THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

THIS Book is unquestionably the production of St. Luke, the author of the Gospel which bears his name, (Comp. Luke i., 1-4 with Acts i., 7.)

Originally intended to furnish the illustrious person, named Theophilus, with an authentic account of what took place after the ascension of the Saviour, this Book serves the higher purpose of shewing to every believer in Jesus, that the promise He made to the Apostles was fulfilled-that the Divine Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, descending from above, superintended the labours of the first promulgators of Christianity. It serves also to shew, in a very instructive manner, the actual working of Christianity in the world, when its affairs were under the management of those commissioned by Christ to found churches, and authoritatively to promulgate doctrines and institutions. We are thus taught the high sanctions under which the Christian faith was established in the world, the kind of work it was designed by its great Author to accomplish, and the proper means by which its affairs are to be managed and its interests secured.

Only a small portion of the apostolic labours is recorded, this Book being mainly taken up with the acts of Peter and Paul, and even of them the narrative is by no means complete-enough only being recorded to shew that the thing was of God.

The style of Luke, in the Acts, is like that of his Gospel; the language is, for the most part, pure; and his method of narration is marked by a strict regard to accuracy, by circumstantiality of detail, and by a certain vivacity and graphic power, which give unvarying interest to his narrative. Some Hebraisms occur-especially in the speeches he has reported; this may be fairly taken as an additional evidence of his fidelity as a historian. The liveliness and picturesqueness of his narration are principally due, most probably, to his having been an eye-witness of most of the things he records—a circumstance which confers peculiar value on this Book, even apart from its claims as a portion of inspiration.

St. Luke has given no marks of time by which the dates of the transactions which he records can be accurately laid down; and the deficiency is not supplied by profane historians: an approximation to the real dates is all that can be obtained. The history comprises a period of about 30 years, or, from A.D. 30—the assumed date (according to Greswell) of the ascension, to A.D. 60-the date of the arrival of Paul at Rome.

The interval between these two dates has been variously divided by commentators,-hardly two arriving at the same conclusions. "There are five dates," says Trollope, "historically determined from other sources," which we will just state, leaving it to the reader to work out the matter for himself. "The first of these is that of the famine, predicted by Agabus (Ch. xi., 28), which began in the fourth year of Claudius, or in A.D. 44: the next is that of the death of Herod (Ch. xii., 23), which took place within the same year: the third is that of the edict of Claudius (Ch. xviii., 2), issued in A.D. 50 the fourth is the arrest of Paul (Ch. xxi., 33), two years before the arrival of Festus in Judæa (Ch. xxiv., 27), in A.D. 59. This last is the fifth of the epochs in question, and in the autumn of the year, St. Paul set sail, wintered at Malta, and arrived at Rome early in A.D. 60." In Davidson's Introduction to the New Testament, vol. ii., will be found a tabular digest of the computations of the principal scholars who have written on this subject.

This book was composed probably while Luke was with the apostle Paul at Rome, and published about the close of his imprisonment, some short interval elapsing between the publication of the Gospel and the Acts.

30. JERUSALEM. Pilate Governor.

a Lu. 1, 3, &c. b Without

con

of godliness:

fest in the flesh,

seen of

angels, preached

tiles,

believed

on in the world, received up into

30. JERUSALEM. PILATE GOVERNOR. 212

1 THE former treatise have I made,
fheophilus, of all that de:

troversy, great sus began both to do and teach, 2 until
is the mystery the day in which he was taken up,
God was mani- after that he, through the Holy
justified in the Ghost, had given commandments un-
Spirit,
to the apostles whom he had chosen
unto the Gen-to whom also he shewed himself alive
after his passion by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty days,
and speaking of the things pertaining
to the kingdom of God. 4 And "being
assembled together with them, com-
manded them that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for
the promised of the Father, "which,"
saith he, "ye have heard of me.
Jno. 1, 26.5 For John truly baptized with water;

glory. 1 Ti.3, 16. e Mat. 28, 16. Mar. 16, 15. a Or, eating together.

Jno. 1426;

15, 26; & Lu. 24, 49.

Mat. 3, 11. Ma.

1, 8.

but ye
shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence."
When they therefore come to

7

30. JERUSALEM. Pilate Governor.

one

f...By one Spirit
are we all bap-
tized into
body, whether
we be Jews or
Gentiles, whe-
ther we be bond
or free...1 Co.
12, 13.

g...Judah shall

dwell for ever,
and Jerusalem
from generation
to generation.

Joel 3, 20.
of the times &

gether, they asked of him, saying,
"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore
again the kingdom' to Israel ?"
And he said unto them, "It is not
for you to know the times or the sea-
sons, which the Father hath put in
his own power. 8 But ye shall re-
ceive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth." 9 And when he had
spoken these things, while they be-
held, he was taken up; and a cloud Ma. 16, 19. Lu
received him out of their sight. 10 And

the

seasons, brethren, ye

have no need that I write unto you. 1 Th. 5, 1.

B Or, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you. 24, 51.

30. JERUSALEM.

Pilate Governor.

for you, I will

also. Jno. 14, 3.

1 Th. 4, 16.
One like the

Son of man came
with the clouds

of heaven. Da. 7, 13.

Pilate Governor.

v Ye also shall

bear witness,

because ye have been with me

from the begin27. Lu. 10, 1, 2.

ning. Jno. 15,

x I know also, my God, that Thou triest the

While they looked stedfastly toward | went in and out among us, 22 begin- 30. JERUSALEM. heaven as he went up, behold, two ning from the baptism of John, unto k And if I go and men stood by them in white apparel; that same day that he was taken up prepare a place 11 which also said, "Ye men of Gali- from us, must one be ordained to be come again and lee, why stand ye gazing up into a witness" with us of his resurrection." receive you un-heaven? this same Jesus, which is 23 And they appointed two, Joseph to myself, that where I taken am, from up into heaven, shall called Barsabas, who was surnamed you there ye may be So come in like manner as ye have Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they seen him go into heaven." 12 Then prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, returned" they unto Jerusalem from which knowest the hearts of all men, the mount called Olivet, which is shew whether of these two thou hast from Jerusalem a sabbath day's jour- chosen, 25 that he may take part of 13 And when they were come this ministry and apostleship, from returned to Je-in, they went up into an upper room, which Judas by transgression fell, where abode both Peter, and James, that he might go to his own place.' and John, and Andrew, Philip, and 26 And they gave forth their lots; Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and James the son of Alphæus, and Simon he was numbered with the eleven Zelotes, and Judas the brother of apostles. James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women," ," and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."

m And they worshipped Him, & ney.

rusalem with

great joy. Lu. 24, 52.

n Lu. 23, 49, 55;
and 24, 10.

o His brethren,
James, and Jo-
ses, and Simon,
and Judas.
Mat. 13, 55.
p I acknowledged

my sin unto

Thee...and Thou forgavest the

iniquity of my

sin. Ps. 32, 5.

q Yea, mine own familiar friend,

8

in whom I trust

ed, which did eat of my bread,

hath lifted up his heel against

30. JERUSALEM.-Election of Matthias.

(Interval of ten days.)

F 213 15 And in those days Peter? stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty,) 16" Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry." 18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is strangers in. Mat. 27, 6, 7. called in their proper tongue Acelda......Following the way of Ba-ma, that is to say, The field of blood. laam, the son of 20 For it is written in the book of ed the wages of Psalms, 'LET HIS HABITATION BE DESOLATE, AND LET NO MAN DWELL THEREIN;" and "HIS BISHOPRICK LET ANOTHER TAKE. 21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus

me. Ps. 41, 9.
Jno. 18, 3.
The chief priests
pieces......and
bought with
them the pot
ter's field to bury

took the silver

Bosor, who lov

unrighteousness 2 Pet. 2, 15. t Ps. 69, 25. y Or office, charge. u Ps. 109, 8.

or

ND when the day of Pentecost

heart, and hast rightness.

pleasure in up

1 Ch. 29, 17. Je. 17, 10. Re. 2, 23.

The lot is cast

into the lap: but the whole dis

posing thereof is

of the Lord.
Pro. 16, 33.
Nu. 26, 55.
Jos. 7, 16, 18.

1 Sa. 14, 41, 42.

Ye shall count

unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering. seven sabbaths shall be com

De. 16, 9.

a Is. 6, 6. Je. 23, 29. Mal. 3, 2, 3. Mat. 3, 11. Lu. 24, 32.

e......They shall speak with new tongues. Ma. 16, 17. Ac. 10, 46.

66, 18.

2 A
with one accord in one place. 2 And
suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they
were sitting. 3 And there appeared
unto them cloven tongues like as of plete. Le. 23, 15.
fire," and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave 6 Ch.1, 5.
them utterance. 5And there were
dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout
men, out of every nation under head Ex. 23, 17. Is.
ven.
6 Now when this was noised
8 Gr., when this
abroad, the multitude came together, voice was made.
and were confounded, because that
every man heard them speak in his
own language. And they were all
amazed and marvelled, saying one to
another, "Behold, are not all these
which speak Galilæans? And how e...Search
hear we every man in our own tongue,
wherein we were born? Parthians,
and Medes, and Elamites, and the 1, 11.
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Ju-
dæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and
Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in
Egypt, and in the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

e Or, troubled in mind.

and

look, for out of
Galilee ariseth
no prophet
Jno. 7, 52. Ch.

days, after that VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL resurrection of Christ, that his soul tribulation, the sun shall

30. JERUSALEM. and to all that are afard off, even as 8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, many as the Lord our God shall call." and entered with them into the tem40 And with many other words did he ple, walking, and leaping, and praistestify and exhort, saying, "Saveing God. 9 And all the people saw yourselves from this untoward gene- him walking and praising God: 10 and ration." 41 Then they that gladly they knew that it was he which sat received his word were baptized: and for alms at the Beautiful gate of the the same day there were added unto temple: and they were filled with them about three thousand souls. wonder? and amazement at that which had happened unto him.