Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
31. Then had the churches rest, &c.] Better, “So the Church throughout all Juda and Galilee and Samaria had peace.” In the best texts the noun and all the verbs agreeing with it are in the singular number, and what is meant is the whole Christian body, not the various congregations. The cause of this peace for the Christians was that the attention of their persecutors the Jews was turned from them to resist the attempt made by Caligula (Joseph. Antiq. xviii. 8. 2) to have his statue erected in the Temple at Jerusalem. This profanation was averted partly by the determined opposition of the Jews, and partly by the intercession of King Agrippa with the mad Emperor.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then had the churches rest – That is, the persecutions against Christians ceased. Those persecutions had been excited by the opposition made to Stephen Act 11:19; they had been greatly promoted by Saul Act 8:3; and they had extended doubtless throughout the whole land of Palestine. The precise causes of this cessation of the persecution are not known. Probably they were the following:
(1) It is not improbable that the great mass of Christians had been driven into other regions by these persecutions.
(2) He who had been most active in exciting the persecution; who was, in a sort, its leader, and who was best adapted to carry it on, had been converted. He had ceased his opposition; and even he was now removed from Judea. All this would have some effect in causing the persecution to subside.
(3) But it is not improbable that the state of things in Judea contributed much to turn the attention of the Jews to other matters. Dr. Lardner accounts for this in the following manner: Soon after Caligulas accession, the Jews at Alexandria suffered very much from the Egyptians in that city, and at length their oratories there were all destroyed. In the third year of Caligula, 39 a.d., Petronius was sent into Syria, with orders to set up the emperors statue in the temple at Jerusalem. This order from Caligula was, to the Jews, a thunderstroke. The Jews must have been too much engaged after this to mind anything else, as may appear from the accounts which Philo and Josephus have given us of this affair. Josephus says that Caligula ordered Petronius to go with an army to Jerusalem, to set up his statue in the temple there; enjoining him, if the Jews opposed it, to put to death all who made any resistance, and to make all the rest of the nation slaves. Petronius therefore marched from Antioch into Judea with three legions and a large body of auxiliaries raised in Syria. All were hereupon filled with consternation, the army being come as far as Ptolemais. See Lardners Works, vol. i, pp. 101, 102, London edition, 1829.
Philo gives the same account of the consternation as Josephus (Philo, DeLegat. a.d. Cai., pp. 1024, 1025). He describes the Jews as abandoning their cities, villages, and open country; as going to Petronius in Phoenicia, both men and women, the old, the young, the middle-aged; as throwing themselves on the ground before Petronius with weeping and lamentation, etc. The effect of this consternation in diverting their minds from the Christians can be easily conceived. The prospect that the images of the Roman emperor were about to be set up by violence in the temple, or, that in case of resistance, death or slavery was to be their portion, and the advance of a large army to execute that purpose, all tended to throw the nation into alarm. By the providence of God, therefore, this event was permitted to occur to divert the attention of bloody-minded persecutors from a feeble and bleeding church. Anxious for their own safety, the Jews would cease to persecute the Christians, and thus, by the conversion of the main instrument in persecution, and by the universal alarm for the welfare of the nation, the trembling and enfeebled church was permitted to obtain repose. Thus ended the first general persecution against Christians, and thus effectually did God show that he had power to guard and protect his chosen people.
All Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria – These three places included the land of Palestine. See the notes on Mat 2:22. The formation of churches in Galilee is not expressly mentioned before this; but there is no improbability in supposing that Christians had traveled there, and had preached the gospel. Compare Act 11:19. The formation of churches in Samaria is expressly mentioned, Acts 8.
Were edified – Were built up, increased, and strengthened. See Rom 14:19; Rom 15:2; 1Co 8:1.
And walking – Living. The word is often used to denote Christian conduct, or manner of life, Col 1:10; Luk 1:6; 1Th 4:1; 1Jo 2:6. The idea is that of travelers who are going to any place, and who walk in the right path. Christians are thus travelers to another country, an heavenly.
In the fear of the Lord – Fearing the Lord; with reverence for him and his commandments. This expression is often used to denote piety in general, 2Ch 19:7; Job 28:28; Psa 19:9; Psa 111:10; Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10; Pro 13:13.
In the comfort of the Holy Ghost – In the consolations which the Holy Spirit produced, Joh 14:16-17; Rom 5:1-5.
Were multiplied – Were increased.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Act 9:31
Then had the Churches rest.
Quiet times
The right use of quiet times is a great secret of Christian living. Human life is made up of alternations of storm and calm, of trouble and rest. It is so with the life of an individual, a nation, or a Church. The earlier part of this chapter indicated a time of trouble. But now the chief persecutor has himself felt the force of truth. Then again the Emperor Caligula was making an impious attempt to place his own image in the Temple, and so the attention of the Jews was wholly occupied with plans for frustrating his design. They had no time to persecute. So the Churches had peace: how did they use it? Did it make them indolent, unfruitful, unfaithful, quarrelsome? Two things are said of them: they were–
I. Edified.
1. The whole Church is one building, planned by one Architect, carried on by one Builder, designed for one end, to be the habitation of God. This thought is full of comfort. It shows us that however small the place of each one, yet each one has his place, and that, if it be not filled, there is a blank, be it ever so small. Is not that honour enough? Does it not say to each, See that thy place be not a blank, or worse?
2. The Church of each land, age, town, is a building. It may be but a fragment, a buttress, or a pinnacle of the universal Church; but you all know how any building would look if one buttress fell; and therefore you will not count it a small thing if some such position belongs to our community. This congregation of ours is a building. Is it then being built up? is it rising, in solidity, unity, beauty? is it giving signs, more and more, of its destination as a habitation of God?
3. Each human soul is a building. What a question is it, for each one, How is that building which is I myself, getting on? Are the foundations deeply and soundly laid in the faith of Christ? Is the superstructure rising day by day gradually, regularly, quietly, yet consciously, perceptibly, visibly? Am I growing in grace? more and more prevailing over sinful passions? better able to do the work which He has given me? Times of tranquillity ought to be times of edifying: alas I too often they are times of suspended energy.
II. Multiplied. A time of peace ought to be a time of outward as well as inward progress. It was so of old. How is it now? Is there zeal in founding or reinforcing missionary institutions? Alas! you know that with much philanthropy there is little gospel zeal amongst us; that, where a thousand pounds can be gathered for a work of charity, it is hard to collect ten for a work of piety. And is the Church at all multiplying at home? Can we point, by tens, or fives, or units, to new persons brought to be worshippers by agencies now working amongst us? We are not left in the dark as to how this may be done. The Church multiplies, by its own progress, in two things: walking in–
(1) The fear of the Lord, etc. Christ deserves not only our love but our fear. Does that seem strange? Is He not our merciful and faithful High Priest, the Propitiation for our sins. Yes! The words are written for our comfort, but not to make us careless about our sin. There is nothing which so solemnises the mind as the thought of an absolutely disinterested and unbounded love. It says of itself, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? To trample under foot the Son of God, to count the blood of the covenant, wherewith we are sanctified, an unholy thing, must indeed be of all crimes the blackest and the most fatal. And that is what men do every day for want of this very fear of which the text speaks. To walk in the fear of Christ is one-half of Christianity.
(2) And then, so walking, there is room for the comfort of the Holy Ghost. This is not a mere soothing influence within; it is a cheering power without also. The same word is rendered exhortation. God comforts by cheering on; by encouraging to action. We may try the reality of our comfort by this one test: Does it stir me up and spur me on to action? Does it say not, Rest from work, but, Rest in working? (Dean Vaughan.)
I. The different parts of the description here given.
1. The Churches were edified. A Church may be edified by the addition of new members. The Church is a building, and those added to it are living stones; and by the addition of such stones the spiritual temple advances to completion. Such, however, cannot be the meaning of the word here; it means rather, Growth in grace; advancement in the principles and fruits of Divine love. The Churches were composed of individuals, and as the wealth of a country consists in the aggregate wealth of the individual inhabitants, and the national wealth increases in proportion as the wealth of individuals increases, so with the Church. If we desire the edification of our own Christian society or the Church of God generally, the first requisite is our seeking personal advancement in knowledge, faith, and holiness; and the second is our using all the appointed means for promoting the same among our brethren. Edification includes–
(1) Growth in knowledge. All other growth arises from this. There is a kind of knowledge which hinders edification. Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth. Knowledge that engenders self-conceit tends to the destruction of love; and whatever opposes love is a foe to all genuine spirituality and improvement. Yet there can be no edification without growth in the spiritual discoveries of the mind. The Bible contains the inexhaustible resources of wisdom, and the study of it is indispensable to edification.
(2) Increase in faith. This is the natural effect of growth in spiritual knowledge. The Word of God, like His other works, contains in it the marks of its Divine origin, and the more it is known the more its source will be perceived and felt.
(3) And connected with growth in faith there is a corresponding growth in all the graces and virtues of the Christian character. All the ingredients in the composition of inward, vital godliness, arise from the influence of Divine grace upon the heart and life, and must be in proportion to the growth of faith.
2. They walked in the fear of the Lord. This–
(1) Imparted a becoming solemnity to all their social meetings for worship, and a corresponding dignity and propriety to all who were present.
(2) Implies a sacred conscientious regard in all things to His authority.
(3) Suggests that this was the superior dominant principle, and that the fear of man was suppressed and kept in control.
3. They walked in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Edification and practical godliness were associated with spiritual enjoyment. The comfort of the Holy Ghost is comfort of which the Spirit of God is the great Author. To walk in this comfort is to enjoy harmony within, and to display it externally to have the powers of the mind and the affections of the heart engaged in duty. This comfort, then, is not an indolent, inactive enjoyment. It is only to be found in active service, not in a life of ascetic seclusion, or in feelings of spiritual epicurism. There is an intimate connection between walking in the fear of the Lord and walking in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. All pretensions to the latter without the former are vain. There is no true legitimate comfort from the truths of God except to those that walk in the ways of God.
II. The connection subsisting between them and especially between the character of the churches with their multiplication. An undue regard to members has often done incalculable mischief. Increase is desirable, but it must be increase of those whose hearts are right with God. With Him respectability consists not in numbers but in character. He had a few names in Sardis who had not defiled their garments. But, as a corrupt body, the Church of Sardis is admonished, and there is joy before the angels of God. We rejoice more in an addition to than in the continued safety of the sheep. We delight in seeing all the jewels of the Saviours crown continuing to shine with pure lustre; but our delight is still more elevated when a new jewel is added to it. It is in this respect that missions to the heathen are so supremely interesting. Notice, then, a connection between–
1. Rest and edification. In the Church as well as in the state, times of difficulty and trial often call forth latent powers, and produce remarkable men where they were least expected; but it too generally happens that to the members of a persecuted body such seasons are not times of steady thought, and deliberate and persevering study of Divine truth, and consequently of general improvement. A state of rest, on the contrary, affords opportunities for much study of the Divine oracles; for private and social meetings for conversation, and prayer, and mutual excitement. Let it be a serious question whether the rest which we enjoy is duly improved by us for the purposes of edification?
2. Rest and increase.
(1) A state of rest affords opportunities and leisure to attend to the interests of others: for preaching and using without restraint all the means for the conversion of sinners.
(2) Rest sets others free from the fear of attending at the proscribed places where the obnoxious doctrine is taught. Good cannot be done to the souls of men unless they are brought under the sound of the gospel.
3. The state of the Church as described–increase. Where these characteristics obtain–
(1) The influence of the character of Churches upon the augmentation. In illustrating this we may observe–there is an augmentation of holy and active zeal for the glory of the Redeemer and for the salvation of souls, which God blesses with success.
(2) There is combined with the effort to promote the truth the practical exemplification of its influence. When the truth is recommended, not merely in words, but by the exhibition of its power–then, under the blessing of God, it makes a successful appeal to the consciences of men, and finds its way with efficacy to the heart.
(3) There must be a most spiritual, strengthening effect on those who minister in holy things, to preach the gospel. The sight of a listless, lukewarm, divided Church, will act like a heavy drag on the spirit of the pastor. But when the Church prospers, when the members become edified, and walk in the fear of the Lord, and when they are united, affectionate, zealous, steady, constant, prayerful–this is the very zest of a pastors life.
(4) The Church will be mighty in prayer. Prayer is a means of edification and a measure of its progressive amount. If believers are not growing in the spirit and exercise of prayer, they are not growing in grace. It is a common observation, and the principles of the Word of God lead us to believe it, namely, that revivals of religion have been preceded by more than an ordinary predominance of prayer among the people of God for the success of His cause in all lands.
(5) There is secured an increase of the blessing of the Redeemer, and of supply of His grace. Every branch in him that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. And this proceeds upon a general principle, elsewhere laid down by Him. Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, etc. (R. Wardlaw, D. D.)
The characteristics and multiplication of Christian Churches
I. The grand characteristics by which Christian Churches ought to be distinguished. We observe here–
1. The Church is governed by the practical influence of religion. The fear of the Lord is the scriptural equivalent for the whole of practical religion, and involves devout reverence of the Divine attributes, and continued obedience to the Divine commandments. Churches are places where impenitence and unbelief should never come; where the depravity of the human heart should be expelled by the energy of redeeming grace; where every heart should be imbued with the love, and should be devoted to the service of God, and where every individual soul should be growing and meetening for the possession of holiness in heaven! True it is that, from time to time, there come among our communities those who have not the fear of the Lord, but these are spots in our feasts of charity. They have no part and no lot in the matter.
2. Churches enjoying the consolations of religion. The comfort of the Holy Ghost signifies, of course, the comfort which the Holy Ghost, in His character of Comforter, is intended to bestow upon those who are truly walking in the fear of the Lord; and that comfort must be regarded as consisting in feeling that they are possessors of vital piety: of a personal sense of their interest in the work of redemption; taking away from them the spirit of fear, and implanting within them the Spirit of adoption, administering to them sufficient strength for all circumstances, and filling them with emotions of joy and gratitude. But the enjoyment of the consolations of religion must be regarded as arising from practical devotedness and eminence in piety. The inspired historian mentions one characteristic as a cause and the other as an effect. The Spirit administers comfort where the Spirit receives honour; and where the Spirit is grieved there the Spirit is restrained. His awakening influences precede, His consoling influences follow.
II. The blessings which Christian Churches, as thus distinguished, may anticipate. These Churches were multiplied.
1. There are two principles connected with this multiplication of Christian Churches. It is intimately connected–
(1) With the state of religion amongst those persons who belong to them. They were multiplied because they were walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. The connection between the holiness of Christians and the conversion of sinners is in Scripture most distinctly stated. Let your light so shine before men, etc. (see also Php 2:14-16; 1Pe 2:11-12). If the unconverted world see you inconsistent they will be disgusted, but let them see you walk in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and then the very meanest of you will be himself a powerful minister of religion, will become a living epistle of Christ, known and read of all men. Your communities will increase in reputation, and in augmenting numbers, and your spiritual privileges will be enjoyed by men, who but for your holiness would yet have remained in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity, but whom you shall have to present, finally, as your glory, as your joy, and as the crown of your rejoicing in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming.
(2) With their exertions. Every believer is set apart, not only for holiness, but for exertion; and if Christians be idle, in whatever class of life they may be found, they are guilty of the most shameful breach of trust. The Church at Jerusalem was one mighty mass of activity (Act 2:42, etc.). And when they were scattered abroad by persecution, every man was transformed into a preacher of the gospel (Act 8:4). Now this is the legitimate consequence of walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost; but it is too much undervalued and forgotten. Are ministers expected to be arduous and incessant, while their Churches are to remain indolent and torpid, just to coolly receive their message, or else to criticise their defects, and to be discontented at their want of success? There wants to be sent another Pentecostal fire, which shall touch all ranks and classes, kindling in their bosom the flame of that zeal which shall never be quenched till death.
2. This multiplication is a most desirable and happy event. There appears to be, in the language of the historian, an element of pleasure, but there are nominal Christians in modern times to whom it produces no pleasure at all to hear of the multiplication of Churches. There are two reasons, however, why this event is so desirable and so happy. Its intimate connection–
(1) With the promotion of the glory of God.
(2) With the present and final blessedness of man. (J. Parsons.)
Rest and prosperity of Churches
Our text–
I. Describes the Churches of the Holy Land.
1. Their nature.
(1) They were congregations, or assemblies, of good people. And they are described as being more than one in the same country.
(2) They were not material edifices; although I do not object to, but prefer, that application of the word.
(3) They were not promiscuous associations, constituted by chance, nominal profession, outward and involuntary rites; they were real Christians.
(4) They were not national communities, for we read not of a Church, but Churches.
2. Their quiet. Then had the Churches rest.
(1) This denotes the commencement, not the continuance, of a state of peace. Then–after the persecution of chap. 8:1-4. It was the calm after the storm, the joy coming in the morning, after the weeping that endured through the night, and therefore the more precious.
(2) The causes of this return of quiet.
(a) The conversion of Saul. The grace of God was exceeding abundant towards him. His opposition was destroyed, not by his punishment as a foe, but by his transformation into a friend. Is there no encouragement to us in this? His conversion is set forth by himself as a pattern of the power and the mercy of the gospel. Then let Christians pray.
(b) The solicitude and alarm of the Jews. At Alexandria the Jews suffered dreadfully from the Egyptians, and in Judea and elsewhere were in imminent peril of ruin. An attempt was made to bring the statue of Caligula unto the Holy of Holies, in consequence of some offence he had taken at the conduct of the Jews. Nothing could produce greater consternation. So they were too concerned about their own affairs to meddle with those of others. God can restrain the wrath of man, as well as make it praise Him. He can control the circumstances as well as change the character of our foes. Saul returned from pursuing after David when the Philistines invaded the land.
3. Their experience and conduct.
(1) They were edified–built up as lively stones, a spiritual house.
(a) When the storm ceased they set earnestly about the completing of their moral temple. Persecution is unfavourable to religious, as war is to secular, commerce. It dispirits, diverts attention, employs resources, and intercepts communication. Peace, however, permits the full and unfettered employment of the Churchs gifts and graces for their appropriate and appointed purposes. The Churches before us were edified when they had rest. Their principles became broader in their base, and more perfect in their symmetry. Their faith increased in intelligence and earnestness. As a natural result of this, they cherished and expressed that filial reverence for God which is called for by His majesty and mercy; and they sought and submitted to all the intimations and the influences of the Spirit of Christ.
(b) This was their course. They walked according to this rule. It was not an occasional, but a constant thing. It described them in their relations as men of the Church and as men of the world. And what was the result?
4. Their increase. Were multiplied. They received large accessions from the world. There was more Christianity, and so there were more Christians. Saints were sanctified, and sinners became saints. These are the two elements of Church prosperity, the two ends of Church association. Christians are thus connected that they may promote each others spirituality, and that, by the union of their graces and the combination of their energies, they may be as light to a dark, and salt to a corrupt world. And these two things are inseparably connected. The Church cannot grow in grace without diffusing grace.
II. Sets them before us for imitation. The text was written for our use. Consider–
1. The connection between the rest and the edification of these Churches. They had rest, and were edified. They made spiritual advancement while they enjoyed civil repose. They did not spend the season of calm in luxury and sinfulness.
(1) Often quiet deteriorates the Church. The favour of the world has been often far more injurious to her than its hatred and opposition. When the civil sword has been turned against the Church, she has often lived more abundantly; when that sword has been turned against the enemies of the Church, she has often as miserably died.
(2) Our text, however, says that rest is not ruin, of necessity. And all Churches in their condition may have this character. It is quite a mistake to regard affliction as indispensable to spirituality. And yet how familiar is the language, The Church is got into a bad state: it wants the fire of persecution to purge it from its dross. And if nothing but persecution would bring the Church into a good state, let it come, and the sooner the better. But Christians should not be dependent on the malice of their enemies for the welfare of their souls; nor can it be imagined that the wicked are the salt of the Church, without which it would speedily go into utter corruption.
(3) On the contrary, the rest of the Churches is both a motive and a means of their prosperity. We should be stimulated by gratitude to a devout and diligent employment of the privileges so peacefully possessed. And then it affords the occasion for devotedness. The attention is not diverted by danger. There is the power of a regular and undistracted attendance on all the institutions of Christianity. The mind is left free from a dispiriting anxiety to study the great things of Gods law, and the machinery of means can play away without injury or interruption. See you not how all this applies to us? We have rest in a fuller measure than the Churches of Palestine. What is, what ought to be, the effect? Alas! they are not the same thing.
2. The connection between the edification of these Churches and their increase.
(1) The piety of a people is necessary to the safe and profitable enjoyment of their increase. A Church not eminently holy may suffer from great multiplication. Enlargement will tend to vanity and self-sufficiency. Perhaps we may find in this the reason why some Churches remain so stationary. It would hurt them to be otherwise.
(2) It is for the benefit of those who are added to a Church that it should be greatly good. Who can think without concern and pity of a multitude of souls being joined to a worldly Church?
(3) The godliness of a Church is a prime means of its increase. God blesses an eminently spiritual Church. For there will be prayers with labours, not instead of them–the only prayers that God will hear. And those labours will possess a character of earnestness and uniformity. The spirit of self-denying love and zeal will pervade the entire body; he that heareth will say, Come; each individual, like his Master, will seek in order to save. Nor is this all. The holy character of a Church in itself has no mean influence in winning souls. The exhibition of holiness is calculated to arrest attention by its singularity, and to produce impression by its force. The religion of Christ has suffered more from the inconsistencies of its friends than the opposition of its foes; its professors have created more objections than they have answered; and the proof of its divinity may be drawn from its preservation in spite of its adherents. Had all Christians been like Jesus Christ, or anything like Him, the world would have become Christian. And the holiness of Christians is especially important in an so practical as our own. The question is being asked of everything, For what good? Christianity must stand the test–it has always claimed to be tried by it. It depends on Christians, however, what shall be the actual and immediate results of such a trial. For all these reasons, the sanctification of Churches is necessary to their proper spiritual extension. There is an extension which Christ does not approve, and which men do not profit by–an increase of dimensions which resembles that premature growth which issues in consumption, if not rather that extension of the body which takes place at death. But the legitimate enlargement of Churches must come of their internal prosperity. Would you, as Churches, be increased? You must be quickened. A revival of religion must commence with the religious. (A. J. Morris.)
Prosperous Churches
I. Their external circumstances. Rest. The hurricane of persecution was now hushed, and under the genial influence of peace they grew. Peace in the nation is the time to build houses and develop resources. Peace in nature is the time for sowing and cultivation. Persecution, like storms, may deepen the roots of piety when it exists, but is unfavourable to the dissemination of seed and the growth of fragile plants.
1. This external condition Churches in England now have. We can sit under our own vine, etc. Once our Churches were very differently circumstanced–e.g., under Mary and the Stuarts.
2. This condition we are bound to improve. Great is our responsibility. All the waste land should be cultivated. Every spot brown with barrenness should be made emerald with life.
II. Their mutual relation. There was–
1. Organic independence. These Churches are spoken of as distinct; they were doubtless distinct organisations, each having its own laws, managing its own affairs, and knowing no head but Christ.
2. Spiritual unity. They are all spoken of as belonging to one generic class, subject to one general condition, and pursuing the same order of life. And there is vital unity between all true Churches–the unity of spirit, aim, headship. They were all members of one body. That which really unites Churches is not unions, conferences, etc., but Christs spirit of truth, love, and goodness.
III. Their internal condition.
1. Living in godly reverence.
2. Receiving sacred influences.
IV. Their leading signs. Increase–
1. Of strength.
2. Of numbers. Strong Churches, like strong nations, will colonise. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Churches increased
I. What is meant by walking in the fear of God?
1. A habitual and profound veneration for His character and institutions.
2. A humble and unreserved submission to His authority. The influence of this fear will extend to all the powers and faculties of the soul. It will–
(1) Constrain the understanding to submit implicitly to the authority of Gods revealed will.
(2) Influence the will, rendering it pliable and submissive, and conforming it to the will of God.
(3) Control and regulate the affections.
(4) Guide and govern the imagination.
3. A holy jealousy of ourselves, end a watchful care to avoid everything which may grieve, displease, or provoke Him to forsake us. Now, as Churches are composed of individuals, it follows that when all or nearly all the members of a Church live under the habitual influence of this principle, the Church will walk in the fear of God; and all the duties which are incumbent on it will be diligently and faithfully performed. These duties are–
(1) To provide the means of grace and of religious instruction for itself, its children, and those who are immediately connected with it:
(2) To faithfully maintain the discipline of Christ in His house.
(3) To assemble at proper seasons for social worship.
(4) To take care of the religious education of its children.
(5) To assist feeble and destitute sister Churches with pecuniary aid according to their ability.
II. What is meant by walking in the comforts of the holy ghost? Having–
1. Peace of conscience, or peace with God, arising from a persuasion wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit that we are pardoned and accepted in the Beloved.
2. A strong and well-grounded hope, arising at times to a full assurance, that we are adopted into Gods family, and that consequently we have a title to all the privileges of His children.
3. Foretastes of the joys of heaven.
III. When the members of Churches habitually walk in this manner, great additions will be made to them. This is probable when we consider–
1. That such a life and temper will naturally and most powerfully tend to convince all around them of the reality and happy effects of religion, to remove their prejudices against it, and to show them that its possession is highly desirable.
2. That this state of things is exceedingly pleasing to God, and naturally tends to draw down His blessing. Them that honour Him He will honour.
3. That, when Churches walk in this manner, it proves that God is pouring out His Spirit upon them, and that a revival of religion is already begun. (E. Payson, D. D.)
Complementary forces in the Christian life
I. We are apt to regard these two forces–fear and consolation–as contradictory.
1. The fear of the Lord marks an abiding characteristic of the Christian life–i.e., the fear which dwelt in our Lord Himself must dwell in His disciples. Christ was heard in that He feared. He was penetrated by a sense of religious awe and conscientiousness, and was delicately alive to the will of His Father; and thus He had power with God and prevailed. The fear of the Lord, like the love or the glory of the Lord, is to be participated in by His disciples, and is altogether a noble thing. It is an anxious state of mind lest we should wound the love of God, violate the law of righteousness, or fail to reach the highest sanctification of character (1Pe 1:16-17).
2. The comfort of the Holy Ghost is also an indispensable element. As the name of Comforter as applied to the Spirit of God means also Helper, Advocate, so the idea of comfort implies that of efficient succour, and the idea of efficient succour that of comfort–the deep satisfaction imparted to the soul by the energy of the Spirit of God–strong consolation, as we have it in Hebrews. The primitive Christians felt this, and walked in its power. Some praise ancient heathenism because, amid all its absurdities, it was a cheerful religion. Now, it must be acknowledged that Christianity is not a cheerful religion in the sense in which they were. Christ brought out the deeper meaning of life, and we have far deeper reasons for seriousness than men could possibly feel prior to the Advent. The superficial hilariousness of pagan worship was an impossibility to those who knew the Holy One of Israel, who had seen the awful beauty of Christ, and who were expecting the manifestation of that perfect universe into which nothing can enter that defileth. But, on the other hand, Christ has given us such reasons for bravery and hope in the moral life as men never knew before. Do we fear lest we fail to realise the wondrous love of God? The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Do we tremble lest we fail to recognise the mind of God? When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth. Do we shrink to contemplate the wide gulf which comes between us and the perfection of our Father in heaven? The Spirit assures us of sonship, and gives us the earnest of the promised inheritance, and urges us forward to share in Gods everlasting glory and blessedness.
II. So far from these two phases being, incompatible, they are complementary. In nature apparently contradictory forces blend, and in blending produce the grandest results. Widely as oxygen and nitrogen differ, they are complementary gases, and combined make the sweet and vital atmosphere. Attraction and repulsion are also complementary forces whose combined action preserves the universe in harmonic movement. So the resultant of the double action of the heart is life and health. Thus is it in Christian experience.
1. Fear is not inconsistent with–
(1) Peace. Then had the Churches rest,walking in the fear of the Lord.
(2) Love. The disciple of love fell at his Masters feet as dead.
(3) Hope. Peter, who has so much to say about the terrible day of the Lord, is full of hope.
(4) The highest world and the fullest felicity. Those who stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of gold, sing, Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy.
2. And so comfort is not inconsistent with any grace of the Spirit. Thoughtfulness and a full assurance; a constant eye to the imperative ideal which is so far above us, and to the glorious grace dwelling so richly in us; a vivid sense of our high and holy calling, and of the dangerous path of pilgrimage which leads up to it; the recollection of the jealous God, and of the God keeping mercy for thousands; the anticipation of judgment and glory, are coordinate and cooperative moods in the working out of our salvation.
3. The danger lies in the omission of either.
(1) How faulty the piety in which fear has no place! in which there is no trembling before the holiness of God, no overwhelming sense of the gravity of our position, no gazing with awe into the dread eternity how surely mine! The brighter the star, the more it trembles; and the purest saints, the bravest heroes of all times, have stood in fear and in much trembling.
(2) Not less faulty is the piety in which comfort has no place–legal, tormenting, morbid religiousness! Pale sorrow must consort with blooming joy; weakness must lean on strength; sweet comfort must soothe awesome fear. Only in the equilibrium of these opposite forces do we attain the fulness of life and the fulness of its blessing. Our grandest moments arise in the union of two opposing emotions (Gen 28:16-17; Mat 28:8).
III. Whilst we cultivate both sentiments, we must maintain both in due proportions. Most of us are under temptation to yield this or that undue preeminence, and the reason is found both in our constitution and our circumstances.
1. To exaggerate the sentiment of fear is the peril of some. An old writer tells us of a strange tribe which dwelt in caves because they were afraid of the sunshine; many devout people are afraid of the sunshine of the mind. Such are burdened with a sense of imperfection, condemnation, peril, and are slow to consider the gracious aspects of the Divine character, the inspiriting and mighty aid of the Comforter. Let those of a certain temperament watch against this danger. Let God lead you into green pastures. Abound in hope, and you shall find yourself more than conqueror.
2. The peril of others lies in exaggerating the element of comfort. These chiefly ponder the element phases of religion, and remember that like as a father pitieth his children, etc. They dwell more on the promises of Christ than on His requirements. Those need to be reminded of the sterner side of things. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, etc. All our austere thinking must be relieved by gracious hope, and our bounding joy chastened by the hallowed fear. Rejoice with trembling.
IV. The text exhibits fear and comfort, not as alternative, but as co-existent and concurrent moods of the soul. At one and the same time they walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.
1. The two streams ought to mingle in one full tide of feeling. Happy is the man that feareth alway, and blessed is he also who rejoices evermore, and in everything gives thanks. In the geologic world, for distinct and protracted periods, different gases prevailed; now you have the Carboniferous epoch, and then some other element predominates: but in the perfected earth the various gases mingle in due proportions, and the life and beauty of the whole orb are secured and perpetuated. In the cruder and more imperfect stages of our religious history, periods of anxiety are succeeded by periods of jubilation; but in the higher and riper development of the soul there is more simultaneousness in our moods, and they happily mingle in one deep and rich experience. In the Psalms we frequently find the most rapid transitions of thought, the mingling of most diverse emotion–gladness suddenly becoming thoughtful, and again, sorrow smiling through her tears. And the same comprehensive experience finds expression in the New Testament (2Co 4:8-10; 2Co 6:9-10). So far from deprecating this, we must regard it as Gods wonder-working order, and direct our self-culture accordingly. The artist ranges over the whole chromatic scale, and makes his picture so grand because the colours are so skilfully mixed; the musician rapidly passes from key to key, from stop to stop, and because he does so creates commanding music; thus in the believers life it is the constant concurrent appeal to law and grace, to responsibility and privilege, to the God of righteousness and the God of love, to heaven near and heaven distant, that finally gives to the character that full and finished beauty of which all artistic perfection is but the coarse figure.
2. The concurrence of these two habits of feeling secures the highest welfare of the soul. It was whilst the first Churches walked in this fear and comfort that they were edified and multiplied. The truest condition of Christian life is not found in the comparative absence of feeling. The text represents the soul as full of force and movement. A uniform experience is thought by some a satisfactory sign. The truth is far otherwise. How much grandeur would be lost to the world if the mountains were levelled; how much fruitfulness, and history, and poetry, and art! Somewhat thus is it with the soul. The true soul is full of great contending emotions, the upheavals and subsidences caused by the Spirit which worketh in us mightily; and in the exaltations and humiliations, the soaring hopes and lowly fears, the confidence which touches the heights and the apprehensions which reach the depths, lies the perfecting of the soul. The more life the more feeling, the more feeling the more life.
3. In an experience which contains the full measure and compass of feeling we secure the stability of the soul. The perfect lighthouse is a mighty column rising out of the rock, the very ideal of strength; yet it is a reed shaken with the wind, and because it bends it stands. It is thus with the highest and safest characters. There must be strength of mind, of principle, of faith, or it is impossible that we should bear the strain of life. And yet with all this there must be that sensitiveness which is ever the sign of sublimest strength. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Honourable fear
There is a filial fear. There is nothing more solicitous than love. A mother knows fear in connection with those children that she loves, but it is not degrading fear. The child, anxious to please, looks with waiting expectancy to see if its task has pleased father or mother. The child that is learning to write, or that is studying art, and, making sketches, brings them to the teacher or to the parent, comes with a kind of trembling apprehension lest they shall not be approved. That is honourable. That has the approval of affection itself, and it is ennobling. But the fear of anger, the fear of penalty, the fear of our own suffering and loss, is admirable only in very remote degrees, and occasionally, when other motives fail. And yet there is a filial fear, a love fear, which not only is permissible, but is honouring and uplifting. (H. W. Beecher.)
The Church at rest
Some men seem to think that the glory of the Church consists in being let alone. What they esteem above all other things is peace. A green mantling pool of what they call orthodoxy, with a minister croaking like a frog solitary–that is their conception of a Christian Church in a state of prosperity. But, according to the Bible, we are warriors. The battles we fight, however, are not battles of blood, but battles of love and mercy. We are sent to carry, not the sword and the spear, not rude violence, but conceptions of higher justice, nobler purity, wiser laws, and more beneficent customs. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. With these we contest, and we will contest, against rage and wrath and bitterness, knowing that He that called us and sent us is the God of battles, and will guide us and give us that victory which, if worth anything, is worth achieving in the severest conflict. For victories that are cheap, are cheap. Those only are worth having which come as the result of hard fighting. (H. W. Beecher.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 31. Then had the Churches rest] Instead of , the Churches, ABC, several others, the Syriac, Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian, and Vulgate, have , the Church. Every assembly of God’s people was a Church; the aggregate of these assemblies was THE CHURCH. The word , which we translate rest, and which literally signifies peace, evidently means, in this place, prosperity; and in this sense both it and the Hebrew shalom are repeatedly used. But what was the cause of this rest or success? Some say, the conversion of Saul, who before made havoc of the Church; but this is not likely, as he could not be a universal cause of persecution and distress, however active and virulent he might have been during the time of his enmity to the Christian Church. Besides his own persecution, related above, shows that the opposition to the Gospel continued with considerable virulence three years after his conversion; therefore it was not Saul’s ceasing to be a persecutor that gave this rest to the Churches. Dr. Lardner, with a greater show of probability, maintains that this rest was owing to the following circumstance: Soon after Caligula’s accession to the imperial dignity, the Jews at Alexandria suffered very much from the Egyptians in that city; and at length their oratories were all destroyed. In the third year of Caligula, A.D. 39, Petronius, who was made president of Syria in the place of Vitellius, was sent by the emperor to set up his statue in the temple at Jerusalem. This was a thunder-stroke to the Jews, and so occupied them that they had no time to think of any thing else; apprehending that their temple must be defiled, and the national religion destroyed, or themselves run the risk of being exterminated if they rebelled against the imperial decree.
The account given by Josephus will set this in a clear point of view. “Caligula sent Petronius to go with an army to Jerusalem, to set up his statues in the temple, enjoining him if the Jews opposed it, to put to death all that made resistance, and to make all the rest of the nation slaves. Petronius therefore marched from Antioch into Judea, with three legions, and a large body of auxiliaries raised in Syria. All were hereupon filled with consternation, the army being come as far as Ptolemais. The Jews, then, gathering together, went to the plain near Ptolemais, and entreated Petronius in the first place for their laws, in the next place for themselves. Petronius was moved with their solicitations, and, leaving his army and the statues, went into Galilee, and called an assembly of the heads of the Jews at Tiberias; and, having exhorted them without effect to submit to the emperor’s orders, said, ‘Will ye then fight against Caesar?’ They answered that they offered up sacrifices twice every day for the emperor and the Roman people; but that if he would set up the images, he ought first of all to sacrifice the whole Jewish nation; and that they were ready to submit themselves, their wives and children, to the slaughter.” Philo gives a similar account of this transaction. See Lardner’s Credibility, Works, vol. i. p. 97, c.
It appears, therefore, that, as these transactions took place about the time mentioned in the text, their persecution from the Romans diverted them from persecuting the Christians and THEN had the Churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee, and Samaria; the terror occasioned by the imperial decree having spread itself through all those places.
Were edified] , A metaphor taken from a building.
1. The ground is marked out;
2. the ichnograph, or dimensions of the building, ascertained;
3. the foundation is digged;
4. the foundation stone laid;
5. the walls builded up with course upon course;
6. the top-stone brought on;
7. the roof raised, and the whole covered in; and,
8. the interior part fitted up and adorned, and rendered convenient for the intended inhabitant.
This figure frequently occurs in the sacred writings, especially in the New Testament. It has its reason in the original creation of man: God made the first human being as a shrine or temple, in which himself might dwell. Sin entered, and the heavenly building was destroyed. The materials, however, though all dislocated, and covered with rubbish and every way defiled, yet exist; no essential power or faculty of the soul having been lost. The work of redemption consists in building up this house as it was in the beginning, and rendering it a proper habitation for God. The various powers, faculties, and passions, are all to be purified and refined by the power of the Holy Spirit, and order and harmony restored to the whole soul. All this is beautifully pointed out by St. Peter, 1Pe 2:4-5: To whom (Jesus Christ) coming as unto a LIVING STONE, chosen of God and precious, ye also, as LIVING STONES, are BUILT UP a spiritual HOUSE, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ. And St. Paul, who, from his own profession as a tent-maker, could best seize on the metaphor, and press it into this spiritual service, goes through the whole figure at large, in the following inimitable words: Ye are the HOUSEHOLD of God, and are BUILT upon the FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief CORNERSTONE, in whom all the BUILDING, FITLY FRAMED together, groweth unto a HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord: in whom ye also are BUILDED together for a HABITATION of God, through the Spirit, Eph 2:19-22. Edification signifies, therefore, an increase in the light, life, and power of God; being founded on the doctrine of Christ crucified; having the soul purified from all unrighteousness, and fitted, by increasing holiness, to be a permanent residence for the ever-blessed God.
Walking in the fear of the Lord] Keeping a continually tender conscience; abhorring all sin; having respect to every Divine precept; dreading to offend him from whom the soul has derived its being and its blessings. Without this salutary fear of God there never can be any circumspect walking.
In the comfort of the Holy Ghost] In a consciousness of their acceptance and union with God, through his Spirit, by which solid peace and happiness are brought into the soul; the truly religious man knowing and feeling that he is of God, by the Spirit which is given him: nothing less can be implied in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.
Were multiplied.] No wonder that the Church of God increased, when such lights as these shone among men. This is a short, but full and forcible description of the righteousness, purity, and happiness of the primitive Church.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then had the churches rest; when Paul was sent away, against whom they had the greater spite, as having been as zealous a persecutor as any amongst them.
And were edified: the church is frequently compared to a building, and every believer to the temple of God, 1Co 3:16, and 1Co 6:19, which God dwells in; from whence this metaphor is taken.
Walking in the fear of the Lord: walking is a progressive notion, and so is building and adding to a structure till it come to perfection; which signifies that these believers increased daily in the knowledge of God, in true piety and charity, &c.
In the comfort of the Holy Ghost; the word also signifies the exhortation of the Holy Ghost; such exhortations as were given from God by the apostles: to be sure, the comforts of the Spirit are not without our obedience to the commandments of God; and it seems to be given here as the reason why the churches were edified, and did thus increase, because believers walked in the fear of the Lord; and nothing persuades more effectually to the embracing of religion, than the holy living of such as make profession of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
31. Then had all the churchesrestrather, “the Church,” according to the bestmanuscripts and versions. But this rest was owing not so much to theconversion of Saul, as probably to the Jews being engrossed with theemperor Caligula’s attempt to have his own image set up in the templeof Jerusalem [JOSEPHUS,Antiquities, 18.8.1, c.].
throughout all Judea, andGalilee, and SamariaThis incidental notice of distinctchurches already dotting all the regions which were the chief scenesof our Lord’s ministry, and that were best able to test the facts onwhich the whole preaching of the apostles was based, is extremelyinteresting. “The fear of the Lord” expresses their holywalk “the comfort of the Holy Ghost,” their “peace andjoy in believing,” under the silent operation of the blessedComforter.
Ac9:32-43. PETER HEALSENEAS AT LYDDAAND RAISES TABITHATO LIFE AT JOPPA.
The historian now returns toPeter, in order to introduce the all-important narrative of Cornelius(Ac 10:1-48). Theoccurrences here related probably took place during Saul’s sojourn inArabia.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then had the churches rest,…. Meaning not spiritual rest in Christ; this they had before, even in tribulation, but rest from persecution; not so much because of the conversion of Saul, the great persecutor of them, for his conversion had been three years before; but rather because of his removal to other parts, the sight of whose person, and especially his ministry, had afresh stirred up the Jews to wrath and fury. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, read in the singular number, “the church”: but the several countries hereafter mentioned shows that more are designed: for it follows,
throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria; for by means of the dispersion, on account of persecution, the Gospel was preached in these several places, and churches gathered, and which shared in the persecution until this time, when they began to have rest; Ga 1:22 1Th 2:14 and were edified; or built up on the foundation Christ, and their most holy faith, through the ministry of the word and ordinances, and their mutual love and holy conversation; and had an increase of members, and of grace, and of spiritual knowledge:
and walking in the fear of the Lord; which was always before their eyes, and upon their hearts, continuing in religious exercises, and in the discharge of every duty, both to God and man. Not in a slavish fear of the wrath of the Lord, and of damnation for sin committed against him; for this is not consistent with their characters, as Gospel churches, made of persons who had received not the spirit of bondage to fear, but the Spirit of adoption, nor with their edification in faith and holiness; for “he that feareth is not made perfect in love”; 1Jo 4:18 which edifies; nor with the comforts of the Holy Ghost, they are afterwards said to walk in: but in a godly fear, which has the Lord for its author, is not of a man’s self, but of the grace of God, and is encouraged and increased by the discoveries of his grace and goodness: and which has the Lord for its object, whose name is holy and reverend, and is to be feared by all his saints: it shows itself in an hatred of sin; in a departure from it; in a carefulness not to offend the Lord; in withholding nothing from him, though ever so dear and valuable, he calls for; and in attending to all the parts of divine worship: and walking in it denotes a continuance in it, a constant progression in all the acts of internal and external worship, which are both included in the fear of the Lord; and it requires strength, and supposes pleasure and freedom. It is said of Enoch, that “he walked with God”; which the Targum of Onkelos paraphrases, “he walked in the fear of the Lord”, Ge 5:22 the same phrase which is here used.
And in the comfort of the Holy Ghost: which he communicated by shedding abroad the love of God in them, taking the things of Christ, and showing them to them, applying covenant blessings and Gospel promises to their souls, owning the word and ordinances, and making them useful to them, thereby leading them into fellowship with the Father, and with the Son. In all which he acts the part of a Comforter, and answers to the character he bears, and the office he is in: the love of God, which he directs into, and sheds abroad in the heart, refreshes and revives the Spirit of God’s people; it influences and encourages every grace that is wrought in them; and makes them easy and comfortable under all providences, even the most afflicting ones: the things of Christ he takes and shows unto them are his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; which being applied, and interest in them shown, produce abundance of peace, joy, and comfort: the promises of the covenant, and of the Gospel, he opens and applies, being such as hold forth the blessings of grace unto them; and being exceeding great, and precious, and suitable to their cases; and being absolute and unconditional, immutable, and sure, afford them much pleasure and satisfaction: and the word and ordinances being attended with the Holy Ghost, and much assurance, are breasts of consolation to them: and “walking” in those comforts which he administers, by such means, denotes a continuance of them, a long enjoyment of them, which is not very common; for, generally speaking, these comforts last but for a small time; and also it intimates much delight and pleasure in them, Ps 94:19 and so “were multiplied”; both in their gifts and graces, and in the number of converts added to them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
So the church (H ). The singular is undoubtedly the true reading here (all the great documents have it so). By this time there were churches scattered over Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Ga 1:22), but Luke either regards the disciples in Palestine as still members of the one great church in Jerusalem (instance already the work of Philip in Samaria and soon of Peter in Joppa and Caesarea) or he employs the term in a geographical or collective sense covering all of Palestine. The strictly local sense we have seen already in Acts 8:1; Acts 8:3 (and Mt 18:17) and the general spiritual sense in Mt 16:18. But in Ac 8:3 it is plain that the term is applied to the organization of Jerusalem Christians even when scattered in their homes. The use of (so) is Luke’s common way of gathering up the connection. The obvious meaning is that the persecution ceased because the persecutor had been converted. The wolf no longer ravined the sheep. It is true also that the effort of Caligula A.D. 39 to set up his image in the temple in Jerusalem for the Jews to worship greatly excited the Jews and gave them troubles of their own (Josephus, Ant. XVIII. 8, 2-9).
Had peace ( ). Imperfect active. Kept on having peace, enjoying peace, because the persecution had ceased. Many of the disciples came back to Jerusalem and the apostles began to make preaching tours out from the city. This idiom ( ) occurs again in Ro 5:1 ( , present active subjunctive) where it has been grievously misunderstood. There it is an exhortation to keep on enjoying the peace with God already made, not to make peace with God which would be (ingressive aorist subjunctive).
Edified (). Present passive participle, linear action also. One result of the enjoyment of peace after the persecution was the continued edification (Latin word aedificatio for building up a house), a favourite figure with Paul (Acts 9:1; Acts 9:3) and scattered throughout the N.T., old Greek verb. In 1Pe 2:5 Peter speaks of “the spiritual house” throughout the five Roman provinces being “built up” (cf. Mt 16:18).
In the comfort of the Holy Spirit ( ). Either locative ( in ) or instrumental case ( by ). The Holy Spirit had been promised by Jesus as “another Paraclete” and now this is shown to be true. The only instance in Acts of the use of with the Holy Spirit. The word, of course, means calling to one’s side () either for advice or for consolation.
Was multiplied (). Imperfect middle passive. The multiplication of the disciples kept pace with the peace, the edification, the walking in the fear of the Lord, the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The blood of the martyrs was already becoming the seed of the church. Stephen had not borne his witness in vain.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The churches. The best texts read the church; embracing all the different churches throughout the three provinces of Palestine.
Edified. Or build up.
Comfort [] . From parakalew, to call toward or to one’s side for help. The word is rendered in the New Testament both exhortation and consolation. Compare Act 13:15; Rom 12:8; 2Co 8:17; Heb 12:5; and Luk 2:25 (see note); 2Th 2:16; Mt 5:4. In some passages the meaning is disputed, as Phi 2:1, where, as in 1Co 14:3, it is joined with paramuqion or paramuqia, the meaning of which also varies between incentive and consolation or assuagement. Here exhortation is the rendering approved by the best authorities, to be construed with was multiplied : was multiplied by the exhortation of the Holy Ghost; i e., by the Holy Spirit inspiring the preachers, and moving the hearts of the hearers.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Then had the churches rest,” (he men oun ekklesia eichen eirenen) “The church had Peace,” the New Testament covenant fellowship, with congregations in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria by this time. The term church” is used in the sense of the worship and service institution that Jesus built or established, Mat 16:18; 1Ti 3:15.
2) “Throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria,” (kath’ holes tes loudaias kai Galilaias kai Samareias) “Throughout all the areas of the territories of Judaea, Samaria, and Galilee where local congregations of the church had come to be established – in Jerusalem, Samaria, Joppa, Lydda, Caesarea, etc.
3) “And were edified,” (kai oikodomoumene) “And they were built up,” enlarged or strengthened, Eph 4:12; Eph 4:16. The church, as an institution or organization is also called “the house of God” and “the body of Christ,” but always has its existence as or in local congregations of baptized believers in worship and work, 1Ti 3:15; Eph 4:16.
4) “And walking in the fear of the Lord,” (poreuomene to phobo tou kuriou) “Going forth, going on witnessing in the fear of the Lord,” reverence or respect for the Lord, Psa 34:9; Ecc 12:13-14; Heb 12:28.
5) “And in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied,” (kai te paraklesei tou hagiou pneumatos eplethumeto) “And in the comfort of the Holy Spirit (the church) was multiplied, increased in numbers and strength, Act 9:42; Act 2:47; Act 16:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
31. Then the Churches. Luke’s meaning is, that the enemies of the gospel were greatly provoked by Paul’s presence. For why was there such peace made suddenly by his departure, save only because the very sight of him did provoke the fury of the enemies? And yet this is no reproach to him, as if he had been, as it were, some trumpet in war; but Luke doth rather commend him for this, because he made the wicked run mad, only with the smell of him when he was near them. For Christ meant so to triumph in him, that he might be no less a trouble than an ornament to his Church.
Therefore we are taught by this example that those are not by and by (629) to be condemned, who inflame the madness of the wicked more than others; which admonition is not a little profitable. For as we are too dainty and too much besotted with the love of our own rest, so we be also sometimes angry with the best and most excellent servants of Christ, if we think that through their vehemency the wicked are pricked forward to do hurt; and by this means we do injury to the Spirit of God, whose force and speech kindleth all that flame.
And whereas Luke saith, that the Churches had peace, let us know that it was not continual, but because the Lord granted his servants some short breathing. For thus doth he bear with (630) our infirmity, when he appeaseth or mitigateth the winds and storms of persecutions, lest if they should hold on still, they should urge us out of measure. And this blessing is not to be despised, neither is it any common blessing, when as the Churches have peace. But Luke addeth other things, which are of far more value; to wit, that the Churches were edified, they walked in the fear of God, and they were filled with the consolation of the Spirit. For as we are wont to riot and exceed in time of peace, the Churches are more happy, for the most part, amidst the tumults of war, than if they should enjoy what rest they would desire. But and if holy conversation, and the consolation of the Spirit, whereby their state doth flourish, be taken away, they lose not only their felicity, but they come to nought. Therefore, let us learn not to abuse external peace in banqueting and idleness; but the more rest we have given us from our enemies, to encourage ourselves to go forward in godliness whilst we may. And if at any time the Lord let loose the bridle to the wicked to trouble us, let the inward consolation of the Spirit be sufficient for us. Finally, as well in peace as in war, let us always joyfully go forward toward him who hath a reward for us. (631)
Edification may be taken either for increase; to wit, whilst the Churches are augmented with the number of the faithful, or for their going forward who are already in the flock; to wit, whilst they have new gifts given them, and have greater confirmation of godliness. In the first signification it shall be referred unto the persons; in the second unto the gifts of the Spirit. I embrace both willingly; that there were some every now and then gathered unto the Church who were strangers before, and those who were of the household of the Church did increase in godliness and other virtues. Furthermore, the metaphor of a building is very convenient, because the Church is the temple and house of God, and every one of the faithful is also a temple, (Tit 3:15; 1Co 3:16.) The two things which follow, that they walked in the fear of God, and that they were filled with the consolation of the Spirit, are parts of that edification. Therefore, though the Churches had peace, yet they were not drunken with delights and earthly joy, but, trusting to God’s help, they were more emboldened to glorify God.
(629) “ Protinus,” forthwith.
(630) “ Indulget,” is indulgent to.
(631) “ Ad nostrum agnotheten,” to him who judges our combat.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act. 9:32. Lydda.The Old Testament Lod (Neh. 7:37; Neh. 11:35; 1Ch. 8:12), now called Lucid. Described by Josephus (Ant., XX. vi. 2) as a village not less than a city in largeness. Named Lydda in 1Ma. 11:34. After the destruction of Jerusalem it is often mentioned. Besides being the seat of a Christian community, it possessed for some time, like Jabne close by, a Rabbinical school. (See Riehms Handwrterbuch des Biblischen Allertums: art. Lod.)
Act. 9:35. Saron, or Sharon, the Plain, meant the north half of the flat end lying along the Mediterranean shore, from Lydda in the south to Carmel in the north. The whole goodly plain of Sharon is visiblefrom Mount Carmel on the north down to Lydda, from the eastern hills to the blue sea, now bathed in golda wilderness of weeds and thorn brakes, and yet a very paradise of colour and ever varying beauty (Picturesque Palestine, iii., 146).
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.Act. 9:31-35
The Miracle at Lydda; or, the Healing of neas
I. The time.
1. At the close of the persecution which arose on the death of Stephen. This must have continued three years, if the present paragraph chronologically succeeds the preceding. What occasioned the cessation of hostilities against the Christians can only be conjectured. The excitement raised by Gaiuss (Caligulas) order to have his image erected in the temple, about A.D. 39 and 40 (Lardner, De Wette), may have diverted the attention of the Jews for a season from the apostles and disciples (Jos., Ant., XVIII. viii. 29).
2. During a period of Church rest and prosperity. This inevitably followed on the cessation of active measures of hostility against the Christians, and continued for a number of years, say from A.D. 39 to A.D. 44, when a fresh persecution was initiated against the Church by Herod Aprippa (Act. 12:1). During this interregnum, the work of preaching, going forward in uninterrupted quiet, caused the ranks of believers to be largely augmentedthe Holy Ghost constantly bearing witness to the truth.
3. While Peter was on a visitation tour among the saints. Whether quarters (Kuinoel) or saints (Bengel, Meyer, Hackett) be supplied after all the sense is the same, that Peter, encouraged presumably by the peace which prevailed, had undertaken a pilgrimage among the Christians in all the districts round about for the purpose of confirming them in the faith, and by evangelising of increasing their number.
4. When he had come to the town of Lydda. The Lud of the Old Testament (1Ch. 8:12; Ezr. 2:33; Neh. 7:37; Neh. 11:35) was a village lying between Joppa and Ramleh, on the ancient line of travel between Jerusalem and Csarea. It was at the time of Peters visit the seat of a Rabbinic School, and of a Christian community, established there probably as the result of Philips labours (Act. 8:40).
II. The miracle.
1. The patient. neas, probably a Hellenistic Jew, and most likely a disciple. His name has suggested the question whether the fame of Virgils poem had made the Trojan hero known even in the plains of Palestine (Plumptre). Besser, interpreting his name as Man of Praise, finds in it a beautiful suggestion of the joyous singer of Gods grace who was healed at the Beautiful Gate of the temple (Act. 2:9).
2. The malady. Palsy. A paralysis in the limbs, which had rendered the patient bedridden for eight years. A minuteness of detail characteristic of Luke as a physician (compare Act. 3:7; Act. 9:18; Act. 28:8).
3. The cure. Made whole.
(1) Easily; by a word.
(2) Instantly; without delay or lengthened process.
(3) Completely. He arose (compare Act. 3:9) and made his bed (compare Joh. 5:9), doing for himself what others for eight years had been doing for him.
(4) Really. Though Renan says that Peter only passed for having cured a paralytic, there is no reason to doubt that he actually did so.
4. The physician. Not Peter but Jesus Christ. In the assonance of the Greek words ( ) we may perhaps trace a desire to impress the thought that the very name of Jesus testified that He was the Great Healer. Such a paronomasia has its parallel in the later play upon Christian and Chrestiani = the good or gracious people (Tertull., Apoc., c. 3), perhaps also in Peters own language that the Lord is not Christos only but Chrestos = gracious (1Pe. 2:3) (Plumptre).
5. The prescription. Arise and make thy bed. Probably a reminiscence of the way in which Christ was accustomed to proceed in similar cures (Mat. 9:6; Joh. 5:8).
III. The result.
1. The countryside was affected by the miracle. All that dwelt at Lydda and in Sharoni.e., the plain extending along the coast from Joppa to Csarea, a distance of thirty miles, saw the man that had been cured, and were convinced of the reality of the miracle (compare Act. 3:9).
2. Most of those who saw were by the sight converted. They believed the gospel Peter preached and turned to the Lord. The evidence of their eyesight was too strong to be gainsaid.
Learn.
1. That the edification of the Church proceeds best in the time of peace.
2. That the best propagandists of Christianity are devout Christians.
3. That Christian ministers should avail themselves of every opportunity opened in providence for the prosecution of their sacred calling.
4. That the miracles of moral healing performed by Christianity are a powerful means of attracting men to faith.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act. 9:31. The Church of Jesus Christ.
I. Independent of territorial limitations.The Church throughout all Juda and Galilee and Samaria.
II. Possessed of spiritual unity.The Church, though existing in different localities.
III. Susceptible of growth.Outwardly its number was multiplied; inwardly its religious life was edified.
IV. Distinguished by its walk and conversation.Walking in the fear of God and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Act. 9:33. The Healing of neas.
I. An affecting emblem of the sinful soul.
1. Afflicted with a grievous malady. Sin, which, like a palsy, paralyses the souls powers.
2. Of long standingnot for eight years only, but from birth.
3. Incurable by human means. Even if neass malady might have been remedied by ordinary therapeutics, the souls cannot be removed by any known power or wisdom of man.
II. A cheering proclamation of the souls physician.
1. His name, Jesus Christi.e., the Heaven-sent Saviour.
2. His presencein the immediate vicinity of every sick soul, so that He can operate at once.
3. His powerable to make the soul whole, to heal its destroying malady of sin, to cancel the guilt and break the power of itand to do this completely.
III. An authoritative declaration of the souls duty.
1. To believe. In the revealed physician. In His name and character, His presence and power.
2. To appropriate by an act of faith the healing offered. Without this the soul could not arise.
3. To arise from its sinfuli.e., guilty and helplesscondition. Practically it is the souls duty, instantly on believing, to begin to lead a new life.
IV. A simple illustration of the power of faith.The moment he believed, appropriated, and endeavoured, he arose a cured man. So is it always with them who believe and obey the prescription of the souls physician. They arise from their guilty and condemned conditionno condemnation (Rom. 8:1). They shake off the fetters of sins bondage and enter into spiritual liberty.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE WORK OF PETER
Act. 9:31Act. 11:18
1.
AT JERUSALEM. Act. 9:31.
Act. 9:31
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied.
Act. 9:31 This is the intervening verse between the work of Saul and Peter. The historian gives us an insight into the state of the church in three provinces of Palestine. We have felt all the time that while we were following the labors of Philip, Peter and John, and Saul, that there were many others preaching the word and no doubt the events of their lives were just as interesting as were those of the men discussed. Luke here speaks of the church as one ekklesia called out body, located in the three above mentioned places. The coming of Saul, attended as it was by the intense persecution of the Jews, had interrupted the peace to some extent; now that he was gone the peace was restored. It is not to be concluded from this that the stirring caused by Saul was in any way harmful. Indeed it probably assisted in bringing peace, edification, and fear to the church. The comfort of the Holy Spirit spoken of in this verse is a subject worthy of some discussion.
2.
IN LYDDA. Act. 9:32-35.
Act. 9:32
And it came to pass, as Peter went throughout all parts, he came down also to the saints that dwelt at Lydda.
Act. 9:33
And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had kept his bed eight years; for he was palsied.
Act. 9:34
And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ healeth thee: arise and make thy bed. And straightway he arose.
Act. 9:35
And all that dwelt at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Act. 9:32 a The increase and health of the church in Canaan probably prompted Peter to attempt an evangelistic tour of this territory. For whatever reason we now are told that the apostle goes on a trip through all parts. This reference has to do with the three provinces mentioned in this verse.
309.
Who brought the gospel to Lydda before Peter arrived?
310.
How do we know that Aeneas was well known in the town?
311.
We have said that whether faith was present or not healings could be performed. Prove it.
VIEW OF THE ROCK-ENCIRCLED HARBOUR AT JAFFA.
From the roof of the house of Simon the Tanner. The building in the foreground, with its domes and perforated parapets, is a characteristic example of native domestic architecture in towns and cities of Southern Palestine.
This port, known today by its modern name of Jaffa or Yaffa, though having no harbor, is the chief port of Palestine. It was at this place the timber from Lebanon for both the first and second temples was landed. From this port Jonah sailed; and here also Peter had his vision. (2Ch. 2:16; Ezr. 3:7; Jon. 1:3). Simon Peter was looking at the same sea of the Mediterranean which we can view in this picture when God spoke to him and told him to call no man common or unclean. Many of us have not learned this lesson yet.
Act. 9:32 b In this trip Luke selects the incident that occurred among the saints at Lydda as the one most pertinent to his purpose. Who brought the gospel to Lydda before Peter arrived? Two answers seem to be suggested by the book; either they . . . that were scattered formed this work or Philip as he preached the gospel in all cities in this district.
Act. 9:33-35 In this city of Lydda there was a man well known by all those of the entire district. Aeneas, who had kept his bed eight years; for he was palsied. The fact that he was well known is borne out in the great effect the healing had on the people. Peter, upon understanding the circumstances and evidently knowing what a wonderful witness for the power of Christ the healing of this one would be, said: Aeneas, Jesus Christ healeth thee. Arise and make thy bed. In this case as in all others the man to be healed did not hesitate a moment. Whether faith was present or not did not have any influence on the healings. Immediately at the command of the apostle in the name of Jesus the lame were healed and the palsied were made whole. (Act. 3:1-10). The intended result was achieved . . . all that dwelt at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Indeed the word spoken by the apostles was confirmed by this sign which followed. (Mar. 16:20).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(31) Then had the churches rest.The better MSS. have the Church in the singular. The tranquility described may have been due, partly to the absence of any leading men among the opponents of the new society; partly, perhaps, to public excitement being diverted to the insane attempt of Caligula to set up his statue in the Temple at Jerusaleman attempt from which he was only dissuaded by the earnest entreaties of Herod Agrippa, whom he had raised to the dignity of King of Juda, but who happened at the time to be at Rome, and of Petronius, the Prses of Syria. The latter was influenced by great showers of rain falling from a clear sky, after a long drought, in answer to the prayers of Israel (Jos. Ant. xviii. 8, 6). Such prayers, made at a crisis in which believing and unbelieving Jews felt an equal interest, may, probably, have suggested St. Jamess allusion to the old historical parallel of Elijah (Jas. 5:17).
Throughout all Juda and Galilee and Samaria.Brief as the notice is, it is every way significant. It is the first intimation since the opening of the apostolic history of the existence, not of disciples only, such as had gathered round our Lord during His personal ministry, but of organised religious communities, in the towns and villages of Galilee. We may think of such churches as formed in Capernaum and Tiberias, in Chorazin and the two Bethsaidas, perhaps even in Nazareth. The history is silent as to the agency by which these churches had been founded; but looking to the close relations between St. Luke and St. Philip, and to the probability that the latter made Csarea his head-quarters for the work of an Evangelist, we may legitimately think of him as having worked there as he had worked in Samaria. It is not improbable, however, that here also, as in that region, he may have been followed, after he had done his work as an Evangelist, by the Apostles to whom it belonged to confirm and organise. (See Note on Act. 8:14.) The mention of Samaria in like manner indicates the extent and permanence of the result of Philips work there, followed up as it had been by the preaching of Peter and John.
Were edified; and walking. . . .The more accurate construction of the sentence gives, The Church . . . . had peace, being edified and walking in the fear of the Lord, and was multiplied by the counsel of the Holy Ghost. The passage is noticeable for the appearance of the word edified, or built up, in the sense in which St. Paul had used it (1Co. 8:1; 1Co. 14:4), as describing orderly and continuous growth, the superstructure raised wisely upon the right foundation,
Walking in the fear of the Lord.The phrase, so common in the Old Testament, is comparatively rare in the New, being used only by St. Luke here, and in 2Co. 5:11, where it is wrongly translated the terror of the Lord. What it describes, as interpreted by its Old Testament use (Job. 28:28; Psa. 111:10; Pro. 1:7, et al.), is the temper of reverential awe; the scrupulous obedience to the commandments of God, which had been described of old as the beginning of wisdom.
The comfort of the Holy Ghost.It was natural that the gift of the Spirit who had been promised as the Paraclete, or Advocate (see Excursus G on the Gospel of St. John), should be described by the kindred word of paraclesis, and equally natural that this connection should re-appear in the two English words of comfort and Comforter. Comfort is, however, somewhat too narrow; the Greek word including (see Note on Act. 4:36) counsel and exhortation, so as to be very nearly equivalent to prophecy. What is meant here is that the words of counsel which came from the Holy Ghost, speaking through the prophets of the Church, were, then as always, far more than signs and wonders, or human skill of speech, the chief agents in its expansion.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
31. Rest From both the persecution by Saul, and the persecution of Saul. But concurrently with this, it is supposed that the trouble of the Jews arising from the project of the Emperor Caligula of placing his statue for worship engrossed all their thought and arrested the persecution of Christians. The trouble of her foes was the peace of the Church.
HISTORICAL NOTE II. To the extravagant and freakish fool CALIGULA, (see Hist. Note I, Act 1:1,) the successor was the solemn and stupid fool CLAUDIUS. He was himself a well-meaning man, but rendered a tyrant by being the tool of wicked advisers. His wife Messalina was guilty of the grossest debaucheries, but after deceiving him for awhile she was, upon detection, put to death. He then married Agrippina, his niece, the mother of Domitius AEnobarbus. Agrippina secured a marriage between her son and Octavia, the emperor’s daughter, and thereby secured to her son the succession to the imperial throne. She then poisoned Claudius, after a reign of fourteen years, and installed her son in his place with a new name which he has made forever infamous in history, NERO. The reign of Claudius covers the period extending from this repose to the commencement of the labours of Paul at Ephesus, in his second mission. It is contemporaneous with the apostolic life of Paul, from his retirement to Tarsus to the zenith of his active ministry; from January, A.D. 41, to October, 54. (See Hist. Note, Act 19:10.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘So the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified, and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied.’
The return of Saul to Tarsus forms a conclusion to this part of the narrative which now ends with a summary of the advances made up until now. Judaea, Galilee and Samaria have been evangelised, and the ‘one church’ of Jesus Christ was growing both in numbers and in understanding. All was now again at peace. The persecution had died down. And the true people of God walked in the fear of the Lord and in the ‘comforting and strengthening and encouragement’ (paraklesis) of the Holy Spirit. And it continued to multiply. Note the threefold emphasis, continually edified so as to build up their spiritual lives, fearing the Lord and receiving comfort from the Holy Spirit, emphasising their lives in relationship to God, and multiplying, emphasising their continual witness to the world.
Note the singular ‘church’ signifying the one ‘church’ (ekklesia – those gathered) consisting of all believers throughout all the regions. There was a strong sense of oneness and unity throughout the whole, for they recognised that they were all one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28). It was ‘the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria’. There were no differences here, whether Jew, or Galilean, or Samaritan, all were one, a remarkable oneness in a divided world.
The summary makes clear that the work in ‘Jewish’ territory is now satisfactorily under way, fulfilling the first part of Jesus command (Act 1:8) preparing for the new outreach which will reach to the Gentiles. Interestingly this is the only mention of ministry in Galilee. In spite of the summary the next section must be seen as an intrinsic part of what has gone before. As well as Luke’s divisions there is also a constant flow.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 9:31. Then had the churches rest This rest is by no means to be ascribed merelyor chiefly to St. Paul’s conversion; who, though a great zealot, was but a young man, of no immediate or supreme authority, and whose personal danger proves the persecution in some measure to have been continued at least three years after it. The period here spoken of, appears to be that which commenced at or quickly after St. Paul’s setting out for Cilicia; and the best commentators seem agreed, that this repose of the Christians was occasioned by the general alarm which was given to the Jews, then the sole persecutors of the Christians, about the year 40; when Petronius, by the order of Caligula, incensed by some affront said to have been offered him by the Alexandrian Jews, attempted to bring the statue of that emperor among them, and to set it up in the holy of holiesa horrid profanation, which the whole people deprecated with the greatest concern in the most solicitous and affectionate manner, and by which they were so much taken up, that they had not leisure to look after or persecute the Christians. How long this rest continued, we do not certainly know; probably till Herod interrupted it, chap. 12: Act 9:1. Dr. Doddridge, following Beza’s construction of this intricate verse, renders it as follows: Then the churches through all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, being edified, had rest; and walking in the fear of the Lord and the consolation of the Holy Spirit were multiplied. Dr. Heylin reads it, At that time the churches, &c. had peace; being edified, and advancing in the fear of the Lord; and they became more numerous by the assistance of the Holy Ghost. The word , edified, is figurative, and properly a term of architecture, signifying the erecting or constructing the whole superstructure upon a foundation. In this place, it must signify by analogy, that the churches were properly instructed in all the fundamental doctrines of the gosp
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 9:31 . ] draws an inference from the whole history, Act 9:3-30 : in consequence of the conversion of the former chief enemy and his transformation into the zealous apostle.
The description of the happy state of the church contains two elements: (1) It had peace , rest from persecutions, and, as its accompaniment, the moral state: becoming edified ( advancing in Christian perfection , according to the habitual use of the word in the N. T.), and walking in the fear of the Lord (dative of manner, as in Act 21:21 ; Rom 13:13 ; comp. on 2Co 12:18 ), i.e. leading a God-fearing life , by which that edification exhibited itself in the moral conduct. (2) It was enlarged , increased in the number of its members (as in Act 6:1 ; Act 6:7 , Act 7:17 , Act 12:24 ; hence not: it was filled with, etc., Vulgate, Baumgarten, and others), by the exhortation (as in Act 4:36 , Act 13:15 , Act 15:31 ; Phi 2:1 ) of the Holy Spirit, i.e. by the Holy Spirit through His awakening influence directing the minds of men to give audience to the preaching of the gospel (comp. Act 16:14 ). The meaning: comfort, consolation (Vulgate and others), is at variance with the context, although still adopted by Baumgarten.
Observe, moreover, with the correct reading . . . the aspect of unity , under which Luke, surveying the whole domain of Christendom , comprehends the churches which had been already formed (Gal 1:22 ), and were in course of formation (comp. Act 16:5 ). The external bond of this unity was the apostles; the internal, the Spirit; Christ the One Head; the forms of the union were not yet more fully developed than by the gradual institution of presbyters (Act 11:30 ) and deacons. That the church was also in Galilee , was obvious of itself, though the name is not included in Act 8:1 ; it was, indeed, the cradle of Christianity.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
SECTION III
DURING PETERS VISITATION OF THE CONGREGATIONS IN JUDEA, HE IS INDUCED BY A SPECIAL REVELATION FROM HEAVEN TO VISIT A GENTILE NAMED CORNELIUS, TO PREACH CHRIST IN HIS HOUSE, AND TO BAPTIZE HIM AND THOSE THAT WERE IN HIS HOUSE; THIS ACT OF PETER WAS AT FIRST REGARDED IN JERUSALEM WITH DISAPPROBATION, BUT WAS ULTIMATELY, AFTER THE EXPLANATIONS WHICH HE GAVE, VERY GLADLY COMMENDED
Act 9:31 to Act 11:18
A.WHILE THE CONGREGATIONS IN THE HOLY LAND ENJOY REPOSE, AND CONTINUE TO FLOURISH, PETER VISITS THEM. DURING THIS PERIOD, HE HEALS ENEAS IN LYDDA, WHO WAS SICK OF THE PALSY, AND, IN JOPPA, RESTORES TABITHA TO LIFE
Act 9:31-43
31Then had the churches [church]23 rest [peace] throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified [was built up]; and walking [walked] in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were [and, by the exhortation of the H.G., was] multiplied. 32 And [But] it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, [went through all, that] he came down also to the saints which [who] dweltat Lydda. 33And there he found a certain man named Eneas which had kept his bed [who lay on his bed for] eight years, and was sick of the palsy [who was paralytic]. 34And Peter said unto him, Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole [Jesus, the Anointed One, healeth thee!]: arise, and make thy bed [the bed for thyself]. And he aroseimmediately. 35And all that dwelt at [the inhabitants of] Lydda and Saron saw him,and turned [then were converted] to the Lord. 36Now [But] there was at Joppa a certain [female] disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation [being interpreted] is called Dorcas [Gazelle]Acts 24 : this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds [mercy]which she did [practised]. 37And [But] it came to pass in those days, that she was sick [sickened], and died: whom when they had washed, they [then they washed herand] laid her in an upper chamber. 38And forasmuch as [But as] Lydda was nigh to [lies near] Joppa, and the disciples had [om. had] heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men,25 desiring him that he would not delay to come to them26 [and besought him: Delay not to come to us!]. 39 Then [But] Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him [conducted him up] into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by [came to] him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments [the under and upper garments] which Dorcas [Gazelle] made, whileshe was with them. 40But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him [, then turned] to the body [and] said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41And [But] he gave her his hand, and lifted [raised] her up; and when he had called [to] the saints and widows,he presented her alive. 42And it was [became] known throughout all Joppa; and manybelieved in the Lord. 43And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one [a certain] Simon [who was] a tanner.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act 9:31. Then had the churches rest [the church peace].This section prepares the way for the narrative of the conversion of Cornelius, which event constituted an epoch in the history of missions among pagans; the gradual approach of Peter to the vicinity of Cesarea is distinctly described. The connection with the facts previously related, is indicated by , but, probably, not in the sense that the peace of the church was directly connected with the conversion of Saul, its former persecutor, as the immediate result. Luke rather intends to resume the thread of the history by means of , which word he also elsewhere employs for a similar purpose (Act 8:4; Act 11:19), when the course of the narrative had been interrupted by an intermediate remark or a somewhat extended episode.He describes, in Act 9:31, the state of the Christian church as one of external peace () and of internal growth in godliness, after the persecution which commenced with Stephens martyrdom had gradually abated, and, at length, entirely ceased. Here he names three provinces of Palestine, Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, as those in which Christian congregations existed. Several had been founded in Samaria, according to Act 8:12; Act 8:25, but none that existed in Judea, with the exception of the holy city itself, had hitherto been expressly mentioned. Still, we can easily conceive that Christian congregations had been formed in various villages and cities of Judea, as well as in Galilee, which latter province had, indeed, been the chief scene of the labors of Jesus, and was the home of the greater part of the apostles and disciples. If Samaria [the intermediate province] is mentioned in the last place, the cause is to be found in the religious, separation of the Samaritans from the people of Israel.In accordance with the established usus loquendi in general, and the practice of Luke, in particular (comp. Act 6:1; Act 6:7), the verb can be taken in no other sense than (as Bengel also says) that of multiplicari, augescere numero, and not in that of repleri aliqua re. For similar reasons cannot well signify comfort [consolation (Vulg.; de Wette)], but rather means exhortation, admonition, encouragement. [, growing in the inner religious life; this explanation best agrees with the Pauline usage of the word, e. g., 1Co 14:4, (de Wette; Alford).Tr.]
Act 9:32. As Peter passed throughout all quarters [went through all].This (literally, a journey through different inhabited places) was an apostolic visitation, for the purpose of inspection. The statements which follow show that is to be supplied after [not ; comp. Act 20:25; Rom 15:28 (de Wette), and also 2Co 1:16, .Tr.]. In the course of Peters journey to the west coast, he reached Lydda, a town not far distant from the Mediterranean, described by Josephus (Antiq. xx. 6. 2) as ; it lay, according to Act 9:38, in the vicinity of the city of Joppa [just one days journey from Jerusalem. (Alford). It is probably the Lod of the children of Benjamin, 1Ch 8:12; Ezr 2:33; Neh 11:35; at a later period it was called Diospolis. (von Raumer).Tr.]
Act 9:33-35. Eneas.No circumstance is mentioned which indicates that he was a Christian; the expressions and rather represent him as a stranger; his Greek name leads us to conjecture that he was of Hellenistic descent. [His name, . which is also found in Thuc. 4. 119; Xen. Anab. 4. 7. 13; Pind. Ol. 6. 149, is not identical with that of the Trojan (Meyer), e. g., Il. II. 820; V. 166; the former is accented by English speakers on the first, the latter on the second syllable.Tr.]. When Peter says to this man, whose paralyzed limbs had confined him to his bed: Jesus, the Anointed One, healeth thee, the mention of the Redeemers name no doubt implies that the man had obtained a certain amount of knowledge of Him by report (audierat de Christo sine dubio, sanante omnes illo tempore. Bengel), but by no means shows that he was already a member of the church of Christ. This mode of describing the Lord would not have been employed in the case of a believer. The word itself is to be taken strictly in the present, and not in a future tense, inasmuch as the cure was instantly performed; the man was at once able to arise and make his bed. This sudden and miraculous restoration of one who had so long been paralyzed, but whom the inhabitants of that place and the surrounding region now saw in the enjoyment of health, led to the conversion of many persons; for no argument can here be needed to show that Luke does not intend to say that all without exception were converted.The name does not denote a particular place (the modern village Saron), as some have supposed, since, in that case, the article would not have been prefixed; it refers to the ell known fertile region of that name [Sharon, 1Ch 27:29; Isa 33:9; Isa 35:7; Isa 65:10] which also abounded in flowers [Son 2:1]. This plain extends along the coast from Cesarea to Joppa on the south.
Act 9:36. Tabitha.The Gazelle (Greek, , [see above, note 2 appended to the text.Tr.]) is distinguished for its slender and beautiful form, its graceful movements and its soft but brilliant eyes; it is frequently introduced by the Hebrews and other Oriental nations as an image of female loveliness, and the name was often employed as a proper name, in the case of females [2Ki 12:1; 1Ch 8:9. Rob. Hebr. Lex. p. 881.Tr.]. It was the designation of this person, who resided in Joppa, the well known seaport of antiquity, of the middle ages, and of modern times. [It was somewhat more than 30 miles distant from Jerusalem; it is mentioned in 2Ch 2:16; Jon 1:3 (Joppa); Jos 19:46 (Japho); now called Japha, Jaffa or Yafa. A summary of its history is given by von Raumer: Palstina, p. 204 f.Tr.]. She is, unlike Eneas, at once introduced as a Christian, and her charitable disposition, which was demonstrated by many benevolent acts performed for others, receives special commendation. One illustration, evidently taken from real life, is furnished in Act 9:39. The widows, who weep for the loss of their faithful benefactress, approach Peter, and, in the presence of the corpse of the beloved one, exhibit all the upper and under garments ( ) [the tunic and robe or gown, which still constitute the oriental costume of both sexes (J. A. Alexander, ad. loc.], which Tabitha had made for them while she lived, thus, demonstrating not only the skill of her practiced hand, but also her disinterested and self-sacrificing industry. [Hackett, ad loc. well observes: The omission of the article [before ] (suggestive of a wrong sense as inserted in the English version [and by Lechler above]) shows that they presented specimens only of her industry.Tr.], This devout female disciple [, Attic ] is a model for Christian women; although she does not appear to be endowed with extensive property, she is charitable, to the full extent of her ability, to the poorest and most neglected class of all, to widows; she acquires the means by furnishing articles usually made by females, and these she prepares with unwearied diligence and self-denial. While charity thus prompts her to provide for the needy, she proves that she is a faithful disciple of Him who himself first showed mercy to her and to all the world.
Act 9:37-38. She was sick, and died.Tabitha had, without doubt, served Christ for years in pauperibus, and exercised her faith by performing works of love. It was during the period in which Peter abode in the vicinity ( ), that she became sick and died. After the body had been washed and laid in a retired upper chamber [ masc. as Luke speaks in the most general terms and impersonally: they washed and laid, etc. Winer: Gram. N. T. 27. 6], the disciples in Joppa sent a message to Peter, who was then in Lydda [distant about 10 Roman miles], and urged him to come to them without delay. All the members of the Christian congregation at Joppa ( Act 9:38) appear to have been deeply moved by the loss which they had sustained, and to have entertained the wish in their hearts, although they did not venture to express it, that, if it were possible, Tabitha might be recalled to life. Thus they bear witness to that intimate communion which subsists among Christians, by virtue of which even one who, viewed externally, seems to stand alone in society, may be connected with others by closer ties than those of kindred.
Act 9:39-43. a. Then Peter arose and went.As soon as the apostle, who had made no delay, had arrived, the Christians conducted him to that upper chamber in which the corpse lay (for must doubtless be taken as the nominative to ). Then the widows on whom the deceased had conferred such benefits also approached, so that the two classes of persons with whom Tabitha had been connected during her life, were now assembled: 1. the Christian congregation, to which she herself belonged, and, 2. the widows whose benefactress she had been, and who, in part at least, did not belong to the congregation [saints and widows.]. But Peter directed them all to withdraw, so that he might devote himself to prayer in entire seclusion. After having offered fervent prayer on his knees, he turned towards the body and called to Tabitha, saying: Arise. Luke gives a graphic description of the scene: at first she opened her eyes, then, on seeing Peter, rose up on the bed, and, at length, when Peter had given her his hand, stood up. The apostle now invited the Christians [the saints, Act 9:41, see above, Exeg. and Crit. Act 9:13-14.Tr.] and the widows to enter, in order that he might present to them the woman alive, who had been raised up by the power of God. Such an event naturally became known to the whole city, and conducted many to faith in Christ.Peter did not immediately leave Joppa, but remained there during a considerable period, and lodged with a tanner named Simon, who was, without doubt, a Christian. The apostle, accordingly, cannot have regarded the tanner as an unclean person, on account of his trade, although such was, according to rabbinic views, the case.
b. The restoration of Tabitha to life, has, as we might have expected, been explained by some as a natural occurrence, by others as an unhistorical legend. The former (for instance, Heinrichs) imagine that the whole was a case of apparent death, from which the subject was awakened. The latter (for instance, Baur) regard the narrative as simply a legendary transfer of events in the life of Jesus to the apostles, for the purpose of glorifying the latter, and that the whole has been embellished by tradition. The case of the restoration to life of the daughter of Jairus is specially adduced, and here Baur lays considerable stress on the similarity of sounds in the two words (Mar 5:41) and , and attempts to show that the latter name agrees in sense with the former word. If any analogy exists between the procedure of Peter on the present occasion and that of the Lord, (e. g., the removal of the spectators, the call to the deceased, the act of reaching the hand to her), it may be the more readily understood, when we remember that Peter himself was one of the three disciples, who, with the exception of the parents of the maiden [Luk 8:51], were the sole witnesses of the restoration of the latter; the apostle naturally regarded the course adopted by his Lord and Master as a model when he performed a similar miracle.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The unity or oneness of the Church of Christ is here presented for the first time, even if it be but in an expression. Quite a number of Christian congregations already existed in the three provinces of PalestineJudea, Galilee, and Samaria. Nevertheless, they are regarded and designated as a whole, as ; the experience of any one of them, concerns the others also; the same life pervades themthey belong together. It was more difficult to preserve this unity and maintain it in practice, when the Gospel was extended over several countries, in its progress in the heathen world. But, even at the present day, when national churches, of precisely the same creed, respectively maintain an isolated position, and, further, when the Romish, the Greek, and the Evangelical Churches appear to be separated from one another by wide chasms, the una sancta catholica ecclesia is not a vain delusion, but a truthof faith!
2. The Church was edified.What is edification?The believing Christian is built by regeneration and conversion on the foundation which is laid, on Jesus Christ, as the corner-stone, and is joined to him. But even as our birth is only the beginning, while growth and development constitute the progress of bodily life, so, too, regeneration is only the beginning, but continued renewal and sanctification constitute the progress of spiritual life; the laying of the foundation must be succeeded by unceasing building. And as regeneration is a divine-human work in man, wrought by the grace of God, but dependent on mans reception of, and capacity for it, so, too, edification or renewal is a divine-human work, in which human action from below, and the operation of grace from above, combine; the only difference is found in the circumstance that, in the latter case, the element of moral power and independent action assumes far more prominence than in the former. Luke, indeed, states this point in so far as he first remarks that the Church walked in the fear of God, that is, was earnest and diligent, with respect to any act of a moral character, in avoiding every sin (for by it they would offend God,) and, on the contrary, in pleasing him by obedience. He afterwards remarks, that, as a result of the exhortation of the Holy Ghost, the Church was multiplied, that is, increased in the number of members through the operations of the grace of the Spirit. For even when he refers only to the influence of the Holy Ghost on the external growth of the Church, he still testifies that that influence was an essential, animating and moving power, in the life of the Church.
3. The words of Peter: . bear witness to the actual presence and the divine power of Jesus Christ, particularly as the deed accompanies the words. It is not the apostle, but Jesus himself, who heals the sick man, and renews his prostrated strength. This miracle is a striking proof that Christ operates in his exaltation, and continues the work which he performed in his humiliation (comp. Act 1:1; ).Peters words, at the same time, supplied a firm foundation for the sick mans faith in the Person and the power of Christ. No reference is made by Luke to this mans faith; Peter makes no inquiry respecting itbut it is unquestionably assumed as already existing in his soul.
4. The conversion to the Lord, namely, to Jesus Christ, Act 9:35, is a testimony offered for the Deity of Christ. In Act 15:19, Luke employs the expression: , in reference to heathens who became Christians; comp. , Act 20:21. If faith in Jesus Christ is a conversion to the Lord, then his divine dignity and nature are thereby presupposed. For , in the Scriptural sense, is certainly such a turning of the heart and the will, that all the trust of the individual is placed in him, and his most humble obedience is rendered to him, to whom he turns; and here it is taken for granted that Christ is equal to God, for otherwise conversion to his Person would be nothing else than a lapse into idolatry.
5. Tabitha was full of good works and almsdeeds [mercy].Here we fully assent to the remark of Baumgarten as well established, that these terms describe the good works and merciful deeds by which this Christian woman was distinguished, as being really of an internal nature, permanently abiding in her soul and indeed attached to it [full of, etc.], whereas good works, as soon as they are actually performed, acquire an external, positive nature of their own. But, in truth, good works can be justly regarded as genuine and Christian in their nature, only when the whole soul of the individual who performs them, is infused into them, so that it is not the hand alone, but the soul also, that gives and performsthe external acts proceed from the heart. When such is the case, the work is not an opus operatum, in which the soul does not participate, and which, (as most of all important,) the Spirit of God does not recognize; it partakes, on the contrary, of the nature of the soul; it is wrought in the soul, abides in it, and follows it even in death (Rev 14:13, .).
6. The restoration of Tabitha to life, and the healing of Eneas, were not independent acts of Peter as a Christian and an apostle, but were acts of Christ, for they were essentially answers to prayer. The apostle first bends the knee, when he is alone with his God and Lord in the chamber of the dead. It is only after this exercise that he turns towards the corpse and says: Arise, speaking in the power of the Lordof that Saviour, who is (comp. Peters address, Act 3:15.). This prayer is the essential or most important feature in which the raising up of Tabitha differs from that of the daughter of Jairus. For Jesus himself took the dead child by the hand, without having previously offered prayer, when he called her back to life, whereas Peter does not restore life to the dead, until he has first besought the Lord to grant this miracle. Thus the name of Jesus, and not that of his apostle, is glorified, and, as a consequence of it, many persons in Joppa are converted to Christ, and not to Peter.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act 9:31. Then had the churches [church] rest, etc.After the storm, the church enjoys a season of repose; even when the dragon [Rev 12:1 ff.] threatens and rages, the Lord gathers his people under his wing and protects them. (Ap. Past.).Throughout all Judeaand Samaria.Jews and Samaritans meet together in peace, under the banner of the crossan illustration alike of the pacificatory character of the Gospel, and of the divine purpose that it should become the religion of the world!Edified comfort of the Holy Ghostmultiplied.The times of refreshing [Act 3:19] granted to the Church: I. Seasons of repose and comfort after storms of trouble; II. Seasons of meditation and diligent preparation, in view of new contests.When are the peaceful times of the Church truly blessed times? When the peace which we enjoy, I. Does not teach us to become arrogant, but inclines us to fear the Lord, even when no foe is present; II. Does not teach us to presume, but inclines us to seek they comfort of the Holy Ghost, even when we enjoy temporal prosperity; III. Does not teach us to become indolent, but rather tends to the edification of the church, that is, to its advancement in religious life, in place of encouraging it to be satisfied with the progress that has been already made.Peace is the appropriate season for buildinghouses and granaries, schools and churches, hearts and congregations.On a sound and an unsound peace; I. In the family; II. In the country; III. In the church.Under what circumstances may a congregation be truly said to be built up? I. When the reverence with which it regards God and his word, constitutes the firm foundation on which its life and doctrine repose; II. When love and peace in Jesus Christ closely unite the hearts of all; III. When the power of the Holy Ghost is the animating and moving principle that conducts alike the individual and the whole congregation nearer and nearer to heaven.When may a congregation be said to flourish? I. When it is rooted in the fear of the Lord; II. When it branches out in brotherly love; III. When it exhibits the fruits of the Spirit in their maturity.Why are the seasons of blossoming so brief in Christian hearts, Christian congregations, and Christian nations?Is it Spring or Autumn in the Church of the Lord?
Act 9:32. And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all.Congregations as much need a regular Church-visitation, as a garden needs the oversight of the gardener. We cannot safely yield to a feeling of security, even when the church enjoys peace, but should diligently watch, for Satan is never idle, Luk 11:24. (Starke).He came down also to the saints.It is an evidence of a serious decline that the word saint has become a term of derision in the bosom of Christendom, and that those who would claim it, would be accused of commending themselves. It may, according to the Scriptures, be assumed in a truly humble spirit. The sinner who repents, is a saint, when he devotes himself to God and Christ as a a peculiar servant. (Rieger).
Act 9:33. There he found a certain man which had kept his bed eight years.Sick persons may he found also among the saints; the communion of the saints retains some of the features of a lazaretto, and the one is expected to serve as the nurse of the other. How much vital power has already streamed forth from Jesus Christ! And all that is diseased in me, will hereafter be gloriously restored by Him. (Rieger).
Act 9:34. Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.This is the language, I. Of an apostles humility (Jesus Christ, not I); II. Of a prophets power of faith (He makethnotMay he make thee whole).Arise and make thy bed.We pray, in our less distinguished age, that God would grant his aid to the sick at whose bedside we stand, if such be his holy will; we exhort the sick to be patient, and to look to the future with hope. But Peter, when invested with apostolical fulness of power, is enabled to announce to Eneas: Thou shalt be made whole; yea, thou art already restored. And Luther, with his heroic and mighty faith, speaks authoritatively to the faint-hearted and dying Melanchthon: Thou must live! Thou shalt not die! [It was at Weimar, in 1541; after very fervent prayer, Luther seized the hand of his friend, who was already unconscious, and said: Bono animo esto, Philippe; non morieris!Tr.].Two things pertain to the healing of souls that are sick: 1. They must be taught to look up in faith to the Lord, from whom alone salvation and help can come; II. They must be encouraged to arise in His strength, and walk in newness of life.
Act 9:35. Turned to the Lord.Thus the Lord blesses the labors of his servants; the healing of a sick man conducts many to salvation; the restoration of one may exercise a saving influence on many others.
Act 9:36. A certain [female] disciple.Women are not appointed to be teachers, but may be disciples in the church. (Starke).Full of good works and almsdeeds.The giving of alms does not impoverish; it empties the hand, but fills the heart. Pro 19:17. (Starke).The honorable mention made of Tabitha: I. She was a disciplethe title refers to her faith; she sits with Mary at the feet of Jesus; II. She was full of good works and almsdeedsthis language describes her love, which served the Lord in the brethren, thereby manifesting its life and power.
Act 9:37. She was sick, and died.It was only after her death that it became known what a treasure she had been to the church; the odour of the costly ointment filled the house, when the vessel in which it lay concealed, was broken [Joh 12:3]. (Besser).
Very few words are used with respect to her sickness and death. But the Lord had surely been present at her bedside, both while she lay sick, and when she died, even as He had not failed to be present in her closet when she had kneeled there as His disciple, and in her chamber when she worked in his service, and prepared garments for the poor.Thou wilt die, as thou hast lived.
Act 9:38. The disciples heard that Peter was (at Lydda, and) sent unto him.They also were believers, but they had not miraculous gifts like those of Peter. Grace and gifts are not the same; God bestows the latter according to his wisdom, giving five pounds to one servant, three to another, and one to a third. (Ap. Past.).They can have scarcely expected a miracle from Peter, and only desired that he would address words of consolation to them. Much is already gained, when they who abide in the house of mourning sincerely desire the consolations of Gods word.
Act 9:39. Shewing the coats and garments, etc.Acts of benevolence which survive their author, are the best relics of the saints. (Starke).The tears of the widows standing around the bier of Tabitha, a noble testimony, I. With respect to the deceased woman and her charity; II. With respect to the survivors and their gratitude.
Act 9:40. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed.Why did he direct all who were present to withdraw? I. He followed the example of his Master in the case of the daughter of Jairus; II. He may have perceived that some were governed by an idle curiosity; III. He could more fully engage in prayer when alone; IV. He did not yet know whether it was the Lords will to restore the deceased woman to life. Hence he desired to be alone with the Lord, in order to make known to Him the request of the disciples [Php 4:6].Observe: (a) Even if a pastor should possess the miraculous powers of an apostle, it would still be his duty continually to cherish a sense of his dependence on the Lord, and never act presumptuously in his office, or suppose that he could perform any work by his own strength. (b) We are not at liberty to assent to every request, even of devout men or disciples, without due examination, but are in duty bound to lay the matter, first of all, before the Lord, particularly when it concerns the life or death of a child of God, the continued residence or the removal of a pastor, etc. (c) In such cases, private prayer is preminently needed. (Ap. Past.).Tabitha, arise! Such success should attend pastors, when souls are spiritually awakened. To have power with God and joyfulness in prayer [Hos 12:3]to penetrate, with the aid of Gods word, into hearts that are deadto offer a helping and guiding hand to the awakened (Act 9:41), and to present those who had been dead sinners as living saints, who glorify God, and instruct others by their examplethis is a work worthy of an apostle and follower of Jesus. (Ap. Past.)
Act 9:41. When he had called the saints, etc.It is exceedingly cheering when a pastor can publicly diffuse the blessing which he had sought in his closet on his knees, and scatter it as the seed of new and more abundant fruits. (Ap. Past.).Luke mentions that the widows wept as they stood around the corpse, but he does not describe their joy when Tabitha was restored to lifeit could not be described. (Besser).
Act 9:42. It was known throughout all Joppa.Simon, the son of Jonah (Mat 16:17), was more highly honored in Joppa, than Jonah, the ancient prophet (Jon 1:3). (Starke).Many believed.In Lydda all, (Act 9:35), in Joppa only many were converted. All miracles do not produce the same effects, and all sermons are not attended by the same blessing. (Ap. Past.).
Act 9:43. He tarried many days in Joppa.When God opens a wide door for a pastor in any spot, it becomes his duty to tarry as long as possible, so that the good seed may take root.With one Simon a tanner. There is no trade, however mean it may be in the eyes of the world, or even, however unclean, which cannot be sanctified. (Starke).The house of Simon the tanner may have been disregarded by men, but, according to Act 10:6, it was well known in heaven, and in the presence of the angels of God, and was beheld by them with interest. (Rieger).
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.
The church of Christ is rich in love, and through love: I. There are always persons to be found in a congregation, who constitute, as it were, central points around which the love that exists in the congregation, collects; every work of love is guided by their hands, and even when they utter no loud words, they successfully admonish others. A congregation which possesses but a single Tabitha, is rich through love, since it owns in that soul a vast productive capital. When such a member dies, God raises up a successor, for love never dies. II. But the congregation is then only rich in love and through love, when the love which gives, is met by a love which gratefully receives. Under any other circumstances, no blessing attends the gifts which have been received. (Palmer: Homil.).
That good works and alms are necessary features of the character of a true Christian. (Beck: Hom. Rep.).
That the Lord always has men ready to call that which is dead in his church back to life. (ib).
On the share of a Christian female in the work of Inner Missions [on which subject see the article in Herzog: Encyk. IX. 650658, by Wichern. Tr.]:
I. Her duty; II. Her fitness; III. Her opportunities for it. (Fritz: Zeitpr.).
On Christian sympathy with a neighbor in his affliction (J. Hartmann: Zeugnisse ev. Wahrh.).
How may the miracles of Jesus and the apostles prove to be blessings to us? I. They should strengthen our faith; II. Urge us to seek our sanctification. (Lisco).
Tabitha, not a fashion-plate, but a model for every Christian female: I. In her lifeby her walk in faith (she was a disciple), and her labor of love (full of good works and almsdeeds); II. In her deathby the tears of love (the widows), and the prayer of faith (Peter) at her bier; III. In her restoration to lifeas an image of the blessed duration of a holy and divine life, (on earth in grateful hearts; in heaven in glory).
The chamber of death (in which Tabitha (our beloved friends) died): I. It is the dark abode of grief, in which love has reason to weep; II. It is the retired closet in which faith wrestles with God in prayer; III. It is the spot in which hope triumphs over death and the grave.
Tabitha, prepared for the gravethe means of awakening many unto life [Act 9:42]: I. The sketch of her life, read at the bierbrief, but expressive: a disciple full of good works; II. The funeral procession, forming around her bierunpretending, and yet affecting: love weeping, faith administering consolation; III. The funeral hymn heard at her biera triumphant recall to life: Tabitha, arise! peculiar, and yet full of comfort, for us all; it not only refers to a brief continuance of her life on earth, but also reminds us of the resurrection and continued life of all the children of God, above, (in the mansions of our Father in heaven), and on earth (in those who were conducted by them to God).
Tabitha, arise an awakening call addressed to our age: I. To whom is it addressed? Awake, thou spirit of love and mercy! This call is addressed to all Christendsm of our day, especially to evangelical Christendom. And if men will not hearken, then do ye put them to shame, ye females, who have always, since the days of Tabitha, led the way in works of love and heroic deeds of Christian mercy. II. Why is the call addressed to us? The wants of the times are urgent, and the debt of that love which saves, has greatly increased, particularly in the evangelical Church, which, on this point, may derive instruction from her Catholic sister. III. Whence does the call proceed? Not from an external source. The work of Inner Missions is not a matter of fashion, neither can the government of itself here afford aid. We need the presence of the Lord, and the instrumentality of Peter, that is, the word of God with its power, the Church with its blessing, the office of the ministry with its love. (Zeitpredigt ber innere Mission, 1850.).
The miraculous awakening of Tabitha, an image of the miracle of grace when a sinner is spiritually awakened. I. The grief and sympathy of the mourning congregation, first appearthe weeping widows. II. The supplications and prayers of Gods believing servantsPeter praying. III. The awakening call of the divine word: Tabitha, arise. And now we perceive, IV. The first signs of life in the awakened soulshe opened her eyessaw Petersat up. There is, next, needed, V. Friendly aid, offered to the new and still feeble lifehe gave her his handlifted her up; VI. Also, an affectionate admission into the churchhe called alive; VII. And, lastly, as the result, a blessed impression is received by many, Act 9:42.
(Compare, on the life and death of Tabitha, viewed as an example, the Biography of the devout Beata Sturm, 1780, etc., edited by Rieger).
Footnotes:
[23] Act 9:31. H; this is the reading of A. B. C., and. as it has recently appeared, also of Cod. Sin. as well as of many manuscripts of the second rank, of the majority of the Oriental versions, and also of the Vulgate, and of Dionysius of Alex. On the other hand, the plural [text. rec.], ( ( E.) .. ) is found in E. G. H. and some other manuscripts. As the latter generally belong to a later period, and as most of the ancient versions exhibit the singular, this is far better attested than the plural, and has been preferred by Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf and Bornemann [Stier and Theile, and Alford, with whom de Wette concurs. Meyer had, in earlier editions, espoused the opposite view, but in the last edition of his Commentary (3d, 1861) unhesitatingly adopts the singular as the original reading, and as expressive of the apostolical conception of the unity of the Church.Tr.]. The plural is to be regarded as an explanation. [The word , in the singular, used for the whole body of Christians, or the Church universal, occurs, e. g., in Mat 16:18; Act 20:28; 1Co 10:32; 1Co 12:28; Eph 1:22.Tr.]
[24] Act 9:36. [The Greek word, Dorcas, which Luke furnishes as the translation of the Araman or Syro-Chal. Tabitha. is rendered in the margin of the English Bible Doe, or, Roe; it is usually applied to the gazelle, the Antelope dorcas of Linnus.The earlier English versions (Wiclif; Tynd.; Cranm.; Geneva; Rheims) all exhibit Dorcas.Tr.]
[25] Act 9:38. a. The words [of text. rec.] are omitted in G. H. and a number of later [minuscule] mss., as well as in several versions and fathers; the words in Act 9:39, , however, imply that the former belong to the text. [Retained in the Vulg. and recent critical editions, and confirmed by Cod. Sin. etc.Tr.]
[26] Act 9:38. b. The readings and [adopted by Lach. Tisch. and Alf., and recognized by the Vulg.] occur in A. B. E., and the original text of C., as well as in Cod. Sin.; but G. H. (and C. corrected by a later hand) furnish [text. rec.]. The alteration in Cod. Ephraemi [C.] is, in particular, a decisive fact, as it shows that the original was in the form of the direct style of address. Besides, the Coptic version, while it reproduces the infinitive, retains the first person of the pronoun []a remnant of the original reading. [ is preferred by de Wette also, and, recently, by Meyer (3d. ed. of Commentary), although the latter had previously considered the oratio directa to be a gloss. If the infinitive had been the original form, there could be no motiveAlford saysfor correcting it.The margin of the Engl. Bible furnishes be grieved (Tynd.; Cranm.) as another translation of the original, which is more accurately rendered in the text, delay (Geneva).Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
Ver. 31. Then had the churches rest ] As when Paul was converted, the Churches rested; so, much more, when sin and Satan shall be destroyed, shall the state of the saints be most restful and blissful in heaven.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
31 .] FLOURISHING STATE OF THE CHURCH IN PALESTINE AT THIS TIME. Commencement of new section: compare , and note, ch. Act 11:19 . The reading can hardly (as Meyer) be an alteration to suit the idea of the unity of the church , as in that case we should have similar alterations in ch. Act 15:41 ; Act 16:5 , where no variations are found in the chief MSS. More probably, it has been altered here to conform it to those places. This description probably embraces most of the time since the conversion of Saul. De Wette observes, that the attention of the Jews was, during much of this time, distracted from the Christians, by the attempt of Caligula to set up his image in the temple at Jerusalem, Jos. Antt. xviii. 8. 2 9.
] See Mat 16:18 . It probably refers to both external and internal strength and accession of grace. Paul commonly uses it of spiritual building up: see reff.
. . ] walking in the fear : for construction see reff.: not ‘ following after the fear ’ (Winer, edn. 2, 31. 1; not in edn. 6, see 31. 9), nor ‘walking according to the fear’ as their rule (Meyer), nor ‘ advancing in the fear’ (Beza, Wolf).
. . . . . . . ] And was multiplied (reff.) by the exhortation of (i.e. inspired by) the Holy Spirit . This is the only rendering which suits the usage of the words. Those of the Vulg. ‘consolatione replebantur,’ of Kuin., ‘adjumento abundabant,’ are unexampled, see reff.
Neither must . be coupled with , as in E. V., and by Beza and Rosenmller, which would leave . standing by itself, and render the sentence totally unlike Luke’s usual manner of writing.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 9:31 . if we read the singular . with the great MS. the word shows us that the Church, though manifestly assuming a wider range, is still one: Hort, Ecclesia , p. 55, thinks that here the term in the singular corresponds by the three modern representative districts named, viz. , Juda, Galilee, Samaria, to the ancient Ecclesia, which had its home in the whole land of Israel; but however this may be, the term is used here markedly of the unified Church, and in accordance with St. Paul’s own later usage of the word; see especially Ramsay, St. Paul , pp. 126, 127, and also p. 124. : the genitive in this sense is peculiar to St. Luke, and always with the adjective ; Luk 4:14 ; Luk 23:5 , Act 9:42 ; Act 10:37 , the phrase, although not the best classically, seeming to “sound right,” because , only in Act 4:18 in N.T., had come into common use since Aristotle (Simcox, Language of the N. T. , p. 148; Vogel, p. 45). connects with the preceding narrative; so Bengel, Weiss, Wendt, Blass, Zckler; the Church had rest because the persecutors had become converted; but see also Rendall, Appendix, on , p. 164, and Hackett, Felten. : “being edified,” R.V. (see critical notes) (not “and were edified,” A.V.) as an accompaniment of the peace from persecutors. The term may refer primarily to the organisation of the Church as a visible institution, but would also indicate the spiritual edification which is so often expressed by the word in St. Paul’s Epistles, where both the verb and its cognate noun are so frequent; cf. Act 20:32 , and note. The fact that the verb is employed only once in the Gospels, Mat 16:18 , of the Church, as here in a non-literal sense, as compared with its constant use by St. Paul as above, is a striking indication of the early date of the Synoptic Gospels or their source (see Page, in loco ). For the metaphorical use of the word in the O.T. of good fortune and prosperity, cf. LXX, Psa 27:5 (Psa 28:5 ), Jer 12:16 ; Jer 40:7 (Jer 33:7 ); Jer 38:4 (Jer 31:4 ), Jer 49:10 (Jer 42:10 ). (Hilgenfeld refers the whole section Act 9:32-42 to the same source A from which his “author to Theophilus” derived the founding, and the first incidents in the history, of the early Church, 1:15 4:42, although the “author to Theophilus” may have added the words . . But if we desire a good illustration of the labyrinth (as Hilgenfeld calls it) through which we have to tread, if we would see our way to any coherent meaning in Act 9:31 to Act 12:25 , it is sufficient to note the analysis of the sources of the modern critics given us by Hilgenfeld himself, Zeitschrift fr wissenschaft. Theol. , pp. 481, 482; 1895.) .: may refer to the inward spiritual growth, . to the outward growth in numbers; a growth attributed not to human agency but to the power of the Holy Ghost. only here in Acts of the Holy Ghost. Hort renders “and walking by the fear of the Lord and by the invocation [ .] of the Holy Spirit [probably invoking His guidance as Paraclete to the Ecclesia] was multiplied” ( Ecclesia , p. 55), and it is not strange that the working of the should be so described; while others connect the word with the divine counsel or exhortation of the prophets in opening hearts and minds; others again attach . to . as expressing increase of spiritual strength and comfort (see Blass, Rendall, Felten, and cf. Col 1:11 , 1Pe 1:2 ). On the verb and its frequency in Acts see p. 73.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Acts
A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE EARLY CHURCH
Act 9:31
A man climbing a hill stops every now and then to take breath and look about him; and in the earlier part of this Book of the Acts of the Apostles there are a number of such landing-places where the writer suspends the course of his narrative, in order to give a general notion of the condition of the Church at the moment. We have in this verse one of the shortest, but perhaps the most significant, of these resting-places. The original and proper reading, instead of ‘the Churches,’ as our Version has it, reads ‘the Church’ as a whole -the whole body of believers in the three districts named-Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria-being in the same circumstances and passing through like experiences. The several small communities of disciples formed a whole. They were ‘churches’ individually; they were collectively ‘the Church.’ Christ’s order of expansion, given in Act 1:1 – Act 1:26 , had been thus far followed, and the sequence here sums up the progress which the Acts has thus far recorded. Galilee had been the cradle of the Church, but the onward march of the Gospel had begun at Jerusalem. Before Luke goes on to tell how the last part of our Lord’s programme-’to the uttermost parts of the earth’-began to be carried into execution by the conversion of Cornelius, he gives us this bird’s-eye view. To its significant items I desire to draw your attention now.
There are three of them: outward rest, inward progress, outward increase.
I. Outward rest.
The principal persecutor had just been converted, and that would somewhat damp the zeal of his followers. Saul having gone over to the enemy, it would be difficult to go on harrying the Church with the same spirit, when the chief actor was turned traitor. And besides that, historians tell us that there were political complications which gave both Romans and Jews quite enough to do to watch one another, instead of persecuting this little community of Christians. I have nothing to do with these, but this one point I desire to make, that the condition of security and tranquillity in which the Church found itself conduced to spiritual good and growth. This has not always been the case. As one of our quaint divines says, ‘as in cities where ground is scarce men build high up, so in times of straitness and persecution the Christian community, and the individuals who compose it, are often raised to a higher level of devotion than in easier and quieter times.’ But these primitive Christians utilised this breathing-space in order to grow, and having a moment of lull and stillness in the storm, turned it to the highest and best uses. Is that what you and I do with our quiet times? None of us have any occasion to fear persecution or annoyance of that sort, but there are other thorns in our pillows besides these, and other rough places in our beds, and we are often disturbed in our nests. When there does come a quiet time in which no outward circumstances fret us, do we seize it as coming from God, in order that, with undistracted energies, we may cast ourselves altogether into the work of growing like our Master and doing His will more fully? How many of us, dear brethren, have misused both our adversity and our prosperity by making the one an occasion for deeper worldliness, and the other a reason for forgetting Him in the darkness as in the light? To be absorbed by earthly things, whether by the enjoyment of their possession or by the bitter pain and misery of their withdrawal, is fatal to all our spiritual progress, and only they use things prosperous and things adverse aright, who take them both as means by which they may be wafted nearer to their God. Whatsoever forces act upon us, if we put the helm right and trim the sails as we ought, they will carry us to our haven. And whatsoever forces act upon us, if we neglect the sailor’s skill and duty, we shall be washed backwards and forwards in the trough of the sea, and make no progress in the voyage. ‘Then had the Church rest’-and grew lazy? ‘Then had the Church rest’-and grew worldly? Then was I happy and prosperous and peaceful in my home and in my business, and I said, ‘I shall never be moved,’ and I forgot my God? ‘Then had the Church rest, and was edified.’
Now, in the next place, note the
II. Inward progress.
Now that word ‘edified’ and the cognate one ‘edification’ have been enfeebled in signification so as to mean very much less than they did to Luke. When we speak of ‘being edified,’ what do we mean? Little more than that we have been instructed, and especially that we have been comforted. And what is the instrument of edification in our ordinary religious parlance? Good words, wise teaching, or pious speech. But the New Testament means vastly more than this by the word, and looks not so much to other people’s utterances as to a man’s own strenuous efforts, as the means of edification. Much misunderstanding would have been avoided if our translators had really translated, instead of putting us off with a Latinised word which to many readers conveys little meaning and none of the significant metaphor of the original. ‘Being edified’ sounds very theological and far away from daily life. Would it not sound more real if we read ‘being built up’? That is the emblem of the process that ought to go on, not only in the Christian community as a whole, but in every individual member of it. Each Christian is bound to build himself up and to help to build up other Christians; and God builds them all up by His Spirit. We have brought before us the picture of the rising of some stately fabric upon a firm foundation, course by course, stone by stone, each laid by a separate act of the builder’s hand, and carefully bedded in its place until the whole is complete.
That is one emblem of the growth of the Christian community and of the Christian individual, and the other clause that is coupled with it in the text seems to me to give the same idea under a slightly different figure. The rising of a stately building and the advance on a given path suggest substantially the same notion of progress.
And of these two metaphors, I would dwell chiefly on the former, because it is the less familiar of the two to modern readers, and because it is of some consequence to restore it to its weight and true significance in the popular mind. Edification, then, is the building up of Christian character, and it involves four things: a foundation, a continuous progress, a patient, persistent effort, and a completion.
Now, Christian men and women, this is our office for ourselves, and, according to our faculty and opportunities, for the Churches with which we may stand connected, that on the foundation which is Jesus Christ-’and other foundation can no man lay’-we all should slowly, carefully, unceasingly be at our building work; each day’s attainment, like the course of stones laid in some great temple, becoming the basis upon which to-morrow’s work is to be piled, and each having in it the toil of the builder and being a result and monument of his strenuous effort, and each being built in, according to the plan that the great Architect has given, and each tending a little nearer to the roof-tree, and the time that ‘the top stone shall be brought forth with the shout of rejoicing.’ Is that a transcript of my life and yours? Do we make a business of the cultivation of Christian character thus? Do we rest the whole structure of our lives upon Jesus Christ? And then, do we, hour by hour, moment by moment, lay the fair stones, until
‘Firm and fair the building rise,
A temple to His praise.’
But note further the elements of which this progress consists. May we not suppose that both metaphors refer to the clauses that follow, and that ‘the fear of the Lord’ and ‘the comfort of the Holy Ghost’ are the particulars in which the Christian is built up and walks?
‘The fear of the Lord’ is eminently an Old Testament expression, and occurs only once or twice in the New. But its meaning is thoroughly in accordance with the loftiest teaching of the new revelation. ‘The fear of the Lord’ is that reverential awe of Him, by which we are ever conscious of His presence with us, and ever seek, as our supreme aim and end, to submit our wills to His commandment, and to do the things that are pleasing in His sight. Are you and I building ourselves up in that? Do we feel more thrillingly and gladly to-day than we did yesterday, that God is beside us? And do we submit ourselves more loyally, more easily, more joyously to His will, in blessed obedience, now than ever before? Have we learned, and are we learning, moment by moment, more of that ‘secret of the Lord’ which ‘is with them that fear Him,’ and of that ‘covenant’ which ‘He will show’ to them? Unless we do, our growth in Christian character is a very doubtful thing. And are we advancing, too, in that other element which so beautifully completes and softens the notion of the fear of the Lord, ‘the encouragement’ which the divine Spirit gives us? Are we bolder to-day than we were yesterday? Are we ready to meet with more undaunted confidence whatever we may have to face? Do we feel ever increasing within us the full blessedness and inspiration of that divine visitant? And do these sweet communications take all the ‘torment’ away from ‘fear,’ and leave only the bliss of reverential love? They who walk in the fear of the Lord, and who with the fear have the courage that the divine Spirit gives, will ‘have rest,’ like the first Christians, whatsoever storms may howl around them, and whatsoever enemies may threaten to disturb their peace.
And so, lastly, note
III. The outward growth.
And so, dear friends, especially those of you who set yourselves to any of the many forms of Christian work which prevail in this day, learn the lesson of my text, and make sure of ‘ a’ before you go on to ‘ b ,’ and see to it that before you set yourselves to try to multiply the Church, you set yourselves to build up yourselves in your most holy faith.
We hear a great deal nowadays about ‘forward movements,’ and I sympathise with all that is said in favour of them. But I would remind you that the precursor of every genuine forward movement is a Godward movement, and that it is worse than useless to talk about lengthening the cords unless you begin with strengthening the stakes. The little prop that holds up the bell-tent that will contain half-a-dozen soldiers will be all too weak for the great one that will cover a company. And the fault of some Christian people is that they set themselves to work upon others without remembering that the first requisite is a deepened and growing godliness and devotion in their own souls. Dear friends, begin at home, and remember that whilst what the world calls eloquence may draw people, and oddities will draw them, and all sorts of lower attractions will gather multitudes for a little while, the one solid power which Christian men and women can exercise for the numerical increase of the Church is rooted in, and only tenable through, their own personal increase day by day in consecration and likeness to the Saviour, in possession of the Spirit, and in loving fear of the Lord.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 9:31
31So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
Act 9:31 This is a summary verse which concludes the account of Paul’s conversion and introduces the travels of Peter. Luke uses these summary verses often in Acts. See Introduction IV Purpose and Structure, A.
“the church” See note and Special Topic at Act 5:11 and notice how the singular “church” refers to many individual congregations. The term “church” can denote a local church (ex. Col 1:18; Col 1:24; Col 4:15-16), all churches of an area (ex. Eph 1:22; Eph 3:10; Eph 3:21; Eph 5:23-25; Eph 5:27; Eph 5:29; Eph 5:32), and all churches universally (ex. Mat 16:18).
Notice the items Luke chooses to mention.
1. peace in all churches
2. growing and increasing
3. comfort from the Spirit
What a change from the persecution of Act 8:1! There were still problems, but God had met every need!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Why was Paul so vehement in his persecution of the church?
2. Why are there three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts?
3. What is the significance of Paul being commissioned, laid-hands on, and baptized by Ananias?
4. What is the significance of Paul’s use of Jesus as “The Son of God”?
5. Why does Luke not record Paul’s three year excursion to Arabia?
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO Act 9:32 to Act 10:48
A. Although the book of Acts begins the transition from Peter to Paul, Act 9:32 to Act 12:25 show the itinerant ministry of Peter.
B. This section deals with Peter at Lydda, Act 9:32-35; Joppa, Act 9:36-43; Act 10:9-23; Caesarea, Act 10:1-8; Act 10:23-48; and at Jerusalem, Act 11:1-18; Act 12:1-17.
C. This section is extremely important because it deals with the continuing struggle over the Gentile mission and Peter’s part (as head of the Apostolic group) in that struggle. Luke deems the Cornelius account so important as to repeat it three times in this section.
WORD AND PHRASE STUDY
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Then, &c. = The church indeed therefore.
churches. App-186.
rest = peace. Greek. eirene.
throughout. Greek. kata. App-104.
and were edified = being edified. Greek. oikodomec. Compare Act 4:11; Act 7:47, Act 7:49.
walking = going. Figure of speech Hendiadys. App-6. Read, “being edified and walking in the fear of the Lord were replenished with”.
comfort. Greek. paraklesis. See note on Act 4:36.
the Holy Ghost. App-101.
were = was. The texts put this verse in the singular. “The church . . . was”.
multiplied. See note on Act 6:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
31.] FLOURISHING STATE OF THE CHURCH IN PALESTINE AT THIS TIME. Commencement of new section: compare , and note, ch. Act 11:19. The reading can hardly (as Meyer) be an alteration to suit the idea of the unity of the church,-as in that case we should have similar alterations in ch. Act 15:41; Act 16:5, where no variations are found in the chief MSS. More probably, it has been altered here to conform it to those places. This description probably embraces most of the time since the conversion of Saul. De Wette observes, that the attention of the Jews was, during much of this time, distracted from the Christians, by the attempt of Caligula to set up his image in the temple at Jerusalem, Jos. Antt. xviii. 8. 2-9.
] See Mat 16:18. It probably refers to both external and internal strength and accession of grace. Paul commonly uses it of spiritual building up: see reff.
. .] walking in the fear: for construction see reff.:-not following after the fear (Winer, edn. 2, 31. 1; not in edn. 6, see 31. 9),-nor walking according to the fear as their rule (Meyer),-nor advancing in the fear (Beza, Wolf).
. . . . . . .] And was multiplied (reff.) by the exhortation of (i.e. inspired by) the Holy Spirit. This is the only rendering which suits the usage of the words. Those of the Vulg. consolatione replebantur,-of Kuin., adjumento abundabant, are unexampled, see reff.
Neither must . be coupled with , as in E. V., and by Beza and Rosenmller, which would leave . standing by itself, and render the sentence totally unlike Lukes usual manner of writing.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 9:31. , the Church) So ch. Act 16:5, as to the churches, they were established in the faith, and increased in number daily. [The Singular number is emphatic.-Not. Crit.]
[59]- , …, throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria) Recapitulation.-, peace) after that Saul, the principal persecutor, was converted.-) So , Joh 15:16, where see note [as of progress, not in reference to place, but to time and degree]. In both passages there is an Hendiad. So , Jdg 4:24.–, in the fear-comfort) An excellent blending. Comfort, peace internal: , peace external, with the fear of the Lord, the dread of men being taken away.-, was multiplied) in the number of believers.
[59] Ee and later Syr. support the Plural of Rec. Text. But the best authorities, ABC Vulg. Syr. Memph. and Theb. have .-E. and T.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the churches: Act 8:1, Deu 12:10, Jos 21:44, Jdg 3:30, 1Ch 22:9, 1Ch 22:18, Psa 94:13, Pro 16:7, Isa 11:10, Zec 9:1, Heb 4:9
were edified: Rom 14:19, 1Co 3:9-15, 1Co 14:4, 1Co 14:5, 1Co 14:12, 1Co 14:26, 2Co 10:8, 2Co 12:19, 2Co 13:10, Eph 4:12, Eph 4:16, Eph 4:29, 1Th 5:11, 1Ti 1:4, Jud 1:20
and walking: Neh 5:9, Neh 5:15, Job 28:28, Psa 86:11, Psa 111:10, Pro 1:7, Pro 8:13, Pro 14:26, Pro 14:27, Pro 16:6, Pro 23:17, Isa 11:2, Isa 11:3, Isa 33:6, 2Co 7:1, Eph 5:21, Col 1:10
and in: Joh 14:16-18, Rom 5:5, Rom 14:17, Rom 15:13, Gal 5:22, Gal 5:23, Eph 1:13, Eph 1:14, Eph 6:18, Eph 6:19, Phi 2:1, 2Th 2:16, 2Th 2:17
were multiplied: Act 6:7, Act 12:24, Est 8:16, Est 8:17, Zec 8:20-23
Reciprocal: Gen 5:22 – General Gen 22:12 – now Lev 25:17 – fear Deu 10:12 – fear Jos 24:14 – fear 1Ki 5:4 – hath given 1Ki 6:7 – neither hammer 1Ki 8:40 – fear thee 2Ch 6:31 – fear thee 2Ch 14:7 – Therefore 2Ch 15:9 – they saw Job 24:7 – the naked Psa 5:7 – in thy Psa 67:2 – That Psa 119:134 – General Psa 128:1 – walketh Psa 130:4 – that thou mayest Pro 19:23 – fear Isa 51:12 – am he Jer 32:39 – they may Hag 1:12 – fear Mal 3:16 – that feared Joh 16:33 – but Act 5:14 – believers Act 10:2 – one Act 10:35 – feareth Act 11:24 – and much Act 12:1 – stretched forth his hands Act 16:5 – increased Act 20:32 – to build 1Co 14:3 – edification Gal 1:2 – churches Gal 1:22 – the churches Eph 2:10 – walk 1Th 1:6 – with joy 1Th 2:14 – the churches
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Among the Churches
Act 9:31-35
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
For the while we turn from Saul and the record of his ministry, and we return to the early Church and her dominant figure, Peter.
We ask your attention first of all to the reading of Act 9:31 : “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
The Churches of this Scripture included the groups of saints who assembled in various parts of Judea, Galilee and Samaria. The central Church was in Jerusalem, but the persecutions which had scattered the Christians had resulted in many smaller fellowships.
I. THE CHURCHES OF JUDEA, GALILEE AND SAMARIA (Act 9:31)
The Holy Spirit called these fellowships, “Churches.” Several things are stated of these:
1. They had rest. There was a cessation of the persecutions which had arisen against the saints, This “rest” from their enemies may have been in answer to the prayers of the saints; it may have been because Satan saw that he was only increasing instead of depleting the Churches by his cruelties; it may have been also because the objective which Christ had in view by permitting the persecutions had been accomplished, namely, the saints had begun to fulfil the Lord’s command to go beyond Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and on unto the uttermost part of the earth with the Gospel.
The heart of man had not changed-Judaistic ecclesiasticism was still set against Christ and the Church; the attitude of the devil had not changed-Satan was still going about seeking to destroy. However, God had folded His lambs to His bosom, and was shielding them, for the time from the wrath of men and demons. God had proved them by manifold testings and found them true, now He gave them “rest.”
2. They were edified. Edification carries with it the thought of being builded up. The Christians were growing in grace, because they were growing in the knowledge of God, They were growing in knowledge because the Apostles were daily teaching them the Word. Peter expressed the fundamentals of growth when he wrote, in Spirit, “Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.”
Would that Christians today might be edified-grow up into Him in all things. Would that preachers taught the Word with more deep searchings.
3. They walked in the fear of the Lord. The early saints were not afraid of the Lord in any slavish sense. They did not fear Christ as a servant fears a tyrannical master. They did not hide away from Him because they were afraid of Him; they sought His face, and rejoiced in His constant presence. They walked in the fear of the Lord, because they knew the might of His power and the glory of His presence. Christ was real unto them. He was God. He was the One once crucified, but now risen and exalted at the Father’s right hand.
A renewed vision of God and of Christ is a great need at this hour. Deity has been dethroned and humanized in the minds of men; and humanity has been lifted up and deified.
The “fear of the Lord” is contained in the expression, “Hallowed be Thy Name.” The fear of the Lord carries with it an ever-deepening realization of the Lord, high and lifted up; while His glory fills the Temple. The fear of the Lord, is the sense of the presence of God that makes one take off his shoes on hallowed ground; it causes one to bend the knee, to bow the head, and to worship.
The spirit of the “fear of the Lord” causes one to approach the Lord by means of the shed Blood, confessing one’s sin. It carries with it a sense of God’s holiness and greatness, on the one hand; and a sense of man’s inherent sin and weakness on the other hand.
Thank God, the first Churches walked in the “fear of the Lord.”
4. They walked in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. How this simplifies matters. The fear of the Lord, instead of driving the Christians away from the Lord, that they might hide from His presence, led them, the rather to draw near to the shelter of His strong and protecting arm. They walked in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. What a blessed garden of flowers in which to walk! What a wholesome aroma, delightful and invigorating!
Our God is a God of all comfort. The Holy Ghost is the Divine comfort bringer.
“Comfort”-that is what the child finds nestling away in his mother’s arms. That is what the mother does as she soothes the throbbing head, and quiets the sobbing voice.
“Comfort”-suggests a balm against all tribulation and trouble. Thus Paul wrote, “As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”
Our God is “The Father of mercies.” He “comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
5. They were multiplied. Here is a distinctive basis for the increase of disciples: the disciples had rest, they were edified, they walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost-doing this they were multiplied.
Churches today imagine that they are multiplied by setting in motion certain machinery that induces people to join the church. Some look to the annual revival period for their additions; some look to “special days” when particular effort is made to get members; some make a canvass for new converts.
It is blessed to see the number of saints multiplied, but it is more blessed when that enlargement is brought about by increased spiritual knowledge, and by the deepening of spirituality among saints.
II. PETER’S MINISTRY (Act 9:32)
1. He passed throughout all quarters. We return once more to Peter and his activities. Open your Bibles and read Act 9:32 : “And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.”
These words sound much like an expression found in Act 10:38 : “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”
Peter anointed with the same Holy Ghost and clothed with a like power as that which once clothed his Lord, passed throughout all quarters. He went from one city to another preaching the Gospel, and doing good. With what joy he ministered the Word, and with what joy did the saints hear him. He carried blessing from Heaven with him. He was a man who gladly spent himself for others. There was not an idle or lazy bone in him. From city to city, and, doubtless, from house to house he went his rounds, giving words of comfort and of counsel, teaching and preaching, helping and healing.
How gracious is such a ministry. How needful unto this hour that some men give themselves to a similar task. There are young ministers who need the wisdom and counsel of older minds; there are struggling churches which need encouragement; stumbling saints who need help; indeed, all need the teaching that some true and tried preacher of long experience may render,
2. He found Aeneas and healed him.
“And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.
“And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.
“And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord” (Act 9:33-35).
The rule for healing as James puts it, is, “Let him call for the elders of the Church.” Peter, however, did not wait to be found by Aeneas, he found Aeneas. Peter did not reserve his healings for those who were able to come to him, he went to them. Here was a man who for eight years had been kept in bed with the palsy. The physicians had utterly failed to help him. His case was hopeless, from every medicinal viewpoint. Peter did not consider his disease beyond the power of the healing Christ. He said to Him, “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.” In full assurance of faith, Peter added, “Arise, and make thy bed.”
God hath said, “The prayer of faith shall save the sick.” He has also said of prayer in general, “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven of the wind and tossed, For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”
Peter showed no wavering, no doubt. He spoke with a present tense faith-he said, “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.” There was no waiting for results, to see what might happen; there was a command, “Arise, and make thy bed.” Peter wanted the bed that had held the sick of the palsy for eight years, set aside. He wanted the man of the palsy to set it aside.
Not only was Peter’s faith fixed, but the sick had a similar faith; “He arose immediately.”
The result was what might have been expected-“All that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him.” The people flocked from every direction. They came, they saw, and they turned to the Lord.
If some in pondering these words wonder why it is not so done today we quietly and confidently reply that the Lord Jesus is able so to do. Perhaps the cessation of the Apostolic miraculous has ceased, because our faith in the miraculous has ceased. Perhaps God is now giving men up to their unbelief. We know not. We do know that God is able; we do know that we would rejoice to see such miracles done today in order that Christ might be glorified, and that men might be aroused from the skepticism that has gripped this doubting age.
III. DORCAS, A GOOD WOMAN (Act 9:36)
We have so many Dorcas Societies in our churches, named for this Joppa saint, that we will tarry to consider several things.
1. Dorcas was a woman full of good works and alms-deeds. The Christian life glorifies the everyday contacts of Christian men. Christianity is not a creed, it is a Person-and that Person, is Christ. However, Christianity is more than Christ seated at the right hand of power, on high; it is Christ formed anew in His children.
“Full of good works and almsdeeds”-that is the result of real salvation. Christ went about doing good; so also do we, if we are Christians-men and women, with Christ-in.
The life of Jesus among men was a life spent in opening prison bars, preaching peace to the captive, the recovering of sight to the blind, the setting at liberty the bruised. Those of us who walk as He walked, will work along the same lines.
The real Christian may be called a fanatic in doctrine; but, in life, he will be a blessing to all he touches. The State must ever find in the Church its greatest asset along every line of human aid. If a man sees his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion against him, how dwelleth the love of God in him.
Good works and almsdeeds do not save men, but the saved delight in such things. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father centers in visiting the fatherless, and the widow in their affliction, and in keeping one’s self unspotted from the world.
Those who boast a “religion” centered in a creed, be that creed ever so orthodox, but who know nothing of a life of love toward those who are without, are Christless. “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
We are created unto good works, which God hath ordained that we should walk in them. The man who claims justification but knows nothing of sanctification, may well doubt that he is justified.
2. Dorcas was a woman who consecrated her needle to the Lord. Perhaps Dorcas felt rather insignificant among the saints. She doubtless knew nothing of pulpit oratory; she could not have been a leader in the making of large and munificent gifts. Among the pillars of the Church, she seemed very small. However, Dorcas gave God what she had-she dedicated her needle to the Lord.
God said to Moses, “What is that in thine hand?” Moses said, “A rod.” Nevertheless with that rod Moses led forth the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and to the borders of Canaan.
God came to Samson, and what did Samson have in his hand? Just the jaw bone of an ass. Nevertheless God used that jawbone and with it He gave Samson the victory over the Philistines.
God found David with a sling and five smooth pebbles. Nevertheless David gave God his sling, his pebbles, his best, and with the sling and one pebble he smote the giant.
Dorcas had a needle, only a needle and a willing mind. Nevertheless she dedicated her needle to God, and when she lay dead, the widows took Peter and showed him the coats and garments which Dorcas had made for the poor.
The import of their act was this: they felt that the Church could not spare so gracious a life from their number. The brethren seemed to say to Peter, “Dorcas is dead, but we need her; the poor need her needle, the Lord needs her life.”
What a lesson is here! May we ever be so busy for the Master, so filled with good works and almsdeeds, that if sickness or death should seek to claim us, the saints will seek to pray us back to life.
Some saints might be better off dead, than alive. Some may not discern the Lord’s body, or serve the Lord in sincerity of heart, and for this cause they may become sickly or die; but when we are buying up our opportunities, and redeeming the time, God will give us health and strength until our task is done.
A man whom I love dearly in the Lord, some time ago was sick, nigh unto death. Many prayed for him-so did I. I know it was true with me, perhaps it was with the others-we laid before the Lord the great publishing plant which for so many years has been sending forth the Truth from their great presses in Cleveland, Ohio; and we said, “Dear Lord, we cannot spare this man. He is needed to head this great service; behold what he hath wrought.” God heard our prayers, and gave us back the brother to finish his task.
Whether our place be an humble one like that of Dorcas, or a large one like that of the brother to whom we have just referred, let us, in either case, be found so faithful that God will save us from death, that we may continue in our service for Him.
IV. DORCAS WAS NOT IMMUNE TO SICKNESS AND DEATH (Act 9:37-38)
We believe that the ultimate perfection of health and deliverance from all sickness and disease is in the Atonement, just as the redemption of the body by way of the resurrection, is in the Atonement; however, Divine healing in the time of our present earth pilgrimage must be obtained in answer to the prayer of faith.
Dorcas was sick. Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus. Epaphroditus was sick nigh unto death. Job was sick, grievously afflicted. Many saints who know God and love Him are ofttimes sick. God frequently heals them in answer to prayer, or, as in the case of Dorcas, He may raise them from the dead-but He does not always heal, not always raise from the dead. Healing may be sought and expected in answer to the prayer of faith, but healing may not be demanded. Prayer is a plea, not a demand.
While we thank God for “Jehovah who healeth thee,” we do not by any means teach that sickness is necessarily a sign of the curse of God upon the one who is sick. All sickness is due in the last analysis to sin, all sickness is a part of the curse-for when sin entered into the world sickness and death entered with it; however, sickness and death by no means is a proof that the one afflicted, is suffering as a chastening caused by their own evil ways. This was the contention of Job’s three pronounced friends, however, they did not speak of the Lord the thing that was right.
With the good works and almsdeeds of Dorcas before us; with the garments that she had made for the poor before us; with the love and confidence of the saints at Joppa confronting us, we can hardly judge that Dorcas was sick and died because she was a sinner above any other saint, and was therefore smitten of God. Nay-Dorcas was an earth-dweller, and was subject to the same conditions of possible sickness and death that confront all other earth-dwellers. However, in the case of Dorcas, God heard prayer and brought her back to life, even after she was assuredly dead.
V. DORCAS WAS PRESENTED ALIVE UNTO THE SAINTS AND WIDOWS (Act 9:40-43)
Those who loved her most, the saints; and those whom she had nourished by her good works and almsdeeds, the widows, were called to see Dorcas alive. They had mourned her as dead. With aching hearts they had wept. Now they are made to rejoice, for Dorcas is alive again.
No wonder that the saints rejoiced, and that many sinners turned to the Lord and believed. They had beheld the wonder-working Christ, they had seen His power, and known of His compassionate love-therefore they believed.
Beloved, all of our dead shall yet live. With changed and glorified bodies shall the believers come forth. The Lord shall descend from Heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall hear, and they shall awake. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. Let us all voice a hearty Amen!
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
1
Act 9:31. Rest is from EIRENE which Thayer defines, “a state of national tranquility; exemption from the rage and havoc of war.” Then in its application to our passage he explains it to mean, “of the church free from persecutions.” This indicates the extent and success of Saul’s persecutions of the church as it pertained to the uneasiness caused among the disciples. Fear is used in the sense of reverence for the Lord. It shows us that while persecutions will not take from true disciples their love for Christ (Rom 8:35-39), yet they may hinder them from advancing in numbers and strength. This will be the last we will hear of Saul until we get to chapter 11:25, 26.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 9:31. Then had the churches rest. In the most ancient MSS. the singular form Church is found, and there is a reason for the writer of the Acts preferring Church to churches. Here he is viewing the various congregations scattered through the whole length and breadth of the Holy Land as one body joined together with an external bond of union,the apostles, united by an internal bond, the Holy Ghost, and Christ the One Head.
This general picture of the Church embraces most of the time which had elapsed since the conversion of Saul. Various reasons had conduced to this peace which the Church then enjoyed. The conversion and consequent silence of the chief persecutor, Saul, no doubt for a time paralyzed the counsels of the Sanhedrim in their active measures against the followers of Jesus. The Jewish rulers had also of late other and more pressing dangers to their faith to confront. The Proconsul of Syria, Petronius, wished to introduce the statue of the infamous Emperor Caligula into the Temple of Jerusalem, and for a time there was danger of a general revolt against the Roman power. Caligulas death put an end to the attempt.
And were edified. That is, kept advancing in the inner religious life. Two consequences are represented as resulting from this period of rest and peace enjoyed by the churches of the Holy Land:(1) The spiritual life of the individual members was deepened; (2) the numbers of the several congregations were increased.
Walking in the fear of the Lord. A very common Hebrew expression, denoting a habitual course of conduct regulated as far as possible upon principles likely to find favour and acceptance with God. See Isa 2:5 : O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
And in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. The exact sense of the Greek word translated by comfort is a little doubtful. Perhaps the best and fullest meaning here would be, the power of consolatory discourse conferred by the Holy Spirit on those who preached. During the time of peace and quiet, the number of believers was continually receiving additions; while the spiritual life of the individual members was being deepened, as they lived a life as though ever in the Lords presence, their faith being strengthened by the words of Divine comfort which the Holy Ghost kept putting into the minds of their preachers.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Subdivision 4. (Act 9:31-43.)
Remnant mercy in Israel.
Israel is thus casting out the messengers sent to her, and filling full for herself the cup of wrath, which at a later time we know that she drank to the uttermost. But God is slow to anger, and of great mercy; and while the threatened judgment lingers, His long suffering is salvation to a remnant, in whom may be seen the promise yet abiding of final blessing to Israel as a whole. This remnant is as the sap of a cut down tree, in which is the hope of revival for the tree. The history of the development of the divine ways in the Church pauses for awhile here; to give us such an intimation of the faithfulness of a Saviour God.
1. We have first, as the result of the dealing of God with the chief persecutor, peace to the assembly throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria; -the whole extent, as far as yet enjoyed, of Israel’s land. It is but a remnant, this assembly, as already said, and the mass are rejecting; and so it will be even in the last days: a remnant will become the nation; God having to purge out the obstinate rejectors from among the people, as prophecy shows abundantly. Here it is only a hint of what will be; yet we see in it Judea and Jerusalem maintained in their central place; Samaria owning it, in Galilee of the Gentiles God’s heart towards His scattered ones. Outwardly there is peace; inwardly the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. How blessed to realize when for Israel at last all this shall be fulfilled!
Let us notice what are here put together for us: first of all, not the comfort, but the fear of the Lord, -hearts in subjection to the Ruler of His people. With Him, if grace reigns, as it does, the reign is not less absolute, but more. When grace has not for its effect the fear of the Lord, in the same proportion is grace really unknown, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit will be unenjoyed. The Spirit is here to glorify Christ; and, as the Holy Spirit, refuses absolutely all touch of evil; legality and license are both in uttermost extreme from Him, and further by far than they are from one another. The slave may at times make up for his slavery by license; the child’s happy service needs no compensation for its offering of love.
Here in a soil like this the seed of divine truth will fructify; for it is love that edifieth; and the assembly walking in such a spirit will be surely multiplied. Where an opposite spirit exists, multiplication will be but a multiplication of the evil; it is a good law that forbids such unhappy growths to go on, whose sap, against nature, is poisonous to themselves.
2. We now follow Peter, who with the growth of the work is no more confined to Jerusalem, but is passing through the land. He comes down to the saints who dwell at Lydda, a still existing town in the plain of Sharon, and finds there a certain man, who from the description and the apostle’s words to him seems not yet to be a disciple; named Aeneas, eight years paralyzed. Immediately, upon Peter’s declaration, “Jesus the Christ healeth thee, arise, and make thy bed,” he is healed and rises up; and “all that dwelt in Lydda and the Sharon” (the Plain, stretching from Joppa to Caesarea on the sea-coast), “saw him, and turned to the Lord.”
Conversion so widespread shows indeed that God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew (Rom 11:1); and Lydda well fulfills its name, as the “birthplace” of so many souls. We naturally ask ourselves, Is this all that we are intended to find in it? or is there here, as in so many other cases, a hidden meaning? If the Lord is assuring us in this of what the apostle declares that Israel’s remnant according to election preaches to us, would it be strange to find in it a further assurance as to God’s purposes towards His ancient people? Here too, would be the very place in which we might expect to find this: here, where we are just at the point at which, the natural branches being broken off for unbelief, the Gentiles are being graffed into the olive. Certainly all is in harmony in this way. Aeneas means “praise”; and in the case of Israel, a paralysis of praise is truly come upon her. She is a reproach instead of praise, but is yet to be a people formed for Himself, to show forth His praise. Aeneas is thus yet to be healed, and as it were in a moment, by Jesus the Christ; and Lydda may well speak of a new “birth” by which this will be effected. Nothing else will accomplish it; for the nature of man is fallen, and the Lydda of natural birth is in the “plain,” -the common level of humanity. Christ alone can renew it; so that in the end Sharon shall be a fold of flocks (Isa 65:10), a type of which this remarkable ingathering of converts there may speak. For when Israel is that praise to God which she never yet has been, then will the time have come for such a turning to God as the earth has not yet witnessed. Israel’s eighth year will have come, -her new covenant time.
3. If this, then, be the deeper view of the healing of Aeneas, the raising up of Dorcas must, one would say, be in the same line of application, and have its own story to tell, different, yet connected. And here one thing is plain: Aeneas presents to us the healing of a sinner Dorcas, on the other hand, the resurrection of a saint. If both of these speak of Israel, it must be in these contrasted ways: and in both ways it is clear that Israel may be spoken of, or her history would be a very different one from what we know it to be. Israel as astray from God is how the centuries long have known her, the enemy of Christ and of His cause, and for many this has almost blotted out the remembrance of the long debt we owe her, and of the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles that have sprung from her. But God does not forget: “I remember thee,” He says, “the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of His increase: all that devour him shall offend evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord (Jer 2:2-3). And for us, how is it possible to forget that from Israel we have obtained, through the mercy of God, almost the whole of the precious volume of inspiration, out of which we have; so to speak, been fed and clothed, not for centuries merely, but for the life that is to come? Here as a picture of Israel, this woman full of good works and alms-deeds is surely no unfitting one. The more we consider, the more we shall realize its perfect appropriateness.
It is in Joppa, anciently Japho, that we find her. -a name which means, as I take it, “fair to Him.” (See notes on Jos 19:46.) This agrees entirely with that view of Israel which is presented to us here. Tabitha’s name is given us in two languages, as if there were importance in it, and means “beauty,” in Daniel (Dan 11:16; Dan 11:41), twice applied to the land of Israel, “the glorious land.” Its secondary meaning, in which we are to take it here; is “gazelle,” so named from its beauty, one of the clean animals of Scripture; both chewing the cud and dividing the hoof (Lev 11:1-47 see the notes). If we realize the typical meaning of these, we shall understand its application to one who “ruminates” upon the Word, the walk corresponding to this. Israel as represented by the psalmists, and especially the writer of the 119th psalm, answers fully to the name and in this character they were suited to be vessels of inspiration, as in fact they were. The double name gets in this way its significance for these two languages, Hebrew and Greek, were those of the Old and New Testaments, for both of which we are indebted to the Jew.
Tabitha is dead, and there is no human hope of recovery for her. We may weep and lament, but she is gone from us; yet those possessed with the spirit of Peter may still pray, not without hope, for Israel’s resurrection. It will surely come, as it did in the case before us here, and Israel live in far more than all the glory of her past. The effect too, as in the healing of Aeneas, will be the bringing many more to faith. Joppa or Japho will again fulfill its name; and “the Lord of hosts shall be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of His people” (Isa 28:5).
How fitting and comforting an assurance with which to turn to see the incoming of the Gentile, as we find it now in the pouring out of the Spirit on Cornelius and his company at Caesarea!
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
DOOR OPENED TO GENTILES
The closing of chapter 9 shows Peter on a tour of visitation, and the instrument of two great miracles, it being significant that the greater of the two was in answer to prayer (Act 9:40). Almost all the commentators regard these miracles as having a bearing on the crisis of the church recorded in the next chapter. In that chapter Peter is again to use the keys, this time in opening the door of the gospel to the Gentiles. Indeed, since the occupation of a tanner was unclean in the eyes of a Jew because of the handling of the skins of dead animals, it is seen that Peter in Joppa is already breaking with the customs of his nation.
As an introduction to chapter 10, carefully read Eph 2:11-18. Note, in passing, that the Caesarea in this case was not that of Matthew 16, but another city of the same name located near Joppa, which the Emperor Augustus gave to Herod, and which the latter greatly beautified.
The description of Cornelius (Act 10:1-8), shows this Gentile Roman soldier very near the kingdom of God, and an example of how God will reveal more light to any man who lives up to the light he has. But the need of this more light in the sense of the knowledge and acceptance of Jesus Christ as a Savior, is also revealed with equal clearness.
Passing to the vision of Peter (Act 10:9-23), the vessel represents the Christian church; the four corners, the four corners of the earth; the clean animals, the Jews; the unclean, the Gentiles. In the church however, all are cleansed (read here 2Co 6:11 and Eph 3:6). The Lord providentially interprets the vision in Act 10:17-20. Note the proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit found in Act 10:19-20 : the Spirit said… I have sent them.
We are now in the centurions house and listening to Peters sermon (Act 10:24-43). He has had his eyes opened to the great truth expressed in Act 10:34. This does not mean that any man merits Gods acceptance by his natural morality, for the true fear of God and the working of righteousness are always the result of His grace. It means that God vouchsafes this grace to men of every nation, whether Gentile or Jew. Act 10:43 emphasizes this, being the first echo of Joh 3:16 in the history of the church.
That the household of Cornelius acted on this promise by faith is seen in the result (Act 10:44-48), which demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is given to men without either water baptism or the laying on of hands, but simply by believing (Gal 2:2). Water baptism followed, but not as an act of Peter himself as is worth noticing (Act 10:48).
The next chapter indicates that party spirit showed itself early in the church. They that were of the circumcision (Act 11:2), means the Palestinian Jews as distinguished from the Grecian Jews or Hellenists as they were sometimes called, and who were born in Greece. The priests and the Pharisees belonged to the former who were more zealous for the letter of the mosaic law than the others (Act 21:20). As we shall see later (chap. 15), they thought it necessary for a Gentile to become a Jew before he could be saved i.e., he must submit to be circumcised at least. But Peter rehearses all the circumstances in the case of Cornelius, and at this junction they appear to be more than satisfied (Act 11:18).
QUESTIONS
1. Name the two miracles of Peter at the close of chapter 9.
2. What is Peter about to do in chapter 10?
3. Have you read Eph 2:11-18?
4. Give a brief history of Caesarea.
5. What does the history of Cornelius teach?
6. Explain the housetop vision.
7. What proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit is here found?
8. How is Act 10:34 to be interpreted?
9. How is the gift of the Holy Spirit received?
10. What distinguished the Palestinian Jews from the Hellenists?
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
That is, “After Saul’s miraculous conversion, and after he was sent away, and departed from those parts, where the Jews, his old companions in persecution, could not endure his presence, he having been just before as zealous a persecutor as themselves: Then the churches planted by Philip and others throughout Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, had much rest and peace, and were greatly edified in knowledge of the Holy Spirit daily increasing in them, the number of believers daily multiplied.:”
Learn thence, That after the persecution and wearisome troubles of the church, God has his times for their peace and rest. God sends his church sun-shine after showers, a calm after a storm, health after an hectic, and a Canaan”s rest after a wilderness journey.
Learn, 2. That it is the church’s duty to improve her peace and rest for her establishment and and increase in all the graces and comforts of the Holy Spirit.
Learn, 3. That it is a very great blessing to have the churches of God multiplied, and their multiplication is the happy fruit and consequent of their having peace; Then had the churches rest, were edified, and multiplied.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The Growth of the Church and Two of Peter’s Miracles
After Saul went to Tarsus, Luke reported that a period of peace ensued during which the church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria was strengthened, walked in reverent respect for the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. All of this resulted in a further multiplication of the number of disciples. During this time frame, Peter preached his way along the Mediterranean coast. The apostle healed a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years with palsy. Significantly, Peter told Aeneas that it was Jesus Christ who healed him. Those in his own city of Lydda, as well as the surrounding coastal plain of Sharon, who heard the news were also turned to Jesus.
Meanwhile, in Joppa, which was also reasonably close, a hard working, Christian woman, named Tabitha, or Dorcas, who was constantly giving to others, became ill and died. The brethren washed her body and laid it in an upper room. Then, they sent to Lydda to plead with Peter to come as soon as possible. When Peter came, they took him to the upper room where her body laid surrounded by weeping widows who showed him some of her beautiful works. Ash wonders aloud in his writings on this verse if the brethren intentionally failed to anoint her body for burial. Perhaps they were hoping the apostle would raise her from the dead!
Peter caused everyone to leave, kneeled down and prayed. Then, in much the same fashion as he had seen the Lord do, Peter called for Tabitha to arise. She opened her eyes and sat up upon seeing the apostle. He extended his hand to her and helped her up while calling for the brethren to come. Knowledge of this great miracle naturally spread and many believed on the name of the Lord. Peter stayed for a time in Joppa at the house of Simon the tanner. Evidently, he seized the opportunity to preach God’s word to an area that had recently experienced two powerful examples of God’s working ( Act 9:31-43 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Act 9:31. Then had the churches The whole body of Christian believers, with all their congregations, wherever they were dispersed; throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, rest , peace; their bitterest persecutor being converted. So some. But the peace they now enjoyed, Dr. Doddridge, with many others, thinks, is by no means to be ascribed merely or chiefly to Sauls conversion, who, though a great zealot, was but one young man, and whose personal danger proves the persecution, in some measure, to have continued, at least, three years after it. The period spoken of, therefore, seems to be that which commenced at, or quickly after, his setting out for Cilicia; and, as Dr. Lardner observes, this repose of the Christians might be occasioned by the general alarm which was given to the Jews, when Petronius, by the order of Caligula, attempted to bring the statue of that emperor among them, and set it up in the holy of holies; a horrid profanation, which the whole people deprecated with the greatest concern, in the most solicitous and affectionate manner. How long this peace, or rest, continued, we do not certainly know: probably till Herod interrupted it, as we shall see, chap. 12. And were edified In faith and holiness. The word , thus rendered, is a figurative expression, properly a term of architecture, signifying the erecting or constructing the whole superstructure of a building upon a foundation. In this place it must signify, by analogy, that the churches were further instructed in the great truths of the gospel, and advanced in all the branches of piety and virtue; and walking That is, speaking and acting; in the fear of the Lord That is, under the influence of that principle; and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost In the consolations afforded by his agency; were multiplied By an accession of new members, whereby the damage sustained in the late persecution was abundantly repaired.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
31. Preparatory to this transition in the narrative, the historian glances rapidly over the territory to which we are about to be introduced, stating the condition of things immediately after Saul’s departure for Tarsus. (31) “Then the Churches had peach throughout all Judea and Galilee, and Samaria; and being edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and the consolation of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” Thus times of peace and quiet were seen to be propitious to a cause which had sprung up amid strife and opposition, showing that it was not the obstinacy of human passion, but the legitimate working of unchangeable truth, which had brought it into being. According to the philosophy which Gamaliel had urged in the Sanhedrim, its claim to a divine origin was now vindicated.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
PETERS EVANGELISTIC TOURS
31. The miraculous conversion of Saul stunned and paralyzed the aggressive persecutors of the fallen ecclesiasticism, at the same time giving a great boom to the rising hopes of the gospel church. And the church was multiplied by the exhortation of the Holy Ghost, i. e., by the exhortation inspired and superinduced by the Holy Ghost. It is a significant fact, of which the popular church has utterly lost sight, and to which the holiness movement is not half awake, that sinners are not converted by the cultured sermonic preaching, but by the irregular, impromptu, spontaneous, ejaculatory utterances and effusions of the Holy Ghost. I am an old revivalist, and have seen this verified on a thousand battlefields. The preaching is for the revival, sanctification and enduement of the church, who, thus flooded and inundated with the Spirit, all turn preachers, not in the modern but the Apostolic sense (Act 8:4), and literally encompass every sinner, pouring on him their red-hot exhortations, electrified with sympathetic tears and dynamited with prevailing prayers. I have actually witnessed revivals in which several hundred sinners, thus besieged by the irresistible exhortations of Spirit-filled saints, surrendered unanimously, all crowding the altar and crying for mercy. This beautiful and valuable passage is not translated correctly in E. V.; but such is its beauty and force and its inspiring testimony to the miraculous efficiency of the Pentecostal gospel, that I hope every reader will appropriate, utilize and proclaim it to others.
AENAES IS HEALED
Peter, in his rapid peregrinations throughout Palestine, inspiring the saints to grander conquests, arrives at Lydda, down on the Mediterranean Sea near Joppa. There he finds Aeneas, lying on a bed, held fast with the paralysis of eight years. He says to him: Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you: arise, take up thy bed; and he arose immediately. Of course, Peter had preached to him, praying for him and expounding the plan of salvation, appertaining to both soul and body, and thus prepared him for the sudden inspiration of his faith, which took hold of Jesus Christ for the healing of his body. As your faith is, so be it unto you, is as true of the body as of the soul. With the spread of Scriptural holiness over the earth, divine healing is again everywhere becoming common, witnesses already innumerable and multiplying on all sides. The subjective reason why Aeneas was healed, was simply because he took hold of Jesus by faith and believed that He healed him that very moment. Faith is always in the present tense. A future faith is a misnomer; not faith, but hope. A true faith inspired by the Holy Ghost, either for soul or body, appropriates the very Omnipotence of God and becomes the medium of the supernatural and the miraculous, both spiritual and physical. We must remember, however, that while we are saved and sanctified through the grace of faith, bodily healing is through the gifts (1Co 12:9), which are not essential to spiritual salvation, but appertain to Gods wonderful munificence in the interest of our bodies, as well as the souls and bodies of others. While the absence of faith for your soul forfeits salvation and heaven, because it is condemnatory (Mar 16:16), the delinquency of faith for bodily healing only forfeits the healing and brings no condemnation to the soul.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Act 9:31 is an editorial note between the story of Paul and the set of stories about Peter, now to follow. There is much early evidence for the reading of the AV, the churches, instead of the church. The same remark occurs at Act 16:5 in that form.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
9:31 {9} Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were {n} edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
(9) The result of persecutions is the building of the Church, so that we will patiently wait for the Lord.
(n) This is a borrowed type of speech which signifies establishment and increase.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The church at peace 9:31
Notice that "church" is in the singular here. This is probably a reference to the Christians throughout Palestine-in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria-not just in one local congregation, in Jerusalem, but in the body of Christ. Saul’s departure from Palestine brought greater peace to the churches there. He was an extremely controversial figure among the Jews because of his conversion. Peaceful conditions are conducive to effective evangelism and church growth (cf. 1Ti 2:1-4). The church continued to experience four things: inward strengthening, a proper attitude and relationship to God (in contrast to Judaism), the comfort (encouragement, Gr. paraklesis) provided by the Holy Spirit, and numerical growth.
Beside this verse, there are few references to Galilee in Acts (cf. Act 10:37; Act 13:31). This has led some commentators to speculate that Galilee had been evangelized during Jesus’ ministry and was, by this time, fully Christian. The evidence from church history, however, indicates that there were few Christians in Galilee at this time and in later years. [Note: See Barrett, pp. 473-74.]
This statement is Luke’s third major progress report on the state of the church (cf. Act 2:47; Act 6:7; Act 12:24; Act 16:5; Act 19:20; Act 28:30-31). It closes this section dealing with the church’s expansion in Judea and Samaria (Act 6:8 to Act 9:31). The Lord had added about 3,000 who believed to the core group of disciples (Act 2:41). Then He added more who became Christians day by day (Act 2:47). Shortly He added multitudes of new believers (Act 5:14). Then we read the number of disciples increased greatly (Act 6:7). Now we read that the church ". . . continued to increase" (Act 9:31).
"When the Spirit of God has His way in the hearts and lives of believers, then unsaved people are going to be reached and won for Christ." [Note: Ironside, Lectures on . . ., p. 228.]