Acts 3:1. Healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple 1. _Now Peter and John went up together_ The word _together_has been transferred to the previous verse. See the last note. The verb is in the imperfect tense, and would be more correctly rendered WERE GOING UP. The Temple stood a... [ Continue Reading ]
_And a certain man lame from his mother's womb_ There is the verb expressed in the original, and it should be translated _a certain man_ WHO WAS, &c. _was carried_ i.e. regularly every day, and the position in which he had been daily set for the greater part of his forty years" life (see Acts 4:22)... [ Continue Reading ]
_asked an alms Alms_is singular number, and was in early times spelt _almesse_, which is derived from the Greek ἐλεημοσύνη, which in German becomes _Almosen_= a gift of charity.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him_, &c. And doubtless, like Paul at Lystra (Acts 14:9), "perceiving that he had faith to be healed." For the man's first act after his cure "he entered into the temple" (Acts 3:8) may be taken as an indication of his devout frame of mind.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Silver and gold have I none_ The Apostles, we may see from this, made no claim for themselves upon the contributions of the richer converts. _but such as I have give I thee_ Better literally, WHAT I HAVE THAT GIVE I THEE. We are nowhere told how much time had passed since the day of Pentecost, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_his feet and ankle bones_ The words in the original are found nowhere else in the N. T. They are of a technical character, and their use, together with the other features of exact description of the cripple's case, indicate that we have before us the language of the physician (Colossians 4:14). And... [ Continue Reading ]
_and he leaping up stood_ There is no hesitation in the man's manner; he does not question the power, but obeys at once. _entered with them into the temple_ He doubtless felt that this was the best visit he could make with his new powers, and he would be the more anxious to go there as Peter and Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the people saw him_ There was abundance of testimony to the reality of the cure, and that by many persons who had seen the cripple for years. This the Jewish authorities (Acts 4:16) admit.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and they knew that it was he_, &c. The same verb is rendered (Acts 4:13) _they took knowledge_, and that sense is perhaps the better here. It can hardly have been intended to say that the whole of the people knew the man.... [ Continue Reading ]
St Peter's discourse to the crowd 11. _And as the lame man which was healed held Peter_, &c. The oldest MSS. give _And as he held Peter_, &c. The additional words have crept in from some marginal note of explanation. _the porch that is called Solomon's_ As the name of Solomon was so intimately conn... [ Continue Reading ]
_when Peter saw it_ i.e. their wonder, as may be inferred from his opening words. _he answered_ Often used although no previous remark or question precedes. Cp. Acts 5:8, where Peter is said to have _answered_Sapphira, though she had said nothing, as far as we are told, and where the Apostle's word... [ Continue Reading ]
_hath glorified his Son Jesus_ The Greek is not υἱός but παῖς, and should be rendered SERVANT, and this would carry the mind back, as St Peter no doubt intended, to Isaiah 42:1, "Behold my _servant_whom I uphold," a passage which St Matthew (Matthew 12:18) applies to Jesus. _denied him in the prese... [ Continue Reading ]
_But ye denied the Holy One and the Just_ Whom even the demoniac (Mark 1:24) had confessed to be "the Holy One of God." _desired a murderer_ Barabbas, who had committed murder, Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Prince of life_ The same word applied to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) is rendered "_author_and finisher of our faith," and in the same epistle (Acts 2:10) "the _captain_of their salvation." It is probably in the latter sense that St Peter, whose thoughts are on the Resurrection, uses the word here, thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And his name_, &c. There is more force in retaining the order of the Greek, AND THROUGH FAITH IN HIS NAME, HIS NAME HATH MADE STRONG THIS MAN WHOM YE SEE AND KNOW. This use of _name_= power, and even as an absolute equivalent for God, is very Jewish; cp. Acts 4:12. The usage grew out of such passag... [ Continue Reading ]
_I wot_ This antiquated word is the present tense of the verb _to wit_(A. S. _witan_) = to know, and its past tense is _I wist_. Had I wist = had I known. _through ignorance_ Ignorance has many degrees and can arise from many causes. The Jewish multitude were ignorant from want of teaching, their r... [ Continue Reading ]
_by the mouth of all his prophets_, &c. The best MSS. connect the pronoun _his_with the next clause. Read, BY THE MOUTH OF ALL THE PROPHETS THAT HIS CHRIST SHOULD SUFFER. The purpose of the whole of the Scripture is to set forth the redemption of men through the suffering of Christ. So that from the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Repent ye therefore_ i e. because you see the greatness of your offence. _and be converted_ Lit. _turn again_, i.e. from the evil of your ways. The word _convert_has received much ongrowth of meaning since the A. V. was made. The same word is well rendered (Acts 11:21), "a great number believed an... [ Continue Reading ]
_and he shall send_ The construction is continued from the previous verse. Read, AND THAT HE MAY SEND. In the rest of this verse both the order of the words and the reading of the _Tex. Rec_. is different from that of the best MSS. The sentence should read: THE CHRIST WHICH WAS APPOINTED FOR YOU, E... [ Continue Reading ]
_whom the heaven must receive_ and retain, as we are witnesses that He has been taken up into heaven. _until the times of restitution_ Better, RESTORATION _of all things_, i.e. at Christ's second coming. But this phrase, "the restoration of all things," is used in two senses in N. T. First it is sa... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Moses truly said Truly_is here the rendering of the particle μέν, and is likely to be misunderstood, as though it meant _verily_. Read _For_ INDEED _Moses said_. Here the Apostle cites the prophecies to which he has been alluding. First from Deuteronomy 18:15 he points out that the prophet who... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the prophets from Samuel_ To other prophecies St Peter only makes a general reference. We learn (_Midrash Shemuel_, c. 24) that Samuel was called by the Jews "Rabban," the chief and teacher of the prophets, and there are several reasons why he is put in this foremost place. (1) We never read of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye are the children_[better, SONS] _of the prophets_ i.e. of the same race, and therefore what the prophets spake is meant for you. The prophet _foretold_by Moses is raised up for you. _and_[_sons of the covenant_ Therefore, heirs to its promises and its obligations. So (2 Kings 14:14) _hostages_a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Unto you first_ That the Jews might first receive the blessing themselves, and then spread it abroad. _God, having raised up_ Not spoken here of the resurrection of Jesus, but recalling the promise of Moses (Acts 3:22) that a prophet should be raised up and sent unto the people. _his Son Jesus_ H... [ Continue Reading ]