Acts 5:41

Acts 5:41. Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame. The glad and joyful willingness to endure martyrdom for the sake of the Master which has been ever so distinguishing a feature in the Christian story, is here shown for the first time. Everything like fear was banished from the minds of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth long before this crisis in the Church, but now for the first time appears in Christian history the spirit which welcomes pain and suffering for the sake of Christ. The first consequence of the communion of the Risen Lord with His own, was fearlessness on the part of His disciples of all consequences which might ensue from their openly ranging themselves on His side. Fearlessness with them rapidly passed into a glad and joyful readiness to welcome death, if need be, or any agony or shame, for His dear sake. Peter and his brother apostles bore their joyful witness in this cruel suffering of scourging: we shall very soon see a Stephen witnessing his triumphant witness of death; and these famous instances were only the first of that long line of splendid triumphs over pain, and weakness, and mortal suffering, men call martyrdoms the first joyful pouring out of that blood of the martyrs, men have come to call rightly the seed of the Church.

For his name. The better reading here is the nobler expression by far, for the name the well-known name of Him they accepted as Messiah, Redeemer, and God Jesus. The name was a familiar expression among the disciples and as such required no addition of ‘his, as in the Received Text, to make it clearer. Hackett well observes, that it is a loss to our religious dialect that the term in this primitive sense has fallen into disuse.'