CHAPTER III. _Peter and John go to the temple at the hour of prayer, and heal_ _a man who had been lame from his mother's womb_, 1-8. _The people are astonished, and the apostles inform them that it_ _was not by their own power they had healed the man, but through_ _the power of Jesus of Nazare... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:2. _A - MAN LAME FROM HIS MOTHER'S WOMB_] The case of this man must have been _well known_: 1. from the _long standing_ of his infirmity: 2. from his being _daily exposed_ in a place _so public_. It appears that he had no power to walk, and was what we term a _cripple_, for he was _c... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:4. _LOOK ON US._] He wished to excite and engage his attention that he might see what was done to produce his miraculous cure, and, it is likely, took this occasion to direct his faith to Jesus Christ. Acts 3:16, Acts 3:16. Peter and John probably felt themselves suddenly drawn by the H... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:5. _EXPECTING TO RECEIVE SOMETHING OF THEM._] Because it was a constant custom for all who entered the temple to carry money with them to give to the _treasury_, or to the _poor_, or to _both_. It was on this ground that the friends of the lame man laid him at the gate of the temple, as... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:6. _SILVER AND GOLD HAVE I NONE_] Though it was customary for all those who entered the temple to carry some money with them, for the purposes mentioned above, yet so _poor_ were the apostles that their had nothing to give, either to the sacred _treasury_, or to the _distressed_. The p... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:7. _IMMEDIATELY HIS FEET AND ANCLE BONES RECEIVED STRENGTH_] The suddenness of the cure was the _proof_ of the miracle: his walking and leaping were the _evidences_ of it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:8. _WALKING AND LEAPING, AND PRAISING GOD._] These actions are very naturally described. _He walked_, in obedience to the command of the apostle, rise up and walk: _he leaped_, to try the strength of his limbs and to be convinced of the _reality_ of the cure: _he praised God_, as a _tes... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:9. _AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAW HIM_] The miracle was wrought in the most _public manner_, and in the most _public place_, and in a place where the best judgment could be formed of it; for, as it was a Divine operation, the _priests_, c., were the most proper persons to judge of it and under... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:11. _HELD PETER AND JOHN_] He felt the strongest affection for them, as the _instruments_ by which the Divine influence was converted to his diseased body. _IN THE PORCH THAT IS CALLED SOLOMON'S_] On this portico see Bp. Pearce's note, inserted in this work, John 10:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:12. _AS THOUGH BY OUR OWN POWER_] δυναμει, _Miraculous_ _energy_. _OR HOLINESS_] Η ευσεβεια, Meaning _religious attachment_ to the _worship_ of God. Do not think that we have wrought this miracle by any power of our own; or that any supereminent piety in us should have induced God thus... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:13. _THE GOD OF ABRAHAM_, c.] This was wisely introduced, to show them that HE whom they called _their God_ had acknowledged Jesus Christ for _his Son_, and wrought this miracle in his name and, by thus honouring Jesus whom they slew, he had charged home the guilt of that murder upon th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:14. _YE DENIED THE HOLY ONE_] τον αγιον. A manifest reference to Psalms 16:10: _Thou wilt not suffer thy HOLY ONE to see corruption_; where the original word חסידיך _Chasideyca_, thy HOLY ONE, is translated by the Septuagint, τον Ὁσιον σου, a word of the same import with that used by P... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:15. _AND KILLED THE PRINCE OF LIFE_] τον αρχηγον της ζωης, The _author of this life_: not only implying that all life proceeds from Jesus Christ as its _source_, but that the life-giving influence of that religion which they were now proclaiming came all through him. αρχηγος signifies... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:16. _AND HIS NAME_] JESUS, the Saviour: _through faith in his_ _name_, as the _Saviour, and author of life_, and all its concomitant blessings, such as _health_, c. It is not quite clear whether the apostles refer to their _own_ faith in Jesus, or to the faith of the _lame man_. It is... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:17. _I WOT_] οιδα, _I know_. _Wot_ is from the Anglo-Saxon, [A.S.] _to know_; and hence _wit_, science or understanding. _THROUGH IGNORANCE YE DID IT_] This is a very tender excuse for them; and one which seems to be necessary, in order to show them that their state was not utterly _d... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:18. _BUT THOSE THINGS - HE HATH SO FULFILLED._] Your ignorance and malice have been overruled by the sovereign wisdom and power of God, and have become the instruments of fulfilling the Divine purpose, that Christ must suffer, in order to make an atonement for the sin of the world. _All... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:19. _REPENT YE THEREFORE_] Now that ye are convinced that this was the Messiah, let your _minds be changed_, and your hearts become contrite for the sins you have committed. _AND BE CONVERTED_] επιστρεψατε, Turn to God through this Christ, deeply deploring your transgressions, and bel... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:20. _WHICH BEFORE WAS PREACHED UNTO YOU_] Instead of προκεκηρυγμενον, _before preached_, ABCDE, fifty-three others, both the _Syriac_, all the _Arabic_, the _Armenian, Chrysostom_, and others, have προκεχειρισμενον, who was _before designed_, or _appointed_; and this is without doubt th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:21. _WHOM THE HEAVEN MUST RECEIVE_] He has already appeared upon earth, and accomplished the end of his appearing; he has ascended unto heaven, to administer the concerns of his kingdom, and there he shall continue till he comes again to judge the quick and the dead. _THE TIMES OF RES... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:22. _MOSES TRULY SAID UNTO THE FATHERS_] On this subject the reader is requested to refer to the note, Deuteronomy 18:22, Deuteronomy 18:22. From this appeal to Moses it is evident that Peter wished them to understand that Jesus Christ was come, not as an ordinary prophet, to exhort to... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:24. _ALL THE PROPHETS FROM SAMUEL_] Dr. Lightfoot observes: "We have _Moses_ and _Samuel_ mentioned together in this place, as also Psalms 99:6, because there were few or no prophets between these two, 1 Samuel 3:1, and the apparition of angels having been more frequent; but, after the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:25. _YE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE PROPHETS_] This is the _argumentum ad hominem_: as ye are the children or disciples of the prophets, ye are bound to believe their predictions, and obey their precepts; and not only so, but ye are entitled to their promises. Your duty and your interest go... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 3:26. _UNTO YOU FIRST, GOD, HAVING RAISED UP_] As you are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant, the _first_ offers of salvation belong to _you_, and God thus makes them to you. The great mission of Jesus Christ is directed _first_ to _you_, that you may be saved from your sin... [ Continue Reading ]