Acts 4 · The Lantern

While Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the chief priest, with the officer in charge at the Temple and the Sadducees, came up to them,

Ere yet they had time to take breath after their first trials, straightway they enter into others. And observe how the events are disposed. First, they were all mocked together; this was no small trial: secondly, they enter into dangers.

"And as they were speaking these words to the people," etc. The princes and the priests, and the rest of the high-ranking men among the Jews, seeing that about five thousand men had believed the apostles, decided to jail them, to prevent the whole crowd believing them.

The apostles had not yet had time to catch their breath from the previous trials before they fell into others. And see how the events are arranged. First the apostles were mocked all together; then they fall into dangers, but not suddenly.

much annoyed because they were teaching the people, and because, through Jesus, they were preaching the resurrection from the dead.

Peter, together with John, preached to them this plain message of glad tidings, that the promise which God made to the fathers had been fulfilled by Jesus; not certainly proclaiming another god, but the Son of God, who also was made man, and suffered; thus leading Israel into knowledge, and through Jesus preaching the resurrection of the dead, and showing, that whatever the pro…

Which very thing, too, we observe to come from divine authority, that the priest should be chosen in the presence of the people under the eyes of all, and should be approved worthy and suitable by public judgment and testimony; as in the book of Numbers the Lord commanded Moses, saying, "Take Aaron thy brother, and Eleazar his son, and place them in the mount, in the presence o…

So then at first they did all for the sake of man's opinion or glory: but now another motive was added: that they should not be thought guilty of murder, as they said subsequently, "Do ye wish to bring this man's blood on us?" O the folly!

They arrested the apostles and, as it was already evening, had them placed in custody until the next day.

Many, however, of those who had heard the apostles’ message became believers in Christ, the number of the men alone amounting to about five thousand.

"Howbeit, many having heard the word, believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." How was this? Did they see them in honor? Did they not behold them put in bonds? How then did they believe? Do you see the evident efficacy? And yet even those that believed already might well have become weaker.

And the number of men became five thousand. If in the five thousand men whom the Lord fed in the desert (Matthew XIV), the people under the law are understood but were refreshed by the gift of Christ, these five thousand instructed by the apostles' teachings can also signify the people of the Gentiles, who spiritually followed the mysteries of the same law.

What is this? Did they not see that the apostles were vindicated? And despite that, they nevertheless bound them. How then did they come to believe? You see the manifest assistance of God? And it had to happen that those who believed were from among the weaker ones.

The next day, a meeting of the leaders of the people, the councillors, and the teachers of the law was held in Jerusalem.

"And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes were gathered together at Jerusalem." Again in Jerusalem: and there it is that men's blood is poured out; no reverence for their city either; "And Annas, and Caiaphas," etc.

Indeed the ploy was to bind them before the multitude, but examine them secretly: for they feared those who were bound in the sight of the crowd, and examined them supposedly before a court as lawbreakers; privately, however, that the audience might choose the better course not by their bluntness, and by the wonder of those being examined.

Besides other injustices toward the apostles, they (the rulers, elders, scribes, and chief priests of the Jews) did not even observe the requirements of the law. Pay attention at least to the multitude of chief priests, whereas according to the law there should be one, as long as he lives.

There were present Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of High-Priestly rank.

Relying, therefore, upon your love and your piety, which I have abundantly known, in this letter I both exhort and command you, that those of you whose presence there is least suspicious and least perilous, should in my stead discharge my duty, in respect of doing those things which are required for the religious administration.

But do you assist with all diligence those that for the sake of Christ are abused by the ungodly and shut up in prison, or who are given over to death, or bonds, or banishment, in order to deliver your fellow-members from wicked hands.

John and Alexander, then foremost among the priests, and finally all who belonged to the priestly class, in which at that time the higher each member was in authority, the more wicked he was. Such anxious diligence on the part of the chief men itself clearly proves that this was no ordinary affair they were concerned to restrain.

They had Peter and John brought before them, and questioned them. “By what power,” they asked, “Or in whose name have men like you done this thing?”

His maid-servant it was that questioned Peter, and he could not bear it: in his house it was that Peter denied, when Another was in bonds there: but now, when he has come into the midst of them all, see how he speaks! "By what name have ye done this?" Why dost thou not speak it, what it is, but keepest that out of sight? "By what name have ye done this?"

And indeed they knew; for distressed, when declaring in Jesus the resurrection, it had seized them. But they question them, awaiting them, thinking that, the court and the crowd being afraid, they would deny, and that everything would thereby be brought about. See how maliciously they question.

Then, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “Leaders of the people and councillors,

That Christ also is called a Stone. In Isaiah: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I place on the foundations of Sion a precious stone, elect, chief, a corner stone, honourable; and he who trusteth in Him shall not be confounded." Also in the cxviith Psalm: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.

"Elders of Israel," according to the teaching and solid authority of the people raised toward greater sanctity. For he divided the assembly of hearers into two, so that those of them who are not equally capable of understanding what is said, some only casually hearing the words, others receiving the announced matter more effectively and more deeply into the soul, might be addre…

"Leaders of the people and elders of Israel." Notice what philosophy. Where necessity demands, Peter reproaches them very strongly.

since we are on our trial today for a kind act done to a helpless man, and are asked in what way the man here before you has been cured,

let me tell you all and all the people of Israel, that it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead — it is, I say, by his name that this man stands here before you lame no longer.

"Be it known unto you all," etc. Whereby he shows them that they rather do, in spite of themselves, preach Christ; themselves extol the doctrine, by their examining and questioning. O exceeding boldness-"Whom ye crucified! Whom God raised up"-this is bolder still! Think not that we hide what there is to be ashamed of.

Therefore, to their shame concerning those to whom the word is directed, he immediately adds the, "You crucified," together with the, He "raised from the dead." Who raised him? God. For since, being envied by you, it seemed to render worthless to the death of evildoers the glory arising from the miracles of him (wherefore they also said, "What shall we do?

"By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth." Do not think, he says, that we conceal His homeland; no, we also declare His homeland; and that is not all: we also confess His sufferings and proclaim His resurrection. "Whom you crucified." He uttered such a word as was able to terrify the Jews, because, as you might imagine, what a blow is dealt to them by these words?

Jesus is ‘the stone which, scorned by you the builders, has yet become the corner stone.’

"This," says he, "is the Stone which was set at naught by you builders;" and then he goes on to teach them, saying in addition, "Which is made the head of the corner"; that is to say, that the Stone is indeed approved! Great was the boldness they now had, in consequence of the miracle.

This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. The builders were the Jews, who, while all the nations were dwelling in the desolation of idols, they alone were reading the law and the prophets daily for edification.

The stone means Christ Himself; the builders are the teachers of the Jews who rejected Him as if He were useless. But when He rose from the dead, He was set in place as the head of the corner, that is, He became the head of the Church, joining Jews and Gentiles in one faith.

And salvation is in him alone; for there is no other name in the whole world, given to people, to which we must look for our salvation.”

Well did you escape from it, because you cast your care on God, and opened your heart to the Lord, believing that you can be saved by no other than by His great and glorious name. On this account the Lord has sent His angel, who has rule over the beasts, and whose name is Thegri, and has shut up its mouth, so that it cannot tear you.

Consider also that where it is fitting to teach, they even bring forward prophecies, as in the earlier sermon: but when they speak freely alone, they express an opinion: "For there is no other name given," he says. And what this is has already been said.

"And there is salvation in no one else." Here lofty truths are already being proclaimed. Yes, as soon as the hour came to teach, the apostles set aside the prophecies; and when the time came to speak with boldness, they were already setting forth their own thoughts, because then there was nothing by which they could have influenced their listeners for the purpose of correcting…

When the Council saw how boldly Peter and John spoke, and found that they were uneducated men of humble station, they were surprised, and realized that they had been companions of Jesus.

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." The two unlearned men beat down with their rhetoric them and the chief priests. For it was not they that spake, but the grace of the Spirit.

But seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and realizing that they were unlettered and ordinary men, they marveled. "Unlettered" is said, not because they were ignorant of letters, but because they were not skilled in the art of grammar. For in Greek, it is more clearly, for this word, "ἀγράμματοι," that is, unlettered, and "idiotae" are called unskilled.

It is possible to be both unlettered and not simple, and simple yet not unlettered; but here both coincided (that is, both lack of learning and simplicity). Therefore the Jews were amazed when Peter and John spoke and orated. From where then did they obtain this knowledge that Peter and John were such? From the words of Peter and John themselves.

But, when they looked at the man who had been healed, standing there with them, they had nothing to say.

So they ordered them out of court, and then began consulting together.

“What are we to do to these men?” they asked one another. “That a remarkable sign has been given through them is obvious to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

But, to prevent this thing from spreading further among the people, let us warn them not to speak in this name any more to anyone whatever.”

So they called the apostles in, and ordered them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John replied: “Whether it is right, in the sight of God, to listen to you rather than to him —

Already these as martyrs have borne testimony: set in the battle against all, they said, "We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard." If the things we speak be false, reprehend them; if true, why hinderest thou? Such is philosophy!

"But Peter and John answering, said," etc. Peter and John replied to the priests and the whole council that they ought to obey the Lord's commandments rather than men's threats. On account of the people, whom they had rendered favorable by their deed, they were sent away from the council; and, coming to their own company, they informed them of what had happened to them.

And again: "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." And they went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer insults for the name of Jesus. Behold, Peter rejoices in beatings, who before was afraid at mere words.

judge for yourselves, for we cannot help speaking of what we have seen and heard.”

However, after further warnings, the Council set them at liberty, not seeing any safe way of punishing them, because of the people, for they were all praising God for what had occurred;

for the man who was the subject of this miraculous cure was more than forty years old.

After they had been set at liberty, the apostles went to their friends and told them what the chief priests and the councillors had said to them.

All who heard their story, moved by a common impulse, raised their voices to God in prayer: “Sovereign Lord, it is you who has ‘made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them,’

The whole Church, it is then said, "when they had heard that, lifted up the voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; who, through the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father David, Thy servant, hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

"And when they heard that," it is said, "with one accord they lifted up their voice to God, and said:" and with great earnestness, for it is no prayer made at random.

"O Sovereign Lord God, who made." See how fitting the prayers of the apostles are. When they asked the Lord to show them a man capable of apostolic ministry, they prayed thus: "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all" (Acts 1:24), because then there was need of foreknowledge.

And who, by the lips of our ancestor, your servant David, who spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit, have said — ‘Why did the nations rage, And the peoples form vain designs?

By thus departing from Judaism itself, when they exchanged the obligations and burdens of the law for the liberty of the gospel, they were fulfilling the psalm, "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us; "and this indeed (they did) after that "the heathen raged, and the people imagined vain devices; "after that "the kings of the earth set themselves, a…

Which nations rose up against Christ? The nations of the Jews, namely. For although they were all Jews, nevertheless they came from various nations among which they were scattered.

"You by the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said through the Holy Spirit: 'Why did the nations rage, and the peoples devise vain things?'" They bring forward this prophecy, as if asking God for the fulfillment of the covenant, and at the same time consoling themselves with the thought that the enemies contemplate this in vain.

The kings of the earth set their array, And its rulers gathered together, Against the Lord and against his Christ.’

There have indeed gathered together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you has consecrated the Christ, not Herod and Pontius Pilate only, but the nations and the people of Israel besides —

Yet only to do what you, by your power and of your own will, did long ago destine to be done.

Now, therefore, Lord, mark their threats, and enable your servants, with all fearlessness, to tell your message,

while you stretch out your hand to heal, and cause signs and wonders to take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

When their prayer was ended, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to tell God’s message fearlessly.

These [are the] voices of the Church from which every Church had its origin; these are the voices of the metropolis of the citizens of the new covenant; these are the voices of the apostles; these are voices of the disciples of the Lord, the truly perfect, who, after the assumption of the Lord, were perfected by the Spirit, and called upon the God who made heaven, and earth, an…

The sign that the prayer had been heard was an earthquake: sometimes, however, it happens that the sign is of anger. To be filled with the Holy Spirit signifies to be wholly devoted to the given operation of the divine Spirit and little turned away by fleshly things: or that they were inflamed, and the gift was burning in them, on account of which they spoke with freedom, disre…

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together." This was a testimony of God's visitation and that they had been heard, because sometimes this is a sign of wrath, and sometimes a sign of visitation. The apostles prayed not to be delivered from enduring hardships, but for the success of their preaching. But why did God shake the house?

The whole body of those who had become believers in Christ were of one heart and mind. Not one of them claimed any of his goods as his own, but everything was held for the common use.

Thou shalt not turn away from him that is in want, but thou shalt share all things with thy brother, and shalt not say that they are thine own; for if ye are partakers in that which is immortal, how much more in things which are mortal?

Of this high-souled humility the Apostles first, after the Lord, have given us example, who, leaving all that they had without difference at the voice of the heavenly Master, were turned by a ready change from the catching of fish to be fishers of men, and made many like themselves through the imitation of their faith, when with those first-begotten sons of the Church, "the hea…

It should be noted that the Church was placed in paradise, like the first man, "to till it," in such a way that no one would say "that anything he possessed" was "his own." For it began in a state of great perfection that is observed today in the religious life, for the love of Christ was still recent, and in those days "a large number also of the priests accepted the faith." T…

The apostles continued with great power to bear their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s blessing rested on them all abundantly.

They replied, saying, as if something had been entrusted to them, and this they speak as if concerning a debt. For by divine signs they were showing divine power of Him who had risen from the dead.

"With great power they witnessed of the resurrection." Luke presents the apostles as people who have been entrusted with something, and speaks as if of a duty—that is what "witnessed" means.

Nor was there anyone in need among them, for all who were owners of land or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the sales

If we cannot serve God and mammon, can we be redeemed both by God and by mammon? For who will serve mammon more than the man whom mammon has ransomed? Finally, of what example do you avail yourself to warrant your averting by money the giving of you up? When did the apostles, dealing with the matter, in any time of persecution trouble, extricate themselves by money?

But, you will ask, what should we do after the money was spent? And do you think it ever could be spent? Would not the grace of God be ten thousand fold greater? Would not the grace of God be indeed richly poured out? Nay, should we not make it a heaven upon earth?

"There was no one among them who was in need." Therefore "great grace," because there was not a single poor person, that is, there was not a single person in need, owing to the extraordinary generosity of those who gave away their possessions, because they gave not a part, keeping another part for themselves, but everything; and they gave everything not as their own, but as tho…

And laid them at the apostles’ feet; and then everyone received a share in proportion to his wants.

Then, as you know, believers sold their possessions and brought the prices of them and laid them down at the apostles' feet: a symbolic act designed to show that people must trample on covetousness.

"Selling, they brought the price of what was sold." This testifies to the great dignity and great piety of those who brought it, because they did not even dare to place it in their hands, but "laid it at the feet of the Apostles" and made them masters and stewards over what was brought, so that it might be spent as if not from their own possessions, but as if from the common fu…

Moreover, the candor of those who brought the profit from the sale of their possessions was matched by the honesty of those who distributed it. Trustworthiness in money-managers is rare. Here distribution was made without respect of persons according to the need of each.

A Levite of Cyprian birth, named Joseph, (who had received from the apostles the additional name of ‘Barnabas’ — which means ‘The Consoler,’)

This he says regarding the conspiracy into which they were to enter against the Lord. And that he means this conspiracy, is evident to us. For the blessed David sings, "Rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord," and so forth.

"And Joseph, who, by the apostles, was surnamed Barnabas," etc. Here are given examples of faithful and of deceitful people: Joseph, who was surnamed Barnabas, went away unhurt, because he brought the entire price; Ananias, on the other hand, and his wife Saphira, who kept back by fraud the price of the land they had sold, were cursed, and gave up their unfortunate souls in fro…

Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the surname Barnabas, which in Aramaic means 'son of consolation

Sold a farm that belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

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