Acts 3:12

Act 3:12-16. And when Peter saw it — When he saw a crowd of people collected together, and found that they were exceedingly affected with the miracle that had been wrought, he took that favourable opportunity to preach Christ unto them, especially as the temple was the place of their concourse; thus sowing the seed of the gospel in the ground that was broken up and prepared to receive it. Ye men of Israel — To whom miracles surely are not, or at least ought not to be, strange things: having been wrought for you as a nation, in multiplied instances, from age to age, and many very evident and signal ones having, during the last three years, been performed before your eyes; why marvel ye at this — As if it were a singular fact, the like of which you had never seen? Why do you wonder at what has now happened, when so much greater miracles have lately been performed among you? The fact was indeed marvellous, and they justly wondered at it, but it was no more than what Christ had done many a time. It was but a little before that Christ had raised Lazarus from the dead: nay, and he had lately risen from the dead himself; why did they not marvel at these facts, and why were they not convinced by them? Observe, reader, stupid and thoughtless people think that strange now which might have been very familiar to them, if they had not been wanting to themselves, and void of consideration. Or why look ye so earnestly on us — With that astonishment which your looks express, as though by our own power we had effected this cure; or by our own holiness had deserved that God should perform it by us. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, &c. — This was wisely introduced here in the beginning of his discourse, that it might appear they taught no new religion, inconsistent with that of Moses, and were far from having the least design to divert their regards from the God of Israel; hath glorified his son Jesus — Namely, by this miracle, as he also glorified him in his life and in his death, and especially in his resurrection and ascension; whom — When God had given him to you, and when you ought to have received him as a most precious treasure, and to have preserved him with all your power; ye delivered up — To the Romans as a criminal, and denied — Greek, ηρνησασθε, renounced him; in the presence of Pilate — Or, against the face of Pilate, as Dr. Hammond renders it; that is, in defiance of his reasonings with you; when he was determined to let him go — To release him, being fully satisfied he was innocent of the things laid to his charge. But ye denied the Holy One — Whom God had marked out as such; and the Just One — Just even in the judgment of Pilate, declaring that you would not own him as your king, nor even be contented to admit his discharge, when it was offered and pressed upon you by the governor: and desired — With outrageous clamour, one of the most infamous of mankind, a robber, and a murderer, to be granted unto you — To be spared and released. And while you asked for the deliverance of so vile a wretch, you inhumanly and insolently killed the Prince of life — Even him who had life in himself, and was appointed to be the Author of life, spiritual and eternal, and glory, to his followers. Observe the antithesis: You desired a destroyer of life to be released, and Christ the Lord and giver of life to be crucified, as if a murderer had deserved better at your hands than the Saviour! than which a greater affront could not have been put upon him. You did at once a wicked and foolish thing, in taking away his life, who would have been your life and Saviour, thus forsaking and rebelling against your own mercies; and in supposing you could conquer and extinguish in death the Prince of life, who, having life in himself, could soon resume the life he had resigned! Whom God raised — As we know by the certain and repeated testimony of our own senses; and thereby amply vindicated him; whereof we are witnesses — Constituted such by God, in order to the conviction and salvation of others. And his name — He himself, his power and love; through faith in his name — A confidence in him, a dependance on him, a believing application to him, and expectation of power to proceed from him; hath made this man strong — Hath effected a perfect cure of his lameness. Dr. Lightfoot suggests, that faith is twice named in this verse, because of the apostles’ faith in working this miracle, and the cripple’s faith in receiving it. But it seems to relate chiefly, if not only, to the former: they that wrought this miracle by faith, derived power from Christ to work it, and, therefore, returned all the glory to him. By this true and just account of the miracle, Peter both confirmed the great gospel truth they were to preach to the world, that Jesus Christ is the fountain of all power and grace, and the great Healer and Saviour; and recommended the great gospel mystery of our salvation by Christ. It is his name that justifies us, that glorious name of his, the Lord our righteousness; but we, in particular, are justified by that name, through faith in it, applying it to ourselves. Thus doth Peter preach unto them Jesus and him crucified, being a faithful friend of the bridegroom, to whose service he devoted all his interest.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Peter’s Third Speech—that in Solomon’s Porch, Act_3:12-26.

Peter promptly avails himself, in this bold speech, (made perhaps from some elevated platform or position in the porch,) of the great excitement to base Christ upon this miracle. Do you ask what this miracle means? It declares that your Messiah, by whose power it was alone done, has come to you, even He whom you have slain, Act_3:13-18. The momentous inference is, that you must repent of your crime against him and submit yourselves to his divine authority, Act_3:19-26.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:12-26 The evangelistic speeches in the book of Acts focus on Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord. They call people to repentance and faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah and the divinely appointed Judge (2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 26:20). They also offer the same Good News for the people of Israel and the Gentile world—“there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all” (10:36).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 3:12. Ἀπεκρίνατο, answered) having again obtained an opportunity.—τί θαυμάζετε, why wonder ye?) They had good reason to wonder; but they ought to have recognised the Lord, from whom the benefit had come, and not to stop short and fasten their whole attention upon the mere work itself, or upon the Divine instruments by which it was accomplished.—δυνάμει ἢ εὐσεβείᾳ) Most frequently δύναμις and ἐξουσία are joined. Wherefore the Syriac and some MSS. of the Latin Vulg. have taken up virtute aut potestate, instead of virtute aut pietate: and furthermore some MSS. mentioned in Irenæu[27], inasmuch as these two words seemed synonymous, have omitted et potestate, “and power.” The formation of the words in writing, εὐσέβεια and ἘΞΟΥΣΊΑ, piety and power, is also similar in appearance, especially in the contractions used in writing Latin.[28] These two, virtue and power, are usually looked to by men in the Divine instruments. Wherefore “Peter puts away from himself the attribution of power, whether physical or meritorious, and ascribes the whole to God and Christ the Lord.” So writes H. de Bukentop, lib. ii. de Vulgata, p. 285.

[27] renæus (of Lyons, in Gaul: born about 130 A.D., and died about the end of the second century). The Editio Renati Massueti, Parisinæ, a. 1710.

[28] ABCDde Vulg. Amiat. (the oldest MS.) have ἢ εὐσεβείᾳ.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_3:12. Ἀπεκρίνατο] he began to speak, as a reply to the astonishment and concourse of the people, which thereby practically expressed the wish for an explanation. See on Mat_11:25. Observe the honourable address, ἄνδρ. ʼΙσρ., as in Act_2:22, Act_5:35, Act_13:16, Act_21:28.

τί θαυμάζετε ἐπὶ τούτῳ;] The wonder of the people, namely, was unfounded, in so far as they regarded the healing as an effect of the δύναμις ἢ εὐσεβ. of the apostles themselves.

τούτῳ] is neuter; see Act_3:10 : at this. As to the ἤ, an, introducing the second question, observe that the course of thought without interrogation is as follows: Your astonishment is groundless, provided that you were reasonably entitled to regard us as the workers of this cure. The ἤ is accordingly: or else, if you think that you must wonder why, etc.

ἡμῖν emphatically prefixed: ἰδίᾳ is then correlative.

εὐσεβείᾳ] quasi sit praemium pietatis nostrae a Deo nobis concessum, Heinrichs. In us lies neither the causa effectiva nor the causa meritoria.

πεποιηκόσι τοῦ περιπ. αὐτόν] to be taken together: as if we had been at work, in order that he might walk. That this telic designation of that which was done is given with the genitive of the infinitive, is certainly to be traced to the frequent use of this form of expression in the LXX. (see Winer, p. 306 [E. T. 410]); but the conception of the aim is not on that account to be obliterated as the defining element of the expression, especially as even in classical writers this mode of conception is found, and presents itself in the expression ποιεῖν ὅπως. See, e.g., Herod, 1. 117: ποιεῖν …, ὅπως ἔσται ἡ ʼΙωνίη ἐλευθέρη, v. 109, i. 209. Comp. πράσσειν ὅπως, Krüger on Thuc. i. 56. The ποιεῖν is conceived as striving.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 3:12 . This address of St. Peter divides itself into two parts, 12 16, 17 26, and although it covers much of the same ground as in chap. 2, there is no need to regard it with Overbeck and Holtzmann as unhistorical: see Blass, in loco , and Feine; the latter points out that St. Peter would naturally, as in chap. 3, take the incident before him as his text, place it in its right light, and draw from it an appeal to repentance and conversion. But whilst we may grant the common and identical aim of the two discourses, to proclaim the Messiahship of Jesus before the Jews, none can fail to see that in chap. 3 the Messianic idea becomes richer and fuller. Jesus is the prophet greater than Moses: Jesus is the fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant, through which the blessing of Abraham is to extend to all the earth, Mat 8:11 . And more than this: St. Peter has learnt to see in the despised Nazarene not only the suffering servant of Jehovah ( παῖς ), but in the servant the King, and in the seed of David the Prince of Life. And in the light of that revelation the future opens out more clearly before him, and he becomes the first prophet in the Messianic age the spiritual presence which the believers now enjoyed, and by which those mighty deeds are wrought, is only a foretaste of a more visible and glorious Presence, when the Messiah should return in His glory; and for that return repentance and remission of sins must prepare the way (see Briggs, Messiah of the Apostles , pp. 31, 32). On St. Peter’s discourses see additional note at end of chapter. ἀπεκρίνατο : cf. Luk 13:14 ; Luk 14:3 , answered, i.e. , to their looks of astonishment and inquiry. The middle voice as here, which would be the classical usuage, is seldom found in the N.T., but generally the passive aorist, ἀπεκρίθη , and so in the LXX. “In Biblical Greek the middle voice is dying, in modern Greek it is dead,” Plummer. Thus in modern Greek, ὑποκρίνομαι in the passive = to answer, Kennedy, Sources of N. T. Greek , p. 155, and Blass, Grammatik des N. G. , p. 44. ὡς πεποιηκόσιν τοῦ περιπατεῖν : this use of the infinitive with the genitive of the article, instead of the simple infinitive with or without ὥστε , to express a purpose, or result as here: “non de consilio sed de eventu” (Blass), may be illustrated from the LXX, Gen 37:18 , Gen 37:1 Chron. 44:6, Isa 5:6 . εὐσεβείᾳ : “godliness,” R.V., as always elsewhere in A.V., i.e. , by our piety towards God, as always in the Bible, although εὐσέβεια may be used like the Latin pietas of piety towards parents or others, as well as of piety towards God. It is frequently used in the LXX of reverence towards God, εἰς , so too in Josephus, πρὸς τὸν Θεόν , cf. Pro 1:7 ; Pro 13:11 , Isa 11:2 , Wis 10:12 , and often in 4 Macc. In Trench, N. T. Synonyms , ii., p. 196, and Grimm-Thayer, sub v . In the N.T. the word is used, in addition to its use here, by St. Paul ten times in the Pastoral Epistles, and it is found no less than four times in 2 Peter, but nowhere else. St. Chrysostom, Hom. ix., comments: “Do you see how clear of all ambition he is, and how he repels the honour paid to him?” so too Joseph: Do not interpretations belong to God?

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Miracles are appointed to convince the unbelievers, and therefore they do wickedly abuse them, who standeth amazed either at the miracles themselves, or at the instruments and means which it pleaseth God to use, take an occasion to establish idolatry and superstition by that, which God hath provided for the knowledge of his true worship, that is, Christianity.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

We have here the sermon which Peter preached after he had cured the lame man. When Peter saw it. 1. When he saw the people got together in a crowd, he took that opportunity to preach Christ to them, especially the temple being the place of their concourse, and Solomon's porch there: let them come and hear a more excellent wisdom than Solomon's, for, behold, a greater than Solomon is here preached. 2. When he saw the people affected with the miracle, and filed with admiration, then he sowed the gospel seed in the ground which was thus broken up, and prepared to receive it. 3. When he saw the people ready to adore him and John, he stepped in immediately, and diverted their respect from them, that it might be directed to Christ only; to this he answered presently, as Paul and Barnabas at Lystra. See Act 14:14, Act 14:15. In the sermon,

I. He humbly disclaims the honour of the miracle as not due to them, who were only the ministers of Christ, or instruments in his hand for the doing of it. The doctrines they preached were not of their own invention, nor were the seals of it their own, but his whose the doctrines were. He addresses himself to them as men of Israel, men to whom pertained, not only the law and the promises, but the gospel and the performances, and who were nearly interested in the present dispensation. Two things he asks them: - 1. Why they were so surprised at the miracle itself: Why marvel you at this? It was indeed marvellous, and they justly wondered at it, but it was not more than what Christ had done many a time, and they had not duly regarded it, nor been affected with it. It was but a little before that Christ had raised Lazarus from the dead; and why should this then seem so strange? Note, Stupid people think that strange now which might have been familiar to them if it had not been their own fault. Christ had lately risen from the dead himself; why did they not marvel at this? why were they not convinced by this? 2. Why they gave so much of the praise of it to them, who were only the instruments of it: Why look you so earnestly on us? (1.) It was certain that they had made this man to walk, by which it appeared that the apostles not only were sent of God, but were sent to be blessings to the world, benefactors to mankind, and were sent to heal sick and distempered souls, that were spiritually lame and impotent, to set broken bones, and make them rejoice. (2.) Yet they did not do it by any power or holiness of their own. It was not done by any might of their own, any skill they had in physic or surgery, nor any virtue in their word: the power they did it by was wholly derived from Christ. Nor was it done by any merit of their own; the power which Christ gave them to do it they had not deserved: it was not by their own holiness; for, as they were weak things, so they were foolish things, that Christ chose to employ; Peter was a sinful man. What holiness had Judas? Yet he wrought miracles in Christ's name. What holiness any of them had it was wrought in them, and they could not pretend to merit by it. (3.) It was the people's fault that they attributed it to their power and holiness, and accordingly looked at them. Note, The instruments of God's favour to us, though they must be respected, must not be idolized; we must take heed of reckoning that to be done by the instrument which God is the author of. (4.) It was the praise of Peter and John that they would not take the honour of this miracle to themselves, but carefully transmitted it to Christ. Useful men must see to it that they be very humble. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name give glory. Every crown must be cast at the feet of Christ; not I, but the grace of God with me.

II. He preaches Christ to them; this was his business, that he might lead them into obedience to Christ.

1. He preaches Christ, as the true Messiah promised to the fathers (Act 3:13); for, (1.) He is Jesus the Son of God; though they had lately condemned Christ as a blasphemer for saying that he was the Son of God, yet Peter avows it: he is his Son Jesus; to him dear as a Son; to us, Jesus, a Saviour. (2.) God hath glorified him, in raising him up to be king, priest, and prophet, of his church; he glorified him in his life and in his death, as well as in his resurrection and ascension. (3.) He hath glorified him as the God of our fathers, whom he names with respect (for they were great names with the men of Israel, and justly), the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. God sent him into the world, pursuant to the promises made to those patriarchs, that in their seed the families of the earth should be blessed, and the covenant made with them, that God would be a God to them, and their seed. The apostles call the patriarchs their fathers, and God the God of those patriarchs from whom the Jews were descended, to intimate to them that they had no evil design upon the Jewish nation (that they should look upon them with a jealous eye), but had a value and concern for it, and were hereby well-wishers to it; and the gospel they preached was the revelation of the mind and will of the God of Abraham. See Act 26:7, Act 26:22; Luk 1:72, Luk 1:73.

2. He charges them flatly and plainly with the murder of this Jesus, as he had done before. (1.) "You delivered him up to your chief priests and elders, the representative body of the nation; and you of the common people were influenced by them to clamour against him, as if he had been a public grievance." (2.) "You denied him, and you disowned him, would not have him then to be your king, could not look upon him as the Messiah, because he came not in external pomp and power; you denied him in the presence of Pilate, renounced all the expectations of your church, in the presence of the Roman governor, who justly laughed at you for it; you denied him against the face of Pilate" (so Dr. Hammond), "in defiance of his reasonings with you" (Pilate had determined to let him go, but the people opposed it, and overruled him). "You were worse than Pilate, for he would have released him, if you had let him follow his own judgment. You denied the Holy One and the Just, who had approved himself so, and all the malice of his persecutors could not disprove it." The holiness and justice of the Lord Jesus, which are something more than his innocency, were a great aggravation of the sin of those that put him to death. (3.) "You desired a murderer to be released, and Christ crucified; as if Barabbas had deserved better at your hands than the Lord Jesus, than which a greater affront could not be put upon him." (4.) You killed the prince of life. Observe the antithesis: "You preserved a murderer, a destroyer of life; and destroyed the Saviour, the author of life. You killed him who was sent to be to you the prince of life, and so not only forsook, but rebelled against your own mercies. You did an ungrateful thing, in taking away his life who would have been your life. You did a foolish thing to think you could conquer the prince of life, who has life in himself, and would soon resume the life he resigned."

3. He attests his resurrection as before, ch. 11:32. "You thought the prince of life might be deprived of his life, as any other prince might be deprived of his dignity and dominion, but you found yourselves mistaken, for God raised him from the dead; so that in putting him to death you fought against God, and were baffled. God raised him from the dead, and thereby ratified his demands, and confirmed his doctrine, and rolled away all the reproach of his sufferings, and for the truth of his resurrection we are all witnesses."

4. He ascribes the cure of this impotent man to the power of Christ, (Act 3:16): His name, through faith in his name, in that discovery which he hath made of himself, has made this man strong. He repeats it again, The faith which is by him hath given him this soundness. Here, (1.) He appeals to themselves concerning the truth of the miracle; the man on whom it was wrought is one whom you see, and know, and have known; he was not acquainted with Peter and John before, so that there was no room to suspect a compact between them: "You know him to have been a cripple from a child. The miracle was wrought publicly, in the presence of you all; not in a corner, but in the gate of the temple; you saw in what manner it was done, so that there could be no juggle in it; you had liberty to examine it immediately, and may yet. The cure is complete; it is a perfect soundness; you see the man walks and leaps, as one that has no remainder either of weakness or pain." (2.) He acquaints them with the power by which it was wrought. [1.] It is done by the name of Christ, not merely by naming it as a spell or charm, but it is done by us as professors and teachers of his name, by virtue of a commission and instructions we have received from him, and a power which he has invested us with, that name which Christ has above every name; his authority, his command has done it; as writs run in the king's name, though it is an inferior officer that executes them. [2.] The power of Christ is fetched in through faith in his name, a confidence in him, a dependence on him, a believing application to him, and expectation from him, even that faith which is, di' autou - by him, which is of his working; it is not of ourselves, it is the gift of Christ; and it is for his sake, that he may have the glory of it; for he is both the author and finisher of our faith. Dr. Lightfoot suggests that faith is twice named in this verse, because of the apostles' faith in doing this miracle and the cripple's faith in receiving it; but I suppose it relates chiefly, if not only, to the former. Those that wrought this miracle by faith derived power from Christ to work it, and therefore returned all the glory to him. By this true and just account of the miracle, Peter both confirmed the great gospel truth they were to preach to the world - that Jesus Christ is the fountain of all power and grace, and the great healer and Saviour - and recommended the great gospel duty of faith in him as the only way of receiving benefit by him. It explains likewise the great gospel mystery of our salvation by Christ; it is his name that justifies us, that glorious name of his, The Lord our righteousness; but we, in particular, are justified by that name, through faith in it, applying it to ourselves. Thus does Peter preach unto them Jesus, and him crucified, as a faithful friend of the bridegroom, to whose service and honour he devoted all his interest.

III. He encourages them to hope that, though they had been guilty of putting Christ to death, yet they might find mercy; he does all he can to convince them, yet is careful not to drive them to despair. The guilt was very great, but, 1. He mollifies their crime by a candid imputation of it to their ignorance. Perhaps he perceived by the countenance of his hearers that they were struck with great horror when he told them that they had killed the prince of life, and were ready either to sink down or to fly off, and therefore he saw it needful to mitigate the rigour of the charge by calling them brethren; and well might he call them so, for he had been himself a brother with them in this iniquity: he had denied the holy One and the Just, and sworn that he did not know him; he did it by surprise; "and, for your parts, I know that through ignorance you did it, as did also your rulers," Act 3:17. This was the language of Peter's charity, and teaches us to make the best of those whom we desire to make better. Peter had searched the wound to the bottom, and now he begins to think of healing it up, in order to which it is necessary to beget in them a good opinion of their physician; and could any thing be more winning than this? That which bears him out in it is that he has the example of his Master's praying for his crucifiers, and pleading in their behalf that they knew not what they did. And it is said of the rulers that if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. See Co1 2:8. Perhaps some of the rulers, and of the people, did therein rebel against the light and the convictions of their own consciences, and did it through malice; but the generality went down the stream, and did it through ignorance; as Paul persecuted the church, ignorantly, and in unbelief, Ti1 1:13. 2. He mollifies the effects of their crime - the death of the prince of life; this sounds very dreadful, but it was according to the scriptures (Act 3:18), the predictions of which, though they did not necessitate their sin, yet did necessitate his sufferings; so he himself saith: Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer. You did it through ignorance may be taken in this sense: "You fulfilled the scripture, and did not know it; God, by your hands, hath fulfilled what he showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer; this was his design in delivering him up to you, but you had views of your own, and were altogether ignorant of this design; you meant not so, neither did your heart think so. God was fulfilling the scripture when you were gratifying your own passions." Observe, It was not only determined in the secret counsel of God, but declared to the world many ages before, by the mouth and pen of the prophets, that Christ should suffer, in order to the accomplishment of his undertaking; and it was God himself that showed it by them, who will see that his words be made good; what he showed he fulfilled, he so fulfilled as he had shown, punctually and exactly, without any variation. Now, though this is no extenuation at all of their sin in hating and persecuting Christ to the death (this still appears exceedingly sinful), yet it was an encouragement to them to repent, and hope for mercy upon their repentance; not only because in general God's gracious designs were carried on by it (ant thus it agrees with the encouragement Joseph gave to his brethren, when they thought their offence against him almost unpardonable: Fear not, saith he, you thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, Gen 50:15, Gen 50:20), but because in particular the death and sufferings of Christ were for the remission of sins, and the ground of that display of mercy for which he now encouraged them to hope.

IV. He exhorts them all to turn Christians, and assures them it would be unspeakably for their advantage to do so; it would be the making of them for ever. This is the application of his sermon.

1. He tells them what they must believe. (1.) They must believe that Jesus Christ is the promised see, that seed in which God had told Abraham all the kindreds of the earth should be blessed, Act 3:25. This refers to that promise made to Abraham (Gen 12:3), which promise was long ere it was fulfilled, but now at length had its accomplishment in this Jesus, who was of the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh, and in him all the families of the earth are blessed, and not the families of Israel only; all have some benefits by him, and some have all benefits. (2.) They must believe that Jesus Christ is a prophet, that prophet like unto Moses whom God had promised to raise up to them from among their brethren, Act 3:22. This refers to that promise, Deu 18:18. Christ is a prophet, for by him God speaks unto us; in him all divine revelation centres, and by him it is handed to us; he is a prophet like unto Moses, a favourite of Heaven; more intimately acquainted with the divine counsel, and more familiarly conversed with, than any other prophet. He was a deliverer of his people out of bondage, and their guide through the wilderness, like Moses; a prince and a lawgiver, like Moses; the builder of the true tabernacle, as Moses was of the typical one. Moses was faithful as a servant, Christ as a Son. Moses was murmured against by Israel, defied by Pharaoh, yet God owned him, and ratified his commission. Moses was a pattern of meekness and patience, so is Christ. Moses died by the word of the Lord, so did Christ. There was no prophet like unto Moses (Num 12:6, Num 12:7; Deu 34:10), but a greater than Moses is here where Christ is. He is a prophet of God's raising up, for he took not this honour of himself, but was called of God to it. He was raised up unto Israel in the first place. He executed this office in his own person among them only. They had the first offer of divine grace made to them; and therefore he was raised up from among them - of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, which, as it was a great honour done to them, so it was both an obligation upon them and an encouragement to them to embrace him. If he come to his own, one would think, they should receive him. The Old Testament church was blessed with many prophets, with schools of prophets, for many ages with a constant succession of prophets (which is here taken notice of, from Samuel, and those that follow after, Act 3:24, for from Samuel the prophetic era commenced); but, these servants being abused, last of all God sent them his Son, who had been in his bosom. (3.) They must believe that times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord (Act 3:19), and that they will be the times of the restitution of all things, Act 3:21. There is a future state, another life after this; those times will come from the presence of the Lord, from his glorious appearance at that day, his coming at the end of time. The absence of the Lord occasions many of the securities of sinners and the distrusts of saints; but his presence is hastening on, which will for ever silence both. Behold, the Judge standeth before the door. The presence of the Lord will introduce, [1.] The restitution of all things (Act 3:21); the new heavens, and the new earth, which will be the product of the dissolution of all things (Rev 21:1), the renovation of the whole creation, which is that which it grieves after, as its present burden under the sin of man is that which it groans under. Some understand this of a state on this side the end of time; but it is rather to be understood of that end of all things which God hath spoken of by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began; for this is that which Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of (Jde 1:14), and the temporal judgments which the other prophets foretold were typical of that which the apostle calls the eternal judgment. This is more clearly and plainly revealed in the New Testament than it had been before, and all that receive the gospel have an expectation of it. [2.] With this will come the times of refreshing (Act 3:19), of consolation to the Lord's people, like a cool shade to those that have borne the burden and heat of the day. All Christians look for a rest that remains for the people of God, after the travails and toils of their present state, and, with the prospect of this, they are borne up under their present sufferings and carried on in their present services. The refreshing that then comes from the presence of the Lord will continue eternally in the presence of the Lord.

2. He tells them what they must do. (1.) They must repent, must bethink themselves of what they have done amiss, must return to their right mind, admit a second thought, and submit to the convictions of it; they must begin anew. Peter, who had himself denied Christ, repented, and he would have them to do so too. (2.) They must be converted, must face about, and direct both their faces and steps the contrary way to what they had been; they must return to the Lord their God, from whom they had revolted. It is not enough to repent of sin, but we must be converted from it, and not return to it again. They must not only exchange the profession of Judaism for that of Christianity, but the power and dominion of a carnal, worldly, sensual mind, for that of holy, heavenly, and divine principles and affections. (3.) They must hear Christ, the great prophet: "Him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. Attend his dictates, receive his doctrine, submit to his government. Hear him with a divine faith, as prophets should be heard, that come with a divine commission. Him shall you hear, and to him shall you subscribe with an implicit faith and obedience. Hear him in all things; let his laws govern all your actions, and his counsels determine all your submissions. Whenever he has a mouth to speak, you must have an ear to hear. Whatever he saith to you, though ever so displeasing to flesh and blood, bid it welcome." Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears. A good reason is here given why we should be observant of, and obedient to, the word of Christ; for it is at our peril if we turn a deaf ear to his call and a stiff neck to his yoke (Act 3:23): Every soul that will not hear that prophet, and be directed by what he saith, shall be destroyed from among the people. The destruction of the city and nation, by war and famine, was threatened for slighting the prophets of the Old Testament; but the destruction of the soul, a spiritual and eternal destruction, is threatened for slighting Christ, this great prophet. Those that will not be advised by the Saviour can expect no other than to fall into the hands of the destroyer.

3. He tells them what they might expect.

(1.) That they should have the pardon of their sins; this is always spoken of as the great privilege of all those that embrace the gospel (Act 3:19): Repent, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. This implies, [1.] That the remission of sin is the blotting of it out, as a cloud is blotted out by the beams of the sun (Isa 44:22), as a debt is crossed and blotted out when it is remitted. It intimates that when God forgives sin he remembers it no more against the sinner; it is forgotten, as that which is blotted out; all the bitter things written against the sinner (Job 13:26) are wiped out as it were with a sponge; it is the cancelling of a bond, the vacating of a judgment. [2.] That we cannot expect our sins should be pardoned unless we repent of them, and turn from them to God. Though Christ has died to purchase the remission of sin, yet, that we may have the benefit of that purchase in the forgiveness of our sins, we must repent, and be converted: if no repentance, no remission. [3.] Hopes of the pardon of sin upon repentance should be a powerful inducement to us to repent. Repent, that your sins may be blotted out: and that repentance is evangelical which flows from an apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, and the hopes of pardon. This was the first and great argument, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. [4.] The most comfortable fruit of the forgiveness of our sins will be when the times of refreshing shall come; if our sins be forgiven us, we have now reason to be of good cheer; but the comfort will be complete when the pardon shall be allowed in open court, and our justification published before angels and men - when whom he has justified, them he glorifies, Rom 8:30. As now we are the sons of God (Jo1 3:2), so now we have our sins blotted out; but it doth not yet appear what are the blessed fruits of it, till the times of refreshing shall come. During these times of toil and conflict (doubts and fears within, troubles and dangers without) we cannot have that full satisfaction of our pardon, and in it, that we shall have when the refreshing times come, which shall wipe away all tears.

(2.) That they should have the comfort of Christ's coming (Act 3:20, Act 3:21): "He shall send Jesus Christ, the same Jesus, the very same that before was preached unto you; for you must not expect another dispensation, another gospel, but the continuance and completion of this; you must not expect another prophet like unto Jesus, as Moses bade you expect another like unto him; for, though the heavens must receive him till the times of the restitution of all things; yet, if you repent and be converted, you shall find no want of him; some way or other he shall be seen of you." [1.] We must not expect Christ's personal presence with us in this world; for the heavens, which received him out of the sight of the disciples, must retain him till the end of time. To that seat of the blessed his bodily presence is confined, and will be to the end of time, the accomplishment of all things (so it may be read); and therefore those dishonour him, and deceive themselves, who dream of his corporal presence in the eucharist. It is agreeable to a state of trial and probation that the glorified Redeemer should be out of sight, because we must live by that faith in him which is the evidence of things not seen; because he must be believed on in the world, he must be received up into glory. Dr. Hammond reads it, Who must receive the heavens, that is, who must receive the glory and power of the upper world; he must reign till all be made subject to him, Co1 15:25; Psa 75:2. [2.] Yet it is promised that he shall be sent to all that repent and are converted (Act 3:20): "He shall send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you by his disciples, both before and since his resurrection, and is, and will be, all in all to them." First, "You shall have his spiritual presence. He that is sent into the world shall be sent to you; you shall have the comfort of his being sent; he shall be sent among you in his gospel, which shall be his tabernacle, his chariot of war." Secondly, "He shall send Jesus Christ to destroy Jerusalem, and the nation of unbelieving Jews, that are enemies to Christ and Christianity, and to deliver his ministers and people from them, and give them peace in the profession of the gospel, and that shall be a time of refreshing, in which you shall share." Then had the churches rest; so Dr. Hammond. Thirdly, "The sending of Christ to judge the world, at the end of time, will be a blessing to you; you shall then lift up your heads with joy, knowing that your redemption draws nigh." It seems to refer to this, for till then the heavens must receive him, Act 3:21. As God's counsels from eternity, so his predictions from the beginning of time, had a reference to the transactions of the last day, when the mystery of God shall be finished, as he had declared to his servants the prophets, Rev 10:7. The institution of all things in the church had an eye to the restitution of all things at the end of time.

4. He tells them what ground they had to expect these things, if they were converted to Christ. Though they had denied him, and put him to death, yet they might hope to find favour through him, upon the account of their being Israelites. For,

(1.) As Israelites, they had the monopoly of the grace of the Old Testament; they were, above any other, God's favourite nation, and the favours God bestowed upon them were such as had a reference to the Messiah, and his kingdom: You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant. A double privilege. [1.] They were the children, that is, the disciples, of the prophets, as children at school; not sons of the prophets, in the sense that we read of such in the Old Testament, from Samuel and downward, who were, or are, trained up to be endued with the spirit of prophecy; but you are of that people from among whom prophets were raised up, and to whom prophets were sent. It is spoken of as a great favour to Israel that God raised up of their sons for prophets, Amo 2:11. All the inspired writers, both of the Old and New Testament, were of the seed of Abraham; and it was their honour and advantage that unto them were committed the oracles of God, Rom 3:2. Their government was constituted by prophecy, that is, by divine revelation; and by it their affairs were for many ages very much managed. See Hos 12:13. By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved. Those of the latter ages of the church, when prophecy had ceased, might yet be fitly called the children of the prophets, because they heard, though they did not know, the voices of the prophets, which were read in their synagogues every sabbath day, Act 13:27. Now this should quicken them to embrace Christ, and they might hope to be accepted of him; for their own prophets had foretold that this grace should be brought unto them at the revelation of Jesus Christ (Pe1 1:13), and therefore ought not to be neglected by them, nor should be denied to them. Those that are blessed with prophets and prophecy (as all are that have the scriptures) are concerned not to receive the grace of God therein in vain. We may apply it particularly to ministers' children, who, if they plead their parentage effectually with themselves, as an inducement to be faithful and forward in religion, may comfortably plead it with God, and hope that the children of God's servants shall continue. [2.] They were the children, that is, the heirs, of the covenant which God made with our Fathers, as children in the family. God's covenant was made with Abraham and his seed, and they were that seed with whom the covenant was made, and on whom the blessings of the covenant were entailed: "The promise of the Messiah was made to you, and therefore if you forsake not your own mercies, and do not by an obstinate infidelity put a bar in your own door, you may hope it shall be made good to you." That promise here mentioned, as the principal article of the covenant, In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed, though referring principally to Christ (Gal 3:16), yet may include the church also, which is his body, all believers, that are the spiritual seed of Abraham. All the kindreds of the earth were blessed in having a church for Christ among them; and those that were the seed of Abraham according to the flesh stood fairest for this privilege. If all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed in Christ, much more that kindred, his kinsmen according to the flesh.

(2.) As Israelites, they had the first offer of the grace of the New Testament. Because they were the children of the prophets and the covenant, therefore to them the Redeemer was first sent, which was an encouragement to them to hope that if they did repent, and were converted, he should be yet further sent for their comfort (Act 3:20): He shall send Jesus Christ, for to you first he hath sent him, Act 3:26. Unto you first, you Jews, though not to you only, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, appointed and authorized him to be a prince and a Saviour, and, in confirmation of this, raised him from the dead, sent him to bless you, to make a tender of his blessing to you, especially that great blessing of turning every one of you from his iniquities; and therefore it concerns you to receive this blessing, and turn from your iniquities, and you may be encouraged to hope that you shall. [1.] We are here told whence Christ had his mission: God raised up his Son Jesus, and sent him. God raised him up when he constituted him a prophet, owned his by a voice from heaven, and filled him with his Spirit without measure, and then sent him; for to this end he raised him up, that he might be his commissioner to treat of peace. He sent him to bear witness of the truth, sent him to seek and save lost souls, sent him against his enemies, to conquer them. Some refer the raising of him up to the resurrection, which was the first step towards his exaltation; this was, as it were, the renewing of his commission; and though, having raised him up, he seemed presently to take him from us, yet he did really send him afresh to us in his gospel and Spirit. [2.] To whom he was sent: "Unto you first. You of the seed of Abraham, you that are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant, to you is the tender made of gospel grace." The personal ministry of Christ, as that of the prophets, was confined to the Jews; he was not then sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and he forbade the disciples he then sent forth to go any further. After his resurrection, he was to be preached indeed to all nations, but they must begin at Jerusalem, Luk 24:47. And, when they went to other nations, they first preached to the Jews they found therein. They were the first-born, and, as such, had the privilege of the first offer. So far were they from being excluded for their putting Christ to death, that, when he is risen, he is first sent to them, and they are primarily intended to have benefit by his death. [3.] On what errand he was sent: "He is sent to you first, to bless you; this is his primary errand, not to condemn you, as you deserve, but to justify you, if you will accept of the justification offered you, in the way wherein it is offered; but he that sends him first to bless you, if you refuse and reject tha

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

why marvel at this?--For miracles are marvels only in relation to the limited powers of man.

as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk--Neither the might nor the merit of the cure are due to us, mere agents of Him whom we preach.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. As though by our own power] δυναμει, Miraculous energy.

Or holiness] Η ευσεβεια, Meaning religious attachment to the worship of God. Do not think that we have wrought this miracle by any power of our own; or that any supereminent piety in us should have induced God thus to honour us, by enabling us to work it. Instead of ευσεβεια, holiness, the Syriac of Erpen, Armenian, Vulgate, and some copies of the Itala, have εξουσια, power or authority; but the first appears to be the legitimate reading.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Men of Israel He beginneth his sermon with a reproving of the people. And yet doth he not simply reprove them because they wonder; for that was altogether profitable and worthy praise; but because they do wickedly ascribe unto men that praise which is due to the work of God. As if he should say, Ye do amiss, in that you stay in us, and stand gazing upon us, whereas you ought rather to look upon God and Christ. Therefore, this is to be amazed evilly, when as our minds do stay in men. And we must note that he condemneth the respect of men; as if, saith he, we by our own power and virtue had done this. Therefore there is an error and corruption in this, if we attribute that unto the godliness and power of men which is proper to God and Christ. And, as concerning power, no man will deny that it cometh of God; yet when they have confessed this in one word, they do not cease to take from God his right, to the end they may adorn the creatures with that which they take from him; as we see the Papists place the power of God in the saints; yea, they include his power in a stone or stock of wood, so soon as the image is consecrated to Barbara or Chrysogonus. But, notwithstanding, let us suppose that they do not offend in that former member; yet do they foolishly think that they have done their duty toward God, when as they leave him the power, and assign the miracles unto the godliness of saints. For why do they run unto them, when they will obtain either rain or fair weather, or be delivered from diseases, unless they do imagine that they have by their godliness deserved that God should grant them this right and privilege? This is, therefore, but a childish starting-hole, when they confess that God is the author of the power; but they thank the godliness of saints for those benefits which they have received. Howsoever they color the matter, we must always know this, that Peter doth generally condemn those which do so look unto men in miracles, that they think that their holiness is the cause thereof. This is the first part of the sermon, wherein he reproveth superstition. And we must note his manner and order of teaching. For because men are inclined to nothing more than to fall from God unto the creatures, it is very expedient to prevent this vice in time. And if the people were forbidden to look unto the apostles, much more doth the Spirit draw us away from calling upon every petty saint.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(12) Why look ye so earnestly on us?—The verb is the same as that in Act_3:4. The pronoun stands emphatically at the beginning of the verse—Why is it on us that ye gaze?

As though by our own. . . . holiness. . . .—Better, purity, or devotion. The words refer to what may be called the popular theory of miracles, that if a man were devout, i.e., “a worshipper of God,” God would hear him (Joh_9:31). That theory might be true in itself generally, but the Apostle disclaims it in this special instance. No purity of his own would have availed, but for the Name, i.e., the power, of Jesus of Nazareth.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. when Peter saw it] i.e. their wonder, as may be inferred from his opening words.

he answered] Often used although no previous remark or question precedes. Cp. Act_5:8, where Peter is said to have answered Sapphira, though she had said nothing, as far as we are told, and where the Apostle’s words are a question.

why marvel ye at this?] Probably we should supply man, because the pronoun at the close of the verse is only the personal and not the demonstrative, and we should read “made him to walk,” and not as the A. V. “made this man to walk.”

look ye so earnestly] The verb is rendered “to fasten the eyes on” in Act_3:4.

by our own power] As he had done to the cripple, so also he makes it clear to the crowd that the name of Jesus is the power by which he has wrought.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when Peter saw it,.... That the people ran to them, and looked wistly upon them, and wondered at what was done:

he answered unto the people, ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? either at this man, who was cured of his lameness, or at the cure itself:

or why look ye so earnestly on us; suggesting, that they ought to look to God, and observe his divine power, and to the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they had crucified, whose apostles they were, and in whose name, and by whose power they had wrought this miracle; which shows that they were not self-seeking and vain glorious men, but discovers great sincerity and integrity, much love to Christ, and great regard to his honour, and to the glory of God:

as though by our own power and holiness we had made this man to walk? as if it was any natural power of theirs; or for any merit of theirs, because of their strict religion and piety; or "laudable conversation", as the Arabic version; because they were mightier in themselves and holier than others, that they had such a faculty of curing lame persons; all which they utterly reject, and place it to a right account in the next verse. Instead of "holiness", the Syriac version reads "authority"; and to the same, or like sense, the Vulgate Latin, which seems most agreeable.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

Ver. 12. Why look ye] We are ready to pay our rent to a wrong landlord.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When Peter saw it - Saw the people assembling in such multitudes and wondering at the miracle.

He answered - The word “answer,” with us, implies that a question had been asked, or that some subject had been proposed for consideration. But the word is used in a different sense in the Bible. It is often used when no question was asked, but when an occasion was offered for remarks, or when an opportunity was presented to make a statement. It is the same as replying to a thing, or making a statement in regard to some subject, Dan 2:26; Act 5:8.

Ye men of Israel - Jews. Compare Act 2:14.

Why marvel ye at this? - The particular thing which he intended to reprove here was not that they wondered, for that was proper; but that they looked on himself and John as if they had been the authors of this healing. They ought to have understood it. The Jews were sufficiently acquainted with miracles to interpret them and to know whence they proceeded; and they ought not, therefore, to ascribe them to man, but to inquire why they had been performed by God.

Why look ye ... - Why do ye fix the eyes with amazement on us, as though we could do this? Why not look at once to God?

By our own power - By any art of healing or by any medicine we had done this.

Or holiness - Piety. As if God had bestowed this on us on account of our personal and eminent piety. It may be remarked that here was ample opportunity for them to establish a reputation of their own. The people were disposed to pay them honor; they might at once have laid claim to vast authority over them; but they refused all such personal honor, and ascribed all to the Lord Jesus. Whatever success may attend the ministers of the gospel, or however much the world may be disposed to do them honor, they should disclaim all power in themselves, and ascribe it to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not by the talents or personal holiness of ministers, valuable as these are, that people are saved; it is only by the power of God, designed to honor his Son. See 2Co 3:5-6.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Peter seeing, made answer to the people. This is the second sermon, that is related, which, as St. John Chrysostom, observes, was spoken publicly in the temple. --- Why look you upon us? St. Peter, at the beginning take care to give the glory to God. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He answered, for he said, an ordinary Hebraism, though no question was put unto him: thus the evangelist tells us that our Saviour answered and said, when there was no previous question spoken of, Mat 11:25. Nay, Jesus answered and said unto the fig tree, Mar 11:14; that is, he spake powerfully unto it.

Ye men of Israel; an ingratiating compellation, they ever valuing themselves and others on that account.

By our own power or holiness: holiness, were it never so real and great in men, cannot cause the least miracle, although it is itself, all things considered, a very great one.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

At this man for at this, A.V.; fasten ye your eyes for look ye so earnestly, A.V.; godliness for holiness, A.V; him for this man, A.V. The him at the end of the verse requires that the man should have been previously mentioned. The A.V. felt this, and so, having taken ejpitw as at this, they rendered aujton by this man, as if Peter had supplied the want of the verbal mention by pointing to him. Fasten ye your eyes. (For the use of ajtenizein, see note on ver. 4.)

Vers. 12-26. The two judgments.

Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1Sa_16:7) That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God". (Luk_16:15) "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. (Luk_20:17) The above passages, with many others, call our particular attention to the frequent contrariety between the judgment of men and the judgment of God. The section before us gives two striking examples of this contrariety.

I The first is the contrariety between the judgment of the men of Israel as to the cause of the healing of the lame man, and the truth as declared by the apostles. The men of Israel thought that Peter and John had healed him by their own power or holiness. Their blind, carnal mind could not see beyond what lay just before them. They mistook the instrument for the cause. They could not see the power of Jesus Christ in heaven working through the hands of his servants on earth. And this is a type of a widely extended human error or false judgment. In the judgment of carnal men, however sharp their intellectual sight may be, everything is material, and the visible matter has no invisible spirit behind it. Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, are in their view natural phenomona with which the hand of God has nothing to do. Success or defeat in war, prosperity or adversity to the individual or the nation, are owing exclusively to the wisdom and prowess of men, not to the blessing or chastening of God. And it is even so in the Church. They see only the outward visible signs, and they ignore the inward spiritual grace. Holy baptism is a sign, a ceremony, a rite. It has, maybe, a certain significance, a certain admonitory or teaching power in their eyes, but they ignore the active, quickening energy of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament. The bread and wine in the Lord"s Supper are emblems, symbols, tokens, but they apprehend not the body and blood of Jesus Christ "which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful" at the Lord"s table. Sermons, if eloquent, able, and stirring, are things of natural power in their estimation, but they do not take into account the effectual working of the Holy Ghost accompanying the Word preached, and making it the power of God unto salvation. And so it is throughout, both in the world and in the Church. The carnal judgment of men takes into account only the natural and the material; those who have the mind and judgment of Christ recognize the supernatural and spiritual agency of God.

II The other example furnished by this section of the contrariety between the judgment of man and the judgment of God is that which is so pointedly put by St. Luke, both here and in his Gospel: the preference given by the Jews to Barabbas over Jesus Christ. "Ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead." Here, then, we have the Lord Jesus, the well-beloved Son of God; in whom he was well pleased; who always did those things that pleased him; to whom he said, "Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool;" whom God exalted far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; to whom he has given "a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." That was the judgment of God. Now let us see the judgment of men concerning this same Jesus. He was in the world, in all the simplicity of his spotless righteousness, in all the dignity of his sinless humanity, in the majesty of the Son of God; the fullness of wisdom, of love, and of pure goodness beamed forth in his every word and work, but "he was despised and rejected of men." He was reviled as a blasphemer, as one that had a devil, as a gluttonous man and a winebibber, as a friend of sinners, as a seditious, turbulent man, as one that was not worthy to live. So he was brought before the judges of the earth, accused, arraigned as a criminal; smitten, buffeted, scourged, spit upon, condemned; led forth to execution, numbered with the transgressors, nailed to the cross, left to die amidst the jeers and taunts of his murderers. And when Pilate himself offered to release him, the offer was met with the cry, "Not this man, but Barabbas;" and Barabbas was a robber. That was the judgment of man. And have we not here a type of the frequent contrariety between the judgment of men and the judgment of God? The things, the persons, the characters, that God approves, find no favor with a corrupt and perverse world; the things, the persons, the sentiments, that God disapproves, receive the praise of men. The opinions of the day, the voice of the multitude, the prevailing tone of thought amongst men, are no safe criterion of worth and truth. We must ever remember that there are two judgments, the judgment of man and the judgment of God, and that these are often diverse the one from the other. It should be our constant prayer that God"s Holy Spirit may give us "a right judgment in all things;" so that, on the various questions of interest which engage the thoughts of our own generation, we may be found in harmony, not with the conceits of men, but with the all-seeing mind of God.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Peter answered the people - Who were running together, and inquiring into the circumstances of the fact.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The Address of Peter in the Temple.

An emphatic application of the Law:

v. 12. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this, or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

v. 13. The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.

v. 14. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

v. 15. and killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses.

In this account, as well as in that of the previous Chapter, one must marvel at the boldness of Peter. He who but a few weeks before had quailed before the scorn of a maid-servant and shamefully denied his Master, here speaks in the presence of a great multitude, in the Temple-hall itself, and throws the accusation of murder into the teeth of the Jews. Peter saw with dismay that the admiration of the people was directed toward John and himself. And so he proceeds at once to correct this false idea. The men of Jerusalem should not be filled with surprise and wonder, nor should they stare at them as though in their own power or on account of their own holiness they had caused the man to walk. Peter denies that he and John possessed either such a physical power as the people imagined, or such a worthy condition and ability of the soul. The admiration of the people should be directed to the real Author of the miracle, whose unworthy agents and servants the apostles but were. And in giving the glory to the heavenly Father and the exalted Christ alone, Peter brings out the guilt of the Jews all the more strongly. The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, of whom the Jews were wont boastfully to speak as the God of their fathers, had glorified His Child, His Son, in this miracle, for it was performed in the name, in the power, of Jesus Christ. In glaring contrast to this truth stood the fact that they had delivered Jesus into the power of the Roman governor, and had heaped shame and abuse upon Him. The Jews had blasphemously denied their Lord before Pilate; the heathen judge had been ready to give Him His liberty. The Holy and Just One, the only person that truly merited these attributes in all the wide world, the Jews had denied; they had demanded, with every form of cajolery and threat, that a murderous person be granted to them as a Passover boon, that Barabbas be released to them. The Jews had killed, murdered, Jesus; and He was the Prince of Life, the Author, the Source of life. Over against the entire behavior of the Jews, therefore, stands the manner of God’s witnessing for Jesus, whom He has raised from the dead, a fact to which all the apostles could bear most emphatic witness. Thus only the miracle could be explained.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. Meanwhile, Peter responded to the people: “Israelitish men, why do ye gaze upon us as that by our power or holiness we have caused this man to run around?” Remember that the Greek word here translated “holiness” is simply the noun form of the same word applied to the Jewish delegates who came from their synagogues in all the Gentile world to represent the God of Abraham at Pentecost. It is also applied to Cornelius and to Ananias, the good old local preacher in Damascus sent to comfort the penitent Saul of Tarsus.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 11

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Ye men of Israel. Peter seized the opportunity to preach Christ.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

12. ἰδὼν δέ. Seeing, viz. their astonishment, as we may gather from his opening words, τί θαυμάζετε.

ἀπεκπίνατο, gave answer, i.e. to their looks, for there had been no words. This word, like the Hebr. ענה, is frequently used for the first utterance of a speaker, unevoked by any question. Cf. (LXX. and Hebrew) Deu 21:7; Deu 26:5; Deu 27:14. So too Act 5:8, where Peter is said to have answered Sapphira, though she had said nothing, as far as we are told, and where the Apostle’s words are a question.

ἐπὶ τούτῳ, ‘at this man,’ as is evidenced by the pronoun being αὐτόν at the end of the verse.

ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει. As he had said to the crippled man, so now he makes it clear to the crowd, that the name of Jesus is the power to which the cure is due.

εὐσεβείᾳ. That extreme devotion to God was sometimes conceived to obtain miraculous power for its reward may be gathered from such narratives as the raising of the widow’s son by Elijah (1Ki 17:24). The mother seeing her son restored to her says, ‘Now by this I know that thou art a man of God.’ Cf. also Nicodemus’ statement, Joh 3:2.

πεποιηκόσιν τοῦ περιπατεῖν αὐτόν, having made him to walk. This genitive of the infinitive is such a harsh construction after a verb with which a direct infinitive would be expected, that it is worth while to give a few illustrations of it, mainly from the LXX. 1Ch 17:6 οἷς ἐνετειλάμην τοῦ ποιμαίνειν τὸν λαόν μου, compared with 1Ki 17:4 καὶ τοῖς κόραξιν ἐντελοῦμαι διατρέφειν σε ἐκεῖ. So too Isa 5:6 ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐντελοῦμαι τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι εἰς αὐτὸν ὑετόν. The construction is also found Gen 37:18 ἐπονηρεύοντο τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι Exo 2:18 διὰ τί ἐταχύνατε τοῦ παραγενέσθαι σήμερον; ‘How is it that ye are come so soon to-day?’ (A.V.). Cf. also Acta Andr. Apocryph. 14 ἄλλοι οὖν καὶ ἄλλοι ἐπετήδευον τοῦ λῦσαι αὐτόν, and Acta Petri et Pauli, 5, ᾐτήσαντο Καίσαρα τοῦ ἀποστεῖλαι ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐπαρχίαις αὐτοῦ.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. ἀπεκρίνατο] viz. to their expressions of astonishment implied in ἔκθαμβοι. See Mat 11:25. ἀπεκρίνατο never signifies ‘made an address,’ as Bloomf.; but always ‘answered:’ cf. ch. 5:8, note. This second discourse of Peter may be thus divided: This is no work of ours, but of God, for the glorifying of Jesus, vv. 12, 13:—whom ye denied and killed, but God hath raised up, vv. 13-15:—through whose name this man is made whole, ver. 16:—ye did it in ignorance, but God thereby fulfilled His counsel, vv. 17, 18. Exhortation to repent, that ye may be forgiven, and saved by this Jesus Christ at His coming, vv. 19-21: whose times have been the subject of prophecy from the first, ver. 21. Citations to prove this, vv. 22-24: its immediate application to the hearers, as Jews, vv. 25, 26. There the discourse seems to be broken off, as ch. 4:1 relates.

ἐπὶ τούτῳ] not, at this (event): but at this man, compare αὐτόν below, which would not be used at the first mention of one then present.

Their error was not the wonder itself,—though even that would shew ignorance and weakness of faith, for it was truly no wonderful thing that had happened, viewed by a believer in Jesus,—but their wondering at the Apostles, as if they had done it by their own power. ‘Ergo,’ says Calvin, ‘hoc est perperam obstupescere, quum in hominibus mentes nostræ subsistunt.’

δυνάμει, power,—such as magical craft, or any other supposed means of working miracles: εὐσεβείᾳ meritorious efficacy with God, so as to have obtained this from Him on our own account. The distinction is important:—‘holiness,’ of the E. V., is not expressive of εὐσεβ., which bears in it the idea of operative, cultive piety, rather than of inherent character.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He answered. The question expressed in the people's explanations of surprise.

Men of Israel. Lit., men, Israelites. An honorable and conciliatory form of address. The term Israelite gradually gave place to that of Jew; but Israel was the sacred name for the Jews, as the nation of the theocracy, the people under God 's covenant, and hence was for the Jew his especial badge and title of honor. "To be descendants of Abraham, this honor they must share with the Ishmaelites; of Abraham and Isaac, with the Edomites; but none except themselves were the seed of Jacob, such as in this name of Israelite they were declared to be. Nor was this all, but more gloriously still, their descent was herein traced up to him, not as he was Jacob, but as he was Israel, who, as a prince, had power with God and with men, and had prevailed" (Trench, "Synonyms "). So Paul, in enumerating to the Philippians his claims to have confidence in the flesh, says he was" of the stock of Israel. " It is said that the modern Jews in the East still delight in this title.

Our own [ιδια] . See on ch. Act 1:7.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.