22. The council. The supreme council or court of the nation, the Sanhedrim. The Greek shows that those who were with him took part in the call of the council, and the term denotes a formal convening. All the senate. The eldership. It would seem that besides calling the Sanhedrim together, a part of whom were elders, they summoned, also, all "the elders of the Jews." Jacobus. The term reminds us of men who were venerable for their years and wisdom. Some think that this was not an ordinary session of the Sanhedrim, but that the elders of the nation at large were called upon to give their advice in the present emergency. Hackett.

23. The prison. This is the term used in verse 21, meaning the building itself. They found the jail shut up (an emphatic term) "with all safety" (perfect security), no trace of being broken open, all the doors and bolts just as they ought to be, thoroughly secure. Guards, from which the term for "prison," in verses 19 and 23, is taken. This would show that the guards had been at their post, and that the apostles had not escaped by their absence or inadvertence. Before the doors. The guards were found standing before the very prison doors that the angel had opened and closed after him. (Verse 19.) When we had opened. Literally, "having opened." They opened now in a natural way the very doors that the angel opened miraculously. But they found no one inside.

24. The high priest. Literally, "the priest." That is, by eminence, in chief, meaning, of course, the high-priest, as already referred to. Captain of the temple. This officer was the guardian of the sacred house, one of the chief priests, perhaps a member of the Sanhedrim, and set to enforce the Mosaic observances. (See ch. 4:1.) He was one of "those that were with the high-priest." (Verses 17-21.) The chief priests, high-priests, the heads of the twenty-four courses appointed by David, 1 Chron. 24, or possibly, also, those who had been high-priests under the Roman appointment, just as Annas and Caiaphas (and doubtless several others at least) were high-priests instead of one, as provided for by the Jewish law. Jacobus.-Doubted of them. They were perplexed with amaze. ment and doubts concerning these things, and debated among themselves what would be the consequence of them. Mann.

25, 26. How unsuccessful are the projects of the wisest statesmen when God frowns upon them! How little do any counsels against heaven prosper! In vain is it to shut the doors where God is resolved to open them. The firmest bars, the strongest chains cannot hold where God has designed and decreed our liberty. Cave. These officers speedily returned, in strange excitement, and related that they found everything secure in the prison-the doors fastened, and the guards keeping watch before them; but when the door of the chamber into which the apostles had been thrust was thrown open, the place was found to be empty; no prisoners could be found. Before the assembly had recovered from the astonishment which this strange story produced, news was brought that the men cast yesterday into prison were now at large, and were as usual teaching freely and undauntedly in the temple. On hearing this, the captain of the temple himself, with a suitable force, was sent to apprehend them. But from the manifest indications of the popular regard for the apostles, they found it necessary to act with great caution, lest any roughness or violence towards persons so venerated should awaken a commotion in which they might themselves be stoned to death; for the works of the temple, still in progress, caused many stones to be lying about, which had already more than once offered a ready resource for tumultuous resistance to armed men. They therefore behaved gently and civilly, and informed the apostles that the council then sitting desired their presence. The apostles at once obeyed the citation; and the people, seeing that they quietly followed the officers, did not attempt to interfere. Kitto.

104

LESSON XI. JUNE 11, 1876.

THE APOSTLES BEFORE THE COUNCIL. ACTS 5: 27-42.

[A. D. 33.]

27 And when they had brought | trine, and intend to bring this man's them, they set them before the blood2 upon us.

27. Council, high priest. (See notes on last Lesson, verses 17 and 21.) 28. Straitly command. Expressly, absolutely, peremptorily, strictly. Literally, "command with a commandment." Alexander. - Bring this man's blood upon us. This was indeed what the high-priest and his followers profanely said, "His blood be on us and on our children." (Matt. 27: 25.) They began now to fear being held responsible for Christ's murder, and that by the very people whom they had urged on to the crucifixion. Conscience was condemning them. This doctrine which had so spread among the people did indeed teach that Jesus was wickedly put to death by the Jews. But this was not with any intent to excite the popular vengeance against the leaders, but rather to urge them to repentance in order to pardon and salvation. Observe: This miraculous deliverance was not wasted because of the apostles being retaken. It was intended as a sign from God, and it had its effect. upon the Sanhedrim. (Verse 24.) Jacobus.

29. And the other apostles. Peter spoke in their name. (See 2:14.) The Jews, though as a conquered nation they were subject to the Romans, acknowledged the members of the Sanhedrim as their legitimate rulers; and the injunction which the Sanhedrim imposed on the apostles at this time emanated from the highest human authority to which they could have felt that they owed allegiance. The injunction which this authority laid on the apostles clashed with their religious convictions, their sense of the rights of the Infinite Ruler; and in this conflict between human law and divine they declared that the obligation to obey God was paramount to every other. The apostles and early Christians acted on the principle that human governments forfeit their claim to obedience when they require what God has plainly forbidden, or forbid what he has required. They claimed the right of judging for themselves what was right and what was wrong in reference to their religious and their political duties, and they regulated their conduct by that decision. It is worthy of notice that (in 4:19) they propound this principle as one which even their persecutors could not controvert, i. e. as one which commends itself to every man's reason and unperverted moral feelings. In applying this principle it will be found that the apostles in every instance abstained from all forcible resistance to the public authorities. They refused utterly to obey the mandates which required them to violate their consciences, but they endured quietly the penalties which the executors of the law enforced against them. They evaded the pursuit of their oppressors if they could (2 Cor. 11:32, 33), secreted themselves from arrest (12:19), left their prisons at the command of God; yet when violent hands were laid upon them and they were dragged before magistrates to the dungeon or to death, they resisted not the wrong, but "followed His steps, who, when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." (1 Pet. 2:22, 23.) Socrates avowed this principle in his defence; and unless the plea be valid, he died as a felon and not as a martyr. Hackett.

30 The God of our fathers. Our own national and covenant God. Our identifies the speaker and the hearers as belonging to the same race and believing the same Scripture. Here again we have the favorite antithesis or contrast between Christ's treatment at the hands of God and man, which may be described as the key-note of this as of the three previous discourses of Peter. Alexander.

31 Him hath God exalted1 with his right hand to be a Prince2 and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

3

32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

33 When they heard that, they

were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.

34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gama. liel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

PARALLEL PASSAGES.-1Phil. 2:9. 2Is. 9:6. Matt. 1:21. Luke 24:48. 5Ch. 2:4. 6Ch. 7:54. Ch. 22:3.

31. The title Prince or King was one which was well known as applied to the Messiah. It denotes that he has dominion and power, especially the power which is needful to give repentance and the pardon of sins. If it be asked, in what sense the Lord Jesus gives repentance, or how his exaltation is conected with it, we may answer, (1) His exaltation is evidence that his work was accepted, and thus a foundation is laid by which repentance is available. The relentings of a culprit condemned for murder would be of no avail unless the executive can consistently pardon him; nor would relentings in hell be of avail, for there is no promise of forgiveness. But Jesus Christ by his death has laid a foundation by which repentance may be accepted. (2) He is intrusted with all power in heaven and earth with reference to this, -to apply his work to men, or in other words to bring them to repentance. (See John 17:2; Matt. 28:18.) (3) His exaltation is immediately connected with the bestowment of the Holy Spirit, by whose influence men are brought to repentance. (4) Jesus has power, in this state of exaltation, over all things that can affect the mind. He sends his ministers, he directs the events of sickness or disappointment, of health or prosperity, that will influence the heart. There is no doubt that he can so recall the sins of the past life and refresh the memory as to overwhelm the soul in the consciousness of guilt. Thus also he can appeal to man by his goodness and by a sense of his mercies; and especially he can so present a view of his life and death as to affect the heart and show the evil of the past life of the sinner. Barnes. - Repentance, forgiveness. Observe: Wherever repentance is wrought remission is without fail granted. And on the other hand there is no remission without repentance. Henry.

32. So the Holy Ghost. What took place on the day of Pentecost was a testimony of this nature, and that or some equivalent sign was repeated on other occasions. (Compare 10: 45; 19:6; Mark 16:20.) But to that outward demonstration we may add also the inward witness of the Spirit, which believers receive as the evidence of their adoption. Hackett. To them that obey. If man would obey every law of the constitution God has given him how much more accessible to spiritual influences might he become; what now unknown developments of his higher nature might he not expect! Jenks. 33. Cut to the heart. At this, indeed, we need not be surprised: for what is so cutting as a true charge of guilt, and what so bitter as to have such a charge brought, when persons cannot answer it? S. Clarke.

34. Pharisee. Signifies persons who are separated from others, which name they assumed because they pretended to a more than ordinary sanctity and strictness in religious observances. Bagster's Bible. — Gamaliel. The apostolic age was remarkable for the growth of learned Rabbinical schools; but of these the most eminent were the rival schools of Hillel and Schammai. Of these two schools, that of Hillel was by far the most influential. The most eminent ornament of this school was Gamaliel, whose fame is celebrated in the Talmud. Hillel was the father of Simeon, and Simeon the father of Gamaliel. It has been imagined by some that Simeon was the same old man who took the infant Saviour in his arms and pronounced the Nunc Dimittis. It is difficult to give a conclusive proof of this; but there is no doubt that this Gamaliel was the same who wisely pleaded the cause of St. Peter and the other apostles, and who had previously educated the future apostle, St. Paul. His learning was so eminent and his character so revered that he is one of the seven who alone among Jewish doctors have been honored with the title of "Rabban." As Aquinas, among the schoolmen, was called Doctor Angelicus, and Bonaventura Doctor Seraphicus, so Gamaliel was called the "Beauty of the Law"; and it is a saying of the Talmud that "since Rabban Gamaliel died the glory of the law has ceased." He was a Pharisee; but anecdotes are told of him which show that he was not trammelled by the narrow bigotry of the sect. He had no antipathy to the Greek learning. He rose above the prejudices of his party. Our impulse is to class him with the best of the Pharisees, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Candor and wisdom seem to have been the features of his character; and this agrees with what we read of him in the Acts of the apostles, that he was "had in reputation of all the

35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all,

as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him he1 also perished; and all, ev n as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

:

PARALLEL PASSAGE. —1Luke 13:1, 2.

people," and with his honest and intelligent argument when Peter was brought before the council. It has been imagined by some that he became a Christian: and why he did not become so is known only to Him who understands the secrets of the human heart. But he lived and died a Jew. Howson.

36, 37. Theudas, Judas. To this mention of Theudas an objection has been taken which it is important to clear up. It is said to be opposed to the statements of Josephus, who, in his "Antiquities of the Jews," relates that when Fadus was Procurator of Judea, one Theudas prevailed upon a great multitude to take with them their wealth, and follow him to the river Jordan. The Theudas of Josephus gathered together a much larger body of men than the Theudas of Gamaliel; Josephus says, "A very great multitude"; whereas Gamaliel says, "A number of men, about four hundred." Of the very great multitude who followed Theudas, Josephus asserts that many were killed and many taken alive; but Gamaliel affirms that when his Theudas was killed all his followers were scattered. When we take into account this difference of time and other circumstances, it is obviously suggested that Gamaliel and Josephus had two different events and persons in view. No argument to the contrary can be drawn from the name; for Theudas or Thaddeus was in this age a very common name among the Jews. Besides these, several persons of the name are mentioned in the Talmud; and one of the apostles bore the name of Thaddeus. The possibility of this is illustrated by the fact that several seditious leaders in this age were called Judas besides Judas of Galilee; and as till larger number of public impostors bore the name of Simon. It is therefore not in itself unlikely that two leaders of the name of Theudas should appear at an interval of forty years. That thus there was a Theudas, other than the one named by Josephus, who raised a sedition anterior, probably by some years, to that raised by Judas of Galilee at the time of the taking, and that it is to him Gamaliel refers, has been the opinion, or rather explanation, given by many of the best ancient and modern interpreters. The insurrection of Judas of Galilee was after the close of the reign of Archelaus; and we may find a time about the beginning of that reign to which this other sedition may very well be assigned. This was when Archelaus was at Rome, soliciting from the Emperor Augustus the confirmation of his father's will. At that time, as described by Josephus himself, almost the whole of Palestine was in commotion. In short, the whole country was full of bands of robbers, each having a king or chief at its head; and they seem to have been expecting the Messiah to deliver them from the Romans, who then, instead of protecting the people, increased the distresses of the nation by their extortions. It is thus highly probable that the Theudas of Gamaliel arose at this time. There is certainly room here for him. Kitto. - The name was not an uncommon one, and it can excite no surprise that one Theudas, who was an insurgent, should have appeared in the time of Augustus, and another, fifty years later, in the time of Claudius. Josephus gives an account of four men named Simon, who followed each other within forty years, and of three named Judas, within ten years, who were all instigators of rebellion. This mode of reconciling Luke with Josephus is approved by Lardner, Bengel, Kuinoel, Olshausen, Anger, Winer, and others. Another very plausible supposition is that Luke's Theudas may have been identical with one of the three insurgents whom Josephus designates by name. Some think Theudas to be the individual who occurs in Josephus under the name of Simon, a slave of Herod, who attempted to make himself king, in the year of that monarch's death. First, this Simon, as he was the most noted among those who dis. turbed the public peace at that time, would be apt to occur to Gamaliel as an illustration of his point; secondly, he is described as a man of the same lofty pretensions; thirdly, he died a violent death, which Josephus does not mention as true of the other two insurgents; fourthly, he appears to have had comparatively few adherents, in conformity with Luke's "about four hundred," and, lastly, his having been originally a slave accounts for the twofold appellation, since it was very common among the Jews to assume a different name on changing their occupation or mode of life. It is very possible, therefore, that Gamaliel speaks of him as Theudas, because, having borne that name so long at Jerusalem, he was best known by it to the members of the Sanhedrim; and that Josephus, on the contrary, who wrote for

38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

PARALLEL PASSAGES.

39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles,

1Prov. 21:30. Is. 8:10. Matt. 15:13. 2Job. 34:29. 1 Cor. 1:25. Romans and Greeks, speaks of him as Simon, because it was under that name that he set himself up as king, and in that way acquired his foreign notoriety. Hackett.

38, 39. This is the mere advice of Gamaliel, who was not inspired; and this opinion should not be adduced to guide us, except as it was an instance of great shrewdness and prudence. It is doubtless right to oppose error in the proper way and with the proper temper, not with arms or vituperation or with the civil power, but with argument and kind entreaty. But the sentiment of Gamaliel is full of wisdom in regard to error. For (1) The very way to exalt error into notice, and to confirm men in it, is to oppose it in a harsh, authoritative, and unkind manner. (2) Error, if left alone, will often die away itself. The interest of men in it will often cease as soon as it ceases to be opposed; and having nothing to fan the flame, it will expire. It is not so with truth. (3) In this respect the remark may be applied to the Christian religion. It has stood too long, and in too many circumstances of prosperity and adversity, to be of men. It has been subjected to all trials from its pretended friends and real foes; and it still lives as vigorous and flourishing as ever. Other kingdoms have changed; empires have risen and fallen since Gamaliel spoke this; systems of opinion and belief have had their day, and expired; but the preservation of the Christian religion unchanged, through so many revolutions and in so many fiery trials, shows that it is not of men, but of God. No severer trial can await it than it has already experienced; and as it has survived so many storms and trials, we have every evidence that, according to the predictions, it is destined to live, and to fill the world. Men may be said to fight against God in the following ways, or on the following subjects: (1) When they oppose his gospel, its preaching, its plans, its influence among men; when they endeavor to prevent its spread, or to withdraw their families and friends from its influence. (2) When they oppose the doctrines of the Bible. When they become angry that the real truths of religion are preached, and suffer themselves to be irritated and excited by an unwillingness that those doctrines should be true and should be presented to men. Yet this is no uncommon thing. Men by nature do not love those doctrines, and they are often indignant that they are preached. Some of the most angry feelings which men ever have arise from this source; and man can never find peace until he is willing that God's truth should exert its influence on his own soul, and rejoice that it is believed and loved by others. (3) Men oppose the law of God. It seems to them too stern and harsh. It condemns them; and they are unwilling that it should be applied to them. There is nothing which a sinner likes less than he does the pure and holy law of God. (4) Sinners fight against the providence of God. When he afflicts them, they rebel. When he takes away their health or property or friends, they murmur. They esteem him harsh and cruel; and instead of finding peace by submission, they greatly aggravate their sufferings, and infuse a mixture of wormwood and gall into the cup, by murmuring and repining. There is no peace in affliction but in the feeling that God is right. And until this belief is cherished, the wicked will be like the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. (Isa. 57: 20.) Such opposition to God is as wicked as it is foolish. This cannot be relied on as a certain rule, because many religious systems of merely human origin have stood a long while, and on such principle we must wait to see the end before we can decide; yet, as a general rule, it may be asserted, especially in a case like this, of introducing new religious tenets and observances. But this is not an inspired rule: it is Gamaliel's doctrine. Jacobus.

40. With the advice of Gamaliel, to "refrain from these men," that is, to leave them unmolested, the council so far agreed as to desist from the purpose of putting them to death; but fearful of compro mising their own authority with the people if they suffered them to go altogether unpunished after they had avowedly disregarded the injunction which had been laid upon them, they were beaten or scourged, and then dismissed with a renewed injunction, "not to speak in the name of Jesus." This being a Jewish scourging was of thirty-nine stripes, like those which Paul mentions that he had been subject to. (2 Cor. 11:24.) It was a common secondary punishment among the Jews; and our Lord had forewarned his disciples that they would be exposed to this pain and shame. And how did this first experience of it affect them? "They rejoiced." What for? Certainly not because they had been scourged, or because they had escaped with their lives, but "that they were worthy to suffer shame for his name." The sacred historian is careful to add that, notwithstanding all that had passed, "daily in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Kitto. - Beaten them. The word here used, which properly means "flaying," denotes the severest kind of scourging,—a punishment too light if they were guilty, too severe if they were innocent. Alexander.