Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 3:11

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.

11 26. St Peter’s discourse to the crowd

11. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter, &c.] The oldest MSS. give And as he held Peter, &c. The additional words have crept in from some marginal note of explanation.

the porch that is called Solomon’s ] As the name of Solomon was so intimately connected with the Jewish Temple, it is natural enough that one of its porches (or cloisters) should be called after him. There is no account of any such porch in Solomon’s own Temple, but Josephus tells us ( Ant. xx. 9. 7) that there was an eastern porch in Herod’s Temple called by this name. The mention of this feature in the building is a sign that the writer, from whom St Luke drew, was one acquainted with the localities about which he speaks, and that the account was written before the fall of Jerusalem, or he would not have said is called, or if he had done so would have been convicted of inconsistency of language by those to whom his work was first presented.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Held Peter and John – The word held means that he adhered to them; he joined himself to them; he was desirous of remaining with them and participating with them. He clung to his benefactors, and would not be separated from them (Prof. Hackett).

All the people … – Excited by curiosity, they came together. The fact of the cure and the conduct of the man would soon draw together a crowd, and thus furnish a favorable opportunity for preaching to them the gospel.

In the porch … – This porch was a covered way or passage on the east side of the temple. It was distinguished for its magnificence. See the plan and description of the temple, notes on Mat 21:12.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Act 3:11-26

All the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomons, greatly wondering.

Solomons porch

The porch–or better, portico or cloister–was outside the temple, on the eastern side. It consisted in the Herodian Temple, of a double row of Corinthian columns, about thirty-seven feet high, and received its name as having been in part constructed, when the temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, with the fragments of the older edifice. The people tried to persuade Herod Agrippa I. to pull it down and rebuild it, but he shrank from the risk and cost of such an undertaking (Jos., Ant. 20:9, 7). It was, like the porticoes in all Greek cities, a favourite place of resort, especially as facing the morning sun in winter. (See Joh 10:23.) The memory of what bad then been the result of their Masters teaching must have been fresh in the minds of the two disciples. Then the people had complained of being kept in suspense as to whether Jesus claimed to be the Christ, and, when He spoke of being One with the Father, had taken up stones to stone Him (Joh 10:31-33). Now they were to hear His name as Holy and Just, as the Servant of Jehovah, as the very Christ (Act 3:13-14; Act 3:18). (Dean Plumptre.)

Solomons porch–a hallowed spot for 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 grew. At San Clemente, in Rome, the priests delight to show the primitive structure where they say St. Clement ministered about 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 limb 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. (G. T. Stokes, D. D.)

Misapprehensions removed

Here was a congregation worthy of an apostle; and Peter was ready for the occasion. The people were excited. They ran together. This made it possible to address them all at once. They were amazed, and were, therefore, in an inquiring mood. Peter–

I. Called his hearers to quiet thoughtfulness. He asked them the cause of their amazement. Did he pause after his questions to let the hearers mind balance itself? The miracle had aroused attention which must now be steadied, in order that judgment might be calmly exercised.

II. Corrected the supposition that the miracle had been done by human ability. Some supposed the cause was in their magical power or extraordinary godliness. But this was a superficial and God-dishonouring hypothesis, as is that which attributes the results of preaching to the preachers eloquence, logic, or magnetism. Peter corrected this, and we say that conviction, penitence, conversion, and the power to live holy is all of Gods grace.

III. Cleared a way for the truth. If false suppositions had not been removed the true view of the miracle would have been prevented; but by contradicting error Peter brought the minds of the hearers to need a true explanation. So long as astronomers believed the earth to be the centre of the solar system, many false suppositions had to be made, and many phenomena were misinterpreted. Ptolemaic error blocked out Copernican truth. But when the fundamental error had been overthrown the chariot of knowledge could proceed. See the magnificent results in the precision and fulness of modern astronomical science. Conclusion: Let us learn to remove error in order that the way of truth may be open. Let us do this for penitents whom some error may keep in bondage, for inquirers lest some false notion blind them. (A. Hudson.)

And when Peter saw it, he answered.—

A greater miracle

1. This speech is a greater miracle than the cure. The great miracles are all wrought within. Compare Peter before the resurrection with the Peter of this speech, and tell me what has happened. Surely a great cure has been wrought up,m him. You cannot work miracles, because you yourselves are not miracles. We approach the whole case from the outside, and with many lame suggestion we attempt to mend the worlds sad condition. We must be greater ourselves than any work which it is possible for ourselves to do.

2. In this speech Peter vindicated his apostolic primacy. You might have asked questions concerning Peters superiority before, but after this all men feel that the first place belongs to him. Any primacy that is not based on merit must go down. For time you may bolster up a man; but a superiority of position that is not based upon fundamental and vital merit falls before the testing touch of circumstances and time. So let this book of God stand or fall. The priests cannot keep it up. Parliaments and thrones cannot give the Bible its lasting primacy. If the inspiration he not in the book itself you cannot communicate it; and if the inspiration really be in the book itself you can never talk it down. By force you may quiet it for a time, but truth is eternal, it returns.

3. The danger is that we be not just to such men as Peter. We may take this speech as a mere matter of course. We hear an eloquent man drop sentence after sentence of singular beauty, and think that he does so simply as a matter of course. In every such sentence there is a drop of sacrificial blood. True eloquence is forced out of men. This speech was not a prepared oration which he took out and read; it was as extemporaneous as was the event itself. The looking people make the eloquent preacher. All the people fastened their eyes upon Peter and John; and, as the lame man had drawn out of Peter spiritual power by his magnetic look, so the people drew out of Peter still higher power by their marvelling.

4. In reply to that wonder Peter declines any primacy based on purely personal considerations. This is not our doing. It is the Lords doing; and it is marvellous in our eyes. And, with inspired wisdom, he magnified the occasion by attaching the miracle to the omnipotence of a God about whose existence the Jew had no doubt. The God of Abraham, etc. The apostles did not snatch at praise for themselves. They maintained their royal supremacy by operating in the presence of the people merely as the servants and instruments of God. We must return to that allegiance to the Divine name and throne.

5. Not only does Peter decline the implied eulogium, he takes upon himself to cut the people to pieces. No great progress can be made in moral reform until our apostles slay us. Flattery will do nothing for us–at most, will but mislead or bewilder us. Hear his speech, Whom ye delivered up, etc. That man must succeed in his ministry, or he must be killed! Such a speaker of such an address cannot occupy a middle position. When did the apostles speak with bated breath and whispering humbleness? When did they try to make the best of the case by appeasing the spirit of the people, and by an endeavour to placate sensibilities which had been strongly excited? So we come back to a truth with which this message has made us familiar. We are not to put away the Crucifixion as an historical circumstance, nineteen centuries old. The Crucifixion takes place every day. Realise this circumstance, and there will go up the old cry, and after it will come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

6. In verse 17 the tone changes with wondrous skill. The gospel is not an impeachment only–it is an offer, and he introduces this new phase of the subject with a word which united himself with the people–brethren. This verse repeats the very prayer of Christ Himself upon the Cross. So he opens a great door of hope. The Church ought to be fertile in its invention of opportunities for the worst men to return. Tell the very worst man that the door of hope, if not wide open, is yet ajar, and that the very faintest touch of his fingers will cause it to fall back to the very wall.

7. Then comes the keyword of apostolic preaching, and the secret of apostolic success repent (verse 19). It is like the sword of which David said, Give me that; there is none like it. This word repent goes to the root and to the reality of the case. Who has repented? I do not ask who has been alarmed by threatened consequences, and who therefore has professed a change of habit and of purpose. My question is a deeper one. Who has felt heart-brokenness on account of sin, as a spiritual offence against God? Have we not forgotten that old word? Has the Church become too dainty to use it?

8. There is another word in verse 19 of as much importance–therefore–which refers to the historical and logical argument upon which Christianity is founded. Peter having gone back to God of Abraham, etc., and having traced the history of the Crucifixion, and having explained the secret by which the lame man had been healed, etc., gathers himself up in this one supreme effort, and says, Repent ye, therefore–for no sentimental reasons, but on the historical ground of the ancient dealings of God with His people, and because of the culmination of those dealings in the recovery of the man who is standing there.

9. Then Peters speech proceeds like a deep, broad river, and ends with Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you. Apostolic preaching was tender, but it kept itself to this one theme. And because it did so it turned the world upside down. Preacher, come back from all intellectual vagaries, romances, and dreamings, and stand to your one work of accusing men of sins, and then revealing the living Son of God, who came with the one purpose only of blessing men. Blessing and iniquity never can co-exist in the same heart. The iniquity must go, and the blessing will come. The wickedness must depart, and then angels will hasten into the soul from which it has gone out. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The miracle at the Beautiful gate as a text

It is a law of mind to look through its dominant sentiments, and to subordinate all outward things to its dominant purposes. The apostles were full of thoughts pertaining to Christ, and they looked at all events through this medium.

I. Peter traces the miracle to its true Author.

1. Negatively. He disclaims the authorship–a remarkable demonstration of his honesty. Had he taken the credit his social power would have been regnant at once, and would have had an immense following. And the people were willing to give it him.

2. Positively. He shows–

(1) That their God had wrought the miracle. The God of Abraham.

(2) That their God had wrought it in order to glorify His Son–not merely to restore the invalid–and to attest the Messiahship of Him whom they had put to death.

II. He connects the miracle with the name of Christ. He had unbounded faith in Jesus, and had therefore power to perform works that should demonstrate His Divine authority; and the effects produced on the bodies of men were only faint types of the results which faith in Christ will produce on souls. Jesus is here presented–

1. In the titles that belong to Him.

(1) Holy One and Just.

(2) Prince of Life.

2. In the history of their conduct.

(1) They delivered Him up.

(2) They denied Him, their Messiah, in the presence of a heathen scoffer.

(3) This was done in opposition to the tyrants wish.

(4) They preferred a murderer.

(5) They killed Him.

3. In His relation to God. God had–

(1) Glorified Him.

(2) Raised Him from the dead.

(3) Overruled their conduct towards Him.

Observe–

(a) It was the purpose of the Father that Christ should suffer as announced in prophecy (Psa 22:1-31; Isa 53:3-10; Dan 9:26).

(b) That the conduct of the Jews was made to subserve this purpose. So perfect is the control which the Monarch of the universe has over His creatures, that He makes the greatest rebels work out His grandest plans.

(c) The Jews were ignorant of what they were doing. This was said not to extenuate their guilt, but to convict them of their folly and impotence.

III. He develops the Christian plan of restitution (verses 19-26). Which–

1. Aims at a thorough spiritual reformation as a necessary condition. This includes–

(1) A change of heart. Repent, etc.

(2) Forgiveness of sins. That your sins may be blotted out.

(3) Invigoration of being. When the times of refreshing shall come.

2. Is ever under the direction of God. From the presence of the Lord i.e., by His providence. Observe–

(1) That the invigorating influence of the scheme is from God. The times of refreshing are from His presence.

(2) That the chief Agent of this scheme is from God. He shall send Jesus.

(3) That the revelation of this scheme is from God. Which God hath spoken, etc.

3. Shall realise its end before the final advent of Christ. Whom the heavens must receive, etc. Christ is now in heaven, but His work proceeds on earth, and when His work is accomplished He will come again, and not before. Pre-millennialism is a delusion.

4. Is the grand burden of prophetic truth. Observe–

(1) The cases of prophetic reference to Christ.

(a) Moses (verse 22; cf. Deu 18:15-19, LXX.).

(b) Samuel (verse 24). Moses and Samuel are the most distinguished names in Jewish history; but they are mentioned as samples.

(c) All the prophets. We may not be able to trace references to Christ in each, yet in the majority of the prophetic books there are notes of hope struck from the harp of future ages, flashes of light from that bright day which Abraham saw afar.

(2) The reason for these references (verse 25).

5. Was first to be presented to the Jews (verse 26). Christ was sent–

(1) To bless, not to curse. Justly might we have expected malediction.

(2) To bless with the greatest blessing. Iniquity is the greatest curse; to men from that is the greatest boon.

(3) To bless the greatest sinners first. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Peters sermon

How he denounces (verses 14, 15); how he comforts and grows gentle (verses 17, 18); how he pleads (verse 19); how he promises (verse 20); how he proves (verse 21). It makes one think another Joseph has come to the pulpit (Gen 45:4-5). (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

Peters address

I. Jesus presented.

II. Sinners condemned.

III. Pardon proclaimed. (J. T. McCrory.)

Peters address

He–

I. Begins (verses 12-16) by disclaiming the miracle as his own and ascribing it to Christ.

II. Goes on (verses 13-16), to set before the people their sin.

III. Continues (verses 19, 21) by holding out a hope of mercy.

IV. Crowns all (verses 19, 21) by a summons to repentance and a changed life. (Monday Club.)

Peters address

I. The exordium is stamped with humility (verse 12).

II. The body is marked by fidelity (verses 13-18).

III. The application is redolent of mercy (verses 19-26). (J. Bennett, D. D.)

Peters speech

This was in thorough consonance with the miracle. The people were excited, the apostles were calm; the people clamoured in darkness, the apostles spoke from the serene elevation of cloudless height; the people were startled by a spectacle, the apostles were controlled by law. Was it not almost a mockery to ask the people why they marvelled? Are great works to be regarded without surprise? Are men to become familiar with the outstretched arm of God and to be calm? The power that can restore is one that can destroy; what if that dread power be preparing itself to strike? It would strike but once–its stroke would be death. Peters speech may be regarded as showing–

I. The false method of looking at human affairs–As though by our own power, etc.

1. The visible is not the final.

2. Second causes do not explain life. There is a false method of looking at the results of–

(1) Preaching.

(2) Business.

(3) Thinking.

The man who does not look beyond second causes lives in distraction–in chaos!

II. The true method of regarding extra, ordinary events–God hath glorified His Son Jesus. Faith in His name hath made this man strong. That is the sublime explanation of all recovery, progress, abiding strength and comfort. Forget God, and society in every phase and movement becomes a riddle without an answer; its happiness is but a lucky chance–its misery an unexpected cloud. Regard life as controlled and blessed by the mediation of Christ, then–

1. There is discipline in every event–design, meaning, however untoward and unmanageable the event.

2. A purpose of restoration runs through all human training. See how new, how beautiful, life would be, if after all its happy experiences we could say, God hath glorified His Son Jesus! Physical recovery; spiritual forgiveness; special interpositions; even death itself.

III. The Only Method Of Setting Man Right With God. Repent ye therefore, etc. The men who worked miracles spoke plain words about mens souls. There is no ambiguity here. Are the old words Repent, Be converted, being allowed to slip out of Christian teaching, and are we now trifling with the character and destiny of men?

1. Every man must repent, because every man has sinned.

2. Every man must be converted, because every man is in a false moral condition.

IV. The sublime object of Christs incarnation–To bless you, etc.

1. Where iniquity is there is no blessing.

2. Physical restoration is the type of spiritual completeness.

Conclusion:

1. Two practical lessons arise out of the subject.

(1) It is not enough to wonder at the mighty works of God.

(2) Gods glory is even identified with the well being of man. Restitution, Refreshing, Blessing.

2. Peters appeal rested upon a solid Biblical basis; Moses, Samuel, and all the prophets. Gods message is the summing up of all the voices of holy history. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The threefold testimony of Peter concerning Christ

He is–

1. The substance of all miracles (verses 12, 17).

2. The Redeemer of all souls (verses 18-21).

3. The accomplisher of all prophecies (verses 22-26). (Lisco.)

Trite courage

If you see a man on the railway track before an approaching train, or if you see a child in the roadway in danger of being run over by a horse, you have no right to be silent and inactive. It is a sin not to speak out. If you see the first outbursting of flames in a neighbours house it would be criminal not to cry Fire. Truth cannot be kept to yourself without sin. Silence on popular forms of wrong doing is criminal silence. Silence concerning the duty of repentance and the possibilities of salvation in the presence of the impenitent and unsaved is not to be thought of by the true disciple of Jesus. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)

Why look ye so earnestly upon us as though by our own power and holiness we had made this man to walk.—

Show me the doctor

A man, blind from his birth, a man of much intellectual vigour, and with many engaging social qualities, found a woman who, appreciating his worth, was willing to cast in her lot with him and become his wife. Several bright, beautiful children became theirs, who tenderly and equally loved both their parents. An eminent French surgeon, while in this country, called upon them, and, examining the blind man with much interest and care, said to him:–Your blindness is wholly artificial; your eyes are naturally good, and if I could have operated upon them twenty years ago, I think I could have given you sight. It is barely possible that I can do it now, though it will cause you much pain. I can bear that, was the reply, so you but enable me to see. The surgeon operated upon him, and was gradually successful. First there were faint glimmerings of light; then more distinct vision. The blind father was handed a rose; he had smelled one before, but had never seen one. Then he looked upon the face of his wife, who had been so true and faithful to him; and then his children were brought, whom he had so often fondled, and whose charming prattle had so frequently fallen upon his ears. He then exclaimed: Oh, why have I seen all of these before inquiring for the man by whose skill I have been enabled to behold them! Show me the doctor. And when he was pointed out to him, he embraced him with tears of gratitude and joy. So, when we reach heaven, and with unclouded eyes look upon its glories, we shall not be content with a view of these. No; we shall say, Where is Christ–He to whom I am indebted for what heaven is? Show me Him, that with all my soul I may adore and praise Him through endless ages.

Credit due to Christ

The engineer of an express train sees, just ahead, a switch wrongly turned, and knows that if he cannot stop the train it will go over the bank and be destroyed. The stoker jumps out, but the brave engineer resolves to share the fate of the engine. Speedily he reverses the action, and with all his strength rolls back the wheels, Just as the fatal point is reached, they cease to move, and the train is saved! What meanness would it be, when unharmed, they reach the town, for the stoker to say, We were in great danger, but by my presence of mind I saved the train. Yet what greater meanness is it for us to take the credit to ourselves when it belongs to Christ. Gods influences come upon you in mighty tides, and you have no right to claim for yourself the glory which belongs to Christ. (H. W. Beecher.)

Glory to be given to God

If I were a pupil of Titian, and he should design my picture and sketch it for me, and look over my work every day, and make suggestions, and then, when I had exhausted my skill, he should take the brush and give the finishing touches, bringing out a part here and there, and making the whole glow with beauty, and then I should hang it upon the wall, and call it mine, what meanness it would be! When life is the picture and Christ is the designer and master, what greater meanness is it to allow all the excellence to be attributed to ourselves. (H. W. Beecher.)

Glory due to Christ

That workman should do ill who having built a house with another mans purse, should go about to set up his own arms upon the front thereof. In Justinians law it was decreed that no workman should set up his name within the body of that building which he made out of another mans cost. Thus Christ sets us all at work, it is He that bids us to fast, and pray, and hear, and give alms, etc. But who is at the cost of all? whose are all these works? surely Gods. Mans poverty is so great that he cannot reach a good thought, much less a good deed; all the materials are from God, the building is His, it is His purse that paid for it; give but therefore the glory and the honour thereof unto God, and take all the profit to thyself. (J. Spencer.)

The work of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of men

1. The disposition of the crowd to make heroes of the apostles when they should have recognised in the miracle the power of God is an illustration of a common and not altogether mischievous instinct. When through foreign invasion or internal revolution the institutions of society are broken up, the blind submission which a whole nation sometimes yields to a popular chief, or the heir of an illustrious name, sometimes renders it possible to restore law and order. The intellectual supremacy of great men has also its uses; it preserves something like order in our intellectual life. It is the same with that conspicuous moral excellence which wins more reverential homage. The example of great saints has been a law to successive generations.

2. But there is hero-worship in the Bible. The Jews had their fighting men, poets, orators, statesmen, saints; but you find no disposition in the Old Testament to surround them with glory. The heroism of Wallace is commemorated in the national songs of Scotland, but there is no Psalm to celebrate the heroism of David. Nor does Jewish history exalt Moses as the history of Europe exalts Charlemagne, as the history of England exalts Alfred or Elizabeth. The genius of Isaiah does not receive the same kind of homage that we concede to the genius of Dante or of Shakespeare. There is the same absence of hero-worship in the New Testament. Luke never analyses the apostles power nor dwells upon their personal qualities. That they were in any way remarkable is never intentionally suggested. The saints of the Old Testament and the saints of the New are transparent; God shines through them.

3. That is the Christian law. Are men steadfast in righteousness, fervent in charity, temperate, fearless? Do not glorify them; glorify God who made them so good. Are they wise? Glorify God who is the Giver of wisdom. Have they wrought great deliverances for mankind? Why look ye on them as though by their own power or holiness they had wrought these deliverances? Joshua fought well; but when the men of later days look back upon his victories, they say–We have heard with our ears, O God, etc. And we find the greatest of the apostles saying, I planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. This address of St. Peters about the miracle is a vivid illustration of the spirit of both Testaments.

4. In recent times we have failed to maintain the traditional spirit of Judaism and of Christianity. We dwell on the goodness, temperament, and intellectual power of Peter, Paul, and John; and treat them as ordinary historians treat sovereigns like Elizabeth and Cromwell, statesmen like Burghley and Walpole and Chatham. We inquire what there was in the men that accounted for the success of their work. No doubt their character and endowments had a direct relation to their work. But the gifts were from God; their power was His. In the spiritual, as in the natural life, when the blind receive sight, Christ gives it; when the lame walk, it is Christ who makes them strong. His name through faith in His name, hath made this man strong is the explanation of all wonders.

5. Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Baxter, Wesley, and Whitefield, what were they all but ministers of God by whom England or Europe came to know and believe a truer gospel? They should be transparent to us as the Jewish prophets and heroes, and as the Christian apostles were. Their noble qualities may be honoured as Gods gifts; but still it was not their power or their holiness that first loosened and then broke the fetters by which the spiritual life of nations was bound; it was God who did it all. This holds true of all effective spiritual work in our own time. When men are prevailed upon to submit to Christs authority, their great decision is not to be attributed to the impassioned eloquence, the vigorous argument, the pathetic entreaty of the preacher, nor to his personal sanctity, nor to his fervent zeal, but to the direct appeal of the Spirit of God to the conscience and to the heart.

I. Everything short of the actual conversion of men to God we can accomplish without Gods help; but for that we are entirely dependent upon him.

1. Canvass the town for children and you can fill your Sunday schools. Make the teaching interesting, let the rooms be pleasant, have cheerful singing, let the teacher be kindly and earnest, and you can keep the children when you have them, and enable them to pass excellent examinations in Scripture, and you can soften their manners, refine their tastes and elevate their morals. And if you are satisfied with this there is no need to pray. But if you want the children to love and serve Christ, the Spirit of God must be with you, and must work directly on the inner thought and life of your scholars.

2. Build an attractive church, get a good organ and choir, let there be an educated and earnest and eloquent man in the pulpit, and you can get a crowd of people to hear him and he may produce a profound impression. But if men are to be moved to real penitence, and are to be inspired with real faith, the light and power of the Holy Spirit must reach individual hearts.

3. Many of us know what this means. For years we were familiar with truths which ought to have exerted irresistible control over us; we believed them; sometimes we felt their power. But we can remember when these very truths came to us as though we had never known them before. Perhaps we were listening to a sermon; but we had listened to sermons before, and to sermons not less impressive, and had listened unmoved; others heard the same sermon and it did not touch them. Perhaps we were reading a book; but we had read the book before, and it had never taught us what we now learnt, and others have read the same book and learnt nothing from it. What made the difference was a silent voice to which then, for the first time, we consented to listen. The Spirit of God came to us, and we suffered Him to lead us into the truth.

II. Our perverse reluctance to believe that all life and light come from God is inexplicable. We have to learn the same lesson over and over again in many forms; and we look back upon wasted years, and mourn that we had not learnt the open secret earlier which would have made all those years bright and noble and glorious success.

1. The lesson has to be learnt at the beginning of the religious life. We want the pardon of sin and that change which will render it possible for us to do the will of God. And we try for months, perhaps for years, to make our penitence for sin more agonising and our hunger and thirst for righteousness more keen, hoping that at last we shall have assurance and strength. It is all in vain; and then we discover what we knew from the first–that we can trust God to forgive, us, and to inspire us with the life and power of the Holy Ghost: we trust Him and we pass into a new world.

2. But the lesson has to be learnt over again. We are now liberated from distress about our past guilt, and we know that we are the sons of God; but we find that we are unequal to many duties, and are overcome by many temptations. We subject ourselves to discipline; we pray; we think upon the transcendent motives to righteousness. It is all in vain. And then, again, we discover what a child might have taught us, what we always knew, that evil passions are to be burnt down to their very roots by the fire of God; that we are to be strong for holy living in the strength of God: we trust in Him once more, and as long as we trust we are kept in perfect peace.

3. But we have not learnt the lesson even now. We engage in Christian work. We do our best, and hardly anything comes of it. Then once more we discover what we always knew; God and only God can bring right home to man the truth which is on our lips; we trust in Him, and then our work begins to prosper.

III. Entire dependence in God is the secret of ministerial power.

1. For the work of the Christian ministry it is necessary to secure men of intellectual power, and men who have received the most thorough intellectual training. There is an Antinomianism in relation to Christian work not less fatal and far more subtle than the Antinomianism of the Christian life. Men have argued that since they can do nothing for their own salvation without God, they will attempt nothing. They might as well say that they can get no harvest without the rain of heaven and the heat and light of the sun, and that therefore they will not plough nor sow. And men have argued, that since Christian work can never achieve its highest results apart from the direct appeal of the Spirit of God to the souls of men, that learning and eloquence are worthless, and that we should leave everything to God. What insanity there is in this!

2. But among ourselves there are not many who are likely to be infected with this heresy.

Our peril lies in the opposite direction.

1. We look back upon the great evangelists of the past, and think that if we could only have them with us again the most glorious days of the Church would return. If St. Bernard with his fiery passion, Luther with his audacity and immense moral force, Whitefield with his affectionate spirit and his charming eloquence, Wesley with his calm and resolute strength and his keen sagacity were here–then we might hope to see a great religious reformation in England. But what can we do? This self-distrust is only the specious cover of a want of faith in God. The illustrious preachers of former days are with us no longer; but the great Preacher of all is with us still–the only Preacher whose voice can raise the dead, whose power achieved all the triumphs which we connect with the famous and sacred names in the history of Christendom. Could these great saints come back again, it would not be to take the work from our hands because we are unequal to it, but to tell us that the same Spirit that was with them can still reach the hearts and consciences of men.

2. Even when we pray we sometimes forget that our trust should be in the Spirit of God. We ask that for the success of our work we may have a larger knowledge of the thought of God, a more fervent passion for the honour of Christ, a profounder solicitude for the rescue of men–wise and necessary prayers, but incomplete, fatally incomplete. For the prayers imply that if we ourselves had greater power, greater holiness, we should be successful. This was not what the apostles thought–Paul planted, Apollos watered, God gave the increase.

3. What is true of men is also true of ecclesiastical systems. It is not the perfection of its organisation that enables a Church to redeem men. There have been preachers in the Church of Rome, spite of its monstrous polity, who have done glorious work for mankind and for God. There is no power, no holiness in Presbyterianism, in Methodism, in Congregationalism, in Episcopacy, to work spiritual miracles. The chief merit of an ecclesiastical system lies in the measure in which it is transparent and lets the glory of Christ shine through.

4. The same test is to be applied to all theologies and all methods of spiritual discipline. Do they break down everything that comes between the soul and Him who is the fountain of mercy and of power?

(1) Tell me that my good works are necessary before Christ will forgive my sins, and you put months, and perhaps years, of painful moral struggle between me and Christ; tell me that He will forgive me at once, as soon as I come to Him, and Christ is already at my side at the very beginning of my new life. The doctrine of justification by works seems less likely to be true than the doctrine of justification by faith.

(2) Tell me that to make sure of the Divine forgiveness I must confess my sins to a priest, and there is danger lest the priest should come between me and Christ. Tell me that I can confess to Christ, and then, again, Christ is near to me while I am in the agony of my repentance. The doctrine which affirms that the priest has power to absolve seems less likely to be true than the doctrine which denies it.

(3) Tell me that the priest must consecrate the bread and the wine before the Church can have the real presence of Christ at the Lords Supper, and then the Church must wait till the priest has pronounced the words of mystery and power. Tell me that wherever two or three are gathered together at the table of Christ, Christ is among them, and then there is no delay, either in His access to us, or our access to Him. Those who maintain the theory of sacramentalism seem less likely to be in the right than those who reject it.

(4) But here, too, we must remember that the truest and simplest doctrine may be made a fetich, and may come between the soul and Christ. If you think that any doctrine is so true and so simple that by its own power or holiness it will regenerate and save men, you will be separated from Christ as completely by the soundest belief as other men are by the most corrupt.

IV. The truths which we have been considering should teach us to be of good heart about the work, which is Christs rather than ours. We are conscious–all of us–that we have little strength to do any noble service for God and for mankind. The consciousness deepens as we grow older. But neither our weakness nor our unworthiness is a reason for despondency. If we had to measure our own strength and earnestness against the difficulties of our work we might despair; but our confidence is in the strength and in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The results of our labour will transcend all that could be anticipated from the labour itself. This kindles our enthusiasm, and is a motive for strenuous exertion. If we are only perfectly loyal to Christ, even we may do very much for the rescue of men. The true minister of Christ does not stand alone; he is in alliance with Christ Himself; this is the secret of the ministers power. But very much depends on the sympathy he receives from his Church. You remember the famous description of an orator. It was not his voice alone that spoke; his eyes, his face, his hands, his feet–they were all eloquent. And a Church is a living body. The minister is its voice; but, if he is to speak to any purpose, the voice must not come from a body struck with death, with fixed features, glassy eyes, and rigid limbs; there would be something ghastly in that. Eyes, hands, face, feet, must all have life and passion in them, and must all speak; they must share the sorrow and alarm with which the minister tells men of the infinite evil of sin, and the rapture with which he triumphs in the infinite love of God. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 11. Held Peter and John] He felt the strongest affection for them, as the instruments by which the Divine influence was converted to his diseased body.

In the porch that is called Solomon’s] On this portico see Bp. Pearce’s note, inserted in this work, Joh 10:23.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Held Peter and John, in an ecstasy of thankfulness unto them, they having been the instruments of so great a mercy from God towards him; as also out of fear, lest when they were gone he might relapse: he that found so great a change in himself could not but be as much surprised as they that saw the change upon him.

The porch that is called Solomons; not that which was built by Solomon, for that was destroyed by the Babylonians, as the rest of the temple was, 2Ki 25:9; unless some part of this porch might not be consumed by the fire, when the other parts of the temple were burned, some morsel often escaping the jaws of that devouring element, fire; or it may be it was built in the re-edification of the temple, in the same place where Solomons porch had stood, and thence called by the former name that was so much remembered. If any wonder that a porch should hold so many thousands of people, inasmuch as five thousand of them are said to be converted, Act 4:4; this porch is thought not only to have been the court of the Gentiles, and that of the Jews, that is, the outward and inward court; but to have contained a great part of the court of the Gentiles, if the whole court of the Gentiles might not be so called, as being indeed but a porch, or an entrance into the court of the Jews.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

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

all the people ran togetherunto them in the porch, &c.How vividly do these graphicdetails bring the whole scene before us! Thus was Peter againfurnished with a vast audience, whose wonder at the spectacle of thehealed beggar clinging to his benefactors prepared them to listenwith reverence to his words.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And as the lame man which was healed,…. This is left out in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, and in the Alexandrian copy, which only read, and as he

held Peter and John; by their clothes or arms, either through fear, lest his lameness should return on their leaving him; or rather out of affection to them for the favour he had received, and therefore hung about them, and was loath to part with them; unless it was to make them known, and point them out as the authors of his cure, that they might be taken notice of by others, and the miracle be ascribed unto them:

all the people ran together unto them; to the man that was healed, and to Peter and John, when they saw him standing, walking, and leaping, and clinging about the apostles; who were

in the porch that is called Solomon’s; [See comments on Joh 10:23]

greatly wondering; at the man that was cured; at the cure that was wrought upon him; and still more at the persons who did it, and the manner in which it was done.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Codex Bezae adds “as Peter and John went out.”

As he held ( ). Genitive absolute of , to hold fast, with accusative rather than genitive to get hold of (Ac 27:13). Old and common verb from (strength, force). Perhaps out of gratitude and partly from fear (Lu 8:38).

In the porch that is called Solomon’s ( ). The adjective Stoic () is from this word (porch). It was on the east side of the court of the Gentiles (Josephus, Ant. XX. 9, 7) and was so called because it was built on a remnant of the foundations of the ancient temple. Jesus had once taught here (Joh 10:23).

Greatly wondering (). Wondering out of () measure, already filled with wonder (, verse 10). Late adjective. Construction according to sense (plural, though singular) as in Acts 5:16; Acts 6:7; Acts 11:1, etc.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

The lame man which was healed. The best texts omit. Render as he held.

Held [] . Held them firmly, took fast hold. The verb from kratov, strength.

Greatly wondering [] . Wondering out of measure [] . Compare wonder. (ver. 10).

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John,” (kratountos de autou ton Petron kai loannen) “And as he held or detained Peter and John,” as he took hold of them and held them from leaving him or moving on in the temple, much like the healed demon man of Gadara, Luk 8:38-39. There is an affinity of love, spiritual attachment, of like nature and cares that calls for and finds satisfaction in fellowship of brethren around the word, will, and work of God, Mal 3:16-18; Act 4:19-20; Act 4:32.

2) “All the people ran together unto them,” (sunedramen pas ho laos pros autous) “All the people(the masses) ran in rhythm together unto(to or toward) them.” The mighty works of God, through the promised Holy Spirit empowering of the church, were first acknowledged by Jews of different tongues and dialects who heard the empowered disciples witness in their own language, and second by response to the mighty message of Peter on Pentecost, and third by means of this first miracle of Post Pentecost healing.

3) “In the porch that is called Solomon’s (epi te stoa te kaloumene Solomontos) “Upon the porch that is called or named Solomon’s Porch,” on the east side of the temple where the general public often gathered for special teaching, preaching, prophesying, or decrees concerning God or the covenants and laws of God, Joh 10:22-25; Act 4:1-2; Act 5:12-16.

4) “Greatly wondering,” (ekthamboi) “And they were greatly amazed,” exceedingly in awe, awe-struck. The people saw, but they understood not the empowering of God that was working thru the witness and work of His new covenant church, 1Co 2:14; Luk 9:42-43.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

11. In the porch. It is like that there was a porch built in that place where Solomon’s porch was sometimes, and that it took the name therefrom. For the old temple was pulled down, but Zerubbabel and Ezra, ill the re-edifying and new building of the same temple, had imitated the same, so nigh as they could possibly devise. Afterward Herod renewed the same, and made it far more gorgeous, but that vain cost which he had bestowed had not yet blotted out the remembrance of Solomon in the hearts of the people. And Luke nameth the same as a most famous place, whereunto the people ran together (by heaps, to celebrate their feasts unto God at the times appointed.)

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL REMARKS

Act. 3:11. For the lame man which was healed the best codices read he. The porch (or portico) that is called Solomons ran along the eastern wall of the temple on both sides of the gate of Susa, and overlooked the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It had three rows of columns fifty feet high, and two walks thirty feet wide. The columns were each of one stone (white marble), the walks were paved with stones of various colours, and the roofs adorned with sculptures in wood. The porch, which was a survival from the Solomonic temple, was frequently resorted to, especially in winter, as a promenade or public walk (Joh. 10:23; Jos., Ant., XV. xi. 5).

Act. 3:12. At this.Sc. man rather than thing. Look earnestly.Fasten your eyes, as in Act. 3:4. For this man read him.

Act. 3:13. Hath glorified.Better, glorified not by this particular miracle (Meyer, Spence), or by all the mighty works which attested His mission (Hackett), but by His exaltation through death, as in Joh. 12:23; Joh. 17:10 (Alford). His son.Should be His servant, this being an Old Testament title of Messiah (Isa. 41:8; Isa. 42:1-7; Isa. 49:3-6); and applied as such to Christ by Matthew (Act. 12:18), and outside of canonical scripture by Clem., I. ad Cor. 59:3; Barnabas, vi. 1; Didache, ix.

2. Had determined.Or decided that it was just (see Luk. 23:16; Luke 20-23; Joh. 19:4).

Act. 3:15. Prince.Author, in the fullest sense (see Heb. 2:10; Heb. 12:2). Whereof.Or of whom (compare Act. 2:32; Act. 13:31).

Act. 3:16. Through, or on the ground of, faith.Not the mans or the peoples (Olshausen) but the apostles (Alford, Spence, Holtzmann, Hackett) faith in His Christs name.

HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.Act. 3:11-16

Solomons Porch; or, Peters Second Sermon.

1. The Secret of the Miracle explained

I. The peoples excitement calmed.The effect produced upon the healed man was scarcely greater than that wrought upon the multitude who saw him in the Temple. Filled with wonder and amazement at what had taken place, the crowd swarmed round the two apostles, to whom the cured cripple was eagerly clinging in Solomons porch as if unwilling to permit them to depart. Taking speech in hand, Peter, with his customary readiness, proceeded to address them with a view to quieting their agitation. Their wonder and amazement he

1. Admitted as not unnatural. It would have been surprising if they had not marvelled on seeing a forty years old cripple restored to perfect health. When in Capernaum a similar miracle had been wrought by Christ (Luk. 5:18-26), amazement took hold on all and they were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day. So wherever Christs religion operates it performs moral miracles, at which men gaze sometimes with incredulity and even with hostility, but always with astonishment (see Act. 17:6).

2. Rebuked as wrongly directed. The multitude imagined that Peter and John had healed the cripple by their own power and in virtue of their own goodness. Hence their wonder and admiration were turned rather upon the instruments than towards the agent. The sole connection John and Peter had with the miracle was that a higher power had used them as a means of effecting His gracious will. It does not appear that the apostles ever had the power of working miracles at their own discretion, but only at a signal given by the Holy Spirit. Significant as proof of this is the circumstance that Paul, though he wrought miracles, could not cure Epaphroditus when he was sick nigh unto death (Php. 2:27), or Trophimus, whom he left at Miletus sick (2Ti. 4:20). So the moral miracles performed by the Gospel in changing mens hearts and lives are due to neither the ability nor the piety of those who preach the Gospel but solely to Him of whom the Gospel speaks. The right to say I am He who healeth thee belongs to God alone (Exo. 15:26; Psa. 103:3; Psa. 147:3).

3. Instructed as ill informed. The miracle had been done

(1) instrumentally by the apostles, which they did not deny: they had made the lame man to walk (Act. 3:12); and

(2) mediately by the mans own faith, or at least by the apostles faitha point which is duly emphasised (Act. 3:16; compare Act. 14:9); but nevertheless

(3) causally, or efficiently by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, or by the power which that name represented, and which accompanied the utterance of and belief in that name. So the healings of a spiritual sort which are effected by the Gospel of Jesus Christ are to be ascribed neither to the human agents by whom it is preached nor to the words in which it is set forth, but to the spirit and power alone of the exalted Christ (1Co. 3:6-7; 2Co. 4:6; Eph. 2:1; Php. 1:6).

II. The peoples guilt rehearsed.This is done indirectly and, as it were, by way of parenthesis, while introducing to their notice the real author of the miracle. The extent of their guilt lay in four things:

1. Treachery. By acquiescing in the wickedness of Caiaphas and Judas they had been practically guilty of delivering up Jesus into the hands of His enemiesthey had, in fact, endorsed the crimes of their leaders and rulers. The solidarity of nations which renders the individual members thereof responsible, in a certain measure at least, for the deeds of their representatives, is apt to be forgotten.

2. Denial. When He stood before Pilate, and was by that Roman Governor pronounced innocent, and offered to be released as a compliment to their nation, they had cried Away with Him! Crucify Him! (Mat. 27:22; Joh. 19:4; Joh. 19:15.) In the most deliberate manner possible they had disowned Him who was really Gods holy and righteous One.

3. Rejection. Nor was that the worst that could be charged against them, but when Pilate gave them an opportunity of choosing between Jehovahs Servant, the Prince of Life, and Barabbas, who for a certain sedition had been cast into prison, they actually chose the murderer to be granted to them (Joh. 18:39-40). To such a depth of moral depravity had they sunk in their hostility to Jesus of Nazareth.

4. Crucifixion. They paused not in their hate till they had killed the Prince of Life, who not only had life in Himself but on more occasions than one had given life to others (Mat. 9:25; Luk. 7:15; Joh. 11:44)killed Him by adjudging Him to the shameful and painful death of the cross (Joh. 19:17-18). Here it should be noted that, heinous as these sins were, as great may still be committed against Christ (Heb. 6:6).

Learn.

1. The mistakes men make in judging of Christianity and its preachers.
2. The humility that ought to characterise every true servant of Christ.
3. The covenant-keeping character of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The possibility of repeating the crimes of the Jews who crucified the Prince of Life.

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Act. 3:13. The God of our Fathers.

I. Our fathers had a God.They were not atheists or agnostics. Descent from a pious ancestry a great privilege, entailing large responsibilities.

II. The God of our Fathers covenanted with them to bless their children.The promise was made to them and to their children (Act. 2:39). And He is faithful who hath promised (Heb. 10:23; Heb. 11:11).

III. For this purpose the God of our fathers raised up Jesus and sent Him to bless us.The whole mission of Christ, in His incarnation, death, resurrection, exaltation, and coming again in the spirit, a carrying out of the divine idea and purpose of salvation to which in a manner God had pledged Himself by His gracious promises to the fathers of Israel and the father of the faithful.

IV. Have we, the children of those fathers and the heirs of these promises, risen to the height of our privileges?Have we taken our fathers God as our God? And the Saviour promised to the fathers as our Redeemer?

The Glory of Christ.

I. Essential.

1. That which He had with the Father before the world was (Joh. 17:5).

2. That which belonged to His own person when on earththe glory of an only begotten from a Father full of grace and truth (Joh. 1:14).

II. Delegated.

1. When appointed by His Father to be the High Priest of humanity (Heb. 5:5).

2. When in answer to prayer His Father showed Him to be the conqueror of death (Joh. 11:4).

3. When by His own death upon the cross He triumphed over the principalities of evil (Joh. 12:23; Joh. 17:1).

4. When raised from the dead by the glory of His father (Act. 3:15; Rom. 6:4).

5. When the Spirit reveals Him to the soul of man (Joh. 16:14).

III. Acquired.

1. The glory of sitting on the mediatorial throne (1Co. 15:25).

2. The glory of being worshipped by the Church universal (Rev. 5:8-14).

3. The glory of being the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2).

4. The glory of being the final judge of mankind (Joh. 5:27; Act. 17:31).

Act. 3:11-16. A Model for the Christian Preacher.Found in Peter and his sermon, which reveal

I. The spirit which should animate the preacher.A spirit of self-abnegation and humility, which turns away the attention of his hearers from himself, as did John the Baptist (Joh. 1:23; Joh. 3:30).

II. The object at which the preacher should aim.To exalt Christ and bring His glory and claims before the minds of his hearers, as again did the Baptist and Paul (1Co. 2:2).

III. The manner in which the preacher should address his hearers.With much plainness of speech, and even with personal directness, but yet with tenderness and sympathy, as once more did Paul (Php. 3:18; 2Co. 3:12).

IV. The theme on which the preacher should descant.Not on himself, his own virtues and achievements, but on the name of Jesus, its glorious excellence and its power to heal and save, with the terms and conditions on which alone it can operate, as again did Paul (1Co. 2:2).

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

5.

ON SOLOMONS PORCH Act. 3:11-26.

Act. 3:11

And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomons, greatly wondering.

Act. 3:12

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk?

Act. 3:13

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.

Act. 3:14

But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you,

Act. 3:15

and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

Act. 3:16

And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Act. 3:17

And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

Act. 3:18

But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Act. 3:19

Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;

Act. 3:20

and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus:

Act. 3:21

whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old.

Act. 3:22

Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me; to him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you.

Act. 3:23

And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

Act. 3:24

Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.

Act. 3:25

Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Act. 3:26

Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

97.

Is there any reason to believe that the lame man was well known among the Jews?

Act. 3:11 It will be noted that the healing of the lame man occurred at the entrance of the temple proper, the gate which opened into the court of the women being the exact spot. The incident to be described under the above heading occurs on Solomons portico or porch, located on the outside of the Jewish portion of the temple.

It must be concluded from the text that upon being healed the lame man went into the temple with Peter and John (cf. 8). The apostles then came out of the sacred enclosure, doubtless because of the tumult caused by the miracle, and while they stood in Solomons portico the lame man embraced them. The lame man might have called out to the crowd and thus gathered them, but it is not here mentioned.

Act. 3:12-13 a Peter, upon witnessing the circumstances, noticed that the wonder of the people was centered upon them and not in the God they served. Peters boldness, wisdom and humility are seen in the next four verses. His boldness is portrayed in the fact that in spite of the unlikely circumstances he took this occasion to preach a gospel message. His wisdom is shown in the manner of development, and his humility is found in the introduction of the message. Peter in introducing his sermon gives credit to God for the miracle:

It was not power or godliness of ours that made this one to walk . . . look to the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, says Peter.

98.

Where did Peter preach his second sermon?

99.

Had Peter, John, and the man who was healed been in the temple? Why did they come out?

100.

Why do you suppose the beggar held Peter and John?

101.

What elements of Peters character are brought out in his sermon and its delivery?

Act. 3:13 b Act. 3:19 Then follows the body of the sermon. Why was this thing done? The answer comes: To glorify Jesus, Gods Servant or Child. Peter again reminds these Jews of whom he is speaking . . . Gods Servant is Jesus.

Jehovah is glorifying in this act just performed none other than the very one whom you Jews delivered up and denied. You preferred a murderer. You killed this one and in so doing you slew the very Prince or Author of Life. God, however, raised Him from the dead. Of this fact we apostles can all witness.
The question of how the healing of the lame man glorifies Jesus yet remains to be answered. The answer is found in the words of the sixteenth verse. The thought is that when the beggar was made whole, glory went to Jesus because it was only through faith in His name that this miracle could occur. The question naturally arises, Who exercised this faith? A moments consideration of the facts will teach us that the beggar knew nothing of Jesus and as Luke tells us, was concerned with nothing but alms.

The faith of Peter and John in Jesus is the only logical answer to this question. This is in perfect accord with Mar. 16:14-20 in which Jesus upbraids the apostles for their unbelief and then promises that signs would follow their work if they would believe. The power of performing miracles was given to the apostles by virtue of the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but they needed to exercise faith before this power could be used.

Peter follows this thought with the second point of his message. He speaks of the predetermined death of Jesus. This same truth was presented before by Peter on the day of Pentecost. It had great effect upon the Jew whenever given because it presented to his mind the strongest proof that the things being spoken of were true. Tempering his message just a little he says: And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. To show in their act the fulfillment of prophecy he says that the prophets spoke of the suffering Christ and thus were these prophecies fulfilled. The Jews were convinced that Jesus was the Christ from what had been said previously and even more so now by what was said concerning His resurrection and power to heal. They were convicted of sin through the words of Peter describing the tragedy of delivering up the Messiah to a heathen governor, of denying the very Christ of God and preferring a murderer; of killing the Author of Life. In light of this Peter could with great power call them to repentance and obedience. Note his words: Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out so that there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

102.

What purpose does Peter assign to this miracle?

103.

Name three things Peter said the Jews did with Jesus.

104.

How did the healing of the lame man bring glory to Jesus?

105.

Explain how this miracle was accomplished by faith. How does the Holy Spirit baptism enter this incident?

106.

What is the second thought of Peters sermon?

We need not ask as to the meaning of the first words of this charge for all know with at least some degree of completeness the meaning of the word repentance (the word signifying a change of mind, which works a complete change of conduct). But for what is Peter asking when he calls upon these Jews to turn again? To begin with note that in repenting and turning again, they were to receive exactly what was promised in the second chapter for repentance and baptism. Mark the parallel: in Act. 2:38 they were told to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Act. 3:19 they are told to repent and turn again that their sins might be blotted out and that they might receive seasons of refreshings from the presence of the Lord. Does it seem logical that Peter would require repentance and baptism on the day of Pentecost for the forgiveness of sins and here on Solomons porch, while speaking to the same type of persons, require something else for the same result? We say then that the thought behind the words turn again was nothing short of baptism. The Jews had no doubt witnessed the baptism of persons every day (cf. Act. 2:47) and thus when Peter called upon them to repent and turn again they knew exactly what he inferred. A complete discussion of this text is found in J. W. McGarveys New Commentary on pages 5863.

Act. 3:20-21 Still another result was to follow. Upon their repentance and turning again their sins were to be blotted out, They were to receive the times or seasons of refreshing from the gift of Gods Spirit, sent as he was from His presence. But also upon their obedience to this charge they were promised that God would send to them the Christ. What is the meaning of this expression? It could have no reference to the first advent of Jesus for He had already come; nor could it refer to the presence of Christ through His Spirit, for the gift of the Holy Spirit had already been spoken of. It could only refer to the second coming of Christ. Every Jew looked forward to the Christ coming as a great king in his kingdom. He was to come to conquer and subdue all kingdoms. This indeed He will do when He comes again; hence, we have the words of Peter to these Jews that their hopes will be realized in the second coming of the Christ. Not in a temporal, earthly, kingdom, but in the triumphant glory of the eternal conquering king in His kingdom. When He does come it will be none other than the same Jesus whom they had crucified.

107.

Why was it appropriate for Peter to call the Jews to repentance and obedience at the time that he did?

108.

What is the meaning of the word repentance?

109.

What is the meaning of the expression turn again? Prove your answer.

110.

What is the meaning of the phrase: seasons of refreshing?

But says Peter, The heavens will hold Him until a certain time, then He will come. The time being set as the times of the restoration of all things whereof God spake by the mouth of the holy prophets that have been from of old. Upon this point we say with J, W. McGarvey:
It is difficult to determine the exact meaning of the word restoration in this place; but it is limited by the expression, all things whereof God spake by the holy prophets . . . and consequently it consists in the fulfillment of the Old Testament predictions; and the remark gives assurance that Jesus will not return again till all these predictions shall have been fulfilled (ibid. p. 63).
What these predictions are and what they entail it is not our purpose to discuss in these notes.

Act. 3:22-26 Peter ends as he began; with proof from the Old Testament that this Jesus was the Christ. The prediction made by Moses and read by the Jews for these hundreds of years now finds its fulfillment. Moses said:

1.

The Lord God would raise up a prophet; which thing God did in Jesus.

2.

That this prophet would be raised up to be sent to the Israelites; which thing was fulfilled in Jesus.

3.

That the prophet would be from among their brethren; Jesus was of the tribe of Judah.

4.

That he would be like unto Moses. The comparisons of Jesus and Moses are too numerous to mention. Moses also predicted the dire results that would follow upon not harkening unto this prophet.

Peter climaxes his message by making the sweeping statement that all the prophets from the first one, Samuel, down to the very last one foretold of the days of the Son of man.
Then the appeal of the apostle. He strikes at the very heart of the Jew when he reminds him of the treasured truth that they are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with their fathers; saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. The strong inference is that the blessing which God promised to the world through them was nothing short of Jesus Christ. He had come through them, i.e. through their seed, and now He was to bless the families of the earth through His work of redemption. They were indeed honored and blessed, for God had now sent this one first to them, even as He came through them, to turn every one of them away from his iniquities; to give them that balm for which their hearts longed, the blotting out of their sins.

111.

What is the meaning of, the times of the restoration of all things?

112.

How did Peter conclude his message?

113.

What appeal is made by the apostle in the close of this message? What is the strong inference?

Shall we now note an outline of Peters message?
The circumstances of preaching. Act. 3:11.

Theme: The glorification of Gods Servant Jesus.

Introduction: The question of Peter framed as it was to point away from the apostles as a source for the healing. Act. 3:12.

IGod, your Father, has done this through Jesus. Act. 3:13-16.

1.

But you have delivered up this one, you have denied Him. Act. 3:13.

2.

You asked for a murderer instead. Act. 3:14.

3.

You have killed the very Prince of life. Act. 3:15 a.

4.

But God has raised Him from the dead and we are witnesses of this fact. Act. 3:15 b.

5.

It is our faith in Jesus that has performed this miracle. Act. 3:16.

IIHe was put to death in ignorance but in fulfillment of prophecy. Act. 3:17-18.

IIIA call to repentance and obedience for the blotting out of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Act. 3:19.

IVIf obedience is forthcoming the promise of the blessings of the second advent will be yours. Christ must needs remain in heaven until all things which are spoken of Him in the Old Testament have been fulfilled. Act. 3:20-21.

VFurther prophetic proof that Jesus is the Christ. Act. 3:22; Act. 3:24.

1.

Moses and what he said concerning Him. Act. 3:22-23.

2.

All the prophets have spoken of His days. Act. 3:24.

VIA call to the Jews, as sons of the prophets and covenants, to accept Christ and thus enter into all the promises of the prophets and the covenants. Act. 3:25-26.

Luke only gives us a brief resume of the words of Peter. No doubt Peter developed each of these points at great length, and with much application.

114.

What is the theme of Peters sermon?

115.

Write from memory the main outline of Peters message.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(11) In the porch that is called Solomons.The porchor better, portico or cloisterwas outside the Temple, on the eastern side. It consisted, in the Herodian Temple, of a double row of Corinthian columns, about thirty-seven feet high, and received its name as having been in part constructed, when the Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, with the fragments of the older edifice. The people tried to persuade Herod Agrippa the First to pull it down and rebuild it, but he shrank from the risk and cost of such an undertaking (Jos. Ant. xx. 9, 7). It was, like the porticos in all Greek cities, a favourite place of resort, especially as facing the morning sun in winter. (See Note on Joh. 10:23.) The memory of what had then been the result of their Masters teaching must have been fresh in the minds of the two disciples. Then the people had complained of being kept in suspense as to whether Jesus claimed to be the Christ, and, when He spoke of being One with the Father, had taken up stones to stone Him (Joh. 10:31-33). Now they were to hear His name as Holy and Just, as the Servant of Jehovah, as the very Christ (Act. 3:13-14; Act. 3:18).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

11. Held Peter and John Luke presupposes that as they went into the temple (Act 3:8) worship and sacrifice were duly performed, and that they are now returning out. The lame-born during that time held, that is, closely adhered, or clung, to the apostles, and thereby marked them out to the devout multitude as authors of the deed.

All the people The out-coming worshippers.

Ran together Collected in a dense crowd.

Porch called Solomon’s It was in the previous winter, probably, (as John narrates,) that John saw a crowd surround Jesus in a similar manner as this company surround himself and Peter in this same Solomon’s Porch. (See notes on Joh 10:23.)

Solomon’s Porch, as above noted, was formed by the rows of pillars sustaining a roof of Lebanon cedar parallel to and joining upon the inner side of the great eastern wall of the court of the Gentiles through its whole length. It bore the name of Solomon either because it was a part of Solomon’s original work, or, more probably, because it was based upon the ground of a filled-up valley, upon which ground stood, in the first temple, a similar porch built by Solomon. The crowd has therefore moved from the court of the women across the court of the Gentiles, on its way out of the temple enclosures.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.’

The contrast here is significant. The man held on to Peter and John, full of faith and confidence. He would not let them go. The crowd ran together greatly wondering. But what would they do? The porch might be called ‘Solomon’s’. But would they reveal the wisdom of Solomon in their response? Would they too ‘hold on’ to the Apostles? or would they remain ‘lame’.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Peter’s Sermon in the Temple In Act 3:11-26 we have Peter’s sermon in the Temple.

Act 3:15 Word Study on “prince” – Strong says the Greek word (G747) means, “a chief leader.” BDAG says it means, “a leader, ruler, prince,” and can refer to an “originator, founder, one who begins.” Koester notes that it is a compound word consisting of (first) and (to lead), denoting a both leader or a founder, with the translation “pioneer” reflecting both aspects of this word. Koester says the word is used in the LXX for those who led the children of Israel in the wilderness (Num 10:4; Num 13:2-3) and into battle (Jdg 5:15; Jdg 9:44; Jdg 11:6; Jdg 11:11 , 1Ch 5:24; 1Ch 8:28; 1Ch 26:26 , 2Ch 23:14, Neh 2:9, Jdt 14:2 ). [129] This Greek word is used four times in the New Testament (Act 3:15; Act 5:31, Heb 2:10; Heb 12:2). Luke calls Jesus Christ the “ of life” (Act 3:15), and “ and Saviour” (Act 5:31). The author of Hebrews will use the analogy of Jesus Christ and Moses, who led the children of Israel in the wilderness (Heb 3:1-6). Jesus will later be called the author and finisher of our faith (Act 12:2).

[129] Craig R. Koester, Hebrews, in The Anchor Bible, eds. William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 228.

Act 3:15, “And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”

Act 5:31, “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

Heb 2:10, “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Heb 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Comments – Jesus paved our way to salvation as the pioneer of our redemption (Heb 12:2). How?

Php 2:8, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Heb 5:8, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

Joshua, the son of Nun, was the captain of Israel’s salvation as he led them in the conquest of the land of Canaan. In like manner, Jesus Christ has become the captain of our salvation.

Act 3:16 “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong” – Comments Just to say the name of Jesus is not all there is to this miracle. In Act 19:13-16, Jewish vagabonds used Jesus’ name and were beaten up by a demoniac. You must have also faith in His name in order to use Jesus’ name; that is, you must be a born-again Christian.

Act 3:19 “when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” – Comments Note that when God’s Holy Spirit fills our hearts, we are strengthened, revived, and refreshed by His presence (Isa 28:12).

Isa 28:12, “To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.”

Act 3:22-23 Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament – This quote comes from Deu 18:15-19.

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;”

Deu 18:18-19, “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

Note that when the children of Israel asked God not to speak to them directly, the Lord harkened to their prayer. In answering this prayer, God gave them Moses as the spokesman for the Old Covenant. This prayer of the children of Israel is recorded in Exo 20:18-21 and Deu 5:23-33

In comparison, God raised up Jesus as the spokesman for the New Covenant. When the priests and Levites asked John the Baptist if he were “that prophet,” they were referring to this prophecy in Deu 18:15-19.

Joh 1:19-21, “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet ? And he answered, No.”

Act 3:24 Scripture Reference – Note:

Joh 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Act 3:11. Held Peter and John, The man still hung about his two benefactors, as fearing perhaps that he should lose the use of his limbs again, if he parted with them; for he could scarce yet, for joy, believe his own sense and experience. See on Joh 10:23.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Act 3:11 . ] But as he held fast Peter and John, i.e. in the impulse of excited gratitude took hold of them and clung to them , in order not to be separated from his benefactors. Comp. Joh 20:23 ; Rev 2:25 ; Rev 3:11 ; Son 3:4 : . Polyb. viii. 20. 8; Eur. Phoen. 600; Plut. Mor. p. 99 D. There is no sanction of usage for the meaning commonly given, and still adopted by Olshausen and De Wette: assectari . For in Col 2:19 occurs in its proper sense, to hold fast; the LXX. 2Sa 3:6 is not at all in point, and in Achill. Tat. 5 :p. 309, is: me retinere conabatur.

As to the porch of Solomon, see on Joh 10:23 .

] the plural after the collective noun . Khner. ad Xen. Anab. ii. 1. 6. Ast, ad Plat. Legg. I. p. 63. Ngelsb. on the Iliad , ii. 278. Comp. Act 5:16 .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

B.Peters Testimony Concerning Jesus, Delivered In The Presence Of The People

Act 3:11-26

11And as the lame man which was healed4 held [But as the lame man held fast to] Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomons, greatly wondering [full of wonder]. 12And [But] when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel [Ye Israelitish men], why marvel ye at this [this man]? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness5 [godliness] we had made6 this man to walk? 13The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob7, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son [Servant] Jesus; whom ye 8 delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined [after he had decided] to let him go [release him]. 14But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15And killed the Prince [Author]9 of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof We are witnesses. 16And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, [and] the faith which is [which wrought] by him hath given him this perfect soundness [this health] in the presence of you all. 17And now, brethren, I wot [know] that through [in] ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 18But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his [all the] prophets, that Christ [his Anointed]10 should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when [in order that] the times of refreshing shall [may] come from the presence [face] of the Lord; 20And he shall [And that he may] send Jesus Christ, which before was preached [the Messiah Jesus who was appointed]11 unto you; 21Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things [times wherein all things will be restored], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all12 [om. all] his holy prophets since the world began 13 [prophets from of old]. 22For Moses truly said Moses14 has said] unto the fathers 15 [om. unto the fathers], A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of [out of] your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall [will] say unto you. 23And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. 24Yea, and [And] all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold16 of [om. of] these days. 25Ye are the17 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. 26Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus18, sent [his Servant, sent] him to bless you, in turning every one of you from his iniquities.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Act 3:11. And as the lame man held [fast] to Peter and John.Large numbers of persons, full of wonder, gathered around the two apostles, to whom the man that had been lame, continued to cling; Peter was both required and enabled by this circumstance, to deliver an address to the people. It induced him to explain the occurrence itself, and, in general to speak of Jesus. Luke employs the word , as the address was virtually an answer to a question which the wondering glances and excited movements of the spectators seemed to direct to him. The precise locality of this assemblage of people and of the address, is indicated by Luke; it was Solomons porch in the court [called the great court, 2Ch 4:9; 2Ch 6:13; Winer, Realw. art.Temple]; this portico or colonnade was distinguished from the others by bearing Solomons name, inasmuch as it was a remnant of the original temple built by him; it had escaped the general destruction of the building which Nebuchadnezzar had ordered. The immediate cause, however, in consequence of which the people ran together unto the apostles, lay in the man himself; with a heart full of gratitude and devotion, he had attached himself to them, seized them by the hand, and held them fast; the latter is the clearly proved meaning of the phrase: , while it can by no meansbe established on philological grounds that the phrase means: to hold to, to follow some one.

Act 3:12. a. Peters address consists of two parts:1. Instructions concerning the Author and the purpose of the miracle, Act 3:12-18; it was not wrought by us, who are men, but by God; He purposed thereby to glorify his Servant Jesus, whom Israel had denied and killed, but whom God raised up. 2. An exhortation to repentance and conversion, in order that the sins of the Israelites might be forgiven, and that the blessing which all the promises had taught them to expect, might be imparted to them through Christ, Act 3:19-26.

b. Why marvel ye at this?Peter does not reprove the people simply for expressing great astonishment, but for assuming that the healing of the man had been an independent act of the apostles, performed solely by them. For the wondering and steady gaze () of the people, seemed to say: What vast power resides in these men ( )! OrWhat holy men these must be, since God rewards them with such miraculous gifts! The latter thought would undoubtedly suggest that of merit, the word which Luther has employed in his version [for ]. Peter, therefore, denies that he and John possessed either such a physical power as the people imagined, or such a meritorious ability of the soul.The expression involves an inexact use of the genitive of the purpose [Winer: Gr. N. T., 44, 4]; literally: as if we had done aught so that he might walk. [ rendered by L. in the version above, not as a neuter (this event), but as a masc. pron. (this man), with de Wette, Meyer, Alford, Hackett, etc.Tr.]

Act 3:13-14. a. The God of Abraham hath glorified his Son [Servant] Jesus.After the error has been exposed, the truth is set forth (as in Act 2:15 ff.): Not we have wrought the miracle; its author is God, the covenantal God of our fathers, and, indeed, of the original founders of our nation.The apostle refers, at the same time, to the author of the miracle, and to its design and significance. It was the design of this miracle to glorify Jesus, to exhibit him in his , and to teach men to see and confess his dignity and the power of his higher life, attained through the resurrection and ascension, as well as to demonstrate that in him dwelt the fulness of vital and saving power, the gracious exercise of which was designed for the benefit of mankind.But what is the meaning of when applied to Jesus? The earlier interpreters, without specially dwelling on the point, assumed that the term was equivalent to , with the single exception of Piscator, in the seventeenth century. Bengel explains the sense to be: Servant of God, as in Mat 12:18. And since Nitzsch has published the results of his investigations (in Stud. u. Kr. 1828, p. 331 ff.), all the recent interpreters agree that .. means, not the Son, but the Servant of God. [So Olsh., Stier (in Red. d. Ap. ad loc. 2d ed.), Alford, Hackett, Robinson (in Lex. art.,, 2. c.), etc.; Alexander ascribes to the word a dubious or double sense.Tr.]. Indeed, the term is a standing predicate with Luke, being applied to Israel (Gosp. Luk 1:54), and to David (Act 4:25, and Gosp. Luk 1:69). In the present passage, as well as in Act 3:26, below, and in Act 4:27; Act 4:30, as also in Mat 12:18, it corresponds to in Isaiah [ch. 40ch. 66].

b. But ye denied.Peter speaks unreservedly and emphatically of the sin which his hearers had committed against Jesus, so that he might lead them to repentance. Ye havehe saysdelivered up Jesus, denied him before Pilate, and even preferred, and interceded for a murderer, while ye killed Him. He shows that they advanced, step by step, in crime and guilt. He exhibits the sin of the people in a still stronger light, by means of antithetic propositions. He, first, contrasts Israel with Pilate, the pagan: the latter pronounced the sentence that Jesus should be released [Luk 23:16; Joh 19:4]; the people, on the contrary, denied Himtheir Messiah. He then contrasts Jesus with Barabbas: the latter was a murderer; Jesus was not only innocent and holy, but even the Author and Giver of life; yet you released the former, and killed Jesus.

Act 3:15-16. Peter here explains the manner in which God had glorified (Act 3:13) his Servant Jesus: Whom God hath raised from the dead.And, (he continues,) it is solely in the power of the name of Jesus, received in faith, that this man, once lame, has been made strong, and restored to health. We, the apostles, bear witness to that eventthe raising up of Jesus; of the restoration of this man to health and strength, ye have yourselves all been eye-witnesses ( ).

Act 3:17-18.And now, brethren.After showing the necessity of a change of mind and feeling on the part of his hearers, the apostle testifies, that both repentance and forgiveness are possible, in reference, first, to the sinner, Act 3:17, and, secondly, to God, Act 3:18. However great the sin is, it may, nevertheless, be forgiven, since it was committed in ignorance, both by the people, and by their rulers. And the apostle makes this declaration in the most sincere lovea love already revealed in the appellation brethren, which he here employs; compare with it the more formal ., in Act 3:12.In reference to God, the sin of Israel, consisting in the rejection and execution of the Messiah, may be forgiven in so far as it, at the same time, involved the fulfilment of the decree that the Messiah should suffer, which God had made from of old, and foretold through all the prophets.

Act 3:19-21. Repent ye therefore.The apostle states the conclusion which is to be drawn from the words which he had pronounced, and, in a direct appeal to his hearers, calls on them to turn back and change their minds; at the same time, he not only represents the blotting out of their sins as the result of such repentance (, applied [as in Col 2:14] to a document that is obliterated), but he also opens a still wider view before them, and exhibits a time of refreshment and blessedness, for which, too, they may hope. Of that time God is the author and source ( ); it commences with the return of Christ, whom heaven receives during the interval, but whom God will send personally (, etc.); it consists ofall that which God had hitherto promised through the prophets (, etc.). In the subject [or acc. before the inf.] is not , but , i.e. heaven must receive him [as in the Engl. version], not, he must take possession of heaven (Luther), the latter not agreeing with the usus loquendi of . [On the contrary, Bengel (Gnomon) holds that is the subject, and translates: Who must, etc.; he terms the construction here preferred by Lechler, and by many others, a violenta interpretatio, since it implies that heaven is greater than Christ, and since it is hostile to the grandeur of Christ, who is above all heavens, Eph 4:10, etc. So, also, Olsh. and Lange. Stier [Red. d. Ap. ad loc. 2d ed.) unequivocally adopts Bengels views, and rejects those which Lechler (whom he specially means) here prefers. Tyndale and Cranmer translated: who must receive heaven. (Alexander, ad loc.)Tr.]. According to the established usus loquendi of , it regularly denotes a restoration, or return of an earlier condition; see below, Doctr. and Ethical. 6.) [The before heavenis supplied by the translatorswithout reason, etc. (J. A. Alex.).Tr.]

Act 3:22-24. Moses said.[Deu 18:15; Deu 18:18-19, combined with Gen 17:14]. The language in these verses is intended to develop more fully and to confirm all that Peter had intimated in Act 3:21 concerning the word of prophecy. Moseshe sayshas promised that a prophet shall come forth out of Israel, and has declared that they who do not unconditionally obey him, shall be cut off and destroyed; and the succeeding prophets, beginning with Samuel, have all uttered predictions respecting these times.

Act 3:25-26. Ye are the children, etc.Peter applies the whole to his own age and to the people before him, and presents two aspects of the case: first, the promise of the blessing [made to Abraham, Gen 12:3; Gen 18:18; Gen 22:18; to Isaac, Gen 26:4; to Jacob,. Gen 28:14] belongs, as he declares, to his hearers; but, secondly, on the condition that they fulfil the duty imposed upon them, of repenting and turning to God.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Those powers by which miracles were wrought, never resided inherently in any one of the children of God; here the apostles expressly guard their hearers against such a delusive thought; the exercise of such powers always depends on the might and free grace of God. The error which the apostles expose, is the assumption that the miracle proceeded originally either from a magic power ( ) or from moral merit (). If even the Redeemer ascribed to the Father the works which he did [which the Father hath given me to finish, Joh 5:36], the apostles, still more emphatically, ascribe their miracles to God the Father. But even as the miracles wrought by Jesus were designed to bear witness of him and glorify him (Joh 5:20; Joh 5:36; Mat 11:5), so all the deeds which his disciples performed by the grace and power of God, are designed to contribute to the honor of Christ, and to praise and magnify his name. ( ).

2. It is not simply an accommodation to the habits of thought and the mode of expression of Israel, when Peter says: The God of our fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath glorified Jesus; those words, much rather, express the truth, that the God of Abraham, etc., is likewise the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Or, in other words, it is the same God who revealed himself to the fathers, and who now reveals himself to us through the Son; the new covenant is founded on the old covenant, and the latter already points to Jesus Christ.
3. The phraseology, according to which Jesus appears as , (that is, not a Servant of God, but the Servant of God, Act 3:13; Act 3:26, in a preminent and special sense), alludes to the prophecies of the Old Testament, particularly to Isaiah 41. ff., and expresses a conception which refers, directly, to the Work of Jesus Christ alone, and not to his Person. Jesus, namely, is He through whom God executes or accomplishes all that he has determined to do, and promised in his word; comp. Act 3:21; Act 3:24; Act 3:26; the blessing which God had promised to Abraham, and, through him, to the human race, is realized and bestowed through Christ; all that God has ever promised through the prophets, is fulfilled in Christ. This is truly a lofty conception. It also undoubtedly assigns a high rank to the Person of Christ, although less directly, implying at least his intimate and peculiar union with God, even if not his deity.

4. With respect to the Person of Jesus, Peter describes Him as the Holy and Just One (Act 3:14), that is, not merely guiltless, as contradistinguished from Barabbas, the criminal, but in a positive sense, perfectly holy and just, as well in relation to God (), as in relation to men (). And, doubtless, here, too, the definite article [ , etc.] is of weight, and has even a doctrinal significance; for it indicates a certain peculiarity not elsewhere found, and exalts Jesus, in a moral and religious respect, above the whole human race. To this view the title admirably corresponds, which he receives in Act 3:15, [from and or , Wahl: Clavis.Tr.] ; it contrasts him with the murderer, the man who deprived others of life; Jesus, on the contrary, is the Author of life, opens the way to life, and is the Leader of those who seek life (primarily, in consequence of his resurrection). We are, therefore, enabled to follow in the way in which he leads, inasmuch as he imparts eternal life and blessedness to those who believe in him; at the same time, he imparts, through faith in his name, a vital power to the body also, Act 3:16.

5. Repentance, and conversion or turning from the evil way, are the indispensable conditions of salvation, that is, the conditions on which, first, (Act 3:19), the sins committed, and the guilt contracted by us, are forgiven and blotted out, and, secondly, (Act 3:20; Act 3:26) participation in the promised blessing and in the gracious gifts of God, is granted. The apostles by no means encourage the delusion that any one can acquire a claim to salvation by reason of his descent from the people of God, without being personally prepared for it, and without rendering to God the obedience of faith. Here, Peter demands, immediatelyafter having acknowledged his hearers to be children of the covenant or parties in it (Act 3:25), that they should turn away from sin and be changed in mind and spirit, if they desire to receive the promised Abrahamic blessing which is now offered in Christ (Act 3:26).The application of these truths to Christendom is obvious.

6. The words of the apostle present a grand and comprehensive view of the counsels and acts of God, and of the course of divine revelation, from the beginning to the end. All the promises that God made to Abraham, all the words that he spoke by the mouth of Moses concerning a Prophet who was yet to come, and all the predictions of Samuel and the prophets who succeeded him, essentially refer to Christ as their central pointto his sufferings (Act 3:18)to the blessing, given through him, and embracing the world (Act 3:25)and to a future restoration of all things (Act 3:21). Jesus Christ, the Servant of God, whom he sent (Act 3:26), has come, has suffered (Act 3:18), but is now invisible, since heaven received him, until God shall send him again, namely, until he comes the second time from heaven (Act 3:20 ff.). This future is described (1) as , seasons of refreshing (Act 3:19), that is, as a time in which rest, peace and recreation will succeed the heat, the violence and the pressure of conflicts and sorrows. The same time is described (2) as (Act 3:21)this latter, objectively; the former, subjectively [the latter, descriptive of the object; the former, referring to the subjects or persons affected by the object.Tr.]. The usus loquendi shows that these terms refer to a restoration. But what is it that shall be restored? Baumgarten [Die Apostelgeschichte] I. p. 80 replies: Nothing else than the kingdom of Israel, the whole power and glory of the Israelitic kingdom. Such a mode of interpretation, however, does not deduce the main point from the text, but at once inserts it in the text. The words themselves do not suggest such a meaning, but convey one that is far more comprehensive, namely, the following: All that God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets, shall be restored, and be placed in its original order, and in that condition which God designed and promised. It may be added that this restoration is not to be understood as being exclusively a return of a condition which had existed at a previous time, but rather as a renewal of all things, that will partly be restorative in its operation, but also, in part, far transcend all that had ever existed. And we are the more fully authorized to adopt this interpretation, as the view presented by the apostle does not embrace Israel alone, but comprehends all mankind, and is uncircumscribed; the blessing that was promised to Abraham, is to be imparted to all the nations of the earth, Act 3:25. Even if he terms the Israelites the children of the covenant, he does not refer to any exclusive privileges, or to a monopoly or particularism, but only to priority in time. For Christ was sent, not to Israel only, but to Israel first, Act 3:26. And this expression presupposes, and indirectly testifies that Christ and the blessing which is given in him, are appointed for the Gentiles also, although they occupy only the second place.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Act 3:11. And as the lame man held Peter and John.The holy ties which unite awakened children of God and their spiritual fathers: by such ties, I. The awakened are strengthened; II. Their spiritual fathers are encouraged; III. The Church is edified; IV. The Lord is glorified.

Act 3:12. Why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us?A solemn question addressed to us by all the faithful servants of God, when we survey the wonderful works of God, for the purpose, 1. Of guarding us (a) against a mere carnal wonder at the external form of the events, and (b) against the error of estimating too highly the human agents, and their power and merit; 2. Of directing our attention to (a) the Lord, who alone doeth wonders (Act 3:13; Act 3:15). (Admire Him, and do not idly wonder!); (b) ourselves, our guilt (Act 3:13-14), our duty (Act 3:19), our salvation (Act 3:20).Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory! [Psa 115:1]. Such is the confession of all true servants of God. (Starke).Men seek after new wonders, and are amazed; they forget those that are old, and do not rightly apply them. See Psa 106:21-22. (Quesn.).The works of God can be distinctly seen only in the light of his word.

Act 3:13. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: the light which this truth casts, 1. On the Old Covenant, as the type and foundation of the New; 2. On the New Covenant, as the development and fulfilment of the Old.

Act 3:13-14. Ye denied Him! This sin is, since the resurrection of Jesus, the most heinous of all. (Apost. Past.).Peter had himself previously denied the Lord Jesus; but when his Saviour had forgiven him this sin, he had great boldness in rebuking those who also committed it. Let faithful pastors bear this in mind. (ib.).

Act 3:15. Jesus, the Prince of life: as such, 1. Denied and slain by the world; 2. Raised up and glorified by God; 3. Declared and manifested in the Church.Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good. Gen 1:20. These words, in their deepest sense, were fulfilled in Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One. (Starke).Men deal with the gifts and mercies which God bestows, as the Jews dealt with Christ; man can only destroy them; God alone can preserve or restore. (Quesn.).Christ, the Holy One and the Just, in an absolute sense, not only, 1. As compared with Barabbas, the murderer, the representative of sinful men, but also, 2. In the presence of his God and Father.Christ the Holy One, also the Prince of life.Why do the apostles of the Lord so emphatically declare themselves to be the witnesses of his resurrection? (Schleiermacher: Easter sermon): 1. In reference to themselves; they are conscious of their human infirmity, and gratefully praise the goodness of their heavenly Father, who aids them in their weakness; 2. In reference to the Redeemer; his resurrection expresses the judgment of God respecting the death which he had suffered, and is the evidence of his eternal spiritual presence in the Church.

Act 3:16. Through faith, etc.The faith that worketh miracles. The poet says: A miraclethe favrite child of faith. I. Faith performs the miracle (Peter and John); II. Faith experiences the miracle (the lame man, who is a believer, at least after the miracle is wrought, if not previously); III. Faith comprehends the miracle (the believing hearers).

Act 3:17. Through ignorance ye did it.(Christ on the cross; They know not what they do, [Luk 23:34]. Paul to Timothy: I did it ignorantly [1Ti 1:13]). I. To whom may such words be applied? Not t all! II. What is their purpose? Not to furnish grounds for justifying sinful acts.Ignorance may lessen, but does not cancel guilt, since it may itself be the result of a guilty course of conduct. (Gerlach).

Act 3:19. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.These words, in which grace and pardon are offered to such great sinners, illustrate the importance of repentance in the most striking manner. History does not present a case in which pardon was offered under such circumstances; there can be no escape from ruin for those who do not now accept it. (Starke).The apostle furnishes a noble model to those who desire to preach repentance in a truly apostolical manner. We may do injustice to the subject by saying either too little or too much. We are always inclined to proceed to extremes; hence, we either prematurely encourage men to hope for the forgiveness of their sins, or else, we demand, in too high a degree, the grace of holiness, before we give them an assurance of the pardon of their sins. The apostles teach us to observe a just medium. (Apost. Past.).To repent or change the mind, and to be converted or turn to the way of peace, belong together, (ib.).Behold how the Holy Spirit executes his fourfold office, in the discourse of Peter! The office, I. Of convincing of sin (Act 3:13-15); II. Of instructing (Act 3:13; Act 3:15-16; Act 3:18; Act 3:21-25); III. Of exhorting (Act 3:19); IV. Of consoling (Act 3:20; Act 3:26).How well the apostles understood the method of exercising, in the most emphatic manner, their power to forgive sins! How successfully they exercised it, when they called on men to repent! (K. H. Rieger).

The times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.The times of refreshing experienced by the repentant and believing: I. In the external relations of life, after sore afflictions; II. In the inner life, after the godly sorrow of the soul; III. In eternity, after the toils of this life.We suffer from a painful feeling of oppression, when we repent and behold the amount both of the evil which we have done, and of the good which we have left undone; but we revive when God reveals his mercy to us; Isa 57:15-18.When inward and outward temptations, like a scorching flame, threaten to consume us, the Lord appears, bringing relief to the soul; Gen 18:1; Isa 38:17.At length an eternal time of refreshing will come, when we shall have intered that world, in which the heat can no longer consume us. Rev 7:16-17. (Starke).All true refreshing, whether in this life, or in the eternal world, must come from the presence of the Lord. (ib.).

Act 3:21. The threefold restoration: I. It did occur, when the way of salvation, under the new covenant, was opened; II. It does occur, when we are converted; III. It will occur, in the consummation of the world. (A. F. Schmidt: Predigtstud.).

Act 3:22. Christ and Moses: the relation in which the latter stands to Christ, is like, I. That of prophecy to the fulfilment; II. That of the law to the Gospel; III. That of a servant to the son, [Heb 3:5-6]. (Leonh. and Sp.).

Act 3:22-24. Christ, a prophet; nevertheless, more than a prophet:I. He teaches the way of God in truth; yet he is himself the way to the Father; II. He prophesies: yet he is the great object and the end of all prophecy; III. He is anointed with the Holy Spirit; yet he himself sends the Spirit. (ib.)The prophet of the new covenant: I. Who is he? II. What call did he receive? III. What duties do we owe to him? (Langb.).Christ, the heart and life, I. Of the Scriptures; II. Of believers; III. Of the history of the world.All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen. [2Co 1:20].

Act 3:25-26. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant! These are words that, I. Are full of promise; II. Impose a solemn responsibility.In Act 3:26, which recapitulates the prominent thoughts of the preceding discourse, Jesus appears as the true Isaac (the son of joy), the son of Abraham (the father of a multitude), who was himself the progenitor of the true Jacob = Israel (the struggling and conquering people of the Spirit). (Stier: Reden d. Ap.).

ON THE WHOLE SECTION.

The threefold witness which Peter bears of Christ: I. In him all the miracles of God are combined, Act 3:12-17; II. In him all men can find salvation, Act 3:18-21; III. In him all prophecy is fulfilled. (Lisco).

To the Lord alone be all the glory given! Peter unfolds and applies this thought, by directing attention, I. To his own and Johns powerlessness, Act 3:11-12; II. To the sin of his hearers and the whole people, Act 3:13-17; III. To the glorious testimony which God bore to Christ, Act 3:18-24; IV. To that great salvation which was offered in Christ to all the people, Act 3:25-26. [The fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament (Act 3:18; Act 3:21-24]: I. The mode; (a) sometimes delayed (2Pe 3:4, reasons); (b) often in an unexpected form (Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, Joh 1:45-46); (c) always certain (divine attributes); II. The purpose; (a) to demonstrate the truth of revealed religion; (b) to confirm the faith and the hopes of the people of God; (c) to glorify God in Christ; III. Lessons; (a) teaching usto adore God devoutly; (b) to study the prophetic word diligently; (c) to demonstrate the sincerity of our faith in God by our zeal in his service. Tr.]

Footnotes:

[4]Act 3:11. The words [of text. rec.; the authority not stated], were substituted in the text for , as an ecclesiastical lection [select portion of the Scripture] began at Act 3:11. [So Meyer.The words are omitted by A. B. C. E. and Cod. Sin., all of which read simply ; Syr., Vulg., etc.Tr.]

[5]Act 3:12. a. In place of , several ancient versions read , which seemed to derive support from . [., translated holiness in the Engl. Bible, is uniformly rendered godliness in the 14 other places in which it occurs in the N. T.Tr.]

[6]Act 3:12. b. The reading instead of [of text. rec. with the other uncial MSS. and Cod Sin.] is but feebly supported by MSS., [by D.] and is apparently a correction intended to add strength to the original.

[7]Act 3:13. a. Some MSS. have . . . . [So Lachm. and Born, read, in accordance with A. C. D. Cod. Sin. Vulg., etc.; Alford adheres to the text. rec. with B. (e sil) E., and rejects the other reading as a later correction to suit LXX. Exo 3:6, and Mat 22:32.Tr.]

[8]Act 3:13. b. [omitted, after in text. rec.] without a corresponding [Winer, 63. 2. e], is sustained by important MSS. [by A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin.; Syr. Vulg. (quidem) etc.Tr.]

[9]Act 3:15. [For Prince, the margin (Engl. B.) offers Author, from (Rheims, 1580, and) the Vulg. (auctorem); the latter is preferred by Alexander, Hackett, Owen, etc.Tr.]

[10]Act 3:18. , (not ), after , and not after . [as in text. rec.] is the reading which Bengel had already adopted, and which, more recently, Lachm. and Tisch. recognize, in accordance with important authorities. [B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.; Vulg. etc. So also Alf.Tr.]

[11]Act 3:20. The reading is to be preferred to [of the text. rec. with many minuscules]; the latter, the far more easy reading of the two, is not sustained by good authorities; . is adopted by Bengel, Griesb. and recent editors. [In accordance with A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.Tr.]

[12]Act 3:21. a. , instead of of the t. rec. is adopted by Griesb., Lachm., [Alf.] etc., in accordance with weighty authorities [namely, A. B. C. D. and Cod. Sin. Vulg., borrowed from Act 3:24, was intended to add strength to the original. (Meyer).Tr.]

[13]Act 3:21. b. The reading [of text. rec.] should be retained as genuine; it is wanting only in a few authorities. [Omitted in D., but found in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin. Vulg., etc.Tr.]

[14]Act 3:22. a. without is far better sustained than , although the latter undoubtedly corresponds to the logical connection. [, alone, in A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.Alf reads: . .Tr.]

[15]Act 3:22. b. , in some MSS. before, in others, after , is a later addition, and, in accordance with high authorities, is cancelled by Lachm. and Tisch. [and by Alf.; found in few MSS.; omitted by A. B. C. Cod. Sin. Vulg., etc.Tr.]

[16]Act 3:24. [of text. rec.] is an attempted correction of the simple form ; the latter is well sustained [by A. B. D. E. Cod. Sin., etc.Tr.]

[17]Act 3:25. The article is omitted before in the text. rec. [with D.] but is sufficiently sustained. [By A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin.Tr.]

[18]Act 3:26. after [of text. rec. with A. B.], is an addition, which is not sufficiently sustained in order to be admitted. [Omitted by C. D. E. Cod. Sin. Syr. Vulg., etc. Alf. says: All such additions, if at all the subject of variations, are spurious.Tr.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

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. (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? (13) 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. (14) But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; (15) And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. (16) 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.

Reader! I charge it upon your heart, while I desire to feel the full impression of it upon my own, that in attending to this very precious Sermon of Peter’s, we do not overlook the ministry in it, of God the Holy Ghost. It is delightful to behold the animation of the servant in the Lord’s cause: but never to forget from whence the whole energy is derived, in the master. And I pray the Reader to call to mind, the particular area of the times, when this miracle, and preaching took place. The Son of God, having finished redemption-work, had just before returned to heaven. And God the Holy Ghost was now come down, in a more open manifestation of himself, to carry on the glorious cause. His special act, therefore, as the Original and Almighty Architect of the Church, was to build up the tabernacle of David which was fallen down, and close up the breaches thereof, Amo 9:11 . Hence, the whole ministers to his glory. And it is blessed, yea, very blessed, at every verse we pass over, in this wonderful account, to watch, and mark, the footsteps of the Holy Ghost; and like the Prophet on the watch tower, to be on the lookout, for the Lord’s manifestations, in what we read, of his grace in our hearts, Hab 2:1-2 .

Let the Reader not fail to observe, with what energy and power, under the influence of God the Spirit, Peter opened his animated discourse. He begins with humbly declining all pretensions to himself, and his partner John , of any merit or worth, from the deed Wrought in the cripple; and strives to call off the attention of the people, in the astonishment which they had expressed, from them, as instruments; in order to fix their views on Jesus, as the Author, And having thus called forth their notice, he begins with a text from their own Scriptures, which they were supposed all of them to be well acquainted with, in relation to the Covenant. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob: the God (said he) of our fathers. Nothing could have been more happily chosen, by way of arresting their attention. And no higher proof could be needed in testimony, that the Lord the Spirit both directed the Apostle’s mind, to the choice of this scripture; and gave to the Apostle’s mouth, ability to unfold, and explain it to the people. While the Apostle was speaking to them of Abraham’s God, and the God of their fathers; he could be setting forth no strange gods, or new gods, as Moses charged some of old with, newly come up, which neither they, nor their fathers knew, Abraham’s God, in his threefold character of Persons, was well known, and well proclaimed in the scriptures of eternal truth. Here therefore Peter takes his stand, and demands their attention.

Having thus paved the way by a foundation for discourse, which as the Israel of God they could not but acknowledge, it was the very principles of their religion to stand upon: Peter next advanced to the one great subject of all his, and all the Apostles’ preaching; namely, the Lord Jesus Christ in his Person, Godhead, Offices, Characters, and Relations: and to set him forth as God had set him forth, in the word of his grace. The God of our fathers, (said he,) Abraham’s God in Covenant, hath glorified his Son Jesus. Reader! pause over the blessed words, for they are most blessed. The whole design of Jehovah, from beginning to end, and from one eternity to another, through all the time-state of the Church, is to glorify his Son Jesus. The Bible is to this one end, and is full to this, and this only purpose. Every Promise centers but in Him; yea, Jesus himself is but as one promise, for every other is comprehended, and folded up in this One, 2Co 1:20 . Every Precept, both under the law, and the Gospel, tends but to exalt Christ Jesus, For by him the whole have been fulfilled, and he is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, Rom 10:4 . And as they relate to his people in him, the whole is comprehended in looking to Christ, and believing on him, Joh 6:28-29 . Every Ordinance is intended to minister but to him: indeed Christ himself is the One great Ordinance of Jehovah; for there is salvation in no other, neither is there any other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, Act 4:12 . Reader! what saith the experience of your heart to these things? You see, that the great will and purpose of Jehovah, is, to glorify his Son Jesus. Is this your will and purpose also? Do you make him, what Jehovah hath made him, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: the Author and Finisher of faith? Oh! how sweet is it, when a poor sinner discovers, that He, who is Jehovah’s salvation to the ends of the earth, is his salvation also. He is the praise of all his saints; the people near to him! Rev 1:11Rev 1:11 ; Heb 12:2 ; Isa 49:6 ; Psa 148:14

It is well worthy the observation of the Reader, with what firmness the Apostle chargeth the men of Israel, with the crucifixion of Jesus. He hesitateth not to bring it home to their consciences. And what I admire in this short, but sweet sermon of Peter’s, is, that while he bears testimony to the human nature of Christ, in the proof arising from his death; he most decidedly proves his (divine nature in the strong terms by which he calls them: the Holy One, and the Prince (or Giver) of life. And in relation to the miracle wrought, he refers the whole into his Almighty name. And his name (saith Peter) through faith in his name hath made this man strong whom ye see and know. Reader! do not overlook in this place that faith, upon all occasions, hath for its whole object and dependence, the Person of Christ. I beg the Reader to consult a few of the many scriptures which speak of Christ, as the Holy One, and the Holy One of Israel: for they can refer to no other, Deu 33:8 ; Psa 89:19Psa 89:19 ; Isa 49:7Isa 49:7 ; Dan 4:13 ; Heb 1:12 ; Mar 2:24 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

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.

Ver. 11. Held Peter and John ] Fearing perhaps lest, if he should lose them, he should lose his limbs again. So that demoniac,Mar 5:18Mar 5:18 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

11 26 .] THE DISCOURSE OF PETER THEREUPON.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

11 . ] holding , physically: not spoken of mental adhesion, but of actual holding by the hand or arm, that he might not be separated from them in the crowd, but might testify to all, who his benefactors were.

. . ] See Joh 10:23 , note.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Act 3:11 . : in his joy and gratitude, “holding them” in a physical sense, although it is possible that it signifies that the healed man joined himself to the Apostles more closely as a follower (Act 4:14 ), fearing like the demoniac healed by Christ (Luk 8:38 ) lest he should be separated from his benefactors, cf. Son 3:4 . . .: better “portico,” R.V. margin; colonnade, or cloister (Joh 10:23 ). It derived its name from Solomon, and was the only remnant of his temple. A comparison of the notices in Josephus, B. J. , v., 5, 1; Ant. , xv., 11, 5 and xx., 9, 7, make it doubtful whether the foundations only, or the whole colonnade, should be referred back to Solomon. Ewald’s idea that the colonnade was so called because it was a place of concourse for the wise in their teaching has not found any support: Stanley’s Jewish Church , ii., 184; Edersheim, Temple and its Services , pp. 20, 22, and Keim, Geschichte Jesu , iii., 161. It was situated on the eastern side of the Temple, and so was sometimes called the Eastern Cloister, and from its position it was a favourite resort. .: the present participle is used just as the present tense is found in the notice in St. John’s Gospel, chap. Act 5:2 (see Blass, Philology of the Gospels , pp. 241, 242), and if we cannot conclude from this that the book was composed before the destruction of the Temple, the vividness of the whole scene and the way in which Solomon’s Porch is spoken of as still standing, points to the testimony of an eye-witness. Nsgen argues that this narrative and others in the early chapters may have been derived directly from St. John, and he instances some verbal coincidences between them and the writings of St. John ( Apostelgeschichte , p. 28). But if we cannot adopt his conclusions there are good reasons for referring some of these Jerusalem incidents to St. Peter, or to John Mark, see introduction and chap. 12. Feine rightly insists upon this notice and that in Act 3:2 as bearing the stamp of a true and trustworthy tradition.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 3:11-16

11While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. 12But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. 16And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.”

Act 3:11 “while he was clinging to Peter” This is a present active participle. I would imagine he was holding on to Peter as Mary held on to Jesus in the garden (cf. Joh 20:16-17).

“the portico of Solomon” This was a long covered area along the eastern side of the court of the Gentiles (cf. Josephus’ Antiq. 20.9.7). The roof was supported by many columns. It got its name from the fact that the old foundations of Solomon’s temple were located in the same general area. Jesus taught there often (cf. Joh 10:23).

Act 3:12 “when Peter saw this” They saw the amazement and curiosity of the crowd and took advantage (cf. Col 4:3; 2Ti 4:2) of the opportunity to share the gospel (i.e., the second sermon of the new church).

“Men of Israel” Peter called them this in Act 2:22. Peter is still addressing Jews.

“why. . .why” Peter asked why they were surprised by a miraculous healing. Had not Jesus performed these kinds of miracles during the last week of His life?

Also, why did they look at Peter and John so admiringly, as if they did it? This was a sign of the trustworthiness of the gospel and the power of the name of the resurrected Messiah.

The Spirit performed this miracle for several reasons.

1. to confirm the leadership of Peter and John

2. to help a needy man

3. to witness to the Jews at the Temple

Act 3:13 “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” This shows that Jesus’ ministry and the gospel were vitally connected to the Covenant God and Covenant people of the Old Testament (cf. Exo 3:6; Exo 3:15; Luk 20:37).

Christianity must be characterized as the true fulfillment of Judaism (cf. Mat 5:17-19). Many Jews would see it as a perversion, but NT writers saw it as a fulfillment. The followers of Jesus are the promised fruition of the “new covenant” of Jer 31:31-34 (cf. Gal 6:16). Israel did not complete her missionary task of being a kingdom of priests for the world (cf. Exo 19:5-6; 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6). The church has been given the mandate (cf. Mat 28:18-20; Luk 24:46-47; Act 1:8). God’s goal is the restoration of His image in mankind, so that His initial purpose of fellowship can be accomplished. If there is only one God (i.e., monotheism, see Special Topic at Act 2:39), then there cannot be a special people, only servants to serve God’s universal purposes with all humanity (see Special Topic at Act 1:8).

“has glorified” This term can be understood in several ways.

1. the immediate context to the healing of the lame man in His name

2. the larger context of Peter’s sermon to Jesus being resurrected and thereby glorified

3. the OT context to Jesus as the coming Messiah

4. in John’s Gospel this term is always used by Jesus Himself for His crucifixion (cf. Act 7:39; Act 12:10; Act 12:23; Act 13:31-32; Act 16:14; Act 17:1).

SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (DOXA)

“His servant” The term “servant” (pais used regularly in the LXX)

1. an honorific title in the OT used for Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and David (cf. Psalms 105; Luk 1:69)

2. in the Servant Songs of Isaiah (i.e., Isa 42:1-5; Isa 49:1-7; Isa 50:4-11; Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12)

3. the nation of Israel (cf. Isa 41:8-9; Isa 42:19; Isa 43:10; Isa 44:1; Isa 44:21; also LXX seen in Luk 1:54)

4. God’s Messiah (cf. Isa 42:1; Isa 52:13; Isa 53:11)

5. Pais is used of Jesus as the Servant/Messiah in Act 3:13; Act 3:26; Act 4:27; Act 4:30

There is not a clear distinction between the corporate and individual aspect, especially in the last Song (i.e., Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12). In context it cannot refer to Israel.

1. the nation cannot be the innocent one who brings redemption because the nation deserves the judgment (cf. Isa 41:18-22; Isa 53:8 d)

2. the Septuagint changes “you” in Isa 52:14 to “Him” (also in Act 3:15). The Jewish translators before Jesus’ birth (possibly 250-150 B.C.) saw this text as Messianic and individual.

“Jesus” When the name Jesus is used by itself, it usually emphasizes His humanness (cf. Act 3:6).

“whom you delivered and disowned” The “you” is emphatic! It was not only the Jewish leaders who were responsible for Jesus’ death (cf. Act 3:17; Act 2:23). Peter makes a specific reference to the crowd’s responses before Pilate (cf. Luk 23:18-25). It is possible some of these may have been there, but Peter addresses this crowd as if they were responsible as a group (cf. Act 3:15). God’s chosen people (Jews) “delivered” and “disowned” God’s Messiah (cf. Joh 1:11).

“Pilate” See Special Topic below.

SPECIAL TOPIC: PONTIUS PILATE

“when he had decided to release Him” This refers to Luk 23:4; Luk 23:14; Luk 23:22, where Pilate says three times, “I find no guilt in Him,” as well as the three times he tried to release Him (cf. Luk 23:16; Luk 23:20; Luk 23:22). Many scholars believe Acts was written to show that Roman officials did not find Jesus treasonous. Pilate was forced by the Jewish leadership to do that which he was reluctant to do himself.

Act 3:14 “the Holy and Righteous One” This states clearly the innocence and sinlessness of Jesus. The trial was a farce. This is another OT Messianic title (cf. Isa 53:11; Act 7:52; Act 22:14; Joh 6:69). The demons called Jesus the Holy One of God in Mar 1:24; Luk 4:34. See Special Topics following.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE

SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS

“and asked for a murderer” It is so ironic that Barabbas was guilty of the exact crime they accused Jesus ofsedition (cf. Luk 23:18-19; Luk 23:23-25).

Act 3:15 “but put to death” It is surprising that in the many texts which mention Jesus’ death (cf. Act 2:23; Act 2:36; Act 3:15; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 7:52; Act 10:39; Act 13:28) in Acts very little is developed along the lines of Gen 3:15 or Isaiah 53.

There is also variety in how His death is phrased.

1. nailed to a cross Act 2:23

2. crucified Act 2:36; Act 4:10

3. put to death Act 3:15; Act 13:28

4. put to death by hanging Him on a cross Act 5:30; Act 10:39

5. killed Act 7:52

The resurrection is emphasized but not substitutionary atonement.

NASB, NKJV”the Prince of life”

NRSV, NIV”the Author of life”

TEV”the one who leads to life”

NJB”the prince of life”

Moffatt”the pioneer of life”

This title reflects one of the three possible meanings of archgos:

1. the author or originator (cf. NRSV, Heb 2:10; Heb 12:2)

2. the agent of creation (cf. Joh 1:3; 1Co 8:6; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2)

3. the one who goes first, a trail blazer (cf. TEV, NEB, Moffatt, Act 5:31)

The term is an obvious contrast to “murderer” (Act 3:14). See Special Topic below.

SPECIAL TOPIC: AUTHOR/LEADER (ARCHGOS)

“God raised from the dead” Usually in the NT it is the Father who raises the Son from the dead as a sign of His approval of Jesus’ life, teachings, and substitutionary death. The NT also affirms that all three persons of the Trinity were active in Jesus’ resurrection:

1. the Spirit (cf. Rom 8:11)

2. the Son (cf. Joh 2:19-22; Joh 10:17-18)

3. the Father (cf. Act 2:24; Act 2:32; Act 3:15; Act 3:26; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; Act 13:30; Act 13:33-34; Act 13:37; Act 17:31; Rom 6:4; Rom 6:9)

This is a major theological aspect of the Kerygma (see Special Topic at Act 2:14). If this is not true, all else is not true (cf. 1Co 15:12-19).

“a fact to which we are witnesses” This is either

1. an emphasis on primary source material; these hearers were eyewitnesses (cf. Act 2:22)

2. a reference to the Apostles and disciples in the Upper Room (cf. Act 1:22; Act 2:32)

In context number 2 seems best.

Act 3:16 “on the basis of faith” This same phrase occurs in Php 3:9. The Greek term “faith” (pistis) can be translated into English as “faith,” “trust,” or “believe.” It is humanity’s conditional response to God’s unconditional grace (cf. Eph 2:8-9). It is basically the believer’s trusting in the trustworthiness of God (i.e., His character, His promises, His Messiah) or faithing God’s faithfulness! It is difficult in the healing accounts of the Gospels and Acts to document the spiritual (i.e., covenantal) side of the event. Those healed are not always “saved” (cf. John 5). See Special Topic below.

The Greek preposition used in this phrase, eis (cf. Php 3:9), is rare when used on one’s faith in Christ (similar expression in Act 2:38). Usually one of several prepositions is used.

1. dia Rom 3:22; Rom 3:25; Rom 3:30; Gal 2:16; Gal 3:14; Gal 3:26; Eph 2:8; Eph 3:12; Eph 3:17; Col 2:12; 2Ti 3:15; 1Pe 1:5

2. ek Rom 9:30; Rom 14:23; Gal 3:8-9; Gal 3:22; Gal 5:5; Jas 2:24

3. en 1 Cor. Act 16:13; 2Co 13:5; Gal 2:20; 1Ti 3:13

4. both eis and ek are used in Rom 1:17

There was not standardized phrase to express “saving faith.”

SPECIAL TOPIC: Faith, Believe, or Trust (Pistis [noun], Pisteu, [verb], Pistos [adjective])

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

the lame . . . healed. The texts read “he”.

unto. Greek. pros. App-104.

in. App-104.

porch, &c. See note on Joh 10:23.

greatly wondering. Only here. Compare Mar 11:33. This miracle was significant of Israel’s restoration. Isa 35:6. Compare Mat 11:5.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

11-26.] THE DISCOURSE OF PETER THEREUPON.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

You remember, dear friends, how Peter denied his Lord in the time of his trial. Now notice what a change was wrought in him after the Holy Spirit had fallen upon him on the day of Pentecost. We have often read the story of the man healed at the beautiful gate of the temple; now let us see what followed:

Act 3:11. 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 Solomons, greatly wondering.

It is always easy to draw a crowd, but there was really something wonderful to be seen that day. The apostle was careful to turn to the very best account the curiosity of the crowd. See how quickly he carried their thoughts away from the man before him to the greater Man, the Divine Man, the Son of God whom they had rejected.

Act 3:12-23. 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? 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. 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. 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 my 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.

Hear this, then, you who have heard Christ, through his Word and through his servants, and have heard him preach, ay, scores and hundreds of times. Let me read this text to you again; and as I read it, may it sink into your hearts. It shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Act 3:24-26. 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.

They were to have the first proclamation of the gospel; from among them would be gathered many of the first converts. The preacher did not know immediately what result this sermon produced; it was not like the sermon preached at Pentecost, for he did know what happens after its delivery. This is quite as good a sermon every way, and we have every reason to believe that as many were converted by it. The Spirit of God was with Peter; yet even the Spirit of God, does not always work in the came way upon men. You see, the apostles had no opportunity to have a talk with the people afterwards, and to find out what had been done, as they had on the day of Pentecost.

This exposition consisted of readings from Act 3:11-26; Act 4:1-4; and 2 Peter 3

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Act 3:11. [ , all the people) consisting of those who had met together for public prayer, Act 3:1.-V. g.]-, exceedingly amazed) This comprehends amazement and ecstasy.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Act 3:11-26

PETERS ADDRESS TO THE MULTITUDE

Act 3:11-26

11 And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran-In his gratitude he held to Peter and John; he would not let them go. These apostles had been the agents through whom he had received the blessing; he wished all to know to whom he was indebted for his great blessing. While he kept near Peter and John, and as the people looked upon the man that had been healed, they must also behold Peter and John. This would draw attention to Peter and John. In the amazement of the occasion the people gathered or literally ran together, and assembled in the porch that is called Solomons. Solomons porch was on the east side of the temple; it was a covered colonnade and was named for Solomon; it over-looked the Kedron valley. Some think that it was built by Solomon, hence its name. The people assembled here to see what would further occur, and see the men who had wrought such a miracle.

12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people,-When the people assembled, this gave Peter an audience, and he began at once to preach to them. He had the attention of the people, because the man who had been held was before them. He made three chief points: (1) the miracle was the work of God to glorify Jesus; (2) the Jews denied Jesus from ignorance, but he fulfilled the prophecy; (3) therefore they should repent and be saved by the gospel. He addressed them as men of Israel; this was a respectful address. He then interrogated them as to the cause of their astonishment. He claimed no credit for what had been done, and did not want them to think that they had healed the man by their own power and godliness. It is noticed that Peter includes John in his speech. This denial that Peter makes clears the way to ascribe unto God all honor and glory.

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,-God had revealed himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. (Exo 3:6.) Peter by mentioning these patriarchs stirred reverence in their hearts; this was a good way to begin his sermon. It was the very God of the patriarchs who had sent Jesus of Nazareth, and the same God who had glorified him. Jesus is mentioned here as his Servant Jesus. This phrase occurs in Isa 42:1 Isa 52:13 about the Messiah except the name Jesus, which Peter adds; many think that this should be translated child. Perhaps there were some in the audience who had cried out against Jesus: Crucify, crucify him. Hence, the charge that they had delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate. We learn here that Pilate had determined to release him. It is clear from Luk 23:16-20 that Pilate had determined to release Jesus, but the multitude was persuaded by the rulers to ask Pilate to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus. (Mat 27:20; Mar 15:11-14.) Hence, the charge that Peter brought against them.

14-15 But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One,-These Jews understood that this had reference to the Messiah. (Psa 16:10.) The demoniacs called him by this title. (Mar 1:24.) In prophecy he is also called the Just, or Righteous One. (Isa 45:21; Zec 9:9.) A sharp contrast is here drawn between what the Jews did to Jesus and what God did to him; they killed the Prince of life, but God raised him from the dead. Frequently we have this contrast brought out by the apostles; they denied Jesus, but God owned him; they crucified him, but God raised him from the dead. If the resurrection could have been denied, they would have done so. They could not deny the crucifixion of Jesus, neither could they deny the resurrection. The apostles were witnesses to this fact.

16 And by faith in his name-By faith in the name of the Prince of life hath his name made this man strong. The man was not healed by the faith of the apostles, but by the faith of the apostles and the faith of the man. The apostles had faith in Jesus; they had faith in his power, and that he would give them power to heal the man. The man had faith in the apostles and in Jesus, for he praised God for his blessing. Name is equivalent to power; hence, in the name of Jesus is equivalent to by his power. This crippled man was above forty years old (Act 4:22), and he must have heard of the miracles that Jesus did and those the apostles were then doing. (Act 2:43.) Peter here insisted upon three things that proved a divine agency in the miracle: (1) their knowledge of the mans previous condition; (2) the completeness of the cure; (3) the public, open manner of the healing ; it was done in the presence of you all.

17 And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance-Their ignorance is admitted; but their ignorance does not clear them of guilt. The Jews could have known that Jesus was the Messiah; they should have known that he was; but the fact still remains that they were ignorant of his divinity. Jesus while on the cross prayed: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luk 23:34.) Paul persecuted the church in ignorance, and he said: I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (1Ti 1:13.) Their ignorance did not justify their crime, nor excuse them; but it was ground for calling on them to repent.

18 But the things which God foreshowed-All the prophets had foretold the coming of Christ; as the types under the law foreshowed the Christ, so the prophets pointed the people to the Messiah. Even the crucifixion was foretold; Christ frequently told his apostles that he would die for the sins of the world. Their crime, though real, was carrying out Gods purpose. (Joh 3:16; Act 2:23 Act 17:3 Act 26:23.) Their crime in crucifying Jesus did not prevent the fulfillment of what God foreknew and foretold; in fact, their crime was foretold. Even in their ignorance and wickedness the Jews were contributing toward the fulfillment of the prophecy. Peter emphasized the fulfillment of the prophecies before this Jewish audience.

19 Repent ye therefore, and turn again,-Peter repeats in substance in this address what he had said in Act 2:38. Note that Act 2:38 is a parallel of this verse. There he had given evidence that Christ was the Son of God; they were convinced or believed his evidence; they asked what to do; Peter told them to repent and be baptized, in the name of or by the authority of Christ, unto the remission of their sins, and then they should receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Here he tells them to repent and turn again that your sins may be blotted out, so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. In both statements, after they believed, they were commanded to repent; in the first they were told to be baptized, but in the second they are told to turn again; in the first they are told that their repentance and baptism were unto the remission of your sins, but here after repentance and turning again they are promised that your sins may be blotted out. Evidently the blotting out of sins is equivalent to the remission of sins, and being baptized is tantamount to turning again. Blotted out literally means to wipe out, rub off, erase, smear out. Seasons of refreshing, literally from the Greek, anapsuxis, to cool again or refresh, or cooling, reviving with fresh air. The seasons of refreshing depend on their repentance and turning again and having their sins erased or forgiven.

20 and that he may send the Christ-This verse has called forth much controversy. The coming of Christ the second time seems to be the meaning here. What would their repentance and turning again have to do with the coming of Christ ? Evidently the coming again of Christ, like the coming of the times of refreshing, depends upon their repentance and turning again; as people were converted, conditions would be more favorable for the coming again of Christ. Christ came the first time to redeem the world; his second coming will complete that redemption.

21 whom the heaven must receive until the times-This Jesus who is here promised to return must remain in heaven until the times of restoration of all things/ Peter has told them that this Jesus whom they had crucified had ascended back to heaven, and that now the heaven must receive and retain until the time for his return; the Messiah is to reign over Gods people until he returns. Times of restoration comes from the Greek, apokatasta- seos, and is a double compound word composed of apo, kata, and histemi, and is only used here in the New Testament; it seems to be a technical medical term, and means complete restoration to health. The first coming of Christ marked the beginning of the period of restoration, and the second coming marks the end of that period; all who are converted and live the Christian life reproduce the Christ life in his church until all things are ready for the final restoration. The scope or the prophecies included both the first and the second coming of Christ, and therefore included the period known as the restoration of all things. The prophecies were those mentioned by Zacharias in Luk 1:70; the writer there referred to such Messianic predictions as Psa 111:9; Jer 25:5-6 Jer 30:10; Dan 9:24-26.

22 Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God-This prophecy may be found in Deu 18:15-19, and Peter quotes it without many variations from the Septuagint, Greek version of the Old Testament; Moses was a lawgiver, leader, ruler, and deliverer, as well as a prophet; his prophecy had not been fulfilled. The Jews acknowledged that this had reference to the Messiah; they asked John the Baptist: Art thou the prophet? John answered that he was not; and they asked him then: Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet? (Joh 1:21-25.) Here Peter identifies the prophet with the Christ; this is exactly what the Jews had done. The Messiah was to be one from among the Jews; he was to bring blessings to every nation on the earth. They should obey this prophet in all things whatsoever he should command them. Just as the children of Israel were to obey Moses, their deliverer, lawgiver, ruler, their leader, so the people now are to obey Christ as he is their Deliverer from sin, their Lawgiver, their Leader, their King, and Prophet.

23 And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken-Jesus said that Moses wrote of him. For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. (Joh 5:46.) The Jews could not obey Moses without obeying Christ, since Moses commanded them to obey the prophet that God would raise up from among them like unto him. The one who refused to obey this prophet, the Christ, should be utterly destroyed from among the people. This declares that God himself would visit punishment upon those who refused to accept Christ. It was plainly expressed in the law that an apostate Israelite should be cut off from the people. (Exo 12:15 Exo 12:19 Exo 22:20; Num 19:13.) The New Testament language is that shall be cast forth into the outer darkness (Mat 8:12); shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2Th 1:9). This expresses the fearful consequences of rejecting Christ.

24 Yea and all the prophets from Samuel-Samuel was not the first prophet in Israel; Enoch was the first prophet that we read about in the Bible (Jud 1:14-15); Samuel was the founder of the school of the prophets; hence, Peter says that all the prophets from Samuel and those who came after him told of these days. Samuel and every school of the prophets taught of the Messiah, and hence the days of which Peter now spoke. These prophets predicted the blessings or judgments that were to come, and especially the glories of the Messianic reign, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and these days. They could not reject Peters address without rejecting the Christ, and in rejecting the Christ they would be rejecting all of their prophets.

25 Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant-The Jews were the sons of the prophets, and were members of the covenant, not in the sense of being lineal descendants of the prophets, but in the sense of being heirs to all promises, predictions, and blessings of the covenant. The promise here referred to was first made to Abraham (Gen 12:3 Gen 18:18 Gen 22:18); and later to Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:4 Gen 28:14). The prophet had arisen, of whom Moses had spoken, and all the promises made in the Abrahamic covenant belonged to these hearers whom Peter ad-dressed ; they were the heirs of the temporal blessings of this covenant and had access to the spiritual blessings through faith in Christ. The Abrahamic promise included all the families of the earth; this would include the Gentiles as well as the Jews, but as Peters hearers were Jews, special application is here made to them.

26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant,-Some translations have his Son instead of his Servant. The Greek is tou paida autou, as in verse 13, as the Messiah was Gods servant. This is in harmony with Isa 42:1; Mat 12:18. The conclusion of the whole matter is that salvation will come to them through their faith in Jesus and their turning from sin. In this address Peter gave the evidence that the lame man had been healed by the power of Jesus whom they had crucified and whom God had raised from the dead; he has ascended back to the Father and there will remain until the restoration of all things. Peter bore a threefold testimony concerning Christ: (1) he is the power by which all miracles are worked (verses 12-17); (2) the redeemer of all souls (verses 18-21); (3) the fulfillment of all the prophecies (verses 22-26).

Questions on Acts

By E.M. Zerr

Acts Chapter 3

Which of the apostles are now introduced?

Into what building did they enter?

State the importance of this building.

At what time of day did they enter at this time?

What institution made this hour conspicuous?

Why should the apostles observe this hour?

Who was carried to this place?

From what time had he been lame?

Was this his first appearance here?

At what entrance was the man laid?

For what purpose was he carried here?

Did this consist in spiritual, or temporal things?

To whom did he make a direct appeal?

What was he told to do?

State what he expected of them.

Why should he expect only this?

What was Peter’s condition financially?

Tel! what general promise was first made to the man.

What name did Peter then call over the place?

State what the man was then told to do?

What further assistance did Peter give him?

Tel! what happened to the man.

How much time did it require?

What indicated the man’s genuine recovery?

How did he show his gratitude?

Who witnessed his activities?

Did they recognize him?

How were they affected at what they saw?

What was wonderful about the circumstance?

Describe the lame man’s attitude to the apostles.

At what place did they then arrive?

Who gathered here also at this time?

What was their frame of mind?

To whom were they disposed to give the credit?

By whom were they corrected?

What had God done for him?

Of what did Peter accuse these people?

Who is antecedent of last ”he” in verse 13?

Cite the account of this “determination”.

What had this people done towards the holy one?

Who was the murderer of verse 14?

Who is the Prince of verse 15?

Of what life is he a Prince?

How did he come to be alive now?

Was this the God the Jews claimed to worship?

Of what were the apostles witnesses?

Was it ”his name” or faith that healed the man?

Identify the two ”hims” of verse 16.

What concession did Peter make the people?

‘l’o what special class did he extend the admission?

What things did Christ’s sufferings fulfill?

Compare Acts 3:19 and Acts 2:38.

When would their sins be blotted out?

Who was to be sent from heaven?

Would this be immediately?

What must be fulfilled first?

State the meaning of “world” in the 21st verse.

What prophet does Peter then quote?

Locate this prophecy.

Of what people was the new prophet to be?

Like whom must he be?

What about those refusing to hear him?

Was this, the only prophecy of this nature?

What significance by beginning at Samuel?

Of whom and what were these people the children?

Give the central thought in this promise.

How was the risen Christ to bless these people?

Acts Chapter Three

Ralph Starling

Jesus had promised Peter keys to the kingdom,

Chapter 3 records Peters use of them #1.

Now as Peter and James go to the temple to pray,

They meet a man lame his 1st day.

The man asked Peter and John for alms,

They replied that they had none.

But they did have what would make people talk,

In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.

He leaped up and walked and people wondered,

How could this be? the people pondered.

Peter saw people here the gospel could reach,

So to these Israelites, their Messiah he preached.

Again he explained how their Messiah was slain,

And their sins could be forgiven thru faith in Him.

So, repent and be converted and you sins may be forgiven.

You will be rewarded when the Lord returns from heaven.

Peter continued that Moses and the prophets

Spoke of these days for mans profit.

Thru Abrahams seed all should be blessed,

Jesus was sent and you know the rest.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Searching Words

Act 3:11-26

Peters sermon was delivered in the eastern colonnade of the Temple. It derived its name probably from the fact that Solomons Porch had originally occupied that site. The Apostle argued that the gospel which was given them to proclaim was only the flower of the revelations which had been given them through the prophets. How vast the change wrought in this man by the strength and illumination imparted to him at Pentecost! Why should we not seek to be similarly infilled!

How humble-not by their power! How daring-God had glorified Him whom they slew! What glorious conceptions of Christ-Prince of Life, holy and righteous! What pity for the ignorance of the Jews! The times of refreshing which are to come on this distracted world depend on the repentance and restoration of Israel. The Jew has the first offer of the gospel, as the child of the covenant; but its wide provisions lie open to us all, who by faith have become heirs of the promises made to Abraham. Christ begins His work of benediction for the soul by turning it away from iniquity. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned!

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

9. A LESSON IN PREACHING THE GOSPEL

Act 3:11-26

Preachers and churches would be wise to carefully study the preaching and the sermons of God’s servants which are recorded for us in the Word of God, especially those found in the book of Acts. If we would be of any spiritual, eternal benefit to the souls of men, serve the interests of Christ’s kingdom, and honor God, there must be a return to the apostolic preaching of the cross.

Peter and John went to the temple at the hour of prayer to preach the gospel of Christ as the Lord had commanded them. As they were going into the temple, they met a poor, cripple beggar who was healed by Christ. This man, as soon as he was healed, went into the temple leaping and praising God. Of course, this miracle caused a great commotion and aroused the interest of many. In the passage now before us Peter met this crowd of people at the point of their curiosity and preached the gospel to them. This was his second sermon after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. There is no substantial difference between this message and the one preached on that day. Like the other apostles and like Paul, who was yet to be converted, Peter constantly preached Christ to men (1Co 2:1-2). In this sermon at the temple Peter shows us how the gospel is to be preached.

PETER’S FIRST CONCERN WAS TO GET THE ATTENTION OF HIS HEARERS FOCUSSED ON CHRIST (Act 3:11-12). These people were excited and curious about the healing of the lame man. They were amazed at the mighty work performed (they thought) by Peter and John. Therefore, Peter’s first concern was to turn their attention away from the man healed, away from John, and away from himself. The matter of first concern was to get people to think not about the healed man, or the act of healing, but about Christ the Healer! They were in Solomon’s porch, and filled with wonder. Seizing the opportunity, Peter stepped forward and said, “Behold, a greater than Solomon hath done this!” He met these people where they were, at their point of interest, but immediately endeavored to turn their attention to Christ.

There was no reason for amazement. “Why marvel ye at this?” True, a lame man had been healed, but just a few days prior to this the Lord Jesus had healed a dead man! (Read Joh 11:43-45). Christ had repeatedly displayed his power over life and death as God. We should never be surprised to see him display that power. We ought to expect it!

Peter would allow no honor, credit, praise, or applause to be given to himself and John. They were only instruments in the hands of Christ. True, those who are the instruments of God’s favor to us should be loved, honored, respected, and highly esteemed by us for their work’s sake (1Th 5:12-13). But God’s servants must not be idolized. True gospel preachers carefully shun recognition, desiring that Christ only be exalted and honored (1Co 3:5-7; 1Co 4:1; 2Co 4:5; 2Co 4:7).

ONCE HE GOT THEIR ATTENTION FOCUSSED ON CHRIST, PETER PREACHED CHRIST TO THIS MULTITUDE (Act 3:13-16). This is the one thing preachers today have in common with the apostles. None today have apostolic gifts of inspiration, miracles, or tongues. But every gospel preacher is called and gifted of God to preach Christ (1Co 1:17-23; 2Co 4:5). In preaching Christ to this crowd of men who were guilty of murdering the Lord of glory Peter did four things.

First, HE TOLD THEM WHO CHRIST IS (Act 3:13). He is the true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the promised Messiah, the Son of David, the King of Israel. Essentially, Peter said, “This Jesus, whom you crucified, is God over all, blessed forever. He is the God-man, the only Lord and Savior. That One whom you crucified, God has glorified!” (See Isa 55:5; Joh 17:2; Rom 14:9; Php 2:9-11).

Second, PETER EXPOSED THEIR SIN (Act 3:13-15). Looking them squarely in the eye, planting his feet firmly, with great boldness, the Apostle flatly and plainly charged these men with murdering the Son of God! That is what preachers are supposed to do. Faithful gospel preachers probe, and probe, and probe until they find your point of rebellion. They expose the enmity of your heart to God. They know that they must. Until sinners are made to see and confess their sin, they will not trust Christ and be reconciled to God.

Third, GOD’S SERVANT DECLARED WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE (Act 3:15). Though he died the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God. That resurrection removed all reproach from him, ratified his claims (Rom 1:1-4), confirmed his doctrine, and is the basis of all faith and hope in him (Rom 4:25 to Rom 5:1; Rom 8:33-34).

Fourth, THE APOSTLE PROCLAIMED THE POWER OF THE RISEN CHRIST (Act 3:16). This miracle was performed in the name of Christ, by virtue of his power. It was a miracle done by “the faith which is by him,” by the faith which he gave. Every miracle of grace is performed by the name of Christ (Act 4:12), through faith in him, a faith that he gives (Eph 1:19; Eph 2:8; Col 2:12).

THEN PETER GAVE A REASON FOR HOPE (Act 3:17-18). Once he had wounded them, he hoped to see them healed. They were guilty; but there is hope for the guilty because Christ died to save sinners (1Ti 1:15). Though they had indeed crucified the Lord of glory, the death of Christ was according to the wise and gracious purpose of God (Isa 53:10-11; Act 2:23). When Joseph’s brothers realized who he was and what power he had, they remembered their sin and feared. But Joseph said, “Fear not, for I am in the place of God.” Even so, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Joseph, says to guilty sinners, “Fear not, for I am in the place of God to save much people alive” (Gen 50:19-20). The Lord Jesus Christ died, arose, and ascended to glory to save sinners according to the will of God (Act 5:30-31).

PETER PRESSED UPON HIS HEARERS THE CLAIMS OF THE SOVEREIGN CHRIST (Act 3:19-26). He urged them to repent, holding before them the promise of grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation now and forever (Act 3:19-21). He urged them to repentance by showing them the certain destruction of all who refuse to obey Christ (Act 3:22-23). At last, Peter urged these men to repent by pointing out the fulfilment of all God’s covenant blessings in Christ (Act 3:24-26).

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

held: Luk 8:38

all: Act 2:6

in: Act 5:12, Joh 10:23

Reciprocal: 1Ki 6:3 – General 1Ki 7:12 – the porch 1Ch 9:18 – the king’s 2Ch 3:4 – the porch Joh 12:9 – General

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1

Act 3:11. Held is from KRATEO, and Robinson defines it in this place, “So to hold one fast, i. e., to hold fast to him, to cleave to him.” Thayer defines it in the same way then gives the explanation, “To hold one fast in order not to be sent away.” This action was perfectly natural. The man had been a cripple since his birth, and had to depend upon alms for a living. Now he was healed and had become an able-bodied man so that he could be on his own. However, since the condition was another one that might be described by the familiar phrase “too good to be true,” he had a feeling of dependency that made him afraid to leave the apostles. Another thing that should be considered about his action, it emphasized the part the apostles had in the recovery. When the people saw this man clinging so firmly to the apostles, it announced publicly that they were the actors in the deed, and that the former lame man knew it. Another result that was natural was the gathering of all the people near the scene, for it was an extraordinary thing that had happened. Solomon’s porch was a convenient and comfortable place for the crowd to gather; a description of this porch is given at Joh 10:23.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Act 3:11. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John. That is, while he was holding them fast or keeping near them (see De Wette), perhaps, as Alford suggests, in the ardour of his gratitude, that he might testify to all who his benefactors were.

In the porch that is called Solomons. This porch or cloister was on the eastern side of the court of the Gentiles. It was built on an artificial embankment which filled up a deep valley. The embankment was the work of King Solomon,hence, perhaps, the name,and the cloister was restored on the original plan.

It was in this cloister that the traffic of the money-changers was carried on. According to Lightfoot, the whole court of the Gentiles was spoken of popularly, at times, as Solomons Porch. It was here, in winter-time, at the feast of Dedication, that Jesus walked when the Jews took up stones to stone Him.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Preaching In Solomon’s Porch

With the now healed lame man holding onto each of them, it was natural that a crowd would gather around Peter and John. Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak, seized the opportunity to preach about the great healer, Jesus. The crowd looked at them as if they had somehow worked this miracle, but Peter instantly turned their attention to “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers,” and the glorified Jesus, His Son. They had delivered, denied and killed the “Prince of life.” God, in his turn, had raised him from the dead, a fact which Peter and John had personally witnessed ( Act 3:11-15 ).

The lame man had been healed in the authority of Jesus. Because of the apostles’ complete faith in their Lord’s ability to make men whole, a great miracle had been performed. The recognition of that miracle by those Jews now gathered around Peter and John would have forced them to recognize Jesus as King. Further, many would have readily seen that meant they had crucified God’s Anointed. Peter says they did what they did because they did not fully understand. He also noted everything followed the precise plan God had laid out so long before the events took place ( Act 3:16-18 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

11-15. The apostles took a position in one of the open colonnades which faced the inner side of the temple wall, called Solomon’s Portico. (11) “And while the lame man who was healed was holding fast Peter and John, all the people ran together to them on the portico called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.” The admiration of the multitude was directed toward Peter and John; and was understood by Peter to indicate that they attributed the cure rather to the singular holiness of himself and John, than to the power of their master. He determined to take advantage of the circumstances, by turning their excited thoughts into the proper channel. (12) “Then Peter, seeing this, answered to the people, Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you look earnestly on us, as though by our own power or piety we have caused this man to walk? (13) The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his son Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and rejected in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to let him go. (14) But you rejected the holy and just, and desired a murderer to be granted to you; (15) and you killed the author of life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.”

In this passage the apostle makes the same statement, in substance, with which he introduced the main theme of his former discourse. The antithetical style adopted on this occasion gave to it a force scarcely excelled by his former discourse, while it was even more penetrating to the consciences of his hearers. The fact that the God of their fathers had glorified Jesus, is contrasted with the fact that they had delivered him up to die; their refusal to let him be released, with the cruel Pilate’s determination to let him go; their rejection of one holy and just, with their demand that a murder should be released to them; and their murder of him, with his authorship of all life. These four points of antithesis form the four steps of a grand climax. Whom the God of our fathers glorified, you have delivered up to die. Your criminality is heightened by the fact, that when even a heathen judge declared him innocent, and desired to release him to you, you rejected him. Even this does not express the enormity of your guilt, for you yourselves knew him whom you rejected to be holy and just, and preferred the release of one whom you knew to be a murderer. But above all, in murdering him, you put to death the author of life, who has arisen from the dead. We might challenge the pages of all the classics for a climax more thrilling in its effect upon the audience, or for a happier combination of climax and antithesis. The effect upon the multitude was overwhelming. The facts declared were undeniable, except the resurrection, and of this the men who had just healed the cripple were the witnesses.

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

11. Now the apostles have entered Solomons porch, running the entire width of the temple, fronting eastward. Meanwhile the ecstatic man so miraculously healed at the Beautiful Gate is holding them by the hand in adoring gratitude, leaping and skipping and shouting aloud, while the vast multitude running from all directions are gazing with unutterable bewilderment upon the scene, as the Greek says, exceedingly excited.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Act 3:11. There is an interesting variant in D: But when Peter and John were going out, he went with them holding them, and they stood astonished in the porch which is called Solomons. The scribe who wrote this knew that Solomons Porch was outside the Temple, the writer of the text translated in RV was unaware of the fact; he makes the apostles enter the Temple with the lame man and here places them in Solomons Porch without saying that they had left the Temple. We shall meet with other instances of the local knowledge of the scribe of D.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Verse 11

Held; detained.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

3:11 And as the lame man which was healed {b} held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

(b) Either because he loved them who had healed him, or because he feared that if he let them go out of his sight that he would become lame again.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Peter’s address in Solomon’s colonnade 3:11-26

As is often true in Acts, an event led to an explanation (cf. ch. 2).

"It seems strange, at first glance, that in his narrative Luke would place two such similar sermons of Peter so close together. But his putting the Pentecost sermon in the introductory section of Acts was evidently meant to be a kind of paradigm of early apostolic preaching-a paradigm Luke seems to have polished for greater literary effectiveness. As for the Colonnade sermon, Luke seems to have included it as an example of how the early congregation in Jerusalem proclaimed the message of Jesus to the people of Israel as a whole." [Note: Longenecker, p. 296.]

"In his sermon at Pentecost, Peter had to refute the accusation that the believers were drunk. In this sermon, he had to refute the notion that he and John had healed the man by their own power [cf. Act 14:8-18]." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:412.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The setting of the sermon 3:11

Peter and John, with the healed lame man clinging to them, moved into the portico of the temple, and a large crowed, amazed by the healing, followed them (cf. Act 21:30). A covered porch supported by a series of columns surrounded the outer temple courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles. The eastern portion of this porch bore the name Solomon’s portico "because it was built on a remnant of the foundations of the ancient temple." [Note: Robertson, 3:42.] Peter addressed the curious throng from this convenient shaded area, where Jesus had formerly taught (Joh 10:23).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)