Acts 12

1. Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the 2 church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw 3 it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of un- 4 leavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth 5 to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing 6 of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keep- 7 ers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, 8 Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy 9 garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not 10 that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through 11 one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath de- livered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the 12 Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother 13 of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And 14 as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told 15 how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she con- 16 stantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued 17 knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. 18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become 19 of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judæa 20 to Cæsarea, and there abode. And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s cham- berlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s 21 country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and 22 made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, 23 and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.

THE kingdom of God on earth is in real, vital connection with his kingdom in heaven; so that there is—shall we say?—a sympathy between them; so that when a saint is smitten on earth, there is a sensa- tion conveyed to the upper sky. The Lord of saints and angels says, “Saul, why persecutest thou me?”, a strange expression of the union of the “King of Glory” and his humble mortal friends! The mighty spirits that he has on high in his service take their share of interest in his kingdom below. Throughout the Scriptures we see them prompt to come down, in aid and in avengement of his oppressed saints.

There will be a time when we shall have to go out from the prison-house of mortality, and from the world itself. And let us seriously think what previous course, what habits, what spirit prevailing through our life, will be likely to terminate in our finding such a messenger appointed to be with us at that hour— appointed to be with us, and not to leave us—to accompany us in an immense and amazing journey; that, whereas Peter came to be delightedly and collectively sensible of the grand intervention when he found himself alone in the street, we may become sensible of the wondrous reality of it, by finding ourselves in the presence of saints, and angels, and their supreme Lord! J. F.

1, 2. The Murder of James by Herod Agrippa I.—The three striking incidents of this chapter break for a moment the thread of the history. The connection is restored in the last verse. The killing of James and the taking of Peter occurred in Jerusalem about the time of the journey thither of Barnabas and Saul from Antioch. The closing verse records their return from Jerusalem to Antioch, after fulfilling their ministry as bearers of the first Gentile benefactions.

James, the older brother of John and son of Zebedee, was one of the three admitted into the closest intimacy with Christ. Yet concerning him we have scarcely anything distinctive; no record whatever except in connection with his younger brother. And as his life, so his death is entirely unmarked by special record. Like John the Baptist, he was suddenly beheaded by an arbitrary kingly will, to gratify others. In each case the royal murderer was a Herod, son and grandson of the great Herod who slaughtered many children in a vain effort to destroy Christ. James was the first martyr among the apostles. He drank of the Master’s cup, and was baptized with his baptism of blood, as Christ had declared; and was the first restored to Christ’s abiding fellowship. B.

Herod Agrippa I. (here only referred to) was the son of Aristobulus and Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great. He was sent to Rome on his father’s execution, and was brought up with Drusus the son of Tiberius. On the death of Drusus, he found himself excluded from the emperor’s presence, and was besides overwhelmed with debt. Returning to Palestine, he obtained through his sister Herodias the protection of Herod Antipas, who made him governor of Tiberias. But a quarrel soon took place, and, after strange vicissitudes and adventures, Agrippa returned to Italy. He attached himself to the young Caius (Caligula), and having been overheard to express a hope for his friend’s speedy succession, he was thrown into prison by Tiberius, where he remained till the accession of Caligula, A. D. 37. The new emperor gave him the governments formerly held by the tetracs Philip and Lysanias, and bestowed on him the ensigns of royalty and other marks of favor, and he arrived in Palestine in the following year, after visiting Alexandria. The jealousy of Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias was excited by these distinctions, and they sailed to Rome in the hope of supplanting Agrippa in the emperor’s favor. Agrippa was aware of their design, and anticipated it by a countercharge against An-

Antipas of treasonable correspondence with the Parthians. Antipas failed to answer the accusation, and was banished to Gaul (A. D. 39), and his dominions were added to those already held by Agrippa. During the brief wild reign of Caligula, Agrippa continued his faithful friend, and used his influence on behalf of the Jews. Having paid the last honors to his patron’s remains, he smoothed the path of his successor to the throne by his activity and discretion in carrying messages between the senate and the praetorian camp. Claudius rewarded him with the kingdom of Judea and Samaria, in addition to his tetrarchy, and thus the dominions of Herod the Great were reunited under his grandson (A. D. 41). S.

Herod Agrippa had courted the favor of the Jews. He had done much for them, and was preparing to do more. Josephus tells us that “he had begun to encompass Jerusalem with a wall, which, had it been brought to perfection, would have made it impracticable for the Romans to take it by siege; but his death, which happened at Cesarea, before he had raised the walls to their due height, prevented him.” That part of the city, which this boundary was intended to inclose, was a suburb when Paul was converted. The work was not completed till the Jews were preparing for their final struggle with the Romans. H.

He was the only king after the Great Herod, and the last one that reigned in Jerusalem. His son Agrippa received only a limited and qualified sovereignty. In this persecution of the Church at Jerusalem, Herod simply sought popularity as a means of power. To please the Jews, and aid his own plans, he directed the murder of James. And for the same reason he proceeded to take Peter also. B.—In his recollection of James, no such idea obtruded itself in his mind, as that the martyred apostle had ascended as a “swift witness” against him to the throne of Heaven. Whither he might suppose the departed saint did go, we can not conjecture; but he thought he might send another the same road without danger of ever hearing of it again, except in the demoniac applause of his mob. Peter would be easily found, and taken. He had not absconded from affright at the fate of his fellow apostle. Cowardice in behalf of his Lord had been shown once before; but that was the last time. The death of his great Master, and the love manifested toward Peter after he rose again, had devoted Peter to die for him, whenever fidelity to his cause should require the sacrifice. J. F.

3-5. Imprisonment of Peter and Prayer of the Church.—The arrest occurred early in the week following the paschal supper, during which only unleavened bread was eaten. By Jewish rules criminals could not be executed upon days of festival. Therefore Herod, intending a public execution, kept him until after the Passover feast was concluded. A quaternion was a detachment of four soldiers, constituting a watch. As there were four night-watches of three hours each, four quaternions were required. In the actual guard two were stationed at the gates, and two in the apartment with the prisoner. In Peter’s case, a chain from either arm was linked to a soldier on either side. So securely “Peter was kept in prison.”

“But prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him.” This fact is thus prominently set over against the other. Peter’s rescue was humanly impossible, as the disciples knew. But they also knew that nothing was impossible with God, and that Peter’s danger grew out of his faithful ministry for God. And they believed therefore that God would somehow answer the prayer he had bidden them to offer. So they prayed, earnestly, importunately; desisting not day by day through those remaining days of the trying of their faith. And God, who had delayed both the extreme peril and deliverance of Peter, thus gave the Church opportunity to intercede, and, in the result, occasion to know the efficacy of prayer. The sudden killing of James prevented such intercession for him. The deferring of Peter’s death was taken full advantage of, and in the only method of help or hope available to them.

6-11. Peter’s Miraculous Release, and his Correct Judgment concerning it.—The time of this release is to be carefully noted. It was not only the night before Herod’s proposed public murder, but it was in the fourth watch or during the last three hours of that night. This we know from the fact that the escape was not discovered until the morning, when the fourth watch was relieved. But last night, as it was known to be by Peter, with no outlook of human hope for the morrow, he had laid him down between the two soldiers, and was enjoying the peaceful sleep of God’s beloved. Once he had heard the word: “What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.” With Christ’s doing, whatever it should be, he was content.

While thus quietly sleeping the sleep of faith, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared beside him, and a supernatural light shone within the room. With strong grasp Peter is awaked and lifted to his feet, while his chains fall silently to the ground. Then, as bidden, he fastens his girdle, binds on his sandals, puts on his cloak or outer garment, and in half stupor follows the angel out. Between the first guard (of sleeping soldiers) and the second, and then through the outer iron gate, without human touch noiselessly opening before them, they pass. Onward through one street the silent angel accompanies the bewildered apostle, then suddenly disappears.

By the fresh night air aroused from his bewilderment, Peter at once discerns the divine hand and purpose in his deliverance. His trusted Lord had sent a releasing angel, and thus foiled the purpose of Herod and disappointed the murderous spirit of the Jews. For reasons which we may conjecture, he determines, before concealing himself from Herod’s pursuit, to acquaint the disciples with the fact of his miraculous rescue. With this purpose he seeks the house of Mary, Mark’s mother, one of the homes where Christian believers were wont to assemble for private worship. The Mark here referred to is the author of the second gospel, and son in the faith to Peter.

12-17. How Peter was received by the Gathered Disciples.—Far as it was into the night, these wrestling seekers were praying still. It was the last night and their last opportunity to pray. For many days and nights their pleas had been ascending, and no answer had come. But not content with asking and seeking, they continued, almost against hope, in knocking at the door of divine mercy, with their urgent entreaty for help. And now while they are still speaking, God’s answer, in the person of the released apostle, stands knocking at their house door. Yet, strange to say, when first they are told this by the maid who had responded to the summons and heard Peter’s voice, they did not, could not believe. It seemed to them too marvelous to be true. They knew not of the miracle, and expected none; but they knew that nothing save miracle could avail. In their amazement they fell back upon an old popular notion, and said it must be Peter’s guardian angel assuming his guise.

But God’s answer, Peter himself, continued knocking. So in a body, passing through the court to the gate, they open the small door and are amazed to behold the apostle. But he, instantly quieting their outburst of gladness, simply tells the story of his deliverance by the Lord, and they learn how their fervent intercessions have been answered. Their hearts are comforted, and their faith and patience strengthened. Thenceforth more earnestly they can pray; more faithfully labor or trustingly endure for a Lord so mighty and gracious.

With a message to James, our Lord’s own brother, acquainting him with what occurred, Peter takes leave of these disciples, and, because he knows it is God’s will, goes to some place of concealment. And it may be added that Peter now retires finally from whatever prominence he had previously had, while this James presides over the councils of the remaining apostles. B.

Peter’s work is not ended. He will still labor much, till his last and fruitful labor of martyrdom; but since he has given to the evangelization of the world an impulse which will never be arrested, his part is no longer the same. If henceforth anything distinguishes him, if any preëminence can be claimed for him, it is that of humility. Who can read, who has ever read the letters of this holy apostle, without being struck with this character above all others? Where is the impetuous Simon who strikes the high priest’s servant? Where the presumptuous Simon who dares to say to his Lord, “Though all should deny thee, yet will not I deny thee”? Where also is the Simon who denied his Master and his Friend? I now find only a man emptied of himself, and wholly full of his Saviour; a grave, meek, pious, modest servant of God and man; an admirable model of humility and candor. A. V.—He has achieved much—exactly that for which he was fitted. He has stood bravely in the front, and has both led and inspirited the band of disciples in their aggressive work for the Master. But now his special mission is done. Another, more broadly qualified by nature and training, Christ will now take up, to do for Him another larger and as brave a work. B.

20-23. In the fourth year of his reign over the whole of Judea (A. D. 44) Agrippa celebrated some games at Cesarea in honor of the emperor. When he appeared in the theatre on the second day in a royal robe made entirely of silver stuff, which shone in the morning light, his flatterers saluted him as a god; and suddenly he was seized with terrible pains, and being carried from the theatre to the palace, died after five days’ agony a loathsome death, like those of the great persecutors Antiochus Epiphanes and his own grandfather. The miraculous and judicial character of his death is distinctly affirmed by the sacred historian: “Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory.” The Greeks of Sebaste and Cesarea, with his own soldiers, showed brutal exultation at his death, and the censure which the riot brought down from Claudius upon the Roman soldiers embittered their feelings toward the Jews to such a degree, that Josephus regards this as one of the chief causes of the Jewish war. S.—After his sudden and miserable death, his whole kingdom was again made a Roman province, ruled by procurators, two of whom, Claudius Felix and Porcius Festus, figure in the Acts of the Apostles. The last procurator was Gessius Florus, under whom the tragical fate of the Jewish nation, so long in preparation, was finally decided. P. S.

23. The angel of the Lord led forth Peter; the angel of the Lord struck Herod. That both acts were done by angels, mortals saw not; it was known only to the saints. Beng.—Luke, as a physician, was qualified to scrutinize natural causes, and was not at all likely to be credulous. He among the evangelists who was least likely to be carried away by a superstitious belief in supernatural agency, has been employed more than any other sacred writer to reveal to us the operations of invisible beings in the history of the Church. W.

24. The death of Herod relieved the Christians from persecution. But in their turn the Jews were troubled. The brief conciliatory rule of Herod was then finally exchanged for the rigorous tyranny of Roman governors. And the Jewish historian notes this providence in Herod’s sudden death: that the third wall, which as planned by him would have made Jerusalem almost impregnable to the Roman assault, was left incomplete. So God rules! Peter lives and Herod dies. And the persecuted Church, delivered from the persecutor, again finds rest and prosperity. The Word of God grew and multiplied!

Suggested Thoughts.—Christ directs all events in the interest of his people. Neither human nor satanic scheme or endeavor can avail to thwart his purpose or shake his “all power in earth.” So all things must work together for good both to the trusting believer and the praying Church. Yet he has his own way in actually bringing good to pass, and uses various ways. Not always one way, or the way that seems to us the wise and suitable way. For he suffers a John Baptist, a Stephen, and a James to be murdered that human malice may be gratified, while he interposes to rescue a Peter and Paul. Yet how clearly do we see that his high and only blessed purpose is equally accomplished by the martyrdom of those and the deliverance of these! And throughout the history of the Christian believer and Church, we read the single sure lesson: that his non-interference or his interference with human schemes is controlled by an unerring wisdom and an unfailing love.

An effective practical exposition have we here of Christ’s teaching, that men should pray and not faint. Only one other prayer-meeting like this, in the importunity and persistence of the pleaders, do we find in this whole history. That one preceded and helped to bring the Pentecostal baptism. This one secured the very blessing they so fervently and continuously besought. And can any doubt that God hears and answers such prayer from every seeking and knocking two or three gathered in his name?

An assuring truth is beautifully suggested in this prison-visit of the angel to the sleeping apostle. Not indeed by conscious spirit-ministers, but by providential interpositions and spiritual suggestions, does every child of God partake his personal watch and guard, and experience many wonderful deliverances. At the end, rather in the beginning of the true life, we shall read his doings now unknown, and adoringly praise his always rescuing and finally delivering grace! B.

25. AND Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. 1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which 2 had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I 3 have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence 5 they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God 6 in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, 7 whose name was Bar-jesus: which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to 9 turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the 10 Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways 11 of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a 12 darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, 13 when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

WE enter upon the second great division of the Acts. The first (chs. 1-12) described the advent of the Holy Ghost; and, under his inspiration, the founding of the Christian Church among the Jews of Jerusalem and Judea, and the extension of Christianity into Samaria and among the nearer Gentiles. The chief result among the heathen was the founding of a second prominent Christian Church among the Gentiles of Antioch in Syria. This had been mainly the work of Barnabas and Saul.

The second division of the Acts recounts the chief features of the fuller, more distinctive introduction of the gospel among the Gentiles of Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. It follows, therefore, mainly the career of Paul, Christ’s special messenger to these Gentile nations. By comparing with this history of Luke Paul’s own statements in his epistles, that incomparably signal career may be fully understood. This second half of the book also divides itself naturally into the twelve years of Paul’s active missionary work, and his five years of labor in captivity. The twelve years of liberty include his Three Missionary Journeys. Times and periods should be definitely marked as a basis for an intelligent study of these Journeys. The periods and intervals referred to cover a duration of years, where the brief fragmentary accounts seem to indicate months. The First Journey (chs. 12 and 14) probably extended over a period of two years. Then succeeded an interval of two years or longer, spent mainly with the mother Church of the Gentiles at Antioch. Toward the end of this interval occurred the council at Jerusalem, where the great question of the relation of Gentile Christianity to Judaism was decided (ch. 15). The Second Journey (chs. 16-18) occupied about three years; and the Third (chs. 19, 20) almost four years. These are the most probable periods.

But it should be remembered that the Book of Acts furnishes no basis for a detailed chronology. The principal dates are largely hypothetical. Paul’s conversion is set down by scholars all the way from 33 to 41 A. D. The dates 35 or 37 A. D. are most largely accepted. The interval between his conversion and his setting apart for labor among the Gentiles is also variously estimated. Assuming 46 A. D. as the latter date, this interval, spent in preparation for his great life-work, extended nearly or beyond ten years. B.—Not Jerusalem, but Antioch, not the Holy City of God’s ancient people, but the profane city of the Greeks and Romans, is the place to which the student of sacred history is now directed. During the remainder of the Acts of the Apostles our attention is at least divided between Jerusalem and Antioch, until at last, after following Paul’s many journeys, we come with him to Rome. H.

The relation of Paul to the two great Churches, the Jewish Christian of Jerusalem and the Gentile Christian of Antioch, should be carefully borne in mind. While his personal connection and his labors are exclusively with the Gentile Church, while Antioch is his point of departure and return, yet after every journey he goes also to Jerusalem, and recounts to the mother Church and its leaders the progress of the Divine work. Thus keeping up a close intercourse between the two great centers, he was himself a bond of union to the entire Christian Church.

1-3. The Call and Sending of the First Foreign Missionaries.—Antioch (in Syria), situated at the northeastern angle of the Mediterranean shore, long a flourishing city with a large mixed population, was now the eastern head-

Antioch. There was everything in the situation and circumstances of this city to make it a place of concourse for all classes and kinds of people. By its harbor of Seleucia it was in communication with all the trade of the Mediterranean; and, through the open country behind the Lebanon, it

Paul’s Gate, from the Interior. (The road from Antioch to Aleppo passes through the ancient gate now called Bab Paulos, or Paul’s Gate.)

was conveniently approached by the caravans from Mesopotamia and Arabia. It was almost an Oriental Rome, in which all the forms of the civilized life of the empire found some representative. Through the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was what Constantinople became afterward, “the Gate of the East.” H.

As we have already learned, this great mart of the nations had readily received the gospel, and organized a strong, distinctively Gentile Church; the only one that compared in vigor and efficiency with the mother (Jewish) Church at Jerusalem. Naturally this Gentile Church at Antioch became the starting-point of missionary effort among the Gentiles. The self-development (of course under Divine influence) of this new movement appears in the simple account. B.—We now hear, not of the

Distant View of Antioch, from the Aleppo Road.

quarters of Imperial Rome. B.—Antioch was founded by Seleucus, and called after his father’s name. He is said to have built in all nine Seleucias, sixteen Antiochs, and six Laodiceas. But by far the most famous of these cities was the Syrian mother Church only, but of churches in other parts. And in this multiplication of churches, let us not fail to observe how the Spirit, in his manifold gifts and strength, asserts his independence of mere official coöperation of men. The founding and ruling of the Church, the orderly assembly of believers, is bound to the appointed offices and officers in the Church; but the spread of the gospel from heart to heart, from the living voice to the pricking conscience, is not thus bound. Every Christian is not a church officer; but every Christian is a witness of Christ, and, if need so be, a missionary of Christ to his brethren. A.

It is while the Church and its leaders are engaged in worship and fasting for some special object, that the direction of the Holy Ghost comes to them. Christ’s great commission they must often have pondered. The missionary spirit of the gospel, exemplified by the Church at Jerusalem, must have been begotten among them. Their new name of Christians must have impressed a new sense of responsibility for extending the truth and power of Christ among their own peoples. In a word, they must have reached a pondering, questioning state respecting their duty in this matter; and this great question may have been that which engaged them now in special worship and fasting, when the summons of the Holy Ghost was received. How the will of the divine Spirit was made known, does not appear. But it was distinctly communicated. A specific work is referred to, and definite persons are designated as divinely appointed agents in this work. Obedient to the direction, the Church at Antioch, in connection with another service of prayer and fasting, laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul, and sent them forth upon the first divinely organized mission to the Gentiles.

Of the five persons mentioned in the first verse, one, Manaen, is noted by Luke as having been in childhood the foster-brother of Herod Antipas, the murderer of the Baptist, and the mocker at the arraigned and bound Christ. Herod was now a dethroned, wretched exile upon the banks of the Rhone. The note is appended seemingly to emphasize the contrast in character, life, and destiny between the two foster-fellows—one a despiser, the other a disciple, of Christ.

In reference to the transaction narrated in the second and third verses, two things are to be carefully observed:

1. This was not Paul’s call to the apostleship, but his summons by the Holy Ghost to the exercise of the gifts and functions of that office. The Scriptural facts pertaining to the apostolate of Paul and of the Twelve are strikingly similar. Christ personally called the Twelve, as by miraculous personal manifestation he called Paul. He trained and exercised the Twelve in a preliminary period of instruction and of itinerant practice in preaching, as he similarly trained and practiced Paul. Not until the Twelve were specially endowed with the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and were called by Him, did they enter upon the exercise of apostolic functions. And not until Paul was now similarly endowed and called by the Holy Ghost did his work as an apostle begin. Thus Paul’s experience corresponds precisely with that of the Twelve. Only his natural gifts and acquired culture were superior, and his special training during his retirement and early ministry occupied a longer period. So that his whole preparation was more thorough and complete, as demanded by the higher, broader work with which he was intrusted by the Master.

2. In this transaction we see also the agency of the Church at Antioch joined with that of the Holy Ghost. This double agency, the human with the Divine, is employed simply and only in connection with a work. This action of the Church had reference to a work to be done by those previously appointed of God to the office. The act of laying on of hands was designed not to confer the Spirit nor to impart authority, but was a sign in recognition of the Spirit’s appointment and of his designation to this mission. And for the wisest reasons, the same combined agencies are always demanded in the actual sending forth to the ministry of the gospel. A brotherhood of believers, either directly or through their official leaders and representatives, must have reasonable assurance of a Divine call to the office, before they can properly set apart and send forth any to actual service in the ministry of Christ. And none may rightly go forth to such ministry except through the warrant of such double sending of the Spirit and the Church. So it is said here, that the Church sent them away; yet it is immediately added, “they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed.”

4, 5. Their Missionary Ministry is begun at Salamis in the Island of Cyprus.—From Seleucia, fifteen miles distant from Antioch, Barnabas and Saul sailed to Cyprus, landing at Salamis, a chief city on the eastern side. B.—As Antioch had been chosen as the second resting-place of the Church because of its Gentile character, it was natural that the missionaries should be guided by the Holy Ghost, not eastward, to the land of primitive history and of the springs of Judaism, but to the west, where lay the Gentile world with its intellect, and its arts, and its arms, to be won for the gospel of Christ. Westward—but whither? As they stood on the coast looking seaward, the native island of Barnabas lifted its blue hills in the horizon. The guidance of the Spirit fell in with the yearnings of the apostle’s heart, and Salamis in Cyprus witnessed the opening of the first missionary teaching. A.

Cyprus lay in a through route to Asia Minor, which was the nearest unvisited sphere of missionary labor, and therefore the next in order according to Christ’s command. Cyprus itself had long before, probably soon after Pentecost, received the gospel; and Christian disciples were there. Hence no note occurs of any stay or success there on the part of the two missionaries. Of necessity they passed through the island on their way to the mainland, and they labored as they went. They preached exclusively in the synagogues on this island. And everywhere it was Paul’s custom to go first to these Jewish centers, and to stay there until his message was openly rejected. Two reasons he had for this course. There were the Jews, ever the objects of

Island of Cyprus. (About 140 miles long, with a breadth of 40 miles for its greater portion.)

God’s first choice and care, and still, by Christ’s command, the first recipients of the glad tidings. And in the synagogues were the Gentile proselytes: men who had renounced heathen notions and practices, and were seeking a knowledge of the true God. These proselytes formed a needed link for a ready transmission of the gospel to the Gentiles. For these reasons, the synagogues afforded the most suitable places and the best opportunities for their Christian ministry.

6-12. The Judgment upon Elymas the Sorcerer, and its Effect upon the Roman Deputy.—Paphos, on the western end of Cyprus, the city where Venus is fabled to have risen from the sea, and noted throughout Greek history as the templed center of her infamous worship, was now the residence of the Roman deputy, or proconsul. Here, and through this chief man, was opened the first door of access to the Gentile world.

Luke’s accuracy in the use of the differing titles of the Roman provincial governors is instructive. In consolidating his imperial rule, Augustus, that he might leave some semblance of the old republican authority and yet retain exclusive control of the army, divided the numerous provinces into two classes. The government of one class—the provinces where a peaceful administration could be secured without soldiery—he relinquished to the Senate and people. In the title of the governors of these Senatorial provinces, Proconsul, was reproduced the name of Consul, which had long represented the Senate’s administrative power. The second class of provinces was known as the Imperial, and of these Cesar retained absolute control. In these were quartered bodies of military under the command of Cesar’s governor. As the Emperor’s representative, this governor was called Procurator, from a name (Prætor) long the symbol of supreme personal authority and of military command. He was also called in the larger provinces (as in Syria) the Legate, or commissioner of the Emperor; and in subordinate districts (as in Judea) the Procurator, or high steward. All these distinctions are accurately noted by Luke in both “treatises.” Here the term used indicates a proconsul of a senatorial province. And we learn that in 27 B. C. Cyprus had been relinquished by Augustus to the control of the Senate.

This Sergius Paulus is characterized as a man of intelligence. Yet, like many of the Roman patricians of his time, he was credulous because bred in superstition. Reaching out on every side for a larger knowledge of hidden things, he encouraged pretenders to occult learning and professors of the magic arts. Such a one is introduced to us here, a renegade Jew and an impostor, falsely claiming superhuman inspiration and the power of magical working. From him the deputy turns away to these new teachers, in his unsatisfied thirst for a fuller disclosure of truth. Seeing how strongly the proconsul is impressed by the words of the apostles, this Bar-jesus (in the Arabic form, Elymas), the magian or wise man (rather than sorcerer), interposed with sophistries and denials to counteract the effect of truth from heaven. But this form of opposition, like that of violent persecution, is also overruled by God as a means of greater good. Where truth and falsehood are in open conflict, as here, the result is never doubtful; for truth is God’s, and He will maintain its supremacy.

An issue so sharply made, between the two respective agents of the Evil Spirit and of the Holy Ghost, needs at this important juncture an instant and decisive settlement. Therefore, by inspiration, Paul in the presence of the governor at once denounces this Bar-jesus, or son of the Saviour, as the child of the devil. This apostate Jew, who was accounted by cultured yet deceived Romans as a revealing seer and sage, the apostle charges with an excess of deceit and mischief; declaring that he is an enemy and perverter of all truth and righteousness. And he pronounces God’s instant judgment upon his daring impiety in withstanding the truth. The fulfillment of this judgment of temporary blindness followed. So the evil spirit in the person of Elymas was vanquished by the good through the agency of Paul. And the punishment so suited to the offense—the seeking to blind others—suited too to the reformation of the offender, was also adapted to impress and convince the lookers-on. It so affected the governor that he received the word of Paul as the word of life. Whether he became a personal convert and Christian disciple, we are not informed; but the inference that he did so acknowledge Christ is a reasonable one.

The fact, merely, of the apostle’s change of name, from Saul to Paul, is here stated. So long as restricted to labor among the Jews, he retained the Hebrew name, Saul. Throughout his apostolic ministry to the Gentiles, he was known under the Latin and Hellenistic equivalent name of Paul. The change is noted here at the turning-point of his life and work, in direct connection with the first prominent Gentile convert. As double names are common in the New Testament among Jewish disciples, both names may have been his from infancy. But from thenceforth onward, upon the name and ministry of PAUL is concentrated the deepest thought, the highest, most grateful appreciation of Christian believers in every age.

13. From Cyprus to Perga. Return of John Mark.**—From the island home of Barnabas they sailed northward to the mainland of Asia Minor; up the river Cestrus seven miles to Perga, in the district or province of Pamphylia. This region adjoined Cilicia, in whose chief city Paul was born; and in the principal portions of which he had previously labored among the Jews. It is no longer Barnabas and Saul, but Paul and his company, or those around him; intimating his new central position and prominence, which continued to the end of his career.

John, whose surname was Mark (the author of the gospel), had accompanied Barnabas and Saul on their return from Jerusalem to Antioch. As their assistant he had gone with them through Cyprus and as far as Perga. Now he leaves them for his mother’s home at Jerusalem. Whether discouraged at the prospect of privation and peril, or dissatisfied with the transfer of leadership from his uncle, Barnabas, to the younger Paul, or whether the double attraction of an older and stronger attachment, to his mother and to Peter his father in the faith, drew him back to Jerusalem, can not be determined. That Barnabas justified his departure, while Paul regarded it as unjustifiable, we learn from the subsequent quarrel and separation of these two missionaries, occasioned by Mark’s withdrawal. The incident with its sequel illustrates the old lesson of human infirmity as characterizing the best of Christian men. It is pleasant to know that afterward Mark worked so heartily with Paul that, at the close of his ministry, this apostle expressed his highest esteem for the evangelist, and the warmest appreciation of his helpfulness. B.

1. Greek Element in the Providential Preparation.**—Two of the monarchical lines, descended from Alexander’s generals, were the Ptolemies, or the Greek kings of Egypt, and the Seleucidæ, or the Greek kings of Syria. Their respective capitals, Alexandria and Antioch, became the metropolitan centers of commercial and civilized life in the East. Both became the residences of Roman governors, and both were patriarchates of the primitive Church. But before they had received either the Roman discipline or the Christian doctrine, they had served their appointed purpose of spreading the Greek language and habits, of creating new lines of commercial intercourse by land and sea, and of centralizing in themselves the mercantile life of the Levant. The Acts of the Apostles remind us of the traffic of Antioch with Cyprus and the neighboring coasts, and of the sailing of Alexandrian corn-ships to the more distant harbors of Malta and Puteoli.

Of all the Greek elements which the cities of Antioch and Alexandria were the means of circulating, the spread of the language is the most important. That language, which is the richest and most delicate that the world has seen, became the language of theology. The Greek tongue became to the Christian more than it had been to the Roman or the Jew. H.—Those remains which have come down to us are especially rich in the expressions of spiritual truth, and in terms which are adapted to illustrate the Bible, so that, though the doctrines of the gospel are new and divine, hardly a term required to be modified in order to adapt this language to the purpose of expressing them. In the time of Christ whatever was written in Greek became accessible to all who, by their religion (as the Jews), or their intelligence (as the Greeks), or their power (as the Romans), gave character to their age, or conferred distinction on their nation. J. A.

2. The Roman Element.**—Rome’s dominion was not a pervading influence exerted by a restless and intellectual people, but it was the grasping power of an external government. The idea of law had grown up with the growth of the Romans; and wherever they went they carried it with them. Wherever their armies were marching or encamping, there always attended them, like a mysterious presence, the spirit of the city of Rome. Universal conquest and permanent occupation were the ends at which they aimed. Strength and organization were the characteristics of their sway. Greek science and commerce were wafted by irregular winds from coast to coast; but Roman legions, governors, and judges advanced along Roman roads, which pursued their undeviating course over plains and mountains, and bound the city to the farthest extremities of the provinces. When all parts of the civilized world were bound together in one empire—when one common organization pervaded the whole—when channels of communication were everywhere opened—when new facilities of traveling were provided—then the Messiah came. The Greek language had already been prepared as a medium for preserving and transmitting the doctrine; the Roman Government was now prepared to help the progress even of that religion which it persecuted. The manner in which it spread through the provinces is well exemplified in the life of Paul: his right of citizenship rescued him in Judea and in Macedonia; he converted one governor in Cyprus,

was protected by another in Achaia, and was sent from Jerusalem to Rome by a third.

3. The Jewish Element: The Dispersion.—As the intellectual civilization of the Greeks and the organizing civilization of the Romans had, through a long series of remarkable events, been brought in contact with the religious civilization of the Hebrews, so the dispersion of the Jewish people made this contact almost universal in every part of the empire. Their dispersion began early, though early and late their attachment to Judea has always been the same. The first scattering of the Jews was compulsory, and began with the Assyrian exile, when, about the time of the building of Rome, natives of Galilee and Samaria were carried away by the Eastern monarchs; and this was followed by the Babylonian exile, when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were removed at different epochs. H.—In Babylon and the neighboring region a multitude of them had remained after the close of the captivity. A colony of them had been planted at Alexandria by its founder, and there they became so numerous as to occupy two out of the five sections of the city, but were not confined to these quarters. In Egypt, in the first century of our era, there were not less than a million of Jews, constituting an eighth part of the population of the country. In the flourishing city of Cyrene they formed a large portion of the inhabitants. Nowhere, outside of Palestine, was the Jewish population more numerous than in Syria and Asia Minor. At Antioch they constituted a powerful body, and enjoyed there privileges analogous to those of their brethren at Alexandria. From Syria they passed over into Asia Minor, forming settlements in all the principal towns. Besides the natural emigration from Syria, Antiochus the Great had transplanted to that region two thousand Jewish families from Mesopotamia. Among other places, Ephesus and Tarsus were noted seats of Jewish communities. In Crete, Cyprus, and other islands, there were synagogues crowded with worshipers. From Asia the Jews had found their way into the cities of Macedonia and Greece. Athens, Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, are among the places where were Jewish settlements. Jews were found in Illyricum, and early penetrated to the northern coasts of the Black Sea. The Jewish prisoners brought by Pompey to Rome afterward received their freedom. The district across the Tiber was principally occupied by them. An embassy of Herod to Augustus is said to have been accompanied by eight thousand Jewish residents of Rome. Among other towns of Italy, Caprca, and especially Puteoli, are known to have had a Jewish population. Apart from permanent residents of Hebrew extraction, Jewish merchants made their way to every place in the Roman Empire where there was any hope of profit from trade. Thus the Palestinian community, though still the religious center of all the Jews, comprised within its limits only a portion of this ubiquitous nation. Capable of making a home for himself anywhere, the Jew was specially adapted to the state “which was to be built on the ruins of a hundred living polities.” G. P. F.