 But there was a certain man, called 
 Simon, which beforetimes in the same city 
 used sorcery, and bewitched the people of 
 
 Samaria, giving out that himself was 
 
 10 some great one: to whom they all gave 
 
 heed, from the least to the greatest, say- 
 
 ' ch. 13 : 6. 
 
 own person and in that of others, nor 
 to the intellectual pleasure of acquiring 
 knowledge and discovering trutli, nor 
 to the spiritual happiness arising from 
 conversion and assurance of forgive- 
 ness, but must be understood as com- 
 prehending all these elements, and 
 therefore justly called (/rent joy." 
 (Alexander.) 
 
 9. With this verse begins an account 
 of the first conllict of Christianity with 
 one of the impostures of the outside 
 world. The logical statement is, that 
 the field was already occupied Avhen 
 Philip entered it. Simon was a native 
 of Gitton of Samaria, according to 
 Justin Martyr, who was himself a 
 Samaritan. Josephus, who would be 
 less likely to know regarding tins, 
 speaks of a Simon Magus, a native of 
 Cyprus, a dependent of Felix and a 
 minister of his vices. Neander regards 
 the two as the same person. The name 
 Simon was, however, a common one. 
 Magicians were not uncommon in the 
 Apostolic age. In 13 : 8 we have an 
 account of another one, Elymas. (i9: is.) 
 Concerning the earlier and better 
 class of the JIagicians, see note on 
 Matt. 2 : 1. Simon is an important 
 character in Ecclesiastical History, but 
 much concerning him is legendary. 
 He is spoken of as the father of the 
 Gnostics, and the founder of a heretical 
 sect called Simonians, "whose tenets 
 were a mixture of Oriental, Jewish, 
 Samaritan, and Grecian religious ele- 
 ments. The germ of their principles 
 may be plainly traced back to this 
 Simon, though we cannot attribute to 
 him the complete system of this sect, as 
 it existed in the second century." 
 (Neander, Planting and Training, p. 
 64.) Used Sorcery — practicing magi- 
 cal arts. His power derived, ])erhaps, 
 partly from an a<lvanced knowledge of 
 natural philosophy, especially chemis- 
 try, and partly from the arts of con- 
 juration and jugglery. Bewitched. 
 A strong word in the original, to throw 
 into wonderment; they were carried 
 away with astoaishmeut. The people 
 
 — the nation of Samaria, showing how 
 widespread his influence had become 
 throughout the whole j)rovince of Sa- 
 maria. This may imply, as Alexander 
 remarks, that he was an itinerant magi- 
 cian (i9:i3), who reached the city a 
 little I)efore Philip's arrival, although 
 previously known to the inhabitants, 
 as mentioned in ver. 11. Giving 
 out — declaring himself to be, boast- 
 ing that he was, some great one 
 - — some extraordinary person. The ex- 
 pression is stronger than that in 5 : 
 36. Perhajjs not asserting, but leaving 
 the impression that he was superhuman, 
 that, according to the Oriental philoso- 
 phy, one of the eons, or emanations of 
 Divinity had now appeared in his per- 
 son. According to Justin Martyr he 
 pretended that he was God. Jerome 
 relates that he said, " I am the Son of 
 God," "the Paraclete," "the Al- 
 mighty," etc. But these bold asser- 
 tions, if made by him, were pro])ably 
 uttered after this, when his opposition 
 to Peter and Christianity became fixed 
 and intense. 
 
 10. AH . . . from the least to the 
 greatest — The people generally, both 
 young and old. The Samaritans were 
 peculiarly susceptible to such deluding 
 influences. " In limes of vague and 
 earnest inquiry, various kinds of ex- 
 travagance are likely to prevail. This 
 Mas the case with the Samaritans. As 
 at that time in other parts of the East, 
 a similar indefinite longing after a new 
 communication from heaven — an om- 
 inous restlessness in the minds of men, 
 such as generally precedes great 
 changes in the history of mankind, 
 was spread abroad ; so there were not 
 wanting persons to misdirect and de- 
 ceive this longing, while they falsely 
 promised it .satisfaction." (Neander, 
 Planting and Training, p. 58.) The 
 estimate of the peojjle concerning 
 Simon is now given : This man is 
 the great power of God, or accord- 
 ing to the oldest and best manuscripts, 
 This man is that power of God which 
 is called great, he is the great one, a 
 
Ch. VIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 123 
 
 ing. This niaa is the great pow» r of God. 
 
 11 And to hiiu they had regard, because 
 that of long liiue he had p bewitched theui 
 
 12 with sorceries. But when they believed 
 Philip preaching the things i conuerniDg 
 
 the kingdom of God, and the name of 
 Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both 
 13 men and women. Then 'Simon himself 
 believed also : and when he was ba]>tized, 
 he continued with hhilip, and wondered, 
 
 P 2 Thess. 2 : 10. i ch. 1:3. ' ver. 21 ; Ps. 78 : 3G, 37. 
 
 kind of emanation from the Invisible 
 God, manifested in his person. And 
 he was doubtless willing to be so ac- 
 counted. To whom they gave 
 heed — the same verb as in ver. 6. 
 " To Philip they gave heed because of 
 his doctrine and his miracles of be- 
 neficent healing ; to Simon, because of 
 their astonishment at his works of 
 witchcraft. Mere wonder-worlcing is 
 never a sound basis for a religious 
 belief, a truth which tlie modern spirit- 
 ists would do well to bear in mind." 
 (Abbott.) 
 
 11. To him they had regard- 
 rather, they gave heed — the same word 
 so rendered in ver. 6 and 10. The rea- 
 son of this attentive following is given : 
 Because for a long time he had be- 
 witched, rather, amazed them with his 
 sorceries. (See on ver. 9-) This was no 
 new thing, for Simon had continued a 
 long or considerable time (for the note 
 of time is quite indefinite), carrying 
 away the people with his enchant- 
 ments. Whetlier Simon Magus did 
 perform wonders through Satanic in- 
 nuence, or only imposed on the people, 
 is not definitely settled by the narra- 
 tive. Witchcraft was practiced in Old 
 Testament times, and at the present day 
 frauds are practiced in the East by 
 Mohammedan astrologers. But whether 
 frauds or only partly so, Satan was at 
 the bottom, who is " the prince of the 
 power of the air," and works " in the 
 children of disobedience." (Eph. 2 : 2.) 
 
 12. The Samaritans had been held 
 spellbound under the power of Simon, 
 the sorcerer, but the charm was broken 
 by the power of the gospel. But 
 wheu they believed— the peojile 
 generally. Preaching the things, 
 etc. — rather, Announcing the good news 
 concerning the kingdom of God — its 
 history, doctrines, prospects, and re- 
 quirements. (See 1:3.) And the name 
 of Jesus — proclaiming him as tlie 
 Saviour. (Mati. 1 : 21.) Christ — tlie 
 Messiah, the Anointed prophet, priest, 
 
 and king, (see on 3 : ic ; 4 : 10, 12.) Notice 
 Philip preaches not himself, but Jesus 
 Christ; but Simon Magus exhibits 
 himself and his jjowers. They were 
 baptized, professing their belief in 
 what they had heard of Christ and his 
 kingdom and their allegiance to him 
 and their union with him. Both men 
 and women — showing that the gos])el 
 was prevailing greatly in Samaria, 
 even as it had some time before at 
 Jerusalem. (0 : u.) It should be no- 
 ticed that Philip in Samaria began 
 to carry into practice the doctrine 
 which Steplien preached, and to fulfill 
 the prediction of Jesus just before his 
 ascension. (i:8.) He was the founder 
 of a semi-Jewish or semi-Gentile 
 church. Tlie Jewish Christians could 
 assent to this, since the Samaritans 
 were circumcised and held to the law 
 of Moses. 
 
 13. The miraculous signs wrought 
 by Philip not only overcame the influ- 
 ence of the sorceries of Simon, Imt also 
 convinced Simon himself of their 
 reality. He himself believed — 
 that what Philip preached was true, 
 tiiat Jesus was the ilessiah, but he 
 failed to appropriate him, by a per- 
 sojial, saving faith, as his Saviour. His 
 faith was only historical and intellect- 
 ual, with no change of his inner life, 
 as is shown by his after conduct and 
 Peter's rebuke, (ver. 17-21.) We need 
 not regard his professed conversion and 
 his baptism as acts of deceit, but as a 
 desire to reform and as a temporary 
 improvement. " He was overcome at 
 the moment liy the heavenly power of 
 1 the truth, and he surrendered himself to 
 it for a time, and to a certain degree. 
 But it was only to a certain degree ! He 
 allowed not the light to penetrate into 
 '. the concealed dei>tlis of his heart ; there 
 i was no thorough humiliation of the 
 man." (Olshausen.) He con- 
 ! tinned — he irns adhering to Philip. 
 1 He was a constant attendant upon 
 J Philip, apparently proffering his ser- 
 
124 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 LCh. VIII. 
 
 beholding the miiaclcs aud signs which 
 were doue. 
 14 8 Now »hen tho apost'es which were at 
 Jerusalem heard thai Samaria had n. cei ved 
 
 the word of God, t hi y sent iibto ihem Peter 
 
 15 and John: who, wliuii they were come 
 down, prayed for Ihem 'that they might 
 
 16 receive the Holy t^pirit : for " as yet he was 
 
 I ch. 11 : 22. t ch. 2 : 38 ; John 20 : 22. » ch. 19 : 2. 
 
 vices as an assistant. Tlras be could 
 watch and study tiie uiiratlcs. The 
 bi.story of Simon ilagus refutes the 
 doynia of l>aptisuial regeneration. 
 Wondered — the same Avord rendered 
 " bewitehetl " in ver. 9, 11. lie who 
 liiid otiiazed others is himself amazed. 
 I>chGlding the miracles and 
 si^ns. ilanuscript autliority appears 
 to preponderate for the reading : siri)ts 
 and great VI irac/<s. (see on 2: 22.) Simon 
 ■was astonished ; for be liad never seen 
 nor done the like. His religion was 
 not that of faith in ("lirist, or of su- 
 preme love to God ; Init of wonder at a 
 power which be coveted, the reality of 
 which he could not doulit. 
 
 14. When the apostles Avhich 
 were at Jerusalem — they were re- 
 maining there, (ver. 1.) Heard that 
 Samaria — the country of Sanutria, 
 represented by its capital city, (vcr.s.) 
 Received the Avord of God — ac- 
 cepted by faith the gosj)el as a revela- 
 tion from Goil. This was piobaldy a 
 suri)rise to the apostles, since the Sa- 
 maritans were a mixed (Jewish and 
 Gentile) race, and Jews and Samar- 
 itans mutually detested each otlur. 
 
 (John 4:9; b : ix; Luke D : 5;;, 5.1.) JeSUS, bow- 
 
 ever, bad prepared the way in counter- 
 acting their prejudices by bis personal 
 labors among them (Joimch. 4), and by 
 bis prediction that the gosjx'l should 
 be preached to them. (1 :8.) The bar- 
 riers of religious prejudice gave way 
 when the apostles sent to them, 
 the Samaritans. Peter and John — 
 closely attached friends, perhaps the 
 more so by their dissimilarity of 
 character. Tb.e narrative sliows that 
 they acted jointly and equal in author- 
 ity. (.See on 3:1.) They go together ac- 
 cording as Jesus sent out two by two. 
 (Mark 6: 7.) Such appears to have been 
 the practice of the early missionaries. 
 Thus Paul and Barnabas (13:2), Paul 
 and Silas (i:'':2), and Barnabas and 
 Mark (15:37), labored in pairs. John, 
 wbo would call dowu fire from heavea 
 
 on a Samaritan village because it re- 
 jected Jesus (Luke9:5t), lio'w gOeS to the 
 
 believing Samaritans on a gospel mis- 
 sion. This is tlie last mention of Jolin 
 in the Acts as connected with active 
 work. He is incidentally named as 
 tlie brother of James in 12 : 2, and 
 from (a.l 2 : 9, it appears that be was 
 at the conference at Jerusalem. (i5:4) 
 Tlie object of this mission of Peter and 
 John was of a varied and general char- 
 acter. To learn the state of things, aid 
 Philip in bis work, .supply what might 
 be wanting, extend sympathy and the 
 band of fellowship to believers in 
 Samaria. 
 
 15. Who . . . prayed for them 
 that they might receive the Holy 
 ! Sjiirit — and thus be put on a level 
 I with the believing Jews, and be openly 
 owned as Christ's followers. It is im- 
 plied that the Spirit came, in this in- 
 stance, in answer to the prayer of the 
 i a} ostles. But in the case of Cornelius 
 A\ ilbout either the prayer or the laying 
 on of bands. (lO: 44.) 
 I 10. For as yet he — not if, as in 
 : the Pevised Version. The Holy Spirit 
 I is a Divine Person, and should be re- 
 j ferred to by the masculine pronoun. 
 Jesus, the great teacher, makes this 
 I distinction, " Ilowbeit when he, the 
 1 Spirit of truth, iscome, he will guide 
 you into all truth." (John 16 : 13-15.) Had 
 \ "fallen — implying something sudden 
 and extraordinary, (see 10 ;44: ii:i5i 13: 
 
 I 11; 19: 17; Kzek. 11:5.) I'pOU DOUB of 
 
 ! them. The miraculous gifts of the 
 Spirit had not come upon them. Tliey 
 bad believed and received the regener- 
 ating influence of the Spirit (John 3. 5), 
 but thev bad not received the power 
 from on"bigh. (s.ei:8.) It is evident 
 from ver. 18 that the gift of the Spirit 
 here meant was attended with outward 
 and visilde pb.enomena, such as speak- 
 ing witli tongues. Only, as believers, 
 they had been baptized in, or into, 
 the name of the Lord Jesus, into 
 
 I a professed union ^vith bim and 6ub* 
 
Ch. vni.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 125 
 
 fallen upon noue of them : only itheynere 17 Then J laid they f/ic/r hands on tliem, and 
 baptized in the uame of the Lord Je.sns. they received the Holy Ghost. 
 
 » ch. 10 : 48 ; Matt. 28 : 19. T ch. 19 : 6; 2 Tim. 1 : 6. 
 
 jection to him without receiving those 
 sii|)enialural gifts of th« Spirit, which 
 ha<l been so coinmoii in the clmrcli at 
 Jerusalem. Compare " upon the 
 uaine" ('^ :"•'<), and "in the name" 
 (io:4«), and also note on Matt. 28 : 19. 
 Some object to the rendering " I'vi the 
 uame " as misleatliug, and to "into the 
 uame " as not good English, though the 
 literal form of the Greek ; and prefer 
 " unto the name," with reference to tlie 
 name and all the obligations im- 
 plied, here signifying allegiance and 
 subjection to the Lord Jesus. (See Dk. 
 Broadus, Commentary, Matt. 28 : 19.) 
 There is no discrepancy between 
 Matthew (28: 19) and Luke (here and 19 : ;,■) 
 The commission " into the name of the 
 Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
 Spirit " includes the name of the Lord 
 Jesus, and " into the name of the 
 Lord Jesus " does not exclude the 
 Father and the Holy Spirit from the 
 baptismal formula. The apostolic 
 preaching and profession ';entered in 
 Jesus. God the Father and the Holy 
 Spirit Avere accepted by the Jews, so 
 far as they understood. To accept 
 Jesus as Lord and Christ was to ac- 
 knowledge that he came from the 
 Father, and that lie had sent the Holy 
 Spirit into tiie world. To be baptized 
 into the name of the Lord Jesus was a 
 brief cotnpreliensive expression, hing- 
 ing upon tlie central person of the 
 Godhead. It makes no pretension to 
 being a baptismal formula, but only a 
 statement of a fact which implies, not 
 merely allegiance to the Son, but also 
 to the two other persons of the Triune 
 God. The question, " Into what then 
 were ye baptized? " (i9:3) shoM^s Paul's 
 surprise that any could be baptized 
 into the name of i lie Lord Jesus with- 
 out hearing of tlie Holy Sjiirit, and 
 implies that the name of the Holy 
 Spirit was connected with baptism. 
 
 (See on 19 : 3 f.) 
 
 17. Prayer is answered in the gifts 
 of the Spirit. Tlie Spirit who was 
 about to come upon the Samaritan be- 
 lievers doubtless moved Peter and John 
 to lay oil hands ; aud thus he honored 
 
 them as Christ's apostles. Then they 
 laid their hands on them and 
 they received. The imperfect tense 
 describes the action as continuing and 
 in progress: t/iey were laying on their 
 hands, and they were receiving. The 
 jjrayer appears to have been made once 
 for all, aud afterward the imposition of 
 hands upon the converts iu succession, 
 taking considerable time. It would 
 also seem from the next verse that 
 Simon was witnessing this manifesta- 
 tion of the Spirit on one after another. 
 The natural inference is that hands 
 were laid u]>on all who had been baji- 
 tizcd. This, however, was not neces- 
 sarily the case. TheyAvere not laid on 
 Simon (next verse), and perliaps not 
 upon some others. The laying on of 
 hands was a common practice in Old 
 Testament times. Jacob laid his hands 
 on Joseph's sons, in connection with 
 his benediction. (Gen. 48: 14-20.) Aaron 
 and his sons laid their hands on certain 
 animals for sacrifice. (Exod. 29 :io, 15, 19.) 
 Closes laid his hands on Joshua, at the 
 command of Jehovah, designating him 
 as an a.ssociate with himself (Num, 27: 
 18-2.1), and attended by the bestowment 
 of the spirit of wisdom upon him. 
 (Dent. 34:9.) In the New Testament we 
 have Jesus putting his hands on chil- 
 dren and blessing them (Mark 10 : le) ; the 
 apostles laying their hands on the 
 Seven with prayer, at their election to 
 office (6:6), on which see note; on the 
 Samaritan converts (this verse) ; Paul 
 on the twelve at Ephesus, who there- 
 upon receive the miraculous gift of the 
 Spirit (19: e) ; Ananias on Saul of Tar- 
 sus, who receives his sight and is filled 
 with the Spirit. (9:i7.) Besides these, the 
 church at Antioch set apart Barnalias 
 and Saul for tlieir missionary work 
 with prayer and laying on of hands. 
 (13 :3.) Timotliyalso received the super- 
 natural gifts of the Spi rit when the hands 
 of the eldershi]) (iTim.4:i4), including 
 the apo.stle Paul (2Tiin. i:6), were laid 
 upon him at his ordination to the min- 
 istry. From these exami)les it apjiears 
 that the bestowment of the miraculous 
 gifts of the Spirit in connection with 
 
126 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VIII. 
 
 18 And when Simon saw that through lay- 
 ing on of the apostles' hands the Holy 
 Spirit was given, he otfered them money, 
 
 19 saying, Give me also this power, that on 
 
 whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive 
 20 the Holy Spirit,. But Peter said unto 
 him, I Thy money perish with thee, be- 
 cause » thou hast thought that i> the gift 
 
 » 2 Kings -> : 2(>, 27 ; Dan. 5 : 17. 
 
 ' Matt. 10 : 8 ; 2 Kings 5 : 16. i> eh. 10 : 45 ; 11 : 17. 
 
 the laying on of hands was confined to 
 the apostles. The layiuj^ on of hands 
 was a symbolical act connected with 
 prayer that God would bestow the gifts 
 of the Sjtirit. The case of Ananias, in 
 relation to Paul, seems to be excep- 
 tional, lie was specially commissioned 
 of the Lord to minister to Paul ; and it 
 does not certainly appear that the gifts 
 of tlie Spirit were bestowed tlirough tlie 
 laying on of the hands of Ananias. 
 (SL-eou!*: 17.) If this powcf was con- 
 fined to tlie ai)ostles, who had no suc- 
 cessors in the church (see on i : 2'.'), tlien 
 with them must have ceased this power 
 of conferring the ability to exercise 
 sui)ernatural gifts. 
 
 This j)assage and 19 : 5, 6, are the 
 chief authorities for the rite of con- 
 firmation, as practice<l by tlie Episco- 
 pal and Roman Catholic churches, in 
 receiving persons into full membership 
 of the church. But in neither of these 
 cases does it apjiear that liands were 
 laid upon them for the jiuri)Ose of re- 
 ceiving them into church member- 
 ship, but for the bestowment of su- 
 pernatural gifts of the Spirit. They 
 entered tlie cliurcji l)y ba])tism. (ver. 
 12, 38,39: 1:4?.) Other' passaices cited, 
 such as Heb. C> : 2 ; 2 <'or. 1 : 21 ; Eph. 
 1:13, 14; 2 Tim. 2 : i:i, afford no 
 Scriptural ground for the rite of con- 
 firmation, nor proof that Christ or liis 
 apostles instituted it. It was fittiui,' 
 that miracles .should attend the first jvro- 
 mulgation of the gosju-l, and that mi- 
 raculous gift.s of tlie S]>irif sliould at- 
 tend the first coming of the Holy Spirit 
 among the Jews, the Samaritans, an<l 
 the Gentiles. (iO:44.) It was fittim; 
 also that the a]iostles, the introdii.'ers 
 of Christianity, and the organizers ami 
 ins]>ired teacliers of the cliurch, sliould 
 be accredited by the miracles of the 
 Holy S])irit. 
 
 18. When Simon saw that 
 through layins; on of the apos- 
 tles' hands, etc. From this it is 
 evident that the outward and sensible 
 efl'ects of the Holy Spirit were uiaui- 
 
 ! fested, such as sjieakiug with tongues ; 
 I and that this attended and followed 
 I the laying on of hands by the apostles. 
 I It is also implied tliat hands had not 
 I yet been laid on Simon. And Simon 
 ' geeiiif/ this power conferred on others, 
 selfishly desired to receive the same gift 
 j himself. Had the Sjiirit come upon 
 him, he could not so soon liave iiuule 
 the oiler of money. "His impatient 
 desire waits not even for his own ex- 
 perience . . . and before it came to his 
 turn to receive the imposition of hands, 
 he makes his proposal, perhaps even 
 as a condition of allowing the hands to 
 belaidu})onhim." (MEYER.) OtTered 
 them money — brought moneij to them, 
 as if to bribe them, or to purchase the 
 jiower. Simon thus ranks this apostolic 
 )>ower with that of the magicians, who 
 were accustomed to sell the knowledge 
 of their arts. From this man and this 
 act the name si)no)iy has been given to 
 the crime of buying or selling ecclesi- 
 astical otKces or lienefits in the church. 
 i 19. The comjiletion of the sentence 
 I l)egun in the last verse. Give me 
 ; also — as well as yourselves. He was 
 j ambitious to be on a level with tlie 
 : apostles. He saw that the possession 
 I of such power would be of great 
 worldly advantage to him in iiicrt'asing 
 ' liis influence ami amassing wealth. The 
 ort'er, the thought, and the jiurjiose 
 sliowed that he wa« a stranger to tlie 
 inner ]iower and renewintr of the Holy 
 S|)irit. Holy Spirit is without the arti- 
 cle. Simon verj- jirobably had no con- 
 ception of him as a personal agent,and 
 very little iilea of his s])iritual jiower 
 and iiilluenee, beyond the name wliich 
 he had heard. 
 I 20. Thus for in the narrative the 
 two apostles ajipear strictly associated ; 
 j but now Peter steps forth in his per- 
 I sonal, positive, and imjuilsive charac- 
 ter, and as the sj'okesman of the two. 
 Thy money perish with thee — thy 
 I silrtr 6<' irilh tlirc unto destruction ! 
 j An outburst of holy indignation and 
 horror, at the thought and proposal of 
 
Cu. VIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 127 
 
 of God may be purchased with money. 
 
 21 <:Thou hast neither part nor lot in this 
 matter: for ''thy heart is not right in the 
 
 22 sight of God. « Repent therefore of this 
 
 thy wickedness, and pray God, if perliiips 
 
 the thought of thine heart may be f'or- 
 
 23 giveu thee. For 1 perceive that thou art 
 
 in the gall of bitterness, and in 'the 
 
 Enek. li : 3. * Ilab. 2:4; Matt. 6 : 22-24. • 2 Tim. 2 : 25, 26. ' Prov. 5 : 22 ; John 
 8 : 34 ; 2 Peter 2 : 19. 
 
 making religion the means of worldly- 
 gain. This i.s not a curse nor a deliber- 
 ate wish, for Peter exhorts him to re- 
 pentance in ver. 22. Because thou 
 didat think to obtain, or acquire, the 
 gift of God toith money. The sin con- 
 sisted in tlie thought and purpose of 
 bribing God, and obtaining with money 
 tlie divine gift. Tlie thought and the 
 attempt were insulting to the Spirit of 
 God. To Peter gold and silver, like all 
 things earthly, were corruptible and 
 perishable, (i P'ter i : n, is.) 
 
 21. Peter plainly declares to Simon 
 his spiritually lost condition, whicli 
 was not only evident from his conduct, 
 but also doubtless known to Peter 
 through the Holy Spirit. Neither 
 part nor lot — two words almost 
 equivalent, tlie first used literally, the 
 second tigurativelj', making a very 
 strong and emphatic expression. Thou 
 hast neither share nor allotted portion 
 in this matter, this thing spoken of, 
 literally, this word. This has been 
 variously referred, to the gift of the 
 Spirit, to the power or authority to 
 communicate the Sjiirit, or to tlie gos- 
 pel word which had been preached. 
 The latter seems to accord better with 
 the usage of the word and with the 
 description which follows of Simon's 
 utterly graceless state. He had no 
 share in the gospel word (ver. u) of 
 present and eternal salvation, and hence 
 no interest in the ordinary or extraor- 
 dinary benefits of the Spirit. Simon 
 was entirely separated in character, 
 interest, and destiny from all that the 
 word of the gospel proffered tQ men. (See 
 
 2 Sam. JO : 1 ; Deut. 10 : 9) For^illtroducing 
 
 the reason, with such a heart thou canst 
 have no portion of gospel blessings and 
 intiuence. Not right — literally, not 
 straight, not upright, l)ut crooked and 
 perverse. In the sight of, or before, 
 God, who looketh upon the heart. 
 (4 :i9.) His perversity must have been 
 evident to Peter or to any spiritually 
 minded person, from his base proposal. 
 How much more then to God ? 
 
 22. Repent therefore — your case 
 is not entirely hoj)eless ; your only hope 
 of salvation is in immediate repentance 
 and entreaty of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 (See on 2: 38.) Of this thy wicked- 
 ness, rather, /rowi., etc. See " repent- 
 ance from dead works." (Hell. 6:1.) He 
 must not only confess and sorrow for 
 sin, but forsake and turn from it. This 
 wickedness, a general expression includ- 
 ing the act and purpose with the un- 
 derlying depravity (next verse). And 
 pray God — according to the highest 
 critical authorities, the Lord, that is, 
 Jesus Christ. If perhaps. The case 
 was doubtful, so aggravated was his 
 sin. The words were fitted to give 
 Simon hope, and at the same time to 
 arouse him and awaken a sense of 
 guilt. Peter may have thought of the 
 sin against the Holy Spirit. (.Matt. 
 12:31.) The thought — the purpose, 
 project of thine heart in planning 
 self-aggrandizement by imparting the 
 Holy Spirit. Notice how Peter all 
 along dwells upon the thought, pur- 
 pose, and state of the heart. May be 
 forgiven thee. The matter of for- 
 giveness belonged to God. " This verse 
 is important, taken in connection with 
 John 20 : 2,;, ' Whosesoever sins ye for- 
 give, they are forgiven them,' etc., as 
 showing how com])letely the apostles 
 themselves referred the forgiveness of 
 sins to, and left it in the sovereign 
 power of God, and not to any power of 
 absolution delegated to them." (Al- 
 FORD.) 
 
 23. For introduces the reason why 
 he should rej)ent. Tills verse shows 
 tliat he needed, not only to repent of a 
 sin^rle sin, but of tlie whole course and 
 habit of heart and life. It imj)lies tiiat 
 he had never exercised repentance. I 
 perceive, (seeon v^-r. .n.) In, literally, 
 into the gall of bitterness, or bitter 
 gull. The poison of the serpent was 
 supposed to be in the gall (Job 20 : u; Rom. 
 3 : 13), which figuratively denotes the 
 malignity of sin ; and the expression 
 bitter gall, hostile, malignant dei^rav- 
 
128 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 LCh.VIII. 
 
 24 bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, 
 and said, s tray ye to the Lord tor me, 
 that none of these things which ye have 
 spoken come upon me. 
 
 25 And ihey, when they had testified and 
 
 Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in 
 many villages of the Samaritans. 
 
 Philip instracls and baptizes a devout EthiO' 
 plan : his subsequent labors. 
 
 preached the word of the Lord, returned to 26 AND the angel of the Lord spake unto 
 K Gen. 20 : 7, 17 ; Num. 21 : 7; 1 Kings 13 : 6; Job 42 : 8. 
 
 ity. Bond of iniquity — 1)ouih1 in 
 the fetters of wickedness, showin.t; that 
 he was confirmed in the haliits of sin. 
 Peter did not doul)t the grace of the 
 gospel, or the jwwer of God to forgive, 
 but he saw that Simon's condition was 
 most desjjcrate, liotli in heart and life. 
 His subsequent life seems to have veri- 
 fied Peter's fears. 
 
 24. Simon appears to have been 
 overawed by tlie stern rebuke of Peter, 
 and alarmed at impending punislimeut. 
 Pray ye. Vc is emphatic. Instead 
 of praying himself, as Pet<;r had ex- 
 horted, lie asks the ai)ostles to pray for 
 him, thus showing a want of a sense 
 of guilt and penitence. A sense of 
 sin would have led him to cry for 
 
 mercy. (a: 37; 9:.i, ll; Luke is : 13.) So 
 
 Piiaraoh asked Closes to pray for him 
 ( Exoii. 8 : ffl ; 9 : '28 ; 10 : 17), and afterward 
 hardened his heart. See King Saul, 
 1 Sam. 15 : 30. Simon also shows a su- 
 perstitious dependence on their prayers, 
 as if these could prevail without turn- 
 ing himself with penitence, confession, 
 and faith to the Lord. Tlie end 
 which he souglit indicates his im})eni- 
 tent heart : that none of those 
 things — referring to tlie destruction 
 and all its terrible result imj)]ied in 
 ver. 20, 28, which ye have spoken 
 come upon me. Thus there is no 
 seeking for forgiveness of sin, or salva- 
 tion from sin. The language is not of 
 contrition, but of fear, and of anxiety 
 to escape punishment. Had this reliiike 
 resulted in reiieutancc and conversion 
 to tlie faith, I.uke would hardly have 
 omitted it. The traditions, though 
 somewhat confused and contradictory, 
 testify against any such good result. 
 This IS tiie last meiition of him in the 
 New Testament. He is said afterward 
 to have removed to Rome, where he 
 was worshi]>ed as a god, and had a 
 column dedicated to him. ( Soc on ver. s.) 
 
 25. The apostles having aecom- 
 plished their mission iu the city of 
 
 Samaria, on their way back to Jerusa- 
 lem, preached iu many of the smaller 
 towns of Samaria. They — Peter and 
 John. Philip was probably left to 
 look after the work. Had testified 
 and preached — rather, having festi- 
 Jied and spoken the word of the Lord. 
 It was not their words, but Christ's, 
 whose ministers they were. (i3:t8; is: 
 35; 1 Cor. 2:2-5.) Also frequently Styled 
 the word of God, as its author. (*:3i; 
 6:1); see on ver. 14. Returned, etc. 
 — were retiorning to Jerusalem and 
 preaching or evangelizing the villages. 
 They were bringing the good news of 
 salvation to the villages, and it was be- 
 ing accepted by the people. Thus they 
 found the field already white unto 
 harvest. (John 4: 35.) It was while the 
 two apostles were thus engaged that 
 Philip I'eceived his new commission. 
 
 (Ver 26.) 
 
 26-40. Conversion and Baptism 
 OF THE Ethiopian Eunuch. 
 (isa. 53: 7, 8.) The false conversion of 
 the last section is followed by a true 
 conversion iu this. Philip's special 
 mission and subsequent labors were 
 throughout the border cities of Pales- 
 tine, where the population was largely 
 Gentile. Thus the gospel was gradu- 
 ally extending beyond the bounds of 
 Juilaism. The conversion of a descend- 
 ant of the race of Ham (Amos 9 : 7.) and 
 of one shut out of the congregation by 
 physical defect (Dcut. 23: 1), was another 
 step toward breaking down entirely 
 the barrier between believing Jews and 
 Gentiles. 
 
 26. Philip was still in Samaria, and 
 Peter and John were returning to Jeru 
 salem. (ver. 25.) The anget^rathe! 
 an angel, of the Lord. How he ap- 
 peared to Pliilip we are not toM, 
 whether l)y dream or vision. Tlie more 
 ]>robable and natural meaning is, that 
 he apjieared visibly and spake in an 
 audible voice. For other instances of 
 angelic miuisteriug iu apostolic days, 
 
0"'. VIII.] 
 
 THK ACTS. 
 
 iL'f) 
 
 riiilij), saying, Arise, and go toward the 
 souilv unto the way lliat goeth down from 
 Jerusalem unto hGaza; which is desert. 
 
 27 And he arose and went. And, behold, 'a 
 man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great 
 authority under Candace queen of the 
 
 h Gen. 10 : 19 ; Josh, l.j : 47. l Ps. 63 : 31 ; Zeph. 3 : 10. 
 
 see 1 : 10 ; 5 : 19 ; 10 : ;i ; 12 : 7 ; 27 : ! 
 2:i. Arise, and go. Nothing is im- 
 plied regarding his posture, whether 
 sitting or lying down. It is rather a 
 comniaud : Prepare tliyself, make iraiJi/ i 
 ami journey toward the south unto 1 
 the way from Jerusalem unto [ 
 Gaza. In obeying this command it is 
 not certain tliat Philip passed through 
 Jeni.salem, since he may liave left Jeni- 
 salem to the left. Gaza, nearly si.xty 
 miles southwest of Jerusalem and ' 
 nearly a hundred miles from the city ! 
 of Samaria, was one of the oldest (oen. l 
 10 : 19) and the southernmost city of Pal- 
 estine, on the route between Syria and ! 
 Egy^^t. it was the chief city of the j 
 Philistines, altliough formally assigned 
 to Judah (Josb, 15 :47), and the scene ofi 
 one of Samson's exhibitions of strength, j 
 (judg. 16:3.) At one time it seems to j 
 have been under the power of Egypt. 
 (jer. 47:1.) Alexander the Great cap- j 
 tured it after a siege of five montlis. 
 It was afterward destroyed l^y the Jew- 
 isli king, Alexander Janna'us, 15. ('. ft(i ; 
 but it was re))uilt by the Roman Gen- 
 eral Gabinius, and in due time was at- 
 tached to tlie inoviuce of Syria. It 
 was again laid in ruins by tlie .lews, 
 about, A. D. tj.j ; t>ut it recovered again 
 in the reigns of Titus and Adrian, and 
 Constantine restored it to its ancient 
 splendor. It still exists under tlie 
 tiame of Ghuz/.eh, and contains about 
 fifteen thousand inhabitants. Which 
 is desert — /he name is desert, refer- 
 ring to the way, through a desolate and 
 thinly inhabited country. Some refer 
 desert to the city Gaza after it was de- 
 stroyed about A. I). ()."), a date later than 
 the probable writing of the Acts. 
 Others refer it to the site of the old 
 city destroyed by Alexander .Janiueus, 
 affirming that tlie new city stood on a 
 changed site. But all attempts to refer 
 it to the city liave l)een ([uite unsatis- 
 factory. Some refer the words to the 
 angel, and others, as Ilackett, regard it 
 as a parenthetic remark by Luke. 
 But in either case it should be regarded 
 as descriptive of the road and region 
 
 through which it pa.ssed. There were 
 and are still .several roads from Jenisa- 
 h'ln to Gaza, and some portion in each 
 route migiit be styled desert, or solitary 
 and tliinly peopled. One by tlie way 
 of Bethlehem and IIel)ron, jiasses 
 through the .southern part of Judea, 
 calletl "the desert" in Luke 1: SO. 
 The desert way gave opportunity for 
 reading the Scriptures, meditation, and 
 conver.sation, and baptism. (.'omj)aie 
 Christ's conversation with Nicodemus 
 alone by night and Avith the woman 
 alone at Jacob's well. 
 
 27. He arose and went — the 
 same words as in the command, (ver. 26.) 
 His obedience was exact and immedi- 
 ate. He gets ready and journeys with- 
 out knowing why, or for what. While 
 traveling on foot, the second or third 
 day, behold, unexpectedly, he sees in 
 that lonely way, a person of more than 
 ordinary importance, a man of Eth- 
 iopia, an Ethiopian. The name Eth- 
 io|)ia was applied to the country south 
 of Egypt, whicli is now called Nubia 
 and Abyssinia. Its inlialtitants were 
 large in stature and black in color. A 
 eunuch. The < Jreek means, literally, 
 a t)ed l.-eeper,a\M\ was aj)}>lied to a class 
 of persons in Oriental countries, who, 
 by a cruel and unnatural mutilation, 
 were unfitted to marry antl were em- 
 jiloycfl as kee]>ers of Oriental liarems, 
 and were appointed to high offices in 
 I'iastern courts. (Dnn.i::!.) The Mord 
 is liere used in tliis strict sense of the 
 term, and not in its secondary and of- 
 ficial sense, as denoting a high officer 
 of State. " The very fact that he was 
 an officer of the first rank in tlie court 
 of a (pieen, makes it most probable that 
 he was actually a eumieh." (Mkyki;. 
 So also Hackktt.) Of great autlior 
 ity — nn officer of Stale, who, in this 
 ca.sc, acted as chief treasurer, having' 
 charge of all her treasure. Al- 
 ford suggests a h'sson from this account 
 as showing that the restriction in Dent. 
 28 : 1, forbidding such persons from en- 
 tering the congregation of the Lord, 
 was iienceforth done away, as were the 
 
130 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VIll. 
 
 Ethiopians, who had Ibt; charge of all 
 her trtasure, aiidt bad come lo Jerusalem 
 28 for to worhhip, was returning, and sitting 
 in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 
 
 29 Then Mhe Spirit said unto Philip, Go 
 near, and join thyself to this chariot. 
 
 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard 
 him read the prophet Esaias ; and said. 
 
 k Ps. 68 : 29 ; Jolin 12 : 20. ' ch. 16 : 6, 7. 
 
 barriers against the Samaritans and 
 tlie Gentiles, and " thus the way paved 
 for the great and as yet incomprehen- 
 sible truth of Gal. 8 : 28." Candace— 
 a name common to the queens of the 
 northern portion of Ethiopia, whose 
 capital was Napata, just as the name 
 Pharaoh was common to Egyptian 
 kings and Ctesar to the Koman emper- 
 ors. Had come to Jerusalem for 
 to worship — showing that he was a 
 believer in the God of Israel, and ac- 
 eei)ted the Hebrew religion. As the 
 law of Moses did not permit eunuchs in 
 the congregation of the Lord (see above) 
 he would not have been a fully ad- 
 mitted proselyte, but only a ])roselyte 
 
 of the gate. (Seenmcon John 12 ;20. ) The 
 
 prophets recognized that eunuchs were 
 not excluded from the mercy and 
 
 grace of God. (Isa. 56 : 5-8 ; Jer. 38 : 7 f ; 39 : 
 1618.) 
 
 •-iS. The sentence of the preceding 
 verse is concluded in tliis. Was re- 
 turning — to his own country by the 
 way of Egypt and thus was on the road 
 to Gaza. He had probably been at- 
 tending one of the great feasts. As he 
 had come many hundred miles, he 
 would more likely have attended the 
 feast of Pentecost, than the Passover, 
 which was rather early in the year, or 
 the feast of Tabernacles, wliich would 
 make his return quite late. (See 
 Author's Harmonic Artt<, note on ? l.l.) 
 In his chariot — suited to his liigh 
 rank, and doubtless with one or more 
 
 ilttendailts. (Ver. 38. See on next Terse.) 
 
 Jtcad — mis rrndhifi alou<l (for. 30)^ as 
 is still customary with tiie Orientals, 
 tiiougli reading to tbomselves. The 
 proiihet Ksaias — without doubt from 
 the .Septnagint, whicli was well known 
 ami mo,><tly used outside of Palestine, 
 lie is reading the evangelistic propliet 
 of the Old Testament, and that chapter 
 which gives the clearest revelation of 
 tlie sufterings of Christ. The Lord who 
 s<Mit Philip on his mission is directing 
 tile mind of the eunuch in his search 
 after truth. It is very likely that he 
 
 had heard at Jerusalem discussions 
 concerning Jesus and the predictions of 
 the prophets, especially this passage 
 which had uniformly been applied by 
 the Jews to the Messiah, but which now 
 was interpreted dift'erently by those 
 who opposed the claims of Jesus. He 
 is in a receptive state of mind, as the 
 sequel shows, and lie apjiears to have 
 been examining the Messianic prophe- 
 cies to ascertain the truth in the matter. 
 And he may have taken this desert 
 road in preference to the others for this 
 very purpose. 
 
 29. Then, and, the Spirit said 
 unto Philip. He inwardly appre- 
 hended the voice of the Holy ISpirit, 
 who was Avith him. How this divine 
 impulse came u])on him we are not 
 told. It was probably the same in 
 kind as those special impulses enjoyed 
 by all Christian workers, but doubtless 
 greater in degree. (See 10 : 19 ; u: 2; i6: 
 6:7.) Notice that the divine communi- 
 cation is noAV more direct and of a 
 higher kind than at the first, (ver. 26.:) 
 There is also a progression in the reve- 
 lation of liis work. First an angel 
 sends him into a desert way ; then he 
 sees a chariot ; now the Spirit com- 
 mands, Go near, and join thyself 
 to this chariot — attach thyself, unite 
 thyself to it. The idea is, form in- 
 timate connections, enter into the clos- 
 est relations with it. This would seem 
 forward and almost ]ire])osterous in 
 this humble evangelist on foot. But 
 God had prejiared the way, and he 
 obeys, and easily succeeds. Chariot 
 — commonly a two-wheel veliide, used 
 most frequently in war, sometimes, as 
 in this instance, for peaceable purposes. 
 Commonly two persons, sometimes 
 three, one a driver and the other to 
 carry the State umbrella. (1 King« 
 
 2 ; 34.' ) 
 
 30. Philip seeing the work com- 
 mitted to him hastens to discharge it. 
 Ran thitherto him— it was not the 
 chariot, but the eunuch he was seeking. 
 And heard him read, etc. Just what 
 
Ch. Mil.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 131 
 
 Understaodest thou what thon readest? 
 Aud he said, "• How can I, except some 
 man should guide tue? Aud he desired 
 Philip tliat he would come up and sit 
 with him. 
 The place of the Scripture which be 
 
 read was this, 'He was led as a nlieep to the 
 slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before 
 his shearer, so opened he not his mouth. 
 3o In his humiliation his judgment was 
 taken away : and who shall declare his 
 generation ? For his life is taken from 
 
 Philip wished to talk about, and what [ 
 the eunuch needed to have e.xplainetl. 
 I'iiderstandest thou what thou 
 readest? lu the original a question 
 eomiuoidy receiving a negative an.«wer, 
 Ih,.it Ih'in III all' kiioir. As Philip 
 (iouUtless spoke in Greek the two verbs 
 Were alnio.st alike, giving; peculiar jioint 
 to the (piestion — tiie verb translated 
 read being a compound of that trans- 
 lated kiioic. Paul u.ses a .similar com- 
 bination in 2 Cor. .5 : 2, known and 
 read of all men. "A .strange address 
 to an unknown and great man. In holy 
 conversation we shonlil cr>me at once to 
 the truth itself. Philip did not begin, 
 as Ls common, with tlie weather, the 
 news," etc. (BEX<iEL.) We may learn 
 tiie value of questions in religious con- 
 versation. (See John 4:7.) 
 
 31. The eunuch's reply indicates 
 earnestness, humility, and a teachable 
 si)irit. HoAV can I, etc. ? For how 
 could If — as the matter stands, with a 
 l)assage so difficult and mysterious. He 
 candidly and modestly owns his inabil- 
 ity to understand it, and his need of 
 instruction. But he sees the possibility 
 of understaniling it under suitable 
 guidance. Should guide me — shall 
 in.struct me. The same word is used 
 by Jesus of blind guides (Luke6::«), 
 and of the guidance of the Ilidy Spirit. 
 (John 16: 1.-!.) And he desired — en- 
 trratrd him ; showing that he was eager 
 to leivrn, and imj)lying tliat he suspected, 
 |>"rhaps believed, that Philip was the 
 one who could instruct him. Sit 
 with him — the travel-worn preacher 
 of the desi)ised Xazerene now sits amid 
 royal honors, and becomes the in- 
 structor of a royal mini.ster ! 
 
 3'J. The place, the pa.^smj- of 
 Scripture w^hich he was reudhuj 
 was this — from Isa. .53 : 7, S, and 
 quoted from the Septuagint, with slight 
 variations. It was utteretl seven cen- 
 turies before our Lord's crucifixion, 
 which it so minutely deserilK'S, and its 
 meaning was contrary to the prevailing 
 
 ideas at that time resjiecting the Mes- 
 siah. Its fulfillment in Jesus has ever 
 since been a source of trouble to infi- 
 dels and Jews. Bolingbroke even 
 aliirme<l that Jesus brought about his 
 own crucifi.\ion, so as to enable his dis- 
 ciples to ai>peal to this prophecy in 
 proof of his Messiahship. He was 
 led as a Iamb, etc. The subject or 
 I)erson here presented is the Messiah. 
 The question which perplexed the 
 eunuch's mind, and which he wished 
 answered, was respecting this i>erson, 
 who he was. (ver. 3i.) The words here 
 were fulfilled in Jesus, yielding him- 
 self up to his enemies (Matt. ::i) : 52. ij), 
 submitting i)atiently to indignities (Matt. 
 if> :r,7. fv-; 27 : 2T-:ji) aud maintaining silcnce 
 before Pilate and Hero<l. (Matt. 27 :i2i»; 
 Luke 2:i : ».) His inuoceuce and vicarious 
 suftering are also implied. 
 
 33. A difficult and obscure j)assage, 
 arising in part from the variations of 
 the Greek version from the Hetu-ew. 
 Amid dirtereiit interpretations we may 
 well nuike the answer of the eunuch 
 our own. May the Holy Spirit lead to 
 the right understanding. The Revised 
 Vei-sion (American reading) renders 
 Isa. 53 : 8 : " By oppression and judg- 
 ment he was taken away, and as for 
 his generation who [among them] con- 
 sidered that he was cut off out of 
 the land of the living for the transgres- 
 sion of my people to whom the stroke 
 [was due]." The true interpretation is 
 iioubtless that which fits l)oth the 
 Hebrew and the Greek. In his 
 humiliation — in the contempt, vio- 
 lence, and ojipression which he suffered. 
 His judgment — in that he was inno- 
 cently couilemned and punished, aud 
 his rights to justice and liumanity were 
 taken aAvay. And who shall de- 
 scribe the wickedness and blindness of 
 his sreueration in their treatment of 
 him, neitlier understanding who he 
 was, ni>r the design of his sufferings. 
 For his life is taken by a bloody 
 death from the earth. Had the quo- 
 
132 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VIII. 
 
 34 the earth. And the euniich answered 
 Philip, and said, 1 praj^ ihoe, of whom 
 speakelh the jirophet this: of himself or 
 
 35 of some otlierman ? Then Philip opened 
 
 his mouth, » and began at the same 
 
 Scripture, and preached unto him Jesu8. 
 
 36 And aj they went on tlwir way, they 
 
 came unto a certain water : and the 
 
 nch. 17 :3; Luke Z* : -27. 
 
 tation continued the vicarious nature i 
 of bis death would have been at once I 
 brought into view. But tiu> main \ 
 question which the eunucii ^^•ished to \ 
 kiu)w was, Who was the person thus j' 
 suffering and dying, of wliom the 
 I)roi)het spolve? His vicarious sutier- 
 ings are niucli spolien of in tlu- tifty- 
 third chapter of Isaiah, and tins Philip 
 would emphasize when he showed that 
 i\\e prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus. | 
 Wiiile this seems to l)etliemost natural { 
 and true view, yet another, thus pre- | 
 sented by Meyer, is worthy of considera- 
 tion : "In his humilkititjii /liis jiidij-', 
 ■mcut is taken incay ; that is, when he 
 had so hundjlcd himself to the bloodj' 
 death (see Phil. V! : 8), the judicial fate im- ; 
 jrosed })y (Jod was taken from him, so 
 that now the culmination and crisis of 
 his destiny set in. (SeePhii. 2: u.) But ^ 
 h is offspring loho shal I describe f tliatis, ' 
 liow indescribably great is the uiulti-_ 
 tude of those belonging to him, of 
 whom he will now l)e tiie family bead ! 
 (Phil. 2 : 10.) For, the ground of the origin 
 of this innumerable progeny, /lis life is 
 taken away from the earth, so tliat lie 
 enters upon his heavenly work relievetl 
 from tlie trammels of earth. . . . Ac- 
 cording to the above explanation, his 
 life teas taken from the earth, stands in 
 thoughtful and significant correlation 
 to his juJtpnent was taken away. In 
 tlicse correlations lies the righteousness 
 of the Humbled One." (J-i... is: 10.) 
 
 34. Then — ami, the eunuch an- 
 swered — suggested i>y the question in 
 ver. 30. Tins verse is closely comiected 
 with ver. ol, the (luotation from Isaiah 
 being thrown in f(u- tiie inforinatioii of 
 the reader. Of Avhom speakelh 
 the prophet this, of himself? 
 Very likely the eunuch beard tliis 
 (|uestion discussed at Jerusalem : Some 
 atHrming the common view tliat it re- 
 ferred to tlie Messiali ; and others, 
 wisiiing to avoiil the concdusion tliat it 
 was fulfilled in Jesus, said tliat Isaiali 
 spoke of himself, who, according to a 
 Jewish tradition, suHered martyrdom, 
 
 in the reign of Manasseh, by being 
 sawn asunder. Or of some other 
 man — some })rophet or righteous man 
 who bad been disowned and put to 
 death. Thus the later Jewish Avriters 
 refer it to Jeremiali or Josiah, or to 
 tiie suffering which have been inflicted 
 on the Jewish nation. But all such 
 e.xiilanations fail to meet the demands 
 of the chapter, and probalilj' would 
 not have been seriously put forth, had 
 they not become necessary as a means 
 of combatting the claims of Jesus. All 
 the early Jewish commentators refer 
 the ])assage to the Messiah ; and this 
 was the common view in our Saviour's 
 day. 
 
 35. Then — and, Philip opened 
 his mouth — an Oriental expression 
 ordinarily occurring before solemn 
 and weighty words. (10 -.-u; Matt. 5:2; 
 Job 3:1.) Began — a somewhat con- 
 tinued and formal discourse, at, rather 
 from this Scripture, or pa.ssage, tak- 
 ing the other jiassages in connection 
 with it. A better text he could not 
 iiave selected than that iirovideiitially 
 afforded him. Preached unto him 
 — made kuoirn to him the (jood news oj 
 Jesus, whose very name meant Saviour. 
 i (.Miitt. 1 :2i.) The theme, s])irit, and 
 method of his discourse are suggested. 
 Doubtless first of all he showed how 
 minutely this passage was fulfilled iu 
 the sulferings and deatii of Jesus, cor- 
 rotiorating it by other Scripture, which 
 also foretold his resurrection. He an- 
 nounced liim as a Saviour, indicating 
 his person and work, the terms of sal- 
 vation and liis commands, including 
 tliat of baj'tisin. (Ver. .v,.) 
 
 30. Pliili]i was all intent in unfold- 
 ing the gospel and the eunuch was 
 absorbed in hearing the trutla, till the 
 attention of tlie latter was arrested, as 
 they went along tlie desert way, by a 
 certain water. Where this was can- 
 not be decided, since the road Avhich 
 they took is not certainly known. 
 Euscbius and Jerome point to a foun- 
 tain near Betbzur, uow the village 
 
Cii. VIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 133 
 
 eunuch said, See, here is water; "what 
 37 doth hiuder me to be baptized? And 
 
 Philip said, p if thou believest with all 
 thiue heart, thou mayest. And he au- 
 
 P Matt. 28 ; 19 ; Mark 10 : 16. 
 
 Betlu'oraii, not fivr from Hebron, twenty 
 iiiile-s south of Jerusalem. " Tlie water 
 tlierc at jtresent issues from a j)ert'iinial 
 souree, a i)art of wliieli runs to waste 
 in tlie iici'4lil)orin,:;- (ielils, and a jiart 
 colK'i'teil into a ihinkinti-trout^li on one 
 side of tlie load, and into two small 
 tanks on the other si<le. it was formerly 
 ohjeitid tliat no ehariot could have 
 ])assed here, on aeeount of the broken 
 nature of the iiiound, but travelers 
 liave now diseovered traces of a paved 
 road and the marks of wheels on the 
 stones." (J)k. Hackktt.) Dr. Eolnn- 
 son [llib. Jics. ii., p. 515) with much 
 assurance places it on the most southern 
 )'oad from Jerusalem, neaicr Ciaza, be- 
 low Tidl el Ilasy. Here he saw the water 
 standing along the ad a 'cut valley, in 
 a country at present ''desert," there 
 l)eing now no other similar water on 
 tluit road. But as Pliilip received the 
 command from the angel at .Samaria 
 (ver. 26), he very likely went directly to 
 another road fiom Jerusalem to Ciaza, 
 without passing tluough Jerusalem. 
 " If the eunuch came down Waily Al)y 
 from Jerusalem, he wonUl follow lu'arly 
 the same track from Latron that I once 
 took, and this is now regarded as the 
 easiest and safest way." Coming di- 
 rectly from the city of Samaria, Philip 
 " would then have met the chariot 
 somewhere southwest of Latron. There 
 is a line stream of water, called !Murub- 
 bah, deep enough even in June to 
 satisfy the utmost wishes of our Ba])tist 
 friends. This ^[urubljah is merely a 
 local name for the great Wada Surar, 
 given on account of copious fountains 
 wliich supply it with water during 
 summer." (Di;. Thomson. Land (ind 
 i/oo/i-, Vol. II, p. 310.) They came, 
 etc. IIow tinexpectedly and suddenly 
 is vividly brought out : They crnnc npun 
 a certaUi water ; a)id the, cininch said, 
 Behold, water. The journey and the 
 circumstances were arranged liy the 
 Lord. What doth hinder — He was 
 eager to fultill the divine re(|uirement 
 at the first opportunity. " F((i/h within, 
 and vcaYpr witliout, were ready." (Bkx- 
 
 GEL.) To he baptized. (Seeon2:H8,) 
 
 Very likely the eunuch had heard of 
 John's baj)tism. But i)roselyte bai)tism 
 as a Jewisli practice luid not yet been 
 inti'oduced. "The most obvious and 
 natural solution is, tiiat I'hiliji's aruu- 
 mentative discourse imduded aM<l jn-i- 
 haps wound uj) with an exjdii'it state- 
 ment of the way in which new converts 
 must profess their faith and be received 
 into the church, and tiutt tlie eunuch, 
 as the strongest possible e.\()re.ssion of 
 assent, jiroposetl to do what he had just 
 been told he must do, and for which 
 the outward means were providentially 
 presented, at the very moment mIicu 
 they could be used." (Alkx,\xder.) 
 37. This verse is not found in the 
 oldest Greek nianuscri])ts, except one, 
 nor in the oldest cojiies of tlie Latin 
 Vulgate, the Syriac Vulgate, and the 
 lOgyptian versions. The best critics 
 regard it as an interpolation from an 
 ancient baptisnial liturgy, or service. 
 If so, it must have occurred very early, 
 since Irenieus (died A. D. 202) i]Uotes it, 
 as also does Cyprian of the third cen- 
 tury, indicating the jiractice of their 
 period, — instruction and examination 
 before baptism. See Teaching of the 
 Twelve Apostfes (vii) : "And touch- 
 ing baptism, thus lja])tize : having de- 
 clared all these things," that is, the 
 precepts and instructions of the jireced- 
 ing six chapters. " Before baptism 
 let the baptizcr and baptized fast, and 
 any others Mdio can ; but thou shalt 
 bid the baptized to fost one or two days 
 before." Hackett hesitates about re- 
 taining the jiassage, but says, "Augus- 
 tine in the fourth century, though he 
 objected to a certain misuse of the text, 
 did not ])ronounce it spurious." Dr. J. 
 Alexander, who regards the external 
 evidence for and against the passage as 
 very nearly balanced, says : " It may be 
 argued that the verse, though genuine, 
 was aftei-ward omitted as unfriendly to 
 the ])ractice of delaying baptism, which 
 had become common, if not prevalent, 
 before the end of the third century." 
 So also it might have been omitted by 
 some as unfriendly to infiint bapti.sm, 
 which began to be practiced about the 
 
134 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. VIII. 
 
 swered and said, il believe that Jesus 
 
 38 Christ is the Son of God. And he com- 
 manded the "chariot to stand still : and 
 they went down both into the water, both 
 Philip and the eunuch ; and he baptized 
 
 39 him. And when they were come up out of 
 
 the water, ' the Spirit of the Lord caught 
 away Philip, that the eunuch saw him iio 
 more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 
 ■10 But Philip was found at Azotus: and 
 passing through be preached in all the 
 cities, till he came to C^esarea. 
 
 <i Matt. 16 : 10 ; John 6 : 69 ; 9 : 35, 3S ; 11 : 27 ; 
 16: Kzek. 
 
 1 John 4 : 15. 
 a : 12, 14. 
 
 1 Kings is : 12 ; 2 Kings 2 : 
 
 beginning of the third century, and be- 
 came common among tlie African 
 ciiurchcs l>cfore its close. The re])ly of 
 Pliili]) and the confession of the eunuch, 
 as liere given, are perfectly natural and 
 in harmony with the teaching and prac- 
 tice of the apostolic church, (ver. 12, n ; 
 
 lliirkl6:16; Acts 2 : 38 ; 16:31-33.) 
 
 38. And he — the eunuch. Com- 
 manded the chariot, etc. Com- 
 manded the driver that the chariot 
 should stop. Here is evidence that he 
 had at least one or more attendants. 
 Some suj)])ose that he was atti'uded by 
 a pricely retinue ; but of tliis we have 
 no evidence. The conimaiul of tlie 
 eunuch inij)lies tliat Philip had assented 
 to Ids ))aptism, and tliat the eunuch 
 aceejited of Jesus as tlie Christ. They 
 Avent down both into the water — 
 not to but into the water ; for it is 
 stated in the next verse that they came 
 up out of the water. (See Mark 1 : a, 10.) 
 Tills was not the baptism, Imt jtrepara- 
 toiy to tlie Itaptism. It was necessary 
 for botli to go down into the water, in 
 order tliat Piiilij* might liaptize — that is, 
 iumtcrsc the eunuch. Tlie positive j)roof 
 of immersion is in the meaning of the 
 Avoid baptize. The connecting circum- 
 stances confirm it. 
 
 39. The Spirit of the Lord— 
 the Holy Spirit. Caught away 
 Philip — taking liini suddenly, mar- 
 velously and swiftly from him. Com- 
 pare what Obadiah said of Elijah, 
 1 Kings 18 : 11 ; and the use of the 
 word in 28 : 10 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 17 ; Eev. 
 12 : f) ; 2 Cor. 12 : 2, 4. Tiiis wonder- 
 ful taking away of Philip would help 
 to confirm the eunuch's faith. That 
 the eunnoh — rather, Aint the eiiuuch 
 saw him no more, merely narrating an 
 additional fact, not imjdying tliat be- 
 cause Philij) was miracuously snatched 
 away therefore the eunuch saw him no 
 more. The reason is .stated in the next 
 clause: And— rather, for — he went 
 on his way homeward. Philip was 
 
 hurried from him by a divine im]>ulse, 
 like one of the old prophets under the 
 
 power of the Spirit (1 Kings is ;4f., or Kzek. 
 
 3:12-14); while the eunuch recognized 
 the fact, but was all aln'^orbed in the 
 revelation of truth and of Cliri.st to his 
 soul. Rejoicing — tliat lie luid found 
 Christ, professed him, and was now 
 numbered among his followers. " "SVe 
 do not read of the laying on of hands 
 on the euniieli." (Bengkl.) Here 
 the Scriptures leave him. A tradition 
 says his name was Indich, that he 
 preached the gospel on his return home 
 with great success, and that his royal 
 mistress was among his converts. In 
 his conversion, and whatever ii-sults 
 there may have been in Ethio]iia, we 
 recognize a fulfillment of Isa. 56 : .'i-t.! ; 
 Ps. 08 : 31. 
 
 40. But Philip was found at 
 Azotus — imidying that his going 
 thither had been extraordinary, and 
 that it was the next jdace where he was 
 seen after leaving the desert. Azotus, 
 the ancient Ashdod, a city of the Phil- 
 istines (Josh. 13 : 3 ; 15 : 47 ; 1 Sum. 15 : 6, 4), was 
 
 near the Mediterranean, aWiit half 
 way from Gaza to Jopjia. It was never 
 tluiroughly subdued by the .Tews. It is 
 only mentioned here in the New Testa- 
 ment, but a Christian church early ex- 
 isted tlure. It is now a small village 
 calle<l Esdud ; and some ruins of a 
 mound, pottery, and marble indicate 
 the former city. And passing 
 through, on foot. He preached in 
 all the cities — he wade knou-n the 
 (jood veirx to all the cities between 
 Azotus and Cwsarea, such as Ekron, 
 Lydda, Jo]ipa, and AjioUonia, ancl 
 largely under Gentile influence. Casa- 
 rea — ^^sometimes called Ca'sarea Pales- 
 tina, to distinguish it from Ctesaiia 
 Philip]>i in the north of Palestine. 
 (M:iit. iH : 13.) It was about sixty miles 
 noithwe.'Jt of Jerusalem, on the ^h-di- 
 terranean, .south of Carmel. It was 
 built by Herod the Great in honor of 
 
Ch. VIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 1.35 
 
 Augustus, ador^'d with marble jjalaces, 
 an(i provided with a uiagniticeiit luir- 
 bor. It was tlie residcuce of tlu' 
 Ilerodian family and of the lloiiiaii 
 governors. It was the scene of Peter's 
 visit to Cormlius (10,11), of Herod 
 Agrippa's death (12:19-2:1), aud of Paul's 
 imprisonment and trial (•it-^e). Ca'sa- 
 rea became Pliiliji's home, and the 
 centre of his lai)or's, and here, after 
 over twenty years, he entertains Paul 
 and Luke. (21:8.) It was mostly a 
 Gentile city. A few fishers' huts aud 
 ruius now occujty its site. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. The sovereign direction and oversight 
 of Christ is shown both in the calamities 
 and successes of his cause. The centraliza- 
 tion, the class and race tendency of the first 
 church was weakened by persecution, aud 
 the way opened for the universal promulga- 
 tion of the gospel. (Ver. 1, 4; Phil. 1 : 12 ; 
 Prov. 11 : 24.) 
 
 2. The death of good men will call forth 
 our sorrow, and should at the same time 
 arouse us to greater activity and faithful- 
 ness. (Ver 1, 2, 4 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 13 : Rom. 13 : 
 12, 13.) 
 
 3. A learned-ignorant man, learned in 
 many respects, but ignorant of the grace of 
 God, may sincerely become a very danger- 
 ous character. (Ver. 3 ; 26 : 9 : 1 Tim. 1 : 13 : 
 Gal. 1 : 3.) 
 
 4. To make known the glad tidings of sal- 
 vation is a common work of all who love 
 Christ. (Ver. 4 ; Phil. 2 : 15, 13 ) 
 
 5. God calls evangelists to the work of the 
 ministry. When one dies the Lord has an- 
 other to take his place. (Ver. 5 ; Rom. 15 : 
 19.) 
 
 6. It is not the workers of miracles, 'ut 
 the preaching of the word that results in the 
 conversion of men. Miracles attest, but the 
 word enters the heart. (Ver. 6, 7 ; 16 : 14 ; 
 Heb. 4 : 12.) 
 
 7. Miracles were fitting at the first plant- 
 ing of the church in Samaria, at the begin- 
 ning of Philip's ministry as an evangelist, 
 and in opposing the lying wonders of Simon. 
 (Ver. 7 ; 6 : 8.) 
 
 8 The coming of Christ to a human soul, 
 or to a community, brings joy. (Ver. 8 ; 
 13 : 52 ; John 4 : 42.) 
 
 9. Philip preached Christ; Simon pro- 
 
 claimed himself. Thus is presented a 
 marked difterence between a true Clir stian 
 and a shrewd worldling, between a true and 
 a false minister. (Ver 5, 9 ; 2 Cor. 4:5; 
 Phil. 1 : 15, 16.) 
 
 10 Note a contrast also between Simon 
 Magus and Saul of Tarsus. One a man of 
 selfish policy, the other of underlying prin- 
 ciples and deep convictions. One becoming 
 an apostate professor, the other a fervent 
 and fearless preacher. (Ver. 1, 10-13 ; 20 : 
 22-24.) 
 
 11. The faithful preaching of the gospel 
 attended with the Holy Spirit will overcome 
 the wiles of the devil aud bring men to 
 Christ. (Ver. 12; 19 : 18-20.) 
 
 12. A mere intellectual faith, without a 
 hearty trust in Christ, is a dead faith ; and 
 a baptism without a confession of the heart 
 is a dead baptism. (Ver. l;i; Matt. i:i : 20, 
 21 ; James 2 : 18, 19 ; 1 Peter 3 : 21.) 
 
 13. The gospel destroys national pre- 
 judices and breaks down the partition that 
 separates Jews and Gentiles. (Ver. 14-17 ; 
 10 : 34 ; Eph. 2 : 14, 15 ) 
 
 14. The apostles were the first to sanction 
 missionary work. They themselves were 
 missionaries and The Acts is a book of mis- 
 sion sketches. (Ver. 14 ; 13:2; 15 : 22-29 ) 
 
 15. The apostles had power over the .Spirit 
 only as they prayed for the Spirit. (Ver. 
 15; 4:31.) 
 
 16. The apostolic office was temporary, like 
 that of Moses and Joshua.having for its object 
 the introduction of Christianity and the 
 full organization of the church. (Ver. 14- 
 17; 2:42; 5:2; 6: 2; 9: 32; 11 : 1,18; 15: 
 6 ; John 16 : 13.) 
 
 17. The laying on of hands for the be- 
 stowment of the Holy Spirit was apostolic 
 and temporary, and not a rite of confirma- 
 tion. (Ver. 17, 18.) 
 
 18. The gifts and calling of God cannot 
 be bought with money. (Ver. 18-20 ; 1 
 Peter 1 : 18, 19.) 
 
 19. Simon, though a professed Christian, 
 was an unconverted sinner. (Ver. 21, 23; 2 
 Peter 2 : 14, 15.) 
 
 20. Repentance, with faith in Christ, is 
 the first step in conversion, the first duty of 
 the sinner. (Ver. 22 ; 2 : 38; 3 : 19.) 
 
 21. Prayer will not be heard or accepted 
 unless the sinner comes repenting and be- 
 lieving. (Ver. 22 ; Matt. 3:4; Isa. 1 : 15.) 
 
 22. A single sin may indicate a person's 
 
136 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. TX. 
 
 character and show an entire want of true 
 piety. (Ver. 23 ; Heb. 12 : 16, 17.) 
 
 ■.'."! Sinners sometimes quiet their fears 
 and relieve their consciences by asking the 
 prayers of God's people, while they do not 
 purpose to renounce their sins. (Ver. 24; 
 Eiod. 8 : 8.) 
 
 24. Ministers and all Christians should 
 imitate the apostles and speak of Jesus and 
 the gosjiel as they travel from place to place. 
 (Ver. 25, 4 ; 18 : 24, 28.) 
 
 2.'). It is not permitted to angels, but to 
 Christian men to preach the gospel to sin- 
 ners. An angel may direct Philip as lo a 
 preaching tour, but Philip must do the 
 preaching. (Ver. 2G ; 2 Cor. 5 : 18.) 
 
 2(>. If the Lord commands, we should not 
 shrink from going to the most barren and 
 unpromising fields; nor think lightly of 
 small congregations. (Ver. 26, 27 ; 21 : i:!.) 
 
 27. Blessings attend the service and wor- 
 ship of (iod. In seeking light we get light. 
 (Ver. 27, 28 ; Matt. 13 : 12 ; Ps. ^6 : 9.) 
 
 28. Reading the Bible is a means of grace 
 and people of all classes and ages should 
 carefully peruse it. (Ver. 28; John 5 i 39.) 
 
 29. The devout and judicious interpreter 
 may greatly help others to understand the 
 word of God, (Ver. 30, 31 ; 18 : 26 ; Eoni. 
 10 : 14.) 
 
 30. A humble and prayerful state of mind 
 and a teachable spirit are essential to the 
 proper study of Scripture. (Ver. 31 ; Ps. 
 25 : 9.) 
 
 31. The Spirit uses two instrumentalities 
 in the conversion of men, the word and the 
 preacher. (Ver. 31 ; James 1 : IS ; 1 Cor. 
 1:21.) 
 
 32. Christ is the fultiller of the Old Testa- 
 ment, and the sum of the New, the Revealer 
 and substance of the Scriptures. (Ver. 33- 
 3."> ; 2 Cor. 1 : 20; Rev. 19 : in ; John 1 : 1-10.) 
 
 .".3. The word is often an enigma, misused 
 by some, but repaying richly the prayerful 
 study of others, (Ver. 34; 2 Peter 3 : 15, 
 16, 18.) 
 
 34. Gospel preaching takes in the suffer- 
 ings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 as its centre, and includes the whole circle 
 of Christian faith and practice. (Ver. 3.> ; 
 Rom. 11 : 33 ; Eph. 3 : 18, 19 ; 1 Cor. 2 : 2.) 
 
 35. One evidence of conversion is a desire 
 and a readiness to obey Christ. (Ver. 35 ; 
 John 14 : 15.) 
 
 36. The believing eunuch was a fit subject 
 
 for baptism ; Simon Magus, wanting in faith 
 from the heart, was an until subject. (Ver. 
 37,38, 13; Mark 16 -.16.) 
 
 37. Neither the going down into the 
 water, nor the coming up out of the water, 
 constituted the eunuch's bapti.sm, but were 
 the necessary adjuncts to his immersion. 
 (Ver. 38 ; Mark 1 : 10.) 
 
 38. The ol)edieut convert may well rejoice 
 in the Lord. (Ver. 39 ; Phil. 4 : 4.) 
 
 39. Ministers should consider themselves 
 under the direction of Christ. When they 
 have accomplished their work in one lield 
 the Lord has other places for them to oc- 
 cupy. (Ver. 40; 16 : 6-9.) 
 
 Ch. 9 : This chapter records the 
 continuation of the cruel per.seeutiou 
 under Saul of Tarsus ; his conversion 
 and baptism at Damascus ; his visit at 
 .Jerusalem, and his withdrawal to Tar- 
 .sus. A season 'of peace ensues to the 
 churches, and Peter visits the saints in 
 the district of Judea west of .Jerusalem. 
 The narrative ])resents the diftusion of 
 the jfospel among Jews and pro.selyte.s", 
 and belongs to the transition period 
 prei)aratory to offering the gosj>el to 
 the Gentile world. From about A. D. 
 34 to A. D. 38. 
 
 1-22. SAT'L'S rONVERSION and BAP- 
 TISM. PKEACHES ATDAAIASCUS. (ri:2- 
 Ifi; 26:4-20; Gal. l:13-lfi: 1 Cor. 15 : 8-10 ; 1 Tim. 
 
 1 : 12-17.) The structure of the narrative 
 indicates that sometime had intervened 
 since the martyrdom of Stej)hen. (.''ee 
 on ver. 1.) If six months or even a year 
 had elapsed, as .seems very ]>robahle, 
 the conversion of Saul may be iixed 
 some time in A. D. 35. This accords also 
 with the time when Aretas, king of 
 Arabia, ai)i>ears to have exercised 
 authority over Damascus. (2 Cor. n : 
 32, :«.) See introductory note to ch. 8. 
 (Tomjiarc Harmonic Arranganent of 
 the Acts, Notes on §16, §17.) 
 
 The conversion of Saul was the most 
 im])ortant event related in the Acts 
 after Pentecost, failed as an apostle 
 to the Gentiles, his influence has lieen 
 most directly felt by all nations. The 
 writer of thirteen or fourteen Epistles, 
 as well as the guide of Luke the evan- 
 gelist and hi.storian, his impress upon 
 Christian theologj^ has been greater 
 than tliat of anv other man. The im- 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 137 
 
 portiiiice of his couversiou is also indi- 
 cated by tlie in'omiaeuce giveu to it in 
 tlie Acts, lioiii;,' reliitt'd three times, 
 once by Luke as the historian, and 
 twice by Paul in defense of himself, 
 but under v'ery diti'erent circumstances. 
 He has also given an account of his 
 conversion and C'liristiaii experience in 
 his Episth's. A comjiarison of these 
 four statements illustrates their inde- 
 
 pendence and diversity without contra- 
 diction, and tlius confinns the trutliful- 
 ness of the narrative. Tlie accounts 
 also supplement one anotlier, and ex- 
 hibit different sides in the beginning 
 and growth of Paul's religious lifv. 
 The following table is given for cmi- 
 venient com])arison, and extends some- 
 what beyond liis eonveision. 
 
 LUKE. 
 Chapter 9 : l-:!0. 
 
 Fiercely persecutes 
 the disciples. 
 
 Asked letters of the 
 high priest to Da- 
 mascus, to bring 
 men and woiueu 
 to Jerusalem. 
 
 Near Dama'scus a 
 light suddenly 
 flashed about him. 
 
 He fell to the earth. 
 
 ''Saul, Saul, why 
 persecutest thou 
 me V" 
 
 'Who art thou , 
 Lord?" 
 
 I am Jesus whom 
 thou persecutest." 
 
 His companions 
 stand speecliless, 
 hearing a voice, 
 but sefehitj no one. 
 
 PAUL. 
 Chapter 22 : 2-21. 
 
 His birth and edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Persecutes this way 
 unto imprison- 
 ment and death. 
 
 Received letters of 
 the higli priest 
 aud elders to 
 bring those that 
 wi'i-e bound to 
 ■Turusalem to h^ 
 punished. 
 
 About noon near 
 Damascus a great 
 light .suddenly 
 Hushed about him. 
 
 He fell to the 
 ground. 
 
 "Saul, Saul, why?" 
 etc. 
 
 "Who art thou, 
 Lord ?" 
 
 " I am Jesus the 
 Nazarene whom 
 thou persecutest." 
 
 His companions saw 
 the light and are 
 afraid, but heard 
 not the voice that 
 spake to him, 
 
 P.\UL. 
 Chapter 2G : 4-23. 
 
 In sincerity and as 
 a duty persecuted 
 the saints. 
 
 Received authority 
 from the chief 
 priests, punishing 
 in ihe synagogues^. 
 Exceedingly mad 
 against the saints ; 
 persecuted unto 
 foreign cities. 
 
 At mid-day a light 
 above the bright- 
 ness of the sun 
 shining about 
 him. 
 
 All having fallen to 
 the earth. 
 
 Saying in the 
 Hebrew tongue, 
 " Saul, Saul,wliy?" 
 etc. " It is hard 
 for thee to kick 
 against the goads" 
 
 "Who art thou, 
 Lord ?" 
 
 " I am .Tesus whom 
 thou persecutest." 
 
 PAUL. 
 Epistles. 
 
 A Hebrew, a Benja- 
 minite and a 
 Pharisee. (Phil.H: 
 5, 6; 2 Cor. 11:22; 
 Gal. 1 : 14.) 
 
 A persecutor and 
 blasphemer in ig- 
 norance and unbe- 
 lief (1 Tim. 1 : 13, 
 
 14.) 
 
 Persecuted the 
 church of God. (1 
 Cor. 15 : 9.) 
 
 " Have I not seen 
 Je.«us Christ our 
 Lord?" (1 Cor. 
 9:1.) 
 
 " Last of all he ap- 
 peared to me." (1 
 Cor. 1.1 : 8; Acts 
 9 : 17; 22 : 14; 26: 
 16. Also 9:27.) 
 
138 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IX. 
 
 LUKE. 
 Cbapter9 : 1-30. 
 
 Directed to ro into 
 the city for in- 
 struction. 
 
 Blinded, lie is led 
 into Daiuaseii.s by 
 the hand. 
 
 Continues three 
 days fasting 
 
 Ananias, a certain 
 disciple, sent to 
 him. 
 
 Opens his eyes, and 
 baptizes him. 
 
 The Lord to Ana- 
 nias: Saul to he :i 
 witness Ix'fore 
 Gentiles, etc. 
 
 Saul preached Clirist 
 at Damaseus. 
 
 Escapes for his life. 
 
 At Jerusalem. 
 
 Is sent by the breth- 
 ren to Tarsus. 
 
 PAUL. 
 
 Chapter 22 : 2-21. 
 
 PAUL. 
 
 Chapter 26 : 4-23. 
 
 PAUL. 
 
 Epiitles. 
 
 "What shall I do. 
 Lord ?" 
 
 Directed to go into 
 Damascus for in- 
 struction. 
 
 Blinded by the light, 
 and being led by 
 the hand, he came 
 into Damascus. 
 
 He prays. 
 
 Aiuinias, a devout 
 man according to 
 the law, and hav- 
 ing a good report 
 from all the Jews, 
 came to hiiu. 
 
 n|iRn.< his eyes, and 
 ba|itizi's liiui. 
 
 Ananias to Saul: 
 "Tliou Shalt be a 
 witness for hiia to 
 all men." 
 
 Returns to Jerusa- 
 lem. 
 
 In a trance the Lord 
 says, " I will send 
 thee far hence to 
 the Gentiles." 
 
 Gives him his com- 
 mission as a mis- 
 sionary and an 
 apostle to the Gen- 
 tiles. 
 
 (See above.] 
 
 Set apart from birth, 
 called through 
 grace, cnl rusted 
 with the gospel of 
 the uneircunici- 
 sion. (<ial. 1 : lo ; 
 2:7; Eph. 3 : 8.) 
 An apostle not of 
 man. (Gal. 1 : 1.) 
 
 Obtained mercy, be- 
 cause he did it 
 ignorantly; and 
 that he might be a 
 pattern. (1 Tim. 
 1 : 13-lG.) 
 
 "The least of all 
 saints." (Eph. 3 : 
 8.) The least of 
 the apostles ; all of 
 grace. (1 Cor. l.") : 
 9, 10.) 
 
 Preached to those in Went into Arabia 
 
 Damascus, and return c d 
 
 I again to Danias- 
 
 I cus (Gal. 1 : 17.) 
 
 ; P^scajtes through a 
 
 I window in a bas- 
 
 I Vet. (2 Cor. 11: 32.) 
 
 in Jemsalem, and From Jerusalem 
 
 unto all the region ■■ unto Ulyricum 
 
 of Judea, and to jireaching thegos- 
 
 the Gentiles. pel. (Rom. 15:19.) 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 IHE ACTS. 
 
 l:{9 
 
 Conversion of Saul : preiu Ins at Damascus 
 and at Jerusalem, Jlces tu Tarsus. 
 9 AND * Saul, yet breathing out threateii- 
 
 ings aud slaughter against the disciincs of 
 
 2 the Lord, M-ent unto the high pries-t, and 
 
 desired of him letters to Damascus to the 
 
 8 ch. 8 : :i; Gill. 1 : 13; 1 Tim. 1 : 13. 
 
 It should be noticed tliat Luke iu 
 this chapter writes us a historian. As 
 a pliysician, it was natural that he 
 should observe syiiiptoiii5, and so he 
 mentions "the falling, as it were, 
 of scales" from Saul's eyes. Inch. 22, 
 Paul is spealving iu his own defense 
 before an angry Jewish mob iu the 
 Temple Court. He is therefore .very 
 conciliatory, speaking in the Hebrew 
 tongue, presenting tlie Jewish side of 
 his religious life and experience, and 
 keeping back as long as possible any 
 reference to the Gentiles, wliich would 
 be offensive to the Jews. In ch. 26 
 Paul again speaks in his defense, but 
 to a more distinguished and to a less 
 impassioned audience, in the auditor- 
 ium of the Roman governor at Ctesarea. 
 Speaking in the Greek language, he 
 notices that Jesus on the Damascus 
 road spoke to him "in the Hebrew 
 tongue." He dwells more largely upon 
 doctrine and the divine authority of 
 his mission and message. His address 
 is marked by persuasive power aud a 
 Gentile coloring. The experience of 
 Paul as gathered from his epistles is 
 such as he woukl naturally give to his 
 Christian brethren, who could sym- 
 pathize with him, and understand 
 spiritual truth. He s|)ecially displays 
 great humility and inagnities tlie grace 
 of God. The few apparent discrejtan- 
 cies are easily explained, (see uotes on 
 Ter. 1, i, 6, 7, 9.) Comi>are also notes on 
 the defences in ch. 22 and 2(j. 
 
 1. And — ratlier, Jiat, contrasting 
 with Philip's missionary zeal Saul's 
 persecuting spirit. Yet takes the 
 mind back to the brief record of Saul's 
 persecution in 8 : 3, and imjilies that 
 some time had elajjsed, probably 
 several months, ]>erhai)S a year. The 
 most natural inference from the whole 
 narrative is tliat the incidents related 
 in the preceding cha])ter were taking 
 place while Saul was continuing the 
 persecution witli increasing intensity, 
 and that his pushing on to Damascus 
 followed the Samaiitan revival and the 
 conversion of the eunuch, lireathiiig 
 
 out threatenings and slaughter. 
 
 Omit out. Jirt'tii/ihii/ t/ireolniiny uiid 
 murder against the disciples. 
 
 Strong language, representing intense 
 bitterness and activity. He was "ex- 
 ceedingly mad against them," and must 
 have been connected with other mar- 
 tyrdoms than that of Stephen. (-'•>: 
 10, 11.) Here is a decided advance uixui 
 the description in 8 : o. He is now like 
 one panting with rage. He is full of 
 violent hatred against Christians. He 
 has pursued the course so long and so 
 earnestly that a fanatical aud des- 
 tructive fury has become as it were a 
 part of himself. Of the Lord — the 
 exalted and glorified Jesus, {irn, s : si ; 
 Phil. 2 : 9, u.) Went — of his own accord 
 to the high priest, probably Caia- 
 phas, who continued as acting high 
 priest till the passover of A. D. 36. (See 
 on 4: 6.) It is implied tliat the high 
 priest, as President of the Sanhedrin, 
 and in its behalf, gave Saul letters of 
 authority, (vei-. u.) In 22 : 5 it is said 
 that he received his commission from 
 "all the estate of the ehlers," and iu 
 26 : 10, " from the chief priests," which 
 are different forms of representing the 
 Sanhedrin. Thus the three statements 
 of the same fact are harmonious. (See 
 
 *:2..) 
 
 2. And desired — asked for himself, 
 indicating his forwardness and zeal in 
 instigating persecution at Damascus. 
 Letters — official documents, com- 
 mending him and clothing him with 
 authority to execute his pur]>ose. Com- 
 pare Nehemiah receiving letters from 
 the king to the governors of Palestine. 
 (Neh. 2 : 7, 8.) The Jcws everywhere rec- 
 ognized tiie Sanhedrin as tlieir liighest 
 ecclesiastical tril)unal, and it seems to 
 have been accorded as such by the 
 Roman authorities. Julius Ca'sar, B. C. 
 47, decreed that " Hyrcanus and his 
 children do retain all the rights of high 
 priest, whether established by law or 
 accorded by courtesy ; an<l if hereafter 
 any ([uestion arise touching the Jewish 
 polity, I desire that the determination 
 thereof be referred to him." This wa» 
 
140 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii. XI. 
 
 synagogues, that if he found any < of this 
 way, whether they were men or women, he 
 might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 
 
 3 And " as he journeyed, he came near Da- 
 mascus : and suddenly there shined round 
 
 4 about him a light from heayen : and he fi U 
 
 « ch. 19 : 9, 23. « eh. 22 : 6-16; 26 ; 11-20. 
 
 coufirmed by Augustus, and tluis the 
 Sauliedrin could act through the high 
 prifst, their President aud rei>resenta- 
 tive. Besides, the Kouiau rulers of 
 Pulestiue recognized tlie Sanhodrin as 
 the higliest Jewish court, and its eccles- 
 iastical autliority api)cars to have beeu 
 regarded by lioman governors else- 
 where. Regardiug synagogues, here 
 the ecclesiastical orgauizatious, see on 
 G:7. In 2(5:11, Paul says, "I perse- 
 cuted them unto strange" or "foreign 
 cities," from which we may infer tiiat 
 Saul had pursued the discijjles into 
 otiier cities outside of Palestine, before 
 going to Damascus, and jirobably before 
 receiving letters thitlier. 
 
 Damascus — probably tlie oldest 
 city in the world; according to Jo- 
 sephus built by Uz, the great grandson 
 of Noali. It is mentioned iu the history 
 
 of .\braham. (Oen. I4: 15; 16: 2.) It Was 
 
 sidxkied by David (2 Sam. 8 : c), and after- 
 ward became tlie seat of tlie Syrian 
 
 kingdom (1 Kings 11 : 23-23; 15:20), but at 
 
 length fell into the hands of the Assy- 
 rians. (2 Kings 16:9.) The citv, howcvei", 
 continued with varying fortunes, and 
 is flourishing to tliis day, having a 
 poj)ulatiou of about one huiulred and 
 fifty thousand. It is situated al)Out one 
 hundred and forty miles northeast of 
 Jerusalem in the centre of a large 
 fertile i)lain, at the eastern liase of Anti- 
 Lebanon, wiiere several great caravan 
 routes come together. It is watered by 
 tlie rivers Barada and Awaj, the 
 ancient A1)ana and Pharpar. (2 Kings 
 5: 12.) The Jewish poj>ulation of Da- 
 mascus was very large, estimated at 
 fifty thousand. Josephus says that ten 
 tlioiisand Jews were massacred there 
 at one time under Nero. It had doubt- 
 less many si/niu/df/iirx, and Saul's Ict/crs 
 to them may iiave ineliideil several 
 documents addressed to tlie leading 
 ones. The rulers of tlie synagogues 
 "formed a college whose province it 
 was, among other duties, to punish 
 those wlio deserted the Jewish faith. 
 (De Wette, Ht'h. Avelxrul. 244.)" 
 (IIackktt.) If he found any— im- 
 
 plying that he would find them. Of 
 this, literally, the way, the well- 
 known taitli and manner of life con- 
 nected with tlie religion of Jesus. This 
 was a common designation used by 
 
 Luke. (19:9, 23; 22:4; 24: 14, 22.) Ill It) : 
 
 17, it is more fully exjirossed as "tlie 
 way of salvation," aiul in 18 : 2"), " tiie 
 way of the Lord." Thus this desitina- 
 tion Seems to have been a common one 
 among the early Christians, suggested, 
 perliaps, ))y ' the narrow way ' (Mau. 
 7 :i4), which alone leads to heaven, and 
 "tlie way" which Jesus applied to 
 liimself. (John 14:6.) The Christians at 
 Damascus may have been converts on 
 the day of Pentecost, who had come 
 hither; or fugitives from persecution 
 at Jerusalem, or both of these class, s 
 and their converts. Men or women 
 — showing how severe aud thorough 
 this i)erseeution was to be. Iiciii;d. 
 unto Jeru.salem — for trial before the 
 Sauhedrin, which, alone under Jewisli 
 law, could pronounce the sentence of 
 death. " This commission seems to 
 imj)ly the connivance of the Bonian 
 government, so tliat the same con- 
 sj)iracy of Jews and Gentiles wliieli 
 ])ut Christ to deatli (+:27) pursued his 
 followers even into foreign jiarts." 
 (.Vi.EXAXUKR.) The civil'authorities 
 at least were not dis])0.sed to ort'er op])0- 
 sition to things pertaining to the relig- 
 ious affairs of the Jews. 
 
 3. As he journeyed — pushing on 
 and glad to lie nearing his destination. 
 " Usually travelers are not easily siis- 
 ceptilile to apjiaritions, because of the 
 motion and noise." (Bkxgkl.) Be- 
 ing surrounded with companions was 
 not favorable to an imaginarj' vision. 
 The journey from Jerusalem to Damas- 
 cus would require about five days. 
 What route he took can only be con- 
 jectured. Tlie most probable .supj)osi- 
 tion is that he went by way of Bethel 
 to Sychar (John 4: 5), and then either 
 crossing the Jordan south of the Sea 
 of Galilee near Scythopolis, pro- 
 ceeded to Gatlara and thence to Da- 
 mascus; or from Sychar going uorth- 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 141 
 
 toiheeaillj,aiiU litard a voictsayiug,uuto I him Saul, Saul, » why persecutes t thou 
 
 * Isa. 63 : ; Matt. 25 : 40, etc. 
 
 wanl and crossiui^ the Jordan a little 
 aiiove the sea l)y Jacob's Bridge, he 
 passeil throiigli the desert country on 
 the east of xVnti-Lehaiion. He came 
 near Damascus. A loeal tradition 
 lixes the s])ot " not half a niih' from tlie 
 eastern gate of the town, in tlie midst 
 of an uninehjsed eemetery. Tlie pres- 
 ent road is here purposely diverted 
 from the direct course for a few yards, 
 h-aving apart tlie space wliich is the 
 alleged scene of the conversion. The 
 spot thus respected is evidently a por- 
 tion of the ancient road, and con- 
 sists entirely of small tirinly bedded 
 ])el)l)les. llavi ng never been broken up, 
 it stands alone like a fragment of an 
 elevated causeway. I do not see why 
 this is not likely the trni' site. But be 
 tliis as it may, the features of the land- 
 scape are the same that Paul saw : Ou 
 the left Hermon in all its majesty, the 
 long rang« of Anti-Lebanon, gray and 
 bleak, stretching eastward, the broad 
 plain on either hand with its many- 
 tinted foliage, all around villages em- 
 bowered in l)looniing orehards, and 
 just before the bright buildings nf the 
 city." (Fish's JJih/e Latn/a IllnMrdted, 
 pp". 598-600.) It has l>een (.bserved 
 that Saul was arrested in the height of 
 his fury and near the end of his journey 
 and the eousunimation of his purpose. 
 So God often deals with transgressors. 
 For example, Pharaoh (Exod. U:26) ; 
 Abimelech (Judi,-. ;t:d3), Absalom (zsam. 
 i» : 9), Scnnnacherib (n Kiuga 19: 33) and 
 Haman (Esth.-: lo.) 
 
 Suddenly there shined — there 
 flashed. In suddenness and splendor 
 like lightning. Around him — 
 specially encircling him, and not his at- 
 tendants. From — according to the 
 most approved reailiiig, out f*/ heaven 
 — as it were from the divine ])resence. 
 It was at noon, and the heavenly light 
 outdazzled the brightness of the sun. 
 {fi : 6 ; 2fi ; VI, i.i. ) It was the glory of the 
 Lord, the Hhekinah, so often spoken of 
 in the Old Testament (k.xoj. m : ik ; 40: 3+, 
 35 ; 1 Kings 8 : u ; Isa. f, : .1. 4) and manifested 
 ou the Mount of Transtigu ration (Mark 
 9:'^. 3), and to John on Patinos (Rev, i: 
 15-17). While this glorious light about 
 
 Saul was as instantaneous as lightning, 
 it is not implied that it was as brief. 
 Yet it must have been of short duration. 
 It ai)i)ears that in that light Saul saw 
 the Lord Jesus. So Ananias says : 
 "Jesus, who ajipeared unto thee in 
 the way " (ver. i?) ; and Barnai)as de- 
 elai'es that Saul " had seen the Lord in 
 the way " (ver. 2-) ; and I'aul frequently 
 affirms that he had seen .lesus, and was 
 thus a witness of his resurret'tion (■-'-': 
 
 U; 26: 16 ; 1 Cor. 9: 1 ; lo : h). Saul's blilld- 
 
 ness for three days resulted from this 
 dazzling light (ver. 9; 22 : 11 ), from which 
 he proltably never fully recovered. 
 Dimness of sight may have been the 
 " thorn in the llesh" against which he 
 fervently ]jrayed (2 dr. 12 : 7), and may 
 account for his failure to recognize the 
 high 2)rie.st whom he reproved in the 
 council. (2:1:5.) It seems also to throw 
 light on (lal. 4 : l.l, where Paul says, 
 " Ye wouM have ])lucked out your own 
 eyes and given them to me," and on 
 txal. t) : 11 when he siteaks of " the 
 large letters I wrote to yon with my 
 own liaml." 
 
 4. Filled with awe and reverence, 
 and in great astonishment, Sanlisover- 
 jyowered and falls to, rather upon the 
 earth, doubtless from the animal he 
 was riding. (So«22:7.) "I fell unto 
 the ground," implying more than one 
 merely falling while walking. And 
 heard a voice — not merely a sound, 
 but an utterance, sayinjr to him, in- 
 tended for him alone. Yet it was not 
 spoken in Saul's soul, but audibly, 
 for his companions also heard the 
 sound of the voice, (ver. :.) Saul, 
 Saul — repeated for cmjihasis. (seLuke 
 10 : 4; 22 :3i.) The words were sjioken in 
 Hebrew (26: u) — that is, the Aramtean, 
 the common dialect among the Jews of 
 that da}'. Accordingly, the shorter He- 
 brew form of his uanie is used here, as 
 well as in ver. 17 ; 22 : 7, 13, and 2(3 : 14, 
 wdiile the longer Greci.sed form is found 
 elsewliere in the Acts. Why perse- 
 cutest thou me? Jesus identifies 
 himself with his disciples (Matt. 25: 40), 
 and makes a personal appeal to Saul's 
 conscience. What motive have you ? 
 What wrong have I done you? The 
 
142 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cu. IX. 
 
 5 me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? 
 Aud the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou 
 persecutest. lit w hard for thee to kick 
 
 6 iigaiust ihe pricks. And he trembling and 
 
 astonished said, Lord, » what wilt thou 
 have me to do? Aud the Lord said unto 
 him, » Arise, and go into the city and it 
 shall be told thee what thou must do. 
 
 Jch. 5:39; Job 9: 4. ' ch. 2 : 37; 16 : 30; Luke 3 : 10. « Gal. 1 : 11-16. 
 
 q^ufstion was fitted to arouse convic- 
 tion of the enormous .sin he was perpe- 
 trating. It is also tlie utterance of one 
 sutfcring wrongfully, implying that 
 Saul's conduct was without excuse, and 
 )»»sitively wicked. " In what thing, 
 great or small, hast thou been wronged 
 by nie, tliat thou doest these things? " 
 (('HKYSOSTOM.) "Saul .strikes in Da- 
 mascus ; Christ sutlers in heaven." 
 (Hall.) 
 
 5. Who art thou, Lord? Rev- 
 erential language. Saul may have 
 tliought it was an angel, or, perhaps, 
 God himself. But with his doubt tliere 
 may have come a .suspicion of the 
 truth. " Conscience would readily say, 
 'It is Jesus.'" (Bexgel.) 1 am 
 Jesus Avhoni thou persecutest. 
 Again he identifies himself with his 
 disciples, not only collectively, but also 
 individually. He presses home upon 
 Saul's conscience, tliat he is a i>erse- 
 cutor of the risen, exalted, and glori- 
 fied Jesus, the Lord and Saviour. No- 
 tice he does not style him.self theSon of 
 God, but JesHS (meaning Sariitnr), or 
 " Jesus the Nazareue" (ti -. s)^ the title 
 by wliich he was generally known, and 
 which Saul doulitless had often used in 
 contem]>t. How the truth pierced his 
 inmost soul, that he was " a blasphemer 
 and ]>ersecutor aud injurious." (i Tim. 
 i:".) It is hard for thee to kick 
 ai^ainst the pricks — thcgomh. These 
 words are found here only in a single 
 Greek manuscrij)t and in some ver- 
 sions aud belong to 2tJ : 14, wliicli 
 see. Tiiey were probably transferred 
 to this passage by some copyist. " Tin- 
 chiuse Itself is a proverbial one of fre- 
 (pient occurrence in the Greek and 
 Latin classics, lieing found in Pindar, 
 ylvschylus, Euripides, Plantus and Ter- 
 ence.'"' (Alexander.) 
 
 6. And he trembling and as- 
 tonished said. These words are 
 found in neither of the three accounts 
 and in no Greek manuscrijit. Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to 
 do I And the Lord said unto 
 
 him. Xo Greek manuscript has tliese 
 words in this place. But similar words 
 are found in 22 : 10. The whole pas- 
 .sage, beginning with "It is hard" 
 (ver, 5)and continuing to this j)oint, is 
 found in several ancient versions, in- 
 cluding the Latin Vulgate and the 
 Syriac. Erasmus adojitcd it into the 
 Greek text. It is jiossihlc that these 
 early versions may rcjucscnt (ireek 
 manuscripts older than any extant, but 
 textual critics regard it as an interjio- 
 latiou originating in some ancient 
 copyist filling out tlic jiassage from 
 parallel accounts. It is, however, ap- 
 propriate and in accordance with wliat 
 we miglit expect, and doulitless ]>re- 
 sents what is substantially true. Arise 
 and go into the city— a test of faith 
 and obedience. Tlie question, \\ hat 
 shall I do, Lord ? (■-'■! : n>) imjdicd a 
 recognition of Jesus as a Divine Master, 
 and a subndssion to him. Atthis point 
 we may regard rcgoicration as liaving 
 taken place. But the coniidetiiig of 
 the ex])erience in conversion, as a man- 
 ifest fact to liimself and to others, took 
 phiee later in Damascus under the min- 
 istry of Ananias. (\er. n.) Even tiie 
 glorified Jesus did not undertake to in- 
 struct a penitent inquirer independent 
 of his disciples. How differentlv was 
 Saul to enter the city from what he ex- 
 ju'Cted. Not as a j>roud rejiresentative 
 of the Sanliedrin, but as a lunnble dis- 
 ci])le of the desj)ised Nazareue, to be 
 instructed by one of those whom he 
 had expected to bring bound to Jeru- 
 salem. It shall be told thee what 
 thou must do — as stated and implied 
 in ver. 17, 18. It appears from 26 : Ih- 
 lf> that the Lord here made known to 
 Saul Ids mission as a minister and an 
 ajwstle. (Gal. 1:1.) It was reaflSrmed 
 by Ananias (22 : 14. 15), and farther con- 
 finned liy our Lord to Saul in a trance 
 in the temjde. (22.17-22.) This seems 
 the most natural way to harmonize the 
 three narratives. The account of Luke 
 in this chapter would naturally be the 
 shortest; that before King Agrippa 
 
Cii. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 143 
 
 7 Aiulbihe men wliiili jiiuriie>ed wilh 
 him stood speechless, heariii;; a voice, hut 
 
 8 seeing no man And Saul arose from the 
 earth ; and when his eyes were opened, he 
 
 saw no man : but they led him hy the 
 liand, and brotigiit him into Damascus. 
 9 And he was tliree ilays without sight, 
 and neitlier did eat nor drink. 
 
 b ch. irl : 9 ; Dan. 10 : 7. 
 
 the most iuteuse, and tliat Ix-fore the 
 .Jewish niol) tlie more jKiiticnlar re- 
 j;anlin;j; the wonls of Ananias, " a de- 
 vout man aeeording to the law." (see 
 
 ou -ll : 14 anil 26: 16.) 
 
 7. The men W;o journeyed with 
 
 him — those wiio Mere to aid Saul in 
 executiii;; his eouiiiiission, perliaps 
 soldiers or ottieers of justiee. (Johu 7 : .12.) 
 Stood speechless — or iirre standitKj 
 speerhlexn, amazed and powerless — tlie 
 l>liiperfect being here used in tiie orig- 
 inal, in tlie sense of the imperfect. But 
 in '2ii : 14 Paul says, irhen ire were all 
 J'nllcn. to the earth. In explanation of 
 tliis seeming discrepancy it may be 
 said that the verb utood is used here 
 not as opposed to falling prostrate, but 
 to going forward. In a general Avay it 
 descril)es the etfect of their a.'stonisli- 
 ment, in overpowering tliem an<l fixing 
 them to the S2)ot, immovable and 
 
 SpeeellleSS. (8:38; Lukes : 2.) Biit iu a 
 
 moment, and moments would seem 
 long at such a time, they fall to the 
 earth as Saul had done under tlie 
 grejiter revelation he received. They 
 may have fallen just as they began to 
 hear the voice. Tlie words " vr/(<'/( we 
 were," etc., are in harmony, if tliey do 
 not imply just such an exjilanation as 
 this. So Dr. Hackett and others. A 
 less natural explanation is given liy 
 Bengel and some others : That all fell 
 to the earth at first, Init had risen be- 
 fore Saul of their own accord. Hear- 
 ing a — rather, hearing indeed the 
 voice. An apparent tliscrepancy is 
 found in 22 : 0. " They heard not the 
 voice that spake to me," which natur- 
 ally means they understood not tli<' 
 voice that spake to me ]iersonally. For 
 examples of this use of the word hear, 
 see Mark 4 : 33 ; 1 Cor. 14:2; .Tohn (j : (JO ; 
 Gal. 4 : 2tt, 21. Saul's comiianions heard 
 indeed a voice, but did not so hear as to 
 know what it said. We often say that 
 we do not hear a public sjieaker when 
 we mean that though we hear his voice, 
 yet from indi.stinct or low utteranceB, 
 we fail to understand him. So Saul re- 
 
 ceived a clear imiiression of what was 
 said to him, while iiis comiianions re- 
 ceived an indefinite one. lie heard 
 au<l understood the words, which to 
 them were only as a .sotind. See John 
 12 : 28, 20, where are recordeil the 
 words that came to .Jesus, but the mul- 
 titude understood them not, liut 
 thought it thundered. But seeing 
 no man — seeming to imply that Saul 
 had seen, or did see, at this time, Jesus 
 the Christ. 
 
 8. And Saul arose — or, more 
 strictly, was aroimed or rained. For 
 a time he lay upon the ground over- 
 powered Avith the glory of the divine 
 presence. His companions rise from 
 their prostrate position. Tiiey are 
 ready to help him ; he finds anefibrt nec- 
 es.sary to break the spell that holds him, 
 and to rise upon his feet. Hisobediciu-i,' 
 is partially passive, btit not entirely so, 
 for there was the actof the will, and an 
 efibrt in rising, .standing, opening the 
 eyes, and walking into the city. And 
 this obedience is the first indication of 
 an inward cliange. When his eyes 
 Were opened — implying that they 
 were closed while lying upon the 
 ground. He saw no man — being 
 blind. The highest critical authorities, 
 however, prefer here the stronger read- 
 ing. Ife saw nothinij, totally blind, 
 and hence the greater necessity of l>eing 
 led by the hand. They brought — 
 conducted him into Damascus. Not 
 going, as he had exjiected, as a leader, 
 to seize and imprison, but led by the 
 hands of others, blind, trembling, and 
 helidess, through the gateway of the 
 city and the street called Straight, to 
 lodge alone in the house of Judas. 
 
 (Ver. n.) 
 
 9. Three days — probably that day, 
 the next, and the day following. (See 
 Matt. 12 : .w, id.) Accordiug to .Jewish reck- 
 oning it may have heen either one 
 whole day ami jiortions of two others, 
 or three whole days. Without sight — 
 not seein.f/, the expression implying 
 that the blindness was not necessarily 
 
144 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 IX. 
 
 10 And there was a certain disciple at 
 Damascus "named Ananias ; and to him 
 said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And 
 
 11 he said, Behold, I am here. Lord. And 
 
 the Lord snid unto him, Arise, and go 
 into the street which is called Straight, 
 and inquire in the house of Judas for 
 one. called Saul, ^of Tarsus. For, behold, 
 
 • ch. 22 : 12. ^ eh. 21 : 39 ; 22 : 3. 
 
 permanent ; yet it did not pass away of 
 itself, as we learn from ver. 17, 18. 
 Neither did eat nordiiiik. He fasts 
 and j)rays (»r. ii) alone. Christians are 
 afraid oi" liim ; he eannot eon.snlt them. 
 .Jews eannot symj)athize with him. 
 Tlie rememliranee of Stephen anil tiie 
 diseiples wliom he had persecuted fills 
 him with shame : his oj)position to and 
 hatred of .lesns tills him with j)enitenee. 
 The words of Jesus, " Why jierseeutest 
 thou me? " must have runi,' in liis ears ; 
 while Christ's directing and ])rophetie 
 Avord.s aroused his hopes. Ilis whole 
 being is absorbed in agonizing jirayer 
 and longing expectation. The lessons 
 he now learned are told us in Rom. 7 : 
 7-12. 
 
 10. Ananias — nothing is known 
 of him l)eyond what is said in the Acts. 
 He is here s])oken of by the historian 
 as a certain disciple, but not tiie 
 only one in Damascus, (ver. ist.) Paul 
 in his conciliatory aildress beft>re the 
 Jewish mol) very natui'ally onuts tliis 
 designation, and sj)eaks of him as "a 
 devout man according to the law, well 
 reported by all the .lews that dwelt 
 there." (-n -. v..) Before Agri]>i>a, Paul 
 had no occasion to mention him. The 
 Lord — Christ as in ver. 5-17. A 
 vision — the word thus tran.slated is 
 found here, in ver. 12 ; 7 : 31 ; 10 : 
 3, 17, 19; 11 : 5; 12 : !1 ; 16 : 9, 10; 
 18 : 9; Matt. 17 : 9, but not elsewhere 
 in the New Testament. It does not 
 mean something unreal, but a sitrht 
 divinely given and actually seen. " By 
 vision in the Bible is generally meant 
 an experience in wliicli the jierson 
 retains his consciousness, in which re- 
 spect it differs from a trance, anil the 
 object shown to him ]>o.ssesses a real 
 existence, in which res]>ect it differs 
 from a dream." (Abuott.) {See in 
 Old Testament 1 Sam. 3 : 1.3 ; Dan. 2 : 
 19; 7 : 2; 8 : 1.) 
 
 11. Arise and go — implying a 
 change of position and also motion ; but 
 the words <lo not determine the jiositiou 
 of Auauias, whether he was lying down 
 
 or sitting up. Into, %ipun the street, 
 strictly an aUry or lane. (Luke u: 21-) 
 Called Straight — ^perhaps in distinc- 
 tion from some which were crooked. 
 There is at present in Damascus a long 
 straight street running from the eastern 
 to the western gate. In a|)Ostolic times 
 it was a noble thoroughfare, one hun- 
 dred feet wide, divided by Corinthian 
 colonna<les into thi-ee avenues, the cen- 
 tral one for foot ])assnigcrs, the side 
 pas.sages for vehicles and horsemen. 
 Ilemains of the colonnades arc said 
 still to be seen, though the street is 
 contracted into a narrow cue. The 
 guides call it Straight ; the natives 
 Street of Bazaars ; otiiers know it as 
 (^ueen Street. Tradition places the 
 house of Judas in tliis street. It is 
 doubtful whether such a tlioroughfare 
 wouhl have been styled l>y such a word 
 as (til in/. Besides, the manner of the 
 direction, " the street called Straight," 
 would naturally suggest a less import- 
 ant street than the princi])al thorough- 
 fare of the city. Jiidaswasa common 
 name among Jews, i)ut nothing more is 
 known of tliis one. For one called 
 Saul — implying that Ananias was not 
 ac<iuainted with him, though he had 
 heard of him. (ver. i:i.) Of Tarsus — 
 the city where he was born. (.!2:3.) 
 This was "no mean city " (21 : -is), but 
 the chief city and ea])ital of Cilicia in 
 Asia Minor, and built on both sides of 
 the river Cydnus. Xenophon describes 
 it as a great and flourishing city, and 
 Strabo praises it as a seat of science and 
 learning. It was the rival of Athens 
 and Alexandria, and many distin- 
 guished nu'n were educated there. It 
 still exi.st.s under tlie name of Tofoox, 
 and contains about thirty thousand in- 
 habitants. Behold, he prayeth — 
 has been and is now praying. Not as 
 formerly as a Pharisee (i.uke is : u), but 
 as a penitent, seeking pardon and di- 
 rection. His former supplications were 
 unwortiiy the name of i)rayer. His 
 praying and the answer given (ver. 12) 
 indicate an inner change. The fact is 
 
Ch. IX] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 145 
 
 12 lie prayeth, aud hath seen in a vision a 
 man named Ananias cuiuing in, aud put- 
 ting his hand on liiiu, tliat he might re- 
 
 I'i ccive his sight. Then Ananias answered, 
 
 Lord.l have lieard by many of this man, 
 
 « liow much evil he hath done to thy saints 
 
 « ch. 8 : :J. '1 (Jur. 1 : 2 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 22. i ch. l:i : 2 ; Jer. 1:5; R.im. 1:1; Gal. 1 : l.->, 
 10 ; Eph. 3 : 7, 8 ; 2 Tim. 1:11. ^ Kom. 11 : 13 ; Gal. 2 : 7, 8. ' ch. 25 : 22, 23 ; 26 ; 27 : 24. 
 k ch. 13 : 4t; ; 2H : 17-23. 
 
 14 at Jerusalem : and here he hath authority 
 from the cliief priests to bind all 'that 
 
 15 call on thy name. But the Lord said 
 unto him, Uo thy way: for she is a 
 chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name 
 b.i'fore •'the Gentiles, and 'kings, ^ and 
 
 stated to a.ssure Ananias that Saul was 
 a fit subject to visit, aud needed his 
 attention aud ministry. 
 
 12. Hath seen — or saw, a man. 
 Saul received his vision first. The two 
 visions confirmed each other, as in tlie 
 case of Cornelius and Peter, (lo : 3, 17.) 
 Tlie word vision is omitted by several 
 of the oldest manuscripts, but whether 
 omitted or retained, tlie meaning is the 
 same. A man named Ananias— 
 this indicates that Ananias was a stran- 
 ger to Saul, and now is first made 
 known to him by name. Putting his 
 hand, or hands, on him — to encour- 
 age his faith, and as a symbol of au- 
 thority aud of power in restoring Saul's 
 sight. (Seeou ver. 17.) It is iioted l)y 
 Ciirysostom that this commission is en- 
 trusted to an unknown disciple, that it 
 might not be said that Paul's apostle- 
 ship depended on any human teaching. 
 
 13. Ananias ansAvered, etc. He 
 hesitates, and states his misgivings 
 with great frankness and simplicity. 
 Such instances of hesitation and un- 
 willingness are common in Scripture. 
 Very marked were those of Moses (Exod. 
 s : 111,-!), and Jeremiah. (Jer. i : 6.) " The 
 objections of Ananias and tlie removal 
 of them by the Lord display in a very 
 touching manner the childlike relation 
 of a believing soul to its Redeemer. 
 Ananias speaks witli him as a man does 
 to his friend." (Olshauskn.) Lord, 
 I have heard, etc. Can it be possible 
 tliat I am sent on such an errand to 
 Saul of Tarsus! Tlie answer sliows 
 that Saul had attained great notoriety, 
 and that some time had elapseil since 
 lie began his ])ersecution. Disciples 
 may have fled from Jerusalem to Da- 
 mascus ; letters also had doubtless been 
 received from the persecuted brethren. 
 The unbelieving Jews also would hear 
 of Saul's terrible work. (22 ;j9.) He 
 hath done — rather. He did to thy 
 saints— the first time that the fol- 
 
 lowers of Christ are called saints, styled 
 before this "disciples" (6;i) or "be- 
 lievers." (.t:U.) By this designation 
 Christians are indicated as tho.se whom 
 (jrod has chosen out from the world (JoUn 
 17 : u, 16), separated and consecrated to 
 his service, and by the Holy Spirit 
 made partakers of salvation in the 
 
 kingdom of God. (1 Peter 2:9; Rom. 1:7.) 
 
 14. Ananias' great surprise may 
 have been coupled with a fear, least 
 " even now only evil to the cause of 
 Christ was to be dreaded after his 
 contemplated restoration to sight." 
 (Meyer.) And here he hath au- 
 thority, etc. How he learned this can- 
 not be known. Saul may have visite<l 
 other cities on his way (26: 11), the news 
 of his coming preceded him, or his 
 companions may have made known his 
 mi.ssion to Damascus, or perhaps letters 
 had been received by the disciples from 
 brethren in Jeru.salem, warning them 
 of his coming. All that call on — in 
 their own behalf, or all who invoke 
 thy name. (2:21 ; 7 :59.) It is evident 
 that Ananias was speaking to Christ ; 
 and that apostolic Christians were ac- 
 customed to pray to him. It was char- 
 acteristic ; tliey were the callers upon 
 
 Christ. (Ver. 21; 22:16; 1 Cor. 1 : 2 ; 2 Tim- 
 2:22.) 
 
 15. The Lord repeats the simple 
 command, Go. Omit thy way, not 
 being needed in tlie translation. At the 
 same time the Lord adds a reason for 
 going, which would also allay any 
 fears : For he is a chosen vessel 
 unto me — an instrument selected and 
 elected by God for a great work in my 
 
 kingdom. (Kom. 1 : 1 ; 1 C.ir. 1:1; Gal. 1 : 1.) 
 
 It is a Hebraistic idea, as of an imjile- 
 ment moulded and i)repared in the 
 hands of the potter. (is». 45 : 9, u ; jer. i« : 
 
 4: Rom. 9:21-23; 2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20, 21.) 
 
 The purpose for which he is chosen : 
 To bear my name— proclaiming me 
 as the Messiah and the Eedeemer. 
 
146 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IX. 
 
 lii the children of Isiael: 'for I will show 
 him how great things he must butfer for 
 my name's sake. 
 
 17 ""And Ananiiis went his way, and en- 
 tered into the house; and putting his 
 hands on him said, Brother Saul, the 
 
 Lord, even Jesiis, that appeared unto thee 
 in the way as thou earnest, hath sent me, 
 that thou mightest receive thy sight, and 
 18 " be tilled with the Holy .Spirit. And im- 
 mediately there fell from his eyes as it 
 had been scales: and he received sight 
 
 1 ch. 21 : 11 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 23-27. 
 
 ' ch. 22 : 12, 1:J. " ch. 8 : 17. 
 
 Before — publicly. By implication, 
 holding lip my 5lessiauic name as a 
 banner. The Gentiles — omit the 
 article: Gentiles, and kim/s, and sons 
 of Israel. Ue was the apostle to the 
 Gentiles (Gai. 2: 7, s), but at the same 
 time he preached to the Jews when- 
 ever he had opportunity. (13:4«i.) lie 
 also witnessed before kings, such as 
 Agrippa at C;esarea (20:1,13), and the 
 Emperor Nero at Kome (2 Tim. 4 ; v.i), and 
 before Roman governors as Sergius 
 Paulus, Gallio, Felix, and Festus. (i»: 
 
 « ; 24 : 25; 25 : 23 ; 26 : 32.) JeSUS tllUS aU- 
 
 uounces to Ananias the coinmission of 
 Saul, and Ananias apj)eais to have de- 
 clared its substance to >^aul (22; is), 
 although it is not here directly affirmed. 
 Jesus seems to have previously an- 
 nounced it to Saul (26: 16-1^.), and after- 
 ward repeated it when he was about to 
 actually engage in his work. (22 : 23.) 
 
 IG. JE-'or — introducing a reason why 
 and how Saul would l)e a chosen vessel : 
 For in this capacity and work I will 
 show him — in his experience, and 
 indicate to him by my providence, and 
 by prophetic intimations, what suffer- 
 ings he must endure, in i>rofessing and 
 proclaiming my name. In hearing my 
 name he mu.st sutfer as well as do. " / 
 will shov him is in Greek a most ex- 
 pressive phrase, meaning: Iwilli)artly 
 show him, or begin to sliow him, I am 
 giving hint a glimpse of what he is to 
 suffer. Tlie pronoun has more emj)hasis 
 ill the original, and may perhaps mean, 
 I and not thou ; that is, do thy )>art as 
 it has been assigned to thee, and I will 
 do mine, by disclosing to him what he 
 is to suffer." (Alexander.) In 20 : 
 23; 21 : 11-13, we may see how these 
 sufferings were made known to him 
 from time to time. See 2 Cor. 11 : 
 23-28 for a list of his sufferings. (See 
 
 John 16:3.1; 1 Cor. 4 : 9-13.) 
 
 17. Ananias at once obeys, goes and 
 finds the house of Judas (ver. 11) and 
 Saul. Putting his hands upon 
 
 him. (Seeonver. 11, andS: 17.) Brother 
 
 Saul — not merely as a Jew, but as one 
 of the household of faith. Ananias 
 recognizes Saul's new spiritual relation- 
 ship. The Lord, even Jesus, that 
 appeared unto thee — the one seen 
 by thee, in the way. In after days 
 Paul declares that, as a mark of his 
 apo.stleship, he had seen the Lord. 
 (1 Cor. 9:1; 15: 8.) Hath Sent me — 
 The Lord had sent Ananias to minister 
 to Saul that he might l)e healed of his 
 blindness, and be brought out into the 
 glorious liberty of the gos])el. The 
 substance of what Anauias further said 
 to him is recorded in 22 : 14-lti, regard- 
 ing his great work as a preacher of the 
 gospel and his immediate duty of bap- 
 tism. In all this it does not ajipear 
 that the putting on of hands had any 
 reference to Saul's ordination, or to a 
 rite of confirmation. 
 
 18. There fell from his eyes — 
 implying something real ; not a mere 
 sensation, as if something fell. As it 
 had been scales— resembling scales. 
 Luke's minute description betrays the 
 physician. Hippocrates, the prince 
 and father of real medical science, 
 a]iplies the name "scales" to a certain 
 di.sease of the eyes. In the Aj)ocrvpha 
 (Tobit 11 : 8, 13, 16) a " whiteness " or 
 incrustration is mentioned as peeling 
 off the eyes of Tobit, and he receives 
 his siglit. The dazzling splendor of 
 the divine light had produced a kind 
 of film over the sight (22:11), which 
 suddenly ami hence miracuously fell 
 off, tlirough the ]>ower of the Lord 
 Jesus (ver. 17), while Ananias was speak- 
 ing to him. And he received 
 sight — looked up, which to him was a 
 token of the divine favor, and a con- 
 firmation of the truth and reality of 
 what he had seen, felt, and heard. 
 Forthwith is not found in the best 
 manuscripts, and is not necessarj' in 
 this connection. Nothing is here said 
 of his receiving the Holy Sj)irit ; but 
 
Ch. IX.J 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 H7 
 
 forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 
 19 And when he had received meat, he was 
 strengthened. 
 
 "Then was Saul certain days with the 
 
 20 disciples which were at Damascus. And 
 
 p straightway he preached Christ in the 
 
 ch. 26 : '20. 
 
 from ver. 17 it is reasonable to couclude 
 that the gifts of the Spirit were con- 
 ferred on him, either now, or after his 
 baptism. It is not necessary in this in- 
 stance to suppose this connected with 
 laying on of hands, but may have 
 occurred similar to the bestowmeut 
 upon Cornelius and his comjiany. 
 (10:44.) The fact that the gifts of the 
 Spirit, of which he enjoyed great 
 abundance (i Cor. u : is), is not here men- 
 tioned seems significant. This, witli 
 the o!)scurity of Ananias, may be 
 among those things that point to Paul as 
 independent of human authority, "au 
 apostle, not of men, neither through 
 man, but through Jesus Clirist, and 
 God the Father." (g..i. i : i.) And 
 arose — showing that he accepted 
 Christ and proposed to enter actively 
 upon his service. And was bap- 
 tized — in compliance with the Lord's 
 command, and the exhortation of Ana- 
 nias (2'i:i6), perhaps in one of the 
 rivers of Damascus (-' Kiugs 5 : 12), or very 
 likely in the reservoir in the court of 
 the house of Judas, such as those with 
 which the better class of houses were 
 supplied. That he became a member 
 of the chui-cli of Damascus is implied 
 in the next verse. 
 
 19. His fast now ended. Had 
 taken meat — haoiiuj taken food — he 
 Avas strengthened. He had been 
 weakened, not only by the three days 
 fasting, but also through the overwhelm- 
 ing divine influence, and his intense 
 mental suffering and activity. At this 
 point the account of his conversion 
 properly ends. 
 
 Luke now very briefly records Saul's 
 residence at Damascus, during which 
 time he " went into Arabia and returned 
 again unto Damascus." (Gui. 1 : n.) The 
 wliole time thus occupied was three 
 years (Gal. 1 : 18), which may be taken, 
 according to Jewish reckoning, either 
 for three complete years, or for one 
 whole year and portions of two other 
 years. The certain days of this 
 verse, probably several weeks, and " the 
 many days " of ver. 23, with the inter- 
 
 vening time, embrace the three years 
 from Saul's conversion to his first visit 
 to Jerusalem after that event. His lan- 
 guage in Gal. 1 : 17, naturally implies 
 that he went into Arabia soon after his 
 conversion ; and his object in going 
 there appears to have been, not to 
 preach the gospel, but for the study of 
 the Scrijitures and for meditation and 
 prayer. (See o. ver. 26.) This may sug- 
 gest the reason why Luke passes over 
 this sojourn in Arabia, since it belonged 
 to his inner and private life, and con- 
 tained nothing of interest and instruc- 
 tion for Christians of after ages. Nor 
 is it strange that Luke, in a brief sketch 
 of Paul's conversion and early life, 
 should pass over this event. Paul does 
 it himself in his rapid narrative in 22 : 
 1(3 : 17. The exact i)oint of this visit 
 to Arabia may be fixeil immediately 
 after the "certaiii dai/a" of this verse. 
 Arabia was the well-known |>eninsula, 
 l)ounded by Egypt, Palestine, Syria, 
 Mesopotamia, Babylonia, the Persian 
 Gulf, the Red Sea, and tlie Ocean. It 
 was often used generally and indefi- 
 nitely. Some suppose that it may have 
 included in this instance Damascus, 
 and that Saul's residence there Mas his 
 sojourn in Arabia. But this is incon- 
 sistent with Gal. 1 : 17, 18, whcn-e Paul 
 says he " returned again to Damascus." 
 Then Saul, etc. Omit Saitf, and 
 read. And he was, or more exactly, /le 
 became with the disciples — he was 
 with them as one of them, not onlj' 
 socially, but a member of the company 
 of lielievers at Damascus. The lan- 
 guage implies more tlian that he was a 
 visitor with tiiein. His character liad 
 undergone a change, and a consequent 
 change of relationsliip to the disciples 
 is recognized by them, and acted upon 
 by himself. 
 
 20. And straightAvay — immedi- 
 ately after he was strengthened and be- 
 came one of the Christian brotherhood 
 (ver. i»), during the " certain days." 
 He preached Christ — rather, accord- 
 ing to the highest critical authorities, 
 Jems, the one he had met in the way. 
 
148 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IX- 
 
 synagogues, <i that he is the Son of God. 
 21 But all that heard him were amazed, and 
 said, ^Is not Ibis he that destroyed tliem 
 which called on this name in Jerusalem, 
 and came hither for that intent, that he 
 might bring them bound unto the chief 
 
 22 priests? But Saul ^ increased the more 
 in strength, 'and confounded the Jews 
 which dwelt at Damascus, proving that 
 this is very Christ. 
 
 23 And after that many days were ful- 
 filled, » the Jews took counsel to kill him : 
 
 q 1 John 4 : 14. ' Gal. 1 : 13, 23. • Job 17 ; 
 
 t ch. 18 : 28. " ch. 23 : 12 ; 25 : 3. 
 
 Jfe proc/aimcd Jesus, that he is the 
 Son of God, a divine being, sharing 
 the divine glory and worthy of divine 
 honor. " The Son of God " was one of 
 tlie Jewish titles of the Messiah. So 
 Nathanael and Peter addressed Jesus. 
 (John 1 : 49 ; Malt 16 : 16.) But Saul had met 
 tlie glorified Jesus and had received 
 juore than the Jewish conception. He 
 accepted his Pivine Sonship, and pro- 
 claimed it, which included his Mes- 
 sialiship. Afterward we are told (ver. 22) 
 he gave special attention to the latter, 
 " proving that this is the Christ." In 
 the synagogues — which to a large 
 extent were the meeting places and 
 jmlpits of the early Christians, (istu; 
 
 17:1; 18 : 4. See ou ch. 6:9.) It WaS a 
 
 marked design of Providence that the 
 synagogues should thus facilitate the 
 spread of the gospel. 
 
 21. All that heard him Avere 
 amazed — that is, the Jesvs. The dis- 
 ciples in Damascus had heard of his 
 conversion. (ver. 19.) Said — within 
 them.selves and to one another. De- 
 stroyed — put to death. Paul uses the 
 same word in CJal. 1 : 13, 23. The 
 Jews put it strongly. It was indeed a 
 cause for astonishment to them ; a mir- 
 acle of the gracious Spirit, that such 
 an one should be so changed, and that 
 too in a day ! That called on this 
 name — of Jesus. This characteristic 
 of the early disciples again comes into 
 view. (See on ver. u.) Unto the chief 
 priests — representing the Sanhedrin, 
 as its leading members, (see on ver. 1.) 
 
 22. But Saul increased, etc. — 
 was strengthened still more in faith, 
 purpose and knowledge and in appre- 
 hending and forcibly and powerfully 
 l)resenting the truth. (See 1 hii.4: 1.3 ; Eph. 
 3:1619.) He became stronger in his 
 s))iritual life and as a preacher. This 
 seems to be a general statement, true 
 not only of his early days at Damascus, 
 l)iit also of tlie "many days " (ver. 2.1) 
 after his return from Arabia. Con- 
 
 founded — confused and greatly per- 
 plexed the Jews. His arguments 
 threw them into a state of bewilder- 
 ment. (2:6.) Proving — hy briiiff))ig to- 
 (jether the words of the prophets and 
 the life and work of Jesus, and show- 
 ing their agreement, or deinoustrathuj 
 that this is very Christ, by showing 
 the fulfillment of the Messianic i)re- 
 dictions in the life, death, and resur- 
 rection of Jesus. Thus the Jews were 
 put to silence, and their perplexity and 
 chagrin ripen at length into bitter 
 hatred and persecution, (vcr. 23.) 
 
 23-30. Saul's Flight from Da- 
 MAScuTs, Return to Jerusalem, and 
 Withdrawal to Tarsus. (22 : n.21 ; 
 
 26 : 20 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 22, 32, 33 ; Gal. 1 ; 18-24 ; Eph. 3 : »; 
 
 Phil. 3:5. 6.) The period embraced in 
 these verses occupied several months, 
 perhaps a year; probably during 
 parts of A. D. 37 and 38. Saul had re- 
 turned from Arabia, where he may 
 have spent a year or more in the vicin- 
 ity of Petra, amid the rocks of Edom, 
 and in the great desert of Mount Siuai 
 (Gill. 4 : 25), in retirement, meditation, and 
 study. (See on ver. 19.) He had grown 
 in sjiiritual life and as a jtreacher, 
 and was becoming at Damascus 
 what Stephen had been at Jerusalem. 
 (6 : 10. See on ver. 22.) Compai'c Havmonic 
 Arrangement on i; 17. 
 
 23. Many days were fulfilled — 
 completed. A considerable time is 
 meant, (ver. 43 ; 18 : If.) It may indicate 
 an indefinitely longer or shorter ])eriod. 
 Thus in Paul's voyage to Komc, when 
 dreary days seemeil like weeks and 
 montlis, it is said, sailed sloirh/ m<in;i 
 daijs (2":'), meaning jirobably about 
 twelve days. Ou the other luiud, ina 
 brief narrative it may .stand for two or 
 three years. See 1 Kings 2 : 38, 39, 
 wlieie " many days " were " three 
 years." Tlius the phrase here may in- 
 clude Saul's sojourn in Arabia and his 
 subsequent residence at Damascus ; or 
 it may be limited to the latter. In 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 149 
 
 24 but tlie'ir laying wait was known of SaiU. 
 And tliey watched tlie gates day and 
 
 25 night to kill him. Ihen the disciples 
 
 took him by night, and "let hvm down 
 by the wall in a basket. 
 
 ' Josh. 2 : 15 ; 1 Sam. 19 : 12. 
 
 either case, we may suppose that the 
 larijer part of the three years before re- 
 turniiii; to Jerusalem was spent in 
 Araliia. {Oiii. i : i7, is.) This may ac- 
 count for tiie comparative ignorance of 
 tlie disciples at Jerusalem concerning 
 him. (Ver. 2ti.) This second residence 
 at Damascus, however, must have been 
 longer than the first (ver. is), j)rol)ably 
 from tliree to six montlis. This would 
 be sutKeient time for the beginning and 
 growtli of the organized opposition 
 against him. The Jews took coun- 
 sel — i)lotted together deliberately to 
 kill him. At tirst they were amazed 
 that the most violent persecutor of the 
 Nazarenes luid himsi'lf become an 
 ardent disciple. Then they attempted 
 to meet him in argument, but were put 
 to silence. Then followed hatred, bit- 
 terness, organized opposition, and per- 
 secution. The Jews at Damascus had 
 no legal right to kill hhti, but througU 
 the governor (called the Ethnarch) 
 under Aretas, the king, they might ac- 
 comj>lish it. (2Cor. n:M.) It appears 
 that Aretas, king of Arabia, who was 
 father-in-law to llerod Antipas, got pos- 
 session of Damascus upon the death of 
 the Emperor Tiberius, A. D. 37, and 
 held it for a year oi' more. 
 
 24. But their laying wait, fheir 
 plot, was known, became known to 
 Sditl, probably by rejwrt. (See23:i6-) 
 They watched, were watchiny all 
 the time, day and night, while Saul 
 made his escape. In 2 Cor. 11 : 32, 
 Paul says that at this time " the gov- 
 ernor under Aretas, the king, kept 
 guard over the city of the Damascenes." 
 It thus ajjpears that the guard con- 
 sisted of these Jews or that the Jews 
 were watching in connection with the 
 soldiers who guarded the gates. The 
 two accounts are perfectly consistent 
 with each other; they throw light uj>on 
 and confirm each other. Luke in the 
 Acts shows who were the instigators of 
 this plot, namely, the Jews ; Paul to 
 the Corinthians tells us the military or 
 the legal jxiwer by which it was to be 
 carried out. 
 
 25. Both Luke and Paul (2 Cor. 11 : 33) 
 relate the manner of his escai)e, " by 
 the wall in a basket." Luke tells the 
 persons by trhoin, namely, the dis- 
 ciples, some of them doubtless his 
 own converts, and the time, by night. 
 Paul adds, "through a window," and 
 that he " escaped his hands," that is, 
 of the governor of Damascus, who had 
 been induced by the Jews to assist them 
 in their jdot and to accomplisli in some 
 way, legally or illegally, the death of 
 Saul. Let him down by — rather, 
 throufjh the Avail. The spies at 
 Jericho (Josh. 2:15) and David (1 sam. 
 19: 12) escaped in a similar way. " The 
 common view is that the house where 
 Paul was secreted was built on the wall 
 of the city, with a window projecting 
 over it ; and hence it could be said, ac- 
 cording to Luke's narrative in the Acts, 
 that Paul Mas ' let down through the 
 wall,' without any reference to the 
 house ; or, as in the epistle to tlie Cor- 
 inthians, that he was ' letdown through 
 a window tlirough the wall.' . . I saw 
 houses built on the walls, with over- 
 hanging windows, in several of the 
 Eastern cities. . . . Possibly another 
 explanation may be the correct one. A 
 few steps to theleft of Bab-es-Shurkeb, 
 the gate on the east side of Damascus, 
 I observed two or three windows in the 
 external face of the wall, opening into 
 houses on the inside of the city. If 
 Saul was let down through such a win- 
 dow (which belongs equally to the 
 house and the wall), it would be still 
 more exact to interchange the two ex- 
 pressions." (Dr. Hackett, Ilhist ra- 
 tions of Scripture, pp. 76, 77.) In a bas- 
 ket, the same word used in Matt. \n : 
 37, rt p/aitcd grain or provision basket. 
 Another word is used in 2 Cor. 11 : 33, 
 meaning a basket made of ropes. The 
 two words might be used interchang- 
 ably in speaking of the same event. 
 "As I stood with a friend, who resided 
 at Damascus, ... a cou])le of men canie 
 to tlie top of the wall with a round, 
 shallow basket, full of rubl)ish, wliicli 
 they emptied over the wall. ' Such a 
 
150 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch.IX. 
 
 26 And J when Saul was come to Jerusa- 
 lem, he assayed to join himself to the dis- 
 ciples: but they were all afraid of him, 
 and believed not that he was a disciple. 
 
 27 » But Barnabas took him, and brought Awn. 
 to "the apostles, and declared unto them 
 how he had seen the Lord in the way, 
 and that he had spoken to him, and how 
 
 y Gal. 1 : 17, 18. « ch. 4 : 36; 13 : 2. » Gal. 1 : 18, 19. 
 
 basket,' said my friend, 'the people use 
 h( IV for almost every sort of thing. If 
 they are digging a well, and wish to 
 send a man down into it, they put him 
 into such a basket; and that those who 
 aided Paul's escape should have used 
 such a basket for the jnirpose was 
 entirely natural, according to the pres- 
 ent customs of the country.' . . . Pil- 
 grims are admitted into the monastery 
 at Mount Sinai in a similar manner." 
 (Dr. Hackktt, Illustrations of Script- 
 ure, p. 77.) 
 
 26. Aud Avhen Saul was come 
 to Jerusalem. Instead of Saul read 
 he, according to the best manuscrijjts. 
 The object of Saul's coming was to 
 make the acquaintance of Peter (not to 
 receive authority from him), whom he 
 knew to he a prominent leader and 
 pillar in the church. (Gai. i : i8; 2 ;9.) 
 Being driven from Damascus, it was 
 natural tliat he should seek tlie mother 
 church at Jerusalem ; and tliat his 
 Christian impulse should lead him to 
 preach Jesus in the very j)lace where 
 he had most violently jiersecuted his 
 disciples. (22: i!P. 20.) "lie had left 
 Jerusalem armed witli full jwwer to 
 root up the heresy spread by the fol- 
 lowers of Jesus. He returned to tlie 
 caj)it;il poor, desjjised, a proscribed 
 outlaw, his brilliant earthly prosjiects 
 l)lasted, only burning to i)reacli the 
 Name of tlie Crucified, whose devoted 
 followers he had once j)ersecuted so re- 
 lentlessly." (IIOWSON AND SrEXCE.) 
 Assayed — he was ottriuptiug, Imt 
 failed in his attempt. To join him- 
 self to the disciples, including the 
 apostles (vpr. 27), not merely socially, 
 but to them as a company of believers, 
 as a church. They were aM afraid 
 of him— they were distrusting him ; 
 and though they may have lieard of 
 his conversion, yet that was three years 
 ago (Gall : 18), aiid they did not really 
 heiiere him to he a disciple, but thought 
 he was trying to attach himself to tliem 
 from improper motives, perhaps to 
 persecute them and seize their leaders. 
 
 His reported conversion seemed iucred- 
 ilde ; they were prejudiced against 
 him. " The sudden appearance of Vol- 
 taire in a circle of Christians, claiming 
 to be one of them, would have been 
 something like this return of Saul to 
 Jerusalem as a professed discij)le." 
 (Hackett.) All this implies that Saul 
 had lived mostly a retired life since his 
 conversion ; that the large part of the 
 time had been spent in Arabia, and 
 that too probably not in public labors, 
 but in the study of the Scriptures and 
 in comnninion with God ; in order that 
 he might not confer with flesh aud 
 blood "(Gal. 1 : 16), but with the Lord 
 through prayer and the Spirit, and 
 thus gain the needed preparation for 
 the great work to which tie had been 
 called at his conversion. The news of 
 his recent preaching and peril in Da- 
 mascus, doubtless had not reached 
 tliem ; aud this might be the more 
 probable, in tliese troublous times, 
 while Damascus was under the power 
 of King Aretas. 
 
 27. This embarrassing situation of 
 Saul was relieved by Barnabas who 
 ai)pears to have been previously ac- 
 quainted with him. Barnabas (*■■*) 
 took him, as one friend takes another 
 to introduce him. "Tradition a.'jserts 
 that Joseph [Barnabas] had been a 
 scholar of Gamaliel, and the same 
 feeling which led him to join a school 
 of which one peculiarity was its ]>er- 
 mission of Greek learning, might have 
 led him earlier to take a few" hours' 
 sail from Cyjirus to see wliat could be 
 learnt in tlie University of Tarsus. If 
 so, he would naturally have come into 
 contact with tlie family of Saul, and 
 the friendship thus commenced would 
 be continued at Jerusalem. It luul 
 been broken by the conversion of Bar- 
 nabas, it is now renewed by the conver- 
 sion of Saul." (Faera'r, Life and 
 Work of St. Paul, pp. 1.32, 13.3.) Saul, 
 upon coming to Jerusalem, had proba- 
 bly stopped first with his sister or some 
 relative. (23 : 16.) Brought him to 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 ir>i 
 
 be had preached boldly at Damascus in 
 
 28 Ihe name of .Icsiis. And lie wits with 
 thtnu coming in and k"'">j ""' <•♦ Jerusa- 
 
 29 lem. And lie spaUe lioldly in tbc name 
 of ihe Lord Jesus, and disputed against 
 
 the bGrceiaus. <= But they went about to 
 30 slay him. Which when the brethren 
 knew, they brought him down to Cacsarea, 
 and sent him forth to •^ Tarsus. 
 
 b ch. 6 : 1 ; 11 : 20. • ver. 23 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 26. d Gal. 1 : 21. 
 
 the apostles — Peter and James (g»i. 
 1 : 18 19) being the only two present at 
 Jerusalem, the other apostles being 
 probably away preaching. LJeclared 
 —re /a ted fully to them how iSartl saw 
 the Lord in the way, the manner 
 and circumstances, time and place; and 
 that the Lord had spoken, talked to 
 Saul, giving him instructions. He 
 whom the Lord had called and in- 
 structed, the apostles should receive. 
 Barnabas shows that Saul, as a witness 
 of tlie resurrection of tlie Lord, and as 
 one commissioned by him, stood on a 
 level with them. And more, for Saul 
 bad proved his trustworthiness by his 
 obedience, in preaching boldly at 
 Damascus, whither he had gone to 
 persecute. In the name of Jesus — 
 as his disciple confessing and proclaim- 
 ing him as the Messiah, his sovereign 
 Lord. 
 
 28. The kind offices of Barnabas 
 proved successful. Saul is received 
 into the friendship and fellowship of 
 the disciples. He was with them — 
 as a brother and preacher, for fifteen 
 days. (Gal. 1:18.) Coming in and 
 going out — associated with them pri- 
 vately, publicly, and officially. How 
 far they recognized his ministry, and 
 whether they at all regarded his apos- 
 tleshij), cannot be certainly decided.. It 
 was not till fourteen years later that he 
 received from Peter, John, and James 
 the right hand of fellowship as an 
 apostle to the Gentiles. (Gai. -i -. i, 9.) 
 
 ^9. As he had done at Damascus, so 
 here at Jerusalem Saul spake boldly 
 and freely in the name of the Lord. 
 Thus far the passage is closely connected 
 with the preceding verse, giving a gen- 
 eral view of what he did in this brief 
 visit at Jerusalem. And disputed, 
 etc. According to the highest critical 
 authorities this should read : And was 
 speaking and disputing against the 
 Grecian Jews. He not only talked, in 
 an instructive way, but he reasoned and 
 discussed the subject with the Hellen- 
 
 ists or foreign Jews. Saul was one of 
 this class, and was familiar with the 
 Greek, and had doubtless associated 
 with some of tliem in former years. 
 Thus he enters into Stephen's labors, 
 possibly arguing with some of them 
 who contended with Stephen, and w ith 
 like results. {« ;8.io.) Battled with Saul's 
 arguments, they propose to resort to 
 force, they went about — that is, they 
 were seeking the means and oppor- 
 tunity, not as yet openly, but under- 
 handedly, to slay him. The same 
 verb is used as in ver. 23. Some have 
 thought that one of tlie festivals was 
 now going on, to which these foreign 
 Jews, being very jealous for the law, 
 had come. 
 
 30. Which when the brethren 
 knew — And the brethreii learning, or 
 discovering it. This sliows that these 
 foreign Jews were working in secret 
 and ])lotting, very much as they had 
 done with Stephen, only their i)lans 
 were not developed as yet. Notice that 
 it is now said, the brethren, they being 
 no longer afraid of Saul, but one with 
 him. And as brethren tiuy act together 
 and promptly. This is the tiist time 
 the disciples are distinctively termed 
 brethren, in the Acts, though they are 
 thus addressed in 6 : 3. They are fre- 
 quently thus styled after tliis. (n : i,29; 
 12:17.)' They are as those who consti- 
 tute one family. Saul acts on their 
 advice and departs, although at first he 
 is unwilling to go (22 : n-21), l>ut desired 
 to remain and preach, taking up Ste- 
 jihen's work where it was broken off. 
 He felt he was peculiarly fitted for it 
 by experience. But in a trance the 
 Lord assures him that tlie Jews will 
 not hear him and commands him : 
 " Dejiart, for I will send thee far hence 
 unto the Gentiles." It is very probable 
 that Saul would not have now left .Jeru- 
 salem, liad it not been for this revela- 
 tion. Thus ))oth accounts are in perfect 
 harmony. Luke gives the external 
 historical cause, begun and cousum- 
 
152 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IX. 
 
 Prosperity of the church ; Peler visits Lydda 
 and Joppa. 
 
 31 THEN had the churches rest through- 
 
 out all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, 
 and were editied ; and 'walking in the 
 fear of the Lord, 'and in the comfort of 
 the Holy Spirit, were mulliplit'd. 
 
 • Neh. 5:9. f John U : 10-18 ; 16 : 7-15 ; Com. 8 : 15-17, 26 ; Gal. 5 : 22. 
 
 mated by the brethren ; Paul iE;i ves the in- 
 tenial and divine reason, wliich h'd him 
 to fall in with the jdaiisof liis brethren. 
 About eighteen years after tliis Paul 
 appeals to the brevity of this visit, and 
 other circumstances connected with it, 
 as an evidence that he did not dejjcnd 
 on the church at Jerusalem or the apos- 
 tles, for his apostolic commission. (Gai. 
 1 ; i»<-24.) They brought him — co»- 
 dncted him to Ca'.sarea, about sixty 
 miles nortiiwest of Jerusalem, (seeou 
 3:40.) And sent him forth— proba- 
 bly by ship to Tarsus — his native 
 city, and the cai>ital of Cilicia. (see ou 
 ver. 11.) In reference to this visit to his 
 native country Paul says (Gai. i :2i), " J 
 came into the regions of Syria and 
 Cilicia." He may have sailed to 
 Seleucia, the port of Antioch, and then 
 passed northward tlirough .Syria and 
 westward into Cilicia to Tarsus. Mr. 
 Lewin (Life and J'.pist/cs of St. Paul, 
 i. 77) .suggests tliat JSaul may have un- 
 dergone one of the sliipwrecks, of 
 which he speaks (2 Cor. ii : 2.5), and thus 
 his course was determined. lie ai>i)cais 
 to have made Tarsus and its vicinity 
 his headquarters, until .sought out about 
 four years later by Barnabas. (ii:-'5.) 
 During this j)eriod he probaV)ly planted 
 cliurches in Syria and Cilicia, wliicli 
 lie visited 011 his second missionary 
 journey. (i5:4i.) 
 
 31-43. Peace axp Pkosperity of 
 THE CHrR("H. Peter Yi.'^iTs Lydd.v 
 AND Joppa. The healing of ^Eneas, 
 the sickness, death, and raising to life 
 of Dorcas. Large ingatlierings at Lydda, 
 Sharon, and Joi>pa. These events must 
 liave occu])ied many months, ju-obably 
 a year or two, about A. D., 38 and 3i5. 
 This section prepares the way for the 
 conversion of Cornelius. 
 
 31. Then . . . rest. Eather, 
 Therefore . . . peace. The Christian 
 community throughout Palestine, here 
 designated by its tliree divisions, Judea 
 and Galilee and Samaria, were in 
 a state of tranquillity, beintr free from 
 persecution, as a consequence of the 
 
 events just related. The persecution 
 wouhl cease in foreign cities with the 
 conversion of Saul ; but it must have 
 continued in Judea, for Saul was not 
 tlie only persecutor, (ver. 29; b : 9.) His 
 rej)orted conversion, regarded as treacli- 
 eiy to the cause, would probably in- 
 crease tile blind rage of iiersecution for 
 a time. It had tloulitless subsided lie- 
 fore Saul's visit to Jerusalem ; but his 
 l>reseiice gave it a new impetus for a few- 
 days, and after his departure it ceased 
 entirely. It is unnecessary to suppose 
 witli .some tiiat the attemjit of the Km- 
 ))eror Caligula to profane the temple at 
 Jerusalem (a. D., 39, 4U) diverted the 
 minds of tlie Jews from the Christians, 
 and was thus tlie cause of the persecu- 
 tion ceasing. The persecution had spent 
 its force. Besides, Caligula's attempt 
 jirobably occurred a little later than 
 tliis visit of Saul, and in its time may 
 have had some of the eft'ects supposed. 
 The churches — this is the reading 
 of some good manuscripts, but the 
 oldest and best have the singular, 
 (■/((ur/i, which reading is preferred l>y 
 tlie liii(he.';t critical authorities. I)i'. 
 liroadus limits the word here to " the 
 original churcli at Jerusalem, who.xc 
 members were by the persecution widely 
 scattered throughout Judea and Sama- 
 ria and Galilee, and held meetings 
 wlierever they were, but still belonged 
 to the one original organization. When 
 Paul wrote to the Gahitians, nearly 
 twenty years later, the.se sej)aiate meet- 
 ings had been organized into distinct 
 churches; and so he speaks (Gai. 1:22), 
 in reference to tliat same period, of 
 ' the churches in Judea which were in 
 Christ.'" (Com. on Matt. 16 : 18.) If, 
 however, distinct churches had been 
 organized in Samaria and elsewhere in 
 Palestine, then the word would natu- 
 rally ai>ply to the collective member- 
 shij) of those cliurches, who were bound 
 together by a common brotherhood to 
 Christ, their head, and by one Si>irit. Or 
 jiossibly the word church might here be 
 used ideally and abstractly, meaning the 
 
Cn. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 153 
 
 32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. 
 B throughout all quailcr^, he came down 33 And there he found a certain man named 
 
 8 ch. 8 : 14. 
 
 local church, wherever found in that 
 re,i?ion, suul hence true of nil those 
 cliiuches— that they enjoyed peace and 
 prosperity. But whichever view is pre- 
 ferred, there is no ground here or else- 
 where in the New Testament for api)ly- 
 ing the word church to an association 
 or confederation of churciies. The local 
 church is the only one s|)olven of, as an 
 external organization, ha \ ing functions, 
 such as asseniMiii;; to^fthcr, exercising 
 disciidine, appointing otiicers, etc. In- 
 deed, wliat may be styled the church 
 general is nowhere spoken of or im- 
 plied in the New Testament as an or- 
 ganization. (See on a : u. ) On the import 
 of the word, and on the general subject, 
 able discussions are found in The Chris- 
 tian Review. (Vol. 22, pp. 593-620; 
 vol. 20, p. 430 f.; vol. 11, p. 64 f.) 
 Kdified — bwilt up spiritually, in in- 
 ternal growth, faith, and piety (i Cor. 
 
 8 : I ; U ; +, n ; 1 Thess. 5:11.) Walking — 
 
 conducting themselves and advancing 
 in Christian life and activity. The 
 fear of the Lord — a devout and rev- 
 erential practice of true religion. In 
 the comfort, or by the consolation 
 and helpful presence of the Holy 
 Spirit, were multiplied, increased 
 in numbers. The Holy Spirit was pres- 
 ent, giving power to believers, and by 
 liis awakening influence leading men to 
 hear and receive the gospel. The Greek 
 word translated comfort is closely allied 
 to the title given to the Holy Spirit, 
 " the Comforter " or Helper. ( John u : 16- ) 
 33. From Saul tlie narrative turns to 
 Peter, who is last mentioned in connec- 
 tion with the work in Samaria, (s : i4, 25.) 
 The j)eaceful condition of affairs (ver. 31) 
 is improved by Peter in visiting the 
 discipieshi]) outside of Jerusalem. As 
 Peter passed throughout all 
 quarters — passed through or among 
 tliem all. There is no word in tlie 
 original standing for quarters. Hence 
 some supply places (is : sb; 26 : 20) ; others 
 
 supply saints. (20: 20; 21 .- 28; Eom. IS: 28.) 
 
 More strictly the word all refers to the 
 saints whom Peter was visiting, and is 
 implied by what follows. As he came 
 down also to the saints at Lydda, 
 
 so he had been visiting the saints else- 
 where. Of course, he visited all the 
 places where believers were in any 
 numbers, or held religious gatherings. 
 The fact that the word saints, and not 
 church or chnrclies is used, deserves 
 attention. Things may have been in a 
 formative state. Believers throughout 
 the country may liave ))een regarded 
 as connected with tlie churcli at Jeru- 
 salem, and holding meetings, or, ac- 
 cording to modern phraseology, holding 
 missions, and not separated into inde- 
 pendent churches. Peter's visitation 
 among tiiem may have had reference 
 to both their spiritual state and to ques- 
 tions of organization and eiiicieut 
 work. As a result churches may have 
 been organized in many places. (See on 
 ver. 31.) Notice also the four names by 
 whicli the followers of Jesus were 
 called before they were named Chris- 
 tians — disciples (1 : is), believers {''■**), 
 saints (9:13), brethren. (9:3o.) Lydda, 
 Lod of the Old Testament, a Benjamite 
 town. (1 Chron. 8 : 12.) It is situated in 
 the plain of Sharon, on the roa<l from 
 Jerusalem to Joppa, about twenty- 
 seven miles northwest from the former, 
 and eleven miles from the latter. It 
 was a city of considerable size, and a 
 seat of a famous Jewisli school. It was 
 ruined in the Jewish war and after- 
 ward rebuilt by the Romans, and called 
 Diospolis, " Jove's City." It now bears 
 its ancient name Ludd or Lydd, and is 
 a village of about two thousand inhal)it- 
 ants, witli some ruins, and surrounded 
 by gardens and orchards. It is not 
 mentioned elsewhere in the New Testa- 
 ment. 
 
 33. A certain man named 
 .iEneas. This name is not exactly 
 identical with the Trojan name Eneas. 
 The former is accented in English on 
 the first syllable, the latter on tlie 
 second. From his Grecian name it is 
 inferred that lie was probably a Grecian 
 Jew. He was not probably a professed 
 disciple, as he is styled a certain man. 
 But it is also probable that he became 
 a believer at or about the time of his 
 cure, since " faith was usually required 
 
154 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. IX. 
 
 ^Jneas, which had kept his bed eight 
 
 34 years, aud was sick ot the palsy. Aud 
 I'eter said unto him, ^Kiieas, ^ Jesus Christ 
 niaketh ihec whole: 'arise, aud make thy 
 
 35 bed. Aud he arose immediately. Aud 
 
 all that dwelt at Lydda and '^ Saron saw 
 him, and 'turned to the Lord. 
 36 Now there was at ™ Joppa a certain dis- 
 ciple named Tabitha, which by interpre- 
 tation is called Dorcas. This woman was 
 
 >> ch. 3 : 6, 16 ; 4 : 10. 
 
 i Matt. 9:6; Mark 2 : 9, 11 ; John 5 : 8-12. k 1 Chron. 5 : 16. 
 11 : 21 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 9, 10. »> Jonah 1:3. 
 
 ich. 
 
 of those who received the benefits of the 
 gospel." (Hackett.) Had kept his 
 bed — had lain upon a pallet. {■>■■ i5.) 
 Of the palsy — of paralysis. (»;:.) 
 The severity of the case is inferred from 
 its long continuance, eight years. 
 
 34. Peter said unto him. Hav- 
 ing a conviction aud au assurance witliiu 
 liimself that the power of the Lord 
 would be exerted in the recovery of 
 t!ie paralytic. Peter addresses him by 
 name to secure his attention and arouse 
 his faith. He saj's nothing of himself, 
 but presents Jesus Christ or Jesus 
 the Christ as the healer. (See 3:6.) 
 Many authorities place the article before 
 Christ. Westcott and Hort omit it. 
 Maketh thee whole — now at this 
 moment. Arise, stand u]), and make 
 thy bed — spread for thyself, thy couch 
 and whatever is needful. The word 
 bed is not in the original, liut is implied 
 in thethouglit. The command requires 
 immediate action. " Perform immedi- 
 ately, in token of thy cure, the same 
 work whicli hitherto others have had 
 to do for thee." (JlEYKR.) Standingup 
 showed that his feet, ankles, and lower 
 muscles were restored to strength ; 
 spreading of the bed indicated recovered 
 use of hands and arms. The cure aud 
 the obedience were immediate. He 
 arose immediately. 
 
 35. As a result of the miracle there 
 was a general turning to the Lord. AH 
 the people generally, that dwelt at 
 Lydda and Saron — literally, and the 
 plain, for so Sharon means, a beautiful 
 and fertile jdain along the coast of 
 Palestine of some thirty miles between 
 Joppa and Csesarea. It was famous for 
 it-s pasturage (i oiiron. 27 : 29), its fertility 
 aud beauty comj>ared with Carmel, (isu. 
 S5 : 2 ; S5 : 10) ; and Solouiou in his Song of 
 Songs (2 : 1) sings of the rose of Sharon. 
 It was emphatically //;f plain of Judea. 
 Saw him — after his cure, not all at 
 once, but from time to time as each had 
 opportunity. And they turned to the 
 
 liOrd — Jesus the Christ, descriptive of 
 Jewish converts. Gentiles are spoken 
 of as " turning to God." (u : ii ; i5 : la.) 
 The meaning of the passage is that at 
 Lydda and in the jdain adjacent to it 
 there was a general turning to the new 
 religion, and a general acknowledg- 
 ment that Jesus was the Christ. " This 
 is, no doubt, a reason for this one case 
 being singled out from niany of the 
 same kind and particularly stated, not 
 because it was intrinsically more im- 
 portant, but because it was connected 
 with tliis progress of the truth, and with 
 other great events about to be recorded." 
 (-\lexander.) 
 
 36. Another miracle is related 
 which brings Peter to Joppa and 
 results in a great in-gathering there. 
 Joppa, meaning beauty, was a city on 
 the Mediterranean about thirty-nine 
 miles northwest of Jerusalem, lying on 
 the border of the tribes of Dan and 
 Ephraim. (Josh. i9 : 46.) It had a cele- 
 brated and dangerous port, but the best 
 upon the coast, until Herod the Great 
 made an artificial port at Ca'sarea. It 
 l)ecame the port of Jeru.sjilem when the 
 latter became the capital of the king- 
 dom. It is mentioned only in this nar- 
 rative in the New Testament. It is now 
 Yafa, and " has no jx)rt ; and the land- 
 ing, when possible, is made in small 
 boats. The appearance of the city from 
 the water, beautifully situated ujion a 
 rounded hill, encompassed by orchards 
 of oranges, lemons, citrons, and apri- 
 cots, is attractive and animating. A 
 wall surrounds it on the landward side, 
 with a few old guns upon it. . . . Tlie 
 city is irregularly built of chalk-look- 
 ing, square, flat-roofed houses, and is 
 made up of a mixed mass of fifteen 
 thousand people." (Dk. Fish, L'ibl. 
 Land Illustrated, p. 137.) Tabitha, 
 in Aramean and Dorcas, in Greek, 
 both mean a female gazelle, which in 
 the East was regarded as a standard of 
 beauty. It was often employed as a 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 155 
 
 full "of good works and alms-deeds which 
 
 37 Blie did. And it came to pass iu those 
 days, lliat she was sick, and died : wliom 
 when they had waslied, they laid lif.r In 
 
 38 an upner chamber. And forasmuch as 
 Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disci- 
 ples had heard that Peter was there, they 
 
 sent unto him two men, desiring Mm 
 that he would not delay to come to them. 
 Then Peter arose and went with them. 
 When he was come, they brought hiui 
 into the upper chamber: "and all the 
 widows stood by him weeping, and show- 
 ing the coats and garments which Dorcas 
 
 » 1 Tim. 2 : 10 ; Titus 3 : 8. 
 
 ' Prov. 10 : 7. 
 
 common name of females. As the 
 Hebrew ( Aramean) and Greek were both 
 used at Joppa it is probable that both 
 names were applied to this woman. It 
 was also a eustom of the age and coun- 
 try to have two names, (i: 23; 4:36.) 
 Unlike Eneas, she is at once introduced 
 as a disciple and her benevolent dis- 
 position and beneficent deeds are 
 mentioned. Full of good works — 
 abounding in them. " The e.\pression 
 ' full of is a favorite one with Luke : 
 'full of leprosy' (Lukeo: li) ; 'full of 
 faith' (Acts 6: 5, 8), etc." (Dr. P. 
 ScH.\.FF, in International Revision 
 Com.) And almsdeeds — and in par- 
 ticular of deeds of mercy, gifts to the 
 poor. (3:2,3.) VVhich she did, was 
 doing; showing that this was her 
 habit. 
 
 37. Iu those days— while Peter 
 abode at Lydda. Having sickened, she 
 died, and, having washed or bathed 
 her, they placed her in an upper room. 
 Perhaps a room on the second story, 
 but more probably the upper room used 
 by Orientals, in which to sup, meditate, 
 and pray, sometimes built on the flat 
 
 roof of the house. (l ■■ l-t : i Kings 23 : 12.) 
 
 It is spoken of more definitely in ver. 
 39, as " the upper room." It was cus- 
 tomary among the Jews for women to 
 wasli or bathe the dead, washing the 
 whole body. Luke uses general terms 
 without reference to j)ersons, employ- 
 ing a masculine of the participle equiv- 
 alent to the indefinite "they": they 
 washed and laid, etc. (Winer, Gram, 
 of iV. T., p 178, and Hackktt.) 
 
 38. As Lydda was nigh to 
 Joppa — a little over eleven miles 
 southeast, across the plain, on the road 
 to Jerusalem, and in sight of each 
 other. The disciples, etc. — the dis- 
 ciples having heard that Peter was 
 there, at Lydda. They act conjointly ; 
 the report of the healing of Eneas had 
 reached them, and they also may have 
 heard that Pet.T was i:till there. They 
 
 send two men desiring, ratlier entreat- 
 ing him to come to them. The wliole 
 congregation at Joppa seem to have 
 been deeply affected with their lo.ss, 
 and they earnestly desire the presence 
 of Peter for sympathy and encourage- 
 ment, and perha])s with a vague ho2>e 
 that he would help them, and that 
 Dorcas would be restored to them. In- 
 stead of that he would not delay, 
 etc., the oldest manuscripts read, Delay 
 iiot to come to us, which is now pre- 
 ferred by the best authorities. " Thou 
 mayest not hesitate to come to us." 
 (Meyer.) They feel that he cannot 
 but grant their request. " Death, the 
 followers of Jesus had now learned to 
 regard with greater calmness. See 
 Paul's reproof of immoderate grief for 
 the dead in his earliest epistle, (i Thess. 
 
 * : 13-18.) " (HOWSOX AND SPENCE.) 
 
 39. Peter at once resjwnds to tlieir 
 earnest eutreaty and goes to .To]>pa, and 
 is there conducted by the disciples to 
 the upper chamber in which the 
 body of Dorcas lay, where also it would 
 be kept according to custom if the 
 burial was delayed. The widows who 
 had enjoyed her benefactions stood by 
 him weeping, thus manifesting their 
 great sorrow. What a coutra.st with 
 the outward show of the professional 
 performers, which Jesus rebuked at the 
 raising of Jairus' daughter. (Matt. 9: 22, 
 23; Marks : 39.) Thus "it belioovcd a 
 Christian company. ShoAVing the 
 coats — rather, shounng tunics and 
 mantles (without the "article), these 
 being specimens of lier works and gifts. 
 The tunics were undergarments worn 
 next to the skin and extending to the 
 knees. The mantles were outer gar- 
 ments, or cloaks, which were also used 
 as a covering by night. (See Notes on 
 Matthew, 5 : 40.) All which Dorcas 
 made — which she was accustomed to 
 make when alive. Her gifts were the 
 work of her own hands, and so much 
 the more precious. They were memor- 
 
156 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 tCii.IX. 
 
 40 luade wliile. slie w;ui wilh them. But 
 I'eierP put thoiu all forth, aud kneeled ] 
 down, and prayed; and turning lihii. to i 
 the body isaid, Xabitha, arise. Aud she 
 opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, 
 
 41 she sat up. And he gave her his hand, 
 
 and lifted her up : and when he had called 
 the saints and widows, [hej presented her 
 
 42 alive. And it was known throughout all 
 Joppa; 'and many believed in the Lord. 
 
 43 And it came to pass, that he tarried many 
 days in Joppa with one » Simon a tanner 
 
 p 1 Kings 17 : 19-23 : 2 Kings 4 : 32-30 ; Matt. 9 : 
 11 : 45 ; 12 : 11. 
 
 2.'>. q Mark 5 : 41, 42 ; John 11 : 43. ' John 
 ' eh. 10 : 6. 
 
 ials of her devotion to her charitable 
 work. She is fittingly called Dorca.s 
 in a Greek narrative, and this indicates 
 tliat she was known by both her He- 
 brew anil her Greek name. 
 
 •lU. But Peter put them all 
 fortli — not violently, but constrained 
 them to retire. How natural to imitate 
 his Saviour (Mark 5 : 40), and whose ex- 
 ample could he better follow ? (Jobn 
 10 : 4.) Like Elijah (i Kings i- : iM, .iO)^ and 
 Elislia (.iKings4;a3), lie would be alone 
 with God in prayer. (Man. 6:6.) He 
 could unburden Ins soul only in secret ; 
 none but the divine ear must hear the 
 jdeading and agony. Having obtaine<l 
 assurance of answered prayer, and that 
 the power of the Lord Jesus was about 
 to be exerted through him, Peter turned 
 to the dead body, and in faith uttered 
 the command, Tabitha, arise — rise, 
 stand up f It was natural that Peter, 
 being a Jew, should use her Aranu'an 
 name, tliat being the colhxiuial lan- 
 guage of tlie country. Peter speaks to 
 tiie i)ody, as to a living jierson, beiui; 
 assured of returning life, with expecta- 
 tion of being obeyed. Notice the pro- 
 cess of ot)edience : first she opened her 
 eyes, an evidence of restored life, then 
 seeing Peter, she sat up — then Peter 
 gives her his helping hand of welcome 
 and congratulation and raises her uj). 
 (Next verse.) AVith what truthful sim- 
 jdicity and how graphically is the 
 scene described ! 
 
 41. Gave her his hand — " Im- 
 plyini; that she took it and was not al- 
 together passive." (Alkxander.) 
 lie lifted — rather, raised her up; 
 courteously helped her to her feet, in 
 order tliat he might present her to 
 her friends, not a dead body as she was 
 just before, but liring, having all the 
 active siarns of life. Notice the two 
 terms, saints and widows, probably 
 indicating that some of the widows 
 were not professed disciples. 
 
 4*2. Luke records the effect of the 
 
 miracle : It was knoAvn — rather, it 
 
 becuiiie known — the tidings spread 
 through the whole city— that the well- 
 known Dorcas, who had been sick, had 
 died and remained dead for a time till 
 Peter came, and that in the name of 
 Jesus Christ he had raised lu*r to life. 
 So undeniable were these facts and so 
 deejdy did they impress the jieople 
 that many beiieved in — rather, on 
 the Lord Jesus (ver. 35), as the ground 
 of their faith, whose Massiahship had 
 been thus signally attested. "A wonder 
 when we look at Peter, the human in- 
 strument, but no wonder at all when 
 we think of Jesus Christ, the Divine 
 Agent. It is divine power that works 
 in daily order, and divine choice can 
 alter that order in an individual in- 
 stance. Hence, let but the Deitv of 
 Jesus Christ be granted and the whole 
 matter is explained." (Dr. W. M. 
 Taylor.) 
 
 43. Luke shows both how Peter 
 came to Joppa and how he was there 
 when Cornelius sent for him. (10 : 5.) 
 When he first came there on an errand 
 of mercy he doubtless expected a short 
 stay, but the wonderful miracle 
 wrought through him, the reception of 
 the gos])el by the peojtleand the oppor- 
 tunity aft'orded for preaching in a large 
 .s(a])ort town, with other rea.sons un- 
 known to us, led him to remain many 
 days — a note of time ai)plied to a 
 period ranging from a few weeks to 
 three years. (see on rer. 2.-!.) It would 
 seem n])on coming to Jopj>a that he 
 was entertained by the disciples. But 
 after a little when he determined to 
 remain for a considerable time he 
 lodged with one Simon, a tanner, 
 (10:6.) This Simon was probably a 
 disciple, either a previous or recent 
 convert. He may have had some 
 possessions, so that Peter enjoyed his 
 hosj)itality. He is only mentioned in 
 tills and the next chapter. His house 
 was by the seaside. Its traditional 
 
Ch. IX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 site is still pointed out. (see on lo: 6) 
 His occupation was in ill-repute among 
 ancient nations, especially the Jews, 
 'riie latter considered concealment of 
 it before marriage, or entering into it 
 after marriage a ground of divorce and 
 forhade any tanner becoming high 
 jH-iest or king. Tanners were required 
 to live or at least carry on their business 
 outside the city. Their houses were 
 considered by "Rabbinical Jews like 
 tliose of the heathen. The residence of 
 Peter with Simon seems to indicate that 
 Peter was less scrui)ulous than most 
 Jews and perhaps also that the dis- 
 ciples were held in slight esteem in 
 Joppa. The minuteness oif the narrative 
 also should be noted, showing the pains- 
 taking carefulness of Luke. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. As a briar in the flesh, so the life and 
 words of Stephen festered in the heart of 
 Saul. (Ver. 1 ; 6 : 10 ; 7 : 58 ; 8 : 1, 3.) 
 
 2. In Saul we have an illustration of the 
 influence of hatred, prejudice, and ignorant 
 zeal for God, in a man of learning and supe- 
 rior ability. (Ver. 2 ; Rom. 10 : 2 ; 1 Tim. 
 1 : 13.) 
 
 3. God often permits the wicked to carry 
 on their designs even to the verge of accom- 
 plishment, when he suddenly stops them in 
 judgment or mercy. (Ver. 3; 12 : 23.) 
 
 4. Christ and his people are one ; and what 
 is done to them is done to him. (Ver. 4 ; 
 John 15 : 5 ; Heb. 2 : 11 ; 1 Sam. 25 : 29 ; Zach. 
 2:8.) 
 
 5. No one can resist God and his own con- 
 science and be happy. (Ver. 5 ; 26 : 14 ; I'rov. 
 13 : 15.) 
 
 6. They shall be taught their duty, who 
 sincerely ask it of the Lord, and wait pa- 
 tiently and prayerfully for instruction. 
 (Ver. 6; 10 : 4, 5; James 1 : 5.) 
 
 7. It is not enough to hear the gospel with 
 the ear, it must be understood and received 
 into the heart. (Ver. 7 ; 28 : 26, 27.) 
 
 8. God sometimes deviates from the ordi- 
 nary means of grace, but not ignoring them, 
 ill the conversion of men. Thus he used 
 miraculous means to awaken and convict 
 Saul ; but his yielding to Christ was his own 
 personal act, and he was brought fully to the 
 light by the instruction of Ananias. (Ver. 
 8-17 ; Rom. 10 ; 12-14.) 
 
 9. Christ may delay to manifest himself to 
 some longer than to others. This is not 
 necessarily a proof of unanswered prayer. 
 (Ver. 9 ; Dan. 9 : 23.) 
 
 10. It is not so much distinguished ability 
 as faithfulness that the Lord blesses in the 
 ministry. Not an apostle, but an obscure 
 "disciple" must minister to Saul. The 
 learned Pharisee must sit at the feet of an 
 unlearned Christian. (Ver. 10-17; 1 Cor. 
 4:2.) 
 
 11. True prayer is a mark of a true con- 
 vert. A spirit of devotion cannot reside 
 with a spirit of pride, hypocrisy, injustice, 
 and cruelty. (Ver. 11 ; Luke 18 : 13.) 
 
 12. The most precious revelations are to 
 the soul alone with God. Thus it pleased 
 God " to reveal his Sou " in Saul, as the 
 Messiah and Saviour. (Ver. 12 ; 22 : 17 ; 
 Gal. 1 : 16 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 2 f.) 
 
 13. When Christ commands no apprehen- 
 sion of danger should interfere wilh obedi- 
 ence. (Ver. 13-16 ; Matt. 10 : 28.) 
 
 14. The early disciples recognized the di- 
 vinity of Jesus Christ, in calling on his 
 name. (Ver. 14 ; 1 : 24 ; 7 : 59.) 
 
 15. Behold God's sovereignty and the won- 
 ders of his grace in the conversion and apos- 
 tleship of Saul ! ' ' How unsearchable are 
 his judgments and his ways are past finding 
 out." (Ver. 15 ; Rom. 11 : 33-.36.) 
 
 16. Trials and suflTerings often correspond 
 with the abundance of grace given. (Ver. 
 16 ; Deut. 33 : 23; 2 Cor. 12 : 9.) 
 
 17. Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit honor 
 the ministry of the word. (Ver. 17 ; 10 : 36, 
 44.) 
 
 [ 18. Baptism should be administered 
 promptly to those prepared to receive it. 
 (Ver. 18 ; 2 : 44 ; 8 : 12, 36-38.) 
 
 19. The conversion of Saul is a strong evi- 
 dence to the truth of Christianity. He could 
 not have been an impostor ; but while im- 
 postors seek selfish ends, Saul's after-life was 
 a striking example of unselfishness and 
 sacrifice. Neither could he have been mad, 
 or a fanatic, for his writings and his after-life 
 show that he was not visionary and given 
 to change, but a man of learning, sound 
 judgment, strong intellectual powers, steady 
 principle, and strict integrity. What he says 
 therefore demands credence. What he saw 
 and experienced we must accept as realities. 
 No other explanation than that he saw Jesus, 
 the Sou of God, and eiperienced the power 
 
158 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch.X. 
 
 of the gospel, can account for so great and 
 sudiien a change. And Saul's example is 
 pre-eujincnt, but not alone. Huudreils and 
 thousands of enemies and persecutors have 
 been changed, aud have become liviug wit- ; 
 ncsses to the power and truth of the Chris- ; 
 tian religion. (Ver. 3-20 ; 23 : 1 ; 26 : 25 ; 2 
 Tim. 2 : 12.) \ 
 
 20. Such a conversion evidently requires ! 
 divine interposition. The furious Saul was 
 not in a condition to listen to argumeut, or | 
 impartially investigate the subject. The ' 
 sudden conversion of such a man needed ihe 
 miraculous means described in this chapter. 
 (Ver. 3-20 ; 1 Tim. 12 : 16.) 
 
 21. He who has found Christ will desire to 
 honor him and speak of him to others. (Ver. 
 23, 24.) 
 
 22. Growth in grace and usefulness gener- 
 ally go together. (Ver. 22 ; Matt. 13 : 12.) 
 
 23. A retributive Providence sometimes 
 permits persecutors in becoming Christians 
 to taste the bitterness of the cup they had 
 mixed for others. (Ver. 23, 24.) 
 
 24. We must not expect extraordinary aid 
 from God, when means within our reach 
 will accomplish our puqiose. (Ver. 24.) 
 
 2-5. Christ does not require us to sacrifice 
 our lives, except when we lannot avoid it 
 without renouncing him and his cause. 
 (Ver. 2n.) 
 
 26. Christians are often reminded of their 
 former sinful lives. Such reminders may be 
 painful iind humiliating, yet salutary. (Ver. 
 26; Isa..51 : 1.) 
 
 27. A Christian brother may prove to 
 another who is undrr suspicion, a true 
 Barnabas, " a sou of consolation." (Ver. 27 ; 
 Philera. 10-16.) 
 
 28. The Christian should manifest his con- 
 Tersion in word and deed, in the church and 
 in the world. (Ver. 28, 29 ; Matt. .3 : 16.) 
 
 29. It becomes the good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ to serve faithfully, endure patiently, 
 and retire from posts of labor olx'dicnlly. 
 (Ver. 29, 30 ; 22 : 21 ; 2 Kings 2 : 3.) 
 
 30. Times of peace should be used in active 
 work and diligent preparation for new 
 conquests in Christ's kingdom. (Ver. 31 ; 
 6:7.) 
 
 31. Churches need pastoral watchcare in 
 times of peace as well as in seasons of con- 
 flict. (Ver. 31, 32 ; 1 Peter .5:8) 
 
 32. Seasons of tranquillity should be im- 
 proved by pastors in looking after everything 
 
 connected with their work. (Ver. 32 ; 1 Peter 
 5 : 2, 3.) 
 
 33. Whoever lives for Jesus Christ, conse- 
 crating himself to him, is a saint. (Ver. 32 ; 
 1 Cor. 1 : 2.) 
 
 34. Miracles confirmed the authority of the 
 apostles, and contributed to the success of the 
 gospel. (Ver. 33, 35, 42 ; 13 : 9-11.) 
 
 35. We are to i)ray for the sick, looking for 
 (jod's blessing, and restoration if it is God's 
 will. (Ver. 34 ; James 5 : 14, 15.) 
 
 36. Christianity has elevated woman and 
 given her a prominent place in the beneficent 
 work of the church from its beginning. (Ver. 
 36, 39 ; 16 : 15 ; IS : 25 ; Phil. 4 : 3.) 
 
 37. Good works and labors of love are a 
 great blessing to others, but do not protect 
 from death aud sickness. (Ver. 37-39.) 
 
 38. The death of saints often reveals their 
 work more than their lives. (Ver. 39 ; Kev. 
 14 : 13.) 
 
 39. Our aim should be not only to save the 
 soul, but also to benefit the body ; to make 
 men good here as well as happy hereafter. 
 (Ver. 34, 40 ; Titus 2 : 11-14.) 
 
 40. Great blessings are to be obtained 
 through private prayer. (Ver. 40; Mark 
 9:29.) 
 
 41. When the Lord opens a door of useful- 
 ness to a pastor he should remain and take 
 advantage of it. (Ver. 42, 43 ; 18 : 11.) 
 
 42. The house of Simon the tanner may 
 have been despised among the Jews, but it 
 was regarded by the Lord and by angels in 
 heaven. (Ver. 43 ; 10 : 6 f.) 
 
 Ch. 10 : This chapter and the two 
 that follow cover the period of transi- 
 tion of the gospel to the heathen. A 
 new era ojiens. Converted Gentiles are 
 
 ' received into tlie church without j)ass- 
 inj,' throu,t,'li Judaism. This chapter is 
 
 I devoted to tlie conversion and baptism 
 of the uncireumcised. 
 
 , 1-22. CorxELirs, Divinely Di- 
 
 ; KKfTKH, SEXD.S FOR PETER, AVHO IS 
 
 Likewise Directed to go to him. 
 The conversion of Cornelius forms a 
 eoiincctiin,' link between Jewish and 
 • CJeiitilf Christianity, between Jerusa- 
 lem and Antioeh. Its importance may 
 be inferred from the prominence given 
 I it in t!u' Acts, aud from the fact that 
 ! tlie visions of Cornelius and Peter are 
 j related twice (ver. :w-33; n ; i-12), as well 
 I as the conversion of Cornelius and his 
 
Ch. X.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 150 
 
 Cornelius is d- reeled by an angel to send /or 
 
 I'eler, Peter's vision. 
 10. THERE was a certain niau in Csesarea 
 
 called Cornelius, a centurion of the baud 
 
 2 called the Italian band, '■a devout man, 
 
 and one that "feared God with all his 
 
 t ch. 8 : 2 ; 22 : 12. « ver. 3.t ; Gen. 18 : 10. 
 
 company. (ver.2s-«8; n : 12-17.) The time 
 is uncertain, but probably about A. n. 
 38 or 39. The gospel had l)een fully 
 preached to the Jews in Jerusalem and 
 throughout Palestine. The time had 
 come for it to be proclaimed to those 
 who were" aliens to the commonwealth 
 of Israel." To execute this, extraordi- 
 nary measures were adopted, and a new 
 revelation given to Peter, who was to 
 open the door of the kingdom to the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 1. There Avas a certain man, 
 etc. .-1 certain man is the subject of 
 saw in ver. 3. The narrative is closely 
 connected with the last chapter. It 
 was while Peter was with Simon the 
 tanner that this conversion occurred. 
 (10; 43.) During the seven to ten years 
 since the resurrection of our Lord a 
 preparation had been going on for 
 preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. 
 The couvei-sion of proselytes (2 : lo; 6 : 5), 
 of the half-heathen and hated Samari- 
 tans (8:5-8), of the eunuch 18:39), of Saul 
 of Tarsus, his call to the apostleship, 
 and the intimations of his Gentile 
 work (9 : 15 ; 22 : 21), the deeper views and 
 the spiritual preaching of Stephen 
 (fi : 10; 7:4-53), and the contact more or 
 less of the disciples and esj)ecially of 
 Peter with the Gentiles throughout 
 Palestine in their preaching to the 
 Jews (8: 4; 9: 32), — Were all steps pre- 
 paratory to preaching the gospel to the 
 uncircumcised. This event was very 
 naturally followed by Saul preaching 
 to Gentiles as well as Jews in Cilicia, 
 the gathering of churches (15:23,43), and 
 tiie conversion of Gentiles at Antioch. 
 ( n : 20, 21.) The conversion of Cornelius 
 and his company may thus be said to 
 have been in the very nick of time. 
 (See Author's Harmonic Arrangement, 
 note on § 19.) 
 
 Cacsarea. (see on h: 40.) It was a 
 fitting place for the first Gentile con- 
 verts. It was in some respects the 
 most important city of Palestine, being 
 at that time the Roman capital of the 
 country. Here was Herod's palace 
 (23:35), the residence of the Herods and 
 
 the Roman governors, and the head- 
 quarters of the trooi)S that kept the 
 land in subjection. It was the most 
 largely Gentile city in Palestine. 
 Through it ran the great Roman road 
 along the coast. It had the finest har- 
 bor of that whole region, likened by 
 Josephus to that of the Pirieus at 
 Athens ; and from it could go forth 
 ships to all parts of Europe, Asia, and 
 Africa, along the Mediterranean coast. 
 (27 :i.) Compare Josephus, Anliq. xv. 
 9:6. 
 
 Cornelius was the name of a large 
 Roman clan, with which were con- 
 nected several nol)le and distinguished 
 families. The officer here spoken of 
 had the great honor of belonging to 
 the Italian band, or cohort, answer- 
 ing to our regiment, consisting of 
 troops raised in Italy, rather than of 
 those raised from the nations of Pales- 
 tine. An old inscription mentions "a 
 cohort of Italian volunteers" who 
 served in Syria, which some regard as 
 identical with this one. It was fitting 
 and important that the governor should 
 have a liody of faithful trooi>s on whom 
 he could rely. Cornelius was a cen- 
 turion, strictly a commander of a 
 hun<lred men, though the title was also 
 apjdied with some latitude to those who 
 led a larger or a smaller number. 
 
 2. Cornelius not only bore a distin- 
 guished name and held an honorable 
 jK)sition, but he also had a sterling 
 character, and a good reputation. He 
 was a devout man, one that feared 
 God— exercising a genuine and devout 
 reverence of the true God, implying an 
 ol)edient state of mind and a willing 
 
 allegiance to God. (Luke 1 : 50 ; is : 2 , Rct. 
 
 19:5.) His religion Avas so sincere and 
 real that it had efficacicmsly influenced 
 all his house — his kinsmen and near 
 friends. (ver.-'4.) He also showed his 
 tender and loving spirit by giving 
 much alms to the people — to Gen- 
 tiles indeed, but especially to the Jews, 
 for he was " of good report among all 
 the nations of the Jews." (ver. 22.) 
 He was not like many Roman officials 
 
160 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X. 
 
 house; which gave much alms to the 
 3 people, and prayed to God ^alway. J He 
 
 saw in a \ision evidently, about the 
 ninth hour of the day, an angel of God 
 
 Luke 18 : a ; Kom. 12 : 12. J ver. 30 ; ch. 11 : 13. 
 
 who oppressed and plundered the peo- 
 ple of the provinces. We are reminded 
 of the centurion who came to Jesus, to 
 whom the Jews bore testimony, " He 
 loveth our nation and hath built us a 
 synago;.;ue." (Luke 7: 5.) Compare also 
 the centurion at the crucifixion, who 
 confessed, " Truly this man was the 
 
 Son of God." (Mark 15 : :t9; Luke 23 : 47.) 
 
 Prayed to God always — habitual 
 in his devotions, in s])irit and in ax^t, 
 for general bli'ssings and for particular 
 guidance. Such a man with such a 
 position, such a character, and such 
 deeds, must have been a favorite, and 
 influential both with Jews and (ientiles. 
 Such was the first Gentile convert. 
 While God often calls his peojde from 
 among the poor and lowly (i Cor. i : 26 -is), 
 he also calls from the more influential. 
 Thus the Apostle John (Joho is : 15), Saul 
 of Tarsus (22 : .1), and Cornelius. From 
 tins account it appears tliat Cornelius 
 had become dissatisfied with his pagan 
 religion and had renounced i<lolatry, 
 and through divine grace had become 
 a true worshiper of the only and true 
 God. He had been thus prepared to 
 receive Jesus, the Messiah, as soon as 
 clearly presented to him. He was in 
 some respects in a condition similar to 
 the pious Jew in Old Testament times, 
 and to tliose who were " waiting for the 
 consolation of Israel." We must not, 
 however, regard him as a proselyte, not 
 even of the gate, for the wliolc narra- 
 tive i«ij)lies that, legally and socially, he 
 was to be regarded as a lieathen. (vcr. 
 2!<; 11: 1; 15; 7.) The language of tiiis 
 verse, though applicable to i)roselytes, 
 is not a technical descri|)tion of one. 
 Yet some able expositors have sni)j)osed 
 him a proselyte of the gate. " But this 
 is at variance with ver. 28, 34, 3.5; 11 : 
 1, 18; 15 : 17, where he is simply put 
 into the class of the Gentiles, — a cir- 
 cumstance which cannot be referred 
 merely to the want of circumcision, as 
 the proselytes of the gate also belonged 
 to the communion of the theocracy, 
 and had cea.sed to be non-Jews like 
 absolute foreigners. And all the great 
 importance which this event has in a 
 
 connected view of the books of the 
 Acts, has as its basis the very circum- 
 stance that Cornelius was a Gentile." 
 (Meyer.) 
 
 3. According to the best critical au- 
 thorities the first three verses make one 
 long sentence, saw agreeing with man 
 in ver. 1 : A certain viaii . . . de- 
 vvitt and feariny (iod . . . saw. In 
 a vision — a sight while awake and 
 engaged in jirayer. (ver. 30. s«oa9:io.) 
 Evidently — tliat is, he saw distinct/y 
 in a vision, which was addressed, not 
 merely to the mind, but to the senses. 
 About the ninth hour — three o'clock 
 in the afternoon, being one of the Jew- 
 ish hours of prayer, i^-i.) The fact 
 tJiat Cornelius was praying at that 
 time (ver. 30) shows that he had adopted 
 some of the Jewish regiilations of 
 prayer. His contact with the Jewish 
 people dou))tless had something to do 
 with his religious views and practices. 
 He had proliably seen and read some- 
 wliat the Jewish Scriptures as trans- 
 lated in the Sei)tuagint. That he was 
 not Pharisaic in his notions, nor a 
 moralist, trusting in his morality, is 
 evident from the fact that he accepted 
 the Saviour as soon as presented. He 
 appears to have l)een conscious that he 
 was a sinner, and he had a longing for 
 something which he had not attained. 
 (11:14) He had heard of a jierson 
 called Jesus (ver. s7), and ]>erhaps 
 Philip was now at Ctesarea, or had 
 been there (8: 40), having but small suc- 
 cess among some obscure persons of flic 
 comparatively small Jewish ])opula- 
 tion of that city. But Cornelius ha<l 
 no clear view of Jesus and the ^lessiah. 
 He may have known something of 
 Hebrew j>ropliccies regarding a prom- 
 ised One, but like the eunuch may 
 have been in doubt and confused about 
 their meaning. (8:31,34.) The burden 
 of his prayer very probably was in this 
 direction, seeking light and an assur- 
 ance of salvation and acceptance with 
 God. (Ver. 22.) Under such circum- 
 stances how fitting the vision and as- 
 surance of answered prayer, (ver. 4,) 
 An angel of God— one appearing in 
 
Oh. X.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 1.61 
 
 coming uuto him, and saying unto liim, 
 
 4 Cornelius. And when he looked on him, 
 he Wius afraid, and .said, Wliat is it. Lord? 
 And h<3 said uuto him. Thy prayers and 
 tliine alm.s «are coiue up "for a memorial 
 
 5 before God. And now send men to Joppa, 
 
 and call for one. ''Simon, whose surname 
 6 is I'eter: he lodgeth with one <=.Simon a 
 tanner, whose house is hy the sea side: 
 J he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to 
 do. 
 
 ■■ Rev. 8 : 4. 
 
 > ver. :J1. i> Mark 3 : 16. « ch. 9 : 43. ■> ch. 11 : 14. 
 
 human form (ver. so)^ coming to him 
 
 iu the very place where he was jiray- 
 iiig and addressing him by name, as in 
 tlie ca.<es of Samuel (i Sam. 3 : lO), and 
 Saul. (»■.♦.) Au angelic appearance 
 would have not only an assuring effect 
 on Cornelius, but also great weight 
 with Peter (ver. -12) and the apostles and 
 bretliren at .Jerusalem. (11 : 1, is.) 
 
 4. When Cornelius fixed his eyes 
 npou the heavenly messeuger in bright 
 apparel (ver. 30) he was awe-struck ami 
 fearful. He addressed him as Lord, 
 not in M-orship, but in i-everence, as to 
 one perhaps from the unseen world. 
 What is it? What hast thou to say, 
 and what is the occasion of thy com- 
 ing? Thy prayers and thine alms 
 — the two kinds of worship and service 
 mentioned iu ver. 2, both of which 
 Cornelius had aecei)tably offered. 
 Have come up, like the smoke and 
 the vapor from ancient sacrifices. (Lev. 
 2, 9, 16; 5; 12.) For a memorial — a 
 reminder of God, as it were, of what 
 Cornelius desired and needed. Before 
 God — in heaven. (Heb. 1:1 ; 16.) His 
 prayers had been heard; (Jod remem- 
 bered them, and was al)Out to help him. 
 All this would indicate that Cornelius 
 was a true worshiper, and accepted 
 through that infinite grace in Christ, 
 which was about to lie made known to 
 liiiu througii tlie preaching of I'eter and 
 the descent of the Spirit. " Intrinsic 
 merit or efiicacy is no more ascribed 
 in these words to tlie good works of 
 Cornelius than to tlie oblations from 
 which the figure or comparison is 
 taken." (Alexandkk.) 
 
 5. Having received assurance of di- 
 vine favor, Cornelius is directed as to 
 what to do. Send men to Joppa — 
 about thirty mih'S south of Ca;sarea. 
 
 (Seeon9:34.) Call fOT, OT fetck One 
 
 Simon, Avhose surname is Peter. 
 
 One, or a certain Simon is uow ac- 
 cei)ted as the true reading. Both the 
 name and the place of abode (ver. 6) 
 
 are minutely described so as to pre- 
 vent mistake. Notice also that tlie 
 exact phrase, descriptive of Peter, is 
 meutioneil four times. (ver. is, .12 ; 
 11 : 1:1.) Compare our Lord's naming of 
 
 Peter. (John 1 : 42 ; >I:itt. 16 : 18, i;>.) ( 'or- 
 
 nelius must be brought to the know 1- 
 edge of Christ, not by an angel, l)ut by 
 a man. But why did not the angel di- 
 rect him to Philip, who was probably 
 then at Caesarea ? [e-.to-, 21 : r.) Because 
 the apostles were the organizers of the 
 Christian church, and to Peter had 
 been given "the keys of the kingdom 
 
 of heaven " (Uatt. is ; is, on which see Authors 
 
 note), the power of admitting (n :i7) or 
 denying admission. (8:21.) Thus in 
 the exercise of this authority as the 
 leader on the day of Pentecost he 
 o]jencd, as it were, the door of the 
 kingdom to the Jews, and now he is 
 about to open it to the Gentile world. 
 (i5:T.) Having accomplished this his 
 work was done, so far as the Gentiles 
 were concerned, for he was an ajwstle 
 to the circumcision. (Gai. 2 : 7, 8.) Paul 
 was chosen to carry on that work as 
 the ajjostle of the uncircumcision. 
 
 6. With one, or a crrtain Simon, 
 a tanner, with whom Peter was l>oard- 
 ing, or perhaps whose hospitality he 
 was enjoying, (see on 9 : w.) Whose 
 house is" by the seaside— the Med- 
 iterranean. The seaside was conveni- 
 ent for his occuiiation and for trade. 
 It may have l)een outside of the city, 
 on account of the ceremonial iinclfan- 
 ness of his enii)loyment. Tlic .lewish 
 oral law required that sepulclircs and 
 tan-yards be at least fifty cubits from 
 the city. " The only anti(juity to ile- 
 tain tiie traveler a single iiour [in 
 Joppa] is the traditional house of 
 Simon. Like all ICastern dwellings, it 
 is constructed of stone, square in form, 
 with a fiat roof, and may have .stood for 
 centuries, as, without violence, it will 
 endure for hundreds of years to come. 
 Standing uoar the .seaside, hot li its lo- 
 
162 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X 
 
 7 And when the angel which spake unto 
 Cornelius was dt'paried, he called two of 
 hib household servants, and a deyout sol- 
 
 dier of I hem that waited on biiu continu- 
 
 8 ally ; and when he had declared all these 
 
 things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. 
 
 eatiou and the structure of the build- 
 ing are iu harinouy with the inspired 
 narrative, and a venerable tradition 
 points to it as once the residence of a 
 tanner. The entrance is through a 
 low gallery, before which the servants 
 of Cornelius stood inquiring for Peter. 
 Witiiin a small court-yard, containing 
 a well of excellent water, and from the 
 court a stone staircase leads to the roof, 
 from which I enjoyed a commanding 
 view of the sea, over mIiosc blue waters 
 hail glanced the apostolic eye as Peter 
 sat beneath those clear exj)anded heav- 
 ens from whicli descended the symbolic 
 sheet, oi)ening to his Jewish under- 
 standing the purposes of the divine 
 mind." (DR. J. P. Newman, From 
 Jhinto Becrsheba, p. 275.) Simon's tan- 
 nery may have been some distance 
 from his dwelling. He shall tell 
 thee what thou oughtest to do. 
 These words are not found in the oldest 
 manuscripts and versions and are omit- 
 ted by the highest critical authori- 
 ties. They express the object of the 
 mission to Peter (ver. 22), which is 
 clearly expressed in 11 : 14, and show 
 tliat the great desire of Cornelius was 
 to know the way of salvation, and his 
 own personal interest in it. 
 
 7. Cornelius put the command of 
 the angel ijito immediate execution. 
 On that very day, though so far ad- 
 vanced, he sent away three messengers 
 to Jopi)a. (Ver. a. ;«. ) Two of his 
 household servants — domestics of 
 his household, wlio, lielonging to his 
 house, feared Cod. (v.r.2.) A devout 
 soldier from his persoiuil attendants, 
 also a man of j)ii'ty. (ver. 2.) He chooses 
 men of kindred spirit to go for him on 
 so important a mission. 
 
 8. \^ hcu he had declared, or 
 fully related all things that he had 
 seen and that had been commanded 
 liim. This would also indicate tliat 
 tiiese men were of kindred religious 
 reelings, to wliom such an embassy 
 could be entrusted. His sending nu'S- 
 s -Uirers at once was an evidence of his 
 liiith, and his recounting the vision to 
 them was adapted to arouse their ex- 
 
 pectation, and prepare them for the 
 confirmation of tlieir faith. 
 
 9. Peter is prei)ared for the coming 
 of the centurion's messengers by a 
 vision. He had been passing through 
 an experience as well as Cornelius. 
 Doubtless the conversion of the Gen- 
 tiles had often been in his thouglit. 
 Jesus had tauglit that the bles.sings of 
 his kingdom would be world-wide. 
 (Matt. 8 : II, 12 ; 13 ::w), and iu his last com- 
 mission had commanded his disciples 
 to teach, or disciple, ail nations, preach- 
 ing the gospel to eveiy creature (Matt. ?» -. 
 i9;Mark 16: i.s), and had told them that 
 they sliouldl)e his witnesses even to the 
 utmost i>art* of the earth, (iic) The 
 ancient j)roi>hecies also had foretold the 
 conversion of the (ientiles, which Peter 
 in his dis(<ourses had quoted, (ch. n : 3 
 2.'>.) But how was this to be accom- 
 plished. Peter with the first disciples 
 geneially aiijiear to have expected that 
 Gentiles would finst become proselytes 
 to Judaism, anil then converts to 
 Christianity. Even after the conver- 
 sion of (.'oriu-lius some still lield to at 
 least a similar view, maintaining that 
 (ientiles must be circumcised. (i»:i.) 
 Peter must have had many thoughts on 
 this subject and protiably underwent 
 some modification of views. The ad- 
 vanceii views and jueacliing of Stephen, 
 the conversion of tlie half-lieathen 
 Samaritans, and tlie Holy Spirit com- 
 ing ui)on them, the conversion of Saul 
 of Tarsus, Jind what he iieard from his 
 own lips during liis visit at Jerusalem 
 
 (9:2«;22:21; Gal. 1: 18), mUst all haVC 
 
 made a deej* impression on him. His 
 visits throughout Palestine brought him 
 into certain contact Avith Gentiles, and 
 natuially would arouse his solicitude 
 for them. And his residence with 
 Simon the tanner, wlio was regarded by 
 the Jews as ceremonially unclean, in- 
 dicates that Judaism was loosening its 
 hold u])on liiiii. Under all these influ- 
 ences Peter might well wonder whether 
 he fully understood God's method of 
 reaching the Gentiles. 
 
 On the morroAV. The messen- 
 gers of Cornelius, setting out late iu the 
 
Ch. X.1 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 163 
 
 9 On the morrow, as they went on their 
 journoy, aud drew nigh unto the city, 
 ' I'ettr went u]> upou the nousetop to pruy 
 
 10 about the sixth hour. And bo boeam*' 
 very hungry, and would have eaten : but 
 while they made ready, he 'fell into a 
 
 'Num. 2i 
 « ch. 7 : oU ; 
 
 ch. 11 : 5, etc. ; Matt. G : ii, G. 
 
 11 trance, aud esaw heaven opened, and a 
 certain vessel descending unto him, as it 
 had Iteen a great sheet knit at the four 
 
 12 corners, and let downjto the earth :wheri'in 
 were all manner of fourfooted beasts of 
 the earth, aud wild beasts, and creeping 
 
 : 4 ; Ezok. « : l-o; 2 Cor. 12 : 2-4 ; Rev. 1 : 10- 
 Kcv. 19 : 11. 
 
 day and traveling somewhat by night, 
 according to the custom of tlie country 
 (Luke 11 : 5 «), would rcuch .Joi)j)a about 
 the middle of the next day. While 
 tliey arc apiu'oaching the city, Peter 
 went up upon the housetop to 
 pray. The roofs of tlie houses of the 
 Orientals lieing Hat and surrounded 
 witli a balustrade three or four feet 
 high, were frecjuented, not only for 
 walking, hut also for meditation aud 
 
 prayer. (Zi-pli.l; o; Dem'. 22: 8; 2 KiugsM :r2; 
 J.'r. is: l:l; Lukes :19.) "At .JattU, the 
 
 ancient Jopiia, I observed houses 
 furnished with a wall aliont the roof, 
 within which a person could sit or 
 kneel, without any exjtosure to the 
 view of others, whether on the adjacent 
 houses or in the streets. At Jerusalem 
 I entered the liouse of a Jew early one 
 morning and found a nieni!)er of the 
 family sitting secluiled and alone 011 one 
 of the lower roofs eiigagi'd in reading 
 tlie Scriptures and oOVring Ids jjrayers." 
 (Dlt: H.VCKETT, Illnslnitiinis of Script- 
 ure, ]). 81.) This was a titting ]dace for 
 Peter to obey his Lord's command re- 
 garding secret prayer. (Mait6:ti) ]t 
 was about the sivth hour, aliout 
 noou, one of the stated Jewish seasons 
 for prayer. We may easily believe that 
 one burden of Peter's prayer was the 
 conversion of the Gentile world, lie 
 had seen how slow was the progress of 
 the gospel among tiie Iieatheu,and how 
 comparatively few of thein embraced 
 Judaism. He could well cry out, " O 
 Lord, how long?" Ashe looked out 
 from that housetop upon the Mediter- 
 ranean, whose waters washed three con- 
 tinents, and thought of the millions 
 who, according to proithecy, were to be 
 blessed in the Messiaii, Ins jn-ayers 
 would naturally go out in their helialf. 
 As he recalled how Jonah went forth 
 from this very port and preached suc- 
 cessfully to the Ninevites (Jouaii 3:4, s), 
 he might well crave like success. 
 
 10. While thus engaged iu medita- 
 
 tion an<l prayer he became very hun- 
 gry and disircd to eat, or taste uf 
 food, a condition prejiaratory to the 
 vision tliat ensued. In his defence at 
 Jernsaleni Peter did not refer to tliis, 
 but he distinctly says that he was pra}'- 
 ing. (ii:fl.) 15ut while the jieojde of 
 the house were preparing dinner Peter 
 I'ell into a trance, an ecslas!/ or a 
 rapture came upon him, whereby lie 
 was transj)orted as it were out of him- 
 self, and losing consciousness of outer 
 objects, although awake, he sees in his 
 mind, as with his bodily eyes and cars, 
 things siiown him by God. The trance 
 is mentioned only three times in the 
 New Testament, here in 11 : 5 aud 22: 
 17. (Sec .IU 9: 10.) The exi)erience was 
 similar to that of John on Patnios when 
 "in the sjiirit." (Rev. 1 : lo; 4; 1, 2.) He 
 saw visions picturing forth things to 
 
 come. (Sre2Cor. 12:2.) 
 
 11. Saw heaven opened. The lan- 
 guage is very vivid as if the scene were 
 I present. A certain vessel — a can- 
 : vas, so shaped ami suspended by its 
 four corners, that it appeared like a 
 vessel. It was like a great linoi 
 I sheet tied at its four corners with 
 cords reaching into the heavens above. 
 ; It was descendius; from heaven, siig- 
 [ gestiug that all things had their origin 
 ' in God, and are cleansed by him. (ver. 
 15; Oen. 1:25.) ^fany of the oldest mann- 
 scrii)ts omit hi it, and read let down hi/ its 
 four corners. The great sheet naturally 
 I rejiresents the wide world, and the four 
 I corners the four i)arts of the earth, the 
 north, the south, the cast, and the west, 
 from which men should come into the 
 kingdom of God. (Matt. 8:11.) 
 I 12. The contents were as surprising 
 to Peter witli his Jewish ideas as tlie 
 vessel itself. All manner of four- 
 footed beasts, etc. — eml)racing lioth 
 the clean and the unclean. (Lfv. u ; 1 r.) 
 The whole creation of living land ani- 
 mals seemed before Peter's mind, 
 Fis/ies are not included, aud wild beasts 
 
164 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cu. X. 
 
 13 things, and fowls of the air. And there 
 came a voice to him, Rise, Peter ; kill and 
 
 14 eat. But Peter said, Not so. Lord ; "^ for 
 
 I have never eaten anything that is com- 
 
 15 mon or unclean. And the voice spake 
 
 unto him again the second time, 'What 
 
 h Lev. 20 : 25, 26; Deut. 14 : 3, 7 ; Ezek. 4 : 14. i ver. 28 ; oh. 15 : 9 ; llom. 14 : 14, 17, 20 • Gal 
 3 : 28 ; 1 Tim. 4:3-5; Titus 1 : 15. 
 
 are wanting iu the best manuscripts, 
 but are found in 11 : 6. 
 
 13. More surprising still to Peter 
 was the command : Kise, Peter, — 
 perhaps he was kneeling or prostrate in 
 prayer, — kill and eat, any of these 
 animals clean and unclean. All lines 
 of ceremonial uncleanness are ignored. 
 The word kill, in the original, is the 
 verb u.sed for slaying for sacrifice (u; 
 13, 18), though not limited to that use. 
 (Luke 15 : 23. 27, 30.) The visiou, however, 
 is shaped to Peter's bodily condition of 
 e.xtreme hunger. This was the first 
 thing, even though the sacrificial use 
 of tliese animals be suggested. With 
 this undenstanding we can with Alex- 
 ander refer the command " not merely 
 to the satisfaction of the ai)i)etite, but 
 to those ceremonial restrictions, under 
 which the law of Moses placed the 
 Jews, both iu their Avorship and in 
 their daily use of their necessaiy food. 
 As if the voice had said, ' From among 
 these animals select thy oSerings or 
 thy food without regard to the di.stinc- 
 tion of clean and unclean.' " There 
 came a voice (seen: 7) — wliich indi- 
 cates an audible voice. 
 
 14. Peter shrinks back from a com- 
 mand so repugnant to his Jewish ideas 
 and feelings. Notwithstanding his ex- 
 treme hunger and the clean aniiuals 
 mingled with the unclean, yet tlie ])res- 
 ence of the unclean seemed to defile the 
 whole slieet. Not so — htj no means, 
 fliis must not be. Lord is a reveren- 
 tial title aildressed to the unknown 
 author of the voice, (see on 9: 5.) It 
 was just like Peter, who, when Jesus { 
 foretold his sufferings, exclaimed, "lie 
 it far from thee, Lord " (Matt. I6: 22), and 
 at the washing of the disciples' feet, he ' 
 declared, " Thou shalt never wash my j 
 feet." (John 13: 8.) Peter, too, may 
 have regarded this as a test in respect ; 
 to tlie law. Having always lived as a 
 strict Jew, he adds, / never ate aiiy- 
 tbiug: common or unclean. The 
 highest critical authorities ]>nfer «»(/ j 
 instead of or. Commou— that which I 
 
 is profime, unhallowed, not set apart or 
 consecrated according to tlie Levitical 
 law. (Ez, k. At : 20.) To fill out his idea 
 of the profane and unholy Peter adds, 
 and unclean. The separation between 
 Jews and CJeutiles was effected, not only 
 by circumcision, but also by their laws 
 respecting meats. (Lev. 20 : 24-26.) Noth- 
 ing Mas more repulsive to a Hebrew 
 than to eat unclean meats. In 2 ilacca- 
 bees t> : 18 ; 7 : 1, it is related that cer- 
 tain Jews submitted to death ratlier 
 than eat swine's tiesh. The stricter 
 Jews, at this day, to avoid all unclean 
 meats, purchase only of their own 
 butchers. The distinction between 
 clean and unclean animals dates back 
 to before the flood (Gee. 7:2); and was 
 recognized in the laws of heathen 
 nations as well as in tho.'^e of the Jews. 
 The Gentile laws, however, had refer- 
 ence rather to the i)riestly classes, 
 wliile the Jewish law a})plied to all the 
 people. Tlie discrimination proliably 
 originated with reference to sacrifices, 
 and then afterwards was applied to 
 food. 
 
 15. A fact and a principle are now 
 stated. The Old Testament distinction 
 between the clean and unclean is abol- 
 ished. All things are clean to those 
 who receive them in faith and thanks- 
 giving. (1 Tim. 4:4,5; Rom. 14 : U-IT ; 1 Cor. 
 
 10:25, 2r..) And redemption extends 
 alike to men without distinction of race 
 or nation. (Coi. 3: 11; 1 :20.) And the 
 A'oice, etc. Eather, And a voice again, 
 the sjieaker being unseen, a second time 
 came to him. The minuteness and viv- 
 idness of the narrative reminds us of 
 Mark's Ciosjiel, written under the di- 
 rection of Peter. What God hath 
 cleansed — more exactly. What (rod 
 c/eansed, declared to be clean, symbol- 
 ically by their descending from heaven 
 and the command to slay and eat. "For 
 only what is clean is let down from 
 heaven. Peter continued to remember 
 w-ll this verb. (i5:9.)" (Bengel.) 
 Thou — in contrast to God. Make not 
 thou, who art infinitely less than God, 
 
Cii. X.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 165 
 
 God hath cleansed, that call not thou com- 
 
 16 nion. This was done thrice: and the ves- 
 sel was received up again into heaven. 
 
 17 Now while Tott r doubted in himself 
 what this vision which he had seen should 
 mean, liehold, the men which were sent 
 from Cornelius had made inquiry for 
 Simon's house, and stood before the gate, 
 
 and called, and asked whether Simon., 
 which was surnamed Peter, were lodged 
 tliere. 
 
 While Peter thought on the vision, 
 •^the Spirit said uuto him, Behold, three 
 men seek thee. 'Arise therefore, and get 
 thee down, and go with them, doubting 
 nothing: for 1 have sent them. 
 
 k ch. 11 : 12; Isa. 30 : 21 ; John IC : 13. » ch. 15 : 7. 
 
 common, unhallowed and unclean. 
 How IVtcr must have remembered the 
 words of Jesus, " There is nothing from 
 without a man, that entering into him 
 can (letilc him" (Mark 7; is); and may 
 We not see tlie iini)ress of Peter in Mark 
 7 : I'J, Revised Version, " This he said, 
 making all meats clean." Thus as our 
 Lord's visit to Sychar (John 4:5 f.) was 
 preparatory to the preaching of Philip 
 in Samaria, so our Lord's discourse on 
 defiled liands was paving the way for 
 the fuller revelation to Peter at Joppa. 
 Here also we see one of the contacts of 
 the Acts with the Gospels. It was very 
 probably in Peter's house at Caper- 
 naum where Jesus exj)lained his words 
 to the disciples (M.irk 7 : n) ; and it was 
 Peter himself wlio asked the explana- 
 tion. (Matt. Id : lo.) Other contacts with 
 the Gospels in this account of Corne- 
 lius may be seen in ver. 38 ; 11 : 16. (See 
 
 also Luke 11 : 41, and Dote.) 
 
 10, This Avas done thrice. The 
 
 words were spoken three times, to ren- 
 der the communication more emphatic, 
 and to imjiress Peter that what he had 
 seen was a divine reality. Again — or 
 iiiimediately, according to the oldest 
 and best manuscripts : And imme- 
 diately the vessel was received up i)ito 
 heaven, in contrast to its gradual and 
 slow descent, (ver. ii.) The object of 
 all this was symbolically to show that 
 the distinction hitherto existing be- 
 tween Jews and Gentiles was to cease, 
 and that Christianity was for all men. 
 (Ver. u,3i.) And SO Jew and Gentile are 
 to compose that host, whose robes are 
 made white in the blood of the lamb. 
 
 (Rev. 7:14.) 
 
 17. While Peter doubted, was per- 
 plexed, and at a loss to know what the 
 vision might signify. How the matter 
 was growing in liis mind is told in ver. 
 19. He was no longer in a raptured 
 state, but had come to himself and 
 was pondering the new revelation tliat 
 
 was gleaming in his soul. Its full 
 meaning, its design and its application, 
 was ))Ut dimly seen ; l)ut at once must 
 have been suggested to his mind, when 
 he heard tliat messengers from Cor- 
 nelius were at his door. Notice how 
 the Lord had arranged the time of cor- 
 responding incidents. While the mes- 
 sengers were drawing nigh the city the 
 trance of Peter began (^er.y), and new 
 while jjerplexed about its meaning the 
 messengers are at the gate inquiring 
 for him. The gate was the j)orch or 
 entrance to the open courtyard around 
 which Jewish houses were generally 
 
 built. (Sceon ver. 6.) 
 
 18. And called — a substitute for 
 knocking. They call to the porter, or 
 to any one wlio miglit have charge of 
 the gate. Asked, or were aitlciixj, 
 while Peter was in a state of per- 
 l)lexity. (vcr. 17.) "V^Iiether Simon, 
 
 etc. (Nee on ver. 5.) 
 
 19. While Peter thought on — 
 
 7v IS earnestly considering the vision 
 — revolving carefully all the things he 
 had seen and heard, and trying to learn 
 the lesson intended, and doubtless pray- 
 ing for guidance, the Holy Spirit in- 
 forms him of the mes.sengers from Cor- 
 nelius and directs him to go with them. 
 Behold three men, etc. This was 
 doubtless the first intimation that Peter 
 liaii of tlieir presence. Several import- 
 ant manuscripts omit three. Its place 
 in 11 : 11 is, however, undisputed. 
 
 20. IJotli Cornelius and Peter must 
 eacli do liis part, and thereby they 
 sliow their faith. Get thee down. 
 Two stairs usually conducted from the 
 roof of Oriental houses, one inside the 
 house, the other external to the street. 
 Peter would probably descend the lat- 
 ter and meet the men at the gate. 
 Nothing doubting — without any 
 hesitation as to whether it be lawful or 
 not. For I have sent them — the 
 Holy Spirit through the angels and 
 
166 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X. 
 
 21 Then Peter went down to the men 
 which were sent unto hhn from (Doruc- 
 liu3 ; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye 
 seek : what is the cause wherefore ye are 
 
 22 conie? And they said, m Cornelius the 
 ceuturion, a just man, and one that fear- 
 
 ™ ver. 1, 2, etc. 
 
 eth God, and "of good report among all 
 the nation of the Jews, was warned fioni 
 (iod by au holy augel to send fur line 
 into his house, and to hear words of thee. 
 23 Then called he them in, and lodged ttum. 
 
 ' ch. 22 : 12. 
 
 Cornelius. Cornelius was under the 
 power of the Spirit when he saw the 
 vii^ion, and through his iuHuence he 
 sent the messengers. The Holy 8i)irit 
 is honored throughout the Acts, and 
 liis personal directing is frequently 
 
 recognized. (See S -. ao ; 13 : 2 ; 16 ; 6, 7.) Peter 
 
 himself makes special mention of this 
 command of the Spirit in his defense at 
 Jerusalem. (11:12.) 
 
 21. Then Peter went down to 
 the men — heartily obedient to the 
 command of tlie Spirit, and eager to 
 know from these ia[iidly occurring in- 
 cidents tlie mind of the Lord, and the 
 full nuaning of the vision. The words, 
 Which were sent unto him from 
 Cornelius, are wanting in the best 
 iiianuscii]>ts. IVter had learned a ju'e- 
 paratory ol)ject lesson fiom the trance, 
 and also tliat the Spirit had sent the 
 men, hut he was entirely ignorant of 
 all the rest. Hence he at once declares 
 tt) tlie messengers, I am he whom ye 
 seek, and asks the cause of their 
 coming. His manner and his words 
 must have had au assuring effect upon 
 them. 
 
 22. Cornelius the, rather «, cen- 
 turion, there being numy such in 
 Palestine, and Cornelius being yet un- 
 known to Peter. A just, or righteous 
 man, in.«tead of " devout man," as in 
 ver. 2. This was a trait of character 
 which these messengers had had oppor- 
 tunity to witness, both in his private 
 affairs and in his public administration. 
 or good report among all the 
 nation of the Jcavs — by the Jews 
 generally, at Ca'sarea and elsewhere, 
 wherever he was known. Compare 
 tills description M'ith that in ver. 2, and 
 with the divine requirement in Micah 
 6 : 8. Warned from God — diiineh/ 
 instructed. (Matt. 2: 12,'on whicii com- 
 pare note ; Heb. 8 : 5 ; 11 : 7.) The Greek 
 word denotes a divine resjjonse and 
 commonly imjilies a previous j)rayer. 
 la this case Cornelius had been directed 
 
 in answer to prayer, (ver. <.) From 
 God is not in the original, but the 
 verb is constuntly used of divine mes- 
 sages. Conijiare the instructive warn- 
 ings given to Joseph (wait. 2 : 12, 22) and 
 to Noah (iieij. 11:7), the revelation to 
 Simeon (i.uke2:26) and the divine in- 
 struction to Moses (Heb. 8:5), where this 
 verse occurs. To send for thee^ 
 This corroborates the Spirit's command 
 to Peter, " For I have sent them." 
 (ver 2(1.) It also affords an explanation 
 why Cornelius had not come himself. 
 To hear words of thee — regarding 
 salvation. (11 :U.) For this he had 
 been praying and this was tlie express 
 object in sending for Peter. There could 
 be no doubt aliout the Lord's will in 
 Peter's mind regarding these men and 
 their mission. It was confirmed on all 
 sides. What a new revelation is burst- 
 ing in upon Peter's soul. Yet he must 
 go to Cavsarea, and witness tiicre .to un- 
 derstand fully. So he calls the mes- 
 sengei-s in and lodges them. (ver. 23.) 
 
 23^8. Peter goes to Cj:sakka, 
 Preaches the Gospel to Gen- 
 tiles, WHO Believe and ark 
 
 B A PTIZED. (11 : 12-11 ; Deut- 10:17; Isa. 61 : 1 j 
 Luke 1 : 18.) 
 
 23. And lodged them— f?j^«»- 
 
 tainnl litem, although strangcre and 
 Gentiles. On the morrow. It was 
 well on into the afternoon (ver. 9), and 
 the men were doubtless weary. Cer- 
 tain brethren from Joppa accom- 
 panied him. There were six of them. 
 (11:12.) They appeared to have gone 
 voluntarily. Peter's vision had natur- 
 ally awakened their interest and a 
 desire to know the issue of the matter. 
 It was also a wise precaution. They 
 liecame witnesses to the convi'ision of 
 Gentiles, and not only assented to their 
 bai)tism, but some of them also prol-a- 
 lily performed the act. Peter thiLS had 
 them in full accord with what was 
 done, and they proved of great advan- 
 tage to him in his defence at Jerusalem. 
 
Cii. X.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 167 
 
 Peter preaches to Corneltus and receives be'iev- 
 ing Goitiles into the church. 
 
 AND on the morrow Peter went away 
 with them, "and certain brethren from 
 
 24 joppa accompauied liim. And the mor- 
 row after they entered into Ciesarea. And 
 Cornelius waited for them and had called 
 together his kinsmen and near friends. 
 
 2') And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius 
 
 met him, and fell down at his feet, and 
 
 26 worshipped him. Bui Peter took hini up, 
 saying, PStand up; I myself also am a 
 
 27 man. And as he talked with him, he 
 went in, and found many that were come 
 together. 
 
 28 And he said unto them, Ye know how 
 qthat it is an unlawful thing for a man 
 that is a Jew to keep company, or come 
 unto one of another nation; but '(iod 
 
 • ver. 45 ; ch. 11 : 12. 
 
 P ch. 14 : 14, 15; Rev. 19 ; 10 ; 22 : 9. q ch. 11 : 2, IS ; John 4 ; 9; Gal. 
 2 : 12-14. ' ch. 15 : 8, 9 ; Eph. 3 ; 6. 
 
 (11:12.) The minuteness of detail in 
 the whole aecount indicates that Luke 
 received it from an eye-witness, while 
 at Csesarea (-'T:!), pos-sibly from Peter, 
 or one of these six brethren. 
 
 24. On the morioAV they en- 
 tered Cffpsarea. A single day was 
 too short for this comi)any of ten to go. 
 It was now the fourth day since tlie 
 messengers left Ctesarea, prol)ahly a 
 little after noon, (ver.8, y.) Corne- 
 lius waited for them — )cas e.cpect- 
 ing them. He could calculate the time 
 it would take, and was eagerly antici- 
 pating the coming and the message of 
 Peter. Had called together his 
 kinsmen — those wlio were related by 
 blood, and near friends wlio wore 
 such by sympathy and follow feelings. 
 They were a large number (ver. 27) and 
 had felt tlie pious influence of Corne- 
 lius. God had been working through 
 him in bringing these Gentiles into a 
 preparatory state for receiving the gos- 
 pel. 
 
 25. As Peter was coming in, 
 Cornelius met him — at the door, 
 where salutations took place). "Tliis 
 first meeting of Cornelius and Peter is 
 one of the great incidents of history." 
 (HowsoN AND Spkxck.) Fell down 
 at his feet and worshipped him 
 — did reverence or /loiiinf/''. Notice how 
 delicately this is referreil to witliout 
 mentioning him., wliich is not in the 
 Original. Cornelius deeply revered the 
 man wliose coming was t!i rough angelic 
 direction. He honors liim as an am- 
 bassador of the Lord, (^ompare the 
 reverence paid to Jesus by .Jairus (Matt. 
 9 : 18), on which see note. " Since Cor- 
 nelius acknowledged Jehovah as the 
 true God, and must have regarded him 
 as the only proper object of worship, it 
 is difficult to believe that he intended 
 
 this as an act of religious homage." 
 (Hackett.) 
 
 26. Peter took him — )-fiised him 
 up from liis prostrate position, by the 
 command, Stand up, and the accom- 
 panying helping hand. I also am a 
 man. He would not receive any un- 
 due reverence, nor any appearance of 
 religious liomage ; nor anything that 
 might encourage it. And as to how 
 miich Cornelius meant i)y his act, 
 Peter might be in doubt. See cases 
 where religious homage was intended. 
 
 (U :lo; Kev. 22:8, 9.) HoW Uulike Pctcr 
 
 are the popes of Rome who claim to be 
 Peter's successors, yet have received 
 the humble homage of kings and peo- 
 l)le ! It has often been noteil that Jesus 
 never refu.sed similar homage, which 
 can only be explained by his conscious- 
 ness of his own divinity, (muu. 8:2;9: 
 
 8; U :33; 15 : 25.) 
 
 27. As he talked with him — con- 
 versed familiarly, and on equal terms, 
 enjoying his hospitality. It was now 
 becoming easy for Peter to talk with a 
 Gentile. He went in — entered the 
 room where the company was awaiting 
 his arrival, perhaps an upper room. 
 (1:13.) And found many — a com- 
 paratively large company. Doubtless 
 a matter of satisfaction and surprise to 
 Peter. Well might he be reminded of 
 the first-fruits of Samaritans in our 
 Lord's day, — a field already white unto 
 the harvest. (Joiini:35.) 
 
 28. Coming tints suddenly into a 
 company of Gentiles, who knew of his 
 arrival, Peter feels that some explana- 
 tion is needful. Ye know. He ap- 
 peals to them as well aware of the hin- 
 drances preventing Jews from having 
 social intercourse with Gentiles. The 
 word translated unlawful is used only 
 by Peter in the New Testament, here 
 
168 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X. 
 
 hath showed me that I should not call 
 29 any man common or uncloan. Therefore 
 came I iinio yuii without ),'ainsaying, as 
 soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for 
 what intent ye have sent for me? 
 
 B cli. 1 : 10. « Matt. 28 : 3 ; Mark IC. : ', ; Luke 24 ; 4. " ver. 4, etc. ; Dan. 10 : 12 ; Hiwiea 6 : 3. 
 
 30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I 
 was fasting until this hour; and at the 
 ninth hour I jirayed in my house, arid, 
 behold, s a man stood before me* in bright 
 
 31 clothing, and said, Cornelius, "thy prayer 
 
 and in 1 Peter 4 : 3, and denotes that 
 which is not allotved, being oi)i)Osed to 
 and offensive to venerable eustoni. To 
 keep company, to join /liuise/f to or 
 come unto one of another nation. 
 Notice Peter uses a softened expression, 
 and does not say a heathen. Peter's 
 bearers understood liis meaning, as not 
 referring to all intercourse, Init to 
 social ; for commercial dealings were 
 permitted. The law against unclean 
 meats, and against alliances and mar- 
 riages between Jews and Gentiles (Lev. 
 11 :i f. ; oeut. 7: 1-8) hud coiiie to bc Un- 
 derstood as forbidding all social in- 
 terc(nir.se with them. It seems tliat the 
 matter of eating and tlie conse<iuent 
 defilement formed in tliiscase tlie prin- 
 cipal ground of offence, "Thou wentest 
 in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat 
 with tlicin." (ii:s.) It is not unlikely 
 that T'cter and bis company, being 
 weary and hunirry on their arrival, 
 had just partaken of refreshments. In 
 this and in other res]>ects they had put 
 themselves on social equality with 
 Gentiles. The declaration of contem- 
 porary writers accords with what Peter 
 here says. Thus Josephus (font. Ap. 
 11:28): "Those foreitjners who come 
 to us, without submitting to our laws, 
 Moses permitted not to have any inti- 
 mate connection with them." And 
 Juvenal (.SV(/. xiv. 103) says extrava- 
 gantly that " .Tews would not show the 
 way, excejitto tiieir fellow-religionists; 
 nor guide any liut a circumcised ])erson 
 to a fountain of which he was in 
 search"; and Tacitus with prcdjudice 
 (ITist. v. .5) : "They cherished against 
 all mankind the hatred of eiifmics ; 
 they were sejiarate in board and bed." 
 Bnt <^od hath shoAved me — in the 
 vision and tbrough the Sinrit. (vcr. i.i, 
 19.2(1.) Me is in emjihatic coidrast to 
 Ye above. Ye know, yet God showed 
 me. Man is also emi)hatic. God 
 shewed that I should not call any 
 man common or unclean. 
 
 29. Therefore — because he had 
 been thus divinelj' corrected regarding 
 
 social intercourse with Gentiles. 
 Came I without gainsaying — 
 
 without objecting, and hence without 
 delay : " Contrast Peter's promptness 
 witli the hesitation of Closes (Exod. 4 : 
 10, 13), and of Jeremiah (Jer. i :t>),and his 
 gladness with the moroseness of Jonah 
 {jonaU4:i)." (AjuiOTT.) I ask there- 
 fore for what intent, etc. \Vhile 
 Peter knew already the rcaaon, he de- 
 sired a fuller statement from Cornelius 
 liimself, for the good of all concerned, 
 and as preparatory to what lie himself 
 should say. Peter had indeetl had a 
 continual revelation of trutli, from the 
 trance on the housetoji until this hour. 
 The great lesson was contirmed by 
 every successive incident. It really 
 ended only as the Holy Sjiirit fell 
 upon the believing Gentiles. (Ver. 44-47.) 
 
 30. Cornelius in rejily relates his 
 vision, what he had done, and his read- 
 iness to hear the word of (iod. (Ver. 
 30-34; seen;: 13, u.) Four days ago — 
 when the angel ap]>eared to him, 
 allowing two days for the journey 
 of the messengers of Cornelius, and 
 two for Peter's journey. (See on ver. 24.) 
 I was fasting until this hour 
 — from the morning until about the 
 iiintli hour. This is tlie most nat- 
 ural meaning. Some ancient nianu- 
 scrijtts omit fiisfinr/ and read, accord- 
 ing to the Revised Version, I was keep- 
 in*) the ninth hour of prayer, which 
 woulil show at least the true s])irit of 
 fasting. But other old manuscripts 
 contain sultstantially the reading of the 
 text. 8ome supjiose tliat /(istiny was 
 omitted by some cojiyist because it is 
 not mentioned in ver. 2. In my 
 house — in retirement at .secret prayer. 
 A man ... in bright clothing. 
 Here lie descrilies him according to his 
 a]>]>earaiice ; in 11 : 13, Peter speaks of 
 him as be really was, an anf/e/. (see 
 1 : 10; i.uke -'4 : 4.) Augels in the Bible are 
 never described with wings. Cherubim 
 (Eiek.io:5) and Scrapliim are alone so 
 described, (isa. 6:2.) 
 
 31, Cornelius, thy prayer is, 
 
Ch. X.l 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 1G9 
 
 is heard, 'and tliy alms are had in re- 
 32 membrance iu the sijjht of Uod. Send 
 therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, 
 whose surname is Peter ; he is lodged in 
 the house of one Simon a tanner Ly the 
 sea side: who, when he cometh, shall 
 
 33 speak unto thee. Immediately therefore 
 1 sent to thee; and thou hast well done 
 that thou art come. Now therefore are 
 we all here present before God, to hear all 
 things that are commanded thee of (jod. 
 
 'oi Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, 
 
 » Heb. 6 : 10. 
 
 rather ions, heard. Notice that the i 
 sin.s^ular is used instead of the jdiiral, i 
 "])fayers" in ver. 4 pointing douhtless i 
 to some sj>ecial prayer or petition which 
 he had offered, for enligliteiiuieut and 
 clearer views, and assurances concern- 
 ing salvation. But as this was largely 
 the burden of all his prayers, the plural 
 could also be used. Thine alms are, 
 rather, were remeinhered, at the time 
 when given, in the right spirit. See in 
 ver. 4, where prayer and alms are not 
 separated as here. 
 
 32. Compare with ver. .5, 6, and note 
 the slight variation and sul)stantial 
 agreement. Therefore instead of 
 " and now ; " call hither — send for 
 Simon. When he cometh shall 
 speak unto thee — concerning the 
 absorbing theme of his thoughts, salva- 
 tion, its method, and his personal inter- 
 est in it. (See on ver. -ii.) These words 
 are not found in some of the oldest 
 mainiserij)ts ; but others have tliein, i 
 and some suj)pose them to have been : 
 omitted because wanting in ver. 6. 
 
 33. Immediately — the same after- 1 
 noon of the vision, (ver. 7.) Thou : 
 hast well done, in coming so 
 promptly (ver. as.) and when so much 
 needed. The i)hrase is a common and , 
 courteous one, expressive of gratifica- i 
 
 tion and approval. (See Mark 7 : :i7 ; Phil. | 
 4 : U ; James 2 : S ; 2 Peter 1 : 19 ; ,•! John 6.) No W ! 
 
 therefore— since in my sending and 
 in your coming we have been divinely ! 
 directed, are Ave all here present ! 
 
 before God, as in the presence ofi 
 Jehovah, who lias been preparing our 
 hearts for this very occasion. Notice ' 
 that Cornelius includes his kinsmen { 
 and near friends wlio were present. He ! 
 had been diligent in making known 
 the truth so far as he understood it, and 
 in relating the wonderful revelation he 
 had received. And not only tliis, but 
 he had found out the feelings of the 
 company, and knew they were in sym- 
 pathy with himself and anxious regard- j 
 
 ing their spiritual interests. To hear 
 all things — reverently and obediently 
 without any disposition to take excej>- 
 tion to any requirement that might be 
 made. Cornelius was ignorant of what 
 Cod might command. He regarded 
 Peter as a messenger from God, and 
 this he had a right to do, since the 
 angel had directed him to send for him, 
 and Peter's own vision and words con- 
 firmed it. So it was not Peter's words, 
 but the commands of Cod through him 
 that Cornelius and his comjiany desired 
 to know. Commanded thee of 
 God, or acconling to the oldest maiut- 
 scripts, from the Lord, in which case 
 they had come to recognize Peter as an 
 embassador of the Lord Jesus, and now 
 they desire to know fully what he re- 
 quired. 
 
 34. Peter opened his mouth^ 
 imlicating the beginning of a regular 
 and important discourse. The same 
 phrase is used of Jesus at the beginning 
 of the Sermon on the Mount. (Matt. »: 2.) 
 After the statement that no distinction 
 of race or nation can form any barrier 
 to acceptance with God, Peter ]>resents 
 a summary of the life and work of 
 .k'sus, the Lord of all, the Judge of the 
 living and the dead, and the Saviour 
 from sin of all who believe on him. 
 
 Tliis verse and the next eml)ody the 
 lesson whiclt Peter had learned, the 
 culmination of the narrative thus far. 
 As Peter takes into view the wliole 
 case, Cornelius' vision and exi>erieuce 
 in wonderful harmony with his own, 
 and the large com))any before him, rev- 
 erent and anxiously waiting to hear tiie 
 word of God, every remaining doul)t 
 disappears, and he exclaims, Of a 
 truth — it is a fact! I perceive — I 
 comjjrehend it now — that God is no 
 respecter of persons. Peter uses a 
 word found in no earlier Greek writer, 
 and only here in the New Testament, 
 meaning literally «n accepter of faces 
 or appearances, and answers \veli to our 
 
170 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X. 
 
 y Of a truth I perceive that God is no he » that feareth him, and * worketh right- 
 35 respecter of persona : but » iu every nation 36 eousness, "is accepted with him. The 
 
 y Dent. 10 : 17 ; 2 Chron. 19:7; Job Ai : 19 ; Kcjui. 2 : 11 ; 1 Peter 1 : 17. » ch. 15 ; 9 ; 
 
 1 Cor. 12 : 13 ; Gal. 3 : 28 ; Col. 1 : 6 ; 3 : 11. • I'a. 85 : 9. •> Ezek. 18 : 27. J: Gen. 4:7; 
 Ueb. 11 : 4-0. 
 
 phrase, respecter of persons. It has 
 reference to external conditions, such 
 as rank, race, or other grounds of ex- 
 ternal superiority. Got] is not partial 
 on these accounts. Another word, 
 having the .^anie formation, is found 
 four times in the New Testament (Kom. 
 
 2 : 11 ; Col. .S : 25 ; E|>h. B : !) ; James 2 : l)^ luivillg 
 
 the same idea of j>artiality ou account 
 of outward circumstances, and not on 
 account of intrinsic merit or moral 
 worth. The trutli was not new, for it is 
 a.s.serted in the Old Testament, "The 
 Great God . . . who regardetii not per- 
 sons." ( Deiu. 1(1 : 17 ; 1 S:ira. 16 : 7 : Lev. I'J : I.i.) 
 
 But such words were largely limited hy 
 the Jews to tlieir own j>eo]>le, and were 
 regarded as consistent witli a divine 
 partiality for Israel. Peter uses the 
 Avord with a l)roader apjdication. Tlie 
 words " In every nation " (next verse), 
 sliow tluit lie means that 7-ace and 
 tuition are among the outward circum- 
 stances which do not affect tlie divine 
 judgment. And as he liad ex])ccted 
 that Cientiles wouhl receive Cliristianity 
 
 thrOUgll Judaism (seeou ver. l aud9), lie is 
 
 now convinced that uncirciimcision is 
 no longer any harrier, tiiat Gentilesand 
 Jews stood on an ecpiality hefore God. 
 The truth, liowever, in this verse, is 
 put negatively ; in the next verse juisi- 
 tively. 
 
 35. But in every nation — em- 
 phatic. "Wlietiier (Jod's chosen race of 
 tlie Jews or not. He that feareth 
 hiin — exercising a genuine and devout 
 reverence toward tiod, iiuj)lying an 
 obedient state of mind. (i.uk.- i •. oO; i 
 
 Peter 2 : 17. See on v.r. 2.) >Vorketh fight- 
 
 eousness — lives niirif/lilly. A phrase 
 applied to those who truly serve God. 
 (Heb. 11 : 33.) Tile similar iihrast- " to do 
 righteousness " is found in 1 John 2 : 
 29 ; 3 : 7 ; 3 : 10. Comi>arf Matt. tS : 1, 
 where rif/hteousncss (Revised Version) 
 includes alms, fasting, and jn-ayer, all 
 of which Cornelius api>eais truly to 
 have observed. Is accepted with 
 him— rather, is acceptahletu li im. Such 
 persons as above described are in a 
 
 condition to be received and approved 
 by God. But how ? Surely not in- 
 dependently of Christ ; for Peter's ob- 
 ject in coming was to preach Jesus the 
 Christ, and the burden of his di.scourse 
 was .salvation through him. (Ver.w.) 
 Cornelius was not a moralist, depend- 
 ing on his morality, for he ivceived 
 Christ as soon as ])resented by Peter. 
 God had been leading Cornelius and 
 preparing Peter, anil his design was 
 " to take out of the Gentiles a i>eople 
 for his name " ('5: u), not to save them 
 without Christ, but to introduce them 
 into the kingdom of Christ. Cornelius 
 .seems to have been in much the same 
 condition as the ]>ions Jew before 
 Christ — a worshiper of the true God, 
 feeling the need of more light, and per- 
 liai)s, like the eunuch (s: 2h), a reader 
 of the Old Testament .Scriptures, and a 
 searcher after the Promised One. lie 
 seems to have been in a state accept- 
 able to God through him who was to 
 come. He needed Peter, in order to 
 know the fact of his per.sonal salvation 
 and the method of salvation through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 But Peter appears to imply that .some 
 outside of Cornelius and his company, 
 among all nations might be in a sav- 
 able state. Since Chri.st is tlie "Word 
 and the Truth and the Revealer of 
 these to men, all revelations may be 
 traced l)ack to him. If any one by this 
 light is led to see his fallen and lieli>less 
 condition and cry out, " God l)e merci- 
 ful to me, a sinner," ready to accejtt of 
 Christ, so soon as ottered, and shall 
 manifest his sincerity in a prayerful 
 life and devout conduct, may he not 
 be ignotantly but truly a worshiper of 
 God and of him who is the only Ke- 
 vialer of God to men ? And this ac- 
 cords with the words of our Saviour, 
 " JIany shall come from the east and 
 the west," etc. (Matt. 8 : ii, 12.) " And 
 other sheep I have which are not of 
 this fold," etc. (Jotm 10 : le.) 
 
 Certain facts confirm such a vievr. 
 In 1S20, when the American mission- 
 
Ch. X.] THE ACTS. 
 
 171 
 
 word which God sent unto the children | of Israel, 
 
 * preaching peace by Jesu> 
 
 d Eph. 2 : 1:J-18 ; Col. 1 : 20. 
 
 arics first visited the Sandwich Islands 
 they found that the inhabitants had 
 thrown away their iduls and they 
 seemed to he waiting for the gospel, 
 among whom it had great success. The 
 Karens of Burmali had traditions of tlie 
 coming of the wiiite foreigners who 
 would restore the true religion, and 
 many appeared ready for tlie reception 
 of the gospel wheJi tiie missionaries 
 came among them. Godet tells of the 
 *' Chinese Hermit who accepted Christ, 
 saying, ' This is the only Buddha men 
 ought to worship.' " The British and 
 Foreign Bible Society pul)lish a state- 
 ment, on the authority of Sir Bartle 
 Frere, that he met " with au instance 
 which was carefully investigated, in 
 which all the inhabitants of a remote 
 village in the Deccan had aljjured 
 idolatry and caste, removed from their 
 temples the idols which had been wor- 
 shii)ed there time out of mind, and 
 agreed to profess a form of Christian- 
 ity wliich they had deduced for them- 
 selves from a careful perusal of a single 
 gospel and a few tracts." {Judson's 
 Lije, by his son, p. 84.) President Ed- 
 wards, in his Life of David Brainard, 
 pp. 173-175, tells of "a devout and 
 zealous reformer, or rather restoi'er, of 
 ■what he supposed was tlie ancient re- 
 ligion of the Indians." After a period 
 of distress he says that God " comforted 
 his heart and showed him what he 
 should do, and since that time he ha<l 
 known (Jod and tried to serve him, and 
 loved all men, l)e they v.lio they would, 
 60 as he never did b'.-fore." Such ex- 
 amples appear as illustrations of a 
 work among the heatlieii, possibly a 
 very few, wlio tluougli the guiding 
 Spirit of (jod have been led to fear him 
 and work righteousiii'ss ami liave thus 
 been prepared to be acceptable to (iod, 
 through Christ, whom not knowing 
 they substantially worship. 
 
 But what bearing has this on Chris- 
 tian missions to the heathen ? Why 
 then send missionaries? We answer': 
 1. To make known .lesns Christ to 
 those who may be cravins^ and looking 
 for a Saviour, 2, To arouse anddee^jeu 
 
 this feeling of need and longing in any 
 others who may be seeking after God. 
 3. To announce Christ to the millions 
 wlio live on a lower plane of enlight- 
 ment than Cornelius and persons of 
 similar experiences. 4. The fact that 
 cases like Cornelius' are sometimes 
 found aftbrds encouragement to j)usli 
 missionary work. The Lord is j»re- 
 paring the way, showing us our duty 
 and opportunity. We should at once 
 heed the call, "Come over and hel]) us," 
 and the encouragement, as the voice of 
 God, saying, " Be not afraid, but speak 
 and hold not thy jieace ; for I am with 
 thee . . . for I have much people in 
 this city." (is : 9,10.) 
 
 36. The grammatical construction of 
 this verse and the two following is diffi- 
 cult. Olshausen and some others connect 
 this closely with the preceding verse 
 thus : " He is acceptable to him in re- 
 spect to or according to the word which 
 God sent," etc. While this expresses 
 a truth it is not the simplest, nor the 
 most natural construction. Better is 
 it to make the word an object of a 
 proposition understood. As to the tcord. 
 which he sent, etc. Or better still with 
 Meyer and Ilaekett, to make the word 
 an ol>ject of the word know (ver. 37), as 
 in our English version. The same idea 
 is expressed by the reading of some of 
 the oldest manuscripts and i>referred 
 by Westcott and Hort : He sent the 
 word unto the children of Israel. The 
 word — the message which was sent 
 from God, preaching peace, rather, 
 jiroclainiing the glad tidings of peace, 
 of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. 
 
 (Luke 1:79; 2:14; MaU. 11 : 29.) ConieliuS 
 
 and many of the company must have 
 heard of this message among the Jews. 
 See next verse. He is Lord of all 
 —not of the Jews oidv, but of tlie 
 Gentiles also. Peter tiiiows into his 
 sentence the idea of tlie universal Lord- 
 ship of Christ, as one of the thoughts 
 uppermost in his mind. (Rom. 3 • 29, so. 
 
 See Ps. 2; 72:8-11; Isa. 55 : 4. .S; D»n. 2:44; 7: 
 
 13. 14.) This great truth he now under- 
 stood better than ever before. 
 
 37. That word, or thing, includ< 
 
172 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch, X. 
 
 37 Christ (-^ he is Lord of all): that word, 7 
 say, ye fknow, which was published 
 throughout all Judiea, and k began from 
 lialilee, after the baptism which John 
 
 38 preached ; how God '' anointed Jesus of 
 Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with 
 
 power : who went about doing good, and 
 healing all that were oppressed of the 
 39 devil ; ' for Hod was with hiiu. And ^ we 
 are witnesses of all things which he did 
 both in the land of the Jews, and in Je- 
 rusalem. ' Whom they slew and hanged on 
 
 « Matt. 28 : 18 ; John 5 : 22, 23 ; Kum. 10 : 12 ; Phil. 2 : 9-11 ; Col. 1 : 10-18 ; 1 Petir 3 : 22 ; 
 Rev. 19 : 16. 'oh. 8 : 40 ; Luke 4 : 14, 37 ; 7 : 17. e ch. 1 : 22. ^ Luke 3 : 22 ; 4 : 18. 
 i John 3:2: 16 : 32. k Juhu lo : 27. ' ch. 5 : 30 ; 1 Peter 2 : 24. 
 
 iiig the subject matter of the message I 
 (vei. ;j6), the circumstances attemiing it, | 
 and tlie facts ujion which it rested, and j 
 fiutlicr cxphiincd in tlie ne.xt verse. ! 
 Ye know. Tlic ministry of John and j 
 of Jtsus must have been well-known 
 throu;,du)iit Palestine, not only among i 
 Jews, Imt also Gentiles (Mark 7 : -h), espe- 
 cially those who were drawn towards 
 the Jewisli religion. Philip had also | 
 preached tlie gospel at Cuisarea. (» : 4t>-) 
 Soldii-rs also moving into dift'erent 
 ])arts would hear more or less of these 
 things. Some have conjectured that 
 Cornelius was the centurion who had 
 charge of Christ's crucili.xion (Luke 
 2a: +7); but this is not very probahle. 
 Possil)ly the latter nuiy have related 
 sonu' of the facts of the crucifixion to 
 Cornelius. Which was published, 
 better, ir/iich tras done or happened 
 throughout all Judea, of which 
 Ca'sarca was the Roman cai)ital. And 
 began from Galilee, from wlience 
 the fame of Jesus first sjiread abroad. 
 (Luke 4 : u, :i7.) Several months of Christ's 
 earliest ministry were spent in Judea 
 in ([uiet work. (Johu:) : i-is.) Yet before 
 this, immediately after his temi)tation, 
 Jesus gains his first disci})les from 
 among Calileaus, and visits Caua and 
 
 CapernaU)M. ( Jolm l : 35-45; 2 : M2,) Tluis 
 
 Jesus began from Galilee. At the same 
 time he did not enter fully into liis 
 ministry, until after the baptism 
 which John preached — that is, until 
 John iiad coni])leted his ministry anil 
 was imj>risoned, immediately after 
 wliich Jesus began to preach in Galilee 
 the good news of the kingdom. (Mmk 1 : 
 
 14,15.) 
 
 38. Having spoken of the gospel- 
 message and the gospel-history, Peter 
 turns to the person who was the an- 
 nouncer of this message and the central 
 fitcure of this history. How God 
 anointed, etc. Kather, even Jesus of 
 Nazareth (,3:6), how God anointed 
 
 him; with the Holy Spirit and 
 AVith power. The Holy S]>irit de- 
 scended upon Jesus at his liajitisin. 
 (.Mark 1 : 10.) Thus he was the diviiuly 
 Anointed One, the Christ (which 
 nwiins anointed). (Luke4:i8-2i.) Power, 
 accompanying the unction of the Holy 
 yjiirit, has special reference to the 
 miracles, which are imme<liately spoken 
 of, and which were evidences of his 
 divine mission. So truth, life, faith, 
 joy, and wisdom are elsewhere asso- 
 ciated with the Spirit. ( John 4 : 23 ; 6 : 63 ; 
 Ai;U6:2, 5; 13 :.52.) U hO WCUt abOUt, 
 
 etc. A most beautiful summary of our 
 Lord's ministry, putting si>ecial enij)ha- 
 sis on our Lord's works, thus remind- 
 ing us of Mark's gospel, which jtresents 
 Jesus as the Mighty Worker, and is 
 supposed to have been written under 
 Peter's direction. Doing §rood. Deeds 
 of lieneficence and works of mercy 
 were characteristic of Christ's life. 
 Healing all that were oppressed 
 of the devil. Peter selects this class 
 of miracles, as among the greatest and 
 most widely known. Devil means slan- 
 derer or false accuser, and is a name 
 ajiplied to Satan, the great adversary 
 of God, of the Messiah, and of our 
 race. (Luke 8 : 12 ; johu 13 : 2.) Compare 
 Peter's description of him walking 
 about " as a roaring lion." (1 Peter 5 : s.) 
 While specially referring to casting 
 out demons (see on Matt. 4 : 24), the oppress- 
 ings of the devil also included various 
 mental and bodily disorders, which 
 were regarded as resulting from Satanic 
 agency. Comjiare J^uke 13 : IG, where 
 the woman who had " a spirit of infir- 
 mity " is said to have been " bound t;y 
 Satan." For God was with him— 
 the secret of Christ's power ; evidenced 
 by his miracles. So Nicodemus saw 
 and confessed. (John 3 : 2.) 
 
 39. C'ornelius and his company had 
 only heard of Jesus, his preaching and 
 Lis wonderful works; but now Peter 
 
Ch. X.J 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 173 
 
 40 a tree. Hiiii God raised up the third day, 
 
 41 aud shewed him opeuly, '" not to all the 
 people, but unto witnesses chosen before 
 of God, even to us, ■> who did eat and drink 
 
 with him, after he rose from the (lend. 
 
 42 And » he commanded us to preach unto iho 
 
 people, and to testify Pthat it is he which 
 
 was ordained of God to be the Judge iiof 
 
 'ch. 13:31. 
 
 " Luke 24 : 30, 41-4;! ; Jolin 21 : 13. o Matt. 28 : ] :i, lid. 
 5 : 22-29. 1 Horn. 14 : 9, 10 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 1 ; 1 I'.tcr 4 : 
 
 5. 
 
 P ch. 17 : 31 ; John 
 
 affirms their truthfulness as an eye-wit- 
 ness. We is emphatic. As au apostle 
 it was Peter's mission and work to be a 
 witness, and s[)eaking as an apostle, he 
 incdudes tlie other apostles. Some or 
 even all of the six bretliren who came 
 M'ith him may have been witnesses of 
 many of these things, but not in the 
 sense of having been chosen by God 
 for that pur{)ose. (ver. ii ;a :3-'.) Whom 
 they slew and hanged — l)y hanging, 
 him on a tree. Peter states strongly 
 the humiliating and shameful death of 
 Jesus. So also he did to the Jewish 
 rulers, (s : so.) But when preaching to 
 au attentive Jewish audience, striving 
 to persuade aud convict, he carefully 
 guards his language. ('^ : ^s ; s ■. u.) 
 
 40. In contrast to the cruel treat- 
 ment of the Jews, God raised np .lesus 
 to life. Shewed him openly — 
 caused him to be made vwnifest. lie 
 was distinctly seen and known. The 
 resurrection of Jesu.s, as in all the dis- 
 courses of tlie Acts, is here the eulnii- 
 natiug point of which the apostles 
 testified. (2:32; 3: is ; 13::;i.) 
 
 41. The last clause of the preceding 
 verse, this verse, and the next, have 
 reference to the forty days between 
 Christ's resurrection and his a.scension. 
 Not to all the people of the Jews. 
 It is not recorded that he appeared to 
 any but to his disciples or frieiuls. As 
 Jesus would not work niiraeles to sat- 
 isfy the demands of the censorious and 
 self-righteous Pharisees (Matu 12 : .58, 39), 
 so he would not entrust the evidences 
 of his resurrection to his enemies, or 
 make his appearances to his rejectors 
 and crucifiurs. The wonderful phe- 
 nomena during the crucifixion, the 
 earthquake at tlie resurrection, and 
 testimony of the giuird (M.ttt. 28 : 11 ), were 
 suliieient evidences for them, (i.ukeui: 
 31; John 12: 37.) It was fitting that he 
 should limit his ai)pearances to his fol- 
 lowers, to tliose who would ajipreeiate 
 and properly use the evidence ; and it 
 was becoming to a religion of faith. 
 
 Such evidences from eye-witnesses were 
 sufficient, and at tlie .^ame time would 
 exercise the faith of true believers. 
 Paley argues hei'e the truthfulness of 
 the naiTative. A forgery would natur- 
 ally have represented our Lord's ap- 
 pearances to both friends and foes ; at 
 least would not have limited them on 
 all occasions to his friends. Tiie fact of 
 such limitation shows the candor of the 
 historian. Bnt unto witnesses 
 chosen before of God, even to 
 us — the apostles. Notice that the 
 apostles were chosen by Christ (i : 2; Luke 
 6: 13; JohD 15: Hi), and also by God and 
 given to Christ. {.John 17:6.) Who 
 did eat and drink Avith him at 
 the same table, enjoying such intimate 
 com])anioiiship as to afford tangible 
 evidence of his resurrection. The 
 three recorded in.stanccs of this kind 
 are in Luke L'4 : ;!0, 42 ; John 21 : 12-1.5. 
 4:1. Commanded us to preach 
 unto the people— iu the last com- 
 mission, to go into all the world 
 
 preaching (Matt. 2s : 1<»; Mark IG: 15), and to 
 
 be witnesses unto the uttermost ])art of 
 the eartli. (1 : 8 ) Peter had first lim- 
 ited tliis to Jews and proselytes from 
 all nations. But now he begins to 
 understand that the gosjiel is to be 
 pro(daimed to all of every iiatiou. (ver. 
 35.) They were not only to announce 
 the good news, but also t<» testify, as 
 witnesses, to S})eak the truth, the whole 
 truth, and nothing but the truth : That 
 this is he who was ordained, ap- 
 pointed btj (,W, the judge of quick, 
 or living, and dead. (John 5:22; 1 
 
 Thess. 4 : 18, 17: 1 Cor. 15 : 51, 52.) Some WOUld 
 
 take this in a spiritual sense, meaning 
 saints and sinners. Tlie literal sense is 
 the most natural here referring to all 
 1,'eiierations, jmst, j)resent, and future. 
 This is tlie first time that Christ is pre- 
 sented as jutlge in the Acts. The fact 
 that tliis is made j)roniinent here and 
 in Paul's address to his heathen audi- 
 ence at Athens (12 : 31), shows that this 
 truth should be made prominent to 
 
174 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X. 
 
 ti quick auft dead. 'To hiru give all the 
 priijihets witness, that e through his name 
 I whosoever oelievcth in him shall receive 
 reiiiis>ion of sins. 
 
 44 While Peter yet spake these words, 
 "the Holy Spirit fell on all them which 
 
 45 heard the word. »And they of the cir- 
 
 cumcision which believed were aston- 
 ished, as many as came with Peter, " be- 
 cause that on the Gentiles al^o was jioured 
 46 out the gift of the Holy Spirit, tor they 
 heard them ' speak with tongues, and 
 magnify God. 
 
 » Isa. 53 : 11 ; Dan. 9 : 24 ; Zech. 13 : 1; Luke 24 : 44-47. • ch. 3 : 16. 
 3:10. ""Ch. 4 :31; 8 : 15-17. » ver. 23. y ch. 11 : 18 ; Gal. 3 : 14. 
 
 «eh. 26 :18; John 
 » ch. 2 : 4, 11. 
 
 such audiences as might fail to under- 
 stand fully this side of Christ's char- 
 acter. 
 
 43. First the law, then the gospel. 
 (Gal. .1 ;24.) Co-cxtcnsive with his au- 
 tliority as Judge was his power as a 
 Savioiir. To him give all the 
 prophets witness — this was the gen- 
 eral drift of prophecy. Christ as a 
 Saviour is the central theme of the 
 words and symbols of the prophetic 
 Scriptures. (Rev. i9: 10.) Peter takes 
 for granted that Cornelius and his com- 
 j>any had some knowledge of the Old 
 Testament. That through his 
 name. (Sec on2:'a; sue.) >Vhoso- 
 ever believeth on him, trusting and 
 relying on liim, shall receive re- 
 mission, forfjivetiess, of sins — in- 
 cluding the reiuittiug of the jienalty. 
 Thus Peter announces justification by 
 faitli : 1. Tlirough the namt' of Jesus. 
 
 2. The condition. BeUevctli in fiini. 
 
 3. Tiie universality of the oiler. W'lw- 
 soever, implying tliat all men need for- 
 giveness. 4. Implying a salvation 
 from sin and its consequences. The 
 gospel to the guilty and perishing is 
 brought to view in a single sentence. 
 
 44. While Peter "yet spake — 
 showing that he had not finislied what 
 he intended to say. In his sub.secjuent 
 defence (n : li) he .says, "As I began to 
 speak." Thus he was intending to 
 speak at nnich greater length, and was 
 iiiterru|>ted suddenly and uncxpect- 
 <'(lly. Words and word refer to the 
 words of truth he had just present*-*! 
 ro'^xai'ding Jesus Christ. Notice that 
 tin- Spirit came upon them just as lie 
 had announced remission of sins 
 through faith. Cornelius and tlie com- 
 ])any at once believed on the name of 
 Jesus. The descent of the Spirit is 
 i)oth a testimony to the truth of Peter's 
 jireaching and an evidence of Clirist 
 havinir been received by faith l)y these 
 Gentile hearers. The Holy Spirit 
 
 fell — suddenly and from above, imply- 
 ing divine origin. On ail them Avhich 
 heard the word— tlie Gentiles to 
 whom Peter was speaking. The Spirit 
 had been leading their hearts into 
 the way of truth ; but now he comes 
 ujion them with external manifesta- 
 tions of ])ower, and .'ijieaking with 
 tongues, as lie did at first uj)on the 
 church at Jerusalem, (ver. 45-47.) It 
 was tlie Pentecost of Gentiles. It sliould 
 be noted that the Holy Spirit came 
 upon them before their baptism and 
 without the laying on of hands. While 
 this sliows tliat salvation is not de- 
 pendent on outward rites, it was in- 
 tended as an emphatic lesson to Peter 
 and his com]iaiiy, that "neither circum- 
 cision availetli aiiytliing, but faith tiiat 
 worketh througii love," and that the 
 es.sential thing in the individual is "a 
 new creature." (<5ai. 6 : «; 6: 16.) 
 
 45. They of the circumcision. 
 The Jewisli believers who came 
 with Peter. Astonished. The word 
 is emphatic. They were filled with 
 wonder and surprise. This sliows 
 liow unexpected this descent of the 
 Spirit upon Gentiles was to tliem, and 
 liow needful were all the supernatural 
 occurrences connected with this first 
 nii.ssion to (ientiles, and how imjiort- 
 ant tliat tiic^c six Jewisli Cliri.stiaiis 
 sliould witness this culminating evi- 
 (k'lice of the reccjition of the gospel by 
 tlie uneircumcised. (ii:i2.) On the 
 (ientiles — on the heathen generally, 
 all whom Cornelius and his company 
 represented. Thus this single case was 
 regariled as establi.shing a general 
 principle. No distinction is to be 
 made butween Jews and Gentiles. 
 
 46. For — they conclude from the 
 effect. It is not .said, as in 2 : 4, that 
 they spake in other tongues. This, 
 however, is a briefer description ; be- 
 side.s, to speak with tongues means 
 with new tongues, in languages and 
 
Ch. X.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 175 
 
 47 'Phtni answered Peter, Can any man 
 forbid water, tbat these should not be 
 baptized which liave received the Holy 
 
 48 Spirit 'as well as we? And he coni- 
 
 niauded them to be baptized ^ in the name 
 of the Lord. Then prayed they him to 
 tarry certain days. 
 
 • ch. 11 : 17 ; 15 : 8, 9; Bom. 10 : 12. <> ch. 2 : 38 ; 8 : 10. 
 
 dialects besides their own. Instead of 
 "the wonderful works of God" (i:!!), 
 here are the words, magnify God, 
 setting forth his greatness. 
 
 47. Peter also recognizes the descent 
 of the Spirit upon the Gentile converts 
 as tlie ha]>tisni of the Spirit, similar to 
 tliat of the Jewish di.sciples at Pente- 
 cost, (n : 16; 1 : 4, 5.) Call any man 
 forbid water i The water, the ele- 
 ment into which they were to he ba])- 
 tized for an entrance into the visible 
 church, in contrast with the Holy Spirit, 
 the element in whicli tliey had received 
 Spirit baptism. "Alford's deduction 
 from the form of expression here, the 
 water, that ' the practice was to bring 
 tlie wat^-r to the candidates, not the 
 candidates to the water,' appears to me 
 far-fetched." (Abisott.) "The water 
 is in this animated language conceived 
 as the element offering itself for tlie 
 bai)tism." (.Mrykr.) Such pojnilar 
 and animated idioms are not uncom- 
 mon. " Wlio shall forbid the house, 
 tlie school, or the city to this or that 
 one?" would never be taken to mean 
 that either the house, school, or city was 
 to l)e Ijrought to them ; but rather that 
 they should be permitted to enter and 
 enjoy them. Peter, by his question, recog- 
 nizes the divine approval of these Gen- 
 tiles, as members of the kingdom of 
 God, and hence as fit sul^Jects of t)ap- 
 tism. And not only that it was the 
 duty of these Gentiles to be baptized, 
 but also their duty to baptize them. 
 lie does not say, " They now have the 
 Spirit baptism, therefore, tliey can do 
 without water baptism," but he rather 
 makes the former the strong argument 
 for the latter. (s-eon Ter.44.) The 
 Koly Spirit as Avell as we. It was 
 just the reason needed for the occasion. 
 "No ordinary attestation would Itave 
 sufficed to make the divine will per- 
 fectly clear, that tlie Gentiles were to 
 be admitted at once, and on equal 
 terms with the .Tews, to the blessings of 
 Christianity." (HowsON and Spence.) 
 
 48. He commanded them to be 
 
 baptized— by the brethren who came 
 with him. Peter's practice seems in 
 harmony with Paul's, (i Cor. i ; u, u.) 
 In the' name of the Lord — or ac- 
 cording to some of the oldest manu- 
 scripts, in the name of Jesas Christ. 
 This does not indicate the formula 
 (Matt. 28: 19)), hut tlic fact that these 
 believers were in Christ (-' Cor .5 -. n), and 
 that only in him could their Christian 
 baptism be complete. Out of Clirist 
 even immersion is not Christian l)ap- 
 tism. " As the name of Jesus Clirist is 
 tlie spiritual basis of baptism (i : hn) aiid 
 the end to which it refers (i» : 5), so it is 
 also conceived as the entire holy sj>here 
 "in which it is accomplished, and out 
 of which it cannot take place." 
 (Meyer.) To tarry certain days. 
 It is implied that Peter remained a few 
 days, enjoying the hosjiitality of Cor- 
 nelius, and giving needed instruction. 
 These were days of great importance to 
 them and to him. Whether these (Jen- 
 tile converts were baptized into the fel- 
 lowship of the church at Jerusalem, or 
 under divine influence and direction a 
 church was at once formed at Ca-sarea, 
 we are not told. However this may be, 
 it is natural to suppose that diiring 
 " the certain days " and before Peter 
 left, the first Gentile church at Cajsarea 
 was duly organized. 
 
 Pr.\cticai. Remarks. 
 
 1. Service for one's country as a soldier 
 is compatible with true service of God. 
 (Ver. 1 ; Rom. l;i : 1-4 ; Matt. 8 : 10.) 
 
 2. True piety will always exert a salutary 
 influence on thehome. (Ver. 2; Gen. 18 : 19.) 
 
 3. " Hours of prayer are truly hours of 
 grace, when the angels of God are most of all 
 prompt in coming." (Karl Gkrok). (Ver. 
 3 ; 12 : .5-7 ; Heb. 1 : 14.) 
 
 4. The prayer of faith ascends to God, like 
 sweet incense, acceptable to him. (Ver. 4; 
 Rev. 5 : 8.) 
 
 5. God has committed the great work of 
 preaching the gospel, not to angeb, but to 
 men. (Ver. 5 ; 1 Peter 1 : 12.) 
 
176 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. X. 
 
 fi. Peter the apostle, and not Philip the 
 evangelist, must announce the gospel Urstto 
 Gentiles. (Ver. 6; 15 : 7.) 
 
 7. In Cornelius and his household we see 
 a beautiful example of family religion. (Ver. 
 7, 8, 22, 24.) 
 
 8. The prompt obedience of Cornelius 
 showed that he believed God. (Ver. 8 ; James 
 2: 17,18; Heb. 11 : 8.) 
 
 9. Ministers of the gospel should be spe- 
 cially men of prayer. (Ver. 9 ; Rom. 1-5 : 30.) 
 
 10. Our spiritual exercises are often closely 
 connected with our physical condition. (Ver. 
 10 ; Matt. 4 : 2, 3.) 
 
 11. Whatever is of heavenly origin is pure, 
 and whatever is sanctified is to be accepted 
 with thanksgiving. (Ver. 11-13; 1 Tim. 
 4 : 4, 5 ; James 3 : 17.) 
 
 12. Customs and ceremonies are nothing 
 against the direct commands of God. (Ver. 
 14-16; 11 : 17.) 
 
 13. We should strive after spiritual purity. 
 (Ver. 14-16; 1 Cor. 6 : 17-7 : 1.) 
 
 14. Through Christ the ceremonial law wa.'s 
 done away, and the distinction between Jew 
 and Gentile abolished. (Ver. 14-16 ; Kph. 
 2 : 14, 1.5.) 
 
 15. Redemption through Jesus Christ in 
 its scope and power has relation to the whole 
 physical universe. (Ver. 14-10 ; Eph. 1:10; 
 Rom. 8 : 19-22.) 
 
 16. The knowledge of the apostles, though 
 inspired men, was progressive. (Ver. 16-20, 
 46, 47.) 
 
 17. God suits the events of his providence 
 to our lives and work. (Ver. 17 ; 27 : 9, 16.) 
 
 18. Wc should also seek and follow the di- 
 rections of the Spirit in matters of religious 
 duty. (Ver. 19, 20 ; 8 : 29 ; 16 : 7 ; 18 : 5.) 
 
 19. The prejudicc.«i, or the reluctance of 
 man, cannot defeat the purposes of God. 
 (Ver. 19, 20 ; 15 : 24-29.) 
 
 20. The messengers of Cornelius illustrate 
 the search of tlic Gentile world after the 
 wisdom of God. (Ver. 19-22 ; Matt. 2 : 1-12.) 
 
 21. It is fitting to seek the advice and in- 
 struction of those whom God has appointed 
 to minister in holy things. (Ver. 22 ; 8 : 
 34.) 
 
 22. On important missions the pastor or 
 missionary should be attended with judi- 
 cious brethren. (Ver. 23, 4."^ ; 11 : 12 ; Mark 
 6:7.) 
 
 23. Like Cornelius, wc should invite our 
 friends to hear the gospel. (Ver. 24.) 
 
 24. The apostles were disinterested and 
 unseltish meu. (Ver. 2-5, 26 ; 14 : 11-18.) 
 
 25. Christianity teaches us to worship God 
 alone. (Ver. 25 ; Rev. 22 : 9.) 
 
 2i;. Ministers of the gospel should not en- 
 tertain exaggerated views of their office, nor 
 accept undue applause of men. (Ver. 25-27 ; 
 
 1 Tim. 3:2-6; Rom. 1 : 25.) 
 
 27. The submission of faith is to do what- 
 ever God commands without hesitation. 
 (Ver. 28, 29; Heb. U : 17, 24.) 
 
 28. Like a skillful physician, the pastor 
 should inquire into the spiritual condition 
 of those to whom he would do good. (Ver. 
 29.) 
 
 29. God blesses and reveals himself to those 
 who are in the path of duty. (Ver. 30, 32 ; 
 
 2 : 1, 2, Luke 3 : 21,22.) 
 
 30. A devout and obedient spirit is becom- 
 ing the house of God. (Ver. 33.) 
 
 31. The blessings of the gospel are given 
 without regard to nationality, wealth, or 
 other external circumstances. (Ver. 34; Luke 
 
 2 : 10, 32 ; Gal. 5:6: Col. 3 : 11 ; Rev. 5 : 8.) 
 
 32. The power of the gospel is shown in 
 overcoming the prejudices of men. (Ver. 
 34 ; 20 : 5 f.) 
 
 33. Religion is not a matter of indifference. 
 If it were so, Peter would not have been sent 
 to preach Jesus to Cornelius. (Ver. 34, 35 ; 
 
 3 : 12.) 
 
 34. The works of Cornelius were not the 
 meritorious ground of his acceptance with 
 God, hut an evidence of true piety. (Ver. 
 34 : Rom. 3 : 20.) 
 
 35. Such examples as that of Cornelius are 
 an encouragement for missionary work and 
 for men to u.se tln' light they have. (Ver. 35.) 
 
 36. The Lordship of Christ should not he 
 overlooked in religious instruction. (Ver. 
 36 ; Matt. 2S : IS ; John 17 : 2 ; Eph. 1 : 20, 22.) 
 
 37. " Who went about doing good" is a 
 beautiful description of Christ's life, and a 
 fitting examnle for his followers. (Ver. 38.) 
 
 38. Peter's discourse is a model for evan- 
 gelical prf aching. (Ver. 36-43.) 
 
 39. Men, however moral and religious, 
 must be saved by the cross. (Ver. 38-43.) 
 
 40. Christ is to bepresented asourprojihet, 
 our priest, and our king. (Ver. 38-43.) 
 
 41. The resurrection of Christ is substan- 
 tiated by many infallible proofs. (Ver. 40, 
 41 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 4-9.) 
 
 42. The piety of Cornelius, who at once 
 accepted Christ, is opposed to the so-called 
 
Ch. XI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 177 
 
 Peler^s conduct criticised at Jerusalem; his 
 
 successful defence. 
 11. AND the apostles and brethren that 
 
 were in Judsea heard = that the Gentiles 
 
 2 had also receiTed the word of God. And 
 
 when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, 
 
 ' ch. 10 : 34-48. 
 
 morality of those in Christian lands who 
 reject him. (Ver. 4:!, 44.) 
 
 43. The gift of the Holy Spirit is so associ- 
 ated with bapti-siii, as to show that the latter 
 is not a saying ordinance. (Ver. 44-47.) 
 
 44. The baptism of the Holy Spirit does 
 not take the place of water baptism, nor do 
 away with it. (Ver. 44-47 ; 19 : 2-5.) 
 
 Ch. 11 : This chapter opens with Pe- 
 ter's defence before the apostles and 
 brethren at Jerusalem. Luke then re- 
 turns to tlie general narrative, and 
 notices the connection of the dispersion 
 of Jewish lielievers through the perse- 
 cution at the death of Stej)lu'n, and the 
 preaching of tlie gospel at Antioeh, 
 first to Jews, and then to Gentiles ; and 
 relates how Barnabas and Saul became 
 associated in labors there. The cliai»ter 
 closes with tlie pro])hecy of Agabus, 
 and the mi.ssion of relief by Barnabas 
 and Saul to Jerusalem. The chapter 
 covers a period of several years, from 
 alDout A. D. 38 to A. D. 44. 
 
 1-18. Pkter Defends Himself AT 
 Jerusalem for His Visit to Cor- 
 nelius. It is interesting to comj)are 
 this with the account in the preceding 
 chapter. Peter's defence was modified 
 by the circumstances surrounding him 
 and the nature of his audience. He 
 was apologetic in language, yet truth- 
 ful as to facts, and in argument j>ur- 
 suasive and invincilile. Certain things 
 he omits as UMim|)ortaiit to liis pur- 
 pose, such as the housetop, the hour of the 
 liay, his hunger, tlie prei)aration of the 
 meal, the homage of Cornelius, his re- 
 ply, his inquiry and address. But he 
 adds, that the great slieet moved toward 
 him and came near liim, upon which 
 he looked intently and deliberately ; 
 that the voice came from heaven ; that 
 six brethren accompanied him, and 
 that he rememl)ered the word of tlie 
 Lord (yer. 16), when the Holy Spirit de- 
 scended. He lays special stress upon 
 his prayinrj when the vision came, the 
 providential coincidence of time and 
 circumstances in this wonderful exper- 
 M 
 
 ience, the command of the Holy Spirit, 
 and the promised baptism of tlie Spirit. 
 And while he omits the name Corne- 
 lius, and his oflice, as perhaps offensive 
 to the stricter Jews, he speaks emj)liat- 
 ically of the aufjel that apj)eared to 
 him. (ver. i:!.) Such a comi)arison of 
 tile two accounts gives strong proof of 
 the artless simplicity, naturalness, and 
 perfect truthfulness of the wiiole nar- 
 rative. (Compare Author's Hariaonic 
 Arrangement, \ 19, 20, 21.) 
 
 1. This chapter is closely connected 
 with the preceding. Peter apjiears to 
 have returned to Jojipa, from whence 
 he soon after went up to Jerusalem, 
 taking Avith him the brethren who ac- 
 companied him to Caisarea. (ver. v.-.) 
 The apostles and brethren that 
 were in, rather, throufjhoat Judea. 
 Some were in Jerusalem and others in 
 various parts of the province of Judea ; 
 and some ]>robably going here and 
 there, like Peter, jireaching the gospel. 
 Heard that the Gentiles, or hea- 
 then, had received the word of 
 God — as contained in the gospel. It is 
 implied that they had both embraced it 
 and professed it. The news was st^irt- 
 ling, and jiroduced a profound sensa- 
 tion ; and must have spread rapidly, as 
 the event occurred in the capital of the 
 province. Naturally the apostles and 
 brethren would rejoice in hearing of 
 the conversion of others. But the 
 blessings of the gospel had reached 
 Gentiles who had not first become 
 Jews, and here was the ground of sur- 
 prise and misapprehension. 
 
 2. When Peter was come to 
 Jerusalem. He was hastened, it 
 would seem, by the exciting reports of 
 ids receiving the uncircumcised into 
 the church. That he went uj) ])repared 
 to meet objections and discussions ap- 
 pears from his taking the six brethren 
 with him. (ver. 12.) They of the 
 circumcision — eitlier the Jewish be- 
 lievers as in 10 : 4.'), who were charac- 
 terized for the tenacity with which 
 they held to the necessity of circumcis- 
 ion, or those whose zeal for the law 
 
THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XI. 
 
 ^they that were of the circunicision con- 
 
 3 tended with him, saying, "Thou wmtest 
 in to men uncircumtised, and didst eat 
 with them. 
 
 4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the 
 beginning, and expounded it fby order 
 
 5 unto them, saying, el was in the city of 
 Jop{>a praying : and in a trance I saw a 
 vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had 
 been a great sheet, let down from heaven 
 by four corners ; and it came even to nu- ; 
 
 6 upon the which when I had fasientd 
 mine eyes, I considered and saw lour- 
 
 footed beasts of the earth, and wild 
 beasts, and creeping things, and lowls of 
 
 7 the air. And I heard a voice saying unto 
 
 8 me, Arise, Peter; slay, and eat. But I 
 said, Kot so, Lord : ''for nothing common 
 or unclean hath at any time entered into 
 
 9 my mouth. But the voice answered me 
 again from heaven, What Goil hath 
 cleansed, that call not thou common. 
 
 10 And this was done three times : and all 
 
 11 were drawn up again into heaven. And, 
 behold, immediately there were three 
 men already come unto the house where 
 
 d ch. 10 : 45 ; Gal. 2 : 12. 
 
 I ch. 10 : 2:J, 28. f Luke 1:3. b ch. 10 : 9-18. h Kom. 14 : 14. 
 
 shortly after originated a Judaizing 
 
 party. (IS: 1,24; Gal. S :l-6, 12; 6: 12.) The 
 
 tirst view best sustained by critical au- 
 thorities. And when Peter, etc., rather 
 favors tlie latter view. While the 
 ajiostlcs and brethren generally were 
 surprised and puzzled by the wondrous 
 displays of divine grace, those who 
 were the greatest sticklers and most 
 zealous for the law, were doubtless the 
 leaders in contending with Peter. 
 
 3. The substance of the charges 
 against Peter. Thou wentcst into, 
 the society of men uncircumcised, 
 putting yourself on an equality witli 
 them. Men uncircumciscd is an 
 expression often used in indignation 
 and contempt. (1 ph. 2 : n ) And didst 
 eat Avith them. This familiar and 
 social fellowshif) was the leading 
 offence, and involved all the rest. (See 
 on 10: 28.) They do not condemn Peter 
 for preaching the gospel to Gentiles, 
 for Jesus had commanded tliat it should 
 be preached to all nations, but for 
 doing it in such a way as to shock their 
 cherished ideas of what was pure and 
 lawful. 
 
 4. Peter replies calmly, simply re- 
 lating his experience in the matter, 
 showing tliat the tiling was evidently 
 from God. His experience speaks for 
 itself. The superhuman manifestations 
 left no doul>t concerning the divine 
 will. The repetition also shows the 
 importance attached to these facts in 
 the conflict of the gospel with Juda- 
 izing tendencies. From the begin- 
 ning — it was of great importance that 
 Peter should set forth all the facts in 
 the order of their occurrence. (See 3 : 24 , 
 
 18 : 23; Luke 1 : 3.) 
 
 5. It was necessary therefore that 
 Peter should state the place Joppa 
 
 (9: 36), and the fact that he was pray- 
 ing, when he had this remarkable ex- 
 j)erience. In a trance I saw a 
 vision — language which would com- 
 mend itself to tlie Jewish mind, in ac- 
 cordance with their ideas of divine 
 manifestations. It came even to me 
 — an important addition to his previous 
 account, showing that the vision was 
 not distant, nor indistinct, (see ou 10 : 
 9-n.) 
 
 6. Upon the which when I had 
 fastened mine eyes — into ichich 
 descending vessel, 1 (jazcd, intently, 
 and considered Avhat there was therein. 
 Another important addition, showing 
 that he saw everything distinctly, and 
 there could have been no mi.stake. 
 Then follows tlie description of 10 : 12. 
 
 7. I heard a voice — indicating 
 that it was audible. 
 
 8. The answer varies in form from 
 10 : 14, but is the same in substance. 
 A good illustration of how the same 
 idea may be variously and truthfully 
 stated. 
 
 9. Answered — more vivid than the 
 form of expression in 10 : 15. From 
 heaven. Peter adds this fact, thus 
 giving emphasis to the divine origin 
 of the voice. 
 
 10. Instead of " received up " (10 : is) 
 Peter u.ses the ]>]irase drawn up 
 again, as by cords into heaven. 
 (w: 11.) Peter describes it as he actually 
 saw it. 
 
 11. Without referring to his perplex- 
 ity regarding the vision, or to the in- 
 quiries of the messengers for the house 
 of Simon the tanner (10 : is, 19), Peter 
 briefly and vividly calls attention to 
 the remarkable coincidence of the arri- 
 val, Behold immediately there 
 were three men already come 
 
Cn.XJ J 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 179 
 
 12 I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. And 
 ' the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing 
 doubling. Moreover ^ these six brethren 
 accompanied me; and we entered into 
 
 13 the nian'.s house- 'and he showed us how 
 he had seen "> an angel in his house, 
 which stood and said unto him, Send men 
 
 to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose sur- 
 
 14 name is Feter; who shall tell thee words, 
 whereby thou and all thy house shall be 
 
 15 saved. And as I began to speak, the 
 Holy Spirit fell on them, " as on us at the 
 
 16 beginning. Then remembered I the word 
 of the Lord, how that he said, "John 
 
 eh. 10 . 19, 20; 15: 7; John 16 ; 13. k ch. 10 : 23. ich.l0:30. m Heb. 1 : 14. nob. 
 2 : 4 ; 10 : 44. <> ch. 1 : 5 ; 19 : 4; Matt. 3 : 11 ; John 1 : 2U, 33, 
 
 unto the house Avhere I Avas, 
 
 showing the provideutial liand of God. 
 Every clatise of this narrative is au 
 argument. 
 
 12. (See on 10 : JO, '.'3.) Nothing doubt- 
 ing — making no scruph, ; or, according 
 to another reading, preferred by West- 
 cott and Ilort, making no diiifinction 
 between Jews and Gentiles. These 
 six brethren accompanied nie — 
 two facts acUlitional to ])revious narra- 
 tive are stated : That the brethren who 
 went with him to Cicsarea were six in 
 number, and that they came with him 
 to Jerusalem, perhaps as witnej^ses and 
 to verify his statements. Notice also 
 how Peter omits everything not neces- 
 sary to his j)urpose, and briefly says, 
 Ave entered into the man's house, 
 the justification of tlie act lieing found 
 in what he had just said, and confirmed 
 by what follows, lie also simply terms 
 Cornelius the innn, without mentioning 
 his Roman name or his military rank. 
 These would have weakened the per- 
 suasive power of his S])eech. 
 
 13. (seeouio 3i)-:;2.) And he showed 
 us, to/d us, how he had seen an 
 angel. Instead of tlie indefinite an 
 there should be the definite expression, 
 the angel, not only known to the reader 
 (w -ii) ; but implying tiiat Peter's ears, 
 had heard the story of the angelic ai)pear- 
 ance to Cornelius. In his house — 
 the very house Peter entered. Suggest- 
 ing, that if an angel had entered the 
 house of a (Jentile on an errand of 
 grace, surely Peter should not hesitate 
 to follow. Merely, send to Joppa, 
 men being omitted according to the 
 best critical authorities. 
 
 14. This is fuller than 10 : 22, and 
 shows more clearly the nature of the in- 
 formation which Cornelius desired. 
 His longing was to be saved, and to 
 know hoHK (See on 10- 35.) He needed 
 that peace and restftil assurance which 
 the gospel only can give. " Peter 
 
 declares, not that Cornelitis was not a 
 sinner, but that God had accepted him 
 through Christ ; Cornelius was already 
 justified, but he needed to know (1) 
 that he was saved, and (2) Iww he was 
 saved ; and Peter was sent to tell him 
 of the fact, and of the method, of his 
 salvation in Christ." (Dr. A. H. 
 Strong, Systeviatic Theology, p. 296.) 
 And all thy house — for tliey also had 
 shared in the religious convictions and 
 desires of Cornelius. There is no 
 foundation here for salvation of chil- 
 dren on the faith of parents, for iu 10 : 
 2, it is said that all his house feared 
 God. 
 
 15. And as I began to speak — 
 showing that he intended to say more 
 tlian in 10 : 35-44, but was suddenly in- 
 terrupted by the descent of the lloly 
 Si)irit. As on us at the beginning 
 — with like manifestations of power. 
 (ill : 46.) Peter regarded Pentecost as a 
 starting point, the time of the organi- 
 zation of the visible church. It is a 
 fair inference that no such dis])lay of 
 the Spirit had been given since Pente- 
 cost, else Peter would not have gone so 
 far back. We may al.so infer that we 
 are not to expect a re))etition of such a 
 miraculous display of the Spirit. The 
 Spirit now is given to believers to dwell 
 in their hearts as a Sanctifier, and as 
 a Comforter, or Helper. (Rom. s ; s, u.) 
 
 16. Then remembered I the 
 word of the Lord. IIow natural 
 and life-like, for Peter to refer to tliis 
 process of his o\vn mind, when the 
 words of the Lord (i : o) came to him 
 with an enlarged meaning and a]>plica- 
 tion. The promise, " Ye shall be bap- 
 tized with the Holy Spirit, not many 
 days hence," he had been accustomed 
 to limit to Pentecost and the organiza- 
 tion of the church at Jerusalem. Now 
 he sees that it has a broader applica- 
 tion, — that Gentiles are to share equally 
 with the Jews, and that Gentile 
 
180 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cit. XL 
 
 indeed baptized with water ; but rye shall 
 
 17 \k baptized with the Holy Spirit. i For- 
 asmuch then as God gave theiu the like 
 gift as /le did unto us, who believed on llie 
 ]x)rd Jesus Christ ; ' what was I, that I 
 could withstand God? 
 
 18 When they heard these tliiug?:, they 
 held their peace, and glorified God, say- 
 
 ing, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles 
 granted repentance unto life. 
 
 The gospel alAnfioch; minia'ry of Barnahns 
 and iSua' in iliat city. 
 
 19 'NOW they which were scattered abroad 
 upon the persecution that arose about 
 Stephen travelled as far as "Phenice, and 
 
 P Isa. 44 : 3 ; Joel 2 : 28. q ch. 15 : 8, 9. ' ch. 10 : 47. = Kom. 10 : 12, l;j; 15 : 9, IG. 
 
 ' oh. 8 : 1-4; see Matt. 10 : 23. " ch. 21 : 2. 
 
 churches are to be organized, on equal 
 footing with the Jerusalem church, and 
 not dependent on it. Moreover, may 
 we not infer that the baptism iu the 
 Holy Spirit was attended by such 
 miraculous manifestations as those of 
 Pentecost and at Ciesarea, since Peter 
 limits it to those two occasions ? And 
 that the promise was fulfilled and lim- 
 ited to tho.se two events? Notice also 
 tluit Peter omits his own discourse at 
 Ciesarea. It was of little importance 
 what he had there said, but it was of 
 the fir-st moment, what God did. 
 
 17. Forasmuch then, etc. If 
 therefore Hod gave the equal, or the 
 same gift. Peter now makes his api)li- 
 cation and clinches the argument. 
 Unto us — unto us having believed 
 upon the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, as 
 believers. The same gift indicated the 
 same faith in them as in us. Notice 
 how Peter also had laid stress on faitli 
 in his address at Cwsarea. (io:43.) 
 What Avas I that I could with- 
 stand, or 0]ipose God. Tlie argument 
 is: as God himself had determined the 
 matter, o])position would have been 
 both futile and presumptuous. Dr. 
 Alexander thus sums uji the case : 
 " Since then it is evident from what I 
 have related, that the question was 
 determined by divine authority, and 
 wliolly independent of me, nay, iu 
 total o]>position to my previous opinions 
 and desires, I leave it to yourselves 
 wlu'ther I could have done otherwise, 
 ami whether I am justly liable to cen- 
 sure." 
 
 18. The effect of Peter's defence was 
 instantaneous and complete. They 
 held their peace — a solemn silence 
 ensues, but it is soon followed with 
 prai.se, giving glory to God. Then, 
 unlikely as it .seems to us, hath God 
 also to the Gentiles, the heathen, 
 granted repentance uuto life, 
 
 which is necessary to salvation and 
 which secures eternal life. (2 Cor. 7 : 10.) 
 See on 2 : 38, where repentance is com- 
 manded, and 5 : 31, where as here it is 
 represented as a divine gift, the dispo- 
 sition to re]K'nt being awakened by 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 The change of views in the Jerusalem 
 church in regard to Gentiles seemed 
 complete. Yet a few years after tins, 
 ])erliaps from bretlireu not present at 
 this conference, at Jerusalem, arose a 
 Jadaizing faction, laying special stress 
 on circumcision, and even claiming the 
 necessity of it to salvation. (i5:i.) And 
 even Peter, though he Avas the first one 
 to extend fellowship to Gentiles on 
 equal terms with Jews, yielded for a 
 short time and to a certain extent to 
 these false teachers. (Gai. 2:ii-u.) How 
 important was it then that God should 
 have at the very first converted Ptter, 
 the strong Jew, and the apostle to tiic 
 circumcision, to the great truth tliat 
 God is no respecter of persons, (lo: i".) 
 
 19-30. The Gospel at Antioch. 
 The Mixistky of Bakxauas and 
 Savl in that city. Briefly tracing 
 events from the death of Stephen to 
 the charitiible mission of Barnabas 
 and Saul to Jeru.salem, a period of 
 ab(Uit nine years. 
 
 19. Luke now returns to bis genenil 
 narrative of the early progress of ti <• 
 gospel. Going back to the death ( f 
 Stephen as a starting ]>oint, be bast< ns 
 toward the introiluction of the go.'^j'i I 
 into Antioeli, which was to bee()nie 
 illustrious as the great centre of nis- 
 sionary ojierations in the Gentile 
 world. Already he had noticed tlie 
 extension of the gospel into Sanuiria 
 ('':4f) as a result of tlie scattering of 
 the disciples by the persecution, or 
 tribulation tliat arose on account of 
 Stephen. We have also intimations of 
 the progress of the gospel in Judea, 
 
Ch. XI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 181 
 
 Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word 
 20 to none but unto ihe Jews only. And 
 
 some of them were iiieu of Cyprus and 
 Cyrene, which, when they were come 
 
 outside of Jerusalem. (9: 31,32.) These 
 persecuted disciples pushed tlieir mis- 
 sionary labors outside of Judeaup to 
 the time of the conversion of Corne- 
 lius, preaching to the Jews only. Their 
 course is traced northward, taking in 
 Ph(£nicia, Cyprus, and Antiocli. Phe- 
 nice, or Phtenieia was an inijiortant 
 commercial country along the Mediter- 
 ranean, about twenty miles wide and 
 one hundred and twenty miles long, 
 the princijial cities of which were 
 Tyre and Sidon. It was ouce visited 
 by our Lord. (Matt. 15 ; 21-28.) Its limits 
 varied at different times. Cyprus was 
 a large island in the Mediterranean, 
 about sixty miles from the coast of 
 Palestine. (seoii4;36.) It was the 
 birthplace of Barnabas. Antioch 
 stood near the angle formed by the 
 coast of Syria and Asia Minor, on the 
 river Orontes, about fifteen miles from 
 its mouth, and about three hundred 
 miles from Jerusalem. It was the third 
 in rank among the cities of the Roman 
 world, containing probably a popula- 
 tion of five hundred thousand, the cap- 
 ital of the Roman province of Syria, 
 and the residence of the Pro-consul of 
 the province. It was illustrious for 
 men of great learning ; and the poet 
 Archias owed his birth and education 
 to this city. " It was famous for the 
 beauty of its position and the S})k'ndor 
 of its buildings, and infamous for the 
 profligacy and fraud, sorcery and ef- 
 feminacy of its people." It contained 
 a mixed population — the Greeks, the 
 more wealthy ; the Latins, the olBcials, 
 civil and military ; the Syrians, the 
 working classes and slaves ; antl the 
 Jews, in large numbers, who occupied 
 a separate quarter under their own 
 governor. The Roman road along the 
 coast of the Mediterranean made Anti- 
 och easy of access from Judea. (see fur 
 
 ther on 6 5.) 
 
 20. The preaching at Antioch and 
 in other places thither, related in the 
 
 E receding verse, may be regarded as 
 aving occurred before the conversion 
 of Cornelius, for the missionaries 
 preached according to their custom, to 
 the Jews only. The preaching to Gen- 
 
 tiles at Antioch, related in this verse, 
 must have taken place after Cornelius' 
 conversion, for Peter was the one who 
 formally ojjcned the kingdom of God 
 to Gentiles. (i5:7.) Men of Cyprus 
 — Jews or proselytes who were natives 
 of Cyprus. (2i:"i6.) And Cyrene — a 
 city of Libya on the north coast of 
 Africa, west of Egypt, where the Jews 
 were very numerous. The Cyrenians 
 had a synagogue in Jerusalem (6:9), 
 some of tliem were in Jerusalem at 
 Pentecost (2 : 10), and one at least at the 
 passover immediately preceding. (Luke 
 23 : 26.) Cyprus and Cyrene were united 
 in one province about this time. Spake 
 unto the Grecians — the Ilellemsts, 
 or foreign Jews ; but the text should 
 rather be. Spake to the Greeks, that is, 
 to the Gentiles. We meet here the 
 most important textual difliculty in the 
 Acts of the Apostles. The majority of 
 manuscripts read Hellenists, and it is 
 adopted by Westcott and Hort. A few 
 manuscripts and some versions read 
 Greeks, which is sup])orted by internal 
 evidence. For this reading alone 
 brings out the sharp contrast between 
 those who had now received the gospel 
 and those who received it previously. 
 " It would have been nothing new to 
 have preached at this time to the Greek- 
 speaking Jews." (Hackett.) This 
 reading therefore is adopted by the 
 majority of commentators and textual 
 critics. " Those who ado])t the other 
 reading make the contrast between 
 Hellenists of this verse and resident 
 Jews of the preceding verse. Thus 
 Alexander : " But why may he not be 
 simply understood as saying that when 
 the refugees arrived at Antioch, such 
 of their number as were Hellenists, or 
 foreign Jews, preached to the Jews of 
 their own class whom they found there, 
 as the Hebrew or native exiles had 
 done on the way to their own country- 
 men ? " But tills verse not only pre- 
 sents something in contrast to that 
 stated in ver. 19, but also something 
 additional and new. And the preach- 
 ing of the gospel to Jews who spoke 
 Greek, or to proselytes could not be 
 spoken of as a new thing, for that had 
 
]82 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XI. 
 
 to AiitioL-h, spake uuto »the Grecians, 
 
 21 preachiug the Lord Jesus. And J the 
 hand of the Lord was with them : and a 
 great number believed, and ^ turned uuto 
 the Lord. 
 
 22 Then tidings of these things came unto 
 
 the ears of the church which was in Jeru- 
 salem : and they sent forth » Barnabas, 
 that he should go as far as Antioch. 
 23 Who, when he came, and had seen tlie 
 grace of God, was glad, and •> exhorted 
 them all, that with = purpose of heart 
 
 ; ch. 6 : 1 ; II : 29. J ch. 2 : 47 ; Lukt^ 1 : G(i. 
 
 ch. 9 : 3.5 ; 1 Thess. 1 
 
 U : 27. >> ch. 13 : 43 ; 14 : 22 ; Dent. 10 : 20 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 5». 
 
 » ch. 4 : 36, 37 
 
 Dan. 1 : 8. 
 
 taken place at Pentecost. Indeed, the 
 only thing that fully meets Luke's dis- 
 tinction as to the two cla.sses of 
 preachers, is, that the Greeks addressed 
 at Antioch were heathen, and not 
 merely proselytes, for the latter had be- 
 come incorporated into Judai.sm by 
 circumcision. Another serious objec- 
 tion to this reading is, that then this 
 passage contains no mention of the ex- 
 tension of the gospel among the Gen- 
 tiles of Antioch, which afterward be- 
 came the seat of Gentile Christianity. 
 Preaching the Lord Jesus — as 
 Lord of all (lo.se) and Jesuit, the Sav- 
 iour. (Matt. 1:21) Appropriate preach- 
 ing to Gentiles. 
 
 21. The hand of the Lord— the 
 hand is a symbol of power. (Luke i : 6«; 
 John 12: 38.) ' AVas witli them — giving 
 tokens of his approval, perhaps with 
 miraculous manifestations, as of heal- 
 ing, as in 4 : 30. The princii)al idea, 
 however, is that of spiritual i)0wer in 
 connection with the jiroclamation of 
 the truth, in conviction and conver- 
 sion. Hence a sjreat number be- 
 lieved — or, he/irrl)uj the jireaching, 
 tiirned from their fulse faith and 
 heathen j)racticts unto the Lord, 
 unto Christ as their Lord. That these 
 were uncircumeised Gentiles is evident. 
 But whether they were idolaters, or 
 seekers after the true God is uncertain. 
 Many Gentiles during this jjcriod were 
 proselytes and many, like Cornelius 
 and his friends, were more or less con- 
 vinced that Jehovah was the true God. 
 From such the early Gentile converts 
 were probably gathered for the most 
 part. ( u : 1 ; 18 : * ; Job"> 12 : 20.) The con- 
 version of these Gentiles at Antioch 
 was probablv almost simultaneous with 
 that of Cornelius. The Christian com- 
 munity formetl rapidly, and while that 
 of Ctesarea was doubtless first in time, 
 this at Antioch soon became first in 
 importance. 
 
 'Z'Z, The conversion of Cornelius and 
 
 this work among Gentiles at Antioch 
 were providentially fitted to teach the 
 church at Jerusalem the full meaning 
 of our Lord's commission in Matt. 28 : 
 19 and Acts 1 : 8. Then tidings of 
 these things — rather, and the report 
 of them, of the Gentile converts and 
 their teachers. The local church in 
 Jerusalem continued to be the great 
 center of influence and of missionary 
 operations. Its importance arose very 
 largely from the fact that it was the first 
 Christian church, and that it included 
 the apostles, who were inspired teach- 
 ers and organizers. In this case they 
 send not an apostle as to the Samaritans 
 (8:U), but a teacher who, from his 
 character and his nation, w as peculiarly 
 fitted for the mission of looking after 
 the work at Antioch and correcting 
 any error. Barnabas, being "a son 
 of exhortation " (* : 36), having rare gifts 
 of speech and exhortation, a man of 
 great benevolence and a native of 
 Cyprus, was well fitted for a mission 
 requiring careful management, where 
 also fellow Cyprians were laboring. 
 Being also a friend of Paul (9:27), he 
 would likely be in sympathy w ith the 
 work among Gentiles. He was thus 
 selected, not on ofiicial, but on personal 
 grounds. That he should go as 
 far as Antioch — visiting the breth- 
 ren on the way. 
 
 23. Had seen the grace of Ciod 
 — toward Gentiles in their conversion. 
 Some surprise seems to be indicated by 
 the language. However this may be, 
 he found nothing to censure or correct. 
 He saw no reason to doubt the work as 
 of God, and therefore he rejoiced. 
 And exhorted them all who had 
 believed (ver. 21), whether Jew or Gen- 
 tile, without any reference to circum- 
 cision or uncircumcision. He showed a 
 broad and loving spirit, and did his 
 work thoroughly. He also distin- 
 guished himself as " a son of exhorta- 
 tion." (4: '6) With purpose of 
 
Ch. XI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 183 
 
 24 they would cleave unto the Lord. For he 
 Wrts a good uian, and "Tall of the Holy 
 Spirit and of faith. 'And niuuh people 
 was added unto tlie Lord. 
 
 25 Then departed Barnabas to 'Tarsus, for 
 
 26 to seek Saul: and when he bad found 
 hiui, he brought biin unto Antioch. And 
 it laine to pas.s, that a whole year they 
 assembled themselves with the church, 
 and taught much people. And the disci- 
 
 d ch. 6:5; Gal. 5 : 22, 23. • ch. 5 : 14. f ch. 9 : 30. 
 
 heart— with sincere and earnest de- 
 termination. They Avould cleave 
 unto the Lord— continue to he stead- 
 fastly devoted to the Lord, lie has no 
 new doctrines to pro)>ound, no new 
 (hities to enforce. He .<,'ives the work 
 liis unqualitied apiiroval. 
 
 24. For introduces the reason, not 
 why Barnahas had been sent to An- 
 tioch, but why he had exhorted the con- 
 verts to perseverance and progress. He 
 was a good man — an excellent man, 
 of kind and noble disposition, aI)ove 
 envy and censoriousness, and read}' for 
 every good work. Full of the Holy 
 Spirit and faith — similar to what is 
 said of Stephen (6:5), an earnest and 
 deeply spiritually-minded man, im- 
 bued with the Spirit, and exercising 
 strong faith. As a consequence he was 
 an efficient worker, and through the 
 blessing of the Lord, many new con- 
 verts were added. 
 
 25. The work became so great that 
 Barnabas saw that he needed a helper. 
 He who had sent Saul away to the Gen- 
 tiles (22:21), doubtless now directed the 
 mind of Barnabas to him. Barnal)as 
 very likely knew something of this 
 vision of Saul. About four years had 
 passed since Saul went to Tarsus. (» : m.) 
 This period of his life is passed over in 
 silence. But he could not have been 
 idle. It is probable that he organized 
 those churches in Cilicia, mentioned 
 in 15 : 41, and that about the time of 
 the conversion of Cornelius he himself 
 began to preach the gospel to the un- 
 circumcised. At first he may have 
 given special attention to proselytes, 
 till under providential and divine di- 
 rection he preached the gospel to the 
 heathen. Paul's general summary of 
 his work in Rom. 1.5 : 19, 20, and of 
 the perils and persecutions through 
 which he had passed (■! Cor. ii : 2:^-27) may 
 be referred partly to this period. 
 Tarsus, (seeonn: I'l.) Tlils is the last 
 mention of Saul at Tarsus in the New 
 Testament. He may afterward have 
 
 visited the city, when he went through 
 Syria and Cilicia, confirming the 
 churches (is : 41 ), or possibly again when 
 returning to Ephesus from Antioch, on 
 his third missionary journey. (i8:2:i; 
 19:1.) To seek Saul — not knowing 
 where he might find him. 
 
 2G. And when he had found 
 him — implying a search for him on 
 the part of Barnabas. He would natu- 
 rally go to Tarsus first. Quite likely 
 Barnabas found Saul working quietly 
 and faitlifully for the Lord in one of the 
 citiesof Cilicia, with an organized baud 
 of brethren around him. And brought 
 him to Antioch — imidymg a per- 
 .suasive influence of Barnabas upon 
 Saul, to which the latter yielded. From 
 this point Saul rises into prominence in 
 the Acts, as an apostle. How much he 
 owed to Barnabas, both in his introduc- 
 tion to the disciples at Jerusalem 
 (9 : 27), and at Antioch ! " The character 
 of Barnabas is set before us in a most 
 attractive light in that he brought out 
 of retirement one whose eminence was 
 sure to supersede and eclipse his own. 
 This is forcibly noted by Calvin." 
 (HowsoN AND Spence.) His great 
 worth and influence in the early church 
 has been too much overlooked. Two 
 facts have thus far been stated as re- 
 sults of Barnabas going to Antioch, a 
 great ingathering and the inducing 
 Saul to come to the work. It was fitting 
 that two should thus be associated, ami 
 it was conducive to greater success. Our 
 Lord sent out disci])les, two ))y two. 
 (MMk 6: 7; Luke 10:1.) The apostles Sent 
 two to Samaria. (« : u.) 
 
 Two additional facts are .stated, as the 
 result of the joint lal>ors of Barnabas 
 and Saul : Large congregations with 
 increased success, and the church 
 coming into such prominence as a dis- 
 tinct community as to receive the dis- 
 tinctive name of Christian. This work 
 went on for a whole year, and during 
 this time the dif^ciTples first received 
 the name of Christians. The Ian- 
 
184 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XI. 
 
 pies swere called Christians first in Anti- 
 och. 
 
 Famine in Judcea. Help sentjrom Antiorh. 
 27 AND in these days came •> prophets 
 
 28 from Jerusalem untoAntioch. And there 
 stood up one of them named > Agabus, add 
 signified by the Spirit that there should 
 be great dearth throughout all the world: 
 which came to pass in the days of Claud- 
 
 I ch. 20 : 2G ; Eph. 3 : 15 ; 1 Peter 4 : 14, 16. i> ch. 
 12 : 10, 28 ; Eph. 4 : 11. 
 
 13 : 1 ; 15 : 32 ; 21 : 9 ; Rom. 12 : 6 : 1 Cor. 
 i ch. 21 : 10. 
 
 guage implies that they did not assume 
 the name, nor was it divinely given, 
 for then it would have been used more 
 frequently, whereas it is a faet that the 
 name occurs only in two other passages 
 in the New Testament i-'e : 2k ; i Peier i -. is), 
 and is applied to them by others. (See 
 James 2 : 7.) Luke's allusion to the origin 
 of the name, however, implied that, 
 when he wrote, it had ol)tained consid- 
 erable currency. It could not have been 
 given by Jews, for they called the disci- 
 ples Nazarenes (24:5), and they would 
 not have bestowed upon them a title 
 which implied that they were followers 
 of the Messiah. Its form, like Hero- 
 diaus, seems to indicate a Latin origin. 
 Hence some suppose that the public 
 authorities at Antioch gave the name 
 to this growing community, which was 
 bound together by allegiance to one 
 " Christus." Po.^sibly, as others sup- 
 pose, it was at fir.«t a name of derision, 
 for the inhabitants of Antioch are said 
 to have been noted for thus employing 
 names derisively. Otliers still regard 
 it as a term of oj»j)robrium. "The 
 name was first given to the worshipers 
 of Jesus by the Gentiles, but from the 
 second century onward, a(ce])ted by 
 them as a title of honor." (Thayer, 
 Greek Lex.) This new name indicates 
 a considerable community, and the ex- 
 istence of a ehurcli of Clirist indejiend- 
 ent of Judaism. Ilencefortli the church 
 at Antioch becomes in apostolic histoiy 
 the mother cliurch of Gentile, as Jeiu- 
 salem was of Jewish Christendom. Yet 
 not in antagonism, but as allies and 
 hel]>ers of eadi other, (ver. 27 : so; is : i f.) 
 27. The incident related in this and 
 the three following verses is introduc- 
 tory to what follows, and also forms a 
 eojinecting link between the two chap- 
 ters. And in these days — wliile 
 Barnabas and Saul were teaching at 
 Antioch. (Ver. 25, st;.) Came prophets 
 tVoni Jerusalem nnto Antioch. 
 Whether they were sent, or came of 
 
 their owo accord, is not told us. Piob- 
 ably led thither under the guidance of 
 the Spirit. Agabus — a prophet — that 
 is, one who speaks forth — a sjiokesman 
 for God. He was an inspired teacher, 
 whose duties were by no means limited 
 to foretelling future events, but included 
 messages of instruction, w'arning, and 
 direction regarding the cause and king- 
 dom of God and human salvation. 
 (15:32.) While those who spoke with 
 tongues rose into a state of excitement 
 and ecstasy, often so far losing their in- 
 tellectual consciousness as to need an 
 interpreter (1 Cor. 12 : lO; u : 13), the prophet 
 with less excitement, and conscious 
 of all his mental exercises, but filled 
 with the Sjiirit, sjioke by God's author- 
 ity and command, and needed no one 
 to interpret. (1 cor. u : 4, 19.) Sometimes 
 women were i>roi)hets. (21 :9; see 2: 17. 
 
 IS; 2 Kings 22 : 14.) 
 
 28. Agabus is mentioned only here, 
 and in 21 : Kl. Nothing more is known 
 of him. Signified by the Spirit — 
 made knotrn tliroiigh the aid and illumi- 
 nation of the Holv Sjjirit. Compare in 
 the life of Paul, "16 : (J, 7 ; 20 : 22, 23. 
 A great dearth, scarcity of harvei«ts, 
 famive. Throughout all the world 
 ^upon all thevnliahited earth, a phrase 
 rather vaguely used of the whole Eoman 
 P'mpirc. (Luke 2:1.) It seems to liave 
 been used sometimes in a restricted 
 sense, meaning the land of Palestine 
 and adjacent countries, (isa. lo: 2:1.) But 
 it need not be thus restricted here. 
 Which came to pass in the days 
 of Claudius Caesar. Ccrsar is not 
 found in many important mantiscripts 
 and versions, and Mas ])robal»ly added 
 as an exjdaiiatioii by some transcril)er. 
 The P"ni]»eror Claudius reigned from 
 A. D. 41-54. During his reign different 
 ))artsof theenijiiie suffered successively 
 from severe famines. There had been 
 a scarcity of provisions at Eome in the 
 first and .second year of his reign. 
 According to Eusebius a great famine 
 
Ch. XI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 185 
 
 29 ius Ciesar. Then the disciples, ^ every 
 man according lo his ability, determined 
 to send ' relief unto the brethren which 
 
 30 dwelt in Jud*a: which also thry did, 
 and sent it to ™ the elders by the hands 
 of Barnabas and Saul. 
 
 k 2 Cor. 8 : 2-4, 12-U. 
 
 I Rom. 15 : 25-27 ; 1 Cor. IG : 1. 
 
 Jameij 5 : 14; 1 Peter 5:1. 
 
 ■ ch. 16 : 4 ; 20 : 17 ; Titus 1:5; 
 
 prevailed in Greece iu the ninth year 
 of his reign ; and in the eleventh year 
 famine was felt at Rome, according to 
 Tacitus and Suetonius. One that 
 seriously affected Judea and Jerusalem 
 began about A. D. 44, and continued 
 three or four years. According to 
 Josephus this " great famine occurred 
 wlien Cuspius Fadus and Tiberius 
 Alexander were procurators. During 
 which Queen Helena of Actiabene, a 
 Jewish proselyte, came to Jerusalem, 
 wliicli proved of great advantage. 
 "For whereas a famine did oi)press 
 them at that time, and many people 
 died for want of what was necessary 
 to procure food withal. Queen Helena 
 sent some of her servants to Alexan- 
 dria with money to buy a great quan- 
 tity of grain, and others of them to 
 Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs. 
 And as soon as they were come back, 
 and had brought those provisions, 
 which was done very quickly, she dis- 
 tributed food to those who were in want 
 of it, and left a most excellent memor- 
 ial behind of her benefaction, which 
 she bestowed on the whole nation." 
 (Aiitiq. XX. 2 : 5.) These various 
 local famines occurring one after the 
 other in different parts of the Roman 
 Empire may very justly be viewed by 
 the eye of prophecy as a great famine 
 coming upon all the earth. 
 
 29." The effect of the prediction upon 
 the church at Antioch is now given, 
 sliowing the fraternal relation exi.stiug 
 between the churches. The disci- 
 ples — a common designation of Cliris- 
 tians throughout the Acts. (6 •. i ; 9 : i ; 
 15:10.) It is not here stated whether 
 they immediately sent their gifts, or 
 waited until they heard that the famine 
 had actually begun. The latter view 
 is the most proliable, for Agabiis did 
 not specify when the famine would 
 reach Judea, and from the next chap- 
 ter it would appear that the offerings 
 were sent to Jerusalem in the last year 
 of Herod, a. d. 44. Scarcity may have 
 been felt early in the year through the 
 
 failure of crops ; and the delegation 
 with their contributions would then 
 naturally come later, after the martyr- 
 dom of James, and the miraculous 
 deliverance of Peter, (i'-!:^.) Every 
 man — every one. The first element 
 in Christian giving. Each one gave 
 freely. According to his ability — 
 according as he was prospered. The 
 second element in Christian benevo- 
 lence. The contributions were entirely 
 voluntary, and each one for himself 
 determined conscientiously his own 
 share. The principle acted upon was 
 that afterward practiced and inculcated 
 
 by Paul. (1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8: 12.) UntO 
 
 the brethren — another designation of 
 Christians used frequently in the Acts. 
 (9 : 30 ; n : 10 ; 28 : 14, 15.) A fitting appella- 
 tion here. It was fitting tliat the more 
 prosperous should thus help their suf- 
 fering brethren. In Judea— not only 
 at Jerusalem, but in places outside, 
 since the famine was general. Antioch 
 was a wealthy commercial city, and it 
 is implied that the disci])les were in a 
 prosperous condition. In Jerusalem 
 the Sadducean and Pharisaic parties 
 formed the wealthy and prosjierous 
 classes. The Christians of Jerusalem 
 and Judea bad given largely in the 
 community of goods, and had suffered 
 by jiersecution, and originally may 
 have been gathered largely from the 
 humbler classes. The Christians at 
 Antioch showed, not only a brotherly 
 feeling, but also a sense of filial obliga- 
 tion to the mother church at Jerusalem. 
 This benevolent home work was pre- 
 paring the Antioch church for her later 
 foreign missionary work. 
 
 30. Which also they did — they 
 executed their determination at the 
 proper and needed time, by the 
 hands, through the agency of Bar- 
 nabas and Saul. This shows how 
 highly these two men were regarded by 
 the church at Antioch. How fitting 
 that the "son of consolation " i*--^) 
 should return with gifts; and that Saul 
 should thus minister to those whom, by 
 
186 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XI. 
 
 persecution, he had helped to impover- 
 ish. Sent it to the elders — who 
 could forward the supplies to the dea- 
 cons aud brethren in difierent places 
 for distribution, as necessity required. 
 
 This is the first mention of elders 
 connected witli the churches. While 
 the origin of deacons can be traced to 
 the clioosing of the Seven (6: if.), no 
 account is given of the origin of elders. 
 Some suppose that by elders here are 
 meant honorable and elderly men, in- 
 cluding the officials or deacons of the 
 churches in Judea, and that out of 
 those, as circumstances required, grew 
 the office of elder in distinction from 
 that of deacon. Others regard the 
 church at Jerusalem as modeled after 
 the .Jewisli synagogue. To this it may 
 be ol)jected : (1) That the model is not 
 exact. There was nothing in the syna- 
 gogue to correspond exactly with dea- 
 cons; and the "Chief of the syna- 
 gogue " has no corresponding office in 
 the church, mentioned in the New Tes- 
 tament. (2) The apostles, being in- 
 spired men, to whom was entrusted the 
 organization of the early church, would 
 not be likely to confine themselves to 
 the Jewish synagogue as a model. 
 Without doubt the synagogue exeru-d 
 an influence. When "the office of elder 
 first arose in the church, it being simi- 
 lar in the main to that in the syna- 
 gogue, it was natural that the accus- 
 tomed term for such an office should be 
 used. The terms elder, or presl)yter ; 
 and bishoji, overseer or pastor, are used 
 interchangeably in the New Testament. 
 Thus Paul designates the elders of 
 Ephesus overseers or bishops, (m : i'. 
 2f<.) In giving charge to Titus concern- 
 ing the ordination of this class, he calls 
 them interchangeably elders and l)ish- 
 ops. (Titus 1 : 5-7.) And Peter exhorts 
 elders to act as bishops or pastors of 
 the flock, (i Peters : 1-3.) The qualifica- 
 tions required of them were Identical. 
 
 (1 Tim. 3 ; 1-7; Titus 1 : 5.) OrdinatioU, 
 
 wliich Episcopacy claims as the pre- 
 rogative of a third and higher class of 
 church officer, the post-apo.stolic bish- 
 op, was conferred by elders ; for Timo- 
 thy was ordained by the presbytery, or 
 eldership, (i Tim. i -. u.) The term elder 
 was used more generally by Jewish 
 Christians, and pointed to the dignity 
 
 and authority of the office ; while Gen- 
 tile believers employed oftener the term 
 bishop or overseer, indicating rather the 
 character of the work. But however 
 styled, they were entrusted with the 
 oversight and guidance of the flock, 
 which are plainly the work of the pas- 
 tor. See fuller discussions on 14 : 23 ; 
 20 : 17. 
 
 This visit of Saul to Jerusalem was 
 the second after his conversion. In his 
 Epistle to the Galatiaus he omits this, 
 and speaks only of the first and third 
 journeys to Jerusalem. (Gni. i : i?.- 2:1.) 
 But Paul's object did not there require 
 him to mention all his journey. " In 
 the first chapter there he would prove 
 that as an apostle he was independent 
 of all human authority ; and in the 
 second chapter, that the other apostles 
 had conceded to him that independ- 
 ence. He had no occasion, therefore, 
 to recapitulate his entire history." 
 (Hackett.) There is thus no contra- 
 diction between Luke and Paul. At 
 the same time we see reasons for its 
 omission : It was not neces.saiy to speak 
 of it. Besides, the mention of this 
 visit would have been extraneous, and 
 really weakening to his subject. In 
 this Barnabas is rather the leader, but 
 in his first and third visits Paul's 
 apo.stolic character is recognized, (a : ao ; 
 
 2 : 21; 15 : 2; Gal. 2 : 7.) 
 
 Chronological Note. Paul was 
 converted in the latter part of the 
 reign of the Emperor Tiberius, who 
 died early in A. D. 37. In the year 36, 
 Pontius Pilate was dismissed by Vitel- 
 lius, the Legate or Governor of Syria, 
 and Warcellus was sent to l>e Procura- 
 tor in his stead. The same year Caia- 
 phas was deposed by Roman authority, 
 and succeeded by Jonathan. The year 
 after Marcellus made way for Marnl- 
 lus ; and Theophilus was made high 
 priest in place of his brother Jonathan. 
 Caligula succeeded Tiberius as Em- 
 peror, A. D. 37; Vitelliuswas recalled 
 from Syria, and Petroneus took his 
 place at Antioch. But during the year 
 37, it appears that Aretas, king of Ara- 
 bia, got jiossession of Damascus and 
 held it for a year or more. (2 Cor. 11 : 32.) 
 In A. D. 39 and 40, Caligula attempted 
 to force the Jews to worship him as 
 God, and commanded his statue to be 
 
Ch. XI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 187 
 
 placed ill the temple at Jerusalem. 
 Tlie feeling of liorror aroused by tliis 
 among the .Jews doulitless turned their 
 miuds from the growing conmuinities 
 of Christians throughout Palestine, 
 and coutriljuted to the rest they en- 
 joyed. But the murder of Caligula, 
 January 24th, A. D. 41, put a stop to 
 his infamous plans. He was succeeded 
 by Claudius, Vibuis Marsus is made 
 Governor of Syria at Antioch ; and 
 Herod Agrippa I. rules over the whole 
 territory which had been governed by 
 his grandfather, Herod the Great. (See 
 oa 12 : 1.) lu A. D. 44, Hcrod dies, and 
 Cuspius Fadus succeeds him as Procur- 
 ator of Judea. It was about this time 
 that Barnabas and Saul visited Jeru- 
 salem with their contributions. (12 : 
 
 •U, 25.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Peter recognized the authority of the 
 local church, and the right, not only of the 
 apostles, but also of other brethren, to ques- 
 tion his conduct. He certainly claimed no 
 papal authority. (Ver. 1-4; 15 : 4; 1 Peter 
 5:1.) 
 
 2 The apostles and early Christians had 
 many things to learn. So now, though rev- 
 elation is complete, the Spirit may guide us 
 from time to time to the better understand- 
 ing of the truth. (Ver. 1-4 ; John 16 : 12, 13.) 
 
 3. The way to meet and disanu prejudice 
 is by a calm and simple statement of facts. 
 (Ver. 4 ; 26 : 24-26.) 
 
 4. The servant of Christ should not re- 
 fuse to explain kindly and frankly to his 
 brethren any conduct or principle, which 
 may seem to them to be erroneous, and such 
 explanation should be received and con- 
 sidered in a similar spirit. (Ver. 4-17 ; 1 
 Cor. 10:32,33; 11:16.) 
 
 5. Peter gives a beautiful example of hu- 
 mility both at Csesarea and Jerusalem. (Ver. 
 4-17 ; 1 Peter 3 : 15, 16.) 
 
 6. We should seek and highly esteem the 
 ■pproval of brethren of good judgment and 
 acknowledged integrity. (Ver. 12; 1 Cor. 
 16 : 3.) 
 
 7. We should prayerfully seek and follow 
 the guidance of the Spirit and providence in 
 our work. (Ver. 12 ; 1 Peter 4 : 6.) 
 
 8. God has appointed the preaching of 
 the gospel as a means unto salvation. (Ver. 
 14 ; Rom. 10 : 14 ; 1 Cor 1 : 18.) 
 
 9. The presence and enjoyment of the 
 Holy Spirit is an evidence .of a new life. 
 (Ver. 15-17: 1 Cor. 3 : 16.) 
 
 10. As the newly born believer is to receive 
 j water baptism so the newly born church re- 
 ceived the baptism in the Spirit. (Ver. 16 ; 
 3:4; 10 : 44-46.) 
 
 11. It is our privilege to enjoy the blessing 
 resulting from the Spirit baptism of the 
 early church. (Ver. 15, 10 ; Rom. 8 : 9-11 ; 
 John 14 : 16.) 
 
 12. If any one gives evidence of accept- 
 ance with God he is a proper subject of bap- 
 tism. (Ver. 2 : 41 ; Matt 3 : 8.) 
 
 13. Our theories should be subordinate to 
 the teachings of God's word, Spirit, and 
 providence. (Ver. 18; 1 Cor. 2 : 12, 13.) 
 
 14. Nothing is of more importance, or the 
 cause of greater gratitude, than the receiv- 
 ing of the word of God. (Ver. 1, 18.) 
 
 15. Any other repentance than that which 
 is unto life is worthless. (Ver. 18 ; 2 Cor. 
 7 : 10.) 
 
 16. Persecution, so far from taking away 
 Christian courage, rather develops it. (Ver. 
 19 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 8-10.) 
 
 17. " God's dispensations can only be read 
 in the light of after developments." (Dr. 
 ScHAFF.) The martyrdom of Stephen and 
 the persecution that followed resulted in 
 multiplying churches, and in the formation 
 of second a centre of early Christianity at 
 Antioch. (Ver. 19-21 ; Phil. 1 : 12-14.) 
 
 18. The power of God must attend the 
 preaching of the gospel to make it success- 
 ful. (Ver. 21 ; 1 Cor. 3 : 7, 8 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 5.) 
 
 19. Great care should be taken in sending 
 the right persons into mission fields. (Ver. 
 22-24 ; Phil. 2 : 20-22.) 
 
 20. We should rejoice when many are 
 added to the Lord, even though the men and 
 measures accord not exactly with our views. 
 (Ver. 23 ; Phil 1 : 18.) 
 
 21. The Christian from the very beginning 
 of his spiritual life should be fully de- 
 termined, steadfa.st, and devoted to the 
 Lord. (Ver. 23 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 58 ) 
 
 22. Barnabas alone in the New Testament 
 is styled " a good man." Gospel workers 
 should be full of the Spirit, full of faith in 
 God and his message. (Ver. 24 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 1- 
 3, 15, 2>-25.) 
 
 23. Good men must be sought after, who 
 are fitted for and called to God's work. (Ver. 
 24 ; 2 Cor. 2 : 12, 13 ; 7 : 6.) 
 
188 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIT. 
 
 21. Pieachtrs of Ibe gospel when latiDiiug | 
 togtl-ljei' should make the glory of God and 1 
 his cause uppermost. (Ver. 26 ; 1 Cor. 2:2; 
 3:9,21.) j 
 
 25. The noblest name that we can bear on i 
 earth is thai of Christian. May we indeed | 
 share in Christ's anointing (1 John 2 : 20), | 
 and at last the greater honor of receiving i 
 his " new name ! ' (Ver. 2G ; Rev. o : 12.) 
 
 26. Like miracles and the gift of tongues, 
 the gift of prophecy was a becoming attend- 1 
 ant and evidence of the New Dispensation. 
 (Ver. 27, 28 ; la : 1 ; 1 Cor. 12 : 28.) i 
 
 27. The relief sent from the Christians at I 
 Antioch to their suttering brethren in Judea ] 
 is one of the most beautiful incidents of the ■ 
 apostolic age. (Ver. 29, 30.) j 
 
 28. True faith shows itself in works of 
 love. (Ver. 29, 30 ; Gal. 5 : 6.) 
 
 29. Let us learn the duty, the Spirit, and 
 the principle of Christian beneficence. (Ver. 
 29,30; 1 Cor.l6:l,2.) 
 
 30. Great care should be taken in selecting 
 trustworthy and experienced men in man- 
 aging and distributing our beneficence. 
 (Ver. 30 ; 6 : 3.) 
 
 Ch. 12 : Thi.s chapter closes the first 
 general division of the Acts, the ac- 
 count of the Jerusalem churcli, and the 
 lui.ssiouary oj)eratioiis of which it was 
 the centre. Al)0ut the time of sending; 
 the contrihutions from Antioch to tlie 
 hrethren in Judea, a new persecution 
 arose under Herod Agrippa 1. The 
 Apostle James is slain ; Peter is im- 
 jirisoned, hut is delivered hy an angel. 
 Then follow Herod's negotiations with 
 the Tyrians and Sidonians, his impious 
 vanity, and his loathsome death hy the 
 hand of an angel; after whicli the 
 mother church disappears from the in- 
 spired history, increasing and pros- 
 ])erous. 
 
 1-19. The Second PERSEcrTiON 
 AT Jkri'salem. Death of James, 
 AND ^rniAcuLous Deliveeance of 
 Petkk; a. d. 44. The disciples had 
 enjoyed jieace, and rest from persecu- 
 tion for live or six years. (9:3i.) Ca- 
 ligula's infamous conduct toward the 
 Jews doul)tless contributed to this. 
 (See note at end of ch. 11.) 
 
 1. This chapter is closely connected 
 with the preceding by the words. And 
 about that time. Having mentioned 
 
 the mission of I5arnal)as and Saul to 
 Jerusalem, Luke i)roceeds to describe 
 tlie condition of tlie cliurch there at 
 tiiat time. From ver. 25 it is evident 
 that some of the events related in ver. 
 1-24 occurred during this visit. Some 
 suppose that they arrived at Jerusalem 
 at the Passover, after the martyrdom 
 of James, and before the deliverance 
 of Peter. But there is no evidence 
 that tliey came at once to Jerusalem. 
 (^ii:i'9.) The first part of April was 
 probably too early for the famine to be 
 felt much. Their coming to Jerusalem 
 was more likely after Herod had re- 
 moved to C'lesarea. (Ver. 19.) The feast 
 of Pentecost was the most highly prized 
 of any of the Jewish feasts by the early 
 Christians ; and Barnabas and Saul 
 would be more likely to come to that, 
 than to the Passover. The feast of the 
 I Tabernacles, occurring after Herod's 
 death, would seem to be too late for 
 j their arrival. We may therefore place 
 their coming into Judea, sometime be- 
 tween the Passover and Herod's death, 
 that is, between April 1st and the first 
 of August. Herod the king. 
 Agrippa I., the grandson of Herod the 
 Great, the great grandson of Hyrcanus 
 the high priest, and father of Agrippa 
 II. mentioned in chapters 2,5 and 26. 
 After the murder of his father Aristo- 
 bulus, he was sent to Rome to be edu- 
 cated, and was the companion of the 
 princes, Caligula and Claudius. He 
 fell into disgrace with the Enijieror 
 Tiberius, and was imprisoned toward 
 the end of his reign, but was released 
 by Caligula on his accession (A. D. 37), 
 anil made king of the tetrarchies of 
 Pliiliji and Lysanias. Subsequently 
 the tetrarchy of Herod Antii>as ((Jali- 
 lee and Pera-a) was added to his domin- 
 ions. In A. D. 41 Claudius extended 
 his kingdom over Judea and Samaria, 
 so that his entire dominions equalled 
 tliat of his grandfather. His revenues, 
 according to .Tosephus, were large, esti- 
 mated as equal to two millions of dol- 
 lars. He was an observer of the law, 
 and adopted a policy to win the favor 
 of the Jews. At the same time he was 
 luxurious in his tastes, and delighted 
 in theatres, games, and gladiatorial 
 shows. He was crafty, selfish, extrava- 
 gant, vainglorious, and licentious. His 
 
Ch. XII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 189 
 
 Renewvd penecatwn at Jerusalem. Death of 
 James; iitiraculoiis deliverance of Peter. 
 
 la. NOW about that time Herod the king 
 stretched forth his hands to vex certaiu 
 
 2 of the church. And he killed James " the 
 brother of John with the sword. 
 
 3 And bccausi! he saw » it pleased the Jews, 
 he proceeded further to take JPeter also. 
 (Then were Pihe days of unleavened 
 
 n Matt. 10 : 2. 
 
 ' ch. 24 : 27 ; 25 : 9. P Exod. 14-20 ; 23 : 15. 
 
 two-sided character appears in this 
 uainitis'e : His readiness to conciliate 
 tiie Jews by persecuting Christians, and 
 to accept the prolfcred deification of 
 himself by the heathen uuiltitude. 
 After his death Palestine was again 
 reduced to a Roman province ; and 
 never again were tlie rulers in Jerusa- 
 lem able to organize a general persecu- 
 tion against tlie Christians. To vex — 
 to maitreut, persecute certain of the 
 church at Jerusalem. He was anxious 
 to please the Jews. (ver. 3.) This ac- 
 cords with Josephus {Anti<^. xix. 7 : 3). 
 " He took delight in giving, and re- 
 joiced in living with good reputation. 
 He was not at all like that Herod, who 
 reigned before him ; for that Herod was 
 ill-natured . . . and every one per- 
 ceived that he was more friendly to the 
 Greeks than to the Jews." But Agrippa 
 " loved to live continually at Jerusalem, 
 and was exactly careful in the obser- 
 vance of the laws of his country. He 
 therefore kept himself entirely pure ; 
 nor did any day pass over his head 
 witliout its appointed sacrifice." 
 
 2. James the brother of John — 
 sons of Zebedee. (ii^itt. 4 : 21 ; 20 : -lo-n.) 
 They are always mentioned togetlier iu 
 the gospels ; and with Peter formed the 
 the tliree favorite disciples, who were 
 permitted to witness the raising of the 
 daughter of Jairus (Mark 5 : 37), the Trans- 
 figuration (Matt. 17:1) and the agony in 
 Getlisemane. (Matt. 26 : 37.) This James 
 must not be confounded with James, 
 the Lord's brother, (vcr. 17.) He was 
 the first of the apostles to drink the 
 cup that Christ drank and to undergo 
 his baptism of sutfe rings; and John 
 ap[)ears to have survived all the rest. 
 The fact tliat James was chosen as the 
 first victim of this persecution indicates 
 that he was indeed " a son of thunder " 
 (Mark 3: 17), and a prominent leader in 
 the church at Jerusalem. It seems to 
 have been the design of Herod to 
 destroy the leaders, believing that their 
 followers would be disorganized and 
 
 scattered. With the sword — behead- 
 ing him. This was regarded as a dis- 
 graceful mode of punishment among 
 the Jews. Herod had tlie i)Ower of 
 life and death since he ruled under the 
 authority of the Romans, it has Iteen 
 often noticed how briefiy Luke describes 
 the death of James iu contrast with that 
 of Stephen. (::d5-oo.) This has been 
 variously explained ; but the reasons 
 do not appear. It would seem that 
 James met his end calmly and silently ; 
 but it was not the will of the Spirit 
 that the account of it should be handed 
 down to God's people. Tlie traditions 
 regarding the event are worthless. 
 Paley has noted the accuracy of Luke 
 in the words, " Herod the king," there 
 being no time for thirty years before or 
 afterward, when tliere was a king at 
 Jerusalem, except the last tliree years 
 of Herod's life. Agrippa II. (25 : 13) did 
 not reign over Judea. 
 
 3. When he saw that it pleased 
 the Jews. By this we get a glimpse 
 of Herod's character. lie was crafty, 
 and acted from State policy. That 'it 
 was not from his conscientious regard 
 for the law, is evident from his readiness 
 soon after to receive divine honors. 
 (Ver. 23.) The Jews here incliule not 
 the rulers only, but the jieojile gener- 
 ally (ver. 11.), " jjeople of the Jews." 
 This indicates tlie popular feeling at 
 that time. A great change had taken 
 place in tliis respect since the days suc- 
 ceeding Pentecost (2 :47), and the great 
 revivals that followed. (5 ; 13, 2s, 42.) The 
 church had Ijcen scattered and weak- 
 ened through persecution, so that its 
 following in Jerusalem was small iu 
 comparison to the ))ojiulation. He 
 proceeded further to take. Liter- 
 ally, He added, he icrnt on to seize Peter 
 also. This is in imitation of a Hebrew 
 idiom, which has led some to suppose 
 that the account was written originally 
 in Hebrew. Luke may have received 
 such an account from Peter himself. 
 The days of unleavened bread — 
 
190 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XII. 
 
 4 hrf-ad.) And when he had apprehended 
 hiiu, he put him in prison, and delivered 
 him to four quarteruious of soldiers to 
 keep him ; i intending after Easter tu 
 
 5 bring him forth to the people. Peter 
 therefore was kept in prison : but ' prayer 
 
 q Prov. 19 : 21 ; 27 : 1 ; Lam. 3 : 37 ; Matt. 2G : 5. 
 Cor. 1 : 11 ; Eph. : 18 ; 1 Thess. 5 : 17. 
 
 was made without ceasing of the church 
 unto God for him. 
 6 And when Herod would have brought 
 him forth, the same night Peter "was 
 sleeping between two soldiers, bound 
 with two chains : and the keepers before 
 
 ' ver. 12 ; Matt. 18 : 19 ; 1 Cor. 12 : 26 ; 2 
 " I's. 4 : 8 ; Isa. 26 : 3, 4 ; Heb. 13 : 6. 
 
 the festival week of the Passover, during 
 which time no leaven was allowed in 
 
 Jewisll hoUSOS. (Mau. H : 1, 12 ; D.ut. 16 : U, K.) 
 
 This festival began on the fourteenth 
 dayofNi.san, and in A. D. 4-1 corres- 
 ponded with the first week of April. 
 
 4. When lie had, etc. — whom hav- 
 iiKj alao arnalid. Herod takes every 
 precaution to secure aud hold fast his 
 victim. Peter Itad been delivered once 
 before (5:23) ; Herod now intends to 
 make it sure. He not only confined 
 him in prison, but also put him in 
 charge of four quartcruions of sol- 
 diers, four squads consisting of four 
 each, making sixteen soldiers in all. 
 According to the Iloman custom the 
 night was divided into four watches, 
 and each ijuarternion took one watch. 
 Two armed men in tbe prison, and two 
 before the gate, to keep, giKinl, one 
 unarmed prisoner. Intending after 
 Easter — aftrr the Pas^sorrr, tlie last 
 day of tlie festival. There is no refer- 
 ence here to any services of tlie cliurch. 
 Indeed, Easter, as an ecclesiastical 
 church service, was then unknown. 
 The stricter .lews, according to tlie 
 Talmud, held it unlawful and a pro- 
 fanation to ))Ut a jierson to death (hir- 
 ing the solemn feasts; and Herod 
 wished to be regarded as a strict o)i- 
 server of the law. (see johu i.- : ■.'«.) 'jpo 
 bring him forth or up to the peo- 
 ple — for trial and execution, in tlieir 
 ))resence as spectators. (Joim is: i:t.) The 
 prison is conceived of as in a lower 
 ])lace. Herotl intends not to amuse 
 the people (.iu.is. is : 25), l)ut rather to 
 display liis zeal for Judaism and the 
 
 law. "(2 Kiugs 10: 1«.) 
 
 5. Mas kept. A contrast is here pre- 
 sented. "While Peter ^rascln•ffu//>/ kept, 
 the church was earnestly praying. 
 Without ceasing — rather, earnrgthj. 
 Some manuscripts have the adjective 
 earnest, others the adverb eaniestlt/. 
 The greater weight of critical evidence 
 is with the latter. It implies intensity, 
 
 and hence persistency of supi)lication. 
 It is used of our Lord's praying in 
 Getiisemane (Luke 22 : 44), and by Peter 
 of brotherly love, "fervently." (1 Peter 
 1:22.) The fact here mentioned sug- 
 gests, tliat wliat followed in the deliver 
 ance of Peter Mas in answer to ])rayer. 
 For him, or concerniiKj him. That he 
 might be delivered from prison or from 
 the hand of Herod, or if that was not 
 the will of the Lord, that divine grace 
 might sustain him. He had been once 
 delivered from prison (5 : 19), and this 
 fact would encourage them to hojie for 
 a like deliverance. But as sucli help 
 did not come, and the night before the 
 trial had arrived, they ai>i)ear to have 
 concluded (ver. 15. 16) that Peter would 
 probably follow James in martyrdom. 
 " Why had they not also prayed for 
 James ? Because he had been speedily 
 slain." (Bengel.) 
 
 6. The same night — l)efore the 
 day fixed for his execution. Peter 
 was sleeping between two sol- 
 diers, bound with tAVO ciiains. 
 According to the Koman custom a 
 cliain was fastened to the left wrist of 
 the soldier, and to tlie right wrist of 
 tlie jirisoner. Sometimes, as in this 
 case, for the greater security of an im- 
 l)ortant prisoner, two soldiers were 
 eliained to him one on each side of 
 liim. Compare Paul bound with two 
 cluiins. (21:33.) If tliese belonged to 
 one of tlie quarternions of soldiers, 
 tlien it must have been the last watch 
 of the night, between three and six 
 o'clock, when tlie angel entered the 
 ])risoii. For Peter was not missed till 
 morning (ver. is), showing that no 
 change of guards hail taken place after 
 his (ieliverance. And the keepers 
 before the door kept the prison. 
 According to one view, two at the 
 doors of the prison formed tlie first 
 and .second guards (tci-. 10), the two 
 cliaine<l to the prisoner made up the 
 four. According to another view, two 
 
Ch. XII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 101 
 
 7 the door kept the prison. And, behold, 
 'the angel of the Lord came upon him, 
 and " a light shined in the prison : and 
 he smote Peter on the side, and raised 
 him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And 
 
 8 his chains fell otf from his hands. And 
 the angel said unto him, " Gird thyself, 
 and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. 
 
 9 And hesaitli unto him, C'a,st thygarnu'iit 
 about thee, and follow me. .\nd Le went 
 out, and followed him ; and » wist not 
 that it was true which was done by the 
 angel; but thought J he saw a vision. 
 10 When they were past the first and the 
 second ward, ihey came unto the iron 
 gate that leadeth unto the city ; « which 
 
 «ch. 5 ;19;Ps. 34: 7. 
 
 » Luke 2 : 9 ; 24 : 4. 
 17 ; 11 : 5. 
 
 ' Luke 12 : :J5. 
 » ch. IG : 2(5. 
 
 » Ps. 126 : 1. 
 
 J ch. 10 : 3, 
 
 at one station, and two at another were 
 guarding the prison, while the two 
 chained to Peter were with him for the 
 
 night. (See on ver. 10.) 
 
 7. Behold the angel, rather, an 
 anijcl of the Lord. (seeou5:i9.) The 
 same language is used here as in Luke 
 2 : 9, where an angel is described as 
 appearing to the shepherds at our 
 Saviour's hirth. This is an instructive 
 chapter on angels, (ver. is, 2.1.) On an- 
 gels in their relation to God's people, 
 see Gen. 19:1; 1 Kings 19 : .5-7 ; 2 
 Kings 6 : 17 ; Ps. 91 : 11,12 ; Dan. .3 : 
 25, 27 ; 6 : 22 ; 9 : 21 ; Acts 10:3; 27 : 
 23. A light shined in the prison 
 — in the chamber or cell, in which 
 Peter was sleeping. Not the same word 
 as that translated prison above. And 
 smote him, with considerable force 
 on his side, in order to rouse him 
 from sleep. And raised him up, 
 awaking him. " This and the direction 
 to gird himself, in the next verse, 
 was to arouse Peter, to convince him 
 that it was not a dream, and to leave 
 in his recollection a testimony of the 
 reality of the angelic appearance. So 
 Christ bade his disciples to touch him, 
 to satisfy themselves that he was really 
 in bodily presence with them. (Luke 24: 
 39; .j..im20:20, 27.) " (Abbott.) Peter, 
 sleej)ing in expectation of witnessing 
 for his Lord when the day dawned, 
 would naturally mistake the angel's 
 voice for the summons to execution. 
 No wonder, as matters proceeded that it 
 seemed to him like a dream. 
 
 8. The angel had commanded him to 
 arise quickly (ver. 7) ; but now to dress 
 himself freely and deliberately, atteiul- 
 ing to each particular. " Hesitation 
 in arising would have argued unbeliev- 
 ing doubts ; unilue haste in departure, 
 unbelieving fears." (Alexander.) 
 Gird thyself^tighten the girdle of 
 the tunic, which he had unloosed for 
 
 sleeping. Bind on — strap on the 
 sandal, soles of wood or leather under- 
 neath the feet, which he had laid aside 
 before he slept. Cast thy garment 
 about thee — thy outer garment, a 
 kind of shawl used as a cloak by day 
 and a covering by ni^ht. He would 
 need this as a protection against the 
 chilly air of an early spring morning. 
 Thus freed from chains and all 
 equipped, he was to follow the angel, 
 leaving no article of attire behind. 
 
 9. Wist not. 117s/, is an old En- 
 glish word meaning knew. His lii)era- 
 tion was so sudden, unexpected, and 
 miraculous, that he was in a maze and 
 bewildered. His sudden awakening 
 from sleep naturally helped toward this 
 result. It seemed to him more like a 
 dream than a reality. He really 
 thought he saw a vision — such as 
 he had seen at Joppa. (10 : 11. 12 ; see on 
 ver. 11.) This rei)ort of his thoughts 
 must have come from himself 
 
 10. When they Avere past the 
 first, etc. More exactly, and hamng 
 passed thronqh the first and the second 
 watch. Dr. Hackett remarks that " ^rtc- 
 ing jnissed throtnih" suggests a plural 
 sense of watch and must be said looselv, 
 if applied to a single person. Accord- 
 ing to this view tlicy pass thromrh or 
 between the two soldiers stationed at 
 Peter's door and thenthrougli the other 
 two stationed at tlie gate which led 
 into the city, (seeon ver.e.) But ac- 
 cording to the more common view they 
 passed by one guard, or soldier, at the 
 door of Peter's cell, and another at the 
 outer gate of the prison. The iron 
 gate that leadeth unto the city. 
 Nothing can, with certaintv, be inferred 
 in regard to the ])osition of the 
 prison ; for tlie iron sate may have led 
 from the inside of the pri.son, and not 
 necessarily from without tlie walls of 
 the city. " De Wette, after Light- 
 
192 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XII. 
 
 opened to them of his own accord: and 
 they went out, and passed on through 
 one street ; and forthwith the augel de- 
 parted from him. 
 11 And when I'eter was come to himself, 
 he said, Now I know of a surety, that 
 
 Ps. a* : 7 ; Dan. 3 : 2.S ; 6 : 22 ; Heb. 1 : 14. 
 
 I'fter 2:9. ": ver. 3. * ver. 2o ; 
 
 »the Lord hath sent his angel, and ''hath 
 delivered me out of the hand of Heicd, 
 « and from all the expectation of the 
 12 people of the Jews. And when he had 
 considered ttt« thing, he came to the hou.'^e 
 of Mary the mother of * John, whose sur- 
 
 b Ps. 33 ; 18, 19 ; 41 : 2 ; 97 : 10 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 10 ; 2 
 ch. l.T ; 37 ; Col. 4 : 10 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 11. 
 
 foot, Walch and others, thinks that the 
 prison was a tower l)etween the two 
 walls of the city, and that this was the 
 outer gate of the tower." (Hackett.) 
 In Bible. Lamls, p. 4.50, Dr. Van 
 Lennep thus deseril)es the gates of an 
 eastern city : " Tliey are large, massive 
 and two-leaved, built of heavj' timber, 
 plated with iron. A strong iron bar, 
 hooked at one end, hangs from a heavy 
 riugof the same metal, made fast in a 
 strong post built into the wall behind 
 each fold of the gate. When the gate 
 is closed, the hooks are set into other 
 iron rings on the back of its folds, en- 
 abling the gate to resist a very heavy 
 pressure from without. The lock is 
 massive !ind of wrought iron, and the 
 long-handled, ponderous key is carried 
 by the keeper of the gate in his belt, or 
 hung from a nail in his little room close 
 by." That the gate opened of its own 
 accord, without any visil)le cause, 
 added to the wonder of the miracle. 
 When they had passed on through 
 one street and were about to enter 
 another the angel disappeared as 
 quickly as he had ai)peared to him, 
 and as silently as he had conducted 
 him into this freedom. 
 
 11. When Peter was come to 
 himself. Conscious where he was and 
 that he had passed through an actual 
 experience. Before this he had been 
 in a dreamy state, exercising his will 
 under the" leadersliij) of the angel, 
 rather than independently. NoAV I 
 know of a surety. As he stands 
 alone in the city and notes the sur- 
 roundings and sees that he is actually 
 there and no longer in prison or chains, 
 he is convinced of the reality of his de- 
 liverance, through the interposition of 
 an angel sent/or//i from heaven. He 
 views his deliverance as twofoM : 
 From the hand of Herod, who, 
 having the civil authority and power, 
 intended to kill him ; aiui from all 
 the expectation of the people ol 
 
 the JeAVS, who, notwithstanding all 
 the miracles he had done among them, 
 were Imilding high hopes upon his de- 
 struction, and the con.sequent disaster 
 to Christians. Tlie first persecution 
 had greatly scattered and weakened 
 the ciiurch ; the second one might de- 
 stroy it. But the time had not yet 
 come for Peter to ilie (John 21 : ik, ih), and 
 Christianity was to live notwithstand- 
 ing all its foes. (Matt, is : If.) Eationalis- 
 tic interpreters have done their best to 
 explain away the supernatural in this 
 account. Butthesimjilicity and fresh- 
 ness of the narrative commend it to 
 the reader as honest and accurate. 
 There is no attenii)t to overdo, but 
 rather to state circumstances exactly 
 as they were. " The event is indeed 
 most gra]ihically described, and ex- 
 hibits no features that can embarra.ss 
 any one who believes in the interposi- 
 tion of the living God in the real world, 
 and who admit.s the actual existence 
 and operations of the angels." (Lech- 
 LER in La»ge.) 
 
 12. When he had considered 
 the thing, or better, ^9)rf becoming 
 fully conseiuus uf it, of the state of the 
 case, and the actual circumstances. 
 This accords better with the use of the 
 word in 14 : 6 ; 5:2; 1 Cor. 4 : 4. 
 Luke implies in the narrative that 
 Peter acted with deliberation ; and so, 
 doubtless, he noM^ gave some thought, 
 as to what had occurred and wluit lie 
 should do. Mary, tlic mother <»( 
 John, etc. Slie is mentioned only 
 here. She was aunt of Bariiahas. (ci. 
 4:10.) It is said that Peter came to 
 her house, whieli would seem to inijily 
 that it wa.s not from design, l>ut that it 
 was in the way that he was going. Her 
 house was one of the meeting jilaees for 
 worship. Tradition fixes its site on the 
 u])]ier slo})e of Zion, and affirms that it 
 was saved from tlie destruction of Jer- 
 usalem, A. D. 70, and was used as a 
 church in the fourth century. She is 
 
Oh. XIL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 1«)3 
 
 name was Mark ; where many were gatli- 
 l.i (.'red together '" praying. And as Peter 
 
 kuoukea at the door'of the gate, a damsel 
 14 came to hearken, named Rhoda. And 
 
 when she knew Peter's voice, she opened 
 
 not the gate for gladness, hut ran in and 
 told how Peter stood hefore the gate. 
 15 And they said unto her, Ihou art mad. 
 But she constantly affirmed that it was 
 even so. Then said they, ' It is his angi;!. 
 
 • ver. 5 ; Isa. 6.". -.24; 1 John 5 : 14, 15. f Matt. 14 ; 2G ; 18 : 10 ; Mark 6 : 49. 
 
 <listiiij,'iiislR-d from other Marys by 
 being styled the mother of John; and 
 it was the cu.stoin, as it still i.s among 
 the Arabs, to call a father or mother 
 after their son, especially after the 
 ehlest son. Thus Zeruiah is called 
 
 Joab's mother. ('^ Sam. n : 25 ; John 2 : 1.) 
 
 John, Avho^e surname Ava.s Mark 
 
 — the former ))eing his Hebrew name 
 (13 ; 5, 1:1), and the latter his Latin name. 
 (15 : .f9.) He was converted through the 
 instrumentality of Peter (i 1 eters : i.i), 
 and was a cousin of Barnabas, (coi. +: 
 in.) He was doubtless the writer of 
 Mark's gosjxd, which was regarded by 
 early Christians as the go.spel of Peter, 
 Mark simply writing under the direc- 
 tion of Peter. Where many were 
 gathered together praying — for 
 Peter, (ver. 5.) That they were still at 
 prayer showed their perseverance and 
 importunity. It was more convenient 
 to hold their assemblies at night, and 
 jierbaps there was greater .safety. (Joha 
 ■JO: 19.) "These nocturnal assemblies 
 of Cliristians for prayer were continued 
 in many places in more quiet times, 
 partly owing to the solemnity which 
 belongs to the hours of the night, partly 
 owing to the deep-rooted persuasion 
 tiiat tlie Lord would come again during 
 the night." (HowsoN and Spexce.) 
 13. At the door of the gate — 
 the wicket or small door in tlie large 
 heavy gate. The house seems to have been 
 of some size, aiul was built after the 
 usual ])lan of .Jewish houses, around an 
 open (rourt yard. A damsel or maid 
 nrrruiit named llhoda, or Rose, for so 
 tlie name means. It was not uncom- 
 mon for tlie Jews to give their daugh- 
 ters the names of ]ilants and tlowers. 
 Thus Hadassah (Esther) means a myr- 
 tle; Susannah, a lily; and Tamer, a 
 ]talm. To hearken — to listen, who is 
 tiiere ; hence the word was used of an- 
 swering a knock or a call at the door, 
 and so the Reviseil Version translates, 
 " a maid came to answer," and ask his 
 uame. 
 
 14. When she knew Peter's 
 voice. Peter not only knocked l»ut 
 called for entrance. He had doubtless 
 been a frequent guest at the house of 
 Mary ; and the maid had doubtless oftt 11 
 heard him talk and pray. She opened 
 not the gate for gladness — slie was 
 probably a Christian girl, and had 
 shared the interest and aii.xiety of tbe 
 disciples, and now wished them to Ite 
 ])artakers of her joy. We see how 
 Peter was loved by all classes. His 
 sympathy for servants, and his ap]>re- 
 ciation of their trials mav be learned 
 from 1 Peter 2 : 18-20. Told hoAV, 
 that Peter stood, etc. Note her 
 simple faith, while all others are doubt- 
 ing. 
 
 15. Thou art mad — you are not 
 in your right mind. (-'6 : 24; John 10 : -'o.) 
 Constantly, conjideiit/y, affirmed. 
 No words of theirs eouhl shake lier be- 
 lief that Peter was really at the door. 
 It is his angel — his guardian angel; 
 for this accorded with the Jewish be- 
 lief. It seems that these believers 
 thought that Peter had just been put to 
 death, and that his angel was present 
 at the door, assuming his voice. Some 
 would translate messenffer ; but the 
 word is rarely used in this sense in the 
 New Testament (iiarkiti); and if so 
 used here it would have been said, a 
 ■messenf/er from him, rather than his 
 messenger. Neither can we render tlie 
 words, his ghost, or spirit, for tlie word 
 angel is never used in that sense in tln' 
 New Testament. Luke simj)ly narnit's 
 what these brethren thought, but ex- 
 presses no opinion ui)on the doetriiif, 
 neither affirming nor denying. Haiiiel 
 and Zechariah speak of the aiig<l of a 
 particular country or nation, as of IVi'- 
 sia, of Greece, or of the Jews. (n.^". m : 
 
 13,20. 21; Zech. 5 : 5, 8.) The JcWS ap]ili'il 
 
 the idea of guardian angel to indiviiin- 
 als, as is illustrated in tlie storv of 
 Tobit. The Christian Fathers also lieM 
 to guardian angels. But while tiie 
 Scriptures are uot against such a, 
 
194 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XII. 
 
 16 But. Peter contiuued knocking: and when 
 tliey had opened IIk iloor, and saw hira, 
 
 17 thuy were astonished. But be, s beckon- 
 ing unto them with the baud to hold 
 their peace, declared unto them bow •' the 
 
 lyord had brought him out of the prison. 
 And he said, Co shew these things unto 
 ' James, and to the brethren. And he 
 departed, and went into another place. 
 
 8 ch. 13 : 16 ; 19 : 33 ; 21 : 40. h Ps. 102 : 19, 20. i ch. 15 : 13 ; James 1 : 1. 
 
 doctrine, thej^ fail to prove it. Aiifrt'ls 
 have much to do as ministering spirits 
 iu reference to our salvation (Heb. i : ii) ; 
 in protectinj,' us from danger (ps. yi:ii; 
 sintt. 4:6), in being j)resent at our wor- 
 sliip (iCor. u : 10), aud at last in sejjarat- 
 ing the righteous from the wicked. ( Matt. 
 24r3i.) Our Lord's words (Mntt. is : lo), 
 " 1 sav unto you, tliat in heaven their 
 a niseis do always behold the face of my 
 Fatlior who is in heaven," has been 
 thouglit to teach that each individual 
 has his angel ; but the passage only 
 teaches the general fact that lielievers 
 as a class, and not necessarily as indi- 
 viduals, liave angels as attendants and 
 
 guardians. (Seenoteon M;itt. 18 : 10.) 
 
 16. When they had opened the 
 door — indicating that the company, or 
 or at least several of them, had become 
 so interested in the n)atter as to go to 
 the gate, and open it. They were 
 astonished. If they were praying 
 for his deliverance, then tlieir faitli was 
 weak. At lea.st tliey were not expect- 
 ing it in this way, and now. (See on 
 
 Ter. 5.) 
 
 17. Beckoning: unto them Avith 
 the hand — rai)idly sliaking or waving 
 tlie hand with a downward movement. 
 In the New Testament tliis verb is only 
 found in the Acts, and is always used 
 of a gesture to secure attention, (is : i6; 
 ■2\ : 40; 19 : 3.1.) The brethren Mere boister- 
 ous with joy, congratulations, and 
 «|ii('stions. Peter wished silence, in 
 order to be beard. The narrative in 
 this verse indicates haste. Perhai)S 
 without entering into the room where 
 t!;,'V were -^'atliered, jjerhajis in the 
 l^orcli whither the eomj)aiiy had mostly 
 < line, Peter makes known his deliver- 
 a:!ce, the command of the angel, and 
 tlien retires. Declared unto them — 
 ascribing his deliverance to the Lord 
 Jfsus Christ, through the angel. Shew, 
 fr// these things unto Janies, yet 
 lii't to him alone, but also to the 
 brethren — to the pastor and church at 
 Jerusalem. None of the ai)ostles 
 
 a))pear to have been there. This James 
 could not have l)een tlieson of Zebedee. 
 wlio liad been slain by Herod (ver.i'), 
 nor does he appear to be the son of 
 Ali)lieus, l)ut rather the Lord's brother 
 (Gal. 1:19), who was a leader in the 
 church at Jerusalem, and its pastor 
 after the death of James, perhaps from 
 this time when Peter thus reported to 
 
 him, and them, (is :!.•!; 21:18; Gal. 2:9, I?) 
 
 He was a real brother of our Lord 
 (Mark (i : 3, on which see note, also 1 : 
 14; 1 Cor. i> : .">), and seems not to have 
 believed on Christ until after tlie resur- 
 rection, when Jesus ai)peared to him. 
 ( Juhii 7 : 5 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 5.) His close relation 
 to Christ, his conservative Jewisli views 
 and his observance of the law, maile 
 him a fit man for the foremost place in 
 the church at Jerusalem. His f]])istle 
 resembles the addresses of Jolm tlie 
 Pa])tist, and the Sermon on the ilouiit. 
 He contra.sts the gospel with the Law of 
 Closes, calling it "the perfect Itiv of 
 liberty" (Jiinie.'ii: 25), raising it thus 
 aliove the imi)erfeet law of boiKhu/r. 
 In after times he was called " thi' Just " 
 with reference to liis conservative Jew- 
 isli views. "The mission of Janies was 
 evidently to stand in the brcacli be 
 tween the synagogue and the church, 
 aud to lead the disciples of Moses 
 gently to Christ. He was the onlv man 
 that could do it in that critical time of 
 approaching judgment of the holy city. 
 As long as there was any hojie of a con- 
 version of the Jews as a luition, he 
 prayed for it and made the transition as 
 ea.^y as possible. "When the hoi>e van- 
 ished his mission was fulfilled." (Dr. 
 SciiAVFyChnrcIilJisiori/, Vol. I, ]). 2ti7.) 
 According to Josephus he was ])ut to 
 death by stoning, at the instigation of 
 Ananus the high priest, of the sect of 
 the Sadducees, A. I>. 0.3, between the 
 procuratorship of Festus (-'a : i) and that 
 of Alluiius. This caused great indig- 
 nation among the Pliarisees and re- 
 sulted in the deposing of Ananus. 
 (Josephus, Antiq. xx. 9:1.) A later 
 
Cir. Xlf.J 
 
 THE ACTfi. 
 
 105 
 
 18 Now as soou as it was day, there was 
 IK) .small stir among the soldiers, what 
 
 19 was bt'coiiie of Peter. And when Herod 
 had sought for him, and found him not, he 
 
 k examined the keepers, and commanded 
 that tliHu .should be put to death. And he 
 went down from Juda;a to Ciesarea, and 
 there abode. 
 
 kch. 4:9; Luke 23 : 14. 
 
 account of the death of Jaines is not so 
 reliable. 
 
 Went into another place. The 
 
 expression is iiuletiuite, and may mean 
 that Peter went to sonic place of safety 
 cither in the city or out of it. To have 
 mentioned the place at the time of 
 Janice's writing, ini.i^ht liave exposed 
 certain ones to danger. But it might 
 have been unknown to Luke, as it was 
 not tl\e design of the Spirit that lie 
 should narrate further Peter's personal 
 history. He ])robably left the city 
 then, or soon after, as vigorous efforts 
 would l)e made to capture and destroy 
 him. \Ve find liim again in the city 
 at the time of the council, about six 
 years later (i5 : -), and a little later at 
 Antioch. (Oiii. 2 : ii-u.) He may also 
 liave preached tlie gos]>el in Greece as 
 far as Corinth (1 dr. i : 12), accompanied 
 by his wife. (icor. !»:5.) He also 
 j>rcachcd in the East, going as far as 
 Pabylon. (i Peter .t : is.) I'onian Catho- 
 lic writers and .some others suppose 
 that Peter went from Jerusalem at this 
 time to Rome, as an apostle to the cir- 
 cumcision. But this is without histor- 
 ical evidence. " It is entirely adverse 
 to this view that Paul makes no allu- 
 sion to Peter in his Ejnstle to the 
 llomans, but writes with a tone of au- 
 thority whieli Ins avowed policy, his 
 sjiirit of independence {2 Cor. io:i6), 
 would not liave suffered him to emjjloy 
 had it l)elonged more |))operly to some 
 otiier apostle to instruct and guide the 
 Pvomaii cluirch." (Hackett.) It is 
 not certain thnt Peter ever visited 
 llomr. It is related that he was cruci- 
 fied with his head downward, at his 
 own request, feeling tiiat lie was un- 
 worthy to die in tlie posture of his 
 L(n-d whom lie ha<l denied. Tradition 
 associates his martyrdoin with that of 
 Paul, al)()ut .\. D. ()7. But see closing 
 note oil 2.S : 31. 
 
 18. As soon as it was day — be- 
 tween five and six o'clock of an April 
 morning. Tiien Peter iniist have been 
 delivered after three o'clock, if the sol- 
 
 diers to -whom he was bound was 
 changed at tlie cn<l of each watch. If 
 they Were not changed then hisikdiv- 
 crance may lie assigned to about mid- 
 night (ik :2.i), and more time could be 
 allowed for his visit at the house of 
 Mary au<i liis dejiarture to another 
 jilace ; and in tlie light of this verse 
 the latter seems the more j»lausible 
 view, (seeouver.fi.) No Small stir — 
 no small cominofion (19 : a:!), excitement 
 bordering on consternation. Tlie sol- 
 diers were responsible for the pi'isoner, 
 and feared the vengeance of the king ; 
 for they were liable to suffer the ))un- 
 isliment wliicli he was to receive. 
 VVhatAvas become of Peter. They 
 could give no solution of his escape, or 
 of whtre he was, and no plausible 
 excuse for themselves. 
 
 19. The first thing Herod does upon 
 hearing of Peter's escape, is to make 
 diligent search for him, in the city and 
 in those jilaces where he might be 
 found, Init witli no results. Then he 
 examined the keepers, tlie f/nanls 
 — he subjected tliem to trial, ascertain- 
 ing the proliaMe time of Peter's escape, 
 and what soldiers were then in cliargc. 
 It is tluis not necessary to suppose that 
 all the sixteen soldiers were jint to 
 death, unless lie thought all guilty of 
 conniving at Peter's escape. Com- 
 manded that they shonid be put 
 to death — or led amiy to esrcution. 
 This was in accordance with Eoman 
 law. It was doubtless evident that tlie 
 guard were asleep, a capital offence, in 
 Roman .soldiers, (ifi: 27: M.ut. •-'«: 14.) Yiwt 
 while the fierce anger of Hcroil was 
 appeased in the death of the soldiers, 
 his bitter disappointment in lieinjr un- 
 aiile to meet the expectation of the 
 Jews was not sntisfied. He had liecn 
 residing aliout tliree years at Jerusa- 
 lem, but in chagrin he leaves Judea 
 and goes down to Civsarea (":*'), 
 which became his residence till his 
 death not long after. Josephus says 
 that he went tiiitiier for the purpose of 
 celebrating games in honor of the 
 
196 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 tcn. xn. 
 
 Death of Herod Agrippa. 
 20 AND Herod was highly displea /ith 
 them of Tyre and Sidon : but ' they came 
 
 with one accord to him, and, having 
 made Blastus the king's chamberlain their 
 friend, detired peace ; because ™ their 
 
 1 Prov. 17 : 14 ; Eccl. 10 : 4. 
 
 ' 1 Kings 5 : 9-11 ; Ezra 3:7; Ezek. 27 : 2, 17. 
 
 Emperor, Claudius Casar. (Josepluis 
 Antiq. xix. 8, 2.) This is entirely con- 
 sistent with Luke's account. Herod, 
 ashamed of his failure in reference to 
 Peter, was glad of a pretext to go to 
 Csesarea, and when there he was Will- 
 iug to remain. 
 
 20-25. Death of Herod Agrip- 
 pa I. Barnabas and Saul reti-rn 
 TO Antioch. {-i Cor. 12 : 2-1.) The death 
 of Herod is one of the most imjiortant 
 chronological events recorded in the 
 Acts, because the time of its occur- 
 rence can be fixed very accurately. I 
 According to Josephus {Antiq. xix. i 
 5, 1), Herod received of Claudius, on 
 his accession (January a. ^d. 41), the I 
 addition of Judea and Samaria to his 
 kingdom ; and at the time of his ! 
 death he had completed three years 1 
 after this increase of power. This i 
 fixes his death in A. d. 44, sometime | 
 after the passover. Various conjectures \ 
 have been made regarding the festival 
 which Josephus says Herod went to 
 Casarea to celebrate. (Seeon ver. iit.) ; 
 Some suppose it was in honor of the 
 Emperor's safe return from Britain, 
 which was early iu A. D. 44 ; and as it , 
 would take some little time for the j 
 news to reach Jerusalem, such a cele- [ 
 bration could have taken place early or j 
 late iu May, before or after the Pente- I 
 cost. Others think it in honor of tlie 
 birthday of Claudius, August first, i 
 Wieseler shows that quite iirobal)ly it 
 was the festival of the QuiiKiuennalia, 
 observed on the same day of the same 
 month in honor of Augustus, whose 
 name the month had received. This 
 settles at least the year of tlie martyr- 
 dom of James, the deliverance of Peter, 
 and the return of Paul to Antiocli 
 from his second visit to JeriL^alem. 
 (Compare Harmoii'ic Arrangcmcttt of 
 the Acts, note on ^ 24.) 
 
 20. Luke proceeds to show how 
 God defeated the purpose of Herod, he 
 dying ignomiuiously, while the church 
 continues to i)rosper. Highly dis- 
 pleased, exasperated, exceedingly 
 hostile. The original might mean that 
 
 Herod was engaged in actual hostil- 
 ities. But this could not liave been 
 the case, for Tyre and Sidon were in 
 the Roman Empire, and the Pomans 
 did not permit open war between de- 
 pendents. Hostile feelings arose A-ery 
 probably out of the commercial rivalry 
 which existed Itetween tliese PhoMiician 
 l)orts and the newly l)uilt harljor of 
 Ca-sarea. Nothing more is known of 
 this quarrel since secular history makes 
 no mention of it. Them of Tyre 
 and Sidon — the Ti/riiDis aixl Si'lon- 
 ians. Tyre and Sidon were tlu' two 
 great cities of Phconicia, noted for tlu'ir 
 commerce, and especially dejiendenton 
 Palestine for tlieir suji))lies, witli wliieli 
 mutual relations a])])ear to have ex- 
 isted from tlie tinn- of Solomon, (i Kings 
 
 ,i : n : K7.ra.:i ;7: Kzek. 27 : 1. 8. 17. Sec on 11:19.) 
 
 Blnstns, the kinsr's chamberlain 
 
 — tlie oiiicer who iras over the khig's 
 bed-chamber. As the name imjdies, he 
 had cliarge of his master's sleeping 
 a]>artuient.'J, and bore a verj' close re- 
 lation to liis person. Originally the 
 office was held by slaves, but in later 
 times often by jiersous of rank. He 
 introduced visitors to the king, and 
 was a confidential adviser. Tlie name 
 Ji/aslKs indicates tliat lie was not a 
 Jew, but rather a Greek or Poinan. 
 Herod had resided at Rome, and hence 
 he may liave chosen Romans for the 
 ])rincipal positions of his court. Hav- 
 ing made Blastus their friend, 
 having pereuaded him to be, these 
 Phoenicians could easily reacli tlie 
 heart of Herod. Proliably their ])er- 
 suasions were mostly by arguments 
 and perha])s ))aitly by briherv. De- 
 sired l>eace — nsl:c<l peace Jor thein- 
 selve.'!, as a favor or gift. The original 
 word signifies to ask for something to 
 be fju-cn, niakini,' jiroiiiinent the thing 
 asked. (Thaykr, Lex.) AVhat they 
 wanted was peace, and this not as a 
 reward, or a purchase, but as a. gift, 
 which he could graciously grant. Be- 
 cause introduces the reason why they 
 thus anxiously sought peace at the 
 hand of Herod. Their country was 
 
Ch. XII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 107 
 
 country was nourished by the king's 
 
 21 cunnlri/. And upon a set day Herod, 
 arrayed in royal apjjurel, sat upon his 
 throne, and made an oration unto them. 
 
 22 And the people gave a shout, saying, " II 
 
 is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 
 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord 
 "smote him, because Phe gave not God 
 the glory : and 'i lie was eaten of worms, 
 and gave up the ghost. 
 
 ' Dan. 6:7. » 1 Sam. 25 : 38 ; 2 Sam. 24 : 17. P I's. 115 : 1. Q 2 Chron. 21 : 18, 19. 
 
 nourished by the kings— supplied 
 with grain and food in exchange for 
 their merchandise. Herod could for- 
 bid all trade l)et\veen the countries and 
 could make Civsarea the great port for 
 merchandise. Perhaps he had done it 
 or was ahout to do it. Probably, also, 
 tlie great famine predicted in 11 : 28 
 was beginning to be felt in Phceuicia 
 and Palestine. 
 
 21. Ifpoii a set day — appointed 
 for the ])urpose of making pul)lic 
 answer in regard to his favor to the 
 Tyriansand Sidonians. According to 
 Josephus it was the second day of the 
 public games, in honor to the Emj)eror 
 Claudius, probably August first. (See 
 above.) Arrayed in royal apparel 
 — not a single garment, but the whole 
 costume. Tliis is in harmony with 
 Herod's known vanity and fondness for 
 display. Josephus describes it as a mag- 
 niiicent dress of silver tissue, which 
 glistened in tlie sun and dazzled the 
 eyes of beholders. Sat upon his 
 throne — his tribunal, which was a 
 platform, or throne-like seat in the 
 theatre at Cissarea, where Josejihus 
 says that the meeting here described 
 was belli. Made an oration—spoke 
 piiWtiy to them, to the Phoenicians, 
 in the hearing of the people. While 
 the speecU was to the former, Herod in- 
 tended it should be heard by the latter. 
 
 22. The people— the " word thus 
 translated is found in the New Testa- 
 ment only in the Acts. In classic 
 (xreek it denotes the people as organ- 
 ized into a body jjolitic, but in its Bib- 
 lical use it refers rather to the people 
 of a lieathen city, (n : 5 ; 19 : so , 33.) An- 
 other word is used for the chosen people 
 of Israel, (ver. ^, u.) The voice of 
 a God and not of a man. The as- 
 sembled people were mostly Gentiles 
 and idolaters, for Ciesarea was largely 
 a Gentile city, and the heathen games 
 would not be much attended by Jews. 
 The Greeks and Romans had deified 
 many of their dead heroes, but in these 
 
 days the people had so degenerated as 
 to deify the living. Caligula had 
 claimed and received honors as a god. 
 Notice that Peter at Ca?sarea refuses to 
 receive the homage of Cornelius (10 : zc), 
 but later Herod at Ca'sarea approvingly 
 receives deification from the multitude. 
 Gave a shout — «/;o((^('(? from all parts 
 again and again. It may have been 
 started by the Phccnician ambassadors, 
 upon their receiving a favorable rejtly 
 to their request, and cauglit up )iy tlie 
 people. Josejihus' account is feebler 
 and omits all reference to the address, 
 which is perfectly natural, since In; 
 omits reference to the quarrel between 
 Herod and the Phrenicians. Josejihus 
 states that the people cried out : " lie 
 propitious! For althougli we have 
 hitherto reverenced tliee only as a ma)i, 
 yet henceforth we acknowledge tiiee as 
 sui)erior to mortal nature." And alsc 
 says that the king neither rebuked nor 
 rejeetetl their impious (lattery. The 
 two accounts do not contradict, but 
 rather supplement each other. 
 
 23. At once the angel of the 
 Lord smote him — invisibly, inflict- 
 ing upon him the divine judgment. 
 Some regard this jihrase as equivalent 
 to "a stroke of Providence," or as a 
 Jewish phrase (ps. 78 : 49) signifying that 
 he was suddenly seized withthis dis- 
 order. But it seems that we are told 
 here, what we could not have known 
 except by divine insj)iration, of tlie 
 real, though invisible agency of a ce- 
 lestial sjiirit; and tliat it was inflicted 
 upon him at tliis time, because he 
 gave not God the glory. Angels 
 are indicated as ministers of God's judir- 
 nu-nts in Gen. 3 : 24 ; 2 Sam. 24 : Iti ; 
 2 Kings 19 : 35 ; Ptcv. 8 : 6 f . And he 
 was eaten of worms. It is implied 
 that his death was not immediate, but 
 tlirough the disease which was devel- 
 o|)ed at that time. Josephus states 
 tliat it began in liis bowels and after 
 five days of intense suffering, he died, 
 iu the fifty-fourth year of his age, iu 
 
198 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. XII. 
 
 24 But ' the word of God grew and multi- 
 
 25 plied. And Barnabas and Saul returned 
 from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled 1 
 
 their 'ministry, and 'took with them 
 John, whose surname was Mark. 
 
 r ch. 6 : 7 ; 19 : 20 ; Isa. o J : 11 ; Col. 1 : 6 ; 2 Thcss. 3 : 1. 
 
 15 : 37. 
 
 • ch. 11 : 29, 30. t ch. 13 : 5, 13 ; 
 
 the seventh year of his reign, which l 
 was tlie finutli year of his reign over 
 the whole of Palestine. His malady 
 was siniilar to Tric/titiiuais, a disease 
 produced by the presence of minute 
 worms iu tlie muscles, introduced by 
 the eating of meat insufficiently cooked 
 containing their germs. It is marked 
 by fever, great pain, and typhoid symp- 
 toms. These worms multiply into 
 millions, generally producing death. 
 It is useless to theorise as to liow the 
 disease at tliis time was produced and de- 
 veloj)ed. It is enough to know tliat both 
 Luke and Josephus are in accord in re- 
 gard to the general facts. Tlic diticrence 
 between .Josephus and Luke is mucli in 
 favor of the latter. Josephus relates an 
 incident of a hcatheiiisli and super.sti- 
 tious source, that tlie king saw an owl 
 Bitting on a rope al)ove liis head, and 
 regarded it, according to a prediction 
 formerly received at llome from a Ger- 
 man, as' a herald of death, whereui>on 
 tlie severe pains followed. Luke, hav- 
 ing tiaced tilings accurately, omits all 
 that is fabuhius, and states the time, 
 occasion, cause, and nature of the dis- 
 ease. Josephus, wishing, doubtless, to 
 sjtare the memory of Herod and the 
 feelings of his cliildren or friends, re- 
 lates the incidents in a softened and 
 general way ; while Luke, with the 
 carefnlness of a pliysician, and for the 
 good of (iod's peo]de, for the honor of 
 truth and the glory of God, briefly, biit 
 strikingly, records the matter just as it 
 was. A similar death is .said to have 
 befallen Antiochus Epiphaues, a bitter 
 persecutor of the Jews ; Herod, the 
 Great ; Pheretima, Queen of Gyrene, 
 notorious for her cruelty ; the Emperor 
 (Jalerius, the persecutor of Christians ; 
 and Philip II., king of Spain. 
 
 24. But notwithstanding the perse- 
 cution of Christians, and iu contrast to 
 the terrible death of the persecutor, the 
 AVOrd of God, or according to some of 
 the oldest manuscrijits, of the Lord 
 grew, in extent and power, and mul- 
 tiplied by the addition of converts. 
 
 Tliis verse covers the intervening time 
 between the slaying of Janu's (vir. i,l) 
 and the return of Barnabas and Saul 
 to Antioch. These bnthrtn contriliutrd 
 uuich by their syinjjathy, gifts, and 
 personal labors to the strengthening and 
 growth of the church. I'ersecutions 
 also drove tlie disciples to God in 
 ])rayer, and resulted in the increase of 
 their faitli and thiir allegiance to 
 Christ. The miraculous deliverance of 
 Peter from prison, and the striking 
 judgment of God upon the blasjihenious 
 Herod tended to stimulate their courage. 
 All these events occurring within a 
 sjiace of three or four mouths resulted, 
 in connection with the preachiiig of the 
 gosjtel and the ))resence of the H(dy 
 Spirit, in increasing the piety and ac- 
 tivities of believers and the number of 
 the -saved. 
 
 25. Having stated the condition of 
 the Jerusalem church, and the judg- 
 ment of God upon the persecutors, Luke 
 resumes the narrative of 11 : 30, and 
 completes the account of the benevolent 
 mission of Paul and Barnabas. With 
 this verse ends the first great division 
 of the Acts, containing the organizinL--, 
 growth, and missionary operations of tlie 
 church at Jeru.;aleni, residting in ex- 
 tending the gospel among Jews l)otli iu 
 and out of Palestine, in beginning the 
 work among Gentiles, and in organizing 
 at Antioch, a second great centre of 
 evangelization, especially among the 
 heathen. 
 
 Returned from Jern.xalem — 
 many ancient authorities read to Jiru- 
 sii/ri)i. This is a perplexing variation. 
 "Westcott and Hort ])refer the latter 
 reading, which makes the construction 
 difticuit. But some copyist might liave 
 introduced it, desiring to make the fact 
 clear that Barnabas and Saul did actu- 
 ally visit Jerusalem at this time. But 
 with either reading there can be no 
 doubt of this. For if they returned 
 from Jerusalem they must have'bt-en 
 there previously. If they returned to 
 Jerusalem from Antioch, then Luke 
 
Ch. XII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 199 
 
 states the accomplishnieut of tlieir 
 journey thither, iin|>lie(i in 11 : 30. Or 
 if we render rather freely : " Harnahas 
 and Saul returned, having fulli lied their 
 ministration in Jerusalem," the idea of 
 place is the same. From the narrative 
 it is evident that they visited other 
 places in Judea, and came to .Jerusalem 
 before going home ; hut whether it was 
 the last point of dei>arture is unct'rtain. 
 Fulfilled theirminislry — pcrfunned 
 the service, thedi.stril)ution of gifts com- 
 mitted to them. Notice that Luke still 
 names Barnabas first ; Saul was not yet 
 famous, and publicly and divinely rec- 
 ognized as an apostle to the Gentiles. 
 (»:9, 10.) Took with them John, 
 whose surname was Mark, (.see on 
 ver. 12.) The implication is that Bar- 
 nahas and Saul had been guests at the 
 house of ilary, and had met the 
 brethren, in tlieir gatherings for wor- 
 ship. It is also implied that their visit 
 to Jerusalem was about the time of 
 Herod's death, and it seems natural to 
 fix their return to Antiocli a little after 
 that event. It is not needful to suppose 
 that they stayed long at Jerusalem, or 
 that they spent much time in visiting 
 other places in Judea. We may there- 
 fore place this return to Antioch in the 
 latter part of a. d. 44. This was Saul's 
 second visit to Jerusalem after his con- 
 version. (.See on u : 30.) It is probaWc 
 that during this visit he experienced 
 that wouderful rapture or trance re- 
 corded in 2 Cor. 12 : 1-4. The date of 
 the second epistle to the Corinthians is 
 fixed at A. D. .57. Counting backward 
 " fourteen years," according to the Jew- 
 i.sh mode of reckoning we have A. D. 
 44, as the year of its occurrence. Per- 
 haps it was in the temple like an earlier 
 vision. (22:17.) It was fitting, just be- 
 fore the enlarging of his sphere of use- 
 fulness, and his going forth on his mis- 
 sion to the Gentiles. 
 
 Practical Rkmarks. 
 
 1. This chapter illustrates the final tri- 
 umph of the righteous, and the sure and 
 final overthrow of the wicked. (Ver. 1-25 ; 
 Prov. 10: 2.5; Isa. 3 : 10, 11.) 
 
 2. The death of .Tames teaches us that the 
 true test of disciplesbip is found, not in the 
 manner of their death, but in the spirit of 
 their life. (Ver. 1 ; John 21 : 22.) 
 
 3. The enmity of the human heart to truth 
 and holiness will show itself sooner or later. 
 (Ver. 1, 2 ; Honi. 8:7; 2 Tim. 3 : 12.) 
 
 4 Expcdiciu-y rather than truth has gen- 
 erally regulated uuiuau govurniueuts in their 
 treatment of religion. (Ver. 3; 24:23,26, 
 27 ; Matt. 2 : 7, 8.) 
 
 5. Note the providence of (iod in regard 
 to Peter. He is not slain at once, but ia 
 kept for a public trial and execution, and 
 thus time is aflbrded for prayer and his rt;- 
 lease. (Ver. 4.) 
 
 6. The prayer of faith is effectual, and 
 stronger than kings and soldiers. (Ver. .5-y ; 
 1 Kings 18 : 36-40 ; James 5 : 17, 18. | 
 
 7. If a man has the testimony of a good 
 conscience, and a lively hopeof immortality, 
 hecan calmly face the rack and flames. (Ver. 
 6 ; 21 : 13 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 6.) 
 
 8. God can with the utmost ease touch the 
 hidden springs of human affairs, and rescue 
 his people. (Ver. 7; 16 : 20.) 
 
 9. They who follow the light of Christ will 
 find that obstacles, darkness, and every diffi- 
 culty, will disappear before them. (Ver. 8, il ; 
 John 8 : 12 ; Ps. 36 : 9.) 
 
 10. We are not to expect God to do for us 
 that which we can do for ourselves. Special 
 divine assistance will continue no longer 
 than necessary. (Ver. 10; 27 : 23, 24, 38, 43, 
 44.) 
 
 11. The interpositions of Providence often 
 seem like a dream, and divine deliverance 
 appears real only after it has occurred. (Ver. 
 9, 11 ; Ps. 126 : 1.) 
 
 12. As long as there is life we can hope 
 and pray ; aud even where human hope fails, 
 God may interpose in answer to prayer. 
 (Ver. 12 ; 2 Sam. 12 : 22, 23.) 
 
 13. Rhoda filled her place faithfully doing 
 what she could, and her name with that ol 
 Peter is handed down to future generations. 
 (Ver. 12, 13 ; Ps. 84 : 10.) " They also serve 
 who only stand and wait." (Milt. ;>'.) 
 
 14. How our weak faith contrasts with the 
 greatness of God's blessing, and his readi- 
 ness to deliver. (Ver. 15, 16 ; Mark 9 : 24.) 
 
 15. Angels have a ministry of ble.ssing in 
 reference to God's people. (Ver. 7, 15 ; Ps 
 34 : 7 ; 2 Kings 6 : 17.) 
 
 16. Christians are often astonished to sea 
 how abundantly God answers prayer. (Ver. 
 16 ; Eph. 3 : 20.) 
 
 17. Our first thought after deliverances 
 should be to ascribe praise to God for his 
 
200 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIII. 
 
 Barnabas and Saul sent as mi.isionaries to the 
 
 heathen. Their work in Cyprus. 
 13 NOW there were "in the church that 
 
 was at Antioch certain prophets and 
 tearhers; as ^Barnabas and Simeon that 
 was called Niger, and J Lucius ot t'yrene, 
 
 " ch. 11 : 27 ; l.'i : 35. 
 
 ch. 4 :3(): 11 
 
 glory and the good of others. (Ver. 17 ; Ps. 
 
 66 : 16.) 
 
 18. When Christians rejoice their enemies 
 are troubled. (Ver. 18, 19 ; 4 : 13, 21, 24.) 
 
 19. How often does the path of worldly 
 p!ea,sure and ambition end suddenly in 
 humiliation and death ! Herod goes to 
 Ciesarea, not merely for games but for death. 
 (Ver. 19; Dan. 5 : 23, 30.) 
 
 20. Sinners will employ becoming means 
 for food and worldly comforts, which they 
 are unwilling to use for (iod and salyation. 
 (Ver. 20.) 
 
 21. An individual may think he is ascend- 
 ing a throne when he is mounting ascatfold. 
 (Ver. 21 ; 1 Sam. 4:18; Esth. 7 : 10.) 
 
 22. God is especially jealous of his glory. 
 (Ver. 22, 23 ; Isa. 42 : 8.) 
 
 23. Angels are not merely agents of bles.s- 
 ing, but also ministers of (iod's judgments. 
 (Ver. 23 ; Ps. 35 : (!.) 
 
 24. God will make incjuiry after blood, and 
 will bring swift judgment upon the incorri- 
 gible. (Ver. 2, 23 ; Gen. 4 : 10 ; Ps. 9 : 12. 
 
 25. Though the leaders of God's people fall 
 or retire, others are raised up, and the work 
 of God goes on. (Ver. 24, 25.) 
 
 Ch. 13 : Tlie first sreat inoveinent, 
 especially among the .Tews, at .lenisaleiii 
 and outward a,>;faras Antioch, undrrtlie 
 leadership of Peter and tlie a|>ostles, is 
 recorded in the previous twelve ehaj)- 
 ters. With this chapter be<riiis the 
 second i^reat ilivision of the l>ook, ex- 
 tendini; to its close, in which is nar- 
 rated the great missionary movcTnent 
 tVom Antioch among Cientiles, under 
 the leadership of Paul, till he is left a 
 prisoner, preacliingat Rome. This and 
 the ne.xt chai)ter relate his first mis- 
 sionary Journey to Cyprus, Pisidia, 
 and Lycaonia. 
 
 1-12. B.VKNABAS AND S.M'I. SENT 
 TO PRK.\C'II TO THE HEATHEN. Til El R 
 
 LA150KS IN Cyprus. The last verse 
 of the previous chapter forms a con- 
 necting link between that chapter and 
 this. We may therefore place this 
 mission, not long after the return of 
 Barnabas and Saul to Antioch, but 
 
 probably in the si)riug, A. D. 45. (See on 
 
 li:2o.) 
 
 1. Now, etc. And there vere at 
 Antioch — implying a previous ac- 
 count, yet beginning a new account. 
 On Antioch, see on 11 : 19. In the 
 church, etc. In the church that ex- 
 isted there; showing that tiiere was a 
 regular organized chureli at Antioch, 
 and implying ■with the previous narra- 
 tive and with what follows, that it had 
 attained a large meml)ershii) and also 
 great importance. The word certain 
 should be omitted according to tlie 
 hijrhest critical authorities. Isot a part 
 but all the i>roi>hcts and teachers in the 
 Antioch ciiureli are given : Bar- 
 nabas, etc., omitting as. Proph- 
 ets — inspired teachers. (Seeon u :27.) 
 Teachers — instrvctont. All proj)liets 
 were teachers, but all teachers were 
 not prophets. Both clai<scs are men- 
 tioned in Eph. 4 : 11 ; 1 Cor. 12 : 28; 
 Rom. 12 : 6-8. In the a])ostolic churches 
 certain persons were endowed with 
 suj)ernatural gifts. See 1 Cor. 12 : 4- 
 11, 27-31, where Paul speaks of them 
 at length. But after apostolic days, 
 when Christianity was grounded in all 
 needful evidence, these su])ernatural 
 jiowers ap))ear to have ceased. This is 
 the only j)lace in the Acts where teach- 
 ers are mentioned. It does not ai)pear, 
 either here or elsewhere in the New 
 Testament, that this name designated 
 a distinct cliurch office, but rather that 
 it was indicative of tlie work which 
 individual believers performed, who in 
 religiotis assemblies of Christians un- 
 dertook tiie work of instruction. (Jamea 
 3 : 1.) See Scri]iture references aliove. 
 Who were prophets and who teachers, 
 among the persons named, cannot be 
 definitely ascertained. In the original, 
 the names are arranged somewhat 
 thus: Both Barnabas and Simeon and 
 I.,ucius ; also JIan;en and Saul ; hence 
 Meyer infers that tlie first three were 
 l)rophets, and the la.st two teachers. 
 But this is not certain. For the three 
 first may refer to those who had been 
 longer iii the work at Antioch ; and the 
 
Ch. XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 201 
 
 and Manaen, which had heen brought up 
 2 with » Herod the tetrarch, and »Saul. As | 
 
 they ministered to the l>ord, ""and fasted, 
 the Holy Spirit said, * Separate me Bar- 
 
 « Matt. 14 : 1-10. 
 
 » ch. 11 : 25, 2(i. •> Dan. 9 : 3 ; 1 Cor. 7 : 5 ; 9 : 27. 
 Num. 8 : 11-14 ; Kom. 1:1; Gal. 2 : 8, 9. 
 
 >» ch. 9 : 15 ; 22 : 21 ; 
 
 two last to those who had heen there a 
 shorter time ; which view answers well 
 to Barnabas and Saul respectively. 
 Barnabas having been long at Antioch 
 may have acted as pastor of the churcli ; 
 anei some, or all of tlie others, may 
 liave lal>ored witli him as co-pastors, 
 in reality though not in name. See 
 20 : 17, where we learn that the church 
 at Ephesus had a plurality of pastors. 
 The prophets who came from Jerusa- 
 It'm '11 : 27) were probably not the ones 
 mentioned here, since those very likely 
 returned to Jerusalem, but tliese were 
 more permanently at Antioch. 
 
 Barnabas. "(S'^e on 4 : 36 and 11 : 22.) 
 
 Simeon that was called Niger— 
 
 to distinguish him perhaps from Simon 
 Peter, Simon and Simeon being the 
 same name. (i5:i4.) Niger means 
 black, and it is possible that he was an 
 African convert, perhaps Simeon of 
 Cyrene. (Matt. 27:32.) Yet Niger was 
 a familiar Roman name, and an infer- 
 ence cannot be certainly drawn from 
 its meaning. Lucius of Cyrene — 
 Nothing further is known of this one, 
 e.xcept that he may l)e the ]»er.son men- 
 tioned by Paul as Iiis kinsman. (Rom. 
 16: 21.) He was not Luke, the writer of 
 the Gospel and tlie Acts, for though the 
 names are similar, they are not the 
 same. Cyrene, a province and seaport 
 of Northern Africa. (see on 2 : lo-) 
 Manaen— thesameas Menahem. (2Kings 
 15:14.) Which had been brought 
 up with Herod — nurtured witli him 
 from infancy, as his foster-brother. 
 From this it would appear, that the 
 mother of Manaen was the nurse of 
 Jlerod Antipas, who put John the Bap- 
 tist to death. It was also the custom of 
 persons of liigli rank to associate other 
 children with their own in iiastimes 
 and studies. According to .Josei)lius 
 {Antiq. 1.5. 10, 5) an Es.sene, named 
 Manaen saluted the boy who afterward 
 became Herod the Great; as the future 
 king of the .Tews. This Herod when 
 he became king remembered, and held 
 Manaen and the Essenes in high honor. 
 Possibly he transferred hi§ favor to his j 
 
 son or grandson who was nursed and 
 educated with the king's son. Saul — 
 mentioned last, i)erhai)s l)ecause lie was 
 the last of tliese j)rophets and teacliers 
 to come to Antioch. His apostolic 
 character too was probal)ly not yet 
 made known to the cliureh. In his 
 humility, on account of his former per- 
 secutions of the church, he may too, 
 have preferred a retired and undistin- 
 guished place among his fellow labor- 
 ers. (Eph.3:S.) 
 
 2. As they ministered. In classic 
 Greek the verb is used of public and 
 official services, such as at festivals and 
 games, and religious emltassies to the 
 oracles. In the Septuagint it is used of 
 .services of the jjriests and Levites in 
 the tabernacle and temple (k.toii. 2S::io; 
 Joel 1 : 9), which is its use in Heb. 10 : 11. 
 In Rom. 15 : 27 it is used of beneficent 
 service in tenijwial things. Here it 
 plainly refers to the general religious 
 services of prayer, exhortation, praise, 
 and song, including the breaking of 
 bread, or the Lord's Supper. "Tliey 
 were performing service to the Lord; 
 not the five prophets and teachers alone, 
 but also the church with them. In con- 
 nection with this service tliev trere fast- 
 ing, not as a stated service, but as an 
 aid to prayer (io:3n; u:2s), with special 
 reference no doubt to the spread of the 
 gos{)el, perlia])s iilsoto missionary work 
 in other regions. No argument can 
 here be deduced for the mass, or for lit- 
 urgical services, because our word lit- 
 urgi/ is derived from the Greek word 
 here translated ministere<l. There is 
 no trace of a liturgv in ajtostolic davs. 
 The Holy Spirit said— to the 
 church, inchidiiii,' the above jiropliets 
 and teachers. Tliis may be inferred 
 from the fact that the believers were 
 worsliiping and fasting, and that Paul 
 and Barnabas on their return from their 
 missionary work report to tlie churcli. 
 (14:26,27.) This accords also witli the 
 previous custom of the church in clioos- 
 ing an apostle (1 ;23), and the seven dea- 
 cons. (6 : 5.) The Holy Spirit said^ 
 probably through one of the prophets, 
 
202 THE ACTS. [Ch. XIIL 
 
 nabas and Saul for the work « whereimto 
 3 I have called them. And ' when they had 
 
 fasted and prayed, and laid their hands 
 on them, they sent them away. 
 
 « Kom. 10 : 1'. ; Eph. .". : 7, S ; 1 Tim. 2:7; Heb. 5:4. ' ch. 6 : 6. 
 
 or in a voice audible to all. Separ- 
 ate. The verb means to set apart, to a 
 special work or service. Paul uses it 
 in reference to himself and his work 
 in Rom. 1:1, and (Jal. 1 : 15. Me— 
 for me, for my service. Here we have 
 a proof of the divinity of tlie Holy 
 Spirit. " He does not say, Sejjarate 
 Barnabas and Saul to the Loril, but to 
 me, for tlie ministry to whicli 1 liave 
 called them, showing that he is co-ecpial 
 with God." (CiiRYSOSTOM.) I Jiave 
 called them — injplyin^ that they had 
 had a previous call. Saul had been 
 called at his conversion and later at 
 Jerusalem to tlie Gentile work (smd; 
 2?; 21); and Barnal)as liad been led by 
 tlie providence of God and the Spirit to 
 this work at Antioch. (ii:3:i.) The 
 discussions, the last sjieech, and the 
 death of Steplien had left their undyintr 
 impress on Saul's mind (6 : lo ; ' : 5s) ; and 
 taking up iiis enlarging spiritual con- 
 ci'ptions of truth, he must have gotten 
 fresh views of his own indiviihial duty 
 and of these jirophecies wliich relate to 
 
 tlie Gentile world. (Z-pli. 2: ll ; Geo. 12 :3: 
 Isa. 52 : 10; till : 'A. V. ) Tile ( 'llUrch doubtlcSS 
 
 knew something of these exjierienees 
 and the eoMsetiuent feelings of duty, 
 but juobaldy did not eomiueliend the 
 apostleshi]) of Paul, and the greatness 
 of liis work. St'c the jireceding verse. 
 3. When they had fasted and 
 prayed — not the fasting of the jireced- 
 ing verse, but another with special ref- 
 erence to setting apart and sending 
 away Barnabas and Saul to their mis- 
 sionary work. F'asting was an aid to 
 prayer in seeking divine guidance in 
 this iiiijiortant service. It seems to 
 have been spontaneous on their part, 
 and was therefore ai)iiropriate. Jesus 
 fa.sted before hi.s teni])tation in tlie wil- 
 derness, and foretold that liis discijiles 
 should fast. (juu. 9:i.v) That lie com- 
 manded it is doubtful, for Matt. 17 : 21 
 and the words "and fasting" in Mark 
 9 : 29, are omitted as glosses by the 
 latest textual critics ; as also is " fast- 
 ing" in Paul's injunction in 1 Cor. 7 : 
 5. Jesus, however, gave direction as to 
 the proper manner of fasting iu Matt, 6 : 
 
 16-18. Laid their hands upon 
 them — the three other prophets and 
 teachers, perhaps others, as representa- 
 tives of the church and of Christ its 
 Head, laid their hands upon Barnabas 
 and Saul. In thus doing they conferred 
 no new grace or power, but recognized 
 publicly their call to their work, giving 
 it their sanction, approval, and jirayers. 
 Notice that the laying on of hands was 
 generally connected with prayer. (See 
 on K: 17.) But why did they lay on their 
 hands? Not to ordain them to the min- 
 istry ; for both Barnabas and Saul liad 
 been successful preachers for several 
 years. Nor was it to set them apart 
 and elevate them to the apostolic onice, 
 for they had no authority to do this ; 
 and besides, Paul asserts that his ajios- 
 tleship was not from men, nor through 
 man, and that he received it from Christ 
 himself at his conversion. (Oai. 1 : 1 f.; 1 
 Cor, 15: 810.) There is no evidence that 
 any of the apostles were ordained by 
 the imiK)sitiou of hands. (i;26.) Besides, 
 Barnabas is never called an apostle 
 alone, and only twice when associated 
 with Paul (u:Vu)very probably for 
 the sake of brevity. The narrative 
 that follows affords the true answer. 
 Tliey were set apart as missionaries to 
 the Gentiles, or heathen. This was the 
 work to which the Holy Spirit called 
 them. They sent them away — 
 that is, the church, and the brethren in 
 general, who commended them to the 
 jgrace of God. (i4:2fi; 15:40.) As Peter 
 and John had been sent by the church 
 at Jerusalem to Samaria (s:i*), and as 
 Peter and the disciples had gone forth 
 preaching the gospel to Jews, so now, 
 under divine direction, the churcli at 
 Antioch sent forth two missionaries to 
 the heathen. 
 
 4. So then— they themselves there- 
 fore being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, 
 specially and authoritatively as alxive 
 descrilied ; although approved, and 
 commended by their associates and 
 brethren of the church, who could be 
 said to send them forth only in a subor- 
 dinate sense. Departed — camedonm 
 from Antioch upto Seleucia, the 
 
Ce. XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 202 
 
 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy 
 Spirit, departed unto Seleucia ; and from 
 
 5 thence they sailed to s Cyprus. And when 
 
 8 ch. 4 : SO. ^ ver. 46. 
 
 seaport of that city fifteen miles awaj', 
 oil the Mediterranean, near tlie mouth 
 of the river Orontes. Tlius westward 
 began the fir.st great missionary tour of 
 the Apostle Paul, probably, A. U. 45. 
 "Next to the lahors of our Lord, no 
 movements have lieen so important for 
 the race as tliat of Abraham westward 
 from Ur of the ("haldees carrying the 
 revelation of the One God and the 
 promise of Israel, and that of Paul, 
 also westward, carrying the revelation 
 of Christ." (IIOWHON Axn Spence.) 
 From thence they sailed to Cy- 
 prus — a beautiful island about one 
 hundred and fifty miles long and fifty 
 miles wide, and al)out .sixty miles from 
 Seleucia. It became a Roman pi-ovince 
 in B. C. 58 ; and contained a number of 
 populous and wealthy cities. It was 
 very natural for Barnabas and Saul to 
 make Cyprus tlieir first field of mis- 
 sionary labor. It was the first country 
 they would reach ; its mountains could 
 be .seen from Seleucia and the Syrian 
 coast; it was the native land of Barna- 
 bas and perhajts of .John Mark (next 
 verse) ; and about half of its i)Opulation 
 consisted of Jews, wlujse synagogues 
 would afford them a channel for reach- 
 ing tlie Gentiles. They might have 
 gone to Tarsus, but Saul had already 
 preached in Cilicia. But most of ail 
 we must believe, that those who were 
 thus sent forth by the Si>irit were also 
 directed by the Spirit, to enter upon 
 this field. 
 
 5. >Vhen they ^vere at Salamis 
 — the chief commercial city, on the east- 
 ern side of the island, and the nearest 
 port to Seleucia, having a good harbor. 
 It was afterward ruined by an earth- 
 quake under Constantine, and rel)uilt 
 and called Coustantia. The modern 
 Tamagousta is near its ruins. Syna- 
 gogues — assemblies, also applied to 
 the building where these solemn .lewish 
 assemblies were lield. (see ..n k : a.) That 
 there were a nunilier of synagogues in- 
 dicates that the .lews were numerous at 
 Salamis. Tiiis accords with ancient 
 testimony, that the numbers of Jews 
 
 they were at Salamis, •> they preached the 
 word of God in ihe .synagogues of the 
 Jews. And they had also 'John to (heir 
 
 i ch. 12 : 25 ; 15 : 37. 
 
 were so great in Cyprus, that in the 
 reign of Trajan (x. \). 110), they rose 
 and nuissacretl two hundred and forty 
 thousand of the native inhabitants. On 
 accountof this, Hadrian either destroyed 
 or expelled the whole Jewish jiojmla- 
 tion from tlie island. They preached 
 . . . in the synagogues — this was 
 their custom wherever they went ; first 
 to the Jews, and upon their rejection ot 
 the gospel, then to the Gentiles, (ver. 
 
 46; 17 : 2; IS: 4; Rom. 1 : 16.) In tile apOS- 
 
 tolic age the Jews had their synagogue 
 wherever they settled, or at least a place 
 of prayer in a private house, or in the 
 open air, usually near a river or the 
 seashore on account of ceremonial ab- 
 lutions. (16: 13; 15: 21.) Their advantage 
 to early Christianity can hardly be 
 overestimated. Wherever the early 
 preachers went tliey found in them " a 
 pulpit and an audience." They were 
 evidently one of the preparations of 
 Providence for the spread of the gospel. 
 John to— for — their minister, or 
 assistant. This was John Mark, the 
 writer of the second Go.spel. (See on 12:12.) 
 The word translated minister, with ref- 
 erence to religious service in the New 
 Testament, is used of the attendant or 
 subordinate officers of the synagogue 
 (Luke *:20), and three times of the min- 
 isters or servants of Chri.st. (Luke 1 : 2 ; acu 
 26 : 16; 1 Cor. 4:1.) Elsewhere in the New 
 Testament it is used of servants or sul>or- 
 dinate officers of the hi^h priests, whose 
 duties were rather civil than religious. 
 (5:22; Matt. 26:58.) Expositors are not 
 agreed as to the peculiar Unties of Mark: 
 He evidently held a subordinate posi- 
 tion. Some supposed that he performed 
 external service, having care of the 
 party, thus giving Barnabas and Saul 
 more time to preacl;. Dr. Hackett 
 thinks it most natural to sui)pose that 
 he assisted them in preaching the word. 
 Why may he not have aided them gen- 
 erally, both in external duties and re- 
 ligious services, and also sometimes as 
 their amanuensis? He may also have 
 baptized converts, a rite which Paul 
 seldom administered. (1 cor. 1 ; 14.] How 
 
204 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIII. 
 
 6 k minister. And when they had gone 
 through the isle unto Paphos,they found 
 
 ' a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, 1 
 
 7 wliose name was Bar-jesus : which was 
 
 with the deputy of the country, Sergius 
 
 Paulus, a prudent man ; who called for 
 
 Barnabas and Saul, and desii'ed to hear 
 
 8 the word of God. But ™ Klymas the sor- 
 
 k Exod. 24 : 13. i ch. 8 : 9 ; Deut. 18 : 10. 
 
 ' Kxod. 7 : 11 ; 2 Tim. 3 : 8. 
 
 long they remained at Salamis, and [ 
 with what results, we are not told. The 
 largeues.s of the city and the opportu- i 
 nitie.s of preaching the gospel in the 
 several synagogues, lead us to suppose 
 that they spent some time there. 
 
 G. When they had gone through 
 the isle — according to the oldest and 
 best uianuscrii)ts, through the whole 
 island, indicating, not only tliat they 
 traveled the wliole length from Salamis 
 to I'aphos, but also tluit they preaclied 
 cpiite extensively, occupying not im- 
 probaldy several inontiis. There had 
 been Christians in Cyprus before this 
 (11 : i». 20), and other congregations were 
 now without doubt gathered. So large 
 and important was the field that when 
 Paul and Barnabas separated, the latter 
 chose Cyprus, taking with him Mark. 
 (15 : 36-39.) Paphos was on the western 
 coast of the island, one hundred miles 
 from Salamis, with which it was con- 
 nected by a road. New Paphos is here 
 intended"; it was then the lloman capi- 
 tal of the j)rovince, and the residence of 
 the governor, who m'us called the pro- 
 consul. Old Paphos, where the famous 
 temple of Venus stood, was a few miles 
 south, and noted for its licentious wor- 
 ship. A certain sorcerer, who prac- 
 ticed magic arts. (See on ver. S; « : 9.) He 
 
 was not like Simon ^ilagus, a heathen 
 magician, but a Jew, a false 
 prophet, a soothsayer and fortune 
 teller, who pretented to be inspired of 
 God. He had a Hel)re\v name, Bar- 
 jesus, which means. Son of Joshua. 
 His professional name was Eh/mas 
 (ver. H)^ one wise or powerful in secret 
 wisdom. The statement that he was 
 apparently residing with the governor, 
 and esteemed by him, is in harmony 
 with the scej>tical and su]>erstitious 
 character of the times. " All the Greek 
 and lloman literature of the empire 
 from Horace to Lucian, abounds in 
 proof of the prevalent credulity of this 
 sceptical jieriod. . . . The faith of 
 educated Romans was utterly gone. 
 . . . The imagination of both the popu- 
 
 lace and the aristocracy of Eome be- 
 came fanatically excited, and they 
 greedilj- welcomed the most aljsurd and 
 (U'grading suiH-rstitions. Not only was 
 the metropolis of the empire crowded 
 with 'lumgry Greeks,' but Syrian for- 
 tune tellers Jiocked into all the iiaiiiits 
 of i>ul)lic amusement." (Conyhkake 
 AND IlOWSON, St. Paul, Vol. 1. pp. 
 145, 14(j.) 
 
 7. Who Avas Avith, not occasionally 
 merely, but habitually, residing with 
 liim or in his service. The deputy 
 of the country — literally, Proeonsul 
 — Sergius Paulus. There were two 
 classes of provincial governments in the 
 Konian Emjiire, imperial and senato- 
 rial. An imperial i)rovince was gov- 
 erned by a proprator, or Injute, 
 a})pointed l^y the emi)eror ; a senatorial 
 province by a procoisul, apj>ointi'tl by 
 the senate. Cyprus was at first placed 
 in the former class by the Kuijieror 
 Augustus, who died A. b. 14, but after- 
 ward was made by him a senatorial 
 province, in exchange of Dalmatia. 
 Ltike shows his accuracy by desig- 
 nating Sergius Paulus by his ])ro])er 
 official title. And this accuracy is con- 
 firmed by an inscription, discovered l)y 
 General di Cesnola, at Soli, Cyprus, 
 which reads, " In the proconsulship of 
 Paulus," probably the identical Sergius 
 Paulus of the Acts. A prudent man 
 — an infellif/eiit, thouz/htful viav. This 
 very characteristic doubtless led him to 
 seek at first the aid and counsel of 
 Elymas, being dissatisfied with heathen- 
 ism. He also showed his intelligence 
 and understanding in not accepting all 
 that this magician said, and in sending 
 for Barnabas and Saul. And desired, 
 souijht, to hear the word of God 
 — the gosjud, tlms described as a reve- 
 lation from God. (s : 25.) M ho called 
 for Barnabas and Saul — to his 
 house, having probably heard of their 
 preaching in the synagogue, and ap])a- 
 rently not fi'om a mere curiosity, but 
 from a sincere desire to know what 
 their teaching was. 
 
Ch. XJII.] 
 
 THE ACT8. 
 
 205 
 
 cerer (.for so is his name by interpreta- 
 tion) withstood them, seeking to turn 
 9 away the deputy from the faith. Then 
 
 Saul (who also U called t'aui)," filled with 
 
 the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him, and 
 
 10 said, "O full of all subtilty and all mis- 
 
 8. Elymas — generally regarded as 
 an Arabic name, meaning wise, whieh 
 Bar-jesus had adopted for himself, 
 thereby indicating that he was the 
 channel of Arabian wisdom. Dr. De- 
 litzsch, liowever, derives it from an 
 Aramaic word meaning powerful, in- 
 dicating that this deceiver, like Simon 
 Magus, pretended to be "some great 
 one," and having " the great power of 
 God." Bnt wliatever its derivation, 
 Luke gives its general popular mean- 
 ing, as understood at that time, the 
 sorcerer, or niKf/iridii. Tlie name is 
 of Persian or Bal>ylonish origin, and 
 was tirst applied in a good sense to 
 priests, philosophers, astrologers, and 
 men of science (see ou Matt, i-.i), but after- 
 ward was applied in a lower and bad 
 sense to wizards, false i)rophets and to 
 the practicers of the black arts. With- 
 stood them. Ein|)liatie. He resisted 
 them, not only by his ])rivate and per- 
 sonal iufluenee, l)ut also i)ublicly, by 
 arguments, denunciations, and contra- 
 dictious. Seeking, actively, to turn 
 away, to corrupt and thus turn aside 
 the proeonnul from the faith, from 
 accej)ting and believing the new doc- 
 trines Avhich Barnal)as and Saul 
 preached ; for then his influence would 
 be at an end. 
 
 1). Then Saul (who also is 
 called Paul) — and henceforth 
 throughout this book, and also always 
 thus styled by Paul liimself in his 
 i^pistles, and by Peter late in life. 
 (2 Peters: 15.) There must be some liis- 
 torical ])ur|)ose and reason for this 
 change of name at this time. Various 
 explanations have been given. An old 
 hypothesis, suggested by Jerome and 
 held by many moderns, is that the 
 name of this distinguished convert, 
 Sergius Paulus, was adopted by him. 
 But this is inconsistent witli Paul's 
 well-knowii independence and humil- 
 ity of character, and contrary to tlu* 
 impartiality of the gospel. (Jumes 2 : 1-4.) 
 Besides, as Hackett remarks, " Had 
 the writer connected the name with tliat 
 event, he would have introduced it 
 
 more naturally after ver. 12." Some 
 have thought that instead of Saul {the 
 an/ced for or the longed for) he adopted 
 the name of Paul (meaning little) from 
 a sense of humility, as the least of the 
 apostles (1 Cor. 15 : 9), but this does not 
 explain why the name was changed ((t 
 thin time and it savors too much of 
 making a show of his humility. Tlie 
 best explanation is that Siinl was his 
 Hebrew name and Paul his Roman 
 name, which, being free-born (-m : 28), he 
 received from infancy ; that the former 
 be bore among the Jews, the latter 
 among the Gentiles ; that now for the 
 first time is given a miracle or sign of 
 his apostleship among the Gentiles (2 Cor. 
 12 : 12) and tlie words of apostolic author- 
 ity. In spirit, in power, in words, in 
 signally overcoming this " sou of the 
 devil," and in the consequent conver- 
 sion of this Roman official, we have 
 the first manifestation (iit least the first 
 that Luke gives us) of the great apostle 
 to tlie Gentiles. Hence from this time 
 forth he is presented as the leader in 
 Gentile missionary work and appro- 
 priately with his Roman name. Be- 
 fore tliis it was Barnabas iuid Saul; 
 henceforth it is Paul and Barnabas. 
 Filled with the Holy Spirit— not 
 for the first time (9:n), but ins]>ired 
 and specially im])elled to utter words 
 of righteous indignation, and declare 
 the judgment of the Lord. Set his 
 eyes on him — fixing his gaze upon 
 him, as one under divine authority, 
 and who tlirougli the S])irit could see 
 into the character and motives of his 
 opponent, thus arresting the attention 
 and awe of all jiresent. (Sec a : 4 ; u : ;i.) 
 Also comj)are the words that follow 
 with the address of Peter to Simon 
 
 Magus. (8: 20- 2.-!.) 
 
 10. Full of all subtilty— rf^mf, 
 
 which he was accustomed to practice 
 in his occupation, wliich manifested 
 itself in every word and act in his pres- 
 ent opposition. All mischief— itri- 
 srrupulousness, knavery, villiany, in 
 which he was an adept. Thou child, 
 so)i, of the devil — partaker of his 
 
206 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIII. 
 
 cbitf, >' Ihiju child of the devil, ///o(/ eueiiiy 
 ol all righleuusuess, wilt thou not ceiUit- 
 1 lO i)wvert the right ways of the Lord? 
 11 And now, behold, 'the haud of the Lord 
 ** upou thee, ■' and thou shalt be blind, 
 
 not seeing the sun for a season. And im- 
 mediately there fell on him a uiist aud a 
 darkness; and he wi-nl about seeking 
 12 some to lead him by the haud. Then ihe 
 deputy, when he saw what was done, be- 
 
 P Matt. 13 : 38; John 8 : 44; 1 John 3:8. i Jer. 28 : 15. 
 
 • Gen. 19 : 11. 
 
 Exoil. 9 : 3 ; 1 Saiu. 5 : 6. 
 
 nature and resembling him in his 
 C'iiaracter and disjjosition. Especially 
 liki" liim in jtcrverting and falsifying 
 tlic trutli ; for the devil is a liar and 
 the father of it. (JohD8:«.) Devil. 
 (seooii 10:. IS.) Meyer also sees here " an 
 indignant contrast to the name Bar- 
 jisus." Enemy to all righteous- 
 ness — hostile to all that is right and 
 good, to purity of life, uprightness of 
 conduct, and to all that is acce^)taV)le 
 and pleasing to God. From this de- 
 scription of Elymas it is prohalde tliat 
 he sliowed liimself tricky and malig- 
 nant in disputing with Paul, wresting 
 the Scriptures and giving false mean- 
 ings to tiie ju'opliecies concerning the 
 coming and kingdom of tiie ilessiah ; 
 denying or jierhaps ridiculing the doc- 
 trine of the resurrection. » ill thou 
 notecase? Tlie interrou'ative form 
 gives emphasis and strengtli to the ex- 
 pression. To pervert the right or 
 straight ways of the L.ord ? To 
 distort and render crooked (i^i. 5 : 20) tlie 
 mcthoils and conditions of salvation as 
 maile known l)y the Lord, such as re- 
 pentiince toward God, faith in Clirist 
 and ohedience to him. It was from 
 tliese that Elymas would turn Sergius 
 Paulus away. lie may have gone 
 further and claimed supernatural in- 
 fluence in o]>position to the gospel. 
 Hence Abbott's remark deserves notice 
 in ])assing. "The doctrine that the 
 Holy Spirit liolds communion with 
 Tiirn, and that angels are ministering 
 spirits of the Most Higli to man, anti 
 tliat evil spirits are among man's s])ir- 
 
 itnal foes (J..lin 11 ; 17; Eph.R: |-J ; Hel>. I : h), 
 
 i-"lyinas in common with all sorcerers 
 of liis day and ours, j)erverted into a 
 doctrine of spiritism, and a practice of 
 pretended communication with spir- 
 its." 
 
 II. And noAV — in view of your 
 cliaracter and your bitter opposition. 
 The hand of the Lord — a phrase 
 often used in the Old Testament ex- 
 
 pressing the power of God, manifested 
 in mercy or judgment, (exoii. v.-.i; i s.im. 
 5: 11: Neh. 2 ; s.) Vpou tliec^iii pun- 
 ishment. For its exercise in mercy 
 see 11 : 21 ; 4 : 30. Blind, not 
 seeing the sun — the jiositive and 
 the negative siiU^ ; not l)eing able to 
 see the sun indicated total blindness. 
 Tims oculi.sts test tlie character and ex- 
 tent of the disease by diieetiiig tlie 
 eyes toward a strong light. 1' or a 
 season — the l)lindness was to l)e 
 temjwrary, but how long is unknown. 
 Paul suffered a similar iiiHiction with 
 the ba]ii>iest results, (a:!)!-:.) Some 
 siipj)Ose and tradition relates similar 
 results to Elymas, and that he accom- 
 l)anied Paul to Sjiaiii ; but such tradi- 
 tion cannot be relied ujion. The inflic- 
 tion was immediate. There fell on 
 liini — language in harmony with the 
 idea that it came from above, from 
 God. (10:10,11.) A mist and a dark- 
 ness — rt dimness and a b/iiidmsf, de- 
 scriptive of the successive stages of the 
 blindness which came quickly ujK)n 
 him. '* Mist, a poetical Greek word, 
 aiiplied by Homer to the failure of 
 sight at death or in a swoon . . .As 
 the word mi)<t is also used by Galen, 
 the Greek medical writer, some regard 
 it as a trace of Luke's jirofe.ssion." 
 (Alexandkk.) His miserable condi- 
 tion is vividly brougiit to view. lie 
 went about, etc. — rather, and i/ohi;/ 
 tilniiit he souijht jx-rsons to lead liim by 
 tlie hand. The litness of the punish- 
 ment lias been noted : That he who 
 deceived and blinded others should 
 him.self be made blind and dependeid 
 on leaders. Also that Peter and Paul 
 each, at least in one instance, wrought 
 a miratde of righteous wrath, that upon 
 Ananias and this upon Elymas. 
 
 12. Then, when this blindncse came 
 at once uj)oii Elymas, the proconsul see- 
 ing what was doneheMexeA on Christ, 
 and the doctrines proclaimed by Paul. 
 That he was tnily converted to Christ 
 
Ch.XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 207 
 
 lirved, being astonished at the doctrine 
 of the Lord. 
 13 Now when Paul and his company 
 
 loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga 
 iu Pamphylia. And «.Iohu departing 
 from them returned to Jerusalem. 
 
 is the natural inference, and accords 
 with the general use of the word believe 
 in the xU'ts. (See 4; 4; n : 21.) Thecase 
 of 8iiuon Magus (s : 13) is the only ex- 
 ct'ption, and he professed conversion. 
 Tluit Sergius Paulus was baptized is a 
 imtural inference. Being aston- 
 i;shed — struck with wonder. The word 
 is also used of g/ad amazement. (Mark 
 
 7 ; n- ; 11 : 18 ; Luke 4 : 32 ; 9 : 4.1.) It is proh- 
 
 a!»ly the meaning Iiere ; for the fact 
 tliat Sergius Paulus believed implies a 
 lirarty and glad welcome of the truth. 
 Wiiile lie was astonished he must have 
 lieen glad to have been thus extricated 
 from the deceptive devices of Elymas, 
 and to see such clear evidence as to 
 what was the truth. At the doc- 
 trine, tlie teachhuf, of the Lord — 
 not only the new an<l wonderful teach- 
 ing concerning Christ, but also the way 
 in wliich it was taught, so clearly, 
 powerfully, and autiioritatively, and 
 confii'nied by a miracle. (Mark i : -'7.) 
 Tiie parallel between this conflict of 
 Paul with Elymas and that of Moses 
 with the magicians of Egypt is worthy 
 of notice. (i:xod. ch. v.s) In both the 
 victory is on the side of the Lord. 
 
 This conipletes the In-ief account of 
 the mission of Paul and Barnabas in 
 Cyjirus. No attempt is made to relate 
 what was done ; it is only implied that 
 they jireaclied the gosjjel in the syna- 
 gogues from place to place (^er. 5, 6), and 
 it is probable that churches were 
 
 l>hlMt<'d. (Secon ver.6.) IIoW lougthev 
 
 contiiiueil at Paphos is not told. It is 
 rcasonal)lc to suppose a church organ- 
 ized tiiere. In view of all these reason- 
 al>le inferences from the narrative, it 
 seems that too short a time is generally 
 allowed for the work of these niission- 
 a)-ies ui)on the island ; and that they 
 proI)al)ly spent there about a year. 
 13-52. Paul and Barnabas at 
 
 AnTIOCH TX PISIDIA. (2 Cor. 11 : 26; John 
 1: 19-27; Dent. 1 . :a ; 7:1; 1 Sam. 13: U; Ps. 2 : 7 ; 
 16 : 10; 89 : 20; Is:i. 49 : 6 : 55 : 3 ; Hah. 1 : 5.) Be- 
 fore this, under Barnabas as leader, 
 they went to his native Cyprus ; now, 
 with Paul as leader, they go into his 
 
 own native Asia Elinor. They pursue 
 a kind of half circle tiirough the dis- 
 tricts of Pam])liylia, Pisidia, and Ly- 
 caonia, west and north of Cilieia, Paul's 
 native province. Ho if Paul had evan- 
 gelized Cilieia already, he was only ex- 
 tending his labors to the nearest sur- 
 rounding regions. Probably the .s])ring 
 and early summer, x. 1). 4(i. 
 
 13. Paul and hi.s company — 
 Barnabas, Mark, and other attendants. 
 Henceforth Paul is the header, and the 
 chief speaker. (ii:i-'.) In the conver- 
 sion of Sergius Paulus and tiie imnish- 
 nient of Elymas, the signs of I'aul's 
 apostleship are recognized ; and Barna- 
 bas api>ears at once to concede to bini 
 the first jdace. Loosed, or se/ sni/ 
 from. Paphos. Then going a little west 
 of north, about one hundred and fifty 
 miles, they came to Perga in Pam- 
 phylia. They do not go throngli 
 Cilieia, Paul's native jjrovince, where 
 he had already laboreil (:i : so: u ?.',), 
 !)ut enter Pamphylia, a province Just 
 west of Cilieia. Its cajiital, Perga, was 
 a large and floui-ishing city, eelel)rated 
 for the temjde and worshijy of tiie g<)d- 
 dess Diana, and situated on the river 
 Cestus, seven miles from its mouth. 
 There are still extensive ruins to be 
 seen. A bar now ob.'jtructs the month 
 of the river Cestus ; but it was then 
 navigable to Perga. It ap]>ears tliat 
 Paul makes but a brief stop at Perga ; 
 he preaches there on his return. (i4 :2:..) 
 Perhaps the apjnoaching summer, 
 when multitudes moved from the plains 
 to the mountains, may have led him to 
 go at once to the regions beyon<l. That 
 too would be the best season for travel- 
 ing into the mountainous district. 
 His residence at Tarsus in Cilieia must 
 have made him acquainted with many 
 of the features of these adjoining 
 regions. 
 
 An event now occurred, which had a 
 marked etfect on the future work of 
 these missionaries : John departing 
 from them returned to Jerusa- 
 lem. Why, we are not told. From 
 16 : 38, we infer that Paul thought 
 
208 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cu. XIII. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas at A nlioch in Pi^idia. 
 14 BUT wheu they departed from Perga, 
 tUey came to Antioch in Pisidia. And 
 [they] " went into the synagogue on the 
 
 15 sabbath day, and sat down. And » after 
 the reading of the J^aw and the Prophets, 
 the rulers of the synagogue sent unto 
 them, saying, I'e men and brethren, if ye 
 
 ' cli. 10 : 13 ; 17 : 2 ; 18 : 4. ^ ver. 27 ; Neh. 8:1; Luke 4 : 10-10. 
 
 5Iark worthy of blame, and that he 
 showed weakness, a want of persever- 
 ance, or a hvek of faith. Various rea- 
 sons have been siii,'gested : Slirinking 
 from the (hmgers of a hazardous jour- 
 ney into the interior of Asia Minor ; 
 an unwillingness to give himself up 
 fully to the Gentile work ; a dissatis- 
 faction with the transfer of leadership 
 from Barnabas to Paul ; an anxiety for 
 his mother and home at Jerusalem. A 
 variety of reasons ])rol)al)ly actuated 
 him. But years later Paul's feelings 
 changed toward him ; for Mark became 
 his fellow worker (Coi t -. lu), and is com- 
 mended by him as useful in the minis- 
 try. (2rim. 4: II.) 
 
 14. But they — Paul and Barnabas 
 go on together, John Mark liaving left 
 them. Passing through the country 
 from Perga, they came to Anti- 
 och in Pisidia — a distance of alwut 
 one hundred and lifteen miles. They 
 may have stopj)ed at different settle- 
 ments and ])laces on the way. The 
 road from Perga to Antioch pa.ssed 
 through a rugged and romantic region 
 of the Taurus Mountains, where water- 
 floods were frctiueut, and the inhabit- 
 ants notorious for tlieir lawlessness. 
 J'isiJiit was tlie next province north of 
 Panij>hylia. Its tribes had rulers of 
 their own, and in their motintain fast- 
 nesscss, were but partially subdued by 
 the Romans. The ])asses from the sea- 
 coast to tlie interior are dittienlt and 
 Inive always beeu dangerous. It is a 
 reasonable supposition that on this and 
 other journeys in Pisidia, Paul was ex- 
 posed to tile "perils of rivers" and 
 "the perils of robl)ers," described in 2 
 Cor. 11 : 26. Antiocli was a city of 
 con.siderable imjRirtance and a Roman 
 colony, and situated near the bonlers 
 of Pisidia and Phrygia, on the high 
 centre tablelands of Asia Minor. Like 
 the Syrian city, Antioch, it was founded 
 by Selencus Nicator, and named after 
 liis father, Antiochus. Strabo, the 
 Greek geographer, described it as a 
 Roman colony and situated on an emi- 
 
 nence. Its site and vast ruins, con- 
 sisting of temples, churches, besides a 
 theatre and a magnificent aqueduct, 
 were discovered by ilr. Arunilell, of 
 England, in 1S33. Also a number of 
 inscriptions were found, one of which 
 included the name of thi' city. » ent 
 into the synagojfuc— the religious 
 assembly of the Jews. From this we 
 learn the custom of Paul and Barnabas 
 on similar occasions. (Vcr.o) Thcsi' 
 two strangers had, doubtless, duiiiig 
 the week, entered the city (puetly and 
 unnoticed; had obtained lodgings, and 
 work at their trade as tent makers, and 
 now with other Jews they enter the 
 synagogue. Sat down — some sup- 
 j)ose ou the place occn})ied by the rab- 
 bins ; but more ])robably, on a seat 
 near the entrance, as listeners. See 
 
 next verse. (see uote on Luke 4 ; IB.) 
 
 15. The law — the first five books 
 of the Old Testament. The prophets 
 
 — including besides the regular ])r()ph- 
 ets the books of Joshua, Judges, iSaui- 
 uel, and Kings. Some think the lessons 
 of the day were from Dent. ] and Isa. 1. 
 " The beginning of the discourse (ver. n, 
 18, ly) has three Greek verlis, which are 
 rare, and altogether jieculiar to the 
 Scriptures, exaltfd, sujff'cird tlnir man- 
 ners, and divided by lot ; of which tiie 
 first occurs in Isa. 1 : 2, the second and 
 third in Dent. 1 : 31, 38. Jloreover, 
 these two chajiters, Deut. 1 and Isa. 1, 
 are to this day read on one t^abliiitii ; 
 whence it is quite certain tliat both 
 were read on that veiy Sabbath, and in 
 Greek, and that Paul referred esj)ccially 
 to that reading of Moses and of the 
 prophets mentioned in ver. l.^i. For 
 even the mention of the Judges (vi-r. l-o) 
 accords with the les.son (isa. i ; en), ami 
 the Jews are wont to take their dis- 
 courses, or their beginnings, from the 
 Sabbath lesson in the synagogue." 
 (Bkngkl.) But if this lie so, nothing 
 can be inferred as to the sea.^oii of the 
 year, becau.se of the changes that have 
 since been made in the synagogue ser- 
 vices. Rulers of the synagogue. 
 
Cm. xm.j 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 209 
 
 have y any word of exhortation for the 
 people, say on. 
 10 Thun Paul stood up, and ^beckoning 
 with /lis liaud, said. Men of Israel, and 
 
 17 »ye that fear God, give audienc >. The 
 God of this people of Israel •'chose our 
 fathers, and exalted the people « when 
 they dwelt as strangers iu the land of 
 
 J Ueb. 13 : 22. « ch. 12 
 
 17. • ver. 20, 42, 43. »> Dent. 4 : 37 ; 
 Exod. 1 : 1, 7-9 ; I's. 105 : 23, 24. 
 
 7:6,7. «ch. 7: 17; 
 
 Each synagogue had its president, or 
 ruler (m : s, ii : Lnue 8 : 49) and elders (Luke 
 7 : 3-5), who might chastise (22 : is; 26 : 11 ; 
 9:2), or expel an offender. (John 9; 34.) 
 In this verse and in Mark 5 : 22, rulers 
 and elders appear to be spoken of indis- 
 criminately as rulers. It is not known, 
 however, liow perfect was the organiza- 
 tion of the synagogue at this time. It 
 was probably changed and developed 
 after the destruction of Jerusalem by 
 the Romans. Sent unto them — they 
 were thus sitting iu the congregation, 
 perhaps near the entrance, and not 
 among the public speakers. They had 
 probably been in Antioch a day or two 
 and were becoming known as teachers. 
 " Paul had received a regular theologi- 
 cal education at Jerusalem from Gama- 
 liel, and thus occupied in Jewish eyes 
 the position of an ordained minister in 
 our own times." (AliBOTT.) If ye 
 have any word of exhortation — 
 in application of the law and jirophets, 
 and in encouragement of their obser- 
 vance, say on. It was customary for 
 the rulers of the synagogue to invite 
 devout strangers and teachers present 
 to expound the Scriptures, read, or ex- 
 hort. This gave an excellent opportu- 
 nity for the early preachers to make 
 known the truths of the gospel. 
 
 16. Then Paul stood up. Now 
 and onward Paul appears as the chief 
 speaker, Barnal>as giving him the pre- 
 cedence. The Jews and Jesus wei-e ac- 
 customed to speak sitting ; but Paul 
 and the apostles appear to have spoken 
 standing. (1 : 15 ; 11 :28; i5:7.) Beckon- 
 ing with his hand— to secure atten- 
 tion. (See on 12: 17.) 
 
 In this address Paul first reviews the 
 goodness of God to the Jewish peojde 
 until the days of David (ver. 16-22) ; an- 
 nounces Jesus a descendant of David, 
 vvho was witnessed by John the Bap- 
 tist (23-25) ; proved to be the Messiah by 
 prophecy (26.37); upon all which he 
 founds an offer of salvation through 
 faith, and a solemn warning against re- 
 O 
 
 jecting the gospel. This is the first 
 recorded address of Paul, and may 
 serve as a specimen of his addresses at 
 this time. The similarity to portions 
 of Stephen's address has often been 
 noted. The impress of Stephen on 
 Paul's mind must have been deep and 
 lasting. Paul develops more clearly 
 the great doctrine of justification by 
 faith. (Ver. 38, .39.) See note on >)>tephni 
 and Fcml at the close of note on 7 : (iO. 
 Like Peter, Paul cites Ps. Iti : 10 (2 : 27), 
 and emphasizes the resurrection of 
 Christ, showing that it was the grestt 
 central doctrine of early Christian 
 preaching. Men of Israel— Jews by 
 i)irth. Ye that fear God — devout 
 Gentiles, both those who were prose- 
 lytes, having embraced Judaism and had 
 been circumcised, and also those who 
 were worshipers of Jeliovah through 
 uncircumcised (10:2), who had their 
 particular seats in the synagogue, (ver. 
 
 43, 48; 16: 14: 17 : 4.) 
 
 17. The God of this people of 
 Israel. Paul is addressing all of those 
 whom he calls God-fearing (ver. le), and 
 here singles out with emphasis and 
 honor, the Israelites who were j^resent. 
 Though now an ajtostle to the Gentiles, 
 he would not take from tlie Jews the 
 first and honorable jiosition whicli they 
 occupied. (Rom. i:i6.) Chose our 
 fathers— his as well as tlieirs. The 
 word fathers most naturally refers to 
 the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, 
 etc. (Kom.9:5-i3; 11 :i.) Exaltcd the 
 people — to dignity and honor, not 
 merely by increasing tlieir numbers, 
 but by the mighty works wrouglit by 
 Moses in their behalf This "clause 
 refers to tlie time previous to their 
 departure from Egypt; the last clause 
 of this verse describes that departure. 
 As strangers — in their Mijoxrn. They 
 were but sojourners. (Ofu. 47 : 4,9. seei 
 leter 1 : 17.) With a high arm — an rtp- 
 lifted arm — with signal ])0wer. The 
 arm of God is spoken of in a Hebrew 
 figure as the might, the power of God 
 
no 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. XIII. 
 
 l'">;y pt. '^ aii'I with an high anu brought he 
 
 18 t eiu oui of it. And 'about the time of 
 forty ye-ars suffered he their manners in 
 
 19 thu wilderness. And when 'he had di- 
 stroyed seven nations in the land of 
 
 Chanaan, e he divided their land to them by 
 
 20 lot. And after that hhega>e vnio them 
 judges about the space of four hundred 
 and fifty years, ' until Samuel the prophet. 
 
 21 It And afterward they desired a king: and 
 
 « Exod. 6:6; 13 : 14, 16; ch. 14. ' Exod. 16 : 3.J ; Isa. G3 : 0. f Deut. 7:1; Josh. 24 ; 11. 
 8 Josh. 14 : 1, 2. t Judg. 2 : 16. i 1 Sam. 3 : 20. k 1 Sam. 8 : 5-22 ; 10 : 1. 
 
 (Lukei :5i), and correspoiids here with 
 Exod. (3:6," with a stretched out arm." 
 The tigtire may have heen origiually 
 suggested to Closes and the Hebrews, 
 by the familiar hieroglyphic which 
 represents might by two outstretched 
 anus. 
 
 18. This verse treats of God's good- 
 ness and forbearance with Israel in the 
 wilderness. Suffered he their man- 
 ners — their character and conduct. 
 He bore with tlieui, endured them. 
 This reading is sujjported by the major- 
 ity of the best manuscripts, and is 
 adoj)ted by Westcott and Hort. By 
 the change of a single letter in the 
 Greek word it would mean, Jle hare 
 them as a iiursing father, with prol)able 
 reference to Deut. 1 : 31 ; he cherished 
 and nourished them, (i Thcss. 2: 7.) This 
 is supported by many ancient authori- 
 ties and some internal evidence, and is 
 preferred by Tiscliendorf, Hackett, 
 Meyer, and by the American CommitttL* 
 on the Revised New Testament. Hack- 
 ett says, " The apostle would bring to 
 view liere, not so much the forbearance 
 of God toward his people as his inter- 
 position, his direct efforts, in their 
 behalf." It is a singular fact that the 
 same tcxual variation occurs in tlie 
 Septiiagint version of Deut. 1 : 31. 
 Both statements are true, and either 
 fits in with Paul's speech, but the latter 
 reading .suits better with his preseuta- 
 tion of God's gracious dealings. 
 
 19 Destroyed seven nations- 
 mentioned in Deut. 7:1; Josh. 3 : 10; 
 24 : 11, namely: The Ilittites, Girgas- 
 hites, Anu)rites, Canaanites, Perizzites, 
 Ilivites, and Jebusites. They were 
 descendants of Canaan, taking their 
 names for the most ])art from his cliil- 
 dren. (Gen. 10 : 1519.) Tlieir nationality 
 was destroyed, though the i)eo])le not 
 utterly, fragments remaining even in 
 the days of Solomon, (i King<9:20.) 
 Through the Israelites God subdued, 
 ' cast them out.' (Deut. 7: 1.) So in the 
 
 providence of God many nations have 
 been destroyed liefore other nations — 
 for exam})le, many of tlie tribes of 
 American Indians. Divided their 
 land to them by lot — according to 
 the best manuscrij)ts and liighest au- 
 thorities, He gave them their lam! as an 
 inheritaiur, or possession. He caused 
 them to inlierit and possess tlie land. 
 The gracious dealings of God in giving 
 the Israelites a home is described. 
 
 20. Abowt the space of four 
 hundred and fifty years. This is 
 connected with the ])receding verse 
 and ends tlie sentence, according to the 
 best manuscripts. It thus nt'vrs to the 
 period between the call of the lathers 
 (ver. 17) and the entrance of tlie Israelites 
 into their possession, (ver. ih.) If Paul, 
 like Stephen (7 :«), starts with tiie four 
 hundred years of sojourn an<l opj)res- 
 sioii, and then adds the forty years 
 wandering in the wilderness, and seven 
 years to the division of the land under 
 ■Toshua, we have four hun<hed and 
 forty-seven years. Or staiting with 
 the birth of Isaac, who was si.xty years 
 old at the birth of .Jacob (Oen. 2*5: -.'g), 
 and Jacob a hundred and thirty on 
 going to Egypt (Gen.47:<i); and the 
 sojourn there two hundred and fifteen 
 years, and thence forty-seven years to 
 the settlement of the tril)es, and we 
 have four hundred and fifty-two years. 
 In eitiier reckoning it is in round num- 
 bers, "about four hundred and fifty 
 years." (See 7; 6.) 
 
 The rest of this verse forms another 
 sentence, and should read: And after 
 these things he gave judges until 
 Siunuel the prophet. Sanitiel was the 
 next man of great eminence after Moses 
 and Joshua, and was the last of tJie 
 judges, as Avell as the first of a long 
 line of prophets, that continued down 
 through the captivity. This shows 
 further God's gracious care over his 
 people. 
 
 21. And afterward they desired 
 
Cii. XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 211 
 
 Go.i gave unto tlieui Saul the si)u of Cis, 
 a man of the tribe of Hcnjaiiiiu, by the 
 22 space of forty years. And ' wlieu he had 
 removed him, "^ he raised tip unto them 
 David to be their king ; to whom also he 
 gave testimony, aud said, '1 have found 
 David the son of Jesse, a man after mine 
 
 own heart, which shall fulfill a!l my will." 
 
 2;« 1 Of this man's seed halh God according 
 
 "to his promise raised unto Israel I'a 
 
 24 Saviour, Jesus: i when John had first 
 preached before his coming the baptism 
 ol repentance to all the people of Israel. 
 
 25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, 
 
 1 1 Sam. 15 : 23, 2G, 2» ; 10 : 1. ml Sam. Hi ; i:t ; 2 Sam. 2 : 4 ; ."> : 3. ■> Luke 1 : 32, (i'l ; 
 Kom. 1:3. o ch. 2 : 30-3(3 ; 2 Sam. 7:12; I's. 132 : 11. p Matt. 1 : 21 ; Rom. 11 : 26. i Matt. 
 3:1: Luke 3 : 3. 
 
 — rather, they asked for themselves a 
 king, to gratify their own desires, in 
 order thatthey might be li ke the lieathen 
 nations about them, being dissatistied 
 with the theocratic government wliich 
 God had appointed, (i Sam. 8: d-22.) But 
 thougli this was of the nature of a re- 
 jection and apostasy from Jehovah, as 
 their king, yet God did not reject them, 
 but gave them Saul, the son of Kish 
 for forty years. The Scriptures give 
 no account of the length of his reign ; 
 but Josephus [Antiq. vi. 14, 9) probably 
 following public records or tradition, 
 states that Saul reigned eighteen years 
 before Samuel's death, and twenty-two 
 years after it. 
 
 32. Removed him — deposed him, 
 from his kingly office. This is the 
 natural application of the verb. (Luke 
 16:4.) (Compare Septnagint, 2 Kings 
 17 : 23 ; Dan. 2 : 21.) Occasionally the 
 expression in Greek is found, " re- 
 moved from life." God rejected Saul 
 (1 S;im. 15 : 11, 23), and David was anointed 
 soon after, (i Sam. 16 : 12-u,) But this 
 rejection was not publicly and finally 
 accomplished for twenty-five or more 
 years, till at the end of the forty years 
 (ver. 21), Saul was slain on Mount Gilboa 
 (1 Sam. .TO : 8) ; and then David was recog- 
 nized as king. (2Sam. 2:+.) I have 
 found David, etc. This is a com- 
 pound quotation, made up of two pas- 
 sages, given freely, and contains tlie 
 substance of what God had said on dif- 
 ferent occa.sions. " I liave found David 
 my servant." (ps, ss ; 20.) " The Lord 
 has souglit him a man after his own 
 heart." (1 Sam. i.3: u.) He was a man 
 after God's heart, in that, in contrast to 
 Saul, he made God's will his ruling 
 l)rinciple, hohling the people to the 
 faithful worship of God, and putting 
 down and disallowing idolatry and all 
 the abominations attending idol-wor- 
 ship. This refers specially to the gen- 
 eral administration of affairs according 
 
 to the divine will, and implies a re- 
 newed heart, but does not include all 
 tlie acts of his private and domestic life. 
 In his personal religious experience he 
 shows longings after a purer life, and 
 bitter repentance over sin. (p.-. oi, tic.) 
 All my Avill — plural, (t/i iny wishes, 
 regarding Israel and the enemies of 
 God. 
 
 23. From David Paul passes at once 
 to the Messiah, who according to the 
 belief of tlie Jew would be of the seed 
 of David. (Matt. 22 : 42.) According: to 
 his promise. Many of these, for ex- 
 ample: 2 Sam. 7 : 12; Ps. 89 : ;!.>-37 ; 
 132 : 11 ; Isa. 11 : 1-10; Jer. 23 : .3, (i ; 
 33 : 15, 16. Raised — rather, accord- 
 ing to the best manuscripts, Brouijlit 
 unto Israel; as the chosen people, 
 among whom he was to exercise his 
 ministry, and to whom lie was first to 
 be preached. A Saviour, which is the 
 meaning of the name, Jesus. (Matt. 
 1 : 21.) That Jesus was a descendant of 
 David is witnessed by the genealogical 
 tables in Matthew and Luke. Also by 
 such passages as Luke 1 : 27, 32, (59"; 
 Matt. 9 : 27 ; 1.5 : 22 ; 21 : 9 ; Pvom. 1 : 3. 
 
 24. Paul adduces the testimony of 
 John tlie Bapti.st, wtiom the ])eople 
 generally regarded as a prophet. When 
 John, etc. ; .John having first preaclicd 
 the baptism of repentance, imply- 
 ing, enjoining, and syml)oliziug repent- 
 ance, to all the people of Israel, 
 to the body of the nation as such, who 
 
 came to hear him. (Matt. 3: 5; Lukes : 3.) 
 
 Before his coming — better, his en- 
 trance, that is, the entrance of Jesus on 
 his work. Jesus was manifested at liis 
 baptism, but did not enter upon liis 
 work till after the temptation. (Joha 
 1 : 28-34.) His early ministry was in 
 Judea, where John fir.st preached. 
 (John 3 : 1, 22.) After John's im])rison- 
 ment, Jesus goes northward through 
 Samaria into Galilee, whose inhabit- 
 ants had probably come into special 
 
212 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. Xlll. 
 
 ' Whom think ye that I am ? 1 am not 
 he. But, behold, there cometh one after 
 me, whose shoes of his feet I am not 
 worthy to loose. 
 
 26 Men and brethren, children of the stock 
 of Abraham, and whosoerer among you 
 feareth God, ' iO you is the word of this 
 
 27 salvation sent. For they that dwell at 
 Jerusalem, and their rulers, ' because thev 
 knew him not, nor yet the voices of the 
 
 prophets " which are read every sabbnth 
 day, Uliey have fulfilled them in con- 
 
 28 deiuuing Au/i. J And though the> found 
 uo cause of death in him, yet desired 
 
 29 they Imitate that he should lie slaiu ' And 
 when they had fulfilled al! that was writ- 
 ten of him, they took him down from the 
 
 30 tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. ^ But 
 
 31 God raised him from the dead: and ^he 
 was seen many days of them which came 
 
 I John 1 : 20-27. s ch. 2 : 39; Luke 24 : 47. ' ch. 3 : 17 ; Luke 23 • 34 ; 1 Cor. 2 : 8. 
 
 »ch. 15: 21. X Luke 24 : 20, 26, 27, 44. J Mark 15 : 13, 14; John 19 : 6, 15. 'John 19; 
 28, 30, 36, 37. » ch. 2 : 24 ; Matt. 28 : 6. l> ch. 1 : 3 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 5-7. 
 
 contact with John during his closing 
 
 mijlistry. (John 3 : 23 ; 4:1-3; Mark 1 : 14, 15,) 
 
 25. And as John fulfilled his 
 course, etc. Eather, And as John 
 was completing his course, his official 
 life, or public ministry. Compare 
 Paul's expression, " I have finished 
 my course." (i Tim 4: 7.) He said — 
 lie habitually said this. See an in- 
 stance in John 1 : 19-23, when a depu- 
 tation of the Jewish Sanhedriu visits 
 liini. I am not he — the promised 
 one, the Saviour, (ver. 2:!.) Behold 
 there cometh one after me, etc. 
 
 (M.irk 1 : : : Luke 3 ; 16 ; see on Matt. 3 : It.) 
 
 20. Paul makes the first applica- 
 tion of his discourse to his hearers, by 
 offering this salvation, Avhich is fur- 
 titer enforced in ver. 32. Further ap- 
 l)l'cations are made in ver. 38, 40. 
 Men, also brethren — addressing them 
 in a most affectionate manner. Chil- 
 dren of the stock of Abraham, re- 
 minding them of their election as the 
 chosen people of God, of their hopes, 
 and the promises to them. (Kom. 9 : 3-5.) 
 Whosoever among you feareth 
 God — among the devout Gentiles 
 present. (Sceonver. te.) To you — in- 
 cluding both Jews and pro.selytes. 
 ( to : jfi. ) Or, according to several of the 
 oldest manuscripts. To us, who have 
 received him. Is the word of this 
 salvation, effected through the 
 Saviour, Jesus, (ver. 23.) Sent — rather, 
 teas sent forth, from God to be an- 
 nounced to you. Paul shows his 
 familiaritv witii Scripture in using 
 here part of Ps. 107 : 20. 
 
 27. For introduces a confirmatory 
 evidence of " His salvation " (vi^r. 2b), 
 attd reason why it was sent forth. 
 Pro]>hecy regarding the Messiah was 
 ftilfilled in the death and resurrection 
 of Jesus. Isot only the mass of the 
 
 people at Jerusalem, but also their 
 rulers, who were their s])iritual 
 guides, fulfilled the Scriptures in con- 
 demning him (-!:23), because they 
 knew him not, as the Messiah of 
 projthecy, nor yet the voices, t/ie 
 predictions, of the prophets, though 
 they were read every Sabbath day. 
 Peter speaks of this ignorance (■* '7), 
 and Jesus in his first prayer at the cru- 
 cifixion, " Father, forgive them, for 
 they know not what they do." (Luke 
 23:34.) To us who now review .Jewish 
 history, how strange appears their ig- 
 norance, and how wild their folly ! 
 
 28. Not only were they totally ig- 
 norant of their own Messiah, but they 
 were thoroughly bent on his death. 
 Though they "found, after all their 
 searchings, no cause of death (Luke 
 23 ; 22), accusing Jesus of l)lasphemy 
 and sedition ; but, unable to )>rove 
 either charge, suborned false witnesses 
 (Matt. 26:60), and desired, rather de- 
 manded that he should be slain. 
 
 (Luke 23 : 20-25.) 
 
 29. Fulfilled all that was writ- 
 ten of him, in his Itetrayal, arrest, 
 sufferings, and death. (p-s. 22 ; is.-.. 53 ; 
 
 Zech. 11 : 12, 13; 12: 10: 13: 7.) And laid 
 
 him in a sepulchre. It was not 
 
 necessary for Paul in his rajiid sum- 
 mary to distinguisli between the vari- 
 ous agents in those transactions. The 
 frienilly hands of Nicodenius and 
 Joseph of Arimathea took tlie boiiy 
 ' from the cross and buried it; yet I'oth 
 of them were rulers; so Paul's state- 
 ment is true to the letter. (John la : 3.--40.) 
 
 30. But in contrast with such ex- 
 
 1 treme and unritrhteous rejection of 
 j Jesus by the Jews, God raised him 
 j from the dead, to be a Saviour 
 I (ver. 32, 38), his resurrcction being the 
 ' great sign or evideuee of his mission 
 
Ch. XJII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 213 
 
 up Willi him from Galilee to Jerusalem, 
 "who are his wituesses unto the peojile. 
 
 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how 
 that* the promise which was made unto 
 
 as ihe fathers, God hath fulfilled the same 
 
 unto us their children, in that he hath 
 raised up Jesus again ; as it is also writ- 
 ten in the second Psalm, «' Thou art uiy 
 34 .Sou, this day have 1 begotten thee.' And 
 as concerning that he raised him up from 
 
 • ch. 1 : 8 ; 5 : 33. 
 
 d Gen. 3 : 15 ; 12 : 3 ; 22 : 18 ; Kom. 4 : 13. 
 5 ; Kev. 1 : 5. 
 
 Eom. 1:4; Heh. 1:5; 5: 
 
 and authority as the Messiah. (ScePcter'a 
 
 words 2 ; 3i-:i6 ; ;i : H, 15, 26; 1 Cur. 15::!-2S.) 
 
 31. And he was seeu many 
 days — Forty days, (i : s.) Of them 
 which came up with him from 
 Galilee to Jerusalem — specially 
 tliose disciples that came with hiiu on 
 his last journey to Jerusalem. There 
 were over five hundred eye-witnesses 
 of his resurrection, (icor. i5t6.) Who 
 are, etc., or according to the most ap- 
 proved text, Who are noio his witnesses. 
 Doubtless the majority of them were 
 still living. To the people of Israel 
 (ver. 2i) as the chosen jieople. Thus tlie 
 resurrection rested ou no tradition, hut 
 on the testimony of many living men, 
 who had known Jesus well, who saw, 
 touched, and talked with him after he 
 had risen from the dead. (See Rom. i ; -i.) 
 
 33. We and you are emphatic. In 
 view of sucli evidences of salvation and 
 of a risen Saviour, what these compan- 
 ions of Jesus witness elsewhere, we, 
 though not among those who saw him 
 during those forty days, now declare 
 unto you at Antioch, namely, the 
 glad tidings that the promise 
 which was made to the fathers 
 concerning the Messiah. 
 
 33. Contiiuiation of the sentence be- 
 gun in the last verse : God hath ful- 
 filled the same unto us, their 
 children, or, according to many man- 
 uscripts, to our children. The text is 
 uncertain, but the general meaning is 
 ]ilain. This fjlfillment had taken place 
 during their day, and was for the bene- 
 fit of them and their descendants. In 
 that he hath raised up Jesus 
 again. Omit again. Some take this 
 expression to mean that God raised up, 
 or bronght forward .lesus, sending him 
 into the world as the Messiah. Com- 
 pare this use of the verb in 3 : 22 ; 7 : 
 37. In support of this view i" urged the 
 quotation from Ps. 2 : 7, Thou art 
 my Son ; this day have I begot- 
 ten thee, which is thought to refer 
 
 to Christ's incarnation. (Heh.5:5.) It 
 is, however, more in keeping witli the 
 context to refer the verb raised wp 
 to Christ's resurrection, for that is tlie 
 special topic of this part of the dis- 
 course. The verb is frequently used 
 witliout the addition "from tlie dead," 
 with reference to the restirrection. 
 
 (Mark 8: 31 ; 16:9; Luke 9: 8, 19; 24: 7.) Christ 
 
 was the Son of God from all eternity. 
 At his incarnation he was indeed be- 
 gotten, but by his resurrection he was 
 openly declared to be so. (Kom. i:4.) 
 The resurrection might indeed l)e 
 styled the birthday of his reign. (Rev. 
 1:5.) The following from Dr. Hackett 
 is worth pondering over : " The origi- 
 nal passage [ps. 2 : 7] refers not to the 
 incarnation of the Messiah, but to his 
 inauguration or public acknowledg- 
 ment on the part of God as the rightful 
 sovereign of men. To no moment in 
 the history of Chri.st would such a pre- 
 diction apply with such significance as 
 to that of his triumphant resurrection 
 from the dead. The progression of the 
 argument in the next verse demands 
 this interpretation. To the assertion 
 here that God had raised Jesus to life 
 again, the apostle adds there that tliis 
 life is one which death would invade 
 no more." In the second Psalm. 
 Some manuscripts read first Psalm. It 
 was called first or second according to 
 circumstances. The first and second 
 Psalms were sometimes written to- 
 gether, and are still so found in some 
 manuscripts. Besides, some in ancient 
 times regarded the first Psalm as in- 
 troductory to the collection, and hence 
 the second as the first. " The second 
 Psalm " is the reading of the majority 
 of manuscripts. 
 
 34. And as concerning that, 
 etc. And that he raised him up from 
 the dead. Paul j)roceeds further to 
 prove from prophecy the resurrection 
 of Christ, and everlasting life connected 
 with it. No more to return to cor- 
 
214 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIII. 
 
 the dead, now 'no more to returu to cor- 
 ruption, he said on this wise, ' I will give 
 
 35 you lln- sureimrcies of Duvid.' Wherefore 
 he saith also in another Pj,iiljn, i'Thmi 
 shall not suffer thine Holy One to see 
 
 36 corruption.' For David, after he haii 
 served his own generation by the will of 
 
 God, ''fell on sleep, and was laid unto 
 37 his fatliers, and saw corruption: 'liut 
 he, whom God raised again, saw no cor- 
 ruption: 
 '■'S Be it known unto you therefore, men 
 and brethren, that ^ through this .man is 
 preached unto you the forgiveness of sins . 
 
 f Ilom. 6:9; Isa. 55 : 3 ; Ps. 89 : 28 ; 2 Sam. 7 : 13. g ch. 2 : 31. !■ ch. 7 : 60 ; 1 Kings 2 : 10 
 i ver. 30 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 20. k di. 5 : 31 ; Dan. 9 : 24 ; Luke 24 : 47 ; 1 John 2 ; 12. 
 
 ruption — that destruction which is 
 ellected by the decay of the body after 
 death, and hence no more to die. Com- 
 pare Paul's laiiguaLre in Rom. 6 : 9, 
 " Knowing that Christ being raised 
 from the dead dieth no more ; deatli 
 hath no more dominion over him." (See 
 
 al<o Kom. 5 : 10 ; John U : ly ; Heb. J : Ja. j To Sub- 
 stantiate tliis he quotes from Isa. 55 : 3, 
 varying somewhat from botli the 
 Hebrew and the Septuagint text, but 
 giving the sense substantially. The 
 promise : " I will make an everlasting 
 covenant with you, even the sure mer- 
 cies of David," Paul takes and uses 
 that which has special reference to 
 David and to Christ. I uili give 
 you the sure mercies, rather, the 
 holy thiii(/s of God, the tuirepromiiies of 
 David— that is, the Messianic blessings. 
 One of these promises was a successor 
 from his house, the throne of whose 
 kingdom God would establish forever. 
 
 (2 Sam. 7: l:!, 16; I Clirnn. 17 : ll-U ; Ps. »9:3, 4.) 
 
 This was fulfilled in Christ (i>».»: s,'; 
 Luke 1 :32, :«), and iiicludes not only a 
 resurrection, but also an enilless im- 
 mortality. 
 
 35. Wherefore, or because, he 
 saith also, showing that Clirist was 
 to l)e exempted from the dissolution of 
 tlie body and hence was to have an end- 
 less life, according to a prophetic prom- 
 ise. The quotation is from Ps. Ki : 10, 
 and was presented l)y Peter in his Pen- 
 tecostal discourse, which he treats in 
 the same way, showing that they could 
 not apply to David, but that they did 
 a])ply to Christ, (see o.i 2 : 27, so.) The two 
 apostles were in exact agreement in 
 the interpretation of this J^fessianic 
 prophecy. The independence of the 
 two iliscourses is seen, in that Paul 
 quotes only a part of a verse from Ps. 
 IR, and links it with a passage from 
 Isaiah, not alluded to by Peter, while 
 the latter quotes four verses from Ps. 
 
 16, and joins it with a passage from Ps. 
 110. For further independence com- 
 pare the language of the two ajio.stles 
 in their applications as found in the 
 next two verses and 2 : lit)-31. 
 
 36. David could not have been the 
 subject of that jnophecy, for he died 
 and his body went into decay. After 
 he had served his own genera- 
 tion, or after he had, in his own, gener- 
 ation, served ihe counsel of God. Either 
 translation is admissible. But the first 
 is preferable as the more natural con- 
 struction. In serving his own genera- 
 tion, he did it, by, or according to the 
 will, the jyurpose of God. Like 
 other men, David was useful to his gen- 
 eration, performing his allotted work 
 according to God's purjjose, and then 
 died. Fell on sleep, rather, fell 
 asleep ; quoted from 1 Kings 2 : 10. (see 
 ou7:6o.) Was laid unto, rather, was 
 added to, his fathers. This does not 
 refer to his burial, but to his disem- 
 bodied spirit being added to those of 
 his fathers in the regions of the departed. 
 This is a well-known Hebrew expres- 
 sion, used in distinction from death 
 
 and burial. (Oen. 35 : n-. 2 Kings 22 : 20.) The 
 
 existence of the soul after death in its 
 separation from the body is recognized. 
 And saw corruption — dissolution as 
 
 to his body. ( Seo on 2 : 29.) 
 
 37. The prediction must therefore 
 refer to Jesus who was raised and in 
 his body experienced no decay. (See on 
 
 2: 31.) 
 
 38. Paul now comes to the general 
 application of his address, that the 
 Messianic blessings of forgiveness and 
 justification only come from and 
 through Jesus. Be it known unto 
 you therefore — in view of the fact, 
 that the prophecies concerning the 
 Messiah are fulfilled in Jesus the Cru- 
 cified and Risen one. Peter uses this 
 emphatic formula at the beginning of 
 
Ch. XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 215 
 
 39 and 'by him all tliiit believe are justified ! 41 "Behold ye despisers, and woiidtr, and 
 from all Ihiugs, "> from which \f could perish: for I work a work in your days, 
 
 40 not be justified by the law of Moses. Be- 
 ware therefore, lest that conic upon you, 
 which is spoken of iheni in the Projihets ; 
 
 a work which ye shall in no wise believe, 
 though a man declare it unto you.' 
 
 ilsa. 53 : U ; Rom. 3 : 28 ; Gal. 2 : 16 ; 3 : 8-11. 
 
 Rom. 3 : 19, 20. 
 
 his discourses (2 : u ; + : is) ; Paul here at 
 the eud. Through this man, rather 
 this one — Jesus. /6' proclaimed unto 
 you the forgiveness, the remission 
 of sins, the remitting of the penalty 
 of sius. This is announced to you for 
 your acceptance. Peter hail proclaimed 
 the same great truth. (2 : ::ts; 5 : :ii ; 10 : 43.) 
 39. Not only will tlie penalty of sin 
 be remitted, but its guilt will be re- 
 moved ; not only remission, but justifi- 
 cation is ofl'ered. We luive here the 
 first announcement by Paul of the 
 doctrine of justification l)y faitli alone, 
 which is the great central trutli of liis 
 epistles. And by him all that 
 believe, etc. Literally, And that 
 from all things, from which ye icere 
 not able in the law of Moses to be justi- 
 Jied, in this one every one believing is 
 justified. Paul briefly announces a 
 full justification tlirough Christ, and 
 the total inability of the law to justify 
 the sinner. From all things — from all 
 sins. From which ye were not able in, 
 under and through, the laiv of 3foses 
 to be justified — in other words, the law 
 was not able to justify from any sin. 
 As Paul aiiirms justification tlirough 
 Christ from all sins, so to the same ex- 
 tent he affirms the insufficiency of the 
 law. We cannot suppose, with Meyer 
 and Alford, that Paul makes only a 
 partial statement here, that Christ will 
 do all that the law cannot do, leaving 
 it for inference on further instruction, 
 that the law could absolutely do noth- 
 ing toward justification. Paul's lan- 
 guage is brief, but empliatic, both in 
 regard to the law and to Ciirist. It is 
 unfair both to him and his language to 
 infer that Christ justifies only from 
 some things. The meaning rather is, 
 that he justifies from all sins, and the 
 law from none. Anything less than 
 this would be inconsistent with Paul's 
 teaching elsewhere, and to the New 
 Testament doctrine of salvation through 
 
 Christ alone. (R-m. 3 : •iO-26 ; 5 : 1 ; 8 : 1 ; 10 : 
 
 4; Gal. 3: u, 22) Paul .spoke from his 
 own experience. (Rom. 7 : 5, 6.) 
 
 40. Paul closes with a solemn warn- 
 ing against rejecting tlie gospel. There 
 is a similarity to the pointed ending of 
 Stephen's speech. (7 : 51.) Paul very 
 probably saw signs of opjiosition in 
 some and wonder and incredulity in 
 others ; arising ]>erhaps from liis doc- 
 trine of justification through Christ 
 alone, and not by the law, and his free 
 offer of salvation to all that believe. 
 Therefore — since you are guilty and 
 exposed, and salvation cannot come by 
 the law, but only through Christ. Be- 
 Avare — see to it, take heed. An ex- 
 pression nowhere else employed in this 
 book, but of frequent occuneiice in the 
 writings of the apostle wlio is here 
 
 speaking. (1 Cor. 3 : 10 ; 8 : » ; 10 : 12 ; Gal. 3: 
 15 ; Eph. 5 : 15 : Phil. 3:2; Col. 2 : 8 ; 4 : 17. ) This 
 
 coincidence is slight, yet a striking 
 illustration of the strict accuracy of 
 Luke. In the prophets— in that 
 part of the Old Testament so named by 
 the Jews. (ver. 15.) 
 
 41. The quotation is from Hab. 1 : 5, 
 and follows the Septuagint, but gives 
 the essential sense of tlie Hebrew. 
 Despisers and perish are not in the 
 Hebrew. The former is regarded as a 
 translation of a similar Hebrew word, 
 (Meyer and others) ; and the idea of 
 perish may be evolved from the 
 Hebrew te.xt. Paul quotes from the 
 version familiar to his hearers, and 
 makes no correction, since the differ- 
 ences in the Septuagint from the origi- 
 nal Hebrew, did not affect the applica- 
 tion which he was about to make to the 
 Jews of his day. The passage in 
 Habakkuk refers to the judgments to 
 be inflicted on the Jewish nation by 
 the Chaldean armies, aiul Paul sees in 
 it not a fulfillment, but an illustration 
 and a striking description of the right- 
 eous judgments coming upon the reject- 
 ers of Christ in his day. Bengel sug- 
 gests that these words were then used 
 among the pious as a general proverb 
 against all unbelievers. Paul warns 
 the Jews against the deliberate rejec- 
 tion of the long-promised Messiah ; and 
 
216 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIII. 
 
 42. And when the Jews were gone out of 
 thesynagogue, the Gentiles besought that 
 these words might be preached to them 
 
 43 the next sabbath. Now when the con- 
 gregation was broken up, many of the 
 Jews and religious "proselytes followed 
 Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to 
 
 them, "persuaded them to continue in 
 f the grace of God. 
 
 44 And the next sabbath day came almost 
 the whole city togellicr to hear the word 
 
 45 of (iod. But when the Jews saw the 
 multitudes, they were tilled with envy, 
 and 4 spake against those things which 
 
 » ch. 2 : 10. ch. 11 : 23 ; 14 : 22 ; 2 Cor. 6:1; Heb. G : 11, 12 ; 12 : 15. 
 Pet. 5 : 12. q ch. 18 : 6 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 14-16 ; Jnde 10. 
 
 pCoI. 1:6, 23; 1 
 
 a few years later his words were veri- 
 fied in the destruction of Jerusalem and 
 the coniplete breaking up and scatter- 
 ing of the Jewish nation. 
 
 42. And when the Jcavs were 
 gone out of the synagogue, the 
 Gentiles, etc. The most approved 
 reading is: And as they, Paul and 
 Barnal)as, were going out they, the peo- 
 ple, whether Jews or Gentiles, besought 
 that these worih, etc. It is supposed 
 that an ancient lesson, read in public 
 worship, began with this verse, and tliat 
 some copyist inserted the words, in 
 order that the verse might be the more 
 clearly understood, and to make it con- 
 sistent with the hostility of the Jews in 
 ver. 45. It is not probable that all the 
 Jews united in this request. The 
 next sahbath — literally, the sabbath 
 or week between, which would mean on 
 one of the week-day services, held on 
 ^fonday and Thursday. But according 
 to the later Greek the phrase means the 
 Sahbath after, or next Sabbath, and 
 this is preferred by the best critics, and 
 ajipears to be the meaning demanded 
 by ver. 44. 
 
 43. When the congregation 
 was broken up, or when the syna- 
 gogue was dismissed. It is not implied 
 tliat there was any confusion in the 
 iissemV)ly. It would seem that Paul 
 and Barnabas were going out before 
 tlu' general dispersion of the people, 
 and were requested by the rulers or 
 otliers to repeat the discourse the next 
 S;ibbath. The asseml)ly then was dis- 
 missed, and when most had gone, 
 many Jews and religious, devout, 
 God-fearing, proselytes follOAved 
 Paul and Barnabas to express their 
 assent to what they had heard, and to 
 seek further instruction. Who refers 
 to Paul and Barnabas, not to the Jews 
 and proselytes. Persuaded — by mov- 
 ing representations induced them to 
 continue in the grace of God, in 
 
 the favor of God through the gospel. 
 It would seem that some had believed. 
 Compare a similar exhortation by Bar- 
 nabas to the believers at Antioch in 
 Syria. (11:23.) 
 
 44. The next sabbath. During 
 the intervening week Paul and Barna- 
 bas had doubtless been active in pri- 
 vate circles, especially among inquir- 
 ers and those interested in the new doe- 
 trine. So deep was the impression 
 made, and so much interest aroused 
 among all classes, especially among 
 the Gentile population, that almost 
 the whole city, both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, came together, doubtless at 
 the synagogue where thev were the 
 previous Sabbath. The building must 
 have been crowded, and every avenue 
 filled with people, and many not able 
 
 to enter. (See Mark 2:2.) 
 
 45. Notice that the Jews only are 
 named here ; the proselytes are not 
 mentioned. The latter naturally would 
 not sliare these feelings. The multi> 
 tudes are those outside of the Jews, 
 including both devout and Pagan Gen- 
 tiles. They were^^/(e Jeivs — filled 
 with envy — with an indignant and 
 contentious jealousy. (See on 5: u.) Their 
 Isiaelitish pride was touched ; their 
 angry zeal was stirred ; and their jeal- 
 ousy aroused, at such results. " They 
 could not endure the notion of others 
 being freely admitted to the same relig- 
 ious privileges with themselves. This 
 was always the sin of the Jewish peo- 
 
 I jde. Instead of realizing their position 
 i in the world as the prophetic nation 
 I for the good of the whole earth, they 
 i indulged the self-exalting opinion, that 
 [ God's highest blessings were only for 
 [ themselves." (Conybeake and How- 
 son, Vol. I, p. 179.) Paul appears as 
 j the principal speaker. Spake against 
 and contradicting are in the orig- 
 • inal different forms of the same verb, 
 I giving emphasis and fullness to the ex- 
 
Ch. XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 217 
 
 were spoken by Paul, contradicting ami 
 4G blaspheming. 'I'hcu Paul and Barnabas 
 waxed bold, and said, ''It was necessary 
 that the word of God should first have 
 been spoken to you : but 'seeing ye put it 
 from you, and judge yourselves 'un- 
 worthy of everlasting life, lo, "we turn 
 
 47 to the Gentiles. For so bath the Lord 
 commanded us, saying, ' ' 1 have set thee 
 to be a light of the Gentiles that thou 
 shouldest be for salvation unto the ends 
 
 I of the earth.' 
 
 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they 
 I were glad, and glorified the word of the 
 
 ' Ver. 26 ; ch. 1 : 8 ; Matt. 10 : 6 ; Rom. 1 : 16. ' ch. 7 : 51 ; Deut. 32 : 21 ; JIatt. 21 : 43 ; 
 Rom. 10 : 19. ' Matt. 10 : 37, 38 ; 22 : 8. » ch. 18 : 6 ; 28 : 28 ; Kom. 11 : 11. » Isa. 42 : 
 1, 6 ; Luke 2 : 32. 
 
 pression. The Jews not only opposed 
 by arti;ument ; but denied the applica- 
 tion of the prophecies which Paul liad 
 made. And at the .same time blas- 
 phemins^, or reviling — heaping abuse 
 upon Paul and Barnabas as false teach- 
 ers and heretics, and probably blas- 
 pheming Jesus, whose death and resur- 
 rection formed the central point of 
 go.spel preaching. The verb translated 
 blaspheme means to revile, and is 
 equivalent to our word blaspheme when 
 used of contemptuous speech uttered 
 against God, or sacred things. (Rom. i ■. 
 
 •2i; 3:8; Mark 15 ; 29 ; James 2:7.) 
 
 46. Then Paul and Barnabas, 
 
 seeing the bitter opposition, and hearing 
 the reviling words of the Jews, which 
 were not shared in by either the devout 
 or Pagan Gentiles, unite in stemming 
 the current. Waxed bold — spoke bold- 
 ly, plainly, with assurance. It was 
 necessary that the word of God 
 should first haye been spoken 
 to you. This was the divine purpose 
 (Luke 24: 47), and was SO commanded by 
 their risen Lord(i:8), and had been 
 prophetically announced to the Mes- 
 siah, (ver. 47.) The principle here in- 
 volved was followed by the apostles 
 when first announcing the gospel in 
 every Gentile city, (ti : i9 ; n : i, u ; is : 
 5,j.) Ye put it from you — scorn- 
 fully reject it. (see 7 : 27, 39.) And judge 
 yourselves unworthy of ever- 
 lasting life — which they preached 
 and offered through Jesus Christ. It 
 was thus these Jews by their con- 
 duct condemned themselves. They 
 proved themselves unworthy by re- 
 jecting their own Messiah. Lo, we 
 turn to the Gentiles — including 
 the heathen — of that place. Before 
 this they had been specially addressing 
 the Jews at Antioch including j^rose- 
 lytes and devout Gentiles ; from this 
 time at Antioch they would give their 
 whole attention to Gentiles. Their 
 
 public decision was a representative 
 one, perhaps the first that they had 
 been compelled to make in such a pul»- 
 lic manner. It illustrates their custom 
 elsewhere. How wonderful the grace 
 of God, that Paul, the once haughty 
 and fastidious Pharisee, should be im- 
 bued with this liberal spirit, and recog- 
 nize that the wall of partition between 
 Jew and Gentile had been broken down, 
 and that in Christ all are one. (Epu. 2 : 
 
 14,15.) 
 
 47. Paul and Barnabas base their 
 act on the prophetic word of God, and 
 not upon any momentary impulse. The 
 Scripture quoted is Isa. 49 : 6. The 
 Messiah is addressed. For so hath 
 the Lord commanded— to preach 
 the gospel to the Gentiles, as they 
 had done and proposed to do. I have 
 set, or appointed, thee to be a light 
 of the Gentiles, revealing the way 
 of life to them that sit in darkness ; 
 in order that thou shouldest be 
 for salvation, not merely to the 
 Jews, but to the Gentiles both in the 
 land of Israel, and to the ends of 
 the earth. This prophecy showed 
 that the mission of Christ was by no 
 means to be confined to the Jews, and 
 that in preaching to the Gentiles, Paul 
 and Barnabas, as the representatives of 
 Christ, and the heralds of his gosj)el, 
 were acting in obedience to this divine 
 commission. So the aged Simeon saw 
 the same truth, quoting Isa. 42 : 6. (See 
 
 Luke 2 ; 32. Conip:uc K.im. 9 : 25 ; Isa. U : 1, 10.) 
 
 48. The effect on the Gentiles. 
 They rejoiced that the same privileges 
 and blessings were offered them as 
 to the Jews, and they praise and 
 honor the word of the Lord, the 
 gospel of Christ, as it had been preached 
 to them. While the Gentiles generally 
 were ready to applaud the step that 
 Paul and Barnabas liad taken, and to 
 honor tlie truth, yet all did not savingly 
 believe. As many as were or- 
 
218 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cn. XIIL 
 
 Lord : J and as many as were ordained to 
 eternal life believed. 
 
 49 And the word of the lyord was pub- 
 
 50 lisbed throughout all the region. But 
 
 the Jews stirred up the devout and hon- 
 ourable women, and the chief men of the 
 city, and ^raised persecution against Paul 
 and Barnabas, and » expelled them out of 
 
 J ch. 2 : 47 i John 10 : 10, 20, 27 ; 
 
 Kum. 8 : 30 ; 11 : 2 ; 2 Thess. 2 
 » comp. Am. 7 : 12. 
 
 13, 14.« 2 Tim. 3 : 11. 
 
 dained, or appointed unto eternal 
 
 life — an endless blessed existence — 
 believed. Thus accepted the truth 
 and the Lord Jesus Christ as their only 
 Saviour. Many attempts have been 
 made to soften the teachings of this 
 clause by unnatural constructions, or 
 by giving the verb ordained some 
 other rendering, such as, disposed in 
 their minds. But this verb is not used 
 to denote a mere disposition of the mind, 
 but always the exercise of power and 
 authority, either human or divine. 
 (n : 26 ; n ; 10 ; 15 : 2 : 28 23, etc.) In the pas- 
 sive form as here, it cannot denote a self- 
 determination, but a previous divine 
 determination respecting those who be- 
 lieved. They were ordained or ap- 
 pointed unto eternal life, according to 
 some plan or arrangement of God. Com- 
 pare Rom. 13 : 1, " The powers that be 
 are ordained of God." Luke's object was 
 not to state a doctrine, but a historical 
 fact. Yet a great princij)le or truth in 
 the divine plan of salvation is implied. 
 Hence this doctrine must he learned 
 more fully from other passages. (Rum. 
 
 8 : 28-30 ;K ph. 1 : 4-11 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 1.3 ; 2 Tim. 1:9; 
 
 1 Peter 1 : 2.) While On the one hand 
 these believing Gentiles were the sub- 
 jects of a divine choice, on the other 
 hand it is implied in the word be- 
 lieved that they exercised not a mere 
 mechanical, but a free act. Both God's 
 sovereignty and man's freedom are 
 clearly taught in the Scriptures, and 
 neither one excludes the other. With 
 our limited knowledge of the divine 
 modes of working, and our finite con- 
 ceptions of the relations of tlie Infinite 
 to the finite, we may not be able to 
 fully explain or harmonize these doc- 
 trines ; but it becomes us to bow before 
 infinite wisdom, and accept both as 
 true, and act accordingly. (Phii. 2 : 22, i3-) 
 49. Antioch in Pi.sielia becomes the 
 centre of missionary work in tliat re- 
 gion. And, in continuation and as a 
 result of this work among Gentiles, 
 the word of the Lord was pub- 
 lished, was spread abroad, through- 
 
 out all the region, the vicinity of 
 Antioch. It is probable that this was 
 done principally by the new converts ; 
 yet Paul and Barnabas may have vis- 
 ited some of the nearer villages. This 
 would seem to indicate that they were 
 several weeks in Antioch and its 
 vicinity. 
 
 50. But while this work was going 
 on the opposing Jews adroitly con- 
 trived to drive Paul and Barnabas from 
 the city. Devout women — Gentile 
 women, who were worshipers of Je- 
 hovah, and had probably embraced 
 Judaism. Their hostility could easily 
 be excited against doctrines repre- 
 sented as opposed to their new faith. 
 Josephus says ( War. ii. 20, 2), that at 
 Damascus almost all of the married 
 women were " addicted to the Jewish 
 religion." Doubtless many of the Gen- 
 tile women at Antioch were either 
 proselytes or favorable to the Jewish 
 faith. These women were also honor- 
 able in their social position (i7 : 12), 
 being married to men of rank and high 
 standing, very probably to these chief 
 men of the city. It was through 
 these women that the crafty Jews 
 reached their Gentile husbands. 
 " Strabo, who was intimately ac- 
 quainted with the social position of the 
 female sex in the towns of Western 
 Asia, speaks in strong terms of the 
 power which they possessed and exer- 
 cised in controlling and modifying the 
 religious opinions of the men." (Co- 
 NEYBEAEE and HowsON, Vol. I. p. 
 180.) This is the first instance of their 
 influence recorded in the narrative of 
 Paul. They will appear in connection 
 with Paul's life frequently hereafter. 
 
 (16:14: 17 :*, 12,34; 18 : 2 ; Phil. 4: 3; 1 Cor. 7 : 16.) 
 
 Raised persecution — stirred up 
 strong opposition to Paul and Barnabas, 
 who were expelled not only from the 
 city, but out of their coasts, their 
 borders. They could hardly have been 
 legally and formally expelled, for they 
 return to Antioch a year — more or less 
 — after. It was rather a popular out- 
 
Ch. XIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 219 
 
 51 their coasts. >> But they shook oflf the dual 52 "Iconium. And the disciples ii were tilled 
 of their feet a),'aiust them, and ca.me unto with joy, and with the Holy Spirit. 
 
 b ch. 18 : 6 ; Matt. 10 : 14 ; Mark G : 11 ; Luko 9:5. o ch. 14 : 1, 
 John 16 : 22 ; Gal. 6 : 22. 
 
 dch. 2: 46; Matt. 5:12; 
 
 break, led by the first men of the city, 
 before which these missionaries were 
 driven out. What violence they may 
 have sutfered we are not told. Paul 
 refers to this persecution near the close 
 
 of his life. (iTim.3:ll.) 
 
 51. Having been rejected by the 
 Jews and the leading men of Antioch, 
 Paul and Barnabas shook off the 
 dust of their feet against them, 
 
 according to the Lord's command. 
 (Luke 9: 5.) The Jews Were accustomed 
 to shake off the dust when they re- 
 turned to their own land from a heathen 
 country as polluted. So by this act 
 these missionaries signified that their 
 persecutors were devoted to destruction, 
 and that the very dust of their city was 
 
 polluted. (See 18 : 6 ; Neh. 5 : 13.) They also 
 
 signified that they had done their duty, 
 and that the blood of their persecutors 
 would be upon their own heads. Ico- 
 uium was a populous city, about ninety 
 miles southeast of the Pisidiau Antioch, 
 near the foot of Mount Taurus, situated 
 on one of the largest plains of Asia Minor. 
 It is generally regarded as belonging 
 to Lycaonia, and practically its capital ; 
 and was upon the great line of commu- 
 nication between Ephesus and Antioch, 
 of Syria and the Euphrates. It is now 
 called Koniyeh, and has a population 
 of twenty or thirty thousand. Paul and 
 Barnabas approached it from the west 
 by the military road that crosses the 
 mountain chain. For hours the city 
 was in sight before reaching it. From 
 it the lofty summit of mountains were 
 seen on every side, except toward the 
 east, where a plain stretches beyond the 
 sight. At this time it was under a local 
 tetrarch. The diversity of governments 
 at that time in Asia Minor, was an ad- 
 vantage to Paul and Barnabas, aflford- 
 iug them opportunity to escape from 
 one jurisdiction to another. They 
 obeyed the command of the Lord, 
 " When they persecute you in this city, 
 flee into another." (Matt, m : 23.) 
 
 53. The disciples — at Antioch 
 who continued there amid much oppo- 
 sition and persecution, (u : 22.) A church 
 
 had been gathered, who.se members, 
 notwithstanding the disheartening sur- 
 roundings and the expulsion of their 
 beloved teachers, were tilled Avitli 
 joy, the comforts, hopes, and blessed 
 assurances of their new faitli. And 
 this state of mind was connected with 
 and arose from being tilled Avith the 
 Holy Spirit. (G:ii. 5:22.) Thus they 
 had " all joy and i)eace in believing and 
 all joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rjqi. u : n ; 
 15 : 13.) In them was verified the assur- 
 ance Oi the Lord. (Man. 5 : 11, 12. see Acta 
 5 . 41.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Antioch is the mother of foreign mis- 
 sions. Every church should be the center 
 of missionary activity. (Ver. 1-3 ; Matt. 
 28 : 19, 20.) 
 
 2. Those who perform present duty are 
 most likely to be called to enlarged spheres 
 of service. (Ver. 2 ; Mark 4 : 25.) 
 
 3. In entering on ministerial and mission- 
 ary service there should be: 1. Conversion ; 
 suitable mental talents ; an earnest desire to 
 glorify God .and save souls, and a call by the 
 Holy Spirit to the work. 2. The approval 
 and recognition of the call by the church. 
 In what is styled ordination this call is 
 recognized by prayer and the laying on of 
 hands. (Ver. 2, 3 ; 26 : 16 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 12.) 
 
 4. The cause of missions is of God. The 
 Holy Spirit chooses fit agents for the work, 
 and blesses those sent forth. (Ver. 4 ; Rom. 
 15 : 18, 19.) 
 
 5. We should strive to enter every door 
 opened before us for doing good. Paul and 
 Barnabas at once entered Cyprus, and 
 wherever they found a synagogue they used 
 it for announcing the g'ad tidings. (Ver. 
 5; 14: 27; 1 Cor. 1G:S, ^7.; 
 
 6. Men long for a knowledge of God. If 
 they do not accept the true religion they 
 will adopt a false one. (Ver. 6 ; Rev. 2 : 20.) 
 
 7. Sergiu.s Paulus is a type of many in the 
 heathen world, who are ready to hear the 
 word of God. (Ver. 7 ; 17 : 19, 34 ; 19 : 9, 20.) 
 
 8. Elymas is a type of the worldly-wise, 
 leading away from God and opposing the 
 truth (Ver. 8 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 21 ; Rev 2 : 14.) 
 
220 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 LCii. XITT. 
 
 9. We can safely rebuke sin and sinners, 
 il lilled with the Spirit. (Ver. 9; 2 Tim. 
 4 : %) 
 
 10. We must sometimes speak with great 
 plainness of speech to the pervertera of trutli, 
 but it must be done discreetly and with a 
 sanctified judgment. (Ver. 10; Titus 1 : 13.) 
 
 11. " Uow soon God can bring down tlie 
 pride of m.in and make him helpless as an 
 infant." (Barnhs.) (See ver. 11 ; Ps. 18 : 27.) 
 
 12. The gospel is the power of God unto 
 salvation to them that believe. (Ver. 12; 
 Kom. 1 : 16 ; 2 Cor. 2 : 16.) 
 
 13. The servant of the Lord should not 
 leave or turn aside from his work without 
 great thoughtfuluess and much prayer. 
 (Ver. 13; 21:12-14.) 
 
 14. We should seek places and opportuni- 
 ties of doing good. (Ver. 14; Gal. 6 : 10.) 
 
 15. While we should not intrude ourselves 
 upon strange congregations, we should ever 
 be ready to give a reason of the hope that is 
 within us. (Ver. 15 ; 1 Peter 3 : 15.) 
 
 16. A knowledge of the history of God's 
 people is of great advantage to the preacher 
 of the gospel. (Ver. 16-22 ; 18 : 24 ; Matt. 24 : 
 15, 25.) 
 
 17. The history of the Jews is among the 
 strongest arguments for Christianity. (Ver. 
 17-22 ; Luke 24 : 44 ; Matt. 24 : 15, 25.) 
 
 18. How marvellous the patience of Gud 
 toward his erring people, and his long suf- 
 ferings toward sinners I (Ver. 18 ; 1 Peter 
 3 : 20; 2 Peter 3 : 9.) 
 
 19. Nations are judged in this world. (Ver. 
 19 ; Jer. 12 : 17 ; Gen. 15 : 14.) 
 
 20. God's gifts are often mingled with 
 chastisements, and the latter are often in- 
 creased by the determination of his people to 
 have their own way. (Ver. 20 ; Deut. 8:5; 
 Ueb. 12 : 5, 6.) 
 
 21. Obedience to God's word, the prompt 
 doing of his will is especially pleasing to 
 him. (Ver. 22 ; 1 Sam. 15 : 22.) 
 
 22. The New Testament is hidden in the 
 Old. Jesus, the Saviour, is the Fulfiller of 
 the tyjH'S, shadows, and promises of the Old 
 Uispensation. (Ver. 23 ; Heb. 10 : 1-7, etc.) 
 
 23. Jesus was John's Master and David's 
 Lord. All prophets and teachers pointed to 
 Christ. (Ver. 24, 25 ; 10 : 36.) 
 
 24. Salvation was first sent to the Jews, 
 God's chosen people and Christ's nation after 
 the flesh, and through them to the world. 
 lVer.26; John 4: 23.) 
 
 25. We need the guidance of Christ and liis 
 Spirit, lest the Bible be a sealed book to us 
 as it was to the Jens. (Ver. 27 ; 2 Peter 3 : 
 IG ; Luke 24 : 45.) 
 
 26. Paul was a model in presenting the 
 truth in such a manner as to give no un- 
 necessary oflFence. (Ver 27-29 ; 17 : 22, 23.) 
 
 27. We should preach both the cross and 
 the resurrection, a dying ;ind a living Sav- 
 iour. (Ver. 29-31 ; Rom. 4 : 25.) 
 
 28. Preachers of the gospel are messengers 
 of glad tidings, announcing a risen Saviour 
 and the remission of sins. (Ver. 32-34; 
 Luke 24 : 46, 47.) 
 
 29. The " sure mercies of David" belong 
 to every believer, secured by an immutable 
 promise and a covenant ordered and sure. 
 (Ver. 34; 1 Cor. 3 : 21, 22.) 
 
 30. He who serves God the best will best 
 serve his generation. (Ver. 36 ; James 5 : 
 10.) 
 
 31. The triumph of Christ over death and 
 the grave is a jiledge of alike triumph of his 
 people. (Ver. 35 ; John 14 : 19.) 
 
 32. The law was weak in that it fixed a 
 penalty, but could not forgive; it condemned, 
 but could not justify, cleanse the soul and 
 make righteous. (Ver. 38, 39; Rom. 3:20; 
 8:3; Gal 3 : 19.) 
 
 33. Christ has made a full atonement for 
 sin and wrought out a perfect righteousness, 
 and he is thus the end of the law for right- 
 eousness, and delivers us from its curse. 
 (Ver. 38, 39 ; Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3 : 13.) 
 
 34. Justification by faith in Christ and the 
 forgiveness of sins through faith in him are 
 grand peculiarites of the gospel. (Ver. 39 ; 
 Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1 : 7.) 
 
 35. Sinners may be amazed at the works 
 of God and yet perish. (Ver. 41 ; 8 : 13, 21.) 
 
 .36. The greatne.«s of the gospel otfer en- 
 hances the guilt of those who reject it. (Ver. 
 
 41 ; Heb. 2 : 3.) 
 
 37. Men may be anxious to hear the truth 
 and not be savingly benefited by It. (Ver. 
 
 42 ; James 1 : 22.) 
 
 38. Though the blessings of the gospel are 
 all of grace they are not to be attained or 
 enjoyed without efforts of our own. (Ver. 
 43 ; Luke 13 : 24.) 
 
 39. Proud and self-righteous professors are 
 sometimes annoyed in seeing all classes 
 pressing into the kingdom. (Ver. 44, 45; 
 Luke 15 : 28-30.) 
 
 40. Pr^udices against the truth may be ao 
 
Ch. XIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 221 
 
 Paul and Barnabas at Tconium, Lystra, 
 and Lhrbi', ; their return to Antioch. 
 
 14 AND it came to pass in Inconiuni, that 
 they went both together into the syna- 
 gogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a 
 
 great multitude both of the Jews and also 
 
 2 of the Greeks believed. But the uu be- 
 lieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and 
 made their minds evil affected against the 
 
 3 brethren. Long time therefore abode 
 
 obstinate that even a revelation will not re- 
 move them. (Ver. 44, 45; Luke 16:31.) 
 
 41. Sinners, by their conduct, not only 
 condemn themselves, but may also show 
 thereby that there is no propriety in further 
 offers of eternal life to them. (Ver. 46 ; Luke 
 13 : 34, 35.) 
 
 42. It is the purpose of G«d that the gos- 
 pel should be carried to the ends of the 
 earth, since its offers are designed for all of 
 the human race. (Ver. 47 ; Luke 24 : 47.) 
 
 43. " The conversion of men is not an ac- 
 cident, or an uncertainty. It is in pursuance 
 of God's eternal purpose which embraced it 
 and all the events leading to it. To us it is 
 disclosed only by their own act of coming 
 to Christ." (I. P. Warren.) (Ver. 48.) 
 
 44. " By women God's kingdom is often 
 greatly advanced or retarded." (Bbngel.) 
 (Ver. 50.) 
 
 45. Ministers should so preach the gospel 
 as to be able to testify that they are free 
 from the blood of all men. (Ver. 51 ; 20 : 26, 
 27.) 
 
 46. The Christian religion is a joyful re- 
 ligion, notwithstanding all of the trials and 
 persecutions that may attend it. (Ver. 52; 
 Phil. 3 : 1 ; 4 : 4.) 
 
 Ch. 14 : This chapter completes 
 the account of Paul'.s first missionary 
 tour. After completins^ their work at 
 Iconiuni they visit Lystra and Derhe ; 
 and from thence return l)y the way 
 they came, and reaching Attalia, a sea- 
 ]iort of Pami)hylia, they sail to Antioch 
 of Syria, where they report their suc- 
 cesses to the church. 
 
 1-7. Experiences of Pattl and 
 Barnabas at Iconium. (2Tim. smo.) 
 It was probably in tlie summer of A. D. 
 4(5. They continued here "a long 
 time," probably several months, (ver. 3.) 
 
 1. It came to pass. This doubt- 
 less occurred soon after their coming to 
 Iconium. (Seeon is : oi.) They wcnt, 
 or entered, both together into the 
 synagogues, which seems to have 
 been not according to their usual cus- 
 tom. Both were led by the Spirit. So 
 spake — with such clearness, force, and 
 
 unction. A great multitude both 
 of the Jews and also of the 
 Greeks believed. The synagogue 
 still contiuued the ))lace for reaching 
 both Jews and Gentiles, (is : u) There 
 appears no sufficient reason for restrict- 
 ing the Greeks to proselytes. Paul's 
 reputation would naturally attract Gen- 
 tiles of various classes. " Some deny 
 that heathen Greeks would frequent 
 the synagogues, but such a practice is 
 not only natural and probable, but act- 
 ually mentioned in the classics, which 
 bear witness to the interest felt in 
 Judaism and the practice of attending 
 its worship, even in Rome." (J. A. 
 Alexander.) The great success of 
 the gospel here doubtless aroused the 
 jealousy of the Jews and thus led to 
 the banishment of Paul and Barnabas. 
 
 2. But the unbelieving Jews — 
 those who disbelieved, or disobeyed, for 
 the original suggests both ideas — that is, 
 those who rejected the gospel. To dis- 
 believe was to disobey, and to reject 
 included both. Stirred up the Gen- 
 tiles and made their minds evil 
 affected — made them ho,stile and ma- 
 lignant against the brethren, the 
 new converts, both Jews and Gentiles. 
 Brethren was a favorite term by which 
 the disciples designated themselves. 
 (9 : 30.) It has been noted that all but 
 two (16:19; 19:2.3) of the many persecu- 
 tions recorded in the Acts were oc- 
 casioned by the Jews. How they could 
 have thus influenced the Gentiles is 
 not told. Very likely by arousing 
 their political prejudices against Paul 
 and Barnalias as preachers of another 
 kingdom than that of Cfesar. (is : I'O, n.) 
 And their ministry against idolatry 
 (i9:2«) may have made the heathen 
 Gentiles more ready to be influenced. 
 
 3. Therefore— an inference, not 
 only of ver. 1, but also of ver. 2. Not 
 the great success of the gospel alone, 
 but also the obstacles ])roduced by the 
 Jews among the Gentiles, prolonged 
 their stay. The first rendered con- 
 tinued efforts desirable, the second 
 made it necessary, so as to counteract 
 
222 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIV. 
 
 they speaking boldly in the Lord,' which 
 gave testimony unto the word of his 
 grace, and granted signs and wonders to 
 be done by their hands. 
 
 But the multitude of the city was di- 
 vided : and part held with the Jews, and 
 
 5 part with the f apostles. And when there 
 was an assault made both of the Gentiles, 
 and also of ;the Jews, with their rulers, 
 e to use Ihem despitefully, and to stoue 
 
 6 them, they were aware of it, and •> fled 
 unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, 
 
 ' Mark 16 : 20 ; Heb. 2:4. ' ch. 13 : 2, 3. 8 2 Tim. 15 •. 11. h Matt. 10 : 23. 
 
 and overcome, if possible, the disafFec- 
 tioii. Long time therefore — liter- 
 ally, sufficitnt timr to accoiii]>lisli tlieir 
 work under such difficulties. The 
 Greek word when used of time is in- 
 definite, tlie lengtli of time being in- 
 ferred from t!ic context and the circum- 
 stances. It may be used of a few hours 
 or of many months. (See 8 : u ; 20 : ii ; 27 : 
 
 9 ; Luke W : 9 ; 8 : 27 ; -.'3 : 8.) A feW mOUths 
 
 answers well the discription here. 
 Speaking boldly in the Lord — 
 
 literally, upon, in reliance upon the 
 Lord. Their dependence u]ion the 
 Lord Jesus gave them boldness. >Vho 
 gave testimony, or bare wilness to 
 the word of his grace, the gracious 
 proclamation of the gospel. "A noble 
 definition of the gospel." (Bexgel.) 
 And granted, ^l/irf should be omitted 
 according to the best critical authori- 
 ties. The Lord attested their preach- 
 ing by granting signs and tronders to 
 be done by their hands. These signs 
 were Christ's approval of their work, 
 not the means of conversion. A great 
 multitude was converted before ; how 
 great the fruit of their preaching after 
 we are not told. 
 
 4. The embittered feelings take tang- 
 ible shajie and organized form. The 
 multitude of the city — the Gentiles. 
 The interest and consequent excitcnu'ut 
 became so great that the populace take 
 sides throughout the city. Apostles. 
 Here and in ver. 14 this term is aj)- 
 ))lied to both Paul and Barnabas. So 
 also perhaps to Timothy and Silvanus 
 in connection with Paul in 1 Thess. 2 : 7. 
 Some have regarded Rom. 16 : 7 as a 
 similar a])plicatiou, but there Andron- 
 ieus and Junias, or Junia, are spoken 
 of as jicrsons " of note among the ajios- 
 tles," that is, highly regarded by them. 
 It should be noted that in no instance 
 are these companions of Paul called 
 apostles when spoken of alone, but only 
 as associated with him, in the above 
 examples. They cannot, therefore, be re- 
 
 garded as apostles in the highest offi- 
 cial sense. In a general sense of the 
 word they were missionaries, or mes- 
 sengers, and as eminent teachers and as 
 associated u^ith Paul in aj)ostulie work 
 they could lie brietiy and in a general 
 way styled apostles. 
 
 5. And when, or as, indicating tlie 
 time and tlie cause of the fliglit men- 
 tioned in ver. 6. An assault. The 
 word thus translated means any violent 
 movement onicard and is especially 
 api)lied to the be.ginning or Jirst stir 
 toward a thing. It is found elsewhere 
 in the New Testament oidy in James 
 3 : 4, where the Revised Version prop- 
 erly translates it impulse. But ivi- 
 
 ! pu/se seems hardly strong enough here, 
 while assault or onset seems too strong, 
 
 i " because," as Dr. Hackett remarks, 
 
 "having become aAvare (ver. e) 
 would then be su])erttuous, and because 
 the object of the fiightwas to escape an 
 attack." It is 1)ettcr to regard it as 
 descriptive of the beginning of an 
 assault, — a start, or a moveiiieut, vas 
 made . . . to abuse and stone them. 
 Notice the exact agreement between 
 
 j Luke's account of an attem])t to stone 
 them which was not carried out and 
 Paul's record in 2 Cor. 11 : 25, " Once 
 was I stoned," which occurred at Lys- 
 tra. (Ver. 19.) " Truth is necessarily 
 consistent, but it is scarcely possible 
 that independent accounts, not having 
 truth to guide them, should tints 
 advance to the very brink of contradic- 
 tion witiiout falling into it." (Paley.) 
 
 I Their rulers — Gentile magistrates 
 and officers of the synagogue. 
 
 {>. Continuation of the sentence 
 begun in tlic preceding verse. They 
 were aware, or became aware of it, 
 probalily by iciwrt or information; as 
 of the ho.'itile designs of tlie Jews at 
 Damascus, wlien Paul fled. (9 : 2«) 
 Their flight showed, not cowardice, but 
 
 : ))riidence, and was in obedience to our 
 
 I Lord's command, " When they perse- 
 
Ch. XIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 223 
 
 and unto the region that lieth round 
 
 7 alwut : and there they preached the 
 gospel. 
 
 8 ' And there sat a certain man at Lystra, 
 
 impotent in his fi-et, ticing a cripple, 
 
 from his mother's wonil), who never had 
 
 9 walked : the same hoard I'aul speak : who 
 
 k sieadfestly beholding him, and ' perceiv- 
 
 ich. 3:2. k seech. 3:4. i Matt. 8 : 10 ; 9 : 21, 22, 28, 29 ; 21 : 22. 
 
 cute you in one city, flee into another." 
 (Matt. 10:23.) Lystra and Derbe. 
 
 Their site is unknown. Lystra was 
 between Iconiumand Derbe, and Derbe 
 between Lystra and Oilicia ; for when 
 Paul was on his way from Cilicia he 
 reached Derbe first (i6:i), and ingoing 
 from Derl)e to Icouium lie passed 
 through Lystra. Both towns were in- 
 ha!)ited by a rough hardy people, wlio 
 had been but little aftected by Greek, 
 lloman, or Jewish influence. The most 
 probable site of Lystra was the eastern 
 part of the great plain of Lycaonia, 
 about forty miles southeast of Iconium, 
 and at tlie ruins now called Binbir- 
 kilesseh, a Turkish town, Avhere are tlie 
 remains of numerous churches. And 
 this accords with the early Christian 
 history of this city, the names of its 
 pastors api^earing in the records of early 
 councils. Derbe was probably about 
 twenty miles southeast of Lystra, on or 
 near the great road from Tarsus which 
 passes through the Taurus range by a 
 difficult pass, called the Cilician Gates, 
 thence entering upon the great upland 
 plain of Lycaonia, northwest to Icon- 
 ium. Difierent sites in this region have 
 been assigned to Derbe. A small vil- 
 lage in a wild valley among the mount- 
 ains, called Divle, is one of these sites. 
 A ciiurch was planted at Derbe (ver2i.) 
 and Gains was also a native here, who 
 became a friend and companion of 
 Paul. (-'0:4.) We may note the accu- 
 racy of Luke, that no persecution in 
 Derbe is recorded in this chapter and 
 none in 2 Tim. 3 : 10, 11, wliere Paul 
 refers to persecutions suiiered in tbis 
 journey. Timothy prolialily lived at 
 Lystra, as he knew of Paul's persecu- 
 tions, and was probably converted under 
 Paul's ministry at this time. (i6:i;i 
 Cor. * : 15, 17.) Lycaoiiia was a district, 
 not very carefully defined, extending 
 from the Taurus mountains and Cilicia 
 on the south to Cappadocia on the north. 
 It is a desolate region, unwatered l)y 
 streams, but said to be favorable to 
 sheep raising. It was inhabited by a 
 
 fierce and warlike people, who had a 
 language of their own. (ver. a.) The 
 region that lieth round about. 
 
 Paul and Barnaijas did not confiue 
 their ministry to tliese two cities, but 
 extended it into the country and vil- 
 lages l)etween them, and in their 
 vicinity. 
 
 7. Continuation from the preceding 
 verse. There they preaehed— 
 rather, were preachuig, implying tliat 
 for some time they were there publish- 
 ing the glad tidings of salvation. 
 
 8-18. Paul's Miraci.I'; at Lystra, 
 AND ITS Effect upon the Peopi.i:. 
 
 (F.xod. 20: II; Ps. U6:C.) It WaS probalilv 
 
 in the autumn of A. D. 4(3 that Paul 
 and Barnal>as came to Lystra, and some 
 months must have been occupied here 
 and in the surrounding country. (See on 
 yer. 7.) Compare tlie miracle wrought 
 by Peter, which tliis resembles. (S: 2 f) 
 
 8. There sat a certain nian^ 
 prol)ably in the market i)lace, or in 
 some thoroughfare of the city, wliere 
 Paul was preaching, since there is no 
 mention of any synagogue in Lystra. 
 His friends may have lirought him 
 hither to beg alms, like tlie one men- 
 tioned in ,3 : 2. He was impotent 
 in his feet, unahle to use them, a 
 cripple, wlio perhaps could cree]) 
 about upon his hands and knees, but 
 who never bad walked. As this 
 had been his condition from his birtli, 
 his case would be regarded as incura- 
 ble and hopeless. Notice liow miiiutely 
 Luke, the physician, describes the 
 malady. 
 
 9. The same heard Paul speak- 
 hig, teaching and jircacliing concern- 
 ing Jesus. Paul's interest in the crip- 
 ple is aroused, and steadfastly be- 
 holding him, probably to ascertain 
 through tbe Spirit's aid his actual con- 
 dition, both physical and spiritual. 
 And perceiving, from t'.ic expression 
 of his countenance, wliich Paul knew 
 to be a true index to his soul, that the 
 man had faith to be healed — literally, 
 to be saved. It would seem that the 
 
224 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIV 
 
 10 ing that he had faith to he heiiltd, said 
 with a loud voice, "» stand upright ou thy 
 feet. And he leaped and walked. 
 
 doue, they lifted up their voices, saying 
 in the speech of Lycaonia, "The gods are 
 come down to us in the likenet^s of n)en. 
 
 11 And when thepeoplesawwhatPaulhad 12 And they called Barnabas, J uiuter ; and 
 
 ch. 3 : 6-8; Isa. 3.5 : C. a ch. 8 : 10 ; 2ti : G. 
 
 cripple exercised, not only what had | 
 been styled a faith of miracles, an as- I 
 snrance that he could and -would be 
 healed, but also a saAing faith of sal- ' 
 vatiou through Jesus Christ, lie had 
 listened to Paul's preaching on the 
 death and resurrection, tlie power and 
 Avorks, of Christ, and he showed by his 
 ajjpearance that he accepted these great 
 truths and facts as suited and apjdica- 
 ble to himself. "While the cripple 
 liears the word, he feels its power in 
 his soul." (Bengel.) 
 
 10. Said with a loud voice, 
 Stand upright on thy feet. He 
 never had walked before. A few manu- 
 scripts add, I say to you in the name of 
 the Lord Jcnus Chrigt, but most of tlie 
 old manuscripts omit the words, as an 
 interpolation in part from 3 : 6. Paul 
 doubtless uttered or implied similar 
 words. He was at the time speaking 
 of Jesus, and if the cripple had been 
 taught and had just accepted the Sav- 
 iour, Paul needed not so much to men- 
 tion that name which they i)oth under- 
 stood to be the source of salvation. 
 Indicative of a soul full of faith, he 
 leaped, gjjrang iip and valkrd about. 
 Ilis cure was instantaneous and com- 
 plete. The i)rincipal diiferences be- 
 tween this miracle and that in chapter 
 3 are: 1. The lame man in Jerusalem 
 desired and hoped to receive alms even 
 after Peter bade him look on him. 
 But the cripple at Lystra had already 
 been an attentive listener to Piuil. 2. 
 Peter took the lame man by the liand 
 and lifted him up ; but the cripi>le 
 sprang up without Paul's assistance. 
 He was in the audience which Paul 
 was addressing, perhaps in the out- 
 skirts, some little distance from tlie 
 apostle. 
 
 11. The nide Lycaonians at once 
 perceived in the miracle of Paul the 
 manifestation of supernatural ])ower. 
 (See Mark 5: 12.) But their exclamations 
 and conduct showed that they very 
 imperfectly understood his preaching. 
 They impulsively lift up their voices, 
 
 and very naturally in their excited 
 condition use their native dialect, the 
 speech of Lycaonia, instead of 
 the Greek which the missionaries 
 had sijoken, and which was the ordi- 
 nary language of commerce in the 
 cities of Asia Minor. Tliis iij)peais 
 to have been a peculiar and stninge 
 tongue, the cliaracter of wliich cannot 
 be determined. Some have regarded 
 it as a corrupt dialect of the Creek ; 
 others, that it was allied to the Assy- 
 rian. This affords tlie reason, at least 
 in part, for the delay of the apostles 
 in refusing divine honor until they 
 heard the j)riest approachiuir with the 
 victims and the garlands, (vcr. i:i.) But 
 much of this was said and done away 
 from the apostles, who " rusJi forth " 
 when they heard of it. (ver. u.) Xei- 
 ther their inspiration nor their gift of 
 tongties appear to have been called into 
 use at this time, (i Cor. i4 : is.) The gods 
 are come down to us in the like- 
 ness of men — this language agrees 
 with the general belief of the heathen, 
 and with the local superstitions and 
 traditions of this verj- country, related 
 in one of the fables of Ovid, who also 
 relates the visit of Jupiter and Mer- 
 cury in the form of men to Philemon 
 and Baucis in the adjacent jnovince of 
 Phrygia. Very likely this idea was at 
 first suggested by some one, and at 
 once accepted as a fact, and taken up 
 by the multitude. 
 
 12. They called Barnabas, 
 Jupiter, or Zru.s, the Greek name 
 answering to Jupiter, who was regarded 
 as the highest and most powerful among 
 the heathen gods. And they called 
 Paul IJrrmrf:, the name in Greek 
 answering to Mercury, the messenger 
 of the cods, the god of eloquence and 
 prudence, and an attendant of Jn])iter 
 in his expeditions. In ancient art 
 Jupiter is represented as large ; Mer- 
 cury as small. Besides, Jupiter had a 
 temple in front of the city gates. As 
 Paul was the chief or leading 
 speaker, they conclude that he is 
 
Ch. XIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 225 
 
 Paul, Mercurius.becnuse he was the chief 14 WHch when the apostles, Barnabas and 
 
 13 speaker. Then the priesis of Jupiter, 
 which was before tlieir city, brought 
 oxeu and garlands unto the gates, "and 
 would have done sacritice with the people. 
 
 Paul, heard of, rthey rent their clot)its 
 and ran in among the people, crying out, 
 and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things I 
 1 We also are men of like passions with 
 
 • Dan. 2 : 46. P Num. 14 : 6. 1 ch. 3 : 12 ; 10 : 26 ; James 5:17; Rev. 19 : 10. 
 
 Mercury, the attendant of Jupiter, 
 whom they conchi(U' Haniahas to he. 
 The silent, hirger, andohler ajipearance 
 of Barnahas may also have coutirmed 
 them in this impression. Perhaps also 
 we may infer that Paul was small of 
 stature from the statement of his ene- 
 mies that his bodily presence was weak 
 (2 Cor. 10: 1, in), which must be taken 
 witli some allowance, as the estimate of 
 dislike and prejudice. The book of 
 the Acts gives many illustrations of 
 his power as a speaker. 
 
 13. The excited multitude at once 
 proceed to act on their conclusion and 
 to oft'er sacrifice. The priest — ^who 
 may have been present, or tlie princi- 
 pal one, or the most active one, for 
 there must have been a mimlier of them 
 at Lystra. Of Jupiter which— w/jo 
 v'Ks before the city, whose statue and 
 whose temple Avas there. Hence the 
 Revised Version renders whose temple 
 was before the cit;/, near its chief en- 
 trance. Brought oxen, or buf/s (Heh. 
 9:ir>;io:4), the most costly victims, 
 wliieh the heatlieu were accustomed to 
 offer to Jupiter, and sometimes to ^ler- 
 cury. Here tlie sacrifice was intended 
 for both. Garlands, or crowns, es- 
 pecially for the victims. The priests 
 and the altar were also often thus 
 adorned. Unto the gates of the city 
 just spoken of. The word translated 
 gates is used by Luke elsewliere, in tlie 
 singular number, with reference to 
 tlie door of a house. (lO: i7; 12: i3, u; 
 i.uke 16 : 20.) Heucc somc understand the 
 door of tlie house, where Paul and 
 Barnabas were lodging ; but this re- 
 quires the supposition that they re- 
 turned to the house in the meantime. 
 Besides, the plural is used, expressive 
 of the parts, as being doul)le, of city 
 gates. So the plural is used else- 
 where in the New Testament. (Rev. 21 : 
 12, 13, 15, 21,25; 22 : u.) Would have done 
 sacrifice — was just about to offer 
 sacrifice when Paul and Barnai>as 
 sprang in upon the scene and pre- 
 
 vented. With the people — with the 
 crowd who attended to witness and 
 approve. 
 
 14. Which when — rather, 7?«/ the 
 apostles, as in ver. 4. Notice that 
 Barnabas is very naturally named 
 first, as in the scene described, regank-d 
 as Jupiter, for whom principally tiie 
 ■sacrifice was intended. Heard — not 
 the tumult, but what tlie multitude was 
 proposing to do. How they heard is 
 not told ; perhaps one of the converts, 
 or one of the few Jews residing there 
 reported it to them. Preparations for 
 this act of worship must have been 
 going on for perhaps an hour or more ; 
 for they seemed to be all comidete 
 l)efore the missionaries were aware of 
 them. They rent their clothes^ 
 from the neck in front downward 
 toward the girdle, either tlieir outer 
 garments, or perhaps both the inner 
 and outer garments. This was a com- 
 mon Oriental method of expressing 
 grief and horror, or indignation and 
 abhorrence of impiety or blasj)hemy. 
 (2 .Sam. 1 : 2; Matt. 26:65.) And ran in, 
 etc. Rather, according to the most ap- 
 proved Greek text. And rushed forth 
 among the multitude — from the place 
 where they were teaching or resting, 
 probably through the city gates into the 
 midst of the multitude who were gatli- 
 ered for sacrifice before the temi)le of 
 Jupiter. Crying out, with a loud 
 voice, shouting. The narrative is very 
 vivid. They plunge into the excited 
 crowd vociferating, interrujiting, and 
 putting a stop to tlie impious service. 
 Compare Peter's refusal to receive 
 homage of Cornelius (10 : 25), and con- 
 trast Herod Agrippa's readiness to 
 accept divine honors. (12 : 22.) 
 
 15. Getting the attention of the 
 people, they utter their solemn protests. 
 This is generally regarded as Paul's ad- 
 dress, as he was the chief soeaker 
 (ver. 12), and from the similarity in 
 thought with his address at Athens 
 (17 : 2428) and with Rom. 1 : ly, 20. But 
 
226 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIV. 
 
 you, and jireacb unto you that ye should 
 turn from 'these vauilies sunto the 
 living (jod, which made heaven, and 
 earth, and the sea, and all things that are 
 
 16 therein. «Who in times past sufl'ered all 
 nations to walk in their own ways. 
 
 17 " Nevertheless he left not himself without 
 
 witnes", in that he did good, and 'gave 
 us rain from heaven, and Iruitful seasons, 
 filling our hearts with food and gladness. 
 18 And with these sayings scarce restrained 
 they the people, that they had not done 
 sacrifice unto them. 
 
 ' Deut. 32 : 21 ; 1 Cor. 8:4. « Deut. 5 : 20 ; Jcr. 10 : ll-lo ; 1 Thess. 1:9. t ch. 17 : 
 30. « ch. 17 : 27 ; Ps. 19 : 1-4 ; Rom. 1 : 19, 20. » Lev. 26 : 4 ; Deut. 11 : 14 ; Ps. 147 : 8 
 Matt. 5 : 45. 
 
 Barnabas must have earnestly joined iu 
 tlie jirotest. We have the substance of 
 what they said. Compare 13: 16-40, 
 aud notice how dift'crent Paul's method 
 in reaching Jews and devout Gentiles. 
 Sirs — literally, Ye inen. Why do ye 
 these things ? A (juestion implying 
 strong disapproval and expostulation, 
 the reason for which immediately fol- 
 lows. Ye are men, and so we also 
 are men — and that too of like pas- 
 sions Avith you, of like feelings, 
 affections, and sufferings, similarly con- 
 stituted and j)artakers of like infirmi- 
 ties, aud consequently not divine. The 
 word of like passioiiti is emjdiatic here. 
 It is only found elsewhere in the New 
 Testament iu James 5:17, which com- 
 j)are. So far from being objects of 
 divine honors, we are missionaries, 
 announcing to you that ye should 
 turn from these vanities, such as 
 your idols and your idol-worship (prob- 
 ably j)ointing to the temple of Jupiter 
 and to their sacrifices) to the living 
 God, iu contrast to their lifeless im- 
 ages aud imaginary gods. (i>a- m : is--.'6.) 
 Tmis Jehovah is designateil iu the Old 
 
 Testament. (Ocut. 5 :26; Josh. 3 : 10; 1 Sain. 
 17 : 'JS. Coinpirel Cor. 8: 4.) As SUch lie is 
 
 life-giving (vatt. 16 : 16), the Creator of 
 heaven, and earth, and the sea, 
 
 tlie three divisions of the universe, to 
 eac!i of wliicli tlu' heathen assigned its 
 inirticular god. The words are quoted 
 from I's. 14ij : 0. That tliey could turn 
 by rej)eutauco to the living God was 
 indeed irlad tidings. 
 
 IG. lie accounts for their ignorance 
 of tlie true God. Mho in times past 
 — rather, who in generations or ages 
 gone bi/. The ages are the spaces of 
 time of about thirty -three years, ordi- 
 narily occupied by each successive gen- 
 eration. (Col. 1:26.) Suffered — mildly 
 im[)lying their responsibility for their 
 ignorance aud idolatry. (Eom. i : 20-23.) 
 
 All nations, or all the Gentiles, since 
 the reference is to all outside of Israel. 
 To Avalk in their OAvn Avays — in 
 
 idolatry which they themselves began. 
 Tlieir superstitions and courses of life 
 accorded with their own desires and 
 tastes. These Avere the ages of igno- 
 rance, at which God winked, (i" : ao.) 
 
 17. Nevertheless — the heathen 
 were not guiltless, since he left not 
 himself without Avitness of his ex- 
 istence, his power, aud his goodness, 
 aud hence of their dependence on and 
 oI)ligation to him. This "lies at the 
 foundation of his argument for proving 
 the accountabilitv of the heathen in 
 Rom. 1: 1ft, f."" (Hackett.) Com- 
 pare Rom. 2 : 12-15, where Paul states 
 that God also gave an internal moral 
 witness of himself. How God left hiin.<;elf 
 not without witness is briefly outlined : 
 In that he did good, and gave 
 us rain IVom heaven, and fruit- 
 ful seasons, filling your hearts 
 with food and gladness. Notice 
 tlie reference to rain in a province 
 where water is .so scarce that it is said 
 to have been sometimes sold for money. 
 Notice also that it is the hearts and not 
 the stomachs that are filled and abun- 
 dantly satisfied. The mind or soul is 
 regarded as the scat of all enjoyment. 
 Such blessings, ])roductive of such joy, 
 should lead the lieart up« ard in grati- 
 tude to God. Tliis address is worthy of 
 study, on account of its adroitness and 
 carefulness iu treating the idolatry of 
 tlie people, being suited to produce con- 
 viction without irritation. " It is a 
 strong though incidental proof of au- 
 thenticity, that when the apostles ad- 
 dress heathen hearers, unacquainted 
 even with the Hebrew Scriptures, they 
 liegin with the truths of natural theol- 
 ogy, and not l>y appealing to the 
 prophecies or proving the Messiahship 
 of Jesus, as they did in their ad- 
 
Cu. XIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 227 
 
 19 TAnd there came thither certain Jews 
 from Autiouh and Icouium, who per- 
 suaded the people, ' and, having stoned 
 Paul, drew him out of the city , » supposing 
 
 20 he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disci- 
 
 ples stood around about him, he rose up, 
 and came into the city. 
 21 Aud tlie next day he departed with 
 Barnabas to Derbe. And ; when they 
 had preached the gospel to that city, 
 
 J ch. 13 : 45. 
 
 ■ 2 Cor. 11 : 2"» ; 2 Tim. 3 : 11. 
 
 2 Cor. 11 : 23. 
 
 dresses to the Jews. (2:i6-36, etc.) " 
 (Alexander.) 
 
 18. The result attained. M itk 
 these sayings thei/ with diljiculty 
 restrained the multitude from sucrijic- 
 iiKj to them. The expression is a strong 
 and vivid one. It is taken for granted 
 tliat Paul and Barna1>as claimetl to 
 have wrouglit the miracle through the 
 power of tfieir risen Lord. 
 
 iy-28. Pail axu Baknabas pro- 
 ceed TO Dekbe, and then Retrace 
 THEIR Steps to Antioch, in Syria. 
 Tiie stoning of Paul. (-' Cor. ii : -25.) prob- 
 al)ly the winter and summer of A. D. 47. 
 19. Jews from Antioch and 
 Iconium, who had been the means of 
 driving the missionaries from their 
 cities. The news of tlieir preaciiing 
 and of healing the cripj)le had spread 
 even to Antioeh of Pisidia, more than 
 a hundred miles distant. All this took 
 time, and also gave time for the revul- 
 sion of feeling at Lystra, which is now 
 to he described. This would ^irobably 
 take them into the winter of A. D. 47. 
 Persuaded the people — doubtless 
 misrepresenting what Paul and Barna- 
 bas hail done at Antioch and Iconium ; 
 telling how they had been expelled 
 from those cities, and perhaps imput- 
 ing their miraculous power to evil 
 spirits. (Matt. 12:2+) By such means 
 they got the consent and active co-oi>e 
 ration of the i)eople, the multitude. 
 The more exact translation, haviivj 
 persuaded the multitude atid hariiig 
 stoned Paul, gives more clearly the 
 meaning. These Jews were not only 
 theinstigatorsof an infuriated mob, but 
 also the leaders in the stoning. This 
 agrees with the fact that stoning was a 
 Jewisli punishment ; and they had no 
 scruple in inflicting it in a heathen 
 city. Not so at .Jerusalem. (7:5«) This 
 change of feeling agrees with the repu- 
 tation of the Lycaonians, who are said 
 to liave been proverbially fickle and 
 faithless. Paul refers to his experi- 
 ence in 2 Cor. 11 : 25, " Once was I 
 
 stoned." The agreement of Paul with 
 the Acts, as well as the Jewish mode of 
 execution in a hciithen city, under the 
 leadership of Jews, go to show the 
 accuracy of Luke. Drew — rather 
 dratjged him out of the city, not for 
 burial, but for exj>osure As for Iturial, 
 his friends and disciples could attend 
 to that. Supposing he had been 
 dead, or that he had died, although 
 he was not actiuilly ilead. 
 
 20. Howbeit," etc. But the dis- 
 ciples haeing encircled, or gathered 
 about him, after his persecutors had 
 left liim. They hail anxiously watched 
 the proceedings, perhaps had attended 
 tlie crowd, or followed close after. They 
 gatiier sorrowfully around Paul, not to 
 Itury, but to ascertain his condition. 
 This shows that his work had not been 
 in vain in Lystra. Among them ])os- 
 sil)ly stood young Timothy, who prob- 
 ably witnessed this persecution, (ifi: i ; 
 2Tiin. 3: 11.) Perhaps liere lie consecrated 
 liis life to ministerial service. Con- 
 trast the blaster left alone at Geth- 
 semane. (Ma.kuisn.), and Paul stir- 
 rounded with sympathizing discijdcs. 
 He rose up and came into the 
 city — showing himself probal)ly only 
 to the converts. Some suj)j)0,se that 
 Paul was only stunned, or that he 
 swooned ; and that rising u]> and going 
 into the city does not necessarily imply 
 his usual activity and vigor. Yet his 
 sudden restoration, so as to be able to 
 travel tlie next day after such an out- 
 rage, would seem to be miraculous. 
 With Barnabas — who a]>pears to 
 have suffered no violence. Paul Avas 
 more positive and aggressive against 
 heathenism and Judaism ; he was 
 also the chief speaker, and the one to 
 suffer. Derbe. See on ver. 6. 
 
 21. At Derbe and its vicinity, Paul 
 and Barnal)as reachetl the extreme 
 limit of this missionary journey. It is 
 ])robably winter, and they continue 
 their labors here till spring. When 
 they had preached the gospel to 
 
228 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIV. 
 
 band had taugbt many, they returned 
 again to Lyslra^ and lu Icouium, and Au- 
 22 tioch, "coutiruiiiig the souls of the dis- 
 ciples, and 4 exhoi-ting them to continue 
 
 in the faith, and that • we must through 
 
 much tribulation enter into the kingdom 
 
 23 of God. And when they had f ordained 
 
 them e elders in every church, and had 
 
 l> Matt. 28 ; 19. <= ch. 18 : 23 ; Isa. 35 : 3 ; 1 Thoss. 3 : 2-4. d ch. 11 : 23 ; 13 : 43 ; Col. 
 1 : 23. • Matt. 10 : 21, 22, 3S ; Luke 22 : 2S, 29 ; John lU : 1, 2, 33 ; Eom. 8 : 17 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 11, 
 12 ; 3 : 12 ; 1 Peter 4 : 12-l(j. f ch. 1 : 22 ; 2 Tim. 2:2; Titus 1:5. g ch. 11 ; :50. 
 
 that city. The idea suggested is, 
 that this was tiioroiighly done. And 
 had taught many — rather, made 
 uuuieroiis disciides. Of whom Gains 
 was i)rol)aI)ly oue. (20 :i.) In each 
 of the principal cities tliey visit 
 they gatlier a congregation of be- 
 lievers. At Derbe they appear to 
 labor successfully and (jnietly, spending 
 some time, but affording " little liistori- 
 cal material, according to tlie adage, 
 tliat tlie be.st times to live in are the 
 worst to write abont." (Alkxaxdkk.) 
 Thi-y returned as^ain — rather, 
 tliii/ hinird liitck to Li/.^/ra, etc. In- 
 stead of continuing their journey liy 
 the nearest way to Antioch, in iSyria, 
 through ("ilicia and Tarsus, they ])refer 
 to retrace tlieir steps, visiting the 
 churclies tliey liad organize<l, iiotwitli- 
 Htanding all the ])ersecutions that liad 
 befallen them. This suggests also, that 
 some time liad elap.sed, allowing tlie 
 liostility aroused against the mission- 
 ai'ies to wear away, and giving oii])()r- 
 tuuity to the churclies to gain exjieri- 
 ence and develop character. 
 
 22. The reasons are given for turn- 
 ing back tlirough the cities where they 
 had l)een ])crsccuti'(l. Confirmiii^ 
 the souls of the disciples — egtab- 
 lisliiiuj, or tit)rnt/fhi')ihi(j, not by any 
 outward rite, Init by their presence, 
 their iiistrtietion and words of encoiir- 
 iiiremeiit. The word is found elsewhere 
 in the New Testament. (i.-.:W,4i; ]8:2.r) 
 How they continned the .souls of tlie 
 discij)les is brought into view. It was 
 by exhortini; (11 : -n) them to con- 
 tinue in the faitli of the gosi)el, 
 wliieh they had recently embraced, and 
 which was both a ht/itf and a /ife of 
 faith. (Col. 1:2:;.) And th.-tt we must, 
 throu§;h much tribulation, or 
 tlirough 7110111/ ojffirfions, enter into 
 the kingdom of God. A statement 
 of a general fact in the exjierience of 
 Christians. (2Tira. :i : 12.) And if these 
 afflictions were necessary in a wicked 
 
 world as inseperably connected with 
 our fallen state, and as a means of dis- 
 cipline and in accordance with God's 
 will, then these di.sei])les should not he 
 deterred by them, l)ut should l)e ready 
 to cheerfully endure them. (Rom. 5 : -i-i; 
 Hfb. 12:11.) Thephra.se/Af kingdom of 
 God embraces the whole mediatorial 
 reign of Christ, sometimes viewed in 
 its beginnings on earth (1 :3), and some- 
 times in its consummation, the state of 
 future haiipiness. The latter api)ears 
 to be the meaning here. Alford sug- 
 gests that Ave as used here indicates 
 tliat I^uke rejoined the aj)ostles at the 
 Pisidian Antioch, where he remained 
 during the journey to Derbe and back. 
 There is no evidence, however, outside 
 of tliis that Luke was with Paul in this 
 missionary tour. Others regard the 
 ]>lirase, that 'ire wh.sY, etc., as a quota- 
 tion of words uttered by the i)reacliers. 
 Such a change from the indirect to the 
 dii'ect discourse is characteristic of 
 Luke's style. That they should have 
 said ire in.stead of i/on was especially 
 ai)i)io])riate, since the missionaries had 
 l)een sharers with these disciples in af- 
 flictions and i)er.secutions, and in a gen- 
 eral sense would continue to be .so. In 
 their sympathies witli the afflictions of 
 these converts they make them one 
 with theinstlves. "Carry the cross 
 with a willing heart and it will guide 
 tlu'e to the jdaee where thy sorrows 
 will end, and where tliou wilt (find all 
 for which tliy soul hath longed." 
 (TiroMAs AQri>''At>-) 
 
 23. When they had ordained 
 them elders — h<ii-i)i<i rhrtcd or <ip- 
 pointtd for tlicm fldcrs. The later 
 ecclesia.stical meaning of this A-erb, to 
 ordain by the laijiiuj on of hands, is 
 not founcl in the New Testament. It 
 ))roperly nu-aiis to vote by stretching out 
 the hand, as jiracticed in the Athenian 
 assemblies. It is found elsewhere in 
 the New Testament only in 2 Cor. 8 : 
 19, iu which it is said that Titus had 
 
Ch. XIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 229 
 
 been " chosen of, or appointed by the 
 churclu'S to travel with us." It is also 
 foiiml in tlic Liter aiul si)urious sub- 
 scri[)tioiis of 2 Tiiu. 4 : 23 and Titus 
 3 : 1"), meaning to appoint. With a 
 l)re|)osition prefixed, it is found in 10 : 
 41, " chosen, or appointed, before of 
 God." While the nieaniiii,' of the verb 
 did pass into any kind of appointment 
 without reL,'ard to method, whetlier by 
 vote, lot, or otlierwise, there does not 
 appear liere " any reason," in the words 
 of Dr. Alford, " for departing from the 
 usual meaning of eleeting by show of 
 banils." So also Dr. Meyer, who says, 
 " The analogy of G : 2-4 requires tliis 
 strict regard to the purposely chosen 
 word, wliich, resting on the old method 
 of choice by lifting the hand . . . 
 forbids tlie general rendering, they ap- 
 pointed, or chose, so that the appoint- 
 ment would have taken j)laee simply 
 by apostolic plenary power, although 
 the wonl itself might denote to choose 
 generally without that special mode. 
 Paul and Barnabas chose by vote elders 
 for them, that is, they conducted their 
 selection by vote in tiie churches." It 
 must remain uncertain wlietlier they 
 were first selected by the churclies anil 
 then a])proved by tlie apostles, or first 
 selected by the apostles and then ap- 
 proved by the churches, or selected liy 
 the united action of tlie ciuirclies and 
 apostles. The choosing of the seven 
 (6 : i, «) favors the first, while the send- 
 ing out of Barnabas and Paul from 
 Antioch favors the last. (i8: -i.) Eld- 
 ers. (See on 11:30.) In evcFy church 
 — used distributively, indicating suc- 
 cession, following one another, church 
 by church. The phrase does not neces- 
 sarily imply a plurality of elders in 
 each church, although such may be its 
 meaning, and is in harmony with the 
 fact that there were several elders in 
 the cluirch at Ephesus (20: 17), and also 
 at Philijjpi and elsewhere. (Titus 1:5-7; 
 Phil. 1 : 1.) In churches extending 
 throughout a city and surrounding 
 country, having several private houses 
 as places of religious meetings, it was 
 needful to have several elders, over- 
 seers, or pastors. Plurality of elders 
 was then also necessary, since the lia- 
 bility to persecution necessitated the 
 disciples to meet in small companies 
 
 and in different places. Each company 
 needed a leader. The time that had 
 elap.sed since Paul and Barnabas had 
 founded these cliurches gave opportu- 
 nity for the development of gifts and 
 character among tiie membership. 
 Botli the churches and the missionaries 
 were better j)repared than at the first to 
 select the proper men as church otiicers. 
 Doubtless Paul, as an apostle, had much 
 to do in suggesting and directing the 
 choice. The churches would naturally 
 follow their advice. Clement (ch. 44) 
 gives us an apostolic tradition of men 
 chosen, or appointed to the ministry by 
 apostles, or other eminent men, with 
 " the consent of the whole cluirch." It 
 may be added that as the seven were 
 set apart with laying on of hands (6 : 6), 
 and also Paul and Barnabas to their 
 missionary work, so in like manner 
 these elders were probably set aj)art, 
 though there is nothing in this account 
 to indicate it. 
 
 From a comparison of other passages 
 of Scripture it is evident that elders 
 were pastm-s and teachers (1 Cor. vi -. 2\ 
 30; Kph. 4: u), aiid that it was their spe- 
 cial work to teacll. (1 Tim. .i : 2; Titus 
 
 1 :'■>■) They wei'e ministers of the word, 
 and tiie Lord conferred ui)on tiiem 
 
 difierent gifts (Rom. U -. ti-s; 1 Oor. 12 : 1, 4-i), 
 
 tiiough these gifts niiglit meet in the 
 .same person. (2Tim. 4 : •-■.) Where there 
 Mas a i)lnrality of elders or pastors, 
 tiiese different gifts fitted them for such 
 variety of work as the various con- 
 ditions found in a large congregation 
 demanded. (1 Peter 4: 10, 11.) Such a 
 j)lurality would often meet the con- 
 ditions of large cliurches at the ])resent 
 day. It seems also evident that they 
 possessed some authority as proclainiers 
 of the truth, and as executive officers, in 
 presiding over and conducting the 
 spiritual affairs of the church, (n : 30 ; 
 15:2; 1 Tim. 5: 17.) The last passage is 
 csj)ecially in point : " Let the elders 
 that rule (or preside) well be counted 
 worthy of double honor (and support. 
 Dent. 25 : 4), especially they who labor 
 {u'ith wearisome effort) in word and 
 teaching." The meaning is not that 
 there were ruling elders distinguished 
 from teaching elders, but that those 
 who excel in taking charge of church 
 affairs, or in teaching, or iu both, have 
 
230 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIV 
 
 k prayed with fasting, they comiufnded Perga, they went down into Attalia. 
 them to the Lord, on whom they believed. 26 And thence [they] sailed to Aiitioch, 
 
 24 And after they had passed throughout ' from whence they had been '' recom- 
 
 25 Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. And mended to the grace of God for the work 
 when they had preached the word in | which they fulhlled. 
 
 »> ch. 13 : 1-3. i ch. 13 : 1, 3. k ch. 15 : 40. 
 
 a (loul)le claim to honor and supjiort. 
 It may l)e further said that while Paul 
 jirescrihes the qualilicatioiis of bishops, 
 or elders, and deacons in the third chap- 
 ter of First Timotliy, he nowhere sj)eaks 
 of the qnalitieations of the ruling; elders. 
 Moreover, the post-apostolic churches 
 liad no such office, which seems unac- 
 countahle if it was appointed hy the 
 ai>ostles. Indeed, it was never known 
 until the sixteenth century, when Cal- 
 vin originated it. 
 
 A comparison of Scripture also shoMS 
 that besides the apostles there are only 
 two ordei-s of church officers. The 
 apostles were chosen by our Lord for a 
 special i)urpose, and had no successors, 
 (seeoni : -ii.) Besides these were the 
 elders, or bishops, or overseers, and tlie 
 deacons. Thus in Phil. 1 : 1 Paul ad- 
 dresses the " bishops" or ovfrsei'rx " and 
 deacons," in such a way as to make it 
 evident that these included all the 
 church officers at Philippi. And in in- 
 structing Timothy in regard to the 
 qualifications of church officers, he only 
 mentions bishops and deacons. (iTim. 
 :t:iio.) If there had been any other 
 church officers he would naturally have 
 spoken of them. To the question why 
 here and elsewhere in the Acts deacons 
 are not nu'utioned, except at the ap- 
 pointment of the seven (6:2-1), it may 
 be answered : 1. It was an office inferior 
 to that of elder, or bishop. 2. The 
 apostles in connection with the 
 churches appointed the elders, but the 
 a|)pointment of deacons was left to the 
 church in connection with their pas- 
 tors, or elders. (See on 11 : :!0 anil LM) : 18, 2R. ) 
 
 And had prayed with fasting, 
 
 rather the jdural, irit/i fa.itings, indica- 
 ting the successive fasts in the several 
 churches. Some join this phrase with 
 the pi-eceding verb appointed, and 
 regard the prayer and fasting as imply- 
 ing the ordinations of tlie elders. 
 (1.1 : .?.) Others, such as Meyer and 
 Hackett, more accurately connect these 
 exercises with the verb commended 
 
 which follows. Commended, or com- 
 mitted, them to the Lord for i)rotec- 
 tion and safety. Them — the believers 
 generally, and not merely the elders, as 
 is evident from the words, on Avhoni 
 they believed. Thus tiie prayers and 
 fastings seem to have been connected 
 with their farewell meetings. 
 
 24. Paul and Barnabas })ass through 
 Pisidia, taking Antioch, the capital 
 of the province, on their way. (see 
 13 : H.) The suuimer of A. D. 47 was 
 probably sjient in visiting and fully 
 equipi>ing the churches with pastors. 
 As autuuin came on they prol)ably 
 descended to the lower lands of the 
 province of Pamphylia. (seeon i3: n.) 
 
 25. When they had preaehed — 
 rather. And having upoken the word 
 in Perga. (Slcou i;i: n.) This would 
 seem to have been their first preaching 
 there. They had previously landed 
 there, and had gone at onct' into Pisidia 
 to Antioch. Attalia — a city of Pam- 
 phylia at the mouth of the river Catarr- 
 hactes, about sixteen miles from Perga, 
 built by Attains Philadeli»hus, king of 
 Pergamos, and named after him. The 
 place was of considerable imi)ortance 
 in the days of Paul, and still continues 
 to exist as a seajiort town by the name 
 of Satalia. It is beautifully situated 
 round a small harbor, and built on the 
 ascending banks. It would seem that 
 Paul did not .stop t<j preach here. 
 
 26. And thence sailed ««'«y, im- 
 plying a voyage of .some distance, to 
 Antioch, the capital of the Komau 
 province in Syria, (see nu u : is.) " They 
 may have disembarked at Seleucia, as 
 the town and its port are one in such 
 
 designations. (DK. HaCKKTT.) (See ..n 
 
 i:i:4.) Whence they had been 
 recommended — better, commended, 
 or committed to the favor of God in per- 
 forming the work vhich they had accom- 
 plished. (See on 13: 2, 3.) It was proba- 
 bly now late in the autumn of A. D. 47, 
 this missionary journey of Paul and 
 Barnabas having occupied about two 
 
Ch. XIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 231 
 
 27 Ami when they were come, ' and liad 
 gatheied the church together, they re- 
 hearsed all that God had doue with theiu, 
 
 and how he had ■» opened the door of 
 28 lailh unto the Gentiles. And there I hey 
 abode long time with the disciples. 
 
 » ch. 15 : 4-6, 12 ; 21 : 19, 22 
 
 1 Cor. lU : 9 ; 2 Cor. 2 : 12; Col. 4 : 3. 
 
 and a half years. Some suppose a 
 shorter period ; but if anything it was 
 longer ratlier than shorter. (Comi)ave 
 Harmonic Arranfjeinent of the Actx, 
 §27.) 
 
 27. Assembling the church at Au- 
 tioch, Paul and Barnalias report all 
 that God had doue with them, dur- 
 ing their two or three years' missionary 
 labors abroad. With them. Some talce 
 this to mean in their behalf, as iu Luke 
 1 : 72, according to a Hebrew usage. 
 But tliere seems to be no necessity for 
 supposing a Hebraism here, and it is 
 natural and more simple to take the 
 phrase to mean, God leorking with 
 them. This also accords with Paul's 
 declaration iu 1 Cor. 3 : 9, " We are 
 workers together with God." (See2Cor. 
 6:1.) How he had opened the 
 door of faith unto the Gentiles— 
 a beautiftd phrase signifying that the 
 Gentiles liad been admitted to share in 
 the hopes of the gospel. Tiiis figura- 
 tive use of door as an avenue of access, 
 is a favorite one with Paul, as for the 
 preaching the gospel at Ephesus (i Cor. 
 16:9), at Troas (acor. 2;i2), and for gen- 
 eral evangelization (Coi. i .-a) , and Luke 
 may have become fiimiliar with this 
 use of the word from Jiis intercourse 
 Avith Paul. It was a door of faith, 
 both because an opportunity had been 
 given to the Gentiles for believing, and 
 also because tlirough the influence of 
 the Holy Spirit a willingness to believe 
 the gospel had been awakened. (i6 :ii.) 
 The result of the mission showed that 
 access to Christ was as free to Gentiles 
 as to Jews. 
 
 28. And they abode long time — 
 rather, tarried no little time, with the 
 disciples, which is sufficiently indefi- 
 nite and comprehensive to include a 
 period of two or three years. The so- 
 called Apostolic Council at .Jerusalem 
 was held iu A. D. 50. According to our 
 chronology it was now late iu the year 
 A. D. 47. Paul and Barnabas could 
 find much to do after an absence of two 
 and a half years from the church at 
 Antioch. Besides, there was a large 
 
 field outside, in that large city and its 
 vicinity. The name disciples here 
 used may suggest, as Dr. Alexander 
 thinks, that they might still be regarded 
 iia lea rjwrs mid requiring teachers, such 
 as these two noted missionaries, for no 
 little time. They would also foster a 
 mission spirit in the church. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. The preacher should give special atten- 
 tion to the manner of his preaching, as well 
 as to the matter. (Ver 1 ; Col. 1 : 28.) 
 
 2. In doing God's work we must expect 
 the opposition of the wicked. (Ver. 2 ; Matt. 
 10 : 24, 2.5.) 
 
 3. Opposition should not discourage, since 
 it is often attended with signal success. 
 (Ver. 3 ; 12 : 24.) 
 
 4. The gospel is the divider of hearts and 
 of communities. (Ver. 4 ; Matt. 10 : 34-36 ) 
 
 5. It is not the fault of the gospel if it 
 arouses division and tumults. (Ver. 5; 
 John 3: 19,20.) 
 
 6. No one in Christ's service should need- 
 lessly expose himself to death. When to 
 flee and when to face persecution needs wise 
 descretion. (Ver. 6 ; John 5 : 16, 17 ; 8 : 59.) 
 
 7. Hostility to the gospel often becomes 
 the means of the increase of believers. (Ver. 
 6, 7 ; 8:4.) 
 
 8. It was fitting that the first messengers 
 of the gospel among the heathen, and the 
 truth they preached, should be attested by 
 miracles. (Ver. 8-10 ; Mark 16 : 17.) 
 
 9. A preparation of heart is needed for the 
 reception of divine blessings. (Ver. 9 ; 
 Hosea 10 : 12.) 
 
 10. The healing of the lame man illustrates 
 the power of the go»pel upon the soul. (Ver. 
 10; Isa. 35 : 6, 10.) 
 
 11. Miracles are not the means for con- 
 verting the soul. (Ver. 11 ; Luke 16 : 31.) 
 
 12. Paganisn deified heroes ; Christianity 
 exalts the humble and contrite to be sons of 
 God, and heirs of the kingdom. (Ver. 12 ; 
 Rom. 8 : 14-17.) 
 
 13. People even in our day and country 
 may he converted to a pastor rather than to 
 Christ. The glorifying of the creature is 
 
232 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 the essence of idolatry. (Ver. 13; Rom. 
 1 : 25.) 
 
 14. The word of God gives no countenance | 
 to the worship of saints. (Ver. 14, 15 ; 10 : i 
 25,26.) I 
 
 15. None feel their infirmities more than | 
 faithful ministers, who point men to the ^ 
 living God. (Ver. 15 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 5, 7.) j 
 
 16. jNIen, if left to themselves, tend to | 
 spiritual darkness and error. By the long 
 delay of the gospel God showed how help- 
 less was the race without the light of his 
 word. (Ver. 16 ; Eccles. 7 : 20.) 
 
 17. God has left no one without sufficient 
 evidence of his power, goodness, and Prov- 
 idence. (Ver. 17 ; Ps. 145 : 9, 16.) 
 
 18. The strong adhesion of men to idolatry 
 and superstition is an evidence of the de- ' 
 pravity of the heart. (Ver. 18 ; Rom. 1 : 28.) : 
 
 19. How fickle the world ! How change- 
 able the experiences of men ! Paul con- 
 sented to thestoning of Stephen, and now is 
 stoned himself. (Ver. 19 ; Matt. 21 : 9 ; 27 : 
 22, 23.) 
 
 20. The restored Paul to the new converts 
 was an encouragement and an inspiration, 
 as one from the dead. (Ver. 20 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 
 10, 12.) 
 
 21. There are times when we should not 
 count our lives dear to us, if we can only 
 reach men with the gospel. (Ver. 21 ; 20 : 
 24.) 
 
 22. Tribulations are often necessary to 
 Christians to win them from the world, to 
 keei> them in the path of duty, and make 
 them partakers with Christ. (Ver 22 ; 2 Tim. 
 2 : 12 ; .John 16 : 33 ; Rev. 7 : 14.) 
 
 23. The work of the minister is to preach 
 the gospel, make disciples, strengthen them 
 in the faith, and comfort them in affliction. 
 (Ver. 21-23 ; Col. 1 : 28, 29.) 
 
 24. Pastors are necessary for the full 
 eiiuipment and well-being of churches. (Ver. 
 23 ; Eph. 4 : 11-13 ; Ileb. 13 : 17.) 
 
 25. In journeying we should recommend 
 Christ to otliers as we have opportunity. 
 (Ver. 25; Rom. 15: 18-21.) 
 
 26. A rehearsal of God's work is fitted to 
 comfort and strengthen God's people. (Ver. 
 26, 27 ; Ps. 126.) 
 
 27. A church under Christ is the highest 
 authority in his kingdom on earth. (Ver. 
 26, 27 ; Matt. 18 : 17-20.) 
 
 28. A foreign missionary may sometimes 
 find work at home. (Ver. 28.) 
 
 Ch. 15 : This chaptor is one of the 
 most important in the Acts, trt-atiiit,' of 
 a qiiestiou ami its results, w liich (.Iccitleil 
 that Christianity was intiiuled equally 
 for all men, instead of being a mere 
 sect of Judaism, a religion of a party, 
 or any one nation. The ehajjler opens 
 witli the occasion and origin of the 
 Conference or so-called council, at Jeru- 
 salem ; and narrates the journey of the 
 delegates from Antioch, and their re- 
 ception by the Jernsalem church. The 
 Conference assembles, and Peter, Paul, 
 Barnabas, and James, our Lord's 
 brother, take special part, and matters 
 are adjusted in a manner j)leasing to 
 the apostles, elders, and the whole 
 church. The results are embodied in a 
 letter, sent to Antioch by Paul, Barna- 
 l)as, Judas, Silas, and others, and are 
 higlily satisfactory there. After a time 
 Paul and Barnabiis j)ro]>ose to return to 
 ! their missionary work, which gives oc- 
 casion to a dissension between them 
 j regarding Mark (ver. 36-3n), and results 
 iu Barnabas going to his work in Cy- 
 ' prus, and Paul starting on his second 
 missionary tour through Syria and 
 I Cilicia. 
 
 1-29. The Apostolic Conference 
 
 AT Jerusalem. (Cal. -Z ■. I-IO: Jnmes l : l ; 
 Isa. 45 : 21 ; Jer. 12 : 15 ; Amos. 9 : 11, 12) Tllis 
 
 probably occurred in the autumn of 
 A. D. 5(3. Some would put it in the 
 sj)ring of A. D. 51. It is generally 
 agreed that Paul refers to this same 
 visit to Jerusalem in Gal. 2 : 1-10. The 
 time, place, theme of controversy, the 
 leaders of the oj)j)osing sides, and the 
 peaceful results are the same in both. 
 That in the second chapter of Galatians 
 could not have been earlier, for then 
 there would have been no need of this 
 Conference ; and the results of the 
 Conference certainly preclude the 
 necessity of such a visit of Paul after- 
 ward to Jerusalem. The difterences 
 between the two accounts in the Acts 
 and the Galatian E])istle are easily 
 adjusted. Luke records a controversy 
 which was threatening to make a divi- 
 sion between Jewish and Gentile Chris- 
 tianity. Paul relates a personal experi- 
 ence touching his official and doctrinal 
 relations to the other apostles. But 
 both have reference to circumcision, 
 Paul's attitude toward it, aud its rela- 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 233 
 
 The apostolic Conference, or Council at Jeni- 
 
 sateiu. 
 15 And "certain men which came down 
 
 from Judsea taught the brethren, and saUi, 
 "Except ye be circumcised rafter the 
 manner of Moses, i ye cannot be saved. 
 
 » Gal. 2 4, Vi. 
 
 Kom. 4 : 8-12; Gal. 5:1-4; Phil. 3 : 2, 3; Col. 2 : 8, 11, 16. 
 10; Lev. 12 : 3. q 1 Cor. 7 : 18, 19 ; Gal. 5 : ; 6 : 13-16. 
 
 V Gen. 17 : 
 
 tion to Gentile converts. Luke gives 
 an account of the public meeting of the 
 Conference; Paul of a private inter- 
 view with tiie apo.stles. A jjublic 
 gathering, if not iiu]ilied by Paul, is 
 consistent with his account, and the 
 same may be said in regard to a private 
 meeting by Luke. Other ditt'erences 
 will be noted below. (See fuller dis- 
 cussion iu Jlunnoiiic Arrangement of 
 the Acts, p. 197, § 28.) 
 
 This Conference has usually been 
 styled, The Ajwstolic Council. Yet it 
 differed from a council, iu that it did 
 not include delegates from the churches. 
 It does not appear that there were any 
 from the churches of Judea (Gai. i : 22), 
 or Cilicia. (ver 23 ) The brethren from 
 Antioch came to inquire into the mat- 
 ter, and represent the interests of the 
 Antioch church ; but it does not appear 
 that they acted officially by vote as a 
 part of the Conference. The public 
 gathering seems to have been a church 
 meeting of the Jerusalem church in 
 connection with the apostles, pastors, 
 and preachers. Another diHerence 
 from modern councils was the presence 
 of insjjired men. (ver 6 28 ) It seems 
 however, to have been the germ and 
 partly the model of councils afterward. 
 It is also highly suggestive and in- 
 structive in reference to the treatment 
 of church controversies and church 
 difficulties. 
 
 1. This verse is closely connected 
 with the last verse of the preceding 
 chapter, and shows what occasioned the 
 Conference at Jerusalem. Certain 
 meu — they are not called disciples, or 
 believers, or brethren, which is signifi- 
 cant, inasmuch as Paul designates such 
 ones AS false brethren unawares brought 
 in. (Gal 2:4.) Came down from 
 Judea — probably from Jerusalem. 
 (11:1 2. seeoDTer.s.) They had come on 
 their own private responsibility. 
 (Ver. 24) Taught — Were teaching, as 
 they had opportunity from time to time. 
 They were teachers, or rei)resented 
 themselves as such. 'J'lte brethren — 
 
 the Gentile believers who were ad- 
 dressed. Except ye be circum- 
 cised, etc., ye cannot be saved. 
 
 This is a brief summary of what they 
 taught. Circumcision stands here for 
 the whole law (ver. 21), just as John's 
 baptism is sometimes j)ut for his whole 
 ministry. (1:22.) Circumcision was 
 ordained of God in his covenant with 
 Abraham (gcd. n : 10 r.) to be performed 
 on all his male descendants, the 
 eighth day after birth. It was con- 
 firmed by the law of Moses. (Lev. 12 : 3; 
 Josh 5:2 9.) When a Gentile submitted 
 to circumcision it was a sign of submis- 
 sion to the whole law. ( Gai. 5:3) The 
 burning question among apostolic 
 churches was the condition upon which 
 Gentiles were to be received into mem- 
 bership. This gave rise to the first 
 famous controversy of Christianity 
 regarding circumcision and the keep- 
 ing of the law, which, in general inter- 
 est and important results, has been 
 likened to the controversy concerning 
 the Person of Christ in the fourth cen- 
 tury, and that concerning Justification 
 by Faith in the Protestant Reformation. 
 At first the aj)ostles expected Gentiles 
 to be converted to Judaism, and then 
 to Christianity. But Peter and the rest 
 Avere taught by the conversion of Cor- 
 nelius, that this was not necessary, 
 and the church at Jerusalem accepted 
 
 this lesson. (Seeou 10:9and 11 : I8,) But 
 
 later as Gentile believers increased, and 
 Antioch became the centre of missionary 
 elfort among the heathen, and Paul 
 and Barnabas had large success in 
 planting Gentile churches, a Judaizing 
 faction, which had never received the 
 conversion of Cornelius as final, became 
 very outspoken. Being great sticklers 
 for the law (ver. 5), questioning perhaps 
 the case of Cornelius, or at least regard- 
 in it as only excei)tional,they very natur- 
 ally concluded that if a Gentile was con- 
 verted to God, he would be obedient to 
 his law. Going still further, they lost 
 sight of an inward change through taith, 
 and of spiritual service, and made cir- 
 
234 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV, 
 
 ;2 When (heiefore Paul and Barnabas had 
 no small dissension and disputation with 
 them, they determined that 'Paul and 
 Barnabas, and certain other of them. 
 
 should go up to Jerusalem unto the 
 
 apostles and elders about this question 
 
 3 And « being brought on their way by the 
 
 church, they passed through Phenicc 
 
 • Gal. ch. 2. 
 
 I ch. 21 ; 5; Rom. 15 : '24 ; 1 Cor. IG ; C. 11. 
 
 cumcision and the external observance 
 of the hiw conditions of salvation. And 
 since Paul had heconie the leading de- 
 fender of uncirc'UUKMsed heliever.s, he 
 naturally btcanie the object of tlieir 
 opposition and i)rejudice. Tliey vio- 
 lently opjwsed his doctrine and his 
 apostolic authority. (Gai. 2 : <. 5 ) 
 
 2. Having noticed the occasion of 
 the Conference, this verse, in connec- 
 tion with Gal. 2 : 2, shows how it orig- 
 inated, namely, from the Antioch 
 church and by revelation. No small 
 dissension — implying a strong and 
 determined resistance by Paul and 
 Barnabas. And disputation— ^we*- 
 tionings, implying debate concerning 
 the doctrines and authority of these 
 Judaizers. Paul could speak from au- 
 thority, having been called to the Gen- 
 tile work, and having received the 
 gospel by revelation. (Oai. i : n. 12.) It 
 seems that these legali.sts produced con- 
 siderable excitement at Antioch, but 
 it is not im]>lied that they formed a 
 party, or obtained any followers. They 
 would likely produce some im])re.ssion 
 on the Jewish portion of the church 
 and create iloubt in their minds. They 
 would naturally question the authority 
 of Paul, who was the foremost defender 
 of the law of lil)erty. They — refer- 
 ring generally and somewhat indefi- 
 nitely to the officers and other mem- 
 bers of the Antioch church. Deter- 
 mined — ordered that Paul and 
 Barnabas . . . should go. It 
 also appears that Paul " went up ])y 
 revelation." (Gr>i.2:2.) Which pre- 
 ceded we are not told. Paul may have 
 hesitated to submit his divinely re- 
 ceived gos])el to any man, and hence 
 may have needed a divine suggestion. 
 It was revealed to him to go to Jeru- 
 salem and ruake known to the ajjostles 
 the gospel he preached to the Gentiles 
 and to receive their approval and right 
 hand of fellowship. (Gai. 2:2-10.) He 
 may, therefore, have suggested the Con- 
 ference, or at least heartily approved 
 of it, if suggested by others. This two- 
 
 fold origin of the Conference was not 
 singular in the life of Paul. Thus the 
 brethren at Jenisalem sent him to 
 Tarsus (9: so), and the Lord, by vision, 
 at the same time, sent him to the Gen- 
 tiles. (22:21.) So Peter was sent for 
 and also directed by the Spirit to go to 
 Cornelius. (10 : 19 20) And certain 
 others of them — Paul took Titus 
 with him as a specimen of Gentile 
 Christianity and as a test case regard- 
 ing circumcision. (Gai 2 : .1 ) He was 
 proliably also api>ointed by the church 
 as a delegate. The character of tlie 
 delegates indicates that the mind of the 
 Antioch church was on the side of tlie 
 Gentile believers and of the law of lib- 
 erty. To the apostles and elders 
 about this question. Notice that 
 while great regard was had for the 
 mother church at Jerusalem, where 
 the gifts of the Spirit had been largly 
 bestowed, notliing is here said regarding 
 her. These delegates are sent to con- 
 sult with the apostles, who were in- 
 spired men, and the elders, who were 
 teaehcrs under tiiem, and doubtless en- 
 joying in large measure the guidance 
 of the Holy Spirit. Observe also that 
 nothing is said of Peter, who, accord- 
 ing to the Roman Catholic theory, was 
 the infallible guide of the church, and 
 that Peter in Gal. 2 : 8 is only regarded 
 as the apostle to the circumcision, and 
 that James took the most prominent 
 part in the Conference. 
 
 3. And being brought on their 
 way by the church — they were pub- 
 licly escorted as a mark of respect and 
 atl'ection and of interest in this import- 
 ant journey. This is another evidence 
 that the Antioch church was on the 
 side of Paul and Barnalias. Probably 
 as many of its meml)ers as could con- 
 veniently assemble accompanied the 
 delegates a certain distance out of the 
 city, and then took leave of them with 
 prayers and best wishes. Such escort- 
 iugs were common among early Chris- 
 tians. (20: 38 ; 21 : 5; .1 John 6.) Pheuice 
 
 — Phienicia. (sotonu : i».) Samaria 
 
Cii. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 235 
 
 ami Sauiaria, 'declaring the coiiversion 
 of the (ientilcs : and they caused great 
 4 joy unto all the brethren. And when they 
 were come to Jerusalem, they were re- 
 ceived of the church, and of the apostles 
 and elders, and " they declared all things 
 that God had done with them. 
 
 5 » But there rose up certain of the sect 
 of the Pharisees which believed, sayiiif;, 
 J That it was needful to circumcise theiii, 
 and to command litem to keep the law of 
 
 6 Moses. And the apostles and elders came 
 together for to couslder of this matter. 
 
 'cli. U 
 
 u ver. 12 ; ch. 21 : 19. » Gal. 2:4. T ver. 1. 
 
 — the cotiutiy between Galilee and 
 Jiulea. "As Galilee is not mentioned 
 they traveled i)rot):ihly along the coast 
 as "far south as I'tolfiiiais (2i:7), and 
 then crossed the jdain of Esdraelon 
 into Samaria." (Di:. Hackktt.) De- 
 claring, relatintj fully (XA-.n)^ the 
 conversion of the Gentiles, to the 
 churches in those regions. They could 
 give abundant proof that Gentiles could 
 be converted without circumcision, not 
 oidy in Antioeii, but also in Antiocli 
 of Pisidia, and other places. They 
 were not going to Jerusalem to learn 
 that fact, but rather to prove it and 
 have it publicly and formally ac- 
 knowledged. They caused great 
 joy unto all the brethren— 
 whether Jews, proselytes, or Samar- 
 itans. The brethren in Samaria would 
 not, of course, sympatliize with Jewish 
 prejudices, and in Phoenicia believers 
 were largely under Gentile influences, 
 and their opinions doubtless modified 
 thereby. 
 
 4. They Avere received — wel- 
 comed (Lukes : 40), according to the read- 
 ing of some good manuscripts. A 
 slightly diftereut reading, however, is 
 found in the oldest manuscripts and 
 preferred by many critics, meaning 
 that they were properly and honorably 
 received. This reception was by the 
 church at Jerusalem in general, and 
 the apostles and elders, to whom 
 they were specially scut for consulta- 
 tion, (vnr. 2.) Tliey declared all 
 things — tlicy reported what great 
 thuKjs God had wrought with them, in 
 tlie conversion of the Gentiles. And 
 Titus was with them. (gu1.2:3.) This 
 may have occurred at one of their wor- 
 shiping assemblies. (Se^ on u : 27.) 
 
 5. Thus far there seems to have 
 been no note of disapprobation from 
 the Jerusalem churcli. Nor could 
 there have been consistently with their 
 former cordial assent and aj)proval of 
 Gentile conversions. (iiris.) But 
 
 there rose up, etc. This belongs to 
 the narrative of Luke, who records that 
 at this very first meeting with the 
 church at Jerusalem Paul and Barna- 
 bas met the same opposition which they 
 had encountered at Antioch. It came 
 from some of the sect of the Pharisees 
 who believed, who, as such, were still 
 sticklers for the law. They had been 
 formalists out of the church and they 
 were legalists within it. Some of them 
 liad doubtless known Paul as a Jewish 
 leader ;ind, like him, had found in 
 Jesus the Messiah, but tlieir conver- 
 sion was not so deeji and thorough as 
 his. Pharisees. (See ou 5: 34.) Notice 
 Paul's reference to these persons in Gal. 
 2:4. It is needful— implying duty 
 and obligation. To circumcise them 
 — the Gentile believers. Thus it is 
 evident that Paul and Barnabas had 
 related the conversion of the Gentiles 
 to the congregation, but it is not neces- 
 sary to supjwse that they had referred 
 to the opposition they had encountered 
 at Antioch. And to command 
 them to keep the law of Moses — 
 this would naturally follow the sub- 
 mission of Gentile converts to circum- 
 cision. (See on ver. 1.) Notice also the 
 difference in the putting of the injunc- 
 tion in ver. 1 and here. There the 
 Judaizing teachers enjoin on the Gen- 
 tile converts circumcision, as necessary 
 and voluntary on their i)art. Here 
 the Pharisaic brethren affirm that 
 Paul and other teachers must enjoin 
 circumcision and the keeping of the 
 law on their Gentile converts. " " If the 
 Pharisaic party had triumphed the 
 Christian church had Ixc n buried in 
 the grave of Judaism." (Abbott.) 
 Here may have occurred the demand 
 for the circumcision of Titus indirectly 
 mentioned in Gal. 2 : 3. 
 
 6. The private interview of Paul 
 with the apostles, recorded in Gal. 
 2 : 2-10, probably took place between 
 the reception of the delegates from 
 
236 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 7 And when there had been much disput- 
 ing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, 
 ^Alen ami brethren, ye know how that a 
 good while ago God made choice among 
 
 ns, that the Gentiles by my mouth should 
 
 liear the word of the gospel, and believe 
 
 S And God, "which knoweth the hearts, 
 
 bare them witness, '•giving them the 
 
 ■ ch. 10 : 20; 11 : 12-18. • ch. 1 : 24 ; see rets. 1 Sam. 16 : 7. >> ch. 10 : 44. 
 
 Antioch recorded in the two last 
 verses and the i)ublic Conference re- 
 lated in this and succeeding verses. 
 Paul fully niaile known to the apos- 
 tles his views of the gospel and his 
 ministry among the Gentiles, and gave 
 tliem such facts as would enable tliem 
 t^> judge impartially regarding himself 
 and liis work, and the law of Christian 
 liberty. And the apostles and 
 elders came together — Peter and 
 John (Oai. 2 : a), and perhaps others of 
 the Twelve were there ; James, tlie 
 Lord's brotlier, Paul and Barnabas, 
 Titus (Qai.i.: aj, .] udas, and Silas, (vur. :,i.) 
 The words, " all the multitude " (ve.. i:i), 
 implies tluit the members of the church 
 were generally jtresent. Aloreover, tlie 
 statement "then pleased it tlie apos- 
 tles and elders with the whole cfnirch " 
 (ver. ii) further imjdies that the mem- 
 bers of tlie cliurch were ])resent, not 
 only to listen, but also to j>articij)ate in 
 the linal actiou. The objection tliat 
 there was no place large enough to 
 hold them is worthless, since we know 
 nothing of tlie jdace of their meeting, 
 and it is not necessary to supi)Osc that 
 every memlier Mas ]iresent. " The offr'- 
 cidl pre.seitceo/ a// is assumed continu- 
 ally in such cases, where the assembly 
 is 'open to nil." (Alford.) These 
 ehlers were not connected with the 
 churches of .ludca, for of this we have 
 no intimation, I)ut with the church at 
 .Terusalem. Tliey were ministers of the 
 word, and teacliers (ver. 3'2). with tliat 
 diversity of gifts needed by the large 
 and (piite extended Jerusalem church. 
 (sw ou ver. 2. iiud 14 : M.) Thus this gather- 
 ing was of the nature of a Conference, 
 rather than of a Conucil. Very ]iroi)ably 
 James presided over it. (Ver."i:f, i».) To 
 consider this matter — literally, ////,< 
 ii'oed or doctrine, with reference to 
 preaching the irospel to the Gentiles. 
 
 7. Tlie Conference began with much 
 disputing, with con.iiilerable prelimi- 
 tutry (lehole (ver. 2), confined very jirob- 
 ably to the apostles and elders, in 
 which the whole relatioii of tlie law to 
 
 the gosjiel came naturally under re- 
 view. There would seem to have lueii 
 some present wlioopjjosed Paul's meth- 
 ods, and favored ciieumcision and tlie 
 keeping of the law among Gentile con- 
 verts. At length Peter rose up and 
 said unto them. Only those siieeches 
 which closed the debate are reported. 
 How vividly must Peter have re- 
 meml)ered the time and the scene, when 
 he himself was called to an account at 
 Jerusalem for associating with and 
 eating with the uncircumcised Corne- 
 lius. (11 : 1-^.) But this experience ena- 
 bled him to sjjcak freely and with con- 
 fidence on this occasion. Ye knoAV 
 how a good Avhile ago — frutn. 
 ancient or early days. This expression 
 is used comparatively to the whole 
 time in which Christianity had existed. 
 It was now over twenty years since the 
 resurrection of Jesus, and about twelve 
 years since the conversion of Cornelius. 
 Those were the days of gosjiel begin- 
 nings and of old methods ; since then 
 there had been a wide extension of the 
 work, and new jdans and methods 
 adojited. God made choice among 
 us — or among you, according to tlie 
 oldest manuscripts. Thus it was God 
 who was the author of this work among 
 the Gentiles. Peter would not restrict 
 the work to liim.«elf. God had merely 
 chosen him for that sjiecial occasion. 
 This was known to his hearers, and as 
 one so honored of God he could so far 
 speak with authority, from revelation, 
 from observation, and experience, that 
 Gentiles did lioth hear the gospel and 
 believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and 
 that God did aj>j)rove by the gift of the 
 Spirit. It should be borne in mind that 
 this discnssifui was not to liring about 
 an agreement among insjiired men, but 
 rather to bring certain other brethren 
 to the same conclusion with them. 
 
 (Gal. 2:9.) 
 
 8. ^Moreover, God who knoweth 
 the heart bare them witness — 
 
 Cornelius and his company who be- 
 lieved. God knew their hearts and 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 237 
 
 U Holy S|tirit, even as lit did unto us ; " and 
 
 put no dilJ'erence between us and them, 
 
 10 ■• purifying tbeir hearts by faith. Now 
 
 therefore ' why teiupt ye God, f to put a 
 
 yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which 
 
 neither our fath' rs nor wc were able to 
 
 11 bear? But ! we believe that through the 
 grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall 
 be saved, even as they. 
 
 12 Then all the multitude kept silence, 
 
 Rom. 10 : n ; Oal. 3 : 28. <> ch. 10 : 15, 28, 43 ; 1 I'etor 1 : 22. « Exod. 17 : 2. 
 23 : 4 ; Gal. 5:1. s Horn. 5 : 20. 21 ; Eph. 2. 8 ; Titus, 3 : 4, 5. 
 
 t Matt. 
 
 could not be deceived, (i sam i6 : 7 ) 
 Giving them the Holy Spirit even 
 as he did unto us. Thus God bare 
 witness by tlie niiraculutis gifts of the 
 Spirit (10: **), just as he liad to Jewish 
 believers on the day of Pentecost. 
 
 (? : .1 4 38.) 
 
 9. And put no difference be- 
 tween us and them — the middle 
 wall of partition between Jew and Gen- 
 tile having been l)roken down by Christ. 
 (Eph2rii) Purifying or cleanshtg 
 their hearts by faith — reminding 
 lis of the words to Peter, " What 
 God hath cleansed, that call not thou 
 common." (lotis) God made no dis- 
 tinction between Jew and Gentile after 
 tliis heart-cleansing had taken place. 
 These Gentile believers were not cir- 
 cumcised in the flesh, but circumcised 
 in heart, tlie true circumcision. (Coi. 
 
 2 : 11 ; Rom. 2 : 28, 29; Jer. 9 : 26.) By faith in 
 
 Christ, acce])ting him personally as 
 a Saviour. The Spirit employs the 
 truth as an instrument in regeneration 
 
 andsanctification. (James l : 18; John 17: 17.) 
 
 10. Now, therefore— Peter makes 
 the application. Since the heart- 
 searching God had admitteil Gentile 
 converts to equal i)rivileges with .Jew- 
 ish Ijelievers, granting tliat ])urifica- 
 tion of heart, of which circumcision 
 is but an emblem, Avhy tempt ye 
 God ? Why put him to proof, whether 
 be will maintain his manifest purpose, 
 thus trying his forbearance and jia- 
 tience by oj>posing bis will ? (5:9: M.-itt. 
 
 4:7; Cor. 10 ; 9.) To put — that ye shouUl 
 
 put a yoke upon the necks of the 
 disciples, which God had pronounced 
 needless by granting tlie Holy Spirit 
 to the Gentiles. By tlie yoke is meant 
 circumcision and tlie ^losaic laws, 
 (oni. 5:1,3) Which neither our 
 fathers nor we Avere able to bear. 
 Strong language. Compare the " heavy 
 burdens" which Jesus denounces 
 (Matt. M : 4) and the burden of the law 
 on the conscience which Paul describes. 
 
 (Rom 7:711) Contrast Christ's easy 
 yoke. (Matt. 11 : 29 ) Peter is here speak- 
 ing of the law as a means and condi- 
 tion to salvation. Their fathers since 
 the time of Moses, and they themselves, 
 had found the law unavailing to give 
 justification and peace of conscience. 
 Its object was not to give salvation, but 
 a knowledge of sin, and thus lead to 
 
 Christ. (Rom 3:19 20: Gal :l:19-2*.) 
 
 11. The question of Peter in the pre- 
 ceding verse implied that they nad 
 found the law an unbearable burden 
 and unavailable as a means of salva- 
 tion ; and that they should not there- 
 fore impose it upon Gentile believers. 
 This was one side : Neither Gentiles 
 nor Jews could hope to be saved by 
 the law. The other side follows in this 
 verse. But, on the other hand, in 
 contrast to the yoke of the law, we 
 expect through grace to be saved the 
 same as Gentile believers. "Thecom- 
 l)lete equilization of both parties is 
 most fitly l)rouglit out at the close ; 
 after having been )>reviously said, they 
 as well as ice, it is now said, we as 
 well as they. Thus the equalizing is 
 formally complete." (^Ieyer.) Grace 
 is emj)hatic : Unt, through the grace 
 of the Lord Jesus ire beliere that we shall 
 be saved in the same manner as they. 
 The divine grace or favor in Chri.st did 
 what the law, which was weak through 
 the flesh, could not do. (Rom. 8: 3-5.) 
 Peter affirms salvation by grace briefly; 
 it remained for Paul to develoji the 
 doctrine fully. See how Paul used 
 this same thought when he rebuked 
 Peter for his inconsistency. (Oai. 2 : n, r.) 
 This, which was probalily a summary 
 of Peter's speech, made his argument 
 complete, that circumcision and keep- 
 ing the ^losaic law should not be im- 
 posed on Gentile converts. 
 
 12. This statement of facts regarding 
 the conversion of Cornelius and his 
 conipanyunder Peter, and his argument 
 thereform, produced such an iinpressioa 
 
238 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 ami gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, 
 declaring what miracles and wonders God 
 had b wrought auioug tne Gentiles by 
 tbeui. 
 And after they had held their peace 
 
 ' James answered, saying, Men ain! breth- 
 
 1-1 ren, hearken unto me; k Simeon, 'bath 
 
 declared how God at the first did visit 
 
 the Gentiles, "> to take out of them a pco- 
 
 15 pie for his name. And to this agree the 
 
 ich. 12;17. k 2 Peter 1 : 1, Gr. • rer. 7-9. »> ch. 18 : 10; John 11 : 52. 
 
 tipon his hearers, that Paul and Bama- 
 l)as at once follow with a rehearsal of 
 similar facts in connection with their 
 own labors among the Gentiles. The 
 order of the words iu the original is 
 significant: And silent bixatne the mul- 
 titude, and they listen to JJarnabas and 
 I'aul. The multitude indicates the as- 
 senihled church, (ver. 22.) The silence 
 shows that the long dissension had 
 been pacified and arrested by Peter's 
 address. So tliey are now ready to 
 linteu to tlie two first missionaries to 
 tlie heathen, and accept from them any 
 further evidence. It should be noted 
 that Paul, who had ac(juired the first 
 place as an apostle of tlie Gentiles 
 (13 : 13, 46), here occupies the second 
 place, when at Jerusalem among the 
 brethren of the circumcision. But 
 Barnabas was older and longer and 
 more favorably known to the brethren 
 at Jerusalem, and hail introduced and 
 recommended Paul to them. (9 :27 : c.ai. 
 1 : l^ -'♦.) And so Barnabas would natu- 
 rally s))eak first. Besides, those who were 
 jealous for the law would probably have 
 less prejudice against Barnabas tlian 
 against Paul. (21:20,21.) Moreover, Paul 
 would lie the best one to close. They nar- 
 rate how great miracles, rather, signs 
 and wonders (2:22) God had wrought 
 tlirough them among the Gentiles, 
 sliowing that their work and ministry 
 liad been attested by the same divine 
 j'ower as that among the Jews. Such 
 si^ns and wonders would include the 
 miraculous gifts of the Spirit as well as 
 s'.icli miracles as those at Paphos and 
 Lystra. (rs : ii ; n : 3. s-io.) It was not a 
 iiure repetition of what they had said 
 at a former meeting {^er. 4), but a 
 rehearsal of the evidences of God's 
 approbation u])on their ministry. Tlie 
 ]iresence of Titus showed what kind of 
 fruit their ministry had produced. 
 
 (Gal. 2:3.) 
 
 13. After they had held their 
 peace — icere silent — the same verb as 
 
 in ver. 12. James — " our Lord's bro- 
 ther." (Gal. l!l». Seeon 12:17.) He waS a 
 noted character in the Jerusalem 
 church (Gal 2:9), and, on account of 
 his strict observance of tlie law, appears 
 to have exerted great influence both 
 among Jews and Christians. He seems 
 to be styled an apostle in Gal. 1 : 19, 
 although not among the Twelve. In 
 later times Eusebius, Jerome, and 
 others called Paul the thirteenth, and 
 James the fourteenth ajKistle. The lat- 
 ter was pastor of the church at Jerusa- 
 lem, and probably presided over tliis 
 Conference. He was a fitting one to 
 close this discussion. 
 
 14, 15. James first of all sanctions 
 what Peter ha<l said. In tlie rei>ort of 
 this speech, notice how faithful Luke 
 is to the Hebrew or rather Aramaic in 
 which James s})oke. Simeon or 
 Si/meon, the Jewisli form of Simon, the 
 original name of Peter (John 1 : 42), and 
 the one familiar to the church at Jeru- 
 salem. (Liike24:34.) This is the last 
 mention of Peter in the Acts. From 
 this onward, Paul rises in prominence, 
 and the extension of the gospel among 
 tlie Gentiles. Further concerning 
 Peter, see on 12 : 17. How God at 
 the first— rather, at first — pointing not 
 only to "the good while ago" (ver. 7), 
 but also to Peter as the first one to 
 ]>reach the gospel to the Gentiles as 
 such. Did visit— or loo/c upmi in 
 order to htlji. Hebraistic. A people 
 for his name — to bear his name as 
 
 his JieOlde. ( Ver. 17 ; Jam<-s 2 : 7.) 
 
 l.'i. To this asree — the language 
 
 of Peter and the proj)hets harmonize. 
 
 j Peter had related liis ex])erience. But 
 
 I the Jews were disj>osed to undervalue 
 
 j passing events, and pay superior rever- 
 
 ! ence to the law and prophets. James 
 
 accordingly clinches the arguments by 
 
 appealing " to the words of the 
 
 prophets, which were many, one of 
 
 which he j^articularly proceeds to 
 
 quote. Thus not only had Paul and 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 239 
 
 words of the prophets; as it is writtPn, 
 If) ' Afior this I will return, aud will build 
 
 again tlio tabernac e of David, which is 
 
 (alien down : aud I will build again the 
 17 ruins thereof, and I will set it up ; that 
 
 the residue of men might seek after the 
 
 Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom 
 my name is called, saith the Lord, who 
 
 18 doeth all these things. ' Known unio (Jod 
 are all his works from the beginning of 
 
 19 the world. Wherefore my sentence is, 
 ■> that we trouble not them which from 
 
 ver. 10, 24, 28. 
 
 Barnabas done what Peter had before 
 been divinely directed to do; but it 
 was in accordance witli the divine plan 
 as foretold by the proi)liets. 
 
 10. .James quotes (Amos a : ii, 12), freely 
 from the Septuagint, which was 
 familiar to tlie foreis^n .Jews present. 
 The prophet had foretold the divine 
 judgments against Israel, and now pre- 
 dicts the restoration of the family of 
 David in the person and reign of the 
 Messiah, to whom his former subjects 
 and the lieathen shall render cheerful 
 homage, and Israel shall be restored to 
 their own land. The argument, as 
 tised l)y James, is, that God foretold 
 tliat the Gentiles sliould bear his name, 
 witltout any mention of their circum- 
 cision ; au(l with that agree the facts 
 now reported to them. What is true of 
 this, is true of other projiliecies con- 
 cerning the entering of Gentiles into 
 the Messianic fold. After this I will 
 return and will build again. 
 Amos simply says, /« that day I will 
 rfbnihl or raise up. .James introduces 
 this prophecy thus freely, implying 
 past judgments on Israel, and future 
 restoration and prosperity ; and uses 
 " I will return " from Jer. 12 : 15. The 
 tabernacle, or tent, suggests the low 
 condition of David's royal family. The 
 image is thai oi & Jallen tent ain\. one 
 in ruins, broken aud torn into frag- 
 ments, which was a vivid picture of 
 David's family in relation to the ten 
 tribes of Israel in Amos' day. Tlie 
 talit'Diac/e of David does not mean 
 what is sometimes styled the .Jewish 
 cluxrch. I Avill build again— the 
 royal family of David, to wliom God 
 had promised that his " throne should 
 be established forever." (2Sani.7 : lo; 1 
 Ktnss 2:4; Ps. 89 : 3, 4. ) Hencc the augcl 
 announced the birth of .Jesus with the 
 promise, "The Lord shall give to him 
 tlie throne of his father David, and he 
 shall reign over the house of Jacob 
 forever, and of his kingdom there 
 
 shall be no eud," (Luke l . 32, 33, note.) It 
 
 was by the risen and ascended Christ 
 that the tabernacle of David was to be 
 built, and the Mords of the proitliet 
 fulfilled, by extending his kingdom 
 among the Gentiles. 
 
 17. The principal variation from the 
 Hebrew is in this verse, which does not 
 alf'ect the essential idea of the passage, 
 or the force of the argument. (aiuo» 
 9:12.) Ilevised Version reads "That 
 they may possess the remnant of Edom, 
 and all the nations, which are called 
 by my name, saith the Lord, that doeth 
 tliis." The Edoinites were among the 
 bitterest enemies of Israel. Tlie Sej>- 
 tuagint in its paraphrase (for such it is 
 rather than a translation), regards 
 I'vdoiu as a general representative of 
 those who were strangers to God. That 
 the residue of men expresses tlie 
 design. The conquest is to be spirit- 
 ual, — that they might seek after the 
 Lord, even all the ({entiles ujiou 
 whom my name is called, as my 
 
 people. (Ver. 14 ; Deut. 2S ; M; Rom. 9 :2.'), 26.) 
 
 The assurance that all this would cer- 
 tainly come to i«iss rests on the declar- 
 ation of the Lord, who doeth all 
 these things. 
 
 18. KnoAvn unto God, etc. This 
 translation of the common text ex- 
 presses anew, that the reception of 
 Gentiles to gospel j)rivileges was ac- 
 cording to tlie divine purpose from tlie 
 beginning. The Mords are those of 
 James, and not of Amos. According 
 to several of the oldest manuscrij)ts, 
 however, the words unto God are 
 all his works are omitted. The 
 reading preferred by the highest criti- 
 cal authorities, in connecting tlie pre- 
 ceding verse, is : Who ilor/h all these 
 things, which ipere /cnown by him from 
 the beginning, (isa. 45:21.) The mean- 
 ing of this shorter reading is substan- 
 tially the same as that of the longer 
 one above. 
 
 19. Wherefore my sentence is 
 — I judge. It afterward became the 
 judgment of the whole Conference. 
 
240 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 tCn. XV. 
 
 among the Gentiles are turned to God : 
 20 but that we write unto them, that they 
 
 abstain "from pollutions of idols, and 
 T/rom fornication, and from things 
 
 ' ver. 29 ; Ezek. 20 : 30 ; 1 Cor. 8 : 1, 4-13 ; 10 : 2»-22, 28 ; Kev. 2 : 14, 20. 
 Col. 3:5: 1 Peter 4 : 3. 
 
 P 1 Cor. 6 : 9, 18 : 
 
 (Ter. 22.) The phrase was a common 
 formula, used by members of Greek as- 
 seuiblieSjin giving tlieir iiitlividual opin- 
 ions, or verdicts after discussion. That 
 we trouble not them — those among 
 the Gentih'S v/io arc tumiiiff to God, 
 l)y imposing on them burtlensome rites 
 and ceremonies. Thus James decides 
 in l)eiialf of Christian lilwrty, and of 
 salvation through faith in Christ alone. 
 ^O. But — that we do this, that vr 
 e»Ji)i)iHpon them inwritinrj, that they 
 abstain from alwminableand scanda- 
 lous tilings, common among the CJentiles 
 and also otiensive to Jewish believers. 
 Pollutions of idols — the eating of 
 meat offered to idols, (ver. ».) Tlie 
 idolatry of that period was terribly 
 corrui)t, associated with every form of 
 licentiousness. Religious and idola- 
 trous rites were schools of prostitution 
 and vice. Portions of the victims 
 offered in sacrifice were reserved to be 
 eaten at feasts, or sold in the markets. 
 Such meat was an aliomination to the 
 Jews, and the eating of it knowingly 
 was considered a heinous offence. 
 (Ps. 106:28.) Paul, however, teaches (Rom. 
 
 14: S, U; 1 Cor, 10: 19-33) that the Catillg of 
 
 such meat is not sinful in itself, l>ut 
 sliouM be avoided on account of the 
 weak consciences. The injunction here 
 must be regarded in like manner. 
 (See Mark 7: 14-23.) From fomication. 
 This must not be taken in any figura- 
 tive or restricted sense, but in its com- 
 mon import. That Gentile believers ; 
 sliould be warned against sucli a posi- 
 tive, heinous sin is cxjdained by the 
 fact, that the heathen not only allowed 
 but encouragcfl it in tlieir idolatrous 
 worshiji, and that philoso])hers ])rac- 
 ticed it without slianie, and public 
 opinion treated it as a thing of indiffer- 
 ence. Paul enforces tlie command [ 
 (i Cor. «: Ik), and iiisists ui)on its moral 
 
 evil and guilt. (Kph. 5: S; l Thesn. «: 3.) 
 
 From things strangled and from 
 blood — the eating of blood, and, by 
 implication, of strangled animals, 
 whose blood was still in them, was for- 
 bidden to Noah (Gen. 8 : ♦), and after- 
 
 ward in the law of Moses. (i.ev. 17 :is. 14 ; 
 Deut. 12 : 16-24.) " It is doubtless true that 
 where there is refinement of feeling, 
 and Avhen the sensibilities have not 
 become blunted, men instinctively, as it 
 were, avoid tlie use of animals for food, 
 which have died without losing tlieir 
 blood. The thought . . . gathers 
 \ strength, too, from the more S])ecdy 
 corruption which takes place in such 
 { bodies. . . . This prohibition [the use 
 of blood as an article of food] was 
 I probably made, not because the use of 
 blood would be in itself, and directly, a 
 I moral wrong, necessarily defiling the 
 conscience, but because it would tend 
 I to clierish certain propensities, and 
 ! traits of character, that are, to say the 
 i least, unfavorable to morality. The 
 1 use of bloofl for food cherishes cruelty, 
 j revenge, and all the ferocious passions, 
 I either by some intluence on men's ani- 
 mal nature, or by making them famil- 
 iar with thoughts and practices which 
 I tend to harden the heart." (Eiri.KY 
 \on tlir Aria.) It should be noted that 
 ; all these restrictions were really inile- 
 pendeiit of and older than the Mosaic 
 ; law. Not only the two last dated liack 
 to Noah, but also idolatry with its 
 [ pollutions and fornication were known 
 j to be sinful before the law of Closes 
 was given. But still these very restric- 
 1 tions were substantially such as were 
 demanded by the Jews from Gentiles 
 who became proselytes to their religion, 
 without receiving the rite of circninci- 
 sion, and who then or afterwards were 
 styled prosefi/tes of the f/ate.s. Perha))s 
 James would have it known tliat 
 Christians were as careful as Jews in 
 regard to prevailing enormities and un- 
 worthy practices. The two first ctmi- 
 mands of this Conference had more 
 special reference to the separation of 
 Christians from the license of jiagan 
 life ; the la.st two, to their treatment of 
 the feelings and consciences of Jewish 
 believers. 
 
 21. For introduces the reason for 
 the preceding restrictions. Moses of 
 old time — or Jrom generations of old. 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 241 
 
 21 strangled, i and /ro»i blood. For Moses 
 of old time hath in every city them that 
 preauii him, ' being read in the syna- 
 gogues every sabbath day. 
 
 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, 
 with the whole churcb, to send chosen 
 men of their own company to Antioch 
 
 with Paul and Barnabas ; namely, Judas 
 surnamed "Barsabas, and 's^ilas, chief 
 23 men among the brethren. And they 
 wrote tellers by them after this manner; 
 — The apostles and elders and brethren 
 send greeting unto the brethren which 
 are of the Gentiles in Autioch and Syria 
 
 1 Gen. 9 : i. 
 
 ■ ch. 13 : 15, 27. « ch. 1 : 23. 1 1 Thess. 1 : 1 ; 1 Peter 5 : 12. 
 
 Hath in every city them that 
 preach him, announcing hiiu as a 
 lawgiver, and hi.s law a.s of sni)reme 
 authority. Tliis was .strictly true of 
 the Roman Empire at that time. In 
 all the important cities were colonies of 
 the Jews, and synagogties where tlie 
 law of Moses was read every sab- 
 bath day. All the attendants upon 
 these synagogues would be constantly 
 reminded of the prohihitions of the 
 ceremonial law. And it was therefore 
 necessary for Gentile Cliristians, for the 
 sake of peace as well as of purity of 
 life, to regard tliese restrictions, and not 
 oflend their Jewish brethren. Another, 
 but less probable interpretation of this 
 verse is : This liberty, with these re- 
 etrictions may well be allowed Gentile 
 converts ; for there is no danger that 
 the Jewish brethren will neglect their 
 law which is read in the synagogues 
 every Sabbath. 
 
 22. The will of God was now so 
 clearly manifest that all opposition was 
 silenced, and it remained only to adopt 
 the pro])osition of James. Then 
 pleased it, etc. Tliat is, Then the 
 apost/es and the elders with the whole 
 church resolved. The verb here and in 
 ver. 2.5 and 28 was tlie one used offi- 
 cially in Greek for announcing the 
 decision of the popular assembly. This 
 was the final decision of tiie question. 
 It had been sulnnitted to the apostles 
 and elders (ver. 2), and the former were 
 inspired men, but they did not ignore 
 the authority of the local cliurch. It 
 is evident that the churcli was regarded 
 as having an established order, govern- 
 ment and authority. To send 
 chosen men of their own com- 
 pany — rather huvinri chosen men from 
 themselves, from their own number, to 
 semi them, etc. The chief men were 
 probably from among their elders, or 
 preachers. Judas surnamed Bar- 
 sabas — supposed by some to be the 
 brother of Joseph Barsabas (1 : ii), both 
 
 being sons of one Sabas {bar being the 
 Hebrew for son). Nothing is certainly 
 known concerning him except that both 
 he and Silas were " pro])hets." Silas 
 — called Silvanus in the Epistles, the 
 former name being a contraction of the 
 latter. He was 2jrobal)ly a Grecian or 
 foreign Jew, and appears to have been 
 a Roman citizen. [}^ ■■ 37.) He accom- 
 panied Paul on liis second missionary 
 journey througli Asia Minor to Mace- 
 donia (Ter. 40), tarried behind in Berea 
 (17 : 4, to, i4)j but joined Raul again in 
 Corinth, (is : »•) He was probably the 
 one who conveyed the first Epistle of 
 Peter to Asia Minor. (1 Peter 5 : 12.) 
 
 23. And they wrote letters by 
 them, to be taken to Antioch. After 
 this manner is omitted by the oldest 
 manuscriiits. We doubtless have the 
 exact copy of the letters which would 
 be written in Greek. The apostles, 
 and elders, and brethren. Many 
 of the ancient Greek manuscripts insert 
 tlie article three times so as to translate, 
 The apostles, and the elders, and the 
 brethren. Some of the oldest omit and 
 the before brethren, and are followed by 
 Alford, and Westcott and Hort. The 
 Revised Version translates this The 
 apostles and the elder brethren. The 
 American Revisers, however, preferred 
 The apostles and the elders, brethren; 
 that is, your brethren, as the Lord's ser- 
 vants and your helpers in the Loril's 
 work. But many of the ancient manu- 
 scripts, and most of the versions and 
 Fathers retain the words and the, wliicli 
 were regarded as geimine by Tischen- 
 dorf, and also by Meyer, who supposes 
 the omission was the result of hierarcli- 
 ieal feeling. " It may easily be con- 
 ceived that the omission was occasioned 
 by a scruple respecting the co-ojieration 
 of the congregation with the apostles." 
 (Lechler, in Lunf/e.) Send greet- 
 ing — hail, wish you joy. This was the 
 usual formula of salutation in Greek 
 ejnstles. (s3 ; :r..) To the brethren 
 
!-12 
 
 THE ACT.S. 
 
 24 andCilicia. Forasmuch as we bare heard, 
 that "certaiu which went out fioiu us 
 have troubled you with words, subverting 
 your souls, saying, i'e must be circuru- 
 ciset-l, and keep ihe law : to whom we gave 
 
 25 no sitch commandment : it seemed good 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 unto us, being assembled with one accord, 
 to send chosen men unto you with our 
 
 26 belovef" Barnabas and Paul, 'men that 
 have hazarded their lives for the name of 
 
 27 our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent 
 therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also 
 
 » ver. 1; Gal. 2:4; 5:12; 
 
 2 Tim. 2 : U ; Titus I : 10, 11. 
 30 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 23, 2C. 
 
 » ch. 13 : 50 ; 14 : 19; 1 Cor. 15 : 
 
 which are of the Gentiles in 
 Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, 
 
 implying Gentile converts, unci proba- 
 bl}- churches in all those regions. We 
 here get a glimpse of some of the unre- 
 corded labors of the Apostle Paul. Thus 
 while at Antioch, both before and after 
 his fir.st missionary tour, Paul doubtless 
 extended his lal)ors and planted 
 churclu's in Syria; and earlier than 
 this, he probabl}-, on kis return to 
 Tarsus (9:30; 11 ;25j, made converts and 
 gathered churches in Cilicia. See ver. 
 41, which implies the same facts. 
 
 24. The letter opens formally, as in 
 Luke 1:1, and first gives a reason for 
 their writing , Forasmuch as Ave 
 have heard that certain who 
 went out from us — in Jerusalem, 
 being members of the church there. 
 (Ver. 1, 5.) Subverting your souls — 
 ^(ylsctth'llg your minds by false teach- 
 ing. Saying, Ye must be circum- 
 cised and keep the laAv. This is 
 not found in several of the older manu- 
 scri]>ts, and omitted by most of tlie 
 highest authorities. To whom we 
 gave no such commandment — 
 they had come from tlie church at 
 Jerusalem and had taught, and had 
 probably claimed authority from the 
 mother church. They had thus 
 troubled, or disturbed the brethren 
 at Antioch with their words, ?<))*■(/- 
 fh'ng their souls with doubts regarding 
 the method and conditions of salvation. 
 (Gal. 5 : 2-i.) But the assembled church 
 at Jerusalem, Avith their leaders, iu 
 Conference openly disavow their author- 
 ity. Paul calls " them false brethren." 
 
 (Gal. 2 : 4.) 
 
 25. It seemed good — it was re- 
 solved by us. (Sceon ver. 22.) Being 
 assembled Avith one accord, or 
 
 rather, having become of one mind, im- 
 plying some difference of views and 
 discussion. There would be no signifi- 
 cance iu the statement that the church 
 
 had assembled together, but much in 
 the fact that it had reached a unani- 
 mous conclusion. See on ch. 1 : 14, 
 where the same word in the original, 
 "with one accord," is used. Our 
 beloved Barnabas and Paul — not 
 an unmeaning compliment, but a strong 
 endorsement of their characters against 
 the maligiiings of the Judaizers. This 
 and what follows is iu harmony with 
 the approval and hand of fellowship 
 given Paul l)y the apostles at Jerusalem. 
 (Gal. 2 : 9.) Notice that the order of the 
 names as in ver. 12 (on which see) is 
 the same as tliat which was used before 
 Paul became the most prominent of the 
 two (u: 30; 13 :2), aiid 38 they would 
 be naturally regarded at Jertisalem, at 
 this time. In this the accuracy of 
 Luke, as a historian, is manifest. 
 
 26. Ending the sentence commenced 
 in the preceding verse. Men AVho 
 have hazarded, literally, have given 
 up their lives. Compare Phil. 3:8; 
 and I'aul's reference to Christ giving 
 himself, in Gal. 2 : 20. In their conse- 
 cration and their tril/ they were mar- 
 tyrs, though as yet they had not laid 
 down their lives. They had, however, 
 given them to be spent or sacrificed for 
 Christ. The inference is, that such 
 men deserve the confidence and honor 
 of their brethren. 
 
 27. Me have sent therefore 
 Judas and Silas, Avho shall also 
 tell you the same things — certify- 
 ing to its genuineness, and to the 
 unanimous resolve of the church at 
 Jerusalem, and giving all needed ex- 
 planations, and answering all questions 
 concerning the Conference and its 
 action. Thus by these two witnesses 
 should every word be established. 
 
 28. For introduces the reason for 
 the conclusions of the conference, about 
 which Judas and Silas would tell 
 them. It seemed good. ("r. 21, zs) 
 to the Holy Spirit. They had 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 243 
 
 28 tell yo'i the same things by mouth. For it 
 seemed good to the Holy Spirit, aud to 
 us, to lay upon you no gifatcr burden 
 
 29 than y these necessary things; 'that ye 
 abstain from meats offered to idols, aud 
 
 ■from blood, and from things strangled, 
 aud from fornication : from which if ye 
 keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare 
 ye well. 
 
 J 1 Cor. 10 ■. 23. « ver. 20 ; ch. 21 : 25 ; Rev. 2 : 14, 20. • Lov. 17 : 14. 
 
 been guided by the Spirit to an autho- 
 ritative and unanimous conclusion. 
 The apostles were inspired men as 
 
 Jesus had promised. (John U:26; 16:13.) 
 
 And to us — including the church. 
 To lay upon you no greater or 
 further burden then these neces- 
 sary things — under the circumstances 
 and in those times, coming as they did 
 in contact with the heathen world and 
 with Jewish society. It was necessary 
 that they should be separate and pure 
 from the one and not give offence to 
 the other, 
 
 29. (See on rer. 20 ) The differences are, 
 that here the first prohibition is fuller 
 and more definite ; and that the order 
 of prohibition is so arranged, that those 
 relating to food are put together, and 
 that of fornication at the end. This, 
 Dr. Alexander remarks, "agrees ex- 
 actly with the natural relation of our 
 oral proposition as originally uttered, 
 to the same idea, afterward reduced to 
 writing; thus affording an unstudied 
 but most interesting proof of authen- 
 ticity and genuineness in the record." 
 From which things, if ye keep 
 yourselves. (JohnU: is) Compare the 
 similarity of James 1 : 27 " to keep 
 himself unspotted from the world." 
 In this expression, and in the use of 
 the word greeting in ver. 23 and James 
 1 : 1, as well as the practical nature of ! 
 the letter, we see indication tliat James ' 
 was the writer, or that it was dictated 
 by him. Ye shall do well— what 
 is right or commendable, (lo-sn, 3John6) 
 Ye shall prosper in peace and liannony 
 and promote your best interests. Fare 
 ye well — the usual formula in closing 
 a letter. Literally, be strong. Besides 
 these public injunctions to the Gentile 
 churches, was the private charge to 
 Paul and Barnabas to remember the 
 poor ^Gai 1 : 10), those at Jerusalem. 
 This they had done (n • w 3o), and after- 
 ward Paul did frequently. (2* : n ; Kom. 
 
 15 26. 27 ; 1 Cor 16: 3,2 Cor, 9:1) Perhaps 
 
 Judas and Silas bore gifts on their re- 
 
 turn to Jerusalem. (Ver 33.) One nega- 
 tive result also on the side of Paul aud 
 Barnabas, was that Titus, a Gentile be- 
 liever, was not compelled to be circum- 
 cised. (Gal. 2: 3.) Anotiier negative 
 result on the side of Jewish Christians 
 was that they were left just as the Con- 
 ference found them. Nothing was 
 commanded and nothing forbidden in 
 regard to their relation to circumcision 
 and the ISIosaic law. They were at 
 their pleasure to observe it strictly as 
 thousands of the Jewish believers did 
 (21 ; 20) or more loosely as Paul often 
 did. 
 
 But while the question seemed now 
 to be settled, it was not long before 
 Judaizing teachers were enjoining 
 circumcision on Gentile converts. 
 Against these Paul had to contend dur- 
 ing his whole active missionary career, 
 as is evident from his Epistles, espe- 
 cially that to the Galatians. The fall 
 of Jerusalem aud the destruction of the 
 temple must have had a weakening 
 power upon the Judaizing party. The 
 church at Jerusalem had retired to 
 Pella, but Eusel)ius seems to imply 
 that some time after, they for the most 
 part returned to Jerusalem, and the 
 Judaizing party revived. But the 
 terrible overthrow of Bar-chocheba, 
 " the son of the star," about A. D. 1.3.5, 
 crushed out Judaism in Palestine. The 
 church at Jerusalem now ceased 
 to be the church of the circum- 
 cision. The Judaizing party of the 
 church, however, continued down to 
 the fifth century, in the two sects, the 
 Nazarenes and the Ebionites. The for- 
 mer, a small sect beyond Jordan in 
 Pella and other neighboring places, 
 were almost orthodox in belief. They 
 held themselves bound to the Mosaic 
 Law, but did not consider Gentile 
 Christians under the same obligation, 
 and recognized the apostolic authority 
 of Paul. The Ebionites, a much larger 
 and widely disseminated sect, held that 
 the Mosaic Law was alike binding oa 
 
244 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 30 So when they were dismissed, they came 
 to Antioch : and when they had gathered 
 the multitude together, they delivered the 
 
 31 epistle: w/iicfiyfhen they had read, they 
 
 32 rejoiced for the consolation. And Judas 
 and Silas, beiug >> prophets aiso them- 
 
 selves, « exhorted the brethren with many 
 
 33 words, and contirnied t/iem. And after 
 they had tarried t/iere a space, they were 
 let J go in peace from the brethren unto 
 
 34 the apostles. Notwithstanding it pleased 
 
 b ch. 11 : 27. 
 
 ' ch. 14 : 22 ; 1 Cor. 14:3; Heb. 10 : 25. 
 16 : 11. 
 
 d Gen. 26 : 29; E.\od. 4 : 18 ; 1 Cor. 
 
 all Christians. They rejected all the 
 Gospels but Matthew, regarded Christ 
 as merely a man, and Paul as an a])os- 
 tate. " If," says Dr. J. B. Lightfoot, 
 " the Nazarenes might have claimed 
 some affinity to the apostles of the 
 circumcisiou, the Ebionites were tlie 
 direct spiritual descendants of those 
 false brethren, the Judaizers of the 
 ai)Ostolic age, who first disturbed the 
 l)eace of the Autiochene church, and 
 then dogged St. Paul' s footsteps from 
 city to city, everywhere thwarting his 
 eiJorts ami undermining his authority." 
 (Coiii,Gal.,p :«■-'.) 
 
 30-39. Paul and Barnabas Ee- 
 TUKN TO Antioch. Their Separa- 
 tion IN Missionary Work. This 
 extended over a period of some months 
 into the year a. d. 51. 
 
 30. So when they were dis- 
 missed — implying a formal and 
 solemn leave-taking by the Jerusalem 
 church, probably witli religious exer- 
 cises. When they had gathered 
 the multitude of discijjles, constitut- 
 ing the church at Antioch. (ver 12; 
 U:2T.) They delivered the epistle 
 — to the proper representatives of the 
 church, doubtless to the pastor or 
 pastors. They, the subject of the verbs 
 in this verse, refers generally to tlie 
 company that returned to Antioch, but 
 specially to Judas and Silas, the mes- 
 sengers sent to deliver the epistle to 
 the church at Antioch. 
 
 31. Which, when they had read, 
 they , the multitnde, rejoiced for the 
 consolation-which the contents of the 
 letter gave them. Their anxiety regard- 
 ing the Judaizing faction was appeased. 
 They rejoice that the stand which Paul 
 and Barnabas had taken was approved, 
 and that their Christian liberty was re- 
 spected and secured. Copies of tlie 
 letter were probably sent to other 
 churches. 
 
 32. Judas and Silas, being 
 prophets also themselves — not 
 
 ] only were they leading men and dele- 
 I gates of the Jerusalem church, but also 
 1 inspired teachers themselves (see on 13 : 1 )j 
 ' as well as Paul and Barnaltas. Ex- 
 j horted — some translate cuvij'ortcd, so 
 : that the verb may correspond with its 
 [ noun, consolation, in ver. 31. Here, 
 • however, both ideas seem to be in- 
 cluded : They addressed the brethren 
 in words of exhortation and comfort 
 and confitmeAt stroigtJiencd them in 
 I the faith. It is within the province of 
 [ the projjhet to console, exhort, and 
 strengthen, (icor. U:3.) This hapi>y 
 effect was produced upon the whole 
 multitude, both the Gentiles and the 
 less numerous Jews. One of the reasons 
 for sending Judas and Silas may have 
 been the fact that they had been en- 
 tirely unconnected with the conversion 
 of Gentiles, and thus above suspicion 
 of undue partiality toward them. If 
 so, they would have the greater weight 
 in confirming the epistle at Antioch, 
 esjiecially among the Jewish brethren. 
 
 33. After they had tarried there 
 a space — ^^lerhaps a few days. There 
 is nothing in the expression to indicate 
 how long. They were let go — dis- 
 missed, the same verb as ver 30. They 
 were dismissed in peace, formally, 
 perhaps, with religious exercises (21 : 
 5, 6), and with the usual salutations 
 and good wishes. Reference seems to 
 be had to the usual Jewish salutation, 
 "Peace be with you," or, "Go in 
 
 peace." (Luke? :50," 16:.16.) To the 
 
 ! apostles^or, according to some an- 
 ■ cient manuscripts, to those nho htnttrnt 
 them forth, probably with an oral or 
 I written reply from the church at An- 
 ; tioch. The natural implication of this 
 ! verse is that both Judas and Silas re- 
 turned to Jerusalem. 
 
 34. This verse is wanting in the 
 best manuscripts and was probably in- 
 serted in the text as early as the fifth 
 and sixth centuries, to harmonize the 
 statement in ver. 33, which implies that 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 245 
 
 35 Silas to abide there still. 'Paul also and 
 Barnabas coiitintioil iu Aiitioch, teaching 
 and preaching the word of the Lord, with 
 many others also. 
 
 The seraration oj Paul and Uanwbas inrnis- 
 
 sioiiary iiork 
 of) f AND some days .iftcr Paul said unto 
 Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our 
 
 ' ch. 13 : 1. f Rom. 1 : 11. 
 
 Silas returned to Jerusalem, with that 
 in ver. 40, which implies his presence 
 at Antioch not long after. But the 
 coniiuuiiication between Jerusalem and 
 Antiocli was so frequent and easy that 
 there is no difficulty in supposing that 
 Silas went back to Jerusalem as his 
 commission required, and i-eturned to 
 Antioch in time to go with Paul on his 
 second missionary journey. (seeoa 
 
 ver. «).) 
 
 35. Antioch continued to be a large 
 and inviting field of labor. But Paul 
 and Barnabas continued in An- 
 tioch teaching and preaching the 
 word of the Lord. It was not their 
 
 word, but Clirist's word (see on 8: 25), 
 
 which they both taught and published. 
 They would naturally teach inquirers 
 and Christian disciples, and announce 
 the glad tidings to those who had not 
 heard it, but neither exclusively. 
 With — in common with many others 
 also. Antioch abounded iu preachers, 
 and all had ])lenty to do. (13 : 1.) Very 
 probably it was a centre, as Dr. Alex- 
 ander remarks, " from which preachers 
 were sent forth in various directions, 
 and to whicli there was a concourse of 
 inquiring Gentiles from the surround- 
 provinces, if not from distant coun- 
 tries." 
 
 It is at this time between the Con- 
 ference at Jerusalem and the second 
 missionary journey of Paul (ver. 40) that 
 some able commentators place Peter's 
 visit to Antioch and Paul's rebuke, re- 
 corded in Gal. 2 : 11, f. But it seems 
 incredible that Peter, fresh from the 
 Jerusalem Conference, and after the 
 part he had there taken, and when the 
 delegates Judas and Silas had just left 
 Antioch, should act tlie part there 
 ascribed to him. Neither is it prob- 
 able that so soon after the Conference 
 any sliould have come from James to 
 undo what he had said and written. 
 Besides, it is implied in ver. 31 and 
 16 : 4, 5 that the Conference was fol- 
 lowed by a period of rest from Judaiz- 
 ing questions. Some suppose that 
 
 Peter's visit occurred a little before the 
 Conference, and that he was there 
 when certain ones came from Judea, 
 spoken of in the first verse of this 
 cha])ter. But Paul speaks of it in Gal. 
 2 : 11, as occurring after the Conference. 
 At least this is the natural inference 
 from his language. It is better with 
 many others to place it at Paul's return 
 to Antioch, after his second missionary 
 journey (is ; m), which see. Compare 
 Harmonic Arrangement, notes on §§ 
 29, 36. 
 
 36. And some days after — an 
 indefinite note of time which may be 
 longer or shorter according to circum- 
 stances. It was probably now in the 
 early spring of A. D. 51, when the 
 weather and roads were fitting for Paul 
 to take the journey proposed. The 
 thought of the churches he had gath- 
 ered among the Gentiles made him 
 restless, and filled him with longings 
 to see them and help them in the faith. 
 (ver. 41.) He therefore says to Barna- 
 bas, Let us go again, etc. The ex- 
 pression in the original is emphatic, 
 Come, let us return and look after our 
 brethren in every city Avhere we 
 have preached the Avord of the 
 Lord, and see how they do — 
 with special reference to their spiritual 
 welfare, yet not excluding their tem- 
 poral condition. See 14 : 21, 22; also 
 afterwards, Paul's daily care of all the 
 
 churches. {l Cor. U ; 2, 3, 28; 1 Thess. 3: 5.) 
 
 Paul desired not only to see men con- 
 verted, but to aid in building them up 
 in every Christian grace. 
 
 37. This verse gives the cause of 
 Paul's separation from Barnabas. But 
 though we see an exhibition of human 
 frailty in two eminently pious men, 
 the Lord overruled it for good in form- 
 ing two missions and doubling the 
 foreign missionary force. And Bar- 
 nabas determined, or according to 
 the majority of the oldest manuscripts, 
 wished, or was minded to take John 
 whose surname was Mark, (see 
 ou 12: 12 and 13; 5.) This desire of Barna- 
 
246 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 brethren ein every city where we have 38 was !Mark. But Paul thought not good 
 
 preached the word of the IjOrd, and see to take him with them ' who departed 
 
 37 how they do. And Barnabas determined from them from Paiuphylia, and went not 
 
 to take with them ''John, whose surnamt | 39 with them to the work. And the conten- 
 
 8 cli. 13 : 4, 13, 14, 51 ; 14 : 1, 6, 24, 25 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 28. 
 Tim. 4: 11; Philem. 24. 
 
 h ch. 12 : 12, 25 ; 13 : 5; Col. 4 : 10; 2 
 I ch. 13 : 13. 
 
 lias doubtless arose from his kind and 
 generous disposition, and from his nat- 
 ural afl'ection for Mark, who was his 
 cousin. (Col. 4:10.) Mark of course was 
 ready and desirous to go, and Barnal)as 
 wished to give him op}K)rtunity to 
 make amends for past mistakes. 
 
 38. But Paul naturally disliking 
 fickleness, decidedly condemned Mark 
 in what probably appeared to him to 
 be a shrinking from duty But Paul 
 thought not good, etc. But Paul 
 deemed it not fitting to take with them 
 this one who "departed from them 
 from Pamphylia. 
 
 39. Barnabas, however, did not 
 yield, but apparently sought to defend 
 ilark from what, perhaps, seemed to 
 him undue severity. So when it comes 
 to the test, he decides, rather than to 
 throw his cousin aside, to separate from 
 Paul, go on a mission of his own, and 
 take Mark with him. And the con- 
 tention was so sharp between 
 them. This is a paraphrase ratlier 
 than a translation. More literally. 
 And there vas irritation, or a }Hiro.r- 
 ysm, the latter word being derived from 
 the Greek, which is also used as a med- 
 ical term. It is used in a gootl sense 
 in Heb. 10 : 24, " for incitement unto 
 love and good works." (Dr. A. C. 
 Kendrick'S Com. on Ifebreirs.) The 
 word here does not necessarily suggest 
 an open quarrel, but such an irritation 
 and excitement of feeling, as to produce 
 a separation. Each considered bis own 
 reasons good ; neither would ynld to 
 the other. Both showed that tliey were 
 "men of like passions." (ui.i.) No 
 doubt unpleasant feelings were aroused, 
 and it is possible that they both felt it 
 the more deeply because of their long 
 and intimat* association. The excite- 
 ment, however, as the word implies, 
 
 'was only transient, and there is no in- 
 timation that it diminished their 
 strong mutual regard. That, so that, 
 they departed asunder — not in 
 auger, but as a necessity under the cir- 
 
 cumstances. Barnabas insisted ; Paul 
 would not yield. So they agreed to 
 part, not as fellow laborers, in the same 
 work, but in different fields. No decis- 
 ion is given as to which was right. 
 Chrysostom says, that Paul demanded 
 what was right; Barnabas what was 
 kiud. And so Barnabas took 
 Mark and sailed to Cyprus, where 
 they in connection with Paul had 
 labore<l in their former journey, (la ; 
 *-i2.) Thus Paul and Barnabas divide 
 their former field of labor. Omit so. 
 Barnabas api)ears no more in New Tes- 
 tament history ; 1)ut about six years 
 lat#r Paul speaks of him in most 
 friendly terms. (ic«r. 9:6; o«i. 2 : n ) 
 Mark also so conducted himself, as to 
 merit Paul's approval. During his first 
 imjuisoument at Rome, Paul mentions 
 Mark as a fellow-worker tlieie (Pbiiem. 
 ■-'«), and as one who had been a comfort 
 to him (Col. 4 :io. u) ; and during his 
 second imprisonment he wrote to Tim- 
 othy, " Take Mark, and bring liim with 
 thee, for he is useful to me for miiiistcr- 
 intr." (2Tiui.4: u.) As we take leave 
 of Barnabas and Mark, in the Acts, it 
 is jilea.sant to think of them as sailing 
 over tlie sea, bearing to its islands the 
 glad tidings of salvation. 
 
 The Seco.vd Missionary Tour of 
 Paiil. This journey extended through 
 the southeastern and central portions of 
 Asia Minor, including Cilicia and all 
 tlie places where churches had been 
 founded during the former journey, 
 and Phrygia and Galatia ; thence by 
 way of Troas into Europe, where they 
 jircached in Philippi, Thessalonica, 
 and Berea, cities of Macedonia; 
 thence into Greece proper, stopping 
 briefiy at Athens, and making a long 
 stay at Corinth, where great success 
 attends the preaching of the gospel. 
 From this point Paul returns by way 
 of Ephesus, Csesarea, and Jerusalem to 
 Autioch. (15:40; i8:M.) "In his first 
 journey Paul may be said to have been 
 trying his winga ; for his course, ad- 
 
Ch. XV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 347 
 
 ♦ ion was so sharp between them, that they 
 
 40 departed asunder one from theother. And 
 
 so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed nnto 
 
 Cyprus. And Paul chose ''Silas, and de- 
 
 parted, 'being recoTumended by the 
 brethren unto the grace of God. 
 41 And he went through Syria and Clicia, 
 ™ confirming the churches. 
 
 k lOor. 9: 6; ver. 22. » eh. 14 : 26. n oh. 14 : 22 ; 10 : 5. 
 
 venturous as it was, only swept in a 
 limited circle round his native prov- 
 ince. In liis second journey he per- 
 formed a far more distant and perilous 
 flight. Indeed, this journey was not 
 only the greatest he aciiieved, but per- 
 haps the most momentous recorded in 
 the annals of the human race. In its 
 issues it far outri vailed tlie expedition 
 of Alexander the Gi'eat, when he carried 
 the arms and civilization of Greece into 
 the heart of Asia, or that of Caesar, 
 when he landed on the shores of Brit- 
 ain, or even the voyage of Columbus 
 when lie discovered the New World. 
 Yet when lie set out on it, he had no 
 idea of the magnitude wliicli it was to 
 assume, or even the direction which it 
 was to take." (Stalkkk, Life of Paid, 
 p. 85, f.) The time employed in this 
 journey appears to have been about 
 three years and a half, from the spring 
 of A. it. 51 to the autumn of A. D. 54. 
 
 40, 41. Paul Commences his 
 Second Missionary Tour. It is 
 very probable that several weeks were 
 occupied in visiting the churches of 
 Syria and Cilicia before going north 
 into the central regions of Asia Minor. 
 
 40. And Paul chose Silas— as 
 his companion, Silas to occupy the 
 position and relation which liad been 
 held by Barnabas. It thus appears 
 that Silas, who had gone back to Jeru- 
 salem with Judas to report their com- 
 mission to Antioch (ver. 33), had either 
 returned thither, or else Paul now sent 
 for iiim. Some probability is given to 
 the latter supposition, by the fact that 
 Paul seems to liave started on liis mis- 
 sion after Barnabas, although he was 
 first to suggest it. This delay may have 
 been occasioned through the sending 
 for Silas. As one of the delegates from 
 Jerusalem to Antioch and also as a 
 prophet, he was a fitting companion of 
 Paul in the work. He would also tes- 
 tify to the esteem in which botli Paul 
 and Barnabas were held by the breth- 
 ren at Jerusalem, (see oq ver. 22, 26, 27, 
 82,33) Being recommended — or 
 
 committed by the brethren of the 
 church of Antioch, to the grace ol 
 God, or according to the latest critical 
 authorities, of the Lord. They were 
 committed to the favor of the Lord by 
 prayer, and doubtless by apjuopriate 
 parting religious exercises. It does not 
 follow that like benedictions were re- 
 fused Barnabas. Witiiout doubt prayers 
 and good wisiies followed him, though 
 possibly less formal and less general. 
 Departed — icent forth, descriptive of 
 them as missionaries. (Luke 9 : 6 ; 3 joho :. ) 
 In place of jNIark, Paul soon after chose 
 Timothy. (i6:i.) 
 
 41. lie went through Syria and 
 Cilicia. He would naturally journey 
 from Antioch, the capital, northward 
 through Syria, and then in a westerly 
 course through Cilicia, doul)tless visit- 
 ing Tarsus and other places, where he 
 
 had labored. (see on ver. 23. Compare Gal. 
 
 1 : 21.) Thus as Barnabas returns first 
 to his native Cyprus, so Paul goes to 
 his native Cilicia. Confirming— or 
 establishing, the churches, in the 
 faith (ver. 32), which he himself had 
 doubtless planted. No reference is had 
 to admitting candidates into the 
 churches. Paul also delivered the 
 decrees of the Conference at Jerusa- 
 lem. (Ver. 23; 16: 4.) 
 
 The Relation of the Apostolic 
 Churches to each other. Their 
 Co-operation. It ai)pears from this 
 chapter that the churches were distinct 
 and independent bodies. There appears 
 in the narrative no evidence of a con- 
 federation of churches under one com- 
 mon jurisdiction. The church at Jeru- 
 salem has no authority over that of 
 Antioch, nor the church at Antioch 
 over those of Syria and Cilicia. The 
 churches treat each other, not as de- 
 pendents, but as equals. Whatever 
 authority is manifested is that of in- 
 spired apostles, of the Holy Spirit, and 
 of the truth. Yet mutual helpfulness 
 and co-operation is implied. Messen- 
 gers pass to and from the churches, 
 resulting iu counteracting false teach- 
 
248 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XV. 
 
 in^, and in upbuilding their member- 
 ship. And this accords with the New 
 Testament elsewhere. The seven 
 churches of Asia were distinct. A com- 
 mon ecclesiastical judicatory nowhere 
 appears among the early churches, but 
 co-operation. Jerusalem helped Anti- 
 och ; and Antioch, Jerusalem. (ii:.i2, 
 M, 30.) Apollos is commended from 
 Ephesus to Corinth. (i8:-2t.) The 
 churches of Asia, Galatia, Macedonia, 
 and Achaia co-operated in the work of 
 benevolence and sent messengers and 
 letters for carrying out the work, (i Cor. 
 
 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8 : 1-6, 16-19, 23.) 
 
 Pkactical Remarks. 
 
 1. Every period of the church has its here- 
 sies, and its controversies. (Ver. 1 ; Gal. 1 : 
 6; Jude4; 1 Tim. 4: 1.) 
 
 2. We should contend earnestly for the 
 faith. It is better to sacrifice peace than 
 the truth. (Ver. 2 ; Gal. 1 : 8-10 ; Jude 3.) 
 
 3. We might well doubt the Christianity 
 of any one who cannot rejoice in the con- 
 version of the heathen, whether of one 
 nation or another. (Ver. 3; 11 : 18 ; Phil. 
 1 : 18.) 
 
 4. Though workers together with God, he 
 is the leading party, and to him we should 
 escribe the glory. (Ver. 4 ; Ps. 115 : 1.) 
 
 5. Faith in Christ does not at once remove 
 all errors of education and prejudice. These, 
 however, will give way to instruction and 
 the enlightening influences of the Holy 
 Spirit. (Ver. 5 ; 18 : 25, 26 ; 1 Cor. 3 : 1-3.) 
 
 6. We see perhaps the germ of the ecclesi- 
 astical Council in the Conference at Jerusa- 
 lem. The latter with its inspired men and 
 under the special influence of the Holy 
 Spirit would speak with authority. The 
 former is merely an advisory body, and has 
 authority only so far as its decrees are con- 
 firmed by the word of God. (Ver. 6, 15.) 
 
 7. God is the Author of missions ; and 
 missionaries are his honored chosen messen- 
 gers. (Ver. 7 ; Eph. 3 : 8.) 
 
 8. We should seek from God, who knoweth 
 our hearts, an assurance of our acceptance 
 with him. (Ver. 8 ; Ps. 139 : 23, 24 ; Rom. 8 : 
 14-16.) 
 
 9. A heart purified by faith is the essential 
 thing in true religion. This is true circum- 
 cision. (Ver. 9; Gal. 5:6; 1 Peter 1:22; 
 Eom. 2 : 29.); 
 
 10. The law is indeed a heavy yoke, bring- 
 ing bondage and condemnation. By it no 
 one can Vje justified. (Ver. 10 ; Rom. 3 : 20 ; 
 7 : 7-10.) 
 
 11. The gosjiel is the glad tidings of salva- 
 tion through the grace of Clirist. None are 
 so good as not to need it, and none so bad as 
 to be beyond its reach. (Ver. 11 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 
 12-15.) 
 
 12. Truth is confirmed by the facts of ex- 
 perience. The gospel is shown to be the 
 power of God. Signs and wonders attended 
 its first proclamation. (Ver. 12 ; Mark 16 ; 
 20.) 
 
 13. Aside from inspiration and perhaps 
 apostleship, James had authority as pastor 
 of the church at Jerusalem. The pastor has 
 authority as overseer and as an ambassador 
 of Christ. (Ver. 13-19 ; 20 : 28 ; Titus 1:5; 
 2 : 15 ; Heb. 13 : 17 ; 1 Peter 5 : 2.) 
 
 14. Peter, James, and Paul, though differ- 
 ing at times in their way of stating things, 
 were one in doctrine. (Ver. 14 ; Eph. 2:8; 
 1 Peter 1:5; James 2 : 5.) 
 
 15. God's prophetic word is in harmony 
 with what he does through his Spirit and 
 his servants. (Ver. 15 ; 2 Peter 1 : 19 ; Rev, 
 19 : 10.) 
 
 16. James gave an example to churches 
 and councils in appealing to Scripture and in 
 being guided by it. (Ver. 16 ; Isa. 8 : 20 ; 2 
 Tim. 3 : 16.) 
 
 17. Christ and the gospel are for all nations, 
 and hence the gospel should be preached to 
 every creature. (Ver. 17 ; Mark 16 : 15.) 
 
 18. The progress in divine revelation, and 
 the different dispensations, are in accordance 
 with the eternal purposes of God. (Ver. 
 IS ; Heb. 4 : 3.) 
 
 19. The law of gospel liberty rests upon 
 the great doctrine of salvation by faith 
 through grace. (Ver. 19; Rom. 8 : 2, 15, 21 ; 
 Gal. 5 : 1.) 
 
 20. We must not abuse our gospel liberty 
 in wounding or tempting our less favored 
 brethren. (Ver. 20 ; Rom. 14 : 15; 1 Cor. 8 : 
 9-13 ; Gal. 5 : 13, 14.) 
 
 21. Gospel liberty does not abrogate the 
 duty of avoiding both the reality and the 
 appearance of evil. (Ver. 20, 21 ; James 1 : 
 25, 27.) 
 
 22. There was no ecclesiastical hierarchy 
 in the Conference at Jerusalem. All stood 
 as brethren. Peter had no pre-eminence 
 above James or the other apostles. The 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 249 
 
 apostles and elders did not act independently 
 of the wliolc churcli, but iu concert with it. 
 and obtiiined its sanction. (Ver. 22. 23; 
 Matt 2:t ■. 8-11.) 
 
 2:5. Tlicappointingof delegates by churches 
 rests on apostolic precedent. (Ver. 2, 22. 23 
 27.) 
 
 2-1. Delegates should be selected from such 
 brethren as are noted for sound judgment 
 piety, and good works (Ver. 2, 25, 27, 32.) 
 
 2.1. The spirit of brotherhood should pre- 
 vail among all Christians, whether of one 
 nation or another. (Ver. 23; Matt. 23:8; 
 Mark 10 : 42-45.) 
 
 26. We may learn much from this chapter 
 in regard to the settlement of church 
 troubles. While some could be best settled 
 by an ecclesiastical council ; others might be 
 better arranged by submitting their cases to 
 the judgment of a sister church. (Ver. 22- 
 28.) 
 
 27. A spirit of conciliation with prayerful- 
 ness, without seltishness, seeking to know 
 and do the right should prevail in ecclesias- 
 tical gatherings. (Ver. 25 ; Rom. 14 : 19.) 
 
 28. Arrogant and self-constituted teachers 
 have done great mischief. Thus at the so- 
 called Robber Council, (a. d 449) the major- 
 ity not only brutally checked all dissent, 
 but by the soldiery compelled assent. (Ver. 
 24.) 
 
 29. Certain restraints in Christian living 
 are necessary, not only from things that are 
 right in themselves, but also from many 
 such as may be inexpedient. (Ver. 28, 29 ; 1 
 Cor. 10 : 23, 33.) 
 
 30. Neither the apostles and elders, nor 
 the church at Jerusalem, assumed or as- 
 serted any jurisdiction over the churches 
 of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. They sim- 
 ply, under the guidance of the Spirit, gave 
 their judgment regarding a specific case sub- 
 mitted to them. (Ver. 22 29.) 
 
 31. If a single brief epistle gave so much 
 joy to the brethren at Antioch, how much 
 more should the many longer ones which 
 we have afford comfort and instruction to 
 us. (Ver. 31 : 2 Tim. 3 : 16.) 
 
 32. We should always be ready to use the 
 powers and gifts which we have received 
 from God in his service. (Ver. 32 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 
 14-16.) 
 
 33. How happily a religious controversy 
 may end, if the parties fear God, seek his 
 guidance, and act kindly and honestly 
 
 toward one another. (Ver. .33 ; 6 : 1, 7; 11 : 
 18.) 
 
 34. Preachers should not forgot their call- 
 ing and their work wherever they may be. 
 (Ver. 3. 12. :i5.) 
 
 35 It is not enough to make converts and 
 plant churches ; pastoral oversight and pas- 
 toral visitation are necessary. (Ver. 30; 1 
 Cor. 3 : 6-9.) 
 
 36. One of the peculiarities of the Bible is 
 its impartiality in recording the errors as 
 well as the virtues of good men, and this is 
 one proof of its inspiration. (Ver. 37-39.) 
 
 37. Human weakness was shown in the 
 dissension between Paul and Barnabas. 
 Probably none would have occured if both 
 of them had sought divine guidance before- 
 hand. (Ver. 37-39 ; 1 Cor. 11:1; James 1 : 5.) 
 
 38. " This account proves that there was no 
 collusion or agreement among the apostles to 
 impose on mankind. Had there been such 
 an agreement, and had the books of the New 
 Testament been an imposture, the apostles 
 would have been represented as perfectly 
 harmonious, and as united in all their views 
 and efiforts. What impostor would have 
 thought of the device of representing the 
 early friends of the Christian religion as 
 divided and contending, and separated from 
 each other? Such a statement has an 
 air of candor and honesty, and at the 
 same time is apparently so much against 
 the truth of the system, that no impostor 
 would have thought of resorting to it." 
 (Barnes.) (Ver. 39-41.) 
 
 Ch. 16 : Continuing his second 
 missionary tour, Paul revisits Derbe 
 and Lystra, where he adds Timothy to 
 his associates, and after visiting other 
 churches, he extends his labors through 
 Phrygia and Galatia. Finding no 
 other open door iu Asia Minor, and be- 
 ing joined by Luke at Troas, they pass 
 over to Maccedonia and begin a mis- 
 sion in Europe. Lydia and her house- 
 hold are converted, a wonderful mir- 
 acle is performed, Paul and Silas are 
 beaten and imprisoned, the jailer and 
 his house believe, and Paul and Silas, 
 being honorably discharged, depart 
 from Philippi. 
 
 1-10. Paui. AND Silas Revisit the 
 Churches op Lycaonia, Extend 
 Their Labors Into Phrygia and 
 Come to Troas. (Gai. * ■. is-is, 19, 20; 1 
 
250 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 In his set-Old missiunary journey Paul revisils 
 the churches. 
 
 16 THEN came he to " Derbe and Lystra. 
 And, behold, a certain disc:ple was there, 
 » named Timotheus, (pthe son of a certain 
 
 woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; 
 
 2 but his father was a Greek :) which i was 
 well reported of by the brethren that 
 
 3 were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would 
 Paul have to go forth with him ; and 
 
 ■ ch. 14 : 6. » ch. 17 : 14; 20 ; 4 ; Kom. 16 : 21 ; 1 Cor. 4 : 17 ; Phil. 2 : 19-22; Col. 
 Thess. 3 : 2 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 2 ; 2 Tim. 1:2. P 2 Tim. 1:5. q ch. 6 : 3. 
 
 1:1; 1 
 
 Cor. 9:20; 1 Tim. 4 : 14; 1 Tim. 1 : 5, 6 ; 3 :15.) 
 
 The time embraced iu this section was 
 nearly a year, from late spring, or early 
 summer, of A. D. 51 to the early spring 
 
 of A. D. 52, (See on 15 : 40, 41.) 
 
 1. Then — rather, and, connecting 
 this verse closely with the preceding 
 chapters. Paul and Silas had left An- 
 tioch and passed through Syria and 
 over Mount Amanus, which separates 
 Syria from Cilicia, by the gorge an- 
 ciently called the Syrian Gate, but now 
 known as the Beilan Pass. (i5:4i.) 
 Thence they would naturally pass 
 through the Cilician plain on the old 
 Roman road to Tarsus. Having visited 
 the churches of Cilicia, the hot weather 
 of the summer approaching, they as- 
 cend into the higher regions of Asia 
 Minor, over Mount Taurus, into Lyca- 
 onia to Derbe and Lystra. It was 
 three or four full days' journey from 
 Tarsus, through the mountain valley of 
 tlie Cydnus, and through the great fis- 
 sure of Mount Taurus, a gorge known 
 as the Cilician Gates, extending from 
 north to south, a distance of eighty 
 miles. Instead of then came he to 
 Derbe and Liystra, the Revised 
 Version, following Westcott and Hort, 
 and some of the oldest manuscripts, 
 read, and he CMine a/so to Derhe and to 
 Lystra. This implies more distinctly 
 that there were congregations of be- 
 lievers in both of these cities, and that 
 Timothy was at Lystra. Notice that 
 in going from east to west Paul reaches 
 Derbe first. (SeeouU:6.) The excla- 
 mation behold introduces the meeting 
 of Timothy as a matter of special in- 
 terest and perhaps of surprise, who was 
 to i)lay an important part in the future 
 history of the apostle. A certain dis- 
 ciple was there — at Lystra (see 
 al)ove) named Timothy". He was 
 })robably converted during Paul's pre- 
 vious visit (i Cor. 4 : 17: 1 Tim 1 :2; 2 Tim. I : 2), 
 as well as his mother Eunice and his 
 grandmother Lois. (2Tim. i:5.) From 
 
 childhood he had been instructed in 
 the Old Testament at home. (2 Tim. 
 3 : 15) Alford infers from 2 Tim 3 : 10, 
 11, that he may have been converted at 
 Antioch in Pisidia, though Lystra was 
 probably his birthplace. The son 
 of a certain woman which was a 
 Jewess, etc. Rather, according to 
 the most approved reading, the son of 
 a believing Jeivish woman, but of a 
 Greek father. His father was certainly 
 uncircumcised, but whether he was a 
 proselyte of the gate is uncertain. Mar- 
 riages with the heathen were forbidden 
 by the Mosaic law (Deut. 7 : 3, 4; Eir» 9 : i-s), 
 but Avere not uncommon in later pe- 
 riods of Jewish history, especially in 
 districts where there were but few 
 Jews. (SeeKutiii :4.) Timothy thus 
 formed a link between Jews and 
 Greeks, which, in addition to his nat- 
 ural and spiritual abilities, especially 
 fitted him as a helper to Paul. He at- 
 tended Paul and Silas through the 
 greater part of this second missionary 
 journey. He labored at Corinth (1 cor. 
 16 : 10), and at Ephesus (1 Tim. 1 : 3), and 
 was an unselfish attendant on Paul at 
 his first imprisonment at Rome. (I'hii. 
 2: IS, 19.) The two epistles of Paul ad- 
 dressed to him are full of personal de- 
 tails and affectionate counsel, and in- 
 dicate that, though not robust in health, 
 he was a faithful and earnest minister 
 
 of the gospel. (1 Tim. 5:23; 6: 11, 12; 2 Tim. 
 1:4; 4:9.) 
 
 2. Timothy was well reported of, 
 or well-attested by the brethren at 
 Lystra and Iconium, among whom 
 he had doubtless worked earnestly for 
 Christ during the four or five years 
 since his conversion. This general at- 
 testation to his faithful work and good 
 character was in accordance with 
 Paul's own rule in selecting men for 
 
 the ministry. (Titus 1 : 7 ; 1 Tim. 5 : 22.) On 
 
 Iconium, see on 14 : 21. 
 
 3. Paul's discriminating eye soon 
 discovered that Timothy, a youth prob- 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 251 
 
 'took and circumcised bim, because of 
 the Jews which were in those quarters: 
 
 for they knew all that his father was a 
 Greek. 
 
 « I Cor. 9 : 20 ; Gal. 2 ; 3; see Gal. 5 : 2. 
 
 ably of about twenty years, would be a 
 suitable man to go forth Avith him 
 
 as a missionary helper and take the 
 place of Mark . At this time he may 
 also have received prophetic assurances 
 concerning him. (iTim. i:i8.) And 
 since he wished him for this work he 
 took aud circumcised him. Paul 
 did this, not as a matter of duty and 
 obligation, but because of the Jews 
 — that is, the unbelieving Jews, in those 
 places, for they knew all that his 
 father was a Greek. It was a matter 
 of prudence aud expediency, conceding 
 this to Jewish feelings and prejudice 
 (1 Cor. 9:20), thus avoidlug olfen.se to 
 the Jews by associating with him in 
 his work an uncircumcised person. 
 
 This act of Paul has been regarded 
 by some as inconsistent with his re- 
 fusal to circumcise Titus (Gai. 2:3), and 
 his condemnation of those who de- 
 manded circumcision of the Galatian 
 Christians. (Oai. 5:2, f.). Upon this gen- 
 eral subject several things may be said : 
 
 (1) The rite of circumcision did not 
 originate with the law of Moses, but it 
 was enjoined upon Abraham to be 
 performed upon his descendants. It 
 was thus older than the law and 
 broader than Israel. " Not that it is 
 of Moses, but of the fathers." (John 7 : 22.) 
 The abrogation of the Mosaic ritual 
 therefore did not annul the obligation 
 that rested upon the descendants of 
 Abraham ; but such obligation did not 
 rest upon Gentiles, such as Titus or 
 the Gentiles of the Galatian church. 
 
 (2) This rite appears to have been a 
 perpetual institution for Abraham and 
 his seed "in all their generations" 
 (Gen. 17:9); it was God's covenant in 
 their flesh " for an everlasting cove- 
 nant," that is, so long as the flesh of 
 Abraham should continue. (Oen, i7: 13, u.) 
 It would therefore appear to be still ob- 
 ligatory upon the descendants of Abra- 
 ham, unless it has been annulled by 
 divine authority. (3) But it does not 
 appear that Christ or the gospel an- 
 nulled it. The decision of the Apostolic 
 Conference had reference, not to Jews, 
 
 but to Gentiles. While it did not en- 
 join circumcision upon Gentiles, it took 
 for granted that Jews would observe 
 the rite. And years after, at Paul's 
 la.st visit to Jerusalem, James evi- 
 dently regarded it as untruthful for 
 any to affirm that Paul taught tluit 
 Jews should not circumcise their chil- 
 dren. (21 : 20 25 ) Paul's rule was: " Is 
 any man called, being circumcised, let 
 him not be uncircumcised ; is any called 
 in uncircumcisiou, let him not be cir- 
 cumcised." (1 Cor. 7 18^ He never once 
 intimates that the Jews were to give 
 up the rite ; but he most earnestly op- 
 poses Gentiles adopting it. He saw 
 nothing either in circumcision or iu 
 uncircumcisiou inconsistent with the 
 faith or practices of the gospel. In all 
 his controversies on the subject Paul 
 never intimates any difference of 
 opinion regarding the circumcision of 
 Jews. If Paul could have said or 
 shown that the gospel had done away 
 with circumcision, that would have 
 been the end of the argument. His 
 epistle to the Galatians was especially 
 for Gentile Christians (gm. 4.8), and in 
 opposing Judaizers he has nothing to 
 say against the simple rite among Jew- 
 ish believers, while he opposes it among 
 all as a condition of justification. (4) 
 Timothy was a half-blood Jew. His 
 father was a Gentile, and as such he 
 represented his family. The statement 
 that he was a Greek is emphatic. Tlie 
 Jews would infer that Timothy was 
 therefore not circumcised, or at least 
 would inquire into the facts of the case. 
 The law did not determine whether the 
 son of such a marriage should be cir- 
 cumcised or not. According to the 
 Rabbins the mother had no right to do 
 it without the father's consent. Paul 
 would not regard it as obligatory iu 
 such a case, but merely a matter of ex- 
 pediency. Timothy, if circumcised, 
 would be more useful among the Jews. 
 That it was not contrary to gospel 
 liberty is evident from the fact stated 
 in the next verse, that immediately 
 after tliis they proceed to deliver the 
 
252 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XYI. 
 
 4 Aud as they went tbrough the cities, 
 they delivered them the decrees for to 
 keep, 9 that were ordained of the apostles 
 and elders which were at Jerusaleui. 
 
 5 And 'so were the churches established in 
 the faith, and increased in number daily. 
 
 Paul and Silas visit Phrygia and Galalia, 
 and begin their Huropean labours at 
 Philijipi. 
 
 6 NOVV when they had gone throughout 
 Phrygia and the region of Galalia, and 
 were " forbidden of the Holy Spirit to 
 
 " ch. 15 : 23-29. « ch. 15 : 41. o ch. 10 : 19 ; 13 : 2 ; Kom. 1 : 13 ; 15 : 22. 
 
 decrees of the Apostolic Conference to 
 the churches. (.5) That of Titus was a 
 test case. As a Gentile he was under 
 7M» obligation to be circumcised. It was 
 also not expedient. It would have been 
 an infrinj^ement upon his own gospel 
 liberty and that of his Gentile brethren, 
 binding on him and them unnecessary 
 burdens. And to have circumcised him 
 at that time would have been to ac- 
 knowledge circumcision as a condition 
 of salvation. 
 
 It was i)robably after Timothy was 
 circumcised that he was set ajiart to the 
 ministry "with the laying on of hands 
 of the eldership " (i Tim. 4: ii) ; and was 
 endued with special gifts (2 Tim .1.6); 
 and then especially, as well as at his 
 baptism, he made a good profession 
 before many witnesses. (1 Tim.6:i.'.) In 
 Timothy we have an illustration of a 
 call to the ministry. First, he was a 
 converted young man of the church 
 at Lystra. Second, he li<ad the call of 
 the Spirit. The gift was in him. 
 (iTini.i :i8;4:i4.) Third, Ilis Call was 
 perceived and approved by the brethren 
 of the church. He was well reported 
 by the brethren (ver. 2.) ; thence, fourth, 
 his endownments by nature and grace 
 fitted him for the work. He had en- 
 joyed the blessings of a pious ancestry ; 
 he had been a student of the scriptures 
 from childhood ; he had an aptness for 
 Christ's service. He further enjoyed 
 Paul's companionship and instruction. 
 Fifth, as a final act of approval, he is 
 uow, or perhai)s later, ordained to the 
 
 gospel ministry. (1 Tim. 4 : U ; 2 Tim. 1:6.) 
 
 On the one hand Christ calls by the 
 Spirit ; and this call becomes manifest 
 to his people. On the other hand, pas- 
 tors and churches should be looking 
 out for young men who are called to 
 this work. 
 
 4. And as they went or journeyed 
 through the cities — those in which 
 Paul had preached the gospel before, 
 including Iconium and probably 
 
 Antioch inPisidia. Delivered them 
 
 the decrees, or decisions, which had 
 been passed l)y the Conference at Jeru- 
 salem. (15 : 28, 29.) Copies of the circu- 
 lar letter (15; 2.!-29.) sent out were prob- 
 ably left witli the churches. 
 
 5. As a consequence of this visitation 
 the churches were established, 
 strengthened internally in the faith, 
 in their belief of the gospel and trust 
 in Christ ; and externally increased 
 in number daily — that is, of be- 
 lievers added to them. (2 : 47.) The 
 deliverance of the decrees tended to 
 harmonize the Jewish and Gentile con- 
 verts, and prepared them to he ]nofited 
 by the preaching of Paul and of Silas. 
 This happy condition of tiie churches 
 resulted in conversions and baptisms. 
 Revivals attended the missionaries 
 wherever they went. 
 
 6. Paulliad now visited the churches 
 which he and Barnabas had planted in 
 tlieir former tour. From this point 
 he makes an advance into Plirygia and 
 Galatia. Assuming that he started 
 from Antioch in Pisidia, he would 
 naturally take the Roman roads and 
 travel in a northerly direction tlirough 
 Phrygia, to Pessinus, a city in western 
 Galatia, and thence eastwardly to An- 
 cyra (the modern Angora), and to 
 Tavium. These were the three great 
 cities of Galatia, where perhaps 
 churches were planted. Instead of 
 throughout, the most approved read- 
 ing is through : And haring gone 
 through the region of Phrygia and 
 Galatia. 
 
 Phrygia represents a somewhat un- 
 defined region of country, commonly 
 bounded on the north by Bithynia and 
 Galatia, on the east by Cappadocia and 
 Lycaonia, on the south by Lycia and 
 Pisidia, and on the west by Lydia and 
 Mysia. At the time of Paul's visit it 
 was not a distinct Roman ))rovince. It 
 rather represented that region where 
 the Phrygian race mostly predomi- 
 
Cn. XVi.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 253 
 
 7 preacb the word in Asia, after they were 
 coiue to Mysia, they assayed to go into 
 
 Bithynia: but the Spirit suO'ercd them 
 
 nated. With Galatia it occupied the I 
 groat central portion of Asia Minor. 
 (See on i; 10; 18:23.) Galatia occupied a 
 country that originally belonged to the 
 Phrygians, and afterward was colonized 
 by the Gauls. It took its name from 
 those Celtic or Gallic tribes that emi- 
 grated eastward into Asia Minor, H. C. 
 278, and after roaming around for a 
 time, at length settled down in the 
 above-mentioned region, and intermar- 
 ried with the Greeks. From B. C. 189, 
 though subject to Rome, it was governed 
 by native chiefs; but about B.C. 25 
 the country was formally reduced to a 
 Roman province. Its boundaries can 
 not be given with exactness. In gen- 
 eral, it was bounded on the west by the 
 province of Asia, which included j)or- 
 tions of Phrygia, north by Bithynia 
 an<l Paphlagonia, east by Pontus and 
 Cappadocia, south by Lycaonia and 
 Phrygia. With the old Plirygian na- 
 ture worship the Greek settlers mingled 
 their culture and brought in their lan- 
 guage. The Jews also migrated in 
 such numbers, especially at Ancyra, 
 the capital of the Roman province, that 
 certain privileges were accorded them 
 by Augustus. Some proselytes had 
 doubtless been won by them from hea- 
 thenism. Thus Paul found them Celtic 
 in character, using the Greek language, 
 
 Eracticing Phrygian rites, with some 
 nowledge of Jewish ceremonies. 
 Luke passes over this part of Paul's 
 labors with great brevity. The omis- 
 sion, however, is compensated by Paul's 
 allusions in his Epistles to the churches 
 of Galatia. From this we learn that he 
 was in Galatia a longer time than he 
 had planned, on account of an attack of 
 disease, which he styles an "infirmity 
 of the flesh." (Gai"4:i3.) This may 
 have been the first serious appearance 
 of the " thorn in the flesh, a messenger 
 of Satan to bullet" him (2Cor. 12:7), 
 which was i^erhaps a painful inflamma- 
 tion of the eyes, brought on by fatigue 
 and exposure in his travels and labors. 
 God overruled it for good. The Gala- 
 tians received him as "an angel of 
 God" (Gal. 4:u.), and counted it their 
 "hai^piuess" to minister to his necessi- 
 ties; and if possible, "would have 
 
 plucked out their own eyes and given 
 them "to him. (oai i:i5.) Manywerecon- 
 verted from idolatry (Gai. * : a), and some 
 from the beggarly elements of J udaism 
 (Gal. 5 : 1.), and were endowed with s])ir- 
 itual gifts. (Gal. 3; 2-5.) Cliurchcs Were 
 organized (Cai. v :2.), a sj>irit of benevo- 
 lence was awakened which assumed a 
 systematic form. (Gai. 6:6-i0; 1 Cor. I8: 1. 2.) 
 For a time they ran well (cai 5 .- 7), but 
 they exhibited tlie impulsiveness and 
 the fickleness of tlie Gallic race in turn- 
 ing back to superstitious forms, and 
 following Judaizing teachers. (Oai. 1 ; 6.) 
 Thus in Paul's successes among the 
 Galatiaus, the Lord's ^race was sufli- 
 cient for him, and " his strength was 
 made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 
 12 ; 9, 10.) Paul again visited Phrygia 
 and Galatia on his third journey. 
 
 (18 : 23.) 
 
 Retracing his steps westward through 
 Galatia and Phrygia, Paul was per- 
 plexed in regard to his next field of 
 labor. He and his companions refrain 
 from taking the road soutliwest to 
 Sardis and Smyrna, because they were 
 forbidden of the Holy Spirit, 
 through some communication or inter- 
 nal intimation similar to that in 13 : 2, 
 to preach the word in Asia. By 
 Asia is meant the province of Asia, 
 bordering on the yEgean Sea, of which 
 Ephesus was the capital. In this sen.se 
 it is always used in the New Testament. 
 
 7. Paul's judgment was much at 
 fault, at this period, in regard to times 
 and places and labor. He had unex- 
 pectedly been delayed in Galatia, re- 
 strained from preacliing in Asia ; and 
 noAV in his westward journey, coming 
 to the borders of Mysia, he attempted 
 to go northward into Bithynia, but 
 the Spirit did not jiermit them. Ac- 
 cording to the olik'.st nianu.scrijits and 
 best authorities, this should read, The 
 Spirit of Jesus, etc., the Holy Spirit 
 which he sends. (SeeRom. s : ».) The 
 time had not yet come for Paul to 
 preach the gospel in Asia. It was the 
 Lord's will that he should now carry 
 tlie gosj)el into Europe, as is made evi- 
 dent in ver. 9 and 10. 3Iysia is only 
 found here in the New Testament, and 
 Bithynia hem and iu 1 Peter 1:1. The 
 
•54 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 8 not. And they passing by Mysia came 9 And y a Tision appeared to Paul in the 
 ^ down to Troas. night ; i here stood a ' man of Macedonia, 
 
 ■ 2 Cor. 2 : 12 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 13. » ch. 9 : 10-12 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 1-4. « ch. 10 : 30 ; see Rom. 15: 26 ; 
 
 2 Cor. 8:1; 11 : 9. 
 
 former occupied a region in the north- 
 western corner of Asia Minor, and is 
 sometimes included in the province of 
 Asia. Its name is descriptive of a race, 
 Avho occupied a region along the frontier 
 of the provinces of Asia and Bithynia. 
 Bithyuia was a province on the Euxine 
 or Black Sea, eiubraeiug the northern- 
 most portion of Asia Minor. It is some- 
 times called I'ontus and Bithynia, the 
 Roman })rovince of Pontus not being 
 constituted until the reign of Nero. 
 
 8. And i)assiiig by Mysia— not 
 staying to preach the gospel there, for 
 they must pass through it to reach 
 Troas, on the shore of the ^gean 8ea. 
 Troas was a seaport town about four 
 miles from the site of ancient Troy. It 
 was built and named after Alexander 
 the Great — Alexander Troas — now 
 called Eski Stamboul. With its en- 
 virons it was raised by Augustus to a 
 colony, and like Philippi (ver. n) was a 
 free city, and was not reckoned as be- 
 longing to either Asia or Bithynia, and 
 is here accurately represented as dis- 
 tinct from Mysia. Paul " was now 
 within the charmed circle where for 
 ages civilization had liad its home ; and 
 he could not be entirely ignorant of 
 those stories of war and enterprise 
 . . . which have made it forever bright 
 and dear to tlie heart of mankind. At 
 only four miles distance lay the Plain 
 of Troy, where P^urope and Asia en- 
 counter each other in the struggle cele- 
 brated in Homer's immortal song. Not 
 far ofl" Xerxes, sitting on a marble 
 throne, reviewed the three millions of 
 Asiatics with which he meant to bring 
 Europe at his feet. On the other side 
 of that narrow strait lay Greece and 
 Rome, the centres from which issued 
 the learning, the commerce, and the 
 armies which governed the world. 
 Could his heart, so ambitious for the 
 glory of Christ, fail to be fired with the 
 desire to cast himself ujion those strong- 
 holds, or could he doubt that the Sjiirit 
 was leading him forward to this enter- 
 prise ? " (Stalker, Life of Paul, p. 90.) 
 
 9> Paul now learned the design of 
 
 the Spirit in turning him aside from 
 the places where he had thought of 
 laboring. As he reaches Troas, the 
 limit of Asia Minor, and looks over the 
 jl^^gean Sea toward Macedonia, doubt- 
 less he earnestly seeks divine direction. 
 And he is not left long in doubt ; for the 
 will of the Lord becomes manifest in 
 a vision which appeared to PanS 
 in the night. By visiox is meant, not 
 a dream, but a sight divinely given and 
 actually seen. (seeon9:io.) Paul may 
 have been in prayer and in a spiritually 
 elevated and ecstatic state. A man 
 of Macedonia. The same Lord who 
 gave him the vision would doubtless 
 reveal to him the nationality of the 
 man. Besides, his appearance, speech, 
 and dress would indicate that he was a 
 JIacedonian. Prayed — beseech ing him, 
 saying, Come over into Macedo- 
 nia and help us^"with the gospel 
 against Satan and against blindness." 
 (Bengkl.) This has been the watch- 
 word of missions in all ages, the unut- 
 t^red cry of heathenism for that help 
 wiiich the gospel alone can give. " On 
 this momentous vision hung the Chris- 
 tianization of Europe, and all the bless- 
 ings of modern civilization." (Schafk, 
 Apos. Ch.,\, p. 308.) 
 
 Macedonia was an important kingdom 
 of Greece under Phil)i> and Alexander 
 the Great, and aft^rwanl a Roman 
 province. It was bounded on the 
 north by Illyricum and Moesia, on the 
 east by Thrace and the ^gean Sea, on 
 the west by Epirus and the Adriatic 
 Sea and on the south by Achaia, or 
 Greece projier. It consisted of undu- 
 lating plains, valleys and mountains, 
 the most noted of the latter being 
 Athos and Olympus. The ancient 
 Macedonians were a hardy and war- 
 like race, and in the time of Paul the 
 ]>o]>ulation .still pos.sessed much vigor 
 an<l courage, and was less corrupt than 
 the more ]>olished society of Achaia. 
 It was a good country for beginning 
 Christian missions in Europe. The 
 churches Paul gatliered there were 
 among the best, and gave him more 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 255 
 
 and prayed him, saying, Come over into 
 10 Macedouia, and help us. And after he 
 had seen the vision, immediately we en- 
 deavoured to go *into Macedonia, as- 
 
 suredly gathering that the Lord had 
 called us lor to preach the gospel unto 
 them. 
 11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came 
 
 ' 2 Cor. 2 : 13. 
 
 comfort than any he established else- 
 where. The account of his work in 
 Macedonia is given in this chapter and 
 the next. (Seeaisois : 21; 20; i-6.) Com- 
 pare Paul's epistles to the Thessalou- 
 ians and Philippiaus. 
 
 But the influence did not stop with 
 the work done here. The Greek in- 
 fluence had gone forth from Macedonia 
 tliroughout the world since the days of 
 Alexander the Great. And so the early 
 Gentile churches were largely Greek 
 churches, making Paul's assertion ap- 
 posite, that the gospel the power of 
 God, "to the Jew first, and also to 
 the Greek." " For some considerable 
 (it cannot but be indefinable) part of 
 the three first centuries of the churcli 
 of Rome, and most, if not all, the 
 churches of the West, were, if we may 
 so speak, Greek religious colonies. 
 Their language was Greek, their organ- 
 ization Greek, their writers Greek, 
 their Scriptures Greek." (MiLMAN, 
 Latin Christianity, ch. 1, p. 32.) 
 
 10. And after he had seen the 
 vision, we endeavored to go- 
 seeking a ship to cross the sea. At this 
 point the writer of the Acts uses the 
 first person, from which it is inferred 
 that Luke joins Paul at Troas. It has 
 been surmised that on account of Paul's 
 recent severe illness (Oai. *: is), " Luke, 
 the beloved physician," now accom- 
 panied him to watch over his health. 
 The brevity of the account in the first 
 eight verses, compared with the rest of 
 this chapter, indicates that the lat- 
 ter was written by an eye witness. 
 Assuredly gathering, or concluding 
 that the Lord, or, according to many 
 manuscripts, t/iat (kid had called us 
 to preach the gospel unto them. 
 Here and in the preceeding verses we 
 see how Paul selected his mission fiehls 
 and arranged his journey. He exer- 
 cised his judgment, but sometimes 
 was overruled by providences like that 
 in Galatia, where he was delayed by 
 sickness, at other times guided or re- 
 Btrained by the Spirit, and occasionally 
 
 directed by visions. (See 13 : 2 ; 14 : 6 ; 15 : 33 ; 
 
 18 : 9, 10 ; 19 : 21 ; 20 : 22 ; 23 : 11.) 
 
 11-40. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and 
 Luke Arrive in Europe. Their 
 Labors at Philippi. (2 cor. 11 : 25 ; 
 
 Phil. 1 : ffl, 30; 4:2,3; 1 Thess. 2 : 2.) It WaS 
 
 probably in the early spring, perhaps 
 March, A. D. 52, that Paul reached 
 Philippi, where he doubtless remained 
 several weeks. If the gospel, instead 
 of going westward, had gone eastward 
 into India, China, and Japan, mission- 
 aries might now be coming from those 
 countries to Europe. 
 
 11. An opportunity occurs at once 
 for making the desired voyage to Mac- 
 edonia, about one hundred miles dis- 
 tant from Troas. Therefore, loos- 
 ing, setting sail, from Troas Ave 
 came with a straight course. The 
 wind must have been from the south to 
 overcome the current which runs from 
 the Dardenelles, and, as often in those 
 parts, it blew with considerable force, 
 for the voyage was made in two days. 
 When six years later Paul journeyed in 
 tlie opposite direction the voyage took 
 five days. (20:6.) Such specifications 
 of times accord with what is now known 
 about the navigation of those waters 
 and shows the accuracy of the narra- 
 tive. Samothracia, a mountainous 
 island in the ^gean Sea, now the 
 Archipelago, rising five thousand two 
 hundred and forty feet aljove the sea, 
 midway between Troas and Neapolis. 
 It has no good harbor, but with a south 
 M'ind there would be a safe anchorage 
 along the north shore. Here it would 
 appear they lay at anchor the first 
 night. Neapolis, meaning New City, 
 is northwest from Samothracia and, 
 with a southerly wind, could be 
 reached in seven or eight hours. It 
 was a Thracian city, the modern Ka- 
 villa, and the seaport town of Philippi, 
 about nine miles distant. It was an- 
 nexed by Vesi)asian to the Roman pro- 
 vince of Macedonia. It was on a high 
 rocky promontory, with a respectable 
 harbor. The mountain back of the 
 
256 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 with a straight course to Samothracia, 
 
 12 and the next lUiy to Neapolis j and from 
 
 thence to '^ 1 hilippi, which is the chief 
 
 city of that pan of Macedonia, and a 
 
 colony. And we were in that city abiding 
 certain days. 
 13 And on the sabbath we went out of the 
 city by a river side, where prayer was 
 
 town rises to one thousand six hundred I 
 and seventy feet above the sea, and ' 
 there is a defile in the mountain 
 through which the road passes to the 
 plain of Philippi. Traces of military 
 roads, and ruins of a great aqueduct, 
 with Latin inscriptions, are still found. 
 It now has several thousand inhab- 
 itants, and is the seat of a very active 
 commerce. 
 
 12. And from thence, from 
 Neapolis, to Philippi, going in a 
 northwesterly direction over the paved 
 lloman road. (Seeourer. u.) Philippi 
 was situated on the sides of an over- 
 hanging hill and on the banks of a 
 stream called Gangas, now known as 
 Anghista. The city was built by Philip 
 of Macedon, and named after himself. 
 Extensive ruins now mark the locality, 
 among which are two gateways, be- 
 longing to the time of Claudius. 
 Many interesting inscriptions in Latin 
 and some in Greek are found. 
 Which is the, rather, a chief 
 city of that part of Macedonia, a 
 colony, or which is a city of Mac- 
 edonia, Jirst of the district, a colony. 
 Some supj)ose this to mean that Phil- 
 ippi was the first city in Macedonia 
 which Paul reached, Neapolis being its 
 seaport, but belonging to Thrace. Mr. 
 Hort suggests that possibly the j)resent 
 text is a primitive corruption, and that 
 it might originally have read, "a chief 
 city of Pierian Macedonia." (Wks- 
 COTT and HoKT, JV. T., Vol. 11, p. 97.) 
 It is better, however, to understand the 
 city as first in rank in that district of 
 Macedonia, being a Roman colony- 
 town. It was not the capital, for Thes- 
 salonica was the ca))ital of the whole 
 province, and Ampliipolis of the east- 
 ern division, in which Philippi was 
 situated. Notice also that it is said, 
 not the, but a chief, or Jirst city, that is 
 a city of Jirst rank. And this accords 
 with the fact that it was a colony, which 
 means that it was a city occupied by 
 Roman citizens who retained their full 
 privileges and were governed by their 
 
 own senate and magistrates. (Vcr. 20.) 
 It was thus a miniature of Rome. The 
 Latin language Avas spoken and in- 
 scribed upon their coins, and the 
 Roman law administered. The plain 
 of Philippi had been the scene of the 
 great battle in which Biutus and Cas- 
 sius were defeated by Octavian and 
 Antony. In commemoration of this 
 event Augustus established there a col- 
 ony, a military settlement composed 
 principally of those who had been 
 soldiers of Antony. With these facts 
 accord the present ruins and the Latin 
 inscriptions, and with them agree 
 Luke's reference to 7nagistratcs (rer. 20, 
 n. 35, 3S. 3b), and sergeants, (ver. 35. 38.) 
 It Avas a Roman city in a Greek dis- 
 trict. And we Avere in that city 
 abiding; certain days — before the 
 arrival of the Sabbath spoken of in the 
 next verse. 
 
 13. This verse introduces the first 
 preaching of the gospel by Paul, possi- 
 bly by any one, in Europe. The church 
 at Rome may, however, have been 
 established before this by some of the 
 converts on the day of Pentecost. (» ■ <o 1 
 For several days Paul and his compan* 
 ions must have looked for an opportu- 
 nity to proclaim their message. The 
 Sabbath-rfuy had generally afforded 
 them oj)portuuity in other cities in 
 reaching Jews, proselytes, and devout 
 Gentiles in the synagogue, but there 
 was no synagogue in Philippi. Jt was 
 a military rather than a conmiercia' 
 city, and few Jews resided there. There 
 was, however, a place of prayer outside 
 the city, and to tins the missionaries 
 resort. We went out ot the city, 
 etc. — rather, according to the liighest 
 critical authorities, out of the gate by a 
 river. The Gangas is doubtless meant. 
 Where prayer was wont to be 
 made, or better, where 7vas vonl to be 
 a place of prayer, a place where Jews 
 assembled in the open air for jirayer. 
 Such places were generally outside of 
 those cities where there was no syna- 
 gogue. Sometimes a small house was 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 25? 
 
 ■wont to be made; and we sat down, and ] 
 spake unto the women which resorted 
 14 thither. And a certain woman named 
 
 Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of 
 o'rhyatira, which worshipped (jod, heard 
 us : whose ^ heart the Lord opened, that 
 
 Rev. 2 : 18. d Ps. 110 : 3 ; 119 : 18 ; Luke 24 : 45 ; 2 Cor. 3 : 12-18 ; 4 : « ; Eph. 1 : 17, 18. 
 
 erected; at other times a grove or a 
 space under a shady tree was thus em- 
 ployed. Sncli phices were chosen by 
 the seaside, or on the banks of rivers, 
 where washing of tlie liauds before 
 prayer, and other Jewisla ablutions 
 could be performed. Dr. Ilackett in 
 December, 1858, visited the sites of 
 Neapolis and Philippi, and found the 
 demands of the narrative geogeaphi- 
 cally met. He saw the winter-torrent 
 of the Gangas, a rapid stream varying 
 in depth from one and a half to five 
 feet. Its course raji round the south- 
 east to the southwest of Philippi. And 
 three hundred and fifty feet from the 
 place he crossed the stream he found a 
 break in the dilapidated walls, where 
 the gate liad been on that side of the 
 city. Through this gate Paul and his 
 company probably first entered the 
 city, and through it they passed out to 
 the place of prayer. (See Bibliotheca 
 Sacra, xvii., p. 866 f.) The Revised 
 Version, following Westcott and Hort 
 and many ancient mauuscrijjts, trans- 
 late, Where we supposed was a pla-ce of 
 prayer. That is, they had either heard 
 the Jews were accustomed to assemble 
 in that vicinity, or rather, they saw 
 some women assembling by the stream, 
 and supposed it a meeting place for 
 prayer. We sat down — in the cus- 
 tomary posture of teachers, (is : u ; Luke 
 *: 20.) And spake unto the women 
 Avhich resorted thither, who came 
 together. It would seem that only 
 women were there. " Probably the 
 number of Jewish men in the city was 
 extremely small, and the whole unim- 
 portant Jewish pojnilation consisted 
 chiefly of women, some of them doubt- 
 less married to Gentiles (t.t.i) ; hence 
 there is no mention of men present." 
 (Meyer.) 
 
 14. Doubtless up to this time Piiilippi 
 had appeared as an uninviting field for 
 missionary labor. But now it becomes 
 evident to Paul why he had been for- 
 bidden l)y the Spirit to labor further in 
 Asia !Minor, and why he had been 
 called to Europe. God was mindful of 
 
 the prayers of those womfen who had 
 l)een accustomed to meet l)ythe riverside 
 for prayer, and had provided, as in the 
 case of Cornelius, a preacher to make 
 known to them the way of salvation. 
 A certain Avoman named Lydia. 
 This name was common among the 
 Greeks and Romans, and would natur- 
 ally indicate her as a Gentile. That 
 she was in the place of i^rayei", ami 
 the statement that she was one who 
 worshipped God, marks her as a 
 devout Gentile, perhaps what was later 
 styled a proselyte of the gate, (lo : 2 ; 
 13 : «, iio ; 18 : 7.) She appears as a tempo- 
 rary resident of Philippi, as her home 
 was nearly three hundred miles dis- 
 tant at Thyatira, a considerable city 
 of Lydia, in Asia Minor, which formed 
 a part of the province of Asia. It v as 
 celebrated for its purple dye, and in- 
 scriptions of the craft of dyers have 
 been found there. The purple color, 
 obtained from a shell fish, was highly 
 valued by the ancients, and included 
 many shades from rose-red to sea-green 
 
 or blue. (LukelS: 19; Rev. 17: 4; 18 :16.) This 
 
 accords with the statement that Lydia 
 was a seller of purple — or fabrics 
 dyed ■in purple. It is possible that she 
 had a dyeing shop just outside the city 
 gate, and may have dealt both in the 
 dye itself and in purple garments. 
 Strabo calls Thyatira a Jfacedonian 
 colony, implying that Macedonian colo- 
 nists had migrated thither, and thus 
 Lydia's relationship may have been one 
 of the reasons of her coming to Mace- 
 donia for the purposes of trade. As 
 her name and country are the same, it 
 has been suggested by some that possi- 
 l>ly she was styled in Piiilippi "the 
 Lydian woman " ; the name Lydia was, 
 however, a common female name in 
 ancient times. Heard us — ratlier, 
 nas listening. Whose heart the 
 Lord opened — awakened and dis- 
 posed her understan<ling and affections, 
 to receive the truth. Tlie heart is 
 regarded as the seat of the will, 
 understanding, and affections, (see Matt. 
 
 11 : 25-27 i 1 Cor. 3 ; 6, 7 i Eiek. 36 : 26, 27.) That 
 
258 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 she attended unto the things which were 
 15 spoken of Paul. And when she was bap- | 
 
 tized, and her household, she besought vs, 
 saying, If ye have judged me to be faith- 
 
 she attended, to apply the mind, give 
 heed to Paul's instructions, (see i Tim. 
 4 : 15 ; 2 Peter 1 : 19. ) Notice the Order. 8he 
 listened; the Lord opened her heart; 
 she attended to the word. Thus she 
 believed and obeyed, as is evident from 
 the next verse. The things that 
 were spoken— in conversational in- 
 struction, for such is the meaning of 
 the original. Jesus the Christ, repent- 
 ance, faith, and baptism would be the 
 natural topics of discourse. Alford 
 well remarks, that " although forbidden 
 to preach the word in Asia, their first 
 convert is an Asiatic." Thyatira, her 
 home, had afterward an imjjortant 
 Christian church. (Rev. i : ii ; 2 : is, 24.) 
 A noticeable feature of the work in 
 Macedonia here came into view, — the 
 part taken in it by women. (n:i, 12.) 
 Amid the general decay of religious at 
 this period, many [women everywhere 
 sought the purer teachings of the 
 synagogue. These female proselytes 
 were more numerous in Macedonia than 
 elsewhere, perhaps because of its less 
 corrupt society and its sounder mor- 
 ality. 
 
 15. And Avhen she Avas baptized 
 — implying that she had received in- 
 struction "regarding this duty; but 
 whether she was baptized at this meet- 
 ing or later, the i)hrase does not deter- 
 mine. Doubtless the ordinance was ad- 
 ministered in the river Gangas. (ver. 13 ) 
 If it was now spring, as we have sup- 
 posed, the river would be full and water 
 abundant. And her house — Iter 
 houscho/d, consi-sting doubtless of per- 
 sons in her employ, very likely of 
 women who assisted her in her busi- 
 ness. Her family as well as herself re- 
 ceived the truth." "See," says Chrys- 
 ostom, an ancient distinguished Greek 
 inter])reter and preacher, "how slie 
 imrsuaded them all," taking for granted 
 from the circumstances of the case that 
 Lydia's househould were all of an age 
 to receive instruction. But this and 
 other household bajitisms in the New 
 Testament are often used as an evidence 
 of infant baptism in the a])Ostolic age. 
 ( vcr. r.t; 10 : 2, 48 J 1 Cor. 1 : ifi.) But tlie argu- 
 ment is founded on the presumption 
 that there were infants in these house- 
 
 holds. Of this there is no proof, but 
 rather to the contrary. For there were 
 no infants in the company of Cornelius, 
 for they all s])ake with tongues and 
 believed, (lo: 46.) There were none in 
 the family of the jailer, for he rejoiced 
 and believed with all his house. (i6:34.) 
 Nor were there any in the household of 
 Stephanas, for they "addicted them- 
 selves to the ministiy of the saints." 
 (i Cor. 16: In.) Siucc then there were no 
 infants in tliose baptized households of 
 which we know the facts, it is a fair 
 presumption, no evidence to the con- 
 trary, that there were none in the 
 household of Lydia. But more than 
 this : there is no evidence that Lydia 
 was a married woman, or that she had 
 children, much less that she had infant 
 children. She was nearly three hun- 
 dred miles from home, in a foreign 
 city, and for purpo.ses of trade. As 
 nothing is said of her husband, she was 
 more probably a maiden or a widow ; 
 unless possibly she had left lier husband 
 and younger children at home in 
 Thyatira. This argument is strength- 
 ened by the fact that she invites Paul 
 and his coni])any to /icr house (my 
 house), and their reluctance to accept 
 her invitation, so much so that she 
 finds it necessary to constrain them, 
 suggests the idea that they felt a deli- 
 cacy in becoming guests of a woman. 
 Household baptisms do not necessarily 
 imply infant ba]>tisms. Thou.sands of 
 families in our own country have been 
 baptized, in which there were no infant 
 children. Tlicse conclu.sions are in 
 harmony witli the best l)ibilcal .scholar- 
 ship of the age. " There is," says 
 Olshausen, "altogetlier wanting any 
 conclusive jjroof-passage for the bap- 
 tism of cliildren in the age of the apos- 
 tles." " Tlierefore," says Meyer, " the 
 baptism of the cliildren of Christians, 
 of which no trace is found in the New 
 Testament, is not to lie held as an 
 apostolic ordinance, as, indeed, it en- 
 countered early and long resistance ; 
 but it is an institution of the church, 
 which gradually arose in post-apostolic 
 times in connection with the develop- 
 ment of ecclesiastical life and of doc- 
 trinal teaching, not certainly attested 
 
Cfi. XVI.] THE ACTS. 259 
 
 ful to the Lord, come iulo luy house, and 
 abide tkere. And "she constrained us. 
 16 And it came to p<ass, as we went 'to 
 
 prayer, a certain damsel s possessed »ilh 
 a spirit of divination met us, which 
 brought her masters much gain by sooth- 
 
 e Luke 24 : 29; Ileb. 13:2. 
 
 'ver. 13. i 1 Sam. 28 ; 7. 
 
 before TertuUian, and by him still de- 
 cidedly opposed, and, altliough already 
 defended by Cyprian, only !)ecoinini; 
 general after the time of Augustine in 
 virtue of that connection." " To me," 
 says Abbott, " it api)ears very clear 
 that there is no authority for the prac- 
 tice of infant baptism in such inciden- 
 tal historical references such as this." 
 To like effect Neander and others. 
 
 She besought us — earnestly in- 
 vited us to make her house our home, 
 while tarrying at Philippi. Yet she 
 jints it modestly, If ye have judged 
 me to be faithful to the Lord, in 
 tiie profession I have made in baptism, 
 and reganl me as a true believer in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Come into my 
 house, and abide, or tarry there as 
 guests. She regards it as a privilege 
 to entertain them. She constrained 
 us, by her urgent importunity. (Luke 
 2*: 29.) This is the first instance of 
 Christian hos])itality recorded in the 
 Acts ; and indicates the s])irit of liber- 
 ality which chai'acterized the Mace- 
 donian churches. (2Cor. 8: i-6.) They 
 not only sent gifts to meet Paul's 
 necessities in other cities (2cor.1i: 9; 
 Phil. 4 ; 15, 16), but gave from aimng them- 
 selves persons to share his toils, (jo : 4.) 
 And long after when a j^risoner at 
 Rome they sent P^paphroditus, one of 
 tlieir teachers, with similar gifts, and 
 to act as his attendant. (Piiii. 2 : 25, 26, so ; 
 
 4: 18.) 
 
 IG. The closing sentence of the pre- 
 ceding verse implies that Paul and his 
 companions accepted Lydia's hospital- 
 ity. A church was doubtless organized 
 at her house, whi(;h received accessions 
 to its meml»ership from week to week. 
 Luke now proceeds to relate an incident 
 which resulted in persecution and the 
 departure of the missionaries from Phil- 
 ippi. And it came to pass, on a 
 time, as we Avent, rather, as we. were 
 going to the place of prayer. The nar- 
 rative implies that it was not on the 
 same day of Lydia's ba])tism, but some 
 time after. A certain damsel — a 
 young female servant ox slave. Pos- 
 
 sessed Avith a spirit of divination 
 
 — literallj', a spirit, a Python. That she 
 was pos.ses.sed witii an evil spirit, a 
 demon, is evident from tiie facts, that 
 Paul ad<lrr.'i.s(</ it, that the sj>irit left 
 tlie girl, and tiiat her masters found the 
 hope of their gain gone. (ver. is, 19.) 
 Luke characterizes tlie possession a 
 Python, tlie toi'm popularly ai)plied to 
 it. J'ljtho)! was in Greek mythology 
 tlie name of the serpent or dragon that 
 guarded the Deljdiic oracle, and was 
 slain by A])ollo. The oracle was pos- 
 sessed by the latter, and tlie name 
 Python sometimes ap]died to him. He 
 was the god of pro^^hecy and the patron 
 of the healing art. This maid-servant 
 was sujiposed to be insiiired by hini, 
 similar to a priestess of Ajiollo. Some 
 interpreters have noticed that the name 
 Python was sometimes applied to a 
 ventriloquist; and in this case the 
 demon may, among other things, have 
 practiced the arts of ventriloquism. 
 Apollo is also regarded as the avertcr 
 of evil, and the title of Saviour was 
 sometimes given him by Greek writers. 
 This may have ailded significance to 
 the maiden's testimony, " These men 
 show unto us the way of salvation." 
 Who brought her masters much 
 gain by soothsaying. This .shows 
 what slie did. As a diviner she pro- 
 fessed to tell future events, interpret 
 signs and tell fortunes. The word 
 soothsaying, .says Trench " has refer- 
 ence to the tumult of the mind, the 
 fury, the temporary madness under 
 which those were, who were supjwsed 
 to be jiossessed by the god, during the 
 time that they delivered the oracles; 
 this mantic fury disi)layiiig itself in 
 tile eyes rolling, the lips foaming, the 
 hair Hying, with all other tokens of a 
 more than natural agitation." (N. T. 
 Synonyms, p. 42, f.) In tliis poor girl, 
 held in slavery by men who make gain 
 out of her misfortunes, we get a view 
 of one side of woman's degradation in 
 Enroj)e before the gospel reached it. 
 
 IT.The same followed Paul and 
 us and cried — not only this time, but 
 
260 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 17 saying: the same followed Paul and us, 
 and cried, saying, •" These men are the 
 servants of the most h-gh God, which 
 
 18 show unto us the way of salvation. And 
 this did she many days. But Paul, 
 > being grieved, turned and said to the 
 spirit, I command thee •■ in the name of 
 
 Jesus Christ to come out of her. ' And 
 he came out the same hour. 
 
 19 And m when her masters saw that the 
 hope of their gains was gone, "they 
 caught Paul and Silas, and "drew them 
 into the market-place unto tbc rulers, 
 
 20 and brought them to the magistrates, say- 
 
 h Luke 4 : 34, 41. 
 
 i Mark 1 : 25, 34. k ch. 
 n 2 Cor. 6 : 5. 
 
 3:6. 1 Mark 16 : 17. 
 Matt. 10 : 18. 
 
 ch. 19 : 24, 27. 
 
 often, (ver. 18.) If she had thus cried 
 out " in sarcasm and derision sonie- 
 Avhat as a crowd of boj-s might do " it 
 ■would have been somehow indicated. 
 The general form of the narrative 
 seems against such a supposition. 
 Home think that she repeated expres- 
 sions which she had heard Paul use 
 witliout knowing their meaning. It is 
 better, however, to regard these utter- 
 ances as those of the demon through 
 lier, similar to those of the demoniacs 
 wlio acknowledged the supremacy and 
 
 ])OWer of Christ. (Matt. 8 : 29; Luke4 : .«.) 
 
 \Vho show unto iis — or, according to 
 the oldest manuscripts, nuto you — the 
 Avay of salvation — of the soul, — the 
 divine salvation. The understanding 
 of this language would vary according 
 to the hearer's knowledge of the Mes- 
 siah and the go.sjjcl. To the heatlien 
 the idea would be that of deliverance, 
 pretterrafion, or sofeti/. 
 
 18. This she diii for many days— 
 a considerable number. Compare " cer- 
 tain days," ver. 12. Why Paul did 
 not relieve this poor girl sooner is not 
 told us. If >the hatl felt her need and 
 cried for help, doubtless the miracle 
 would have been performed at once. 
 But there is no sign of this sense of 
 need. So far from this the miracle is 
 not ])erformed for her sake, but because 
 of the terrible annoyance the evil 
 spirit gave to Paul. Being grieved 
 is too week a translation. Jieivg 
 ind)(jnant, having a holy indignation, 
 is nearer the idea. Paul was pained, 
 sore troubled, liis feelings were ontraijcd 
 by these constant and reiterating testi- 
 monies of this vile demon. Some 
 worldly minded preachers would have 
 been glad to have the attention of the 
 ])eople aroused by the jtroclaniation of 
 this girl. But Paul was like Cliri.st, in 
 this respect, who charged demons to be 
 silent. (Mark :12.) CliHst aud Paul 
 uecdcd no such endorsement. The testi- 
 
 I fying of the demon to the truth might 
 I look like an alliance between him and 
 
 the preacher, and miglit cast an evil re- 
 
 tiectiou upon Christ and his messengers. 
 
 In the name of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Paul speaks as the apostle of Jesus 
 ! Christ, and by his authority, as did 
 ! Peter in 3 : (i. He came out the 
 j same hour — demonstrating the power 
 I of Christ and the authority of Paul as 
 ' his rei)resentative. (see Mark i : 25-2;. ) The 
 ' promise of Jesus is tlius fulfilled. (Mark 
 
 I 16 : 17. See Luke 'J ; 1 witli 10 : 17.) 
 
 19. IVhen her masters, who were 
 joint owners, saw that the hope of 
 their gain was gone — for the i)res- 
 ent and future. This is the fi)'st purely 
 heathen persecution recorded in tiie 
 Acts. These men care far less for the 
 girl than for the gains she brouglit 
 them. Compare the Gergesenes and 
 their feelings at their loss (Matt. 8:. is.) ; 
 also the disturbance at Ejihesus because 
 the gains from making the shrines of 
 Diana were in danger. (19:25-28.) Strik- 
 ing exeni}>]ifications of 1 Tim.O : 9, 10. 
 They caught — laid hold o/— Paul 
 
 , and SiJas. The idea of violence is 
 inijilied by this and what follows. 
 Timothy and Luke are not arrested, 
 
 I being less ])rominent, and perhajis 
 because they were Greeks. Drew or 
 drarjejed them into the market- 
 place or forum, the i)lace of j)ublic 
 resort, where business was transacted, 
 and courts of Justice were held. I'nto 
 the rulers, who liad general charge 
 of tlie city government. Meyer regatds 
 them as eilii judges, who referred llio 
 matter 10 tlie magistrates, of the next 
 verse. 
 
 20. And brought them — her mai-- 
 ters /laving brought thcnito the mag- 
 istrates— <Ae dninnfiri who in colo- 
 nial towns were fond of calling tiieni- 
 selves prwtors. The two or more ])rie- 
 tors administered justice and exerci.s»-d 
 fuuctious iu colonies similaj- to thode 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 261 
 
 iug. These men, being Jews, Pdo exceed- 
 
 21 ingly trouble our city, and teach customs 
 
 which are not lavful for us to receive. 
 
 22 neither to observe, being Romans. And 
 the multitude rose up together against 
 them : and the magistrates rent otl their 
 
 p ch. 17 : ; 1 Kings 18 : 17. 
 
 of the consuls at Home in the days of 
 the repiihlic. (seeon ver. 12.) These 
 men being Jews. Notice the real 
 ground of coniiilaint is sui)pressed. 
 To luive nuide prominent the fact that 
 Paul had ex])elled the demon would 
 have heeu favorable to liini ; and that 
 tliey liad thus lost their hope of gain 
 through the restoration of the damsel 
 to lier right mind would not he specially 
 in their fa\'or, eitlier with the magis- 
 trates or the multitude. Like the 
 Sanhedrin with Jesus (M:irk U:64; Luke 
 23 : 2), they seek a more pul^lic pretext. 
 They apjuvil to their natural and na- 
 tional i>rejud ices. Tlie.>5e men, being 
 Jews, do exceeding trouble our 
 city. As .Jews they were so much the 
 more iuexcusahle. The Jews and their 
 religion were particularly obnoxious to 
 Romans. The decree of Claudius, 
 banishing the Jews from Rome (18:2), 
 about this time, would tend to embit- 
 ter their prejudices, and stimulate 
 Philippi as a colony to copy after the 
 mother city. Neither the accusers nor 
 the magistrates appear to distinguish 
 between the Christians and the Jews. 
 
 21. Expansion and specification of 
 their accusation, showing how these 
 Jews disturbed the city. And teach 
 customs — announcing or promulga- 
 ting prescribed usages or institutions. 
 The word translated customs is used 
 of religious observances in 6 : 14 ; 
 26 : 3 ; 28 : 17. Which are not law- 
 ful for us to receive, in theory, 
 neither to observe, in practice, 
 being Romans. " The accusation 
 was i)artly true and partly false. It 
 was quite false that Paul and Silas 
 were disturbing the colony, for nothing 
 could have been more calm and orderly 
 than their worship and teaching at the 
 liouse of Lydia, or in the synagogue by 
 the water side. In the other part of the 
 indictment there was a certain amount 
 of truth. Tlie letter of the Roman 
 Law, even under the republic, was ap- 
 posed to the introduction of foreign 
 religions ; and though exceptions were 
 allowed, as in the case of the Jews 
 
 themselves, yet the spirit of the law 
 entirely condemned such changes in 
 worship as were likely to unsettle the 
 minds of the citizens, or to produce any 
 tumultuous uproar ; and tlie advice 
 given to Augustus, which both he and 
 his successors had studiously followed, 
 was, to check religious innovations as 
 promptly as possible, lest in tlie end 
 they should undermine tiie monarchy." 
 (Cony, and IIowson Life of Paul. 
 Vol. 1, ]). 0O2.) A severe law was 
 enacted about this time, or a little later, 
 against any one not a Jew undergoing 
 the rite of circumcision. Being 
 Romans is used in contrast to being 
 Jews. They prided tliemselves in their 
 Roman citizenship, in tlie Roman col- 
 ony ; and that desj)ised Jews should 
 impose their religious usages on noble 
 Romans was not to be endured. 
 
 22. Tlie i>rejudices and resentment 
 of the multitude, in this proud 
 Roman town of Philipj)i, was aroused 
 by such an accusation, and they rose 
 up togetiier tumultuously against 
 Paul and Silas, like tlie blind rabble 
 who joined the Jewish leaders against 
 our Saviour. And like Pilate, the 
 magistrates, having like prejudices, 
 are willingly borne on by the excite- 
 ment, and, without trial, without giving 
 opportunity for defence, or even the 
 assertion of Roman citizenship, hasten 
 to inflict disgraceful punishment. They 
 even ajjpear to act as leaders of the 
 ralible and with their own hands rent 
 ofl" the gannents of Paul and Silas, ex- 
 posing their naked backs and shoulders 
 ready for punishment. And com- 
 manded to beat them with rods. 
 This command was given to the ser- 
 geant (ver. 2;)), who inflicted the beating. 
 Tiie rods were usually cut from birch 
 or elm trees. Under the Roman method 
 the crimiiuil was stripped, stretched 
 with cords or thongs on a frame, and 
 then beaten. Why Paul and Silas did 
 not declare their citizenship can only 
 be surmised. Perhaps amid the haste 
 and noise they had no opportunity to 
 make themselves heard ; but more 
 
262 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 clothes, 1 and commanded to beat /hem. 
 
 23 And when they had laid ■■ many stripes 
 
 upon them, they cast them into prison, 
 
 charging the jailer to keep them safely : 
 
 24 who, having received such a charge, 
 thrust them into the inner prison, and 
 m.tde their feet fast in the stocks. 
 
 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed. 
 
 4 ch. 5 : 40 ; 2 Cor. 6:5; 11 : 23, 25 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 2. 
 
 ■ 2 Cor. 11 : 23, 34. 
 
 probivlilj', they were inwardly inclined 
 by tiie S])irit to sutter shame for Christ, 
 that botJi tlie glory and the cause of 
 Christ might be further advanced, in 
 the wonderful occurrences wliich were 
 to follow. This beating with rods was 
 one of the three to which Paul alludes 
 in 2 Cor. 11 : 25 ; the other two are not 
 recorded. lie also refers to this dis- 
 graceful treatment in 1 Thess. 2 : 2. 
 
 23. And wheu they had laid 
 many stripes or bhws upon them — 
 without counting them, there being no 
 merciful limitation as among the Jews. 
 
 (2 Cor. 11 : .24 ; Deut. 25 : 3.) DoubtlcSS tilC 
 
 Lord sustained liis servants who counted 
 it their joy that they were worthy to 
 sufler shame for him. ( ver. 25 ; 5 : 41.) Mr. 
 Obadiah Holmes, who was pul)]icly 
 whipped in Boston in 1G51, because of 
 carrying out his religious convictions, 
 declared that, " as tlie strokes fell ui)on 
 me I had such a sj)iritual manifestation 
 of God's presence as the like thereof I 
 never had nor felt, nor can with fleshly 
 tongue express ; and the outward j)ain 
 was so removed from me tliat indeed 1 
 am not able to declare it to you." 
 ( Backus i. 194. A^ewton.) (see on ver. 33.) 
 They, the magistrates, cast them 
 into prison, charging the jailer 
 olHcially, and probably orally, to Keep 
 them safely, as if they were no ordi- 
 nary criminals. This great strictness 
 on their part arose probably from their 
 desire to satisfy the infuriated feelings 
 of the populace. 
 
 24. The jailer proceeds to obey 
 strictly the order which he had re- 
 ceived. There is no wantonness or 
 gratuitous inhumanity imjdied on his 
 part. " The slight but obvious sugges- 
 tion of this extenuating circumstance 
 may possibly be owing to the fact that, 
 when the history was written, this 
 Philippian jailer was an eminent dis- 
 ciple." (Alexander.) Thrust, «(rf 
 them, not necessarily with violence, 
 into the inner prison, where there 
 would be greater security, not only 
 from chances of escape, but also from 
 
 the fury of a mob. The Eonian prison 
 usually was in three parts. The tiist 
 had liglit and fresli air ; the second was 
 shut oil by strong iron gates witli bars 
 and lock, wliicli was tJie inner prison ; 
 the third was tlie sul>terraneous dun- 
 geon, in which those condemned to 
 deatli were usually confined. Often the 
 Koman ])rison was in three stories, the 
 lower one or dungeon being under 
 ground ; the middle t>n a level with the 
 ground, but like the ujiper one, aj)- 
 ju'oached only tlirough the roof. Such 
 a prison, however, hardly fits the cir- 
 cumstances and descriidioii at Philippi. 
 Their feet last in the stocks — in 
 heavy blocks of wood. Tlie feet were 
 stretched apart and fastened into lioles. 
 In this case it was used for safe confine- 
 ment ; but often also as an instrument of 
 torture ; and the feet, hands, and neck 
 were often confined. Coini)are Jere- 
 miah's treatment, Jer. 20 : 2 ; 38 : 6. 
 
 25. We can hardly conceive the 
 miserable condition of Paul and Silas 
 in the inner }irison, with its filth, ver- 
 min, and lack of air and light, witii 
 bleeding and lacerated back, cliained 
 and painfully sitting with their feet 
 in the stocks. But in strong contrast 
 their souls were full of joy and ))eace. 
 But about midnight tliey prayed 
 and sang praises. There were two 
 acts, prayer and praise, yet mingled to- 
 gether, praying they naug hymns to 
 God. Tliere was no resentment, no 
 bitter feeling in their hearts, for these 
 could not exist with prayer and praise. 
 They were carrying out our Lord's 
 command to rejoice in persecution, and 
 to pray for their persecutors (Matt. 5: lo- 
 1-'. 44), not forgetful, however, of the 
 little church at Lydia's house. Ami 
 they sang p.salms, perhaps the hymns 
 which Pliny says the Christians sang 
 at their meetings before sunrise. The 
 Holy Spirit was with them, and gave 
 them " songs in the night." (Job»: 1 .) 
 Some suppose they sang Psalms ll.S- 
 118. Stanzas appropriate to their condi- 
 tion are found in Ps. 40 : 1-4 ; 102 : 19, 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 263 
 
 and »sang praises unto God: and the 
 
 26 jirlsoners beard theiu. And suddenly 
 there was a great earthquake, so that the 
 foundations of the prison were shaken : 
 and immediately «all the doors were 
 opened, and every one's bauds were 
 
 27 loosed. And the keeper of the prison 
 
 •29 
 
 awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the 
 prison doors open, lie<lrewout liis sword, 
 " and would have killed himself, suppos- 
 ing that the prisoners had been tied. 
 ' hut i'uul cried with a loud voice, saying, 
 Do th) self no harm : for we are all here. 
 Then he called for alight, and sprang in, 
 
 «ch. 5 :41: Job35 : 10. »ch. 5 : 19; 12 : 7, 10. » ch. 12 : 19. » Lev. 19 ; 18. 
 
 20; 142 : 5-7. The prisoners heard 
 
 them, rather, were /istening to them. 
 So earuestly did they throw their souls 
 aud their voices into their prayers and 
 praise that the prisoners were awak- 
 ened, or kept awake. Strange sounds, 
 which they listen to with wonder. 
 Doubtless the jailer, and perhaps some 
 of the prisoners, told Luke of this. 
 
 26. God came to their relief while 
 thus engaged in worship by a great 
 earthquake, shaking the foundations 
 of the prison. Tlie same jwwer (not 
 the earthquake) at once oi)eued all the 
 doors, both of the inner and outer 
 prison, aud loosened the bonds of all 
 the prisoners. How God did this we 
 do not know, but the Creator of all 
 things and the Author of Law knows 
 how to work miraculously in harmony 
 with his own natural and spiritual 
 forces. This great exhibition of mir- 
 aculous power comes so suddenly and 
 fills all the other prisoners with such 
 astonishment and awe that none at- 
 tempt to escape. The religious atmo- 
 shere pervading this place of prayer 
 and the display of God's power may 
 have quickened their consciences. 
 
 27. The jailer seems not to have 
 heard the singing, but being roused 
 out of sleep by the earthquake and 
 the noise in the prison, and seeing 
 the prison doors open, naturally 
 concluded that the prisoners had 
 escaped. He thouglit that disgrace 
 and death awaited him, for under 
 Roman law he must suffer in their 
 stead. Therefore, he determines upon 
 suicide. According to the Roman 
 code of honor it was preferable for one 
 to die by his own hand than by that of 
 an enemy, or an executioner. Philippi 
 had been famous for its suicides. Here 
 Brutus and Cassius put an end to their 
 own lives. Self-murder was common 
 among the Romans and was approved 
 by the Stoic philosophy. Drew out his 
 sword — referring to the sword which 
 
 he had with him generally and was 
 then wearing. In this military Roman 
 colony, the jailer may have been a 
 soldier, or perhaps subject to military 
 dicipline. 
 
 28. Paul cried with a loud 
 voice. We are not told how Paul 
 knew the jailer's purj)ose. Lamps may 
 have been dimly burning and the 
 jailer in a position where Paul could 
 see him; he may have heard him utter 
 exclamations or jjrayers |)reparatory to 
 death, and drawing his sword from the 
 scabbard ; or it may have been revealed 
 to him, which would be in keeping 
 with the other supernatural wonders. 
 Do thyself no harm. The gospel 
 and its messengers come, not to destroy, 
 but to save. We are all here im- 
 plies either that the other prisoners 
 were with them in the inner prison, 
 or near at hand where he could see 
 them. He may, however, have asserted 
 this as an inspired man. [h-.-h.-m.) 
 Paul gives just the reason needed. 
 Other reasons, such as the sinfulness of 
 suicide, he could defer to a more fit- 
 ting opportunity. 
 
 29. Then he called to his attend- 
 ants, and perhaps to the members of 
 his family who were all aroused (ver. aii), 
 for a light — lamps or torches, in 
 order to light the whole prison, and 
 see its condition and all its inmates. 
 He sprang in — rushed in imijetu- 
 ously. He recognizes a divine inter- 
 position in behalf of Paul aud Silas ; 
 he is all excitement and terribly in 
 earnest. And came trembling — 
 becoming tremulous from fear. Com- 
 j)are Moses trembling in the presence 
 of God in the bush (t : 3i), where the 
 same words are used in the original. 
 As the jailer approaches Paul and Silas 
 a religious awe pervades his whole 
 being. Under a sense of the divine 
 presence and impending judgments, he 
 fell doAvn, prostrated himself before 
 Paul aud Silas, iu humble reverence at 
 
264 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 and came trembling, and fell down before 
 
 30 Paul and Silas, and brought them out, 
 and said, ySirs, what must I do to be 
 
 31 saved ? And they said, » Believe on the 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and lln.u slialt be 
 
 32 saved, and thy ln.use. And Ihey spake 
 
 unto him the word of 'he Lord, and lo all 
 
 J ch. 2 : 37 ; Luke 3 : 10. 
 
 ' ch. 2 : 38, 39 ; 13 : 38, 39 ; John 3 : 10, 36; 6 : 47. 
 
 their feet. A strong expression. " It 
 here expresses, in the strongest and 
 most vivid form, the terror and despair 
 of the awakened jailer, and tlie awe 
 with which Jie looked upon tlie two 
 men whom he had so recently com- 
 mitted to the closest and most rigorous 
 confinement." (Alexandek,) 
 
 30. And brought or led them 
 out from the inner into the outer 
 prison, or perliaps into the courtyard. 
 This was an act of respect and defer- 
 ence. Sirs, Lords — used as a title of 
 honor, in addressing persons of distinc- 
 tion, implying respect and reverence, 
 (johu vi : L'l.) What shall I do to be 
 saved — tliat I may obtain salvation, 
 for Paul and Silas so understood it and 
 so answered it. (vcr. :;i.) During the 
 time tlicy had been in Philipi)i the 
 jailer must have heard of them and 
 known something of their preacliing. 
 The possessed damsel had proclaimed 
 them servants of God, who sliow^ the 
 way of salvation. Their accusers had 
 laid special stress upon their religious 
 teachings. Possibly the jailer himself 
 had notonly seen, but also heard them 
 preach. And now the wonderful dis- 
 plays of divine power convince him 
 that what they claim and teach is true. 
 The earthquake, too, makes death, 
 judgment, human weakness, and sin- 
 fulness realities. The Holy Spirit, who 
 is with Paul and Silas, deepens the 
 truth in his heart, and convinces him 
 of his lost condition. Comjjare how 
 Peter cried out in viewing one of 
 Christ's miracles, " I am a sinful man, 
 
 O Lord." (Luke 5: 8.) 
 
 31. The answer of Paul and Silas 
 is brief, but comprehensive. It is in 
 harmony with Peter's answer (-iee on 
 2 ::i><) to the same question on tlie day 
 of Pentecost. Faith imj)lies repent- 
 ance ; the two are inseparable. Faith is 
 productive of obedience and thus would 
 be followed by baptism. Peter was ad- 
 dressing convicted .Tews ; Paul, an igno- 
 rant but penitent heathen. The latter 
 needed specially to be pointed at ouce 
 
 to the only Saviour ; then he could be 
 more fully instructed, (ver. 32.) Be- 
 lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ — 
 
 as the ground of ho])c and salvation. 
 Trust i)i liim ; let tliy heart and thy 
 affections rest upon him in humble 
 reliance. (Rom. 10 : 10.) The faith re- 
 quired was more than a belief that 
 
 Jesus existed. (Heb. 11 ; 6; James 2 ; 19.) It 
 
 was a lirituj foitli (James 2 : 17, 18), a hearty 
 faith, hence " working by love " (Gai. 
 5:6); an efficacious faith ))ringing 
 cleansing through the sacrifice and 
 blood of Jesus. (15 : 9.) 2s'otice still 
 further: The jailer had addressed them 
 as ISirs, or lords ; but they jKiiiit him 
 to the only, the divine Lord, the Son 
 of God ; to Jesus, the Saviour (Matt. 
 1:21), the Son of man; to C/irist, the 
 Anointed, the Pro})liet, the High Priest, 
 and King. The jailer sees him at once 
 as an Almighty and the only Saviour. 
 The meaning of this direction would 
 grow upon him, as he received further 
 instruction, and liad a deeper expci- 
 ience. This rejdy brings to view the 
 great doctrine of justification l)y faith, 
 so prominent in Paul's epistles. It 
 should be noted that this rej)ly is given 
 before any of his ei)istles were written, 
 showing that tlie doctrine was not a 
 mere development, but a fundamental 
 truth of the gospel as he had received 
 it from the Lord. (Gai. i:i2.) And 
 thou shall be saved, thuu and thy 
 house — a strong concise expression : 
 Not thou alone, t>ut tliy house also be- 
 lieving shall be saved. The expression 
 " does not mean that they were to he 
 .saved by his faith, but by faith in the 
 same Saviour." (Alexander. To 
 the same effect Alford, Meyek, and 
 
 H.\CKETT.) 
 
 32, They instruct the jailer and lii> 
 family more fully in the word of tlie 
 Lord, respecting the way of salva- 
 tion, and the reipiirements of faith in 
 Christ. They spake or talked. It 
 was probably a conversational dis- 
 course. To or together with all that 
 were iu his huiise. This seems to 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 265 
 
 33 that were in his house. And he took them 
 the s.ame hour of the nijiiht, and washed 
 </teir stripes ; and was bai>tized, he and 
 
 3-1 all his, straightway. And when he had 
 
 brought them into his house, • he set meat 
 before them, and rejoiced, believing in 
 God with all his house. 
 
 » Luke 5 : 29 ; 19 : 6. 
 
 have occurred either in the outer 
 prison or in the court yard. (Ver. so. ) 
 
 33. The result of the preaching. 
 And he took them with him, imply- 
 ing a change of place. "Probably lie 
 led them to a neighboring water, per- 
 haps in tlie court of the house, in 
 which his baptism and that of his 
 household was immediately com- 
 pleted. " (Meyer.) And washed 
 his stripes. Literally, from his 
 stripes. Full of meaning. lie bathed 
 and cleansed him from the blood of 
 his stripes. The word here translate*! 
 washed means to wash the entire 
 body. Another verl) means washing 
 apart of it. See note on John 13 : 10, 
 where both verbs are used. By tliis 
 deed of kindness the jailer shows his 
 faith and love. How did those stripes 
 or woiDids speak to his heart ! Rev. J. 
 C. Grimmell, of Brooklyn, N. Y. says 
 of Rev. G. Burgdorff, who was 
 scourged in Russia, while in the 
 Lord's service : " The dear man showed 
 me the ridges, like the fingers of my 
 hand, left by the lash on his back, be- 
 fore retiring one night, when I hap- 
 jiened to share the room with him. " 
 From this and the two other beatings 
 and the five scourgings (-; Cor. u : 24, m), 
 did Paul " bear a))out with him as long 
 as life the marks of Jesus in his body." 
 (Gal. 6.17.) And was baptized, "he 
 and all his, immediately. A beau- 
 tiful exchange of temporal and spi ritual 
 service. The proof and fruit of the 
 faith of the jailer and his house are 
 found in their immediate obedience. 
 There were no infants here. They 
 were all capable of being instructed 
 (vcr. 32) and of believing, (ver. .3*.) The 
 prison may have been on the bank 
 of the river Gangas, or the baptism 
 might have been administered in a 
 tank or fountain in the court yard. Im- 
 mersions have frequently been per- 
 formed in the prisons of the South. 
 J. T. Christian, D. D., of Mississippi, 
 relates (Immersion pp, 98-101) three 
 instances where the immersion was per- 
 
 formed in jail, in a bath-tub, or a large 
 trough. Ancient houses usually had 
 reservoirs of rain water ; and j)risons 
 their swimming baths within their 
 walls. "This case can present no ditfi- 
 culty to "the minds of any of you, who 
 may have been within the yard of the 
 l^rison of this city, or are acquainted 
 with the fact that prison-yards in the 
 East, as well as the yards and gardens 
 of private houses, are usually furnished 
 with tanks of water." (Dk. A. J UUSON, 
 Sermon on Baptism in Calcutta.) 
 
 34. And when he had brought, 
 etc., — rather, And having brought them 
 up into his house. The prison was 
 lower than his house. (Sci; ou 12; 4,) His 
 house may have been over the })risou 
 or joined to the prison on higher 
 ground. He had just come up from his 
 Ijaptism, which very likely occurred in 
 one of the reservoirs of the prison. 
 (seever.33.) Set meat before them. 
 Literally, He set a table, a phrase 
 which here means. He set food before 
 them, or gave a repast. Rejoiced, 
 believing in God with all his 
 house. He exulted, rejoiced exceed- 
 ingly. (2:26.) "The voice of rejoic- 
 ing and salvation is in the tabernacles 
 of the righteous." (p.^. us : 15.) It was 
 the joy of faith and obedience. (8:39.) 
 Faith is aftirmed of his whole house. 
 Having with all his house believed in 
 God, and consequently in his salvation 
 through Christ. Before this he was a 
 heathen ; now he believes in the true 
 God. " Thus the meaning will be. Re- 
 joiced that he with all his house had 
 been led to believe (and thus as a neces- 
 sary consequence to believe in) God. 
 The expre.s.sion having believed in God, 
 would only be used of a converted 
 heathen, not of a Jew." (Alford.) 
 There is no ground for infant baj)tism 
 here. All were old enough to believe. 
 
 It may be added that Paul ever re- 
 tained a joyful remembrance of the 
 Philij)i)ian church. From his imj)ris- 
 onmeiit in Rome he calls its members 
 " his joy iuid his crown." (puu. 4:i.) 
 
266 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVI. 
 
 35 And when it was day, the magistrates 
 sent the Serjeants, saying, Let those men 
 
 36 go. And the keeper of the prison told 
 this saying to Paul, The magistrates have 
 
 sent to let you go : now therefore depart , 
 
 37 and go in peace. But Paul said unto 
 
 them. They have beaten us openly un- 
 
 coiideuined, >> being Romans, and have 
 
 «> ch. 22 : 25-29. 
 
 He urges them again and again to " re- 
 joice in the Lord. " (Pbii. 3 . i ; 4:4.) The 
 very remembrance of them filled him 
 with thanksgiving (Phii. i : s)^ and their 
 gifts and care for his welfare tilled him 
 with great joy. (Piiii. 4; lo r.) His epistle 
 to them is one of the most cheerful and 
 loving of all the writings of the New 
 Testament. In it he reveals more fully 
 his heart and his distinctively personal 
 traits than in any other of his writings. 
 
 35. And when it was day — day 
 having come, implying that it was 
 early in the day. The magistrates 
 — the prietors. (ver. 20.) The ser- 
 geants — the iictors, who hore a bundle 
 of rods and otlier insignia of office be- 
 fore the Iloiuan magistrates and exe- 
 cuted their orders. Six Iictors attended 
 the prietors. The names indicate the 
 colonial government and officers simi- 
 lar to tiiose of Rome. In all these de- 
 tails the accuracy of Luke is manifested. 
 Let those men go — somewhat curtly 
 and contemptuously. Jie/ease those fel- 
 lows. They had been imprisoned appa- 
 rently that further charges and pro- 
 ceeding might be had against them. 
 (Ver. 24.) What caused this sudden change 
 can only be surmised. The earthquake 
 may have caused alarm, and aroused 
 their superstitious fears on account of 
 their rash and lawless treatment. They 
 had had time to reflect on their injustice 
 and may have learned a more accurate 
 Btatement of facts. The clamor of the 
 mob, too, had ceased, and a feeling of 
 reaction naturally came on. For these 
 or other reasons they consider it best to 
 have nothing more to do with them, 
 but quietly get rid of them. 
 
 36. The jailer receives the message 
 from the magistrates with joy, and 
 naturally expects a like reception by 
 the prisoners. The Iictors do not go 
 into the prison, but the jailer reports 
 their words to Paul. Anticipating 
 their immediate acceptance, but ignor- 
 ant of their citizenship, the jailer ad- 
 dresses them aflectiouately, and using a 
 form of Chiistiau salutation, says. Now 
 
 therefore, depart, and go in 
 peace — go unmolested and prosper. 
 
 (15 -.33.) 
 
 37. The jailer, however, did not con- 
 sider the manner of their release. To 
 be sent away as if tliey had simply suf- 
 fered ju.st punishment, would natiinilly 
 cast suspicions on tliem wherever thiy 
 went. Fortunately the means of avoiu- 
 ing this was at hand. Paul said to 
 them — through the jailer. Notice the 
 bi'evity, fullness, and energy of this 
 rej)ly. Almost every word is an alle- 
 gation ; every jiarticular strengthens 
 the complaint. Heaten, publicly, with- 
 out trial, and they too Koman citizens, 
 and then ignominiously cast into prison ! 
 And now do they cast us out jirivately ? 
 Nay ! Let them come themselves offici- 
 ally, with due apology, and biingus out 
 honorably. They have beaten us — a 
 diti'erent verb from that used in ver. 22, 
 but expressing strongly the severest 
 kind of scourging. Tnis was a dis- 
 grace. Openly — publicly before the 
 people, which added to the ignominy. 
 Uucondemned — without even a form 
 of trial. Treated like dogs, for even 
 slaves had a right of defense before 
 ininishment. A trial in due form was 
 one of the sacred rights of the citizen. 
 And all this indignity cast upon us men 
 that are Jionunis. By being Jiovians 
 is meant that honorary citizenship, by 
 which s})ecial privileges were granted 
 to certain individuals and families, en- 
 titling them to certain immunities and 
 advantages enjoyed by native Romans. 
 The Poreian and Valerian laws ex- 
 empte<l all Roman citizens from strij)es 
 and tortures. " It is a crime," said 
 Cicero, "to bind a Roman citizen, a 
 crime to scourge him ; it is almost 
 parricide that he should be executed." 
 To break these laws exposed the mag- 
 istrates to indictment for treason, the 
 penalty being death and confiscation of 
 property. Paul was a Roman by birth. 
 (See ou 22: 28.) How Silas obtained his 
 citizenship is not recorded. And have 
 cast us into prison— a still further 
 
Ch. XVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS, 
 
 267 
 
 cast us into prison ; and now do they 
 thrust us out privily ? Nay verily ; but 
 let them come themselves and fetch us 
 
 38 out. And the Serjeants told these words 
 unto the magistrates. And they feared, 
 when they heard that they were Romans : 
 
 39 and they came and besought them, and 
 
 brought ihfin out, and = desired them to de- 
 40 part out of the city. And they went out of 
 the prison, "i and entered into the hunse of 
 Ijydia: and when tliey had seen the 
 brethren, they comforted them and de- 
 parted. 
 
 • Blatt. 8 : 34. <» ver. 14. 
 
 indignity under the circumstances. 
 Such close and cruel confinement did 
 not ))ecouie a Roman citizen without 
 conviction or confession of crime. And 
 now do they thrust us out privily. 
 Having cast its into prison publicly and 
 wrongfully, do they now attempt to 
 shield their crime and, without apology 
 or reparation, cast us out thus secretly ? 
 Nay verily — we will not submit to 
 such a dismissal. The prisoners now 
 had the magistrates in their power, and 
 by complaint to tlie proper authorities 
 might have procured their punishment. 
 They were in a position to dictate terms. 
 Having obeyed the letter of Christ's 
 command, " Eesist not evil," etc. (Matt. 
 6 : 29) , they now claim their legal 
 rights, as a mode of asserting their in- 
 nocence, and aLso of i)rotecting their 
 converts from such mob violence as 
 they had suffered. As to the reason of 
 their not claiming their citizenship be- 
 fore, see on ver. 22. Let them come 
 themselves instead of sending their 
 servants, and fetch us out — as a proof 
 of our innocence, and an apology for 
 their injustice. Thus they propose to 
 let them off easily. They act upon the 
 rule Paul afterward enjoined "Avenge 
 not yourselves, but rather give place 
 to wrath," etc. (Rom. 12: 19.) Such a 
 course also would reflect favorably upon 
 the church at Philippi. It would prove 
 partly a moral ami civil defense. The 
 church had been founded not by niere 
 Jews, but by Roman citizens. The 
 wrong done it and its founders would 
 react in its favor. 
 
 38. When the magistrates beard 
 that Paul and Silas were Romans they 
 feared — or were frightened, knowing 
 that they were liable to severe punish- 
 ment. (See on ver. 37.) Public officers 
 who could be led, and would even fall 
 in with a thoughtless mob, would most 
 likely prove cowardly, and not only 
 fear punishment, but also the national 
 jealousy of their own citizens, which 
 
 had shown itself the day before, (ver. 
 20-22.) 
 
 39, With due haste the magistrates 
 came and besought them, strove 
 to appease them btj entreaty. A])ol()- 
 gizing with fair words they be<jf/ed not 
 to make complaint against them. Dr. 
 Hackett quotes from Lucian a case of 
 false imprisonment, in whicli a gov- 
 ernor of a province not only confessed 
 his error, but paid a large sum to the 
 injured parties, to bribe them to be 
 silent. And when they had hroug;Iit 
 them out of the j)rison in a most re- 
 spectful manner, they desired, asked 
 them as a favor, that they would de- 
 part out of the city, in order to 
 insure their own safety and the public 
 peace. Paul and Silas comply with 
 the request, but take their own time. 
 
 (Ver. 40.) 
 
 40. Without showing either timidity 
 or haste, Paul and Silas go from the 
 prison to the house of Lydia, where 
 they had been guests, and where the 
 church was accustomed to meet. And 
 seeing the brethren, of the churcli, 
 together with Timothy and Luke, who 
 were probably assembled for tliis pur- 
 pose. They comforted — rather, 
 they exhorted them, to be firm in the faith 
 (11 : 2»), which includes consolation and 
 encouragement. The divine interposi- 
 tion in their behalf, and the humilia- 
 tion of the magistrates, were reasons of 
 great encouragement and hojie to the 
 infant church. And departed. From 
 here to 20 : 6 Luke continues the nar- 
 rative in the third person, from which 
 it is inferred that he was left l)ehind to 
 watch over the church. The comjjara- 
 tive brevity of the account whicli fol- 
 lows of the work in Thessalonica and 
 Berea indicates that Luke was not with 
 them. Timothy also probably tarried 
 for a time. The next notice of him is 
 at Berea (i7 : u), whitiier he may have 
 gone after further labors at Philippi. 
 But more probably he rejoins Paul at 
 
268 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. x\a. 
 
 Thessalonica, at one of the times when 
 sujjplies were sent him from Philipi)!. 
 (pijU. 4 : 15, 16.) Paul joins the luinie of 
 Timothy with his own in liis e2>istle to 
 that church. (Phii. i:i.) The Philip- 
 piau church appears from its very be- 
 ginning onward a model church. (Phii. 
 1:3-6; 2 ; 12.) See further in closing note 
 on ver. 34 ; also the closing note on 
 ver. 15. 
 
 Children AND THE Church. Paul 
 and Silas spake the word of the Lord 
 not only to the jailer, but to all that 
 were in his house. There could not 
 have been infants among them, for 
 all were capable of being addressed, 
 and of understanding. Yet children, 
 at an early age can know that they are 
 sinners and can understand how Christ 
 died and mediates for tlieni. They are 
 capable of sorrow, of trusting and lov- 
 ing ; and so can repent toward Ciod and 
 believe in Jesus Christ. It is tlie duty 
 of i)astors and churches to seek the 
 conversion of children, and attend to 
 their training. This accords witli the 
 teaching of Christ and his apostles. (Mark 
 
 10 : 11 ; Matt. 21 : 1 J. 16 ; EpU. C : i.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. The mother makes the man. How many, 
 like Timothy, are the result of maternal 
 prayers and instructions. (Ver. 1 ; 2 Tim. 
 1 : 5; 3: 15; 1 Sam. 1 : 26-28.) 
 
 2. We should seek out young men of 
 proper qualifications for positions of useful- 
 ness in our churches. (Ver. 2 ; Titus 1 : 5 f.) 
 
 3. There are times when it is proper to 
 accede to the prejudices of others, when no 
 Christian principle is involved. (Ver. 3 ; 21 : 
 23-26; 1 Cor. 9: 21.) 
 
 4. The words and the examples of the apos- 
 tles, as inspired men, are to be heeded and 
 observed. (Ver. 4 ; 1 Cor. 11:1; 2 Peter 3 : 
 15, 16.) 
 
 5. Wise and conciliatory measures gener- 
 ally result in the increase and strengthen- 
 ing of the churches. (Ver. 5 ; 6:7.) 
 
 6. How much unwritten history of Paul's 
 life do the Acts and the Epistles suggest. 
 (Ver. 6 ; Gal. 1 : 2 ; 4 : 13 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 27.) 
 
 7. We should seek to know the leadings 
 and hindrances of the Spirit, and at the 
 same time not confound them with those of 
 Satan. (Ver. 7, 8 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 18 ; 1 John 
 4:1.) 
 
 8. God often keeps us from certain fields 
 of usefulness, because he has more import- ' 
 ant ones for us to occupy. (Ver. 8-10 ; Kom. 
 15 : 22.) 
 
 9. The unconscious needs of the heathen 
 world are constantly appealing to his people 
 for sympathy and help. (Ver. 9.) 
 
 10. When assured of the divine will we 
 should obey at once. (Ver. 10 ; 26 : 19 ; Gal. 
 1 : 16.) 
 
 11. In God's providence the wind and the 
 weaiherofteu assist his servants to do his 
 will. (Ver. 11 ; Ps. 104 : 3, 4.) 
 
 12. The day of Paul's entrance into 
 Europe and Philippi was one of the most 
 important in history. (Ver. 12.) 
 
 lo. Christianity is a silent hut permanent 
 force. It conquers hearts and changes the 
 lives of men. Compare Alexander passing 
 from Europe and co^jquering Asia (hia 
 kingdom long sii'ce having passed away), 
 and Paul with his three companions enter- 
 ing Europe, and their work still remaining. 
 (Ver. 13; 2 Cor. 10: 4.) 
 
 14. The place of prayer should always 
 have attractions to the people of God. (Ver. 
 13, 16 ; Ps. 42 : 2 ; Mai. 3 : 16.) 
 
 15. Divine and human agency are united 
 in the salvation of men. (Ver. 14; 2 : 37, f.) 
 
 16. How happy tho.se households who 
 have accepted Christ by faith and professed 
 him in baptism. (Ver. 14, 33.) 
 
 17. It is fitting to exercise Christian hos- 
 pitality towards (iod's servants. (Ver. 15 ; 
 Kom. 12 : 13 ; 1 Peter 4 : 9.) 
 
 18. In Lydia and the soothsaying damsel 
 we see the contrast in the condition of 
 women under the gospel and in heathenism. 
 (Ver. 14-16.) 
 
 19. There can be no league nor truce be- 
 tween the kingdom of Christ and the king- 
 dom of Satan. (Ver. 17, 18 ; 2 Cor. : 15 ; 1 
 John 3:8) 
 
 20. Much of the opposition to the gospel 
 arises from the fact that it opposes dishon- 
 est gain, and makes men honest and con- 
 scientious. (Ver. 19, 20 ; Titus 2 : 12.) 
 
 21. Wicked men sometimes become hypo- 
 critically conscientious, and supporters of 
 law and order, if religion encroaches on 
 their business. (Ver. 31; 1 Kings 18:17; 
 Amos 7 : 10.) ; 
 
 22. They who are faithful in opposing 
 and condemning sin may expect to sutTer 
 from the i»iejudices aud hatred of the world. 
 (Ver. 22 24; 2 Tim. 3: 12.) 
 
Cn. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 269 
 
 J'tiul (ind .Si/as at Thcssalunica anil Btrea. 
 17 Now when they had passed through 
 
 Amphipolis and Apulloiiia, they came 
 to " Thessalouica, where was a synagogue 
 
 • 1 and 2 Thcss. 1 : 1. 
 
 23. It is an honor to suffer with Christ and 
 for his sake. (Ver. 22-24 ; 5 : 41 ; 1 Teter 4 : 
 IG.) 
 
 24. A prison with its chains and stocks 
 can be made a house of God and a gate to 
 heaven to the believing soul. (Ver. 25 ; Ps. 
 34 : 1, 7, 18, 20 ; 1 John 5 : 4.) 
 
 2o. God will sooner or later come to the 
 deliverance of his suffering people. (Ver. 
 26; Luke 18:6-8) 
 
 26. The law strikes terror to the convicted 
 soul. (Ver. 27 ; Horn. 7 : 9-11.) 
 
 27. The gospel brings hope and life. (Ver. 
 28; Gal. 3:22-26) 
 
 28. Sinners have reason to tremble on 
 account of their sins. (Ver. 29 ; Nahum 
 1:6.) 
 
 29. The jailer asked the supreme question 
 of every soul, " What must I do to be saved." 
 (Ver. 30 ; 2 : 37 ; 9 : 22 : 10.) 
 
 30. The jailer's inquiry implies fear, con- 
 viction of sin, desire, hope, and submission. 
 {Ver. 30.) 
 
 31. Neither sincerity nor works can save ; 
 but faith in Christ. The latter is a living 
 faith, hearty, sincere, and obedient. (Ver. 
 31 ; 26 : 9 ; Phil. 3 : 4-10 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 12-16.) 
 
 32. As jailers were generally selected from 
 the lower classes of society, so here we may 
 have an example of the conversion of a man 
 of a course and brutal nature. (Ver. 32, .33 ; 
 Mark 5 : 15.) 
 
 33. Among the evidences of conversion 
 are changed conduct in attending to the 
 truth, in ministering lovingly to the saints, 
 and in promptly obeying Christ's commands. 
 (Ver. 34 ; John 14 : 21 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 17 ; 1 John 
 3 : 14.) 
 
 34. Regeneration, which is the work of the 
 Holy Spirit, is instantaneous. So conversion, 
 in which the soul turns to God, may often 
 be immediately recognized. (Ver. 34 ; 2:41.) 
 
 35. There is no joy like that which flows 
 from believing in Jesus. (Ver. .34 ; 1 Peter 
 1:8; John 4 : 14.) 
 
 36. Wicked men often try to palliate their 
 deeds; but all such attempts will prove 
 vain. (Ver. 35, 36 ; 1 Kings 18 : 17, 18.) 
 
 37. Though Christians are to exercise 
 meekness under injuries, yet there are times, 
 especially when the honor of religion is in- 
 
 volved, when they should insist on their 
 legal rights. (Ver. 37 ; 23 : 3.) 
 
 38. Christianity does not make a man any 
 less a citizen, and it is sometimes his duty 
 to appeal to civil authority. (Ver. 37,38; 
 25 : 10-12.) 
 
 39. If citizenship on earth is to be highly 
 prized, how much more the citizenship in 
 heaveu. (Ver. 37-40; Phil. 3 : 2u.) 
 
 40. Satan and wicked men may for a time 
 seem victorious, but they are hastening on 
 to sure defeat. Christ and his cause will in 
 due time come forth from the conflict victori- 
 ous over every foe. (Ver. 38-40 ; 1 Cor. 15 ; 25.) 
 
 Ch. 17: Paul continues his second 
 missionary journey. Proceeding with 
 Silas from Philipj)! to Thessalonica, 
 they preach with much success; but, 
 after a time, are forced to flee to Berea. 
 Here they gain ujany converts, hut 
 again Paul is comjielled to leave, and 
 going to Athens he preaches in the 
 synagogue, iu the market, and oa 
 Mars"^ Hill. 
 
 1-1.5. Paul and Silas at Thessa- 
 lonica AND Berea. (pmi. 4:14-i6; i 
 
 Thess. 1 : 4, 5,9, 10 ; 2:9, 1 1 . IS ; .3:1. 2. 1 1 ; 2 Thess. 
 
 3 : 7, 8.) If our former estimates of time 
 are correct, tlien it was about the first of 
 Maj', A. D. 52, wlien Paul arrived at 
 Thessalonica. He must have remained 
 there at least a mouth, ])rohal>ly longer ; 
 for during his stay there the Philippian 
 bretliren sent twice to him donations 
 toward his sujijiort. (Phfi. i : ir.) 
 
 1. Now when they had passed, 
 journeyed, through Amphipolis 
 and ApoHonia — without stopping to 
 labor in eitlier place, because there 
 were no Jews, or at least no synagogue 
 in either of these cities, i'auland Silas 
 go alone, Luke and Timothy being left 
 beliind. (See on 16 ; 40.) They travel on, 
 the great Koiuan military road, the 
 lOgnatian AVay, a continuation of the 
 Appian AVay, 'vhich led from the 
 Asiatic provinces to Rome. Amphip- 
 olis was about tliirty-two miles south- 
 west of Philippi, three miles from the 
 sea, on the east bank of the river 
 Strymon, which bounded it on three 
 sides, and gave it its name — Round' 
 
270 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 2 of the Jews. And Paul, as his manner 
 was, f went in unto them, and three sab- 
 bath days reasoned with them out of the 
 
 3 scriptures, sopening and alleging, i" that 
 
 Christ must needs have suffered, and 
 
 risen again from the dead ; ' and 'hat this 
 
 Jesui whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 
 
 4 ^And some of them believed, and cou- 
 
 fch. 9 : 20; 13 : 5, 14; 14 : 1 ; 16 : 13 ; 19 : 8; Luke 4 : 16. e Luke 24: 32. h Luke 24 : 26, 
 44, 46 ; Gal. 3:1. > ch. 2 : 36. k cli. 2S : 24. 
 
 about-toum. It was the capital of the j 
 first division of Macedonia, and an 
 iniportaut military station. Its former 
 name was T/ic y^inc Ways, the number 
 of roads which met here. It is not men- 
 tioned elsewhere in Scripture. Apol- 
 lunid, only mentioned hei'e in the Bible, 
 was about thirty-two miles westward, 
 nil unimportant town, the exact site of 
 whicli is iinkuown. A little village 
 called Pollona, with ruins just south of 
 J^ake licclick, may mark its site. Paul 
 and Silas probably jiassed at least a 
 night in each of these jdaces. They 
 came to Thessalonica — about 
 thirty-six miles further on, making a 
 hundred miles from Philipj)!. They 
 could perform this whole journey in 
 three days, but ma_v have tiiken a week, 
 or even more, if weakness or soreness 
 from their scourging necessitated it, 
 and if desirous of exploring the i)laces 
 through which they passed, as fields of 
 labor. Thessalonica was an imi)ortjuit 
 commercial city on a declivity at the 
 northeast corner of the ))ay of Thernia;. 
 Jt had been known l)y the name of 
 Thermae. It was rebuilt l)y Cassander, 
 one of Alexander's generals, and re- 
 named after liis wife, Thessalonica, 
 sister to Alexander the Great. Wlien 
 the Romans divided Macedonia into 
 four governments, it was made the ca])i- 
 tal of the second. Afterward, when the 
 whole was consolidated into one prov- 
 ince, it became the metropolis, and 
 such it was at tliis time. The lloman 
 government liad made it a free city, 
 having the right of self-government, 
 but not all the privileges of a co/otu/, 
 Hive Philipi)i. Its great commercial 
 im])ortance, rivalling Corinth and 
 Ephesus, made it a centre from whidi 
 the gospel was widely disseminated. 
 (1 ThesB. 1 ; 8.) Its modern name is iSa/on- 
 ikf. It has a population of about sev- 
 enty thousand, of whom about twenty 
 tliousand are Jews. Mhere there 
 was a synagogue of the Jews — 
 some manuscripts read, the synagogue, 
 
 implying that it was the only one in all 
 that large district of country through 
 which Paul had passed, doubtless the 
 first he had reached in Maceilonia. 
 Tlie synagogue was of so great advan- 
 tage to Paul in his work, tliat Luke 
 seldom fails to speak of it whenever 
 Paul found one. (ver. lo, n.) 
 
 2. Pan] as his custom Avas. (.see 
 ou u : 5. Compare 16 : 13; 17 : 10 ; 18 : 4.) Hi.' imi- 
 tated the custom of liis ^Mastcr. (Luke 4: Ifi.) 
 And three sabbath days — indi- 
 cating that for three weeks lie coiitintud 
 liis ministry in tlie synagogue. Paul 
 sought first to convert the Jews wherevir 
 lie went, and througli them to reach de- 
 vout and inquiring Gentiles Rea- 
 soned with them — as in a dialogue, 
 thus giving ojiiiortunity for asking and 
 answering (juestions. Thus Jesus taught 
 in the synagogue. (John 6 : 25-69.) Out 
 of the Scriptures — the source and 
 standard of appeal in all his teaching 
 to the Jews. 
 
 3. What Paul taught from the Script- 
 ures. First, ffiat the C'/n-h-t must xn^'cr 
 (uid rise again from the dead, (s.e 
 Luke 24 : 26, 27.) Sccond, that this Jesus 
 whom I prochiiin unto you is tlie 
 Christ. Having proved the first proj)0- 
 sitioii from tlie i)ro])het,s, it was easy to 
 demonstrate tiie sccond, that Jesus lia<l 
 siittered, died, and risen, and exactly 
 answered tlie demands of prophecy. 
 (9 : 22.) Paul's discourse at Antioch of 
 Pisidia illustrates the character of his 
 jircacliiiig. (i:i:i7-ii.) Opening and 
 allegii'g — or sell iuf/ forth the true in- 
 terpretation of the Old Testament 
 Scrii)tures. 
 
 During the intervening weeks Paul 
 and Silas su]i]ioiti'd themselves " work- 
 ing night and day " (i Thess. 2:9), and 
 thus showing that they were not gov- 
 erned by selfish motives. Timothy, 
 too, may have come with supplies from 
 Phili))p"i. (v.r. 10.) 
 
 4. The result of the three Sabbaths' 
 labors. And some of them — of the 
 Jews — believed, or, literally, were 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 271 
 
 sorted with Paul and 'Silas ; and of the 
 devout Greeks a great multitude, and of 
 the chief women not a few. 
 5 But the Jews which believed not, moved 
 with envy, took unto them certain lewd 
 
 fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a 
 company, and set all the city on an up- 
 roar, and assaulted the house of m Jason, 
 and sought to bring them out to the peo- 
 6 pie. And when they found them not, 
 
 1 ch. 15 : 22, 27, 32, 40. " Kom. 16 : 21. 
 
 convinced of the truth that Jesus was the ] 
 Christ. And consorted, literally, { 
 
 were allotted, or added to Paul and , 
 ISilas as the fruit of their ministry, and , 
 ill the formation of a church, (.see 2 : n.) ' 
 They were added by the determininj,' 
 
 power of God. (iThess. -i : U; 2 Thess. 2: ' 
 
 r.;, u.) Of the devout Greeks — 
 
 worshiping Gentiles. These were pros- 
 elytes and other religious Greeks who 
 worshiped in the synagogues, without 
 confonuing to all tlie Jewish rites 
 and customs. Of the chief women 
 — the iirst in rank and influence, i 
 These, too, were devout Gentiles. A i 
 great multitude . . . not a few 
 — thus the majority of the converts 
 were Gentiles. Paul says of these great 
 results, " Our gospel came to you not 
 in word only, but also in power and in 
 the Holy Spirit, and in much assur- ' 
 ance (i Tuess. i :5), which implies the or- '< 
 dinary and extraordinary workings of 
 the Spirit, and perhaps the work- 
 ing of miracles. After these three 
 Sabbaths Paul probably found it best 
 to withdraw from the synagogue as a 
 place of preaching. He now began, if 
 not previously during the week time, 
 his work among the heathen with 
 great success, to which Paul alludes in 
 1 Thess. 1:9," How ye turned to God 
 from idols to serve the living and true 
 God." Luke, not being an eye wit- 
 ness, reports briefly the beginning of 
 the church from the synagogues, and 
 then at once passes over to the perse- 
 cution, which started from the syna- 
 gogue, and drove Paul and Silas from 
 the city. 
 
 5. The work goes on among the 
 beatlien for a time. The Jews are 
 moved with envy — with indignant 
 jealousy at this success, especially 
 among Gentiles, (see on i.i : 45.) Which 
 believed not — omitted by the best 
 authorities. These persecuting Jews 
 were, of course, unbelievers. Took 
 unto them certain lewd fellows 
 of the baser sort— better, Took 
 
 unto them certain vicious men of 
 the market-place. These were market 
 loungers, the ral)i)le without regular 
 emidoyment, who freiiuented pul)lic 
 places' 7'he market, or Afjora, was a 
 place in Greek cities for public as- 
 semljly, for traffic and the transaction 
 of i>ublic business, (ver. n.) "Had it 
 Ijeen in the East, where such people 
 loiter about the gates, the term would 
 have been inapjiropriate. It is instruct- 
 ive to observe how true the narrative 
 is to tlie habits of different nations, 
 though the scene changes so rapidly 
 from one laud to another." (Hack- 
 ETT.) But why did the Jews seek 
 such helpers? Because they them- 
 selves were foreigners and had but 
 little influence among the people. To 
 effect their purjiose they must secure 
 tlie help of the natives. Gathered a 
 company, or a croml — they raised 
 a mol> and set the city in an uproar, 
 raising a noise and causing confusion. 
 And assaulting — coming suddenly 
 upon — the house of Jason, im])ly- 
 ing an actual attack. Paul and Silas aji- 
 pear to have lodged at his house during 
 their stay at Thessalonica. (vcr. 7.) If 
 not a disciple, he a]>pears as a friend 
 and a host. Wiiether Jason was the 
 same as the one mentioned in Rom, 
 16 : 21, a kinsman of Paul, is uncer- 
 tain. Perhajis he was a Grecian Jew, 
 who.se name .Jesus, or Joshua, had been 
 changed into the Greek form Jason. 
 I (1 Mac. 8 : 17 ; 2 jSIac. 4 : 7, with Jose- 
 I phus. Antifj. XII, 5, 1.) The word 
 ' people does not refer to the mob, but 
 I rather the regular assembly of citizens 
 in their legal capacity (The.ssalonica 
 ! being a free city), in whose presence 
 cases were tried l)efore the magistrates. 
 i 6. They sought, but found them 
 \ not — Paul and Silas being absent 
 ' providentially, or, ]>erhaps, hearing of 
 the tumult, had withdrawn to some 
 I place of temjiorary safety. Failing in 
 their immediate i)urpose, they spent 
 ' their spite upon Jason and certain 
 
272 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 they drew Jason and certain brethren 
 unto the rulers of the city, crying, " These 
 that have turned the world upside down 
 7 are come hither also ; whom Jason hath 
 received : " and these all do contrary to 
 the decrees of Caesar, p saying that there 
 
 n ch. 16 : 20 ; see Am. 7 : 10. 
 
 8 is another king, ove Jesus. And they 
 1 troubled the peo[ile and the rulers of the 
 
 9 city, when they heiird these things. And 
 when they had taken security of Jason, 
 and of r the other, they lei them go. 
 
 10 And sthe brethren immediately sent 
 
 9 Matt. 2 : 3. 
 
 « ch. 16 : 21. P Luke 23 : 2 ; John 19 : 12. 
 ' ver. 6. » ver. 14 ; ch. 9 : 25. 
 
 brethren as accomplices, and dreAV, 
 dragged them violently unto the 
 rulers, or ^jw/77o>t/(,s of "the city. In 
 a free city like Thessalonica these 
 j)olitarchs were chosen by tlie peo- 
 ple, and they held general juris- 
 diction over all criminal matters, 
 having the power of life and death. 
 It is a curious fact that while the 
 name politarch is unknown to class- 
 ical literature, it is found in an in- 
 scription on the ruins of an ancient 
 arch of The.ssalonica, which gives the 
 name of seven politarchs wlio governed 
 the city before the visit of Paul, and 
 three of them are the same names as 
 three of Paul's companions : So])ater, 
 of Berea (-'0:i); Gains, of JIacedonia 
 (19; 29), and Secundns, of Thessalonica. 
 Thus do we have here a striking con- 
 fimation of the accuracy of Luke. 
 Crying — shouting vociferously. Two 
 cliarges are specified, each containing 
 some truth. These that have 
 turned the Avorld upside down — 
 who have excited tumults and made 
 tlui world rebellious. In tiieir excite- 
 ment they utter words of exaggeration ; 
 yet unconsciously utter a great truth. 
 Christianity is revolutionary ; and 
 wherever Paul preached, selfishness, 
 idolatry, and immorality had been 
 overthrown, and opposition and perse- 
 cution aroused. (M.-itt. lo: .i*, ,Ti.) Are 
 come hither also — implying that 
 reports of Christianity and of gospel 
 preachers had preceded the coming of 
 Paul and Silas. 
 
 7. A specific charge is made against 
 Jason, Whom Jason hath received 
 into his house, and under his protec- 
 tion, (r.iike 10 ;.W; 111:6.) NoW COUICS 
 
 tlie second general charge. These 
 all, Paul, Silas, and indeed Chris- 
 tians wherever found, are acting con- 
 trary to the decrees of Ca-sar, 
 saying there is another king, 
 Jesus. The authority of C;esar, the 
 emperor, extended over all Greece. 
 
 According to the Julian Laws, "who- 
 ever violated the majesty of the state " 
 was guilty of treason. ,So general a 
 law was of wide ai)plication. The 
 charge was doubtless a .Jewish slander, 
 like tliat brought against .Jesus. (iM;itt. 
 ■a : 11, 12.) The title Lord, so commonly 
 applied by the disciples to .lesus, would 
 give color to their cliarge. Besides, 
 the second coming and reign of Clirist 
 were favorite tojjics of Paul's jireach- 
 ing at Thessalonica, as may be gatliered 
 from his two Epistles to the clnnch 
 tliere. Comj^are sucli statements as 
 tho.se in 1 Thess. 2 : 12 ; 3 : 13 ; 2 Tliess. 
 1 : 5-10 ; 2 : 1-12. The accusation was 
 ]>erverted truth. Another incidental 
 illustration of Luke's exactness may be 
 noted in the use of tlie word Icing. 
 The Itouians never styled the Emjieror 
 kivg, but Greek writers constantly 
 a])i)ly the term to Roman Emj)erors. 
 
 8. And these accusers troubled the 
 people and rulers, potitarr/is, of the 
 city — cau.sed them anxiety and alarm, 
 lest the presence of disloyal persons, 
 and revolutionary tumults, should 
 bring uj)on them Poman vengeance. 
 
 9. ^> hen they had taken secur- 
 ity, or guarantee — supjiosed to l)e a 
 I'oman law-jjhrase similar to taking 
 bail. Ja.son and the brethren who had 
 l)een arrested (ver. 6) became resjionsible 
 and perhaps deposited a sum of money 
 as a .surety, tliat the ])eace of the city 
 should be kept, and tliat no attempt 
 should lie made against the majesty 
 and power of Rome by these strangers 
 who liad come to them, or l)y their ad- 
 liereuts. 
 
 10. As it was specially in behalf of 
 Paul and Silas mIio were not present 
 that Jason and certain brethren had 
 given surety or liail, so in sending them 
 away the end would be best attained. 
 The mi.ssionaries would not l>e jjre.sent to 
 arouse sus])icion and opjiosition. Silas 
 a little later remained a while at Berea 
 (ver. H), but from here, and at this time, 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 273 
 
 away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea : 
 
 who coming thither went into the syna- 
 
 11 gogue of the Jews, These were more 
 
 noble than those in Thessalonica, in that 
 'they received the word with all readi- 
 ness of mind, and "searched the Script- 
 
 « Matt. 13 : 23. » Isa. 34 : 16 ; John 5 : 39. 
 
 it seemed best that both should go. 
 Aud that, too, immediately, proba- 
 bly during the ensuing iiiglit. (see .i : 
 25,30.) Coming forth from tiieir cou- 
 cealmeut, they are now sent away 
 secretly by night, to avoid danger 
 from the Jewisli })ersecutors and the 
 mob. But this did not put an end to 
 persecution, for the converts were after- 
 ward ill-treated. (iThess. 2 : u.) Leav- 
 ing them so hastily, Paul intended to 
 return to them soon agaiu ; but he was 
 hindered twice ; whereupon he sent 
 Timothy to them, (i TUess. 2 : n, 18 ; 3 : 2.) [ 
 Since Paul received supplies from the 
 Philippiau church twice while here 
 (Phil. 4 ; Id, is), it is reasonable to suppose j 
 that Timotliy was the bearer of one of j 
 them ; and that lie remained for a time 
 after Paul left. " I believe Timotliy to 
 have been witli them at Thessalonica 
 the first time, because it does not seem 
 jirobable that Paul would have sent to 
 them one to confirm and exhort them 
 concerning their faitli (i Thesa. 3 : 2) who 
 had not known them before, especially 
 as he then had Silas with him." 
 (Alford.) Notice also that Timothy's 
 name is joined witli Paul and Silas, 
 in both 1 Thess. 1 : 1 aud 2 Thess. 2 : 1. 
 From these gifts and from worliing at 
 tent making, possibly v/itli Jason (ver.5; 
 18:4), Paul supported himself without 
 help from the Thessalonians. (1 Thess. 
 
 2 :9; 2Thess. 3; 8.) 
 
 It is interesting to compare the narra- 
 tive of Phili])]ii with that of Thessalo- 
 nica ; and notice how Luke conforms 
 his langTiage to the actual conditions of 
 each. One is a colony ; tlie other a 
 free city ; tlie former a Roman city, 
 tlie latter a Greek city. Roman citi- 
 zenship is emphasized in one ; Ciesar 
 and his friends in the other. Prretor 
 and lictors apjiear in Philippi ; poli- 
 tarchs and the demus, or free lawful as- 
 sembly of the people , in Thessalonica. 
 Religious usages unlawful to Romans 
 are specially dreaded there ; disloyalty 
 to Caisar here. 
 
 From Thessalonica Paul and Silas 
 leave the Eguatian^Way aud take a less 
 S 
 
 traversed road to Berea, now called 
 Vcrria, about forty-five miles to the 
 soutiiwest. It is on the eastern slo])e 
 of tlie Olympian range, and witli an 
 abundant sujjply of water, l)eing on 
 the Astrreus river, a tributary of the 
 Ilaliacmon. It was a city in the east- 
 ern district of ^iacetlonia ; and its 
 secluded situation doul)tk'SS was an 
 important reasou for Paul and Silas 
 seeking this retreat. Its modern poi)u- 
 lation number about six tliousand. 
 Who coming thither went airny, 
 etc. — having arrived at Berea and as 
 soon as practicable after necessary 
 arrangements, they go away to tlie syna- 
 gogue, whieli may iiave been out of 
 the city, or some distance from their 
 lodging. 
 
 ll. These were more noble 
 than those in Thessalonica — 
 literally, of better birth. But the word 
 is also used with reference to disposi- 
 tion and character ; and tliis appears 
 to Ije the meaning liere from wiiat fol- 
 lows. They gave evidence of this dis- 
 l)osition, in that they received the 
 Avord, they listened to the preaching 
 of the gospel, with all readiness. 
 They were less narrow in tlieir Jewish 
 prejudices than their brethren at 
 Thessalonica. They were oi)en to con- 
 viction. Hence they searched the 
 Scriptures daily, as tlieir authority 
 and standard of appeal, whether 
 these things were so. This spirit 
 of liouest inquiry showed their nobility 
 of soul. They were not superstitious 
 like the Lycaonians (h:ii), nor impul- 
 sive like the Galatiaiis (Gai.4 : u, 15), but 
 patient, impartial, and conscientious. 
 
 13. The result of such honest hear- 
 ing and such earnest examination of 
 the Scriptures by those of the syna- 
 gogue was, that many of them, 
 therefore believed. The best way 
 to prove the claims of Jesus and the 
 truth of the gospel is to thoroughly 
 and honestly investigate. An impar- 
 tial and patient study of the gospel 
 usually results in its acceptance. Also 
 of honorable, etc. — better, And 0/ 
 
274 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii. XVII. 
 
 ures daily, whether those things were so. 
 
 12 Therefore many of them believed ; also of 
 honourable women which were Greeks, 
 and of men, not a few. 
 
 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had 
 
 knowledge that the word of God was 
 preached of Paul at Berta, they came 
 thither also, and stirred up the people. 
 14 »And then immediately the brethren 
 sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea : 
 
 » Matt. 10 : 23. 
 
 honorable Grecian women and men not 
 a few. These Avere largely proselytes 
 and devout Gentiles, though very 
 likely, as at Thessalonica, extending 
 into the heathen population. The 
 female converts were prol)aI)ly more 
 numerous than the men. The term 
 honorable, the same as in 13 : 50, refers 
 to their social rank, holding influential 
 positions in the community. This 
 again brings to view the great influ- 
 ence of women in the Macedonian 
 churches, (vcr. 4; i6:u, i.j, 40.) Notice 
 that tlie Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, 
 use the same rank of women (but 
 sujierstitious and ignorant) to carry out 
 their plans of persecution against Paul 
 and Barnabas. (13:50.) Tiie Christian 
 women of our day who labor so ear- 
 nestly and successfully, both at home 
 and abroad, are the true spiritual suc- 
 cessors of these Macedonian si.sters. 
 Rome has unwisely cut oft" thousands 
 of women from family relations, aft'ec- 
 tions, and duties, and witli solemn vows 
 colonized them in nunneries. Men and 
 women, in God's work, should not 
 ignore their place in tlie family. 
 " God made the family ; mau nKule the 
 convent. God's work! behold, it is 
 very good ; man's is in this case a 
 snare." (Arnot.) 
 
 13. Paul and Silas must have spent 
 some weeks in this quiet and somcwliat 
 secluded city. Paul speaks in 1 Thess. 
 2 : 18 of twice proposing to visit the 
 Thessalonian brethren ; but was hin- 
 dered l)y vSatan. Perhaps he was the 
 first time purposing such a visit when 
 this persecution began, and frustrated 
 his plans. But his place of labor could 
 not be hid. The Jews of Thes- 
 salonica, ever on the alert, hear that 
 the gospel is preached at Berea, and 
 show their inveterate hatred by follow- 
 ing Paul and Silas and stirring up hos- 
 tility similar to that in their own city. 
 So in the first missionary journey Jews 
 in like manner came to Lystra, from 
 Antioch and Iconiuia, and stirred up 
 
 persecution. (u:i9.) Stirred up, etc. 
 
 Westcott and llort, according to many 
 ancient manuscri])ts read, Stirrinrj up 
 and tronhiiiKj the multitudes. Notice 
 how carefully Luke uses terms. Here 
 it is the multitude, or populace; in 
 Thessalonica it is the demus, or orderly 
 assembly (ver. 5); but at Philippi, he 
 says nothing of either, but mentions 
 the rulers and prators. (le : 19, 20.) 
 
 Tlie narrative implies that the Jews 
 were quite numerous and influential at 
 Berea. The church tiierc doubtless 
 continued to prosi)er. We have uo 
 epistle of Paul to this cliurch ; and so 
 we have none to the cliurclics of Cilicia 
 (15:41), and to some others which he 
 founded. Besides, he wrote many let- 
 ters which have not come down to us. 
 (1 Cor. 5:9; Col. 4 : 16.) Sopater, who after- 
 ward became a companion of Paul 
 (20:4), was probably converted at this 
 time. 
 
 14. And then immediately — as 
 soon as the disturbance began. It was 
 l)est for the church and for Paul that 
 he should go; for he was the great 
 object of Jewish hostility, and preju- 
 dices and violence could easily be 
 aroused against him, whieli would also 
 fall upon his comi>anions and the 
 whole church. The brethren — in- 
 dicating a congregation, or church. To 
 go as it Avere to the sea — imj)lying 
 a feint, tliat Paul started in the direc- 
 tion of the sea, but turned and took 
 tlie land route to Athens, two hundred 
 and fifty miles. That such a journey 
 might be possilde, see 20 : 2-4. But 
 the reading best attested by manu- 
 scripts is : The brethren sent away 
 Paul to go as far as to the sea, which 
 implies that he went by sea. The 
 probability is, that leaving Berea so 
 suddenly, Paul's plans were only par- 
 tially formed, subject to such modifica- 
 tions as circumstances might suggest. 
 He and his conductors start for the 
 sea, and there they find a vessel bound 
 for Athens, in which they embark. And 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 275 
 
 but Silas and Timotheus aljode there still. 
 15 Aud they that conducted Paul brought 
 him unto Athens: and x receiving a com- 
 mandment unto Silas aud Timotheus for 
 
 to come to him with all speed, they de- 
 parted. 
 
 Paul at Athens. 
 i 16 NOW while Paul waited for them at 
 
 7 ch. 18 : 5. 
 
 Silas and Timothy abode, or remained ! 
 still at Berea. Silas apju-ars to liave 
 been with Paul up to this time ; but 
 Timothy had been left behind at Phil- 
 ippi (16: 1, 10), and although not men- 
 tioned with Paul at Thessalonica, yet 
 he probably joined him there, (see on 
 
 Ter. 10.) 
 
 15. And they that conducted or 
 escorted Paul. A delegation of the 
 Berean brethren accompanied Paul 
 throughout the journey for guidance 
 and protection, and brought him 
 unto Athens — the renowned capital 
 of ancient Greece. Perhaps Paul's 
 infirmities (i6:6) may have been such 
 as to render it needful that his move- 
 ments should now be guided by others. 
 From what we know of ancient roads 
 from Berea to the sea, it is probable 
 that Paul was conducted to Diuin, a 
 Roman colony like Philippi, about 
 sixteen miles away, wliere they em- 
 barked for Athens. With favorable 
 winds, it has been estimated that tliia 
 voyage of two hundred and fifty miles 
 could have been made in about three 
 days. "The memorials of the country's 
 greatness rose arouu<l him on his jour- 
 ney. As he quitted Berea, he could 
 see behind him the snowy peaks of 
 Mount Olympus, where the deities of 
 Greece had been supposed to dwell. 
 Soon he was sailing past Thermopylse, 
 where tlie immortal Three Hundred 
 stood against the barl)arian myriads ; 
 and as his voyage ncared its close, he 
 saw before him the island of Salamis, 
 where .again the existence of Greece 
 was saved from extinction by the valor 
 of her sons." (.Stalker, p' 9.i.) The 
 conductors of Paul appear to have re- 
 turned from Atliens immediately. 
 They departed, having received' a 
 charge to Silas and Timothy to come to 
 him as soon as possible — as soon as 
 they could complete the work for 
 which they were left behind. If they 
 came at once to Athens, then they must 
 have returned to Macedonia, for not 
 long after this they come from Mace- 
 
 donia to Corinth. (18:5.) It is not at 
 all unlikely that they reached Athens 
 after Paul liad left, and then followed 
 him to Corinth. But 1 Thess. 3 : 1, 2 
 is appealed to, as a ]>roof that Timothy 
 came at this time to Atliens, from 
 whence he was sent to Thessalonica : 
 " Wherefore when we could no longer 
 forbear, we thought it good to he left 
 alone; and sent Timothy. . . to establish 
 you," etc. But this appeal seems not 
 well taken ; for Paul had now left Silas 
 and Timothy behind, whereas in the 
 visit mentioned in 1 Thess. 3:1, Timo- 
 thy had left Paul behitul. In this 
 Paul is going away from Thessalonica ; 
 in that his face is toward that city, but 
 being hindered l)y Satan the second 
 time, he sends Timothy in his place. 
 
 (l Thess. 2 : IS; 3 : 1.) The beSt Solutiou of 
 
 the difficulty is the suggestion that 
 Paul with Timothy paid a later and 
 second visit to Atliens when he was 
 proposing to proceed to JIacedonia, but 
 was hindered from carrying out his 
 plans and therefore sent Timothy in- 
 stead. See on l.S : .5, 11, 12 ; and dis- 
 cussion in Harmonic Arranaemsnt of 
 the Acts, pp. 214-218. 
 
 16-.S4. Paitl at Athens. His 
 Speech on Mars' Hill. (p». 9:8; isa. 
 12: 5) If Paul arrived at Thessalonica 
 about Jtay 1st, a. d. 52, then he could 
 not well have reached Athens before 
 July. His work at Berea was probalily 
 brief, being suddenly cut short, and 
 hence the necessity of Silas and Timo- 
 thy remaining to complete the work. 
 Neither did he tarry long at Athens, 
 for the fieltl was uninviting. Wieseler 
 suggests two weeks. 
 
 10. Athens is said to have been 
 founded by Cecrops and an Egyptian 
 colony, about 1.5.50 B. c, and was called 
 Cecrojiia, but afterwards was named 
 Athens in honor of the he.athen goddess 
 Minerva, whose name in Greek was 
 Athenai. It was the capital of Attica, 
 and the chief seat of Grecian learning 
 and civilization during the golden 
 period of Greek history. It was situ- 
 
276 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 Athens, > his spirit was stirred in him, 
 
 when he saw the city wholly given to 
 
 Ps. 119 : 136 ; 2 Peter 2 : 8. 
 
 ated on the plain of Attica, and the 
 city proper was about three miles from 
 the sea. It had two seaports, Pirteus 
 its principal harbor, and Phalerum, 
 which being nearest to Macedonia may 
 have been the one where Paul lauded. 
 It at length fell into the hands of Rome, 
 when in B. c. 40, with the country of 
 Achaia, it was made a Roman province, 
 and received the privileges of " a free 
 city." (ver. 1.) Its commerce was de- 
 stroyed, but iihilosoj>hy, literature, and 
 art continued to flourish. In the centre 
 of tl»e city was a rocky eminence, about 
 150 feet high, called the Acropolis, and 
 surmounted by many temples, cliief 
 among which was the Parthenon, or 
 temple of the virgin Athene. A little 
 northwest of tiie Acropolis was JILirs' 
 Hill, (ver.-n.) And in the valley, west 
 of the Acropolis and south of Mars' 
 Hill, was the Agora or market, (ver. is.) 
 Other hills and places of interest not 
 mentioned by Luke need not here be 
 noticed. The city was a vast museum 
 of learning, sculpture, and art. In 
 Paul's day four hundred years had 
 elapsed since its golden age ; and 
 although it had experienced a sad de- 
 cline, it was still the intellectual capital 
 of the civilized world, whither swarmed 
 philosophers of ditlerent schools, teach- 
 ers and professors of all kinds of knowl- 
 edge, wealthy strangers, and students 
 for study, from all nations. Philosopliy, 
 however, had degenerated into sophis- 
 try, and while the various schools luid 
 their adherents, they were without 
 great leaders. 
 
 While Paul waited for them at 
 Athens — for Silas and Timothy. Tiiis 
 imjilies that Paul exi)octed tliem soon, 
 aiid that he was not i)ro|)osing to make 
 Athens at tliis time a place of special 
 or prolonged missionary labor. It is 
 also against the suitposition of some 
 (1 Thesj. 3 ;i, -2), that on leaving Berca 
 he had sent Timothy to Tliessaloniea ; 
 for in such a case he would not be ex- 
 pecting him so soon. Tliat Timothy 
 came to Athens, and Paul sent him 
 back to Thessalonica, is improbable on 
 many accounts. So many hundred 
 miles of travel is scarcely probable at 
 
 this time. Besides, Luke relates that 
 Silas and Timothy not long after came 
 to Paul at Corinth. The plain infer 
 ence from the whole narrative is that 
 their coming was the one thing Paul was 
 waiting for at Athens; but that for 
 some reason he did not tarry long 
 enough, but preceded them to Corinth, 
 where they joined him. From 1 Thess. 
 2 : 18; 3 : 1, it appears that Paul had 
 been anxious to visit Thessalonica, and 
 had been hindered twice from doing so. 
 A few weeks before he iiad been com- 
 pelled to flee from that city by night ; 
 and it seems scarcely possible that 
 within that brief period he had been 
 so anxious to return that lie made two 
 attempts and had been twice hindered. 
 Paul's references in his Papistic demand 
 more time, and point to a second visit 
 ^ to Athens which Luke lias not recoi'ded. 
 Such a visit it would be perfectly natu- 
 1 ral to expect, and agrees with what he 
 ' says in 1 Thess. 3 : 1. (see on ver. is.) In- 
 deed, it would rather seem strange if 
 i Paul never revisited Athens, to look 
 after the little band of believers he left 
 there. 
 
 1 His spirit was stirred in him — 
 ' literally, was sharpened. A ahorp edge, 
 ■ as it were, was set on his sj)irit. He 
 was aroKsed into such ardor and zeal 
 j against the heathen darkness and per- 
 ; versity w liich prevailed at Athens, that 
 j he went not only into the Jewish syna- 
 gogue and into private jilaces, but even 
 into the market jilaces, and discoursed 
 ; upon the princijdes of religion. (Vcr. n.) 
 I Paul's soul was filled with various 
 I emotions. To say that he was angry, 
 j provoked, or indignant, expresses too 
 i strongly one side of his feelings. There 
 was also great pity and sorrow, and an 
 eager zeal to do something for the sal- 
 vation of the people. \^ hen he saw 
 the city wholly given to idolatry 
 — rather, When he saw the city full oj 
 idols. Athens was the center of Gre- 
 cian worship, full of teiu])les and 
 altars. Outward show and ritualistic 
 worship flourished alongside of philo- 
 sophical and scholastic wisdom and 
 culture. Pausanias says, " It had more 
 images than all the rest of Greece ; " 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 277 
 
 17 iilolatry. Tlicrefure disputed lie in the 
 synagogue with ttie Jews, and with the 
 devout persons, and in the market daily 
 
 Petronius, satirically, that " it was eas- 
 ier to tind a god than a man there ;" and 
 Livy, that it " was full of images of 
 gods and men, adorned with every 
 variety of material, and with all the 
 skill of art." 
 
 17. Therefore— acting upon the im- 
 pulses of his spirit and in the exercise 
 of his earnest zeal, Paul dispntnl, 
 rather, reasoned and discussed, in a 
 conversational way (aeeoa ver. 2), in the 
 synagogue with the JeAVS and with 
 devuut persons, the Gentiles ivor- 
 shiping in the synagogue, whether full 
 proselytes or not. (Seeon vcr. 4.) And 
 dejiarting from his custom of tirst ex- 
 clusively addressing Jews and devout 
 Gentiles, or Jews first, and on being re- 
 jected by them, to turn to the Gentiles, 
 he went daily into the market 
 place, or Agora, which, in every 
 Greek city, was a genei'al place of 
 meeting and discussion, and reasoned 
 with the Athenians. The market was 
 situated in a valley between four hills, 
 the Acropolis, Mars Hill, the Pnyx, 
 and the Museixm. It was a beautiful 
 sqiuvre, set with trees, surrounded with 
 statues, altars, buildings, porticoes, or 
 colonades, among which were the 
 famous " porches," where philosophers, 
 poets and orators resorted and j^eople 
 of all ranks and classes met to hear 
 and discuss the news. Here Socrates, 
 more than four centuries before, car- 
 ried on his wonderful conversational 
 discussions. And now Paul adopts a 
 similar method of reaching the peojjle ; 
 conversing on the principles of natural 
 and revealed religion with any who 
 perclianee met with him there. In this 
 hand-to-hand conflict with heathenism, 
 he adapted himself to the habits of the 
 
 Eeoj)le, illustrating his saying, " I have 
 ecome all things to all, that I may by 
 all means save some." (1 Cor. 9 : 22.) 
 
 18. Luke relates the contact of Paul 
 with two well-known classes of philoso- 
 phers. Why he says nothing of the 
 more illustrious schools, founded by 
 Plato and Aristotle, has been variously 
 explained : As having less influence at 
 this time ; taking less interest in prac- 
 tical discussions and less frequently 
 
 18 with thcni that met w ith him. Then cer- 
 tain philosophers of the li;i)icureans, and 
 of the Stoics, encountered him. And 
 
 met in the market; and holding doc- 
 trines in smaller contrast with those of 
 Christianity. Paul doubtless met with 
 disciples of these schools, but Luke had 
 no special reason to speak of them ; 
 while he had reason to speak of the 
 Epicureans and Stoics in connection 
 M'ith Paul's memorable address. Then, 
 etc. — rather. And certain also of the 
 A'picnreaii and Stoic philosophers ivere 
 discussing with him. During this dis- 
 cussion such remarks as those that 
 follow were made ; and as a result Paul 
 is taken to ^Mars Hill for an exposition 
 of his views. 2'he Epicureans owed 
 their name to Epicurus, who estab- 
 lished a school of philosophy at 
 Athens in a garden, from which his 
 followers were styled " philosophers of 
 the garden." He died B. C. 270. He 
 held the doctrine that serene enjoyment 
 or pleasure is the chief good. He denied 
 the creation and providential govern- 
 ment of the world. While acknowl- 
 edging the existence of gods, he de- 
 scribed them as indifferent to human 
 affairs. The soul he regarded as ma- 
 terial, and with the body dissolving 
 after death. Epicurus lived a life of 
 great temperance and simplicity, but in 
 Paul's time his philosophy had degen- 
 erated into a gross sensualism, and 
 might be embodied in the sentence, 
 " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow 
 we die." (1 Cm-. 15 : m.) The Stoics were 
 founded by Zeno, who was born in 
 Cyprus, but established a school at 
 Athens, and Avas a contemporary of 
 Epicurus. He taught in a painted 
 Stoa, or porch, which gave the name 
 Stoic to the sect. The Stoics were {pan- 
 theists, holding that God is the soul of 
 the world, and that matter and deity 
 are inseparable. Their highest good 
 they held to be in insensibility to both 
 pleasure and pain. They extolled 
 virtue, aimed at a proud self-denial, an 
 austere indifference to joy and sorrow, 
 and urged men to become masters of 
 circumstances. They condemned the 
 use of images and temples, but in 
 practice justified the polytheism of the 
 age, considering the various gods as de- 
 velopments of the universal world-god. 
 
278 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 some said, What will this babbler say? 
 Other some, He seemeth to be a setter 
 fort h of strange gods : because he preached 
 unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. 
 
 19 And they took him, and brought him 
 unto 'Arcojiagus, saying. May we know 
 what this new doctrine, whereof thou 
 
 20 speakest, is * For thou bringest certain 
 
 They were fatalists ; and providence 
 was but an iron destiny, to which even 
 (jod was subject. The Ei)icurean phi- 
 losophy was rather a favorite with the 
 Greeks ; the Stoic with the Komaus. 
 " In Epicureanism it was man's sensual 
 nature which arrayed itself against the 
 gospel ; in Stoicism it was self-right- 
 eousness and pride of intellect ; and it 
 is difhcult to say whicli of the two sys- 
 tems rendered its votaries tlie more 
 indisposed to embrace the trutli." 
 (Hackett.) The ditierence of these 
 two schools perhaps manifests itself 
 somewhat in the two estimates put 
 upon Paul. The frivolous spirit of the 
 P>picurean might lead him to ask, 
 M hat Avill this babbler say ? liter- 
 ally, (his seed-picker ; one who gathers 
 up and retails 8eraj)S of knowledge 
 without judgment; hence this empty 
 talker. But some of tlie more thought- 
 ful Stoics might think him to he a 
 setter forth of strange gods — 
 divinities foreign and unknown to 
 them. This was the charge upon whicli 
 Socrates was tried and condemned. 
 Paul was misjudged, because he an- 
 nounced the glad tidings of Jesus and 
 the resnrfection. Some suppose 
 they thought that Paul was announcing 
 the Ptcsurrection as a god. But Paul 
 could hardly have been so obscure in 
 liis language as to give such an impres- 
 sion to his hearers. He doubtless spoke 
 of the true God, and of Jesus as the Son 
 of God. (vor. 54. SI.) lu referring to the 
 resurrection of .Testis some of liis hearers 
 may have riglitly inferred his divinity 
 from that event. The true God and his 
 Son Jesus Christ were new and strange 
 to them. 
 
 19. And they took him — taking 
 hold of him, not violently, Irat in a 
 friendly manner, such as taking him 
 by thehand. So Barnabas took hold 
 of Saul of Tarsus and brought him to 
 the apostles ('e« 9: r), where the same 
 verb is used. The supposition that he 
 was arrested (i« ; is), even in mockery, 
 is against the general spirit of the nar- 
 
 rative. For we have the courteous 
 wisli and the polite request in this and 
 tlie next verse. Then ver. 21 indietitis 
 that it was curiosity that occasiomd 
 their desire to hear Paul. Moreover, 
 Paul's address is not a defence, and 
 finally he departs without molestation, 
 or tlie least sign of any judicial juo- 
 cess. And brought him unto Are- 
 opagus, or upon the top of the Kill 
 of Mars. The word is the same astliat 
 translated Mars' Hill in ver. 22. (See 
 oDTcr. 16.) This was the name of the 
 hill as well as of the highest court of 
 ancient Athens which held its sittings 
 there. The hill took its name from 
 Mars, the god of war, who according 
 to a tradition was brought to trial there 
 by the gods for murder. It is a ridge 
 of limestone rock about fifty or sixty 
 feet above the valley below. The meet- 
 ings were held on the southeastern 
 summit of the rock. There are stiil 
 sixteen stone steps, cut in the rock, 
 leading up to the hilltop, from tlie 
 valley of the Agora or Market below. 
 Immediately above the steps, on the 
 level of the hill, are benches of stone, 
 forming three sides of a quadrangle, 
 facing the south. Here the Areopagites, 
 composed of the most distinguished 
 men of Athens, were accustomed to sit 
 as judges in the open air. The pliilos- 
 ophers who conducted Paul to this 
 famous sjjot probably took their seats 
 on tlie stone benches while the multi- 
 tude stood upon the steps and in tlie 
 valley below. May we know — a very 
 courteous request, characteristic of 
 Athenian politeness. What this new 
 doctriue, or teaching is, of which thou 
 talkest in the market? They wish to 
 know the principles, sentiments, and 
 truths taught by him ; and the word 
 teaching is used here in this general 
 sense. 
 
 20. For thou bringest stranga 
 — surprising or startling things to our 
 ears. This states their reason for 
 asking the preceding question, and for 
 eipressing the wish that follows. We 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 '■strange things to our cars: we would 
 
 know therefore what these things mean. 
 
 21 For all the Athenians and strangers 
 
 which were there « spent their time in 
 
 nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear 
 some new thing. 
 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' 
 Hill, and said. Ye men of Athens, I per- 
 
 •> Hosea 8 : 12. « 2 Tim. 2 : IG, 17. 
 
 would know therefore what these 
 things mean — tvhat they may be, as- 
 suming that there was something in 
 Paul's teaching worthy to be heard 
 and considered by them. (See 2: 12.) 
 This is not to be taken as ironical in 
 tlie mouths of these self-righteous and 
 self-conceited philosophers, but rather 
 as a courteous and complimentary 
 method of address. 
 
 21. Luke explains the readiness and 
 even eagerness of the Athenians to 
 hear concerning this new teaching and 
 these startling things, (ver. 19, jo.) His 
 statement agrees with the known 
 character of the Athenians at this 
 period of their history. Now all 
 Athenians (omitting the article). 
 The expression is strong, jtointing to a 
 universal characteristic of the Athen- 
 ians. And strangers which Avere 
 there — sojourning there. The nobility 
 and wealthy of Italy and of most other 
 countries sent their sons to Athens for 
 purposes of education, and many others 
 resorted thither for study. Spent 
 their time, or leisure, in nothing 
 else, but either to tell or to hear 
 some new thing — literally, some- 
 thing newer, the latest news. " New 
 things were ever losing their interest ; 
 newer things were sought for." (Ben- 
 gel.) This is in harmony with the 
 testimony of ancient writers. " Demos- 
 thenes rebukes this insatiable crav- 
 ing of the Athenians after news in the 
 following terms : ' Tell me whether 
 going up and down the market place 
 and asking each other, ' Is there any 
 news,' is the business of your life.' " 
 (HOWSON AND SPENCE.) 
 
 23. The Address. In this speech 
 Paul shows his wonderful power as an 
 orator, in skillfully adapting himself 
 to his audience. To the heathen he 
 becomes as a heathen. The Scriptures, 
 the long-expected Messiah, and the 
 true God are unknown to them. Be- 
 fore he can announce Jesus to them he 
 must present a true conception of God. 
 And tnis he does by starting with facts 
 
 and truths which they them.selves 
 acknowledge. The nature and attri- 
 butes of God as an all-sufficient Creator 
 of the world, the Preserver of creatures 
 and Governor of mankind, are incon- 
 sistent with idolatry. Having thus in- 
 troduced to them the true God, he 
 preached repentance, the judgment, 
 Jesus (whom he does not yet name), 
 and the resurrection. He is inter- 
 rupted. We probably have but the 
 outlines of his address. His adroitness, 
 and his conciliatory tone held the ears 
 of the Athenians until he announced to 
 them the gospel, which he was about 
 to unfold more fully. The wonder is 
 not that he was interrupted so soon but, 
 as Dr. Hackett remarks, "that he 
 could command their attention so long 
 while he bore down with such efl'cct 
 on their favorite opinions and ]>reju- 
 dices, exposed their error, and arraigned 
 them as guilty of the grossest incon- 
 sistency, and absurdity of conduct." 
 The report of this speech and of the 
 result that followed was probably 
 written by Paul himself. 
 
 And Paul standing in the midst, 
 of Mars' Hill — in the open air. (See on 
 ver. 19.) The phrase -in the midst, etc., 
 could mean either the place, or the 
 court of the Areopagus. That he was 
 taken upon tlie hill seems evident from 
 ver. 19. That some of the Areopagites 
 were present may be inferred from ver, 
 34. Here in the midst of the rocky 
 platform, with his audience seated on 
 the stone benches of the judges and 
 standing on the steps and in the vacant 
 spaces around him, Paul stands the 
 representative and proclaimer of the 
 religion of the future. Here in the 
 centre of Athens, with its statues, 
 altars, and temples around him he 
 could well saj', the city was " full of 
 idols," and sound the knell of the 
 dying religions of the ])ast. Ye men 
 of Athens, or Athenian men; a com- 
 mon form of honorable address, used 
 by Demosthenes and other orators in 
 Athens. Too superstitious — liter- 
 
280 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 ceive that in all things ye are * too super- this inscription, To thk unknowv God. 
 
 23 stitious. For as I passed by, and beheld 24 Whotn therefore ye ignoranlly woisliip. 
 
 your « devotions, 1 found an altar with | hiiu declare 1 uuto you. f God that made 
 
 4 Jor. 50 : 38. 
 
 ' 2 Thess. 2 : 4. 
 
 ally, more divinity-fearing, or demon- 
 fearing than the rest of the Greeks. 
 The word is used in a good sense, 
 according to Paul's manner of begin- 
 ning with gentle words, when he was 
 about to blame. He would first secure 
 the attention and good-will of his 
 audience. The word may be fully 
 translated, more reverential to the gods, 
 or very religious. Tlie Improved Bible 
 Union version translates, that ye are 
 very much given to the worship of divin- 
 ities. This accords with the testimony 
 of ancient writers. Thus Josephus 
 says that the Athenians were the most 
 religious of the Greeks (Against 
 Apion). Xenophon relates that in 
 comparison with other peoples they 
 observed twice the number of festivals ; 
 and Sophocles sj^eaks of their surpass- 
 ing all the world in the honor they 
 oti'ered to the gods. Paul thus in an 
 incidental and masterly way notices a 
 distinction of whicli they were natur- 
 ally proud. 
 
 23. For as I passed by, etc. — 
 for passing through your city aiid 
 closely observing (not your devotions 
 but) your objects of worship, such as 
 altars, statues, temples, etc., J found 
 an altar with this inscription, To 
 the Unknown God. Paul appeals to 
 fact. It is certain from this passage 
 that there was at least one such altar at 
 Athens. And there may have been 
 more. Pausanias, who wrote before 
 A. D. ISO, and Philostratus, who wrote 
 A. D. 24-1, both speak of "altars of 
 xinknown gods " existing at Athens, 
 ]m)bably meaning that there were sev- 
 eral altars inscril)ed to an nnknou'n 
 god, a natural use of the plural when 
 applied to them collectively. And 
 Diogenes Laertius speaks of "altars 
 without name " in Athens. He ac- 
 counts for them in this way : " When 
 the Athenians, at one time, were suffer- 
 ing from pestilence, Epimenides puri- 
 fied the city, and restrained the plague 
 thus: he took sheep of lilack and white 
 rieeces, led them to the Areo])agus, and 
 allowed them to go from it whitherso- 
 
 ever they pleased ; instructing those 
 who followed them to sacrifice each 
 sheep wherever it lay down, to the 
 2)ropergod : and thus the ])lague ceased. 
 Accordingly, from that time, and 
 to-da)', it is certain that altuis without 
 a name are found throughout the 
 Athenian districts." Also there were 
 in Phalerum, one of the harbors of 
 Athens, " altars of gods called unknown 
 and of heroes." (Quoted from Bengel.) 
 The real origin of such altars is mos< 
 naturally traced to tliat feeling of un- 
 certainty, that unsatisfied desire, and 
 that conscious feeling of ignorance of 
 divine realities, wliich were character- 
 istic of heathenism. The Athenians, 
 that they might neglect uo divinity, 
 erected altars, not only to all the 
 heathen gods known among them, but 
 also to any one that perhaps miglit be 
 unknown to tliem. » horn there- 
 fore, etc. Accoiding to the latest 
 critical authorities this should read, 
 What therefore ye worship unknow- 
 ingly, that J declare unto you. Notice 
 how I'aul uses a word similar to the 
 inscription on their altar. What ye 
 worship, some unknown divine power, 
 thus not referring directly to Jehovah. 
 It was some abstract and undefined 
 Being or Power that they thus wor- 
 shiped, and under this indefinite des- 
 ignation he would make known to 
 them the living and true God. Jeho- 
 vah was vnl.nown to them, althougli 
 their unknown was not Jehovah. Yet 
 their altar was a confession of their 
 ignorance of him. 
 
 24. Paul at once presents God as 
 tlie Creator of the universe and differ- 
 ent from the false gods of the heathen. 
 His audience, especially the Stoics, 
 would admit tlie existence of a Supreme 
 Being, and he endeavors to lead them 
 into a proper concejition of him by way 
 of contrast. He is unlike their gods, 
 " not dwelling in temples made with 
 hands," and this he argues from tlie 
 fact that he is Lord of heaven and 
 earth. He is an active, intelligent 
 being, presiding over his works, and 
 
Oh. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 281 
 
 the world and all things therein, seeing 
 that he is s Lord of heaven auil earth, 
 •'.dwellelh not in temples made with hands; 
 25 neither is worshipped with men's hands, 
 ' as though he needed any thing, seeing 
 
 khe giveth to alt lifp, and hreath.and all 
 26 things ; and ' hath made of one hlood all 
 nations of men for to dwell on all the 
 fare of the earth, '" and hath determined 
 the times before appointed, and the 
 
 « Matt. 11 : 25. i> ch. 7 : 48 ; 1 Kings 8 : 27. i Job 22 : 2. k Num. 16 : 22 ; Joh 12 : 10 ; 
 Isa. 42 : 5 . Zech. 12 : 1. » Gen. 3 : 20; Mai. 2 : 10. ■» Deut. 32 : 7, 8; Job 14 : 5. 
 
 thus not the idle being of the Epicu- 
 reans in huiuiin form, nor the mere 
 .soul of tlie world, as the Stoics taught. 
 Notice how he falls into the phrase- 
 olo^'y of the Old Testament. God that 
 made the world, etc. (Seeisa. 4>:5.) 
 Stier's remark, is pertinent here : " Only 
 on the firm foundation of the Old Testa- 
 ment doctrine of Creation can we rightly 
 huild the New Testament doctrine of 
 E.edemption." Thus Paul rightly begins 
 at the foundation and first announces 
 the one only God as Creator, before he 
 preaches Christ as the Redeemer. In 
 the words dwelleth not in temples 
 made with hands there seems to be 
 a reminiscence of Stephen's words, 
 which Paul heard himself. (7 : 47, 48, 58.) 
 God's spiritttality is implied, but 
 brought out more fully in ver. 30. 
 
 25. Paul further presents God as 
 independent of all his creatures, self- 
 sufficient and the Bestower of life and 
 all things. Neither is worshipped, 
 etc. — ratlier. Neither is minitstered to by 
 men's hands, or, according to many 
 manuscripts, bi/ human hands. Here 
 there is another point of contrast. The 
 heatlien brought offerings of food and 
 drink to their gods, under the super- 
 stitious belief that they consumed 
 them, and other costly gifts, which 
 services they regarded as meritorious 
 and laying the gods under obligation 
 to tliem. But Paul argues that the 
 Lord of all, the Giver of life to all 
 and of breath and of all things 
 needed for the support and preserva- 
 tion of his creatures, cannot be depend- 
 ent on them. Instead of our minister- 
 ing to the necessities of God, he min- 
 isters to our necessities. The fact that 
 all things come from him makes it evi- 
 dent that we can really give nothing to 
 
 him. (l Chron. 29 : 14.) 
 
 26. Paul asserts the unity of the 
 race, God the Maker of all mankind, 
 and his providential government over 
 men. And hath made of one 
 
 blood all nations of men— or, ^>!(Z 
 
 made of one every iH(lio)i of men, 
 blood not being found in many of the 
 oldest manuscripts, and omitted by tlie 
 majority of the latest critics. Meyer, 
 however, would retain the word, believ- 
 ing that it was inadvertently dro])ped 
 by copyists. The clause may also be 
 rendered. And has caused every na- 
 tion (sprung) from one blood to dwell, 
 etc. The former, however, is the more 
 general rendering and seems to be much 
 preferable, as the more natural and 
 simpler construction. In the omission 
 of blood some see a reference to the 
 divine origin of men, being tlie ofi- 
 spring of God (ver. 28), but Paul had not 
 reached that tliought in his discourse. 
 The idea is that the race descended 
 from one parent, whether we read, 
 made of one blood, or simply, made of 
 one. This ran counter to the views of 
 heathenism, and the pride of the 
 Athenians, who held that the nations 
 had each their own origin, and each 
 under the protection of some deity. 
 They were proud of their race, as s]?rung 
 from the soil of Attica, and different 
 from other people. The belief that all 
 sprang from one common parent would 
 tend to correct the idea of many gods, 
 and aid in accepting the trutli of one 
 
 God. (Seel Kings 20: 23, 28.) To dwell — 
 
 that they should settle on all the face 
 of the earth. God has given to the 
 different nations their abode, (dlui. 32 .- s ; 
 Is. 115 : 16.) And hath determined the 
 times before appointed, rather, ac- 
 cording to the most approved reading, 
 And hath determined their appoint fed 
 times, or seaso7is, and the bounds of 
 their habitation. The providential 
 government of God is liere as.serted. 
 God has fixed the appointed eras in the 
 life of nations, both as to their pros- 
 perity and their continuance, and pre- 
 scribed the extent of their territory. 
 The Athenians are thus reminded that 
 to God they owe their favored abode 
 
282 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 27 bouuds of their habitation ; » that they 28 not far from every one of us. For Pin 
 should seek the Lord, if haply they might him we live, ancl move, and have our 
 feel after him, and find him, "though he be | being; las certain also oi your own poets 
 
 » ch. 15 : 17, • ch. 14 : 17 ; Ps. 139 : 1-13 ; Jer. 23 : 23, 24. P Job 12 : 10 ; Pa. 36 : 9 ; G6 : 9 : 
 Heb. 1:3. <i Titua 1 : 12. 
 
 and the glories of their history — a 
 warning to their pride and an incentive 
 to their gratitude. (iCor.4:7.) This 
 doctrine of God's providence was op- 
 posed to Stoic fate and Epicurean 
 chance. 
 
 Paul's reference to the unity of the 
 race coincides with his teachings in 
 
 his Epistles. (Rom. 5 : 1215 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 21, « ; 
 
 1 Tim. 2: 13.) This qucstiou transcends 
 profane history, and aside from the 
 Scriptures cannot be absolutely settled. 
 But Comparative Philology and Com- 
 parative Physiology tend to confirm 
 the history and doctrine in the Sacred 
 llecord. 
 
 27. The design of this providential 
 goodness of God is, That they should 
 seek the Lord — rather, seek God, ac- 
 cording to the most approved text, (see 
 Horn. 1:4.) "The great thought of the 
 j)assage is simply : God the Author, 
 the Governor and the £nd of the 
 world's history, from God, through 
 God, <o God." "(Meyer.) If haply- 
 implying possibility, but not very 
 likely to happen. If possibly they 
 might feel alter him, thattheymnjrA< 
 (/rope after him as in the dark, seeking 
 after tokens and indications of God, 
 and thus actually find him, attaining 
 a knowledge of him and of their obli- 
 gation to him. We have here a vivid 
 picture of the heathen world without 
 a written revelation, with light enough 
 to point them up to God, and to render \ 
 them without excuse, (see ou io:34, 35; ' 
 Kom. 1 : is-21.) Though indeed he is j 
 not far from every one of us — that 1 
 is, he is very near to us, and, therefore, 
 it should not be hard to find him. In j 
 not having found him, the spiritual | 
 blindness, darkness, and ignorance of j 
 heathenism are strongly implied. The | 
 omnipresence of God is also brought to 1 
 view. 
 
 28. This nearness of God to us Paul j 
 further explains. It is not merely ex- 1 
 ternal, but it permeates our whole be- j 
 ing, and is connected with our whole 
 existence. For in him we live and | 
 
 move and have our being, or exfs^ 
 
 Our existence, our activities and all 
 the powers in continuing to live, are 
 dependent on God, and are to be 
 traced to God as the source and the 
 verj^ atmosphere of our being. We are 
 surrounded and sustained by the Om- 
 nipresent God. (SeeEph. 1 :10; Col. 1: 17; 
 Heb. 1:3.) It is uot far, therefore, to 
 seek and find him. (ver. 27.) Panthe- 
 ism makes God all, and all God ; but 
 Paul presents God who is over, above 
 and outside of all his creatures, and 
 upon whom all are dependent. This 
 great truth, Paul reminds his auditora, 
 is an acknowledged one, and accords 
 with the utterances of their own wiit- 
 ei-s: As certain also of your own 
 poets have said. For Ave are also 
 his offspring. Notice that while to 
 a Jewish audience Paul would quote 
 the Old Testament (i3:i6-23), he here 
 quotes from heathen poets, an authority 
 which his heathen hearei-s would likely 
 accept. The quotation is found in two 
 poets. Aratus, who lived about B. c. 
 270, a native of i'ilicia, Paul's native 
 province, and perhaps of Tarsus, says 
 in one of his two poems that have conie 
 down to us : " For we, too, are his off- 
 spring." Cleanthes, who lived about 
 B. C. 300, a native of Assos in Troas, 
 uses substantially the same words in a 
 hymn to Jupiter. Philosophers, like 
 Plato and Plutarch, had also recognized 
 the same truth. Paul elsewhere quotes 
 from Menander (1 cor. i5:3*), and from 
 Epimenides. (Titus 1 : 12.) Too much, 
 however, must not be inferred from 
 these regarding Paul's Greek learning 
 and acquaintance with Greek liter- 
 ature. Tliese quotations may have been 
 used as proverbial sayings. Yet it 
 must be remembered that Tarsus ranked 
 with Athens and Alexandria as centres 
 of Greek thought and knowledge. It 
 was the place of illustrious teacher.*;, 
 among whom the Stoics were promi- 
 nent, and Aratus, whom Paul quotes, 
 represented the Stoic school of philos- 
 ophy. In early life Paul was brought 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 283 
 
 have said. For we are also his offspring. 
 
 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring 
 
 of God, ' we ought not to think that the 
 
 Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or 
 
 stone, graven by art and man's device. 
 
 30 And ' the times of this ignorance God 
 winked at ; but ' now commaudeth all 
 
 31 men every where to repent: because he 
 
 Ps. 115 : 4-8 ; Isa. 46 : 5-7 ; Hab. 2 : 19, 20. • ch. 14 : 16 ; Bom. 3 : 25. t Luke 24 ; 47. 
 
 in contact with these Grecian influ- 
 ences, and doubtless at school read 
 somewhat from Greek books. After 
 his conversion, while residing a few 
 years at Tarsus (9:30; u :25), looking 
 forward to more extended Gentile work, 
 he very likely gave attention to those 
 things which he would meet among 
 Gentiles, and may have extended his 
 reading among Greek authors. Then, 
 if not before, he may have read Aratus, 
 who was very popular, es])ecially in 
 Cilicia. 
 
 29. Forasmuch then as we are 
 the ofl'spring of God — starting then 
 with this truth which all would ac- 
 knowledge, he turns his argument 
 against idolatry. And how skillfully 
 he does it. That he may not repel his 
 hearers he classes himself among them, 
 using the yirs;; person plural. Thus to 
 those not under law he became as one 
 not under law. (i cor. 9 : 20.) We ought 
 not to think that the Godhead, 
 or the Deity, who is our Autlior and 
 Parent, is like unto gold, or silver, 
 or stone, graven or carved by art 
 and man's device, the thoughts and 
 ingenuity of man. Man is not like 
 gold, etc. ; much less is God. To 
 suppose this of God is to degrade our- 
 selves, the offspring of God. Com- 
 pare the similar argument against 
 idolatry in Ps. 115 : 8 and Isa. 46 : 5-7. 
 The same argument applies against the 
 Romish use of images to bring God 
 near the soul through the imagination, 
 God is a spirit, and his relationship to 
 us is principally spiritual ; and spirit 
 cannot be pictured forth in matter. 
 (John 4: 21-24.) " This is equally true of 
 art representations of Christ, since 
 what IS adorable in him is not the 
 Heshly form (j Cor. 5 : 16), but the inward 
 impalpable spirit." (Abbott.) 
 
 30. Paul's address implied that the 
 heathen were in a state of spiritual 
 ignorance and degradation. He now 
 turns to salvation and the claims of the 
 gospel. And the times of this 
 ignorance — strange and bold lan- 
 
 guage to a people who prided them* 
 selves in wisdom. Yet the Athenians 
 had confessed it in that inscription on 
 the altar. The world by wisdom knew 
 not God. (1 Cor. 1 : 21.) God winked 
 at — an incorrect translation ; rather, 
 God therefore having overlooked. The 
 idea is similar to that in 14 : 16, " Who 
 in ages past, suffered all nations to walk 
 in their own ways." God had fore- 
 borne with the lieathen. While with- 
 holding special revelations and special 
 messengers, as to the Jewish people, he 
 had also withheld deserved j)unish- 
 ment. (Rom. 3 : 2j.) He left them to the 
 light of nature and the promptings of 
 their own consciences ; and with what 
 terrible results are described in Rom. 
 1 : 24, 25. While it is true, as Alford 
 says, that in tlie word overlooked, there 
 may " lie treasures of mercy for those 
 who lived in the times of ignorance," 
 especially such as Cornelius, who were 
 devoutly seeking after God (io:S4, 35), 
 yet the word docs not mean, as Hackett 
 remarks, " that God would not judge 
 or punish the heathen for the sins com- 
 mitted in their state of idolatry," which 
 " would be at variance with Paul's 
 theology on the subject as he has un- 
 folded it in Rom. 1 : 20; 2 : 11, f," 
 But now — those times of for1)earance 
 are past, and God by his revelations 
 and his messengers, of whom Paul him- 
 self was one, commandeth all men 
 everyAvhere to repent, to turn to 
 him from their evil practices, with 
 change of heart and reformation of life. 
 Compare the same truth less positively 
 stated in 11 : IS. It is implied that 
 punishment will not longer be with- 
 held, and that the violation of the com- 
 mand will not be without its penalty. 
 
 31. Inasmuch as he hath ap- 
 pointed a day in the which he 
 will judge the world in righteous- 
 ness — a reas«» why all should repent, 
 Paul's reference to the judgment was 
 apt and solemn on Mars' Hill, where 
 the Areopagus held its sessions, and 
 judicial sentences were announced. 
 
284 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVII. 
 
 li:itlia}i])ointc<l a day, in the whitli"hewill 
 judge the world in righteousness by tkat 
 )uan whom he hath ordained ; uherKof he 
 hatli given assurance unto all men, in 
 that ^ he hath raised him from the dead. 
 32 And when they heard of the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead, some mocked : and others 
 
 said, We will hear thee again of this 
 3.3 inatter. So Paul dei)arled from among 
 34 them. Howbcit certain men clave unto 
 hiiu, and believed: among the which uas 
 I)ionysiusy the Areopagite, and a woman 
 named L>amaris, and others with them. 
 
 " ch. 10 : 4'2 ; Matt. 2j : 31-4G ; John 5 : 22, 23 ; Uom. 2 : 10 ; 14 •. 10 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 10. 
 24; 1 Peter 1 : 3. J ver. 19. 
 
 Notice how imbued was Paul's mind 
 with God's word, in that he uses the 
 hinguage of Ps. 9:9," Hg shall judge 
 the world in righteousness." Eight- 
 eousness will he, as it were, the moral 
 tdement in wliich the judgment will 
 take place. By that man whom he 
 hath ordained — literally, la a man, 
 that is, in the jjcrson of the man irliuiii 
 he appointed for that purpose, unknown 
 to them, but whom he is about to make 
 known. 3Iaii is made einphatic and 
 definite hy the clause that follows. Con- 
 cerning the man ("hrist Jesus, as judge, 
 see on 10:42; John 5:23-29. Paul 
 says nothing of his divine nature, for 
 that might have been misunderstood by 
 his Athenian audience, who jnight con- 
 ceive hira to be a deified Jewish hero. 
 Whereof he hath given assurance 
 — the evidence and ground of faith to 
 all by raimnff him from the dead. The 
 resurrection is made the proof of liis 
 divine office and of his claims upon all 
 men. (SeeR..m. i: 4.) All men therefore 
 should believe and oliey. This was evi- 
 dently not designed as the conclusion 
 of Paul's address ; but his discourse is 
 here interru]5ted, and abruptly brought 
 to a close. What further he intended 
 to say can only be a matter of con- 
 jecture. Perhaps he would have 
 developed the doctrine of a general 
 resurrection and a general judgment. 
 Probal)ly he would have introduced 
 Jesus more fully to his audience, as the 
 Author of eternal life and the Saviour 
 of men. 
 
 32. Paul had not mentioned the 
 name Jesus, and had pushed off 
 toward the end of his address the idea 
 of a resurrection, which he knew would 
 be offensive to his philosophical hearers. 
 So in his address to the Jews (21 ; 21) he 
 jnishes the word Gentile toward the 
 clo.se. The resurrection. Paul had 
 spoken of the resurrection of Jesus, 
 but his hearers naturally infer that he 
 
 held to the doctrine of the resurrection 
 of all men. Some mocked — inter- 
 rupting him ^\ith loud, deriding, jest- 
 ing wonls. Tlie doctrine of a resur- 
 rection f'roni the dead was regarded by 
 the Greeksas grossly absurd. Others, 
 more jiolite, and perhaps of a more 
 serious turn of mind, said, M'e will 
 hear thee coneeming this yet arjain. 
 Had not Paul been interrupted by the 
 mockers, they would have listened 
 further, Init under the circumstances 
 tlu-y cuiK'lu<le to defer consideration 
 until another interview, which proh- 
 al>ly never occurred. Perhaps some ofj 
 the gay I'>i>icureans were the leaders of 
 the former, and some of the graver 
 Stoics of tlie latter. (See24 : k.) 
 
 33. So — tlius derided l>y some and 
 treated with indifi'erence by others, 
 Paul went out from among them. 
 The manner of Ids going forth indicates 
 that he was neither under trial, nor 
 under any jiersonal restraint whatever. 
 He appears to have aroused neither 
 special opjiosition nor special interest. 
 
 34. HoAvbeit — rather, But, con- 
 trasting the api>arently fruitless effort 
 on liars' Hill with the more favorable 
 results of his ])rief labors at Athens. 
 Certain men clave unto him — 
 joined ihemaelrex to him; becoming 
 associated with him, believed in the 
 doctrine preached and in Jesus Christ. 
 Tliis involved miu'h sacrifice amid the 
 mocki'ry, pride, and worldly wisdom of 
 the people. One of the converts was 
 D ion y sins, an eminent citizen of 
 Athens, since he Mas an Areopagite, 
 one of the judges of the Areopagus, that 
 most august tribunal of ancient Greece. 
 Paul would very naturally select him 
 to look after the little company of be- 
 lievers, who may also have chosen him 
 as pastor. There is a tradition to that 
 effect ; also that he suffered martyrdom. 
 The writings attributed to him are spu- 
 rious, and of later date. And a Avoman 
 
Ch. XVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 285 
 
 named Damaris — nothing more is 
 known of her. The fact that slie is 
 named may indicate her as prominent, 
 intinential, or well known. The way 
 she is mentioned in the original is 
 against the snpposition of some, that 
 she was the wife of Diony.sius. 
 
 It is common to speak of Paul's min- 
 istry at Athens as a failure. But was 
 it a failure ? It is true that he found 
 tields for longer and more successful 
 labor in the commercial cities of Tlies- 
 saloniea and C'oriiitli. l>ut surely the 
 gathering of a small company of con- 
 verts, some of them eminent, during his 
 brief tarrying at Athens, was in no 
 sense a failure. The little church gath- 
 eered there in this, and perhaps a sub- 
 sequent visit, continued, and afforded 
 in the second and third centuries mar- 
 tyrs and defenders of Christianity. His 
 inrtuence continued, and became ijisep- 
 arably connected with Athens. No one 
 visits that city without thinking of 
 Paul; the influence of liis address is 
 world-wide. The accomj)lished Longi- 
 nus, born in the third century at 
 Athens, not a Christian, but a teacher 
 of the Platonic philosophy, uses this 
 remarkable language in a fragment of 
 one of his critical treatises : " The 
 crowning Hower of Helenic genius and 
 eloquence is to be fouml in Demosthenes, 
 Lysias, .Eschines, Aristides, Zimarchus, 
 Isocrates, Xenophon — to these I wouhl 
 add Paul of Tarsus." This would in- 
 dicate that the discourse of Paul had 
 become one of the traditions of Athe- 
 nian eloquence, and that Longinus re- 
 garded him as wortliy to stand with the 
 great masters of the Bema. 
 
 In the ancient world were two dis- 
 tinct civilizations, one the result of 
 human philoso})hy, the other of a divine 
 revelation ; the former having its chief 
 centre at Athens, the latter at .Jerusa- 
 lem. This one, elevated above idolatry, 
 jiresented a purity of morality une- 
 qualed in the ancient world ; that one, 
 debased in views of God and practices 
 of worship, presented amid relinenient 
 of philosophy, poetry and art, a beastly 
 immorality in social and private life. 
 The leaders at Jerusalem prided them- 
 selves in their own righteousness; the 
 leaders at Athens in their wisdom. 
 Paul met them both, and with little 
 
 success. The preacning of Christ to tlie 
 former was " a stumbliug-l)lock ; " to 
 tiie latter, " foolishness." But to mul- 
 titudes of others, connected with the 
 JewisJi and Gentile world, who heard 
 with attention and believed, " Christ 
 became tlie power of God and the 
 wisdom of God." (i Cor. i : •:i--ii.) 
 
 PR.iCTicAL Remarks. 
 
 1. Opposition to the truth in one place 
 should not deter the ser-vant of God from 
 proclaiming it in other places. (Ver. 1, 10, 
 15 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 1, 2.) 
 
 2. The Scriptures contain in themselves 
 the proofs of Christianity. (Ver. 2 ; Gen. 
 49 : 10 : Isa. 11 : 1, 10 ; Dan. 9 : 24-27 ; Micah 
 5:2.) 
 
 3. The sufferings and resurrection of Christ 
 are essential to gospel preaching. (Ver. 3 ; 
 Isa. 53 : 1-12 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 13, 14.) 
 
 4. " Grace does not give the preference to 
 persons in high stations, but neither does it 
 repel them." (Stakkh.) (Ver. 4 ; 1 Cor. 
 1 : 26-28.) 
 
 5. Hatred of the gospel, and envy at its 
 success, begets prejudice, lawlessness, and 
 vile opposition. (Ver. 5, 13 ; 14 : 2-6.) 
 
 6. The gospel is subversive. It turns the 
 world right side up, because it is upside 
 down. (Ver. 6 ; Hag. 2:7; Mai. 4:6; Luke 
 1-17.) 
 
 7. Christ is a King, but his kingdom is not 
 of this world. There should be no friction 
 between him and Ciesar. (Ver. 7; Matt. 
 22 : 21 ; Rom. 13 : 1, f.) 
 
 8. The gospel is a troubler of the hearts 
 and lives of wicked men. (Ver. 8 ; Matt. 
 2:3; John 16 : 8.) 
 
 9. Wicked men often wish to take pledges 
 of the go«pel, but are unwilling to give 
 pledges to the gospel. (Ver. 9 ; John 6 : 30 ; 
 5 : 40.) 
 
 10. We may change places of Christian 
 labor, but we shall find conflict with evil 
 wherever we are. (Ver. 1, 10 ; 20 : 23.) 
 
 11. To seek to know the truth, whether it 
 accords with previous opinions or not, is a 
 mark of true nobleness of mind. God's word 
 is the standard for both preachers and 
 churches. (Ver 11 ; Isa. 8 : 20.) 
 
 12. The Scriptures, honestly investigated, 
 lead to Christ. (Ver. 11, 12 ; John 5 : 39 ; 
 Rom. 15 : 4.) 
 
 13. Women were specially useful in the 
 
286 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVIII. 
 
 JIaccdonian churches. (Ver. 4, 12 ; 16 : 40 ; 
 Phil. 4 : 2, 3.) 
 
 14. The deep wickedness of the heart is 
 often manifested, not only in rejecting 
 Christ, but also in preventing others from re- 
 ceiving him. (Ver. 13 ; Luke 11 : 52.) 
 
 15. The perseverance of Paul as a preacher 
 is worthy of imitation. (Ver. 14, 15 ; 26 : 20; 
 Rom. 15 : 18, 19.) 
 
 16. Amid the vrealth and splendor of the 
 city, the large amount of degradation and 
 spiritual desolation should arousa Christian 
 zeal aud activity. (Ver. 16, 17 ; 1 Thess. 
 2 : 9-12.) 
 
 17. In order to the highest success we 
 should bear the gospel to the very homes 
 and marts of men. (Ver. 17 ; 20 : 20 ; Luke 
 14 : 2:j.) 
 
 18. Culture, formalism, and ritualism often 
 go together. (Ver. 16-18 ; Luke 18 : 11, 12.) 
 
 19. Human philosophy without true reli- 
 gion is darkness and folly. (Ver. 18, 32; 
 Rom. 1 : 22 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 20.) 
 
 20. Intellectual pride and self-righteous- 
 ness are ever opposed to Christ «nd the 
 gospel. (Ver. 17, 18.) 
 
 21. If curiosity seeks only amusement and 
 novelty, it is most hurtful ; but if it is 
 turned toward truth, instruction, and a new 
 h<!art, it yields most happy results. (Ver. 
 19-21 ; Luke 23 : 8 ; John 12 : 21.) 
 
 22. While holding fast to the truths of the 
 go.spel, the preacher .should adapt himself 
 and his words to his hearers. (Ver. 22 ; Prov. 
 11 : 30.) 
 
 23. Through forty cent urios the world by 
 its wisdom faik-"! to discover the true God. 
 (Ver. 23 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 21 ; 1 John 5 : 10.) 
 
 24. God is a supreme and omnipresent 
 Sovereign. (Ver. 24 ; Isa. 4.5 : 18 ; 57 : 1."..) 
 
 2.5. God is independent and has all suffi- 
 ciency in himself (Ver, 25; Ps. 50 : 1, 
 7-15.) 
 
 26. " The unity of the human race is a Gri-i 
 truth both of revelation and of the gospel 
 system. It accounts for their oneness of 
 character, for their common need of a 
 Saviour, and their common relations to him. 
 In it is the foundation of society, and the 
 source of all equal and reciprocal rights be- 
 tween individuals and nations." (I. P. 
 Warren.) (Ver. 26 ; Rom. 5 : 12.) 
 
 27. The great object and end of life is to 
 seek and know God. (Ver. 27 ; John 17 : 3 ; 
 Phil. 3 : 8-11.) 
 
 28. God alone is sell-existent. All life is 
 from him and through him. (Ver. 28.) 
 
 29. God is spiritual in his essence and 
 nature, with which all forms of idolatry 
 are inconsistent. (Ver. 29 ; John 4 : 24; Isa. 
 40 : 25-28.) 
 
 30. The coming of Christ was the turning 
 point in the history of our race. (Ver. 30 ; 
 Gal. 4:4; Heb. 1: i, 2.) 
 
 31. To know that all men everywhere may 
 and can repent is indeed glad tidings to a 
 guilty world. (Ver. 30 ; Mark 1 : 14, 15.) 
 
 32. The resurrection of Christ makes cer- 
 tain a future judgiiif-nt. (Ver. 31 ; 2 Cor. 
 4: 10; Rom. 2 : 6-11.) 
 
 33. Rejecters of the gospel are mostly of 
 two classes, mockers and postponers. There 
 is a point when the preacher can well desist 
 from further effort for the salvation of his 
 hearers. (Ver. 32, 33 ; John 8 : 21 ; 12 : 36-40.) 
 
 34. God's word does not return to him 
 void. The preacher labors not in vain. (Ver. 
 34; Isa. 55: 11; 1 Cor. 15:58.) 
 
 Ch. 18 : Continuing his second mis- 
 sionary tour, Paul leaves Athens and 
 goes to Corinth, where he 1 bors for 
 eighteen months or more, and then 
 returns to Antioch in Syria, by way of 
 Ephesus and Jcrusakin. After a brief 
 visit at Antioch, Paul commences his 
 third missionary tour by revisiting 
 Galatia and Phrygia. 
 
 1-17. PaVL AT COKINTH. IIlS AR- 
 RAIGNMKNT liRFOKK G.VLl.IO. (l Cor. 1 : 
 1, U, Ifi; -• : 2, 3; 4 : II, 12 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 19 ; II : 8, »; 
 1 iThess. 3 : 6, 7 ; Isa. 4.1 : .i ; Jer. 1:8.) Paul's 
 
 stay at Athens ai)pears to liave been 
 brief, and his arrival at Corinth 
 occurred ju'obably about the first of 
 August, A. n. .72. His stay there, per- 
 phaps including a second visit to 
 Athens (see on ver. 18), probably continued 
 about two years. (Compare note on ^ 34 
 ILirmonic Arnimjemenl of the Acts.) 
 
 1. After these things — related in 
 the preceding cliapter. Paul should 
 be omitted according to the best author- 
 ities, showing a close connection be- 
 tween this and the la.'^t chapter. Liter- 
 ally, lie behif) parted from Athens, 
 having taken his departure apparently 
 witli some reluctance, there being per- 
 hajjs no sjiecial opportunity for present 
 labor, possibly no work to do at hia 
 trade ('e^. :<), and Silas and Timothy 
 
Ch. XVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 287 
 
 Paxil at Corinth ; and his relurn, by Ephesus, 
 
 Ccesarea, and Jerusalem, to Anlioch. 
 18 AFTER these things Paul departed from 
 2 Athens, aud came to » Corinth. And [he] 
 
 found a certain Jew named • Aquila, 
 born in •> Pontus, lately come from Italy 
 with his wife Priscilla ; (because that 
 Claudius had commandea all Jews to 
 
 » 1 Cor. 1:2. • Rom. 16 : 3, 4 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 19 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 19. •> ch. 2:9. • ch. 11 : 28. 
 
 not having come. (ver. 6.) To Cor- 
 inth — a distance of about forty-five 
 miles. The voyage by sea can be made 
 by fair winds in four or five hours. 
 Corinth was situated on the Isthmus, 
 from three and a half to ten miles 
 wide, which united the peninsula of 
 Peloponnesus to the mainland of 
 Greece. It was built on the north of a 
 rocky mount, which rose abruptly about 
 two thousand feet above the level of 
 the sea, and served as a citadel, called 
 Acrocorinthus. From its top the 
 hills about Athens and the Acropolis 
 could be seen. The city had two har- 
 bors: the eastern at Cenchrsea (ver. is) 
 on the Saronic Gulf, now called the 
 Gulf of Egina, where Paul landed ; 
 the western at Lechseum, on the 
 Corinthian Gulf, now the Gulf of 
 Patras and Lepanto. The city was 
 destroyed by the Romans under Lucius 
 Mummius, B. c. 146, and the place re- 
 mained desolate for a century ; but in 
 B. c. 46 it was rebuilt and made a col- 
 ony (16: la) by Julius Csesar. It was 
 also made the capital of the Roman 
 province of Achaia, and the residence 
 of the Proconsul. It again became 
 
 f>rosperous, wealthy, and extremely 
 icentious. It was the commercial 
 metropolis of Greece, where also the 
 arts and literature were cultivated. 
 Vice, too, was displayed without shame. 
 So lax were the morals at Corinth, that 
 to Corinthianize was synonymous with 
 profligate indulgence. The site is now 
 only marked with a few ruins, and a 
 small malarious town, called Gortho. 
 Its advantages for trade had attracted 
 a large population of Jews. It thus 
 afforded a most favorable place for the 
 planting and the spreading of the gos- 
 pel. 
 
 2. Paul entered Corinth a stranger, 
 and perhaps penniless. He knew what 
 it was to suffer " hunger and thirst." 
 (s Cor. 11 : 27.) But God provided for him 
 lodging and the means of livelihood. 
 He found a certain Jew named 
 Aquila. Some infer that he was not 
 
 now a Christian, from the way he is 
 here mentioned, as a Jew and not 
 styled a disciple. Others suppose that 
 he had embraced the gospel before 
 leaving Rome, because nothing is here 
 said of his conversion. If he was not 
 a Christian, he soon became one ; for 
 considerable Christian growth is im- 
 plied in ver. 26. He went with Paul 
 to Ephesus (ver. 18, 19, J6), and was there 
 when Paul wrote the First Epistle to 
 the Corinthians (i Cor. i6: i9), and at 
 Rome, when Paul wrote his Epistle to 
 the Romans (Rom. i6:3), and again at 
 Ephesus during Paul's second impris- 
 onment, (a. Tim. 1:19.) Bom in Pon- 
 tus — the northeastern province in 
 Asia Minor. (See oo 2:9.) A coincidence 
 has been noted in that Aquila who 
 translated the Old Testament into 
 Greek more literally than the Septua- 
 gint, living more than a half century 
 later, was a Jew also born in Pontus. 
 Italy— its ordinary application to the 
 peninsula between tlie Alps and the 
 Straits of Messina. (27 : 1, 6; Heb. 1.3 : 21.) 
 Claudius — the fourth Roman em- 
 peror, from A. D. 41-.i4, a weak-minded 
 and irresolute man, who could be easily 
 used by designing and wicked men. 
 His weak and foolish reign was ended 
 through poisoning by his fourth wife 
 Agrippina, the mother of Nero. (11 : 28.) 
 Had commanded all Jews to 
 depart from Rome — Suetonius con- 
 firms this statement, when he says 
 (Claudius c. 25), " He expelled the 
 Jews from Rome who were constantly 
 making disturbance, being instigated 
 by Chrestus." This may refer to some 
 leader of that name at that time. But 
 as Christ lis was frequently pronounced 
 Chrestus by the pagans, it may refer to 
 some tumult connected with the expec- 
 tation of a Messiah ; or some dispute 
 about Christianity, or to some riot of 
 the Jews against their Christian breth- 
 ren, as at Thessalonica and other places. 
 (17:5,13.) Neander does not believe 
 that this banishment of Jews from 
 Rome had any " real connection with 
 
288 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVIII. 
 
 depart froiu Itome:) and caiue unto them. 
 
 3 And because he was of the same craft, he 
 abode with them, ""and wrought: for by 
 their occupation they were tentmakcrs 
 
 4 e And he reasoned in the synagogue every 
 
 sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the 
 Greelcs. 
 5 And fwhen Silas and Timotheus were 
 come from Macedonia, Paul was s pressed 
 in the spirit, and tesiiticd to the Jews 
 
 «ch. 20 :34; 1 Cor. 4:12; 9 : 6-12; 1 Tliess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3 : 8, 9. 'oh. 17 : 2, 3. <ch. 
 17 : 14, 15. J ch. 4 : 20; 17 : 10 ; Job 32 : 18 ; Jer. 20 : 9. 
 
 Christianity." (Planting and Train- 
 ing, p. 193.) Suetouiiis does not state 
 the date of this expulsion. But Luke 
 implies that it was lately or recently ; 
 and, with what we know of the reign 
 of Claudius, it suits well with A. D. 52. 
 Tacitus {Annot. xii. 5'2) records the 
 expulsion of the astrologers, which 
 occurred in A. D. 52, who were sus- 
 pected of aiding consjiirators against 
 the life of Claudius by their astrology. 
 But whether there was any connection 
 between the two events is uncertain. 
 The dread of political commotions may 
 have been at the foundation of both, 
 and the two may have been near to- 
 gether. The decree, however, did not 
 remain long in force (isris; Rom. i6 :3) ; 
 not longer than the reign of Claudius, 
 who died A. D. 54. Priscilla— a di- 
 minutive of Prisca. (Rom. 16 : 3; l Cor. 
 16:19.) In the six times in which she 
 and her husband are mentioned in the 
 New Testament, her name stands first 
 four times ; from whicli we may infer 
 that she was the stronger character of 
 the two. 
 
 3. And because he was of the 
 same craft, or trade, he abode 
 Avith them and wrought. Every 
 Jewish parent liad his son learn some 
 trade. The Jewish Eabbins were no 
 exception to this rule. The great 
 Hillcl was a carpenter. So was Jesus. 
 (Mark 6: 3.) Paul labored for his own 
 sup]iort not only here, but at Thessa- 
 
 lonica (iThcs!!. 2 To; 3Thess.3:8), and at 
 
 Ephesus. (20 : 34.) They were tent- 
 makers. There Avas a great demand 
 for j)ortable tents ))oth for travelers 
 and soldiers. They were made out of 
 leather, linen, and goat-hair cloth. 
 Paul probably used the latter, from the 
 hair of the Cilician goat, which was 
 common in that country. As he was a 
 native of Cilicia, this may account for 
 his having learned this trade. Hu- 
 manly speaking, there was small en- 
 couragement to a humble tent-maker 
 
 to evangelize a proud, wealthy, and 
 vicious city. (1 cor. 4 : 12.) Paul deeply 
 realized this, though exercising strong 
 faith in God. " I was with you," he 
 says, " in weakness, and in fear, and in 
 much trembling." (1 cor. 1 -. 3.) 
 
 " Tent-making constitutes an import- 
 ant occupation in Western Asia at the 
 present day. In all the larger cities, 
 and particularly at Constantinojde, 
 there is a portion of the bazar, or 
 business part of the town, entirely 
 devoted to this branch of industry. 
 Here may be seen men engaged in ctit- 
 ting and sewing canvas, in construct- 
 ing or finishing ofl' tents of various 
 forms and sizes, in mending and repair- 
 ing those long used, or packing them 
 uji for their customers." (Van- 
 Lennep, Bible Lands, p. 415.) 
 
 4. Paul, as was his custom, avails 
 himself of the synagogue for preach- 
 ing. (See on 13: 5.) Reasoned — or 
 argued with them. (i^:') Per- 
 suaded — sought to 2^frsuade them to 
 believe. Greeks — proselytes and 
 other Gentiles who attended the syna- 
 gogue. 
 
 5. It was while Paul was thus labor- 
 ing in the synagogue that Silas and 
 Timothy came from Macedonia, 
 the northern province of Greece. (ib : 9.) 
 This was probably not long after Paul's 
 arrival at Corinth. He had left Silas 
 and Timothy at Berea, had sent for 
 them from Alliens to come to him as 
 soon as possible, and was waiting for 
 them at Athens. (i7:H-in.) The 
 natural impression from the whole 
 narrative is, that this was the coming 
 whicli Paul had commanded and was 
 waiting for ; and that Silas and Timo- 
 thy came together, though it is possible 
 to understand the language to mean 
 that they came one after the other 
 about the same time. (seeon i7:i6.) 
 But ^x\ven Silas and Timotheus were 
 come, etc. There seems to be some 
 connection between their coming aud 
 
Ch. XVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 289 
 
 thtl Jesus teas Christ [or, is the Christ]. 
 6 And when they opposed themselves, and 
 blasphemed, ■■ he shook his raiment, and 
 said unto them, ' Vour blood be upon 
 your own heads ; ^ I am clean : from 
 
 'henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. 
 
 7 And he departed thence, and entered into 
 a certain man's house, named '" Justus, 
 one that worshipped God, whose house 
 
 8 joined hard to the synagogue. "And 
 
 ' ch. 13 : 51 ; Neh. 5 : 13. 
 3 : 18, 19 ; 33 : 8, U. 
 
 i 2 Sam. 1 : 10; Ezek. 18 : 13; 33 : 4. 
 1 ch. 13 : 46, 47 ; 28 : 28. " Col. 4 : 11. 
 
 k ch. 20 : 26, 27 ; Ezek. 
 n 1 Cor. 1 : 14. 
 
 the statement regarding Paul that fol- 
 lows. It gave him a new imjjulse. 
 Instead of the spirit, the most ap- 
 proved reading is the tvord.-. He was 
 enyrosscd, closely, or completely occu- 
 pied with the word. Not that Silas 
 and Timothy found Paul thus, but their 
 coming was followed by this increased 
 activity, and was in some way produc- 
 tive of it. (see2 Cor. 2 : 13; 7 :6.) Per- 
 haps they brought gifts from the Mace- 
 donian churches wliich relieved Paul 
 and allowed him to give himself more 
 
 wholly to the work. (2 Cor. U : 9 ; 1 Xhess. 
 
 3:6.) Besides, he had their co-opera- 
 tion and aid in preaching the gospel. 
 (2 Cor. 1:19.) Testified to the Jcws — 
 making them the first offer of salvation 
 as usual. (Rom. i;ib.) That Jesus 
 Avas — or is, the Christ. Up to this 
 time his discussions in the synagogue 
 had been in a measure preliminary, 
 pointing toward Jesus as the Christ, 
 such as the office, nature, and work 
 of the Messiah. Now he proves from 
 the Scriptures and positively affirms 
 that the Old Testament predictions are 
 fulfilled in Jesus as the Christ, giving 
 evidences of his resurrection and as- 
 cension ; and he presses home upon 
 their consciences their duty to accept 
 
 him. (See 1 Cor. 2 : 2; 2 Cor. 1 : 19.) 
 
 6. Paul's earnestness aroused oppo- 
 sition. His experience was like that 
 at Antioch in Pisidia. (13 : 45, 46.) They 
 opposed — thry themselves resisting, ar- 
 raying tliemselves in concerted opposi- 
 tion. Blasphemed — ridiculed and 
 maliciously reviled Paul's message. 
 (1 Thess. 2 : 15, 16.) He shook his rai- 
 ment—the very dust from his gar- 
 ments, as a witness and a protest 
 against their conduct. (See on 13 : 51 ; M.nt. 
 10: u.) Yoiir blood be upon your 
 own heads — the blame and conse- 
 quences of your guilt rest upon you 
 personally. You alone will be respon- 
 sil)le for tlie destruction that awaits 
 you. The expression was familiar to 
 T 
 
 the Jews. (SeeEzek. 34: *: Matt. 27: 25.) I 
 
 am clean— guiltless, having dis- 
 charged my duty, and you refuse to re- 
 ceive God's message of salvation. Some 
 punctuate so as to read, / shall hence- 
 forth go pure, that is, blameless, with a 
 pure conscience, to the Gentiles, (see «a 
 13 : 46.) Paul felt under obligation to 
 ofler the gospel first to the Jew. (see 
 Rom. 9:1-3; 10: 1.) But further offers to 
 these blaspheming Jews at Corintli 
 would be like casting pearls before 
 
 swine. (Matt. 7:6.) 
 
 7. Being opposed and interrupted 
 by the Jews, so that he could not work 
 to advantage, Paul departed thence, 
 from the synagogue, and entered 
 into a certain man's house, not 
 merely for this once, but rather as a 
 permanent meeting-place. God had 
 work for him to do, and provided a 
 place for him to do it. It is not im- 
 plied that he changed his lodging. 
 Named Justus. Some of the oldest 
 manuscripts and versions read, Titius 
 Justus. This was not the Titus of the 
 Epistle and the companion of Paul, 
 who already was a disciple, and two 
 years before this had accompanied 
 Paul from Antioch to Jerusalem to the 
 Apostolic Conference. (Gni, 2: i; Acts 
 15:2.) One Avho Avorshipped God 
 — not a Jew, nor yet a Christian, but 
 a devout Gentile who had embraced 
 the Jewish faith. He doubtless be- 
 came a disciple. His house seems to 
 have been of sufficient size for Paul's 
 congregation. The court-yard could 
 have been used for tliis pnrpo,se. 
 Whose house joined hard — or 
 was adjoining the synagogue — here, 
 the building ; in 1.3 : 42, tlie assembly. 
 The house was convenient, being close 
 to his former meeting-])lace. It thus 
 served as a protest, a reminder, and an 
 invitation, to all his former hearers. 
 
 8. This sudden departure of Paul 
 from the synagogue brought mattois to 
 a crisis. Crispus, the Roman name 
 
290 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVllI. 
 
 Crisjms, the chief ruler of the synagogue, 
 behfved on the Lord with all his house. 
 And many of the Corinthians hearing be- 
 lieved, and were baptized. 
 9 Then <• spake the Lord to Paul in the 
 night by a vision, PBe not afraid, but 
 10 speak, and hold not thy peace : i for I am 
 
 no man shall set on 
 ' for I have much peo- 
 
 with thee, and 
 thee to hurt thee 
 pie in this city. 
 
 And ' he continued ihfre a year and six 
 months, teaching the word of God among 
 them. 
 
 I ch. IC : 9 ; 23 : 11. P Jer. 1 : 17 ; see 1 Cor. 2:3. q Josh. 1 : 5, 9 ; Jer. 1 : 18, 19 ; John 
 14 : 18-23. ' Jer. 15 : 20 ; Luke 21 : 18. » ch. 15 : 14 ; John 10 : 16. < see 2 Cor. 12 : 12. 
 
 of the ruler of the synagogue (see on 
 13:15), believed on the Lord Jesus. 
 Omit chief. From his office it may 
 be inferred that he was a man of in- 
 fluence and learning. He was one of 
 the few whom Paul baptized with his 
 own hands. He also baptized there 
 Gains and the household of Stephanas. 
 (1 Cor. 1 : 1416.) Others were baptized 
 probably by Silas and Timothy. 
 With all his house. Another ex- 
 ample of the conversion of an entire 
 household. (i6:i5, 3«.) Paley notices 
 how the dift'erences between Luke here 
 and Paul in 1 Cor. 1 : 14-17 confirm 
 the truthfulness of each other. If the 
 Epistle had been Avritteu to suit the 
 history, the names of Stephanas and 
 Gaius would have been omitted, and 
 if the history had been framed to suit 
 the Epistle their names would have 
 been added. Many of the Corinth- 
 ians — Gentiles, native Greeks of 
 Corinth, principally from the middle 
 and lower classes, (i cor. i : w.) 
 
 9. At this point there appears to 
 have been some respite in the work. 
 Jewish opposition was violent, and 
 Paul j)robai>ly begins to feel it l)est to 
 seek another field of labor, perhajis to 
 return toward Athens and thence into 
 Macedonia. But the Lord speaks to 
 him in the night by a vision — in 
 some .supernatural ajtjiearance, or pos- 
 sibly in a dream. (secon9:io.) Be 
 not afraid, but speak, and 
 hold not thy peace. It is a fair 
 infen-iice that Paul, at this time, 
 needed special direction and encour- 
 ai^ement. (soe i Coi. 2 : .•!.) He may have 
 been troubled with bodily weakness, 
 "the thorn in the flesh'"' (2 C'"-i2: '), 
 and the consequent depression of feel- 
 incfs. It must have been a comfort to 
 I'aul that the Lord addrese<i him, in 
 this and the next verse, in the words 
 spoken long before to Jeremiah (1 : 8), 
 and to ancient Israel. (la*. « : 5.) 
 
 10. No man shall set on thee 
 to hurt thee — which proved true in 
 his experience for eighteen months. 
 (ver. 11.) Some would translate, So as 
 to hurt thee. The attempt of the Jews 
 later proved an ignominious failure. 
 (Ver. r2 : 17.) Immediately after the eight- 
 een mouths Paul may have been ab- 
 sent from Corinth for a time, (see on 
 Ter. 11.) For I have much people 
 in this city — prospectively. They 
 were the true Israel who would yet be- 
 lieve ; and already his chosen ones, 
 and known to him as such. (13 : 48 ; Rom. 
 8:29.) Paul was being prepared to 
 write his great Epistle to the Komans, 
 a few years later. 
 
 11. He continued there — liter- 
 ally, he sat donii there, that is, he so- 
 journed, or dwelt there. The same 
 verb is used in Luke 24 : 49 : " Tarry 
 ye in the city of Jeru.salem." It here 
 suggests the restfiil state of Paul's mind 
 after he had received the revelation 
 from the Lord. He tarried in i)eace 
 and quiet a year and six months, after 
 whicli the disturbance occurred related 
 in the next verses. A year and six 
 months. Either the whole time of 
 his residence at Corinth, or the time 
 during which he was free from assault, 
 previous to the event mentioned in the 
 next verse. The former is the more 
 common view ; the latter is held by 
 Meyer and some others. The latter is 
 preferaVde, because: 1. It more ex- 
 actly fulfills the promise of the Lord in 
 ver." 10. 2. His teaching the word of 
 God among them, that is, in the city 
 of Corinth (vrr. 10), rather implies that 
 during this period he gave attention 
 to this city work, and hence that after 
 this he labored in other parts of 
 
 Achaia. (2Cor. 1:1: Rom. 16:1.) 3. It 
 
 seems also more natural to regard the 
 "yet many days" of ver. 18 as addi- 
 tional to " the year and six months " 
 of ver. 11. 4. The year and six months 
 
Ch. XVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 291 
 
 12 And when Gallio was the deputy of 
 Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with 
 one accord against Paul, and brought 
 
 13 him to the judgment scat, saying, This 
 fellow persuadeth men to worship God 
 
 may be the entire time of Paul's 
 first visit to Corinth, after which he 
 goes to Achaia and revisits Athens, in- 
 tending to go to Thessalonica, but is 
 hindered, and sends Timotliy in liis 
 place. (lThes3.2 :18; 3: 1.) Paul then 
 returns to Corinth, making his second 
 visit to that city. This would make 
 his coming into Greece, recorded in 
 20 : 2, A, his third visit, which accords 
 with 2 Cor. 13 : 1 : " This is the third 
 time I am coming to you." This affords 
 a beautiful way of harmonizing several 
 passages regarding Paul's intended 
 visit to Thessalouica, and his third 
 visit to Corinth. There is much to 
 commend this view. (See Harmonic 
 Arrangement of Acts, ^ 34.) 
 
 13. And — better. But, contrasting 
 with the preceding quiet (ver. ii), and 
 introducing something new and later. 
 It is entirely consistent with Luke's 
 brief and concise history to suppose 
 several weeks, or even two or three 
 months to have elapsed between this 
 verse and the last. This would give 
 abundant time for Paul's unfinished 
 journey to Thessalouica by the way of 
 Athens, and his return to Corinth, per- 
 forming missionary labors in various 
 places in Acliaia. See preceding verse. 
 Luke says nothing of this ; and so he 
 says nothing of Paul's visit to Arabia 
 soon after his conversion (9:20-25; Gai. 
 1 : n), and of many other things men- 
 tioned in the Epistles. Such a visit to 
 Athens seems probable. It would be 
 natural for Paul to desire to see the 
 brethren there, and to carry forward 
 the work which he had commenced, 
 
 but so soon had left. (See on 17 ; 3i.) 
 
 When Gallio Avas deputy, or pro- 
 
 consnl of the province of Achaia. 
 Under the two preceding emjterors, 
 Tiberius and Caligula, Achaia was an 
 imperial province, and its governor was 
 a Propra?tor, but under the Emperor 
 Claudius (Jan., A. D. 41-Oct., 54) it 
 became a senatorial province, and its 
 governor was a Proconsul, (see on 13 : 7.) 
 This is another illustration of Luke's 
 accuracy. Gallio was a brother of the 
 celebrated Stoic moralist, Seneca, who 
 
 I speaks of him as having resided in 
 Achaia, but says nothing of liis official 
 ])(>sition there. But Pliny refers to 
 his consulship, and does not say where 
 it was. He is rejjrescnted as a ciilti- 
 vatwl and polisheil scholar, popular 
 and belove-d as a man. Seneca writes 
 of him in terms of highest ])raise and 
 ali'ectioil : " ily brother Gallio, whom 
 every one loves too little, even he who 
 I loves liim most." He prol3aI)ly had 
 I not been Proconsul long ; and some- 
 what later he appears to have resigned 
 on account of his health. He died A. D. 
 loo. The Koman jn-uvince of Achaia 
 included all of Greece excej)t Mace- 
 donia. The JeAvs made insurrec- 
 tion, etc. — rather, rose up with one ac- 
 j cord against Paul. According to the 
 ! view suggested above, Paul had re- 
 j turned after several weeks' absence, 
 and the fresh impetus he gives to the 
 I work aroused the hostility of the Jews. 
 With preconcerted and united action, 
 Sosthenes being their leader, they 
 brought Paul as a prisoner before the 
 judgment seat. This was a chair, 
 or raised platform, movable, but some- 
 times stationary, used as the official 
 seat of a judge. 
 
 13. The charge against Paul is simi- 
 lar to tluit at Philippi and Tliessalonica. 
 (la : 21 ; 17 : 7.) In tliosc instaiices it was 
 made by Gentiles in reference to Roman 
 law ; in the present by Jews in erpiivo- 
 cal terms, the real reference being to 
 the Mosaic law. This felloAV — this 
 one, uttered doulitless with contempt. 
 To worship God — a phrase used in 
 reference to the worship of Jehovah 
 by Gentiles. (v.t. 7; i6: u.) Per- 
 suadeth — solicits and incites, and 
 really accomplishes it. Men — in gen- 
 eral Jews and Gentiles. Contrary 
 to laAV — purposely indefinite. To pro- 
 mulgate a religion not sanctioned by 
 the government was contrary to Roman 
 law. (seeoni6:2i.) The Jews also held 
 tliat Paul was a jicrverter of their own 
 law (21 : 21), which the Romans allowed 
 them to o})serve, but would not enforce. 
 Luke evidently gives only a summary 
 of the charge. Gallio learns from 
 
292 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVIII. 
 
 14 contrary to the law. Aud » when Paul 
 was now about to open his mouth, Gallic 
 said unto the Jews, » If it were a matter 
 of wrong, or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, 
 reason would that I should bear with you : 
 
 15 but if it be J a question of words and 
 names, and of your law, look ye to it ; for 
 
 16 I will be no judge of such matters. And 
 he drave them from the judgment seat. 
 
 17 Then all the Greeks took »SostLeues, the 
 chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat 
 him before the judgment seat. And Gallio 
 cared for none of those things. 
 
 » 1 Peter 3 : 14, 15. 
 
 : ch. 23 : 29 ; 25 : 11 ; Kom. 13 : 3. J ch. 2.i : 19 ; 2G ; 3. 
 
 what they further state, or by question- 
 ing, that the real trouble is iu regard 
 to the Jewi.sh law. (ver. i5.) The Jews 
 may have thought Gallio inexperienced, 
 and this may have been their first ease 
 before him. His kind disposition, and 
 his gentle manner toward them, may 
 have given them hope of success. They 
 also may have heard how Paul had 
 been driven away from the cities of 
 Macedonia, and perhaps thought to 
 accomplish the same iu Greece. 
 
 14. But the Jews had to deal with a 
 dili'erent man from the magistrates and 
 rulers of Philippi and Thessalonica. 
 Gallio yields neither to jiopular clamor 
 nor prejudice, but disposes of the case 
 summarily and justly. Paul Mas about 
 to speak in his own defense ; but Gallio 
 decides that this is unnecessary, and 
 proceeds to dismiss the case. If it 
 were a matter of wron^— of injus- 
 tice, violating your civil rights, or of 
 wicked lewdness, rusca/iti/, not di- 
 rectly opposed to any specific stiitute ; 
 jf indeed it belonged to any cla.ss of 
 oflences which should come before a 
 Koman magistrate, reason would 
 that I should bear with you, and 
 give you a patient hearing. But such, 
 it is implied, was not the case. Gallio 
 ])erceives that it was not an infraction 
 of Roman law, nor of personal im- 
 morality and misconduct. 
 
 15. But if, as appears to be the 
 case, it be a question — the most ap- 
 proved reading has the jdural, Jiiit if 
 thfij are quest ions or covtroverxirs about 
 a word or doctrine, and names and your 
 otni lain Gallio doubtless knew some- 
 thing of Christianity wliich was spread- 
 ing throughout the empire, though 
 looking upon it as a sect of Judaism. 
 Tlie discussions regarding Jesus as the 
 Messiah he regarded as a matter of 
 doctrine and names. Look ye to it — 
 it is not a matter for me to decide ; it 
 pertains to your own law, and you 
 must see to it. Omit For. I will be 
 
 no judge, etc. I do not wish to be a 
 judeje of these things. It was not in 
 the province of his court. The Roman 
 law allowed the Jews to regulate their 
 own religious matters. Compare the 
 action of Lysias (m:29) and Festus 
 
 (25:20); also" of Pilate. (.Tohn is ;.■)!.) 
 
 There is also a kind of contemiituons 
 indifierence implied toward these Jew- 
 ish and Christian matters, characteris- 
 tic of such a Roman as Gallio, and in- 
 dicative of the simple truthfulness of 
 the narrative. 
 
 16. And he diave, or drove, them 
 from the judgment seat. lie dis- 
 missed them in a pcreni])tory manner, 
 but not necessarily with violence. 
 
 17. So utter a failure was this at- 
 temjjt of the .lews against Paul that 
 the leader was beaten by the rabble, 
 and the matter treated with indifference 
 by Gallio. Then all the Greeks. 
 Greeks should be omitted, according to 
 the best critical authorities. There is 
 even less authority for inserting Jews 
 in place of Greeks, as in some later 
 manuscripts. Simply, And they all, 
 the crowd of pagans who were a))out 
 the court, seeing the discomfiture of the 
 Jews, took Sosthenes. A very little 
 matter will sometimes arouse a mob, 
 especially if they are prejudiced, as 
 were these pagans against the Jews. 
 Sosthenes was the rnler of the synagogue 
 (see on ver. 8), Avho perhajis had taken the 
 place of Crispus. As the rei)rescnta- 
 tive of the Jewish prosecutors he is 
 beaten publiclv before the judg- 
 ment seat, with tlie full knowledge 
 of Gallio, if not in his jiresenee. Paul 
 in his First E])istle to the Corinthians 
 joins with his own name Sosthe7tes 
 the brother, as one well known to them, 
 and then at Ephesus. If he is the same 
 as the one mentioned here then lie must 
 have been converted later, possibly 
 through the kindness of Paul and the 
 disciples. (Rom. 12 : 20. 21.) But little 
 stress can be laid on the mere name, as 
 
Ctr. XVIIL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 293 
 
 18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a 
 
 good while, and then took his leave of the 
 
 it was a cornmou oue. And Gallio 
 cared, etc., or, Nane of these thinr/s 
 concenifd Gallio. la harmony witli 
 his Stoic philosophy, he treated the 
 disorderly affair with silent and placitl I 
 indifference. In his breast he very 
 likely favored the apostle; and he may 
 not have been inilifferent to religious 
 truth, lie was ri^'ht in not listening 
 to the complaint of the Jews against 
 Paul ; but he was wrong in not keep- 
 ing the peace. He doubtless shared in 
 the general prejudice and contempt of 
 the Komans toward the Jews ; and may 
 have viewed with secret delight the 
 tables turned against tliem ; and was 
 also dis[»osed to treat easily anything 
 that did not really weaken the Roman 
 authority, or seriously threaten the 
 peace of the city. The account of the 
 whole transaction is in full accord with 
 what historians rei)ort of him as a man 
 of integrity and suavity, of gentle and 
 easy manners. 
 
 We have now entered upon the pe- 
 riod of letter-writing in the life of Paul. 
 His First Epistle to the Thessalonians 
 was written from Corinth just after 
 Timothy's return from them, (irue.s. 
 3:6.) '"he Second Epistle appears to 
 kave been written soon after from the 
 
 same place. (l XUesa. * : le ; 5 ; l ; 2 Thess. 
 
 2 : 1 f.) This is confirmed by the fact 
 that Paul joins the names of Timothy 
 and Silas with his own in the beginning 
 of both Epistles. Since Paul had been 
 lately at Athens (i Thess. 3 : i), and Silas 
 is not mentioned at any time with Paul 
 after this visit at Corinth, these Epistles 
 must have been written about this time 
 from tliat city. If Paul revisited Athens 
 and made his second visit to Corinth 
 (•• Cor. 13 : 1), just before this affair before 
 Gallio, then we may arrange dates 
 somewhat as follows : Paul first arrived 
 at Corinth about August 1, A. D. 52, and 
 allowing for Jewish modes of i-eckon- 
 ing eighteen months, he closes his 
 labors and goes to Athens about De- 
 cember 1, A. D. 53, intending to go 
 into Macedonia, but is hindered the 
 second time (i Thess. 2 : 18) by Satan, per- 
 haps by a return of his bodily infirmity. 
 {■> Cor. 12 : 7.) He therefore sends Timo- 
 thy in his place {i Thess. 3 : 1, 2jj and after 
 
 remaining a time at Athens, establish- 
 ing the church, he returned to Corinth 
 after an absence of a month or so. 
 Both to and from Athens he may have 
 gone by land, performing missionary 
 labor in places on hi.s way. This second 
 visit to Corinth was so closely connected 
 with his first, being separated only by 
 an interval of a few weeks, and the first 
 being the longer one and the more im- 
 2)ortant, that Paul himself writes at 
 times as if he had been there only once. 
 (1 Cor. 2: 1; 3: 1, 2, 6, 10.) Ill the early 
 spring of A. D. 54, Timothy returns 
 from Thes.salonica, when Paul writes to 
 them his First Epistle ; and two or 
 three months later he sends the Second 
 Epistle. It may be objected to so late 
 a date for tliese Epistles, that Paul 
 speaks of being separated from the 
 Thessalonians for " a short time." 
 (i Thess. 2 : 17.) But Paul savs this, not in 
 reference to the time when he was 
 writing the Epistle, but to the time 
 when he was earnestly endeavoring to 
 "see tlieir face." Being driven from 
 Thessalonica (n : s-io) he felt "bereaved " 
 (1 Thess. 2 : 17, Rov. Vu-.), and longed to see 
 them, and endeavored to do so. Perhaps 
 his first atteinjjt to go to them was at 
 Berea (n : u), or perhaps at Corinth, 
 before the Lord appeared to him 
 in vision. (i8:7.) Either of these, 
 witliin a period of one to three months, 
 would have been " a short time." But 
 the words, " When we could no longer 
 forbear " (i Thess. 3 : i) indicate a consid- 
 eralily longer period, and may embrace 
 a period of eighteen months or more, 
 between his leaving them and his send- 
 ing Timothy in his place, (i Thess. 3:2.) 
 (See on ver. 11; also on 17: 15, 16. 
 Harmonic Arrangement of Acts, p. 218.) 
 18-22. Paul Leaves Corinth and 
 Returns to Antioch by Way of 
 i]phesus, c^sarea, and jerusa- 
 LEM. Paul probably arrived at Jeru- 
 salem in September, A. D. 54, in time 
 for the Feast of the Tabernacles. 
 
 ( Ver. 18.) 
 
 18. And Paul after this, etc. 
 Rather, And Paul having tarried yet 
 many days — that is, after this assault 
 of the Jews. (See on ver. 11.) During this 
 period he may have extended his labors 
 
294 THE ACTS. [Ch. XVIII. 
 
 brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, 
 and with him Priscilla and Aquila ; 
 
 having •shorn hit head in bCenchrea: 
 
 » ch. 21 : 24; Num. 6 : 5, 18 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 20. b Eom. 16 : 1. 
 
 outside of Corinth, and gathered the 
 church at Cenchrea (Rom. i6 : i) ; and also 
 have written his Epistles to the TJiessa- 
 louians. (See last paragraph on ver. 17.) 
 A good while — or inaay days ; a note 
 of time, varying according to circum- 
 stances, having, however, an idea of 
 largeness rather than smallness. It can 
 well be applied here to a period of sev- 
 eral months. (See ou 9 : 23.) 
 
 Then took his leave — or, having 
 bid them farewell. See an example of 
 his leave-taking in Acts 20 : 36. 
 Sailed) or departed thence into 
 Syria — the w)iole journey is briefly 
 conceived without its interruptions. 
 Having shorn his head. Some, 
 among them Meyer, suppose that this 
 was said of Aquila. But the majority 
 of scholars ap])ly it to Paul. For (1) 
 Paul is the subject of the whole sen- 
 tence, and Priscilla and Aquila are 
 only incidentally mentioned as going 
 with him to Ephesus. " There are 
 from ver. 18 to 23 inclusive, no less 
 tlian nine aorist participles, eight of 
 which indisputably apjdy to Paul, as 
 the subject of the section, leaving it 
 hardly open to question that the par- 
 ticiple, having shorn, must be referred 
 to him also." (Alford.) (2) The facts 
 that Paul was going to Jei'usalem, and 
 his haste at Ephesus to leave for that 
 city (ver. 21), indicate that he had taken 
 the vow Avhich would be completed 
 according to the Law with sacrifices in 
 the temple. (3) The suppo.sition that 
 Aquila is here meant seems to have been 
 an after-thought, a vow being regarded 
 as inconsistent in Paul, who repudiated 
 the obligations of the ceremonial law. 
 But Paul thought it sometimes expedi- 
 ent to regard ceremonial observances. 
 (21 : 21-24.) (4) There seems no reason 
 for the mention of such a fact regarding 
 a person of minor importance like 
 Aquila, but much reason regarding the 
 leading personage of the narrative. 
 For he had a voav. The nature of 
 this vow has been mucli discussed. 
 Neander, who regards this as a Nazarite 
 vow, says : " There was at that time 
 among the Jews a religious custom, 
 
 arising most probably from a modifica- 
 tion of the Nazarite vow, for those who 
 Lad been visited with sickness or any 
 other great calamity to vow, that if they 
 were restored, they would bring a 
 thank-otiering to Jehovah in the tem- 
 ple, would abstain from wine for thirty 
 days, and would shave their heads." 
 (Josephus, Jew. War, ii. 15, 1.) Paul 
 had probably resolved, on the occasion 
 of his deliverance from some danger 
 during his last residence at Corinth, or 
 on his journey from that city, publicly 
 to express his grateful acknowledgment 
 in the temj)le at Jerusalem. The form 
 of his doing this was in itself a matter 
 of indiflerence ; and in tlie spirit of 
 Christian wisdom he felt no scruple to 
 become in respect of form, to the Jews 
 a Jew, or to the Gentiles a Gentile." 
 {Planting and Training of the Chris- 
 tian Church, p. 202.) The law con- 
 cerning the Nazarite is found in Num- 
 bers, ch. 6, according to whicli the 
 cutting ofi' of the hair took place at the 
 expiration of the vow. {-n-.-u.) Abbott 
 suggests that Paul trimmed his hair at 
 Cenchrea, preparatory to the vow, j)ur- 
 posing to cut his hair again at Jerusa- 
 lem. But why record such an unim- 
 jtortant matter as trimming tlie liair? 
 Besides, Luke says he had a vow, one 
 already assumed. Farrar suggests, 
 tliat " it seems to have been permitted 
 to the Nazarite to cut his hair, i>rovided 
 he kept the shorn locks until he ottered 
 the burnt-oftering, the sin-ort'ering, and 
 the peace-oti'ering in the temple, at 
 which time his head was shaved and all 
 the hair burnt in the fire under the sac- 
 rifice of the peace-otFerings." (Life of 
 St. Paul, p. 352.) Such suggestions as 
 the above are possible. The original 
 institution may have been modified so 
 as to meet the circumstances of tlie 
 dispersed Jews. In view of such difli- 
 culties it is perhaps better with Alex- 
 ander to regard this as " a personal or 
 private vow, such as we read of else- 
 where, the outward formalities of which 
 would naturally be conformed to those 
 of which the law took cognizance." 
 
 (Gen. 2!i : 20 ; Lev. 27 : 3 ; V'nu. 30 : 3 ; Deut. 23 : 31 j 
 
Ch. XVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 295 
 
 19 for he had a vow. Aud he came to Ephe- 
 Bus, aud left tliuiii there: but lie himself 
 entereil into the synagogue, and reasoned 
 
 20 with the Jews. Wlien ihey desired h.iia 
 to tarry longer time with them, he con- 
 
 21 sented not : hut bade them farewell, say- 
 ing, <= I must by all means keep this feast 
 that Cometh in Jerusalem : but I will re- 
 turn again unto you, ""if God will. And 
 he sailed from Ephesus. 
 
 ' ch. 19 : 21 ; 20 : 16 ; Dout. 16 : 1. « Rom. 15 : 32 ; 1 Cor. 4 : 19 ; James 4 : 13-15. 
 
 Judg. 11 : 30; 1 Sam. 1 : 11 ; 2 Sam. 15 : 7.) Ceil-* 
 
 chrea was the eastern and most im- 
 portant harljor of Corinth, aliout nine 
 miles from that city, the emporium of 
 its trade with the Asiatic shores of the 
 Mediterranean. (Seeou ver. i.) Its idola- 
 try was of tlie same licentious character 
 as that at Corinth. Its modern name 
 is Kikries, where ruins mark its site. 
 
 19. And he came — rather, accord- 
 ing to the oldest and most ajiproved 
 text, they came; that is, Priscilla and 
 Aquila with him. (vcr. is.) He left 
 them (Priscilla and Aquila, ver. 2(3) 
 there, at Ephesus. It seems that Paul 
 left Silas and Timothy, to continue the 
 work at Corinth and in Achaia. Silas 
 is last mentioned in the Acts in ver. 5. 
 That he continued with Paul at Corinth 
 is evident from 1 Thess. 1 : 1 ; 2 Thess. 
 1:1. He probahly returned to Jeru- 
 salem somewhat later. Timothy is 
 again mentioned as one of those who 
 administered to Paul at Ephesus, three 
 years later. (19:22.) Ephesus was 
 the capital of the province of Asia, (see 
 ou 19 : 1.) It was about two hundred and 
 fifty miles from Corinth on the opposite 
 and eastern side of the ^gean Sea, 
 and was a stopping place in voyages 
 between Greece and Syria. Cicero re- 
 lates tliat he made this voyage in 
 fifteen days, and returned in thirteen 
 days, both long voyages. With favor- 
 ing winds it could be accomplished in 
 four or five days. But he himself 
 entered into the synagogue. Paul 
 appears to have passed a Sabbath at 
 Ephesus and, according to his custom, 
 entered the synagogue and argued with 
 the Jews and proselytes regarding the 
 Christ. " Luke cannot well mean that 
 the apostle separated himself from 
 Priscilla and Aquila and went into the 
 synagogue without them. (Meyer.) 
 So unimportant a circumstance would 
 not be made so important. Nor is it 
 at all probable that there was op- 
 posed in the writer's mind to the syna- 
 gogue as being out of the city [A/ford) ; 
 
 for in that case some intimation like 
 without the city («eeifi : u), or at least 
 (joimj oat, would hardly be withheld 
 from the reader." (IIai^kett.) 
 
 20. They desired him to tarry 
 longer time. A similar re((iiest 
 was made to Paul in Antioch of Pi- 
 sidia. (13: 42.) Thus Paul made a 
 favorable impression upon the Jews at 
 Ephesus. His shorn head aud his vow 
 doubtless commended him to them, and 
 helped to disabuse their minds from 
 any prejudices which they might have 
 received from reports concerning him. 
 He consented not — his haste is 
 best explained by his desire to reach 
 Jerusalem soon and fulfill his vow. I 
 must by all means keep this 
 feast that cometh in Jerusalem. 
 Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, and 
 some others omit these words as an in- 
 terpolation. But they are retained 
 and defended by Olshausen, Meyer, 
 Alford, and others. The omission can 
 be more easily accounted for than an 
 interpolation. If a transcriber had 
 been minded to add a note, it would 
 have been rather about the vow and 
 the offering than about the feast. The 
 omission can be explained with great 
 probability by supposing that some 
 old copyists " fell into the natural 
 mistake, still made by many readers, 
 of believing that no visit to Jerusalem 
 is mentioned in the context, and there- 
 fore thought it necessary to omit a 
 promise which was not fulfilled." 
 (Alexander.) What feast is there 
 meant, is uncertain. It could hardly 
 have been the Passover, for navigation 
 would not ordinarily be open a month 
 before. It was therefore probably the 
 Pentecost, or the Feast of Tabernacles. 
 According to our arrangement of dates 
 in this and the two preceding chapters, 
 we prefer the latter. And tliis accords 
 with Paul's brief \nsit at Jerusalem 
 and his hasty return to Antioch, in 
 order that he might, before the winter, 
 commence his third missionary tour 
 
296 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XVIII. 
 
 22 And when he had landed at Ctesarea, Paul visits Galalia and Phrygia ; Apollos at 
 <: and gone up, and saluted the church, he Ephesus. 
 
 wend down to Antioch. | 23 AND after he had spent sometime there. 
 
 > ch. 25 : 1, 9. 
 
 through Asia Minor toward Ephesus. 
 I will return agaiu unto you. He 
 
 probably now determined to make 
 Ephesus his next field of labor ; and 
 he made baste to fulfill his promise. 
 (ver.M; ia:i.) If God wlll. Thc 
 
 Christian Jjroviso. (James 4 : 15.) 
 
 'Z'i. Landed at Caesarea. (see on 
 
 8:10) And gone up — descriptive of 
 the journey from the lowlands about 
 Ctesarea to the highlands about 
 Jerusalem. The church — tliat at 
 Jerusalem, which was the first and 
 mother church, and is thus mentioned 
 as a well understood designation, in 
 this very concise and rapid narrative. 
 This was Paul's fourth visit to Jeru- 
 salem after his conversion. Tliat it 
 was very brief, probably only two or 
 three days, is suggested by the words, 
 He saluted the church, etc. After 
 meeting the brethren of the church, 
 and others who had come to the feast, 
 and presenting necessary olt'erings con- 
 nected with his vow, he leaves for 
 Antioch. He went down to Auti- 
 och — geographically nuich lower than 
 Jerusalem. Thus at Antioch in Syria 
 Paul ended his second missionary 
 journey. He had been absent about 
 three years and a half. According to 
 the above chronology (ver. 21) it was 
 October, A. D. 54, probably early iu the 
 month. 
 
 The Third Missionary Toi^r of 
 Paul is related from this point to 21 : 
 Ifi, embracing labors in Galatia and 
 Plirygia, Ephesus, Troas, Macedonia, 
 and Greece, and his journey back to 
 Jerusalem, the whole occupying about 
 three and a half years. From about 
 the last of November of A. D. 54 to 
 May A. D. 58. 
 
 23-2S. Pafl Leaves Antioch, 
 AND Visits Galatia and Phrygia. 
 Apollos at Ephesus. (i c.r. ic : 1. ■• ; o^ii. 
 2:11-21.) The winter of A. D. .54, 00. 
 
 23. And after he had spent 
 some, or a certain, time there, at 
 Antioch — an indefinite and apparently 
 short period. A month or two would 
 meet the circumstances of the case. 
 
 Paul would not prol>ably delay his de- 
 parture longer than the last of Novem- 
 ber, on account of the approaching 
 winter. It is probable that Paul's en- 
 counter with Peter occurred during 
 this visit at Antioch. (Gai. 2 : 11 r.) In 
 favor of this it may be said : (1) That 
 Paul's Epistle to the Galatians shows 
 that a reaction in favor of Judaizing 
 was manifesting itself at Antioch. 
 But his former visit immediately after 
 the Apostolic Conference at Jerusalem 
 (15:31,35) was too early for such a re- 
 action. The decrees were received with 
 joy, and followed with peace and pros- 
 perity generally among the churches. 
 (i6:4,"5.) (2) Paul writes of it as of 
 late occurrence and fresh in his mind, 
 and it fits well this visit, when after 
 the terms of peace between Jewish and 
 Gentile Christians had been some time 
 observed, the repressed Jewish oppo- 
 sition began to show itself. Such is the 
 view of Neander, Hackett, Olshausen, 
 and many others. Barnabas appears 
 to have returned from his mission to Cy- 
 prus. (Gal. 2:13.) These circumstances, 
 as well as Paul's promise to return to 
 Ephesus (ver. 21), may liave hastened his 
 departure from Antioch. 
 
 He departed — jjerhaps never to 
 return to Antioch. The route Paul 
 took is uncertain. He probably passed 
 hastily through Cilicia (i5:<i), thence 
 nortliward to Derbe and Lystra (16: 1), 
 where Timothy, who may have visited 
 his home, rejoined him. (See on ver. 19.) 
 Galatia and Phrygia — The large 
 interior regions of Asia Minor. See on 
 16 : 6, where they are named in re- 
 versed order. Paul now prol)ably goes 
 northward into Galatia, and then 
 passes southwestward through Phry- 
 gia toward Ephesus. In order— vis- 
 iting the churclies wliich lay on 
 his way through these countries. 
 Strengthening all the disciples — 
 By encouragement and instruction. 
 (14: 22 ; 1 Cor. 16: 1.) It should be noted 
 that Paul passed the winter iu this 
 region, as he probably did also in his 
 second missionary tour. During these 
 
Ch. XVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 297 
 
 he departed, and went over a// the country 
 of fGalatia and Phrygia in order, 
 Bstrengtiieniiig all the disciples. 
 24 •> And a ceriaiu Jew named Apollos, 
 boru at Alexandria, an eloquent man, 
 
 and ' mighty in the Scriptures, came to 
 25 Ephesus. This man was instructed in 
 the way of the Lord : and being fervent 
 in the spirit, he spake and taught dili- 
 gently the things of the Lord, ^ knowing 
 
 'Gal. 1 : 2; 4 : 14. t ch. 14 : 22 ; 15 : 32, 41. h 1 Cor. 1 : 12 ; 3 : 5, 6 ; 4 : 6; Titus 3 ■ 13. 
 1 Ezra 7:6; Matt. 13 : 52. k ch. 19 : 3, 4 ; Matt. ch. 3. 
 
 seasons he may have suffered some of 
 the privations mentioned iu 2 Cor. 11 : 
 27, " in liunger and thirst, iu fastings 
 often, in cold and nakedness." Xeno- 
 phon rehites the sufferings of tlie Ten 
 Thousand from wind and cold and 
 snow, a few hundred miles east of this. 
 {Anabasis IV, 1, 5.) The winter of 
 1857 is said to have been one of great 
 severity. In Macedonia, to the west- 
 ward, the road from Pliilippi to Thes- 
 salouica was covered with deep snow, 
 and became for a time impassible. 
 Shepherds and travelers were frozen to 
 death, and many flocks perished. In 
 December, 1858, the thermometer fell 
 repeatedly below zero. (Smith's Dic- 
 tionary, Neapoiis.) 
 
 34. Luke leaves Paul among the 
 disciples of Galatia and Phrygia, while 
 he narrates some events at Ephesus 
 preijaratory to his labors in that city. 
 A certain Jew named Apolios — 
 He was born and educated a Jew, be- 
 came a disciple of John the Baptist, 
 and was more fully instructed by 
 Aquila and Priscilla. Going to Cor- 
 inth lie gained great influence by his 
 learning and elocpieuce. (icor. 3:6.) 
 Later he ajjpears to have been at or 
 near Ephesus, when Paul was there 
 (i Cor. 16: 12), wlio years after testifies his 
 regard for him in Titus .3 : 13. Luther 
 suggested that Apollos wrote the Epis- 
 tle to the Hebrews, which view has 
 been favored by many others. He was 
 a native of Alexandria, a city in 
 Egypt, named after Alexander the 
 Great, its founder, who had planted 
 there great numbers of Jews. It was 
 the chief seat of Hellenistic learning 
 and philosophy. Here the celebrated 
 Greek revision of the Old Testament, 
 known as the Septuagint, was made ; 
 and Philo represented the school of the 
 Platouizing Jews. In tlie Apostolic 
 age it had one of the largest libraries 
 in the world, which helped to make it 
 8u educational center, and a rival of 
 
 Athens and Tarsus. The birth and 
 residence of Apollos at Alexandria are 
 an assurance that he had come in con- 
 tact with the culture and learning for 
 which that city was noted. But it is 
 aflirmed that he was eloquent, or 
 learned. The word in the original 
 may include both, that he was skilled 
 in history and in utterance a rhetori- 
 cian. He was especially learned in 
 the Old Testament Scriptures, and 
 mighty, or powerful, in the use of 
 them. (2T:m. 3 : 16, 17.) Literally, Came 
 to Epliesus, being mighty, etc. 
 This power in the use of Scriptui'e is 
 placed last, because it was the chief 
 and important thing I'egarding him at 
 Ephesus and Corinth. 35. This man 
 was instructed, etc.; rather, Tliis 
 man had been orally instructed. The 
 reference is to information, or elemen- 
 tary instruction by word of mouth. 
 The word is translated informed, in 
 21 : 21, 24. He had not seen any 
 written documents about Jesus, such 
 as the Gospel of Matthew which had 
 probably been written ; nor any of 
 those narratives to which Luke refers 
 in his Gospel. (Luke i : 1.) In the way 
 of the Lord — that is, Jesus. He had 
 heard of Jesus, of his life, death, and 
 resurrection, in a somewhat imperfect 
 way. Being fervent in tlie spirit. 
 OvaMthe. (See the same jthra.se in Rom. 
 12 : 11.) This refers to his zeal and ear- 
 nestness, and not to the gifts of the 
 Spirit which he had not yet re- 
 ceived. He spoke and taught dili- 
 gently, or accurately, so far as he 
 knew. Compare the use of the adverb 
 in Matt. 2:8; Luke 1 : 3 ; 1 Thess. 5 : 
 2 ; Eph. 5 : 15. The things of the 
 Lord — rather, according to the oldest 
 manuscripts, Things concerning Jesus, 
 as the Christ. So far as he knew of 
 Christ's life, death, and resurrection, he 
 taught correctly, showing from the Old 
 Testament Scriptures that Jesus had 
 fulfilled prophecy, and that be was the 
 
298 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. xvin. 
 
 26 only the baptism of John. And he began 
 to speak boldly in the synagogue : whom 
 when Aquila and Priscilla had heard 
 they took him unto ihem, and expounded 
 unto him the way of God more perfectly. 
 
 27 And when he was disposed to pass into 
 Achaia, ' the brethren wrote, exhorting 
 the disciples to receive him : who, when 
 he was come, ■» helped them much which 
 
 1 1 Cor. 16 : 3; 2 Cor. 3:1. mi Cor. 3 : 6. 
 
 Messiah who was to come. Know- 
 ing only the baptism of John, 
 
 which demauded repentance, faith in a 
 coming Messiah, and a godly life. 
 
 (Matt. 3 : 2, 8, 12 ; Mark 1:4; John 1 : 15, 18.) He 
 
 knew nothing of the last commission, 
 which enjoins baptism " in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Spirit." (See on Matt. 28; ao.) 
 Apollos had })robably been baptized by 
 John himself, in his youth, when at- 
 tending one of the feasts of Jerusalem 
 during John's ministry. He ai)]>eais 
 to have known that John pointed to 
 Jesus as the Christ, and the Lamb of 
 God that taketh away the sin of the 
 world. He probably knew that many 
 of Christ's disciples had been John's 
 disciples, and that tlie disciples of 
 Jesus baptized as John had done. 
 (John 4: 2.) In his Alexandrian home 
 he doubtless heard also concerning 
 Jesus from disciples of John who had 
 come from Palestine. 
 
 26. He began, soon after coming 
 to Ephesus, to speak boldly, freely 
 and plainly, as it was his ])rivilege to 
 do, in the synagogue, referring to 
 the ministry of John as })rei>aratory to 
 the coming of the Messiah, and ex- 
 pressing the opinion that Jesus was 
 the Messiah. He doubtless enforced 
 repentance, a change of heart, and 
 reformation of life. Kut lie only begun 
 tlius to teach, for Aquila and Priscilla 
 took him to themselves and privately 
 e-vponnded, or set forth, the way of 
 God, the jilan of salvation, ineluding 
 the distinctive facts and doctrines of 
 Christ, more perfectly, or more ex- 
 actly. This is the corresponding word 
 to that translated diiujenthj, or cor- 
 rectly, in the preceding verse. It is 
 found in 2.3 : 15, 20 ; 24 : 22 ; 2(5 : 5. 
 Among other things they doubtless set 
 forth the doctrine of Christ as the Son 
 of God, his ascension to the right hand 
 of God, the descent and gifts of the 
 Holy Sjiirit, the institution of the 
 Lord's Supper, and the last commission 
 (Matt. 28 : 20), aud the gospel equally to 
 
 Jew and Gentile, (u : n.) There is no 
 evidence that Apollos was rebaptized. 
 If he had been baptized by John, there 
 was no need of its repetition, (see on 
 
 19 : 5.) 
 
 27. And when he was minded 
 
 — or And he desiring, soon after being 
 more accurately instructe<l, to pass 
 over the sea into Aehaia (ver. 12) to 
 Corinth, the capital of the province. 
 (19:1'.) Hearing that Paul was soon 
 coming, he would not wish to remain 
 and anticipate his laljors. Acjuila and 
 Priscilla doubtless told him concerning 
 the disciples, and the oj)portuiiities for 
 labor in Achaia, especially at Corinth. 
 The brethren at Ephesus, probably 
 gathered during the brief visit of Paul 
 (ver. 19), and the subsequent labors of 
 Aquila and Priscilla. Tliis seems to 
 have been the beginning of the church 
 at Ephesus. It is hardly probable that 
 there was a church there before Paul's 
 first visit (ver. 19), although he nowhere 
 claims to have been its founder. Ex- 
 horting. The order of words in the 
 original is : Exhorting, the brethren 
 wrote thediscip/es. Hence some supj>ly 
 him: Exhorting or encouraging him 
 the brethren wrote, etc. So the Ke vised 
 Version. This is the first reference to 
 letters of commendation among Chris- 
 tians, whicli afterward l)ecame so com- 
 mon and important among the eliurches. 
 Paul, in 2 Cor. 3 : 1, refers to this prac- 
 tice of granting such letters. And 
 when he was come — to Corinth, 
 (19:1.) The above incidents ajjpear to 
 have occurred while Paul was visiting 
 the churches of Galatia and Phrygia 
 (ver. 23), and a little time ])efore his 
 arrival at Ephesus. Apollos probably 
 therefore went to Corinth in the early 
 spring of A. D. 55, with the opening 
 of navigation. He helped them 
 much who had believed — Paul had 
 planted ; Apollos watered, (i Cor. 3 : 6-10.) 
 Through grace — the divine favor, 
 through which they had believed, is 
 recognized. Some, however, would join 
 grace with heljted, and refer it to the 
 
Ch. XVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 299 
 
 28 had » believed through grace: for he 
 mightily convinced the Jews, and that 
 
 publicly, " showing by the Scriptures that 
 Jesus was Christ. 
 
 a John 1 : 12, 13 ; Eph. 2 : 8-10. » ch. 9 : 22 ; 17 : 3 ; John 6 : 46. 
 
 divine grace which sustained and 
 blessed the efforts of Apollos, and 
 translate, He helped much through 
 grace them that believed. Both views 
 present truths, but the first and more 
 common view is tlie more natural one. 
 
 28. How he helped them is now 
 stated. For he mightily con- 
 vinced — rather, For he powerfully 
 confuted the Jews publicly. Here we 
 catch a view of the nervous eloquence, 
 the powerful reasoning, and the com- 
 plete triumph of Apollos over the Jew- 
 ish opposition in controversy. This he 
 did in public places, such as the syna- 
 gogue, and the house of Justus, (ver. 
 «, 7.) He was peculiarly fitted to meet 
 the unbelieving .Tews by his great 
 knowledge of the Scriptures, as well 
 as by his persuasive and reasoning 
 powers. That Jesus was, rather is, 
 the Christ — proving this from Moses 
 and the Prophets, (ver. 5.) His labors 
 were attended with such marked suc- 
 cess, that his name afterward became a 
 watchword of a party, (icor. i. n.) This 
 may be the reason why he declined to 
 return to Corinth, even when urged by 
 Paul himself, (i cor. is : 12.) There is 
 no hint anywhere that any jealousy 
 ever existed between him and Paul. 
 
 Believers and the Church. 
 Apollos was working outside and inde- 
 pendently of any church. He probably 
 had never heard a Christian preacher, 
 nor mingled among Christians. But as 
 soon as he is instructed, he identifies 
 himself with them and labors in con- 
 nection with churches. It was the cus- 
 tom in the apostolic age for believers 
 to be baptized at once, become members 
 of a church, and immediately engage 
 in Christian work. (2 : 4i-i6; is : s.) Such 
 cases as that of Ajjollos and the twelve 
 disciples at Ephesus (i9 : 1-7) only prove 
 the rule. They wrought outside igno- 
 rantly ; but there is no such excuse now 
 for ignoring the church. It is not 
 enough that a believer is working in a 
 Christian Association or in a Young 
 People's Society. His place is in the 
 church of Christ, and in connection 
 with it he should xise the various in- 
 
 strumentalities for doing good. Alle- 
 giance to Christ carries along with it 
 allegiance to his church and his cause. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. However wicked a city, the gospel 
 should be preached in it and success ex- 
 pected. "The church of God in Corinth! 
 Joyful and wonderful paradox." (Bengel.) 
 (Ver. 1-4 ; 1 Cor. 6 : 10, 11.) 
 
 2. It is wise to gather churches in strategic 
 points and at great centres. (Ver. 1-4; 13 ; 
 14; 16 : 12; 17 : 1,19; 19: 8.) 
 
 3. The gospel laborer is worthy of his 
 hire ; yet there are times when a preacher 
 should support himself in whole or in part. 
 (Ver. 3 ; Luke 10 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 9-15 ; Phil. 4 : 
 14-16.) 
 
 4. Paul's daily labor did not prevent him 
 from faithfully using opportunities for 
 preaching Christ. (Ver. 3, 4 ; 1 Cor. 2:1-5; 
 1 Thess. 2 : 9.) 
 
 5. We should combine correct reasoning 
 and tender persuasion in preaching. (Ver. 
 4; 1 Cor. 10: 15; 2 Cor. 5 : 11.) 
 
 6. The ministry of those who are pressed 
 and engrossed with the word is generally 
 successful. (Ver. 5 ; 20 : 20 ; Phil. 2 : 22.) 
 
 7. It is a fearful thing to reject Christ in 
 the preached word. (Ver. 6 ; Matt. 25 : 41- 
 44.) 
 
 8. Houses and places of preaching should 
 be located where the people are. (Ver. 7 ; 
 19 : 9.) 
 
 9. The divine order : Hearing, believing, 
 being baptized. (Ver. 8 ; Mark 16 : 15, 16 ; 
 Rom. 10 : 8-10.) 
 
 10. We should seek to bring whole families 
 to Christ. (Ver. 9 ; 10 : 2 ; 2 John 4.) 
 
 11. The lives of his servants are in Christ's 
 hands. (Ver. 9-11 ; Matt. 10 : 28-30.) 
 
 12. God's purpose to save men is an en- 
 couragement to work for their conversion. 
 (Ver. 10, 11 ; John 10 : 16.) 
 
 13. Gospel success very often arouses oppo- 
 sition among the wicked. False accusation 
 is a very natural ally of persecution. (Ver. 
 12, 13 ; 17 : 5-8.) 
 
 14. Civil otiicers do well to confine their 
 official acts to civil affairs. (Ver. 14, 15 ; 
 Rom. 13 ; 1-7.) 
 
300 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIX. 
 
 Paul come.i to Ephesns. Cerlain disciples of 
 John rebaplized. Wonderful miracles ; great 
 success. 
 
 19 AND it came to pass, that, while p Apol- 
 
 los was at Corinth, Paul having passed 
 
 through the upper coasts, came to Ephe- 
 
 2 sus. And finding certain disciples, he 
 
 said unto them, Have ye received « the 
 
 P 1 Cor. 1:12; 3 : 5, 6. i oh. 11 : 15-17. 
 
 15. Worldly men have too often but small 
 conception of the nature and magnitude of 
 religious truth ; and it is well when they 
 recognize the fact. (Ver. 15, 16 ; 25 : 20, 26.) 
 
 16. The civil ruler should not be a perse- 
 cutor, but he should keep the peace and thus 
 prevent persecution. (Ver. 17 ; Rom. 13 : 3.) 
 
 17. Let our vows be of grateful love and 
 obedience. (Ver. 18; Rom. 12 : 1.) 
 
 18. Every class of Christian laborers can 
 find work suitable to do. (Ver. 19.) 
 
 19. We must keep our engagements with 
 the Lord. (Ver. 2U, 21 ; Ps. 50 : 4.) 
 
 20. All our plans aud movements sh"uld 
 be made dependent on the good pleasure of 
 God. (Ver. 21 ; Matt. 6 : 10.) 
 
 21. We should keep in view the mission to 
 which God has called us, and hasten to our 
 work. (Ver. 22, 23 ; John 9 : 4 ; 1 Cor. 7 : 
 29-31.) 
 
 22. The Christian can always find work to 
 do among Christians. (Ver. 23 ; Gal. 6 : 10.) 
 
 23. Much piety cannot make up for de- 
 ficiency of knowledge and practice. (Ver. 
 24,25; Heb. 5 : 11-14.) 
 
 24. A right heart, a fervent spirit, and a 
 teachable disposition are a good preparation 
 for discerning and receiving the truth. (Ver. 
 25, 26.) 
 
 25. Men of culture and ability may often 
 learn much from Christians in humble life. 
 (Ver. 26 ; 4 : 13 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 26 f.) 
 
 26. Salvation is all of grace. (Ver. 27 ; 
 Rom. 4 : 16 ; Eph. 2 : 8.) 
 
 27. Christian ministers should help one 
 another to fields of labor and places of use- 
 fulness. (Ver. 27.) 
 
 28. Christian fervor without culture is 
 good, but with it, is better. (Ver. 28.) 
 
 Ch. 19 : Paul continues his tliinl 
 mis.sionary tour and reaches Eplicsus, 
 wliere he baptizes twelve professed dis- 
 ciples of John, preaches three months 
 in the synagogue, and two years in the 
 school house of Tj'rannus. Great mir- 
 acles are performed, ma.ijical practices 
 are renounced, and a sreat tumult 
 aroused retrardiug the worship of the 
 goddess Diana, 
 
 1-20. Paul Arrives at Ephksus. 
 His Work Thkrk for Two Ykaes 
 and Three Months. During this 
 j)eriod he probably wrote his P^jiistle to 
 the Galatians, and also his lost E])istle 
 to the Corinthians, 1 Cor. 5 : 9. I'loni 
 the spring of A. D. 55 to the spring of 
 A. D. 57. 
 
 1. While Apollos was at Cor- 
 inth — the cajjital of Achaia, whitlier 
 he had gone. (i8:27.) Tluis Paul did 
 not arrive at E))l)esus until after the 
 dejiartnre of Apollos. Having passsed 
 through the upper coasts — l/ic uj>- 
 per districts, the interior mountainous 
 region of Asia Minor, such as Galatia 
 and Phrygia (i8:i3) and parts of the 
 province of Asia, to the lowlands 
 around Ei)hesus. It was during tliis 
 visit that Paul probably directed the 
 Galatian churches regarding .systematic 
 collections for the saints on the first 
 day of the week, (i Cor. i6 .- 1, -i -. cm, 2 ; lo.) 
 
 Came to Ephesus — in fultilhuent 
 of his promise made on his way from 
 Corinth to Jerusalem, (is-.-io.n.j Ejih- 
 esus was the ])rincipal of the twelve 
 Ionian cities of Asia Minor, and the 
 emjiorium of the trade of the East. 
 Under Roman rule the province of 
 Asia was formed, B. c. 129, with Ephe- 
 sus as its ca])ital. It was situated on 
 the western coast of Asia Minor, near 
 the mouth of the river Cayster, partly 
 on the ])lain in the valley of this river, 
 and partly on the ridges of Mount Co- 
 rcssus and Mount Pion. To the north 
 of the city lay a considerable lake, 
 communicating witli the river, and 
 forming the inner harbor. The outer 
 harl)or of the city was formed by the 
 river Cayster, and the bay into whicli 
 it em|)tied. East of the lake and out- 
 side tlie city walls was the great temjde 
 of Artemis, or Diana, which was 
 called one of the wonders of the ancient 
 world. Further concerning this, the 
 stadium and the theatre, see notes 
 l)elow. Asia, like Achaia, was a 
 Roman senatorial province, and its 
 governors were styled Proconsuls, (ver. 
 
Ch. XIX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 301 
 
 Holy Spirit since ye believed? And they 
 said unto him, ' \Ve have not so much as 
 
 heard whether there he any Holy Spirit. 
 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then 
 
 ' 1 Sam. 3 : 7. 
 
 38) who resided at Ephesus. (Sceonis: 
 1-2 ) Ephesus was also a free city, and 
 governed by its own senate, and held 
 its courts and public assemblies. It 
 had a considerable Jewish population 
 and its social life was colored by 
 Asiatic and Greek influences. It was 
 sacked and laid waste by the Goths in 
 A. D. 2G2 ; and, although rebuilt, it 
 never regained its former glory. The 
 site is now an utter desolation. Piles 
 of rubbish and interesting ruins cover 
 the ground, partly overgrown with veg- 
 etation. 
 
 And finding, on his first arrival, 
 or very soon after, certain disciples, 
 of Christ, as the word discip/es always 
 means in the New Testament when 
 used alone. Paul also recognized them 
 as believers (ver. 2) in Jesus as the 
 (!hrist, but very imperfectly instructed. 
 IIow crude their knowledge will ap- 
 pear in the next two verses. They had 
 very likely lately come to Ephesus ; 
 or possibly in that large city they had 
 been isolated and unacquainted with 
 Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla, and 
 otber brethren who attended the syna- 
 gogue. 
 
 'Z. Having found these disciples, 
 Paul asks. Have ye, or, rather. Did 
 ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye be- 
 lieved f that is, on the Lord Jesus. 
 IIow Paul come to ask this question is 
 a matter of conjecture. It doubtless 
 came in the course of conversation, in 
 which he discovered the crudeness of 
 their knowledge and lack of spiritual 
 jHHver, and want of peace, joy, and the 
 gifts of the Spirit. That Paul referred 
 to the Holy Spirit, as the author of 
 miraculous gifts, is to be inferred from 
 ver. 6. Besides, he would have taken 
 for granted that they had received the 
 Spirit as commonly enjoyed hj all dis- 
 ciples. (See8:n; 10: «, 45.) The ..jrUeS- 
 
 tion seemed surprising to them, and 
 their answer surprising to him. We 
 have not so much as heard, etc. 
 Rather, We did not even hear, at the 
 time we believed, whether there is a 
 Holy Spirit, or whether the Holy Spirit 
 was given. Either translation is allow- 
 
 able. It is hardly conceivable that 
 these disciples were entirely ignorant 
 of the Holy Sjiirit. John had foretold 
 the baptism in tiie Holy Spirit by the 
 Messiah who was already among them. 
 (John 1 : :!2.:i4.) Jews and proselytes were 
 also familiar with tlie Holy Spirit from 
 the Old Testament Scriptures, Ps. 51 : 
 11 ; Isa. 63 : 10 ; Joel 2 : 28. But these 
 disciples may not have even heard the 
 supernatural power of the Spirit men- 
 tioned when they believed, and hence 
 were ignorant of Pentecost and its 
 wonders. Or, with almost the same 
 meaning, they may not have heard that 
 the Spirit was present or given, that he 
 had come in the power foretold. Com- 
 pare John 7 : 39, where it is said The 
 Spirit was not yet given, he had not 
 yet come, because Jesus was not yet 
 glorified. With either interpretation 
 they were ignorant of the great Pente- 
 costal outpouring, and of the gifts of 
 the Spirit, and of the privilege of be- 
 lievers in partaking of his power. 
 
 3. The answer of these disciples re- 
 veals to Paul something wi'ongin their 
 religious history. He therefore asks. 
 Unto Avhat then were ye bap- 
 tized ? — unto wliat name and confes- 
 sion were ye ba])tized, that ye did not 
 hear of the Holy Spirit and of his pres- 
 ence and gifts among believers? They 
 answer. Unto John's baptism. 
 When or where is unknown. Some 
 suppose Apollos had ba})tized them. 
 But they jirobalily had come to Ephe- 
 sus after he had left. Besides, if he 
 had baptized them, he would doubtless 
 have instructed them into more correct 
 views of Christianity. 
 
 The disciples of John were numerous 
 and widely scattered. They consisted 
 first of those who became disciples of 
 Christ ; second, a small sect who held 
 that John was the Messiah ; and third, 
 those who, removed from Palestine, 
 held substantially what John taught. 
 These twelve did not belong to the 
 second class, for they professed to l)e- 
 lieve in Jesus, (ver. 1,2.) Neither could 
 they be fully included in the first, for 
 they had not really entered into the 
 
302 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cu. XIX. 
 
 were ye baptized 7 And they said, » Unto 
 4 John's baptism. Then said f'aul, 'John 
 verily baptized with the baptism of re- 
 pentance, saying unto the people, that 
 
 they should believe on him which should 
 
 come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 
 
 5 When they heard this, they were baptized 
 
 I ch. 18 : 25. t di. 13 : 24, 2-5 ; Matt. 3 : 11, 12. 
 
 completed discipleship of Christ. They 
 were rather those of the third class, i 
 who, accepting John's teachings so far ] 
 as they had learned them, held some- ; 
 what imperfectly that Jesus was the i 
 Messiah. Their views were very dim 
 and uncertain, quite different in this ; 
 respect from those of Apollos (18:25) ; 
 from which we infer that they had 
 not been bajjtized by John himself, 
 but by some one of his disciples outside 
 of Palestine. For they confess their 
 ignorance of that which John had 
 taught concerning Jesus and the Holy 
 Spirit. [ 
 
 4. Paul explains the nature of John's 
 baptism. This implies that they had 
 not been proj)erly taught. It was a 
 baptism of repentance, _ one that 
 enjoined and symbolized rei)enlance. 
 (Se«onLuke3: .•!.) Ilis baptism and the 
 ministry which it implied were pre- 
 paratory and transient. He did not 
 intend that they should form any per- 
 manent organization of their own ; but 
 on the contrarv he exhorted the people 
 that they should believe on him 
 who should come after him. This 
 was a feature and design of his minis- 
 try. It was introductorj- to Chri.st. 
 Paul enlarges upon this coming one, 
 Bhowing that it is on Jesns they were 
 to believe and with him to be perma- 
 nently united. He doubtless dwelt upon 
 his sufferings, death, resurrection, and 
 ascension, and the consequent outjwur- 
 ing of the Spirit in fulfillment of the 
 fireiliction of John. Some and perhaps 
 most of tliese tilings were new to them. 
 AVhetber they had saving faith before, 
 they have it now. At the most they had . 
 bifore enjoyed but the dawn of faith, j 
 now its full sunlight. 
 
 5. Beza and some other older com- 
 mentators, on opposing what they 
 deemed the repetition of baptism by 
 the Anabaptists on the one hand, and 
 the disparaging of .John's baptism by 
 tlie Roman Catliolics on the other, 
 " oddly enough suppose this verse to 
 belong still to Paul's discourse, and to 1 
 
 mean And the people when they heard 
 him (John) were baptized info the tmme 
 of the Lord Jesus. This oliviously is 
 contrary to fact historically." (Al- 
 FOKD.) John never baptized in the 
 name of Jesus ; he baiitized at least 
 six months before he knew Jesus as the 
 Messiah. " This view of the jiassage 
 may be said to be obsolete at present." 
 (Hackett.) And when they heard 
 this — and to hear in their ease was to 
 accept and obey — they were bap- 
 tized. Faith and ba])tism were closely 
 united in ajiostolic days. That they 
 were ba})tized into the name of the 
 Lord Jesus implied their faith on 
 him as their Lord and only Saviour, 
 and their former baptism in some May 
 as irregular or defective. Liike says 
 nothing of the formula of bajitism, for 
 that would be taken for granted, but 
 briefly states their public confession of 
 Christ in baptism. Perha])s Timothy 
 bai>tized them. (i8:23; 1 Oor. 1 : n.) The 
 oft-repeated question arises, Why were 
 tliese disciples rebaj)tized? It was 
 not merely because tliey had received 
 John's bajitisni. For the twelve apos- 
 tles, and many others of John's disei- 
 )>les were not rebaj'tized. It is evident 
 that those who received John's bap- 
 tism, wliile it had a lawful existence, 
 were admitted into the church without 
 re-baptism. John also wassrw/ to bap- 
 tize; he was the baptizer, but only 
 temporarily to introduce Christ. (John 
 1 ::'.!.) AVith liim his office ceased. He 
 had no authority to commission his 
 followers to continue his baptism. 
 Baptism l)y tlieui could not therefore 
 be accejyted by Christians as valid 
 baptism. Moreover, after the last com- 
 mission, bajitisni must be performed 
 "in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son and of the Holy S])irit." These 
 disciples had not been ba]>tized accord- 
 to this formula (ver.;)^ but prol)ably by 
 some disciple of John long after John's 
 death, and the giving of the last com- 
 mission. Apollos was not rebaptized, 
 because, like the apostles, he was bap- 
 
Ch. XIX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 303 
 
 6 "in the name of the Lord Jesus. And 
 whonjPaul had » laid his hands upon them, 
 J the Holy Spirit cameou them ; and they 
 
 7 spake with tongues, and prophesied. And 
 all the men were about twelve. 
 
 8 • And he went into the synagogue, and 
 spake boldly for the space of three months, 
 
 disputing and 'persuading the things 
 9 >> concerning the kingdom of God. But 
 « when divers were hardened, and believed 
 not, but spake evil 'lof that way before 
 the multitude, « he departed from them, 
 and separated the disciples, disputing 
 daily in the school of one Tyraunus. 
 
 »ch. 8:16. »ch.6 : 6;8 .-17. Jch. 10 : 45,46 ; 1 Ci.r. 14 : 22. « ch. 17 : 2; 18 : 4. » 2 Cor. 
 5 : 11. b ch. 1 : 3 ; 28 : 23. « Jer. 7 : 26 ; Jude 10. d ch. 9 : 2 ; 24 : 14. • ch. 13 : 46. 
 
 tized during the ministry of John and 
 probably by John himself. No argu- 
 ment can be drawn from this passage 
 for repeating valid baptism. 
 
 6. And when Paul had laid his 
 hands upon them, there was tlie 
 gift of the Holy Spirit. They spake 
 with tongues and prophesied — 
 they spake in other tongues, and uttered 
 inspired words in their own. (see on 
 2:4.) The gift of tlie Spirit is only 
 spoken of in the Acts, at Pentecost, in 
 Samaria, when Peter and John were 
 sent from Jerusalem; at Cissarea, in 
 connection with Cornelius and his 
 conii)auy ; and here at Ejihesus. It was 
 not given to enable the apostles to 
 preach in other languages, but as "a 
 si<jn to the unbelieving." (i Cor. u : 2-') 
 In regard to speaking with tongues 
 and ])rophesying, see Paul's fanjous ex- 
 position, two years later, in 1 Cor. 14: 
 1-40. The superiority of Christianity 
 over all communities holding to John, 
 and formally and crudely to Jesus, 
 was demonstrated by the gift of the 
 Sjiirit. Christianity was also empliati- 
 cally a religion of the Spirit ; so that 
 without the Spirit it is not truly and 
 really Christianity. 
 
 7. All the men Avere about 
 tAvelve— which means that there were 
 not more than that numt)er. Women 
 are not mentioned (♦: 4), but the bless- 
 ings of the gospel would not likely be 
 limited to the male portion of this 
 Johanic community. Tliis was a good 
 beginning of Paul's work at E]^hesus; 
 and may have contributed largely to 
 successful efibrts among similar classes 
 of persons there and in the province of 
 Asia. (vcr. 10.) 
 
 8. Having related this incident 
 which occurred on Paul's arrival at 
 Ephesus, Luke proceeds to narrate iiis 
 residence and labors there. According 
 to his usual custom, Paul enters the 
 
 synagogue and preaches, having also 
 been previously invited. (is:2o.) He 
 spake boldly— plainly and freely. 
 (IS: 26.) For the space of three 
 months, without opposition from the 
 Jewish connuunity. This definite note 
 of time does not, according to Jewish 
 reckoning, necessarily denote three full 
 months, yet approximately nearer three 
 than two. Disputing— or reasoning 
 and persuading, striving to produce 
 conviction, acce])tance and belief. 
 (IS: 4.) Concerning the kingdom 
 of God — the New Dispensation, its 
 nature, its doctrines, and claims, (see 
 
 on 8 : 12.) 
 
 9. Tlie results were similar to that in 
 other places, but more gradual. Some 
 were hardened and were unbeliev- 
 ing. They became less and less disposed 
 to hear and accept the teachings of Paul, 
 until they positively oppose, speaking 
 evil of the way of salvation, the doc- 
 trines and practices of the religion 
 of Christ (16:17; 18; is.) Before the 
 multitude — the congregation in the 
 synagogue. Tliis became so annoying 
 that further eiforts in the synagogue 
 seemed impracticable. (i8:6.) So Paul 
 departed from them — formally 
 withdrew, and separated the dis- 
 ciples, into a congregation by them- 
 selves. They certainly became a per- 
 manent church now, if they were not 
 before, (seeon is: 27.) While they had 
 publicly worshiped in the synagogue, 
 they must have had their private gath- 
 erings for "the breaking of bread 
 and prayers." (2:4.'.) Disputing or 
 reasoning (rer. 8) daily in the school, 
 or lecture room, of one Tyrannns. 
 Some have thought that Tyrannns was 
 a Jew, but without sufficient evidence. 
 Both his name — not a common one — 
 and the school indicate him as a Gentile. 
 He was probably a Greek teacher, a 
 lecturer on philosophy, or on medicine, 
 
304 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIX. 
 
 10 And 'this continued by the space of 
 two years ; so that all they which dwelt in 
 
 Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, 
 both Jews and Greeks. 
 
 'seech. 20: 31. 
 
 as Plumptre suggests. The name is found : 
 in the inscrii)tion8 in the burial place of j 
 the deceased members of the emperor's I 
 household, perha^is of a sou a genera- 
 tion later, who is styled a physician. 
 The preaching of Paul would come less 
 in conflict with the instructions of a 
 medical teacher than of a philosopher. 
 Plumptre also suggests that through 
 Luke, " the beloved physician," who 
 was still at Philippi, Paul may have 
 been introduced favorably to Tyrannus. 
 He seems not to have been a convert to 
 Christianity, as he is not styled a be- 
 liever. It is a probable supposition 
 that he became one. AVhile he taught 
 publicly in the schoolhouse of Tyran- 
 nus, the disciples had their private 
 gatherings " from house to house." 
 
 (20: 20.) 
 
 10. For the space of two years 
 
 — in addition to the three months of 
 ver. 8. This, according to Jewish reck- 
 oning represents two years approxi- 
 mately ; that is, nearer two years than 
 one. it probably terminated before the 
 events related in ver. 21 and onward. 
 In 20 : 31, Paul says he labored three 
 years among them, which would require 
 an addition of several montlis. His 
 ceaseless labors " night and day," 
 " with tears," " keeping nothing back," 
 but declaring " the whole counsel of 
 God " are brought to view in 20 : 18-35. 
 Some time during these two years 
 Paul probably wrote his Epistle to the 
 Galatians. Upon this scholars are not 
 entirely agreed. But it is now gener- 
 ally admitted to have been after his 
 second visit to Galatia (if'M), for he 
 speaks of a first visit (oai. 4 : is) which 
 implies a second ; and his language 
 seems to contain an allusion to two 
 visits, (r.ni. ♦: 13-16; 5:3.) It was also 
 after Paul's rebuke to Peter. (Gai. 2 : ut 
 see on 18 ; 23.) It is also generally believed 
 to have been written some time during 
 this third missionarv tour, between 
 A. D. 55 and 58. Dr. 'Lightfoot (1865) 
 and some others suj>pose that it was 
 written about the same time as the 
 Epistle to the Romans, in the winter of 
 A. D. 57-8, from its resemblance to that 
 
 Epistle. But the verbal resemblances 
 consist largely in quotations from the 
 Old Testament. The similarities in 
 doctrines and trains of thought are 
 such as would be expected in one taught 
 by revelation. (Gai. 1:12.) There are 
 indeed resemblances to his early ad- 
 dresses. Thus, in regard to justification 
 by faith (13:38,39), and the accounta- 
 bility of the heathen (h ■ 15:7; Rom. 1 : 19; 
 2 : 15, etc.) I believe that no certain con- 
 clusion can be derived from those re- 
 semblances. But Dr. Ilackett (1858), 
 and Dr. Weiss of Berlin (1880), and 
 others, believe that it niu.st have l)een 
 written at Ephesus before the First 
 Epistle to the Corinthians. Tliis is a 
 very natural inference from Paul's own 
 language : " I marvel that ye are so 
 soon removed from him that called 
 you." (Gal. 1 :6.) His second visit was 
 in the winter of a. d. 54-5; and this 
 change had largely come alioiit since 
 tliat time. The so soon more naturally 
 applies to a fcAv months than to a period 
 of three years. The connmiiiication be- 
 tween Ej)hcsus and Galatia was easy. 
 It is therefore preferable to fix tlic date 
 early in the year a. n. 56. 
 
 So that all who dwelt in Asia 
 heard the word, etc. The i)roviiice 
 of Asia is meant, but the term would in 
 a general way be apjilied to all the 
 western part of Asia Minor. P^phesus 
 was a great coiiiniercial center. Thus 
 Paul had constant o]i]iortiiiiity to 
 preach to those wlio came thither. His 
 great success and his wonderful miracles 
 (ver. n) would also attract crowds from 
 all parts to hear liim. His Iielpers 
 also, such as Tinmtliy, Epa]iliras, Titus, 
 and otliers, doubtless traveled and 
 founded churches in other cities. 
 (ifi:i9.) Thus tlie seven churches of 
 Asia may have originated. (Rv. i:4. 
 See Col. 4 : i3.ir>.) Epaphras gatberod tlie 
 church at Colosse. (Coi. 1 : 6. 7.) A polios 
 too, seems to liave returned, and was 
 laboring in some portion of tliat district. 
 (1 Cor. ic : 12.) In Ephesus also believers 
 were multiplied, so tliat several congre- 
 gations were gathered at different 
 houses, as that at the house of Aquila 
 
Ch. X1X.J 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 305 
 
 11 And sGod wrought special miracles 
 
 12 by tlie bauds of Paul : >■ so that from his 
 body were brought unto the sick haud- 
 kerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases de- 
 
 parted from them, and the evil spirits 
 went out of them. 
 13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, 
 'exorcists, J took upon them to call over 
 
 8 ch. 14 : : 
 
 i> ch. 5 : 16 ; 2 Kings i : 29, etc. 
 
 ' Matt. 12 : 27. i Mark 9 : 38. 
 
 and Priscilla. (i Cor. le : i9.) Hence the 
 necessity of a numher of elders or pas- 
 tors to look after them, (m : n.) About 
 fortj years after tliis Pliny, governor of 
 Bithynia, adjoiniiit;: tlie province of 
 Asiaj in a letter to tlie Emperor Trajan, 
 sjieaks of the great number of Christians 
 of all ranks and ages, of both sexes, 
 not only in the cities, hut in the vil- 
 lages and remoter districts. During 
 tlie latter part of these two years Paul 
 probably wrote his lost Epistle to tlie 
 Corinthians (i Cor. 5:9), in which he en- 
 joined the exclusion of all profligates 
 from the church. 
 
 11. God wrought special, extra- 
 ordinary, miracles by the hands 
 of Paul. What distinguished these 
 miracles was that they were wrought 
 •without his personal jjresence and 
 agency, as related in the next verse. 
 Luke makes but little account of the 
 
 Seneral miracles of Paul, since tlie last 
 e relates was the healing of the pos- 
 sessed slave at Philippi five years before 
 (ift:i8), and makes no record of his 
 miracles at Corinth, (i Cor. 12 : 12.) 
 
 12. So that handkerchiefs or 
 aprons, which Paul used in his daily 
 toil (20:34), were curried away from 
 his body, literally, from his skin., 
 unto the sick. This showed great 
 faith, and the great power of God in 
 attesting his truth and Paul as his 
 apostle. Compare how God wrought 
 similarly through Peter. (5 : i.i, 16; Gai. 
 2:8.) Com[)are also the healing of the 
 •woman with the issue of blood, and 
 other miracles by our Saviour, (vatt. 
 9 : 31 ; u : 35, 36.) Ei^liesus was fauious for 
 its pre-eminence in magic; for its 
 charms or amulets, known as Ephesian 
 letters, which were superstitiously be- 
 lieved to insure a person's success in all 
 his undertakings, to be a preservative 
 against evils, and a reliever of demoni- 
 acal influences. God through Paul 
 showed his superiority to all such hea- 
 thenish pretensions. By exhibitions 
 of his divine power he meets supersti- j 
 tion on its own ground, and gives just j 
 
 U 
 
 such evidences as would overwhelm- 
 ingly convince tlie P^phesians that Paul 
 was his servant, and his teachings true. 
 God can work, and does work, in any 
 way he {ileases. 
 
 13. In contrast to the miracles of 
 Paul, Luke relates the futile attempts 
 of certain Jews to imitate him. Vaga- 
 bond Jews — descriptive of their 
 mode of life, going about, like jug- 
 glers. Exorcists — those who em- 
 ployed a formula of conjuration for 
 expelling demons. The Jews had a 
 wide reputation throughout the Roman 
 world as exorcists. Many were living 
 on the credulity of others, professing 
 to be magicians. Such was Simon 
 Magus in Samaria (« : »), and Elymas in 
 Cyprus. (13:8.) There seemed to be a 
 national tendency toward these dark 
 arts, and the Old Testament contains 
 severe laws against them. (Exod. 22;i8: 
 
 Lev. 20 : 27 ; Deut. 18 : 10, 11 ; 1 Sam. 28 : 3, 9.) Eplie- 
 
 sus, the centre of Oriental philosophy 
 and witchcraft, was a common resort of 
 magicians. It is thought tliat the famous 
 arch-magician and teacher, Apollo- 
 nius of Tyana, had visited Ephesus just 
 previous to Paul's arrival, and had 
 given a fresh impulse to tlie mysterious 
 arts. The Jewish exorcists professed 
 to have derived their art from King 
 Solomon ; and memliers of the Sanlie- 
 driii were expected to have a certain 
 knowledge of the art, in order to be 
 able to try those accused of emjiloying 
 it. It indicates the sjnritual blindness 
 and depravity of these Jews that they 
 classed Paul with tlieniselves, and his 
 miracles with their magic, (see on 8: 9; 
 13 : 6 ; Matt. 12 : 27.) VVc adjurc — rather, 
 according to the best critical authori- 
 ties, I adjure, I solemnly require yon, 
 etc. Their use of the name of Jesus 
 was an acknowledgment of his superi- 
 ority. 
 
 " Strange to say, exorcism became a 
 church practice. Tertullian and Origen 
 speak of it. At a later period exorcists 
 formed one of the lower orders of the 
 clergy, and the clergy of the Roman 
 
306 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 LCu. XIX- 
 
 them which had evil spirits the name of 
 the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by 
 
 14 Jesus whom Paul preaeheth. And there 
 were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and 
 
 15 chief of the priests, which did so. And 
 the evil spirit answered and said, ' Jesus 
 1 know, and Paul I know : but who are 
 
 16 ye? And 'the man in whom the evil 
 
 18 
 
 spirit was leaped on them, and overcame 
 them, and prevailed against them, so that 
 they fled out of that house naked and 
 wounded. 
 
 And this was known to all the Jews 
 and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus: 
 and "> fear fell on them all ; and the name 
 of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And 
 
 k Mark 1 : 24, 25. > Lev. 10 : 3. 
 
 ' oh. 5 : 5, 11; Ps. 04 : 9; Luke 1 : 65 ; 7 : 16. 
 
 Catholic Church are still ordained ex- 
 orcists before being ordained as priests. 
 At baptism both the Greek anti Roman 
 Catholic Cliurches use formulas of ex- 
 orcism. The Reformed Churches at 
 tlie Reformation renounced exorcism, 
 but Luther and Melaucthon were in 
 favor of its retention. The Prayer 
 Book of Edward YL retained a formula 
 of exorcism, " I command thee, unclean 
 spirit . . . that thou come out of this 
 infant," etc. (HowsoN and Spenck.) 
 
 14. Such were seven sons of 
 Sceva. Nothing more is known of 
 them except what is related here. Sceva 
 was a Jew and a chief priest, iiro]>ably 
 connected in some way with the Aaronic 
 priesthood. (See on i: 23.) Possibly he 
 may have been an apostate Jew, and 
 one of the priests of Diana. The Greek 
 word rendered chief priest was in gen- 
 eral use among the heathen, and occurs 
 repeatedly on coins and inscriptions 
 relating to the worship of Diana of 
 Ephesus. Who did so — were in the 
 habit of doing this. 
 
 15. In one of these attemjitsthe evil 
 spirit ansAvered two of them. See 
 next verse. Jesus I know, and Paul 
 I know. Two Greek verbs are here 
 rendered know. They may be dis- 
 tinguished thus : Jesus I recognize, ac- 
 knowledging his authority and power, 
 and Paul I am well acquainted irith, 
 as the servant of God. (See le -.n.) But 
 who are ye ? Expressions of contempt 
 and indignation at them as powerless 
 opponents. 
 
 16. The expression of contempt by 
 theevil spirit is followed by correspond- 
 ing acts by the man himself, through 
 whom the demon exerted his power. 
 Evil spirits are distinguished from the 
 possessed, as well as from diseases in ver. 
 12. Regarding demoniacal possession, 
 see on Matt. 4 : 24. Leaped on them. 
 Thus the man under the power of the 
 •lemon attacked them furiously. Over- 
 
 I came, or mastered, them — according 
 t to the oldest manuscripts, mustered both 
 of them, which implies that only two 
 of the sons of Sceva were attempting 
 to expel the demons at this time. Pre- 
 vailed — literally, vas strong, against 
 them, reminding us of the great strength 
 of the demoniac of the Gerasenes. (M.irk 
 5 : 2-4.) Naked^partially stripped of 
 their clothing, probably of their outer 
 garment. (John^i:?.) As Jesus over- 
 came Satan and the powers of darkness 
 when upon earth, so it was becoming 
 ' that his power should be manifested in 
 like manner through the apostles, and 
 especially that the superiority of the 
 gospel over magic should be demon> 
 strated at Ephesus, the very seat of its 
 power. 
 
 17. This became knoAvn to all the 
 Jews and Greeks also dwelling 
 at Ephesus. " Nothing is more mor« 
 tifying or better calculated to provokfl 
 the contempt of the community than 
 the unexpected exposure of mysterious 
 pretensions, such as were assumed by 
 these exorcists. The [evil] spirit was 
 enraged at their insulting pretensions, 
 and doubtless enjoyed tlie joke of ex- 
 posing them. . . . They were stripped 
 and wounded, presenting a very ludi. 
 crous aspect as they passed along the 
 streets. While all Ejmesus was laugh- 
 ing at them, it was remembered tha< 
 the spirit acknowledged the authority 
 of Jesus, and of Paul, and that a licen- 
 tious use of the name of Jesus was th« 
 cause of all their trouble." (McGak- 
 VEY.) And fear, a religious awe, 
 fell on them all — on the people gen- 
 erally. (5:5,11.) The name of the 
 Lord Jesus was magnified — 
 praised and extolled. (io:46.) Thus 
 the ignominious defeat of the exorcists 
 brought honor upon the name of Jesus, 
 as a name above every name. (Phii. j : »•) 
 18. And now followed a scene, one 
 of the wonders in early missionary 
 
Cir. XIX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 307 
 
 ninny that believed came, and " confessed, 
 19 and shewed their deeds. Many of them 
 also which used carious arts brought their 
 books together, aud <> burned them before 
 all J»e» ; and they counted the price of 
 
 them, and found it fifty tliousandix'eceiof 
 20 silver, v o iiiightly grew the word of God 
 
 and prevailed. 
 21 After these things were ended, Paul 
 1 purposed in the spirit, when he had 
 
 nProv 28-13: Matt. 3:6. « Gen. 35 : 4. P oh. 6 : 7 ; 12 : 24; 1 Cor. 16 : 9, qch. 20:22; 
 Rom. 15 : 23-28 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 5-11 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 15-18. 
 
 work: Confession, exposure, and re- 
 nunciation. Many that believed— 
 
 that is, many believers. They may 
 have beeu recent believers, yet con- 
 verted before the failure of the sons of 
 Sceva. Confessed and shewed — 
 or made known their deeds. They 
 made a full and frank confession of 
 their participation in magic arts. Their 
 heathen education anil superstition had 
 taught them to reverence such prac- 
 tices, but now they realize the impro- 
 priety and wickedness of so doing. The 
 truthfulness of Luke is illustrated by 
 this humiliating record of many of 
 Paul's converts, who had committed 
 deeds so utterly inconsistent with the 
 pure ami holy religion they professed. 
 They were the dupes of the jugglers 
 mentioned in the next verse. So 
 Hackett. 
 
 19. Many of them, or Not a few 
 of those also who used, or practiced 
 curious, or magic, arts — the jugglers. 
 The word curious, is used in the sense 
 of inqaisitive, impertinent, prying into 
 the secret things of God. (bcut. 29:29. 
 Seeou ver. 12.) Brought their books 
 together, which treated on astrology, 
 necromancy, and doubtless filled with 
 incantations, recipes for charms, formu- 
 las for casting out evil spirits, and the 
 like. Perhaps some of the books of 
 ApoUonius were among them. (ver. is.) 
 Among them also may have been books 
 of the Essenes, a Jewish sect of which 
 we know but little, who liad certain 
 secret works on the occult sciences. 
 (Dr. Lightfoot, Com. on Co/ossians, 
 pp. 77-79.) The books were written 
 rolls ov scrolls. B urned, or ■icere burn- 
 ing them before all ; one after an- 
 other flinging their books into the 
 burning pile. Fifty thousand pieces 
 of silver. As Luke was writing espe- 
 cially for Greek readers, the current 
 Gieek coin, called the drachma, is prob- 
 ably meant, worth about fifteen cents 
 of our money. The total amount may 
 
 be roughly put at about eight thousand 
 dollars, representing, however, a much 
 larger sum, considering the higher 
 value of money then than now. Books, 
 however, were much more expensive 
 than now, especially of that class. 
 
 20. Luke briefly sums up the pro- 
 gress of Christ's cause at Ephesus, as 
 illustrated by the preceding incidents. 
 So mightily, etc. Thus with power 
 the word of the Lord Jesus, the gospel, 
 grew in its influence and in the num- 
 ber of its adherents («: t; i2: u) and e.t- 
 tended its poicer in producing such 
 great results. Paul, in his First Epistle 
 to the Corinthians, written from Eph- 
 esus, alludes to these very'events when 
 he writes : " For a great door aud ef- 
 fectual is opened unto me, and there 
 are many adversaries." (iCor. i6:9.) 
 Paul had sent Timothy to Corinth (i Cor. 
 4:17) by way of Macedonia (ver. 20, 21), 
 who had not 5'et arrived there when he 
 wrote the Ejjistle. (i Cor. 16: 10.) See on 
 ver. 22, where is noted the exact time 
 of this Epistle. 
 
 21-41. Paul Proposes to Leave 
 Ephesus ; bitt Tarries for a Time. 
 Demetrius Excites a Tumult, (^•om. 
 
 1:1.1-15; 1 Cor. 4:17-19; 16 : 19; Eph. 2:19-25.) 
 
 This extended into the spring and 
 probably the summer of A. D. 57 ; to 
 Pentecost in May, or, more probably, 
 to about the first of July, or August. 
 
 (See on ver. 10 ; also on 20 : 1.) 
 
 21. After these things were 
 ended — after the events just related, 
 which comjdeted the two years and 
 three months of ver. 8 and 10. Some 
 suppose that Paul made his second 
 visit to Corinth, a brief one, which is 
 implied in 1 Cor. 1.3 : 1, just previous 
 to this period. But it could hardly 
 have been at this time since Paul, in 
 his First Epistle depends not at all on 
 his own observation, but on oral ac- 
 counts and written statements and 
 
 questions. (l Cnr. l : ll ; 7:1; H:l; 11.18; 
 
 16 : 17, 18.) Dr. Howson takes the affirm- 
 
308 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIX. 
 
 passed through Macedonia aud Achala, 
 to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have 
 22 been there, ' I must also see Rome. So he 
 sent into MaceJonia two of ^ them that 
 ministered unto him, Timotheus and 
 < Erastus ; but he himself stayed in Asia 
 for a season. 
 
 The 
 
 uproar excited by Deinelrius, n.nd its 
 suppression. 
 
 23 AND " the same time there arose no 
 
 24 small stir about that way. For a certain 
 inan named Demetrius, a silversmith, 
 which made silver shrines for Diana, 
 
 • ch. 23 ; 11. 6 ch. 13 : 5. t i{om. 16 : 23 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 20. « 2 Cor. 1 : 8.; 
 
 ative of this question in Life and 
 Epistles, Vol. II, p. 21 f ; aud Dr. Paley 
 the negative in Hora; Pauliuse, on 2 Cor. 
 13 : 1. It seems better, however, to 
 l)lace this second visit earlier. See on 
 lU : 11; also a discussion of this sub- 
 ject in Harmonic Arrangement, p. 
 21(3 ff. 
 
 Paul purposed in the spirit — 
 in his mind under divine direction. 
 When he passed through Mace- 
 donia and Achaia — the two Eouian 
 provinces of Greece. His object was 
 to stir up and confirm the churches, 
 aud correct certain abuses at Corinth. 
 The account of this visit is found in 
 20: 1-3. To go to Jerusalem — to 
 carry the collection for the poor saints 
 
 there. {■H-.n; Bom. lai-iS; l Cor. 16 ; 1-3.) 
 
 This visit he accomplished a year later. 
 (21:15.) I must also see' Rome. 
 This had been a long cherished plan, 
 perhaps from the time he first met 
 Aquila and Priscilla, who came from 
 Eome to Corinth (is : 2), and told him 
 of matters there. (Rom. \ -. v.; 15 : 23-2S.) 
 This purpose was carried out three 
 years later, not, however, as he had 
 planned, but as a prisoner and in 
 chains. (28: 16, 20, 21.) His purpose also 
 embraced a visit to Spain. (Rom. 15 : 28.) 
 Perhaps about this time he began tc 
 write his Epistles to the Romans. 
 
 22. So he sent, rather, And hav- 
 infl sent into Macedonia, to Thessa- 
 loiiica, Philippi, and perhaps Berea. 
 Timothy was to continue his journey 
 to Corinth, making but a short delay 
 in Macedonia, (icor. 4:i7.) Tliis is 
 one of the many confirmations of the 
 Acts by incidental allusions in Paul's 
 Epistles. Erastus has been quite 
 commonly identified with the city 
 treasurer" of Corinth, mentioned in 
 Rom. 16 : 23. But the one named here 
 !tnd in 2 Tim. 4 : 20 seems to have been 
 J' 11 attendant of Paul, and could hardly 
 liave been long away from his oflicial 
 duties. It is possible that he may have 
 
 held the oflice a little later than this 
 for a brief period. JIany of the best 
 critics suppose that there were two dis- 
 ciples of this name, as the name was 
 not unusual. But he himself 
 stayed in the province of Asia fcr 
 a season. Tliis probably emlnaeed 
 several mouths' labor at Ephesus aud 
 vicinity. 
 
 Just at this time after sending away 
 Timothy and Erastus, Paul sent liis 
 First Epistle to the Corinthians. It 
 could not liaVc been at his first visit to 
 Ephesus, for he did not tarry there at 
 all. (18:19,20) See note on ver. 20. In 
 this epistle Paul makes evident allu- 
 sions to tlie games and dramatic ex- 
 hibitions to which he had become 
 familiar at Ejihesus. Thus he refers to 
 fighting with wild beasts (1 Cor. 15 : 32.), 
 as being made a spectacle and doomctl 
 to death (1 Cor. 4:9), as running not as 
 uncertainly, and fighting, not " as 
 one that beateth the air" (1 Cor. 9:26), ar, 
 buffeting his body and bringing it into 
 bondage like an athlete. He writts 
 with vividness, as if the scenes were 
 passing around him. Possibly tlie 
 Arteniision month of A. D. .57, corre- 
 sponding to portions of our April and 
 May, was just beginning, — a montli 
 consecrated by special decree to the 
 goddess Diana, and devoted to festivals 
 and processions, gladiatorial games in 
 the theatre, and races of runners and 
 of chariots in tlie stadium. This cer- 
 tainly harmonizes Avith liis jinrpose to 
 remain at Ephesus till Pentecost, 
 which probably occurred soon after the 
 close of this sacred month. 
 
 23. Luke proceeds to record one of 
 the greatest poinilar excitements jiro- 
 duced by Paul's ministry. It is styhd 
 no small stir or tumult. About 
 that way — the way of the Lord, a 
 very common designation. (.Sec on '.1:2.) 
 " There is a striking resemblance be- 
 tween the tumult at Ephesus and that 
 at Philippi. They were both distin- 
 
Ch. XIX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 309 
 
 25 brought, I Ml siuall gain unto the crafts- 
 men: wliojii !u' callod together with the 
 workmen of lilce occupation, and said, 
 8irs, ye know that l)y this craft we have 
 
 2S our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, 
 that not alone at Ephesus, but almost 
 
 throughout all Asia, this Paul hath per- 
 suaded and turned away much people, 
 saying that J they he no gods, which are 
 27 made with hands: so that not only this 
 our craft is in danger to be set at nought ; 
 but also that the temple of the great god- 
 
 : ch. 16 : 16, 19. 3 ch. 14 : 15 ; 17 : 29 ; Ps. 115 : 4 ; Isa. 44 : 10-20 ; Jer. 10 : 3, 5. 
 
 guished from all other persecutions 
 mentioned in the Acts, in that they 
 were not caused by the Jews, but by 
 Gentiles ; both also originated in inter- 
 ested motives, the loss of gain ; both 
 were characterized by senseless rioting 
 and cruel violence, and in both the 
 actors were restrained from proceeding 
 to e.x;treme measures." (Dr. Ormis- 
 TON, irt Meyr.) 
 
 24. Demetrius, a silversmith — 
 a silver-beater, or worker in silver, who 
 made silver shrines or temples of 
 Diana, or Artemis. Demetrius was 
 doubtless a large manufacturer of small 
 silver models of the temple and statue 
 of Diana, which people carried around 
 with them in their journeys, as a pre- 
 ventive of diseases and dangers, and 
 used in their homes as objects of wor- 
 ship. Diana was the Roman name, 
 and Artemis the Greek name of the 
 guardian goddess of the great temple 
 at Ephesus. She seems to have been 
 of an Oriental rather than of a Greek 
 type, and was similar to Astarte and 
 other female divinities of the East. 
 She was the goddess of the productive ' 
 and nutritive powers of nature. (See on 
 Ter.35.) Brought no small gain— 
 work or business to the craftsmen 
 or artisans. The models were bought 
 by pilgrims as memorials of their visit, 
 and were sent as articles of traffic into 
 distant countries. 
 
 25. With the workmen of like 
 occupation. The craftsmen of the 
 preceding verse jsrobably represented 
 the finer artisans, and the workmen of 
 this verse the general laborers in 
 rougher work. Demetrius probably 
 had Imndreds of men in his employ ; 
 and there were doubtless manufactories 
 beside his own. And said. The ad- 
 dress is selfish, hut candid. He appeals 
 first of all to their fear of losing their 
 business and tlieir wealth. Ye kuoAV 
 that by this craft we have our 
 wealth or ^rosperi^^. (ver. 24.) 
 
 26. This charge against Paul is 
 truthful. While he had not made any 
 direct and public assaults upon the 
 temple and goddess Diana, he had 
 taught that they be no gods, 
 which arc made with hands. (Sea 
 14 : 15; 17 :24-2».) The great success and 
 influence ascribed to Paul accords with 
 Luke's statement in ver. lU. 
 
 27. So that, etc. And not only is 
 there danger that our craft, rather, 
 our branch of business, come into con- 
 tempt, and thus prove worthless. The 
 word translated craft is difterent from 
 that in ver. 25, and refers to that 
 lucrative part of their business con- 
 nected Avith the making of shrines, 
 whicli was now in special danger. 
 Demetrius appeals next to their vener- 
 ation of their temple, and their rever- 
 ence for their goddess. But also 
 that the temple ... should be 
 despised, or be accounted nothing, 
 aud thus be brought into contempt. 
 And her magnificence should be 
 destroyed, she whom all Asia and 
 the Avorld worshippeth. This is a 
 strong expression with much truth. 
 The idol was widely venerated and the 
 temple, with that of Deliihi, was tlie 
 most famous in the world, and was the 
 resort of people from all countries. 
 " The sun, it was said, saw nothing in 
 his course more magnificent than 
 Diana's temple." It was built of white 
 marble. On the night in which Alex- 
 ander was born (.356 B. c.) it was 
 burned by a fanatic named Herostra- 
 tus; but it was rebuilt and adorned 
 more magnificently than before. Its 
 general appearance is shown on an 
 ancient Eplicsian coin, which also ex- 
 hibits tlie head of the Emperor Nero. 
 In A. D. 262 it was robbed of its treas- 
 ures and defaced by the Goths, after 
 which it gradually fell into ruins, and 
 was so completely covered with the sand 
 and mud of the river that its site was 
 a matter of conjecture, till the remark- 
 
310 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIX. 
 
 dess Diana should be despised, and her 
 magnificence should he destroyed, whom 
 all Asia and the world worshippeth. 
 28 And when they heard these saying.t, 
 they were full of wrath, and cried out, 
 saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesiaus. 
 
 29 And the whole city was filled with con- 
 fusion : and having caught ^ Gaius ai>d 
 » Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's 
 companions in travel, they rushed wiih 
 
 30 one accord into the theatre. And when 
 Paul would have entered in unto the peo- 
 
 Itom. 16 : 23 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 14; 3 John 1. 
 
 ' ch. 20 : 4 : 27 : 2 ; Col. 4 : 10 ; Philem. 24. 
 
 able discoveries of Mr. T. A. Wood 
 (1863-74) brought it to light. The 
 platform on which the temple stood 
 was four hundred ami eighteen feet 
 long, two hundred and thirty-nine feet 
 wide ; and the temple itself was three 
 hundred and forty-two by one hundred 
 and sixty-three feet. Eight columns 
 stood in front, as seen on coins and 
 medals, and the whole number is esti- 
 mated at one hundred, about fifty -five 
 feet eight inches in height, and each 
 the gift of a king or of some devout 
 woi-shiper. Its treasury in its palmy 
 days became a great bank of deposit, 
 and vast wealth was accumulated. 
 Connected with its services was a large 
 establishment of celibate priests and 
 virgin priestesses ; and also teachers 
 and ministering boys. Besides those 
 represented by Demetrius, there were 
 the butchers who sold victims for sacri- 
 fice, the surveyors and masons who 
 looked after tlie re])airs, and others, 
 all of whom depended on the temple 
 for their livelihood. Paul frequently 
 u-ses the imagery of a temple in his 
 epistles, and especially in that to the 
 Ephesians, in allusion perhaps to this 
 
 temple. (Seel Cor. 3:9n; Kph. 2:19-22; 1 Tim. 
 S : 15 ; 6 : 19 ; 2 Tim. i ; 19, 20.) See further OH 
 
 Upfu'A-its, ver. 1. 
 
 '2S. When they heard this. De- 
 metrius probably made this speech in 
 some large oi)en space near the manu- 
 factories of the shrines ; and perhaps 
 not far from the temple, which was out- 
 side of the city wall. They Avere 
 full of wrath— again.<;t " this Paul " 
 (ver. 26) and the Christians. And cried 
 ont — ivere crying out, denoting con- 
 tinuous action. Probably marching 
 and rushing through the streets, gather- 
 ing crowds after them, with the cry, 
 Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 
 
 (Seeon ver. 2i,) 
 
 29. And the whole city — some of 
 the better manuscripts omit whole — 
 w as filled with confusion, or with 
 
 the disturbances of this frenzied, riotous 
 crowd. Having caught — or seised 
 Gaius and Aristarchus. It was a 
 
 kind providence that they did not find 
 Paul. This Gaius is not mentioned 
 elsewhere. He is not the one from 
 Derbe (20 : 4), nor the one from Corinth 
 
 (Rom. 16 : 23 ; 1 Cor. 1 : h), aud probably UOt 
 
 the one to whom John writes (3 John 1). 
 Aristarchus was of Thessolouica (20 : <), 
 and went with Paul to Rome (27 : 2), and 
 became a voluntary sharer of his exile 
 and captivity (Coi. 4 :io), and his fellow- 
 worker. (Philem. 24.) They rushed 
 with one accord into the theatre 
 — where dramatic exhibitions were 
 held, gladiators fought, and criminals 
 were sometimes exposed to wild beasts. 
 It was a favorite meeting place of the 
 citizens for business, and on public 
 occasions. The remains of the theatre 
 are still extant, exhibiting the usual 
 semicircular, or horse-shoe shape, open 
 to the air, with seats ranged around in 
 tiers one above another. Its seating 
 capacity is estimated to have been from 
 thirty to fifty -seven thousand. Accord- 
 ing to the last estimate it was the 
 largest in the world. The temple of 
 Diana was in full view, just across tlie 
 market-jdace. It would seem that w hile 
 they were rushing towaril the theatre 
 they seized Gaius and Aristarchus, 
 either from the house where they were, 
 or from the street. Had it not been for 
 the timely interference of the town- 
 clerk, their lives may have been taken. 
 (Ver. 35.) Paul, no doubt, had in mind 
 the gladiatorial contests in tlie theatre, 
 when he so vividly describes the armor 
 of the Christian warrior. (Epu. 6 ; lo-is.) 
 30. When Paul would have 
 entered. In this we see the l)old and 
 sympathetic character of Paul. He 
 seems to have been out of the reach of 
 the mob, when they seized his com- 
 panions. But he was anxious for their 
 safety, and zealous for the truth. Tht- 
 disciples suffered him not, among 
 
Ch. XIX.] 
 
 THE ACTS, 
 
 311 
 
 31 pie, the disciiiles •> suffered him not. And 
 certain of the chief of Asia, which were 
 his friends, sent unto liiiu, desiring him 
 that he would not adventure himselt into 
 
 32 the theatre Some therefore cried one 
 thing, and some another : for the assem- 
 bly was confused ; and the more part 
 knew not wherefore they were come to- 
 
 33 gether. And they drew Alexander out 
 of the multitude, the Jews putting bim 
 forward. And " Ahixander beckoned with 
 the huud, and would have made his de- 
 
 34 fence unto the people. But when they 
 knew that be was a Jew, all with one 
 voice about the space of two hours cried 
 out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 
 
 * 2 Sam. 18 ; 3. « 1 Tim. 1 : 20; 2 Tim. 4 : 14. 
 
 whom doubtless were Aquila and Pris- 
 cilla, who, at this or some other time 
 at Ephesus, " laid down their own 
 necks" for his life; also, brethren, of 
 the Ephesians, wlio knew the reverence 
 of their countrymen for their goddess, 
 and the deadly j)eril to which Paul 
 would expose him.self. The people — 
 who were a tumultnous assembly. (Ver. 
 
 32-40.) 
 
 31. And certain of the chief of 
 Asia — the Asiarchs, who were officers 
 having charge of festivals in the Roman 
 province of Asia. Thoy were ten iu 
 number, chosen annually by the cities 
 of Asia, and were required to bear them- 
 selves the expenses of the costly games, 
 which were held iu the month of May, 
 in honor of Diana. They were, conse- 
 quently, men of wealth ; and having 
 been once chosen they retained the 
 title during life. Who were his 
 friends, or friendly to him, without 
 implying that they were Christians. 
 Their duties at the heathenish games 
 were inconsistent with a Christian pro- 
 fession. Possibly some of them may 
 have been secret believers. Paul had 
 great power in attracting honorable 
 friends, such as Sergius Paulas, Gallio, 
 Felix, and Festus, and the centurion 
 on the voyage to Rome. It was cer- 
 taiuly remarkable that such leading 
 and prominent men in heatlienish 
 sports should have shown such a 
 friendly and solicitous care for Paul ; 
 and as Akerman remarks, it is " an 
 assertion which no fabricator of a 
 forgery would have ventured upon." 
 
 33. The confusion of the assembly is 
 vividly portrayed. This verse is a 
 continuance of the description of ver. 
 29. A vast multitude had assembled, 
 with a vague idea of something wrong 
 committed with reference to the god- 
 dess Diana ; but the greater part were 
 ignorant of its exact uatuie. 
 
 33. And they drew Alexander, 
 
 etc. Literally, Out of the croivd they 
 brought forward Alexander, the Jews 
 urging him along. Calvin, Meyer, and 
 some others suppose him to have been 
 a Christian, whom the Jews wished to 
 expose to the fury of the mob, and so 
 turn away their anger from the other 
 Jews. But it is more natural with 
 Neandcr, Hackett, and others to regard 
 him as a Jew, perhaps an orator, who 
 would disclaim any participation of 
 the Jews in Paul's proceedings. The 
 Jews knew that they were liable to be 
 confounded with Christians, and they 
 would naturally wish to explain that 
 Paul and his companions were apos- 
 tates from the Jewish faith. Some sup- 
 pose this to have been " Alexander, the 
 coppersmith," who much later did Paul 
 
 much evil (iTim. l:20;2Tiui.l;14), and 
 
 that his trade led him into certain re- 
 lations with Demetrius and his crafts- 
 men. But this is doubtful, as the name 
 was common. And would have 
 made his defence — rather, a defence 
 for himself and his people. 
 
 34. When they knew^r per- 
 ceived — that he was a Jew, from his 
 looks, and perhaps from words he was 
 beginning to utter, Gentile hatred and 
 prejudice at once iniluenced the whole 
 multitude. They recognized a Jew at 
 once as opposed to idol-worship, and 
 probably did not closely discriminate 
 between Jews and Christians. A con- 
 tinuous cry for about the space of 
 two hours went up. Great is Diana 
 of the Ephesians. This was not 
 only an expression of loyalty, but an 
 act of worship, which accorded with 
 Oriental and heathenish customs. (Matt. 
 6:7.) Compare the repetitions of the 
 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 ; 26. 
 Mohammedans and the worshipers of 
 Brahma in India often spend the entire 
 day iu uttering such repetitions. 
 
S12 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIX. 
 
 35 And when the townclcrk had appeased 
 the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, 
 ■what man is there that knoweth not how 
 that the city of the Ephesians is a wor- 
 shipper of the great goddess Diana, and of 
 the image which fell down from Jupiter? 
 
 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be 
 
 spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and 
 
 37 *to do nothing rashly. For ye have 
 brought hither these men, which are 
 neither robbers of churches, nor yet 
 
 38 blasphemers of your goddess. Wherefore 
 if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which 
 are with him, have a matter against any 
 
 d Prov. 25 : 8. 
 
 35. And when, etc. But the town 
 clerk fiat-ing quieted the multitude. The 
 town clerk, or secretary of the city, kept 
 the records of the j)ublic assemblages, 
 attended to letters addressed to the city, 
 and was the guardian of its public docu- 
 ments and archives. The inscriptions 
 in Mr. "Wood's Ephesus make mention 
 of two town clerks, one of the senate, 
 and one of the popular assembly. 
 (Theatre, pp. ItJ, 44.) The office of 
 town clerk ajjpears to have been one of 
 great importance and intlucnce. Some- 
 times he was invested with the dignity 
 of high priest of the goddess. He was 
 ex-officio president of the assembly. 
 He said — ^his speech is candid and 
 shows great tact. He appeals to them, 
 that such excitement is unbecoming 
 the Ephesians, who were above all sus- 
 picion in their devotion to the goddess 
 Diana (this verse and the next). He 
 affirms tliat nothing can be proved 
 against these men (vcr. 37), that this con- 
 course and excitement was unnecessary, 
 for the courts were ojien to Demetrius 
 and his craftsmen (ver. ss. 39), and that 
 they were liable to be called to an ac- 
 count by the Roman authorities. ( ver. «.) 
 The city of the Ephesians is a 
 Ai'orshipper, or temple-lreper. Liter- 
 ally a temple-sweeper, one who sweeps 
 and cleanses the temple, and hence one 
 xvho keeps and adorns it. It became 
 an honorary title, a temple-keeper, 
 which Ej)hesus was proud to receive 
 and claim, as the guardian of the 
 temple and worship of Diana. Among 
 the inscriptions of Mr. Wood at Ephe- 
 sus is one wliicli speaks of an assembly 
 of the temple-keepers. ( Theatre, p. 3.) 
 The title first apjjcared on the coins of 
 Ephesus under the Emperor Nero, who 
 entered upon his reign in the autumn 
 of A. D. 54. If these coins had Ix'en 
 recently issued, the reference to this 
 title would be the more significant and 
 emphatic. And of the image which 
 
 fell down from Jupiter— that is, 
 
 from- heaven. Like many other vener- 
 ated idols of the ])agan world, it was 
 believed to have fallen down from the 
 sky. Possibly the origin of such 
 legends may have arisen from the fall 
 of meteoric stones. The reference here 
 is to the wooden image of Diana, which 
 was a rude, many-breasted female 
 figure, entling below the breasts in a 
 mummy-like pillar, curiously carved 
 with symbols of bees, grain, and 
 flowers. 
 
 3G. Such being the case, ye ought, 
 it is your moral duty, to be quiet, 
 exercising self-control, and to do 
 nothing rashly or precipitately. 
 
 37. For, implying that they had 
 acted rashly, and introducing the rea- 
 son for such an imi>lication. Neither 
 robbers of churches, rather, of tern- 
 pies. They were not spoilers of temples, 
 and thus guilty of sacrilege. Nor yet 
 blasphemers of your goddess — 
 or, according to some old manuscripts, 
 our goddess. From this we may learn 
 how wisely and quietly Paul had done 
 his work at Ephesus. He did not deal 
 in ridicule or in violent denunciations, 
 but taught the truth positively, and 
 thus imderniined idolatry. He doubt- 
 less exercised a winning and graceful 
 courtesy, and a care for the feelings of 
 others. 
 
 38. Wherefore, etc. Accordingly, 
 since these men are neither blasphemers 
 nor guilty of sacrilege, if Demetrius 
 and the otliers have a matter against 
 any man, the law is open, literally, 
 the court-days are kept. Perhaps, as 
 some suppose, the courts were in session. 
 Ephesus was one of those towns where 
 Roman officials held court. Being also 
 a free city, it had its local courts and 
 magistrates. The courts were held in 
 the agora, or forum, which was near 
 the great theatre. And there are 
 deputies — rather, proconsuls, Ephe- 
 
f^a. XIX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 313 
 
 man, the law is open, and there are depu- 
 
 39 ties: let them implead one another. But 
 if ye inquire anything concerning other 
 matters, it shull be determined in a law- 
 
 40 ful assembly. For we are in danger to 
 
 be called in question for this day's up- 
 roar, there being no cause whereby we 
 may give an account of this concourse. 
 41 And when he had thus spoken, he dis- 
 missed the assembly. 
 
 sus being a senatorial province. (See on 
 13 ; 7.) There was usually but one pro- 
 consul at a time. Hence, some sui)pose 
 the plural here includes the judges or 
 assistants appointed by him for the 
 trial of cases. The term, however, 
 may lie used in a general sense, referring 
 to t!ie whole class. But in the first year 
 of Xero, the proconsul Silarius was 
 jioisoiied by Celes and Heliiis, who 
 held the office together till a successor 
 should be appointed. As Celes did not 
 return to Rome till A. D. 57, it has been 
 conjectured that they were now exer- 
 cising proconsular authority. Let them 
 implead one another — let them ac- 
 cuse, bring a charge one again.st the 
 other, or plead against one another. 
 Notice how prudently the town clerk 
 refrains from naming Paul or any of 
 his companions. 
 
 39. But if ye inquire, etc. If your 
 inquiry has reference to other matters 
 than those under the jurisdiction of the 
 court, it shall be determined or 
 settled in the lawful or reijular 
 assembly. This implies tluit the 
 present gathering was irregular and 
 unlawful. The word used for assembly 
 here and in ver. 41 is the one usually 
 ti-anslated church, (see on 5 : u.) Among 
 the Greeks the word was applied to an 
 assembly of the people convened for the 
 puri)ose of deliberating on public mat- 
 ters. This assembly held an important 
 place at Ephesus. It had three stated 
 meetings every month. It could also be 
 convoked by the magistrate of the city. 
 An inscription, found in this very tlie- 
 atre, speaivs of the lawful or regular 
 assembly. Private grievances could be 
 laid before the courts ; matters which 
 concern tiie public should be brought 
 before the lawful or regular asseml)ly. 
 Thus there was no justification for this 
 tumultuous concourse. 
 
 40. Finally, the town clerk reminds 
 them that they had criminally exposed 
 theiuselves to punishment from the 
 Roman government, which did not tol- 
 erate riotous assemblages in the prov- 
 inces, and punished the rioters with 
 
 death. For Ave are in dan§^er to 
 be called in question, or accused, 
 for this day's uproar, or riot before 
 the Roman Senate and Roman officials. 
 The liberties of their free city might 
 in consequence be forfeited. There 
 being no cause ; and they could 
 give no justifiable account of this 
 concourse. Their danger was not 
 merely in being accused, but iu being 
 unable to defend themselves. 
 
 41. When he had thus spoken — 
 adroitly, firmly, and authoritatively — 
 he dismissed the assembly — im- 
 plying that the tumult was quelled, and 
 the people having been brought to 
 proper calmness and consideration, 
 were quietly dispersed. 
 
 Many infer from the presence of the 
 Asiarchs y^ ver. si) at Ephesus that the 
 riot took place in the Artemesion 
 month (parts of April and May), in 
 which the Ephesian games were cele- 
 l)rated in honor of Diana. This, how- 
 ever, is not a necessary inference ; for 
 Asiarchs would be present at the au- 
 tumnal election ; and doubtless some 
 of them who had received the honor 
 and bore the title resided at Ephesus, 
 and thus had the better opportunity of 
 knowing Paul, (vir, si.) See on ver. 
 22, last paragra])h. 
 
 Soon after this riot Paul leaves Ephe- 
 sus, having completed three years labor 
 there. (20 : 1, 31.) In some respects this 
 had been his most successful mission. 
 He had gathered a strong church, made 
 up of a membership of well-develojied 
 Christians. At Corinth the church was 
 composed largely of those who needed 
 milk suited for babes, rather than solid 
 food fitted for men of full age. (1 cor. 
 s:i.2.) But at Ephesus he could de- 
 clare the whole counsel of God (ver. 27), 
 and speak wisdom among them, as 
 growing up into the fullness of the 
 stature of Christian manhood. (1 Cor. 
 
 ■!:(,: Eph. 3: 10; 4:1S.) His Epistle tO the 
 
 Ephesians, written nearly six years 
 htter, bears testimony to the same truth. 
 It is one of the profoundest books ever 
 v^ritten ; yet the Ephesians were ex- 
 
314 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XIX. 
 
 pected to understaud it. This shows 
 the proficiency wliich his converts had 
 attained under his preaching. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. He who would save souls must seek 
 after souls. (Ver. 1 ; John 1 : 41 ; Luke 
 5 : 10.) 
 
 2. True religion may be connected with a 
 very imperfect experience. There will, 
 however, be a readiness to embrace the 
 truth when presented. (Ver. 2 ; 10 : 34, 35.) 
 
 3. The baptism of John demanded repent- 
 ance and faith in the Messiah, and thus it 
 was substantially the same as that practiced 
 by the apostles. (Ver. 3, 4; Mark 1:4; 
 John 1 : 15. 21-24.) 
 
 4. There are instances where baptism 
 sbould be repeated ; for example, when it 
 has been administered to an infant, or to 
 an unconverted person, or when the di- 
 vinely appointed formula has been omitted. 
 (Ver.'4; Matt. 28:19.) 
 
 5. The supernatural gifts of the Spirit had 
 their place and uses in the beginning of the 
 Gospel Dispensation. (Ver. 5 ; 1 Cor. 14 : 22.) 
 
 6. The presence of the Holy Spirit, the 
 Comforter, is the privilege of all believ- 
 ers. (Ver. 6 ; Luke 11 : 13 ; John 14 : 16.) 
 
 7. We should strive to produce conviction 
 in the minds of men regarding the things of 
 the kingdom. (Ver. 8 ; Col. 1 : 28.) 
 
 8. Religious di.sputation is generally vain 
 and unprofitable. (Ver. 8, 9 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 4 ; 2 
 Tim. 2 : 23.) 
 
 9. Churches should be organized both for 
 holding forth the truth, and as a protest 
 against error. (Ver. 9; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 
 2:13.) 
 
 10. Continued and persevering labor in 
 on e place repays the Ch ristian worker. (Ver. 
 10; 18:10.) 
 
 11. Good men have ever been ready to 
 refer all miraculous power which may have 
 attended them to God. (Ver. 11 ; Ps. 62 : 11.) 
 
 12. The great miracles which God wrought 
 through the handkerchiefs and aprons of 
 Paul do not justify the worship of the relics 
 of the saints. (Ver. 12.) 
 
 13. It is one of the evidences of Christian- 
 ity that it has its counterfeits. (Ver. 13; 2 
 Cor. 11 : 13-15. 
 
 14. They who would do effective work for 
 Christ must have a personal and experi- 
 
 mental knowledge of him. (Ver. 14; 2 Peter 
 1 : 8, y.) 
 
 15. Hypocrites and pretenders in Christ's 
 kingdom will sooner or later manifest their 
 real characters. (Ver. 15 ; 2 Peter 2 : 1-3.) 
 
 16. Evil spirits are stronger than wicked 
 men ; but Christ is stronger than the Devil 
 and his hosts. (Ver. 16 ; Luke 11 : 20-22.) 
 
 17. Results show that there is a difference 
 between Christ's true servants and impos- 
 tors. (Ver. 17 ; Mai. 3 : 18.) 
 
 18. One of the evidences of a renewed 
 heart is the confessing and the forsaking of 
 sin. (Ver. 18 ; Prov. 28 : 13 ; Rom. 10 : 10.) 
 
 19. When one is converted, if he has been 
 engaged in a wicked business, he should re- 
 nounce and forsake it, whatever pecuniary 
 sacrifice it may cost. (Ver. 19 ; Eph. 5 : 
 11.) 
 
 20. The advance of Christ's cause is seen, 
 not only in the number of adherents, but in 
 the changes in the heart and life of his fol- 
 lowers. (Ver. 20 ; Eph. 2 : 1-7.) 
 
 21. We should ever be purposing new 
 achievements for Christ. (Ver. 21 ; Rom. 
 1 : 13-15.) 
 
 22. We should plan to do good through 
 others as well as by our own personal efforts. 
 (Ver. 22; Luke 10 : 1, 16.) 
 
 Zi. Pure Christianity will cause a stir in 
 a wicked world. (Ver. 23 ; Matt. 10 : 34-37.) 
 
 24. Demetrius is a type of those religion- 
 ists whose zeal arises from their love of 
 gain. (Ver. 24 ; 16 : 20, 21 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 9.) 
 
 25. A selfish religion is false and will ruin 
 the soul. (Ver. 25-27 ; Matt. 16 : 24-29.) 
 
 26. Blinded zeal and prejudice rather pre- 
 fer clamor to argument. (Ver. 27-29 ; Luke 
 28 : 20-23.) 
 
 27. A persecuting spirit is an element of 
 false religion. (Ver. 29 ; 1 John 3 : 10-12.) 
 
 28. Our zeal may sometimes go beyond 
 prudence. At such times thoughtful friends 
 are a great aid and blessing. (Ver. 30, 31.) 
 
 29. God is the author of order; but sin 
 and sinners bring confusion. (Ver. 32-34 ; 1 
 Cor. 14 : 33 ; James 3 : 16.) 
 
 30. Prudent and courteous speech is more 
 effective than violence and force. (Ver. 
 35-41.) 
 
 31. The preacher should be moderate in 
 controversy. Hard names and offensive 
 personalities do evil rather than good. (Ver. 
 37 ; Titus 3 : 1, 2.) 
 
 32. Governments have their proper func- 
 
Ch. XX.j 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 315 
 
 Again visits Macedonia and Greece ; returns 
 through Macedonia to Troas and Miletus on 
 the ivay to Syria. 
 
 20 AND after the uproar was ceased, Paul 
 
 called unto him the disciples, and em- 
 braced them, and 'departed for to go into 
 Macedonia. 
 
 > ch. 19 : 21 ; 2 Cor. 2 : 12, 13 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 3. 
 
 tions and should be used accordingly. (Ver. 
 38, 39 : Rom. 13 : 4.) 
 
 33. Roman law aided the progress of the 
 gospel. (Ver. 38, 39 ; 16 : 38, 39 ; 18 : 14, 15.) 
 
 34. Thuy who raise tumults should be 
 held strictly accountable to law. (Ver. 40.) 
 
 35 There was the regular assembly at 
 Ephesus according to law, and an irregular 
 one contrary to law ... So there is the reg- 
 ular assembly {church) of Christ, of which 
 he is the Head, organized according to the 
 gospel, made up of those who believe on 
 him, are baptized in his name, and are 
 united and covenanted together to do his 
 will. (Ver. 39, 41.) 
 
 Ch. 20 : In this chapter Luke con- 
 tinues the account of Paul's third mis- 
 sionary tour. Leaving Ephesus, Paul 
 revisits northern and southern Greece, 
 and returns through Macedonia to 
 Troas on his way to Jerusalem. From 
 Troas he sails down the JEgesin Sea by 
 Epliesus, to Miletus, where he meets the 
 pastors of the Ephesian church, and 
 takes leave of them in an impressive 
 address and with prayer. 
 
 1-12. Paul Revisits Macedonia 
 AND Greece. Spends a Week in 
 
 Troas. (2 Cor. 1 : is, is ; 2 : 12, 13 ; 7 : 5, B; 12 : 
 14; 13:1; Rom. 15 : 18, 19, 25, 26 ; 16:1,21-23.) Paul 
 
 leaves Ephesus in the summer or au- 
 tumn of A. D. 57, spends the autumn 
 and winter in Macedonia, and Greece, 
 leaving Corinth and reaching Philippi 
 just before the Passover week, A. D. 
 58. 
 
 1. After the uproar was ceased. 
 Tliis note of the time is indefinite. 
 There is no evidence that the tumult 
 hastened his departure. Several days 
 may have intervened. The narrative 
 is brief and passes over time rapidly. 
 Called unto him the disciples, some 
 of the oldest and best manuscripts add, 
 exhorted them. Embraced them — 
 yai>e them a jmrting salutation. And 
 departed. It has been very com- 
 monly supposed that this was soon after 
 Pentecost (i cor. le : a), and in the month 
 
 of May, which was the Artemesion 
 month. (See on 19: 22.) But among the 
 great number of craftsmen and work- 
 men, and in the large city of Ephesus, a 
 tumult could be raised at any time. 
 Asiarchs (i9 : 3i ) would be present at the 
 autumnal election, as well as in May, 
 and some doubtless resided at Epliesus. 
 (See on 19: 41.) There are several reasons 
 for believing that Paul continued at 
 Ephesus longer tlian Pentecost. 1. 
 After writing his First Epistle to the 
 Corinthians a great " affliction befell " 
 him (2 Cor. 1:8), which appears to have 
 been a severe illness, possibly his 
 chronic malady or bodily infirmity, 
 which threatened his life. (2 Cor. 1 : 9, 10 
 11 : 23; 12:7,9.) Such a scvcrc attack 
 would detain him at Ephesus longer 
 than he expected. 2. Such detentions 
 were not uncommon in Paul's ministry. 
 
 (Gal. 4: 13, 11; 1 Thess. 2 : 17 ; 18 ; 3 : 1 ; Kom. 1:13; 
 15 : 22, 23 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 15-17, 23.) 3. About thC 
 
 time of writing his First Epistle to the 
 Corinthians, Paul sends Timothy to 
 them by way of Macedonia, (i cor. 4 : n ; 
 16 : in.) After doing this he returned to 
 Philippi. (2 Cor. 1 : 1.) This Avould rather 
 indicate that it was some time after 
 Pentecost when Paul found him there. 
 4. Titus is sent later to Corinth (2 Cor. 2 : 
 12, 13 ; 7 : 5, fi), very likely after Paul had 
 received from Timothy news direct from 
 Corinth, regarding the church. This 
 would probably be as late as Pentecost. 
 He is sent and Paul delays, so that he 
 may not come to them " in sorrow." 
 (2 Cor. 2 : 1.) 5. The statement that Paul 
 "spent three months in Greece " seems 
 to imjily that this was the longest time 
 that he spent in any one countr>'^ during 
 the somewhat rapid journey after leav- 
 ing Ephesus. (Ver. 2-6.) If so, then 
 Paul must have been in Macedonia 
 less than three months. Now Paul left 
 Corinth about March 1, A. D. 58, in 
 order to reach Philippi at the Passover 
 of that year, March 27. (ver. 3. 5,6.) 
 Allowing then a month in going from 
 Ephesus to Philippi, two months in 
 Macedonia, three months in Greece, a 
 
316 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XX. 
 
 2 And when he had gone over those parts, 3 he came into 
 and had given them much exhortation, three months. 
 
 'Greece, and there abode 
 
 fch. 19 :21. 
 
 month or at most two months for trav- 
 eling to and from Greece, we have seven 
 or eight months from Paul's departure 
 from Kphesus to his departure from 
 riiilijjpi for Jerusalem. Keekouiug 
 backward from March 27, A. D. 58, we 
 reach about August 1, or September 
 1, A. D. 57. (Seeouver. 31.) (See a fuller 
 discussion in Harmonic Arrangement, 
 pp. 22G-2;iO.) 
 
 To go into Macedonia. Luke 
 merely states the fact. Paul in his 
 Second Epistle to the Corinthians gives 
 some particulars. From Ephesus Paul 
 went direct to Troas, whether by land 
 or sea, we are not told. (2 Cor. 2 ; 12") Here 
 he found " a door opened to him in the 
 Lord ; " but so great was his disap- 
 pointment iu not finding Titus with 
 news from Corinth, that he could not 
 remain long to preach, but hastened 
 into Macedonia to meet him. (2Cor. 
 2 : 13.) Having come into Macedonia, 
 he was still in great anxiety and afflic- 
 tion (2 Cor. - : 5), but he is soon after re- 
 lieved and filled with joy, by the long 
 expected arrival of Titus with good 
 news from Corinth. (2 cor. 7 : 7.) This 
 coming probably occurred at Pliilip})i, 
 and there Paul wrote his Second Epistle 
 to the Corinthians, in the autumn of 
 A. D. 57. On 3Tacedoma, see on 16 : 9. 
 While iu JIacedonia he probably visited 
 the churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, 
 and Berea, and extended his labors 
 into the western part of Macedonia 
 unto the boundaries of Illyricum. (Rom. 
 15 : 18, 19.) He was probably accompa- 
 nied by two Ephesians, Tychicus and 
 Trophimus. (Ver. +.) 
 
 2. When he had gone over 
 those parts or regions — as just noted 
 in the preceding verse. This preaching 
 excursion extending " round about 
 even unto Illyricum " (Rom. 15 : 19) afibrds 
 a striking contact of the Acts and 
 Paul's epistle, and is another of the 
 many confirmations of the accuracy of 
 Luke. Had given them — that is, 
 the diciples in all that region — much 
 exhortation. He came into 
 Greece — meaning the province of 
 Achaia, to distinguish it from Mace- 
 
 donia. (See on 18 : 13.) He probably 
 preached the gospel on his way to 
 Corinth (2 cor. 10 : le), and made preach- 
 ing excursions into the surrounding 
 parts of Achaia, with his headiiuarters 
 at Corinth. The sentence should end 
 with this verse. 
 
 3. And there abode, etc. Rather, 
 And when he had stayed three months. 
 The winter was thus spent in Achaia, 
 probably most of the time at Corinth. 
 It was during this time that the Epistle 
 to the Eomaus was written, or com- 
 pleted in its present form. This epistle, 
 the most systematic, and doctriually 
 the most complete, of all the ejiistles, 
 was probably the result of long thought. 
 As he had long proposed to visit Eome, 
 so he may have had this in long pre- 
 paration. The Epistle to the Galatians 
 and the Second to the Corinthians in- 
 dicate impulsive and quick writing ; 
 but the Ejnstle to the Romans bears 
 marks of deliberation both in structure 
 and composition. Tertius acted as 
 amanuensis. (Rom. 16:22.) It was sent 
 by Phebe, a deaconess of the church at 
 Cenchrea, in the spring of A. D. 58, 
 about this time when Paul was return- 
 ing to Macedonia. (Rom. le : 1.) On this 
 journey to Jerusalem Paul takes with 
 him the contributions from the Chris- 
 tians of ilacedonia and Achaia to the 
 poor brethren of Judea. (Rom. 15 . 23-28 ; 
 
 1 Cor. IG : 2i ; 2 Gov. 8 :611 ; Acts. 24 : 17.) It haS 
 
 been noted by Wordsworth that no 
 mention is made of this collection in 
 the Epistle to the Galatians, which is 
 an indication that the latter was written 
 before the two Epistles to the Corinth- 
 ians. The request that he should re- 
 member the poor which he was forward 
 to do (Gal 2 : 10), lookcd backward to 11 : 
 29, 30, and doubtless forward to the 
 collections which he took upon this 
 journey. (2*: 17.) 
 
 The Jews laid wait for him, or 
 a plot (9: n) wa^ laid for him by the 
 Jews, at the end of three months. 
 What this plot was is unknown. Per- 
 haps it was to waylay him on his 
 
 way to the ship. (see 23 : 12 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 32) 
 
 This led Paul to change from the direct 
 
Cn. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 517 
 
 And 5 when the Jews lairl wait for him, 
 as he vras about to sail into Syria, he pur- 
 4 posed to return through Macedonia. And 
 there accompanied him into Asia ''Sopa- 
 ter of Berea. And of the Thcssalonians, 
 ' Aristarchus and Secundus ; and ^ Gains 
 of Derbe, and 'Timotlieus; and of Asia, 
 
 5 ■» Tychicus and "Tropliimus : these going 
 
 6 before tarried for us at Troas. And we 
 sailed away from I'hilippi afler "the days 
 of unleavened bread, and came unto theiu 
 p to Troas in five days ; where we abode 
 seven days. 
 
 7 And upon i the first day of the week, 
 
 6 oh. 9 : 23 ; 25 : 3 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 20. h Koni. 10 
 
 21. i ch. 19 : 29 ; 27 : 2 ; Col. 4 : 10. 
 
 kch. l'J:29. ich. 10:1. m Eph. : 21 ; Ool. 4 
 
 7 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 12 ; Titus 3:12. ■> ch. 
 
 21 : 29 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 20. » Exud. 12 : 14, 15 ; 23 : 15. 
 
 P ch. 16 : S ; 2 Cor. 2 : 12 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 13. 
 
 q Rev. 1 : 10. 
 
 
 route to Syria to a circuitous oue 
 througli Macedonia. Tliis also accounts 
 for the haste in his journey, (ver. le, 
 
 etc-) 
 
 4. And there accompanied him 
 
 — as his associates and attendants, 
 forming perhaps a kind of body-guard. 
 Into Asia is omitted by many ancient 
 authorities. Some may have gone no 
 further ; others went with him to Jeru- 
 salem. See below, Sopater of Be- 
 rea. The oldest and best manuscripts 
 add, the son of Pyrrhus, perhaps to 
 distinguisli him from Sosipater of llora. 
 16 : 21, a diflerent form of the same 
 name. (On Berea, see 17 : 10.) 
 Aristarchus — mentioned in 19:29, 
 wliich see. Secundus — not men- 
 tioned elsewhere in the New Testa- 
 ment. Gaius of Derbe. (.seeoau: 
 20.) He is to be distinguished from 
 Gaius of ^lacedonia mentioned in 19 : 
 29. But was perhaps the one to whom 
 John wrote liis Third Epistle. Tini- 
 otheus. (.SL-eoiiic:i, 2.) Tychicusis 
 mentioned in Eph. 6 : 21; Col. 4:7; 
 Titus. S : 12 ; and 2 Tim. 4 : 12, from 
 wliicli it appears tliat he was one of 
 Paul's most faithful companions and 
 fellow-laborers, and the bearer of at 
 least two of his epistles. He probably 
 accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. 
 Trophimus became tlie innocent oc- 
 casion of Paul's arrest at Jerusalem 
 (21 :29), and much later is mentioned in 
 2 Tim. 4 : 20, as liaving been left sick 
 at ililetus. It lias been thought tliat 
 Tycliicus and Trophimus were the two 
 brethren who, with Titus, managed the 
 collection for tlie ]ioor saints at Jeru- 
 salem. (2 Cor. 8 : 16-24.) It is Very prob- 
 able that the seven brethren here 
 named were representatives of Gentile 
 churches, recently formed in Asia and 
 Europe, and the bearers of contribu- 
 tions, (l Cor. 16 : 3, -1.) 
 
 5. These going before, or having 
 gone forward, tarried or were wait- 
 ing for us at Troas. From the use 
 of the first person it is evident that 
 Luke rejoins Paul at Philippi (^r-s), 
 where he had been left six years before. 
 (See on )6 : 10, 10.) During this period Luke 
 I^robably labored at Philippi and its 
 vicinity. Tiie seven brethren men- 
 tioned in the preceding verse appear to 
 have gone forward, to Troas from Phil- 
 ippi. For at the latter city Paul tar- 
 ried with Luke, (vcr.6.) This verse 
 implies that at some point they pre- 
 ceded him to Troas ; and the mention 
 of sailing away from Philippi in the 
 next verse, naturally suggests that city 
 as the place of Paul's stojjping, and 
 their going forward. 
 
 After ithe days of unleavened 
 bread— the Pa.ssover festival lasting a 
 week. This is used as a chronological 
 note of time. It seems probal)le that 
 Paul tarried at Philippi not merely for 
 the oljservance of the Passover ; but 
 that Luke might arrange and pre]iare 
 for going with him. From this point 
 to the end of the Acts Luke appears as 
 a companion of Paul. The minuteness 
 in the narrative indicates his presence 
 as an eye-witness. To Troas in five 
 days — six years before this Paul had 
 made the voyage in the opposite direc- 
 tion in two days, (ifi: ii.) Less favor- 
 able winds doubtless account for th(! 
 difference of time. The Passover of 
 A. D. 58 began on ^Marcli 27. We 
 may supjwse that on Ajiril 4, the day 
 following tlie eighth day of tlie feast, 
 Paul sails from Phili])pi, and in five 
 days, on A]>ril 8, perhaps late in the 
 day, he arrives at Troas. Here he re- 
 mains a week. 
 
 7. Upon the first day of the 
 week, etc. We have here a recogni- 
 tion of a practice which began imme- 
 
THE ACTS. 
 
 [Cii. XX. 
 
 when the disciples came together 'to 
 break bread, Paul preached unto them, 
 ready to depart on the morrow : and con- 
 
 8 tinued his speech until midnight. And 
 there were many lights " in the upper 
 chamber, where they were gathered to- 
 
 f ch. 2 : 42, 46 ; 1 Cor. 10 : 16 ; 11 : 20, etc. • ch. 1 : 13. 
 
 diately after the resurrection, of meet- 
 ing for celebrating the Lord's Supper 
 and other religious services. (John 20 : 19, 
 26; Luke 24: 35.) On the day our Lord 
 rose from the dead lie appeared on five 
 different occasions. After eight days, 
 that is, on the next first day of the 
 week, he again appeared to the eleven. 
 It thus became a day of holy joy and 
 thanksgiving, and memorable to the 
 disciples. AVhat associations clustered 
 around that day, and how natural and 
 fitting that each returning first day 
 sliould be hallowed with worship and 
 the breaking of bread. And now, 
 twenty -eight years later, Paul meets the 
 worshiping disciples at Troas on the 
 first day of the week. The religious 
 services and the breaking of bread at 
 that time could not have been acci- 
 dental. They indicate a custom among 
 the disciples. About a year before this 
 Paul enjoined a practice of special re- 
 ligious duties on the first day of the 
 week. (1 Cor. ic : 1, 2.) ;N[any years later 
 John speaks of the Lord's Day (Rev. 
 1 : 10), which refers not to the seventh 
 day, for the word Sal)l)ath was applied 
 to that day, but most naturally to tiie 
 first day of the week, as tlie one on 
 which the liOrd rose from the <lead. 
 Pliny, in his letter to Trajan, says th.at 
 Christians were wont to meet on a cer- 
 tain day before daylight for divine 
 worship. On this occasion it .seems 
 that they met before sunset ; and a 
 religious service preceded the breaking 
 of bread, (ver. u.) Some suppose tliat 
 Paul held this service on Saturday 
 evening, that being the beginning of 
 the first day of the week, according to 
 the Jewish reckoning of the day, and 
 that he resumed his journey on Sun- 
 day morning. It is a matter of small 
 importance whether the first day of the 
 week commenced at sunset Saturday, 
 or a few liours later at midnight. It is 
 far more important to note here a trace 
 of the observance of Lord's Day among 
 disciples at that early day. "Since 
 the suffering of Christ ajipeared as tlie 
 central point of all religious experience 
 
 and life, since his resurrection was con- 
 sidered as the foundation of all Chris- 
 tian joy and hope, it was natural that 
 the communion of the church should 
 have specially distinguished the day 
 with Avhich the memory of that event 
 had connected itself." (Neander.) 
 "As Luke had mingled so much with 
 foi-eign nations and was writing for 
 Gentile readers, he would be very a])t 
 to designate the time in accordance 
 with their practice ; so that his even- 
 ing or night of the Jirst day of (he week 
 would be the end of the Christian Sab- 
 bath, and the morning of his departure 
 that of Monday." (Dr. Hackett.) 
 The Papistic of BarnaJias, a teacher of 
 Alexandria, who wrote in the first 
 half of the second century ; Justin 
 Martyr, about A. D. 140 ; Dionysius, 
 A. D. 170 ; Irenseus, A. D. 180 ; Clement 
 of Alexandria, A. D. 196 ; Tertullian, 
 A. D. 200 ; Origen, A. D. 230, and Cyp- 
 rian, A. D. 250, all give their testimony 
 to Lord's Day observances. (Sce on Mark 
 16 : 2.) The Lord's Day gradually sup- 
 planted the Jewish Sabbath, though, 
 for a time, both were observed. The 
 zealots for the law appear to have 
 demanded that Gentile Christians 
 should observe the .Jewish Sabbath as 
 well as other Jewish festivals, against 
 which Paul gave his advice, (coi. 2;i6. 
 seeRom. i4:.5.) Ready to depart en 
 the morrow. As the incidents here 
 related were occiirri ng on the first day of 
 the week it is most natural to rut'er'the 
 vwrrotr to Jlonday, the second day of the 
 week, A])ril 17. Instead of disciples, 
 the best nianuscrijits have ire. 
 
 8. There were many lights, or 
 lamps. The minute description of this 
 verse indicates the language of an eye- 
 Avitness. These lights enal>led the 
 audience to see Eutychus distinctly. 
 (Ver. !i.) In the upper chamber— in 
 Greek houses commonly u.sed for com- 
 pany and feasts, which, in this case, 
 was " the third loft," or story. (Ver. 9.) 
 Instead of thry, the best manuscripts 
 : read, where we were gathered to- 
 1 gether. 
 
Ch. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 319 
 
 9 gether. And there sat in a window a cer- 
 tain young man named Kutyehus, being 
 fallen into a deep sleep : and as Paul was 
 long preaching, he sunk down with sleeii, 
 and fell dowii from the third loft, and 
 
 10 was taken up dead. And Paul weni. down, 
 and fell on him, and embracing him said, 
 " rrouble not yourselves ; for his life is in 
 
 U him. When he therefore was come up 
 
 again, and had broken bread, and eaten, 
 and talked a long while, even till break 
 
 12 of day, so he departed. And they brought 
 the young man alive, and were not a little 
 comforted. 
 
 13 And we went before to ship, and sailed 
 unto Assos, there intending to take in 
 Paul: for so had he appointed, minding 
 
 ' Matt. 9 : 24. 
 
 9. There sat in a window — on 
 
 the window sill, perhaps with svats 
 exk'iiiliui; over the street or court. The 
 window was not of glass, Ijiit with a 
 wooden shutter wliich would l)e open 
 on account of heat, and to obtain fresh 
 air. The night was dark; for at the 
 i'assover the moon was full (vtr. 6), and 
 now rose after midnight as a faint cres- 
 cent. A certain young man — called 
 a boy in ver. 12. He was a youth, but 
 (iiese terms do not determine his age. 
 fleing fallen, or bortie doicn with a 
 tU*f p sleep, produced in i>art, doubt- 
 less, l)y the warmth of the room. And 
 as Paul Avas long preaching, or 
 discunrscd yrf lon<jcr tiuui luidnight. 
 (Ver. 7.) He sunk down, or was boms 
 down with sleep— he became relaxed, 
 lost his l)alance, and, as a con.sequence, 
 fell from the third loft, or storj/. 
 And was taken up dead. Notice 
 that Eut^'chus is not merely talvcn up 
 for dead, l)ut really dead, and tliis is 
 recorded by Luke, the pliysician, wlio 
 was present, and knew all t!ie partic- 
 ulars. (See on ver. 12.) 
 
 10. Paul went down— by the 
 staircase, which was usually outside of 
 an Eastern house. Fell on him, em- 
 bracing him. Similar to what 
 Elijah (iKiugsi7:2i) and Elisha (2 Kings 
 i:u) did, and doul)tless like them, ac- 
 coinpauyiug his action with j^rayer. 
 Trouble not yourselves. Be not 
 distressed. Com])are our Lord's words 
 in thehouseofJairus. (i."ke8:52, 53.) For 
 his life is in him. He saw the signs 
 of life, and felt returning motions as 
 he clasped and held him in his arms. 
 
 11. When he therefore was 
 come up again — better. And. hav- 
 ing gone up, Paul's calmness had 
 its proper effect on tlie congregation. 
 And had broken bread — rather, 
 the bread. Paul proceeded to admin- 
 ister the Lord's Supper, which had 
 
 Ijeen delayeil by the fall of Eutychus. 
 " It is worthy of notice that whatever 
 kind jof bread is eaten, whether the 
 large soft loaf, or the thin cake, it is 
 never cut with a knife, but broken with 
 the hand. Hence the expression so com- 
 mon in the Scripture, as well as in other 
 Eastern writings, to ' break bread,' 
 that is, to eat." (Dk. H. Van Len- 
 NEP, Bible Lands, p. yo.) And eaten 
 — another act, after the Lord's Supper. 
 They partook of a more substantial re- 
 past, perhaps of the love feast. And 
 talked a long Avhile with them. 
 This was not formal preaching, l)ut 
 social intercourse, connected with the 
 meal and afterward. And departed 
 on foot to Assos, a distance of twenty 
 miles. (Vir. 13, 11.) 
 
 12. And they brought the young 
 man alive, the lad living, which im- 
 plies that he had been dead. (ver. 9.) It 
 would seem that he was brought up 
 into the congregation before it finally 
 broke up, and probably before Paul's 
 de))arture. 
 
 13-18. Pat^l Goes on Foot to 
 
 Assos, THEN BY SEA TO MiLETUS, 
 
 Where he Gave a Parting Ad- 
 dress TO THE Elders of the Ephe- 
 
 SIAN Church. (Rom. 15 : 30-:«; 1 Cor. 4 : 11, 
 
 12 ; Ps. 74 : 2.) Tliis cmbraces a period of 
 about one week. 
 
 13. And— rattier, But Ave went 
 before to the ship — describing what 
 Luke and the rest did without Paul. 
 They probably left very early in the 
 morning, immediately after the re- 
 storing of Eutychus. And sailed 
 unto Assos — rather, embarked for 
 Assos, a town on the coast of Mysia, 
 twenty miles by land south of Troas, 
 Init about forty miles by sea. It was 
 doubtless necessary for the ship to start 
 thus early, l)ut Paul would take leave 
 of his brethren at Troas in a less hur- 
 ried manner, and perhaps wished to be 
 
S20 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XX. 
 
 14 himself to go afoot. And when he met 
 with IIS at Assos, we took him in, and 
 
 15 cameio Mitylene. And we sailed thence, 
 and came the next dut/ over against t'hios. 
 And the next rfay we arrived at Samos, 
 and tarried at Trogyllium ; and the next 
 
 16 rfd.v we came to' Miletus. For Paul had 
 determined to sail by Ephesus, because 
 he would not spend the time in Asia: for 
 y he hasted, if it were possil>le for him, lo 
 be at Jerusalem ^ the day of Pentecost. 
 
 ■ 2 Tim. 4 : 20. J ch. 18 : 21 ; 19 : 21. ' 1 Cur. IG : : 
 
 alone in meditation and prayer. There 
 \vas a good Konian road from Troas 
 passing throui^li Afsos. The journey 
 could l)e ])t'rf()riued iu live hours; and 
 if i'aul left Tioas at seven o'clock, he 
 CDuld reach Assos about noon. 
 
 14. They sailed around Cape Lectum, 
 and when they reached Assos, Paul met 
 them and was taken into the sliip, and 
 they sail to Mitylene, the capital city 
 of tlie island IasIjos, ahout thirty miles 
 soutliward. It was famed for its heau- 
 tifnl situation and its magnificent build- 
 ings. Its modern luime is t'astro. A 
 narrow strait separates the island 
 Lesbos from Asia Minor. Here they 
 jiass the night. Being a coasting voj"age, 
 cai'h night was spent in some harbor. 
 The winds must have been very favor- 
 able to have accomplished so long a 
 voyage in a single day. 
 
 15^ >Ve came the next or folloir- 
 ing (lay, on Tuesday, April IS, accord- 
 ing to our reckoning. (Seeou ver. 6, 7.) 
 
 Over against Chios, tlie modern 
 island 8cio, about five miles distant 
 from the mainland. It was famous for 
 it,s ))eauty, ami about forty miles south 
 of Mitylene. The language implies tlutt 
 they did not \>\\t into the harbor, 
 but lay off at some distance, in the 
 shelter of the roadstead, and thus 
 jiassed tlie niglit. The ship may have 
 t)een becalnu'(I in the afternoon. The 
 next day they arrived at or touched, 
 Samos, an island 1)eariug still the 
 same name, about fifty miles south- 
 east of Chios. It was separated by a 
 narrow strait from the mainland. The 
 island had been famous in Greek his- 
 tory. And tarried at Trogyllium, 
 about a mile across the channel on the 
 uuiinland. They had jiassed the bay 
 below Ephesu.s, and were now nearer 
 Ej)hesus than at Miletus. For some 
 unknown reason Paul chooses the latter 
 l)lace for meeting the Ejihesian elders. 
 Perhaps on account of the better liarbor, 
 and the delay of the ship for business. 
 
 But the words, And tarried at Trogyl- 
 lium, are not found in the oldest manu- 
 scripts, and are omitted in the Revised 
 Version. And the next day \ve 
 came to Miletus, a few miles south 
 of Trogyllium, a city more ancient than 
 Ephesus, but in Paul's day outstri])]Kd 
 in wealth and grandeur by the latter 
 city. It was on the coast of Caria, and 
 about twenty-eight miles south of 
 Ephesus. It is now a swamp with a 
 few ruins, some distance from the sea. 
 It was some distance in Paul's time. 
 (Ver. 38.) Here they arrive, according 
 to our reckoning, on Thur.sday, April 
 20, perhajis early in the afternoon, and 
 remained a few days. 
 
 16. This verse gives the reason why 
 Paul sailed })ast P^j)hesus, and dclaye<l 
 at Miletus. It si'Cins evident that he 
 had some control of tlie ship. Be- 
 cause he Avould not, etc. — that he 
 might not upend time in the province of 
 A.sia. In the large church jit Ejthesus 
 ' there would naturally ari.se many 
 I causes of delay. Besides, he might 
 ; meet hostility from certain (luarters, to 
 allay which would consume time. ( i Cor. 
 'le:**.) lie had determined, and 7/v'i.' 
 j hastening, if possible, to be at .lerusalem 
 I on Pentecost. About twenty-three of 
 [ the fifty days, between the Passover and 
 Pentecost, had already gone when he 
 I arrived at Miletus. Many rea.soiis may 
 i have made him anxious to be at Pen- 
 tecost. (Scooi. 2 : 1.) His presence would 
 I be ])leasing to Jewish Christians. (21 : '.'o.) 
 1 He would also meet with n;any fiu-eign 
 ■Tews who had come to the great feast ; 
 and also tlie ])resentation at this time 
 \ of the gifts from the Gentile churches 
 would give ijreat publicity to the inter- 
 est of Gentile Christians in their Jewish 
 biethren. While there is not the least 
 evidence of the Christian oliservanceof 
 Pentecost, at that early day believers 
 would naturally feel an interest in it as 
 the day wlieu the Holy Spirit first 
 descended upon Christians. (2 : i.) 
 
Cii. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 32l 
 
 Paul's farewell address to the elden of the 
 
 Ephesiaii church. 
 17 AND from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, 
 
 and called »the elders of the church. 
 18 And when they were come to him, he 
 said anto them, 
 
 • 1 Tim. 5 : 17 ; 1 Peter 5 : 1. 
 
 17. And from Miletus he sent 
 
 to Ephesus. He arrived probably 
 about Thursday, April 20. On the 
 Bauie day or the day following he could 
 send a messenger to Ephesus, twenty- 
 eight miles distant, for the elders of 
 tlie church. These could arrive by or 
 before Saturday night, so that Sunday, 
 April 23, and perhaps a i)art of Satur- 
 day could be spent in social and relig- 
 ious services, closing with his farewell 
 charge. 
 
 The elders of the church. These 
 elders are called overseers, or bishops, in 
 ver. 28. They were the pastors at 
 Ephesus. The church was large, and 
 having no house of worshi]), it had a 
 number of meeting places for different 
 portions of its members, and thus needed 
 a plurality of elders to exercise over- 
 sight at their religious services and at 
 other times. It is acknowledged by 
 all that during the life time of Paul, 
 and in the early churches, elders 
 and bishops were the same. The title 
 elder being essentially Jewish was 
 the common designation in Jewish 
 churches ; and that of bishop or over- 
 seer, from an official title among the 
 Greeks, was common among Gentile 
 
 churches. (l Tim. 3 : l ; Titus 1 : 7; 1 Peter 2 : 
 
 35; 5: 2.) Jcrome, who died A. D. 420, 
 says : " Among the ancients bishops 
 and presbyters are the same ; for one is 
 a term of dignity, the other of age." — 
 Epist. LXIX. 
 
 There is no trace of a third order of 
 the ministry, or of church officers, in 
 the New Testament. In Phil. 1:1, 
 written A. D. 62, " bishops and deacons " 
 are mentioned in such a manner as to 
 indicate only two classes of church 
 officers, and exclusive of a third class. 
 So also 1 Tim. 8 : 1-7, 8-15 ; 5 : 17-19, 
 and Titus 1 : 5-7, unmistakably point 
 to two classes exclusive of a third class, 
 in A. D. 66. " The angels of the seven 
 churches" (Rev. i : 20) probably meant 
 the pastors, and in any event did not 
 indicate a third class of a higher order 
 of bishops. " It is the conception of a 
 late age which represents Timothy as 
 
 bishop of Ephesus, and Titus as bishop 
 of Crete." (Dr. J. B. Ligutfoot, 
 Phil. p. 199.) Clement, of Rome, who 
 wrote A. D. 90-100, makes no mention 
 of a higher order of bishops in his 
 epistle. But he speaks of appointing 
 bishops and deacons, and indicates that 
 bishops were the same as jiresbytcrs, or 
 elders. Polycarp, of Smyrna, who was 
 martyred at a very advanced age, about 
 A. D. 156, uses the word elder as equiva- 
 lent to bishop, in his epistle to the 
 Philippians, chap, v and vi. " The 
 Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," 
 written, perhaps, about A. D. 120, 
 speaks of the " bishoi>s and deacons " 
 (ch. XV), as if they were the only 
 church officers, and gives no counte- 
 nance to a third class, or to the least 
 modified form of a church hierarchy. 
 But intermediate between these two 
 latter and Clement, lived Ignatius of 
 Antioch, who, on his journey to Rome, 
 where he suffijred martyrdom, A. D. 
 116, is said to have written seven epis- 
 tles, in which he speaks of bishops, 
 elders, and deacons, and indicates the su- 
 periority of bishops over the other two 
 orders. The value of these epistles is 
 greatly lessened by their gross inter- 
 polations and possible forgeries. Dr. 
 Lightfoot, however, lays great stress on 
 them, and thinks that bishops of a higher 
 order were recognized in Ephesus 
 and Asia Minor early in the second 
 century. But he admits that at that 
 time bishops in this higher sense did 
 not exist in Macedonia and Greece. It 
 appears that early the churches, in 
 both doctrine and ])ractice, licgan to 
 depart from the simplicity of the gospel. 
 We can rest safely, therefore, only njwn 
 the teachings of the New Testament 
 and upon a])ostolic authority and ex- 
 ample. Paul foretold that many sliould 
 fall away from the faith (i Tim. < : 1), and 
 that in the last days ])erilous times 
 should come. (2 Tim. .i : 1 f ) And .lohn 
 affirmed, "It is the last time ; and as 
 ye have heard that antichrist shall 
 come, even now are there many anti- 
 christs." (1 John 2 : 18.) 
 
322 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XX. 
 
 Te know, '■from the first day that I 
 
 came iuto Asia, after what mauner I have 
 
 19 been with you at all seasons, serving the 
 
 Lord " with all humility of mind, and 
 * with many ti ars, and « temptations, 
 which befell me by the lying in wait of 
 
 i> 2 Cor. 1 : 12 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 6, 6. 
 
 « 1 Cor. 15 : 9, 10; 2 Cor. 12 : 7-10. 
 » 2 Cor. 11 : 23-30. 
 
 d See Luke 19 : 41. 
 
 f It is very probable that in some of 
 the early churches oue of the elders 
 was selected to act as the leading pastor, 
 like James at Jerusalem. (i5:i3.) 
 
 If one became distinguished for wis- 
 dom, or discourse, or age, he might be 
 chosen as a temporary head of the elder- 
 ship, and subsequently regarded as the 
 chief of the elders, and in a succeeding 
 generation be accorded an official su- 
 periority, and styled the bishop, while 
 the others would continue to be known 
 as elders. Such a change doubtless 
 occurred very soon after the apostolic 
 age. Neander rem2Lr]i.s {Pla)iting and 
 Training, p. 148) regarding apostolic 
 churches :" We find among them no 
 individual distinguished above the 
 rest who presided as o chief among 
 equals, though probablj' in the age im- 
 mediately succeeding the apostolic, of 
 which we have unfortunately so few 
 authentic memorials, the practice was 
 introduced of applying to such an oue 
 the name of bishoj) by way of distinc- 
 tion." Such a primitive bishop was 
 strictly speaking the principal j)astor 
 of a church, and entirely ditterent from 
 the diocesan bishop that in due time 
 
 followed. (S<?c further on 11 : 30.) 
 
 The New Testament no where recog- 
 nizes sacerdotal or priestly functions 
 in the Christian ministry. All be- 
 lievers are a " holy priesthood, to offer 
 up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to 
 God tlirough Jesus Christ." pcut 2:5.) 
 Clirist is our great High Priest, and all 
 liave equal access by faith through 
 him. ( Heh. 1(1 ; 19 -■:3.) Dr. Lightfoot traces 
 sacerdotalism to heathen rather tlian 
 Jewish sources ; and states that Ter- 
 tnllian,who died between A. i). 220 and 
 240, was the first to assert direct sacer- 
 dotal claims on behalf of the Christian 
 ministry ; and that Cyprian, who died 
 A. D. 2.58, became the champion of un- 
 disguised sacerdotalism. lie also says : 
 " The only priests designated as such 
 in the New Testament, are the saints, 
 the members of the Christian brother- 
 hood." (Phil. p. 184, f.) 
 
 18. He said unto them. This 
 speech is remarkable for expressions 
 and sentiments peculiar to Paul, which 
 indicates the fact that Luke heard it 
 and reported it. Paul first of all re- 
 minds them of the spirit and character 
 of bis ministry among them (vcr. is-ai) ; 
 refers to expected sufterings, and ex- 
 presses the conviction that he will see 
 their face no more. (vcr.'i2-25.) He tes- 
 tifies to his own ministerial fidelity, 
 and exhorts them to a like faithfulness 
 and watchfulness, (ver. 26-31.) Finally he 
 commends them to God, and enforces 
 generous and disinterested labor by 
 reference to his own example, and a 
 memorable saying of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 (\er. 32-35.) 
 
 Ye — emphatic. Ye yourselves knoiv. 
 Compare Samuel's appeal to Israel after 
 the selection of Saul as king. (1 sam. 
 12 : 2-5.) Also Joshua's farewell addresses. 
 (Josh. 23:2.3; 24 : 15. 22.) From the first 
 day that I came into Asia. Not 
 only at Ephesus, which was the great 
 centre of his Christian activity and 
 missionary work, but elsewhere in the 
 province, whither he had made preach- 
 ing excursions. After what manner 
 I have been with you the whole time. 
 Paul appeals to his conduct from first 
 to last. Compare Paul's appeal to the 
 Thessalonians, 1 Thess. 1 : o ; 2:10. 
 
 19. Serving the Lord — with the 
 devotedness of a servant or slave, claim- 
 ing not to be his own, but wholly the 
 I.K)rd's. The ex]>ressiou is almo.st pecu- 
 liar to Paul. (Rom. 12:11; 14:1.1; 16: 18 ; Col. 
 
 3 : 24 ; 1 Tbess. 1 : 9.) With all humility, 
 or lowliness of mind. The same ex- 
 pression is found in Phil. 2 : 3 and Col. 
 3 : 12. As a servant, neither refusing 
 to do any kind of work for the Lord's 
 sake, however menial or insignificant, 
 nor attempting to lord it over God's 
 heritage. (iPeier5:3.) And Avilh many 
 tears. Omit mani/, according to the 
 oldest authorities. 2<-rt/-s is used twice 
 in this address (here and in ver. 31), 
 and illustrated by example in ver 37. 
 
 (SceJCor. 2:4; PW1.3: 18.) The tears iu 
 
Ch. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 323 
 
 20 the Jews: and how 'I kept back nothing 
 that was profitable mito you, but have 
 showed you, and have taught you pub- 
 Si licly, and from house to house, e testify- 
 ing both to the Jews, aud also to tue 
 
 Greeks, •" repentance toward God, and 
 faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 22 And now, behold, ' 1 go bouud in the 
 spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the 
 
 23 things that shall befall me there: save 
 
 t ver. 27 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 3. e ch. 18 : .J. h ch. 2 : 38 ; Luke 24 : 47. 
 
 ich. 18:5; 19: 21. 
 
 this verse are those of pain and suffer- 
 ing connected with temptations, or 
 trials which befell him by the lying 
 in Avait, or plotting of the Jews. 
 Luke UTilvcs no mention of a plot 
 against Paul's life at Ephesus. The 
 hostility of the Jews is alluded to in 
 19 : y ; aud their anxiety, at the tumult 
 at Ephesus, to show that they had no 
 eympatliy with Paul. (i9:33.) Paul, 
 Iiowever, mentions these plottings at 
 Ephesus, doubtless similar to those at 
 Damascus, The.ssalouica, Corinth (ver. :j), 
 aud other cities ; but it did not fall in 
 with Luke's purpose to tell us concern- 
 ing them. (See 1 Cor. 15 :;il,3.'; 18:9.) 
 
 20. Paul still appeals to their recol- 
 lection, how, negatively, he had exer- 
 cised the utmost fidelity': Hoip I kept 
 back nothing that Avas profitable, 
 
 that I should not announce it to you. 
 Neither from fear, nor from any other 
 cause had he sh runkfrom making known 
 what was projitable or helpful, to their 
 salvation, (icor. io:;«.) This .sometimes 
 necessitated rebuke and great plainness 
 of sijeech, as well as encouragement, a 
 work not always pleasant. A nd teaching 
 you publicly — as in tlie synagogue 
 three months, and two years in the 
 Bchoolhouse of Tyrannus. (i9:8io.) 
 And from house to house — in pri- 
 vate houses, in distinction from public 
 gatherings. He thus not only taught 
 those who came to hear him, but put 
 fortli personal efforts among tiic people, 
 at their homes, talking to them individ- 
 ually, and holding private meetings for 
 instruction. "Observe the qualifica- 
 tion, profitable to yon. What, as yet, 
 they were unjirepared for, he may have 
 kej)t back till tlie time for preseiiting it 
 should arrive. All Scripture is profit- 
 able, but not to all men at all times. 
 
 (Sec John 16: IJ ; 1 Cor. .1 : 1. 2.)" (ABBOTT.) 
 
 21. Testifying the necessity of re- 
 pentance and faith to both Jews and 
 Greeks. Tliis was the sum and sub- 
 stance of what he taught as necessary 
 aoid profitable. Repentance toward 
 
 God— by which we turn to God. (P9. 
 51 : 4 ; Luke 15: i«.) Aud faith toward 
 our Lord Jesus Christ — by wliicb 
 we look to Christ, trust and accept him 
 asaSaviour. (John, u; i; Acts i6 ::ii.) Some 
 ancient manuscripts omit Christ. It is 
 afan^'ifVil interj)retationwhich supposes 
 that Paul enforced repentance as espe- 
 cially needed by Gentiles, and faith by 
 Jews. Both were needful. True re- 
 pentance and faith are inseparable. 
 Compare Peter's address to the Jews on 
 the Day of Pentecost. " Repent," etc. 
 
 (2:38.) 
 
 22. Paul now turns from the past to 
 the future, and anticipates approaciiing 
 trial. I go bound in the spirit to 
 Jerusalem — he refers to his own spirit 
 wliich impelled and constrained him. 
 Bound, as a matter of obligation or 
 duty. He could not free himself from 
 the impulse aud tiie conviction to go. 
 (.See 17 : iii.) In his own mind he was, as 
 it were, a prisoner, impelled on to Jeru- 
 salem, where he was to be seized and 
 imprisoned. The Holy Spirit is not re- 
 ferred to here ; for he is mentioned in 
 the next verse, and di.stinguished, as it 
 seems, from Paul's spirit here. Not 
 knowing the things that shall be- 
 fall me there. Aside from the Holy 
 Spirit he knew notliing of the future; 
 neitlier had the Spirit revealed any- 
 thing in particular as to what would 
 happen to him at .lenisalem, but only 
 in general intimations. 
 
 23. Save that the Holy Spirit 
 witnesseth. The oldest mauu.scripts 
 add to me. Either by direct revelation 
 to himself, or by his pei-sonal exi)eri- 
 onces and afilictions (9 : -li, 29 -. 13 : 50 ; u : 5, 
 
 10; 16: 23; 17 :5, 10, 13; 18:12; 20:3), or by 
 
 prophets v/ho were moved to warn liim, 
 such as the disciples at Tyre (-'' : <) and 
 Agabus at Ca>sarea. (2i:ii.) Probaldy 
 tlie Spirit had testified to him regard- 
 ing persecution in all these ways. In 
 every city^'roiu city to city, as he 
 pursued his labors. That bonds 
 aud aiiiictions await me — at Jeru- 
 
324 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XX. 
 
 that k the Holy Spirit witnesseth in every 
 city, saying that bonds and afllictions 
 24 abide me. But 'none of these UiiiiRs 
 move me, ■» neither count I my life dear 
 unto myself, "so that I might finish m> 
 course with joy, "and the ministry, 
 
 kch. 9 : 16 ; 21 : 4, 11. » ch. 21 : 13 ; 2 Cor. 4 
 2 : 17. a 2 Tim. 4:7. • 2 Cor. 4 : 1. 
 
 p which I have received of the Lord Jesus, 
 to testify i the gospel of the grace of God. 
 
 25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, 
 among whom I have gone preaching the 
 kingdom of God, shall see my f.ice no 
 
 26 more. Wherefore I take you to record 
 
 8, 9, 16-18 ; -2 Tim. 1 
 Pch. 9 : 15; Gal. 1 : 1 
 
 12. m Phil. 1 -.20-23; 
 q Rom. 3 : 24-26. 
 
 salem, whither I am going. A little 
 before this Paul had written from 
 Corinth to the Koman believers, ask- 
 ing their prayers " that he might 
 be delivered from them who believed 
 not in Judea," thus indicating his 
 forebodings of persecution at Jerusa- 
 lem. (Kom. 15:20.) Paley rightly regards 
 these two passages as incidentally and 
 undesignedly confirming the truth- 
 fulness of each other. Bonds refers to 
 the bodily restraints and impri.^on- 
 nients ; and afflictions, to other addi- 
 tional sufferings, especially mental, 
 (scei'ii'i- 1 :i") "Supposing "to add af- 
 lliction to my bonds," that is, mental 
 suffering especially to bodily con- 
 straint. 
 
 a4. There is some difference in the 
 reading of this passage in the original. 
 The oldest manuscripts leave out 
 neither count I, and read. But 1 
 hold my life of no account, as dear unto 
 VI yself. He was forgetful of himself in 
 bis devotion to Christ. " 1 take pleas- 
 ure in infirmities, in reproaches, in 
 necessities, in persecutions, in dis- 
 tresses, for Christ's sake." (2 Cnr. 12 : 10.) 
 This devotedness of heart and life, 
 Paul beautifully and strikingly ex- 
 presses in Phil. 3 : 7-15. So that I 
 may finish my course. Paul views 
 tiie Christian life as a race. The foot- 
 race was a common Grecian game, 
 wliich Paul loved to use as a figure. 
 
 (13:25; Phil. 2 : 16,17; 2 Tim. * : 7.) >VithjOy 
 
 is wanting in many ancient authorities. 
 Joy would surely come, but the ac- 
 complishment of his work was that 
 which was uppermost in the ajjostle's 
 thoughts, (pjiii. 3:13, u.) And the min- 
 istry which I have received— 
 rather, which I received, at my conver- 
 sion, from the Lord. (1 Tim. 1 : 12.) Tins 
 ministry was his apostleship. (Rom. 1 : 1 ; 
 Gal. 1 : 1.) His work and sufferings 
 were both told to Ananias (9 : 1'i. is), and 
 made known to Paul at the first (-'2 : is, 21 ; 
 86:16-18.) To testify the gospel, or 
 
 good news of the grace of God — that 
 God can and will be gracious, even to 
 the chief of sinners who believe on 
 Christ. Compare 1 Tim. 1 : 12-16, in 
 which Paul speaks of his call, exjieri- 
 ence, and work in the ministry, and of 
 the gospel as " worthy of all accei)ta- 
 tion." 
 
 25. Ye all, among whom, etc., — 
 the elders wlioiu he was addressing, 
 both as individuals and as representa- 
 tives of those, among whom he had 
 gone preaching the kingdom of 
 God. The oldest manuscripts omit 
 of God. The kingdom was a brief way 
 of designating the kingdom of Christ, 
 or of God. "(See on I; 3,8.) Shall see 
 my face no more. He now expresses 
 his deep conviction as in ver. 22. (Ste 
 26:27.) It is probablc that he visited 
 Ephcsus again after his first imprison- 
 ment at Rome. In his Epistle to Phi- 
 lemon (ver. 22), toward the end of that 
 imprisonment, lie expresses the hope 
 and the intention of visiting Philemon, 
 who was at Colosse ; and later still, 
 just before his martyrdom, lie writes of 
 leaving Trojihinuis sick at Miletus. 
 We can hardly suppose tiiat Paul 
 would visit these places and not have 
 gone to Ephesus. Some, tlierefore, em- 
 jihasize the word all as though the 
 apostle only meant tbat he should 
 never see tiiem all again. But such 
 an interpretation is very improbable 
 in the light of verses o7,"S8. As Paul 
 was thinking of visiting Home, and 
 from thence going tar westward (Rom. 
 15:24), witb a lieart Inirdciied with fore- 
 bodings of evil, his deep conviction at 
 that moment was, that lie would never 
 see them again. Peliaps tliis presenti- 
 ment would have become a reality at 
 Jerusalem, or elsewliere, had it not 
 been for the prayers of the Lord's 
 people in his l)ehalf. (Rom. 15 : 20.) See 
 how Paul feels four years later. (m\. 
 
 1 ; 20. 25; 2 : 24.) 
 
 26. Wherefore— in view of this 
 
C«. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 325 
 
 this day, that 1 am '\n\rc from the blood and to "all the flock, 'over the which the 
 
 27 of all ?«f /i. For J bavo not shunned to Holy Spirit hath made you r overseers, ' lo 
 declare unto you all "the counsel of God. feed the church of God, "which he hath 
 
 28 'Take heed therefore unto yourselves, | 29 purchased with his own blood. For I 
 
 'ch. IS : C; Ezek. 33 : 5, 9. 
 2, 3. » 1 Cor. 12 : 8-11, 28-30. 
 19 ; Eev. 5 ; 9. 
 
 ' Luke 7 : 30. '1 Cor. 9 : 27 ; 1 Tim. 4 : lU. » 1 Peter 5 ; 
 7 1 Peter 2 ; 25, Gr. « Matt. 2 : C, Or. » 1 Peter 1 : 18 ; 
 
 final parti nc;, and close of his ministry 
 amons tluui. I take you to record 
 
 • — / tetitifi/ to i/on, declare solemnly as 
 a witness before Ciod. (seeEph. 4 : n.) 
 This day — a strung exi)ression, This 
 very dai/, the last we meet on earth. 
 I am pure — witii a clear couscience 
 (23: 1), guiltless of the destruction of 
 all, among whom I have labored 
 
 among you. ( I'lek. S : is. see on 18 ; 6.) 
 
 'Z7. For I have uot shunned to 
 declare — liowever disagreeable the 
 message, he concealed, he dissembled 
 nothing. All the counsel, or wiV^, 
 of God, respecting the salvation of 
 men, his offers of grace and mercy, and 
 especially regarding the nature, neces- 
 sity and duty of repentance and faith, 
 (ver. -n.) God's purpose of mercy to the 
 Gentiles would also be included, (see 
 Erh.3:?-ii.) This verse implies much 
 in regard to the ability of his Ephesian 
 brethren to understand and receive the 
 gospel in its fullness. 
 
 28. Take heed therefore unto 
 yourselves — that ye be faithful. He 
 gives them prophetic exhortation and 
 warning. And to all the flock — the 
 
 discipleship ( Luke 12 : 32 ; 1 Peter 5 : 2), that 
 
 they be kept and preserved from error. 
 Paul had faithfully discharged his 
 duty, and now he enforces the respon- 
 sibility on them. Over Avhich — 
 rather, in which, as being themselves a 
 part of the flock and members of the 
 church, among whom they were to 
 labor. The Holy Spirit hath made 
 or set you as overseers ; including doubt- 
 less the inward call, and perhaps di- 
 recting in the choice of them as over- 
 seers. (6:5; 13: 2.) It is implied that 
 they had been appointed and set apart 
 to their office. Notice that these men 
 are here styled overseers or bishops, 
 who are called elders in ver. 17 ; on 
 which see. They were pastors or su- 
 
 Eerintendents. The church at Ephesus 
 ad a plurality of i>astors. We have 
 no account in apostolic days of a 
 bishop of a province, or a bishop hav- 
 
 ing a plurality of churches with theii* 
 pastors under him. To fe«d — to 
 shepherd — like a shepherd who not 
 only feeds, Init tends, directs, and pro- 
 tects his flock. (John 21 : 15, 17 ; 1 Peter 5 : 
 
 2-4.) 
 
 The church of God, or of the 
 
 Lord — at Ejjhesus, in which they were 
 set as overseers. Of course, these elders 
 could not feed the so-called church 
 universal, nor the collective disciple- 
 ship throughout the world. In regard 
 to the reading in the original, the evi- 
 dences are divided between God and 
 Lord. The internal evidence favors 
 the reading, God. Paul is the only 
 writer in the New Testament who uses 
 the expression. The church of God. 
 He uses it eiglit times outside of this 
 
 passage. (iCor. 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15 :9; 
 2 Cor. 2:1; Gal. 1:13; 1 Tim. 3 : 5, IS.) Three 
 
 times he uses the expression churches 
 
 of God. (1 Cor. U : 16 ; 1 Tlie.i«. 2 : U ; 2 Thcsa. 
 
 1: <•) The expression churches of Christ 
 occurs only once in his epistles (Rom. 
 16: 16) ; and ch^irch of the Lord, ov chiDxh 
 of Christ, does not occur once. So that 
 church of God is the usual expression 
 with Paul, and the one which he would 
 naturally use in extemporaneous ad- 
 dress. Among the critics, Tischendorf, 
 Meyer, Tregelles, Ezra Abbott, and 
 others decide for Lord ; and Scrivener, 
 Alford, Westcott and Hort, and others 
 decide for God. Which he hath 
 purchased — rather, ichich he jntv 
 chased, as paid once for all. The verb 
 found here and in 1 Tim. ,3 : 13, is not the 
 one commonlj' used for buying, and 
 means to gain or acquire for one's self, 
 and thus that which is thus gotten is 
 peculiarly one's own. With his own 
 blood — the price of redemption, the 
 sacrifice of suffering and death, (see 
 
 Rom. 3 : 25 ; 1 Cor. 6 : 20 ; Eph. 1 : 7, U ; I Peter 1 :.I8, 
 19; 2: 14,.) 
 
 29. For I know this. The oldest 
 manuscriiits have simply, / knov\ 
 After my departinsc. Paul does not 
 refer specially to his deatli, but to his 
 
?26 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XX. 
 
 know this, that after my departing i> shall 
 grievous wolves enter in among you, not 
 30 sparing the flock. Also «of your own 
 selves shall men arise, speaking perverse 
 things, to draw away disciples after 
 
 31 them. Therefore watch, and remember, 
 that d by the space of three years I ceased 
 not «to warn every one night and day 
 with tears. 
 
 i> Matt. 7 : 15 ; 2 Peter 2 : 1-3. 
 
 c 2 Tim. 2 : 17, 18 ; 4 : 3, 4 ; 1 John 2 : 18, 19. 
 'Ezek. 3 : 17-20; Col. 1 : 28. 
 
 ■i ch. 19 ; 10. 
 
 leaving them, with the conviction that 
 they would see his face no more. 
 (ver. 25.) Shall grievous, cruel 
 wolves — tliese represent, not persecu- 
 tors, but false teachers. Jesus calls 
 false prophets " ravening wolves." (Matt. 
 7 : 15.) These enter in among them 
 from without, not sparing the flock, 
 the congregation of baptized believers 
 at Ephesus. They were exposed to 
 Judaizers and Gnostics. In the second 
 and tliird chajiters of Revelation we 
 learn the terrible work of such false 
 teachers at Ephesus, and in other 
 churches in the ])rovince of Asia. 
 There were the " Nicolaitans" "who 
 say they are Jews and are not, but are 
 a synagogue of Satan " (Rev. 2 : 6, 9 ; 3 : 9) ; 
 "some who holil the teaching of 
 Balaam " (Rev. 2 : u) ; " tlie woman Jeze- 
 bel who calleth herself a ]iroi)hetess," 
 teaching and .seducing by pernicious 
 and destructive doctrines. (Rev. 2 : 20.) 
 
 30. False teachers should also arise 
 from among the^nselves, that is, not 
 from the elders especially, but from the 
 flock including the elders. They would 
 speak perverse things, corrupt, and 
 distorted doctrines. To draw away, 
 or so as to draw away the disciples 
 after them. Having departed from 
 the truth and embraced false doctrines, 
 they would use their utmost efforts to 
 drag others after them. Thus they 
 would divide believers into parties and 
 factions, and lead into apostasy from 
 the truth. About eight years after this 
 Paul speaks of his own experience, 
 "that all those in Asia turned away 
 from me, of whom are Phygellus and 
 Hermogenes." (2 Tim. 1 : 15.) He also 
 refers to Hymenteus and Philetus," 
 " who erred concerning the trutli. (2 Tim. 
 2 : iJ.) In his First Epistle to Timothy 
 (1 ; 20) he speaks of having delivered 
 unto Satan, Hynienteus and Alexander. 
 (See 2 Tim. 4: 14.) Much later John, who 
 lived at Ephesus, speaks of " Piotre- 
 phes, who loves to have the pre-emi- 
 
 nence." (3 John 9.) And from Eev. 2 : 
 2-4, we learn tliat there were some at 
 Ephesus who laid claim to apostolic 
 authority, and that the clunch there, 
 as a church, had left their first love. 
 Ephesus became noted afterward as the 
 .seat of the Gnostic heresy. Eusebius 
 relates that the ajjostle John met with 
 Ceiiiitluis, the early teacher of Chris- 
 tian Gnosticism (i/. />'. iv. 14.) " Ephe- 
 sus was aboveall others the place where 
 Oriental views were in various ways 
 comliined with the mythology and 
 philosoj)hy of Greece ; in truth, this 
 city was a complete storehouse of 
 magical arts and deceptions." (Creu- 
 ZER.) Such influences produced dis- 
 astrous results on Christians of that 
 city and the churches of Asia. See 
 Col. 2 : 8, 20-23, where we learn of 
 teachers of a false philosophy who 
 combined Oriental mysticism with 
 Jewish ritualism. See on ver. 38, last 
 paragraiih. 
 
 31. Therefore watch — even as I 
 have done, with unsleeping alertness. 
 And remember — and imitate my ex- 
 ample. By the space of three 
 years. This precise and definite note 
 of time must explain the various notes 
 of time given and implied in chapter 
 19. Thus he preached three mouths in 
 the synagogue (i»:8), and two years in 
 the school of Tyrannus (i9:io), and 
 some months afterward. (i9 : 21, 22.) The 
 " three years " may be taken as a prox- 
 imate expression of nearly three years. 
 How faithfully these Ephesian pastors 
 obeyed this admonition may be learned 
 from Eev. 2 : 2, 3 : "I know thy works, 
 and thy labor and patience, and how 
 thou can^t not bear them which are 
 evil," etc. Notice how strongly Paul 
 puts it : I ceased not to warn or ad- 
 motiish. His vigilance was unremit- 
 ting. Every one — his work was per- 
 sonal, overlooking no one, of the elders, 
 or of the Eyihesian church. Night 
 and day — his industry was unc<asiii'>-. 
 
Ch. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 327 
 
 32 And now, brethren, I coimuend you to 
 God, and to the word of his grace, which 
 is able 'to build you up, and to give you 
 ? an inheritance among all them ^ which 
 
 33 are sanctitied. 'I have coveted no man's 
 
 34 silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye your- 
 selves know, k tiiat these hands have 
 
 ministered unto my necessities, and to 
 35 tliem that were with me. I have showed 
 you all things, 'how that so labouring ye 
 ought to sui)port the weak, and to remem- 
 ber the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
 said, m It is more blessed to give than to 
 receive. 
 
 ' Eph. 2 : 20-22. e Col. 1 : 12 ; Ileb. : 15 ; 1 Petor 1 : 4, 5. ^l Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10 : 
 14. i Num. 16 : 15 ; 1 Sam. 12 : 3 ; 1 Peter 5:2. k ch. 18 : 3 ; 2 ThesB. 3:8. ' Rum. 15 : 
 1 ; Eph. 4 : 28. m Dent. 14 : 29 ; Matt. 10 : 8 ; Luke 14 : 13, 14. 
 
 With tears— of solicitude. (See2Cor. 
 11 : 29.) His ministry had been warm, 
 tender, and art'ectionate. 
 
 32. This tender and loving com- 
 mendation to God is in keeping with 
 Paul's reference to " tears," in the pre- 
 ceding verse. I commend, etc. — I 
 leave you in God's hands, who will 
 never leave you. Brethren is not 
 found in the oldest authorities. And 
 to the word of his grace — the 
 gracious words of the gospel, its truths, 
 doctrines, and promises, such as are 
 contained in John, chapters 14-17. 
 (SeeU:3.) Which — properly, 7vho, re- 
 ferring to God. Can build you up — 
 a favorite expression of Paul. (Eph. 
 
 J : so, 21 ; 4 : 12, 16, 29. Compare 1 Cor. 3 : 10.) Sig- 
 nificant to one familiar with the stately 
 architecture of Kphesus. God through 
 the Holy Spirit uses the truths of the 
 gospel as an instrument in building up, 
 or edification. (John it : n.) And to 
 give you an inheritance, rather, 
 the inheritance of eternal life and glory 
 among all them that are sancti- 
 fied, and thus prejiared for it. (See 26 : 18.) 
 This beautiful thought of the saint's 
 inheritance is a favorite one in Paul's 
 Epistle to the Ephesians. (Eph. i ru, i8; 
 5 : 5.) The figure is taken from the in- 
 heritance of God's separated people in 
 the earthly Canaan, (oeut. :i3 : 3, ♦.) 
 
 33. Paul enforces generous and dis- 
 interested labor by his own example. 
 I have coveted no man's silver, 
 or gold, or apparel. " I seek not 
 yours, but you." (•-> cor. 12 : u.) Wealth 
 in Oriental countries consisted largely 
 of raiment as well as of precious metals. 
 Compare Matt. 6 : 19 and James 5 : 2, 
 where the destruction of earthly treas- 
 ures by the moth is alluded to. (See nua 
 
 S Kings 5:5; Gtn. 24 : 53 ; 45 : 22.) The Ephe- 
 
 sians are said to have been noted for 
 their luxurious clothing. Paul's spirit 
 
 formed a striking contrast to that of 
 Demetrius. (19 : 25, 26.) 
 
 34. Yea is omitted by the oldest 
 manuscripts. These hands have 
 ministered. Doubtless holding them 
 up to view. Thus, not only at Corinth 
 (is ; 3), but also at Ephesus tent-making 
 had been Paul's dependence for sup- 
 port. He probably worked with Aquila 
 and Priscilla in both places. ( 1 Cor. le ; 19.) 
 Luke does not speak of Paul's working 
 at Ephesus in his narrative, but only 
 brings it out incidentally in this ad- 
 dress. Paul alludes to it in 1 Cor. 11, 12. 
 " Unto this present hour, ... we toil, 
 working with our own hands." Such 
 undesigned agreement is an incidental 
 proof of the truthfulness of the writings 
 of Luke and Paul. And to them 
 that were with me— such as Timo- 
 thy, who had " often infirmities " (1 Tim. 
 5 : 23), and less able to work tlian Paul. 
 
 35. I have shewed you all 
 things — or. In all things I gave you 
 an example (Revised Version). So 
 laboring ye ought to support, 
 rather, assist the weak — that is, the 
 weak, in body, who need such help. 
 This is the most natural meaning of the 
 phrase, and is in harmony with the 
 following words of Jesus, which have 
 reference to giving and receiving, (see 
 Eph. 4 : 28.) Paul had not spared himself 
 "labor and travail." (2 cor. u : 27.) And 
 to remember — a well-known saying 
 of Jesus from that vast treasury which is 
 not found in the Gospels. (John 21:25.) 
 Yet this is the only one in the New 
 Testament not recorded by the Evan- 
 gelists. How he said— Emphatic, 
 He h imself said, marking the quotation 
 as authentic beyond all doubt. It is 
 more blessed to give than to re- 
 ceive. Jesus used thesanie word, blessed 
 or happy, as in Matt. .'> : 3-11. They 
 who give are more happy, in their 
 
328 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XX. 
 
 3G And when he had thus spoken, he 
 kneeled down, and prayed with them all. 
 
 37 And they all wept sore, and "fell on 
 
 38 Paul's neck, "and kissed him, sorrowing 
 
 most of all for the words p which he spake, 
 that they should see his face no more. 
 And they accompanied him uuto the 
 ship. 
 
 ' Gen. 45 : 14 ; 46 : 29. o Rom. 16 : 16. P ver. 25. 
 
 present enjoyments and in their pros- 
 pects of future blessedness, than they 
 who receive. This precept breathes the 
 spirit of our Lord's life ;ind doctrine; 
 azul he liimself is its grandest illustra- 
 tion. (-iCor. 8:9; Phil. i:9.) It is an in- 
 spiration to those, who need not labor 
 from necessity, to labor from benevo- 
 lence. 
 
 36. The touching scene of parting is 
 related with great simplicity ; evidently 
 the description of an eye-witness. He 
 kneeled down— a jwsture of special 
 solemnity ; and seems to have l)een 
 customary with Paul. (21 :5; Eph. s: u. 
 
 Sec Luke 22 : 41 ; Acts 7 : 60 : 9 : 40.) On the 
 
 custom of standing in praver, see Luke 
 18: 11-13; Mark 11 : 25. Prayed 
 with them all — his great heart would 
 not leave any of them out. Luke rev- 
 erently shrinks from repeating his 
 prayer. But see Ej)h. 3 : 14-19, where 
 we may catch a glimpse of his themes 
 of prayer. 
 
 37. They all Avept sore — with 
 sobs and cries. Fell on Paul's 
 neck — embracing him. And kissed 
 him tenderly again and again, for such 
 is the idea of the verb. Such demon- 
 strative ex])re.ssions of sorrow and affec- 
 tion are customary in the East, (see 
 Gen. 45 : 14 : 16 : 29.) The brotherly kiss was 
 practiced among early Christians. Paul 
 frequently refers to the "holy kiss" 
 
 (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16 : 20, etc.), and PctCr tO 
 the kiss of love. (l Peter 5: 14.) 
 
 38. Sorrowing most of all, or 
 
 distressed chiefly for the voi'd he had 
 spoken, (ver. 25.) Paul's deep convic- 
 tion made it a most solemn reality to 
 them. Thei/ should see, rather, be- 
 hold his face no more. The verb is 
 different from that in ver. 25. This 
 denotes the earnest, reverent and lov- 
 ing gaze, with which they would look 
 upon and contemplate Paul, the apostle, 
 and their spiritual parent, (see on ver. 25.) 
 And they accompanied him — or, 
 they brought him 0)i his way («» is : s, 
 and 21 : 5) to the Ship. This indicates 
 that the harbor was some distance from 
 
 the town. The site of Miletus has con- 
 tinued gradually to recede till now it 
 is ten miles from the coast. 
 
 We now take leave of the church of 
 Ephesus in the Acts. For some things 
 in its early ecclesiastical history, see on 
 ver. 29, 30. It became a metropolitan 
 church, and exerted a moulding influ- 
 ence on the churches of the province 
 of Asia. In the second century it seems 
 to have become a source of ecclesias- 
 tical and hierarchical influences. Hav- 
 ing lost its first love it yielded to 
 formality and worldliness, and after 
 a few centuries passes from history. 
 " It is sad to contemplate the decline 
 of primitive piety here, and the extinc- 
 tion of churches formed. So com- 
 pletely has ' the candlestick been re- 
 moved out of its place' (Rev. 2:5) that 
 not a living soul resides in Ephesus. 
 Its streets are ploughed by the Otto- 
 man serf, or browsed by the sheep of 
 tlie }ieasant, and its mouidering arches 
 and dilajiidated walls, but whisper tlie 
 tale of its departed glory." (FiSH'S 
 Bible Lands Illustrated, p. 745.) 
 
 Pastoks and Churches. In this 
 chapter pastors are clearly recognized 
 as overseers or superintendents of local 
 churches, as well as teachers and preach- 
 ers of the word. They are shepherds 
 of the flock, and as such they are to 
 feed the church of God, and guard 
 against f^ilse doctrine and false teach- 
 ers. (Ver. 28-31.) With this agree the 
 
 Epistles. (1 Thess. 5 : 12 ; Heb. 13 : 17 ; 1 Piter 
 
 5 : 1-4.) The pastor is the leader and 
 presiding officer of the chtirch, the di- 
 rector and supervisor of its public re- 
 ligious instruction, the administrator 
 of its ordinances, and the watcher for 
 souls. His duties are necessarily both 
 public and private, (ver. 20; coi.i : 28-) 
 The number of pastors to any church 
 is nowhere fixed in the New Testa- 
 ment. This must depend most naturally 
 upon the size and circumstances of the 
 cliurch. A church embracing as its 
 field the whole city of Ephesus, or 
 Philippi, would need more pastors than 
 
Ch. XX.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 i29 
 
 the church ia the house of Pliih'iuon. 
 (phiiem. 2.) Kach of the seven cliiirches 
 of Asia had its aiKjel, or virssengcr, 
 which some regard as its pastor. (Kev. 
 2 : I, n ) There seems to he not the same 
 demand for a plurality of pastors now 
 as in ai)ostolic days ; nor that there 
 should be but one church to a town, or 
 city. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. In Christ's service we should show 
 neither a cowardly nor a defiant spirit, but 
 act calmly, meekly, and judiciously. (Ver. 
 1 ; John 10 : 12-14.) 
 
 2. We should exhibit diligence in all our 
 affairs, especially in religion. (Ver. 2; 
 Rom. 12:11.) 
 
 3. Faithfulness to Christ always arouses 
 opposition from a wicked world. (Ver. 3 ; 
 John 15 : 20.) 
 
 4. Blessings return to those who give. 
 Asia sends forth Paul into Europe, and 
 Europe sends back brethren with Paul into 
 Asia. (Ver. 4, 35.) 
 
 5. Haste is consistent with faithfulness. 
 Paul wished to be in Jerusalem at Pente- 
 cost, but he did not slight Philippi orTroas. 
 (Ver. 5, 6, 17.) 
 
 6. The first day of the week is pre-emi- 
 nently the Lord's Day, and we can point 
 back to the apostles for its observance. 
 (Ver. 7 ; John 20 : 19, 2fi.) 
 
 7. Long services and long sermons are for 
 special, not ordinary occasions. (Ver. 7-9.) 
 
 8. It is best to keep awake in the public 
 services of God. (Ver. 9.) 
 
 9. Preachers should minister to the bod- 
 ies as well as souls of men. (Ver. 10-12 ; 
 10 : 38.) 
 
 10. We should have our times of medita- 
 tion. In our walks we can be alone with 
 God. (Ver. 13; Luke 24: 32.) 
 
 11. We should keep our appointments, 
 and hasten in the path of duty though it be 
 one of suffering. (Ver. 14-16.) 
 
 12. It was quite common in early churches 
 to have a plurality of pastors. (Ver. 17 ; 
 11 : 30 ; 15 : 4 ; Titus 1:5; James 5 : 14.) 
 
 13. The preacher should be able to appeal 
 to his hearers in proof of his fidelity. (Ver. 
 18 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 10 ; 2 Cor. 6 : 3, 4.) 
 
 14. A humble and tender spirit is indis- 
 pensable to ministerial usefulness. (Ver. 19 ; 
 Luke 22 : 25, 26.) 
 
 I 
 
 15. Public i)reachiiig and private religious 
 couvcrsation froiiihou.se to house form two 
 important parts of ministerial labor, and 
 one cannot well take the place of the other. 
 (Ver. 20 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 11 ; 2 Tim. 4:2.) 
 
 16. He who fails to enforce repentance and 
 faith upon his hearers fails in preaching the 
 gospel. (Ver. 21 ; Mark 1 : 15.) 
 
 17. Inspired men were imperfect like 
 other men, and special knowledge was given 
 them only as needed for special objects of 
 revelation. (Ver. 22 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 7.) 
 
 18. The Holy Spirit is a foreteller of trials, 
 as well as a comforter in afflictions. (Ver. 
 23; Rom. 8: 26.) 
 
 19. Christ's cause and work is dearer to 
 the faithful minister than life itself. (Ver. 
 24 ; Heb. 12 : 1-3.) 
 
 20. The great design of the Christian min- 
 istry is to bear witness to the glad tidings of 
 God's favor to men. (Ver. 24 ; 26 : 16-18.) 
 
 21. The Christian life is a race, and it 
 should be run with unswerving purpose. 
 (Ver. 24.) 
 
 22. The minister should preach with 
 eternity in view, and each time as laithfully 
 as if it were his last. (Ver. 25 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 10, 
 20.) 
 
 23. The minister should so labor to save 
 his hearers, that, if any are lost, it shall 
 be through no fault of his. (Ver. 26 ; 1 Cor. 
 9 : 22.) 
 
 24. Courage is essential to a successful 
 ministry, and is needed for preaching all 
 the doctrines and practices of the gospel. 
 (Ver. 20, 27 ; 4 : 19, 20 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 2; 1 Thess. 
 2 : 4.) 
 
 25. The apostolic bishop was a pastor, or 
 overseer, connected with a single church. 
 (Ver. 28 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 5.) 
 
 20. It is the duty of the pastor to look 
 after the spiritual interests of the church, 
 and seek to promote the spiritual welfare of 
 every member. (Ver. 28 ; Titus 1 : 7-9.) 
 
 27. " It must never be forgotten that the 
 Holy Spirit makes men ministers, and the 
 churches are only to recognize what the 
 Spirit has done." (Dr. J. M. Pendleton.) 
 (Ver. 28.) 
 
 28. A Scriptur.al church consists of be- 
 lievers, God's redeemed people; and as bap- 
 tism always followed believing in apostolic 
 times, a church consists of baptized believers. 
 (Ver. 28 ; Matt. 28 : 19, 20 ; 1 Peter 1 : 18-20.) 
 
 29. It is not strange that hierarchical and 
 
330 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXI. 
 
 /toM/'s voyage to Syria ; visit to Casarea ; and 
 
 journey to Jerusalem. 
 31 AND it caiue to pass, that after we were 
 gotten from them, and had launched, we I 
 
 came with a straight course unto Coos; 
 
 and the day following unto Khodes; and 
 
 2 from thence unto Patara. And tindinga 
 
 ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went 
 
 other errors may he traced in their begin- 
 nings to Ephesus and Asia Minor, since it 
 was foretold that false teachers should both 
 come in and arise among them. (Ver. 29, 30.) 
 
 30. Pride, greed, and selfishness are char- 
 acteristic of false teachers. (Ver. 29, 30; 
 John 10 : 8, 12 ; Matt. 23 : 4 f.) 
 
 31. A spirit of ceaseless industry should 
 characterize the minister. (Ver. 31 ; 2 Tim. 
 4:5.) 
 
 32. God builds up his people through his 
 word, and prepares them for his gift of a 
 heavenly inheritance. (Ver. 32 ; John 17 : 6- 
 9, 17.) 
 
 33. A Christian minister should especially 
 be noted for his unselfishness. (Ver. 33-35; 
 1 Thess. 2 : .5-1 1 ; 2 Thess. 3 : 7-9.) 
 
 34. If a Chistian minister is notsupported 
 by others, it is highly commendable if he 
 supports himself. (Ver. 34 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 4-G.) 
 
 35. The giver has a privilege, a joy and a 
 reward, of which the receiver cannot par- 
 take. (Ver. 35 ; Jlatt. 25 : 34-36, 40.) 
 
 36. Paul has given a model farewell ad- 
 dress, and a pastor's manual for efi'eetive 
 labor. (Ver. lS-35.) 
 
 37. What more fitting when we part than 
 to unite our souls by prayer to God ? (Ver. 
 36-38.) 
 
 38. Ministers and peoi>le should exercise 
 such fidelity with one another that when 
 they separate their parting may be like that 
 of Paul and the Ephesian elders. (Ver. 
 36-38.) 
 
 Ch. 21 : In this chapter Luke 
 narrates Paul's voyage from Miletus, 
 his stopping a week at Tyre, one day 
 at Ptolemais, and a longer time at 
 Csesarea, and his journey thence to 
 Jerusalem. Here Paul is welcomed 
 by the brethren, and at the suggestion 
 of James and the elders, he endeavored 
 to conciliate the Hebrew Christians by 
 performing certain Jewish ceremonials 
 in the temple. He is there seized by 
 an infuriated populace, but is rescued 
 from death by the Roman officer, who 
 permits him to speak to the people, 
 parts of April and May, A. D. 58. 
 
 X-IG. Paul's Voyage from Mile- 
 
 tus TO C^sakka. His Journey 
 Thence to Jerusalem. 
 
 1. That after Ave had gotten 
 from them — better, after we had torn 
 ourselves from them, a forcible descrip- 
 tion of the painful and reluctant part- 
 ing of Paul and the elders of Ephesus 
 at Miletus. The most probable time, 
 according to our computation was Mon- 
 day morning, April 24, a. D. 58. 
 Coos, or Cos, a small island now called 
 Stanchio, forty miles soutli of Miletus. 
 It was noted for its school of medicine. 
 It was the birtliplace of Hippocrates, 
 the physician, and celebrated for its 
 temple of ^sciilaj)ius. It must have 
 been of interest to Luke, the physician. 
 Here tlie ship prolialdy lay at anchor 
 over night. Going with a straight 
 course — im])lying a quick passage. 
 (See 16: 11.) The day following — 
 probably Tuesday. Rhodes — the 
 name of a famous island and its capital 
 city, about fifty miles to the southeast 
 of Cos, at the southwest corner of Asia 
 Minor. It was celebrated for the great 
 tem)>le of the sun, and the Colossus, one 
 of the seven wonders of the world, a 
 brazen statue over one hundred feet 
 higli at the head of the harl)or, but then 
 in ruins, having been thrown down by 
 an eartiiquake. Herethey probaldy lay 
 at aucJior Tuesday night. Patara — 
 about sixty miles east of Rliodes, the 
 port of the city Xauthus, the capital of 
 Lycia. It had a good harbor, and was 
 
 J the resort of coasting vessels. He 
 reached here probably on Wednesday. 
 
 2. Providence favored Paul. Patara 
 seems to have been the harbor whither 
 his ship was bound from Troas. And 
 now another ship of larger capacity is 
 ready, in which he and his companions 
 enter as passengers. The language im- 
 plies that they embark at once, we 
 Avent aboard and put to sea, proba- 
 bly early Tliursday morning. They 
 crossed over a distance of about three 
 hundred and forty miles to Phcenicia, 
 the country on the coast, north of 
 Palestine, containing the cities of 
 Tyre and Sidon. (seeonii : lo.) It is 
 said that the voyage, with favorable 
 
Ch. XXI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 331 
 
 3 aboard, ami net forth. Now when we 
 had discovered Cyprus, we left, it on the 
 left hand, and sailed into Syria, and 
 landed at Tyre : for there the .ship was to 
 
 4 unlade her burden. And finding dis- 
 ciples, we t.arried there seven days: iwho 
 said to Paul through the Spirit, that he 
 
 5 should not go up to .lerusaleiu. And when 
 we had accomplished those days, we de- 
 
 parted and went our way ; and they all 
 brought us on our way, with wives and 
 children, till ue were out of the city : and 
 ' we kneeled down on the shore, and 
 
 6 prayed. And when we had taken our 
 leave one of another, we took ship, and 
 they returned home again. 
 
 7 And when we had finished our course 
 from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and 
 
 4 ch. 20 : 23. 
 
 • ch. 20 : 30. 
 
 winds takes about forty-eight hours. 
 They probably arris'e at Tyre(Ter. 3) 
 some time on Saturday. 
 
 3. NoAV wheu we had discov- 
 ered Cyprus — ratlier, having sighted 
 Cyprus, the graphic language of an 
 eye-witness, using the ])hraseology of 
 seamen. On C'l/pras, see 1 : ,S() ; lo : 
 4-12. Left it on the left — this tliey 
 would do in going in a direct course 
 from Patara to Tyre. The coast of 
 Cyprus served them as a guide, as the 
 mariner's compass was then unknown. 
 Syria — the Roman province consisting 
 of Phoenicia and Palestine. Tyre was 
 one of the chief ports of Phoenicia and 
 a city of great antiquity. (Seeoa 12 :20.) 
 In Paul's day the glory of Tyre had 
 long since waned. Antioch and Ctesarea 
 had proved successful commercial 
 rivals. Now its ruins by the sea fulfill 
 the ])rophecy of Ezekiel (24 :u) as liter- 
 ally " a place for the spreading of nets." 
 For there the ship Avas to unload 
 — possibly this ship went no further. 
 
 (See ver. 6.) 
 
 4. And finding disciples — rather, 
 according to the most approved i-ead- 
 iug, the disciples, the members of tiie 
 cliurcii there. The gospel had been 
 preached there soon after the martyr- 
 dom of Stephen (u : 19), and a congrega- 
 tion gathered. (i5:3.) The verb im- 
 plies that they found out the disciples 
 by searching or inquiry. We re- 
 mained there seven days. Ac- 
 cording to our reckoning, Paul arrived 
 at Tyre by or before Saturday night, 
 and was thus with the disciples on the 
 first day of the week, April 30, A. D. 
 58. Who said to Paul through the 
 Spirit. As in ver. 11, they knew that 
 danger awaited Paul at Jerusalem, and 
 therefore they exhorted him not to go 
 there. The exhortation seems to have 
 been prompted by their feelings, not by 
 the Spirit. Paul also knew the same, but 
 
 he had the deep conviction that he must 
 go. (M:'i2, 23.) The prophetic warning 
 of his brethren, however, prepared him 
 through grace to encounter these perils 
 and coniirmed his conviction that it 
 was God's will that he should sutfer in 
 liis cause. That he should not go 
 up to Jerusalem — or not set foot in 
 Jerusalem. lie might go through 
 Judea, and then return to Antioch, but 
 he uuist not enter Jerusalem. 
 
 5. When he had accomplished, 
 or completed the days, the seven, (ver. 4.) 
 The idea is that of filling out the seven 
 days. They all brought us, or 
 escorted us (i5:3), ^vith wives and chil- 
 dren, showing what a hold Paul and 
 his companions had taken upon the 
 whole Christian community. Out of, 
 outside the city, in a somewhat retired 
 place. Kneeled down on the 
 shore — literally, the beach, and 
 prayed. The accuracy of Luke is 
 here seen, in speaking of the smooth 
 shore or beach, which extends for a 
 considerable distance on Ijoth sides of 
 ancient Tyre. This parting service 
 probably took place on Sunday morn- 
 ing, May 7th. (See on ver. 4.) 
 
 6. When we had taken leave — 
 
 or bade one another farewell. We 
 took ship — probably the one which 
 brought them from Patara to Tyre, 
 though the Greek does not make it 
 certain whether it was the same ship or 
 not. 
 
 7. When we had finished our 
 course — completed the voyaqe — from 
 Tyre, we came down to Ptolemais, 
 about thirty miles to the south, where 
 they doulitless arrived the same day, 
 perhaps in a few hours. This com- 
 pleted the sea portion of Paul's journey. 
 The minuteness of the narrative and 
 the use of nautical terms, indicate the 
 writer as an eye witness, and his great 
 carefulness as a narrator, Ptolemais 
 
332 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXI. 
 
 saluted the brethren, and abode with 
 
 8 them one day. And the next day we 
 
 that were of Paul's company departed, 
 
 and came unto Caesarea. And we entered 
 
 into the house of Philip the evangelist, 
 
 5 which was one of the seven : and abode 
 
 9 with him. And the same man had four 
 
 daughters, virgins, ' which did prophesy. 
 
 • ch. 6 : 5 ; 8 : 26, 40. t ch. 2 : 17 ; 13 : 1 ; Joel 2 : 28, 29. 
 
 was an important city on that portion 
 of the coast, and was called Accho in 
 the Old Testament (Judg. i ;3i), and is 
 known in modern times as Acre. It is 
 situated on the bay north of Mount 
 Carmel, and has a population of about 
 ten thousand. Saluted the brethren 
 — from this it is evident that there was 
 a church there. Paul doubtless liad 
 visited them before, as he would natu- 
 rally pass through tlie city, in his pre- 
 vious journeys, on the great coast-road 
 which connected Antioch witli C'lesarea. 
 
 (11:30; 12:25; 15 : J, M ; IS : •;■->. See on 15 : n.) 
 
 Abode one day — having arrived 
 early, this may have been that day and 
 the night following. 
 
 8. We that were of Paul's com- 
 pany — not found in the best manu- 
 scripts. It may have been at first a 
 marginal comment, and afterward in- 
 troduced by some copyist into the text. 
 CsEsarea, about thirty miles south of 
 Ptolemais, to which they appear to 
 have journeyed by land in a single day, 
 arriving there on Monday or Tuesday, 
 May 8th or 9th. (See on ver. 5.) Further 
 on Csesai'ea, see on 8 : 40. This was the 
 third time Paul had been there (9:w; 
 18: 2s), but the first mention of his stop- 
 ping there. Philip the evangelist 
 . . . one of the seven, a historical 
 statement distinguishing him from 
 Philip the apostle. His api)ointmeiit 
 as one of the deacons preceded his work 
 as an evangelist. He appears not to J 
 have continued long in the former i)Osi- 
 tion, as he left Jerusalem for Samaria, ! 
 laboring as an evangelist tiiere, anil I 
 from place to jdace to Ciesarea (s: 5, 4o), ( 
 where over twenty years later he is now [ 
 
 found. (See on s : 5.) i 
 
 The word Evangelist means an an- \ 
 nouncer of good tidings, and is found 
 three times in the New Testament. { 
 Here it is applied officially to Philip, i 
 who had gone from )dace to place 
 preaching the gospel. In 2 Tim. 4 : 5 
 Paul exhorts Timotliy to "do the work of 
 an evangelist," ])reachingand exercising 
 his ministry at Ephesus and in various I 
 
 places. In Eph. 4 : 11 evangelists are 
 distinguished from apostles and from 
 prophets, who.se offices wei"e from their 
 nature temporary, and from pastors and 
 teachers, who were connected with local 
 churches. The apostles were insj)ired 
 missionaries and organizers of the 
 Christian church, and the witnesses of 
 our Lord's resurrection. (1:21.22.) The 
 seventy were announcers of the glad 
 tidings, and thus evangelists, the pre- 
 l)arers of the way of the Lord. (Luke 10 : 
 1, 9 11.) So also 'Philip, Timothy, and 
 otliers sought especially the conversion 
 of sinners and the gathering of discijdes 
 into churches, thus preparing the way 
 for the more permanent work of pas- 
 tors. The word evangelist is never ap- 
 plied in the New Testament to the 
 writers of the four Gospels. From this 
 it appears that the office and work of 
 evangelists were recognized in tlie apos- 
 tolic churches, and that they were 
 l)reachers of the gospel, without charge 
 of any particular church. They answer 
 to missionaries, traveling preachers, and 
 others in the active ministry of our 
 day, outride of the i>astorate. There 
 were evangelists before there were i)as- 
 toi-s. Tlie one ]>rej)ared the way for the 
 other. Eusebiiis, referring to the state 
 of the church in the time of Tiajan 
 (died A. D. 117), sjieaks of " many dis- 
 cijdcs, . . . traveling abroad, per- 
 formed the work of evangeli.sts, lieing 
 ambitious to preach Christ. Having 
 laid the foundation of the faith in for- 
 eign nations . . . they proceeded to 
 other countries and nations." (Eccles. 
 Hist. iii. 37.) In the early churches 
 tliere were many evangelists, such as 
 Timothy, Titus, Silas, and others. It 
 is to lie regretted that the office and 
 work of tlie evangelist is too limited in 
 its api>lication and too much over- 
 looked at tlie present day. 
 
 9. As a remarkable fact, Luke men- 
 tions that Philip had four daughters, 
 virgins, Avho did prophesy, having 
 the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 11 : 4 : 12 : 10 ; U : 
 1. See ou u : 27.) Within their sphere they 
 
Ch. XXI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 333 
 
 10 Aud as we tarried there many daj^s, 
 there came down from Judiea a certain 
 
 11 prophet, named "Agabiis. And when he 
 was come unto u.s, * Tic took Paul's girdle, 
 and bound his own hands and feet, and 
 said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, ^So 
 shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the 
 man that owneth this girdle, i aud shall 
 deliver him into the hands of the Gen- 
 tiles. 
 
 12 And when we heard these things, 
 
 u ch. 11 : 28. » 1 Sam. 15 : 27, 28 ; Isa. 20 : 3, 4 ; Jer. 13 : 1-11 ; John 13 : 12-14 ; 20 : 22. 
 « ch. 20 : 23 ; 24 : 27; i ch. 2.S : 17. « sob ver. 4. » oh. 20 : 24. b 1 Sam. 3 : 18 ; Matt. 
 26 : 42 ; Luko 22 : 42. « 1 Sam. 17 : 22. 
 
 both we, and they of that place, ' besought 
 
 13 him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then 
 Paul answered, » What mean veto weep 
 and to break mine heart? For I am ready 
 not to be bound only, but also to die at 
 Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 14 Aud when he would not be persuaded, 
 we ceased, saying, ^The will of the Lord 
 be done. 
 
 15 And after those days we took up our 
 "carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. 
 
 were inspired publishers of the gospel 
 and foretellers of future events, {i ■■ n.) 
 They may have also intimated the per- 
 secution awaiting Paul at Jerusalem. 
 (See on ver. 12.) " We find uo trace of any 
 order of virgins in the early church." 
 (HowsON AND Spexck.) According 
 to tradition two of them were afterward 
 married. It is not necessarily implied 
 that they were public teachers, (see i 
 
 Cor. 13:34.) 
 
 10. As we tarried there many 
 days. The number is quite indefinite. 
 As Pentecost occurred in A. D. 58, on 
 Thursday, May tlie ISth, Paul probably 
 remained at Cajsarea five or six days. 
 (See on ver. 8.) A Certain propliBt 
 named Agabus — probably the same 
 one as mentioned in 11 : 28, on which 
 see. Further on prophefs, see on 13 : 1. 
 
 11. Paul's girdle — which was 
 used to bind the loose flowing robes 
 about the waist. It was made some- 
 times of leather (M;itt. 3:4), sometimes 
 of linen or other material, and tied in 
 a knot or fastened by a clasp. Like 
 an ancient projihet, Agabus speaks 
 both by symbolism and explanatory 
 words. Zedekiah made horns of iron 
 (i Kings 22 : 11) ; Isaiah walked naked and 
 barefoot (isa. 20:2, 3) ; Jeremiah used 
 tlie marred linen girdle (Jer. 13 : 4-9) : and 
 Ezekiel the tile and the iron pan. (Ezck. 
 4:1-3.) Thus saith the Holy Spirit 
 — corresponding to the Old Testament 
 formula, " Thus saith the Lord." It 
 would seem that Paul had laid aside 
 his girdle, and Agabus performs the 
 symbolic act upon himself. Tlie 
 prophets before tliis had warned Paul 
 in general terms ; Agabus now predicts 
 the exact danger. The fulfillment is 
 related in ver. 33. So shall the 
 Jews, etc. It was through the Jews, 
 
 and at their instigation, that the Ro- 
 mans bound him and made him a 
 prisoner. 
 
 12. We, and they of that place, 
 
 Paul's companions, Luke, Aristarchus, 
 Trophimus, and the Christians at 
 Ca'sarea, among whom doubtless were 
 the four daughters of Philip. Be- 
 sought him not to expose himself to 
 impending danger, not knowing that 
 it was the divine will. (ver. i4.) Com- 
 pare Peter's vain endeavor to dissuade 
 his Lord from his jiath of suffering. (Matt. 
 
 IB : 22.) 
 
 13. What mean ye to weep and 
 to break my heart ? You only inten- 
 sify my suffering, without lessening my 
 danger or changing my purpose. It 
 was hard for Paul to break away from 
 friends (20: .s6-:!8), and the tender en- 
 treaties of aftection. Stop all this, for 
 I am ready. The pronoun J is em- 
 pliatic in the original, showing that 
 Paul had well considered the matter 
 and had counted the cost. He was 
 thoroughly convinced of the Lord's 
 will, and nothing could cause him to 
 swerve therefrom. (20:24.) He held 
 himself in readiness to sufler, and even 
 to die at Jerusalem for Christ's sake. 
 These various ])redictions of Agabus 
 and others only confirmed his belief, 
 that it was God's will that he should 
 sufier persecution at Jerusalem. 
 
 14. The brethren infer from the 
 words and the acts of Paul tliat he is 
 guided by the Spirit ; and they ceased, 
 saying. The will of the Lord be 
 done. So the Lord had taught them, 
 to pray, " Thy will be done." There 
 is no evidence, however, that this is 
 either a quotation or an allusion to tlic 
 Lord's Prayer. 
 
 15. After those days— the several, 
 
534 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXI. 
 
 16 ri\t!re went with us also certain of the 
 disciples of Ciesarea, aud brought with 
 Ihcui one Jlnasou of Cyprus, an old dis- 
 ciple, with whom we should lodge. 
 
 Paul at Jerusalem ; his endeavour to conciliat' 
 the Hebrew Christians. 
 
 17 *And when we were come to Jerusalem, 
 the brethren received us gladly. 
 
 18 And the d<iy following Paul went in 
 with us unto James ; ' aud all the elders 
 
 19 were present. Aud when he had saluted 
 them, fhe declared particularly what 
 things God had wrought among the Gen- 
 tiles bj- his ministry. 
 
 20 And when they heard (7, they glorified 
 the Lord: and [they] said unto him, 
 Thou seest, brother, how many thousands 
 
 * ch. 15 : 4. • ch. 15 : 2, 6. f ch. 15 : 4, 12 ; Kom. 15 : 18, 19. 
 
 mentioned in ver. 10. We took up 
 our carriages — or, We packed up our 
 baggage. Possibly the alms from the 
 Geutile churches constituted a i)art of 
 this. (21 : iJ.) In old English, " car- 
 riages" vrere things which they car- 
 ried. Such is its use in 1 Sam. 17 : 22 
 and Isa. 10 : 28. Carriages in the 
 modern sense were unknown to the 
 ancients. Travel was mostly performed 
 on horses or camels. Chariots and 
 rude carts were sometimes used. Went 
 up to Jerusalem— about sixty-three 
 miles. They doubtless took portions of 
 two days, arriving at Jerusalem, ilay 
 17, the day before Pentecost. (Se- on 
 
 23: 31.) 
 
 16. There went with us, etc. 
 The flisciples of Cajsarea were evidently 
 solicitous about the dangers threaten- 
 ing Paul at Jerusalem, (vcr. iiu.) And 
 brought Avith them one Mnason — 
 with them, is not in the original. It is 
 quite improbable that they brouglit 
 Mnason with them from Cresarea. It 
 is better rendered. Bringing vs to 
 Mnason, etc. So Bible Union Ver., 
 Hackett, Alford, and others. We 
 know nothing of Mnason lieyond tliis 
 verse. He was a native of Cyprus, 
 but now had his home at Jerusalem. 
 So it had been with Barnabas, and his 
 sister Mary. (See«:36, 37, 12: n.) An 
 old, ancient or earip disciple ; prob- 
 ably converted about the time of Pen- 
 t<-cost; possibly a personal follower of 
 Jesus, and one of those from whom 
 Luke may have derived information in 
 writing liis Gospel and the Acts. 
 Mnason is a Greek name, and he Avas 
 most likely a foreign Jew, or a Gentile 
 who had first become a proselyte, and 
 then a Christian. It was fitting for tlie 
 apostle to the Gentiles to enjoy the 
 hospitality of such an one. With 
 Avhom we should lodge^ndicat- 
 ing Mnason as one of the wealthier 
 
 members of the church. Jerusalem 
 was full of people at Pentecost, and it 
 was a wise precaution to arrange be- 
 forehand for lodging Paul and his 
 comj)any. 
 
 17-26. Paul Assumes a Vow to 
 concimate the hebrew chris- 
 TIANS. (1 Cor. 9:19-22; Num. 6:5.) May, 
 A. D. 58. 
 
 17. When Ave Avere come to 
 Jerusalem. Tliis was Paul's fifth, 
 and his last recorded visit to .Jerusa- 
 lem after his conversion. "With tliis 
 Luke begins his account of Paul's 
 captivity. The brethren received 
 us gladly — privately and informally, 
 at Mnason's house. The public and 
 more formal reception by the elders 
 occurred the next day at the house of 
 James. 
 
 18. And the day folloAving — 
 probably the Day of Penteco.st. James 
 — our i/Oid's brother, and pastor of 
 
 the church. (Seeon 12 : I7; Ij : 13.) That 
 
 no apostle was present may be inferred 
 from the fact that none are mentioned 
 All the elders Avcre present. 
 
 These were the overseers or co-pastors 
 of the church. The largeness of the 
 church and the several ]iIacesof hold- 
 ing l-eligious meetings necessitated a 
 plurality of pastors. (Seeon20:n.) They 
 would naturally all l)e in tlie city at 
 Pentecost, and could be easily assem- 
 bled at the hou.se of James. It would 
 seem that this interview had been spe- 
 cially arranged. This mention of 
 James and the elders does not, how- 
 ever, necessarily exclude other leading 
 brethren. (See on 15 : 6. Ti.) It is probable 
 that at this meeting Paul presented the 
 gifts of the foreign churches. (2*: 11. 
 
 Seen : 30.) 
 
 19. When he had sainted them 
 
 — or embraced them, such being the 
 formal. Oriental act, both at parting 
 aud meeting. So Paul had done on the 
 
Ch. XXI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 335 
 
 of Jews lliere are which believe ; and they 
 21 are all k zealous of the law : and they are 
 itifiiruicd of thee, '■that thou teachest all 
 the Jews which are among the Gentiles 
 to forsake Moses, saying, ' that they ought 
 
 not to circumcise their children, neither 
 
 22 to walk after the customs. What is it 
 therefore? The multitude must needs 
 come together : for they will hear that 
 
 23 thou art come. Do therefore this that we 
 
 i Rom. 10 : 2 ; Gal. 1 : 14. i> ch. 16 : 1-3 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 19-21. 
 
 i Gal. 3 : 24, 25 ; 5 : 3. 
 
 preceding visit. (18:22.) He declared 
 particularly, etc. He recounted one 
 by one the things that God had ivrought, 
 etc. His speech must have been long 
 and of thrilling interest, suited to a 
 Pentecostal occasion. James and the 
 elders must have sympathized with him 
 in his work, (is : 3, 4, 25, 26.) By his 
 ministry. (See on 20:34.) 
 
 tiO. Glorified the Lord — or, ac- 
 cording to the oldest manuscripts, glo- 
 rified God, even as Paul had ascribed 
 the work to God. (Ver.IS. see on ll: is.) 
 They said to him — they show at 
 once their anxiety regarding the burn- 
 ing question : The relation of Jewish 
 Christians to the law, and the preach- 
 ing of the gospel to the Gentiles. 
 Thou seest or beholdest — Paul had 
 an opportunity at the feast to see the 
 thousands of the Jews, not only at 
 Jerusalem, but from Palestine and 
 other countries, that believe. They 
 had supplemented their Jewish belief 
 and observances by faith in Jesus as the 
 Messiah. And they were all zealous 
 of the laAV, or zealots for the law. The 
 word in the original is the same as that 
 of the .sect of Zealots, who rigorously 
 adhered to all the ceremonies of tlie 
 Mosaic law. It was natural before the 
 destruction of Jerusalem for Christian 
 Jews to hold on to the observances in 
 which they had been trained from 
 childhood. A large body subsequently 
 withdrew and formed the sects known 
 as Nazarenes and Ebionites. They re- 
 jected the authority and writin.gs of 
 Paul, and accounted him as an apostate ; 
 they also held false views regarding the 
 person of Christ. 
 
 31. And they are informed of 
 thee — their information was preju- 
 diced, and perverted, and hence false. 
 Paul had taught, as he had already 
 written to the Galatians, that justifica- 
 tion was by faith and not by the 
 works of the law; that circumcision 
 avails nothing, as a condition or a 
 means of salvation, (oai. j : le ; 3 : a ; 5 ; « ; 
 
 6 : 15.) But he had not taught Jewish 
 Christians to forsake Moses, etc. 
 So far fi'om that, he had circumcised 
 Timothy (i6:9), in order that he might 
 not be offensive to the Jews, and do them 
 the more good. He had taught: " Was 
 any man called, being circumcised? 
 Let him not become uncircumcised. 
 Hath any been called in uncircum- 
 cision? Let him not be circumcised. 
 Circumcision is nothing, and uiicircum- 
 cision is nothing, but the keeping of Uie 
 commandments of God." (1 Cor. 7 ; is-w.) 
 But such teaching could easily be per- 
 veited by his prejudiced opposers, and 
 being repeated from one to another, 
 come to exjiress exactly the opposite of 
 what he intended. He was thus ac- 
 cused of teaching that the Jews should 
 forsake or apostatize from the law of 
 Moses, that they should not circum- 
 cise their children nor walk after 
 the customs of the ceremonial law, 
 and this not as a matter of liberty, but 
 of obligation imposed by the gospel. 
 How obnoxious such teachings must 
 have seemed to the average Jew, may 
 be inferred from the contempt and 
 abomination in which the very name 
 " uncircumcised" was held. (1 Sum. n : 26 ; 
 
 Ezek:28: 10; 32: 29,30.) 
 
 22. What is it, therefore — what 
 is best to be done under these circum- 
 stances? The, rat'ner, A multitude — 
 a promiscuous assemblage of Jewish 
 Christians. Must needs come to- 
 gether. The Revised and the Im- 
 proved Bible Union Versions omit 
 this, and render, " What is it therefore f 
 They ivill certainly ht^ax thai thou art 
 come." They will be watching you 
 and discussing your conduct and 
 opinions with jirejudice and hostility. 
 
 23. Do therefore this. The ad- 
 vice of James and the elders, (ver. is.) 
 We have four men. The language 
 implies that they were Jewish believers. 
 A vow on them. This appears to 
 have been a Nazarite vow. (Num. 6: 1-21. 
 Conipsre 18 : 18.) This VOW Involved the 
 
336 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXI. 
 
 say to thee: *We have four men which 
 24 have a vow on them ; them take • and 
 purify thyself with them, and be at 
 charges with them, that they may shave 
 their heads : and all may know that those 
 things whereof they were informed con- 
 cerning thee, are nothing ; but that thou 
 
 thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest 
 25 the law. As touchiug the Gentiles which 
 beUeve, we have written and concluded 
 that they observe no such thing, save 
 only that they keep themselves from 
 things oflfered to idols, and from blood, 
 and from strangled, and from fornication. 
 
 k ch. 18 : 18. 1 Num. 6 : 1-21. 
 
 strictest abstinence and purification, 
 and Paul's participation in it would be 
 a complete refutation of the false charges 
 of the Jews against him. This vow re- 
 quired an ascetic life for a time, usually 
 thirty days. Paul could not go through 
 the whole observance ; but it was per- 
 mitted any one who wished, to share in 
 the concluding ceremonies, which con- 
 sisted of certain offerings in the temple, 
 and which continued through seven 
 days. James and his official brethren 
 very likely knew of Paul's previous 
 vow on his preceding visit (^18 ; is), and 
 this fact may have made them the more 
 rea<ly to suggest a similar observance 
 again. 
 
 34. Them take and purify thy- 
 self with them. Make thyself one 
 of them ; observing the.ordinances which 
 they observe. This is the most natural 
 meaning of the language. Some sup- 
 pose that Paul did not asssume the 
 Nazarite vow with them, l)ut simply 
 performed such preliminary rites of 
 purification as would enable him to 
 take part with them in their conclud- 
 ing services. But in such a case the 
 words vnth them would more natu- 
 rally have been omitted. Be at 
 charges Avith, rather, for them — 
 involving considerable expense, such 
 as purchasing for each one of them a 
 he-lamb for a burnt offering, a ewe- 
 lamb for a sin offering, a ram for a 
 [)eace offering, together with un- 
 eavened bread, cakes of fine flour 
 mingled with oil, and a drink offering. 
 Tliere would also be a fee to the ])riest 
 or Levite for shaving the head. (Num. 
 6:is-i8.) Devout Jews would some- 
 times bear the expenses for others. 
 Josephus tells us (Antiq. xix. 6, 1) 
 that Agrippa 1., on arriving at Jerusa- 
 lem from Rome, to take possession of 
 his kingdom, as a means of purchasing 
 popularity, paid the expenses of many 
 Nazarites. That they may shave 
 their heads. As one of the require- 
 
 ments of the Nazarite vow was long 
 hair (Num. 6 : 5) , SO the shaving of the 
 head was a sign of its completion. (Num. 
 6 : 18.) Nothing is said of Paul's own 
 hair, which may have been short 
 already. Besides, the phrase That they 
 may shave their heads is here used to 
 mean that they may complete their 
 vow, and be released from it ; and there 
 was no necessity of speaking of Paul's 
 head. When the victims were offered 
 at the conclusion of the vow, the 
 shaven hair was burned under the 
 sacrifice of the peace-ofiering. (Num. 
 6: iH.) Are nothing— that these ac- 
 cusations are without foundation in 
 fact. All may know — rather. All 
 will knoio. That thou thyself 
 Avalkest orderly, according to rule, 
 keeping the lata, and avoiding all oc- 
 casion of giving offence. Although 
 he was the ajwstle to the Gentiles, he 
 would show to conservative Jewish 
 Christians that he did not ignore Jew- 
 ish customs, and was not disloyal to 
 the Mosaic law. As there is no conflict 
 between the law and the gospel, the 
 one preparatory to the other, the latter 
 the fulfiller and the perfecter of the 
 former; so there was nothing incon- 
 sistent in Paul's acceding to their 
 request, so long as he did not make 
 these observances a condition or means 
 of justification. 
 
 25. In suggesting this course of 
 action to Paul, James and the elders 
 distinctly intimate, that they would 
 not abridge the liberty of Gentile con- 
 verts. That had been settled at the 
 Conference at Jerusalem, (seeouis: 
 19.20.) As touching, etc. Better, 
 But concerning the Gentiles, etc. This 
 was to meet any objection in Paul's 
 mind, arising from the bearing of such 
 action on Gentile believers. >Ve have 
 written — rather, u-e wrote. (i5:J3.) 
 And concluded — better, and decided. 
 That they observe no such'thing, 
 save only. These words are not 
 
Ch. XXI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 337 
 
 26 Then Paul took the men, and tlie next 
 day purifying himself with theiu entered 
 into the temple, to signify the accomplish- 
 
 ment of the days of purification, until 
 that an otfeiiug should be oflered for 
 every one of them. 
 
 found in the three oldest manuscripts, 
 and are omitted by the Kevised Version. 
 Alford and Meyer retain them. They 
 may have been dropped by copyists, 
 because they do not occur in the par- 
 allel passage, (is : 28-) 
 
 36. Then Paul took the men. 
 In consenting to the advice of James 
 and the elders, Paul was carrying out 
 his own principles of action, which he 
 had long before adopted : " To the Jew 
 I became as a Jew, tliat I might gain 
 the Jews." (i Cor. 9 : 20, n) It was also iu 
 accord with his previous performance 
 of a vow (18: 18), and with his attend- 
 ance at the national religious festivals. 
 (18 : 20, 21 ; 20 :i6.) It was uot the Mosaic 
 law that Paul opposed, but the Phari- 
 saic and .ludaizing abuses of the law. 
 
 (Rom. 3:31.) ScC Oil VCr. 24, closiug 
 
 note. " According to Paul's views the 
 ceremonies of the law were matters of 
 indifference. Christian love, wliich 
 was the grand moving principle of his 
 conduct, caused him to accommodate 
 himself to the views of the Jews, when 
 he could do so witliout any sacrifice of 
 principle in order to remove their 
 prejudices." (Gloag.) Both James 
 ami Paul were in positions of extreme 
 difficulty, in their relations to the de- 
 mands and prejudices of Jewish and 
 Gentile converts. They understood 
 each other (uai. 2:7-9), and neither in 
 this case appears to have regarded the 
 part here taken inconsistent with the 
 teachings of Paul. Doubtless the lat- 
 ter felt tliat it M'as both lawful and 
 expedient to do as he did. Yet from 
 after results it may be doubted whetlier 
 expediency in this case, though it in- 
 volved no sacrifice of principle, was 
 tlie best and Avisest. If the outcome 
 had been foreseen it is probable that 
 neither James would liave advised nor 
 Paul assented. See last paragra2)h on 
 this verse, below. 
 
 The next day — the third after his 
 arrival at Jerusalem. Purifying 
 himself with them — he himself 
 undergoing the necessary ablutions, 
 (vei. 24.) To signify the accom- 
 plishment — announcing to the jjriests 
 
 W 
 
 in the temple the completion of the 
 days of purification, that at the 
 end of seven days the vow would be 
 completed and the offerings made. 
 The priests would tlius understand that 
 Paul was only a sharer with the four 
 men, and would not be expected to 
 continue thirty days. (seeonver. 2.1.) 
 Paul needed also to notify tlie priests so 
 that the offerings might be in readiness 
 at the proper time. Until that an 
 offering, etc. — better, until the offer- 
 ing, well-known and required on such 
 an occasion, ^l'as brought for every one 
 of them. Some suppose that Paul and 
 the four men continued in the temple 
 precincts, so as to avoid all persons 
 and every cause of ceremonial defile- 
 ment, imtil the offerings were made. 
 But there is nothing in the language 
 that really implies this. Besides, it is 
 very improbable that Paul remained 
 there three or four days until his arrest. 
 The question arises. How could Paul 
 accept these offerings, especially the 
 sin-offerings, when Christ had suffered 
 once for all, and sacrifices were done 
 away through him ? To this it may be 
 replied, that as these sacrifices from 
 the beginning had pointed toward 
 Christ, so now believing Jews regarded 
 them as pointing back to Christ, and 
 typical of what he had done. They may 
 have come gradually to the full knowl- 
 edge that sacrifices and ceremonial 
 observances were done away through 
 Christ. The Epistle to the Hebrews 
 may have been necessary to teach them 
 this lesson thoroughly. Paul doulitless 
 regarded them as legal observances, in- 
 nocent in themselves, but not obliga- 
 tory. He may not himself have un- 
 derstood the matter so tliorouglily as 
 he did later, when he wrote liis Epistles 
 to the Ephesians and tlie Colossians, 
 and when tlie Epistle to the Hebrews was 
 written. Perhaps he would liave done 
 differently at this later period with his 
 [ fuller knowledge. Historically the 
 I destruction of Jerusalem and the tem- 
 j pie may have been necessary, in order 
 I to put an end to those ceremonies and 
 I sacrifices which had been superseded. 
 
338 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXI. 
 
 Paul's seizure by Ihejiopulace, and rescue by 
 (he Roman officer. 
 
 27 And when the seven days were almost 
 ended, ™ the Jews which were of Asia, 
 when they saw him in the temple, stirred 
 up all the people, and " laid hands on 
 him, crying out. Men of Israel, help. 
 
 28 This is the man, ° that teacheth all men 
 every where against the people, and the 
 law, and this place ; and further brought 
 
 30 
 
 Greeks also into the temple, and hath 
 polluted this holy place. (For they had 
 seen before with him in the city Trophi- 
 mus an Ephesian, whom they supposed 
 that Paul had brought into the temple.) 
 And all the city was moved, and the 
 people ran together. And they took 
 Paul, and drew him out of the temple: 
 and forthwith the doors were shut. 
 
 « ch. 24 : 5, 6. 
 
 27-40. Paul's Seizure by the 
 Jews, and his First Rescue by 
 the Roman Commander. (23:26, 27; 
 24:17, i».) About May 23, A. D. 58. 
 
 27. While Paul is trying to concili- 
 ate tlie believing Jews, he arouses anew 
 the hostility of the unbelieving Jews. 
 >\ hen the seven days Avere 
 almost ended — about to be com- 
 jileted. Tlie seven days are si)oken of 
 as well known, and doubtless refer to 
 the days during which Paul was sharing 
 with the four the Nazarite vow. (See on 
 Ter.23.) It was al)0ut six days since he 
 arrived at Jerusalem, anil the fifth or 
 sixth of the seven days, eitlier of which 
 sufficiently satisfies the language, (ste on 
 24:11.) The Jews frvm Asia — the 
 province of Asia. (Seeoui6:6.) When 
 they saw — or observed him in the 
 temple. Paul Avas widely known, not 
 only in Ephesus, but throughout the 
 province of Asia. (19 : 10.) 
 
 28. Men of Israel, help— to ap- 
 prehend Paul and bring him to pun- 
 ishment. By their cry they would 
 intimate that a great outrage had been 
 committed. That teacheth . . . 
 against the people, and the laAV, 
 and this place — compare the similar 
 charge against Stephen. (6: is.) \Vc 
 see the feeling of unbelieving Jews 
 against Paul. They charge him with 
 turning against his own nation and 
 religion. They arouse race prejudice 
 and religious fanaticism. Brought 
 Cireeksalso into the temple, etc. 
 If those Gentiles had come only into 
 the court of the Gentiles, there could 
 be no objection, but the charge is that 
 Paul had brought them into the sacred 
 precincts which they were forbidden to 
 enter on pain of death. A stone in- 
 scription, a tablet from the temple was 
 found in 1871, and is now in the Im- 
 perial Museum of Constantinople, 
 
 which reads : " No foreigner may enter 
 within the balustrade and fence that 
 surrounds the temple ; whoever is 
 taken in the act will be responsible to 
 himself for his death wliich will ensue." 
 {Ihcenty-onc Years' Work in the Holy 
 Land, pp. l(57-[t.) Trojihinnis (next 
 verse) they supposed had committed 
 this act, and had thus made himself 
 liable to death. But they regard Paul 
 as even the guiltier jiarty in having 
 brought him into the temple ; and 
 therefore himself deserving of death. 
 (See further descrijjtiou of temple, on 
 Matt. 21 : 12.) 
 
 29. This verse should not be put 
 into a parenthesis. It gives tlie reason 
 of the charge against Paul, on Avhich 
 it was founded, — a very slender founda- 
 tion indeed. Before this occasion 
 they liad seen Trojdiimus with Paul 
 in the city, and they supposed, a 
 mere inference which their imagina- 
 tion and prejudice made a reality to 
 them, that Paul had brought him 
 into the temple. Trophimus an, 
 rather, the Ephesian, the one men- 
 tioned before (20:4), who had accom- 
 panied Paul to Jerusalem, and was 
 well-known by sight to many of the 
 Jews of Asia. (ver. 27.) He was doubt- 
 less a Gentile convert, who had em- 
 braced the gospel without first becom- 
 ing a proselyte. 
 
 30. And all the city was 
 moved. A tumult arose, similar to 
 that at Ephesus. (19 :m.) "The fre- 
 quent insults whicli the Herods had 
 put upon the religious prejudices of 
 the Jews had develojied a spirit of ex- 
 citability which was quickly roused on 
 the slightest pretext." (HowsoN AND 
 Spenck.) Drew him, imjdying 
 violence— (Zra^rjreci him out of the 
 temple, as one defiling it and unwor- 
 thy to be in it. And forthwith the 
 
Ch. XXI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 339 
 
 31 p And as they went about to kill him, 
 tidings came unto the chief captain of 
 the band, that all Jerusalem was in an 
 
 32 uproar, i Who immediately took soldiers 
 aud centurions, and ran down unto them. 
 And when they saw the chief captain and 
 the soldiers, they left beating of Paul. 
 
 33 Then the chief captain came near, and 
 took him, and rcommauded him to be 
 
 bound with two chains; and demanded 
 ."4 who he was, and what he had done. And 
 some cried one thing, and some another, 
 among the multitude. And when he 
 could not know the certainty for the 
 tumult, he commanded him to be carried 
 .35 into the castle. And when he came upon 
 the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of 
 the soldiers for the violence of the people. 
 
 p John 16 : 2. q ch. 23 : 27 : 24 : 7. 
 
 ■ ver. 11; ch. 20 : 23. 
 
 doors — which separated the court of 
 Israel from the court of the Geutiles, 
 Avere shut — by the Levites in charge. 
 Paul was pro))ably in the court of 
 Israel near the chambers where the 
 Nazarites performed their vows. Had 
 they not laid hands on him he might 
 have fled to the altar for safety. (Exod. 
 
 21 : 13,14; 1 Kings 2: 28.) NoW that he is 
 
 dragged forth, the doors are shut, to 
 prevent any profanation of the tem^jle 
 by the riot. 
 
 31. And as they went about, 
 rather, were seeking, to kiSl him. 
 This was their object, and that it could 
 be unlawfully accomjalished, the kill- 
 ing of Stephen is a proof. By beating 
 him promiscously in the crowd, his 
 murder would be laid to mol)-violence, 
 rather than to any one individual. 
 Tidings came unto — better, np to — 
 the chief captain. The Roman gar- 
 rison was stationed in tlie Tower of An- 
 tonia (named after Marc Antony), 
 which was situated at the northwest 
 corner of the temple area, with which 
 it communicated by two flights of stairs. 
 It was about one hundred feet high and 
 overlooked the temple and commanded 
 a view of what was going on in the 
 courts within. Notice liow exactly 
 Luke conforms his language to its 
 higher local position. The chief 
 captain, or military tribune, was a 
 commander of a thousand soldiers, here 
 called the band or cohort, answering 
 to our regiment. (io:i.) The Roman 
 legion consisted of about six thousand 
 men under six tribunes who commanded 
 in turn. The chief captain or tribune 
 answered generally to our colonel, aud 
 often to our brigade commander. The 
 name of this one was Claudius Lysias. 
 (23; 26.) That all Jerusalem was 
 in an uproar — stirred up into a 
 tumult. 
 
 32. Soldiers and centurions. 
 
 (10:1.) During the festivals, soldiers 
 were constantly under arms ready to 
 suppress any popular disturbance. The 
 chief captain took a considerable troop 
 as he had more than one centurion, 
 each one of whom commanded a hun- 
 dred men. Ran down unto — literally, 
 upon them. Again Luke's language 
 corresponds with the position of the 
 castle above the temple. Such little 
 correspondences illustrate his accuracy. 
 As soon as they saw the soldiers com- 
 ing they left oft" beating Paul. They 
 had not been long at this, for it was but 
 a moment's work to report the tumult 
 to the chief captain, who at once could 
 descend to the spot where the disturb- 
 ance was. The mob was afraid to do 
 unlawful violence in presence of the 
 soldiers ; they might be called to an 
 account for wrong-doing. 
 
 33. Then the chief captain took or 
 laid hold of him, formally arrested him, 
 so that he might not be "killed without 
 a trial. Supposing him to be a desper- 
 ate criminal, perhaps a popular politi- 
 cal agitator (ver. si), he commands him 
 to be bound with two chains, each 
 hand to a soldier for security. And 
 demanded — of the people around 
 him. Who he Avas — his name, rank, 
 and character ; Avhat he had done- 
 taking it for granted he had committed 
 some crime. 
 
 34. The whole narrative is vivid, as 
 related by an eye-witness. Thus the 
 confusion and the clamor of the people 
 are especially lifelike. Into the 
 castle — or bdrracks, that portion of 
 the Tower of Antonia which was used 
 by the soldiers. To be carried — the 
 idea is not that of being borne as in the 
 next verse, but of being led or brought 
 into the castle. Josephus speaks of the 
 tower of Antonia in Jewish War, v. 5, 8. 
 
 35. The stairs— leading from the 
 temple area to the barracks in the tower 
 
340 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXI. 
 
 3S For the multitude of the people followed 
 after, crying, ' Away with him. 
 
 Paul's address to the people ; pleads his cilisen- 
 ship. 
 
 37 AND as Paul was to be led into the 
 castle, he said unto the chief captain, 
 May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst 
 
 38 thou speak Greek? 'Art not thou that 
 
 Egyptian, which before these days madest 
 an uproar, and leddest out into the 
 wilderness four thousand men that were 
 
 39 murderers? But Paul said, "I am a man 
 which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cili- 
 cia, ' a citizen of no mean city: and, I 
 beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the 
 
 40 people. And when he had given him 
 
 I ch. 22 : 22 ; Luke 23 : 18 ; John 19 : 15. ' see ch. 5 : 
 2 Cor. 11 : 22 ; Phil. 3:5. ' 
 
 36. u ch. 9 : 11 ; 22 : 3 ; Rom. 11 : 1 ; 
 ch. 22 : 25-29. 
 
 of Antonia. (Seeonver-si.) He was 
 borne by the soldiers — lifted up 
 and carried bodily for, or on account 
 of, the violence of the people, who 
 
 were pressing upon them, eager that lie 
 should be put to death, (ver. 36.) "A 
 vivid reminiscence of the scene by 
 Luke, who well remembered seeing his 
 beloved teacher, as the soldiers led him 
 up the stairs, comjjletely lifted from his 
 feet by the resistless pressure of the 
 crowd behind." (Alexander.) 
 
 36. The pressure and violence of the 
 crowd is explained. For the multi- 
 tude of the people, the Jews, fol- 
 lowed, or was following. They were 
 pushing forward continuoush', crying, 
 shouting again and again, here, tliere, 
 and all over. Away with him, from 
 the living! Airay with him, to death. 
 The same cry that was uttered twenty- 
 eight years before, near tlie same s2)ot, 
 against our Lord. (Luke 23 : is.) 
 
 37. When the soldiers had brought 
 Paul to a place where he could stand, 
 he desires to speak to the i)eople, before 
 he passes into the tower. lie addreses 
 the chief captain. May I speak, 
 or more exactly, say something to 
 thee ? The chief captain appears to 
 have been surprised that Paul addresses 
 him in Greek, and exclaims. Canst 
 thou speak Greek? He begins to 
 suspect that Paul is not the political 
 agitator he sui)posed. 
 
 38. Art thou not that Egyptian? 
 rather, Art thou- not then the Egyptian, 
 »& I supposed ? Almost as if he had 
 said. Thou art not the Egyptian then. 
 He seems to have known that the 
 Egyptian could not speak Greek. 
 Josephus speaks of an Egyjjtian as one 
 of the many impostors of tlie time, and 
 gives two accounts of him which differ 
 somewhat from each other. {Je%o. War, 
 ii. 13, 5 ; Antiq., 7, 6.) From the three 
 
 accounts it appears that this impostor 
 claimed that he was a prophet and led 
 out four thousand desperate characters 
 into the desert, between Jiidea and 
 Egypt and returned with a mucli larger 
 force. These he increased to about 
 thirty thousand men, whom he deluded 
 into the belief that he was the Messiah, 
 encamping on the Mount of Olives and 
 promising that the walls of Jerusalem 
 should fall down at his command. 
 Felix, the governor, attacked and de- 
 feated them, slaying four hundred and 
 taking two hundred prisoners, the 
 Egyptian and others escaping. This 
 may have occurred a year before this, 
 or perliaps at the preceding Passover. 
 That were murderers — better, as- 
 sassins, a kind of rob})ers, described by 
 Josephus (Jewish War, ii. 1.3, 3), who 
 concealed short swords or daggers be- 
 neath their garments, and mingling 
 with the people killed secretly and 
 treaclieronslj' any one thoy miglit wish. 
 One of their earliest victims was Jona- 
 than the high i)riest. 
 
 39. I am a man, a Jew of Tar- 
 sus in Cilicia, a citizen of no 
 mean, 710 insignificant city. Tarsus, 
 the capital of Cilicia, was distinguished 
 for its culture and its schools, and on 
 its coins bore the proud title, " Tlie In- 
 dependent Capital Citj\" It was a 
 " free city," having its own constitu- 
 tion, its senate, or court of ahU'rinan 
 its common council and its popular as- 
 sembly. (See on 6: 9; 9: 11.) Suffer me 
 
 to speak to the people. Paul com- 
 posed, and they violent with excite- 
 ment ; he to announce a Saviour and 
 the words of life, and they crying out 
 for his death. Compare a similar de- 
 sire of Paul at Ephesus. (19 : so.) 
 
 40. When he had given him 
 license, or leave, to speak. That the 
 chief captain gave this permission to a 
 
Ch. XXI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 341 
 
 licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and 
 J beckoned with the hand unto the peojjle. 
 
 And when there was made a great 
 silence, he spake unto ihem in the Hebrew 
 
 Jch. 12:17; 1 Peter 3 : 15. 
 
 man whom he had just takeu prisoner 
 has seemed strange. But his surprise 
 at finding out his mistake regarding 
 Paul ; the citizenship of tlie latter in 
 such a city as Tarsus ; the Greek he 
 spoke, and liis evident education and 
 retineinent ; and hist, hut not least, the 
 Holy Spirit witli him exerting any 
 needed tlivine influence, are all suffi- 
 cient to ex|)hiin his action. Paul stands 
 on the stairs leading into the tower 
 (ver. 35) and beckoned AVith his 
 hand as a signal that he wished to 
 speak (13: IB), tlie chief captain having 
 very likely released one of his hands 
 from its chain. Paul's unexpected ap- 
 parance upon the stairs, his gesture, 
 the presence of the chief Roman officer 
 and the soldiers, curiosity to know 
 what he would say, and the prospect 
 of a speedy trial all tended to produce 
 a great silence. The Hebrew 
 tongue — the Aramiean dialect of Pal- 
 estine, which was then spoken by the 
 
 Jews. (Johu 5 : a ; 19 : 13, 17, 20.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. It is fitting for Christians at parting to 
 commend one another in prayer to God. 
 (Ver. 1,5; 20 : 36.) 
 
 2. Life is like a voyage with its changes, 
 perils and sufferings. (Ver. 1-7 ; 20 : 24.) 
 
 3. God uses the commerce of the nations 
 in opening a way to the gospel. (Ver. 1-7 ; 
 28 : 11-14.) 
 
 4. Our duty is not to be measured by 
 the dangers which threaten us, but by God's 
 will, word, and providence. (Ver. 4, 10-14 ; 
 Luke 9: 51.) 
 
 5. Parents should take their children with 
 them to places of prayer. (Ver. 5 ; Ps. 8 : 2.) 
 
 6. We have here incidental evidence that 
 the early Christians prayed extempora- 
 neously. (Ver. 5 ; 20 : 36 ; John 4 : 21, 24.) 
 
 7. We should seek our first and nearest 
 companions from among Christians. (Ver. 
 7 ; 2 Cor. 6 : 14.) 
 
 8. The office of an evangelist should be 
 recognized by all our churches. (Ver. 8 ; 1 
 Tim. 1 : 3.) 
 
 9. Christian women have a most import- 
 
 ant work and sphere in the church. (Ver. 
 9; Rom. 16 : 1 ; Phil. 4 : 3.) 
 
 10. It is often well to know the dangers 
 that await us, but to evade them may not be 
 the will of God. (Ver. 10-13 ; 20 : 22-24.) 
 
 11. The Christian is not to make his feel- 
 ings and preferences, or the emotions of his 
 friends his criterion of duty. (Ver. 11-13 ; 
 John 20 : 17.) 
 
 12. If we know God's will, nothing should 
 make us swerve from it. (Ver. 12, 13 ; Phil. 
 3 : 11.) 
 
 13. We should welcome the cross, not for 
 its own sake, but for the Lord's sake. (Ver. 
 13 ; 2 Vox. 12 : 10 ; Phil. 1 : 29.) 
 
 14. Whatever the sacrifice, we should yield 
 cheerfully to God's will. (Ver. 14; Matt. 
 6 : 10 ; 26 : 42.) 
 
 15. Our aftection for friends should not 
 retard or unfit us for duty. (Ver. 15; 
 Luke 9 : 60-62.) 
 
 16. The exercise of hospitality among 
 Christians is beautiful and useful. (Ver. 16 ; 
 Heb. 13 : 2 ; 3 John 5-8.) 
 
 17. Joy is becoming Christians when they 
 meet. (Ver. 17 ; Phil. 2 : 17, 18.) 
 
 18. Like Paul, we should commend our- 
 selves by our humility and evangelical 
 labors. (Ver. 18, 19 ; 20 : 18-21.) 
 
 19. True piety will rejoice in the spread 
 of the gospel anywhere and everywhere. 
 (Ver. 19, 20 ; 1 Cor. 13 : 6.) 
 
 20. Though Christianity is as broad as 
 God's holiness and love, yet some of its 
 possessors may be very narrow through ed- 
 ucation and prejudice. (Ver. 20; Gal. 3 : 
 1,28) 
 
 21. Baptism did not take the place of cir- 
 cumcision. It is evident that neither Paul 
 nor James taught or believed it. (Ver. 21 ; 
 15 : 1, 8-10.) 
 
 22. Detraction and opposition often come 
 to the most earnest workers in Christ's 
 cause. (Ver. 20, 21 ; 2 Tim. 3 : 12.) 
 
 23. Good works and outward observances 
 have their place, but as a condition ol justi- 
 fication are out of their place. (Ver. 22-25 ; 
 Rom. 3 : 20 ; James 2 : 18.) 
 
 24. There are times when we may accom- 
 modate ourselves to the prejudices of others, 
 provided that we can thereby promote peace 
 
342 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXII. 
 
 32 tongue, saying, Men, ^ brethren, and 
 
 fathers ,hear ye my defence which I make 
 
 2 now unto you. (And when they heard 
 
 that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to 
 
 them, they kept the more silence. And 
 
 3 he saith,) » I am verily a man which am a 
 
 Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet 
 
 brought up in this city I'at the feet of 
 
 » ch. 7 : 2. 
 
 > ch. 21 : 39. b Deut. 33 : 3 ; 2 Kings 4 : 38. 
 
 without the sacrifice of princijjle. (Ver. 
 22-26 ; 2 Cor. 13 : 8 ) 
 
 25. Expediency is at times allowable, but 
 not always lawful, or productive of the best 
 results. (Ver. 26, 27 ; 1 Cor. 10 : 23 ; 2 Tim. 
 2 : 24.) 
 
 26. In matters not enjoined by Christ and 
 the apostles there may be liberty, but in 
 clearly revealed doctrines and practices there 
 should be no compromise. (Ver. 26, 27 ; 
 Gal. 1 : 8, 10.) 
 
 27. The best of intentions may be mis- 
 understood and lead to bad results. (Ver. 
 27, 28.) 
 
 28. The servant may not expect better 
 treatment than his master. (Ver. 28, 36; 
 John 15 : 20.) 
 
 29. The world notices the company we 
 keep, and draws conclusions concerning us. 
 (Ver. 29 ; Luke 7 : 34.) 
 
 30. The wickedness of the heart is seen in 
 the ease with which men engage in a bad 
 cause. (Ver. 30.) 
 
 31. Ritualism is one-sided and wrong- 
 sided. The Jews must not pollute the 
 temple, but they could shed innocent blood. 
 (Ver. 31 ; John 18 : 28 ; Matt. 23 : 24.) 
 
 32. God watches over his children and 
 sufters nothing to defeat his purpose regard- 
 ing them. (Ver 32 ; Luke 12 : 7, 8.) 
 
 33. God often makes the governments of 
 this world the protectors of his servants. 
 (Ver. 32, 33 ; 22 : 29.) 
 
 34. The wicked are not agreed, and are in- 
 consistent, as to their opposition to Christ. 
 (Ver. 34.) 
 
 35. Many teachers owe their notoriety to 
 the hatred of the world. (Ver. 3u, 36 ; 6 : 
 8-15.) 
 
 30. We should be eager to embrace every 
 opportunity for presenting Jesus as a 
 Saviour to the world. (Ver. 37-40 ; 1 Tim. 
 1 : 15.) 
 
 37. The world often entertains unjust and 
 absurd views concerniug the people of God. 
 (Ver. 37,38; 14 : 11 ; 17: 18.) 
 
 38. " No man has so good a right to be 
 calm in the storms at sea, or in the midst of 
 popular tumults as the Christian." (Dr. P. 
 ScHAFF.) (Ver. 39, 40 ; 27 : 22-26, 34, 35.) 
 
 Ch. 22 : This chapter gives Paul's 
 address before the Jewish mob, in 
 which he relates his birth, training, 
 zeal as a Jew, and his conversion to the 
 faith of Jesus. But the mention of his 
 mission to tlie Gentiles causes a fresh 
 outburst of fanatical excitement. The 
 chief captain, sui)posing him guilty of 
 some great crime, proposes to extort a 
 confession by scourging, but Paul 
 escapes the torture by avowing his 
 Roman citizenship. The next day he 
 is Ijrought before the Sanhedriu for ex- 
 amination. May, A. D. 58. 
 
 1-21. Paul's Address TO THE Peo- 
 ple FROM THE Stairs of the Tower 
 OP Antonia. The second account of 
 Paul's conversion, this one by himself, 
 and naturally the most conciliatory 
 before an excited and prejudiced Jewish 
 audience. The other two accounts are 
 found in 9 : 1-22 ; 26 : 4-20. (see Gai. 
 1 : 1316.) Compare preliminary remarks 
 on ch. 9 : 1-22 and the Table comparing 
 the diflerent account's of Paul's conver- 
 sion. 
 
 1. Men, brethren, fathers — the 
 words used by Stejjhen in beginning his 
 speech. (See on 7: 2.) The word /a^/if?'* 
 indicates some members of the Sanhe- 
 driu, or at least prominent men, pres- 
 ent. Such a respectful beginning was 
 conciliatory. 
 
 2. In the Hebrew tongue, (sce 
 on 21 : -to.) It is implied that the people 
 would have understood Greek, but were 
 pleased to hear their native tongue. 
 Paul's use of the Hebrew would suggest 
 his loyalty as a Jew, and to the law. 
 By the gesture of his hand he had ob- 
 tained sufficient silence to be heard 
 (21 : 40) ; but now they kept the more 
 silent, a strong expression, implying 
 a subdued quiet, a breathless stillness. 
 
 3. Paul first glances at his early life, 
 and zeal in persecuting Christians. 
 (Ver. 3-5.) He .shows also his early zeal 
 for the law, which would naturally sug- 
 
 fest that their recent outburst against 
 imself was similar to his own former 
 feelings and conduct. Verily — omitted 
 
Cn. XXII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 343 
 
 "Gamaliel, and taught according to the 
 perfect tuauuer of tlie law of tlie fathers, 
 and "iwas zealous toward God, as ye all 
 
 4 are this day. " Aud I persecuted this 
 way uato the death, binding and deliver- 
 ing into prisons both men and women. 
 
 5 As also the high priest doth bear me wit- 
 ness, and all the estate of the elders : 
 'from whom also I received letters unto 
 the brethren, and went to Damascus, to 
 bring them which were there bound unto 
 Jerusalem, for to be punished. 
 
 6 And 8 it came to pass, that, as I made my 
 journey, and was come nigh unto Damas- 
 cus about noon, suddenly there shone 
 
 from heaven a great light round about 
 
 7 me. And I fell unto the ground, and 
 heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, 
 
 8 Saul, why perseculest thou me? And I 
 answered. Who art thou, Lord? And he 
 said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, 
 
 9 whom thou persecutest. And ^ they that 
 were with me saw indeed the light, aud 
 were afraid ; but they heard not the voice 
 
 10 of him that spake to me. Aud I said. 
 What shall I do. Lord? And the Lord 
 said unto me, Arise, and go into Damas- 
 cus ; and there it shall be told thee of all 
 things which are appointed for thee to do. 
 
 ch. 5 : 34. 
 
 d ch. 21 
 10, 12. 
 
 20. • ch. 7 : 58 ; 8 : 3 ; 2G : 9-11 ; 1 Tim. 1 ; 13. ' ch. 9 : 2 ; 20 : 
 8 ch. 9 : 3-22 ; 2G : 12, 13. i» ch. 9 : 7 ; Dan. 10 : 7. 
 
 in the oldest manuscripts. I am . . . 
 a Jew. Tliis would correct the im- 
 pression of any, who, like the chief 
 captain, might think he was one of 
 those foreign desijeradoes at that time 
 infesting the country. Born in 
 Tarsus, in Cilicia. (see on 21:39) 
 Brought up in this city — not indeed 
 from infancy, but from boyhood. At 
 about the age of thirteen, when Jewish 
 boys became children of the Law — per- 
 haps a little earlier — Paul was sent to 
 Jerusalem to be educated. At the 
 feet. Pupils were accustomed to sit 
 around their teacher on low benches, or 
 
 on the floor. (See Lute 10 : 39, and note.) 
 
 Gamaliel, (see on 6: 34.) Taught ac- 
 cording to the perfect or strict 
 manner of the law. See the paral- 
 lel aud equivalent passage, 26 : 5, 
 " according to the strictest sect of our 
 religion, I lived a Pharisee." See his ac- 
 count of his birth, education, and char- 
 acter in Phil. 3 : 4-6. See also Gal. 
 1 : 14, where he speaks of his pre-emi- 
 nence among his fellow-students, and 
 his fervent zeal, a zealot even, for the 
 traditions of the fathers. As ye all 
 are this day. Thus he puts himself 
 in as acceptable a light as possible be- 
 fore his audience. See 2 Cor. 11 : 22, 
 where Paul compares himself with cer- 
 tain Judaizing Christians. 
 
 4. This way— this well-known be- 
 lief and manner of life, the Christian 
 religion, (see on 9; 2.) I persecuted 
 unto death. (3e«2C:io.) Binding 
 and delivering into prisons, etc. 
 
 (See on 9 : 2.) 
 
 5. The high priest, Caiaphas, who 
 
 held that office when Saul of Tarsus re- 
 
 ceived his commission, and who appears 
 still to have been living. (See on 9 ;i.) 
 All the estate of the elders — all 
 the eldership, one form of designating 
 the Sanhedrin. (See on 9 :i.) Unto the 
 brethren — his Jewish brethren. He 
 speaks as himself a Jew. In 9 : 2 
 the language is, "to the synagogues." 
 Damascus, (see on 9 : 2.) Bouud 
 unto Jerusalem — to be tried and 
 
 punished. (see on 9: 2.) 
 
 6. Paul proceeds to relate his vision 
 near Damascus, which changed the 
 whole course of his life. (ver. 6-16.) 
 About noon, etc. " At midday." 
 (26 : 13.) See for this verse note ou 9 : 3. 
 
 7. Heard a voice, etc. — Paul 
 heard the words ; those that were with 
 him heard a sound, but it was not in- 
 telligible to them. (Ver. 9.) On this 
 verse, see 9 : 4. 
 
 8. Of Nazareth — or the Nazarene. 
 This title of Jesus is not found in the 
 other two accounts of his conversion. 
 This was fitting before the Jewish au- 
 dience, as it would specify Jesus, and if 
 his followers were called Nazareues, as 
 also identifying himself with them. 
 See on 9 : 5 for this verse. 
 
 9. And were afraid— not found in 
 the oldest manuscripts, and omitted in 
 the Revised Version. Some old manu- 
 scripts have them. They are retained 
 by Alford and Meyer. Heard not 
 the voice. (See on ver. 7 ; also fuller 
 note of 9 : 7.) The Improved Bible 
 Union Version translates, They did not 
 understand. 
 
 10. What shall I do. Lord? 
 recognizing Jesus as a Divine Master. 
 See ou 9 : 6, where the three accounts 
 
344 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXII. 
 
 11 And when I could not see for the glory 
 of that light, being led by the hand of 
 them thatwere with me, 1 caiue in to 
 
 12 Damascus. Aud 'one Ananias, a devout 
 man according to the law, ^ having a good 
 report of all the Jews which dwell (here, 
 
 13 came unto me, and stood, and said unto 
 me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And 
 
 the same hour I looked up ui)on him. 
 
 14 And he said, ' The God of our fathers, 
 ™hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest 
 know his will, and "see » that Just One, 
 and p shouldest hear the voice of his 
 
 15 mouth. <i For thou shalt be his witness 
 unto all men of ^ what thou hast seen and 
 
 16 heard. And now why tarriest thou ? 
 
 ich. 9:17. kch. 10:22. i ch. 3 : 13; 5 : 30. "> ch. 9 : 15; 26 : 16. ■> 1 Cor. 9 : 1 ; 15 : 8. 
 »ch. 3 : U; 7 :52. P 1 Cor. 11 : 23 ; Gal. 1 : 12. <i ch. 23 : 11. ' ch. 4 : 20 ; 26 : 16. 
 
 are harmonized. At this point he sub- 
 mits his will to Christ. 
 
 11. Could not see for the glory 
 of that light. His blindness is re- 
 corded in 9 : 8 ; but the reason of his 
 blindness is only given here. How 
 great and glorious the light that out- 
 shone the midday sun (ver. 6), and 
 blinded his eyes. Paul evidently caught 
 a view of Christ; and his glory over- 
 whelmed him. (See on 9: 17. Compare 1 Tim. 
 6:15,16; Heb. 1 : 3 ; John 1 : H.) JcSUS ap- 
 peared to him not so much as the Son 
 of man (7 : 56), but more as the Son of 
 
 God. (2The88. 1:710.) 
 
 12. One Ananias. See 9 : 10-17, 
 where Luke gives a fuller account of 
 him. Notice, however, that he is there 
 spoken of as a disciple, but here as a 
 devout man according to the law, 
 having a good report of all the 
 JeAVS living at Damascus. Paul thus 
 describes him in a way that would be 
 conciliatory and acceptable to his 
 Jewish audience. What such a man 
 said and did, should be favorably re- 
 ceived and candidly considered. 
 
 13. And stood — rather, slanding 
 by, or oi^er me, as I lay, or sat blind 
 before him. Brother Saul, etc. (See 
 on 9 : 17, 18.) Recelve thy sight, etc — 
 more exactly. Look tip, and the same 
 hour I looked up upon him. The verb 
 is the same in both clauses. 
 
 14. The God of our fathers- 
 Ananias speaks as a Jew. Stephen 
 u.sed almost the same expression aljout 
 twenty-four years before. (7:2, S2.) 
 Tliere was no need of a rupture with 
 true Judaism, nor did Christians at 
 first expect it. Hath chosen, or ap- 
 pointed thee beforehand, committed 
 this work and mission to thy hands. 
 To see the Just or Eighteous One. 
 (T : 5J ; 1 John 1 : 1.) As Paul actually 
 heard the voice of Jesus, so he act- 
 ually iaw him. (sc«»n»:n.) This put 
 
 Paul on a level with the twelve apos- 
 tles. (1 :21, 22; Gal. I :1. See on 9: 17.) 
 
 15. For thou shalt he his wit- 
 ness, etc. A like commission Jesus 
 had given the eleven apostles, (i : 8.) 
 Unto all men. All classes and races, 
 but Paul does not yet utter the name, 
 " Gentiles." See on 9 : 15, where Jesus 
 reveals these facts regarding Paul to 
 Ananias. Jesus appears also to have 
 made known his commission to Paul. 
 
 (26:1619. See on 9: 6.) 
 
 16. Why tarriest thou?— Why 
 
 art thou just on the jioint of doing, 
 instead of actually doing? Since Jesus 
 lias ajipeared to thee and chosen thee, 
 etc. The language is not of reproof, 
 but of encouragement. For this was 
 what Paul needed, as he felt himself 
 the very chief of sinners, (i Tim. i : 
 12. 16.) Notice that Ananias had also 
 proclaimed the gift of the Holy Spirit 
 to him. (9:17.) This Paul appears to 
 have received without the laying on of 
 hands. Arise, without delay. The 
 change of position is in harmony with 
 the immersion that he received. Be 
 baptized and wash away thy 
 sins. The verbs in the original are 
 in the middle voice, and it is difficult 
 to express their meaning euidiouiously. 
 More exactly, Jluve thyself baptized, 
 and have thyself bathed away from thy 
 sins. It is iinjdied. First, that Paul as 
 an intelligent agent had something to 
 purpose and do ; and. Second, that as 
 his baptism was to be administered to 
 him by another, doubtless by Ananias, 
 so his sins were to be washed away by 
 God. As the word bathe away has in 
 its literal sense a reference to the bath, 
 a bathing of the whole body, so in ita 
 figurative sense it refers to the forgive- 
 ness, or cleansing of the sins, of one's 
 whole being. Baptism is the outward 
 sign of repentance and faith (i3:24) 
 and represents deaduess to the world 
 
Ctt. XXII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 345 
 
 Arise, and be baptized, 'and wash away 
 thy sins, 'calling on the name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 17 And it came to pass, that, " when I was 
 come again to Jerusalem, even while 1 
 prayed in the temple, I was in a trance ; 
 
 18 and «saw him saying unto me. Make 
 haste, and get thee quickly out of Jeru- 
 
 salem : for they will not receive thy testi- 
 
 19 uiony concerning me. And 1 .said. Lord, 
 J they know that 1 iu\prisoned and "beat 
 in every synagogue them that believed 
 
 20 on thee: »and when the blood of thy 
 martyr Stephen was shed, I also was 
 standing by, and i> consenting unto his 
 death, and kept the raiment of them that 
 
 • Bom. 6:4: Heb. 10 : 22. 
 9: 1. 
 
 ' Bom. 10 : 13. 
 • Matt. 10 : 17. 
 
 " Gal. 1 : 18, 19. » oh. 9:16. J ch. 8 : 3 ; 
 » ch. 7 : 58. b ch. 8 : 1. 
 
 and newness of life, which implies the 
 forgiveness and cleansing away of sins. 
 The suly'ect is intelligent and active in 
 baptism ; hut forgiveness is the act and 
 gift of God, which the believer 
 acknowledges and publicly accepts in 
 
 his baptism. (see on 2 : 38. Compare 1 Peter 
 
 3:21) Calling on the name of the 
 Liord — rather, according to tlie oldest 
 authorities, ccUling on his mime, refer- 
 ring back to "the Just One" (ver. u), 
 recognizing Christ in his baptism. 
 Paul was to profess his allegiance, and 
 vow his devotion to the Lord Jesus 
 Christ in his baptism. Christians were 
 known also as those who called on the 
 name of the Lord. (9: u; see also i : 24.) 
 From 9 : 18 we learn that this command 
 was immediately obeyed. Observe how 
 Paul, in his conciliatory manner, 
 avoids using the name of Jesus in this 
 place. 
 
 17. Paul proceeds to narrate his 
 mission among the Gentiles, wliich was 
 entirely unsought by himself, and put 
 upon him by divine command. When 
 I was come, rather, returned to 
 Jerusalem — three years after his 
 conversion, a part of which time he 
 spent in Arabia (Gai. 1 : n, is)^ a period 
 doubtless of preparation for his great 
 work. See also 9 : 18-29 for other inci- 
 dents passed over by Paul in his ad- 
 dress. While I prayed in the 
 temple — another conciliatory remark. 
 A Jewish coloring pervades his whole 
 address. Though a Christian, he was 
 not forgetful of Jerusalem and the 
 temple. One visiting the temple for 
 prayer would not likely be a traitor 
 to his own peojile, nor a despiser of 
 Jewish ordinances and religious ob- 
 servances. I was in a trance, (see 
 on 10 : 10.) This was one of the " visions 
 and revelations of the Lord," men- 
 tioned by Paul in 2 Cor. 12 : 1. 
 
 18. And saw him — that is, Christ, 
 
 Make haste and get thee quickly 
 out of Jerusalem. The duration 
 of this visit was fifteen days. (Cai. 
 1 : 18.) Paul here gives the supernatural 
 cause of his leaving Jerusalem. In 9 : 
 29, 30, Luke gives the natural cause. 
 The two statements are consistent with 
 each other, (see on 9: 30.) Compare a 
 similar twofold reason, 15 : 2 and Gal. 
 2 : 2. They will not receive thy 
 testimony concerning me. In this 
 Paul implies that he had come to Jeru- 
 salem to preach the gospel to his own 
 countrymen ; and he gives the reason 
 why he did not continue in this work. 
 19. When the Lord commanded him 
 to leave Jerusalem, assuring him that 
 the people would not hear him, Paul 
 remonstrated, urging that he was 
 peculiarly fitted for this work among 
 the Jews, because he was known to 
 them as one who had been a leading 
 persecutor of Christians. The testi- 
 mony of such an one, he thought, 
 would have special weight. I im- 
 prisoned and beat in every syna- 
 gogue, where such punishments 
 were often inflicted. (Matt. 10 : n ; Luke 12 : 
 
 11 ; 21 : 12. See 8 : 3 ; 9 : 1, 2.) Such CaSCS Were 
 
 heard on Mondays and Thursdays, and 
 corporal punishment inflicted on the 
 spot. 
 
 20. Thy martyr, or witness, 
 Stephen. It was not till after the age of 
 the Apostles that the word martyr came 
 to be applied to those Christians who 
 sealed their testimony to the truth by 
 their death. The word here and 
 especially in Rev. 17 : 6 appears to be 
 in its transition to that meaning. Near 
 the close of the second century the 
 martyrs of Lyons refused the title of 
 martyr, regarding it as only appro- 
 priate to Christ ; or at least only to 
 those who remained constant to the 
 end. (EuSEBius, Hist. Eccles, v. 2.) 
 Consenting— approving »ud really 
 
346 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXII. 
 
 21 slew hiiu. And he said unto me, Depart : 
 'lor 1 will send thee far hence unto the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 22 And they gave him audience unto this 
 word, and then lifted up their voices, and 
 said, ii Away with such a fellow from the 
 
 earth: for it is not fit that 'he should 
 
 23 live. And as they cried out, 'and cast 
 off their c'othes, sand threw dust into the 
 
 24 air, the chief captain commanded him to 
 be brought into the castle, and bade that 
 he should be examined by scourging ; 
 
 •ch. 9:15; 13 : 2,46, 47; 18 : 6; 26:17; Rom. 11 ; 13; 15: 16; Gal. 2 : 7. 8;Eph.3 : 7, 8;lTim. 
 2:7. d ch. 21 : 3G. • ch. 25 : 24. ' ch. 7 : 58. i 2 Sam. 10 : 13. 
 
 taking pleasure in it. The oldest 
 manuscripts omit, unto his death 
 . . . kept the raiment. (Seeon7:68.) 
 
 21. But his remonstrance proved of 
 no avail. The Lord's command is 
 positive and peremptory, Depart — 
 giving no direct answer to his plea. 
 For I will send thee — implying 
 that was his mission, and that the Gen- 
 tiles would hear him. Thus Paul 
 deferred the utterance of the word 
 Gentiles as long as possible. And 
 now its utterance arouses a storm of 
 wrath. Had he not been interru])ted, 
 doubtless he would have referred, as 
 before King Agrippa (26: i9-2;i), to sub- 
 sequent labors, especially among Jews 
 and proselytes ; to his return to Jeru- 
 salem, bringing alms and ofieriugs ; 
 and to the circumstances of his purifi- 
 cation in the temple {21 : it. is) ; not 
 omitting to present Jesus as the 
 Messiah and the hope of Israel (26:6, 
 22, 2s) ; and perhaps to the blessing of 
 God upon his labors among the Gentile 
 nations. 
 
 Note. Paul did not come to a full 
 knowledge of his Gentile work at 
 once. At bis conversion he Avas com- 
 missioned, as a minister and witness, to 
 Jews as well as Gentiles. (26 : 10, n ; Gai. 
 1:16.) During the three years in 
 Damascus and Aral)ia his conceptions 
 of the truth were much like those of 
 the martyr Stephen. He probably 
 labored largely among foreign Jews 
 and proselytes, as he afterwards did at 
 Jerusalem (7: 2a), where they attempted 
 to kill him, and he received a renewed 
 commission, " I will send thee far 
 hence to the Gentiles." (22:21.) He 
 now doubtless obtained enlarged views 
 of liis work and his mission among the 
 Gentiles. In Tarsus, in Cilicia, and at 
 Antioch, we believe he extended his 
 work among not only proselytes, but 
 also among uncircumcised, though 
 devout. Gentiles. Another advance 
 was made iu his work and in his con- 
 
 ception of his Gentile mission, when 
 the Spirit called for the separation of 
 Paul and Barnabas for missionary 
 labors among tlie heathen, (is: 3.) His 
 new experiences must have added 
 largely to his practical knowledge. 
 
 (13: 12,46; U:27.) 
 
 22-30. Paitl Pleads his Roman 
 Citizenship, and Escapes Scourg- 
 ing. May, A. D. 58. 
 
 22. Unto this word — or declara- 
 tion, that he was sent by divine com- 
 mand to the heathen. AAvay with 
 
 such a fellOAV. (Seeon21 :36.) It iS 
 
 not fit, rather, according to the oldest 
 manuscripts. It was not fit that he 
 should live, when he was rescued from 
 us by the chief captain (21:33,34) ; im- 
 plying that he ought to have been put 
 to death long ago. The doctrine that 
 the Messiah was not exclusively for 
 the Jews, and any suggestion that the 
 latter might be rejected and preference 
 given to the Gentiles, were peculiarly 
 distasteful to the Jewish people, espe- 
 cially at Jerusalem. (see LuHe 4 : 26-28 ; 20 : 
 15-19; Acts 7 : 48-54.) 
 
 23. And cast oflf their clothes — 
 
 or throwing vp their outer garments 
 and casting dust into the air, indicating 
 vehement rage and intense excitement. 
 Such demonstrations would tend to 
 inflame the minds of the populace, who 
 were still gathering, and crowding into 
 the temple area. Such expressions of 
 auger and scorn are not uncommon 
 among Orientals. Compaie the act 
 of Shimei in casting stones and dust at 
 David (2Sam. 16: 13), and of the friends 
 of Job as an expression of grief. (Job 
 
 2 : 12.) 
 
 24. As Paul had spoken in Hebrew, 
 the chief captain was probably ignor- 
 ant of the substance of his address, 
 and inferred that there was some serious 
 charge against him, and that he was 
 a peculiarly dangerous and turbulent 
 fellow. He therefore determines that 
 Paul shall be examined, judicially 
 
Ch. XXII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 34" 
 
 that he might know wherefore they cried 
 
 25 so against him. And as they bound hiiu 
 with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion 
 that stood by, i' Is it hiwfiil lor you to 
 Boourge a man that is a Roman, and un- 
 
 26 condemned? When the centurion heard 
 that, he went and told the chief captain, 
 saying, Tak»' heed what thou doest : for 
 
 27 this man is a Roman. Then the cl-ief 
 captain came, and said unto him. Tell 
 
 me, art thou a Roman ? He said. Yea. 
 
 28 And ihe chief captain answered, With a 
 
 29 great sum obtained I this freedom. And 
 Paul said. But I was free born. Then 
 straightway they departed from him 
 which should have examined him. And 
 the chief captain also was afraid, 'after 
 he knew that he was a Roman, and be- 
 cause be had bound him. 
 
 h ch. 25 : 16. 
 
 i ch. 23 : 27. 
 
 by scourging — a cruel method for 
 supplying the want of proof or infor- 
 matiou, by compelling a person to 
 make a confession, or to accuse him- 
 self Cried so against him. Thus 
 the people "shouted" in the praise of 
 Herod (12 : 22) ; and uttered an infuri- 
 ated cry against Jesus. (Luke «: 21.) 
 " Their shouting and crying was a hos- 
 tile reply to him." (Meyer.) 
 
 25. As they bound him — as they 
 stretched him forward, bent him over 
 to the post, preparatory to receiving 
 the scourge on his bare back. Some 
 translate, Stretched htm out for the 
 whips, the thougs being the leather 
 st}-aps of the scourge, which is not a 
 very common use of the word. Be- 
 sides, it appears from ver. 29, that they 
 were now binding Paul preparatory to 
 the scourging. Paul said unto the 
 centurion who stood by — super- 
 intending the binding. A centurion 
 had charge of our Saviour's cruci- 
 fixion. (Luke 23: 47.) Is it laAVfui tO 
 
 scourge, etc. See on 16 : 37, Paul 
 pleading his Roman citizenship at 
 Philippi. 
 
 26. The centurion at once warns 
 the chief captain. Take heed. 
 Omitted by the highest critical authori- 
 ties. Translate, What art thou about 
 to do f for this man is a Roman. 
 
 27. Art thou a Roman? The pro- 
 noun is emphatic, showing the surprise 
 of the chief captain at hearing that the 
 accused Jew before him was a Roman 
 citizen. He said, Yea. This simple 
 affirmation was sufficient, and it was at 
 once allowed. The claim, if false, was 
 punishable with death. Besides, in 
 this case, Paul may have had papers, 
 and probably could give references in 
 the city in proof of his citizenship. 
 
 28. Still surprised, the chief captain 
 continues, With a great sum ob- 
 
 tained I this freedom, this right of 
 citizenship. " The tribune, to whom it 
 was known that a native of Tarsus had 
 not, as such, the right of citizenship, 
 thinks that Paul must probably have 
 come to it by purchase, and yet for 
 this the arrested Cilician appears to 
 him too poor." The power of grant- 
 ing citizenship rested solely with the 
 emperor. Under the first Ctesars it 
 was obtained with great difficulty, and 
 at great cost. But under Claudius, 
 about ten years before this time, it was 
 sold freely and cheajjly by his infam- 
 ous wife, Messalina, who was put to 
 death, A. d. 48. With calm dignity 
 Paul replies. But I was free born, 
 a Roman by birth. It was not a local, 
 but a family distinction, which Paul 
 enjoyed. Tarsus was a free city, but 
 that did not constitute its inhabitants 
 Roman citizens. It is probal)le that 
 Paul's father or grandfather had ob- 
 tained this distinction for meritorious 
 service, or through purchase, and hence 
 Paul was born a citizen. 
 
 29. The soldiers who were about to 
 exam.ine Paul (a mild way of express- 
 ing a judicial investigation by scourg- 
 ing) withdrew, without further orders, 
 as soon as they heard that he was a 
 Roman. The chief captain was also 
 afraid, showing the power of that 
 simple declaration, " I am a Roman." 
 Because he had bound him — for 
 the purpose of torture. The binding 
 here does not refer to his having been 
 bound with chains as a prisoner, for 
 this was permitted in the case of 
 Romans. The next verse shows that 
 after Paul was unloosed from the whip- 
 ping post, he was still kept bound as a 
 prisoner. So do also 26 : 29 ; 28 : 20 ; 
 Phil. 1 : 7, 13-16 ; Col. 4 : 18 ; Philem. 
 10, 13. 
 
 30, The chief captain was disposed 
 
348 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIII 
 
 Paul's defence before the Sanhedrin; and 
 second rescue by the Roman soldiers. 
 
 30 On the morrow, because he would have 
 known the certainty wherefore he was 
 accused of the Jews, he loosed him from 
 
 his bands, and commanded the chief 
 priests and all their council to appear ; 
 and brought Paul down, and set him 
 before them. 
 
 to do his duty, but was greatly per- 
 plexed. He could not learn the charges 
 against Paul, either from the mob, or 
 from his address. It was unlawful to 
 extort a confession from a Roman. He 
 determines to make another effort by 
 bringing him before the Sanhedrin for 
 examination, not only that justice may 
 be done, but also that he may be able 
 to state the case to Felix. (23:26-30.) 
 From liis bands is not found in 
 the oldest manuscripts. Simply, he 
 loosed, or released him. He com- 
 niHiided ... all their council, or 
 Sanhedrin, to appear, rather, to come 
 together, (see on 4: 5.) He may have 
 learned that the charges against Paul 
 had reference to the religion of the 
 Jews, and so he summons their highest 
 ecclesiastical court. Brought Paul 
 down — from the tower of Antonia 
 (21 : 23) to the chamber, wliere the San- 
 hedrin held its meeting, which had 
 formerly been held in the temple, but 
 now appers to have been held in a hall 
 on Mount Zion, near the foot of the 
 bridge leading over the ravine from the 
 western cloister of the temple. (See on 
 23 : 15.) It appears also that the chief 
 captain left Paul in charge of the San- 
 hedrin (23: 10), but was near enough to 
 watch proceedings and protect Paul 
 from violence. (See Lewiu 2, 149.) 
 The authority of Roman power ap- 
 pears in the command of the chief cap- 
 tain, and in the whole narrative. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Christian experience is the best argu- 
 ment against unbelief. (Ver. 1-16 ; 11 : 4 f.) 
 
 2. The Christian should meet opposition 
 with tact and a conciliatory spirit. (Ver. 2, 
 3,12,13; 2 Cor. 12: 14-18.) 
 
 3. The true penitent is anxious to know 
 and do the will of the Lord. (Ver. 10 ; Matt. 
 3 : 6-9.) 
 
 4. We are not prepared in our natural 
 Btate to behold the glory of Christ. (Ver. 
 Jl ; 7 : 55, 56.) 
 
 6. As soon as we accept of Jesus we enter 
 the Christian brotherhood, and become joint- 
 
 heirs with Christ. (Ver. 13; Rom. 5 : 1, 2; 
 8 : 14, 15.) 
 
 6. Ministers of the gospel may not always 
 choose their fields of labor. God may over- 
 rule their preference, and send them where 
 he knows it is best for them to go. (Ver. 
 18-21 ; 16 : 6-10 ; John 3 : 2.) 
 
 7. For further practical thoughts on ver. 
 1-21, see chapter 9, Practical Remarks, 2, 3, 
 4, 6, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20.) 
 
 8. Sin and prejudice will shut the heart 
 against tlie most powerful presentations of 
 truth. (Ver. 22 ; John 2:11; Luke 16 : 31.) 
 
 9. Spiritual delusions and religious fanati- 
 cism make men like fierce brutes. (Ver. 23, 
 Jude 10.) 
 
 10. How often does the world condemn the 
 godly and spiritual matters, blindly and 
 without investigation. (Ver. 24 ; 3 : 15, 17.) 
 
 11. A person in becoming a Christian does 
 not forfeit his rights as a citizen. (Ver. 25 ; 
 Matt. 22 : 21 ; Rom. 13 : 1-4.) 
 
 12. Yet the Christian has a higher citizen- 
 ship in heaven. (Ver. 25-28 ; Eph. 2 : 19 ; 
 Phil. 3 : 20.) 
 
 13. If it was an offence against the dignity 
 of Rome to inflict ignominy upon one of its 
 citizens, how much greater the offense 
 against Christ to injure one of the citizens 
 of his heavenly kingdom ? (Ver. 28 ; Matt. 
 25 : 45.) 
 
 14. A good man will investigate, and wel- 
 come honest investigation. (Ver. 30 ; 25 : 1 1.) 
 
 Ch. 23. This chapter contains the 
 account of Paul before the Sanhedrin, 
 the plot to assassinate him, and his 
 hasty but safe conduct as a prisoner to 
 Felix the governor, at Csesarea. Thus 
 in the providence of God it would ap- 
 pear that Paul, as the apostle to the 
 Gentiles, was to make his last appeal 
 to Israel before he was transferred to 
 the metropolis of the heathen world. 
 He is rejected by the people (last chap- 
 ter), and by the Sanhedrin, and the 
 Jewish leaders ; and is delivered over 
 to the Roman authorities, both for safe- 
 keeping and for trial. 
 
 1-10. Paul's Defense before the 
 Sanhedrin. His Second Resciik 
 
Ch. XXllI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 349 
 
 23 And Paul, earnestly beholding the 
 council, said. Men and brethren, ^ I have 
 
 2 unlil this day. And the high priest 
 Ananias commanded them that btood by 
 
 lived in all good conscience before God 3 him ' to smite him on the mouth. Then 
 
 k ch. 24 : 16 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 12 ; 4 : 2 , Heb. 13 : 18 ; 1 John 3 : 21. 
 Jer. 20: 2; John 18 : 22. 
 
 1 1 Kings 22 : 24 ; Eccles. 3 : 16 ; 
 
 FROM THE Jews by Roman Sol- 
 diers. (Rom. 13 : 1, G, 7 ; Exod. 22 : 
 28.) May, a. d. 58. This section begins 
 properly with the last verse of the pre- 
 ceding chapter. 
 
 1. Paul earnestly beholding 
 the council. The same verb is used to 
 describe the steadfast gaze of the dis- 
 ciples at Jesus ascending (i : lo) ; the 
 intent look of Stephen into heaven 
 (7 : 57) ; and the fixed look of Peter upon 
 the lame man. (3 : *•) It is one of the 
 peculiarities of Luke to record the look 
 or gesture of the persons who speak. 
 (21 : «.) Paul scrutinizes the council 
 or Sanhedrin, reminding him of former 
 days, when he was a member (-6 : 10), or 
 at least a confidential and trusted agent. 
 Probably he saw some whom he had 
 known over twenty years before. Notice 
 he does not address them as fathers 
 (-'2 : 1), but simply, Men, brethren, as an 
 equal, and with tiie consciousness tliat 
 he had in no wise forfeited liis religious 
 cliaracter, and position in the theocracy. 
 Paul's defense is concentrated into a 
 single sentence. Knowing that the 
 Jewish leaders regarded him as an 
 apostate from the Mosaic law, and a 
 subverter of Jewish customs, he says, 
 I have lived, conducted myself unto 
 God, in his service and for his glory, 
 in all good conscience, with a full 
 consciousness of rectitude, faithfuluess, 
 and sincerity, until this day. The 
 Jews had so regarded him up to the 
 time of his conversion to Christianity ; 
 but he affirms that his conduct had been 
 such up to that very day. The verb 
 translated litied means to behave as a 
 citizen, here, of Israel, or more freely, 
 to live according to the laws of God. 
 Before his conversion he acted sincerely 
 (m : 9), though ignorantly through un- 
 belief, and, as he thought, for the glory 
 
 of God. (1 Tim. 1: 5, 18; 2 Tim. 1:3.) After 
 
 his conversion he had "a conscience 
 void of oftence " (24 : is), whose testi- 
 mony he enjoyed "in simplicity and 
 
 godly sincerity." (2 Cor. 1 ; 12. Compftre 
 Beb. 13 : 12 ; 1 Peter 3 : 15, 16.) 
 
 2 Ananias — the son of Nebedaeus, 
 appointed high-priest, in A. D. 48. In 
 A. D. 52 he was sent to Rome on a charge 
 of oppression brought against him by 
 the Samaritans, but was acquitted. He 
 appears to have resumed his office, but 
 was deposed in A. D. 59, shortly before 
 P^elix quitted his government, and was 
 assassinated by the Sicarii, or robbers, 
 at the beginning of the last Jewish war. 
 (Josephus Ant., xx. 2, 1;6, 2; 9, 2.) 
 He was a very bad specimen of a 
 worldly Sadducee. " The Talmud adds 
 to our picture of him that he was a 
 rapacious tyrant, who in his gluttony 
 and greed, reduced the inferior priests 
 almost to starvation by defrauding them 
 of their tithes." (Farrar, Life of St. 
 Paul, p. 539.) His lawless conduct 
 toward Paul was in harmony with his 
 cliaracter. To smite him on the 
 mouth — ^an Oriental mode of silencing 
 a speaker, imjilying that what he had 
 said was false and presumptuous. The 
 same mode is practiced at the present 
 day in ICastern courts. Compare a simi- 
 lar insult offijred to Jesus, while stand- 
 ing Ijefore the Sanhedrin. (John is : 22; 
 also 1 KiDgs 22 ; 24.) Paul's calling the Jew- 
 ish rulers " brethren," and especially 
 his assertion of having lived according 
 to the laws of God, appears to have en- 
 raged the high priest. 
 
 3. Paul showed much spirit, which 
 has been contrasted with the mild and 
 patient conduct of Jesus under similar 
 circumstances. God shall smite 
 thee, thou whited Avail, thou hyp- 
 ocrite, pretending to act as an officer of 
 justice witli a spirit of lawless injus- 
 tice ; fair outside, but filthy within, 
 like the whitened walls of a sepulchre. 
 (See on Matt. 23 : 27.) Thesc werc words of 
 righteous indignation. So Jesus on 
 several occasions uttered scathing woes 
 upon hypocrites, and also drove the 
 money changers from the temple. (M.-itt. 
 
 2:!:13-:W; Jolm2:14-16.) Paul's WOrds alsO 
 
 were prophetic. God is about to smite 
 thee. In less than two years AuaHias 
 was deposed, and at length came to a 
 
350 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIII. 
 
 said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, 
 
 4 thou whited wall ! For sittest thou to 
 judge me after the law, and ™ commandest 
 me to t>e smitten contrary to the law? 
 
 5 And they that stood by said, Revilest 
 thou God's high priest 7 Then said Paul, 
 
 I wist not, brethren, that he was the high 
 priest : for it is written, n ' Thou shalt not 
 speak evil of the ruler of thy people.' 
 6 But when Paul perceived that the one 
 part wereSadducees, and the other Phari- 
 sees, he cried out in the council, Men and 
 
 Deut. 25 : 1, 2 ; John 7 : 51. n Exod. 22 : 28 ; Eccles. 10 : 20. 
 
 violent death, (see on ver. 2.) (Josephiis, 
 irars II, 17, 9.) For sittest thou, 
 etc. Better, And dost thou sit, being 
 such an one, accouutal)le to God and 
 who.se judgment upon thee is assured, 
 jud(jing mc according to the law, etc. 
 Contrary to the law, or lawlessly. 
 The high priest was uottlie only judge ; 
 all the members of the Sanhedrin were 
 judges. He had taken the case in his 
 own hands, and illegally decided the 
 case before Paul had been heard. (John 
 1 : 51.) Tlie Mosaic law req^uired careful 
 investigation before punishment, and 
 permitted the accused the right to be 
 heard in his own defence. (Lev. 19 : 35; 
 
 Deut. 19:15, 17, 1»; 25: 1.) 
 
 4. God's high priest— as God's 
 representative in administering justice. 
 (Deut. 17 : 13.) His officc was also sacred, 
 appointed by God. (Lev. 8 : i, r.) 
 
 5. I wist not — / knew not, etc. 
 Several explanations of this language 
 have been given. Some supjio.se that 
 from defective sight he could not 
 distinguisli jk rsons at a little distance. 
 Great stress is hiid upon such passages 
 as 9 : 8; Gal. 4 : 15; 6:11; 2 Cor. 
 12 : 7. Others, that he spoke ironically, 
 which is not in kei'])ing with tlie quo- 
 tation of Scrij)ture that follows. Others 
 still sup])ose that Paul, on account of 
 the tronltlous times, did not know who 
 was high priest; or, that at that mo- 
 ment, he did not regard him so much 
 as the higli priest as the civil judge, 
 the idea of the high j)riest being ab- 
 sorbed in that of the Jfu/jrc. It is best 
 to take the language iu its natural 
 meaning. For some reason Paul did 
 not know that the person commanding 
 him to be smitten on the mouth was 
 high priest. There had been several 
 changes since the time when Paul was 
 familiar with the Sanhedrin. The 
 high priest may not have been in his 
 official robes, or not in his usual seat. 
 At his age, al)0ut fifty-six, his siglit 
 might have begun to fail from natural 
 
 causes. Besides, such a lawless com- 
 mand surprised him, and would not 
 suggest that the high priest was the 
 author of it. His apology is calm, 
 frank, and Christlike, even "if his j>re- 
 vious conduct had been too impulsive. 
 But notice, he apologizes, not to the man, 
 but to the office ; not to the judge even, 
 but to the high priest. He retracts 
 nothing, except impliedly, that he 
 would not have addressed knowingly 
 the high priest as a " whited wall," or 
 hypocrite. Thus the prophetic utter- 
 ance, " God shall smite thee," remains. 
 And to show his sincere desire to act, 
 according to the law he quotes from 
 Exod. 22 : 28, Thon shalt not speak 
 evil of the ruler of thy people. 
 The quotation is from the Septuagint 
 and gives the substantial meaning of the 
 Hebrew. 
 
 6. But when Paul perceived, 
 rather, knew that one part were 
 Sadducees and the other Phari- 
 sees. These were the two great relig- 
 ious jjarties, or sects of the Jews ; the 
 former sceptical, the latterorthodox. (See 
 on 4 : 1 ; 5 : 17, 34.) They wcie bitterly op- 
 posed to each other. The two iiarties 
 may have been in separate groujis, the 
 majority being Pharisees. Seeing that 
 there was no prospect of a calm and 
 fair hearing, Paul resorts to a legit- 
 imate means of dividing their forces, 
 and turning their attention to a funda- 
 mental truth in which he and the 
 Pharisees agreed. I am a Pharisee, 
 the son of a Pharisee, or, accord- 
 ing to the best authorities, a son of 
 Phansers ; not only by birth, but his 
 family had, for generations, belonged 
 to that party. So far as he believed 
 in the doctrine of the resurrection, in 
 the coming and kingdom of the Mes- 
 siah, in angels and spirits, and in tlie 
 wliole Old Testament Scriptures, he 
 \\as a Pharisee. "As touching the law 
 a Pharisee." (Piiii. 3:6.) He indeed 
 went bivond the Pharisees in under- 
 
Ch. XXIIL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 361 
 
 brethren, »! am a Pharisee, the son of a 
 Pharisee : of p the hope and resurrection 
 of the dead I am called in question. 
 
 7 And when he had so said, there arose a 
 dissension between the Pharisees and the 
 Sadducees : and the multitude was di- 
 
 8 vided. i For the Sadducees say that there 
 is no resurrection, neither angel, nor 
 
 9 spirit : but the Pharisees confess both. And 
 there arose a great cry ; and the scribes 
 that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and 
 
 strove, saying, 'We find no evil in this 
 man: but if a spirit or an angel hath 
 10 spoken to him, • let us not light against 
 God. And when there arose a great 
 dissension, the chief captain, fearing 
 lest Paul should have been pulled in 
 pieces of them, commanded the soldiers 
 to go down, and take him by force from 
 among tb to bring him into the 
 
 castle. 
 
 'ch. 2C :5; Phil. 3:5. 
 
 p ch. 24 : ir., 21 ; 26 : C-8 ; 28 : 20. 
 ' ch. 25 : 25 ; 2G : 31. » ch. 5 : 39. 
 
 1 ch. 4 : 1, 2 ; Mark 12 : 18. 
 
 standing the Scriptures, and applying 
 them to Jesus, as the Chri.st. Of the 
 hope and resurrection of the 
 dead — of the hope of a Messiah, 
 whose salvation culminates in a resur- 
 rection from the dead. (24: i5.) Or, 
 perhaps preferable, by a figure of 
 speech, Of the hope, namely, of the 
 resurrection. So the Improved Bible 
 Union Version, concerning the hope 
 and the resurrection of the dead I am 
 now judged, or called in question, (see 
 1 Cor. 15 : 12-19.) Paul showed great skill 
 in this utterance. It was also an ap- 
 
 Eeal to the Pharisees who agreed with 
 im so far, to listen further ; and to 
 call forth their sympathy and defence. 
 He had no hopes of leniency from the 
 Sadducees, his most violent and con- 
 temptuous opposers ; but he could hope 
 for some sympathy from the Pharisees, 
 who were sincere in unbelief, but 
 who held many doctrines in common 
 with himself. His professions as a 
 Pharisee implied thtit he was not a sub- 
 verter of the Mosaic law and customs. 
 
 7. There arose a dissension — 
 an actual strife, in regard to Paul. 
 The Pliarisees saw that Paul was with 
 them in their leading doctrinal views, 
 and they hesitate to join the Sadducees 
 to put him to death. And the mul- 
 titude, of those assembled, Avere 
 divided, taking opposite sides. 
 
 8. Luke explains the effect of Paul's 
 appeal by stating the fundamental dif- 
 ference between these parties. His 
 description agrees with that of Jos- 
 ephus, who says, " The Sadducees re- 
 ject the existence of the soul after 
 death, and the rewards and punish- 
 ments of the invisible world." And 
 again, "The Sadducees hold that the 
 Bouls of men perish with their bodies," 
 
 Also, that the Pharisees hold that " Tho 
 souls of men have an immortal strength, 
 and are destined to be rewarded or 
 jmnished in another state according to 
 the life here, as it has been one of vir- 
 tue or vice." (Jewish Tlar, II, 8, 14; 
 Antiq. XVIII, 1, 3, 4.) The Sadducees 
 accepted the Pentateuch which often 
 speaks of angels,but they appear to have 
 explained such appearances as some 
 manifestation of the divine glory. Po- 
 litically, they rather sided with Rome, 
 and sometimes Avere found uniting 
 with the Herodians. The Pharisees 
 confess both — the resurrection and 
 the existence of spiritual beings, angel 
 and spirit being included in one idea. 
 
 9. There arose a great cry, or 
 clamor, as of an excited mob. And 
 the scribes, or according to some of 
 the best manuscripts, Some of the 
 scribes of the Pharisees' part, or 
 parti/, espoused the side of Paul. It 
 was fitting that their learned men and 
 guardians of the law (4:5) should take 
 a leading jjart. Let us not fight 
 against God. These words are 
 wanting in the oldest manuscripts and 
 versions, leaving the sentence as an 
 unfinished exclamation. Luke has other 
 instances of incomplete sentences. (Luke 
 
 13 : 9; 19: «; 22:42.) Hut if a Spirit, 
 
 etc., or But tvhat if a spirit spoke to 
 him, or an angel ! Referring to Paul's 
 statement in 22 : 17, 18. As the Sad- 
 ducees did not believe in spirits or 
 angels, the Pharisees pause in their 
 argument, and with gestures imnly, 
 that believing as they did, the matter 
 in tliat case was significant, and re- 
 quired caution, 
 
 10. A scene of wild excitement, a 
 great dissension ensues. The pre- 
 vious excited feelings regarding Paul 
 
S52 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIII. 
 
 11 And 'the night following the Lord 
 stood by hiui, and said, " Be of good cheer, 
 Paul : I for as thou Iw3t testified of me 
 in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness 
 also at Bome. 
 
 Conspiracy to s'ay Paul; hs is sent to Felix at 
 Ciesarea. 
 
 12 AND when it was day, t certain of the 
 Jews banded together, and bound them- 
 selves under a curse, saying, ^ that they 
 
 would neither eat or drink till they had 
 
 13 killed Paul. And they were more than 
 forty which bad made this conspiracy. 
 
 14 And they came to the chief priests and 
 elders, and said, We have bound our- 
 selves under a great curse, that we will 
 eat nothing until we have slain Paul. 
 
 15 Now therefore ye with the council signify 
 to the chief captain » that he bring him 
 down unto you to-morrow, as though he 
 would inquire something more perfectly 
 
 « ch. 27 : 23, 24. 
 
 »Isa. 41 :10; Jer. 15 : 21. 
 ' 2 Cor. 11 : 26. 
 
 * ch. 22 : 18. 
 » ch. 25 : 3. 
 
 y ver. 21 :30; ch. 25: 3. 
 
 prepared the way ; and party feelings 
 and prejudices combined to make the 
 tumult more intense, especially on the 
 part of the Sadducces, who were jealous 
 of the Pharisees, as well as violent in 
 their hatred of Christians. (< : is.) Lest 
 Paul should have been pulled or 
 torn in pieces. Both parties seize 
 liim, some to protect, others to vent 
 their wrath. But the chief captain 
 quickly comes with his soldiers to his 
 rescue. Doubtless they were in readi- 
 ness, while he himself with an officer 
 was present to learn the result of the 
 investigation. We can not 8ui)pose 
 tliat he presided at the meeting of the 
 Sanhedrin. 
 
 11-22. A CoxspiKACY TO Slay 
 Paul. Its Disclosfke to the 
 Chief Captain. May a. d. 58. 
 
 11. After the terrible ordeal of the 
 past two days, Paul needed tlie divine 
 encouragement, Be of good cheer. 
 The liOrd Jesus stood by him — 
 descriptive of an actual appearance, 
 but whetlier in a dream or a waking 
 vision is not told us ; probably the 
 latter. Compare his visions at Troas 
 (16:9, in), and at Corinth. (i8:9, lo.) Thou 
 hast testified of me in Jerusalem 
 — as he liad wished, but had been rejected 
 according to the word of the Lord. 
 (22:19 21.) So must thou bear wit- 
 ness at Rome — so he should escape 
 from the Jews at Jerusalem. Ilow 
 must this promise have cheered him 
 through all the changes that befell 
 him, during his imprisonment at 
 Csesarea, and his voyage to Rome ! So. 
 May there not ])e a suggestion that he 
 should testify in bonds at Rome as he 
 had at Jerusalem. It had been his 
 long desire and purpose to labor at 
 Rome. (19 : 21.) A few months before 
 
 this he had written to the Roman 
 Christians of his " longing to see them " 
 and of his intentions to visit them. (Rom. 
 
 1 : 11-13; 15 : 28.) 
 
 13. While Paul is thus comforted 
 some of the Jews are plotting his de- 
 struction. The highest critical author- 
 ities omit Certain of. The men who 
 thus banded themselves together, 
 were doubtless Sadducees, with some 
 bitter opponents from Asia Minor, and 
 zealots whose fanaticism is recorded 
 by Josephus. Bound themselves 
 under a curse — under an anathema 
 (see Gal. 1 : 8, 9), which they invoked on 
 themselves in the event of violating, 
 or not carrying out, their vow. 
 
 13. More than forty — indicating 
 a great and widespread popular excite- 
 ment against Paul. 
 
 14. They came to the chief 
 priests and elders — naturally to 
 the Sadducean portion of tlie Sanhe- 
 drin — Ananias and his friends, (ver.2.) 
 We have bound, etc. Literally, We 
 have cursed ourselves with a cuise — a 
 strong expression, showing how sol- 
 emnly and deliberately they engaged 
 in the task, as a service oiiered to God. 
 (John 16: 2.) Will eat nothing — even 
 
 will taste nothing. (See l Sam. U:21.) 
 
 Josephus tells of a similar plot to kill 
 Herod. {Antiq. xv. 8 : 3, 4.) 
 
 15. Now, therefore, ye with the 
 council. Tbe chief j)riests and elders 
 (ver. u) are still to be regarded as the 
 prime movers in tliis nefarious plot. 
 They were to influence the Sanhedrin 
 to ask for Paul ; but not necessarily to 
 divulge all their plans. This would 
 hardly be safe, especially in the hear- 
 ing of some of the Pharisees who had 
 lately espoused the side of Paul. (ver. s.) 
 Such proceedings against apostates ac- 
 
Ch. XXIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 355 
 
 concerning him : and we, or ever he come 
 near, are ready to kill him. 
 
 16 •> And when Paul's sister's son heard of 
 their lying in wait, lie went and entered 
 
 17 into the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul 
 called one of the centurions unto him, 
 and said. Bring this young man unto the 
 chief captain : for he hath a certain thing 
 
 18 to tell him. So he took him, and brought 
 him to the chief captain, and said, Paul 
 the prisoner called me unto him, and 
 prayed me to bring this young man unto 
 thee, who hath something to say unto 
 
 19 thee. Then the chief captain took him 
 
 by the hand, and went with him aside 
 privately, and asked him, What is that 
 
 20 thou hast to tell me? And he said, 'The 
 Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou 
 wouldest bring down Paul to-morrow 
 into the council, as though they would 
 inquire somewhat of him more perfectly. 
 
 21 But do not thou yield unto them : for 
 there lie in wait for him of them more 
 than forty men, which have bound them- 
 selves with an oath, that they will neither 
 eat or drink till they have killed him : 
 and now are they ready, looking for a 
 
 b Job 5 : 13 ; Prov. 21 : 30 ; Lam. 3 : 37. « ver. 12 ; Ps. 12 : 2. 
 
 corded with Jewish opinions and pro- 
 ceedings. Dr. Hackett quotes from 
 Philo, the noted Alexandian Jew, who 
 wrote in this age : " It is highly proper 
 tliat all who have a zeal for virtue 
 should have a right to punish with 
 tlieir own hands, without delay those 
 who are guilty of this crime (that is, 
 forsaking what they regarded tlie true 
 worship of God) ; not carrying them 
 before . . . any magistrate, but they 
 should indulge the abhorrence of evil, 
 tiie love of God they entertain, by in- 
 flicting immediate punishment on such 
 impious apostates, regarding them- 
 selves for the time as everything — 
 senators, judges, pnetors, sergeants, 
 accusers, witnesses, the laws of the 
 jieople ; so that hindered by nothing, 
 they may without fear aud with all 
 promptitude espouse the cause of 
 piety." And we, or ever he come 
 iiiear^better. And we before he comes 
 near — showing that the usual meeting- 
 place of the Sanhedrin, was farther 
 than the area of the temple. (See on 
 
 22:30.) 
 
 16. It is not strange that a conspir- 
 acy involving so many persons, against 
 one about whom the whole community 
 was intensely excited, should have be- 
 come known to some outside of those 
 immediately concerned. Nothing more 
 is known of Paul's sister's son. 
 He may have been studying at Jeru- 
 salem, like Paul years before, and thus 
 in a position to hear tlie secrets of the 
 Jewish leaders. This incident shows 
 tliat all of Paul's family were not 
 alienated from him. Some of Paul's 
 kinsmen were Christians. (Rom. i6:7.) 
 Had this one been, doubtless Luke 
 would have mentioned it. We may 
 
 hope that he learned ft-om his uncle 
 the truth as it is in Christ. In this 
 case God used natural affection for 
 Paul's safety. 
 
 17. Then Paul called, etc. As 
 he was under military guard he would 
 have no trouble in sending a message 
 by a soldier. A certain thing — better, 
 something to tell him. The divine 
 promise (ver. ii) led him to use every 
 means of safety with hopefulness. He 
 shows considerable wisdom and execu- 
 tive ability. 
 
 18. Paul the prisoner— <Ae one 
 bound, indicating that he may have 
 been bound to a soldier, and could thus 
 easily send the message to the centurion. 
 Paul often applied this term to himself. 
 
 (F.ph. 3 : 1 ; 4 : 1 ; 2 Tim. 1:8; Philem. 1, 9, 1.^.) 
 
 19. Everything in connection with 
 this incident moves on with soldier-like 
 order, i)romptness, and obedience. As 
 well as being a Roman citizen, Paul 
 was gaining a certain influence by per- 
 sonal power and character. Took him 
 by the hand— kindly to lead him 
 aside. "To encourage the youth." 
 (Bengel.) 
 
 20. The Jews have agreed, etc. 
 (See ver. 12-15.) Paul's uephew speaks in 
 a popular way as he understood it. 
 As though they would inquire — 
 as if the Sanhedrin would more 
 thoroughly investigate the matter. Tbe 
 Revised Version translates, As though 
 thou 7oouldst inquire; as in the former 
 meeting. (22:30.) 
 
 21. For there lie in wait . . . 
 lookiiijg for a promise from thee 
 — an assent to their pro])osal. The cou- 
 spiracy was so completely arranged and 
 assured, that Paul's ne})hew speaks of 
 its details as a matter of fact. What 
 
354 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIIl. 
 
 22 promise from thee. So the chief captain 
 the.ii let the young man depart, and 
 charged him. See thou tell no man that 
 thou hast showed these things to me. 
 
 23 And he called unto hint two centurions, 
 saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers 
 to go to Csesarea, and horsemen three- 
 
 score and ten, and spearmen twoihundred, 
 
 24 at the third hour of the night ; and pro- 
 vide them beasts, that they may set Paul 
 on, and bring him safe unto Felix the 
 governor. 
 
 25 And ne wrote a letter after this man- 
 
 26 ner: Claudius Lysias unto the most ex. 
 
 was about to take place the next morn- 
 ing is present to his mind. 
 2'Z. See thon tell no man. The 
 
 chief captain enjoins secrecy, because 
 he would at once send Paul away ; and 
 he would not have the Jews know the 
 real cause of the step taken, nor excite 
 their prejudices against himself, or 
 against tlie young man. 
 
 23-35. Paul is sent to Felix at 
 Ctesarea. The Letter of Lysias, 
 THE Roman Commander. May, a. d. 
 58. The prompt action of Lysias sliows 
 his honesty of purpose. Had he been 
 disposed to please the Jews, he could 
 have allowed Paul to become a victim 
 to their malice ; or he would have sent 
 Paul to the Sanhedrin under a strong 
 guard and thus displayed his own 
 power. 
 
 23, The chief captain felt that an 
 exigency had come. He must act vig- 
 orously and at once. He called unto 
 him two centurions — more exactly, 
 some two centurions, meaning about 
 two, but not less than two, equivalent 
 to two or three. Tavo hundred sol- 
 diers — the common foot soldiers. The 
 seventy horsemen were tlie ordinary 
 Roman cavalry. The two hundred 
 spearmen are not so easily identified. 
 The word is rare in the Greek, and 
 means literally those who f/nisp the 
 weapon wit/i the right hand, such as 
 spearmen or lancers or casters of the 
 javelin. They were probably liglit 
 armed troops, distinguished from heavy 
 infantry and cavalry. The number of 
 the troops, four hundred and seventy, 
 indicates the danger arising from the 
 popuhir excitement and the fanaticism 
 of tlie .Tews, as well as ft-om the assassins 
 or rol)l)ers who infested the country. 
 The chief captain's order is urgent: 
 3Iake ready, etc., Forthwith make 
 ready to march, etc. The third hour of 
 the night; nine o'clock. The days, 
 about May 26, were near the longest. 
 Paul's nephew probably brought his 
 message in the afternoon, perhaps 
 
 late in the day. There was no time to 
 lose, in order to avoid violence and 
 complication with the Jews. 
 
 24. And provide them beasts — 
 
 several being needed to relieve one 
 another in a hurried march, and per- 
 haps in carrying baggage. Felix, the 
 governor, or procurator of Juden, ap- 
 pointed in tlie autumn of A. D. 52, and 
 recalled to Rome in the summer of A. D, 
 60. (24 ; 27.) He and his brother Pallas 
 were originallj' slaves, and afterward 
 freemen in the house of the mother of 
 the Emperor Claudius. Pallas became 
 a favorite of the emperor, and through 
 his influence Felix was appointed pro- 
 curator of Judea, and retained his po- 
 sition seveial years under Nero after 
 the death of Claudius. Felix was con- 
 nected with the Herodian family by his 
 marriage to Drusilla, the daughter of 
 Herod Agrijipa I. (a ■■':*.) He was a 
 man of great energy, but avaricious, 
 cruel, and licentious. Tacitus savs 
 of him (Hist. V. 9) : " He used the 
 power of a king with the t«mper of a 
 slave, with every kind of cruelty and 
 licentiousness." With this agrees the 
 narrative of Joseplnis, who represents 
 his administration as attended with 
 troubles and seditions on the one hand, 
 and cruelty, corrui^tiou, and profligacy 
 on tlie other. 
 
 25. He wrote a letter after 
 this manner, or haring this form. 
 Whether the letter was written in Latin 
 or Greek cannot be jiositively known ; 
 but it is implied that its meaning is 
 faithfully given. It was a judicial 
 document which Felix would naturally 
 preserve for reference. Luke was with 
 Paul more or less during his two years' 
 imprisonment at Ctcsarea, and as he 
 was searching diligently into the be- 
 ginnings of Christianity (i.uke i : 1-4), we 
 maj' well believe that he in some way 
 saw and copied it, or obtained its pur- 
 port. Paul himself very likely learned 
 its contents from Felix in his frequent 
 conversations with him. (2* : 26.) The 
 
Ch. XXIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 355 
 
 cellent governor Felix send-eth greet- 
 
 27 iug. dxhis luan was taken of the Jews, 
 and should have beeu killed of them : 
 then came I with an army, and rescued 
 him, having understood that he was a 
 
 28 Roman. "And when I would have known 
 the cause wherefore they accused him, I 
 brought him forth into their council : 
 
 29 whom I perceived to be accused 'of ques- 
 
 tions of their law, e but to have nothing 
 laid to his charge worthy of death or of 
 
 30 bonds. And •• when it was told me how 
 that the Jews laid wait for the man, I 
 sent straightway to thee, and 'gave com- 
 mandment to his accusers also to say 
 before thee what Ihift/ had against him. 
 Farewell. 
 
 31 'Ihen the soldiers, as it was commanded 
 
 « ch. 21 : 33 ; 24 : 7. « ch. 22 : 30. 
 
 f ch. 18 : 15 ; 25 : 19. 
 i ch. 2 : 8. 
 
 8 ch. 20 : 31. 
 
 >> ver. 20. 
 
 letter was in accordance with the Roman 
 law, whicii required a subordinate offi- 
 cer, in sending a prisoner to the higlier 
 autliority for trial, to send a written 
 statement of the case. On this case it 
 is ratiier in favor of Paul, than against 
 him. 
 
 2G. Claudius was probably the 
 Latin name which the cliief captain 
 assumed in purchasing his riglit to 
 citizenship (2.i : 28) ; and Lysias may 
 have been his original Greek name. 
 We know nothing of liim beyond what 
 is recorded in the Acts. Most excel- 
 lent— an appellation addressed to men 
 of conspicuous rank or office, and a title 
 usually given to a governor, (2* ; 3 ; 
 
 26:?5. See Luke 1 : 4.) 
 
 27. This man, the more respectful 
 word for man is used in the original, 
 doubtless l)ecause he was about to 
 speak of Paul as a Eomau citizen. 
 The same distijiction exists in the Latin 
 words for man. Having under- 
 stood that he was a Roman. 
 This Lysias gives as the reason for 
 rescuing him, whereas he knew noth- 
 ing of the fact till he had seized Paul 
 and was prepared to scourge him. 
 Military officers commonly love to 
 make as favorable reports of their 
 achievements as possilde to their 
 superiors, and so Lysias claims credit 
 for rescuing a Roman citizen. The claim 
 was false in the first instance (21 -si, 32: 
 J2 : j.i), but true in the second, when 
 Paul was amid the exciting fury of the 
 Sauhedrin. (ver. 10.) But as Paul jcas 
 taken or seized by the Jews in the first 
 instance, the most favorable construc- 
 tion that can be put upon Lysias' 
 language is, that he speaks loosely and 
 with equivocation. He evidently 
 wished to throw a veil over his first 
 grave mistake and its subsequent cor- 
 rection. In this deviation from the 
 
 truth we see an evidence of the 
 genuineness of the letter. 
 
 28. When I Avould have known, 
 
 etc. — better, And tvishing to know 
 the crime, which the Jews claimed 
 to be worthy of deatli. (-n-.ti.) Lysias 
 had j)roposed to learn this by scourging 
 (•22:24), but he passes this in silence, 
 and refers to his attempt through the 
 Sauliedrin. (22:30.) 
 
 29. Whom I perceivcd^rather. 
 Whom I found accused of crimes, 
 relating to questions, or discussions, of 
 their law. Tliese seemed of small im- 
 portance to tlie Roman commander, as 
 they had previously to Gallio at Cor- 
 inth (18:15); and he affirms that they 
 were worthy neither of death, the 
 highest i^enalty of the law, nor of 
 bonds, the lowest. 
 
 30. That the Jews — omitted by 
 the highest critical authorities. Trans- 
 late, And it being shown me that there 
 was about to be a plot against the man, 
 though regarding liim innocent, / sent 
 him to thee forthwith, as a means of 
 safety, and because tliou art a fitter 
 person than myself to deal with such 
 a case. To say before thee, etc. 
 Or, according to mauy ancient authori- 
 ties, to speak against him before thee. 
 Farewell— tlie usual ending of a 
 Greek ei>istle. (see on 13 : 29.) The word 
 is omitted in some ancient manuscripts, 
 but found in others. 
 
 31. The soldiers would promptly 
 obey the order, and brought Paul by 
 night to Antipatris, having made a 
 rapid march of about thirty-eight 
 miles, northwest from Jerusalem, ar- 
 riving probably about 6 A. M. Jose- 
 phus says tliat the old name was 
 Caphar 8aba (town of Saba), and that 
 wlien Herod the Great rebuilt the citj^, 
 he changed the name to Antipatris in 
 honor of his father Antipater. {Antiq. 
 
856 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIII. 
 
 them, took Paul, and brought him by 
 
 32 night to Antipatris. On the morrow they 
 left the horsemen to go with him, and re- 
 
 33 turned to the castle; who, when they 
 came to Caesarea, and delivered the epis- 
 tle to the governor, presented Paul also 
 
 34 before him. And when the governor had 
 
 read the letter, he asked of what province 
 he was. And when he understood that 
 35 he Wits of k Cilicia ; ' I will hear thee, said 
 he, when thine accusers are also come. 
 And he commanded him to be kept in 
 ■" Herod's judgment hall. 
 
 kch. 21:39. ' ch. 24 ; 1, 10; 25 : 16. 
 
 Matt. 27 : 27. 
 
 xvi. 5:2.) The soldiers would proba- 
 bly take the shortest and most direct 
 route by Gophna, over the paved 
 Roman road. The modern Kefr Saba 
 has been regarded as the site of Anti- 
 patris,upou a slight eminence on the last 
 line of liills which overlook the plain 
 of Sharon. Captain Condor puts it a 
 few miles further south, at the ruined 
 site of Has el Ain in the plain of 
 Sliaron, where the river Avian gushes 
 fortli a full-sized stream. {Twenty-one 
 Years' Work in the Holy Land, pp. 
 86, .S7.) 
 
 32. On the morrow — after resting 
 a few hours the footmen and lancers 
 return doubtless more leisurely to the 
 castle, where they might be needed 
 if any tumult arose. Tlie seventy 
 horsemen were a sufficient guard for 
 the rest of the journey, as Paul was 
 now out of reach of i)ursuit. 
 
 33. Who — the horsemen. Came, 
 or entered into Casarea, having proba- 
 bly passed over the twenty-six miles 
 from Antipatris in four or five hours. 
 Cirsarea was the headquaitei-s of the 
 Roman Governor. (SceonS: 40.) 
 
 34. And Avhen the governor 
 had read the letter. According to 
 the oldest manuscripts, simply, Aitd 
 having read it he asked. His first 
 question would naturally be. Of what 
 province he was, so as to decide 
 whether to send him to some other 
 procurator, or to a proconsul. So 
 Pilat« learned that Jesus was a Gali- 
 lean, and sent him to Herod. (Luke 23: 
 6.7.) And Avhen he understood — 
 having learned from the centurions, or 
 from Paul himself, that he was of 
 Cilicia. (seeons :».) At one time 
 Cilicia was attached to the jirovince of 
 Syria, and possibly may have been at 
 this time, and this perhaps may explain 
 why Felix without further question 
 decided to hear the case. 
 
 35. I will hear thee fully. 
 According to Roman law a case thus 
 
 sent up from a lower to a higher court 
 must be fully heard anew. If 
 Cilicia was a separate province at that 
 time, Felix doubtlesss inferred from 
 the letter of Lysias, that Paul's case 
 was not of sufficient importance to send 
 him thither. (See preceding verse.) 
 In Herod's judgment hall — 
 literally, the pra:torium of Herod; 
 that is, the palace built by Herod the 
 Great, and now occupied as the resi- 
 dence of the governor. It would seem 
 that some apartment of the edifice, 
 within its precincts, was set apart for 
 the imprisonment of state prisoners. 
 From this verse and from 24 : 23, 24, it 
 appears that Paul was not treated as a 
 common prisoner, and that he was near 
 at hand. He was " a Roman and 
 uncondemned," and must not be treated 
 with needless severity. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. A good conscience is a precious boon, a 
 director, a comfort, and a defence, but not 
 always an infallible guide. (Ver. 1 ; 24 : IG; 
 Rom. 2: 15; 1 Tim. 4 : 3.) 
 
 2. How often, like Paul, are Christians 
 made partakers of the sufferings of Christ, 
 by insults from a wicked world. (Ver. 2 ; 5 : 
 28 ; John 18 : 22 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 13.) 
 
 3. There is enough in Paul's example to 
 follow, without claiming for him absolute 
 perfection, or imitating his impetuosity of 
 temper. (Ver. 3 ; 1 Cor. 11 : X.) 
 
 4. We should revere a divinely appointed 
 office. The claims of too many, however, 
 are not sustained by God's word. (Ver. 4, 
 5 ; 3 John 5-8 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 3.) 
 
 5. The Christian may at times act from 
 policy and prudence. Paul thus divided 
 his foes, and showed his innocence to the 
 chief captain. (Ver. 6-9 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 16.) 
 
 6. When we find truth mixed with erro- 
 neous doctrines and practices, we can often 
 utilize it to advantage. (Ver. 6 ; John 4 . 
 20, 21.) 
 
 7. The contention of sects sometimes gives 
 
Cii. XXIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 357 
 
 PauPi trial before FeMx; and imprisonment 
 
 for two years at Cwsarrea. 
 24 AND after five days ■> Ananias the high 
 
 priest descended with the elders, and with. 
 a certain orator named Tertullus, who in- 
 formed the governor against Paul. 
 
 n oh. 23 : 2, 30, 35 ; 25 : 2. 
 
 opportunity for the presentation and growth 
 of truth. (Ver. 6-9.) 
 
 8. The opposers of Christ are actuated by 
 a coninioii hsitred to truth, but their motives 
 are selli.sh, and they have no permanent bond 
 of union. (Ver. 10 ; Luke 23 : 12.) 
 
 9. The Lord gives blessing, grace, and 
 promises to his afflicted people, as they need 
 them. (Ver. 11 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 9.) 
 
 10. To what lengths religious fanaticism 
 leads ! to infuriated malice, wicked oaths, 
 and deliberately planned murder. (Ver. 12, 
 13 ; Matt. 27 : 2.5.) 
 
 11. Too often have the professed leaders 
 of God's people joined in with Christ's 
 enemies as persecutors. (Ver. 14; 9:1, 2.) 
 
 12. Righteousness and justice have indeed 
 fallen when God's people can resort to de- 
 ception and conspiracies. (Ver. 15; Ps. 
 37 : 12.) 
 
 13 The Lord's promise to be with his ser- 
 vants is a pledge of all necessary providen- 
 tial deliverances. (Ver. 11, 16; 18 : 9, 10.) 
 
 14. The promises of God do not exempt us 
 from the use of ordinary means in attaining 
 the object. (Ver. 16-21 ; 27 : 25, 43, 44.) 
 
 16. The Lord often, in an unexpected way, 
 exposes the devices of the enemy, and raises 
 up friends and protectors for his children. 
 (Ver 16-21 ; Ps. 7 : 14-16.) 
 
 16. We are in God's hands, by night as well 
 as by day, among strangers and enemies, as 
 well as among friends. (Ver. 22-24; Ps. 
 34 : 7.) 
 
 17. The Lord often uses human govern- 
 ments, as well as his angels and the elements 
 of nature, in behalf of his servants. (Ver. 
 22-24; 2Thes8. 2:7.) 
 
 18. Though the wicked prefer the night for 
 their deeds of darkness, it often affords the 
 best time for acts of justice and mercy. (Ver. 
 23 ; 17 : 10.) 
 
 19. " How justly God brought the Jewish 
 people under the Roman yoke, when such a 
 part of the Roman army was necessary to 
 restrain them from the most execrable vil- 
 lainies." (Ver. 23, 24.) (Matthew Henry.) 
 
 20. The Christian carries with him a per- 
 sonal spiritual influence, and is an epistle 
 read and known of all. A letter accompa- 
 
 nied Paul, the prisoner, but he himself was 
 a living letter to Felix. (Ver. 25-30 ; 24 : 25 ; 
 2 Cor. 2 : 3.) 
 
 21. Questions of religious truth are little 
 regarded by worldly men. (Ver. 29 ; John 
 18 : 38.) 
 
 22. Pagans have often been more lenient 
 to the truth than bigoted and hypocritical 
 professors of religion. (Ver. 30 ; John 19 : 
 12.) 
 
 23. Paul rides, accompanied with guards 
 of soldiers, like a prisoner of state. The Lord 
 provided and directed the journey. (Ver. 
 31-33.) 
 
 24. The Lord prepared a resting place for 
 Paul at Ctesarea, with present work, and 
 preparation for future missions. Here Luke 
 found time for his researches. Had Paul 
 not been a prisoner at Cssarea, we might not 
 have had Luke's Gospel and the Acts. (Ver. 
 31-35.) 
 
 Ch. 24 : In this chapter Luke nar- 
 rates concerning Paul and Felix. We 
 have Paul's third defense, and his mild 
 treatment by the governor ; and after- 
 ward, his reasoning concerning the 
 Christian faith, which arouses the gov- 
 ernor's conscience. During two years 
 Felix often talks with him, with the 
 hope of obtaining a bribe for his release, 
 but failing in tliis, to gratify the Jews, 
 he leaves Paul a prisoner at the close of 
 his administration. 
 
 1-23. Paul's Trial BEFORE Felix. 
 
 TERTULLU.S' ACCFSATION ; PaUL'S 
 
 Defense ; Felix Defers the Mat- 
 ter. (Rom. 15: 25, 26; 1 Cor. 16 : 3, 4 ; 2 Cor. 
 
 8 : 1-4; 9 : 1. 2.) About May 30, A. D. 58. 
 
 1. After five days — from Paul's 
 departure from Jerusalem and arrival 
 at Cffisarea, for both occurred on the 
 same day ; according to the Jewish 
 mode of reckoning, the day beginning 
 at sunset. (23 : 31-33.) The jive days are 
 probably to be taken Judaically, mean- 
 ing the fifth day. (Matt. 27 : 63, 64.) 
 Ananias, still feeling Paul's rebuke 
 (23 : 3) ; the elders, or with the oldest 
 manuscripts, certain or sotne elders, 
 especially those of the sect of the Sad- 
 
358 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIV. 
 
 2 And when he was called forth, Tertul- 
 lus began to accuse kirn, saying, "Seeing 
 that by thee we enjoy great quietness, 
 and that very worthy deeds are done 
 
 3 unto this nation by thy providence, we 
 accept it always, and in all places, most 
 
 4 noble Felix, with all thankfulness. Not- 
 
 withstanding, that I be not further 
 tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou 
 wouldest hear us of thy clemency a lew 
 words. pFor we have found this man 
 a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition 
 among all the Jews throughout the world, 
 and a ringleader of the sect of the Naza- 
 
 ' Ps. 12 : 2, 3 ; Trov. 26 : 2S ; 29 
 
 p ch. 6 : 13 ; 17 : G ; 21 ; 28 ; Matt. 2 : 23 ; Luke 23 : 2. 
 
 ducees. The elders of the Pharisees 
 would uot likely go down. (23:9.) A 
 certain orator, Tertullus — the 
 name is a modification of the Latin 
 Tertius. He was probably a Roman, 
 and was an orator or speaker. He was 
 doubtless chosen as an advocate, because 
 of his knowledge of Roman law, and 
 his ability to represent Paul as a dan- 
 gerous and turbulent fellow. Who, 
 referring to Tertullus and the whole 
 deputation. Informed the governor 
 — made known the charges against 
 Paul. The verb is used in 25 : 2, 15, 
 of laying formal information or com- 
 plaint before a judge. 
 
 2. When he, Paul, was called, 
 cited to appear by the crier of the 
 court, according to Roman law, which 
 gave an opportunity of a hearing and of 
 self-defense. (25 : le.) Tertullus began 
 to accuse him. We have but the 
 beginning and an abstract of his speech. 
 Some suppose it was uttered in Latin, 
 but not necessarily; for at that time 
 trials were permitted in Greek. This 
 and the next two verses are occupied 
 with com})liments to the judge. Seeing 
 that by thee Ave enjoy great qui- 
 etness, or much peace. There was 
 some truth in this. By severe measures 
 Felix had put down riots at Jerusalem 
 and Ciesarea, and waged war against 
 false Messiahs and wandering bands 
 that infested the country. " As to the 
 number of robbers whom he caused to 
 be crucified, and of those who were 
 caught among them, and whom he 
 brought to punishment, they were a 
 multitude not to be enumerated." 
 (JOSEPHUS, Jewish War, II. 13, 2.) 
 Felix was to be praised for putting 
 down .sedition. And that very worthy 
 deeds, wholesome puldic measures, 
 are done for this nation by thy provi- 
 dence, through thy forethouglit, thy 
 })rudent administration. This was ex- 
 aggeration. His severity bore evil fruit, 
 and a s^J'iel ambition showed itself. 
 
 Within two years of this he was accused 
 by the Jews of bad government, and was 
 recalled to Rome. (Se» on 24 : 27.) 
 
 3. We accept, and acknoivled<je it 
 always and everywhere . . . Avith all 
 thankfulness. This was gross flattery. 
 He was denounced among the Jews for 
 his cruelty and greed, (see ou 23 : 24.) 
 
 4. Notwithstanding . . . uot 
 further tedious — but that 1 may not 
 hinder or detain thee longer than 
 proper, not so much by the preamble as 
 by the few words about to be ad- 
 vanced. Tertullus would inii)ly that 
 Felix's j)ublic duties were onerous and 
 his time precious : hence he must be 
 brief. Thy clemency — thy conde- 
 scending »7ii'W«f6-s ox fairness, im])lying 
 a reasonableness and a freedom from 
 extremes. But Felix was far from being 
 noted for the trait of character here ap- 
 plied to him, as well-known. Thus 
 Tertullus, in following tlie rules of 
 rhetoricians in making his introduc- 
 tion conciliatory, fell into gross flattery 
 and exaggeration. 
 
 5. Tertullus now proceeds to make 
 charges against Paul. They were three : 
 sedition, heresy, and profanation of the 
 temjjle. Me have found this man 
 a pestilent fellow — better, a pest, a 
 mischievous, dangerous i)er.son. A 
 mover of sedition, or insurrections. 
 Tlie plural is to be preferred. This first 
 charge was the best .'<uited to arouse the 
 hostility of Felix. Death was the pen- 
 alty of this crime. Throughout the 
 world — that is, the Roman world. 
 Jeru.«aleiB was full of strangers who 
 had come to the feast. Very likely the 
 Jews had gathered reports against Paul 
 from his enemies in Asia Minor, Mace- 
 donia, and Greece, rejiresenting his 
 seditious conduct. At Thessalonica lie 
 and his companions had been accused 
 of turning the world upside down. 
 
 (17:6.7.) 
 
 A ringleader. The Greek word is 
 a military term, meaning a front-rank 
 
Ch. XXIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 359 
 
 6 renes ; i who also hat.li gone a'oout to pro- 
 fane the temple: whom we took, and 
 would ' have judged according to our law. 
 
 7 'liut the chief captain Lysias ca,mo upon 
 us, and with great violence took him 
 
 8 away out of our hands, 'commanding his 
 
 accusers to coiue unto thee: by examin- 
 ing of whom thyself mayesl take knowl- 
 edge of all these things, whereof we 
 accuse him. 
 9 "And the Jews also assented, saying, 
 That these things were so. 
 
 1 ch. 21 : 27-29. 
 
 • John 18 : 31. 
 
 ' ch. 21 : 33. t ch. 23 : 30. » Isa. .59 : 4. 
 
 man in an army. Of the sect. In 
 
 addition to bi.s being an insurrectionist, 
 he is charged with being a foremost 
 leader of a dangerous and heretical re- 
 ligious organization. This to the Jewish 
 mind was his greatest crime. Of the 
 Nazarenes — a name of reproach 
 which the Jews gave to Christians. 
 (See Johu 1 : 46.) The name is still applied 
 by Jews and Mohammedans. This is 
 the only passage in the New Testament 
 where it is applied to the followers of 
 Jesus. They would not call his follow- 
 ers Christians, for the word Ch rist, mean- 
 ing Messiah, was too sacred, and to give 
 them such a name would be yielding 
 too much to the claims of Jesus and his 
 disciples. 
 
 7. Who also hath gone about, 
 rather, wAo also attempted to profane 
 the temple. Notice that the original 
 charge, made amid popular excitement 
 of profaning the temple (21 : 28) is modi- 
 fied to an attempt at profanation. This 
 was against Roman as well as Jewish 
 law, since the former protected Jews in 
 the exercise of their worship, and en- 
 gaged to keep the temple sacred. 
 Whom we took, or arrested as a 
 grave offender. Throughout, Tertullus 
 speaks in the first person as the mouth- 
 piece of the Jews. 
 
 The words that follow, including 
 ver. 7 and the first clause of ver. 8, 
 from and would have judged to 
 come unto thee inclusive, are 
 omitted in most of the oldest manu- 
 scripts and by the critical Greek Testa- 
 ments, while the Greek text in those 
 manuscripts where it is found exhibit 
 various readings. If the words were 
 originally in the text, we can see no 
 reason why they were omitted. The 
 address seems too l)rief without them ; 
 the pause in the thought at whom we 
 took, seems too abrupt, and the words 
 which are omitted are such as might be 
 expected from an advocate who would 
 make a most favorable showing for the 
 Jews. While the external evidence is 
 
 against the passage, thougli conflicting, 
 the internal evidence is for it. Alford 
 has retained it in brackets as doubtful. 
 So the Bible Union Version. The Re- 
 vised Version puts it in the margin. 
 Both the Syriac and Vulgate Versions 
 have the passage. 
 
 7. But the chief captain Lysias 
 . . . with great violence. This 
 astute lawyer would represent the arrest 
 of Paul by the Jews as legal, and the 
 acts of the chief captain as violent and 
 despotic. Perhaps his object was to 
 obtain the surrender of Paul to the 
 Jewish authorities for trial. His mis- 
 statements are obvious. The Jews were 
 seeking to kill Paul, beating him, when 
 Lysias took him without violence. 
 (2i:3i-.s3.) Possibly such a perversion 
 of facts by Tertullus may have led some 
 early copyists to omit them. 
 
 8. By examining of whom. 
 Wiom in the Greek is in the singular 
 number and refers to Lysias, if the sup- 
 posed interpolation is retained. And 
 this agrees well with ver. 22, " When 
 Lysias the chief captain shall come 
 down, I will fully inqitire into your 
 matters." Felix could thus learn from 
 him what had really taken place. But 
 if the passage be rejected, then the pro- 
 noun whom must refer to Paul. Of 
 course, Felix would not condemn Paul 
 without examining him. Perhaps Ter- 
 tullus thought that Paul would evi- 
 dently appear in the eyes of Felix to 
 be a mover of seditions and a leader of 
 a new religion. Yet it was strange for 
 this lawyer to refer to the prisoner as 
 the principal witness. It would indi- 
 cate tlie weakness of his case. Exam- 
 ining has no reference to torture, which 
 is not suggested by the context. As 
 Roman citizens, both Lysias and Paul 
 were exempt from it. It refers to a 
 judicial investigation. (See 12 : 19 ; 28: 
 18, where the same word is used, and 
 compare 2.5 : 26.) 
 
 9. And the Jews — Ananias and 
 the elders (ver. 1), who doubtless had in- 
 
360 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIV. 
 
 10 Then Paul, after that the gorernor had 
 beckoned unto him to speak, answered, 
 Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been 
 of uiany years a judge unto this nation, I 
 do the more cheerfully answer for myself: 
 
 11 because that thou mayest understand, 
 
 that there are yet but twelve days since 
 j[l went up to Jerusalem » for to worship. 
 
 TAnd they neither found me in the 
 temple disputing with any man, neither 
 raising up the peopl»>, neiiher in the syn- 
 agogue, nor in the city : neither can they 
 prove tne things whereof they now accuse 
 me. But this ' I confess unto thee, that 
 after the way which they call heresy, so 
 worship I the God of my fathers, believ- 
 
 ■• ch. 21 : 2C. 7 ch. 25 : 8 ; 28 : 17. « Ps. 119 : 46 ; Matt. 10 : 32. 
 
 structed their advocate. Also as- | 
 sented — rather, jointly set upon him, '. 
 unitedly a&sailed him, by formally and 
 solemnly alleging that the charges were 
 true. 
 
 10. Then Paul, after that the 
 governor had beckoned, or nodded 
 to him, answered. Paul's first de- 
 fense had been before a vast crowd of 
 Jews (ch. 2i) ; his second before the 8an- 
 hedriu (23 ; 1-9) ; this, the third, before '. 
 the Koman governor in the presence of 
 the leaders of the Sanhedrin. Paul 
 here shows great frankness, manliness, 
 and truthfulness, in contrast to the flat- 
 teries and perversions of TertuUus ; 
 and meets each of the charges brought 
 against him. (Soeonver. 5.) He begins, 
 like Tertullus, with a conciliatory intro- 1 
 duction, ascribing to Felix an import- 
 ant qualification, that he had been 
 of many years a judge of this 
 nation, and therefore enjoyed abun- 
 dant opportunity of knowing the Jews 
 and the character of their leaders, and 
 something too of Christians. It was 
 now A. D. 58, and he had been six years 
 procurator, which was longer than most 
 of the governors served. Tacitus also 
 states that he before had been governor 
 of Samaria, when Cumanus was gover- 
 nor of Judtea. The more cheer- 
 fully — or simply, cheerfully, accord- 
 ing to the oldest manuscripts. He 
 could make his defense with good cour- 
 in/f before one who knew well Jewish 
 manners and customs. 
 
 11. Paul meets the first charge of 
 exciting sedition. This he denies, and 
 demands the proof. Because thou 
 mayest understand, etc. Better, 
 Since thou mayent ascertain that if is 
 not more than twelve days, etc. Felix 
 could readily learn that he had been 
 only six or seven days at Jerusalem, 
 and what he had been doing in that 
 short a time — too short indeed for 
 stirring up seditious, So far from that, 
 
 the object of his visit was to worship, 
 
 indicating a humble and reverent state 
 of mind, entirely inconsistent with ex- 
 citing seditions and profaning the 
 temple. The twelve days may be reck- 
 oned thus : Commencing the evening 
 of Paul's arrival at Jerusalem, first 
 day, being Pentecost, he met with James 
 (21 : i5-.'5) ; second day, he undertakes 
 the Na/.arite vow in the temple ; third 
 to sixth day, continues the Nazarites' 
 ceremonies and was arrested (-inii-n:)) ; 
 seventh day, arraigned before the San- 
 hedrin; eighth day, the Jewish con- 
 spiracy ; ninth day, beginning with the 
 evening, Paul is taken by night to An- 
 tipatris and thence to Ca'sarea by day ; 
 tenth to twelfth day, confined in Herod's 
 palace ; thirteenth day, appeared l)efore 
 Felix, after five days. (21 : 1.) This 
 allows twelve full days since Paul's 
 arrival at Jerusalem, which best accords 
 with that accuracy which Paul would 
 naturally use before a civil tribunal. 
 (Compare Harmonic Arrangement, ^ 
 40.) 
 
 12. Paul emphatically denies the 
 I charge. The Jews had not found him 
 
 even disputing, much less causing a 
 tumult uf the people either in the tern- 
 ! pie, or the synagogues, or in the streets 
 of the city. They themselves had 
 stirred up the crowd. 
 
 13. Neither could they prove their 
 charges. They could make assertions 
 
 i (ver.9), but they could give no formal 
 
 I evidence, such as the law required. 
 This was Paul's right and their duty. 
 
 j 14. Paul proceeds to meet the second 
 charge, that of heresy, (ver. 5.) He 
 frankly confesses that he belongs to 
 what they call a sect, but declares that 
 he believes all of the law and the 
 prophets, holds to a resurrection, and 
 constantly strives to lead a moral and 
 
 : religious life. The Avay of worshiping 
 God (^ :2) which they call heresy, 
 
 '' rather, a sect, the same as that traaa- 
 
Ch. XXIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 361 
 
 ing all things which are written in »the 16 just. And ^ herein do I exercise myself, 
 15 Law and in the Pro})hets : and ^ have to have always a conscience void of 
 
 hope toward (iod, which they tlieniselves otfence toward God, and toward men. 
 
 also allow "that there shall he a resurrec- 17 Mow after many years'! came to bring 
 tiou of the dead, both of the just and uu- | 
 
 » ch. 26 : 22 ; 28 : 23 ; John 1 : 45. •> ch. 23 : 6 ; 26 : 6, 7. « Job 19 : 25, 26 ; Dan. 12 : 2 ; 
 John 5 : 28, 29 ; I'hil. 3 : 21. d ch. 23 : 1 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 9 ; 1 Peter 3:16. ° ch. 11 : 29, 30 ; 
 Gal. 2 : 10. 
 
 lated sect in ver. 5. The idea is that of 
 a religious parti/ with a shade of re- 
 proach. Tertullus had used the word 
 iu a bad seuse. (ver. i.) The term is 
 applied to the Pharisees aud Saddu- 
 cees in 15 : 5; 5 : 17. So worship or 
 serve I the God of my fathers, 
 which Paul regards as iu accordance 
 with the highest development of the 
 religion of Israel. As one of the sects 
 of the Jews, Paul could claim the 
 same toleration from the Romans for 
 the Nazarenes as for the others. The 
 worship is that of ol)ligation. Paul 
 had not cast off any of his allegiance 
 to God. Believing all things which 
 are written in the law and in the 
 prophets. He accepted and held to 
 all the Jewish Scriptures ; for so they 
 
 are often termed. (Luka 16: 16; John l : 45.) 
 
 15. Having hope . . . which 
 they themselves also alloAV — 
 namely, of a resurrection. This 
 hope grew out of his belief in the law 
 and the prophets. The resurrection 
 was held by the Jewish nation as a 
 whole, and especially by the Pharisees, 
 the Sadducees wlio denied the doctrine 
 being a comparatively small party. 
 The words of the dead are wanting 
 in the oldest manuscripts. Of the 
 just and unjust. The resurrection 
 of both the righteous and the wicked 
 
 is clearly taught. (Dan. 12: 2;-l Cor. 5: 
 
 10, 11.) In thus addressing Felix, Paul 
 explains as intelligently as he possibly 
 could to one who was not a Jew, the 
 true relation of Christianity to the 
 religion of Israel. So far from apos- 
 tatizing from his religion, or from even 
 being a sectarian, he worshiped the 
 same God, believed the same Scriptures, 
 and entertained the same hope of the 
 future. 
 
 16. And, moreover, the aim and 
 conduct of his life was conscientious- 
 ly to do his duty, according to God's 
 word, both to God and men. Herein 
 — in thii hope and in expectation of 
 
 that day — (ver. 15) — do I exercise 
 
 myself^jetter, do I also myself, as 
 well as they^ strive. This verb was 
 applied to athletic strife and train- 
 ing, and then to severe moral disci- 
 pline. About five years later, Paul 
 says, " I press toward the mark for the 
 prize." (Phil. 3:14.) To have always 
 a conscience void of offence, 
 etc. — a blameless or unojf'ended con- 
 science, not troubled and distressed by 
 a consciousness of sin. Compare sim- 
 ilar words before Ananias, which these 
 serve to explain. (^3:1.) The refer- 
 ence to the resurrection, and to his 
 careful conscientious life iu view of it, 
 was fitted to touch the conscience of 
 Felix. Toward God and man. 
 Illustrated partly by what follows, 
 alms to men and offerings to God. 
 (Ver. 17.) Such a man was not likely to 
 be a profaner of the temple, or a mover 
 of seditions. 
 
 17. Paul meets the third charge, 
 that of profaning the temijle. (ver. 6.) 
 After many, some years. His last 
 visit to Jeru.salem was iu A. D. 54 
 (i« : 22) ; it was now A. D. 58. To bring 
 alms to my nation — which Paul 
 and his companions had collected in 
 the churches of Macedonia and Achaia 
 for the relief of believers at Jerusa- 
 lem, which are often alluded to in his 
 
 epistles. (Rom. 15 : 25, 26 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1-4 ; 2 Cor. 
 
 8:1-4; 9 :i, 2.) This Is the Only place in 
 the Acts where these contributions are 
 mentioned. In this incidental, un- 
 designed and natural way, in which 
 the Acts coincides with the epistles 
 (written within the preceding year) 
 and the epistles make u]i the deficiency 
 of the Acts, we see, as Paley has shown, 
 unmistakable evidences of the credi- 
 bility of the writings of both Paul and 
 Luke. And offerings — also, or even 
 offerings. The noun, as Dr. Hackett 
 remarks, depends loosely on the verb 
 to bring. It seems to have been added 
 almost as an after thought, of the saC' 
 
362 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIV. 
 
 18 alms to my nation, and oflferings. 'Where- 
 upon certain Jews from Asia found me 
 purified in tlie temple, neither with mul- 
 
 19 titude, nor with tumult. eWho ought to 
 have been here before thee, and object, 
 
 20 if they had aught against me. Or else 
 let these same here say, if they have found 
 any evil doing in me, while 1 stood before 
 
 21 the council, except it be for this one 
 voice, that 1 critd standing among them, 
 i" Touching the resurrection of the dead I 
 am called in question by you this d»y. 
 
 22 And when Felix heard these things, 
 having more perfect knowledge of that 
 way, he deferred them, and said. When 
 Lysias the chief captain shall come down, 
 
 'ch. 21 : '26-30 ; 2G : 21. e ch. 23 : 30; 25 : 16. «> ch. 23 : 6 ; 28 : 20. 
 
 rifices he was making, or would have 
 made in connection with the Nazarites. 
 (21 : 26.) Alexander thus paraphrases 
 it : " ilow could I come up to defile 
 the temple and divide the people, when 
 I brought relief to many poor among 
 them ; yes, and while there actually 
 ofiered sacrifices at the very sanctuary 
 which I am accused of trying to pro- 
 fane." 
 
 18. Whereupon — rather, inichich, 
 amid such business of aiding the poor 
 and performing sacrifice. The oldest 
 manuscripts have which in a gender 
 which makes it refer more particularly 
 to offerings: While engaged in these 
 offerings they found me purijied in the 
 temple, according to the Nazarite vow. 
 (21 : 26.) Neither with multitude or 
 crowd, nor with tumult, peaceably, 
 neither disturbing others, nor exciting 
 riots. Just the oi)posite of what Ter- 
 tullus had suggested, (ver. 5.) All au- 
 thorities place certain Jews from 
 Asia in the hitter clause of the verse, 
 and the best manuscripts precede it by 
 Jhit, introducing an unfinished clause, 
 which may be thus supplied, JBitt cer- 
 tain Jeivs'/rom Asia were there gatlier- 
 ing the crowd and causing the tumult. 
 Of these Asiatic Jews, perhaps from 
 Ephesus (■-'' •■'■'T), Paul seems about to 
 speak further, but he refrains, simply 
 adding that they ought to have been 
 present (next verse). 
 
 19. Who ought to have been 
 here . . . and object, rather, and 
 make accusation. These Asiatic Jews 
 had first raised the cry against him 
 (21:27.28), and very likely TertuUus 
 had founded his argument on their in- 
 formation. They should have been 
 there to saj^, if they had aught 
 against him, for it was not the Ro- 
 man custom to judge a prisoner unless 
 his accusers were present. But they 
 were now probably returning home, 
 
 though they were the only proper wit- 
 nesses against him. 
 
 20. Or else, let these themselves 
 say, etc. His accusers present could 
 only si)eak of what i)assed before tbem, 
 as he stood before the Sanhedrin. 
 (23:110.) If they found any evil 
 doing in me — ratlier, what, misdeed 
 they found. Tlie oldest manuscripts 
 omit in vie. Up to that time the tu- 
 mult had been caused by others. Of 
 the division which he caused in the 
 Sauhedrin he proceeds to speak. 
 
 21. Except it be for this one 
 voice — this one exclamation. From 
 23 : 6 we learn that Paul raised his 
 voice, when he spoke of the resurrec- 
 tion. Touching the resurrection, 
 etc. (See on 23 : 6.) The quotation of his 
 own words are as near like those re- 
 corded by Luke as might be expected. 
 He omits hope before resurrection, and 
 adds, this day by, or before you. I am 
 called in question — or, put on 
 trial, that I may be examined, and 
 judgment passed upon me regarding it. 
 This was the only thing that really 
 came under the notice of tlie Sauhe- 
 drin. Paul thus frankly admits that 
 he did cause strife in the Sauhedrin ; 
 but to this declaration of liis faith they 
 could not reasonably object, and he 
 evidently supposes that Felix knew 
 how the peojile were divided on the 
 doctrine of the resurrection, and that 
 the Sadducees present would be op- 
 posed to Paul on that account. It is to 
 be noted that he makes no reference to 
 his rebuke of the high priest, (n ■ s.) 
 As a prediction of God's judgment, he 
 need not refer to it. 
 
 22. Paul's defense, though without 
 witnesses, had its effect on Felix. 
 And Avhen Felix, etc. — according 
 to the oldest and best manuscripts, 
 And Felix put them off, having 
 more accurate knowledge concerning 
 
Ch. XXIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 363 
 
 I will know the iitteiiuost of your matter. 
 
 23 And he commanded a centurion tu keep 
 
 I'aul, aud to let him have liberty, and 
 
 • that he should forbid none of his ac- 
 quaintance to minister or come unto him. 
 24 And after certain days, when Felix 
 
 I ch. 27 : 3 ; 28 : 16. 
 
 the Way, the Christian religion. 
 Felix obtained a clearer view from 
 Paul's defense as to the relation 
 of Christianity to Judaism. He saw 
 that tlie Jews had no case atjainst 
 Paul ; that he had committed no otFence 
 against the Iloman government. Yet 
 Felix, like Pilate before him, wished 
 to conciliate the Jews. He was not 
 bound to fix a set time for the trial, 
 and could hold the j^risoner indefinitely. 
 When Lysias . . . shall come 
 down. Doubtless he came often 
 down to Ciesarea, the residence of the 
 governor; yet this, on the part of 
 Felix, was evidently a courteous, but 
 meaningless excuse. This verse gives 
 support to the genuineness of ver. 7 
 (on which see), in which case he 
 adopts the suggestion of Tertullus. I 
 Avill knoAV the uttermost of your 
 matter — I will fully know by inquiry, 
 and so determine your matter. 
 
 'Z3, The kind treatment and the 
 liberty given Paul show further the 
 good impression made by his defense 
 on Felix. He commanded a, rather, 
 the centurion — the one present, and 
 who had conducted Paul into the pres- 
 ence of Felix, to keep Paul, rather, 
 that he should be guarded and have 
 liberty, or indulgence. The idea is 
 that he should be kept safely, but not 
 closely and severely imprisoned. There 
 were three kinds of custody among the 
 Komans : 1. In the common jail, of 
 which the imprisonment of Paul and 
 Silas at Philippi is an instance. 2. 
 Military custody, in which the ]>risoner 
 was in charge of soldiers, often chained 
 to one. 8. Free custody, in which the 
 accused was released on bail, or en- 
 trusted to the charge of a magistrate, 
 who became responsible for his appear- 
 ance on the day of the trial. It was to 
 the military custody that Paul was now 
 committed, but with an indulgence or 
 the relaxing of prison rules. And for- 
 bid none of his acquaintance, or 
 friends, to minister, or wait on him, 
 supplying any needed want, and com- 
 municating with the outer world. 
 
 Among the friends were doubtless 
 Philip the Evangelist, and other be- 
 lievers at Ciesarea ('n ■ 8), Trophimus 
 (.ii:2i»), Aristarchus (27:2), and Luke, 
 the author of this narrative, (iiria; 
 27:1) Or come — omitted by the 
 highest critical authorities. Perhaps 
 Felix may have hoped that througli 
 these friends money would be given 
 him for Paul's release, (ver.ie.) 
 
 24-27. Paul Befork Felix and 
 Dri'silla. Imprisonment for two 
 Years at C.esarea. a. d. 58-60. 
 
 34. Not long after the trial, after 
 certain days, probably some time in 
 the month of June, A. D. .58, Felix, 
 having been away for a time, came 
 back with his wife Drusilla, etc. 
 She was the daughter of Agrippa I. 
 (12 : 1), and sister of Agrippa II., and of 
 Bernice (25 :-'■•), being a Jewess by 
 birth and profession, though not a very 
 strict one. Josephus says that Agrippa 
 " gave his sister Drusilla in marriage 
 to Azizus, king of Emesa, upon litis 
 consent to be circumcised. . . . But 
 not long after, the marriage of Drusilla 
 and Azizus was dissolved as follows. 
 While Felix was procurator of Judea, 
 he saw Drusilla and fell in love with 
 her, for she did exceed all other women 
 in beauty, and he sent to her one of his 
 friends, a Jew of Cyprus, a magician, 
 to persuade her to forsake her j^rcsent 
 husliand and marry him. . . . Ac- 
 cordingly she acted ill, and being de- 
 sii'ous of avoiding her sister's envy, 
 who ill-treated her on account of her 
 beauty, she was induced to transgress 
 the laws of her forefathers and marry 
 Felix ; and when he had a son by her, 
 he named him Agrippa." {Antiq. XX, 
 7, 1, 2.) Both mother and son perished 
 at an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, 
 A. D. 79. According to Tacitus it ap- 
 pears that Felix also had been pre- 
 viously married. Suetonius says that 
 Felix was the husband of three queens, 
 jirobably meaning three wives of royal 
 lineage. He sent for Paul, f'or 
 two reasons probably: 1. The new 
 knowledge obtained concerning the 
 
364 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXIV. 
 
 came with his wife Drusilla, which waa a 
 Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him 
 25 coucerning the faith in Christ. And as 
 he reasoned of ' righteousness, ' temper- 
 ance, and ™ judgment to come, "Felix 
 trembled, and answered. Go thy way for 
 
 this time; "when I have a convenient 
 26 season, I will call for thee. He hoped 
 also that p money should have been given 
 him of Paul, that he might loose him; 
 wherefore he sent for him the of tener, and 
 communed with him. 
 
 k 2 Sam. 23 : 3 ; Ps. 82 : 1-4 ; Prov. 16 : 12. » Exod. 20 : 14 ; Prov. 31 : 3-5 ; Eccl. 10 : 
 16, 17. ■» Eccl. 3 : 17 ; 12 : 14 ; 2 Cur. 5 : 10. " Jer. 23 : 29 ; Heb. 4 : 12. » Prov. V : 
 
 24-32 ; 27 : 1 ; Eccl. 9 : 10 ; Luke 17 : 26-29 ; Heb. 3 : 7, 13. P Exod. 23 : 8 ; Prov. 19 : 6. 
 
 Christian Way at the trial excited a 
 wish to know more. His conscience, 
 too, may have been touched by the ref- 
 erence to the resurrection of the just 
 and unjust. 2. Drusilla, in her girl- 
 hood, fourteen years before, doubtless 
 heard of the tieath of James, the 
 brother of John, and the delivery of 
 Peter from prison, and may have con- 
 nected the tragic end of her father in 
 some way with his ])ersecuting Chris- 
 tians. This, with what she had heard 
 of Paul and of Christians, may liave 
 made lier desirous of liearing him 
 concerning the faith in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 25. Felix and Drusilla wished to 
 hear about Christ Jesus and the new 
 religion ; but Paul with boldness and 
 fidelity made religion a personal mat- 
 ter, and adapted his discourse to his 
 hearers, by presenting the truth suited 
 to their case. Hence he reasoned, 
 or discoursed of risrhteousness, 
 rectitude of conduct and character, 
 right feeling, thinking, and acting ac- 
 cording to the htw of God. The faith 
 in Christ required holiness, purity of 
 heart and life (Rom. 6 : 12, 13. 19, 22), and so 
 Paul discoursed not only u])on right- 
 eousness in general, Imt also upon 
 temperance, or sf//-co>i/TO/. He en- 
 forces the duty of mastering one's 
 desires and jiassions, es])ecially liis 
 sensual appetites. Both righteousness 
 and self-control had been grossly out- 
 raged l>y Felix and Drusilla. Tacitus 
 speaks of Felix as reckless and licen- 
 tious, and acting with a tyranny and 
 cruelty, as though he had license to 
 commit every crime with impunity. 
 {Aim. xii. 54, Hist. v. 9.) And 
 judgment to come — wliicli all, in- 
 cluding his hearers, must face, and 
 Christ Jesus himself would be judge. 
 (Rom. i; 16.) Witliout spccial pcr.sonal 
 application, Paul presented the truths 
 of the gospel, which commend them- 
 
 selves to every man's conscience in the 
 sight of God. (2 Cor. 4:2.) Fclix 
 trembled — a strong expression ; he 
 was alarmed, filled with fear and fore- 
 bodings, and abruptly closed the inter- 
 view. Answered, to this unexpected 
 and terrible discourse, and to what he 
 felt to be his duty: Go thy way — 
 depart for this time. " Fear sent away 
 not the sin, but the preacher." (Ab- 
 bott.) »hen I have a convenient 
 season I will call for thee. His 
 opjiortunity for learning and attending 
 to tliis matter frequently came after- 
 ward, for he often communed with 
 Paul (ver. 26) ; but nevcr afterwai-d does 
 he ajipear to have been thus convicted, 
 and never did there come a time, so 
 far as we know, which seemed to him 
 opportune for attending to these mat- 
 ters. (See Mark 6: 29.) Noticc that noth- 
 ing is said of Drusilla. 
 
 2G. He hoped also that money 
 should have been given him of 
 Paul — better. At the same time when 
 giving this answer, he hoped, etc. Such 
 bribery had become so common among 
 Ilonum officials, that a law was enacted, 
 forbidding a judge to receive bribes in 
 any form for arresting, acijuittiug, or 
 condemning any one. But he knew 
 that Paul had many friends at Cicsarea, 
 tluit lie brought money to the jioor at 
 Jerusalem (ver. 17), and he lioj)ed to get 
 pay for doing ju.stice to his prisoner. 
 Wherefore he sent for him the 
 oftener and communed Avith 
 him, held friendly intercourse, not 
 beeau.se he wished to know more of the 
 gospel, but from a mercenary motive. 
 This would seem, according to Tacitus, 
 to have been characteristic of Felix. 
 While Cumanus governed Galilee 
 Felix ruled Samaria ; and these two 
 wily and base procurators encouraged 
 the enmity and passions between the 
 Jews and Samaritans, and thus enriched 
 themselves by booty, as if it had been 
 
Ch. XXIV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 365 
 
 27 But after two years Porcius Festus 
 came into Felix' room : and Felix, i will- 
 
 ing to show the Jews a pleasure, left Paul 
 bound. 
 
 q ch. 12 : 3 ; 25 : 9, 14 ; Mark 15 : 15. 
 
 the spoils of war. (See on Felix, 23 : 
 24.) Felix hardens his heart; and his 
 hoj)e of gain is so great that he is will- 
 ing to liear the unpleasant exhortations 
 of Paul, if he can only secure money 
 for Paul's release. Doubtless Felix 
 suggested it indirectly to Paul and to 
 liis friends. But while Felix neglected 
 the great opportunity to do right, Paul 
 found no time when he could do 
 wrong. 
 
 27. But after two years, or t>ro 
 years having been fulfilled, or com- 
 pleted, showing that Luke is not reck- 
 oning according to the Jewish method 
 of counting a part of a year for the 
 whole, but that he means two full 
 years. Porcius Festus came into 
 Felix' room. Felix was recalled 
 to Rome, and was followed by charges 
 of cruelty and injustice by the Jews at 
 Cajsarea before Nero, and would have 
 been punished had it not been for his 
 brother Pallas. Regarding his after 
 life we know nothing. Festus was 
 sent as governor, probably in the sum- 
 mer of A. D. 60. For the chronologi- 
 cal discussion of this date, see Har- 
 monic Arrangement of the Acts, on § 50. 
 Further on Festus, see on 25 : 1. And 
 Felix Avillii^ to shew the Jews a 
 pleasure — more exactly, And desir- 
 ing to lay up furors for himself with 
 the Jews, that is, wishing to win 
 their fiivor. Left Paul bound — his 
 favors to them would naturally liring 
 him favors in return. And especially he 
 hoped to soften the anger of Jcavs and 
 lessen their charges against him at 
 Rome, and place them under some obli- 
 gation to him. But in this he failed ; 
 for immediately upon his recall, tlie 
 Jews of Cajsarea sent complaints 
 against him. Bound — in military 
 custody (ver. 23), and very probably in 
 chains, for such is a common mean- 
 ing of the word, thus giving liis 
 successor the impression that he was 
 deserving punisliment. 
 
 It would be interesting to know whjit 
 Paul did during these two 3'eais. But 
 God has wisely cast a veil over them. 
 After twenty years of active labor, 
 
 attended with persecutions, sufferings, 
 and hardships, Paul is providentially 
 given leisure for reflection and rest. 
 His spiritual growtli, during the years 
 of his imprisonment at CiBsarea and 
 Rome, is seen in the profounder views 
 of his later P^pistles. While at Caesarea 
 he doubtless taught and counseled the 
 friends wlio came to him, and directed 
 those helpers who were with him. 
 Luke probably prepared his Gospel at 
 that time under his direction, and gath- 
 ered materials for the Acts. We may well 
 suppose that Paul also had some com- 
 munication with many of the cliurches 
 he had gathered in Asia Jlinor and 
 Greece. Doul)tless brethren from some 
 of these churches called on him, who 
 had come to Judea, during these two 
 years, and bore back oral or brief 
 written messages to the churches. 
 While Paul was comparatively quiet, 
 we cannot suppose that he was inactive, 
 or that he failed to do good as he had 
 
 opportunity. (Gal. 6:10.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. " No cause is so bad that it cannot find 
 an advocate." (Starke.) (Ver. 1 ; 13 : 8, 
 
 9.) 
 
 2. " Eloquence is the gift of God, but the 
 eloquence of a bad man is like poison in a 
 golden cup." ("Ver. 2 ; Exod. 4:11; Rom. 
 
 3 : 13 ; James 3 : 5-10.) 
 
 3. Flattery is deceitful and is used for 
 selfish ends. The good do not need it ; the 
 bad are better without it. (Ver. 2-4; Prov. 
 26 : 28; 1 Thess. 2:5.) 
 
 4. Artfulness and cunning especially 
 characterize wicked and worldly men. (Ver. 
 
 4 ; Jer. 5 : 27.) 
 
 5. The character and services of God's 
 servants are distorted by the world. (Ver. 
 5, 6; 2 Cor. 6 : 8.) 
 
 6. Contemptuous words too often take the 
 place of argument, and indicate a weak 
 cause. (Ver. 5-8 ; 1 Sam. 20 : 30-33.) 
 
 7. It is easy to find those wlio will consent 
 to and confirm a lie. (Ver. 9 ; Jer. 9 : 3-G.) 
 
 8. Conciliatory language and complin 
 mentary words, if true, often reach the 
 
5G6 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXV. 
 
 Puul's trial be/ore Feslus ; his appeal to 
 
 Cmsar. 
 25 NOW wheu Festus was come into the 
 
 province, after three days he ascended 
 
 2 from Casarea to Jerusalem. 'Then the 
 
 high priest and the chief of the Je vs, 
 
 heart when mere argument might fail. (Ver. 
 10 ; 26 : 2, 3, 24-26.) 
 
 9. A simple statement of facts is often 
 the best offset to falsehood. (Ver. 11-15 ; 
 Prov. 12 : 17-19.) 
 
 10. Let our lives and deeds be such as can, 
 at all times, challenge investigation. (Ver. 
 lo ; John 8 : 46.) 
 
 11. Let us ever be ready to confess Christ 
 l>oth befoie friends and foes. (Ver. 14; 1 
 Tim. 6: 13,14; 1 Peter 3 : 1.5.) 
 
 12. Christianity is not a sect of Judaism 
 or of any other religion, but the Way of true 
 worship, the end and fultiller of the law, 
 involving all the great eternal truths of the 
 Old Dispensation. (Ver. 14, 15 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 
 3; Rom. 3 : 31 ; 10: 4.) 
 
 13. The doctrine of the resurrection is 
 fundamental in revealed religion, brought 
 clearly to view in the gospel. (Ver. 15, 21 ; 
 Isa. 26 : 19 ; Dan. 12 : 2 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 10.) 
 
 14. If we would have a conscience void of 
 offense toward (lod and man, we must, like 
 Paul, make it our earnest effort and aim. 
 (Ver. 16 ; PhU. 3 : 13, 14.) 
 
 15. True religion takes hold of the con- 
 science, and a truly enlightened con.science 
 exercises itself in regard to the whole circle 
 of moral duty. (Ver. 16 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 5, 19.) 
 
 16. Paul givea us an example in his de- 
 fence of simplicity and couraga (Ver. 17, 
 19.) 
 
 17. The best of motives may he misunder- 
 stood, and deeds of mercy are often mis- 
 represented. (Ver. 17-19.) 
 
 18. Instigators of trouble are often want- 
 ing when their presence is needed. (Ver. 19.) 
 
 19. We should strive to live so that our 
 most vulnerable points can be safely exposed 
 to the keenest scrutiny. (Ver. 20, 21 ; 1 
 Thess. 2 : 10 ; 2 Cor. 6 : 3-10.) 
 
 20. Felix, to a certain extent a second 
 Pilate, acted worse than his knowledge. 
 (Ver. 22, 26, 27.) 
 
 21. A presentation of the gospel not only 
 enlightens, but produces conviction. (Ver. 
 22,25; 2 Cor. 4: 2.) 
 
 22. It is impossible to treat Christ and his 
 servants impartially, while trying to please 
 the world. (Ver. 23 ; Matt. 12 : 30.) 
 
 23. Whatever the object of hearers in 
 listening to the gospel, the object of the 
 preacher should be to save them. (Ver. 24, 
 25.) 
 
 24. The preacher should discuss topics 
 appropriate to his hearers. (Ver. 25; Col. 
 2 : 28 ) 
 
 25. The gospel, faithfully proclaimed, will 
 make its own application to the hearts of 
 men. (Ver. 25 ; 1 Cor. 2 : 3, 4.) 
 
 20. The present moment is convenient to 
 him who wishes to repent, but no moment 
 to him who wishes to delay. (Ver. 25.) 
 
 27. If conviction of sin lead not to re- 
 pentance, it tends to harden the heart. (Ver. 
 27 ; 2 Cor. 2 : 16 ) 
 
 28. Mercenary motives for attending upon 
 the means of grace will^irevent the receiv- 
 ing of all spiritual profit. (Ver. 27 ; 8 : 20- 
 22.) 
 
 29. One sin prepares the way for another. 
 Trying to please the world puts one into 
 the power of the world. (Ver. 27 ; 2 Peter 
 2 : 15.) 
 
 Ch. 25 : This chapter and the 
 next give an accotint of Paul under 
 Festus. Tlie Jews lay a fresh plot 
 atrainst Paul's life ; an<l after a second 
 trial at Ca?sarea, would lutve induced 
 Festus to .';cnd him to Jerusalem, in- 
 tendinij to kill him on the way, had he 
 not ai>])ealed to Ciosar. I5ut as Festus 
 lia<l no definite cluirt^e against Paul to 
 lay l)efore the emperor, he seeks the 
 aid of King As;rip])a, who is present, 
 on a yisit, before whom Paul is sum- 
 moned for examination. 
 
 1-12. Paul's Tkial axd Defence 
 Before Festus. Hi.s Appeal to 
 
 C^ESAK. (.S.ever. U-21.) A. D. 60. 
 
 1. Festus exhibits frankness and 
 honesty in contrast to Felix. Josephus 
 does uot speak of him with any disap- 
 probation. He found Judea in a yery 
 troubled state, and altliough he made 
 strenuous etfoils to restore order, and 
 with some apparent success, the Zea- 
 lots and others so retained their hold 
 upon the masses that wheu Festus died, 
 in the summer of A. D. 62, disorder and 
 
Ch. XXV.] THE ACTS. 
 
 367 
 
 informed hiiu against Paul, and besought 
 
 3 him, and desired favour against him, that 
 he would send for him to Jerusalum, • lay- 
 
 4 iugwaitintheway tokillhim. ButKestus 
 answered, that Paul should be kept at 
 Ciesarea, and that he himself would de- 
 
 5 part shortly thitlier. Let them therefore, 
 said he, which among you are able, go 
 
 down with me, and accuse this man, if 
 there be any wickedness in him. 
 
 6 And when he had tarried among them 
 more then ten days, he went down unto 
 C«sarea ; and the next day sitting on the 
 judgment seat commanded Paul to be 
 
 7 brought. And when he was come, the 
 Jews which came down from Jerusalem 
 
 • ch. 23 : 12-15. 
 
 confusion prevailed more than ever 
 before. He was succeeded by Abanus. 
 (Joscplius, Antiq. XX, 8, 10, 11.) 
 
 When Festiis was come into the 
 province — into Judea, which was a 
 province of a second rank, or append- 
 a;j;e to the Roman province of Sj^ria. 
 He came to Cwsarea, the military liead- 
 quarters of the Roman governor, (see 
 oil 8 : 40.) After three days— the third 
 day after his arrival, taking a day or 
 two for rest at Ctesarea. He thus showed 
 great promptness and a mind for busi- 
 ness. 
 
 'i. Then the high priest— ac- 
 cording to the best manuscripts, And 
 the chief priests, perhaps including 
 Ananias, wuo had been succeeded by 
 Ismael as high priest. (See on 4: 23.) 
 The chief, or first of the Jews. 
 The Sadducees were the leading men 
 of wealth. Informed him — laid 
 charges against Paul. (See on 24 : 1.) 
 Two years had not cooled tlieir hatred. 
 
 3. Desired favor for themselves 
 against him. Tlie special favor here 
 meant is that he would send for 
 him to come to Jerusalem. From 
 ver. 15, 16 it appears that they also re- 
 quested that Paul might at once be 
 condemned, which was denied by Fes- 
 tus. Doubtless as leading men of the 
 nation they hoped to influence the new 
 governor. Paul was but one private 
 individual ; they were many. It would 
 be far more convenient for him to come 
 up to Jerusalem than for them to go 
 down to Ciesarea. Laying wait, al- 
 ready faying a plot. They seem to liave 
 thought that the new governor, wish- 
 ing to ingratiate himself, would grant 
 the favor, and had already laid their 
 plans. Very likely some of those forty 
 men who had previously bound them- 
 selves with a vow (23 ; 12) were now ar- 
 ranging an ambush. Josephus informs 
 us that the laud was full of assassins, 
 
 who were hired by various parties for 
 such purposes. 
 
 4. But Festus answered them 
 wisely and firmly, showing that he 
 wished justice done. That Paul 
 should be kept — rather, was kept, 
 safely guarded at Ciesarea. The 
 answer is a refusal, but in conciliatory 
 language. That he himself should 
 soon go thither. Paul's removal to Je- 
 rusalem was therefore unnecessary, and 
 also inconvenient, as Festus, being a 
 new governor, must move on actively, 
 and quickly return to Ca^sarea. 
 
 5. Let them therefore . . , 
 which among you are able, etc. 
 Let therefore the powerful, or infi.uen- 
 tial among you go down with me. 
 Festus does not refer to their ability to 
 go down, but to the characters of the 
 persons, as proper representatives of 
 the Jewish leaders, men of rank 
 and wealth. He assumes that Felix 
 had good reasons for keeping Paul in 
 custody at Ciesarea, an<l he will not 
 change the arrangement. If there 
 be any wickedness — literally, any- 
 thing out of place, or amiss, in him. 
 (Luke 23 : 41.) There must be a fair trial, 
 and that could be held without delay 
 just as well at Ciesarea as at Jerusalem. 
 
 6. When he had tarried . . . 
 more then ten days— rather, ac- 
 cording to the most approved manu- 
 scripts, vot more than eight, or ten 
 days, showing that he disj)atched his 
 business without dehiy. The Jewish 
 leaders also appear to have accepted 
 the governor's proposition, to go down 
 with him, for the ne.vt day after his 
 arrival at Ciesarea, he sat on the judg- 
 ment seat, and commanded Paul 
 
 to be brought. (see John 19 : 13.) ThuS 
 
 Festus continues to show himself 
 prompt and active, and a man of his 
 word. 
 
 7. TbeU) the Jews which had 
 
m 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXV. 
 
 stood round about, 'and laid many and 
 grierous complaints against Paul, which 
 8 they could not prove. While he an- 
 swered for himself^ " Neither against the 
 law of the Juws, neither against the 
 temple, nor yet against Ctesar, have I 
 offended anything at all. 
 
 9 But Festus, » willing to do the Jews a 
 pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt 
 thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be 
 
 10 judged of these things before me ? Then 
 said Paul, I stand at Cit-sar's judgment 
 seat, where I ought to be judged: to the 
 Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very 
 
 t ch. 24 : 5, 13 ; Mark lo : 3 ; Luke 23 : 2, 10. « eh. 24 : 12 ; 28 : 17 ; Jer. 37 : 18. » ch. 24 : 27. 
 
 come doAvii from Jerusalem stood | 
 round about him. A life-like pic- 
 ture, and suggestive of the eagerness 
 with whicli they comi)assed on every 
 side their long-lost victim. And laid 
 many and grievous complaints, 
 or charges. What these Avere may be 
 iufen-ed from the former accusations 
 before Felix (24 : 6, 6), and Paul's reply 
 in the next verse. VVhichthey could 
 not prove — consisting of rumors, re- 
 ])0rt3 and their own declarations. As in 
 the former trial, they Avere without 
 witnesses, and without evidence. 
 
 8. Paul answered for himself— 
 or said in defence, doul)tless very much 
 as in his trial before Felix. (24: io--'i.) 
 A mere summary is here given. The 
 three charges of *he former trial are 
 referred to, modifaed, or strengthened 
 by certain new phases of the case. 
 Tims during the two years the Jews 
 may have learned more definitely i*e- 
 garding Paul's teaching concerning 
 circumcision, as not essential to Chris- 
 tianity (G»i.6 : 15), and they may have 
 nuule more definite charges of offences 
 against the law of the Jews. So 
 also they doubtless laid greater stress 
 on his otfences against Caesar, 
 eciuivalent to emperor, representing 
 the Roman power. (See on 17 : 7.) If 
 they could make him out a political 
 offender they felt sure of the condem- 
 nation of Festus. 
 
 9. But Festus willing to do the 
 Jews a pleasure, rather, tcishing to 
 gain favor with the Jews. Compare 
 almost the same phrase in 24 : 27. It 
 was natural for the new governor to 
 desire in all j)roper ways to ingratiate 
 himself among his subjects, and be 
 popular with the leading men of his 
 province. He had not consented to 
 their request to have the trial at Jeru- 
 salem (ver. 3), but he now throws the 
 responsibility of deciding on Paul him- 
 self. Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem 
 aud be judged? That is, by the 
 
 Sanhedrin, but in his presence, before 
 me, he having the power to confirm 
 or veto the sentence. By tliis proposal, 
 Festus virtually aquits Paul of any 
 offences against the Iloman govern- 
 ment, or against Roman law. (ver. is.) 
 In regard to the charges against the 
 Jewish law Festus felt liiniself incom- 
 petent to judge. (Ver. 19, JO.) DoubtleSS 
 he had something of Gallio's feeling. 
 (18:15.) But he had no right to trans- 
 fer Paul from the Roman to the Jewish 
 court without his consent. (Vcr. 10, 11.) 
 And so very likely Festns anticipated 
 what Paul's reply would be. By his 
 question Festus appears to wish to do 
 no injustice to Paul, l)ut at tlie same 
 time avoid giving oflence to the Jews, 
 and so far as possil)le under the cir- 
 cumstances to gain their favor. 
 
 10. Paul's answer is j)rompt and 
 decisive, as one who unilerstood the 
 law and his own rights, and the pur- 
 poses of the Jews against him. lie 
 saw that his only safety was in frustra- 
 ting their designs. I stand at 
 Caesar's judgment seat — at the 
 tribunal of the emperor. Syria, of 
 which Judea was a sub-division, was 
 an imperial Roman province, under 
 the direct rule of the emperor. Festus 
 was the representative of Ciesar. 
 Paul had for two years been under 
 Roman imi)eiial authority, and he 
 refuses to change to another tribunal. 
 Both on this account and as a Roman 
 citizen he could say, where I ought 
 to be judged — as a matter of riglit. 
 How much more so when he could con- 
 fidently assert. To the Jews have 
 I done no Avrong, as thou very 
 well knoAvest, literally, as thoit 
 also knowest better, that is, better than 
 by thy question thou seemest to know, 
 or better tlian thou art willing to 
 appear to know. How carefully and 
 wisely does Paul put this. The Jews, 
 under these circumstances, could have 
 no judicial claim on him ; aud before 
 
Oil. XXV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 369 
 
 11 well knowest. y For if I be an offender, 
 or have committed anything worthy of 
 death, ' I refuse not to die : but if tliere be 
 none of these things whereof these accuse 
 me, no man may deliver me unto them. 
 •I appeal unto Caesar. 
 
 12 Then Festus, when he had conferred 
 
 with the council, answered, Hast thou 
 appealed unto Ciesar? Unto Ocsar shall 
 thou go. 
 
 Festus confers with King Agrippa ; Paul 
 
 brought before them. 
 13 AND after certain days king Agrippa 
 
 ych. 23:29; 2G : 31. « Prov. 28 : 1. » ch. !26 : 32 ; 28 : 19. 
 
 the Jewish tribunal his accusers would 
 largely be his judges. 
 
 11. For should be omitted according 
 to the highest critical authorities. If 
 I be an otfeuder, or have com- 
 mitted any thing worthy of 
 death, according to Roman law, I 
 refuse not to die. I am under the 
 jurisdiction of Rome, and I do not ask 
 for exemption from punishment, if I 
 deserve it. But if there be none 
 of these things whereof these 
 accuse me, if their charges are 
 groundless, as evidently they are, no 
 man can deliver me unto them. 
 " Jlodestly said ; that is, thou canst 
 not." (Bengel.) More fully ex- 
 pressed : No one can give me up as a 
 favor to them for condemnation and 
 punishment. Paul claims his rights 
 and the protection of law. I ap- 
 peal unto Caesar. This was a right 
 of a Roman citizen. A hearing before 
 the emjieror was the final tribunal, and 
 was regarded as a safeguard against 
 any prejudice and tyranny of the pro- 
 vincial magistrates. Pliny wrote some 
 years later to Trajan, that he would 
 send to Rome those Bithyniau Chris- 
 tians who possessed the right of Roman 
 citizens. Various motives probably 
 influenced Paul to appeal to Cajsar. (1) 
 He saw no prospect of speedy justice, 
 and desired to avoid any i)ossibility of 
 being delivered to the Jews. (s8:i9.) 
 (2) To relieve Festus of any unpleas- 
 ant dilemma in his case. (3) His de- 
 sire to go to Rome {i9 : 'n) ; and perhaps 
 he began to see liow the Lord would 
 fulfill his promise, that he must bear 
 witness at Rome. (23 : u.) 
 
 12. When he had conferred 
 Avith the council — the advisers who 
 sat with him. Governors and procura- 
 tors of provinces had a board of asses- 
 sors or advisers, with whom they con- 
 sulted before rendering judgment. 
 {Thayer's iV. T. Greek Lex.) Sueto- 
 
 nius and Josephus both speak of such 
 oflicials. {See Jewish War, II. 16, 1.) 
 Hast thou appealed unto Ca-sar? 
 
 This is not a question, but a formal and 
 solemn declaration. Unto C^sar 
 shalt thou go — your ap])eal is granted 
 and shall be carried out. Nero was em- 
 peror at this time. Thus Festus and his 
 advisers concluded that there was 
 nothing in the way of granting the 
 appeal at once. " Some offences were 
 held to be so enormous as to exclude the 
 exercise of this right, and when the 
 crime was not of this character, the 
 evidence of guilt might be so palpable 
 as to demand an immediate and final 
 decision." (Hackett.) The Julian 
 law, however, forbade any unnecessary 
 impediment being put in the way of any 
 who had thus appealed. 
 
 13-27. Festus Confers with 
 Agrippa concerning Paul. Paul 
 BROUGHT before Agrippa. The 
 summer of a. d. 60. 
 
 13. After certain days — probably 
 a week or two. Agrii)pa would not 
 delay long before coming to salute 
 Festus, offering him his congratula- 
 tions and welcome. King Agrippa 
 and Bernice. This was Herod 
 Agrippa II., the son of Herod Agripjja 
 I., whose terrible death is related in 
 ch. 12, and great grandson of Herod 
 the Great. He was brother of Bernice 
 and Drusilla. At his father's death he 
 was but seventeen years old, and on 
 account of his youth he was not ap- 
 pointed to succeed him, whose kingdom 
 included all that of Herod the Great. 
 Some time after the Emperor Claudius 
 gave Agrippa the kingdom of Chalcis, 
 the presidency of the temi)le at Jerusa- 
 lem and its treasures, and tlie i)0wer to 
 appoint the high priest; and in A. D. 
 53, he added the former tetrarchy of 
 Philip and Lysanias (Luken : 1) with the 
 title of king. Nero afterward added 
 the city of Tiberias and a part of Galilee 
 
370 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXV. 
 
 and Bernice came unto Ca?sarea to salute 
 
 14 Festus. And when they had been there 
 many days, Festus declared Paul s cause 
 unto the king, saying, '•There is a certain 
 
 15 man left in bonds by Felix, ' about whom, 
 when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests 
 and the elders of the Jews informed me, 
 desiring to have judgment against him. 
 
 16 *To wnonj I answered, It is not the 
 
 manner of the Romans to deliver any 
 man to die, before that he which is 
 accused have the accusers face to face 
 and have license to answer for himself 
 concerning the crime laid against him, 
 Therefore, when they were come hither, 
 e without any delay on the morrow 1 sat 
 on the judgment seat, and commanded 
 
 l> ch. 24 : 27. 
 
 < ver. 2, 3. d ver. 4, 5 ; John 7 : 51. 
 
 to his dominion. Agrippa displeased 
 the Jews by building a room in his 
 pahxee at Jerusalem so as to overlook 
 the temple, by lavishing favors upon 
 the city of Berytus, and by his ca- 
 
 fricious changes in the high priesthood. 
 n the war against Jerusalem he sided 
 with the Romans. He died about A. D. 
 100, at Rome, aged about seventy, and 
 was the last prince of the house of the 
 Herods. Bernice was beautiful, but 
 dissolute ; married early to her uncle 
 Herod, kingof Chalcis, and early left a 
 widow, was now living Mith her brother, 
 Agrippa, in unlawful intimacy. To 
 escape the scandal she afterward mar- 
 ried Polemon, king of Cilicia, but soon 
 deserted him to return to her brother 
 at Rome. She afterward became mis- 
 tress of Vespasian and of his son Titus. 
 The references to her in the Acts are 
 true to her history. " We mark not 
 only the pomp and parade with which 
 she and Agrijjpa came with Festus into 
 the audience chamber to hear the pris- 
 oner Paul, l)ut also the fact that when 
 this brilliant company swept out of the 
 chamber, Bernice is again named, as 
 though she was the most notewortliy of 
 all tho.se present. If from this we look 
 into contemporary history, it is startling 
 to observe how she appears there. It 
 was an age of profligate women ; and 
 among such the Herodian Bernice was 
 notorious through the emi)ire. . . . We 
 find this pa.ssage of the Acts in har- 
 mony with what we learn ftom histori- 
 ans and satirists, even to the jewelry 
 which Agrippa gave to this shameless 
 woman." (Dr. Howson, Acts nf the 
 Apostles, p. 148.) 
 
 14. And Avhen, etc. — ichile they 
 were spending several dai/s, perhaps a 
 week. Festus decjared Paul's 
 cause to the king. He laid the case 
 before him in a conversational way. 
 It was quite natural that the new gov- 
 
 ernor, being a Gentile, should seek 
 light from King Agrippa on matters 
 concerning which the latter would be 
 familiar, since he was a Jew by birth. 
 
 15. The chief priests (ver. 2) . . , 
 informed me^made cmnplaiiitagniust 
 Paul, as in ver. 2. Desiring judg- 
 ment — rather, sentence against him, 
 according to the oldest manuscriiits. 
 This request is dilTerent from that in 
 ver. 3, that Paul might be brought to 
 Jerusalem. The former evidently pre- 
 ceded the latter. After Festus had 
 courteously refused their first request 
 (next verse), then they make the second 
 request, not because they hoped for the 
 condemnation of Paul from such a trial, 
 but because they would have opportu- 
 nity to waylay and kill him. The two 
 proposals, as Dr. Hackett suggests, 
 could have been made at diflerent 
 times. 
 
 16. Festus courteously refuses their 
 request. It was contrary to Roman 
 custom ; it would be unlawful and not 
 right for him to do it. His reply illus- 
 trates the love of justice by virtuous 
 Romans. The manner, or custom, 
 among the Romans, in such matters. 
 To "deliver any man to die. 
 Omit, to die. Simply To give tip any 
 man, as a gift or favor. Paul uses the 
 same expression in ver. 11. Reference 
 seems to be had to tlie Jews' request for 
 a favor, (ver. 3.) It indicates a degen- 
 eracy of the Jewish conscience. They 
 thought their influence would be suffi- 
 cient to corrupt Festus. Have license 
 — have opportunity to make his de- 
 fense. This answer, and the whole 
 conversation are in perfect accord with 
 what we know of Roman usages and 
 law. 
 
 17. When they we re come hither 
 — or ivere come together here, at Cjesarea, 
 according to his order, (vei. 5.) With- 
 out any delay — the promjjtness mani- 
 
Cii. XXV.j 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 371 
 
 18 the man to be brought forth. Against 
 whom, when the accusers stood up, they 
 brought none accusation of such things 
 
 19 as I supposed: 'but had certain questions 
 against him of their own superstition, 
 and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom 
 
 20 Taul affirmed to be alive, And because 
 1 dou'ited of such manner of questions, I 
 asked him whether he would go to Jeru- 
 
 salem, and there be judged of these 
 
 21 matters. But when Paul had appealed 
 to be reserved unto the hearing of 
 8 Augustus, I commanded him to be kept 
 till 1 might send him to Ca-sar. 
 
 22 Then ^ Agrippa said unto Festus, I 
 would also hear the man myself. To- 
 morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him. 
 
 23 And on the morrow, when Agrippa was 
 
 ' ch. 18 ; 15 ; 23 : 29. b Luke 2 ; 1. ^ ch. 9 : 1.5. 
 
 fested in ver. 4 ; a contrast too with the 
 pi'ocrastiuating course of Felix. 
 
 18. Against Avhom. The Revised 
 Version translates Concerning whom. 
 Better, Standing np around him. So 
 Bible Union Version, Hackett, Meyer, 
 Winer, etc. A vivid description of 
 Paul's accusers gathering around him 
 at his trial, (ver. 7.) Of such things, 
 transgressions of the law. As I sup- 
 posed, suspected. Compare Gallio's 
 speech. (w:i4.) Festus' ideas had 
 been confused, but from the represen- 
 tations of the Jews he had supposed 
 Paul a notable criminal against Ctesar 
 and Roman autliority. (ver. s.) 
 
 19. Instead of crimes Festus found 
 that the Jews had certain questions 
 against him, or certain controversies 
 with him concerning their own 
 superstition. The word translated 
 superstition is a kindred word to that 
 used by Paul in addressing the Athe- 
 nians. (17:22.) It may be used in a 
 bad sense of superstition or dcinon-nwr- 
 ship, or in a good sense of divinity- 
 worship, or religion. Fe-stus knew that 
 Agrippa was a Jew, and he would not 
 have spoken oiiensively of his fiiith. 
 But at the same time he himself was a 
 Gentile and accustomed to the worship 
 of deified dead men among the Greeks 
 and Romans, and he may have asso- 
 ciated Jesus with such. He would 
 naturally use the word iu a good though 
 somewhat middle sense, their own 
 divinity worship. He could thus speak 
 generally without any oft'ence to 
 Agrippa. And of one, or k certain, 
 Jesus. Thus he speaks indifferently 
 of Jesus, and of his resurrection, as 
 only Paul's assertion. 
 
 20. And because I doubted of 
 such manner of questions^ir/,;*/ 
 perple.ted in regard to the in<juiry about 
 these things, about Jesus, his resurrec- 
 tion, and his religion. Doubtless this 
 
 was a reason which would commend 
 itself to Agrippa, and gain his sympa- 
 thy and help ; but the principal reason 
 is given in ver. 9, the desire of Festus 
 to please and gain favor with tlie Jews. 
 'Z\. When Paul had appealed to 
 be reserved. He preferred to be ke])t 
 under Pv,oman authority to going up to 
 Jerusalem to be tried. This was con- 
 trary to Festus' suggestion, and doubt- 
 less seemed strange to him. Unto the 
 hearing — of A ugustns,for the decision, 
 the discriminating opinion or judgment 
 of the emperor, implying a thorough 
 examination. Augustus, meaning 
 venerable, reverend, a title of honor 
 given by tlie Roman Senate and people 
 to the fir.st Emperor Octavian, and 
 afterward conferred on his successors, 
 and became the usual designation of 
 the emperor. The i)resent Augustus 
 was Nero. Till I might send, etc. — 
 till he had an opportunity of sending 
 him to Italy by a sailing vessel. (-'7 : i.) 
 
 22. Then Agrippa said, I Avould 
 also hear the man. Literally, / was 
 wishing also myself, if it were proper 
 and thou wouldst permit it, to hear this 
 m,(in. Agrip])a had often heard of Paul, 
 his fame and elorpience, and doubtless 
 from curiosity had desired before this 
 to see and hear him. The expression 
 here refers to a wish still existing: 
 While Festus was sjieakiug, up to the 
 very moment of his utterance, Agrippa 
 )vas nu'shing. It was a courteous way 
 of expressing liis desire to hear Paul, 
 and help Festus in regard to this trou- 
 blesome case. (Ver.2fi ) 
 
 23. Agrijjpa and Bernice are again 
 mentioned as well-known, and without 
 any reference to her relation to him. 
 The scandal regarding them, and the 
 fact that both were living with great 
 influence, when this was written, doubt- 
 less accounts for tlie omission. With 
 great pomp and disijlay— true to their 
 
372 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXV. 
 
 come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and 
 was entered into the place of hearing, 
 with the chief captains, and principal 
 men of the city at Festus' command- 
 ment Paul was brought forth. 
 24 And Festus said, King Agrippa, and 
 all men which are here present with us, 
 ye see this man, about whom all the mul- 
 titude of the Jews have dealt with me, 
 both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying 
 
 that he ought 'not to live any longer. 
 
 25 But when I found that 'he had commit- 
 ted nothing worthy of death, i and that 
 he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I 
 
 26 have determined to send him. Of wliom 
 I have no certain thing to write unto ray 
 lord. Wherefore I have brought hiiu 
 forth before you, and specially before 
 thee, O king Agrippa, that after exami- 
 
 • ch. 21 : 36 ; 22 : 22. k ch. 26 : 31 ; 28 : 18. » ver. 11, 12. 
 
 history aud that of their family. Six- 
 teen years before, their father sat on his 
 throne in royal ajiparel in this same 
 city of Csesarea. (12 : 21.) (See on ver. 
 13 of this chapter.) The place of 
 hearing — the auditorium, or audience- 
 room, which seems to have been con- 
 nected with the governor's palace, 
 whether as a lecture room, or for the 
 trying of cases is not certain. Chief 
 captains — the commanders of a thou- 
 sand men, that is, of Roman cohorts. 
 (See on 21 : 31.) According to Josephus 
 five of these cohorts were stationed at 
 CiEsarea, the political capital of the 
 province. Principal men — promi- 
 nent or leading men of the city. Paul 
 Avas brought forth — a fulfillment of 
 our Lord's prediction (Matt. io:i8), " Be- 
 fore governors also and kings will ye 
 be brought for my sake, for a testimony 
 to them and to the Gentiles." 
 
 24. Festus explains the reason and 
 design of this gathering. This verse 
 states the po]>ular feelings of the Jews, 
 all the multitude, etc. (21:27.) Have 
 dealt with me — besought or peti- 
 tioned me against him. And here — 
 at Caesarea, referring especially to the 
 deputation from Jerusalem. (Ver. 7.) 
 Very probably also the latter had 
 aroused the prejudices of the leading 
 Jews at C;esarea. Crying or shouting 
 out, indicating their excited and in- 
 tense feeling, when they affirmed that 
 Paul was not worthy longer to live. 
 
 25. Festus tells the result of his own 
 examination, directly opposite to the 
 demand of the Jews. And that he 
 himself, etc. Better, .Hi? himself hav- 
 ing appealed. Festus does not state 
 why he appealed, because instead of 
 acquitting Paul he proposed his going 
 tip to Jerusalem for trial, (ver. 9, 10,) 
 Had Festus acted promptly on his con- 
 
 victions, Paul would have had no oc- 
 casion to apjieal. Thus Festus had put 
 himself in an embarrassing position by 
 his time-serving policy. To Augus- 
 tus. (Seeonrer. 21.) 
 
 26. Paul had appealed to Csesarand 
 Festus had granted the appeal, yet he 
 had no certain thing to write, no 
 
 definite statement to make. It was 
 customary to send to the emjieror a 
 written statement of the oft'ence and 
 ])roceedings against the prisoner. If 
 the case should appear trivial it might 
 exjtose him to criticism, perhaps to 
 censure. Unto my lord. The accu- 
 racy of Luke is illu.strated by this ap- 
 pellation of lord to the emperor. Both 
 Augustus and Tiberius would not allow 
 the corresponding Latin word dominus 
 applied to themselves, because it im- 
 jdied the relation of master and slave. 
 But early in the empire the custom 
 grew of thus styling the euii)eror, and 
 itl>ecamea part of establislied ctiijuette. 
 JIany Greek inscri])tions have been 
 found in Asia Minor and Egypt with 
 this title, some of tlicm inscribed to 
 Nero. Caligula seems to have been 
 the first to jjcrmit it. And a generation 
 later Pliny, in his letters to Trajan, calls 
 him lord more than seventy times. 
 Festus as a Eoman official would very 
 likely use this title. As Luke soon 
 after sailed with Paul, he juolmbly 
 heard him. The word lord liad a wide 
 meaning, implying possession of au- 
 thority or power, applicable to politi- 
 cal or social life, to men or to gods. 
 See a discussion of the word in Biblio- 
 theca Sacra, for July, 18(il, pp. 595-608. 
 Examination — as a law term among 
 the Greeks this word was used of a 
 preliminary investigation, for gather- 
 ing evidence for the information of the 
 judges. 
 
Ch. XXV.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 373 
 
 nation had, I might have somewhat to 
 27 write. For it seeincth to uie uiirea8onal)le 
 
 to send a prisoner, and not withal to 
 signify the crimes laid against him. 
 
 17. For it seeineth to me uu- 
 reasonable^ etc. Ami he could 
 have added, unlawful. Festus hoi)ed 
 to get a clearer view of the case, and 
 fresh facts, so as to write more defi- 
 nitely. From this account of Luke, lie 
 apj)ears to have heen a just and reason- 
 able man, which accords with the 
 character given him by Josephus. 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Rulers and judges and laws may change, 
 but tlie Supreme Judge, Jesus Christ, ever 
 lives and is ever the same. (Ver. 1 ; Heb. 
 13 : 8.) 
 
 2. Promptness and business-like traits are 
 especially commendable in public officials. 
 (Ver. 1-4.) 
 
 3. The Jews in their proceedings against 
 Paul illustrate the hatred and persecution 
 of wicked men against Christianity. (Ver. 
 2, 3 ; Bom. 8 : 7.) 
 
 4. God often protects his servants through 
 worldly men, as he did Paul through the 
 firmness of Festus. (Ver. 4, 5 ; Neh. 6 : 1 f ) 
 
 5. God had promised Paul that he should 
 Bee Rome. (23 : 11.) How was his faith 
 tested to be so often called to trial to no 
 purpose. (Ver. 6 ; Rom. 1 : 13.) 
 
 6. It has been common for persecutors of 
 Christians to bring charges that could not be 
 sustained. (Ver. 7 ; 6 : 13 ; Mark 14 : 56, 57.) 
 
 7. A person in the right can generally 
 make a simple and direct defense. (Ver. 8 ; 
 John 18 : 20, 21.) 
 
 8. A love of popularity too often leads 
 even honest men to deviate somewhat from 
 the riglit path. (Ver. 9 ; Ps. 118 : 8, 9.) 
 
 9. Religious bigots are often more to be 
 dreaded than the most absolute civil despots. 
 (Ver. 10, 11.) 
 
 10. Civil government is of divine author- 
 ity, and the Christian as a citizen or suhject 
 has a right to avail himself of its protection. 
 (Ver. 10, 11 : Rom. 13 : 1.) 
 
 11. God often answers the prayers of 
 Christians in a way they little expect. Thus 
 was Paul's prayers granted in going to 
 Rome. (Ver. 12 ; Rom. 1 : 9, 10.) 
 
 12. In Agrippa we have an example of 
 those who from curiosity desire to hear the 
 gospel. (Ver. 13, 22.) Some prove to be way- 
 side hearers (Matt. 13 : 19), and others like 
 
 Zaccheus are led to embrace the Saviour. 
 (Luke 19 : 4-10.) 
 
 13. It is of the nature of human infirm- 
 ity to justify ourselves, and set forth our 
 own merits. (Ver. 13-21 ; 23 : 27.) 
 
 14. The heathen Romans were more ra- 
 tional and just than the highly privileged 
 Jews. (Ver. 15, 1(5 ; Luke 11 : 31, 32.) 
 
 15. To condemn a man unlieard is the 
 very essence of tyranny, and should be 
 practiced neither in church nor state. (Ver. 
 16.) 
 
 16. Civil magistrates are often wholly in- 
 competent to judge in regard to spiritual 
 matters. (Ver. 17-20.) 
 
 17. In Festus we have an example of a class 
 of worldly men, who regard Christianity as 
 a matter of indifference, to whom Christ is 
 merely a " one Jesus." (Ver. 17-20 ; 18 : 14- 
 17.) 
 
 18. The person of Christ, his life, death, 
 and resurrection, are the great central 
 themes of Christianity in all ages ; and they 
 have determined the whole system of theol- 
 ogy, both in theory and practice. (Ver. 19.) 
 
 19. Paul did not fear death ; but he would 
 not recklessly throw away his life. Martyr- 
 dom is not to be sought, but rather avoided. 
 (Ver. 20, 21.) 
 
 20. Agrippa's curious desire resulted in 
 Paul's wonderful defence, and if not in his 
 own good, in the good of all ages. (Ver. 22 ; 
 ch. 26.) 
 
 21. Outward pomp often covers poverty of 
 mind and character. (Ver 23.) 
 
 22. Beauty, show, and princely grandeur 
 pass away, but God's word endures forever. 
 (Ver. 23-26 ; 1 Peter 1 : 24.) 
 
 23. Paul was every inch a man and a 
 Christian, willing to stake his life for Christ 
 and the truth, and ready to ])roclaim the 
 gospel before all classes of men. (Ver. 24 ; 
 20 : 24 ; Rom. 15 : 19.) 
 
 24. As Christ was sent by Pilate to Herod, 
 so Paul is placed before Agrippa. (Ver. 25, 
 26 ; Luke 23 : 7.) 
 
 25. In every age God's children have need 
 to pray to be delivered from unreasonable 
 men. (Ver. 27 ; 1 Thess. 3 : 5.) 
 
 26. The great tribunal is our last appeal. 
 We may fail to get justice here, but we shall 
 obtain full justice at the bar of God. (Ver. 
 24-27 ; 2 Cor, 5 : 10.) 
 
374 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVI. 
 
 PauVs address before King Agrippa. 
 ae THEN Agrippa saidunto Paul, i° Thou 
 art permitted to speak for thyself. 
 
 Then Paul stretched forth the hand, 
 and answered for hinii^elf : 
 
 2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, he- 
 cause I shall answer for myself this day 
 before thee touching all the things 
 
 3 whereof I am accused of the Jews : espe- 
 
 cially because I know thee to be expert in 
 all customs and questions which are 
 among the Jews: wherefore I beeseech 
 thee to hear me patiently. 
 
 4 My manner of life from my youth, 
 "which was at the first among mine own 
 nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; 
 
 5 which knew me from the beginning, » if 
 they would testify, that after p the most 
 
 ' ch. 25 : 16. " ch. 22 : 3. « ch. 22 : 5. P ch. 23 : 6 ; Phil. 3 : 5. 
 
 Ch. 26 : 1-32. Paxil's Defence 
 Befoee King Agrippa. (Rom. is : is, 19. 
 SeeonS: 1-30; 22:1-21) Regarding the three 
 accounts of Paul's conversion, see in- 
 troductory remarks to 9 : 1-22. This 
 defense occured probably about the 
 middle of August, A. T>. 60. 
 
 1. Festus having stated the case 
 (25:24-27), and the company being in 
 waiting, King Agrippa assumes the 
 presidency of the assembly. With his 
 u.sual courtesy (25:22), he says, not " I 
 l)ermit thee,"'but Thou art permit- 
 ted to speak, in deference to Festus, 
 tlie governor. For thyself — vet, 
 rather, for Jesus, the Christ, who had 
 called hiiu into his kingdom and made 
 him his minister and apostle. Then 
 I'aul stretched forth his hand— 
 the usual gesture in addressing a pub- 
 lic assembly ; now especially impress- 
 ive by the chain which hung from it. 
 (ver. iM.) Similar, though not exactly 
 the same, as the beckoning, or shaking 
 the hand to .secure attention in 13 : 16 ; 
 19 : 33. Answered for himself-— 
 or made his defence, not so much to 
 jirove his innocence, for he was not now 
 on trial, as to exjjlain the reason of his 
 becoming a Christian and preaching 
 the gospel. It is one of the most won- 
 derful addresses recorded in history. 
 It consists _/!rs<, of a few courteous intro- 
 ductory words (vpr. 2. 3) ; second, a glance 
 at his early life and at Israel's hojie, 
 for which he stands accused of the 
 Jews (»er. 1-7) ; third, relates his conver- 
 sion as an evidence of the Messiahship 
 and resurrection of Jesus (»er. sia); 
 fourth, his ajipointment as a minister 
 and apostle (ver. le 18) ; and Jifth, his 
 obedience to the heavenly vision, in 
 preaching the gospel to both Jews and 
 Gentiles, (ver. "19-24.) 
 
 2. I think myself happy, etc. — 
 after so many attempts to make him- 
 self understood before such men as 
 
 Lysias, Felix, and Festus, Paul could 
 congratulate himself in now address- 
 ing one who could understand and ap- 
 preciate his case. His compliment to 
 Agrippa was a courteous acknowledg- 
 ment of his acquaintance with Jewish 
 hopes, customs, and controversies. 
 
 3. Especially because I know 
 thee to be expert, etc. — rather, 
 Especially since thou art an expert in 
 all customs, civil and religious, 
 whether established by law or usage, 
 and questions, subjects of disputes 
 among Jews, both among themselves 
 and between the sects. Agrippa was 
 professedly a Jew, and had had great 
 opportunities for knowing these mat- 
 ters ; and as a crowned vassal of the 
 Roman Empire he also had thorough 
 knowledge of Roman affairs among the 
 Jews. The Rabbinic writers speak of 
 him as excelling in his knowledge of 
 the law and traditions. "And as the 
 traditions which they follow could not 
 have flowed from this passage, it con- 
 firms the representations here by an 
 unexpected agreement." (Hackett.) 
 
 4. In this and the next verse Paul 
 speaks of his early training, belief and 
 conduct. At the first — better, from 
 the begimting. Though born at Tar- 
 sus, he always dwelt among his own 
 people. At Jerusalem, or, accord- 
 ing to the oldest manuscripts. And at 
 Jerusalem. He came early to Jerusa- 
 lem for his education. (22:'3.) Know 
 all the Jews — he was generally 
 known by his attainments, his promi- 
 nence among them, and as a leader in 
 the persecution against Christians. 
 
 (9:1,2.) 
 
 5. Paul says from my youth in the 
 preceding verse; herefrom the be- 
 ginning, or from the first, implying 
 knowledge of him from his very child- 
 hood. If they would, or ivere will- 
 ing to testify. There were those 
 
Ch. XXVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 375 
 
 Btaitest sect of our religion I lived a 
 
 6 Pharisee. lAnd now I stand and am 
 judged for the hope of ■• the promise made 
 
 7 of God uulo our lathers: unto which 
 promise sour twelve tribes, instantly 
 serving God 'day and night, "hope to 
 
 come. For -which hope's sake, king 
 
 8 Agrippa, I am accused of the. lews. 'Why 
 should it be thought a thing incredi- 
 ble with you' that Uod should raise the 
 dead? 
 
 9 J I verily thought with myself, that I 
 
 qch. 23 :6. » ch. 13: .■52-,37 ; Gen. 12 : 3; 22 : 18; 26 : 4; 28 : 14; 49 : 10; Dent. 18; 15; 
 2 Sam. 7 : 12 ; Ps. 132 : 11 ; Isa. 9 : 6, 7 ; Jer. 23 : 5 ; 33 : 14-16 ; Ezek. 34 : 23 ; Dan. 9 : 24 ; Rom. 
 15 : 8 ; Titus 2:13. " James 1:1. t Luke 2:3. " see Luke 2 : 25, 38. » Gen. 18 : 14 ; 
 Matt. 22 : 29-32; 1 Cor. 15 : 12-20. r John 16 : 2 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 13. 
 
 among his accusers who knew him 
 from his early years, and his strict 
 manner of life. Compare his appeal to 
 the mob in his address from the tower 
 steps. (2s:5.) The most straitest — 
 rather, the strictest sect, or party. (See 
 on 24: u.) In the epistles the word only 
 occurs in the plural and used in a bad 
 sense, meaning "heresies" or "factions." 
 
 (l Cor. 11 : 18 ; Gal. 5 : 20 ; 2 Peter 2:1.) Of OUf 
 
 religion — of our religious discipline, 
 having special reference to the external 
 observances and ceremonies of Juda- 
 ism. I lived a Pharisee. The 
 Pharisees were divided into two classes : 
 The followers of Hillel, the more lib- 
 eral, embracing such men as Nicodemus, 
 Joseph of Arimathea, and Gamaliel ; 
 and the followers of Shammai, the 
 more rigid in spirit, to which Paul had 
 attached himself, not merely profes- 
 sedly, but practically and heartily, he 
 lived it. Compare his description of 
 himself in Phil. 3 : 4-6. 
 
 6. And now, at this time, in 
 contrast with what I was in the 
 past, I stand here on trial for 
 the hope of the promise made 
 of God unto our fathers. (Gen. 12 ; 3.) 
 This promise was of the Messiah 
 and his kingdom, (see 13 : 32,33.) This 
 bi"ief reference was all that was neces- 
 sary for Agrippa. A fuller descrip- 
 tion might be misunderstood by Fes- 
 tus. The Jews expected that the Mes- 
 siah would establish a universal king- 
 dom ; Paul saw the spiritual nature of 
 this kingdom, of which Jesus Christ 
 was the Head and Lord. (28 : 28-31 ; 1 Cor. 
 15 : J3-28.) In this he implies that so far 
 from leaving his old religion, he was 
 faithfully adhering to it. 
 
 7. Unto Avhich — promise, is under- 
 stood, and is supplied in both the Com- 
 mon and Revised Versions. The 
 twelve tribes — one word in the origi- 
 nal, used collectively of the whole 
 
 Israelitish people, as at first composed 
 of twelve tribes, and as now represent- 
 ing them. Some of the ten tribes re- 
 turned from Babylon with Judah and 
 Benjamin, and the priests and Levites. 
 
 (Ezra 1 : 5-11 ; 6 : IT ; 8 : 35.) Anna (Luke 2 : 36) 
 
 was of the tribe of Asher, and Paul of 
 the tribe of Benjamin. James ad- 
 dresses his Epistle (1 : 1) " to the twelve 
 tribes that are scattered abroad." 
 Instantly, rather, earnestly serving 
 God day and night — special refer- 
 ence to habitual worship in rites and 
 ceremonies, in fasting and prayers. 
 
 (Luke 2: 37 ; 1 Tim. 5 -5.) Hope tO COme 
 
 — to attain unto the fulfillment of this 
 promise, and enjoy its blessings. For 
 which hope's sake— the hope of 
 the suffering and risen Christ, who in 
 consummating his kingdom will prove 
 himself to be a King of kings and Lord 
 of lords. But strange to say, for this 
 very hope practically believed and 
 held, I am accused of the Jcavs. 
 Emphatic words, marking the incon- 
 sistency of the Jews. 
 
 8. The words just uttered would 
 remind Agrippa that Paul jireached 
 the resurrection of Jesus. It was the 
 central fact of Christianity, the great 
 subject of discussion between Christians 
 and Jews, and had been referred to by 
 Festus to Agrippa. (25:19.) In view 
 of this, uppermost in his mind, and 
 prominent in the mind of Agrippa, 
 Paul exclaims. Why should it be 
 thought, etc. Rather, Why is it 
 judged incredible with you, including 
 all present, also the Jews of whom 
 
 you, king Agrippa, form a part, if . U 
 
 God raises the dead f With you is in hJ^ 
 
 the plural. Is it strange in view of the . .' 
 
 past history of our race ? (1 Kings n : n- 5 tf 
 
 23; 2 Kings ♦: 18-37; 13:21.) If not, whv -^ 
 
 should I be accused of crime for hold- 
 ing it ? 
 
 9. Paul proceeds to state that he 
 
S76 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVI.- 
 
 ought to do many things contrary to the ing received authority "from the chief 
 
 10 name of Jesus of Nazaieth. ^ Which priests : and when they were put to death, 
 
 thing I also did in Jerusalem : and many 11 I gave my voice against litem. 'And I 
 
 of the saints did I shut up in prison, hav- j punished them oft in every synagogue, 
 
 'ch. 7 :58; 8:1, 3. • ch. 9 : 14, 21 ; 22 : 5. «> ch. 22 : 19. ■'- I 
 
 was once in a like state of incredulity 
 regarding the resurrection of Jesus, 
 and to relate how he was convinced of 
 the fact. I verily — I indeed, in a like 
 spirit of incredulity, there/ore thought 
 with myself, exercising my independ- 
 ent judgment in the spirit of Phari- 
 saic self-reliance, that I ought to do 
 many things. He acted sincerely 
 and conscientiously, (mm.) Con- 
 trary to the nanie of Jesus — who 
 was represented l)y his disciples and 
 his cause. Names often express per- 
 sonality and character. (Geu. si-. 28;Num. 
 
 13 : 16 : 1 Sam. 4 : 21.) JVame WaS oftCll USCd 
 
 of God in the Old Testament in reference 
 to his perfections and Godhead. (Exod. 
 
 S: 13,14; 33 : 19 ; 5.7; Ps. S9 : 2 ; 34:3; 61 : 5. ) The 
 
 name of Jesus frequently occurs in the 
 Acts, denoting all that it implies, the 
 Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord, 
 Prophet, Priest, and King. On it men 
 were to believe (-t : le) ; in it to be bap- 
 tized (2:38); through it miracles were 
 performed (3:6); and men alone could 
 be saved (* : 12) ; and for it the early 
 preachers hazarded their lives, (is : 20.) 
 10. In this verse Paul tells what he 
 did in Jerusalem. First receiving 
 the garments at Stephen's martyrdom. 
 (7:58.) Many of the saints 1 shut 
 up in prison, rather, prisons, accord- 
 ing to the best reading. Entering 
 house after house, he laid hold of both 
 men and women. (Sceou8:3.) Notice 
 he uses the word saints here, wliich 
 occurs neither in Luke's account of 
 Paul's conversion, nor in Paul's speech 
 before the Jewish mob. (n : 1, 2; 22 : 4, 5.) 
 Here Paul enjoys great freedom, and 
 speaks freely (ver. 3), and applies to the 
 disciples an honorable title, which 
 Agri]>i)a would understand, and yet 
 which would not be specially offensive 
 to him and his hearers present, and at 
 the same time would indicate the great- 
 ness of his own guilt. When they 
 were put to death — Stephen and 
 others. (22:4.) In these accounts we 
 get but a glimi>se of his " breathing 
 out threatening and slaughter." (» : 1.) 
 
 I gave my voice — literally, 7 cast 
 my pebble, that is, my vote, against 
 them. In ancient courts the accused 
 was condemned by black pebbles, and 
 acquitted by white ones. Such a 
 phrase was sometimes used in the sense 
 of giving assent, approving. Hence 
 some suppose that Saul was a member 
 of the Sanhedrin, while others regard 
 it as improbable on account of various 
 reasons, and explain the phrase of his 
 moral assent and approval. The 
 words naturally imply that he was a 
 meml)er of some tribunal before which 
 Christians were brouglit ; and as Jew- 
 ish law allowed the infliction of the 
 death penalty only to the Sanhedrin, 
 it has been thought he was a member 
 of tliat body. In that case, according 
 to the Rabbins, he must have been at 
 least thirty years old. The later 
 Rabbins say that a necessary qualifica- 
 tion of membership was to be married 
 and have children. That Paul was 
 married, and afterward a widower, has 
 been advocated by Ewald and Fanar. 
 (Life of St. Paul, pp. 45, 95.) The 
 Jews held the marriage relation in 
 high esteem, and persons were married 
 early. In 1 Cor. 9 : 5 Paul claimed 
 the right to a married life, but re- 
 garded the unmarried state as better 
 fitted for his work. 1 Cor. 7 : 8 may 
 not be decisive, but its implication is 
 stronger on the side that he never Mas 
 married, than that he was a widower. 
 This question, as well as that of his 
 membership of the Sanhedrin, cannot be 
 positively settled. 
 
 J 1 . In this verse Paul tells how he 
 carried on his persecution. I pun- 
 ished them oft in every, better, in 
 all the synagogues, at Jerusalem, and 
 the places in Judea, whither he went. 
 Scourging was the customaiy form of 
 punishment inflicted in the synagogues. 
 (See Matt. 10: 17.) Compelled them — 
 by threats and by torture to blas- 
 pheme, to rail at Christ and the 
 gospel, that is, to renounce their faith. 
 
 (13 : 45 ; James 2:7.) The language doe8 
 
Ch. XXVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 377 
 
 and coin).clkd thrm to blaspheme: and 
 being exceeiiingly uiad againt t.hcin, I 
 persecuted thr.m even uiilo strange cities. 
 
 12 = VVhereupdii as 1 went to l)ania.seus 
 with authority and commission from the 
 
 13 chief priests, at mid-day, O king, I saw 
 in the way a light from heaven, above 
 the brightness of the sun, shining round 
 about me and them which journeyed 
 
 14 with me. And when we were all fallen 
 to the earth, I heard a voice speaking 
 unto me, and saying in the Hebrew 
 
 tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
 me? /rii- hard for thee to kick against 
 
 15 the pricks. And I said, Who art, thou, 
 
 16 Lord? And he said, 1 am Jesus whom 
 thou persecutest. Hut rise, and stand 
 upon thy feet : for 1 have appeared unto 
 thee for this purpose, ^ to make thee a 
 minister and a witness both of those 
 things which thou h;ist seen, and of those 
 things in the which « I will appear unto 
 
 17 thee: delivering thee from the people, 
 and/ro?« the Gentiles, f unto whom now I 
 
 I ch. 9 : 2-22 ; 22 : 6. * ch. 22 : 15. « ch. 18 : 9 ; 22 : 18 ; 23 : 11 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 1 ; Gal. 1 : 12; 
 Eph. 3:3. f ch. 22 : 21. 
 
 not necessarily mean that any did thus 
 actually blaspheme ; and hence the 
 Ke vised Version renders, " I strove to 
 make them blaspheme." That some 
 weak ones temporarily denied Christ, 
 like Peter, and some ontward disciples 
 apostatized is probaljle. ('iTim. i:i5; 4:io.) 
 Being exceeding mad, against 
 them — though conscientious, lie was 
 iu a paroxysm of excitement, tlirough 
 pride, prejudice, and hatred — I per- 
 secuted them even unto strange, 
 that is, foreign cities. 
 
 12. Whereupon — while thus em- 
 ployed as I went to Damascus. Here 
 he gives an account of his conversion. 
 On this verse, see on 9 : 1, 2. 
 
 13 At midday — it was no nocturnal 
 vision. (i2 : 6.) In addition to the pre- 
 vious accounts, Paul describes the 
 light, as above the brightness of 
 the sun. There could therefore be no 
 doubt that this was a supernatural light. 
 
 (See on 9 ; 3.) 
 
 14. That the voice spoke in the 
 Hebrew, is recorded only here. (See 
 on 9 : 4.) It is hard for thee to kick 
 against the pricks, the goads. These 
 words are only found here, according 
 to the oldest and best manuscripts. 
 (See on 9 : 5.) A wcll-kuown proverb. The 
 figure is from the driven ox. The 
 driver using a goad instead of a whip 
 pricks him, who, ignorantly kicking 
 back, receives another wound. So it is 
 imjilied, it had been with Saul. God 
 had been dealing with him, ever since 
 he had met with Stephen, when he was 
 baffled by him in argument. (6 : i9.) 
 His conscience had been touched, and 
 his heart troubled. But he recoiled 
 from the true light. (Joim 3 : 20.) In ig- 
 norance and prejudice he rushes madly 
 on, and tries to crush any promptings of 
 
 the Spirit, and any misgivings or dis- 
 quietude of soul. (Rom. 7 : 711.) 
 
 15. Who art thou, Lord? On 
 
 this verse see on ch. 9 : 5. 
 
 16. Passing over the Lord's com- 
 mand to go into Damascus, as only in- 
 cidental to the purj)Ose of ids address, 
 Paul relates how the Lord at once com- 
 missioned him as a missionary and an 
 apostle to the Gentiles. (See near tlie 
 end of the note on 9 : 6.) For I have 
 appeared unto thee. In after days 
 Paul declares that he had seen the 
 
 Lord. (1 Cor. 9:1; 15: 8. See on 9 : 3.) TO 
 
 make thee, better, to appoint thee a 
 minister — the same as iu 22 : 14 ; de- 
 noting that he was deliberately selected 
 and appointed. And a witness both 
 of the things which thou hast 
 seen, etc. Some ancient manuscrij)ts 
 read, of the things wherein tlio^t hast 
 seen me, which is adopted by the Re- 
 vised Version. But the common read- 
 ing is well sustained. The meaning is 
 essentially the same with either read- 
 ing. To have seen the Lord was a 
 necessary qualification to being an apos- 
 tle. (1:21,22) And of those things 
 in the which I will appear unto 
 thee. Paul appears to have been 
 favored above the rest of the apostles 
 in visions and revelations, (is : 9; 22 : is; 
 
 23 : II ; 27 : 23; 2 Cor. 12 : 1-7') 
 
 17. Delivering thee from the 
 people, the Jews, and from the 
 Gentiles, the heathen. How often 
 must this promise have cheered him all 
 through his troubled and checkered 
 ministerial life, which he so graph- 
 ically and touchingly describes in 2 
 Cor. 6 : 4-10 ; 11 : 23-27. Unto whom 
 now I send thee. Now should be 
 omitted, according to the best text. / 
 is emphatic. Send is the verb from 
 
378 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVI. 
 
 18 send thee, sto open their eyes, and^ to 
 turn them from darkness to light, and 
 from, the power of f^atan unto God, that 
 they may receive forgiveness of sins, and 
 ' inherilauce among them which are 
 '' sanctified by faith that is in me. 
 
 19 Whereupon,0 king Agrippa, ' I was not 
 disobedient unto the heavenly vision : 
 
 but ™ showed first unto them of Damas- 
 cus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout 
 all the coasts of Judaa, and t/ien to the 
 Gentiles, that they should repent and 
 turn to God, and do " works meet for 
 repentance. 
 21 For these causes "the Jews caught me 
 in the temple, and went about to kill 
 
 e Isa. 35 : 5 ; 42 : 7; Luke 1 : 79. h Eph. 5:8; Col. 1 : 13 ; 1 reter2 : 9. i Kom. 8 : 17; 
 Gal. 3 : 29 ; Col. 1 : 12. k ch. 20 : 32. l Gal. 1 : 16. "» ch. 9 : 20, 22, Z9 ; 11 : 26 ; ch. 13 to 
 ch. 21 ; Rom. 15 ; 19. » Matt. 3:8. » ch. 21 : 30, 31. 
 
 which the noun " apostle " comes ; and 
 thus may iuclude the idea of his apos- 
 tleship. It is in the present tense, im- 
 plying that his ministry is to begin at 
 once. It seems that Paul knew of his 
 mission to the Gentiles from the very 
 first. (Gal. 1 : 16.) Compare the Scriptural 
 phraseology, Jer. 1 : 7. 
 
 18. The object and success of his 
 ministry is presented, which was full 
 of encouragement. The olyect: To 
 open their eyes. If the eyes of Jews 
 and Gentiles were opened, then they 
 would turn, which accords with the 
 more correct translation : To open their 
 eyes that they may turn from darkness 
 to light. Old Testament phraseology. 
 (Isa. « : 7, 16.) Christ is the light of the 
 world, and his gospel brings light. 
 
 (Luke 2 : 32; 1 Peter 2 : 9j Col. a : 13.) From 
 
 the power of Satan, who is the 
 
 prince, and the god of this world. 
 
 ( Johu 12 : 31 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 4 ; 1 John 5 : 19.) UutO 
 
 God— the rightful Lord, in whom is 
 light, and who through Christ will 
 destroy the works of the devil. (iJohn 
 5:8; 3:8.) That they may receive 
 the forgiveness of sins, etc.— tlie 
 immediate result ofturningto God. And 
 inheritance among them that are 
 sanctified — made heirs of God and 
 joint heirs with Christ. (See on 20 : 32.) 
 Here "sanctified," as well as "saint" 
 in Paul's Epistles, is applied to those 
 wlio are in the way of salvation, and 
 not to those wlio are perfect in holiness. 
 The last clause should simply be, By 
 faith in me. It is through "faith in 
 Christ that they are to receive the re- 
 mission of sins, and all that follows. 
 
 19. From these facts Paul proceeds 
 to justify his change of position, and 
 his subsequent ministry. M'here- 
 upon ... I was not disobedient 
 — more exactly, did not become disobe- 
 
 dient, as selfish interests might have in- 
 clined me, in view of tlie trials and 
 hardships connected with a life of 
 active and positive service for Christ. 
 He did not confer with tiesh and blood. 
 (Gal. 1 : 16.) The heavenly vision, of 
 Jesus and of his will, was plainly a 
 suflicient cause and reason for the great 
 change in his life and work. 
 
 20. But shewed — announced and 
 ke])t on announcing. This in the 
 original is joined to repent and turn, 
 etc. Paul in his preaching, wherever 
 he went, was accustomed to enforce 
 three things: repentance, including a 
 change of purjwse, a sorrow for and a 
 forsaking of sin — turning to God, im- 
 plying faith and including a desire and 
 a striving to do his will ; and works 
 ^vorthy of repentance, a life of 
 practical godliness, as the fruits and 
 evidence of repentance. (i7:30;U:i5; 
 
 20 : 21 ; Col. 1 : 28. Compare Isa. 55 : 6, 7 ; Luke 
 
 3 : 8-u.) The places here named where 
 he preached were first at Damascus, 
 where he was converted (» : 2-) ; also at 
 Jerusalem, where he disputed with 
 the Grecian Jews (9 : 28, iu), and through- 
 out all the coasts, the region of 
 Judea (11 : 30; 12 • 24, 25; 15 : 3, 4) ; and also 
 
 to the Gentiles. (9 : .30 ; 22 : 21 ; 11 : 25, 26.) 
 
 Paul ai)pears here specially to describe 
 his earlier ministry before beginning 
 the first of the three great missionary 
 tours; but by the last clause, to the 
 Gentiles, he glances through his later 
 labors. 
 
 21. For these causes — onaccoitnt 
 of these things, just stated: preaching 
 the gospel, especially to the Gentiles. 
 The Tatter was his great and unpardon- 
 able oflFence in the eyes of the Jews. 
 (22 : 21.) The Jews caught, seized me 
 with violence. Went about — better, 
 attempted to kill me, in the riot in the 
 
Ch. XXVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 379 
 
 22 me. Having therefore Pobtained help of 
 God, I coiitiiiuo unto this day, t wit- 
 uossing lK)th to small and great, saying 
 none other things than those 'which the 
 prophets and "Moses did say should 
 
 23 come: 'that Christ should suffer, and 
 o that he should be the first that snould 
 
 'rise from the dead, and 'should show 
 light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. 
 24 And as he thus spake for himself, 
 Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, J thou 
 art beside thyself; much learning doth 
 make thee mad. 
 
 
 P 2 Cor. 1 
 
 8-10 
 
 ;6 
 
 10; 
 
 2 Tim. 4 
 
 :17 
 
 18 
 
 
 ich 
 
 20 : 
 
 20-27 
 
 'oh 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 ;28 
 
 : 23 
 
 Kom. 
 
 3 
 
 :21. 
 
 » John 5 : 
 
 46. 
 
 t 
 
 Luke 24 
 
 26, 
 
 27, 
 
 40. 
 
 u 
 
 1 (kn 
 
 .ir> 
 
 20-23 ; 
 
 Col. 
 
 1 : 
 
 18; 
 
 Rev 
 
 .1:5. 
 
 z 
 
 [iuke 2 
 
 32. 
 
 J 
 
 2 Kings 
 
 9 : 11 ; Mark 3 
 
 ■n 
 
 , Joh 
 
 u 10 
 
 20; 
 
 1 Cor. 2 
 
 :13 
 
 14 
 
 , 4 
 
 10; 
 
 2 Cor. 
 
 6 
 
 :13. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 temple, and afterward by their plots. 
 (21 : n ; 23 : 12.) Compare this fuller state- 
 meut with the briefer one in ver. (3. 
 
 'Z2. Having therefore obtained 
 help of God — having experienced 
 succor that is from God, referring to 
 the many deliverances during the wliole 
 course of his ministry. (18:9.) There- 
 fore, emphasizes the divine help, which 
 had enabled him to continue or stand, 
 unto this day, notwithstanding the 
 many persecutions which he had en- 
 dured. (2Cor. 4;7-12; 11 :23-27.) Thushe 
 
 liad stood his ground, witnessing or 
 testifyinfj both to small and great 
 — to persons of both low and high 
 rank ; for example, to the women at 
 Philippi, and now to this most august 
 assembly in Palestine. Saying none 
 other things than those which the 
 prophets and Moses did say 
 should come. He was in perfect 
 agreement with the prophets, and in 
 his teachings has not gone beyond what 
 they had foretold. And he adds, as if 
 it were an after-thought, a/wZ Moses, 
 whose law they charged him with 
 brealcing, whose teaching with pervert- 
 ing. (21 : 21.) 
 
 ^3. Paul states the three great ques- 
 tions of discussion between Christians 
 and Jews, first, regarding a suffering 
 Messiah ; second, his resurrection ; 
 third, his mission, alike to Jews and 
 Gentiles. That Christ should suf- 
 fer — better. Whether the Christ should 
 suffer. " The apostle, as I understand, 
 approaches the question on the Jewish 
 side of it, not on the Christian ; and 
 that was, whether the Messiah, being 
 such as many of the Jews expected, 
 could suffer, not whether he must suffer, 
 in order to fulfill the Scriptures." 
 (Hackett.) Of course in these dis- 
 cussions, he testified (ver. 22) to the ful- 
 fillment of prophecy in the sufferings 
 
 of Jesus as the Christ. That he 
 should be the first, etc. ; Whether 
 the first that should rise from the dead 
 should proclaim light, etc. In this dis- 
 cussion Paul affirmed that Christ should 
 be the first-begotten from the dead, the 
 second Adam. (1 Cor. 15:20-2:1.) His resur- 
 rection was an earnest of the general 
 resurrection. In thus holding to the 
 resurrection of Jesus, he could say be- 
 fore the Sanhedrin, " For the hope of 
 the resurrection of the dead I am called 
 in question." (23:6.) And so Christ 
 brought life and immortality to light. 
 (2 Tim. 1 : 10.) If Paul provcd to his op- 
 ponents that Christ should suffer and 
 die, it would be easy to show that then 
 he must rise from the dead. (2 : 24-31 ,- 
 13 : 32-37.) The risen Christ was to be a 
 Herald of light, of truth. But to whom ? 
 Was he to be both to the people, 
 that is the Jews, and to the Gen- 
 tiles ? Paul took the afiirmative, and 
 showed that this was the teachings of 
 Moses and the prophets, from such pas- 
 sages as Isa. 42 : 6 ; 49 : 6 ; 60 : 1-3 ; 
 
 Gen. 15 : 18. (Compare Luke 2 : 32.) 
 
 34. Such a defense including such a 
 gospel discourse sounded strange to 
 Festus' ears. While Christ crucified 
 was a stumbling-block to the Jew, it 
 was foolishness to the Gentile. (1 cor. 
 1 : 28.) To the cool and skeptical Roman 
 Paul's enthusiasm regarding the resur- 
 rection of Jesus, and his gospel for the 
 whole world, seemed like the frenzy of 
 a fanatic. Festus seems to forget wliere 
 he is and the decorum of the occasion, 
 and deeply absorbed in listening and 
 thinking, cries out with aloud voice, 
 indicating surprise and earnestness, 
 Paul, thou art beside thyself, or 
 mad. " Festus saw that nature was not 
 working in Paul ; grace he did not see ; 
 therefore thought it a Jewish frenzy." 
 (Bexgel.) Much learning, literally 
 
380 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVI. 
 
 25 But he taid, ^I am not mad, 'most 
 noble Kestus ; but si)eak forth •'the 
 
 26 words of truth and soberness. For the 
 king knoweth of these things, before 
 whom also 1 speak freely : for I am per- 
 suaded that none of these things are 
 
 hidden from him ; for = this thing was not 
 
 27 done in a corner. King Agrippa, be- 
 lievest thou the prophets ? 1 know that 
 thou believest. 
 
 28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, ^ Almost 
 
 ; John 8 : 49. 
 
 • Prov. 15 : 1 ; Col. 4:6. >> Titus 2 ; 7, 8. « ch. 2 : 1-12 ; 4 : 16-22 ; Luke 
 24 : 19. ■i Mark 6 : 20 ; 10 : 17-22 ; James 1 : 23, 24. 
 
 many fetters, which may refer either to 
 the many writings Paul had read, or 
 to the knowledge he had obtained from 
 them, his reputed attainments. Festus 
 liad doubtless heard of Paul, as dis- 
 tinguished among the Jews for his 
 scholarship ; and it was natural for a 
 Roman, and a lieathen,to imagine that 
 much Jewish learning, es2)ecially in 
 the Scripture, would make one mad. 
 More exactly, Tur-ns thee to madness. 
 A little less literally, Alford well ren- 
 ders, Is turning thy brain. He evi- 
 dently spoke seriously, not jestingly, 
 as the answer of Paul naturally im- 
 plies. 
 
 25. I am not mad. A calm and 
 courteous reply, a model to all under 
 trying circumstances. Most noble, 
 better, excellent Festus. So Felix 
 was addressed (23 : 26), on which see. 
 Words of truth — facts, and not the 
 imaginations of a disordered brain. 
 Soberness or saneness, as opposed to 
 madness. 
 
 26. He could not hope to convince 
 a heathen who thought his words were 
 like the ravings of a mad man. He 
 therefore appeals to Agrippa whose 
 education fitted him to appreciate his 
 arguments, and to see in his great sacri- 
 fices for his conscientious convictions a 
 heroism like that of the old prophets. 
 None of these things are hidden 
 from him — concerning the life and 
 works, the death and resurrection, of 
 Jesus, and the subsequent preaching 
 and spread of the gospel. The king 
 was familiar with these facts and there- 
 fore Paul could speak before him freely 
 or boldly. For this thing, this whole 
 aSair, has not beenAowe in a corner. 
 Christianity was not born, nor was it 
 reared in secret. Jesus had spoken and 
 wrought 0})enly ; and the Pharisees ex- 
 claimed, " The world is gone after him." 
 (johuii: 19.) And he was crucified at 
 Jerusalem, and during the passover. 
 The apostles aroused the nation (s : 28) ; 
 
 and in foreign lands the cry went up 
 
 against them, " These that have turned 
 the world upside down are come hither 
 
 also." (17:6.) 
 
 27. Perceiving the power he was ex- 
 erting over Agripjm, Paul determines 
 to push his appeal, and turn the king's 
 convictions to his own advantage. Be- 
 lievest thou the prophets? who 
 foretold those things which correspond 
 so closely to the history of Jesus. As 
 a Jew Agrippa professed to believe 
 them. Yet Paul awaits not an answer ; 
 but answers it himself, being assured of 
 what it would be. I know that thou 
 believest — not merely from political 
 and selfish motives, arising from his 
 fiimily and Jewish connections ; but 
 from conviction. So assured is he that 
 Agrippa believed in the prophets aa 
 inspired men, that he exclaims, I know. 
 It would be very tame to suppose that 
 he only meant, " I think " or " con- 
 jecture that you believe." 
 
 28. Expositors difier much regard- 
 ing the exact meaning of the original 
 here, and the corresponding phrase, 
 " almost and altogether," of the next 
 verse. It is generally agreed that the 
 rendering of the Common Version, 
 Almost, etc., held by Chrysostom, 
 Luther, and others, is incorrect. The 
 (jreek is. In little thou persuadest me 
 to become a Christian, and in the next 
 verse, both in little and much, or both 
 in little and great. Some with Hack- 
 ett, Neander, and others, refer this to 
 time. In a little time, etc. But to this 
 it is objected, that the Greek reading 
 for much or great, in tlie next verse, 
 now approved by the highest author- 
 ities, must be used not in a temporal 
 but a quantitative sense, in a great 
 amount. Hence Meyer and others pre- 
 fer to translate. With little effort, or 
 With a little utterance, that is. With a 
 
 few words, as the phrase is rendered in 
 Eph. 3 : 3. Accordingly the Bible 
 Union Version reads, With little pains 
 
Ch. XXVI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 3S1 
 
 thou persnadrst me to be a Christian. 
 
 29 And Paul said, ' 1 would to God, that not 
 
 only thou, but also all that hear lue this 
 
 day, were both almost, and altogether 
 such as I am, except these bonds. 
 30 And when he had thus spoken, the king 
 
 Koni. 9 : 1-3 ; 10 : 1. 
 
 thou, persuadest me to be a Christian. 
 The Revised Version paraphrases thus, 
 With but little persuasion thuu wuuhlst 
 fain make me a Christian. Both ver- 
 sions give the alternate reading iu the 
 margin, In little time. And both ren- 
 der the phrase in the next verse, with 
 little or much. An objection to these 
 views is that they involve Paul's reply 
 in a peculiar phraseology, and foi-ce the 
 and into the sense of or, which is not 
 authorized in Greek. 
 
 The most natural and the simplest 
 view, and the one most free from 
 objection, is to take the words just as 
 they stand, in the sense of degree or 
 measure, In a little degree thou per- 
 suadest me to be a Christian; thus 
 courteously acknowledging some force 
 to his arguments. This is substantially 
 that of Tyndale and Cramner, Somewhat 
 thou persuadest me, etc., and adopted 
 by Alexander. It presents also a pres- 
 ent fact, indicated by the present tense, 
 Thou persuaded. It also gives the 
 phrase iu the next verse a natural and 
 grammatically correct rendering, / 
 could ]}ray God, that both in a little 
 degree and in a great degree, not only 
 thou, etc. So also the Improved Bible 
 Union Version, following the reading 
 of some of the oldest manuscripts, 
 translates " Thou somewhat persuadest 
 me to make me a Christian." Another 
 question much discussed is regarding 
 the spirit in which Agrippa spoke. 
 Those who would supjjly the idea of 
 time or effort after little, generally as- 
 sume that Agrippa spoke sarcastically or 
 in irony. But of this there is no in- 
 intimation in the whole passage, and at 
 least is not in close harmony with 
 Paul's reply. It has been said that 
 Agrippa would not have used the word 
 Christian, which was one of ill-repute, 
 in any other way than in irony or sar- 
 casm. But ChHstian was becoming 
 a common name, apjilied to believers 
 generally by those from without. It 
 was doubtless the easiest and most 
 natural way for Agrippa to designate 
 a disciple, (see on u : 26.) It seems there- 
 
 fore better to regard his answer as a 
 courtly and comj)limentary apprecia- 
 tion of Paul's eloquence, acknowledging 
 some force to the facts and the trutlis 
 Paul had uttered regarding Jesus 
 Christ and the prophets. This accords 
 also with Agrippa's courtesy exempli- 
 fied elsewhere, (m :2:j; 26: i.) If this 
 be correct, it then confirms the view 
 advocated in these notes, that Paul did 
 produce some impression on Agrippa, 
 which he courteously and perhaps 
 evasively admitted. That he was im- 
 pressed favorably with what Paul said 
 is evident from his subsequent words. 
 
 (Ver. 32.) 
 
 39. I would to God—/ could 
 wilUnglj pray God were I guided by 
 the wish of my heart ; I could give 
 vent even now to audible supplication, 
 if it would not offend, even though it 
 might be unavailing. Yet his words 
 were a prayer, not only for Agrippa, 
 but also for Festus and the whole com- 
 pany. Were both almost, etc.— 
 ratlier, that both in a little degree, 
 aiod in a great degree, not only thou, 
 but also all that hear me this 
 day, may become such as I am. (See 
 ou ver. 28.) Paul intimates that he would 
 have the degree sufiiciently great to 
 secure proper results. Except these 
 boiids---douhtless holding up the hand 
 from which the chain was sus])ended. 
 That they might have his joys and his 
 hopes, without the persecution, was the 
 best prayer he could ofier for them. 
 There is a beautiful courtesy and ten- 
 derness in his language. With a nice 
 delicacy he refrains from using the 
 name Christian, lest his wish miglit in 
 any way suggest or savor of reproach. 
 Truly Paul was helped by God (ver. 22) 
 through the Holy Si)irit. (Mark 10 : 19. 20 ) 
 
 30. The words When he had 
 thus spoken are not found in the 
 oldest and best manuscripts. The 
 king rose up, etc — and thus the spell 
 produced by Paul's eloiiuence was 
 broken. Notice Bernice is again 
 mentioned, as if a principal figure in 
 the gathering. They that sat Avith 
 
382 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVL 
 
 rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, 
 
 31 and tbey that sat with them : and when 
 
 they were gone aside, they talked between 
 
 themselves, saying, 'This man doeth 
 
 nothing worthy of death or of bonds. 
 32 Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man 
 might have been set at liberty, t if he had 
 not appealed unto Csesar. 
 
 ' ch. 23 : 9, 29 ; 25 : 25. s ch. 25 : 11. 
 
 them — the chief captains and princi- 
 pal men of Csesarea. (25:23.) Such 
 details evidently came from an eye- 
 witness. 
 
 31. Having gone aside for consulta- 
 tion, (hei/ talked toyrtlter, saying, This 
 man doeth nothing worthy of 
 death or of bonds — a full acknowl- 
 edgment of Paul's innocence. And so 
 all along it had been admitted. (Ch. 23; 
 
 24 : 22; 25 : IS, 19, 2o.) 
 
 32. This man might have been 
 set at liberty, etc.— Agrippa's ver- 
 dict, looking both from a Roman and 
 Jewish standpoint. In his Words of 
 the Apostle, Stier calls attention to tlie 
 fact, that at the outbreak of the great 
 Jewish war, some eiglit years after this 
 scene, Agrippa protected the Chris- 
 tians, receiving them kindly into his 
 territory. But thougli Paul was inno- 
 cent, yet through Festus' course, he 
 had been compelled to appeal to Ca?sar. 
 And this put it out of tlie power of a 
 lower court either to condemn or to 
 acquit. But God was overruling, so 
 that Paul might go to Rome and labor 
 there, (oeu. .=iO:-.'o.) Festus probably 
 commended Paul to the clemency of 
 Csesar. (28 : le.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. We should always be in readine-'s to 
 give a reason of the faith that is in us. 
 (Ver. 1 ; 1 Peter 3 : 15.) 
 
 2. We should set an example in our 
 speech, speaking the truth in courtesy. 
 (Ver. 2 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 24 ; Titus 3:2.) 
 
 3. Christianity can well demand a patient 
 hearing before intelligent men. (Ver. 3; 
 Luke 1 : 1-4.) 
 
 4. Strict religious training in early life is 
 often one of the preparations of great preach- 
 ers. (Ver. 4, 5; 1 Tim. 1 : 5,6.) 
 
 5. The law and the gospel are not antag- 
 onistic. The hopes of the former are real- 
 ized through the latter. (Ver. 6, 7; Bom. 
 8 : 3, 5.) 
 
 6. The Messiah of the Old Testament is 
 Jesus Christ of the New. (Ver. 7; Luke 
 24 : 27.) 
 
 7. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a 
 well attested and fundamental fact of Chris- 
 tianity. (Ver. 7 : 8 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 1-16.) 
 
 8. In view of God, as Almighty, as the 
 Creator, the Author of life, and the Pre- 
 server of our being, the doctrine of the res- 
 urrection is perfectly reasonable. (Ver. 8 ; 
 17 : 24-31.) 
 
 9. .Sincerity is not religion. Conscience 
 may be wrongly trained, or perverted by 
 passion or prejudice. (Ver. 9 ; John 16:2.) 
 
 10. Men are responsible for their convic- 
 tions as well as for their conduct. (Ver. 9, 
 10; Luke 19: 22,23.) 
 
 11. Further on ver. 10-15, see Practical Re- 
 marks, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 upon ch. 9. 
 
 12. Every Christian is called into Christ's 
 kingdom for some purpose and work. (Ver. 
 16 ; 1 Cor. 7 : 20-24.) 
 
 13. Preachers are called to be servants and 
 witnesses of Christ. (Ver. 16 ; Mark 10 : 44, 
 45 ; Ileb. 5 : 4.) 
 
 14. No man is qualified for the ministry 
 without experimental knowledge of Jesus 
 Christ, so as to testify of him. (Ver. 16 ; 
 Rom. 10:14,15.) 
 
 15. Whoever is called into the ministry 
 has the promise of the divine protection and 
 care. (Ver. 17 ; Matt. 25 : 20.) 
 
 16. The ministry is intended for the in- 
 struction and conversion of men, and for 
 perfecting the saints in the divine life. 
 (Ver. 18; Eph. 4: 11-13.) 
 
 17. Forgiveness of sins and a title to 
 heaven is only assured through faith in 
 Christ. (Ver. 18 ; Rom. 8 : 1.) 
 
 18. We are not mere machines in God's 
 .service, but we must exercise our reason, 
 judgment and will in obeying Gk)d. (Ver. 
 19; Gal. 1 : 16.) 
 
 19. True repentance is evidenced by a life 
 of godliness and obedience to the commands 
 of God. (Ver. 20 ; Matt. 3 : 8, 9.) 
 
 20. The jilace for the young convert to be- 
 gin work for Christ is where he is, and 
 where he is known. (Ver. 20 ; Mark 5 : 19.) 
 
 21. It is only through help from God that 
 Christians and ministers continue in his 
 service. (Ver. 22 ; 1 Sam. 7 : 12.) 
 
 22. Christian ministers should not go be< 
 
Ch. XXVil.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 383 
 
 yond the word of God in their preacliing. 
 (Ver. 22 ; Isa. 8 : 20.) 
 
 23. Jesus should be preached both as a 
 suffering and a risen Christ, and as a Sav- 
 iour suited for all people. (Ver. 23 ; Matt. 
 28 : 19.) 
 
 24. The world often thinks the earnest- 
 ness, devotion, and sacrifices of Christians 
 fanaticism or madness. (Ver. 24; Mark 
 3 : 21 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 13.) 
 
 25. The only truly sober people in the 
 world are the servants of Christ. (Ver. 25; 
 Luke 15 : 17.) 
 
 26. Christians can appeal to facts and to 
 the consciences of men in proof of Chris- 
 tianity. (Ver. 26 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 2.) 
 
 27. Many give an intellectual reception to 
 the truth, but believe not from the heart. 
 (Ver. 27 ; Rom. 10 : 9, 10.) 
 
 28. Pride, worldly station, and their imme- 
 diate surroundings often keep persons from 
 giving anything but a slight assent to the 
 claims of the Christian religion. (Ver. 28 ; 
 Luke 13 : 24.) 
 
 29. We should earnestly pray that faint 
 impressions may become deep ones, and that 
 small beginnings may result in the salva- 
 tion of the soul. (Ver. 29 ; Phil. 1 : 1-6.) 
 
 30. Chains of iron with a hope in Christ 
 are better than royalty with en unrenewed 
 heart. (Ver. 29.) 
 
 31. The most faithful appeals of the gos- 
 pel, if respectful and courteous, may be made 
 without offence, and result in good. (Ver. 
 80-32.) 
 
 Ch. 27 : In this chapter Luke gives 
 an account of Paul's last recorded voy- 
 age from CEesarea, and his shipwreck 
 on the island of ^lalta. It is the most 
 remarkable document of antiquity re- 
 garding the ships and navigation of 
 the ancients. Its exactness of details 
 in its geographical references, and its 
 use of nautical terms, are strong evi- 
 dences of the trustworthiness of the 
 book. The style though accurate is 
 unprofessional. " No sailor would 
 have written in a style so little like a 
 sailor ; no man not a sailor would have 
 written a narrative of a sea voyage so 
 consistent in all its parts, unless from 
 actual observation. This peculiarity 
 of style is to me, in itself, a demonstra- 
 tion that the narrative of the voyage is 
 an account written bv an eye-witness. 
 
 A similar remark may be made on the 
 geographical details. They must have 
 been taken from actual observation, 
 for the geographical knowledge of the 
 age was not such as to enable a writer 
 to be so minutely accurate in any other 
 way." (James Smith, Esq., Voyage 
 and Shipwreck of St. Paid, Fourth 
 Edition, 1880, p. xlvi.) To this stand- 
 ard work I am largely indebted in 
 this chapter. 
 
 Ships of the ancients. Some knowl- 
 edge of these is necessary for the cor- 
 rect understanding of this chapter. 
 Below the upper works of the ancient 
 shijj the prow and stern Avere alike. 
 There was commonly one mast in the 
 centre with its large square main sail. 
 Triangular top sails seem to have been 
 known among the Romans. A fore 
 sail was used at the prow. The hinged 
 rudder at the stern was then unknown, 
 the ships being steered with two paddle 
 rudders, one on each side of the stern. 
 The prow was generally ornamented 
 with figures, commonly an eye, on each 
 side. The stern was variously adorned, 
 especially with an image of the guar- 
 dian deity of the vessel. The merchant 
 ships of the Mediterranean were of 
 large size, some of tliem quite equal- 
 ing the dimensions of the largest ones 
 of "the present day. (ver. 31.) The great 
 sliip of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the Isis, 
 described by Lucian in one of his dia- 
 logues, was one hundred and eighty 
 feet long, forty-five feet wide, and 
 forty-five and one-half feet from the 
 top of the deck to the bottom of the 
 hold. It has been estimated to have 
 been of over one thousand tons burden. 
 In speed ancient merchant vessels com- 
 pared quite favorably with those of 
 modern times. At one time Cato held 
 up a fresh fig in the Roman Senate, ex- 
 claiming, " This fruit was gathered 
 fresh at Carthage three days ago." With 
 a fair wind a vessel could probably sail 
 seven knots or miles an hour, (soeis: 
 n ; 20 : 7 1.1.) A question of special im- 
 portance is that of the capability of an 
 ancient ship in sailing near the wind. 
 It is known that fair jirogress could be 
 made when the course of the ship was 
 less than a right angle with the direc- 
 tion of the wind. Taking the usual 
 divisions of the compass into thirty- 
 
384 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 Voyage from dcsarea to Italy; shipwreck at 
 
 Melila. 
 2T AND when ^ it was determined that we 
 should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul 
 
 and ccrtnin other prisoners unto one 
 
 named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' 
 
 2 band. And entering into a ship of Adra- 
 
 myttiuiu, we launched, meaning to sail 
 
 b ch. 25 : 12, 25. 
 
 two points, a modern vessel can in j 
 average circumstances sail within six I 
 points of the wind ; and Mr. Smith | 
 estimates that an ancient vessel could 
 sail withiu seven points. It must also 
 be borne in mind that the ancients were 
 Avithout the compass, and without 
 exact chronometers. Instruments for 
 observations were imperfect, and charts 
 were almost unknown. Hence they 
 were careful in venturing out of sight 
 of land. They were dependent on ob- 
 serving the sun by day and the stars by 
 night, and were especially careful and 
 solicitous in cloudy weather. 
 
 Chronology. A definite note of 
 time is given in 27 : 9, the fast, which 
 in A. D. bO occurred on September 23, 
 from which we can reckon both forward 
 and backward. Now the voyage from 
 Ctesarea to Sidon occupied over a day 
 (ver. 3) ; a Week may be allowed for the 
 circuitous voyage to ^lyra (ver. 5), ten or 
 twelve days for sailing " slowly many 
 days" to Cnidus (ver. ?), and five days 
 till they reach Fair Havens (ver. 8, 9), 
 making at least twenty-five days. 
 Thus they could not have sailed from 
 Caesarea earlier than September 1. 
 Now if we allow about ten days for 
 the time between Paul's defence before 
 Agrippa and his sailing away as pris- 
 oner; six or eight days for "the some 
 days " of 25 : 14 ; and twelve days for 
 "the certain days" of 25:13; and 
 seventeen days intervening between the 
 arrival of Festus and trial of Paul 
 (25: 1-6) ; making in all about a month 
 and a lialf, then Festus entered upon 
 the duties of his office as procurator of 
 Judea about the middle of July, A. D. 
 60. 
 
 1-8. Paul's Voyage as far as 
 Fair Havens. From about Septem- 
 ber 1 to October 1, a. d. 60. (See 
 chronological note above.) 
 
 1. And when it was deter- 
 mined, etc. — Festus liaving decided 
 that Paul should be sent to Ctesar at 
 the first opportunity. (25: 12. 21 ; 26:32.) 
 That we — Luke and Aristarchus. 
 
 (Compare later Col. 4 : 14 ; Philem. 
 24.) Sail — literally, sail from, a 
 nautical term, used by Luke alone of 
 the sacred writers (is : 4; u: 26; 20 : 15) 
 either in simple, or as here in its com- 
 pound form. They delivered Paul 
 — the soldiers who had charge of him 
 by order of Festus, Certain other 
 prisoners — "A motley crowd. Like 
 his Lord, Paul was numbered among 
 the transgressors." (Abbott.) Jose- 
 phus speaks of prisoners being sent 
 bound to Rome, showing that it was 
 not uncommon. A centurion — a 
 commander of a hundred men, the offi- 
 cer generally ajjpointed to such a 
 charge. (21:32:24:23.) Julius, like 
 Cornelius, was an illustrious name at 
 Rome. Tacitus writes of Julius Pris- 
 cus, a centurion, antl afterward prefect 
 of the Pra?torians, who possibly might 
 be the same as this one. Of Au- 
 gustus' band, or cohort, (lo; 1.) An 
 honorable and common title in the 
 Roman military service ; and hence 
 difficult to identify here. Josephus 
 ( War, ii. 12 : 5) speaks of " the troops 
 of Sabaste," or Augustan, at CiEsarea, 
 about A. D. 51. The Augustan band 
 may have succeeded the Italian band 
 (10:1), or possibly was identical with 
 it, being composed of Italian troops. 
 Some suppose that this band was a part 
 of the Imperial guard, amounting at 
 that time to ten thousand men. Julius 
 perhaps was returning from some 
 special mission to Palestine, and the 
 prisoners perhaps were entrusted to 
 him. 
 
 2. A ship of Adramyttium — 
 probably a coasting vessel returning to 
 Adramyttium, a seaport town of Mysia, 
 in the northeastern part of Asia Minor. 
 As the vessel was to sail by the 
 coasts — rather, nnto the places along 
 the coast of Asia, it was expected that 
 it would fall in with some shij) bound 
 for Rome. By Asia is meant the prov- 
 ince of Asia, of which Ephesus was 
 the cajutal, including, according to 
 Cicero, Caria and Lycia. The use of 
 
Ch. xxvil] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 385 
 
 by the coasts of Asia ; one > Aristarchus, a 
 Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with 
 
 3 us. And the next <lai/ we toudied at 
 yidon. And Julius * courteously en- 
 treated Paul, and gave /lim. liberty to go 
 
 4 unto his friends to refresh himself. And 
 
 when we had launched from thence, we 
 sailed under Cyprus because the winds 
 5 were contrary. And whtn we had saiU-d 
 over the sea of Cilicia and Pamjihylia, 
 we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 
 
 Ool. 4: 10. kch. 24 :23; 28:10. 
 
 merchant ships for travel and trans- 
 ])ortatiou of prisoners was common in 
 those days. Josephus ( War, vii. 2 : 1) 
 relates that the Emperor Vespasian, 
 during tlie siege of .Jerusalem, sailed 
 from Alexandria to Rhodes in a mer- 
 chant sliip with three hanks of oars, 
 and thence pursued his journey through 
 Greece to the Adriatic Sea, and thence 
 sailing to Italy, he went to Rome by 
 land. Aristarchus was a well- 
 known companion of Paul, (see on 
 w : 29.) Perhai>s he as well as Luke 
 had been more or less witli Paul dur- 
 ing his imprisonment at Cicsarea. 
 
 3. And the next day Ave 
 touched, or landed at Sidon — the 
 well-known seaport on the coast of 
 Phoenicia, about seYenty miles north- 
 east of Cfflsarea. It had one of the 
 finest harbors of the East. They 
 probably stopped for the purposes of 
 trade. " From the distance accom- 
 plished ... we must infer that they 
 had a fair, or at least a leading wind, 
 probably westerly, which is the wind 
 which prev^ails in this part of tlie Med- 
 iterranean." (Smith's Voyage of Paul, 
 p. 64.) And Julius courteously, 
 or humanely treated Paul — he prob- 
 ably had learned at Cassarea something 
 about Paul's character, imprisonment, 
 and his appeal to Caesar. Possibly he 
 heard his defence before Agrippa. 
 And gave him \\beriy— permitted 
 him to go to his friends, probably 
 his Christian brethren, some of whom 
 may have been old acquaintances. The 
 gospel had been preached all along that 
 coast, (u : 19.) Paul and Barnabas had 
 traveled through that region on their 
 way from Antioch to the Conference at 
 Jerusalem. Of course, Paul had a 
 military escort. (i5:3) To refresh 
 himself — or I)etter, to receive their 
 care, their liospitality and such .atten- 
 tion as his circumstances and bodily 
 health required. The expression is 
 one which a medical writer, and Luke 
 as a physician, would naturally use in 
 
 regard to care needed in delicate 
 health. Alford supposes that Paul ob- 
 tained here some necessary outfit for 
 his voyage. 
 
 4. When Ave had launched— 
 another nautical term characteristic of 
 Luke, for which we have no precisely 
 corresponding word in Englisli. it 
 means to get under way or put to sea. 
 The expression also Ave sailed 
 iinder Cyprus is a nautical phrase, 
 meaning accoi'ding to the best author- 
 ities, under the lee of Cyprus, that is, 
 protected by that island against the 
 wind, the island being between them 
 and the wind. This is evident from 
 the reason given, Because the 
 Avinds Avere contrary, from the 
 west, opposing their direct course 1)y 
 tlie south of Cyprus, to tlie coast of 
 the province of Asia. So they pro- 
 ceed northward to tlie east and north 
 of Cyprus. This is confirmed by the 
 next verse, where it is said they sailed 
 through the sea of Cilicia and Pam- 
 phylia, which was north of Cyprus. 
 The west wind is the prevailing one in 
 tliis part of the Mediterranean during 
 the summer and autumn. " In pursu- 
 ing this route they acted precisely as 
 the most accomplished seaman in the 
 present day would have done under 
 similar circumstances ; by standing to 
 the north till they readied the coast of 
 Cilicia they might expect when they 
 did so to l>e favored by the land wind, 
 which prevails there during tlie sum- 
 mer months, as well as liy the current, 
 which constantly runs to tlie westward, 
 along the south coast of Asia Minor." 
 (Smith's Voyage, p. (JS.) ^[y. Smith 
 mentions a French navigator who took 
 this very route for the same reason as 
 here given. On Cyprus, see on 11 : 1!». 
 
 5. And Avhen Ave had sailed 
 over the sea, etc. — more exactly, 
 And having sailed through the sea 
 along the coasts of Cilicia and Pain- 
 phylia. These two countries were iiortli 
 of Cyprus, and not included in ancient 
 
386 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 6 And there the reiitrurion found a ship 
 of Alexandria sailing into Italy ; and he 
 
 7 put us therein. And when we had sailed 
 
 slowly many days, and scarce were come 
 over against i "nidus, the wind not suffer- 
 ing us, we sailed under Crete, over against 
 
 Asia. (2 :io.) The course of the vessel 
 appears to have been northward 
 U)ward the coast of Cilicia, where fall- 
 ing in with the current which flows 
 Westward along the southern shore of 
 Asia Minor, as far as the Archipelago, 
 it could make fair progress even with 
 unfavorable winds. It now began to 
 reach its destination, stopping at 
 iTIyra, the first of " the places along 
 the coasts of Asia." (ver. ;.) Lycia 
 was a southwestern district of Asia 
 Minor, and Myra about three miles 
 from the sea, upon rising ground, at 
 the foot of which flowed the Andraicus, 
 a navigable river, with an excellent 
 harbor at its mouth. It still exists 
 with its ancient name, and is reraark- 
 aV>le for its fine ruins. The sliip had 
 come not far from four hundred miles 
 from Sidon. 
 
 6. Here the centurion found a ship 
 of Alexandria bound for Italy, into 
 which lie transferred his prisoners and 
 jiassengers. This ship appears to have 
 been a large merchant vessel carrying 
 wheat, Egypt being at that time one of 
 the granaries of Rome, with two hun- 
 dred and seventy-six persons also on 
 board. It was probably over five hun- 
 dred tons burden. See introductory 
 note on ships. On Alexandria, see 
 18 : 24, Myra was north of Alex- 
 andria, and not on the direct route for 
 Italy, but the west or northwest wind 
 would naturally decide tlie course of 
 the vessel northward, till it reached 
 tlie coast of Asia Minor, which " is 
 bold and safe, and the elevation of the 
 mountains makes it visilile at a great 
 distance. It abounds in harbors, and 
 the sinuosities of the shores and the 
 westerly current would enable them, if 
 the wind was at all oft" the land, to 
 work to windward, at least as far as 
 Cniihis, where tliese advantages 
 ceased." (Smith's Vor/af/e, ]). 72.) 
 
 7. The distance from Myra to C ni- 
 dus, a famous seaport town, on the 
 southwest point of Asia Jlinor, was 
 one hundred and thirty miles, which, 
 with favorable winds, a sailing vessel 
 could accomplish in a single day. But 
 biuce they sailed slowly many 
 
 days, they must have been retarded 
 by contrary winds. And scarce — and 
 
 having come with difficulty over against 
 Cnidus. Cnidus marked the entrance 
 of the yEgean Sea. Cicero uses similar 
 language in one of his epistles, " Hav- 
 ing met with contrary winds and sailed 
 slowly and with difliculty." The wind 
 not sufl'ering — this appears to be a 
 nautical expression, used only by 
 Luke, and may mean either, not suffer- 
 ing i(s to put in at Cnidus as they did 
 at Myra, or not suffering us to proceed 
 further on their direct course westward 
 toward Italy. But the wind which 
 would not permit them to take shelter 
 in the harbor would prevent them 
 from taking this direct course. " The 
 wind, therefore, would in common lan- 
 guage have been termed northwest. 
 Now this is precisely the wind which 
 might have been expected in those seas 
 toward the end of summer. We learn 
 from the sailing directions for the Med- 
 iterranean, that throughout the whole 
 of the Mediterranean, but mostly in the 
 eastern half, including the Adriatic 
 and Archipelago, the northwest winds 
 prevail in the summer months, which 
 agrees with Aristotle's account of these 
 winds. According to Pliny, they be- 
 gan in August and blew forty days 
 . . . At Cnidus . , . unless [the 
 vessel] had put into that harbor, and 
 waited for a fair wind, her only course 
 was to run under the lee of Crete, in 
 the direction of Salmone, which is the 
 eastern extremity of that island." 
 (Smith's Voyage, p. 76.) Crete, now 
 called Candia, is a large, mountainous, 
 but fruitful island, bounding the Greek 
 Archipelago on the south. It is one 
 hundred and forty miles long, but com- 
 paratively narrow. (See2:ll; Titus l: 
 5,12.) The eastern promontory is still 
 called Salmone, about one hundred 
 miles, a little west of south of Cnidus. 
 Bounding this cape, they sailed 
 under, that is, on the south of Crete, 
 the island being between them and the 
 wind, and thus sheltering them, (see 
 
 ver. *.) 
 
 8. And hardly passing it — an- 
 other nautical phrase, meaning And 
 
Ch. XXVIL] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 387 
 
 8 Salmoiie ; and hardl}^ passing it, came 
 unto a place which is called The Fair 
 Havens ; nigh whereuuto was the city 0/ 
 Lasiea. 
 
 9 Now when much time was spent, and 
 
 when sailing was now dangerous, because 
 the fast was now already past, Paul ad- 
 10 moiijshed them, and suid unto them. Sirs, 
 1 1 perceive that this voyage will be with 
 hurt and much damage, not only of the 
 
 I Dan. 2: 30; Amos 3 : 7. 
 
 with difficulty coasting along it, that is, 
 along the southeru shore of Crete, 
 where the same conditious woiilil 
 largely prevail as along the southern 
 shore "of Asia Minor, (ver. 5,7.) The 
 northwest wind prevented them from 
 sailing along tlie nortliern coast of 
 Crete, where there were two excellent 
 harbors, Souda and Spina Longer. 
 But with the same wind they could 
 sail slowly in a zig-zag course along 
 the southern coast, aliout one-half the 
 length of the island, to Fair Havens, 
 the last harbor before reaching Cape 
 Matala, where the land turns suddenly 
 to the north, beyond which an ancient 
 ship could not go along the coast with 
 northwest winds. Fair Havens was 
 discovered bj' Pococke in the seven- 
 teenth century, and is about five miles 
 east of Cape Matala, the most conspic- 
 uous headland on the southern coast of 
 Crete. It is not mentioned anywhere 
 in ancient literatui-e, but it still bears 
 the same name. The plural Havens, 
 or Harbors, accords with tiie double 
 harbor, there contiguous to each other. 
 It affords a safe shelter from tiie north- 
 west wind. It was probal)ly tlie port 
 of Lasea. The latter place was dis- 
 covered by Rev. George Brown in 
 1856, about five miles cast of Fair 
 Havens and close to Cape Leon<la. He 
 says : " We found the ruins of two 
 temples. The ste))s which led up to 
 the one remain, tliough in a sliattered 
 state. Many shafts, and a few capitals 
 of Grecian pillars, all of marble, lie 
 scattered about . . . Some peasants 
 came down to see us from the hills 
 al)ove, and I asked them the name of 
 the place. They said at once, ' Lasea.' " 
 (Smith's Voyage, p. 2ti8, 4th Ed.) 
 This illustrates the mijiute accuracy of 
 Luke's reference to places. 
 
 9-26. The Voy.\ge Contixukd ; 
 THE Ship Caught by a Violent 
 Stokm, and Drifts Many Days. 
 From the latter part of September till 
 about November 1, A. D. 60. 
 
 9. When much time was spent 
 
 — at the anchorage of Fair Havens. It 
 was probal)ly getting to be about the 
 middle of October. But some refer 
 mach time to the whole voyage tlms 
 far. Sailing, or the voyage was now 
 dangerous — because of the lateness 
 of tlie season. Navigation was closed 
 among tiie Romans from about the first 
 of November until about the middle of 
 March. They had hoped to reach Italy 
 that autumn, but unfavorable winds and 
 the approach of tlie stormy season was 
 now changing their purpose, and they 
 are debating as to the harbor in which 
 to pass the winter. Ancient navigators, 
 in favorable weather, would risk the 
 open sea. For example, Paul sailed 
 from Patara througli the open sea to 
 Tyre, on his return from his third mis- 
 sionary journey. (21 : i-s.) But this 
 season had been attended with very ad- 
 verse winds. Clouds and storms might 
 be expected, which were especially 
 dreaded by mariners, (ver. 20.) The 
 ship already might have been strained. 
 (ver. 17.) Because the fast Av^as al- 
 ready past — the Jewish fast is here 
 used as a note of time, and was on the 
 great Day of Atonement, the lOtli day 
 of the seventh month, answering to 
 parts of our September and October. 
 In A. D. 60 it occurred on the 23d of 
 September. Admonished — advised 
 them, not to continue their voyage 
 farther, but winter there. Paul could 
 sjieak from experience. He had trav- 
 eled much, both by land and sea. 
 Tiirce times he had suifered shipwreck. 
 (2 Cor. 11 : 25.) He could also speak as 
 one under divine guidance, and it was 
 to his advantage that he could after- 
 ward refer to this advice, (ver. 21.) 
 
 10. I perceive — indicating careful 
 consideration, and a well-formed judg- 
 ment, not ignoring, however, the gen- 
 eral divine guidance which he enjoyed. 
 Paul, however, does not claim the 
 authority of revelation as in ver. 23, 
 and we should not claim it for him. 
 
38$ 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 lading and ship, but al.io of our lives. 
 
 11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the 
 master and the owner of the ship more 
 than those things which were spoken 
 
 12 by Paul. And because the haven was 
 not commodious to winter in, the more 
 
 part advised to depart thence also, if 
 by any means they might attain to 
 Phenice, and there to winter; which is an 
 haven of Crete, and lieth toward the 
 south-west and north-west. 
 
 With hurt — the noun in the Greek 
 properly denotes insolence, with special 
 reference to mental injury; but liere it 
 has reference to the insolent lu'olence of 
 the winds and waves, resulting in in- 
 ^"«ry to the ship and their persons. Much 
 damage, or loss, growing out of the 
 insolence and violence of the dreaded 
 tempests (see ver. 21), where Paul uses the 
 same words, and this meaning is re- 
 quired. The result vindicated Paul's 
 a<lvice. It was better to remain in a 
 poorer harbor than to run the risk of 
 gales and stormy weathers for a better 
 one. 
 
 11. Paul had evidently gained much 
 influence and freedom. But it was 
 natural that the centurion, who seems 
 to have had control of the matter, to 
 give preference to the master, the 
 steersman or sailing-master, corre- 
 sponding very nearly with our captain, 
 and to the owner of the ship, both 
 of whom would be well qualified to 
 judge. But Paul too liad had long ex- 
 perience in the "perils of the sea." 
 (j Cor. 11 : 26.) From this verse and the 
 next it appears that the matter Avas 
 quite thoroughly discussed. It has been 
 ascertained by late surveys that Fair 
 Havens is quite well protected by 
 islands, and is a fair winter harbor ; 
 that considering the suddenness, the 
 frequency, and the violence of nortli- 
 erly winds which would prevent them 
 reaching Phenice, and drive the ship 
 off to sea, the wisdom of Paul's advice 
 would probably be sustained even on 
 nautical grounds. (Smith, Voi/ur/e, 85.) 
 
 12. Not commodious, not well 
 situated for passinri the winter, which 
 they were now thinking to do some- 
 where. Fair Havens aiibrds a protec- 
 tion from north and westerly winds, 
 but is more exposed from other direc- 
 tions. The supply of provisions would 
 also be taken into account. The 
 more part advised — which indicates 
 a general consultation. To depart, 
 etc. — a nautical expression, to put to 
 sea from thence also, as they had from 
 
 other places, if by any means they 
 might reach Pha'nice. This shows that 
 they regarded the voyage as perilous, 
 but the reaching of an" excellent harbor 
 worthy of a hazardous eftbrt. Ptolemy 
 mentions a town liy the name ofFhoniice 
 and also a port, and Strabo mentions a 
 harbor of this name on the south of 
 Crete at the narrowest part of the 
 island. With this agrees well the 
 harbor of Lutro about forty miles west 
 of Fair Havens; and also a Avide bay 
 just west of Lutro and adjoining it, 
 which is still known bj' the name of 
 Phenika. The latter opens somewhat 
 westward and accords quite well with 
 the description, lieth toward, rather, 
 looking toward or facing the southwest 
 and north icest. This would be also a safe 
 harbor from the northerly and easterly 
 winds, and especially the northeast 
 wind, which proved so disastrous to 
 their ship. (ver. u.) This is substan- 
 tially the view of Dr. Hackett, Ilum- 
 plirey, Wordswortli, and Gloag. But 
 Mr. Smitli preferred Lutro as the har- 
 bor intended, because it is the best 
 harbor on the soutliern coast of Crete, 
 having an island in front whicli shelters 
 it, and two entrances, one looking to 
 the nortlieast and the other to the 
 southeast. But this is exactly opposite 
 of the deseri})tion here, looking toward 
 the son th west and north urst. Various 
 explanations have been proposed. Jlr. 
 Smith understands it of the direction 
 toward wliiclt the wind lilows, the 
 sonthvest wind blowing toward the 
 northeast, etc. Alford agrees with this, 
 looking down, the -nniid. Dr. Ilowson 
 supposes that the point of view is from 
 the sea, sailors speaking from their own 
 point of view, and thus the liarbor, 
 viewed from tlie water on approaching, 
 looks toward the land which encloses it 
 in the direction of " .southwest and 
 northwest." Others sup]iose that as the 
 ship did not reach the liarbor, Luke may 
 only state the common o])inioii or report 
 in regard to Phenice. Doubtless one of 
 ttiese harbors, Phenika or Lutro, is 
 
Ch. XXVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 389 
 
 13 And when the south wind blew softly, 
 supposing that they had obtained their 
 purpose, KK'siug //t««ce, they sailed close 
 
 14 by Crete, ilut not long after there arose 
 
 against it a tempestuous wind, called 
 
 15 Euroclydon. And when the ship was 
 caught, and could not bear up into the 
 
 16 wind, we let Iter drive. And running 
 
 uieaut. Oil ])lulological grouuils Plie- 
 nika answers best to the descriptions. 
 The town also may have had two ports. 
 Moreover, upheavals and submergences 
 have been frequent in Crete, and thus 
 changes may have occurred in the coast 
 lines of both of these harbors. 
 
 13. A change at length occurs, a 
 south wind blowing gently, and think- 
 ing that they had obtained their purpose 
 of removing to Phenice, loosing, 
 rather, they iveighed anchor, that is, 
 raised up the anchors from the bottom 
 of the sea. Although the south wind 
 was often treacherous, yet the voyage 
 couhl l)e accomplished in three or four 
 hours, and their earnest desire to do it 
 helped their thought. As it was only 
 about four miles a little south of west 
 to Cape Matala, and about thirty-four 
 miles northwest thence to Port Phenice, 
 it were easy for them to think that they 
 had attained their purpose. Mr. Smith 
 observes that a ship which could not 
 lie nearer to the wind than seven points 
 would just weather Cape Matala, and 
 that this shows the force and projn'iety 
 of the expression, They sailed close, 
 or closer by Crete, than usual, or than 
 they had done before. As a matter of 
 special precaution they may have 
 coasted closely along Crete after passing 
 around the cape; yet with no special 
 anxiety, for the boat was towing behind. 
 
 (Ver. 16.) 
 
 14. But their hopes are soon and 
 suddenly blasted. Not long after. 
 
 How long we know not ; but probably 
 soon after rounding Cape Matala. Vio- 
 lent northerly gales after gentle south- 
 erly winds are not unfrequent on that 
 coast. Captain Spratt writes : " After 
 starting from Fair Havens for Messara 
 Bay, we left iriih a light southerly wind 
 and a clear sky . . . until we rounded 
 the cape (Matala) to haul up for the 
 head of the bay. Then we saw Mount 
 Ida covered in a dense cloud, and met 
 a strong northerly breeze — one of those 
 summer gales so frequent in the Levant, 
 but which in general are accompanied 
 by terrific gusts from those high mount- 
 ains, the wind blowing direct from 
 
 Mount Ida." Messrs. Tennent and 
 Brown speak of their vessel near Port 
 Phenice being becalmed with light airs 
 from the south and southeast, and of a 
 heavy squall blowing suddenly upon it. 
 And Captain J. Stewart in his remarks 
 on the Archipelago says of southerly 
 j winds, " they almost invariably shift 
 I to a violent northerly wind." (Smith, 
 Voyage, pj). 100, 102.) There arose, 
 I rather. There beat down against it, 
 : not the island, but the shijJ, which was 
 large and prominent in l^uke's mind. 
 1 (ver. 41.) That the wind was not against 
 Crete, but from its mountains, is evi- 
 , dent from the fact that the ship was 
 i driven away from Crete toward Clauda. 
 I (ver. 16.) Or it may be translated as a 
 nautical phrase, according to the Re- 
 vised Version, There beat down from it, 
 from Crete, the wind that bore them 
 seaward. A tempestuous wind — 
 literally, a typhonic wind, an expres- 
 sion used of terrific and whirling blasts, 
 and applied to luirrlcanes and whirl- 
 winds. This wind Luke specifies as 
 the Euroclydon, rather, according to 
 the highest critical authorities tlie 
 I Euracylon, which, popularly speaking, 
 ; is the northeast, or more strictly, the 
 [ east-northeast wind. Mr. Smith has 
 shown that this is just the wind that 
 would have driven the ship to Clauda 
 (ver. 16), and from thence into the quick- 
 sands of the African Syrtis. (ver. n.) The 
 narrative that follows shows that the 
 same wind continued till they reached 
 Malta. (Smith, Foyaprg, pp. ioO-3, 272.) 
 
 15. The ship was caught — being 
 seized by force, whirled from its course, 
 and carried away. A strong expres- 
 sion. Could not bear up, etc. — could 
 not face the wind, a nautical expres- 
 sion, derived perhaps from painting 
 eyes on each side of the prow of a ship. 
 VVe let her drive — rather, giving up 
 to it, that is, to the wind. In the lan- 
 guage of seamen, they were forced to 
 scud before the wind toward the south- 
 west. See preceding verse. 
 
 16. And running under a cer- 
 tain s»ia/Z island — under the lee of it, 
 so as to be sheltered by it from the wind. 
 
390 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 under a certain island which is called 
 
 Clauda, we had much work to come by 
 
 17 the boat : which when they had taken up, 
 
 they used helps, undergirdiug the ship ; 
 and, fearing lest they should tall into the 
 quicksands, strake sail, and so were 
 
 Luke shows here and elsewhere a nice 
 discrimiuation in the use of sea phrases. 
 In this cha])terheuses no less than nine 
 diil't-rent verhs, marking in some way 
 the pjogression of tlie ship, but each 
 one indicating some distinguishing cir- 
 cumstance counected with the ship at 
 the time. Thus: "Sailing" toward 
 (Tur. 3) ; or with (ver. ■it) ; " to sail away " 
 or " set sail " (Ter. i) ; " to sail under " 
 to the leeward of (ver. i, 7) ; "to sail 
 
 across " (ver, S) ; " sailing slowly " (ver. 7) ; 
 
 "coasting along" (ver. 8, la); "borne" 
 or " driven along" (ver. 15) ; "running 
 under," past, and to the leeward of 
 (ver. ic) ; "driven through," to and fro. 
 (Ver. 27.) Such Careful use of words 
 shows that Luke was au eye and ear- 
 witness. Clauda, or Cauda; the 
 modern Gozzo, about twenty-three miles 
 southwest of that part of Crete, 
 where the wind caught the ship. (See 
 on ver. 14.) When caught it wassailing 
 northwestward with lier right side 
 toward the land. So the wind came 
 upon her side, and so she was driven. 
 She must have passed the east end of 
 Clauda, for there are rocks and a dan- 
 gerous reef to the northwest of it. Pass- 
 ing to the south of the island, she came 
 into more quiet Avaters, where prepara- 
 tions would l)e made for riding out 
 the gale. lu all this we see a singular 
 and guiding Providence. "Leaving 
 Alexandria in January, 1859, I made a 
 remark to the captain upon the smiling 
 character of the weather. ' The south 
 wind blew softly,' the sky was blue, the 
 sea like glass. ' Yes ' replied the cap- 1 
 tain, ' very pleasant a*' long as it lasts.' 
 It did not last long ; when we sighted [ 
 Crete, Euraqualo was blowing rather 
 stiffly. As we neared Crete the sea be- 
 came somewhat rolling and rough. It 
 was getting dark and I went below. 
 While reading I perceived that we were 
 suddenly in smooth water. Going i 
 upon deck I found the captain, who, 
 pointing to the starboard (right hand) j 
 side of the ship, said, ' There is that { 
 island.' We were in the position of j 
 Paul, when ' ruiuiing under a certain 
 island which is called Clauda, they had j 
 much work to come by the boat.' Had J 
 
 our machinery broken down, or the 
 shijj become disabled, we should have 
 drifted toward Malta, as did the ship 
 which carried Paul." (H. Carlisle 
 in iSmith's Voyage, p. 16.) We had 
 much work to come by the boat — 
 rather, we were able with diffieulty to 
 become masters of the boat, to get jjos- 
 sessiou of it and secure it. The row 
 boat had been towed behind the shijj. 
 There was danger that it would be 
 washed away. It was im})ortant to 
 liaul it on deck, as it might be of use 
 in case of shii>wreck. The difficulty 
 experienced in securing it probably 
 arose, partly from tlie waters being 
 somewhat agitated, but largely from 
 the boat being nearly tilled w ith water. 
 17. Which Avhen they had taken 
 up — that is, they raised the boat on 
 deck. In ancient ships the boats were 
 not fastened round about the vessel, but 
 taken along in tow in pleasant weather, 
 and on deck iu stormy weather. Tliey 
 used helps. The imperfection of tlie 
 build and the peculiarities of the rig 
 of ancient ships rendered them more 
 liable than modern vessels to leakage 
 and fouuderiug. Hence they took with 
 them apjdiances, which they called 
 helps, such as ropes and chains which 
 they used in undergirdiug the ship, 
 passing them under and around the sliip 
 at right angles to its length, and thus 
 bound tight round the middle. By this 
 means they would prevent the timbers 
 from starting, and strengthen the ship 
 against the force of the tempest. Ptol- 
 emy's great ship carried twelve of these 
 undergirders. Several allusions to this 
 practice are found in classical writers. 
 It is sometimes resorted to in modern 
 times, and is called frapping. Fearing 
 lest they should fall, or be cast away 
 upon the quicksands — or the Syrtis, 
 the name of two parts of the sea ou 
 the African coast, full of shallows and 
 sandbanks, and hence destructive to 
 ships. The eastern one was called 
 Syrtis Minor; the western, Syrtis 
 itajor, now the gulf of Sidva. They 
 were the terror of ancient mariners. 
 Into the latter the northwest wind 
 would have driveu the ship from 
 
Ch. XXYII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 391 
 
 18 driven. And we being ■» exceedingly 
 tossed with a teiujiost, tUe next daij lliey 
 
 19 lightened the ship ; and tlic I bird day " wc 
 cast out with our own bauds the tackling 
 
 20 of the ship. And when neither sun nor 
 stars in many days appeared, and no small 
 tempest lay on us, all hope tuat we should 
 be saved was then tal^en away. 
 
 » Ps. 107 : 27. n Jonah 1 : 5. 
 
 Clauda, had not the sails, the rudders, 
 aud the ship been arranged for drifting 
 westward. They strake sail — 
 rather, they lowered the sail or the gear. 
 The noun is a very general one, and 
 seems to have been applied by seamen 
 to the rigging aud apparatus of a ship. 
 They lowered the top-sails, the large 
 square sail, and other tackle used in fair 
 weather, and whatever could be dis- 
 pensed with. " In a storm with a con- 
 trary wind or on a lee-shore, a ship is 
 obliged to lie to under a very low sail ; 
 some sail is absolutely necessary to 
 keep the ship steady, otherwise she 
 would pitch about like a cork, and roll 
 so deep as to strain and work herself to 
 pieces." (Encyc. Brit. Art. Seaman- 
 ship. Smith, Voyage, p. 114.) Mr. Smith 
 has shown that to avoid the Syrtis the 
 sailors must have had the ship headed 
 to the north with the riglit side to the 
 wind, the storm-sail and rudders ar- 
 ranged, and the head of the vessel kept 
 as near the wind as possible. (Smith, 
 Voyage, p. 114.) And so were driven 
 — hoping to outride the gale. Expe- 
 rienced navigators say that under such 
 circumstances a ship would drift west 
 by north, at the rate of thirty-six miles 
 in twenty-four hours. Thirteen days 
 and a fraction of such drifting would 
 bring the shijj to that part of ilalta, 
 where tradition marks the scene of the 
 shipwreck. Thus remarkably do the 
 most careful calculations tally with the 
 Scripture narrative. 
 
 18. And we being exceedingly, 
 or violently, tossed with a tempest — the 
 storm continuing and increasing. The 
 next day — after undergirdiug the 
 ship, getting her ready for the storm, 
 they lightened the ship — they 
 made a throunng overboard, a nautical 
 phrase diiferent from that in ver. 38, 
 whereby sailors lighten a ship in a 
 storm to prevent her from sinking. 
 Perhaps the ship had sprung a leak, 
 and the water was gaining in the hold. 
 Compare a similar scene in Jonah 1 : 5. 
 What they cast forth is not told. Prob- 
 
 ably the least valuable, the most bulky, 
 and the most accessible portions of 
 their cargo. The bulk of their mer- 
 chandise appears to have been of wheat, 
 and this they kept to the last. (vcr. js.) 
 
 19. The danger becomes more and 
 more imminent ; and they are obliged 
 to lighten the ship still more. This 
 confirms the supposition that the ship 
 was suffering serious injury from the 
 storm. The loss of ancient ships was 
 principally from leaks. Josephus 
 (Life 3) relates that on his voyage to 
 Italy the ship sank in the Adriatic 
 Sea, in consequence of damage sus- 
 tained during a storm. Paul seems to 
 have suflered before this from a like 
 cause when he was " a day and a night 
 in the deep," doubtless floating on frag- 
 ments of the wreck. We cast out 
 with our own hands — or, with four 
 of the oldest manuscripts, They cast 
 out with their own hands. That would 
 be rather the work of the sailors, un- 
 less the case was exceedingly urgent, 
 or that which was cast over very large. 
 The tackling— a word near akin to 
 that in ver. 17 rendered "sail" or 
 "gear," and means apparatus, equi- 
 page, furniture. Some apply it to tables, 
 beds, chests, etc. Nautical interpreters 
 understand it of heavy portions of the 
 rigging, such as the mainyard. " I 
 suppose the mainvard is meant; an 
 immense spar, profcably as long as the 
 ship, which would require the united 
 elForts of passengers and crew to launch 
 it overbo".rd. The relief which a ship 
 would experience by this, would be of 
 tlie same kind as in a modern ship 
 when the guns are thrown overboard." 
 (Smith's Voyage, p. 116.) 
 
 20. Fear is followed by despair of 
 saving the ship and their lives. Many 
 days—several — how many is not told. 
 Probably a week and more since leav- 
 ing Clauda. As they did not have the 
 compass, they were dependent upon the 
 sun and the position and the rising and 
 setting of diSerent stars to guide their 
 course. But these not appearing, they 
 
392 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 21 But after long ab.stinence Paul stood 
 forth In the midst of thuiu, and said, Sirs, 
 ye should have liearkened unto nie, and 
 not have loosed from Crete, and to have 
 
 22 gained this harm and loss. And now I 
 exhort you to be of good cheer : » for there 
 shall be no loss of any man's life among 
 
 23 you, but of the ship, p For there stood 
 l)y me this night the angel of God, 
 
 24 whose 1 am, and 'i whom I serve, saying, 
 'l<'ear not, Paul: »thou must be 
 brought before Cu'sar : and.lo, 'God hath 
 given thee all them that sail with thee. 
 
 »ver. 44. P ch. 23 : 11 ; Heb. 1 : 14. <i Ban. 6 : 16; Kom. 1 : 9; 2 Tim. 1 : 3. ' Isa. 44 
 21. « ch. 23 : 11. « Gen. 19 : 21, 29. 
 
 could not know whither they were 
 going or what dangers tliey were ap- 
 proaching. No small tempest lay 
 on us — that is, a great one. Luke 
 often thus speaks, (u -. le ; n -. 2 -, la -. n.) 
 All hope — of being saved from ship- 
 Mrock and death was entirely taken 
 aAvay. it is evident that the condition 
 of the shi]) was becoming more critical. 
 They could not tell which way lay the 
 nearest laud, in order to run her ashore. 
 Hence it appears that they must soon 
 founder at sea and be lost. 
 
 21. But after long or much 
 abstinence — not entire, but a high 
 degree and long continued. This was 
 owing, not to a religious fast, nor to a 
 scarcity of provisions (ver. 38), but to 
 the impossibility of cooking and hav- 
 ing regular meals, to the constant de- 
 mands made upon them for labor, and 
 to the anxiety and excitements which 
 took away their appetite, or made it 
 imjiossible to eat. It was at this time 
 of great extremity and of human de- 
 spair, that Paul stood forth in the 
 midst of them with divine encour- 
 agement. They were now prepared to 
 hear from him, first words of reminder 
 and of gentle censure, and then words 
 of exliortation and encouragement. 
 And to have gained this harm 
 and loss — better, And have escaped 
 this violence and loss to their persons 
 and property, (see on ver. 10.) Paul's 
 object in recalling his former advice 
 was not to reproach them, but rather 
 to inspire confidence in what he was 
 about to say. 
 
 22. And, though you did not take 
 my advice then, now I exhort you 
 to be of good cheer — my apprehen- 
 sions of danger and loss, and your ex- 
 pectation of certain destruction will 
 not be realized ; for there shall be 
 no loss of any man's life among 
 you, but only of the ship. Notice 
 that in the former advice (Ter. 10) Paul 
 
 utters his Avell-formed judgment and 
 convictions ; in tliis he speaks with the 
 confidence and authority of a revela- 
 tion. 
 
 23. The reason of his cheering ex- 
 hortation and confident prediction. 
 For there stood by me, not in a 
 dream or a vision (le : 7), but actually 
 near me and seen by me. (1 : 10.) This 
 night— just passed, as the words were 
 probably uttered in the moi'ning. The 
 angel, etc. — rather, an angel of the 
 God. The ministry of angels is made 
 prominent in the Acts. (i:io;io:3; 
 12 : 7.) In speaking to heathen who had 
 their own gods, Paul would naturally 
 specify the God to whom he referred. 
 But he sustained a diti'erent relation to 
 his God from that which they would 
 acknowledge toward theirs : M'hose I 
 am, to whom I belong, and Avhom I 
 serve, or to whom also lofferivorship. 
 Worship refers especially to external 
 acts, but in Paul's case included also 
 the internal homage of the heart. It 
 also indicates his habitual state of 
 mind. (24:14.) The expression is char- 
 acteristic of Paul. (Rom. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1 : 3) 
 
 It here implies that they had seen him 
 at worship, and knew him as a wor- 
 shijier of God. Doubtless, too, this 
 revelation had come in answer to 
 prayer. 
 
 24. Fear not, Paul ; thou must 
 be brought before Csesar — it is 
 implied that Paul had experienced fear 
 and anxiety, (ver. 10,22. see is : 9.) His 
 faith was tested ; for the Lord had 
 promised that he should see Rome. 
 (23:11.) Doubtless he believed the 
 promise, though the ship and the rest 
 should perish. And lo, God hath 
 given, or granted, thee all them 
 that sail Avith thee — they were 
 graciously preserved for his sake. It 
 would seem tliat Paul had prayed for 
 himself, pleading the Lord's promise 
 (33 : 11), and for all that were with him. 
 
Ch. XXVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 395 
 
 2.) Wherefore, sirs, be of goc)d cheer: "for I 
 l)clieve God, that it shall ho even as it was 
 
 'lii told me. Howheit » we imisi, 1m; v.mt upou 
 a certain ishmd. 
 
 27 But when the fourteenth uight was 
 
 come, as we were driven up and down in 
 Adria, about midnight, the shipmen 
 deemed tliat they drew near to some 
 28 country; and sounded, and found it 
 twenty fathoms : and when they had gone 
 
 » Num. :i3 : 19 ; Luke 1 : 45 ; llom. 4 : 20, 21 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 12. » ch. 28;: 1. 
 
 Compare Philem. 22 and Abraham's 
 intercessory prayer for 8odom, Gen. 
 18 : 23-32. " Many bad men are i)re- 
 served with a few godly men, more 
 easily, than one godly man perishes 
 with many guilty. The world is like 
 the ship." (Bengel.) 
 
 25. Wherefore, sirs, be of good 
 cheer: For I believe God — I have 
 this sure ground of contidence. 
 
 26. Paul tells them how they should 
 be saved. We sliall all indeed escape, 
 bat we must be cast upou a cer- 
 tain island. The name of the island 
 had not been revealed to Paul. (28 : i.) 
 
 27-44. The Discovery of Land 
 AND THE Shipwreck. About Novem- 
 ber 1, A. D. 60. 
 
 27. When the fourteenth day 
 was come — -from the time of their 
 leaving Fair Havens. As Ave were 
 driven up and down, literally, 
 through Adria, about to and fro. A 
 gale of such length is by no means un- 
 known iu those seas. "Aristides (the 
 orator) encounters a gale iu the ^gean 
 Sea, and is driven through it for four- 
 teen days and nights. Professor New- 
 man met with a continuous easterly 
 gale on the coast of Cyprus iu Decem- 
 ber, 1S30." He was bound for Syria, 
 but was kept " wind liound for days" 
 in the port of the ancient Salamis ; 
 and " it was finally the first of Janu- 
 ary when he reached the Syrian coast." 
 (Smith, Voyage, p. 149.)" In Adria 
 means the Sea of Adria, which denoted 
 much more than the present Gulf of 
 Venice, embracing the central basin of 
 the Mediterranean betwen Sicily and 
 Greece, and by some extended as far as 
 the coast of Africa. To this effect is 
 the testimony of Ptolemy, Pausauias, 
 and tlie later Greek and Roman 
 writers. (SMITH, Voyage, pp. 283-4.) 
 The Sea of Adria appears here to be 
 spoken of as extending as far south as 
 Malta and its vicinity. 
 
 About midnight the shipmen 
 deemed— or supposed that some coun- 
 
 try ioas nearing them. Luke uses the 
 graphic language of seamen, to whom 
 the ship is the ])rincii)al oljject, while 
 the land rises and sinks, nears and re- 
 cedes. But why did thuy suppose? 
 Not by the sense of smell, as some in- 
 terpreters have suggested, for the wind 
 was blowing not from the land, but 
 toward the land. Their knowledge of 
 the sea would enable them to judge 
 from a change of currents or from the 
 sound and dashing of waves against 
 the beach. Assuming that St. Paul's 
 Bay on the north side of Malta is the 
 actual scene of the shipwreck, Mr. 
 Smith says (p. 121) : " No ship can en- 
 ter it from the east without passing 
 within a quarter of a mile of the point 
 of Koura ; but before reaching it the 
 land is too low and too fiir from the 
 track of the ship driven from the east- 
 ward, to be seen in a dark night. 
 When she does come within this dis- 
 tance, it is impossible to avoid observ- 
 ing the breakers; for with north- 
 easterly gales the sea breaks upon it 
 with such violence that Admiral 
 Smyth, iu his view of the headland, 
 has made the breakers its distinctive 
 character." Mr. Smith personally 
 visited the point of Koura and verified 
 these facts. He also learned of the 
 shipwreck of the frigate " Livelv " on 
 the night of August 10, 1810, at this 
 very spot. The quartermaster saw ' the 
 curl of the sea ' upon the rocks at the 
 jjoint of Koura, about a quarter of a 
 mile off. Tlie man at the lead sounded 
 and found twenty-five fathoms of water. 
 (See next verse.) By some mishap 
 they failed to manage the vessel, and 
 falling broadside upon the rocks, and a 
 gale coming on, she went to pieces. 
 (Smith, Voyage, p. 123.) This, too, 
 was just the place whither the ship 
 would drift in about thirteen days 
 from Clauda. (See note at end of ver. 
 17.) 
 
 28. Sounded — threw out the lead 
 and line iu order to ascertain the deptU 
 
394 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 a little further, they sounded again, and 
 29 found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing 
 lest they should have fallen upon rocks, 
 they cast four anchors out of the stern, 
 and wished for the day. 
 
 .30 And as the shipmen were about to flee 
 out of the ship, when they had let down 
 the boat into the sea, under colour as 
 though they would have cast anchors 
 out of the foreship, Paul said to the 
 
 of water. Twenty fathoms. The 
 
 ancient fathom was about the same as 
 the modern, six feet. Soon after they 
 sounded again and found fifteen 
 fathoms— showing that tliey were 
 nearing the shore. Their only safety 
 in the dark was to anchor (next verse). 
 These soundings correspond with those 
 in St. Paul's Bay, supposing the ship 
 to be drifting in a westerly direction. 
 At the supi)Osed rate of the ship's 
 movement (a mile and a half an hour) 
 it would have taken about a half hour 
 between the twenty and the fifteen- 
 fathom depth, which would give time 
 to prepare for anchoring. (Smith, 
 Voyage, p. 131.) 
 
 29. Then fearing lest we 
 should have fallen upon rocky 
 places: which perhaps they could 
 dimly see. "The fifteen-fathom depth 
 is as nearly as possible a quarter of a 
 mile from the shore, which is here girt 
 with mural precipices, and upon which 
 the sea must have been breaKing with 
 great violence." (Smith, Voyage, p. 
 132.) A few minutes more and they 
 are wrecked. Hence the necessity of 
 anchoring at once ; and of a hard bot- 
 tom, where the anchors will hold. 
 Now Mr. Smith quotes from the sail- 
 ing directions regarding the anchorage 
 in St. Paul's Bay : " It is, notwithstand- 
 ing, safe for small ships, the ground 
 being very good ; and while the cables 
 hold there is no danger, as the anchors 
 will never start." They cast four 
 anchors — and they had others, per- 
 haps as many more, (ver. 30.) Ancient 
 ships had smaller, but more anchors 
 than modern vessels. Csesar speaks of 
 one having four. Athemeus mentions 
 one of eight. The anchors seen on an- 
 cient coins were similar in form to those 
 of modern times. Out of the stern — 
 the ancients, like the moderns, gener- 
 ally anchored from the bow, but often 
 from the stern, by pas.sing the cable of 
 the anchors through the rudder holes. 
 In order to do this the two rudders 
 were raised out of the water and fas- j 
 tened. Mr. Smith has given a copy of j 
 
 a stern of a ship, illustrating this, from 
 a sculpture from Herculaneum, con- 
 temporary with the Apostle Paul. 
 Occasionally this has been done in 
 modern times. Thus Lord Nelson 
 anchored by the stern at the battle of 
 Copenhagen in 1801, and Lord Ex- 
 mouth at the battle of Algiers in 181(3. 
 The reasons for thus anchoring Paul's 
 ship were : To stop its progress as soon 
 as possible. Had they anchored from 
 the l)ow, the sliip might have swung 
 around upon shoals or rocks. Besides, 
 the head of the vessel being toward the 
 laud, when the morning came, they 
 would be prepared to run her ashore, 
 if possible. By simply cutting away 
 the anchors, lowering the rudders and 
 raising the foresail, which could be 
 done at once, the vessel would be in 
 readiness to run into any part of the 
 shore which afibrded them any pros- 
 pect of safety. Wished for the 
 day — anxious lest the ship, being in 
 a precarious state, might go down at 
 her anchors, or the morning coming the 
 coast might afibrd no beach upon 
 which they could land in safety. 
 
 30. This anxiety about their situa- 
 tion and prosj)ects led the shipmen, 
 or sailors very naturally, but selfishly, 
 to attempt to save their own lives by 
 lowering the row boat, which had 
 been hoisted on deck soon after the 
 storm began, (ver. i6). Were about 
 — or, ivere seeking, to flee. Under 
 colour, as though, etc. They act as 
 if about to cast anchors, from the 
 foreship as well as from the stern. 
 This must appear plausible to landsmen, 
 but not to seamen. Hence Mr. Smith 
 supposes that the officers of the ship 
 were parties to this unworthy attempt. 
 This accords with the statement in the 
 next verse that the centurion and 
 soldiers arrested it. 
 
 31. Paul exhibits keen perception 
 in detecting their design and tact in 
 saying nothing to the sailors, but ad- 
 dressing the centurion. Except these 
 abide in the ship ye cannot l:e 
 saved. God had promised Paul the 
 
Ch. XXVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 395 
 
 31 ceuturioa and to the holdiers, J Except 
 these abide in the sliip, ye cannot be 
 
 32 saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes 
 of the boat, and let her fall off. 
 
 33 And while the day was coming on, Paul 
 besought ihein all to take meat, saying, 
 This day is the fourteenth day that ye 
 have tarried and continued fasting, 
 
 34 having taken nothing. Wherefore I 
 pray you to take some: meat : for this is 
 
 for your health : for there shall not au 
 hair fall from the head of any of you. 
 
 35 And when he had thus spoken, he took 
 bread, and »gave thanks to God in pres- 
 ence of them all : and when he had broken 
 
 36 it he began to eat. 'Then were they all 
 of good cheer, and they also took tonm 
 
 37 meat. And we were in all in the ship two 
 hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 
 
 3 ver. 22-24. 
 
 « Matt. 15 : 30 ; JIark 8:6; John 6 : 11; 1 Cor. 
 » 2 Oor. 1 : 4. 
 
 10 : 30, 31 ; 1 Tim. 4:3, 4. 
 
 safety of all, yet every human eflfort 
 was to be made. The skill of the sail- 
 ors, iu guiding the ship ashore, and in 
 reaching the land, was needed to carry 
 out the will of God. The ignorance 
 and unskillfuluess of the soldiers and 
 passengers might result disastrously. 
 
 32. With military promptness the 
 soldiers cut ott" the ropes of the 
 boat by which it was fastened to the 
 ship and let her fall oflf into the sea, 
 where she drifts into the darkness and 
 to destruction. Their willingness to 
 sacrifice the boat shows that Paul had 
 gained a wonderful power over them. 
 
 33. While the day was coining 
 on. The meaning is, During the in- 
 terval till the break of day, when it 
 would be light enough to see what is 
 best to be done. For the fourth time 
 Paul appears as the wise counsellor of 
 the ship. He sees that they must be 
 prepared in strength and spirits for the 
 work of escaping from the ship ; and 
 he beseeches them all to take food. 
 On the fourteenth day, see on 
 ver. 27. Having taken nothing — 
 no regular food ; as it were nothing. 
 The language is popular and strong, 
 but natural, and would be understood 
 by those whom he addressed, (see on 
 
 Ter. 21.) 
 
 34. Wherefore, in view of your 
 long fasting and your consequent weak- 
 ness and exliaustion, / entreat you to 
 take food. A positive reason is added, for 
 this is for your health, rather, /or 
 your safety. In the dangers and work 
 before them nourishment would enable 
 them to do more toward their own 
 preservation. An encouraging assur- 
 ance of ultimate escape is also given. 
 There shall not a hair fall from 
 the head of any of you. A strong 
 proverbial expression, denoting com- 
 
 plete deliverance, (i Sam. u : « ; i Kingi 
 
 I :52; Lake ai: 18.) 
 
 35. Gave thanks to God. Some 
 entertain tlie fanciful idea that this was 
 regarded by the Christians present as a 
 love feast, or even the commemoration 
 of the Lord's Supper. But of this there 
 is not the slightest hint, nor the least 
 evidence. Paul was simjily acting as 
 a Christian, returning tlmuks accord- 
 ing to his custom. (Eom. 14: 6; 1 Cor. 10: SO; 
 
 14 : 17 ; 1 Thess. 5 : 18.) Such language was 
 used of ordinary meals. (Luke 24: so; 
 johQ6:u,23.) In presence of them 
 all — acknowledging God whom he 
 served (ver. 23) before all the heathen 
 soldiei-3 and mariners. In breaking 
 the bread and eating he began a reg- 
 ular meal, whether confined to bread 
 alone, or not, in contrast with their 
 previous scanty fare. (vcr. 21.) 
 
 36. Then were they all of good 
 cheer — inspired by his example and 
 his devout trustfulness and thankful- 
 ness. They also took some meat 
 — rather, took food, partook of a regu- 
 lar meal. " When we reflect who were 
 included in these all — the soldiers and 
 their centurions, the sailors and pas- 
 sengers of various nations and disposi- 
 tions, it shows remarkably the influ- 
 ence aco[uired by Paul over all who 
 sailed with him." (Alford.) 
 
 37. Two hundred three score 
 and sixteen souls. The number, 
 two hundred and seventy-six, was 
 large, but a vessel wliicli had four 
 
 j anchors was also large, (ver. 29.) The 
 I number on board at this time was not 
 i unusual for an Alexandrian merchant 
 sliip of good size. Josephus, about 
 this time, was wrecked in the Adriatic 
 with a shipload of six hundred. 
 (Josephus, Life, ^ 3.) How many 
 were prisoners, soldiers, passengers, we 
 
396 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVII. 
 
 38 And when they had eaten enough, ^ they 
 lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat 
 into the sea. 
 
 89 Aud when it was day, they knew not 
 the land : but they discovered a certain 
 creek with a shore, into the which they 
 
 were minded, if it were possible, to thrust 
 40 in the ship. And when they had taken 
 up the anchors, they committed f/ifin- 
 ie/i'f.« unto the sea, and loosed the rudder 
 bands, aud hoisted up the maiusail to the 
 
 ' ver. is, 19. 
 
 have not the means of ascertaining. 
 The reason for numbering was, that in 
 coming ashore the caj)tain might know 
 of the crew and passengers, and the 
 centurion of the ])risoner8 and soldiers, 
 that none were lost or missing. It was 
 very natural to state the number at 
 this point of the narrative. 
 
 38. They lightened the ship — 
 so as the more easily to approach the 
 shore. Besides, having been for many 
 days drifting sideways (see on ver. n), it 
 is jirobable that the wlieat had shifted 
 largely to the left side ; and it was 
 necessary to cast it out and right the 
 ship again so as to steer her accurately 
 to the shore. Cast out the wheat — 
 the princii)al cargo, and reserved to 
 the last, ilerchant vessels were ac- 
 customed to carry wheat from Egypt 
 to Italy, and the mere mention of this 
 vessel's cargo at tliis point affords one 
 of many undesigned coiucideucea iu 
 tlie book of the Acts. 
 
 39. They knew not, did not re- 
 cognize, the land ])ef<)re them. Yet 
 Melita was a well-known island, and 
 its excellent harbor at Yaletta was 
 familiar to seamen. But thev had al- 
 ready passed beyond that harbor iu the 
 night and were several miles north of 
 it. They were in a less familiar ]iart 
 of the coast, which had no uuirkcd 
 features a!)out it, while the driving 
 rain and mists would somewhat ob- 
 struct their view. But they discov- 
 ered a certain creeli, in/et, or bay 
 with a shore, literally, vith a beach, 
 a smooth, sandy shore suited for land- 
 ing, or for running the sliip aground. 
 St. Paul's Bay is on the northeast part 
 of the island, and is formed l^y the 
 main land on the south and the little 
 island of Salmonetta on the north, and 
 opens toward the east. It is two miles 
 long from east to west, and one mile 
 broad at the entrance. The shore is 
 skirted with rocks and precipices except 
 in two places where there are inlets, 
 find one of which, the Mestara Valley, 
 
 has a beach. Mr. Smith, however, is 
 inclined to choose the other inlet, 
 which no longer has a beach, but 
 which geologists know must have had 
 one, from tlie dip of the beds and the 
 form of the land. His chief reason for 
 preferring this inlet is its proximity to 
 what Luke calls " a ])lace of two seas," 
 or " where two seas met." (ver. «. See 
 onvcr. 27.) (Smith's Voyarje, p. 140-3.) 
 All tliis agrees strikingly with Luke's 
 account. Into the Avhich — upon 
 arliivh beach they were minded, 
 were determinnJ, if they could, to drive 
 the ship. A few ancient authorities 
 read, If they could bring the ship safe 
 to shore. 
 
 40. They proceed at once to carry 
 out their determination. And when 
 tliey had taken up the anchors. 
 llather, Culling off the anchors — that 
 is, cutting the ro2)es that connected them 
 witli the shiji. They committed 
 themselves unto the sea — rather, 
 they left them, tlie anchors, to the sea. 
 Tliey were no longer needed, and would 
 only add weight to the ship. And 
 loo.sed the rudder bands. See 
 ])rcfatory note on " Shi]is." The two 
 rudders liad been raiseil out of the 
 water M'hen the anchors had been cast 
 out from the stern, (ver. as.) The rud- 
 dt-rs were now needed to steer the ship 
 toward the beach ; the anchor ro])es 
 niiglii have been an imj)edimeut to 
 their free use ; and hence their cutting 
 away was quite uecessarv. Hoisted 
 the mainsail— rather, /o/r5ai7. This 
 noun is found only here among ancient 
 Greek writers, and has been aj)plied t^ 
 almo.st every sail wliich a vessel carries, 
 Mr. Smith, however, has shown pretty 
 clearly that tlie foresail is meant. K 
 was the best ]>ossil)le sail to be iise(^ 
 under the circumstances, and just what 
 a sailor would have hoisted to the 
 wind in order to ma/:e tovard the 
 beach. In a gale iu Crimea, in Novem- 
 ber, 1854, the captain of the ship, the 
 l,ord liuylan, beached her; the foresail 
 
Ch. XXVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 397 
 
 41 wind, and inmle toward shore. And fall- 
 ing into a place where two seas met, <= they 
 
 ran the ship aground; and the forepart 
 stuck fast, and remained unmovable, but 
 
 ■ 2 Cor. 11 : 25. 
 
 only was used, aiul proved of great ad- 
 vantage. (Smith, ro,ya//e, p. 141.) 
 
 41. And — rather, jjut, introducing 
 some circumstances that defeated the in- 
 tention of the sailors. Bat falling into 
 a place where two seas met — 
 where opjiosite currents met, and spent 
 their force upon the stern of the vessel. 
 Or, according to Mr. Smith, this phrase 
 
 tinuous ; but as they approach the beach, 
 they could see the strait, and soon after 
 the current, between the mainland and 
 the island. This current meets the 
 opposing sea, where, by its deposits, a 
 shoal and a bank of clay and sand have 
 been formed. Into this bank tlie ship 
 might very likely be driven, and just 
 at this point where the current was 
 
 ^:- - . MAP OF -- 
 SI PAUL'S BAY. 
 
 in the Island of 
 
 MELITA, 
 
 (MALTA). 
 
 kv:>>^ / IHus lrating Paul's shipwr eck 
 
 
 may be referred to the channel, not 
 more than a hundred yards wide be- 
 tween tlie small island Saluionetta 
 and Malta, which would appear to the 
 sailors nearing the beach as connecting 
 the sea inside the bay and the sea out- 
 side. He su]iposes the shipwreck to 
 have occurrecl near this channel, and a 
 little north of the traditional site. (See 
 oBver. 39.) The features of the locality 
 harmonize with either view. To tlie 
 sailors, from the supposed position of 
 the ship, when at anchor, the island 
 Salmonetta and the Maltese coast ap- 
 peared as though the land were all con- 
 
 broken by the opposing sea. So they 
 reach not the beach as tliey hoped, but 
 are compelled to swim for tlieir lives. 
 Or, see quotation from ^Ir. Smith below. 
 The forepart — or forrship (ver. so) 
 struck, striking fast — remained un- 
 movable. " This is a remarkable cir- 
 cumstance, which but for the peculiar 
 nature of the bottom of St. Paul's Bay, 
 it would be difficult to account for. 
 The rocks of Malta disintegrate into 
 extremely minute particles oif sand and 
 clay, which, when acted upon by the 
 currents, or by the surface agitation, 
 form a deposit of tenacious clay ; whilst 
 
398 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIl. 
 
 the hinder part was broken with the 
 
 42 violence of the waves. And the soldiers' 
 counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any 
 of them should swim out, and escape. 
 
 43 But the centurion, * willing to save Paul, 
 kept them from their purpose ; and com- 
 
 manded that they which could ."iwim 
 should cast ihemselvcs first in/o the tea, and 
 44 get to land : and the rest, some on boards, 
 and some on broken pieces of the ship. 
 And so it came to pass, 'that they es- 
 caped all safe to laud. 
 
 4 Prov. 16 : 7. 
 
 ' Tcr. 22, 24. 
 
 in still water, where these currents do I 
 not act, mud is found ; but it is only in 
 the creeks where there are no currents, 
 and at such a dej^th as to be undis- 
 turbed by the waves, that the mud 
 occurs. In Admiral Smj-th's chart of 
 the bay, the nearest soundings of the 
 mud inilicate a depth of about three 
 fathoms, which is about wliat a large 
 ship will draw. A shii>, therefore, im- 
 pelled by the force of a gale into a creek 
 with such a bottom would strike into 
 mud, graduating into tenacious clay 
 into which the forepart would fix itself, 
 and be held fast, whilst the stern was 
 exposed to the force of the waves." 
 (Smith, Voyage, p. 143-4.) But the 
 hinder part was broken, more ex- 
 actly, was breaking to pieces by the 
 violence of the waves. Some 
 ancient authorities omit of the tea res, 
 but the meaning is the same. The ship 
 was Avithout doubt badly strained, 
 leaky, and much damaged by the gale, 
 (ver. is.) The driving wind would in- 
 crease the violence of the currents. 
 John Kitto, who was at ilalta for a 
 time, savs of the small island Salmon- 
 etta : " The currents and shoals around 
 wliich are particularly dangerous in 
 stormy weather." (Alexander's Kitto's 
 Encyclopedia.) 
 
 42. And the soldier's counsel, 
 or plan was to kill the prisoners. 
 Bv the Roman law they were responsi- 
 ble with their own lives for the pris- 
 oners under their charge. AYe get a 
 glimpse of the stern fidelity and the 
 cruelty of the Roman military system. 
 We also have illustrations of it in 
 12 : 11»: Ifi : 27-29. 
 
 43. But the centurion willing, 
 rather, wishing to save Paul— had it 
 not been for Paul, the other prisoners 
 would probably have been killed. Thus 
 three times is he the means of preserv- 
 inirlife. (ver. 24, .'u. «.) Commanded 
 that they which could swim, etc.— 
 these getting first to laud would ea- 
 
 courage, help, and succor others who 
 were floating on planks and spars. 
 Paul, who had been thrice shipwrecked 
 (2 Cor. 11 : 25), was doubtlcss one of the 
 swimmers and efficient helpers. 
 
 44. And the rest, who could not 
 
 swim, some on boards, or planks, 
 
 and -iome on broken pieces, or pai-ts 
 
 of the ship. The loose articles and 
 
 furniture of the vessel had probably 
 
 i been thrown overboard before this. So 
 
 that pieces of the stranded vessel, 
 
 i broken ofl" by the waves or by hand, are 
 
 I doubtless meant. In this description 
 
 ' we see that perfect discipline was 
 
 maintained on l)oard ; which was all 
 
 important, l>oth to prevent confusion 
 
 i and to encourage the fearful. They 
 
 escaped all — more exactly. They all 
 
 I got through safe to the land. There 
 
 i seems to be an allusion to the promise 
 
 I in ver. 24, 2.5, which was thus remark- 
 
 j ably fulfilled. 
 
 Pr.\ctical Remarks. 
 
 j 1. This chapter presents strong historic 
 
 I evidence of the truth of Christianity. The 
 
 ! extreme accuracy of Luke proves hi.s trust- 
 
 I worthiness as a writer of both the Acts and 
 
 his Gospel ; and hence of the things therein 
 
 contained. (Ver. 4, 5, 8, 12, 14-16 ; Luke 1 : 
 
 1-4.) 
 
 2. It would seem to have been God's will 
 that this remarkable chapter should have 
 been penned for such times as ours, to meet 
 the evidential demands of criticism, and 
 the tests of skepticism. (.lohn 20:31; Es'.h. 
 4 : 14.) 
 
 3. This chapter affords a striking illustra- 
 tion of the power and value of Christian 
 trustfulness. (Ver. 2'J-25 ; 34-36 ; Ps. 91.) 
 
 4. This chapter illustrates the influence 
 and salutary effect of a truly consecrated 
 Christian man. (Ver. 10, 21, 31, 33, 43 ; Prov. 
 16 : 7.) 
 
 5. This chapter exhibits God's providential 
 care over his people. (Ver. 1, 3, 6, 21-25, 32 ; 
 Gen. 50 : 19, 20.) 
 
Ch. XXVII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 399 
 
 6. The Christian's path is often determined 
 by wicked men, who thus fultill the pur- 
 poses of God. Thus Paul's long journey to 
 Jlouie, and his residence there as a preacher, 
 were provided for without expense to him. 
 (Ver. 1 ; 3 : 17, 18 ; Ps. 37 : 2.S, 24.) 
 
 7. God overrules the hearts of men for the 
 good of his cause and his children. (Ver. 
 3, 43 ; Ezek. 21 : 27.) 
 
 8. " Even when the route is circuitous and 
 the winds unfavorable, God conducts his 
 servants to the desired port." (Ver. 4, 5 ; 
 Ps. 107 : 7.) 
 
 9. In giving advice without intruding and 
 in patiently bearing its rejection, Paul pre- 
 sents an example of the dignity becoming a 
 Christian. (Ver. 9-11 ; 1 Cor. 16: 13.) 
 
 10. The voice of the people is not the voice 
 of God. Majorities are often on the wrong 
 side. (Ver. 12 ; Exod. 23 : 2.) 
 
 11. We must beware how we trust to ap- 
 pearances, or depend on the temporal. (Ver. 
 13,14; Prov. 27:1.) 
 
 12. What will not a man give for his life? 
 Yet the perishing sonl often gathers more 
 and more of that which is already sinking 
 him. (Ver. 18, 19 ; Job. 2:4; Luke 12 : 19-21.) 
 
 13. Happy he who on the voyage of life is 
 ready to give up everything to reach the 
 heavenly land. (Ver. 18, 19, 38, 44 ; Matt. 
 19 : 29.) 
 
 14. Paul was a remarkable example of be- 
 coming all things to all men. Among sea- 
 men he showed himself not a bad seaman. 
 (Ver. 10, 21 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 20-23.) 
 
 15. Men need to be taught their own help- 
 lessness, and their entire dependence on 
 God ; and then will they be ready to hear, 
 and accept his help. (Ver. 20, 21 ; Ps. 107 : 
 23-32.) 
 
 16. The servant of God can well be of good 
 cheer, resting on the promise of God, and 
 knowing his revealed will. (Ver. 22 ; 28 : 11 : 
 Heb. 13 : 5, 6.) 
 
 17. We should recognize and acknowledge 
 Grod's ownership in us, by our consecration 
 to him, and by openly confessing him. (Ver. 
 23 ; 1 Cor. 6 : 20 ; 7 : 23.) 
 
 18. The ungodly little know how much 
 they owe to the prayers of God's people. 
 (Ver. 24 ; Isa. 1 • 9.) 
 
 19. The lives of impenitent men are often 
 spared because God interposes in behalf of 
 his children. (Ver. 24 ; Gen. 19 : 19-22.) 
 
 20. God's promises and purposes concern- 
 ing men are often conditioned. " But we 
 
 must be cast on a certain island," suggests 
 the use of means. (Ver. 2H.) 
 
 21. Ix>ng waiting and great trials do not 
 invalidate the promises of God, nor prevent 
 their fulfillment. (Ver. 27 ; 2 Peter 3 : 9.) 
 
 22. In carrying out his gracious plans con- 
 cerning us, God expects us to use the means 
 at hand. He dops not do that which we can 
 do ourselves. (Ver. 2S, 29 ; John 21 : 6.) 
 
 23. They who desert in times of peril and 
 need are selfish and cowardly, and show a 
 bad heart. (Ver. .30 ; John 6 : 66-69.) 
 
 24. The purposes of God concerning future 
 events include the means as well as the end. 
 .Seed-time and harvest are promised, yet the 
 farmer will not reap except he sow, God's 
 people are chosen unto salvation ; yet none 
 will be saved without repentance, faith, and 
 a life becoming godliness. (Ver. 31 ; 1 Peter 
 1:2,14; Heb. 12:14, 15.) 
 
 25. Faith in God is the root of true cour- 
 age and; productive of cheerfulness in the 
 midst of adversity. (Ver. 33-36 ; Heb. 11 : 
 32-34.) 
 
 26. " Cut off the ropes from every boat in 
 which thou trustest besides God. Then shalt 
 thou behold the morning light and enjoy 
 his salvation." (Ver. 32.) 
 
 27. It is fitting to acknowledge God's good- 
 ness in partaking of food. In this we have 
 the example of both Paul and Christ. (Ver. 
 35; John 6: 11.) 
 
 28. The gospel and those who truly exem- 
 plify it, tend to inspire men with cheerful- 
 ness and courage. (Ver. 36; Neh. 8-10; 
 Prov. 25 : 11.) 
 
 29. War and bloodshed tend to blunt the 
 sensibilities of men, and to undermine the 
 sacredness of human life. (Ver. 42.) 
 
 30. It was Paul's religion which gave him 
 favor with God and men. The Christian is 
 the salt of the earth and the light of the 
 world. (Ver. 43 ; Matt. 5 : 13, 14.) 
 
 31. All of the two hundred and seventy- 
 six were saved, though some with difficulty ; 
 so will all of God's people, though some as by 
 fire. (Ver. 44 ; 1 Cor. 3:15; 1 Peter 4 : 18.) 
 
 32. God's people are everywhere safe in 
 his keeping, on the ocean as well as on the 
 land; and there shall not fail them any- 
 thing that he has promised. (Ver. 43, 44 ; 
 Deut. 31 : 6.) 
 
 33. May we not believe that many of those 
 saved from the shipwreck were led by Paul 
 to a higher salvation through faith in 
 Christ? (Ver. 24,44.) 
 
400 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIIt. 
 
 They pass the winter at Media ; journey to 
 
 Rome. 
 28 AND when they were escaped, then they 
 
 knew that the island was culled Melita. 
 
 2 And the 'barbarous people showed us no 
 
 little kindness : for they kindled a fire 
 
 t Rom. 1 : 14 ; Col. 3 : H. 
 
 Ch. 28 : In this chapter the narra- 
 tive of Paul's journey to Rome is con- 
 tinued. For three months the ship- 
 wrecked comi)auy remain in Melita, 
 after whicli tlieysail to Puteoli, whence 
 they travel by land, — two deputations 
 from the church at Home meeting Paul 
 by the way. At Rome Paul is treated 
 with great indulgence as a prisoner. 
 First to the Jews he exjjounds from the 
 Scriptures concerning Jesus, as the 
 Messiah ; after which he turns chietiy 
 to the Gentiles, continuing his labors 
 for two years. 
 
 1-10. Paul's Stay at Melita. 
 
 (Mark 16: 18; Luke 10: 19.) Winter of A. D. 
 
 60, 61, from about November 1 to Feb- 
 ruary 1. 
 
 1. And Avheu they were es- 
 caped — or, according to the oldest 
 manuscripts, And having escaped, we 
 knew, we came to know, that the island 
 is called Melita. This language rather 
 implies that they learned it from the 
 people who had come down to view the 
 wreck. From Citta Vecchia, the an- 
 cient capital of Malta, about five miles 
 distant, the peojile in the morning 
 could see the ship aground, and so 
 could have been on the spot, to receive 
 the escaping company, and tell them 
 where they were. (Alexander's Kitto.) 
 This is another incidental evidence 
 that Melita is the modern Malta, an 
 island seventeen miles long and nine 
 broad, about fifty-six miles south of 
 Sicily, and aljout two hundred miles 
 from Cape Bon on the African coast. 
 But some writers, and especially since 
 the early part of last century, liave 
 held that Melita was the Austrian 
 island, Meleda, in the Adriatic Sea, or 
 Gulf of Venice, nineteen miles north- 
 west of Ragusa. But this is improba- 
 ble ; for such a view supposes that Fair 
 Havens was on the north side of Crete 
 (27:1*), that the P^uroclydon was hot 
 sirocco, blowing from the coast of 
 Africa instead of toward the (juick- 
 sands or Syrtis (25: 1*. n), which is cer- 
 tainly inconsistent with "the present 
 rain" and "cold." (ver. 2.) Besides, 
 
 to have reached that island from 
 Clauda, and in fourteen days, and with- 
 out seeing land, would have been 
 almost miraculous. " To have been 
 driven up the Adriatic to the island of 
 Meleda in the requisite curve, and to 
 have passed so many small islands and 
 other dangers in the route. Mould, 
 humanly speaking, liave been im- 
 possible. The distance from Clauda 
 to this Meleda is not less tliau 
 seven hundred and twenty geographi- 
 cal miles, and tlie wind must liave 
 been long from the south to make 
 this vovage in fourteen days." (Ad- 
 miral Penrose, in Conybeare and 
 Hoirson, Life, etc., /SY. Pitul, vol. ii. p. 
 347.) Moreover, an Alexandrian ship 
 would not naturally winterthere (ver.ii), 
 nor would it likely continue its voyage 
 afterward to Puteoli, nor go to Syracuse 
 before it went to Rhegiuni. (ver. 12, 13.) 
 Hence this opinion is now rejected by 
 all the best scholars. That Malta is 
 the Melita of Paul there can be no 
 doubt. (1) It is the traditionary scene 
 of the shipwreck. These traditions 
 are numerous among the Maltese and go 
 into tlie remote jiast. (2) It is on the 
 track of Alexandrian ships, which 
 often winter there, (ver. 11.) (.3) It is 
 situated whither a shiji would drift 
 under the circumstances described in 
 about thirteen days, (see ou 27 : n.) Mr. 
 Smith and Admiral Penrose made esti- 
 mates of the proljable direction and 
 speed of the ship, independently of 
 each other, and substantiallv agreed. 
 (4) St. Paul's Bay, with its W-ky 
 shore, its soundings, its inlet and its 
 beach, and its i)lace where two seas 
 meet, exactly corresponds with Luke's 
 narrative. Even to see it amounts 
 to a demonstration. Mr. Hermann 
 Merivale says, in his account of a 
 visit to ilalta: "Under such guid- 
 ance as his (that of Sir William Reiil), 
 the absolute and unmistakable iden- 
 
 I tity of the spot with that described 
 in the Acts flashed irresistilily upon 
 the mind. . . . Under his description, 
 
 j every incident of the tale seemed as if 
 
Ch. XXVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 401 
 
 and received us every one, because of the 
 present rain, and because of the cold. 
 3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle 
 
 of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there 
 
 came a viper out of the heat, and fastened 
 
 4 on his hand. And when the barbarians 
 
 enacted before the eye." (Dean IIow- 
 SON, Bohkn Lectures, 1880, p. 154.) 
 (5) The subsequent voyage to Puteoli 
 is such as would be naturally taken. 
 The objections to this view have been 
 often answered. The principal one, 
 that ^lalta was not in the Adriatic Sea, 
 overlooks the'fact that this geosjraphical 
 term was applied to a much larger area 
 formerly than now. (Seeoii27 :'27.) The 
 other objections derived from the sail- 
 ors not knowing the land (27 : 39), from 
 the Maltese being called "barbarians" 
 (ver. '2), from the fact that there are no 
 vipers now in Malta (ver. 3), and from 
 the false opinion that dysentery is un- 
 known there (ver. 8), are really of no 
 weight, and are incidentally answered 
 in the notes. 
 
 3. The barbarous people — hav- 
 ing reference not to their civilization, 
 but to their language. (Rom. 1 : u.) The 
 Greeks and Romans were accustomed 
 to call all barbarians who did not use 
 their language. The Maltese were of 
 Phcenician origin, and probably spoke 
 a Phoenician dialect of the Hebrew. It 
 came under Roman rule in tlie second 
 Punic war, about 218, B. c. The mod- 
 ern Maltese speak a dialect of tlie 
 Arabic, introduced at the Mohamme- 
 dan conquest, intermingled with Euro- 
 pean languages. Shewed us no lit- 
 tle — or no common kindness — that 
 is, special kindness. (i9:ii.) Re- 
 ceived us every one — ns all, under 
 their care and to their hospitality, now 
 exhibited by kindling a large fire, and 
 afterward by receiving them into their 
 houses, or into places prepared for 
 them. Because of the present 
 rain — on account of the rain having 
 come tipon us. These voyagers had 
 been exposed to the tempest, and had 
 ])assed through the waves to the land. 
 (27 : 4*.) An additional reason is given : 
 Because of the cold, showing that 
 the Euraquilon (s7 : u) was continuing 
 to blow. It could not have been 
 the hot Sirocco, the southeast wind, 
 which indeed continues only two or 
 three days. 
 
 3. Paul exhibits his active spirit and 
 his interest in everything that pertained 
 
 2a 
 
 to their comfort, by keeping up the fire, 
 which incidently afforded an occasion 
 for another proof of God's watch-care 
 over him as his servant. A bundle 
 of sticks — literally, having twisted or 
 rolled together into a bundle a great 
 number of dried sticks or twigs, brush- 
 wood and furze ; which is said to be 
 the only wood growing near St. Paul's 
 Bay. There came a viper out of 
 the heat, or on account of the heat. 
 The serpent benumbed by the cold, 
 stiff', and torpid, had been hastily gath- 
 ered up with the twigs and brush ; but 
 now feeling the sudden warmth, was so 
 aroused, that it sprang forth and with 
 a single bound fastened on Paul's 
 hand. Dr. Hackett, acknowledging 
 indebtedness to Professor Agassiz, says, 
 " Vipers, too, lurk in rocky places, and 
 that is the character of the region where 
 the incident occurred. They are accus- 
 tomed also to dart at their enemies, 
 sometimes several feet at a bound ; and 
 hence the one mentioned here could 
 have reached the hand of Paul as he 
 stood in the vicinity of the fire." It is 
 said that there are no poisonous ser- 
 pents now in Malta. They have dis- 
 appeared with the increase of popula- 
 tion and the clearing away of the wood. 
 Mr. Smith refers to the gradual disap- 
 pearance of the viper from the island 
 of Arran. {Voyage, p. 151.) But Mr. 
 Lewin states that he saw a snake on the 
 island of Malta which looked like a 
 viper. " We scarcely needed to excite 
 our imaginations, the singular experi- 
 ence of a friend of mine at this spot 
 (St. Paul's Bay), where a serpent 
 dropped from a fagot of brushwood, 
 which he had casually taken up." 
 (Mr. Hermann Merivale, in Bean 
 Hoivson' s Bohlen Lectii^res, 1880, p. 155.) 
 4. Venomous — not in the Greek. 
 Beast or ivild beast (ii:6); there is 
 notliing in this Avord expressing veno- 
 mous, but the idea is included in the 
 word viper (ver. 3), and is implied in the 
 exclamation and the astonishment of 
 the natives. That it really bit the 
 apostle must be inferred from the ex- 
 pressions, " fastened on his hand " and 
 " hung on," better from, his hand, 
 
402 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, 
 they said among themselves, s No doubt 
 this man is a murderer, whom, though he 
 hath escaped the sea, yet Vengeance suf- 
 
 5 fereth not to live. And he shook otf the 
 beast into the fire, and •" felt no harm. 
 
 6 Howbeit they looked when he should 
 have swollen, or fallen down dead sud- 
 
 denly : but after they had looked a great 
 while, and saw no harm come to him, 
 they changed their minds, and ' said that 
 he was a god. 
 
 7 In the same quarters were possessions 
 of the chief man of the island, whose name 
 was Publius ; who received us, and lodged 
 
 8 us three days courteously. And it came 
 
 g Luke 13 : 2, 4 ; John 9 : 1, 2. h Mark 16 : 18 ; Luke 10 : 19. i ch. 14 : 11. 
 
 and the belief of the natives. They i 
 could easily examine Paul's hand to see j 
 whether he was bitten or not. No i 
 doubt this man is a murderer — j 
 they doubtless knew that Paul was a j 
 prisoner, from certain indications, as his j 
 chain, or being bound to a soldier. So, 
 reasoning backward from death as a 
 punishment to the crime, they con- 
 clude that he is a murderer. Yet ven- 
 geance— jHs<(ce, the avenging justice 
 of the Deity. Whether they personified 
 justice, or referred to the heathen god- 
 dess of justice, is uncertain. It at least 
 expressed their moral sense of retribu- 
 tive justice. Suffereth, more exactly, 
 suffered not to live— his doom being 
 looked upon as already fixed and 
 certain. 
 
 5. But Paul is calm, and shows no 
 alarm. And he, etc. — ITe, however, 
 shaking off' the beast into the fire, suf- 
 fered no evil. Thus was fulfilled the 
 promise of our Lord, " They shall take 
 up serpents ; " " I have given you power 
 to tread on serpents . . . and nothing 
 
 shall hurt you." (Mark 16 : is ; Luke 10 : 19.) 
 
 The divine protection or power was ex- 
 ercised in preventing the imparting of 
 the poison, or in neutralizing or coun- 
 teracting it. Very likely the first. (Dau. 
 
 6: J2.) 
 
 6. Howbeit they looked, etc. 
 Better, But they were expecting that he 
 would become inflamed, and as a result 
 swollen. This was the usual and 
 almost immediate effect of the adder's 
 bite. Or fall down dead suddenly 
 — such a result is recorded of the Afri- 
 can seqients. Saw no harm come 
 to him. They changed their 
 minds, or opinion. And said that 
 he Avas a god — in human form, or a 
 divine person. " Observe the insta- 
 bility of human reasoning. He is 
 either a murderer or a god. . . . There 
 is a third supposition: he is a man of 
 God. Kespectiug no class do natural 
 
 men err more than concerning the 
 saints." (Bengel.) The scene was 
 the reverse of that at Lystra. There 
 the people took him first to be a god, 
 and afterward stoned him. (u: 11,19.) 
 7. In the same quarters, etc.; 
 better. Now around that place were the 
 lands belonging to the chief man of the 
 island. His residence, according to 
 tradition, was at Medina, the modern 
 Citta Vecchia, an inland city and the 
 ancient capital, about five miles dis- 
 tant. His lands may have extended 
 down near to St. Paul's Bay. In that 
 city have been found two inscrip- 
 tions, one in Greek and the other 
 in Latin, on which is this same 
 title, chief of the Melitans, which 
 appeal's to refer to the chief magistrate 
 or governor of Melita. The island be- 
 longed to the province of Sicily, ruled 
 by a Prtetor, and Publius may have 
 been his deputy at this place. President 
 Woolsey (quoted by Dr. Hackett) 
 speaks of an earlier Greek inscription, 
 in which two persons are mentioned 
 as holding the ofiice of magistrate in 
 the island. Also a later inscription, 
 from which it api)ears that a person 
 might be called the chief man, although 
 his magistracy had expired. However 
 this may be, the accuracy of Luke is 
 maintained, in the proper application 
 of a Roman title. Who received us, 
 and lodged us three days court- 
 eously—until arrangements could be 
 made for settled quai-t€rs. It was 
 natural for Publius to pay sjiecial 
 attention to Julius, a Roman officer, and 
 his party. The remaikakle promi- 
 nence to which Paul had attained in 
 the shipwreck, and his miraculous 
 preservation from the bit€ of the viper, 
 would give him notoriety, and commend 
 him to Publius. Most expositors limit 
 us, the recipients of this hospitality, to 
 Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus, with 
 probably the noble-hearted Julius, and 
 
Ch. XXVUI.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 403 
 
 to pasB, that the father of Publius lay sick 
 of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom 
 Paul entered in, and Sprayed, and 'laid 
 9 his hands on him, and healed him. So 
 when this was done, others also, which 
 
 had diseases in the island, came and were 
 10 healed. Who also honoured us with many 
 honours ; and when we departed, they 
 'aded us with such things as were neces- 
 sary. 
 
 k James 5 : 14, 15. » ch. 19 : 11, 12 ; Mark 6 : 5 ; 7 : 32 ; Luke 4 : 40. 
 
 possibly the officers, or the soldiers un- 
 der him. The narrative gathers prin- 
 cipally around Paul, (seeouver. lo.) 
 
 8. The kindness of Publius is repaid. 
 No one loses by such hospitality to a 
 servant of God. (Heb. i:i:2.) In the 
 miraculous cure of the father of 
 Publius, Luke mentions the disease in 
 accurate and professional language, 
 characteristic of his writings (Luke* : 38; 
 3:43), and as a physician naturally 
 would. Lay sick of a fever and of 
 a bloody flux — ordysentery. The ori- 
 ginal for the word fever is in the plural 
 fevers, probably with reference to the 
 paroxysms of an intermittent fever. 
 '' Here also we have the testimony of 
 Hippocrates, who uses fevers in the 
 plural." (Epid. iii.) (Smith, Voyage, 
 pp. 3, 155.) It has been objected to 
 Melita being Malta, because in that 
 dry, rocky, and healthy island, it has 
 been contended that dysentery never 
 occurs. But this is a mistake. Mr. 
 Smith says, " Dr. Galland, of Valetta, 
 informs me that the disease is by no 
 means uncommon in Malta." ( Voyage, p. 
 172.) " It happens that the writer of the 
 present note has been beside the bedside 
 of a friend suffering from dysentery in 
 Malta." (HowsONANU SpExN'ce.) The 
 cure wasefFected by Paul through prayer 
 and the laying on of hands, doubt- 
 less in the name of Jesus. (3 : is ; james 
 
 5: U, 15.) 
 
 9. The healing of the father of 
 Publius is but the beginning of a large 
 number of cures during the stay of 
 Paul at Malta. Others also — more 
 exactly, And the rest who had dis- 
 eases came to him and were cured. 
 Tlie island not being very large, nor 
 the number of inhabitants very great, 
 the report of Paul's miracle couhl 
 be easily noised throughout. Since 
 Paul was a prisoner, he could not go to 
 those suffering from infirmities, but 
 they must be brought to him. The 
 language is popular and general, but 
 
 it is not at all incredible that the rest 
 includes all the sick who were able to 
 come to him, or to be brought to him. 
 There was at least a general coming 
 from all parts of the island. No doubt 
 that Paul improved his opportunity, 
 as on another occasion (Gai. 3: i3, u), of 
 proclaiming Jesus, the great Physician, 
 and his gospel. It is reasonable to be- 
 lieve that Christianity was introduced 
 into the island at this time. Accord- 
 ing to a tradition Publius was the first 
 pastor in the island. 
 
 10. This verse is closely connected 
 with the last verse. Who also — not 
 merelj' came and were healed, but also 
 in gratitude honored us, Paul and 
 his company, with many marks of 
 honor. They extended to them a gen- 
 erous hospitality, including doubtless 
 such things as would be needed by 
 travelers who had lost everything by 
 shipwreck. Some would limit honors 
 to gifts and pecuniaiy fees, such as a 
 physician might receive. But this is 
 too contracted a meaning here, and it 
 was contrary to Christ's command to 
 receive reward for such miraculous 
 deeds. (Matt. io:8.) Besides, these marks 
 of honor were during their stay on the 
 island, and are distinguished from the 
 presents made at their departure. No- 
 tice that the whole ship's company is 
 designated us all in verse 2, while 
 simply ^^,s is used in this verse, and is 
 more naturally restricted to Paul and 
 his company. And when we de- 
 parted — better, And ivhen we put to 
 sea. (27:2,4.) They laded us, etc. 
 They piU on board sitch things as were 
 needed, provisions and other necessaries 
 for the voyage, and perhaps money. 
 The idea in the original is that of large 
 and numerous gifts. While the marks 
 of honor had been specially bestowed 
 on Paul and his company, because of 
 the miracles performed, the numerous 
 gifts were probably extended also to 
 others at their departure. Publius 
 
404 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 11 And after three months we departed in 
 a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered 
 in the isle, whose sign was Castor and 
 
 12 Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we 
 
 13 tarried there three days. And from thence 
 we fetched a compass, and came to Khe- 
 gium : and after one day the south wind 
 blew, and we came the next day to Pu- 
 
 would doubtless set the example, and 
 the others who had been largely bene- 
 fited would not be slow to follow. 
 
 11-16. JOTIKNEY FROM MeLITA TO 
 Rome. (pwi. i : uu.) The month of 
 February, A. D. 61. Luke still nar- 
 rates as an eye-witness. 
 
 11. And after three months — the 
 season of sailing had again come. 
 They would naturally embrace the 
 earliest opportunity. It was probably 
 early in February. We departed — 
 we put to sea, as in ver. 10. It was 
 doubtless in the harbor of Valetta, 
 which then, as now, was the harbor of 
 the island, on its northeast side, where 
 the ship had wintered, and from whence 
 they set sail. (ver. 39.) A ship of 
 Alexandria, as was also that in 
 which they had been shipwrecked. 
 (21:6.) This seems to have been a 
 merchant grain ship, which had been 
 compelled to winter at Malta, prob- 
 ably by the same wind which had 
 wrecked the other vessel. Malta, on 
 the line between Alexandria and Italy, 
 was a convenient place to winter, if de- 
 layed by storm. Whose sign was 
 Castor and Pollux — marked with 
 the image or figure of the tivin brothers, 
 whose names were Castor and Pollux. 
 These, in heathen mythology, were the 
 sons of Jupiter and Leda, and were re- 
 garded as the guardian gods of sailors. 
 They were said also to have been trans- 
 lated to the sky and placed among the 
 stars as the constellation of the Gemini. 
 They were specially honored in the dis- 
 tricts about Alexandria. They were 
 sometimes represented as stars, but 
 more frequently as young men on 
 horseback, or their heads simply given. 
 The Alexandrians usually ornamented 
 each side of the prow of ships with 
 figures ; in this case, Castor was prob- 
 ably painted on one side and Pollux on 
 the other. The ship must have been 
 large to have accommodated so many 
 beside its own. 
 
 12. The vessel takes the regular route 
 from Valetta in a northerly direction 
 about eighty miles, which, in favorable 
 weather, could be accomplished in a 
 
 day, to Syracuse, the famous capital of 
 Sicily, on its southeastern coast. Here 
 they landed, or touched (27:3), and 
 tarried three days, either for pur- 
 poses of trade, or for favorable winds. 
 13. We fetched a compass — 
 rather, making a circuit. I'roljably 
 the favorable wind did not come, and 
 they therefore follow the windings of 
 the coast, or take a zig-zag movement, 
 known among sailors as tacking ; or, 
 the wind being westerly, tliey .'^tood 
 out to sea, and so came circuitously to 
 Rhegium. "I am inclined to siqijxjse 
 that the Avind was northwest, and tliat 
 they worked windward, availing them- 
 selves of the sinuosities of the coast ; 
 but with this wind they could not pro- 
 ceed through the Straits of Messina. 
 . . . They were, therefore, obliged to 
 put into Rhegium at the entrance of 
 the strait." (Smith Voyage, p. 156.) 
 Rhegium, the modern Jieggio, near 
 the southern point of Italy, opposite 
 Messina, and about seventy miles north 
 of Syracuse. As they made a circuit- 
 ous route they probably took more than 
 one day. And after one day, wait- 
 ing at Rhegium, « south Avind blew, 
 or arose, the most favorable wind both 
 for passing through the strait and for 
 a speedy passage northwanl to Putooli. 
 In this strait was the famous passage of 
 Scylla and Charybdis, considered dan- 
 gerous even at the present day. Puteoli 
 lay about one hundred and eighty 
 miles from Rhegium, and as they ar- 
 rived there the next day, they oc- 
 cupied more than one day, and less 
 than two, in the voyage. This accords 
 with the speed of ancient vessels which, 
 with a favorable wind, could go from 
 six to seven miles an hour. From the 
 Straits of Messina they could see 
 Mount -(Etna, and from Puteoli, Vesu- 
 vius. Puteoli, the modern Pozzuoli, 
 " was then, as now, the most sheltered 
 part of the Bay of Nai)les," about 
 seven miles northwest of the city 
 oftliatname. "It was the principal 
 port of Southern Italy, and in particu- 
 lar it was the great emporium of the 
 Alexandrian wheat-ships. Seneca, in 
 
Ch. XXVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 405 
 
 14 teoli : where we found brethren, and were 
 
 one of his epistles, gives an interest- 
 in<^ and grapliic account of the arrival 
 of the Alexandrian fleet. All ships en- 
 tering the hay were obliged to strilie 
 their topsails, except wheat-ships, 
 which were allowed to carry theirs." 
 (Smith Voyage, p. 157.) Thus it has 
 been said that we know the very man- 
 
 desired to tarry with them seven days; 
 
 14. Where we found brethren. 
 
 Here a Cliristian cliurcli existed, who 
 doubtless had heard of Paul, and of 
 his proposed visit to Home, mentioned 
 in his Epistle to the Romans four years 
 before. It is the only notice in the 
 New Testament of a Christian congre- 
 gation in Italy outside of Home, (see 
 
 ner in which the vessel bearing Paul 
 entered into port. It was the custom- 
 ary harbor of the imperial city for 
 ships from the East, tliouijh Rome was 
 one hundred and seventy miles distant, 
 and passengers and freight were trans- 
 ported thither. Thirteen piers of the 
 mole still remain in the harbor where 
 Paul landed. Indeed, many other re- 
 mains exist in the city which, in Paul's 
 day, stood in all their splendor. 
 
 Heb. 13 : 24.) Christianity had probably 
 been carried into Italy soon after the 
 Pentecostal outi»ouring. Believers also 
 probably came thither from Alexan- 
 dria. Josei)lius speaks of Jews at 
 Dicearchia, the original name of Pute- 
 oli. (Antiq. xvii. 12, 3.) And Avere 
 desired, rather, were entreated to re- 
 main with them seven days. The 
 request appears to have been granted. 
 Thus news of Paul's arrival would be 
 
406 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIIL 
 
 15 and so we went toward Rome. And from 
 thence, when the brethren heard ol' us, | 
 
 they came to meet us as far aa Appii 
 Forum, and the Three Taverns: whom 
 
 sent to the brethren at Rome. (ver. is.) | 
 The believers could also be assembled ' 
 for hearing Paul and the breaking of ] 
 bread on the Lord's Day, as at Troas ; 
 (•10 : 6, 7) and at Tyre. (21 ; *.) The kind i 
 and grateful centurion was under too 1 
 great obligation to Paul to refuse any 
 reasonable request. There may also | 
 have been other reasons why Julius 1 
 might willingly remain at Puteoli. | 
 And so — after this delay, we went 
 toward Rome, or more exactly, we 
 came into Rome, without any farther j 
 delay. The statement of the completed : 
 journey is here briefly made ; and in 
 the next verse, some details of the 
 journey from Puteoli to Rome on foot 
 are given. But Dr. Hackett i)refers to ' 
 render they went unto Home with the ; 
 idea of toward, a phrase similar to that 
 in 27 : 1, " That we should sail to Italy," j 
 and to John 20 : 3, " They went to," or 
 " toward the sepulchre." ileyer and 
 Alford prefer the former. 
 
 15. Some incidents on the way to 
 Rome. From Puteoli they probably 
 went to Capua, the nearest point on the 
 Appian Way, the great road to Rome. 
 Mr. S. Russell Forbes, who has resided 1 
 at Rome for over twenty years, gives 
 an interesting account of this journey 
 in his Footsteps of St. Paul at Home. 
 In the matter of distances and in some 
 other things he dilfers from the general 
 authorities. He says (p. 6) : " Too 
 soon tlie week passed away, and then 
 commenced the long march to Rome, 
 one hundred and seventy miles distant, 
 leaving Puteoli by the Consular Way 
 to Capua, where they struck into the 
 Via Appia, one hundred and fifty-one 
 miles from Rome. Resting here for 
 one night, they proceeded along the 
 'Queen of long roads,' and by easy 
 stages toward Rome. From the time 
 of leaving the coast till their arrival in 
 the Eternal City only two small places 
 are mentioned ; but of course many of 
 interest were passed. Two days after 
 leaving Capua, they would arrive at 
 Terracina, seventy-five miles from 
 Rome; and the next morning, con- 
 tinuing their way, in two and a half 
 miles they would cross the stream 
 
 which flows from the Fountain of 
 Feronia. . . . The Grove of Feronia 
 was on the edge of the Pontine ^Marshes, 
 aud in St. Paul's day no road existed 
 tlirough them, the road being made 
 1 afterwards by Trajan. Trathc was con- 
 ducted through the marshes by means 
 1 of a canal, which still exists ; and pas- 
 I sengers coming to Rome embarked at 
 I tlie Grove of Feronia, and were towed 
 in barges through the marshes . . After 
 ' a long, slow journey they landed at 
 ! Appii Forum, forty-three miles from the 
 : imperial city . . . Forum Appii was 
 a town of the Volsci, and name<l the 
 Forum of Appius from Appius Clau- 
 dius, wlio founded here a market for 
 ' the convenience of the country people 
 ; when he made the Appian Way, B. c. 
 312. It is mentioned by Pliny {iii. 9) 
 j in the list of colonies. . . . Horace left 
 Apjiii Forum in the evening and 
 reached Feronia at ten A. i[., doing the 
 distance of the canal (twenty-seven 
 miles) in sixteen hours. Suetonius 
 (' Tiljerius' ii.) says, ' Claudius Drusus 
 erected a statue of himself at Appii 
 Forum.' . . . Horace describes it as 
 j ' stufted with sailors and surly land- 
 lords.' Some fragments of ruins and 
 the forty-third milestone are all that 
 i remain of Appii Forum." 
 
 \Vhen the brethren heard of us. 
 During the week spent at Puteoli there 
 had ])ten abundant opportunity and 
 ' time for them to hear of Paul's arrival 
 in Italy, aud when he would start for 
 { Rome. These brethren who came to 
 meet Paul included probably some of 
 those who are mentioned in Rom. 16 : 
 j 1-10. Two companies set out to meet 
 I liim : one starting earlier than the 
 otlier. The first one, those perliaps 
 better able to perform the journey go 
 forth as far as Appii Forum, or t/ie 
 Market of Appius (see note above); 
 the other company meet him at the 
 Three Taverns. Thus tliey welcome 
 Paul with attentions so often paid to 
 beloved guests at parting. (15 : 3; 20 : 38 
 21:5) The Three Taverns or sAojos, 
 was one of the halting places on the 
 Appian Way. The site is perhaps un- 
 certain, aud has been usually placed at 
 
Ch. XXVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 407 
 
 when Paul saw, "he thanked God, and 
 took courage. 
 16 And when we came to Rome, the cen- 
 turion delivered the prisoners to the cap- 
 
 tain of the guard : but » Paul was suffered 
 to dwell by himself with a soldier that 
 kept him. 
 
 "> Ilom. 1 : 7-10 ; 15 : Zi, 32. " ch. 24 : 23 ; 27 : 3. 
 
 thirty -three miles from Rome, and ten 
 miles nearer than Appii Forum. Mr. 
 Forbes places it, however, at nine 
 miles from Rome, the last halting 
 place before reaching the city, and 
 says, " The site is well identified, not 
 only by tradition, but by classical au- 
 thority." Also, "Aurelius Victor re- 
 cords that Gallienus had a villa here, 
 and that his tomb was at the nintii 
 mile." Also regarding Cicero's letter 
 from The Three Taverns to Atticus, on 
 April 3, 59 B. c, he says, " Cicero had 
 left his villa at Antium, and the road 
 from thence runs into the Appiau Way 
 at the eleventh mile from Rome, as we 
 have seen, so that the Tliree Taverns 
 would be the first halting place on the 
 Appian Way for Cicero, where he could 
 and did write to Appion whilst the 
 horses were being changed." {Foot- 
 steps, etc., pp. 11, 12.) Mr. Forbes 
 mentions the Cliapel of St. Paul there 
 now used as a stable. Hliom seeing, 
 the brethren who had come to help him 
 on his journey, and doubtless to 
 present to him the salutations of the 
 church. Paul thanked God, for 
 their sympathy, and for the answer to 
 his prayers that he might visit Rome 
 and the brethren, of which this was a 
 foretaste. (Rom. i : 8-ii.) And took 
 courage — his own jaded spirits were 
 revived in seeing the evidences of the 
 end of so long and perilous a journey ; 
 inspired by the presence of Christian 
 brethren; and encouraged in God, at 
 the evidences and prospects of the 
 cause of Christ at Rome (Rom. i : 13-15), 
 and because his assured hopes of being 
 a blessing there were about to be ful- 
 filled. (15:29.) 
 
 16. And when we came to 
 Rome — probably on the sixth day 
 after leaving Puteoli. They had passed 
 many objects of interest, grand sights, 
 splendid scenery, monuments, temples, 
 and noted buildings on this " the most 
 celebrated of Italian roads ; " but Luke 
 makes no reference to these, since they 
 were foreign to the objects of his nar- 
 
 rative, and did not relate to the spread 
 of the gospel throughout the world. 
 
 (1:8.) 
 
 The centurion delivered the 
 prisoners to the captain of the 
 guard— n/ the pnttorian camp, where 
 was quartered tlie body-guard of the 
 emperor. (Phii. i:i3.) The captain was 
 probably the Pnetorian Prefect, who 
 had charge of those jjersons from the 
 provinces wliose cases were to be brought 
 before Ca?sar. There were generally 
 two of these ; but at this time under 
 Nero tliere was but one, named Burrus, 
 who was put to deatli in March, A. D. 
 62. There is here an exact coincidence, 
 in that captain is in the singular, and 
 not in the plural. (See Harmonic 
 Arrancjement, p. 243.) These words, 
 however, are not found in the oldest 
 manuscripts, and are omitted in the 
 Revised Version, and by Westcott and 
 Ilort, and others. They do not, how- 
 ever, have the character of most inter- 
 polations, being entirely independent 
 of anything either in the Acts or in 
 Paul's Epistles : and it is difficult to see 
 why they should have been added. 
 But a reason for their omission can be 
 seen in the similarity of words in the 
 original, and thus the eye of an early 
 scribe might have passed over and 
 omitted them. For such reasons both 
 Meyer and Alford retained them. But 
 aside from the question of the genuine- 
 ness of this passage, Paul was doutitless 
 committed to this officer, and carried to 
 the Prsetorian camp. Arriving by the 
 Appian Way he must have entered the 
 city on the south by the Capena Gate, 
 and proceeded across the city to the 
 northeast corner of the present wall 
 " to the Prffitorian Camp, situated on 
 the neck of Viminal Hill." With this 
 ended the centurion Julius' care of 
 Paul. 
 
 But Paul was suffered, by the 
 prefect, to dwell alone by himself, 
 separated from tlie other prisoners in- 
 stead of being confined with them iu 
 the prison near the Praetorian camp, 
 
408 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 Paul's interview with the Jews at Rome. His 
 condition during his captivity. 
 
 17 AND it came to pass that after three 
 days Paul called the chief of the Jews to- 
 gether: and when they were come to- 
 gether, he said unto them, Men and 
 
 brethren, <> though I have committed 
 nothing against the people, or customs 
 of our fathers, yet p was I delivered 
 prisoner from Jerusalem into the hauds 
 18 of the Komans. Who, iwhen they had 
 examined me, would have let me go, be- 
 
 > ch. 23 : 1 ; 24 : 12, 13 ; 25 : 8, 10. P ch. 21 : 33. l ch. 22 : 24 ; 2J : 8, 25 ; 26 : 31, 32. 
 
 The lenity shown him was probably- 
 due in part to the commendation and 
 intiuence of the centurion Julius, who 
 owed so much to Paul's presence and 
 advice in the journey thither. Yet this 
 privilege was also accorded him be- 
 cause he was a Eonian; "for it was 
 against the law to put a Roman into 
 prison without trial." We have many 
 instances of this in iloman history ; and 
 " so Junius Gallio, brother of Seneca, 
 was kept under a guard in the house of 
 a magistrate." (Tacitus, Annals, YI. 
 3. Forbes' Footsteps, etc., p. 19.) Paul 
 was not entirely alone, but was with 
 a soldier who kept him. (se«oni2:6.) 
 It was the custom to chain one hand of 
 the prisoner to the soldier while on 
 guard ; and it would seem, from ver. 
 29, that this was the case with Paul. 
 But some think that he was merely 
 accompanied and guarded by the 
 soldier. The frequent change of this 
 guard gave Paul the opportunity of pre- 
 senting the message of the gospel to the 
 soldiers throughout the camp, and thus 
 his captivity resulted in the furtherance 
 of the gospel. (Ph'i- « : im*.) 
 
 17-31. Paul at Rome. Two inter- 
 views with the Jews : his condition 
 during his captivity. (John 12 : 39, 40 ; Eph. 
 
 6 : 18-20; Phllem. 8. 9. 22; Isa. 6 : 9, 10.) Paul en- 
 tered Rome about March 1, A. D. 61, 
 and this last section of tlie Acts takes 
 us two years to the spring of A. D. ti3. 
 
 17. From this point to the end of the 
 book, no reference is made to the 
 Christians already at Rome ; I)ut to 
 Paul's work among unbelievers. He 
 would not build on another man's 
 foundation. (Rom. 15 : 20.) From ver. 14, 
 15 we learn that Christianity had taken 
 root both at Puteoli and Rome ; and 
 from the names at Rome to whom Paul 
 sent salutations in Rom. 16 : 1-15, we 
 infer that there were three congrega- 
 tions of believers, one at least among 
 the Jews (Rom. i6:5), aud perhaps two 
 among the Gentiles. (Rom. is : u, is.) 
 
 After three days — a sufficient time 
 for rest and for receiving calls from his 
 Christian brethren, and learning about 
 the Christian congregations at Rome, 
 and arranging his lodgings mentioned 
 in ver. 23. Paul called the chief 
 of the Jews together to him. These 
 were probably the heads of leading 
 families, and the rulers and elders of 
 the synagagues. The Jews were nu- 
 merous at Rome. The edict by Claudius, 
 banishing the Jews (18:2) had been 
 either tacitly or openly annulled ; and 
 under the mild government of Nero, 
 during the first five years of his reign, 
 they had returned in large numbers, as 
 in the case of Aquila and Priscilla. 
 (Rom. 16:3.) The marriage of Nero to 
 Pappiea, a proselyte to Judaism, was 
 also somewhat favorable to them. They 
 dwelt in the quarter of the city beyond 
 the river Tiber, on its west side. As 
 was his custom, Paul gave liis first 
 attention to the Jews. (Rom. 1 : 16.) He 
 thus gave practical proof of his deep 
 anxietv for them, expressed in Rom. 
 9 : 1-3 ; 10 : 1. This full account of 
 Paul's last recorded appeal to his 
 countrymen reminds us of our Lord's 
 last words to the unbelieving Jews 
 (John 11 : 36 f.) Though I havc Com- 
 mitted nothing against the peo- 
 ple, etc. He had sought their salva- 
 tion by oifering the gospel first to them. 
 He did not regard the gospel as antag- 
 onistic to the law. Compare his answers 
 before Felix (24 : u : le), and before 
 Agrippa (26 : 6, 7, 22, 23). He had not for- 
 bidden circumcision to his own country- 
 men, only insisting that Gentile converts 
 should not be required to submit to it 
 and to the Mosaic ceremonials. De- 
 livered prisoner . . . into the 
 hands of the Romans — to Felix 
 and Festus, as is evident from the next 
 verse. He states in brief without giving 
 the steps narrated in ch. 21-23. 
 
 18. Who, when they had ex- 
 amined me, would, rather, wished, 
 
Cn. XXVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 409 
 
 cause there was no cause of death iu me. 
 
 19 But when tlie Jews spake against it, ■■ I 
 was constrained to appeal uulo ('a.-sar ; not 
 that I had auglit to accuse my nation of. 
 
 20 For this cause therefore liave I called for 
 you, to see 2/0", and to speak with yoii : 
 because that » for the hope of Israel 1 am 
 bound with 'this chain. 
 
 21 And they said unto him. We neither 
 received letters out of Juda-a concerning 
 thee, neither any of the brethren that 
 came showed or spake any harm of thee. 
 
 22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou 
 thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we 
 know that every where "it is spoken 
 against. 
 
 ' ch. 25 : 10-12. 
 
 • ch. 2G : G, 7. « ch. 26 : 29 ; Eph. 3:1; Phil. 1 : 13 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 16 : Philem. 
 10 : l:}. " ch. 24 : 5, 14 ; Luke 2 : 34 ; 1 Peter 2 : 12. 
 
 to let me go, etc. This expresses 
 their own honest convictions and desire. 
 They were convinced of his innocence. 
 Felix wished to release him, but 
 hoped for money. (2* : 26.) Festus had 
 no charges to write (25 ; 26) ; and Agrip- 
 pa adjudged him innocent. (26:31,32.) 
 
 19. I was constrained to ap- 
 peal to CiBsar. As his Jewish per- 
 secutors were determined on his death, 
 and as Festus was not sulHciently reso- 
 lute to release and protect him, he was 
 compelled to do this to get justice, and 
 for his own safety. Not that I have 
 aught to accuse my nation of— 
 before this tribunal. He was a patriotic 
 Jew ; his act in appealing to Csesar 
 was purely defensive, and not one hos- 
 tile to his nation. He had no design 
 nor desire to do anything to bring any 
 more trouble to his fellow countrymen, 
 whether they were his accusers in 
 Judea, or his brethren at Rome. 
 
 20. For this cause therefore — 
 as involved in the preceding statement : 
 innocent and compelled to do that 
 which he would rather not have done, 
 in his own defence and without any 
 hostile intent toward any of his nation. 
 I have called for you, to see and 
 speak with you. This is to be pre- 
 ferred to the rendering, Did I entreat 
 you to see and speak with me. The 
 supplying of me as the object of to see 
 is arbitrary and destroys the unity of 
 the sentence. So Hackett and Meyer. 
 Because that for the hope of 
 Israel — the Messiah. (See on 26: 6, 7.) I 
 am bound with this chain, hang- 
 ing upon his arm, and perhaps fastened 
 to the soldier who guarded him. He 
 refers to his " bonds " in his epistles 
 during his imprisonment. (F,ph.6:20; 
 Phil. 1 : 7; Col. 4 : 18.) Mr. Forbcs thiuks 
 that Paul was not chained to, but ac- 
 companied by, a soldier, and that 
 " when the apostle speaks of ' these my 
 
 chains, these bonds,' it is simply a 
 figure of speech used to show that he 
 had not his full liberty." {Footsteps, 
 etc., p. 24.) 
 
 31. Their answer appears to be 
 candid, and probably referred to official 
 communications received, and informa- 
 tion concerning the charges which the 
 Jews brought against him, of which 
 Paul declared his innocence. We 
 neither received letters, etc. This is 
 not strange ; for the Jews at Jerusalem 
 were not expecting his ajjpeal to Ciesar, 
 but were hoping to accomplisli his 
 death. After his apjteal they had not 
 had time. A statement of tlie case 
 must be jirepared and persons selected 
 and sent, and these would follow, not 
 precede Paul. Neither any of the 
 brethren that came, etc. — more 
 exactly. Nor did any of the brethren 
 coming report or speak any evil con- 
 cerning thee. The reference seems to 
 be not to brethren coming at any 
 time, but to messengers connected with 
 this trial and appeal ; and the implica- 
 tion in the original is, that no one had 
 thus come. Thus far the Jewish leaders 
 speak with reference to what Paul had 
 said in ver. 17-20. 
 
 22. But having received no com- 
 plaint and having no charge to make, 
 ive think it proper to hear of thee 
 Avhat thou thinkest— to hear thy 
 opinion and feelings regarding the 
 Messiah, " the hope of Israel." (ver. 20. 
 See ver. 23.) Under the circumstances, 
 and before a prisoner who was receiv- 
 ing such kind treatment from Roman 
 officials, they could not well do other- 
 wise than profess themselves open to 
 conviction. Concerning this sect 
 — they knew that Paul was a Christian. 
 It is intimated in ver. 20, and probably 
 Paul had told them plainly. We 
 knoAv that everywhere it is 
 spoken against— both among Jews 
 
410 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXYIII. 
 
 23 And when they had appointed him a 
 day, there came many to him into his 
 lodging ; ' to whom he ex])ounded and 
 testified the Icingdom of God, persuading 
 them concerning Jesus, J both out of the 
 Law of Moses, and ovi of the Prophets, 
 
 24 from morning till evening. And ' some 
 
 believed the things which were spoken, 
 and some believed not. 
 
 25 And when they had agreed not among 
 themselves, they departed, after that Paul 
 had spoken one word, »Well spake the 
 Holy Spirit by Esaias the prophet unto 
 
 26 our fathers, saying, t" ' Go unto this peo- 
 
 *ch. 17 :3;Luke24 :27. J ch. 26: 6, 22. « ch. 14 : 4; 17 : 4. » Matt. 15 : 7 ; 2 Peter 1 : 21. 
 i> Jer. 5 : 21 ; Ezek. 12 : 2; Mark 4 : 12 ; Kom. 11 : 8. 
 
 and Gentiles, (le : 20, 21 ; n : 6 ; 2* : 5.) Taci- 
 tus, the Roman historian who wrote in 
 the days of the Emperor Nero, speaks 
 of the Christian religion as " a detest- 
 able superstition ; " and Suetonius, 
 writing in the same reign, describes 
 Christians as " a race of men holding a 
 novel and criminal superstition." 
 Christians at that time at Rome, as 
 elsewhere, were spoken against. Their 
 desire to hear Paul does not necessarily 
 imply that they were ignorant of 
 Christians and their doctrines. It was 
 natural that they should wish to hear 
 what so distinguished a leader would 
 say. There were doubtless reasons for 
 the reserve manifested in this whole 
 reply. As Paul's case was to come be- 
 fore the highest tribunal, they would 
 not prejudge it ; nor would they now 
 appear to put themselves in hostility 
 to him, or to the Christian community. 
 The fact that they ignore it implies a 
 certain contempt ; and their reserve as 
 to their knowledge of Christians may 
 have arisen from prudential considera- 
 tions, and from a desire to give Paul the 
 greatest freedom in expressing his 
 views. Besides it was proper to hear 
 before expressing a positive opinion. 
 23. The result of the first interview 
 was the appointment for a second. But 
 a few days probably intervened be- 
 tween the two. At the second inter- 
 view many, literally, 7nore, that is, a 
 greater number, came to him unto 
 his lodging, to the place where he 
 was entertained as a guest ; for so does 
 the word lodging here imply. Although 
 a prisoner, he was permitted to be a 
 guest, under bonds and a guard, with 
 brethren. Perhaps with Aquila, with 
 whom he had lived at Corinth ; or 
 with some of his kinsmen. (Rom. is- s, 
 10, i:i.) It was natural that he should 
 first have temporary logingsas a guest ; 
 and after a little make permanent ar- 
 
 rangement for his own hired house. 
 (vcr. 30.) Expounded— explained the 
 matter regarding the kingdom of God. 
 Testified — bearing witness to the 
 kingdom of God as now manifested in 
 the reign of the Messiah Jesus, under 
 the New Dispensation. (See on i: 3.) 
 Persuading them concerning 
 Jesus — that he was the Messiah and 
 that they should believe on him. (See 
 24 : 14 ; 26 22.) Ftom moming— //WH 
 early morning — till evening. We may 
 conceive the great earnestness of Paul 
 on the one hand, and much interest 
 and many inquiries of the people on 
 the other. Paul's discourse must have 
 been largely conversational. 
 
 24. Tlie result was the same as in 
 other places. Some believed . . . and 
 some believed not, or disbelieved. 
 
 (13:43-45; 14 : 1, 2 ; 18 : 6, 8.) From what fol- 
 
 lows it would seem that the majority of 
 the hearers would not be persuaded, 
 but continued in positive unbelief. 
 
 25. They agreed not among 
 themselves — there being a general 
 expression of difierent views, and dis- 
 cussion. They departed — not ab- 
 ruptly, but were dismissed, in an orderly 
 manner (19 : 41) ; after that Paul had 
 spoken one final word, closing their 
 lengthy interview, containing solemn 
 admonition and reflection, and pro- 
 phetic of their doomed condition. Well 
 spake — the description being appro- 
 priate and exact. The Holy Spirit 
 through Isaiah — teaching his inspira- 
 tion, (s Peter 1 : 21.) Uuto ouF — or ac- 
 cording to several of the oldest manu- 
 scripts, yoiir fathers. Thus like 
 fathers, like sons. 
 
 2G. The passage quoted is from Isa. 
 6 : 9, 10, given almost exactly in the 
 language of the Septuagint. It is 
 quoted more frequently than a>*y other 
 passage in the New Testament. (Matt. 
 
 13 : 14 ; Mark 4:12; Luke 8 : 10 ; Joho 12 : 40. Set 
 
Ch. XXVIII.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 411 
 
 pie, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and 
 
 shall not understand ; and seeing ye 
 
 27 shall see, and not ]ierceive: for the heart 
 
 of this peoj)le is waxed gross, and their 
 
 ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes 
 
 have they closed ; lest they should see 
 
 with ifieir eyes, and hear with l/ieir ears, 
 
 ^ and understand with their heart, and 
 
 •i, should be converted, and I should heal 
 
 28 them ' [Isa. vi. 9, 10] Be it known there- 
 fore unto you, 'that ''the salvation of 
 God is sent unto the Gentiles, and thul 
 they will hear it. 
 
 29 And when he had said these words, the 
 Jews departed, and had great reasoning 
 among themselves. 
 
 30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his 
 own hired house, and received all that 
 
 « ch. 11 : 18 ; 14 : 27 ; 2G : 17, 18 ; Isa. 49 : 6 ; Matt. 21 : 41, 43 ; Eom. 11 : 11. 
 
 Luke 3 : 6. 
 
 4 Isa. 52 : 10 : 
 
 Bom. 11 : 25.) Hearing ye shall hear, 
 etc. Ye hear aud see outwardly, with 
 your senses, but do not apprehend the 
 truth in its spiritual import. (See on 
 
 Matt. 13 : 14.) 
 
 27. For the heart of this people 
 is waxed gross, etc. — descriptive of 
 spiritual insensibility. Their eyes 
 have they closed — voluntary on 
 their part. Lest they should see, 
 etc. — it was God's purpose also on ac- 
 count of their wickedness and hardness 
 of heart. Should be converted, or 
 should turn again with true repentance, 
 and I should heal them — forgive 
 and save them. (Mark*: 12.) Willful 
 blindness is a crime, and judicial blind- 
 ness is its punishment. (SeeoaMatt. 13: 
 15. Compare2 Cor.4:3, 4.) "In this fearful 
 
 process there are three distinguishable 
 agencies expressly or implicitly de- 
 scribed, — the ministerial agency of the 
 Prophet, the judicial agency of God, 
 and the suicidal agency of the people 
 themselves The original passage makes 
 the first of these prominent. (Fatten the 
 hearts of this people, dull their ears, 
 shut their eyes, etc.) The quotation in 
 John 12 : 40 calls attention to the 
 second. (He hath blinded their eyes 
 and hardened their heart.) That in 
 Matt. 13 : 15, like the one before us, 
 dwells upon the third, and represents 
 the people as destroyed by their own 
 insensibility and unbeliefl^ We have 
 thus a striking and instructive instance 
 of the way in which the same essential 
 truth may be exhibited in different 
 parts of Scripture, under several dis- 
 tinct aspects or successive phases." 
 (Alexander.) 
 
 28. Be it known therefore — 
 because ye are so hardened and irre- 
 coverable. This formula introduces a 
 Bolemu and authoritative declaration. 
 (J:i4; 4:10; i3;3s.) The, or according 
 
 to the oldest manuscripts, this salva- 
 tion, this message of salvation con- 
 taining God's only method of saving 
 men. Is sent, literally, ivas sent unto 
 the Gentiles — implying that this was 
 not a new procedure. It had been an- 
 nounced before at Antioch in Pisidia 
 (13 : 46), and at Corinth, (is :6.) In this 
 instance this salvation was sent by God 
 to the Gentiles, by the coming of the 
 Apostle of the Gentiles to Rome, the 
 metropolis of the world. And that 
 they will hear it— rather. They, also, 
 will hear, will heed, accept, and obey. 
 Compare the words of our Lord to the 
 chief priests and Pharisees. (Matt. 21 :43.) 
 How prophetic Paul's words ! How re- 
 markable that Gospel history should 
 close with the same quotation as that 
 used by John in regard to the closing 
 of our Lord's ministry among the Jews. 
 
 (John 12 :40.) 
 
 29. This verse is not found in the 
 oldest and best manuscripts, and is 
 omitted by the highest critical authori- 
 ties. It is supposed to have been added 
 by some copyist as a fitting conclusion. 
 But the facts contained in it are in- 
 cluded substantially in ver. 25. Yet 
 even possibly, as Alford suggests, " It 
 may, perhaps, after all, have been 
 omitted as appearing suiierfluous after 
 ver. 25." 
 
 30. Two Avhole years. That 
 Paul's trial was so long delayed accords 
 with what we know regarding trials 
 from distant provinces. The presence 
 of the prosecutor was required by 
 Roman law. The Jews appear to have 
 been slow in sending deputations to 
 Rome. Josephus writes of some Jew- 
 ish prisoners sent by Felix to Rome, 
 who were detained three years and then 
 released by Josephus' influence. Not 
 until later did the law provide that the 
 failure of the prosecutor for a year 
 
412 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 [Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 should be regarded as au abandonment 
 of the case. In addition to what is 
 here recorded concerning Paul, we may 
 gather certain facts from his four Epis- 
 tles, written from Rome during the 
 time, to the Ephesians, the Philippiaus, 
 the Colossians, and Philemon. From 
 those we learn that Luke continued 
 with liim (Col. 4 : u), and doubtless at 
 this time wrote this book. Aristarchus 
 appears also as fellow laborer and a 
 
 fellow prisoner. (Col. 4: lO; Philem. 24.) 
 
 T ychicus too Mas with him for a time, 
 who was the bearer of his letter to the 
 Ephesians (Eph.6:2i) ; and Timothy (pmi. 
 
 1:1; Col. 1:1; Philem. 1) ; EpaphroditUS 
 
 brought contributions from the church 
 at Philippi (Phii 4: is) , Mark and Jesus, 
 called Justus, both Jews, were fellow- 
 workers and a comfort to him( coi. < : lo) ; 
 Epaphras had come to him from Colosse 
 (Col. 1: 7; 4:12) ; Onesimus, a runaway 
 slave and a convert of Paul at Rome, 
 became very useful to him, but was 
 sent back by him to his master. (Phiiem. 
 10-16.) Demas was also with the apostle, 
 and a fellow laborer (Coi. t-.u. Phiiem. 24) ; 
 though later he left him through love 
 of the present world. (2 Tim. 4 : 10.) In 
 his own hired house — at his own 
 expense.doubtless through the liberality 
 of friends at Rome and in the ])rov- 
 inces. (Pbii.4: 1014.) This was arranged 
 after the first days when he lodged as a 
 guest, (ver. 23.) Wlicrc this hired liouse 
 was we are not told. It has been in- 
 ferred that it was near the Pretorian 
 camp, for the convenience of the soldiers 
 who guarded him. Others, however, be- 
 lieve that it was in the Jewish quarter 
 of the city. So Mr. Forbes, who says : 
 " St. Paul, because he was a Roman, was 
 allowed to live in his own house till he 
 was called upon to plead. They could 
 not put him in prison unheard ; and as 
 jirohably he could not find a surety, a 
 soldier was answerable for him. We 
 know from Cicero {against Venrs) that 
 it was ' a crime to scourge a Roman, a 
 sin to ])uthim in prison, uncondemned, 
 and fratricide to put him to death.' 
 Living in his own house he could do 
 pretty much as he liked. . . On the 
 borders of the modern Ghetto there is 
 a house which Jewish tradition has 
 handed down, as being the hired house 
 of St. Paul while at Rome. The house 
 
 is of ancient Roman construction. . . . 
 We know that St. Paul was a Jew, and 
 had business among the Jews at Rome, 
 and it is natural to suppose that he 
 would dwell near them. The Ghetto 
 has been the Jewish quarter from the 
 time of Pompey to this day. . . . The 
 Jewish tradition is strengthened by a 
 tradition of the Roman church, which 
 says St. Paul had a school on the site 
 of the church St. Paoloalla Regola, 
 which is within one hundred yards of 
 tlie reputed house. Thus we have two 
 traditions handed down by two antago- 
 nistic faiths meeting close together near 
 the Jewish quarter, one pointing out a 
 school and the other a house of the 
 great apostle." (Footsteps of St. Paul, 
 p. 23, f.) 
 
 Received all that came in unto 
 him — he icelcomed them, received 
 them with joy, so great was liis pleas- 
 ure in preaching the kingdom of God. 
 (See 15: 4.) So Hackett. That they 
 came to him implies that he was, dur- 
 ing all this time, waiting for his trial, 
 as a prisoner, for nothing is said of his 
 preaching elsewhere. And this agrees 
 with his references to himself in his 
 epistles, (seeou ver. 20.) This versc also 
 implies that at the end of two years 
 there was a change in his condition. 
 It has been commonly held that Paul 
 was chained to one soldier by day, and 
 to two by night. Mr. Forbes holds 
 that he was only under the guard of 
 a soldier, that he had to present him- 
 self at stated times to the authorities, 
 and that he could go around the city, 
 accomj)anied by a soldier, but not be- 
 yond its bounds. (see on ver. 20.) But 
 
 this verse implies that he was in cus- 
 tody in his own hired house. Perhaps 
 not chained there — to his guard, but 
 only when he went out. Dr. Hackett 
 refers to the imprisonment of Agrippa I. 
 in his early life, recorded by Josephus 
 {Antiq. xviii, 5 f), as confirmatory 
 and illustrative of Luke's account of 
 Paul as a prisoner. Agrippa was first 
 committed after arrest, to the prefect, 
 and confined in the Pretorian camp, 
 under a guard of soldiers, to one of 
 whom he was chained. He was first 
 treated with great severity, but after- 
 ward, under a guard of a milder dispo- 
 sition, his condition was improved, and 
 
Ch. XXVIII.] THE 
 
 AC 
 
 TS. 413 
 
 31 came in uuto him, • preaching the king- 
 dom of God, and f teaching those things 
 which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 
 with all confidence, no man forbidding 
 him. 
 
 • ch. 8 ; 12 ; Matt. 4 
 
 :23 
 
 'ch. 23:11. 
 
 friends Avere permitted to visit him and 
 supply his necessary wants. (See 24 : 23.) 
 On the death of Tiberias his condition 
 was again improved. Caligula ordered 
 him to be removed from the Pretorian 
 camp to the house wliere he had lived 
 before lie was arrested. Here he was 
 still guarded as a prisoner, but his con- 
 dition was one of comparative liberty. 
 It was doubtless very much lilie that of 
 Paul " in his own hired house." 
 
 31. Here, as elsewhere in the Acts, 
 Luke distinguislies between preach- 
 ing and teaching. Paul announced 
 the glad tiding of the Messianic king- 
 dom (vcr. 23) to those who had not ac- 
 cepted it, and especially to the new 
 comers, and explained the facts and 
 doctrines concerning Jesus the Messiah 
 to the brethren and iucjuirers. This he 
 did with all confidence— with all 
 freedom and boldness. No man for- 
 bidding him — without hindrance, or 
 obstruction by the authorities of the 
 Roman government. An abrupt close 
 in regard to Paul's labors ; but a fitting 
 close of such a book. Luke had traced 
 the beginnings and the early progress 
 of Christian churches, both among 
 Jews and Gentiles, at the same time 
 illustrating how the apostles and tlie 
 evangelists were witnesses of Christ, 
 from Jerusalem, the capital of Juda- 
 ism, to Rome, the capital of heathenism, 
 " in Jerusalem and in all Judea, in 
 Samaria, and unto the uttermost part 
 of the earth." (i:8.) Thus was com- 
 pleted the first chapter of Christian 
 history, an inspired object lesson of 
 missionary labor for all ages. 
 
 That great success attended these 
 missionary labors of Paul at Rome may 
 be inferred from his epistles (Ptii- 1 : 12- 
 u, etc.), and from the multitude of 
 Christians who were put to death in 
 the terrible persecution under Nero, 
 A. D. 64. Mr. Forbes believes that two 
 churches still exist, which date before 
 the close of the first century, and were 
 established during Paul's captivity. 
 " We allude to the church of Pudens, 
 brought to notice by Mr. J. H. Parker, 
 
 of Oxford; and to the church and 
 house of Clement, discovered by the 
 late Rev. Father MuUooney, head of 
 the Irish Dominicans in Rome." 
 {Footsteps, etc., p. 27.) (2 Tim. 4:21.) 
 
 Some hold that Paul suffered mar- 
 tyrdom under Nero, A. d. 64. But it 
 has been the general belief in all ages 
 that Paul was tried, acquitted and lib- 
 erated soon after the close of his two 
 years' imprisonment at Rome, and that 
 after some years of labor he was again 
 arrested, and brought a prisoner to 
 Rome, and there sutfered martyrdom. 
 As noted above, ver. .30 implies a 
 change in tlie a))Ostle's condition. If, 
 at the end of the two years, he had 
 been put to deatli, it would likely have 
 been noted. It ai)pears from Phil. 1 : 
 25 ; 2 : 23, 24 ; Philem. 22, that he ex- 
 pected to be released from confinement. 
 The Epistles to Titus and Timothy in- 
 dicate a later condition of the churches, 
 and bring forward facts which point to 
 a second imprisonment of Paul. The 
 Epistle of Clement of Rome (phi. i-. 3) 
 to the Corinthians, written about A. D. 
 95, says of Paul : " Having gone to 
 the utmost bounds of the West, he at 
 last suffered martyrdom." In a Roman 
 writer, " the utmost bounds of the 
 West" refers naturally to Spain or 
 Britain. (See Rom. 15 : 21.) A fragment- 
 ary passage in the Muratorian Canon, 
 aljout A. D. ISO, refers to "the journey 
 of Paul to Spain." Eusebius, the 
 church historian, speaks of Paul com- 
 ing to Rome a second time, and then 
 suffered martyrdom. And Jerome (died 
 A. D. 419) relates "that Paul was dis- 
 missed by Nero that he might preach 
 tlie gospel in the West." No contrary 
 tradition has come down to us. We 
 therefore conclude tliat Paul was lib- 
 erated A. D. 63 and probably went to 
 Spain. Returning from the far West 
 in A. D. 65, he visited the Greek and 
 Asiatic chu relics. It was probably at 
 Nicopolis iu Epirus (thusS: 12) that he 
 was arrested the second time, A. D. 66, 
 and sent to Rome for trial. Here he 
 wrote his second letter to Timothy, and 
 
414 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 /Ch. XXVIII. 
 
 was beheaded A. D. 67. See a fuller 
 discussion iu Harmonic Arrangement 
 of the Acts, 'i no, pp. 260-2. 
 
 A tradition relates that Peter suffered 
 martyrdom by crucifixion at the same 
 time Paul was beheaded. The tradi- 
 tion is at least doubtful. Peter appears 
 to have been in Babylon of Chaldea, 
 about A. D. 66, where he wrote liis first 
 epistle. As John, in the Revelation, 
 refers to Piome under the symbolic 
 name of Babylon, the Babj^lon of Peter 
 has been supposed, especially by Ro- 
 man Catholic expositors, to mean 
 Rome. " In the third century the 
 story began to gain ground that Peter 
 wrote from Rome itself, till in the 
 fourth it is mentioned in the works of 
 the Fathers, who do not agree with 
 each other either as to the time of his 
 coming or to the length of his stay. 
 The Roman church has mixed uj) a St. 
 Peter and a St. Paul who were put to 
 death imder Gallienus, a. d. 260, whose 
 feast is Oct. 3, and this has led to the 
 idea that both of the apostles were to- 
 gether in Rome and suffered on the 
 same day." (Mr. Forbes, Footsteps, 
 etc.) 
 
 Practical Remarks. 
 
 1. Paul and his companions were saved, 
 though the .ship was lost. Amid the dark- 
 ness and revolutions of past centuries the 
 churches of Christ still live. (V'er. 1 ; Matt. 
 16 : 18.) 
 
 2. The kindness of the heathen Maltese 
 may well put to shame those wreckers on 
 nominal Christian shores whose object has 
 been to lure, destroy, and plunder. The 
 life-saving service on our coasts partakes of 
 the kind spirit of these ancient islanders. 
 (Ver. 2 ; Eph. 4 : 32.) 
 
 3. Amid doing good lurks many a tempta- 
 tion, and often a bite like that of a serpent. 
 (Ver. 3 ; 1 Peter 4 : 12-16.) 
 
 4. It accords with the dictates of reason 
 and conscience that sin should be punished 
 and the murderer suffer death. (Ver. 4; 
 Gen. 4 : 10, 14.) 
 
 .5 " Oh, that we could deal with sin, that 
 old serpent, which, with God's permission, 
 BO often fastens even on believers, as Paul 
 dealt with the viper." (vStahkk.) (Ver. 5 ; 
 1 Cor. 10 : 13 ; 1 Peter 4 : 12-16. 
 
 6. Every calamity is not a judgment for 
 
 some particular sin. (Ver. 4-6 ; John 9 • 
 1-3.) 
 
 7. Kindness shown to God's people will 
 not faU to receive its reward. (Ver. 7, 8 ; 
 Matt. 10 : 41, 42.) 
 
 8. The presence of a religious man is a great 
 blessing to any community. He may not, 
 like Paul, heal diseases, but he may do the 
 greater work of leading souls to Christ. 
 (Ver. 8, 9 ; James 5 : 20.) 
 
 9. In Paul we see a noble, self-possessed 
 Christian man, who was calm in honor and 
 dishonor, and ever diligent in doing good. 
 (Ver. 4-9 ; 2 • or. 6 : 7-10.) 
 
 10 God will protect his children, and 
 bring them all necessary blessings and 
 honor. (Ver. 5, 10 ; Ps. 91 : 10, 11, 14-16.) 
 
 11. It was not Castor and Pollox, but the 
 Lord Christ who presided over Paul and the 
 ship. (Ver. 11 ; 23 : 11 ; 27 : 23, 24.) 
 
 12. The wind and waves are in the hands 
 of the Lord in behalf of his children. (Ver. 
 12, 13 ; Ps. 104 : 3 ; 107 : 23-32.) 
 
 13. Christian fellowship acts like a restor- 
 ing medicine on both body and soul. (Ver. 
 14 ; 1 John 1 : 3, 4 ; Ps. 133.) 
 
 14. The presence and sympathy of Chris- 
 tian brethren should excite gratitude to 
 God, and courage in his work. (Ver. 15 ; 3 
 John 8 ; 1 Kings 19 : 18 ) 
 
 15. The Lord is able to make the chains 
 of his persecuted followers advance his 
 cause and redound to his glory. (Ver. 16; 
 Prov. 16 : 7.) 
 
 16. Paul, in preaching first to his country- 
 men who so persistently opposed him, gave 
 us an example of overcoming evil with good. 
 (Ver. 17-19 ; Rom. 12 : 20, 21.) 
 
 17. We should use holy tact in striving to 
 possess centres of influence for Christ. (Ver. 
 17-19; 17 :4,12.) 
 
 18. The gospel comes, not to condemn, but 
 to save. (Ver. 18, 19 ; John 3 : 17.) 
 
 19. How often have chains and the Hope 
 of Israel been brought into close relations. 
 (Ver. 20 : 16 : 24, 25.) 
 
 20. In the great success of Christianity, 
 which was so unpopular in its first stages 
 we see evidences of its divine origin and 
 guidance. (Ver. 21, 22 ; Luke 2 : 34.) 
 
 21. The preacher should faithfully do his 
 duty, whether men will hear or forbear. (Ver. 
 23 ; Ezek. 33 : 7-9. 
 
 22. We are to sow the gospel seed though 
 it fall on all kinds of ground, and some be- 
 
Oh. XX Vm.] 
 
 THE ACTS. 
 
 415 
 
 lieve and some are hardened. (Ver. 24 ; 
 Matt. 13 : 3-9 ; 1 Cor. 2 : 16.) 
 
 23. Such is the evil existing in the 
 human heart that the (gospel of peace 
 makes divisions among men. (Ver..24; Matt. 
 10 : 34 f.) 
 
 24. Sinners are not lost without a final 
 warning (Ver. 25, 26 ; Prov. 1 : 21-33.) 
 
 2.5. The Holy Spirit is divine, who spake 
 through prophets, and who now is the 
 Guide and Comforter of believers. (Ver. 26 ; 
 1:16; 2:33.) 
 
 26. Sinners are guilty of willful unbelief. 
 (Ver. 26, 27 ; John 5 : 40 ; 7 : 17.) 
 
 27. Paul was a missionary, and he recog- 
 nized the gospel as sent unto the nations. 
 (Ver. 28 ; Matt. 28 : 19, 20.) 
 
 28. In whatever station we are, we should 
 
 remember our duties to Christ and our fel- 
 low men. (Ver. 30 ; 1 Cor. 7 : 20-24.) 
 
 29. If the Lord opens a door for his word, 
 let us enter with all boldness. (Ver. 31 ; 
 Col. 4 :.■?.) 
 
 30. The record of one's life is more im- 
 portant than the time and manner of one's 
 death. Luke records not the death of either 
 Paul or Peter. (Ver. 31.) 
 
 31. The book of the Acts is an inspired 
 manual for both churches and individual be- 
 lievers. It presents the Holy Spirit working 
 through believers in revivals, in missions, 
 and in charities. It records the origin and 
 organization of churches ; their officers, and 
 their government ; their relations to the 
 State and to one another, and the principles 
 which should control their extension. 
 
 ROME. 
 
 Rome is situated on the river Tiber, seventeen miles from the sea. Ancient Rome stood 
 mostly on the eastern bank, and in a. d. 61 it contained a population of over two millions. 
 About one-half of these were free citizens, the rest were slaves and foreigners. Of the free 
 citizens the senators were few; the knights, who filled most of the offices, numbered per- 
 haps ten thousand, and the troops may be reckoned at fifteen thousand. Most of the free 
 citizens were poor, indolent, and many of them paupers, priding themselves on their citi- 
 zenship and caring for little beyond their daily bread and the games at the circus. The 
 Jewish residents are believed to have numbered about sixty thousand. Every nationality 
 and religion were found there. Most of the activities of life were in the hands of foreigners 
 and slaves, some of the latter being physicians, some teachers, and others in other profes- 
 sions. The successful tradesmen and the skilled artisans were mostly Greek. It was in 
 this large lower and middle class among whom Paul had his jirincipal success. Christians 
 at Rome for two centuries were largely Greek. 
 
 Nero, in a. d. 61, was in the seventh year of his reign, and twenty-three years of age. 
 His true character began to show itself in the murder of his mother and other deeds of 
 violence and shame. Burrus, the honest soldier, and Seneca, the calm and moderate 
 philosopher, were still at the head of atTairs, but their power was waning. Burrus died 
 in A. D. 62, and not long after Seneca fell into disgrace, and at the command of Nero, a. t>. 
 65, committed suicide. Burrus was succeeded by Rufus, a man of feeble and benevolent 
 disposition, and Tgellinus, one of the worst characters of his age. In .July, 64, occurred 
 the great conflagration at Rome, suspected to have been the work of Nero himself, but 
 which he charged upon the Christians, against whom he instigated a terrible persecution. 
 What a contrast between Paul the prisoner, ever devoted to the good of others, with a con- 
 science void of offense, and his judge, Nero, selfish, vain, indolent, vile, steeped in degra- 
 dation and crime 1 
 
REFERENCES TO THE NOTES. 
 
 Agrippal 188, I97f 
 
 Agrippa II [and Bernice] 369f 
 
 Alexandrian grain ships 384, 404 
 
 " Almost persuaded" 380f 
 
 Ananias, his severe punishment 70f 
 
 Angels, doctrine of. 112,193 
 
 Antioch in Syria 181 
 
 Antioch in Pisidia 208 
 
 Apollos, at first outside the church 298f 
 
 Appeal to Ciesar 3G9, 3S2 
 
 Aquila mentioned after Priscilla 288 
 
 Ascension, scene of. 21 
 
 Areopagus, Paul's speech there 279 
 
 Asia, what meant by 31, 301 
 
 Asiarchs 311 
 
 Athens revisited by Paul 291 
 
 Baptism of the Holy .'Spirit 19, 27 
 
 Baptismofthe three thousand, 40 
 
 Baptism of Ijydia and her household 258 
 
 Baptism in prisons 265 
 
 Baptism of about twelve at Ephesus 302 
 
 Baptismal formula 125, 302 
 
 Barnabas, disagreement with Paul 246 
 
 Blood, the eating of 240 
 
 Body with which Jesus rose 20 
 
 Call to the ministry 252 
 
 Canal through the Pontine marshes 406 
 
 Chief priests 56,64 
 
 Christians, how the name began 184 
 
 Christ the source of all truth 170 
 
 Church, use of the word 72 
 
 Churches, relation to one another 247 
 
 Community of goods 42 
 
 Confirmation, is the rite Scriptural 126 
 
 Corinth, to Coriuthianize 2.s7 
 
 Cornelius, experience of 159f 
 
 Beacons, or alms-distributors 87 
 
 Demons, in the Gospels and in the Acts.. 121 
 
 Diana or Artemis 309 
 
 Ephesian letters and exorcists 305 
 
 Epicureans 277 
 
 Epistles of Paul 293,308,316,412 
 
 Euroclydou 389 
 
 Fair Havens 387 
 
 Felix and Drusilla 354,303 
 
 Fellowship, what? 41 
 
 Galatia, its inhabitants 2.53 
 
 Gallio, proconsul 291-3 
 
 God's sovereignty and man's free agency, 218 
 
 Grecians or Hellenists 86 
 
 Gospel, its universal design lll,'170f 
 
 Greek believers at Antioch 181 
 
 Hebron or Sychem by Stephen 100 
 
 Holy Spirit prominent in the Acts 19, 28 
 
 Humiliation of Christ 131f 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Invocation of punishment 349 
 
 James, pastor at Jerusalem 194, 238 
 
 Jews, di.spersion of. 29 
 
 John's Baptism 298, 301f 
 
 Josephus, wrecked in the Adriatic 391 
 
 Judas Iscariot, death of 2L'f 
 
 Macedonia for missionary work 2.5Jf , 
 
 Malta 4U0 
 
 Matthias, an apostle 25 
 
 Messiah, Jewish conceptions of. 52 
 
 Nazarite, vow of 294 
 
 Ordination 88 
 
 Pharisees 80 
 
 Paul's knowledge of his Gentile work 346 
 
 Paul a member of the Sanhedrin 376 
 
 Paul's conversion 136 
 
 Kecognized as a foreign missionary 202 
 
 His name changed 205 
 
 Paul's first missionary tour 200, 230 
 
 Paul's contention with Barnabas 246 
 
 Paul's second mission 24<)f 
 
 Paul scourged at Philippi 262-5 
 
 Paul's third mission 296 
 
 Paul conciliating Jewish believers 337 
 
 Paul oflering sacrifices 337 
 
 Paul's speeches and epistles 215, 325f 
 
 Paul's familiarity with (ireek 282 
 
 Peter's speeches and epistles 40, 55, 63 
 
 Was he ever at Rome 195, 414 
 
 Philippi, its port ; a colony 256f 
 
 Philippians, epistle to 365f, 412 
 
 Phenice in Crete 388 
 
 Preaching and teaching 83,413 
 
 Provinces, imperial and senatorial 204 
 
 Refreshing, times of 52 
 
 Repentance, how a divine gift 79 
 
 Restitution of all things 53 
 
 Romans, Epistle to 316 
 
 Rome, city of 415 
 
 Sadducees 57 
 
 Ships, ancient 383 
 
 Shipwreck, sceneof Paul's 397, 400 
 
 Speech of disciples at Pentecost 28 
 
 Stephen's speech 94 
 
 Synagogue and the gosjiel 203 
 
 Temple frequented by believers 42 
 
 The three taverns 406f 
 
 Unity of the race 281f 
 
 Unknown God, altar to 280 
 
 Visions, dreams, trance 144, 163 
 
 Vow of Paul or Aquila 294 
 
 Women, aroused against Paul 218 
 
 Women in Macedonian churches 274 
 
 Worms, eaten of. 197f 
 
 Zealots 21 
 
 See Topics discussed in Introduction, and the List of Topics on page 16. 
 416 
 
Date Due 
 
 F ?'^'38 
 
 
 
 
 ^f,r oy. Mn 
 
 
 
 
 ilp 25 'ifll 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^"^^^'^ii. 
 
 
 
 — ' "'^ 
 
 
 
 
 ■iitTfiiiiwiiiim, 
 
 » 
 
 
 
 ^"••"W"*"*^ 
 
 
 
 
 .^tfBMWi 
 
 > 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ll«2 0^99|» 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 •