They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening. But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest. 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?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 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 raised from the dead, this man stands here before you whole in him. He is ‘the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus. 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 the council, they conferred among themselves, 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 dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it. But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.” They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17 4. And many of them which heard The apostles…
4. And many of them which heard The apostles are put in prison, but the force of their preaching is spread far and wide, and the course thereof is at liberty. Of which thing Paul boasteth very much, that the Word of God is not bound with him, (2 Timothy 2:9.) And here we see that Satan and the wicked have liberty granted them to rage against the children of God; yet can they not (maugre their heads ) prevail, but that God doth further and promote the kingdom of his Son; Christ doth gather together his sheep; and that a few men unarmed, furnished with no garrisons, do show forth more power in their voice alone, than all the world, by raging against them. This is, indeed, no common work of God, that one sermon brought forth such plentiful fruit; but this is the more to be wondered at, that the faithful are not terrified with the present danger, and discouraged from taking up the cross of Christ together with the faith. For this was a hard beginning for novices. Christ did more evidently declare by this efficacy and force of doctrine that he was alive, than if he should have offered his body to be handled with hand, and to be seen with the eyes. And whereas it is said that the number of those which believed did grow to be about five thousand, I do not understand it of those which were newly added, but of the whole church.
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 vv4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16 While they thought to diminish the number, they increased…
While they thought to diminish the number, they increased them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–18 3 And they laid hands on them, and put…
3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
Ver. 3. Put them in hold] In the sergeant’s ward, τηρησις, not in the jail or dungeon. God doth by degrees inure his to suffer hardship. Pauciores (saith Cajuto in an epistle to the brethren of Basilea) vobiscum perimuntur, quod ita Domino visum est, ut stabiliantur seu lenibus pluviis, et sementis mollioribus plantulae in arbores maximas proditurae. God tempteth not his above what they are able, 1Co 10:13.
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 vv3–18 Put them in hold; some think this not to…
Put them in hold; some think this not to have been so strait a custody as that of a prison, but that rather the apostles were delivered to some who promised that they should be forthcoming. The prediction of our Saviour began now to be fulfilled, Luk 21:12.
They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you. Howsoever, God was pleased to suffer persecution to come by degrees on his church; after the sun was down, (Christ was gone from them), it was not presently pitch darkness with them. God always remembers his people’s condition, and his own promise, and lays no more upon them than they are able to bear.
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 vv5, 12, 13 Here observe, 1. What a combined force did unite…
Here observe, 1. What a combined force did unite and join together of rulers, Scribes, elders, high priests, high priests kindred, and who not? They all, though of different interests, yet hold together as one, to extinguish and put out the light of the gospel, as soon as it began to shine forth. Need we wonder that the devil struggled so hard at the dawning of the reformation to blow out the light of the gospel; when we consider what opposition he discovered against the first plantation and propagation of the gospel? As Herod would have strangled Christ in his cradle, so would the high priest have stifled Christianity in its infancy. They all gathered together at Jerusalem. Sad! that a message of such glad tidings as the gospel, should meet with so bad entertainment.
Observe, 2. How the apostles are here arraigned and questioned. By what name and authority; that is, by what power or virtue they had done this? Some think, they suspected the apostles to have wrought by the black art, being assisted by the devil. But did not this miracle give a sufficient convincing light to demonstrate that it was heaven-born, and shewed evidently that it was wrought by a supernatural and divine power? Cursed men! who accounting it a credit for themselves to do evil, make it a crime for the apostles to do good: Was there any reason for their asking, by what power, when the thing itself proclaimed it to be done by the power of God?
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Observe, 3. The bold and resolute answer of St. Peter, to the foregoing malicious and ridiculous question.
Where note, 1. His holy courage.
2. The cause of it.
He was filled with the Holy Ghost. In the 5th and 6th verses, we find a full bench, not of justices, but of professed enemies, enough to have dashed ten prisoners at the bar out of countenance. But behold the ingenuous and holy boldness of a good Christian in a good cause. St. Peter, who formerly, when full of himself, was baffled by a damsel, and frighted into a denial of Christ by a silly wench; now being filled with the Holy Ghost silences and confounds his most potent and malicious accusers.
Lord! how woefully weak are we when we rely on our own strength, but how able to do all things when Christ strengthens us! In te stas et non stas, says St. Austin. "Thou art sure to come down when thou stands on thine own legs; but shall be mightily upheld and carried on, when supported and conducted by God’s hand."
Observe, 4. A singular instance of the apostles’ boldness: namely, in preaching Jesus Christ to them that had imprisoned them. Be it known unto you, that this Jesus whom ye crucified, is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, and is become the head of the corner; neither is ther salvation in any other &c.
Where note, 1. The title given to the rulers of the Jewish church, Builders; So they were by office, and here are called so, to remind them of their duty; namely, to increase, strengthen, and beautify the building, the church of God; not to demolish, weaken, or deface it.
Note, 2. The contempt which these builders cast upon Christ the chief corner stone; they refused him and set him at naught, according to the prophecy, Psa 118:22 which was a prophecy of the rejection of the Messiah, though the Jews would not so understand it; for they dreamt of such a pompous Messias coming according to their hearts desire, that it should be incredible that any Jews should ever reject or despise him.
Note, 3. the title given to Christ, the corner stone; so called, because he supports and sustains the whole building; and as the corner stone is equally necessary for both sides of the building, which are united to it and borne up by it, in like manner both Jew and Gentile are united in Christ, and saved by him.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv5, 15 We have here the trial of Peter and John…
We have here the trial of Peter and John before the judges of the ecclesiastical court, for preaching a sermon concerning Jesus Christ, and working a miracle in his name. This is charged upon them as a crime, which was the best service they could do to God or men.
I. Here is the court set. An extraordinary court, it should seem, was called on purpose upon this occasion. Observe, 1. The time when the court sat (Act 4:5) - on the morrow; not in the night, as when Christ was to be tried before them, for they seem not to have been so hot upon this prosecution as they were upon that; it was well if they began to relent. But they adjourned it to the morrow, and no longer; for they were impatient to get them silenced, and would lose no time. 2. The place where - in Jerusalem (Act 4:6); there it was that he told his disciples they must expect to suffer hard things, as he had done before them in that place. This seems to come in here as an aggravation of their sin, that in Jerusalem, where there were so many that looked for redemption before it came, yet there were more that would not look upon it when it did come. How is that faithful city become a harlot! See Mat 23:37. It was in the foresight of Jerusalem's standing in her own light that Christ beheld the city, and wept over it. 3. The judges of the court. (1.) Their general character: they were rulers, elders, and scribes, Act 4:5. The scribes were men of learning, who came to dispute with the apostles, and hoped to confute them. The rulers and elders were men in power, who, if they could not answer them, thought they could find some cause or other to silence them. If the gospel of Christ had not been of God, it could not have made its way, for it had both the learning and power of the world against it, both the colleges of the scribes and the courts of the elders. (2.) The names of some of them, who were most considerable. Here were Annas and Caiaphas, ringleaders in this persecution; Annas the president of the sanhedrim, and Caiaphas the high priest (though Annas is here called so) and father of the house of judgment. It should seem that Annas and Caiaphas executed the high priest's office alternately, year for year. These two were most active against Christ; then Caiaphas was high priest, now Annas was; however they were both equally malignant against Christ and his gospel. John is supposed to be the son of Annas; and Alexander is mentioned by Josephus as a man that made a figure at that time. There were others likewise that were of the kindred of the high priest, who having dependence on him, and expectations from him, would be sure to say as he said, and vote with him against the apostles. Great relations, and not good, have been a snare to many.
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II. The prisoners are arraigned, Act 4:7. 1. They are brought to the bar; they set them in the midst, for the sanhedrim sat in a circle, and those who had any thing to do in the court stood or sat in the midst of them (Luk 2:46), so Dr. Lightfoot. Thus the scripture was fulfilled, The assembly of the wicked has enclosed me, Psa 22:16. They compassed me about like bees, Psa 118:12. They were seated on every side. 2. The question they asked them was, "By what power, or by what name, have you done this? By what authority do you these things?" (the same question that they had asked their Master, Mat 21:23): "Who commissioned you to preach such a doctrine as this, and empowered you to work such a miracle as this? You have no warrant nor license from us, and therefore are accountable to us whence you have your warrant." Some think this question was grounded upon a fond conceit that the very naming of some names might do wonders, as Act 19:13. The Jewish exorcists made use of the name of Jesus. Now they would know what name they made use of in their cure, and consequently what name they set themselves to advance in their preaching. They knew very well that they preached Jesus, and the resurrection of the dead, and the healing of the sick, through Jesus (Act 4:2), yet they asked them, to tease them, and try if they could get any thing out of them that looked criminal.
III. The plea they put in, the design of which was not so much to clear and secure themselves as to advance the name and honour of their Master, who had told them that their being brought before governors and kings would give them an opportunity of preaching the gospel to those to whom otherwise they could not have had access, and it should be a testimony against them. Mar 13:19. Observe,
1. By whom this plea was drawn up: it was dictated by the Holy Ghost, who fitted Peter more than before for this occasion. The apostles, with a holy negligence of their own preservation, set themselves to preach Christ as he had directed them to do in such a case, and then Christ made good to them his promise, that the Holy Ghost should give them in that same hour what they should speak. Christ's faithful advocates shall never want instructions, Mar 13:11.
2. To whom it was given in: Peter, who is still the chief speaker, addresses himself to the judges of the court, as the rulers of the people, and elders of Israel; for the wickedness of those in power does not divest them of their power, but the consideration of the power they are entrusted with should prevail to divest them of their wickedness. "You are rulers and elders, and should know more than others of the signs of the times, and not oppose that which you are bound by the duty of your place to embrace and advance, that is, the kingdom of the Messiah; you are rulers and elders of Israel, God's people, and if you mislead them, and cause them to err, you will have a great deal to answer for."
3. What the plea is: it is a solemn declaration,
(1.) That what they did was in the name of Jesus Christ, which was a direct answer to the question the court asked them (Act 4:9, Act 4:10): "If we this day be examined, be called to an account as criminals, so the word signifies, for a good deed (as any one will own it to be) done to the impotent man, - if this be the ground of the commitment, this the matter of the indictment, - if we are put to the question, by what means, or by whom, he is made whole, we have an answer ready, and it is the same we gave to the people (Act 3:16), we will repeat it to you, as that which we will stand by. Be it known to you all who pretend to be ignorant of this matter, and not to you only, but to all the people of Israel, for they are all concerned to know it, that by the name of Jesus Christ, that precious, powerful, prevailing name, that name above every name, even by him whom you in contempt called Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, both rulers and people, and whom God hath raised from the dead and advanced to the highest dignity and dominion, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole, a monument of the power of the Lord Jesus." Here, [1.] He justifies what he and his colleague had done in curing the lame man. It was a good deed; it was a kindness to the man that had begged, but could not work for his living; a kindness to the temple, and to those that went in to worship, who were now freed from the noise and clamour of this common beggar. "Now, if we be reckoned with for this good deed, we have no reason to be ashamed, Pe1 2:20; Pe1 4:14, Pe1 4:16. Let those be ashamed who bring us into trouble for it." Note, It is no new thing for good men to suffer ill for doing well. Bene agere et male pati vere Christianum est - To do well and to suffer punishment is the Christian's lot. [2.] He transfers all the praise and glory of this good deed to Jesus Christ. "It is by him, and not by any power of ours, that this man is cured." The apostles seek not to raise an interest for themselves, nor to recommend themselves by this miracle to the good opinion of the court; but, "Let the Lord alone be exalted, no matter what becomes of us." [3.] He charges it upon the judges themselves, that they had been the murderers of this Jesus: "It is he whom you crucified, look how you will answer it;" in order to the bringing of them to believe in Christ (for he aims at no less than this) he endeavours to convince them of sin, of that sin which, one would think, of all others, was most likely to startle conscience - their putting Christ to death. Let them take it how they will, Peter will miss no occasion to tell them of it. [4.] He attests the resurrection of Christ as the strongest testimony for him, and against his persecutors: "They crucified him, but God raised him from the dead; they took away his life, but God gave it to him again, and your further opposition to his interest will speed no better." He tells them that God raised him from the dead, and they could not for shame answer him with that foolish suggestion which they palmed upon the people, that his disciples came by night and stole him away. [5.] He preaches this to all the bystanders, to be by them repeated to all their neighbours, and commands all manner of persons, from the highest to the lowest, to take notice of it at their peril: "Be it known to you all that are here present, and it shall be made known to all the people of Israel, wherever they are dispersed, in spite of all your endeavours to stifle and suppress the notice of it: as the Lord God of gods knows, so Israel shall know, all Israel shall know, that wonders are wrought in the name of Jesus, not by repeating it as a charm, but believing in it as a divine revelation of grace and good-will to men."
(2.) That the name of this Jesus, by the authority of which they acted, is that name alone by which we can be saved. He passes from this particular instance to show that it is not a particular sect or party that is designed to be set up by the doctrine they preached, and the miracle they wrought, which people might either join with or keep off from at their pleasure, as it was with the sects of the philosophers and those among the Jews; but that it is a sacred and divine institution that is hereby ratified and confirmed, and which all people are highly concerned to submit to and come into the measures of. It is not an indifferent thing, but of absolute necessity, that people believe in this name, and call upon it. [1.] We are obliged to it in duty to God, and in compliance with his designs (Act 4:11): "This is the stone which was set at nought of your builders, you that are the rulers of the people, and the elders of Israel, that should be the builders of the church, that pretend to be so, for the church is God's building. Here was a stone offered you, to be put in the chief place of the building, to be the main pillar on which the fabric might entirely rest; but you set it at nought, rejected it, would not make use of it, but threw it by as good for nothing but to make a stepping-stone of; but this stone is now become the head of the corner; God has raised up this Jesus whom you rejected, and, by setting him at his right hand, has made him both the corner stone and the head stone, the centre of unity and the fountain of power." Probably St. Peter here chose to make use of this quotation because Christ had himself made use of it, in answer to the demand of the chief priests and the elders concerning his authority, not long before this, Mat 21:42. Scripture is a tried weapon in our spiritual conflicts: let us therefore stick to it. [2.] We are obliged to it for our own interest. We are undone if we do not take shelter in this name, and make it our refuge and strong tower; for we cannot be saved but by Jesus Christ, and, if we be not eternally saved, we are eternally undone (Act 4:12): Neither is there salvation in any other. As there is no other name by which diseased bodies can be cured, so there is no other by which sinful souls can be saved. "By him, and him only, by receiving and embracing his doctrine, salvation must now be hoped for by all. For there is no other religion in the world, no, not that delivered by Moses, by which salvation can be had for those that do not now come into this, at the preaching of it." So. Dr. Hammond. Observe here, First, Our salvation is our chief concern, and that which ought to lie nearest to our hearts - our rescue from wrath and the curse, and our restoration to God's favour and blessing. Secondly, Our salvation is not in ourselves, nor can be obtained by any merit or strength of our own; we can destroy ourselves, but we cannot save ourselves. Thirdly, There are among men many names that pretend to be saving names, but really are not so; many institutions in religion that pretend to settle a reconciliation and correspondence between God and man, but cannot do it. Fourthly, It is only by Christ and his name that those favours can be expected from God which are necessary to our salvation, and that our services can be accepted with God. This is the honour of Christ's name, that it is the only name whereby we must be saved, the only name we have to plead in all our addresses to God. This name is given. God has appointed it, and it is an inestimable benefit freely conferred upon us. It is given under heaven. Christ has not only a great name in heaven, but a great name under heaven; for he has all power both in the upper and in the lower world. It is given among men, who need salvation, men who are ready to perish. We may be saved by his name, that name of his, The Lord our righteousness; and we cannot be saved by any other. How far those may find favour with God who have not the knowledge of Christ, nor any actual faith in him, yet live up to the light they have, it is not our business to determine. But this we know, that whatever saving favour such may receive it is upon the account of Christ, and for his sake only; so that still there is no salvation in any other. I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me, Isa 45:4.
IV. The stand that the court was put to in the prosecution, by this plea, Act 4:13, Act 4:14. Now was fulfilled that promise Christ made, that he would give them a mouth and wisdom, such as all their adversaries should not be able to gainsay nor resist.
1. They could not deny the cure of the lame man to be both a good deed and a miracle. He was there standing with Peter and John, ready to attest the cure, if there were occasion, and they had nothing to say against it (Act 4:14), either to disprove it or to disparage it. It was well that it was not the sabbath day, else they would have had that to say against it.
2. They could not, with all their pomp and power, face down Peter and John. This was a miracle not inferior to the cure of the lame man, considering both what cruel bloody enemies these priests had been to the name of Christ (enough to make any one tremble that appeared for him), and considering what cowardly faint-hearted advocates those disciples had lately been for him, Peter particularly, who denied him for fear of a silly maid; yet now they see the boldness of Peter and John, Act 4:13. Probably there was something extraordinary and very surprising in their looks; they appeared not only undaunted by the rulers, but daring and daunting to them; they had something majestic in their foreheads, sparkling in their eyes, and commanding, if not terrifying, in their voice. They set their faces like a flint, as the prophet, Isa 50:7; Eze 3:9. The courage of Christ's faithful confessors has often been the confusion of their cruel persecutors. Now, (1.) We are here told what increased their wonder: They perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men. They enquired either of the apostles or themselves or of others, and found that they were of mean extraction, born in Galilee, that they were bred fishermen, and had no learned education, had never been at any university, were not brought up at the feet of any of the rabbin, had never been conversant in courts, camps, or colleges; nay, perhaps, talk to them at this time upon any point in natural philosophy, mathematics, or politics, and you will find they know nothing of the matter; and yet speak to them of the Messiah and his kingdom, and they speak with so much clearness, evidence, and assurance, so pertinently and so fluently, and are so ready in the scriptures of the Old Testament relating to it, that the most learned judge upon the bench is not able to answer them, nor to enter the lists with them. They were ignorant men - idiōtai, private men, men that had not any public character nor employment; and therefore they wondered they should have such high pretensions. They were idiots (so the word signifies): they looked upon them with as much contempt as if they had been mere naturals, and expected no more from them, which made them wonder to see what freedom they took. (2.) We are told what made their wonder in a great measure to cease: they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus; they, themselves, it is probable, had seen them with him in the temple, and now recollected that they had seen them; or some of their servants or those about them informed them of it, for they would not be thought themselves to have taken notice of such inferior people. But when they understood that they had been with Jesus, had been conversant with him, attendant on him, and trained up under him, they knew what to impute their boldness to; nay, their boldness in divine things was enough to show with whom they had had their education. Note, Those that have been with Jesus, in converse and communion with him, have been attending on his word, praying in his name, and celebrating the memorials of his death and resurrection, should conduct themselves, in every thing, so that those who converse with them may take knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus; and this makes them so holy, and heavenly, and spiritual, and cheerful; this has raised them so much above this world, and filled them with another. One may know that they have been in the mount by the shining of their faces.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–18 And they laid hands on them,.... The Arabic version…
And they laid hands on them,.... The Arabic version renders it, "on both"; on Peter and John; seized them by force, and drew them out of the temple:
and put them in hold unto the next day; not in the common public prison, as in Act 5:18 but they put them into the hands, and under the care and custody of a set of men, to keep and guard them; that they might not go away, until they had an opportunity of bringing them before the sanhedrim, to be examined and punished by them:
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for it was now eventide; it was at the ninth hour, or about three o'clock in the afternoon, when Peter and John went up to the temple, where they healed the lame man; after which, both of them preached to the people; so that it must now be evening; at least, as the Syriac version renders it, "the evening was near", or was drawing on.
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 vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18 The number of the men - Beside women and…
The number of the men - Beside women and children, were about five thousand - So many did our Lord now feed at once with the bread from heaven!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 Verse 4. The number - was about five thousand.]…
Verse 4. The number - was about five thousand.] That is, as I understand the passage, the one hundred and twenty which were converted before pentecost, the three thousand converted at pentecost, and one thousand eight hundred and eighty converted since the conversion of the three thousand; making in the whole five thousand, or ωσει about that number: there might have been more or less; the historian does not fix the number absolutely. A goodly flock in one city, as the commencement of the Christian Church! Some think all the five thousand were converted on this day; but this is by no means likely.
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 vv4, 5, 8, 13, 15 Act 4:4. Howbeit, many of them which heard the…
Act 4:4. Howbeit, many of them which heard the word believed — For though the preachers were persecuted, the word prevailed. Thus the suffering days of the church have often been her growing days. And the number of the men, besides women and children, was about five thousand — “The assembly that owned Christianity was increased to above five thousand, and that success grieved the malignants.” — Baxter. Dr. Benson supposes that five thousand were converted on this occasion, besides the three thousand mentioned before, Act 2:41. Had it been said, as there, that so many were added to the church, it would have determined the sense to be as he and some others understand it; but the use of the word
εγενηθη, became, favours the interpretation, that the whole number, including those who had been converted before, now became about five thousand. It is hardly to be thought (unless it were expressly asserted) that another day should be so much more remarkable for its number of converts than that on which the Spirit descended. However, supposing only two thousand were now converted, it is a glorious proof of the truth of Christianity, and no example can be given of the philosophers, or any other teachers, succeeding so gloriously in making converts to such holy and self-denying doctrines.
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 vv3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Put them in hold - That is, they took…
Put them in hold - That is, they took them into “custody,” or into safe keeping. Probably they committed them to the care of a guard.
Eventide - Evening. It was not convenient to assemble the council at night. This was, moreover, the time for the evening prayer or sacrifice, and it was not usual to assemble the Sanhedrin at that hour.
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, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 Five thousand. Not that hereby is meant the whole…
Five thousand. Not that hereby is meant the whole number of the believers, but five thousand, by this miracle and preaching, were added to those that believed before. (Witham) --- Here again we remark the visible increase of the Catholic Church, by the preaching of the word.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18 the number of the men--or males, exclusive of women;…
the number of the men--or males, exclusive of women; though the word sometimes includes both.
about five thousand--and this in Jerusalem, where the means of detecting the imposture or crushing the fanaticism, if such it had been, were within everyone's reach, and where there was every inducement to sift it to the bottom.
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 vv3–18 3. In hold—Detention or imprisonment.
3. In hold—Detention or imprisonment.
Eventide—Evening time. The old word tide signified time. The Jews had a double eve; the one beginning at about three o’clock, prayer time, (see note on Act_3:1,) and the other at six o’clock or sundown. The proceeding at this time had just filled the interval between the two.
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 vv3–18 3. and put them in hold] i.e. in prison.…
3. and put them in hold] i.e. in prison. The word means ward, safe keeping. And it is worth noticing on the use of it, that the Jews only employed imprisonment for this precautionary purpose. It was not a mode of punishment with them, and where we find mention of it so used in the Scripture records, the authorities who inflicted it were not Jewish.
unto the next day: for it was now eventide] The Jews were not allowed to give judgment in the night, and their day ceased with the twelfth hour. It was already about the ninth hour when Peter and John were going up to the Temple (Act_3:1), so that before the address of Peter and the arrest of him and John was completed it would be too late to enter on a judicial enquiry. The Rabbis founded the prohibition on Jer_21:12, “O house of David, thus saith the Lord, Execute judgment in the morning.” In Mishna Sanhedrin iv. 1 it is said: “Judgments about money may be commenced in the day and concluded in the night, but judgments about life must be begun in the day and concluded in the day.” And even the rule about the declaration of the new moon, which was looked on as a judicial proceeding, is similarly regulated (Mishna Rosh ha-Shanah iii. 1), and it may not be declared unless the examination of the witnesses, and all other preliminaries enjoined before its proclamation, be completed before dark.
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 vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 (3) It was now eventide.—The narrative started, it will…
(3) It was now eventide.—The narrative started, it will be remembered, from 3 P.M. (Act_3:1). The “eventide” began at 6 P.M.
Put them in hold.—Literally, in custody. In Act_5:18, the word is translated “prison.” The old noun survives in our modern word “strong-hold.”
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 vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 Ward for hold, A.V. (see ver. 18); morrow for…
Ward for hold, A.V. (see ver. 18); morrow for next day, A.V. They laid hands on them. The harsh persecution of the disciples at Jerusalem at this time when the Sadducees were in power is in exact accordance with Josephus"s statement in the passage just referred to, that the Sadducees were more severe and cruel in their administration of justice than any other Jews. Their tenet of no life to come made them look to severe punishments in this life.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK.
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The first prisoners for Christ.
It appears that by this time the movements of the apostles were beginning to be an object of serious concern to the religious authorities in Jerusalem. Probably the Sadducee party, which succeeded in securing our Lord"s death, was still predominant in the great council; this is indicated by the prominence given to the Resurrection" by the enemies of the disciples. In addition to the general annoyance at the public preaching of the apostles, the officials of the temple were grieved at the crowding of the people round the new teachers in the temple courts. So in the name of order, but really in the spirit of jealousy, they were arrested, late in the evening, and put in safe keeping until the next day. Jewish rules did not allow judgment to be given at night. Imprisonment was only a precautionary measure; the Jews did not punish by imprisonment. Where mention is made of it, as used for punishment, in the Scripture records, the authorities who inflicted it were not Jewish. The point to which we now direct attention is, that a confession of moral impotence is made in all physical attempts to stop and crush teachers. Intellectual and moral error can only be fairly met by the teaching of the corrective truth. O nly when men fail to conquer by reasoning, can they wish to take up material weapons of any kind. When reason fails then men imprison, and beat, and torture, and kill. And physical forces never can succeed in crushing moral ones. It has been true for every age, and is as true as ever today, that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Physical restraints are only proper in relation to wrongs that disturb the social order. They are wholly out of place in connection with matters of opinion.
I THESE PRISONERS WERE ONLY TEACHERS. They only talked to the people. They only appealed to mind and judgment. They only announced some new truths. They only invited the people"s belief. Part of the offence against them arose from the known fact that they were unlearned and ignorant men; not specially trained rabbis, and so not regarded as fit to preach. An instance of the class-prejudice which sadly prevails still. Illustrate from the story of great missionaries. They have only been teachers, yet how often, in different countries, they have excited prejudice and suffered persecution! The same is still, in measure, true of all great thought-leaders; all men who are "before their time" must expect to be misunderstood and persecuted.
II THESE PRISONERS TAUGHT NOTHING AFFECTING SOCIAL ORDER. They did not encourage vice or lawlessness. They did not interfere with family life, local government, social customs, or politics. Like their Master, they dealt with broad and general principles, expecting these, when implanted, to gain their own growth and expressions. Even their little excitement in the temple courts, and temporary interference with the temple order, was a matter of no moment. There was no occasion for the temple police to interfere with them.
III THESE PRISONERS TAUGHT NOTHING AFFECTING CEREMONIAL RITES. There were, indeed, personal examples of diligent and devout Mosaism; strict in all matters of ceremonial duty. They never uttered a word that could be regarded as disrespectful to the temple or the Jewish system. They never tried to break one single person away from his ceremonial duties. Their teachings were within Judaism, and the most jealous conservators of the old system had no good reason for fearing their influence. This, however, applies to true Mosaism, and not to the burdensome ritual added by the rabbis, against which both our Lord and his disciples vigorously pleaded. But on this particular occasion the apostles had not even attacked the rabbinical system.
IV THE TEACHINGS OF THESE PRISONERS ACTUALLY TENDED TO PRESERVE SOCIAL ORDER AND MAKE BETTER CITIZENS. Such is everywhere the natural results of the preaching of Christ and the teaching of Christianity. Loyalty to Christ helps to secure loyalty to the earthly ruler, and the virtues Christianity cultivates find their expression in the social and national spheres. Then why were these men arrested? Because the men in power were jealous of the influence they were gaining, and feared they would lose their own authority and influence on the people. Self-seeking is at the root of all religious persecution. And because the men who opposed them could not meet and answer them in argument, they had to fall back upon the unworthy weapons of threatening and force (see vers. 16, 17). Impress that no physical bonds have ever yet been forged that could bind in the truth. 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 vv3, 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 And they laid hands upon them … Howbeit many…
Act_4:3-4
And they laid hands upon them … Howbeit many of them which heard the Word believed.
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The impotence and benefit of persecution
1. Peter had boasted, I am ready to go with Thee to prison. He was not ready then, and hence the folly of his boast. He was ready now, and so did not boast, but doubtless reflected on his Masters words, Thou shalt follow Me afterwards.
2. The time-honoured method of the opponents of truth was here practised, No case; abuse defendants attorney. You cant refute the preacher; lock him up. The only answer that pagan Rome had for Christians was prison and death; the only answer that papal Rome has is the same.
3. But the policy does not answer. The preachers as cheerfully accept the prison as the pulpit when their Master bids them, and may take as theirs the crest--an ox with the plough on one side and the altar on the other, with the legend, Ready for either. Ready for work or for sacrifice, Nor does the policy answer in another sense. You may silence the teacher, but you cannot silence the truth. In the case before us many believed.
I. In spite of the apostles imprisonment. Gods work goes on whether His agents are bound or free, living or dead. It is independent of its best and worthiest supporters. Peter and John are in prison, but the fact that many believed shows that even the chief among the apostles are not indispensable. How foolish, then, the unbelieving anxiety expressed in the question about this or that distinguished minister, Who can take his place? Plenty, if God wills; if not the Holy Ghost will take his place.
1. The preacher is imprisoned or dead, but the Word which does the work is not. Fragments of the Bible left behind by the missionaries in Madagascar did more for Christianity than their vocal teaching.
2. The preacher is imprisoned or dead, but his teaching and example are not. They remain in the memory to influence the life. The stone sinks in the water, but the ripples on the lake extend till they reach either shore.
II. Because of the apostles imprisonment. Their endurance of persecution for the truth was a guarantee of their sincerity, and an exhibition of the power of the gospel on themselves. It is an easy thing to preach when Christianity is popular, but when unpopular, and when men notwithstanding are prepared to endure bonds or death rather than be silent about it--this shows that they believe in and enjoy the mighty power they preach. So in the milder forms of affliction. How many powerful sermons are silently preached from sick beds! (J. W. Burn.)
Persecution a stimulus
A certain amount of persecution rouses a mans defiance, stirs his blood for magnificent battle, and makes him fifty times more a man than he would have been without the persecution. So it was with the great reformer when he said, I will not be put down; I will be heard. And so it was with Millard, the preacher, in the time of Louis XI. When Louis XI. sent word to him that unless he stopped preaching in that style he would throw him into the river, he replied, Tell the king that I will reach heaven sooner by water than he will reach it by fast horses. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
Persecution for well-doing
Sad, that so good news should find so bad entertainment! but happy for some, that as it was raised for so good a Word (Mat_13:21), so occasioned by so good a deed done to an impotent man. Such may ever our sufferings be, that if a black shadow must needs follow us, it may be only because we walk in the light; and that if it prove our lot to hear and fare ill, it may be for doing well (1Pe_3:17; 1Pe_4:16; Joh_10:32). (A. Tuckney, D. D.)
Peter and John before the council
I. The arrest was brought about--
1. While the service was being held (verse 1). The devil has a keen aversion to the proclaiming of the gospel, and will stop it if he can.
2. By ecclesiastical officials. In proportion as Christ is exalted, the Jewish idea of an official priesthood must lose its hold upon the minds of men.
3. By men who felt deeply--grieved. The preaching of the gospel causes heaven to rejoice, and it brings joy to those who receive it, but these men were grieved because of it. How thoroughly even religious men may be out of touch with sympathies that emanate from God! What a pity there should be so much deep feeling wrongly directed! There has been quite a Niagara of human emotion, which, during the Christian ages, has spent itself in win in dashing against the impregnable rock of Christian verities.
II. The detention. Tim apostles had started out to visit the temple at the hour of the evening sacrifice, but as that evening closed they themselves offered a sacrifice with which the Lord would be well pleased. The bars and bolts of the strong door might keep them in, but they could not keep Jesus out. Even on earth suffering saints have Often found what Thomas Cooper calls the paradise of martyrs.
III. The trial.
1. Christ was honoured.
2. There was a word for the rulers.
3. There was a word for everybody.
IV. The result.
1. The rulers were impressed.
2. The apostles were threatened.
3. The apostles were released.
4. God was glorified. To Peter and John this would be an all-sufficient recompense. (H. Thorne.)
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 vv3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 3. Put them in hold. In prison until the…
3. Put them in hold. In prison until the next day, for it was now late in the evening.
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 vv5, 13 Act_4:5. Their rulers.—Not of the new converts or of…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_4:5. Their rulers.—Not of the new converts or of the apostles, but of the people; hence the Sanhedrists. Elders,—Heads of families, Scribes,—Teachers of the law, and chief priests composed the Sanhedrin.
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Act_4:6. Annas the high priest and Caiaphas.—Exactly as in the gospels (Luk_3:2; Joh_18:13), which accord to the former the first place in the high priesthood, “although his proper term of office (6–15 A.D.) had long since expired” (Zöckler), while the active duties of the high priest were performed by Caiaphas, his son-in-law (18–36 A.D.). At or in Jerusalem should form part of Act_4:5, as in the R.V. “In” may imply that the court met not in the temple, but in the city (Alford), but this is only a conjecture. Some MSS. read into Jerusalem, as if several of the members had resided beyond the precincts of the city, and on being summoned had hastened in overnight (Holtzmann).
Act_4:7. In the midst.—I.e., in full view, in the centre of the Sanhedrists, if, as tradition reports, these were accustomed to sit in a circle. By what power, or in what name, etc.—Compare Luk_20:2, of which the question here addressed to the apostles is supposed to be a legendary echo (Gfrörer, Zeller, and others); but why the same inquiry should not have been twice put, on different occasions, and to different individuals, is not easy to understand.
Act_4:8. Filled with the Holy Ghost.—Specially bestowed upon him for the crisis which had arisen (compare Act_4:31; Act_2:4; Act_13:9; Mat_10:19-20).
Act_4:9. By what means.—Or in whom. Is made whole.—Lit., has been saved, not merely from the power of disease, but from that of sin, of which the physical malady was a fruit and sign (compare Act_4:12).
Act_4:10. Of Nazareth.—Frequently applied to Jesus (Act_2:22, Act_6:14; Act_10:38; Act_22:8; Mat_21:11; Joh_1:45). Here connected with Jesus Christ (compare Act_3:6), and used to identify the Jesus of whom Peter spoke with the Jesus whom the rulers had crucified (Joh_19:19). Whom ye crucified; whom God raised.—Peter seldom omits to exhibit the antithesis between man’s treatment of Jesus and God’s. The death and the resurrection of Christ formed the two poles of Peter’s teaching. The one without the other would have been defective and powerless for salvation.
Act_4:11. The stone which was set at nought, etc.—Quoted from Psa_118:22, and applied to Christ as already it had been by Curist Himself (Mat_21:42; Luk_20:17; compare 1Pe_2:4; 1Pe_2:7).
Act_4:12. Salvation.—Should be the salvation, the Messianic deliverance and blessing, which men were needing and the apostles were preaching (Act_2:21). Given among men.—Better, which is or hat been given—i.e., provided. Hence the use of must, because no other has been given or provided.
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_4:5-12
The Apostles before the Sanhedrim; or, the Sheep among Wolves
I. The mustering of the court.—
1. The time. On the morrow, probably with the dawning of the day, say between six and seven a.m. As in Christ’s case (Joh_18:28), no time was lost in bringing the apostolic offenders to book. Wickedness can seldom afford to proceed at leisure (Pro_6:18); it is the good man who never requires to make haste (Isa_28:16).
2. The place. Jerusalem, in a chamber connected with the Temple. If any of the Sanhedrists lived beyond the city limits—quite a probable supposition—they were duly summoned for the work on hand.
3. The members. Seventy one persons in all, chosen from
(1) the elders, or heads of families, among whom were included both priests and laymen;
(2) the scribes, or teachers of the law, professional jurists who mostly adhered to the party of the Pharisees, as the priestly members commonly belonged to the Sadducees; and
(3) the chief priests and their families. Of these the first mentioned is Annas, or Hanan—“gracious”—the aged head of the high priestly house before whom Christ had been set for examination (Joh_18:13), whom Josephus pronounced “the most fortunate man of his time,” because for upwards of half a century he and five of his sons had occupied the highest ecclesiastical position in the country, but whom “the most unsuspected sources” compel us to recognise as “nothing better than an absolute, tyrannous, worldly Sadducee, unvenerable for all his seventy years, full of serpentine malice and meanness which utterly belied his name” (Farrar, The Life of Christ, chap. lviii., p. 639). Associated with him was Caiaphas, of evil fame, his bold and unscrupulous son-in-law, who first suggested the expediency of Christ’s removal by death (Joh_11:49-50), and eventually put the crown upon his criminality by pronouncing Christ guilty of blasphemy (Mat_26:65), and handing Him over to Pilate for crucifixion (Joh_18:28). Other members of the court were John and Alexander, about neither of whom is anything known, and “as many as were of the high priest’s family,” from which perhaps it may be inferred that not only Nicodem us and Joseph of Arimathea were absent, but also Gamaliel, Paul’s celebrated teacher, who honourably figured at a later meeting (Act_5:34). In short, it was a packed assembly, and one not calculated to reassure the apostles, or even promise them an honest trial.
II. The examination of the prisoners.—Placed in the centre of the circle which according to tradition the Sanhedrists formed, the apostles were asked two questions.
1. By what power they had wrought the miracle on the lame man? This amounted to a practical admission that the miracle had been wrought (compare Act_4:16), a serious difficulty in the way of those who deny the possibility of miracles. Had the Sanhedrists been able to show that no miracle had been wrought, who can doubt that they would cheerfully have done so? The fact that they did not so much as attempt this proves that in their judgment the miracle was undeniable. Even so the higher miracles of the gospel can as little be challenged.
2. In what name they had performed the wonder? The Sanhedrists were perfectly acquainted with the name, but “wanted to convict Peter and John of sorcery, by having worked a miracle not in the name of God, but in that of a crucified malefactor” (Spence). One marvels how they did not perceive that if a crucified malefactor’s name could work miracles, the so-called malefactor must have been other than they deemed Him. It is noticeable that the Sanhedrists avoid saying anything about what grieved them most, the apostles’ teaching the doctrine of the Resurrection. Was this due to the mixed composition of the tribunal, as afterwards in Paul’s case (Act_23:7)? Possibly.
III. The reply of the apostles.—Given in John’s name as well as his own, and delivered by Peter, under the guidance of the Spirit. This consisted of three propositions.
1. That the miracle in question had been done in the name and by the power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified but God had raised. The apostles themselves had been nothing but instruments in the hands of the exalted Redeemer, whose existence and power were certified by the miracle they had wrought and none could deny. The utter absence of self glorification on the part of Peter and John is remarkable, only surpassed by their splendid confidence in and absolute surrender to Jesus.
2. That they, the Sanhedrists, who were supposed to be temple builders for Jehovah, in crucifying Christ, had really rejected Him whom Jehovah had chosen to be the Head Stone of the Corner. Their mistake had been the most appalling that persons in their position could commit. God by raising up Christ had demonstrated Him to be the true Messiah, whom they should have been the first to recognise and welcome, but whom nevertheless they had despised and rejected (Joh_1:11). Man’s judgment and God’s do not always coincide in spiritual things, so much the worse of course for man’s judgment. Even those who from their privileges and training might be expected to be men of “light and leading” sometimes turn out “blind leaders of the blind.” As in the former proposition the humility of the apostles was conspicuous, so in this stands out strikingly their boldness.
3. That in no other name than Christ’s could salvation be found. The salvation of which Peter spoke was not temporal and corporeal healing merely—although Christ’s name could effect that also—but spiritual and eternal healing for the soul, the Messianic deliverance and blessing; and of this as of that, the Risen Christ was the sole fountain and source. His was the only name given under heaven among men whereby the soul could be saved. This was sufficient proof of “the completely certain knowledge” which the apostles possessed of the nothingness of all other pretended ways of salvation” (Harless, System of Christian Ethics, p. 159, E. T.). N.B.—A statement like this pronounces no judgment on the question whether one who has never heard Christ’s name, like the heathen, or having heard it has not understood it like infants and imbeciles, can be saved; it simply asserts that Christ’s is the one saving name, and that all who are saved must be saved through Him. Equally arresting in this third proposition is the Apostle’s insight.
Learn.—
1. The impotence of man when he conspires against God.
2. The fortitude of those the Holy Ghost inspires.
3. The all-sufficiency of Christ’s name for salvation.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_4:11. The Builders and the Stone.
I. The Church as a building or house.—
1. A spiritual house (1Pe_2:5).
2. Divinely planned (Heb_3:1-6).
3. Erected by human instrumentality.
3. Variously used. As
(1) a dwelling house (Psa_76:2; Eph_2:22);
(2) a treasure house (Mal_3:17;
(3) a banqueting house (Son_2:4).
II. Christ as the corner stone.—
1. Of God’s choosing (1Pe_2:4).
2. Of God’s approving (Mat_3:17).
3. Of God’s trying (Isa_28:16).
4. Of God’s laying (Isa_28:16; 1Co_3:11).
III. The rejection of the stone by the builders.—This proceeded from:
1. Blindness as to the excellency of Christ’s person.
2. Ignorance of the mystery of redemption and salvation through Him.
3. Mistaken views of the nature of Messiah’s kingdom.
IV. The exaltation of the stone by God.—Implying:
1. Christ’s victory over all His enemies.
2. His institution as King and Head of His Church. 3. The resting on Him of the whole fabric of the Church. 4. His distinction as the centre of unity for and chief ornament of the Church.—Compiled from Ebenezer Erskine.
The Rejected Corner Stone.
I. The sin of the builders.—
1. The Builders. The ecclesiastical leaders of the Jewish people. The place occupied and the function performed by them have now passed into the hands of the pastors and teachers of the Christian Church. 2. The building. The temple of God’s kingdom on the earth, symbolised in ancient times by the Hebrew nation, in modern days by the Christian Church. 3. The stone which the builders rejected. Christ, who was despised by the Jewish authorities because of His obscure personality and lowly condition, and who is sometimes slighted and passed over still by Church teachers, who corrupt the true doctrine of a crucified Saviour, or attempt to build on another foundation than that of His person and work.
II. The glory of the rejected stone.—
1. It had been prepared by God. The Hebrew builders had not perceived, and Christian builders occasionally forget this. The incarnation, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus were successive steps by which God fitted Him to be a sure and tried foundation for His Church. 2. The supposed defects about the stone were its best qualifications, for the place it was intended to fill. The Jewish leaders could not away with a Messiah who was meek and lowly in His character, as well as spiritual and heavenly in His mission, who was to suffer, die, and rise again; but these were the very facts about Christ that fitted Him to be the Saviour and Head of His believing Church. Modern teachers who feel offended at a crucified and risen Redeemer should ponder this.
3. The stone which the builders rejected has become the headstone of the corner. Christ crucified, dead, risen, and exalted, is the sole source and author of salvation to a perishing world, and the sole foundation and support of His Church.
Act_4:12. Salvation in Christ alone.
I. There is no salvation out of Christ.—
1. No other name but that of Christ has been given among men for this purpose.
2. If any are saved, whether in gospel or heathen lands, it is through the name of Christ.
II. There is salvation in Christ.—
1. Salvation in fullest measure.
2. Salvation on the easiest terms.
3. Salvation with the greatest certainty.
None other Name.
I. No higher name than that of Christ, the glorified Son of God.
II. No abler name than that of Him who can save to the uttermost.
III. No surer name than that of Him who has been given for the purpose.
IV. No sweeter name than that of Him who is not ashamed to call men brethren.
V. No easier name than that which asks only faith to be exercised in it.
No Salvation out of Christ.
I. No other system of salvation maintains the glory of God’s character as moral Governor.—Two principles in the character of God that can never be disjoined in their exercise are Justice and Mercy. In their manifestation these principles are naturally sympathetic and invariably coincident. Just at this point every other system breaks down, whereas in the gospel scheme both are harmonised.
II. No Other system of salvation upholds the honour of God’s law as the rule of moral government.—The law of God, being the counterpart of God’s nature, can never change. It must therefore be upheld in its exercise of justice, before mercy can be shown to the sinner. The gospel scheme alone magnifies the law and makes it honourable.
III. No other system of salvation bears the stamp of God’s sanction as a Divine Revelation.—An axiomatic truth that no system of salvation is worthy of acceptation which does not bear as its credential the imprimatur of God. This the gospel scheme alone has. “Whatever may be the pretentiousness and plausibility of other systems, they have no force or validity, for they cannot put into their preamble, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ ”
IV. No other system of salvation meets man’s exigencies as a sinner under the Divine condemnation.—“The salvation man needs” is one which shall,
1. Cancel the guilt which has necessitated his condemnation. “Whence then is this salvation to come? Not certainly by the law.”
2. Make provision for the renewal of his whole nature after the image of God. “And where is the earthly alembic that can transmute its character from pollution to purity?” Every other system, save that of the gospel, seems to contemplate a salvation in sin and not a salvation from sin.”—R. T. Jeffrey, M.D.
The Only Salvation.—That in Christ. Because—
I. Glorifies the divine character.—By securing the salvation of the sinner “without any rent in the divine character, or collision of the divine attributes.
II. Magnifies the divine law.—
1. Vindicates it by the vicarious sacrifice of Christ.
2. Amplifies it by an actual addition to its attributes, by the introduction of mercy as an element of its jurisprudence.
III. Verifies the divine word.—Gives truth, substance, and significance to all the divine disclosures contained in scripture.
IV. Qualifies for the divine glory.—By imparting
1. A right and title, and
2. A meetness for heaven.—R. T. Jeffrey, M.D.
Act_4:8-12. The Characteristics of a Good Preacher.—As exhibited by Peter.
I. Undaunted courage.—He addresses “the rulers of the people and the elders of Israel” without trepidation. Preachers should fear the face of no man (Eze_2:6).
II. Genuine candour.—He is willing to be “examined of the good deed done to the impotent man.” Preachers should never shun investigation into either themselves, their doctrines, or their deeds (1Co_10:15).
III. Clear exposition.—“Be it known unto you all,” etc. Preachers should have nothing to hide, and ought to leave nothing obscure (2Co_4:2).
IV. Profound humility.—Peter gave the glory of the miracle entirely to Christ, reserving none for himself. Preachers should always say, “Not unto us, O Lord, but unto Thy name be the glory!” (Psa_115:1).
V. Immovable conviction,—Peter had no doubt as to the place occupied and the part played by Christ in the scheme of salvation. Preachers should not instruct others before they know the truth themselves (Joh_3:11; 2Co_4:13).
VI. Evangelical fervour.—The sum of Peter’s preaching was Christ. Preachers that have no room for Christ in their sermons should seek some other calling (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 vv4, 5, 11, 13, 15 4. This wonderful accession augments the Nazarenes to eight…
FIVE THOUSAND CONVERTED
4. This wonderful accession augments the Nazarenes to eight thousand. While doubtless many of them were born from above for the first time in life, you must remember that the great salient fact is conversion to the Christhood of Jesus. Among the thousands of “devout” Jews (remember, this word is not applied to sinners) come from every nation under heaven; it certainly follows as a legitimate sequence that many of them know experimentally the God of Abraham and Moses, and as they had never heard of Jesus the Nazarene, of course they were perfectly innocent of His crucifixion. That doubtless large element of the Pentecostal crowd needed only to be converted to the Christhood of Jesus; while all of the Jerusalemites who were guilty of His blood, had to be justified and regenerated, as well as converted to the Christhood of Jesus. I trow not a few of this number, who had formerly known the God of Israel by happy experience, were actually baptized with the Holy Ghost and sanctified wholly in that Pentecostal revival.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv13–14
Acts
THE FIRST BLAST OF TEMPEST
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WITH AND LIKE CHRIST
Act 4:13.
Two young Galilean fishermen, before the same formidable tribunal which a few weeks before had condemned their Master, might well have quailed. And evidently ‘Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest,’ were very much astonished that their united wisdom and dignity did not produce a greater impression on these two contumacious prisoners. They were ‘unlearned,’ knowing nothing about Rabbinical wisdom; they were ‘ignorant,’ or, as the word ought rather to be rendered, ‘persons in a private station,’ without any kind of official dignity. And yet there they stood, perfectly unembarrassed and at their ease, and said what they wanted to say, all of it, right out. So, as great astonishment crept over the dignified ecclesiastics who were sitting in judgment upon them, their astonishment led them to remember what, of course, they knew before, only that it had not struck them so forcibly, as explaining the Apostles’ demeanour- viz.,’that they had been with Jesus.’ So they said to themselves: ‘Ah, that explains it all! There is the root of it. The company that they have kept accounts for their unembarrassed boldness.’
Now, I need not notice by more than a word in passing, what a testimony it is to the impression that that meek and gracious Sufferer had made upon His judges, that when they saw these two men standing there unfaltering, they began to remember how that other Prisoner had stood. And perhaps some of them began to think that they had made a mistake in that last trial. It is a testimony to the impression that Christ had made that the strange demeanour of His two servants recalled the Master to the mind of the judges.
I. The first thing that strikes us here is the companionship that transforms.
The rulers were partly right, and they were partly wrong. The source from which these men had drawn their boldness was their being with Christ; but it was not such companionship with Christ, as Annas and Caiaphas had in view, that had given them courage. For as long as the Apostles had His personal presence with them, there was no perceptible transforming or elevating process going on in them; and it was not until after they had lost that corporeal presence that there came upon them the change which even the prejudiced eyes of these judges could not help seeing.
The writer of Acts gives a truer explanation with which we may fill out the incomplete explanation of the rulers, when he says, ‘Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them.’ Ah, that is it! They had been with Jesus all the days that He went in and out amongst them. They had companioned with Him, and they had gained but little from it. But when He went away, and they were relegated to the same kind of companionship with Him that you and I have or may have, then a change began to take place on them. And so the companionship that transforms is not what the Apostle calls ‘knowing Christ after the flesh,’ but inward communion with Him, the companionship and familiarity which are as possible for us as for any Peter or John of them all, and without which our Christianity is nothing but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.
They were ‘with Jesus,’ as each of us may be. Their communion was in no respect different from the communion that is open and indispensable to any real Christian. To be with Him is possible for us all. When we go to our daily work, when we are compassed about by distracting and trivial cares, when men come buzzing round us, and the ordinary secularities of life seem to close in upon us like the walls of a prison, and to shut out the blue and the light-oh! it is hard, but it is possible, for every one of us to think these all away, and to carry with us into everything that blessed thought of a Presence that is not to be put aside, that sits beside me at my study table, that stands beside you at your tasks, that goes with you in shop and mart, that is always near, with its tender encircling, with its mighty protection, with its all-sufficing sweetness and power. To be with Christ is no prerogative, either of Apostles and teachers of the primitive age, or of saints that have passed into the higher vision; but it is possible for us all. No doubt there are as yet unknown forms and degrees of companionship with Christ in the future state, in comparison with which to be ‘present in the body is to be absent from the Lord’; but in the inmost depth of reality, the soul that loves is where it loves, and has whom it loves ever with it. ‘Where the treasure is, there will the heart be also,’ and we may be with Christ if only we will honestly try hour by hour to keep ourselves in touch with Him, and to make Him the motive as well as the end of the work that other men do along with us, and do from altogether secular and low motives.
Another phase of being with Christ lies in frank, full, and familiar conversation with Him. I do not understand a dumb companionship. When we are with those that we love, and with whom we are at ease, speech comes instinctively. If we are co-denizens of the Father’s house with the Elder Brother, we shall talk to Him. We shall not need to be reminded of the ‘duty of prayer,’ but shall rather instinctively and as a matter of course, without thinking of what we are doing, speak to Him our momentary wants, our passing discomforts, our little troubles. There may be a great deal more virtue in monosyllabic prayers than in long liturgies. Little jets of speech or even of unspoken speech that go up to Him are likely to be heart-felt and to be heard. It is said of Israel’s army on one occasion, ‘they cried unto God in the battle, and He was entreated of them.’ Do you think that theirs would be very elaborate prayers? Was there any time to make a long petition when the sword of a Philistine was whizzing about the suppliant’s ears? It was only a cry, but it was a cry; and so ‘He was entreated of them.’ If we are ‘with Christ’ we shall talk to Him; and if we are with Christ He will talk to us. It is for us to keep in the attitude of listening and, so far as may be, to hush other voices, in order that His may be heard, If we do so, even here ‘shall we ever be with the Lord.’
II. Now, note next the character that this companionship produces.
Annas and Caiaphas said to each other: ‘Ah, these two have been with that Jesus! That is where they have got their boldness. They are like Him.’
As is the Master, so is the servant. That is the broad, general principle that lies in my text. To be with Christ makes men Christlike. A soul habitually in contact with Jesus will imbibe sweetness from Him, as garments laid away in a drawer with some preservative perfume absorb fragrance from that beside which they lie. Therefore the surest way for Christian people to become what God would have them to be, is to direct the greater part of their effort, not so much to the acquirement of individual characteristics and excellences, as to the keeping up of continuity of communion with the Master. Then the excellences will come. Astronomers, for instance, have found out that if they take a sensitive plate and lay it so as to receive the light from a star, and keep it in place by giving it a motion corresponding with the apparent motion of the heavens, for hours and hours, there will become visible upon it a photographic image of dim stars that no human eye or telescope can see. Persistent lying before the light stamps the image of the light upon the plate. Communion with Christ is the secret of Christlikeness. So instead of all the wearisome, painful, futile attempts at tinkering one’s own character apart from Him, here is the royal road. Not that there is no effort in it. We must never forget nor undervalue the necessity for struggle in the Christian life. But that truth needs to be supplemented with the thought that comes from my text-viz. that the fruitful direction in which the struggle is to be mainly made lies in keeping ourselves in touch with Jesus Christ, and if we do that, then transformation comes by beholding. ‘We all, reflecting as a mirror does, the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image.’ ‘They have been with Jesus,’ and so they were like Him.
But now look at the specific kinds of excellence which seem to have come out of this communion. ‘They beheld the boldness of Peter and John.’ The word that is translated ‘boldness’ no doubt conveys that idea, but it also conveys another. Literally it means ‘the act of saying everything.’ It means openness of unembarrassed speech, and so comes to have the secondary signification, which the text gives, of ‘boldness.’
Then, to be with Christ gives a living knowledge of Him and of truth, far in advance of the head knowledge of wise and learned people. It was a fact that these two knew nothing about what Rabbi This, or Rabbi That, or Rabbi The Other had said, and yet could speak, as they had been speaking, large religious ideas that astonished these hide-bound Pharisees, who thought that there was no way to get to the knowledge of the revelation of God made to Israel, except by the road of their own musty and profitless learning. Ay! and it always is so. An ounce of experience is worth a ton of theology. The men that have summered and wintered with Jesus Christ may not know a great many things that are supposed to be very important parts of religion, but they have got hold of the central truth of it, with a power, and in a fashion, that men of books, and ideas, and systems, and creeds, and theological learning, may know nothing about. ‘Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, are called.’ Let a poor man at his plough-tail, or a poor woman in her garret, or a collier in the pit, have Jesus Christ for their Companion, and they have got the kernel; and the gentlemen that like such diet may live on the shell if they will, and can. Religious ideas are of little use unless there be heart-experiences; and heart-experiences are wonderful teachers of religious truth.
Again, to be with Christ frees from the fear of man. It was a new thing for such persons as Peter and John to stand cool and unawed before the Council. Not so very long ago one of the two had been frightened into a momentary apostasy by dread of being haled before the rulers, and now they are calmly heroic, and threats are idle words to them. I need not point to the strong presumption, raised by the contrast of the Apostles’ past cowardice and present courage, of the occurrence of some such extraordinary facts as the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Descent of the Spirit. Something had happened which revolutionised these men. It was their communion with Jesus, made more real and deep by the cessation of His bodily presence, which made these unlearned and non-official Galileans front the Council with calmly beating hearts and unfaltering tongues. Doubtless, temperament has much to do with courage, but, no doubt, he who lives near Jesus is set free from undue dependence on things seen and on persons. Perfect love casts out fear, not only of the Beloved, but of all creatures. It is the bravest thing in the world.
Further, to be with Christ will open a man’s lips. The fountain, if it is full, must well up. ‘Light is light which circulates. Heat is heat which radiates.’ The true possession of Jesus Christ will always make it impossible for the possessor to be dumb. I pray you to test yourselves, as I would that all professing Christians should test themselves, by that simple truth, that a full heart must find utterance. The instinct that drives a man to speak of the thing in which he is interested should have full play in the Christian life. It seems to me a terribly sad fact that there are such hosts of good, kind people, with some sort of religion about them, who never feel any anxiety to say a word to any soul concerning the Master whom they profess to love. I know, of course, that deep feeling is silent, and that the secrets of Christian experience are not to be worn on the sleeve for daws to peck at. And I know that the conventionalities of this generation frown very largely upon the frank utterance of religious convictions on the part of religious people, except on Sundays, in Sunday-schools, pulpits, and the like. But for all that, what is in you will come out. If you have never felt ‘I was weary of forbearing, and I could not stay,’ I do not think that there is much sign in you of a very deep or a very real being with Jesus.
III. The last point to be noted is, the impression which such a character makes.
It was not so much what Peter and John said that astonished the Council, as the fact of their being composed and bold enough to say anything.
A great deal more is done by character than by anything else. Most people in the world take their notions of Christianity from its concrete embodiments in professing Christians. For one man that has read his Bible, and has come to know what religion is thereby, there are a hundred that look at you and me, and therefrom draw their conclusions as to what religion is. It is not my sermons, but your life, that is the most important agency for the spread of the Gospel in this congregation. And if we, as Christian people, were to live so as to make men say, ‘Dear me, that is strange. That is not the kind of thing that one would have expected from that man. That is of a higher strain than he is of. Where did it come from, I wonder?’ ‘Ah, he learned it of that Jesus’-if people were constrained to speak in that style to themselves about us, dear friends, and about all our brethren, England would be a different England from what it is t-day. It is Christians’ lives, after all, that make dints in the world’s conscience.
Do you remember one of the Apostle’s lovely and strong metaphors? Paul says that that little Church in Thessalonica rung out clear and strong the name of Jesus Christ-resonant like the clang of a bugle, ‘so that we need not to speak anything.’ The word that he employs for ‘sounded out’ is a technical expression for the ringing blast of a trumpet. Very small penny whistles would be a better metaphor for the instruments which the bulk of professing Christians play on.
‘Adorn the doctrine of Christ.’ And that you may, listen to His own word, which says all I have been trying to say in this sermon: ‘Abide in Me. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv3–18 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.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv12, 16 (See Scofield "Rom 1:16").
salvation
(See Scofield "Rom 1:16").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv5, 8, 13, 18 The Sanhedrin is convened:
The Sanhedrin is convened:
v. 5. And it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
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v. 6. and Annas, the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
v. 7. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power or by what name have ye done this?
The next morning excitement ran high in official circles at Jerusalem; for were they not about to stamp out the hated sect that was gaining adherents with such alarming rapidity in their midst? So it was a very formal and very full session of the Sanhedrin which came together as soon as they could all be notified; for the text seems to indicate that some lived outside of the city. There were the rulers and the elders and the scribes, that is, the most prominent and influential members of the priesthood, chiefly Sadducees; those whose age and learning set them apart from the rest; and the professional lawyers, who generally belonged to the Pharisees. But outranking them all were the members of the high-priestly family: Annas, although retired by the Romans, yet retaining many of the rights and obligations of the office; Caiaphas, his son-in-law, and the high priest actually in charge; John, Alexander, and whoever else belonged to the relatives of the high priest. "Annas, whom Luke both here and in his former narrative calls high priest, was the lawful high priest, but he had been deposed by Valerius Gratus, the predecessor of Pilate, and Caiaphas, his son-in-law, had been, by the same unlawful procedure, put in his place, so that, while the latter was holding the office, the other was lawfully entitled to it, and was recognized as high priest by the people. " After the council had been formally opened, with its members seated in a semicircle, the two apostles were placed in the midst before them. It seems from verse 14 that the former cripple, not willing that his benefactors should be accused or made to suffer without his presence and sympathy, also appeared and took his position beside them. The accused were now formally asked to give an account of their action: By what power and in what name have you done this? The miracle itself could not be denied. What the supercilious and somewhat pointed question intended to bring out was what kind of power and authority the apostles were assuming; in virtue of what name they dared to perform such deeds. It appears that the court wanted to fasten the accusation of divination or sorcery upon the apostles. See Deu 13:1-18. Incidentally, the Jewish leaders may have hoped that Peter and John would speak unguarded words in answering the purposely indefinite question, and thus furnish real ground for a trial.
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 vv5, 8, 11, 13, 15 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
The rulers question Peter and John who answer without fear.
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General Information:
Here the word "their" refers to the Jewish people as a whole.
It came about ... that
This phrase is used here to mark where the action starts. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.
their rulers, elders and scribes
This is a reference to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling court, which consisted of these three groups of people. (See: Synecdoche)
John, and Alexander
These two men were members of the high priest's family. This is not the same John as the apostle.
By what power
"Who gave you power"
in what name
Here the word "name" refers to authority. AT: "by whose authority" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
rule
elder
scribe
Jerusalem
Annas
high priest
Caiaphas
Peter
John (the apostle)
power
name
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 vv4, 13, 16 4:4 the number of men who believed now totaled…
4:4 the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000: See study note on Matt 14:21.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.