V. (1, 2) A certain man named Ananias. — The name meets us again as belonging to the high priest in Acts 23:2, and was the Greek form of the Hebrew Hananiah. It had the same significance as John, or Johanan, “The Lord be gracious.” “Sapphira,” is either connected with the “sapphire,” as a precious s... [ Continue Reading ]
AND KEPT BACK PART OF THE PRICE. — The mere act of keeping back would not in itself have been sinful. The money was his own, to give the whole or part (Acts 5:4). But the formal act, apparently reproducing that of Barnabas, was an acted lie. The part was offered as if it were the whole. The word for... [ Continue Reading ]
WHY HATH SATAN FILLED THINE HEART? — The narrative is obviously intended to leave the impression that St. Peter’s knowledge of the fact came from a supernatural insight. He had that prophetic gift which gave him insight into the hearts of men, and through this outward show of generous devotion he re... [ Continue Reading ]
WHILES IT REMAINED... — Fresh circumstances are pressed home, as depriving the act of every possible excuse. Ananias had not been bound by any rule of the Church to such a gift. At every stage he was free to act as he thought best; and had he brought part as part, or even brought nothing, he would h... [ Continue Reading ]
ANANIAS HEARING THESE WORDS FELL DOWN. — It is to be noted that St. Peter’s words, while they press home the intensity of the guilt, do not contain any formal sentence. In such a case we may rightly trace that union of natural causation and divine purpose which we express in the familiar phrase that... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE YOUNG MEN AROSE. — Literally, _the younger men,_ implying the existence of a distinct body as contrasted with the “elders” of the Church. So in Luke 20:26 we find the same word answering in the parallel clause to “him that serveth,” and opposed to “elders,” where the latter word seems used i... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT WAS ABOUT THE SPACE OF THREE HOURS AFTER. — Literally, _And there was an interval of about three hours. _... [ Continue Reading ]
AND PETER ANSWERED UNTO HER. — The word does not necessarily imply a previous questioning, but it is probable enough that she came to inquire why her husband had not returned home; perhaps, expecting to find him high in honour. The question asked by Peter gave her an opening for repentance. It had b... [ Continue Reading ]
TO TEMPT THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD — _i.e.,_ to try, or _test,_ whether the Spirit that dwelt in the Apostles was really a discerner of the secrets of men’s hearts. The “Spirit of the Lord” is probably used in its Old Testament sense, as the Spirit of Jehovah. The combination is rare in the New Testame... [ Continue Reading ]
AND GREAT FEAR CAME UPON ALL THE CHURCH. — With the exception of the doubtful reading in Acts 2:47, this is the first occurrence of the word _ecclesia_ since the two instances in which our Lord had used it, as it were, by anticipation. (See Notes on Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:17.) Its frequent use in... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY SIGNS AND WONDERS.... — See Note on Acts 2:22. THEY WERE ALL WITH ONE ACCORD IN SOLOMON’S PORCH. — See Notes on Acts 3:2; John 10:23. It was, we have seen, at all times a favourite place of resort for teachers. The chronology of this period of the history is still, as before, left somewhat inde... [ Continue Reading ]
OF THE REST. — We are left to conjecture who these were who are contrasted with the Apostles on the one side and with the people on the other. Does it mean that the Apostles stood aloof in an isolated majesty, and so that none of the other disciples dared associate himself with them? or is this St.... [ Continue Reading ]
ADDED TO THE LORD. — Here, probably, the word is used in its definite New Testament sense for the Lord Jesus. BOTH OF MEN AND WOMEN. — The mention of the latter forms an introduction to the dissensions connected with the “widows” in Acts 6, and is itself characteristic of St. Luke as a writer who h... [ Continue Reading ]
INSOMUCH THAT THEY BROUGHT FORTH THE SICK... — The tense implies habitual action. For some days or weeks the sick were laid all along the streets — the broad open streets, as distinct from the lanes and alleys (see Note on Matthew 6:5) — by which the Apostle went to and fro between his home and the... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE CAME ALSO A MULTITUDE. — Here also the tense points to a continual and daily concourse. The work of expansion is beginning. The “cities round about” may have included Hebron, Bethlehem, Emmaus, and Jericho; perhaps also Lydda and Joppa. (See, however, Notes on Acts 9:32; Acts 9:36.) It is obvi... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN THE HIGH PRIEST ROSE UP.... Probably, as before, Annas or Caiaphas. WHICH IS THE SECT OF THE SADDUCEES. — The fact, of which this is the only distinct record, is of immense importance as throwing light on the course of action taken by the upper class of priests, both during our Lord’s ministry... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT THEM IN THE COMMON PRISON. — The word is the same as the “ward “of Acts 4:3. The addition of the word “common” or “public” perhaps indicates a greater severity of treatment. They were not merely kept in custody, but dealt with as common criminals, compelled to herd with ruffians and robbers and... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. — Better, _an angel._ The fact is obviously recorded by St. Luke as supernatural. Those who do not accept that view of it, and yet wish to maintain the general historical character of the narrative, are driven to the hypothesis that the “angel” was some jealous and courage... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE WORDS OF THIS life. — The use of the demonstrative pronoun is significant. The “life in Christ” which the Apostles preach is that eternal life which consists in knowing God (John 17:1), and in which the angels are sharers.... [ Continue Reading ]
EARLY IN THE MORNING. — Probably at day-break, when the worshippers would be going up to the Temple for their early devotions, or, though less probable, at the third hour, the time of the morning sacrifice. THEY THAT WERE WITH HIM. — Probably those named in Acts 4:6, who seem to have acted as a kin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HIGH PRIEST. — The Received text gives “the priest,” but the use of that word as meaning the high priest has no parallel in the New Testament, and the word is omitted by many of the best MSS. THE CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE. — The commander of the Levite sentinels. (See Notes on Acts 4:1; Luke 22:52.... [ Continue Reading ]
WITHOUT VIOLENCE ... — The scene recalls that of John 7:45. Here, however, the Apostles set the example of unresisting acquiescence, even though the tide of feeling in their favour was so strong that they might have easily raised a tumult in their favour. The signs that had been recently wrought, pe... [ Continue Reading ]
DID NOT WE STRAITLY COMMAND YOU...? — The Greek presents the same Hebrew idiom as in Acts 4:17, and suggests again that it is a translation of the Aramaic actually spoken. YE HAVE FILLED JERUSALEM WITH YOUR DOCTRINE. — Better, _with your teaching,_ both to keep up the connection with the previous c... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN PETER AND THE OTHER APOSTLES. — The whole company of the Twelve, it must be remembered, were now the objects of attack, and they all accept Peter as their spokesman. WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN. — The words are an assertion of the same general law of duty as that of Acts 4:19, but the... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOM YE SLEW AND HANGED ON A TREE. — This synonym for crucifying comes from the LXX. version of Deuteronomy 21:23, where it is used in a wider sense, including analogous forms of punishment, such as hanging or impaling. It meets us again in Peter’s speech to Cornelius (Acts 10:39. Comp. Galatians 3:... [ Continue Reading ]
HIM HATH GOD EXALTED. — It is significant that St. Peter should use a word which, while it does not occur as applied to our Lord in the first three Gospels, meets us as so applied in St. John (John 3:14; John 12:32 : “lifted up” in the English version). It had also been used of the righteous suffere... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SO IS ALSO THE HOLY GHOST. — The signs and wonders, the tongues and the prophecies, the new power and the new love, were all thought of by the Apostles as coming from their Lord; and therefore as an evidence that He had triumphed over death and had ascended into heaven. (Comp. Acts 2:33.)... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY WERE CUT TO THE HEART. — The strict meaning of the verb describes the action of a saw, as in Hebrews 11:37. Used figuratively, it seems to imply a more lacerating pain than the “pricked to the heart” of Acts 2:37, leading not to repentance but to hatred. The persons spoken of are principally th... [ Continue Reading ]
A PHARISEE, NAMED GAMALIEL. — We are brought into contact here with one of the heroes of Rabbinic history. The part he now played in the opening of the great drama, and not less his position as the instructor of St. Paul, demand attention. We have to think of him as the grandson of the great Hillel... [ Continue Reading ]
YE MEN OF ISRAEL. — We note the more familiar address of a man in high authority as compared with St. Peter’s “Rulers of the people, and elders of Israel” (Acts 4:8). TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES. — Compare our Lord’s use of the same formula (Matthew 6:1; Matthew 7:15; Matthew 10:17), and St. Paul’s (1... [ Continue Reading ]
BEFORE THESE DAYS ROSE UP THEUDAS. — An insurrection, headed by a leader of this name, is mentioned by Josephus (_Ant._ xx. 5, § 1). He, however, places it, not “before the taxing” — i.e., circ. A.D. 6 — but in the reign of Claudius, and under the procuratorship of Cuspius Fadus, A.D. 44, ten or twe... [ Continue Reading ]
JUDAS OF GALILEE. — In one passage Josephus (_Ant._ xviii. 1) calls him a Gaulonite — _i.e.,_ of the country east of Galilee. Had this stood alone, St. Luke might have been charged here also with inaccuracy; but in other passages (_Ant._ xx. 5, § 2; _Wars,_ ii. 8, § 1) he is described as a Galilean.... [ Continue Reading ]
REFRAIN FROM THESE MEN. — The advice implies something like a suppressed conviction not bold enough to utter itself. Gamaliel takes his place in the class, at all times numerous, of waiters upon Providence, who are neutral till a cause is successful, and then come forward with a tardy sympathy, but... [ Continue Reading ]
FIGHTERS AGAINST GOD. — It is interesting to note the recurrence of the same phrase in the reasoning of the Pharisees who took St. Paul’s part in Acts 23:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND TO HIM THEY AGREED. — The Sadducees, after their manner, would probably have preferred a more violent course, but the Pharisees were strong in the Sanhedrin, and the _via media_ recommended by Gamaliel was, under such circumstances, likely to command a majority, and was, therefore, apparently ac... [ Continue Reading ]
REJOICING THAT THEY WERE COUNTED WORTHY. — The emotion is probably, in one sense, natural to all who have an intense conviction of the Truth for which they suffer. But in this case there was something more. The Twelve could not fail to remember their Lord’s beatitudes; and now, for the first time, f... [ Continue Reading ]
AND DAILY IN THE TEMPLE. — Probably, as before, in the Portico of Solomon; the captain of the Temple now acting on the resolution just taken, and letting the movement take its course without interruption. AND IN EVERY HOUSE. — Better, as in Acts 2:46, _at home:_ in their place, or, it may be, place... [ Continue Reading ]