7-8. when the angel ... was departed, he called--immediately doing as directed, and thereby showing the simplicity of his faith.
a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually--of the "soldiers under him," such as the centurion at Capernaum had ([Mt 8:9]). Who this "devout soldier" was, can only be matter of conjecture. Da Costa [Four Witnesses] gives a number of ingenious reasons for thinking that, having attached himself henceforth to Peter--whose influence in the composition of the second Gospel is attested by the earliest tradition, and is stamped on that Gospel itself--he is no other than the Evangelist Mark.
9-16. upon the housetop--the flat roof, the chosen place in the East for cool retirement.
the sixth hour--noon.
17-24. while Peter doubted ... what this should mean, behold, the three men ... stood before the gate ... and asked--"were inquiring," that is, in the act of doing so. The preparations here made--of Peter for his Gentile visitors, as of Cornelius for him--are devoutly to be noted. But besides this, at the same moment, "the Spirit" expressly informs him that three men were inquiring for him, and bids him unhesitatingly go with them, as sent by Him.
25-29. as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him--a mark of the highest respect.
fell down at his feet, and worshipped him--In the East this way of showing respect was customary not only to kings, but to others occupying a superior station; but among the Greeks and Romans it was reserved for the gods. Peter, therefore, declines it as due to no mortal [Grotius]. "Those who claim to have succeeded Peter, have not imitated this part of his conduct" [Alford] (therein only verifying [2Th 2:4], and compare [Re 19:10]; ).
30-33. Four days ago--the messengers being despatched on the first; on the second reaching Joppa ([Ac 10:9]); starting for Cæsarea on the third; and on the fourth arriving.
34-35. Peter opened his mouth--(See on [Mt 5:2]).
Of a truth I perceive--that is, "I have it now demonstrated before mine eyes."
that God is no respecter of persons--Not, "I see there is no capricious favoritism with God," for Peter would never imagine such a thing; but (as the next clause shows), "I see that God has respect only to personal character and state in the acceptance of men, national and ecclesiastical distinctions being of no account."
36-38. the word ... sent unto the children of Israel--for to them (he would have them distinctly know) the Gospel was first preached, even as the facts of it took place on the special theater of the ancient economy.
preaching peace by Jesus Christ--the glorious sum of all Gospel truth ([1Co 1:20-22]).
he is Lord of all--exalted to embrace under the canopy of His peace, Jew and Gentile alike, whom the blood of His Cross had cemented into one reconciled and accepted family of God ([Ep 2:13-18]).
39-43. we are witnesses of all ... he did--not objects of superstitious reverence, but simply witnesses to the great historical facts on which the Gospel is founded.
slew and hanged--that is, slew by hanging.
on a tree--So [Ac 5:30] (and see on [Ga 3:13]).
44-45. While Peter yet spake ... the Holy Ghost fell--by visible and audible manifestation ([Ac 10:46]).
46. heard them speak with tongues and magnify God--As on the day of Pentecost it was no empty miracle, no mere speaking of foreign languages, but utterance of "the wonderful works of God" in tongues to them unknown ([Ac 2:11]), so here; but more remarkable in this case, as the speakers were perhaps less familiar with the Old Testament songs of praise.
46-48. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water ... which have received the Holy Ghost, &c.--Mark, he does not say, They have received the Spirit, what need have they for water? but, Having the living discipleship imparted to them and visibly stamped upon them, what objection can there be to admitting them, by the seal of baptism, into the full fellowship of the Church?
Chapter 11
Ac 11:1-18. Peter Vindicates Himself before the Church in Jerusalem for His Procedure towards the Gentiles
1-11. the apostles and brethren ... in Judea--rather, "throughout Judea."
12-18. we entered the man's house--No mention of Cornelius' name, much less of his high position, as if that affected the question. To the charge, "Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised," he simply speaks of the uncircumcised "man" to whom he had been divinely sent.
Ac 11:19-24. The Gospel Being Preached to Gentiles at Antioch Also Barnabas Is Sent Thither from Jerusalem, Who Hails Their Accession and Labors among Them
19. they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen--and who "went everywhere preaching the word" ([Ac 8:4]).
travelled as far as Phenice--that part of the Mediterranean coast which, commencing a little north of Cæsarea, stretches northwards for upwards of one hundred miles, halfway to Antioch.
and Cyprus--(See on [Ac 4:36]). An active commercial intercourse subsisted between Phenice and Cyprus.
and Antioch--near the head of the northeast coast of the Mediterranean, on the river Orontes, and containing a large colony of Jews, to whose religion there were there numerous proselytes. "It was almost an Oriental Rome, in which all the forms of the civilized life of the empire found some representative; and through the two first centuries of the Christian era it was what Constantinople became afterwards, 'the Gate of the East'" [Howson].
20. some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene--(see on [Lu 23:26]); as Lucius, mentioned in [Ac 13:1].
spake unto the Grecians--rather, "the Greeks," that is, uncircumcised Gentiles (as the true reading beyond doubt is). The Gospel had, from the first, been preached to "the Grecians" or Greek-speaking Jews, and these "men of Cyprus and Cyrene" were themselves "Grecians." How, then, can we suppose that the historian would note, as something new and singular ([Ac 11:22]), that some of the dispersed Christians preached to them?
21. a great number believed--Thus the accession of Cornelius and his party was not the first admission of uncircumcised Gentiles into the Church. (See on [Ac 10:1].) Nay, we read of no influence which the accession of Cornelius and his house had on the further progress of the Gospel among the Gentiles; whereas there here open upon us operations upon the Gentiles from quite a different quarter, and attended with ever growing success. The only great object served by the case of Cornelius was the formal recognition of the principles which that case afterwards secured. (See on [Ac 15:19-29].)
22. sent ... Barnabas ... as far as Antioch--implying that even on the way to Antioch he found churches to visit [Olshausen]. It was in the first instance, no doubt, a mission of inquiry; and no one could be more suitable to inquire into the proceedings of those Cyprians and Cyrenians than one who was himself a "Grecian" of Cyprus ([Ac 4:36]), and "a son of consolation."
23. when he ... had seen the grace of God--in the new converts.
was glad--owned and rejoiced in it at once as divine, though they were uncircumcised.
exhorted them all that with purpose of heart--as opposed to a hasty and fickle discipleship.
they would cleave unto the Lord--the Lord Jesus.
24. For he was a good man--The sense of "good" here is plainly "large-hearted," "liberal-minded," rising above narrow Jewish sectarianism, and that because, as the historian adds, he was "full of the Holy Ghost and of faith."
and much people were added unto the Lord--This proceeding of Barnabas, so full of wisdom, love, and zeal, was blessed to the great increase of the Christian community in that important city.
[Ac 11:25], . Barnabas, Finding the Work in Antioch Too Much for Him, Goes to Tarsus for Saul--They Labor There Together for a Whole Year with Much Success, and Antioch Becomes the Honored Birthplace of the Term Christian.
25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul--Of course, this was after the hasty despatch of Saul to Tarsus, no doubt by Barnabas himself among others, to escape the fury of the Jews at Jerusalem. And as Barnabas was the first to take the converted persecutor by the hand and procure his recognition as a disciple by the brethren at Jerusalem ([Ac 9:27]), so he alone seems at that early period to have discerned in him those peculiar endowments by virtue of which he was afterwards to eclipse all others. Accordingly, instead of returning to Jerusalem, to which, no doubt, he sent accounts of his proceedings from time to time, finding that the mine in Antioch was rich in promise and required an additional and powerful hand to work, he leaves it for a time, takes a journey to Tarsus, "finds Saul" (seemingly implying--not that he lay hid [Bengel], but that he was engaged at the time in some preaching circuit--see on [Ac 15:23]), and returns with him to Antioch. Nor were his hopes disappointed. As co-pastors, for the time being, of the Church there, they so labored that the Gospel, even in that great and many-sided community, achieved for itself a name which will live and be gloried in as long as this world lasts, as the symbol of all that is most precious to the fallen family of man:--"The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." This name originated not within, but without, the Church; not with their Jewish enemies, by whom they were styled "Nazarenes" ([Ac 24:5]), but with the heathen in Antioch, and (as the form of the word shows) with the Romans, not the Greeks there [Olshausen]. It was not at first used in a good sense (as [Ac 26:28]; [1Pe 4:16] show), though hardly framed out of contempt (as De Wette, Baumgarten, &c.); but as it was a noble testimony to the light in which the Church regarded Christ--honoring Him as their only Lord and Saviour, dwelling continually on His name, and glorying in it--so it was felt to be too apposite and beautiful to be allowed to die.
Ac 11:27-30. By Occasion of a Famine Barnabas and Saul Return to Jerusalem with a Contribution for the Relief of Their Suffering Brethren
27. came prophets from Jerusalem--inspired teachers, a class we shall afterwards frequently meet with, who sometimes, but not necessarily, foretold future events. They are classed next to apostles ([1Co 12:28], ; [Ep 4:11]).
28. that there should be great dearth throughout all the world--the whole Roman empire.
which came to pass in the days of Claudius Cæsar--Four famines occurred during his reign. This one in Judea and the adjacent countries took place, A.D. 41 [Josephus, Antiquities, 20.2,5]. An important date for tracing out the chronology of the Acts. (But this subject is too difficult and extensive to admit of being handled here).