18 but God has thus fulfilled what he had announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer.
Having therefore met with [the] help which is from God, I have stood firm unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing else than those things which both the prophets and Moses have said should happen, [namely,] whether Christ should suffer; whether he first, through resurrection of [the] dead, should announce light both to the people and to the nations.
And according to Paul's custom he went in among them, and on three sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures, opening and laying down that the Christ must have suffered and risen up from among the dead, and that this is the Christ, Jesus whom *I* announce to you.
Concerning which salvation prophets, who have prophesied of the grace towards you, sought out and searched out; searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which [was] in them pointed out, testifying before of the sufferings which [belonged] to Christ, and the glories after these.
For I delivered to you, in the first place, what also I had received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he was raised the third day, according to the scriptures;
Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender sapling, and as a root out of dry ground: he hath no form nor lordliness, and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and left alone of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom [men] hide their faces; -- despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely *he* hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; and we, we did regard him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, but he opened not his mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and was as a sheep dumb before her shearers, and he opened not his mouth. He was taken from oppression and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And [men] appointed his grave with the wicked, but he was with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was there guile in his mouth. Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath subjected [him] to suffering. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see a seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of [the fruit of] the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant instruct many in righteousness; and *he* shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I assign him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong: because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and was reckoned with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
{To the chief Musician. Upon Shoshannim. [A Psalm] of David.} Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto [my] soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I am come into the depths of waters, and the flood overfloweth me. I am weary with my crying, my throat is parched; mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. Thou, O God, knowest my foolishness, and my trespasses are not hidden from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, Lord, Jehovah of hosts, be ashamed through me; let not those that seek thee be confounded through me, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; confusion hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's sons; For the zeal of thy house hath devoured me, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen upon me. And I wept, my soul was fasting: that also was to my reproach; -- And I made sackcloth my garment: then I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate talk of me, and [I am] the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, Jehovah, in an acceptable time: O God, in the abundance of thy loving-kindness answer me, according to the truth of thy salvation: Deliver me out of the mire, let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters. Let not the flood of waters overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up; and let not the pit shut its mouth upon me. Answer me, O Jehovah; for thy loving-kindness is good: according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, turn toward me; And hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble: answer me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, be its redeemer; ransom me because of mine enemies. *Thou* knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am overwhelmed: and I looked for sympathy, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. Yea, they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them, and their very welfare a trap; Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of thine anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate; let there be no dweller in their tents. For they persecute him whom *thou* hast smitten, and they talk for the sorrow of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity, and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. But I am afflicted and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me secure on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving; And it shall please Jehovah more than an ox, -- a bullock with horns and cloven hoofs. The meek shall see it, they shall be glad; ye that seek God, your heart shall live. For Jehovah heareth the needy, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let heavens and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; and they shall dwell there, and possess it: And the seed of his servants shall inherit it, and they that love his name shall dwell therein.
{To the chief Musician. Upon Aijeleth-Shahar. A Psalm of David.} My ùGod, my ùGod, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou] far from my salvation, from the words of my groaning? My God, I cry by day, and thou answerest not; and by night, and there is no rest for me: And thou art holy, thou that dwellest amid the praises of Israel. Our fathers confided in thee: they confided, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered; they confided in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and the despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, [saying:] Commit it to Jehovah -- let him rescue him; let him deliver him, because he delighteth in him! But thou art he that took me out of the womb; thou didst make me trust, upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb; thou art my ùGod from my mother's belly. Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have encompassed me; Bashan's strong ones have beset me round. They gape upon me with their mouth, [as] a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is become like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my palate; and thou hast laid me in the dust of death. For dogs have encompassed me; an assembly of evil-doers have surrounded me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may count all my bones. They look, they stare upon me; They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But thou, Jehovah, be not far [from me]; O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my only one from the power of the dog; Save me from the lion's mouth. Yea, from the horns of the buffaloes hast thou answered me. I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear Jehovah, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and revere him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him: but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise is from thee, in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise Jehovah that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah, and all the families of the nations shall worship before thee: For the kingdom is Jehovah's, and he ruleth among the nations. All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and he that cannot keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 3
Commentary on Acts 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Ac 3:1-26. Peter Heals a Lame Man at the Temple Gate—Hs Address to the Wondering Multitude.
1-11. Peter and John—already associated by their Master, first with James (Mr 1:29; 5:37; 9:2), then by themselves (Lu 22:8; and see Joh 13:23, 24). Now we find them constantly together, but John (yet young) only as a silent actor.
went up—were going up, were on their way.
2. a certain man lame from his mother's womb—and now "above forty years old" (Ac 4:22).
was carried—was wont to be carried.
4, 5. Peter fastening his eyes on him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed—that, through the eye, faith might be aided in its birth.
6. Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee—What a lofty superiority breathes in these words!
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk—These words, uttered with supernatural power, doubtless begat in this poor man the faith that sent healing virtue through his diseased members.
7. And he took … and lifted him up—precisely what his Lord had done to his own mother-in-law (Mr 1:31).
his feet—"soles."
and ankle bones, &c.—the technical language of a physician (Col 4:14).
8. leaping up, stood … walked … entered the temple walking, leaping, and praising God—Every word here is emphatic, expressing the perfection of the cure, as Ac 3:7 its immediateness.
9. all the people saw him, &c.—as they assembled at the hour of public prayer, in the temple courts; so that the miracle had the utmost publicity.
10. they knew that it was he which sat for alms, &c.—(Compare Joh 9:8).
11. the lame man … held, &c.—This is human nature.
all the people ran together unto them in the porch, &c.—How vividly do these graphic details bring the whole scene before us! Thus was Peter again furnished with a vast audience, whose wonder at the spectacle of the healed beggar clinging to his benefactors prepared them to listen with reverence to his words.
12-16. why marvel at this?—For miracles are marvels only in relation to the limited powers of man.
as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk—Neither the might nor the merit of the cure are due to us, mere agents of Him whom we preach.
13. The God of Abraham, &c.—(See on Ac 2:22; Ac 2:36).
hath glorified his Son Jesus—rather, "his Servant Jesus," as the same word is rendered in Mt 12:18, but in that high sense in which Isaiah applies it always to Messiah (Isa 42:1; 49:6; 52:13; 53:11). When "Son" is intended a different word is used.
whom ye delivered up, &c.—With what heroic courage does Peter here charge his auditors with the heaviest of all conceivable crimes, and with what terrific strength of language are these charges clothed!
15. killed the Prince of life—Glorious paradox, but how piercing to the conscience of the auditors.
16. his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, &c.—With what skill does the apostle use the miracle both to glorify his ascended Lord and bring the guilt of His blood more resistlessly home to his audience!
17-21. And now, brethren—Our preacher, like his Master, "will not break the bruised reed." His heaviest charges are prompted by love, which now hastens to assuage the wounds it was necessary to inflict.
I wot—"know."
through ignorance ye did it—(See marginal references, Lu 23:34; Ac 13:27; 26:9).
18. that Christ—The best manuscripts read, "that His Christ."
should suffer—The doctrine of a Suffering Messiah was totally at variance with the current views of the Jewish Church, and hard to digest even by the Twelve, up to the day of their Lord's resurrection. Our preacher himself revolted at it, and protested against it, when first nakedly announced, for which he received a terrible rebuke. Here he affirms it to be the fundamental truth of ancient prophecy realized unwittingly by the Jews themselves, yet by a glorious divine ordination. How great a change had the Pentecostal illumination wrought upon his views!
19. when the times of refreshing shall come—rather, "in order that the times of refreshing may come"; that long period of repose, prosperity and joy, which all the prophets hold forth to the distracted Church and this miserable world, as eventually to come, and which is here, as in all the prophets, made to turn upon the national conversion of Israel.
20. he shall send Jesus Christ—The true reading is, "He shall send your predestinated (or foreordained) Messiah, Jesus."
21. until the times—embracing the whole period between the ascension and the second advent of Christ.
restitution of all things—comprehending, probably, the rectification of all the disorders of the fall.
22-26. a prophet … like unto me—particularly in intimacy of communication with God (Nu 12:6-8), and as the mediatorial Head of a new order of things (Heb 3:2-6). Peter takes it for granted that, in the light of all he had just said, it would be seen at once that One only had any claim to be that Prophet.
him shall ye hear in all things, &c.—This part of the prediction is emphatically added, in order to shut up the audience to the obedience of faith, on pain of being finally "cut off" from the congregation of the righteous (Ps 1:1).
24. foretold of these days—of Messiah; all pointing to "the time of reformation" (Heb 9:10), though with more or less distinctness.
25. Ye are the children … of the covenant—and so the natural heirs of its promises.
in thy seed, &c.—(See on Ga 3:8, &c.).
26. God, having raised up—not from the dead, but having provided, prepared, and given.
his Son Jesus—"His Servant Jesus" (see on Ac 3:13).
sent him to bless you—literally, "sent Him blessing you," as if laden with blessing.
in turning away every one of you from his iniquities—that is, "Hitherto we have all been looking too much for a Messiah who should shed outward blessings upon the nation generally, and through it upon the world. But we have learned other things, and now announce to you that the great blessing with which Messiah has come laden is the turning away of every one of you from his iniquities." With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on resistless facts, here drive home to the conscience of his auditors their guilt in crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakened minds by assurances of forgiveness on turning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the Personal Return of Christ from the heavens whither He has ascended; ending all with warnings, from their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to receive from Him the blessings of salvation.