Acts 5:25

5:17-25 There is no prison so dark, so strong, but God can visit his people in it, and, if he pleases, fetch them out. Recoveries from sickness, releases out of trouble, are granted, not that we may enjoy the comforts of life, but that God may be honoured with the services of our life. It is not for the preachers of Christ's gospel to retire into corners, as long as they can have any opportunity of preaching in the great congregation. They must preach to the lowest, whose souls are as precious to Christ as the souls of the greatest. Speak to all, for all are concerned. Speak as those who resolve to stand to it, to live and die by it. Speak all the words of this heavenly, divine life, in comparison with which the present earthly life does not deserve the name. These words of life, which the Holy Ghost puts into your mouth. The words of the gospel are the words of life; words whereby we may be saved. How wretched are those who are vexed at the success of the gospel! They cannot but see that the word and power of the Lord are against them; and they tremble for the consequences, yet they will go on.

Then came one and told them, saying,.... Who this man was, is of no consequence to know; it can hardly be thought that he was one of the number of the disciples, or a member of the church, or a professor of the Christian religion; but rather an enemy, and one that sought his own interest, and to obtain the favour and affection of the chief priests and elders, and therefore very officiously came to them, and reported as follows: behold, the men whom ye put in prison, last night, are standing in the temple; openly and publicly, and without fear; and teaching the people; in the name of Jesus, which the sanhedrim had forbid them to do.

Verse 25. - And there came one for then came one , A.V.; behold for saying, Behold , A.V. and T.R.; the prison for prison , A.V.; in the temple standing for standing in the temple , A.V. Standing implying the calm, fearless attitude of the men. There is an apparent reference in the mind of the writer to the words of the angel in ver. 20, "Go ye, and stand and speak." Acts 5:25

25 . Then came one and told them ] Better, And there came , &c. The English then is often in such a position taken for an adverb of time. The proceedings were evidently well known, and the hall of judgment was not far from where the Apostles were teaching at the very time. are standing in the temple, and teaching the people ] The order of the original should be preserved: are in the temple standing , &c., for the words look back to the command of the angel in Acts 5:20 . This standing implies the prominent and undaunted position which the Apostles had taken up. They were not like prisoners who had escaped, and so were seeking a place to hide themselves; but like men whose work had been interfered with, and who, as soon as they were able, had come back to it again.

The captain of the temple - See the notes on Acts 4:1 . Doubted of them - They were in "perplexity" about these things. The word rendered "doubted" denotes "that state of anxiety which arises when a person has lost his way, or when he does not know what to do to escape from a difficulty." See Luke 9:7. Whereunto this would grow - What this "would be"; or, what would be the result or end of these events. For: (1) Their authority was disregarded. (2) God had opposed them by a miracle. (3) the doctrines of the apostles were gaining ground. (4) their efforts to resist them had been in vain. They need "not" have doubted; but sinners are not disposed to be convinced of the truth of religion.

Acts 5:25 . ἰδοὺ … εἰσὶν : on the characteristic use of the verb εἰναι after ἰδοὺ or ἴδε in St. Luke’s writings as compared with other N.T. writers and the LXX, see Viteau, Le Grec du N. T. , pp. 200, 205 (1896); cf. Acts 2:7 , Acts 16:1 , and Luke 2:25 ; Luke 7:25 ; Luke 11:41 , etc.— παραγεν ., see on Acts 5:22 .— ἑστῶτες , cf. Acts 5:20 . antitheton: posuistis (Bengel).

Acts 25:24 . βασιλεῦ , see above on p. 495.— συμπαρόντες : only here in N.T., cf. Wis 9:10 , Tob 12:12 [395] [396].— πᾶν τὸ πλ .: the statement is not in the least inconsistent with Acts 25:2 ; Acts 25:7 ; Acts 25:15 . In Jerusalem at all events it is easily intelligible that a noisy crowd would second the actual accusers, cf. Acts 17:5-6 , while in connection with Cæsarea we know from the latter years of the government of Felix how bitter the Jews were against the Gentiles, and how natural it would be for them to oppose the Apostle of the Gentiles, Jos., B. J. , ii., 13, 7; Ant. , xx., 8, 7.— ἐνέτυχόν μοι : “made suit to me,” R.V., Wis 8:20 , 3Ma 6:37, so in Plut., Pomp. , 55, cf. Polyc., Martyr. , xvii., 2, with dative only; it is used also of those making complaint before some authority, 1Ma 8:32 ; 1Ma 10:61 ; 1Ma 11:35 , 2Ma 4:36 , see Westcott on Hebrews 7:25 . The verb with the exception of Hebrews 7:25 and text is only found in Romans 8:27 ; Romans 8:34 ; Romans 11:2 , in each place of making supplication to God. For its use cf. ἔντευξις and ἐντυχία , of making request to one in authority, cf. Deissmann, Bibelstudien , i., pp. 117, 118, 143, 144, e.g. , the frequent formula on the papyri, ἔντευξις εἰς τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ὄνομα . Clemen regards the whole speech of Festus to Agrippa, Acts 25:24-27 , as an interpolation on account of the repetition of Acts 25:21 in Acts 25:25 , and of the contradiction supposed to exist between Acts 25:27 ; Acts 25:19 .