the cure of the lame man. Luke doubtless means to say that, up to this time, the number of persons who had joined themselves to the apostles, was about five thousand. On this supposition, the work of religion must have made a very rapid advance. How long this was after the day of Pentecost, is not mentioned; but it is clear that it was at no very distant period; and the accession of near two thousand to the number of believers, was a very striking proof of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Of the men.Of the persons. The word men is often used without reference to sex. (Luke xi. 31. Rom. iv. 8; xi. 4.) VER. 5. And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders, and scribes, 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. d John xviii. 13. Their rulers.-The rulers of the Jews; doubtless the members of the sanhedrim, or great council of the nation. Comp. ver. 15. Note, Matt. ii. 4; v. 22. The expression "their rulers," looks as if this book was written for the Gentiles, or Luke would have said "our" rulers. Elders.-Presbyters; or those who were chosen from among the people to sit in the sanhedrim. It is probable that the rulers were those who held also some other office, but were also authorized to sit in the great council. Scribes.-See Note, Matt. ii. 4. And Annas, &c.-Note, John xviii. 13. It is by no means certain that Annas was at that time the high priest, but he had been, and doubtless retained the title. He was fatherin-law to Caiaphas, the high priest; and from this fact, together with his former dignity, he is mentioned first. Caiaphas.-Son-in-law of Annas, and now exercising the office of the high priest. (John xviii. 3.) John and Alexander, &c. Of these persons nothing more is known. It is clear that they were members of the great council, and the mention of their names shows that the men of chief authority and influence were assembled to silence the apostles. Annas and Caiaphas had been concerned in the condemnation of Jesus, and they would now feel a special interest in arresting the progress of the gospel among the people. All the success of the gospel reflected back light upon the wickedness of the act of condemning the Lord Jesus. And this fact may serve, in part, to account for their strong desire to silence the apostles. At Jerusalem, eis.-This was the usual place of assembling the sanhedrim. But the Jewish writers, (see Lightfoot on this place,) say that forty years before the destruction of the city, on account of the great increase of crime, &c., the sanhedrim was removed from place to place. The declaration of Luke that they were now assembled in Jerusalem, seems to imply that they sometimes met in other places. It is probable that the members of the sanhedrim were not in the city at the time mentioned in ver. 3, and this was the reason why the trial was deferred to the next day. VER. 7. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? e Matt. xxi. 23. They In the midst.-In the presence of the great council. By what power, &c.-A similar question was put to Christ in the temple. (Matt. xix. 23.) By what name.—' e.-That is, by whose authority. It is very probable that they expected to intimidate the apostles by this question. claimed the right of regulating the religious affairs of the nation. They had vast power with the people. They assumed that all power to instruct the people should originate with them: and they expected that the apostles would be confounded, as having violated the established usage of the nation. It did not seem to occur to them to enter into an investigation of the question, whether this acknowledged miracle did not prove that they were sent by God; but they assumed that they were impostors, and attempted with the enemies of religion to attempt to into silence them by authority. It has been usual timidate its friends, and when argument fails, to attempt to silence Christians by appealing to their fears. VER. 8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9. If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; f Chap. vii. 55. Filled with the Holy Ghost.-Note, chap. ii. 4. Ye rulers, &c.-Peter addressed the sanhedrim with perfect respect. He did not call in question their authority to propose this question. He seemed to regard this as a favourable opportunity to declare the truth, and state the evidence of the Christian religion. In this he acted on the principle of the injunction which he himself afterwards gave, (1 Pet. iii. 15.) "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." Innocence is willing to be questioned; and a believer in the truth will rejoice in any opportunity to state the evidence of what is believed. It is remarkable, also, that this was before the great council of the nation; the body that was clothed with the highest authority. And Peter could not have forgotten that before this very council, and these very men, his Master had been arraigned and condemned. Nor could he have forgotten that in the very room where this same council was convened to try his Lord, he had himself shrunk from an honest avowal of attachment to him, and shamefully and profanely denied him. That he was now able to stand boldly before this same tribunal, evinced a remarkable | change in his feelings, and was a most clear and impressive proof of the genuineness of his repentance, when he went out and wept bitterly. Comp. Luke xxii. 54-62. And we may remark here, that one of the most clear evidences of the sincerity of repentance, is when it leads to a result like this. So deeply was the heart of Peter affected by his sin, (Luke xxii. 62,) and so genuine was his sorrow, that he doubtless remembered his crime on this occasion; and the memory of it inspired him with boldness. It may be further remarked, that one evidence of the genuineness of repentance is a desire to repair the evil which is done by crime. Peter had done dishonour to his Master and his cause, in the presence of the great council of the nation. Nothing, on such an occasion, would be more likely to do injury to the cause, than for one of the disciples of the Saviour to deny him-one of his followers to be guilty of profaneness and falsehood. But here was an opportunity, in some degree, at least, to repair the evil. Before the same council and the same men, in the same city, and in the presence of the same people, it is not an unnatural supposition that Peter rejoiced that he might have opportunity to bear his testimony to the divine mission of the Saviour whom he had before denied. By using the customary language of respect applied to the great council, Peter also has shown us that it proper to evince respect for office, and for those in power. Religion requires us to render this homage, and to treat men in office with deference. (Matt. xxii. 21. Rom. xiii. 7. 1 Pet. ii. 13-17.) VER. 10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, thats by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him, doth this man stand here before you whole. 9 Chap. iii. 6, 16. Be it known, &c.-Peter might have evaded the question, or he might have resorted to many excuses and subterfuges, (Calvin,) if he had been desirous of avoiding this inquiry. But it was a noble opportunity for vindicating the honour of his Lord and Master. It was a noble opportunity, also, for repairing the evil which he had done by his guilty denial of his Lord. Although, therefore, this frank and open avowal was attended with danger, and although it was in the presence of the great and the mighty, yet he chose to state fully and clearly his conviction of the truth. Never was there an instance of greater boldness; and never could there be a more striking illustration of the fitness of the name which the Lord Jesus gave him, that of a rock. (John i. 42. Matt. xvi. 17, 18.) The timid, trembling, yielding, and vacillating Simon, he who just before was terrified by a servant girl, and who on the lake was afraid of sinking, is now transformed into the manly, decided, and firm Cephas, fearless before the great council of the nation, and in an unwavering tone asserting the authority of him whom he had just before denied, and whom they had just before put to death. It is not possible to account for this change, except on the supposition that this religion is true. Peter had no worldly motive to actuate him. He had no prospect of wealth or fame by this. Even the hopes of honour and preferment which they had cherished before the death of Jesus, and which might have been supposed to influence them then, were now abandoned by the apostles. Their Master had died; and all their hopes of human honour and power had been buried in his grave. Nothing but the conviction of the truth could have wrought this change, and transformed this timid disciple to a bold and uncompromising apostle. By the name. By the authority or power. (Chap. iii. 6.) Of Jesus Christ.-The union of these two names would be particularly offensive to the sanhedrim. They denied that Jesus was the Christ, or the Messiah; Peter, by the use of the word Christ, affirmed that he was. In the language then used, it would be, "By the name of Jesus, the Messiah." Of Nazareth.-Lest there should be any mistake about his meaning, he specified that he referred to the despised Nazarene; to him who had just been put to death, as they supposed, covered with infamy. Christians little regard the epithets of opprobrium which may be affixed to themselves or to their religion. Whom ye crucified.-There is emphasis in all the expressions that Peter uses. He had before charged the people with the crime of having put him to death. (Chap. ii. 23; iii. 14, 15.) But he now had the opportunity, contrary to all expectation, of urging the charge with still greater force on the rulers themselves, on the very council which had condemned him and delivered him to Pilate. It was a remarkable providence that an opportunity was thus afforded of urging and of proclaiming to them the necessity of rethis charge in the presence of the sanhedrim, pentance. Little did they imagine, when they condemned the Lord Jesus, that this charge would be so soon urged. This is one of the instances in which God takes the wise in their own craftiness. (Job v. 13.) They had arraigned the apostles; they demanded their authority for what they had done; and thus they had directly opened the way, and invited them to the serious and solemn charge which Peter here urges against them. VER. 11. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. h Psa. cxviii. 22. Isa. xxviii. 16. Matt. xxi. 42. This is the stone.-This passage is found in Psa. cxviii. 22. It is quoted, also, by our Saviour, as applicable to himself. See Note on Matt. xxi. 42. The ancient Jews applied this to David. In the Targum on Psa. cxviii. 22, this passage is rendered, "The child who was among the sons of Jesse, and was worthy to be constituted King, the builders rejected." The New Testament writers, however, apply it, without any doubt, to the Messiah. Comp. Isa. xxviii. 16. Rom. ix. 33. Eph. ii. 20. And from this passage we may learn, that God will over- | did not in fact constitute a part of the creed of VER. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other: supposing that it is by the merits of the atonement. But for that, there would have been no promise of salvation. No offer has been made except by the Mediator; and to him doubtless is to be ascribed all the glory of raising up even those in infancy to eternal life. If any of the heathen are to be saved, as most Christians suppose, and as seems in accordance with the mercy of God, it is no less certain that it will be in consequence of the intervention of Christ. Those who will be brought to heaven will sing one song, (Rev. v. 9.) and will be prepared for eternal union in the service of God in the skies. Still, the Scriptures have not declared that great numbers of the heathen will be saved, who have not the gospel. The contrary is more than implied in the New Testament. (Rom. ii. 12.) Neither has the Scripture affirmed that all the heathen shall certainly be cut off. It has been discovered by missionaries among the heathen, that individuals have, in a remarkable way, been convinced of the folly of idolatry, and were seeking a better religion; that their minds were in a serious, thoughtful, inquiring state, and that they at once embraced the gospel when it was offered to them, as exactly adapted to their state of mind, and meeting their inquiries. Such was extensively the case in the Sandwich Islands; and the following instance recently occurred in this country. "The Flat-head Indians, living west of the Rocky mountains, recently sent a deputation to the white settlements to inquire after the Bible. The circumstance that led to this singular movement is as follows: It appears that a white man (Mr. Catlin) had penetrated into their country, and happened to be a spectator at one of their religious ceremonies. He informed them that their mode of worshipping the Supreme Being was radically wrong, and that the people away towards the rising of the sun had been put in possession of the true mode of worshipping the Great Spirit. On receiving this information, they called a national council to take this subject into consideration. Some said, if this be true, it is certainly high time we were put in possession of this mode. They accordingly deputed four of the chiefs to proceed to St. Louis, to see their great father, general Clark, to inquire of him the truth of this matter. They were cordially received by the general, who gave them a succinct history of Revelation, and the necessary instruction relative to their important mission. Two of them sunk under the severe toils attending a journey of three thousand miles: the remaining two, after acquiring what knowledge they could of the Bible, its institutions and precepts, returned to carry back those few rays of divine light to their benighted countrymen." In what way their minds were led to this state, we cannot say; or how this preparation for the gospel was connected with the agency and merits of Christ, we perhaps cannot understand. But we know that the affairs of this entire world are placed under the control of Christ, (John xvii. 2; Eph. i. 21, 22;) and that the arrangements of events by which they were brought to this state of mind are in his hands. Another remark may here be made it is, that it often occurs that blessings come upon us from benefactors whom we do not see, and from sources which we cannot trace. On this principle we receive many of the mercies of life; and from any thing that appears, in this way many blessings of salvation may be conferred on the world, and possibly many of the heathen be saved. Still, this view does not interfere with the command of Christ to preach the gospel. (Mark xvi. 15.) The great mass of the heathen are not in this state: and this fact, so far as it goes, is an encouragement to preach the gospel to the entire world. If Christ thus prepares the way; if he extensively fits the mind of the heathen for the reception of the gospel; if he shows them the evil and folly of their own system, and leads them to desire a better, then this should operate not to produce indolence, but activity, and zeal, and encouragement to enter into the field white for the harvest, and to toil that all who seek the truth, and are prepared to embrace the gospel, may be brought to the light of the Sun of righteousness. in k Matt. xi. 25. 1 Cor. i. 27. Boldness.-This word properly denotes openness or confidence in speaking. It stands opposed to "hesitancy," and to "equivocation' declaring our sentiments. Here it means that, in spite of danger and opposition, they avowed their doctrines, without any attempt to conceal or disguise them. Peter and John.-It was they only who had been concerned in the healing of the lame man. (Chap. iii. 1.) And perceived.— When they knew that they were unlearned. This might have been ascertained either by report, or by the manner of their speaking. Unlearned.-This word properly denotes those who were not acquainted with letters, or who had not had the benefit of an education. Ignorant men, (ici@rai.)-This word properly denotes those who live in private, in contradistinction from those who are engaged in public life, or in office. As this class of persons is commonly, also, supposed to be less learned, talented, and refined, than those in office, it comes to denote those who are rude and illiterate. The idea intended to be conveyed here is, that these men had not had opportunities of education, (comp. Matt. iv. 18-21,) and had not been accustomed to public speaking, and hence they were surprised at their boldness. This same character is uniformly attributed to the early preachers of Christianity. (Comp. 1 Cor. i. 27. Matt. xi. 25.) The Galileans were regarded by the Jews as particularly rude and uncultivated. (Matt. xxvi. 73. Mark xiv. 17.) They marvelled. -They wondered that men who had not been educated in the schools of the Rabbins, and accustomed to speak, should declare their sentiments with so much boldness. And they took knowledge.-This expression means simply that they knew, or that they obtained evidence, or proof, that they had been with Jesus. It is not said in what way they obtained this evidence; but the connexion leads us to suppose it was by the miracle which they had wrought; by their firm and bold declaration of the doctrines of Jesus; and perhaps by the irresistible conviction that none would be thus bold who had not been personally with him, and who had not the firmest conviction that he was the Messiah. They had not been trained in their schools, and their bold E ness could not be attributed to the arts of rhetoric, but was the native, ingenuous, and manly exhibition of deep conviction of the truth of what they spoke; and that conviction could have been obtained only by their having been with him, and having been satisfied that he was the Messiah. Such conviction is of far more value in preaching than all the mere teachings of the schools; and, without such a conviction, all preaching will be frigid, hypocritical, and useless. Had been with Jesus.-Had been his followers, and had attended personally on his ministry. They gave evidence that they had seen him, been with him, heard him, and were convinced that he was the Messiah. We may learn here, (1.) That if men wish to be successful in preaching, it must be based on deep and thorough conviction of the truth of that which they deliver. (2.) They who preach should give evidence that they are acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ; that they have imbibed his spirit, pondered his instructions, studied the evidences of his divine mission, and are thoroughly convinced that he was from God. (3.) Boldness and success in the ministry, as well as in every thing else, will depend far more on honest, genuine, thorough conviction of the truth, than on all the endowments of talent and learning, and all the arts and skill of eloquence. No man should attempt to preach without such a thorough conviction of truth; and no man who has it will preach in vain. (4.) God often employs the ignorant and unlearned to confound the wise. (1 Cor. i. 27, 28.) But it is not by their ignorance. It was not the ignorance of Peter and John that convinced the sanhedrim. It was done in spite of their ignorance. It was their boldness, and their honest conviction of truth. Besides, though not learned in the schools of the Jews, they had been under a far more important training, under the personal direction of Christ himself, for three years; and now they were directly endowed by the Holy Ghost with the power of speaking with tongues. Though not taught in the schools, yet there was an important sense in which they were not unlearned and ignorant men. Their example should not, therefore, be pleaded in favour of an unlearned ministry. Christ himself expressed his opposition to an unlearned ministry, by teaching them himself, and then by bestowing on them miraculous endowments, which no learning at present can furnish. It may be remarked, further, that in the single selection which he made of an apostle after his ascension to heaven, when he came to choose one who had not been under his personal teaching, he chose a learned man, the apostle Paul, and thus evinced his purpose that there should be training, or education, in those who are invested with the sacred office. (5.) Yet in the case before us, there is a striking proof of the truth and power of religion. These men had not acquired their boldness in the schools; they were not trained for argument among the Jews; they did not meet them by cunning sophistry; but they came with the honest conviction that what they were saying was true. Were they deceived? Were they not competent to bear witness? Had they any motive to attempt to palm a falsehood on men? Infidelity must answer many such questions as these, before the apostles can be convicted of imposture. VER. 14. And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing 'against it. Chap. xix. 36. They could say nothing, &c.-The presence of the man that was healed was an unanswerable fact in proof of the truth of what the apostles alleged. The miracle was so public, clear, and decisive; the man that was healed was so well known, that there was no evasion or subterfuge by which they could escape the conclusion to which the little gratitude in the man that was healed, that apostles were conducting them. It evinced no he was present on this occasion, and showed that he was deeply interested in what befell his benefactors. The miracles of Jesus and his apostles were such that they could not be denied; and hence the Jews did not attempt to deny that they wrought them. Comp. Matt. xii. 24. John xi. 45, 46. Acts xix. 36. VER. 15. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16. Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. 17. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that "they speak henceforth to no man in this name. 18. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. What shall we do to these men?—The object which they had in view was evidently to prevent their preaching. The miracle was wrought; and was believed by the people to have been wrought. This they could not expect to be able successfully to deny. Their only object, therefore, was to prevent the apostles from making the use which they saw they would, to convince the people that Jesus was the Messiah. The question, therefore, was, in what way they should prevent this; whether by putting them to death, by imprisoning them, or by scourging them; or whether by simply exerting their authority, and forbidding them. From the former they were deterred, doubtless, by fear of the multitude. And they therefore adopted the latter, and seemed to suppose that the mere exertion of their authority would be sufficient to deter them from this in future. The council.-Greek, The "sanhedrim." This body was composed of seventy-one or seventy-two persons, and was intrusted with the principal affairs of the nation. It was a body of vast influence and power; and hence they supposed that their command might be sufficient to restrain ignorant Galileans from speaking. |