The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Acts 3:13-15 sits inside this longer paragraph.
When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses. By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Parallel Translations
-
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.
But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
-
The God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob the God of oure fathers hath glorified his sonne Iesus whom ye delyvered and denyed in the presence of Pylate when he had iudged him to be lowsed.
But ye denyed the holy and iust and desyred a mortherar to be geven you
and kylled the Lorde of lyfe whom God hath raysed from deeth of the which we are wytnesses.
Show all 3 translations
-
The God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Iacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified his Sonne Iesus, whom ye betrayed, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had iudged him to be deliuered.
But ye denied the Holy one and the Iust, and desired a murtherer to be giuen you,
And killed the Lord of life, whome God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses.
Cross-references (78)
- Acts 2:24 (v15) whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
- Mark 1:24 (v14) saying, “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”
- Acts 2:32 (v15) This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
- Revelation 21:6 (v15) He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring…
- Acts 7:52 (v14) Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now…
Show all 76 cross-references
- John 1:4 (v15) In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
- John 5:26 (v15) For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.
- Acts 4:27 (v14) “For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant,…
- Acts 13:30-32 (v15) But God raised him from the dead, and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his…
- 1 Corinthians 15:45 (v15) So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Hebrews 2:10 (v15) For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many children to glory, to make the author of…
- 1 Peter 3:18 (v14) Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, being put to death in the…
- John 4:10 (v15) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would…
- John 4:14 (v15) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well…
- John 11:25-26 (v15) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes…
- John 14:6 (v15) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- John 17:2 (v15) even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
- Hebrews 5:9 (v15) Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation,
- James 5:6 (v14) You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
- 1 John 5:20 (v15) We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in…
- Revelation 22:17 (v15) The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the…
- Acts 22:14 (vv13–14) He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
- Zechariah 9:9 (v14) Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation;…
- Matthew 22:32 (v13) ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
- Luke 23:18-19 (v14) But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!”— one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt…
- Acts 7:32 (v13) ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Moses trembled, and dared not look.
- Revelation 22:1 (v15) He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
- Exodus 3:6 (v13) Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he…
- Matthew 27:17-25 (v13) When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called…
- Matthew 28:2-5 (v15) Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door,…
- Luke 1:35 (v14) The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one…
- Luke 23:16-23 (v13) I will therefore chastise him and release him.” Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast. But they all cried out together,…
- Luke 23:25 (v14) He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus up to their will.
- John 10:28 (v15) I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
- John 18:40 (v13) Then they all shouted again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.
- John 19:12 (v13) At this, Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this man, you aren’t Caesar’s friend! Everyone…
- John 19:15 (v13) They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered,…
- Acts 2:27 (v14) because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
- Acts 10:40-41 (v15) God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us,…
- Romans 8:1-2 (v15) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the…
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 (v14) For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- Philippians 2:9-11 (v13) Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,…
- Colossians 3:3-4 (v15) For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in…
- Hebrews 2:9 (v13) But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor,…
- 1 John 2:1 (v14) My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ,…
- 1 John 5:11-12 (v15) The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have…
- Revelation 3:7 (v14) “To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one…
- Mark 15:11 (vv13–14) But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead.
- Psalms 2:6-12 (v13) “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your…
- Psalms 16:10 (v14) For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
- Psalms 105:6-10 (v13) you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.…
- Psalms 110:1-2 (v13) Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.” Yahweh will send out the rod of…
- Matthew 11:27 (v13) All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the…
- Matthew 20:19 (v13) and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up.”
- Matthew 27:2 (v13) and they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor.
- Matthew 28:18 (v13) Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
- Mark 15:7 (v14) There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder.
- Luke 23:4 (v13) Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
- John 3:35-36 (v13) The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the…
- John 5:22-23 (v13) For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who…
- John 7:39 (v13) But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus…
- John 12:16 (v13) His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written…
- John 13:31-32 (v13) When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in…
- John 16:14-15 (v13) He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you. All things that the Father has are mine; therefore I…
- John 17:1-5 (v13) Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also…
- Acts 1:22 (v15) beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of his…
- Acts 2:23-24 (v13) him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and…
- Acts 2:33-36 (v13) Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out…
- Acts 5:30-31 (v13) The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree. God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a…
- Acts 5:31 (v15) God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.
- Acts 13:27-28 (v13) For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every…
- Ephesians 1:20 (v15) which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
- Hebrews 11:9-16 (v13) By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him…
- Revelation 1:5 (v13) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and…
- Revelation 1:18 (v13) and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Ephesians 1:20-23 (v13) which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all…
76 distinct cross-references across this passage (78 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v13 13, 14. The God of Abraham. He addeth a…
13, 14. The God of Abraham. He addeth a remedy now in calling them back unto Christ. And the sum is this, That this is God’s purpose in those miracles which he worketh by the apostles to set forth the glory of his Christ; whereupon it followeth that all those do deal disorderly who set up Peter, or any other, whatsoever he be, forasmuch as all men must decrease, and Christ alone must be excellent, (John 3:30.) Here appeareth a manifest difference between Christ and the apostles. First of all, he is the author, they are only the ministers; secondly, this is the lawful end, that he alone may have the glory; and as for them there is no respect to be had of them as concerning glory; for certainly they which do glorify any in miracles besides Christ, they set themselves flatly against the counsel of God.
He maketh mention of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to the end he may declare unto the people that he meaneth nothing less than to lead them away from the old and ancient worship of the true God, which they had received of the fathers. Furthermore, God hath given himself this title, that he might (dissever and) distinguish himself by some mark from idols; for we do not comprehend God in his essence, which cannot be seen, and which is infinite; therefore, he useth such means as agree best with us, to bring us to the knowledge of him. The Turks do boast that they do worship God, which is the creator of heaven and earth; but before they come at heaven they vanish away. Therefore, to the end God might keep his people from vain and erroneous inventions, he kept them in his covenant; therefore, when he calleth himself the God of Abraham, he did briefly teach that which Moses declareth more at large, (Deuteronomy 30:12,)
Read full note →
“Say not, Who shall ascend into heaven? Who shall go down into the depth? Or who shall sail over the seas? The word is nigh,” etc.
Furthermore, as amongst the Jews the name of the holy fathers was in high estimation, so Peter doth closely tell them, that they were no better than other men, without the only begotten Son of God. And at this day God will be known by a more evident mark yet, when as he calleth himself the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us now return unto Peter; he saith that he bringeth in no new religion, that. he may draw away the people from the law and the prophets; for if he should attempt this, God had forbidden them to hear him, (Deuteronomy 13:3.) Like as Paul teacheth, that we must retain one foundation in the spiritual building, (1 Corinthians 3:11,) because, so soon as we depart even but a little from Christ, there can nothing ensue but ruin. And hereby also we may easily discern in what sense he calleth God the God of the fathers; for neither doth he take this for a general maxim, that what manner of worship soever the fathers had, we must continue the same, as the Papists do foolishly vaunt that they do follow the manner of worshipping which was used amongst the fathers; for Peter doth expressly reckon up Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from whom true religion did proceed, and by whom it was divinely delivered; whereby he doth signify unto us, that we must not follow all fathers, whereof many did grow out of kind, and became altogether unlike to the first fathers; that this honor is due to the children of God alone, and that others are to be refused; which thing the prophets do also beat in everywhere:
“Walk not in the ways of your fathers,” etc., (Ezekiel 20:18.)
Whom ye have delivered He mingleth with doctrine a most sharp chiding, according as the matter did require; for it was impossible to bring them truly unto God, unless they were first brought to the knowledge of their sins; neither doth he only lightly touch them, but he doth very gravely show them the horribleness of that offense which they had committed. To this end tendeth that comparison, that they delivered him to be put to death, whom Pilate would have loosed; and again, that, pardoning a murderer, they put the Prince of life to death; that they did reject the just and holy. Men must be so stricken, that being brought to know their guiltiness, they may earnestly fly unto the remedy of pardon. Such vehemence and earnestness did Peter also use in his first sermon; he saith afterward that God raised him up, whereby they ought to know that, in putting Christ to death, they did strive against God; although Peter had respect unto an higher thing, to wit, that their cruelty did no whit impair the glory of Christ, because God had nevertheless restored him to life. When as he saith, that he and his fellows in office were witnesses of the resurrection, his meaning is, that they saw it with their eyes, (Luke 24:48.) Therefore, this is referred not only unto the apostolical function, but because they saw Christ with their eyes after that he was risen from the dead; although I do also grant that this second thing is comprehended under these words, because it is likely that Peter doth make mention of that function which was committed unto him, to the end he may purchase the greater authority.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v15 Who hath life in himself, and giveth life to…
Who hath life in himself, and giveth life to others.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and…
13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Ver. 13. Denied him] Crying out, We have no king but Caesar, Joh 19:15;
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13–15 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of…
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob; he mentions them, because the promise of the Messiah was made to them,
Hath glorified his Son Jesus; or his servant, for so also he is called, Isa 53:11; and that he might redeem us, he took upon him the form of a servant, and was obedient to the death of the cross, and did that great work of redemption which God sent him into the world to do.
Read full note →
Whom ye delivered up; the rulers, at whose command our blessed Saviour was apprehended, bound, and delivered unto Pilate, Mat 27:1,2.
And denied him; this is charged upon the common sort of people also, who were earnest in crying, Mat 27:25, His blood be on us, and on our children. Their sin is here ripped up, and their sore searched to the quick, that they might entertain the word of salvation with the greater attention and desire.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v13 Observe her, 1. How St. Peter lays hold upon…
Observe her, 1. How St. Peter lays hold upon this opportunity, (when the people are gathered together to gaze upon this lame beggar) to preach a second awakening sermon to the Jews; in which he rebukes them sharply for their cursed contempt of Christ, and the horrible indignities offered to him.
1. They denied him although he was an holy and Just One.
Read full note →
2. They delivered him up to Pilate when he was inclined to let him go.
3. They preferred Barabbas, the worst of men, and a murtherer, before Jesus, the best of men, and a Saviour.
4. They murthered the Messias, called the Prince of life, because he came to bring life into the world.
Where note, that though probably none of the Jews then and there present, did actually nail Christ unto his cross, yet they having given their consent unto it, they are charged with killing the Lord of life. A plenary and full consent to the sins of others, makes us deeply guilty of others’ sins: Ye delivered up and denied the Holy One; ye have crucified the Lord of life. Act 3:15
Observe, 2. How St. Peter ascribes the whole of his miracle to the power of faith; Through faith in his name, and the faith which is by him, hath given this man perfect soundness in the presence of you all Act 3:16.
Faith is twice named in this one verse, because of the apostle’s faith in working the miracle, and the cripple’s faith in receiving of it, says Dr. Lightfoot: But questionless, it was chiefly the apostle’s faith; for the lame man shewed no faith in Christ before he was healed; he expected an alms, but little thought of receiving the use of his limbs; but the apostle’s firmly relying on the power and promise of Christ for healing, did believe that Christ could and would help and heal him.
Learn hence, That as it is the property and preogative of God to do great things, it is the duty and property of faith to expect great things from God; great expectations from God honour the greatness of God: We dishonour God as much or more, when we believe little, as when we do little.
A great God and a small faith suit not well together; accordingly St. Peter here, knowing the all-sufficiency of Christ’s power, exerts strength of faith, and through faith in the name of Christ, makes this man whole.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–15 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of…
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,.... These titles and epithets of God, which are used in the Old Testament, Exo 3:6 the apostle chooses to retain, partly to distinguish him from the gods of the Gentiles, and partly to show his regard to the God of Israel, the one, only true, and living God; and that, though he and his fellow apostles were preachers of Christ, yet they were not setters forth of another, or a strange God, but believed in the same God their forefathers did, and to whom they ascribe the glory of this miracle:
the God hath glorified his Son Jesus; by raising him from the dead, setting him at his own right hand, and giving him the gifts of the Spirit for men; which he having bestowed on the apostles, by virtue of this they wrought this miracle, which was a means of setting forth the glory of Christ, and of putting men upon glorifying him, or ascribing honour and glory to him. And in order to awaken their minds, to convict them of their sin, ingratitude, and folly, the apostle adds,
Read full note →
whom ye delivered up; to Pilate, the Roman governor; having first seized him as a thief, bound him as a malefactor, and arraigned, and condemned him to death in the high priest's palace as a blasphemer:
and denied him in the presence of Pilate; or "to", or "against the face of Pilate"; contrary to his sense of things, who more than once called him the King of the Jews, and wrote this as the superscription over him, when they denied him to be their King Messiah, and the Son of God, saying, they had no king but Caesar:
when he was determined to let him go; or release him; that is, "when he judged it right that he should be released", as the Syriac version renders it; for he never came to a point, to a resolution to let him go; though he thought it was but just and equitable that he should be dismissed, being, in his apprehension, an innocent man; and therefore pressed it on the people to agree to release him, to which he was himself strongly inclined.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13–14 The God of our fathers - This was wisely…
The God of our fathers - This was wisely introduced in the beginning of his discourse, that it might appear they taught no new religion, inconsistent with that of Moses, and were far from having the least design to divert their regards from the God of Israel. Hath glorified his Son - By this miracle, whom ye delivered up - When God had given him to you, and when ye ought to have received him as a most precious treasure, and to have preserved him with all your power.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Verse 13. The God of Abraham, c.] This was…
Verse 13. The God of Abraham, c.] This was wisely introduced, to show them that HE whom they called their God had acknowledged Jesus Christ for his Son, and wrought this miracle in his name and, by thus honouring Jesus whom they slew, he had charged home the guilt of that murder upon them.
Denied him in the presence of Pilate] ηρνησασθε, Ye have renounced him as your king, and denounced him to death as a malefactor, when Pilate, convinced of his perfect innocence, was determined, κριναντος, judged it proper and just, to let him go. Pilate wished to act according to justice; you acted contrary to justice and equity in all their forms.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13–15 The God of Abraham - He is called the…
The God of Abraham - He is called the God of Abraham because Abraham acknowledged him as his God, and because God showed himself to be his friend. Compare Mat 22:32; Exo 3:6, Exo 3:15; Gen 28:13; Gen 26:24. It was important to show that it was the same God who had done this that had been acknowledged by their fathers, and that they were not about to introduce the worship of any other God. And it was especially important, because the promise had been made to Abraham that in his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, Gen 12:3. Compare Gal 3:16.
Hath glorified - Has honored. You denied, despised, and murdered him, but God has exalted and honored him. This miracle was done in the “name” of Jesus, Act 3:6. It was the “power of God” that had restored the man; and by putting forth this power, God had shown that he approved the work of his Son, and was disposed to honor him in the view of people. Compare Joh 17:1; Eph 1:20-22; Phi 2:9-11; Heb 2:9; Rev 1:5-18.
Read full note →
Ye delivered up - That is, you delivered him to the omans to be put to death. See the notes on Act 2:23.
And denied him in the presence of Pilate - Denied that he was the Messiah. Were unwilling to own him as your long-expected King, Joh 19:15.
When he was determined ... - Mat 27:17-25; Luk 23:16-23. Pilate was satisfied of his innocence; but he was weak, timid, and irresolute, and he yielded to their wishes. The fact that Pilate regarded him as innocent was a strong aggravation of their crime. They should have regarded him as innocent; but they urged on his condemnation against the deliberate judgment of him before whom they had arraigned him, and thus showed how obstinately they were resolved on his death.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Who does not admire, in this second discourse of…
Who does not admire, in this second discourse of St. Peter, as well as in his first, the prudence and discretion, with which he blames the Jews? He reproaches them, but with such mildness, as not to offend them, and dispenses to them truths in proportion to their capacity to bear them; after the example of his master and Saviour, he sweetens the bitterness of the truth, by furnishing them with an excuse. They sinned through ignorance. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 The God of Abraham, &c.--(See on Act 2:22; Act…
The God of Abraham, &c.--(See on Act 2:22; Act 2:36).
hath glorified his Son Jesus--rather, "his Servant Jesus," as the same word is rendered in Mat 12:18, but in that high sense in which Isaiah applies it always to Messiah (Isa 42:1; Isa 49:6; Isa 52:13; Isa 53:11). When "Son" is intended a different word is used.
Read full note →
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!
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 13. The God of Abraham—This is no foreign false…
13. The God of Abraham—This is no foreign false miracle opposed to Jehovah and condemned by Moses; on the contrary it is in the Abrahamic line, under the sanction of God, and by the true Messiah. Peter presents next a striking series of contrasts, which at once honour Jesus and condemn his Jewish hearers. God glorified Jesus; they surrendered him. Pilate would have freed him, and they denied him. They rejected the Holy One, and preferred a murderer. They destroyed the life of the Prince of Life. They killed, but God raised to life.
His Son. Rather, παιδα, servant, the Septuagint epithet of the Messiah in Isaiah 40:65, and therefore a claim of Messiahship for Jesus.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. hath glorified his Son Jesus] The Greek is…
13. hath glorified his Son Jesus] The Greek is not υἱός but παῖς, and should be rendered Servant, and this would carry the mind back, as St Peter no doubt intended, to Isa_42:1, “Behold my servant whom I uphold,” a passage which St Matthew (Mat_12:18) applies to Jesus.
denied him in the presence of Pilate] alluding to Pilate’s question (Joh_19:15), “Shall I crucify your king?” to which they answered, “We have no king but Cæsar.”
Read full note →
when he was determined, &c.] Rather, when he had given sentence to release him. For Pilate had pronounced Jesus innocent (Joh_19:4).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 (13) The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and…
(13) The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.—Here again we have an echo of our Lord’s teaching. That Name had been uttered in the precincts of the Temple, not improbably in the self-same portico, as part of our Lord’s constructive proof of the resurrection of the dead (Mat_22:32). Now it was heard again in connection with the witness borne by the Apostles that He Himself had risen. (See also Note on Act_7:32.)
Hath glorified his Son Jesus.—Better, Servant. The word is that used throughout the later chanters of Isaiah for “the servant of Jehovah” (Isa_42:1; Isa_48:20; Isa_52:13; Isa_53:11). It meets us again in Act_3:26; Act_4:27; Act_4:30, and as applied to Christ, is peculiar to the Acts, with the exception of the citation from Isaiah in Mat_12:18. It is, therefore, more distinctive than “Son” would have been, and implies the general Messianic interpretation of the prophetic language in which it is so prominent.
Read full note →
When he was determined.—Better, when he had decided; the word implying, not a purpose only, but a formal act, as in Luk_23:16.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Servant for Son, A.V.; before the face for in…
Servant for Son, A.V.; before the face for in the presence, A.V.; had for was, A.V.; release him for let him go, A.V. The God of Abraham, etc. The continuity of the New Testament with the Old Testament stands out remarkably in St. Peter"s address. He speaks to the "men of Israel," and he connects the present miracle with all that God had (lone to their fathers in days gone by. He does not seem conscious of any break or transition, or of any change of posture or position. Only a new incident, long since promised by the prophets, has been added. "tie thrusts himself upon the fathers of old, lest he should appear to be introducing a new doctrine" (Chrysostom). God... hath glorified his Servant Jesus. Servant is manifestly right (so St. Chrysostom). It is the constant meaning of paiv in the LXX; son is always uiJov (see ver. 26; Act_4:27, 30 Mat_12:18) the A.V. has "servant.". (For the Old Testament usage, see Isa_42:1 Isa_52:13 Isa_53:11) Delivered up; paredwkate, different from the ekdoton of Act_2:23. (where see note) The word is applied to the action of Judas in delivering up Jesus into the hands of the chief priests, (Joh_19:11) and to the action of Pilate in sending Jesus to execution (Luk_23:25; Joh_19:16) Here it is spoken of the whole action of the Jews in procuring the death of Jesus. Denied before the face of Pilate. The reference is exact to Luk_23:13-23. To release him. There is a verbal agreement with Luk_23:16, Luk_23:17, Luk_23:20.
Vers. 13-15. The apostolic witness to Christ.
Read full note →
Our Lord distinctly appointed the apostles as his witnesses. (Act_1:8) In these their early sermons or addresses, we may find the points which they considered were specially entrusted to them to declare. They would be sure to give first the basis or foundation facts on which the Christian system rested, and then gradually unfold the various doctrines which were embodied in those facts. Their central, foundation fact was their Lord"s resurrection. It even seems that, at first, the Resurrection stood out more prominently before the apostles" minds than the sacrifical death. The precise proportions and relations of the Christian truths became matters of later adjustment; and, indeed, we are still trying to get them complete and satisfactory. Very many of the modern doctrinal controversies and sectarian disputes are occasioned by a failing sense of the proportions and relations in the whole of truth; some things are exaggerated and some underestimated; men fight hard for pieces of truth, as if they were the whole. The true work, worthy to engage all our thought and heart, is the fair estimate of all the various pieces, and the skilful setting of each in its fitting place. In the early preaching of the apostles may also be noticed how they seem to stand aside, so that Christ, their Lord and Master, only may be seen and honored. In this following the example of that Master, for he seemed ever to be stepping aside in order that men may fully see the Father. And in this also showing to us what is the essential spirit of all Christian preaching. The preacher"s self must never be prominent; we may only set forth "Christ Jesus the Lord." The scene in "Solomon"s porch," or portico, may be described. It was on the eastern side of the temple, and "consisted of a double row of Corinthian columns, about thirty-seven feet high. It was, like the porticoes of all Greek cities, a favorite place of resort, especially as facing the morning sun in winter". (Joh_10:23) In this same portico Jesus himself had taught. The prominent points concerning the Lord Jesus presented by St. Peter are
I JEHOVAH SENT AND ACKNOWLEDGED HIM. (Ver. 13.) The word Son would be better Servant, and then the passage, (Isa_42:1) "Behold my Servant, whom I uphold," is at once brought to mind. In addressing the Jews, it was necessary to show that no claim was made for Jesus Christ as a new and independent God; the teaching of his divinity was consistent with both the teaching of the Divine Unity, which was the Jews" great truth, and the teaching of the Divine Trinity, which is the great Christian truth. To the Jew a new God must be a false God, for Jehovah is one. Messengers of Jehovah they could receive. Manifestations of Jehovah they could accept. The conception of the "Son of God" was not to them an impossible one. And therefore our Lord so earnestly pressed that the Father God had sent him; and the apostles urge that Jehovah"s seal of acceptance rested on him and on his work. This truth is needed still. We cannot rest in the salvation wrought by Christ unless we can fully see that it is God"s salvation. (see Joh_3:16)
II MEN DENIED HIS MISSION, AND CRUCIFIED HIM. (Ver. 13.) St. Peter gives the fact-Jesus was "delivered up;" and the aggravation of the fact the clamors of malice actually overcame the natural sense of justice in the Roman governor. In reminding the people of this, St. Peter declares the Moral character of their act; and charges home upon the people the guilt of the judicial murder of no less a person than the national Messiah. For the actual denial of Christ, see Joh_19:15; and for the purpose of Pilate to release Christ, Joh_19:4. The fact of the denial ismade the basis of the appeal for repentance. The fact of the crucifixion is urged as the guarantee of his actual death. Such enemies as they were would never leave their work imperfect.
III HE WAS FREE FROM CRIME, AND JUST BEFORE MEN AND GOD. (Ver. 14.) The personal innocence of Jesus aggravates the iniquity of those who secured his death; but it also bears directly upon the work of redemption that he wrought. Had he to bear the true burden of penalty for his own sins, he could not be the efficient Burden-bearer for others. Had he spot, stain, or blemish, he could not be the acceptable sacrifice for humanity, which must he the "Lamb without blemish." Show how much is made, in the Epistles, of the personal innocence and perfect virtue of the Savior. "Holy, harmless, undefiled," etc.
IV HE WAS THE PRINCE AND AUTHOR OF SALVATION AND LIFE. (Ver. 15.) For the term "Prince of life," see Act_5:31; Heb_2:10 Heb_12:2. It means, "He who is the source whence life and salvation flow." The chief thought in St. Peter"s mind is that of the Resurrection. He who conquered death is "Prince of life," and has power to give life. St. John also says, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." Our Lord himself said," I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; I am come that they might have life;" "I give unto them eternal life." The worthy apprehension of what Christ is, and can do, makes the Jewish denial and crucifixion of him seem a most hateful crime; and our long neglect of him our unspeakable shame. (Heb_2:3, Heb_2:4)
V HIS MESSIAHSHIP, HIS MISSION, AND HIS POWER TO SAVE, ARE, ONCE FOR ALL, AND SUFFICIENTLY, DECLARED IN HIS RESURRECTION. (Ver. 15.) If that resurrection be a fact and to it all the apostles and disciples give witness, and on the literal truth of it St. Paul is even willing to stake the Christian system then there are important inferences to be drawn from the fact, and especially this one: Jesus is the Christ. Therefore to him every knee should bow, and to him every sin-burdened heart should seek. So it is seen that the apostles were true preachers, model preachers; they set Jesus forth, and bid all eyes look to him. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v13 The God of Abraham … hath glorified His Son…
Act_3:13-16
The God of Abraham … hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up.
Read full note →
St. Peters testimony
I. The vindication of Christianity from a Jewish standpoint. The God of Abraham, etc., not God generally considered, but God in relations acknowledged by the Jews--the God of Abraham, as such, had glorified Jesus. If this were the case, then Judaism was logically at an end. The God of Abraham, in a sense, had glorified Moses, and had so terminated the patriarchal dispensation, which every good Jew would acknowledge was thereby legitimately closed, and religion thus advanced a stage. Now the same God had glorified the great Teacher whom Moses had predicted (Act_3:22), under whom the legal dispensation must pass into the Christian. When that Teacher came He said, as Moses might have said, I come not to destroy, but to fulfil, and when He died He exclaimed, It is finished. By glorifying Jesus, therefore, God put His seal upon the further advance which religion had made out of Judaism into Christianity. A true servant of the God of Abraham was thus logically a Christian.
II. The glorification of the humiliated Christ.
1. No depth of Christs degradation is here left unexplored.
(1) He who claimed to command legions of angels was delivered up.
(2) He who demanded the profoundest homage and the complete allegiance was destined.
(3) This denial came from His own for whom He had done so much, and to whose loyalty He had every right.
(4) It took place in the presence of a heathen governor, whose jurisdiction was thereby acknowledged, and in spite of even his protestations.
(5) And to crown all the release of a murderer was demanded, while the Prince of Life was handed over to the Cross.
2. The glorification reversed all this. Deep as Christ descended it was higher that He rose.
(1) Jesus was released from a more terrible than Roman tyranny after Jews and Romans had been allowed to do their worst.
(2) The belief and confession of the apostles then, and of adoring Christians since, more than compensates for the denial before Pilate--the inveterate denial which has since characterised the stubborn race. The grand testimony of Paul before Felix, Festus and Nero makes atonement for the shameful denial of Caiaphas and his rabble before the Roman judge--not to mention the innumerable testimonies all through Christian history which, before princes and governors have been borne to Christ.
(3) That Cross to which Christ was nailed gave Him power to give life to dead humanity, and that power He now wields from the throne of heaven.
III. The inveterate depravity of the human heart--the denial of the Holy One and the preference of a murderer. Here sin is seen in its ghastliest development, but the ghastliness lies in the circumstances. We are horrified at the Crucifixion, but the Crucifixion was only a detail, the denial was the essence of the act. And this denial of Christ, and the preference of one who is a murderer from the beginning is normal. The sinner is doing to-day that the only logical outcome of which is crucifixion, and letting loose the devil on his life. This is what is being done on a large scale, and the same is being done on a smaller. What is history but the record of the preference of murderers to deliverers? What was the reward of Socrates, of Savonarola, of Cromwell, of the early Christian martyrs, and later Protestant confessors?
IV. The impotence of seeming might and the power of apparent weakness. The power of Rome was at its greatest, and the malignancy and craft of Judaism most intense and concentrated, and both were exerted to crush the Prophet of Nazareth. And both said that He was crushed--killed upon a cross and shut up in a carefully guarded tomb. And then it might seem was that poor, weak Prophet at His weakest and poorest. Who could help Him now? Himself. The Prince of Life, could not be holden of death; and that stone cut without hands has crushed in succession the mightiest despotisms that have dominated the race. And that the weakness of God is stronger than the power of man, let the history of all great and beneficent monuments bear witness. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. The leader is killed but the cause flourishes. The thinker starves; but his thoughts become the potent forces of the world. The inventor dies of a broken heart with the products of his genius lying in ruins around him; but his invention lives, and helps to make civilisation what it is.
V. The potency of faith--Of all things the weakest in the worlds estimate. Are there not circles in which faith and folly are convertible terms? And on what does this faith rest? On what the world would call an accomplished failure. Stark imbecility--then says the world. But here, again, God chooses the weak things to confound the mighty; for in this early instance of its exercise it accomplished what all the science of the world before and since has failed to do; it gave a man perfect physical soundness. And here, and here alone, is the cure for personal, social, literary, commercial, national unsoundness. Everything else has failed. Let this be tried on a large scale, and faith in Christ will give perfect soundness to a crippled world. (J. W. Burn.)
Men denying the Just One
I. The Person against whom the outrage was perpetrated. Men thought Him a mere Jew; and yet He possessed a universality and fervour of love inconsistent with the Jewish character generally. Men regarded Him as only a carpenter; and yet He evinced a strength of mind and soul which enabled Him to grapple with Divine things altogether beyond the grasp of the Jewish doctors. Men thought Him a mere man; and yet there were profound depths and majestic heights about His nature, which entirely separated Him from the common herd.
1. He looked like a man; but His words proved Him more.
2. He looked like a man; but His works proved Him more.
3. He looked like a man; but His life proved Him more.
II. The nature of the outrage that was enacted.
1. It was the culminating act of human transgression.
2. It was sin against their highest good.
III. The outcome of it all. God turned the curse into a blessing. He made the wrath of man to praise Him.
1. From the death of Christ came deliverance from the curse.
2. From Christs death came the magic force which conquered mans rebellion.
Sinais terrors and the Levitical law failed to evoke the deep affection and fervent devotion of men. But the Cross of Christ succeeded. (Homilist.)
The rejection of Christ
How terrible an evil this was Peter showed--
I. By the testimony of a heathen. The sentiment of common humanity was against this treatment. How often has the conduct of professors shocked the prayerless.
II. By the nature of the thing itself. This is set forth in an awful gradation. The rejected One was--
1. Spotless.
2. Righteous.
3. The Prince of Life, without whose interposition no man could have had life.
4. Gods own chosen Servant.
Those who in rejecting Him had repudiated purity, justice, needful grace, and indispensable Divine service, might well prefer a murderer. What is reserved for those who now reject Christ with clearer light and further knowledge?
III. By Gods manifest opposition to it.
1. Men put Jesus to death, but God raised Him from the dead.
2. Men cast Him out, but God declared Him to be His accepted servant by the Resurrection.
Men thought the Crucifixion would put an end to His influence, but God augmented that influence by the energy of the Holy Ghost which empowered the apostles. The argument showed that they had been fighting against God, and that God had completely overcome their evil course.
IV. By the keen rebuke which the apostles were directed to keep up. Whereof we are witnesses. (W. Hudson.)
Ye killed the Prince of Life.--
The Prince of Life
The title suggests--
I. That Jesus is the source of life.
1. Of natural life. In Him we live and move, etc. It is only for Him to say to dead Lazarus Come forth, and He proves Himself to be the source of life. Let us not, then, deny Him the use of the faculties He has given.
2. Of spiritual life. H we admit that we cannot give ourselves physical life, how absurd to think we can give ourselves spiritual life. And yet multitudes are under this delusion. It is only by Christs almighty fiat that the dead in trespasses and sins can hear the voice of the Son of God and live.
3. Of eternal life. Jesus is the life of all the joy, the glory, and the love of heaven.
II. That life centres in Him as regards sensible enjoyment of it. The common comforts of Christ without Christ are monotonous and miserable; but if Christ be enjoyed in them, if He be eaten with our bread, received with our water, breathed with our air, then life has a blessedness and a dignity conferred upon it which the world knows nothing of.
III. That He sustains the life he gives. He giveth power to the faint, as well as life to the dead. Does the life of faith, of hope, of love, wane through trial and loss and disappointment? Christ has inexhaustible resources of vitality for their invigoration. Dost thou fear lest thou shouldest lose thy little life in the fierce conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil? Hear His promise, They shall never perish.
IV. That He brings life to fruition. Be thou faithful unto death, etc.
V. That He does all this in a princely manner. I am come that they might have life … abundantly. (J. Irons.)
We are witnesses.--
Sworn testimony
In the days of George Stephenson some scientists proved conclusively that a rail-train could never be driven by steam power; but the rushing expresses have made all the world witnesses of the splendid achievement. It was proved conclusively that a steamer could never cross the Atlantic; but the work was done, and the passengers on the Cunard and the Inman Lines are witnesses. There went up a guffaw of laughter from some of the wise men at Professor Morses proposition to make lightning his errand-boy, and it was proved conclusively that the thing could never be done; but now the news of the wide world, put in your hands every morning and night, has made all nations witnesses. In the time of Christ it was proved conclusively that it was impossible for a man to rise from the dead. The disciples took the witness-stand to prove to be true what the wiseacres of the day had proved to be impossible. Now let me play the sceptic for a moment. There is no God, for I have never seen Him with my physical eyesight. Your Bible is a pack of contradictions. There never was a miracle. Your religion is an imposition on the credulity of the ages. There is a suppressed feeling which would like to cry out in behalf of the truth of our glorious Christianity. We are witnesses! If this world is ever brought to God, it will not be through argument, but through testimony. You might cover the whole earth with learned treatises in defence of religion--you would not convert a soul. In order to have faith we must have testimony, and if five hundred men get up and tell me that they have felt the religion of Jesus Christ a joy, an inspiration, I am bound as a fair-minded man to accept their testimony. I want to put before you three propositions, the truth of which I think you will attest with overwhelming unanimity.
I. We are witnesses that the religion of Christ is able to convert a soul. You say conversion is only an imaginary thing. We know better. People laughed at the missionaries in Madagascar because they preached ten years without one convert; but there are thirty-three thousand converts in Madagascar to-day. People laughed at Dr. Judson because he kept on preaching five years without a single convert; but there are twenty thousand Baptist Christians in Burmah to-day. People laughed at Dr. Morrison for preaching seven years without a single conversion; but there are fifteen thousand Christians in China to-day. People laughed at the missionaries for preaching at Tahiti and in Bengal years without a single conversion; yet in all those lands there are multitudes of Christians to-day. But why go so far to find evidence? We are witnesses. We were so proud that no man could have humbled us; we were so hard that no earthly power could have melted us. But one day a power seized us, from which we tried to wrench ourselves, but could not. It flung us on our knees, and when we arose we were as much changed as Gourgis the heathen. He went into prayer-meeting with a dagger and a gun, but the next day was found crying: Oh, my great sins! Oh, my great Saviour! For eleven years be preached the gospel of Christ to his fellow-mountaineers, and the last words on his dying lips were, Free grace! Oh, it was free grace! There is a man who was for ten years a hard drinker. The dreadful appetite had sent down its roots until they were interlinked with the vitals of body, mind, and soul; but he has not taken any stimulants for two years. What did that? Not temperance societies. Not prohibition laws, Not moral suasion. Conversion did it, Why, said one upon whom the great change had come, sir, I feel just as though I were somebody else! There is a sea captain who swore all the way from New York to Havana, and from Havana to San Francisco, and when he was in port he was worse than when he was on the sea. What power was it that washed his tongue clean of profanities, and made him sing to the glory of God? Conversion. There are thousands who are no more what they once were than a water-lily is nightshade, or a morning lark a vulture, or day night.
II. We are witnesses that the gospel has the power to comfort. When a man has trouble the world says: Now get your mind off this; go out and breathe the fresh air! plunge deeper into business. What poor advice. Get your mind off of it I when everything reminds you of what you have lost. They might as well advise you to stop thinking. Take a walk in the fresh air I Why, along that very road your dead wife once accompanied you. Go deeper into business! Why, she was associated with all your ambition, and since she has gone you have no ambition left. And yet you have been comforted. How was it done? Did Christ come to you and say: Get your mind off this, etc. No. There was a minute when He came to you, and He breathed something into your soul that gave peace, so that you could take out the photograph of the departed one and say: It is all right; she is better off; I would not call her back. There are Christian parents who are willing to testify to the power of this gospel to comfort. Your son had just graduated and was going into business, and the Lord took him. Or your daughter had just left the school, and you thought she was going to be a useful woman and of long life, but the Lord took her. Or the little child came home with the hot fever that stopped not for the agonised prayer, or for the skilful physician. What has enabled you to stand all the trial? Oh, you say, I threw myself at the feet of a sympathising Saviour, and when I was too weak to pray, or to look up, He breathed into me a peace that I think must be the foretaste of that heaven where there is neither tear, nor a farewell, nor a grave. Is there power in this gospel to soothe the heart? There comes up an answer from comforted widowhood, and orphanage, and childlessness, saying--
III. We are witnesses that religion has power to give composure in the last moment. We are very apt when we want to bring illustrations of dying triumph to go back to some distinguished personage--to a John Knox, or a Harriett Newell. Such illustrations are of no use to me to-night. I want you for witnesses. I want to know whether you have seen or heard anything that makes you believe that the religion of Christ gives composure in the final hour? Oh yes, you say; I saw my father and mother depart. How did they seem to act? Were they very much frightened? Did they take hold of this world with both hands as though they did not want to give it up? Oh, no, you say; she had a kind word for us all, and there were a few mementos distributed among the children, and then she told us how kind we must be to our father in his loneliness, and then she kissed us good-bye and went asleep as calmly as a child in a cradle. What made her so composed? Natural courage? No, you say, mother was very nervous; it was because she was so good. Here are people who say, I saw a Christian brother die, and he triumphed. And some one else, I saw a Christian sister die, and she triumphed. Conclusion: You see I have not put before you to-night anything like guess-work, but affidavits of the best men and women, living and dead. Two witnesses in court will establish a fact. Here are not two witnesses, but millions. If ten men should come to you when you are sick and say they had the same sickness, and took a certain medicine and it cured them, you would probably take it. Now, suppose ten other men should come up and say, We dont believe there is anything in that medicine. Well, I say, have you ever tried it? No, I never tried it, but I dont believe there is anything in it. Of course you discredit their testimony. The sceptic may come and say, There is no power in your religion. Have you ever tried it? No, no. Then avaunt! (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 13. The God of Abraham. The God of the…
13. The God of Abraham. The God of the patriarchs whom they all worshiped hath glorified his Son Jesus. They delivered him to Pilate, and denied him when Pilate would release him, but demanded a murderer, instead of the Holy One, and slew him. This One God had raised and glorified. A wonderful contrast; a terrible arraignment.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. Here Peter boldly certifies to the multitude that…
13. Here Peter boldly certifies to the multitude that the same Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, had so miraculously restored the notable cripple at the Beautiful Gate.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v14
Acts
‘THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP AS AN HART’
Read full note →
‘THE PRINCE OF LIFE’
Act 3:14 - Act 3:15.
This early sermon of Peter’s, to the people, is marked by a comparative absence of the highest view of Christ’s person and work. It is open to us to take one of two explanations of that fact. We may either say that the Apostle was but learning the full significance of the marvellous events that had passed so recently, or we may say that he suited his words to his audience, and did not declare all that he knew.
At the same time, we should not overlook the significance of the Christology which it does contain. ‘His child Jesus’ is really a translation of Isaiah’s ‘Servant of the Lord.’ ‘The Holy One and the Just’ is a distinct assertion of Jesus’ perfect, sinless manhood, and ‘the Prince of Life’ plainly asserts Jesus to be the Lord and Source of it.
Notice, too, the pathetic ‘denied’: was Peter thinking of the shameful hour in his own experience? It is a glimpse into the depth of his penitence, and the tenderness with others’ sins which it had given him, that he twice uses the word here, as if he had said ‘You have done no more than I did myself. It is not for me to heap reproaches on you. We have been alike in sin-and I can preach forgiveness to you sinners, because I have received it for myself.’
Notice, too, the manifold antitheses of the words. Barabbas is set against Christ; the Holy One and the Just against a robber, the Prince of Life against a murderer. ‘You killed’-’the Prince of Life.’ ‘You killed’-’God raised.’
There are here three paradoxes, three strange and contradictory things: the paradoxes of man’s perverted and fatal choice, of man’s hate bringing death to the Lord of life, and of God’s love and power causing life to come by death.
I. The paradox of man’s fatal choice.
There occurs often in history a kind of irony in which the whole tendency of a time or of a conflict is summed up in a single act, and certainly the fact which is referred to here is one of these. Let us put it as it would have seemed to an onlooker then, leaving out for the moment any loftier meaning which may attach to it.
Peter’s words here, thus boldly addressed to the people, are a strong testimony to the impression which the character of Christ had made on His contemporaries. ‘The Holy One and the Just’ implies moral perfection. The whole narrative of the Crucifixion brings out that impression. Pilate’s wife speaks with awe of ‘that just person.’ ‘Which of you convinceth me of sin?’ ‘If I have done evil, bear witness of the evil.’ ‘I find no fault in Him.’ We may take it for granted that the impression Jesus made among His contemporaries was, at the lowest, that He was a pure and good man.
The nation had to choose one of two. Jesus was the one; who was the other? A man half brigand, half rebel, who had raised some petty revolt against Rome, more as a pretext for robbery and crime than from patriotism, and whose hands reeked with blood. And this was the nation’s hero!
The juxtaposition throws a strong light on the people’s motive for rejecting Jesus. The rulers may have condemned Him for blasphemy, but the people had a more practical reason, and in it no doubt the rulers shared. It was not because He claimed to be the Messiah that they gave Him up to Pilate, but because He would not meet their notions of what the Messiah should be and do. If He had called them to arms, not a man of them would have betrayed Him to Pilate, but all, or the more daring of them, would have rallied to His standard. Their hate was the measure of their deep disappointment with His course. If instead of showing love and meekness, He had blown up the coals of religious hatred; if instead of going about doing good, He had mustered the men of lawless Galilee for a revolt, would these fawning hypocrites have dragged him to Pilate on the charge of forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and of claiming to be a King? Why, there was not one of them but would have been glad to murder every tax-gatherer in Palestine, not one of them but bore inextinguishable in his inmost heart the faith in ‘one Christ a King.’ And if that meek and silent martyr had only lifted His finger, He might have had legions of His accusers at His back, ready to sweep Pilate and his soldiers out of Jerusalem. They saw Christ’s goodness and holiness. It did not attract them. They wanted a Messiah who would bring them outward freedom by the use of outward weapons, and so they all shouted ‘Not this man but Barabbas!’ The whole history of the nation was condensed in that one cry-their untamable obstinacy, their blindness to the light of God, their fierce grasp of the promises which they did not understand, their hard worldliness, their cruel patriotism, their unquenchable hatred of their oppressors, which was only equalled by their unquenchable hatred of those who showed them the only true way for deliverance.
And this strange paradox is not confined to these Jews. It is repeated wherever Christ is presented to men. We are told that all men naturally admire goodness, and so on. Men mostly know it when they see it, but I doubt whether they all either admire or like it. People generally had rather have something more outward and tangible. It is not spiritualising this incident, but only referring it to the principle of which it is an illustration, to ask you to see in it the fatal choice of multitudes. Christ is set before us all, and His beauty is partially seen but is dimmed by externals. Men’s desires are fixed on gross sensuous delights, or on success in business, or on intellectual eminence, or on some of the thousand other visible and temporal objects that outshine, to vulgar eyes, the less dazzling lustre of the things unseen. They appreciate these, and make heroes of the men who have won them. These are their ideals, but of Jesus they have little care.
And is it not true that all such competitors of His, when they lead men to prefer them to Him, are ‘murderers,’ in a sadder sense than Barabbas was? Do they not slay the souls of their admirers? Is it not but too ghastly a reality that all who thus choose them draw down ruin on themselves and ‘love death’?
This fatal paradox is being repeated every day in the lives of thousands. The crowds who yelled, ‘Not this man but Barabbas!’ were less guilty and less mad than those who to-day cry, ‘Not Jesus but worldly wealth, or fleeting bodily delights, or gratified ambition!’
II. The paradox of Death’s seeming conquest over the Lord of Life.
The word rendered ‘Prince’ means an originator, and hence a leader and hence a lord. Whether Peter had yet reached a conception of the divinity of Jesus or not, he had clearly reached a much higher one of Him than he had attained before His death. In some sense he was beginning to recognise that His relation to ‘life’ was loftier and more mysterious than that of other men. Was it His death only that thus elevated the disciples’ thoughts of Jesus? Strange that if He died and there an end, such a result should have followed. One would have expected His death to have shattered their faith in Him, but somehow it strengthened their faith. Why did they not all continue to lament, as did the two of them on the road to Emmaus: ‘We trusted that this had been He who should have redeemed Israel’-but now we trust no more, and our dreams are buried in His grave? Why did they not go back to Galilee and their nets? What raised their spirits, their courage, and increased their understanding of Him, and their faith in Him? How came His death to be the occasion of consolidating, not of shattering, their fellowship? How came Peter to be so sure that a man who had died was the ‘Prince of Life’? The answer, the only one psychologically possible, is in what Peter here proclaims to unwilling ears, ‘Whom God raised from the dead.’
The fact of the Resurrection sets the fact of the Death in another light. Meditating on these twin facts, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, we hear Himself speaking as He did to John in Patmos: ‘I am the Living One who became dead, and lo, I am alive for evermore!’
If we try to listen with the ears of these first hearers of Peter’s words, we shall better appreciate his daring paradox. Think of the tremendous audacity of the claim which they make, that Jesus should be the ‘Prince of Life,’ and of the strange contradiction to it which the fact that they ‘killed’ Him seems to give. How could death have power over the Prince of Life? That sounds as if, indeed, the ‘sun were turned into darkness,’ or as if fire became ice. That brief clause ‘ye killed the Prince of Life’ must have seemed sheer absurdity to the hearers whose hands were still red with the blood of Jesus.
But there is another paradox here. It was strange that death should be able to invade that Life, but it is no less strange that men should be able to inflict it. But we must not forget that Jesus died, not because men slew Him, but because He willed to die. The whole of the narratives of the Crucifixion in the Gospels avoid using the word ‘death.’ Such expressions as He ‘gave up the ghost,’ or the like, are used, implying what is elsewhere distinctly asserted, that His death was His offering of Himself, the result of His own volition, not of exhaustion or of torture. Thus, even in dying, He showed Himself the Lord of Life and the Master of Death. Men indeed fastened Jesus to the Cross, but He died, not because He was so fastened, but because He willed to ‘make His soul an offering for sin.’ Bound as it were to a rock in the midst of the ocean, He, of His own will, and at His own time, bowed His head, and let the waves of the sea of death roll over it.
III. The triumphant divine paradox of life given and death conquered through a death.
Jesus is ‘Prince’ in the sense of being source of life to mankind, just because He died. Hie death is the death of Death. His apparent defeat is His real victory.
By His death He takes away our sins.
By His death He abolishes death.
The physical fact remains, but all else which makes the ‘sting of death’ to men is gone. It is no more a solitude, for He has died, and thereby He becomes a companion in that hour to every lover of His. Its darkness changes into light to those who, by ‘following Him,’ have, even there, ‘the light of life.’ This Samson carried away the gates of the prison on His own strong shoulders when He came forth from it. It is His to say, ‘O death! I will be thy plague.’
By His death He diffuses life.
‘The Spirit was not given’ till Jesus was ‘glorified,’ which glorification is John’s profound synonym for His crucifixion. When the alabaster box of His pure body was broken, the whole house of humanity was filled with the odour of the ointment.
So the great paradox becomes a blessed truth, that man’s deepest sin works out God’s highest act of Love and Pardon.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv13–15 See notes on verse 11
See notes on verse 11
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 15 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Peter continues his speech to the Jews that he began in Acts 3:12.
Read full note →
rejected before the face of Pilate
Here the phrase "before the face of" means "in the presence of." AT: "rejected in Pilate's presence" (See: Idiom)
when he had decided to release him
"when Pilate had decided to release Jesus"
for a murderer to be released to you
This can be stated in active form. AT: "for Pilate to release a murderer" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
ancestor
glory
servant
Jesus
deliver
face
Pilate
righteous
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 3:15 It was unfathomable to the Jewish mind that…
3:15 It was unfathomable to the Jewish mind that the author of life, God himself, could be killed. They did not recognize Jesus as Messiah (cp. 13:27; Luke 23:34), and they did not realize that the Messiah would be divine (see John 1:1-18; cp. Dan 7:13-14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.