16 My brothers, the word of God had to be put into effect, which the Holy Spirit had said before, by the mouth of David, about Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus,
Even my dearest friend, in whom I had faith, who took bread with me, is turned against me.
I am not talking of you all: I have knowledge of my true disciples, but things are as they are, so that the Writings may come true, The foot of him who takes bread with me is lifted up against me.
For it was not my hater who said evil of me; that would have been no grief to me; it was not one outside the number of my friends who made himself strong against me, or I would have kept myself from him in a secret place; But it was you, my equal, my guide, my well-loved friend. We had loving talk together, and went to the house of God in company. Let the hand of death come on them suddenly, and let them go down living into the underworld; because evil is in their houses and in their hearts.
So that the words of the prophet Isaiah might come true, when he said, Lord, who has any belief in our preaching? and the arm of the Lord, to whom has it been unveiled? For this reason they were unable to have belief, because Isaiah said again, He has made their eyes blind, and their hearts hard; for fear that they might see with their eyes and get knowledge with their hearts, and be changed, and I might make them well.
And while he was still talking, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a band armed with swords and sticks, from the chief priests and those in authority over the people.
And so, as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you let his voice come to your ears, Be not hard of heart, as when you made me angry, on the day of testing in the waste land,
And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran,
Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish? The kings of the earth were lifted up, the rulers came together, against the Lord, and against his Christ: For, truly, in this town, against your holy servant, Jesus, who was marked out by you as Christ, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, came together, To do that which had been fixed before by your hand and your purpose.
And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the Synagogue sent to them, saying, Brothers, if you have a word of comfort for the people, say on.
My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those among you who have the fear of God, to us the word of this salvation is sent. For the men of Jerusalem and their rulers, having no knowledge of him, or of the sayings of the prophets which come to their ears every Sabbath day, gave effect to them by judging him. And though no cause of death was seen in him, they made a request to Pilate that he might be put to death. And when they had done all the things said in the Writings about him, they took him down from the tree, and put him in the place of the dead.
And when there had been much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, My brothers, you have knowledge that some time back it was God's pleasure that by my mouth the good news might be given to the Gentiles so that they might have faith.
My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you.
But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.
Then after three days he sent for the chief men of the Jews: and when they had come together, he said to them, My brothers, though I had done nothing against the people or the ways of our fathers, I was given, a prisoner from Jerusalem, into the hands of the Romans.
Now when these words came to their ears their hearts were troubled, and they said to Peter and the other Apostles, Brothers, what are we to do?
My brothers, I may say to you openly that David came to his death, and was put in the earth, and his resting-place is with us today. But being a prophet, and having in mind the oath which God had given to him, that of the fruit of his body one would take his place as a king, He, having knowledge of the future, was talking of the coming again of Christ from the dead, that he was not kept in hell and his body did not see destruction.
For in the book of Psalms it says, Let his house be waste, and let no man be living in it: and, Let his position be taken by another.
These things came about so that the Writings might be true, No bone of his body will be broken.
After this, being conscious that all things had now been done so that the Writings might come true, Jesus said, Give me water. Now there was a vessel ready, full of bitter wine, and they put a sponge full of it on a stick and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had taken the wine he said, All is done. And with his head bent he gave up his spirit.
And Judas, who was false to him, had knowledge of the place because Jesus went there frequently with his disciples. So Judas, getting a band of armed men and police from the chief priests and Pharisees, went there with lights and with arms. Then Jesus, having knowledge of everything which was coming on him, went forward and said to them, Who are you looking for? Their answer was, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus said, I am he. And Judas, who was false to him, was there at their side. And when he said to them, I am he, they went back, falling to the earth. So again he put the question to them, Who are you looking for? And they said, Jesus the Nazarene. Jesus made answer, I have said that I am he; if you are looking for me, let these men go away.
If he said they were gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Writings may not be broken),
David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said to my Lord, Be seated at my right hand, till I put those who are against you under your feet.
But all this has taken place so that the writings of the prophets might come true. Then all his disciples went from him in flight.
The spirit of the Lord had voice through me, his word was on my tongue.
And while he was saying these words, there came a band of people, and Judas, one of the twelve, was in front of them, and he came near to Jesus to give him a kiss.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 1
Commentary on Acts 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 1
The inspired historian begins his narrative of the Acts of the Apostles,
Act 1:1-5
In these verses,
Act 1:6-11
In Jerusalem Christ, by his angel, had appointed his disciples to meet him in Galilee; there he appointed them to meet him in Jerusalem again, such a day. Thus he would try their obedience, and it was found ready and cheerful; they came together, as he appointed them, to be the witnesses of his ascension, of which we have here an account. Observe,
Act 1:12-14
We are here told,
Act 1:15-26
The sin of Judas was not only his shame and ruin, but it made a vacancy in the college of the apostles. They were ordained twelve, with an eye to the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve patriarchs; they were the twelve stars that make up the church's crown (Rev. 12:1), and for them twelve thrones were designated, Mt. 19:28. Now being twelve when they were learners, if they were but eleven when they were to be teachers, it would occasion every one to enquire what had become of the twelfth, and so revive the remembrance of the scandal of their society; and therefore care was taken, before the descent of the Spirit, to fill up the vacancy, of the doing of which we now have an account, our Lord Jesus, probably, having given directions about it, among other things which he spoke pertaining to the kingdom of God. Observe,