Ver. 32. ‘And we are witnesses of these things,” R.V. (W.H.), but in mar- gin, ‘witnesses in Him,” ἐν αὐτῷ (cf. Luke xxiv. 47) ; “nos in eo testes sumus,”’ Iren., see also above critical notes. For an explanation of the reading in Τ.Ε. and the two genitives, see Simcox,. Language of the N. T., p. 84, note, and compare 2 Cor, v. 1, Phil. ii. 30, 1 Thess.
i. 3----ῥημάτων: here=Hebrew 9 Π, cf.
x. 37 (Grotius, Blass), the words standing for their contents, i.e., the things, the facts. Meyer understood-the facts to be the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, but Wendt understands them to be the gifts of the Messianic salvation mentioned in ver. 31, and compares ver. 20. But the use of the word in ver. 20 need not limit its use here: the Apostles were called above all things to witness to the facts of Christ’s life, x. 37, and the ζωή in ver. 20 depended upon the Resurrection. In Luke i. 37 R.V. has “no word,” ῥῆμα, where A.V. has “πο thing,” cf. Luke i. 65,. where A.V. has “things” in the margin
31—34.
155
33. Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες διεπρίοντο, καὶ ἐβουλεύοντο ἀνελεῖν αὐτούς.
34. ἀναστὰς δέ τις ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ 1 Φαρισαῖος, ὀνόματι Γαμαλιήλ,
1 εν tw συνεδριῳ; DE, Flor., Par. read (τις) εκ του συνεδριου, E adds αντων.
(ῥήματα), and R.V. reads “sayings” in text: Luke ii. 15, where R.V. has “ this thing” (ῥῆμα) in the text, and ‘‘ saying” in margin; in ii. 19, 51, R.V. has “ say- ings” in the text, ‘‘ things ”’ in the margin —so in LXX, the same uncertainty, cf. Gen. xv. 1, xviii. 14, Exod. ii. 14, 15. ῥῆμα is used frequently by St. Luke in his writings, and much more so than by the other Evangelists; although it is found in all parts of the Acts, it is notice- able that it is employed more frequently in the earlier chapters, as in the first two chapters of the Gospel.—xai τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον δὲ: on the expression see iv. 8. The Holy Ghost συμμαρτυρεῖ with the Apostles, Rom. viii. 16 (cf. Acts xv. 28). We may well compare with these words of St. Luke our Lord’s parting words in John xv. 26,27. Here we have also the twofold witness—the historical witness borne to the facts—and the internal witness of the Holy Ghost in bringing home to men’s hearts the meaning of the facts (see Westcott on St. John, in loco).— τοῖς πειθαρχοῦσιν αὐτῷ: not to be limited to the Apostles, although by repeating this verb used at the opening of the speech St. Peter intimates that the ὑπακοὴ τῆς πίστεως (Rom. i. 5) was the first requisite for the reception of the divine gift. In their own case the witness of the Spirit had been clearly shown, not only in the miracles which the Apostles had done, but also in the results of their preaching, in the enthusiasm of their charity, and we need not limit with Nosgen the thought of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the events of Pentecost. If this short speech of St. Peter, 29-32, reads like a summary of much which he is represented as saying on former occasions, we have no warrant for dismissing it as unhistorical, or even for supposing that St. Luke has only given us a summary of the address. It is rather ‘‘a perfect model of concise and ready eloquence,” and a striking fulfilment of the Lord’s promise, Matt. xi.19. Nothing was more natural than that St. Peter and his fellow-Apostles, like men whose minds were finally made up, should thus con- tent themselves with an emphatic re- assertion of the main issues involved in teaching which was already widely known, and with a justification of their
disobedience to man by an appeal to the results which accompanied their obedi- ence to God.