The Priests and Sadducees lay hold on Peter and John. SECT. VIII. The two apostles being seized by order of the Sanhedrim, and examined by them, courageously declare their resolution of going on to preach in the name of Jesus, notwithstanding their severest threatenings. Acts IV. 1-22. ACTS IV. I. unto ACTS IV. 1. 43 AND as they Ted the opportunity of addressing them- viii. people, the priests selves to the multitude, who had assembled in and the captain of the temple, and the the temple (as we have seen before) upon occaSadducees came up- sion of the miraculous cure of the lame man ; on them, HUS it was that Peter and John improv- SECT. and while they were thus speaking to the people, a considerable number of the priests came upon them; and with the priests there came the captain of the temple, that is, the person who commanded the guard of Levites then in waiting;a 2 Being grieved and the Sadducees also joined with them: For 2 that they taught the this sect of men were greatly exasperated people, and preached through Jesus the against the apostles, being peculiarly grieved resurrection from that they taught the people in the name of that the dead. Jesus whom they had so lately put to death, and especially that they preached the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, as exemplified and demonstrated in [the person of] Jesus; whose recovered life had so direct a tendency to overthrow the whole system of the Sadducean tenets, which denied every thing of that kind, yea even the existence of the soul after death, and any future account of the actions of 3 And they laid life. (Compare Acts xxiii. 8.) And therefore, s hands on them, and that they might prevent their preaching any to the next day: for more, they laid violent hands upon Peter and it was now even- John, and seized them as seditious persons, tide. put them in hold un who were labouring to incense the populace Acts iv. 1 three in the afternoon, this expression makes it probable, some hours might be spent in preaching to the people, and consequently, that what we have in the former chapter is 44 SECT. They are brought before the Sanhedrim, and examined. the word, believed; But in the mean time, the disciples had the 4 Howbeit many viii. satisfaction to see, that the apostles had not of them which heard laboured in vain; for many of those, who had and the number of iv. 4 heard the word preached by them, believed; and the men was about the number of the men became about five thousand, five thousand. including those who had been converted be Acts 5 fore, and still attended on the instructions of the apostles.c And the next day there was a general assem- 5 And it came to bly of their rulers, and elders, and scribes, which pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and constituted the Sanhedrim, who gathered to- elders, and scribes, 6 gether, and formed a court at Jerusalem: And 6 And Annas the there was with them Annas, who had formerly high priest, and Cai been the high priest, and Caiaphas also who and Alexander, and aphas, and John, then bore that office, and John, and Alexander, as many as were of and as many as were of the high priest's kin- the kindred of the dred, who came and joined the council upon gathered together at high priest, were this occasion. ← The number — became about five thousand, &c.] Dr. Benson concludes, that five thousand were converted on this occasion, besides the three thousand mentioned before. (Chap. ii. 41.) Had it been said, as there, that so many were added to the church, it had determined the sense to be, as he and others understand it. (See Lightfoot and Whitby in loc.) But I think the use of the word von here (whereas v is used chap. i. 15), favours the interpretation I have preferred. It is hardly to be thought, (unless it were expressly asserted) that another day should be so much more remarkable for its number of converts, than that on which the Spirit descended. And, as for any argument drawn from the probability of more than five thousand be. ing converted in a year's time, I must observe, that I see no proof at all, that this event was a year, or even a month after the descent of the Spirit: nay, I rather think it highly improbable the Sanhedrim should suffer the apostles to go on so long unquestioned in their public work; and to suppose they did not teach publicly would be most absurd. Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas.] As it seems evident, that Caiaphas was the high priest at this time, it may appear strange, that the title should be given to another, merely to signify that he, that is, Jerusalem. the Annas spoken of, was that Annas who had once borne that office with great hon our, and had now most of the authority, though his son in law Caiaphas had the name. I would submit it to examination, whether, placing a comma after Avai, the following words might not be joined, T gxgx Kaipay, and rendered the high priest also, that is, Caiaphas; though I confess the insertion of copulatives between each name in the following clauses does not favour such a version: and therefore I rather incline to acquiesce in the former solution; for the illustration of which, see Mr. Biscoe, at Boyle's Lect. p. 648-659. John, and Alexander.] It is very evi dent, these were persons of great note among the Jews at that time and it is not improbable, that (as Dr Lightfoot and others suppose) the former might be the celebrated Rabban Fochanan Ben Zaccai, mentioned in the Talmud, the scholar of Hillel, and that the latter might be the Alabarch, or governor of the Jews at Alexandria, brother to the famous Philo Judæus, and in great favour with Claudius Cæsar. Josephus mentions him often, and tells us, among other things, that he adorned nine gates of the temple with plates of gold and silver. Joseph. Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap. 5, [al. vi. 6,] § 3. As many as were of the high priest's kindred.] Or as others render it, of the pontifical family. Dr. Hammond explains this of the twenty four members of the Aaronic family, who presided over the twenty four "courses: Others refer it to those, who were Peter declares what they had done in the name of Jesus. 45 Acts 7 And when they And having ordered the apostles to be SECT. had set them in the brought before them, and set them in the midst viii. midst, they asked, of the assembly (the place where criminals By what power, or by what name have used to stand to be tried by their court), they iv. 7 ye done this? inquired of them, saying, Declare to us truly, and without reserve, what is the bottom of this affair? By what power, or in the authority of what name, have you done this strange work, which has been wrought on the cripple now healed? Is it by the art of medicine, or by magic? Or do you pretend to any prophetic mission, in attestation of which this is done? 8 Then Peter, fill Then Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, accord- 8 ed with the Holy ing to the promise of his now glorified Master, Ghost, said unto which was upon this occasion remarkably verithem; Ye rulers of fied (compare Mat. x. 19, 20; and Mark xiii. 11), spake with the utmost freedom, and said unto them, O ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, before whom we are now brought as We are not conscious to our- 9 the people, and eld. ers of Israel, 9 If we this day malefactors! be examined of the selves, that we have done any thing to deserve good deed done to the impotent man, censure or punishment; but if we are this day by what means he is examined and called to an account as criminal, made whole; about the benefit conferred upon the impotent man, and you would have us to declare by what means he is saved from his calamitous state, and healed in the manner which you now see, we are most free to tell you what we before have testified on this occasion (chap. iii. 16): 10 Be it known Be it known therefore to you all, and to all the 10 unto you all, and to people of Israel, that it is by the name of Jesus all the people of Is-Christ of Nazareth, whom you a few weeks ago name of Jesus Christ crucified with all the marks of detestation and of Nazareth, whom contempt, as a criminal worthy of the most ye crucified, whom infamous death, but whom God hath owned, in God raised from the that he hath raised him from the dead, and rael, that by the nearly related to Annas and Caiaphas: But with authority as a court of judicature here, and the council, expressly called Zuvedpov again and again in the 5th chapter (ver. 21, 27, 34, 41), refer to the acts of this assembly as their own (compare chap. v. ver. 27, 28): And the same word is likewise used here in this chapter, ver. 15. 8 Whom God hath raised from the dead.] They knew in their own consciences, that it was so; and, though they had hired the soldiers to tell a most senseless and incredible tale to the contrary (Mat. xxviii. 12-15), yet it is observable, they did not (só far as we can learn) dare to plead it before Peter and John. 46 It is in Jesus there is salvation and in no other. SECT. received him to glory: [Yea,] I declare it dead, even by him viii. again, and will abide by it whatever be the doth this man stand here before you consequence, that it is by him, even by that whole. iv. 10 Acts illustrious name of his, that this poor man, whom you well know to have been a cripple from his mother's womb, now stands before you 11 perfectly sound and well. And give me leave, 11 This is the Sirs, to tell you, that this Jesus is a person, stone which was set with whom you are all intimately concerned; builders, which is at nought of you for as David expresses it (Psal. cxviii. 22), become the head of "This is the stone which was contemptuously the corner. refused and set at nought by you, who by your office should have been builders in the church of God, that is indeed become the very head of the corner, to which the whole building owes 12 its strength, its union, and its beauty." there is really salvation and healing in no other salvation in any othbut in him; neither is there any other name un- er; for there is none der heaven, given out by God among the chil- heaven given among dren of men, whether of patriarch or prophet, men, whereby we or priest or king, in which we must be saved must be saved. and recovered: For though we are not thus disabled and afflicted in body, yet there are other maladies of a much more threatening nature, for the cure of which you and I, and all that hear me this day, must, as we value the very lives of our souls, apply to Jesus, and only to him. 13 And 12 Neither is there other name under Now when they of the council saw the boldness 13 Now when they of Peter and John, and observed the freedom of saw the boldness of Peter and John, and speech with which they pleaded their Master's cause, and the high degree to which they extolled him, in the presence of those magistrates who had so lately condemned him to the most In which we must be saved.] Dr. Whitby and some later writers have taken a great deal of pains to prove, that can here signifies healing, and have argued for it from the connection, and from many texts, especially in the Evangelists, where it plainly has that sense, as it has likewise, Acts xiv. 9, where it is translated to be healed. (See Mat. ix. 21, 22; Mark v. 23; vi. 56; x. 52; Luke xvii. 19; and compare on Mark v. 28, Vol. I.) But it is strange, that any should not have seen, that, if the most determinate word for healing had been here used (as Jiganval, or sa), it must have signified spiritual and note d eternal salvation, since it is plain, that, when Peter says, & ∞ des owinas nuas, he takes it for granted, that all who heard him needed to apply to Christ for this healing Now there is no reason to believe, they were all afflicted with bodily maladies, nor could he have any imaginable warrant to promise them all supernatural recovery in that case. Raphelius in a remarkable note on this text (ex Herod. p. 329-332), endeavours among other things to prove, that ovoμa, or the name of a person, was a manner of speaking used in reference to one regarded as God, and the Author of salvation. The council are at a loss what to do with them. 47 perceived that they shameful death; and understood at the same time SECT. were unlearned and that they were illiterate men, and in private sta- viii. ignorant men, they tions of life, they were greatly astonished. And marvelled; and they took knowledge of upon farther recollection too they knew them, them, that they had and remembered of these two disciples, that been with Jesus. the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. Acts iv. 13 they had been with Jesus, particularly the night that he was taken, and had attended him to the house of Caiaphas, where several now in court had been present at his examination.k 14 And beholding (Compare John xviii. 15, 16.) And they would 14 gladly have done their utmost to confound a testimony which bore so hard upon themselves. But seeing the man that was cured, whom they knew to have been so long lame, now standing with them perfectly recovered, they had nothing to say against the fact, though they were most unwilling to own a doctrine which [it] tended so strongly to prove. by them, is manifest 15 But when they But as they did not choose the apostles should 15 had commanded them to go aside perceive they knew not what to say, having orout of the council, dered them to withdraw for a while out of the they conferred a room where the council was sitting, they primong themselves, vately conferred among themselves, Saying, What 16 16 Saying, What shall we do to these shall we do with these men? It would be neimen? For that in- therreasonable nor safe to punish them now; for deed a notable mira- that indeed a very surprising and signal miracle cle hath been done hath been wrought by them, is clearly manifest to all them that dwell to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we ourin Jerusalem, and selves cannot possibly deny [it.] Nevertheless' 17 we cannot deny it. on the other hand, it is equally plain, that both 17 But that it our credit and our interest require us, to supspread no further among the people, let press the rumour of it as much as we can; and therefore, that it may not any farther spread among the people, and be a means of raising discontent, and perhaps of occasioning some dangerous insurrection among them, which may Illiterate men, and in private stations of Life.] The original words ayeuna na have literally this signification, that they were not scholars, nor in any public rank of life as the priests and magistrates were; but they import no want of natural good sense, or any ignorance of what was then the subject of debate: so that our translation seems very unhappy here. They knew them that they had been with Jesus, particularly the night that he was taken, &c.] See note & on Luke xxii. 57, Vol II. Grotius justly observe also, that the rulers were often present when Christ taught publicly, and so might have seen Peter and John near him at the times, as well as on the occasion mentioned in the paraphrase. 1 Nevertheless] Instances in which anna signifies Nevertheless, are numerous in the New Testament; and it is often rendered so by our translators. See Mark xiv. 36; John xi. 15; Rom. v. 14; 2 Cor. xii. 16; Gal. iv. 30; 2 Tim. i. 12; and many instances from profane writers are brought by Elsner in his note here. |