The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 44

I. THE Dll:'l'OTED ZEAL OF PETER. He ia a born leader. lie had often shown I\ forward zeal. In the .fort of many, many characters lurks l\lso their weakness. Purified from this, the strength becomes apparent again, and the advantage become& real. It ls he who now takes the lead, 11nd says, "It behoves " to fill up the perfect number, Il. THE DISOF.Rl-"TI<G ZEAL OF l'E'rER. He enthrones this great historic fact of the resurrection of Jesus in its proper seat in the Church for all time. The" eleven," to be now strengthened by one more, are to accept this as their chiefest mission and commission, to be" witnesses of the Resurrection." III. 'l'HE colUIEOTLY PROPHETIC ZEAL OF PETER. He takes It that part of the work and of the organizing of the work of Christ is to devolve upon man, and upon those who were the already "chosen" apostles, together with the body of bis people and disciples. He calls upon all to join, and arranges for all to join in this proposed elt'Ction. n·. 'l'HE PRAYERFUL AND DEPENDENT ZEAL OF PETEP, Still the wisdom and the choice nnd tlie appointment are to rest with him whom we call the Head of the Cl:mrch. It may not be certain that, so far RS the terms of Peter's prayer go, be means it to be addressed exclusively to the risen Lord, yet even this is most probable; and all the more so from his likely recalling of the words of Jesus himself (John xv, 16; Yi. 70; xxi. 17).-B. Ver. 1.-The apparent incompletenes, of our Lord's life. It was but a 'beginning. The word "began" is as characteristic of St. Luke as "straightway" is of St. Mark; it occurs thirty-one times in his Gospel. The idea of Christ's life on earth as being a "beginning" fits well into the Pauline theology, which sets in such prominence the 1ircseut and continuous working of the risen, glorified, living Saviour. 'l'o the "postles' first view our Lord's earthly life must have seemed a failure; they could not know how it was to be continued and completed. From our enlarged knowledge we can apprehend it as being the necessary introduction to his present and permanent spiritual work. Illustrations of apparent incompleteness of earthly life may be found in the story of Moses, who did not cross the Jordan; and David, who did not build the temple. A man's life is never incomplete if he does u·ell his appointed piece. I. 'l'HE BREVITY OF OUB LORD'S LIFE-WORK. At the longest computation it extended only over three years, and many think the time was even shorter than this. Thirty years were spent in secluded preparations; and we may well ask-What great work could any man accomplish iD three brief years? And yet some of the most powerful and permanent influences recorded in human history have come from men whose lives were short. Illustrations are found in every department of life; and the common observation has gained expression iD the proverb, "'.!.'hose whom the gods love die young." Life may be very short, and yet very full of power and impulse for good. "He liveth lo11g who liveth well." IL THE SUDDEN STOPPAGE OF IT. Taken away by a violent death, our Lurd could not make it what men would call" complete,"" rounded off." On his last day be had to admit that it must remain, to men's vie,v, seemingly imperfect. "I have many thinas to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." So with many human lives, the i1ose comes suddenly, and we wish we could tarry to get things completed. But we must leave them, as Christ did; and we may be restfully assured that, if our work ha.~ been good, God will find for it completeness by finding its jittin.'J into his great plan. III. THE INTBODUCT0BY CRAIIACTBB OJ' ~- It was a "beginning," a ,, preface," a "threshold," an "ante-cham her," an outward earthly show to help us in rt>alizing a continuous spiritual reality. 'l'he remembrance of what was is to aid us in rl'alizing what is. And, in a yet fuller sense, that brief human life was to lay the intellectual, moral, and religious bases on which the Divine relations with men were from that time to rest. "It behoved Christ thUB to BUffer, and to enter into bis glory." IV. THE CONTINUANCE OF IT. Of that "continuance" we have several distinct forms of conception; such as : 1. The work or the Holy Spirit. 2. 'l'he actual presence of Christ in his Church. 3. 'l'he permanent office of Christ as the one human ¥elliator, Intercessor, and High Priest. The relation of the "continuing" work to the "intro- ductory" is shown iD our Lord's statement concerning the Holy Spirit: "He shall to.kc of mine, and shall show it unto you." So far as the continuance of Christ's earthly OU, L 1-26,] THE A.OTB OF THE APOSTLES. 39