The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 428

and wonder and miracle are, in his own rinful experience. How much had he taken out of others in money and in credulity He shall be reminded of the past. 2, He tried to keep another in the dark and amid the groping and the wandering. He himself s~all ~now_ the grievousness of darkness and the humiliation of groping and the bitter d1ssat1sfact1on of the wanderer. :-1. He tried to take away from another the help of a good i,trong hand divinely proffered him. He shall know what it is to have to beg the leading of even a human hand himself. 4. Yet hope and II room for repentance " are not pronounced for ever closed for Elymas. .And the punishment awarded him ia less than the injury he bad sought to inflict-less by far. m. THE LEADING EFFECTS OF THE PUNISHMENT. 1. It removes the transgressor off the ground. 2. It effectually confounds his endeavours, and turns him into an impres- sive witness to that truth which he had resisted for himself and tried to take the comfort of from another. 3. It produces strong faith and admiring astonishment and !CT"Rteful acceptance of "the truth as it is in Jesus," on the part of the deputy threatened in bis highest interests. 4. It leaves a long warning, in the stricken blind- ness of Elymas, though it was but temporary, of the verdict that Christ passes on the heinousness of that sin which consists in attempting to blight the opening religious growth and knowledge of any. 6. In the temporary character of the blindness of Elymas, provision was secnred for a certain resuscitation of the whole matter, in his own memory anrl in that of many others, whensoever be might regain vision. 6. .An evident proof is given bow God both rules and overrules, can convert and does convert, all the efforts of bis opponents against him " to the furtherance of the gospel." For this was literally the issue of the conduct of one whom not the bitterness of a prejudiced tongue, but the sober truth of an inspired apostle, describes as "full of all subtilty and mischief, a child of the devil, an enemy of all righteousness, and an unceasing perverter of the right ways of the Lord."-B. Vers. U--41.-.A11other faithful semion. to the Je'IJJ, It is pleasant to observe the traces, in every possible place, of the grace still held out to the Jew. It vindicates with emphasis "the long-suffering" of God, and the continuing force of the dying prayer of him whom those Jews "slew and hanged on a tree.n And, though in a less degree, it is pleasant to observe how messengers and apostles, when they reach a new town, pay their first visit to the synagogue. This very thing the .Apostle of the Gentiles now does. It has been the order of the two companions since they set out from the former Antioch (vers. 4, 5), but now arrived. at ".Antioch in Pisidia," and Paul dis- tinctly taking the lead, the same course is observed. "Paul and his company" (ver, 13) "went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.'' They are strangers, and " after the reading of the Law and the prophets," they are invited by the rulers of the synagogue to speak. Sergius Paulos (ver. 7) sent for them when they were at Paphos, and " desired. to hear the Word of God.'' .And now again they spoke from all the better vantage-ground, in that they were invited to speak. The occasion proved. a memorable one. .And its memorableness turned on Paul's " word of exhortation" to a Jewish audience. Notice-- L THE O!o"E DETERMINED OBJECT OF TBIS "WOBD OP EXHORTATION," (Vere. 38, 39.) It is to fix sole, undivided attention on the "Man" (ver. 38) Jesus, as the Obtainer o/ f urgiveness of sins for men, though not himself necessarily the actual Forgiver, and as the Justifier of all men who believe in him, from the demands of responsibilities of which they would fain be free. This is the key-note of Paul's preaching, and we hear it dis- tinctly sounded on this the first great occasion of his authoritative pronouncements. It marks the standpoint of his practical theology, .And it is the burden of his apostolic mission. Nothing lies nearer his own heart, nothing is spoken more plainly on his lip, whether he converses with himself, a sinner, or would appeal to others, sinners. It is the core of the truth ; it is the bone and marrow of the gospel itself. Therefore: L Paul preaches the "Man Christ Jesus." 2. Paul preaches him as the only One who obtains forgiveness (let him obtain it as he may) for the burdened. sinner. a. Paul preaches him as the living, all-efficient Justifier of men before God. 4. Paul preaches him u the "real" (John xv. 1), after all the typical and figurative (ver. 39). lL Tu IIT&ilGJIT1 DIBEOT BO.AD .6.LOlfG WBIOB PAUL TB.6.VJWI TO BIS ONE DBTD-- 0lt. xtn, 1-32,] TilE ACTS OF THE A.POSTLES. 426 -------------------------- -- ){!NED oDJEOT, There la no touch of II the Socratic argument" here. Paul takes, it is true, a little while to reach his grand point. But he goes by no covert approach towards H. He paves the way, and may be 11&id to smofith the way, but it is all in full daylight. The brief yet effective historical survey which Paul takes of Israel may he compared, for object and matter and manner, with those of Peter (eh. ii.) and ('though in less degree) of Stephen (eh. vii.). Without invidiousness it may be said, however, that Paul's brevity, pointedness, trenchancy in this address, could not be surpassed. He introduces Christ, from the moment of God's election of Abraham to " the raising up Jesus again" from a death and grave which had set not one stigma of corruption on him. And in a moment or two he has confronted his whole audience in that A.ntiooh synagogue with two portraits liko life and life-size-the one the portrait of their" own nation and people, the Jews," and the other the portrait c,f the crucified, 11 dead, and buried," but risen One. This introductory survey of Paul owns to the greatest fi<.lelity to fact and fidelity to the conscience of those who listened. The evidences of promise sacred to every memory, of genealogy that in point of fact had been as indisputed as it was indisputable, of prophet of old, of that greatest "prophet bom of womenn (Luke vii. 28)-John the Baptist, of modern time, and of "sacred psalm," are all marshalled. And at present the effect seemed likely to be irresistible. '1.'he II men of Israel, and they that feared God" from happy association with them, and II the Gentiles," or some chance representatives of them, seem to be, not indeed chained to the spot (ver. 42), not entranced, not bewitched, but deeply impressed and thoughtful without being embittered. Ill. TUE FAITHFUL WARNING AND POWERFUL BEMONSTBANOE THAT CLOSED II THE WORD OF EXHOR1'ATION." The word of trumpet-warning is Paul's own. He clenches it, albeit, with quotation from "the Scriptures,'' which should add the force that comes of sacred reverence's claim. "Repent 1" cried John the Baptist. "Beware I " cries Paul, "lest you fail to repent; n as so many had failed to do since John the Baptist's cry. Tney heard the quotation, and often as they had heard it before and knew it so well, or it would have lost much of its significance and aptness on the lip of Paul, they had never thought of it in this light, they had never dreamt it could have foretold of them or be any description of them. Yet what a wonderful picture it had been of a nation, for at all events some three years, and of their sons and daughters some thirteen years more already I What a true picture of that II highly favoured" nation I They had beheld and despised; they had wondered and had-perished, yes, already too many of them-perished. And that from no convulsion of nature, or collapse of heaven, or irremediable pestilence, or sword of conquering foe, but because, though they were given to behold things that kings and prophets and righteous men of their ancestors for centuries had desired in vain, they "despised" what they beheld. So must perish all who will "in no wise believe a work which" Heaven itself works in the very midst of them, and which is " declared" to them with the voice of power, of love, of patient importunity, but is" despised and rejected."-B.