Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 3:1
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour.]
Act 3:1-10. Healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple
1. Now Peter and John went up together ] The word together has been transferred to the previous verse. See the last note. The verb is in the imperfect tense, and would be more correctly rendered were going up. The Temple stood above the city on Mount Moriah.
into the temple ] While earnestly labouring for the spread of Christ’s teaching, they did not cast off regard for that schoolmaster which had been appointed to bring men to Christ.
at the hour of prayer ] The preposition indicates the period of time towards which their movement tended, and may be well rendered for the hour, &c. They were on their way, and would get there at the time appointed for prayer.
We read in Scripture of three specified hours of prayer, in accordance with which the Psalmist speaks of his own custom (Psa 55:17), “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray.” And in like manner Daniel prayed “three times a day” (Dan 6:10). The hour of morning prayer was the third hour, and Peter went up to the housetop to pray (Act 10:9) about the sixth hour, which was noon, and the evening prayer was this to which Peter and John were going up.
being the ninth hour ] At the Equinox this would be three o’clock in the afternoon, but when the daylight was longer it would be later, so that if there were 18 hours day and 6 hours of darkness, each hour of the day would be an hour and a half long, and the hours of the night only half an hour each. At such time the ninth hour would be at half-past four.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Peter and John went up … – In Luk 24:53, it is said that the apostles were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. From Act 2:46, it is clear that all the disciples were accustomed daily to resort to the temple for devotion. Whether they joined in the sacrifices of the temple-service is not said; but the thing is not improbable. This was the place and the manner in which they and their fathers had worshipped. They came slowly to the conclusion that they were to leave the temple, and they would naturally resort there with their countrymen to worship the God of their fathers. In the previous chapter Act 2:43 we are told in general that many wonders and signs were done by the hands of the apostles. From the many miracles which were performed, Luke selects one of which he gives a more full account, and especially as it gives him occasion to record another of the addresses of Peter to the Jews. An impostor would have been satisfied with the general statement that many miracles were performed. The sacred writers descend to particulars, and tell us where, and in relation to whom, they were performed. This is a proof that they were honest people, and did not intend to deceive.
Into the temple – Not into the edifice properly called the temple, but into the court of the temple, where prayer was accustomed to be made. See the notes on Mat 21:12.
At the hour of prayer … – The Jewish day was divided into twelve equal parts; of course, the ninth hour would be about three oclock p. m. This was the hour of evening prayer. Morning prayer was offered at nine oclock. Compare Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 3:1-11
Now Peter and John.
Peter and John
The union of the two brings the narratives of the Gospels into an interesting connection with the Acts. They were probably about the same age (the idea that Peter was some years older than John rests mainly on the pictures which artists have drawn from their imagination, and has no evidence in Scripture), and had been friends from their youth upward. They had been partners as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (Luk 5:10). They had been sharers in looking for the consolation of Israel, and had together received the baptism of John (Joh 1:41). John and Andrew had striven which should be the first to tell Peter that they had found the Christ (Joh 1:41). The two had been sent together to prepare for the Passover (Luk 22:8). John takes Peter into the palace of the high priest (Joh 18:16), and though he must have witnessed his denials, is not estranged from him. It is to John that Peter turns for comfort after his fall, and with him he comes to the sepulchre on the morning of the resurrection (Joh 20:6). The eager affection which, now more strongly than ever, bound the two together is seen in Peters question, Lord, and what shall this man do? (Joh 21:21); and now they are again sharers in action and in heart, in teaching and in worship. Passing rivalries there may have been, disputes which was the greatest, prayers for places on the right hand and the left (Mat 20:20; Mar 10:35); but the idea maintained by Renan, that St. John wrote his Gospel to exalt himself at the expense of Peter, must take its place among the delirantium somnia; the morbid imaginations, of inventive interpretation. They appear in company again in the mission to Samaria (Rom 8:14), and in recognising the work that had been done by Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles (Gal 2:9). When it was that they parted never to meet again, we have no record. (Dean Plumptre.)
Peter and John
In natural disposition, Peter and John did not very exactly correspond with each other; but diamond polishes diamond, and these two precious stones may have advantageously polished each other. (Rieger.)
Went up together into the temple.—
Public worship
The Christian has to regard this–
I. Negatively.
1. Not as a legal yoke.
2. Not as a meritorious work.
II. Positively.
1. AS a good and useful discipline.
2. As a thankworthy opportunity for increase in goodness. (Lechler.)
Love for worship
I have in my congregation, said a minister of the gospel, a worthy aged woman, who has for many years been so deaf as not to distinguish the loudest sound; and yet she is always one of the first in the meeting. On asking the reason of her constant attendance, as it was impossible for her to hear my voice, she answered, Though I cannot hear you, I come to Gods house because I love it, and would be found in His ways; and He gives me many a sweet thought upon the text when it is pointed out to me: another reason is, because I am in the best company, in the most immediate presence of God, and among His saints, the honourable of the earth. I am not satisfied with serving God in private: it is my duty and privilege to honour Him regularly and constantly in public.
We should have set places for the worship of God
The song-birds in our fields have a chosen branch on which they continually perch for their morning and evening songs. In time of encampment Washington reserved to himself a thicket where he could pray undisturbed. Bishop Leighton frequented a grove in a public park which was at last left to him as his own property. In the story of The Path to the Bush is an account of the beaten track through the forest to the praying huts of the native converts, and the faithful girl hinting to her sister that the grass grew on her path.
The house of God
A new student had come to the university and called to see Professor Tholuck. The latter asked him where he went to church. Oh, said he, I do not attend preaching. Instead of confining myself to the four walls of a building I go out into the green fields, and under the lofty arches of the forest trees I listen to the singing of the birds and the countless melodies of Gods creatures, where everything that hath breath praises the Lord. Then the professor asked him, But what do you do when it rains? Conformity to Gods plan is best.
Why do Christians go to church
Is it chiefly in order that they may give or receive, through the services and their own part in them? These questions would be answered very differently by different persons. Some go, out of a glad and grateful heart, to show and to express their gratitude to God, and to bear a part in His public worship. Others go in order to gain some personal advantage through what they see and hear and feel while there. The one sort are pretty sure to accomplish what they go for. They swell the service of prayer and praise, and by their countenance and evident appreciativeness they cheer the heart of the preacher, and give added force to his preaching. The other sort often find their church-going a failure. The singing is not what they hoped for; the prayers fail to meet their wants; the Bible selections are poorly timed to their requirements; and as to the sermon, it does not feed their souls. It is a great pity that there are comparatively so few of the first class of Christian worshippers, and that there are so many of the second class. And it is a noteworthy fact that those who go to church to do what they can to make the church service a success, grow steadily in character and in intellectual power; while those who go there with a chief desire to be the personal gainers by their going, shrink and dwindle in their personality. The poorest specimens of church-goers are those who are constantly complaining that the preaching does not feed them. Hearers of that sort are like Pharaohs lean kine; the more they swallow the leaner they look. In this sphere, as well as in every other, the words of our Lord Jesus are true, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. (H. C. Trumbll, D. D.)
At the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.—
Hours of prayer
The ninth hour was 3 p.m., the hour of the evening sacrifice (Jos. Ant. 14.4, 3). The traditions of later Judaism had fixed the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours of each day as times for private prayer. Daniels practice of praying three times a day seems to imply a rule of the same kind, and Psa 55:17 (Evening and morning and at noon will I pray) carries the practice up to the time of David. Seven times a day was, perhaps, the rule of those who aimed at a life of higher devotion (Psa 119:164). Both practices passed into the usage of the Christian Church certainly as early as the second century, and probably therefore in the first. The three hours were observed by many at Alexandria in the time of Clement (Strom. 7. p. 722)
. The seven became the canonical hours of Western Christendom, the term first appearing in the rule of St. Benedict (ob. a.d. 542)
and being used by Bede (a.d. 701). (Dean Plumptre.)
The proper hour of worship
Rowland Hill well knew how to seize the best opportunity for reproving culpable habits in his hearers. One of them, who, to his great annoyance, avoided coming to chapel in time for the prayers, and arrived only just soon enough to hear the sermon, complained to him of partiality in a magistrate. He gave him one of his most searching looks, and said with an emphasis and manner peculiar to himself, Then why do you not come to public worship in proper time to pray that God would grant all magistrates grace to execute justice and maintain truth?
The hour of prayer
1. The companions. This first verse reveals, as by a flash-light, the spirit of these companions. Peter and John together. What antipodes 1 Peter, impulsive, bold, energetic, daring; John, meditative, timid, loving, trustful. What ground in nature for fellowship between them? Yet, like Luther and Melanchthon in the crisis of a later age, they were joined in the strength and beauty of a friendship in Christ that gave to each supplemental grace and energy.
2. Going up into the temple, though the vail had been rent and the lesson of the spirituality and universality of worship had been taught them! Peter and John had reverence for sacred places–that reverence which is a mark of depth and spirituality in the religious life. These early disciples did not spurn religious custom, though it was a custom of a decadent Jewish Church. To their devout souls history and sacred associations meant something. Character that is strong has roots. These grow deep and take hold of institutions representing thought and life and history. Luther was loth to leave the old Catholic Church, Romanised and corrupt as it was. Wesley always clung to the Church of England. Superstition you may call this clinging to the venerable and historic. Well, if the choice is between irreverence and superstition, give me superstition. Irreverence weakens conscience and blunts the spiritual edge of character. Superstition, as the devout Neander has well said, often paves the way to faith. Gods plan was not to obliterate Judaism at a stroke, but to transform it.
3. At the hour of prayer went these devout men. But what need had they for prayer, just fresh from the open revelation and spiritual excitement of Pentecost? By this act they teach that prayer is apostolic; that special seasons of illumination and sanctification are a special call to prayer. Though men may not need more fire, yet need they more grace. Religion means daily duty, not occasional ecstasy. Suspect any inspiration that makes you contemptuous of ordinary religious duties. After your Pentecost be found going up into the temple at the hour of prayer. (W. P. Thirkkield.)
And a certain man lame from his mothers womb was carried.—
Spiritual lameness
I turn to the story because it brings before us very vividly the whole problem that lies before you and me; the whole problem that lies before the Church; the whole problem that lies before our Master. When you see that lame man carried daily and laid in all his helplessness at the gate of the temple, you get a very vivid picture of the whole problem. Do not let us gather round this impotent man in a questioning, philosophical way, and ask, How did he become so? Let us not start vain, seemingly wise, but at bottom foolish questions. The real problem is not, How did we come here? Why are we (the grace of God apart) such wretched creatures? Why is there in London and everywhere else such moral and spiritual impotence? Why is there in the East End, and not less in the West End–only it is better dressed and covered up–that which is so powerfully represented by this helpless man, that squirming misery, that loathsomeness, that wretchedness, that godlessness which no power of art or aesthetics can in the least alleviate? With all our culture, with all our philosophy, with all our fine speeches, and all our fine talking, to this hour there is the situation of things: human nature weary, abject, dejected, sick of itself, utterly loathsome, useless, and helpless; and the problem is not as I have said, How did he come there? but How is that man to be got up? not How did you fall into the sea? but How are we going to get you out? Let us turn to this story, then, to see how the great problem that baffles mans wisdom and love even at its best, how the great problem is solved by Jesus Christ and by His humble servants in His name, working in immediate contact with an absent and uncrowned Lord. Man or woman here who objects to this description of human nature, disprove what I am saying; rise in the might of your own goodness, rise in the might of your own morality, rise in the strength and dignity of human nature, which you think I am talking against, and display it in this fashion: Walk in your own strength into Gods presence. Come, you cannot. The more you try it the more you prove you are an impotent man. This man saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, and he asked help. And Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, Look on us. I would we preachers could learn more thoroughly to do after them, for we do not find that the impotent first of all looked at them, but it certainly is strikingly curious that Peter and John fastened their eyes upon him. He saw them. They might have gone past. He looked at them for ordinary help just as he looked at any others, but the point is that Peter and John did not go past that man. They challenged him. Let us challenge the worlds need. We are blamed–it is the deepest part of the charge against us in newspaper and magazine articles, and there is too much truth in it, and the sting of it lies in its truth–that we are walking past the problem. Peter and John might have been so busily engaged in talking–talking, it may be, about Jesus Christ and the resurrection–that they would have swept past this man. He was not a very attractive sight to look upon, and it would have been very convenient, would it not, for them to have gathered up their garments and swept into the temple past him to engage in the worship of God, and to engage in high and holy converse on the mighty things which were, of course, within their ken? Is there not a good deal of church-going which is just that to-day? Let me ask you point blank, face to face, what is your church-going very often but just that walking past, and turning your blind eye to the squirming wretchedness all around you? When did you put out your hand to alleviate it? When did you utter Christs almighty name over it? Aye, this is far too true, that the worship of God with many of us is a denial of God; it is a useless, blind, formalistic, stupid, heartless thing. It has no power towards God or towards man. It is in ourselves and belonging to ourselves–a mere thing of dress, and of Sunday parading to the temple and home again. And the misery of the East End, and of the fat, well-fed, but still wretched West End, is utterly untouched by our Christianity. Not so with Peter and John. Do we believe after all at bottom the conclusion of the whole matter is this: sin is here not to defeat us, but to be defeated by us, to be changed into life and holiness by the power of Him who sits enthroned above the stars of God, even Jesus Christ. It is time that we did, whether we do or not–more than time. Peter and John fastened their eyes upon him and looked at him. They did not go past him. What a lesson for preachers! There are teachers abroad, let me tell you, who do not want to see you; you are a hard nut for them to crack. Why, when you were better off they could speak to you, and you go to them, but since these hard days have come upon you you have dropped going there. When comfort was needed they were too cold. Now, you are right for the gospel. Christ Jesus is here for the sake of this impotent man, and He has lifted up you and me, if we are lifted up, that we may go and fetch the others who have not been brought yet. This is really the whole scope and purpose of the mighty work which God has done upon you, and I rather fear that you are forgetting it. Think of Peter and John stepping forward there. Try to catch the light in their faces as their eyes burned like twin lamps, when, not only they, but Christ, the loving Saviour, in them and through them, bent down and stretched out a hand and looked into the very despairing soul of that helpless creature. And then let me understand, and let you, O Christian worker, understand how much is needed to be, indeed, in this wretched world a servant of Jesus Christ. Oh, if we are able to bring ourselves and our Christ into naked, palpitating contact, let us do so. Let us stand over the perishing as though we meant to take a two-handed grasp of them, and by our own power to lift them right off the sodden bed on which sin has stretched them. Ah, we need an eye in our head, and a tongue in our mouths, and a hand at the end of our arm which has in it some tingle of everlasting love, and we need a heart working behind all three which has been kindled from the heart of Jesus Christ, who for us men and for our salvation took flesh and died upon the Cross. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. That is something. The man gave heed. I do not like a man to hide behind his fingers and peep at me. I have not much hope of that. When the audience looks broadly and frankly up into the preachers face things are looking hopeful. He gave heed to them. What followed? Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none. What an inconsequential, disappointing word! What an anti-climax to all that had gone before! Silver and gold have I none. Can you imagine the poor mans eyes? All the delight going out of them, and his long face getting still longer and blacker, and perhaps his tongue uttering indignant words, as he might have said, Sirs, if you have neither silver nor gold do not add insult to my wretchedness. You might have passed on, and left me unnoticed and unchallenged. Ay, there are men who just say that to us. I read a book not long ago with a very fine title by a very learned man. I do not question his learning. He just broadly said this–that we preachers can do nothing for this helplessness that is represented here, that we are only talking. They level against us the objection that was levelled against Jesus Christ, when another helpless man was laid at His feet, and instead of curing his physical wretchedness He went first to what was first in importance–his spiritual wretchedness, and said, Thy sins be forgiven thee. It is virtually the same thing still. It is a great blessing for that poor man himself that he was not impressed by it when Peter and John said, Silver and gold have I none. I do not know that we are keeping as faithful to our own wares as Peter and John did. I am not sure that we are not getting to be too much impressed by the thought that what the East End needs is coals and blankets, and boots and shoes, and stockings for itself and its wife and its bairns. But suppose we fed the wretchedness of the East End, and suppose we clothed them; after all, what have we done? At the most and best we have only soothed their passage to the grave. Silver and gold can do much, and far more of the silver and gold that belongs to these who call themselves Christians ought to be spent in this blessed way. But there is an end to the power of silver and gold, and the Church was never better in possession of her true wealth than when she was represented by a couple of penniless fishermen, from the crevices of whose hands I am not quite sure that the fish-scales had yet been dried. You who have got silver and gold, who have come to Jesus Christ, come as humbly as you can. Forget your silver and gold. Silver and gold have I none. As I have said, on the surface how disappointing that was! Yet it was well said, and it was better done. Such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now here that poor fellow in a moment, but very truly and also very suddenly, was himself put to solve a very trying problem. Those of us who have been at college know the weary days we spent on what is called summum bonum–What is the highest good? It is not a mere vague question of philosophic schools. It is a very practical question, and that poor man lying there that day had to solve for himself very speedily. Virtually this question was put to him: What is the highest good? Is it silver and gold? And quicker than my tongue can tell it he came to the swift conclusion: There is something here that can come to me which is better than anything that silver and gold can do. Have we got that length? Young fellow, you are toiling, you are trying to reach the summum bonum. Put it philosophically or non-philosophically, that is what we are all trying to do. Now, what is your highest good? Does it not lie in the direction of silver and gold, in the direction of all that is covered by these gilded, these very comprehensive terms, both in their notation and in their denotation? Through the grace and working of Gods Word and Gods Spirit–aye, and through the hardships of life–are not some of us beginning to get an insight of what flashed upon that poor man: Here is the greatest blessing that I could have, a blessing that I feel I am capable of receiving, a blessing that I feel I greatly need. I have been looking for it in a wrong direction, the world cannot give it. Those of you who have plenty have said to yourselves, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Thou hast got the summum bonum; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. And you cannot. Silver and gold are utterly failing. They are cheating; God grant that you may find out the cheat in time. Now listen. It is for men and women when they come to that pass that the preacher of the gospel is here. It is not because we are poor preachers; it is because you are poor stuff to preach to. When we get into contact with those who are ripe for spiritual blessing, when they are brought to that condition by the stress and disappointment of life, then the gospel preacher becomes wonderfully eloquent, simply because your ears are getting bored and your heart is getting adapted to the message that is spoken. Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee. Having thus spoken, he took him by the right hand. There must be immediate contact between Christ and you, and, more than that, between the preacher and you. That is one reason why I object to this historical pulpit–just simply because in here a great deal of that magnetism that was present with Peter and John is lost. How Peter stooped down and uttered that mighty name! Never go without uttering that mighty name of Jesus of Nazareth. Peter stooped down to grasp that man by the hand, and I see him yielding to the power of omnipotence. Up he came. Hallelujah! Christ is the power that Peter expected Him to be. Heaven has won, hell is baffled. The tide has begun to turn. From this One learn all. There is One who has power over every form of the enemys malignant triumph as it extends in all its vastness. Do you not see that it needs all that supernatural work to be wrought upon your impotent soul before you can enter into the temple to appear before God in any profitable way to yourself or in any way that will bring praise and glory to His name? Now what do you know about worship? This is the road to the church, this is the way to the temple. This gospel cannot be preached, and no signs following. Peter and John did not stand over that man for half a day, saying, until it became a dull, stale, flat, unprofitable, weary word. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk! Rise up and walk! Rise up and walk while he lay and lay as helpless and as supine as ever. They risked everything, and they were justified in it. And the times are ripe for us to do the same thing still. Sinner, backslider, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up! (J. McNeil.)
A picture of sin and salvation
I. Find a picture of the sinner. The external world is a reflex of the spiritual. That lame man crouching at the gate and unable to enter it is a type of the sinners condition.
1. He was a cripple, not a sound, complete man. So is every sinner. In him there is a miserable distortion of character.
2. He was a beggar. Sin is want.
3. This man was shut out of the temple. From certain texts in the Old Testament and certain passages in old Jewish writings the inference has been drawn that deformed people were not allowed to enter the temple. Though it is not certain, such was probably the Jewish law. Such is every sinners condition. He is not merely outside the visible church, but he has no part in the spiritual fellowship of Gods people.
II. Find also as a contrast to the above a picture of the disciples. There are two men standing before the lame man. They show us the privilege of Christs followers.
1. They have fellowship with each other. Notice how close was the intimacy between Peter and John, and how often they are named together. They were very different, yet they enjoyed the communion of saints with each other.
2. They have a love for Gods house. They are going up to the temple, not as formal worshippers, but full of the Holy Ghost, and enjoying an intimate communion with God. To them all the service has a new meaning, since they have known Christ. He is the Lamb laid on the altar; He is the Theme of the psalm; He is shown in the vestments of the high priest. They worship Christ while others gaze at the spectacle.
3. They have sympathy for the needy. The love of Christ awakes in the Christian heart a love for every man. Others passed by the cripple with a glance of contempt or with a shudder of disgust. These men looked at him with love, for in that distorted form was a soul for whom Christ died.
4. They have power to help. As Peter looks on the man he feels a consciousness of Divine power to heal him. It is not in himself, but through Christ, that he can lift him up to health and strength. We cannot bring healing to mens bodies, but we can bring salvation to mens souls.
III. Find in this scene a picture of salvation.
1. In the salvation of every soul there is a human instrumentality. God does not save men alone and directly, nor through the agency of angels. There is always a Peter through whom the power of God comes to a needy soul.
2. There is in every lifetime one moment of special opportunity. No one knows how long the lame man had been lying at the gate; but one day he met his opportunity. So the Samaritan woman met hers at the well, so Matthew met his at his table, so the Ethiopian met his in the desert. Success is to grasp at the opportunity; failure is to let it pass.
3. In this miracle the power lay not in Peters hand, but in Jesuss name–that is, in Jesus Himself, invoked by name. Only a Divine power could heal the cripple, and only a Divine power can make the sinner whole.
4. There was effort required on the part of the man himself. If he had not responded to Peters strong clasp of the hand with an effort of his own he would have remained a cripple still. That effort was faith.
IV. Find in this scene a picture of the saved man. See how aptly he represents the soul just after the new birth in the image of Christ Jesus.
1. We behold the transformation. A moment ago he was a crouching cripple; now he stands and leaps upon the marble floor. Look at a greater change in every converted sinner.
2. We notice his privilege. His first act is to enter through the Beautiful gate into the temple.
3. We notice his gratitude. Every saved soul should make confession of what God has done for him.
4. We notice his prominence. At once the remarkable event attracted attention. Every converted man becomes at once an object of interest and an evidence of Jesuss power. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The first apostolic miracle
The date of this miracle is not quite certain. It appears to be reported as a specimen of those wonders and signs referred to in Act 2:43. Note–
I. That it was wrought on a living man. In all our Lords miracles there was an exhibition of benevolence. This was the case here, for the miracle was wrought–
1. On an afflicted man. He had been lame from his birth. Every man is afflicted from his birth with an evil which nothing but the grace of God can remove.
2. On a poor man. How could one so circumstanced find employment? He was then hopelessly poor; but mans extremity was Gods opportunity.
3. On a man dependent on his friends. This followed from-his affliction and poverty. And it seems that those friends could only put him in the way of receiving help from strangers. Thus the necessities of nature led up to the manifestation of Gods mercy. To how many has affliction been a means of salvation!
4. On a man known to many from the fact that he had been carried there for years. This enhanced the significance of the miracle and promoted its evidential purpose. In like manner does the conversion of the notoriously sinful bear witness to Christianity.
II. That it was an exhibition of active Christianity. It was fitting that being the first, it should have this quality. It shows–
1. A desire to do good on the part of Christian men. If men have no such desires, and yet call themselves Christians, their words and characters do not agree.
2. The effort which arises out of the proper desire to do good. Peter did not consider the case, promise to do the best he could for him, he took him by the hand and lifted him up. True Christianity turns desire into deed, and makes a missionary, a preacher, or a generous contributor of the man who desires the conversion of the heathen at home or abroad.
3. The course of the working of the gospel in the individual who receives it.
(1) Special attention was awakened. Look on us. The man had already looked in an ordinary way. So the hearers of the gospel have to give it more than their usual attention if they would be saved.
(2) Hope was aroused. He expected to receive something–what he did not know. So those in whom the gospel is mixed with faith when they hear it are made hopeful before they have very distinct views of the joys of personal salvation, and their faith is strengthened until they can apprehend the blessings offered them.
(3) Healing was administered. It came in the name of Jesus Christ, and immediately: so does salvation.
(4) The healed cripple became a witness. The changes in the mans conduct told observers that he had received a great blessing from God, and was constrained to declare it. So Christians are constrained to bear witness by lip and life. (W. Hudson.)
The miracle at the Beautiful gate
The spiritual lessons we ought to learn are–
I. It is well for Christians to become acquainted with what is going on at the gate, over the borders of our serene and comfortable lives; we must look after those who dwell on the outside.
II. Opportunities of doing good lie in our way every day and hour, if we really desire to improve them. One slight turn of the eye across the temple-area, where we pass on our way to prayers, will introduce us to two entirely different and totally distinct worlds of feeling, thought, and history.
III. Christians ought not to lose time in signing after new spheres of conspicuous sacrifice. Like Peter and John, we ourselves, children of the covenant, are apt to be jostled against those who are ignorant, poor, feeble, and in pain. But it does not follow that all of them are certainly vicious and unworthy of help; some of them may actually have faith to be healed.
IV. Working hands and willing voices ought to go with weeping eyes when we know the wants of the Lords poor. Poverty at hand, weakness close beside us, are quite unromantic; it is distance which lends enchantment to the view in many cases as we converse about heathenism. But our home-heathen must not be absolutely neglected because they are so near. Many men, and some women, will shed tears over the painted picture of a Neapolitan boy begging, who would speak most savagely to the same lad if they met him alive in New York streets; they would quote with vigour the first part of Peters little speech, and leave off the rest of it; and they would not put out their hands at all. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The miracle at the Beautiful gate–as a fact
If there be history in any writing, these verses in their simplicity and minute details are a history. There is nothing here approaching the parabolic or the mythical. See here–
I. Poor men becoming the organs of omnipotence. How often has this been the case. Moses, Elijah, and the apostles are examples.
II. A wretched cripple made the occasion of great good. Thoughtful men have often asked, Why, under the government of a benevolent God, such cases should occur? Why men be sent into the world without the use of their limbs, eyes, or reason? But note–
1. That those who come into the world in this state, being unconscious of physical perfection, feel not their condition as others. Men who have never seen know nothing of the blessedness of vision. Hence persons of constitutional defect in form or organ often display a joy or peace at which others wonder.
2. That such cases serve by contrast to reveal the wonderful goodness of God. In nature those parts that have been shattered by earthquakes, or lie in black desolation, serve to set off the beauty and order which generally reign. And so a cripple here, or a blind man there, only set off the goodness of God as displayed in the millions that are perfect. These are a few dark strokes which the Great Artist employs to set off in the picture of the world the more striking aspects of beauty; a few of the rougher notes which the Great Musician uses to swell the chorus of universal order.
3. That they serve to inspire the physically perfect with gratitude to heaven. In the poor idiot, God says to us, Be thankful for reason, etc.
4. That they afford scope and stimulus for the exercise of benevolence. Were all men equal in every respect there would be no object to awaken charity.
III. Christianity transcending human aspirations. This man wanted alms, silver and gold; but in the name of Christ he received physical power, a blessing he had never ventured to expect. Thus it is ever: Christianity gives man more than he can ask or think. Eye hath not seen, etc. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Miraculous faith
A miracle is the dearest child of faith.
I. Faith performs the miracle–Peter and John.
II. Faith experiences the miracle–the lame man, who, although not before the miracle, yet after it, appears as a believer.
III. Faith comprehends the miracle–the believing hearers. (C. Gerok.)
The impotent man
I. The person healed.
1. He was impotent, carried by others; and where they left him they were sure to find him. He was not so by any accident, as Mephibosheth, but from the womb; and therefore his case was the more deplorable, and a cure the more improbable. This is a fit emblem of the unregenerate, who are not only spiritually blind, and deaf, and dumb, but tame too; so that they cannot tread the paths of wisdom, or stir one foot in the way to heaven. Good men may be ready to halt, and their feet well nigh slip; but these are always halting and slipping; for their legs, like those of the lame, are not equal. It is not legs and feet that they want, but the right use of them; and this has been their case from their birth. Blessed be God for the promises made to such! I will assemble her that halteth, and gather her that is driven out. The lame man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.
2. His poverty added to his distress. If help was to be obtained by medicine, he bad not wherewithal to procure it, for he had to beg his bread. And thus it is with sinners. The saints want many things in the present life; but wicked men want everything that is worth having; and the want of a sense of this is perhaps their greatest want. Give me leave to add, that those to whom God shows mercy are also oftentimes like the impotent man, poor in temporals. The poor, says Christ, have the gospel preached to them. Those who are destitute of outward ornaments and comforts are inwardly beautified with Divine grace, and filled with Divine consolations.
3. He had continued long under his disorder, which made his case the more deplorable. Let this afford encouragement to old and accustomed sinners, if they have a sense of the evil of their way, and are in good earnest seeking relief, let them not despair of obtaining it. He who cured old diseases can save old sinners.
4. He was nevertheless in the way of a cure; for he lay at the Beautiful gate of the temple, where the charitable might relieve him, the pious pray for him, and the intelligent afford him their best advice. Thus the impotent sinner should watch daily at wisdoms gates, remembering that God commands deliverance out of Zion, and is there known for a refuge to His people.
II. The nature of the cure.
1. It was unexpected, and therefore the more welcome. And thus it is in the conversion of sinners. Mercy comes as it did to Zaccheus, to Saul, and to this man: unsought and unimplored!
2. It was instantaneous. Peter does not put him upon a long course of medicine; but takes him by the hand, and lifts him up, Thus, however gradual the work of grace may appear in some converts, yet the implantation of grace is instantaneous. God new creates the soul, as He created the world. He says, Let there be light; and there is light; Let there be life! and there is life.
3. As Omnipotence took it in hand, so it was an easy cure. No violent methods were used: his distorted limbs were not reduced to their proper place by any painful operation. And so the actings of Divine grace upon the soul are as mild and gentle as they are powerful and effectual
4. It was a real and permanent cure. Thus it is when God heals the broken heart, or cures the distempered soul. The one is a miracle of power, the other of grace: and as the former, so the latter is no deception.
III. The effects of the cure.
1. He leaped up. Thus it is with the sinner recovered by Divine grace. The word of the Lord, the way of the Lord, the joy of the Lord, and especially the Christ of God, is his strength; and this strength he employs for the purposes for which it is bestowed. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. Earnestness and intentness of mind is also implied. He not only exerted himself, but did it to the utmost of his power. Thus when a sinner is capable of acting, especially in the warmth of his first love, he will act with all his might.
2. He stood. Formerly he could not stand without leaning and trembling. He stood ready for action, as one that would hereafter get his livelihood by working, and not by begging. He also stood to show himself to the people.
3. He walked. This was a new exercise to him. Thus, by the power of Divine grace, those that are spiritually lame are made to walk with God, and before Him; honestly and uprightly, in newness of life; in the light, in the truth, and at liberty. The Spirit is their guide, the Word their rule, the excellent of the earth their companions, glory their end, and Christ their way.
4. He entered with the apostles into the temple. At the gate of it he had got many an alms from man: now he would enter into it to get an alms from God. From this part of his conduct we may learn–
(1) What place the saints make their chosen residence, the house of God. My feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem! Especially when recovered from disorder, and released from confinement. The first place they will visit is the temple, there to pay those vows which they made in the time of their distress, and present their humble and thankful acknowledgments unto God.
(2) What persons they choose for their companions. Those whom God has made useful to them, as hoping still to receive the benefit of their prayers and instructions. Thus the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his house, and Lydia constrained them to abide in her house.
5. Still he walked and leaped, like one in an ecstasy and transport, and praised God. Whence we may observe, that though he loved the instruments, yet he did not praise them. He gave the praise where it was due.
Improvement:
1. Let awakened sinners take encouragement from this wonderful instance of Divine grace.
2. Let the saints imitate the example here set before them, in the warmest gratitude and most affectionate praises. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
The lame man at the gate of the temple
(hospital sermon):–
I. The lame man.
1. Many become lame through accident or sickness; but this man was born a cripple. Luke, who was a physician, gives us to understand that his lameness was owing to a weakness in, and perhaps malformation of, the ankle-bones. But that hardly suffices to describe his helpless condition. Many lame men are able to move about with the help of artificial supports. But this man was so utterly helpless that he was obliged to be carried. Not that there was any weakness in his body, all the weakness was in his ankles. Raphael seems to have seized this feature. He has drawn at a little distance from him another deformed man, who, however, is able to hobble along by the help of a crutch. But I think Raphael was mistaken in drawing his legs in a stiff, rigid form; it was not rigidity in the ankles he was suffering from, but extreme weakness. Immediately his feet and ankles became firm.
2. And not only was he lame, he was a cripple and a beggar too. It is difficult to conceive a more pitiable condition.
3. There were several reasons why the gate of the temple had been selected as a propitious place for begging. Crowds of people were coming and going through it at least three times a day. Besides, the people who were coming in and going out were the best men and women in Jerusalem. It is the cream of society that frequent places of worship. Moreover, men in going to and coming from church are in a better mood for considering the poor and supplying their wants than in the tumultuous whirl of business. And it is a fact that almost all the alms of the world are administered at the gates of the temple, that charitable institutions are dependent for their support and success on them that go up to the temple at the hour of prayer. I never was honoured with a letter from the Lord Mayor of London till he thought money was required to carry out his humane object. Maybe that every man of science and of business also received a letter from him, which I doubt; but I am sure every minister did. Do I find fault? No; I look upon it as a great compliment to Christianity. Some time ago a daily paper warmly advocated private contributions towards the relief of the famine in India. So far, good. These papers which are going to supersede the pulpit, and do away with preaching, ought to do that. But the money did not come. As a last resort, the paper with its largest circulation in the world proposed to have a collection in the churches, forsooth. But where were the readers of the paper? Where the largest circulation in the world? Could not the almighty press squeeze a little money out of its numerous readers? Do I find fault? Oh, no; it is a high compliment to Christianity and to the ministers who teach their hearers what the papers fail to teach their readers. But Christianity is dying fast, the world can do without the churches? No, my friends, not as long as there are lame to help and hungry to feed. The beggars sometimes sit at the gates of Trade, but they are sternly told to move on; and at the gates of Pleasure and of Fashion, but none save the dogs deign to take notice of them. The beggars know that the temple is the great almshouse of the world.
4. There were about ten gates to the temple, all of them very costly and superb. The Jews did not as a rule grudge the most lavish expenditure upon the adornments of the temple. But there was one gate far surpassing all others in material and design. Gods house should always be the most beautiful house in the neighbourhood, and Gods people ought to contribute towards its adornment. If our congregations increase in wealth, God expects a part Of it to flow to the sanctuary. Trade must do homage to religion, and offer unto it gifts–gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When the Church was in a state of comparative poverty, a mound of earth served for an altar and was acceptable in the sight of God. But when the Church increased in numbers and refinement, the altar of earth was justly superseded by an altar of shittim wood overlaid with brass; instead of the rude mound, there was to be a little artistic work. Finally, when the Church had increased in numbers and possessions, God required an altar overlaid with fine gold. Do Christians increase in wealth? Let a portion of it flow to the sanctuary of the Highest; let there be built a gate called the Beautiful. And at the gate let there stand a sister of mercy to administer alms to the helpless and forlorn. However beautiful was the gate of the temple, more beautiful in the sight of God were the hands which gave alms to the cripple. Beauty of stone and of metal is not to be compared with beauty of disposition and of character.
II. The cure of the lame man.
1. Peter and John went up to the temple. The apostles did not abruptly sever themselves from the old dispensation; sudden ruptures never take place in the kingdom of God. First, there is a division in the Church, then a division from the Church. That was the ease at the establishment of Christianity; first, a division in Judaism, next a division from Judaism. That was the case at the time of the Protestant Reformation. That was the case in the history of the Establishment in our own country. The heathen who adopted Christianity were called upon to break off at once their connection with idols; but the Jews who adopted Christianity were only gradually weaned from Judaism. One could not be an idolater and a Christian; but one could be a Jew and a Christian.
2. As they were about to enter, their attention was called to the impotent man who asked an alms. He had long ago ceased hoping for anything else. Forty years of helplessness and beggary will kill ambition in the most sanguine heart. We have known people who had been lying on a bed of suffering for years. If you spoke to them at the close of the first year, you would discover a shade of discontent–they had a strong desire to get up and walk. But at the end of ten years the most fiery spirit is quite tamed.
3. They fastened their eyes on him. A characteristic feature of Christianity is that it fastens its eyes on the destitute and the sick. Science fastens its eyes on inanimate matter; art on the gate called Beautiful; but Christianity on the poor cripple. Science seeks out the secrets of the world; art its beauties; but Christianity its ills. There is a great deal in a look. The sympathising eyes of Peter caught the wondering eyes of the beggar, and the latter felt a strange sensation, like a stream of electricity, thrilling his entire system.
4. The man sought alms; but the apostles gave him what was better–health. Health without money is infinitely better than money without health. Moreover, by endowing him with health they were conferring on him the ability to earn money: In this the miracle was a sign. The gospel does not directly aim at improving mens circumstances; it aims at improving men themselves. But no sooner does it that than a noticeable improvement is seen in their surroundings. The gospel converts the man; the man converts the house. The gospel does not directly aim at increasing the material riches of a nation; it aims at increasing its funds of spiritual health; but no sooner does the nation feel new blood palpitating in every limb and member than it shakes off the lethargy of centuries, and marches fearlessly forward in the upward path of discovery and enterprise, and, as a natural consequence, riches flow in plentifully to its exchequer. The gospel came to a crippled world. It said unto it, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk, and forthwith it began a career upward and forward, and Christianity has indirectly added enormously to its material riches. Which are the most flourishing nations in our day? England, America, and Germany, the countries that have received most abundantly of the life and health that are lodged in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Utilitarianism says, Give men better houses, higher wages, purer air, more wholesome water, and by improving their circumstances you will improve their constitutions. But what says Christianity? I will strive to improve men, for I know that no sooner will men feel beating within them new and potent energies than they will set about to improve their external condition. Men need better houses, and purer air, and more wholesome water; but the great want of men is life–more life; and I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. Utilitarianism does men good, Christianity makes them good.
5. The Apostolic Church had no silver and gold, it had only health to impart. But it is in the power of the modern Church to give both money and health. There are in this huge city over eighty hospitals, and you will find on inquiry that every hospital is well-nigh full of people who have not the means to pay for professional attendance at home; and it is a duty incumbent on the churches to maintain these institutions: in a state of high efficiency. Hospitals in a special sense are the earliest and mellowest fruit of our holy religion. Where was the first hospital founded? In Ephesus, the home of John, the beloved disciple who taught that God is love. And by what name were hospitals first known? Lazarettoes; the very name bears on its forefront the stamp of the gospel, from the touching story of Lazarus sitting at the rich mans gate. And who founded and endowed the great hospitals of this metropolis? Christians. Saint Bartholomews, Saint Lukes, Saint Georges, with a few exceptions the hospitals are all saints I They are the precious legacies of the Christianity of the past; they have a strong claim on the Christianity of the present.
6. But I also trust that in acquiring money we have not lost what is of incomparably greater value, the faith and the courage to say to poor humanity, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Hundreds who go into hospitals founded by Christian philanthropy and supported by Christian charity come out able to stand and to walk. But I trust that in a still deeper sense it is true. Have we not witnessed the power of the gospel in our own midst, giving strength to the weak and life to the dead? Men dead in trespasses and sins have risen in newness of life; men crippled in the spiritual nature have received strength; men weak in their feet and ankle-bones have received fresh power–they now enter the temple, they run in the way of the Divine commandments, they leap for joy like harts on the mountains of spices. The Church is fast increasing in riches; let us pray that it may also increase in the power to impart health to men lame from their mothers womb. (J. Cynddylan Jones, D. D.)
The cripple and his healers
I. The companions–Peter and John.
1. Their destination–the temple. Those who have been the greatest blessing to mankind through all the ages have loved God and frequented His temple. The theory that a man who is able to go to church can serve God at home, and never go, is contrary to the teaching of the New Testament.
2. Their harmony–went up together. Nothing like Pentecostal power to harmonise opposite temperaments, and hold in check possible discordances and selfish tendencies in human nature.
3. Their look. Christianity is the only system in the world that knows how to fasten its eyes upon the afflicted and destitute, the guilty and the lost.
4. Their devotion–at the hour of prayer. If any men were justified in supposing that they could dispense with the ordinary routine of religious worship, Peter and John were surely those men. But no men in Jerusalem were more consciously indebted to the means of grace, or more utterly dependent upon God. The more religion a man has, the more he will love the temple and the hour of prayer.
5. Their poverty–silver and gold have I none. Then a child of God may be poor. Then God may be specially honouring men, and fitting them for extraordinary careers of usefulness, who are without worldly means or influence. In this materialistic age, when men are judged of by their money, and not by their character–by what they have, and not by what they are, it is well to emphasise the fact that manhood and money are nor interchangeable terms. The power that lifts and heals a crippled world is not carried about by men in their pocket-books, nor does it grow out of their bank accounts or social standing. It comes through the right relationship of the soul to Jesus Christ, and absolutely without regard to a mans worldly condition.
6. Their power–Rise up, and walk. That is the main power the Church lacks just now to make her ready for the conquest of the world; and that is the power for the exercise of which a crippled world fastens its eyes upon us. Neither wealth, nor education, nor social influence can atone for the want of this Divine afflatus.
II. The cripple–A man lame from his mothers womb.
1. His location–At the gate of the temple. Then this cripple was no fool. He understood the philosophy of benevolence. The kindest and most sympathetic people in the world are praying people. Persons who obey the first table of the law are most likely to obey the second. Nine-tenths of all the money raised for benevolent purposes, and for the support of our charitable institutions, comes from the pockets of those who go up to the temple at the hour of prayer.
2. His attitude–Lay at the gate. We have seen thousands of lame men who could go almost anywhere, through the aid of artificial supports. But this man was obliged to be carried.
3. His vocation To ask alms. Both the place and time selected by this cripple to ply his vocation indicate that he was a shrewd, thoughtful man.
4. His cure.
(1) It was instantaneous.
(2) It was thorough–Walked and leaped.
5. His gratitude. The accession of strength was sudden, and his manifestation of it was equally sudden. There was no timid shrinking, lest he should overtax his new strength. The man that God blesses and saves need not be afraid of overdoing, and bringing on a relapse, by anything his heart prompts him to do, in the shape of letting others know what has happened. The want of the times is a joyful, happy, triumphant Christianity.
III. The crowd–All the people.
1. Their evidence–Saw him.
2. Their recognition (verse 10). He had sat at the gate so long that everybody knew him, and that may be the reason why he was favoured with this miraculous cure.
3. Their excitement. They wisely argued that the change could only be effected by a Divine cause. Extend this reasoning, and you have one of the most unanswerable arguments in favour of Christianity. The transformations wrought by it in society prove it to be Divine in its origin.
4. Their emotions–Wonder and amazement. Strange that they should be so affected by this miracle, after having witnessed so many by the Master.
Application:
1. Let us imitate Peter and John in our appreciation of the means of grace.
2. Let us not disturb the services by coming in late; but, like them, let us try to be punctual; at the hour.
3. Pentecostal blessings of yesterday cannot supply our need of Gods inspiration and blessing to-day.
4. It is the duty of the unconverted to fasten their eyes upon spiritual matters, to yield to right influences, to allow themselves to be carried daily to the gate of right feeling and conduct. If this lame man had rebelled that morning against being carried to the gate of the temple, he might never have been healed.
5. Learn that, though the eyes of the sinner may be fastened upon the servant, the Master only can heal. (T. Kelly.)
The lance man healed
You will not see the whole beauty of this paragraph unless you connect it with the chapter preceding.
1. You remember the infinite excitement of that chapter. There had never been such a day in the Church before. Life was raised up to a higher level than it had ever attained, and the people were praising God from morning till night. Surely the millennium had come! After this there will be no more common-place. Who would willingly come out of the blue heavens to walk again on the pathways of ordinary life? But read the opening words of the third chapter. After the excitement of Pentecost, is not this of the nature of an anti-climax? Two men, former partners in the fishing trade, went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer. Then see that the ecstatic hours of life ought to be succeeded by quiet worship, for that alone can sustain the heart with true nourishment. God grants unto His Church hours of enthusiasm, days when the whole horizon opens like an infinite door into the upper places of the universe; but after such peculiarly solemn manifestations of power and grace, He expects us to go up into the temple to pray, as He knows such visions make all other life ordinary and common. Whatever luxuries you may enjoy occasionally, you must have bread permanently. We cannot always live in the extraordinary; for by the very fact of its being always extraordinary, it would cease to be other than usual.
2. But were not the men inspired? Yes; yet the two men went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer. The clock was not altered; the great Pentecostal storm had rushed across the heavens, and had left behind it showers of blessings. Still the quiet clock ticked and travelled on to the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, and Peter and John were not so transported by special ecstasies as to forget their daily and customary engagements with God. Suspect any inspiration that makes you contemptuous of ordinary religious duty. Inspiration never lessens duty. Any supposed inspiration that has withdrawn men from the temple and poisoned them with the delusion that they could sufficiently read the Bible at home, is an inspiration coming otherwhere than from heaven. You were not made to live at home always. There is in you that which finds its completion in public fellowship. It does every man good to be now and then in a crowd; public assembly has an educational and social influence upon the individual life. Standing alone, a man may seem to be very great, important, self-complete; it is when he enters into a crowd that he realises his humanity, his littleness, and yet the very greatness that comes of that contraction of individuality. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. Peter and John did not. Are we not wrong in supposing that prayer can ever be of the nature of common-place? What is prayer? Is it not communion with God. The apostles had not lost their inspiration, as is evident by what they did. Verily, these men then had not lost their inspiration, or they never would have taken this course with the suppliant at the Beautiful gate of the Temple. They could work this miracle. Let that be taken as a proof of the continuance of their inspiration; and yet we see that, notwithstanding, they are going up like ordinary humble worshippers to pray in the temple. Beware of any inspiration that leads you away from apostolic practice. Your ambition may be easily excited, and you may not require a very expert tempter of the human mind to say to you that perhaps you may be a genius, that you need not submit to take upon you the yoke of religious custom. When such temptation seduces you, give it the lie. The law would seem to be that every great effort of human life should be followed by a religious exercise; every outgoing of the soul should have its compensatory movement in silent communion with God. After you have been striving arduously and valiantly in the fight, plunge into the bath, so to say, of Divine meditation and heavenly communion, and therein leave your weakness and recover your strength.
3. This incidental conversation with the poor lame beggar at the Beautiful gate of the Temple gives us some particulars about the apostles themselves, and those particulars are the more valuable because of the way in which they are introduced into the narrative.
I. It is perfectly evident that having all things common had not enriched Peter and John. Apostolic communion was no priests trick; it was no attempt to enrich the apostolate at the expense of the Christian public. Silver and gold have we none. So much the better for them I Woe unto the apostle who spends one half of his life in getting silver and gold, and the other half in watching that they do not run away from him. What had they then? Divine energy, spiritual life, social sympathy, and hearts to bless those who needed benediction and assistance. The poverty of the apostles was in material substance only; and therefore it was no poverty at all. He is the poor man who has nothing but money. He is rich who has high ideals and noble sympathies, and who lives in the presence of God and in the service of truth. Have your riches in your mind, in your heart, in your thoughts, in your purposes, in your beneficent plans.
II. This action shows how possible it is to be giving less than others, and at the same time to be giving more. Silver and gold have I none. Then he could give nothing would be the swift and shallow reasoning of those who read the surface only. But such as I have give I thee. That is the giving that does not impoverish; the more given the more left. The sun has been giving his light for thousands of years, and yet he is as luminous as when he first looked out upon the darkness which he dispelled. Give mechanically, and you will weary of the exercise; but give spiritually, and you will increase your possessions by the very giving of your alms.
III. A man may pray none the less prayerfully because he has aided some poor creature before he entered the sacred place. We should have enjoyed the service many a time much more keenly if before coming to it we had made some sorrowful heart glad. That is the preparation for prayer. If you want to come up at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice with glowing, thankful hearts, ready to receive any communication God may make to them, spend the intervening hours in doing good to those who sit in solitary places. Then you will come, not in a spirit of criticism, but in a spirit of sympathy, and from the first note to the last there shall be a shining forth and revelation of the Divine presence.
IV. Christianity now, as then, must prove its divinity by its beneficence. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Peter did not preach a sermon to the man. To the excited multitude he expounded the Scriptures; but when he came face to face with the man, he preached no sermon, except as the mention of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is always a sermon, but bade him rise up and walk. Here is the sphere in which Christian argument may yet secure its highest triumph. Words can be answered by words, phrases beget phrases, and the easy trick of recrimination is the favourite amusement of mere controversialists; but a Church seeking out the lowly, helping the helpless, healing the sick, teaching the ignorant, standing by the cause of righteousness, defying the oppressor, and suffering and working for the right, is a Church whose beneficence is its noblest attribute, and whose character is the only vindication it requires. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The healing of the lame man
Look at the miracle in the light of what has just taken place. There is great enthusiasm in the Church. The Divine life is, so to speak, at its highest point. We should consider, confining ourselves within the limits of the Church, that the age of human unity and love had come in all its golden glory. We are now invited to go beyond the Church line, and at our very first step we find a man who appeals to our sympathy in his pain and helplessness. See how world lies within world, and how misleading are all the inferences drawn from a limited set of facts.
1. The man who has access to every means of mental and spiritual culture may think all the world as highly privileged as himself.
2. The healthy and prosperous family may forget that other households are afflicted and depressed. Look beyond your own sphere. You have not far to look; there is but a step between thee and the world which is either higher or lower than thine own. The lesson has a double application; the prosperous man is to look down that he may help; the unsuccessful man is to look up that he may hope.
I. The social side of this incident.
1. We may be able to carry the cripple when we are unable to heal him. Do what you can. Human helplessness is a continual appeal to human power. There are secondary services in life. We cannot always do the great deed; nor can we always stand in the full light, that we may be seen of men. Sometimes we can only carry. We cannot restore.
2. The commonest minds, as well as the highest, have always associated the idea of charity with that of religion. This is right. This is a high compliment to any form of religion. See how it has been paid to Christianity above all! The theology that has no philanthropy is its own vain god.
3. Look at the compensations of the poorest life. The man was carried daily by friendly hands, and had the temple as his daily hope. The sun shines even on the poorest lot.
II. The apostolic side.
1. The apostles never attempted to do without public worship. Such worship has its distinct advantages.
(1) Provocation of thought.
(2) Development of sympathy.
2. They never neglected human want in their anxiety to render Divine worship. Some people are one-sidedly religious.
3. They never attended even to physical necessities in their own name.
Conclusion: The incident suggests two questions.
1. Are we too pious to be philanthropic?
2. Has the name of Jesus lost its power? (J. Parker, D. D.)
The first miracle
Viewing the Acts as a type of what all Church history was to be, and a Divine exposition of the principles which should guide the Church in times of suffering as well as of action, we can see good reasons for the insertion of this particular narrative.
I. This miracle was typical of the Churchs work, for it was a beggar that was healed, and this beggar lay helpless and hopeless at the very doors of the temple. The beggar typified humanity at large. He was laid, indeed, in a splendid position–before him was extended the magnificent panorama of hills which stood round about Jerusalem; above him rose the splendours of the building upon which the Herods had lavished the riches and wonders of their gorgeous conceptions but he was nothing the better for all this material grandeur till touched by the power which lay in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And the beggar of the Beautiful gate was in all these respects the fittest object for St. Peters earliest miracle, because he was exactly typical of mankinds state. Humanity, Jew and Gentile alike, lay at the very gate of Gods temple of the universe. Men could discourse learnedly, too, concerning that sanctuary, and they could admire its beauteous proportions. Poets, philosophers, and wise men had treated of the temple of the universe in works which can never be surpassed, but all the while they lay outside its sacred precincts. They had no power to stand up and enter in, leaping, and walking, and praising God. This miracle of healing the beggar was typical of the Churchs work again, because it was a beggar who thus received a blessing when the Church roused itself to the discharge of its great mission. Christianity is essentially the religion of the masses. Its Founder was a carpenter, and its earliest benediction pronounced the blessedness of those that are poor in spirit, and ever since the greatest triumphs of Christianity have been gained amongst the poor. Here, however, lies a danger. Its work in this direction must be done in no one-sided spirit. Christianity must never adopt the language or the tone of the mere agitator. A Christianity which triumphs through appeals to popular prejudices, and seeks a mere temporary advantage by riding on the crest of popular ignorance, is not the religion taught by Christ and His apostles. But yet, again, the conversion of this beggar was effected through his healing; and here we see a type of the Churchs future work. The Church, then, as represented by the apostles, did not despise the body, or regard efforts of the bodily blessing beneath its dignity. Schools, hospitals, sanitary and medical science, the dwellings and amusements of the people, trade, commerce, all should be the care of the Church, and should be based on Christs law, and carried out on Christian principles.
II. This miracle was the occasion of St. Peters testimony both to the people and to their rulers. His discourse has two distinct divisions. It sets forth, first, the claims, dignity, and nature of Christ, and then makes a personal appeal to the men of Jerusalem. St. Peter begins his sermon with an act of profound self-renunciation. When he saw the people running together, he said (verse 12). The same spirit of renunciation appears at an earlier stage of the miracle (verse 6). One point is at once manifest when St. Peters conduct is compared with his Masters under similar circumstances. St. Peter acts as a delegate and a servant; Jesus Christ acted as a principal, a master–the Prince of Life. St. Peters words teach another lesson. They are typical of the spirit which should ever animate the Christian preacher or teacher. They turn the attention of his hearers wholly away from himself, and exalt Christ Jesus alone. Earthly motives easily insinuate themselves in every mans heart, and when a man feels urged on to declare some unpleasant truth, or to raise a violent and determined opposition, he should search diligently, lest that while he imagines himself following a heavenly vision and obeying a Divine command, he should be only yielding to mere human suggestions of pride, or partisanship, or uncharitableness. (G. T. Stokes, D. D.)
The apostles and the beggar model of Christian care of the poor
I. The proper disposition from which Christian care for the poor should flow.
1. Love to God. The apostles were on their way to the temple.
2. Love of our neighbor. They regard the poor man with sympathy–John feeling, Peter helping.
II. The proper means which Christian care of the poor should employ. Silver and gold is not the chief concern. Alms quickly thrown to the poor costs little, and bears little fruit. But–
1. Personal and living intercourse with the poor. Peter looked, etc.
2. Evangelical counsel and comfort from the Word of God. Such as I have, etc.
III. The proper result in which Christian care for the poor should delight.
1. Bodily restoration–he could rise up and walk.
2. Spiritual health–he praised God. (C. Gerok.)
Spiritual co-operation
It is seldom that the co-operation of both parties–the doer and the receiver–is so clearly seen as here.
I. In the looks of both parties. Peter looking on the lame man with sympathising love, ready to help and to heal; and the lame man, at the order of the apostle, regarding him and John steadfastly with a petitioning and hopeful spirit.
II. In their believing apprehension of Jesus. Peter speaking and commanding in the name of Jesus; and the lame man, also hopeful and susceptible, with his whole soul attaching himself to Jesus.
III. In their spiritual and bodily exertions. Peter stretching forth and taking the man by the right hand; and the man, with miraculous strength of will and muscle, lifting himself up. The name of Jesus, the person of Jesus, His grace and Divine saving power is the centre; in Him the souls meet, the men reach forth their hands, and find spiritual and bodily strength in giving and receiving. (G. V. Lechler, D. D.)
Alleviations of the hardest lot
It would not be fair to say even this limping beggar had no alleviations to his lot. He was not blind; he could see the Beautiful gate, with its wonderful pillars of brass overlaid with vast plates of gold and silver. He was not deaf; he could hear the priests trumpets on the feast-days; he could even listen to the singing of the daily psalms and the chanting of the evening prayers in the courts of the loveliest edifice under the sun. He was not dumb; he could ask for alms as a beggar, he could cry for mercy as a sinner. He was not forsaken; he had a circle of patient friends to bring him to his wonted place every afternoon. Discontented poor peoplemight as well count up their manifest mercies now and then. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER III.
Peter and John go to the temple at the hour of prayer, and heal
a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb, 1-8.
The people are astonished, and the apostles inform them that it
was not by their own power they had healed the man, but through
the power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, 9-16.
Peter both excuses and reproves them, and exhorts them to
repentance, 17-21.
Shows that in Jesus Christ the prophecy of Moses was fulfilled;
and that all the prophets testified of Jesus and his salvation,
22-24;
and that, in him, the covenant made with Abraham is fulfilled;
and that Christ came to bless them by turning them away from
their iniquities, 25, 26.
NOTES ON CHAP. III.
Verse 1. Peter and John went up together] The words , which we translate together, and which are the first words in this chapter in the Greek text, we have already seen, Ac 2:47, are added by several MSS. and versions to the last verse of the preceding chapter. But they do not make so good a sense there as they do here; and should be translated, not together, which really makes no sense here, but at that time; intimating that this transaction occurred nearly about the same time that those took place which are mentioned at the close of the former chapter.
At the hour of prayer] This, as is immediately added, was the ninth hour, which answers, in a general way, to our three o’clock in the afternoon. The third hour, which was the other grand time of public prayer among the Jews, answered, in a general way, to our nine in the morning. See Clarke on Ac 2:15.
It appears that there were three hours of the day destined by the Jews to public prayer; perhaps they are referred to by David, Ps 55:17: EVENING and MORNING, and at NOON, will I pray and cry aloud. There are three distinct times marked in the book of the Acts. The THIRD hour, Ac 2:15, answering, as we have already seen, to nearly our nine o’clock in the morning; the SIXTH hour, Ac 10:9, answering to about twelve with us; and the NINTH hour, mentioned in this verse, and answering to our three in the afternoon.
The rabbins believed that Abraham instituted the time of morning prayer; Isaac, that at noon; and Jacob, that of the evening: for which they quote several scriptures, which have little reference to the subject in behalf of which they are produced. Others of the rabbins, particularly Tanchum, made a more natural division. Men should pray,
1. When the sun rises;
2. when the sun has gained the meridian;
3. when the sun has set, or passed just under the horizon.
At each of these three times they required men to offer prayer to God; and I should be glad to know that every Christian in the universe observed the same rule: it is the most natural division of the day; and he who conscientiously observes these three stated times of prayer will infallibly grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Went up together into the temple; not to communicate with the Jews in their worship, which was now antiquated, but that they might have a larger field to sow the seed of the gospel into; and therefore it was most probably upon some sabbath or festival day, and not unlikely in the evening of that great day of Pentecost (of which in the former chapter).
At the hour of prayer: that God must be worshipped, and daily prayed unto, the law of nature and positive law of God requires; but, says Maimonides, there is no obligation by virtue of any command of God, unto any number of prayers, nor to any certain prayers, nor to any definite time of prayer. Howsoever, they did usually pray thrice a day, and thought each of those three times recommended unto them by one of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Howsoever, the time of offering up the morning and evening sacrifice was recommended or commanded by God, as a time of prayer; a sacrifice being an actual prayer, as the other is real or verbal.
The ninth hour; about three oclock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1-11. Peter and Johnalreadyassociated by their Master, first with James (Mar 1:29;Mar 5:37; Mar 9:2),then by themselves (Lu 22:8;and see Joh 13:23; Joh 13:24).Now we find them constantly together, but John (yet young) only as asilent actor.
went upwere going up,were on their way.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple,…. These two disciples were intimate companions, and great lovers of each other; they were often together: they are thought, by some, to have been together in the high priest’s palace at the trial of Christ; and they ran together to his sepulchre, Joh 18:15 and they now went together to the temple, not to attend the daily sacrifice, which was now abolished by the sacrifice of Christ, but to attend to the duty of prayer, which was still in force, and that they might have an opportunity of preaching Christ, where there was a number of people together:
at the hour of prayer; being the ninth hour, or three o’clock in the afternoon. This was one of their hours of prayer; it was customary with the Jews to pray three times a day, Da 6:10 which, according to the Psalmist in Ps 55:17 were evening, morning, and at noon; to which seems to answer the three times that are taken notice of by Luke in this history: that in the morning was at the third hour, as in Ac 2:15 or nine o’clock in the morning; that at noon was at the sixth hour, as in Ac 10:9 or twelve o’clock at noon; and that in the evening at the ninth hour, as here, or three o’clock in the afternoon. Not that these were times of divine appointment. The Jews o themselves say,
“there is no number of prayers from the law, and there is no repetition of this or that prayer from the law, and there is no , “fixed time” for prayer from the law.”
But according to the traditions of the elders,
“the morning prayer was to the end of the fourth hour, which is the third part of the day–the prayer of the “Minchah”, (or evening prayer,) they fixed the time of it to answer to the evening daily sacrifice; and because the daily sacrifice was offered up every day from the ninth hour and a half, they ordered the time of it to be from the ninth hour and a half, and it is called the lesser “Minchah”; and because in the evening of the passover, which falls upon the evening of the sabbath, they slay the daily sacrifice at the sixth hour and a half, they say, that he that prays after the sixth hour and a half is excused; and after this time is come, the time to which he is obliged is come, and this is called the great “Minchah”—lo, you learn, that the time of the great “Minchah” is from the sixth hour and a half, to the ninth hour and a half; and the time of the lesser “Minchah” is from the ninth hour and a half, until there remains of the day an hour and a quarter; and it is lawful to pray it until the sun sets.”
So that it was at the time of the lesser “Minchah” that Peter and John went up to the temple; which seems to be not on the same day of Pentecost, but on some day, or days after; it may be the sabbath following, when there was a great number of people got together.
o Maimon. Hilch. Tephilla, c. 1. sect. 1. Ib. c. 3. sect. 1, 2, 4. Vid. T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 26. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Healing of a Cripple. |
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1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
We were told in general (ch. ii. 43) that many signs and wonders were done by the apostles, which are not written in this book; but here we have one given us for an instance. As they wrought miracles, not upon every body as every body had occasion for them, but as the Holy Spirit gave direction, so as to answer the end of their commission; so all the miracles they did work are not written in this book, but such only are recorded as the Holy Ghost thought fit, to answer the end of this sacred history.
I. The persons by whose ministry this miracle was wrought were Peter and John, two principal men among the apostles; they were so in Christ’s time, one speaker of the house for the most part, the other favourite of the Master; and they continue so. When, upon the conversion of thousands, the church was divided into several societies, perhaps Peter and John presided in that which Luke associated with, and therefore he is more particular in recording what they said and did, as afterwards what Paul said and did when he attended him, both the one and the other being designed for specimens of what the other apostles did.
Peter and John had each of them a brother among the twelve, with whom they were coupled when they were sent out; yet now they seem to be knit together more closely than either of them to his brother, for the bond of friendship is sometimes stronger than that of relation: there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Peter and John seem to have had a peculiar intimacy after Christ’s resurrection more than before, John xx. 2. The reason of which (if I may have liberty to conjecture) might be this, that John, a disciple made up of love, was more compassionate to Peter upon his fall and repentance, and more tender of him in his bitter weeping for his sin, than any other of the apostles were, and more solicitous to restore him in the spirit of meekness, which made him very dear to Peter ever after; and it was good evidence of Peter’s acceptance with God, upon his repentance, that Christ’s favourite was made his bosom friend. David prayed, after his fall, Let those that fear thee turn unto me, Ps. cxix. 79.
II. The time and place are here set down. 1. It was in the temple, whither Peter and John went up together, because it was the place of concourse; there were the shoals of fish among which the net of the gospel was to be cast, especially during the days of pentecost, within the compass of which we may suppose this to have happened. Note, It is good to go up to the temple, to attend on public ordinances; and it is comfortable to go up together to the temple: I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go. The best society is society in worshipping God. 2. It was at the hour of prayer, one of the hours of public worship commonly appointed and observed among the Jews. Time and place are two necessary circumstances of every action, which must be determined by consent, as is most convenient for edification. With reference to public worship, there must be a house of prayer and an hour of prayer: the ninth hour, that is, three o’clock in the afternoon, was one of the hours of prayer among the Jews; nine in the morning and twelve at noon were the other two. See Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10. It is of use for private Christians so far to have their hours of prayer as may serve, though not to bind, yet to remind conscience: every thing is beautiful in its season.
III. The patient on whom this miraculous cure was wrought is here described, v. 2. He was a poor lame beggar at the temple gate. 1. He was a cripple, not by accident, but born so; he was lame from his mother’s womb, as it should seem, by a paralytic distemper, which weakened his limbs; for it is said in the description of his cure (v. 7), His feet and ankle bones received strength. Some such piteous cases now and then there are, which we ought to be affected with and look upon with compassion, and which are designed to show us what we all are by nature spiritually: without strength, lame from our birth, unable to work or walk in God’s service. 2. He was a beggar. Being unable to work for his living, he must live upon alms; such are God’s poor. He was laid daily by his friends at one of the gates of the temple, a miserable spectacle, unable to do any thing for himself but to ask alms of those that entered into the temple or came out. There was a concourse,–a concourse of devout good people, from whom charity might be expected, and a concourse of such people when it might be hoped they were in the best frame; and there he was laid. Those that need, and cannot work, must not be ashamed to beg. He would not have been laid there, and laid there daily, if he had not been used to meet with supplies, daily supplies there. Note, Our prayers and our alms should go together; Cornelius’s did, ch. x. 4. Objects of charity should be in a particular manner welcome to us when we go up to the temple to pray; it is a pity that common beggars at church doors should any of them be of such a character as to discourage charity; but they ought not always to be overlooked: some there are surely that merit regard, and better feed ten drones, yea, and some wasps, than let one bee starve. The gate of the temple at which he was laid is here named: it was called Beautiful, for the extraordinary splendour and magnificence of it. Dr. Lightfoot observes that this was the gate that led out of the court of the Gentiles into that of the Jews, and he supposes that the cripple would beg only of the Jews, as disdaining to ask any thing of the Gentiles. But Dr. Whitby takes it to be at the first entrance into the temple, and beautified sumptuously, as became the frontispiece of that place where the divine Majesty vouchsafed to dwell; and it was no diminution to the beauty of this gate that a poor man lay there begging. 3. He begged of Peter and John (v. 3), begged an alms; this was the utmost he expected from them, who had the reputation of being charitable men, and who, though they had not much, yet did good with what they had. It was not many weeks ago that the blind and the lame came to Christ in the temple, and were healed there, Matt. xxi. 14. And why might not he have asked more than an alms, if he knew that Peter and John were Christ’s messengers, and preached and wrought miracles in his name? But he had that done for him which he looked not for; he asked an alms, and had a cure.
IV. We have here the method of the cure.
1. His expectations were raised. Peter, instead of turning his eyes form him, as many do from objects of charity, turned his eyes to him, nay, he fastened his eyes upon him, that his eye might affect his heart with compassion towards him, v. 4. John did so too, for they were both guided by one and the same Spirit, and concurred in this miracle; they said, Look on us. Our eye must be ever towards the Lord (the eye of our mind), and, in token of this, the eye of the body may properly be fixed on those whom he employs as the ministers of his grace. This man needed not to be bidden twice to look on the apostles; for he justly thought this gave him cause to expect that he should receive something form them, and therefore he gave heed to them, v. 5. Note, We must come to God both to attend on his word and to apply ourselves to him in prayer, with hearts fixed and expectations raised. We must look up to heaven and expect to receive benefit by that which God speaks thence, and an answer of peace to the prayers sent up thither. I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
2. His expectation of an alms was disappointed. Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, and therefore none to give thee;” yet he intimated that if he had had any he would have given him an alms, not brass, but silver or gold. Note, (1.) It is not often that Christ’s friends and favourites have abundance of the wealth of this world. The apostles were very poor, had but just enough for themselves, and no overplus. Peter and John had abundance of money laid at their feet, but this was appropriated to the maintenance of the poor of the church, and they would not convert any of it to their own use, nor dispose of it otherwise than according tot he intention of the donors. Public trusts ought to be strictly and faithfully observed. (2.) Many who are well inclined to works of charity are yet not in a capacity of doing any thing considerable, while others, who have wherewithal to do much, have not a heart to do any thing.
3. His expectations, notwithstanding, were quite outdone. Peter had not money to give him; but, (1.) He had that which was better, such an interest in heaven, such a power from heaven, as to be able to cure his disease. Note, Those who are poor in the world may yet be rich, very rich, in spiritual gifts, graces, and comforts; certainly there is that which we are capable of possessing which is infinitely better than silver and gold; the merchandise and gain of it are better, Job 28:12; Pro 3:14, c. (2.) He gave him that which was better–the cure of his disease, which he would gladly have given a great deal of silver and gold for, if he had had it, and the cure could have been so obtained. This would enable him to work for his living, so that he would not need to beg any more nay, he would have to give to those that needed, and it is more blessed to give than to receive. A miraculous cure would be a greater instance of God’s favour, and would put a greater honour upon him, than thousands of gold and silver could. Observe, When Peter had no silver and gold to give, yet (says he) such as I have I give thee. Note, Those may be, and ought to be, otherwise charitable and helpful to the poor, who have not wherewithal to give in charity; those who have not silver and gold have their limbs and senses, and with these may be serviceable to the blind, and lame, and sick, and if they be not, as there is occasion, neither would they give to them if they had silver and gold. As every one hath received the gift, so let him minister it. Let us now see how the cure was wrought. [1.] Christ sent his word, and healed him (Ps. cvii. 20); for healing grace is given by the word of Christ; this is the vehicle of the healing virtue derived from Christ. Christ spoke cures by himself; the apostles spoke them in his name. Peter bids a lame man rise up and walk, which would have been a banter upon him if he had not premised in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: “I say it by warrant from him, and it shall be done by power from him, and all the glory and praise of it shall be ascribed to him.” He calls Christ Jesus of Nazareth, which was a name of reproach, to intimate that the indignities done him on earth served but as a foil to his glories now that he was in heaven. “Give him what name you will, call him if you will in scorn Jesus of Nazareth, in that name you shall see wonders done; for, because he humbled himself, thus highly was he exalted.” He bids the cripple rise up and walk, which does not prove that he had power in himself to do it, but that if he attempt to rise and walk, and, in a sense of his own impotency, depend upon a divine power to enable him to do it, he shall be enabled; and by rising and walking he must evidence what that power has wrought upon him; and then let him take the comfort, and let God have the praise. Thus it is in the healing of our souls, which are spiritually impotent. [2.] Peter lent his hand, and helped him (v. 7): He took him by the right hand, in the same name in which he had spoken to him to arise and walk, and lifted him up. Not that this could contribute any thing to his cure; but it was a sign, plainly intimating the help he should receive from God, if he exerted himself as he was bidden. When God by his word commands us to rise, and walk in the way of his commandments, if we mix faith with that word, and lay our souls under the power of it, he will give his Spirit to take us by the hand, and lift us up. If we set ourselves to do what we can, God has promised his grace to enable us to do what we cannot; and by that promise we partake of a new nature, and that grace shall not be in vain; it was not here: His feet and ankle-bones received strength, which they had not done if he had not attempted to rise, and been helped up; he does his part, and Peter does his, and yet it is Christ that does all: it is he that puts strength into him. As the bread was multiplied in the breaking, and the water turned into wine in the pouring out, so strength was given to the cripple’s feet in his stirring them and using them.
V. Here is the impression which this cure made upon the patient himself, which we may best conceive of if we put our soul into his soul’s stead. 1. He leaped up, in obedience to the command, Arise. He found in himself such a degree of strength in his feet and ankle-bones that he did not steal up gently, with fear and trembling, as weak people do when they begin to recover strength; but he started up, as one refreshed with sleep, boldly, and with great agility, and as one that questioned not his own strength. The incomes of strength were sudden, and he was no less sudden in showing them. He leaped, as one glad to quit the bed or pad of straw on which he had lain so long lame. 2. He stood, and walked. He stood without either leaning or trembling, stood straight up, and walked without a staff. He trod strongly, and moved steadily; and this was to manifest the cure, and that it was a thorough cure. Note, Those who have had experience of the working of divine grace upon them should evidence what they have experienced. Has God put strength into us? Let us stand before him in the exercises of devotion; let us walk before him in all the instances of a religious conversation. Let us stand up resolutely for him, and walk cheerfully with him, and both in strength derived and received form him. 3. He held Peter and John, v. 11. We need not ask why he held them. I believe he scarcely knew himself: but it was in a transport of joy that he embraced them as the best benefactors he had ever met with, and hung upon them to a degree of rudeness; he would not let them go forward, but would have them stay with him, while he published to all about him what God had done for him by them. Thus he testified his affection to them; he held them, and would not let them go. Some suggest that he clung to them for fear lest, if they should leave him, his lameness should return. Those whom God hath healed love those whom he made instruments of their healing, and see the need of their further help. 4. He entered with them into the temple. His strong affection to them held them; but it could not hold them so fast as to keep them out of the temple, whither they were going to preach Christ. We should never suffer ourselves to be diverted by the utmost affectionate kindnesses of our friends from going in the way of our duty. But, if they will not stay with him, he is resolved to go with them, and the rather because they are going into the temple, whence he had been so long kept by his weakness and his begging: like the impotent man whom Christ cured, he was presently found in the temple, John v. 14. He went into the temple, not only to offer up his praises and thanksgivings to God, but to hear more from the apostles of that Jesus in whose name he had been healed. Those that have experienced the power of Christ should earnestly desire to grow in their acquaintance with Christ. 5. He was there walking, and leaping, and praising God. Note, The strength God has given us, both in mind and body, should be made us of to his praise, and we should study how to honour him with it. Those that are healed in his name must walk up and down in his name and in his strength, Zech. x. 12. This man, as soon as he could leap, leaped for joy in God, and praised him. Here was that scripture fulfilled (Isa. xxxv. 6): Then shall the lame man leap as a hart. Now that this man was newly cured he was in this excess of joy and thankfulness. All true converts walk and praise God; but perhaps young converts leap more in his praises.
VI. How the people that were eye-witnesses of this miracle were influenced by it we are next told. 1. They were entirely satisfied in the truth of the miracle, and had nothing to object against it. They knew it was he that sat begging at the beautiful gate of the temple, v. 10. He had sat there so long that they all knew him; and for this reason he was chosen to be the vessel of this mercy. Now they were not so perverse as to make any doubt whether he was the same man, as the Pharisees had questioned concerning the blind man that Christ cured, Joh 9:9; Joh 9:18. They now saw him walking, and praising God (v. 9), and perhaps took notice of a change in his mind; for he was now as loud in praising God as he had before been in begging relief. The best evidence that it was a complete cure was that he now praised God for it. Mercies are then perfected, when they are sanctified. 2. They were astonished at it: They were filled with wonder and amazement (v. 10); greatly wondering, v. 11. They were in an ecstasy. There seems to have been this effect of the pouring out of the Spirit, that the people, at least those in Jerusalem, were much more affected with the miracles the apostles wrought than they had been with those of the same kind that had been wrought by Christ himself; and this was in order to the miracles answering their end. 3. They gathered about Peter and John: All the people ran together unto them in Solomon’s porch: some only to gratify their curiosity with the sight of men that had such power; others with a desire to hear them preach, concluding that their doctrine must needs be of divine origin, which thus had a divine ratification. They flocked to them in Solomon’s porch, a part of the court of the Gentiles, where Solomon had built the outer porch of the temple; or, some cloisters or piazzas which Herod had erected upon the same foundation upon which Solomon had built the stately porch that bore his name, Herod being ambitious herein to be a second Solomon. Here the people met, to see this great sight.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Were going up (). Descriptive imperfect active. They were ascending the terraces to the temple courts.
The ninth ( ). Our three o’clock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice. Peter and John like Paul later kept up the Jewish worship, but not as a means of sacramental redemption. There were three hours of prayer (third, sixth, ninth).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Went up [] . The imperfect : were going up. So Rev., ascending the terraces, on the highest of which the temple stood.
Ninth hour. The time of the evening sacrifice; or, as the words of prayer indicate, half an hour later, for the prayer which accompanied the offering of incense.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
FIRST APOSTOLIC MIRACLE AFTER PENTECOST (Lame man at gate Beautiful, V. 1- 11)
1) “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple,” (Petros de kai loannes anebinon eis to heiron) “Then Peter and John were going up to the temple,” about to enter the temple together, in company with each other. They went up from the lower level of the city to Mt Moriah, the location of the Jewish temple. They seem often to have met in the temple in the area of Solomon’s porch, Act 5:12.
2) “At the hour of prayer,” (epi ten horan tes proseuches) “Upon the hour of (the) prayer,” evening, afternoon prayer, to be there when the evening prayer hour arrived, Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10-11. For daily in the temple and every home they visited they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
3) “Being the ninth hour,” (ten enaten) “Which is the ninth hour,” or about three o’clock in the afternoon, mid-afternoon; In going up to the temple they thus imitated their Master, Mat 26:55; Joh 10:22-25; They went up both to witness of Jesus and to pray, Act 3:11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
1. We saw before that many signs were showed by the hands of the apostles; now Luke reciteth one of many for example’s sake, after his common custom; namely, that a lame man, which was lame of his feet from his mother’s womb, was perfectly restored to his limbs. And he doth diligently gather all the circumstances which serve to set forth the miracle. If it had been that his legs had been out of joint, or if it had been some disease coming by some casualty, it might have been the more easily cured. But the default of nature (164) could not have been so easily redressed. When as he saith that he was carried, we gather thereby that it was no light halting, but that this man did lie as if his legs had been dead. Forasmuch as he was wont daily to ask alms, hereby all the people might the better know him. In that being healed, he walked in the temple at the time of prayer, this served to spread abroad the fame of the miracle. Furthermore, this doth not a little set forth the same, that being lifted up and set upon his feet, he leapeth up therewithal, and walketh joyfully.
Went up together Because these words, επι το αυτο, doth no more signify place than time, this latter sense seemeth better to agree with the text of Peter, yet, because it is of no great importance, I leave it indifferent. That it is called the ninth hour of prayer, when as the day began to draw towards night. (165) For seeing the day from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof had twelve hours, as I have said elsewhere, all that time was divided into four parts. So that by the ninth is meant the last portion of the day; as the first hour did continue unto the third, the third unto the sixth, the sixth unto the ninth. Hence may we gather, by a probable conjecture, that that hour was appointed for the evening sacrifice. Furthermore, if any man ask, whether the apostles went up into the temple that they might pray according to the rite of the law, I do not think that that is a thing so likely to be true, as that they might have better opportunity to spread abroad the gospel. And if any man will abuse this place, as if it were lawful for us to use and take up superstitious worshippings, whilst that we are conversant amongst the ignorant and weak, his reason shall be frivolous. The Lord appointed that the Jews should offer sacrifice morning and evening, (Exo 29:41.) By this exercise were they taught to begin and end the day with calling upon the name of God, and with worshipping him, (166) (Num 28:2.) Therefore Peter and John might freely come into the temple, which was consecrated to God; neither did they pollute themselves, seeing they called upon the God of Israel, that they might thereby declare their godliness. First, in that the Lord would have the older people to observe the appointed hours, (167) we gather thereby that the Church cannot be without certain discipline. And even at this day, were it profitable for us to have such meetings daily, unless our too [too] much sluggishness did let us. And whereas the apostles go up at that hour, hereby we gather that we must foreslow [neglect] no opportunity that is offered us for the furtherance of the gospel.
(164) “ Naturae autem vitium,” but a natural defect.
(165) “ Ad vesperum,” towards evening.
(166) “ Ab invocatione et cultu Dei,” with invocation and worship of God.
(167) “ Statas horas,” stated hours.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE APOSTLES FIRST MIRACLE
Act 3:1-26
CHURCH history does not at all follow the lines of the world. World history, as a rule, deals with kings, queens, lords, captainsgreat men and women. It is supposed that Charles Dickens introduced The Annals of the Poor into literature, but not at all so. To Christ belonged that accomplishment. He preached the Gospel to the poor; He healed their sicknesses; He showed Himself to be their friend, and finally, He selected His disciples, destined to become His Apostles, largely from that section of society.
This also marks a change from Old to New Testament. The Old Testament is a history of kings, of potentates, kingdoms, and governments; but the New Testament is a history of Jesus and of the common people. The question was once asked if any of the notables had believed on Him, and as a matter of fact, notables were few in His following.
In the second chapter of Acts where Pentecost is recorded, plain men and plain women only are mentioned, and this third chapter is but a continuation of a work of a church made up from what Pharisees would have described as the mudsill of society.
Let it be remembered, however, that when Joseph Cook of Boston was lecturing, he had a habit of reminding his audience that when the mudsill was lifted, the whole house went up. After all, plain people constitute the base on which society rests. To save, instruct, and uplift them is to effect society by the most direct route. That is what Jesus Christ did. Now His disciples continue that which He began. They deal also with social nobodies. We have not even the name of the man who sat at the Temple gate called Beautiful. He is just a certain mana social nobody. His estate is made the more humble and even pitiful by the fact that he was lame from his mothers womb, hopelessly lame. They carried and laid him daily at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful. He could not walk; it is doubtful if he could take even a single step, and they brought him there to ask alms of them that entered into the Temple.
I want you, then, to think with me of The Man, The Minister, and The Message of this chapter.
THE MAN
He was beggared by sickness. Sickness is the first and most terrible effect of sin. It is not always its direct effect, to be sure; the saint can be sick, and the new-born, unstained and unscarred babe can be sick. But it still remains a fact that sickness is in the world through sin and that those who are touched by it are often beggared by it. It is the occasion of most of the worlds sorrow. To a certain degree, it represents the worlds open sore. It is in every land. It rests upon every people. Health excepted, it is the worlds most common sight. It is little wonder then that Jesus wrought with the sick. A careful consideration of the New Testament will show that He somewhat equally divided His time between teaching and healing; between giving whole minds and whole bodies to men.
The miracles of the Bible are an interesting study.
They reveal the circumstance that sickness is no respecter of person or station. Christ had to heal the noblemans son, to raise from death the daughter of Jairus; and then, on the other hand, He had the poor blind man, the disfellowshiped demoniac, the wretched paralytic, the incompetent impotent, the outcast lunaticwith all of these He dealt.
To this writer one of the joys of the millennium will be the health of man. When the mortal is changed into the immortal, and the corruptible into incorruptible, that will make earth a sort of first story to Heaven itself. Sin smites it with the deepest sorrows, but second to that stands sickness, and Jesus alone is the antidote of each and of both.
This man was brought by friends.
Whom they laid daily at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful (Act 3:2).
Then, though sickness had beggared him to the point where he must stretch out his hand and plead with people for a living, it had not as yet stripped him to the uttermost. It had not left him without friends, or the favor of relatives. Somebody carried him to the gate. Let us hope that that somebody was not animated by the selfish desire to secure from him a portion of the days beggings.
That men may be unselfish in service is clearly shown in connection with another of Christs miracles. One day when He preached, the crowds about Him were so great that four men bearing a cripple could not penetrate to His presence. Climbing to the top of the flat-roofed house, they tore it up and let him down on a sheet, that Jesus might look on His pale face and speak the healing word. They were unselfish men.
It is a great thing to be able to bring a man to Jesus whether his need is physical, mental, or spiritual. Mr. Moody tells of one of his meetings into which a great man came, carrying a cripple boy. Night after night he appeared with this boy on his back, bore him down to the front, set him with all tenderness and care possible on a seat, and he literally brought him to Jesus.
We are also told that Sir Bartle, an English nobleman, who was once the governor of Bombay, India, and of Cape Colony in Africa, created for himself a name as the helpful man. Once when he was on a long trip and was returning, his wife went to the station to meet him, and sent a servant to the train to aid him with his baggage; and when the servant, who was new in the employ, said, How shall I know Sir Bartle? the wife answered, You look for a tall gentleman helping somebody; that will be him, The answer was sufficient, for when the servant went back to the train, he saw a tall man helping an old lady to descend from the car, and when he addressed him, Sir Bartle, he answered, Yes sir!
The world is full of the sick and of the dependent. It seems sad that it should be so, but in that circumstance is the Christians opportunity. When we aid another, we bless ourselves, and there is scarce a turn of life that does not provide us an opportunity.
Look all around you, find some one in need, Help somebody today!Tho it be littlea neighborly deedHelp somebody today!
Many are waiting a kind, loving word,Help somebody today!Thou hast a message, O let it be heard,Help somebody today!
Many have burdens too heavy to bear,Help somebody today!Grief is the portion of some everywhereHelp somebody today!
Some are discouraged and weary in heart, Help somebody today!Some one the journey to Heaven should start, Help somebody today!
Refrain
Help somebody today,Somebody along lifes way;Let sorrow be ended,The friendless befriended,Oh, help somebody today!
He himself besought the disciples; he asked alms.
His appeal was for the temporary aid, and his prayer to a mortal fellow like himself. That is the common mistake of men, and while it is an excusable mistake, it is none the less serious on that account. The hungry man thinks that his great need is food. The poor man thinks that his great need is money, and each of them imagines that only human fellows can lend him the help so ardently desired. It is a natural but, none the less, a grievous blunder. The sick will appeal to a human physician who at best can give but temporary aid and that against the then active disease, and that is not enough. The rich can give temporary aid against pressing poverty, but that is not enough. However, men seldom see the larger necessity and still more seldom realize the greater source of assistance.
You will remember that Isaiah records the sickness of Hezekiah (chap, 38), and you will also remember that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore, and it came to pass that the Lord said unto Isaiah, Go, and say to Hezekiah * * I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Take a lump of figs?, and they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. That was the most human of all procedures. Even after we have appealed to the Divine physician and have His promise, we cannot trust it, but must resort to some temporary relief measures.
Peter did his utmost to show this poor man the better way. He said,
Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength (Act 3:6-7).
The man who is pointed to Christ will be able to provide his own food; the man who puts his trust in Jesus will need no other medicine; the man who is healed of Him will leap, stand, walk, and he will go into the Temple of God to praise Him, and the people shall know that he has been touched by the finger Divine, that his paralysis is past, his lameness is gone, and marvel at the mighty power of the mighty God to meet every need and by a single act make one whole, healthy, and happy.
But in the twelfth verse we deal with
THE MINISTER
even as we began with him. Our opening words were, Now Peter; the continued sentence is, When Peter saw it, he answered unto the people. Let us study for a little while then the method and ministry of his speech.
First, he secured the attention of the impotent, Look on us! That is a preachers first job.
Malcolm James McLeod in his Letters to Edward gives a fine illustration of what I mean. In his letter dated Thursday, September 7th, 1912, he wrote: Well, I have had quite an interesting visit over at the Hill Crest. I met my friends again and spent a delightful day there. There are six in the partyMiss Johnson and her mother, Mr. Graham, and a Miss MacDonald with her father and mother. As I entered, Miss Johnson was in the music room at the piano. She was rendering Mendelssohns Gondellied. * * She is a beautiful player. When she had finished, she stood up between the stool and the instrument, and gathering the sheets together and without looking around, called, Ruth. Ruth, it seemed, was in an alcove not far away, reading. Then arm in arm they walked out on the porch. Later he repeats the following conversation: Miss Johnson, glancing across the table at Graham, said, What is a theological seminary for, I would like to know, if not to turn out preachers? She continued, I dont believe a theological seminary is for manufacturing scholars. We have scholars enough. The church is sinking with the weight of her scholarship. Scholarship alone will never bring the world to Christ. What we want is men who can preach, and when a man can preach he has no right, it seems to me, taking a college chair. The church should not permit it. Then she went on and referred to the multitude of preachers who were now professors, and continued, I think they are betraying their calling. Now, for instance, take the man we had a week ago. He preached on the Atonement, and as far as any heart appeal is concerned he might just as well have been reciting the dimensions of Solomons Temple. Now preaching, as I understand it, is talking to peoples hearts, and the Atonement is certainly a most tender subject; yet the man never once gripped us at close range. I would not call it preaching at all; it was just lecturing.
Doctor, she went on, turning to me, I think the great thing preachers ought to aim at today is to be interesting; first of all to be spiritual and then to be interesting. The little codger, who spent the day fishing and did not even get a bite, gave a first-rate explanation of his hard luck when he said, We didnt seem to catch their attention. And preachers today are not winning the worlds attention. Why, in most city churches, the choir is gradually squeezing out the preacher, will only allow him twenty or twenty-five minutes now, and if the craze continues, by and by the sermon will be pushed out the back door altogether. Then, I presume, the good old command will be changed so as to read, Go and sing the Gospel to every creature. Doctor, dullness in the pulpit is an unpardonable sin, and yet, shall I confess it, nine sermons out of every ten to me are dull.
I do not blame Miss Johnson one bit. I think that she has spoken exactly the truth. They are dull, and the minister who fails to get the attention and to hold the attention is a poor apostle of Jesus Christ.
Peter did not fail there. He secured attention. Joseph Parker says, This was probably the first time this man had ever looked with all his soul. It is a prophets privilege to secure such attention.
Then he pointed him to the true source of power.
Such as I have give I thee: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (Act 3:6).
Matchless Name! The Name that is above every name; the Name that represents strength and powerall power in Heaven and on earth was given unto Him; the Name that represents compassionHe never looked upon the needy without being moved with pity; the Name that represents blessing whatsoever ye shall ask in My Name, ye shall receive!
There are preachers who point to the church; that is to fall short of any Gospel. There are people who point to individuals in the church, and say, They will help you. That also is a sad abridgement. The Gospel points to Christ and to Christ only. There is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Act 4:12).
Then he lent him inspiring assistance.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up (Act 3:7).
That is why we have a right hand. There may be other uses, but this is its principal use. It may lift other things, but it was made to lift men. The human touch often effects a Divine contact. We act as the trolley pole between the source of all strength and the wheels of action.
A gentleman asked a Christian man who had been saved out of a criminal life, how it happened. He answered, It came from a talk with the Earl of Shaftesbury.
What did the Earl say?
It was not so much anything he said, but he took my hand in his and said, Jack, you will be a man yet. It wasnt his word that saved me; it was the touch of his hand that electrified my soul, because I believed in his love.
It is reported that a man watched one of his fellows molding clay, and asked him, Why do you do this by hand? Why not by machinery? to which the man answered, Up to this hour there is no tool discovered that can shape the clay as we desire it. We have tried a number of them and found that it requires the touch of the human hand. So, also, in the clay that is being Divinely molded into vessels fit for the Masters use.
Peter, in ministering to this man, delivered what we denominate
THE MESSAGE
and we now call attention to the definite features of the same. This is the Apostles second sermon. His first great appeal is recorded in the second chapter, and he speaks to the multitude. Here he deals with the individual and in both instances he appeals to the same Book. In the second chapter, the sermon was born of the outpouring of the Spirit; in this third chapter, it is born by the appeal of a poor and needy man. In both chapters, the message delivered was taken from the Book.
It sought to turn Israel to the Lord.
Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses (Act 3:12-15).
It reminded them of their own prophetic Scriptures and also of their faithlessness. They had forgotten their own Prophets; they had themselves helped in the fulfilling of the prophecy that looked to certain judgment, and they had despised even that which referred to the coming of their own Messiah, and with wicked hands, had crucified and slain the Lord. And killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses (Act 3:15). The words of David had been either overlooked altogether or misinterpreted, but now in the history that Christ was making through His crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension, they were coming to full meaning.
The twentieth century modernism is treating Jesus after an identical manner. It also is trying to make it out that He was not God manifest in the flesh, but merely a brilliant mind, a great heart, and a social reformer. Such is the fresh crucifixion of Christ, the Lord!
Peter was a fundamentalist indeed. He believed all that the Book had said about Him; he saw its direct application; he knew that Christ was the scientific demonstration of prophetic truth, and he pled with his own people to turn from their infidelity to faith, from reason to revelation, and from the doctrine of self-determination to the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It pointed to Christ as the Prince of Life.
And His Name, through faith in His Name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all His Prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled (Act 3:16-18).
The present trend of learning is in the direction of atheism, and yet it seeks an explanation of all things in energy. The scholar of the day will tell you that energy accounts for the universe. It created all things and is active still. But what is energy? Why seek new names for God, particularly when they are far less meaningful than His old Name? Of Christ, John wrote, In the beginning was the Word * * and the Word was God * * All things were made by Him * *. In Him was life (Joh 1:1; Joh 1:3-4).
George Stuart, the great Methodist pastor and evangelist, said that he was holding a meeting at Huntsville, Alabama, and they took him down to see their great spring, the most famous thing near the town. He said, I watched the clear water gushing from this marvelous fountain, and heard them say, This spring supplies the whole town with pure, fresh water. I asked, Where is the engine that pumps this water into the homes? They said, We have no engine. Do you see that wheel yonder run by the water of this spring? It pumps the water into the homes. I answered, Do you mean to tell me that this spring has not only water enough to supply every home in that town, but power enough to force the water into the whole town? My informant answered, That is exactly the case, and then I thought of the great river of life.
Christ is that Fountain, and that is the fact that Peter was trying to impress upon Gods ancient people.
But Peter had to make another point.
He declared the relation of repentance to restoration.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began.
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things 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.
Yea, and all the Prophets from Samuel, and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities (Act 3:19-26).
Since that day that relation has never changed. The man who would have remission of sins must repent; the man who would receive the promise of the Spirit must repent; the man who would be saved from himself and this untoward generation must repent; the man who would be fitted for baptism must repent; the man who would be added to the fellowship of the Church must repent; the man who would come to the understanding of the Apostles doctrine, who would be able to partake of the communion bread and unite with his brethren in prayer, must have preceded it all by repentance; and the man who would see signs and wonders must first have seen himself as he is in Gods sight, loathe his sin, and turn from the same. That is the man whose contributions will be found in the common treasury; that is the man whose service will be continuous; that is the man who, with gladness and singleness of heart, will praise God and find favor with the people; that is the man and only man through whom the Lord can do effective personal work and add to the Church daily such as are being saved.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act. 3:1. Peter and John.The old companionship which had existed between these two disciples before the crucifixion (Joh. 1:20; Mat. 17:1), and was resumed after the resurrection (Joh. 20:2), is here continued. A peculiar affinity of nature as well as of grace appears to have bound these together. Went up.Rather, were (in the act of) going upup because the Temple stood on Mount Moriah. Together.Lit., into the same place, as in Act. 1:15, hence together or in company. The ninth hour.I.e., about 3 p.m., at which time the evening sacrifice was offered. For the hours of prayer see Act. 2:15; Act. 10:9; Act. 10:30.
Act. 3:2. Was carried.Was being carried along just when the apostles arrived. Compare Luk. 5:18-19. They laid.Or, it was their custom to lay taking at the hours of prayer and carrying him back between times (Alford). The gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.Either,
1. The gate Shushan of the Talmud on the east side of the outer wall which led into the court of the Gentiles (Bengel, Alford, Zckler); or
2. The Corinthian gate, which opened from the court of the Gentiles into that of the women (Lightfoot, Delitzsch, Olshausen, Schrer, etc.; or
3. The Nicanor gate (Ewald, Holtzmann, Lechler, and Gerok), between the womens court and that of the men. Other gates have been selected, as,
4. That from the Tyrophan bridge in the south-west to the beautiful southern cloister built by Herod (Conder); and
5. The gate of the Cotton Merchants, in the west wall of the Haram (Wilson). The choice lies between the first and second, the third being too far within the sacred enclosure, and the fourth and fifth too distant from Solomons porch. The first lay in close proximity to this colonnade, and may have been styled , Beautiful, because, in commemoration of Cyrus the Liberator, a picture of Shushan, the City of Lilies, (whence its name), the royal residence of the Persian kings, was painted or carved upon its panels, or because of the lily-shaped capitals with which it was crowned. Whether this gate should be identified with the golden door in the east Haram wall is doubtful. Yet ground exists for thinking the Golden Door has supplanted the gate Shushan of the Mischna. The second derives countenance from this, that if it, the Corinthian gate, was the door described by Josephus (Wars, V. Act. 3:3; VI. Act. 3:3)which is not certainthe epithet, , beautiful, must in its case have been exceedingly appropriate (see Homily). To ask alms.The approaches of the Temple, like those of modern mosques, were commonly thronged with the blind, lame, and other mendicants. Compare Joh. 9:8 (Plumptre).
Act. 3:4. Fastening his eyes.Or, having gazed intently (compare Act. 1:10; Act. 13:9), so as to read the mans character and (perhaps) discern that he had faith to be healed.
Act. 3:5. Gave heed unto them.The apostles. Rather, fixed his mind ( being implied) upon them (compare Luk. 14:7), expecting to receive something, , somewhat from them.
Act. 3:6. In the name of Jesus Christ.I.e., speaking and acting with His authority. Christ always wrought miracles in His own name and with His own authority (Luk. 5:24). Rise up and are omitted in the best MSS., as an imitation of Luk. 5:23-24. Post-apostolic writers report marvellous deeds as having been wrought in the name of Jesus (Origen, c. Celsum, I.; Justin, Dial. c Tryp., 85; Lact., Inst., iv. 6).
Act. 3:7. Feet and ankle bones.These words, like came from his mothers womb (Act. 3:2), show traces of Lukes professional knowledge. Proprie locutus est medicus, Lucas (Bengel).
Act. 3:8. And he leaping up, stood.A proof of the reality of the miracle, though, of course, rationalistic interpreters see in this only a proof of the unhistorical character of the whole narrative.
Act. 3:9. All the people saw him.Another evidence that the healing was no deception.
Act. 3:10. Wonder., belongs more to the domain of the feelings. Amazement., more to that of the intellect.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.Act. 3:1-10
The Beautiful Gate of the Temple; or, the Healing of a Lame Man
I. The scene of the miracle.
1. The temple. Herods, which, when Christ entered on His public ministry, had been building for six-and-forty years (Joh. 2:20). It stood upon the threshing floor of Araunah, on the summit of Mount Moriah, the site formerly occupied by the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel, and presently covered by the noble sanctuary of the Mahommedans. In Herods time the area was surrounded by a wall which Josephus (Ant., XV. xi. 3) thought the most prodigious work that had ever been heard of by man, while the sacred edifice, in his estimation, wanted nothing that was likely to surprise mens minds or eyes. Built of immense blocks of beautiful white limestone, from the royal quarries under Bezetha, a hill in the north of Jerusalem, and gleaming with gold and marble, viewed from a distance it must have been a gorgeous spectacle (compare Psa. 48:2).
2. The beautiful gate. Either
(1) the gate Shushan, whose site is now occupied by the golden door in the eastern wall of the great quadrangle on Mount Moriah, and which led from the outer world into the court of the Gentiles; or
(2) the Corinthian gate, which opened from the court of the Gentiles into the court of the women, The preference should perhaps be given to the former in consequence of its proximity to the porch called Solomons. (See Critical Remarks.)
II. The time of the miracle.Probably a few weeks, or, it might be months after Pentecost. At the ninth hour, or 3 oclock in the afternoon, at which hour three things were taking place in connection with the temple.
1. The Jerusalem populace were flocking towards it. The Jews were a religious people, fond of their temple, and given to devotion, and this was the hour of evening sacrifice, the favourite season for devotion in Jerusalem, as then the business of the day was over, and the time for the evening meal had now arrived.
2. Peter and John were bending their steps towards it. The disciples of Christ had not yet broken with the outward forms of Jewish worship (Act. 2:46), and Peter and John, who possibly since their early days had been companions (Mat. 4:18; Mat. 4:21; Luk. 5:10), and who certainly since they had cast in their lot with Christ (Joh. 1:40-41) had frequently acted in concert (Luk. 12:8; Joh. 18:16; Joh. 20:6; Joh. 21:7), were, in accordance with wont, as pious Jews repairing to the house of prayer. An example worthy of imitation by all, and much needed in days when men are so engrossed with business that only with difficulty can they find leisure for devotion.
3. A cripple was being borne along to be laid at its gate. Like the gates of heathen mosques, that of the temple was a frequent resort for mendicants. This particular mendicant had probably been deposited at his usual station when the two apostles arrived upon the scene. Worth observing how all the above-mentioned three groups of persons, which were necessary for the miracle, converged towards the temple at this momentthe multitude to witness it, the apostles to work it, and the lame man to be the subject of it. Nothing wonderful when it is remembered who the Prime Mover was.
III. The subject of the miracle.The malady from which the patient suffered was
1. Extremely severe. Lame in both feet, he required to be carried. Difficult to say which form of affliction is easiest to be borneblindness, deafness, or want of power to walk or stand. All fitted to excite pity for such as suffer from them.
2. Of long standing. Forty years. Indeed his lameness was congenital. He had never known the luxury of leaping, walking, or even standing. Compare the cripples at the pool of Bethesda (Joh. 5:5), and at Lystra (Act. 14:8), and the man blind from birth (Joh. 9:1).
3. Greatly aggravated. Poor, he had no means of supporting himself, except by soliciting alms. A man who could not stand would not quickly learn a trade. Clearly a sad case, deserving commiseration, and a fit subject for miraculous assistance. A case also impressively symbolising the natural estate of man.
IV. The performance of the miracle.
1. A voice of invitation. Look on us. Intended to enlist the mans attention, and spoken by Peter in Johns name as well as his own. The mans response indicated that he expected to receive something from them; as yet his faith rose not to the height of anticipating a cure. Even Christians little dream of the great things God is preparing for them (1Co. 2:9).
2. A note of exposition. Silver and gold have I none. Designed to repress the carnal and material hopes of the beggar, to explain that Christianity was not merely a philanthropic mission to relieve mans bodily wants, and to kindle anticipations of something higher.
3. A word of command. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk. On the face of it, an order impossible to be obeyed; yet an order issued in the name of One who had all power in heaven and on earth, and was both able and willing to give what He commanded.
4. An act of assistance. As if to proffer the divine aid, without which the injunction could not be carried through, Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up (compare Mar. 9:27). Suggesting two thoughtsthat God never enjoins orders He is not willing to extend help to perform, and that in seeking to succour others more is demanded than simply to say do this; there is needed also sympathy and assistance.
V. The proof of the miracle.
1. The behaviour of the man. In the consciousness of new power he leaped up, stood, began to walk, entered with the apostles into the temple, and gave thanks to God, all of which actions were inconsistent with the idea that the man had not been healed but only deceived, perhaps through a species of hypnotism energised for a season but not permanently restored to health. So, when a soul has been cured, the spiritual health it has received manifests itself in an analogous way. It leaps up out of its old sinful condition; it stands, realising its new-found power, it walks in the way of Gods commandments; it exults or dances inwardly for joy; it praises God for His grace and mercy.
2. The testimony of the people. They saw Him walking, and heard him praising God. They knew he was not what he had once been, a cripple and a beggar. They could not account by natural means for what had happened. So is it a strong argument that one has been spiritually healed when those who knew one formerly can perceive and are obliged to confess the change.
3. The admission of the Sanhedrim. When the case was brought before the highest tribunal of the day it could not be gainsaid (see Act. 4:14). So is it the crowning evidence of ones conversion when his enemies are constrained to acknowledge its reality.
Learn.
1. That Christs people should love to pray in Christs house.
2. That intending worshippers may be lawfully detained from Church by works of necessity and mercy.
3. That the cries of the poor should not fall unheeded on the ears of Christs people.
4. That the best help Christs people can give is to point men to Jesus Christ.
5. That the clearest evidence of conversion is a reformed life.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act. 3:1. Peter and John.
I. In early days partners in trade (Mat. 4:18; Mat. 4:21; Luk. 5:10).
II. In the time of the Baptist seekers after God (Joh. 1:37; Joh. 1:42).
III. After their conversion colleagues in the apostleship (Mat. 10:2; Act. 1:13).
IV. During the days of the Son of man fellow intimates of Christ (Luk. 8:51; Luk. 9:28; Mat. 26:37).
V. In the passion week companions in action (Luk. 22:8; Joh. 18:16).
VI. After the resurrection, comrades in witness bearing (Act. 8:14).
The Hour of Prayer.
I. Divinely appointed.
II. Devoutly hallowed.
III. Sweetly refreshing.
IV. Always profitable.
V. Frequently forgotten.
Act. 3:2. Alms-asking and Alms-giving.
I. Alms-asking.
1. Should never be practised unless absolutely necessary.
2. Should always be practised with respectful courtesy.
II. Alms-giving.
1. Should always be performed with discretion and kindness (Rom. 12:8).
2. Should never be performed with ostentation or vanity (Mat. 6:3-4).
The Beautiful Gate of the Temple.That gate is entitled to be so called, which
I. Admits sincere worshippers.
II. Echoes with the sound of the gospel.
III. Witnesses deeds of love and mercy.
Act. 3:6. The Churchs Poverty and the Churchs Wealth.
I. Destitute of silver and gold.No great calamity since:
1. Material wealth is not indispensable to her progress.
2. Material wealth might corrupt her sincerity.
3. Whatever material wealth she needs can be obtained from her exalted Head, to whom the gold and silver belong.
II. Abounding in the treasures of salvation.Which are:
1. Laid up in Christ her living Lord (Joh. 1:16; Col. 1:19; Col. 2:19).
2. For distribution through her hands (Mat. 5:16; Php. 2:16).
3. Without money and without price (Mat. 10:8).
Peters Pence; or, the Wealth of the Apostles.A study for persons in the Christian ministry.
I. Not material.Silver and gold have I none.
1. It had not been their practice to levy contributions from the faithful. Although the faithful may have ministered, and doubtless did minister, to their support (Luk. 10:7). N.B.It cannot be argued from this practice of the Twelve or of Paul (Act. 20:34; 2Co. 11:7) that a paid ministry is unscriptural (1Co. 9:14).
2. They had not applied their talents to the acquisition of money (Mat. 6:19), but had consecrated their lives to the work of preaching the gospel, having left allPeter and John with Andrew and James, their boats and nets (Mat. 4:18-22), Matthew his customs booth (Mat. 9:9), and the others their respective occupations, to follow Christ (Mar. 10:28; Mat. 19:27). The work of the ministry is too important, and, where faithfully executed, too laborious to admit of the sacred calling being combined with secular avocations.
3. Whatever goods they may have had they had doubtless cast into the common fund (Act. 2:44).This fact alone would account for Peters being without pence on his way to the temple. Here, again, it cannot be inferred that a Christian minister should devote all his goods to feed the poor (1Co. 13:3), though undoubtedly he ought to practise charity (Gal. 6:10).
II. But spiritual.Such as I have. Peter and John, with their colleagues, were possessed of unseen and imperishable treasure.
1. Of personal grace.The beauty of holiness by which their characters were adorned (Act. 4:33; compare Psa. 90:17). Such wealth immeasurably superior to material riches.
2. Of spiritual power. Which enabled them (not at discretion, but when directed by the Holy Spirit) to work miracles, a power which has ceased in the Church, though the power of working (instrumentally) spiritual miracles (such as conversion) remains.
3. Of posthumous influence. The apostles still sit upon twelve thrones in the Christian Church (Mat. 19:28), their writings and example constituting a standard for the regulation of duty and the determination of controversies. Similar influence, though in a lesser degree, is exerted by all true disciples.
4. Of heavenly glory. Of such treasure in the heavens as awaits all who on earth are rich in faith and abound in good works (Mat. 6:20).
Changed Times, etc.Cornelius A. Lapide relates that on one occasion Thomas Aquinas paid a visit to Innocent II., arriving at a moment when that Pontiff was engaged in counting a large sum of money, See, Thomas, said the Pope, the Church can no longer say, Silver and gold have I none, to which Aquinas answered, True, Holy Father, but neither can she now say, Arise and walk.
Apostolical Generosity.
I. A believing man is a man of large possessions.Silver and gold he may have none; but not the less on that account are his possessions great. There is no end, no measure of his possessions, for they are summed up in the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. He is rich beyond measure in all things whereby he can benefit his fellows.
II. A believing man is a man of large liberalities.He cannot keep anything he has got to himself. His joy is in pouring out, not in hoarding up. But, indeed, the heavenly gifts which constitute his possessions cannot be hoarded. They must be used, or they will vanish away.
III. A believing man is a man of large sympathies.He pities the world in the midst of whose miseries and sins he lives, and would fain contribute to its relief.
IV. A believing man is a man of large powers.He has power from God, and power with God. He is strong in weakness, and resistless in dependence.
V. A believing man has large opportunities.He both has and he makes opportunities every hour.
VI. A believing man has large returns for his gifts.Give and it shall be given; good measure, pressed down, and running over. Some of this now, most hereafter.H. Bonar, D.D.
Act. 3:1-6. The First Apostolic Miracle.Typical of the Churchs future work.
I. It was a beggar that was healed, and the beggar typified humanity at large.
II. The beggar received blessing when the Church roused itself to the discharge of its great mission.
III. The beggars conversion was effected through his healing. Spiritual work went hand in hand with healing power.G. T. Stokes, D.D.
A Miracle of Healing.Look at this miracle in the light of what has already taken place. There is great enthusiasm in the Church. The divine life is, so to speak, at its highest point. The Church, though on earth, has been brought very nearly to the gate of heaven. We are now invited to go beyond the Church line, and at our very first step we find a man who appeals to our sympathy in his pain and helplessness. See how world lies within world, and how misleading are all the inferences drawn from a limited set of facts:
1. The man who has access to every means of mental and spiritual culture may think all the world as highly privileged as himself.
2. The healthy and prosperous family may forget that other households are afflicted and depressed. Look beyond your own sphere. You have not far to look; there is but a step between thee and the world which is either higher or lower than thine own.
I. The social side.
1. We may be able to carry the cripple when we are unable to heal him. Do what you can. Human helplessness is a continual appeal to human power. There are secondary services in life. We cannot always do the great deed.
2. The commonest minds, as well as the highest, have always associated the idea of charity with the idea of religion. This is right. This is a high compliment to any form of religion. The theology that has no philanthropy is its own vain god.
3. Look at the compensations of the poorest life. The man was carried daily by friendly hands. The man had the temple as his daily hope. The sun shines even on the poorest lot.
II. The apostolic side.
1. The apostles never attempted to do without public worship. Such worship has distinct advantages
(1) Provocation of thought;
(2) Development of sympathy.
2. The apostles never neglected human want in their anxiety to render divine worship. Some people are one-sidedly religious.
3. The apostles never attended even to physical necessities in their own name. The incident as thus regarded suggests two questions:
(1) Are we too pious to be philanthropic?
(2) Has the name of Jesus lost its power?J. Parker, D.D.
Act. 3:1-7. Christian Work.
I. The need for it. To heal the bodies and save the souls of men.
II. The power for it. That which comes from Jesus Christ, through His Spirit.
III. The method for it. Faith in Christ, sympathy for the sufferers, and personal service.
IV. The encouragement for it. The certain hope of success.
Act. 3:6-8. A State of Sin, a State of Impotence.
I. The case of this sufferer as illustrating the state of fallen man.
1. His infirmity was natural. Congenital. Birth-sin.
2. It caused total inability to walk. Moral inability is as total as natural inability.
3. It was long continued. Forty years and more.
4. It was accompanied with poverty. The sinner a beggar.
II. The nature of his cure as illustrating the plan of salvation.
1. It was miraculous.
2. It was unsolicited.
3. It was instantaneous.
4. It was real and permanent.
III. The effects of the cure as illustrating the effects of faith in Christ.
1. Joy.
2. Devotion.
3. Gratitude to the instruments of the cure.G. Brooks.
Act. 3:10. The Miracle at the Temple Gate.
I. As a manifestation of power..
1. Not the power of nature. The healing of the lame man could not be explained by what is called the vis medicatrix natur. The long-standing character of the mans trouble was against this (Act. 4:22).
2. Not the power of man. Either of superior will (animal magnetism) or of moral goodness, or even of exalted faith.
3. But the power of God, or of Jesus Christ, the risen and glorified servant and Son of God.
II. As a phenomenon of wonder.. Three things removed this act of healing outside the category of ordinary occurrences.
1. The instantaneousness of the cure, which was effected, not by any slow and laborious process of pharmacy, but suddenly, in a moment, and at a word.
2. The completeness of the cure, which was patent to all, and could not be denied (Act. 4:16), nay, which was permanent, and showed no symptom of tending to a relapse.
3. The means of the cure, which was faith in the name of Jesus Christ, exercised, if not by the man, at least by the apostlesan instrumentality that seemed altogether inadequate to the effect produced.
III. As the exhibition of a sign..
1. Of the reality of Christs resurrection and ascension, since it was manifestly impossible that any such work of power could be performed by a dead Christ.
2. Of the certain descent of the Holy Spirit, since it is clear that something must have happened to make two men like Peter and John, to all appearance, depositaries of a supernatural influence.
3. Of the wonders that might be expected from, faith in the name of Jesus, wonders not alone of a physical kind, but of a moral and spiritual sort, the healing of the cripple being typical of the salvation of a soul.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
4.
AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL Act. 3:1-10.
Act. 3:1
Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
Act. 3:2
And a certain man that was lame from his mothers womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Act. 3:3
who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms.
Act. 3:4
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, Look on us.
Act. 3:5
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.
Act. 3:6
But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
Act. 3:7
And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength.
Act. 3:8
And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Act. 3:9
And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
Act. 3:10
and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
Act. 3:1 The great day of Pentecost had passed but its power yet remained. This is as it should be in all true religious experience. We see now the power of Pentecost in action in the everyday life of Gods servants. Being Jews, Peter and John observed the three Jewish hours of prayer; nine in the morning, at noon, and at three in the afternoon.
Act. 3:2 The temple in Jerusalem was the place of prayer and public meeting for all Jews in the city. It happened on a certain day at the afternoon hour of prayer that two of the apostles were ascending the steps into the temple. These steps led them through a particular gate of the temple called the Gate Beautiful, doubtless because of its beauty of construction. To this particular gate a beggar was carried daily and there was laid that he might ask a pittance of those who entered the temple. Luke describes the mans physical condition as being lame from his mothers womb.
92.
Why could we say that the power of Pentecost was manifested at the gate beautiful?
93.
Name the three hours of prayer, both in the Jewish time and our time.
Act. 3:3 Why the eyes of this poor lame man fell upon Peter and John, and why he should ask alms of them among all the rest of the multitude that was going into the temple, only He who marks the fall of the sparrow can know. Hearing the pitiable mumbled words of the prostrate beggar the hearts of Peter and John were stirred by the same Spirit that filled their lives on the great day of the first fruits; they knew that here was a man among men, whom God was going to now use to glorify His Servant Jesus.
Ah, friends, let us see that we are like this poor stricken soul just outside the Beautiful Gate, we have utterly nothing to recommend us as a means of Gods glory, but through us He does make His glory known. How wonderful! Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. How completely left out of salvation is the boasting of men.
Act. 3:4-6 The man looked up from his reclining position into the piercing yet compassionate eyes of these two strangers. The look of the man was one of hopeful expectancy, but not different from the gaze he had turned on many a benevolent Jew. Disappointment and curiosity fleeted across the mind of this unfortunate Jew as the words: Silver and gold have I none, fell from the lips of Peter. No money? Why then arrest my attention? Why bother? I am only here for one purpose. I want nothing else. Then, the words But what I have, that give I thee . . . What you have? I do not see you reach under the folds of your robe. I see nothing in your outstretched hand. All of these thoughts could have flashed over the mind of this man.
Perhaps not even expressed in the mind but only felt in the heart were these thoughts. And then it happened. The unforgettable words of power and life:
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.
The firm grasp of Peters hand upon his, the strength, the joy that literally flooded his soul, the experience of ecstasy in leaping up, standing, walking!
Act. 3:7-10 Luke with his customary medical exactness describes the action of the healing as being immediate in his feet and his ankle bones. What shouts of joy and praise rang through the halls of the temple. Was this any way for a man to act in such a place as a temple walking and leaping and praising God. What amazement passed over the faces of the reverent multitude on their ways into the temple. Was this any way for a man to act in such a place and at such a time? But then upon looking more closely they recognized something familiar about this exuberant one. Why, it is none other than the beggar whom we have seen and passed every day at the Gate Beautiful. Can this be that one who but a few moments before was appealing to us for alms? It is indeed. Then were they in truth filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
94.
What two characteristics of the beggars physical condition are given to us by Dr. Luke?
95.
Show the comparison of the beggar with you and me as sinners.
96.
Describe the healing of the lame man from the first words of Peter to the entering into the temple.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
III.
(1) Now Peter and John went up.Better, were going up. The union of the two brings the narratives of the Gospels into an interesting connection with the Acts. They were probably about the same age (the idea that Peter was some years older than John rests mainly on the pictures which artists have drawn from their imagination, and has no evidence in Scripture), and had been friends from their youth upward. They had been partners as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (Luk. 5:10). They had been sharers in looking for the consolation of Israel, and had together received the baptism of John (Joh. 1:41). John and Andrew had striven which should be the first to tell Peter that they had found the Christ (Joh. 1:41). The two had been sent together to prepare for the Passover (Luk. 22:8). John takes Peter into the palace of the high priest (Joh. 18:16), and though he must have witnessed his denials is not estranged from him. It is to John that Peter turns for comfort after his fall, and with him he comes to the sepulchre on the morning of the Resurrection (Joh. 20:6). The eager affection which, now more strongly than ever, bound the two together is seen in Peters question, Lord, and what shall this man do? (Joh. 21:21); and now they are again sharers in action and in heart, in teaching and in worship. Passing rivalries there may have been, disputes which was the greatest, prayers for places on the right hand and the left (Mat. 20:20; Mar. 10:35); but the idea maintained by Renan (Vie de Jsus, Introduction), that St. John wrote his Gospel to exalt himself at the expense of Peter, must take its place among the delirantium somnia, the morbid imaginations, of inventive interpretation. They appear in company again in the mission to Samaria (Act. 8:14), and in recognising the work that had been done by Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles (Gal. 2:9). When it was that they parted never to meet again, we have no record. No account is given as to the interval that had passed since the Day of Pentecost. Presumably the brief notice at the end of Acts 2 was meant to summarise a gradual progress, marked by no striking incidents, which may have gone on for several months. The absence of chronological data in the Acts, as a book written by one who in the Gospel appears to lay stress on such matters (Luk. 3:1; Luk. 6:2), is somewhat remarkable. The most natural explanation is that he found the informants who supplied him with his facts somewhat uncertain on these points, and that, as a truthful historian, he would not invent dates.
At the hour of prayer, being the ninth hoursc., 3 P.M., the hour of the evening sacrifice (Jos. Ant. xiv. 4, 3). The traditions of later Judaism had fixed the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours of each day as times for private prayer. Daniels practice of praying three times a day seems to imply a rule of the same kind, and Psa. 55:17 (evening and morning and at noon will I pray) carries the practice up to the time of David. Seven times a day was, perhaps, the rule of those who aimed at a life of higher devotion (Psa. 119:164). Both practices passed into the usage of the Christian Church certainly as early as the second century, and probably therefore in the first. The three hours were observed by many at Alexandria in the time of Clement (Strom, vii. p. 722). The seven became the canonical hours of Western Christendom, the term first appearing in the Rule of St. Benedict (ob. A.D. 542) and being used by Bede (A.D. 701).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 3
A NOTABLE DEED IS DONE ( Act 3:1-10 ) 3:1-10 Peter and John used to go up to the Temple at the hour of prayer at three o’clock in the afternoon, and a man who had been lame from the day of his birth was in the habit of being carried there. Every day they used to put him at the gate of the Temple which is called the Beautiful Gate, so that he could beg for alms from the people who were going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the Temple he asked to be given alms. Peter fixed his eyes on him with John and said, “Look at us.” He paid attention to them because he was expecting to get something from them. Peter said to him, “Silver and gold I do not possess, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk!” And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up. Immediately his feet and ankle bones were strengthened, and he leaped up and stood and walked about; and he went into the Temple with them, walking about and leaping and praising God. Everyone saw him walking about and praising God; and they recognized him as the man who had sat at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple to receive alms. They were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.
The Jewish day began at 6 o’clock in the morning and ended at 6 o’clock in the evening. For the devout Jew there were three special hours of prayer — 9 a.m., 12 midday and 3 p.m. They agreed that prayer was efficacious wherever it was offered; but they felt that it was doubly precious when offered in the Temple courts. It is very interesting that the apostles kept up the customs in which they had been trained. It was the hour of prayer and Peter and John were going into the Temple to observe it. A new faith had come to them but they did not use that as an excuse for a licence which broke all law. They were aware that the new faith and the old discipline could walk hand in hand.
In the East it was the custom for beggars to sit at the entrance to a temple or a shrine. Such a place was considered the best of all stances because when people are on their way to worship God they are disposed to be generous to their fellow men. W. H. Davies, the tramp poet, tells how one of his vagrant friends told him that, whenever he came into a new town, he looked for a church spire with a cross on the top and began to beg in that area. Love of man and love of God must ever go hand in hand.
This incident brings us face to face with the question of miracles in the apostolic times. There are certain definite things to be said.
(i) Such miracles did happen. In Act 4:16 we read how the Sanhedrin knew that they must accept the miracle. The enemies of Christianity would have been the first to deny miracles if they could; but they never even try.
(ii) Why did they stop? Certain suggestions have been made. (a) There was a time when miracles were necessary. In that age they were needed as a guarantee of the truth and the power of the Christian message in its initial attack on the world. (b) At that time two special circumstances met. First, there were living apostolic men who had had an unrepeatable personal intimacy with Jesus Christ. Second, there was an atmosphere of expectancy when faith was in its floodtide. These two things combined to produce effects which were unique.
(iii) The real question is not, “Why have miracles stopped?” but, “Have they stopped?” It is the simple fact that any doctor or surgeon can now do things which in apostolic times would have been regarded as miracles. God has revealed new truth and new knowledge to men, and through that revelation they are still performing miracles. As a great doctor said, “I bandage the wounds; but God heals them.” For the Christian there are still miracles on every hand if he has eyes to see.
THE CRIME OF THE CROSS ( Act 3:11-16 ) 3:11-16 As he clung to Peter and John everyone came running to them in the colonnade which is called Solomon’s, in a state of complete astonishment. When Peter saw them he said to them, “Men of Israel, why are you surprised at this? Or why do you keep staring at us, as if we had made him walk by our own power or goodness? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, your fathers’ God, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and disowned before Pilate, when he had given judgment for his release. You disowned the holy and the just one and you asked for a man who was a murderer to be given to you as a favour. You killed the pioneer of life but God raised him from the dead; and we are his witnesses. And his name, through faith in his name, has given strength to this man whom you see and know. It is the faith which is through him, which has thus given him back his health in presence of you all.”
Here sound three of the dominant notes of early Christian preaching.
(i) The early preachers always stressed the basic fact that the crucifixion was the greatest crime in human history. Whenever they speak of it there is a kind of shocked horror in their voices. They tried to stab men’s minds with the realization of the sheer crime of the Cross. It is as if they said, “Look what sin can do.”
(ii) The early preachers always stressed the vindication of the resurrection. It Is simple fact that without the resurrection the Church would never have come into being. The resurrection was proof that he was indestructible and was Lord of life and of death. It was the final proof that behind him there was God and therefore a power which nothing could stop.
(iii) The early preachers always stressed the power of the Risen Lord. They never regarded themselves as the sources of power but only as channels of power. They were well aware of their limitations but were also well aware that there was no limitation to what the Risen Christ could do through them and with them. Therein lies the secret of the Christian life. So long as the Christian thinks only of what he can do and be, there can be nothing but failure and frustration and fear. But when he thinks of “not I, but Christ in me” there can be nothing but peace and power.
THE NOTES OF PREACHING ( Act 3:17-26 ) 3:17-26 “Now, brothers, I know that it was through ignorance that you did it, just as your rulers did. But God has thus fulfilled those things which he foretold by the mouths of all the prophets that his anointed one should suffer. Repent, then, and turn so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come to you from God, and so that he may send Jesus Christ who has already been preached to you. It is necessary that heaven should receive him until the times when all things shall be restored, times of which God spoke through the mouths of his holy prophets since the world began. Moses said, ‘The Lord, your God, will raise up from your brethren a prophet like me. You must listen to him in everything that he will say to you; and it will be. that everyone who will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who spoke from Samuel and those who succeeded him, also announced the tidings of these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers when he said, ‘In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.’ It is to you first that God, when he raised up his son, sent him to bless you by making each one of you turn away from your evil deeds.”
Almost all the notes of early Christian preaching are sounded in this short passage.
(i) It begins with a note of mercy and warning combined. It was in ignorance that the Jews perpetrated the terrible deed of the crucifixion; but that ignorance is no longer possible, and, therefore, there can be no excuse for their further rejection of Jesus Christ. This note of the terrifying responsibility of knowledge sounds all through the New Testament. “If you were blind. you would have no guilt; but now that you say ‘We see,’ your guilt remains” ( Joh 9:41). “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin” ( Joh 15:22). “Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” ( Jas 4:17). To have seen the full light of the revelation of God is the greatest of privileges, but it is also the most terrible of responsibilities.
(ii) The obligation this knowledge brings is the obligation to repent and to turn. The two words go closely together. Repent might simply mean to change one’s mind; and it is an easier thing to change one’s mind than to change one’s life. But this change of mind is to issue in a turning away from the old way and a faring forth upon a new.
(iii) This repentance will have certain consequences. It will affect the past–sins will be wiped out. This is a vivid word. Ancient writing was upon papyrus and the ink had no acid in it. It therefore did not bite into the papyrus like modern ink, but simply lay on top of it. To erase the writing a man simply wiped it away with a wet sponge; so God wipes out the sin of the forgiven man. It will affect the future; it will bring times of refreshing. Into life will come something which will be a strength in weakness and a rest in weariness.
(iv) Peter goes on to speak of the coming again of Christ. Whatever else that doctrine means, it means that history is going somewhere.
(v) Peter insists that all that has happened has been foretold. The Jews refused to assimilate the idea of a Chosen One of God who must suffer; but Peter insists that if they search their own scriptures they will find it all there.
(vi) Peter reminds them of their national privilege. In a very special sense the Jews were God’s chosen people.
(vii) Finally, he lays down the inescapable truth that that very special privilege brings very special duty. It is the privilege not of special honour but of special service.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
1. The temple miracle healing the lame-born , Act 3:1-11 .
Though the Pentecost was not transacted in the temple, yet twice did the Lord miraculously offer his church to this house of God before giving it to destruction. First, it was offered by his human angels, these two Apostles, by their miracle and preaching within its very walls. Second, by a visible heavenly angel directing them boldly to enter its doors, and there preach Jesus, Act 5:19-20. Both times they were rejected by the hierarchy of the nation, but triumphantly sustained by the people. Then there arose the martyr-prophet Stephen, who forewarned that the rejecters should be rejected, and their sanctuary destroyed; and they sealed with his blood the certainty of their own doom.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1. Peter and John The two pre-eminent apostolic leaders; the eldest and the youngest, probably, of the noble twelve. Together at the last supper they had consulted the Saviour as to who was his betrayer; and together at the last breakfast (Joh 21:18) they had received from Jesus the intimation of their respective futurities.
Into the temple The word temple, in its narrower sense, designated simply the holy house of God. This house was the residence of King Jehovah, (2Sa 7:6,) who dwelt by his presence in its Holy of Holies, and the courts were his enclosed grounds. In the holy front room of the house were his candlestick for light, his table and bread, and his perfumery the altar of incense. In front of the house was the grand altar on which the slain animals were roasted, which typified the food of Jehovah. But no image of him was allowed. Thus did Israel teach, in the most conspicuous and costly manner, the personal, yet incorporeal, nature of the true God.
This house was “exceeding magnifical,” “covered all over,” says Josephus, “with plates of gold of great weight, and at the first rising of the sun reflected back a very fiery splendour, and made those who forced themselves to look upon it to turn their eyes away, just as they would have done at the sun’s own rays. But this temple appeared to strangers, when they were at a distance, like a mountain covered with snow; for, as to those parts which were not gilt, they were exceeding white. On its top it had spikes with sharp points, to prevent any pollution of it by birds sitting upon it.” (Note on Mat 21:12.)
THE TEMPLE.
In this picture you see in the outer court, which is the Court of the Gentiles, one person. In the Court of the Women are two persons; in the inner, or Men’s Court, are three. These two courts are called collectively the Court of the Israelites. Beyond this, where you see four persons standing, is the Court of the Priests. Near the four persons is the Grand Altar of daily sacrifice. This stands just in front of the portal of the temple house, which rises with a face corresponding to cut, page 42.
But the larger and more common sense of the word temple included all the enclosures on the sacred Mount Moriah, within which, a little northwest of the centre, the edifice stood. The largest enclosure encompassed the whole, and took in the outer court, or court of the Gentiles, beyond which none but a Jew might go on pain of death. The next inner wall closed in the court of the women, so called not because exclusively for females, but because no woman, unless for sacrifice, ever went farther. The third inner wall hemmed in the court of Israel, and the fourth, the court of priests, into which no layman (unless Levite) might enter. In this court of the priests was the sacred house with the great altar, on which, twice a day, morning and evening, a lamb was offered, accompanied by the prayers of the people. (Note on Joh 1:29.)
Hour of prayer The Christians still attended, like good Jews, the services of the temple where the sacrifice was still offered. Even St. Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, who was most efficient in separating Christianity from Judaism, did not object to this in itself, unless the sacrifice of the lamb should be still thought necessary for forgiveness of sin, and so Christ be excluded or slighted. He maintained that while sacrifices might be attended as memorials of a Saviour already slain, they were yet unnecessary, and had been superseded by the actual death of the true victim. James and John, therefore, were not contradicting the future Paul in going to the evening sacrifice of the temple.
The ninth hour There were in “the holy city” three periods of prayer: the morning, at the third hour, or nine o’clock; the noon, at the sixth hour, or twelve o’clock; the evening, at the ninth hour, or three o’clock. This not precisely; for the Jews began the day at sunrise, and, closing it at sunset, divided the day into twelve parts or expansible hours, of a length corresponding to the length of the day.
As Peter and John came in from the east side, as if from the Mount of Olives, mounting from the brook Kidron they would pass the outermost enclosure through the gate Shushan or Lily; a gate which received its name from the capital of Persia in honor of Cyrus its king, who restored the Jews from Babylon. A picture of that city was inscribed upon the gate. Passing through this gate, our apostles came into the court of the Gentiles. This was a long, spacious area, extending along the four sides, and containing about fifteen or twenty acres. The border of this court had three rows of pillars, lining the wall, covered with a roof. This covered colonnade was called the porch or portico of Solomon, and it was the place where religious conversationists resorted; where assemblies gathered, conferences were held, and discourses delivered. Here Christ frequented, and here it was the Christians of the Acts of the Apostles held their meetings “in the temple.” From here, too, Jesus drove the money changers. (Note on Joh 2:14.) Crossing the breadth of this court, they mounted a flight of steps and came to a level, at which was the grand gate of Corinthian brass, from its special splendour called the Beautiful, through which they were about to pass into the court of the women. And had they continued in a straight line they would have passed through successive gates, by ascending steps at each gate, through the court of Israel into the court of the priests, to the foot of the grand altar, which stood before the door of the house of God itself.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Healing of the Lame Man (3:1-11).
‘Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.’
Peter and John being together (compare Act 1:13) seems to suggest that the Apostles continued to go around in pairs as they had done while preaching during the ministry of Jesus (Mar 6:7; Luk 10:1), and as Paul would do in the future. This would also have provided another reason why they felt it necessary to make up the twelve. But while the Apostles were all on a par and were depicted as acting as a whole (Act 2:14; Act 2:37; Act 2:42-43; Act 4:35; Act 5:2; Act 5:12-13; Act 5:29; Act 6:2; Act 6:6; Act 8:14; Act 15:6), Peter tended to be the public spokesman (Act 2:14; Act 5:3; Act 5:29), and Peter and John appear to have been given special prominence (compare Act 8:14; Gal 2:9), although very much as representatives of the whole body of disciples. They had after all been a part of the favoured trio of Peter, James and John (Mar 5:37; Mar 9:2; Luk 8:51; Luk 9:28).
There were a number of recognised times of public prayer at the Temple. These included the morning prayers around the time of the morning sacrifice (compare the third hour (9:00 am) in Act 2:15) and the afternoon prayers around the time of the evening sacrifice (the ninth hour – 3:00 pm). These would include formal priestly prayer, and free prayer in the outer courts. Peter and John were going to join with the young church in their afternoon worship (compare Act 2:46; Luk 24:53).
‘Going up.’ The worshippers would ascend the Temple Mount. But it also contains the idea of respect and reverence. They have to ‘go up’ to God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Ministry of the Apostles (3:1-6:7).
The pouring out of the Holy Spirit having taken place, and the infant church having been shown to be established, Luke now goes on to deal with the way in which the infant church rapidly expanded, firstly through the ministry of the Apostles (Act 3:1 to Act 6:7), and then more widely through the ministry of some of their appointees (Act 6:8 to Act 9:31). God is revealed as at work in sovereign power, and His Apostles are having to keep up. But it is recognised that in the establishing of His people their authority is required at each stage as Jesus had assured them would be the case (Mat 16:19; Mat 18:18; Mat 19:28; Luk 22:30). This was necessary in order to maintain the unity of the church and the preservation of true doctrine.
The Days Immediately Following Pentecost – The Kingly Rule of God Is Revealed
The dramatic events of the Day of Pentecost are now followed by the equally dramatic events which result from that day. The Kingly Rule of God is revealed as present and flourishing:
1) The presence of the Kingly Rule of God is revealed in the healing of the lame man which testifies to what God wants to do for His people in the new age – ‘the lame will leap like a deer’ (Act 3:1-10).
2) On the basis of this Peter declares that Jesus is the Servant of the Lord spoken of by Isaiah, and is the Holy One, the Righteous One (Messianic designations) and the ‘Prince’ (Source and Leader in Triumph) of Life (Act 3:11-26).
3) Peter and John are arrested and questioned before a Tribunal (Act 4:1-7) – the nation is setting itself against the Lord’s Anointed (Act 4:26).
4) Peter declares that Jesus is the expected Messianic Salvation and Chief Cornerstone (Act 4:8-12).
5) Peter and John are given the required official warning concerning their ‘illegal’ activities. They are forbidden to preach in the Name of Jesus (Act 4:13-22).
6) Gathering in prayer the place where they are is shaken and they declare Jesus to be the Lord’s Anointed and are all filled with the Spirit to speak the word of God in boldness (Act 4:23-31).
7) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed in the daily life of the people of God (Act 4:32-35).
8) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed in the execution of those who appropriate for themslves what has been given in tribute to God (Act 4:36 to Act 5:11).
9) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed by signs and wonders (Act 5:12-16).
10) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed by the release of the captives (Act 5:17-23).
11) The Apostles are again brought before the Tribunal accused of teaching the ‘this Name’ (Act 5:24-28).
12) Peter declares that Jesus is both Archegos (the One Who by His resurrection is the Triumph Leader of life, the First-born from the dead, leading all who find life in His train) and Saviour (Act 5:29-32).
13) As a result of the advice of Gamaliel the Apostles are released, having been beaten for His Name’s Sake (Act 5:33-40).
14) The preaching of Jesus as the Messiah continues (Act 5:41-42).
Chapter 3 An Outstanding Miracle Results in A Great Evangelistic Opportunity.
We shall now consider these in more detail.
The account of the healing of the lame man was probably once circulated on its own, along with the preaching that went with it, as part of the witness to the early church of the effectiveness of Pentecost, and as a declaration of how the church (the people of God), made up of those who had been ‘lame’, had been delivered by its Saviour. It would thus early take on a standard form, preserving its accuracy. Here it is incorporated by Luke for a threefold purpose. Firstly in order to illustrate the wonders and signs spoken of earlier (Act 2:43), secondly in order to illustrate that those who will come to Christ are those who have recognised their spiritual lameness and need, and have looked to Him as the only One Who can heal them, and thirdly in order to evidence the fact that the new age had come by the fulfilment of Isa 35:6, ‘then shall the lame man leap like a deer’.
Let us consider these purposes in more detail:
1) In the previous chapter it has been stressed that the Apostles did ‘signs and wonders’ (Act 2:43). Now we are given a practical example in the healing of this notable cripple, one who had been so from birth and had regularly sat at the gate of the Temple. The healing of so well-known a cripple caused a great stir, and his ‘leaping’ could only remind them of the prophecy of the lame man who would leap like a hart (deer) because the Kingly Rule of God had come (Isa 35:6).
2) Both the Old Testament and the teaching of Jesus stress that those who will be saved of old Israel are like the lame. In Isa 33:23 we read, in the context of the coming of the Lord as Judge, Lawgiver and King, ‘The lame took the prey’ where the thought is that it is God’s weak and helpless but restored people, who will finally, in God’s day, triumph and enjoy the spoils of victory. In Isa 35:6 Israel are likened to a lame man who is restored and leaps like a deer, no longer lame because the Kingly Rule of God is here, a place where there can be no lameness. In Jer 31:8 ‘the blind and the lame’ will be among the people of God who return triumphantly from far off to enjoy God’s coming Kingly Rule. In Mat 11:5; Luk 7:22 the lame walking is to be a sign to John the Baptiser that the Kingly Rule of God is here. In Luk 14:13 the maimed and the lame were the ones who were to be called when someone gave a supper, and this was immediately followed by the parable of the man who made a great supper (representing ‘eating bread in the Kingly Rule of God’), only for his invitation to be rejected by all who were invited, so that the invitation instead went out to the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind (Luk 14:21). They were the ones who would come to his feast.
3) There is also a deliberate contrast here between the old and the new. Under the old dispensation the lame man has sat at the gate of the Temple, and all the Temple could offer him were the alms of those who went in and out. Year by year it was powerless to offer more. With all the glory of its silver and gold, and the Temple was splendid indeed, it could not offer restoration. That awaited the new age (Isa 35:6). But now in the coming of the representatives of the new age there is Power. He rises up, and he walks and leaps. The fact that he is now healed proclaims visually the fact that the new age has arrived and that the old Temple is superseded.
So in this new incident we have a further manifestation of the new power that has come to God’s chosen representatives through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Here the Holy Spirit through the Apostles makes clear that in the Name of Jesus salvation is offered to ‘the lame’, and that something better than the Temple is among them. The Kingly Rule of God is here.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Healing of the Man at the Gate Beautiful In Act 3:1-10 we have the account of Peter healing the lame man at the Gate Beautiful, which occasioned Peter’s sermon in Solomon’s portico. The theme of Act 1:6 to Act 5:42 is the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. This story is important in that the miracle serves as the spark that ignited the gathering of a multitude in the Temple to hear Peter’s sermon. This sermon resulted in the first persecution of the Church.
Act 3:4 “And Petersaid, Look on us” Comments For those who have lived in poor countries with many beggars, they have observed how such beggars are too ashamed to look into the eyes of those they beg from. This may be one reason why Peter told this man at the Gate Beautiful to look at him.
Act 3:4 “with John” – Comments Anyone who has ever ministered healing to someone knows the important of having people of faith standing with you. Many of us know the difficulty of ministering healing when there is doubt and opposition in the midst. Jesus often took Peter, James and John with Him when ministering to others. He not only was teaching them, but their faith was positive and in support of Jesus’ ministry. In Act 3:4 Peter is doing the talking, but John is standing beside him in faith. Together their faith was stronger than if they were alone.
Act 3:5 Comments Now this poor blind beggar did not know what was about to happen to him although his heart was open and receptive to whatever Peter had to offer. The reason the Scriptures record the man’s expectation is because without it he would not have instantly obeyed and followed Peter’s command to rise up and walk. Expectation is a measure of faith, however small it may be. This man received Peter’s message and responded in faith. Thus, he was healed.
Act 3:6 Comments (1) Although Peter and John did not personally possess finances, the Church had all things in common, even finances. With the wealth of faith in the early Church Peter met the man’s real need through the name of Jesus. James Brooks said that in the early years of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, it could not afford to purchase several copies of some famous ancient Greek manuscripts due to lack of funds. He regretted this. He said that it was in these days that the seminary could truly say, “silver and gold have I none.” Today the seminary has been blessed with millions of dollars of endowments. He added lastly, “But again, today we cannot say, ‘Rise up and walk’.” [126]
[126] James A. Brooks, “Class Notes,” New Testament Greek and Textual Criticism, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 21 January 1982.
Act 3:6 Comments (2) Kenneth Hagin uses the story of the healing of the man at the Gate Beautiful (Act 3:1-10) as an example of what Jesus Christ meant to teach us in Joh 14:13-14. [127] Hagin says that this passage teaches us to use the name of Jesus Christ when taking authority over the works of darkness rather than praying for Jesus Christ to do something for us. He translates this passage as “whatsoever ye shall ask [demand] in my name, that will I [Jesus] do” (Joh 14:13) [128] For example, when Peter and John entered the Temple in Act 3:1-10, the apostle did not pray for the lame man to be healed; rather, he demanded that the lame man stand up and walk by the authority of the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus will later teach us to ask the Father in Jesus’ name for our requests in Joh 16:23-24.
[127] Kenneth Hagin, Bible Prayer Study Course (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1991, 1999), 158-9.
[128] Kenneth Hagin, Bible Prayer Study Course (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1991, 1999), 159-60.
Joh 14:13-14, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
Joh 16:23-24, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
Act 3:7 Comments Faith is acted out in Peter’s life (heart), as he, with confidence, takes the lame man’s hand. Through Peter’s faith, God healed with His Almighty power.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Church’s Power (Justification and Indoctrination): The Witness of the Church in Jerusalem In Act 2:1 to Act 5:42 we have the witness of the church in Jerusalem of how the disciples testified of the Lord Jesus under the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament Church receives witness to their genuine faith in Christ on the day of Pentecost as they are filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit (Act 2:1-41). They progress by the indoctrination of the Scriptures (Act 2:42-47), and begin to minister in power that brings many others to salvation while their faith is tested by persecutions (Act 3:1 to Act 5:42). Under the conditions of men getting saved in the midst of signs and wonders and persecution, the genuine believers stand out as distinct among those who are false.
Outline – Here is a proposed outline:
A. Peter’s Sermon on the Day of Pentecost Act 2:1-47
B. Peter’s Sermon in the Temple & Persecution Act 3:1 to Act 4:31
C. Witness of Church Growth Act 4:32 to Act 5:42
A Promise, a Prayer, and the Power In the first two chapters of the book of Acts, we see that there was a promise (Act 1:8), followed by prayer (Act 1:14), then the power was released (Act 2:1-4). We must be people of prayer in order to receive God’s power, even though it is promised to us.
Old Testament References Used by Peter the Apostle In the first two chapters of the book of Acts, Peter the apostle quotes from various Old Testament passages in relation to the fulfillment of prophecy. Perhaps Jesus had taught His disciples using these same passages during His 40-day visit after the Resurrection. This would explain Peter’s insight into otherwise difficult interpretations. Or, Peter was speaking by the Holy Spirit, giving him the interpretation.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Peter’s Sermon in the Temple and Persecution Act 3:1 to Act 4:31 gives us the testimony of Peter during the birth of the early Church in Jerusalem as his sermon in the Temple stirs up persecution from the Jewish leaders. This passage will be followed by the testimony of the growth of the church in Jerusalem (Act 4:32 to Act 5:42).
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. The Healing of the Man at Gate Beautiful Act 3:1-10
2. Peter’s Sermon in the Temple Act 3:11-26
3. Peter’s Testimony to the Sanhedrin Act 4:1-22
4. The Church Prays for Boldness Act 4:23-31
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Healing of the Lame Man.
The lame beggar:
v. 1. Now Peter and John went up together into the Temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
v. 2. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the Temple;
v. 3. who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the Temple, asked an alms. Of the many signs and wonders which the apostles performed for the confirmation of their teaching, chap. 2:43, Luke here narrates one which stands out from the rest by virtue of the amount of attention it attracted. The disciples, after the ascension of Christ and even after the Day of Pentecost, did not abandon the usages of the Jewish religion which did not conflict with the teaching of Jesus. (So also Luther, with conservative tact, did not permit iconoclastic tendencies to direct his reformatory labors.) As before, they observed the Jewish hours of prayer. At the ninth hour, that is, at three o’clock in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice, Peter and John went up into the Temple to pray. At that time the prayers of the believers were wafted upwards as incense sweet in the nostrils of God, and the lifting up of their hands accompanied the bringing of the evening sacrifice. But when the two apostles arrived at the Temple, they were halted by a peculiar circumstance. A certain man, who had been lame from his birth, and could in no way walk, but had to be carried about from one place to another, was daily placed by some friends or acquaintances at that gate of the Temple which was known as “The Beautiful,” there to follow his profession as beggar by soliciting alms from the visitors to the Temple. The Temple itself was situated on an eminence overlooking the city, whence the apostles were obliged to go up to visit its courts and halls. “Either the gate that opened out of the Court of the Women to the eastward, or the one between the Court of the Women and the Court of Israel (it is uncertain which one) had been given by one Nicanor and was of fine Corinthian bronze. It was sometimes called ‘The Gate Beautiful’ and sometimes ‘Nicanor’s Gate. “It was by this gate, and so near the treasury where people were devoting their money to religion, that Peter and John found the lame man begging.” The lame man had probably seen Peter and John often, but this was the occasion on which the Lord wanted to show him an act of especial mercy. He looked at the two apostles as they were about to enter, and asked to receive an alms from them.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Act 3:1
Were going up for went up together, A.V. and T.R. Peter and John. The close friendship of these two apostles is remarkable. The origin of it appears to have been their partnership in the fishing-boats in which they pursued their trade as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. For St. Luke tells us that the sons of Zebedee were “partners with Simon,” and helped him to take the miraculous draught of fishes (Luk 5:10). We find the two sons of Zebedee associated with Peter in the inner circle of the Lord’s apostles, at the Transfiguration, at the raising of Jairus’s daughter, and at the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. But the yet closer friendship of Peter and John first appears in their going together to the palace of Caiaphas on the night of the betrayal (Joh 18:15), and then in the memorable visit to the holy sepulcher on the morning of the Resurrection (Joh 20:2-4), and yet again in Joh 21:7, Joh 21:20, Joh 21:21. It is in strict and natural sequence to these indications in the Gospel that, on opening the first chapters of the Acts, we find Peter and John constantly acting together in the very van of the Christian army (see Act 3:1, Act 3:3,Act 3:11; Act 4:13,Act 4:19; Act 8:14, Act 8:25). The hour of prayer; called in Luk 1:10, “the hour of incense,” that is, the hour of the evening sacrifice, when the people stood outside in prayer, while the priest within offered the sacrifice and burnt the incense (see Act 2:46, note). Hence the comparison in Psa 141:2, “Let my prayer be set before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
Act 3:2
That was lame for lame, A.V.; door for gate, A.V. Door. If any distinction is intended between the here and the of Act 3:10 (which is not certain, as is often used for a gate), we must understand of the double doors of the gate described by Josephus. Perhaps the lame man leant against one of the open doors. Which is called Beautiful. It is not certain what gate this was. In the ‘Dictionary of the Bible’ it is described as “the great eastern gate leading from the court of the women to the upper court,” following apparently Josephus, ‘De Bell. Jud.,’ 5. 5. 3. But it is impossible to reconcile Josephus’s two accountsthat in the ‘Bell. Jud.,’ 5. 5. and that in ‘Ant. Jud.,’ 15. 11. In the former he says distinctly that there were ten gatesfour on the north, four on the south, and two on the east. In the latter he says there were three gates on the north, three on the south, and one on the east. In the former he says that fifteen steps led up from the women’s enclosure to the great gate, exactly opposite the gate of the temple itself ( ); in the latter he says very distinctly that women were allowed to enter through the great gate on the east. With such discrepancies in the description of the only eye-witness whose evidence has been preserved, it is impossible to speak with certainly. But it seems probable that there were two gates on the eastone the beautiful and costly gate of Corinthian brass, elaborately described by Josephus, through which the women did pass; the other the greater gate, just opposite to and above the beautiful gate ( ), leading from the court of the women to the inner court; and that Josephus has confounded one with the other in his descriptions. Anyhow, the beautiful gate was probably on the east. Its correct name is said to be the gate of Nicanor. The temple. It must be remembered that the whole platform, including the porches, and the courts of the Gentiles and of the women, and the outer court and the court of the priests, was called ; the actual house was called ; that part of the to which only Israelites were admitted, was called . Josephus also divides the precincts into the first, second, and third . The description of this lame man laid at the gate of the temple to ask alms is very similar to that in Luk 16:20 of Lazarus laid at the rich man’s gate; only that the word for laid is in St. Luke , and here is .
Act 3:3
To receive an alms for an alms, A.V. and T.R. The R.T. has .
Act 3:4
Fastening his eyes ( ). Comp. Luk 4:20, “The eyes of all were fastened upon him ( );“ and Act 22:1-30 :56, “looking steadfastly.” St. Luke also uses the phrase in Act 1:10; Act 3:12; Act 6:15; Act 7:55; but it is found nowhere else in the New Testament except 2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:13.
Act 3:5
From for of, A.V.
Act 3:6
But for then, A.V.; what I have that for such as I have, A.V.; walk for rise up and walk, A.V. and T.R. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What Peter meant by “in the Name,” he clearly explains in Act 3:12 and Act 3:16, where he shows that they did not work the miracle by their own power or godliness, but that the lame man was healed by the Name of Jesus, in which he believed. So our Lord said of himself, “I am come in my Father’s Name” (Joh 5:43; comp. Joh 10:25) Observe the full designation of our Lord as “Jesus Christ of Nazareth” ( ), as in Act 4:10, and comp. Mat 11:23. The faith which was the condition of the healing ( , Mat 11:16) embraced the humiliation and cross of the Christ (as expressed in the word the Nazarene) as well as his power and glory.
Act 3:7
Raised for lifted, A.V.; his ankle-bones for ancle bones, A.V. St. Luke’s medical knowledge discerns the cause of the lamenessa weakness in the anklebones.
Act 3:8
And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk, for and he, leaping up, stood and walked, A.V.; he entered for entered, A.V. Into the temple ( ). He passed through the gate, and mounted the fifteen steps which led into the (see note to Act 3:2).
Act 3:10
Took knowledge of him for knew, A.V. Wonder and amazement (); any very strong emotion of awe, or admiration, or astonishment. It occurs elsewhere only in Luk 4:36, where it describes the awe and amazement which came upon those who witnessed the casting out of the unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue at Capernaum. The verb occurs in Act 9:6 in the T.R., and is rendered “astonished” in the A.V., but is omitted in the text of the R.V.; elsewhere only in Mar 1:27; Mar 10:24, Mar 10:32. occurs once in Mar 10:11 of this chapter; and in Mar 9:15; Mar 14:33; Mar 16:5, Mar 16:6; , an ecstasy, mostly used of a state of transport, as Act 10:10; Act 11:5; Act 22:17. But in the LXX. (Gen 27:33), Mar 5:42; Mar 16:8; and Luk 5:26, it is used, as here, for a violent emotion of astonishment and amazement.
Act 3:11
He for the lame man which was healed, A.V. and T.R. The words of the T.R. are thought to have crept into the text from the portions read in church beginning here, which made it necessary to supply them. Held; by the hand or otherwise; not have to in the spiritual sense. The porch that is called Solomon’s. Josephus tells us that King Solomon built up with masonry only the eastern side of the temple enclosure, and that upon the artificial foundation thus formed one , or covered colonnade, was built, the other sides of the temple in Solomon’s time being naked and bare of buildings, but that in process of time, and by an enormous expenditure of treasure, the ground was filled up, leveled, and made firm by the masonry of huge walls all round, and then the circuit of buildings was completed. This eastern , or colonnade, was called Solomon’s porch (see Joh 10:23). Greatly wondering; , (see note on Act 3:10).
Act 3:12
At this man for at this, A.V.; fasten ye your eyes for look ye so earnestly, A.V.; godliness for holiness, A.V.; him for this man, A.V. The him at the end of the verse requires that the man should have been previously mentioned. The A.V. felt this, and so, having taken as at this, they rendered by this man, as if Peter had supplied the want of the verbal mention by pointing to him. Fasten ye your eyes. (For the use of , see note on Act 3:4.)
Act 3:13
Servant for Son, A.V.; before the face for in the presence, A.V.; had for was, A.V.; release him for let him go, A.V. The God of Abraham, etc. The continuity of the New Testament with the Old Testament stands out remarkably in St. Peter’s address. He speaks to the “men of Israel,” and he connects the present miracle with all that God had (lone to their fathers in days gone by. He does not seem conscious of any break or transition, or of any change of posture or position. Only a new incident, long since promised by the prophets, has been added. “tie thrusts himself upon the fathers of old, lest he should appear to be introducing a new doctrine” (Chrysostom). God hath glorified his Servant Jesus. Servant is manifestly right (so St. Chrysostom). It is the constant meaning of in the LXX.; son is always (see Act 3:26; Act 4:27, Act 4:30). In Mat 12:18 the A.V. has “servant.” (For the Old Testament usage, see Isa 42:1; Isa 52:13; Isa 53:11). Delivered up; , different from the of Act 2:23 (where see note). The word is applied to the action of Judas in delivering up Jesus into the hands of the chief priests (Joh 19:11), and to the action of Pilate in sending Jesus to execution (Luk 23:1-56. 25; Joh 19:16). Here it is spoken of the whole action of the Jews in procuring the death of Jesus. Denied before the face of Pilate. The reference is exact to Luk 23:1-56. 13-23. To release him. There is a verbal agreement with Luk 23:1-56. 16, 17, 20.
Act 3:14
Holy and righteous One for Holy One and the Just, A.V.; asked for for desired, A.V.
Act 3:15
Raised for bath raised, A.V. The Prince of life; a remarkable title here given to our Lord, to bring out the contrast between him whom they preferred and him whom they rejected. Barabbas was a murderer, one who took away human life for his own base ends; the other was the Prince and Author of life, who was come into the world, not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. This title, taken in connection with the preceding declaration, “God hath glorified his Servant Jesus,” seems almost to be a reminiscence of our Savior’s prayer,” Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (Joh 17:1, Joh 17:2). Jesus himself in very many places dwells upon his own great prerogative of giving life: “I am come that they might have life, and.., have it more abundantly” (Joh 10:10); “I am that Bread of life;” “I am the living Bread if any man cat of this bread, he shall live for ever;” “I give my flesh for the life of the world;” “Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life;” “They that hear shall live;” “As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;” “The Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should have eternal life;” “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” The word applied to Christ is found also in Act 5:31, and in Heb 2:10; Heb 12:2, rendered the “Author or Captain of their salvation,” “of our faith.” Whereof we are witnesses (see Act 2:22, note). The marginal rendering of whom is equally literal, and may be defended by reference to Act 1:8; Act 13:31; but the rendering whereof is in accordance with the more frequent phrases (Act 5:32; Act 10:39, etc.). The meaning is practically the same.
Act 3:16
By faith in his Name hath this for his Name through.faith in his Name, A.V.: the order of the words is changed from that of the A.V., to bring it into accordance with the order of the Greek, but with a great loss of force in English; behold for see, A.V.; through for by, A.V. Yea, the faith; rather, and the faith. The two propositions are not the same. The first affirms that it is the Name of Jesus which has given him strength, objectively; the second that the faith (subjective) which is through or by him hath given him perfect soundness. There is some obscurity in the exact meaning of . Some (see Alford, 1.1) compare 1Pe 1:21, and make God the object of the faith of his witnesses, Peter and John. Others (Meyer) understand that the faith in the Name of Christ was wrought in Peter and John by or through Christ’s ministry and resurrection. But it is much more consonant with other passages (Act 14:9; Act 16:31, etc.; Matthew, Mat 15:28, etc.) to understand the faith to be that of the man who was healed; and then the phrase, “which is through him,” will denote naturally that it was through Jesus Christ that the man’s faith brought him into contact, so to speak, with God who healed him. In the same spirit we read that the lame man “praised God” (verses 8, 9) for the cure effected through the Name of Jesus Christ; and Peter says (verse 15), “Whom God raised from the dead.“ The interpretation of the phrase depends upon whether we supply an active or a passive word. The faith which acts, or works, or moves through him is one way of understanding it; the faith which is wrought or produced through him is the other. The first is preferable. This perfect soundness; pointing to what they saw with their own eyes while the man was leaping and dancing before them (, perfect soundness, used only here in the New Testament; it is a medical term).
Act 3:17
In for through, A.V. I wot that in ignorance, etc. Mark the inimitable skill and tenderness with which he who had just wounded by his sharp rebuke now binds up the wound. All sternness and uncompromising severity before, he is all gentleness and indulgence now. They were only “men of Israel” in verse 12, now they are “brethren.” He has an excuse for their grievous sin. They did it in ignorance (comp. Luk 23:1-56. 33; 1Ti 1:13). Only let them see their error and repent of what they had done, and their forgiveness was sure.
Act 3:18
The things for those things, A.V.; foreshowed or before had showed, A.V.; the prophets for his prophets, A.V. and T.R.; his Christ for Christ, A.V. and T.R.; he thus fulfilled for he hath so fulfilled, A.V. He even excuses their ignorance by showing how the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God was brought about through it (comp. Gem 45:5, and see above, Act 1:23).
Act 3:19
Turn again for be converted, A.V., with no difference in sense; that so there may come seasons of refreshing for when the times of refreshing shall come, A.V. Turn again. The turning to God is the consequence of the change of mind (). That so there may come; rightly for the A.V. “when,” etc., which the Greek cannot mean. What Peter conceives is that if Israel turns to God at once in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, then there will come at once those times of refreshing, those blessed days of righteousness, and peace, and rest, and universal joy, which are the characteristics of Christ’s kingdom as foretold by the prophets. Those days are delayed by the unbelief of Israel. Seasons of refreshing. The A.V.” times of refreshing” is manifestly right, though there is no article in the Greek. “Seasons of refreshing” seems very vague and vapid (see Alford, Act 1:1, who very appropriately and conclusively cites the phrase , “the times of the Gentiles”(Luk 21:24). Meyer also compares the of Luk 2:25, and so in Luk 2:21, is rendered “the times of restoration.”
Act 3:20
And that he may send the Christ even Jesus for and he shall send Jesus Christ, A.V.; who hath been appointed (, Act 22:14; Act 26:16) for you for () which before was preached unto you, A.V. and T.R. Who hath been appointed, etc. Jesus is already designated and appointed and made (Act 2:36) both Lord and Christ, but his glorious presence with his Church is deferred for a time, during which he is in heaven (Act 3:21). Tim R.V. is surely very infelicitous here, as if there were several Christs, one of whom was appointed for Israel.
Act 3:21
Restoration for restitution, A.V.; whereof for which, A.V.; spake for hath spoken, A.V.; his for all his, A.V. and T.R. Whom the heaven must receive. This is clearly right, not as some render it, who must occupy heaven. The aorist seems to point to the moment when, at the Ascension, he was carried up into heaven (Luk 24:51). The restoration of all things ( ). This must be the same operation as our Lord speaks of in Mat 17:11 : “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things ( );” and from the words of Malachi (Mal 4:5, Mal 4:6) it would seem to be a moral or spiritual restoration preparatory to the coming of the Lord. If so, the time of restoration is not exactly synchronous with the times of refreshing, but preparatory to them; preparatory, too, to that restoration of the kingdom to Israel of which the apostles spake to the Lord (Act 1:6). Probably, however, St. Peter includes in his view the immediately following times of” the presence of the Lord,” just as in St. Mark (Mar 1:1) the preparatory mission of John the Baptist is included in the phrase, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Whereof God spake. The antecedent to “whereof” is “the times” (verse 24).
Act 3:22
Moses indeed said for Moses truly said unto the fathers, A.V. and T.R.; the Lord God for the Lord your God, A.V. and T.R.; from among for of, A.V.; to him shall ye hearken for him shall ye hear, A V.; speak for say, A.V. Moses indeed said. Peter now verifies his assertion about the prophets in the previous verse by quoting from Moses, and referring to Samuel and those that came after. A prophet, etc. The quotation is from Deu 18:15-18. That this was understood by the Jews to relate to some one great prophet who had not yet come, appears from the question “Art thou that prophet?” (Joh 1:21), and from the saying of the Jews after the miracle of the loaves and fishes, “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” (Joh 6:14; Joh 7:40). St. Peter here teaches that that prophet was none other than Christ himself, who was like unto Moses in the fullness of the revelation given unto him, in his being a Mediator between God and the people, in being the Author of a new lawthe law of faith and love, in building a new tabernacle for God to inhabit, even the Church in which he will dwell for ever and ever (see Heb 1:1, Heb 1:2).
Act 3:23
Shall be for come to pass, A.V.; shall not hearken to for will not hear, A.V.; utterly destroyed for destroyed, A.V. Utterly destroyed. The Greek occurs frequently in the LXX. for the Hebrew phrase,” cut off from his people” (Gen 17:14); but in Deu 18:19, the phrase is quite different, “I will require it of him.” St. Peter hero gives the sense, not the ipsissima verba, and thereby marks the extreme gravity of the sin of unbelief (see Joh 3:18).
Act 3:24
Them that followed for those that follow, A.V.: they also told for have likewise foretold, A.V. From Samuel, etc. Samuel and seems to denote what the Jews called “the former prophets”the authors of the historical books. The whole phrase, therefore, comprehends “all the prophets” (of whom Samuel and were the first), to whose testimony concerning himself our Lord appeals (Luk 24:27, Luk 24:44).
Act 3:25
Sons for children, A.V.; your for our, A.V. and T.R.; families for kindreds, A.V. Ye are the sons of the prophets, meaning that they inherited all the promises made by the prophets to their fathers. Just as in Act 2:39 he said, “The promise is unto you and to your children” (comp. Rom 9:4; Rom 15:8). He thus enforces the solemn obligation of giving heed to what the prophets had said concerning Christ and his kingdom. In thy seed (see Gal 3:16). This covenant, into which God entered with Abraham, with an oath (Gen 22:16, Gen 22:18), and which was a repetition and amplification of the covenant and promise already recorded in Gen 12:1-3; Gen 15:1-21.; Gen 17:1-8, was made , with a view to, in the direction of, the fathers, so as to include them and their children after them. It was now fulfilled to those whom St. Peter was addressing, as is set forth in the next verse.
Act 3:26
Servant for Son Jesus, A.V. and T.R.; your for his, A.V. Unto you first. In virtue of the covenant, the first offer of salvation was made to the Jews (see Act 1:8; Act 13:26, Act 13:46; Luk 24:47; Rom 2:10, etc.; comp. Mat 15:24). His Servant (as in Act 3:13). As regards the phrase, “having raised up,” however natural it is at first sight to understand it of the raising from the dead, the tenses make it impossible to do so. Nor could it be said that God sent Jesus to bless them after his resurrection. We must, therefore, understand as to be equivalent to , and to mean “having appointed,” set up, raised up (as the English word is used, Luk 1:69; Rom 9:17). In this sense God raised up his Servant by the incarnation, birth, anointing, and mission to be the Savior. To bless you; to fulfill to you the blessing promised to Abraham’s seed. In turning away, etc., deliverance from sin being the chief blessing which Christ bestows upon his people (so Act 5:31, repentance is spoken of as Christ’s great gift to Israel). So closed the second great apostolic sermon.
HOMILETICS
Act 3:1-11
The unexpected gift.
In one of those rapturous passages in which St. Paul tries to make human language express adequate thoughts of God, he speaks of God as “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20). In saying so he does but mark, in one aspect, the distance between the finite and the infinite, and show how far the bounty of the infinite Giver outruns the desires of those who receive his gifts. The whole revelation of God’s dealings with mankind is a continual illustration of this truth. How could it ever have entered into the mind of Abram to ask to be made the father of many nations, to be the father of the faithful in all ages and in all countries, to be the head of God’s elect people, and to have his life and his words and his deeds handed down to the posterities through endless time? How could it ever have entered into the mind of Israel in Egypt to ask to be led dry-shod through the Red Sea, to be fed in the wilderness with bread from heaven, to receive the Law from Sinai, and to be put into possession of the land of Canaan? Or how could it ever have entered into the thoughts of a rebellious and fallen world to ask that the only begotten Son of God, their Maker and Lord, should be incarnate and expiate their guilt by dying for their sins upon the cross? The section before us supplies another instance of this exceeding grace of God. A poor cripple, lame from his mother’s womb, had for upwards of forty years lived in hopeless and helpless infirmity. In the merry days of youth, while his companions and equals in years were sporting and gamboling in all the freeness of joyous spirits and supple, elastic limbs, he was bound down to his pallet, like a bird confined in a cage, or a dog chained in his kennel. In early manhood, while others went forth to their work and to their labor, earning their daily bread by honorable industry, he was reduced to be a mendicant, living in constrained inactivity upon the precarious bounty of others.
And so it was at the present time. Every day he was carried by some kind hands and laid at the Beautiful gate of the temple, in the hope that those who passed to and fro to the house of God would look with pity upon his misery and minister to his wants. They must have been sad and dreary hours passed in expectancy and frequent disappointment; watching the countenances of the passers-by; overlooked by some, turned away from with proud contempt by others; sharply refused by this well-dressed but hardhearted Sadducee, and occasionally receiving a mite or a farthing from that ostentatious Pharisee; doubtful whether he would carry home enough to supply his daily meal and his necessary raiment. On this occasion he saw two men about to go into the temple. Perhaps their aspect awakened the hope that there were kind, loving hearts beneath their humble garb. Or, maybe, he merely uttered the usual monotonous prayer like that of the Italian beggars, “Date qualque coea per l’amor di Dio.” Anyhow, we may be sure that his utmost hopes did not go beyond receiving some small coin at their bands. But when, in answer to the words from Peter’s lips, “Look on us,” he had looked up and probably stretched out his hands to receive the expected alms, instead thereof he heard the words, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” And in an instant he was whole. No longer a cripple, no longer chained down to his bed, no longer a prisoner, he sprang to his feet, he walked, he leapt, he danced for very joy, and, singing praise as he went, he entered the holy courts. Here there was an instance of God doing unto men exceeding abundantly above all that they ask or think. Here we have a type of the exceeding riches of God’s grace, resulting in unlooked-for mercies to the children of men. Let us take note of it, and frame our estimate of God’s character accordingly. Nothing more elevates the tone of a man’s religion than a worthy conception of God’s goodness. It stimulates his love, it kindles his adoration, it raises his hopes, it intensifies all his spiritual emotions. Low conceptions of God’s nature beget a low standard of love and service. There is nothing like a true view of the infinity of the love of God, and of the unsearchable riches of his grace in Jesus Christ, to lash all the sluggish emotions of the heart into a holy and healthy enthusiasm. “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it,” is another mode of expressing the same blessed truth; and “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift,” is the language of those whose experience coincides with the revelation which God has given of himself in his holy Word.
Act 3:12-26
The two judgments.
“The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart (1Sa 16:7).” That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luk 16:15). “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner (Luk 20:17). The above passages, with many others, call our particular attention to the frequent contrariety between the judgment of men and the judgment of God. The section before us gives two striking examples of this contrariety.
I. The first is the contrariety between the judgment of the men of Israel as to the cause of the healing of the lame man, and the truth as declared by the apostles. The men of Israel thought that Peter and John had healed him by their own power or holiness. Their blind, carnal mind could not see beyond what lay just before them. They mistook the instrument for the cause. They could not see the power of Jesus Christ in heaven working through the hands of his servants on earth. And this is a type of a widely extended human error or false judgment. In the judgment of carnal men, however sharp their intellectual sight may be, everything is material, and the visible matter has no invisible spirit behind it. Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, are in their view natural phenomona with which the hand of God has nothing to do. Success or defeat in war, prosperity or adversity to the individual or the nation, are owing exclusively to the wisdom and prowess of men, not to the blessing or chastening of God. And it is even so in the Church. They see only the outward visible signs, and they ignore the inward spiritual grace. Holy baptism is a sign, a ceremony, a rite. It has, maybe, a certain significance, a certain admonitory or teaching power in their eyes, but they ignore the active, quickening energy of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament. The bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper are emblems, symbols, tokens, but they apprehend not the body and blood of Jesus Christ “which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful” at the Lord’s table. Sermons, if eloquent, able, and stirring, are things of natural power in their estimation, but they do not take into account the effectual working of the Holy Ghost accompanying the Word preached, and making it the power of God unto salvation. And so it is throughout, both in the world and in the Church. The carnal judgment of men takes into account only the natural and the material; those who have the mind and judgment of Christ recognize the supernatural and spiritual agency of God.
II. The other example furnished by this section of the contrariety between the judgment of man and the judgment of God is that which is so pointedly put by St. Luke, both here and in his Gospel: the preference given by the Jews to Barabbas over Jesus Christ. “Ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead.” Here, then, we have the Lord Jesus, the well-beloved Son of God; in whom he was well pleased; who always did those things that pleased him; to whom he said, “Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool;” whom God exalted far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; to whom he has given “a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That was the judgment of God. Now let us see the judgment of men concerning this same Jesus. He was in the world, in all the simplicity of his spotless righteousness, in all the dignity of his sinless humanity, in the majesty of the Son of God; the fullness of wisdom, of love, and of pure goodness beamed forth in his every word and work, but “he was despised and rejected of men.” He was reviled as a blasphemer, as one that had a devil, as a gluttonous man and a winebibber, as a friend of sinners, as a seditious, turbulent man, as one that was not worthy to live. So he was brought before the judges of the earth, accused, arraigned as a criminal; smitten, buffeted, scourged, spit upon, condemned; led forth to execution, numbered with the transgressors, nailed to the cross, left to die amidst the jeers and taunts of his murderers. And when Pilate himself offered to release him, the offer was met with the cry, “Not this man, but Barabbas;” and Barabbas was a robber. That was the judgment of man. And have we not here a type of the frequent contrariety between the judgment of men and the judgment of God? The things, the persons, the characters, that God approves, find no favor with a corrupt and perverse world; the things, the persons, the sentiments, that God disapproves, receive the praise of men. The opinions of the day, the voice of the multitude, the prevailing tone of thought amongst men, are no safe criterion of worth and truth. We must ever remember that there are two judgments, the judgment of man and the judgment of God, and that these are often diverse the one from the other. It should be our constant prayer that God’s Holy Spirit may give us “a right judgment in all things;” so that, on the various questions of interest which engage the thoughts of our own generation, we may be found in harmony, not with the conceits of men, but with the all-seeing mind of God.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Act 3:1-10
Helplessness and healing.
In this interesting incident we have an illustration of the urgent spiritual necessities of our race, and of the sufficiency of the gospel to meet them. We have
I. A GREAT AND SAD CONTRAST. They brought daily to the Beautiful gate of the temple a lame beggar, who asked alms of all that entered (Act 3:2, Act 3:3). What a striking contrast is here!the large, strong, handsome gate, wrought by the most skilful workmen, intended to add beauty and attractiveness to the magnificent temple, an object of keen, universal admiration; and, laid down at the foot of it, a poor, ill-clad, deformed, helpless beggar, fain to find a miserable existence by asking the pity of all that passed through. Such contrasts has sin introduced into this world. If we look on this whole fabric of nature as a temple in which God manifests his presence, and on our earth, with all its loveliness and grandeur, as one of its beautiful gates, then we see, in strongest and saddest contrast with it, stricken, helpless, deformed human natureman brought down to the very ground, unable to sustain himself, the pitiful object of compassion: we behold the fair workmanship of God with all its exquisite beauty, and we see sinning, erring, suffering, fallen man by its side.
II. A PICTURE OF SIN IN ITS STRENGTH. What more forcible illustration of this can he found than in a man lame from his birth (Act 3:2)? One born to the heritage of mankind, viz. that of voluntary, happy activity; of walking, running, moving, whithersoever he would, with free power of motion, in all acts of duty, pleasure, affection;this man doomed to utter helplessness, his deformity or disease becoming more rigid and incurable as the months and years pass by! What a picture, this, of our human spirit, created to enjoy the heritage of a holy intelligence, viz. that of free and happy activity in all the ways of righteousness, piety, usefulness; of moving joyously along all the paths in which God invites his children to walk; yet, from the very beginning, being utterly unable to walk in the way of his commandments, to run in the paths of wisdom and of peace, incapable of doing that for which it was called into being, and becoming more rigidly and hopelessly fixed in its spiritual incapacity year by year.
III. THE INTERVENTION OF THE GOSPEL OF GOD.
1. It demands attention. “Peter with John, said, Look on us” (verse 4). The gospel of Christ has a right to make this same appeal to all men. No seeking, struggling soul has a right to be regardless of its offers. The beneficent and mighty works of Jesus Christ; the profound spiritual truths he uttered; the beautiful and exalted life he lived; the strange and wondrous death he died; the message of love he left behind him; the adaptation, proved by eighteen centuries of human history, of his system to the deepest wants of human nature;all these conspire to give to the gospel of God the right to demand attentionto say, “Look on me;” see whether there is not in me the help and healing which you need.
2. It disclaims certain offices. “Silver and gold have I none,” etc. (verse 6). The gospel does not offer to do everything for man which it may be desirable should, in some way, be done. It does not propose
(1) to effect renovation by revolutionary social changes, or
(2) to bring about immediate improvement in the outward conditions of a man’s life, or
(3) to guarantee bodily health or immunity from temporal trouble and domestic loss. It tends to ameliorate the condition of mankind in every way, and ultimately it does so; but its first promise, and that by which it is to be tested and judged, is not of this order.
3. It offers one essential service. “In the Name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk” (verse 6). It says to the stricken, wounded soul, “Wilt thou be made whole?” To the soul burdened with a sense of sin, it offers pardoning love and spiritual peace; to the heart oppressed with care and fear, it offers a Divine refuge in which to hide; to the soul struggling with temptation, an almighty Friend; to the weary traveler, a home of rest and joy. Whatever is the one imperative thing, that the gospel of Christ presents; but its offer is inward, spiritual, heavenly.
IV. THE BLESSED ISSUE. (Verses 7-10.) This was:
1. Healing to him that had been helpless.
2. Gratitude showing itself in praise.
3. Interested attention on the part of those outside: “They were filled with wonder and amazement;” they were in a state most favorable for the reception of the truth. When we make an appeal to Christ, we are not to be satisfied until we have found spiritual recovery; until our souls are filled with the spirit of thanksgiving; until our restoration has told upon our neighbors as well as on ourselves.C.
Act 3:11-21
The human and the Divine.
Human and Divine elements are here crowded together, as indeed they are in most if not all of the events of our life. We look at
I. THE HUMAN ELEMENT,
1. Excitement. The man who had been lame, in the excitement of joy and gratitude, “held Peter and John” (verse 11), and “all the people ran together greatly wondering” (verse 11). In the region of the Divine is calmness, serenity, peace; in that of the human is agitation, disturbance, excitement.
2. Instrumentality. (Verse 12.) We do not effect anything of ourselves; we are co-workers with God. We depend on his Divine assistance, on the co-operation of forces that are acting around and within us, in virtue of his energizing power, for the accomplishment of our humblest undertakings. How much more emphatically is this the case in the sphere of sacred usefulness, in the communication of spiritual life! There should be, there must be, as in the case of Peter and John, fitness for the work and obedience to the word and will of Christ; but after all it is not “our own power or holiness” that “makes any man to walk” in the ways of God.
3. Guilt, qualified by ignorance. Peter charges his hearers with positive and terrible crime (verses 13-15); he does, indeed, make the abatement which is due to ignorance (verse 17): they did not “kill the Prince of life,” knowing that it was he whom they were crucifying. But they remained in guilty ignorance of his origin, his character, and his mission; and their ignorance, if it palliated, did not excuse their crime. We also often “know not what we do” when we wrong the innocent, when we sin against ourselves, when we rob God of the glory due to his Name. Our ignorance is not left out of the account by the Holy and the Just One; nevertheless he adjudges us to be verily guilty, and he condemns us.
4. Penitence. (Verse 19.) We are to be changed in our mind, and be converted or turned from our evil ways to those which are right, pure, godly.
5. Faith. (Verse 16.) Peter says that “faith in the Name” of Jesus Christ had given the lame man that “perfect soundness” which they all beheld. He does not say, or is not reported as saying, that these “men of Israel” must believe in him whom they had guiltily slain, but that was either implied or expressed in his address to them. “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” is the testimony borne by apostles “both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks” (Act 20:21).
II. THE DIVINE ELEMENT.
1. Overruling wisdom. (Verse 18.) What God had shown beforehand needed to be done, he had, in the ordering of his holy providence, caused to take place. Through all these things which happened at Jerusalem, in which the hand of man had so large a share, there ran a thread of Divine agency; so that purposes of heavenly love and wisdom were after all fulfilled. He still “makes the wrath of man to praise him.”
2. Glorifying the Just and Holy One. (Verses 13, 15.) God is bringing many sons unto glory, as well as the “Captain of our salvation.” He will ensure the ultimate acquittal and honoring of those who are reviled and wronged. “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.”
3. Restoration. (Verses 12, 19-21.) It was the Divine hand, and no human magic, which healed this lame beggar (verse 12) It is the hand of God which gives such blessed recuperative power to our bodily system, and which raises the sick man from the bed of suffering, weakness, acute disease, to newness of physical life. It is God who grants to the condemned but penitent spirit restoration to his loving favor, and it is he who will one day grant to a renovated world “times of refreshing,” the reappearance of Jesus Christ in his heavenly power and glory (verses 20, 21). There is a sense in which
(1) there is much that is marvelous in the working and outworking of God; it is so far beyond our finite understanding. But there is also a sense in which
(2) there is nothing surprising in any acts of restoration or renovation we witness. It is only what we should ask for and expect of him. “Why marvel we” at that?C.
Act 3:22-26
The greatness of Jesus Christ.
These verses may be regarded as attesting the unapproachable greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ; they invite us to think
I. THAT HE WAS LIKE UNTO THE GREATEST OF ALL WHO PRECEDED HIM, BUT WAS GREATER THAN HE. (Act 3:22.) A greater Legislator than Moses, for his laws should last as long as time itself; a better Man, for he was absolutely without sin; a worthier Leader, conducting out of a harder bondage into a truer freedom, unto a land of greater promise.
II. THAT HIS RELATION TO MANKIND IS SUCH THAT THE REFLECTION OF HIM IS THE RUIN OF OURSELVES. (Act 3:23.) To be ignorant of some human teachers is to lose a valuable heritage, a precious treasure, excellent and elevating enjoyment; but to refuse his friendship, to reject his service, is to cut ourselves off from the source of eternal truth, is to abandon ourselves to the course which ends in spiritual death.
III. THAT HE IS THE ONE GREAT HERO OF SACRED SCRIPTURE. (For. 24.) “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rightly read, “all the prophets” testified of him, and pointed on to those days in which he lived, suffered, died, and rose again.
IV. THAT HE BLESSES WHOM HE SERVES WITH THE SUPREME BLESSING. (Act 3:26.) What would we give to those whom we would fain serve? Health, fortune, power, fame, human love? Jesus Christ blesses by “turning away every one from his iniquities.” What a transcendent blessing is this! Consider:
1. How much it involves; viz. the removal of the penalty and the power of sin from each individual soul.
2. How much it implies; viz. the restoration of each soul to God (for to fear him, to love him, and to strive to please him, is the only way to escape from a state of sin), and entrance upon eternal life (for the sphere of sin is the region of death, and to be delivered from the former is to enter the kingdom of life, the life which is spiritual and eternal).
3. By what means it is effected; viz.
(1) by the sacrifice of himself (Heb 9:26), and
(2) by attracting us to himself and his service (Joh 12:32; 1Jn 3:5, 1Jn 3:6).
V. THAT, COMING TO REDEEM THE RACE, HE OFFERS HIS SALVATION FIRST TO THOSE WHO HAD REJECTED HIM. (Act 3:25, Act 3:26.) They to whom Peter spoke were “the children of the prophets;” but they had “denied the Holy One and the Just,” and “killed the Prince of life.” Yet to those who had so shamefully abused their privileges the apostle said, “To you first,“ etc. Jesus came to “call sinners to repentance,” to restore those who had fallen the furthest, to cleanse the most leprous, to raise the spiritually dead, to win those most utterly estranged and most bitterly opposed to himself. So great a Conqueror is he.C.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Act 3:1-10
The healing of the lame man.
I. THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE CURE. Peter and John were going up in company to the temple at the evening hour of prayer. Here we see:
1. The fellowship of different orders of minds in Christ. None more diverse in character and temperament than the impulsive Peter and the contemplative John.
2. Prayer one of the bonds of this fellowship, as expressed in the beautiful hymn, “How blest the tie that binds!”
3. An example of the profit of set times and seasons for worship. (See on the three times of daily prayerthe third, sixth, and ninth hoursDan 6:10 and Psa 55:18.) And the good also of a fixed place of prayer. The temple, the synagogue, the Church, or the meeting-house; each has its hallowed and happy associations. How greatly devotion is helped by the imagination, and the imagination how dependent upon association, must be obvious to all.
4. The path of true devotion is often found to be the path that leads to useful service to others.
II. THE SUFFERER. Lame from his birth, deprived of that power of independent activity in which so much of the enjoyment of life consists, he is the type of a deeply pitiable class. To have health is so great a blessing, because it carries with it that of command over one’s powers, and therefore freedom and independence. He was helplessly dependentborne by others. Such sufferings remind us of the presence of moral evil, which can neither be explained nor explained away. But there are compensations. The lame man had friends. Seldom does such misery fail to stir up pity and enlist help. Outward evils are ever balanced in the Divine wisdom by inward good. We never know the kindness of man to man till sickness and sorrow reveal it. They carried him to one of the splendid gateways of the temple, that he might be in the way of the charitable droppings of alms from those that went in. The religious duty of almsgiving was preached up by the rabbis incessantly and in the strongest wayeven to excess, as we may see from Lightfoot and other authors. One noted saying was that God suffered the poor to exist that rich men might earn heaven. Our theological and our practical views of the subject have changed. But at least we have a good example here: we should exert ourselves to place the sufferer within reach of help. The great problem of true charity is to bring the supply and the need into practice. If the intention be loving and good, something better often comes of it than is hoped for, as in this case. The sufferer, intent upon the minor boon, receives the higher blessing. So does a living Divine purpose shape our actions to nobler ends than we designed.
III. THE CURE. There is human means with Divine agency.
1. The human means. The apostles fix their eyes earnestly upon the sufferer. Thus his attention is aroused; his thoughts are collected; he is brought into a concentration of thought and feeling. It is not to the wandering mind that God reveals either his thought or his power. The eyes must be lifted up to the quarter whence help comes. He who is conscious of bearing God’s message to the souls of men may cry, “Look on me; listen to me!” Faith is not passive; it is an energy, expressed by looking, listening, coming, doing. Thus only can the electric chain be completed; the healer and the healed be brought into vital contact. Directions must be complied with as the first condition of physical healing and of spiritual salvation. The best gift we have for our fellow-men is the gift of the head and heart. This is lasting; others perish in the using. We cannot lose the memory nor the blessing of good words. If we have no money to give in alms, we may make our fellow-man rich from our heart. Intelligence and sympathy are what all men want, and none are thankless for. We reap ingratitude where we have not really shown our heart. The best spiritual gifts recognize the worth of the recipient. Let us treat men as our equalsbeings possessed of will. There are possibilities before them; let us reckon upon them and believe in them, thus inspiring them in their weakness with such healthy belief.
2. The Divine power in the human means. We cannot command our fellow-men except in the name of some authority which both he and we are subject to. He who can rest his appeals upon the firm words, “By order,” or “In the name of the queen,” or the like, has a might over wavering wills. Really to govern means first to have obeyed. The “Name” here signified a vast reality. “Jesus Christ of Nazareth!” It is the symbol of all power in heaven and earth; supreme, unrivalled, purely loving and beneficent. As ministers of Christ, we are servants of the Almighty, channels of charity, agents of a kingdom that must prevail. This power will be felt both by words and deeds. The tones of Peter’s voice thrilled; his bidding awoke the slumbering power of volition; finally his hand, joined with that of the sufferer, completed the union of the Divine agency to save with the sufferer’s will to be saved. The weak feet and joints became firm; the whilom prostrate one leaped up and stood; from this proceeded to walk; finally went with the healers into the temple, exultingly to render praise to God. The thankful heart is the best sacrifice we can offer to God. Without it, the best crown of the blessing he designs to confer is not attained. If men see our state changed, but not our heart, God is defrauded of his glory and his due in us. The joy of the comforted heart is the best proof of the love of the Comforter. He means our freedom and our joy; what if we disappoint his thought, so that it flowers not and bears no fruit?
IV. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CURE.
1. Popular observation. They identified the man. They compared his present and past condition. Comparison is the foundation of our knowledge of truth.
2. Popular reasoning. They argued that the change could proceed only from one cause, and that Divine. The quality of changes points to the quality of the cause. Extend this reasoning, and the best, as the most popular, argument for Christianity is this: the changes produced by it in man’s condition prove it to be of origin Divine.
3. Popular amazement and ecstasy. Such are the words of the historian. Wonder is the reflection of the unusual and the unexpected in the mind. And this passes into ecstasy or transport when through the sensuous the supersensual, when through the natural the supernatural, appears. If all the course of life were common and familiar, God would be forgotten. Were wonders incessantly repeated they would become no longer wonders, and their power were lost. God shows his hand now and again that the spell of custom may be broken; hides it that we may reflect on what we have seen. Mingled fear and joy ever attend Divine revelations; fear in the thought of our utter dependence, joy in the thought that in that very dependence lies our hope and our deliverance.J.
Act 3:11-26
Witness of Peter to Jesus.
A great congregation, in the mood of wonder and prepared to listen, is before him. He who had once denied his Master in a moment of weakness, is now enabled with great power to give testimony of him.
I. A DISCLAIMER OF INDEPENDENT POWER OR MERIT IN THE APOSTLES. The note of a genuine mission. The false prophet and the magician neglect nothing that will enhance their supposed supernatural character. The apostles insist that they are but men, have no power of themselves, are the agents merely of a higher will. So, too, peculiar piety on their part is disclaimed. They did not aim at the reputation of saints; they refused to encourage the natural delusion that they must be better than other men. This was not the way to popularity, but the simple course of honest witnesses for God.
II. THE RECENT EVENT TRACED TO ITS SOURCE.
1. God is the faithful God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of their fathers; these were dear and time-honored appellations. With these is now connected that of Father of Jesus. Thus the recent is united with the most ancient past. One unfailing bond of Divine constancy and love knits the ages into unity, and makes history the unfolding of an increasing purpose.
2. His love is illustrated by the contrast with human hate. They had repudiated the Holy and Just One, and had begged the life of a murderer in his stead. Blindly they had hurried the “Author of life” to an ignominious doom. But who can contend against God, his power, nay, rather, his love? The purpose of life is victorious over human passion, and God will not suffer men to work out their suicidal intents to the full. The Resurrection, be it insisted, then, is the crowning proof of indefeasible constancy and will to save men in their own despite.
3. The energy to heal ever flows from the risen Christ. Faith is the condition of being blessed. It is the movement of the whole soul towards the Divine Benefactor. It is the junction of the human with the Divine will, and is the one principle of salvation.
III. DEDUCTIONS FROM THE PAST. History, and every portion of it, contains a Divine logic. Every study of it is idle which does not end with the questionWhat is the meaning for the present? What resolve is to be taken? What duty now to be discharged? The paths of experience converge towards one goal.
1. The crucifixion of Jesus had been an act of ignorance. They “knew not what they did;” neither people nor rulers. It was a mitigation of the crime, and divinely recognized. The acts of wrath are blind, and just judgment distinguishes between the evidences of passion and the evidences of ingrained perversity in man’s acts.
2. It was at the same time a fulfillment of prophecy. God permits evil means to work out holy ends. The happiest revolutions have often sprung from momentary ignition of wrath and resentment. The feeble human heart expends its little explosive force, and silently makes an opening for the march of a higher purpose. It was necessary that Christ should suffer. Every pleasure is the reaction from-a pain; every birth proceeds from travail; there is no deliverance without spiritual struggle. The most spiritual, the most living personality, must agonize and suffer most. This is the law. In the suffering of the “Leader of life” it finds its highest expression. Thus did Divine will confront human freedom, and the futility of resistance is shown. The very efforts of blind passion to defeat that will serve only to elicit its meaning. Like blows upon a vibrating substance, human sins draw deeper music from the heart of God.
IV. PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS. “Change your mind and turn.” If we cannot influence the fixed course of things, it is wisdom to be influenced by it. If the Divine purpose is not to be bent aside for us, we must bend before it. We cannot change the course of fate, but we can change the course of our thoughts and actions. To persist in discovered error is like fighting against the stars in their courses. Sin, is only unforgivable when it is persisted in as sin. The constant promise of the gospel is that sin shall no longer be reckoned to a man, i.e. viewed as a fact of his life, when it has been corrected by the will. Our deeper thought teaches us that there is no time for God. Our “now” and its self-determination is the question. One solemn moment of decision converts the error of the way into the direction of truth and right.
V. PROMISES OF FUTURE GOOD.
1. They are of indefinable grandeur and attraction. We cannot fully analyze the contents of any Divine promise. Its riches exceed definition and thought. At the same time, every promise has leading hints to guide faith and expectation. Here “times of refreshing” and the “sending of Jesus” form such hints.
2. They point to a goal of history. “The times of the restitution of all things.” The golden age of paganism was in the remote past; that of Israel and of the gospel lies in the distant future. It rests, like all our good, upon nothing less sure than Divine will, and is the subject of prophetic oracles. To define is to limit and to narrow and to impoverish our noblest ideals. Let us be content, as Peter teaches elsewhere, to accept prophecy as a “light shining in a dark place, until the day dawn.”
3. They are designed to guide conduct, not to explain the future fully. The prediction in the Law cited by Peter received many changing interpretations in the long course of its existence. The actual highest fulfillment was not recognized when it came. God ever fulfils himself unexpectedly. Meanwhile the delay of fulfillment keeps thought and hope awake.
4. The growth and increasing emphasis of prophecy. The sound dies not, but gathers in volume as it goes, filling the earth. Do we heed its sound now? Is there no voice of God for us in the instruction and warnings of the greatest spirits of our time? Every teacher who bids us strive and aspire towards the ideal, the kingdom of God in the spirit, is a prophet, and is charged with a measure of oracular power for his generation.
VI. THE INHERITANCE OF THE PRESENT. We too are “sons of the prophets.” God has spoken to us. Behind us lies the past, with its wonderful lore, its yet unsatisfied yearnings. We too are included in the Divine covenant of blessing. The process of events set in motion by the eternal Cause continues itself in us. The seed of his loving thoughts becomes fertile anew in the spirits of each succeeding generation, and appears in new blossom and fruit. Till “all countries of the earth” shall thus be sown and impregnated with the thoughts of God, the process shall continue. Away, then, with a dead theology which seeks for inspiration only in the fulfilled, not also in the fulfilling and the to be fulfilled. Let us believe in God, not merely because we know that he stirred in men’s souls in days of yore, but because we feel him stirring in our own souls now.
VII. ORDER IN THE DIVINE PURPOSE. Israel first, next through Israel the nations are to be blessed. Spiritual force, like other force, must be concentrated that it may be diffused. Other nations have had light, but Israel the intensest. It is the moral consciousness which makes humanity; and in the turning from sin, men are in the way of all good, of growing good; the negation of evil is the affirmation of the principle of the spirit.J.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD
Act 3:1-10
The apostles workers of miracles.
General introduction. The witnessing vocation of apostles required miraclesas signs of the kingdom of Christ; as attestations of apostolic authority; as appeals to the world, and to the Jewish people especially, to accept the new doctrine; as corresponding in some measure to the miracles of our Lord, and so perpetuating the blessing of his ministry which he himself promised in his last discourses, “Another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (Joh 14:16). Consider the miracle itself.
I. ITS CHARACTER.
1. Purely benevolent. Performed on a beggar, helpless, miserable, altogether unconnected with the new society, unable to reward his benefactors.
2. Conspicuously real. At a public spotthe temple; at the ninth hour, when worshippers would throng to the place; on one well known to the whole city; daily laid as a public object of pity; helped by no one before, but now helped through Christ; born lame, therefore not labouring under merely temporary infirmity; not even asked for by the sufferer, but offered freely by the apostles, as by a sudden impulse of the Spirit.
II. ITS EFFECTS.
1. Upon the man himself. It raised him up physically and spiritually at the same moment. God often thus speaks to the soul through the body, both by afflictions and by visitations of mercy. It turned his wail of misery into songs of joy. Take the description of the work upon the man as typical of the course of gracious work, the bestowment of a new life and strength, first putting us on our feet with sudden leap of heartfelt gladness, of faith; then “beginning, to walk,” feeling the new limbs like a child; then walking forward into the temple; then walking and leaping and praising God,” the conscious participation in blessings making us the ministers of joy to others, filling the temple with praise.
2. Upon the apostles and through them on the Church and on the world. The important place of the miracle as evidence of the Divine mission of the messengers. They themselves could scarcely have known what they could do until, by impulse of the Spirit, they put forth the energy. The believers who were sharers with apostles of the gifts of the Spirit would henceforth expect great things. Jerusalem must have been startled into attention and incipient faith. “The people saw him,” etc. (Act 3:9, Act 3:10). Although miracles regarded alone would never convert the world, yet in connection with the Word of God they powerfully arouse the minds of men. “Wonder and amazement” are God’s agents in awakening the soul and preparing the ground for the seed of eternal life. Another great effect of the miracle was corrective and didactic. No one could doubt that the apostles were no self-seekers, no fanatics, no ambitious founders of a new sect but simply heralds of the gospel. What they did was “in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.” They began their work upon the poor, they appealed to the impotent and the helpless, they proclaimed their own poverty, and yet invited men to riches such as the world knew not. They showed themselves the sympathizing brothers of all mankind, ready to give such as they had to give, without money and without price, a pattern of simplicity and spirituality.R.
Act 3:6
Spiritual riches.
“Then Peter said,” etc. Introduction. The whole scene suggestive on the subject of the state of man. The contrast between the man lying in squalid misery at the gate of the temple and the splendors of the religious edifice. What was that religion which could bear to see such sights daily, and had no message for the poor? All gospels must be tried by this test: preach them to the poor. The men who wrought the miracle had learnt to cast themselves on God for the things of this world. They were as poor as the beggar, yet rich in the gifts of God. They had access to the Church’s offerings, yet, with a very unpriest-like self-denial, could say they had nothing. At the gate of the temple, at the hour of prayer, learn this great lesson of Divine endowment and prosperity.
I. A great example of PERSONAL, WEALTH. “Such as I have.” What was it? The Holy Ghost filling all the nature. Consider the two men, Peter and John. What wealth of knowledge, insight, power over the souls of others! Even in external aspects, the results upon the life of the world traceable to these two names, immeasurable; yet they were both fishermen of Galilee. What they had had been given them by God. The endowment which enabled them to heal one whom the world could not lift up. Surely an infinitely greater gift to be able to work such works than any of those distinctions of literary genius or artistic skill which the world so extravagantly rewards. Such wealth is ours as believers, in greater or less degreea wealth which no man can take from us, which grows by prayer and effort, which cannot die with us; “their works do follow them.” The Church should seek this wealth of the Spirit, not, as the false Church has done, the wealth that perishes, lest the money should perish with it.
II. An impressive illustration of GOD‘S METHOD OF LIFTING UP THE WOUND from its ruin. Show that both Church and State have failed. The temple may have beautiful gates, but be full of hideous idolatry and shame. The State may abound in silver and gold, and yet present to the eye such lamentable pictures of helplessness, revealing its own impotence, as the poor mendicant, daily passed by at the most public place and the most sacred place of the city. The present aspect of both the professedly religions world and the social condition of our great populations demand a confession of man’s inability to produce a really happy society. Here there is:
1. The Name of Jesus Christ proclaimed as the new power that is wanted, as a redemption of the world from sin, setting spiritual life at the root of all other life, healing the miseries of men with compassion and wonderful works, promising the entire renovation both of body and soul in another world.
2. The true Church holds the lever in its hand by which the world shall be lifted up. We want the two apostles, the Petrine spirit of faith, the Johannine spirit of love. We must speak clearly and without reserve, in the Name of Christ, not in the name of ecclesiastical power and ritualistic display, to the poorest, and without greed of filthy lucre; and we must prepare to put forth such energy and gifts as we have, all alike, and in the spirit of fellowship; then we shall fill the world with praise, and the lame man shall leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing (see Isa 35:1-10., as a prediction of the Church’s power over the world). The message is individual to the rich and to the poor, “Rise up and walk.” No life is true life which is not blessed of God.R.
Act 3:11-26
A great sermon to a wondering multitude.
I. The AUDIENCE.
1. Different from that previously gathered, which was made up of devout men chiefly, who were interested in the strange phenomenon of the tongues. This was a mingled multitude, partly of temple worshippers, partly of passers-by, including, therefore, many who were present, at the Crucifixion, who had shouted “Crucify him!”
2. Their state of mind. Greatly wondering, ready to be taught, gazing inquiringly at the apostles, almost worshipping them. Strange that they should be so affected after having beheld the miracles of the Lord. Probably already deeply touched and filled with remorseful feelings by the Crucifixion, beginning to believe in the Resurrection, and so filled with alarm lest they had incurred the righteous wrath of God. Peter “saw it,” that is, the signs of an awakened mind and softened heart. He “answered,” perhaps cries of astonishment and inquiry.
II. THE SUBJECT OF DISCOURSE. Not the miracle as a miracle, but the Messiahship of Jesus, as proved by it, and its practical bearing on those present.
1. The facts of the gospel are set face to face with the words of Scripture. The agency of man is shown to be entirely under the control of an overruling Providence, “the determinate counsel of God.” Thus the greatness and graciousness of the faith is at once clearly revealed. The miracle falls into its place as a sign of the Divine working. It is the Name of Christ to which all is to be ascribed. As the multitude were unconscious agents in fulfilling the prophecies, so the apostles are simply ministers proclaiming the gospel, inciting their brethren to believe.
2. The nearness of the kingdom of God is made the ground of an earnest call to repentance and faith. The tremendous responsibility of such a time is declared. If God has been working, how can he pass by the willful disobedience and neglect of those to whom such a message is sent?
3. The day of grace is heralded. While the guilt of a Savior’s crucifixion is boldly pronounced, the gate of life is flung wide open. Peter uses his key well. Times of refreshing and gladness will come if impenitence does not hinder them. Jesus has been sent to bless you, not to curse you; to offer up the blood you shed on your behalf, not to call it down upon your heads, as you did in your blind passion. It was an appeal from fear to faith. Behold the power, but understand that the power is not death, but life. Believe and live. A truly gospel message.
III. AN EXAMPLE OF APOSTOLIC EARNESTNESS.
1. Thoroughly pervaded by the spirit of faith. Look, not on us, nor on the healed man, but on Christ. The power and the holiness (or “godliness,“ Revised Version), is not ours, but God’s. We are mere earthen vessels. The excellency of the power is God’s. The firm persuasion which gave boldness to the preacher was not mere natural eloquence, or physical strength, or temporary elevation in the eyes of the multitude; but a scriptural faith, which rested on the fulfilled promises of God, which saw the facts in the light of eternal truth, which grasped the hope of the future”the restoration of all things.”
2. Directness of appeal. They were not afraid of their faces. They spoke to their consciences. The guilt of the crucifiers is charged home upon them. We succeed best with men when they feel our hand grappling their conscience; if only they believe in our sincerity and faithfulness. Yet the apostles could not know how such a charge would be taken. Wonder might be changed in a fickle multitude into self-justification and rage against the prophet who said, “Ye are the men.” Compare in this respect the New Testament prophets with those of the Old Testament.
3. Sympathy and love to souls. Nothing like inhuman pressing the charge or denunciation. They are “brethren” still. They did it “in ignorance.” They can yet be blessed and saved. There is “perfect soundness” for them if they will have it.
4. Inspired wisdom and heavenly skill. They were “taught of God” how to speak. The startling message comes first, “Ye are guilty;” then the Scripture exposition leading on to the loving appeal at the conclusion. Our last note should always be love. Yet the golden thread of gospel faithfulness must run through all. A model of preaching. Make the beginning, middle, and end, Christ. But let it be Christ the Savior from sin; not Christ the mere Teacher, or Example, or Mystery of God; but the Messenger of peace to dying souls. The sermon, doubtless, is given only in rough sketch, for it probably occupied some time, as the miracle was wrought about three o’clock in the afternoon, and the sermon was interrupted in the evening. There was time for a discourse of more than an hour, so that we may suppose the facts and arguments considerably amplified in the delivery. It would seem that some two thousand were converted between the day of Pentecost and the close of Peter’s sermon in Solomon’s porch. It is, therefore, likely that a large proportion of that number owed their conversion to this sermon; and they were many of them of the populace. Their identification with the Church would, therefore, give great weight to the message, which would be remembered and repeated in substance through the city, and hence handed down to the writer of the Acts. We cannot do better than study such models of simplicity and earnestness, if we would be blessed with similar success among the people.R.
Act 3:16
The power of faith.
“And his Name,” etc.
I. THE NAME OF CHRIST THE SOURCE OF THE POWER.
1. His personal merit as Redeemer. He himself worked miracles; not as a mere instrument in the hands of God, but as Divine. When he left the world, he appointed his apostles to be his representatives, giving them all power in heaven and earth in his Name. He ascended to the right hand of God as an accepted Savior, and from thence sends down the gifts.
2. His royalty as Head of the Divine kingdom. The sufferings of the world belong to its state of ruin, though not caused by the sin of the individual. The kingdom of Christ is set up in the midst of the fallen race to bring about “the restitution of all things.” The heavens are opened. The light comes down into the darkness.
3. His Name as an object of faith. The spiritual draws up the lower world into itself. To believe is to lay hold of the hand which exalts us. As Peter laid hold of the lame man by the right hand and raised him up, so the representatives of Christ lay hold of a dying world; and whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but rise with him into a new life.
II. THE POWER OF FAITH PUT FORTH.
1. From the Church upon the world. By listening to the world’s cries, and directing the souls of men to the true Help. By taking the sufferers by the hand and calling down upon them the blessing of God. By proclaiming everywhere the gospel of “perfect soundness,” in lieu of the world’s false gospels of imperfect remedies, and as a free gift of God to man.
2. From the individual soul upon the life. The apostles represent faith; the lame man, the ruined state of our nature. The living principle implanted by grace works an entire healing of the whole of humanity. Show that all the evils which belong to our life are in some way traceable to the want of faith; that is, of harmony with God. Vital, practical religion lifts up one part of the nature after another. The Christian is the highest style of man. The gospel of the Resurrection preaches a renovation which begins on this side of the grave. The power of the risen Christ works through the whole man; at last gives him perfect soundness. The blessed effect of the Name of Jesus in our heart, in our circumstances, in our family, in our prospects of the future. We cannot receive the special gifts poured out on the early Church, which, in the form they then had, were intended to serve a temporary purpose, but we can receive that “most excellent gift of faith.” The Church should not rest satisfied while there is little manifestation of the power of faith in the works accomplished. Why are we content to go to and fro to the temple, and see the wretchedness of fellow-creatures, without attempting to remove it? Why is any enterprise reckoned impossible? No limits to the successes of the Church when she is filled with faith. We want to lead the world “leaping and praising God” into the temple of his truth. We shall do it, not by argument, not by ritual, not by excitement, but by the putting forth of the power of the Holy Ghost.R.
Act 3:19
Conversion.
“Repent ye therefore,” etc. The universal requirement. Rulers and people. Ignorant and educated. Near the kingdom, or far off. The end to be aimed at by all Christian effort and enterprise. The application of all mighty displays of Divine power. The real beginning of individual spiritual life, and of a true Church.
I. THE NATURE OF TRUE CONVERSION.
1. Spiritual change. Not a mere ritualistic sensation, or educational development of the character, but being “born again.” Repentance, change of mind, on the ground of facts acknowledged and promises received. The announcement of the gift of God prepared the way for the call to repentance. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, therefore repent; pass through the gate into life.
2. Man’s co-operation with God. “Repent and turn again” (Revised Version), “that your sins may be blotted out,” etc. No amount of feeling is conversion; no enlightenment of the mind, or even devoutness of spirit, supersedes the change of life. The sins are blotted out by the blood of Christ as guilt, their burden is removed from the conscience, the heart, and the life, when repentance and faith introduce the sinner into the state of grace. What the apostle appealed for was a real coming out of the old state into the new. We must not be satisfied with mere religiousness, instead of decided confession of Christ before men. Direct the Word to the individual: “Repent ye.“ The participation of privilege as children of Abraham, as members of the favored nation, no release from the obligation to repent. The Church itself needs revival and change.
II. ENCOURAGEMENTS.
1. The great fact. Conversion is a reality, already seen.
The Spirit of God is already poured out. The beginning of the new life is before our eyes. Others are changed, why not ye? Distinguish between the right and wrong use of such a fact. No necessity to wait for great revivals. Danger of expecting excitement to do God’s work for us. The actual existence of a living, working Church of Christ in our neighborhood is the great call to us.
2. The offered blessednessthe blotting out of sins. Sense of pardon the spring of the new life. The function of thankfulness in practical Christianity. The impossibility of progress without a sense of liberty. Hence the defective Christianity of our Churches. No sense of victory over sin.
3. The promised future. “Seasons of refreshing.” Return of Jesus Christ. Restitution of all things. The key-note of revelation. The golden horizon of the world. Power of hope in awakening energy. “Pilgrim’s progress” is towards “the celestial city.” Turn your face from the city of Destruction to the city of God. The call to repentance should never be a mere denunciatory cry against sin, a mere pointing to the overhanging Mount Sinai, which gendereth bondage; but as the loving invitation to rejoice in the “presence of the Lord,” from which the blessing is ready to come forth. Address men not as far off, but as nighwithin the temple courts, under the outspread wings.R.
Act 3:26
The mission of Jesus Christ.
“Unto you first,” etc.. The Bible its own interpreter. All acknowledge the greatness, wonderfulness, perfection of the gospel portrait. Misconstruction of the facts by the Jew, by the unbelieving philosopher, by the mere moralist, by the rationalist. The last verse of the apostle’s sermon a summing up Scripture and facts of history. So always revelation and history explain one another. The truly evangelical view of Christ the only one that appeals to the universal human heart.
I. THE INFINITE FOUNDATION ON WHICH THE GOSPEL RESTS. God raised up his Son (Servant); God sent him.
1. The twofold aspect of the Divine character thus presented to us. Love desiring to bless; righteousness requiring the putting away of iniquities. All is from the Father.
2. The person and the work of Christ revealed in their intimate union. “Raised up,“ comprehending the whole conception of the mediatorial exaltation of Jesus Christ. Difference between his history and that of any mere human agent raised up for action, the necessity for all that we find in the Scripture record. God knows it, though we may not see it.
3. The Scripture is not given to be worked up by men’s devices into mere food for human pride; it is a practical Book, the foundation laid, to be built upon. Christ was sent to bless us, and we can find the blessing only as we seek it practically.
II. THE UNIVERSAL MESSAGE TO THE WORLD.
1. The moral state of all men shows the necessity for such a proclamation. “Your iniquities.“ The history of the gospel reminds us that the most religiously instructed were far from being the most godly. The superstitions and oppositions of the world multiply its iniquities, Man cannot turn himself to God.
2. The whole gospel must be preached, or its true success cannot be realized. The mutilated Christianity of our time is proving itself impotent. We must lead the hearts of men to a person; we must teach them dependence on a power; we must call them to newness of life, a life already made manifest through Christ, both in his history and in the history of his people. Then:
3. The blessing should be put first and foremost. Blessing which the world has been waiting for from the beginning, which it has been prepared for by the dispensations, which it received in germ in Abraham and his seed, but which is for all the families of the earth. Hence it was “to the Jew first,” as the consecrated messenger; but as the patriarchs were taken to the larger sphere of Egypt that they might come forth from it prepared to be God’s messengers, so Christianity must be taken from its Judaistic standpoint, and put into the central position of the world’s life, that it may draw to itself Greece and Rome, the East and the West, the whole nature and existence of humanity. So now the progress of man is from the emancipation of the individual, through that of the nation, to the cosmopolitan blessedness of mankind as a race. The mission of Christ is to each and to all.R.
HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER
Act 3:1
Act 4:4
Peter’s second sermon and its resultsone evening’s good work.
The history contained in the Acts of the Apostles continues to be a record of Peter’s lead. This great honor is bestowed on the active, earnest, impetuous disciple of the days of Jesus’ flesh. And it must be accepted as a certain proof that his repentance had been deep and sincere. The name of his loving companion and old brother disciple John is now introduced. But nothing that he may have either said or done is noticed with any particularity as yet. That he did contribute something in both of these sorts, however, is evident from the language of verses 3 and 11 in this chapter, and verses 1, 13, and 19 of Act 4:1-37. The continued happy and hearty co-operation of the two is meantime worthy of notice, and tells its own tale; and if a conjecture is to be hazarded at all, none but the most natural need be repaired tothat John was feeling the quiet and reverent way to a service which he loved with his whole heart, and willingly yielded the precedence to another, Peter, whom he saw, ever since the issue of the race of the sacred sepulcher, if not before, to be a born pioneer. The really central fact of this portion of Scripture is another sermon from Peter, with its occasion so significant and its results so gladdening. Let us notice
I. ITS VERY FORCIBLE TEXTA MIRACLE. The days of discoursing on the description of what had been were not yet come. Peter founds his discourse on something to which he literally pointed his hearers, saying, “Ye see and know” it. Nor has Peter now the hard task of exciting attention and interest. These are abundantly excited. Deeds have gone before words, certain practice has gone before doctrine. The subject is invested with life and reality all round, and Peter undoubtedly has the grand advantage of speaking to ears that want to listen, because mind and heart are inquiring. Yes, Peter discourses upon the text of a miracle. And it is one
(1) which is verified within the actual knowledge of those whom he addresses;
(2) which is of an undeniably beneficent kind;
(3) which is wrought, not on inanimate or unconscious nature, but upon nature both animate and conscious, and yet in addition possessed of reason;
(4) which, claims some connection evidently with human eye, voice, and hand, namely, those of Peter (verses 4-7);
(5) which nevertheless appears to draw for its duper potency upon the inspiration of a Name invoked by that very Peter;
(6) which results not merely in some surprising and most welcomed physical effect, but in certain spiritual manifestations as well (verses 8, 9);
(7) which derived some additional interest and significance from the very place where it was wroughtat a gate of the temple;
(8) which found its occasion from a prayer for help, but meantime gave help out of all proportion to that which had been asked. Four general observations respecting the miracle as a whole should be made.
1. This miracle is the first recorded as wrought by the apostles in the new Church.
2. It most distinctly professes to be wrought “in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
3. It created a widespread interest, and awakened prompt and close scrutiny.
4. It is characterized by certain among the whole number of those who considered and investigated it as “a notable miracle,“ and one which they “could not deny,” though with the very best wishes to deny it.
II. THE AUDIENCE TO WHOM THE SERMON WAS PREACHED.
1. It is a large and evidently altogether miscellaneous assembly.
2. It is an assembly who immediately look as though they attributed the miracle to “power” or to “holiness,” or both.
3. It is an assembly who, in their wonder, excitement, and probably, also, genuine gratitude, are ready to attribute that “power” and “holiness” to two fellow-men.
4. It is an assembly guarded and corrected upon this matter without an unnecessary moment’s delay.
III. THE SERMON ITSELF. No picture ever brought out more faithfully or forcibly some figure in the landscape, no portrait some feature of countenance, than does this once spoken, now written, sermon bring out forcibly and faithfully certain truths. Note:
1. The grand subject of it. “Jesus Christ” (verses 13, 18, 20). And
(1) the transcendent relationship belonging to Jesus is with unqualified emphasis now asserted. He is the “Son of the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.” He is the “Son of the God of our fathers.” Before the death of Jesus, Peter had boldly borne most unequivocal testimony to his own faith in the “Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat 16:17; Joh 6:69), and, it may be supposed, to that of his fellow-disciples at the same time. And Peter had been in that act blessed with the great reward of hearing his Lord’s own estimate of the special grace bestowed upon him. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Be this so, it is equally certain that this “generation” of the “Son Jesus” had not only not been publicly preached to the people, but had in a sense been suppressed. Far otherwise now. Jesus has suffered, risen, ascended. And his right and dignity in this most cardinal respect is to be proclaimed.
(2) The names to which Jesus has entitled himself by character, by sufferings, and by achievements are boldly spoken. He is “the Holy One and the Just the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead;” and he is “that Prophet.”
(3) His treatment at the hands of men, and even of those who were at the moment the hearers of Peter, with all the aggravations of it, is enlarged upon. It is not only the fearless fidelity of Peter that is worthy of note here. Beyond and below this, the method itself is to be noted, which consists in going to the very root of the disease, probing it to the core. Thus Peter, looking at thee guilty in the face, says, “Whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye refused the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and ye killed the Prince of life.” And yet it is “his Name that hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know and given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” There is in all this no slurring over of the guilt, of the aggravations of it, or of the fact that those who were there and then listeners were the abettors of it or accessories to it.
(4) His very contrary treatment at the hands of his Father, God, is brought into prominence. “God hath glorified his Son Jesus, God hath raised him from the dead and to you first hath sent him to bless you.” This all, involved the vital point. The Jew who could have brought himself to believe that God was thus “well pleased” in Jesus, would have been the first to condemn himself; and with swift force is this, therefore, brought down upon him, in that incontestably he ought to have believed and seen long ago. The Jew is answerable for his guilt and folly, let them be mixed in whatever proportions. Let his “ignorance” bear what proportion it may to the sum total of his fault, his ignorance was his own look out, was not necessary, was inexcusable, and the smart of the consequences of it he must now become acquainted with and must wince beneath it. Peter sees the door opened for him, and he enters in. He has his hearers now. The link that often seemed missing to them, who had no eyes to see aught except a negation, is found, and Peter is determined that eyes shall no longer pretend being shut to it. With such crushing effect betimes do circumstances prove providences, and the sudden glorious crisis at the Beautiful gate that evening at nine o’clock crowds with conviction and humiliation and shame many a conscience, many a heart. Things are rapidly reversing now. This is the hour of Jesus. Peter now puts on his head one crown of glorythe crown of thorns in the past!
(5) Lastly, the inherent force of Jesus is asserted. His is a Namethere can, there shall be no denial of it, no mistake about itabove every name. With a certain power of repetition, which is not “vain repetition,” does Peter state it: “And his Name through [by-the- method of] faith in his Name yea, the faith which is through him,” is what hath given this man “this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” In which grand and emphatic statement these two gospel axioms may be found,
(a) that Christ is the one Object on which faith may try her virtue”My faith would lay her hand on that dear head of thine:” and,
(b) that Christ is the one Object whose virtue”for virtue went out of him”it is worth faith’s while to try. There is unsurpassed virtue in Christ, and the access to that virtue, the method of drawing upon it, is by faith. So there is unsurpassed virtue in faith also. Christ, and Christ alone, meets, and meets abundantly, the want of man, of any and every man. Faith, and faith alone, brings Christ and man so together that the one imparts and the other receives all that can be needed, asked, desired. This must be called the kernel of the apostle’s sermon now. And it is the kernel of Christianity. This is the essence and distinctiveness of Christianity. And beyond a doubt this it is that constitutes its unwelcomeness to a proud world’s heart, its inexpressible welcomeness to an humble, stricken heart, that only asks one thingif now at last its unfathomed depth and unceasing craving may be worthily, sufficiently filled.
2. The appeals that follow upon it. Peter is, indeed, all the while earnestly appealing to the people; but this appeal is no mere declamation, either vague or impassioned. It is grounded, firmly grounded, upon other appeals.
(1) The first appeal is to events quite recentto a history within the actual knowledge of all the nation, but most of all of the city of Jerusalem. The “holy” character of Jesus, his “just” conduct, his betrayal and repudiation by “his own,” his suffering, resurrection, and glorification, at least in so far as the Ascension was concerned.
(2) The second appeal is to their own “oracles,” and the prized stores of their own treasured prophecies. Peter well knew the just purchase he gained in confronting his audience with quotations from their prophets (verses 18, 21, 22, 24, 25).
(3) The third appeal is one made to their own conscience. This consisted not only in the plain and uncompromising manner in which Peter brought to their remembrance their most recent offences against their own conscience, partly under the cover of ignorance in their crucifying of Christ, but beside this in his direct naming of them as sinners. He exhorts them not as “the ninety and nine” “which needed no repentance,” but emphatically as those who needed to “repent,” needed to “be converted,” needed “the blotting out of their sins,” needed the “sending of that very Jesus Christ” who had been “preached unto” them, though hitherto in vain; needed the warning of that terrible prophecy, that said, “The soul that heareth not shall be destroyed from among the people;” needed to be reminded that they were the” children of the prophets and of” a most venerable “covenant;” and needed to be reminded, withal, of the last highest touch added to their privilege and their responsibility, in that to them “first God had sent his risen Son,” to offer them first the fullness of that richest “blessing,” which consisted in the “being turned away each from his iniquities”glorious diversion indeed! There is not a sentence but was a message to the conscience. Not a sentence but what must have “pricked the heart.” And not a sentence but what would have been a winged barbed arrow, except for the mercy that each time took the aim, and which mercy was as “purposed” as the arrow’s aim was deliberate. Such a marshalling of allegation against hearts and consciences, and the living men to whom they belonged, rarely had been, rarely has been. But when it has, true it is that it is in part material that it has occurredin the matter of men’s treatment of Christ and of their own souls. Withal Peter did not distrust the influence of
(4) the appeal to hope. Through all the faithfulness of plain speaking and the severity of naked truth, kindliness seems to betray itself, and to wish to make its deeper existence felt. The prompt disclaiming of any special and superior power or holiness in himself and brother apostle was a happy beginning on the part of Peter, and tended to put to sleep envy and the spirit of a comparison that would all have added to the smart of the reproof for conscious wrong-doing. Again, Peter does himself (verse 17) mitigate in some degree their sin, by the suggestion of their “ignorance” and of that of their “rulers;” and in the same breath addresses them as “brethren.” His allusion to the fulfilling of prophecy amid all the stern facts of the “suffering” of Christ had also the germ of hopefulness in it. The “blotting out of their sins,” and the whisper of “the times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;” the inspiring quotation of the “Prophet to be raised up from among their brethren, like unto” Moses; and the fixing of the fact that it was on these very existing days that the whole ranks of “prophets from Samuel” downwards had concentred prophetic attention; and, last of all, the rehearsing of the old promise to Abraham, clenched by the assertion of its being now in course and act of fulfilling;surely all this was ground thickly sown with the seeds of hope. So absent was the tone of disparagement and depreciation, when the lips of Peter spoke most stinging truth! Great is the recuperative energy of souls, when there is any room for hope left. But depreciation is a cruel foe to hope, if it take effect; and if it do not take effect, it is sure to make more irreconcilably active the spirit of self-defense and of opposition. Nor can we doubt, nor would we wish to doubt, that the sermon of Peter showed one grand fulfillment of the promise, that it “should be given in that same hour what they should speak” to those who were called by the Spirit to speak for Jesus.
IV. THE FIRST EFFECTS OF THE SERMON. The first effects were a plain augury of what occurred very often in later times. These first effects are not all discomfiture. Nor are they results that count half and half, with no clear balance either of gain or of loss. To count nothing on what may succeed them, the first results show the preachers Peter and John bound, the Word they preached not bound.
1. The apostles, who preached, are imprisonedfor what length of time the sentence discreetly left unsaid. The apostles were laid hands on by ecclesiastics, committed by self-interest to endeavor to maintain the status quo in the Church and the worldby one official and by a few self-styled theologians, driest of the dry and most erring of the erring.
2. The doctrine they had been preaching was not imprisoned. “Many who had heard it “believed.” Fresh wings were given to it to fly abroad. Either the additional, or more probably the total, number of believers was now “five thousand” And the imprisonment of Peter and John is certain to have had these two consequences upon them, viz. that fresh thought would be stirred up in every one of them, and fresh utterance of the mouth of every one of them be provoked. Thus it is very far from being a case of all loss. The “Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth ‘wrought great things this day, and truth made great advance.B.
Act 3:25
The true importance of ancestrywhat it is.
These words were some of those addressed by Peter to a crowd of wondering and admiring spectators, and of attentive hearers also. These were gathered for him by the fret of the man whom he had delivered from his lameness resolving to cleave as long as he could to the side of his deliverer. The “common people” did on this occasion gladly hear Peter, as formerly they gladly were wont to hear his Master and their own. We are grateful to be able to recall these circumstances and this connection of the text; because on certain other occasions Peter, Stephen, and Paul, and many a time Jesus himself, had to refer to the ancestry of the Jews in order to point severest reproof and condemnation unrelieved. But it is not so now. Reproof and condemnation are only partly aimed at here. We have here
I. A WORD OF REMINDING IN DUE SEASON. The office of reminding may seem but an humble one. But how true the friend sometimes who undertakes itwho waits not for some grand occasion of instructing, of informing you of what you did not know, or of charming you with the latest discoveries of science or applications of art, but who simply brings afresh to your thought what you had long known! Conscience is such a friend when we will listen to it. It does not teach what is new, but does remind and remonstrate. God’s Holy Ghost is such a Friend when you will listen to him. He both reveals the new and brings to remembrance the old, specially those dear old words, of priceless value, of Jesus. The written and spoken Word of God is such a friend. How many of its messages are but the pronounced repetitions of your own reason, experience! They are your own judgment and observation, now ushered in with all the added impressiveness that comes from the “endorsement” of the Divine page and pen. And now Peter tells his hearers no new thing. They had long ago known it, and had built much upon it. They built, though too ignorantly, large part of their hopes of salvation upon their being the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their trust was in the covenant God made with Abraham. Their great charter was “Moses and the prophets.” But had it not often come to this, that they eagerly remembered their boasted rights but kept a poor memory for their duties? They would enforce their claims, ignore the correlative demands upon themselves, long more than due! “We have Abraham to our father,” was their ever-ready cry; yet they had “killed the prophets,” and “stoned them that were sent to them,” and had “crucified the Prince of life.” “Of him,“ says Peter, “all the prophets spoke,” from Moses the greatest, and Samuel the second greatest. And surely you won’t forget that “you are the children of those prophets,” and won’t consent to act unworthily of that relationship! Was not this a word of reminding in due season? And was it not put very kindly by Peter to his congregation? Perhaps all the same tone of thought, all the same suggestion for memories, awake enough at the point of rights and claims, but that fade at the point of duty and responsibility, characterizes to a very large degree the present day. Men do not forget they are Englishmen; they do not forget to boast their freedom. Are they touched in one of these or the like respects, they resent it as though the apple of their eye was touched. But they forget they are the children of those who got these things for them “through much tribulation;” who fought, suffered, died, for their privileges. They forget they are the children of Reformers and Protestants, who “resisted even unto blood,” and for conscience’ sake were burned at the stake; that they are children of those who loved, spake, and did the truth, cost what it might. It was a very effective point which Peter made when, viewing it as a kindly reminder, he said, “Ye are the children of the prophets.”
II. A WORD CONCEIVED IN THE VEIN OF REBUKE. While it is not at all necessary to construe the text as the language of stern rebuke, yet it may imply some rebuke. And this deserves rebuke, when men are so willing to touch human life at all its points of contact with pleasure, self-interest, honor, privilege, but are so very shy of it at its points of contact with duty, effort, sacrifice. With the many, the strongest bent, deepest inclination of their life is still but what they can get and have, what they can say or think to the advantage of themselves. The choice is a mournfully sorry one, when it is considered to what it comes. For its one-sidedness it earns rebuke. For its cowardice it earns rebuke. For its certain unprofitableness it earns rebuke. And not least does it earn rebuke because of its higher opportunities forfeited, and nobler passions and principles wasted and alienated. The harvest is too surely reaped, of disappointment, vanity, and vexation of spirit, or self-stricken darkness itself. But let some one begin life from the diametrically opposite standpoint. Let him accept the theory that life is for duty, that it is responsible for the vaster advantages with which it began than those with which it was begun by preceding generations, that it calls for work more strenuous, and sacrifice more willing, and self-surrender more entire by very virtue of the honor and advantage it has drawn from its own forefathers; and that life is shaped for high ends. It will not fail of real fruitfulness; it will not expire, a sorrow and a shame. The gentle suggestive rebuke couched in the text touches the essential difference between two such lives. You are not the children of possession, and of ease, and of the “rest and be thankful” school; you are the descendants of a nobler strenuous, solemn race. They had large brains, they had bone and muscle about them, sinew and nerve were firm and firmly tied, and their heart was capacious. Ay, to other sort men ofttimes prefer to trace their lineage; but to this sort, the kindly rebuke of Peter, of the Word and Spirit of God, of his providence, and of our own conscience, should oftener turn us and our ambition.
III. A WORD EQUIVALENT TO A STIRRING SUMMONS FOR A PEOPLE OF EXTRAORDINARY DIGNITY AND PRIVILEGE. It will be granted that the Jews were such a people. Yet, with all their honor and splendor, their unique religious privileges, and their preeminent political prestige, it must be allowed that they show but a faint type of ourselves. They rose to a pinnacle of national greatness, and great was their fall; but it was no mystery. The beginning of it was plain, the course of it was plain. It was often pointed out by priest, prophet, preacher, and by that man of the people themselves, who “was an Israelite indeed.” Yet they wrought their own downfall, and cruelly undermined their own proud position, because they lost ear, heart, and pride for that which was their glory, and to its announcement greatly preferred to sound their own trumpet. But were there ever heirs like ourselves? Was there ever an heritage like ours? Of what prophets are we the children, when we think of the accumulations of knowledge, of conviction, of attestations of God’s existence, providence, government, revelation, which the stream of time has been bearing down, richest freights to our shores? In such sense we are children of no obscure parentage, “citizens of no mean city, owning to a history of unsurpassed significance. Ages and centuries of the past bend their surprised gaze upon us; they compass us about with clouds of witnesses. And when the gentle reminding is passed, and the suggested rebuke seems to fail, one thing only remainsimpassioned appeal, a summons that must wake all but those who are securely dead. Live we, then, worthily of our antecedents, mindful of our responsibilities as heirs of such a past. Let us flee from unfaithfulness, and. scorn the seductions of ease and luxury. Let us purge ourselves from vanity, per verseness, and serf. Let us pray for a divinely opened eye, mind, heart. And show by God’s grace that we have not forgotten, but on the contrary do make it our business to remember, whose “children we are.”B.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Act 3:1
Habits of public prayer.
The Lord Jesus set the example of regular attendance on the synagogue services; and both he and his apostles seem to have daily attended at the temple at the appointed “hours of prayer,” when they were resident in the “holy city.” Some illustrations may be given of the prayer-habits of both Jews and Mohammedans; and the value, but also peril, of customs of public prayer may be pointed out. “We read in Scripture of three specified hours of prayer, in accordance with which the psalmist speaks of his own custom (Psa 55:17). In like manner Daniel prayed ‘three times a day’ (Dan 6:10). The hour of morning prayer was the third hour; and Peter went up to the house-top to pray (Act 10:9) about the sixth hour, which was noon; and the evening prayer was this to which Peter and John were going up.” We fix attention on the fact that, though the apostles had the new personal “life in Christ,” they found public religious service and duties still demanded their attention. Soul-life, spiritual life, still needs for its culture “public prayer” and “united worship.”
I. THE TWO SIDES OF THE DEVOTIONAL LIFE. The private and the public. Both are necessary. Each helps the other. Since men are not isolated individuals, their personal and private devotions cannot satisfy all their needs and claims. And since the individual can never be lost in the crowd, public devotions can never adequately express the precise personal needs. Our Lord taught us the duty and value of private prayer (Mat 6:6).
II. THE RELATION OF PUBLIC PRAYER TO PERSONAL CULTURE, AND TO THE DUTY OF WITNESSING FOR GOD. Take first to “personal culture.” In private devotion there is danger of morbid introspection; public prayer fills our thought with Clod rather than man. When alone the self-sphere may become too prominent; when we join with others we are helped to forget self in common sympathies, desires, and prayers. At home communion and petition are prominent in our prayers; in the assembly of God’s people the prominent thing is intercession. Besides this, in public worship we are influenced by holy sentiment, and swayed by high emotions, and realize the joy of the Divine life. These things bear most directly on healthy soul-culture. Further, it is our bounden duty to make solemn public declaration of our belief in God, and submission to his authority and rule. Such a declaration we make in the act of going to and joining in public prayer and worship. Our “houses of prayer,” and our “hours of prayer,” and our “millions of worshippers,” still attest England’s belief in God; and every one should feel jealous lest the fullness and clearness of that testimony should be in the least degree impaired. Deal with modern neglect of worship, and the custom of half. day worshipping.
III. THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD HABITS IN RELATION TO PUBLIC PRAYER. Herein we have the example of our Lord, of his apostles, and of the saints through all the ages. It would be difficult to find the case of one eminently holy man or woman, in all the Christian history, who held lightly or neglected the public worship and ordinances of the Church. Such habits should be formed and welt watched over in early life. Those united together as friends, as husbands and wives, should help each other to maintain the habits. For they bear good influence on family life, on social life, and on national life. The constant association with Divine things has a gracious and hallowing influence, and renews every earnest purpose to live the godly life. The formation and maintenance of such good habits is, further, a sign of self-mastery in the spirit of loyalty and obedience to God. And such self-mastery is the very beginning and necessary foundation of all high morality and virtue. It guarantees that effort will be made to enthrone God and duty over bodily passion, and over all life-associations.
IV. THE PERILS OF FORMALITY IN PUBLIC DEVOTIONS. We may come to share in worship “to be seen of men.” We may put the sensual (or sensuous) above the spiritual. We may find our hearts satisfied with the ceremonial. We may pride ourselves upon our regularity. Our very familiarity with worship-forms may lead to repetition without thought or feeling. The Judaism of the time of our Lord presents a painful instance of how sadly the life may go out of a national religion, leaving only the formal observance of ever-multiplying rites and ceremonies. And the Mohammedan, dropping prostrate at the sound of the muezzin, and incoherently muttering words of prayer, warns us of the insidious and fatal peril of formalism in public religion.
In conclusion, explain and impress the close and direct relation that exists between private devotion and public devotion. The life we can put into public worship must be the life which has been touched, quickened, and cultured by God into strength, in our prayer-chamber at home. We cannot, with any surety, get life at public worship; but we can always bring it with us to the worship. The law works broadly, and it may be thus briefly stated: The nourished and kept soul has life for worship. Then “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is,” and see to it that you carry to the sanctuary of God hearts beating high with love and reverence and trust.R.T.
Act 3:2
The kinship between religion and charity.
From the exegetical portion of the Commentary materials for the introduction may be obtained. Such introduction should treat of the suffering poor in the East, showing how necessarily dependent they were upon promiscuous charity. With their condition may be contrasted the care for the poor in all Christian lands, and the provision of hospitals and institutions for their relief. Some account may also be given of Herod’s temple, and the position of the gate called Beautiful. Josephus says the other gates were overlaid with gold and silver, but this one, which was probably the gate on the east, which led from the court of the women, was “made of Corinthian bronze, and much surpassed in worth those enriched with silver and gold.” It may further be shown how this miracle, wrought by the agency of St. Peter, resembles the gracious miracles of healing wrought by our Lord himself. The picture of this poor and hopelessly suffering man suggests the following topics for meditation:
I. THE DISPENSATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE BRING BODILY DISABILITIES FOR SOME MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY. This, as a fact, may be variously illustrated, and it may be shown, from our Lord’s teachings, that neither bodily infirmities and disabilities, nor earthly calamities, are necessarily direct results of personal sin or fault. They are oftentimes hereditary consequences of ancestral sin. They are often products of circumstances and conditions of life, over which the sufferer had no control. They may be regarded as the great sin-burden lying OH the race, and borne more evidently by some members for the sake of all. So long as the race is sinful, it must have the character of its sinfulness marked and impressed by manifest, painful, unsightly, revolting, and apparently hopeless forms of “suffering” all around it. The “suffering” as well as the “poor” we have always with us.
II. SUCH DISABILITIES SET SOME MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY UPON THE BROTHERHOOD AND CHARITY OF OTHERS. For, if we look upon them aright, we regard them as bearing the common burden, and so bearing our burden. We might have been among the blind, or dumb, or lame, or idiotic, or paralyzed; and it is never enough that we thank God for our freedom from special disabilities; our thankfulness only finds its natural and proper expression in caring for, helping, and relieving the disabled and distressed. Sufferers, wherever they are found, should touch our hearts with tender emotions. We should have such an open, sensitive heart as can take them all in. It is well if we show special interest in some particular class of sufferersthe orphan, incurable, lame, sick children, deaf and dumb, etc. To take a higher ground, our Lord is the great Sufferer, and so the head of all sufferers. Therefore, for his sake, and as showing our tender sympathy and love for him, we should take his suffering brethren into our love and care. “Doing it to the least of the brethren is doing it to him.” “He that loveth God [his Father] should love his brother also.”
III. A NATURAL EXPECTATION LEADS MEN TO LOOK FOR SUCH CHARITY TOWARD THE DISABLED FROM THE RELIGIOUS. It is a fact that systematic efforts for the welfare of the naturally disabled are only found in lands where Christian thought and feeling prevail. It may be illustrated and enforced:
1. That this connection between religion and brotherly charity is natural It is the fitting impulse of “human kindness” that leads us to care for others, but it is the special impulse of that new feeling that comes with personal and saving relations with Christ.
2. That this connection is right. Urged as such by Divine command and Divine example, as well as by the example of all noble and holy men.
3. This connection has been, in Christian lands, fairly well met. Show into how varied spheres Christian benevolence and charity may now run. Ask earnestly, and with direct applicationsIs it true, individually for us, that our piety has cultured into holy vigor our charity? If not, it is of little worth to us or to others.R.T.
Act 3:6, Act 3:16
The power of Christ’s Name.
The Revised Version, in its rendering of Act 3:16, sets the Name forth even more prominently than the Authorized Version. It reads, “And by [or, ‘on the ground of’] faith in his Name hath his Name made this man strong.” This represents the actual order of the Greek words. The incident is so graphically described by Luke, that a suggestive picture of the scene may be given as introduction. The point of difference between this and our Lord’s miracles which needs attention is this: Our Lord required signs of faith before he wrought his miracles St. Peter did not wait for such signs in this object of the healing power. Two reasons may help to explain the difference. St. Peter had to show the faith which he and the other apostles had in Christ. Signs of their faith were just then the important thing, rather than signs of the man’s faith. As our Lord acted directly, and not as an agent, he could give entire attention to the recipiency, or receptivity, of the objects of his power. And we may also say that the miracle was wrought rather for the people’s sakes than for the man’s. It was a call to them to give heed to the apostles’ witness; and therefore St. Peter was, properly, more concerned about the influence of the miracle on the people than even about the moral condition of the lame man. St. Peter acted on a sudden impulse of the Holy Ghost which dwelt in him, and it was fitting that he and the rest of the disciples should keep themselves open to the Spirit’s leadings, ready to follow and obey the inward inspirations and monitions. Compare Paul’s response to Divine direction, in Act 16:6-10. We need, in these days, to recover our lost faith in the presence and lead of God the Holy Ghost, and to win the attitude of watching for his gracious guidance. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. St. Peter s explanation of the miracle is that it was wrought in the “power of Christ’s Name.” This we endeavor to understand.
I. CHRIST‘S NAME GATHERS UP HIS RIGHTS AND ATTRIBUTES. A name should be the expression of what a thing is, or what a man is. Nowadays names of persons are conventional and without significance; they are fixed by accident or by sentiment. In olden times they held meanings, and were appropriate to individuals; so a name was an explanation or revelation. In sympathy with this it is said that the redeemed are to have a “new name” on their foreheads. It will gather up into an expression their privilege and their joy as the fully redeemed. F. W. Robertson, in his sermon on ‘Jacob wrestling’, says, “In the Hebrew history are discernible three periods distinctly marked, in which names and words bore very different characters. In the first of these periods names meant truths, and words were the symbols of realities. The characteristics of the names given then were simplicity and sincerity. The second period begins about the time of the departure from Egypt, and it is characterized by unabated simplicity, with the addition of sublimer thought and feeling more intensely religious. The third period was at its zenith in the time of Christwords had lost their meaning, and shared the hollow, unreal state of all things. Jacob lived in the first age, when men are sincere and truthful and earnest, and names exhibit character. To tell Jacob the Name of God was to reveal to him what God is and who.” “The use of Name as the equivalent of power is very Jewish. It grew out of such passages as Psa 106:8, ‘He saved them for his Name’s sake.’ In the literature of the Jews great power was attributed to the Name of God, even when only inscribed, e.g. as it was said in tradition to have been on the rod of Moses.” The Name of “Jesus of Nazareth” stands, therefore, for his Messiahship, his mission, his infinite worthiness, his accepted work, and his present power. Or, we may say, it stands for him, and sets him forth as the present Redeemer, “able to heal and to save unto the uttermost.”
II. CHRIST‘S NAME INVOLVES HIS SPIRITUAL PRESENCE. This would be a familiar association to the Jew. God was in the bush, but Moses only had his Name. God delivered Israel from Egypt, but Israel knew him present with them only in his Name. They worshipped a God whom they never saw, and only could “exalt by his great Name, Jah.“ And so Jesus Christ was gone out of the sphere of the senses. Really, however, present still, spiritually present, and working gracious and mighty works through faith in his Name. This is all we have of Christhis Name. And yet for us too it is the grasping of the spiritual reality of his presence.
III. CHRIST‘S NAME CAN HEAL THE SICK. Because he is present in the Name. “The Name did not work as a formula of incantation; it required, on the part both of the worker and receiver, faith in that which the Name representedthe manifestation of the Father through the Son.” The most striking illustration of the apostle’s faith in Christ’s Name, i.e. Christ’s actual presence and power to heal, is found in the recovery of Aeneas (Act 9:34). St. Peter spoke as if he saw Christ there, saying, “AEneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.”
IV. CHRIST‘S NAME CAN HEAL THE SIN–SICK SOUL. For all outward and material healings are but illustrations of what Christ is now doing in moral spheres, in our hearts and lives, if we will, by faith, open to him. And what is called faith is simply this: soul-opening to the living Saviour, who, in his Divine power and grace, can come in, and heal, and cleanse, and save. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” etc. Appeal as to whether there has yet been this openness to Christ. Impress that, in all healing and saving work, man may be the agent, but the power lies in the Name, which gathers up for us a present living Savior.R.T.
Act 3:6
Responsibility in the possession of power.
Travelers tell us that one of the saddest things to be seen in Eastern countries is the crowding of beggars in the approaches to Mohammedan mosques, and at the gates of cities and large houses; many of them presenting the most painful and revolting pictures of human suffering. “The stationing of beggars, especially maimed beggars, at the gate of the temple, was evidently suggested by the persuasion that the feelings of those who were proceeding to, or had been engaged in, an act of solemn worship, would be more inclined to charity and benevolence than at ordinary times”. Fix attention on the words actually spoken to the beggar by St. Peter, and consider
(1) The consciousness of power, and
(2) the responsibility of conscious power.
I. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF POWER. “Such as I have give I thee.” St. Peter felt that he had something. He knew that he could benefit and bless the sufferer, if not in the precise way which the man anticipated. The common power of “silver and gold” St. Peter had not; the far better power, to heal, St. Peter had. What we so greatly need is to awake to the consciousness of the power that we have in Christ Jesus; to believe in the abundant and varied powers with which the Church of Christ and the individual Christian are endowed. We should expect to see signs of power in each other, as fellow-Christians. God never renews any man by his Spirit without also endowing him with a gift, or talent, in trust. Powers differ in different men. Each man has his own. Wealth is a powera dreadful power, if it has not been first laid on the altar of Christ, and then taken up and used as his; a glorious power if, on starting life, the soul has made a great covenant with Christ, and solemnly vowed that whatever may be gained shall be consecrated to him. Intellect is a power. Every man who knows a little more than his neighbor has a power. He can teach, he can enlighten, he can lead. But a man may have little money and little mind, and yet have the trust of that far higher thingspiritual power. He may be able to lay hold of, and use for the blessing of others, the “great power of God.” That “spiritual power” lies dormant too often in us. We need something to work in us as in St. Peter, and waken the consciousness of our trust; something stirring in us mighty impulses, shaking us out of our apathy and selfishness, compelling us to say, “A witness for Christ has to be made, and I must help to make it; a work for Christ has to be done, and I must help to do it; the world has to be won for Christ, and I must set to work to win the little piece of the world in which God has been pleased to put me.“
II. THE RESPONSIBILTY OF CONSCIOUS POWER. All God’s gifts to us are for our giving away to others. All God’s strength is for use. If he makes an arm strong, it is for work. If he makes a voice strong, it is that it may plead with others for him. If he makes a heart strong, it is that it may inspire others to nobler things. There is no Divine blessing that is intended to rest with us. All blessings that flow to us are to flow through us, gain force from us, and flow on in refreshings beyond us. If you are compelled to recognize the fact that you couldyou could give, you could teach, you could sympathize, you could cheerthen upon you rests a solemn responsibility. What you can do for Christ and for his brethren, you are bound, by all holy persuasions and considerations, to do. Such as you have, by gracious trusts from God, that you must be ever ready to give and spend and use for the service and the blessing of others.R.T.
Act 3:13-15
The apostolic witness to Christ.
Our Lord distinctly appointed the apostles as his witnesses (Luk 24:48; Act 1:8). In these their early sermons or addresses, we may find the points which they considered were specially entrusted to them to declare. They would be sure to give first the basis or foundation facts on which the Christian system rested, and then gradually unfold the various doctrines which were embodied in those facts. Their central, foundation fact was their Lord’s resurrection. It even seems that, at first, the Resurrection stood out more prominently before the apostles’ minds than the sacrifical death. The precise proportions and relations of the Christian truths became matters of later adjustment; and, indeed, we are still trying to get them complete and satisfactory. Very many of the modern doctrinal controversies and sectarian disputes are occasioned by a failing sense of the proportions and relations in the whole of truth; some things are exaggerated and some underestimated; men fight hard for pieces of truth, as if they were the whole. The true work, worthy to engage all our thought and heart, is the fair estimate of all the various pieces, and the skilful setting of each in its fitting place. In the early preaching of the apostles may also be noticed how they seem to stand aside, so that Christ, their Lord and Master, only may be seen and honored. In this following the example of that Master, for he seemed ever to be stepping aside in order that men may fully see the Father. And in this also showing to us what is the essential spirit of all Christian preaching. The preacher’s self must never be prominent; we may only set forth “Christ Jesus the Lord.” The scene in “Solomon’s porch,” or portico, may be described. It was on the eastern side of the temple, and “consisted of a double row of Corinthian columns, about thirty-seven feet high. It was, like the porticoes of all Greek cities, a favorite place of resort, especially as facing the morning sun in winter” (Joh 10:23). In this same portico Jesus himself had taught. The prominent points concerning the Lord Jesus presented by St. Peter are
I. JEHOVAH SENT AND ACKNOWLEDGED HIM. (Act 3:13.) The word Son would be better Servant, and then the passage (Isa 42:1), “Behold my Servant, whom I uphold,” is at once brought to mind. In addressing the Jews, it was necessary to show that no claim was made for Jesus Christ as a new and independent God; the teaching of his divinity was consistent with both the teaching of the Divine Unity, which was the Jews’ great truth, and the teaching of the Divine Trinity, which is the great Christian truth. To the Jew a new God must be a false God, for Jehovah is one. Messengers of Jehovah they could receive. Manifestations of Jehovah they could accept. The conception of the “Son of God” was not to them an impossible one. And therefore our Lord so earnestly pressed that the Father God had sent him; and the apostles urge that Jehovah’s seal of acceptance rested on him and on his work. This truth is needed still. We cannot rest in the salvation wrought by Christ unless we can fully see that it is God’s salvation (see Joh 3:16).
II. MEN DENIED HIS MISSION, AND CRUCIFIED HIM. (Act 3:13.) St. Peter gives the fact-Jesus was “delivered up;” and the aggravation of the factthe clamors of malice actually overcame the natural sense of justice in the Roman governor. In reminding the people of this, St. Peter declares the Moral character of their act; and charges home upon the people the guilt of the judicial murder of no less a person than the national Messiah. For the actual denial of Christ, see Joh 19:15; and for the purpose of Pilate to release Christ, Joh 19:4. The fact of the denial is made the basis of the appeal for repentance. The fact of the crucifixion is urged as the guarantee of his actual death. Such enemies as they were would never leave their work imperfect.
III. HE WAS FREE FROM CRIME, AND JUST BEFORE MEN AND GOD. (Joh 19:14.) The personal innocence of Jesus aggravates the iniquity of those who secured his death; but it also bears directly upon the work of redemption that he wrought. Had he to bear the true burden of penalty for his own sins, he could not be the efficient Burden-bearer for others. Had he spot, stain, or blemish, he could not be the acceptable sacrifice for humanity, which must he the “Lamb without blemish.” Show how much is made, in the Epistles, of the personal innocence and perfect virtue of the Savior. “Holy, harmless, undefiled,“ etc.
IV. HE WAS THE PRINCE AND AUTHOR OF SALVATION AND LIFE. (Joh 19:15.) For the term “Prince of life,” see Act 5:31; Heb 2:10; Heb 12:2. It means, “He who is the source whence life and salvation flow.” The chief thought in St. Peter’s mind is that of the Resurrection. He who conquered death is “Prince of life,” and has power to give life. St. John also says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Our Lord himself said,” I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life;“ “I am come that they might have life;” “I give unto them eternal life.” The worthy apprehension of what Christ is, and can do, makes the Jewish denial and crucifixion of him seem a most hateful crime; and our long neglect of him our unspeakable shame (Heb 2:3, Heb 2:4).
V. HIS MESSIAHSHIP, HIS MISSION, AND HIS POWER TO SAVE, ARE, ONCE FOR ALL, AND SUFFICIENTLY, DECLARED IN HIS RESURRECTION. (Verse 15.) If that resurrection be a factand to it all the apostles and disciples give witness, and on the literal truth of it St. Paul is even willing to stake the Christian systemthen there are important inferences to be drawn from the fact, and especially this one: Jesus is the Christ. Therefore to him every knee should bow, and to him every sin-burdened heart should seek. So it is seen that the apostles were true preachers, model preachers; they set Jesus forth, and bid all eyes look to him.R.T.
Act 3:17, Act 3:18
Man’s ruling and God’s overruling.
St. Peter admits that the rejection of Christ was done through ignorance, but he does not allow that this is a sufficient excuse. Ignorance has many degrees, and may arise from many causes. It may be willful. It may be a consequence of cherished prejudices, and then it is guilty ignorance. “The Jewish multitude were ignorant from want of teaching, their rulers from mental perverseness in looking only on one part of the prophecies concerning the Messiah.” For the treatment of the relation of “ignorance” to “guilt,” compare St. Paul’s teachings in Act 17:30; 1Ti 6:13. The point which St. Peter dwells on in these verses is, that in the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, men appeared to act on their own will and to carry out their own plans; but the deeper fact was that they accomplished the Divine purposes and fulfilled the divinely given prophecies. Scripture writers do not discuss the harmony between Divine sovereignty and man’s free-will; but they show us man acting freely, and then draw aside the veil, and show us God’s purpose accomplished by that very action that seemed to be so free. And the explanation is thisthat all God’s plans are formed upon perfect consideration of all that will occur; and this includes the Divine knowledge of how men will act, in their free will, in particular circumstances. To him who knows man altogether, the precise way in which every man will act, under every set of possible circumstances, must be fully anticipated. On this we may further dwell, and gain some apprehension of the Divine order.
I. MAN IS FREE TO ACT ON VARIOUS MOTIVES. He does act by motive. He may be moved by differing motives. He will act upon that which seems to be strongest. The strength of a motive greatly depends on the disposition and character which it urges. There appear to be a vast multitude of motives. Probably they could be greatly reduced by classification. The complexity and difficulty of knowing how a man will act in given circumstances does not arise from our inability to estimate his motives, but from our inability to judge how particular motives will influence him. We can tell by what considerations the Sadducees, Pharisees, and priests were moved to secure the death of Jesus. It is this acting of men on motive that gives moral character to their acts, and so brings on them the possibility of guilt.
II. ALL HUMAN MOTIVES, CIRCUMSTANCES, AND CHARACTERS ARE KNOWN TO GOD. The circle of motives that can possibly appeal to man’s moral nature God completely spans. The precise circumstances under which motives urge in any given case, he fully knows and accurately weighs. The force which, under every set of circumstances, every motive will gain on every particular character and disposition, he perfectly estimates. And, though it is an almost impossible conception, we must conceive of God as looking down the long “stream of time,” leaving his creatures free to act in all situations, and yet knowing beforehand the decision of every free will in every conceivable case. This is the marvel of the Divine foreknowledge.
III. ALL DIVINE PLANS ARE FORMED UPON THIS PERFECT ESTIMATE. Especially apply to the redemptive plan. In view of what would happen, and what men would do, the plan of redemption in the slain Lamb was formed before the foundation of the world. Man worked out his own prejudice and passion in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, and God worked out his plan of saving the race by the sacrifice of his only begotten Son. That we might know of this overruling, the prophecies of Messiah were given. So we see how man’s guilt remains in his freedom to act on motive; and yet God’s purposes remain unchanged by all men’s willfulness, since the willfulness wan all foreknown and estimated.R.T.
Act 3:19, Act 3:21
Times of refreshing and of restitution.
These two words refer to the same time. “Without doubt the Apostle Peter, as well as all the disciples, and the whole apostolic Church, regarded the coming of Christ as near at hand, but still always as something future. This ‘coming of Christ’ is to be conceived as coinciding with the ‘times of refreshing,’ and his sojourn in the heavenly world closes with his return to the earth for the completion of his work. The conversion of men, therefore, and the diffusion of faith in Christ, are the conditions of the speedy approach of that blessed time”. “Respecting the sense of the term ‘restitution of all things,’ no doubt can arise if we keep steadily in view the relation of the Redeemer to this sinful world: Christ is the Restorer of the fallen creation, and therefore the word ‘restitution’ derives from his redeeming power its peculiar meaning, viz that of bringing back to an originally pure condition.” The Revised Version materially improves the reading of these verses: “Repent, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.” “These times or seasons of refreshing, and those ‘times of restitution or (restoration) of all things which God hath spoken,’ both seem to refer to the same great hope of the Church, and are connected with the second sending forth of Jesus Christ from heaven to earth.” Peter had clearer ideas of the Messianic kingdom, but he was still trammeled by the national and temporal figures under which it had been prophesied. His purpose evidently is to urge the audience to an immediate acceptance of Christ, as the way to bring on the establishment of the long-promised and glorious Messianic time. And the point of impression for us is thisMan’s penitence, obedience, and faith prepare the way for the coming of Christ’s kingdom, and the fulfillment of all the Divine promises. “The faster Israel turned to Jesus, the sooner would Jesus return to Israel.” By this consideration we are still urged to preach the gospel, and persuade men to repent, at home and abroad.
I. THE TIMES OF REFRESHING THAT ARE ALWAYS CLOSE AT HAND. God is ever “waiting to be gracious,” as it were watching for opportunities of giving men his rich spiritual blessing. Revivals are always close by, when men’s hearts are made humble and open and seeking. Does an individual soul set itself upon humiliation and prayer? the “times of refreshing” are at hand for it. Does a Church unite in confession and supplication? the “times of refreshing” will come in response to its cry. And this assurance should act as a moral persuasion, and urge men to seek for higher and better things. “We are not straitened in God.” He would bless us more abundantly if we were more truly ready for the blessing. “He is able to make all grace abound,” etc. Taking “times of refreshing” as seasons to be realized now by the soul and by the Church, we may obtain illustrations from the Old Testament history, especially instances occurring in the later years of the national decline, such as the reformations under Hezekiah and Josiah. Or from the New Testament, especially dealing with Pentecost. Or from the Christian ages, noticing that such “times” take a variety of form and character. Sometimes they are prominently intellectual, as illustrated in the revival under Luther and the Port Royalists; sometimes they are prominently practical, as illustrated in the revival under St. Bernard; sometimes they are prominently emotional, as illustrated in the revival under Whitefield, and in the Scotch and Irish revivals of recent times. Such “times of refreshing” are necessary to the proper culture of our spiritual life. Under present conditions, the maintenance of good is so difficult. Oftentimes even holy purpose flags, and we become weary in well-doing. So in all departments of life we need revival times. Such are our summer restings, our sabbaths, birthdays, etc. If we will but set ourselves in proper attitudes of humility and seeking, we shall find God’s “refreshing times” ever at hand. Apply especially to the calling of men to repentance and faith. Show what power on them we gain when, with St. Peter, we can say,” The grace is ready, waiting for you if you will turn. Forgiveness is ready. The door of the new kingdom is open ready. Eternal life is ready. God waits but your uplook to come in, and save, even you. Repent, that the good times may come for you.“
II. THE TIMES OF RESTORATION THAT ARE COMING BY–AND–BY. We should get some fitting ideas of the great plan for the recovery of the fallen race of man. Unquestionably the world is a fallen, disordered, ruined world. But God has gracious purposes concerning the “restitution,” or setting right, “of all things.” And our Lord’s death for human redemption began the restoration of all things. Our Lord’s present spiritual work in the “heavenlies”the moral and spiritual spheresis the presidency of the restoring work. Then we must conceive of some glorious coming day of restitution, when the Divine plan and purpose shall be fully accomplished. We can only gain very imperfect and unworthy ideas of what that day will be; but we may gain deep impressions of our own relation to its on-coming, and of our own duty to hasten the glorious time, by seeing to it that the work of restoring grace is fully wrought in our hearts, lives, and spheres, and that the gospel of the living Savior is so widely preached that “every knee may be brought to bow to him.” There is a true sense in which we may hasten the day when the Redeemer “shall see of the travail of his soul, shall be satisfied,” and shall “deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father.” We may give ourselves to Christ, and make one more sinner won. We may speak of Christ to others, persuade them to repent and believe, and so help to multiply the number of the saved, who shall be acknowledged in that great day.R.T.
Act 3:22, Act 3:24
Moses’ witness to the Christ.
The first reference of Moses in the words used (Deu 18:15) should be carefully noticed. ‘The higher Messianic references of the Old Testament usually underlie an immediate relation to historical events or individuals. “As the words stand, taken with their context, they seem to point to the appearance of a succession of true prophets, as contrasted with the diviners of Deu 18:14; and, even with St. Peter’s interpretation before us, we may well admit those prophets as primary and partial fulfillments of them.” It seems that the Jews were fond of comparing the promised Messiah with their great prophet and lawgiver, Moses. Of this one specimen may be given from the rabbinical writings. “Rabbi Berakhiah says, ‘As was the former redeemer, so shall the latter redeemer be.’ While of the former redeemer it is said (Exo 4:20), ‘And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass;’ so of the latter, for it says (Zec 9:9), ‘He is lowly and riding upon an ass.’ And while the former redeemer brought down manna, as it says (Exo 16:4), ‘Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you;’ so the latter redeemer will bring down manna, for it says (Psa 72:16), ‘There shall be abundance of corn in the land.’ And as the former redeemer caused the well to spring up (see Num 21:17); so the latter redeemer shall also cause the waters to spring up, for it says (Joe 3:18), ‘A fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.'” Moses dwells upon the fact that the coming Messiah should be like him. This comparison may be opened in the following particulars :
I. MESSIAH WAS TO BE “OF THE BRETHREN.” Our Lord was born of Jewish race. And he was, as a fellow-man, able to understand and to sympathize with those whom he led. He was a “man of like passions;” “in all points tempted as we are; able to succor them that are tempted.” The importance of the actual humanity of our Lord in the theological systems of St. Paul and St. John should be fully unfolded. And the additional interest of his being a Jew may be pointed out. The history of the Jews shows that they have a singular power of adapting themselves to all climes, languages, nations, and societies; and that which is true of them is true of our Lord’s gospel, as bearing, so markedly, the Jewish stamp. It can adapt to all the conditions of mankind, and be preached to every creature.
II. MESSIAH WAS TO BE A REDEEMER. Like Moses in this, he was to bring a people out of bondage, deliver them in a glorious and Divine manner, and lead them until their full redemption was complete in the possession of Canaan. This comparison may be made more minute. And it may be urged that, as the Redeemer, our Lord asks the same surrender to him, in trust, that Moses asked.
III. MESSIAH WAS TO BE A LAWGIVER. This was the great work of Moses. He took the entire person, life, and relations of the people into his regulations, settling rules for their moral, social, national, and ecclesiastical conditions. And so we come “under Law to Christ,” who covers with his “new commandments” the whale of our lives and associations. “One is our Master, even Christ.”
IV. MESSIAH WAS TO BE A TEACHER. This is the permanent idea of the term “prophet”one who comes between God and the people, as instructing them in the Divine will. Both Moses and the Lord Jesus taught the people concerning God, sin, duty, salvation, character, etc.
V. MESSIAH WAS TO BE A JUDGE. This Moses was presiding at the chief national tribunal. And God has “committed all judgment to the Son.” He “shall judge the quick and dead.” “We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.” Impress from Heb 10:28, Heb 10:29, “He that despised Moses’ Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much Sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God?”R.T.
Act 3:26
Christ’s mission to the Jews.
St. Peter had been speaking of our Lord’s resurrection, and it is natural to connect the expression of the text, “having raised up his Son Jesus,” with that resurrection. The idea, however, seems to be more generalGod having provided, prepared, given, set forth. Matthew Henry gives the complete thought: “God, having raised up his Son Jesus, appointed and authorized him to be a Prince and a Savior; and, in confirmation of this, raised him from the dead, sent him to bless you, in making tender of his blessing to you. God raised up Jesus when he constituted him a Prophet. Some refer the raising of him up to his resurrection, which was the renewal of his commission.” This is St. Peter’s direct appeal to the Jews, and declaration of the particular mission of Christ to the Jews. To them the gospel was first to be preached. Their former Divine revelation was a gracious preparation of them for the reception of the new revelation. But the new blessing would not come to them merely as a nation; it would come to each individual, and to the whole only through the individual, and depend upon the openness and acceptance of faith. Apostles were to “begin at Jerusalem.” The points made prominent by this simple appeal are,
(1) God is the Savior
(2) he saves by his Son Jesus;
(3) the essence of that salvation is the turning of men away from their iniquities.
I. GOD IS THE SAVIOR. The apostles always kept to the idea that Christ is the Medium of the salvation, and God the source. Sometimes the exigencies of theological systems have led to the practical neglect of this important distinction. God saves men. God’s love is the fountain of redemption. God’s wisdom fashions the redemptive plan. God’s Son executes the redemptive purpose. God is in all, and God must be glorified in all. No apostle puts this more plainly than St. Peter. Compare his very forcible language in 1Pe 1:21, “Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.“
II. GOD SAVES BY his SON JESUS CHRIST. Whom he sent to the earth, and whom he raised from the dead. This is God’s way of salvation. It is the only way. By both considerations we are urged to accept it.
III. THE ESSENCE OF THAT SALVATION IS THE “TURNING OF MEN AWAY FROM THEIR INIQUITIES. The special iniquity dealt with here is the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus; but that is ever regarded as displaying and proving, in a very impressive manner, the fallen and ruined condition of men. It was such a display of malice, prejudice, and hard-hearted willfulness, as revealed the utter badness and corruption of humanity. Show that the root-cause of evil in man is stir-love, self-seeking, and self-will. In these things lie our iniquity. From them we can only be turned by the love of another, the seeking of the good of another, and the enthronement of the wilt of another. Therefore Jesus Christ is set forth, we are bidden to look at him, know him, set our love on him, and enthrone him. He can work a mighty saving work in every heart and every life that is turned towards him and opened to him. And penitence and faith can open our heart-doors. The way and the means to secure ” Divine forgiveness,” “blotting out of sins”, and “times of refreshing, are that repentance and turning again” to which the apostle has been exhorting the people. This is urged first upon the Jews, but it is the condition of salvation for Jew and Gentile alike.R.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Act 3:1. Now Peter and John went up together, &c. About that time, according to Grotius and several others; as it does not seem to suit so well with the original, to take it to imply no more than that Peter and John went up together to the temple. It maysuffice, once for all, to observe, that the Jews divided the time from the rising to the setting of the sun, into twelve hours, which were consequently, at different times of the year, of unequal length, as the days were longer or shorter. The third hour therefore was nine in the morning, and the ninth three in the afternoon; but not exactly: for the third was the middle space between sun-rising and noon; which if the sun rose at five, (the earliest hour of its rising in that climate,) was half an hour after eight; if at seven, (the latest hour of its rising there,) was half an hour after nine, and so on. The chief hours of prayer were the third and ninth; at which seasons the morning andevening sacrifices were offered, and incense, as an emblem representing prayer, burned on the golden altar. Though by the death of Christ all sacrifices, and other things required in the ceremonial law, were utterly abolished, and a new covenant was introduced, yet, that the weak might not be offended and estranged from his divine religion, our Lord suffered his disciples to frequent the assemblies of the Jews, and in some points to comply with the observance of the law, till a more pure and spiritual form of worship could conveniently be established. This is the reason why we find the apostles so frequently in the temple, at the stated hours of prayer.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 3:1 . After the description of the first peaceful and prosperous life of the church, Luke now, glancing back to Act 2:43 , singles out from the multitude of apostolic . that one with which the first persecution was associated.
] here also in a local reference (see on Act 1:15 ; comp. LXX: 2Sa 2:13 ; Joseph. Antt. xvi. 8. 6); not merely at the same time and for the same object, but also in the same way , i.e. together , , 2 Sam. l.c. Prominence is here given to the united going to the temple and the united working, directing special attention to the keeping together of the two chief apostles.
] they were in the act of going up.
] , used of the definition of time, in so far as a thing extends to a space of time; see on Mar 15:1 ; Ngelsb. on the Iliad, p. 284, Exo 3 . Hence: during the hour, not equivalent to (Alberti, Obss., Valckenaer, Winer, and many others). Concerning the three hours of prayer among the Jews: the third (see on Act 2:15 ), the sixth (noon), and the ninth (that of the evening sacrifice in the temple), see Lightfoot, Schoettgen, and Wetstein, in loc. Comp. Act 10:3 ; Act 10:9 .
The Attic mode of writing is decidedly attested in the Book of Acts.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
PART SECOND
The Church of Christ in Jerusalem; its development and guidance; its conflicts and victories, acts and sufferings. Acts 3-7
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SECTION I
THE HEALING OF THE LAME MAN, AN APOSTOLICAL MIRACLE WROUGHT IN THE POWER OF JESUS CHRIST; ITS EFFECTS: FIRST, PETERS TESTIMONY CONCERNING JESUS CHRIST, DELIVERED IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PEOPLE; SECONDLY, THE ARREST OF PETER AND JOHN; THEY ARE, HOWEVER, RELEASED, AFTER ENERGETICALLY VINDICATING THEMSELVES BEFORE THE GREAT COUNCIL. ALL THESE EVENTS TENDED TO ENCOURAGE, AND TO STRENGTHEN THE FAITH OF THE CHURCH; THE ONENESS OF SPIRIT AND THE BROTHERLY LOVE OF THE BELIEVERS
Acts 3, 4
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A.THE MIRACULOUS HEALING OF A LAME MAN
Act 3:1-10
1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer,being the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mothers womb was carried, whom they laid [placed] daily at the gate of the temple which is called [the] Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms1. 4And [But] Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5And he gave heed unto them [looked on them intently], expecting to receive something of them. 6Then [But, ] Peter said, Silver and gold have I none [not]; but such as [but what, ] I have [that, ] give I thee; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and2 walk. 7And he took him by the right hand, and lifted [raised] him3 up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones [ankles] received strength [became firm]. 8And he leaping up stood, and walked [could stand and walk], and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9Andall the people saw him walking and praising God: 10And they knew [recognized him, , ] that it was he which sat [was accustomed to sit] for alms at the Beautiful [beautiful] gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act 3:1. a. The narrative before us does not relate the historical facts according to their regular connection and sequence, nor are precise chronological statements of any kind furnished by it. We have, therefore, no means whatever for determining how soon after the day of Pentecost the present event occurred, although a considerable period of time probably intervened.The narrative of the healing of the lame man, derives its importance chiefly from the circumstance that it exhibits an act of an apostle, performed in the power of Jesus ( .), and also describes the powerful witness which, in the presence of the people and the Great Council, the apostles bore to Jesus, as the Saviour. With these statements, the additional facts that are presented, and that relate to the internal condition and external relations of the Church, are very appropriately connected.
b. Peter and John went up together.The union of the believers is here exemplified in the intimate and continued association of these two apostles. Their course confirms the statement which is made in Act 2:44 respecting the whole body of believers. We are likewise here reminded of the circumstance that Jesus sent forth his disciples by two and two, Mar 6:7. [See Luk 22:8; Joh 21:7; Joh 21:20 ff.]. As on the day of Pentecost, all the apostles stood up, but Peter alone began to speak, so here, the two apostles are found together, but it is Peter who speaks and acts; John accompanies him, and stands at his side, engaged in silent meditation. His hour for action is yet to come.
c. Into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.The general remark, in Act 2:46, that it was the practice of all the believers to continue daily in the temple, is here illustrated by a special case. The two apostles proceeded from the city to the mount of the temple, which they ascended at the hour of prayer. Already Daniel (Act 6:10) prayed thrice every day upon his knees (comp. Psa 55:17); in the later age of the apostles, custom had firmly established the three hours of prayer, namely, the third hour of the day, in the morning [see above, Act 2:15]; the sixth, at noon; and the ninth, in the evening [Act 10:3, below]. The first and third coincided with the hours in which the morning and the evening sacrifices were, respectively, offered. On the present occasion, the hour of evening prayer is to be understood, or our three oclock in the afternoon. Both the place and the time of public worship under the old covenant were sacred in the eyes of the disciples, and both were observed by them with the utmost fidelity.
Act 3:2-3. a. At the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.No other sources furnish us with any information respecting a gate of the temple bearing this name. Josephus describes a certain gate (J. War. v. 5, 3), called Nicanors Gate, and composed of Corinthian brass, which exceeded all the others in magnificence and value. Many interpreters suppose that this gate is meant; others are inclined to believe that another, called Susan, is intended; still others suggest a third [named Huldah; but not one of all these conjectures (see Meyer and de Wette, ad loc.) has met with general favor, so that, says Alford, the matter must remain in uncertainty.Tr.]
b. Lame from his mothers womb.The miracle wrought in his case was, therefore, the greater; and, as he was accustomed to present himself daily at the gate of the temple, and sit there, his lameness was widely known, Act 3:10.
Act 3:4-5. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him.The apostles heart was, at the same time, deeply moved by the pitiable and helpless condition of the cripple, and he, together with John, gazed on the face of the latter, with all that sympathy which love teaches the heart to feel for Christs sake. His words: Look on us, were intended to aid the unfortunate man in collecting his thoughts, and in looking upward to the apostles with hope and confidence. And such, in truth, was the effect of those words, for he , i. e. oculis et animo defixus atque intentus erat in apostolos. (Strigel). He now confidently expected to receive a gift from these men. The earnest glances of each party produced, as well as bore witness to, a certain intenseness of feeling within them. These were the preparatory steps which each took in reference to the act.
Act 3:6-7. Silver and gold have I none.Even if the lame man looked up to them with more than ordinary confidence, he, nevertheless, expected to receive money. Peter extinguishes this hope, and yet does not dismiss him without a gift. When he pronounces those powerful words of authority and help, he bestows that which he hasa vital power, proceeding from Jesus Christ. He speaks and acts, not by virtue of any authority of his own, but in the power of Jesus; the lame man, on his part, is directed to rise up and walk in, and by, the power and grace of Jesus. But the object is attained only when an act co-operates with the wordthe act of taking the man by the hand and raising him up, was also required. In that moment the crippled limbs were touched as if they had been subjected to an electric shock; they were strengthened and restored by the almighty power of God. The man leaps up with an elasticity hitherto unknown to himself; he can do that which he had never learned to do, from the time of his birthhe can stand, and he can walk; this is another aspect in which the miracle should be viewed.
Act 3:8-10. And entered with them into the temple.He did not at once proceed to his home, but entered the sanctuary of God, in order to give thanks and praises, and to testify that he both recognized the goodness and wonderful work of God in Christ, and also accepted such mercy with thankfulness. He walked about [] in the court of the temple, and leaped, as his very heart leaped for joy; his body and soul rejoiced in the living God, who had now endowed him with life and power.All those who had assembled in the courts of the temple in order to pray, were witnesses of the miracle; they recognized in him, as he walked before them, the same man whom they had always found sitting at the same gate, as a helpless beggar. The circumstance created the most profound amazement among the spectators. [They were exceedingly astonished and aghast, as Dr. J. A. Alexander (Comm. ad loc.) quotes, apparently with approbation, from the Rhemish N. T.Tr.]
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The miracle was wrought in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, as the Messiah. All the wondrous works of the apostles and the other disciples of Jesus, proceeded from Him as their source, and promoted His honor, not that of any human being, even though he were a disciple of the Lord. Luke says, in Act 2:43, very thoughtfully, that many wonders and signs were done , for they were performed, not by men, but by the Lord; men were simply his instruments. Such miracles are acts and operations of the exalted Lord, and thus demonstrate, as expressions of life and power, that He, the Crucified One, both lives, and also possesses all glory and power; they also furnish the evidence that he abides in true fellowship with his people, and acknowledges them when they confess him.
2. It is rarely the case, when we read of miracles wrought in the power of Christ, that the coperation of the respective partiesof him who acts, and of him who receivescan be so distinctly observed, as in the present instance. We notice, first of all, the intent look of each party: Peter gazes on the lame man with deep sympathy, and his love is ready to help and to heal; when the lame man hears Peters words, he surveys the two apostles with an intentness that reveals all the confidence, the desire, the hope, of his soul. We perceive, in the next place, that both parties depend on Jesus with all the fulness and power of faith: Peter speaks and commands in the name of Jesus; the lame man submits to Jesus with all his soul, and awaits the promised help with lively hope. And, lastly, each party combines the powers of the body and the soul in one effort: Peter takes the man by the hand, and raises him up; the latter, wonderfully endowed with new power of the will, and new muscular strength, at once stands up. The name of Jesus, the Person of Jesus, his grace and divine power to heal, constitute, in their combination, a point of union for both parties: here, their souls meet together; here, the hand of one grasps the hand of the other; and here, they find the source of that bodily and spiritual power, which they, respectively, impart and receive. The more intimately they are united with Jesus, in faith, love, and cheerful hope, the more freely and fully they receive strength, help, and salvation.
3. It may be added, that the lame man, doubtless, not only received health and strength of body, and power to use his limbs, but also that his soul was awakened and won for Jesus Christ. Such a result may be inferred from the overflowing gratitude of his heart, which expressed itself aloud in the praise of God; it is, indeed, necessarily implied by the whole character of the miracle, as one which was wrought in consequence of a union with Jesus Christ, both bodily and spiritual, alike on the part of him who gave, and of him who received. Such a union with Jesus, in the case of the afflicted and then hopeful lame man, cannot well be psychologically conceived as having been transient in its nature; and, besides, to him who gratefully praises God, the promise of new mercies is given; Psa 50:23.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act 3:1. Peter and John went up together into the temple.These two disciples hence-forth often appear together. They did not precisely correspond to each other in nature and character; but, as one diamond polishes another, so each of these precious stones may have aided in imparting additional value to the other. (Rieger).Union should exist among all men, but especially among those who are invested with the sacred office. (Starke).Why should not those who adored the Saviour that had come into the world, enjoy the worship of the temple, which was a shadow of things to come? [Col 3:17]. (Besser).Fellowship with all believers is perfectly consistent with a still more intimate union of the members of a smaller circle.The light in which the Christian views the order and arrangements of public worship: I. Not as a yoke of the law; II. Not as a meritorious work; but, III. As a good external discipline; and, IV. As means which God has graciously given us for growing in grace. (Lechler).The Christians visit to the house of God, a free and joyful service; promoting, I. The honor of God; II. The edification of our neighbor; III. Our own growth in grace.
Act 3:2-3. And a certain man, lame, etc.The poor and miserable are commonly those in whose case the exceeding grace and power of the Saviour may be most distinctly revealed. (Ap. Past.).It was not without a special object that the lame man begged at the gate of the temple; the law and the prophets appealed more forcibly to the heart there than elsewhere, and the heart and the hand were more prompt in giving. (Leonh. and Sp.).This lame man is an image of our natural inability. We must be carried, as long as our feet are without strength. But he who lays us at the most beautiful gate of the temple, which is called Jesus Christ, has, in truth, carried us to the gate of life and of the power of God; we shall there be assuredly healed. (Gossner).Those who have perfect limbs and senses, are in duty bound to be grateful to God, and to refrain from mocking and insulting the infirm. (Zeis.).How bitter are the fruits of sin! From that source all our infirmities proceed, including those of the body. (Lindh.).Like their Master, the servants of Jesus readily visit the poor and provide for the needy. But a faithful pastor is not satisfied, until those who have availed themselves of his personal aid and his office in relieving their temporal wants, have experienced the divine power of Jesus in relieving their spiritual wants. (Apost. Past.).
Act 3:4. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him.That look certainly revealed love! O that we would always look on those who appeal to us for aid, instead of slightly glancing at them, and then looking hastily elsewhere! Then would our hearts be more deeply moved. The survey of such a countenance, or of such a disordered household, or of such a disturbed mind, wouldaffect our feelings. And the faint ray of light which may occasionally be discovered in such a haggard face, or the spark of the divine image which continues to gleam in such a corrupt heart, would fill us with joyful wonder, with new faith, new love, new hope.Look on uswith confidence, with hope!It is a tender and paternal address, when faithful pastors say to those who are poor and bind in the faith: Look on us! We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, in Christs stead, be ye reconciled to God. [2Co 5:20]. (Ap. Past.).
Act 3:5. And he gave heed unto them, etc.With what diligence and attention we listen, when we have reason to expect temporal aid! (Quesnel).It is already a great blessing, when a pastor, by the power of the Spirit, has awakened an expectation in his hearers that they will receive something; they are then no longer dead, for their hearts begin to feel and to hunger. But let them not wait in vain. Alas! how often it may occur, that poor, awakened, and hungering souls, look on their teacher, hoping to receive something, and are sent empty away! (Ap. Past.).
Act 3:6. Silver and gold have I none.This is apostolicalas poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. [2Co 6:10]. Peter, although poor in gold, was richer than all the richricher than all who bear dazzling titles and receive large incomes. He possessed faith in the power of the name of Jesus Christ, and with this he accomplished far more than if Christ had assigned to him the revenue of a kingdom, or an ecclesiastical territory, as his wages. (Gossner).That can scarcely be regarded as the real patrimony of Peter, and the apostolic see, which glitters with gold and silver. (Lindh.).But such as I have give I thee.This is the feeling of devout and faithful servants. He who had received two talents, could not, it is true, gain as largely as he who had received five; nevertheless he also could say: That which thou hast given me, I have faithfully employed. (Ap. Past.).In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.In this manner the despised and crucified Jesus of Nazareth is glorified among the sick, as he who heals alike the body and the soul.Health is better than silver and gold, but the health of the soul is better than that of the body.When God appears to refuse the objects which we desire, he gives us others that are better.If God were inclined to bestow no better gifts for the promotion of our spiritual welfare, than those which we usually desire, we would never obtain his richest gifts. (Starke).Give to every man that asketh of thee. [Luk 6:30].As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another. [1Pe 4:10].Freely ye have received, freely give. [Mat 10:8].Jesus Christ, the Mediator, through whom all temporal and spiritual mercies are received.Jesus acknowledges those who confess him.The more intimate thy union with the Redeemer becomes, the more abundantly does he grant thee power to loose, to heal and to help.A living communion with the living Saviour, sustains our spiritual life, and constitutes our highest blessedness. (Lech.).Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, etc.God be praised, that the evangelical church can still employ such language in our day. She is poor, it is true, with respect to secular power and temporal possessions; but that which she has, and which she gives to the soul that seeks salvation, is the blessed name of Jesus, His living word, His saving grace. And when we receive such gifts, we receive more than silver and gold. To the poor, the infirm, and the wretched, the words are still repeated: Rise up and walk!Rise up from the dust, and walk in newness of life!
Act 3:7-8. And he took him by the right hand, etc.The seeking soul must be sustained not only by our words, but also by our acts, even as if we took it by the hand, and assisted it to walk. (Quesn.).And lifted him up, etc.How much more wonderful than the change produced in this lame mans condition, is that change which God effects in the heart! But who gives heed to it? (Quesn.).And entered with them into the temple, etc.Many persons are restored to health, but all are not thankful for it; Joh 5:14. (Zeisius).To offer thanks and praise to God, is a precious privilege.It was a blessed and delightful visit to the house of worship for this man, who is now healed, and who could, with all his heart, repeat the Psalm of praise: Bless the Lord, O my soul! And it was as blessed and delightful for the apostles, who could bring such a companion with them to the presence of God. The most honorable escort which a servant of Christ can obtain, both here below, and on high, consists of those souls, whom he has been enabled by the grace of God to rescue from destruction. O God! how great will be the blessedness of him, who has guided even one soul to thee!
Act 3:9-10. And all the people saw him, etc.Let every word of the Church be an act, and let every act accord with the word of Jesus, and be done in his name; then will the Church, even in her weakness, stand forth in strength. (Rudelbach).A servant of Christ will afford the world an opportunity not only to hear, but also to see, that which is instructive. The example of converted souls must give a visible form to that which the preached word has declared. The happy change wrought in new converts, will impress others seriously in proportion to its outward manifestations. Hence God here chose a cripple who was widely known, and still chooses at times a notoriously wicked man, in order to make manifest, as it were, in a tangible manner, the wonderful power of his grace in Christ Jesus. (Apost. Past.).And they were filled with wonder and amazement.It was the immediate design, and also the effect of miracles, when the Church was founded, to produce wonder and amazement, and attract the multitude. They were means which God employed for calling the people together, in order to hear the Gospel concerning Christ. (Apost. Past.).God desires to have witnesses of his acts and wonderful works.Is the proverbial phrase; Nil admirari, founded on sound and Christian principles?
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.
The grace of Christ revealed in our temporal afflictions: I. It denies inferior gifts which we desire; II. It bestows moreprecious gifts, which we do not expect; III. It opens an avenue to the most exalted blessings, which we do not deserve. (Florey).
In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk! For, I. It is high time to awake out of sleep [Rom 13:11]; II. Christ himself grants the ability, through the Word and the Sacraments; III. By such a course alone will you be enabled to praise and thank God with confidence and joy. (Leonh. and Sp.).
The healing of the lame man, an illustration of our conversion: I. As he was lame from his birth, so we are, from our birth, the servants of sin; II. As he was carried to the gate of the temple, in order to receive alms, so we were carried unto Baptism, in order to receive celestial gifts; III. As he was healed through Peters word concerning Christ, so our conversion is a work of God, wrought through the word of the prophets and apostles; IV. As he walked and praised God, after he had been healed, so a genuine Christian walk, and the joyful praise of God cannot precede, but must follow after true conversion. (ib.).
The Gentiles, viewed as mendicants at the gate of the temple: I. Their condition; II. The duties which we owe them. (Langb.).
The liberal alms [which we receive]: I. The Lords invitation, addressed to the Christian: Ask what I shall give thee [1Ki 3:4]; II. The happy experience of the Christian, that the Lord bestows exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think [Eph 3:20]. (Lisco.).
The blessed visit to the temple: I. The two devout apostles, on their way to the templewhat thoughts do they suggest? II. The lame beggar at the gate of the templewhat happened unto him? Act 3:10. III. The joyful sacrifice of praisehow shall we participate in it?
The detention on the way to the house of God, or, Decline no task which God proposes: I. The design of the apostles to remain together and alone, is hindered
the cripple lies before them; they desire to repose and pray, but, behold, they are required to work and act; but, II. It was a blessed detention; the sacrifice of prayer was afterwards offered the more joyfully, both by the apostles, whose first act, performed in the name of Christ, had been successful, and by the lame man, who had, through them, obtained health of body, and spiritual treasures.
The most valuable possessions of our evangelical Church: I. Silver and gold have I none. The Son of man, too, was poor, and, since the age of the apostles, the spiritual wealth of the Church has always been proportioned to her poverty with respect to temporal possessions; II. But such as I have walk; consequently, the name of Jesus, the apostolic word, and the means of salvation through Jesussuch are, and ever will continue to be, the most valuable possessions of our Church.
The narrative of the apostles and the beggar, a guide to Christians in caring for the poor: I. The sentiments which naturally prompt us to care for the poor; (a) the love of God: the apostles were on their way to His temple; (b) the love of our neighbor: they look with sympathy on the beggar. (Here both of the apostles may be introduced
the tender feelings of John; the energetic action of Peter). II. The appropriate means employed in caring for the poor; these are not, preminently, silver and gold; alms that are carelessly bestowed, cost little, and avail little; rather (a) personal and affectionate intercourse with the poor: Peter looked on him, and said: Look on us; (b) evangelical exhortations, counsel, and consolations, derived from the word of God: Such as I have walk. III. The appropriate and encouraging results; (a) bodily relief: he was able to stand and to walk; (b) spiritual blessings; he praised God.
The first miracle of the apostlesa guide for the Christian Church in the faithful discharge of her duties; I. Her extensive field of laboramong those whom temporal, and those whom spiritual poverty oppresses; II. Her genuine animating principlethe love of God, and of our neighbor; III. Her inexhaustible spiritual treasurethe word of God with its vital power, and the Holy Ghost with his gracious gifts.
Footnotes:
[1]Act 3:3. [of text. rec.], after . is wanting, it is true, in some MSS. [D.] and versions, but is probably genuine, and, indeed, is often found as a pleonasm in combination with in classical Greek writers. [Found in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin., and in Vulg. (ut acciperet), etc.: rejected by Meyer as a correction from Act 3:5, but retained by Alf.; defended by de Wette; acknowledged and explained by Winer: Gram. N. T. 65, 4, d.Tr.]
[2]Act 3:6. [text. rec. with C.]; these words are wanting in a few MSS. [B. D.], unquestionably also in the Codex Sinaiticus, but were probably omitted [by copyists] simply for the reason that, in Act 3:7, Peter himself raised up the lame man. We have not sufficient grounds for regarding them as spurious. [Alford does not decide, the authorities being so nearly divided, but, like Lach., encloses them in the text in brackets.Tr.]
[3]Act 3:7. after is found, indeed, in various MSS. [A. B. C. Cod. Sin.], versions [Syr., etc.] and fathers [Cyp. etc.], but is, nevertheless, rather to be regarded as a later addition. Lachmann inserts the word. [In the Engl. vers., him is inserted in Italics, as having been supplied; it is omitted in D. E., etc., and regarded by Alf. as an insertion to fill up the sense.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
Peter and John heal a Cripple at the Gate of the Temple. Peter takes Occasion therefrom to preach to the People.
Act 3:1
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
We have here the entrance into the history of a miracle wrought by two of the Apostles, Peter and John , on a cripple, in the name and by the authority of their Divine Master the Lord Jesus Christ. It appears to me, that beside the fact of the thing itself, it hath a sweet spiritual allusion to the crippled state of our nature: and as such, upon both occasions, it may well merit our close attention.
We are told, that those two dear brethren, Peter and John , were going up together at the ninth hour to the temple; that is three of the clock in the afternoon, the hour of prayer: meaning the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the memorable hour of Christ’s death on the cross; and to which all the evening sacrifices of the temple, from the first moment of their appointment to the death of Jesus, had respect. David’s hour, Psa 55:17 . Daniel’s sweet hour, Dan 9:21 . See also Exo 29:38-39 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Healing and Suffering
Act 3:16
Perfect soundness! Of this there was no doubt. The rulers themselves acknowledged they could say nothing against it. The fact was patent to all. But the marvel was ‘perfect soundness’ in a moment of time after a lifetime of lameness. The secret was faith in His name. Not faith in the unreality of lameness. Not faith in the non-existence of a twisted limb. Not faith in the doctrine of illusion by which a man who has been really always able to walk has been since his birth under the absurd infatuation that he was a cripple. No; it was not that under the suggestion of St. Peter he made a successful attempt to deny all his previous experience and say, ‘How foolish to think I was lame when I could walk!’ Not this, but faith in the name, the name of a Person, a Person Who had been crucified in that very city not two months ago, Whom he had probably seen entering the Temple on Palm Sunday, and Who he heard was now King of kings and Lord of lords. Braced by the words of St. Peter, he had called with all his spiritual energy upon the sacred name, and had immediately felt an inrush of strength which had lifted him on to his feet. The name, through faith in the name, had made everything possible.
It is not unnatural for men to ask as they are now asking, Was this loss of power in accord with the will of God? Was the gift of healing intended only to last during the infancy and childhood of the Christian Church, or ought we to have it today? And these questions are asked the more insistently because, both within the Church and without it, faith-healing, as it is called, is practised with some remarkable results. And it has been hastily assumed that these successes are only typical of what could be done on a very large scale if only the doctrines and principles on which they are based were more widely held.
I. Now in the first place we must freely admit that the old, strong, clear faith in the Sacred Name is not in this twentieth century what it was in the first, and that the exercise of it, whether individually or still more corporately, would result in a large increase of restorations to health. But whilst we fully admit this, we must also remember that Christ’s office was not to abolish sickness and suffering. He was necessarily a wonderful Physician of the body; He cured probably every disease or functional disorder known to Palestine, and He sent forth His disciples to do the same; but there must have been large numbers like those in Nazareth who were never healed at all. Healing, valuable as it was, was only subordinate to another and higher object, the awakening of the soul to the love of God through faith. This our Lord confessed to be infinitely harder than the physical healing of the body, and surely infinitely more valuable. ‘Whether is easier to say,’ He asks of His critics, ‘Arise and walk, or Thy sins be forgiven thee?’ To heal the body cost Him power virtue went out, left Him weakened for it had to overcome the hesitancy of doubt and distrust; but to heal the soul, to give forgiveness, that needed far more difficult work repentance, self-surrender, restitution.
II. If we asked the beloved physician St. Luke, why we had lost the gifts of healing, might he not reply, ‘Lost! but they are here! Whence comes all this that I have seen, this that has awakened such profound astonishment, this discovery of laws, principles, and remedies? Are they not the gifts of healing always latent in the Body of Christ, but called out by suffering? This marvellous manipulation of the fingers and instruments, this superb self-control that pursues its end with such unflinching determination, though it knows the slightest deviation may mean the loss of a valuable life; these splendid powers of eye and hand; this rare combination of tenderness and decision, of sympathy and calm indifference. Nay, is it not your failure to see in these some of the ripest fruits of the Incarnation, of Christ indwelling us and our indwelling Him, that has led to this manifestation of healing in such unexpected quarters.’ Those who have seen devout Quakers living a lofty and unselfish life without the grace of Sacraments are not surprised to see the weak become strong, the diseased become healthy, without the blessings God has given through medicine. When we abuse His means of grace He works without them till we can use them again with reverence. This, then, seems to be what we see through the New Testament as interpreted by the life of the Christian Church.
Bishop Walpole, The Guardian, 17th June, 1910.
References. III. 16. Phillips Brooks, The Law of Growth, p. 167. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xliv. No. 2592. III. 17. H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1498, p. 121. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ix. p. 107.
An Advent Exhortation
Act 3:19
The performance of a miracle created the opportunity St. Peter took to preach the sermon of which our text is the application. He attributes the miracle just wrought entirely to Christ, Whom the Jews in their blind bigotry and hate had betrayed and murdered. And then he calls on them to repent, to hate their sin and renounce it as a necessary condition of pardon.
I. Repentance is a Universal Duty.
II. The Primary Result of Repentance is Pardon.
III. A Secondary Result of Repentance will be Times of Refreshing from the Presence of the Lord.
IV. The Ultimate Result of Repentance will be the Second Coming of Christ.
Christ will be revealed in flaming fire to the ungodly, and ‘except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’. Without sin and unto salvation He is coming to His saints. If you would see Him, would meet Him, would join His train, then ‘what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness’.
References. III. 19. John Watson, The Inspiration of our Faith, p. 72. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiv. No. 804. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vii. p. 227. III. 19-21. J. Keble, Sermons for Lent to Passion-tide, p. 318. Bishop Gore, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liv. p. 374. J. Bowstead, Practical Sermons, vol. ii. p. 237. Expositor (4th Series), vol. vi. p. 211; ibid. vol. x. p. 198.
Act 3:21
Luther had a dog named Tlpel, who was very dear to himself and his children. Some one questioned him about the restitution of all things, and asked whether in the heavenly kingdom there would be dogs and other animals. He replied: Certainly. For the earth in those days will not be void and empty, and Peter in Act 3 calls that day ‘the day of the restitution of all things.’ Seeing then that the heavens and earth are to be changed, as in other passages we are more clearly told, He will create a new heaven and a new earth, and He will create new Tlpels, whose skin will be golden and their hair of pearls. There God will be all in all. There no creature will devour another. Serpents, toads, and other animals which on account of original sin are poisonous and harmful, will not only be harmless then, but even agreeable and pleasant to us, so that we shall play with them. How is it that we cannot believe the Word of God, although the things that the Scripture says have come true up to this article of the Resurrection. The cause lies in original sin.
E. Kroker, Luther’s Tischreden (1903), p. 360, No. 700.
References. III. 21. D. Martin, Penny Pulpit, No. 1625, p. 50. E. A. Stuart, The New Commandment and other Sermons, vol. vii. p. 25. Expositor (4th Series), vol. i. p. 31; ibid. vol. ii. p. 381. III. 22. Ibid. vol. i. p. 85; ibid. (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 223. III. 25, 26. Ibid. vol. ii. p. 381. III. 26. A. Tucker, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xviii. p. 561. Penny Pulpit, No. 1671, p. 407. J. Bunting, Sermons, vol. ii. p. 406. R. J. Campbell, New Theology Sermons, p. 204. Expositor (6th Series), vol. x. p. 17. IV. 1. Expositor (4th Series), vol. i. p. 86; ibid. (5th Series), vol. v. p. 324. IV. 2. S. Baring-Gould, Village Preaching for a Year, vol. i. p. 319. Expositor (6th Series), vol. iii. p. 121. IV. 3. G. T. Newton, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xvii. p. 211. Expositor (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 140. IV. 3-6. G. Gladstone, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liv. p. 22. IV. 5-7, 18-20. J. Laidlaw, Studies in the Parables, p. 283. IV. 6. Phillips Brooks, The Law of Growth, p. 184. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iv. p. 329. IV. 7. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Apocalyse, p. 167. IV. 11. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ix. p. 37.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Chapter 9
Prayer
Almighty God, our heart’s desire is to climb thy hill and find audience with thee in the heavens. Is there not an appointed way? Is not Jesus Christ, thy Son, a living way to the Father? We can enter only by him; other door there is none; this is a wide open door, and we enter into it with joy of heart. For every beam of light we bless thee; for every hope that makes us glad we give thee thanks. Thou knowest how much we are in the valley, and how often we pass through dark places. Suddenly thou dost shoot down upon us rays of light; they warm us and give us a new comfort of the soul, so that we look upwards and are made glad with heavenly pleasure. We have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, so that thy name is familiar unto us, but now would we know thee by the love of the heart, by the tender sympathy of the quickened soul, yea, we would enter into communion with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Ghost. How much we have to overcome that we may do this thou knowest; but thou dost beat even mountains to pieces, and crush the rock before the feet of thy people; and as for the rivers and the seas which divide between us, thou dost utterly dry them up. Therefore we bow before thee with a new song in our mouth, with a new hope brightening our hearts, and for this we bless thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Thou hast brought us together not to inflict on us a disappointment. For this thou didst not cause the trumpet of convocation to be sounded. Thou hast called us together into one family and fellowship for the passing hour, that thou mayest reveal thyself to us in some new and unexpected beauty. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Let there be a shining from heaven of a great light, that shall chase every shadow away, and create a glory compared with which there is none beside. For all the blessings of the week how can we sing a song of gratitude sufficient? Hast thou not made a way for thyself in the darkness, and hast thou not turned the noonday itself into sevenfold brightness? Thou hast withheld no good thing from us; thou hast given unto us blessings with both hands, and the windows of heaven have been too small to enable thee to pour down upon us all the stores of thy grace.
Yet we have received thy blessings oftentimes with neglect, sometimes with utter forgetfulness, now and then almost with practical contempt. We have not seen thine image and superscription upon thy daily gifts. Thou hast been paying tribute unto us, and we have not repaid thee with our deep love. Yet wherein we have answered thee at all we bless thee for the reply we have given thee, forasmuch as the answer was inspired by thine own Spirit. If we have done anything aright, this also is the Lord’s doing. If our thoughts have lifted themselves up above all clouds, and have fastened themselves with holy awe upon the subject of thine eternity and thy grace, behold this is the greatest of thy miracles. We are prone to search in the dust for our blessings; we hew unto ourselves cisterns, that we may drink at them and be sufficed, and behold, they are broken cisterns that can hold no water. The river of God is full of water. To that river we now repair; may we find in it healing and satisfaction, and see in it all the meaning of thine infinite grace. We are poor, but our poverty is not a hindrance in thy sight, but an attraction. Thou dost give to the poor and needy; thou dost shelter the homeless; thou art the Friend of those who have no friend, the Refuge of the penitent and the distressed, the Sanctuary of men who long to be free from sin. Thou art training us by thine own way and Spirit, and we cannot follow all the course of thy discipline, because we understand it not; but thy way is right; thou wilt justify thy way to us, and when thou hast tried us thou wilt bring us forth as gold. Let this assurance make our hearts quiet every day; may we rest in this holy doctrine, and be quieted with thine own peace. The Lord visit us every one according to our personal need, and where there is special praise for special blessing, the Lord receive the hymn of love, and grant reply still larger than before. Where there is mourning of heart because of loss, pain, bereavement, or anticipation of distress, the Lord grant the healing grace of heaven. We have heard of the balm that is in Gilead, and of the Physician that is there, and we now hasten towards thee that we may be healed. Grant unto us in all our life just what we need. If thou dost not answer our prayers as we expect, do thou grant unto our hearts a peace that holds within its depths all assurance of grace. The Lord’s light come from the whole heavens and make the place glorious. The Lord pity us, and take away the cloud of fear; the Lord himself rejoice in his people redeemed with blood, and cause them to sing a new song of mercy and of judgment. May this hour be the most glorious and memorable in the recollection of the soul. Now we wait for thy reply; we pray in the name of the Saviour; we go by the way of the Cross; our prayers we offer to the presiding Priest that he may magnify them and cleanse them, ennobling all their meaning and purpose, and seeking for us the answer of thy peace. Let our sins fall away from us like a garment, never more to be taken up, and let thy grace possess itself of our hearts, and make them glad with the very joy of heaven. Amen.
Act 3:1-11
1. Now Peter and John [it is to John that Peter turns for comfort after his fall] went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried [we may carry those we cannot heal ], whom they laid daily at the gate [so massive that twenty men were required to open or shut it] of the temple which is called Beautiful [named only here], to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.
3. Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4. And Peter, fastening his eyes [a look which read character] upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength [literally, “were consolidated “].
8. And he leaping up [ Isa 35:6 ] stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
10. And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
11. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s [outside the temple, on the eastern side], greatly wondering.
The Lame Man Healed
YOU will not see the whole beauty of this paragraph unless you connect it with the chapter preceding. You remember the infinite excitement of that chapter: it is the chapter which tells us the marvellous history of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost had been poured out upon the waiting Church. “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house” where the Church was sitting, “and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” There had never been such a day in the Church before. The spirit of the day was a spirit of ecstasy; men saw visions and heard voices, and formed such noble purposes as had never before animated their breasts. It was a high day in the Church. The silver trumpet had sounded; the last shadow seemed to have fled away; and the family of God congregated there was filled with ineffable delight; so much so, indeed, that even the vexing property question fell quite out of sight. No man reckoned that anything he had was his own; all that believed were together like a family, and had all things common; they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need. There was no suspicion of selfishness, for no life was bounded merely by its own interests. Life was raised up to a higher level than it had ever attained, and the people were praising God from morning till night; “they continued daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, and eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” Surely the millennium had come!
After this there will be no more commonplace: anything that can transpire after such a realization of the Divine presence will be of the nature of commonplace, and will be resented in high temper as unworthy to follow such a manifestation! Who would willingly come out of the blue heavens, to walk again on the common earth? Who would voluntarily abandon angelic society, to come down again to the common thoroughfares and pathways of ordinary life? You must enter into this excitement if you would understand the opening words of the third chapter. Probably there are no quieter words to be found anywhere than are these: “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer.” After the excitement of the second chapter, is not this of the nature of an anti-climax? What can come after the thunder, and the whirlwind, and the mighty revelations of the Divine presence? Two men former partners in the fishing trade, often together, the complement of one another as to many mental and moral qualities two men “went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer.” Then see that the ecstatic hours of life ought to be succeeded by quiet worship, for that alone can sustain the heart with true nourishment. Men cannot live in ecstasy; God grants unto his Church times of refreshing, hours of enthusiasm, days when the whole horizon opens like an infinite door into the upper places of the universe; but after such peculiarly solemn manifestations of power and grace, he expects us to go up into the temple to pray, as he knows such visions make all other life ordinary and common. Whatever luxuries you may enjoy occasionally, you must have bread permanently; we do not live on luxuries, we live on bread. We cannot always live in the extraordinary, for by the very fact of its being always extraordinary it would cease to be other than usual. But were not the men inspired? Had not they seen great sights, and heard great voices, and had they not actually received into their hearts the Holy Ghost? To these inquiries an emphatic affirmation must be returned. Yet, notwithstanding all these special circumstances, the two men “went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer.” The clock was not altered; the time-bill of heaven was not changed: the great Pentecostal storm had rushed across the heavens, and had left behind it showers of blessings. Still the quiet clock ticked and travelled on to the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, and Peter and John were not so transported by special ecstasies as to forget their daily and customary engagements with God. Suspect any inspiration that makes you contemptuous of ordinary religious duly. If any men had reason to suppose that they could dispense with ordinary worship, and customary routine, Peter and John were such. They might have said, “We have outlived all this; we are no longer mechanical worshippers, we take no note of time now; we have received the Holy Ghost into our hearts, and for us all Sabbath days, and sacrificial hours, and sacred places, are abolished we live the higher life, we enjoy the ineffable consciousness.” No such speech did they make.
Inspiration never lessens duty; true inspiration ennobles our conception of what is due from us to the Divine Being. Any supposed inspiration that has withdrawn men from the Temple and poisoned them with the delusion that they could sufficiently read the Bible at home, is an inspiration coming otherwhere than from Heaven. You cannot read the Bible at home in any exhaustive and final sense. You were not made to live at home always; you have in you instincts that can only be satisfied by great public associations. There is in you that which finds its completion in public fellowship, Christian communion, and general intercourse of mind with mind upon the sublime topics of Heavenly truth. It does a man good to “go up into the temple at the hour of prayer,” that he may pray; it does every man good to be now and then in a crowd: public assembly has an educational and social influence upon the individual life. Standing alone, a man may seem to be very great, very important, and very self-complete; it is when he enters into a crowd that he realises his humanity, his littleness, and yet the very greatness that comes of that contraction of individuality. “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” Peter and John did not, for immediately after the day of Pentecost, under the joyous realization of the newly-given Spirit, they went up into the Temple at the hour of prayer. Are we not wrong in supposing that prayer can ever be of the nature of commonplace? What is prayer? Is it not communion with God?
Our conception of prayer has fallen. Few men can pray all the day. We pray sometimes through the prayers of others, and this is the true interpretation of the priestly element in human nature. Perhaps you cannot sing vocally, but you may sing sympathetically with the great Vocalist.. So sympathetic may you be, that though you may find it impossible to express the sentiments which animate your hearts and give a nobility to your aspirations, yet when you hear those sentiments expressed by a gifted tongue they are made your prayers of by your cordial Amen. We should never give way to the blasphemous suggestion that prayer is or can be ordinary; there is nothing ordinary in any true prayer; to pray is to redeem any day from commonplace. To have one quick, flashing view of God makes common time sacred. If we pray mechanically or by rote, or if prayer be the mere repetition of words which have never passed through the heart, and been stained with its blood, then I wonder not that men have become weary of prayer, and should long for it to cease; but when we truly realise the nature and scope of prayer, and when the heart beats sympathetically through the whole compass of communion with God, there can be nothing commonplace in prayer, even if it immediately succeed the storms and shocks of Pentecost itself. But had the Apostles lost their inspiration? Verily, there was hardly time for any such loss to have taken place, for the narrative reads as if it were almost one, without break, and without any punctuation that would separate substantially the one part from the other. They had not lost their inspiration, as is evident by what they did. Look at the case! Here is a man lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked to the Temple, but was always carried by friends carried there every day, and carried every day too to the most attractive spot in all the surroundings of the temple. No man had ever cured him; we are not aware that any man had ever attempted to heal him; but Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, “Look on us!” That was the first time probably he had ever looked with all his soul. No such speech had ever thrilled him before. Only if we had heard the accents with which Peter said, “Look upon us,” should we be able to understand the ardent gaze of the expectant beggar. Verily, these men then had not lost their inspiration, or they never would have taken this course with the suppliant at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They could work this miracle. Let that be taken as a proof of the continuance of their inspiration; and yet we see that notwithstanding the continuance of their inspiration they are going up like ordinary humble worshippers to pray in the temple.
Young men, let me, as your friend and teacher, advise you to beware of any inspiration that leads you away from apostolic practice. Your ambition may be easily excited, and you may not require a very expert tempter of the human mind to say to you that perhaps you may be a genius, a man of a particularly refined and sensitive character. You need not submit to take upon you the yoke of religious custom; your place is the side of the purling brook, yours to watch the meandering stream, yours to hold converse with rising and setting suns. When such temptation seduces you give it the lie. You have not the ardour of holy Peter, you have not the mental crown and moral glow of the divine John, and it will be better for you to follow in the way of apostolic practice than to yield up your religious life at the bidding of an anonymous tempter. The law would seem to be that every miracle should be succeeded by prayer, and every great effort of human life should be followed by a religious exercise, every outgoing of the soul should have its compensatory movement in silent communion with God. After you have been striving arduously and valiantly in the fight, plunge into the bath, so to say, of divine meditation and heavenly communion, and therein leave your weakness and recover your strength. This incidental conversation with the poor lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple gives us some particulars about the Apostles themselves, and those particulars are the more valuable because of the way in which they are introduced into the narrative. It is perfectly evident that having all things common had not enriched Peter and John. We wonder sometimes as to the meaning of the apostolic communion, and here is a sidelight upon it of a very striking kind. The men who belonged to the apostolic communion had neither silver nor gold. Apostolic communion was no priest’s trick: it was no attempt to enrich the apostolate at the expense of the Christian public. Here are two of the most conspicuous of the apostolate saying, quite in an incidental manner as an explanatory basis of proposed action, “Silver and gold have we none.”
So much the better for them! Woe unto the Apostle who spends one half of his life in getting silver and gold, and the other half in watching that they do not run away from him. “Silver and gold have I none;” what had they, then? They had divine energy, spiritual life, social sympathy, and hearts to bless those who needed benediction and assistance. The poverty of the Apostles was in material substance only; and therefore it was no poverty at all. He is the poor man who has nothing but money; there are no poorer men in all the range of civilization today than those men who are overweighted with property. He is rich who has high ideals and noble sympathies, and who lives in the presence of God and in the service of truth. He cannot be alone; there is no solitude for the truly intellectual and spiritual nature. Some men cannot understand silence; if you are nor for ever talking to them, they suppose that you are dull; if you do not walk out hour after hour during the day, and talk the whole time, they inquire considerately as to your spirits, and as to whether there is not something in your temperament that tends toward melancholy. If men have not upon their faces an eternal grin they are supposed to be unhappy. You have met with persons who say they never walk out alone. I thank God I can never walk out in company! Have your riches in your mind, in your heart, in your thoughts, in your purposes, in your beneficent plans, and the night will be as the day, and the day will be sevenfold in brightness. Then you shall not know what it is to feel the chill and pain of solitude. This action of the Apostles also shows how possible it is to be giving less than others, and at the same time to be giving more than they all. “Silver and gold have I none.” “Then he could give nothing,” would be the swift and shallow reasoning of those who read the surface only. “But such as I have give I thee.” That is the giving that does not impoverish; the more given the more left. It is the giving of the sun.
The sun has been giving his light; he has shone for thousands of years, and yet he is as luminous as when he first looked out upon the darkness which he dispelled. Give mechanically, and you will weary of the exercise; but give spiritually, and you will increase your possessions by the very giving of your alms. I take this incident as representing our own Christian life today in some important aspects. Our Christian life has its Pentecost. There are rare days in our consciousness; there are times when we think we are almost going into the celestial company; there are hours of transport, of high, tender realization, in which we know that though we are separated from the heavenly host by time and space, we yet can almost take hold of hands. And are there not days upon which, when we open the Bible, the whole page gleams with a new light, and when the very rustling of the leaves is as the shaking of the tree of Life? Have we not all said
But the practical lesson immediately succeeds. We are not to live in such ecstasy; we are to go into the ordinary routine, if you so please, of worship. Herein many hearers are hard upon those who preach; the preacher is relied upon for the undue and continual excitement of the intellectual and spiritual nature. We forget that we do not live in excitement, but in the ordinary patient, thankful enjoyment of customary service; and our religious life, like the life of the Apostles, has its work to do outside the Temple.
A man may pray none the less prayerfully because he has aided some poor creature before he entered the sacred place. We should have enjoyed the service many a time much more keenly if before coming to it we had made some sorrowful heart glad. That is the preparation for prayer. To have been with some lonely one; to have created an atmosphere of friendliness around the solitary traveller; to have lifted the burden of life for one short minute from a back too weak to bear it, would have been to have enjoyed in the most profound and satisfactory sense the service of the house of God. If you want to come up at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice with glowing, thankful hearts, ready to receive any communication God may make to them, spend the intervening hours in doing good to those who sit in solitary places. Visit the poor and the friendless; hear their dreary tales; and when you come to the house of God you will come, not in a spirit of criticism, but in a spirit of sympathy, and from the first note to the last there shall be a shining forth and revelation of the Divine presence. Then, finally, the Christianity of this day, like the Christianity of the Apostolic day, must prove its divinity by its beneficence. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
Peter did not preach a sermon to the man. To the excited multitude he expounded the. Scriptures; he quoted the Psalms and the Prophets, and shewed what new interpretation God had given to His word; but when he came face to face with the man lame from his mother’s womb, unable to help himself, he preached no sermon except as the mention of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is always a sermon, but bade the helpless man rise up and walk. Here is the sphere in which Christian argument may yet secure its highest triumph. Words can be answered by words, phrases beget phrases, and the easy trick of recrimination is the favorite amusement of mere controversialists; but a Church seeking out the lowly, helping the helpless, healing the sick, teaching the ignorant, standing by the cause of righteousness, defying the oppressor, and suffering and working for the right, is a Church whose beneficence is its noblest attribute, and whose character is the only vindication it requires.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
IX
THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE HABIT OF THE EARLY CHURCH
Act 2:39-3:1
So now we take up Act 2:39-3:1 for exposition. The closing part of Act 2:38 says, “And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” and Act 2:39 , “For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.” I take that last clause of Act 2:38 “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” because of its connection with the succeeding verse; and so the question arises what is meant by the gift of the Holy Spirit? Does it mean the ordinary graces of the Spirit, such as men received before Pentecost, and are receiving now, and have been receiving through all the history of the world, i.e., the convicting power of the Spirit, repenting power of the Spirit, and believing power of the Spirit? No, it does not mean that. The promise refers to the prophecy of Joel: “It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh,” and then this baptism in the Spirit is described. Peter says to the convicted men of Israel: “You have witnessed our reception of the baptism of the Spirit; you have seen its effect on us. Now, if you will repent and believe, and be baptized, ye shall receive that gift.” He goes on to say, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and unto all that are afar off,” limited by just so many as God shall call to receive it.
Joel says, “I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh,” i.e., all kinds of people old men, young men, maidens, the promise is unto you, fathers, and unto you, children of the fathers, and unto you that come from a great distance, afar off, whether of the dispersion of the Jews, or of the Gentiles. The “afar off” refers to all of those. “After your conversion, these signs shall follow them that believe” that which comes after the baptism in the Holy Spirit. You who then will repent, who will believe, you shall receive the same thing that you wonder at in these. In Act 2 Peter says, “Who was I, that I could withstand God?” And seeing that these Gentiles received the same gift which they had at the beginning, while he was talking to Cornelius and his household, the Spirit fell upon Cornelius and his household, and he began to speak with tongues. Peter says, “It was the same gift that came to us on Pentecost.” So in Act 19 , when Paul asked certain disciples he found there, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” he is asking if, upon their part, they have been baptized in the Spirit. That is what he means exactly. That being the meaning of the word “gift” in the passage, “ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” because it was promised to them and to their children, and to just as many as God should call.
It means that the number of people to receive this baptismal power of the Spirit was limited to just as many as the Lord our God should call to receive it.
He could limit it to some Jews on the day of Pentecost, to some Gentiles afterward, as in the case of Cornelius; to some at Corinth, to some at Ephesus, and long enough to fully accredit the church before his call on that was brought to a stop just as many as he would call.
Is now expound Act 2:42 , particularly giving the four services that constituted the habit of the early church. The King James Version says, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” From that translation we get the idea that to continue steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine is to remain firm in the faith. That is not at all the thought of the original, however. They were constant in attending upon the following things: The teaching of the apostles, the breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayers. They were constantly attending or they were constant in attending upon the teaching of the apostles, who kept on with their teaching. It is the object of that verse to express a habit of the early church a habit of continual attention to the following things: (1) Public worship; (2) the contribution worship (for that is what fellowship here means) ; (3) the Lord’s Supper worship; (4) the prayer meeting worship.
Let us put that into a little plainer English. If God converts my soul and I believe in Jesus my Saviour, the habit of my life must be along the line of that faith; and inasmuch as God has appointed the public services of his church, I will be constant in my attendance upon those services. I won’t stay away half the Sundays. If public worship is appointed by the congregation for every Sunday, then unless providentially hindered, I will be there at those services. Then in order to carry on the kingdom of God, if contribution services are appointed, I won’t skip those on the days appointed, whatever they may be, few or many; if observing the Lord’s Supper, I won’t stay from that. The meetings appointed for prayer, I will attend. That is the true sense of the Greek. It is one of the finest themes upon which any preacher can preach. Here were 3,000 people happily converted. They were brought into a new covenant, and these young converts were constantly attending all the public teaching of the apostles.
This is the literal Greek: “And they were stedfastly continuing on the teaching of the apostles”; “and they were stedfastly continuing koinonia ,” which has several meanings. Of course it expresses the idea of participation, and hence we sometimes use it in the sense of fellowship; they were constantly attending upon the “contributions.”
The necessity for those constant contributions is seen from the context. The record says twice, epi to auto all who believed were epi to auto , i.e., together; they were at the same place, and there were thousands of them there. There people were in a great revival meeting. The meetings were held every day. Some came from a distance, and there were necessary expenses involved in keeping that great crowd of people epi to auto at the same place; and therefore there had to be a distribution of rations. They had to be fed, just as when we hold a big meeting a camp meeting and the people gather to stay through the meeting. From twenty to thirty miles around they came epi to auto , “together,” or “at the same place.” One brother says, “I will furnish so and so,” so many hogs, for instance; another so many beeves, and another so much money, as in this case in Acts where the contributions were necessary. They had all things common.
They took those funds for the support of that meeting into a common fund, under the conditions of that great gathering, and they were held together at one place, just as we get a large sum of money, etc., for the camp meetings of today, barrels of ice water with cups, thus having meals all together. A long table is spread, and everything cooked is placed upon it. We have often seen that kind of a thing great crowds of people coming together, having their meals, not separately, but “together.” And in order that this big crowd be held together, some man was so full of the Spirit of God that he said, “To the end that this meeting may go on, I will bring all I have here and put it in the general fund.” Later on we strike the account of that man doing it. But I am trying to show the force of epi to auto , together, or at the same place. It is a question of that pronoun reference, as to what “at the same place” means. That would put them together; therefore the word “together” should be translated, “that place,” because they were at the same place. Therefore they were together. Many times in the New Testament the word which is translated fellowship evidently means contribution. I have not space to recite all the passages. We come to a number of them in the New Testament.
It was a great task to care for such a vast congregation, even for one day. The believers numbered 3,000, and a little later 5,000, not counting the women and children. Later still, it included a very great number, such as Greeks, and still later, when the disciples were multiplying and kept multiplying, there arose a complaint concerning the distribution of the provision for that great camp meeting, because some did not get enough, and did not get anything to eat. I have seen at camp meetings the bread or beef give out, and some of the crowd could not get to the table before it gave out.
This situation in the early church led to the appointment of deacons. The apostles said, “It is not reason that we should quit our preaching, our ministry, of the word, and go around and see that these people are fed, that this great volume of food is equally distributed. It is all here common. You must appoint somebody to take charge of this. We cannot stop to serve tables. We have to attend to the preaching and prayer meetings to the ministry of the word and of prayer. That is our special charge, so you bring business men here who can attend to that.”
It was characteristic of those young converts, who were coming by the thousands, to continually attend all the public services the preaching services, the contribution services for the support of the meeting, the services for observing the Lord’s Supper, and the prayer meeting services.
We used to have a big horn, a conch shell, a trumpet or a triangle, anything that would give a loud sound, at our big meetings, to announce the services as commencing. They would have a sunrise prayer meeting, a nine o’clock prayer service, a ten o’clock song service, an eleven o’clock preaching service, and then an afternoon service.
Next, in order that these young people and all new converts who were being brought into the church might be introduced to the ordinances of God, they would have the Lord’s Supper. Note that it is said of these converts that they formed four habits: Constant attendance on the preaching service, on the contribution service, the observance of the Lord’s Supper, and on the prayer service. And when you get a church to do that you have a power.
I preached on that text at a great meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The most distinguished Baptists in the United States, and the most learned theological seminary professors, the presidents and professors of literary institutions, the great evangelists and missionaries, at home and abroad, some of them white-headed, just ready to go away to God, were present. I presented these four points as the points of power in the church: Constant attendance on these four services that if a man wouldn’t dodge the preaching, nor the giving, nor the prayer meeting, nor the observance of the Lord’s Supper, he would not be very apt to backslide, but would keep in line. But if he was willing to attend the prayer service, and shut his eyes when the contribution plate was passed around, singing, “Fly abroad, thou mighty gospel,” and yet put in nothing to make its wings flap, he convicted himself. He was leaving out one of God’s appointed methods of worship. Now we are enabled to interpret the next thing.
“And all who believed were epi to auto , ‘at the same place,’ ‘together’; epi to auto kai eichon hapanta koina , and had all things common.” This passage of scripture has given rise to the doctrine called “the community of goods.” There are men now who say, “Let every one of us, whether rich or poor, put into a common pile everything we have, and then each one take out enough to sustain him every day.” That is the key passage of the Scholastics. But is it the intent of this passage (Act 2:44 ) to teach what is commonly understood as “community of goods,” i.e., if one has $10,000 worth of property, another $5,000, and another $2,000, does this passage require you to lump in your money and to ride out even?
It does not, and here is the proof. I am going to show that there is no law here establishing what is understood as a community of goods. In order to do that I will turn a little forward, where the same matter comes up again. In Act 4:34 we have this account: “For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostle’s feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as any one had need. And Joseph, a Levite, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power?” This shows that his private ownership had not departed from him. It was not the object of the scriptures concerning this great lesson to teach that private ownership was done away with at all. It was a voluntary thing, done under the impulse of the great meeting that was going on to take care of all those people, to keep them together, epi to auto at the same place. A man did not have to sell his property; he was not obliged to do it; but if he felt prompted to do it, in order that the meeting would not stop, he was not afraid to do it. But if he sold his land the money was still his; there was no law that required him to bring it all. But Ananias and Sapphira claimed that they had put it all in, but they had kept back part, telling a lie about it to God, or to the Holy Spirit, as if he did not know. They wanted to have the reputation that Joseph had, who sold all he had and brought the whole of it and put it into the fund. So they sold a piece of land, conspired together to fool Peter and to fool God that they would go and say that they had received so much and that was all of it. But Peter says, “Ananias, that property was yours before you sold it, and after you sold it the money was still yours. Your offense is, then, that you said, ‘We received for it so much and put the whole of it into the common fund.’ ” So that Ananias’ case disproves any idea of “common property.”
I will illustrate it: In the Madera Mountains, at the headquarters of the warlike tribe of the Comanche Indians, for many generations there has been a beautiful valley, plenty of water and plenty of grass, and when the moon is at its full, it is one of the best places in the world for holding a meeting. So every year they make great provision for a meeting. They say, “F. W. Johnson, what will you do towards it?” He says, “I’ll give ten beeves, and so many sheep.” Another says so many quilts, another a big table, so that anybody may be invited to come. The crowd is too big to make it all into one table, however, and there is no time to average just what they give, but what they do bring there is “common.” You step up to F. W. Johnson, or to W. D. Cowan, who are the main supporters of that meeting. You have just come, maybe a stranger riding horseback, and you say, “I’d like to have a place to sleep tonight blankets, etc.” “We have it for you,” these brethren say; “just come here; everything is ‘common.’ ” Now that did not mean that Johnson sold all he had and put it in, but for the purpose in view it was truly a common affair.
There is a change from the American Version in the Revised Version of Act 2:47 and Act 3:1 which is a textual matter. Let us compare these two versions. The last verse of the chapter of the American Version reads: “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The Revised Version says, “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved.” Is there any church in it? No; “to them,” epi tois , or epi to auto the same phrase again. “And the Lord added” to the same crowd, the same place, daily such as were being saved. In the best of the Greek manuscripts the word “church,” does not appear, but the Revised Version takes that epi to auto from the first verse in the next chapter and puts it there. In other words, Act 3 begins epi to auto , and joins it together. “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple.” We have no “together” in the Revised Version, and the revised is correct. It follows the true original manuscript. The “together” of Act 3:1 in the American Version belongs to Act 2:47 , and this word “together” should be put there in the place of the word “church.” The idea of the church is there. It was one church.
Is interpret this passage according to the Revised Version. Some later manuscripts give the idea as “church” by putting that word in, just like they put it in once before in the same chapter, where “church” does not occur, though the idea of church is there. It was an immensely big church. Before they got through, the way Is count it, there were 100,000 members right in Jerusalem, and the crowd just kept gathering by the thousands every day. It swelled and swelled, got bigger and bigger, all of the apostles preaching. Just like we would say, “Brother A. preaches in the First Church at 9 o’clock; Brother B. at the Second Church at the same hour, and Brother C. in the Tabernacle, while Brother D. will hold forth in the Court House.” All over the town that great multitude gathered and had preaching. They were brought there and held together by the power of that meeting. If the reader would like to do a little private work, let him take an English-Greek concordance, and translate the word “fellowship” and see its relation to money. You will see that here it means participation in a money meeting, that is, a fellowship meeting. They had fellowship in the public services; fellowship in giving money’ participation in the giving of money; they had fellowship when the Lord’s Supper was observed; they participated m the prayer meeting, and everybody took part.
QUESTIONS 1. What is meant by the “gift of the Holy Spirit” in Act 2:38 ?
2. To whom was the gift limited?
3. Expound Act 2:42 , particularly giving the four services that constituted the habit of the early church.
4. Why was it necessary for those constant contributions?
5. What church office was instituted here, and what the circumstances of its institution?
6. What was characteristic of the young converts in the Pentecost meeting?
7. Is it the intent of Act 2:44 to teach what is commonly understood as “Community of Goods”? What the proof?
8. What illustration by the author of the scriptural idea of having things “common”?
9. What change from the Authorized Version found in the Revised Version of Act 2:47 ; Act 3:1 , and what is the true idea of the passage?
10. Interpret this passage according to the Revised Version.
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
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THE SADDUCEAN PERSECUTION
Act 3:1-5:42
Acts 3-5 are devoted to the history of the first great persecution of the Spirit-filled and accredited church, with attendant circumstances. This, quite naturally, was of Sadducean origin. (1) The Sadducees were the rulers of the people, dominating in politics, and through the high priest, dominating the Sanhedrin. (2) They were materialists, believing in neither angel nor spirit, nor in the resurrection of the body. (3) The great issue, publicly and boldly made by the Spiritfilled church, was that Jesus was risen from the dead and exalted to the sovereignty of the universe, and was demonstrating these great truths by unmistakable signs and wonders. (4) The people were being swept away by these demonstrations, so that what the Sadducees might well call “the last error” was worse than the first. (5) Hence the Sadducees had to meet this issue, so publicly and convincingly made, or else lose both political and ecclesiastical power. (6) Moreover, the demonstration of the resurrection of Jesus established his messiahship, and convicted the rulers of sacrilege and murder in putting him to death, so that they were on trial for their lives, their faith, their offices, and their political leadership.
This important issue had been forced on them by Peter. In his great sermon on Pentecost he had alleged in the presence of myriads of the people, from all parts of the world, the following things: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; him being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay: whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Act 2:22-24 ). And again, “This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear” (Act 2:32 ). And also, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom ye crucified” (Act 2:36 ). He had introduced the testimony of the prophet Joel, and particularly the declaration of the great king, David. Three thousand of the people were converted in one day, and every day following vast additions were made to their number. The meeting was protracted. They held services publicly in the Temple every day. Money, by voluntary contribution, poured into the treasury. Their baptisms and observances of the Lord’s Supper were public and continuous. They were jubilant in praise, and had favor with all the people. The revival was a conflagration threatening to wrap all Jerusalem in its spiritual flame.
At this juncture occurred a public incident which forced the Sadducean rulers to take official notice of the great movement. In the very gate of the temple, Peter and John had wrought an amazing miracle on a well-known cripple, hopelessly lame from his mother’s womb; the miracle was wrought in the name of Jesus of Nazareth; a great concourse of the people were attracted to the scene of the miracle, recognizing the subject of it, witnessing the completeness of the healing, and standing in amazement before the miracle workers. Peter replies to their amazement (a) by disclaiming any power or holiness in himself and John to do this mighty work; (b) he boldly accuses them of denying the holy and righteous One, preferring a murderer instead, delivering him up to Pilate and forcing him reluctantly to condemn him, and of killing the Prince of Life; (c) that the God of Abraham raised him from the dead, of which fact they were witnesses, and (d) that through his name through faith in his name was given to this hopeless cripple, so well known to them, this perfect soundness in the presence of them all.
Peter further improved the occasion thus: (1) He admitted that spiritual ignorance caused the people and their rulers to commit so grave a blunder and so heinous a crime. (2) But the passion of the Messiah, foreshown by all the prophets, was thus fulfilled. (3) He therefore exhorts to repentance and turning, so that (a) their sins might be blotted out; (b) that great revivals might come from the glorified Lord; (c) that he must remain in heaven until the times of restoration of all things attested by all the prophets; (d) that this Jesus was the great Prophet like unto Moses, who according to Moses, God would raise up from among the brethren; (e) that whoever would not hear this prophet would be cut off from Israel; (f) that Samuel and all succeeding prophets foretold these things; (g) that they, as sons of the prophets and of God’s covenant that in Abraham’s seed, who is the Messiah, all nations should be blessed, were first offered the blessings of forgiveness. To this indictment of rulers and people and this marvelous exhortation, the people made great response. About 5,000 men, not counting women and children, were converted (Act 4:4 ).
This issue, so made by Peter, was the boldest and most comprehensive challenge in all history.
It claimed all the books of the Jewish Bible, all their covenants and promises, all their patriarchs, mediators, prophets, illustrious kings and heroes, all their sacrifices and rituals. It charged sacrilege and murder in the rejection of Jesus. It affirmed the resurrection, the exaltation and the glorification of the rejected Lord. It preached repentance on account of this sin. It promised remission of sin and eternal life to those who believed. It threatened exclusion from the covenant of all the impenitent and unbelieving. It intimated a transfer of the kingdom to the Gentiles, if they persisted in their rejection, so the Sadducees had to accept the challenge.
The Sadducees felt compelled to respond to the challenge: (1) They arrested Peter and John, imprisoned them for the night, and held them to trial before the Sanhedrin on the morrow. (2) They gathered all the Sadducean kindred of the high priest, Caiaphas, including Annas, his father-in-law, ex-high priest, John and Alexander, thus assembling those most responsible for the crime of the murder of the Lord, and by thus gathering the special Sadducean kindred dominating the council. (3) The Sanhedrin itself was convened, and the prisoners set before it.
Their inquisition concedes the fact of the miracle, but demands, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” A prophecy of the Lord was thus fulfilled: “They shall deliver you up to councils.” Our Lord had foretold and provided for this very exigency. He said, “Be not anxious beforehand what ye shall speak; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mar 13:11 ; Mat 10:16-20 ).
In this foretold strait, Peter obeyed the direction of Christ, as we find in Act 4:8-12 : “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders, if we this day are examined concerning a good deed to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him, doth this man stand here before you whole. He is the stone which was set at nought of you, the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.”
That is the noblest answer in history.
The effect of Peter’s boldness on the council is thus described Act 4:13 : “Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” That council could not understand that ignorant and unlearned men) arrested and imprisoned, and brought before that supreme court of the Jewish nation, should stand there, not as prosecuted, but as prosecutors, indicting their judges. This shows that the power of preachers is not dependent upon, or I should say, not proportioned to the amount of their education, but it is proportioned to their being filled with the Holy Spirit, and to their being educated or trained in the Word of God. Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, had a theory that only college graduates should be allowed to be preachers, and they refused to receive into their seminary anybody who did not graduate at a reputable institution of learning. He was amazed to hear of some work done by a blacksmith, who never had been to school much, and he kept on hearing so much about this blacksmith that he, after investigation, was himself persuaded and convinced that this unlearned man did shake the gates of hell every time he preached to the people. Dr. Wayland, who differed altogether from the Presbyterians (he was a Baptist), about the absolute necessity for college education in order to preach, cites this case of Alexander’s honest testimony to something that he did not understand and he never did understand how that blacksmith could be such a power for God in his preaching.
This is why I have said in one of my opening addresses before our seminary that while I would always encourage every man to get all of the education that his means and his family condition would allow, yet I would never be guilty of the folly of saying that only college men could be preachers of power, and that when any theological seminary took the position not to admit into its theological department any but college graduates, it took a position that would have prevented either Christ or any one of the twelve apostles from entering it.
Here were two indisputable facts: A miracle confronted the Sanhedrin, and it was a good deed of healing and mercy. How keen the sarcasm of Peter: “If we be examined this day for a good deed, healing this impotent man.”
A well supported tradition exists among the Baptists of Virginia. It was in the period of the union of church and state. Two Baptist preachers were indicted for preaching without Episcopal license. This tradition says that Patrick Henry was employed to defend them, or took the case voluntarily, and that all he did was to stand up before the court and say, “What is the indictment against these men? Preaching the glorious gospel of the Son of God? Great God I That is the indictment! Are there no thieves going around unarrested and unconvicted? Are there no murderers upon whom to visit the vengeance of law, that you must indict and try men for preaching the gospel?”
This should ever be the challenge of the people of God: Here is our good work! Behold this monument of grace! This work was not done in a corner. It is self-interpretative. Here is a drunkard; look at him. See what he was, and behold what he is!
The result of the deliberation of this inquisition before the Sanhedrin seems a most impotent conclusion. It is expressed in Act 4:15-18 , thus: “But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought through them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and charged them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” That was their conclusion; so they called them back in again and charged them accordingly.
Act 4:19-20 : “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard.” In other words, “You may pass any judgment you please. You are the earthly court, but so far as we are concerned, being under higher authority, we must ignore both your threat and charge, and speak boldly and openly what we have seen and heard.” If one should wonder why the Sadducees stopped at a threat, the reason is given in Act 4:21-22 : “And they, when they had further threatened them, let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people; for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was wrought.” They had malice enough to kill them, but they were afraid of the people, and did not like to go before the people on such a case as that, with a forty-year-old man, who from his mother’s womb had been a cripple, and everybody knew him. It was a good thing done, and there he stood, perfectly healed.
Peter and John report the whole case to the church. Act 4:23 : “And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.” The church reports it to God. “And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, And the rulers were gathered together, Against the Lord, and against His Anointed: for of a truth, in this city against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever way thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass.” Let us hear them pray: “And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy servant, Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
This courage and fidelity on the part of leaders and people had a wonderful, fivefold result first on themselves and then on others: (1) “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul. (2) And not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (3) And with great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and (4) great grace was upon them all. For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as anyone had need.” Persecution unifies God’s people; it increases their love for one another, and makes them sacrifice for one another; it opens their hearts and their purses. As an old sailor once said, “It takes a side-wind to fill all the sails.” (5) lt developed great men, for example, Act 4:36-37 : “And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, son of exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
From this it may be observed that in every meeting of very great power, when the root of things is gotten at, when the topmost twig is being shaken, when the sound of the wind is in the mulberry trees, when the fire is burning in every meeting of that kind, there suddenly steps out to the front some man who afterward shakes the world. That is one of the great powers of revivals of religion. It calls out heroes, who up to that time had never been awakened. Moreover, it exposes and eliminates hypocrites for example, the marvelous judgment of Ananias and Sapphira (Act 5:1-10 ).
From three viewpoints this case is very instructive. It is evident that these two were swept into the church on the wave of a great excitement, without spiritual preparation. They could not understand the coming of the Holy Spirit, nor the mighty emotions and deeds of those around them who were filled with the Spirit. They had witnessed the heroic sacrifice of Barnabas, and coveted, not a similar spirit, but the credit of his deed, without the sacrifice. They conspired together to obtain this credit. They sold a piece of land, agreeing to keep back a part of the price, while affirming that the part offered was all they received. They had neither a consciousness of the presence of the omniscient Spirit, nor that Peter, as an apostle filled with the Spirit, could read their minds. They supposed they had only to fool a mere man. They were not prepared for the exposure, nor his awful sentence in Act 5:3-5 . They were filled with Satan not the Holy Spirit. Similar tragedies frequently occur in great revivals. The shortest road to the eternal sin the unpardonable sin is from a great revival. Satan attends them, ever ready to suggest a quick way to instant and eternal ruin.
Indeed, it is only from a place of great light that the unpardonable sin can be committed. A second viewpoint of instruction is the apostolic power of judgment. It was not often exercised, but always possessed. A similar case thus appears in Act 13:6-12 . Here again the apostle recognizes the presence of Satan opposing, through an agent, the work of the Holy Spirit. There are other New Testament cases, but these two illustrate.
I have often heard Major Penn and other great evangelists affirm that, on certain occasions, when the Spirit’s power was greatest, by a kind of spiritual instinct they felt the hostile presence of Satan working some form of opposition through some human agent. On one occasion I witnessed his dramatic exposure of this hostile occult influence.
A not less important viewpoint is the effect of this judgment (1) on the church, (2) on hypocrites, and (3) on outsiders. On the church it brought great fear (Act 5:11 ); on the hypocrites it says, “Of the rest durst no man join himself to them” (Act 5:13 ). It was getting too hot for hypocrites. It is only in lukewarm times that conscious hypocrites most seek to join themselves to the churches. People then come in without regard to the spiritual requirement regeneration. Let the time come when “judgment must begin at the house of God,” and the lightning begins to strike, they become very shy of joining the church.
What was the effect on the outsiders? The answer is found in Act 5:14 : “Howbeit, the people magnified them; and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” The power of the apostles grows: “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people: and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.” That is an answer to the prayer found in Act 4:29-30 : “And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy servant, Jesus.” Here Peter’s power reaches a climax in special miracles. Here we have it: “Insomuch that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that, as Peter came by, at the least his shadow might overshadow some one of them” (Act 5:15 ).
My brother, J. M. Carroll, has a regular “sugar-stick” sermon on “The Shadow of Peter, or the Power of Influence.” When you get so near to God and so full of the Spirit that the people will bring the helpless cases where you would walk along, so that your shadow might fall on some of them, then you may know you are at the topnotch of power. The author has a sermon on special miracles “The Bones, Fringes, Shadows, Handkerchiefs, and Aprons.” Here you have a miracle by a shadow. In Elisha’s case the miracle was by bones. In our Lord’s time they touched the fringe, the hem of his garment; and in the apostle Paul’s time they sent out aprons and handkerchiefs that had touched him.
The last two paragraphs of this chapter (Act 5:17-42 ) recite a revival of the Sadducean persecution. The apostles not only continued their witness of the resurrection, but the Holy Spirit magnified their witness by mighty signs, wonders and Judgments, until vast multitudes were converted to the faith, and they grew to an astonishing height in love, faith, unity, and courage. The streams of the sick, of the troubled souls, that converged in a tide toward the apostles and the happy church, and every increase of the shouts of the healed and the joy of the redeemed, excited their wrath.
The record says: “But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him [which is the sect of the Sadducees], and they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public ward.” [This time they get all of them in prison.] “But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them out, and said, ‘Go ye, and stand and speak in the temple.’ ” So they are to go right on preaching the word. And when the Sanhedrin the next morning sends for the prisoners, their officer cornea back with his finger on his lip, saying, “They’re gone.” Another comes running in and says, “I saw them; they are right back there in the Temple, still preaching, and great crowds of people around.” Then they send officers very quietly, without tumult or violence, for fear of the people, and bring them before the court again, and this is the inquisition now: “And the high priest asked them, saying, We strictly charged you not to teach in this name: and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
That shows that Peter had hit the mark. He had been indicting them as murderers in every speech he had made, and now they see the point. They say, “You intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men.” He repeats his accusation: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. Him did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these sayings; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” They do not make much out of that man, but were cut to the heart, and thought in their hearts to slay them.
The end of the Sadducean persecution comes in this way: An old man, Gamaliel, who was a Pharisee and the teacher of Paul, a doctor of the law and of great repute, requests that the prisoners be put apart for another consultation. Gamaliel makes a great speech, commencing with a word of caution (Act 5:35 ). He then recites two well-known incidents of turbulent movements, which, though so threatening for a time, came to naught, and the agitators perished, and then hinting that this movement had higher ends, motives and issues, closes with the advice found in Act 5:38-39 . The record says, “And to him they agreed.” But the context shows their agreement was only partial. (See Act 5:40 .) Just how weak and futile was their half- way measure appears from Act 5:41-42 . And so ended the Sadducean persecution. We may not leave the subject, however, without suggesting a dominant reason for their failure. Their unbelief in the supernatural utterly disqualified them for leadership.
Materialists who do not believe in angels, nor in spirit, nor the resurrection, but in this life only, never can carry the crowd. Therefore, the one who broke up this persecution, as we will see in another issue, was a Pharisee, who would not Join them on that issue. They were ready enough to join in the persecution in another issue, as we will see later, but they did not join in an issue of the resurrection, and that was the issue Peter had made that Christ was risen. Therefore, we learn in our Lord’s time, as recorded in Luk 20:27-40 , that when the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question about the resurrection, he replied to them, and the Pharisees sympathized with his answer in putting the Sadducees down. And in Act 23 , when Paul was arraigned before this very council, he divided the crowd by saying, “Brethren, the only thing against me is that I preached the resurrection of the dead,” and instantly the Pharisee part of the council stood with Paul. They would not fight on that issue, and today you need not have any dread of any opposition that comes from a materialist. He can’t get a following, for all over the world men’s consciences and their nature teach that there is a life beyond this life that there is a God and a place for the soul. The materialists, therefore, are a very small crowd; so the Sadducean persecution came to naught.
Before closing this chapter we recur, for practical observations, to several antecedent paragraphs lightly passed over in giving rapid history of the Sadducean persecution. First, the reply of Peter to the request of the lame man at the beautiful gate of the Temple: “Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
It is related that a distinguished visitor on one occasion was waiting on the Pope, to whom the Pope showed all his treasures, jewels, the money, explaining that streams from all over the world continued to flow into this treasury. Says the Pope, “There has been a very great change since the first pope’s time) for Peter said, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’ ” “Yes,” said the visitor, “and I am afraid there has been a very great change in another direction: that you cannot now make an impotent man walk; you have the silver and the gold, but have you Peter’s faith and power?”
We do well also to note that “silver and gold” are not the greatest, and most times, the best gifts in our power, and to be thankful for the fact, since otherwise only the rich could give.
Second, there can be no better example of true homiletics than Peter’s sermon to the people on the occasion of this great miracle. It equals his Pentecost sermon. It deserves a special analysis. It was a great occasion. Carlyle, on Stump Speaking, affirms that the first prerequisite to a great oration is a great occasion. It must not be manufactured to afford an opportunity for a speech. The stirring times and even the urgent hour must call for it. Then the speech must fit the occasion, and supply its calls and needs, leaving nothing more to be said.
There must be a man for the occasion, who, God-called and qualified, has something to say, and will so say it that action and not applause will cap its climax prompt, decisive, fitting, and adequate action. All these conditions are filled in this case in Peter himself and the results.
The supreme court of the nation has put itself in opposition to the supreme court of heaven on the gravest question of conscience. Those who believed in rendering unto God the things that are God’s, were making an open, daylight, life and death issue. At the beautiful gate of the Temple God magnified their testimony by an amazing miracle. A beggar, crippled from his mother’s womb, and known to all the people, received as alms an instantaneous perfect healing. His frantic exhibitions of praise to God, and joyous, grateful clinging to Peter and John, drew an immense crowd whose speechless amazement and staring, louder than words, demanded an explanation. Peter’s sermon is that explanation.
ANALYSIS 1. He rebukes their marveling at the man: “Why should it be thought incredible that God should work a miracle?”
2. He rebukes their staring at him and John, as though this wonder should be attributed to either their goodness or power.
3. He attributes the miracle exclusively to his risen Lord, through faith in his name.
4. He then begins his indictment) seeking their conviction of sin, contrasting their way with the Father’s (Act 3:13-15 ).
5. He shows again, without any attempt at harmony between free will and divine agency, that notwithstanding they had wickedly and murderously contributed to Christ’s sufferings, all these sufferings had been foreshown in all their prophets.
6. His tender heart next goes out to the indicted and convicted (Act 3:17 ).
Here he introduces a new kind of ignorance characteristic of the New Testament, and delimiting the unpardonable sin. Theirs was not mental ignorance, for they had head knowledge of all the matters involved. They lacked spiritual enlightenment, without which the eternal sin cannot be committed. Compare the case of Paul. (See Act 26:9 ; 1Ti 1:13 .) See also the veil over the hearts of the Jews when they read Moses, 2Co 3:5 , and compare Heb 10:26-29 . And yet this spiritual illumination does not necessarily reach regeneration, for the regenerate cannot commit the unpardonable sin (see 1Jn 5:16-18 ). Nor does spiritual conviction always result in that contrition or godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto life.
7. He now comes with great clearness and force to his exhortation and application (Act 3:19-21 ). .Here he finely discriminates between repentance and conversion. Logically a change of mind must precede a change of life course.
8. But we are particularly interested in the motives toward, or the results conditioned on the repentance and conversion enjoined. These are three: (1) “So that your sins may be blotted out.” (2) “So that there may come seasons of refreshings (i.e., revivals) from the presence of the Lord.” (3) “So that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things.” This part of his exhortation bristles with eschatological doctrine. It fixes far off the final advent of our Lord.
It unquestionably teaches, as many other scriptures, that the dramatic conversion of the whole Jewish nation, so vividly described by Paul, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Isaiah must not only precede the advent, but the advent itself cannot be until all prophecies of antecedent events have been fulfilled. 9. His sermon closes with the identification of the prophetic Messiah with Jesus of Nazareth, and suggests him, not only as their Messiah, but the one “in whom all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Third, Act 4:31 : “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together.” This miracle on nature, like the earthquake which followed the midnight praise and prayer service of Paul and Silas in the Philippian Jail (Act 16:25-26 ), caused the solid earth to respond in thrills to its Creator’s mandate.
Fourth, Act 4:32 (see the passage). From time immemorial this passage has been made the basis of the socialistic doctrine of “Community of goods no private ownership of property.” The contention is untenable. It is true and deducible from many other passages, that as against God, there is no absolute ownership of private property and in the light of his stewardship no Christian can say, “Aught of the things I possess is my own.” But it is not here taught that “Community ownership of private property is substituted for stewardship to God.” This is certainly the teaching of Peter’s reply to Ananias (see Act 5:4 ). It does prove, however, that individual owners of private property, moved by love to God, did voluntarily sell their goods, and put it into a common fund for the necessitous believers. This was a charity fund for the poor in a great necessity. This necessity arose mainly from the Jews of the dispersion, enumerated by nations in Act 2 , lingering so long in Jerusalem to attend the great revival meeting commencing at Pentecost and lasting until the Christian part of it was all dispersed abroad by the Pharisee persecution under Saul of Tarsus (see Act 8:1-3 ; Act 11:19 ). This is further evidenced by the necessity for the office of deacon (Act 6 ). It became too burdensome a matter for the apostles personally to distribute daily the alms of this common fund. There is no hint here or elsewhere of “community ownership of private property,” but everywhere a custom of the churches to provide for their own poor, or in case of great necessity, for the poor saints elsewhere. See Paul’s great collections for the poor saints in Jerusalem, and his specific instructions to Timothy about each church’s home poor (1Ti 5:3-16 ).
Let us now explain Act 4:4 : “But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” Thus reads the Revised Version, and the King James has it: “The number of the men was about five thousand.” Now, does that mean, with or without counting the 3000 on the day of Pentecost, that the number came to be 5000, or that 5000 were converted this day? It is based on the exegecies of the Greek, which reads: “The number of the men came to be about five thousand.” Dr. Newman says it means that there had been about 2000 converted since Pentecost, 3000 that day, and by this time had come to be about 5000, counting men only. Meyer says the same thing in his Acts; the great exegete, Hackett, a Baptist, in his Book on Acts, also says it, as do a great many others. But I say that it means 5000 that day; 5000 heard the word that day and 5000 believed that day; and the number, as they kept hearing and believing, came to be 5000 men in all. There is no reference to any conversions connecting with any previous occasion, and if we look in the “Pulpit Commentary,” Acts we find a fine Greek scholar saying that the grammar, although itself is a little doubtful in construction, is in favor of the position that 5000 that day were converted.
The Sadducees complained, saying, “You intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Act 5:28 ). When they were crucifying the Lord, this very crowd said, “His blood be upon us, and our children.” Peter is not putting the blood on them; they put it on themselves, knowingly and willfully. They had said, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” They took that responsibility then, and now they begin to realize it. But there is a greater realization ahead of them.
Nations, like individuals, are responsible, and when they complete their rejection of the Spirit’s witness, as their rejection of our Lord himself, the doom and long exile of this favored people will commence with the destruction of Jerusalem and last until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
QUESTIONS 1. What is the theme of Act 3:1-5:42 ?
2. Why does the first persecution come from the Sadducees?
3. Who of the church was to the front in making this issue, and what the Scripture showing the issue?
4. What the public incident which forced the Sadducean rulers to take official notice of the movement, what the effect of the incident on the people, and what Peter’s reply to their amazement?
5. How did Peter improve the occasion, and what the analysis of his exhortation?
6. How did the people respond to this exhortation?
7. What may we say of this issue so made by Peter, and what in particular makes it so?
8. How did the Sadducees respond to the challenge?
9. How did they begin their inquisition?
10. What prophecy of our Lord was thus fulfilled?
11. What direction did our Lord give for such exigency?
12. How did Peter obey the direction of Christ?
13. What the effect of Peter’s boldness on the council?
14. What does this show as to the preacher’s power, and what heresy here pointed out?
15. What are the two extreme positions with regard to this subject? Illustrate.
16. What is the force of Peter’s answer? Give the Virginia illustration.
17. What may always be the challenge of the people of God? Illustrate.
18. What is the result of the deliberation of this inquisition before the Sanhedrin?
19. What was Peter’s great reply to their threatening?
20. Why did the Sadducees stop at a threat?
21. How did Peter and John and the church respond to the injunction not to preach, and to the threat if they should preach?
22. What prophecy was here fulfilled as indicated by their prayer?
23. What were the results to the church in this first issue with the Sadducees?
24, What illustrious man comes to the front and, as an example of this, what benevolence?
25. What awful judgment at this juncture, and what the three viewpoints of the case?
26. What was the effect of this judgment (1) on the church, (2) on the hypocrites, and (3) on outsiders?
27. What is notable in the apostles now, and to what prayer Isa 5:12 an answer?
28. In what did Peter’s power find a climax?
29. What sermon of the author here cited?
30. How did the Sadducees again take up the challenge, and what was the result?
31, What ended the Sadducean persecution, and how did it end?
32. Why the failure of all Sadducean opposition and persecution, and what illustration from our Lord’s time?
33. What the story of the Pope and the visitor, and what the important lesson of this incident in Arts to us?
34. What great example of homiletics in this connection, and how does it rank with his other recorded sermons?
35. What, according to Carlyle, are the prerequisites to a great oration, and how do the occasion and Peter measure up to these prerequisites in his event?
36. Give complete analysis of Peter’s sermon here.
37. What can you say of the earthquake of Act 4:31 ?
38. What false doctrine founded on Act 4:32 , and how does the author refute it?
39. What does the passage really prove, and how is this further evidenced?
40. Explain Act 4:4 .
41. Explain Act 5:28 .
42. What greater realization was just ahead of these Jews?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour .
Ver. 1. At the hour of prayer ] The Jews had their stata precibus tempora, set hours of prayer. See Psa 55:17 ; Dan 6:10 ; Act 10:3 ; Act 10:30 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 10 ] HEALING OF A LAME MAN BY PETER AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1. ] , were going up.
] See ch. Act 10:3 ; Act 10:30 .
. generic; . , specific. There were three hours of prayer; those of the morning and evening sacrifice, i.e. the third and ninth hours, and noon . See Lightfoot and Wetst. in loc.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 3:1 . St. Luke selects out of the number of the one which was the immediate antecedent of the first persecution. “Non dicitur primum hoc miraculum fuisse, sed fuit, quanquam unum e multis, ipso loco maxime conspicuum,” Blass, as against Weiss, Hilgenfeld, Feine. , cf. Luk 18:10 . “Two men went up into the Temple to pray,” i.e. , from the lower city to Mount Moriah, the hill of the Temple, “the hill of the house,” on its site see “Jerusalem,” B.D. 2 . The verb is in the imperfect, because the Apostles do not enter the Temple until Act 3:8 . St. Chrysostom comments: , Mat 18:20 . , not during or about , but marking a definite time, for the hour, i.e. , to be there during the hour sometimes the words are taken to mean “towards the hour”: see Plummer on Luk 10:35 (so apparently Weiss). Page renders “for, i.e. , to be there at the hour” (so Felten, Lumby). In going thus to the Temple they imitated their Master, Mat 26:55 . , i.e. , 3 P.M., when the evening sacrifice was offered, Jos., Ant. , xiv., 4, 3. Edersheim points out that although the evening sacrifice was fixed by the Jews as “between the evenings,” i.e. , between the darkness of the gloaming and that of the night, and although the words of Psa 134 , and the appointment of Levite singers for night service, 1Ch 9:33 ; 1Ch 23:30 , seem to imply an evening service, yet in the time of our Lord the evening sacrifice commenced much earlier, The Temple; its Ministry and Services , pp. 115, 116. According to Schrer, followed by Blass who appeals to the authority of Hamburger, there is no ground for supposing that the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day were regular stated times for prayer. The actual times were rather (1) early in the morning at the time of the morning sacrifice (see also Edersheim, u. s. , p. 115); (2) in the afternoon about the ninth hour (three o’clock), at the time of the evening sacrifice; (3) in the evening at sunset ( Jewish People , div. ii., vol. i., 290, E.T.). The third, sixth, and ninth hours were no doubt appropriated to private prayer, and some such rule might well have been derived from Psa 55:7 ; cf. Dan 6:11 . This custom of prayer three times a day passed very early into the Christian Church, Didache 1 , viii. 3. To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the three daily times of prayer are traced back in the Berachoth , 26 b ; Charles, Apocalypse of Baruch , p. 99.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts Chapter 3
‘Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth. And a certain man being lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid every day at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, to ask alms of those that entered into the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to enter into the temple, asked to receive alms. And Peter gazing on him with John said, Look on us. And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, this I give thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk. And grasping him by the right hand he raised [him] up; and immediately his feet and ankle-bones were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they recognized him that he it was that sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him’ (vers. 1-10).
The actual circumstances here recounted agree singularly with the special form the truth assumes. God is showing His long-suffering grace toward Israel though He has commenced an entirely distinct testimony and work in the gospel and in the church. So Peter and John, who were certainly behind none in the new position and testimony, are seen going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth. For the time at any rate they seem the better Jews for being so blessed as Christians. Not even their apostolic dignity, nor the power with which they were just clothed, detached them. There at the Beautiful gate when about to enter the temple, a man lame from his birth (often seen, being habitually laid there) asked of them alms, and got a better blessing. For Peter, gazing on him with John, arrested his attention who expected to receive some little boon. But if discouraged by ‘Silver and gold have I none,’ he hears of something more indeed: ‘What I have, this I give thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk.’ And if the apostle promptly grasped his right hand and raised him up, immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength, so that leaping up he stood, walked, and entered with them into the temple, praising God. It was not done in a corner. All the people saw and heard, recognizing him to be the same that used to sit there begging; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had befallen him.
It was indeed a sign admirably calculated to awaken the Jews, to attest the grace of God towards their utter weakness, to manifest the power of the risen and glorified Messiah, and so much the more as it was not His presence but His answer from on high to the power of His name appealed to by His servant on earth. If such was the instant virtue of the name of
Jesus for the lame man, what would not follow faith in that name if Israel believed?
‘And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the portico that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. And Peter seeing [it] answered unto the people, Men of Israel, why marvel ye at this [man]? or why gaze ye at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him to walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, did glorify His Servant Jesus; Whom ye delivered up and denied before Pilate’s face when he decided [lit. judged] to release [Him]’ (vers. 11-13). This was no uncertain sound. But all is in keeping. It is the God of our fathers Who glorified the Messiah, His Servant Jesus. ‘Son’ is not the thought, but Jehovah’s ‘Servant’ as in Isa. 42, 49, 50, 52, 53, Whom the Jews had denied before the Roman judge when disposed, yea determined, to let Him go.
And who is this that so boldly charged the Jews with denying their own Messiah? The very man who not many weeks before had denied Him with oaths. But Peter immediately broke down in a sorrow which wrought repentance according to God, as he judged not only the ripe fruit but the root of his sin. Now restored, his feet washed, he is so completely cleansed from the defilement that he can without a blush or waver tax the men of Israel with the very sin from which he had been so lately freed himself. For redemption by the blood of Jesus had meanwhile come in, and its enjoyment is so much the greater as the believer judges himself before God. ‘But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you; but the Author [lit. Chief] of life ye killed, Whom God raised from among [the] dead, of which (or, Whom) we are witnesses, and on the faith of His name did His name make this man strong whom ye behold and know; and the faith that is by Him gave him this entireness before you all’ (vers. 14-16). None can preach, any more than worship, dike a soul once cleansed, having no more conscience of sins. How desperate their position! The Holy and Righteous One (Isa 53:11 ) they denied; a murderer they desired as a favour: God was distinctly against them in raising up from the dead the Author of life Whom they slew; and the apostles were witnesses of this; as His name through faith in it made the lame man strong whom they looked on and knew. What and where were they in gainsaying unbelief of Him Who responded to the faith by Him and in Him, that gave such a cripple this entireness in presence of them all?
Then does the apostle explain how so dreadful a deed could be on their part. ‘And now, brethren, I know that ye acted in ignorance, as also your rulers, but God thus fulfilled what He announced before by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer’ (vers. 17, 18). In one way this might aggravate the degraded condition of God’s ancient people; for how came they and their rulers to be so ignorant? They knew neither the scripture nor the power of God. They valued neither grace nor truth. They saw works, they heard words, such as man never experienced before; yet were they more besotted than heathen, duller than their own beasts of burden. But He Who suffered for them on the cross prayed to His Father to forgive them, for they knew not what they did; and now the Holy Spirit through the apostle assures them that so it was, as a plea for divine compassion. That His Christ should suffer was no afterthought of God Who predicted it by all the prophets, and thus fulfilled it. So must the people learn their blind iniquity; so would God manifest His mercy Who gave Christ as a propitiation for their offences.
‘Repent, therefore, and be converted for the blotting out of your sins, so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may send forth Him that hath been foreappointed for you, Jesus Christ, Whom heaven indeed must receive till times of restoring all things, whereof God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets since time began’ (vers. 19-21).
Here we have the condition of blessing to the Jews. Seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord are vainly sought for them as a people, till they repent and turn again for the blotting out of their sins. So the Lord had intimated when He bowed to their rejection of Him, and declared their house left to them desolate: ‘Ye shall not see Me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord’ – of Jehovah. Whensoever their heart shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away. They will be converted for the blotting out of their sins. They will in heart welcome their long-despised Messiah, and Jehovah will send Him. There will be at least a remnant converted and awaiting His advent, and He will appear to their deliverance and the discomfiture of their enemies, as many scriptures bear witness. Of that godly remnant not a few will be put to death, and these, whether earlier or later sufferers, shall be raised in time to join the saints already glorified, so that they all may reign with Christ during the thousand years according to Rev 20:4 . Those who escape and survive will become the first and most honoured nucleus for the kingdom on earth, when heaven no longer has within it the Christ foreappointed for them, Jesus, and times for restoring all things dawn on earth.
For God does mean to bless this long-groaning creation, and He inspired the mouth of His holy prophets to speak of it since time began. They therefore do greatly err who deny the immense and universal blessing in store for Israel, the nations, the earth, yea, even the lower creation. They do not know how God intends to crown men here below with loving-kindness and tender mercies, when He shall open His hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Judgment, undoubtedly, must fall previously; and Jehovah shall punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when Jehovah of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously. For the great distinctive feature is to be, along with the exclusion of Satan and his power, the mighty and beneficent presence and reign of Jehovah-Jesus, Who with righteousness shall judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth, after He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall slay the wicked. ‘And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples: to it shall the Gentiles seek and His rest shall be glorious’ (Isa 11:5-10 ).
What a gap in the thoughts and desires of saints who expect none of these great and glorious changes in honour of Jesus! How defective the outlook where the grand purposes of God for the reversal of the world’s ruin and misery since sin entered it are unknown! It will be noticed that here nothing is said of the still more magnificent circle of blessing revealed in Eph 1:10 , when God will place under the headship of Christ all things that are in heaven and all things that are on earth. In our text we have only the earthly things in relation to Messiah and Israel, not the whole universe put under Christ and the heavenly saints.
Meanwhile the Jews refused to repent, and the kingdom, instead of being brought in, is postponed till they are converted for the blotting out of their sins at a future day, so that seasons of refreshing may come from Jehovah’s presence, and Messiah be sent from heaven, according to the prophetic word.
‘Moses indeed said, A prophet shall [the] Lord our God raise up from among your brethren as [He did] me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall speak unto you. And it shall be that every soul which shall not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and those in succession, as many as spoke did also announce these days. Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God covenanted with our fathers, saying unto Abraham And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. To you first, God, having raised up His Servant, sent Him to bless you in turning away each from your iniquities’ (vers. 22-26).
During the interval God turns the time of Jewish unbelief to the gospel call of the Gentiles, as well as to the formation of the body, the church one with Christ, wherein is neither Jew nor Greek. Here Peter is still exhorting them to repent, and in case of it pledging the return of Christ to establish the time of predicted peace and blessing. For Jesus was clearly the Prophet raised up, like Moses, but incomparably greater, as Moses himself bore witness in Deu 18:15 : none could refuse His words with impunity, but to his own destruction. ‘And all the prophets from Samuel, and those in succession, as many as spoke, did also announce these days.’ As the Jews were sons of the prophets and of God’s covenant with their fathers, according to the promised blessing in the seed of Abraham, so was Jesus, His anointed Servant, sent to them first to bless them in turning away each from their iniquities.
It is not yet the heavenly testimony of Paul, nor even what Peter preached to those converted and believing in Christ, as in Act 2 , but his call to the Jew responsible to hear the final appeal to that nation.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Acts
‘THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP AS AN HART’
Act 3:1 – Act 3:16
‘Many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles’ Act 2:43, but this one is recorded in detail, both because it was conspicuous as wrought in the Temple, and because it led to weighty consequences. The narrative is so vivid and full of minute particulars that it suggests an eye-witness. Was Peter Luke’s informant? The style of the story is so like that of Mark’s Gospel that we might reasonably presume so.
The scene and the persons are first set before us. It was natural that a close alliance should be cemented between Peter and John, both because they were the principal members of the quartet which stood first among the Apostles, and because they were so unlike each other, and therefore completed each other. Peter’s practical force and eye for externals, and John’s more contemplative nature and eye for the unseen, needed one another. So we find them together in the judgment hall, at the sepulchre, and here.
They ‘went up to the Temple,’ or, to translate more exactly and more picturesquely, ‘were going up,’ when the incident to be recorded stayed them. They had passed through the court, and came to a gate leading into the inner court, which was called ‘Beautiful.’ from its artistic excellence, when they were arrested by the sight of a lame beggar, who had been carried there every day for many years to appeal, by the display of his helplessness, to the entering worshippers. Precisely similar sights may be seen to-day at the doors of many a famous European church and many a mosque. He mechanically wailed out his formula, apparently scarcely looking at the two strangers, nor expecting a response. Long habit and many rebuffs had not made him hopeful, but it was his business to ask, and so he asked.
Some quick touch of pity shot through the two friends’ hearts, which did not need to be spoken in order that each might feel it to be shared by the other. So they paused, and, as was in keeping with their characters, Peter took speech in hand, while John stood by assenting. Purposed devotion is well delayed when postponed in order to lighten misery.
There must have been something magnetic in Peter’s voice and steady gaze as he said, ‘Look on us!’ It was a strange preface, if only some small coin was to follow. It kindled some flicker of hope of he knew not what in the beggar. He expected to receive ‘something’ from them, and, no doubt, was asking himself what. Expectation and receptivity were being stirred in him, though he could not divine what was coming. We have no right to assume that his state of mind was operative in fitting him to be cured, nor to call his attitude ‘faith,’ but still he was lifted from his usual dreary hopelessness, and some strange anticipation was creeping into his heart.
Then comes the grand word of power. Again Peter is spokesman, but John takes part, though silently. With a fixed gaze, which told of concentrated purpose, and went to the lame man’s heart, Peter triumphantly avows what most men are ashamed of, and try to hide: ‘Silver and gold have I none.’ He had ‘left all and followed Christ’; he had not made demands on the common stock. Empty pockets may go along with true wealth.
There is a fine flash of exultant confidence in Peter’s next words, which is rather spoiled by the Authorised Version. He did not say ‘ such as I have,’ as it it was inferior to money, which he had not, but he said ‘ what I have’ Rev. Ver.,-a very different tone. The expression eloquently magnifies the power which he possessed as far more precious than wealth, and it speaks of his assurance that he did possess it-an assurance which rested, not only on his faith in his Lord’s promise and gift, but on his experience in working former miracles.
How deep his words go into the obligations of possession! ‘What I have I give’ should be the law for all Christians in regard to all that they have, and especially in regard to spiritual riches. God gives us these, not only in order that we may enjoy them ourselves, but in order that we may impart, and so in our measure enter into the joy of our Lord and know the greater blessedness of giving than of receiving. How often it has been true that a poor church has been a miracle-working church, and that, when it could not say ‘Silver and gold have I none’ it has also lost the power of saying, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk’!
The actual miracle is most graphically narrated. With magnificent boldness Peter rolls out his Master’s name, there, in the court of the Temple, careless who may hear. He takes the very name that had been used in scorn, and waves it like a banner of victory. His confidence in his possession of power was not confidence in himself, but in his Lord. When we can peal forth the Name with as much assurance of its miracle-working power as Peter did, we too shall be able to make the lame walk. A faltering voice is unworthy to speak such words, and will speak them in vain.
The process of cure is minutely described. Peter put out his hand to help the lame man up, and, while he was doing so, power came into the shrunken muscles and weak ankles, so that the cripple felt that he could raise himself, and, though all passed in a moment, the last part of his rising was his own doing, and what began with his being ‘lifted up’ ended in his ‘leaping up.’ Then came an instant of standing still, to steady himself and make sure of his new strength, and then he began to walk.
The interrupted purpose of devotion could now be pursued, but with a gladsome addition to the company. How natural is that ‘walking and leaping and praising God’! The new power seemed so delightful, so wonderful, that sober walking did not serve. It was a strange way of going into the Temple, but people who are borne along by the sudden joy of new gifts beyond hope need not be expected to go quietly, and sticklers for propriety who blamed the man’s extravagance, and would have had him pace along with sober gait and downcast eyes, like a Pharisee, did not know what made him thus obstreperous, even in his devout thankfulness. ‘Leaping and praising God’ do make a singular combination, but before we blame, let us be sure that we understand.
One of the old manuscripts inserts a clause which brings out more clearly that there was a pause, during which the three remained in the Temple in prayer. It reads, ‘And when Peter and John came out, he came out with them, holding them, and they [the people] being astonished, stood in the porch,’ etc. So we have to think of the buzzing crowd, waiting in the court for their emergence from the sanctuary. Solomon’s porch was, like the Beautiful gate, on the east side of the Temple enclosure, and may probably have been a usual place of rendezvous for the brethren, as it had been a resort of their Lord.
It was a great moment, and Peter, the unlearned Galilean, the former cowardly renegade, rose at once to the occasion. Truly it was given him in that hour what to speak. His sermon is distinguished by its undaunted charging home the guilt of Christ’s death on the nation, its pitying recognition of the ignorance which had done the deed, and its urgent entreaty. We here deal with its beginning only. ‘Why marvel ye at this?’-it would have been a marvel if they had not marvelled. The thing was no marvel to the Apostle, because he believed that Jesus was the Christ and reigned in Heaven. Miracles fall into their place and become supremely ‘natural’ when we have accepted that great truth.
The fervent disavowal of their ‘own power or holiness’ as concerned in the healing is more than a modest disclaimer. It leads on to the declaration of who is the true Worker of all that is wrought for men by the hands of Christians. That disavowal has to be constantly repeated by us, not so much to turn away men’s admiration or astonishment from us, as to guard our own foolish hearts from taking credit for what it may please Jesus to do by us as His tools.
The declaration of Christ as the supreme Worker is postponed till after the solemn indictment of the nation. But the true way to regard the miracle is set forth at once, as being God’s glorifying of Jesus. Peter employs a designation of our Lord which is peculiar to these early chapters of Acts. He calls Him God’s ‘Servant,’ which is a quotation of the Messianic title in the latter part of Isaiah, ‘the Servant of the Lord.’
The fiery speaker swiftly passes to contrast God’s glorifying with Israel’s rejection. The two points on which he seizes are noteworthy. ‘Ye delivered Him up’; that is, to the Roman power. That was the deepest depth of Israel’s degradation. To hand over their Messiah to the heathen,-what could be completer faithlessness to all Israel’s calling and dignity? But that was not all: ‘ye denied Him.’ Did Peter remember some one else than the Jews who had done the same, and did a sudden throb of conscious fellowship even in that sin make his voice tremble for a moment? Israel’s denial was aggravated because it was ‘in the presence of Pilate,’ and had overborne his determination to release his prisoner. The Gentile judge would rise in the judgment to condemn them, for he had at least seen that Jesus was innocent, and they had hounded him on to an illegal killing, which was murder as laid to his account, but national apostasy as laid to theirs.
These were daring words to speak in the Temple to that crowd. But the humble fisherman had been filled with the Spirit, who is the Strengthener, and the fear of man was dead in him. If we had never heard of Pentecost, we should need to invent something of the sort to make intelligible the transformation of these timid folk, the first disciples, into heroes. A dead Christ, lying in an unknown grave, could never have inspired His crushed followers with such courage, insight, and elastic confidence and gladness in the face of a frowning world.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 3:1-10
1Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene walk!” 7And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Act 3:1 “Peter and John were going up to the temple” This is an imperfect active indicative. It was the habit of all of the early disciples to go to the Temple daily (cf. Luk 24:53; Act 2:46). The original followers of Jesus in Palestine worshiped
1. in the Temple (at least on special days if not daily)
2. in the local synagogue (every Sabbath)
3. with believers on Sunday
This was the pattern for a long period of time. These believers saw no division between their faith in Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Judaism. They saw themselves as the “people or congregation of Israel.” This is why they chose the name ekklesia for their group. In the Septuagint this is how the Hebrew covenantal phrase, “the congregation (qahal) of Israel” was translated.
The Jews took official action after the fall of Jerusalem and instituted an oath formula (rejecting Jesus as the Messiah) to restrict membership in the local synagogues. This is when the church solidified its day of worship as Sunday (the day to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection; the day Jesus appeared three times to the disciples in the Upper Room).
John is often identified with Peter in Acts (cf. Act 1:13; Act 3:1; Act 3:3-4; Act 3:11; Act 4:13; Act 4:19; Act 8:14). It is surely possible that the early church in Jerusalem had groups of leaders which represented different perspectives and emphases of the gospel. Possibly Peter and John were more open to Gentile evangelism (cf. Act 3:8; Act 3:10), while James (the half-brother of Jesus) was more identified with a conservative Jewish element. All this changed to some extent after the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15.
“at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer” This would denote nine hours after sunrise. The Jews (i.e., Pharisees) had traditionally prayed each day at 9 a.m., 12 noon, and 3 p.m. (possibly based on Psa 55:17). This text refers to the time of the evening sacrifice, which was 3 p.m. (the morning sacrifice was at 9 a.m.). Many people would have been in the temple at this time (cf. Act 10:30).
Act 3:2 “a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb” All of the regular attenders of the Temple knew of this man’s condition (“was being carried repeatedly” is an imperfect passive); therefore, there was no chance of a trick being involved in the healing (cf Act 3:10; Act 4:22). This was a fulfillment of OT Messianic prophecy (cf. Isa 35:6). The Jews wanted a sign; Jesus gave them many, now they have another if they only had eyes to see.
Here is the shocking paradox of the sick sitting daily at the house of God. As a matter of fact, there was even a prohibition against these kinds of people actively participating in worship (i.e., serving as priests, cf. Lev 21:16-24). The gospel offers a new day. Even an Ethiopian (no race barriers) eunuch (no physical barriers) is welcome in the new kingdom (cf. Act 8:26-40).
“the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful” The exact location of this gate is uncertain. It was possibly the Nicanor Gate which was made of Corinthian brass (Flavius Josephus, Antiq. 15.11.3; Wars 5.5.3). It led from the Court of the Gentiles to the Court of the Women. It was on the eastern side of the temple, facing the Mount of Olives, close to Solomon’s Portico.
“to beg alms of those who were entering” Almsgiving, or giving to the poor, was a required part of the Jewish faith (cf. Mat 6:1-4; Luk 11:41; Luk 12:33; Act 10:2; Act 10:4; Act 10:31; Act 24:17). Usually money was collected weekly in the local synagogues and then food distributed, but apparently some begged daily in the Temple area itself.
SPECIAL TOPIC: ALMSGIVING
Act 3:3 The man’s motive was originally only monetary (cf. Act 3:5).
Act 3:4 “fixed his gaze on” See note at Act 1:10.
“look at us” They wanted his undivided attention (blep is in an aorist active imperative form).
Act 3:5 The Apostles were not monetarily wealthy men, but they had access to the spiritual resources of God (cf. Act 3:6).
Act 3:6 “In the name of Jesus Christ” “Name” is a Hebrew idiom which speaks of one’s character (cf. Luk 9:48-49; Luk 10:17; Luk 21:12; Luk 21:17; Luk 24:47, see Special Topic at Act 2:21). This must have been shocking to this man. Jesus was a recently condemned and crucified criminal, whom this stranger (i.e,. Peter) was calling “the Messiah” (i.e., “The Christ,” which is the Greek translation, see Special Topic at Act 2:31).
“The Nazarene” See Special Topic at Act 2:22.
“walk” This is a present active imperative. Peter and John, like Jesus, used a chance encounter to demonstrate God’s love and power and also to confirm the gospel message (cf. Act 3:9). This healing drew the attention of the Jewish worshipers (cf. Act 3:12 ff).
Act 3:7 This is an eyewitness account of several related events. Someone who was there told Luke about this in vivid, detailed terms.
“immediately” This is the Greek term parachrma. Luke uses it ten times in his Gospel and six times in Acts (cf. Act 3:7; Act 5:10; Act 12:23; Act 13:11; Act 16:26; Act 16:33). It is used only twice in Matthew and nowhere else in the NT. It is used several times in the Septuagint. Luke uses idioms and terms from this Greek translation of the Hebrew OT often. He must have known the OT well, possibly from his contact with the Apostle Paul or involvement in Christian catechism with new believers.
Act 3:8 “With a leap he stood upright” This is a present middle participle (cf. Act 3:9). This man began walking all around this section of the Temple. What an opportunity to share the Good News!
Act 3:10 They knew this man (imperfect active indicative, they began to recognize him). He was no stranger or visitor. They had seen him at the gate day after day, and passed by! However, Jesus’ representatives did not just pass by, they acted in Pentecostal power!
“they were filled” Luke uses this term often (see full note at Act 5:17). Humans can be “filled” with many things (i.e., characterized by):
1. the Holy Spirit, Luk 1:15; Luk 1:41; Luk 1:67; Act 2:4; Act 4:8; Act 4:31; Act 9:17; Act 13:9
2. rage, Luk 4:28; Luk 6:11
3. fear, Luk 5:26
4. wonder and amazement, Act 3:10
5. jealousy, Act 5:17; Act 13:45
6. confusion, Act 19:29
Peter and John wanted these who were amazed (he got their attention) to be filled with the gospel!
“wonder and amazement” These things are also common in Luke’s writings.
1. wonder, thambos, Luk 3:6; Luk 5:9; Act 3:10 and ekthambos in Act 3:11
2. amazement
a. ekstasis, Luk 5:26; Act 3:10; Act 10:10; Act 11:5; Act 22:17
b. existmi, Luk 2:47; Luk 8:56; Luk 24:22; Act 2:7; Act 2:12; Act 8:9; Act 8:11; Act 9:21; Act 10:45; Act 12:16
God’s love and acts always cause amazement (these Greek words were used in the Septuagint for fear and awe of God, cf. Gen 15:12; Exo 23:27; Deu 28:28).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Peter and John. Mentioned together seven times in Acts, John always in subordination to Peter.
went = were going.
temple. See Act 2:46.
at = upon. App-104.
prayer. App-134.
the ninth hour. About 3pm. See App-165. Compare Luk 1:9, Luk 1:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1-10] HEALING OF A LAME MAN BY PETER AT THE GATE OF THE TEMPLE.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Shall we turn to Acts, the third chapter.
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour ( Act 3:1 ).
The day started at six o’clock in the morning, sun up, so the ninth hour would be three o’clock in the afternoon. At two-thirty in the afternoon the evening sacrifices were offered. They did not go to the temple for the sacrifices. Following the sacrifices as the smoke of the sacrifice was ascending into heaven, it would be the hour of prayer and the people would stand and praise the Lord or pray unto God as the smoke of the sacrifices ascended heavenward. I think it’s significant that they didn’t go for the sacrifice; they knew that that was no longer valid. But they waited for the hour of prayer and went into the temple.
In the early church in Jerusalem, Christianity was not considered separate from the Jews except for the belief that Jesus was the Messiah. There’s a common misconception among Jews today that to become a Christian you have to become a non-Jew. That was not so in the early church. They remained very Jewish. Going to the temple, worshiping in the temple, observing still; the feast, however, the feast now to them had an entirely new meaning. But they did not seek to make a radical break from Judaism. But only seek to proclaim that Jesus Christ is indeed the Messiah that God had promised.
With Peter and John you have contrasting personalities: Peter the doer, and John the dreamer. Peter always translated everything into activity. Remember the last question that he asked Jesus concerning John, “What shall this man do?” Peter always thought about doing things. John wasn’t a doer; he was a dreamer. And so the Lord said to Peter, “Look, if I will that he remains till I come again, what’s that to you?”
I can imagine that Peter was often irritated with John because John was the dreamer. And it could very well be that John in turn was very well irritated with all of Peter’s activity because the dreamer likes more quiet, and a serene atmosphere around him. Contrasting personalities, and yet, made one in Christ. That’s always the way it goes; Christ is the common meeting ground for all men. Though we may have contrasting personalities, still there is that beautiful unity in Christ.
And so we see them going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
The first characteristic of these men is that they are men of prayer. It is so important that we be men and women of prayer.
Now there was a certain lame man from his mother’s womb who was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple ( Act 3:2 );
The Beautiful gate of the temple is often thought to be the eastern gate of the temple. And here’s quite a contrast, this man lame from birth, an ugly sight, lying at the Beautiful gate begging.
And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look at us. And so he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them ( Act 3:3-5 ).
No doubt holding out his hand, which is, of course, the typical gesture of the beggar.
And Peter said, Silver and gold have I none ( Act 3:6 );
And I imagine that the fellow at that point was disappointed, and probably even wondering, “Well, then why are you trying to get my attention?” But Peter continued,
such as I have I will give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God ( Act 3:6-8 ).
This Greek here in the description of his feet and ankle bones and the word leaping up are medical terms. They are used only here by Luke who was a physician. And he is actually describing a condition of an ankle that was twisted completely out of joint. Lame probably with the ankle twisted completely and flat ways, because the word indicates coming into it’s socket and being straight. The medical term itself is “being brought back into its socket and straightened.” So here’s this man lying there with this crippled condition, unable to walk from birth because of this problem with an undeveloped anklebone and all, and yet, Peter with that faith that the Lord planted in his heart took hold of the man and lifted him to his feet and immediately the ankle came into joint and the man began to leap and praise God. And he walked and entered with them into the temple walking and leaping and praising God. I can imagine the stir and excitement that this must have created.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God: and they knew that it was the man who sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all of the people ran together unto them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering ( Act 3:9-11 ).
So here’s a very notable miracle that attracted immediately the attention of all the people, because this man had no doubt been there for years and was a common sight to those who went in to worship. And they saw this deformed condition of his feet and now the feet are straight; now the man is walking and leaping and praising the Lord, and he’s hugging Peter and John so that the people relate the miracle to Peter and John. They realized somehow, someway Peter and John are responsible for this man’s ability to walk. And so a great crowd of people, at least 5000 men, gathered there on Solomon’s porch, greatly wondering at what had happened.
And when Peter saw it, he answered the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? ( Act 3:12 )
They marveled at it because they had lost the sense of the greatness of the God that they served. If they really believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then that God should do such a thing should not cause them to wonder, because they would know that He is the God of miracles by reading the Old Testament. The question is, “Why marvel ye at this? Now other people may marvel at it. The Gentiles may marvel at it. But you’re the sons of Israel; you’re the sons of the most high God, why should you marvel at this?” Second question,
And why do you look so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we have made this man to walk? ( Act 3:12 )
People so often relate the work of God with the instrument through which God works. This is wrong. “Why look ye on us? As though we through our own power or holiness have done this thing.” Unfortunately, there are many evangelists, healing evangelists that try to give off the feeling that it is as a result of their righteous or their holiness that marvelous works are wrought. I get so tired of these evangelists that come along with these big spectacular miracle campaigns. Having the sheep come up and say, “Oh, what do you think about reverend so and so, or brother so and so, you know.” “Oh, I hear he’s got a meeting over here and people are being healed and the blind are seeing and all kind of things are going on.” I remember awhile back I was told about one of these evangelists, and it so happened that he was on T.V. So I had had so many people question me about him, I thought I would listen. And I listened about as long as I could–about five minutes. And I heard all I needed to know in about five minutes, for this particular evangelist who is now serving time in a federal penitentiary for several felonies. This particular evangelist was saying, “Do you have faith in me? I have power with God and all you have to have is faith in me.” And he was going on, and I thought that that does it, I don’t need to listen any further.
Several years ago my wife and I went to a meeting up in the Buena Park area. That used to be were all the evangelists would set up their tents here in Orange County. Another healing evangelist and some people wanted us to go with them to the meeting, and so we obliged them. And I’ve never been in such a circus in all my life. All of the gimmicks in the world to whip the crowd into a frenzy and get them all excited. They were boasting about all kinds of miracles. In fact, it was called a miracle rally. That particular evangelist ended up dying from alcoholism in a hotel room in San Francisco. Drawing attention to themselves. I’m always leery when a person names buildings or universities or evangelistic associations after their own names. I pray, God, that when He takes me that my name will be quickly forgotten. If they dare put my name of any kind of a building as a memorial, I’m going to ask the Lord to send an earthquake to shake it down.
“Not unto us, oh Lord, not unto us but unto Thy name bring glory.” These men were not looking for a name for themselves. “Why look on us as though we through our own power or holiness have done this thing?” It’s not that I’m a righteous man, but yet that is often the implication that is given. “I have this power because I’m so holy; I am so righteous.” What’s that do for the rest of us who know we’re not holy or righteous? We think, “There’s no way I can expect God to do anything for me because I’m not holy or righteous.” But that’s not so. For God will work an answer to your prayer and respond to your call just as quick as to the Pope or anyone else. God is no respecter of persons. Man is a respecter of persons, God isn’t. And when I get to heaven I can’t say, “Well, Lord, you know who I am. I’m Chuck Smith. After all, I was pastor of Calvary Chapel and all.” “There’s a backseat over there, go sit down, son.” Man respects a person; God doesn’t.
“Why look ye so earnestly on us, as if by our own power or holiness we have made this man to walk.” By something within us, by something we possess. It’s nothing that we have. Peter is saying that, “I’m nothing! I have nothing! This is the work of God that you are seeing in response to faith that He has given. Not that I even have myself.” So careful not to receive glory or credit for the work that God had done. For it is foolish to exalt the instrument.
When we were living out in Los Serranos pastoring the community church out there, we had a lady that had begun to come to one of the Bible classes that I was teaching in Upland. She said, “Chuck, I want you to witness to my husband. He is the finest psychiatrist in the whole Pomona Valley area. He’s recognized as one of the greatest neurosurgeons in this area. But he needs help. He needs the Lord. And I want you to witness to him.” So she arranged for Kay and I to come over to their house on a Friday evening to have dinner with them. Then after dinner, she and Kay disappeared into the kitchen and left Bud and I to talk together. We spent several hours talking together about God, about life. He professed to be an atheist. He was a very brilliant man. And we planted seed. And then she had us come over again on a Friday evening. She said that he had started to do some reading, and that he was beginning to search. So we went over again, and after dinner, she and Kay disappeared into the kitchen and left Bud and I to talk again. And I finally said, “Bud your a psychiatrist; you’ve probably examining and evaluating me in the questions and all that you’ve been asking and you’ve got a pretty good understanding of me by now. You know my attitude towards life, you know the kind of a person I am, you know the joy that I possess, you know the peace that I have.” I said, “Tell me, what if that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God? What if all that I believe is not true, and the joy that I have and the peace that I have are based upon a false premise? Yet knowing the joy and the peace that I have as a person, what do you feel that I have lost by believing what I believe?” And he looked at me very straight and studied me for a moment and studied the question. And he finally said, “Not a damn thing. I wish I was as happy and peaceful a person as you are.” I said, “Well then, tell me this Bud, what if what I believe is true? What have you lost by not believing?” He said, “You trapped me, didn’t you!” I said, “No, I think the Lord trapped you.” So we got down on our knees and he asked Jesus Christ to take over his life. Had a beautiful conversion experience as God changed his life dramatically.
The next morning as I got to the office, his wife was waiting for me. She’s a very demonstrative person. She grabbed hold of me and began to just say “Chuck, Chuck, I knew you could do it. I knew you could do it. Oh, Chuck, it’s so wonderful. This morning Bud was reading the Bible before he went. Oh, Chuck, I knew you could. Oh, Chuck, you’re so wonderful.” And I said, “Hold on Edie. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Your husband is a neurosurgeon, isn’t he?” And she said, “Oh, yes, he’s the finest.” I said, “What if after an operation the patient should come back to his office, and say he has opened up his skull and tied off an aneurysm. So the patient comes into the office and he picks up the scalpel and says, ‘Oh you’re such a marvelous scalpel. You did such a beautiful job in making that incision in my skull. Oh, you’re marvelous; you’re marvelous. You did such an excellent job.'” I said, “Your husband would think that the patient was ready for the couch. Because you don’t exalt the instrument, you exalt the one who used the instrument. Therefore, Edie, exalt the Lord. It was the Holy Spirit that convicted Bud. It was the Holy Spirit that drew him, and it was the work of God’s Spirit within his life. God just used me as His instrument and that was all that I was, an instrument in God’s hands. Don’t give me any credit; don’t tell me how wonderful I am. Just know how wonderful God is.”
People have the tendency to exalt the instrument because they can see, touch, and feel the instrument. Though we may feel God, it’s hard to see Him and it’s hard to touch Him except through the eyes of the Spirit. And thus, man has the tendency to exalt the instrument rather than God who has used the instrument. But if you are an instrument that God uses, be careful that you don’t take glory for the work of God. “Why look on us, as though through our power or holiness this man was healed?”
Now he starts on their level.
The God of Abraham ( Act 3:13 ),
Oh yes, we know Him.
of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers ( Act 3:13 ),
In his preaching he started out at the level that the people understood where they were at. And I think this is something that we need to learn from. When Paul was asked to give a speech on Mars’ hill, there at the Areopagus, when Paul started his speech to these Epicureans, philosophers, he didn’t start off with the concept of justification by faith. He started his message at the level where the people were at. “Ye men of Athens, I realize that you men are very spiritual. You’re aware of the spirit realm. For as I’ve been walking through your streets, all over I see these little idols and these little altars to the various gods. And I happened to notice one of your altars and inscribed above it was, ‘To the Unknown God.’ That’s the God I’d like to tell you about. You see, He is the God who created the heaven and the earth and everything that is in them” ( Act 17:22-24 ). He started out where they were at and then brought them along. Peter is starting out where they’re at. Make sure you start out where people understand and bring them into the spiritual dimensions, but start out where they are at.
The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus; who you delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go ( Act 3:13 ).
They were all aware of what had transpired within the year there in Jerusalem. They were all aware of the crucifixion of Jesus, and it is interesting that Peter here lays the blame squarely upon them. Pilate was wanting to let Him go. And, of course, in John’s gospel this certainly indicated: Pilate’s desire to release Jesus. “But when Pilate was determined to let Him go, you insisted on His death.”
You denied the Holy One and the Just One, and you desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and you killed the Prince of life ( Act 3:14-15 ),
The word prince is probably a poor translation. You remember in Hebrews where it talks about Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith. That is the very same Greek word that in Hebrews is translated author. The word literally means, “a file leader,” but that word doesn’t do too much for us in English. We get a picture in our minds of the files in the office and the one in front is the file leader. But the word actually means, “one who is first in a new order.” Jesus, the author of the new life, or as we read, “He is the first begotten of those who rise from the dead.” So He is the author, the prince, the file leader of life. That new eternal life that has been promised to us who believe in Him. He’s the author of that eternal life. Even as He is the author and finisher of our faith, so He is the author of this life that we possess through Him.
What a contradiction, isn’t it? “You killed the author of life.” It really is a paradoxical type of a sentence. But,
God has raised him from the dead; whereof we are witnesses ( Act 3:15 ).
Now remember, the first sermon that Peter preached was centered in the resurrection. Again, as he has an opportunity to preach to them, his message centers in the resurrection. Remember when Paul was preaching there on Mars’ hill, he had to get to the resurrection, and when he got to the resurrection is when it broke the meeting up. They said, “Ah, that’s weird. Nobody rises from the dead.” It broke up the meeting with the Epicurean philosophers. But Peter again is preaching the resurrection. This was the heart of the message of the early church, that there is hope for eternal life because Jesus rose again. And if Christ is not risen, then we’re still in our sins. And we are in a hopeless condition. Those who have died have perished. And we of all men are most miserable. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Gospel in the New Testament. Our hope is premised upon the fact that Jesus rose.
So Peter said, “Thanks be unto God who has begotten us again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” It’s the heart of the message of the Gospel; you can’t take it away. If you do, you have no Gospel. So Peter gets to this favorite theme, “God has raised Him from the dead whereof we are witnesses.” And so they are bearing witness to the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
And his name ( Act 3:16 ),
The power of the name of Jesus. Jesus said, “If you shall ask anything in My name, I will do it” ( Joh 14:14 ). “Henceforth you’ve asked nothing in My name: ask that you might receive, that your joy may be full” ( Joh 16:24 ).
There is tremendous power in the name of Jesus. When it falls from the lips of the weakest saint. You’re probably thinking, “Oh, yes, the name of Jesus, but I don’t have enough holiness or righteousness to utter that name.” I don’t care how weak you are, the power isn’t in you; it’s in the name of Jesus. You can be weak, that doesn’t matter, the power isn’t in you; it’s in the name. And so Peter said,
And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong ( Act 3:16 ),
“Now don’t look at me. Jesus Christ, the one you crucified, who God raised from the dead, it is His name and through the faith in His name that this wonder was wrought upon this lame man. He’s the one that made the leg straight; He’s the one who gave him the ability to walk.”
gave him this perfect soundness [this perfect health, this completeness] in the presence of you all ( Act 3:16 ).
Then he went on to say, ” Yes, the faith which is by Him has given him perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”
Now, “the faith which is by Him,” notice the preposition. Peter isn’t saying, “It was my great faith.” Peter is saying, “It is the faith that is by Him. He’s the one who gave me the faith.” Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. We so oftentimes talk about faith as something that we can develop, something that we work up, something that we can sit and meditate and develop faith or something. And we find ourselves in these attempts to increase our faith through, more or less, a mesmerization and different ways. “I’m trying to just, you know, increase my faith.”
Faith is a gift. “By grace are you saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves [that is, the faith is not of yourselves]: it is a gift of God: and not of works, lest any man should boast” ( Eph 2:8-9 ). Even the faith is a gift. And as Paul is listing the manifestations of the Spirit in 1Co 12:1-31 , and to some there is this gift of faith that God imparts at certain times for certain conditions.
And it’s interesting, because it is a gift of faith there are times that I’m facing a certain situation and I have complete faith that it’s going to work out. I have no qualms, no worries. The Lord has given me faith and I’m just confident that it’s going to work. Now, there are other times I’m facing similar situations and God hasn’t given me the faith, and I’m worried and I’m wondering what’s going to happen now. What if this doesn’t happen? What if that? And it’s all troublesome because God hasn’t given me the faith in that particular situation. It’s a gift. It isn’t something that I just possess can exercise anytime I want. It isn’t a “allah kazam” kind of a magic word that can bring to pass any kind of situation that I desire. It is something that God puts in my heart in certain times, for certain situations, and it’s just glorious when it’s there. And it’s disastrous when it isn’t there. The gift of faith: it is the faith that is by Him. He’s the one who gave me the faith. When Peter was walking up, he saw that man and the Lord gave him the faith. He said, “Peter, give him what you’ve got.” What did he have? God gave him at that instant the faith for the man’s healing. So Peter said, “Hey, I don’t have silver and gold, but what I have I’ll be glad to give you.” And took him and lifted him up and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth stand up.” The power of the name. Faith in the name. The faith that God gave Peter at that moment.
And now, brethren, I know that through ignorance you did it, as did also your rulers ( Act 3:17 ).
Now is Peter addressing them more personally. Talking of the crucifixion of Jesus, he said, “I know that in ignorance you did it.” How did he know that? Because Jesus, when He was being nailed to the cross, said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” ( Luk 23:34 ). So, “I know in ignorance you did it. You didn’t know what you were doing.” Jesus confessed that. Points out another interesting thing. In a little bit we’ll read that five thousand of them were converted. Five thousand of those who were guilty of crucifying Jesus, but didn’t know what they were doing, are now brought to Jesus Christ to trust in Him as their Lord and Savior. And the prayer of Jesus was then answered when He was being nailed to the cross and said, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” His prayer was answered on this day when Peter said to these people, “I know through ignorance you did it.”
But those things, which God before had shown by the mouth of all of his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled ( Act 3:18 ).
In other words, that which transpired was not an accident. That which transpired in the crucifixion of Jesus was something that God had planned, actually, because it was predicted in the scriptures. The suffering of the Messiah spoken of by the prophets. So then Peter gets to the application.
Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ( Act 3:19 );
So his call unto the people for repentance, for conversion, that they might receive forgiveness for their sins and that glorious work of God’s Spirit in the times of refreshing.
And he [that is God] shall send Jesus Christ, which was before preached unto you ( Act 3:20 ):
Jesus is coming again. The Father is going to send Him again. Jesus said, “If I go away, I will come again.” Last week in our lesson, Acts, chapter 1, as Jesus ascended into heaven and they were standing there looking up into heaven into the cloud that had received Him out of their sight, two men in white apparel standing by said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here gazing into heaven? For this same Jesus shall come again in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven” ( Act 1:11 ). He’s coming again! God is going to send Jesus Christ who was preached unto you.
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all of the holy prophets since the world began ( Act 3:21 ).
Now upon this one little scripture a whole doctrine has been developed of the final restitution of all things. And that final restitution of all things will take place when Satan finally kneels down and confesses his guilt and is brought in again as a child of God and God has finally restored everybody and everything, all sinners and everybody will be saved. The final restitution of all things. This particular heresy has been based upon this one little scripture. That he is not referring to the restoration of the wicked at some future date is obvious by the fact that he said it is something that all of the prophets have spoken about.
And as we go back to the prophets of the Old Testament and they’re speaking of the restitution of all things, what are they referring to? They’re referring to the restoration of the nation Israel into divine favor again. Israel, because of their rejection of God is to be cut off. They are to be dispersed. They are to be scattered into all of the world. They are to become a curse and a byword. They are to be burned in ovens as the prophets foretold. But each of them who foretold the awful tragic misery that the Jews would endure during the great dispersion, they all saw through the darkness to the light on the other side when God would once again take His unfaithful bride, clean her up, dress her up, and receive her again as His wife. And restore the unfaithful wife to her previous position. And Hosea and all of the prophets speak to this restoration of God’s work and grace to the nation of Israel and that is what is referred to and not that God is going to restore all of the wicked, including Satan. That’s what all of the prophets speak about. You won’t find this other doctrine, the restitution of all things, that is, all men are to be saved. That is ultimately . . . you won’t find that in any of the prophets in the Old Testament. But it’s always dealing with the nation of Israel. And you remember he’s addressing, “ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this?” So this restitution is God’s restitution of His work with Israel which shall come.
Paul the apostle, in the eleventh chapter of Romans, said, “Blindness has happened to Israel in part until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. But at that point, then all Israel will then be saved. For there shall come the deliverer out of Zion,” ( Rom 11:25-26 ) to turn the hearts of the children unto the fathers. And he makes reference to this restitution of the work of God among the Jewish people that shall take place. Jesus said, “You’re not going to see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'” ( Mat 23:39 ).
The earth has one more seven-year period to endure. For there were seventy sevens determined upon the nation Israel to finish the transgressions, to make an end of sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to finish up the prophecies for the Messiah to come, and to anoint the most Holy Place. And there would be sixty-nine seven-year periods from the time that the prophecy would go forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah the Prince. But that leaves one seven-year period unfulfilled which is yet future. During this seven-year period, God is going to deal with the nation Israel, and that blindness that had been over their eyes for almost 2000 years will be removed.
Now, blindness has happened to Israel in part, that is, for the most of them. There are part of them who have not been blind. There are part of Israel today that God has opened their eyes to see the truth. What evangelists they usually make when God opens their eyes and they can see that Jesus indeed was the promised Messiah. But it’s amazing how blind that most of the people are. And they really don’t know their own scriptures that well. But they know the traditions, and they know the dietary laws and all, the Sabbaths, but they’re really blind to the true work of God. And having forsaken the way of God, they have gone about to establish a righteousness through works, through good works. The Bible tells us that, “By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified in His sight” ( Gal 2:16 ). The Bible also tells us, “For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins” ( Heb 9:22 ).
God is going to restore Israel. He’s going to work again. He’s going to put His Spirit upon Israel, according to Ezekiel, at the time that God destroys the invading Russian army who moves into the Middle East in the last days to take over the Middle East. In those days, God is going to destroy Russia, and when He does, He’ll put His Spirit on the nation of Israel. The beginning of the end, the last seven years, when God will be working with Israel. And during this period of time, the world around them will be going through a holocaust. At least the last three and a half years of this period of time. A time of trouble such as the world has never seen before or will ever see again. The time of the great Tribulation.
Now, during this time God dealing with the nation of Israel, they will begin to weep over their blindness as a woman who weeps over the loss of her only son. They will weep that they were blind to the grace and goodness of God and to the Messiah that God provided. For they will recognize that Jesus indeed is the Messiah. As they see the scriptures coming to pass as they were predicted, they’ll realize that they made a mistake in their national rejection of Jesus, and they will accept Him, and they will be saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” And at that point, Jesus will return with ten thousands of His saints to establish His kingdom upon the earth. “Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints,” and, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory” ( Col 3:4 ). As we come with Him to establish God’s kingdom here upon the earth.
So, the heavens must keep Him until the times of restitution of all things which God has predicted in the prophets since the beginning of the world. All the way back to the Garden of Eden where God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the heel of the serpent.
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your own brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all of the things 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. Yea, and all of the prophets from Samuel and those who follow after him, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. And ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all of the kindreds of the earth be blessed. And unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you of his iniquities ( Act 3:22-26 ).
So, God has kept His promises that He has made through the Old Testament prophets. They spoke of these days; they spoke of the Messiah. And He came. “And it shall come to pass that if you won’t hear Him, that you’ll be destroyed from among the people. You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenants that God made with our fathers. And so, unto you first God has revealed.” So Paul, in talking about the Gospel, he said, “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” ( Rom 1:16 ).
The Gospel came to the Jew first. “You shall bear witness on Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria.” To the Jew first, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. And when the Jew rejected the Gospel, Paul turned and said, “From henceforth I go to the Gentiles. Since you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, I’m going to the Gentiles.” And the door was opened to us who sat in darkness to come into the glorious light of God’s love and truth.
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Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Act 3:1. Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
Peter and John seem to have been linked in closest friendship. Peter had been brought back by John when he was almost despairing after having denied his Master. John lovingly found him out, and made him his associate; and now they went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer. Observe, here, how very sweetly the Old Testament dispensation melts into the new. The Temple was no longer what it had been before; the type was of no further use now that the great Antitype of the Temple had come; yet these apostles still went up to it at the hour of prayer. There are some men who are great at destroying. It will be time to destroy the old when the new is quite ready; and even then, it may be very possible to let the darkness gradually melt away into a twilight, and so the day shall come with no great gap, no marked surprise. So Peter and John went up to the Temple at the same hour as others went. It is folly to he singular, except when to be singular is to be something more right than others.
Act 3:2-3. And a certain man lame from his mothers womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms eye them that entered into the temple; who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
This seems to have been the custom about the Temple gates, as it is about the doors of many churches on the Continent. For instance, you could not approach the door of a certain church in Rome without being solicited, perhaps, by a score of beggars. I do not suppose that it was so in Judaea in its prosperous days; but when religion does not prosper, beggars are sure to be multiplied; and now that the very spirit of godliness had gone, almsgiving was done in public, and hence the beggars appeared in public.
Act 3:4-7. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give to thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
The man had never stood upon his feet in all his life, and was so unable to move that he had to be carried to the Temple gates to beg; and yet, at the mention of the great and glorious name of Jesus, his feet and ankle-bones immediately received strength.
Act 3:8-11. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomons, greatly wondering.
You are not at all surprised that he held Peter and John; it was but natural that he should follow them wherever they went, for he owed so much to them, and they were the best friends that he had ever had. He was filled with reverence for them because of what they had wrought upon him; and now, lest they should go away, he held them; and all the people ran together unto them, greatly wondering. He who was healed by Christs wonderful name was wondering, and the people who saw him healed were all wondering. I suppose that wonder mingles with all true worship. All wonder is not worship; but where there is adoration of God, and a sense of his great goodness and of our unworthiness, there seems always to be a large amount of wonder. We shall even-
Sing with wonder and surprise,
His lovingkindness in the skies.
Act 3:12. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Peter could well see that the people attributed to himself and John more than was right, so he thus had an opportunity of preaching the gospel to them, and you may be certain that he did not miss it.
Act 3:13. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus;
Or, rather, as you have it in the Revised Version with more correctness, hath glorified his Servant Jesus, for his Son may be said to he glorified already. But Jesus had taken upon himself the form of a servant, and God had glorified his Servant Jesus;
Act 3:13-15. Whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
I want you to note here how Peter will have it that the God of the gospel is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. I do not hesitate to say that the god of a large number of professors now is not the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; and the reason I say so is this, that they often treat the Old Testament as if it were an altogether secondary volume, and speak about the imperfect ideas of God which the Hebrews had, and the imperfect revelation of God in the Old Testament. I believe that Jehovah that very Jehovah who clave the Red Sea, and drowned the Egyptians, the terrible God of the Old Testament is the same God who is the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and we are to take the Godhead as it is revealed, not alone in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament also. There are some who would pick and choose that part of Scripture which they like best, and construct a god for themselves out of those chosen texts. These be they who have other gods before Jehovah; and these be they who make unto themselves an image which, if it be not graven upon stone, is yet made out of their own imaginations, which they set up, and worship in the place of the one living and true God. The God of our fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied. See how plain-spoken Peter is, how boldly he presses home upon the crowd around him the murder of Christ, the rejection of the Messiah! It took no small amount of courage and faith to speak like that, and to speak so to persons who were full of admiration of him before, and who would be pretty sure to be filled with indignation against him directly. A man can speak boldly against those who are his enemies; but, when people begin to flatter you, and admire you, a softness steals over the bravest heart, and he is inclined to be very gentle. I admire Peter that he puts it thus plainly: Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Act 3:16. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know:
You see him now, and you know what he used to be; there is no question about the identity of the man.
Act 3:16-17. Yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it,
How like his Master does Peter now speak! Instead of drawing his sword, as he did when he cut off the ear of Malchus, he puts the truth thus mildly: I wot that through ignorance ye did it,
Act 3:17-21. As did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Act 3:1. , together) This being put in the beginning, emphatically signifies the union (joining) together of Peter and John.[25] Hesychius remarks, , i.e. , .-) Others have written , supposing that should be joined with the preceding words [ch. Act 2:47]. More conveniently, others, though of a later date, have inserted after . The short reading without the , is the mean between the extremes [the starting-point from which the others have departed, one on the one side, the other on the other], and the ancient reading.-[ , the hour of prayer) It is right that public prayers should be frequented even by men who are adult, and in higher positions of honour than most men.-V. g.]- , the ninth) the wonted hour, suited for prayer, on account of soberness [the mind not being heavy, as it is apt to be after meals], before supper: ch. Act 10:3. [This is our three oclock in the afternoon. He who would accustom himself to collect his thoughts at that time, and to apply himself to (to find time for) prayer, would derive no common profit from the practice. There is no difference as to time, regarded in itself. But it is a proof of choice obedience to cut short or interrupt labour, when we are in the height of business, for such a purpose. It was about mid-day that Peter prayed in private: ch. Act 10:9.-V. g.]
[25] Lachm., after the oldest MSS. ABC Vulg. Memph. Theb. Lucif. 199, puts at the end of the last verse of ch. 2, and reads in ch. Act 3:1, . But Tisch., with Ee Syr. and Rec. Text, puts them at the beginning of ch. 3. .-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Act 3:1-10
THE LAME MAN HEALED
Act 3:1-10
1 Now Peter and John were going up into the temple-This miracle is selected from among the many miracles that the apostles wrought because it brought the apostles into conflict with the authorities ; opposition and persecution started at this time; this miracle led to the arrest of the apostles, which was the beginning of a religious persecution as relentless, bloody, and violent as any that is known in the history of the church. Peter and John are now associated, and went up into the temple at the hour of prayer. Peter and John were sent together to prepare the Passover meal (Luk 22:8); they were together at the sepulcher (Joh 20:3); they were together fishing after the crucifixion (Joh 21:7); and John helped Peter to get into the palace of the high priest (Joh 18:16). Again they were together now going into the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. The ninth hour was about three oclock, according to our count, in the afternoon. These apostles continued to observe the hour of prayer according to the law of Jewish worship; it also furnished them the occasion to preach to the people who came to worship at that hour.
2-3 And a certain man that was lame-It was customary for the afflicted and maimed to be placed near the place of worship; this was especially true when they depended upon public charity for their living. People were more liberal when going to worship or at worship, and these unfortunates, with their friends, took advantage of the situation. This lame man was born with some malformation of his ankles or feet; he was unable to walk and his friends carried him and placed him daily at the door of the temple ; hence, he was a well-known and familiar character. He was placed at the gate or door that is called Beautiful. There were nine gates used as entrance into the court, four, respectively, on the north and the south, and one on the east side; the west side had no gate. A part of the court was called the court of women to distinguish it from the court of men. It is thought that this gate called Beautiful was an entrance which led from the court of the Gentiles to the court of the women. This is the only mention in the Bible of. the door which is called Beautiful. When the lame man saw Peter and John as they were about to enter the temple, he asked to receive an alms. Alms is singular number, and was in early times spelled almesse; the beggar simply asked for a gift or gifts. At this time he knew nothing of Peter and John except that they were Jews and had come to the temple to worship.
4-5, And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him,-Peter and John looked at the lame beggar; they looked with such a gaze that it would attract attention; then Peter said to him: Look on us. This emphasized his attention on the apostles. He expected to receive something from them. The expectation had been aroused by their gazing upon him and the command for him to look upon them; he naturally expected to receive some gift. He desired to receive something and this desire helped to heighten his expectation. The serious and earnest manner of the apostles confirmed his expectation.
6 But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none;-The apostles had no worldly wealth; they were endued with power to perform miraculous cures. They could use this power in the name of Jesus Christ; hence, they commanded him to walk. Peter and John had no money; the possessions which had been sold did not belong to the apostles; such things were used for the common welfare and not for the personal use of the apostles. Walk is from the original peripapei, and has the idea of to begin to walk and then go on walking; the beggar is thus commanded to do that which he had never done in his life. Peter was willing and anxious to give him what he could. We do not know how much time had passed since the day of Pentecost, and it is probable that this was not the first miracle that Peter had wrought. (Act 2:43.) Peter speaks as one who has had experience; his language is firm and carries assurance. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is a common phrase and connects the Christ with the Jesus of Nazareth. According to Johns account, the name Nazareth was included in the title of the superscription on the cross (Joh 19:19); we know that the place was of no repute in the eyes of the Jews (Joh 1:46). The obscure origin as well as the shameful death of Jesus was a stumbling block to the Jew. There were other people named Jesus; there was but one Jesus of Nazareth.
7 And he took him by the right hand,-He was encouraged by the extension of Peters hand, and as it was grasped by the right hand of the lame man, Peter raised him to his feet. It seems that Peter had to pull him up on his feet before he would attempt to walk. Luke was a physician; and he uses words that a physician would use; he knows how a physician would deal with his patient and he gives one of those minute coincidences which go to prove that Luke the physician was the author of the Acts. The lame man immediately began to walk as his feet and his ankle-bones received strength. Here again we see the physicians description of the incident. Some think that it should be the soles of his feet received strength.
8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk;-Again Luke gives a detailed description of the exercises that he took; he leaped up; then he stood for a moment and gained his equilibrium, then he began to walk. The progressive steps show the progress that he made. As he was assured that he could walk he went into the temple. The man had been lame from birth and did not know how to walk; it seems that he began by a jump, then a walk and went into the temple repeating the new exercises, and praised God. He was so joyful over the fact that he could walk that he walking, and leaping, went to the place to praise God. He did not go into the holy place of the temple, as only priests had access to it. He was thankful for the blessing and was now ready to worship God.
9-10 And all the people saw him walking-This was the hour of prayer in the afternoon; many people had assembled or were coming to the temple for worship; they observed the man and knew that it was the one that they had seen begging at the gate. This miracle showed that the apostles had the power to heal; the man who had been healed did not praise the apostles, but God; he gave God the praise for his being able to walk. There was abundance of witnesses to testify that he had been healed; they saw and could not deny that which they saw had been done. This would beget respect and confidence in the apostles as the witnesses for Christ. Everyone believed that this man who was now walking and leaping about the temple courts was the same person as the cripple; there was no charge of pretense or deception about the healing; there were too many witnesses, too many knew the facts about the deformed man for anyone to question the fact of the wonderful cure. This filled the people with wonder and amazement. It was a sign from heaven as the Jewish rulers on a former occasion had demanded of Jesus. (Joh 6:30.) The conduct of the man clearly showed that he was now perfectly healed.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The men at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple is the illustration of a constant fact: approximation to God is a habit of humanity in its need. Mendicants are not often found at the doors where an infidel lecture has been delivered. In speaking to the man, Peter revealed the essential meaning of Christianity. He was not able to minister to the man in material things so far as silver and gold were concerned. He was, however, able to communicate to him something which would make him master of his disability.
This miracle attracted the crowd, and Peter at once directed the people’s attention to their own God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob, claiming that He had visited them in the Person of Jesus. Faith in His name was the avenue through which God had wrought the wonder. No glory accrued to man from what had happened; none to the man who was healed, for his faith was not brought into play at all; none to the apostles, as they clearly declared.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Uplifting Power
Act 3:1-10
Peter and John differed greatly, in age, in gift, and in point of view. They had been rivals; now they walked together. It was at three in the afternoon that this incident took place. As they climbed the Temple steps, they must have spoken of the many times that the Master had walked at their side. But they realized, too, that He was still as near as ever; and so they became the means of linking this withered man to His glorious health-giving power. It was because Jesus went with them that the healed man was able to become the fourth of the group.
The gate was beautiful, but it could not heal. More is needed than beauty or art. We may have neither the silver of profound intellect, nor the golden speech of Chrysostom, but we must see that we have something to give to a paralyzed and perishing world. Let us so move among men as to lead them to expect that we have something to give, and then give them Jesus. The lame man needed strength, and this is the divine gift of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. The Savior makes us able to walk and leap in Gods ways.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
In the third chapter of the book of the Acts we have Peters second recorded sermon. These apostolic sermons are of tremendous interest, or should be, to us today because they show just how God chose to present the message of His grace through the early apostles. Their one theme was Jesus Christ Himself-Christ incarnate, Christ crucified, Christ risen, Christ glorified. They did not seek to occupy the people with abstruse doctrines, nor did they reason about profound theological problems. Instead they presented the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in words easy to be understood. In this they are models for preachers all through the dispensation.
Notice here how the miracle and the message coincided. Miracles were never performed either by Jesus or His apostles simply to amaze the people. These signs were done to reveal the grace of God to needy men and women. This truth comes out here most beautifully.
As the chapter opens we find Peter and John wending their way to the temple to pray. The temple was still standing in Jerusalem. It was to remain there another forty years, though the curtain was torn and the old dispensation had come to an end. But it was still the place where the people gathered together to worship God at the regular hours for prayer. The ninth hour was the time when the evening sacrifice was offered. These sacrifices at the temple had no value now for those who knew the Lord Jesus as the One who had fulfilled all the types and shadows of the law.
As the apostles approached the temple their attention was directed to a poor man who lay at one of the entrances. He was lame and could not walk; he had to be carried daily to the gate Beautiful. We can see him there, holding out his hand, beseeching the more fortunate passersby to contribute to his support. As Peter and John came along, something about them, perhaps their kindly faces, stirred his heart and made him feel that here were two men who would help him, so he asked them for alms. And Peter, we are told, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. He was definitely calling the lame mans attention, and the beggar looked up, thinking surely now he was about to receive a coin that would supply his temporal needs. But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
I am sure that to the very end of his days Peter could have said: Silver and gold have I none. These early followers of the Lord Jesus Christ did not look upon the gospel ministry as a means of enriching themselves. They had taken the place of poverty and were willing to follow Jesus, no matter what it meant. We remember that when Christ was here He said, Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head (Mat 9:20). And as the apostles followed Him there was a power in their message that is sadly lacking when men use the gospel merely as a means of personal enrichment.
In connection with this I am reminded of an interesting story of the medieval church. That great scholar, Thomas Aquinas, came to the city of Rome to pay his respects to the one who was then pope. In the course of his visit, the pope proudly showed him all the wonders of the papal palace and took him to his treasury and showed him chests of silver and gold received from every part of the world. With something of a smile on his face, he said, You see, Brother Thomas, we cannot say, as did the first pope, Silver and gold have I none. (The Catholic church claims Peter was the first pope.) Thomas Aquinas looked the pope in the eye and fearlessly replied, No, and neither can you say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Riches had come, but power had gone. With Peter and the apostles there were poverty and power. They were men who walked with God, esteeming it greater riches than all this world could give to be used of Him in a mighty way. There was identification with Christ in His earthly poverty.
As he uttered the words, Rise up and walk, Peter reached out and took him by the right hand, and lifted him up. Immediately the lame man felt new life come into that crippled body of his; new strength came into those legs. We are given a graphic picture indeed. Immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping, and praising God. You can just see the man fairly dancing with delight, using his newfound strength, like a child skipping along the way. So overcome with joy was he over the miracle that had been done that he was not at all concerned with what people might think of him, or of the strange appearance he made as he ran ahead of the apostles. The people who saw him were filled with amazement too, and were glad for him as they came running, eager to learn more of what had taken place.
Peter said, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? Then Peter used the miracle as an occasion to preach the gospel message. He disavowed any power in himself. He would not have people occupied with him or his devoted companion, the apostle John. He turned their eyes away from the servant to the Master of the servant, the Lord Jesus Christ, who had healed the poor cripple.
He began his message with, The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers. He spoke as a pious Jew, and I wish that our Jewish friends everywhere could realize that in Christianity we have the fulfillment of that which all the types in Judaism were but the pictures. We too reverence the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is not another god; not some strange god, but the God who of old appeared to the patriarchs. The Lord Jesus is the promised seed through whom all blessing comes for both Jews and Gentiles.
The God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus. Some manuscripts read, His Servant Jesus. It is not exactly easy to decide which term the apostle Peter used, but it would seem a little more in keeping with his general message to have used the word servant; for the Lord Jesus Christ is that anointed Servant spoken of in the book of the prophet Isaiah, Behold my servant (Isa 42:1). So Peter presented the blessed Lord as the One who came into this world to serve the Father by making atonement for our sins.
Then he drove home to these people the sin they had recently committed in rejecting Him. Whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. One might feel Peter could have dealt with them more gently, and not have stressed the point that they had denied Christ. But let us remember it is ever the work of a good doctor or surgeon to be faithful to his task. So it is never a kindness on the part of a servant of God to gloss over the sins of the people to whom he preaches. God would have mens hearts probed to the very depths. He would have men realize the corruption of their nature and their sinful acts that placed them in condemnation before God. After all, it is my sin that gives me the right to the blood of Jesus, and it is the blood of Jesus that secures my claim to Heaven.
And so Peter stressed the sin of which they were recently guilty. Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. When given the choice of either Barabbas or Jesus, they asked that Barabbas be freed and Jesus condemned to die.
Then Peter added, And killed the Prince of life. One might say, But they didnt kill Him. It was not the Jews who nailed Jesus Christ to the cross-it was the Gentiles. Yes, but it was Jew and Gentile who together rejected Him and together gave Him up to die. It was in the heart of His own people Israel to destroy Him, so God spoke of His having been slain by them. Actually, no one could kill Jesus. He said Himself, No man taketh it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father (Joh 10:18).
It would have been utterly impossible for either Jew or Gentile to put an end to the earthly life of Jesus if He had not voluntarily placed Himself in their hands and gone to the cross. Even when nailed on the tree He did not die of the physical suffering He endured. We are told that when He cried, It is finished, He then said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit (Luk 23:46). And when he had said that, the King James version says, He gave up the ghost. Actually it is, He dismissed his spirit. The work was done.
His death was voluntary. But we are told in another portion of Scripture, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him (1Jn 3:15). So because they had hatred in their hearts they are said to have killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead.
I would like to pause here and put a question to my readers. What is your attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you ever turned to God as a repentant sinner and trusted the Lord Jesus for yourself? If not, you still belong to that world which God judges guilty of murdering His beloved Son. Until you come to the place where you repent of the sin for which the world stands condemned-the death of Gods Son-and you take Him as your own Savior, judgment hangs over you because of mans attitude toward Christ-He who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification (Rom 4:25).
Peter said, God hath raised [Him] from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. That was a very bold statement. This was only a few days after Pentecost. The apostle Peter had nothing to cover up. He could have given witness after witness of people who had talked with Christ and walked with Him. God made the resurrection of His Son abundantly evident so that no one who wanted to know the truth need be misled.
So Peter declared it was through this risen One that the lame man was miraculously healed. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Then, having driven home to the hearts of the people their own sinfulness and their accountability before God for the murder of His Son, Peter opened for them a door, as it were, into the city of refuge. You will remember in the Old Testament God made special provision for any guilty of putting another man to death unintentionally or through ignorance. Scripture illustrates it like this: If a man, for instance, is chopping wood and his neighbor is near and the ax head flies off and hits the neighbor and the man falls dead, the one who slew him is not to be treated as a murderer. He is guilty of manslaughter, but is not a murderer (Deu 19:4-6). God commanded that there be six cities located at different points, with good roads to them. The man who unintentionally slays his neighbor is immediately to flee to the nearest city and abide there until the death of the high priest. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge. (Num 35:6-32). The revenger of blood is not to seek him out nor treat him as a murderer.
Peter continued, And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it [killed the Son], as did also your rulers. In other words, You did not understand: you did not know Jesus was really the Messiah and Servant of God. You thought you were fulfilling Gods purpose perhaps in putting Jesus to death. You did it through ignorance. Peter was opening a door to a city of refuge. He was saying in effect, God is ready to treat you not as a murderer, but as one guilty of manslaughter, and as long as the high priest lives you are safe if you enter the place of refuge. Our High Priest is the Lord Jesus and He lives forever. Those who accept the salvation God has provided are forever secure from the avenger, for God will not permit a charge to be brought against any who are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul said, Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1Co 2:8). So again you see they did not know. Pilate did not know; the Roman soldiers did not know, neither Jews nor Gentiles understood. That is what Jesus meant when He said on the cross, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luk 23:34).
One thinks of those excited Jews in Pilates judgment hall demanding the death of Jesus. Pilate asked, Shall I crucify your King? And the Jews cried out, His blood be on us, and on our children (Mat 27:25). What a dangerous malediction they were calling down on themselves and their children! I have heard some thoughtless people say that is why the Jews are suffering today and they should suffer. They say Hitler was right, the Fascists were right, and the anti-Semites are right in causing the Jewish people to suffer. Those who speak like that forget this prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary. Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. So instead of charging His blood to either Jew or Gentile, He is declaring that His very death has opened a city of refuge, a way of deliverance from judgment for all who flee to Him for mercy.
Peter explained that even in the very rejection of Christ, Gods own Word was being fulfilled. We see this most clearly when we turn to the wonderful fifty-third chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah. In light of that, Peter urged their instantly turning to God: Repent ye therefore, and be converted. That is, change your attitude and turn to God. Judge yourselves as sinners before Him. Confess your guilt. Be turned around. That is what conversion implies. When men confess Christ they are turned from the power of Satan to God, from sin to righteousness.
That your sins may be blotted out. Again we think of the prophet Isaiah, through whom we hear God speaking to Israel. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee (Isa 44:22).
It is necessary to draw attention to a slight change of translation from the King James version, which makes for a clearer understanding of the passage that follows. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that [not when] the times of refreshing [may] come from the presence of the Lord. That is, if Israel will turn to the Lord it will hasten the time when the Lord Jesus will come back again and bring with Him refreshing for all the world. That is still true. The final blessing of this poor world is wrapped up in Israels repentance. When the people of Israel repent and turn to God they will become the means of blessing to the whole earth.
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,Shall we stop there? If we did it would put us on the ground of universal restitutionalism; it would put us in the company with those who say all men eventually are going to be saved.
But that is not what Peter declared. We cannot stop with the comma but must complete the sentence: .. .which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. You see, the sentence as a whole means restitution of all that God has spoken by His prophets. Everything the prophets have spoken will eventually be fulfilled through Christ for He is the Prophet of whom Moses spoke in Deu 18:15: The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me: unto him ye shall hearken. That Prophet is our Lord Jesus. God calls on all men to receive Him and put their trust in Him.
And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days (Act 3:23-24). Peter reminded his hearers that the prophets had foretold of the days to come when Jew and Gentile would be saved through the death of the appointed Savior that God was to provide.
Then Peter added, Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. How the heart of God goes out to His earthly people Israel. Unto you first. If any Jewish friend reads these pages, I hope he will listen to these wonderful words, Unto you first. Unto you, Gods chosen people Israel! Unto you first! God has set the nation aside, but His heart goes out in yearning love to every individual Jew.
God, having raised up his Son [or literally, His Servant] Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. Salvation, full and free and complete, is offered to Jew and Gentile-to everyone who will turn in repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Act 3:1-11
Look (1) at the social side, and (2) at the Apostolic side of this incident.
I. The social side. (1) We may be able to carry the cripple while we are unable to heal him. Do what you can. (2) The commonest minds, as well as the highest, have always associated the idea of charity with the idea of religion. (3) Look at the compensations of the poorest life. The man was carried daily by friendly hands. The man had the temple as his daily hope.
II. The Apostolic side. (a) The Apostles never attempted to do without public worship. (b) The Apostles never neglected human want in their anxiety to render Divine worship. (c) The Apostles never attended even to physical necessities in their own name.
Parker, City Temple, vol. ii., p. 117.
Act 3:1
(with Act 4:4)
St. Peter’s Second Apology
If the latter portion of this speech of St. Peter’s be examined, it will be found that its central point, on which is thrown the chief weight of exhortation, is precisely the same as in Luke’s abridged version of the former speech. “Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,” he says here. “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins,” he said then. As though God were beseeching his countrymen through his lips, Peter here prayed them in Christ’s stead to be reconciled to God; and he used such motives as, in the mouth of a Jew speaking to Jews, were most fit and likely to persuade.
I. In the first place he suggested, as an extenuation of their guilt, that it had been contracted in ignorance. It may not have been quite true of all, but it certainly was true of the vast mass of the people, who wheeled so readily from applauding Jesus to execrating Him, that neither when they did the one nor the other had they real knowledge on solid grounds who He was. Such ignorance as this does not excuse a crime, but it palliates it. It makes it more pardonable.
II. Further to open his hearers’ hearts to penitence, he reminded them, as he had done at Pentecost, how their very crime had been the fulfilment, all unknown to themselves, of those predicted sufferings which it had been God’s will to inflict upon Messiah. Through their slaying of the Christ, God had ordained that the Christ should become their Saviour.
III. But the most singular motive by which Peter here pressed his countrymen to repent, is that, upon their doing so, had been made to hinge the return of Christ in glory, and that predicted era of blessedness which is to enter when His personal presence is restored to the earth. The object of our Lord’s retirement into the heavens he took to be the conversion of Israel to faith in Himself. So long as He was here they had denied Him; now, in His absence, they were to return and call with tears upon Him whom they had pierced. The faster Israel turned to Jesus, the sooner would Jesus return to Israel; for as Peter wrote a great many years later, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise” to return, He is only “longsuffering, not willing that any should perish.” With urgency, therefore, did the preacher that day press upon his brethren, as Israelites, to turn every one from his iniquities, so that there might come the sooner those times of national reviving and restoration, which had so often been predicted to their fathers.
J. Oswald Dykes, From Jerusalem to Antioch, p. 123.
Act 3:6
I. Man is, by nature, morally crippled and helpless; a beggar, a bondman, carried about at another’s will. Great bodily infirmities are the shadows of the sins and weaknesses of the soul. What a cripple is among men, a sinner is before the angels and pure spirits on high. All sin works by privation. It shuts up senses and organs which God meant to be inlets of joy and channels of life.
II. There is a Name which can make us whole again, sound, glad, and free. Your soul wants precisely what that poor cripple’s body wanted, power to stand, to walk, to leap, and to utter forth the praises of God. And that power is in Christ, and in Christ alone. Light to the blind, strength to the impotent, life to the dead is He. The more you think of it earnestly, the more you will find that life is just what you need. A man whose system is worn out can be patched up for a while by the physicians, but a new gush of life into it is what it needs. Give it that, or you patch and prop in vain. This is what Christ can truly do for your soul. I am not speaking now of the solace of His compassion, of the joy of His communion, of the sweetness of His love, of the glory of the hope which He inspires. I sum it all up when I say, “In Him is life.” That life, God’s life, He can give to man, He will give to you. It will be a power in the end, all-mastering, all-ruling, a power unto salvation.
III. This is the time to believe on that Name, and to rise up and walk. Does God care for wrecks? Let that poor cripple answer. Let the Lord’s works of mercy answer. They were mostly fragments, broken fragments of humanity that He gathered; they were mostly wrecks that He saved. Publicans, harlots, thieves, prodigals, whatever the world flung out as worthless, He gathered. Such life is in Him, such power of quickening and re-creating souls, that wretched ones, whom Scribes and Pharisees cast out from the decent fellowships of earth, shall be reigning among the angels, white-robed, palm-crowned, through eternity. Lay hold on Christ and the Lord will lift you; you will stand up as a man, and look your tempters and tyrants in the face; you will find strength to defy them, and to win at first, at any rate, an easy victory. You will go forth to the old drudgery with a new and wonderful joy.
J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, Oct. 18th, 1876, p. 248.
Note:-
I. The lame man. It is a fact that almost all the alms of the world are administered at the gate of the Temple. Almost all the charitable institutions of the world are dependent for their moral and pecuniary support; and almost all the benevolent movements of society are dependent for their success, on them that go up to the Temple at the hour of prayer. When money is needed to assuage the world’s grief, to relieve the world’s distress, men go straight to the gate of the Temple to beg. Christianity is founded not so much in the powers as in the needs of the race.
II. The cure of the lame man. The man sought alms-but the Apostles gave him what was better; they gave him health. Health without money is infinitely better than money without health. Moreover, by endowing him with health, they were conferring on him the ability to earn money; by imparting the greater they were also giving the lesser. In this the miracle was a sign, and typifies to us the Divine method of saving the world. The Gospel does not aim directly at improving men’s circumstances, it aims at improving men themselves. But no sooner does it bring about a moral improvement in the men, than the men bring about a noticeable improvement in their surroundings. The Gospel converts the man, the man converts the house. Men need better houses and purer air, and more wholesome water; but the great want of men is life-more life; and Jesus Christ came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. Utilitarianism does men good, Christianity makes them good.
J. Cynddylan Jones, Studies in the Acts, p. 52.
Look:-
I. At that which Peter had not, “Silver and gold have I none.” The question as to whether the Church’s power is increased by worldly possessions is one of the very last importance. It was an essential condition of the prevalence of the Gospel that men should be holy, and if they were determined to cling to their sins it was a necessary consequence that the only way to peace should lie through contention. So, though it be the future of the Church to inherit the glory of the Gentiles, it is an essential condition of her power that she shall abandon all selfishness and covetousness, and if men will cling to selfishness and covetousness, then the only way to power is by stripping herself of her earthly possessions. God only knows whether that be necessary for the Church. Now, if ever, we must gird up our loins and trim our lamps, taking up the pilgrim’s staff and scallop-shell, seeking upon the hard rough sands of the world’s desert the way to the heavenly Jerusalem.
II. Notice next the positive aspect of the text. (1) The completeness of the miracle. The Apostle did but speak, and straightway by the Almighty power of God-it was as if an electric shock had passed through him-the impotent man could leap and walk. And so it is in the conversion of the soul. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2) The name and means by which the miracle was wrought. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” There is the explanation of all; there is the explanation of the miracle; there is the secret spell of Apostolic power. Just at the time when His people are passing through gloom and sorrow, the highest heavenly power is wielded with a tenderest human pity, so that when we come in our weakness, our sin, our loneliness, and look up to heaven, we see not the naked blinding glory of the Deity, but the face of the High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities bending over us in pity and love.
Bishop Moorhouse, Penny Pulpit, No. 407.
References: Act 3:6.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., p. 189; Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 3. Act 3:6-8.-G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 60. Act 3:7.-New Outlines on the New Testament, p. 81.
Act 3:10
The architecture of the old Jewish Temple may serve us for a parable today. The truth that it suggests will be the harmony between a noble undertaking and a beautiful beginning-that every true temple ought to have a beautiful gate. The importance of beginnings is the veriest commonplace of practical virtue. Think of the wisdom and love of God who has put the beauty of youth at the entrance of every human life, and especially now consider the child’s religion.
I. The religion of childhood is not only possible, but it is the normal type of religion; is that which Christianity most contemplates; and that which, when Christianity shall have really entered into her power, all men shall accept as the very image and pattern of religion. The current idea of the Churches, that adult conversion is the type and intended rule of Christianity, comes largely from the fact that the first preachers of Christianity had of necessity to be largely occupied with men who had known nothing of Christianity in their youth. The evident design of God’s creation, the comprehensive form of the incarnation, the clear presence in children of the power and the need of religion, these are the forces which, in spite of every tendency of the grown people to make children wait till they grow up, has always kept alive a hope, a trust, however blind, that a child’s religion was a possible reality; that a child might serve, and love, and live for God.
II. What is the true character of the religion of a child? Certainly to be sweet and real, it must be the possession by God of the faculties and qualities that belong especially to childhood. (1) The first and most prominent of them all is the faculty of genuine, unhesitating, unqualified admiration. (2) Another thing in a child’s religion is the perfect healthiness of his traditionalism, of his belonging to a certain sect, and holding certain opinions. Grown people often cling to the faith of their fathers controversially. Their love for it is mixed up with jealousy and spite and pride. A child knows nothing of all that. (3) The simplest and primary form of the presentation of the Gospel is the one which is preserved most truly and necessarily in the teaching of children. The child is a little Athenian, always listening for some new thing. And so the child is ready, if it can be rightly told him, to hear, above all the other messages that come to him out of this ever-opening and surprising world, the best and highest news of all, the Gospel, simply as glad tidings of the love of God and the salvation of the world by Jesus.
Phillips Brooks, Twenty Sermons, p. 127.
References: Act 3:11, Act 3:12.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 459. Act 3:12.-R. W. Dale, The Evangelical Revival, p. 171.
Act 3:12-26
The speech of Peter may be regarded in four aspects:-
I. As showing the false method of looking at human affairs. “As though through our own power of holiness we had made this man to walk.”
II. As showing the true method of regarding the most extraordinary events. “God hath glorified His Son Jesus.”
III. As showing the only method of setting man right with God. “Repent ye therefore and be converted.”
IV. As showing the sublime object of Jesus Christ’s Incarnation. “To bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”
Parker, City Temple, vol. ii., p. 119.
References: Act 3:12-26.-R. W. Dale, Evangelical Revival, p. 171; Homilist, 3rd series, vol. iii., p. 314. Act 3:13, Act 3:15-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 460. Act 3:14, Act 3:15.-J. Baldwin Brown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. viii., p. 321. Act 3:16.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 461; vol. xix., p. 301.
Act 3:17
The Danger and Results of Unbelief.
Consider:-
I. How St. Peter came to have a right to make allowance for the Jews. When the Apostle states that what the Jews did, they did through ignorance, he must be considered as conveying the idea that they were not acquainted with the actual character and dignity of Christ. They did not crucify Him as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, but as one who pretended to be the Messiah, and who blasphemed in calling Himself the Son of God. But were the Jews, then, innocent in this their ignorance? We may not venture to say this; we may not venture to think that St. Peter implied this; for this would evidently impeach the whole course of Christ’s ministry on earth, representing His miracles as defective credentials, inadequate to the establishing of the character which He claimed to Himself. The Jews, beyond all question, if ignorant, were to blame for their ignorance. They might have known, they ought to have known, that Jesus was the Christ, and ignorance can only be an excuse when we do not ourselves cause it, whether through wilfully neglecting means of obtaining information, or cherishing prejudices which bar out the truth. It was not in crucifying Christ, but in rejecting the final evidence afforded by the descent of the Holy Ghost, that they perpetrated the sin for which they were cast off.
II. Contrast the case of the modern unbeliever with that of the Jews and judge whether it be an exaggerated charge which would fix on the latter the far greater criminality. The Jew crucified Christ whilst His appearance was that of an ordinary man; we crucify Him afresh when He has assumed the glory which He had from the beginning with the Father. It was the Son of Man on earth who was crucified by the Jew; it is the Son of God in the heavens who is crucified by ourselves. Christ had not then given the most touching proof of His love and His compassion. He had not yet died for His enemies; neither was it understood, even by His disciples, and much less by His adversaries, that the death which He was willing to undergo was to serve as a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. The Jew, at the time, and in the act referred to in our text, had not the power of sinning such a sin as any one of us sins, when, through not believing in Christ, he crucifies Him afresh. It is Christ’s having been once crucified in the flesh, which gives such immeasurable heinousness to His being crucified again in the spirit.
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1498.
References: Act 3:17.-Contemporary Pulpit, vol. ix., p. 170. Act 3:17, Act 3:18.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 462. Act 3:19.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiv., No. 804; J. G. Rogers, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 8; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xiii., p. 8; W. Hay Aitken, Around the Cross, pp. 33, 49. Act 3:19.-J. H. Thorn, Laws of Life after the Mind of Christ, 2nd series, p. 105. Act 3:19, Act 3:20.-R. S. Turner, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 264; H. W. Beecher, Ibid., vol. ii., p. 172; Homiletic Magazine, vol. xix., p. 115.
Act 3:19, Act 3:21
The Restitution of All Things will be:
I. A clearing away of suffering. Earth shall be restored to its original beauty; its face shall be wiped from tears; its scarred and stained countenance shall be radiant again with a more than Eden loveliness: for it is one of those “all things” which must receive restitution when the heaven which has received Him shall send Jesus back.
II. We pass to a thought not less bright, and far more practical, when we say that man, his soul and body, his very being and life, is among these “all things” which are awaiting a restoration. Who that has seriously tried the struggle to be holy, the warfare under Christ’s banner with indwelling, obstinate, inveterate sin, has not found himself vexed and irritated, if not reduced to despair, by perpetual failure; has not felt times without number that without a promise he would surrender, he would capitulate on the instant, and that the promise which keeps him fighting is not more that of “strength as his day,” than that of victory in the end? If there be a restoration of all things at the Advent, and amongst these “all things” I am, then I will arise, if need be, from a thousand falls in one day, cast down, but not destroyed.
III. That restitution of all things which thus affects earth and the man, has an aspect, finally, towards God. It is one of the express revelations of the times of refreshing, that then the conscious presence, the spiritual Shechinah, the Divine companionship, will be restored. In the light of that sun all lesser luminaries will pale, if not vanish. That only can live there which can bear the light of God. Sin will be destroyed, and all that is of it; selfish affection, creature worship, idolatrous love. All that then survives will have fallen into its place by instinct; all other love will shine in the love of God; stronger, more intense than ever, yet entirely pure, entirely devout, absolutely sinless and selfless. In the prospect of that admission into the very presence of God, let us be willing to endure now the difficulty of the pursuit and the delay of the attainment. If we give up the search, we must abandon the hope, if we will only seek on, we shall surely find.
C. J. Vaughan, Temple Sermons, p. 66.
References: Act 3:19-21.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 35; Homilist, 1st series, vol. v., p. 260; T. L. Cuyler, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 352; J. Keble, Sermons for Lent and Passiontide, p. 318; C. J. Vaughan, Church of the First Days, vol. i., p. 111. Act 3:20.-Contemporary Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 368. Act 3:21.-S. Martin, Pulpit, vol. iii., No. 1625. Act 3:22.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ii., p. 217. Act 3:22-26.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 36.
Act 3:26
Here, in few words, is the plan proposed by our heavenly Father to make us happy, a plan well worthy to be considered.
I. God does not secure happiness to his people by making all of them rich. Instead of saying “Blessed are ye rich,” he says, “Blessed are the poor.”
II. Our heavenly Father does not propose to make us happy by bestowing on us the empty honours of the world.
III. God’s plan for making His people happy does not consist in affording them a large share of worldly pleasure.
IV. There can be no salvation for us unless we are delivered from our sins. God only makes men happy by making them holy. The object of the coming of the Son of God in the flesh was that “He might save His people from their sins.”
J. N. Norton, Old Paths, p. 159.
Note:-
I. The boldness and loftiness of the claim which is here made for Jesus Christ.
II. The dawning vision of a kingdom of world-wide blessings.
III. The purely spiritual conception of what Christ’s blessing is “To bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”
A. Maclaren, A Year’s Ministry, 1st series, p. 245.
References: Act 3:26.-W. Hay Aitken, Around the Cross, p. 97; Homilist, 2nd series, vol. iv., p. 377; C. J. Vaughan, Church of the First Days, vol. i., p. 130. Act 3:26.-Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 190; T. M. Herbert, Sketches of Sermons, p. 55.
Acts 3
The Lame Man Healed
We are reminded by this incident:
I. That there are some things more valuable than money. Peter with his gift of healing was of infinitely greater service to this lame man than if he had possessed the riches of Croesus. The moment wealth becomes an end to be sought simply for its own sake, it ceases to be a blessing.
II. That fidelity is the true kindness in the end. Mark how pointedly Peter here addresses the multitude. He charges home upon them, in unmistakable terms, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithfulness is to be tempered with justice in all things, but especially when we are dealing with the unconverted.
III. That the enjoyment of times of refreshing from God’s presence is inseparably connected with our return to God.
W. M. Taylor, Peter the Apostle, p. 185.
References: Acts 3-J. Oswald Dykes, Preacher’s Lantern, vol. iv., p. 385. Act 4:1, Act 4:2.-Parker, City Temple, vol. iii., p. 335. Act 4:1-4.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 37.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 3
1. The Healing of the lame Man (Act 3:1-11).
2. Peters address and appeal (Act 3:12-26).
The lame man, forty years old, at the gate called Beautiful is the type of the moral condition of the nation, like the impotent man whom the Lord healed (Joh 5:1-47). Israel with all its beautiful religious ceremonies was helpless, laying outside with no strength to enter in. Peter commands the lame man in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to rise up and to walk. He is instantly healed. He then walked and leaped and entered through the gate as a worshipper into the temple, praising God. This great miracle was wrought as another evidence to the unbelieving nation that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had rejected and crucified, is their Messiah and King. It was a proof that the rejected One, who had died on a cross and had been buried, is living in Glory, and that Gods omnipotent power had been revealed in answer to that name. The miracle also denoted that the promised kingdom was once more offered to the nation. Concerning that kingdom, when it comes, it is written that the lame man shall leap as an hart. (Isa 35:6.) But the lame man, so wonderfully healed, leaping and praising God, is likewise a picture of what the nation will be in a future day, when they will look upon Him whom they have pierced (See Zec 12:10; Eze 36:27; Isa 12:1-6; Isa 35:10). Peter delivers his second address. Interesting and of much importance are Act 3:19-21. They can only be understood in the right way if we do not lose sight of the fact to whom they were addressed, that is to Jews, and not to Gentiles. They are the heart of this discourse, and as such a God-given appeal and promise to the nation. If this is lost sight of, the words must lose their right meaning. The repentance which is demanded of them is an acknowledgment of the wrong they had done in denying the Holy and righteous One, a confession of their blood-guiltiness in having slain the author of life. This, of course, would result in their conversion and the blotting out of their sins as a nation. This God had promised before to the nation (Isa 44:22-23).
The times of refreshing and restitution of all things are expressions in which the Holy Spirit gathers together the hundreds of promises He gave through the different prophets of God concerning a time of great blessing for His people, and through them for the nations of the world. It would be impossible to mention all these promises and in what the times of refreshing and restoration of all things consist. These days of a coming age, the kingdom age, or as we call it because its duration will be a thousand years, the Millennium, are fully described on the pages of Old Testament prophecy. Not alone will the nation be blessed, but Jerusalem will be a great city; the land will be restored and become the great center for blessing; the nations of the earth will receive blessings, and groaning creation will be delivered from its groans and the curse which rests upon it. If we interpret the Word of Prophecy literally and cease spiritualizing it, we shall have no difficulty to behold the full meaning of the times of refreshing and the restitution of all things. The latter word does not include a restoration of the wicked dead, a second chance for those who passed out of this life in an unsaved condition. And these glorious times cannot come till the Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
8. “SUCH AS I HAVE GIVE I THEE”
Act 3:1-11
The healing of this lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple is a very instructive event. It is recorded here for our learning and our admonition.
1. Certainly, the events of this day show us the blessedness of public worship. At the appointed hour of prayer Peter and John came to the appointed place of public worship to worship God. Though the lame man came only for carnal reasons, still he came to the place where his needs were most likely to be met – The House of God. There God made himself known, both to his servants and to “a certain man lame from his mother’s womb.” Let every needy soul cherish the house of God, attend the assembly of worship, and give thanks to God for the privilege of doing so (Psa 122:1; Heb 10:25). It is in the assembly of God’s saints that needy sinners have hope of meeting the mighty Savior (Mat 18:20).
2. This passage also shows us an example of Christian charity and kindness. Though Peter and John had no money in their pockets, they did not ignore this man’s miserable plight and condition. And we ought always do what we can to relieve the sufferings of others (Mat 6:3; Mat 10:42; Luk 10:25-37).
3. Primarily, the purpose of this miracle is to demonstrate the power of the risen, exalted Christ to save sinners. This is the interpretation Peter himself gave of the miracle (Act 4:10-12). The healing of this cripple beggar is a beautiful picture of God’s effectual, saving grace in Christ. In these eleven verses the Spirit of God teaches us five important lessons.
First, ALL MEN ARE SPIRITUALLY IMPOTENT BY NATURE (Act 3:2). This man’s impotence was not the result of an accident or a disease. It was a defect of birth. He was born in this helpless condition. This is our condition by nature, not physically, but spiritually. Our hearts are plagued with the incurable disease of sin. Spiritually, our legs are broken, our hands are withered, our eyes are blind, our ears are deaf. All men by nature are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1-4). So thorough is the natural man’s spiritual impotence that he is altogether without ability to help himself. All the children of Adam are born totally depraved (Jer 17:9; Mat 15:19). Because his heart is evil, no man can or will come to Christ and be saved (Joh 5:40; Joh 6:44). He has neither the desire nor the ability to do so (Jer 13:23). God must do a work of grace in the heart before any sinner will ever come to Christ in faith. And if God does a work of grace in his heart, the sinner will come to Christ (Joh 6:45; Psa 65:4; Psa 110:3).
Because he was a cripple, he was unable to work for a living. He spent his days begging. That is our condition too! Before God we are poor, helpless beggars. We have no ability to earn anything from God, except death. We have no claim upon his mercy. All we can do is fall before him and beg for grace (Luk 18:13). As Matthew Henry said, “Those that need, and cannot work, must not be ashamed to beg!”
This beggar was a chosen object of divine mercy. He was both poor and helpless, but there were many others in that condition around the temple. Luke tells us that this man was “a certain man”. God had chosen him and was determined to be gracious to him (2Th 2:13-14). Providence had made him poor and helpless and put him in the place where grace would be found.
Secondly, we are here given A STARK REMINDER THAT RELIGION WITHOUT CHRIST IS A MOCKERY TO THE SOULS OF MEN. There stood the temple with its breath taking splendor. Josephus tells us that it was made of solid white, polished marble. This Beautiful Gate was made of fine Corinthian gold. With the mid-day sun shining upon it, it was almost blinding with brilliance. The Jews were very proud of their temple, but it was an empty, desolate place. God had left it! The glory of God had departed. There was nothing and no one connected with that temple that could be of any real benefit to that poor, helpless beggar. Its’splendor, riches, and beauty only mocked him! What a sad picture of modern religion! There is in religion much to impress the flesh: wealth, influence, talent, entertainment, and rituals and ceremonies to soothe the conscience, a form of godliness, but no power! No gospel! No grace! No Christ! No life! It is a mockery to God and to the souls of men!
Thirdly, WHEN GOD INTENDS TO SAVE A SINNER HE ALWAYS USES CERTAIN MEANS (Act 3:1-5). Were he pleased to do so, the sovereign, almighty God could perform his works of mercy without the use of means. But that is not his pleasure. God condescends to honor us by allowing us to be instruments in his hands by which he performs his works of mercy toward his chosen. He who raised dead Lazarus could easily have removed the stone from the tomb; but he allowed and commanded men to do what they could do, saying, “Take ye away the stone” (Joh 11:39). Even so, this poor, lame beggar was healed by the power of God alone. Peter makes that abundantly clear (Act 3:12-16). But three things had to be done by men before he could be healed.
1. Peter and John came to the temple to preach the gospel of Christ (Rom 1:16-17; Rom 10:17; 1Co 1:21; Jas 1:18; 1Pe 1:23).
2. This man’s friends brought him to the temple, the place where he was most hopeful of finding mercy (Luk 5:18-20).
3. This man did what God’s servants told him to do (Act 3:4-6). We know that God’s purpose will never fail. This man had to be healed on this occasion. God had purposed it. Yet, if Peter and John had not obeyed their Lord and gone to preach the gospel, if this man’s friends had not brought him to the temple, or if the man himself had refused to obey the voice of God’s servants, he would never have been healed.
Fourthly, the healing of this lame man shows us that THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS AN ALMIGHTY, ALL-SUFFICIENT SAVIOR (Act 3:6-8). This is a picture of true conversion. “You have seen how this man’s body has been healed, even by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and it is in this way that your soul must be saved, for there is no other power that can effect such a change within you, a change from weakness to strength, from death to life” – (Charles Simeon). Christ is able to save! By the mere exercise of his sovereign will sin is subdued, guilt is removed, the dead live, bloodthirsty lions are made to be lambs, and wretched sinners are made new creatures in him. Christ on the tree has put away sin (Heb 9:26). Christ on the throne is able to save (Heb 7:25).
Fifthly, THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST IS ALWAYS EFFECTUAL (Act 3:8-11). It always accomplishes its intended purpose (Isa 55:10-11). It offers salvation and eternal life to all who come to Christ (Isa 45:22). It is the means by which God the Holy Spirit brings chosen sinners to Christ (Psa 65:4). And it gives praise, honor, and glory to God for his saving goodness (1Co 1:26-31).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
saved
(See Scofield “Rom 1:16”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Peter: Act 4:13, Act 8:14, Mat 17:1, Mat 26:37, Joh 13:23-25, Joh 20:2-9, Joh 21:7, Joh 21:18-22, Gal 2:9
went: Act 2:46, Act 5:25, Luk 24:53
the hour: Act 10:3, Act 10:30, Exo 29:39, Num 28:4, 1Ki 18:36, Psa 55:17, Dan 6:10, Dan 9:21, Luk 1:10, Luk 23:44-46
Reciprocal: Ezr 9:4 – until Psa 141:2 – the evening Mat 10:2 – John Mat 20:5 – sixth Mat 21:14 – General Luk 18:10 – into Act 1:13 – Peter Act 5:42 – daily
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE ACTS is an historical book, but it is not mere history. An immense amount of apostolic service is left unrecorded, and mention is made of just a few incidents which serve to show the way the Spirit of God operated in bearing witness to the risen and exalted Jesus, and in conducting the disciples into the fulness of Christian blessing. The book covers a period of transition from the beginning of the church at Jerusalem to the full ingathering from among the Gentiles.
This chapter opens with the healing of the man who, lame from his birth, lay at the Beautiful gate of the temple. As the next chapter tells us he was above forty years old-the complete period of probation had been fulfilled in him. The man had not been healed by the Lord Jesus in the days of His flesh, though He so frequently taught in the temple; but he was healed by the power of His Name, now that He was glorified in heaven. Peter had neither silver nor gold, but the power of the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth he could wield, and the man was instantly healed in most triumphant fashion. Today many earnest Christian folk are mostly concerned about collecting the silver and gold for the support of the work of the Lord, and the power of the Name lies largely unused. This is to our reproach.
By reason of his deformity the lame man had lain under certain disabilities according to the law; now grace had removed his deformity and with it the disability, so that he could enter the temple with freedom; and holding on to the Apostles there was no hiding those who had been the instruments of his deliverance. This gave Peter the opportunity of testimony. He at once put himself and John out of the picture, in order that the glorified Jesus might fill it.
Peters boldness is remarkable. He charged the people with their denial of the Holy One and the Just, though he himself not many weeks before had denied his Lord. They had had before them the Prince [Author] of life and a murderer; that is a taker of life. They killed the One, and chose the other; yet He, whom they killed, God had raised from the dead, and thus they were caught in red-handed rebellion against God. Moreover this
perfect soundness has been granted to the lame man in the power of His Name, through faith. They could not see the glory of Jesus in heaven, but they could see the miracle wrought in His Name upon earth. The soundness on earth was linked with the glory in heaven.
Verse Act 3:17 shows that God was prepared to treat their dreadful crime as a sin of ignorance-as manslaughter, for which a city of refuge is provided, and not as murder. This was a direct answer to the prayer on the cross, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. By their sinful act God had accomplished His purpose as to the suffering of Christ, and hence there was still an offer of mercy for them as a nation. That offer Peter made, as recorded in verses Act 3:19-26 of our chapter. Everything hinged upon their repentance and conversion.
Whether Isa 35:6, Isa 35:7, was in Peters mind as he spoke about the times of refreshing, we cannot say, but it does seem as if it must have been in the mind of the Spirit who was speaking through him. When the lame man shall leap as an hart, then, in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. But all this refreshing predicted by Isaiah is for the ransomed of the Lord. and for no others. Hence only repentance and a complete turning round would bring such times; if that took place God would send Jesus Christ to bring them to pass.
The term, restitution of all things, has been misused in the service of the idea that God is going ultimately to save and restore everybody-even the devil himself. But the passage reads, the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken… It is things, not persons, and things which from the outset He had spoken by His prophets. God is going to make good every word, and to establish in Christ everything which has broken down in the hands of men. That time will not come till Jesus Himself comes, and since He is the Prophet of whom Moses spoke, all things will be brought to an issue when He does come, and everyone who disregards Him will be destroyed from among the people. There will be a time of blessing established, the like of which has not been since the world began.
In these words, then, Peter made the definite offer on Gods behalf that if at this point there was repentance and turning to God on a national scale, Jesus would return and establish the predicted times of blessing. In the last verse of the chapter he also added that, whatever their response was, God had raised up Jesus to bless them in turning them from their sins. These two things we all need: first, the judicial blotting out of our sins; second, to be turned away from our sins, so that they lose their power over us.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
A Pitiful Pauper at the Beautiful Gate
Act 3:1-11
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
It is impossible for us even to suggest the many striking lessons that surround the story of the pitiful pauper at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple.
Many things are seen on the surface, but the most striking of all are those things which lie deeper in, and are usually overlooked.
For instance the healing of this pitiful pauper was due to two men who, faithful to their spiritual need, went up to the Temple at the hour of prayer. It is in the pathway of duty that opportunity usually lies.
Again, the fact that Peter and John were penniless did not deter them from going up to church. They gave in service and love, what they lacked in coin.
Once more it is worthy to observe that the disciples went up “together.” Two by two, is God’s plan in Divine service.
We should not overlook that the study before us followed close upon the tidal blessings of spiritual power that came at Pentecost. Peter and John did not think that the sweep of grace at Pentecost, with about three thousand baptized, was the time to let up in the prayer life.
One thing more impresses us: Peter and John went up to pray, with their eyes open for any opportunity to help some needy soul. They moved under the impulse of “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it.” They could have passed the pauper up, but they did not. We should live looking for opportunities to serve.
Mark this also: Peter and John gave what they had, and not what they had not. Because they could not do what the lame man asked, was not, to them, an excuse to do nothing. God wants us to bring to Him what we have. If we have only what Moses had, a stick, let us consecrate our stick; if we have, with David, only a sling and pebbles, let us yield them to the Lord; if we have like Samson, no more than the jawbone of an ass, we can at least give that to God.
Finally observe that Peter and John did not cease serving in the realm of the natural, an easy to be accomplished task; they passed into the sphere of the miraculous without hesitancy, and attempted to do that which they well knew could not be humanly done. They believed God for the miraculous, and entered that realm without fear of failure.
We need to step forth in service, into the regions where faith alone operates.
I. A PITIFUL PAUPER (Act 3:1-2)
It was enough to be born lame, it was more than enough to be both lame and poor. Lame, and a beggar. Behold, what sin hath wrought! The whole world reels under the curse of sin. Sorrow and sighing, anguish and crying are heard on every hand. The earth is a bridge of sighs that spans the way from the cradle to the grave. Not all are lame, not all are poor, but all are born unto travail and to pain. It is all too true, “Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.” In the world we have tribulation.
We have before us a case of dire extremity-a man both lame and poor. Perhaps he was lame that God might make him strong; perhaps he was poor that God might make him truly rich. This we know-God heard the moanings of his spirit and came to his rescue. His tears were turned to triumphant praise. He prayed for alms,-the pitiful plea of penury; he received healing for his body,-the gracious gift from God.
“A pitiful pauper,”-are not all sinners this? They are both lame and poor. They have neither strength of limb nor of feet to walk in the ways of the Lord. “Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace have they not known.” They walk according to the prince of the power of the air, They trudge the way that leadeth unto death. They have feet, but feet unguided; feet that cannot walk in the way of life.
They cannot walk in the paths of righteousness, for they are without power to resist the tide that sweeps them on in their evil way. They are taken captive by the devil at his will; they are driven of the devil among the tombs where death lurks and reigns; they are carried and carted by the crowd.
Sinners wear a yoke they cannot break. They are lame, they are poor, and they are carried.
II. A PITIFUL PAUPER SEATED IN THE SIGHT OF PLENTY (Act 3:2)
What contrasts are suggested here. A man lame in both of his feet, seated at the place where the hurrying multitudes walk. A man stricken with penury, seated hard by the Temple gate, Beautiful. We wonder if this pauper was dead to these contrasts? Did he not know that his own lameness was the more conspicuous, where the romping rush of the strong of limb were pressing by? Did he not know that the plight of his own dire poverty, was made more bitter by his being placed by the Temple of priceless glory?
Yet, such is life. It is the glow in the cheeks of the child of rollicking health that startles the emaciated sick. It is the majestic grandeur and grace of the hurrying limousine that staggers the swaying form of the impoverished and footsore pedestrian. It is the glory of the glittering lights of the mansion, that makes the hut a hovel.
Yet, such is the way of the sinner. He is sick in the place of health; he is weak in the presence of strength; he is poor where many are rich; he weeps where others laugh; he is dead, in the house of life.
Saddest of all-it needs not so to be. The same God over all is rich unto all who call upon Him. God is no respecter of persons. He stands ready to make the lame to walk. He will give healing to the brokenhearted; deliverance to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, the opening of the prison to the bound, the oil of joy to the spirit of heaviness, and the joy of liberty to the bruised.
If there was only one leper saved in the days of Elisha the Prophet, it was because but one leper sought his healing. If there was but one man, thirty-eight years sick, who was healed at the pool of Bethesda, it was because only one sought for healing. Our God is not willing that any man should perish. He has written His great “whosoever” over the door of every blessing that He has to proffer.
What then is our conclusion?
Shall the sinner bemoan his fate? Shall the sinner bewail his poverty and his lameness? Not at all. Let him, the rather, know that he can, by faith, be made a partaker of the exuberant joy and rejoicing that characterizes the truly saved. Once more we press this truth, “The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.”
III. A PITIFUL PAUPER SEEKING ALMS INSTEAD OF SALVATION (Act 3:3)
Here is a strange state of affairs. Two ambassadors of Heaven drawing near; two men of faith and of power with God, hard by; two men standing ready and willing to bring. spiritual blessings, but the poor pauper seeing them, “asked an alms.” Here is the statement of Scripture-“Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the Temple asked an alms.”
It is needless to condemn the ignorance and folly of this beggar. He merely allowed the present stress of his need, to hide his greater stress of body and of soul. He asked alms, instead of healing; he asked money, instead of mercy.
Are not many following in his wake? “What did Christ say, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.” Christ was plainly asking, “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” It was after these things that the lame beggar sought; it is after these things that the Gentiles commonly seek, but what shall the spiritually enlightened do? They should seek first the “Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” God who clothes the grass of the field, and God who robes the lily, will add all of these needed physical things.
The ones who seek their pocketbook more than their salvation are not all dead. Those who think more of a herd of swine, than of the presence and mighty working’s of the Saviour, have not all passed and gone.
There are many possessed with the spirit of Esau, who for one morsel of pottage sold his birthright. There are many Lots who can see in the valley of the Jordan a place of splendid pasture, and in Sodom and Gomorrah a great center for commercial success, but they have no vision whatsoever of the all-glorious City, whose Builder and Maker is God. They sell the eternal, the never-dying, the all-magnificent riches of Heaven, for the paltry pennies that may fall into their little tin cup, on earth.
Why should pitiful paupers seek pennies, when they might be securing health and strength and life for evermore? Why should men of great natural ability, of marvelous intellectual efficiency love the world and the things of the world?
IV. A PITIFUL PAUPER SUPPLIED BY GRACE (Act 3:4-6)
There is a little verse that is full of meaning: “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Another Scripture says, “How much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?”
How gracious is this scene: An impotent pauper asking alms, an omnipotent God giving healing and eternal life.
There was something in the penury of the lame man that appealed to Peter and to John. They knew his real need went deeper than a few coins. In fact they had no coins to give, but they had something better by far: Peter quietly, yet forcefully said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”
The gift was offered, the lame man had the opportunity of being healed; the riches of grace stood knocking at His door. The whole matter was up to him, and to his faith. We will notice this in a moment.
Just now let us press this one thing:-God’s bounteous grace. There is no human need that staggers Deity; there is no poverty that impoverishes the Heavenly riches. God is able to make all grace abound, that we, having all sufficiency, may abound, by the glories of His grace.
There was a poor lame beggar, but God passed by, and he was made to walk, and to leap, and to praise God.
There was a man dead in his trespasses and in his sins, but God passed by and he was quickened, raised, and made to sit in the Heavenlies with Christ Jesus.
There was a demon-possessed man driven of the devil in the tombs, but God passed by and the man was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.
V. A PITIFUL PAUPER SHUT UP TO CHRIST (Act 4:12)
As Peter and John stood in the face of the beggar’s greater need, they stood helplessly looking on. What could they do? Had not the man been lame from birth? Had not physicians utterly failed to meet his need?
Thousands of pedestrians might have given the beggar alms, but none could give him strength to walk.
We candidly admit that the world can do much to alleviate the pangs of sin; the world can make the sinner more comfortable in his sins. The world can surround him with “divers pleasures” that may help to assuage the agony of the sorrows that sin’s curses always bring. There is, however, one thing the world cannot do; it cannot save the sinner from his sins; it cannot give life where there is nought but death; it cannot save that which is lost.
God can operate where man stands helplessly by. Peter said, “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” The preacher does not serve in his own power, He is sent of God. He is panoplied of Heaven. His power is, a power of the Spirit, in him, and on him. He has no place for boasting in the victories that attend his ministry. He is only a voice. He is a channel. He is a signboard pointing the way. He preaches not himself, but Christ. He leans not on the arm of his flesh.
The secret of all spiritual blessing is the power of a Living Christ.
VI. A PITIFUL PAUPER SHUT UP TO FAITH (Act 3:7-8)
As Peter and John looked on the lame man, they proffered him healing; they offered it in Christ; they conditioned it on his faith.
They were not adverse to taking the man by the hand, they were glad to do what they could to encourage his faith, they even lifted him up. However, in all it was only when the lame man caught the fire of their faith, and himself believed, that he was healed. His faith is seen in his leaping up, in his walking, in his entering into the Temple, and in his praising God. Peter and John did not keep hold with their hands upon that leaping, rushing, praising man. The lame man did not need their grip to aid his faith, as his own faith grew.
Here is our lesson. Many a man of little faith needs the hand touch, the encouragement which our faith may lend. Let us go to him in person, let us lead him to the Lord. Soon, encouraged by us, he will, himself, be filled with faith, and be able to stand, and walk, and run in the will and way of God.
AN ILLUSTRATION THE ASTONISHED SLAVE
A British merchant, who had taken his passage in a Turkish vessel on the Levant, had his attention drawn, during the voyage, to an interesting slave, a Mussulman, He soon got into conversation with him, and found him intelligent, quick, and of strong, lively affections. He drew from him some particulars of his history, and found that he had been freeborn, but had been made captive in war. The merchant was touched with sympathy for this helpless captive. The more he knew of him, the deeper was the interest he felt in his welfare; and he actually began to entertain the thought of effecting his release. Cautiously inquiring as to the sum requisite for this purpose, he found that it was considerably greater than the mercantile profits of his entire voyage. Still he could not abandon the thought. An offer was at last accepted; but the slave having overheard part of the conversation between the captain and the merchant, and mistaking the design of the latter-supposing that the merchant was purchasing him to retain him in slavery for his own use-he sprang forward, his eyes gleaming with indignation, and cried out, “And do you call yourself a freeborn Briton, an enemy to slavery, and yet purchase me? Have I not as much right to freedom as you have yourself?”
He was proceeding in this strain of burning, indignant invective, when the merchant turned his eyes affectionately upon him, and said, “I have bought you to set you free.” Instantly the storm of passion was hushed: the slave burst into tears, and, falling at the feet of his deliverer, he exclaimed, “You have taken my heart captive! I am your slave for ever!”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
1
Act 3:1. The ninth hour was 3 o’clock in the afternoon. There is no ordinance in either Old or New Testament that designates any certain time as the hour of prayer. Some pious Jews formed a practice of praying daily at regular hours (Psa 55:17; Dan 6:10), but it was a voluntary service. The “daily sacrifice” was required by the law of Moses (Num 28:3-6), and this called for two lambs each day. The second one was offered “at even,” and the margin words it, “between the two evenings,” which was the same as our 3 o’clock, called the ninth hour in the present verse. The Jews formed the practice of going into the temple and engaging in a prayer service at that time, while the priests were out at the altar performing the sacrifice. The apostles were going up to the temple at that time because they knew they would have opportunity of meeting the people, to whom they could preach the Gospel.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 3:1. Peter and John went up together into the temple. These two apostles are constantly mentioned as being together in the later portions of the Gospel, and the earlier ones of the Acts. They were sent by Christ to prepare the upper room for the last Passover. They were most probably both present in the hall of Caiaphas. They both followed Christ (John 21) after His appearance by the sea of Tiberias. They are together here in the Temple. They are afterwards sent out together to confirm the Samarian converts; but after chap. Act 8:14, although, as Wordsworth remarks, St. Peter is mentioned in this book nearly forty times after the occurrence referred to (chap. 8), St. John never appears again. Most likely St. John about that time ceased to be a resident in the Holy City.
At the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. This was about three oclock in the afternoon, the hour of the evening sacrifice. Of the three different hours of prayer, this was the favourite time for the Jews to go up to the Temple, as the busiest time in the day was over, and it happened just before the evening (the principal) meal of the day (see Ewald).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Subdivision 4. (Act 3:1-26; Act 4:1-37.)
The Testing of the Nation.
We are now to see the testing of the nation by the offer of divine grace to it as a whole, -the distinct promise that, even yet, if they will now repent and receive Him, Jesus, though in heaven, will return, and the blessing prophesied for them shall be fulfilled. The commission already given as to the Gentiles lies, therefore, still in abeyance, because the question of relation between Jew and Gentile in the new condition introduced will be affected by the answer given to such an offer. The hostility of the leaders is apparent from the outset; but that which ends hope is that the people as a whole more and more identify themselves with the position of the leaders; and by and by it is from the Jewish element that even in far-off cities the bitterest opposition comes to be found. This is specially roused by the reception of the Gentiles on equal terms with Jews, by which, of course, these forfeit the exclusive privileges they have really so little valued. But this does not fall to be considered yet.
1. A man, lame from his birth, was accustomed to be carried and laid down at the temple gate which was called Beautiful, to solicit alms from those who went into the temple. He cannot but remind us of the similarly impotent man at the pool of Bethesda upon whom the Lord Himself works a like miracle of healing; and as in that case, we cannot but see here the condition of the nation, impotent at a door which impotence could not enter. The dwelling place of God, however nigh, and however beautiful the approach to it might be, was powerless for blessing, and indeed now vacant, -a seemly formalism only. They praised the gate indeed by which none really entered, great as might be the throng of worshipers, into the presence of God. The beggarly, maimed condition, for those who had eyes to see, characterized all who sought that way of approach.
It is in the consciousness of such a state that the power of the Name of Jesus makes itself known. At the ninth hour, being the third hour of prayer, the hour of the evening sacrifice, -the time when the answer to Daniel was vouchsafed, God manifests Himself in answer to that Name by Peter, who with John is going up still among those of whom they are not. Poor in that world in which his Lord had become poor, he has in the One despised by Israel as the Nazarene the secret of a power still available to them, if like the beggar they will but ask an alms. First lifted, he then leaps up and stands, and now enters into the temple a true worshiper. How simple and natural a picture of such an one, to whom, released from his life-bondage, every movement is a new joy, a, leap of the heart to God. The people recognize with amazement this transformation from impotence to exuberant life, and seeing the man holding Peter and John, run to them in the porch called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. Sad reminder of that ruin, from which they would fain believe they have emerged! well will it be if they let this preach to them their need of a Saviour, while they listen to the assurance that He indeed is come.
2. But this involves the story of their sin, which is charged home upon them. They need not look so earnestly on them, (the apostles say,) as if by power of their own, or by reason of their great piety, they had made the man to walk. No, it was the God of their fathers, -of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, from whom they had wandered so far as to be unconscious of His doings, who had acted for the glory of His Servant Jesus whom they had delivered up and even forced His condemnation at the hands of the Gentile governor, when he had given judgment in His favor. They had chosen instead of the Author of life, a murderer! but God had raised Him from the dead; and His Name, through faith in it, had wrought this miracle.
3. Hopeless indeed might their condition seem who had killed the Author of life! That which was their fundamental need they had put from them in a manner seeming to forbid all hope. As the Servant of God, He had come to minister to them, and they had struck down the ministering Hand. The Gentile would have saved whom the Jew put to death: Him whom they knew as the Holy and Righteous, and from whom mercy flowed out still, as it had flowed out in His life.
But the City of Refuge stood open still, as now divine grace assured them. As at the cross He had prayed for them as ignorantly doing what yet they had so heartily done, so now the apostle grounds still upon their ignorance, as the only possible argument in their behalf, an offer once again of mercy. God too had overruled for the accomplishment of His determinate purposes of good this wickedness itself Messiah needs must suffer; and this suffering is of grace on His part. Grace then can manifest itself by its means. Did they repent now, nationally, and turn to God, not only would their sins be blotted out, but the presence of Jehovah would be again manifested in their midst, the unfailing sign of the Spirit’s renewing influence, and He would send once more their appointed Messiah, -Jesus. Not till His return from heaven would come the long expected blessing for the earth, the time to which all prophets have ever been looking forward, -times of restoration physical as well as spiritual. These cannot be, then, while Israel is still in unbelief; and the long season that has elapsed since the offer made to them by the apostle here has been but a time of suspension of the earthly promises. God has, however, in the meanwhile been revealing and carrying into effect other purposes, and of fuller, higher blessing, -of grace therefore more wondrous, the unfolding of which we shall see gradually beginning, as soon as it is clear that Israel as a nation is still going to reject the grace yet being extended towards her, with the full testimony of the Spirit also, to make it good. In what is here before us, the trial is now upon her, and our eyes are directed to the result of this.
The apostle goes on to show the emphatic witness of Moses himself to Christ. A Prophet like to himself he had declared that Jehovah would raise up to them: One whose authority he strongly affirms; not a mere expounder of what had been spoken before, but the Originator of a new dispensation, as was Moses, and necessarily, therefore, in advance of that which he had inaugurated. In the passage in Deuteronomy from which Peter quotes, it is after the inability of the people to draw nigh to God has been demonstrated, and the Lord has acquiesced in their own statement of it, -“They have well said that which they have spoken,” -that He declares that He will raise up to them a new Prophet. Had Moses sufficed, there would not have needed to be another; but the Law must necessarily fail to bring nigh to God. “There shall no man see Me and live” had been His word to the lawgiver himself; and the veil before the holiest bore witness to it throughout the dispensation. But in this failure all fails for man’s blessing; and on this account, as the apostle tells us. God finds fault with the law. There must be, then, another Prophet and a different message. If He be heard, then there opens for the recipient of it that otherwise inaccessible way to God; while, if He be not heard, there is indeed no remedy: “every soul that shall not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” Thus has Moses spoken of One greater than himself. Thank God, though Israel as a nation rejected Him, as we know, in the days to which we are now looking back, yet “Him shall ye hear” is declared in her favor with regard to days to come. The blessing has been long delayed; but in the meanwhile the gospel has risen up above these human barriers to only a more wondrous height, to overflow to the nations with a fuller blessing.
But thus then had Moses spoken; and from Samuel, through a succession of witnesses raised up, the same things had been constantly uttered. The apostle urges them now upon His hearers, as the legitimate heirs, the sons of the prophets, and of the wide-reaching covenant of promise given before the Law, and not crippled by its ineffectiveness. In Abraham’s Seed all the families of the earth would indeed find the blessing. To them, therefore, had Jesus come first of all, to bring it to them, in turning them every one from the iniquities which now were the true hindrance.
4. A sinister interruption here takes place, -the first note of warning from the heads of the people. While the lower classes listened, the religious leaders felt the preaching in the Name of Jesus to be a direct attack upon themselves. The most forward now and henceforth were the Sadducees, with whom the resurrection of the Saviour was the overthrow of their nihilistic creed. How happy might they have been to have their dread negations penetrated by this glorious light from heaven! but, in fact, the more complete the proof of the truth of the gospel, the more they were stirred up against it. Had it been less complete, they would undoubtedly have acted in a milder fashion; but when argument is made impossible, the will that lurks in it stands out from under the cover with the more stubborn energy to win the already decided battle. Of all men, the hopeless Sadducee should have been the most ready for the gospel; but in reality he was more indifferent than hopeless; his creed was positive in the present rather than negative as to the future; a fair world balanced in his mind the dimness of heaven. Thus he might in any wise not have troubled himself about the enthusiasm of the disciples, had not the miracles brought God too near and preached too alarmingly to the conscience. That should have broken him down before God, but that here the fanaticism of the rebellious spirit was aroused to get rid of the truth with the witness to the truth. But the truth not only abides, but sustains the witness also which it has called forth. The apostles are imprisoned; but the number of the converts rises to five thousand men. It seems as if the narrator were thinking, in this manner of statement, of the camp and battle-field.
The morrow comes, and with it the whole council is gathered together. They who have slain the Master now face the disciples, to find them very unlike the timid men they had been. Now it was not they that spoke, but, as it had been promised, the Spirit of their Father that spoke in them. The foremost now in the confession of Christ was he who had, in the very recent past, denied Him; and with none of them was there any hesitation or tremor of soul. They were “in nothing terrified by their adversaries,” which the apostle speaks of afterwards to the Philippians in like case as “to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God” (Php 1:28).
Were they not afraid to put their idle question, when the “power” which had wrought was manifest and before their eyes, and manifestly divine? And did they not tremble to hear -so attested -the Name of Him whom they had slain? Had they heard of Peter’s old denial? and did they dream that even then he might repeat it? Vain hope indeed, if it was theirs! The “Spirit of glory and of God” was filling Peter now; and they had to hear their guilt charged home upon them, and Jesus Christ the Nazarene declared, as His own lips had once intimated, the “Stone” rejected by the builders, as prophecy had forewarned would be the case. Yes, the building of living stones upon this Corner-stone was already taking place, as thousands in Jerusalem were now witness; by which their office of builders had plainly passed from them. Nay, more; there was no salvation either in any other; none other name under heaven given among men, whereby they could be saved!
They do not, in the presence of their persecutors, as before the people, append to this the promise of Christ’s return. This hard-trodden ground must be plowed up, before such good seed as this could be safely committed to it. But they preach salvation, as to perishing men, Sanhedrists as they might be, and doctors of the Law; they themselves in possession of the only security for life and blessing, which they offer with a conscious certainty which, as we know, the teaching of the scribes had not, but which had always characterized their Master’s teaching. Still, as of old, it causes astonishment; illiterate, home-bred men as they plainly were. And there stands with them their voucher, a crippled beggar restored, with a new gladness greater than for his physical healing! Among themselves, when the accused have been for awhile sent aside, the council admit their perplexity. An evident sign has been done which they can as little deny as they choose to accept; and the worst of it is that it has laid hold of the people; -for men with their strong faith in the present an argument most difficult to resist; for such faith seeks no martyrdom. Truth also they seek not, these leaders of the people, but that which is convenient and will preserve their valued authority. They decide therefore that they will threaten the disciples, and forbid their speaking any more in the name of Jesus. If they cannot refute, they can yet forbid. They can make wrong by edict what they cannot prove to be wrong by any argument they possess.
But they find the men intractable beyond their expectation: men to whom God is the fountain of all authority, and whose consciences are, without fear of results, before Him alone. Their course is fixed, to obey God rather than man; and they dare even to appeal to the consciences of their judges in behalf of such a determination. With the council the fear of men is in proportion to the absence of their fear of Him; and this deters them from going further at the present time. They threaten and let them go. For the wave of popular feeling on account of the miracle that has been done is at present not safely to be resisted.
5. The disciples return to their own company; -to how different an atmosphere! The opposition of the enemy had failed, and was destined to fail; it had only given opportunity to set before the whole council of the people the blessed Name which it was their happiness to make known. It had thus furthered their work, not hindered it; and this was but the type and prophecy of all the future, -“He maketh the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He will restrain.” The threatenings only show the restraint actually put upon those whose will for harm could not be doubted, and strengthened in going forward those whom they were intended to intimidate. All this they now report among those greeting them on their return, who answer with an outburst of praise, lifting up their voices to God with one accord, as Sovereign Lord of all that He has created, and who has fulfilled what long He had declared in overruling the conspiracy or Jews and Gentiles against Jehovah and against His Christ. The quotation is from the second psalm, which, according to the common belief among the Jews, they ascribe to David. With strange and terrible unanimity, indeed, had all the world (Jews and Gentiles together) combined against Him with whom was all the hope of the world. But this is only the proof of the thorough sameness of man everywhere, -not only one blood, as God made them, but of one spirit, such as the Fall has made them. Only divine grace has anywhere brought in a difference, and then by a change so great and sovereign that the Spirit of God speaks of it as “new creation.” Israel’s rejection of her Lord was indeed a perfect witness of how all help that could be given him, short of that, must be unavailing, when the Jew it was who clamored for His crucifixion from the unwilling Gentile. So too it was the Jew who was to hound on the heathen persecution of His followers in the time soon to come.
They had accomplished their evil will. There was no resistance. The Light of the world had seemed to be quenched in darkness; but only to rise again in unsetting glory. There had been done just what God’s hand and counsel determined before to be done!
What then could His disciples ask, save for boldness to proclaim and follow Christ? He had been more than content through all to be the Servant of that unique and glorious will. They pray only for the stretching out of God’s hand in such a way as to give them power and courage; and that signs and wonders may be done in Christ’s Name, to carry on that blessed service.
How certain is the answer, when the Lord and His interests are the burden of the prayer! and there is no reserve of self-seeking to give unsteadiness to the faith that would lay hold of Omnipotence! The assurance of being heard is immediately granted them, the place being shaken in which they were gathered together. It is the answer of the Creator, as appealed to, and who will yet “shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and shake all nations,” to bring in Christ (Hag 2:6-7). But also they are all filled with the Holy Spirit, and speak the word with boldness.
Lest we should sigh and say, These are but records of far-off days, let us remember that we are exhorted, and it is part of our responsibility, therefore, to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18.) This is no question of gifts lost to the Church, nor even of exceptional blessing. We may make it, alas, exceptional; but that is another thing. It is but, in fact, a question of devotedness: for the Spirit is here to glorify Christ, not to give impossible brightness to lives lived in the circle of our own petty interests; which, indeed, so far as they answer to this character, are not in any true sense our interests; for these are all secured with Christ on high. We are identified with Him as our Representative before God, to have resting upon us the favor in which He dwells; and He is identified with us as His representatives on earth, for a life for Him as thus sent into it. We see then how fully and simply in place is what we have here. The disciples are full of His interests. How could it be otherwise than that the Witness for Christ on earth should fill them as vessels of testimony for Him? The same argument will always hold good; and the Spirit can never be indifferent to His glory. To suppose any thing else would be to dishonor Him who is come to abide with us forever, and who is yesterday, today, and for ever the same. For us also, every thing else must be shaken, until He is made supreme over all.
There follow also, as surely, the fruits in practical life. The innate selfishness of the heart is surmounted by the influx of spiritual blessing which expands while it overflows it. There was no communistic law among these gathered saints; it would have spoiled all, if there had been; it was a unity of heart which allowed none of them to say that what was really his belonged to him. The sale of lands and houses was optional and unsolicited, as we see by the very specification of those who did this. There was therefore no general renunciation of personal title; but a love that knew no holding back from the need of another. It was the instinct of hearts that had found their real possessions in that sphere into which Christ had risen. The glorious fact of resurrection to which testimony was being given now with power took them of necessity out of the world; and great grace was on them all. The deeper need which could not be thus met found still the means to meet it in the actual sale of possessions on the part of those that had them; so that there were none that lacked: the money being laid at the apostles, feet. It is not necessarily that all sold all they had; but that this was the way in which the need was met: the history following, and which grows out of this, seems to make this plain.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
THE KINGDOM OFFER RENEWED
The disciples are still in Jerusalem, and the preaching is still limited to Jewish hearers. In a sense we are still on Old Testament ground. An illustration of this is found in the previous lesson, for example, in Act 2:38 to repent and be baptized was essential for the remission of sins and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. But this is no longer so when the Gentiles are approached (Act 10:44-48). The Jews who had openly rejected Jesus must openly accept Him in order to receive the blessing, but with the others grace deals in a different way. That is not to say that repentance and baptism are not necessary; repentance is always involved in saving faith; but baptism now follows the gift of the Spirit as a sign of it, rather than precedes it as a condition.
As a further illustration of Old Testament conditions the disciples are still worshipping in the Temple (Act 3:1), at one of whose gates this miracle occurs in the Name of the rejected and now risen One (Act 3:2-11). It is Peters discourse in this case that justifies the title of this lesson, especially verses 19-26. This work had not been wrought in the names of the apostles but in Christs Name, Whom they had crucified (Act 3:12-16). This fulfilled prophecy (Act 3:17-18). Let them now repent that the Lord may send the Messiah who hath been appointed for you (Act 3:20 RV). The inference from all this to the end of the chapter is that had they as a nation repented, the Messiah would have returned at that time to set up His kingdom in Israel.
But the opposite took place as indicated in the next chapter, the facts of which are (1) the arrest of Peter and John (Act 4:1-3); (2) their defense (Act 4:5-12); (3) their threatening and their deliverance (Act 4:13-22); and (4) their return to their own company with the spiritual quickening that followed (Act 4:23-30).
QUESTIONS
1. What is to be remembered in the study of this part of the Acts?
2. Give an illustration of this from the preceding chapter.
3. Also from this lesson.
4. What justifies the title of this lesson?
5. What inference is deducible from this?
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
Observe here, 1. The remarkable diligence and industry of St. Peter and the other apostles in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
At the third hour of the day on the feast of Pentecost, that is, at nine o’clock in the morning, St. Peter preached a sermon, Act 2:14 which by the blessing of the Holy Spirit accompanying it, converted three thousand souls. Here at three o’clock in the afternoon on the same day, (as the learned Dr. Lightfoot notes) he preached a second sermon, which converts five thousand more. This affords at once a good precedent, and a good encouragement to the apostles successors, the ministers of Christ, to the end of the world, for the preaching twice upon the Lord’s day: If, in the room of three and five thousand souls, we be instrumental for the conversion of one single soul, it is infinitely worth the indefatigable pains and diligence of our whole lives.
Observe, 2. The place which the apostle preaches in, the temple; thither the apostles went, not to offer sacrifice, but to inform the Jews, that the law of sacrifices was now abolished by the death of Christ; not to communicate with them in their antiquated worship, but that they might have a larger field to sow the seed of the gospel in.
Observe, 3. The circumstance of time, at the hour of prayer. In all ages, since God had a church in the world, there have been stated times and places for solemn public worship; by which means a sense of God and religion has been preserved and kept up in the world, which otherwise would be in danger of being lost.
The worship of God in the closet will not do this, because it is unseen; but stated, solemn, public worship, glorifies God most, and he accepts it best, The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. The apostles went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer Psa 87:2. Sine stationibus no staret mundus.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The Lame Man at the Beautiful Gate
Peter and John, who once had been partners in the fishing business, are depicted by Luke as going to the temple at the ninth hour, which was one of the hours of prayer. There were at least 2, and some say 3, hours of prayer during a given day. The first was at 9 a.m. and the second 3 p.m., or the third and ninth hours of the day. The apostles may have gone up to the temple at the ninth hour both to pray and to have an opportunity to speak to others about Jesus.
No matter what their purpose, an encounter with a man who had been lame since the time of his birth, more than forty years previous to the time of this occurrence (4:22), gave them a wonderful occasion to preach the gospel. The lame man was lain each day at the temple gate, which was called Beautiful, to ask alms from those entering in to pray ( Act 3:1-2 ). Josephus seems to be describing this gate in Book 5 chapter 5:3 of Wars of the Jews, when he says, “its height was fifty cubits; and its doors were forty cubits; and it was adorned after a most costly manner, as having much richer and thicker plates of silver and gold upon them than the other.” The other gates were all just 30 cubits, or 45′ high.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Act 3:1. Now Peter and John, &c. We are not informed when the fact here recorded took place; but it is probable it was during the days of the feast of pentecost, and while the city was still full of people; went up to the temple Probably to seek an opportunity of preaching to the people, as well as to offer up their prayers and supplications there before God; at the ninth hour One of the solemn hours of prayer. The Jews divided the time, from sunrise to sunset, into twelve hours; which were consequently of unequal length at different times of the year, as the days were longer or shorter. The third hour, therefore, was nine in the morning; the ninth three in the afternoon, but not exactly. For the third was the middle space between sunrise and noon; which, if the sun rose at five, (the earliest hour of its rising in that climate,) was half an hour after eight; if at seven, (the latest hour of its rising there,) was half an hour after nine. The chief hours of prayer were the third and ninth; at which seasons the morning and evening sacrifices were offered, and incense (a kind of emblem representing prayer) burnt on the golden altar.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
III. 1-10. Thus far, the labors of the apostles had met with uninterrupted and most astonishing success. Luke is now about to introduce us to a series of conflicts, in which success and temporary defeat alternate in the history of the Jerusalem church.
(1) Now Peter and John were going up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (2) And a certain man, lame from his birth, was carried thither, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of those entering into the temple: (3) who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked alms. (4) And Peter, earnestly looking on him, with John, said, Look on us. (5) And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. (6) But Peter said, Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. (7) And seizing him by the right hand, he lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankles received strength; (8) and leaping forth, he stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (9) And all the people saw him walking and praising God, (10) and recognized him, that it was he who had sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
This is by no means the first miracle which had been wrought by the apostles since the day of Pentecost; for we have seen, in chapter 2:43 , that many signs and wonders had been wrought, by which the people were filled with awe. But the circumstances attending this miracle were calculated to awaken, as it did, an unusual excitement. The Beautiful gate of the temple, so called because of its magnificent folding doors, fifty feet high and forty feet wide, covered with gold and Corinthian brass, was the favorite pass-way into the temple. The subject of this cure, being laid every day at this gate to beg, was well known to all who frequented the temple. From the natural curiosity of the benevolent in reference to the afflictions of those to whom they minister, it was probably known to all that he had been a cripple from his birth. Besides this, the time of the cure was when a multitude of pious people were entering the temple for evening prayer; and their attention was unexpectedly arrested by the leaping and shouting of the man who was healed. As they witnessed his ecstasy and saw him clinging to Peter and John, no one asked the meaning of the scene, for all saw at once that the cripple had been healed by the apostles, and they stood gazing in amazement upon Peter and John.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Acts Chapter 3
In chapter 3 the Spirit addresses His testimony to the people by the mouth of Peter. God still acted in patience towards His foolish people, and with more than patience. He acts in grace towards them, as His people, in virtue of the death and intercession of Christ-alas! in vain. Their unbelieving leaders silenced the word. [8] The attention of the people is attracted by a miracle that restored strength to a poor lame man, known to all who frequented the temple; and, the multitude crowding to behold him, Peter preaches Christ to them. The God of their fathers, said he, had glorified His servant Jesus, whom they had denied, when Pilate would have set Him free. They had denied the Holy One and the Just-desired a murderer-killed the Prince of Life; but God had raised Him from the dead. And His name, through faith, had healed the impotent man. Grace could esteem their act done as through ignorance, and that as to their rulers also. We here see the Holy Ghost responding to the intercession of Christ: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do! Guilty of the ten thousand talents, the great King remits it them, sending the message of mercy which calls them to repentance. To this Peter invites them: Repent ye, and be converted; so [9] that the time of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, whom the heaven must receive, he tells them, until the time ordained of God for the restoration which should accomplish all that the prophets had foretold. That is to say, he preaches repentance to the Jews as a nation, declaring that, on their repentance, Jesus, who had ascended up to heaven, would return; and the fulfilment of all the blessings spoken of by the prophets should take place on their behalf. The return of Jesus with this object depended (and still depends) on the repentance of the Jews. Meanwhile He remains in heaven.
Moreover Jesus was the prophet announced by Moses: and whosoever would not hear Him should be cut off from the people. His voice still sounded in especial grace by the mouth of His disciples. All the prophets had spoken of these days. They were the children of the prophets, the natural heirs of the blessings which they had announced for Israel, as well as of the promises made to Abraham of a seed in whom all nations should be blessed. To them also in consequence, God, having raised up His servant Jesus, [10] had sent Him to bless them, in turning away every one of them from his iniquities.
Footnotes for Acts Chapter 3
8: It is striking to see the counsels of God and their accomplishment in grace, as far as they were now being fulfilled, so clearly distinguished from the responsibility of those with whom God was dealing. In chapter 2 Peter says, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. God was gathering, according to His own knowledge of what was coming. In chapter 3 he says, God hath sent him to bless you in turning every one of you away from his iniquities. So He had, and patience still waited, though God acted in present grace according to the result known to Himself: 80 in Jeremiah often. Had they repented, God would surely have turned from judgment, as stated also in Jeremiah.
9: Not when. There is no pretence for so translating it.
10: This refers to the time of His life on the earth, though on His intercession there was a renewal of the mercy in testimony to a glorified Christ, who would return on their repentance.
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
1-10. Mt. Zion, where the Holy Ghost fell on the disciples, is in the southwestern part of the city, which is, throughout, the most densely built I ever saw; the streets eight to sixteen feet wide, and frequently arched over, and a house directly over the middle of the streets; while in front of the Temple, on Mt. Moriah, in the southeastern part of the city, there is a large area, said to contain thirty-five acres, and nicely laid with stone, the constituted receptacle of the vast multitudes which convene during the great annual camp meetings, Passover in April, Pentecost in June, and Tabernacles in September. From these considerations the afternoon meeting is moved from Mt. Zion to Mt. Moriah, where they avail themselves of the temple campus for the accommodation of the countless multitudes. The Beautiful Gate stands in the east wall of the city, directly eastward of the temple, in full view of Solomons porch. When I was there in 1895 I gave especial attention to this gate. I found it closed and fastened with such quantities of iron that nothing but battering rams and dynamite could open it. My Arab guide told me that the Moslem prophets lifted their warning voices when Caliph Omar captured Jerusalem, A. D. 637, solemnly warning him to close the Beautiful Gate and keep it closed, as he could only hold the city while that gate was closed; consequently it was promptly closed and made as sure as iron and brass could fasten it; and the Mohammedans, who think their salvation depends on holding Jerusalem, have kept it closed during this wonderful prophetic period, 1,260 years. As a confirmation of this statement of my guide, he pointed me to the tombs immediately outside the gate, jammed up against it. They looked as old as the great rocks of Mt. Moriah. While Mt. Olivet is covered with Jewish tombs, the Mohammedans bury on Mt. Moriah, outside the wall of Jerusalem. All these facts corroborate the testimony of my guide, i. e., that the Beautiful Gate has been closed 1,260 years. According to the same prophecy, it will certainly soon be opened as he prophet period of the Moslem power, according to Bishop Ussher, expired in 1897. Totten and Bimbleby say it is too short, and the true period will expire in 1899. Rest assured, Turkdom is tottering and liable to fall any moment. Daniel (8:25) says: He shall be broken without hand, i. e., not by military power, but by the power of the Almighty. This throws light on the tardiness of Islams fall. Is she not fallen already, and merely kept in status quo by her Christian neighbors for state policy? Jerusalem swarms with beggars. Yet every beggar has his place. When I was there I went to the exchangers twice a day and got a supply of beggar money, so I could pass them. The Turks have about a half-dozen coins ranging from one-fourth of a cent to five cents, very convenient to give to the beggars, as I could not afford to give them the large coins. A man can live fat at Jerusalem on goats milk and barley bread bought from the Arabs for five cents. This beggar, more than forty years old, had his regular place at the Beautiful Gate, where his friends carried him every morning and set him down to beg through the day, no doubt they sharing in the benefactions. Doubtless he had seen Jesus pass through that gate ever and anon. He had heard Him preach and believed on Him (verse
16). Why was he not healed? God makes no mistakes. He is reserved for this important occasion. He is the best-known man in the kingdom. All of the people come to the temple and at the same time pass through this gate. Hence they all get acquainted with him. Peter says, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, arise and walk. In a great ecclesiastical council, one of the popes came along and saw wagon loads of money poured into the coffers of the church. Pausing, he observed, No longer can the church say, Silver and gold have I none. Thomas Aquinas, his eccentric cardinal, standing by, responded, Neither can she any more say, Arise and walk, thus sadly illustrating the loss of power with the loss of poverty. While the Methodists were poor and despised, they swept this continent like a tornado, more than a match for earth and hell. Since we have become rich, evacuated the old log meeting-house for the gorgeous edifice, and exchanged the illiterate pioneer circuit-rider for the collegiate graduate, we have lost our power and lamentably verified Wesleys fears expressed on his death-bed that Methodism would become a dead sect like others.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Act 3:1. Peter and John went into the temple at the hour of prayer. Some read, At the same time Peter and John went into the temple, intimating that this was the afternoon of the day of pentecost. Others conjecture that this miracle was wrought two or three days after the conversion of the three thousand, which is obviously supported by Act 2:41. The same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Hence the five thousand, mentioned in Act 4:4, may include the three thousand, or it may, as is mostly understood, be an addition, making eight thousand in all. The hour of prayer occurred three times a day; morning, afternoon, and evening, which is here called the ninth hour. This threefold act of public worship is said by the ancient rabbins to be of patriarchal institution. So Dr. Lightfoot.
Act 3:2. A certain man, lame from his mothers womb, and now, according to Act 4:22, above forty six years of age, was carried and laid daily at the gate which is called beautiful, to ask alms. There were ten gates which led to the courts of the temple, but this was the gate at which the major part of the people entered; and was built by Herod, who in a long course of years replaced the stones of the temple. Josephus, in his wars of the jews, Act 7:12, calls it the Corinthian gate, because it was made of brass of very exquisite workmanship, and took twenty men every night to shut it. See on Zec 11:1.
In the palace of Hampton court are the cartoons of Raphael, which exhibit seven of the more remarkable occurrences of the new testament. The painter has been singularly successful in the selection of the beggars face. The chin prominent, the features strong, the aspects hungry. The canvass is about twelve feet long, and nine broad. Certainly such paintings in ancient churches very much edified the people, and contributed to the belief of the scripture history.
Act 3:6. Silver and gold have I none. Peter was so absorbed in the glory of his Masters work, that he left the funds of the church to others. Little did he then think that his pretended successor at Rome would take both heaven and earth into his own power. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. How appropriate are both these names. Nazareth, the town on account of which Christ was despised and rejected. Jesus, the Saviour, the name given here to designate his power, majesty, and kingdom; for the names of deity in all places indicate his perfections.
Act 3:8. And he, leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple. The effects on the lame man were the accomplishment of Isaiahs words. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing. The effects on the people were, that if the name of Jesus could restore a man lame and distorted from his birth, he must be the living Word, whom the Father possessed in his own bosom. Pro 8:22. And who said in the creation, Let there be light, and there was light. If he could restore perverted nature from forms so distorted, then he must be the Messiah of whom the prophet had spoken. I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God; and will not save them by the bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. Hos 1:7. God does not say, I will save them by myself, but by the Saviour, by Jehovah their God; not by the might and power of war, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts. The people understanding this, rushed into the church, at all hazards with the synagogue, an army of five thousand men.
Act 3:12. Why look ye so earnestly on us? He turned their eyes, then almost committing idolatry, to see the glory of the Holy and the Just One, whom they had recently denied, and killed the prince of life. Many of the murderers were before him; they heard his bold impeachments, and like culprits stood speechless at the bar. But on the contrite a greater miracle was wrought, in the conversion of five thousand souls, than had been effected on the lame man.
Act 3:13. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus. St. Peter, now preaching to learned jews, uses Isaiahs words in Isa 9:6 : , child, and the holy child Jesus. This Greek word, which Isaiah joins with a child born, and a son given, is in perfect coincidence with his frequent appellation in other places, as in Isa 42:1; Isa 53:11 : obadi, my servant. The Latin versions are not incorrect, when they read Filium suum Jesum, his Son Jesus, because the word designates in the running language of the prophets his descent from the Father.
Act 3:17. And now brethren I wot (I know) that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. The excuse for the rulers is less cogent than that for the people. Our Lord had by his miracles, by his disputations and doctrines, afforded incontrovertible evidence of the divinity of his mission, and had put all his adversaries to silence, He had charged it especially upon the scribes and elders that their ignorance was wilful, the effect of enmity and unbelief, and that they were emphatically the children of the wicked one. He had said, and had given indubitable proof, that he came forth from the Father; that he did whatsoever the Father did; that as the Father knew the Son, so the Son knew the Father, and that he and the Father were one. And while he spake those words, many believed on him, while others were the more blinded by the enmity and corruption of their own hearts. But with respect to the generality of the people, they had been misled and prejudiced by their rulers, and had sinned through ignorance and misconception. Among the rulers themselves there were also some, for whom the apostle, in his great candour, offers a similar plea of extenuation.
Act 3:19. When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. The same phrase is read subjunctively in Act 15:17 : that the residue of men might seek after the Lord. Then the sense flows harmoniously, That the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. God will water a contrite people with showers of his grace, as he waters the parched earth with rain.
Act 3:21. The times of restitution of all things. Peter evidently alludes here to our Saviours words, when he said, it is not for you to know the times and the seasons: Act 1:7. God has reconciled the world and all things unto himself by Christ Jesus; yet the future generations of men, unborn at his death, must suffer and die. Therefore death is the last enemy that shall be destroyed; and there must be times of restitution or restoration of all things. Rom 8:19-22 may be understood in this sense, as is illustrated in the general reflections at the close of Isaiah, in Ezekiel 39., and in the last chapters of the Revelation.
Act 3:22. A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you like unto me. After Peter had declared the exaltation of Christ, he most wisely associates his ministry with that of Moses, and all the holy seers, who have declared that Christ should be an eminent prophet, and a preacher of righteousness. Deu 18:15. Isa 63:2. Especially that he should teach the doctrine of the new covenant to the gentiles, and that the isles should wait for his law. The apostle associates Samuel as the father of the prophets, on the establishment of the kingdom of Israel. He calls his auditory the children of the prophets; for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were seers, and holy men around the altars of their God. Thus he united his ministry with the full strength of the Hebrew prophets, and providence warded off the gathering storm from the priests and sadducees, who did not interrupt him till he had, as it would seem, sufficiently closed his address.
REFLECTIONS.
The glory of the Pentecost was not transient; it was the christian shekinah resting for ever on the church. The healing of this impotent man was a most signal miracle, and the firstfruit that followed the day. He was lame from his birth, and generally known, being a notable beggar at the temple gate. His restoration was effectuated in the middle of the afternoon, and amid the crowd of sober, decent, and intelligent people going to worship. The cure was so notorious, and the whole case so clear, that no man attempted to controvert it. In every view it was a godlike display of celestial power. The conversion of thousands which followed was a farther attestation of its truth, and a correspondent lustre to its glory. Let us improve it with regard to ourselves.
The holy apostles, after the example of their Master, paid attention to the poor, the lame, and the sick, even when they had no money to cover their nakedness, or to relieve their hunger. It is a blessed work in all ministers to do the same: and if they have no money, let them give such as they have.
This impotent man, as is remarked in John 5., may remind every sinner of his lame condition by birth. He is halt, and blind, and poor; an object of pity in the eyes of God, and of all good men.
It was a singular happiness that this man was found that day at the temple gate, and that he had not stayed at home through some slight excuse. Let sinners be instructed by his example. It is their duty to be found in the house of God, using the means to attain the end.
He was desired to look on the apostles. This raised a confident expectation of alms, and I know not what besides, for men in their distributions do not address beggars in this way. So the sinner must look to the Saviour, and with expectations large as the promises.
The impotent man received more than he expected. Perfect soundness was given to his weak and withered limbs. Beauty, proportion, and strength were communicated to his crooked and distorted joints. He walked and leaped in the temple, and attended the council with the apostles the ensuing day. What a striking portrait of converting grace. See that penitent sinner bowed down with a sight and sense of his sins. Mark his silence and his sighs. He secretly groans for redemption through the blood of Christ, and deliverance from the spirit of bondage. By and bye, having opened all his anguish in the ears of heaven, mercy smiles from her frowning clouds, and the love of God is shed abroad in his heart. Then his whole soul, enlarged by the comforts of grace, glorifies God in the church, as the impotent man in the temple.
He was healed by the name of Jesus, that name which had been traduced and slandered as the worst of names. Jesus had been classed with Samaritans, devils, and malefactors. Now, his name was magnified above every name, and his enemies trembled at his power. Guilt whispered that his blood would be visited on their heads. Oh how glorious and energetic is that name in the eyes of awakened sinners. It is life from the dead, it takes away all their sin, it bursts all their bonds, it scatters all their foes, and raises them to participate of all the privileges and glory of their Lord. So now at the gate of the temple, the impotent man was healed; the apostles transferred the reverence of the multitude to their Master, they published the glory of his truth, and thousands were converted by the virtues of his name. Oh Jesus, let thy name to my poor fainting soul be repeated with all its charms, and make me every whit whole by the sanctifying power of love.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Act 3:1-10. Example of the Works of the Apostles.The cure of lame persons is frequently spoken of in the Synoptic Gospels, as a mark of the Messianic age; but no such cure is there recorded. Paul deals with a similar case at Lystra (Act 14:8). The apostles generally, but not invariably, go in pairs, as Luk 10:1 prescribes. So Peter and John here (cf. Act 8:14) go for their devotions to the Temple at 3 P.M., the hour of the evening sacrifice. In the following narrative it is Peter only who acts and speaks. At the gate called Beautiful, possibly the same as Nicanors gate on the E. side of the Temple, and the favourite entrance, they find a man congenitally lame. He asks alms: they ask his whole attention, which he gives them. Peter cannot give him money but has a greater gift for him. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean (as if the full title had to be used for such a work; cf. Actus Petri cum Simone, xi. 13, 16)walk. The power of the Name (Gen 32:29*, 1Co 5:3-5*) at once appears; as Jesus takes the hand of Peters wifes mother to help her to rise (Mar 1:31), so Peter takes the lame mans right hand, and the cure is accomplished. The man leaps up and enters the Temple with the apostles, not merely walking but leaping (Isa 35:6) and praising God. The effect on the crowd is an example of the fear spoken of in Act 2:43.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
In this great work the apostles were not dealing only with large numbers. As Peter and John went to the temple, not to speak, but at the mid afternoon hour of prayer, they contacted a man lame from his birth, laid at the gate of the temple, who begged from them. Drawing the man’s attention to them, Peter tells him he has no silver or gold, but will give what he has. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth the man is healed immediately of his lameness, and not only healed, but given strength to use limbs that had not before been so used. Of course this was absolutely miraculous, the man leaping up, standing, walking, entering with them into the temple, walking, leaping and praising God.
Notice, Peter had not called a healing meeting: it was a matter done personally outside, yet visible to all. The people too were well acquainted with the former condition of the man, so there could be no deception: they were filled with amazement.
When Peter healed the man, he doubtless had no thought of gathering a crowd by this means, but people gathered spontaneously, wondering at what had happened, and Peter took advantage of the occasion to speak to them, first of all disabusing their minds of any thoughts of exalting Peter or John. Admirably He speaks of “the God of Abraham, and of Isaac and of Jacob” (to whom all Israel gave highest respect) as having glorified His servant Jesus, whom Israel had been guilty of delivering up to death in spite of Pilate’s having pronounced Him innocent. They knew Pilate’s strong objection to condemning the Lord to death, and that they, the Jews, had demanded this.
They had denied the Holy and Just One, Israel’s Messiah, and had chosen a traitor and murderer instead. But having killed the Prince of life, now they are faced with the fact that God has taken solemn issue with them in raising Him from among the dead. Of this the apostles were bold, decided witnesses.
Further proof that He is living, though absent, is the fact that His name has been the power by which the lame man had been healed, a man they knew. Peter, by faith, had used that name with such amazing results. It was not in Peter, but in the name of Jesus that tho power was. The man was presented, not only healed, but strong and in perfect soundness of health before them all.
When Peter voiced verse 17 he no doubt had in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luk 23:34). For sins of ignorance there was a sacrifice available for Jews (Lev 5:14). In fact, that sacrifice was accomplished by their Messiah at the very time they were guilty of crucifying Him. God had before declared this by His prophets. What they needed therefore was faith in this gracious Substitute, the one sacrifice to take away their sins.
In repenting of their former attitude toward the Lord Jesus, they would be converted to Him, having their sins blotted out. The verse ends with a promise, however, not “when,” but “so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may send Jesus Christ, who was foreordained for you” (J.N.D.trans.). Jesus had returned on high because rejected by the Jewish nation. Yet if the nation itself would repent and be converted to Him, God was ready to send Him back to introduce the times of kingdom refreshing. Of course, this promise was given in perfectly good faith, yet at the same time God knew that the nation as such would not change their mind concerning Christ. However rebellious Israel was, God would give them full opportunity to repent. This is seen throughout these first chapters in Acts until Chapter 7, when the Spirit’s testimony through Stephen is publicly and absolutely rejected by the nation. The heavens must receive Christ until the times of the restitution of all things prophesied throughout the Old Testament. How little did Peter, or those who heard him, realize that this might be delayed for about 2000 years!
The time of the restitution of all things of refers to “the world to come,” the millennial age; but in the meanwhile Israel has continued in unbelief and the Gospel has spread out to nations the world over, adding great numbers to the church of God. God has overruled Israel’s rebellion for the blessing of hosts of Gentiles.
In verse 22 Peter quotes Moses (Deu 18:15-19) as telling that God would raise up a prophet of the Jewish nation, similar to Moses, but having such authority that His words would allow no ignoring of them. Anyone who would not hear that prophet would be destroyed from among the people. This could apply to no-one but Christ. Leaders in Israel knew of that scripture, and had John the Baptist questioned if he were that prophet (Joh 1:21); but John bore witness to the fact that the Lord Jesus was far greater than he (Joh 3:31-36), and the evidence of Christ’s own life and ministry was transparently clear. John did no miracle, but the miracles of the Lord Jesus were tremendous in number. In fact, Israel knows that neither before nor since has there been such a prophet.
More than this, all the prophets from Samuel onwards testified of Christ and the time of His advent, foretelling many circumstances attending this great event, things that were undeniably fulfilled.
Now Peter appeals to the people on the ground of their being the children of the prophets as well as children of the covenant God made first with Abraham. He does not speak of the covenant of law given by Moses, but of God’s unconditional covenant of promise to Abraham and his seed. His quotation “in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed” finds its answer only in Christ, the one seed of Abraham (Gal 3:16), by whom alone blessing could come and will yet come to all the kindreds of the earth.
We may not be certain as to how fully Peter understood that this prophecy was broadened to include Gentiles, but his own words have this implicit in them, for he says, “unto you first God having raised up His servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning every one of you from his iniquities.” Later it was a difficulty to Peter to think of even entering a Gentile home, so that he required a clear and convincing revelation from God to do so (Act 10:28).
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 1
Ninth hour; about three o’clock in the afternoon.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
3:1 Now {1} Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour].
(1) Christ, in healing a man that was born lame and well known to all men, both in a famous place and at a popular time, by the hands of his apostles partly strengthens and encourages those who believed, and partly also calls others to believe.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
1. External opposition 3:1-4:31
Opposition to the Christians’ message first came from external sources, particularly the leaders of Judaism.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The healing of a lame Man 1:3-10
Luke had just referred to the apostles’ teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (Act 2:43-44; Act 2:46). Now he narrated a specific incident that included these elements. The Gospel writers also chose a healing to illustrate the nature of Jesus’ early ministry (Mat 8:2-4; Mar 1:40-45; Luk 5:12-16; Luk 5:24; Joh 4:46-54). The healing of this man resulted in the leaders of the Jews changing their attitudes toward the disciples from favorable to antagonistic (Act 4:1-4). The Christians were not able to continue to enjoy favor with all the people (Act 2:47).
This is the first of 14 miracles in Acts (by Peter: Act 3:1-10; Act 5:1-11; Act 5:17-26; Act 9:32-42; by an angel: Act 12:1-19; Act 12:20-23; and by Paul: Act 13:4-12; Act 14:8-11; Act 16:16-40; Act 20:7-12; Act 28:3-8). These include four healings (three paralytics and one involving fever), two raisings from the dead, four liberations (two from physical bondage and two involving exorcisms), three acts of judgment, and one preservation miracle. There are also 10 summary notices of miracles in Acts (Act 2:43; Act 5:12; Act 5:15-16; Act 6:8; Act 8:6-7; Act 8:13; Act 14:3; Act 19:11-12; Act 28:9). [Note: Bock, Acts, p. 157.]
"This event shows the community’s compassion and how it meets needs beyond merely material concerns [cf. Act 14:8-11; Luk 5:17]." [Note: Ibid., p. 158.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
B. The expansion of the church in Jerusalem 3:1-6:7
Luke recorded the events of this section to document the continued expansion of the church and to identify the means God used to produce growth. In chapters 3-5 the emphasis is on how the Christians’ witness brought them into conflict with the Jewish leaders.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The John in view was undoubtedly the writer of the fourth Gospel, the brother of James. The temple was Herod’s temple, and the Jewish hour of prayer in view was 3:00 p.m., the other key prayer time for the Jews being 9:00 a.m. (cf. Act 10:9; Act 10:30; Dan 6:10; Dan 9:21; Jdt 9:1). [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14:4:3.] The early Jewish Christians continued to follow their former habits of worship in Jerusalem. The lame man had been in his condition for over 40 years (Act 4:22). Furthermore he had to be carried by others. His was a "hopeless case."
The term "Beautiful Gate" is descriptive rather than specific. We do not know exactly which of the three main entrances into the temple from the east Luke referred to. [Note: See Barrett, pp. 179-80, for a brief discussion of the problem, or Martin Hengel, "The Geography of Palestine in Acts," in The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting; Vol. 4: The Book of Acts in Its Palestinain Setting, pp. 37-41, for a long discussion of the alternatives.] He could have meant the Shushan (or Golden) Gate that admitted people into the Court of the Gentiles from the outside world. [Note: Jack Finegan, The Archaelolgy of the New Testament, pp. 129-30.] He could have meant the Corinthian (or Eastern) Gate that led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Women’s Court. [Note: Longenecker, p. 294; Kent, p. 37; Wiersbe, 1:412.] Another possibility is that it was the Nicanor Gate that led from the Women’s Court into the Court of Israel. [Note: Witherington, p. 174. See Dictionary of the Bible, s.v. "Temple," by W. T. Davies, 4:713-14.] Josephus’ descriptions of the temple do not solve the problem since he described both of these latter gates as very impressive. [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 15:11:5-7; idem, The Wars of the Jews, 5:5:3.] The last two of the above options appear more probable than the first.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 8
THE FIRST MIRACLE.
Act 3:1-6
THE Acts of the Apostles considered as the first history of the Church may be viewed as typical of all ecclesiastical history. It is in this respect a microcosm wherein, on a small scale, we see represented the triumphs and the mistakes, the strength and the weakness, of Gods elect people throughout all the ages. Thus in the incident before us, embracing the whole of the third chapter and the greater portion of the fourth, we have set forth a victory of the Apostles, their subsequent persecution, together with the blessing and strength vouchsafed in and through that persecution. The time of these events cannot be fixed with any great exactness. They occurred probably within a few weeks or months of the day of Pentecost. That is the nearest we can approach to a precise date. There seems indeed to have been a pause after the excitement and success of Pentecost, and for this we think that we can see a good reason. The Apostles must have had plenty to do with the vast multitude gathered upon the day of Pentecost, striving to lead them into a fuller knowledge of the faith. We are apt to imagine at first sight that supernatural enlightenment was vouchsafed to these earliest converts, superseding any necessity for careful and patient instruction, so that upon their baptism the whole work was completed. But when we reflect upon other cases in the New Testament, we can easily see that the three thousand souls converted by St. Peters speech must have needed and received a great-deal of teaching. The Church of Corinth was one of St. Pauls own founding, and upon it he lavished careful attention for a year and a half; yet we see from his Epistles to the Corinthians how much guidance was needed by them even in elementary questions of morals, how rapidly the Church fell into grossest license when deprived of his personal ministrations. Theophilus again, to whom the Acts were addressed by St. Luke, is reminded, in the preface of the Gospel, of the catechetical instruction in Christian truth which he had received. Assuredly, then, the small band of the twelve Apostles and their few male assistants must have had their hands full enough for many weeks after Pentecost, endeavouring to give their converts such an insight into the great principles of the faith as would enable them to carry back to their various distant homes a competent knowledge of the laws and doctrines of the new dispensation. A few moments reflection will show that the newly baptised had much to learn about Christ, -the facts of His life, His doctrines, sacraments, the constitution of His Church, and the position allotted to the Apostles, -before they could be considered sufficiently rooted and grounded in the faith. And if this was so with converts from Judaism, then how much more must such careful instruction after baptism have been found needful in the case of the Gentiles when the time came for their admission? Much preparatory work had been done for the Jews by their Old Testament training. They had not much to learn from the Apostles in practical morality; they had a right conception of God, His character, and His service. But as for the Pagans, their whole intellectual and spiritual life, all their notions and conceptions about God, and life, and morals, were all hopelessly wrong. The Apostles and the earliest teachers had then, and missionaries amongst the heathen have still, to make a clearance of the whole pagan ground, laying a new foundation, and erecting thereon a new structure, intellectual, moral, and spiritual. St. Paul recognised the vast importance of such diligent pastoral work and catechetical training after baptism when writing his pastoral Epistles, because bitter experience had taught him their value. At Corinth for more than two years, and at Ephesus for three years, he had laboured diligently in building up his converts. And notwithstanding all his exertions, how quickly the Corinthians fell away into pagan habits of unbridled license as soon as he left them! The Acts of the Apostles, by this pause in evangelistic work which we here trace, strikes a note of warning concerning the future missionary work of the Church, speaking clearly about the necessity of diligent pastoral care, and prophesying of the certain relapses into wild excesses which may be expected to occur among those who have only bean just rescued from the mire of paganism. This is one explanation of the pause in apostolic work we here seem to perceive.
Again, the analogy of the faith, the laws of human nature, suggest the need of a period of restful calm after the Pentecostal excitement, and previous to any new and successful advance. So it has been in Gods dealing in the past. The excitement connected with the first attempts made by Moses to rescue his people was followed by the forty years exile in Midian, which again led to their triumphant rescue from bondage. Elijahs victory over Jezebel and her idol priests was followed by the retreat of forty days to Horeb. The excitement of our Lords baptism was succeeded by the forty days fast in the wilderness. The human mind cannot be ever on the strain. Excitement must be followed by repose, or else the course of action adopted will be hurried, imperfect, transient in its results. The works of God in nature are never such. As a modern poet has nobly sung-
“One lesson, Nature, let me learn of thee; One lesson which in every wind is blown; One lesson of two duties kept at one, Though the loud world proclaim their enmity”; – “Of toil unseverd from tranquillity; Of labour, that in lasting fruit outgrows Far noisier schemes, accomplished in repose, Too great for haste, too high for rivalry.”
There are great calm and dignity in nature; and there were great calm and dignity in grace when God was laying the foundations of His kingdom by the hands of His Apostles. There never was an age which more needed this lesson of nature and grace alike than this nineteenth century. The religion of the age has been infected by the Spirit of the world, and men think that the fortresses of sin and ignorance will fall, provided there be used a sufficient quantity of noise, of puffing, and of excitement. I do not wish to find the slightest fault with energetic action. The Church of Christ has been in the past perhaps a little too dignified in its methods and operations. It has hesitated, where St. Paul never would have hesitated, to adapt itself to changed circumstances, and has ofttimes refused, like a timorous lawyer, to venture on some new and untried sphere because there was no precedent. The Reformers and their first followers were an illustration of this. The utter lack of missionary spirit and effort among the Reformers is one of the darkest blots upon their history. How sadly they contrast with the Jesuit Society, which started into existence at the same period of the worlds history. No one is more keenly alive to the faults and shortcomings of that world-renowned Society than I am, yet I heartily admire the energy and devotion with which, from its earliest days, the Society of Jesus flung itself into missionary work, endeavouring to repair the losses which the Papacy sustained in Europe by fresh conquests in India, China, and America. The Reformers were so busy in bitter controversies among themselves, and so intent upon endeavouring to fathom Gods decrees and purposes, that they forgot the primary duty of the Church to spread the light and truth which it has received; they were deficient in Christian energy, and thus brought upon themselves the blight and curse of spiritual barrenness. Controversy evermore brings with it the desolation of spiritual leanness. Men cease to really believe in a religion which they only know upon paper, and only think of as a thing to be discussed. Living contact with human souls and human wants saves religion, because it translates it from a mere dead dogma into a living fact. A man who has come to doubt doctrinal statements which he has never verified, will be brought back to faith by the irresistible evidence of sinful lives changed and broken hearts comforted.
The Church of England has again and again manifested this spirit. In Ireland she refused to give the nation the Liturgy and the Bible in the Irish tongue. In Wales she hesitated in condescending to vulgar wants, and long refused to bestow a native episcopate upon the Celts of England, because the evil tradition of centuries, down from the age of the Norman conquest, had ordained that no Welshman should be a bishop. But still, while I am opposed to the Church binding itself in fetters of that kind, I am equally of opinion that there is a middle course between dignified idleness and extravagant carnal sensationalism. I have heard efforts advocated for home missionary work which, I am sure, would never have met with the approbation of the first missionaries of the Cross. The Church must be energetic, but the Church need not adopt the methods of quack medicine-sellers, or of the strolling circus. Such methods were not unknown in the primitive ages of the Church.
The preachers of the Stoic philosophy strove in the second century to counteract the efforts of the Christian Church by reforming paganism, and by preaching it vigorously. They adopted every means to attract the public attention and interest-eccentricity, vulgarity, coarseness; and yet they failed, and were defeated by a society which trusted, not in human devices and carnal forces, but in the supernatural power of God the Holy Ghost. The Montanists again, towards the close of the second century, fell into the same error. The Montanists are in many respects one of the most interesting of the early Christian sects. They tried to retain the customs and the spirit of apostolic Christianity, but they mistook the true methods of action. They confounded physical excitement with spiritual fervour, and strove by weird dances and strange cries, borrowed from the pagans of the Phrygian mountains, to bind to themselves the sweet influences of the Heavenly Comforter. The Church of that period diligently avoided the error of pagan Stoics and of Christian schismatics. As it was in the second century, so was it just after Pentecost. The Church followed close upon its Masters footsteps, of whom it was said, “He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets,” and developed in quietness and retirement the spiritual life of the thousands who had crowded into the door of faith which Peter had opened.
Again there is a lesson in this period of pause and seclusion, not merely for the Church in its corporate capacity, but for individual souls. The spirit of interior sanctity is nourished most chiefly during such times of retirement and obscurity. Obscurity has indeed many advantages when viewed from the standpoint of the spiritual life. Publicity and high station and multiplicity of affairs bring with them many disadvantages. They deprive us of that peace and calm which enable a man to contrast the things of time with those of eternity, and to value them in their true light. Over-activity, fussiness, even in the most spiritual matters, is a dire enemy of true heart belief, and therefore of true strength of spirit. The Master Himself felt it so. There were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. Then it was He said, “Come ye into the desert, that ye may rest awhile.” The excitement and strain of Pentecost, and all the subsequent efforts which Pentecost entailed, must have told seriously upon the Apostles, and so they imitated the Master, that they might renew their exhausted vigour at its primal fountain. How many a man, busy in missions, or preaching, or the thousand other forms which evangelistic and religious work now takes, would be infinitely better if this apostolic lesson were duly learned. How many a terrible scandal has arisen simply from a disregard and contempt for it. If men will think they can labour, as this passage shows the Apostles could not, without thought and reflection, and interior communion with God; if they will spend all their strength in external effort and never make time and secure seasons for spiritual replenishment, they may create much noise for a time, but their toil will be fruitless, and if they are saved themselves it will only be as by fire.
The period of retirement and obscurity came, however, to an end at last. The Apostles never intended to form an order purely contemplative. Such an idea, in fact, never could have entered into the mind of one of those early Christians. They remembered that their Master had expressly said, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” and salt is useless if kept stored up in a vessel by itself, and never applied to any object where its curative properties might have free scope. When the spirit of Eastern gnosticism, springing from the dualism of Persia, invaded the Church, and gained a permanent hold within it, then men began to despise their bodies and life, and all that life entails. Like Eastern fanatics, they desired to abstract themselves as much as possible from the things and duties of the present, and they invented, or rather adopted from the farther East, purely contemplative orders, which spent useless lives, striving, like their prototypes of India, to rise superior to the positions which God had assigned them. Such were not the Apostles. They used rest, contemplation-they did not abuse them; and when their tone and power were restored, they issued forth again upon the field of religious activity, and joined in the public worship of the crowd. “Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.”
The action of Peter and John in thus frequenting the temple worship gives us a glimpse into the state of feeling and thought which prevailed then and for a great many years after in the Church of Jerusalem. The Church of that city naturally clung longest of all to the old Jewish connection. Eusebius, in his “Ecclesiastical History” (4:5), tells us that the first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were Hebrews, and that all the members of the Church were Hebrews too. It was only, in fact, upon the final destruction of Jerusalem, which happened under Hadrian, after the rebellion of Barcochba, A.D. 135, that the Church of Jerusalem shook itself completely free from the trammels of Judaism.
But in those earliest days of the Church the Apostles naturally could not recognise the course of the Divine development. They cherished the notion that Judaism and Christianity would be found compatible the one with the other. They had not yet recognised what St. Stephen first of all, and then St. Paul, and most chiefly the author of the Hebrews, came to recognise, that Judaism and Christianity as full-blown systems were absolutely antagonistic; that the Jewish dispensation was obsolete, antiquated, and must utterly fade before a nobler dispensation that was once for all to take its place. It is hard for us to realise the feelings of the Apostles at this great transition epoch, and yet it is well for us to do so, because their conduct is full of lessons specially suited for seasons of transition. The Apostles never seem to me more clearly under the direction of the Divine Spirit than in their whole course of action at this time. They proceeded in faith, but not in haste. They held firmly to the truths they had gained, and they waited patiently upon God, till the course of His providence showed them how to co-ordinate the old system with the new truths, -until He had taught them what parts of the ancient covenant should be dropped and what retained. Their conduct has instruction very suitable for the present age, when God is giving His Church fresh light on many a question through the investigations of science. Well, indeed, will it be for Christian people to have their hearts grounded, as the Apostles were, in a spirit of Divine love, knowing personally in whom they have believed; and then, strong in that inner revelation of God to the spirit, which surpasses in might and power all other evidences, they may patiently wait the evolution of His purposes. The prophetic declaration is true for every age, “He that believeth will not make haste.”
The circumstances of the first apostolic miracle were simple enough. Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of the evening sacrifice. They were entering the temple by the gate well known to all dwellers at Jerusalem as the Beautiful Gate, and there they met the cripple whom they healed in the name and by the power of Jesus of Nazareth. The spot where this miracle was performed was familiar to the Jews of that day, though its precise locality is still a matter of controversy. Some hold that this Beautiful Gate was one described by Josephus in his “Wars of the Jews” (5:5, 3) as surpassingly splendid, being composed of Corinthian brass, and called the Gate of Nicanor. Others think that it was the gate Shushan, which stood in the neighbourhood of Solomons Porch; while others identify it with the gate Chulda, which led into the court of the Gentiles. It was most probably the first of these which was situated on the eastern side of the outermost court of the temple, looking towards the valley of Kedron. Here was gathered a crowd of beggars, such as then frequented the temples of the pagans as well as of the Jews, and such as still throng the approaches of Eastern and many Western churches. Out of this crowd one man addressed Peter and John, asking an alms. This man was well known to the regular worshippers in the temple. He was a cripple, and one long accustomed to haunt the same spot, for he was above forty years old. Peter replied to his prayer in the well-known words, “Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk”; and then he performed one of the few miracles ascribed to the direct action of St. Peter. Here it may be asked, Why was this miracle of healing the cripple at the temple gate the only one recorded of those earliest signs and wonders wrought by apostolic hands? The answer seems to be threefold: this miracle was typical of the Churchs future work; it was the occasion of St. Peters testimony before the Sanhedrin; and it led up to the first persecution which the Jewish authorities raised against the Church.
Viewing the Acts of the Apostles as a type of what all Church history was to be, and a Divine exposition of the principles which should guide the Church in times of suffering as well as in times of action, we can see good and solid reasons for the insertion of this particular narrative. First, then, this miracle was typical of the Churchs work, for it was a beggar that was healed, and this beggar lay helpless and hopeless at the very doors of the temple. The beggar typified humanity at large. He was laid, indeed, in a splendid position, -before him was extended the magnificent panorama of hills which stood round about Jerusalem; above him rose the splendours of the building upon which the Herods had lavished the riches and wonders of their gorgeous conceptions, -but he was nothing the better for all this material grandeur till touched by the power which lay in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And the beggar of the Beautiful Gate was in all these respects the fittest object for St. Peters earliest public miracle, because he was exactly typical of mankinds state. Humanity, Jew and Gentile alike, lay at the very gate of Gods temple of the universe. Men could discourse learnedly, too, concerning that sanctuary, and they could admire its beauteous proportions. Poets, philosophers, and wise men had treated of the temple of the universe in works which can never be surpassed, but all the while they lay outside its sacred precincts. They had no power to stand up and enter in, leaping, and walking, and praising God. It is very important, in this age of material civilisation and of intellectual advance, that the Church should insist vigorously upon the great truth taught by this miracle. The age of the Incarnation must have seemed to the men of that time the very acme of civilisation and of knowledge; and yet the testimony of all history and of all literature is that just then mankind was in the most deplorable state of moral and spiritual degradation. The witness of St. Paul in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans is amply borne out by the testimony, conscious and unconscious, of pagan antiquity. A writer of the last century, now to a great extent forgotten, Dr. Leland by name, investigated this point in the fullest manner in his great work on the necessity of a Divine revelation, demonstrating that mankind, even when highly civilised, educated, cultured, lies like a beggar at the door of the temple, till touched by the hand and power of the Incarnate God.
This miracle of healing the beggar was typical of the Churchs work again, because it was a beggar who thus received a blessing when the Church roused itself to the discharge of its great mission. The first man healed and benefited by St. Peter was a poor man, and the Churchs work has ever led her to deal with the poor, and to interest herself most keenly in their wellbeing. This first miracle is typical of Christian work, because Christianity is essentially the religion of the masses. At times, indeed, Christian teachers may have seemed to rank themselves on the side of power and riches alone; but then men should take good care to distinguish between the inconsistent conduct of Christian teachers and the essential principles of Christianity. The founder of Christianity was a carpenter, and its earliest benediction pronounced the blessedness of those that are poor in spirit, and ever since the greatest triumphs of Christianity have been gained amongst the poor. Christian hagiology, Christian legend, and Christian history alike, have combined to attest this truth. The Church calendar is decorated with lists of saints, some of them of very doubtful character, while others of them have stories connected with their careers full of meaning and rich with lessons for this generation. Thus, for instance, October 25th is the feast of a martyr, St. Crispin, from whom the great trade of shoemakers is designated. “The sons of St. Crispin” is a title going back to the earliest ages of the Churchs love. St. Crispin was a Roman senator, brought up and nourished amid all that luxury with which pagan Rome surrounded the children of the highest classes. Crispin became acquainted with the faith of the followers of the Carpenter of Nazareth amid the dire persecutions which marked the final struggle between Christianity and paganism under the Emperor Diocletian during the earliest years of the fourth century. He was baptised, and feeling that a life of gilded idleness was inconsistent with his Masters example, he resigned his place, position, and property, retired into Gaul, and there devoted himself to the trade of shoemaking, as being one which could be exercised in great quietness. Manual toil was at that time considered an occupation fitted only for slaves, for we ought never to forget that the dignity of labour is no human invention, nor is it part of the religions of nature. Nay, rather, the dignity of idleness was the doctrine of Greek and Roman paganism. St. Crispin recognised the great law of labour taught by Christ and taught by His Apostles, and became the most successful of shoemakers, preaching at the same time the gospel with such success that the persecutors selected him as one of their earliest victims in that district of Gaul where he resided. It has been just the same in every age. The true power of the Church has been ever displayed in preaching the gospel to the children of toil. An interesting example of this may be gathered from an age which we are apt to think specially dark. In mediaeval times the secular or parochial clergy became very lax and careless throughout these islands. The mendicant friars, the followers of St. Francis, came and settled everywhere in the slums of the great towns, devoting themselves to the work of preaching to the poor. And they speedily attained a marvellous power over men. The Franciscans in the thirteenth century were exactly like the early Methodists in the last century. Both societies placed their chapels among the abodes of want; there they laboured, and there they triumphed, because they worked in the spirit and power indicated by this first recorded miracle of the beggar healed at the temple gate. It will be a bad day for religion and for society when the Church ceases to be the Church and champion of the weak, the downtrodden, the destitute. Here, however, lies a danger. Its work in this direction must be done in no one-sided spirit. Christianity must never adopt the language or the tone of the mere agitator. I fear that some who now pose as specially the champions of the poor are missing that spirit of mental balance and fairness which will alone enable them to be Christian champions, because seeking to do justice unto all men. It is easy enough to flatter any class, rich or poor; and it is specially tempting to do so when the class so flattered chances to hold the reins of political power. It is very hard to render to all their due, shrinking not from telling the truth, even when unpleasant, and reproving the faults of those whose side we favour. A Christianity which triumphs through appeals to popular prejudices, and seeks a mere temporary advantage by riding on the crest of popular ignorance, is not the religion taught by Christ and His Apostles.
But yet, again, the conversion of this beggar was effected through his healing; and here we see a type of the Churchs future work. The Church, then, as represented by the Apostles, did not despise the body, or regard efforts after bodily blessing as beneath its dignity. Spiritual work went hand in hand with healing power. This has been a lesson which Christian people, at home and abroad, have been slow enough to learn. The whole principle, for instance, of medical missions is covered by this action on the part of the Apostles. For a long time the Church thought it was its solitary duty to preach the gospel by word of mouth, and it has only been in comparatively modern days that men have learned that one of the most powerful means of preaching the gospel was the exercise of the healing art; for surely if the gift of healing, conveyed from God by supernatural means, could be an effective help towards evangelistic work, the same gift of healing, conveyed from precisely the same source by natural channels indeed, but channels none the less truly Divine, can still be effective to the same great end. The Church should count no human interest beyond its sway, and should take the keenest interest and claim a living share in every portion of lifes work. At home or abroad the bodies of men are under her care as well as their souls, because bodies as well as souls have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and both alike await their perfection and glorification through Jesus Christ. Schools, hospitals, sanitary and medical science, the dwellings and amusements of the people, trade, commerce, all should be the care of the Church, and should be based on Christs law, and carried out on Christian principles. The Incarnation of Christ has given a deeper meaning that he ever dreamt of to the pagan poets words, –
“Homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum puto.”
We think, furthermore, that this miracle has been divinely recorded because it was the occasion of St. Peters testimony both to the people and to their rulers. Let us strive to realise the circumstances and the locality. Peter and John, going up to the temple, met this impotent beggar at the entrance to the Court of the Women, into which the Beautiful Gate led. Our modern notions about churches confuse all true conceptions concerning the temple. The vast majority of people, when they think of the temple, form to themselves an idea of a vast cathedral, when they ought instead to think of a large college, with square succeeding square and court following court. As Peter and John ascended the temple hill they came first to the Court of the Gentiles, which served as a market and in which a crowd of mendicants were assembled to solicit alms. Out of this Court of the Gentiles the Beautiful Gate led into the Court of the Women, which was reserved for the ordinary religious offices of the Jewish people. One of the beggars addressed the Apostles, soliciting a gift; whereupon the Apostles worked the miracle of healing. Upon this a crowd collected, attracted by the excited conduct of the man who had received such an unexpected blessing. They ran together after the manner of all crowds which assemble so easily and so rapidly in a city, and then hurrying into the cloister called Solomons Porch, which was a remnant of the ancient temple, heard the address of St. Peter. It must have been a spot filled with cherished memories for the Apostle. Every Jew naturally venerated this cloister, because it was Solomons; just as men in the grandest modern cathedral still love to point out the smallest relic of the original structure out of which the modern building new. At San Clemente, in Rome, the priests delight to show the primitive structure where they say St. Clement ministered about the year A.D. 100 At York the vergers will indicate far down in the crypt the fragments of the earliest Saxon church, which once stood where that splendid cathedral now rears its lofty arches. So, too, the Jews naturally cherished this link of continuity between the ancient and the modern temples. But for St. Peter this Solomons Porch must have had special memories over. and above the patriotic ideas that were linked with it. He could not forget that the very last feast of the Dedication which the Master had seen on earth, He walked in this porch, and there in His conversation with the Jews claimed an equality with the Father which led them to make an attempt on His life.
Here, then, it was that within twelve months the Apostle Peter makes a similar claim on his Masters behalf, in a discourse which extends from the twelfth to the twenty-sixth verse of the third chapter. That discourse has two distinct divisions. It sets forth, first, the claims, dignity, and nature of Christ, and then makes a personal appeal to the men of Jerusalem. St. Peter begins his sermon with an act of profound self-renunciation. When the Apostle saw the people running together, he answered and said, “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we made this man to walk?” The same spirit of renunciation appears at an earlier stage of the miracle. When the beggar solicited an alms, Peter said: “Silver and gold have I none: but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” One point is at once manifest when St. Peters conduct is compared with his Masters under similar circumstances. St. Peter acts as a delegate and a servant; Jesus Christ acted as a principal, a master, -the Prince of Life, as St. Peter calls Him in the fifteenth verse of this third chapter. The distinction between the miracles of Christ and the miracles of the Apostles declares the New Testament conception of Christs dignity and person. Compare, for instance, the narrative of the healing of the impotent man at the Pool of Bethesda, told in the fifth chapter of St. John, with that of the healing of the impotent man laid at the temple gate. Christ said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” He made no appeal, He used no prayer, He invoked no higher name. He simply spake and it was done. The Apostle Peter, the rock-man, the leader of the apostolic band, takes the greatest care to assure the multitude that he had himself neither power nor efficacy in this matter, and that all the power lay in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Now, leaving aside for the moment any question of the truth or reality of these two miracles, is it not manifest from these two parallel cases that the New Testament writings place Jesus Christ on an exalted standpoint far above that of any human being whatsoever; in a position, in fact, which from the boldness and magnificence of its claims can only be fitly described in the language of the Nicene Creed as “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God.”
St. Peters words teach another lesson. They are typical of the spirit which should ever animate the Christian preacher or teacher. They turn the attention of his hearers wholly away from himself, and exalt Christ Jesus alone. And such has ever been and ever must be the secret of successful preaching. Self-consciousness, in fact, injures the effect of any kind of labour. The man who does not lose himself in his work, of Whatever kind – political, philanthropic, or religious-his work may be, but is overthinking of himself and the results of his actions upon his own prospects, can never become an enthusiast; and it is only enthusiasm and enthusiastic action which can really affect mankind. And surely the preacher of Christian truth who thinks of himself rather than of the great subject of his mission, who only preaches that he may be thought clever or eloquent, debases the Christian pulpit, and must be an awful failure in that day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. St. Peter here, John the Baptist in still earlier days, ought to be the models for Christian teachers. Men came to the Baptist, did him homage, yielded him respect; but he pointed them from himself to Christ. He was a lamp, but Christ was the light; and the Baptists teaching reached its highest, noblest level when he turned his disciples gaze away from himself, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Let me, however, not be mistaken. I do not mean to say that a Christian teacher, whether writer or speaker, should never allow a single reflex thought as to his own performances to rise in his mind, should never desire to preach ably or eloquently. A man who could set up such a standard must be ignorant of human nature and of Scripture alike. One cannot, for instance, read St. Pauls Second Epistle to the Corinthians without noting how sorely he was touched by his own unpopularity amongst them and the successful machinations of his opponents. Daily experience will prove that no attainments in the spiritual life will prevent a man from valuing the esteem and recognition of his fellow men. But such a desire to please and be successful must be kept in stern control. It must not be the great object of a Christian. It must never lead him to keep back one jot or tittle of the counsel of God. The natural desire to please must be closely watched. It easily leads men to idolatry, to the installation of human fame, power, influence, gold, in the place of that Eternal Saviour whose worship ought to be the great end and the true life of the soul.
St. Peter, after his act of abnegation and self-humiliation, then proceeds to set forth the claims and to narrate the history of Jesus Christ, and in doing so enters into the particulars of His trial and condemnation, which he charges boldly home upon his listeners, who, as distinguished from his audience on the day of Pentecost, were most probably the permanent residents in Jerusalem. The Apostle narrates the events of our Lords trial just as we find them in the Gospels-His interviews with Pilate, the outcry of the people, the choice and character of Barabbas. He asserts His resurrection, and implies, without asserting, His ascension, by the words, “Whom the heavens must receive until the times of the restitution of all things.” The primitive gospel of St. Peter was just like that taught by St. Paul, as he puts it forward in the fifteenth chapter of First of Corinthians, “Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I have received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures: and that He was buried, and that He rose again.” The earliest message, proclaimed by St. Paul or St. Peter, was one and the same; it was a declaration of certain historical facts, and what it was then such it must ever remain. Whenever the historical facts are disbelieved, then men may speak beautifully of the spiritual ideas and the moral truths symbolised by Christianity, just as Hypatia and the Neo-Platonists of Alexandria could speak in picturesque language concerning the deep poetic meaning of the old pagan legends. Poetry and legends are, however, the veriest husks wherewith to support an immortal soul under the great trials of life; and when that day comes for any soul when the great historical facts set forth in the Creed are rejected, then Christianity may remain in name and appearance, but it will cease to be the gospel of joy and peace and comfort, for the human soul can only sustain itself in the supreme moments of sorrow, separation, and death by the solid realities of fact and truth.
St. Peter, again, in this sermon leaves us a type of what Christian sermons should be. He was plain-spoken, yet he was tender and sympathetic. He was plain-spoken. He does not hesitate to state the crimes of the Jews in the most vigorous language. God had glorified His servant Jesus, but they delivered Him up to the agents of the idolatrous Romans; they denied Him, desired a murderer to be granted in place of the Prince of Life; urged His death when even the Roman judge would have let Him go, -and all this they had done to the long-expected and long-desired Messiah. Peter is not wanting in plainness of speech. And the Christian teacher, whether clergyman or layman, whether a pastor in the pulpit, a teacher in the Sunday-school, or the editor of a newspaper at his desk, ought to cultivate and exercise the same Christian boldness and courage. The true Christian ideal will be attained by following St. Peters example on this occasion. He combined boldness and prudence, courage and gentleness. He spoke the truth in all honesty, but he did not adopt an attitude or use language which would arouse unnecessary opposition. What courtesy, what sympathetic, charitable politeness is manifest in St. Peters excuse, which he offers in the course of his sermon for the Jews, rulers and people alike! “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” Some men think that prudence is an idea which should never enter the head of a messenger of Christ, though no one impressed more frequently the necessity of that great virtue than did the Master, for He knew how easily imprudence may undo all the good that faithfulness might otherwise attain. Wisdom like the serpents, gentleness like the doves, was Christs own rule for His Apostles. Boldness, and courage, and honesty, are blessed things, but they should be guided and moderated by charity. Earthly motives easily insinuate themselves into every mans heart, and when a man feels urged on to declare some unpleasant truth, or to raise a violent and determined opposition, he should search diligently, lest that while he imagines himself following a heavenly vision and obeying a Divine command, he should be only yielding to mere human suggestions of pride, or partisanship, or uncharitableness.
Chapter 9
THE FIRST PERSECUTION.
Act 4:1-3; Act 4:5-7
THE fourth chapter of the Acts brings the Apostles into their first contact with the Jewish state organisation. It shows us the secret springs which led to the first persecution, typical of the fiercest that ever raged against the Church, and displays the calm conviction and moral strength by which the Apostles were sustained. The historical and local circumstances narrated by St. Luke bear all the marks of truth.
I. The miracle of healing the lame man had taken place in Solomons porch or portico, which overlooked the Kedron valley, and was a usual resort as a promenade or public walk, specially in winter. Thus we read in Joh 10:22-23, that our Lord walked in Solomons porch and it was winter. Solomons porch looked towards the rising sun, and was therefore a warm and sunny spot. It was popular with the inhabitants of Jerusalem for the same reason which led the Cistercians of the Middle Ages, when building magnificent fabrics like Fountains Abbey, to place their cloister garths, where exercise was taken, on the southern side of their churches, that there they might receive and enjoy the heat and light of our winter sun.
The crowd which was collected by Peter soon attracted the attention of the Temple authorities, who had a regular police under their control. The Jews were permitted by the Romans to exercise the most unlimited freedom within the bounds of the temple to secure its sanctity. In ordinary cases the Romans reserved to themselves the power of capital punishment, but in the case of the temple and its profanation they allowed it to the Sanhedrin.
An interesting proof of this fact has come to light-of late years, attesting in a most striking manner the accuracy of the Acts of the Apostles. Josephus. in his “Antiquities,” {15:11:5} when describing the Holy Place, tells us that the royal cloisters of the temple had three walks, formed by four rows of pillars, with which they were adorned. The outermost walk was open to all, but the central walk was cut off by a stone wall, on which were inscriptions forbidding foreigners-that is, Gentiles-to enter under pain of death. Now in the twenty-first chapter of the Acts we read that a supposed breach of this law was the occasion of the riot against St. Paul, wherein he narrowly escaped death.
The Jews were actually about to kill St. Paul when the soldiers came upon them. To this fact, Tertullus the orator, when speaking before the governor Felix, alludes, and that without rebuke, saying of St. Paul, “Whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.” {Act 24:6} Here comes in our illustration of the Acts derived from modern archaeological research. Some few years ago there was discovered at Jerusalem, and there is now laid up in the Sultans Museum at Constantinople, a sculptured and inscribed stone, containing one of these very Greek notices upon which the Apostles must have looked, warning Gentiles not to enter within the sacred bounds, and denouncing against transgressors the penalty of death which the Jews sought to inflict upon St. Paul. Now it was just the same about the other details of the temple worship. Inside the sacred area the Jewish law was supreme, and Jewish penalties were enacted. In order, therefore, that the temple might be duly protected the priests watched in three places, and the Levites in twenty-one places, in addition to all their other duties connected with the offering of the sacrifices and the details of public worship. These guards discharged the duties of a sacred or temple police, and their captain was called the captain of the temple, or, as he is denominated in the Talmud, “The ruler of the mountain of the House.”
Much confusion has, indeed, arisen concerning this official. He has been confounded, for instance, with the captain of the neighbouring fortress of Antonia. The Romans had erected a strong, square castle, with lofty walls, and towers at the four corners, just north of the temple, and connected with it by a covered way. One of these flanking towers was one hundred and five feet high, and overlooked all the temple area, so that when a riot began the soldiers could hurry to quell it. The captain of the garrison which held this tower is called, in our version, the chief captain, or, more properly, the chiliarch, or colonel of a regiment, as we should put it in modern phraseology. But this official had nothing whatever to say to questions of Jewish law or ritual. He was simply responsible for the peace of Jerusalem; he represented the governor, who lived at Caesarea, and had no concern with. the disputes which might arise amongst the Jews. But it was quite otherwise with the captain of the temple. He was a Jewish official, took cognisance of Jewish disputes, and was responsible in matters of Jewish discipline which Roman law respected and upheld, but in which it did not interfere. This purely Jewish official, a priest by profession, appointed by the Jewish authorities, and responsible to them alone, appears prominently on three distinct occasions. In the twenty-second of St. Lukes Gospel we have the account of the betrayal by the traitor Judas. When he was meditating that action he went first to the chief priests and the captains to consult with them. A Roman commander, an Italian, a Gaul, or possibly even a Briton, -as he might have been, for the Romans were accustomed to bring their Western legionaries into the East, as in turn they garrisoned Britain with the men of Syria, -would have cared very little whether a Galilean teacher was arrested or not. But it was quite natural that a Jewish and a temple official should have been interested in this question. While again on this occasion, and once more upon the arrest of the Apostles after the death of Ananias and Sapphira, the captain of the temple appears as one of the highest Jewish officials.
II. We see too the secret source whence the opposition to apostolic teaching arose. The priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them. The captain was roused into action by the Sadducees, who were mingled in the crowd, and heard the words of the Apostles proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” It is noteworthy how perpetually the Sadducees appear as the special antagonists of Christianity during these earliest years. Our Lords denunciations of the Pharisees were so often repeated that we are apt to think of them as the leading opponents of Christianity during the apostolic age. And yet this is a mistake. There was an important difference between the Masters teaching and that of His disciples, which accounts for the changed character of the opposition. Our Lords teaching came specially into conflict with the Pharisees and their mode of thought. He denounced mere external worship, and asserted the spiritual and inner character of true religion. That was the great staple of His message. The Apostles, on the other hand, testified and enforced above everything else the risen, the glorified, and the continuous existence in the spirit world of the Man Christ Jesus. And thus they came into conflict with the central doctrine of Sadduceism which denied a future life. Hence at Jerusalem, at least, the Sadducees were ever the chief persecutors of the Apostles, while the Pharisees were favourable to Christianity, or at least neutral. At the meeting of the Sanhedrin of which we read in the fifth chapter, Gamaliel, a Pharisee, proposes the discharge of the imprisoned Apostles. In the twenty-third chapter, when St. Paul is placed before the same Sanhedrin the Pharisees take his side, while the Sadducees are his bitter opponents. We never read of a Sadducee embracing Christianity; while St. Paul, the greatest champion of the gospel, was gained from the ranks of the Pharisees. This fact sheds light on the character of the apostolic teaching. It was not any system of evanescent Christianity; it was not a system of mere ethical teaching; it was not a system where the facts of Christs life were whittled away, where, for instance, His resurrection was explained as a mere symbolical idea, typifying the resurrection of the soul from the death of sin to the life of holiness; for in that case the Sadducees would not have troubled themselves on this occasion to oppose such teaching. But apostolic Christianity was a system which based itself on a risen Saviour, and involved, as its fundamental ideas, the doctrines of a future life and of a spiritual world, and of a resurrection where body and soul would be again united.
Some strange representations have been from time to time put forward as to the nature of apostolic and specially of Pauline Christianity, but one of the strangest is what we may call the Matthew Arnold theory, which makes the apostolic teaching a poor, emasculated thing, devoid of any real foundation of historical fact. If Christianity, as proclaimed by St. Peter and St. Paul, was of this type, why, we ask, was it so bitterly opposed by the Sadducees? They at any rate understood the Apostles to teach and preach a Jesus Christ literally risen from the dead and ascended in the truth of human nature into that spiritual and unseen world whose existence they denied. For the Sadducees were materialists pure and simple. As such they prevailed among the rich. The poor, then as ever, furnished very few adherents to a creed which may satisfy persons who are enjoying the good things of this life. It has very few attractions, however, for those with whom life is dealing hardly, and to whom the world presents itself in a stern aspect alone. It is no wonder the new teaching concerning a risen Messiah should have excited the hatred of the rich Sadducees, and should have been welcomed by the poorer classes, among whom the Pharisees had their followers. The system of the Sadducees was a religion indeed. It satisfied a want, for man can never do without some kind of a religion. It recognised God and His revelation to Moses. It asserted, however, that the Mosaic revelation contained nothing concerning a future life, or the doctrine of immortality. It was a religion, therefore, without fear of a future, and which could never indeed excite any enthusiasm, but was very satisfactory and agreeable for the prosperous few as long as they were in prosperity and in health. Peter and John came preaching a very disturbing doctrine to this class of people. If Peters view of life was right, theirs was all wrong. It was no wonder that the Sadducees brought upon them the priests and the captain of the temple, and summoned the Sanhedrin to deal with them. We should have done the same had we been in their position. In every age, indeed, the bitterest persecutors of Christianity have been men like the Sadducees. It has often been said that persecution on the part of a sceptic or of an unbeliever is illogical. The Sadducees were unbelievers as regards a future life. What matter to them was it, then, if the Apostles preached a future life, and convinced the people of its truth? But logic is always pushed impetuously aside when it comes in contact with deep-rooted human feeling, and the Sadducees instinctively felt that the conflict between themselves and the Apostles was a deadly one; one or other party must perish. And so it was under the Roman empire. The ruling classes of the empire were essentially infidel, or, to use a modern term, we should rather perhaps style them agnostic. They regarded the Christian teaching as a noxious enthusiasm. They could not understand why Christians should not offer incense to the deity of the emperor, or perform any act of idolatry which was commanded by state law, and regarded their refusal as an act of treason. They had no idea of conscience, because they were essentially like the Sadducees. So was it again in the days of the first French Revolution, and so we find it still. The men who reject all spiritual existence, and hold a Sadducean creed, fear the power of Christian enthusiasm and Christian love, and had they only the power would crush it as sternly and remorselessly as the Sadducees desired to do in Apostolic times, or as the Roman emperors did from the days of Nero to those of Diocletian.
III. The Apostles were arrested in the evening and put in prison. The temple had an abundance of chambers and apartments which could be used as prisons, or, as the Sanhedrin were accustomed to sit in a basilica erected in the court outside the Beautiful Gate, and inside Solomons porch or cloister, there was probably a cell for prisoners connected with it. The next morning St. Peter and St. John were brought up before the court which met daily in this basilica, immediately after the hour of the morning sacrifices. We can realise the scene, for the persons mentioned as having taken part in the trial are historical characters. The Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle, with the president in the centre, while opposite were three benches for the scholars of the Sanhedrists, who thus practically learned law. The Sanhedrin, when complete, consisted of seventy-one members, comprising chief priests, the elders of the people, and the most renowned of the rabbis; but twenty-three formed a quorum competent to transact business. The high priest when present, as Annas and Caiaphas both were on this occasion, naturally exercised great influence, though he was not necessarily president of the council. The sacred writer has been accused, indeed, of a historical mistake, both here and in his Gospel, {Joh 3:2} in making Annas high priest when Caiaphas was actually occupying that office, Annas, his father-in-law, having been previously deposed by the Romans. St. Luke seems to me, on the other hand, thus to prove his strict accuracy. Caiaphas was of course the legal high priest so far as the Romans were concerned. They recognised him as such, and delivered to him the high priests official robes, when necessary for the fulfilment of his great office, keeping them safe at other times in the tower of Antonia. But then, as I have already said, so long as the Roman law and constitutions were observed on great state occasions, they allowed the Jews a large amount of Home Rule in the management of their domestic religious concerns, and were not keen in marking offences, if only the offences were not thrust into public notice. Annas was recognised by the Sanhedrin and by the Jews at large as the true high priest, Caiaphas as the legal or official one; and they kept themselves on the safe side, as far as the Romans were concerned, by uniting them in their official consultations in the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees, doubtless, on this occasion made every effort that their own party should attend the council meeting, feeling the importance of crushing the rising sect in the very bud. We read, therefore, that with the high priest came “John and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest.” The priestly families were at this period the aristocracy of the Jews, and they all belonged to the Sadducees, in opposition to the democracy, who favoured the Pharisees. These latter, indeed, had their own representatives in the Sanhedrin, as we shall see on a later occasion, -men of light and leading, like Gamaliel; but the permanent officials of the Jewish senate were for the most part Sadducees, and we know how easily the permanent officials can pack a popular body, such as the Sanhedrin was, with their own adherents, when any special end is to be attained.
It was before such a hostile audience that the Apostles were now called to witness, and here they first proved the power of the Divine words, “When they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.” {Mat 10:19} St. Peter threw himself upon God, and found that his trust was not in vain. He was at the moment of need filled with the Holy Ghost, and enabled to testify with a power which defeated his determined foes. He had a special promise from the Master, and he acted upon it. But we must observe that this promise was a special one, limited to the Apostles and to those in every age placed in similar circumstances. This promise is no general one. It was given to the Apostles to free them from care, anxiety, and forethought as to the matter and form of the addresses which they should deliver when suddenly called to speak before assemblies like the Sanhedrin. Under such circumstances they would have no time to prepare speeches suitable for ears trained in all the arts of oratory as then practised amongst the ancients, whether Jews or Gentiles. So their Master gave them an assurance of strength and skill such as none of their adversaries could equal or resist. “It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” This promise has been, however, misunderstood and abused when applied to ordinary circumstances. It was good for the Apostles, and it is good for Christian men placed under similar conditions, persecuted for the sake of their testimony, and deprived of the ordinary means of preparation. But it is not a promise authorising Christian teachers, clerical or lay, to dispense with careful thought and industrious study when communicating the truths of Christianity, or applying the great principles contained in the Bible to the manifold circumstances of modern life. Christ certainly told the Apostles not to premeditate beforehand what they should say. When relying, however, upon the promises of God, we should carefully seek to ascertain how far they are limited, and how far they apply to ourselves; else we may be putting our trust in words upon which we have no right to depend. A presumptuous trust is next door to an act of rebellion, and has often led to unbelief. Our Lord said to the Apostles, “Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses,” because He would provide for them; but He did not say so to us, and if we go out into life presumptuously relying upon a passage of Scripture that does not belong to us, unbelief may overtake us as a strong man armed when we find ourselves disappointed. And so, too, with this promise of supernatural guidance which the Apostles enjoyed, and which saints of every age have proved true when placed in similar circumstances; it is a special one for them, it does not apply to us. Christian teachers, whether in the pulpit, or the Sunday school, or the home circle, must still depend as completely as the Apostles did upon the Holy Ghost as the source of all successful teaching. But in the case of the Apostles the inspiration was immediate and direct. In the case of ordinary Christians like ourselves, placed amid all the helps which Gods providence gives, we must use study, thought, meditation, prayer, experience of life, as channels through which the same inspiration is conveyed to us. The Society of Friends, when George Fox established it, testified on behalf of a great truth when it asserted that the Holy Ghost dwelt still, as in apostolic times, in the whole body of the Church, and spake still through the experience of Christian people. Their testimony was a great truth and a much-needed one in the middle of the seventeenth century, when Churchmen were in danger of turning religion into a great machine of state police, such as the Greek Church became under the earlier Christian emperors, and when Puritans were inclined to smother all religious enthusiasm beneath their intense zeal for cold, rigid scholastic dogmas and confessions of faith. The early Friends came proclaiming a Divine power still present, a Church of God still energised and inspired as of old, and it was a revelation for many an earnest soul. But they made a great mistake, and pushed a great truth to a pernicious extreme, when they taught that this inspiration was inconsistent with forethought and study on the part of their teachers as to the substance and character of their public ministrations. The Society of Friends teaches that men should speak forth to their assemblies just what the Holy Ghost reveals on the spot, without any effort on their own part, such as meditation and study involve. They have acted without a promise, and they have fared accordingly. That Society has been noted for its philanthropy, for the peaceful, gentle lives of its members; but it has not been noted for expository power, and its public teachers have held but a low place among those well-instructed scribes who bring forth out of Gods treasures things new and old.
Expositors of Scripture, teachers of Divine truth, whether in the public congregation or in a Sunday-school class, must prepare themselves by thought, study, and prayer; then, having made the way of the Lord clear, and removed the hindrances which barred His path, we may humbly trust that the Holy Ghost will speak by us and through us, because we honour Him by our self-denial, and cease to offer burnt sacrifices unto the Lord of that which cost us nothing.
IV. The address of St. Peter to the Sanhedrin is marked by the same characteristics as we find in those directed to the people. It is kindly, for though the Apostles could speak sternly and severely, just as their Master did at times, yet they have left in this special direction an example to public speakers and public teachers of truth in every age. They strove first of all to put themselves in sympathy as much as possible with their audience. They did not despise the art of the rhetorician which teaches a speaker to begin by conciliating the good feelings of his audience towards himself. To the people St. Peter began, “Ye men of Israel”; he recognises their cherished privileges, as well as their sacred memories, -“Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers.” To the bitterly hostile audience of the Sanhedrin, where the Sadducees largely predominated, Peters exordium is profoundly respectful and courteous, “Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel.” The Apostles and the earliest Evangelists did not despise human feelings or outrage human sentiment when setting out to preach Christ crucified. We have known men so wrong-headed that they were never happy unless their efforts to do good or spread their peculiar opinions eventuated in a riot. When evangelistic work or any kind of attempt to spread opinions evokes violent opposition, that very opposition often arises from the injudicious conduct of the promoters; and then when the opposition is once evoked or a riot caused, charity departs, passion and violent feelings are aroused, and all hope of good evaporates for the time. There was profound practical wisdom in that command of our Lord to His Apostles, “When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another,” Even taking the matter only from the standpoint of a man anxious to spread his peculiar sentiments.
The Apostles address was kindly, but it was plain-spoken. The Sanhedrin were sitting as a board of inquisitors. They did not deny the miracle which had been wrought. We are scarcely fit judges of the attitude of mind occupied by an Eastern, specially by an Eastern Jew of those earlier ages, when confronted with a miracle. He did not deny the facts brought under his notice. He was too well acquainted with magic and the strange performances of its professors to do so. He merely inquired as to the sources of the power, whether they were Divine or diabolical. “By what power or by what name have ye done this?” was a very natural inquiry in the mouth of an ecclesiastical body such as the Sanhedrin was. It was disturbed by facts, for which no explanation such as their philosophy furnished could account. It was upset in its calculations just as, to this day, the performances of Indian jugglers or the weird wonders of hypnotism upset the calculations of the hard, narrow man who has restricted all his investigations to some one special branch of science, and has so contracted his horizon that he thinks there is nothing in heaven or in earth which his philosophy cannot explain. We should mark the expression, “By what name have ye done this?” for it gives us a glimpse into Jewish life and practice. The Jews were accustomed in their incantations to use several kinds of names; sometimes those of patriarchs, sometimes the name of Solomon, and sometimes that of the Eternal Jehovah Himself. Of late years vast quantities of Jewish and Gnostic manuscripts have come to light in Egypt and Syria containing various titles and forms used by the Jewish magicians and the earlier Christian heretics, who were largely imbued with Jewish notions. It is quite in keeping with what we know of the spirit of the age from other sources that the Sanhedrin should ask, “By what power or by what name have ye done this?” While again, when we turn to the book of the Acts of the Apostles itself we find an illustration of the councils inquiry in the celebrated case of the seven sons of Sceva, the Jewish priest at Ephesus, who strove to use for their own magical purposes the Divine name of Jesus Christ, and suffered for their temerity. St. Peters reply to the question of the court proves that the Christian Church adopted in all its Divine offices, whether in the working of miracles then or of baptism and of ordination, as still, the invocation of the Sacred Name, after the Jewish model. The Church still baptises and ordains in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Christ Himself had adopted the formula for baptism, and the Church has extended it to ordination, pleading thus before God and man alike the Divine power by which alone St. Peter healed the cripple, and the Church sends forth its ministers to carry on Christs work in the world.
St. Peters address was, as we have already said, very kindly, but very bold and plain-spoken in setting forth the power of Christs name. He had learnt by his Jewish training the tremendous importance and solemnity of names. Moses at the bush would know Gods name before he went as His messenger to the captive Israelites. On Sinai God Himself had placed reverence towards His name as one of the fundamental truths of religion. Prophet and psalmist had conspired together to teach St. Peter that holy and reverend was the name of God, and to impress upon him thus the power and meaning which lies in Christs name, and indeed in all names, though names are things we count so trifling. St. Peter dwells upon this point all through his addresses. To the people he had said, “His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man strong.” To the rulers it was the same. It was “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, this man doth stand here before you whole.” “There is none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved.” The Sanhedrin understand the importance of this point, and tell the Apostles they must not teach in this name. St. Peter pointedly refuses, and prays, when come to his own company, “that wonders may be done through the name of Thy holy servant Jesus.”
St. Peter realised the sanctity and the power of Gods name, whether revealed in its ancient form of Jehovah or its New Testament form of Jesus Christ. Well would it be if the same Divine reverence found a larger place amongst ourselves. Irreverence towards the sacred name is far too prevalent; and even when men do not use Gods name in a profane Way, there is too much lightness in the manner in which even religious men permit themselves to utter that name which is the expression to man of supreme holiness, -“God bless us,” “Lord help us and save.” How constantly do even pious people garnish their conversations and their epistles with such phrases or with the symbols D. V, without any real feeling that they are thereby appealing to Him who was and is and is to come, the Eternal. The name of God is still holy as of old, and the name of Jesus is still powerful to calm and soothe and bless as of old, and Christian people should sanctify those great names in their conversation with the world.
St. Peter was bold because he was daily comprehending more and more of the meaning of Christs work and mission, was gaining a clearer insight into the dignity of His person and was experiencing in himself the truth of His supernatural promises. How could a man help being bold, who felt the Spirits power within, and really held with intense belief that there was salvation in none other save Christ? Personal experience of religion alone can impart strength and courage and boldness to endure, to suffer, and to testify. St. Peter was exclusive in his views. He would not have suited those easygoing souls who now think one religion just as good as another, and consequently do not regard it as of the slightest moment whether a man be a follower of Christ or of Mahomet. The earliest Christians had none of this diluted faith. They believed that as there was only one God, so there was only one Mediator between God and man, and they realised the tremendous importance of preaching this Mediator. The Apostles, however, must be cleared from a misconstruction under which they have at times suffered. St. Peter proclaims Christ to the Sanhedrin as the only means of salvation. In his address to Cornelius the centurion of Caesarea, he declares that in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of Him. These passages and these two declarations appear inconsistent. Their inconsistency is only superficial, however, as Bishop Burnet has well explained in his exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, a book not read very much in these times. St. Peter taught exclusive salvation through Christ. Christ is the only means, the only channel and way by which God confers salvation. Christs work is the one meritorious cause which gains spiritual blessing for man. But then, while there is salvation only in Christ, many persons may be saved by Christ who know not of Him consciously; else what shall we say or think about infants and idiots? It is only by Christ and through Christ and for His sake that any soul can be saved. He is the only door of salvation, He is the way as well as the truth and the life. But then it is not for us to pronounce how far the saving merits of Christ may be applied and His saving power extend. St. Peter knew and taught that Jesus Christ was the one Mediator, and that by His name alone salvation could be obtained. Yet he did not hesitate to declare as regards Cornelius the centurion, that in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of Him. It ought to be sufficient for us, as it was for the Apostles, to believe that the knowledge of Christ is life eternal, while satisfied to leave all other problems in the hands of Eternal Love.