27 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,
While your hand is stretched out to do works of mercy; so that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
And they put cords on him and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate, the ruler.
In the same way the chief priests, laughing at him among themselves with the scribes, said, A saviour of others, he has no salvation for himself.
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because I am marked out by him to give good news to the poor; he has sent me to make well those who are broken-hearted; to say that the prisoners will be let go, and the blind will see, and to make the wounded free from their chains,
At that time, certain Pharisees came to him and said, Go away from this place, because Herod's purpose is to put you to death. And he said, Go and say to that fox, I send out evil spirits and do works of mercy today and tomorrow, and on the third day my work will be complete. But I have to go on my way today and tomorrow and the third day, for it is not right for a prophet to come to his death outside Jerusalem.
And he took with him the twelve and said to them, Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things which were said by the prophets will be done to the Son of man. For he will be given up to the Gentiles, and will be made sport of and put to shame: And he will be given cruel blows and put to death, and on the third day he will come back to life.
And the lord of the garden said, What am I to do? I will send my dearly loved son; they may give respect to him. But when the workmen saw him, they said to one another, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property: let us put him to death and the heritage will be ours. And driving him out of the garden they put him to death. Now what will the lord do to these workmen? He will come and put them to destruction and give the garden to others. And when he said this, they said, May it not be so. But he, looking on them, said, Is it not in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has become the chief stone of the building? Everyone falling on that stone will be broken, but the man on whom the stone comes down will be crushed to dust. And the chief priests and the scribes made attempts to get their hands on him in that very hour; and they were in fear of the people, for they saw that he had made up this story against them.
Now the feast of unleavened bread was near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a chance to put him to death, but they went in fear of the people. And Satan came into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve. And he went away and had a discussion with the chief priests and the rulers, about how he might give him up to them. And they were glad, and undertook to give him money. And he made an agreement with them to give him up to them, if he got a chance, when the people were not present.
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. But Jesus said to him, Judas, will you be false to the Son of man with a kiss? And when those who were with him saw what was coming, they said, Lord, may we not make use of our swords? And one of them gave a blow to the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus, answering, said, Put up with this, at least. And touching his ear, he made it well. And Jesus said to the chief priests and the captains of the Temple and the rulers, who had come against him, Have you come out as against a thief, with swords and sticks?
And when he saw that he was under the authority of Herod, he sent him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem himself at that time. Now when Herod saw Jesus he was very glad, having for a long time had a desire to see him, for he had had accounts of him, and was hoping to see some wonders done by him. And he put a great number of questions to him, but he said nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were there, making statements against him violently. And Herod, with the men of his army, put shame on him and made sport of him, and dressing him in shining robes, he sent him back to Pilate. And that day Herod and Pilate became friends with one another, for before they had been against one another. And Pilate sent for the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, You say that this man has been teaching the people evil things: now I, after going into the question before you, see nothing wrong in this man in connection with the things which you have said against him: And Herod is of the same opinion, for he has sent him back to us; for, you see, he has done nothing for which I might put him to death. And so I will give him punishment and let him go. [] But with loud voices they said all together, Put this man to death, and make Barabbas free. Now this man was in prison because of an attack against the government in the town, in which there had been loss of life. And Pilate again said to them that it was his desire to let Jesus go free. But crying out they said, To the cross with him! And he said to them a third time, Why, what evil has he done? I see no reason for putting him to death: I will give him punishment and let him go. But they went on crying out loudly, Let him be put to death on the cross. And they had their way. And Pilate gave his decision for their desire to be put into effect. And in answer to their request, he let that man go free who had been in prison for acting against the government and causing death, and Jesus he gave up to their pleasure. And while they were taking him away, they put their hands on Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and made him take the cross after Jesus. And a great band of people went after him, and of women making signs of grief and weeping for him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, let not your weeping be for me, but for yourselves and for your children. For the days are coming in which they will say, Happy are those who have had no children, whose bodies have never given birth, whose breasts have never given milk. And they will say to the mountains, Come down on us, and to the hills, Be a cover over us. For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will they do when it is dry? And two others, evil-doers, were taken with him to be put to death. And when they came to the place which is named Golgotha, they put him on the cross, and the evil-doers, one on the right side, and the other on the left. And Jesus said, Father, let them have forgiveness, for they have no knowledge of what they are doing. And they made division of his clothing among them by the decision of chance. And the people were looking on. And the rulers made sport of him, saying, He was a saviour of others; let him do something for himself, if he is the Christ, the man of God's selection. And the men of the army made sport of him, coming to him and giving him bitter wine, And saying, If you are the King of the Jews, get yourself free. And these words were put in writing over him, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
He came to the things which were his and his people did not take him to their hearts.
Do you say of him whom the Father made holy and sent into the world, Your words are evil; because I said, I am God's Son?
When Jesus had said these words he went out with his disciples over the stream Kedron to a garden, into which he went with his disciples. 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. (He said this so that his words might come true, I have kept safe all those whom you gave to me.) Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, took it out and gave the high priest's servant a blow, cutting off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter, Put back your sword: am I not to take the cup which my Father has given to me? Then the band and the chief captain and the police took Jesus and put cords round him. They took him first to Annas, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas who was the high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had said to the Jews that it was in their interest for one man to be put to death for the people.
Then the high priest put questions to Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus made answer, I said things openly to the world at all times; I have given my teaching in the Synagogues and in the Temple to which all the Jews come; and I have said nothing secretly. Why are you questioning me? put questions to my hearers about what I have said to them: they have knowledge of what I said. When he said this, one of the police by his side gave him a blow with his open hand, saying, Do you give such an answer to the high priest? Jesus said in answer, If I have said anything evil, give witness to the evil: but if I said what is true, why do you give me blows? Then Annas sent him chained to Caiaphas, the high priest.
But one of the men made a wound in his side with a spear, and straight away there came out blood and water.
The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has given glory to his servant Jesus; whom you gave up, turning your backs on him, when Pilate had made the decision to let him go free. But you would have nothing to do with the Holy and Upright One, and made request for a man of blood to be given to you,
About Jesus of Nazareth, how God gave the Holy Spirit to him, with power: and how he went about doing good and making well all who were troubled by evil spirits, for God was with him.
See, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be given into the hands of the chief priests and scribes; and they will give orders for him to be put to death, And will give him up to the Gentiles to be made sport of and to be whipped and to be put to death on the cross: and the third day he will come back again from the dead.
What is man, that he may be clean? and how may the son of woman be upright?
The kings of the earth have taken their place, and the rulers are fixed in their purpose, against the Lord, and against the king of his selection, saying,
The Lord who takes up Israel's cause, even his Holy One, says to him whom men make sport of, who is hated by the nations, a servant of rulers: Kings will see and get up from their places, and chiefs will give worship: because of the Lord who keeps faith; even the Holy One of Israel who has taken you for himself.
Men made sport of him, turning away from him; he was a man of sorrows, marked by disease; and like one from whom men's faces are turned away, he was looked down on, and we put no value on him.
So I took care of the flock of death, for those who made profit out of the flock; and I took for myself two rods, naming one Beautiful, and the other Bands; and I took care of the flock. And in one month I put an end to the three keepers of the flock; for my soul was tired of them, and their souls were disgusted with me.
And when they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death. So he took the young child and his mother by night, and went into Egypt; And was there till the death of Herod; so that the word of the Lord through the prophet might come true, Out of Egypt have I sent for my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was very angry; and he sent out, and put to death all the male children in Beth-lehem and in all the parts round about it, from two years old and under, acting on the knowledge which he had got with care from the wise men.
If only a clean thing might come out of an unclean! But it is not possible.
But how does it seem to you? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go and do work today in the vine-garden.
Then the chief priests and the rulers of the people came together in the house of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. And they made designs together to take Jesus by some trick, and put him to death.
Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were looking for false witness against Jesus, so that they might put him to death; And they were not able to get it, though a number of false witnesses came. But later there came two who said, This man said, I am able to give the Temple of God to destruction, and to put it up again in three days. And the high priest got up and said to him, Have you no answer? what is it which these say against you? But Jesus said not a word. And the high priest said to him, I put you on oath, by the living God, that you will say to us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus says to him, You say so: but I say to you, From now you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest, violently parting his robes, said, He has said evil against God: what more need have we of witnesses? for now his words against God have come to your ears: What is your opinion? They made answer and said, It is right for him to be put to death. Then they put shame on him, and were cruel to him: and some gave him blows, saying, Be a prophet, O Christ, and say who gave you a blow!
And Jesus was before the ruler, who put a question to him, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus said to him, You say so. But when the chief priests and those in authority made statements against him, he gave no answer. Then says Pilate to him, Do you give no attention to what their witnesses say against you? And he gave him no answer, not even a word: so that the ruler was greatly surprised. Now at the feast it was the way for the ruler to let free to the people one prisoner, at their selection. And they had then an important prisoner, whose name was Barabbas. So when they came together, Pilate said to them, Whom will you have? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is named Christ? For he saw that for envy they had given him up. And while he was on the judge's seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Have nothing to do with that upright man, for I have had much trouble this day in a dream because of him. Now the chief priests and those in authority got the people to make request for Barabbas, and for Jesus to be put to death. But the ruler made answer and said to them, Which of the two is it your pleasure that I let go free? And they said, Barabbas. Pilate says to them, What, then, am I to do with Jesus, who is named Christ? They all say, Let him be put to death on the cross. And he said, Why, what evil has he done? But they gave loud cries, saying, To the cross with him! So when Pilate saw that he was able to do nothing, but that trouble was working up, he took water and, washing his hands before the people, said, The blood of this upright man is not on my hands: you are responsible. And all the people made answer and said, Let his blood be on us, and on our children. Then he let Barabbas go free: but after having Jesus whipped, he gave him up to be put to death on the cross. Then the ruler's armed men took Jesus into the open square, and got all their band together. And they took off his clothing, and put on him a red robe. And they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and put a rod in his right hand, and they went down on their knees before him, and made sport of him, saying, Long life to the King of the Jews. And they put shame on him, and gave him blows on the head with the rod. And when they had made sport of him, they took the robe off him, and put his clothing on him, and took him away to put him on the cross. And while they were coming out, they saw a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they made him go with them, so that he might take up his cross. And when they came to the place named Golgotha, that is to say, Dead Man's Head, They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more. And when they had put him on the cross, they made division of his clothing among them by the decision of chance. And they were seated there watching him.
You who would give the Temple to destruction and put it up again in three days, get yourself free: if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. In the same way, the chief priests, making sport of him, with the scribes and those in authority, said, A saviour of others, he has no salvation for himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will have faith in him. He put his faith in God; let God be his saviour now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God.
Saying, See, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be given up to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will give an order for his death, and will give him up to the Gentiles:
It was now two days before the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes made designs how they might take him by deceit and put him to death: But they said, Not while the feast is going on, for fear there may be trouble among the people.
And straight away, while he was still talking, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great band with swords and sticks, from the chief priests and the scribes and those in authority. Now he who had been false to him had given them a sign, saying, The one to whom I give a kiss, that is he; take him, and get him away safely. And when he had come, he went straight to him and said, Master; and gave him a kiss. And they put their hands on him, and took him. But a certain one of those who were near took out his sword, and gave the servant of the high priest a blow, cutting off his ear. And Jesus said to them, Have you come out as against a thief, with swords and sticks to take me? I was with you every day in the Temple teaching, and you did not take me; but this is done so that the Writings may come true. And they all went away from him in fear. And a certain young man went after him, with only a linen cloth about his body; and they put their hands on him; But he got away unclothed, without the linen cloth. And they took Jesus away to the high priest; and there came together with him all the chief priests and those in authority and the scribes. And Peter had come after him at a distance, even into the house of the high priest; and he was seated with the captains, warming himself in the light of the fire. Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were looking for witness against Jesus so that they might put him to death; and they were unable to get any. For a number gave false witness against him and their witness was not in agreement. Then some got up and gave false witness against him, saying, He said in our hearing, I will put an end to this Temple which is made with hands, and in three days I will make another without hands. And even so their witness was not in agreement. And the high priest got up in the middle of them, and said to Jesus, Do you say nothing in answer? what is it which these say against you? But he kept quiet and said nothing. Again the high priest questioning him said, Are you the Christ, the son of the Holy One? And Jesus said, I am: and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest, violently parting his robes, said, What more need have we of witnesses? His words against God have come to your ears: what is your opinion? And they all said it was right for him to be put to death. And some put shame on him and, covering his face, gave him blows and said to him, Now say what is to come: and the captains took him and gave him blows with their hands.
And the first thing in the morning the chief priests, with those in authority and the scribes and all the Sanhedrin, had a meeting, and put cords round Jesus, and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate. And Pilate put a question to him, Are you the King of the Jews? And he, answering, said to him, You say so. And the chief priests said a number of things against him. And Pilate again put a question, Do you say nothing in answer? see how much evil they say you have done. But Jesus gave no more answers, so that Pilate was full of wonder. Now at the feast every year he let one prisoner go free at their request. And there was one named Barabbas, in prison with those who had gone against the government and in the fight had taken life. And the people went up, requesting him to do as he had done for them in other years. And Pilate said in answer to them, Is it your desire that I let the King of the Jews go free? For he saw that the chief priests had given him up through envy. But the people were moved by the chief priests to make him let Barabbas go free. And Pilate again said in answer to them, What then am I to do to him to whom you give the name of the King of the Jews? And they said again loudly, To the cross with him! And Pilate said to them, Why, what evil has he done? But their cry was the louder, To the cross! And Pilate, desiring to do what was pleasing to the people, let Barabbas go free, and gave up Jesus, when he had been whipped, to be put to death on the cross. And the men of the army took him away into the square in front of the building which is the Praetorium, and they got together all the band. And they put a purple robe on him, and twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on him; And, as if honouring him, they said, Long life to the King of the Jews! And they gave him blows on the head with a stick and put shame on him and, going down on their knees, gave him worship. And when they had made sport of him, they took the purple robe off him and put his clothing on him. And they took him out to put him to death on the cross. And they made one, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was going by, coming from the country, go with them, so that he might take his cross. And they took him to the place named Golgotha, which is, Dead Man's Head. And they gave him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And he was nailed to the cross; and they made a division of his clothing among them, putting to the decision of chance what everyone was to take. And it was the third hour when they put him on the cross. And the statement of his crime was put in writing on the cross, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And they put two thieves on crosses with him, one on his right side, and one on his left.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 4
Commentary on Acts 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
Ac 4:1-13. Peter and John before the Sanhedrin.
1-12. the captain—of the Levitical guard.
of the temple—annoyed at the disturbance created around it.
and the Sadducees—who "say that there is no resurrection" (Ac 23:8), irritated at the apostles "preaching through (rather, 'in') Jesus the resurrection from the dead"; for the resurrection of Christ, if a fact, effectually overthrew the Sadducean doctrine.
4. the number of the men—or males, exclusive of women; though the word sometimes includes both.
about five thousand—and this in Jerusalem, where the means of detecting the imposture or crushing the fanaticism, if such it had been, were within everyone's reach, and where there was every inducement to sift it to the bottom.
5. their rulers, &c.—This was a regular meeting of the Sanhedrim (see on Mt 2:4).
6. Annas … and Caiaphas—(See on Lu 3:2).
John and Alexander—of whom nothing is known.
7. By what power or … name have ye done this—thus admitting the reality of the miracle, which afterwards they confess themselves unable to deny (Ac 4:16).
8. Then, filled with the Holy Ghost, said—(See Mr 13:11; Lu 21:15).
10. Be it known unto you … and to all the people of Israel—as if emitting a formal judicial testimony to the entire nation through its rulers now convened.
by the name of Jesus, &c.—(See on Ac 3:13, &c.).
even by him doth this man stand before you whole—for from Ac 4:14 it appears that the healed man was at that moment before their eyes.
11. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, &c.—This application of Ps 118:22, already made by our Lord Himself before some of the same "builders" (Mt 21:42), is here repeated with peculiar propriety after the deed of rejection had been consummated, and the rejected One had, by His exaltation to the right hand of the Majesty on high, become "the head of the corner."
12. Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved—How sublimely does the apostle, in these closing words, shut up these rulers of Israel to Jesus for salvation, and in what universal and emphatic terms does he hold up his Lord as the one Hope of men!
13-17. perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men—that is, uninstructed in the learning of the Jewish schools, and of the common sort; men in private life, untrained to teaching.
took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus—recognized them as having been in His company; remembering possibly, that they had seen them with Him [Meyer, Bloomfield, Alford]; but, more probably, perceiving in their whole bearing what identified them with Jesus: that is, "We thought we had got rid of Him; but lo! He reappears in these men, and all that troubled us in the Nazarene Himself has yet to be put down in these His disciples." What a testimony to these primitive witnesses! Would that the same could be said of their successors!
16. a notable miracle … done by them is manifest to all … in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it—And why should ye wish to deny it, O ye rulers, but that ye hate the light, and will not come to the light lest your deeds should be reproved?
17. But that it spread no further … let us straitly—strictly.
threaten … that they speak henceforth to no man in this name—Impotent device! Little knew they the fire that was burning in the bones of those heroic disciples.
18-22. Whether it be right … to hearken to you more than … God, judge ye.
20. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard—There is here a wonderful union of sober, respectful appeal to the better reason of their judges, and calm, deep determination to abide the consequences of a constrained testimony, which betokens a power above their own resting upon them, according to promise.
21. finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people—not at a loss for a pretext, but at a loss how to do it so as not to rouse the opposition of the people.
Ac 4:23-37. Peter and John Dismissed from the Sanhedrin, Report the Proceedings to the Assembled Disciples—They Engage in Prayer—The Astonishing Answer and Results.
23-30. being let go, they went to their own company—Observe the two opposite classes, representing the two interests which were about to come into deadly conflict.
24. they lifted up their voice—the assembled disciples, on hearing Peter's report.
with one accord—the breasts of all present echoing every word of this sublime prayer.
Lord—(See on Lu 2:29). Applied to God, the term expresses absolute authority.
God which hast made heaven and earth—against whom, therefore, all creatures are powerless.
25. by the mouth of … David—to whom the Jews ascribed the second Psalm, though anonymous; and internal evidence confirms it. David's spirit sees with astonishment "the heathen, the people, the kings and princes of the earth," in deadly combination against the sway of Jehovah and His Anointed (his Messiah, or Christ), and asks "why" it is. This fierce confederacy our praying disciples see in full operation, in the "gathering together of Herod and Pilate, the Gentiles (the Roman authority), and the people of Israel, against God's holy Child ('Servant') Jesus." (See on Ac 3:13). The best ancient copies read, after "were gathered together," "in this city," which probably answers to "upon my holy hill of Zion," in the Ps 2:6.
28. thy hand and thy counsel determined … to be done—that is, "Thy counsel" determined to be done by "Thy hand."
29. now, Lord, behold their threatenings—Recognizing in the threatenings of the Sanhedrim a declaration of war by the combined powers of the world against their infant cause, they seek not enthusiastically to hide from themselves its critical position, but calmly ask the Lord of heaven and earth to "look upon their threatenings."
that with all boldness they may speak thy word—Rising above self, they ask only fearless courage to testify for their Master, and divine attestation to their testimony by miracles of healing, &c., in His name.
31-37. place was shaken—glorious token of the commotion which the Gospel was to make (Ac 17:6; compare Ac 16:26), and the overthrow of all opposing powers in which this was to issue.
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake, &c.—The Spirit rested upon the entire community, first, in the very way they had asked, so that they "spake the word with boldness" (Ac 4:29, 31); next, in melting down all selfishness, and absorbing even the feeling of individuality in an intense and glowing realization of Christian unity. The community of goods was but an outward expression of this, and natural in such circumstances.
33. with great power—effect on men's minds.
great grace was upon them all—The grace of God copiously rested on the whole community.
35. laid … at the apostles' feet—sitting, it may be, above the rest. But the expression may be merely derived from that practice, and here meant figuratively.
36. Joses, &c.—This is specified merely as an eminent example of that spirit of generous sacrifice which pervaded all.
son of consolation—no doubt so surnamed from the character of his ministry.
a Levite—who, though as a tribe having no inheritance, might and did acquire property as individuals (De 18:8).
Cyprus—a well-known island in the Mediterranean.