γνωστόν, well-known, patent to all. For the word, which is less common in the singular than in the plural, cf. Sir 21:7 γνωστὸς μακρόθεν ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν γλώσσῃ.

πᾶσιν … φανερόν, manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem. Because all the inhabitants knew the beggar at the Temple-gate, and that he had been lame all his life. There could only be two grounds on which, in reference to the cure of the cripple, the Apostles could be worthy of punishment: (1) If it were a case of imposture, but this nobody in the council or anywhere else insinuated, or (2) if the miracle had been wrought by some unlawful agency (Deuteronomy 13). The question of the Sanhedrin points in this direction, ‘By what power have ye done this?’ But Peter from the first (Acts 3:13) had ascribed the miracle to the ‘God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,’ and again testifies that it is God through Jesus Christ that hath made the man whole. So that there was no charge possible on the second ground.

Continues after advertising
Continues after advertising

Old Testament