r Luke i. 68. ch. ii. 47. 8 ch. ix. 35. t ch. ix. 27. somit. 20 t And some word to none but unto [the] Jews only. г the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem : and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. 23 Who, trender, But. u render, Grecians also. I render, which believed. y render, them: it applies to the persons just mentioned, not to the things. vol. i. pp. 149 ff., is a minute and in- 21. the hand of the Lord was with nabas] himself a Cyprian, ch. iv. 36.His mission does not seem exactly to have been correspondent to that of Peter and John to Samaria (nor can he in any dis tinctive sense, be said to have been an when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, u u ch. xiii. 43: with purpose of heart they ".22. y y ver. 21. ch. v. 14. z ch. ix. 30. and exhorted them all, that would cleave unto the Lord. and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; and a much ch. vi.. people was added unto the Lord. 25 b Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: 26 and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught a much people: and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. 27 And in these days d came a prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. bread and render, And he departed. for the more solemn and authorized stand- ach. ii. 17: xiii. 1: xv. 32: iv. 11. a literally, a great multitude. d render, came down. should not be called Christians, but Gali- It was during this year, ver. 26. b ch. xxi. 10. b 28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar. 29 Then the disciples, every man e Rom. xv. 26. according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judæa; 30 d which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. 1 Cor. xvi. 1. 2 Cor. ix. 1. d ch. xii. 25. XII. 1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched e render, which also. ↑ render, laid his hands upon certain of the church to vex them. so called. 28. Agabus] The same who prophesied Paul's imprisonment in Jerusalem, ch. xxi. 10 ff. From the form of his announcement there, we may infer the manner in which he signified by the Spirit here. It was, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost." throughout all the world] not, all Judæa,' though in fact it was so the expression is probably a hyperbolical one in ordinary use, and not to be pressed as strictly implying that to which its literal meaning would extend. That it occurs in a prophecy is no objection to this: the scope, and not the wording of the prophecy is given. But see below. in the days of Claudius Cæsar] In the fourth year of Claudius, A.D. 44, there was a famine in Judæa and the neighbouring countries. And three others are mentioned during his reign: one in Greece, and two in Rome, so that scarcity in the days of Claudius Cæsar did extend through the greater part of the Roman world, if it be thought necessary to press the words of the prophecy. The queen Helena of Adiabene and her son Izates helped the Jews with subsidies on the occasion (in relating which, Josephus calls it "the great famine"), both of corn and money. -I do not believe that the words "in the days of Claudius Cæsar" imply that the events just related were not also in the reign of Claudius: but they are inserted to particularize the famine as being that well-known one, and only imply that the author was not writing under Claudius. 29.] There is no need to suppose that the prophecy of Agabus preceded by any long time the outbreak of the famine: nor would it be any derogation from its prophetic character to suppose it even coincident with its first beginnings; it was the greatness and extent of the famine which was particularly revealed, and which determined the Christians of Antioch to send the relief. Baumgarten, in tracing the gradual transition of the apostolic narrative from Jewish to Gentile Christianity, calls this contribution, sent from Antioch to Jerusalem, the first stretching out of the hand by the Gentile world across the ancient gulf which separated it from Israel. The church at Jerusalem was poor, probably in connexion with the community of goods, which would soon have this effect; see ch. ii. 44, note. 30. the elders] These were the overseers or presidents of the congregation,—an office borrowed from the synagogues, and established by the Apostles in the churches generally, see ch. xiv. 23. They are in the N. T. identical with bishops, see ch. xx. 17, 28; Titus i. 5, 7; 1 Pet. v. 1, 2. So Theodoret on Phil. i. 1, He calls the elders, bishops: for at that time they had both names." The title "episcopus," as applied to one person superior to the elders, and answering to our bishop,' appears to have been unknown in the apostolic times. -Respecting the chronology of this jour ney to Jerusalem, see note on ch. xii. 25, and the table in the Introduction. CHAP. XII. 1-25.] PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM BY HEROD AGRIPPA. MARTYRDOM OF JAMES THE BROTHER OF JOHN. IMPRISONMENT AND MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE OF PETER. DEATH OF HEROD AT CÆSAREA. RETURN OF BARNABAS AND SAUL FROM JERUSALEM TO ANTIOCH. 1. about that time] Before the arrival of Barnabas and Saul in Jerusalem. The famine in Judæa broke out under Cuspius Fadus, and continued under Tiberius Alexander, procurators of Judæa. Now Cuspius Fadus was sent to Judæa by Claudius on the death of Agrippa (i. e. after Aug. 6, A.D. 44). The visit of Barnabas and Saul must have taken place about the time of, or shortly after, Agrippa's death. Herod the king] forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2 And he XX. 23. killed James a the brother of John with the sword. 3 And a Matt. iv. 21: because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were HEROD AGRIPPA I., grandson of Herod the Great, son of Aristobulus and Berenice. Having gone to Rome, to accuse Herod the Tetrarch (Antipas), and fallen under the displeasure of Tiberius for paying open court to Caius Cæsar (Caligula), he was imprisoned and cruelly treated; but, on the accession of Caligula, released, and at once presented with the tetrarchy of Philip (Trachonitis),-who had lately died,-and the title of king. On this, Antipas, by persuasion of his wife Herodias, went to Rome, to try to obtain the royal title also, but was followed by his enemy Agrippa, who managed to get Antipas banished to Spain, and to obtain his tetrarchy (Galilee and Peraa) for himself. Finally, Claudius, in return for services rendered to him by Agrippa, at the time of Caligula's death, presented him with Samaria and Judæa (about 41 A.D., Jos. Antt. xix. 5. 1), so that he now ruled (Jos. ibid.) all the kingdom of Herod the Great. His character, as given by Josephus, Antt. xix. 7.3, is important as illustrating the present chapter. He describes him as munificent in gifts and very ambitious of popular favour, making himself conspicuous by lavish expenditure; and a great observer, for popularity's sake, of the law and customs of the Jews. This character will abundantly account for his persecuting the Christians, who were so odious to the Jews, and for his vainglorious acceptance of the impious homage of the people, ver. 23. 2. James the brother of John] Of him we know nothing besides what is related in the Gospels. He was the son of Zebedee, called (Matt. iv. 21) together with John his brother: was one of the favoured Three admitted to the death-chamber of Jairus's daughter (Mark v. 37), to the mount of transfiguration (Matt. xvii. 1), and to the agony in the garden (Matt. xxvi. 37). He, together with John his brother (named by our Lord Boanerges,' 'sons of thunder'), wished to call down fire on the inhospitable Samaritans (Luke ix. 54),-and prayed that his brother and himself might sit, one on the right hand and the other on the left, in the Lord's kingdom (Matt. xx. 20-21). It was then that He foretold to them their drinking of the cup of suffering and being baptized with the baptism which He was baptized with: a prophecy which James was the first to fulfil.-This is the only Apostle of whose death we have any cer the days of unleavened b Exod. xii. 14, 15: xxiii. 15. tain record. With regard to all the rest, tradition varies, more or less, as to the place, or the manner, or the time of their deaths.-Eusebius relates, from a work of Clemens, who had received it by tradition of those before him, that the accuser of James, struck by his confession, became a Christian, and was led away with him to martyrdom. As they went to execution, he asked the Apostle's forgiveness. After a moment's thought, he replied "Peace be to thee," and kissed him: and so both were beheaded together. with the He sword] Probably according to the Roman method of beheading, which became common among the later Jews. It was a punishment accounted extremely disgraceful by the Jews. 3.] See the character of Agrippa above. the days of unleavened bread] Wieseler regards the whole of the following narrative as having happened on one and the same day and night, viz. that of the 14th of Nisan (April 1), A.D. 44. He takes the words in the strict meaning: that it was the very day of the passover, and that "after the passover" means, after the eating of the passover on the evening of the 14th of Nisan, and that Herod was intending to bring Peter forth on the next morning. finds support for this in the four quaternions of soldiers, the guard for one night (see below), and maintains that the expression the Passover cannot apply to the whole festal period, which would have been "the feast" or "those days." But Bleek calls this view most arbitrary and even unnatural; and I own, with all respect for Wieseler's general acumen, I am disposed to agree with this criticism. The whole cast of the narrative,-the use of days, not "day," as in St. Luke's own expression in his Gospel, xxii. 7,-the intimation of enduring custody in the delivering him to the soldiers to keep him, the delay implied in the word intending,the specification of that same night presupposing more nights preceding,-all this would be unaccountable in the precise historical diction of St. Luke, unless he had intended to convey an impression that some days elapsed. But still more decisive is his own definition of the Passover Luke xxii. 1, "the feast of unleavened bread which is called the Passover.” So that "after the Passover" may well be equivalent to "after the feast of unleavened Eph. vi. 18. dd ch. v. 19. c John xxi. 18. bread. 4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after 8 Easter to bring him forth to the people. 5 Peter therefore was kept in da Cor. 1.11. prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the 1 Thess. v. 17. church unto God for him. 6 And when Herod i would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and [the] keepers before the door kept the prison. 7 And, behold, 1 dd 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, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. 9 And he went out, and followed him; and e wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron which opened to them of e Ps. cxxvi. 1. f ch. x. 3, 17: xi. 5. gch. xvi. 26. gate that leadeth unto the city; render, as in every other place where the word (pascha) occurs, the Passover. i render, was about to bring. 1 render, an. n render, he did so. The words, "so he did," in modern English, do not carry this sense. bread." The argument from the four • or, guard. which preceded the day of trial. The St. Luke's manner to relate simultaneously |