Acts 14

— in every church] When we consider that in the early times of Christianity, there was so liberal an effusion of the Holy Spirit poured out on great numbers, who had extraordinary credentials, miracles, and the gift of tongues, to prove their mission, it does not seem so necessary, in such a time, and in such a state of things, that the Apostles should have “ordained elders in every church.” We have therefore better reasons to conclude that this was at that time settled chiefly with a view to following ages; which, as it was foreseen they would fall off from that zeal and purity which then reigned

among them, so would require rule and government to maintain the unity of the Church, and the order of sacred things. And for that reason chiefly we may conclude, that the Apostles settled the order and government in the Church, not so much for the age in which they themselves lived, as to establish, and give credit to, offices and appointments, which, they foresaw, would be yet more necessary to succeeding ages. Bp. Burnet.

Acts 14:2

2. — disputation with them.] With the Jews who came from Judea; “they determined,” that is, the brethren or disciples of Antioch determined. Bp. Pearce.

A signal advantage derived from the relation of these divisions in the infant Church is, that it affords the strongest collateral evidence that the whole scheme is founded in truth. Whenever the conductors of a scheme of imposition fall into contention and dispute, the deceit is immediately detected. Not so with the Gospel; though its teachers might in some points for a

Acts 14:4

4. And when they were come to Jerusalem,] This was St. Paul’s third journey to Jerusalem, about seventeen years after his conversion. Bp. Mann.

Acts 14:5

5. — and to stone them.] As blasphemers against the law, Dent. xiii. 6, &c. So St. Stephen was stoned for speaking blasphemous words, chap. vi. 13; so St. Paul, ver. 19; and thus they endeavoured to stone our Lord for supposed blasphemy, John x. 33. Dr. Whitby.

It is observable, that St. Paul says of himself, at 2 Cor. xi. 25, “Once was I stoned:” and this stoning is mentioned in this chapter at ver. 19. Had the purpose of the Jews on the present occasion been put in execution, the history would have contradicted the assertion of his having been only once stoned. But, as it is, there is a perfect agreement in the two accounts, although they approach so very near to a contradiction. Archdeacon Paley.

Acts 14:6

6. — and fled unto Lystra &c.] In this they acted in perfect consistency with the spirit of Christ’s religion, which by no means obliges its professors to court unnecessary dangers, as well as agreeably to the directions of our Lord at Matt. x. 23, “When they persecute you in one city, flee ye into another.” Dr. Stack.

Here let the rashness of intemperate zeal learn an important lesson. It is no mark of wisdom, and certainly none of religion, to court persecution, and expose our persons to unnecessary danger. Divine Providence watches over the steps of a good man; and when his death or his sufferings will produce advantages, either to himself or to others, which his life or his prosperity cannot effect, his God calls him to suffer or to die, in that way which is best calculated to produce the most beneficial consequences. When that hour arrives, which brings with it so severe a trial, it is a Christian’s duty submissively to acquiesce: but as many benefits arise from the various circumstances and changes of human life, he ought to use such wise expedients to extricate himself from impending difficulties, as prudence and his reasonable faculties suggest. St. Paul once escaped privately from the walls of Damascus: and now he avoids an imminent danger by a precipitate flight. Brewster.

— Lystra] This is thought by some to have been the birthplace of Timothy. Dr. Wells.

6. And the apostles and elders came together] This was the first council of the Church assembled at Jerusalem to counteract and censure the first remarkable division that disturbed the harmony and concord which had hitherto prevailed in the infant Church. Dr. Hales. This council differed from all other councils that were ever afterwards held in this material circumstance, that its members were under the especial guidance of the Spirit of God. Bp. Tomlone.

Acts 14:7

7. — a good while ago] Meaning, at the time when the preaching of the Gospel began. The time here designed seems to be about ten or eleven years before, when Cornelius the centurion was converted, chap. x. 1. By the term “Gentiles,” allusion is made to Cornelius, who, though a proselyte, being uncircumcised, was esteemed a Gentile by the Jews. Bp. Pearce.

Acts 14:9

9. — perceiving that he had faith to be healed.] That he was disposed to believe the Gospel, and was therefore a fit object for a miraculous cure. Abp. Newcome.

Faith, being an act of the understanding, could not be discerned by the eye of sense; this therefore is an

instance of that power of discerning the inward workings of men’s spirit, mentioned at 1 Cor. xii. 10. Dr. Whitby.

9. And put no difference &c.] His argument is evidently this; that God, by pouring His Holy Spirit on the uncircumcised Gentiles, as He had done upon the circumcised Jews, had plainly shewn that He had received them into His favour, and made no discrimination, as to His choicest gifts, between them and the Jews; and that legal purification, which seemed want-

God, d to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

Acts 14:10

10. Said with a loud voice, &c.] Such persons as these Lycaonians, who were gross idolaters, and little better than barbarians, are apt to be struck and affected more with signs and wonders than with reasons and arguments; and therefore it is that St. Paul, at his first preaching among them, very reasonably and fitly confirms his doctrine by a signal miracle. Bp. Newton.

11. — why tempt ye God,] Why do ye try the goodness and patience of God, by opposing His will, who has sealed the Gentiles for His own by giving them the Spirit? Abp. Newcome. Why do ye not acquiesce in the good pleasure of God, but compel the Gentiles to submit to greater burdens than He requires, as if ye distrusted the wisdom, or resolved to oppose the course, of His providence? Bp. Mann.

Acts 14:11

11. — The gods are come down to us] It was often imagined, not only by the heathen poets, but also by their philosophers, that their gods appeared in a human shape. Dr. Whitby.

12. — we shall be saved, even as they.] We Jews believe that we shall be saved by the Gospel, and not by the Law; in like manner as the Gentiles also will be saved. Abp. Newcome.

Acts 14:12

12. — Jupiter;—Mercurius,] Mercury was reputed the god of eloquence, and the heathen writers frequently represent Jupiter as accompanied by him. Hence they call St. Paul “Mercurius,” because he was the chief speaker. Dr. Doddridge. Beausobre.

Acts 14:13

13. — of Jupiter, which was before &c.] Whose statue was before the city. The heathens in general supposed that the deity was present in his statue or image. Bp. Pearce.

— before their city,] It was customary to place the temple or statue of the tutelary god of a city before its gate. Abp. Newcome.

— oxen and garlands] Oxen and bulls used to be sacrificed to Jupiter. It was customary to place garlands about the heads of the victims, and also on the statue of the god which was worshipped, and on the priests who offered the sacrifice. Abp. Newcome.

— unto the gates,] The gates of the house where St. Paul and St. Barnabas lodged, for these things were done within the city, ver. 19. Dr. Whitby.

Acts 14:14

14. — They rent their clothes,] To express their sense and detestation of such blasphemous proceedings. See Matt. xxvi. 66. Dr. Hammond.

To witness that adoration paid to the creature, which only belongs to the Creator, was shocking in the sight of the Apostles, as offering violence to the first principles of rational piety. And herein we discover a wide and essential difference between the teachers of revealed religion, and the most enlightened heathen philosophers: some of whom were desirous of being themselves esteemed gods, and all were content to adopt the popular worship of even the meanest animals. While the primitive

Paul and Barnabas refuse divine honours. THE ACTS. Having passed through divers places,

Anno DOMINI 46. a Gen. 1. 1. Ps. 144. 6. Rev. 14. 7. b Ps. 81. 12.

14. Simeon] The same as Simon, meaning St. Peter. — did visit the Gentiles,] God is said to visit when He blesses, as well as when He punishes, Gen. xxi. 1; Luke i. 68; xix. 44. Bp. Mann.

Acts 14:15

15. — are men of like passions] We are not gods, but men of the same nature, and subject to the same infirmities as yourselves. Bp. Mann.

— from these vanities] Pretended and false deities. Idols are frequently spoken of as “vanities” in Scripture. See 1 Kings xvi. 13. Such was Jupiter, or the statue of Jupiter, mentioned at ver. 13. Bp. Pearce.

Acts 14:16

16. — suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.] Rather, “all the nations;” for the Jewish nation is excepted. Bp. Pearce. God so far suffered them “to walk in their own ways,” that He gave them no positive revelation of His will, no written instructions respecting that way in which He would be worshipped, as He had done to the Jews. Dr. Whitby.

Acts 14:17

17. — He left not himself without witness.] That is, He gave proofs of His Godhead, by His exercising a providence over the world for its comfort and preservation.

The short speech delivered by St. Paul on this occasion is admirable. Disclaiming their intended worship, he declared that he and St. Barnabas were not gods, but men of like infirmities with themselves, who, by preaching the Gospel, wished to turn them from their vain idols to the living God: that although God, for many generations past, had suffered the heathen to follow their own inventions, yet that He had never left Himself unwitnessed, by the continued providence of His goodness, by sending them refreshing showers from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness. From these premises, He left them to draw the obvious and necessary conclusion, that it was the height of stupidity and ingratitude to transfer to the creature the worship due only to the Creator. Dr. Hales.

His arguments on this occasion are as forcible, as they are plain and obvious to the meanest capacity. He is the Creator and Preserver of us and of all things; He is the Author and Giver of all the good which we enjoy, and He therefore is the only proper and adequate object of our worship. Bp. Newton.

17. That the residue of men &c.] The Greek version of Amos, chap. ix. 12, is here followed. In the Hebrew the expression is, “that they may possess the remnant of Edom,” who being the greatest enemies to Israel, the calling of them must denote the calling of the worst of the nations. Dr. Whitby.

Acts 14:18

18. Known unto God &c.] This God foretold by His prescience; for “known unto Him,” &c. Dr. Whitby.

Acts 14:19

19. Wherefore my sentence is, &c.] It is worthy of observation, that this important question was determined according to the opinion of St. James, who seems to

Anno DOMINI 53. d Matt. 22. 4.

Acts 14:21

21. — and Antioch.] Antioch in Pisidia, chap. xiii. 14.

Acts 14:22

22. — that we must through much tribulation &c.] That those, who would at that time embrace the Gospel

of Jesus, must expect to meet with great troubles and oppositions. Bp. Pearce.

To this day however the observation is applicable to every disciple of the Gospel. Though we may not be called to equal sufferings with St. Paul or the first followers of Christ, or with those who in later ages have borne this severe witness to the truth, by being stoned, sown asunder, slain with the sword, or committed to the flames; yet in most cases the Christian, like his Master, may expect to be tried by sufferings. If our afflictions come not always from without, most assuredly they will from within. Out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, and evil propensities of every kind. Here then surely is cause for trouble. But Christian faith triumphs over all: and “these afflictions, which are but for a moment,” through the grace of God communicated to every one who thus believeth, “work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” 2 Cor. iv. 17. Brewster.

Acts 14:23

23. — ordained them elders] These elders were the pastors of the several churches, each of his respective one; and they were the overseers of the flock, and feeders of the Church, as their office is described by St. Paul, at chap. xv. 28. They appear to have been considered as the next in dignity to the Apostles, chap. xv. 2, 4, &c. Bp. Pearce. See note at chap. xvi. 18.

The expression here used implies that these elders, or pastors, had a regular and formal appointment. When Christianity made further progress, we read in Scripture that different persons were appointed to preside over different churches; as Timothy over that of Ephesus, and Titus over those in Crete: and St. Paul gives both Timothy and Titus particular directions concerning the ordination of bishops and elders within their respective jurisdictions, 1 Tim. v. 22: Tit. i. 5, &c. If from Scripture we go to the writings of the Apostolical Fathers, we find the clearest proof of the continuance of the office and authority of ministers in their time. We thus ascertain that there was a regular order of clergy in the days immediately after the Apostles; and of its existence in following ages no doubt has ever been entertained. It is fully proved, not only by Christian writers themselves, but by a variety of laws made at various periods respecting the clergy. We trace therefore a regular and continued establishment of persons, to whom were committed the oracles of God, who

they return to Antioch. CHAP. XIV, XV. Great dissension touching circumcision. Anno DOMINI 44. them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Acts 14:25

25. — into Attalia.] Attalia was a seaport with a good haven in Pamphylia; it is said to have derived its name from king Attalus, its founder; it still retains its name with a slight variation, being now called Sattalia. Dr. Wells.

Acts 14:26

26. — sailed to Antioch.] Antioch in Syria, chap. xi. 19.

— recommended to the grace of God] By prayer for His assistance, chap. xiii. 3. Dr. Whitby. “For the work which they had fulfilled,” that of preaching to the heathens. Bp. Pearce.

Acts 14:27

27. — had opened the door &c.] Had given the Gentiles an opportunity of believing in Him, and entering into His Church. Bp. Mann.

Chap. XV. ver. 1. — certain men] We learn from ver. 5, that they were of the sect of the Pharisees. Abp. Newcome.

— Except ye be circumcised] And so obliged to observe all the ceremonies of the Mosaical institution. Pyle.

The important question, whether the Gentiles converted to Christianity should also be obliged to obey the Mosaick law, was a subject which affected the most deep-rooted prejudices, and roused the strongest passions of every Jewish mind; on which some of the very chief of the Apostles seem to have been divided, if not in opinion, yet in some circumstances of their conduct, and to have expressed this difference of sentiment with considerable warmth, Gal. ii. 11, 12. Dr. Graves.