A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy. Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.” He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength. Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God. They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
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Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy. Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.” He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength. Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God. They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Parallel Translations
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A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy.
Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.”
He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them.
But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God.
All the people saw him walking and praising God.
They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
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And ther was a certayne man halt from his mothers wobe who they brought and layde at the gate of the temple called beutifull to axe almes of them that entred into the temple.
Which same when he sawe Peter and Iohn that they wolde in to the temple desyred to receave an almes.
And Peter fastened his eyes on him with Iohn and sayde: looke on vs.
And he gaue hede vnto the trustinge to receave somthinge of them.
Then sayd Peter: Silver and golde have I none suche as I have geve I the. In the name of Iesu Christ of Nazareth ryse vp and walke.
And he toke him by the right honde and lifte him vp. And immediatly his fete and ancle bones receaved strenght.
And he sprage stode and also walked and entred with them into the temple walkinge and leapinge and laudynge God.
And all the people sawe him walke and laude God.
And they knewe him that it was he which sate and begged at the beutifull gate of the temple. And they wondred and were sore astonnyed at that which had happened vnto him.
And as the halt which was healed helde Peter and Iohn all the people ranne amased vnto them in Salomons porche.
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And a certaine man which was a creeple from his mothers wombe, was caried, whom they layde dayly at the gate of the Temple called Beautifull, to aske almes of them that entred into ye Temple.
Who seeing Peter and Iohn, that they would enter into the Temple, desired to receiue an almes.
And Peter earnestly beholding him with Iohn, said, Looke on vs.
And hee gaue heede vnto them, trusting to receiue some thing of them.
Then said Peter, Siluer and gold haue I none, but such as I haue, that giue I thee: In the Name of Iesus Christ of Nazareth, rise vp and walke.
And hee tooke him by the right hand, and lift him vp, and immediately his feete and ankle bones receiued strength.
And he leaped vp, stoode, and walked, and entred with them into the Temple, walking and leaping, and praysing God.
And all the people sawe him walke, and praysing God.
And they knewe him, that it was he which sate for the almes at the Beautifull gate of the Temple: and they were amased, and sore astonied at that, which was come vnto him.
And as the creeple which was healed, held Peter and Iohn, all the people ranne amased vnto them in the porch which is called Salomons.
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Cross-references (67)
- Acts 3:16 (v6) 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…
- Acts 4:10 (v6) may it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God…
- Acts 10:38 (v6) even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were…
- Acts 9:34 (v6) Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!” Immediately he arose.
- Mark 16:17 (v6) These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages;
Show all 67 cross-references
- Acts 16:18 (v6) She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus…
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 (v6) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty…
- James 2:5 (v6) Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he…
- Acts 4:7 (v6) When they had stood Peter and John in the middle of them, they inquired, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
- Mark 1:31 (v7) He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her immediately, and she served them.
- Mark 9:27 (v7) But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose.
- Acts 2:22 (v6) “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by…
- Acts 2:36 (v6) “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- Acts 14:8 (v2) At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked.
- Acts 14:9-10 (v4) He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, said with a loud voice,…
- 1 Peter 4:10 (v6) As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.
- Matthew 7:22 (v6) Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty…
- Matthew 10:9 (v6) Don’t take any gold, silver, or brass in your money belts.
- Mark 5:41 (v7) Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi!” which means, being interpreted, “Girl, I tell you, get up!”
- John 9:8 (v2) The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?”
- Acts 9:41 (v7) He gave her his hand, and raised her up. Calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
- Isaiah 35:6 (v8) Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in…
- Luke 13:13 (v7) He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and glorified God.
- John 19:19 (v6) Pilate wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. There was written, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
- Acts 5:12 (v11) By the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.
- Acts 14:10 (v8) said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” He leaped up and walked.
- Acts 19:13-16 (v6) But some of the itinerant Jews, exorcists, took on themselves to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,…
- Psalms 107:20-22 (v8) He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves. Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful…
- Luke 16:20 (v2) A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores,
- 2 Corinthians 6:10 (v6) as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
- Psalms 103:1-2 (v8) Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits,
- John 11:40 (v4) Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
- Acts 3:2 (v10) A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called…
- Luke 4:20 (v4) He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
- Luke 6:23 (v8) Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.
- Luke 9:43 (v10) They were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples,
- Luke 13:17 (v9) As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by…
- Luke 17:15-18 (v8) One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him…
- Luke 18:35 (v2) As he came near Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the road, begging.
- John 5:14 (v8) Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “Behold, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
- John 5:20 (v10) For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that…
- John 9:3 (v10) Jesus answered, “This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
- Acts 3:12 (v4) 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…
- Acts 4:16 (v9) saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who…
- Acts 4:21 (v9) When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God…
- Acts 10:31 (v2) and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your gifts to the needy are remembered in the sight of God.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (v6) For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- Mark 2:11-12 (v9) “I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house.” He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all;…
- Mark 14:8 (v6) She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for the burying.
- Luke 4:36 (v10) Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the…
- Luke 8:38 (v11) But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,
- Luke 18:43 (v8) Immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, praised God.
- John 1:9-30 (v2) The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world…
- John 5:6 (v4) When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had been sick for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be made well?”
- John 5:8-9 (v8) Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the…
- John 9:18-21 (v10) The Jews therefore didn’t believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him…
- John 10:23 (v11) It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
- Acts 2:7 (v10) They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?
- Acts 2:12 (v10) They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
- Acts 4:14-16 (v10) Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of…
- Acts 4:21-22 (v10) When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God…
- Acts 4:22 (v2) For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
- Acts 10:4 (v2) He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy…
- Acts 14:11 (v9) When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, “The gods have come down to us…
- Luke 22:8 (v11) Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
- Acts 2:6 (v11) When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
- 1 Corinthians 4:11 (v6) Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (25 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 9, 11 3. He asketh an alms. We see how God…
3. He asketh an alms. We see how God restored this lame man to his limbs contrary to his expectation. Because he thought that his disease was incurable, he was only careful for maintenance. That is given him which he durst never have asked. In like sort God doth oftentimes prevent us, neither doth he stay until he be provoked. And hence can we not gather any occasion of slothfulness, as if the Lord did therefore meet us of his own accord, that being idle and slothful we may suffer the Lord to do good unto us. For we are commanded to pray, and therefore let us not foreslow [neglect] our duty. But, first of all, under the person of the lame man, we have set before us an example of a man that is not yet illuminated by faith, that he may know how to pray aright. Such doth God prevent, as it is needful, even of his own accord. Therefore, when as he restoreth our souls not only to health, but also to life, he himself is to himself the cause hereof. For this is the beginning of our calling, that he may make those things to be which are not; that he may show himself unto those who seek not after him, (Romans 4:17.) Furthermore, howsoever we be already taught by faith to pray unto God, yet, because we do not always feel our miseries, it cometh not into our mind to seek for remedy; therefore the Lord bringeth the same freely and unlooked for. Finally, howsoever we be bent to pray, yet doth he exceed our hope and petitions with his goodness.
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 vv5, 11 Both with heart and eyes.
Both with heart and eyes.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–11 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s…
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Ver. 2. To ask alms] This ought not to have been suffered, Deu 15:7-8 There might not be a beggar in Israel. But all was out of order, as it useth to be among a people nigh to destruction.
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 vv2–11 Lame from his mother’s womb, and not by any…
Lame from his mother’s womb, and not by any casualty, that so the miracle might be the greater, and the power of the God of nature appear.
They laid daily; by which it was manifest, that it could not be by any correspondence between the apostles and the lame man upon this occasion.
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At the gate of the temple; where there must needs be the greater notice taken of him; none going in or out but such as might see him.
Called Beautiful, for the excellency of the workmanship: it was at the entering into the second court, or the court of the Jews from that of the Gentiles. This man, out of pride, being unwilling to beg of the Gentiles, though proselyted, (whom they did contemn), or out of policy, hoping to receive more of the Jews, whom he is nearer related to,
asked alms of them that entered into the temple. Poverty is no sign of God’s disfavour (our blessed Redeemer is in an especial manner called Caput pauperum); but lameness in this man, divers miseries and calamities in others, bring them to the knowledge of Christ, and salvation through him.
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 vv2, 6, 9 Observe here, 1. The condition of this person.
Observe here, 1. The condition of this person.
1. He was poor, even to beggary; but poverty is no sign of God’s disfavour, nor doth exclude any from partaking of the best of blessings.
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2. He was born a cripple, not lamed by casualty or accident, but lame from his mother’s womb.
3. He had continued a cripple forty years, The man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. Act 4:22. Consequently the cure was the harder, and the person cured the more credible witness against them that cavilled at his cure.
Observe, 2. The wonderful mercy and goodness of God towards this poor cripple; his miseries and calamities, his lameness and poverty, are over-ruled by God for good to him, even for the best good; namely, for bringing him to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and salvation by him.
O how good is God at making up all our losses and exceeding not only our deserts, but our expectations also! This poor man only begged an alms, but God gives him his limbs; yea, gives him his Son and salvation by him. Thus we receive of God daily more than we can either ask or think.
Observe, 3. The apostle’s advice to the lame man, and his ready compliance with that advice. Look on us, says St. Peter; he doth not say, believe on us, but look on us, and believe on Christ. This the apostle spake to quicken his attention and excite his hope. As if St. Peter had said; "You look upon many others as able to relieve your necessities; now look on us, and see what we can do for you:" Accordingly he fastened his eyes upon the apostle, and beheld them as expectant of relief.
Here note, 1. The great mercy of God that was mingled with this poor man’s affliction; though he was lame, he was not blind. He could and did stedfastly behold the apostle, with a fixed eye both of body and mind.
Note, 2. That what the cripple could do, he must and did do, towards his own healing; he could not move a foot, but he could fix his eye. We are spiritual cripples, labouring under a moral impotency; being without strength, Rom 1:6.
But God expects the exercise of our faculties, and the use of our endeavours in order to our recovery, help, and healing. As the cripple looked up to the apostles, so may we look up to the ministers of God: hear them, and apply to them, and place ourselves under to word dispensed by them; for he that made us without ourselves, will never save us without ourselves; but we must work out our own salvation, Php 2:12.
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 vv2–11 And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb,....…
And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb,.... He was born so; his lameness came not through any disease or fall, or any external hurt, but from a defect in nature, in one of his limbs, or more; which made the after miracle the more extraordinary: and he was so lame that he
was carried; he could not walk of himself, or go, being led, but they were obliged to carry him:
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whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple; it had been a common usage, it may be, for years past, to bring him every day, at prayer time, and lay him at the gate of the temple where the people went in; hence he was well known by the people, and to have been of a long time lame, even ever since he was born; so that there could be no imposture in this case: and it was at the gate of the temple he lay,
which is called beautiful; which some think was the gate Shushan, which was the eastern gate of the mountain of the house, or the outmost wall, and was so called, because Shushan, the metropolis of Persia, was pourtrayed upon it (q), which made it look very beautiful. The reason commonly given by the Jewish commentators (r) why this was done, is this; when the Jews returned from captivity, the king of Persia commanded that they should make a figure of the palace of Shushan upon one of the gates of the temple, that they might fear the king, and not rebel against him; and accordingly they drew one upon the eastern gate: but some say (s), that the children of the captivity did this (upon their return) that they might remember the wonder of Purim, (their deliverance from Haman,) which was done in Shushan; moreover, it might be so called from the word Shushan, which signifies joy and gladness: but this does not bid so fair to be the gate here meant, since it was lower than all the rest; for as the eastern wall was lower than the rest of the walls, that when the high priest burnt the red heifer on the top of Mount Olivet, he might see the gate of the temple at the time of the sprinkling of the blood; so the gate itself was four cubits lower than the others (t), and therefore could not look so grand and beautiful as the rest. Indeed, concerning this eastern gate of the mountain of the house, it is said (u), that
"in the time when the sanctuary stood, when they prayed on the mountain of the house, they went in by the way of the eastern gate.''
And as this was now the hour of prayer, and the people were going to the temple to pray, whose entrance was at the east gate; here it might be thought, in all probability, was laid the lame man: though it seems rather to be the eastern gate of the court of the women, which was made of Corinthian brass, and looked brighter than gold itself; of which Josephus (w) thus speaks:
"nine of the gates were covered all over with gold and silver, likewise the side posts and lintels; but there was one, without the temple, of Corinthian brass, which in dignity greatly exceeded the silver and golden ones.''
And since at this gate was the greatest frequency of persons, both men and women entering here; it is most likely, that here lay the lame man a begging: this is thought, by some, to be the higher gate of the house of the Lord; said to be built by Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Kg2 15:35 upon which text, a Jewish commentator of great note (x) has this remark,
"observe it is said of Jotham, that he built it, because he made a building on it, "more glorious and great" than it had been:''
and this is also called the new gate of the house of the Lord, Jer 26:10 and which both the Targum and Kimchi on the place say is the eastern gate.
To ask alms of them that entered into the temple; who going to religious exercises, might be thought to be more disposed to acts of liberality and charity: and besides, these were known to be Jews, of whom only alms were to be asked and taken; for so run their canons (y),
"it is forbidden to take alms of Gentiles publicly, except a man cannot live by the alms of Israelites; and if a king, or a prince of the Gentiles, should send money to an Israelite for alms, he must not return it, because of the peace of the kingdom, but must take it of him, and give it to the poor of the Gentiles secretly, that the king may not hear.''
(q) Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 3. (r) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. ib. (s) Vid. Juchasin, fol. 65. 2. (t) Misn. Middot, c. 2. sect. 4. Maimon. Hilchot Beth Habechirah, c. 6. sect. 5. (u) Gloss. in T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 15. 2. Vid. Maimon. Hilch. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 15. (w) De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 3. (x) Abarbinel in loc. (y) Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. Affirm. 162.
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 vv2, 6 At the gate of the temple, called Beautiful -…
At the gate of the temple, called Beautiful - This gate was added by Herod the Great, between the court of the Gentiles and that of Israel. It was thirty cubits high, and fifteen broad, and made of Corinthian brass, more pompous in its workmanship and splendour than those that were covered with silver and gold.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 Verse 2. A - man lame from his mother's…
Verse 2. A - man lame from his mother's womb] The case of this man must have been well known:
1. from the long standing of his infirmity:
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2. from his being daily exposed in a place so public.
It appears that he had no power to walk, and was what we term a cripple, for he was carried to the gate of the temple, and laid there in order to excite compassion. These circumstances are all marked by St. Luke, the more fully to show the greatness and incontestable nature of the miracle.
The gate - which is called Beautiful] There are different opinions concerning this gate. Josephus observes, Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap. 5, sect. 3, that the temple had nine gates, which were on every side covered with gold and silver; but there was one gate which was without the holy house, and was of Corinthian brass, and greatly excelled those which were only covered with gold and silver: πολυ τῃ τιμῃ τας καταργυρους και περιχρυσους ὑπεραγουσα. The magnitudes of the other gates were equal one to another; but that of the Corinthian gate, which opened on the east, over against the gate of the holy house itself, was much larger: πεντηκοντα γαρ πηχων ουσα την αναστασιν, τεσσαρακοντα πηχεις τας θυρας ειχε, και τον κοσμον πολυτελεστερον, επι δαψιλες παχος αργυρου τε και χρυσου· for its height was fifty cubits, and its doors were forty cubits, and it was adorned after a most costly manner, as having much richer and thicker plates of silver and gold upon them than upon the other. This last was probably the gate which is here called Beautiful; because it was on the outside of the temple, to which there was an easy access, and because it was evidently the most costly, according to the account in Josephus; but it must be granted that the text of Josephus is by no means clear.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 9 Act 3:2. And a certain man — Well known,…
Act 3:2. And a certain man — Well known, it appears, by those who frequented the temple; lame from his mother’s womb, was carried — Thither by the help of others, being unable to walk, through a weakness in his ankles; whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, called Beautiful — This gate, which was between the court of the Gentiles and that of Israel, and is here called Beautiful, for the richness of the metal of which it was formed, and its curious workmanship, is termed by Josephus the Corinthian gate. About one hundred and eighty years before this, the city of Corinth had been taken and burned by the Romans; and in the burning of it multitudes of statues and images of brass, gold, and silver, being melted down and running together, made that mixture of metals, which, from that time, was called Corinthian brass, and was valued, by the ancients, above gold or silver. This gate, on the east side of the temple, was made of that brass, and exceeded the other gates, as in its dimensions, so especially in its workmanship and splendour, though most of them were covered over with silver or gold. It was thirty cubits high, and fifteen broad, and was added by Herod the Great.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 Lame from his mother’s womb - The mention of…
Lame from his mother’s womb - The mention of this shows that there was no deception in the case. The man had been always lame; he was obliged to be carried; and he was well known to the Jews.
Whom they laid daily - That is, his friends laid him there daily. He would therefore be well known to those who were in the habit of entering the temple. Among the ancients there were no hospitals for the sick, and no alms-houses for the poor. The poor were dependent, therefore, on the Charity of those who were in better circumstances. It became an important matter for them to be placed where they would see many people. Hence, it was customary to place them at the gates of rich men Luk 16:20; and they also sat by the highway to beg where many persons would pass, Mar 10:46; Luk 18:35; Joh 9:1-8. The entrance to the temple would be a favorable place for begging; for:
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(1)Great multitudes were accustomed to enter there; and,
(2)When going up for the purposes of religion, they would be more inclined to give alms than at other times; and especially was this true of the Pharisees, who were particularly desirous of publicity in bestowing charity. It is recorded by Martial (i. 112) that the custom prevailed among the Romans of placing the poor by the gates of the temples; and the custom was also observed a long time in the Christian churches.
At the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful - In regard to this gate there have been two opinions, one of which supposes that it was the gate commonly called Nicanor, which led from the court of the Gentiles to the court of the women (see Plan in notes on Mat 21:12), and the other that it was the gate at the eastern entrance of the temple, commonly called Susan. It is not easy to determine which is intended; though from the fact that what is here recorded occurred near Solomon’s porch (Act 3:11; compare the Plan of the Temple, Mat 21:12), it seems probable that the latter was intended. This gate was large and splendid. It was made of Corinthian brass, a most valuable metal, and made a magnificent appearance (Josephus, Jewish Wars, book 5, chapter 5, section 3).
To ask alms - Charity.
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 vv4, 6, 11 Look upon us. St. Peter said this to raise…
Look upon us. St. Peter said this to raise his attention and expectation, but the poor man thought of nothing but an alms. (Witham)
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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v11 B.—Peter’s Testimony Concerning Jesus, Delivered In The Presence Of…
B.—Peter’s Testimony Concerning Jesus, Delivered In The Presence Of The People
Act_3:11-26
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11And as the lame man which was healed4 held [But as the lame man held fast to] Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering [full of wonder]. 12And [But] when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel [Ye Israelitish men], why marvel ye at this [this man]? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness5 [godliness] we had made6 this man to walk? 13The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob7, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son [Servant] Jesus; whom ye 8 delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined [after he had decided] to let him go [release him]. 14But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15And killed the Prince [Author]9 of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof We are witnesses. 16And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, [and] the faith which is [which wrought] by him hath given him this perfect soundness [this health] in the presence of you all. 17And now, brethren, I wot [know] that through [in] ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. 18But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his [all the] prophets, that Christ [his Anointed]10 should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when [in order that] the times of refreshing shall [may] come from the presence [face] of the Lord; 20And he shall [And that he may] send Jesus Christ, which before was preached [the Messiah Jesus who was appointed]11 unto you; 21Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things [times wherein all things will be restored], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all12 [om. all] his holy prophets since the world began 13 [prophets from of old]. 22For Moses truly said Moses14 has said] unto the fathers 15 [om. unto the fathers], A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of [out of] your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall [will] say unto you. 23And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. 24Yea, and [And] all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold16 of [om. of] these days. 25Ye are the17 children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus18, sent [his Servant, sent] him to bless you, in turning every one of you from his iniquities.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act_3:11. And as the lame man held [fast] to Peter and John.—Large numbers of persons, full of wonder, gathered around the two apostles, to whom the man that had been lame, continued to cling; Peter was both required and enabled by this circumstance, to deliver an address to the people. It induced him to explain the occurrence itself, and, in general to speak of Jesus. Luke employs the word ἀπεκρίνατο, as the address was virtually an answer to a question which the wondering glances and excited movements of the spectators seemed to direct to him. The precise locality of this assemblage of people and of the address, is indicated by Luke; it was Solomon’s porch in the court [called the great court, 2Ch_4:9; 2Ch_6:13; Winer, Realw. art.Temple]; this portico or colonnade was distinguished from the others by bearing Solomon’s name, inasmuch as it was a remnant of the original temple built by him; it had escaped the general destruction of the building which Nebuchadnezzar had ordered. The immediate cause, however, in consequence of which the people ran together unto the apostles, lay in the man himself; with a heart full of gratitude and devotion, he had attached himself to them, seized them by the hand, and held them fast; the latter is the clearly proved meaning of the phrase: κρατεῖν τιυα, while it can by no meansbe established on philological grounds that the phrase means: to hold to, to follow some one.
Act_3:12. a. Peter’s address consists of two parts:—1. Instructions concerning the Author and the purpose of the miracle, Act_3:12-18; ‘it was not wrought by us, who are men, but by God; He purposed thereby to glorify his Servant Jesus, whom Israel had denied and killed, but whom God raised up.’ 2. An exhortation to repentance and conversion, in order that the sins of the Israelites might be forgiven, and that the blessing which all the promises had taught them to expect, might be imparted to them through Christ, Act_3:19-26.
b. Why marvel ye at this?—Peter does not reprove the people simply for expressing great astonishment, but for assuming that the healing of the man had been an independent act of the apostles, performed solely by them. For the wondering and steady gaze (ἀτενίζετε) of the people, seemed to say: ‘What vast power resides in these men (ἰδία δύναμις)!’ Or—‘What holy men these must be, since God rewards them with such miraculous gifts!’ The latter thought would undoubtedly suggest that of “merit,” the word which Luther has employed in his version [for εὐσέβεια]. Peter, therefore, denies that he and John possessed either such a physical power as the people imagined, or such a meritorious ability of the soul.—The expression ὡς πεποιηκόσι τοῦ περιπατεῖν αὐτόν involves an inexact use of the genitive of the purpose [Winer: Gr. N. T., § 44, 4]; literally: “as if we had done aught so that he might walk.” [ἐπὶ τούτῳ rendered by L. in the version above, not as a neuter (this event), but as a masc. pron. (this man), with de Wette, Meyer, Alford, Hackett, etc.—Tr.]
Act_3:13-14. a. The God of Abraham … hath glorified his Son [Servant] Jesus.—After the error has been exposed, the truth is set forth (as in Act_2:15 ff.): ‘Not we have wrought the miracle; its author is God, the covenantal God of our fathers, and, indeed, of the original founders of our nation.’—The apostle refers, at the same time, to the author of the miracle, and to its design and significance. It was the design of this miracle to glorify Jesus, to exhibit him in his δόξα, and to teach men to see and confess his dignity and the power of his higher life, attained through the resurrection and ascension, as well as to demonstrate that in him dwelt the fulness of vital and saving power, the gracious exercise of which was designed for the benefit of mankind.—But what is the meaning of παῖς θεοῦ when applied to Jesus? The earlier interpreters, without specially dwelling on the point, assumed that the term was equivalent to υἱός θεοῦ, with the single exception of Piscator, in the seventeenth century. Bengel explains the sense to be: Servant of God, as in Mat_12:18. And since Nitzsch has published the results of his investigations (in Stud. u. Kr. 1828, p. 331 ff.), all the recent interpreters agree that παῖς θ.. means, not the Son, but the Servant of God. [So Olsh., Stier (in Red. d. Ap. ad loc. 2d ed.), Alford, Hackett, Robinson (in Lex. art.,παῖς, 2. c.), etc.; Alexander ascribes to the word a “dubious or double sense.”—Tr.]. Indeed, the term παῖς is a standing predicate with Luke, being applied to Israel (Gosp. Luk_1:54), and to David (Act_4:25, and Gosp. Luk_1:69). In the present passage, as well as in Act_3:26, below, and in Act_4:27; Act_4:30, as also in Mat_12:18, it corresponds to עֶבֶד יְהוָֹה in Isaiah [ch. 40–ch. 66].
b. But ye denied.—Peter speaks unreservedly and emphatically of the sin which his hearers had committed against Jesus, so that he might lead them to repentance. Ye have—he says—delivered up Jesus, denied him before Pilate, and even preferred, and interceded for a murderer, while ye killed Him. He shows that they advanced, step by step, in crime and guilt. He exhibits the sin of the people in a still stronger light, by means of antithetic propositions. He, first, contrasts Israel with Pilate, the pagan: the latter pronounced the sentence that Jesus should be released [Luk_23:16; Joh_19:4]; the people, on the contrary, denied Him—their Messiah. He then contrasts Jesus with Barabbas: the latter was a murderer; Jesus was not only innocent and holy, but even the Author and Giver of life; ‘yet you released the former, and killed Jesus.’
Act_3:15-16. Peter here explains the manner in which God had glorified (Act_3:13) his Servant Jesus: Whom God hath raised from the dead.—And, (he continues,) it is solely in the power of the name of Jesus, received in faith, that this man, once lame, has been made strong, and restored to health. We, the apostles, bear witness to that event—the raising up of Jesus; of the restoration of this man to health and strength, ye have yourselves all been eye-witnesses (ἀπέναντι πάντων ὑμῶν).
Act_3:17-18.—And now, brethren.—After showing the necessity of a change of mind and feeling on the part of his hearers, the apostle testifies, that both repentance and forgiveness are possible, in reference, first, to the sinner, Act_3:17, and, secondly, to God, Act_3:18. However great the sin is, it may, nevertheless, be forgiven, since it was committed in ignorance, both by the people, and by their rulers. And the apostle makes this declaration in the most sincere love—a love already revealed in the appellation brethren, which he here employs; compare with it the more formal ἄνδρες Ἰσρ., in Act_3:12.—In reference to God, the sin of Israel, consisting in the rejection and execution of the Messiah, may be forgiven in so far as it, at the same time, involved the fulfilment of the decree that the Messiah should suffer, which God had made from of old, and foretold through all the prophets.
Act_3:19-21. Repent ye therefore.—The apostle states the conclusion which is to be drawn from the words which he had pronounced, and, in a direct appeal to his hearers, calls on them to turn back and change their minds; at the same time, he not only represents the blotting out of their sins as the result of such repentance (ἐξαλειφθῆναι, applied [as in Col_2:14] to a document that is obliterated), but he also opens a still wider view before them, and exhibits a time of refreshment and blessedness, for which, too, they may hope. Of that time God is the author and source (ἀπὸ προςώπου τοῦ κυρίου); it commences with the return of Christ, whom heaven receives during the interval, but whom God will send personally (ἀποστείλη, etc.); it consists ofall that which God had hitherto promised through the prophets (ἀποκαταστάσεως, etc.). In ὃν δεῖ οὐρανὸν δέξασθαι the subject [or acc. before the inf.] is not δν, but οὐρανὸν, i.e. heaven must receive him [as in the Engl. version], not, he must take possession of heaven (Luther), the latter not agreeing with the usus loquendi of δέχεσθαι. [On the contrary, Bengel (Gnomon) holds that ὃν is the subject, and translates: Who must, etc.; he terms the construction here preferred by Lechler, and by many others, a “violenta interpretatio,” since it implies that heaven is greater than Christ, and since it is hostile to the grandeur of Christ, who is “above all heavens,” Eph_4:10, etc. So, also, Olsh. and Lange. Stier [Red. d. Ap. ad loc. 2d ed.) unequivocally adopts Bengel’s views, and rejects those which Lechler (whom he specially means) here prefers. Tyndale and Cranmer translated: who must receive heaven. (Alexander, ad loc.)—Tr.]. According to the established usus loquendi of ἀποκατάστασις, it regularly denotes a restoration, or return of an earlier condition; see below, Doctr. and Ethical. 6.) [“The before heaven—is supplied by the translators—without reason, etc.” (J. A. Alex.).—Tr.]
Act_3:22-24. Moses said.—[Deu_18:15; Deu_18:18-19, combined with Gen_17:14]. The language in these verses is intended to develop more fully and to confirm all that Peter had intimated in Act_3:21 concerning the word of prophecy. Moses—he says—has promised that a prophet shall come forth out of Israel, and has declared that they who do not unconditionally obey him, shall be cut off and destroyed; and the succeeding prophets, beginning with Samuel, have all uttered predictions respecting these times.
Act_3:25-26. Ye are the children, etc.—Peter applies the whole to his own age and to the people before him, and presents two aspects of the case: first, the promise of the blessing [made to Abraham, Gen_12:3; Gen_18:18; Gen_22:18; to Isaac, Gen_26:4; to Jacob,. Gen_28:14] belongs, as he declares, to his hearers; but, secondly, on the condition that they fulfil the duty imposed upon them, of repenting and turning to God.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. Those powers by which miracles were wrought, never resided inherently in any one of the children of God; here the apostles expressly guard their hearers against such a delusive thought; the exercise of such powers always depends on the might and free grace of God. The error which the apostles expose, is the assumption that the miracle proceeded originally either from a magic power (ἰδία δύναμις) or from moral merit (εὐσέβεια). If even the Redeemer ascribed to the Father the works which he did [“which the Father hath given me to finish,” Joh_5:36], the apostles, still more emphatically, ascribe their miracles to God the Father. But even as the miracles wrought by Jesus were designed to bear witness of him and glorify him (Joh_5:20; Joh_5:36; Mat_11:5), so all the deeds which his disciples performed by the grace and power of God, are designed to contribute to the honor of Christ, and to praise and magnify his name. (ὃ θεός—ἐδόξασε—Ἰησοῦν).
2. It is not simply an accommodation to the habits of thought and the mode of expression of Israel, when Peter says: “The God of our fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath glorified Jesus”; those words, much rather, express the truth, that the God of Abraham, etc., is likewise the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Or, in other words, it is the same God who revealed himself to the fathers, and who now reveals himself to us through the Son; the new covenant is founded on the old covenant, and the latter already points to Jesus Christ.
3. The phraseology, according to which Jesus appears as ὁ παῖς θεοῦ, (that is, not a Servant of God, but “the Servant of God,” Act_3:13; Act_3:26, in a preëminent and special sense), alludes to the prophecies of the Old Testament, particularly to Isaiah 41. ff., and expresses a conception which refers, directly, to the Work of Jesus Christ alone, and not to his Person. Jesus, namely, is He through whom God executes or accomplishes all that he has determined to do, and promised in his word; comp. Act_3:21; Act_3:24; Act_3:26; the blessing which God had promised to Abraham, and, through him, to the human race, is realized and bestowed through Christ; all that God has ever promised through the prophets, is fulfilled in Christ. This is truly a lofty conception. It also undoubtedly assigns a high rank to the Person of Christ, although less directly, implying at least his intimate and peculiar union with God, even if not his deity.
4. With respect to the Person of Jesus, Peter describes Him as the Holy and Just One (Act_3:14), that is, not merely guiltless, as contradistinguished from Barabbas, the criminal, but in a positive sense, perfectly holy and just, as well in relation to God (ἅγιος), as in relation to men (δίκαιος). And, doubtless, here, too, the definite article [τὸν ἅγιον, etc.] is of weight, and has even a doctrinal significance; for it indicates a certain peculiarity not elsewhere found, and exalts Jesus, in a moral and religious respect, above the whole human race. To this view the title admirably corresponds, which he receives in Act_3:15, ὁ ἀρχηγὸς [“from ἀρχή and ἡγοῦμαι or ἄγω,” Wahl: Clavis.—Tr.] τῆς ζωῆς; it contrasts him with the murderer, the man who deprived others of life; Jesus, on the contrary, is the Author of life, opens the way to life, and is the Leader of those who seek life (primarily, in consequence of his resurrection). We are, therefore, enabled to follow in the way in which he leads, inasmuch as he imparts eternal life and blessedness to those who believe in him; at the same time, he imparts, through faith in his name, a vital power to the body also, Act_3:16.
5. Repentance, and conversion or turning from the evil way, are the indispensable conditions of salvation, that is, the conditions on which, first, (Act_3:19), the sins committed, and the guilt contracted by us, are forgiven and blotted out, and, secondly, (Act_3:20; Act_3:26) participation in the promised blessing and in the gracious gifts of God, is granted. The apostles by no means encourage the delusion that any one can acquire a claim to salvation by reason of his descent from the people of God, without being personally prepared for it, and without rendering to God the obedience of faith. Here, Peter demands, immediatelyafter having acknowledged his hearers to be children of the covenant or parties in it (Act_3:25), that they should turn away from sin and be changed in mind and spirit, if they desire to receive the promised Abrahamic blessing which is now offered in Christ (Act_3:26).—The application of these truths to Christendom is obvious.
6. The words of the apostle present a grand and comprehensive view of the counsels and acts of God, and of the course of divine revelation, from the beginning to the end. All the promises that God made to Abraham, all the words that he spoke by the mouth of Moses concerning a Prophet who was yet to come, and all the predictions of Samuel and the prophets who succeeded him, essentially refer to Christ as their central point—to his sufferings (Act_3:18)—to the blessing, given through him, and embracing the world (Act_3:25)—and to a future restoration of all things (Act_3:21). Jesus Christ, the Servant of God, whom he sent (Act_3:26), has come, has suffered (Act_3:18), but is now invisible, since heaven received him, until God shall send him again, namely, until he comes the second time from heaven (Act_3:20 ff.). This future is described (1) as καιροὶ ἀναψύξεως, seasons of refreshing (Act_3:19), that is, as a time in which rest, peace and recreation will succeed the heat, the violence and the pressure of conflicts and sorrows. The same time is described (2) as ξρόνοι ἀποκαταστάσεως (Act_3:21)—this latter, objectively; the former, subjectively [the latter, descriptive of the object; the former, referring to the subjects or persons affected by the object.—Tr.]. The usus loquendi shows that these terms refer to a restoration. But what is it that shall be restored? Baumgarten [Die Apostelgeschichte] I. p. 80 replies: ‘Nothing else than the kingdom of Israel, the whole power and glory of the Israelitic kingdom.’ Such a mode of interpretation, however, does not deduce the main point from the text, but at once inserts it in the text. The words themselves do not suggest such a meaning, but convey one that is far more comprehensive, namely, the following: ‘All that God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets, shall be restored, and be placed in its original order, and in that condition which God designed and promised.’ It may be added that this restoration is not to be understood as being exclusively a return of a condition which had existed at a previous time, but rather as a renewal of all things, that will partly be restorative in its operation, but also, in part, far transcend all that had ever existed. And we are the more fully authorized to adopt this interpretation, as the view presented by the apostle does not embrace Israel alone, but comprehends all mankind, and is uncircumscribed; the blessing that was promised to Abraham, is to be imparted to all the nations of the earth, Act_3:25. Even if he terms the Israelites the “children of the covenant”, he does not refer to any exclusive privileges, or to a monopoly or particularism, but only to priority in time. For Christ was sent, not to Israel only, but to Israel first, Act_3:26. And this expression presupposes, and indirectly testifies that Christ and the blessing which is given in him, are appointed for the Gentiles also, although they occupy only the second place.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act_3:11. And as the lame man … held Peter and John.—The holy ties which unite awakened children of God and their spiritual fathers: by such ties, I. The awakened are strengthened; II. Their spiritual fathers are encouraged; III. The Church is edified; IV. The Lord is glorified.
Act_3:12. Why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us?—A solemn question addressed to us by all the faithful servants of God, when we survey the wonderful works of God, for the purpose, 1. Of guarding us (a) against a mere carnal wonder at the external form of the events, and (b) against the error of estimating too highly the human agents, and their power and merit; 2. Of directing our attention to (a) the Lord, who alone doeth wonders (Act_3:13; Act_3:15). (Admire Him, and do not idly wonder!); (b) ourselves, our guilt (Act_3:13-14), our duty (Act_3:19), our salvation (Act_3:20).—Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory! [Psa_115:1]. Such is the confession of all true servants of God. (Starke).—Men seek after new wonders, and are amazed; they forget those that are old, and do not rightly apply them. See Psa_106:21-22. (Quesn.).—The works of God can be distinctly seen only in the light of his word.
Act_3:13. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: the light which this truth casts, 1. On the Old Covenant, as the type and foundation of the New; 2. On the New Covenant, as the development and fulfilment of the Old.
Act_3:13-14. Ye denied Him! This sin is, since the resurrection of Jesus, the most heinous of all. (Apost. Past.).—Peter had himself previously denied the Lord Jesus; but when his Saviour had forgiven him this sin, he had great boldness in rebuking those who also committed it. Let faithful pastors bear this in mind. (ib.).
Act_3:15. Jesus, the Prince of life: as such, 1. Denied and slain by the world; 2. Raised up and glorified by God; 3. Declared and manifested in the Church.—“Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” Gen_1:20. These words, in their deepest sense, were fulfilled in Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One. (Starke).—Men deal with the gifts and mercies which God bestows, as the Jews dealt with Christ; man can only destroy them; God alone can preserve or restore. (Quesn.).—Christ, the Holy One and the Just, in an absolute sense, not only, 1. As compared with Barabbas, the murderer, the representative of sinful men, but also, 2. In the presence of his God and Father.—Christ the Holy One, also the Prince of life.—Why do the apostles of the Lord so emphatically declare themselves to be the witnesses of his resurrection? (Schleiermacher: Easter sermon): 1. In reference to themselves; they are conscious of their human infirmity, and gratefully praise the goodness of their heavenly Father, who aids them in their weakness; 2. In reference to the Redeemer; his resurrection expresses the judgment of God respecting the death which he had suffered, and is the evidence of his eternal spiritual presence in the Church.
Act_3:16. Through faith, etc.—The faith that worketh miracles. The poet says: “A miracle—the fav’rite child of faith.” I. Faith performs the miracle (Peter and John); II. Faith experiences the miracle (the lame man, who is a believer, at least after the miracle is wrought, if not previously); III. Faith comprehends the miracle (the believing hearers).
Act_3:17. Through ignorance ye did it.—(Christ on the cross; “They know not what they do,” [Luk_23:34]. Paul to Timothy: “I did it ignorantly” [1Ti_1:13]). I. To whom may such words be applied? Not t all! II. What is their purpose? Not to furnish grounds for justifying sinful acts.—Ignorance may lessen, but does not cancel guilt, since it may itself be the result of a guilty course of conduct. (Gerlach).
Act_3:19. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.—These words, in which grace and pardon are offered to such great sinners, illustrate the importance of repentance in the most striking manner. History does not present a case in which pardon was offered under such circumstances; there can be no escape from ruin for those who do not now accept it. (Starke).—The apostle furnishes a noble model to those who desire to preach repentance in a truly apostolical manner. We may do injustice to the subject by saying either too little or too much. We are always inclined to proceed to extremes; hence, we either prematurely encourage men to hope for the forgiveness of their sins, or else, we demand, in too high a degree, the grace of holiness, before we give them an assurance of the pardon of their sins. The apostles teach us to observe a just medium. (Apost. Past.).—To repent or change the mind, and to be converted or turn to the way of peace, belong together, (ib.).—Behold how the Holy Spirit executes his fourfold office, in the discourse of Peter! The office, I. Of convincing of sin (Act_3:13-15); II. Of instructing (Act_3:13; Act_3:15-16; Act_3:18; Act_3:21-25); III. Of exhorting (Act_3:19); IV. Of consoling (Act_3:20; Act_3:26).—How well the apostles understood the method of exercising, in the most emphatic manner, their power to forgive sins! How successfully they exercised it, when they called on men to repent! (K. H. Rieger).
The times of refreshing … from the presence of the Lord.—The times of refreshing experienced by the repentant and believing: I. In the external relations of life, after sore afflictions; II. In the inner life, after the godly sorrow of the soul; III. In eternity, after the toils of this life.—We suffer from a painful feeling of oppression, when we repent and behold the amount both of the evil which we have done, and of the good which we have left undone; but we revive when God reveals his mercy to us; Isa_57:15-18.—When inward and outward temptations, like a scorching flame, threaten to consume us, the Lord appears, bringing relief to the soul; Gen_18:1; Isa_38:17.—At length an eternal time of refreshing will come, when we shall have intered that world, in which the heat can no longer consume us. Rev_7:16-17. (Starke).—All true refreshing, whether in this life, or in the eternal world, must come from the presence of the Lord. (ib.).
Act_3:21. The threefold restoration: I. It did occur, when the way of salvation, under the new covenant, was opened; II. It does occur, when we are converted; III. It will occur, in the consummation of the world. (A. F. Schmidt: Predigtstud.).
Act_3:22. Christ and Moses: the relation in which the latter stands to Christ, is like, I. That of prophecy to the fulfilment; II. That of the law to the Gospel; III. That of a servant to the son, [Heb_3:5-6]. (Leonh. and Sp.).
Act_3:22-24. Christ, a prophet; nevertheless, more than a prophet:I. He teaches the way of God in truth; yet he is himself the way to the Father; II. He prophesies: yet he is the great object and the end of all prophecy; III. He is anointed with the Holy Spirit; yet he himself sends the Spirit. (ib.)—The prophet of the new covenant: I. Who is he? II. What call did he receive? III. What duties do we owe to him? (Langb.).—Christ, the heart and life, I. Of the Scriptures; II. Of believers; III. Of the history of the world.—“All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen.” [2Co_1:20].
Act_3:25-26. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant! These are words that, I. Are full of promise; II. Impose a solemn responsibility.—In Act_3:26, which recapitulates the prominent thoughts of the preceding discourse, Jesus appears as the true Isaac (the son of joy), the son of Abraham (the father of a multitude), who was himself the progenitor of the true Jacob = Israel (the struggling and conquering people of the Spirit). (Stier: Reden d. Ap.).
ON THE WHOLE SECTION.
The threefold witness which Peter bears of Christ: I. In him all the miracles of God are combined, Act_3:12-17; II. In him all men can find salvation, Act_3:18-21; III. In him all prophecy is fulfilled. (Lisco).
To the Lord alone be all the glory given! Peter unfolds and applies this thought, by directing attention, I. To his own and John’s powerlessness, Act_3:11-12; II. To the sin of his hearers and the whole people, Act_3:13-17; III. To the glorious testimony which God bore to Christ, Act_3:18-24; IV. To that great salvation which was offered in Christ to all the people, Act_3:25-26. [The fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament (Act_3:18; Act_3:21-24]: I. The mode; (a) sometimes delayed (2Pe_3:4, reasons); (b) often in an unexpected form (Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, Joh_1:45-46); (c) always certain (divine attributes); II. The purpose; (a) to demonstrate the truth of revealed religion; (b) to confirm the faith and the hopes of the people of God; (c) to glorify God in Christ; III. Lessons; (a) teaching us—to adore God devoutly; (b) to study the prophetic word diligently; (c) to demonstrate the sincerity of our faith in God by our zeal in his service. —Tr.]
Footnotes:
[4]Act_3:11. The words τοῦ ἰαθἐντος χωλοῦ [of text. rec.; the authority not stated], were substituted in the text for αὐτοῦ, as an ecclesiastical lection [select portion of the Scripture] began at Act_3:11. [So Meyer.—The words are omitted by A. B. C. E. and Cod. Sin., all of which read simply αὐτοῦ; Syr., Vulg., etc.—Tr.]
[5]Act_3:12. a. In place of εὐσεβεία, several ancient versions read ἐξουσία, which seemed to derive support from δυνάμελ. [εὐσεβ., translated holiness in the Engl. Bible, is uniformly rendered godliness in the 14 other places in which it occurs in the N. T.—Tr.]
[6]Act_3:12. b. The reading ὡς ἡμῶν—πεποιηκότων instead of ὡς—πεποιηκόσι [of text. rec. with the other uncial MSS. and Cod Sin.] is but feebly supported by MSS., [by D.] and is apparently a correction intended to add strength to the original.
[7]Act_3:13. a. Some MSS. have ὁ θεὸς Ἀβρ. κ. θεὸς Ἰσ. καί θεὸς Ἰακ. [So Lachm. and Born, read, in accordance with A. C. D. Cod. Sin. Vulg., etc.; Alford adheres to the text. rec. with B. (e sil) E., and rejects the other reading as a later “correction to suit LXX. Exo_3:6, and Mat_22:32.”—Tr.]
[8]Act_3:13. b. μέν [omitted, after ὑμεῖς in text. rec.] without a corresponding δὲ [Winer, § 63. 2. e], is sustained by important MSS. [by A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin.; Syr. Vulg. (quidem) etc.—Tr.]
[9]Act_3:15. [For Prince, the margin (Engl. B.) offers Author, from (Rheims, 1580, and) the Vulg. (auctorem); the latter is preferred by Alexander, Hackett, Owen, etc.—Tr.]
[10]Act_3:18. αὐτοῦ, (not αὑτοῦ), after Χριστόν, and not after τ. προφητῶν [as in text. rec.] is the reading which Bengel had already adopted, and which, more recently, Lachm. and Tisch. recognize, in accordance with important authorities. [B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.; Vulg. etc. So also Alf.—Tr.]
[11]Act_3:20. The reading προκεχειρισμένον is to be preferred to προκεκηρυγμένον [of the text. rec. with many minuscules]; the latter, the far more easy reading of the two, is not sustained by good authorities; προκεχειρισ. is adopted by Bengel, Griesb. and recent editors. [In accordance with A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.—Tr.]
[12]Act_3:21. a. τῶν, instead of πάντων of the t. rec. is adopted by Griesb., Lachm., [Alf.] etc., in accordance with weighty authorities [namely, A. B. C. D. and Cod. Sin. Vulg.—“πάντων, borrowed from Act_3:24, was intended to add strength to the original.” (Meyer).—Tr.]
[13]Act_3:21. b. The reading ἀπʼ αἰῶνος [of text. rec.] should be retained as genuine; it is wanting only in a few authorities. [Omitted in D., but found in A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin. Vulg., etc.—Tr.]
[14]Act_3:22. a. μέν without γάρ is far better sustained than μὲν γάρ, although the latter undoubtedly corresponds to the logical connection. [μέν, alone, in A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin.—Alf reads: Μω. μὲν εἶπεν ὅτι.—Tr.]
[15]Act_3:22. b. πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας, in some MSS. before, in others, after εἶπεν, is a later addition, and, in accordance with high authorities, is cancelled by Lachm. and Tisch. [and by Alf.; found in few MSS.; omitted by A. B. C. Cod. Sin. Vulg., etc.—Tr.]
[16]Act_3:24. προκατήγγειλαν [of text. rec.] is an attempted correction of the simple form κατήγγειλαν; the latter is well sustained [by A. B. D. E. Cod. Sin., etc.—Tr.]
[17]Act_3:25. The article is omitted before υἱοὶ in the text. rec. [with D.] but is sufficiently sustained. [By A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin.—Tr.]
[18]Act_3:26. Ἰησοῦν after αὑτοῦ [of text. rec. with A. B.], is an addition, which is not sufficiently sustained in order to be admitted. [Omitted by C. D. E. Cod. Sin. Syr. Vulg., etc. Alf. says: “All such additions, if at all the subject of variations, are spurious.”—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 a certain man lame from his mother's womb--and now…
a certain man lame from his mother's womb--and now "above forty years old" (Act 4:22).
was carried--was wont to be carried.
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 vv2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 2. Man lame… was carried—Was being carried. He is…
2. Man lame… was carried—Was being carried. He is borne to the spot while they are walking to it. The cripple and his restorers, unknown to each other, are coming to the same point.
Laid daily—At a path where troops of the benevolent are supposed to pass. There are many irreligious humanitarians who pretend that the Christian Church preaches a great deal, but does little in the cause of humanity. Such a statement is false in fact. Statistics would show that the great current of liberal giving flows from Christian, evangelically Christian, hands. It is in Christian countries almost alone that great benevolent institutions have heretofore existed.
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Lame from his mother’s womb—Proof that none but miraculous power could cure him.
Beautiful—The gate entering from the Gentile court into the women’s court. It is remarkable that there was in the city of Constantinople a gate called by the same Greek epithet ‘Ωραια, beautiful, and Constantinople itself was sometimes called Καλλιπολις, Beauty-city. Such epithets do not usually displace the ordinary name. Leaving the marble floor of the court of the Gentiles, the apostles ascend a flight of steps to a broad platform called chel, a few steps above which stands the Beautiful gate, and upon which probably also lies the lame-born. It is customary even at the present day in the countries of Europe, especially of papal Europe, to place beggars, sometimes even by public authority, at the doors and gates of churches, hotels, and bridges. Such should never be the case in a well-ordered government, in which Christian principle requires that ample provision, to which all should contribute in proportion to their means, should be legally made for all the truly and necessarily poor. The same Christian principle which in our Saviour’s time required a limitless individual benevolence, requires of Christian governments to make such provisions as shall as far as possible render individual alms-giving unnecessary.
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 vv2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 2. And a certain man lame from his mother’s…
2. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb] There is the verb expressed in the original, and it should be translated a certain man who was, &c.
was carried] i.e. regularly every day, and the position in which he had been daily set for the greater part of his forty years’ life (see Act_4:22) made it certain that he would be widely and well known. So Bartimæus sat by the wayside to beg (Mar_10:46).
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whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful] The gateways of the Temple gave admission to the inner court from the court of the Gentiles and the court of the women; there were three on the north and the same number on the south, but the Beautiful Gate meant in this verse was probably the gate on the east which led from the court of the women. The other gates, Josephus says (B. J. v. 5. 3), were overlaid with gold and silver, but this one was “made of Corinthian bronze, and much surpassed in worth those enriched with silver and gold.”
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 vv2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 (2) A certain man lame from his mother’s womb.—The…
(2) A certain man lame from his mother’s womb.—The careful record of the duration of his suffering is more or less characteristic of St. Luke (Luk_9:33; Luk_14:8). The minuteness in this narrative suggests the thought that St. Luke’s informant may have been the cripple himself.
Was carried.—Better, was being carried.
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The gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.—Literally, door, though “gate” is used in Act_3:10. No gate of this name is mentioned by other writers, but it was probably identical either (1) with the gate of Nicanor (so called, according to one tradition, because the hand of the great enemy of Judah had been nailed to it as a trophy), which was the main eastern entrance of the inner court (Stanley’s Jewish Church, iii. p. 323); or (2) the Susa gate, also on the eastern side, and named in memory of the old historical connection between Judah and Persia, leading into the outer court of the women. The latter was of fine Corinthian brass, so massive that twenty men were required to open or shut it (Jos. Wars, v. 5, § 3).
To ask alms of them that entered into the temple.—The approaches of the Temple, like those of modern mosques, were commonly thronged with the blind, lame, and other mendicants. (Comp. Joh_9:8.) The practice was common at Constantinople in the time of Chrysostom, and has prevailed largely throughout Christendom.
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 vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 That was lame for lame, A.V.; door for gate,…
That was lame for lame, A.V.; door for gate, A.V Door. If any distinction is intended between the qura here and the pulh of ver. 10 (which is not certain, as qura is often used for a gate), we must understand qura of the double doors of the gate described by Josephus. Perhaps the lame man leant against one of the open doors. Which is called Beautiful. It is not certain what gate this was. In the "Dictionary of the Bible" it is described as "the great eastern gate leading from the court of the women to the upper court," following apparently Josephus, "De Bell. Jud:," 5:5:3. But it is impossible to reconcile Josephus"s two accounts that in the "Bell. Jud:," 5:5. and that in "Ant. Jud:," 15:11. In the former he says distinctly that there were ten gates four on the north, four on the south, and two on the east. In the latter he says there were three gates on the north, three on the south, and one on the east. In the former he says that fifteen steps led up from the women"s enclosure to the great gate, exactly opposite the gate of the temple itself (antikru thv tou naou pulhv); in the latter he says very distinctly that women were allowed to enter through the great gate on the east. With such discrepancies in the description of the only eye-witness whose evidence has been preserved, it is impossible to speak with certainly. But it seems probable that there were two gates on the east one the beautiful and costly gate of Corinthian brass, elaborately described by Josephus, through which the women did pass; the other the greater gate, just opposite to and above the beautiful gate (hJ uJper than), leading from the court of the women to the inner court; and that Josephus has confounded one with the other in his descriptions. Anyhow, the beautiful gate was probably on the east. Its correct name is said to be the gate of Nicanor. The temple. It must be remembered that the whole platform, including the porches, and the courts of the Gentiles and of the women, and the outer court and the court of the priests, was called ton; the actual house was called oJ naov; that part of the iJeron to which only Israelites were admitted, was called to agion. Josephus also divides the precincts into the first, second, and third iJeron. The description of this lame man laid at the gate of the temple to ask alms is very similar to that inblhto, Luk_16:20 of Lazarus laid at the rich man"s gate; only that the word for laid is in St. Luke ejpe and here is ejtiqoun.
The kinship between religion and charity.
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From the exegetical portion of the Commentary materials for the introduction may be obtained. Such introduction should treat of the suffering poor in the East, showing how necessarily dependent they were upon promiscuous charity. With their condition may be contrasted the care for the poor in all Christian lands, and the provision of hospitals and institutions for their relief. Some account may also be given of Herod"s temple, and the position of the gate called Beautiful. Josephus says the other gates were overlaid with gold and silver, but this one, which was probably the gate on the east, which led from the court of the women, was "made of Corinthian bronze, and much surpassed in worth those enriched with silver and gold." It may further be shown how this miracle, wrought by the agency of St. Peter, resembles the gracious miracles of healing wrought by our Lord himself. The picture of this poor and hopelessly suffering man suggests the following topics for meditation:
I THE DISPENSATIONS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE BRING BODILY DISABILITIES FOR SOME MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY. This, as a fact, may be variously illustrated, and it may be shown, from our Lord"s teachings, that neither bodily infirmities and disabilities, nor earthly calamities, are necessarily direct results of personal sin or fault. They are oftentimes hereditary consequences of ancestral sin. They are often products of circumstances and conditions of life, over which the sufferer had no control. They may be regarded as the great sin-burden lying OH the race, and borne more evidently by some members for the sake of all. So long as the race is sinful, it must have the character of its sinfulness marked and impressed by manifest, painful, unsightly, revolting, and apparently hopeless forms of "suffering" all around it. The "suffering" as well as the "poor" we have always with us.
II SUCH DISABILITIES SET SOME MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY UPON THE BROTHERHOOD AND CHARITY OF OTHERS. For, if we look upon them aright, we regard them as bearing the common burden, and so bearing our burden. We might have been among the blind, or dumb, or lame, or idiotic, or paralyzed; and it is never enough that we thank God for our freedom from special disabilities; our thankfulness only finds its natural and proper expression in caring for, helping, and relieving the disabled and distressed. Sufferers, wherever they are found, should touch our hearts with tender emotions. We should have such an open, sensitive heart as can take them all in. It is well if we show special interest in some particular class of sufferers the orphan, incurable, lame, sick children, deaf and dumb, etc. To take a higher ground, our Lord is the great Sufferer, and so the head of all sufferers. Therefore, for his sake, and as showing our tender sympathy and love for him, we should take his suffering brethren into our love and care. "Doing it to the least of the brethren is doing it to him." "He that loveth God his Father should love his brother also.
III A NATURAL EXPECTATION LEADS MEN TO LOOK FOR SUCH CHARITY TOWARD THE DISABLED FROM THE RELIGIOUS. It is a fact that systematic efforts for the welfare of the naturally disabled are only found in lands where Christian thought and feeling prevail. It may be illustrated and enforced:
1. That this connection between religion and brotherly charity is natural It is the fitting impulse of "human kindness" that leads us to care for others, but it is the special impulse of that new feeling that comes with personal and saving relations with Christ.
2. That this connection is right. Urged as such by Divine command and Divine example, as well as by the example of all noble and holy men.
3. This connection has been, in Christian lands, fairly well met. Show into how varied spheres Christian benevolence and charity may now run. Ask earnestly, and with direct applications Is it true, individually for us, that our piety has cultured into holy vigor our charity? If not, it is of little worth to us or to others. 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 vv2, 4, 6, 8, 11 The gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.
Act_3:2
The gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.
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The gate Beautiful
In our ignorance of the topography of Jerusalem and the temple, it is not possible to determine with absolute certainty which of the many gates of the temple was distinguished by this name. According to Josephus, There were nine of the gates that were overlaid with silver and gold. But one without the temple, or sanctuary, made of Corinthian brass, far excelled those of gold or silver. This gate is supposed to have been the east entrance to the womens court, and was sometimes called the Corinthian Gate, from the material of which it was made. It was also known by the name of Nicanors gate. Others, however, suppose the Beautiful gate to be that called Shushan by the Rabbins, probably from the bas-relief lily work in brass around the capitals of the columns (1Ki_7:19). It is derived from an unused root signifying white, white and beautiful being convertible as in Shushan (Est_1:2), the white or beautiful city (as Beogrady--Belgrade--in Slavonic). This gate was on the cast side of the court of the Gentiles, and close to Solomons porch. (W. Denton, M. A.)
The gate Beautiful
The temple of religion has a beautiful gate in it; but in one important respect it differs from the Beautiful gate of the Jewish temple. On the pillars on either side of that gate were engraved in Greek letters the words, Let no stranger pass beyond this on pain of death. But through the beautiful gate of the gospel every one is free to enter into the holiest place. And that at all times. In each of the great churches of Rome there is what is called the Porta Santa, or Holy Door. It is made of a peculiar marble, and is sealed up for fifty years, so that no one during all that time can obtain admission through it to the high altar. In the jubilee year the reigning Pope knocks at this door with a silver hammer; and immediately it is pulled down and a breach made through which the Pope, followed by a splendid procession, can pass and minister in the most sacred place. But not like this Porta Santa is the beautiful gate of the gospel. Not at long intervals is it opened. To every one who knocks, however feebly, and at whatever time, it swings back at once and gives admission. All that is needful to entitle any one to admission is faith and love. It is a beautiful gate by which you enter into Gods kingdom. The everlasting doors are lifted up that you may pass through, and the salvation wrought for you is a great salvation worthy of the greatness of your nature. The ancient Romans had a strange law which required that when a man returned from captivity in a foreign land he should not enter his house by the doorway. He could not recover his right of possession and citizenship unless he entered his house through the roof; and then he was supposed never to have been out of it. Not thus is admittance to be obtained into the kingdom of heaven. There can be no make-believe that the redeemed sinner has always been in the Fathers house. The captive, the wanderer, dead in trespasses and sins, must return by the one living Way, and enter in by the one living Door open to all--viz., a simple faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. But, while the gate of the temple of Christs religion is thus beautiful to all, it is especially beautiful to the young. You are to enter the temple of religion by the gate of innocence, before you have had any experience of the dark sins and trials of the world. Youth is the most beautiful door by which to enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have the qualities of faith, hope, and love required of those who enter in. They are easy and natural, as it were, to you; and you have only to exercise them, not towards earthly, but towards heavenly things. And how beautiful is this gate of youthful piety--beautiful as all first things are-first love, the first light of the morning, the first flowers of spring, the dawn of human history in Eden, the golden age of the world; beautiful as all pure things are that have no alloy or base mixture of evil in them! You ask how are you to get this beautiful religion? In a very beautiful way! Not only is the temple itself beautiful, but the gate by which you enter it is beautiful. It is like the beautiful fruit of the orange-tree which you get through the beautiful and fragrant orange blossom. Jesus says, I am the Door, etc. How beautiful and costly is that living Door! What a wonderful death of self-sacrificing He died! And Jesus becomes a door to you such as your nature requires. He suits His long step to your short step, and narrows His octave to the stretch of your little fingers. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)
The Beautiful Gate
It is hardly a figure to say that in our human life there are gates we may well call beautiful, ever opening and inviting us to enter on new experiences and duties. But the special thought I want to emphasise is that at every one of these gates we need a helping hand, human or Divine, to put us on our feet, and prepare us for the new phase of life into which the gate opens.
1. To begin with the first gate--the gate of infancy and childhood. It is a beautiful gate, indeed. What fond hopes wreathe every cradle! What possibilities are wrapped up in that little bundle of helplessness and want called the baby? This bundle of weakness and want laid at the beautiful gate of life, asking alms of all, having nothing but capacity, needing everything--care, watching, sympathy, love, wisdom--everything to feed and clothe the body, to quicken and nourish the mind, and train a young immortal for the mortal and immortal life. And what can do this like mingled affection and faith akin in spirit to that which looked out through the illuminated eyes of Peter and John upon the tame man at the temple gate? And what this foundling at the gate of life needs is the touch of a loving hand and the faith of a loving heart. This is sure to carry with it healing and strength. And it is no less Divine on what is called the natural than what is called the supernatural plane. Are not the mingled affection and faith with which a true Christian mother broods over her child, nurturing into life body and mind in what we call the natural order, just as truly of God as was the power that healed the lame man at the temple gate? See how she puts herself into affectional rapport with her child. She looks into its eyes, finds its soul, talks with it in the souls language, which mother and child both know, smiles upon it, gives strength to its ankle-bones by holding them in her warm, motherly hands, and, finally, tempting the child to rise up and walk by the confidence that shines through her eyes, and by the outstretched hand ready to save from falling or to lift up again and again and yet again, till at last the child walks and leaps and praises God, in childish fashion, by its innocent gladness. All this affection may do, is continually doing, in all true homes. But there is a higher work to be done for the child, a deeper nature to be reached, a life within a life to be waked: and this calls not for affection only, but faith--faith in the reality of this interior life, faith in God as the Infinite Good, and in the reality of His Holy Spirits influence, faith in Him as the constant inspiration and life of the soul. This faith must crown affection, or the deepest wants of the childs soul can never be met It is this sweet, calm, holy influence filling the home, as the balmly odours of pine groves fill the surrounding air, that gives to the home atmosphere a healing, a strengthening, a life-giving power. It is better than silver or gold. But by and by the child is grown, and the home is left for the wide, wide world.
2. Here opens another gate--the gate of early manhood. This, too, is a beautiful gate, especially when the gate of childhood has been a fitting preparation for it. If it ever seems to rest in shadow, it is because the higher nature has not been waked, but sleeps, while the lower nature is alive and active. What in all this world is more beautiful than a young man--and man means woman--well furnished mentally, morally, spiritually, passing out through the beautiful gate for the great work of life! What fond hopes centre in him! But all such hopes are not realised. Why is it? But one reason for the failure may safely be ascribed to this: an undue sense of self-sufficiency. In the pride and strength of young manhood, one is slow to perceive that he is lame or undeveloped, or weak in any part of his nature. He is no cripple at the gate, to ask help of anybody. Is there no lameness, no weakness, no need of the touch of a helping hand? Even if the need be not felt, it does not follow that it is not real. It may not be felt, because the greatness of life is not felt. Where life is regarded only as a vigorous scramble for the main chance, for business success, or pleasure, without aspiration for anything above the beaten paths of dust and ashes, then, indeed, any man with good legs and arms and a thimbleful of brains may feel quite equal to the undertaking. But for one who looks on life from the standpoint of spiritual possibility--such a one, comparing his ideal with his actual, the glorious possibility with his own sense of inability, will need no argument to convince him that, however strong his ankle-bones, his spirit is in pressing need of the healing and strengthening touch of a faith and hope that makes the deepest and truest things of life the most real. He who helps me to faith in eternal realities, honour, right, integrity, self-sacrifice, and lifts me to a plane of life where the difference between noble and ignoble living is most clearly seen, is my greatest benefactor. It is this spirit which lifts, guides, and liberates the soul for noblest living. It is inspiration for the life eternal here and now. Silver and gold Jesus had none. Such as He had He gave--Himself, a soul enkindled with the love of God and man.
3. But manhood hastens on to old age. May we call that, too, a beautiful gate? Yes, if faith and hope, like Peter and John, stand at the gate to look into our eye and take our hand as we pass through. At first the gate of old age seems anything but beautiful. One of the brightest and most cheerful of our American poets calls it an Iron Gate. At first, they were almost ashamed to be found fairly inside the gate and unable to get back. But by and by, as they get adjusted to the new condition, and find themselves still in good company, rather select withal, the gate does not seem so dreadful. Approaching it, it did look like iron; but seen from the inside, with faith and hope shining upon it, it becomes beautiful--just as beautiful as the gates of childhood and manhood. The gate of childhood faces the sunrise. The gate of manhood lies under the mid-day sun. The gate of old age looks toward sunset, indeed; but it is a sunset that carries with it the promise of an immortal day. They are all beautiful gates of life. Which is the most beautiful we will not venture to say till we see them all from the higher standpoint we hope to reach by and by. But, even here and now, old age, with all its infirmities, has its blessings, which youth and manhood cannot know till they pass through the gate--the blessing of rest after toil, the blessing of sweet companionship with those with whom we have passed through all the beautiful gatest, the living over again with them the scenes of the past, to which distance lends enchantment; the looking forward in glorious hope to higher fellowship, Where youth is renewed as the eagles. These and the like lift the shadow from old age, and let Gods sunshine in to brighten and warm. But this implies a touch of the healing hand. And now, especially, as in lifes morning, the help is none the less, but all the more Divine if it comes through the eye, the heart, the hand of affection and faith mingled, assisting us tenderly and lovingly to rise up above the gathering mists and shadows, and pass trustingly through one more beautiful gate to the other mansions.
4. And is death, too, a beautiful gate? One would not think so by the hard names given to it Grim Tyrant, Great Destroyer, King of Terrors, and the like. But God never gave His white-winged angel such names. These, then, are some of the beautiful gates of life. All beautiful gates! built not by the wealth or workmen of Herod, but by the All-Beautiful, who created man in His own image, for the beauty of holiness. And at each gate Gods messengers, in some form, wait to give us the healing touch and put us on our feet. Oh! were we always conscious of the brooding spirit of Divine Love standing at every gate, looking into our eyes, seeking to find our souls and call forth responsive love, should we not all leave our sins, our weakness, our doubts, and stand on our feet, walking and leaping and praising God by a life in harmony with the Divine will? (W. P. Tilden.)
The grace of beauty
Observe--
I. The close relation between religion and beauty. The gate Beautiful was a temple gate. The Puritans depreciated beauty. In their excessive spirituality they ignored the true and proper uses of the visible, and disparaged the body. Jesus Christ manifested in human flesh the Divine glory, and by the resurrection of His body has given a type and pledge of the exaltation of man and nature. All material things may be transformed by the spirit of man. The beautiful in form, colour, and sound has been created by love, patriotism, and genius. But the higher inspiration of beauty is in religion, which touches with firmest finger the faculties out of which the graceful arises. Art, poetry, architecture, and music owe their finest products to Christianity. As religion has inspired aesthetic creations, so the way to religion should be by the paths of beauty. Gods worship should be no bald offering of utility, but should be associated with the most perfect in architecture, music, and oratory. The ways by which the young are drawn to Christ should be festooned with loveliness, and not be a via dolorosa. All the qualities of the Christian character may be rendered in attractive forms. When religion and beauty are wedded, science, industry, and citizenship will also be drawn into the goodly fellowship.
II. But the highest beauty, and the largest gateway to heaven, is spiritual beauty--the beauty of the Lord revealed in Christ. The cripple was not healed by the beauty of the temple gate, but by the beauty of Christ--the glory of His love, sympathy, and helpfulness. Visible beauty brings us to the threshold only; we must enter to behold the uncreated beauty. It is this which transforms the man and changes him from glory to glory in its image. When possessed it must not be hidden, but must, in imitation of the altogether lovely, be manifested in beautiful words, acts, life. As Christ would have us reproduce His beauty, so we must aim at making spiritually lame and ugly people radiant with the same loveliness. (J. Matthews.)
The beauty of religion
The temple represented the Jewish religion, and the gate by which you entered was called Beautiful. The way of the beautiful is the way of entrance into the sanctuary, if only we understand what is meant by beauty.
1. With one or two exceptions the word beauty is not mentioned in the whole New Testament. On the other hand, it is mentioned often in the Old. The most remarkable contrast among nations in antiquity was that between the Jew and the Greek. The Greeks are always instanced as the nation that had the genius of beauty and the love of it; but among the Greeks it was essentially physical; and although moral qualities were sometimes brought down and represented in it, it was in order merely to enhance the physical beauty. On exactly the other side stood the Hebrew, who was forbidden to have much that was physical in his worship. And so art never took root nor flourished in Palestine. But, on the other hand, there arose in the minds of the old Hebrew seers and lyrists a sense of the beauty of conduct, character, and moral quality that never represented itself in sensuous form. I think that if we were to look into the modern schools of beauty we should find that they follow the Greek and not the Hebrew. Now, in the New Testament, though it does not mention beauty as the Old Testament does, nevertheless we have a specification of qualities of thought, and feeling, and exhortations to beautiful conduct. One by one Christ takes up the things that are transcendentally beautiful in their kind, although they are not so to men. When a diamond is first found it is like a rough stone, without form or comeliness, and only when it has been ground does it become glittering; and so almost all the precious stones are found--in seams and ledges, and under circumstances where their beauty does not appear until they have been dealt with. Blessed be ye, when persecuted. Blessed be the rapid-running stone that grinds the gems--not, perhaps, in the process, but in the result.
2. In all the earth no spire, cathedral front, nor temple is so beautiful as the form of man and woman when brought out in all the lines and lineaments of Christian culture. And the New Testament says, Let your light so shine. Some have interpreted it, Let your gloom so shine that men think you are very serious-minded. No, but let your light shine. Let the things that shine out be, as the apostle other-where says in regard to them, Whatsoever is pure, whatsoever is true, whatsoever is of good report, think on these things. These are the qualities that are to shine with such attractiveness, as that religion shall not repel men, but win them, draw them--that men, seeing your good work, shall glorify your Father which is in heaven.
3. Every single quality that belongs to Christian character should be carried up to the condition of beautifulness. That is the aim, not by flash, rare--used only as a medicine is--but beauty that rises like a star, and continues to shine with a steadfast ray. The light that has in it all the primary colours carries them always without any discontinuity. And so the great qualities which grace inspires are to be carried up toward the line of beauty; they are intrinsically so. Now, when a plant seed unknown is sown we watch the unfolding of it, wondering at every step what is to be the outcome. The stem may be coarse, the leaf may be hirsute, and, like the cactus, one may never dream that this great flat, fat, spiny leaf could ever be the mother of beauty until the blossom comes, and then in all the earth is there anything more exquisite and gorgeous than the blossom of the cactus? So in regard to unripe and undeveloped qualities of moral feeling in the soul. Men may, during the process in which they are unfolding, see nothing very lovely; but when they have been carried up to their florescence, or their fruit estate, they are invariably beautiful. Moral qualities, like physical excellences, have a beginning. Some attain more quickly and easily than others the relish of the beautiful; some are the result only of long striving; some grow like autumnal flowers, only when they feel the coming breath of frost itself, out every quality that goes to make the true Christian as Christ longs to see him is an element, that, if carried up to its full extent, touches the line of the beautiful. So of conduct. Whatever is graceful, noble, free, large, manly, lordly in courage, is beautiful; and because it is beautiful it belongs to the religious perfection of man. And all conduct that has in it the element of heroism--how beautiful it is. The fidelity that costs! The self-denial that finds its reward in the fruition of that which is served! The angels of the cradle and the crib--those Protestant saints, maiden women, that, having no family, adopt the children and the household of those with whom they dwell, and spend love, and time, and all service, and pain even, and watchfulness for the sake of others--how beautiful is this quality of conduct! If I read over the qualities that constitute religion, as described in the fifth chapter of Galatians, they will sound to you like the snap of so many harpstrings, and all of them together like the sweep of an old harpers hand. The joy of religion!--not the joy of reading hymns, or of going to meeting, necessarily, or hearing sermons; but the inward joy which one has from communion with God through hope, and inspiration, and faith; the temperament of joy--peace--the absolute concordance of every quality in us, without any oppositions from any direction; the perfect harmonisation of every element in the soul. Long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, self-control--these are the features. The portraiture every one must make up in his own imagination. This is religion. Whoever, then, so lives as not to produce in some way or other the impression of the beauty of religion falls short of the genius of the New Testament. (H. W. Beecher.)
The beautiful
I. A beautiful thing. The gate Beautiful.
1. It was fitting that the approach to a beautiful place like the temple should be beautiful. Many beautiful things are marred by the ungainliness of their surroundings. A cathedral in a squalid neighbourhood, a mansion with a tumble-down entry, a picture in a broken frame, an untidy woman, are offensive incongruities. The most beautiful thing in the world is the religion of Christ, but how many are offended by what they see at the front of it--conditions of entrance which Christ never laid down, specimens of Christianity that Christ never produced. Reproduce the beauty of religion in yourselves, and make the path to it attractive, and there will be no difficulty in making converts.
2. The gate led to a beautiful place. This is not always the case. The best things only are placed in some windows. The world presents an attractive outside, but within is death. Once through the gate of Gods house the worshipper should find everything in harmony with the beautiful work he has to perform there; the structure, the service in all its parts should be conducive to the beauty of holiness. An ugly, ill-kept church, a tame, bald service--how detrimental to devotion, how dishonouring to God.
II. Beautiful characters.
1. Peter. There were ugly seams in Peters character. He was impulsive, he denied his Lord, he compromised at Antioch. But we must take that character as a whole and like some vast mountainous region, although there may be a morass here, and stunted vegetation there, and yawning chasms yonder, yet how grand the whole! In his deep penitence, his burning enthusiasm, his teaching by word and pen, there have been few more admirable men than Peter.
2. John. If Peter represents the rugged, John exhibits the more symmetrical type of Christian character. He must have had exquisite qualities whom Jesus so loved, and who was specially selected for so beautiful a task as the care of Jesus mother. And all these qualities, tenderness, love, loyalty, come out in his letters.
3. Peter and John, a combination which nearly makes perfection of beauty, power and gentleness, zeal and affection. And at the last a good deal of Peter came out in John, and a good deal of John in Perer.
III. A beautiful act.
1. It was beautifully done. Fastening his eyes upon him. He took him by the right hand. How much may be accomplished by a look. The mere gaze of Peter and John inspired life into a hope that had been dead for long years. There is as much in the way a thing is done as in the thing itself. You may bestow alms so as to deprive them of half their value--grudgingly, morosely, even vindictively. You may help a man so as to make every nerve quiver, and so as to provoke a reluctance to be helped at all. You may wipe a tear and leave a wound in the process. The action should be suited to the act. And if you can do nothing you can always look something, which sometimes will answer as well, and if you can give nothing else you can give your hand, which often will be more acceptable.
2. The deed was beautiful. It was physicians work, and what more beautiful--restoration to health--for which in its literal sense we may not be qualified; but there are sick bodies to which we may minister by kindly attention--Sick and ye visited Me: sick hearts to which we may administer comfort; sick minds that we may relieve by wise advice; sick souls that we may lead to the Great Physician.
IV. A beautiful method.
1. A frank recognition of the impossible. Silver and gold have I none. There are few things more unpleasant than to attempt what is beyond our power. We excite expectations that are doomed to disappointment, and bring ourselves into contempt. Before you promise to do a thing be sure you have the means. Dont let people think that you are a philosopher if you have no wisdom, a philanthropist if you have no money, a doctor if you have no medical skill, a preacher if you cannot preach. Moral deformities are what a man pretends to have but has not.
2. Self-abnegation in favour of the able. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth. To put oneself between the helpless and the helper, what more ugly. Who more despicable than the quack who interposes between the diseased and the doctor? Only he who stands between the sinner and the Saviour. If you cannot help a man, do not interfere with those who can. This is the least you can do; but the beautiful action is to get the two together and then stand aside. This is what Peter and John did; and this is what all men do in dealing with diseased souls, get them to Christ and then get out of the way.
V. A beautiful experience. Immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength.
1. Strength was given to the weak. Strength added to strength is abnormal, and therefore not beautiful. There is no grace in the opulent receiving money, or in the competent receiving help, but frequently the reverse. But if a starving man is fed, and a helpless man assisted to do a task otherwise impossible, a beautiful effect is produced. The whole need not a physician, and to give medicine to the healthy only results in a disagreeable experience. Go, then, to the sinful, and lead them through the stages of repentance and faith until the dead in trespasses and sins become alive unto God through Christ, and the most beautiful of experiences is the result.
2. The weak was made strong. What experience is comparable to the consciousness of strength--strength of body, of intellect, above all of soul--to resist temptation, to live to and work for God.
VI. A beautiful result.
1. On the part of the man. Walking and leaping and praising God.
(1) Progression.
(2) Elevation.
(3) Worship--the three great characteristics of a personal Christian life.
2. On the part of the multitude.
(1) They saw and knew.
(2) They were filled with wonder and amazement.
(3) Who can doubt that many were convinced and converted?
3. On the part of Peter. It led to two of the most beautiful sermons in all Christian literature. (J. W. Burn.)
Beauty, designations of
Socrates called beauty a short-lived tyranny; Plato, a privilege of nature; Theophrastus, a silent cheat; Theocritus, a delightful prejudice; Carneades, a solitary kingdom; Homer, a glorious gift of nature; Ovid, a favour bestowed by the gods.
Gods love of the beautiful
It is among the mosses of the wall that the richest harvest of beauty and interest may be gathered. Well do I remember the bright July afternoon when their wonderful structure and peculiarities were first unveiled to me by one long since dead, whose cultured eye saw strange loveliness in things which others idly passed, and whose simple warm heart was ever alive to the mute appeals of the humblest wild flower or tiniest moss. There was opened up to me that day a new world of hitherto undreamt of beauty and intellectual delight; in the structural details of the moss which illustrated the lesson I got a glimpse of some deeper aspect of the Divine character than mere intelligence. Methought I saw Him, not as the mere contriver or designer, but in His own loving nature, having His tender mercies over all His works--displaying care for helplessness and minuteness--care for beauty in the works of nature. Small as the object before me was, I was impressed--in the wonder of its structure, at once a means and an end, beautiful in itself and performing its beautiful uses in nature--not with the limited ingenuity of the finite, but with the wisdom and love of an Infinite Spirit. To that one unforgotten lesson, improved by much study of these little objects alike in the closet and in the field, I owe many moments of pure happiness. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)
Beauty, true and false
Hearing a young lady highly praised for her beauty, Gotthold asked, What kind of beauty do you mean? Merely that of the body, or that also of the mind? I see well that you have been looking no further than the sign which Nature displays outside the house, but have never asked for the host who dwells within. Beauty is an excellent gift of God, nor has the pen of the Holy Spirit forgotten to speak its praise; but it is virtuous and godly beauty alone which Scripture honours, expressly declaring, on the other hand, that a fair woman which is without discretion is as a jewel of gold in a swines snout (Pro_11:22). Many a pretty girl is like the flower called the imperial crown, which is admired, no doubt, for its showy appearance, but despised for its unpleasant odour. Were her mind as free from pride, selfishness, luxury, and levity, as her countenance from spots and wrinkles, and could she govern her inward inclinations as she does her external carriage, she would have none to match her. But who loves the caterpillar and such insects, however showy their appearance, and bright and variegated the colours that adorn them, seeing they injure and defile the trees and plants on which they settle? What the better is an apple for its rosy skin, if the maggot have penetrated and devoured its heart? What care I for the beautiful brown of the nut, if it be worm-eaten, and fill the mouth with corruption? Even so external beauty of person deserves no praise, unless matched with the inward beauty of virtue and holiness. It is, therefore, far better to acquire beauty than to be born with it. The best kind is that which does not wither at the touch of fever, like a flower, but lasts and endures on a bed of sickness, in old age, and even unto death.
Beauty and virtue
A gentleman had two children--one a daughter, who was considered plain in her person; the other a son, who was reckoned handsome. One day, as they were playing together, they saw their faces in a looking-glass. The boy was charmed with his beauty, and spoke of it to his sister, who considered his remarks as so many reflections on her want of it. She told her father of the affair, complaining of her brothers rudeness to her. The father, instead of appearing angry, took them both on his knees, and with much affection gave them the following advice:--I would have you both look in the glass every day: you, my son, that you may be reminded never to dishonour the beauty of your face by the deformity of your actions; and you, my daughter, that you may take care to hide the defect of beauty in your person by the superior lustre of your virtuous and amiable conduct.
Beauty and virtue
Beauty unaccompanied by virtue is a flower without perfume.
Beauty of a living Christian
A true man after Christ will be the most noble and beautiful thing upon the earth--the freest, the most joyous, the most fruitful in all goodness. There is no picture that was ever painted, there is no statue that was ever carved, there was no work of art ever conceived of, that was half so beautiful as the living man, thoroughly developed on the pattern of Christ Jesus. (H. W. Beecher.)
Beauty of conscience
There is great beauty in conscience. When it tempers the speech, and makes it true and just; when it tempers the actions, and makes them noble and right; when it produces fairness, and honour, and just judgments--how beautiful are all the direct and indirect influences of a Christian conscience in a man! But it sometimes leads Christian men to a sphere of uncharitable judgment. It inspires a high conception of what is right, and men take that conception as a rule by which to measure the conduct of their fellow-men, without consideration of their organisations, without making allowance for their weaknesses, without sympathy with them. There are many men that, adhering strictly to Gods ideal of rectitude, fail to have sympathy with poor, crippled, and broken-down human nature; and they go aside and away from God just in proportion as they do this. It was this cruelty that brought down from our Saviour His most vehement denunciations; for vice and crime were not regarded by Christ as being as guilty as moral purity without any heart, without any sympathy, without any charitable judgment. (H. W. Beecher.)
Beauty an educator
If I am to use things that are beautiful, I must remember that beauty is a moral instructor; I must educate myself with it, that I may become a man of more power, and that I may take that power and employ it in my Masters cause. If I use beauty as a means of education, I shall be redeemed from the charge of selfishness in it. And if men ask me, How can you lay out so much for works of art when there is such a demand for money to support missionaries and mission-schools? I reply, that I am preparing myself by these things to preach the gospel. They help me. The things that fill my house with beauty are not objects for the gratification of my selfishness, but instrumentalities by which I am qualified to do the work of God in this world. (H. W. Beecher.)
Beauty: its utility
People seem to think that God must be a great utilitarian, and that He always makes things for uses. Now, there is many a man that, drawing a sword whose blade is wreathed with all manner of traceries, which must have required days and days of exquisite work, will say, How foolish it is for a man to spend so much precious time to so little practical purpose! Those things do not make the sword any sharper. Who cares in the day of battle whether there is a picture on the blade of his sword or not? But when God made rocks, He did not let them alone till He had etched them all over with lines and figures of every description.:He smiled upon the earth, and all sorts of grasses and flowers and vines began to grow upon the surface. And wherever you see that God has walked in the world, you see that He has had an eye to beauty. The unconscious effects of Divine benevolence are everywhere springing out of the ground, and from every tree, from every dead stick, and from every stone. There is something on the globe besides what men can eat, drink, and wear. What is this flower good for? says a man; I cannot eat it. What are you good for, that nothing is good to you except what you can eat? Have you no appetite except in your mouth? I have an appetite in my ear, and the things that give that appetite food--sweet sounds--are something to me. I have an appetite in my eye, and the things that give that appetite food--form, symmetry, and beauty--are something to me. These things are a great deal more food to me than bread. I pity a man whose appetites are confined to physical things, and I like a man whose appetites rise up to nobler things. On every side of us are witnesses that God did not make the world for iron, and gold, and stones, and meat, and drink, and clothes, alone; but for the mind and soul as well. (H. W. Beecher.)
Beauty, danger of
Gaze not on beauty too much, lest it blast thee; nor too long, lest it blind thee; nor too near, lest it burn thee. If thou like it, it deceives thee; if thou love it, it disturbs thee; if thou hunt after it, it destroys thee. If virtue accompany it, it is the hearts paradise; if vice associate it, it is the souls purgatory. It is the wise mans bonfire, and the fools furnace. (F. Quarles.)
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 vv2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 2. Laid daily at the gate … called Beautiful.…
2. Laid daily at the gate … called Beautiful. Generally thought to be the gate opening towards the Mount of Olives. Josephus, who calls it the gate of Nicanor, describes it as wonderfully rich and beautiful (Jos. Ant. 15:11). It was common for the unfortunate to be placed at gates where their condition would appeal to the multitudes entering for worship. Then, public charities were almost unknown, and the helpless were compelled to beg.
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.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v11 Act_3:11. For the lame man which was healed the…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_3:11. For the lame man which was healed the best codices read he. The porch (or portico) that is called Solomon’s ran along the eastern wall of the temple on both sides of the gate of Susa, and overlooked the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It had three rows of columns fifty feet high, and two walks thirty feet wide. The columns were each of one stone (white marble), the walks were paved with stones of various colours, and the roofs adorned with sculptures in wood. The porch, which was a survival from the Solomonic temple, was frequently resorted to, especially in winter, as a promenade or public walk (Joh_10:23; Jos., Ant., XV. xi. 5).
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Act_3:12. At this.—Sc. man rather than thing. Look earnestly.—Fasten your eyes, as in Act_3:4. For this man read him.
Act_3:13. Hath glorified.—Better, glorified not by this particular miracle (Meyer, Spence), or by all the mighty works which attested His mission (Hackett), but by His exaltation through death, as in Joh_12:23; Joh_17:10 (Alford). His son.—Should be His servant, this being an Old Testament title of Messiah (Isa_41:8; Isa_42:1-7; Isa_49:3-6); and applied as such to Christ by Matthew (Act_12:18), and outside of canonical scripture by Clem., I. ad Cor. 59:3; Barnabas, vi. 1; Didache, ix.
2. Had determined.—Or decided that it was just (see Luk_23:16; Luke 20-23; Joh_19:4).
Act_3:15. Prince.—Author, in the fullest sense (see Heb_2:10; Heb_12:2). Whereof.—Or of whom (compare Act_2:32; Act_13:31).
Act_3:16. Through, or on the ground of, faith.—Not the man’s or the people’s (Olshausen) but the apostles’ (Alford, Spence, Holtzmann, Hackett) faith in His Christ’s name.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_3:11-16
Solomon’s Porch; or, Peter’s Second Sermon.
1. The Secret of the Miracle explained
I. The people’s excitement calmed.—The effect produced upon the healed man was scarcely greater than that wrought upon the multitude who saw him in the Temple. Filled with wonder and amazement at what had taken place, the crowd swarmed round the two apostles, to whom the cured cripple was eagerly clinging in Solomon’s porch as if unwilling to permit them to depart. Taking speech in hand, Peter, with his customary readiness, proceeded to address them with a view to quieting their agitation. Their wonder and amazement he—
1. Admitted as not unnatural. It would have been surprising if they had not marvelled on seeing a forty years’ old cripple restored to perfect health. When in Capernaum a similar miracle had been wrought by Christ (Luk_5:18-26), “amazement took hold on all … and they were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day.” So wherever Christ’s religion operates it performs moral miracles, at which men gaze sometimes with incredulity and even with hostility, but always with astonishment (see Act_17:6).
2. Rebuked as wrongly directed. The multitude imagined that Peter and John had healed the cripple by their own power and in virtue of their own goodness. Hence their wonder and admiration were turned rather upon the instruments than towards the agent. The sole connection John and Peter had with the miracle was that a higher power had used them as a means of effecting His gracious will. It does not appear that the apostles ever had the power of working miracles at their own discretion, but only at a signal given by the Holy Spirit. Significant as proof of this is the circumstance that Paul, though he wrought miracles, could not cure Epaphroditus when he was sick nigh unto death (Php_2:27), or Trophimus, whom he left at Miletus sick (2Ti_4:20). So the moral miracles performed by the Gospel in changing men’s hearts and lives are due to neither the ability nor the piety of those who preach the Gospel but solely to Him of whom the Gospel speaks. The right to say “I am He who healeth thee” belongs to God alone (Exo_15:26; Psa_103:3; Psa_147:3).
3. Instructed as ill informed. The miracle had been done
(1) instrumentally by the apostles, which they did not deny: they had made the lame man to walk (Act_3:12); and
(2) mediately by the man’s own faith, or at least by the apostles’ faith—a point which is duly emphasised (Act_3:16; compare Act_14:9); but nevertheless
(3) causally, or efficiently by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, or by the power which that name represented, and which accompanied the utterance of and belief in that name. So the healings of a spiritual sort which are effected by the Gospel of Jesus Christ are to be ascribed neither to the human agents by whom it is preached nor to the words in which it is set forth, but to the spirit and power alone of the exalted Christ (1Co_3:6-7; 2Co_4:6; Eph_2:1; Php_1:6).
II. The people’s guilt rehearsed.—This is done indirectly and, as it were, by way of parenthesis, while introducing to their notice the real author of the miracle. The extent of their guilt lay in four things:
1. Treachery. By acquiescing in the wickedness of Caiaphas and Judas they had been practically guilty of delivering up Jesus into the hands of His enemies—they had, in fact, endorsed the crimes of their leaders and rulers. The solidarity of nations which renders the individual members thereof responsible, in a certain measure at least, for the deeds of their representatives, is apt to be forgotten.
2. Denial. When He stood before Pilate, and was by that Roman Governor pronounced “innocent,” and offered to be released as a compliment to their nation, they had cried “Away with Him! Crucify Him!” (Mat_27:22; Joh_19:4; Joh_19:15.) In the most deliberate manner possible they had disowned Him who was really God’s holy and righteous One.
3. Rejection. Nor was that the worst that could be charged against them, but when Pilate gave them an opportunity of choosing between Jehovah’s Servant, the Prince of Life, and Barabbas, who for a certain sedition had been cast into prison, they actually chose the murderer to be granted to them (Joh_18:39-40). To such a depth of moral depravity had they sunk in their hostility to Jesus of Nazareth.
4. Crucifixion. They paused not in their hate till they had killed the Prince of Life, who not only had life in Himself but on more occasions than one had given life to others (Mat_9:25; Luk_7:15; Joh_11:44)—killed Him by adjudging Him to the shameful and painful death of the cross (Joh_19:17-18). Here it should be noted that, heinous as these sins were, as great may still be committed against Christ (Heb_6:6).
Learn.—
1. The mistakes men make in judging of Christianity and its preachers.
2. The humility that ought to characterise every true servant of Christ.
3. The covenant-keeping character of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The possibility of repeating the crimes of the Jews who crucified the Prince of Life.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_3:13. The God of our Fathers.
I. Our fathers had a God.—They were not atheists or agnostics. Descent from a pious ancestry a great privilege, entailing large responsibilities.
II. The God of our Fathers covenanted with them to bless their children.—The promise was made to them and to their children (Act_2:39). And He is faithful who hath promised (Heb_10:23; Heb_11:11).
III. For this purpose the God of our fathers raised up Jesus and sent Him to bless us.—The whole mission of Christ, in His incarnation, death, resurrection, exaltation, and coming again in the spirit, a carrying out of the divine idea and purpose of salvation to which in a manner God had pledged Himself by His gracious promises to the fathers of Israel and the father of the faithful.
IV. Have we, the children of those fathers and the heirs of these promises, risen to the height of our privileges?—Have we taken our fathers’ God as our God? And the Saviour promised to the fathers as our Redeemer?
The Glory of Christ.
I. Essential.—
1. That which He had with the Father before the world was (Joh_17:5).
2. That which belonged to His own person when on earth—the glory of an only begotten from a Father full of grace and truth (Joh_1:14).
II. Delegated.—
1. When appointed by His Father to be the High Priest of humanity (Heb_5:5).
2. When in answer to prayer His Father showed Him to be the conqueror of death (Joh_11:4).
3. When by His own death upon the cross He triumphed over the principalities of evil (Joh_12:23; Joh_17:1).
4. When raised from the dead by the glory of His father (Act_3:15; Rom_6:4).
5. When the Spirit reveals Him to the soul of man (Joh_16:14).
III. Acquired.—
1. The glory of sitting on the mediatorial throne (1Co_15:25).
2. The glory of being worshipped by the Church universal (Rev_5:8-14).
3. The glory of being the heir of all things (Heb_1:2).
4. The glory of being the final judge of mankind (Joh_5:27; Act_17:31).
Act_3:11-16. A Model for the Christian Preacher.—Found in Peter and his sermon, which reveal—
I. The spirit which should animate the preacher.—A spirit of self-abnegation and humility, which turns away the attention of his hearers from himself, as did John the Baptist (Joh_1:23; Joh_3:30).
II. The object at which the preacher should aim.—To exalt Christ and bring His glory and claims before the minds of his hearers, as again did the Baptist and Paul (1Co_2:2).
III. The manner in which the preacher should address his hearers.—With much plainness of speech, and even with personal directness, but yet with tenderness and sympathy, as once more did Paul (Php_3:18; 2Co_3:12).
IV. The theme on which the preacher should descant.—Not on himself, his own virtues and achievements, but on the name of Jesus, its glorious excellence and its power to heal and save, with the terms and conditions on which alone it can operate, as again did Paul (1Co_2:2).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv8, 10, 11 8. The Greek describes the man leaping out of…
8. The Greek describes the man leaping out of his place like a frog, and continuing to run round and round, following Peter and John into the temple, attracting the attention of everybody, because in forty years he had become better known than the king.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv2–11 See notes on verse 1
See notes on verse 1
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v4 The miracle of healing:
The miracle of healing:
v. 4. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
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v. 5. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
v. 6. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
v. 7. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up; and immediately his feet and ankle-bones received strength.
v. 8. And he, leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered with them into the Temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
v. 9. And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
v. 10. And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
v. 11. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
The attention of the apostles having thus been directed to the beggar, whom they otherwise might have passed, as they probably had done scores of times, Peter looked at him very intently. His heart was deeply moved at the helpless and pitiable condition of the cripple, and his earnest gaze may have held something of that wonderful sympathy which had so often shone forth from his Master’s face. Then he asked the beggar to look at him and John, with the intention of exciting his curiosity and attention, in order that the man might at once be conscious of the source of the miraculous cure. And as the cripple concentrated his attention upon the two apostles, expecting, of course, to receive some gift from them, Peter simply, but impressively, said to him: Silver and gold have I none; these he did not number among his possessions, thus sharing the condition of his Lord and of many servants of the Lord since his time. Worldly belongings were not included in his treasures; but what he did have was sure and lasting. And this Peter was willing to give, to share with the poor man. The power to perform miracles for the sake of establishing the Gospel had been given to the apostles, and Peter proposed to use this power for the healing of this unfortunate cripple. And so his command rang out: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth get up and walk. Peter’s power to perform miracles was not absolute, he held it only by the command, in the power, and in the interest of his Lord and Master Jesus, and could use it only in His name. And then Peter took hold of the man’s hand, grasping him firmly to give him confidence, and lifted him up, drew him upright. The miracle was performed at once. The man’s feet became solid under his weight and his ankles firm; both bones and muscles received not only the strength, but also the ability to use this strength properly. Even while Peter still had hold of his hand, he jumped up; he stood upright first, as if to test the weight on his feet, or to feel the sensation of maintaining an upright position. And then he freely walked about, with no trace of lameness; he even went with Peter and John into the Temple, into the Court of Israel, the place where the men worshiped. And again and again, in the fullness of his joy, he walked about and even leaped, as though he felt constrained to convince himself that he was not dreaming, but that the miracle was a fact. His worshiping on that afternoon was done from the depth of a heart overflowing with thankfulness, wherefore he also praised God, giving all glory and honor to Him, to whom Peter had referred in his command of healing. All this, of course, was not done without attracting notice. Great numbers of people were at this time entering the Temple for the evening sacrifice, and they recognized the man that was walking about and leaping in the joy of his heart as the beggar whom they had often seen at the gate of the Temple. The conclusion in the matter was evident. A miracle had been performed which agitated and shocked them, filled them with wonder and amazement. Their astonishment was mixed with admiration and awe verging almost upon stupor. But there could be no doubt as to the actuality of the happening. For there was the man clinging to the apostles as his benefactors; there were the expressions of his joy and gratitude; there was the fact that he could walk and leap. It was not long, therefore, before all the people that had come into the Temple, forgetting the evening sacrifice and the time of incense, crowded about Peter and John, who had now come out into the beautiful portico or hall known as Solomon’s Porch. Note: Every one that has experienced the help of the Lord should give all due praise and thanks to Him and confess His blessings before men. Mark also: Though the gifts of miracles and extraordinary performances of miracles were a special distinction of the apostolic Church, yet the Lord’s hand is not shortened for the performing of miracles in the Church. The miracles of His grace, above all, are of such a nature as to provoke the admiration of even the children of the world at times.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 7, 9, 11 Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said
Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said
Both Peter and John looked at the man, but only Peter spoke.
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fastening his eyes upon him
Possible meanings are 1) "looking directly at him" or 2) "looking intently at him" (See: Idiom)
The lame man looked at them
Here the word "looked" means to pay attention to something. AT: "The lame man paid close attention to them"
Silver and gold
These words refer to money. (See: Metonymy)
what I do have
It is understood that Peter has the ability to heal the man. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
In the name of Jesus Christ
Here the word "name" refers to power and authority. AT: "With the authority of Jesus Christ" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Peter
John (the apostle)
receive
silver
gold
Jesus
Nazareth
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 vv6, 10 3:6 The name of Jesus represents his identity and…
3:6 The name of Jesus represents his identity and power to heal (see Mark 9:38-39).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.