10 be it known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye did crucify, whom God did raise out of the dead, in him hath this one stood by before you whole.
saying, `Sir, we have remembered that that deceiver said while yet living, After three days I do rise; command, then, the sepulchre to be made secure till the third day, lest his disciples, having come by night, may steal him away, and may say to the people, He rose from the dead, and the last deceit shall be worse than the first.' And Pilate said to them, `Ye have a watch, go away, make secure -- as ye have known;' and they, having gone, did make the sepulchre secure, having sealed the stone, together with the watch.
and Peter said, `Silver and gold I have none, but what I have, that I give to thee; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and be walking.'
`Jehovah hath spoken against you, O remnant of Judah, do not enter Egypt: know certainly that I have testified against you to-day; for ye have shewed yourselves perverse in your souls, for ye sent me unto Jehovah your God, saying, Pray for us unto Jehovah our God, and according to all that Jehovah our God saith, so declare to us, and we have done `it';
And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'
And while they are going on, lo, certain of the watch having come to the city, told to the chief priests all the things that happened, and having been gathered together with the elders, counsel also having taken, they gave much money to the soldiers, saying, `Say ye, that his disciples having come by night, stole him -- we being asleep; and if this be heard by the governor, we will persuade him, and you keep free from anxiety.' And they, having received the money, did as they were taught, and this account was spread abroad among Jews till this day.
`Men, Israelites! hear these words, Jesus the Nazarene, a man approved of God among you by mighty works, and wonders, and signs, that God did through him in the midst of you, according as also ye yourselves have known; this one, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, being given out, having taken by lawless hands, having crucified -- ye did slay; whom God did raise up, having loosed the pains of the death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it,
assuredly, therefore, let all the house of Israel know, that both Lord and Christ did God make him -- this Jesus whom ye did crucify.'
`The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, did glorify His child Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, he having given judgment to release `him', and ye the Holy and Righteous One did deny, and desired a man -- a murderer -- to be granted to you, and the Prince of the life ye did kill, whom God did raise out of the dead, of which we are witnesses; and on the faith of his name, this one whom ye see and have known, his name made strong, even the faith that `is' through him did give to him this perfect soundness before you all.
And Peter and the apostles answering, said, `To obey God it behoveth, rather than men; and the God of our fathers did raise up Jesus, whom ye slew, having hanged upon a tree; this one God, a Prince and a Saviour, hath exalted with His right hand, to give reformation to Israel, and forgiveness of sins; and we are His witnesses of these sayings, and the Holy Spirit also, whom God gave to those obeying him.'
`This one God did raise up the third day, and gave him to become manifest, not to all the people, but to witnesses, to those having been chosen before by God -- to us who did eat with `him', and did drink with him, after his rising out of the dead; and he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify fully that it is he who hath been ordained by God judge of living and dead --
and when they did complete all the things written about him, having taken `him' down from the tree, they laid him in a tomb; and God did raise him out of the dead, and he was seen for many days of those who did come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. `And we to you do proclaim good news -- that the promise made unto the fathers, God hath in full completed this to us their children, having raised up Jesus, as also in the second Psalm it hath been written, My Son thou art -- I to-day have begotten thee. `And that He did raise him up out of the dead, no more to return to corruption, he hath said thus -- I will give to you the faithful kindnesses of David; wherefore also in another `place' he saith, Thou shalt not give Thy kind One to see corruption, for David, indeed, his own generation having served by the will of God, did fall asleep, and was added unto his fathers, and saw corruption, but he whom God did raise up, did not see corruption. `Let it therefore be known to you, men, brethren, that through this one to you is the forgiveness of sins declared, and from all things from which ye were not able in the law of Moses to be declared righteous, in this one every one who is believing is declared righteous; see, therefore, it may not come upon you that hath been spoken in the prophets: See, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish, because a work I -- I do work in your days, a work in which ye may not believe, though any one may declare `it' to you.'
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.