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Verse Commentaries:
I. The Title of the Book.--The title “Acts of the Apostles,” although not given to it by its author, is of high antiquity, being found in the oldest MSS. and versions either as it stands, or with the articles omitted (“Acts of Apostles”). The book is often quoted by Early Fathers as “Acts”; but apparently as a compendious form for a well-known title. The propriety of the designation has been often questioned. The book does not profess to record the acts of all the apostles, nor all the acts of those most prominent in the narrative, St. Peter and St. Paul. On the other hand, it gives full notices of disciples, who were not apostles. But, taking the title in its earliest form, we find in it a certain fitness. As the Gospel records acts and words of our Lord, so this book records acts of the apostles by which His last injunction and promise were fulfilled. But the Gospel is one of four, whereas this work stands alone, and is the only source from which we derive knowledge of the most momentous facts which belong to the foundations of the Christian faith. Without it the first twenty years would be a blank as regards the history of the first Christians--a blank with some rays of scattered light from the Epistles, of which the earliest was written a.d. 52. Of the events on which two great Christian festivals--Easter and Pentecost--are based, we have the record of the latter in this book alone. (Canon Cook.)
II. Its Authorship.--
1. Its author was the same who wrote the Gospel according to St. Luke.
(1) The literary style is the same. This is observable in the use of the Greek language, which differs materially from that found in the other books of the New Testament. It is more classical, especially in those portions where the writer speaks in his own person, or narrates events not recorded elsewhere; and where the style is less classical, it supplies another proof of curious and interesting resemblance. The writer of the Gospel inserts large portions either common to the Synoptists, or taken from written documents or oral traditions. The writer of the Acts as certainly uses documents or traditions, which he adopts without any material alteration. This is a striking peculiarity, and without any near parallel in ancient writers. It was reserved to one of our own time (M. Thierry) to give life and variety to his narrative by the insertion of long passages differing in style and local colouring from his own composition. What is not less striking is the fact that in these portions the language is full of Hebraisms and peculiar forms of expression common to the Gospel and the Acts, but found not at all, or rarely, in other books of the New Testament. The idioms peculiar to both are most numerous. To take a single instance, the word ÷á́åéò is especially significant. It does not occur at all in the first two Gospels, and in St. John it only occurs thrice (Act_1:14-17); but in St. Luke it occurs eight times, and in the Acts seventeen; in St. Paul’s Epistles it comes before us hundreds of times, being the keystone of his teaching. The verb ÷á́åéèïíáé is found twice in the Gospel, thrice in the Acts, often in St. Paul, and nowhere else. Another characteristic of the Gospel is the peculiar stress which the author lays on all notices of physical suffering, and his hearty sympathy with the deep tenderness which breathes in the words and acts of the Saviour, as shown in his selection of parables and miracles. The same is observable in the Acts. The poverty and sufferings of the first Christians, contrasting with a liberality so far transcending all ordinary manifestations of charity as to have given rise to cavilling and perplexity, occupy a foremost place in the narrative. The frequent miracles of healing are described with the care natural to a physician, and in each case accompanied with words and acts expressive of liveliest sympathy.
(2) The doctrinal system is the same. The Pauline character of the Gospel is a matter of general notoriety; that of the Acts is equally demonstrable--a point which will come out more distinctly when we consider the relations of the book (Canon Cook.)
(3) Both were written to the same person (cf. Luk_1:3; Act_1:1)
, and the latter distinctly refers to the former.
(4) Both are parts of one continuous history. The latter portion of “the former treatise” deals with an event (the Ascension) with which the Acts begins, the one narrative exactly dovetailing into the other. Moreover, the Gospel is an account of what “Jesus began to do and teach”--and the Acts is obviously the story of what Jesus continued to do and teach. Some expositors, not without reason, have regarded the abbreviated title of the book given by Patristic authors to be the true one--“the Acts”--i.e., not so much of the apostles as of the risen and glorified Christ through the apostles. At any rate, the speeches of the apostles are on the same lines as the teaching of our Lord, and their miracles are of a similar character. The promised Spirit of Christ endowed the apostles with the requisite qualifications to perpetuate the work which Christ had begun. (J. W. Burn.)
2. Its author was “the beloved physician,” the companion of St. Paul.
(1) Its author was a physician. There are abundant indications of this, both in the Gospel and in the history, from the way in which he notes diseases and their cure. He describes more minutely than the other evangelists physical ailments, and in doing so employs precise and technical words. “A great fever” (Luk_4:38) is the same expression as that used by Galen. The word denoting “blindness” (Act_13:11), is used in a similar way by the old medical writers. There is, again, a correctness indicative of one versed in surgical knowledge in his account of the healing of the lame man (Act_3:7). Note also the technical accuracy of his account of the illness of Publius (Act_28:8).
(2) This physician was the medical attendant of St. Paul. The first direct intimation of his being in Paul’s company occurs (chap. 16:10) at Troas. Now, at this time Paul had been apparently detained in Galatia by sickness, and had just passed through that country and Phrygia. It is hardly probable that he had visited Colossa, as it lay so far out of his route, but he may, in the then uncertainty of his destination, have done so; because it is remarkable that in sending Luke’s salutation to the Colossians (Col_4:14) he calls him “the beloved physician.” This designation might recall to their minds the relation in which Luke had stood to Paul when in their country; or, more probably, may have been an effusion of the warm heart of Paul, on recollection of the services rendered to him on that journey by his loving care. We find him in the apostle’s company no further than Philippi, the object of his attendance on him having been then fulfilled. If we seek for any previous connection we have only the slightest hint in Act_14:21-22, where the “we” may be indicative of the writer’s presence. Certainly, in the account of the events in that place (Act_13:1-52.) there is remarkable particularity, and one little notice in verse 52 looks very like the testimony of one who was left behind at Antioch. Tradition says that Luke was born at Antioch in Syria. Was he converted in Antioch in Pisidia? After the second junction with Paul and his company we find him remaining with the apostle to the end. It would not be necessary to suppose this second attachment to him to have the same occasion as the first. That which weakness of body at first made advisable, affection may have subsequently renewed. And we have every reason to believe this was the case (Col_4:14; 2Ti_1:15; 2Ti_4:11). See also St. Luke and St. Paul in their mutual relations in the Expositor (vol. 4. p. 134).
3. Other notices of St. Luke. Though the name ( Ëïõêá͂ò , the contracted form of ̀Ëïõêáíḯò ) is not a sufficient indication that he was of Greek parentage, since it was not unusual for Jews to bear Greek and Roman names, yet he is enumerated by St. Paul among those who were not of the circumcision (Col_4:14). Many circumstances, each small in itself, but the whole weighty, as accumulative proof, add support to this. He was evidently acquainted with classical literature. Both his books, written as they were for a Roman of distinction, commence, in accordance with classical models, with a Proemium, and not after the manner of Hebrew writers. Again, in calling the Maltese “barbarians,” he does not mean uncivilised, but makes use of a term which the Greeks used of all who did not speak the Greek language, and one which the Romans applied to all who were not citizens of Rome, and even to the Greeks themselves. Thus Juvenal calls even Herod Agrippa a barbarian. The Greek of the Gospel and the Acts is comparatively pure, and Davidson considers the former to be the work of “a critical historian.” This is an indication of the superior education and position of St. Luke, or, according to some, betrays his connection with a place in which the written Greek was purer than in some parts of Asia. To this we must add the tradition that he was a proselyte. Another tradition tells us that Luke was one of the Seventy disciples, which receives some support from the circumstance that he alone has preserved an account of their mission, as though he had a personal interest in it. Nor is this invalidated by the manner in which (Luk_1:2) he seems to distinguish between himself and eyewitnesses. For the emphasis there is on “from the beginning”--i.e., witnesses of the marvels which attended His birth, etc. As to the birthplace of St. Luke, Scripture says nothing. Ecclesiastical writers tell us that he was a native of Antioch in Syria; modern writers, however, assign to Philippi the honour of being his birthplace, and others the Alexandrian Troas. Hug notes that “he could not want opportunities to perfect himself in a knowledge of medicine in a scientific city like Antioch; and Renan, that he might have acquired his nautical knowledge at Philippi, or its port Neapolis. If, however, Antioch was really his birthplace, it seems likely that Philippi was his home; for the companion of Paul, who writes in Act_16:1-40. in the first person, must have parted from the apostle at the latter place inasmuch as in Act_16:19 the “we” ceases, and the names of Paul and Silas are introduced; and it is not until Paul reaches Philippi again (Act_20:5-6) that Luke reappears. (W. Denton, M. A.)
After the death of St. Paul the acts of his faithful companion are hopelessly obscure to us. It is, as perhaps the Evangelist wishes it to be: we only know him whilst he stands by the side of his beloved Paul: when the master departs the history of the follower becomes confusion and fable. As to his age and death there is the utmost uncertainty. It seems probable that he died in advanced life, but whether naturally or by martyrdom; whether in Bithynia or Achaia, or some other country, it is impossible to determine. That he died a martyr between a.d. 75 and a.d. 100 would seem to have the balance of suffrages in its favour. (Abp. Thomson.)
III. To whom it was written.--To a certain Theophilus, of whom, beyond his name, we know nothing certainly. Internal evidence, however, supports the truth of the tradition that he was a Roman resident in Italy. For Luke, whilst careful in referring to the geography of countries which would be but little known to a native of Italy, and, as to the customs of Palestine, hastens over, as though details were unnecessary, points of Italian geography. Thus he adds that the hour of prayer was” the ninth hour”; that the party of the High Priest was of “the sect of the Sadducees.” A Jew would not have needed to be told that Gamaliel was “a doctor of the law” etc., nor would he have been interested in knowing that Cornelius was “a centurion of the Italian band.” Theophilus was evidently no native of Palestine, or he would not have been informed with such particularity the locality of certain cities and places, and the number of stadia between Emmaus and Jerusalem. He was certainly no Cretan (Act_27:8; Act_27:12), nor was he a resident in Greece, otherwise he would not have required the information given in Act_16:17. A native of Antioch, too, could hardly be so ignorant of the geography of Palestine, which was so near that city. That he was not an Alexandrian is clear, otherwise the Alexandrian teachers would have appropriated his reputation to their Church. The testimony of the Alexandrian patriarch, Eutychicus, which decides in favour of an illustrious person in Rome or Italy, was something to be said for it. For as soon as Luke approaches Italy he puts down all the places as though they were known to Theophilus,--e.g., Syracuse, Rhegium, Pozzuoli (on the name of which Josephus was obliged to make comments for Greek or Oriental readers), and even still less things, such as Tres Tabernae, Via Appla, etc. (W. Denton, M. A.)
IV. Its sources.--The principal inquiry relates to the first part (chaps. 1.-13). After that the narrative follows St. Paul, from whom the incidents might be derived when the writer was not present. Here something will depend on the date when Luke was engaged in drawing up the book. I proceed on the hardly deniable inference that of the last voyage a journal was kept, probably set down during the winter months at Malta. It must then be evident that at this time the purpose of writing a second treatise was ripened in his mind. But how long had this purpose been in his mind? Was it not with this purpose, among others, that he became one of Paul’s company on the return to Asia (Act_20:4-5)? Whether the Gospel was written in the interval or afterwards in Palestine, it is not improbable that the Acts was at this time already designed either as a sequel to the Gospel already finished, or simultaneously as its future sequel. It is very probable that the design may have grown under his hand, suggested little by little by the Holy Spirit of God. He may have intended on leaving Philippi with Paul only to draw up a äéḉãçóéò of their travels, to serve as a record of his acts and sayings in founding the Churches of Europe and Asia. So we find him recording minutely every circumstance of this voyage, which was probably the first written portion of the book. At any time during that or subsequent travels, or during the two years at Rome, he may have filled in those portions of the narrative which occurred during his absence from Paul from the apostle’s own lips. Let us now suppose the apostle in custody at Caesarea. The narrative has been brought down to that time. The apprehension Paul’s defence before the Jews; their conspiracy, his rescue and transmission to Felix, have been duly and minutely recorded--even the letter of Claudius Lysias having been obtained, probably by acquaintance with some one about Felix. An intention similar to that announced in Luk_1:3 is here evidently shown. But now Paul is laid aside for two years. What so natural as that Luke should avail himself of this important interval to obtain information that might complete his fragmentary notices. His main source of information would be the Church at Jerusalem. Then from those who had been on the spot from the first he would learn more fully about the Ascension, and the events of the day of Pentecost. In constructing this part of the Acts Luke may have used written documents. Detailed memoirs of some of the most important events may have been drawn up. If so, chap. 2. would in all probability be such a memoir. The letters (Act_15:23-29; Act_23:26-30) must have been of this kind; some of the discourses, as that of Peter (Act_11:5-17), containing expressions unknown to Luke’s style: more or less, the other speeches of Peter, containing many points of similarity to his Epistles. At the same time, from the similarity of ending of the earlier sections (cf. Act_2:46-47; Act_3:32; Act_4:42; Act_9:31; Act_11:13), from the occurrence of words and phrases peculiar to St. Luke in the speeches, the inference is that such documents were not adopted until their language had been revised, where necessary, by the author himself. The very careful detail of chap. 12. must have been the result of diligent inquiry on the spot from the parties concerned. But one very important section is concerned with events which happened at Caesarea, and derived from information obtained there. There dwelt Philip the Evangelist (Act_21:8): a most important authority for the contents of chaps, 6. and 8, if not also for some events previous to chap. 6. There, too, we may well believe, still dwelt, if not Cornelius himself, yet some of those mentioned in chap. 10:27. Connected with this part of the history is one minute touch of accuracy, interesting as pointing to careful research and information of the most trustworthy kind. Of the Sidonian embassy on the occasion of the awful death of Herod Agrippa I. (Act_12:20), the Jewish historian knows nothing. But Luke, who had made careful inquiries on the spot, who had spent a week at Tyre (Act_21:4-7), and Paul, who had friends at Sidon (Act_27:3), were better acquainted with the facts than to overlook, as Josephus did, the minute details in the general character of the festival. One or two sections in the former part of the Acts require separate consideration. Where did Luke get the report of the apology of Stephen from? Doubtless largely from Paul, who was so deeply implicated in the deacon’s martyrdom, and who shows by his own reference (Act_22:20) to the part taken by him, how indelibly it was fixed in his memory, and who in more than one place reproduces Stephen’s thoughts and expressions. At the same time it is improbable that the Church at Jerusalem should have preserved no memorial of so important a speech as that of her first martyr. The narrative of Saul’s conversion in chap. 9. can hardly fail to have been derived from himself. We now come to the inquiry, How far we have indications of the lacunae in the author’s personal testimony in the latter part having been filled in by that of Paul. Act_17:16-34; Act_18:1-5 relate to a time when Paul was left alone, and here we discover traces of an unusual hand, for in Act_18:16-21 we have no fewer than eleven expressions foreign to Luke’s style, or nowhere else occurring, and no fewer than twenty in the speech. Now of these thirty-one expressions, five are either peculiar to, or employed principally by, Paul; and besides that we find the phrase ôï̀ ðíåõ͂ìá áõ̓ôïõ͂ , so frequently used by him of his own spirit and feelings. Here we can hardly fail to trace the hand of the apostle. Again at Act_18:5, Silas and Timotheus joined Paul at Corinth. One at least of these, Timotheus, was afterwards for a considerable time in Luke’s company. But on his arrival at Corinth no alteration in the style is perceptible. It remains the mixed diction of Paul and Luke: the apax-legomena are fewer, while we have some remarkable traces of Paul’s hand. Further, verses 24-28 it would be natural to suppose were furnished by Apollos, or if not by Aquila and Priscilla, to Paul on his return to Ephesus. And so it seems to have been. The general form is Luke’s: the peculiarities are mostly Paul’s. It yet remains to examine the speeches reported in the latter part of the Acts.
(1) The discourse to the Ephesian Elders in Act_20:18-35 is a rich storehouse of phrases and sentiments peculiar to Paul. Very faint traces are found of Luke, while hardly a line is without unmistakeable evidences that we have the very words of Paul.
(2) The apology before the Jews (Act_22:1-30) was spoken in Hebrew. Did Luke then understand Hebrew, and report the speech as delivered? or was it afterwards communicated by Paul? New--
(a) The speech is full of Hebraisms, which leads us to infer that Paul was not the translator into Greek, but that it is the work of one who felt himself more strictly bound to a literal rendering than the speaker himself, who would be likely to give his own thoughts a freer and more Grecian dress.
(b) While it contains several expressions occurring nowhere else but in Luke’s writings, not one is found in it peculiar to Paul. Our inference then is that Luke himself has rendered this speech from having heard it delivered; and consequently that he was acquainted with Hebrew.
(3) The short apology before Felix (Act_24:10-21) contains some traces of Paul’s manner, but still they are scanty, and the evidences of Luke’s hand predominate. Its very compendious character makes it probable that it was drawn up by Luke from Paul’s own report of the substance of what he said.
(4) The important apology before Agrippa (Act_26:1-29) is full of Paul’s peculiar expressions. It was spoken in Greek, and taken down nearly as spoken. Some phrases, however, occur in it which seem to belong to Luke; just enough to show the hand which has committed the speech to writing. Our conclusion therefore is--
(a) That in all cases the diction of the speeches was more or less modified by Luke’s hand.
(b) That they are not in any case composed by him for the speaker, but were really in substance, and for the most part in very words, uttered as written.
(c) That the differences apparent in editorial diction remarkably correspond to the alleged occasions and modes of their delivery; where Paul spoke Hebrew, hardly any traces of his own style being discernible, as also where only a short compendium of his speech is given; while on the other hand speeches manifestly reported at length, and which were spoken in Greek originally, are full of the characteristic peculiarities of Paul. (Dean Alford.)
V. The Date and Place of Its Publication.--In one conclusion almost all critics agree, viz., that the Acts and the third Gospel are from the same pen. If then the latter is early quoted, and of this there is no doubt, this is proof also of the early existence of the former. Now from the time of St. Paul, who quotes this Gospel, and calls the quotation Scripture (1Ti_5:18), down to recent times, there is hardly a Christian writer who does not make use of it and name it as the source from which he is quoting: and as to the Acts, Polycarp, in his Epistle to Philippi, where Luke long abode, cites it, and it appears in the earliest list of books of acknowledged authority. Then again the number of “Acts” written in imitation of this book early in the second and some even in the first century, must be taken as an additional presumption of its early date, which the best critics fix within the years 58 to 70. Were we discussing the date of an ordinary book no objection would be raised to the earliest date. The abrupt conclusion, whilst Paul is a prisoner at Rome, does not admit of our believing that it was written after many other important events in the life of this apostle had happened. If, as some have suggested, it was written to extend and strengthen the reputation of St. Paul, the book would not have ended without recording his subsequent labours and martyrdom. That; no notice is taken of anything after his arrival in Rome is sufficient indication that it was written during St. Paul’s imprisonment or immediately after its close--i.e., about the year a.d. 63. (W. Denton, M. A.)
VI. Its Genuineness and Authenticity.--This has been ever recognised in the Church. It is mentioned by Eusebius among the generally acknowledged portions of Holy Scripture. It is first directly quoted in the Epistle of Lyons and Vienne to those of Asia and Phrygia (a.d. 177); then repeatedly and expressly by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and so onwards. (Abp. Thomson.)
Its credibility is unquestionably proved by--
1. Many undesigned coincidences between the Acts and Epistles of St. Paul and profane history.
2. Several particular circumstances recorded. Thus--
(1) When Paul was sent from Caesarea to Rome he was committed to the care of Julius, officer of the Augustan Cohort. Now from Josephus we learn that the Roman garrison at Caesarea was composed chiefly of Syrians; but there happened to be then a small body of Roman soldiers stationed there distinguished by the name of the Augustan Cohort. So--
(2) Sergius Paulus (Act_13:7), “the deputy,” is designated by a Greek title ( á̓íèõðá́ôïò ), which was given only to those governors who were invested with proconsular dignity--i.e., appointed not by the emperor but by the Senate. Now we learn that Cyprus was once praetorian and its governors appointed by the emperor, but according to Dion Cassius it was now proconsular, and he designates the governor by the same title as the Acts. (Bp. Marsh.)
VII. Its Characteristics.--
1. Its representative character. Looking at it as a whole, what a representative book it is! What varieties of character; what miracles of friendship; what bringing together of things between which cohesion is, from our standpoint, simply impossible! We wonder how the characters ever came together, how any one book can hold them; and yet, as we wonder, we see them complement one another so as to furnish out the whole circle with perfect accuracy of outline. We belong to one another. The hand cannot say to the foot, “I have no need of thee”; nor can the ear say to the eye, or the eye to the ear, “I have no need of thee.” The human race is not one man; one man is not the human race. The difficulty we have with ourselves and with one another is that of not perceiving that every one of us is needful to make up the sum total of God’s meaning. The men in the Acts belong to one another. Think of Peter and Luke: Peter all fire; Luke quiet, thoughtful, contemplative, musing, taking observations and using them for historical purposes. Think of Paul and Barnabas; think of all the names that are within the record and see how wondrous is the mosaic. There are only two great leaders--“Peter and Paul.” They seem to overshadow everybody; their names burn most ardently and lustrously on the whole record. That is quite true; but where would they have been but for those who supported them, held up their arms, made up their following and their companionship? If they are pinnacles, the pinnacle only expresses the solidity and massiveness of the building that is below. You see the pinnacle from afar; but that pinnacle does not exist in itself, by itself, for itself; it is the upgathering of the great thought, and represents to the farthest-off places the sublime fact that the tabernacle of God is with men upon the earth. (J. Parker, D. D.)
2. Its catholic spirit. If the Gospel of Luke is distinguished by its large-hearted and human spirit, its sequel the Acts perfectly corresponds with this characteristic; for what is in the Gospel only prophecy, indication, type and parable, is in the Acts converted into fulfilment, fact and history. If in the Gospel the Saviour recognised the gratitude of a Samaritan, and related the parable of the good Samaritan; in the Acts the apostles witnessed the joy with which the gospel was received by that people. If in the Gospel not a few of the sayings of Jesus point to the conversion of the Gentiles, and their admission into the kingdom of God, the Acts relate how the Word of God gradually reached the Gentiles, and how they became naturalised citizens of the kingdom. If the Gospel is distinguished as the human gospel, the same wide range embracing the human race is also recognised in the Acts; it was composed for a Gentile, and its largest portion is devoted to the history of the apostle of the Gentiles. Nevertheless Gentile history is not the chief object of the book: St. Luke has as much at heart the conversion of the Jews. And it is precisely the union of Jewish and Gentile Christianity, the harmony of Peter and Paul, which is the centre-point of the book. What our Lord says in chap. 1:8 is its peculiar theme. The effective testimony of the apostles anointed by the power of the Holy Ghost, from Jerusalem to the end of the earth, or the progress of the Church of Christ from the Jews to the Gentiles forms its contents. (J. P. Lange, D. D.)
3. Its fearless candour. Nothing is kept back; there is no desire to make men appear better than they really were; all the sin is here, all the shame, all the virtue, all the honour--everything is set down with an impartial and fearless hand. That is one of the strongest incidental proofs of the inspiration of the whole book. This is not a series of artificial curves or carvings; the men we have to deal with are men of flesh and blood like ourselves wholly. Here is a record of selfishness: the story of Ananias and Sapphira is not kept back. “How much better,” some would have said, “to omit it.” As well omit the story of Adam and Eve. In every book there is aa Adam and Eve, if it be a faithful portraiture of human life; in every soul a fall, an expulsion, a day of cherubic fire that asserts the sovereignty of outraged righteousness. These are not inventions, but they are representations of ourselves as we know ourselves, and therefore we can confirm the book. The accident varies, the substance is constant. Dissensions are reported: Paul and Barnabas separated; Paul withstood Peter “to the face, because he was to be blamed.” Peter to be blamed! That was an honest book! There is no man-painting here; there is no attempt to get up a Christian exhibition with the motto, “Behold the perfect men!” There is a stern reality about this that compels the attention which it charms. Christianity is not represented here as to its earthly lot in any very attractive way. Who would say, after reading the Acts of the Apostles, were we to judge by the fate of its apostles and teachers, “Let us also be Christians”? There was hardly a man in the whole brotherhood that could trace his ancestry beyond yesterday. If you wanted to join an unfashionable sect, the Christian sect would have presented to you innumerable and overwhelming advantages; if you wanted to suffer, Christianity would find the opportunity. We thought that towards the last surely we should hear some better account of it; but in the last chapter Christianity is represented as the sect which is everywhere “spoken against.” All of these circumstances and instances illustrate the intense honesty of the record. Human authors study probabilities. It is a canon amongst literary men that even in a romance nothing shall be put down--though it may actually have occurred--which exceeds the bounds of average probability. There is no study of parts, proportions, colours in the Acts of the Apostles; there is no poetry-making, no romance elaboration; things are put down every night as they occurred every day--there stands the record, with all blotches, blemishes, faults, all heroisms and nobilities, all endurances and glorious successes; nothing is extenuated; the whole tale is told exactly and literally as it occurred. (J. Parker, D. D.)
4. It is pre-eminently a Gospel of the Holy Ghost. At every stage His action is emphatically recognised. Jesus, after His resurrection (chap. 5.), had “through the Holy Ghost given commandment to the apostles,” who are to “be baptized with the Holy Ghost” and to “receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon them.” The Holy Ghost had “spoken through the mouth of David.” Then comes the wonder of Pentecost (chap. 2.), when all the disciples were “filled with the Holy Ghost,” and the prophecy, “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh,” brought to the verge of fulfilment. Jesus has “received from the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost.” Once again (chap. 4.) all were “filled with the Holy Ghost.” The sin of Ananias (chap. 5.) is a “lie unto the Holy Ghost,” who has been “tempted” by himself and his wife. The “Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey Him” is a witness that the Christ is exalted at the right hand of God. The seven who are chosen in chap. 6 are “full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom,” and Stephen is pre-eminently “full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.” His leading charge against priests and Scribes (chap. 7.) is that they “do always resist the Holy Ghost.” Peter and John go down to Samaria (chap. 8.) that those who have been baptized by Philip “might receive the Holy Ghost”; and the sin of Simon is that he thinks this gift of God can be purchased with money. It is the Spirit that impels Philip to join himself to the Ethiopian, and carries him away after his baptism. Ananias is to lay hands on Saul of Tarsus (chap. 9.) that he may be “filled with the Holy Ghost.” The Churches in their interval of rest are “walking … in the comfort of the Holy Ghost.” The admission of the Gentiles (chap. 10.) is attested when the gift of the Holy Ghost is poured out on Cornelius and his friends, and Peter dwells on that in his address (Act_11:15-17; Act_15:8). Barnabas when sent to Antioch (chap. 11.) is described as “full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” It is the Holy Ghost who “separates Barnabas and Saul for the work of the ministry” (chap. 13.), and they are sent forth by Him. Saul, roused to indignation by the subtlety of Elymas, is “filled with the Holy Ghost.” It is He who (chap. 15.) guides the decision of the Council, and directs (chap. 16.) the footsteps of Paul and his companions on their mission journey. The twelve disciples of John (chap. 19.) receive the Holy Ghost when Paul lays his hands on them. He it was who witnessed (chaps. 20.; 21.) in every city that bonds and imprisonment awaited the apostle in Jerusalem, and it was the Holy Ghost who had made the elders of Ephesus overseers of the Church of God. Well nigh the last words of the book are those which “the Holy Ghost had spoken by Esaias,” and which Paul, in the power of the same Spirit, applies to the Jews of his own time (Act_28:25). (Dean Plumptre.)
5. It is a continuation of the life of Christ. The Acts is but the history of Christ in His disciples. He it is who appoints the twelve witnesses (Act_1:24), who, after He has received the Spirit, sends Him down on the Church (Act_2:33), who adds to His Church (Act_2:47), and is ever near His people, turning them away from their iniquities (Act_3:26). He it is who works miracles both of healing and destruction in testimony to His apostles’ preaching (Act_3:6; Act_3:10; Act_3:30; Act_9:34; Act_13:11; Act_14:3; Act_19:13). To Stephen He reveals Himself standing at the right hand of God (7:55, 56). His angel speaks unto Philip (Act_8:26), and it was His Spirit that caught him away (verse 31). He appears to Saul (Act_19:5; Act_19:27; Act_22:8; Act_22:26). His hand established the first Church among the Gentiles (Act_11:27). His angel delivers Peter (Act_12:7; Act_12:11; Act_12:17), and strikes the hostile Herod (Act_12:23). He it is again who appears to Paul in the temple, and commits to him the conversion of the Gentiles (Act_22:17; Act_22:21). To Him the apostles and brethren address themselves on the occasion of the first mission to the Gentiles (Act_12:2; Act_5:47). To Him are the infant Churches commended (Act_14:23). His Spirit prevents the missionaries from preaching in Bithynia (Act_16:7). He calls them by the voice of the Man of Macedonia into Europe (Act_16:10). He opens the heart of Lydia (Act_16:14), comforts and encourages Paul at Corinth (Act_18:9-10), strengthens him in prison, and informs him of his journey to Rome (Act_23:11). These interventions of Jesus, so numerous, express, and decisive, are a sufficient warrant for our ascribing all to His influence, even in those instances when His name is not expressly mentioned. (Baumgarten.)
VIII. Its Scope and Objects.--
1. To record the history of the Church. Looking at the contents of the book it would be well described as the “Acts of Peter and Paul,” the former occupying a prominent place in chaps, 1-5; 10-12; 15, the latter being the central figure in Act_7:58; Act_7:9; Act_11:25-30; Act_13:1-52; Act_14:1-28; Act_15:1-41; Act_16:1-40; Act_17:1-34; Act_18:1-28; Act_19:1-41; Act_20:1-38; Act_21:1-40; Act_22:1-30; Act_23:1-35; Act_24:1-27; Act_25:1-27; Act_26:1-32; Act_27:1-44. From another point of view a yet more appropriate title would be that of Origines Ecclesiae--the history of the growth and development of the Church and of its mission work among the Gentiles. The starting-point and close of the book are in this respect significant. It begins at Jerusalem; it ends at Rome. When it opens, circumcision is required, as well as baptism; the Church is outwardly but a Jewish sect of some 120 persons. When it ends every barrier between Jew and Gentile has been broken down, and the Church has become catholic and all-embracing. To trace the stages of that expansion both locally and as affecting the teaching of the Church is the dominant purpose of the book. The “acts” of those who were not concerned in it, or played but a subordinate part, are deliberately passed over. Some paragraph of selection is clearly involved in the structure of such a book as this, and without going beyond its four corners we may safely affirm that the main purpose of the writer was to inform a Gentile convert of Rome how the gospel had been brought to him, and how it had gained the width and freedom with which it was actually presented. (Baumgarten.)
As in the Gospels we see the grain of wheat falling into the earth and dying, in the Acts we have it represented--for the Church is the body of Christ--springing up and bearing fruit abundantly, spreading into all parts of the world, and enriching human nature with the gifts of Divine grace. As in the Gospels the human means are not brought into prominence in order that our attention should not be diverted from the central figure, our Incarnate Lord, so in the Acts it is not man that is foremost, but the work which by man was wrought through the power of the Holy Ghost; the “acts” which He enabled the apostle of Christ to accomplish, and which, though done by man’s instrumentality, was yet done by God, for “neither is he that planteth anything … but God that giveth the increase.” (W. Denton, M. A.)
2. To vindicate and elucidate St. Paul:--We do not dispute that St. Luke’s history may have been written with an irenical purpose. St. Paul, to whom he was strongly attached, had been more perversely misrepresented and assailed than any one of the servants of Christ; and therefore he wrote to exhibit the harmony of St. Paul’s Christianity with that of the earlier apostles, as well as the process by which he had been led to take a wider scope of thought and ministry, and the wise resolution with which he had rescued the Church from the trammels of Jewish restriction. The book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us exactly what it is indispensable for us to know in order to understand and appreciate the epistles which follow. It is a wonderful tale, well told; and all the more satisfactory that it allows the apostles Peter and Paul to speak for themselves, and so allows us to catch their sentiments in their own words, while we seem to see their gestures and hear their tones. (D. Fraser, D. D.)
IX. Its Relations to the Epistles.--
1. The Acts greatly help us in understanding the Epistles; the latter add much important historical information; and the agreement between the two, extending even to many minute details, strongly confirms the truth of both the Epistles and the Acts. Imagine that we had to study the Epistles without the history; it would be extremely difficult to determine anything as to the time and place of their composition, to fix their historical surroundings, and to perceive the precise adaptation. By the help of Act_17:18, we can readily locate 1 and 2 Thessalonians as having certainly been written at Corinth, and almost certainly in a.d. 52 or 53; and we much better understand those previous relations between the apostle and the persons addressed. We perceive that these were the first writings of the great apostle, and that they contain the germs of that great doctrine of justification by faith which he developed some years later in Galatians and Romans By the help of Act_20:1-38., we perceive that the second and chief group of Paul’s Epistles (1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans) were all written between a.d. 57 and a.d. 58. It also becomes clear that 1 Corinthians was written before leaving Ephesus, 2 Corinthians in Macedonia, during the summer or fall; and Romans during his three months’ stay in Corinth. As to the third group (Philippians, Philem., Colossians, Ephesians), the Acts give us less assistance, for they were written after its history closes, while the apostle was a prisoner at Rome. Yet even here no little light is thrown on Philippians by the history of Paul’s first labours at Philippi; while the fact that Paul had laboured long and successfully at Ephesus brings into more striking contrast with other Epistles the absence of affectionate salutation to individuals in the Epistle, and concurs with other circumstances to work the conviction that this was designed as a circular letter to the various cities in the district of which Ephesus was the capital.
2. The Epistles afford a valuable supplement to the history contained in the Acts. Thus the brief account of Paul’s labours in Thessalonica (Act_17:1-9) may be greatly enlarged by interesting recollections given in 1 Thessalonians; and that of his labours in Corinth (Act_18:1-17), by similar recollections in 1 Corinthians The bare statement in Act_16:6 that Paul went through Galatia, turns to a vivid picture of a warm-hearted Celtic reception when we compare Gal_4:12-15. The priority and prominence of women in the Church at Philippi (Act_16:12-40) receives further pleasing illustration from the general excellence of that Church and its special generosity in contributions for Paul’s support, of which we read in the Epistle. The barely mentioned three months in Greece (Act_20:2-3) become warm with activity and zeal as we read the Epistle to the Romans. And so with many other points throughout the history. One exceedingly important part of Paul’s history comes out in the second group of Epistles, to which only a single slight reference is made in the book of Acts (Act_24:16). This is the great collection which Paul made among his Gentile Churches for the poor Christians at Jerusalem. This occupied much of his thought during two years of his third missionary journey. For this he directed the Galatians and the Corinthians so set apart something on every first day of the week (1Co_16:1-2), and sent with Titus (2Co_8:6) the strongest argument and warmest appeal (2Co_8:9). But he knows that there are those who, if he himself take charge of the money, will delight in saying that nobody knows whether that money ever got to Jerusalem; so he declares (1Co_16:3-4) that it is to be carried by persons of their own selection. The good name of Christianity, in connection with benevolent funds, much oftener suffers through imprudence or negligence than through honesty. The apostle evidently expected this contribution to open the hearts of the Jewish Christians towards the Gentile Churches, and thus prevent a schism. The Judaisers were doing their utmost to kindle bitter feeling at Jerusalem towards Paul and his Churches. The Jews in foreign countries had long been accustomed (as they are to this day) to send money for the support of their poorer brethren at Jerusalem; and when Gentile Christians gathered this liberal contribution, nothing could be better suited to call forth the affection and confidence of the Jewish Christians. The rapid restoration of good feeling in the Southern States of America towards the North has been not a little promoted by the generosity of Northern Christians towards Southern enterprises. The later Epistles carry on the history after the conclusion of Acts. What an interesting light is thrown upon Paul’s life as a prisoner at Rome, by various allusions in Philippians, Philem., Colossians, and Ephesians We learn something even of his outer life as he goes about in the Praetorian camp, chained to a soldier, and talking upon every occasion concerning Christ, until his bonds in Christ are known in all the Praetorium; or as he searches for souls in the slums of the great city, and a runaway slave from Asia Minor becomes his son in the faith; or as he joyfully receives a fresh contribution from Philippi for his support, or lovingly visits the brother who brought it, in that perilous illness which the sickly climate of Rome has inflicted upon him. Still more is the apostle’s inner life brought before us in these Epistles, until we see right clearly his anxieties, his consolations, his hopes for time and for eternity. The closing group of letters to his two companions for years past reveal anew the most tender aspects of the great apostle’s character, mingled with fearless courage, until at last the curtain slowly descends upon him as he sits thinking of old friends who are absent, and rejoicing in other friends whom the Lord has raised up for him, ready to be offered, and waiting for the crown of righteousness--slowly, slowly the curtain descends, till we see his face no more. (J. A. Broadus, D. D.)
XI. Practical Lessons from Its History.--It is said of Abel that “being dead he yet speaketh,” though no word uttered by him has been recorded. So the early Church speaks to us through its works more than through any message of written language.
1. Its spirit of devotion, and its love of public worship should be to us a holy inspiration. On the evening of the Sabbath of the Resurrection, the disciples met in aa upper room and also on the following Sabbath. After the Ascension “they were daily in the temple praising and blessing God.” Nor did the descent of the Spirit on Pentecost change their habits of public worship. Peter and John still “went up at the ninth hour, being the hour of prayer.” And when the number of the disciples had vastly increased, “they continuing daily with one accord in the temple.” The fact that the descent of the Spirit occurred on the anniversary of the giving of the law seems to indicate the perfect union between the legal and spiritual requirements. The duty of public worship was enjoined by that law, was sanctioned by the baptism of fire, and was voiced in the actions of the early Church, saying with the apostle, “Forsaking not the assembling of yourselves together.” It must not be forgotten also that this attendance on public worship was not free from danger. In their first meetings “the door was shut for fear of the Jews.”
2. In their unity of spirit and close affection for each other, they gave a bright example of Christian duty. This union may have been caused partly through fear of the bigoted Jews, and as being sharers of the common reproach; but the chief tie was love. Their great attachment was to their risen Master. They loved Him, and through Him they loved each other. The test of discipleship was “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” This love was manifest, not only in their union in public service, but also in their supplying each other’s needs. A mutual love overcame their selfishness and their love of property. That love is farther evinced by the provision which was early made for the support of widows. This led to the selection of seven laymen to superintend this ministration, which gives us a glimpse of the relative value of the spiritual and the temporal economy of the Church. The serving of tables was necessary, but the preaching of the gospel was more essential. This ever remains God’s order: The preaching of the Cross precedes the humanitarian efforts to elevate man.
3. In the history of the early Church we mark its care in reference to organisation. One of its first acts was to fill the place of the fallen Judas. We have also the institution of the order of deacons for serving tables. What their peculiar organisation was may be a matter of doubt; but all agree that there was an organisation, in which the members were closely united; which received members, administered the ordinances, and expelled the unworthy; which, by proper adjudication, settled difficulties, and selected its officers. To these organised Churches the writings of the apostle were sent. This organisation was not formed to interfere with great national movements; but simply to preserve its own existence, to advance its members in holiness and usefulness, and to extend amongst men the knowledge of the Lord. As, however, this organisation might need to be modified to meet the condition of various lands and coming ages, its special form is not given us in the Holy Scriptures. It has been left to men under the influence of the Holy Spirit to carry out, as seems best to them, the great principles laid down in the Word of God.
4. Notice the example of the Christian Church in exciting, and finding proper objects for, human activity. Duties were enjoined, not upon ministers merely, or on prominent members, but on the entire body. These members differed from each other in office and qualifications, as the head from the hand or the foot. All Christians were urged to be co-workers with God, to have the spirit of Christ, and to labour for their fellow-men. They were described as an army of soldiers fighting against the enemies of Christ. They were enjoined to “work while it is called to-day”; “to be diligent in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” The activity of the early Christians appeared in the midst of their persecutions, and when they were scattered abroad they went everywhere preaching the Word.
5. We have exemplified in the early Church the power of the gospel to triumph over all circumstances. It commenced in the age of universal corruption. Outside of Judaea idolatry reigned supreme; licentiousness prevailed; murder and suicides were frequent; the power and wealth of the State were in a few hands; the mass of the people were without means, learning, protection, and a large part was held in slavery. Yet in the midst of all these vices, without a Bible in the hands of the people, without a Sabbath, and without church edifices, the gospel made wonderful conquests. Nor were these triumphs secured by any external aid; the disciples received no assistance from the governments or established institutions. The literature, the schools, the influence of society, were against them. Yet the power of God made them conquerors, if the gospel had such power then, why not now? (Dr. M. Simpson.)
I. General sketch.--
1. His early life.
(1) Born at Tarsus (Act_9:11; Act_21:39; Act_22:3).
(2) Of the tribe of Benjamin (Php_3:5).
(3) A Roman citizen by birth (Act_16:37; Act_22:25-29).
(4) Circumcised the eighth day (Php_3:5).
(5) A Hebrew of the Hebrews (2Co_11:22; Php_3:4-6).
(6) A Pharisee and son of a Pharisee (Act_22:3; Act_23:6; Act_26:5; Php_3:5; Gal_1:14)
(7) Taught by Gamaliel (Act_22:3; Act_26:4).
(8) A tent maker by occupation (Act_18:3).
(9) A persecutor of the Church (Act_8:3; Act_9:1; Act_22:4; Act_26:9; Gal_1:13; 1Ti_1:13).
2. His conversion.
(1) Its miraculous means (Act_9:3-18; Act_22:6-17; Act_26:12-18).
(2) How shown (Act_9:20; Act_9:29; Act_26:19; Gal_1:16).
3. His apostleship.
(1) Affirmed by himself (1Co_9:1; Rom_1:1; Tit_1:1).
(2) Called not of men, but of God (Rom_1:1; Gal_1:1; Eph_1:1; 1Ti_1:1; 2Ti_1:1).
(3) An apostle to the Gentiles (Rom_11:13).
(4) Not a whit behind the chiefest of the apostles (2Co_11:5).
(5) The Holy Ghost given through his hands (Act_19:6).
4. His trials.
(1) His stoning at Lystra (Act_14:8-9; 2Ti_3:11).
(2) His persecutions--
(a) At Philippi (chap. 16).
(b) At Ephesus (Act_19:23-41).
(c) At Jerusalem (Act_21:27).
(3) His sufferings (1Co_4:9; 2Co_11:23; 2Co_12:7; Php_1:12; 2Ti_2:11).
(4) His defence--
(a) Before the people (chap. 22).
(b) Before the council (chap. 23).
(c) Before Felix (chap. 24).
(d) Before Agrippa (chap. 26).
(5) His voyage and shipwreck (chap. 27).
(6) His last testimony (2Ti_4:7-8). (S. S. Times.)
II. His personal appearance.--The nearest approximation to an authentic portrait of Paul is the medal found in the cemetery of Domitilla, one of the Flavian family, and assigned by archaeologists to the close of the first or beginning of the second century. Closely cut hair (comp. chap. 18:18), slightly projecting eyes, a high forehead, a nose and mouth that indicate intellectual vigour, moustache, and a beard full rather than long--this was what the artist gave in his attempt to reproduce a face which he may have seen himself or heard described by others. In stature, it is obvious, he was below the middle height (2Co_10:1). The suffering which he describes as the “thorn in the flesh” showed itself in weak eyes, probably in the nervous trembling of one who is constantly liable to severe attacks of pain (see 2Co_12:7). He went about as one who had the sentence of death on him (2Co_1:9). With this, however, there was great vigour of body. He could travel on foot some thirty miles a day (Act_17:1), or ride on horseback (Act_23:24), or swim rivers, or keep himself floating for many hours at sea (Act_27:43). The indomitable energy of the man sustained him under hardships and privations of all kinds. He spoke, not with the rhetorical cadencies in which Greek rhetoricians delighted, but with words that went home like an arrow to their mark, and pierced men’s hearts (2Co_11:25). The voice was, perhaps, untunable, but the words were full of life (1Co_14:25; 2Co_10:10). As men saw him in his artisan’s dress, living the life of the poor, they might have taken him for what he appeared to be; but when they came to know him they found a culture that surprised them, and a marvellous readiness to adapt himself to different natures. He became “all things to all men”--won the respect of proconsuls, chiliarchs, centurions, of the wild emotional Galatians, of the runaway slave Onesimus. He would listen to any tale of sorrow; and yet a keen sense of humour mingled with his earnestness and tenderness. He did not disdain to mingle an occasional pun (Php_4:2; Php_4:18; Phm_1:10-11) with serious counsel, nor to paint the weaknesses of silly women and charlatans with a pen that almost reminds us of the caustic sarcasm of Juvenal (1Ti_5:11-13; 2Ti_3:6-7). And yet when the hour of prayer came, sometimes when he was alone, sometimes when in company with others, he would be absorbed as in ecstatic adoration (1Co_14:18). And in his prayers there was an almost terrible earnestness. Groans mingled with words, and name after name of churches and beloved disciples passed from his lips, as he laid his intercessions for them before his Father in heaven (Rom_1:9; Rom_8:26; 1Th_3:10). Such are the outlines of the man as he was--very unlike to Raphael’s idealised representation of him--which are given to us indirectly through his own writings, and each reader must fill up those outlines according to his power. To this we may add such fragmentary notices as are found in ancient writers, and which, from their general consistency, may claim something like the character of a tradition. Thus, in the “Philopatris,” ascribed to Lucian (possibly of the second century, but the book is probably spurious and belonging to the fourth), he is described as “bald, and with an aquiline nose”; and in the apocryphal “Acts of Paul and Thecla” (c. 1:7), as “little in stature, bald, crook-legged, vigorous, with knitted brows, slightly aquiline nose, full of grace, appearing now as a man and now as having the face of an angel.” Malala, or John of Antioch “(in the sixth century), describes him (“Chronograph,” c. 10.) as “short, bald, with partly grey hair and beard, a prominent nose, greyish eyes, knitted brows, pale and yet fresh complexion, a well-shaped beard, with a touch of humour, sagacious, self-restrained, pleasant to converse with, gentle, yet filled by the Holy Spirit with an eager enthusiasm.” Nicephorus (in the fifteenth century) reproduces the same general type; but the late date makes it impossible for us to look to his account as more than a second-hand portrait. Such as it is, he too speaks of short stature, somewhat bent and stooping; pale and yet comely; bald, and with bright grey eyes; with long and aquiline nose, and a thick beard more or less grizzled (“Hist.” 2.37). Such in outward form, such in manner and character, was the man to whom the Church of Christ owes so much. We are reminded, as we read his own account of himself, what others said of him in his lifetime, the traditions that survived after his death, of such a one as Socrates, with his Silenus face, his ecstatic trances, his playful irony and humour, his earnest thought, his deep enthusiasm, his warm affection for the young, his indifference to wealth and ease. These were, of course, distinctive features, rising in part out of differences of race and culture--the difference between the Aryan and the Semitic types of character--in part out of the higher truths which had been revealed to the apostle and not to the sage; but there is enough in the general features of the life and character of each to help us to understand the words which tell us that “Wisdom in all ages entering into holy souls maketh them friends of God and prophets.” (Dean Plumptre.)
III. His parentage, early life, and training.--
1. Paul came of a good family. He was “a Hebrew of the Hebrews”--of pure, unmixed Hebrew descent. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, the favourite son of the father of the patriarchs; the tribe from which was taken the first king, whose name, Saul, was given to him at his circumcision. It is well to come of a good stock. Training and culture are of vast advantage; but much depends on the quality of the raw material. You would rather be Normans or Anglo-Saxons than Bosjesmen or Australians. And not only is it well to be born of one of the highest sections of the race, but of good immediate ancestors. There is a great difference between the moral condition in which human beings come into the world. The miserable offspring of ignorance, brutality, and vice come into the world with a deteriorated nature, whereas God-fearing parents, because of their pure and unspotted lives, can give a good physical constitution to their children, and good moral instincts along with it. Paul’s father was not only distinguished as a Jew, but as a man. He was a Roman citizen, though we cannot tell how he acquired the honour. In consequence of his possessing it, however, Paul was free born. Of Paul’s mother we can say nothing, as nothing is recorded. On general principles, however, we have reason to think that she was a woman distinguished by strength of mind and goodness of character. Depend upon it, men like St. Paul are very seldom the offspring of vain, foolish, or weak-minded women. We do not know whether Paul had any brothers, but we know that he had a sister, for a son of hers is mentioned in the Acts. If there is a pur