20 It seems that Judas did not pay for the freehold, but returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests. They had a consultation, and used the money to complete the purchase. The freehold was called the Field of the Potter and was used for the burial of strangers (Mt.27:7). But Judas not only lost his land and his life but also his place among the apostles.

21 These qualifications shut out the apostle Paul. He could never be one of the twelve, for he had not known the Lord at all during His earthly ministry. That the kingdom to Israel is in view is apparent from the very necessity of twelve apostles. Why would not the eleven be enough? Paul was associated with an indefinite number of apostles, but there must always be exactly twelve kingdom apostles, one for each of the tribes of Israel (Mt.19:28).

26 The casting of lots was quite the opposite of a "lottery" in Israel. It was a constant recourse in order to know the mind of the Lord (Prov.16:33).

The lot is cast forth in a bosom,
And from Jehovah is all its judgment.

Matthias was duly and lawfully chosen and will have his place in the kingdom ruling over a tribe of Israel. That his name is not again mentioned does not disprove this, for several of the lesser apostles are never heard of afterward.

1 Pentecost is simply the Greek word "Fiftieth", because it was fifty days after the Passover. There were three festivals in Israel each year (Ex.23:14). The first was the feast of unleavened bread, after the Passover; the second, the feast of harvest, or first fruits (which is here called Pentecost because it was held seven weeks after the Passover), and the feast of ingathering. As the latter is a type of the time when all Israel shall be saved, so Pentecost is a picture of the salvation of a first fruit of the nation. This is what occurred, both on the day of Pentecost and during the entire period covered by this book (Jas.1:18),

2 This is not the reception of the spirit by the apostles, for they had already received it (Jn.20:22). This is the "coming on" of power which the Lord had promised a few days before (1:8). The baptism of the spirit was given for cleansing (not power), and the filling for utterance.

5 To this day it has been the hope of the pious among the dispersion to return to Jerusalem. Many aged Jews have spent their last days there. So, on the day of Pentecost, there were many in the city who had been born abroad, but who had returned to dwell near the temple; They were typical of that return to the land of their fathers which will precede the setting up of the kingdom. Then salvation and deliverance will be in mount Zion and in Jerusalem (Joel 2:32). To be in that remnant is the highest privilege open to the pious repatriate of the dispersion.

5 These men came literally from every nation under heaven. Then, as now, the Jew had penetrated to every part of the known world. The list of countries mentioned includes practically every language or dialect spoken at the time. They are grouped accordingly into Eastern Aramaic, Central Grecian, Western Roman and Southern Egyptian dialects.

12 The object of this manifestation, as found in Joel, was to make them know that God was in the midst of Israel. (Joel 2:27). Afterward the signs which usher in the day of the Lord were due. In other words, Pentecost was the prelude to the era of judgement which precedes the setting up of the kingdom. This shows that it was not intended to be the commencement of the present economy of grace which was later introduced through Paul's ministries. In that future judgment period the signs foretold by Peter will take place. The salvation offered at Pentecost was principally concerned with these judgment scenes through which they hoped to be saved for a place in the kingdom when Christ would return to the Mount of Olives.

14 Peter declaims. He does not address them in common words, but uses choice and rare expressions in making this oration. Perhaps this was done partly to meet and refute the charge of drunkenness. His immediate appeal is to their own Scriptures, which he brought home to them with power.

16 This is what. Such is Peter's interpretation of Pentecost. It was a

fulfillment of ancient prophecy. God was in their midst as foretold in Joel (2:27). This, however, was introductory to the terrible celestial convulsions and earthly upheavals which prepare for the dreadful day of the Lord. It promised a time of trial and affliction unparalleled by any that earth has suffered hitherto. It introduced God in the character of an Avenger of His people, Who is about to gather the nations to battle and Who will destroy them in His fury. Had the nation of Israel repented, and the Pentecostal economy continued without interruption, there would never have been a parenthetic period like the present of which none of the prophets ever spoke, which was a secret hid in God (Eph.3:9) and which presents God as a Supplicant, petitioning for conciliation, and preserving peace at all costs (2Co.5:20), Who showers His richest blessings on the nations and gives them a celestial allotment immeasurably beyond the highest thought of Pentecost.

18 Peter, not Joel, speaks of prophesying. It is an inspired break between that part of Joel's prophecy which was fulfilled at Pentecost and that which is yet future.

22 In the evangel of the kingdom the appeal is to the life of our Lord during His earthly ministry. Paul never knew Him in this character. He did not meet Him until after His ascension, and the present economy, based on Paul's experience and revelations, does not recognize Christ after the flesh. Peter's appeal, in proclaiming the kingdom, is no model for us now. Our relationship to Christ begins with His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.

23 The Jews knew that Christ should suffer. Their sacred scrolls were explicit. This was the counsel which determined His death beforehand.

24 The resurrection is the central and essential theme of every evangel. As Peter is proclaiming the kingdom, he proves His resurrection by referring his hearers to king David and his throne. David is the one with whom the throne covenant had been made (2Sam.23:5). It is as David's Heir that Christ will sit on the throne, ruling the nation of Israel, during the thousand years.

27 Death is a return. The spirit returns to God Who gave it (Ecc.12:7). The soul returns to the unseen. The body returns to the soil (Ecc.12:7, cf.Gen.3:19). In the case of our Lord, He commended His spirit to the Father (Lu.23:46). Here he speaks of His soul in the unseen. But His body did not return to the soil. In this His death differs from others. There was no dissolution or decomposition which accompanies the death of other men. His resurrection was unique also. Others who are vivified, will not rise with the same body which was put into the tomb, but God will give each one a body according to His pleasure (lCo.15:38). But He arose with the identical frame which bore our sins, pure, spotless and unsullied even by the hand of death.

30 God's covenants are of two kinds, conditional and unconditional. All those conditioned on human effort, such as the covenant at Sinai, end in failure. All dependent entirely on God, as the covenant with Abraham concerning the land, and with David, concerning the throne, are sure of fulfillment. Moreover, God interposes with an oath, so that there is nothing more sure than that One shall sit on David's throne ruling the sons of Israel.

34 The whole passage shows that Peter is proclaiming a literal king and a literal kingdom for Israel. The descent of the spirit had nothing to do with the formation of the body of Christ, but was a well known sign which indicated the approach of the judgment era which precedes Messiah's advent. In accordance with the burden of his message Peter chooses to bring before them king David and the covenant God made with him, because, if they accept his words, it is this covenant which would be fulfilled. They had crucified Him as the King of Israel. His resurrection proves Him to be the One Whom David foretold. All that remains to be done, should Israel, as a nation, repent, would be the judging of His enemies. This will occur in the judgment era. Here is no hint of, or preparation for, the present interval of undiluted grace, in which God is raising up His enemies, like Saul of Tarsus, to sit with Christ on His celestial throne.

13 The word "Boy" is here used because it, like its Greek equivalent, may be used both of a child and a servant. The common version renders it servant, child and son. Each of these, however, better represents another Greek word, and all fail to give the dual meaning which this word seems to have. It is usually restricted to a boy or girl between seven and fourteen years of age. It is used of our Lord when He was twelve years old and remained behind when they went home from the festival (Lu.2:43).

14 The complete restoration of Peter to divine favor is nowhere more clearly seen than when he charges them, "You disown the holy and just One!" None of them were as guilty as he himself had been, yet he does not allow his personal failure to hinder his faithful proclamation of the evangel. In order to get them to repent, or change their minds regarding the Messiah, it was necessary to press home their awful guilt. Yet the most important point is the witness he bears to the resurrection of Christ. This it is which proves His Messiahship. The healing of the lame man is but one more proof that He is alive and able to do all that the prophets foretold of Him.

17 Under the law, sins of ignorance were distinguished from willful disobedience. This was the ground of the Saviour's prayer. "Father, forgive them, for they are not aware what they are doing" (Lu.23:34). This is the real clue to the so-called "unpardonable sin." The sin against the Son of Mankind was forgiven, for it was done in ignorance. But the sin against the testimony borne by the holy Spirit in the book of Acts was unpardonable because it was done deliberately and willfully, after the resurrection of Christ.

21 The times of restoration include the terrific judgments of the Unveiling, when, by means of seals, trumpets and bowls, the earth is restored to the sovereignty of Christ as Son of Mankind. It has no reference to individual destiny, but to redemption of the enslaved and the disinherited by their Kinsman Redeemer (Lev.25).

23 Christ is the Prophet like Moses sent to lead Jehovah's people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, into the kingdom. The whole period of the book of Acts is typified by Israel's wilderness journey. Because the people did not hearken to Moses they were strewn along in the wilderness and never entered the holy land. Likewise, because the nation did not hearken to One Who was more than Moses, they did not enter the kingdom.

The threat of extermination is an inspired alteration. In Deut.18:19 the Hebrew is, literally, "I will inquire," or, as we say "I will require it of him." The LXX renders this "I will take vengeance on him."

26 "The term "Boy" is used here with all reverence, for want of a better. The difficulties encountered in its translation are apparent from the variety of renderings in the common version, all of which are better fitted to some other Greek word. they use child, son, servant, young man, maid, etc. It is used of the boys under two years of age in Bethlehem (Mt2:16). It is used of Jesus when He was twelve years old (Lu.2:43). It is quoted from Isaiah when he spoke of Him (Mt.12:18). It is applied to Him four times in this book (3:13, 4:27-30). It is a word like our "boy" or "girl" which may be applied either to a child or a young servant.

1 The apostles offended both the priests and the Sadducees by their action. It was the privilege of the priests to teach the people. They should have been the chief support of the apostles in heralding the proclamation of the kingdom. But they are jealous because these common men command a hearing and usurp their authority in matters of doctrine. The Sadducees are especially offended, inasmuch as they denied the doctrine of the resurrection, which was the principal point in the proclamation of the apostles. Apart from the resurrection Messiah was dead and all hope of His kingdom was crucified with Him. But, given the power of His resurrection, all the promises of the kingdom are confirmed. The officer of the sanctuary was in command of the Levitical guard which had the military oversight of the sacred precincts, where the Gentiles could not enter.

5 This was the supreme spiritual judiciary in Israel. It comprised the heads of the twenty-four courses of priests, the scribes, and elders, said to have been in all seventy-one. The names of the chief priest and his immediate associates are mentioned for their official weight. Christ admitted their authority (Mt.23:2).

8 The evangel of the kingdom is now for the first time since the death of Christ, proclaimed to Israel as a nation, as represented by her chiefs and elders and scribes. Hitherto it has gone to individuals in the nation with considerable success. Now everything hinges on the attitude of the official heads of the people. They had rejected Messiah Himself and were responsible for His crucifixion. The chief priests and elders knew that He had foretold His resurrection (Mt.27:63). They had the evidence of the guard detail whom they had bribed to tell a false story (Mt.28:13). To this the apostles now add their testimony and confirm it by healing the lame man. When Peter speaks they are quite unable to answer him. Surely now they are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah! If He can save the lame man He can save the nation. Here was Israel's opportunity. They stood on the verge of the kingdom. If they accepted Him, He would soon rid them of their enemies and come to set up the sovereignty promised by the prophets. Should they refuse the testimony of the holy Spirit as they had rejected Him it would involve the whole nation in an eonian sin, and the kingdom could not come.
     The disciples' question concerning the restoration of the kingdom at this time, is here answered for us for the first time. Again and again, during the course of its proclamation, the Jews reject the King and the kingdom. Here, however, we have the first refusal. This is the supreme crisis in the book of Acts. Had they accepted the apostles' testimony, the nation would have followed their lead, and the success of the apostles' proclamation would have been assured. Now that they reject the testimony to His resurrection, it is clear that Israel's rightful sovereignty will not be restored to them at this time.

13 Peter and John were not ignorant men by any means, though they lacked the culture and affectation which marked the learned class of that day. They had been in the school of Christ.

19 The attitude of the Sanhedrin had the immediate effect of abrogating their authority. They should have ruled for God, now they are arrayed against God. They should have been a terror to evil-doers: now they menace those who are carrying out His will. Peter, as an apostle of the Messiah, was one of the real rulers in Israel, and will one day sit upon a throne in the kingdom (Mt.19:27). Hence he has the right to oppose the Sanhedrin and to carry out the commission which he has from his Master. This is no example for us to follow in this economy. We are to be subject to the superior authorities (Ro.13:1) .

22 The healing of the lame man is called a sign, hence has some typical significance, especially in regard to his age. May this not suggest the forty years which followed, during which Israel was not able to walk before God?

23 The threats of the Sanhedrin produced a powerful effect on the believers. They were accustomed to obey their religious rulers implicitly. In fact, they gave their own chiefs and elders a place which the Roman power never could obtain. They must have some divine direction for continuing in a course prohibited by the highest Jewish authority. This is found the second part of the first Psalm (usually caIled the second Psalm). Here their own chiefs are associated with the nations in hostility to Messiah. The Psalm should be read to the end. The threats of the Sanhedrin are as nothing compared to Jehovah's threats against them. The judges of the land are exhorted to be instructed and serve the Lord, lest they perish when His anger is burning but a little (Ps.2:10-12). The fact that their chiefs are no longer under Jehovah's protection but the objects of His indignation emboldens them to go forth with the proclamation in spite of their opposition. Moreover, the Lord's hand had been with the apostles, for many had believed, and it was evident that the Sanhedrin itself was afraid to exercise its full power, or Peter and John would not have been released.

30 The timid opposition of the Sanhedrin is in contrast to the boldness of those who proclaimed the evangel. God manifested Himself by miraculous interventions, and the powers of the kingdom abounded.

32 The laws concerning property were so different in Israel from anything with which we are acquainted that it is difficult for us to understand this and similar passages. First of all, each Jew had his allotment, which could not be sold. Even if it was disposed of, it came back to him in the jubilee. This was his means of living. If the kingdom should come, the land would be re-distributed according to the prophets (Eze.47:13). The action of the Pentecostal believers is all based on this fact. Whatever they had beyond their allotment would go back to its rightful allottee when the kingdom is set up. In view of this they sold the lands and houses they had acquired besides their allotment, and shared their possessions, or personal property such as money, among themselves.

34 A freehold was a piece of property to which actual title could be acquired, as is the custom among western nations today. The name, which means separated, shows that a freehold was not land held in common, like an allotment, but held by a title unaffected by the jubilee. Gethsemane was such a freehold (Mt.26:36). Judas manifested his unbelief by purchasing a freehold with the price of his Lord, and the chief priest completed the purchase by paying the money. This was evidence that they did not believe in the coming kingdom, for they never would have bought the bloody field, only to find its title invalid when the land is reapportioned to the tribes in that day. The disciples, knowing that freeholds were not in line with the law and that they would be forfeited under the righteous rule of Messiah, put the means obtained from their sale into a common fund.

36 The allotment of the Levites could not be sold (Lev. 25:34). But this field was his personal property. Had the kingdom come, he would have had his share in their allotment (Eze.48:13-14).

3 Ananias and Sapphira sold a freehold which they had acquired, over and beyond their own allotment in the land. In this they did well. They brought a part to the apostles. This, too, was a commendable act. Their sin seems to have been, not in withholding a part, but in giving the impression that they had contributed all for the common good. Here we have a practical illustration of the righteous rule which will characterize the kingdom of God. The hidden motive is brought to light. An act appearing most praiseworthy on the surface is declared to be tainted with falsehood. No witnesses are needed. The Lord's apostle can detect evil though most skillfully concealed. Judgment is immediate and summary.

4 Ananias was under no compulsion to sell the freehold. Neither was he obliged to contribute the sum he obtained to the common fund. All this was voluntary. But such a course would have lowered him in the eyes of the disciples and he wished to be well thought of. But his avarice was too strong to allow him to part with the whole sum, so he, in effect, steals a part of the gift, and presents the rest as though it were the whole amount. This was hypocrisy in its most hateful form. In an administration of grace, such as we enjoy today, such sins are not followed by swift judgment. They wait until the tribunal of Christ (2Co.5:10). But in the administration of the kingdom, righteousness will reign and sin will be suppressed.

11 The result of the sudden and severe judgment of Ananias and Sapphira was great fear, both among the believers and others who hear of it. The resultant conduct was not the free unforced desire to please God which is inspired by His love and grace, which should actuate us in this economy, but restraint from evil through dread of judgment. It is based on power from without rather than an impulse from within. We are not in danger of any judgment, hence have no such motive to mold our behavior. Our lives should be the fruit of love.

13 The awful atmosphere of inflexible righteousness which repelled the unbelieving was an adumbration of the day when a King shall reign In righteousness and through the greatness of His power His enemies shall yield a feigned obedience to Him (Ps.18:44;

81:15, 66:3) The fear of the drawn sword in the King's hand will repress evil and rebellion.

14 The prayer of the disciples, after the threats of the Sanhedrin, seems to have been abundantly answered. Not only was the kingdom proclaimed with power but the word was confirmed by many signs and miracles. Multitudes joined the disciples and they met openly in the sanctuary.

17 As ever, the great point of their proclamation was the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Nothing could be more offensive to the Sadducees than this, for it upheld the Pharisees in the principal point of difference between them. Both, however, united in their common hostility to Christ. The increasing popularity and numbers of the disciples filled them with jealousy. They thought that they must show their authority before the new movement should get beyond their control.

18 As before (4:3), the apostles are confined during the night, that they may appear before the Sanhedrin in the morning. Then they were held until the Sanhedrin sends for them. Now, however, the Lord condescends to give the rebellious rulers a token of His power as well as their impotence. He will give a public exhibition of the futility of opposing Him. No evidence shall be lacking to convince them that God is behind Peter's proclamation.

20 Had the apostles left the city and escaped for their lives, as Peter did on a subsequent occasion, the testimony would have collapsed and the Sanhedrin would have suppressed the further proclamation of the evangel. Their fearless course in resuming their work just where they had left off, was even more impressive than the miraculous deliverance from prison. It gave them a place in the eyes of the people and before the Sanhedrin which demanded respect if not fear. The kingdom which they proclaimed had not only power to set captives free, but to uphold them in their freedom.

21 Once again all of Israel's rulers are gathered together and given an opportunity to hear the evangel. The fate of the nation depends on their action, for they are the responsible heads of the people. Their rejection involves all the rest.

25 The popular favor enjoyed by the apostles reached its culmination at this time. The increasing number of the disciples, the many benefits conferred on the sick, which would enlist friends, as well as the well-known fact that the apostles had been imprisoned without warrant and then delivered without human aid, by the messenger of God—all this would act very powerfully with the impressionable populace and give the apostles a prestige they had never before enjoyed. This, too, accounts for the mild attitude of the chief priest and the bold assurance of the apostles when called to account for their disobedience to the commands of the Sanhedrin. It is significant that the rulers ask no questions, and are silent before the disciples and the multitude as to the manner of their release. They did not wish to elicit further testimony to the supernatural deliverances, both of the Lord from the grave and His servants from the prison.

26 It is evident that, had the apostles wished to do so, they could have started an insurrection even against the Sanhedrin, and this was what the officer of the sanctuary and the chief priest feared.

29 Peter begins by reminding the Sanhedrin that they were going contrary to God and that, in such circumstances, he had no alternative but to ignore their commands. This is exactly what he had told them before (4:19). They cannot but infer that any further charge they may lay on the apostles could not be heeded. Peter does not stop to consider any answer to this ultimatum but goes right on and charges them with the murder of their Messiah, Whom God exalts to His right hand. He offers them a pardon. Instead of standing before them to be judged he brings them into judgment before God. The whole situation is reversed. The judges are pronounced guilty by the prisoner.

33 Having killed the Master, they do not hesitate to assassinate His servants.

34 This is probably the same Gamaliel who was the instructor of Saul of Tarsus (22:3), one of the most celebrated teachers of the law in his day. His grandfather was the famous Hillel, and his grandson, of the same name, also obtained great eminence in Judaism.

13 These synagogues were doubtless very lax in their adherence to the Jewish law and customs, yet they are not ashamed to charge Stephen with this, in order to inflame the Sanhedrin against him. The false witness did not consist in trumping up charges with no foundation in fact, but in perverting the truth, just as was done in the case of our Lord. Indeed, they brought up the very same charge (Mt.26:61). While Christ was on earth, His body was the true temple of God (Jn.2:21). Jehovah did not inhabit Herod's splendid pile. It did not house the Shekinah glory. The only times that it was tenanted by the Divine Effulgence was when He came into its courts. When He left it the last time, He exclaimed, "Lo! your house is left to you desolate!" (Mt.23:38). Stephen had doubtless brought this truth home to them, and perhaps had also pressed our Lord's prediction concerning the destruction of Herod's shrine, so that not one stone should be left on another (Mt.24:2). But in no case could he have said that Christ (Whom they contemptuously termed the Nazarene) would Himself destroy the temple. On the contrary, He said that, when they destroyed it, He would raise it up (Jn.2:19). This He did in His resurrection (Jn.2:22). And now the glory of God's presence illuminates the face of Stephen, so that he becomes, for the time, the messenger, or angel of God to them.

1 The address of Stephen is a model for presenting the Messiah to the Jews. They stumbled at His sufferings and rejection, so Stephen takes up the greatest of the nation's heroes, who were types of Messiah, and shows that, in each case, there was a preliminary separation or rejection. Abraham was compelled to leave his kindred and his father's house, Joseph was hated by his brethren, Moses was not recognized when he first came to help his people, even David, that unparalleled type of the coming King, not only spent years in rejection, but had to leave the building of the temple to Solomon. All of these are pictures of a rejected Messiah. In each the glory followed suffering and separation. Such is the picture which the ancient Scriptures draw, and the inference is clear that Jesus is Messiah.

2 Abram was first called out of his land and from his relatives, and went as far as Haran, accompanied by his father's household. Further obedience to the divine command seems to have been hindered by his father, and they went no further. At his father's death, he leaves his father's house and completes his journey to Canaan. Yet he received none of the land which should become his, and thus prefigures Him Who came to his own and received nothing but a tomb (Gen.23). The rite of circumcision likewise tells of the cutting off of His flesh on the cross.

9 Joseph is a marvelous miniature of the suffering and glorified Messiah. The jealous hatred of his brethren placed him in the pit and in the prison, but God was with him and exalted him to the highest place on earth. He became the deliverer, not only of his own brethren; but of all of Egypt also. The one whom they despised and ill-treated became their lord and saviour. The Sanhedrin could hardly miss the application of this to the Messiah Whom Stephen proclaimed. They were the brethren of Messiah ben Joseph.

11 The great affliction of Jacob is typical of the great affiiction of the end time, after which Messiah will make Himself known to His brethren.

14 The Septuagint, or Greek version, differs from the Hebrew text in Genesis 46:26-27 by giving Joseph nine sons in place of two, and thus bringing the total up to seventy-five. But, as the enumeration in Genesis does not necessarily include all who are alluded to by Stephen, there is no reason why they should give the same total. The Septuagint differs greatly from the Hebrew text in regard to numbers, especially in the genealogies, and it may preserve some true readings.

16 The bones of Joseph were transferred from Egypt to the land by Moses (Ex.13:19). So the rest of the patriarchs were transferred to Sychem, where Jacob had bought a parcel of a field (Gen.33:19), probably near, or adjoining the sepulcher which Abraham had bought before, of which there is no record in Genesis. If Stephen had made even a minute blunder regarding this the Sanhedrin would soon have set him right. They were much "higher" critics than any we have today,

18 It is probable that the lot of Israel in Egypt was pleasant under the dynasty which was acquainted with Joseph, who made these rulers absolute masters in Egypt, for he got for them all the silver and the cattle and the land in exchange for grain, in the time of the famine (Gen.47). Such service could not be forgotten. So it was that Israel prospered in the land of Goshen until the reigning dynasty was displaced by a different line of rulers, who knew nothing of Joseph and were not indebted to him for their power.

20 Moses is a memorable example of God's method of meeting the wisdom of the world. Pharaoh plans the extermination of the Hebrew race, yet he himself nurtures and educates their deliverer!

22 Egypt is set before us as the sum of human wisdom, as Assyria was of human power. The Egyptian priests had a knowledge of science which, in some points at least, far surpassed what is known today. No scientist can accomplish the feats of Jannes and Jambres. Moses was far beyond our present standards of intellectual attainment.

23 The incident concerning Moses' rejection by his brethren at his first attempt to become their deliverer must have had a powerful effect on the Sanhedrin, for nothing would appeal to them more than a parallel between Moses and Messiah. Except to the most hardened heart, the fact that Moses was, in the first place, scorned by those whom he came to save, and his efforts in their behalf misunderstood, proved positively that Messiah would receive similar treatment. As Pharaoh menaced the life of Moses, so Herod sought the life of Christ. As his own people cast out Moses and refused to accept the salvation he offered them, so the Jews murdered the Messiah and rejected His deliverance. And we may add, as Moses came back and led them out, so will Messiah return and lead them into the blessings of the millennial kingdom.

30 The flaming thornbush is a notable symbol of the nation of Israel. They were in the midst of the fire of persecution and have often been since they came out of Egypt, yet they are never consumed. They are the only eonian nation.

30 He Who is especially referred to as Jehovah in the Hebrew scriptures is here called a messenger or angel. The same term is used of the One seen by Moses on mount Sinai (53). Hence it is evident that the theophanies, or visible appearances of the invisible God, were carried out by intermediate agents. Indeed, the deity is identified with the messenger even in Exodus. First we are told that the angel of the Lord appeared in the midst of the bush. And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush (Ex.3:2-4). The same is true of the giving of the law at Sinai. Moses went up unto Elohim, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain (Ex.19:3). Yet we are assured that the law was prescribed through messengers in the hands of a mediator (Gal.3:19), and that it was spoken by messengers (Heb.2:2).

35 The prime point with Stephen is that it was the one whom they had disowned who was chosen by God to be their redeemer and judge. Just so with Messiah. The fact that He had been disowned was no proof that He was false. It was, rather, the great sign which identified Him with the types of old, for Moses was rejected by the people even after he led them out of Egypt and had received the law and wrought wonderful miracles to attest his office. This should be the key note in all evangelism of the people of the covenant. A prophet like Moses must suffer at the hands of his own people. This thought ought also to cheer the hearts of His lesser slaves who find themselves rejected and despised because of their faithfulness to Him.

36 The forty years covered by the book of Acts is the antitype of the wilderness wanderings. It is characterized by the same stubborn unbelief which strewed the bones of Israel along the wilderness, so that those who left Egypt did not enter the land of promise. Neither did those of the Pentecostal era enter the kingdom. The epistle to the Hebrews unfolds this likeness, for it was written to explain why the promise of the kingdom waits.

37 Accused of disloyalty to Moses, he proves the falsity of the charge by his constant reference to Moses' writings.

41 Idolatry is, etymologically, the offering of divine service to that which can be perceived by the senses. In this way, all objects of worship, even if they are supposed to be representations of the true God, are idols. God will have no images of Himself but One—His beloved Son. He is the Image of the invisible God (Col.1:15). The idolatry here mentioned is usually referred to Israel in the wilderness. But their conduct at that time was hardly the occasion of the Babylonian exile. In neither Amos (5:25-27) nor Acts is the time given, but it was, most likely, in the days of the kings, before the captivity. One of the causes of their exile was that they had transgressed very much after all the abominations of the nations (2Chron.36:14). In the land they corrupted the form of the wilderness worship, substituting the tabernacle of Moloch for the testimony which Jehovah had directed to be constructed according to the model Moses had seen. It is possible that the Hebrew should be translated "your king", rather than "Moloch". Amos writes concerning Israel (Amos l:1), so that the reference may be to their first king, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He, like Aaron, made a "calf" or bull for the people to worship. In fact, he made two, and placed one in Bethel and the other in Dan (1Ki.12:25-30). In one case it was a revolt from the prophet of Jehovah, in the other it was secession from the rightful king and the house of David. Besides the false tabernacle, they also had a substitute for the glory, which seems to have been an image of one of the constellations. Thus they worshiped the "host of heaven". Raiphan, or Remphan, is sometimes identified with Saturn, but it is not certain.

44 Stephen is charged with speaking against the temple. Hence he traces God's dwelling place to the temple of Solomon, yet proves from Scripture that the true temple is not made with hands. The God of glory had left that temple tenantless (Eze.9:3, 10:4, 18, 11:23) and had taken up His abode in His Son, as He had tabernacled amongst them, full of grace and truth (Jn.l:14). And now the glory was in their midst, irradiating the face of Stephen.

48 The quotation from Isaiah provoked opposition. See Ac.22:22.

51 A review of Israel's history reveals a series of apostasies. All of God's spokesmen suffered at their hands. Even while maintaining the outward form they were always at variance with the holy Spirit. This charge is of special import at this time, for this is the first great crisis in this book. The holy Spirit's testimony to Jerusalem is summarily rejected. The question, Art Thou at this time restoring the kingdom to Israel? receives an emphatic negative, so far as Jerusalem and Judea are concerned. The testimony now goes to Samaria.

55 Stephen begins his address with "the God of glory" and now he beholds the glory in heaven, and Jesus standing, ready to return and bless them should they repent. After this He is always represented as seated, His work accomplished, waiting until the apostate nation is ready to receive Him as their Messiah.

59 Like his Master, Stephen prays for his murderers with his last breath. But, for the nation, this sin against the holy Spirit could not be pardoned. Until Paul's last visit, we hear of no further testimony in Jerusalem.

55 Stephen was the messenger sent after the departed Nobleman with the message "We do not want this man to reign over us!" (Lu.19:14).1 With Stephen was interred the hope of the kingdom. Yet at the same time God begins to hint at another testimony of a very different character. The kingdom called for righteousness. It visited iniquity with swift judgment. In preparing for the new departure, God introduces Saul of Tarsus, not as a just or holy man, but as a malignant and vicious enemy. This is necessary because He is about to deal with those who are sinners and enemies on the ground of grace. Grace cannot be shown to those who deserve aught. Merit mars it and hinders its outflow. Saul was, in very truth, the foremost of sinners. He exceeded the most rabid of the Sanhedrin in his hatred of Messiah and His people. If any man deserved to be damned, that man was Saul of Tarsus. Yet, eventually, he it is who is raised to the highest pinnacle of glory—far beyond the fondest hopes of Stephen or the twelve apostles. Such is the potency of grace when it is unhindered by human help!

4 We now enter the second cycle of the kingdom testimony. Jerusalem and Judea have not heeded its proclamation. It is now offered to Samaria, then it will go to the limits of the earth, and even to the proselytes like the eunuch and Cornelius. Thus it was that the Lord had commanded (1:8).
     After the ten tribes, whose capital was Samaria, were exiled, the king of Assyria sent colonists to repopulate the country (2 Ki.17:24-27). They intermarried with the remaining Israelites and thus sprang the mixed race of the Samaritans. Because the Jews would not recognize them or allow them to help in rebuilding the temple, they stirred up the Persian king against the Jews, and hindered the work of restoration. They also built their own temple on mount Gerizim and worshiped according to the law. They recognized only the five books of Moses. Thus sprang up a jealous antagonism between them and the Jews, so that the latter refused to have any dealings with them. As they, however, worshiped Jehovah and taught the law and had a strain of Jewish blood, it was fitting that they should hear the proclamation of Christ, after Judea had been evangelized. Physically they were nearer the Jews than any other nation. Thus the widening testimony to the kingdom spread, until the evangel reaches the limits of the land. Then it is carried beyond by means of Saul, who at this time, was its chief opponent.

9 The Roman Empire was overrun with fortune tellers and jugglers and magicians, many of whom were Jews, The Samaritans were a simple, credulous people, and in their amazement, they gave Simon the place which belongs to Christ. But when the evangel came, Simon himself was amazed for he could see that it was accompanied with a power such as he had never known. His case is an example of "faith" founded on miracles, which is very different from the faith which is based on God's word, apart from the evidence of the senses. Many believed in the Lord when they beheld the signs which He did, yet Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew what was in humanity (Jn.2:23-25).

14 As our Lord told the woman at the well, salvation is of the Jews. And moreover, the twelve apostles were appointed to have jurisdiction over the whole land, including Samaria. Hence, holy Spirit is not imparted to them except through the mediacy of the apostles. This is in marked contrast with the case of Cornelius and his friends, who received holy Spirit without baptism or the laying on of hands. It is evident from this that physical affinity and miracles hinder rather than help the outflow of the spirit. The exceptional dealing with the Samaritan believers, who were a circumcised people; is seen in the fact that, though repentant and baptized, they had not received the holy Spirit upon these conditions as promised by Peter to the believers in Jerusalem (Ac.2:38). The ancient schism must now end, and Samaria must acknowledge Jerusalem as God's earthly seat of government. The supreme gift can be bestowed only as they recognize their dependence on Peter and John as come down from Jerusalem.

18 To this day men fondly imagine that spiritual gifts may be bought with money. One of the most delusive and disastrous notions in the church today is that a billion dollar budget will buy billions worth of spiritual benefit. God's gratuities are not sold to the best bidder; we cannot gain His grace with gold. Any effort to bribe Him can only bring down His displeasure. Would that there were more like Peter, who spurned the silver which sought to buy the benefits of the evangel! The church has sunk so low that it is eager to trade its blessings for sordid gain. Peter would lose prestige today if he would not take advantage of such an opportunity to add a goodly sum to the fund for the furtherance of the kingdom!

19 Among the nations, in Paul's later ministries, the spirit is received on believing, without the intervention of apostles, or baptism, or laying on of hands (Eph.1:13). And with the removal of such mediate causes, the effect of holy Spirit's presence also changes. It is no longer manifest in signs which confirmed the coming of the kingdom, such as the gift of tongues and healing, but in the love, joy and peace which become God's dwelling place.

not for his fellow travelers. They were probably a little distance away and heard a sound and saw a light, but did not see the Person Who was speaking or recognize the sound as His voice. At first they fell on their faces, but they rose before Saul. There is a close harmony rather than any discrepancy in the various accounts.
     The call of Saul is an entirely novel departure in this book. It is the first exhibition of pure grace—favor shown to one who deserves punishment—and is the key to the character of the ministries of the apostle Paul which occupy the latter half of this treatise on the proclamation of the kingdom. After the failure of the testimony in Jerusalem and Judea, Saul is called to carry it to the dispersion among the nations and to the proselytes and even to the idolaters themselves. Hence it must be founded, not on righteousness, for they had no deserts, but on grace. So he is called outside the land, by the Lord from heaven, while he is still the most malignant enemy of the evangel and deserving of the direst doom.

10 God graciously gives a double witness to His dealing with Saul. Ananias is quite his opposite, being a devout disciple. Saul would have found it almost impossible to join the disciples as he did without some such confirmatory testimony to his conversion, for Ananias himself was afraid to go to him, knowing what he had done and what he proposed to do.

15 What grace and sovereignty is seen in terming the terrible persecutor of His people a "choice instrument"! God's choice is not like man's. He works His will in the face of human opposition. The most undeserving are the fittest instruments for the manifestation of His favor.

15 Here we have the field and scope of Paul's ministries-first and foremost to the nations, later to kings, and meanwhile to the sons of Israel among the nations.

16 Paul suffered more than any other apostle. Long before his course was completed he claimed to be foremost in this (2Co.11:23-33). All who are faithful are sure to share in the privilege of suffering for Christ's sake (Phil.1:29).

20 The Jews in the synagogues must have been greatly astonished to find this emissary of the high priest, who had come hither to stamp out the heresy of the Nazarene, boldly proclaim that He is the Son of God. None of the other apostles ever proclaim the Messiah as the Son of God in the Acts. They are chiefly interested in Him as the Son of David (2:29-30), the King of Israel. But Saul has become acquainted with Him in a higher, heavenly glory, hence proclaims Him, in accord with his own experience, as the Son of God. Besides, he reasoned out of the Hebrew Scriptures, which foretold the Messiah, and deduced from them that He Whom he had been persecuting and Who met him on the road was indeed the Anointed One, the hope of Israel.

23 At this point occurs one of those striking omissions in the narrative which assure us that it is concerned only with the kingdom, and that Paul's epistles differ from it in purpose and scope. Paul passed a large part of three years in Arabia (Gal.1:17-18). This journey is included in the "considerable number of days". Where in Arabia he went is not revealed, in fact, the term itself is vague. He may have gone far south into the desert between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, which is properly called Arabia. He may have gone only a few miles from Damascus, and yet be in Arabia in the popular sense of the term. Wherever he went, and whatever he did, it is evident that it has no bearing on the narrative of Acts. Paul uses it in Galatians as evidence that he did not immediately consult those who were apostles before him, so could not have received his evangel from them. As Acts deals only with that aspect of his ministry which had contact with the commissions of the twelve, it is clear why this incident should be overlooked.

25 Elsewhere Paul tells us (2Co.11:32-33) that the Jews had gained the help of the governor under Aretas the king, and his soldiers, as weIl as the Jews, tried to arrest him. His ignominious escape was his greatest boast.

21 Though most of the apostles were absent from Jerusalem, Paul saw the two real leaders, Peter and James.

30 Other details of Paul's stay in Jerusalem (not pertinent in this treatise) are interesting. Not only did the brethren lead him away, but the Lord Himself warned him to flee. While he was praying in the temple, in an ecstasy, the Lord urged him to hurry out of the holy city, because they would not receive his testimony (22:17-18). With the true tenacity of a Jew, Saul's heart's desire and petition to God for Israel was for their salvation (Ro.10:1). He would wish for nothing better than to be the instrument in God's hands to bring salvation to his own kith and kin. He did not yet understand God's greater purpose to bring salvation to the nations through their defection (Ro.11:11). It needed more than the entreaties of his brethren to make him leave Jerusalem, so God gives him a vision, reminding him of his commission for the nations afar.

33 There is always a designed contrast between the acts of Peter and Paul, which it is most inspiring to apprehend and enjoy, for Paul dips into depths of grace and ascends to heights of glory unknown to Peter. They illustrate the distinction between mercy and grace, favor shown to those who have some claim on the divine pity and that which is wholly undeserved. Eneas should be compared to the lame man of Lystra (14:8). Eneas, eight years paralyzed: the lame man never had walked in his life. The former stood up, the latter leaped and walked. These are types of the "walk" of the Circumcision and Uncircumcision. The former made no progress in divine things, the latter advanced joyfully.
     Eneas means praise and his paralysis symbolizes the paralysis of praise in Israel. His healing is another taste of the powers of the age to come when Jerusalem shall be a praise in the earth (Isa.43:21, 62:7; Jer.33:9). As Eneas presents to us the healing of the sinners of the people, so Dorcas shows the resurrection of the saints who have been full of good works (Un.14:13).

36 Dorcas and Eutychus bring before us a picture of the former resurrection (Un.20:5), and the eclectic resurrection which Paul preached, which precedes it, for which we look. Dorcas was full of good acts. She was deserving. So will those be who have part in the former resurrection, who live and reign with Christ the thousand years (Un.20:4). This was in the day time. But Eutychus' case comes before us at a time which corresponds with our resurrection. It is at night, before the darkness that precedes the dawn. He had no deserts that we know of. He was drowsing (20:9). Nevertheless Paul brings him back to life (1Thes.5:10).

1 The kingdom has been proclaimed in Jerusalem and rejected; it has been heralded in Judea and Samaria, and now is being carried to the limits of the land. The Ethiopian proselyte has been reached by Philip. Now a Roman "proselyte of the gate" is brought before us in the person of Cornelius.
     There were two classes of proselytes: the proselytes of righteousness and the proselytes of the gate. The former, by circumcision and conformation to the Jewish ritual, became incorporated into the Jewish people. The latter, called "fearers of God" or "the devout," renounced idolatry and acknowledged the God of Israel as the one true God, but were not circumcised and gave only scant heed to the ceremonial observances. Though highly esteemed, as Cornelius, they were regarded as outside the pale of Judaism, as "uncircumcised" and "of the nations." It was regarded as a crime for a Jew to enter the house of such a proselyte or to eat a meal with him.
     Thus the kingdom message, as proclaimed by the twelve apostles, reaches its furthest limit in Cornelius. This accounts for the extraordinary pressure brought upon Peter, for none of the Jews thought that the proselyte of the gate was included in the kingdom commission. First the word was to the Jews only (including proselytes of righteousness), then the Hellenists are evangelized, followed by the despised Samaritans. Now that Cornelius is included, the original commission to the twelve is fulfilled in two of the three spheres—Jerusalem and Samaria (1:8). They failed to go to all nations as He had told them (Lu.24:47) .
     As Cornelius was a Roman, descended from Japheth, and the eunuch was an Ethiopian, probably belonging to Ham, and the Jews were Shemites, all the sons of Noah were reached through their representatives. This was typical of the spread of the kingdom over

the whole earth when it will be set up in power at Christ's return. His dominion will include all the descendants of Noah's sons, and embrace all the families of the earth. His salvation will be known from sea to sea.
     As the Romans despised the Jews, the signs of the operation of the Spirit Of God in Cornelius were very marked even before he called for Peter. Centurions were not naturally devout or in fear of God, nor did they give alms to the Jews or pray to God. Cornelius believed the Scriptures or he would not have recognized Israel's supremacy. He knew God or he would not have prayed to Him continually. Hence the salvation here proclaimed to him was not prefaced by repentance. It was of the same nature as that which Peter proclaimed at Pentecost. It was a deliverance which insured his entrance into the kingdom.
     According to Solomon's dedicatory petition (lKi.8:41-43) that Jehovah should do all that the stranger who prayed toward His house should call for, Cornelius' prayers and alms come up for a memorial before God. Yet he must be taught that all his blessings come to him through Israel. Hence he is told to call for Peter. This is in direct antithesis to the present truth, for now, during Israel's apostasy, we get our blessings direct from God.
     The location of Peter at the time is suggestive. The nations are often represented by the sea, and he had gone as far as he could on land for he was at the sea side. His hunger is typical of the hunger of God for the worship of all His creatures—not Israel alone, hence Peter is told to "sacrifice and eat." The ceremonially unclean animals must represent those among the nations whom God had cleansed. Hence we must regard Cornelius as one whom God had cleansed before Peter met him.
     Peter, like all the Jews, was so prejudiced by birth and training that it was almost impossible for him to conceive of such a thing as having fellowship with a gentile, or even a proselyte of the gate, no matter how devout he might be. Henceforth the apostasy of Israel consists largely in refusing to be a channel of blessing to the nations. This led them to question Peter and persecute Paul.
     The vision alone was not sufficient to break through the prejudice of Peter, for he could not make out what it meant. But the presence of the three men, who were ceremonially unclean, like the animals he had just seen in the vision, made his course clear. He dared not refuse to fellowship with them or disregard the call of Cornelius. The character of Cornelius was evidence that God had cleansed him. Peter could no longer class him as common or unclean. The fact that Cornelius gave of his means to the people of the covenant was much in his favor, for in the judgment of the nations which precedes the kingdom the nations are judged according to their treatment of the sons of Israel (Mt.25:31-46).

23 The journey from Joppa to Caesarea would lie along the sea shore. Thus Peter skirted the "limits of the land." The location of Caesarea is doubtless typical also. Its geographical location corresponded with Cornelius' moral position. It was on the fringe of Judaism, near the outer gentile world.

23 Later we learn that six brethren from Joppa accompanied Peter to Caesarea. This was a prudent thing to do, for Peter well knew that he would have to defend his action in thus going against all Jewish precedent and prejudice. True, there was nothing in their Scriptures which forbade all social intercourse with foreigners, but the apostles, as well as the other disciples, were bound by custom and tradition more firmly than by the divine revelation. In view of the storm of protest which was sure to arise, the six men accompany Peter so that they can confirm his account of the event.

24 Cornelius seems to have carried many of his dependents and friends with him in his regard for the Jews and their religion. They also were in a measure prepared for Peter's message. They were not, like Paul's converts, turned from darkness to light and from idolatry to the worship of the true God. They already had much light and worshiped the God of Israel. So the proclamation to them is much the same as to the Jews.

30 Cornelius calls the messenger, or angel, he had seen, a man. There is no warrant, in Scripture, for the pop-

ular idea that angels always have wings, like the cherubim. They usually appear in a human form.

31 The conversion of Cornelius is not in accord with the truth for today. Salvation is not offered to those who have access to God in prayer, for such are already saved. It is for sinners, and the ungodly and God's enemies (Ro.5:1-11). It is not based on works (Ro.11:6). Cornelius and his friends were acceptable to God because they feared Him and acted righteously and this before Simon was sent to them. They occupied the place of the godly Israelite before Christ came. They lacked the pardon and gifts which came with the proclamation of the kingdom. These are now made theirs through the chief of the twelve apostles. Their blessing is connected with and depends on the blessing of Israel in the kingdom. Our blessing depends on the opposite; It follows Israel's apostasy. Cornelius is blessed in accord with the prophetic prediction concerning the nations in the kingdom, as it will be during the millennial eon. We are blessed in accord with a secret administration, of which the prophets knew nothing, which could not be revealed until after the kingdom proclamation had been heralded to the people and the proselytes like Cornelius.

34-35 This statement teaches, not that the fear of God and righteous acts take the place of faith in Christ, but they take the place of Moses. Such as Cornelius who pant after the living God are candidates for the kingdom, but must hear the word of life in order to be saved (11:14). Such as Cornelius are they who will enter the kingdom when the nations are judged (Mt.25:34-36).

35 Peter's proclamation to the nations is in contrast with Paul's. He details the life of our Lord and His beneficent deeds in the land, leading up to His resurrection. Paul begins with His death and resurrection and proclaims His ascension and His heavenly glories. In a word Peter proclaims "Jesus Christ," Paul preaches "Christ Jesus." The former lays stress on His rejection on earth, the latter on His acceptance in heaven.

39 Paul could have no place in this testimony, for he was not a witness of our Lord's earthly life.

Besides being a specimen of the future blessing of the believing nations in the kingdom, who will be rewarded according to their treatment of Israel, the case of Cornelius was undoubtedly divinely intended to bridge the almost impassable gap between the ministries of Peter and Paul, between the evangels of the Circumcision and of the Uncircumcision. Here we see the blessings of the Circumcision given by God to those who are uncircumcised, and in such a way that His hand could not be doubted. Hence Peter claims (15:7) that God chose him first to speak to the nations, and he was enabled to acknowledge Paul's commission to the Uncircumcision. Unless Peter had been so prepared, it would have been practically impossible for Paul to carry on his earlier ministries among the nations, for he would have had, not only the unbelieving Jews, but the disciples and the apostles themselves firmly set against his work. Paul did not confine himself to converts to Judaism, as Cornelius and his friends, but had a message of grace suited to idolaters who had never heard of the true God. Nevertheless the principle taught to Peter applied to them also, for God acknowledged them by spiritual gifts, which made it evident that He had cleansed them.

44 At Pentecost the call to repent came to a people who had already rejected Jesus Christ. Peter says nothing of repentance to Cornelius (11:18) .

48 By baptism they were united to the believing remnant in the nation of Israel, for the name used was the same (2:38). It is evident, however, that this was a loose union, for the fact of their uncircumcision would bar them from the temple and from everything which the disciples had in common with the Jewish nation. In practice, even the social communion was always on a most doubtful and hesitating basis. Many of the disciples never would have fellowship with the Uncircumcision, and even Peter himself, after boldly defending his course with Cornelius as well as the truth involved, was intimidated by the prevailing opposition, so that, at Antioch he first ate with the Uncircumcision and then withdrew and severed himself for fear of the party headed by James, the brother of the Lord (Ga.2:11-12) .

26 The name "Christian" is Latin in its termination, so seems to have been given by the Romans. It is mentioned only twice more (26:28; 1 Pet.4:16), and was a term of contempt. It is never used by the saints of themselves, though there are hundreds of passages where we would use the term today. The name probably arose from the fact that here, for the first time, gentiles, Romans, left the worship of the synagogue for the faith of Christ. They would be continually speaking of one "Christ" and their countrymen gave them this new name in derision. Paul never uses this term. Peter alone uses it of his fellow saints of the Circumcision who believed.

27 "Antioch" (Antiocheia) seems to be a compound of anti (instead) and och (have, uphold). The prefix suggests that the two cities (11:27, 13:14) take the place of Jerusalem in the spreading of the evangel. They are upheld as the base of Paul's evangel to the Gentiles, while the Jerusalem ecclesia is eventually dispersed. So this may well be the import of their name: They had a place instead of Jerusalem.
     In the Kingdom the evangel will flow again from the holy city.

29 It is not likely that Saul went as far as Jerusalem with the contribution, for, in his Galatian epistle, he intimates that he did not visit the holy city for fourteen years after his return from Damascus. The reason seems to be that there was a persecution on the part of Herod, as well as a famine in Jerusalem, so that it was not prudent to enter the city.

1 The failure of the nation to respond to the proclamation of the kingdom is fully manifest, and it is reflected in the events now chronicled. The twelve are no longer sustained by divine power in the city of the King. Herod puts James to death and there is no effort made to fill his place and maintain the due number of the apostles. That James, rather than Peter or John, was taken is significant, for they are typical men. James, or Jacob, brings before us the nation in flesh, and, as this aspect of the kingdom proclamation has failed and is finished, he is removed. Peter (not Simon) was a spiritual name (Jn.1:42), representative of the remnant who believed. He is persecuted, but not slain.
     The apostasy of the Jewish nation was attested by the death of James. Instead of mourning the fact that one of the apostles of the Messiah was put to death, they are pleased. They prefer the yoke of their hereditary enemy, the Idumean Herod, to the Messiah God had sent them. So will the apostate nation in the time of the end rejoice at the murder of God's two witnesses (Un.11).
     It was contrary to Jewish custom to carry on a trial during the national festivals, so Herod was waiting until the passover week should be over. Then he would increase his popularity by making a public exhibition of Peter's trial and death.
     The Lord had told Peter that, when he should be old and decrepit he would glorify God by his death (Jn.21:18). That time had not yet come. No power on earth can touch God's servants before the appointed time.
     The deliverance of Peter should be contrasted with that of Paul and Silas at Philippi. This will show the vast advance in Paul's ministry over that of the twelve. Peter's deliverance illustrates the power and stern righteousness associated with the kingdom. The grace and salvation revealed in Philippi is in closer accord with that which is ours in Christ Jesus. Peter slept. Paul and Silas, suffering from the Roman scourge and the stocks, sang praises and prayed. Peter was taken out by stealth unknown to the guards. Paul and Silas made no attempt to escape, even when the prison doors were open. The prisoners heard them, and the warden was saved by their testimony. Peter's escape did not bring salvation to his keepers. It brought death, for his guards had to pay with their lives for his. Peter flies from Jerusalem from the face of Herod. Paul and Silas are escorted out of the jail and through the city by the officers who had mistreated them. In every particular, the deliverance of Paul and Silas eclipses the escape of Peter. One figures Israel's deliverance by judgment on the nations, the other the salvation which comes through the temporary setting aside of Israel.

12 What a touching picture we have here of the disciples praying in the dead of night, and the extreme joy occasioned by Peter's escape!

17 The death of James and the escape of Peter mark a crisis in the history of the kingdom proclamation. The power in Jerusalem passes out of the hands of the apostles into the hands of James, the Lord's brother. Note that Peter does not ask them to report to the rest of the apostles, but to James and the brethren. Henceforth these have the controlling voice in Jerusalem. The death of James broke the ranks of the apostles. Now there were only eleven. Peter was compelled to flee and John does not seem to have taken an active part.
     It is most significant that the leadership now falls upon one who was never commissioned by the Lord, but held his place and wielded his influence on the ground of a close physical relationship to the Lord. While He was yet on earth none of his brothers or sisters believed in Him. Our Lord made light of such physical ties. To those who told Him that His mother and brothers wished to speak to Him He said "My mother and My brethren are these who are hearing the word of God and doing it" (Lu.8:21). But the believers in Jerusalem have drifted away from spiritual realities and give the Lord's own brother the place which He gave to the apostles. James early had a high place among the Jerusalem saints. Paul makes special mention of him when he went up to Jerusalem (Ga.1:19). This is in marked contrast to the course of Paul