Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
Last Days of our Lord on Earth. ACi'S I. Return of the Eleven to Jeruealem.
Church, first among tlie JeAvs of Palcstiiio, the seat of the ancient P'aith, and next among the surrounding Gentiles, Willi Amioch for il.s heai Uiuarlers, until, finally, it is seen wavinf< over imperial Rome, loretokeniug its universal triumph. In this view of il, there is no tiii Hculty in accounting lor tlie almost exclusive place which it gives to the labours of Peter in the first instance, and the all but entire disappearance from the liistory both of him and of the rest of the Eleven after the great apostle of the Gentiles came upon the stage—like tlie lesser lights on the rise of the great luminary.
CHAPTER I.
16; but it was expressed thus indefinitely to exerci.se their faitli. G-S. wilt thoii at this time restore the kingdom to Israel 1 —Doubtless their carnal views of Messiah's kingdom had by this time been modified, though liosv fr
Ver. 1-11. I>;TRODtJCTioN— Last Days of our Lord UPON Eautu—His Ascension, l, ^. ftirmer treatise Luke's Gospel. TiieopliUus—see on Luke 1. 8. beguit to do awd teaclk—a very important statement, dividing the work of Christ into two great branches:' the one embracing His work <m earth, tlie other His subsequent work /ro)n heaven; the one in His own Person, Ihe oUicr by His Spirit; the one the " beginning," the other tlie continuance of the same work; the one complete when He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, the other to continue till His second appearing; tlie one recorded in "The Gospels," the beginnings only of the other related in tliis book of "The Acts." 'Hence the grand history of what Jesus did and tauglit does not conclude with His departure to the Father; but Luke now begins it in a higher strain ; for all the subsequent labours of the apostles are just an exhibition of the ministry of tlie glorified licdeemer Himself, because they were acting under His autliority, and He was the principle tliat operated in tliein it is impossible to say. But, as they plainly look. d lor some restoration of the kingdom to Israel, so they are neither rebuked nor contradicted on this point. It Is not for yon to know the times, &c.—implying not only that this was not the time, but that the question was irrelevant to their present business and future work, receive power—See Luke '21. 49. and ye shall be witnesses nnto me ... In Jerusalem ... In all Judea . . . and unto tlie uttermost part of tlie wov\A-—This order of apostolic jireaching and success supplies the jrroper key to the plan of the Acts, which relates first the progress of the Gospel "in Jerusalem, and all Jndea and .Samaria" (ch. 1. to ch. 9.), and then "unto the uttermost part of the earth " (ch. 10. to ch. '2S.) 9-11. while tJiey belield he was taken up— See on Luke 24. 50-53. Lest il should be thought He had disappeared when they were looking In some other direction, and so was only concluded to have gone up to heaven, all.' [Olshausen.] after he, tSiroiigJi tlie Holy Ghost, had given coinmandment, &c.—referring to the charge recorded in Matthew 28. 18-20; Mark 10. 15-18; Luke 2-1. t+- it is here expressly said that "while they were looking lie was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight." So Elijah, "If thou see me when I am taken from thee"
(2 Kings '2. 10); " And Elisha sajo it" (r. 12). SeeonLuke9.
49. It is worthy of notice that nowhere else are such communications of the risen lledeemer said to have been given " through t'ue Holy Ghost." In general, this might have been said of all He uttered and all He did in His
32. wti ile they looked steadfastly toward heaven—FoN lowing Him wilh their eager eyes, in rapt amazement. Not, however, as a mere fact is this recorded, but as a part of that resistless evidence of their senses on which their whole subsequent testimony was to be borne, two men In white ajiparel—Angels in human form, as Luke 24. 4, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up Into heaven, &c.—' As if your now glorified Head were gone from you never to return: He is coming again; nnt another, but "this same Jesus;" and "as ye huvesetn Him go, in the like manner shall He come"—us personofficial character; for it was for this very end tliat God "gave not the Spirit by measure unto Him" (John 3. 31). But after His resurrection, as if to signify the new relat ion in which He now stood to the Church, He signalized His first meeting with the assembled disciples by "breathing on them (immediately after dispensing to them His peace) and saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost," thus anticipating th-e donation of the Spirit from His hands (see on John ally, as visibly, as gloriously ; and let the joyful expectation of this coming swallow up the sorrow of that ileparture.'
20. 21, 22); and on the same principle His parting charges are here said to have been given "througVi the Holy Ghost," as if to mark that He was now all redolent wilh the Spirit; that what had been husbanded, during His suffering work, for His own necessary uses, liad now been set free, was already overflowing from Iliinsclf to His disciples, and needed but his ascension and glorification to flow all forth. (See on John 7. 3!1.) 3-5. sliowed hiingelf alive—As the author is about to tell us tlial "the resurrection of tlie Lord Jesus" was the great burden of apos-
12-20. Retiir.n' of the Eieven to Jerusalem—Proceedings IN THE Upper Room till Pentecost. i>J-i t. a sabbath day's journey—About 2000 cubits, went up to an upper room—Perhaps the same "large upper room" where with their Lord they had celebrated the last Passover and the first Supper (Luke 22. 12). where abode—Not lodged, but had lor their place of rendezvous. Peter, &c.—See on Matthew 10. '2-4. eontluued with one accord—Knit by a bond stronger than death. In prayer and suppllcntlon—for the promised baptism, the need of which In their orphan stale would be increasingly felt, and Mary the mother of Jesus—Distinguished from the oilier "women," but 'so as to exclude the idea of her having any pre-eminence over the disciples. We find her witli the rest in prayer to her glorified Son.' ["Weilster and Wilkinson.] This is the last mention of her in the New Testament. The fable of the Assumption of the Virgin has no foundation even in tradition. [Alkord.] with hU bretlireu—.See on John 7. 3-^5. 15-3(>, In those days-Of expectant prayer, and prolmbly towards the close of them, when the nature of their future work began more clearly to dawn upon them, and the Holy Ghost, already tolic preaching, so the subject is here fitly introduced by an allusion to the primary evidence on which tliat great fact rests, the repeated and undeniable manifestations of Himself in the body to the assemliled disciples, who, instead of being predisposed to believe it, had to bo overpowered by the resistless evidence of their own Benses, and were slow of yielding even to this. (Mark Ifi. H.) alter htg passion—Or 'Suffering.' This primary sense of the word " Passion " has fallen into disuse ; hut it is nobly consecrated in the jihraseology of the Church to express the Uedeemer's final enduran<?es. seen of them forty days—This important specification of time occurs here only, speaking of—rather ' speaking '—the things pertaining to the klngfloin of Clodtill now only in germ, but soon to take visible form; the earliest and tlie
" breathed" on trie Eleven (John '20.22), was stirring in Peter, who was to be the leading spirit of tlie infant community (Matthew 10. 19). the number . . . about an hundred and twenty—Many, therefore, of the "500 brethren" who saw their risen Lord "at once" (1 Corinthians l.\ 0), must have remained In Galilee, fnlllitg headlong, Ac— This Information supplements, but by no means contradicts, what is said in Matthew 27.5. Hl» bishopric—Or latest burden of His teaching on earth, should not depart from Jcrnsalem—Because th(! Spirit was to glorify the existing economy, by descending on the disciples at its metropolitan seat, and at the next of Its gre.it festivals after the ascension of the Church's Head; in order that "out of Zion miglit go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem " (Isaiah 2. 3 ; and cf. Luke 2t. 19). ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days Uence Ten days hence, us appears from Leviticus 23. 15, 174
' charge.' The words are a combination of Psulm 09. 25 aud 109. 8; lu which the upostle discerns a
The Aposlles Filled wUh Ihe Huly Gliost. ACTS II. Peter <i Sermon on the Day of Pentecost,
Christ. 14r-^l. Peter, standing up with the Eleven—In advance, perhaps, of the rest, these are not drunken meaning, not the Eleven, but the body of the disciples, but ti»e third hour—9 A. M. (see Ecclesiastes 10. !(!; Isaiah 5.11; 1 Thessalonians 5.7). in the last days—meaning, the days of the Messiah (Isaiah 2.2); as closing all preparatory arrangements, and constituting the final dispensation of God's kingdom on earth, poiir out of my Spirit—In contrast with the mere drops of all preceding time, upon all flesh—hitherto confine<l to the seed of Abraham. song . . . daughters . . . young men . . . old men . . . servants . . . handmaidens—Without distinction of sex, age, or rank, see visions . . . dream dreams—This is a mere accommodation to the ways in which the Spirit operated under the ancient economy, when the prediction was delivered ; for, in the New Testament, visions and dreams are rather the exception than the rule. I will show wonders, &c.—referring to the signs which were to precede the destruction of Jerusalem (see on Luke 21. 25, &c.). whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved—This points to the permanent establishment of the economy of salvation, which followed on the breaking up of the Jewish state. ttZ-'ZS. a man approved of God—Rather, 'authenticated,' 'proved,' or 'demonstrated to be from God.' I>y miracles . . . which God did by him—This is not a low view of our Lord's mirai;)es, as has been alleged, nor inconsistent with John 11, but is in strict accordance with his progress from humiliation to glory, and with his own word! in John 5. 19. This view of Christ is here dwelt on to exhibit to the Jews the whole course of Jesus of Nazareth a.s the ordinance and doing of the God of Israel. [Alford.] determinate counsel and foreknowledge—God's fixed plan and perfect loresight of all the steps involved in it. ye have taken, and by wicked hands have cruclticd and slain — How strikingly is the criminality of Christ's murderers here presented in harmony with the eternal purpo.se to surrender him into their liands ! was not possible he should be holden of It—Glorious saying ! It was indeed impossible that " the Living One" should remain "among the dead" (Luke 24.5); but here, the impossibility seems to refer to the prophetic assurance that He should not see corruption, wilt not leave my soul in hell—In its disembodied state (see on Luke 16. 23). neither . . . suffer thine Holy One to see corruption—in the grave. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life i. e., Resur rection-life. thou shalt make me full of Joy with thy countenance—t. e., in glory; as is plain from the whole connection and the actual words of the Psalm. 39-36. David . . . is . . . dead and burled, &e.—Peter, full of the Holy Ghost, sees in this Kith Psalm, one Holy Man, whose life of high devotedness and lofty spirituality is crowned with the assurance, that though He taste of death He shall rise again without seeing corruption, and be admitted to the bliss of God's immediate presence. Now as this was palpably untrue of David, it could be meant only of One other, even of Him whom David was taught to e-xpect as the final Occupant of the throne of Israel. (Those, therefore, and they are many, who take David himself to be the subject of this Psalm, and the words quoted to refer to Christ only in a more eminent sense, nullity the whole argument of the apostle.) The Psalm is then affirmed to have had its only proper fulfilment in Jesu.s, of whose resurrection and ascension they were witnesses, while the glorious effusion of tlie Spirit by the hand of the asceiideil One, .setting an infallible seal upon all, was even then witnessed by the thousands who stood listening to Him. A further illuiitration of Messiah's ascension and session at God's right hand is drawn from Psalm 110. 1, in which David cannot be thought to spi-ak of himself, seeing he is still In his grave. Therefore— greater than David, and a worse than Ahithophel and his fellow-conspirators against David, all the time the
Lionl Jesus went in and out among us—in the close intimacies of a tliree years' public life, beginning from the baptism of John—by wlioin our Lord was not only Himself baptized, but first oflicially announced and in-
Iroduced to his own disciples. nnfU that same day trhen he -was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection — How
Clearly is the primary office of the apixstles here expressed: (1.) to testify, from personal observation, to the one great fact of "the lesurrection of the Lord Jesus;"
(2.) to show how this glorified His whole previous life, of which they were constant observers, and establislied His Divine claims, they appointed— ' Put up' in nomination; meaning not the Eleven but the whole company, of whom Peter was the spokesman, two—The choice would lie between a very few. prayed and saltl, Tlion, Lord, &c.—'The word "Lord," placed absolutely, denotes in the New Testament almost universally the Son; and the words "Show whom thou hast chosen," are decisive. The apostles are just Christ's messengers : It is He that sends them, and of Him they bear witness. Here, therefoi-e, we have the first example of a prayer offered to the exalted Redeemer; furnishing indirectly tlie strongest proof of his divinity.' [Olshaosen.] which Unowest the hearts of all men—See John 2. 24, 25 ; 21. l.>-17 ; Uevelation
2.23. that he might goto his own place—A euphemistic or softened expression of the awful future of the traitor, implying not only destined habitation but congenial element, was numbered— ' Voted in' by general suffrage, with the eleven apostles—Completing the broken Twelve.
CHAPTER II.
Ver. 1-13. Descent of the SPiRtrThe Disciples Bpkak with Tongues—Amazement of the Multitude.
1 '1. when the day of Pentecost was fully come—The flflicth from the morrow after the first Passover sabbath (Leviticus 23. 15, 16). with one accord—The solemnity of the day, perhaps, unconsciously raising their expectations. ^* And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing migltty wlud, &c. — 'Tlie * lio'e description is so picturesque and striking that it could only come from an eye-witnoss.' [Olshausen.] The suddenness, strength, and difl'usiveness of the sound Btrike with deepest awe the whole company, and thus complete their preparation for the heavenly gift. Wind was a familiar emblem of the Spirit (Ezekiel 37.0; John
8.8; 21X22). liut this was not a rush of actual wind. It was only a sound " as of it. 3. cloven tongues, like as of fire, Ac— ' disparted tongues,' i. e., tongue-shaped, flame-like appearances, rising from a common centre or root, and resting upon each of that large company: beautiful visible symbol of the barniug energy of the Spirit now descending in all His plenitude upon the Church, and about to pour itself through every tongue, and over every tribe of men under heaven ! 4. tUey began to speak with . , , tongues, &c.—Real, living languages, as is plain from what follows. The tiling uttered, probably the same by all, wa-s "the wonderful works of God," perhaps in the Inspired words of the Old Testament evangelical hymns; though it is next to certain that tlie speakers themselves understood nothing of wliat they uttered (see on 1 Corinthians H). 5-11, there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men oittof every nation— not, it would seem, pei'iiiaiii nily setthd there
(see t>.9), though the langu.age seemed to imply more than a temporary visit to keep this one feast. Pnrthlans, Ac. —Beginning with the farthest east, llie Partliians, the ennm(:ratlon proceeds farther and farther westward till it comes lo Judea; next come the western countries, Iioin Cnppa<locla to Pamphylia; then the soullu-rn, from Kgypt to Cyrene; finally, apart from all geographical consideration, Cretes and Arabians are placed together. This enumeration Is evidently designed to convey an impres Bion of universality. [Baumgakten.]
' lo sum up all.' let all tlic house of Israel— for in this first discourse tlie ai)peal is formally made to the v.'hole house of Israel, as the then existing Kingdom of God. know a«»ure«lly—by indisputable lacts, fullilled predictions, and the seal of the Holy Ghost set upon all. that God liath made—for Peter's object was to show 17o
1-I-3B. PeTEK, for the FiH.STTI.MK, PUHLICLV Pl£EArHE.S