took him by the right hand, and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ancle-bones received strength. f Isa. xxxv. 6. 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising g ch. iv. 10, 21. God. 9 g And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. 12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye [t so] earnestly on us, as though by our own power or a holiness we had made this man to walk? 13 * The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our r read, he. render, at this man. 1 John x. 23. ch. v. 12. k ch. v. 30. u render, godliness, as the word is always elsewhere rendered in the N. T. : act; often also He put forth His hand, tors were. is killed, but God hath raised up, vv. 13- w we xii. 16: 2. n Matt. xxvii. 20. Mark xv. xxiii. 18, 20, 21. John xviii. 40: xix. 15. ch. xiii. 28. o Ps. xvi. 10. fathers, hath] glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye 1 John vil. 30: m delivered up, and " denied him in the presence of Pilate, m Matt. xxvii. when he was determined to let him go. 14 But ye denied the Holy One P and the Just, and desired a murderer to 11. Luke be granted unto you; 15 and killed the Prince of life, 9 whom God [hath] raised from the dead; are witnesses. 16 And his name through name [hath] made this man strong, whom ye y see and know : : yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the 17 And now, of presence brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did rch. ii. 32. ▾omit. ch. iv, 10: xiv. 9. all. you whereof faith in his Mark i. 24. iv. 27. Luke 35. ch. ii. 27: p ch. vii. 52: xx. 14. Heb. ii. 10: V. 9. 1 John v. 11. q ch. ii. 24. s Matt. ix, 22. t Luke xxiii. 34. John xvi. 3. ch. xiii. 27. 1 Cor. ii. 8. 1 Tim. i. 13. W render, Servant. y render, behold. whom see note, ch. ii. 32. period of time." Bengel. "See," says Chrysostom, "how he is always connecting God with their ancestors, that he may not seem to be introducing any new doctrine. Before (ch. ii.) he brought in the patriarch David, and now he introduces Abraham." glorified] Not, as A. V., 'hath glorified,' implying, by thus honouring His name: it is the historic past tense, glorified, viz. by His exaltation through death-see John xii. 23; xvii. 10. Not His Son,' but His Servant: servant, however, in that distinct and Messianic sense which the same expression bears in Isa. xl.-lxvi. The above meaning is adopted by all the best modern Commentators. in the presence of Pilate, or, perhaps, to the face of Pilate. when he was determined to let him go: see Luke xxiii. 20; John xix. 4, 12. 14. the Holy One and the Just] Not only in the higher and divine sense present to St. Peter's mind, but also by Pilate's own verdict, and the testimony of the Jews' consciences. The sentence is full of antitheses: the "Holy One and the Just" contrasts with the moral impurity of "a murderer,""the Prince of life," with the destruction of life implied in “murderer,”—while ". ye killed" again stands in remarkable opposition to "the Prince of life." This last title given to our Lord implies, as the Vulgate renders it, "the Author of life."—It is possible, that the words "Prince of life" may contain an allusion to the great miracle which was the immediate cause of the enmity of their rulers to Jesus. But of course St Peter had a higher view in the title than merely this. 16.] The A. V. is right; through, or better, on account of, faith in his name. The meaning, for the sake of (i. e. of awakening in you, and in the lame man himself) faith in his name, though grammatically justified, seems against the connexion with the Apostle's profession, "whereof we are witnesses," just before. It is evident to my mind, that the faith in His name, here spoken of, is the faith of these witnesses themselves. His name (the efficient cause), by means of, or on account of (our) faith in his name (the medium), &c. yea, the faith which is [wrought] by himnot faith in Him;' which is an inadmissible rendering. Peter's own words (1 Pet. i. 21) are remarkably parallel with, and the best interpreters of, this expression: "who by Him do believe in God that raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Some of the Commentators are anxious to bring in the faith of the lame man himself in this verse. Certainly it is according to analogy to suppose that he had such faith, from and after the words of Peter:but, as certainly, there is no allusion to it in this verse, and the thread of Peter's discourse would be broken by any such. It is the firm belief in His name on the part of us His witnesses, of which he is here speaking, as the medium whereby His name (the Power of the great dignity to which He has been exalted, the authorship of life) had in this case worked. 17.] now, introducing a new consideration: see 2 Thess. ii. 6. Here it softens the severer charge of ver. 14: sometimes it intensifies, as ch. xxii. 16; 1 John ii. 28 :— especially with "behold," ch. xiii. 11; xx. 22. No meaning such as now that the real Messiahship of Him whom ye have slain is come to light' (Meyer) is admissible. brethren, still softening his tone, and reminding them of their oneness of blood and covenant with the speaker. through ignorance] There need be u Luke xxiv. 44. 22. ch. xxvi. x Ps. xxii. Isa. 1. 6: liii. 5, &c. Dan. ix. 26. 11. y ch. ii. 38. also your rulers. b Christ should 18 But those things, which God before by the mouth of all a his prophets, that suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 y Repent ye 1Pet. 1.10, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 whom the heaven a read, the. read, his Christ. z ch. i. 11. b c literally, turn about. d render, that the times of refreshing may come. e render, that he may. f See note. read and render, Christ Jesus, who was before appointed unto you : or perhaps better, him who was before appointed your Messiah, even Jesus. See note. no difficulty in the application of the term "ignorance" to even the rulers of the Jews. It admits of all degrees - from the unlearned, who were implicitly led by others, and hated Him because others did,-up to the most learned of the scribes, who knew and rightly interpreted the Messianic prophecies, but from moral blindness, or perverted expectations, did not recognize them in our Lord. Even Caiaphas himself, of whom apparently this could least be said, may be brought under it in some measure: even he could hardly have delivered over Jesus to Pilate with the full consciousness that He was the Messiah, and that he himself was accomplishing prophecy by so doing. Some degree of ignorance there must have been in them all. 18. of all the prophets] See Luke xxiv. 27 and note. There is no hyperbole, nor adaptation to Jewish views. The assertion of the Rabbinical books, "All the prophets together prophesied not but of the days of the Messiah," was not merely a Jewish view, but the real truth.-The prophets are here regarded as one body, actuated by one Spirit: and the sum of God's purpose, shewn by their testimony, is, that HIS CHRIST should suffer. 19. that your sins may be blotted out] The faith implied in the command, "Be converted," has for its aim, is necessarily (by God's covenant, see John iii. 15, 18) accompanied by, the wiping out of sin. that the times of refreshing may come] This passage has been variously rendered and explained. To deal first with the rendering, that of the A. V.,-" when the times... shall come," is entirely unjustifiable, and alien from the meaning of the words. They can have but one sense, -that given in the marginal reading. This being so, what are the times (for such is the right reading, and not "times" only) of refreshment? What is refresh ment? Clearly, from the above rendering, some refreshment, future, and which their conversion was to bring about. But hardly, from what has been said, refreshment in their own hearts, arising from their conversion: besides other objections, the following words, may come from the presence of the Lord, are not likely to have been used in that case. No other meaning, it seems to me, will suit the words, but that of the times of refreshment, the great season of joy and rest, which it was understood the coming of the Messiah in His glory was to bring with it. That this should be connected by the Apostle with the conversion of the Jewish people, was not only according to the plain inference from prophecy, but doubtless was one of those things concerning the kingdom of God, which he had been taught by his risen Master. The same connexion holds even now. If it be objected to this, that thus we have the conversion of the Jews regarded as bringing about the great times of refreshment, and those times consequently as delayed by their non-conversion, I answer, that, however true this may be in fact, the other is fully borne out by the manner of speaking in Scripture: the same objection might lie against the efficacy of prayer. See Gen. xix. 22; xxxii. 26; Mark vi. 5; 2 Thess. ii. 3; 2 Pet. iii. 12. from the presence of the Lord (the Father), who has reserved these seasons in His own power. When they arrive, it is by His decree, which goes forth from His presence. Compare the expression "there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus," in Luke ii. 1. 20.] and that he may send (see above), literally,-not figuratively, by the Spirit :-even if the word send be nowhere else applied to the second coming of the Lord, there is no reason why it should not be here: the whole с 11. c Deut. xviii. ch. vii. 37. must receive until the times of a grestitution of all things, a Matt. xvii. bh which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy b Luke i. 70. prophets since the world began. 22 [i For] Moses [truly] said unto the fathers], A prophet shall the Lord your 15, 18, 19. God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. 24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have a ch. ii. 39. spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 25 d Ye are Rom. ix. 4, 8: xv. 8. Gal. iii. 20. g better, restoration, as strictly corresponding with Matt. xvii. 11, where the same expression is used. i omit. h render, for perspicuity, of which times. komit: not in the original. ground and standing-point of these two orations of Peter are peculiar, and the very mention of the times of refreshment' proceeding forth from the presence of the Father would naturally lead to the position here assigned to the Son, as one sent by the Father. See below, on ver. 26. who was before appointed] before appointed, as apparently in ch. xxii. 14 (marginal reading). unto you,-as your Messiah. 21. whom the heaven must receive] The words thus translated admit of a double rendering: (1) · Whom the heaven must receive.' (2) ' Who must possess the heaven. Of these the former is in my view decidedly preferable, both as best suiting the sense, and as being the natural rendering, whereas the other is forced. The reason given by Bengel for rejecting the right rendering, "To be received, i. e. contained, shut into, the heaven, is a violent interpretation, and seems to imply, that the heaven is greater than Christ, and to detract from His exaltation above all heavens," is best answered by himself, "Yet there is a sense, in which it may be said that the heaven receives Christ, viz. that it admits Him, as a throne its proper King;" only I would rather understand it locally, and recognize a parallel expression with that in ch. i., also local, "a cloud received Him out of their sight." And so far from seeing in it any derogation from the Majesty of Christ, it seems to me admirably to set it forth: it behoves the heaven (which is his, obeying his will) to receive Him till the time appointed. until] Not during, as the advocates of the present spiritual sense of the passage wish to render it, but until; see below. The key both to the construction and meaning here, is our Lord's saying, Matt. xvii. 11, "Elias truly first cometh, and shall restore all things." From this we see that the restoration of all things stands alone and that which does not belong to "all things." Next, what is this restoration? According to the usage of the word, it cannot be applied to the works of the Spirit in the hearts of men, but must be understood of the glorious restoration of all things, the regeneration (Matt. xix. 28), which, as Peter here says, is the theme of all the prophets from the beginning. No objection can be raised to this from the meaning of the word times: see ch. vii. 17, and St. Peter's own language, 1 Pet. i. 20, “in the last times."-On the testimony of the prophets, see ver. 18 note. 22.] This citation is a free but faithful paraphrase of the text in Deuteronomy. -That the words, as spoken by Moses, seem to point to the whole line of prophets sent by God, is not any objection to their being applied to Christ, but rather necessitates, and entirely harmonizes with, that application. See the parable Matt. xxi. 33-41. And none of the whole prophetic body entirely answered to the words like unto me, but Christ. The Jews therefore rightly understood it (though not always consistent in this, comp. John i. 21 with vi. 14) of the Messiah. 24.] See ver. 18, note.-St. Peter's aim is to shew the unanimity of all the prophets in speaking of these times.-Samuel is named, more as being the first great prophet after Moses, than as bearing any part in this testimony. The prophetic period of which e Gen. xii. 3: xviii. 18: xxvi. 4: the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with mour fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his ■ Son [i Jesus], sent him, ° to bless you, 1 in turning away xxiv. 47. ch. every one of you from P his iniquities. Gal. iii. 8. f Matt. x. 5: XV. 24. Luke xii. 32, 83, 46. g ver. 22. a Luke xxii. 4. ch. v. 24. b Matt. xxii. 23. Acts b IV. And as they spake unto the people, the priests, h Matt. i. 21. and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 ↳ being grieved that they taught the people, and preached a through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold until the next day; for it was now eventide. xxiii. 8. P read, your. David was the chief prophet, began in Samuel. these days] i. e. these days now present, not the times of restoration, as some understand: which would require "those days." These days' are, in fact, connected with the times of restoration, as belonging to the same dispensation and leading on to them; and thus the Apostle identifies the then time with this preparation for and expectation of those glories: but to make "these days" identical with the times of refreshing and the times of restitution, is to make him contradict himself. 25.] He applies this to them as being inheritors of the promises. They were descendants, according to the flesh, and fellow-partakers, according to the spirit.-For a full comment on this promise made to Abraham, see Gal. iii. 16. 26.] first: implying the offer to the Gentiles (but as yet, in Peter's mind, only by embracing Judaism) afterwards: see ch. xiii. 46; Rom. i. 16.It is strange how Olshausen can suppose that the Spirit in Peter overleapt the bounds of his subsequent prejudice with regard to the admission of the Gentiles :-he never had any such prejudice,, but only against their admission uncircumcised, and as Gentiles. raised up, not 'from the dead :' but as in ver. 22. Again, not His Son, but His Servant: see note, ver. 13. sent him, indefinite, of the sending in the flesh; it does not apply to the present time, but to God's procedure in raising up His Servant Jesus, and His mission and ministry and is distinct from the sending spoken of in ver. 20. This is also shewn by the present participle, blessing you, ingeniously, but not quite accurately rendered : 4 How 1 render, Servant. a render, in: see note. in the A. V. to bless you.' He came blessing you (His coming was an act of blessing)--in (as the conditional element of the blessing)-turning every one from your iniquities: thus conferring on you the best of blessings. The word blessing is chosen in allusion to the terms of the prophecy, ver. 25. The application to the present time is made by inference : — as that was His object then, so now :'-but the discourse is unfinished.-It did not come to a final conclusion as in ch. ii. 36, because it was interrupted by the apprehension of the Apostles. CHAP. IV. 1-4.] APPREHENSION AND IMPRISONMENT OF THE TWO APOSTLES. 1.] the priests, i. e. the officiating priests, as soon as they were released from their duties.-The captain of the temple was the chief officer of the Levitical guard of the temple. In 2 Macc. iii. 4, we hear of the governor of the temple, who appears to have been the same officer. the Sadducees] See note on Matt. iii. 7. Perhaps they on this occasion had moved the guard and the priests to notice the matter: for the statement in the next verse of the offence given by preaching the resurrection, seems only to refer to them. Compare also ch. v. 17. 2.] in Jesus, not, as A. V., through Jesus,' but in the person (or example) of Jesus, alleging Him as an example of that which the Sadducees denied: preaching by implication, inasmuch as one resurrection would imply that of all, the resurrection of the dead. We have a similiar use of "in," 1 Cor. iv. 6, where "in us" means, in the case of myself and Apollos. The resurrection through Jesus' does not appear on the present occasion to ་ |