Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 1:22
Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
22. to be a witness with us of his resurrection ] The Resurrection was the central truth, but to bear testimony that it was truly Jesus who had risen, the witness must have known Him well before His crucifixion.
It is quite in accordance with the character of St Luke’s narrative that although he is careful to relate how the number of the Apostles was made complete, and the Church thus furnished with that same number of leaders which Jesus had chosen from the first, yet when Matthias has been chosen, he tells us no word about his special actions. These were no doubt of the same character as those of the eleven, but the writer’s purpose is only to give typical instances of the Apostolic labours, and to shew how the Gospel was spread abroad exactly as Christ had foretold.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Beginning from the baptism of John – The words beginning from in the original refer to the Lord Jesus. The meaning may be thus expressed, during all the time in which the Lord Jesus, beginning (his ministry) at the time when he was baptized by John, went in and out among us, until the time when he was taken up, etc. From those who had during that time been the constant companions of the Lord Jesus must one be taken, who would thus be a witness of his whole ministry.
Must one be ordained – It is fit or proper that one should be ordained. The reason of this was, that Jesus had originally chosen the number twelve for this work, and as one of them had fallen, it was proper that the vacancy should be filled by some person equally qualified for the office. The reason why it was proper that he should be taken from the seventy disciples was, that they had been particularly distinguished by Jesus himself, and had been witnesses of most of his public life, Luke 10:1-16. The word ordained with us has a fixed and definite signification. It means to set apart to a sacred office with proper forms and solemnities, commonly by the imposition of hands. But this is not, of necessity, the meaning of this passage. The Greek word usually denoting ordination is not used here. The expression is literally, must one be, or become, genesthai, a witness with us of his resurrection. The expression does not imply that he must be set apart in any particular manner, but simply that one should be designated or appointed for this specific purpose, to be a witness of the resurrection of Christ.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. Beginning from the baptism of John] From the time that Christ was baptized by John in Jordan; for it was at that time that his public ministry properly began.
Must one be ordained] This translation misleads every reader who cannot examine the original text. There is no term for ordained in the Greek: , to be, is the only word in the verse to which this interpretation can be applied. The New Testament printed at London, by Robert Barker, the king’s printer, in 1615, renders this and the preceding verse more faithfully and more clearly than our common version: Wherefore of these men who have companied with us, all the time that the Lord Jesus was conversant among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day he was taken up from us, must one of them BE MADE a witness with us of his resurrection. The word ordained would naturally lead most readers to suppose that some ecclesiastical rite was used on the occasion, such as imposition of hands, &c., although nothing of the kind appears to have been employed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Beginning from the baptism of John; when Christ was baptized by him, and by that consecration began the ministry, and publishing of the gospel (which the history of his immaculate conception did preface to).
A witness with us of his resurrection; all other things being consummated in that, it being the most difficult to be believed; and therefore God was pleased to attest it by so many eye witnesses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. Beginning from the baptism ofJohnby whom our Lord was not only Himself baptized, but firstofficially announced and introduced to his own disciples.
unto that same day when hewas taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us ofhis resurrectionHow clearly is the primary office of theapostles here expressed: (1) to testify, from personal observation,to the one great fact of “the resurrection of the Lord Jesus”;(2) to show how this glorified His whole previous life, of which theywere constant observers, and established His divine claims.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Beginning from the baptism of John,…. Not from the time trial John first administered the ordinance of baptism; for Christ was not so soon made known, or had followers; but from the time of the administration of it by John, to Christ, when he was made known to Israel; and quickly upon this, he called his disciples, and entered on his public ministry: now Peter moves, that one who had been so early a follower of Christ, who had heard his excellent discourses, and seen his miracles, and who had steadfastly and constantly adhered to him, might be chosen in the room of Judas; one whose faith in Christ, love to him, and firmness of mind to abide by him, had been sufficiently tried and proved; who had continued with Christ and his apostles, from the beginning of his ministry, to that time: or as Peter adds,
unto the same day that he was taken up from us; by angels, and received by a cloud, and carried up to heaven; or “he ascended from us”, as the Ethiopic version renders it; or “lifted up himself from us”, as the Arabic version; for as he raised himself from the dead by his own power, by the same he could raise himself up from earth to heaven; the sense is, to the time of his ascension to heaven, whether by himself, or by the ministry of angels:
must one be ordained; there was a necessity of this, partly on the account of the above prophecy, and partly to keep up the number of the twelve apostles, Christ had thought fit to pitch upon; answering to the twelve tribes of Israel, and to the twelve gates, and twelve foundations of the new Jerusalem: and this choice or ordination was moved to be made, and was made, not by the other eleven apostles, but by the whole company of an hundred and twenty; for these are the persons addressed by the apostle, and to whom he said, as the Arabic version renders it, “one of these men ye must choose”: and if the choice and ordination of such an extraordinary officer was made by the whole community, then much more ought the choice and ordination of inferior officers be by them: the end of this choice was,
to be a witness with us of his resurrection; the resurrection of Christ from the dead, which supposes his incarnation and life, and so his obedience, ministry, and miracles in it; and also his sufferings and death, with all the benefits and advantages thereof; and is particularly mentioned, because it not only supposes and includes the above things, but is the principal article, basis, and foundation of the Christian religion; and the sign which Christ gave to the Jews, of the truth of his being the Messiah; and was what the disciples were chosen to be witnesses of; and a principal part of their ministry was to testify it to men: and since this was their work and business, it was necessary that one should be chosen, and joined with them, who had been with them, and with Jesus, from the beginning, to the time of his ascension; and who was an eyewitness of his resurrection, that he might join with the apostles in their testimony.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Beginning (). Aorist middle participle of , agreeing (nominative) with (the Lord Jesus). The ministry of Jesus began with the ministry of John. Strictly speaking should be the accusative and agree with (witness) in verse 22, but the construction is a bit free. The ministry of Jesus began with the baptism of John and lasted until the Ascension.
A witness with us of his resurrection ( ). This Peter considers the essential thing in a successor to Judas. The one chosen should be a personal witness who can speak from his own experience of the ministry, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus. One can easily see that this qualification will soon put an end to those who bear such personal testimony.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Witness [] . One who shall bear testimony : not a spectator, a mistake often made on Heb 12:1. Compare Act 2:32.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Beginning from the baptism of John,” (arksamenos apo tou baptismatos loannou) “Beginning or originating from the baptism of John,” who was sent from God to prepare the way and a people for accepting and following Jesus Christ, Mat 3:1-3; Mat 3:11-17; Joh 1:6-8; Joh 1:15; Joh 1:25-34.
2) “Unto that same day that He was taken from us,” (heos tes hemeras hes anelemphthe aph’ hemon) “Until the very day when he was taken up from among us,” the very church, those who saw Him go into heaven, the Galilean brethren, especially, Luk 24:50-51; Act 1:9-11. Just as He went into heaven, with uplifted hands, blessing His church brethren who had companied with Him from the heaven mandated and administered baptism of John–He shall also return in like manner, with special blessings for His church, or His bride, Rev 22:12.
3) “Must one be ordained,” (dei hena genesthai) “it is necessary or proper that one become,” be ordained, be set in order of office, that Judas once filled among the twelve Apostles. To ordain literally means “to set in order or position of special official service.” The church had been mandated by our Lord to do this, Mat 28:16-20; Joh 20:21.
4) “To be a witness with us of His resurrection,” (martura tes anastaseos autou sun hemin genesthai hena touton) “To become a witness of His resurrection in colleague (close affinity with us), the twelve Apostles and the 120 members of the Lord’s church who engaged in this first recorded orderly church conference meeting after the ascension of our Lord, Act 1:8; Joh 15:16; Joh 15:27; Act 10:40-41.
That a company of baptized believers had been called out from the disciples of John the baptist to follow Jesus obediently for more than three years of His public ministry is incontestably evident from this and other scriptures. And it was this company that constituted His church, house, or bride, which He left when He went into heaven, to which He had given the Great Commission, Mat 16:18; Mat 28:18-20; Mar 13:34-37; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:1-8; 2Co 11:1-2; Rev 19:6-7.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
22. Witness See note on Luk 1:2. And this description of the proper requisites for an apostle implies, externally, complete knowledge of facts and truths; and, internally, a firmness and faithfulness of adherence to Christ.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Act 1:22. Must one be ordained, &c. They must reasonably and modestly conclude, that it was fit the number of apostles whom Christ first chose, should be kept up, perhaps in allusion to the twelve tribes of Israel. But it is impossible, as well as quite unnecessary, that we at this distance of time should be able to assign a reason why the two afterwards mentioned, and no more, were proposed as candidates. Perhaps a longer and more intimate acquaintance with our Lord, might entitle them to a preference on this occasion.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
Ver. 22. Must one be ordained ] To answer the ancient types.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22. . .] Not ‘ His being baptized by John ’ (as Wolf, Kuin., &c.); but the baptism of John , as a well-known date, including of course the opening event of our Lord’s ministry, His own baptism. That John continued to baptize for some time after that, can be no possible objection to the assignment of ‘John’s baptism’ generally, as the date of the commencement of the apostolic testimony (against De Wette). We may notice, that from this point the testimony of the Evangelists themselves in their Gospels properly begins, Mat 3:1 , Mar 1:1 , Luk 3:1 , Joh 1:6 .
. .] This one event was the passage-point between the Lord’s life of humiliation and His life of glory, the completion of His work below and beginning of His work above. And to ‘give witness with power’ of the Resurrection (ch. Act 4:33 ), would be to discourse of it as being all this ; in order to which, the whole ministry of Jesus must be within the cycle of the Apostle’s experience.
It is remarkable that Peter here lays down experience of matters of fact , not eminence in any subjective grace or quality, as the condition of Apostleship. Still, the testimony was not to be mere ordinary allegation of matters of fact: any who had seen the Lord since His resurrection were equal to this; but belonged to a distinct office (see Joh 14:26 ; also ch. Act 5:31 , note), requiring the especial selection and grace of God .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 1:22 . , cf. note on Act 1:1 . The word need not be restricted to our Lord’s own baptism, but would include the time of the baptism preached by John, as his baptism and preaching were the announcement of, and a preparation for, the Christ. If St. Mark’s Gospel, as there is every reason to believe, was closely connected with St. Peter, its opening verses give us a similar date for the commencement of the Apostolic testimony; cf. Schmid, Biblische Theologie des N. T. , p. 436. : according to Wendt and Weiss, the relative is not attracted for , but is to be regarded as a genitive of time, but cf. Lev 23:15 , Hag 2:18 , Bar 1:15 ; Winer-Schmiedel, p. 226; Blass, ubi supra , p. 170. . It has been noted as remarkable that St. Peter here lays down experience of matters of fact, not eminence in any subjective grace or quality, as one of the conditions of Apostleship, but it is evident that from the first the testimony of the Apostles was not merely to the facts, but to their spiritual bearing, cf. chap. Act 5:32 : “On the one side there is the historical witness to the facts, on the other, the internal testimony of personal experience” (Westcott’s St. John , Joh 15:27 ), and the appeal to Him “Who knew the hearts,” showed that something more was needed than intellectual competency. Spitta and Jngst (so Weiss) regard the whole clause as introduced by a reviser, but on the other hand Hilgenfeld considers the words to be in their right place. He also rebukes Weiss for maintaining that the whole passage, Act 1:15-26 , could not have been composed by the author of the book, who gives no intimation of the number of the Apostles, with whom the Twelve as such play no part, and who finds his hero outside their number. But Hilgenfeld points out that the Twelve have for his “author to Theophilus” a very important place; cf. Act 2:14 ; Act 2:22 , Act 4:33 , Act 5:12 ; Act 5:40 , Act 8:1 ; Act 8:14 , Act 9:27 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
baptism. Greek. baptisma. App-115. Put for ministry by Figure of speech Synecdoche. App-6.
one = one of these.
be ordained to be = become.
resurrection. Greek. anastasis. App-178. The resurrection is the great subject of the Apostolic witness. Compare Act 2:32; Act 3:26; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 10:40; Act 13:30; Act 17:3, Act 17:31, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22. . .] Not His being baptized by John (as Wolf, Kuin., &c.); but the baptism of John, as a well-known date, including of course the opening event of our Lords ministry, His own baptism. That John continued to baptize for some time after that, can be no possible objection to the assignment of Johns baptism generally, as the date of the commencement of the apostolic testimony (against De Wette). We may notice, that from this point the testimony of the Evangelists themselves in their Gospels properly begins, Mat 3:1, Mar 1:1, Luk 3:1, Joh 1:6.
. .] This one event was the passage-point between the Lords life of humiliation and His life of glory,-the completion of His work below and beginning of His work above. And to give witness with power of the Resurrection (ch. Act 4:33), would be to discourse of it as being all this; in order to which, the whole ministry of Jesus must be within the cycle of the Apostles experience.
It is remarkable that Peter here lays down experience of matters of fact, not eminence in any subjective grace or quality, as the condition of Apostleship. Still, the testimony was not to be mere ordinary allegation of matters of fact: any who had seen the Lord since His resurrection were equal to this;-but belonged to a distinct office (see Joh 14:26; also ch. Act 5:31, note), requiring the especial selection and grace of God.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 1:22. , from the baptism of John) It is with this point that the history of Jesus Christ in Mark has its actual Beginning. The other evangelists briefly explain the preceding events.-, up to) The testimony of the Twelve Apostles concerning the Lord Jesus and His resurrection, extend up to the day of His Ascension.- , of His resurrection) He who believes in the resurrection of Christ, believes in all which went before and which followed. As to the resurrection of Christ, there is frequent mention of it in the Sermons and in the first Epistle of Peter. As an apostle is a witness of the resurrection of Christ, so he is a Christian who believes in it. At that time there was just as much need of grace (Divine power), to enable one to believe that the act had been accomplished, as there was to believe that there is salvation in that act so accomplished. Accordingly, they who believed in the former received the whole faith. In our days, whilst no one in the Church calls in question the accomplishment of the act, many stop short at that point, and, notwithstanding their belief in the certainty of the fact, do not thereby attain to the whole faith.-, one) For there ought not to be more than Twelve, and therefore both were not to be taken into the apostleship together.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Beginning: Act 13:24, Act 13:25, Mat 3:1-17, Mar 1:1, Mar 1:3-8, Luk 3:1-18, Joh 1:28-51
unto: Act 1:2, Act 1:9
witness: Act 1:8, Act 4:33, Joh 15:27, Heb 2:3
Reciprocal: Zec 11:11 – that waited Luk 1:2 – which Luk 24:48 – General Joh 12:17 – bare Act 2:32 – whereof Act 3:15 – whereof Act 4:20 – the things Act 10:37 – after Act 10:39 – we are Act 10:41 – Not Act 13:31 – who Act 14:23 – they had Act 22:15 – thou shalt Act 25:19 – which 1Pe 5:1 – and a 1Jo 1:2 – and bear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2
The extent of time when this association was to have been had was from the baptism of John to the ascension of Jesus. Such an experience would qualify him to be a witness of the resurrection of Jesus, because the death and return to life of the Lord took place between those two events. The proper man would be ordained to the office of apostle. (See the notes on ordain at Joh 15:16.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
See notes on verse 21
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 22
To be a witness with us of his resurrection; an object pertaining exclusively to that time, and showing that the apostolical office was not intended to be a permanent one. Accordingly we do not learn that any subsequent vacancies in the number of the twelve were filled.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up {u} from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
(u) From our company.