Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:1

Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:1 - 1:26

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Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:1 - 1:26

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

1:1 - 1:26

EXPOSITION

Act_1:1

I made for have I made, A.V.; concerning for of, A.V.; to teach for teach, A.V. The former treatise; literally, the first history, narrative, or discourse. The form of the Greek, τὸν μὲν τρῶτον , shows that the writer had in his mind at the time to contrast the second history, which he was just beginning, and that naturally τὸν δὲ δεύτερον or τοῦτον δὲ τὸν λόγον , ought both grammatically and logically, to have followed. But the mention of "the apostles whom he had chosen" drew him, as it were, into the stem of his history before he was able to describe it. O Theophilus. The omission of the title "most excellent," given to Theophilus in the Gospel (Luk_1:3), is one among other indications that the publication of the Acts followed very closely upon that of the Gospel. Began both to do and to teach. Some take the phrase as equivalent to did and taught; others supply the sense and continued until the day, etc.; or, which is the same thing, supply the terminus a quo, making the whole sense equivalent to "all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day," etc.; others again, as Bishop Wordsworth, gather St. Luke's meaning to be that in the Acts he is about to narrate the continuance by our Lord in heaven of the work which he only began on earth. Meyer thinks that, by the insertion of the word "began," the thing said or done "is in a vivid and graphic manner denoted according to its moment of commencement;" so that our Lord is represented as at one time actively beginning to heal, then to teach, then to walk on the sea, and so on. But the words "began" and "until the day" certainly suggest the beginning and the ending of our Lord's ministry, or rather the whole ministry from its beginning to its end, so that the meaning would be "of all that Jesus did and taught from first to last." To do and to teach. So the disciples on the way to Emmaus speak of Jesus as "a Prophet mighty in deed and word" (Luk_24:19). Compare the stress laid upon the works of Christ in Act_10:38, Act_10:39.

Act_1:2

Received for taken, A.V.; commandment for commandments, A.V.; after that he had given commandment through the Holy Ghost for after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments, A.V. The commandment or directions given by our Lord to the apostles between the Resurrection and the Ascension are recorded partly in Luk_24:44-49; Mat_28:19, Mat_28:20; Mar_16:15-18; Joh_21:1-25.; and yet more fully in Joh_21:3-8 of this chapter. Through the Holy Ghost. The sense is certain. Jesus gave his charge to his apostles through the Holy Ghost. It was by the Holy Ghost abiding in him that he spake to the apostles. This is the repeated declaration of Holy Scripture. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" (Isa_61:1; Luk_4:18; Act_10:38. See also Luk_4:1; Mat_12:28; Heb_9:14; and for the construction, Act_11:28; Act_21:4). Received up ( ἀνελήφθη ); the stone word as is used in the Septuagint of Elijah (2Ki_2:10, 2Ki_2:11). In Luk_24:5 it is carried up. ( ἀνεφέρετο )

Act_1:3

Proofs for infallible proofs, A.V.; appearing unto them for seen of, A.V.; concerning for pertaining to, A.V. The addition of the words by many proofs makes it necessary to understand the words showed himself ( παρέστησεν ἑαυτόν ) in the sense which it bears both in classic and Scriptural Greek, of proved or demon-strafed: "To whom he gave distinct proofs of his being alive after his passion;" the proofs follow—being "seen of them" for forty days at intervals, talking with them, and (Act_1:9) "being taken up while they were looking." Doubtless, too, he had in his mind those other proofs which he records in Act_10:41, and those referred to by St. Paul (1Co_15:5-8). For this sense of παρίστημι , see Act_24:13, "to rove:" and Lysias's 'Oration against Eratosthenes', where the almost identical phrase occurs which we have here, Ἀμφότερα ταῦτα πολλοῖς τεκμηρίοις παραστήσω , "I will prove both these things by many certain proofs." The A.V. rendering, "infallible proofs," was quite justified. Stephanus says, "De certo et indubitato signo dicitur apud Rhetoricos"; and the technical meaning of τεκμήριον in Aristotle is a "demonstrative proof," as opposed to a σημεῖον , which leaves room for doubt; and in medical writers, which is important as regards St. Luke, the τεκμήριον is the "infallible symptom." St. Luke, by the use of the word here, undoubtedly meant to express the certainty of the conclusion based on those proofs. Appearing unto them. The Greek ὀπτανόμενος , corresponding to the φανερωθεὶς of the Epistle of Barnabas, cap. 15., only occurs in the New Testament in this place. In the Septuagint of 1Ki_8:8 it is used of the staves of the ark within the veil, which "were not seen without." The idea intended to be conveyed, both by the use of this verb and by the use of διὰ (by the space of), is that our Lord was not with the apostles always, as he was before the Resurrection, but that he came and again disappeared (St. Chrysostom). They were fleeting appearances spread over forty days. The nearly related substantive, ὀπτασία , means "a vision," and is frequently used by St. Luk_1:22; Luk_24:23; 26:19. It is also found in 2Co_12:1-21 :l. Concerning the kingdom of God; a subject which had deeply engaged their thoughts (Luk_19:11), and on which it was most needful that they should now be fully instructed, that they might teach others (Act_20:25).

Act_1:4

He charged them not to deport for commanded them that they should not depart, A.V.; to wait for wait, A.V.; said he for saith he, A.V.; from me for of me, A.V. Being assembled, etc. (R.T. on, its μετ ' αὐτῶν ); more exactly, as he was assembling with them (Field, in 'Otium Norvicense'). Not to depart from Jerusalem. (See Luk_24:49.) It was necessary, according to the prophecy, Mic_4:2; Isa_2:3, that the gospel should go forth from Jerusalem. Wait for the promise. (See Luk_24:49.) The promise of the Father formed the subject of our Lord's discourse to the apostles on the last night of his earthly life, as recorded in Joh_14:16, Joh_14:17, Joh_14:26; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:7-14. He doubtless here refers to that conversation, though not, of course, to the record of it in the Gospel of St. John.

Act_1:5

Indeed for truly, A.V. Ye shall be baptized, etc. (Comp. Mat_3:11; Luk_3:16; Joh_1:33.) St. Peter refers to this saying of the Lord's in his address to the Church of Jerusalem (Act_11:16), and the record of it here may be an indication that St. Luke derived his information of these early events from Peter. A curious question arises as to the baptism of the apostles themselves. When were they baptized, and by whom? Chrysostom says, "They were baptized by John." But it is evident, from Joh_3:22; Joh_4:1, Joh_4:2, that converts were baptized with Christian, as distinct from John's, baptism in our Lord's lifetime, and hence it may seem probable, especially considering that St. Paul was baptized, that the apostles may have been baptized by Christ (Bishop Wordsworth On Joh_4:2). If so, the baptism with the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was the complement of that baptism, not the substitute for it. "In our case," says Chrysostom, "both (the baptism of water and of the Spirit) take place under one act, but then they were divided."

Act_1:6

They therefore, when for when they therefore, A.V.; him for of him, A.V.; dost thou for wilt thou, A.V.; restore for restore again, A.V. Dost thou at this time, etc.? It appears from Luk_19:11 and Luk_24:21, as well as from other passages, that the apostles expected the kingdom of Christ to come immediately. It was most natural, therefore, that, after the temporary extinction of this hope by the Crucifixion, it should revive with new force when they saw the Lord alive after his passion. They had doubtless too been thinking over the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit "not many days hence." Restore. (Comp. restitution, Act_3:21; and see Mat_17:11.)

Act_1:7

Times or seasons for the times or the seasons, A.V.; set within his own authority for put in his own power, A.V. It is not for you to know, etc. The time of the end is always spoken of as hidden. Times or season. Times with reference to duration, seasons with reference to fitness or opportunity. Which the Father. The distinctive use of the word "Father" here agrees with our Lord's saying in Mar_13:32, "Neither the Son, but the Father." Hath set within his own authority ( ἐξουσίᾳ ). Hath reserved under his own authority ('Speaker's Commentary'); "Has established by means of his own plenitude of power" (Meyer); "Hath put or kept in his own power (A.V., and so Afford). This last seems the best.

Act_1:8

When for after that, A.V.; my witnesses for witnesses unto me, A.V. and T.R.; Samaria for in Samaria, A.V. Ye shall receive power ( δύναμιν ); a word sped-ally used of the power of the Holy Spirit (see Act_6:8). "Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit" (Luk_4:14; see too Luk_24:49); "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" (Act_10:38); "Through the power of the Holy Ghost" (Rom_15:13); "The demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1Co_2:4); "Strengthened with might ( δυνάμει ) by his Spirit" (Eph_3:16); "The powers of the world to come" (Heb_6:6). My witnesses. This function of the apostles, to be witnesses of Christ, is one much insisted upon in Scripture. So we read in Act_1:22, "Of these must one become ['be ordained,' A.V.] a witness with us of his resurrection." So again in Act_10:40-42, "God … showed him openly; not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us …. And he commanded us to testify," etc. (see also Act_10:39 and Act_10:42 of the same chapter; Act_13:31; Luk_24:48; Act_4:33; Act_13:31; Act_22:15, Act_22:18,Act_22:20; Act_26:16; 1Pe_5:1; 1Jn 1-3, etc.).

Act_1:9

Said for spoken, A.V.; as they were looking for while they beheld, A.V. They were to be αὐτόπται , eye-witnesses, of the Lord's ascension, arid so it is particularly noted that he was taken as they were looking. He did not disappear from their sight till he reached the cloud which enveloped him.

Act_1:10

Were looking for looked, A.V.; into for toward, A.V.; went for went up, A.V. Two men. St. Luke describes them according to their appearance. They were really angels. In like manner, in Jos_5:13 we read, "There stood a man over against him;" and in Gen_18:2, Gen_18:16; Gen_19:10, Gen_19:12, Gen_19:16, we read of "the men;" and in Jdg_13:6, Jdg_13:8, Jdg_13:10, Jdg_13:11, of "the man of God;" the persons spoken of in all these cases being angels. Gabriel, too, means "man of God." In white apparel, typical of perfect holiness, and of the glory which belongs to the inhabitants of heaven.

Act_1:11

Looking for gazing up, A.V.; this for this same, A.V.; was received for is taken, A.V.; beheld him going for have seen him go, A.V. In like manner; i.e. in a cloud. The description of our Lord's second advent constantly makes mention of clouds. "Behold, he cometh with clouds" (Rev_1:7). "One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven" (Dan_7:13; and so Mat_26:64; Luk_21:27, etc.). We are reminded of the grand imagery of Psa_104:3, "Who maketh the clouds his chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind." It may be remarked that the above is by far the fullest account we have of the ascension of our Lord. St. Luke appears to have learnt some further particulars concerning it in the interval between writing his Gospel (Luk_24:50-52) and writing the Acts. But allusions to the Ascension are frequent (Mar_16:19; Joh_6:62; Joh_20:17; Rom_8:34; Eph_4:8, Eph_4:9; Php_2:9; Col_3:1; 1Ti_3:16; 1Pe_3:22, etc.). With reference to Zeller's assertion, that in St. Luke's Gospel the Ascension is represented as taking place on the day of the Resurrection, it may freely be admitted that the narrative in the Gospel does not mark distinctly the interval of time between the different appearances and discourses of our Lord from the day of the Resurrection to that of the Ascension. It seems to group them according to their logical connection rather than according to their chronological sequence, and to be a general account of what Jesus said between the Resurrection and the Ascension. But there is nothing whatever in the text of St. Luke to indicate that what is related in the section Luk_24:44-49 took place at the same time as the things related in the preceding verses. And when we compare with that section what is contained in Act_1:4, Act_1:5, it becomes clear that it did not. Because the words "assembling together with them," in Act_1:4, clearly indicate a different occasion from the apparitions on the day of the Resurrection; and as the words in Luk_24:44-49 correspond with those in Act_1:4, Act_1:5, it must have been also on a different occasion that they were spoken. Again, the narrative of St. John, both in the twentieth and the twenty-first chapters, as well as that of Mat_28:10, Mat_28:16; Mar_16:7, precludes the possibility of the Ascension having taken place, or having been thought to have taken place, on the day of the Resurrection, or for many days after, so that to force a meaning upon the last chapter of St. Luke's Gospel which it does not necessarily bear, and which places it at variance with St. Luke's own account in the Acts (i. 3; Act_13:31), and with the Church traditions as preserved by St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. John, is a violent and willful transaction.

Act_1:12

Nigh unto for from, A.V.; journey off for journey, A.V. Olivet, from the Vulgate Olivetum. The particular Greek form Ἐλαιὼν , Elaeon, occurs in the New Testament only here. In Luk_19:29; Luk_21:37, according to the T.R., and that followed in the R.V., it is Ἐλαιῶν , of Olives. But as St. Luke usually has τὸ ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν when he speaks of it as "the Mount of Olives" (Luk_19:37; Luk_22:39), and as here he calls it Elaeon, which is its name in Josephus ('Jud. Ant.,' Luk_7:9, Luk_7:2; see too Luk_20:8, Luk_20:6), it seems probable that in Luk_19:29; Luk_21:27, we ought to read, with Lachmann and Tischendorf (see Meyer on Luk_19:29), Ἐλαιὼν , Elaeon, Olivet. In the Old Testament, in 2Sa_15:30, it is "the ascent of the Olives" (A.V., "the ascent of Mount Olivet"); in Zec_14:4, "the Mount of Olives." A sabbath day's journey off; i.e. six, or according to Schleusner, seven and a half, furlongs (or two thousand cubits). Josephus ('Jud. Ant.,' 20:8, 6) calls it "five furlongs," but he only measured to the foot of the hill, whereas St. Luke gives the distance from the spot whence Christ ascended. Bethany itself, according to Joh_11:18, was fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem.

Act_1:13

The upper chamber for an upper room, A.V.; where they were abiding for where abode, A.V.; son of James for brother of James, A.V. The upper chamber; perhaps the same room where they had eaten the Passover with Christ (Luk_22:12); but this is very uncertain, though affirmed by Epiphanius, and by Nicephorus, who further relates that the very house in which the upper chamber was built into the back part of the temple which the Empress Helena erected on Mount Sion. The word here is ὑπερῷον , there it is ἀνώγεον . The ὑπερῷον (Hebrew äÈéÌìòÂ , 2Ki_4:10, 2Ki_4:11) was the room immediately under the roof; the ἀνώγεον was synonymous. Where they were abiding. A slight change in the order of the words, as adopted in the text of the R.V., makes Peter and the other apostles the nominative case to the verb "went up," instead of, as in the A.V., to "abode." In regard to the list of the apostles which follows, it may be noticed first, that it is identical with that of Luk_6:14-16, except in the omission of Judas Iscariot and the order in which the apostles are named. The order in Luke seems to have followed that of natural birth and association. The brothers, Peter and Andrew, James and John, are classed together; Philip and Bartholomew, or Nathanael, go together, and so on. But in this list John follows Peter, his close companion in missionary work (Act_3:1, etc.; Act_4:12; Act_8:14); James follows instead of preceding John; and others are classed somewhat differently, for reasons probably analogous, but which we know not. Of the other lists that in Mar_3:16-19 agrees most nearly with that before us. In all, Simon Peter stands first. The Jude of Luk_6:16 (comp. Jud Luk_1:1) and Act_1:13 is called Thaddaeus in Mat_10:3 (" Lebbaeus whose surname was Thaddaeus," A.V.) and in Mar_3:18; but no doubt the persons are the same. In all the lists Philip stands fifth. In three Bartholomew is sixth, while in the list in Acts his being named after Thomas makes him seventh. In all the lists James the son of Alphaeus is ninth, and Judas Iscariot the last, except in the Acts, where he is not named, being already dead. The underwritten columns give the four lists in one view:—

Mat_10:2-5 Mar_3:16-19 Luk_6:14-16 Act_1:13 1. Simon Peter 1. Simon Peter 1. Simon Peter 1. Simon Peter 2. Andrew 2. James 2. Andrew 2. John 3. James 3. John 3. James 3. James 4. John 4. Andrew 4. John 4. Andrew 5. Phillip 5. Philip 5. Philip 5. Philip 6. Bartholomew 6. Bartholomew 6. Bartholomew 6. Thomas 7. Thomas 7. Matthew 7. Matthew 7. Bartholomew 8. Matthew 8. Thomas 8. Thomas 8. Matthew 9. James son of Alphaeus 9. James son of Alphaeus 9. James son of Alphaeus 9. James son of Alphaeus 10. Thaddaeus 10. Thaddaeus 10. Simon the Zealot 10. Simon the Zealot 11. Simon the Cananaean 11. Simon the Cananaean 11. Judas, the son, or brother, of James 11. Jude, the son, or brother, of James 12. Judas Iscariot 12. Judas Iscariot 12. Judas Iscariot

Act_1:14

With one accord continued steadfastly for continued with one accord, A.V.; prayer for prayer and supplication, A.V. and T.R. The women. St. Luke, in his Gospel, makes frequent mention of the women who followed our Lord, and generally of things that happened to women (see Luk_23:1-56. 27, 49, 55; Luk_24:10, Luk_24:22, etc. See also Luk_7:37, etc.; Luk_8:23; Luk_10:38, 45; etc.). We notice the same tendency in the Acts, here, and in Act_2:17, Act_2:18; Act_5:14; Act_9:36; Act_12:13; Act_16:14, Act_16:16; Act_17:4, Act_17:34; Act_18:1-28. 26; Act_21:9; Act_24:24; Act_25:23; etc. Mary the mother of Jesus appears here not as an object of worship, but as humbly joining in the prayers of the Church. And with his brethren. The Lord's brethren are spoken of by name in Mat_13:55 as "James, and Joses ['Joseph,' R.V.], and Simon, and Judas." So also Mar_6:3 (see too Act_4:31-35). "James the Lord's brother" is mentioned by St. Paul (Gal_1:19); "the brethren of the Lord "are mentioned 1Co_9:5; and again in Joh_7:3, Joh_7:5, Joh_7:10, "the brethren of Jesus" are spoken of. This is not the place to enter upon the difficult question of their parentage. But it may suffice to say that if James and Judas are the two apostles of that name (which Alford, however, thinks they certainly were not, referring to Joh_7:5, compared with Joh_6:67), then the brethren here spoken of as distinct from the apostles would be Joses and Simon.

Act_1:15

These for those, A.V.; brethren for disciples, A.V. and T.R.; and there was a multitude of persons gathered together for the number of names together were, A.V.; a for an, A.V. Peter justifies his primacy by taking the lead in the first onward movement of the Church. Names is a common Hebraism for "persons" (see Rev_3:4; Num_1:2). Gathered together; i.e. to one place and at one time (see the same phrase, Act_2:1, Act_2:44). Wordsworth quotes Ignat., 'Ad Magnes' 7., and Clem. Ro 1:4, where the same phrase, ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ , indicative of Church unity occurs.

Act_1:16

Brethren, it teas needful that the Scripture should be fulfilled for men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, A.V.; spake before by the mouth of David for by the mouth of David spake before, A.V. It was needful, etc. So our Lord declared, "The Scriptures cannot be broken" (Joh_10:35); and "All things must be fulfilled which were written" ere. (Luk_24:25-27, Luk_24:44-46). It is most important to our Christian integrity that we should view the Scriptures in the same light as our Lord and his apostles did, as containing real prophecies, spoken by the Holy Ghost. (Compare the manner in which the sixty-ninth psalm is here quoted with that of Heb_3:7.) So the Creed, "I believe in the Holy Ghost …. who spake by the prophets" (comp. Act_4:25; Act_28:25). Who was guide, etc. If St. Peter had only been addressing his brother apostles, who were well acquainted with the treachery of Judas, it would scarcely have been natural to introduce these words; they would have seemed rather to be explanatory words added by the historian. But the circumstances might be very imperfectly known to many of the hundred and twenty brethren assembled on this occasion; and if so, the reference to Judas's treachery would not be out of place in St. Peter's mouth.

Act_1:17

Among for with, A.V.; received his portion in for had obtained part of, A.V. For he was numbered, etc. This is said in order to show that the passage in the Psalms applied strictly to Judas, seeing he had held his portion in the ministry and office of an apostle (see Joh_6:71). His portion; literally, his lot; i.e. the portion which fell to him by lot. The language is taken from the Old Testament (see e.g. Jos_18:10, Jos_18:11; Jos_19:1, Jos_19:10, etc.). Those who received such a portion ( κλῆρον ) were clergy.

Act_1:18

Obtained for purchased, A.V., an unnecessary change; his iniquity for iniquity, A.V. It is obvious that this verso and Act_1:19, which are placed in a parenthesis in the R.V., are not part of St. Peter's discourse, but are explanatory words inserted by St. Luke for the instruction of Theophilus and his other readers. Falling headlong; i.e. from the tree or gallows on which he hung himself (see Mat_27:3-8). The only apparent discrepancies in the accounts of St. Matthew and St. Luke in regard to the purchase of the field, and the name given to it, are that, according to St. Matthew's more detailed account, it was the chief priests who actually purchased the field with Judas's money, whereas St. Luke says, less accurately, that Judas purchased it. Again, St. Matthew explains the name Akel-dama as being given to the field because it was the price of the "innocent blood" of Jesus betrayed by Judas, whereas St. Luke's account rather suggests that it was Judas's own blood shed in his fall which gave the name. But both accounts of the name might be true, some understanding the name in one sense and some in the other. (Compare the different accounts of the name of Beer-sheba in Gen_21:31 and Gen_26:32, Gen_26:33; of the origin of the proverb, "Is Saul among the prophets?" 1Sa_10:11, 1Sa_10:12 and 1Sa_20:24; and other similar cases.) Though, however, there is no serious discrepancy between St. Luke and St. Matthew, it is probable, from the variations above named, that St. Luke had not seen St. Matthew's account.

Act_1:19

Became known for was known, A.V.; that in their language that field was called Akeldama for as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, A.V. and T.R.

Act_1:20

Made desolate for desolate, A.V.; office for bishopric, A.V. The book of Psalms, one of the recognized divisions of the canonical Scriptures, as we find Luk_24:44, "The law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms," the last standing for the Hagiographa, of which it was the first and principal book. Here, however, as in Luk_20:42, it may rather mean the Book of Psalms proper. (For similar quotations from the Psalms, see Act_13:33-35; Heb_1:1-14; Heb_2:1-18; Heb_3:1-19; Heb_4:1-16; Heb_5:1-14; Heb_10:1-39, etc.) His office let another take. Bishop being the English transliteration of ἐπίσκοπος , bishopric is, of course, the literal rendering of ἐπισκοπή ; if taken in its wider and more general sense, as in the well-known work of Archdeacon Evans? "the bishopric of souls." This same office is called a διακονία (a deaconship), and ἀποστολὴ (an apostleship) in verses 17 and 25. So St. Paul cells himself διάκονος (a minister) in Eph_3:7; Col_1:23, Col_1:25, etc. So the presbyters of the Church are called bishops (Act_20:17, Act_20:28; 1Ti_1:1, 1Ti_1:2. etc.). The ecclesiastical names for the different offices in the Church only acquired their distinctive use later, and by the gradual growth of custom. In the Septuagint, ἐπισκοπή answers to the Hebrew äãÌÈ÷ËóÀ , A.V., "oversight" (Numbers, Num_3:32; Num_4:16, etc.).

Act_1:21

Of the men therefore for wherefore of these men, A.V.; event out for out, A.V.

Act_1:22

The day for that same day, A.V.; received for taken, A.V.; of these must one become for must one be ordained to be, A.V. Beginning belongs to the Lord Jesus. He began to go in and out among his apostles from the time that John baptized, and continued to do so till his ascension, the day that he was received up ("taken up" A.V.), as in verse 11. This definition of the time of our Lord's public ministry exactly agrees with Mat_4:12-25; Mar_1:1-45.; Luk_3:1-38., 4.; Joh_1:29-51. Must one become a witness, etc. The resurrection of Christ from the dead thus appears to be a cardinal doctrine of the gospel. The whole truth of Christ's mission, the acceptance of his sacrifice, the consequent forgiveness of sins, and all man's hopes of eternal life, turn upon it. All the sermons of the apostles recorded in the Acts and the Epistles also agree with this (see Act_2:1-47., 3., 4.; Act_5:31, Act_5:32; Act_6:1-15 :56, 59; Act_10:39-41; Act_13:30, etc.; Rom_1:4; 1Co_15:4; 2Co_1:9, etc.; 1Pe_1:1-25.3; 1Pe_3:21,1Pe_3:22; Rev_1:5,etc.). The great care taken to secure competent witnesses is very remarkable. A disciple who had recently joined the company might be mistaken; one who had been the daily companion of Jesus Christ for three years and a half, and knew every gesture and every feature of the Master with perfect certainty, could not be mistaken.

Act_1:23

Put forward for appointed, A.V.; Barsabbas for Barsabas, A.V. and T.R. Joseph called Barsabbas (or Barsabas). Nothing more is really known of him. His work for Christ has no earthly record, except that Papias (Euseb., 'H.E.,' 3.39) says that, having drunk some deadly poison, by the grace of God he sustained no harm. Eusebius elsewhere (Act_1:12) says that he and Matthias were reported to be of the seventy, which is not improbable. The derivation of the name Barsabas, or Barsabbas, is unknown; it seems to be a patronymic (son of Sabas, or Sabbas), like Bar-Tholomew, Bar-Jonas, Bar-Jesus, etc. But it might also be descriptive of his qualities, like Barnabas, Son of Consolation (Act_4:36), in which case one would expect it to mean the same as Justus, as in the case of "Thomas called Didymus" (Joh_20:4; where Thomas and Di-dymus both mean "a twin"); but no Aramean word of this signification is forthcoming. The surname Justus, with its derivatives Justinus and Justinianus, was not an uncommon Roman name. It was also borne by a Jewish historian contemporary with Josephus, Justus of Tiberias, the son of Pistus (see 'Life of Josephus,'§§ 35, 65) and was the surname of James the Less. Matthias not otherwise known, but said by Nicephorus to have preached and suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia. Eusebius ('H. E.,'3.24) mentions spurious Gospels "of Peter, Thomas, Matthias, and others," as quoted by heretics. A work called 'The Traditions of Matthias'is referred to by Clemens Alexandrinus ('Strom.,' 2.163).

Act_1:24

Of these two the one whom for whether of these two, A.V. and T.R.

Act_1:25

To take the place in this for that he matt take part of this, A.V. and T.R.; fell away for by transgression fell, A.V. ( παρέβη ). The use of παραβαίνω in an intransitive sense for "to transgress, fall away from, turn aside from; and the like, is frequent in the LXX. (Exo_32:8; Deu_17:20, etc.). To his own place. An awful phrase, showing that every man has the place in eternity which he has made for himself in time. If the reading place, in the beginning of the verse, is adopted instead of the part ( κλῆρον ) of the A.V., then them is a contrast between the blessed place of apostleship, which Judas forfeited, and that of traitorship, which he acquired.

Act_1:26

They gave lots for them for they gave forth their lots, A.V. and T.R. ( αὐτοῖς for αὐτῶν ); but the T.R. gives the easiest sense. The exact mode of taking the lot does not appear. Some think the name of each candidate was written on a tablet, and that the first name which fell out of the urn after it had been shaken was the one chosen. Some think the lot was taken by dice. But however the taking of the lot was managed, the effect was to leave the choice to God in answer to prayer.

HOMILETICS

Act_1:1-11

The recapitulation.

St. Luke is like a traveler, who, having gained a certain summit, before he proceeds on his journey through the new country which is opening upon his view, stops and looks back upon the scene which he has traversed, but which he is now about to lose sight of. He marks the sites which had attracted his attention as he journeyed—the rising knoll, the conspicuous wood, the sheet of water, the open plain. But as he looks he spies out other objects which he had not noticed before—an ivy-mantled tower, a dwelling-house, a village, a clump of trees, which add richness and diversity to the scene; and so he adds them to his journal or to his sketch. In like manner our sacred historian, being about to quit the blessed scenes of the life of Jesus Christ which had engaged his pen in the Gospel, and to enter upon the history of the Apostolic Church, casts a lingering look upon the closing days of our Lord's sojourn upon earth, marks again what he had before narrated, recapitulates the history of the days which connect the Gospel with the Acts, but withal adds some striking incidents, throws in some additional words from the lips of the Divine Master, and by a few touches of his master-pen heightens the beauty of the scene, which was the last parting of Jesus from his Church on earth. The Resurrection itself, and the many proofs thereof given to the sight, the hearing, and the handling of the apostles; the commandments to the apostles; the walk to Bethany; the parting blessing; the ascension into heaven; the return of the apostles to Jerusalem; the continual prayers and praises of the disciples while they waited there for the promise of the Father;—those had all been duly noted in the closing chapter of the Gospel. But St. Luke wished, before entering upon his new ground, to mark more distinctly that mysterious border-land between the pre-resurrection and the post-resurrection Church; that strange period which belonged neither to the life of Jesus Christ on earth nor to the history of his Church, properly speaking—the forty days that intervened between the Resurrection and the Ascension. It was important to mark more distinctly than he had done in the Gospel that those manifestations of himself to his apostles, and that converse in the course of which he had instructed them in the duties of the apostolate, were extended over a period of forty days. It was important to do this both as strengthening the other proofs of the Resurrection, and also as showing how full a commission the apostles had received for the future ordering and governing of the Church. Hence the distinct mention of the forty days, and the somewhat fuller report of the conversations between the Lord and his apostles. But the act of the Ascension also was to receive some further light. In the Gospel St. Luke had mentioned the touching fact that it was while in the very act of blessing them that Jesus was parted from them. But now he adds, his mind apparently being full of the importance of proofs of the things narrated by him, that he was taken up u as they were looking," and that they did not lose sight of him till he was enveloped in a cloud. He adds also another remarkable circumstance, of which he may not have been previously aware, that two angels had appeared to the apostles, as they stood looking with fixed gaze into heaven, and announced to them his sure return. And thus, in this recapitulation and expansion of his briefer narrative in the Gospel, he closes with the announcement of that crowning glory of the Son of man which has been the hope and joy and strength of the Church amidst all her sufferings, the second advent of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.

Act_1:12-14

The grain of mustard seed.

Let us contrast for a moment the account here given with the present condition of Christianity in the world. Christianity has taken possession of the whole civilized world. The thrones, the laws, the institutions of those nations which hold sway in the earth are all based upon the gospel. The arts, the sciences, the literature of civilized men are more or less impregnated with the doctrine of the New Testament. Take the cathedrals of Europe; what an expenditure of thought and skill and wealth they represent! They are among the most imposing monuments of human thought and human labor. Look at the mass of Christian literature—in poetry, in philosophy, in science, in theology, in sacred oratory, in general literature. What countless Christian writers have elevated the human intellect, enlarged the borders of knowledge, added dignity to man, and happiness to mankind! What vast influences, of all sorts, permeating the civilized world, we can now trace up to the gospel! What multitudes of individual men and women in all ages since Christ, and all over the world, have learnt what the true view of human life is, and have found their whole end of living, and their chief enjoyment of life, and their only consolation and support, in the truths which the gospel teaches! How has the world been filled with fruits of righteousness, altering the whole aspect or human society, of which the gospel alone was the first seed! Now turn to the beginnings of the gospel as here exhibited. One upper chamber at Jerusalem, a city in the last days of its troubled existence, contained the whole number of those who acknowledged Christ as their Master. Measured by any worldly standard, anything feebler or more absolutely insignificant than that company cannot be imagined. But the grain of mustard seed was to become a tree in which the birds of the air should make their nests; the little leaven was to leaven the whole lump; the stone was to become a great mountain which should fill the whole earth. And so it has come to pass that the upper chamber at Jerusalem has grown into the Church Catholic, the mother of all the saints that are, or have been, or are to be hereafter. What an infinite encouragement to our faith is this! What a ground for adoration of him whose grace and power and faithfulness work such marvelous effects! What a ground of sure and certain hope that he who has carried his work thus far will finish it, to his own glory, and the exceeding joy of the Church which he has redeemed with his precious blood!

Act_1:15-26

The rewards of iniquity.

The physical laws by which the material world is governed are not more fixed and certain than the moral laws which secure to iniquity its just reward. Nor has the patient and honest inquirer more difficulty in ascertaining those laws than the physicist has in ascertaining the laws of nature by observation and experiment. Neither is it peculiar to Holy Scripture to set forth the sequences of cause and effect which occur under those moral laws; the history of the world and our own daily experience do so likewise. Holy Scripture does but record and exhibit typical and striking instances by which our own observation and experience are confirmed. Now, there is one feature common to a great many, perhaps more or less to all, acts of iniquity, viz. that they have, so to speak, a double reward. There is the reward which the worker contemplated as the fruit of his misdoing; and there is the reward which he lost eight of, but which followed by an inevitable necessity of the moral Law of God. Both are clearly exhibited in the awful case of Judas. The reward which he looked for, and for the sake of which he betrayed the innocent blood, was the possession of thirty pieces of silver. We know the poverty of the Son of man, and that he had no silver or gold, no houses or lands, with which to reward his followers. We know how days of toil succeeded one the other during which the gains were indeed immense-souls nourished, enlightened, instructed in the Word of God, prepared for the kingdom of heaven, weaned from sin, won to righteousness—but not such gains as would please the worldly mind. And we know the mind of Judas, that it was very covetous and greedy of lucre. We know with what eyes he looked upon Mary's costly offering of love, and how he was wont to rob the bag which contained the alms for the poor. We can well believe, therefore, that to a mind so constituted and so depraved the possession of thirty pieces of silver appeared no mean reward. It would be some consolation for the loss of the portion of the three hundred pence which he might have abstracted from the bag had the ointment been sold and the price given to the poor. Perhaps he had set his heart upon that very field which was bought with the price of blood, and which was to become the strangers' burial-ground. Anyhow, he got his reward. He did the deed and he got the money, "the reward of iniquity"—the reward which he looked for as the fruit of his sin. And sinners very often do get their expected reward. Adam and Eve became "as gods, knowing good and evil;" Gehazi obtained his two talents of silver and his two changes of garments; Ahab got possession of the coveted vineyard; Zimri gained a throne by the slaughter of the house of Bassha; the men of Gibeah slaked their lust on the Levite's concubine; hatred, revenge, ambition, continually by iniquity obtain their reward, and the pages of Scripture and of profane history, as well as our own experience, teem with examples of the reward of successful wickedness. But now let us look at the other reward of iniquity; that which comes in due season as the inevitable fruit of the just judgment of God; that of which Horace, heathen as he was, spoke, when he hid—

"Raro antecedentem scelestum

Deseruit pede poena claudo."

Judas has got his money. Perhaps he has concluded his bargain for the field. He is no longer a poor man like his Master. The former gains of robbery have been swelled by the price of treachery. But he had forgotten his manhood. He had forgotten that man has a conscience, and that a guilty conscience is like the raging sea, which cannot be stilled. He had shut his eyes to everything but the reward he coveted. But now the storm is rising. Remorse begins her terrible work. Vain regret, agonizing fear, terrible serf-reproach, unbearable shame,—all rush upon his soul, and distract and tear it. The remembrance, perhaps, of the Lord's goodness; some distinct impressions of his wonderful love; the recollections, maybe, of some true happiness in his service before the curse of covetousness lit upon him; flashes of the hope once entertained of the kingdom of heaven, but now turned into despair;—these move his heart only to make it capable of feeling more bitterly what he now was, and what he must be for ever. His whole existence a curse by his own exceeding wickedness! "Good were it for me if I had not been born! I have no place to hide in from the terrors of God—the terrors of God's goodness! I am, and must be forever. And God is, and must be forever! But I cannot abide God's presence! I cannot abide my own consciousness!" Such were the maddening thoughts of the son of perdition-of him whose iniquity had gained its reward. He tries to rush from consciousness, to escape from himself and from God. He flings from him the accursed silver; but he cannot fling away the guilt of blood. And so he takes a halter and hangs himself, and goes to his own place. But let us reckon up his gains and losses. He had gained thirty pieces of silver—the reward of his iniquity. But he had lost his apostleship, the highest office on earth; his throne, the highest place of man in heaven, under Jesus Christ; his peace of mind, his serf-respect, his power of enjoying life, the esteem of all good men; any place among men save that of shame, and ignominy, and disgrace, and abhorrence, lie had lost his own soul—his life; all the pleasures of time, all the jeers of eternity. This was "the reward of iniquity," which came upon him by the inevitable justice of God. And this is written for our learning, that we may ponder it and be wise. And we are led to the same conclusion by following up in any other case, and comparing, the twofold rewards of iniquity. The conclusion to which we are inevitably led is—

I. That the three things which are necessary to a man's happiness are:

1. The approval of his own conscience.

2. The sense of being approved by God.

3. The esteem of his fellow men, and of all God's rational creatures.

II. That by iniquity all these three are forfeited, and that the gains or reward of iniquity are as inadequate a compensation for such loss as Esau's mess of pottage was for the loss of his birthright. The gains, the pleasures, the temporal rewards of iniquity, come and go like a dream, like a tale, like a flash of lightning. The eternal reward of iniquity abides; terrible in its undiscovered vastness, awful in its unknown horrors, and in its fixity of tenure; fixity written in the phrase which tells us of Judas that he went "to his own place."

III. We learn that every man has the place in eternity which he made his own in time. A man's own place in the eternal world is that which falls to him by the unchanging laws of God, according to his choice of good or evil in this world. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ has, indeed, opened a way of righteousness to those who had seemed to have lost it for ever; but to those who obstinately love darkness rather than light, and cling to iniquity in the very face of mercy, there remains in the nature of things no other end than that, like Judas, they go each one "to his own place."

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY

Act_1:1-8

Christ's mission and ours.

The introduction to this narrative of" the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" suggests to us truths concerning the mission of our Divine Lord and also concerning our own.

I. THE MISSION OF CHRIST. We gather front the opening words of Luke that this was fourfold, and may be included under these heads:

1. Miraculous works. He "began to do" (verse 1). The "mighty works" of Jesus were far from being mere "wonders:" they were

(1)deeds of pure beneficence,

(2) acts called for by the circumstances of the hour, malting an irresistible appeal to the heart of love and the hand of power,

(3) illustrations of the Divine principles which he came to establish, as well as

(4) incidental proofs of heavenly origin and almighty power.

2. Teaching. He began "both to do and teach" (verse 1). The teaching of Christ covered all the ground on which we most urgently need enlightenment. He taught us all that we want to know concerning

(1) the nature and disposition of God, including his attitude toward guilty souls;

(2) the real nature of man, his true heritage and the way by which he could return to God;

(3) what constitutes moral excellency in God's sight: how man can do and be that which is due to himself and to all by whom he is surrounded;

(4) the truth respecting the future world.

3. Endurance. The story of "his passion" (verse 3) is the story of his life. In the case of all other of the children of men, the narrative of the last hours is felt to be but the necessary closing of the chapter. In his case alone the relation of the Passion is felt by us all to be the supreme and culminating point the one indispensable feature of his whole career; that to which everything led up, for which everything prepared, compared with which everything else was unimportant. Never, at any period of his ministry, did the Son of God so truly and so largely fulfill the mission on which he came, as when he was "putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself," as when he was betrayed and smitten and reviled, as when he was "lifted up" on the cross and "poured out his soul unto death."

4. Life. He came to be the holy, loving, patient, truthful, reverent One he was. The historian does not speak here of this his exemplary life before his Passion, hut we may have it in our mind as a complementary thought; he does, however, refer to his life after the Passion (verse 3). This is divisible into two parts.

(1) The forty days on earth. Then he bore witness to the reality of his work and the genuineness of his mission: he "showed himself alive … by many infallible proofs."

(2) Everlasting life in heaven. He is now doing the work of administration. "Jesus began both to do and to teach" when he was below; he continues now the great work he then began. As he arrested Paul on his way to Damascus and charged him to enter his service, as he inspired and directed his servants so that the "acts of the apostles" are his acts through them; so now he is administering the affairs of his blessed kingdom by enlightening, inspiring, governing his Church by his Spirit (see verse 2).

II. OUR MISSION. We have here indications of the kind and method of service which it belongs to us to render. We are:

1. To look expectantly. We too are to "wait for the promise of the Father" (verse 4); often in our Christian life, from its very beginning to its very end, asking and waiting. We are to ask, to seek, to knock—if need be, again and again; not impatient to receive, but remembering that God knows when as well as how to bestow.

2. To receive gratefully. We too "shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost" (verse 5, and see verse 8). God will come to us in rich effusion if only we ask earnestly and wait patiently; then we shall receive joyfully, and our hearts will fill with sacred and happy gratitude.

3. To submit cheerfully. Our Lord ofttimes says to us, "It is not for you to know" (verse 7). We long to know many things not revealed, and this is his reply to our vain curiosity. Or we long to effect impossible things, and then he says to us, "It is not for you to do." He imposes limits to our action as well as to our knowledge, and within these bounds we must be content to move, rejoicing that we are permitted to know anything of him and do anything for him; rejoicing, also, to believe that soon the circle of understanding and accomplishment will be immeasurably enlarged.

4. To testify faithfully. "Ye shall be witnesses unto me" (verse 8). It was a far higher function for the apostles to bear witness to Christ—to the greatness of his person, the beauty and tenderness of his spirit, the fullness and joy of his salvation—than to be the depositaries of heavenly secrets as to dates and places. There is nothing we should so earnestly aspire and so strenuously strive to become, as faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ. We cannot conceive of a nobler work than to be, by life and lip, bearing testimony to him, constraining our fellow men to realize his readiness to receive, his willingness to forgive, and his power to bless and to ennoble them.—C.

Act_1:9-14

Wisdom in bereavement.

We learn from these verses—

I. THAT THE CULMINATION OF HOPE IN ONE MAY PROVE THE DEPTH OF PRIVATION TO ANOTHER. For the joy that was set before him Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb_12:2). Into that joy he now entered. As the "cloud received him out of their sight" (Act_1:9), and he returned unto the Father, he took possession of the glorious inheritance for which he had paid so costly a price. But the time of his exaltation was the hour of his disciples sorrow. By his departure they lost sight of their dearest Friend, their wise Counselor, their great Teacher, their honored Lord. So must it be with us. The upright Christian statesman passes to a still larger sphere of usefulness and honor, and the nation mourns; the gifted and devoted pastor is called to a celestial ministry, and the Church is bereaved; the Beloved parent is translated to the skies, and the family hearth is desolate.

II. THAT THE ATTITUDE OF HELPLESSNESS IS ONE FROM WHICH WE MUST SOON BE AROUSED. (Act_1:10, Act_1:11.) It was natural and right enough that, when the Savior was taken up and disappeared from sight, the disciples should continue to "look steadfastly toward heaven; their eyes may well have been riveted to the spot in inexpressible awe and wonder. Doubtless all thought was swallowed up in simple surprise and consternation; they stood in helpless, bewildering astonishment. This might last for some minutes, but it could not continue longer. The angels broke in upon it, not with the language of reproach, but with the voice of arousing. A kindly voice is this. When disposed to give way to helpless awe, or fruitless grief, or inanimate prostration of soul, we may thank the minister of God, in whatever form he may come, who says to us, "Why stand ye gazing'? Amuse ye! All is not lost. The past is past, but the future is in front of you."

III. THAT TIME, WITH PATIENCE, WILL BRING HEAVENLY COMPENSATIONS. (Act_1:11, latter part.) Though the Master was taken, he would come again; and when he returned, it would, indeed, be "in like manner, etc., but in more glorious form and with more splendid surroundings (1Th_4:16; 2Th_1:7; Jud_1:14; Rev_1:7). Moreover, he would come again in unlike manner, but in a way as gracious and, perhaps, even more needful, viz. in the enlightening influences of the Holy Spirit (Act_1:5). Heaven was taking away their Strength and their Joy; but let them wait in holy trustfulness, and Heaven would soon give them ample and blessed compensation. God takes from us-from the community and from the individual heart—those that are very dear, things that are very precious to us; then we faint and are grievously distressed; we may be almost paralyzed with our sense of loss and desolation. But there is blessing on its way—Divine comfort, solace, strength. The hand that takes our treasures has large compensations in reserve.

IV. THAT BEREAVEMENT FINDS A PURE AND WISE RELIEF IN COMMUNION WITH GOD AND IN FELLOWSHIP WITH MAN. (Act_1:12-14.) The apostles, roused by the angels' speech, returned unto Jerusalem and went into the upper room, where they would meet their best friends—those who had the deepest sympathy with them—that they might commune with them and that they might "continue in prayer and supplication." In the time of bereavement and woe we may be tempted to shut ourselves in to our own chamber and nurse our grief. Nothing can be more unwise. Let sorrow, indeed, have its own chosen loneliness in its first dark hours; leave it alone with God, with the pitiful, patient Savior. Then let it come forth; let it go into the "upper room," where it can hold fellowship with human friends; let it go into the sanctuary, where, with the people of God, it can pour out its heart in prayer and supplication: it will not be long before it finds itself joining with them in the accents of praise.—C.

Act_1:15-26

The path of sin and the way of the righteous.

The passage treats of the miserable end of the traitor apostle and of the elevation of Matthias to the office from which "Judas by transgression fell." We are reminded of—

I. THE PATH OF SIN. (Act_1:16-20.) This is a gradual descent. "No one ever became most vile all at once," wrote the Roman; and he was right. Some men descend much more rapidly than others the path of folly and of sin, but no one leaps at once from the summit to the foot. We do not suppose that one day Judas was devoted to Christ and the next day Began to think how he should betray him. Probably his evil course was this: first, surprise at the Lord's slower and more quiet method of ministering; then impatience and even positive dissatisfaction with him; then growing doubt of his claims; then cupidity; then treachery; then remorseful despair; then suicide, and the "going to his own place" (Act_1:25). Those who from being virtuous become vicious men, fall in the same way, i.e. by degrees; more or less slowly: first, the harboring of one evil thought and another; then laxity in word; then carelessness and looseness of action; then occasional transgression; then habitual vice; and then the miserable end. Similarly the passage from godliness to absorbing worldliness is through weakening of a sense of obligation; decline of sacred joy; relaxa