_And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them._ THE CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE was an officer of a sort which Luke mentions in the plural in his Gospel (Luke 22:4), and is several times mentioned in the Old Testament, as in Jeremiah 20:... [ Continue Reading ]
_They taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection._ APOSTOLIC TEACHING A tolerably full report of two or three of St. Peter’s sermons is given us in the Acts, and we may assume that they are fair specimens of his ordinary preaching. A striking likeness runs through them. 1. As t... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they laid hands upon them … Howbeit many of them which heard the Word believed._ 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 doubtles... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers … were gathered together._ THE SANHEDRIN IN THE TIME OF THE APOSTLES 1. Of all the ancient Jewish institutions there is none which is of greater interest than that of the Sanhedrin. Though the name is not to be found in the Authorised Version,... [ Continue Reading ]
_By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?_ THE POWER IN APOSTOLIC MIRACLES The fact of the healing was recognised; and the logical conclusion, that it was a sign of the presence and working of some supernatural power, was not shirked; but the inquiry remained, “What is your power and aut... [ Continue Reading ]
_Neither is there salvation in any other._ SALVATION IN NONE OTHER This is-- 1. The substance of every apostolic announcement. 2. The experience of every pardoned sinner. 3. The strength of every courageous confession. 4. The foundation of all missionary preaching of the Church. (_J. P. Lange,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John._ ST. PETER; OR, TRUE COURAGE The grace of God, which St. Peter’s character and story specially forces on our notice, is the true courage which comes by faith. There is a courage which does not come by faith, but from hardness of heart, obstinacy, a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And beholding the man which was healed … they could say nothing against it._ PRACTICAL TESTIMONY TO CHRISTIANITY “Have you ever heard the gospel before?” asked an Englishman at Ningpo of a respectable Chinaman, whom he had not seen in his mission-room before. “No,” he replied, “but I have seen it... [ Continue Reading ]
_What shall we do to these men?_ for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done … we cannot deny_._ HEALED MEN (1) The miracle Few things are more striking than the continuance and growth of Christianity; first, under the circumstances of difficulty and persecution; and next, under the conditio... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor to teach in the name of Jesus._ CHRISTIAN COURAGE I. Its test. The apostles did not wish to separate themselves from the Jewish Church, for it was while entering the temple that Peter and John restored the lame man. See these men, th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And being let go, they went to their own company._ BEING LET GO We do not know what we or other people are until the restraint is taken off. We call ourselves free, but there is not an absolutely free man in the universe. We have the liberty of law. We have the freedom of a theocracy. “The Lord r... [ Continue Reading ]
_Why do the heathen rage._ OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL I. Its characteristics. 1. Furiousness, “rage,” a word signifying the neighing or snorting of highly excited horses--Like the prancing war-horse in the book of Job. It is metaphorically used to represent the noise and fury of insolent and overbe... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NOW, LORD, BEHOLD THEIR THREATENINGS_._ How a Christian ought to pray for his enemies I. Without anxiety and fear: for he prays to the King of kings. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” II. Without hatred and malice; for he prays against wickedness, not against the wicked. III. Withou... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when they had prayed the place was shaken … and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost._ PRAYER EFFECTS MIRACLES I. Internal. 1. Hearts are savingly affected. 2. Spirits are mightily strengthened. II. External. 1. Houses are moved. 2. Churches awakened. 3. Enemies frightened. 4. Moun... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul._ UNITY AMONG CHRISTIANS TO BE DESIRED Melancthon mourned in his day the divisions among Protestants, and sought to bring Protestants together by the parable of the war between the wolves and the dogs. The wolves were somewh... [ Continue Reading ]
_With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus._ THE POWER OF THE APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY TO THE RESURRECTION In what did this great power consist? I. In the great number of witnesses. Here were more than were necessary for the fabrication of a cheat, and too many t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas._ BARNABAS Surnames become necessary as soon as men form themselves into societies. They are then no longer adequately distinguished by the simple “James” or “John,” for others also bear the same name. Some personal characteristic, therefore, has to... [ Continue Reading ]