26 For the king has knowledge of these things, to whom I am talking freely; being certain that all this is common knowledge to him; for it has not been done in secret.
And when the day of Pentecost was come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and all the house where they were was full of it. And they saw tongues, like flames of fire, coming to rest on every one of them. And they were all full of the Holy Spirit, and were talking in different languages, as the Spirit gave them power. Now there were living at Jerusalem, Jews, God-fearing men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound came to their ears, they all came together, and were greatly surprised because every man was hearing the words of the disciples in his special language. And they were full of wonder and said, Are not all these men Galilaeans? And how is it that every one of us is hearing their words in the language which was ours from our birth? Men of Parthia, Media, and Elam, and those living in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, In Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and those who have come from Rome, Jews by birth and others who have become Jews, Men of Crete and Arabia, to all of us they are talking in our different languages, of the great works of God. And they were all surprised and in doubt saying to one another, What is the reason of this?
And though the Lord will give you the bread of trouble and the water of grief, you will no longer put your teacher on one side, but you will see your teacher:
And they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and put a rod in his right hand, and they went down on their knees before him, and made sport of him, saying, Long life to the King of the Jews. And they put shame on him, and gave him blows on the head with the rod. And when they had made sport of him, they took the robe off him, and put his clothing on him, and took him away to put him on the cross. And while they were coming out, they saw a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they made him go with them, so that he might take up his cross. And when they came to the place named Golgotha, that is to say, Dead Man's Head, They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more. And when they had put him on the cross, they made division of his clothing among them by the decision of chance. And they were seated there watching him. And they put up over his head the statement of his crime in writing, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then two thieves were put on crosses with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who went by said bitter words to him, shaking their heads and saying, You who would give the Temple to destruction and put it up again in three days, get yourself free: if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. In the same way, the chief priests, making sport of him, with the scribes and those in authority, said, A saviour of others, he has no salvation for himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will have faith in him. He put his faith in God; let God be his saviour now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God. And the thieves who were on the crosses said evil words to him. Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus gave a loud cry, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why are you turned away from me? And some of those who were near by, hearing it, said, This man is crying to Elijah. And straight away one of them went quickly, and took a sponge, and made it full of bitter wine, and put it on a rod and gave him drink. And the rest said, Let him be; let us see if Elijah will come to his help. And Jesus gave another loud cry, and gave up his spirit. And the curtain of the Temple was parted in two from end to end; and there was an earth-shock; and the rocks were broken; And the resting-places of the dead came open; and the bodies of a number of sleeping saints came to life; And coming out of their resting-places, after he had come again from the dead, they went into the holy town and were seen by a number of people. Now the captain and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earth-shock and the things which were done, were in great fear and said, Truly this was a son of God.
Saying, What are we to do with these men? for certainly it is clear to all who are living in Jerusalem that a most important sign has been done by them, and it is not possible to say that it is not so. But so that it may not go farther among the people, let us put them in fear of punishment if they say anything in future in this name. And they sent for them, and gave them orders not to make statements or give teaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John in answer said to them, It is for you to say if it is right in the eyes of God to give attention to you more than to God: For it is not possible for us to keep from saying what we have seen and have knowledge of. And when they had said more sharp words to them, they let them go, not seeing what punishment they might give them, because of the people; for all men were giving praise to God for what had taken place.
And they took the Apostles and put them in the common prison. But in the night an angel of the Lord, opening the doors of the prison, took them out and said, Go, take your place in the Temple and give the people all the teaching about this Life. And hearing this, they went into the Temple at dawn, and were teaching. But the high priest and those who were with him got together the Sanhedrin and the representatives of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to get them. But the men who were sent saw that they were not in the prison, and came back with the news, Saying, The doors of the prison were safely shut, and the keepers were at the doors, but when they were open, there was nobody inside. Now, at these words, the captain of the Temple and the chief priests were greatly troubled about what might be the end of this business. And someone came and said to them, The men, whom you put in prison, are in the Temple teaching the people. Then the captain and some of the police went and took them, but not violently, for fear that they might be stoned by the people. And they took them into the Sanhedrin, and the high priest said to them, We gave you very clear orders not to give teaching in this name: and now Jerusalem is full of your teaching, and you are attempting to make us responsible for this man's death. But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man. The God of our fathers gave Jesus back to life, whom you had put to death, hanging him on a tree. Him God has put on high at his right hand, as a Ruler and a Saviour, to give to Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep his laws. But when these words came to their ears, they were cut to the heart, and had a mind to put them to death. But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men. For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing. After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight. And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing: But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God. And he seemed to them to be right: and they sent for the Apostles, and, after having them whipped and giving them orders to give no teaching in the name of Jesus, they let them go. So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name. And every day, in the Temple and privately, they went on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
And Agrippa said to Festus, I have a desire to give the man a hearing myself. Tomorrow, he said, you may give him a hearing.
In my opinion I am happy, King Agrippa, to be able to give my answer before you today to all these things which the Jews say against me: The more so, because you are expert in all questions to do with the Jews and their ways: so I make my request to you to give me a hearing to the end.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 26
Commentary on Acts 26 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 26
We left Paul at the bar, and Festus, and Agrippa, and Bernice, and all the great men of the city of Caesarea, upon the bench, or about it, waiting to hear what he had to say for himself. Now in this chapter we have,
Act 26:1-11
Agrippa was the most honourable person in the assembly, having the title of king bestowed upon him, though otherwise having only the power of other governors under the emperor, and, though not here superior, yet senior, to Festus; and therefore, Festus having opened the cause, Agrippa, as the mouth of the court, intimates to Paul a licence given him to speak for himself, v. 1. Paul was silent till he had this liberty allowed him; for those are not the most forward to speak that are best prepared to speak and speak best. This was a favour which the Jews would not allow him, or not without difficulty; but Agrippa freely gives it to him. And Paul's cause was so good that he desired no more than to have liberty to speak for himself; he needed no advocate, no Tertullus, to speak for him. Notice is taken of his gesture: He stretched forth his hand, as one that was under no consternation at all, but had perfect freedom and command of himself; it also intimates that he was in earnest, and expected their attention while he answered for himself. Observe, He did not insist upon his having appealed to Caesar as an excuse for being silent, did not say, "I will be examined no more till I come to the emperor himself;' but cheerfully embraced the opportunity of doing honour to the cause he suffered for. If we must be ready to give a reason of the hope that is in us to every man that asketh us, much more to every man in authority, 1 Pt. 3:15. Now in this former part of the speech,
This was Paul's character, and this his manner of life in the beginning of his time; and therefore he could not be presumed to be a Christian by education or custom, or to be drawn in by hope of preferment, for all imaginable external objections lay against his being a Christian.
Act 26:12-23
All who believe a God, and have a reverence for his sovereignty, must acknowledge that those who speak and act by his direction, and by warrant from him, are not to be opposed; for that is fighting against God. Now Paul here, by a plain and faithful narrative of matters of fact, makes it out to this august assembly that he had an immediate call from heaven to preach the gospel of Christ to the Gentile world, which was the thing that exasperated the Jews against him. He here shows,
Act 26:24-32
We have reason to think that Paul had a great deal more to say in defence of the gospel he preached, and for the honour of it, and to recommend it to the good opinion of this noble audience; he had just fallen upon that which was the life of the cause-the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and here he is in his element; now he warms more than before, his mouth is opened towards them, his heart is enlarged. Lead him but to this subject, and let him have leave to go on, and he will never know when to conclude; for the power of Christ's death, and the fellowship of his sufferings, are with him inexhaustible subjects. It was a thousand pities then that he should be interrupted, as he is here, and that, being permitted to speak for himself (v. 1), he should not be permitted to say all he designed. But it was a hardship often put upon him, and is a disappointment to us too, who read his discourse with so much pleasure. But there is no remedy, the court thinks it is time to proceed to give in their judgment upon his case.