Acts 3:12

He answered The question expressed in the people's explanations of surprise. Men of Israel Lit., men, Israelites. An honorable and conciliatory form of address. The term Israelite gradually gave place to that of Jew; but Israel was the sacred name for the Jews, as the nation of the theocracy, the people under God's covenant, and hence was for the Jew his especial badge and title of honor. "To be descendants of Abraham, this honor they must share with the Ishmaelites; of Abraham and Isaac, with the Edomites; but none except themselves were the seed of Jacob, such as in this name of Israelite they were declared to be. Nor was this all, but more gloriously still, their descent was herein traced up to him, not as he was Jacob, but as he was Israel, who, as a prince, had power with God and with men, and had prevailed" (Trench, "Synonyms"). So Paul, in enumerating to the Philippians his claims to have confidence in the flesh, says he was "of the stock of Israel." It is said that the modern Jews in the East still delight in this title. Our own (ἰδίᾳ) See on Acts 1:7.

Acts 3:12-16 . And when Peter saw it — When he saw a crowd of people collected together, and found that they were exceedingly affected with the miracle that had been wrought, he took that favourable opportunity to preach Christ unto them, especially as the temple was the place of their concourse; thus sowing the seed of the gospel in the ground that was broken up and prepared to receive it. Ye men of Israel — To whom miracles surely are not, or at least ought not to be, strange things: having been wrought for you as a nation, in multiplied instances, from age to age, and many very evident and signal ones having, during the last three years, been performed before your eyes; why marvel ye at this — As if it were a singular fact, the like of which you had never seen? Why do you wonder at what has now happened, when so much greater miracles have lately been performed among you? The fact was indeed marvellous, and they justly wondered at it, but it was no more than what Christ had done many a time. It was but a little before that Christ had raised Lazarus from the dead: nay, and he had lately risen from the dead himself; why did they not marvel at these facts, and why were they not convinced by them? Observe, reader, stupid and thoughtless people think that strange now which might have been very familiar to them, if they had not been wanting to themselves, and void of consideration.

Or why look ye so earnestly on us — With that astonishment which your looks express, as though by our own power we had effected this cure; or by our own holiness had deserved that God should perform it by us. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, &c. — This was wisely introduced here 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; hath glorified his son Jesus — Namely, by this miracle, as he also glorified him in his life and in his death, and especially in his resurrection and ascension; whom — When God had given him to you, and when you ought to have received him as a most precious treasure, and to have preserved him with all your power; ye delivered up — To the Romans as a criminal, and denied — Greek, ηρνησασθε , renounced him; in the presence of Pilate — Or, against the face of Pilate, as Dr. Hammond renders it; that is, in defiance of his reasonings with you; when he was determined to let him go — To release him, being fully satisfied he was innocent of the things laid to his charge.

He answered, for he said, an ordinary Hebraism, though no question was put unto him: thus the evangelist tells us that our Saviour answered and said, when there was no previous question spoken of, Matthew 11:25 . Nay, Jesus answered and said unto the fig tree, Mark 11:14 ; that is, he spake powerfully unto it. Ye men of Israel; an ingratiating compellation, they ever valuing themselves and others on that account. By our own power or holiness: holiness, were it never so real and great in men, cannot cause the least miracle, although it is itself, all things considered, a very great one.

Acts 3:12 . Ἀπεκρίνατο , answered ) having again obtained an opportunity.— τί θαυμάζετε , why wonder ye? ) They had good reason to wonder; but they ought to have recognised the Lord, from whom the benefit had come, and not to stop short and fasten their whole attention upon the mere work itself, or upon the Divine instruments by which it was accomplished.— δυνάμει ἢ εὐσεβείᾳ ) Most frequently δύναμις and ἐξουσία are joined. Wherefore the Syriac and some MSS. of the Latin Vulg. have taken up virtute aut potestate , instead of virtute aut pietate : and furthermore some MSS. mentioned in Irenæu[27], inasmuch as these two words seemed synonymous, have omitted et potestate , “and power.” The formation of the words in writing, εὐσέβεια and ἘΞΟΥΣΊΑ , piety and power , is also similar in appearance, especially in the contractions used in writing Latin.[28] These two, virtue and power , are usually looked to by men in the Divine instruments. Wherefore “Peter puts away from himself the attribution of power, whether physical or meritorious, and ascribes the whole to God and Christ the Lord.” So writes H. de Bukentop, lib. ii. de Vulgata, p. 285. [27] renæus (of Lyons, in Gaul: born about 130 A.D., and died about the end of the second century). The Editio Renati Massueti, Parisinæ, a. 1710. [28] ABCD de Vulg. Amiat. (the oldest MS.) have ἢ εὐσεβείᾳ .—E. and T.

{2} And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? (2) Miracles are appointed to convince the unbelievers, and therefore they wickedly abuse the miracles who, standing amazed, either at the miracles themselves or at the instruments and means which is pleases God to use, take an occasion to establish idolatry and superstition by that which God has provided for the knowledge of his true worship, that is, Christianity.

Verse 12. - At this man for at this , A.V.; fasten ye your eyes for look ye so earnestly , A.V.; godliness for holiness , A.V.; him for this man , A.V. The him at the end of the verse requires that the man should have been previously mentioned. The A.V. felt this, and so, having taken ἐπὶ τούτῳ as at this , they rendered αὐτόν by this man , as if Peter had supplied the want of the verbal mention by pointing to him. Fasten ye your eyes. (For the use of ἀτενίζειν , see note on ver. 4.) Acts 3:12

12 . when Peter saw it ] i.e. their wonder, as may be inferred from his opening words. he answered ] Often used although no previous remark or question precedes. Cp. Acts 5:8 , where Peter is said to have answered Sapphira, though she had said nothing, as far as we are told, and where the Apostle’s words are a question . why marvel ye at this ?] Probably we should supply man , because the pronoun at the close of the verse is only the personal and not the demonstrative, and we should read “made him to walk,” and not as the A. V. “made this man to walk.” look ye so earnestly ] The verb is rendered “to fasten the eyes on” in Acts 3:4 . by our own power ] As he had done to the cripple, so also he makes it clear to the crowd that the name of Jesus is the power by which he has wrought.

Acts 3:12 . Ἀπεκρίνατο ] he began to speak , as a reply to the astonishment and concourse of the people, which thereby practically expressed the wish for an explanation. See on Matthew 11:25 . Observe the honourable address, ἄνδρ . ʼΙσρ ., as in Acts 2:22 , Acts 5:35 , Acts 13:16 , Acts 21:28 . τί θαυμάζετε ἐπὶ τούτῳ ;] The wonder of the people, namely, was unfounded, in so far as they regarded the healing as an effect of the δύναμις ἢ εὐσεβ . of the apostles themselves. τούτῳ ] is neuter; see Acts 3:10 : at this . As to the ἤ , an , introducing the second question, observe that the course of thought without interrogation is as follows: Your astonishment is groundless, provided that you were reasonably entitled to regard us as the workers of this cure. The ἤ is accordingly: or else , if you think that you must wonder why, etc. ἡμῖν emphatically prefixed: ἰδίᾳ is then correlative. εὐσεβείᾳ ] “quasi sit praemium pietatis nostrae a Deo nobis concessum,” Heinrichs. In us lies neither the causa effectiva nor the causa meritoria . πεποιηκόσι τοῦ περιπ . αὐτόν ] to be taken together: as if we had been at work, in order that he might walk . That this telic designation of that which was done is given with the genitive of the infinitive , is certainly to be traced to the frequent use of this form of expression in the LXX. (see Winer, p. 306 [E.