Matthew Henry

Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

“It was not I, but the grace of God which was with me. He planted and watered, but God gave the increase. He declared it particularly, that the grace of God might appear the more illustrious in the circumstances of his success.”

When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the…

“Paul ascribed it all to God, and to God they gave the praise of it. They did not break out into high encomiums of Paul, but left it to his Master to say to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; but they gave glory…”

But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our…

“But, (2.) It was false that he taught them to forsake Moses; for the religion he preached tended not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it.”

So the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them.

“He had circumcised Timothy, to please the Jews; though he would not constantly observe the ceremonial law, yet, to gain an opportunity of doing good, and to show how far he could comply, he would occasionally go to the temple and join in the sacrifices…”

I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me.

“And perhaps he mentions it to justify God in his present trouble; how unrighteous soever those were that persecuted him, God was righteous, who permitted them to do it, for time was when he was a persecutor; and he may have a further view in…”

‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.

“Now faith comes by hearing, and therefore that change was now presently wrought upon him that heard the words, and heard them directed to himself, which was not wrought upon those who only saw the light; and yet it might afterwards be wrought upon them…”

There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there,

“He was not a man that was any way prejudiced against the Jewish nation or religion, but was himself a devout man according to the law; if not a Jew by birth, yet one that had been proselyted to the Jewish religion, and therefore called…”

Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear His voice.

“Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous, and suffered wrongfully.”

And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

“(2.) The great gospel duty which by our baptism we are bound to is to call on the name of the Lord, the Lord Jesus; to acknowledge him to be our Lord and our God, and to apply to him accordingly; to give honour to…”

and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’

“Our eye must be upon Christ when we are receiving the law from his mouth; and we must not only hear him speak, but see him speaking to us.”

‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You.

“Now "Lord," says he, "if I appear among them, preaching the doctrine that Stephen preached and suffered for, they will no doubt receive my testimony."”

Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

“Galled consciences kick at the least touch; and those who are resolved not to be rules by reason commonly resolve not to hear it if they can help it.”

The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”

“But why should we go about to give a reason for these experiences of fury, which they themselves could not account for?”

the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.

“It was proper to ask them, but not at all proper to ask Paul, wherefore they cried so against him. He could tell that he had given them no just cause to do it; if there were any cause, let them produce it.”

But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?”

“The chief captain was surprised at this, and put into a fright. He had taken Paul to be a vagabond Egyptian, and wondered he could speak Greek ( ch. xxi.”

Then those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

“Nay, and the colonel himself, though we may suppose him to have a considerable interest, was afraid when he heard he was a Roman, because, though he had not beaten him, yet he had bound him in order to his being beaten.”

At this, the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

“Our Lord Jesus was thus despitefully used in this court, by one of the servants ( John xviii. 22 ), as was foretold, Mic. v. 1 , They shall smite the Judge of Israel upon the cheek.”

Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!

“He reads him his just doom: " God shall smite thee, shall bring upon thee his sore judgments, especially spiritual judgments."”

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”

“The Lord is with those that uphold my soul, and then nothing can come amiss. Christ bids him have a good heart upon it: "Be of good cheer, Paul; be not discouraged; let not what has happened sadden thee, nor let what may yet be…”

More than forty of them were involved in this plot.

“In the night Christ appeared to Paul to protect him, and, when it was day, here were forty men appearing against him to destroy him; they were not up so soon but Christ was up before them God shall help her, and that right early…”

They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

“What a mean, what an ill opinion had they of their priests, when they could apply to them on such an errand as this!”

So the centurion took him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner sent and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

“This centurion helped to save Paul's life by this piece of civility, which should engage us to be ready to do the like when there is occasion. Open thy mouth for the dumb, Prov. xxxi.”

So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Do not tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

“How the plot was defeated: The chief captain, finding how implacable and inveterate the malice of the Jews was against Paul, how restless they were in their designs to do him a mischief, and how near he was to become himself accessory to it as…”

We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

“When Cyprian was condemned to die for being a Christian, this was inserted in hi sentence, that he was auctor iniqui nominis et signifer--The author and standard-bearer of a wicked cause. Now it was true that Paul was an active leading man in propagating Christianity.”

and he even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.

“Their proof of this failed; for that they alleged as matter of act was utterly false, and they knew it, ch. xxi. (2.) That the course of justice against Paul was obstructed by the chief captain. [1.]”