THE DAY OF PENTECOST 1-13. Pentecost. On this day the risen Lord fulfilled His promise to send another Comforter (or Advocate) 'that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive; for it be-holdeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He abidet... [ Continue Reading ]
PENTECOST] so called because it was the fiftieth day from the first day of the Passover. It was also called 'the Feast of Weeks,' because it occurred a week of weeks (i.e. seven weeks) after the Passover. It marked the completion of the corn harvest, and according to the later Jews it commemorated t... [ Continue Reading ]
A SOUND] The miraculous accompaniments of the outpouring of the Spirit were intended partly to strengthen the faith of the Apostles in the reality of the gift, and partly to arrest the attention of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.... [ Continue Reading ]
CLOVEN TONGUES] RV 'tongues parting asunder, like as of fire.' St. Luke means that the tongues or flames of fire appeared first in one mass over the assembled Church, and then divided, one flame or tongue settling upon the head of each disciple. The mighty wind symbolised the power and energy of the... [ Continue Reading ]
TO SPEAK WITH OTHER TONGUES] We should not gather from the references to the gift of tongues in St. Paul (1 Corinthians 12-14) and in the appendix to St. Mark (Mark 16:17), that the gift in question was the power of speaking foreign languages. Nor do foreign languages appear to have been spoken when... [ Continue Reading ]
WERE DWELLING] i.e. were dwelling permanently. Their love of Jerusalem and the Temple had attracted them from all lands to take up their abode in the Holy City.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MULTITUDE] comprising not only these 'dwellers' in Jerusalem, but those who had come to keep the feast. Pentecost was one of the three festivals at which every Israelite was expected to appear before the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
PARTHIANS, AND MEDES, AND ELAMITES] are nations beyond the empire and influence of Rome. Here were settled the Ten Tribes of the first captivity (2 Kings 17:6). MESOPOTAMIA] The chief Jewish centre here was Babylon, which, ever since the captivity of Judah, was famed for its rabbinical schools, and... [ Continue Reading ]
EGYPT] According to Philo there were a million Jews in Egypt. They formed a large part of the population of Alexandria, where Judaism allied itself with the Platonic philosophy, and attempted to appropriate the best elements of Hellenic culture. CYRENE] A Greek city in N. Africa, founded 631 b.c. A... [ Continue Reading ]
ST. PETER'S SERMON AND ITS EFFECTS. Peter's sermon falls into four divisions: (1) Acts 2:14. Explanation of the phenomenon of speaking with tongues as a manifestation of the outpouring of the Spirit foretold by the prophet Joel, Joel 2:28. (2) Acts 2:22. St. Peter shows that the outpouring of the Sp... [ Continue Reading ]
_But_ THE THIRD HOUR] On festival days the Jews tasted nothing until the morning synagogue service, held at the third hour (9 a.m.), was finished.... [ Continue Reading ]
JOEL] see Joel 2:28. The only important variation is that Peter changes Joel's 'afterward' into the more definite 'in the last days.' The 'last days' are the Christian'dispensation.... [ Continue Reading ]
WONDERS IN HEAVEN, etc.] A metaphorical description of the calamities which will happen on earth before Christ's Second Coming, which St. Peter probably regarded as near: cp. Matthew 24:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY] i.e. either the destruction of Jerusalem, or Christ's Second Advent.... [ Continue Reading ]
BY WICKED HANDS] lit. 'by the hand of lawless men' (i.e. the Romans).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PAINS OF DEATH] lit. 'the birthpangs of death.' Death being personified as a woman in travail, and receiving relief when the dead are 'born again' by resurrection. But it is more probable that St. Peter really spoke of the 'snares' of death, the word for 'snare' (_hěbel_) and that for 'birth-pan... [ Continue Reading ]
See Psalms 16:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
REST IN HOPE] lit. 'pitch its tent upon hope.'... [ Continue Reading ]
HELL] i.e. Hades, the abode of disembodied spirits waiting for the resurrection (Heb. _Sheol_). A proof text of the reality of Christ's descent into 'hell' (i.e. Hades).... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THE RIGHT HAND] or, 'to the right hand.' THE PROMISE OF] i.e. the promised Holy Ghost.... [ Continue Reading ]
WERE PRICKED IN THEIR HEART] (1) because they had crucified Jesus; (2) because they had not acknowledged Him as the Messiah, and had thus deprived themselves of the hope of salvation.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST] see on Matthew 28:19. THE REMISSION OF SINS] one of the principal benefits of Holy Baptism, when the ordinance is rightly received (Acts 22:16 cp. Acts 10:43; Acts 10:47; Acts 13:38; Hebrews 10:22 also 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:25). The gift of the Hol [ Continue Reading ]
IN PRAYERS] lit. 'in the prayers,' i.e. the public prayers of the Church. These would probably be partly liturgical, after the example of the Temple and the Synagogue (cp. the liturgical addition to the Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6:13; AV), and partly extempore. Extempore prayer was allowed to be offere... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LIFE AND WORSHIP OF THE FIRST CONVERTS. The converts were still earnest Jews, attending the services in the Temple daily (Acts 2:46), but they already formed a Church within a Church: for (1) they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine (Acts 2:42), i.e. they no longer regarded the chief... [ Continue Reading ]
WERE TOGETHER] probably they had common meals. HAD ALL THINGS COMMON] This arrangement was not exactly what we call communism, for, (1) the sale of property was voluntary, the result of a spontaneous outflowing of Christian love (Acts 5:4); and (2) even when property had been sold, the money usually... [ Continue Reading ]
BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE] RV 'breaking bread at home,' probably in the 'upper room' where the Sacrament had been instituted, and the Holy Ghost had descended. The reference is probably to the Lord's Supper, and not to an ordinary meal; but it must be remembered that at this period the Lord... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD] RV 'And the Lord added to them' (RM 'together') 'day by day those that were being saved,' i.e. conscious of sin and seeking salvation. _THE LOVE-FEAST_ It is clear from Acts 2:46, and 1 Corinthians 11:20. that Holy Communion was at first celebrated in connexion with a common meal call... [ Continue Reading ]