Matthew Henry

And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this?

“Nor was it done by any merit of their own; the power which Christ gave them to do it they had not deserved: it was not by their own holiness; for, as they were weak things, so they were foolish things, that Christ chose to…”

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong.

“It explains likewise the great gospel mystery of our salvation by Christ; it is his name that justifies us, that glorious name of his, The Lord our righteousness; but we, in particular, are justified by that name, through faith in it, applying it to ourselves.”

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.

“That which bears him out in it is that he has the example of his Master's praying for his crucifiers, and pleading in their behalf that they knew not what they did.”

that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you.

“It is agreeable to a state of trial and probation that the glorified Redeemer should be out of sight, because we must live by that faith in him which is the evidence of things not seen; because he must be believed on in the world…”

Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets.

“There is a future state, another life after this; those times will come from the presence of the Lord, from his glorious appearance at that day, his coming at the end of time.”

For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.

“Moses was faithful as a servant, Christ as a Son. Moses was murmured against by Israel, defied by Pharaoh, yet God owned him, and ratified his commission. Moses was a pattern of meekness and patience, so is Christ.”

And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth…

“This refers to that promise made to Abraham ( Gen. xii. 3 ), which promise was long ere it was fulfilled, but now at length had its accomplishment in this Jesus, who was of the seed of Abraham, according to the flesh, and in him…”

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

“It is given among men, who need salvation, men who are ready to perish. We may be saved by his name, that name of his, The Lord our righteousness; and we cannot be saved by any other.”

When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

“They set their faces like a flint, as the prophet, Isa. l. The courage of Christ's faithful confessors has often been the confusion of their cruel persecutors. Now, (1.)”

“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.

“For, [1.] The people were convinced of the truth of the miracle; it was a notable miracle, gnoston semeion -- a known miracle; it was known that they did it in Christ's name, and that Christ himself had often the like before.”

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

“We do not find that they give them any reason why the doctrine of Christ must be suppressed; they cannot say it is false or dangerous, or of any ill tendency, and they are ashamed to own the true reason, that it testifies against their…”

For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

“The older he grew the more inveterate the disease was, and the more hardly cured. If those that are grown into years, and have been long accustomed to evil, are cured of their spiritual impotency to good, and thereby of their evil customs, the power…”

On their release, Peter and John returned to their own people and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

“That they might have it recorded in the history of the church, for the benefit of posterity, particularly for the confirmation of our faith touching the resurrection of Christ.”

The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned.

“The believers had their hearts knit together in holy love, and enlarged their charity to the poor, and the church flourished more than ever, to the glory of Christ,”

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?

“Satan is a lying spirit; he was so in the mouth of Ahab's prophets, and so he was in the mouth of Ananias, and by this made it appear that he filled his heart.”

On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

“He died upon the spot: Ananias, hearing these words, was speechless, in the same sense that he was who was charged with intruding into the wedding feast without a wedding garment: he had nothing to say for himself; but this was not all: he was…”

“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied.

“As there are those whom the gospel justifies, so there are those whom it condemns. This punishment of Ananias may seem severe, but we are sure it was just. (1.)”

At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

“And many instances there are of sudden deaths which are not to be looked upon as the punishment of some gross sin, like this.”

Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.

“But, as among those that followed Christ while he was upon earth, so among those that believed on him after he went to heaven, great notice was taken of the good women.”

At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.

“(2.) They set themselves immediately to execute them, without dispute or delay. They entered into the temples early in the morning (as soon as the gates were opened, and people began to come together there), and taught them the gospel of the kingdom: and did…”

At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people.

“They, supposing they had the apostles sure enough, called the council together, a great and extraordinary council, for they summoned all the senate of the children of Israel.”

“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

“Note, There is no prison so dark, so strong, but God can both visit his people in it, and, if he pleased, fetch them out of it.”

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

“The signs and wonders which the apostles wrought were hitherto miracles of mercy; but now comes in a miracle of judgment, and here is an instance of severity following the instances of goodness, that God may be both loved and feared.”

In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the…

“(1.) The complainants were the Grecians, or Hellenists, against the Hebrews --the Jews that were scattered in Greece, and other parts, who ordinarily spoke the Greek tongue, and read the Old Testament in the Greek version, and not the original Hebrew, many of whom being…”

So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.

“Pectora nostra duas non admittentia curas--These minds of ours admit not of two distinct anxious employments. Though this serving of tables was for pious uses, and serving the charity of rich Christians and the necessity of poor Christians, and in both serving Christ, yet the…”