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Acts 3:13

in Acts 3

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.

KJV

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

This verse in Acts 3

Commentary

17 notes on this verse
The God of Abraham - He is called the God of Abraham because Abraham acknowledged him as his God, and because God showed himself to be his friend. Compare Mat 22:32; Exo 3:6, Exo 3:15; Gen 28:13; Gen 26:24. It was important to show that it was the same God who had done this that had been acknowledged by their fathers, and that they were not about to introduce the worship of any other God.

This site's exposition

why are you surprised by this?

on Acts 3:12-13

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God his hearers worship, has glorified His servant Jesus. The crowd had handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him.

This site's exposition

glorified His servant Jesus

Wesley notes that Peter names the God of the fathers so that no one could think the apostles taught a new religion. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the word means servant, since a different word is used for Son. Oecumenius finds two crimes: handing Him over and denying Him.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Acts · Written before 550.

proposed

Peter remains still among the more humble, those around him and concerning Christ: concerning themselves, as if to say, not to perform miracles by their own private power; concerning Christ, to add the child; for it is not the self-glorified one who receives an addition …

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Acts · Written before 550.

proposed

Through the words, "whom you delivered up and denied," there are two crimes. For to Pilate they delivered him to be killed, saying, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death;" (Jn. 18:31) and they denied him, crying out, "We have no …

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 9 · Written before 407.

proposed

"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers." See how assiduously he thrusts himself upon the fathers of old, lest he should appear to be introducing a new doctrine. In the former address he appealed to the patriarch David, here he appeals to Abraham and the rest. "Hath glorified His Servant Jesus." Again a lowly expression, like as in the opening address. But at this point he proceeds to enlarge upon the outrage, and exalts the heinousness of the deed, no longer, as before, throwing a veil over it. This he does, wishing to work upon them more powerfully. For the more he proved them accountable, the better his purpose were effected. "Hath glorified," he says, "His Servant Jesus, Whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go." The charge is twofold: Pilate was desirous to let Him go; you would not, when he was willing.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 9 · Written before 407.

proposed

Here he also subjoins something else; for he no more says, "of Nazareth," but what? "The God of our fathers hath glorified His Servant Jesus." Observe also the modesty. He reproached them not, neither did he say at once, "Believe then now: behold, a man that has been forty years lame, has been raised up through the name of Jesus Christ." This he did not say, for it would have excited opposition. On the contrary, he begins by commending them for admiring the deed, and again calls them after their ancestor: "Ye men of Israel." Moreover, he does not say, It was Jesus that healed him: but, "The God of our fathers hath glorified," etc. But then, lest they should say, How can this stand to reason-that God should glorify the transgressor? therefore he reminds them of the judgment before Pilate, showing that, would they but consider, He was no transgressor; else Pilate had not wished to release Him. And he does not say, "when Pilate was desirous," but, "was determined to let Him go."

A commentator

Tertullian

An Answer to the Jews · Written before 220.

proposed

Accordingly, all the synagogue of Israel did slay Him, saying to Pilate, when he was desirous to dismiss Him, "His blood be upon us, and upon our children; " and, "If thou dismiss him, thou art not a friend of Caesar; " in order that all things might be fulfilled which had been written of Him.
9 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

Retractions on Acts · Written before 735.

proposed

The God of our fathers glorified His Son Jesus, whom you indeed delivered, etc. In Greek it is more appropriately stated: The God of our fathers glorified His servant Jesus. For it was fitting for a wise teacher, when addressing those who had killed Him, …

A commentator

Glossa Ordinaria

Commentary (church-history corpus) · Written before 1274.

proposed

the God of our fathers: By mentioning the fathers he encourages belief, avoiding the appearance of introducing something new.

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Acts · Written before 1107.

proposed

"The God of our fathers… glorified His Son Jesus." He still adheres in his speech to the aspects of Christ's humiliation, yet he brings the audacity of the Jews into full view and no longer obscures it as before. He does this more out of …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

The God of our fathers - This was wisely introduced in the beginning of his discourse, that it might appear they taught no new religion, inconsistent with that of Moses, and were far from having the least design to divert their regards from the God of Israel.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

); for, (1.) He is Jesus the Son of God; though they had lately condemned Christ as a blasphemer for saying that he was the Son of God, yet Peter avows it: he is his Son Jesus; to him dear as a Son; to us, Jesus, a Saviour.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

When "Son" is intended a different word is used. whom ye delivered up, &c.--With what heroic courage does Peter here charge his auditors with the heaviest of all conceivable crimes, and with what terrific strength of language are these charges clothed!

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

why marvel at this?--For miracles are marvels only in relation to the limited powers of man. as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk--Neither the might nor the merit of the cure are due to us, mere agents of Him whom we preach.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The God of Abraham, etc. - This was wisely introduced, to show them that He whom they called their God had acknowledged Jesus Christ for his Son, and wrought this miracle in his name; and, by thus honouring Jesus whom they slew, he had charged home the guilt of that murder upon them. Denied him in the presence of Pilate - Ηρνησασθε, Ye have renounced him as your king, and denounced him to death as a malefactor, when Pilate, convinced of his perfect innocence, was determined, κριναντος, judged it proper and just, to let him go. Pilate wished to act according to justice; you acted contrary to justice and equity in all their forms.

The words behind it

33 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 22:32

    ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

    it leads to

    • Exodus 3:6

      Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Mark 12:26–27

      But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the…

    • Acts 7:32

      ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

    • Luke 20:37–38

      Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

    • Exodus 3:15–16

      God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My…

  • Through

    Acts 7:32

    ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 22:32

      ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

  • Through

    John 19:12

    From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”

    it leads to

    • Acts 17:6–7

      But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,

    • John 18:33–36

      Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Retractions on Acts; Glossa Ordinaria, Commentary (church-history corpus); J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 9; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts; Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.