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Acts 1 - Peake Arthur S. and Grieve A. J. - Peake's Comment

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Acts 1

1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2 until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

3 to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

4 and, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

The Church in Jerusalem

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.

13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Peter's Speech

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

17 For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.

20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, And let no man dwell therein: and His bishoprick let another take.

21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22 beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

25 that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

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Acts 1

Act 1:1-5 . Introduction.—The writer refers to his former treatise, intimating rather than stating that he is beginning a second. The Ascension is his present starting-point, but instead of simply referring to the account already given (Luk 24:50-53 ), he narrates it again, and in a way which shows that the tradition had grown considerably in the interval. The apostles appear as a fixed number, with definite functions. The text reads more simply without Act 1:3 ; “the things concerning the kingdom of God” is the writer’s summary of the contents of Christian preaching; cf. Act 8:12 , Act 19:8 , Act 28:23 ; Act 28:30 . It is nowhere explained. The “forty days” are heard of only here in NT: they provide room for the growing tradition of a life of Christ on earth after the Resurrection.

Act 1:2 seems to place the choice of the apostles in this period, as well as the instructions which Jesus gave them through the Holy Spirit, but there is no real conflict with Luk 6:13 .

Act 1:4 . The writer silently glides into the narrative of the “second treatise.” We are told of a meeting or a meal (mg., see Field, Notes on Trans. of NT, p. 110) of Jesus with the disciples, at which He prescribed their future policy. They are to stay at Jerusalem till the promise of the Father (Luk 24:49 ) is fulfilled and the Spirit comes to them. (In the Acts of Peter their stay is fixed at twelve years.) The prediction of John the Baptist was that Jesus Himself would baptize with Holy Spirit; here the imparting of the Spirit is made to mean the speedy clothing of the disciples with power (Act 1:8 ; cf. Act 2:6-11 ).



Act 1:6-11 . Programme of the Mission: the Ascension.

Act 1:6 . The opening words suggest a religious meeting; the occurrences of Act 1:9-11 are in the open air; cf. the tryst made in Mar 16:7 =Mat 28:16 . Here the disciples are not thinking of the promise of the Spirit, but of supremacy to be restored to Israel. Jesus’ answer does not notice this limited view, and forbids speculation as to the date (Mar 13:32 ); Act 1:8 states the writer’s view, worked out in the whole book, as to the development of the cause, only a part of which these men were to realise. The statement of Act 1:4 is repeated. “Witnesses,” i.e. of the Resurrection (see Act 1:22 , Act 2:32 , etc.). The Saviour is removed on a cloud, the ascent of which the disciples are following with their eyes, when two celestial beings, as their dress denotes (Mar 9:3 ), appear beside them and recall them to the earth, or rather state the expectation which is henceforth to fill their minds. Jesus is to come again from heaven, as they have seen Him go up to it, i.e. on clouds, as the Messiah was expected to come (Dan 7:13 , Mar 14:62 , Rev 1:7 , 1Th 4:17 , etc.).



Act 1:12-14 . The Community at Jerusalem.—The scene of the Ascension was not mentioned before; we hear of it now. Luk 24:50 puts it at Bethany which is (Joh 11:18 ) fifteen stades (about 1¾ miles) from Jerusalem; the Mount of Olives (here expressed in one word Elaion, hence, EV properly, Olivet), is less than half that distance. (For the tradition that the Messiah was to appear first on the Mount of Olives, see Eze 11:23 , Zec 14:4 , and cf. Mar 11:1-10 *.) The account is written for people unacquainted with Jerusalem.

Act 1:13 . The upper chamber is probably in a private house; the believers could not be abiding in the Temple. The religious life of the little community is described in phrases which repeatedly occur: “with one accord”—there is complete unanimity among them—“they continue steadfastly in prayer”; they are directed to one object and know how it is to be secured; only so could the little band prevail who were responsible for the new truth. “The women” may be the wives of the apostles; D adds “and the children,” which would point in this direction. Mary, mother of Jesus, was last heard of in Luk 8:19 (but cf. Joh 19:25-27 ), and His brothers also. Of them James is heard of afterwards (Gal 1:19 ).



Act 1:15-26 . Election of a Twelfth Apostle.—“In those days” (cf. Mar 1:9 ; a vague expression) Peter comes forward as leader. 1Co 15:6 * speaks of 50:0 brethren at once. The first to whom the risen Lord appeared was naturally their leader; though Ac. does not mention this, Lk. does (Luk 24:24-34 ). We have here the first example in Ac. of the application of OT passages to Christian things. Two passages from Ps. are applied to Judas, whose place is now to be filled. It is assumed that there is a fixed number of apostles, and that the number is to be kept up. Judas (Act 1:17 ) was one of the twelve; Psa 69:25 proves that there is a vacancy in their number, and Psa 109:8 that the vacancy must be filled. It is necessary that these prophecies should be fulfilled. The account of Judas’ death differs from that in Mat 27:5-7 *. There the high priests buy the field, or claypit, with Judas’ money after his death: here he buys a field himself and dies the death of Antiochus Epiphanes (2Ma 9:7 ff.). The name Aceldama is probably historical; the story explains the name which existed already. The election of a successor is to be by lot; the Lord is to decide. The qualifications of suitable candidates are first set forth. They must have been familiar with the ministry of Jesus, which began with John the Baptist (Mar 1:1-4 , Luk 3:2 ), and they must have been present in these last days up to the Ascension. An apostle is elected by the Church (2Co 3:1 ) as well as by God; this the name, which means “sent” or “messenger,” implies. It is not the Eleven who put the candidates forward, but the whole meeting, addressed by Peter and invited to act with him. The Lord who knows the heart is invoked; He must know best which of the two is the more sincere (Jer 17:10 ) and will make the better apostle. The office is one of ministry; not of tables only, but of the Word (Act 6:2-4 ). Neither candidate is heard of afterwards. Act 1:26 identifies the apostles with the Twelve. In 1 Corinthians 1:5 the Twelve are spoken of first, then the apostles as a larger body. Apostles would come into existence when there were several communities of Christians to be kept in touch with each other; the use of the word in the Gospels, in which Luke goes much the furthest, is an anachronism (p. 646, Harnack, Mission and Expansion2, i. 319ff.).

Act 1:15 . Cf. Mishna (Sanh. Act 1:6 ), which says a town must have 12:0 inhabitants to have a council, and the officers must be one-tenth of the whole.




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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
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