Commentary
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Author: Christopher J. E. Johnson Published: May 19, 2017 Updated: July 13, 2024 |
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Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
-Matthew 28:19-20
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:27
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The Book of Acts of the Apostles (or Acts for short) was written by Luke as a treatise of eye-witness testimony, and sent to a man who held a station of unknown governmental office. It documents Christ's ascension to heaven, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit to those of the faith as a sign to the Jews, the miracles performed by Christ's disciples, the suffering, persecution, and death of those who preached Christ openly, and some of the operations of the church in the early days.
[v1] The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Luke, the author of Acts, is writing to a particular person named Theophilus. As far as I'm aware, the only other mention of Theophilus in the Bible is in Luke's "former treatise" (i.e. a treatise is a written composition on a particular subject), which is in Luke 1:3. The Book of Luke is Luke's treatise of "all that Jesus began both to do and teach." In Luke 1:3, Theophilus is referred to as "most excellent," which indicates he was a man of governmental office who had likely inquired about Jesus Christ, since the events surrounding His crucifixion at Calvary, and the testimonies of His resurrection, were most peculiar. Thus, it is not unreasonable to consider that Theophilus had requested further details of the church's actions to satisfy personal curiosity and to have a record of the events from a reliable eye-witness for the purpose of creating bylaws, since the punishment of Christians (for doing nothing more than teaching) was a matter that would have been somewhat frequently raised in congressional hearings.[v2] Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
The giving of commandments through the Holy Ghost will be documented in the next chapter. This is a preface to Theophilus of what this treatise will be about, and connecting it to the former treatise Luke wrote to him.[v3] To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
The word 'passion' has a number of definitions; the most common usage today being a great feeling of excitement, hope, joy, grief, love, hatred, etc. In this context, passion is a suffering of physical torture.
passion (n): the impression or effect of an external agent upon a body; that which is suffered or received
(See 'passion', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 8, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v4] And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
The Lord God was placing them in position to fulfill the prophecy of His sign to the Jews in the central city of Jerusalem.[v5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
This also supports one of the purposes of baptism; a symbolic action that physically represents the spiritual baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is not to say that we receive the power of speaking a so-called "heavenly language" (i.e. the Satanic gibberish of the Pentecostals and Charismatics) when we are baptized, as some cults teach, but that it is symbolic of the receiving of the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit.(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v6] When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
Israel was under Roman control at the time, which is why they asked Christ the question about tribute in Mat 22:17. The disciples were asking Christ about the time when God would restore Israel to keep His promise.[v7] And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Meaning, these things would happen at a later time, and the Lord God did not permit them to know when it would come to pass.[v8] But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Christ was telling them to take things one step at a time because it was not yet time to restore Israel. For now, they needed the authority of the Holy Spirit behind them to give a testimony to the Jews throughout all Israel, and also to the Gentiles throughout all the world.[v9] And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Christ returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. (See Heb 10:12, Heb 12:2)[v10] And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
This passage does not specify who these two men were, but given the knowledge of what they say in verse 11, they are from heaven. It seems likely these were two angel messengers sent to tell them these things.[v11] Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
They stood watching, trying to see Him with their physical eye, when "seeing" Christ must now be done by faith. This statement to the "men of Galilee" was made to help them understand that they wouldn't see Christ return until the appointed time He told them about (Mat 24:30), and that there was work to do, so they need to get busy.[v12] Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
In Jewish tradition, it was said that one could travel no more than 2,000 cubits (roughly 0.56 miles or 0.91 kilometers) on the Sabbath Day, and this was based on Jos 3:4). This was used as a unit of distance in their culture, similar to how we might measure distance in "blocks," because a city block is commonly understood in our culture.[v13] And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
The upper room of a house was a place of privacy. All the disciples had forsaken or denied Christ, but they all gathered together in a room because of their faith, except one, Judas Iscariot, who could have chosen to join the others, and would have had their forgiveness as well as Christ's, but chose to abandon the faith.[v14] These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
All those who had seen Christ alive were now fully dedicated in faith that the Spirit of God would keep them and guide them, and they trusted in Christ's promises.[v15] And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
It would have been a large house to fit 120 people in the upper room.[v16] Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
Psa 41:9 describes one who eats bread with the Messiah, as Judas did in Mat 26:25-26, but then that one would betray the Messiah, as Judas did in Mat 26:47-49. This also shows us that the Holy Spirit has been active even in the Old Testament, but was also sent expressly by Christ to the New Testament Church to deliver understanding to the poor and needy Gentiles that were converted through repentance and faith.[v17] For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Christ. There were many other disciples of Christ, but the twelve were those who direct students that traveled with Jesus.[v18] Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
Meaning, the field was purchased with Judas's money, the money he received for betraying Christ. The priests, who refused to take his money because it was unlawful to take blood money, purchased the field Judas hanged himself in (Mat 27:6-7), and Judas's dead body either fell from the tree, or he was cut down (in accordance with the law to cut down a hanged man before sundown - Deut 21:22-23), and he fell head first, while his bowels burst asunder.(Read "Bible Contradictions: How Did Judas Die?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v19] And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
Everyone in the area knew of the field that was purchased for Judas by the priests, and what it was called. (Mat 27:8)[v20] For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
This is referring specifically to two passages, the first being Psa 69:25, which covers the desolate habitation and letting no man dwell, meaning that it is a graveyard in which no one builds a home.
bishopric (n): office of instructing and governing in spiritual concerns
(See 'bishopric', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 9, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v21] Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
In order to fulfill the prophecy of Psalm, one of those who had traveled with them throughout Christ's ministry was to take the place of Judas as the 12th bishopric office. This person would be given the authority of the Holy Spirit to do the works the rest of the eleven were given to do and oversee.[v22] Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
These details limited the number of people eligible for the position. It actually makes sense because Christ's movements were carefully planned by God, and only those who first believed were particularly chosen to see Him first for a reason. Thus, they would have proved themselves early on, being the most trustworthy and faithful among them, and would have learned the most doctrine from Christ, making them more experienced as elders among the flock.From a simply logical standpoint, this would be what any employer would do. If he had 100 resumes, he doesn't want to spend all the time looking through 100 resumes, so he narrows down the selection by looking for a few key attributes, then examines those few closer, which requires less time and hassle.
[v23] And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
There were only two people among the 120 gathered who fit the description required to replace Judas.
surname (n): an additional name; a family name
(See 'surname', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 10, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
The second person chosen was Matthias, but no details are given on his name because there doesn't need to be. The Lord God typically gives us details to distinguish people with similar names in Scripture when He deems it necessary, but there is no other Matthias, which makes him unique enough not to warrant further description.
[v24] And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
They did not choose themselves; they only narrowed the options to those with the most experience for the job and left the decision up to the Lord.[v25] That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
I've read that this phrasing of "his own place" was a Jewish custom similar to our American phrase "being put in your place," except they used it in the spiritual sense. This would mean that Judas was in hell, being put in the place his unbelieving spirit belonged.[v26] And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Drawing lots (like drawing a name out of a hat) was a method that we would consider a game of chance, but is providence in the eyes of God because He can control the actions of all living beings at His will. The drawing of lots has an outcome that is impossible for mankind to predict if set up fairly, but God can choose the outcome for Himself. (See Jos 18:10, 1Sa 14:42)[v1] And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
They were waiting together in Jerusalem, as they had been instructed. This particular day was called "Pentecost," which was a Jewish festival known in Hebrew as "Shavuot," which means "weeks."The celebration was seven weeks, or 49 days, which was supposed to be after the Passover. The Passover would take place, representing the Spirit of God passing over Egypt with the killing of the firstborn Egyptian children, then the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, which represented the Exodus from Egypt across the Red Sea (which is why "unleavened" represents "sanctification"), and then Shavuot being the remaining weeks of travel to get to Mount Sinai and the giving of God's Law to the Hebrews. Thus, 'penta' is Greek, meaning 'five', which represents 50 days that includes the Passover and the 49 days afterwards.
(Read "Should Christians Observe Jewish Passover?" here at creationliberty.com for more details on how the Passover celebration is offensive to the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament; See also "Why I Use The King James Bible: Contradictions in New-Age Versions - Easter or Passover? here at creationliberty.com for more details on Passover in the Bible.)
The DAY of Pentecost, however, was only celebrated on one day, because no one could afford (or suffer) a 50-day celebration. So Passover Day was celebrated, then after the week of unleavened bread, Pentecost Day was celebrated.
[v2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
This does not specify if the sound was heard only by the Christians abiding in the house, if it could be heard by the neighbors, or if everyone in Jerusalem heard it.[v3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
The tongue was parted in the middle.
cloven (n): divided, parted
(See 'cloven', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 10, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
It's important to note that this is not the gibberish of unintelligible sounds that are made by the Charismatic Church in their so-called "speaking in tongues." These tongues are languages that others can understand. (Gen 10:5) The Holy Spirit is not working on the people in the Charismatic Church because they do not have the truth of the Gospel of Christ.(Read "Charismatic Gibberish vs Speaking in Tongues" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
One of the reasons God had them wait in Jerusalem was so that there would be many people of various nations and tongues who were traveling and trading, and that they would be a sign to Israel of where God was working.[v6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Again, tongues are languages, and the Holy Spirit was causing them to speak in a manner that every man could understand in his own language, as we will see in verse 8.[v7] And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Meaning that these Christian men that spoke were from Galilee, as was pointed out earlier by the two men in white apparel in Acts 1:10. They were all locals, and not travelers or scholars that were experienced in languages.[v8] And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
The words 'language' and 'tongue' are used interchangeably here, and I point this out to emphasize the false doctrine of the Charismatic Churches that teach false doctrine on speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit was in the apostles to demonstrate the authority of the Lord God upon the Church of Christ; so the Jews would know without doubt this was the power of the Almighty God.[v9-11] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
The Bible verifies for us that there were people traveling and trading from all over the known world, and it was not possible that this many men from local towns could have known all these languages by their own power. The repentance and remission of sins through Christ was preached unto each one in his own language.[v12] And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Though they saw and heard what was obviously a miracle, that is, simple men speaking things that were beyond the scope of one's experience and intellect, they still doubted. They heard the message that was being taught, and many still did not want to believe.[v13] Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Meaning they believed them to be drunk, which was an absurd argument. They were obviously speaking clear messages in various languages, and drunken slurs have never produced intelligible language and idiosyncrasies (i.e. features and characteristics of language unique to cultures). In other words, they were not being rational, but were "mocking," because they did not want to believe what they saw and heard.[v14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
His words were obviously spoken in Hebrew since he was addressing the "men of Judaea."[v15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Traditionally, the Jewish day starts at 6PM, but they start counting the "hour of the day" at 6AM, which means it was 9AM when this event took place. It was rare that men would be drinking this early in the day, and certainly not a large group of them that were postured, mannered, and spoken like men of sound minds. Peter was giving them more logic against their unreasonable arguments.[v16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
He is referring to Joel 2.[v17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
[v18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
[v19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
[v20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
[v21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
[v22] Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
After the events of the trial and execution of Christ, everyone had heard of Christ, and they were all aware of the thousands of people He had healed by His Word. Because they did not believe Him, they believed Christ was dead and it was over, but things were just getting started because His Church now follows Him up with the same works He wrought, and the same doctrine He taught.[v23] Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
This was a serious accusation because they fully understood who Christ said He is, and if that was true (which it was), then they executed God in the flesh. This is why they will make up excuses to believe the men who spoke in tongues were drunken; because they did not want to believe the truth.[v24] Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
The Spiritual God cannot be killed, and thus, they cannot kill Christ Himself, but this is referring to His flesh, His body, which they killed.[v25] For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
[v26] Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
[v27] Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
[v28] Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
[v29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
King David, the one who wrote down Psalm 16, lived, died, and was buried long before they were born.[v30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
The Holy Spirit spoke of Christ through King David, and because the Jews are intimately familiar with the Psalms, learning them from their childhood, that means they are intimately familiar with the prophecies Peter is speaking of.This is also why Matthew 1 has a line of geneaolgy starting with Abraham, going through King David, and coming down to Christ. (See Mat 1:1-17)
[v31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
He was reminding them that they had memorized these verses when they were children.[v32] This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
All the men before them, who were showing the miracle of God by their speaking the languages of all men, were witnesses that Christ was raised from the dead, and that He was the Son of God spoken of by King David.[v33] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
They were now seeing and hearing the evidence of Christ and the Holy Spirit which He sent unto them.[v34] For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
As we have many sects of false churches and teachers today, there may have been sects at that time who taught that King David was the one spoken of in prophecy, in attempt to give themselves an excuse not to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. "The LORD (i.e. God) said unto my Lord (i.e. Christ)" to sit on His right hand, and this is pointing out to them that it is not King David who is sitting on the right hand of God.[v35] Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
God the Father is still in the process of bringing all the foes of Christ to their knees; not that He could not do it immediately if He chose to, but that He is longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. (2Pe 3:9)[v36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
The evidence of this is clear to them now, seeing all the prophecies come together on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, sent by the Lord Jesus Christ, had passed over His flock, sanctified them, and now was guiding them, all of which the Jews could clearly see if they were only willing to see.[v37] Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
To me, this is a powerful verse of Scripture, in that many who saw did believe because it was all right in front of them. In this context, pricked means they were stung with pain, as they realized they crucified the Lord of Glory, but being so immersed into their rituals and traditions, wondered what thing they should do (i.e. a sacrifice or oblation) for the remission of their sins.[v38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
They needed to repent, which would be to acknowledge, in godly sorrow, the wrongs they had done, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, who they now believed in because they saw the prophecies fulfilled in front of them. After being baptized in their belief on Jesus Christ, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, not saying that they would all start speaking in tongues, as many false teachers have claimed (i.e. the charismatic church believes that if you don't speak gibberish like they do, you're not saved), but that the Holy Spirit would pass over them, sanctify them, and guide them.(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v39] For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
This was a powerful message to the Jews, letting them know that, although God would work among the Gentiles, He has not abandoned them; that they need only repent (in grief and godly sorrow) and turn to Christ to be saved.[v40] And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Peter described their generation in Israel as wicked, just as the prophets before him had described their generations.
untoward (adj): perverse, ungraceful, troublesome, not easily guided or taught
(See 'untoward', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 10, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
In terms of the population, most would not heed the words, and ignored them, choosing not to believe, but in terms of the amount in the church at the time, which was only 120 people, there was an enormous number (3,000 Christians) added to the church almost instantly. This is miraculous itself, being that cultic religions around the world, with their false doctrine, are started very slowly, having to brainwash one person at a time to build up momentum, but the Christian Church was started with an explosion of converts all at once because the evidence was overwhelming.[v42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
This is referring to proper Biblical teaching, conversation and association together in that teaching, prayer, and the "breaking of bread," which is also known as "communion." (1Co 10:16) Sadly, this would not last long because the apostles' would later have to reprove the churches in various locations for teaching false doctrine, or following after false teachers, concerning each of these four points.[v43] And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
Not that fear came upon every soul in the world, but these wonders and signs were being first done in Jerusalem, so the context is talking about all the people in Jerusalem, not necessarily that every person saw them with his/her own eyes, but through testimony from eye witnesses, all of Jerusalem heard the truth. The fear they experienced was not all the fear of God either, otherwise, many more would have believed, but also the fear of man or the fear of conflict because there was no doubt that Jewish politics began to stir quickly out of threat to their lofty positions and authority.[v44] And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
This would be a great if it were as simplistic as it was in the early days; meaning that those who first saw these things either believed or did not, and the matter was much clearer to see, especially with the apostles alive to correct the church in doctrine. The persecution the first Christians would have had bearing down on them helped to define who had the Spirit of God and who did not. However, in the peaceful times of America today, Christ's warnings against false converts (Mat 13:19-22), against wolves entering in among the sheep (Mat 7:15), and against hypocrites and extortionists (Mat 23:25-30) are so extremely common in church buildings, it is becoming more difficult with each passing year to tell the sheep from the goats and wolves.[v45] And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
This is not to say that they sold everything they had, otherwise, no one would have had anything left to give, but that they sold them "as every man had need," meaning that if a need could not be met, then they were willing to part with things they didn't need to provide for those in need. The unity of the Holy Spirit was so great among them, they had no thought for storing up vain material possessions, caring more for one another than for worldly stuff.[v46] And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Not that they took part in the sacrifices and oblations of the temple, because that was finished once by Christ (Heb 7:27), but they met in the temple to learn from the Word of God, and to preach Christ to the Jews. The meat in this context is not animal flesh, but rather the bread, just as meat can be defined in general as food. (Gen 1:29) The "singleness of heart" is not to be misunderstood as sharing emotions (i.e. it is commonly taught in modern church buildings that the heart's emotions is equivalent to the Holy Spirit, which is false doctrine - Jer 17:9), although they did feel strong emotion for one another, because emotional swaying was not the foundation of their faith, as is the common tradition for so many leavened church buildings today, but rather it is commonality among them to focus their sight on the Word of God and the narrow path of His truth (Mat 7:14), keeping the eye single as Jesus Christ told us in Mat 6:22 (i.e. the singleness of the heart is used in the metaphorical sense, as is the circumcision of the heart, which means to be sanctified and submissive to the truth of the Word), and they shared this among one another, as we should also do as the Church of Christ.[v47] Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
This does not mean that everyone favored what they taught, otherwise, there would be no persecution, which would be a contradiction because the Bible tells us that we must suffer persecution for living and teaching Christ's doctrine (2Ti 3:12). It means that they acted with kindness towards others, with charity and grace, which improved their standing among the people of Jerusalem, and set an example for the rest of the church, that we ought to be charitable and kind to others, showing grace as we have been shown grace by Christ.[v1] Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
As we learned in Acts 2:15, the Jewish "hour of the day" began counting at 6AM, which means the ninth hour would have been about 3PM. This was one of the Jews' traditional times of daily prayer which took place at 9AM, noon, and 3PM, which seems to be a tradition performed by Daniel (Dan 6:10) and David (Psa 55:17), and likely adopted for those reasons.[v2] And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Some charitable people were kind enough to carry a lame man, who had been lame from when he was born, to the temple to ask for charity, since he had no way of providing for himself. The capital 'B' in "Beautiful" indicates that was the name of the gate.[v3] Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
Alms are charity given to the poor for their needs, like food, money, or clothing.[v4] And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
This would indicate that the lame man had done this for so long that his mind was worn down from asking alms, so that it was just common to ask without actually looking up at the people passing by. Peter was directed by the Holy Spirit to make eye contact with the man for what was about to happen.[v5] And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Of course, the lame man was not expecting anything beyond food or some spare change, but it was a rare occasion for someone to stop and address him, since if anyone gave anything, they would simply give and keep walking. This still commonly happens to the poor and needy today, where of the few who may give spare change to them, most will never stop to speak with them.[v6] Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
The disciples of Christ did as He commanded them in Mat 10:8-10; to heal the sick and raise the dead, as He specifically gave them power, doing these things without charging money for them, and to carry no money with them as they traveled.[v7] And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
Not only did the lame man's legs receive the function of walking, but his muscles were instantly restored to those of a man who had walked all his life. Being lame from birth, he would have atrophy in his legs, meaning that the muscle tissue would have wasted away from lack of use, so even if he had the ability to walk, it would have taken months or years to build up the muscle needed to use his legs, but the Holy Spirit restored them new instantly.[v8] And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Which Peter did not forbid the formerly lame man to do, since these were signs meant for the Jews to see; to know the prophecy of God had been fulfilled in Christ.[v9] And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
His leaping in excitement reflects on the loud manner he would be praising God and talking to others about what had happened to him. Since this was a time of prayer, it is likely that it would typically be more quiet than other times of the day.[v10] And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
Anyone would be filled with wonder and amazement, although sadly, most people today seem to be filled with wonder and amazement over fake "faith healers" doing parlor tricks and calling them "miracles," looking to turn a profit by taking advantage of the people, as the pagan sorcerers and soothsayers have always done.(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details on fake faith healers.)
[v11] And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
porch (u): a kind of vestibule [i.e. covered walking area] supported by columns at the entrance of temples, halls, churches or other buildings
(See 'porch', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 19, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v12] And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Sadly, this is quite common, even among those born again in Christ, not that men are healed by miracles, but that when God presents Himself, either through a miracle, or through His wisdom that He grants to men, those men are almost always glorified first and foremost. This is one of the reasons I don't like personal compliments sent to me in letters, but would rather those Christians praise the Lord God for the knowledge He has granted by His grace to the weak and lowly for His glory that "no flesh should glory in his presence." (1Co 1:26-28)When Peter points out they were marveling at what happened, it means they were surprised, or were overcome with a sense of wonderment, but it was directed towards Peter and John, rather than towards Christ.
[v13] The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
Peter redirects their glorifying to the Son of God, specifically pointing out that they had sentenced to death the very Christ who healed the formerly lame man.[v14] But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
He also points out that they not only denied the Christ who healed the formerly lame man, but they preferred to have a murderer live among them. This shows the extreme hypocrisy, to marvel over the healing, but reject the Healer.[v15] And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
Obviously, they wanted the healings to be done, otherwise they would not have followed Peter and John, but they killed the very Christ who is doing the healings. The evidence being presented to them is much more powerful than ever before, because after Christ healed and was killed, now His disciples, who alongside hundreds of others witnessed Him alive, also are doing the same healings and teaching the same things as Christ, or in other words, God is working miracles through the Christians now to give a sign to the Jews of the new dispensation.[v16] And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Soundness, meaning wholeness, or that the lame man was broken but now made whole, which was done through the faith in Jesus Christ.[v17] And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
wot (v): to know, to be aware
(See 'wot', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 19, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v18] But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
Isaiah, by the knowledge of God, foretold that Christ would be despised and rejected, suffer grief and sorrow, and be wounded and whipped for our sins. (Isa 53:3-6)[v19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Sadly, it is quite common for church buildings and leavened ministries today to leave out repentance. Notice that Peter did not say "Believe ye therefore," because even the devils believe and fear (Jms 2:19); not to say that belief is not vital, but that repentance is the first step, which is a humbling of the heart to godly sorrow and grief of wrongdoing. (2Co 7:10)(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The time of refreshing will be when Christ will return to save His sanctified remnant, bringing the wheat into His barn, but throwing the tares into the fire. (Mat 13:30)
[v20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Meaning that the prophets of the Old Testament, whom the Jews were quite familiar with, had already told them of Christ.[v21] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
The prophecy will be completed fulfilled in due time, and Christ will remain at the right hand of God the Father until the season is right for His return. (Luke 20:42-43)And it is true that Christ was preached to mankind from the very beginning, at the fall of man through the sin of Adam and Eve. The Lord God prophesied that a seed of the woman would bruise the head of Satan (Gen 3:15), to buy back His creation that had fallen, and that seed is the Lord Jesus Christ.
[v22] For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
[v23] And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Those who will not repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall not have the gift of eternal life. (1Jo 5:12) Please don't misunderstand this to think that all who will hear Christ's doctrine will be saved, but rather, it is those who hear AND understand (Mat 13:23), which the Bible tells us are few (Mat 7:14).[v24] Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
The message of Christ and the final days is prophesied by every prophet in the Old Testament from Samuel onward, meaning that the Jews had no excuse for their ignorance that Christ was and is the Messiah sent to save mankind from their iniquity.[v25] Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
God has not forsaken His people, otherwise, there would have been no reason for Him to send Christ unto them at all. In His infinite mercy, He sent His own Son (i.e. Himself, Gen 22:8) as the perfect Lamb to end all sacrifice for their sakes.[v26] Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Meaning that any man, Jew or Gentile, who repents and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will receive His mercy and blessings. The turning away every one from iniquity is called sanctification, which Christ had prayed for in John 17:15-19, not that we would be taken out of the world, but set apart from it through repentance and fear of the Lord.[v1] And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
Of course, the truth spoken by Peter and John would upset the authorities over the temple because the Gospel of Christ would destroy their prestigious positions. The captain of the temple was a soldier to protect the priests and keep order, who would have been commonly thought to protect the things of God in the temple, but they were now being used as brute muscle to enforce the will of the priests.(The word 'prestige' is reputation or influence that is represented by worldly titles, ranks, achievements, or other such successes that society would show respect towards; this is the common modern usage of the word, although the Latin origin of it actually meant "to trick;" Read "Why Are Christians Respecting Persons? here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v2] Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
In this context, the grief they are feeling is a pain of the mind which upsets them because they feel their authority is being threatened. This same reaction can be experienced today when bringing in the truth of the Word of God, of sanctification and repentance, into the church buildings of our society; as they will react in a sort of grieving way when the authority of a leavened preacher is questioned because he is doing and teaching wrong.[v3] And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
Peter and John were arrested and thrown in jail for simply helping a lame man to his feet, and telling the people who it was that healed him. Certainly, anyone can see this is beyond absurd, but this is the desperation by which priests/pastors/rulers will protect their prestigious positions; keeping the people from the truth so long as these wicked men maintain their money and status. Peter and John were not authorized by the priests to be preaching there, despite the fact they were teaching the truth, so the priests had them forcibly removed.[v4] Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
It's no wonder they had them arrested when 5,000 men believed on the Lord Jesus Christ after what they saw and heard because, again, it was a threat to their positions.[v5] And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
Everyone in a position of prestige and respect came forward to judge them; part of the reason for putting them in jail was because it was evening the previous day, which was too late to hold a meeting, so they handled the matter first thing in the morning.[v6] And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.
The high priest of this temple and his close relations, which would be his right and left hand priests, gathered in judgment of Peter and John.[v7] And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
This is not to say that these men were so foolish as they did not hear, or hear about, the words Peter spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that in an official trial, it needed to be spoken for the record in front of all the judges; similar to how a judge in courts today will ask a defendant to state his/her name, even though the judge has his/her name on a paper in front of them--it's stated for the record, not for inquiry; that all may hear the matter with their own ears, and quell any false rumors.[v8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
Once given an opportunity to speak freely to the people, being filled with the Holy Ghost, the Lord God gave Peter the words needed to be spoken.[v9] If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
impotent (adj): weak, feeble, unable to perform an act
(See 'impotent', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 23, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v10] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
The formerly lame man was standing at the trial as a testimony and witness to the good deed done by Peter and John, and once again, Peter points out that it was the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they had killed, that healed the man. As priests, they should have known immediately that such a miracle could not be performed by any of the false pagan gods, and that it could only have been by the power of the Almighty God of the Hebrews, but it was the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ which disturbed them because they knew it was clear evidence that Christ is God. For them to accept Christ to be God at this point, they would also have to accept that they killed the very God who they claimed to serve and worship at the temple.[v11] This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Jesus Christ is the stone which the builders rejected, which has become the head of the church and the salvation of mankind. (See Psa 118:21-22)[v12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
After Christ had gone to the cross and was resurrected three days later, He was appointed by God to be the Savior of all men who would repent and believe on Him. (Christ was appointed to this before the creation of the world; I'm simply speaking in reference to the timeline.) Not even the Jews can be saved unless they believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; He is the only mediator between God and men. (1Ti 2:5)[v13] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Under normal circumstances, an unlearned and ignorant man would be nervous and jittery to stand before a council of extremely educated men. This is why they were surprised to see them speaking so boldly, and acknowledged that they were among the few who had traveled with Christ; since there were none who could contend with Christ and His wisdom, it was possible some of those on the council were now a bit nervous to speak with Christ's disciples.[v14] And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
Obviously, they could say nothing. Who could speak against Moses when he brought forth the plagues of God? (Exd 7:19-21) Who could speak against Elijah when he brought forth the power of God to consume the altar with fire? (1Ki 18:30-39) Moses, Elijah, Peter, and John were all thorns in the sides of those who were in authority around them, but those authorities could not speak against the miracles performed in front of them.[v15] But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
They don't know what to do, but they need a plan they can all agree on.[v16] Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
Or in other words, if they had not shown the miracle of healing in front of 5,000 people, and instead done it privately, they could have found an excuse to claim it wasn't true. However, they feared doing anything evil to these men at this time because 5,000 men outside now believed on Christ after witnessing the power of God. The wicked authorities were still not operating in the interest of the Lord God, as they claimed, but they feared men more than God. (Heb 13:6, Isa 51:7)[v17] But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
This should be a testimony that, although many people think miracles are the way to get people to believe, miracles don't save those whose hearts are set against God. It is the condition of the heart, humble and lowly, that brings people to a point where they are ready to hear the doctrine of Christ, but for those who are prideful and have lofty positions, they refuse to understand.[v18] And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
There are many false preachers out there, those who claim to be of God, but are not of God, who teach that all Christians should obey the government in all things no matter what is said or done. We ought to obey the government in all matters which are in line with the Word of God, and does not offend the Word of God in any way, but for those matters which directly contradict God's Word, we need not obey the government on those specific matters because there is a higher authority than they; as demonstrated by Peter and John since they went forth to continue preaching Christ when they were commanded by the government not to do so. When we follow the commandments of Christ, living peacefully and charitably, in righteousness and truth, then we ought to be a great help to governments who are also doing what's right; there is only conflict when governments go bad, as was the case of this council.(Read "Should Christians Submit to Governing Authority?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v19] But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
The men in the council were very educated in the Word of God, and they thoroughly understood that to silence a prophet of God was an attempt to silence God Himself. These men were judges, claimed to be appointed by God to judge over Israel, and the fact that they were ordering Peter and John to stop teaching God's Word was a clear embarrassment to them in front of all the people, and again, they ignored the commandments of the government who sought to usurp the authority of God in His Word.[v20] For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Meaning that they are simply telling the truth; the Spirit of God within them speaks the truth through them automatically, and cannot be silenced. The truth does not care about the feelings and lusts of prestigious men, and the facts do not respect persons (i.e. respecting persons is sin, Jms 2:9).[v21] So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.
That is, all the men present at the council meeting who believed on Christ; this is obviously not referring to all men across the world, nor all men in Jerusalem, since the entire population was not present at this hearing. They could not find a way to punish Peter and John because this was a public hearing, and so they let them go for fear of the people because they did not fear God. These men know the Lord God would never have let Peter and John perform this miracle of healing if they were not filled with His Spirit, and so they are directly defying Him in their judgments, desperately trying to find a way to silence them, only to protect their lofty positions of authority over the people.[v22] For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
At forty years old, such injuries don't get better with time, they get worse; thus, it was obvious that the Spirit of God was with those who taught the doctrine of Christ.[v23] And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
They went to their own company, meaning the other Christians that knew Peter and John, but were not with them during the trial. The others needed to know that the government had threatened them with punishment if they taught Christ, as there were no news reporters in that day; all news traveled by word of mouth.[v24] And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Addressing the Lord God in His authority, as Christ taught them to pray (Mat 6:9), which is a quotation of His Word in Exd 20:11.[v25] Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
[v26] The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
[v27] For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
In Psa 2:2, it mentions the "anointed" one of the Lord, which would be the Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. 'Christ' means "anointed"), and these people all set themselves together against Christ; first with Herod as He sought to kill Him as soon as He had been born. Although some would argue Pilate had no part in it, his silence on the matter, allowing an innocent man to be punished and a wicked man to go free, condemned him along with everyone else who yelled and spat at Christ.Pilate could have chosen to ignore the crowd's demands and exercised his authority, commanding the soldiers to disperse the crowd. However, to the keep the favor of the people, he allowed Christ to be crucified.
[v28] For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
God used these men to fulfill the prophecy of His Word and show that Jesus Christ is that anointed spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. Although many Christian have thought that they would not have acted the way the Jews did on the day Christ was killed, it is foolishness for us to believe that we could see clearly if God chooses to blind us, and that is what happened to the Jews in that day; their eyes were blinded to what they were doing, making certain that Christ fulfilled the prophecy and became the savior of mankind. (1Ti 4:10)[v29] And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
Praying for the boldness to continue to preach Christ, despite the fact that they face suffering of imprisonment, torture, and death, at the hands of a wicked government, for teaching the truth; remembering the power of the Lord who is ruler over the church, that we would not fear what mankind would do unto us. (Heb 13:6)[v30] By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
That the signs would be continuously shown to the Jews boldly, that all that could be saved, would be saved, for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice also that it was not their own hand that they credited with healing, but the healing hand of Christ, and this should be more evidence against cults (like Jehovah's Witnesses for example) who teach that Christ is not God, since earlier, Peter told the crowd that Christ had healed the man, while at the same time, God, the Father of Jesus, is also credited with healing in the same context. (i.e. Christ and God are one; John 10:30)[v31] And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
A similar experience to that which came on the Day of Pentecost; the Holy Spirit came down to give them the words to speak and give them the confidence (i.e. faith) they needed to go forward despite the threatenings of the high and lofty priests and rulers.[v32] And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
This is not to say that none of them had any private property, nor any personal ownership of their property, which God had ordained that men should do in the Old Testament and gave specific instructions to the Jews of the year of Jubilee, which allowed families to always keep the inheritance of their private property. (Lev 25:13-17) Rather, anyone who had need, and would ask of others for what they needed, they would not deny it for reasons of personal possession (i.e. "This is mine and you can't have it."), but would give it willingly and gladly to one another, being of one mind and one accord in Christ. (2Co 9:7)This is incredibly rare to see among church buildings in America today, and that's mostly due to the false doctrine they teach on tithe. Instead of preaching charity to the people, which is what New Testament doctrine teaches, they demand tithes from them, making threats to them that they are "robbing God" if they don't give a certain amount every week. It's no wonder that there is no room for charity among all these false churches, since they extort money out of the congregations before anyone can consider the church of Christ is supposed to be a family.
(Read "Is Tithe a Christian Requirement?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v33] And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
The Lord Jesus Christ gave grace to all those of His flock, through repentance and faith, but He did not give great power unto all of them; meaning that they did not all receive the power to raise the dead and heal the sick. The great fallacy that persists today in many false churches is that all Christians receive miraculous gifts, but God never promised that to all Christians, and chose the few in that day to deliver these miracles to the Jews as a sign of the new dispensation.[v34] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Not to say that all Christians need to sell everything they own, but those who had extra sold those extra things in order to provide for everyone else who had need specifically; not for lacking of want, but for basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, etc. Because of the great power of the Holy Spirit that had come upon them, and knowing that Jesus Christ was directing His church through them, they sold their possessions to provide for what was needed; knowing that the apostles had little, since they were commanded to take no money with them. (Mat 10:10)[v35] And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
They sold everything they could and gave it for the growth of the ministry; for the saving of souls and the glory of the Lord. Sadly, most church buildings today do not focus on the needs of the those in the church, but rather, they look to buy bigger buildings, more lavish and expensive furniture, banquets, and in some cases, even fancy cars and private jets. The church in Acts instead gave and collected that the poor would have their needs provided, which is one of the reasons the authorities in the temple hated them so much; they gained the favor of the people, and the favor of the people took away their political clout.[v36] And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
Barnabas was a Jew, being a Levite, but was raised in Cyprus, a pagan island nation northwest of Israel. His name was Joses, but the apostles gave him the nickname Barnabas.
consolation (n): comfort, alleviation of misery or distress, refreshment of mind or spirit; that which comforts
(See 'consolation', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved May 20, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v37] Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
I'm not certain why he was specifically mentioned doing this, since many did it, but it could have been because God had given him the spirit of a cheerful giver. It's possible that he did this first and set an example for the others who did the same. It's also not certain what land he sold; it could have been a family inheritance from Cyprus, which would make sense why his country was mentioned, but nonetheless, he sold it and brought the apostles the money to provide for anything they could possibly need since they would be facing great distress in the coming days.[v1] But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
This was a man and his wife who were numbered among the church at that time, which could have been of the 5,000 who believed after the formerly lame man was healed by Peter and John.[v2] And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to [secretly knew about] it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
They decided to sell the land they owned, just as Barnabas did, and bring the money to the apostles. They told everyone they sold it for a fraction of the cost they actually sold it for, which means they lied. I warn my Christian brethren to be cautious of people who falsely teach from Acts 5, because many wicked preachers have used these verses to extort money out of gullible church-goers by telling them that God punishes those who don't give enough, but as we'll see, God punished them for lying.[v3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Had Ananias and Sapphira sold the property for the full amount as they did, gave part of the money, and then had been honest with everyone about what they gave and what they kept, there would have been no conflict; however, they claimed they sold it for only that fraction of the full price, hiding the fact they sold it for much more, which would make them appear to be as charitable as Barnabas.[v4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Peter is questioning their reasoning because, as aforementioned, they could have simply given it and kept part, if they had been honest about it. In fact, he even noted that they could have kept all of it, and there would have been no offense towards God. Peter points out to them that they lied to the Holy Spirit (i.e. Almighty God), just as David, when he had a man killed and stole that man's wife, said to God, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight," (Psa 51:4) which is recognizing the foundation of the offense; and God later told David that He needed not deceive anyone, that He would have given her to David if he had only asked. Thus, it was not that they kept part of the price that was the problem, but that they lied to the Holy Spirit, and offended God by their deception, which He would not suffer to happen to His church in its infant stages, so he judged them as an example to others. (1Ti 5:20)[v5] And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Only by the grace of God, and His longsuffering towards us (2Pe 3:9), has He not continued this practice. He chose to judge Ananias as an example to the rest of the church, and it's likely the couple were false converts that were not of Christ to begin with, which is why instead of the humility of repentance, they worked manipulation and deception. The Lord God has told His people that He hates lies above all things (Pro 6:16-17), and He wants the church of Christ to understand the seriousness of such an offense.(Read "False Converts & Eternal Security here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v6] And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
Like the old phrase, "There's no need to cry over spilt milk," there was no need to sit around marveling when a man is dead and rotting in the house; it's best to get him out and bury him as soon as possible. Touching a dead body in Jewish society also meant that the person who came in contact was unclean, and although we Christians are not under Jewish law, those present at the time were residing in Jewish society, under Jewish government, which means they would have to abide by the laws of the land and be unclean for seven days (Num 19:11), which is why Peter did not do the work to carry the body out himself, so he could continue preaching freely without restriction.[v7] And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
She did not know that God had judged her husband and he was buried, and entered into the building where the church was gathered. Some false preachers have taught that this verse means she didn't know about the price of the land, but this is not the case, as evidenced by the fact that she was "privy" to the plan, and more evidence is presented in verse 9.[v8] And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Peter was asking her if they had sold the land for the partial price, and she lied the same as her husband did. If she had told the truth and confessed, God may have had mercy on her, but she continued the facade. This is an example to show that wives ought to follow and obey their husbands in all things, unless he has her say and do things that contradict the Word of God, because, as Peter points out later in verse 29, we ought to obey God rather than men.[v9] Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Meaning that she would die on the spot and have to be buried the same as her husband for the lies she told to the Holy Spirit. Ananias and Sapphira still had the pagan mindset of false gods in their heart because they were tempting God, or in other words, they were testing to see if the Christian God was all-knowing and omnipresent; to see if He would overlook their deception, or fail to see it at all, which is the fool-hearted thinking of the heathen nations, and demonstrated a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.[v10] Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
The same men would have repeated this process, so no one else would have to remain unclean for seven days.[v11] And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Rightfully so, since the word would spread that the Lord God would not suffer anyone to lie to those who kept the faith in His Son, and it is only by His great grace and longsuffering that many people do not drop dead on the spot for doing the same things; though there are some who fall sick and die from other offenses. (1Co 11:30)[v12] And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
The lame continued to be healed, which, as rumors of these healings spread, would cause people to travel from all around to see and hear. Despite the threats of the local governing rulers, they continued to heal the sick and teach Christ on the very porch where Peter and John were arrested.[v13] And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
When it says "they were all with one accord" in verse 12, it is not saying every man present, but only among those who believed, because the rest durst (or dared) not join themselves to those who preached Christ because they were afraid. Nonetheless, they were magnified (or made of great importance and significance) by the people because of the miracles of healing and the wisdom of their doctrine.[v14] And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
As people traveled and came to see and hear, of those who would hear and understand, repenting and believing on Christ, they were added to the church.[v15] Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
The Spirit of God was working so wondrously through Peter, that the people believed that simply being near Peter's presence might heal the sick.[v16] There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
People were traveling from cities around Jerusalem because word had traveled so quickly, and they were all being healed by the Spirit of God.[v17] Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Indignation is extreme anger, and after reading the Old Testament prophets and the Gospels of Christ, it should be obvious to most readers that this was bound to happen; meaning that it was just a matter of time before someone in charge got offended and angry because his prestigious position was being threatened by the good works and truth of God being brought to the people. Sadly, the typical church buildings today are filled with such "elders" and "deacons" and "pastors" who will remove the one rebuking them, rather than suffer to be rebuked for their sinful deeds and false doctrines.[v18] And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
They cannot shut them up with threats, and they fear the wrath of the people, so they must whisk them away to a prison while they try to to reestablish their ruling authority. The common prison would have been reserved for criminals, not any type of religious crime, so to the public, it would seem as if Peter and John had broken the laws and done evil.[v19] But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
The Lord God would not suffer these wicked, hypocritical, unbelieving men to have their self-serving way.[v20] Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
The angel opened the doors of the prison, and they were commanded by God to go back to Solomon's porch and continue their work. The "words of this life" are the words of the doctrine of eternal life. (John 6:68)[v21] And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
This demonstrates how little the high and lofty men cared about the poor and needy, since they began their morning without even checking on those who were sick and lame outside, the ones who had traveled from cities all around to be healed. There were thousands who were coming to the temple in need of help, and these men were so worried about protecting their positions, they didn't even step outside and look.[v22] But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,
The guards of the temple cared not for the poor and needy either; also being ignorant that the men they arrested were standing outside healing and teaching the people.[v23] Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
The Lord God had blinded the eyes of the men standing guard, so they would not detect the apostles leaving the prison.[v24] Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
They were thinking that if these men could just walk out of prison, by what means could they bind them and keep the order of their authority over the people? They were unsure of whether or not imprisoning anyone who believed would be meaningless (i.e. they would just walk out), and if so, they struggled to find another solution.[v25] Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
Finally, they figured out what was going on.[v26] Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
They went unto the apostles gently, making requests, and guiding them inside, without the use of weapons or threats, because the people being healed and believing it was the power of God would have stoned the soldiers to death because they did not fear any reprisal for defending the prophets of God, and because the people far outnumbered the guards.[v27] And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
The council had sent for them anyway, so ignoring the delay, they continued with their inquiry as normal.[v28] Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
Meaning that they taught the people that the chief priests and rulers had shed the blood of Christ, and were responsible for killing the Lamb of God sent to be their Messiah. Their doctrine was not isolated to the temple grounds, as many would have left and talked about the deeds done and doctrine preached, whether they believed in it or not.The really crazy part about this is when Christ was on trial for execution, and Pilate was making attempt to reason with the crowd, they all yelled out to him "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Mat 27:25) These men would not have stood in defense of Christ, and they would have agreed with the crowd at that time, but then turn around and claim that His blood is not on their hands.
[v29] Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
I once had a debate with a pastor, who was falsely accusing me, and he tried to back up his argument with Romans 13, claiming that we had to submit to government commandments in all areas, no matter what, and that we defy God by defying their authority. Knowing that he was a man strongly against abortion, I asked him if the government made a decree, as they have done in countries like China, where you're only allowed to have one child, and if the woman gets pregnant with a second child, you would have to get an abortion; would he follow that decree? He said no. I asked on what basis? He answered with Acts 5:29. He first argued unlimited submission to government, and turned around and said there are matters we ought not to obey the government; or in other words, he's double minded. (Jms 1:8)This is why I tell people to be cautious around preachers who falsely teach that we are to be in unlimited submission to government in all matters; we are to be in submission to the government, obeying the laws of the land, until they do something that contradicts the commandments of God.
(Read "Should Christians Submit to Governing Authority?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Peter and John had defied governing rule. They were commanded to stay the night in prison, but God told them otherwise. They were commanded not to preach Christ, but Christ told them otherwise. They had done no harm to anyone; they healed the sick and lame, and told them the truth about who healed them, but that was such an offense to those in religious governing authority, they abuse their positions of power for selfish motivation, and that tradition continues to this day in the church buildings.
[v30] The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
The apostles pointed out the one thing they were most threatened by: the accusation that they were responsible for killing the very God they claimed to serve. The reason the council feared that truth is because it would mean they might be judged by the people, losing their pay, their positions, and possibly their lives; not to say that Christians would kill them, because Christ has taught us to have mercy and grace on the repentant, but these men feared the people and what the mob might do to them.Furthermore, it is the pride of heart that prevented these men from admitting the truth. It is pride that keeps a man from admitting his own error.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Pride" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v31] Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
This is the same repentance that was taught by all the prophets who their fathers tortured and slew. This is why Jesus Christ so accurately called them "whited sepulchres" (Mat 23:27) because they polished and shined the tombs of the prophets their fathers killed; appearing beautiful outward, but inward, being full of death.[v32] And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
After Christ was executed, those who (at first) ran and hid are now standing boldly and professing the truth of Christ before all. This would have been evidence enough on its own, because it would only have made sense for them to risk their lives if they had seen Christ alive, but the fact that the Holy Spirit worked healing miracles through them was undeniable by any man.[v33] When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
In Acts 2:37, on the Day of Pentecost, the people were cut to their hearts when they heard the apostles teach the same message, and they repented; however, these men have the pride of their prestigious positions lodged deep in their hearts, and so they would rather silence the message than to confess the truth with their mouths and be saved. (Rom 10:10)[v34] Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
Gamaliel was Paul's teacher (Acts 22:3), although he did not yet speak about Paul since Paul was not yet numbered among the apostles. Paul was still serving this council at the time this trial took place. Gamaliel used his position of respect to try and bring a little wisdom and peace to the situation.[v35] And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
Or in other words, don't do anything foolish without thinking. Because the men on the council were pricked in the hearts, they were reacting emotionally instead of rationally.[v36] For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
As is common today, so too back then were there false teachers who raised up cults. This cultist, Theudas, had a cult that was 400 people in number, but he was killed and everyone involved left, so the cult died out.[v37] After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
Another man named Judas started up a cult of his own, having something to do with taxation, likely a rebellion on taxation concerning his religious view, which is why Gamaliel refers to "the days of the taxing."[v38] And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
He's telling the other men of the council that if they were truly of God, and the apostles not of God, then it would die out on its own. This is not to say that cults never flourish, because some have, but many more do not. In their Jewish society, with the Torah (first five books of the Bible) and the Old Testament prophets so well established, if it was not of God's Word, it would not last long in Israel.[v39] But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
Haply means "accidentally," or "by chance," so he did not wish for them to accidentally fight against God. As was already demonstrated by their inability to imprison the apostles; the council could not overthrow them. Though it does not appear that Gamaliel believed in Christ, he had enough tact and influence to give a more peaceful solution to appease the priests, which the council heavily desired, since they still feared the people.[v40] And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
They taught in the temple with the permission of the priests, so the council felt the need to make an example of them by beating them, with lashes of the whip, which was customary, else their authority would be undermined and they would lose face in front of the people.[v41] And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
As Christ told them they are blessed when men revile and persecute them (Mat 5:11-12, Luke 6:22-23), and the Bible tells us that all who will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer similar persecution (2Ti 3:12); not to say that all will be whipped on their backs specifically, but men shall hate, speak evil, and do all manner of evil against us falsely for the sake of Christ. There are many churchgoers that everyone seems to speak well of, but the Bible gives warning against those whom everyone loves; or in other words, if everyone seems to like a man or woman, then that man or woman teaches or believes false doctrine because Christ guaranteed that many people would hate His message. (Luke 6:26)[v42] And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
When they departed from that temple, they continued to other synagogues, and taught from house to house, to all those who would hear.[v1] And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.
This refers to the days in which the apostles were in the early stages of carrying out the will of God, gathering new disciples that would later spread far and wide around the world. The Grecians are normally defined as those who live in Greece, but in this context, it's specifically referring to Jews who were fluent in the Greek language, and the evidence for this is the fact that Greeks in general would not care about the daily ministration of widows in another country; it was coming from those who were very familiar with the traditions of the Hebrews, namely, the "daily ministration" for the widows. The daily ministration means they would give bread and other care for widows whose husbands (who may have lived in Greece, which is a good reason why the Grecians were making complaint) had died and left their women with very little or no family connections to be cared for; thus, it was up to the community in general to be charitable unto them.[v2] Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
The ministers of God, which are those who deliver the Word of God and preach repentance and faith in Christ for the saving of souls, is a far greater duty than serving food at a table. This was in no way condemning the act of serving tables (i.e. feeding the poor and needy), but it is obviously greater to save one's soul from eternal hellfire than to hand bread to a widow; nonetheless, the work of feeding the hungry still needed to be done.[v3] Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
Instead of taking the apostles and their disciples away from the work of saving souls, they selected a few Christians to go and fulfill this duty of charity to the poor and needy. This is not to say that the apostles and their disciples were unwilling to go and help the widows, but they had to prioritize certain duties. This is what it means to oversee the church; to delegate duties that need to be done for the ministry (i.e. the service) of others, but sadly, "overseeing" in modern day church buildings typically means ruling over a congregation of church-goers with a heavy hand. (i.e. Give respect unto the pastoral title and don't question the traditions of the church building, else you will be shunned or removed.)(Read "Is the One-Pastor System Biblical?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The twelve, who currently had the position of bishops that served and labored in the Word, were appointing deacons to oversee the duties of caring for the widows. They sought those of an honest report, meaning that they would have already proven themselves. (1Ti 3:10)
[v4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
They dedicated themselves to prayer and delivering the Word of God to the people for the saving of souls and watering (i.e. education and edification) of the seeds that fell on good ground (i.e. those born again in Christ - Luke 8:15), which would require them to have a flexible schedule, going wherever was needed, prayer, fasting, and study, which would not permit them to feed a group of widows at the same time at the same place every day.[v5] And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
Seven men were chosen; one of them, Nicolas, was a "proselyte," meaning that he was a new convert, recently born again in Christ. It seems they chose a mixture of those who were veterans (like Stephen) and those who were new (like Nicolas), so the education in the Word could continue among them daily as they performed their duties.[v6] Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
The laying on hands was a tradition that was passed on from the Jews, to give blessing to another. Sadly, this is done by many wicked cults and church buildings today; laying hands on anyone at random they would find on the street, people they just met, without considering the meaning of it, and without considering that we are commanded to lay hands on no man suddenly. (1Ti 5:22)[v7] And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Which may not have happened if the disciples had only listened to the complaints of the Grecians without considering the big picture. This shows us that charity should not be ignored, nor should the duties of evangelism be ignored, but all things should be wisely delegated as a need arises.[v8] And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Those similar to previous chapters; healing the lame, raising the dead, casting out devils, etc. This also tells us that, although all born again in Christ were filled with the Spirit of God, only some were given the power (i.e. authority) of the Holy Spirit to carry out miracles. It is not to say that others were not "full of the Holy Ghost," as verse three indicates that all were filled with the Holy Spirit, but only a few were given authority by God to perform wonders for the people as a sign of God's approval, and to prove to cautious individuals that this was not just a random fleeting cult.[v9] Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
These men were filled with hatred at the doctrine that Stephen taught, being jealous of the attention he was getting that would naturally come from the miracles he performed. This is no different than the chief priests, scribes, elders, Pharisees, and Sadducees that disputed with Christ. The libertines were "free men" that had Roman citizenship, the Cyrenians were from the Greek/Roman city of Cyrene, the Alexandrians were from Egypt, Cilicia was a city in Tarsus, where Saul/Paul was from, and the Asians, which no specific description is given, which may indicate that they were few in number from various locations, but they were all considered to be some sort of religious authority and had worked hard to upkeep their station of respect among the people.[v10] And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
Though they were arguing against Stephen, they were not able to resist the wisdom of Christ, and since Stephen spoke with the same Spirit as Christ did, this is no surprise. The Bible tells us that such vain talkers and deceivers must have their mouths stopped with the truth of the Word of God. (Tts 1:10-11)[v11] Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
suborned (v): planned to take a false oath or do a bad action against another
(See 'suborned', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 26, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
The wicked men of the synagogue claimed Stephen spoke blasphemy (i.e. evil, or claiming to be of the Devil) against God, and against the words of Moses. The Bible does not make mention of men being blasphemed, but rather, they were claiming it was against the WORDS of Moses specifically, and since Moses' words were delivering the Law of God, then that would be an accusation that Stephen was blaspheming the Law of God. Both claims were obviously lies.
[v12] And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
Keep in mind, they had to go stir up other people. They were not able to round up the people who had witnessed the miracles of healing the sick, nor the people who heard and believed the doctrine because they knew Stephen spoke the truth, but they went to other places to stir up wicked people against him; those who had not seen the miracles, nor heard the doctrine Stephen preached.[v13] And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
These men of the synagogue were no different than the Pharisees and Saducees, who thought they could get away with technically "not lying" by hiring someone else to do it for them. Then if the plan backfires, they won't be held personally responsible. They were obviously men, as we often see today, who stand in positions of authority in which the people see them as "men of God," yet they do not fear Him. They foolishishly thought that by getting someone else to violate God's Word (i.e. lie Exd 20:16) in open court against His prophets, they won't be held accountable. (Mat 12:36)[v14] For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
They lied on the basis of partial truths, which is the same method Satan used against Eve (Gen 3:1-5), was sly enough to convince the public, as many of them have heard it taught that Jesus prophesied the temple would be destroyed (Mark 13:2). Jesus did not say that He would personally destroy it, but it would be torn down to the very last brick. They lied to say Jesus would come to destroy it, but He said no such thing. The priesthood was also changed from the Levites to Melchisedec (i.e. from the law of Moses and Aaron to faith in Christ), and that when the law is fulfilled, there would be a change in the law (Heb 7:12), not that the law was destroyed, but was fulfilled, and thus they lied to say that Jesus would "change the customs," which was not true; the customs are still there, but they have been fulfilled through Him. Unsurprising, these lies and false arguments are still made by many people today who are willingly deceived and do not understand the doctrines of Christ.[v15] And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
God manifested light on the face of Stephen because, as we will read in the next chapter, He was about to give Stephen the words to speak to these men through the Holy Spirit (Mark 13:11), and in my opinion, chapter 7 is one of the greatest speeches ever given in Scripture.[v1] Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
Though the light of an angel was coming from his face, the questioning continued. Whether the fear of God was in the high priest or not, we cannot tell from this verse alone, but one way or another, they did have a duty to continue the proceedings of court.[v2] And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
The Holy Spirit is speaking through Stephen, and is starting to explain to them the truth of the Word by going back to their origins. This is to show them that what is being taught by Stephen is in direct agreement with the Word of God. The story he is about to tell them could be considered a short summary of the Old Testament. Although most of the Old Testament books are not mentioned, Stephen's testimony is backed up by the Old Testament prophets, and though he is quoting mostly from Genesis and Exodus, the habit of the Jews to fall away was repeated throughout the book of the Old Testament.[v3] And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
[v4] Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
God promised to give Abraham the land of Canaan, which was filled with the heathen Canaanites. Abraham, when he was 75 years old, moved from Charran (which is called Haran in the Old Testament) with his wife (Sarah) and his nephew (Lot). (Gen 12:5)[v5] And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
[v6] And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
Abraham's grandson, Jacob, would move with his children to Egypt and live there, eventually being enslaved after the generations of the fathers had passed. It would be 400 years before God would bring them out of Egypt into the land He promised them. (Gen 15:13)[v7] And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
[v8] And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
[v9] And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
The patriarchs are known to the Jews as the children of Jacob, or the children of Israel, which are the names of each of the tribes. Jacob's children were jealous/envious of Joseph (Gen 37:11) because God showed him in a dream that all of them would bow to him (Gen 37:10). The patriarchs sought to kill their brother Joseph (Gen 37:20), but instead decided to sell him into slavery for a profit (Gen 37:26-27).[v10] And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Through a series of events, Joseph was led to the King of Egypt, and through the Spirit of God, prophesied unto Pharaoh the famine of the coming years and how to survive it. (Gen 41:35-36) Pharaoh then made Joseph second in command over all Egypt. (Gen 41:40)[v11] Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
The famine spread out over all the lands surrounding Egypt, forcing everyone to come to Egypt to buy food. (Gen 41:57)[v12] But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
The patriarchs, Joseph's brothers, went to Egypt to buy food at the commandment of Jacob their father. (Gen 42:1-2)[v13] And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
They visited Egypt to buy food, but did not recognize Joseph. (Gen 42:8) They came, left with food, and had to return again a second time. Long story short: Joseph made himself known to them on their return to Egypt. (Gen 45:3-4)[v14] Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
This was the number that came to Joseph, which would be Jacob, his sons and their wives, and his grandchildren; a total of 75 people.[v15] So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
[v16] And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.
[v17] But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
[v18] Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
[v19] The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
The Egyptians feared that the Hebrews would become too great in number, because God blessed and multiplied them as He promised Abraham, and so to prevent them from growing large enough to challenge the armies of Egypt, they ordered the midwives to kill newborn males as they came out of the womb. (Exd 1:10-16) However, the midwives did not kill the male children; explaining to Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were more "lively" than the Egyptian women, and would give birth without the midwives. (Exd 1:18-19)[v20] In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:
Since the Hebrew mothers found a loophole, all people in Egypt were ordered by government decree to toss newborn males into the river, (Exd 1:22) where they would drown or be eaten by predators. Moses' mother could only hide a newborn baby for about three months before people would find out she had a male child that was not thrown in the river. (Exd 2:2)(Read "Should Christians Submit to Governing Authority?" here at creationliberty.com for more details on the subject of submission to government in relation with submission to God.)
[v21] And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
Moses' mother made a basket for him and put him in the river safely, and obviously would have prayed God's protection over her child. (Exd 2:3) Pharaoh's daughter (by the divine providence of God) came to that very spot to bathe, and found the child. (Exd 2:5)[v22] And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
He was named Moses (meaning "to pull/draw") by the daughter of Pharoah. (Exd 2:10) Moses received an Egyptian education, but also having a good understanding of many matters, which would have included other various cultures, like the Hebrews for example; these types of things would be common for princes to learn for the handling of political duties when they would eventually take charge of the nation.[v23] And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
Moses was a middle-aged man before the Spirit of God came into his heart and guided him to visit the Hebrew slaves.[v24] And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
[v25] For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
Moses had rescued the poor and needy out of the hands of a wicked man who oppressed them, and hid his body in the sand to cover up the matter. Moses knew he was adopted, and was of Hebrew blood, and that the God of the Hebrews had prophesied their liberty out of bondage, so he presumed the Jews would see his actions as a sign that God was coming to save them, which also means Moses had faith in the Word of God, whereas most of the Hebrews did not.[v26] And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
Not only did they not understand the work of God in their favor, but they instead feared that Moses would kill them, and so they told Pharoah what he had done. (Exd 2:13-15) Moses sought to "set them at one," meaning that he wanted to make peace between them since there was much in-fighting among the Hebrews.[v27] But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
This is not that Moses did wrong to his neighbor by killing the cruel man who oppressed the poor and needy, but rather, it was the man he had directly saved who did wrong unto Moses and pushed him away, being ungrateful to Moses. It was his blindness that God had put Moses in a position of authority; thinking foolishly that Moses simply put himself above them. Moses was later treated the same way by Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, when they rejected his authority, claiming that he brought them "to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us;" (Num 16:13) which is to say they rejected his authority (and likewise God's authority) and made a mockery of his good deeds toward them.This is a key point in the speech Stephen is giving to the chief priests and elders. I have heard some people ask why the Lord God waited 400 years before leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, and this gives us indication why; their lack of faith, which they would later demonstrate on the road out of Egypt and at Mount Sinai. (Exd 32:1)
[v28] Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
The bitterness and pride of the man's heart would not let him see that Moses sought to do good, judge righteously, and make peace. Thus, he treated the killing of the Egyptian as murder, rather than defending the poor and needy against evil.[v29] Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
As I stated earlier, he ran because the Hebrews turned Moses in to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. (Exd 2:15) Moses fled to Midian and married the daughter of a priest in that land.[v30] And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
Moses would have been 80 years old at that time an angel of God appeared to him in a fiery bush that was not consumed by heat. (Exd 3:2)[v31] When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
The angel of God was in the form of the fiery bush, and God spoke to Moses through that angel. (Exd 3:3)[v32] Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
Moses shook with fear, and hid his face; being afraid to look upon the face of God, though this was not the face of God, but an angel in the form of the fiery bush. (Exd 3:6)[v33] Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
[v34] I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
[v35] This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.
Stephen is making the point that it was the man who the Jews rejected that the Lord God chose to bring salvation to His people, or it may be better said that it was the man the Lord God chose to bring salvation to His people that the Jews rejected, and this was a common pattern that was seen throughout the Old Testament. (e.g. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc)[v36] He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
The Lord God, when bringing in a new dispensation, always shows His wonders and miracles as a sign of evidence for His people to know for certain what He's doing. This is important for the chief priests and elders to hear because Stephen was also showing the wonders and miracles of God through His works in this new dispensation, yet they remained willingly blind to it because confessing Christ to be truth would also mean they must confess that they crucified God Himself who visited His people in the flesh. Remember that it was not the miracles that offended the chief priests and elders; it was the doctrine of Christ that was offensive to them.[v37] This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
[v38] This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
The children of Israel that wandered in the wilderness were the church of God at that time; whereas now those who have repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, being cleansed by His blood, are the church of God in this time. The "lively oracles" would be the angels that ministered unto Moses and gave him God's law. Stephen points out here that God spoke through His angels to Moses on different occasions, and this is because "no man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18, 1Ti 6:16, 1Jo 4:12) The lively oracles/angels were received, meaning the Word of God was received by Moses, and through him to the ancestors of the Jews, to then be passed to those standing in the courtroom with Stephen.[v39] To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
At one point, the children of Israel elected a captain to lead them back into Egypt; (Num 14:4) preferring to follow after the lusts of their hearts and live in slavery than to follow after faith in the Almighty God, who performed miracles before their eyes, just as Stephen had performed the miracles of God before the eyes of the chief priests and elders. Though the Jews did not actually return to Egypt, God tells us here that they returned to Egypt in their hearts, which, according to Christ, is the same as doing the deed itself. (Mat 5:28)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Idolatry" here at creationliberty.com for more details; Idolatry is more than carving a graven image and bowing down to it, and most preachers don't understand the idolatry of the heart.)
[v40] Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
They had made a golden calf to worship, serving false gods and claiming that those false gods brought them out of Egypt. (Exd 32:8-9)[v41] And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
The Lord God sought to wipe them out because of their offenses, and make a nation out of Moses alone, but Moses, the prophet they rejected, entreated God on their behalf. (Exd 32:11-14)[v42] Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Their time in the wilderness was due to their disobedience against God, but more specifically, that He turned from them because they turned from Him to sacrifice unto devils. (Amos 5:25-26) Again, though they may have done the deed of sacrifices towards God, the Lord God ponders the hearts of men (Pro 21:2), and their hearts were set on their false gods, which means their sacrifices (oblations and offerings) were done in vain.[v43] Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
There is a long history of the Jews turning to false gods to worship them, and the Lord God eventually led them captive into Babylon for seventy years as a punishment for their wickedness. (Jer 25:11)[v44] Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
[v45] Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
The name "Jesus" in this passage is not referring the Lord Jesus Christ, but is Joshua in the Old Testament, who led the Hebrews into the land promised. Yeshua (in Hebrew), Jesus (in Greek), and Joshua (in English) are all the same name, and they all mean "salvation," but they are different spellings of the same name in different languages; just as "Elijah" and "Elias" are different spellings of the same name. The use of the name "Jesus" is correct to the Greek, but obviously, the context shows us that this is referring to Joshua in the Old Testament, since it is referring to the possession of the land of Canaan, which is now called Israel, and Joshua led the Hebrew army to drive out the Canaanites, so their "fathers" (i.e. ancestors) could possess the land. (Jos 3:10)[v46] Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
The words "unto the days of David" in the previous verse are referring to this tabernacle, which was mobile, and would be moved from place to place. David built a permanent habitation for it. (Psa 132:2-5)[v47] But Solomon built him an house.
This is the construction of the Temple of God, sometimes referred to as "Solomon's Temple." (1Ki 6:2)[v48] Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
The "most High" is one of the many names of God. (Gen 14:18)[v49] Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
The Lord God said His dwelling place is not in this world, and that he looks to the humble man who fears His Word; not to those who build grand structures. (Isa 66:1-2) Thus, these questions are not asked because God is looking for a habitation, wondering why one has not yet been built for Him, but rather, he poses the questions to get the Jews to consider that He is a spirit, and that mankind cannot construct something that is suitable for God's Spirit. (John 4:24)[v50] Hath not my hand made all these things?
Men often try to impress by the things they make, rather than humbling themselves to repentance, which is what the Lord God desires of all men. (2Pe 3:9)[v51] Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
The Holy Spirit has been active throughout the Old Testament, just as He is in the New Testament, because the Holy Ghost is God the Father and Christ the Son because they are one.(Read "The Godhead vs The Trinity" here at creationliberty.com for more details; the "trinity" is a pagan term, but one God presenting Himself to mankind in three persons is Biblical.)
Stephen has not only made it clear that he has taught the doctrines of the Old Testament correctly, and thoroughly understands them, but now he brings this information forward as a testimony against the chief priests and elders. God called the children of Israel "stiffnecked," because they refused to turn their heads and see the truth of their deeds; (Exd 32:9) they focused more on the circumcision of males as an outward sign of dedication of God, cleaning the outside of the cup and platter, (Mat 23:26) rather than cleaning the inside, which is what is meant by circumcising the heart. (Deut 10:16)
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Circumcision" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
This is still a problem today; with pastors, deacons, and elders being so common among the church buildings, yet most of them only make clean the outside. The Lord Jesus Christ called them "whited sepulchres," which is a tomb that is polished and made beautiful on the outside, but inside is full of the bones of dead men. (Mat 23:27) To say such things to the leadership of modern church buildings causes great anger and offense to those in chief position, and it was no different in the time and place Stephen made this speech; the only difference being that the law of their society allowed these men to kill Stephen if they felt so inclined.
[v52] Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
The prophets of the Old Testament were persecuted in the same way the chief priests and elders persecuted Stephen; the same way they persecuted Christ. Stephen and the other six men appointed to the widows performed the duties of charity that were supposed to be done by the very men persecuting them, performed miracles of healing by the power of the Almighty God upon whom these chief priests and elders claimed themselves to serve, and sit unashamed upon their chief seats, wearing their grand decorations, puffing themselves up in the synagogue, (Psa 12:5) and have the nerve to judge God's elect, and since God was working through His elect, they were judging God Himself in the process. (Mat 23:5-6)[v53] Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Christ said the same, telling the leaders that they draw close to God with their mouths only, but their hearts are far from Him, and that they teach the doctrines and commandments of men, while ignoring the commandments of God. (Mat 15:3-9)[v54] When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
The "gnashing of teeth" is when a person presses and grinds their teeth together in anger, which can be done both with the mouth open or closed. Most often, men tend to do it with their mouths closed to preserve some manner of decency, but the truth can be seen in animals because beasts do not stand on pretense. When an animal, such as a wolf, gnashes his teeth, it is a fearsome sight to behold, and it clearly shows the intent of violence that likely follows. The chief priests and elders were "cut to the heart," meaning that they knew of their own guilt, and understood the truth of what Stephen taught, but because they were high-minded men who loved the pleasures of their position more than they loved God, (2Ti 3:4) and because they could no longer reason their position with the Scriptures, (Isa 1:18) just as a mindless and heartless wolf, one which bares its teeth and only desires the fulfillment of the belly, (Phl 3:19) their only response was to attack.[v55] But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
Stephen knew what he was looking at, although it is hard for us to imagine what it was like to look at the glory of God and see Christ standing next to His throne.[v56] And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
Although Stephen did nothing more than declare the truth of what he was seeing, this further enraged the chief priests and elders. Such a sight would not only cause Stephen to ignore their raging accusations at him, but it would also indicate that Stephen could see the Lord of Glory, while the chief priests and elders could not.[v57] Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
This means that no reasoning or words of wisdom would stop them from what they were about to do.[v58] And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
This is actually quite common still today; not the stoning, but the manner in which the chief priests and elders acted. They believed that by questioning their authority, it was questioning God's authority, and by condemning them, they believed Stephen was condemning God, but in reality, they only connected themselves to God's authority by their own tradition, rather than through humility and service to the Almighty; practicing the faith and charity which was taught by Lord God and His Son.The act of stoning was the law; those Jews who would curse God were to be stoned outside the camp. (Lev 24:14)
They removed their outer garments and laid them at the feet of Saul of Tarsus, who would later become Paul, servant of Christ. Scripture calls him "young," but this is in constrast to the older men who were stoning Stephen to death. Saul was likely somewhere around thirty years old, since, thirty years after this event, Paul said he was in his aged (or elderly) years. (Phm 1:9)
[v59] And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
While they threw rocks at him, which would have been incredibly painful, his focus was on the Lord Jesus Christ.[v60] And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen, humbled in the Lord, gave his final thoughts to the children of Israel, to those who persecuted him, praying that the Lord God not hold them accountable for their ignorance in the matter of his murder. The mercy and forgiveness of such a thing is great, but for those who have been forgiven much, such love is a simple matter. (Luke 7:47)[v1] And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
consent (v): to agree in accord with
(See 'consent', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 30, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v2] And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Which would be natural in such a tragic situation, but also because Stephen would have been so highly respsected as a servant among the Christians in that day. Even I greatly admire him after reading about his boldness, humility and charity. Consider that, though he was filled with the Holy Ghost and could perform miracles of healings, he gladly accepted a lowly position to care for the widows, which showed that he was the greatest among them because he was the least among them, (Mat 20:25-27) and why God chose him for the task to deliver that speech to the chief priests and elders. (1Co 1:27-28)[v3] As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
"Haling" is another spelling of "hauling," which is to drag by force the Christians from their homes and put them in prison. At that time, Saul thought he was serving the Almighty God by keeping the commandments of the chief priests and elders.[v4] Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
This did not sway the Christians from teaching the truth, but rather, boldened them all the more to share the Gospel of Christ, since Christ had taught them they were blessed when men would persecute them in such ways. (Mat 5:11)[v5] Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Since the majority of the apostles performing miracles were doing so in Jerusalem, Philip began to go out further to extend the ministry.[v6] And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
This was extraordinary that the grand majority of the people in Samaria listened to Philip and came to see him. Such examples are strong evidence of the miracles that were performed because no other religious institution in history, at its birth, was able to gain that many converts in such a short time; the only way that could have happened was if the account of Scripture is true, that people were watching incurable illnesses cured instantly by nothing more than a spoken word.[v7] For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
This city had a large quantity of pagans, and thus, due to their wicked sacrifices, spell casting, and other various practices in communication and communion with devils, resulted in the demonic possesion of many in the population. Even today, there are many possessed of devils, but our society labels them with medical deficiences, and give them drugs, which is a form of sorcery and only makes the problem worse. Because they did not follow the laws of God concerning cleanness in their society, they were overrun with disease and illness, like palsies, which come from viral infections, most often due to septic living conditions or sexually transmitted diseases.[v8] And there was great joy in that city.
To live in a nation full of false converts and lukewarm church goers, it is difficult for us to imagine so many faithful in Christ rejoicing together in a single city, being made clean spiritual and physically in mass. I still believe that God can and will do this for nations today if they repent, but the Bible has said that the problem will only get worse before the end, not better. (2Th 2:3)(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details on the false doctrine of most modern day church buildings; there is nowhere in Scripture that prophesies that there would be great revival before the end.)
On the other hand, just because they were joyful of the miracles of healing, doesn't mean they all were of Christ. Jesus taught us that those seeds which fall among the stones are those who receive the word with great joy, but when persecution arises, then are offended and depart. (Mat 13:20-21) When persecution comes because of the Word of God, that's where we'll see who is of Christ and who is a false convert.
(Read "False Converts vs Eternal Security" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v9] But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Though in modern American society, Christ is typically mocked as one who did parlor tricks to impress the people, but the truth was that the pagans, wizards, witches, and sorcerers were the ones who were using parlor tricks to fool the people. The Lord God hates all manner of witchcraft, (Exd 22:18, Deut 18:10) and it was men like Simon who brought suffering to the people through his wicked magic and drugs (i.e. sorcery).[v10] To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
Giving heed means they gave him attention and listened to him. They were fooled; thinking his devilish witchcraft came from God.[v11] And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
Witches and sorcerers were not persecuted like the Christians were, and that was because many leaders in high places had respect to paganism and witchcraft, just as many Jewish kings had done before them.[v12] But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
We will see in the next few verses how Simon believed on Christ and was baptized, but he was not born again in Christ. Baptism is a commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ upon those who claim belief on Him, but the sad part is that most churchgoers today believe that if someone is baptized and claims to believe on Jesus, that automatically makes them Christian, and they ignore the many warnings Christ gave about false converts, and how He said there would be many of them.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v13] Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
Simon CLAIMED to believe, but he was a false convert. Simon received his seed among the thorns, (Mat 13:22) meaning that he only believed in the power of the miracles, and sought to claim that power for his own selfish purposes.(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details on the many fake "faith" healers that hold the unbiblical revivals; following after Simon the sorcerer.)
[v14] Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
Philip would have needed help, as it would have been a heavy burden to handle that many people all at once; it would have been almost a non-stop barrage of requests and questions, allowing him little time to rest, so Peter and John came to assist in the work.[v15] Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Peter and John prayed for the new church that had formed in Samaria, that they would receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost and be able to help in spreading the truth of Christ.[v16] (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Meaning that none of the Christian converts in Samaria had the gifts of the Holy Spirit to perform the miracles needed for the ministry at that time. This is not to say that all Christians today receive these special gifts of healing, but at the time it was necessary to announce the new dispensation of God, and today, we need to remember Christ taught that wicked and adulterous people seek after signs and miracles. (Mat 16:4)That being said, it's not that there was no one saved in Samaria, but that many were still deceived by a wicked false convert; a sorcerer that is an abomination in God's sight.
[v17] Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
The laying on hands was a Jewish tradition of passing blessings onto another, and it's interesting to note that Philip did not have the power to do this, otherwise there was no need for John and Peter. Again, many false preachers today believe that every Christian should have this gift, but this is a gross misunderstanding of doctrine.[v18] And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Seeking power for personal gain is standard operating procedure for a witch.[v19] Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
As I stated earlier, Simon was not of Christ, and sought to purchase special powers he could use for his own gain, treating the holiness of the Lord as nothing more than pagan witchcraft, which is abomination in the sight of God. Salvation would make no sense if it could be purchased with gold and silver, and likewise also the gifts of the Spirit of God. His believing that the Lord of Glory is interested in money only shows that Simon had no understanding of the Christian God of the Bible he claimed to believe in.[v20] But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Notice that Simon is a man who confessed belief on Christ in front of everyone and was baptized, but Peter is telling him he will perish. This is the fallacy of the presumption most churchgoers have in modern day church buildings; that if someone says they believe on Jesus and are baptized, it automatically means their saved, but that is not the case because for many, their hearts are not right with God because they've never come to the grief and godly sorrow of repentance. (2Co 7:10)In his current state, Simon was not a Christian at heart, and so Peter points out that destruction will befall both Simon and his money; whereas eternal life can only be obtained through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith of a repentant heart.
[v21] Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
Meaning that Simon had no part in the things the church was doing because he was not one of the elect of God; he "accepted Jesus" because he wanted the power to perform miracles, not because he was repentant of his sin. While thousands are being baptized, it would not be simple to discern repentance in every person; the evidence would only become clear afterwards by spending time with them and hearing what they say.(There are many today who seek power and miracles rather than the doctrine of Christ; Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v22] Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
Peter was not personally condemning Simon to hell (because as long as a man is alive, there is hope for conversion - Heb 9:27), but Peter knew he was a false convert. Thus, even though the man claimed to believe on Christ and was baptized, Peter took him back to the foundation of the Gospel, which is the repentance (grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and remission (forgiveness) of sins.[v23] For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
He had not been freed from bondage because he had never received Christ. Though the Spirit of God opens our eyes and cures us of our blindness, the perception came from Simon's words, which are a direct reflection of what was in his wicked heart. (Mat 15:18)[v24] Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
Notice that Simon did not pray for forgiveness, nor did he repent in godly sorrow. He requested that the one with the power of miracles pray for him because he still had a ritualistic pagan mentality, thinking that because he did not have the power of the Spirit of God, that he could not come to God in prayer, nor was he willing to understand that he would perish in his sin and desperately needed the Savior, as does all mankind.[v25] And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Jesus had told His disciples not to preach to the Samaritans at first (Mat 10:5), but that was only for a time. Now that they had thoroughly preached Christ's doctrine in Jerusalem and Judea, they could continue in Samaria also, as Jesus told them in Acts 1:8.[v26] And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
The Holy Spirit had a plan for Philip to meet someone, and commanded him to go to a specific location that Philip would not normally travel.[v27] And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
There are many cults that have existed (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc) who (either currently or in times past) have taught that black men cannot receive the Gospel, but the Ethiopians were black people (Jer 13:23). This Ethiopian man would have been a wise and trustworthy person to be put in charge of the queen's finances, and was made a eunuch as was custom for many of those in high position in royal houses at that time. (Dan 1:3-4) He was returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem, being given permission to go and worship, and may have been a new convert to the Jewish religion; it was very likely he heard of the Christians and the Gospel of Jesus during his trip.[v28] Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
The Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah.[v29] Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
Philip was informed that this was the person he was sent to meet.[v30] And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Likely being a somewhat long journey, and eager to follow the commandments of the Lord, he was excited to meet the man he was specifically sent unto, and moved quickly over to see him. The Ethiopian attempted to understand the Word of God, and was open to the doctrines taught within.[v31] And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
He needed a bit of help to understand what he was reading. Those who are lost need help to understand (Rom 10:14), and so he requested Philip's help.[v32] The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
[v33] In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
[v34] And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
What should have been plain to see for the chief priests and elders, Sadducees and Pharisees, who grew up in a nation who claimed themselves dedicated to the Lord God, was easily diserned by one Ethiopian eunuch that was humble of heart. He could plainly see that the prophecy of Isaiah pointed to someone very important; one who can cleanse men of their iniquities.[v35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
The Lamb spoken of in Isaiah is the perfect Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, (1Pe 1:19) who takes away the sin of the world through the power of His blood. (John 1:29)[v36] And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
This indicates that he believed all that Philip taught him, and was eager to join the church of God.[v37] And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Which provides Scriptural evidence that those who do not believe should not be baptized. We baptize only those who profess to believe on Christ, not that we are always able to discern in the moment a false convert whose seed fell among the stones, (Mat 13:20-21) but we baptize with the knowledge we have at the time by the commandment of Christ.[v38] And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Not that the chariot itself obeyed his command, but that there was a driver of the chariot while he sat in the back reading.[v39] And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Even if he did not see Philip leave by the Spirit of the Lord, he knew it was physically impossible for Philip to disappear from sight that quickly while standing in the water. The Ethiopian knew it was the Lord God who had sent Philip unto him to give him understanding of who it was that Isaiah spoke of, and he rejoiced at the blessings, power, and mercy of the Son of God.[v40] But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Azotus is the Greek spelling of Ashdod mentioned in the Old Testament. (1Sa 5:1)[v1] And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Saul of Tarsus continued his crusade against the Christians for years after he witnessed the death of Stephen. (See Johnson's Notes on Acts 7:58)[v2] And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
The Christians captured would be brought to Jerusalem for punishment, which would be death. The Jews were going where the Christians were going, persecuting them along the way, which shows more evidence of the truth of Christ, since the Jews had never before persecuted another religion in such a way. These verses never make mention that he received the letters of authorization he was looking for, but due to the rage of the chief priests and elders against the Christians, it is likely that Saul received them, since without them, he would not have legal justification in the eyes of the local civil government.[v3] And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
This was a strong light that was much brighter than anything produced by the brightest daylight. Saul of Tarsus (i.e. Paul) later testifies that it was midday (i.e. noon) and that it was "above the brightness of the sun." (Acts 26:13)[v4] And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke directly unto Saul of Tarsus, and questioned him about his persecution. Saul believed that he was serving the Lord God, but by persecuting His children (i.e. those born again), by extension, he was persecuting Christ.[v5] And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Which would be like kicking into thorny vines, doing little damage to the plants as a whole, but injuring oneself greatly in the process. Saul believed that whoever spoke to him was his Lord, and thus, once the voice announced Himself to be Christ, Saul believed.[v6] And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Saul's first act of faith was simple: Enter into the city of Damascus and wait for further instructions.[v7] And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
The other men with him, which would have been assistant to his original intention in Damascus, namely the persecution of the Christians, were astonished at the voice, and were witness to the message from Jesus.[v8] And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
It is likely that Saul fell on his knees in fear and humility, both from the authority of the voice, and to shield his eyes from the bright light. The Lord Jesus Christ took away Saul's vision for a time, and the other men with him helped Saul get to a place he could rest.[v9] And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
Saul fasted for three days, and took no water either, which was sometimes done during fasting depending on the situation. (Exd 34:28)[v10] And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Which is not to be confused with the Ananias of Acts 5:1, because he was punished with death for lying to the Holy Spirit. (See Johnson's Notes on Acts 5:1-5) This Ananias was a faithful servant of Christ.[v11] And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
The Lord had selected Saul to teach His Word and lead His Church, and sent Ananias to guide him in the right direction.[v12] And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
The Lord God let Saul know ahead of time who was coming to see him, so that he would know for sure it was of Christ, and would have confidence in the direction he should go.[v13] Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Many were imprisoned and slain by Saul's efforts, and the Christians knew him and were afraid.[v14] And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Just because Saul had lost his sight was no reason to think that he might lead Ananias to his death. It did not seem to me that Ananias was afraid of dying for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, nor did he hesitate to serve at the Father's command, but made mention of this to God in hopes to gain understanding of what was happening.[v15] But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
It is the method of God to find the least likely, the weak, the poor, those who have done great wrongs, and others who society has condemned or forgotten, bring them to repentance and convert their souls, and then send them back out completely changed to preach for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does this so that no flesh would glory in His presence, or in other words, no man would receive glory for what God has done. (1Co 1:27-29)[v16] For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
Many various sufferings, such as being whipped, shipwrecked, beaten, stoned to death, hunger, thirst, coldness, nakedness, sleep deprived, and many other things Paul mentions later. (2Co 11:23-27)[v17] And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Ananias announced himself to Saul, knowing that he was blind, not in the sense to give him a title, as some have argued that this as a justification to give all men and women in the church the title of "Brother" or "Sister" before their names (and to justify other such titles), but as a declaration of truth, that Paul was regenerated and born again into the family of God. Though some cultures do refer to siblings as "brother" or "sister," it is not done is most European and American cultures, and thus, the church buildings did not learn that habit from the Bible or from culture, but they learned it and practiced it because of the traditions of men; such titles being dangerous, lifting people up in their pride. In this instance, the words were given to Ananias of what he should say to Paul, and so this was a fulfillment of God's commandments to Ananias, not a tradition to follow, and later, in Romans 16, Paul never addresses any of the brethren with a title of "Brother" or "Sister."(Read "Titles are Unbiblical in the Church" here at creationliberty.com for more details; titles such as "Pastor," "Deacon," and "Reverend," just to name a few, were never used in the early church and are not supported in the New Testament.)
[v18] And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
Something light had appeared to Ananias, as if there was something attached to his eyes, covering them, that fell away. Ananias laid hands on Saul at the command of the Lord Jesus Christ, Saul was filled with the Holy Ghost, and Saul received his sight once again, but this time for the purpose of fulfilling the ministry of the Christian church. Saul was baptized after receiving the Holy Spirit, which is another verse that provides us evidence that one does not receive the Holy Spirit from baptism, as some heretical cults have proposed.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v19] And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Anyone who has fasted for at least three days can understand the lack of strength in the body without food, and Saul regained his strength after eating. Saul was introduced to the church at Damascus, and learned about their daily operations.[v20] And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Saul was already prepared with intimate knowledge of the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit gave him conviction to preach Christ boldly in the synagogues without delay. This would have been a shock to many people in the synagogue, because Saul was well known, as indicated in the next verse.[v21] But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
Saul went straight for the location he was supposed to arrive with a letter that gave him permission to hunt down the Christians, and preached the truth of Christ to them instead.[v22] But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
Saul would have proved it by showing them prophecy of Scripture and revealing the truth of what Christ taught and did.[v23] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
They would not listen to reason from one of their own because they loved their lofty positions more than they loved God, and Saul's existence grieved them because his conversion was a powerful testimony for the Christians.[v24] But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
Saul taught many days at the synagogue, and they waited for him to either come or go out of the gates, but either a friend working within or one of the other Christians warned him about their plans.[v25] Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
Similar to how Rahab let down the two Jews from the wall by a cord to avoid the guards. (Jos 2:15)[v26] And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
Because the modern American church buildings have learned so much false doctrine, and because they have traditions of an open door policy concerning the church, they allow anyone and everyone to come in among them, but this is not how the church originally operated. If the church did not believe that someone was of Christ, they would not be allowed to congregate among them; not that they could not speak to that person, as some cults teach shunning, (e.g. Jehovah's Witnesses) but that person was not allowed to join the church for study and worship of God to be yoked among them because we are commanded to be not yoked together with unbelievers concerning things of the church and Spirit of God. (2Co 6:14-18) Thus, the true church of Christ, those who are the elect children of God, should not be so casual with who they allow in the church, (Mat 18:15-17) and ought to approach the matter with some caution concerning wolves who will enter in to devour the sheep. (Acts 20:29)Likewise, Saul was not allowed to enter the church at first because they had no evidence that he was of Christ.
[v27] But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Barnabas had Saul come with him to go to the elders (i.e. the apostles) to give his personal eye witness testimony of Saul's conversion; that he had witnessed him preach Christ openly at Damascus to the point they threatened his life. This shows us that one within the church can vouch (i.e. bear witness) for another if the person in question cannot provide evidence.I can personally testify that I have met and received letters from many people claiming to be of Christ, and calling me a "brother," but it turned out that many of them believed in a number wordly doctrines that contradicted the teachings of Christ (of which they would not repent), and some others who betrayed me in a variety of ways. (Paul experienced similar things while leading in ministry. 1Ti 1:20, 2Ti 4:14) Just as the church did not accept one simply because he said he was called by Christ, so the church ought not to accept one simply on that basis either; we need evidence, either through their conversation in Christ over time, through evidence of their public ministry, or by another within the church who can vouch for their words and actions in faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. (i.e. Our works should be evidence of our faith. Jms 2:18)
(Read "False Converts & Eternal Security here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v28] And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.
With the eye witness acount of Barnabas, they welcomed him, and he went with them as they taught and ministered.[v29] And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.
Saul debated against the the same type of people who were debating with Stephen, (See Johnson's Notes on Acts 6:9-10) but now they were angry enough to kill Saul, likely due to the fact that Saul was just recently on their side and had been completely converted.[v30] Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
They sought to save his life, not only because he was their brother in Christ, but also because they believed him when he said the Lord Jesus Christ had visited him on the road to Damascus and declared him to be a teacher over the church. Paul then traveled to his home of Tarsus, where he would have friends and family who might help him, and that he might deliver to them the truth of Christ.[v31] Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
After Saul had moved on to other places, the church experienced a temporary rest period, meaning that there was a time they were left alone to be edified (i.e. built up). It is in times of peace, however, that the church must be on its utmost guard, because that's where false converts can easily enter in. (Mat 13:20-21)[v32] And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.
Meaning that Peter had gone through all the regions where churches had been established to check in on them, to not only make sure they were teaching what was right (because the church was still in its infant stages), but also to see how he could be of assistance to them. Lydda was west of Jerusalem.[v33] And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.
Peter would have gone into his home, since he could not get out of his bed.[v34] And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.
Aeneas arose immediately because he had faith in Christ. A man who was lame much of his life may scoff at someone who would come into their home and say such a thing, but Aeneas got up immediately because he believed both in Christ and who Peter was in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ.[v35] And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.
His health was a testimony to the working of the Holy Spirit.[v36] Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
The Old Testament spelling of Joppa is "Japho." (Jos 19:46) Tabitha is known in Greek as "Dorcas," which means 'gazelle'. She did good among the people, and gave alms to the poor.[v37] And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.
Tabitha's body was cleaned and prepared for burial after she had died.[v38] And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.
Lydda was a short distance (i.e. nigh) to Joppa. Two men were sent to Peter to request he come to them, although it does not give the exact reason why. They may have thought Peter would perform a miracle to bring her back, they may have wanted him to come see them in their grief, but we also must consider that these verses do not say that they requested Peter's presence because of Tabitha's death; thus, it may have been that Peter was summoned simply because they wanted him to come and preach to them, and it happened that God had planned her death for the time of Peter's arrival.[v39] Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
These were some of her alms giving. Many believe that alms is money only, which is not the case; alms can be given in many various ways, but it is best defined as charity unto the poor and needy, and so Tabitha clothed the poor and needy.[v40] But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
Unlike the fake "faith healers" and their parlor tricks, Peter, by the working of the Holy Spirit, spoke a word and a woman, who was verified dead by many, opened her eyes and sat up.[v41] And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
Again, the Lord God is working miracles as evidence of the new dispensation.[v42] And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
This was a sign to the people that the Lord Jesus Christ is their salvation.[v43] And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
A man named Simon, who worked with leather, gave Peter a place to stay while he worked among them.[v1] There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
There were two cities called "Caesarea," one is more commonly known as Caesarea Philippi, but the other Caesarea (referred to in this verse) was also called "Strato's Tower." Cornelius was part of a band of 100 men (known as centurions, typically Romans - 'cent' means hundred), which came from Italy.[v2] A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
This answers the question as to whether believers can be military soldiers; obviously they can, otherwise, God would not have sent angels unto this centurion. The word 'alway' means "all the time" or "perpetually," whereas the word 'always' with an 's' means "at every time" or "on every occasion," meaning that the devout centurion prayed all the time throughout the day in attempt to be constantly in communication with God.[v3] He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
The Lord God sent an angel to Cornelius with a message of instruction at around 3 PM in the afternoon.[v4] And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
Meaning that God remembered the prayers and alms of Cornelius, or we sometimes may say that He special notice of them. With God being omnipresent and omniscient (i.e. all-knowing), He obviously knows all things at all times, but this was a message to let him know that God regarded his prayers, which is opposite to the prayers of the wicked, which He will not regard. (Isa 1:15)[v5] And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:
Cornelius was in charge of servants and soldiers, and he was to send some to invite Peter to his home.[v6] He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.
The sea side is a good place for a tanner, so his drying racks can get plenty of sun and wind, and it would be a familiar and comforting sight to Peter, since he was a fisherman by trade. God would later inform Peter of what he was to do when the messengers arrived.[v7] And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
Though the angel did not say how many exactly, which means God left it up to Cornelius's discretion, and he discerned that one soldier and two servants should be enough for an escort. It also makes sense to send more servants than soldiers because this was a friendly invite; sending more soldiers than servants would imply that there was danger and/or that Peter was a criminal.[v8] And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
They would have known the gravity of the situation; that they were directed and protected by the Lord God since He had given a direct commandment.[v9] On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
The sixth hour was noon, which was one of the traditional times of prayer among the Jews.[v10] And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
A trance is a limbo state in which the soul is not present, but the body is not dead.[v11] And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
In this vision was some sort of container, or rather, a sheet that was let down in the center and formed a container in the middle. It may have been some representation of the Gospel coming unto the four corners of the earth, which is a metaphorical reference to the four corners of a map, encompassing the entire world. (Isa 11:12)[v12] Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
"All manner" would mean that there were both kosher and non-kosher, clean and unclean, animals in this vision. (Although, vision may not be the right phrase, since by trance, it may be that the soul of Peter was transported temporarily for God to teach him this lesson, but the word is used in verse 19, which means that even if Peter was transported, it was still a vision.)[v13] And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
Which would have called for him to fill himself on both clean and unclean beasts.[v14] But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
All his life, Peter lived as a Jew, and in Jewish society, they did not eat any unclean animal, such as a pig or rabbit. (Lev 11:5, Lev 11:7)[v15] And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
This is not to be understood that God has called all animals clean, although there is no wrong in eating unclean animals in the New Testament, (1Ti 4:4) but this is a metaphorical reference in which He is teaching Peter that the Gospel of Christ is moving into the lands which are considered unclean among the Jews.[v16] This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
When reading this, I am left to presume that Peter sometimes has to experience something, or be told something, three times. Just as he had to be asked three times if he loved Christ (John 21:17), or as he denied Christ three times before the rooster crowed (Mat 26:75), he also had to be commanded three times to accept that which he considered to be unclean, or may have been God's way of reminding Peter not to argue with His Word, as the triple-confirmation had to be done with Peter in the past.[v17] Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,
The Lord God did not show Peter the full meaning of this vision, but would reveal it to him through the servants of Cornelius. The servants of Cornelius asked around the city for the location of Simon's house.[v18] And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
They asked specifically for Simon-Peter, as God had instructed Cornelius, which would not be common to receive visitors from a far off land who asked for a man they had never met in place he was only temporarily staying as a guest. (i.e. There was no way they could know he was there unless the Lord God had given them that knowledge.)[v19] While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.
The Spirit of God guided Peter to the interpretation of the vision that He had prepared for him.[v20] Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.
That Peter should neither have doubt or fear for the men, nor should he doubt that these Gentiles should be given the Word of God.[v21] Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?
It's not that Peter doubted by asking them a question, because he would have gone with them at the commandment of God without any explanation, but he wanted to understand why they were there and where they were going to take him.[v22] And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
They reported the matter as Cornelius had explained it to them, and gave them instruction to tell Peter.[v23] Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Peter suggested they stay the night to prepare provisions and set out early in the morning, and the travelers were likely already tired from their trip. Though the journey wasn't far, it was best not to set out in the afternoon to get stuck on the road after sunset. In chapter 11, Peter tells us the number of brethren that accompanied him was six. (Acts 11:12)[v24] And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
Cornelius knew about how long it would take to retrieve Peter, and he had faith that God would protect them and bring them swiftly.[v25] And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
Though Cornelius sought to give Peter honor, it was not good to worship a man in the spiritual context.[v26] But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
Peter gently rebuked Cornelius, since sharp rebuke is unnecessary against a humble man.[v27] And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
This would have been many others who knew Cornelius and believed in the Hebrew God. They came to see what message Peter would bring to them from the Lord.[v28] And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
God was teaching Peter that the Gospel has come unto all men, not just the Jews. The Old Testament commandments were for the Jews to stay away from the heathen nations, (Deut 7) but now the Christians are being sent into the heathen nations to save those who would repent and believe on Christ.[v29] Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
gainsaying (v): contradicting; denying; opposing
(See 'gainsaying', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 3, 2017 [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v30] And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
The ninth hour would be 3:00 PM, another of the traditional time of daily prayer for the Jews. Cornelius was explaining his length of fasting four days prior to the time of this conversation; fasting a certain length of time during the day.[v31] And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
Cornelius was repeating what God told him in verse 4.[v32] Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
This is more confirmation that the message he heard was from the Living God, who knew the exact location of Peter, and told Cornelius precisely where to send his servants.[v33] Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
He sent them immediately, fearing God's Word. Cornelius was now eager to hear what message God had given Peter for all gathered in his house to hear.[v34] Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
The Lord God does not give favor to a man because of his title, position, lineage, or citizenship. It is the wicked hearts of mankind that highly esteem and worship title and position, but God sees the heart and judges the imaginations of the thoughts of a man. (1Ch 28:9) Whether it is a pastor, doctor, king, or anyone else highly esteemed in society, to consider one man's doctrine over another because of his prestigious title/position is sin. (Jms 2:9) (This includes the wealthy, the mighty, and the poor. Lev 19:15)(Read "Why Are Christians Respecting Persons?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v35] But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
The Lord God does not care about their history or where they live, so long as they have the fear of the Lord (Psa 111:10) in repentance and faith, and keep His commandments (1Jo 5:2-3), which is love and the love of God (2Jo 1:6), he will bless them and keep them because He is a gracious and merciful God. (Neh 9:31)[v36] The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Christ came to the children of Israel, and thus the children of Israel who believed on Christ should preach it to all, even to the heathen nations afar off. (Eph 2:17) Christ preached His peace, which is a tranquility in His Holy Spirit, but did not come to bring peace (i.e. unity) with the world, but rather division. (Luke 12:51)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Sanctification" here at creationliberty.com for more detail.)
[v37] That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
The message began with John the Baptist, and spread throughout Israel.[v38] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
By now, word of the miracles of Christ had spread among many nations, and Peter affirms these truths to Cornelius's household.[v39] And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Peter also testifies to the household that he personally witnessed these events; including Christ's crucifixion.[v40] Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
Peter is giving witness to the resurrection of the dead, by which is a foundation of our faith. Without the resurrection of the dead, the Bible tells us that our preaching would be in vain, (1Co 15:12-13) which is why so many enemies of God have attempted to disprove the resurrection, though no one has been able to do so because the amount of eye witness testimony and recorded evidence that exist for the existence and resurrection of Christ outweighs opinions and conjecture (i.e. guess without facts) used to support commonly taught historical events in the average public school classroom.[v41] Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Not everyone saw the miracles, nor listened to Christ speak, but He showed these things to a select number of people, that among them would arise eye witnesses that would testify of Christ's works, and then they would have the choice to believe. Christ blessed those who believe His Word, believing in His works and His resurrection from the dead, but have not personally witnessed them with their own eyes. (John 20:29)[v42] And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.
In this context, quick does not refer to speed:
quick (adj): alive, living, opposed to dead or unanimated
(See 'quick', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Aug 4, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v43] To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Every Old Testament prophet had foretold of Christ's coming in one way or another; that He would be salvation (i.e. remission of sins means forgiveness of sins) for those who believe on Him with a repentant heart of humility.[v44] While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
All in the household believed, so all received the Holy Ghost. Again, this is another instance where they had not been baptized yet, but received the Holy Spirit, so we can see that there are a number of instances in Scripture to disprove the cultic teaching that the Holy Spirit is received through the ceremony of baptism, or that baptism grants the gifts of the Spirit of God.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v45] And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Both Jews and Gentiles had heard the Word of God in the household, and both received the Holy Ghost because of their belief.[v46] For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Speaking in languages they did not know, but were known to other men. What they uttered were truths said to one another that were given to them by God through His Spirit, done one at a time in speaking order (1Co 14:40), with interpreters (1Co 14:28); not all yelling out at once as is done is cults today. (1Co 14:23) The speaking in tongues here in Acts is a completely different matter from the commonly so-called "speaking in tongues," the gibberish of the new-age charismatics.(Read "Charismatic Gibberish vs Speaking in Tongues" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Peter was speaking to his fellow Jewish people in the house; helping them to understand that, in the end, no man is worthy of God, but God has been merciful unto all. (Rom 9:15)[v48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
They made a humble request that he would stay with them for a few days, that they might learn from him more of Christ's doctrine, and that they could be properly guided into the operation of the New Testament church.[v1] And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
Judea was the central part of Israel surrounding Jerusalem, and there was more Gentile (i.e. heathen, pagan, idolatrous) activity on the borders of Israel; north, south, and east. There were apostles and brethren that were sharing the Gospel with the Gentiles in these areas, and they sent word to the apostles and brethren that were working to share the Gospel with the Jews in Judea.[v2] And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Not the circumcised Jews in general, but those who were circumcised in their Jewish heritage and were also born again in Christ, and had received the gift of the Holy Spirit alongside Peter.[v3] Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
In the previous chapter, the Lord God had commanded Peter to go and preach unto the Gentiles. It was God's instruction that they begin preaching in Jerusalem to send this message to the Jews first, then once that had been done, they were to spread out to the Gentiles. (Rom 1:16)[v4] But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
rehearse (v): to narrate or recount events
expound (v): to explain, to lay open
(See 'rehearse' & 'expound', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Jan 4, 2018,[webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v5] I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
[v6] Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
[v7] And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
[v8] But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
[v9] But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
[v10] And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
[v11] And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
[v12] And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:
[v13] And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
[v14] Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
[v15] And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
[v16] Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
[v17] Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
Peter realized that it didn't matter what he believed, nor what he was taught to believe by those who instructed him as a boy; what mattered was the instruction of the Christian God of the Bible. When I was still trying to get started in ministry and teaching, I had a man help me, and he warned me that the greatest hindrance I would have to teaching the truth of God's Word would come from those within the church. I did not understand what he meant at the time, but years later, I understood fully what he meant. Most often, it is those within the church, who have little understanding, that seek to stop the good works you are doing, just as the circumcised men were trying to hinder Peter from doing what God had instructed, but he corrected and instructed them just as God had corrected and instructed him. (Sadly, today, most churchgoers reject that instruction and correction. Pro 15:10)[v18] When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Peter instructed them in meekness, and God gave the circumcised Christians repentance to acknowledge the truth. (2Ti 2:25) They also acknowledged that the doctrine of repentance was part of the doctrine of salvation; that the Gentiles would receive life through repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and faith in the blood of Christ. They rejoiced because before Christ, one would need to join Jewish society to come to the Living God, but now His grace is going throughout the world unto all the heathen nations to those who will humble themselves to repentance and believe in the Son of God.(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v19] Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
The Christians were scattered because the chief priests and elders went on the hunt for any who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, not only those who worked with Stephen to feed the widows, but any who operated in that area. So they moved to different locations and gave testimony of what they saw, but again, they only preached to the Jews because they had not heard this testimony from Peter.[v20] And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
The Grecians in this context were those Jews who were born and/or raised in Greece.[v21] And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
They had heard of the miracles, especially on the Day of Pentecost, and believed those who preached Christ unto them.[v22] Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Barnabas was from Cyprus (Acts 4:36), so it was fitting for him to go preach to the Grecians because he understood their lives and customs.[v23] Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
He encouraged them to cling to the Word of God, as they had been humbled by His grace.[v24] For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
Though the Bible tells us that none do good and there are none righteous (Rom 3:10-12), a good man can exist through the righteousness of God. Though the flesh dies by sin, a man can do good works by the Spirit of God working through him. (Jms 2:18)[v25] Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Saul (Paul) was sent to Tarsus in hiding because the Grecians looked to slay him for speaking out boldly in the name of Christ. (Acts 9:29-30)[v26] And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Over the years, I've heard many people who refuse to call themselves Christians because the term "Christian" has been corrupted by so many cults; however, we need to consider that cults were around during these days as well. There were many who were corrupting the church, which is why the apostles were warning Christians about them. There will always be corruption, and Christ even told us there would be false prophets and preachers in many places (Mat 7:15), but we ought to cleave to God, as Barnabas said in verse 23.A "Christ-ian" is someone who is "Christ-like," or someone who keeps the doctrines and commandments of Christ close to their hearts. The Lord Jesus Christ did not tell us that we would know them if they were called "Christians," but rather, He told us we would know them by their fruits (Mat 7:20), which means we would know them by the doctrine they teach and believe, their words, attitudes, and actions; just as we cannot know if a piece of fruit is good until we inspect it thoroughly. Thus, when one says they are a "Christian," but have a careless attitude towards the Word of God, and does not understand nor follow after the commandments and doctrines of Christ, then we can conclude they are liars and do not have the Spirit of God in them. (1Jo 2:4)
[v27] And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
The term "prophet" in this context would mean those who received the Word directly from the Lord God to foretell future events.[v28] And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
The word "dearth" means scarcity or lack of that which is needed, and that typically refers to a famine in Scripture. Claudius Caesar reigned from 41-54 AD, and during his reign, a massive famine swept across the land and many people died.[v29] Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
There was not enough among the governments to feed the people, and so there would not have been a great excess in the church either, but for those Christians suffering in Judaea, supplies were sent to help provide for their needs.[v30] Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Saul (Paul) and Barnabas delivered the supplies personally.[v1] Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
This was not the same Herod that tried to kill Christ as a child, nor the Herod who beheaded John the Baptist; this was Herod Agrippa. In this context, vex means to persecute and afflict those in the church, and he did so because he hated Christ and His doctrine.[v2] And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
James and John were Zebedee's children referred to in Matthew 20:20.[v3] And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
The majority of Jews hated Christ and His doctrine, and so they definitely hated the Christians because they preached the truth to the Jews, namely that they had crucified the Son of God, so they would obviously be pleased when any well-known figure within the church would be jailed and executed. The Scripture also makes a very important note that when Peter was taken prisoner, it was during the days of unleavened bread, which was the week following Passover, and that is key to understand the next verse.[v4] And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
A quaternion is a group of four soldiers, so he put 16 guards in charge of keeping Peter, a harmless Christian, who did nothing more than preach Christ and heal the poor and needy. The excessive amount of soldiers was not because Peter was a threat, but because he was a prisoner of high political value, and word would have traveled of apostles just up and walking out of prisons because the Lord God freed them, so extra security measures were taken to ensure that Peter would be executed at Herod's appointed time.The new-age bible version translators and defenders insist that "Easter" is a mistranslation in this verse, and that it should read "Passover," but they are in error. The King James Bible is the only one that has it correctly translated as "Easter." The argument they use is that the Greek word "pascha" is used, and that "pascha" means "passover," but again, the error is that the new-age "scholars" do not translate by the context.
If you go to Greece, and ask them what word they use for "passover," they'll say "pascha," but if you go Greece and ask them what word they use for "Easter," they'll also say "pascha." The word "pascha" refers to more than one celebration, but we have to go to the context of Scripture to find which one we are supposed to use, and because it was already the days of unleavened bread, which were the days following Passover (Exd 12:15), it only makes sense that Herod was waiting for the pagan festival of Ishtar (i.e. Easter) to be over before killing Peter.
(Read "Easter: Christians Celebrating Abomination" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v5] Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
It was not that they did not trust in the Lord for Peter's safety, but that they deeply cared for Peter as a servant of Christ and of the church; that he had spent so much time bringing the lost to Christ, and feeding and healing the poor and sick.[v6] And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
For these soldiers, it was their lives on the line to keep Peter in his cell, and so they dedicated themselves to keep close watch over him 24 hours a day.[v7] And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
The term "smite" generally means to strike, and so the angel would have smacked him firmly on his side to wake him and get him up.[v8] And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
Peter would have slept in loose clothing, and men would gird themselves by wrapping up their robes around them which would allow for more freedom when moving quickly. Men would lift up the extra cloth around their feet and tie it around their waist, forming something similar to what we know today as shorts.[v9] And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
Peter followed the angel, but wasn't sure everything he saw was actually happening; he wondered if God was showing him another vision, since the visions God gave him were so real.[v10] When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
It seems Peter was located in the lowest cells in the prison, but the Lord God hid him from the eyes of all the guards through multiple levels of the jail, and opened the front gate that connected to the city. After walking a block through the city, the angel left his side and he was free.[v11] And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
Once the angel had left, he knew it was not a vision, but he really walked out of the prison. It would be shocking to anyone, as we can imagine today for a Christian to just get up and walk out of a maximum security prison without anyone noticing.[v12] And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
These were those who prayed without ceasing for Peter's life and safety.[v13] And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
A damsel is a young woman, and Rhoda means "rose."[v14] And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
This was likely an emotional over-reaction, forgetting formal courtesy due to her shock because the man they prayed for stood before her.[v15] And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
I believe we all struggle at times to believe when God answers a prayer in affirmation because we as Christians so often pray for His will to be done. His will does not always align with our own, and we do not pray for our will, but His alone. (Mat 26:39) He does sometimes give us what we ask for, and God gave them what they asked because it was in alignment with His will, but they refused to believe that Peter just walked out of a maximum security prison when he was doomed to die.[v16] But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
Rhoda disappeared without a word, so he continued to knock, waiting for someone to at least acknowledge his presence. Astonished means they were surprised; struggling with believing what they saw.[v17] But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
Peter referred to another James, not the son of Zebedee.[v18] Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
Meaning that this was huge news among the soldiers, but the news probably did not go out into the public and was kept in strict confidence among the guards because such an error would be an embarrassment to Herod's governing abilities in the eyes of the people. However, one way or another, the people would find out because Herod had already gained fame for jailing Peter, and had promised to execute him.[v19] And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
Death was the price a soldier would pay for letting a captive man escape, and it was a political move, since the fault of blame can be shifted from Herod onto the guards. Herod then left Judea, which would have saved him some embarrassment or obligation of explanation for Peter's unexplainable escape, and went to Caesarea, which was about 75 miles away.[v20] And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
My understanding is that chamberlains had access to the King's bedchamber, which was held as a sacred place, and that the current Roman Emperor used his chamberlains as the highest ranking officers, meaning that if one made friends with the Emperor's chamberlain, it was like having a friendship with the Emperor himself. Blastus was one of the Emperor's chamberlains, and it appears that Herod was a friend to Blastus.Herod must have had some cause for anger against Tyre and Sidon, the coastal trade cities, and he sought to go to war against them. In order to avoid this, ambassadors from both cities, who had also made friends with Blastus, came to Herod to negotiate peace between their nations, knowing that if they were all friends of Blastus, attacking one another would upset the chamberlain, and therefore, may upset the Emperor of Rome.
[v21] And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
Herod prepared an official speech for the ambassadors and the people.[v22] And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
When Herod finished his speech, the people began to worship him as if he were a god.[v23] And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
As a ruler over the Jews, Herod knew better than to allow the people to worship him, but he was wicked in his heart because not only did he profane the holiness of God by allowing himself to be worshipped in God's place, but that he was ready and willing to kill God's servants (like Peter and James) to appease the masses. I can only imagine the frightening horror of the scene in which the Lord God caused worms to manifest and consume Herod while he sat upon his throne of offense and in his royal garbs of vanity.[v24] But the word of God grew and multiplied.
It did not matter how many men whipped, tortured, and executed Christians, the Word of God cannot be stopped by mankind nor devils.[v25] And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Saul (Paul) and Barnabas finished delivering supplies for the Christians in need during the famine, and when they returned, John came with them. This John was the son of Mary, the name of the woman whose house the Christians prayed in verse 12; where Peter knocked at the gates.[v1] Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
These Christians gathered together with the church in which they were first called Christians. The words "prophet" and "teacher" are separated by catagory in this verse, which means prophet is being used in the specific meaning of ones who would foretell future events.[v2] As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
The Holy Ghost, who is God, called for Saul and Barnabas to be separated from the brethren so they could go out and spread the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles.[v3] And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
This was not a laying on hands of ordainment, but a Jewish custom of wishing blessings upon a one who set out to travel. The fasting and prayer is something that is rarely done in church buildings today, and if it is claimed to be done, it is often done under false pretenses, not as the Bible instructs, but the early church did this often, not as a work of righteousness, but one of humility, taking great care for the church.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Fasting" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v4] So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Seleucia was a city in Syria where they could set sail to Cyprus, Barnabas's home country. (Acts 4:36)[v5] And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
While they worked to bring the truth to the Jews, John provided their daily necessities, like housing, food, etc.[v6] And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
This indicates they had preached their way across the diameter of the country of Cyprus, and when they reached the end, they met a Jewish man who practiced sorcery while feigning to be a prophet of God.[v7] Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Barjesus aligned himself with governing authority, and when governing authority mixes with false preachers, there is always trouble. However, Paulus was a prudent man; meaning that he was cautious not to trust everything he heard, and hear the matter directly.[v8] But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Elymas is a Hebrew interpretation of the name "Barjesus," which would roughly mean "son of salvation." His goal was to convince the governing authorities that Saul (Paul) and Barnabas were false prophets, so that he himself would not be exposed as a fraud.[v9] Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
There is no hiding from the Holy Ghost, who is God.[v10] And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Elymas's first problem is that he did not believe that these two apostles served the Living God. He thought he could deceive others in the presence of the Holy Spirit and get away with it, which makes him foolish at best, but the Holy Ghost spoke the truth of Elymas's heart; that he was an enemy of all that is righteous.[v11] And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
The Lord God showed this wicked man great mercy because the last two people to lie in the presence of the Holy Spirit of God were killed on the spot. (Acts 5:1-11) This time frame was likely a few months, and Elymas would require others to care for him until God gave him his sight back; this would be a humbling experience, would stop his practice of sorcery, and would force Elymas to stop and think about his sin.[v12] Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Although he may have been surprised at the miracle of blinding the sorcerer, notice that it was the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ that he was surprised with. The humility of his heart can be seen in his marveling at the doctrine, rather than the miracles.[v13] Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.
Later, in chapter 15, this event would cause Paul and Barnabas to have a heated argument, and they would end up going two separate directions. Based on later verses, it seems that John had left their company and his duties early of his own accord, without first helping them to finish their work. He may have left in fear, he may have been homesick, or he may have decided that Cyprus was as far as he needed to help them; the Scripture does not tell us the reasons, so we can only speculate.[v14] But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
Many Jews would be gathered together in this place on this day at this time, and it was the Holy Spirit that led them to this spot, so that all would hear the Word of God.[v15] And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
Reading from the law and prophets was a tradition done every sabbath day, and is still practiced to this day in Jewish synagogues. Exhortation would be either a word of encouragement unto faith, or a word of instruction and caution unto repentance.[v16] Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
Paul is not saying that there were men of Israel in the congregation that did not fear God, but rather, he was addressing both Jews and Gentiles, as there were some Gentiles who feared God and gathered with the Jews to hear the Word.[v17] The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.
[v18] And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
[v19] And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
These were the Canannites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. The Lord God did not completely wipe them out because we can see that they continued to be a nuisance to Israel, but the Lord God had destroyed so much of their civilization, they were never able to fully recover the status they once had, and their lands were divided among the tribes of Israel. (Jos 14:1-3) The word "destroy" can be used in a variety of contexts, so we have to make sure we understand what the Old Testament documented on this matter to understand what is meant by "destroy," as there are some who would claim contradiction in this passage, but they do so in their willful ignorance. (2Pe 3:5-6)[v20] And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.
These were Othniel (Jdg 1:13), Ehud (Jdg 3:15), Deborah (Jdg 4:4), Gideon (Jdg 8:28), Abimelech (Jdg 9:16), Tola (Jdg 10:1), Jair (Jdg 10:3), Jephthah (Jdg 12:7), Ibzan (Jdg 12:8), Elon (Jdg 12:11), Abdon (Jdg 12:13), Samson (Jdg 13:24), and Eli (1Sa 1).[v21] And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
God warned the Jews that they should not desire to have a king like the Gentiles had, but rather they should live in liberty as He instructed. He warned them that the king would take everything from them, but they demanded a king nonetheless, and God gave them Saul, which was the beginning of many troubles for them. (1Sa 8)[v22] And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.
[v23] Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
[v24] When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
[v25] And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.
[v26] Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.
Not just to the bloodline of Abraham, but to all those who fear God and repent, the Lord Jesus Christ has brought salvation to them all. (Heb 10:10)[v27] For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
The Scripture has said how the Messiah would be treated, and their rejection and crucifixion of Him demonstrates the Word of God is truth.[v28] And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.
[v29] And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.
[v30] But God raised him from the dead:
As Jesus said He would do, because He is God. (John 2:19-21)[v31] And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.
[v32] And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
The promises God made to the children of Israel (Gen 26:4) were fulfilled through Christ. Jesus was born through the seed of David, and because of the shedding of His blood for the remission of sins, both Jew and Gentile can be saved.[v33] God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
[v34] And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
The name "David" is sometimes used metaphorically to represent the Son of God because not only was there a connection of the bloodline, but also that the name of God's Son had not been revealed to them yet. For example, in Jeremiah 30:9, it says God would raise up "David their king," but this is not referring to the person of David; rather, it is metaphorical reference to the Lamb of God, who we now know to be the name of Jesus Christ.Many times throughout the Gospels, Christ was referred to as the "Son of David," (Mat 12:23) which means the Jews generally understood this concept. However, it was the chief priests and Pharisees, who would not believe on Christ, that questioned him being the actual David reborn, and that's why Christ rebuked them in their willful ignorance. (Mat 22:41-46)
Though David saw corruption, meaning that his body decayed and rotted after his death, Christ saw no corruption, in that His body did not decay and rot.
[v35] Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
[v36] For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
David had broken all of the commandments of God, as Nathaniel told him in rebuke (2Sa 12:1-7), and David needed a savior just like everyone else. Thus, it was not David who was God's Holy One, but rather, it was Christ.[v37] But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.
[v38] Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
[v39] And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Even Abraham was justified by his faith, which produced his works. It is not works that save, but it is through the faith of the humbled and repentant heart that God grants His grace, and that results in the evidence of works. (Rom 4:2-4)[v40] Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
These are the curses that came upon the children of Israel for their rejection of God's Word.[v41] Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
This is referring to Habakkuk 1:5, in which God told the Jews that He would bring to them the wonders and signs, but they would not believe them. He gave them these signs out of the wonderful kindness and charity that God brings to mankind, but He also told them that men who seek after such signs are wicked and adulterous in their hearts. (Mat 16:4)[v42] And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
Though many of the Jews did not want to believe, the Gentiles were desperately seeking this doctrine of salvation.[v43] Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
A proselyte is one who is converted to a religious teaching, or in other words, there were Jews and Gentiles who followed them; though it does not say if they were all believers in the doctrine they taught. There may have been some who believed, and others who wanted to hear more and sought a reason to accuse them. This was not a group persuading Paul and Barnabas to continue teaching grace, but rather, Paul and Barnabas persuaded the group to continue teaching them the doctrines of the grace of God; not looking unto works for salvation.[v44] And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
Paul and Barnabas stayed another week, teaching the new Christians, and word got out about the amazing doctrine they taught, so a larger number of people came next week to hear it.[v45] But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
It's not that they wanted to correct error, or "protect the church," as we often hear such excuses today, but rather, they were jealous of the attention these men received from the people. These wicked men were like Diotrephes, who John wrote the church in warning, who loved "to have the preeminence among them," (3Jo 1:9) meaning they loved the honor and distinguished respect they get from having a fancy title and lofty position.[v46] Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
This is the same doctrine that God had instructed Peter to teach in previous chapters. Christ had taught that the kingdom of God, which is the church, shall be taken from the Jews, and given to the Gentiles who would produce fruit. (Mat 21:43)[v47] For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.
Christ had instructed them to do this before He ascended to heaven. (Mat 29:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47)[v48] And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
They were so happy that the Lord God's mercy stretched out to them, that they could have eternal life through Christ. It is the pridefulness of the Jews that God rejects, but He gives grace to the humbleness of the Gentiles; not to say that all Jews are prideful or all Gentiles are humble, but that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. (Jms 4:6) The glorifying of God's Word demonstrates their belief, not to say that they believed because they were ordained (appointed to) eternal life, but the two go hand-in-hand, that justification is given to us by faith, and therefore, we are established with eternal life in Christ, which also means that those who are ordained to eternal life believe.[v49] And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
This would be all of Cyprus and surrounding areas.[v50] But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.
This is to be expected when we teach the truth of God's Word. Churchgoers typically have no understanding of this because they think "Christianity" is sitting in a pew for an hour once a week and having an occasional bake sale, but the fact is that those same churchgoers often react in furious anger, just as the Jews did, when the truth of the Word is actually presented to them, their pastors, and their elders. If we're not being generally rejected and persecuted, then we're teaching something wrong. (2Ti 3:12)The "devout and honorable women" would have been those who were the wives of nobles and rulers, who would have been easier to bring to a discontented state than the men. (2Ti 3:5-7) They used the women to help stir up their husbands, and thereby also stirring up the people.
[v51] But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.
Shaking the dust off one's feet was a Jewish tradition that represented sanctification, or in other words, they separated themselves from that location because the majority of people were rejecting the doctrine of the Christian God of the Bible. This was a commandment Christ gave to us (Mat 10:14), but sadly I've seen many Christians waste their time (Col 4:5-6) trying to debate with churchgoers who don't want to hear God's Word. (Mat 7:6)[v52] And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
This is just as Christ taught, that we ought to rejoice when such churchgoers revile us, persecute us, and speak evil against us for the sake of Christ. (Mat 5:11-12) We need to understand that it was the synagogues, the church buildings of that day, in which the Gospel of Christ was being rejected, and that same attitude is still found in most church buildings to this day; as the Bible tells us, there is nothing new under the sun, and the things they have done of old time, are still the things they do to this day. (Ecc 1:9)[v1] And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium, which was a city within Lycaonia, which is in the country of Turkey today, north of the Tarsus Mountains. There was trouble with the Jews in Cyprus, but it seems in other regions, being more separated from Israel, more Jews wanted to hear the truth of the Gospel of Christ fulfilling the prophecy.I believe this is also part of the deception of the new-age "Revivalism" movement, in which they believe that large masses of people will be saved in the latter days, when the Bible teaches the opposite will happen in the latter days. (2Th 2:3) Great mulititudes were saved in the early days of the church because it was new, and the people were ready for it, having knowledge of the prophets of the Old Testament, the foretelling of Christ's arrival; however, we are not living in that day, and in most instances, large groups of people will not be saved, rather, it will be individuals who have come to repentance.
(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v2] But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
This still happens to this day, even among Gentiles. When we Christians preach the truth of the Word to the church buildings (the synagogues), most of the time, they reject it, and the pastors/elders, just like the Jews in that day, cast out our names as evil and teach men to hate us. (Mat 10:22) The Bible tells us that this type of situation is standard, and that we should not marvel (i.e. be surprised) when it happens (1Jo 3:13), because they did the same thing to the Old Testament prophets who came before us. (Mat 5:12)[v3] Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
At this time in the infancy of the church, the Lord God allowed them to prove their doctrine through the miracles of healing and raising the dead.[v4] But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles.
The source of unbelief was mostly coming from the Jews, who worked to convince the Gentiles that the apostles' doctrine and miracles were not legitimate, but despite their best effort, the Spirit of God moves upon the humble of heart. (Jms 4:6)[v5] And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
The same demonic spirit fell upon these wicked people as they did against Jesus Christ, looking to kill the innocent because they had no love of the truth. (2Th 2:10)[v6] They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
Once things got too heated, and they would not hear the Word, they continued to shake the dust off their feet (i.e. sanctify themselves) and move to a new area where people would be willing to hear. Today, I've seen far too many people who waste extraordinary amounts of time with people who don't want to listen, when we should be wise and spend our time with those who want to hear.[v7] And there they preached the gospel.
Openly, not having to fear for their lives.[v8] And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
Impotent means weak or feeble, meaning that his feet were deformed from birth and could not walk.[v9] The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
Only those with great faith in Christ could be healed by the apostles, which is why we only see healing for the poor and needy, and not healing for those in lofty station that puff themselves up against Christ.[v10] Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.
This isn't some parlor trick that we typically see today with so-called "faith healers," but rather, his feet were healed instantly. We also need to consider that this man had never walked in his whole life, which would mean the rest of his legs had atrophy, which is a condition in which the muscles would have to go through many months of therapy to work properly, rebuilding the muscle tissue to be strong enough to walk upright, but all these things were healed in an instant, where God not only provided the health of the flesh, but also gave him the knowledge and mental functions necessary for walking, whereas otherwise, he would normally need to spend months, if not years, learning how to walk.[v11] And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
Being Gentiles, they believed in the pagan gods and goddesses of the witches, and though many people think such beliefs are rarely believed today, there are a surprising number of people who are still pagans, and share pagan beliefs. Even the Catholic Church's foundation is built upon paganism, and billions believe in their lies.(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v12] And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Jupiter was a god held in high esteem, but they called Paul Mercury because, at that time in Roman history, the god Mercury had the same aspects as the Greek god Hermes, which was worshiped by heathen as a messenger god.[v13] Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
This was standard operating procedure for pagans, as even Marcus Aurelius himself, a former emperor of Rome, sacrificed animals at the temple of Jupiter.(See Victor Duruy, History of Rome and the Roman People: From Its Origin to the Establishment of the Christian Empire, Vol. 5, Issue #1, K. Paul Trench & Company, 1885, p. 225, [Princeton University])
[v14] Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
They rent their clothes in grief and fear of the Living God, knowing their own salvation in their worthless state, as all Christians have been born again, knowing full well that we are not gods, but lowly men who need the Lamb of God's blood on our accounts. They desperately yelled out to the people to stop, fearing God's wrath on their wicked sacrifices.It's important to notice that Paul and Barnabas did NOT tell the people to alter their ritual to make it more pleasing to Jesus, but rather, they told them to stop completely. Once again, this shows us that God does not accept the traditions of the pagans in any shape or form, nor did the early church teach any such tradition.
(Read "Christmas: The Rejection of Jesus," "Easter: Chrisitians Celebrating Abomination," & "Halloween: Are Christians Lovers of Death?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v15] And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
We ought to worship and serve the Living God, and Him alone. (Luke 4:8) There is no reason to worship men, though many men loved to be worshipped, especially in positions of religious institutions.(Read "Respecting Persons is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v16] Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
For about 400 years before Christ, God remained silent, sending no prophets to Israel; being longsuffering with them that they should repent. The Jews foolishly chose to believe that their wicked pagan deeds were acceptable with God because of His silence, but He warned them about their evil thoughts, that they thought the Christian God of the Bible was like unto themselves in their sin, but God would reprove them. (Psa 50:21) In addition, He suffered the wickedness of the Gentile nations as well, but as Paul explains in Romans, none of them had an excuse to not know of, and believe on, the Christian God of the Bible. (Rom 1:18-20)[v17] Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
It is the Lord God who provides, and they explained to the people that the miracles did not come from them, but from the Living God working through them.[v18] And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
The phrase "scarce restrained" means Paul and Barnabas were barely able to hold the people back from offering sacrifices.[v19] And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
The persecution by Jews who hated Christ's doctrine continued, even from previous locations in their travels. Paul later talks somewhat about his experience, in which he was stoned to death, and the Lord God brought him back from the dead to continue the work of teaching the Gospel of Christ. (2Co 11:25, 2Co 12:1-5)[v20] Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
Other students of Christ stood over his dead body and mourned the loss of their brother, but while they stood around his dead body, Paul stood up and walked back into town, continuing work with Barnabas.[v21] And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Paul was confirmed dead, and now was alive again, so he and Barnabas went right back into the den of lions to convert all who would hear the truth, certainly to the surprise of those who confirmed his death, and exhort the brethren who lived in these cities to be faithful and trust in the Living God of their salvation.[v22] Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
The standard operating procedure American church buildings today is typically to hear a feel-good message and then go out to an all-you-can-eat buffet to fatten themselves, thinking how wonderful it is that no persecution or tribulation befalls them. However, we cannot enter the kingdom of God except through that persecution and tribulation, not that we are saved by works, but the works are the result of our faith (Jms 2:18), and if we have the faith in Christ to rightly teach His Word, we will be hated by most people. It's unavoidable, and that is what it means to bear His cross. (Mat 15:24-25)[v23] And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Men had to be appointed over the operations of the church in the early days in order to keep everyone aligned to the same doctrine, and for overseeing the charitable works done to help the poor and needy. Those selected would have been the most humble, charitable, and active servants in the work of the minstry; unlike today in America, where churchgoers commonly respect persons, looking for college degrees or political qualifications to appoint elders.Though fasting is not a requirement in this situation, they cared enough for the church that they fasted in prayer for them. This is rarely, if ever, done in the typical modern-day church buildings.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Fasting" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v24] And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
They are retracing their steps. (Acts 13:14)[v25] And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
This was a city in Pamphylia. (Acts 13:13)[v26] And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
They returned to Syria, where they started.[v27] And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
To 'rehearse' means to reinact, or in this context, to tell the tales of everything God had done during their ministry in this land. This was a powerful testimony and encouragement for the church to continue to preach the Word unto the Gentile nations.[v28] And there they abode long time with the disciples.
They stayed as long as they could to learn as much as they could and prepare themselves for what they would need to face for sake of Christ.[v1] And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
This was a huge error, and some people to this day still teach such false doctrines, in which they claim that a man cannot have faith and be saved until he first does the works of the law; for example, many cults teach that observing the Sabbath day is still required, and that a man will go to hell when he dies if he does not observe the Sabbath every week. They lack understanding (1Co 2:14) of the doctrine of Christ that He is our Sabbath (Mat 11:28), that in the New Testament, we keep the Sabbath by keeping the commandments of Christ, and that the Sabbath itself is a prophecy that has been fulfilled in Christ. (Col 2:16-17)(Read "Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?" here at creationliberty.com for more details; If a man wants to observe a day of the week to honor the Lord, there is no wrong in that, but when a man teaches that you MUST do it, then he violates Christ's doctrine.)
Another example are the churchgoers who teach that you must practice the Old Testament ordinance of tithe every week, and if you don't, you go to hell for "robbing God," which is a false teaching and practice that's only been around since turn of the 20th century. They do not understand New Testament doctrine, that tithe was used to build up a storehouse in Solomon's temple, and that income was used to support the Levites, but now there is no Levitical priesthood, the temple is the body, and the fulfillment of the law is charity, not tithe.
(Read "Is Tithe a Christian Requirement?" & "The Biblical Understanding of Charity" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Thankfully, the Lord God put an emphasis on circumcision in Acts, otherwise, we would have a lot more cults making a bloody mess through their traditions because they do not understand the circumcision of the heart (Deu 10:16, Deu 30:6), and that circumcision of males was a mark of the seed of the Messiah through the children of Abraham. Circumcision itself was another prophecy, and it has been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Circumcision" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
If one were to be required to be circumcised after the instruction of Moses to be saved, there would be a couple of major problems with Scripture; the first being that it is a work that would be required to do in order to earn salvation, but as we know from other Scripture, salvation cannot be earned by works. (Eph 2:8-9) The other problem is that it would mean only men could be saved, because women were not circumcised under the law of Moses. (Gal 3:28) There are many other New Testament doctrines that are contradicted when men begin to teach such works-based doctrines, but we who are born again should put our faith in Christ, cleaning our hearts inwardly, instead of observing ordinances by which men boast to be seen amongst one another. (Jms 4:7-10)
[v2] When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
No small dissension and disputation means that they absolutely rejected that false teaching and made sure everyone understood that it contradicted the Scripture. In short, they were firm on the matter and argued strongly against their false doctrine. However, the men from Judea would not accept Paul's and Barnabas's teaching on the matter in full, and wanted to hear what the other apostles would say about it.[v3] And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
Paul and Barnabas were kind to the brethren from Judea, being willing to travel for the purpose of settling the matter peacefully (Mat 5:9), and prove what was good according to God. (1Th 5:21) On their way, they took advantage of the opportunity to make sure the word was spread of what the Lord God was doing for the Gentiles.[v4] And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
They retold the story of their travels in chapter 14 to the elders and apostles.[v5] But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
The Pharisees prided themselves in the keeping the law of God, although they didn't actually keep it as they were supposed to, as Christ pointed out that they say and do not. (Mat 23:2-3) For example, they would observe the ordinance of tithe, and pride themselves in it, but lack faith, mercy, and righteous judgment, which is the end of the law. (Mat 23:23) Though they believed on Christ, their first education was still under the ordinances of the law, and they still did not understand Christ's fulfillment of the law.[v6] And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
This also included many of the members of the church, as indicated in verses 22 and 23. The Bible is not specific as to all who were there, but we know that Peter, James, John, Paul, and Barnabas were all present.[v7] And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
The argument continued back and forth, but it needed to be made clear to all the church, in every region, that the Gospel was to go out to the Gentiles, and that there was no prerequisite to be saved, other than repentance to God and faith in Christ.(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v8] And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Thus, the Gentiles received the anointing of the Spirit of God without any need of circumcision. The Lord God looks into the heart, sees the humility of repentance and faith, and gives the gift of His Spirit to them, without a prerequisite of ordinances.[v9] And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Again, I would reference to the same verse I did earlier in Galatians 3:28, which states that, in the spiritual context, there is no difference between Jew versus Greek, nor high station versus low station, nor male versus female; there are certainly differences in the flesh, and commandments according to those, but in the Spirit of God, we are all one in Jesus Christ.(Read "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v10] Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
The metaphorical yoke described here is one of heavy weight, which is hard to bear, unlike the light yoke of Christ. (Mat 11:30) The Jews had all been circumcised, but the majority of them crucified the Lord of Glory, and would not believe. By the works of the law is no man justified; only by faith in Christ does God justify us and imputes righteousness to us through His blood. (Rom 4:5) Thus, through false doctrine the Pharisees were looking to put a burden on the Gentiles which the Jews themselves could not handle. (Luke 11:46)[v11] But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
As Paul writes later, Israel could not attain righteousness through the law, and they erred because they did not seek God by faith. (Rom 9:30-33) This became a stumblingblock to them, and it still is to this day, and this is another verse that confirms for us that the Jews today will NOT enter the Kingdom of God without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.[v12] Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
Paul and Barnabas once again told the story to all the church.[v13] And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
In response to the story of God's miracles and the salvation of many Gentiles, James speaks.[v14] Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
James is referring to Peter here, as "Simon" and "Simeon" are the same name, but spelled two different ways.[v15] And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
James then proves this by the prophecy of the Old Testament.[v16] After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
The tabernacle of David fell and was raised, and Christ said this was the temple of His body, being killed by the Jews, and then He raised Himself from the dead. (John 2:19-21)[v17] That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
The word 'residue' means "that which remains," or in other words, there are some sanctified children of God set apart from the world, and that the Gospel of Christ is to be preached to all men so that all those remaining, who are not of Christ, whether Jew or Greek, might seek God. (2Pe 3:9) This is from Amos 9:11-12, in which it is specifically written that God will bring the Gospel to "all the heathen (i.e. Gentiles), which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this." This means that salvation is come unto the Gentiles, that Christ fulfilled the law of Moses, and that His doctrine would spread throughout the world.[v18] Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
This is not from prophecy from Amos, but rather, James is speaking by inspiration of God. This was a reminder to the church that God has not missed a single detail throughout our history from the beginning of creation. (Mat 10:29-33)[v19] Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
That is, the heathen, who know little or nothing of the Old Testament rituals, should not be bothered with such details, since they have been justified freely by His grace. (Rom 3:24)[v20] But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
It was important for the Gentiles to understand that they needed to abandon the previous works of unrighteousness that involved the worship of pagan gods and goddesses and the witchcraft that results from it. However, this commandment is still ignored today because many seek to justify their wicked traditions, things like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, just to name a few, and sadly, many have taken the wicked symbols of idolatry and put them all over church buildings, t-shirts, and jewelry. (Acts 17:29)(Read "Christian Symbols Are Not Christian" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Fornication, which is sexual interaction outside of marriage, is also sin still very common among the Gentiles to this day. Fornication includes sexual interaction of any kind, which includes, but is not limited to, pornography, pedophilea, sodomy (i.e. homosexuals and lesbians - Rom 1:26-32), transgenders, cross-dressers and effeminates. (1Co 6:9-10)
The things strangled is connected with abstaining from blood because an animal that is strangled dies with the blood inside. Cattle should be killed by letting out their blood, which is the most merciful way to kill the beast, typically by slitting its throat. The reason for this is because the Bible says the life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev 17:11), and that we ought not to consume blood since it is through blood that atonement is made for our souls. (Heb 9:22)
These primary doctrines were taught to the Gentiles, but please don't misunderstand; these are not the only commandments in the New Testament. They are the primary things new Christians should focus on after they are born again, and everything else they can learn as they go by studying the Scriptures, or in other words, a new Christian should be taught that they need to abstain from paganism/witchcraft, abstain from sexual sins, and abstain from consuming blood. In America today, many people, including many churchgoers, eat their meat rare, in which all the blood has not been cooked out of their meat, they fornicate and commit adultery like animals, and they cling to their pagan traditions, holding them in higher regard than God's Word, and thus, these basic commandments are still desperately needed. (Heb 5:12-14)
[v21] For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
The Gentiles would hear the Word of God read to them in the synagogues while sitting next to the Jews, and to show them a proper example, they should follow specific moral commandments, but they also needed to understand that, through Christ, they had been freed from certain obligations in the Old Testament law.[v22] Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
Paul and Barnabas were sent back with this basic instruction, but they sent a couple more Christians with them to make sure the church believed them. They should have trusted in Paul and Barnabas's instruction from the start, but forbearing their brethren (Col 3:13), they conceded to go to this meeting in Jerusalem, and since they were untrusting of Paul and Barnabas in their doctrine, the two other brethren would help insure that they were giving them the whole of the teaching, rather than just a partial explanation.[v23] And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
This was the instruction of the elders and apostles unto the churches, that all would know the testimony of what happened in these meetings, and what all Christians ought to be teaching.[v24] Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
This would verify for the church that the former Pharisees who believed on Christ were teaching in error.[v25] It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
These words helped to reinforce the authority of Paul and Barnabas in the church, not that they had no authority, or were disrespected in any way, but that their testimony was verified by other testimonies from apostles working with the Gentiles.[v26] Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The word 'hazarded' meaning that they risked their lives for the sake of Christ, which was evidenced by the fact that Paul died from the persecution of the Jews, and was risen from the dead by God.[v27] We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
These would act as eye-witnesses to back up Paul and Barnabas.[v28] For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
This list was simple and concise; easy for almost anyone to understand.[v29] That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
If they would keep these commandments, they would cover a multitude of sins among the church, and all other things they could learn over time.[v30] So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
An epistle is a written document or letter, typically in formal fashion.[v31] Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
The word consolation generally means comfort; the church rejoiced that they could stop the contention over the matter, and be reconciled together of one accord; being of one mind in Christ. (Phl 2:2)[v32] And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
As already stated, they were backup witnesses to the teaching, and they encouraged the church.[v33] And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.
They were relieved of their duty and could return at their discretion.[v34] Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.
Silas wanted to stay a while.[v35] Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
There was a lot of work to do in Syria to make sure that this doctrine was understood by the Gentiles, so they would not be deceived by any former Jewish teaching.[v36] And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.
Paul cared for the condition of those who had been born again, since he was there for each of them as they traveled.[v37] And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Barnabas agreed with the journey, but he wanted to take John, who had accompanied them to Cyprus, but left them before their work was finished.[v38] But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
This indicates that John was not necessarily relieved of his duty to them, but returned to his family early before their journey was finished.[v39] And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
Paul and Barnabas fought over the matter. Paul was untrusting of one who had abandoned them during the work, wanting only someone he knew would be dedicated for such an important journey, but Barnabas wanted to show John mercy and give him another chance, just as Barnabas had stood up for Paul when Paul was first rejected from the church. Though the contention between them was heated, the Holy Spirit led them both in separate directions.[v40] And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
Barnabas took John with him to cover the area of Cyprus, and Paul took Silas. All four were blessed with the grace of God in their travels.[v41] And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
Paul and Silas covered Syria and other areas northward.[v1] Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
The context is following Paul's travels to Derbe and Lystra, which were the cities of Lycaonia mentioned in Acts 14:6. The mother of Timotheus (i.e. Timothy) is Eunice (2Ti 1:5), and though the Lord God commanded the Jews that they were not to marry or be married to people from pagan nations (1Ki 11:2), Eunice disobeyed and married a Greek man.[v2] Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
This is referring to Timothy, not Timothy's father. He was of good report among the church in those two cities.[v3] Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
When I first read this, I found it to be rather odd because, in the previous chapter, the controversy in the church about whether or not men had to be circumcised (Acts 15:1-2) had already been settled (Acts 15:10-12), meaning that Christians do not need to observe the traditions of circumcision. However, Timothy's willingness to be circumcised, and Paul's action to do so, was not based on a religious custom, but rather, the Jews to who they were about to preach Christ's Gospel would not listen to any man teach Biblical doctrines if he was not circumcised, and so to gain the souls of some, that they might be saved, Timothy allowed himself to come under the knife.[v4] And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
This is referring to the previous chapter in which the elders of the church in Jerusalem, along with the apostles, had determined that there were only a few ordinances that must be kept in the New Testament, and circumcision was not among them. In particular, these were to abstain from idols, consumption of blood (likewise things strangled which retains blood), and fornication.(Read "Johnson's Notes on Acts 15" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v5] And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
In the humility of repentance (2Co 7:10) with their faith in Christ alone and His grace alone for their salvation. (Eph 2:8-9)[v6] Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
The people of Phrygia had heard of Christ because there were locals present with the apostles on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:10) Either there were none that were to receive the grace of God and the Holy Spirit in the regions north in Asia, or that the work was to be done by another; the Scriptures do not tell us why, but God did not permit them to go preach His Word there at that time.[v7] After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
Meaning that they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of God would not allow them. It stands to reason that the Lord God did not want Paul and Silas to do the work in this area, and He left the work for another to perform because the church is established there later, which is why Peter addresses those Christians in Bithynia in 1 Peter 1:1.[v8] And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
They didn't stop in Mysia, but traveled through it to get to Troas, which was in the northern region of Galatia.[v9] And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Macedonia was named after Macedon/Makedon, which was a son of Zeus (Greek god of thunder) according to pagan lore.[v10] And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
It seems that, in Luke's writing, he switched from a third person summary to a first person testimony. He may have been quoting excerpts from Paul's writings about their travels.[v11] Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;
They would have traveled by ship to these locations on their way to their destination, since Macedonia was a Greek region.[v12] And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.
Philippi was a Roman colony, since they feared breaking the law against Roman citizens, as we'll see later in verse 37.[v13] And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
The word 'wont' is not to be confused with the modern day English conjunction "won't," which is a combination of "will" and "not." The word 'wont' means "habit" or "custom," and so Paul and Silas went to a river bank that was common for people to come to and make prayers, speaking with a group of women that were there for the purpose of prayer.[v14] And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Meaning that Lydia listened intently on the things Paul spoke about, since her heart was humbled by God to hear the truth. A "seller of purple" likely meant that she sold purple dyes or goods dyed in purple, which would have been a more expensive color to produce.[v15] And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
Lydia's repentant heart believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and so she was baptized in that river. She then humbly pleaded with the two men to be guests in her home; that she may provide some comfort to those who preached the doctrines of Christ. The word 'constrain' in this passage is not to mean that she forced them, but that she compelled and urged them strongly, having a great desire to have them stay a while longer.[v16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
A damsel is a young woman, a soothsayer is one who predicts the future, and "a spirit of divination" is a devil that is not of God, as the Lord God has clearly stated that divination is an abomination in His sight. (Deu 18:10) She helped wealthy men increase their profits, and they paid well for her services, since the devil she was possessed with was giving her special knowledge at the cost of her soul.[v17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
It should be noted here that what she spoke was the truth. It is true that Paul and Silas were servants of the Most High God, and that they were showing people the way to salvation, but she was still possessed with a devil. This association is bad, meaning that when Paul and his companions would bless and heal others in the name of Christ, this devil-possessed woman would then be prophetically associated with the miracles of God, which would only deceive other people and make her more famous.[v18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
This woman followed them for days and proclaimed the truth, but she was not of Christ. This ought to be a warning to all those who study Scripture. There are many men and women who profess some truths concerning the Word of God, and may even teach some doctrines correctly, but there many of them who are not of Christ (which is evidenced by others contradictory things they say and do), and may even be possessed of devils because the good seed of the Word did not fall on good ground.(Read "False Converts vs Eternal Security" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v19] And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
Paul and Silas broke no law and they did no wrong; they did good in the sight of God, but that good deed costed wicked men money, and those greedy men wanted revenge. They took Paul and Silas by force and brought them before the governing officers, which there may have been a court of justice in the marketplace, or in the district of it, for the punishment of thieves and other common criminal activity.[v20] And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
This was a lie. They did not trouble anyone, but even if they had, it wasn't the entire city; it was just these few men, but they spoke on behalf of everyone, and without evidence. Paul healed a young woman and saved her from the devil that corrupted her, and it was the accusers' love of money (1Ti 6:10) for which Paul and Silas were being brought into question.[v21] And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
They lied again. There was no conflict with the doctrine of Christ and Roman law; otherwise, Christ would never have allowed the giving of tribute money. (Mat 22:17-21) Notice that they did not give any specifics of what it was they were teaching that was in conflict with the law; they just vaguely accused them (which is known in Scripture as murmuring - John 7:12-13), and from my own experience, when I am accused of being a false preacher, it often comes from people who make vague accusations (i.e. murmurings) against me. Christ told us these things would happen to us when we teach the truth and do what's right. (Mat 5:11)[v22] And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.
The magistrates did not tear their own clothes, as was done by those in repentance in the Old Testament, but rather, they tore the shirts off Paul and Silas so they could be whipped. This means that a sentence was passed on the two men without any evidence being presented, nor a defense heard from the accused.[v23] And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
They were whipped across their backs, and though the number is not given here, the punishments were typically maxed out at forty depending on the crime. The order to "keep them safely" was not for their protection and benefit, but contextually, Paul was a man who had the power of God, and did miracles in the sight of men, so therefore, it was ordered for them to be kept under the strictest prison cells and regulations, that they would not escape.[v24] Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
These men had not harmed a hair on anyone's head and walked peacefully, yet they were not only beaten, and without evidence of a crime, but also put into the inner most parts of the prison, which were the highest security, and even bound their feet in stocks, which would have prevented them from walking.[v25] And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Those of us who suffer persecution and afflictions for the sake of Christ are called blessed, and therefore, they sang praises unto God for the physical and mental anguish they suffered.[v26] And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
An earthquake alone would not have caused every man's bonds to be opened up and doors to be opened. It was only by the great miracle of God that these things were done, and all the prisoners would have known that this was God's response to their worship of Him.[v27] And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
It was likely that the prison keeper was not supposed to be sleeping on the job, and thought that, in his slumber, he let some prisoners get by him. If that was the case, then his life would have been lost anyway, since the Roman government would take his life for allowing prisoners to escape; thus, he did not draw his sword to threaten anyone, nor in self-defense, but to take his own life before having to suffer the pain and embarrassment of execution at the hands of magistrates.[v28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
They yelled and commanded him to stop, reassuring him that no one had escaped. Only their bonds and doors had been opened.[v29] Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
This man knew it was the power of the Living God who had done this, and in fear and repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow) of his sins, he fell on his knees at their feet. This may have been a result in that Paul and Silas had already preached the doctrines of Scripture to the prisoners and guards while staying there, so the jailor had already heard the message, and his soul was prepared to ask the following question.[v30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
He now called them "Sir," treating them with respect, not as common prisoners.[v31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
When a man is given a humble heart of repentance (2Ti 2:25), and the fear of God (Jude 1:23), the Lord God will give him grace (Jms 4:6), and there is no prayer of special words one must say, but rather, all a man needs to do at that point is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. (Rom 4:23-25) Sadly, in our modern-day American leavened church buildings, a false message is preached that belief without repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow) with give men salvation, and many will be led through the wide gates of hell by that false message. (Mat 7:21-23)When he says "thy house," it is not that when a man is saved, his entire family is automatically saved, because grace must be given individually. There is no salvation by proxy, meaning that one cannot be saved by simply being in close relationship or physical presence with someone else who repented and believed. Rather, he is saying that the Word of God would be preached to his house, and if they come to faith in the humility of repentance, they too would share in eternal life through Christ.
[v32] And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
The jailor was born again, and brought Paul and Silas to his house so that they would hear the Word of God.[v33] And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
It was a painful ordeal to be whipped to the point of bleeding, then have your torn clothes put back on, only to have the cloth adhere to the scabs of the wounds. There was no medical treatment for such prisoners, but the jailor cleaned them up, treated their wounds, and they in turn baptized him and all his house who received the Holy Spirit in unity.[v34] And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
They feasted together, rejoicing in the saving blood of Christ.[v35] And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
The captains over the guard brought the message to release Paul and Silas. It was likely that Paul and Silas returned to the prison with the jailor once it was day, so that no trouble would come down on his head for breach of his duties.[v36] And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.
Paul and Silas were free to leave without fear of the guards.[v37] But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.
This means that they were beaten out in the public without a cause, meaning that they were set as an example, making the public believe they were vicious criminals, without actually condemning them of crime. Under Roman law, they cannot condemn a man without evidence, and there was no evidence. Privily means "secretly," and so they were secretly releasing them so that they would not have to admit their wrong and declare Paul and Silas's innocence publically, and thus, Paul told him that he would wait for them to come and release him personally so they would have to confess their wrongdoing.[v38] And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
Although the Roman government may have been allowed full discretionary power (unlimited authority) against those who were not official Roman citizens, they did not have full discretionary power against legal Roman citizens because they had constitutional rights that could not be infringed. Thus, they broke the law against Roman citizens, and that had grave consequences.[v39] And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.
Their accusers did come to retrieve them quickly, before the matter was made known to anyone else. They would not confess their error, but in continued effort to keep the matter silent and save themselves, pleaded with them to leave the city and not return.[v40] And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
Out of mercy, Paul and Silas complied and left the city, knowing also that such a matter would distract from their purpose of bringing the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, so they spent a short time with their brethren outside the city before they departed.[v1] Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica were all cities in the Macedonia region.[v2] And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
This is what he would do just about every week in every city he traveled; he would go to the Jews as they gathered together to hear the Word on the sabbath day and reason with them about Christ's fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament.[v3] Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
This Jesus, whose name is "salvation," is Christ, whose name is "annointed," which is the annointed Messiah who the Jews still look for to this day, not finding Him because He has already come. Paul preached this in hopes that God would give some repentance to acknowledge the truth.[v4] And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
Consort means "to associate," and so very few of the Jewish people believed, but many Greeks, and also the wives of those who were in chief positions heard and confessed Christ.[v5] But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
They grew jealous because many of the Greeks followed after the doctrine of Paul (who taught Christ), and so they sought out men who they could use to manipulate the people into doing their bidding. The men they chose to hire were lewd, in that they were given to lusts (i.e. money, women, etc), and they were "base," meaning that while everyone else was busy working, producing, buying, and selling, having a purpose in the town, these men stood around idle, doing nothing, which would make it easy to hire them with promises of coin or whores.They searched the city for a large enough group of them, told them all what to say, and they set the city in fury by spreading rumors and starting up a mob to assault the house of one of the disciples of Christ, where Paul and Silas stayed.
[v6] And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
They wanted to drag them out of the house to face the wrath of an angry mob deceived on the lies of the Jewish priests and elders, and when they couldn't find the two they were looking for, they dragged the rest of the Christians out in their place. The phrase "turned the world upside down" is used in a manner that claims their religious views have disturbed everyone in place and occupation, which is not necessarily incorrect concerning the doctrine of Christ, which is to bring lost sinners to their knees, but the context they were using this phrase was that society itself (business, government, etc) was flipped on its head because of a few Christians teaching the truth, which is a false accusation.[v7] Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
Again, these are more lies. The Christians never taught that Jesus overthrew Caesar, but that the governing rulers are to be respected in their office of overseeing the kingdoms of this world. (Rom 13:1-4) Of course, Christ is the ultimate ruler of this world, but He did not teach us to go to war and rebel against governments, but rather, that we should honor their governing positions, and respect those who do good in the punishment of evildoers.[v8] And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
The people and rulers were troubled when they heard these accusations because they feared that these Christian men were starting a rebellion that would cause war with Rome. Again, there was no evidence of these things, but the mere accusation caused panic.[v9] And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
Meaning that they proved to the magistrates by explaining their doctrine to them that the things they were accused of were lies. It may have been that some of the magistrates recognized the mob's leadership, knowing them to be untrustworthy, and sensed that some conspiracy had been plotted against them. One way or another, they were set free and no punishments were served.[v10] And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Knowing the danger of those who sought after the life of Paul and Silas, the church helped them escape so they could continue the work of the Gospel.[v11] These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
noble (adj): ingenuous (generous); candid (fair, open); ready to receive the truth
(See 'noble', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 14, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v12] Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
Because they were open and ready to hear the Word of God, many of them believed the truth. Don't misunderstand; it was not an open ear canal that caused them to believe, but rather, it was the humble condition of the heart which caused them to listen and understand. The "honourable women" of the Greeks were some of those who had husbands in positions of authority, who believed the Gospel of Christ, and there were more than a few Gentile men and women who were receptive to the doctrine.[v13] But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
Though Paul and Silas had escaped the liars and troublemakers in Thessalonica, they followed the apostles to the next city to continue harassing them. This is the definition of persecution.[v14] And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
This indicates that Timothy continued with Paul and Silas during their travels, likely assisting them in all matters concerning food and lodging while they preached the Word of God. Paul seemed to be the main target of the pursuing Thessalonians, so they sent him onward while the other two stayed behind.[v15] And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
They "conducted" Paul, meaning that they led him to Athens. The people who took Paul to Athens brought back a message to Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.[v16] Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
As is common with us who are born again in Christ, once we understand the nature of idolatry, the Spirit of God stirs our spirits and makes us uncomfortable with the uncleanness and abominations against God, causing us to sanctify (separate) ourselves from the wickedness, and speak out against it. Though 21st century churchgoers typically think they are not guilty of any idolatry, they do not judge themselves with righteous judgment because much idolatry goes on in the church buildings of American society, and the churchgoers remain willingly blind to it.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Idolatry" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v17] Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.
dispute (v): to contend in argument; to reason or argue in opposition; to debate
(See 'dispute', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 14, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v18] Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
The Epicureans were men from Epicurus, who believed and taught almost exactly what is believed and taught by the religion of Evolutionism today. They believed the world was not made by any deity or design, but that a random chance impact of atoms created everything we see, which is known today as "atomic materialism."(Read "Evolutionism: A New-Age Religion" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The Stoics are named after the Greek word "Stoa," which means a portico or covered porch that represents their beliefs being like a roof (or covering) over their heads. Stoicism relied heavily on the teachings of Socrates, a pagan Greek philosopher, which taught a singular god, but also a system of personal ethics that would follow a path to what they believed was true happiness.
What Paul was teaching conflicted with the philosophies of both the Epicureans and the Stoics, and so they sought to verbally attack him, calling him a "babbler," which is an insult that accuses a man of being idle/useless in his speech, irrational, and untrustworthy; in short, they were claiming his words were nonsensical, but were not giving any reasonable argument in response. They claimed he was preaching nonsense because he taught Christ and His resurrection, and like many churchgoers today, the Epicureans and Stoics would rather follow their feelings than hear the truth. (2Ti 4:4)
[v19] And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?
Areopagus was a street in Athens that connected directly to the temple of Mars. Those who spent a lot of time in this area were called "Areopagites," as indicated in verse 34.[v20] For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
The word 'strange' in this context means foreign; though the Bible sometimes uses 'strange' to mean pagan, in this context, Paul was speaking to pagans, and so they meant 'strange' as "not domestic."[v21] (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
Either in spare time, or living off donations, the people who spent their time where Areopagus was located would come because they wanted to discuss various religions and philosophies, which was common in Athens in that day.[v22] Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Corrupt new-age versions have changed 'superstitious' to 'religious', which takes away the true meaning of this verse because pure religion is good. (Jms 1:27) It is pagan superstition that plagues the minds of men and brings them to perform odd traditions which, over time, are lost to common knowledge, and eventually they get to a point where the people doing the traditions cannot explain why they do them.For example, modern-day wedding ceremonies are almost entirely based on pagan rituals; like the wedding rings that are used, with the ring being worn on the "ring finger" is actually based on a pagan practice of the ancient Greeks called "Palmistry," and that ring finger is part of sun worship. Throwing a bouquet of flowers, garters, throwing rice, the wedding cake, the wedding dresses—these are all based on pagan superstitions, and are not found anywhere in Scripture, but churchgoers follow them blindly, often due to pressure from family and friends (and a lot from their pastors), refusing to learn the truth and sanctify themselves.
(Read "Marriage: What Christians Should Know" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Paul was explaining to these pagans that they based everything they said and did on silly superstitions, rather than looking to the truth. The Lord God calls out to mankind to reason with Him about the truth of His Word (Isa 1:18), that by coming to Him in repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and faith in Christ, we would gain His mercy and our sins would be washed clean. Thus, if we walk as children of light (Eph 5:8), we ought to sanctify ourselves from the superstitions of pagans. (2Co 6:14-18)
[v23] For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
There is a story that has been handed down about the "Unknown God," and although I cannot verify the reliability of this story, it makes sense to what Paul was saying here, and why he pointed out to them that this altar was made to the Christian God of the Bible. If this was a place of many religions and philosophies, someone would have told Paul this story, and that may be the reason he started off his speech by addressing this altar.The story goes that around 600 B.C. there was a plague that spread throughout lands, and Athens being a place of heavy pagan worship, they thought they had angered one of, or some of, the various gods in one of these religions. They did everything they could to appease every god/goddess on their list, but the plague remained. One day, a man named Epimenides, who hailed from Cyprus, appeared and told them the god who was angry was a god yet unknown to them, and he believed that this god was good and would hear them if they called out to him, being merciful upon those who are ignorant of him.
Inquiring as to what they should do, Epimenides instructed them to bring some stonemasons and a flock of sheep, and that the sheep should all be healthy and of different colors—some white, some black. The sheep were not to eat anything the previous day so they would be very hungry. On the following day, the stonemasons and sheep were brought to Mars' Hill, and Epimenides instructed a man to follow every sheep, allowing the flock to graze wherever they chose.
Epimenides spoke in a loud voice: "O thou unknown god! Behold the plague afflicting this city! And if indeed you feel compassion to forgive and help us, behold this flock of sheep! Reveal your willingness to respond, I plead, by causing any sheep that pleases you to lie down upon the grass instead of grazing. Choose white if white pleases; black if black delights. And those you choose we sacrifice to you—acknowledging our pitiful ignorance of your name!"
Soon after releasing the sheep, some of them laid down on beds of rich grass, and did not graze, which shocked the shepherds, as it was unexpected that such hungry sheep would not eat the rich grass set in front of them. Epimenides instructed the stonemasons to mark the places where each sheep rested, separate them from the flock, build altars on those locations, and sacrifice those sheep to this unknown god. Out of fear of offending this unknown god, because they did not want to presume to know his name, or to give him a name that was not his, they engraved the inscription "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD," and by that time the next day, the plague had gone.
Athens was overjoyed, and praised the unknown god, worshipping him daily, but as is common with mankind, generations came and went, and the unknown god was forgotten. However, though the unknown god faded from their memories, the story and the altar remained until the day that the Lord God had mercy on Athens and brought Paul, His apostle, to them to reveal to them the name of this unknown god, their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[v24] God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
This was said to break down their superstitions, that their gods must have temples. The Lord God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24); He has no need of such things.[v25] Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
There is nothing made by the hands of men that represents the Godhead, as Paul will point out in verse 29.[v26] And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Murder and genocide have been committed in the name of racism and pagan creeds, but God created all men of one blood; the breath of life He breathed into Adam (Gen 2:7), that we all now share being descendents of the first man. The land we are able to inhabit in this world was predestined by God down to the very last grain of sand; reminding us that God has given us liberty to make choices, but our authority limited, and bound by His will in all things.[v27] That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
As the Lord Jesus Christ told us that if we seek, we will find (Mat 7:7), and that He would make sure that those who He gives a heart to seek after God (since no man seeks after God of His own will - Rom 3:11), they will find Him. Because of the spiritual and eternal nature of God, He is able to be closer to us than we can be to each other.[v28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Poets such as the Stoics, which did believe there was only one god.[v29] Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
It is the world that seeks after silver, gold, and other such devices of men, which please the eyes, which is not of the Father. (1Jo 2:16) The altars, statues, paintings, symbols, and any other such icon of a religious nature does not represent God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This includes the "cross" (✞) symbol, but sadly, most churchgoers choose to remain as the pagans are, ignore the Word of God, and use it as a representation of Christ. The worship of God must be done in spirit and truth (John 4:24), not by outward appearances (John 7:24), and so the symbols put on church buildings, tattoos, jewelry, etc, should not be used in the name of Christ, but churchgoers continue to do so in willful ignorance, having the same superstitious minds as the pagans.(Read "Christians Symbols Are Not Christians" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v30] And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Winking, which is typically the act of closing and opening the eyes, is not used here to say that God is blind to their wicked deeds, but rather, that because they had for hundreds of years turned to their pagan gods and ignored him, His blinking is a metaphorical way to explain that He is angry with their sin, as one who would see something abhorrent would close his eyes, turn his head, and open them in another direction. Because of this, God sent no prophets to them, save Paul at this time so that the Gospel of Christ would go into all the world, and that all men everywhere should come to the grief and godly sorrow of repentance (2Co 7:9-10).[v31] Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
That man is Christ (1Ti 2:5), who is God. (John 10:30)[v32] And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
They refused to believe that the dead could be raised, like the Epicureans, who, being atheistic, rejected miracles. It's not that it is impossible, but these men choose not to believe because they want the preaching of Paul to be vanity (1Co 15:14) so they will not have to believe because, if what Paul says is true, it makes them guilty before God (Rom 3:19), and those wicked men would rather live in their lusts of the flesh than to face the truth.[v33] So Paul departed from among them.
Paul would have reached a point in discussion with them when he knew they would no longer listen, so he sanctified himself from them in peace, as Christ instructed His disciples. (Mat 10:13) If Paul had remained with them continually, trying to work on this one group for many years, as I have witnessed some Christians foolishly attempt, he would have wasted much of his time, and there would have been many hearers in various other locations that may not have received Christ's doctrine (Eph 5:15-16); thus, for the sake of others, we move on when someone does not want to hear. (Acts 22:18)[v34] Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Some followed after Paul to learn more, including Dionysius, which was one of the (former) followers of Areopagus.[v1] After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
Corinth was a major trade city that contained two primary harbors, which was the main trade point between Rome and Asia. This city was flush with the sins of the flesh since it was home to the Temple of Venus, which, based on historical information I've read, had at least a thousand whores on staff at all times. Paul urged the church to come to the grief and godly sorrow of repentance over their fornication and lasciviousness, and sanctify themselves from the wicked pagan sexual customs of the land. (2Co 12:21)[v2] And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
Claudius was the fifth emperor of Rome, and he decreed that all Jews were to behave more moderately, since the Jews harshly persecuted the Christians, as we have already seen in Scripture, to the point that the plots of the Jews against the Christians was beginning to waste government time, money, and resources. Claudius sought to keep the peace, and the only way to do that was to eventually remove the Jews from Rome, that is, all those who professed the Jewish religion. (Christians were still allowed, although some were of Jewish descent, because they did not profess the religion of the Jews.)Aquila and Priscilla, likely Roman names, are two Christians mentioned again at the end of Paul's letter to the Romans. (Rom 16:3-4) They were close friends of Paul, willingly laying down their lives for his sake.
[v3] And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
Paul was intimately familiar with tent-crafting, and because Aquila and Priscilla did the same work, it drew them together, and he stayed at their house.[v4] And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Which we have already learned was his habit. (Acts 17:2)[v5] And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
It was not that Paul did not testify of Jesus prior to Silas and Timothy's arrival, but that the Holy Spirit pressed upon him an urgency, to which he got right to the point instead of taking his time with them.[v6] And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
Most of the Jews rejected Christ yet again, and called the doctrines of Christ (and Christ Himself) of the devil (i.e. blasphemy), and so he dusted off his raiment, similar to shaking the dust off one's feet (Mar 6:11), which is a Jewish custom of sanctification, as a testimony against them. Paul was not claiming that he was clean in the sense that he was more righteous than they; although the blood of Christ does cleanse us from all unrighteousness, but rather that he was clean from the blood on their hands, having murder in their hearts. (Isa 1:15) The Spirit of God had convicted Paul that he had spent enough time with the Jews in this synagogue, and would instead go to the Gentiles in the city to preach repentance and remission of sins to them. (Luke 24:47)[v7] And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
If Paul had returned to Aquila and Priscilla, he might have been publically viewed as a liar, since Aquila and Priscilla had Jewish heritage. Thus, he went to stay with Justus to be among the Gentiles as he had promised. Justus's house was connected to the synagogue, being one giant structure, similar to an apartment building or strip mall.[v8] And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
The church was established in Corinth, and there were many in the city who believed, including a rare instance that a chief over the synagogue had converted unto Christ.[v9] Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
Not that Paul was afraid of men, although when under threat of persecution from a mob, there is always some fear, but rather, because so many, including those in chief seats in the synagogue, believed on Christ and were baptized, tensions were rising to the point that some may have suggested that they get Paul out of the city in secret.[v10] For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
The Lord God commanded that Paul go forward boldly because there were many in Corinth who would come to repentance and faith in Christ.[v11] And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
It would make sense why there are two long letters to Corinth in the New Testament. Paul spent a lot of time there, and would have made many friends, who strove together with him in edifying the church.[v12] And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,
Insurrection means that the Jews bypassed standard lawful procedure, formed a mob, took Paul, and brought him to the court themselves.[v13] Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.
We have already seen many examples in the book of Acts that it is common for unbelievers to lie against those who preach the truth.[v14] And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:
If it were a matter in which Paul had actually committed a crime against the state, then he would have sought to judge Paul according to the law, or in other words, Gallio is saying to the Jews that he would be on their side if Paul actually broke the law. Gallio spoke the truth of the matter before Paul uttered a word because he, being an experienced judge, already somewhat knew what the Jews were doing was not right.[v15] But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.
Paul broke no civil law, nor did he teach any such thing against the law of the state; therefore, Gallio refused to take part in their religious matters.[v16] And he drave them from the judgment seat.
Gallio kicked them out of the courtroom for wasting his time.[v17] Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
It was not Paul who was beaten in this instance; they apparently let him go. Rather, they took Sosthenes, one of the other chief rulers of the synagogue, and beat him instead, and this is likely because he was the one who led the mob against Paul, so when they were turned away by the government for lack of evidence, in which the judge said Paul had done no wrong, they beat Sosthenes, who had lied to them, and embarrassed them when they were found without a just cause.Though it cannot be verified from Scripture alone, a man named Sosthenes is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:1. It is possible that, after Sosthenes had been beaten by the crowd, he was humbled to repentance, and converted to faith in Christ, to which he ended up traveling and preaching with Paul.
[v18] And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
After 18 months in Corinth, Paul was led by God to Syria, and his close Christian friends, Aquila and Priscilla, went with him. The vow being referred to here is the Nazarite vow, in which a man (or woman) would shave his head in accordance with the 6th chapter of Numbers, and it was to be a sign of sanctification, in which there were limitations on what he could say and do at certain times until the vow was fulfilled. This would have been done in a similar fashion in which Timothy was circumcised, not to "keep the law," but rather, to win souls, that the Jews would listen to the Gospel of Christ.[v19] And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.
Ephesus was a city in Asia.[v20] When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
The Ephesians who heard the Word (and understood it - Mat 13:23) wanted Paul to stay and teach them more, but he would not, for reasons given in the next verse.[v21] But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
Paul was not keeping this feast due to any tradition or obligation of the law, but it could have been to keep his vow, whatever it was that he vowed, and/or it was another opportunity to preach to the Jews that some may be converted and saved. Paul gave them a conditional promise, that he would return to visit them, but only if God allowed.[v22] And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
Paul had gone up to Jerusalem to keep the feast, as he told the Ephesians, greeted the church there, then went to Antioch.[v23] And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
Paul was going back to places where he had started the church to check up on all the Christians in the locations. He would obviously be concerned for their welfare, seeing that the persecution was so heavy at this time, and that there would be a great need for encouragement, charity, and understanding of doctrine.[v24] And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
Apollos was well-educated and wise, having good understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures.[v25] This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
Apollos had not yet heard the doctrine of Christ, but knew of the baptism of repentance that John had taught, and preached these things to the Jews with a passionate spirit.[v26] And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Though not yet knowing the doctrines of Christ and the institution of His church, Aquila and Priscilla, who stayed behind in Ephesus after Paul had departed for Jerusalem, came to him and told him about Christ and the church.[v27] And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:
Though he had not been ordained through the church, just like Paul, God called him from outside the church to preach the truth, and the church helped him with his needs while he taught. He became a valuable asset to the doctrines of repentance, faith, and grace in Christ.[v28] For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
He was able to reason with the Jews in a particular way that convinced many of the truth, and although most Jews would still not be converted, the Lord God used Apollos wonderfully in that many came to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ.[v1] And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
Paul came back around on his tour to the various churches, and met with other Christians who believed and studied Christ's doctrine. It seems the reason for mentioning that Apollos was at Corinth was that the following disciples were in the same situation as Apollos.[v2] He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Paul is not asking if they had been regenerated by the Holy Ghost, which is automatically received when one comes to the grief and godly sorrow of repentance and is born again by grace through faith, but rather, he's asking if they had been blessed with the special gifts of miracles through the Holy Ghost, which was, at that time, given by God to all those He chose. Apollos and the other disciples certainly knew of the Holy Ghost, since he was highly educated in the Old Testament Scriptures (i.e. the Old Testament prophets spoke by the Holy Ghost - 2Pe 1:20-21), but they had not heard of the Day of Pentecost in which the Holy Spirit of God was poured out into the apostles of Christ.[v3] And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
They were baptized in the spirit of Elijah (Mat 17:11-12), rather than the Holy Spirit of Christ.[v4] Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Not that the baptism of repentance is wrong or outdated, which some would falsely teach, but he "verily" or "indeed" baptized with repentance, which we still do today, but we do so with Christ, and that they should believe and preach the Lord Jesus Christ, to who John had directed everyone to believe, and do things in Jesus's name, since He is the giver of all repentance unto men. (2Ti 2:25) It is not made clear if these were men who were disciples of the teaching of Apollos from another time or place, or if they had simply learned the doctrine of John from other believing Jews, but this was obviously somewhat of a problem that needed to be dealt with; namely that some had not heard of Christ's fulfillment of the prophecies John had given.[v5] When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
They were baptized again, but this time in Christ, under the new dispensation in the Holy Spirit.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v6] And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
They had not yet received the gifts of the Holy Ghost because the Lord God takes the matter very seriously, and will not give the gift of His Spirit to those who are not firmly grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, various gifts were given to them, like the ability to speak in other languages, and prophesying (in the context of foretelling future events).(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v7] And all the men were about twelve.
The total number, including Apollos and the other disciples.[v8] And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Paul continued the work in Ephesus.[v9] But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
The diverse, or various people, would not hear the Word, and the multitudes started to speak lies of Paul and the other disciples of Christ, Paul stopped preaching to them as Christ had instructed when they would not hear, and gathered disciples to go with him into various parts of the school of Tyrannus, which would have been a school of pagan philosophy that was either built by or named after Tyrannus, and it was likely a place similar to others Paul had visited in the past, which welcomed to hear all various religions and philosophies from pagans around the world.[v10] And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Those who would travel through Ephesus would hear, and the name of Christ was spread even through those who did not believe, because they told others of what they heard, so that all of Asia knew of Christ after Paul and the rest of the church worked in this area for two years.[v11] And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
As He had already done and continued to do.[v12] So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
The Lord God, in His great mercy, healed the sick by the very clothing that was on Paul's person. A handkerchief that Paul may have used to wipe the sweat from his brow would be taken by someone, brought back to a sick man, and that man was healed.[v13] Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
Though most people today hear the word 'exorcist' and think it is someone that casts out evil spirits, in this context, it means those who claim to cast out evil spirits, but do so under false pretenses. There are many exorcists who exist to this day who are false. (Mat 7:21-23) The exorcists in this instance are those Jews that wandered from place to place, earning a living by performing rituals for whoever would pay for them. Since it was famously known that the apostles, like Paul, were casting devils out of people and healing them in the name of Christ, the people would have been looking for anyone who could perform such miracles, and would pay them generously for their services; so to gain more money and fame, these wicked men took it upon themselves to attempt casting devils out in the name of Jesus.[v14] And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
The sons of Sceva were the wanderers, and they joined together with one of the chief priests at Ephesus, who likely thought he could make more money and gain fame by doing these things.[v15] And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
The devils know of Jesus (Jms 2:19), and they know of His disciples, but they don't take note of anyone who feigns to know Christ because only those who have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in them will be feared by Satan's minions.[v16] And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
The devil inside the man caused him to jump at them, attacking them so viciously that he was tearing at their clothes and flesh, and they ran out of the house in fear.[v17] And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
The Lord Jesus Christ was glorified in this, that only those who are truly of Christ and speak in His name will be able to perform such tasks. (That is not to say that all Christians would be given this gift, and some devils only come out through prayer and fasting. - Mark 9:29) These men flaunted the name of Christ only so that they would increase their own glory and gain, but God is not mocked. (Gal 6:7)[v18] And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
They believed on Christ, confessed their sin in repentance and confessed Christ boldly, and did the works meet for repentance. (Acts 26:20)[v19] Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
The curious arts were witchcraft, necromancy, divination, and other such occult magic and doctrines. They publically burned 50,000 silver worth of books so that Christ would be glorified in front of all unbelievers.[v20] So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Christ's doctrines and the faith of His disciples grew faster than any religion in the known world. This is one of the reasons Christ warned us so much about false converts in the church because when something becomes popular, people flock to it for their own personal gain, desiring wealth and fame out of the wickedness in their hearts.(Read "False Converts vs Eternal Security" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v21] After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
Meaning, after the space of three months, when Paul passed through the regions where the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth were located, the Spirit of God came to Paul and gave him purpose to go to Jerusalem again, and then to Rome.[v22] So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Timothy and Erastus were ministering (i.e. serving) Paul's needs, and so he sent them ahead into these cities to let them know he was coming, and to prepare for his travels, so all would go smoothly because he had a lot of work to do, and a limited time to do it. Paul stayed for a while longer in Asia, and would likely wait for Timothy and Erastus to return before departing.[v23] And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
There was an uprising among the heathens in Ephesus.[v24] For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
It logically follows that if heathen smiths are making money by producing idols and other such trinkets that related to idol worship, and the idol worship was ceasing because of the work of the Holy Spirit through the disciples of Christ, then, their customers were disappearing, which led to their total profits dropping, which would eventually leave them without a job.[v25] Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
Demetrius called together all the other smiths who made a profit on idolatry like he did.[v26] Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
With every word from Paul, they lost more money (1Ti 6:10) because the people were converting away from their idols.[v27] So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
These men would have had no problem with the Christian doctrine if idol worship were permitted, but because we preach against all forms of idolatry, the men who profit from it take great offense.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Idolatry" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v28] And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
The Diana of the Ephesians was different from other Dianas, as is customary with pagan traditions; goddesses contain many names, and the same name can apply to different gods, but the Ephesians considered their version of Diana unique among others. However, in their hearts, they cared nothing for the goddess Diana because, if they did, then they would have raised issue a long time ago concerning the doctrine of Christ, but they didn't bother to come after Paul until they started to lose profit, which means their true god is money; Diana's name is simply a cry of convenience to rally a crowd.[v29] And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
As verse 32 will explain, the city was in confusion because they had no direction, and did not fully understand why they were gathered, but rushed together quickly because of the emotional sway of the mob. The people grabbed two Christians they happened to find along the way; likely they were out preaching the Words of Christ in this theatre area when all this started taking place.[v30] And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
Paul wanted to go in and do what he could to convince the crowd, and also make effort to save the his two Christian brethren from suffering, but the other Christians persuaded him to remain hidden. This was a grand display of love for one another, that the Christians valued Paul, and were willing to lay down their lives for him so that he would not be harmed and the preaching of Christ could continue.[v31] And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.
Paul had friends who were chief over the theatre, and they sent word to him, pleading with him that he would not go into the theatre, else he might be killed.[v32] Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
Because the smiths had a particular agenda, and that not everyone worshipped the same false gods, there was confusion among the mob about why they had gathered, and when they are not in one accord, the people become unsure of themselves.[v33] And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
Alexander, a Jew who was a born again Christian, was drawn out of the crowd and put forward, likely onto a stage to be seen. He raised his hand that the people might silence themselves for a moment so he could be heard.[v34] But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Two hours is a long time to yell out continual praise to the goddess Diana, but in recent times, I have witnessed similar displays, where a crowd of political advocates will stand for hours screaming out the same phrases over and over, being unwilling to listen to anyone.[v35] And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
Who seems to be an officer in a secretary-type of position, as a scribe would have been, and he would have been commonly known to the people. The townclerk reasoned with them that all the people of the city, and surrounding countries, knew that the Ephesians generally worshipped Diana and Jupiter.[v36] Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
Since everyone knew who the Ephesians worshipped, the townclerk explained to the crowd that it was senseless to cry out together that Diana was worshipped in this place. He requested that they see reason, and quiet themselves down.[v37] For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
The townclerk further explained that the Christians broke no laws in their actions or doctrine, they stole no money from anyone (in fact, the opposite was true, they helped the poor and needy), and they did not call Diana the devil; they simply stated that idols were nothing and the gods were nothing; which was also techincally taught by some other religious institutions in that area, like Epicureans and the Stoics aforementioned. (Acts 17:18) What the people did not understand is that the Christians were being targeted by the greed of a few merchants, and this was likely unknown to almost all who gathered in the theatre, although some wiser men may have deduced it.[v38] Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
Enough time had passed that investigators were able to determine who provoked the mob and for what reason. In other words, he was saying if the smiths want to accuse the Christian men of doing wrong, then they should come forward and state their crimes, and let the officers of the law handle the matter.[v39] But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
As Paul later taught, let all things be done decently and in order (1Co 14:40), meaning that they should be done peacefully and calmly, with one person speaking at a time. This would have been done in a civil court where only one person is permitted to speak at a time.[v40] For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
The Roman government would come in to settle the matter if things got out of hand, and certain people (perhaps at random) may be rounded up and accused of crimes for disturbing the peace; meaning that they would be required to justify their concourse (i.e. their assembly and actions).[v41] And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
They heeded his warning that the Roman soldiers may get involved if the mob continued, as mobs have a tendency to grow out of control without government intervention; therefore, they all departed, thankfully without anyone being killed.[v1] And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.
The disciples who risked their lives to keep him safe; then Paul departed on his journey.[v2] And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece,
Exhortation can be used in terms of encouragement or as warning and caution; both would have been given by Paul throughout the various situations and people he would have encountered in the church.[v3] And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.
Paul spent three months in Greece, preaching to the Jews as he went, and they rose up in their anger to ambush him, but before he got on the boat, the Spirit of God led him another way.[v4] And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
Many of these men are the closest friends of Paul because they traveled and suffered with him, and that's why some of them are mentioned in letters to these Asian cities later in the New Testament. Timothy is written to in 1 Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2. Sopater may be the same as Sosipater in Romans 16:21. Tychicus is mentioned in Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7, and 2 Timothy 4:12. Erastus is mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:20. Though many of us read the Bible with confusion about all the names and places that are mentioned, a thorough study of the book of Acts clears up that confusion, giving us understanding that these were friends closer than brothers in the faith of Christ.[v5] These going before tarried for us at Troas.
It seems that Luke was also there among them, since now he is writing with the use of "us" in this passage, so it was likely that he did not need to write of himself since he is the author. (See Johnson's Notes on Acts 1:1) Troas was another city in Asia Minor, aforementioned in Acts 16:8.[v6] And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
After the days of unleavened bread, which were seven days following the Passover feast (See Johnson's Notes on Acts 12:3-4), it took them five more days to get to Troas, and then they all stayed there together for a week.[v7] And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
This was likely when they came together in the evening to eat, and they continued on throughout the night, not wanting it to end, knowing that they would have to depart the next day.[v8] And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
It was common for them to meet in upper rooms for religious purposes. (Acts 1:13)[v9] And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
The young man was foolish to be sitting in an open window while he was so tired, but the Lord God ordained for this to happen. As he began to fall, he likely woke up suddenly and cried out, only to be silenced by hitting the ground three stories down.[v10] And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
Certainly, many rushed to his side, but Paul reassured them that he was still alive, embraced him, and healed him.[v11] When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
After that, Paul and the others returned upstairs, had a midnight snack, and he continued teaching until the sun came up.[v12] And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.
Meaning that they were greatly encouraged in the faith of Christ, seeing the results before their eyes in life of a healthy young man who was almost certainly dead from the fall the previous night.[v13] And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
The phrase "to take in Paul" was meant that they would take him aboard the ship. Luke and the others prepared for Paul's arrival, but Paul decided to stay behind a while to continue conversation with the Christians, and he would arrive at Assos at a later time via land travel.[v14] And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.
They took Paul aboard the ship and continued their journey together.[v15] And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.
These are various islands.[v16] For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
Paul's desire was not to keep the feast itself, because such things were fulfilled in Christ, but every year, it was a great opportunity to preach to the Jews. The reason for this is because the Passover is a feast that is founded on the prophecy of the coming Messiah, and now that Messiah has come, so the fulfillment of the Passover feast is an easy conversation transition.(Read "Should Christians Observe Jewish Passover?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v17] And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
The elders are those who oversee the business of the church, as defined in verse 28.(Read "Is the One-Pastor Church System Biblical?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v18] And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
That is, from the first day he came to Ephesus, Paul spoke and acted in a particular manner, which should have set an example for them.[v19] Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
As should all those who have authority over the church, being humble of mind, with tears of grief and sorrow, and though tempted, they hate sin and evil ways, while being persecuted by those who will hate them for their good conversation in Christ. Temptations in this context may not always refer to temptation of sin, but a temptation unto passions, whereby our enemies would tempt us to react in an emotional outburst instead of with calm, humble, and reasonable spirit.[v20] And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,
Paul set an example for what they were to teach, and he taught this message publically, going door to door when necessary. He kept back nothing that would help them, which would be both spiritual and material.[v21] Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Despite that there are many cults today who preach against repentance and faith, saying that repentance should not be preached to the unbelievers, Paul taught the grief and godly sorrow of repentance with faith, which is the repentance and remission of sins that Christ commanded us to teach among all nations in Luke 24:47, and he did so when he went door-to-door.(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v22] And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
He was bound in the spirit in the sense that the Lord God had compelled Paul in his spirit to go to Jerusalem, and that he had no foreknowledge of what wicked things they may do unto him.[v23] Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
Meaning, that as Paul traveled, the existence of the church was bearing witness to the Holy Spirit of God, and that Christ's Words were fulfilled in that persecution and tribulation, bonds and afflictions, and that they awaited him in every city in which he testified of Christ.[v24] But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Paul was not deterred from the narrow path by chains and prison walls, nor was he swayed by threats upon his life, especially since he had already died once and been brought back to life by the Lord God. Rather, he rejoiced in the persecution, as Christ said we are blessed for it (Mat 5:11), and that our purpose here in this life is to teach His doctrines. (Mat 28:19-20)[v25] And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Paul would not be returning to visit them; as he was persuaded that he may be going to Jerusalem to die.[v26] Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
This may have been Paul's reference to Ezekiel 33, since, being a Jew, the children of Israel were warned that they should warn the people of God's wrath to come if they are called to be watchmen, and if they did not, their blood would be required at the watchman's hand. Thus, it seems that Paul was saying that he is pure, or clean, from the blood of all men; that he had properly warned them of God's wrath, taught them the grief and sorrow of repentance, and that they should do works worthy of that repentance (Luke 3:8) by turning from sin.[v27] For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
He taught them thoroughly all the doctrines of Christ that were given to him by the Holy Spirit.[v28] Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
That these men should pay careful attention unto themselves, in that they should judge themselves first in righteous judgment (John 7:24), and then also to all the flock, taking great care of them, and feeding (i.e. teaching) them the truth of God's Word because Christ our Master has purchased all the church with a heavy price.[v29] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
There will be many who would come, not judging themselves in righteousness, but using the flock of God, deceiving them, to make merchandise of them. (2Pe 2:3)[v30] Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Out of a desire for men to respect their position, to build up in themselves prestigious titles, in which they glorify themselves in their shame (Phl 3:18-19), teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dirty money (Tts 1:11), drawing away those simple or weak in the faith after them, only to turn converts into twofold the child of hell than themselves. (Mat 23:15) They will speak things out of their own self interests that will lead hearers away from the principles of Christ.[v31] Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Sadly, I have come under verbal attack many times for rebuking the sins and false doctrines of false preachers, which I have been told many times was "not biblical," and yet, Paul spent three years in tears of grief and sorrow (Rom 9:2), warning them of the wolves who would come to devour the sheep of Christ in the church. Sadder still is that, in my generation, this duty of the elders has been left unchecked for so long, and because of their lazy, lukewarm attitude (Rev 3:16), the flock of Christ is scattered (Jer 23:1) because there are many false converts and false preachers in many church buildings all over the world.[v32] And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Commend is being used in the sense of entrusting; that Paul would hand over supervision to someone else, now that they have left the doctrine of the milk and entered into the meat of the Word. (Heb 5:14, Heb 6:1) The Word of God can build them up if they abide in His Holy Spirit. (1Jo 2:27)[v33] I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
Paul did not seek after money or material possessions from any man. (Mark 6:8)[v34] Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
The Christians who traveled with Paul only helped him with what was necessary for living, be it clothing, food, shelter, and other travel expenses such as fees for passage on a ship.[v35] I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Paul set an example that we were to follow, not because Paul was righteous, but that Christ in him is righteous, and that Paul lived and taught exactly as Christ has commanded us.[v36] And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.
A final prayer in humility together for the love of the brethren he would dearly miss, until the day we are all reunited in Christ's kingdom.[v37] And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him,
It would indeed be a painful departure, not just in the sorrow that he might be killed, because the Living God is beyond the power of life and death, but that they would be separated from their dear friend until they had all completed their ministries.[v38] Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
They stayed with him until his departure.[v1] And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:
Continuing from the last chapter, Paul had left the Ephesians, telling them he would not see them again in this life, and traveled with his company, including Luke, which is why the author says "we." The word 'launched' is used in the context of a ship departing from the docks.[v2] And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.
They switched ships because not all ships take the same route. Phenicia/Phoenicia (different spellings of the same location) was a region along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea (west side of Israel), and cities like Sidon and Tyre were located in this region. It was well-known as a trade region because they had trade routes that frequently sailed along the coast of Northern Africa to the various island cities in the sea, which is why it was so commonly used by the apostles for travel.[v3] Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.
Not in the sense that they discovered something that was hidden, but rather, when they had seen the island, they put it on the port (left) side of the ship, which would take them east into Phenicia. The ship's original destination was Tyre, and the sailors unloaded their cargo on arrival at the docks.[v4] And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
Which is not to say that the Holy Spirit of God contradicts Himself, because the Holy Spirit had already told Paul to go to Jerusalem; rather, they, being in the Spirit of God, with His grace and lovingkindness, warned Paul of the danger ahead, and though Paul was meant to be in Jerusalem, the other Christians' concerns for his safety also came from the Holy Spirit.This is also a lesson for the church to understand that there is a difference between passions and commandment concerning the Holy Ghost. There are many churchgoers to equate the Holy Spirit to how they "feel," saying things like, "I felt the Spirit say," instead of looking at the direct commandments of Scripture. Our feelings are NOT the Holy Spirit, and though there is nothing necessarily wrong with passions (2Co 7:11), our passions should not be leading our philosophy (i.e. way of thinking), and that even though the Holy Spirit gave Christians compassion for Paul's safety, the Holy Spirit also gave Paul a commandment and direction unto where he should go; knowing that the Holy Spirit of God should not be disobeyed to appease the feelings of the masses, even when the majority are brethren in Christ.
[v5] And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.
Once the seven days had passed, and it was time to leave, they all escorted Paul and company to the shore and prayed.[v6] And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.
They said their goodbyes and boarded the ship; the others returned to their homes.[v7] And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.
Ptolemais was another city along the coast in Phenicia; likely named after the Egyptian king Ptolemy.[v8] And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
This is not Caesarea Philippi (Mat 16:13), but rather, the Caesarea mentioned in Acts 8:40 and Acts 9:30. This is also not the same Philip that preached Christ to the Ethiopean (Acts 8:26), but rather, this is another Philip who was one of the seven deacons set over the duty of feeding the widows (Acts 6:5) along with Stephen, before he was stoned to death. (Acts 7:59)[v9] And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
In this instance, prophecy is not used as in the preaching of the Word, but in the foretelling of future events.[v10] And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.
Agabus, through the Spirit of God, foretold future events in Acts 11:28.[v11] And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
Such demonstrations were commonly made by the prophets of God. (Isa 20:2-3, Jer 13:1-9)[v12] And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
As would anyone who had love for another; warning them of danger is a common reaction.[v13] Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Their pleading was burdensome to Paul; they had not considered that he had already resigned himself to the fate God had laid before him. The tears and pleadings of his friends and family in the Spirit was only making his path harder to walk.[v14] And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
I would pray that all Christians would learn this truth; that the will of the Lord ought to be our utmost desire, and that our personal feelings are not always in line with the will of God. Many had feelings against Jesus going to the cross, but by acting in accordance to God's will, aside from personal feelings, Jesus saved us all.[v15] And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.
A carriage in general is any means of conveyance or transporting supplies, which would have been packs or animals.[v16] There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.
By "old" disciple, it may have meant that he is elderly, or it may have meant he was a disciple of a long period of time, meaning that he may seen and believed on Christ before His crucifixion. It's also possible that it means both.[v17] And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.
As any of us would be excited to see our long-time friends, especially those who are part of the family of God.[v18] And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
This is not James the brother John because he was killed by Herod Agrippa years prior to this point, but it was James the son of Alphaeus (Acts 1:13), who was an elder in the church at Jerusalem.[v19] And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Paul testified of the past few years of his time in various cities across the Greek isles and Asia.[v20] And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
There were thousands of Jews who believed on Christ, but still believed and taught the ceremonial laws of Moses.[v21] And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
They knew of Paul, as stories of his works would have made it back to Jerusalem, and they made themselves enemies of him because they desired the Levitical law rather than Christ who fulfilled that law. Never did Paul teach that parents should not circumcise their children, or at least, not specifically to that point, but rather, Paul taught that because Christ is risen from the dead, circumcision is nothing, uncircumcision is nothing, and that we are indifferent towards it because our focus should be the keeping of Christ's commandments and understanding His doctrine. (1Co 7:19)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Circumcision" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v22] What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
The question is based on the premise of the past couple of verses; or in other words, "Because of these things, what should be done?" As soon as the public comes together, and Paul is seen, word will spread like wildfire.[v23] Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
These were believers on Christ, but they took a Nazarite vow because they were "zealous of the law" as the other hypocrites. Paul had previously taken a short vow in order to preach Christ unto the Jews, but these men were doing it because they did not follow Christ; as Christ had pointed out that there were many who believed on Him, but were not of God. (John 8:31-47)[v24] Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
That Paul would attend to the rules of a Nazarite along with them, and to join in their expenses (i.e. be at charges with them) concerning the fulfillment of the offerings when their days of separation are fulfilled. (Num 6) Jewish custom allowed those who did not have a Nazarite vow to join themselves with those who did have a vow for the express purpose of providing offerings; meaning that the Nazarites were supposed to be sanctified (i.e. set apart), but others could temporarily join in with the duties of their particular sanctification. Thus, if Paul joined with them, it would demonstrate that the rumors about him were false, and that he did not teach a forsaking of Moses, but rather, the fulfillment of the Old Testament through Christ.[v25] As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
This was to reinsure Paul that he would set no stumblingblock against the Gentiles in all these cities, which were his friends, because they were commanded only to keep the ordinances of abstaining from idols, blood (which is part of things strangled), and fornication. It would have been a concern for them, since many followed after the works of Paul, and he didn't want to set a bad example for them to follow, making sure the Gentiles clearly understood the reason why he was joining the Nazarite group.[v26] Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
The purification was not in the sense of abstaining from wine and shaving, but of the cleansing, to follow through with the plan so to silence the false rumors of the Jews.[v27] And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
This either meant the seven days of unleavened bread, or seven days of purification of the Nazarites. It may have been that they immediately wanted to take Paul, but they waited so not to taint the purification of those with the Nazarite vow.[v28] Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
In attempt to rally a crowd against Paul, they immediately accused him falsely to stir up emotions, so that Paul would not have a chance to defend himself.[v29] (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Trophimus is mentioned traveling with Paul in Acts 20:4. He was known to some to be a citizen of Ephesus, and so they used this to convince the people that Paul brought Gentiles into the temple to defile it.[v30] And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
Their plan worked; Paul would not have been given the opportunity to address his accusers. The city was not moved in the sense that it was moving physically, but that it was moved in an emotional sense, that they people were swayed by their feelings instead of by reason.[v31] And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
The crowd sought to kill him, but the Roman soldiers reported to the highest captain that there was trouble.[v32] Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.
They were in the process of beating Paul to death when the soldiers showed up, so they stopped immediately to save themselves any punishment by the Roman government.[v33] Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
They arrested and bound Paul for everyone's safety, including Paul's. This action would appease the masses, protecting the soldiers and citizens from harming one another in a fight, and it protected Paul, since the crowd wanted to see him punished or killed.[v34] And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.
It is an odd thing that a crowd would come together to execute a man, but none of them know why exactly they were doing it. For any policeman, it would be rather curious, knowing that such a thing usually indicates foul play (i.e. unlawful or dishonest behavior).[v35] And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.
At first, I suspected that Paul may have been beaten so badly, the soldiers had to carry (i.e. borne) him, which appears to be the case on first glance, but Paul goes on to have a casual conversation with the chief captain in the next few verses. More likely, it was that the violence of the people was so great that they were still in an uproar, and masses ran after Paul as they carried him away, trying to rip and tear at him before they could carry him off to prison; it may have even been that Paul sustained some injuries which would make him move slower than they required to escape the clutches of the crowd.[v36] For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.
The people followed them all the way to the castle. They finally gave up, and instead yelled out to take him away, submitting that there was nothing more they could do against Paul at that point.[v37] And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?
Paul asked to speak to the chief captain, and the captain asked him if he spoke Greek, not assuming who he was, nor anything about him, since the situation he was just pulled out of was very confusing.[v38] Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?
I do not know that there is mention of this anywhere else in Scripture, but Josephus does make mention a story in which an Egyptian came to Jerusalem, claiming he was a prophet that would take Jerusalem back from the Romans. Although I do not know if Josephus's account is a reliable source, as many areas of his writing have Biblical contradictions, I will relay this story to readers anyway because I know of no other explanation that can help shed some light on this subject.This false prophet managed to gather a following of up to 30,000 people, which dwindled down to 4,000 by the time he took them out into the wilderness and they were dispersed by the Felix, the Roman governer (who will be mentioned in Chapter 23), when his soldiers led an assault on them for treason. According to the story, they were well known to be murderers because they carried daggers under their clothes and killed men in the daytime in the middle of the city, especially during feasts, when they blended in among the people; the chief captain could think of no other possibility for the insane rage of the people than Paul might be this false prophet, but as he was about to find out, that was not the case.
[v39] But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.
mean (adj): wanting dignity; low in rank or birth
(See 'mean', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Feb 18, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v40] And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,
Lifting up his hand was an indication that he needed them to quiet themselves so he could be heard, and then to their shock, he spoke to them in Hebrew, and God provided the opportunity for Paul to speak to the people through the Holy Spirit of God in the next chapter.[v1] Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
Paul addresses the males of the society, who were in authority over the families of Israel; not to say the women did not hear, but the women of their day were not as corrupted with feminist philosophy as our world today, and were more well adapted to male authority as God had instructed. Paul defended himself from the false accusations that were being made against him.(Read "Feminism: Satan's Plan to Destroy Your Family" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v2] (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
The Hebrew language that Paul spoke was very fluent, being that he was raised speaking the language; thus, they could easily recognize that Paul was a Hebrew, and so the crowd was confused, shocked, and curious at that point. Some of those in the crowd may have had little idea why they were so angry, nor why they had persecuted this man so sharply, and knowing that they had done so to one of their own, and possibly to a man who may have been innocent, made them take caution of their own actions and words. Furthermore, rumor may have spread about Paul being an Egyptian cultist, and so his fluent Hebrew tongue also made them give pause to consider the matter.[v3] I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
These people were familiar with Gamaliel, a wise and respected high priest among the Jews, and knowing that this was his student, would have caused them to listen with even more attention. I took notice that Paul said he "WAS zealous toward God," which was past tense instead of present tense, which I believe was his way of indicating that he really did not seek God (Rom 3:11), but only after he had been converted did his eyes see the truth of God's Word. (Mat 13:15) Part of this verse is also a peaceful compliment to them, to soften the hearts of a roudy crowd, in that he is complimenting their great passion for the Living God, and relating himself to their current passions.[v4] And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
By "this way," Paul is referring to the Christian religion, which was the reason he was first assaulted by the crowd. Paul had, prior to his conversion, arrested men and women of faith in Christ, and led them to their executions.[v5] As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
The high priests and elders can testify that Paul was sent to do these deeds. Paul refers to the letters he received that gave him permission to arrest Christians in Damascus for the context of his testimony of Christ.[v6] And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
At noon, with the sun blazing overhead, it would have to be a very strong light that would distinguish itself apart from the bright light of the sun.[v7] And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
At this point, the Jews would have to consider him a prophet, that the Lord God spoke directly to him concerning the Christians, but this would have been offensive to them as well, because the words being spoken from God were identifying Himself as Christ.[v8] And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
The Jews knew that, if Paul told the truth, which made sense because he was willing to risk his life on it, the only one who could have spoken to him in this way was the Living God, and since He identified Himself as Jesus Christ, it would mean that what Jesus taught was indeed true, and they had crucified God.[v9] And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
There were eye witnesses, Jewish men accompanying Paul, who backed up his story.[v10] And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
[v11] And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
[v12] And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
[v13] Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
[v14] And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
God chose Paul for this work, blessing him with the Holy Ghost that he may have a good understanding.[v15] For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
This is indeed to "all men," both Jew and Gentile.[v16] And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
These are more details than were first given to us in chapter 9. Paul was baptized immediately after this event, and called upon the name of the Lord, which is to say that Paul came to repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing), crying out for the mercy of the Lord God.(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com for more details; to "call upon the name of the Lord" is typically thought "to speak" the name of the Lord, but the calling spoken of is a crying out, or bawling in grief/repentance of sin, which is one of the ways new-age church buildings are deceived into believing a false doctrine that simply saying "Jesus is Lord" gains one entrance to heaven.)
[v17] And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
This was three years after the Paul's conversion. Paul went to Arabia for a few years, then returned to Damascus, and proceeded to Jerusalem to meet up with Peter. (Gal 1:17-18)[v18] And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
This is not to say that God was concerned for Paul's safety because the Lord God can shield His elect from all harm if He so chooses, but rather, He told Paul to make haste because there was no sense in Paul wasting his time with people who would not listen. The work He had for Paul to do concerning the Gentiles was vast, and he should use his time wisely. (Col 4:5-6)[v19] And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
Paul was pleading with God, expecting the Jews would hear him because he was fervently yoked together with them at one time.[v20] And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
He had consented unto Stephen's death, just as the rest of the Jews had done, but this was a lack of faithfulness on Paul's part. God had already told him that they would not listen, but Paul argued in disbelief; he thought that if the Jews would listen to any man, they would listen to Paul. This ought to be a lesson for the rest of the church as well, that when it comes to leaven (i.e. false doctrine), and men will not repent, we should not expect that they should hear us, and so we should move on to spend our time wisely on those who will listen.[v21] And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Paul's work among the Gentiles, which we have read in previous chapters.[v22] And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
The Jews outright rejected Paul's testimony, just as God had told him. They even ignored the testimony of which God had told Paul that they would not listen, and I can confirm the same; when God has told me in His Word that certain men would not hear the truth of His Word, and I tried in every way to get them to hear, I discovered that I was wasting my time.[v23] And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
They did not take off all their clothes, but the casting off of their clothes was taking off their outer coats which would allow more freedom for physical action. They acted like children in the understanding, and kept malice close to their hearts. (1Co 14:20) This is another lesson to the church that, though we persuade men (2Co 5:11), it is not up to us to convert men, but rather, they must be converted by the Holy Spirit of God. There is no special recipe of words that we can imagine which will grant a hardened heart humility and understanding; thus, we should plant the seed of His Word, and trust in the Lord that, if they can be saved, they will be saved in His time, not our own.[v24] The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
This means that Paul was to be brought in and tortured with pain because they suspected he was lying. The rage of the crowd was so intense, the soldiers were unable to make sense of the situation; not understanding the supernatural reason for these things, their first instinct was that Paul lied about who he was and what he had done.[v25] And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
In order for a Roman citizen to suffer the punishment of a crime, he had to be condemned, and in order to be condemned, he had to be heard by a magistrate through due process of law. Paul did not ask this question because he needed an answer; rather, he knew the answer, and so he asked them to either remind them of the law, or to inform them that he was a Roman.[v26] When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
The centurion cautioned the chief captain, so he would not suffer the consequences for the illegal assault of a Roman citizen.[v27] Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
Paul had just given a speech in which he testified that he was a Jew who grew up in Tarsus, so the chief captain wanted to hear the matter first hand.[v28] And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
It was expensive to purchase the liberty and privilege of Roman citizenship, which the chief captain had done, and so he presumed that Paul had done the same, being born a Jew. However, Tarsus was a free city under Roman authority, given to the city by Marcus Antonius a few years before Paul was born; thus, Paul being born in Tarsus made him a Roman citizen by birth.As a side note, there are many Christians today who have been manipulated by what I refer to as "conspiracy ministries," which are not true ministries of Christ, and do nothing but talk about secret societies and conspiracies. These often tell people that they should have no citizenship records and fear government, but when we look at this example, Paul did not try to get out of his Roman citizenship, he used his rights under the law to his advantage, and with the Holy Spirit guiding him, he was still able to be obedient to the governing authorities (Rom 13:1-5), being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. (Mat 10:16)
[v29] Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
Those that were supposed to whip and question Paul departed because they were lawfully bound to do him no harm. The chief captain was afraid that Paul might raise the issue with a local magistrate about his mistreatment in custody of the Roman soldiers, which carried heavy consequences, namely because he was bound without a cause, similar to how it is illegal in the U.S. for a police officer to arrest someone without accusing them of a crime.[v30] On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
The next day, Paul's hands and legs were freed from their bonds, and he was brought in a civil manner (from the prison to the temple) before the chief priests to understand what all the commotion was about. The captain was unable to know how to preceed with Paul until he knew what it was Paul had done wrong, if anything. The highest authorities among the chief priests and elders would have been available for this hearing because this was the time of Pentecost, a highly revered holiday in Jewish society.[v1] And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Paul approached the council warmly, with a great desire to address them, confessing that, even in the days of his ignorance in which he persecuted Christ, he had lived in good conscience that he followed the Lord God.[v2] And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
In this instance, Paul was brought before a council of 71 chief rabbis, which was called the "Sanhedrin," which is the highest form of court in Jewish society. The smiting (or striking) of the mouth was a point of contempt, despising Paul, and this was either that Paul addressed all the council, instead of first addressing the high priest specifically, with honorifics of his title and rank and respecting his person, or that Paul professed his good conscience towards God, which the chief priests considered to be a lie after witnessing the great contention of the people the day beforehand. Because of Paul's accusation in verse three, it seems to be the latter, but because of the question Paul was asked in verse four, it seems to be the former, and therefore, I believe it was both.[v3] Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
This was not some railing accusation; the phrase "whited wall" was fitting to the truth of this situation, in which the chief priest wore his fancy, cleaned clothing to denote his rank, but inwardly, he had a heart of stone, stubborn in the sin of his pride. (Mat 23:27) In Jewish society, it was unlawful to punish a man in judgment before he was heard by the court (John 7:51), which was foolish (Pro 18:13), and thus, the chief priest should have been in fear of God that he had judged hypocritically and in willful ignorance, openly disobeying the law of God to satisfy his pride.[v4] And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
Though we submit to the authority of courts of law (Rom 13:1), as Paul did, the Sanhedrin, in the new dispensation of the Gospel of Christ, had no authority from God; therefore, he was not God's high priest at that point. (Although, judging his actions in this matter, it was clear the high priest never really was of God in the first place.) To revile in this context would mean to charge with fault for the evil in his heart; therefore, Paul rebuked the evil in the heart of the high priest, something which most Jews would fear to do, knowing the judgment of the Lord God, but Paul had no fear because he was appointed by the Lord God to speak with both grace and authority to these men.[v5] Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
"I wist not," meaning "I thought not," or "I did not know." (Wist is the present tense form of 'wis', which means "to think" or "to suppose.") Paul submitted himself to the governing authority despite the fact that this man was no priest of God, seeking to abide by the laws of the Torah (Exd 22:28), so they would have no reason to accuse him. However, he wished it was not the case that this man was a high priest, so that no offense would have come from it, but the truth must be spoken despite political complications.[v6] But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
As we will see in verse 8, this was a wise and brilliant move on Paul's part (Mat 10:16), seeing that he was being silenced after a single sentence, because by pointing out his connection to the Pharisee half of the Sanhedrin, it was likely to increase his chances of being heard by all. The Pharisees wanted to hear out one of their own, the Sadducees would have to comply to keep the peace in the council.[v7] And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
Meaning that there was a disagreement between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and they began to debate the matter.[v8] For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
The Sadducees believed there was no resurrection of the dead (Mat 22:23, Mat 22:29) because one of their core beliefs was that there was no immortal soul or spirit in man, and that man ceased to exist after death; nor did they believe in any spirit, such as an angel. The Pharisees were more founded in Scripture, believing in the souls of men, spirits of angels, and that the dead are raised by the power of God, both in certain instances in our current world, and in the whole resurrection of the saints in the final days with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 8:9-11) Obviously, this contradiction would cause infighting among the Sanhedrin.[v9] And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
The chief priests among the Pharisees still feared God enough that, knowing the history and the punishments God had brought upon Israel for daring to silence His prophets, they would not raise a hand of silence against Paul, and wanted to hear him out to determine if he was sent of God; whereas the Sadducees, not believing in such spirits, even in the Holy Spirit of God, would have written off Paul before he spoke, and thus, we can see how appealing to the Pharisees in this matter was a wise decision.[v10] And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
That is, there was disagreement far greater than the original, and because the captain of the guard had to get involved to protect his prisoner, it seems the contention was so heated, each side physically attempted to pull Paul over to their side, in some claim of ownership, in a heated and childish battle over religious authority.[v11] And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
It was unlike the Jewish elders to act in such a manner, but the Lord God informed Paul that this was all part of His plan; that He wanted Paul to give this same testimony of Christ in Rome as he did in Jerusalem. Therefore, the Lord God encouraged Paul to be at ease, and cheerful that he had done exactly as the Lord has planned.[v12] And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
These Jews were most likely some of the Sadducees, since it was the Pharisees who wanted Paul to at least be heard. From our perspective, this is a very foolish vow, seeing that Paul is an apostle of Christ, and that no harm would ever come to Paul unless God had planned it; thus, since God had already promised Paul that he would preach to Rome, Paul would not see death until those things were accomplished.Obviously, these men being wicked, would not have allowed themselves to die of thirst or starvation, and the Jews had a particular system set up to relieve certain people from their oaths, especially on holidays like Passover, in which all were to eat or drink in the ceremonies. Thus, when they could not kill Paul, these men would have found a loophole, or rather, they could have argued that it is better to save life than to kill, which was according to the law, as Jesus Himself pointed out (Mark 3:4), so under the context that the high priest would be saving their lives, he would relieve them of their oaths, even though it is still considered a lie before the Holy God. (Mat 5:33-37, Ecc 5:4-6)
(Read "God Does Not Justify Lies" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v13] And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
Over forty men took the oath.[v14] And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
It seems these chief priests and elders would have been the Sadducees, who also would have liked to see Paul killed. Though it is possible they consisted of some Pharisees, it seems more likely that the Pharisees, fearing God, and knowing they had not yet heard Paul's testimony, would have put a stop to the conspiracy if they had known about it.[v15] Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
The phrase "more perfectly" is used for clarification, or that they would claim that they wanted to understand his position more clearly to have full understanding of the matter. That request would have been in accord with the Pharisees, since they wanted him to be heard from the start, so when the Sadducees would call to hear a matter from Paul, the Pharisees would have no disagreement, but it was all a lie.[v16] And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.
The Bible does not specify how he heard, but Paul's nephew relayed the information to him.[v17] Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
If Paul had told the captain, it was less likely to be believed, since it is not uncommon for prisoners to make excuses to get out of certain predicaments. It was wiser to have the eye witness himself tell the captain first hand.[v18] So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.
Paul's nephew was brought to the captain to give his testimony.[v19] Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?
This indicates the boy was young, as a it is not customary for a man to take another man by the hand unless under an emergency situation, or when working together to accomplish a task, but a man would do so with a boy to guide him to a location.[v20] And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
The boy is telling the captain what they would do tomorrow, so that the captain could verify his testimony was sure.[v21] But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
The captain had the authority of Rome behind him, so he could refuse the request of the council if he chose to do so, but it was not the wisest course of action. It wasn't that the boy was ordering the captain by saying "do not thou yield unto them," but rather, it was more the type of plea you may hear from a very concerning child. The boy then told him that the conspirators would come to him and look for him to give his word to bring Paul to them in the council, which would provide additional evidence that the boy spoke the truth.[v22] So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.
The captain told Paul's nephew to keep the matter to himself, and to tell no other man what he had seen and heard. This was to keep anyone who may be among the conspirators from finding out the captain's next plan, so that no harm would come to Paul or the soldiers.[v23] And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;
The captain, now understanding that Paul was also a Roman, has now heard a conspiracy to kill a Roman citizen, and under such a strange and curious circumstance. Therefore, he took this matter with the utmost seriousness, knowing not that the Lord God is directing everyone to do as they have done so that Paul would be brought before the council of Rome. This plan was to be executed in secret, after nightfall, so they would be hidden from sight, before he received request from the Sanhedrin, which was a wise decision, knowing that refusing their request would cause contention, and so instead, informed them that Paul had already been sent to a Roman court, not only keeping the peace, but also freeing himself from anymore responsibility in this very confusing and contentious matter.[v24] And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
Beasts such as horses or camels would have been provided to them for speed, whereas they may have traveled on foot under another circumstance, or rather, the soldiers may have used beasts while the prisoners would be forced to travel with them on foot. Paul would be well guarded and hasitly sent on his way to the governor of Judea, Marcus Felix, who was the brother of Marcus Pallas, one of Emperor Claudius's most trusted advisers. As we will see in the next chapter, Felix was married to a Jewish woman, Drusilla, and therefore, would have been very familiar with the traditions and laws of the Jews.[v25] And he wrote a letter after this manner:
The letter was written as documented in the following verses. Likely, Luke eventually obtained a copy of this letter, or the letter itself, after Paul's hearing because it would have been logged as evidence.[v26] Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.
Claudius Lysias, the name of the chief captain presiding over this matter, gives a humble greeting, complimenting the excellence, or good moral character, of Marcus Felix. However, as we will see later, this was a greeting of flattery, since Felix was a ruler that accepted bribes. (Pro 29:4)[v27] This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.
This was not a lie, but not the direct truth either. It's true that Paul was rescued, but the "rescue" was actually Paul being arrested on suspicion. It's true that Captain Lysias understood Paul's Roman citizenship, but only after his men had threatened Paul with beatings without properly questioning him first. However, I would be lenient in my judgment on this matter simply because, after Lysias understood who Paul was, he protected Paul with every available resource at his disposal, and he was generally trying to keep the peace.[v28] And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:
Lysias's purpose in bringing Paul to the Jewish council was not in accordance with Jewish custom, but rather, because he wanted to fully hear Paul's testimony, which, as we have already read, Paul was prevented from giving.[v29] Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
Meaning that, in the view of an agent of law enforcement, Paul had broken neither Roman or Jewish laws of any sort.[v30] And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
The Jewish conspirators threatened the life of Paul, and it should be noted that he needed to take the safety of his own soldiers into account, since they did not know who the conspirators were, or where they would come from. It should also be noted that the captain also did not know how many conspirators there were; Paul's nephew had only given him a number that had taken a vow, and only of those he saw, so his experience in these matters would tell him to be ready for anything. This part of the letter would also account for the timing, of why Paul was sent out in the night, rather than the day, which would be customary under normal circumstances.[v31] Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.
It is 42 miles (67.5 km) from Jerusalem to Antipatris. The average horse carrying the average mounted soldier can travel about 50-60 miles per day. The soldiers would have arrived with Paul in the morning, traveling all night to deliver the prisoner safely.[v32] On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
Confident the danger of the conspirators was behind them, the 200 spearmen and the 200 soldiers left the 70 horsemen with Paul and journeyed back to the castle, called Antonia, in Jerusalem. This is not to say that the spearmen and soldiers were not riding horses, as they would have been given beasts, but the horsemen specifically were men who were armed and trained for combat on a horse, not just for travel.[v33] Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
The seventy horsemen presented Paul and the letter to Felix in Caesarea, the city where Paul started his journey to Jerusalem, and the same city where Philip the evangelist and his four prophesying daughters were mentioned in Acts 21:8-9.[v34] And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
Cilicia is the province in which Tarsus resides, and Paul grew up in Tarsus.[v35] I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.
As we will see in the next chapter, Paul was not in a prison cell reserved for criminals, and had some liberties, but was under the watch and confinement of the guards. Word would have gotten to the church in Caesarea that Paul was being held there, so they would have come to visit him and care for him as needed. The judgment hall was a place for those to await a court hearing, while the accusers, the Jewish chief priests and elders, were summoned to make their case openly in a Roman court of law.[v1] And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.
The Jewish elders answered the summons, as they were required by law to appear in court by the end of the week. They selected a man named Tertullus to speak on their behalf.[v2] And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence,
Meaning, Tertullus began his case against Paul, but by first giving words of respect to the governor who was overseeing the hearing; namely the claim that peace was enjoyed by all because of Felix's wisdom and foresight.[v3] We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness.
These were just vain words designed to gain favor because Felix is later charged and brought to Rome to answer for his crimes against the Jews during his reign over them as governor. Thus, Tertullus likely saw Felix as a man who could be manipulated to favor a man based on flattering words, especially since Tertullus knows their accusations are without merit, which explains his grandiose introduction.[v4] Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.
Meaning that he would not tend to drag on the proceedings slowly with tiresome words of flattery, they pleaded that Felix would have clemency, or be merciful, to hear their case.[v5] For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
Pestilent meaning "mischievous" or "troublesome" in this context, the word having the root word 'pest' in it, and a "mover of sedition" meaning that they were accusing Paul of conspiring to raise up a faction that would disturb the peace and oppose the law.It should be noted that Paul was not being accused of being the ringleaders of the Nazar-ites, which were accepted and honored in Jewish society, and who Paul traveled with before he was taken by the Jews, but rather, the Nazar-ines, which at the time denoted those who followed Jesus, who was from Nazareth. Among the Jews, the term "Nazarene" was a label of contempt, mocking those who were disciples of Christ.
[v6] Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.
Their accusation is that Paul was seeking to desecrate their holy temple, which was a lie. They have no evidence that Paul did any such thing, or even that he intended to do any such thing.[v7] But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,
This is another lie, referring to the incident when Paul stood before the Sanhedrin. The captain had to get Paul away from the Pharisees and Sadducees because they became so violent in their childish uproar. As a personal opinion, this gives me suspicion that evidence was open to the prosecution, in which they were allowed to see the letter that Lysias sent to Felix, knowing that Lysias was not specific to the details (likely because he was in a hurry to send Paul away due to the conspiracy), and so they took advantage of that to deceive the court.[v8] Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him.
This may have been true, as Lysias would have been requested to bring Paul forth to the Jewish council, but since had already sent Paul to Felix, it was outside of his jurisdiction, and so he told them they would have to travel to Caesarea and be heard by the governor.[v9] And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so.
The chief priests and elders all agreed, even though they all knew the lies being told and the false accusations being made.[v10] Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:
Paul was pleased to give his account to an experienced judge, as would any man who does that which is right in the sight of God and the laws of the land. A just and experienced judge can more easily detect liars and deceivers, and so righteous men are always pleased when a veteran judge is overseeing their case.[v11] Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
This was concerning his journey to Jerusalem until this day in court. The timing breaks down as follows:
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[v12] And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
No one had any eye witness account, nor any other evidence they could provide that he committed any such crime. Someone simply recognized him, and stirred up the crowd to assault him.
[v13] Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
They cannot prove he is a pestilent mover of sedition that sought to profane the temple, and thus, under Jewish and Roman law, a man is innocent until proven guilty.[v14] But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Paul was affirming to Felix that he was indeed a Christian, which refers to the accusation that he was "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes," although he does add that it is only what they claim is "heresy," but still proclaims that he worships the God of the Hebrews, and believes the law and the prophets, which we of Christ do believe, only that the blood of the Lamb of God fulfilled the law and prophets. (Rom 3:21-22)[v15] And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
In this, the Pharisees also believe that there is the resurrection of the dead, only they reject the very Christ who will bring this resurrection.The "just and unjust" is not to be taken in the sense that the unjust, or those who are not justified (i.e. those who are not saved by Christ), will take part with those who are justified, like when the Bible teaches that God causes rain to fall on the just and unjust alike (Mat 5:45), but rather, it is taken to mean that the sect of the Pharisees believed that both the just and unjust would see resurrection, the just to everlasting life, but the unjust would suffer their second death, being thrown into hell, both their resurrected physical body along with their spirit.
[v16] And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.
Which Paul did demonstrate, that he sought not to offend the high priest in the last chapter, even though after Christ, he is no longer a high priest of God. (Heb 10:11) He also gave praise to the governor for his position, seeking not to offend him either, but always doing so with the understanding never to offend against the Word of God; God's commandments must be first in every instance.[v17] Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.
Paul brought charity to the poor, as he often did, and offerings unto the temple of God, not that it was a requirement for him as a Christian, but it was the tradition of the Jews, lest they be offended.[v18] Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult.
The Asian Jews, who were much more familiar with Paul, since he spent a lot of time in the cities of Asia minor. Paul was not found among the crowd causing any trouble; he was operating peacefully away from the crowd with the Nazarites.[v19] Who ought to have been here before thee, and object, if they had ought against me.
Those Asian Jews who first accused him were cowardly, preferring to skulk in the darkness, and would not show themselves to give account for their words and actions. (John 3:20)[v20] Or else let these same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council,
Paul is requesting the elders to testify if they saw any wrongdoing in Paul while he was in council with them, because that is the only place they can give an eye witness account, since they saw him at no other time.[v21] Except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question by you this day.
By "cried" he means he spoke with a loud voice to the council. There is only one thing the elders have brought up against Paul, and that is when he told them about the question of the resurrection of the dead, meaning, the faith that Christ lives.[v22] And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the uttermost of your matter.
Felix now understood more what Paul professed to believe concerning the resurrection, and seeing there was no contradiction with the beliefs of the Jews (namely, the Pharisees among them), he knew there needed to be more eye witnesses to determine the entire truth, so he sent for Lysias to come personally and give testimony.[v23] And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto him.
Again, Paul returned to the guest hall, and he was free to have any visitors from his family or Christians friends. He would have been bound to the property only, but not in chains, and he would have been provided food and proper lodging.[v24] And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
The Lord God gave Paul the opportunity to present the teachings of Christ to the governor and his Jewish wife, so that he would come to fully understand whether the doctrine presented a threat to Jewish law.[v25] And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
This now shows us that Felix was not a good governor, and was guilty of much injustice towards the people, because at the preaching of God's coming judgment against the wealthy and prestigious people of this world (i.e. temperance, meaning moderation, or a discipline against indulging in appetites and passions), and that He would bring His vengeance on the unrighteous, it caused Felix to tremble in fear because he was guilty of these things. Being disturbed, he sent Paul away, and said he would call to finish hearing his doctrine at a more convenient time in his governing duties.[v26] He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed with him.
Felix, showing his wicked heart, wanted to make some money from the release of Paul, requesting a bribe, but Paul refused. The word 'oftener' means to do so frequently, and so he sent for Paul many times, trying to work out a deal of payment to let him go, even though Paul was not guilty of any crime.[v27] But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound.
For two years, Paul was kept against his will, until the day that Felix lost his position of ruling authority, and Festus was sent to replace him. According to historical records, Felix had to go to Rome and face charges of his crimes of mistreating the Jewish people (which means the words of Tetullus were simply vain flattery), and so in order to try and gain a bit of favor to the pleasure of the Jewish elders, he denied Paul's release, but his plan backfired because this gained him no favor in the eyes of the Jewish elders, and if it had not been for his brother Pallas interceding on his behalf, Felix would have been severely punished.[v1] Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
Three days after Festus arrived to take over, he traveled to Jerusalem.[v2] Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him,
After two years, they still had malicious intent in their hearts against Paul, who had done them no wrong.[v3] And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.
The elders requested that Festus bring Paul to Jerusalem so they could ambush and kill him on the way there; similar to the plans they had at the beginning of the conflict.[v4] But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly thither.
Festus had not yet personally heard the matter, and so Paul would have to attend a court hearing to give his testimony once again.[v5] Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.
The elders would once again go to Caesarea to give their false accusations against Paul.[v6] And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.
Festus spent ten days with the Jews, handling the business necessary of a new governor, then he went back to Caesarea, and on the following day, brought Paul into court.[v7] And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.
Again, they presented many false accusations, and no evidence, which is still very common today against those who are of Christ. Even in simple letters I receive, I often get many accusations, but no proof or evidence of what I am accused of saying, doing, or teaching.[v8] While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
Paul broke no laws, nor made any offense, against Jerusalem, the temple, or Rome.[v9] But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?
Festus also wanted favor with the Jews, and his inquiring of Paul's willingness to come to Jerusalem was an indirect way of agreeing to the assassination plan of those Jews who falsely accused Paul. Getting Paul to agree to go to Jerusalem to do it would also help rule out any suspicion that he was involved in the plot; as a direct order to go to Jerusalem would not only be unprecidented, but would arose suspicion and put unwanted attention on Festus himself.[v10] Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar's judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest.
Paul is referring to Festus's seat, which is by extention considered to be the judgment seat of Caesar. Festus already knew of Paul's innocence, since he would have been somewhat informed of Paul's situation, being held two years without being charged of any crime.[v11] For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.
Paul was willing to accept his execution, being submitted to God, and therefore, the government appointed by God, but under Caesar's rules, Festus was not allowed to hand Paul over to the Jews without Paul's own consent. Paul appealed to Caesar in accordance with God's Word, in which the Lord had spoken to Paul and told him that he was to preach Christ in Rome. (Acts 23:11) If a Roman citizen accused of a crime appealed to Caesar (under specific circumstances), no action could be taken against him until he was brought before Caesar to hear the matter.[v12] Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.
Festus took a moment to consult his own council, and then approved Paul's request to be brought before Augustus Caesar.[v13] And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.
Agrippa was the son of Herod Agrippa, who killed James (Acts 12:1-2), and Bernice was his sister, who were both siblings of Drusilla, the wife of Felix, so not only is there a bit of intrigue going on here, but also there also Jewish background among the judges.[v14] And when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause unto the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:
The governer was informing the king of the situation, which was necessary, since the matter was to go before the Emporer of Rome.[v15] About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him.
Of course, he left out the whole truth, that he has indirectly agreed to help them kill Paul.[v16] To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.
This is why he requested the presence of the Jewish elders in Caesarea, to hear their accusations in an official court hearing. Rome would not sentence to death one of their citizens until the accused had his day in court to be heard.[v17] Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth.
[v18] Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed:
Festus had expected the Jewish elders to have more evidence. To his surprise, they had none.[v19] But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.
The accusations were over what Festus referred to as "superstitions," which was concerning the testimony that Christ is alive.[v20] And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.
Though Festus might not have fully understood the matter between the Jews and Christians, opening the option of going to Jerusalem was still part of the plan to expose Paul to an assassination attempt.[v21] But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar.
[v22] Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man myself. To morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.
Paul would be brought to court for a third time over a matter of false accusation in which there was no evidence against him, going through three different judges, but this was all according to the plan of the Lord God, that all would come to hear the Gospel of Christ.[v23] And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth.
Two governors had heard Paul's testimony, and now a king would hear also. Bernice was brought in with "pomp" meaning that she was decorated and brought in a lavish manner to display her beauty and authority, all which the Bible calls vanity; that women ought to array themselves in good works, rather than pomp. (1Ti 2:9-10)[v24] And Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer.
The Jews who had pleaded with Festus were now pleading to the king for the execution of Paul.[v25] But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.
Again, there was no evidence against Paul.[v26] Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.
If we stop and consider for a moment: What would Festus write to the Emporer of Rome? Why would the Emporer's time be required to hear a matter in which there was no evidence against the accused? Without something substantial to write to the Augustus, it was best to let the king hear the matter first and judge, and then Festus would feel more justified to send Paul to Caesar with a letter of explanation.[v27] For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.
In order for Caesar to pardon the crimes of a man held prisoner would require a list of his crimes, but there was none. Again, this is all part of God's design to use Paul to preach Christ to the highest levels of authority in Rome.[v1] Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:
As often is the case in court, a man must be given permission to speak. Some might think that the stretching forth of the hand was the raising of one's hand for silence among the audience so Paul could speak, but this seems somewhat unreasonable because the audience would not have been speaking over King Agrippa in the first place; also the stretching forth of the hand has always been used as an extension outward in Scripture, not upward. (Mark 3:5, Psa 143:6) I believe this stretching forth of the hand was an open-handed gesture in Agrippa's direction as a way not only to appeal to the one giving Paul liberty to speak, but also to express the confidence of his innocence.[v2] I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews:
Paul was pleased that a ruler with greater authority would hear his case, which would be similar to a situation in the U.S. where a wrongful judgment was made against citizen, and he took his plea to the Supreme Court Justices to hear the matter.[v3] Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.
Whereas the previous governors only wanted to create politically beneficial relationships with the Jews, Agrippa was much more familiar with the religious beliefs and traditions of the Jews, the knowledge of which he would have gained by studying the Torah (i.e. the first five books of the Bible) at length. The word 'beseech' means a humble, but urgent, request, showing the authority of government all due respect.[v4] My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;
Meaning that his beliefs and how he lived his life was public knowledge among the Jews because he held a position of authority among them; therefore, their accusations don't make much sense.[v5] Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
He was a member in good standing of the Pharisees, who were well-versed in the Scriptures and, though hypocrites because they worked out loopholes to benefit themselves in their wickedness (Mark 7:9-13), they generally lived strictly according to the rules of the Torah.[v6] And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
Knowing that King Agrippa had intimate knowledge of the law and prophets, Paul argued that the prophecies had come to pass, that Christ is the hope of Israel (Acts 28:20), but the Jews rejected the hope promised to them.[v7] Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.
The word hope, in general, is a belief of something that will or can be obtained in the future, which is referral to the promises God gave to the twelve tribes of Israel. Paul is pointing out to Agrippa that the Jews believe the same thing; that God has foretold these things, and that the Pharisees believe that they will one day receive them, proven by their "instantly serving God," meaning that they have diligence in their work, which is a consistent application of the business of their duties in the temples. It is because of this very thing that Paul was accused, a difference of belief in the Sadducees, who work alongside Pharisees in the temple, which would bring up more confusion in Agrippa's mind of why Paul was still there, and why this was still being debated in court.[v8] Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?
In our modern day, we have often learned to use certain words in the English language in the opposite way they are intended; for example, the word 'incredible', which is commonly used today to mean "amazing" or "awe-inspiring," but it literally means "not credible," or something which should not be believed. By "you," Paul is not addressing Agippa (because 'you' is a plural noun), but rather, he is addressing his hypocritical accusers, as well as all the unbelieving Gentiles in Caesarea who might be listening to the trial, about why they struggled so much to believe that God should raise the dead, knowing that the Living God created all things, including life itself, but then reject the raising of the dead when it comes to pass.[v9] I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Years prior to the time of this trial, Paul was on the side of his accusers in the context of persecution of Christ and His disciples. In his ignorance, Paul thought it was holy, righteous, and lawful to persecute the Christians; that it would increase his standing with the Living God.[v10] Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
This is to preface that, not only did Paul understand the religious position of his accusers, but that he was once one of them. Paul had imprisoned, testified against, and put to death many Christians at the authority of the very men accusing him. Any judge with a small amount of experience would start to see motive from the plaintiffs in such an odd trial, especially since they provided no evidence.[v11] And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
This is not only to testify of his wrongdoing and conversion, but also of the wrong Paul had done in his past, even under the authority of Jewish leaders. Compelling them to blaspheme means that he would try to convince them to denounce Christ as false and of the devil, which is quite similar to the Catholic Inquisition in their attempts to torture Christians into denouncing Christ to acknowledge their pope. Paul even went so far as to visit Gentile (i.e. the word 'strange' meaning "foreign") cities, outside Israeli jurisdiction to hunt and kill the disciples of Christ.(Read "Catholic Inquisition: The Result of Papal Rule" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v12] Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
Paul begins to testifies of the day of his conversion.[v13] At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
His companions gave eye witness testimony of the events that took place, which gave his own testimony much more credibility.[v14] And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
[v15] And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
[v16] But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
[v17] Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
The word 'people' used here refers to the Jews, distinguishing them from the Gentiles. God delivered Paul out of their hands, meaning that the Jews would not be able to destroy Paul until his work was finished, which was evidenced by the fact that they once killed Paul, but God raised him from the dead to continue working. (2Co 12:2-4)[v18] To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
A man can only be saved if his eyes are opened, which is meant in the sense of unlocking a man's understanding, that he may understand Christ's divine sacrifice, and that he may see his wickedness in reality, that it is indeed sin (Rom 7:13), and that he would be turned "from darkness to light," a common Jewish phrase used in the celebration of their Passover feast, which is said in the sense of awakening a man's mind to the truth, to be brought out of darkness which hides the corruption of his soul, which leaves him as an impenitent unbeliever. (Rom 2:5)This understanding brings a man out from under the power of Satan, which is not said in the sense of the flesh, which still serves the law of sin (Rom 7:23), but of the spirit; that his mind is regenerated by the Holy Ghost, to be free from the curses of violation of the law, free from hell and the lake of fire, and free from the wrath of God on the Day of Judgment by the mercy of Jesus Christ. It is through this act of grace by God through Christ that sins are forgiven, which is the first thing a repentant man asks God for, because it cannot be obtained by works or purchased with money, and an inheritance is given, not in the physical sense as the Jews had in the land of Canaan, but in the spiritual sense, having fellowship with Christ in eternal life. (John 14:2)
The usage of 'me' is not Paul referring to himself, but rather, he is giving his testimony of God speaking to him, giving him instructions of duty to help open the eyes of the people by faith in Christ. (Acts 15:11, Acts 20:21) This preaching is to be done so that they might be born again, to be turned from darkness to light, to walk (i.e. to live) as children of light (Eph 5:8), and be sanctified by faith, which means to be set apart from the world unto God's holy use.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Sanctification" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v19] Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
Paul obeyed the Living God, who Paul's accusers also claimed to serve. Paul is demonstrating that he has hurt no man, nor attempted to usurp the religious station of the Jews; he was only fulfilling his duty as a prophet and apostle of God.[v20] But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
The doctrine of repentance and remission of sin is found heavily throughout Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments alike, and because of that, Paul's accusers should be in complete agreement with him. (Eze 18:30) However, they rejected Paul not because of Paul himself, but they rejected the doctrine of the Living God. (1Sa 8:7)It's also important to note that, although modern-day preachers erroneously teach the word 'repent' means "to turn," verses like Acts 26:20 prove that definition is incorrect. (i.e. The word 'repent' means "grief and sorrow," specifically for mankind and salvation, it means "godly sorrow of wrongdoing.") If it were true that 'repent' meant "to turn to God," then the sentence would read "that they should turn to God and turn to God," which is redundant and makes no sense. Furthermore, because they teach that 'repent' means "to turn," they also believe in the false doctrine that repentance is works (which is not true; God gives men repentance - 2Ti 2:25), but this would also make no sense because the sentence would then read, "do works meet for works," or in the case that they teach that repentance means "to turn to God," and that turning from sin to God is works, it would then read "that they should turn to God and turn to God, and turn to God meet for turning to God." In short, it's absurd, and most preachers today teach this false doctrine on repentance in willful blindness.
When we use the proper Biblical definition of repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing), then the sentence reads, "that they should have grief and godly sorrow in their hearts for their sin and turn to God, and do works meet [i.e. worthy] for grief and sorrow in their hearts." Just as a child wants to do right in the sight of his parents when he has come to tears for his wrongdoing (i.e. doing works meet for repentance), this same concept is to be applied to lost sinners in their conversion to Christ, and that Christ commanded that we teach repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and remission (i.e. pardon/forgiveness) of sins to everyone in all nations. (Luke 24:47)
(Read "Is Repentance Part of Salvation? here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v21] For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.
For teaching that men should repent and turn to God, and do the good works of God, which is the core foundation of what the Jews believe, Paul was persecuted and prosecuted in court by the hypocritical Jewish leaders.[v22] Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
Indeed, Paul has testified of nothing that was contrary to that which was taught in the Torah and prophetic books of the Old Testament.[v23] That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
The raising of the dead was a prophecy foretold in the Old Testament. (Isa 26:19, Hos 6:2) Although there will be a bodily resurrection, Paul is not contextually referring to raising the dead by means of bodily resurrection because that was performed prior to Christ's resurrection (John 11:43-44), but rather, he is referring to a resurrection unto eternal life, which Christ showed by His own example, and then all those who are born again in Christ will be raised unto eternal life in the final days. (1Jo 5:13)[v24] And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
The word 'mad' used here is meant that Paul was disordered in his intellect, and so Festus accused him of being confused on the grounds that he had too much education. Too much study can make a man go crazy, but Festus was commenting on a matter of which he had no knowledge; meaning that he was not familiar with the law and prophets as was Agrippa, which means Festus was speaking out of turn to mock Paul, which reflects his corrupt desire to please the Jews rather than discover the truth of a matter.[v25] But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.
Paul shot down Festus's wicked and false accusations, but in a manner respectful to a governor and judge.[v26] For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
Paul then appealed to Agrippa as an eye witness that could verify the doctrine Paul was teaching was correct, and that the Jews understood these things, knowing that Paul's accusers would be willing to lie in order to have Paul executed. Paul also appealed to Agrippa's sound understanding as a king and a judge, though not a believer on Christ, he was knowledgable of God's Word and wise against criminals.The phrase "this thing" is in reference to Christ's ministry, and it is quite reasonable that Agrippa had heard of the deeds of Christ because the stories of Christ's amazing works were spread far and wide. The ministry and doctrine of Christ was not done in the corner of a room, like how criminals meet and converse in the secluded space in the the back corner of a room so they would not be seen or heard; but rather, Christ did all His works openly that all would see and hear the truth. (John 3:19-21)
[v27] King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
This would indicate that Agrippa did fear God, which is a good quality in a judge.[v28] Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Being a believer on the prophets, and educated in them, Agrippa could see that Paul's doctrine was sound, and that he stood for the truth of Christ by risking his life; therefore, Paul was quite convincing.[v29] And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
Meaning that Paul would have all of them to be saved and freed from the bondage of the law. He would not wish that any of them were put in chains, not even his accusers, though they deserved it, but that they would serve the living God in repentance and believe on Christ for their salvation. (1Pe 3:9, 2Pe 3:9)There are many cults that have arisen that have taught that we should not refer to ourselves as Christians, or that we cannot associate with that term because of false converts and wolves in sheep's clothing who have profaned the name of Christ while claiming to be Christian. However, Paul had no qualms (doubts) about referring to himself as a Christian, and convincing others of the truth that they might come to repentance. (2Ti 2:25)
[v30] And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them:
This was a ceremonial rising of the judges to convene privately among themselves.[v31] And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
Just as previous governors and judges, and just as the Jews who falsely accused Paul in the first place, they knew Paul had done nothing wrong.[v32] Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.
Agrippa would have let Paul go free that very hour, but when a Roman citizen appeals to Caesar in the matter of a criminal case, the law required that Paul be brought before Caesar. However, as indicated the last chapter, this is exactly what Paul wanted because God had commanded that he go teach the Gospel of Christ to Caesar at the highest levels of Roman government.[v1] And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band.
Luke is using the word 'we' again in this passage because Paul's companions (i.e. Luke being one of them) were allowed to travel aboard the ship with him, since Paul was found innocent of any crime and not considered a threat to any citizen or soldier.[v2] And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.
The ship itself was originally from Adramyttium, and they planned to sail along the coast up to Italy. Aristarchus was one of the Christians who helped Paul at Ephesus, during the incident at the theatre (Acts 19:29), and had also been a fellow prisoner with him. (Col 4:10)[v3] And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself.
Sidon and Tyre were cities in Phoenicia; they disembarked temporarily at Sidon, and there were disciples in the church at Tyre. God had Julius find favor with Paul, seeing Paul's meekness and honesty, and allowed him to visit his friends until they set sail again.[v4] And when we had launched from thence, we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.
The intention was to sail along the coast, but because the wind was not blowing in their favor, they sailed west under the island of Cyprus, where Paul and Barnabas had previously preached Christ. (Acts 13:4)[v5] And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.
Myra was off the coast of Asia Minor, or what is more commonly known today as Turkey. The Cilician Sea is the northeastern corner region of the Mediterranean, which means they sailed east, around Cyprus, and north to reach Myra.[v6] And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein.
The soldiers with Paul and his companions changed ships to one that was bound for Italy, very similar to changing planes at an airport.[v7] And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone;
Cnidus, or Gnidus, was a city on a small island just off the coast of southwestern Turkey, and from there, they would sail across the Aegean sea to the Greek island of Crete. This was all by the will of God; meaning that God was making the trip take longer for a specific reason. Whether it was to allow Paul to visit other Christians, to allow the soldiers and sailors to hear more of Paul's doctrine, or all of the above, we do not know for sure.[v8] And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The fair havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea.
The wind barely allowed them to make it to Crete, but because of it, they could not travel along the northern coast, so they had to travel along the southern coast, and docked their ship in a city that was called Fair Havens.[v9] Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,
It is unknown how long they waited, but it could have been many days, if not weeks, for the wind to turn a favorable direction. Because of the manner of Mediterranean storms common in that area during the fall and winter months, it would be safe to assume it would have only been days, since they were on a time limit. Paul and his companions were fasting according to the traditional fast of affliction mentioned in Leviticus 23:27.[v10] And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
Paul tried to warn the soldiers and the ship's crew that they should not embark with the current weather; they would be risking their lives, the ship itself, as well as all the cargo (i.e. lading) that they had on board, for which the crew would be held responsible for the losses.[v11] Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.
Julius chose to trust the judgment of the ship's owner, rather than the judgment of God's servant.[v12] And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.
Fair Haven was not a suitable place to dock a ship for the winter (which was a common thing to do in the Mediterranean sea during this time of year), and so the crew also advised that they should set sail, though the weather was poor, suggesting that they should only try to get as far as Phenice, which was further west along the coast. Phenice, also called Phoenix, had a dock that sat facing northwest to southwest, which was better to dock a ship for the winter.[v13] And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.
They waited until a favorable wind blew for their journey, and they set sail, figuring this would be enough to get them to Phenice.[v14] But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
Euroclydon is a well-known tempest, or cyclone, a great and stormy gust of wind, that is common to blow in the Mediterranean during the fall/winter months, and is even mentioned in the fiction novel Moby Dick. It is also known today as Gregale or the Viento de Levante (or Levanter) which creates such violent gusts of wind and precipitation, along with very peculiar cloud movements, that sailors still avoid it to this day.[v15] And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.
The force of the wind was so great, the crew could not use it to drive the ship, and so they let her (i.e. the ship) drive, having no choice but to let it go where it was taken by the wind and the sea.[v16] And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:
They moved the ship as best they could nearer to Clauda, a small island roughly 20 miles (32 km) south of Crete, in hopes that the wind might not be so violent there. Large ships often have a small boat attached to the side, which can be used for emergency situations, like a shipwreck or man overboard, and they managed to pull the boat up into the ship, fearing that it might be damaged by the storm.[v17] Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.
The word 'helps' meant the other people on board; it was the job of the sailors to manage the ship during a storm, but the weather was violent, so they called on everyone to help in an emergency. By "undergirding the ship," they were doing what is known today as "frapping the ship," or wrapping it tightly with ropes or chains, which was to help prevent the ship from breaking apart. The quicksands being referred to here are masses of floating sediments, otherwise known as a bog or shoal, which is very dangerous for a ship to get stuck in depending on the size of the quicksand, since the bogs can be large enough for people to sink into and die if they cannot free the ship from it; thus, they let down the sails (i.e. opened them up) and attempted to steer the ship, in hopes that they might avoid the quicksand.[v18] And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;
The storm continued unto the next day, and in hopes of staying alive and making it to shore, "they lightened the ship," meaning that they threw the merchandise and other cargo off the ship. The sailors in Jonah 1:5 did the same thing when their ship was on the verge of breaking.[v19] And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
The third day of the storm, they cast out more weight into the ocean. The tackling of a ship refers to the necessary tools to use the masts (pillars) and yards (horizontal beams that hold up the sails) of a ship, like the ropes, or even the sails themselves, but this would have only been for the minor parts of the ship since the main sail is mentioned in verse 40, which makes sense because if they got rid of the main sail tackling, they would have no other way to steer the ship if they were later able to take control of it.[v20] And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
The sailors and passengers would have been exhausted, as many of them likely had not slept in many days, they had no stars to give them a location of where they were or where they were headed, and the storm would not let up, which is more than enough to deplete their morale. However, Paul would have remained confident while the hope others was lost because he had the Word of the Living God that he was to be brought before Caesar to present the doctrine of Christ, and therefore, he knew they would live.[v21] But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
Paul had said nothing for many days, holding his peace, despite the fact that they had ignored his warnings and counsel. Paul was a proven apostle and prophet of God, and he should have been taken with the utmost seriousness when he warned them of danger; it ended up costing them more than they initially thought.[v22] And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
The Lord God gave Paul this foreknowledge, that all would be saved from the storm, but the ship would be destroyed.[v23] For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
God sent a messenger to deliver this knowledge to Paul, and he could no longer hold his peace with them, knowing that not only could he lift their spirits, but more importantly, that some on the boat may come to faith in Christ through this ordeal.[v24] Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Paul had prayed to God on behalf of the people in the boat, and therefore, God gave them to Paul, meaning that he asked for their lives to be saved, and God granted Paul's humble request. Paul was never in any danger, because God foretold that he would be brought before Caesar, but the Lord also gave Paul these men for his assistance, to help him on his way.[v25] Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
His faith in the Living God was sure, and he encouraged the others to have faith as well.[v26] Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.
They would be stranded on an island for a time.[v27] But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country;
The storm had lasted for two weeks, and they had drifted very far. Adria refers to the Adriatic sea, which runs along Italy today, although this is only based on the modern-day classification; the Adriatic sea used to encompass more area south of its present borders, and thus, their ship had been blown west of Crete, as indicated when they land on an island south of Sicilia, as described in chapter 28.[v28] And sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms.
A fathom is a unit of measurement that is about 6 feet (1.8 m), and is used for measuring depth in water. Sailors use what's called a "sounding line," which is a rope attached to a weighted plummet that has 6 foot markers on the rope. The line would be "sounded," or dropped, into the water, and when the weight hit the bottom, they would know how deep the water was, which also tells them how close they are to shore. The first sounding was a depth of 120 ft (36.5 m), and the second sounding was 90 ft (27.4 m).[v29] Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
The ship has to be stopped before getting too close to a shore without a proper dock, otherwise, the bottom will scrap along the rocks and breach the hull, which will strand the ship and make it almost unrepairable. Four anchors were thrown into the water from the rear of the ship, and they waited on the ship for daylight since it was too dangerous to disembark in the dark.[v30] And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship,
The shipmen were fleeing because they were worried the ship would break any moment, and so they let down the boats they had brought into the ship for safety in verse 16. The "foreship" is the front of the ship, so they would have to put anchors down on the rear of the ship as well as the front, so the ship would straighten out enough to stabilize them in order to use the boats.[v31] Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
This was Paul's warning; they did not heed his warning at the docks at Fair Haven, and so now they are given one last chance to listen to God's instruction.[v32] Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
They acted in faith that they should remain on the ship as the Lord has instructed, although there was likely heated contention from some of the sailors; the soldiers now trusted Paul and his God more than the sailors.[v33] And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing.
The sailors and passengers had eaten nothing for two weeks, likely for two reasons. The first would be that during such a violent, ongoing storm, no one would have the time or the tranquility to sit down to a meal, and the second would be a somewhat religious reason, hoping for a miracle.[v34] Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
Paul reassured them of God's Word, that as long as they remained in the ship, they would be safe, and encouraged them to eat so they could regain their strength and health.[v35] And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
There are some who have suggested that this was communion, or even the antichrist "Eucharist" of the Catholic Church, which is not the case. Communion was only taken among born again Christians, and to do so knowingly among those who are not of Christ has dire consequences (i.e. sickness and death) that are not commonly mentioned in modern-day church buildings. (1Co 11:27-30) Paul would not have taken the ritual of communion among unbelievers; thus, this was simply the giving of thanks to God for the meal, and they all ate together to bolster their personal health, physical strength, and confidence in God's instruction.[v36] Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
Their spirits were temporarily lifted, being given some respite from the two weeks of suffering.[v37] And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
A total of 276 people were on the ship.[v38] And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.
After everyone had their fill, they lightened the ship even more for safety. The wheat was kept on board since they did not know where they would end up, but calming themselves down in the midst of the storm, and being faithful to Paul's instruction, knowing that he was a prophet of God, they faithfully threw the wheat overboard.[v39] And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.
When daylight came, they did not recognize where they ended up, but they were in a bay or gulf that had a coastline. The word 'creek' may be confusing to Americans, since the term was used to describe rivers starting in the 17th century, but prior to that time, a creek referred to an inlet of a bay or cove, or the recess in the shore of the sea, and the sailors intended to use that inlet as a dock to move the ship closer to land.(See 'creek', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Nov 28, 2018, [webstersdictionary1828.com])
[v40] And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.
They took up the four anchors at the rear of the ship, and they released the cords they had tied to the rudder, which is a large piece of timber that is mechanically attached to the wheel, which steers the ship. The word 'hoised' means to raise up, and so they raised the sail in adjustment to the wind for the purpose of steering the ship towards the shore.[v41] And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
They ran the ship into the shore. The front of the ship was stuck in the rocks and would not move, but the rear of the ship had been broken into pieces.[v42] And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
Under normal survival circumstances, this would be logical, that if there were prisoners bound to Rome and likely to die, killing them would be the best option, since they would not be allowed to roam free, nor could they be trusted to help gather resources for the survival of the group, and they would only be a burden on those who were working to survive, since prisoners have to be provided for if they are not working to provide for themselves. However, this is not a normal circumstance, since it was Paul, God's prophet and a prisoner, who guided them to safety, and their willingness to kill him, after he had just saved their lives, was evil.[v43] But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:
It would not be fair for Julius to kill all the prisoners except Paul, because he was to be a man of the law, who is expected to be unbiased; however, he did favor Paul, not only as a person, but because he was obviously a prophet of God. Julius denied the suggestion of the sailors, and ordered everyone who could swim to jump off the boat into the water and head to shore.[v44] And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
Anyone who could not swim would then jump off with a piece of the ship so they could make it to shore safely. This order would prevent as much debris as possible in the water, so those who jumped off would not be injured in the process. All 276 people made it to shore alive and safe, as the angel of the Lord had foretold.[v1] And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
When they had escaped the ship and the storm, they discovered they were on the island of Melita, or what is known more commonly today as Malta, which is just south of Sicily.[v2] And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
The word 'barbarous' is used to indicate that the people there were tribal natives of the island, and that they had shown the stranded men great kindness, taking them in, warming and sheltering them, due to the cold and rain of the winter Mediterranean storm.[v3] And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
Paul had gathered wood for the fire to keep it going, but a viper (i.e. a snake but with longer teeth and more poisonous venom) happened to be warming itself near the fire, and lashed out at Paul in a territorial dispute. It fastened itself onto his hand, meaning that it latched on with its teeth and did not let go.[v4] And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
As soon as Paul was bitten, they presumed he would die, as all other men typically die when bitten by such a creature. Though Paul was no murderer, he was counted among the murderers in prison, and therefore, they believed he had done some wrong, so they used this instance to offer proof of their assumptions, that the Living God Paul served would not allow him to die at the hands of a mere beast unless he had committed a grievous crime.[v5] And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
Paul moved his hand above the fire, the viper felt the pain of the fire, and the beast let go, only to be burned to death.[v6] Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
The venom of vipers acts quickly, meaning that his hand should have swollen to a great size, and his health should have failed, typically within minutes. This is as Jesus has foretold, that His apostles in that day would be sent out with signs, that "they shall take up serpents" and not be harmed. (Mark 16:17-18) However, perhaps after an hour or more, when they saw that he was immune to the poison that could kill much larger creatures than a man, they changed their minds from believing that he was a murderer, instead to the false pagan belief that he was a god, which Paul had experienced (and rebuked) many times in his ministry. (Acts 14:11-12)[v7] In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
The island was under the jurisdiction of Rome, and so the chief man of the island would have been a Roman official of some sort, and some evidence of this is indicated by the name "Publius," which is a Roman name. This man also received the stranded men, which makes sense because some among them were Roman citizens and soldiers, and he gave them shelter, food, and clothing courteously (i.e. in a good and friendly manner), meaning that he was a man of compassion and charity.[v8] And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
Based on the description, it is likely that Publius's father would have died from the illness, and so Paul, through the Holy Spirit of God, saved his life.[v9] So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:
Paul did not stop with the father of Publius; any of the natives or citizens of Rome who lived on the island were healed.[v10] Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.
Paul and company were treated as esteemed guests, and they were sent away with all the supplies they would need for their journey. I'm sure they were offered much more in money and other valuables, but Jesus told them not to accept such payment; only to take what was necessary for their travels and nothing more. (Mat 10:10)[v11] And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
The three months were likely the duration of the winter months, so it would be safe to sail once again. One of the ships docked on the island was a ship of Alexandria, which took its name from the city in Egypt. Julius had previously selected a ship of Alexandria, likely for the same reasons. (Acts 27:6) The sign is referring to the astrological sign, a pagan custom, which sailors superstitiously believed brought them good luck; Castor and Pollux are the twins of the astrological sign known as Dioscuri, or Gemini in the Latin.[v12] And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days.
Syracuse is a city located on the east side of Sicilia, an island just southwest off the southern tip of Italy.[v13] And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli:
To "fetch a compass" is a sailor's phrase which means they sailed around the coast. From there, they traveled up the western coast of Italy to Puteoli, which is known today as Pozzuoli, a port about 80 miles (129 km) southeast of Rome.[v14] Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.
Another apostle had obviously come to Italy to preach the Gospel of Christ, which is how they were able to find some disciples in the church. There could have been many reasons why the group rested for a week before continuing on. It could have been that it took a week to gather the proper supplies and means for traveling the rest of the distance to Rome by land. It could have been that Julius had other business to take care of in Puteoli, although that seems less likely since he was escorting prisoners to Rome, which would take higher priority. It is also possible that Paul simply made a request, and Julius honored that request, being thankful for Paul's help and knowing that he was a prophet of the Living God, who had given the men grace and saved all their lives.[v15] And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.
Likely, word was sent out from Puteoli to Rome, where other disciples of Christ came to the towns known as "Appii Forum" or "Forum Appius" (43 mi or 69 km southeast of Rome) and "The Three Taverns" (31 mi or 50 km southeast of Rome) which were resting areas set up along a major road connecting to Rome.[v16] And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him.
Not only had Paul proven his worth and honesty on the long journey to Rome, but he had not been charged with a crime, so the Roman guard held him under watch, but did not treat him as a criminal. It is likely that this message was carried from Aggripa and/or Festus to Rome, that Paul was not to be counted among the murderers and thieves.[v17] And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
Three days after arriving in Rome, Paul contacted the leaders of the Jews in that region to speak to them. Historically, it is unknown to what extent the Jews operated in Rome, since they had previously been expelled during the reign of Emperor Claudius (reigned 41-54 A.D.), but obviously, something had changed; perhaps due to the influence of Poppea, a concubine of Emperor Nero (reigned 54-68 A.D.), who favored the Jews. Paul addressed the Jewish leadership, telling them why he was in Rome, and what had happened between him and the Jews in Jerusalem, which was wise because he was getting ahead of the situation and making himself known to them, since he might have suspected that word had been sent out from Jerusalem to the Jews in Rome that Paul was on his way, or that some of the Jews in Rome had attended the event in Jerusalem where Paul was first taken prisoner, although it seems this was not the case, as we'll see in verse 21.[v18] Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.
He was found innocent, since there was no evidence that he had committed any crime, and judges planned to set him free.[v19] But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.
The Jews would not let the matter go and conspired against Paul, therefore, Paul was only left to appeal to Caesar, where the Jews would find themselves in much more grave danger to bring their lies into the highest court of Rome. This statement would also ease the fears of the Jews that Paul may have appealed to Caesar to bring an accusation against the nation of Israel; Paul had reason to accuse them, but chose to remain peaceful towards them, even though many Jewish leaders had mistreated him, even stoning him to death at one point.[v20] For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
Paul is proceeding to preach the Gospel of Christ unto these Jews as well. He stated "that for the hope of Israel," that is, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the prophesied hope of the Israelites, he was bound as a prisoner.[v21] And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee.
From the perspective of the Jews in Jerusalem, who had falsely accused Paul, it would have been wise to not send any letters to the Jews in Rome because if Caesar ruled in Paul's favor, it may bring a lot of trouble on their heads (possibly being considered treason, depending on the content of the documents), as governing rulers do not look favorably on those who lie in their courts.[v22] But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
By "this sect," they meant the disciples of Christ, and so they sought for Paul's understanding since they were confused as to why they were so heavily persecuted.[v23] And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.
Paul, being very knowledgeable in the law and prophets, spent the entire day with them, and was able to teach them throughout the day, and prove conclusively that Jesus is the Christ they had been hoping for.[v24] And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
As was common, some believed, and some did not, but at least they were all willing to hear Paul out without falsely accusing him.[v25] And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
As the unbelieving Jews departed, Paul gave them one final word, and that was from the prophet Isaiah. (Isa 6:9)[v26] Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
This is also what Jesus told the Jews. (Mat 13:14)[v27] For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
[v28] Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.
Not to say that all Gentiles would be saved, but that the Gentiles would be more receptive to God's salvation than the Jews were because the Jews thought they were righteous of themselves in their works. (Luke 18:9-14)[v29] And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
The Jews would have departed upset, which is common when we warn and rebuke those who are in religious authority, who think themselves righteous in their iniquity. The Jews knew that what Paul told them was perfectly sound with the Scriptures, and that Christ had fulfilled the prophecies throughout the Torah and the other books of the prophets, therefore, they "had great reasoning among themselves," meaning that they argued and debated among one another, fearing the Christian doctrine because we teach that they are guilty of their sin and must repent. (Mark 1:15)[v30] And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
Paul purchased a house with his own money, and hired others to help care for it (likely other Christians or those in need), since Paul was in his old age and his eyesight was poor. He received everyone who was poor and needy, and those who came in to hear the Word of God.[v31] Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
The Lord God allowed Paul to live out his final years in this house, without anyone preventing him from preaching Christ, and Paul continued to his last breath in full confidence (i.e. faith) in Christ and the kingdom of God. Personally, I found it somewhat curious that the Lord God did not have Luke document Paul's interaction with Caesar, but I am faithful that if we needed to know, He would have made it known unto us, so there is no need for us to know how that trial went; obviously, Paul was found innocent of his crime, and it's even possible that a full trial before Caesar did not take place (i.e. he may have only met with Caesar in his office) because there was none left to accuse Paul, but we do not have enough information to know for sure.Luke, the author chosen by God to write this book, remained living with Paul (2Ti 4:11) and helped in the works of ministry until Paul's death (2Ti 4:7), before eventually writing this document in response to the governing ruler named Theophilus.
