PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Expositions of Holy Scripture: the Acts
Alexander Maclaren, 1826-1910 · 250,385 words · 359 reading sections
The First Blast Of Tempest
'And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2. Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now even-tide. 4.…
675 wordsSECTION 62The First Blast Of Tempest
So the night fell on Peter and John in prison, the first of the thousands who have suffered bonds and imprisonment for Christ, and have therein found liberty. What lofty faith, and what subordination of the fate of the messengers to the progress of the message, are expressed in that abrupt introduction, in verse 4, of …
689 wordsSECTION 63The First Blast Of Tempest
But Peter rises to the full height of the occasion, when he answers the Sanhedrin's question with the pealing forth of his Lord's name. He repeats in substance his former contrast of Israel's treatment of Jesus and God's; but, in speaking to the rulers, his tone is more severe than it was to the people. The latter had …
779 wordsSECTION 64The First Blast Of Tempest
The Sanhedrin knew well enough that the Apostles had been with Jesus, and the statement that 'they took knowledge of them' cannot mean that that fact dawned on the rulers for the first time. Rather it means that their wonder at the 'boldness' of the two drove home the fact of their association with Him to their minds. …
258 wordsSECTION 65With And Like Christ
'Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.'--ACTS iv. 13. Two young Galilean fishermen, before the same formidable tribunal which a few weeks before had condemned their Maste…
914 wordsSECTION 66With And Like Christ
Another phase of being with Christ lies in frank, full, and familiar conversation with Him. I do not understand a dumb companionship. When we are with those that we love, and with whom we are at ease, speech comes instinctively. If we are co-denizens of the Father's house with the Elder Brother, we shall talk to Him. W…
694 wordsSECTION 67With And Like Christ
Then, to be with Christ gives a living knowledge of Him and of truth, far in advance of the head knowledge of wise and learned people. It was a fact that these two knew nothing about what Rabbi _This_, or Rabbi _That_, or Rabbi _The Other_ had said, and yet could speak, as they had been speaking, large religious ideas …
704 wordsSECTION 68With And Like Christ
III. The last point to be noted is, the impression which such a character makes. It was not so much what Peter and John said that astonished the Council, as the fact of their being composed and bold enough to say anything. A great deal more is done by character than by anything else. Most people in the world take the…
367 wordsSECTION 69Obedient Disobedience
'But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. 21. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, beca…
687 wordsSECTION 70Obedient Disobedience
It was a daring stroke to appeal to the Council for an endorsement of the principle in verse 19, but the appeal was unanswerable; for this tribunal had no other ostensible reason for existence than to enforce obedience to the law of God, and to Peter's dilemma only one reply was possible. But it rested on a bold assump…
677 wordsSECTION 71Obedient Disobedience
III. The Church's answer to the first assault of the world's power. How beautifully natural that is, 'Being let go, they went to their own,' and how large a principle is expressed in the naive words! The great law of association according to spiritual affinity has much to do in determining relations here. It aggregates…
791 wordsSECTION 72Obedient Disobedience
Mark, too, the strong expression of the Church's dependence on God. 'Lord' here is an unusual word, and means 'Master,' while the Church collectively is called 'Thy servants,' or properly, 'slaves.' It is a different word from that of 'servant' (rather than 'child') applied to Jesus in verses 27 and 30. God is the Mast…
512 wordsSECTION 73Impossible Silence
'We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.'--ACTS iv. 20. The context tells us that the Jewish Council were surprised, as they well might be, at the boldness of Peter and John, and traced it to their having been with Jesus. But do you remember that they were by no means bold when they were with Jesu…
1,098 wordsSECTION 74Impossible Silence
The cause of a silent Church is a defective conception of the Gospel entrusted to it, or a feeble grasp of the same. And as our silence or indifference is the symptom, so by reaction it is in its turn the cause of a greater enfeeblement of our faith, and of a weaker grasp of the Gospel. Of course I know that it is perf…
694 wordsSECTION 75Impossible Silence
This commandment which is laid upon us Christian men submerges all distinctions of race, and speech, and nationality, and culture. There are high walls parting men off from one another. This great message and commission, like some rising tide, rolls over them all, and obliterates them, and flows boundless, having drown…
655 wordsSECTION 76Impossible Silence
I have spoken of an inward impulse. That thought turns our attention to our own hearts. I have spoken of a definite command; that turns our eyes to the Throne. I speak now of a bond of brotherhood. That sends our thoughts out over the whole world. There is such a bond. Jesus Christ by His Incarnation has taken the natu…
608 wordsSECTION 77The Servant And The Slaves
'Thy servant David...'; 'Thy Holy Servant Jesus...'; 'Thy servants...'--ACTS iv. 26, 27, 29. I do not often take fragments of Scripture for texts; but though these are fragments, their juxtaposition results in by no means fragmentary thoughts. There is obvious intention in the recurrence of the expression so frequentl…
788 wordsSECTION 78The Servant And The Slaves
But then, whilst this is true, and whilst Jesus Christ comes into this category, and is one of these special men raised up and adapted for special service in connection with the carrying out of the divine purpose, mark how emphatically and broadly the line is drawn here between Him and the other members of the class to…
736 wordsSECTION 79The Servant And The Slaves
Now there is another step to be taken, and it is this. The Servant who stands out in front of all the group--though the noblest names in the world's history are included therein--could not be _the_ Servant unless He were the Son. This designation, as applied to Jesus Christ, is peculiar to these three or four earlier c…
717 wordsSECTION 80The Servant And The Slaves
Remember, however, that in the New Testament these names of slave and owner are transferred to Christians and Jesus Christ. 'The Servant' has His slaves; and He who is God's Servant, and does not His own will but the Father's will, has us for His servants, imposes His will upon us, and we are bound to render to Him a r…
603 wordsSECTION 81The Wheat And The Tares
'And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.'--ACTS iv. 32. 'And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.'--ACTS v. 11. Once more Luke pa…
660 wordsSECTION 82The Wheat And The Tares
Luke adds two more points to his survey,--the power of the Apostolic testimony, and the great grace which lay like a bright cloud on the whole Church. The Apostles' special office was to bear witness to the Resurrection. They held a position of prominence in the Church by virtue of having been chosen by Jesus and havin…
707 wordsSECTION 83The Wheat And The Tares
Be that as it may, Peter's stern words to Ananias put all the stress of the sin on its being an acted lie. The motives of the trick are not disclosed. They may have been avarice, want of faith, greed of applause, reluctance to hang back when others were doing like Barnabas. It is hard to read the mingled motives which …
730 wordsSECTION 84Whom To Obey,--Annas Or Angel?
'Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, 18. And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. 19. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, 20. Go, s…
705 wordsSECTION 85Whom To Obey,--Annas Or Angel?
The arrest of the Apostles and their committal to prison was simply for detention, not punishment. The rulers cast their net wider this time, and secured all the Apostles, and, having them safe under lock and key, they went home triumphant, and expecting to deal a decisive blow to-morrow. Then comes one of the great 'b…
748 wordsSECTION 86Whom To Obey,--Annas Or Angel?
The high-priest discreetly said nothing about the escape. Possibly he had no suspicion of a miracle, but, even if he had, chapter iv. 16 shows that that would not have led to any modification of his hostility. Persecutors, clothed with a little brief authority, are strangely blind to the plainest indications of the tru…
650 wordsSECTION 87Our Captain
Peter goes on to vindicate his assumption that in disobeying Annas they are obeying God, by reiterating the facts which since Pentecost he had pressed on the national conscience. Israel had slain, and God had exalted, Jesus to His right hand. That was God's verdict on Israel's action. But it was also the ground of hope…
851 wordsSECTION 88Our Captain
The second Joshua is the Captain of the Lord's host, as was typified to the first one, in that strange scene outside the walls of Jericho, where the earthly commander, sunk in thought, was brooding upon the hard nut which he had to crack, when suddenly he lifted up his eyes, and beheld a man with a drawn sword. With th…
664 wordsSECTION 89Our Captain
II. So note, secondly, the Leader through death to life. Peter, in the sermon which is found in the third chapter of this Book of the Acts, has his mind and heart filled with the astounding fact of the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ, and in the same breath as he gives forth the paradoxical indictment of th…
675 wordsSECTION 90Our Captain
If He be the Leader through death unto life, then it is certain that all who follow in His train shall attain to His side and shall share in His glory. The General wears no order which the humblest private in the ranks may not receive likewise, and whomsoever He leads, His leading will not end till He has led them clos…
787 wordsSECTION 91Our Captain
'I wondered at the beauteous hours, The slow result of winter showers, You scarce could see the grass for flowers.' The sorrows that have wounded any man's head like a crown of thorns will be covered with the diadem of Heaven, if they are sorrows borne with Christ. IV. Lastly, we have Jesus, the Leader in the path …
562 wordsSECTION 92Gamaliel'S Counsel
'Refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.'--ACTS v. 38, 39. The little that is known of Gamaliel seems to indicate just such a man as would be likely…
669 wordsSECTION 93Gamaliel'S Counsel
It is to his credit that he stood calm and curbed the howling of the fanatics round him, and that he was the first and only Jewish authority who counselled abstinence from persecution. It is interesting to compare him with Gallio, who had a glimpse of the true relation of the civil magistrate to religious opinion. Gam…
697 wordsSECTION 94Gamaliel'S Counsel
III. Here is success turned into a criterion of truth. It is such, no doubt, in the long run, but not till then, and so till the end it is utterly false to argue that a thing is true because multitudes think it to be so. The very opposite is more nearly true. It in usually minorities who have been right. Gamaliel lai…
498 wordsSECTION 95Filled With The Spirit
'Men ... full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.' ... 'A man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost....' 'Stephen, full of faith and power.'--ACTS vi. 3, 5, 8. I have taken the liberty of wrenching these three fragments from their context, because of their remarkable parallelism, which is evidently intended to set us thinking…
713 wordsSECTION 96Filled With The Spirit
We do not here discuss questions which separate good Christian people from one another in regard of this matter. My object now is not to lay down theological propositions, but to urge upon Christian men the acquirement of an experience which is possible for them. And so, without caring to enter by argument on controver…
1,069 wordsSECTION 97Filled With The Spirit
I know of no other way by which a man can receive God into his heart than by opening his heart for God to come in. I know of no other way by which a man can woo--if I may so say--the Divine Lover to enter into his spirit than by longing that He would come, waiting for His coming, expecting it, and being supremely bless…
679 wordsSECTION 98Filled With The Spirit
'Full of grace,'--that is a wide word, as I take it. If, by our faith, we have brought into our hearts that divine influence, the Spirit of God does not come empty-handed, but He communicates to us whatsoever things are lovely and of good report, whatsoever things are fair and honourable, whatsoever things in the eyes …
562 wordsSECTION 99Stephen'S Vision
'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God'--ACTS vii. 56. I. The vision of the Son of Man, or the abiding manhood of Jesus. Stephen's Greek name, and his belonging to the Hellenistic part of the Church, make it probable that he had never seen Jesus during His earthly life…
754 wordsSECTION 100Stephen'S Vision
II. The vision of the Son of Man at the right hand of God, or the glory of the Man Jesus. We will not discuss curious questions which may be asked in connection with Stephen's vision, such as whether the glorified humanity of Jesus implies His special presence in a locality; but will rather try to grasp its bearings o…
835 wordsSECTION 101Stephen'S Vision
THE YOUNG SAUL AND THE AGED PAUL [Footnote: To the young.] '...the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.'--ACTS vii. 58. '...Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.'--PHILEMON 9. A far greater difference than that which was measured by years separated the young…
701 wordsSECTION 102Stephen'S Vision
That initial impulse operated through all the rest of his career. Hearken to him: 'I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. To me to live is Christ. Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Living or dying, we are the Lord's.' 'We labour that whether present or absent, we may …
719 wordsSECTION 103Stephen'S Vision
That was one side of it. Was that all? This man had that within him which enabled him to triumph over all trials. There is nothing more remarkable about him than the undaunted courage, the unimpaired elasticity of spirit, the buoyancy of gladness, which bore him high upon the waves of the troubled sea in which he had t…
650 wordsSECTION 104Stephen'S Vision
In a later Epistle than that from which my second text is taken, we get one of the most lovely pictures that was ever drawn, albeit it is unconsciously drawn, of a calm old age, very near the gate of death; and looking back with a quiet heart over all the path of life. I am not going to preach to you, dear friends, in …
671 wordsSECTION 105The Death Of The Master And The Death Of The Servant
'And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And, when he had said this, he fell asleep.'--ACTS vii. 59, 60. This is the only narrative in the New Testament of a Christian martyrdom o…
679 wordsSECTION 106The Death Of The Master And The Death Of The Servant
Is it not one of the great blessings, in some sense the greatest of the blessings, which we owe to the Gospel, that in that awful solitude where no other example is of any use to us, His pattern may still gleam before us? Is it not something to feel that as life reaches its highest, most poignant and exquisite delight …
683 wordsSECTION 107The Death Of The Master And The Death Of The Servant
I do not dwell at any length upon the fact that here we have a distinct instance of prayer to Jesus Christ, a distinct recognition, in the early days of His Church, of the highest conceptions of His person and nature, so as that a dying man turns to Him, and commits his soul into His hands. Passing this by, I ask you t…
699 wordsSECTION 108The Death Of The Master And The Death Of The Servant
III. Then, still further, there are other words here which remind us of the final triumph of an all-forbearing charity. Stephen had been cast from the rock, had been struck with the heavy stone. Bruised and wounded by it, he strangely survives, strangely somehow or other struggles to his knees even though desperately …
700 wordsSECTION 109Seed Scattered And Taking Root
'Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.' Death is but sleep now, because Christ has died, and that sleep is restful, conscious, perfect life. Look at these two pictures, the agony of the one, the calm triumph of the other, and see that the martyr's falling asleep was possible because th…
776 wordsSECTION 110Seed Scattered And Taking Root
In remarkable contrast with the scattering Church are the 'devout men' who reverently buried the martyr. They were not disciples, but probably Hellenistic Jews (Acts ii. 5); perhaps from the synagogue whose members had disputed with Stephen and had dragged him to the council. His words or death may have touched them, a…
664 wordsSECTION 111Seed Scattered And Taking Root
Jerusalem had just expelled the disciples, and would fain have crushed the Gospel; despised Samaria received it with joy. 'A foolish nation' was setting Israel an example (Deut. xxxii. 21; Rom. x. 19). The Samaritan woman had a more spiritual conception of the Messiah than the run of Jews had, and her countrymen seem t…
731 wordsSECTION 112Simon The Sorcerer
The Samaritans had not yet received the Holy Ghost--that is, the special gifts, such as those of Pentecost. That fact proves that baptism is not necessarily and inseparably connected with the gift of the Spirit; and chapter x. 44, 47, proves that the Spirit may be given before baptism. As little does this incident prov…
673 wordsSECTION 113Simon The Sorcerer
I. An instance of a wholly unreal, because inoperative, faith. 'He believed,' says the narrative, and believing was baptized. It is worth noting, in passing, how the profession of faith without anything more was considered by the Early Church sufficient. But obviously his was no true faith. The event showed that it wa…
659 wordsSECTION 114Simon The Sorcerer
Simon regards what is sacred and spiritual purely as part of his stock-in-trade, contributing to his prestige. He offers to buy it. And the foundation of all his errors is that he regards spiritual gifts as capable of being received and exercised apart altogether from moral qualifications. He does not think at all of w…
762 wordsSECTION 115A Meeting In The Desert
'And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasu…
689 wordsSECTION 116A Meeting In The Desert
II. So we have next the explanation of the errand. Luke's 'Behold!' suggests the sudden sight of the great man's cortege in the distance. No doubt, he travelled with a train of attendants, as became his dignity, and would be conspicuous from afar. Philip, of course, did not know who he was when he caught sight of him, …
707 wordsSECTION 117A Meeting In The Desert
The invitation to a seat in the great man's chariot showed how eagerness to learn had obliterated distinctions of rank, and swiftly knit a new bond between these two, who had never heard of each other five minutes before. A true heart will hail as its best and closest friend him who leads it to know God's mind more cle…
657 wordsSECTION 118Philip The Evangelist
The eunuch had said that he could not understand unless some man guided him. But when Philip is caught away, he does not bewail the loss of his guide. He went on his road with joy, though his new faith might have craved longer support from the crutch of a teacher, and fuller enlightenment. What made him able to do with…
769 wordsSECTION 119Philip The Evangelist
It is always so. Christ chooses His instruments where He will; and it is not the Apostle's business, nor the business of an ecclesiastic of any sort, to settle his own work or anybody else's. The Commander-in-Chief keeps the choosing of the men for special service in His own hand. The Apostolic College said, 'Let them …
913 wordsSECTION 120Philip The Evangelist
And so you and I have to go upon our paths without angel voices, or chariots of storm, and to be contented with divine commandments less audible or perceptible to our senses than this man had at one point in his career. But if we are wise we shall hear Him speaking the word. We shall not be left without His voice if we…
710 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.