Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

EXPLANATION OF THE ANCIENT HOLY MEN BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

AND ALSO BY OECUMENIUS

CHAPTER I. De doctrina Christi, quae fuit a resurrectione et apparitione ad discipulos: et de promissione sancti Spiritus, de visa Christi assumptione, et de glorioso ejus secundo adventu.

I, 1-2. "The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen."

"The former treatise," he says, not "Gospel," although Paul calls his own writing a Gospel when he asserts: "According to my gospel." For they avoid arrogance everywhere. Just as Matthew also says: "The book of the generation." But if Mark says: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ," he does not on that account call his own writing "The Gospel," but rather Christ’s preaching. For the beginning of Christ’s preaching was the coming forth from the preaching of John. The beginning, however, of the revelation of the mystery of Christ and of His incarnation was the birth from the Virgin, and whatever followed upon these. Which beginning Matthew also used for his own writings, and this Luke himself: which writings the faithful afterwards deemed worthy to call Gospels, as truly containing the Gospel, that is to say, the doctrine of Christ. But when he says, "of all," he seems to contradict the evangelist John; for the latter says that it is not possible to write these things, for neither could the world contain the books that should be written; whereas this one says he has written a book "of all" from the beginning up until the assumption ^C. What then shall we say? That he says he [has not omitted] ^C

anything of those things that are connected and urgent, in which the divinity and truth of the preaching are grasped. For John himself also ^A discussed all these things. For they left nothing out through which the dispensation of the Word according to the flesh is believed and known, and his greatness according to his divinity shines forth and is made manifest. "O Theophilus."

Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

^A From this we learn that even after the resurrection he was teaching the disciples. "And eating with them." Feeding and drinking together. That is, sharing salt, sharing a table. "He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father." He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, desiring to make the account of the resurrection firmer among them through the miracles that were wrought by the invocation of the Crucified, and through the tribulations which they suffered from the Jews, yet did not fall away from the friendship of the One who had been crucified and had risen, but rather remained steadfast to Him. For if they had departed from Jerusalem immediately, and none of these things had followed, the resurrection would certainly have been suspected. Furthermore, there were many there who were about to believe. At the same time, it was necessary for them to wait, so that no one might say that they had abandoned their acquaintances and gone to strangers to boast of themselves. Also, because they were not yet armed with the power of the Spirit, they would have been useless for the struggle against ^B their adversaries. "The promise of the Father." And where did the Father promise this? We say, therefore, that the saying must be understood through the ellipsis of the preposition "from," so that the sense is: "Wait for the promise from the Father which I made to you concerning the Holy Spirit"; or also because, as He Himself says, "What I heard from the Father, these things I announce to you," the promise of the Holy Spirit, even if it was made through Him, nevertheless originated from the Father. But if you seek testimony from the Spirit Himself, Joel is a trustworthy witness to confirm the word, saying: "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." "Which you heard from me." When did they hear it? When He said: "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you." And again: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete." But if the Spirit had not yet arrived, how had He said: "Receive the Holy Spirit"? Either because He said this to make them capable and suited for the reception of the Spirit (and they received Him when He descended); or because He spoke of the future as if it were present; or because the giving of the Spirit is either purgative or perfective. The completed ^D coming of the Spirit upon the apostles, therefore, which is what renders one perfect, so that one may also make others perfect, took place at the time of Pentecost, but He did not come while He [the Lord] was present; for if the Lord had departed then, while the Spirit remained, there would not have been such consolation, for they adhered to Him so strongly that they could hardly be torn away. The Spirit did not descend immediately, however, but after eight or perhaps nine days, so that, having been a little sorrowful, they might be established in a state of desire and need for the promise, and thus receive it...

^A in his advent, they might receive pure and perfect joy. Furthermore, it was fitting that our nature should appear in heaven, that reconciliation should be accomplished, and then that the Spirit should come. Consider, moreover, lest they flee again after the Lord was assumed, how he holds them all there by this expectation, as if by a certain chain.

« For John indeed baptized with water. » The apostles were baptized with water in the beginning, and after this also with the Holy Spirit. Here he now manifests his power over John, just as when he said, « He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. » ^B « But you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days after these. » He said "You shall be baptized," but not "I will baptize," adopting meekness and shunning arrogance. Especially since John had previously taught this, when saying, « He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire, » it would have been superfluous for him to add it himself. But does he not baptize by grace in the upper room without water? Indeed, for the Spirit is more efficacious, through whom even water works, since Christ himself was also anointed without oil.

I, 6. « Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying: Lord, do you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? » Observe here. Since they had asked before the passion about the consummation of the world, they no longer ask about this, but about an earthly kingdom. ^C For they were still disposed in a more imperfect manner. They asked together, having gathered, that they might prevail through their number. But having heard before the passion that no one knows the day, yet now they ask again. For because they had heard that they were about to receive the Spirit, as if they were now worthy, they wished to know and were eager to be freed from their difficulties. They did not say, "When?", but, "If at this time?", "If now?" they say; so much did they desire the day. But to me it seems they had not even clearly grasped what the kingdom was. For the Spirit, who would teach them, was not yet present. They said, "Do you restore," because they were by now imagining greater things concerning it. Therefore he spoke to them more openly. For he did not say, "Neither does the Son know," but, « It is not for you. » And lest they should become despondent, he added, « But you shall receive power, » and the rest. And they indeed did not ask about the consummation, but he teaches what they did not ask; ^D for it is the mark of an excellent teacher to teach not what the disciples desire to learn, but what is useful for them. For this reason he did not answer their question, as having nothing useful in it, but taught what was pressing; for there was great need of the Spirit for them at that time.

« But he said to them: It is not for you to know times or seasons. » He keeps them at a distance everywhere from the knowledge of future things.

not as if ignorant, but because he knew that nothing would be gained by them from this for their spiritual salvation. Hence, he previously said to them indefinitely: « But you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. » If you ask why he does not send the Spirit immediately, or why he did not signify a fixed time, learn that the Spirit does not come immediately upon the ascension, so that He might make ^A His reception more desirable; and [he does not assign] a specific day, so that he might render them prepared for the struggle and more fit for His advent.

« Which the Father has put in his own power. » It should be noted whether this saying has any weight for those who wish to abolish the boundary of human affairs, or rather, fate. For in saying, « Which the Father has put in his own power, » he abolishes fate. But if the Father has put it [there], it is manifest ^B that the Son has put it [there] as well; for all things that are the Father’s are also the Son’s.

I. 8. « But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. » Since before this he had commanded: « Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, » etc., implying that he was sent only to the Israelites, now, together with them, he shares the preaching with the Samaritans and the remaining nations. At the same time, he also heralds that the word ^C of piety would be diffused throughout the entire world. For what else does it signify that he says: « To the end of the earth »?

I. 9. « And when he had said these things, while they were watching, he was lifted up. » Leading them away from every other trifling curiosity, so that they might not question him again, he immediately began to ascend into heaven. He adds, however: « While they were watching. » Since the entire business of faith and of their necessity was situated in this, the beginning of the event could be seen, but the end could not. Therefore, the men stood by to teach ^D that he rests in heaven; for vision did not reach to the end. In the resurrection, however, the contrary was the case: the beginning was not seen; for it would have been superfluous, since He who had risen appeared alive, and the tomb was empty; but the end was manifest, for He was appearing to them alive.

« And a cloud took him from their eyes. » A cloud indeed took up the Lord, in order to demonstrate equality of honor with the Father. For it is said of the Father: « Clouds and thick darkness are round about him. » And God, having become incarnate, used a cloud as a vehicle—for He was Lord; Elias, however, used fire. For He, as Lord of all, ascending by His own power, takes up for His ascent something earthly and that which is borne downward, not so much being led around as Himself leading the vehicle. But Elias was a servant, and for this reason [he required] an upward-bearing chariot

and horses providing him with the swiftness of the journey. Wherefore it is said of him: *Elias went up in a whirlwind as into heaven.* But of the Lord: *As He was going into heaven.* Two men in white garments confirm the Lord’s restoration into the heavens, according to what is said: *In the mouth of two or three witnesses the word shall be established.* ^A

*I, 10. And as they were looking intently into heaven as He was going, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.* ^B Being angels, they appear as men due to their operation, in accordance with the nature of the vision, lest they should completely overwhelm those who were already struck with awe by the novelty of the assumption.

*I, 11. Which also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven?* Men were speaking to men, and yet they were not of the same substance. *This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, in the same manner as you have seen Him going into heaven.*

Lest the disciples be troubled, and as though their Master were gone and His body dissolved, should lose hope for the future regarding the expectation in which He was to be awaited, and through this be scattered one hither and one thither in cowardice and fear—for this reason the men appear, demonstrating to them His ascent into heaven and the permanence and salvation of the body that had been taken up, through these words which they speak: *This Jesus... shall so come again.* ^C And by saying, *Why stand ye?* they suggest to them that they should set aside concern for this matter and proceed to Jerusalem, according to the Lord’s commandment, *not to depart from Jerusalem.* Wherefore, having arrived, and still being in fear due to the Master's absence, they did not walk about in the city, but went up into the upper room, as into a safer and hidden place. Chrysostom says that the assumption took place on a Sabbath day. Therefore it is also noted: *a Sabbath day’s journey*, so that they might not seem to have used a longer foot-journey on the Sabbath than had been established by the Law.

*I, 12. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount that is called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, having a Sabbath day’s journey.* One mile, which was the Sabbath day’s journey, as Origenes says in his fifth *Stromata*, consisted of two thousand cubits. ^D And this was especially because the holy tabernacle and the ark preceded the encampment by such an interval, and they pitched their tents at such a distance; which space those who were worshipping were allowed to walk on the Sabbath to reach the holy tabernacle.

*I, 13, 14. And when they were come in, they went up into the upper room, where abode both Peter and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew*

« et Matthaeus, Jacobus Alphaei et Simon Zelotes, et Judas Jacobi. Hi omnes erant perseverantes unanimiter in oratione et obsecratione, cum mulieribus et Maria Matre Jesu, cumque fratribus ipsius. »

Petrus, interpreting or knowing: Jacobus, supplanter of labor. Joannes, grace of God: Andreas, becoming potency or condemned: Philippus, mouth of widows or mouth of a lamp: Thomas, abyss or twin or doubter. Bartholomaeus, son of him who suspended the waters: Matthaeus, ^A given: Jacobus Alphaei, supplantation. Simon Zelotes, discipline of life: Judas Jacobi, this one was also called Thaddaeus. He recounts the disciples by name to show that, when they had fallen at the time of the passion, Judas indeed cast himself entirely out of the choir of the apostles. But Peter was both there, and was recalled by the teacher through the threefold interrogation. For if it is recorded that John took the Mother of Christ into his own home, certainly when John was present with the apostles, she too was present.

Otherwise. Not in vain does he make a catalogue of the disciples, but wishing to show that they suffered something human, ^B yet did not remain in their fall. For Peter, who had denied, was absolved from the denial by bitter tears, as is manifest from the fact that a little later the rational flock was entrusted to him. Thomas, who had been incredulous, was healed from incredulity by touching the wounds of the hands and the side. So while all the others were present together, only Judas was missing. And Mary the Theotokos was present, since John, who had received her into his own home, and the brothers were also present. If Joseph the betrothed had been alive, he would certainly have been present too; and ^C he, above all, who never doubted concerning the dispensation, even when his sons did. But it is manifest that he had long been dead. For when the relatives wished to see Jesus teaching, he was not present either. For what does it say? « Thy mother and thy brethren seek thee without, » but it does not add: And thy father.

Chapter II. Peter's address to those who knew of the death and apostleship of Judas the traitor: in which is also narrated the substitution of Matthias, who by prayer was allotted the apostleship by the grace of God.

I, 15. « Et in diebus illis surgens Petrus in medio discipulorum dixit, eratque turba hominum simul fere centum viginti. » ^D Peter arises, not James, both as one more fervent and as one to whom the presidency of the disciples had been entrusted. Moreover, James was also modest, more suited to prayer and quiet, while the others evidently handled affairs. Therefore they yield to him the Jerusalem presidency. But observe how he does all things by common decree, and not by primacy, nor by his own authority. Now one hundred and twenty were present together

^A from those who had believed in the Lord. For there were also seventy and five hundred, whom Paul says saw the Lord after He had risen. But it is likely that these were from among those who were more fully approved and more fervent in speaking with boldness.

« Men and brethren, this Scripture must needs have been fulfilled, ^B which the Holy Spirit spoke by the mouth of David. »

He consoles them with the prophecy. And he does not say, “Which David said,” but, “The Holy Spirit by the mouth of David.” And what was this? All that the one hundred and eighth psalm contains, of which he will also make mention a little later on. But speaking of Judas, he handles the discourse moderately and without any animosity. For he does not call him accursed or wicked, but simply indicates what happened. Furthermore, in adding: “This man therefore purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and that becoming prone [i.e., falling headlong] he burst asunder,” he did not speak by referring the purchasing to Judas. For he himself did not buy the field, but the priests did, from the silver which Judas had cast down in the temple. But since these were the wages of the betrayal of Judas, the acquisition is reckoned to him as well. And again, since this was set apart for burial, the Scripture has been fulfilled: « And his habitation made desolate. » For what is more desolate than tombs? But through saying, “Falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst,” he showed that immediately upon betraying, because of excessive faint-heartedness and despondency, he resorted by despair to such an end. But since the holy Gospels mention that he made use of strangulation, whereas this [account] asserts that he was precipitated, there results no disagreement from this regarding whatever is narrated thereafter; for both occurred. For the rope by which he was strangled having snapped, he thus fell headlong to the ground and burst asunder. Meanwhile, while these things were being recounted about him after forty days, it is confirmed that these events took place immediately upon the betrayal.

^C « Concerning Judas, who became the guide to those who arrested Jesus, for he had been numbered with us, and had obtained the lot of this ministry. This man therefore purchased a field from the reward of iniquity, and having fallen headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that that field was called in their own dialect, Aceldama, that is, Field of Blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no one dwell in it, and his bishopric let another take. »

Judas did not die by the strangulation, but survived, having been cast down before he was suffocated. And the Acts of the Apostles indicate this, that falling headlong he burst asunder in the midst. This, however, was written more clearly by Papias, the disciple of John the apostle, ^D

^A saying: "A great example of impiety in this world, Judas walked about. Having been swollen in his flesh to such a degree that he could not pass where a carriage could easily pass, he was crushed by the carriage, so that his entrails were poured out." Otherwise: He was swollen in his flesh to such a degree that he could not pass where a carriage could easily pass, nor indeed could the mere bulk of his head. For they say that the eyelids of his eyes had swollen to such a degree that he could not see the light at all, and his eyes could not be seen even by the aid of a physician's probe, being separated by such a depth from the outer surface; and his genitals appeared more disgusting and larger than any obscenity. And the ichor and worms, flowing from his whole body, were borne off in disgrace through his private parts alone. But after many torments and punishments, they say that he died in his own field, and from the stench that field remained desert and uninhabited until today. Nor even to this day can anyone pass by that place unless they stop their nostrils with their hands. Luke mentions here the immediate punishment of Judas. For the souls of the weak are most strongly restrained by things that are present. He increased the sin, ^B calling him a traitor, but he also recounts the punishment, describing that he suffered this and that. He intends that the field was called Haceldama not by Judas, but by the Jews. For he says: "In their own dialect, the Jews bearing witness to the wickedness."

« It is necessary, therefore, of these men who have been with us through all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto the day that he was taken up from us, that one of these should become a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph who is called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And praying, they said: 'You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, to go to his own place.' »

He communicates the matter to them, so that it may not become a point of contention and they may not fall into strife. Therefore, also beginning [with], "Viri fratres" (Men, brethren), he says, "it is necessary to be chosen by you," committing the judgment to the multitude, and at the same time making those who are chosen venerable, and freeing himself from envy toward them: ^C both because it had to happen, and because he brings in the prophet saying: "His bishopric let another take." From whom, moreover, is it necessary? From those who had provided a test of themselves in the time that they had been gathered among them. Therefore he does not say: "From the gentle," lest he might sadden the others, appearing to offer them an insult. But he added: ^D "Beginning from the baptism of John." For none of them had known the things that had been done before this by learning and being present, unless only He who had chosen them, but they learned by the Spirit. He says, however, a witness of the resurrection...

witness. For this was especially the keystone of Jesus' divinity. Since even of his miracles performed before the passion, there were many witnesses, even among the unbelievers who had seen them. The apostles were eager to fill up the number, so that the Master's election might not be as if it were crippled and incomplete. They did not propose many, but only two, so that greater grief might not be caused by the rejection of many. Barsabas and Joseph and Justus are names given either for distinction or for virtue. Opportune indeed is it that they call him "Knower of hearts," and they do not say, "Choose," but, "Show the one whom you have chosen." For all things are known and determined by God, even before our thoughts arise. He calls it a "lot," showing that the whole matter is of God's benevolence and election, and reminding them of the ancients, that the Levites were also chosen by lot in this way. He says definitely, "Of this ministry," for there were others as well. By "his own place," he means the halter—that is, the place to which Judas rendered himself worthy through his betrayal—or that, Judas being cast aside, this man might have his own place, taking that man's bishopric. ^C

"And they gave their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

Being thus perfectly trained by the lot, they do not learn who is worthy by [some] sign. Nor is the use of the lot improper. For if it had power in the case of Jonah, when base men were casting lots, what must be thought of holy men who commit the matter to prayer? For if the upright intention of those [sailors] alone guided the matter, much more so would that of men inspired by God.

CAPUT III. Concerning the divine supervention of the Holy Spirit occurring on the day of Pentecost upon those who believed, in which is contained Peter's instruction from the prophets: concerning the passion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit; concerning the faith of those present, and their salvation through baptism; concerning communal concord for the common good, and the addition of those who were believing.

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues."

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come." That is, nearing Pentecost, at the very feast itself, because it was time to put the sickle to the mature spiritual harvest, when because of the feast many were present, including those who had crucified him, and so that they might receive the rebuke for the murder they had perpetrated themselves. By a sudden sound, and not imperceptibly, the approach of the Spirit took place, and from heaven, so that by a sudden consternation He might both rouse them effectively, and cause all to

^A flock together. And by this He made the miracle irreproachable. For if, even when this had occurred, they maligned the strange event as drunkenness, what would they not have said had it not occurred in this way? "From heaven" and "with much vehemence." For by the violent wind He wishes to indicate this, to show that the work was of Him who was taken up into heaven, and of divine power; just as also over the Red Sea blew a violent south wind. And correctly in all these things he spoke by way of simile—namely, "as," if I may say so, and "like fire"—so that nothing sensible might be thought concerning the Spirit. The ^B breath filled the whole house, filling it like a pool, since it had also been promised to them: "You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire." And this was a sign of abundance and of vehemence. But fire did not fill the house, lest it should terrify them completely and force those who saw it to flee, and thus they be unable to testify to the things that occurred afterward; but the Spirit is divided into tongues of fire, and rests upon each one—namely, the one hundred and twenty who were residing in the house. For from one root was the grace of the Paraclete divided into various gifts, and a tongue was needed which might declare the great works of God, and, like fire, consume everything contrary. It was in the form of fire, because the Spirit is also God (and our God is a consuming fire), and to demonstrate the likeness of nature with the Father, who thus appears to Moses at the bush. And He sits upon each one, signifying stability and permanence. For the word "sat" signifies that He remained and rested. Consider also that in the case of John, ^C as He was about to be known by one man, He is seen in the form of a dove, descending upon the head of Christ. But when it was necessary to convert the whole multitude, He came as fire. And the Hebrews could understand this about God also from the Old Testament, that He is a consuming fire. Moreover, also while the disciples were occupied with prayer and supplication and mutual love, then the Holy Spirit comes to them.

II, 4. "According as the Spirit himself gave them to speak."

CHAPTER III

II, 5. "Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, religious men from every nation of those that are under heaven."

The fact that they were religious He shows from this: that they left their fatherlands, and having abandoned possessions and houses, chose to dwell in Jerusalem, so that according to the ancestral law they might be able to appear three times a year before the Lord. ^D

II, 12. "Now when this voice occurred, the multitude came together, and was confounded, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. And all were amazed and wondered, saying to one another: Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how do we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and…"

^A Elamites, and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another: What does this mean? »

The multitude was confounded, that is, disturbed, and deservedly so; for they thought that they would be brought into trouble on account of those things which were rashly committed against Christ, and their conscience was shaking their souls. And the murderers indeed were in such a state, but the devout were amazed, recognizing that they were Galileans, yet speaking in their own native languages. Truly, the apostles knew what they were saying, namely, the mighty works of God, but they did not know the languages in which they were speaking, unless the devout men who heard them did so—for instance, a Scythian perhaps, or an Indian, knowing that the apostles are speaking in the Scythian or Indian tongue.

« But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine. » There were also some among those who understood, perhaps the more vulgar sort, who mocked, saying that these things were taking place because of drunkenness. For if they had not understood, they would not have attributed the matter to drunkenness; but if they understood while they were speaking, how, you will say, did they dare to mock? But malice, which arises from excessive wickedness, proceeds from nothing else than perversity itself, so that it might find in any way possible some means to disturb and repel the present good. Just as it was also when Christ was working miracles; they could not doubt the power and efficacy of the signs, but, being insane, they ascribed the work to Beelzebub.

He mentions nations that were enemies to the Jews, such as the Cretans, Arabians, and the others, whose languages they were speaking, and they provided this as a sign that they would overcome all these in the faith. Everywhere, wickedness mingles itself with virtue; for the pious were indeed amazed, but others were mocking. See, however, the folly of those mocking. "They are filled," they say, "with new wine." And yet it was not the time for this; for it was Pentecost, when there is no new wine. For new wine, strictly speaking, is the sweet wine that flows from the winepress itself. But also, it was the third hour, at which it is not credible that men should be drunk, especially those who are in dangers and fears.

Therefore, they ascribe the whole matter to the quality of the wine, saying, « They are filled with new wine. » For shamelessness seeks only to say something, whatever it may be, not to say something reasonable. But the more astonishing thing is that while these were amazed and confessing—being Jews, Romans, proselytes, and those perhaps who had crucified [Him]—and almost all the nations were proclaiming that they were speaking in their own tongues, some were nevertheless found mocking. —Otherwise. To say that the apostles were filled with new wine, [judging] from the quality of the wine, ^{B C D}

is a calumny. For new wine is sweet, and is indeed more prone to produce drunkenness, because by the stickiness of its sweetness, it causes a more dense filling of the hollows of the brain from the evaporation. ^A But did those who mocked understand what was said, or not? If they did not understand, then their mockery had no basis. For why would some nonsensical chatter, uttered at random, trouble anyone? But it is clear that they themselves understood, even though they had before their eyes those who attributed the event to a miracle. Yet they maliciously calumniated it, as is the custom of the perverse. —Otherwise. They understood, but they were not pleased with what was said. For they were speaking of the great things of God. For it is the habit of the multitude, if they are not pleased with what is said, to consider the speaker to be demon-possessed or raving; just as, in the case of Christ, they understood the miracles, but when they ought to have praised them, they reviled them as if they were done by Beelzebub.

II, 14. « Stans autem Petrus cum undecim, extulit vocem suam, et locutus est illis : Viri Judæi, et qui habitatis Jerusalem universi, hoc vobis notum sit, et auribus percipite verba mea. » ^B Above, he shows foresight in that he permits the multitude [to decide] the election of him who was to be constituted with the eleven; here, however, [he shows] boldness of speech. And he does this even though he does not have favorable listeners, but rather ones who are laughing and mocking and shouting; and this [is remarkable] when he himself was an uneducated and illiterate man. Is not his action, then, beyond human capacity, that he should have broken silence or attempted to speak? He says, "with the eleven," indicating that by common will and voice he was the mouth of all; for the eleven stood by as witnesses of what was being said. And "he raised his voice"; that is, he spoke with great freedom of speech, so that they might immediately at the beginning learn of the grace of the Spirit. For he who before this time did not endure the questioning of a lowly serving-girl, ^C this man here, in the midst of the people, with everyone shouting, speaks so fearlessly that this becomes an indubitable proof of the resurrection.

II, 15. « Non enim, sicut vos existimatis, hi ebrii sunt. » He did not say: As you mocking people say, but, "As you suppose," treating the discourse more kindly, and not wishing openly to show that they had said this from malice, paving the way for them toward conversion and repentance. For it is, he says, the third hour of the day. And what of this? Does it not happen to be drunk at the third hour? Certainly; but that does not serve the purpose: for they did not think this way about them, but were saying this while mocking and deriding them.

^D II, 15-21. « Nam est hora diei tertia : sed hoc est quod dictum fuit per prophetam Joel : Et erit in novissimis diebus, dicit Deus, effundam de Spiritu meo super omnem carnem, et prophetabunt filii vestri et filiæ vestræ. Juvenes vestri vi-

- ^Asiones videbunt, et seniores vestri somnia somniabunt. Etiam super servos meos et super ancillas meas in diebus illis effundam de Spiritu meo et prophetabunt. Et dabo prodigia in cœlo superne, et signa in terra inferne, sanguinem et ignem et vaporem fumi. Sol convertetur in tenebras et luna in sanguinem, priusquam veniat dies Domini magnus et manifestus. Et continget quod omnis quicunque invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit.

This made them more attentive in the interim. The fact that this took place at the third hour is not to be understood in a common way, but because the splendor of the fire is exhibited at that time, when men are not using it for work nor for preparing lunch, when the day is bright, when everyone is in the marketplace. Then he brings forward the prophecy of ^B Joel, without making any mention of Christ there, or of the signs of which they themselves had been eyewitnesses, or that this was his own promise. For if he had said this, he would have overturned everything and exposed it to contempt. But he introduces the Father for the time being, who had promised this to them through the prophet, and he removes envy. Not to the apostles alone, he says, but to all flesh, clearly to that which believes sincerely and with proper disposition. For He who says to me, he says, "Lord, Lord," is not [saved], but he who does this with an excellent life. However, he does not add this here, making the word of the promise less heavy and lighter, as if calling alone were sufficient for salvation. But that saying, "The sun will be turned into darkness," and before that, "Blood and fire and vapor of smoke," he says these refer to the future judgment. Yet it is spoken more appropriately concerning Jerusalem and the captivity that happened then, especially since, according to Josephus, many such preludes occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem. To say that the moon is to be turned into blood indicates the magnitude of the slaughter, as if—being closer—it could suffer this from the evaporation of the blood. The phrase, "Before the coming of the day of the Lord, great and manifest," is the language of one terrifying and shaking them because of the dangers expected. For he says, do not be of good cheer because you ^C are currently sinning with impunity; but recognize that these are preludes of that great and dangerous day, in which the retribution of deeds will follow. Yet with the threats he also adds a certain kindness, adding: "And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And this, indeed, the apostle Paul says was spoken concerning Christ; now, however, since there is no occasion for this, he passed over it through a certain dispensation of speech.

^D II, 28. "Viri Israelitæ, audite verba hæc: Jesum Nazarenum, virum a Deo designatum ad vos virtutibus, prodigiis et signis quæ per ipsum fecit Deus in medio vestri, sicut et ipsi scitis, hunc definito consilio et præscientia Dei traditum cum accepissetis, per manus iniquorum

^A You have taken him and put him to death. "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue exulted; moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will fill me with gladness with your countenance.'"

Since he reproached them vehemently above, now he refreshes them, not by flattering them, but by restoring them. Therefore he also prefixes the mention of the father and progenitor David, so as not to disturb them, since he had introduced Jesus into the discourse. For when they heard the prophet, they restrained themselves. For if he had merely brought forward Jesus to those murderous men, he would have immediately offended them. For this reason he did not say, "Believe," but rather, "Hear," so that his discourse might be more free from odium. For this reason he also speaks more humbly concerning Jesus. Indeed, "Jesus," he says, "the Nazarene," ^B naming him by his humble and abject native land. Then, "designated," that is, about whom there could be no doubt, but demonstrated by works, "which God did through him," showing that he was from God. For even if God did them, yet he did them through him, and "in your midst," not secretly nor in a corner, but while you were witnesses. But since he was proceeding toward their crime which manifested itself in the cross, he attempts also to exonerate them by the fact that he says, "By the definite counsel and foreknowledge of God," at once showing the voluntary nature of his passion, and that they had served what had been foreordained; nevertheless, while exonerating them, he does not leave them entirely without accusation: for he adds, "By the hands of the lawless ones you destroyed him." For by the hands of the lawless, that is to say, of Judas and the soldiers, he says "you destroyed him." For if those who performed the act are lawless, then clearly so are those who destroyed him. Having thus gradually scolded ^C them, and having then assumed the boldness to touch upon them more pointedly, he says: "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death." That is to say, that even death itself suffered while holding him, and, as it were, endured something grave. For the Old Testament calls sorrows—that is, calamities—pangs, as when it is said, "The pangs of death surrounded me." By the fact that he adds, "Inasmuch as it was impossible for him to be held," he demonstrates his greatness, and that he dies no more. To these things he brings forward also the prophet David, saying, as has been said before, not about himself, but about him, that is, about Christ. And here too he proposed the prophecy from the more humble things, and according to what is more lowly, as for those who were in need of introductory discourses. "Inasmuch as it was impossible." For he himself said, ^D "No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself, and I take it up again."

^A “Men, brethren, it is permitted to speak with boldness to you concerning the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this present day.” Being a prophet, therefore, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses.

Having completed the prophecy, he again enters upon other prefaces. “Men,” he says, “brethren.” For when he is about to say something great, he uses an ingratiating preface, calling them brethren, just as Stephen did: “Brethren and fathers, listen.” Then he says, “It is permitted to speak with boldness concerning the patriarch David.” Where nothing causes harm, he uses great modesty. For if he had said simply that these things were not spoken concerning David, but concerning Christ, the discourse would have appeared harsh, and it would have stirred up anger in them rather than making them amenable. But by using great honor toward the blessed David, he makes it readily acceptable that the testimony is concerning Christ, and in this way the whole discourse is ordered with dispensation. For to the death and burial of David he did not add that he did not rise, but that “his tomb is with us,” which is as much as to say: He did not rise. And not even in this way did he come to Christ, but he praises David again, saying, “Being a prophet, therefore,” so that through the honor he shows to him and his race, they might receive the discourse about the resurrection of Christ. And he did not say that God promised him, but what was greater and unchangeable: “He swore.” And that addition, “According to the flesh,” is that of one proclaiming that Christ is also God, and is always with the Father. He refers all things to the Father, so that meanwhile the things said might be accepted. ^B But how did He sit upon the throne of David? Because He reigns over all, over Jews and over Gentiles who have been caught by the bait of preaching and drawn to His faith and worship. And that which he says, “Nor did His flesh see corruption,” no less manifests the work of the resurrection.

^C “Being exalted, therefore, by the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens.” And again he refers the event to the Father; for thus he knows how to draw his listeners. But by saying “Exalted,” he also hinted at the assumption and that He is in the heavens. Yet he did not say it manifestly: “He is in the heavens.” Since, therefore, he has now advanced a little and has remembered His signs and resurrection, he consequently adds, “He poured out.” For at the beginning he was saying that it was not Christ who promised this through the prophet Joel. But after he mentions the miraculous things that were done concerning Christ, he boldly

^A says that he himself poured it out. Thus, it was not of the Father that Joel was speaking, but of Christ. "Having received the promise," he says, "from the Father," either that which he himself promised to us, his disciples, saying: "And I will send another Paraclete to you," or that which the Father promised to him before the passion, when he said: "And I have glorified and I will glorify again." He attributes the promise to the Father, tempering his discourse so that it might be more easily accepted by his listeners. For whatever anyone may say, if he does not direct it toward what is useful, he speaks in vain and to no purpose. He shows, therefore, that the cross not only did not diminish him, but even rendered him more glorious. For what the Father promised even before the cross through John the Baptist, namely: "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire," this he gave after the cross. ^B

II, 34-36. "But he himself says: The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.' Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." He no longer speaks with hesitation. For he has gained boldness from the things already said. But what does he say? That David says: "The Lord said to my Lord," and he reveals that he is higher than David. But if David calls him Lord, all the more will they not refuse to do so. He also instills fear in them by adding: "Until I make your enemies [a footstool for your feet]." And so that his faith might not be doubted, he attributes his subjection to the Father. But he leads these magnificent things back again to what is more humble, saying: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know certainly that God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ." By saying "made," he means he ordained and appointed [him], but not that he created his very substance. Yet, it would have been more sublime in some way to have spoken of Christ, and more consistent with what preceded, [to have said]: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know certainly that he sits at the right hand of the Father." ^C

II, 37, 38. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles: 'What shall we do, brethren?' And Peter said to them." ^D Because he had conducted his preaching with kindness, he led them to contrition. "They were pricked," that is, they were struck, they felt pain in their soul, they condemned themselves. Therefore, they seek a remission of their evil, and they affectionately call those men brethren whom they had formerly mocked. They did not say "brethren" as if they were equating themselves with them by such an address, but to show how great an intimacy they had contracted toward them; and because Peter, too, had called them such from the beginning of his speech, they had from that the opportunity to address them in this way.

"Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call."

^A With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation." Those, therefore, who gladly received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

As having been put forward as the mouth of all the ^B apostles, he says, "Repent and be baptized"—not "Believe," but "Be baptized"—for this was the foundation of those who believed in Christ. This, then, he seeks first, and after this he attaches the end and perfection to the foundation, saying, "the gift of the Holy Spirit," as if by this means faith were demonstrated. And by saying, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, and to those who are near," he indicates the greatness of the gift, that it is sufficient not only for them, but also for their children. And it is also lavished upon the nations. For he suggests this by the words, "To those who are afar off." But if to those who are afar off, how much more to you who are near. Observe also that he then signaled the faith of the nations, when he found them pierced and condemning themselves. For when a soul has condemned itself, it can no longer envy.

"And fear came upon every soul; many wonders ^C and signs were done by the apostles. And all who believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and divided them to all, according as any one had need. And continuing daily with one accord in the temple."

For they were not acting thoughtlessly like the common crowd, but because Peter was much, flowing from above, and showing the things to come through the promises, they were reasonably afraid. For works bore witness to the word. Just as in the case of Christ there were first signs, then teaching, then miracles, so also now. And that they sold their possessions and divided them as anyone had need, they did not do simply, but according to house-holding/stewardship. For they distributed according to merit. And the words, "continuing with one accord," means not for one day or two, but daily, and with one soul. And the believers resided in the temple, ^D having become more zealous and fervent, and being able to exercise their devotion to piety toward nothing else but the place or the temple.

"And breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added the saved daily to the Church."

By "house" he now means the temple; for they ate in it. "Breaking bread," he said, in order to signify the frugality and simplicity of their diet. Bread

saved daily to the Church." By "house" he now means the temple; for they ate in it. "Breaking bread," he said, in order to signify the frugality and simplicity of their diet. Bread they shared, but they did not indulge their appetites. Thus, too, they ordered their lives to be in conformity with the faith, and they had a brotherly love toward all the people. For although the high priests rose up against them out of envy, they nevertheless enjoyed favor with the people. And this was demonstrated by their almsgiving and their pure way of life. By the phrase "In the simplicity of heart," he means in humility and lowliness, feeling nothing lofty about themselves in the good deeds and alms they performed; for that is particularly a Jewish trait, as is evident from the boastful Pharisee. ^A

CHAPTER IV

III, 1. "And Peter and John were going up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour." Great is the unanimity and friendship of these two. For it is to him that Peter signals in the Lord’s passion to ask the Master; and again, they run together to the tomb. And again, of him Peter says to Christ, "But what about this man?" They were going up into the temple, not as though they were still judaizing, but they did this by virilely humbling themselves; and so that, with the lame man healed in the temple, they might have all those who had come as witnesses. For many were gathered there because of the reverence for the place. By indicating the hour, he teaches that they were always occupied with prayers. He makes mention also of the temple, that he might confirm the things he is writing by both, I mean by time and by place. And although many miracles were performed by the apostles, as Luke, who writes these things, mentioned above, he makes mention of none of them by name: but he writes only that one by which all were moved. For perhaps those others were even disregarded, in that they seemed small: or else because this history was not composed by him for the sake of arrogance. ^C

III, 2-6. "And a certain man, who was lame from his mother’s womb, was being carried: whom they used to place daily at the gate of the temple which was called Beautiful, that he might ask for alms from those entering into the temple. Who, when he had seen Peter and John about to go into the temple, was asking to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, having fastened his eyes upon him, said: Look upon us. But he was attending to them, hoping to receive something from them. But Peter said." Why does he not give the name of the lame man? Because the apostles did not know it either. For the man was entirely unknown to them; and this was so that they might not appear to be performing healings out of favor or in response to entreaty, and so that no suspicion of pretense might arise—even among those who are most impudent—that some persons known to the apostles were feigning healings performed upon themselves for the sake of the apostles. How, therefore, did he not ^D ask the name?

^A Because they had no leisure to occupy themselves with things that were of no benefit. But why did they not bring him to have him healed by Christ? Perhaps some of those who sat by the temple, or performed service in it, were unbelievers, since they did not even bring him to the apostles, having seen them entering and performing such miracles. That he was a cripple from his mother’s womb, this all who were in the temple knew. ^B And for this reason, as it was a manifest fact that this was the case, they did not even concern themselves with the name of the Lord himself, so as to designate him by it for our information, but concerned themselves only with his infirmity and his appellation; and this malady and affliction became his name, making him a marked and familiar object. But while many miracles, as we have said, were being performed by the apostles, the Jews did not bring him to them, either because they envied them as they did Christ, or because of their unbelief. For they did not yet think that they were capable of performing such a great miracle.

III, 6–10. "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I thee."

III, 11–12. "And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people."

^A He held onto the apostles after his recovery, either out of goodwill, as if weaving a eulogy and favor for them and showing the saviors to all, or suspecting that if he were left by them, he might again be seized by his malady. He believed, indeed, that he had been freed from the affliction only insofar as he held onto them and was touched by them, especially since Peter had raised him up and healed him in this way. « To the portico which was called Solomon's. » This was the only portico left from the construction of Solomon, for Nebuchadnezzar had burned the temple, and Cyrus the Persian ordered it to be rebuilt.

III, 12. « Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man to walk? »

The name Israel suggests an understanding of two things: first, of praise from Jacob, to whom for his obedience to God the name Israel was adapted, having been drawn up from things below to the heavenly, divine, and intelligible heights; and second, ^B of accusation regarding his seed, because of the exodus from Egypt, which they could never be persuaded to believe, being always full of irritation. Therefore, the name Israel attributes both to them: hence, of course, shame, because they do not obey God as their forefather had done; and thence also perdition, as those who departed from Egypt but were not saved for the promised inheritance. The recollection of these two things, brought about through the name of Israel, will provide the former with emulation and the latter with the flight of imitation, out of fear of a similar perdition, through the attention paid to the things about to be said. This discourse, however, is full of greater freedom of speech; not that he was afraid in the former case, but because, being cruel and impudent, those men would not have endured it. Therefore, while beginning that one, he effects attention in them through the preamble, saying, "Be this known to you, and hearken to my words," whereas here there is no need for such preparation. For they were not sluggish; rather, the sign ^C performed upon the lame man rendered them all attentive and filled them with fear and astonishment. See, moreover, how through repelling the glory [assigned] to them because of the signs, he speaks of nothing great regarding himself, inasmuch as he who thinks modestly of his own illustrious works attracts the hearer all the more. For this reason, also, they, having despised human glory, glorified themselves the more, showing that what had been done was not human, but divine. « As though by our own power. » Pay attention to what is said, that he says he was not healed by human power, but by divine. The Nazarene is, therefore, God, whose name cured him. ^D

III, 13-15. « 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. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. »

He still clings to the more humble things, [even] in these [words] regarding them

by saying that they did not work the miracle by their own power, [and] regarding Christ, by adding [the phrase] "the child." For it is not possible for one who is self-glorified to receive an addition of glory. Therefore, having humbled what concerns themselves and Christ, he raises up the daring deed of the Jews against Christ, and does not obscure it as before. ^B He does this, wishing rather to attract them. For as much as he showed them to be guilty, by so much the more did this [consequence] come about. By these words, « Whom you delivered up and denied, » two charges are made. For they delivered [Him] up to Pilate for execution, saying: « It is not lawful for us to kill any man. » And they denied [Him], shouting: « We have no king but Caesar. » But yet, while Pilate was a Gentile, and had neither seen a sign from Christ, nor heard the prophets regarding Christ, and yet wished to release Him, you yourselves, who had both watched Christ working miracles and were established in the knowledge of the things said to you by the prophets, did not restrain yourselves. ^C By saying, « Ye asked for a murderer, » he skillfully arranged [the argument], [showing] that they were able to release Christ. For if they made the murderer to be released, who was far more guilty, would they not surely have been much more able to release Him who was guiltless? But now, on the contrary, they released the guilty, but delivered the innocent to be killed. Yet by saying, « the Prince of life, » he shows that Christ Himself raised Himself. He does not confirm the resurrection with testimonies of the prophets, but, since He was trustworthy to them, with the choir of the apostles. Then, since he had agitated the crime and greatly grieved them, he again relaxes, urging them to repentance, because the crime was [committed] out of ignorance and folly, and because what was ordained from the beginning and sung by the word of the prophets could not be avoided. ^D When he has proceeded thus far, he also explicitly introduces repentance as a necessity to be embraced, both for the blotting out of sins, and for the delight and enjoyment of those who have attained to the unending goods through repentance and good works.

« And by faith in His name, this [man] whom you see and know, His name hath made strong. »

That is, what do I say, that he who believed in His name was strengthened? Even before he believed, the name only, being invoked, strengthened him; such grace does the name pour forth. For he had not yet believed, but the mere invocation of the name accomplished the whole thing.

« And the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. »

What is the faith which is preached by Him? He himself interprets: « That they may know Thee, the only true God, » and so forth. For lest anyone should say, "Therefore, even if an unbeliever invokes His name, or even if it happens in the healing of an unbeliever, the cure will none the less follow, if the mere invocation of the name strengthened this man"—so that no one might say this, he added: « And the faith which is by Him. »

^A That is to say, the name is indeed great and overflowing with healings, but it also requires souls capable of being accounted worthy of grace. For when the name is invoked by unbelievers, and the one in need of healing is to remain an unbeliever, it would not exert its own proper power. To say, then, "His name has strengthened this man," is sublime and perfect, and would have exasperated the Jews; but the phrase, "The faith which is by Him," is humble. He [Peter], dispensing his speech partly according to the nature of the matter, and partly according to the disposition and capacity of his hearers, mixes humble things with sublime ones, so that the discourse may be more easily received.

III, 17-20. « And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers also did. But the things which God had foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and turn, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. »

I know, he says, that you acted in ignorance, from the fact that I see many of you turning and being saved. Although he knew that they had not acted in ignorance, he spoke thus, opening to them the door of repentance. Therefore he says: Repent, not for the sins committed on the cross (for he had already spoken of those, that they were done in ignorance), but for other sins. By saying, « Times of refreshing, » he shows that they are about to fall into many miseries and be devastated by wars; for this discourse is suitable to one who is to be lamented and who desires consolation. « So that times of refreshing may come, » he says. To be refreshed, that is, in the times of refreshing, which he says are to be dispensed from the presence of the Lord, that is, from the divine and paternal essence. For it was not likely that those who had committed an outrage against the Son through the Passion would not receive the fitting retribution, which even those who had persisted in the Jewish madness against Christ met at the hands of the Roman armies through Vespasian and Titus. And not only were they deprived of their own polity, but even after the destruction of their metropolis and temple, they have led and still lead an erratic life, scattered throughout the whole world, and, persisting in this way until the consummation of this mortal life, they will never obtain refreshing. For in that coming of Christ from the heavens, He will render to each one rewards according to their deserts. He now sets before the Jews the knowledge of these things which are then to happen, so that by the fear of them they may the more earnestly embrace repentance.

III, 20, 21. « And that He may send Him who was before preached to you, Jesus Christ, whom heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets from of old. »

See how he proceeds in order. In the former discourse, he hinted at the resurrection and the sitting in the heavens; but here he also [hints at] the manifest coming, which he calls the time of refreshing, during which those of the resurrec-

- ^A tion signify the seasons. Paul also seeks these, saying: "For we who are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened" (II Cor. v, 4). But if anyone also speaks of the times of refreshing that followed the destruction of Jerusalem, nothing prevents this; for Christ shortened the days of their tribulation and captivity for the sake of the elect, that those who believed might find refreshment and be saved from that intense misery and distress.

Having said earlier, "But God, what he had foretold," he does not set forth the Scriptural testimony concerning the crucifixion, because each of those things was spoken with many accusations and punishments against them, and he did not wish to sadden them for the time being. He has used the things concerning Christ more simply, dispensing his discourse according to the humility of his hearers. For the mission of the Lord from heaven was brought to that which was visible in him, or the human, but the reception into heaven refers to the future. "Whom heaven must receive," he says. And yet he had already been received at the time of the ascension. But he has used this mode of expression rather than one that might be more proper, just as he was more accustomed to it; as when he speaks of Christ in his Epistle: "For having received power from God the Father, by a voice borne to him from heaven" (II Pet. i, 17). For the context of the discourse ^B requires that "receiving" should be taken for "received," so that the meaning may be expressed. Thus, in this place also, "Whom heaven must receive," "must" is used for "ought to have." Or, because his assumption into heaven was not seen by everyone with their own eyes, he allows them for the time being to use their own conjecture. Nevertheless, by saying that heaven is prepared for the reception of him who had been sent, he indicated to those of a more lively intelligence, through the words, "Whom heaven must receive," that because he is the Son and co-eternal with the Father, and sent by the Father—from whom, as the one who was established as mediator and arbiter, he is the Son of the Father and the Only-Begotten—he also undoubtedly returns to heaven: as one who had descended from heaven, and is again received into paternal dwellings without hindrance, and from whence he descended according to the dispensation for these lower things, he is again enthroned in that seat, so that as Son and heavenly he may be established, and be declared as the same one who is again expected to come from heaven.

And that these things might be known more clearly, he refers them to Moses and the prophets: to Moses, saying, ^C "The Lord our God will raise up for you a prophet like me" (Deut. xviii, 18); and to David, who likens his descent from heaven to "rain falling upon the fleece" (Ps. lxxi, 6). And having simply referred them to the prophets, he again solaces them, as those who were to become sons by becoming obedient to the prophets, if not by nature, yet by grace through the great gift of the One who bestows it. For he has also a Son by nature. But there is a great difference between him who is a Son by nature and those who are such by adoption.

— Otherwise: "Whom heaven must receive," is put for, "It is necessary that he be received," as he is God. Why then did he not say: "Whom heaven received"? This is as if concerning the times above

But as for what he says: "Until the times of restoration," he manifests the cause why he does not come even now. It is necessary, he says, for all things to be restored and to come to an end, and then he will come.

III, 22, 23. "For Moses indeed said to the fathers: A prophet shall the Lord our God raise up to you from your brethren, like unto me. Him you shall hear according to all things whatsoever he shall speak to you. But it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from out of the people."

What is this "like unto me"? Christ is born in Bethlehem, and Moses in Egypt. He an Israelite, as this one is, according to the flesh. He of a priestly race, as this one is from David because of the Virgin. Pharaoh pursues that one, Herod this one. That one slays infants, this one also destroys infants, and both male ones. That one is saved by his mother, this one also was saved by a mother and with his mother. That one in a little basket and by the bank of the river, this one also in Lycus, a city of Egypt, by the same river. That one is reared by a stranger, namely the daughter of Pharaoh; this one, too, is reared in a strange city which had been subject to Pharaoh. These things I have said, not comparing the Lord to the servant, but comparing the time and the manner, and describing the truth as in a shadow.

III, 24. "Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and afterwards, as many as have spoken, have also announced these days."

Here also it must be understood: "To our fathers," so that the sense may be: Yea, and all as many as have spoken to our fathers.

^A III, 25, 26. "You are the sons of the prophets and of the testament which God covenanted with our fathers, saying to Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. To you first God, raising up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, that every one of you may turn himself from your wickedness."

"You are the sons of the prophets": that is, do not fear, nor think yourselves to be aliens from the promises. You are the sons of the prophets, and therefore they spoke to you, and for your sake these things have happened. You indeed are the sons of the prophets, but he himself is the Son of God, who participated in himself the substance of the Father, and gave himself to others to be participated in. "You are the sons of the prophets and of the testament." Sons, that is, heirs: for if a son, then an heir; but heirs not recently enrolled, but as sons. And that he might show that, as far as adoption is concerned, if they themselves are willing, they are also heirs as sons: therefore also as to sons, he says, he sent the Son. He sent him indeed to others, but to you first; and not only that, but first he who...

^A crucified and killed him. And when did he send him? Not now only, but even before the passion, before so great a crime was perpetrated, and after the resurrection. Wherefore he also says, "Having raised up his Son, he sent him." To what end at last? That he might bless and save you, if indeed you yourselves might also choose to turn away from your evils.

IV, 1-4. "And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being sore troubled because they taught the people and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in custody unto the morrow: for it was now evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed."

See how things are ordered. First, they were all mocked together. Then, having become famous in their public addresses, and having after this performed a great miracle, thus at last, once they had spoken freely, by God's permission they fall into dangers and engage in struggles. Observe the progress of the Jews toward insolence, in that those who before were seeking a traitor to capture Christ, ^B now themselves lay hands upon them, having become more bold after the crucifixion. For they had the captain with them, so that they might again attach a public charge to what had occurred, and not seem to be taking vengeance for a private injury, which is what they strive to do everywhere. They bound the apostles in the presence of the multitude, so that by seeing them, they might also make others more fearful. But the contrary happened. For many of those who had heard the word believed. Do you see the divine efficacy openly? And yet, even those who had already believed ought to have been rendered weaker. But the address of Peter, ^C reinforced by the divine Spirit, had touched their very souls. But they question them in private, so that the listeners might not gain anything from their freedom of speech.

"And the number of the men became about five thousand. And it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest, and Caiphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the high-priestly race. And having set them in the midst, they inquired."

"Five thousand." For because of this he had predicted, concerning the five thousand: "Give ye them to eat." That is, you shall also satisfy five thousand afterwards with faith.

IV, 7. "By what power or in what name did ye do this?"

And yet they knew: for, being pained because they were proclaiming ^D the resurrection in Jesus, they seized them. They ask, however, thinking that they, having feared the tribunal and the multitude, would deny it, and by this means they thought to set the whole matter right. For see how craftily they ask. For they wished the

apostles to confess that it was their own work rather than the power of Christ. ^A And note how they did not even wish to name the healing of the lame man; for they do not say what it is, but, "You have done this." But they, for their part, addressed them with honor, saying: "Princes of the people." But when they came to the matter, they did not refrain from the fitting reproach. For they say: "It was above all fitting that we should be crowned as benefactors; but since we are being judged, let it be known to everyone" — for this grieved them all the more.

IV, 8-14. ^B "Princes of the people and elders of Israel, if we are being examined today concerning a benefit done to an infirm man, by which this one has been saved, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this (I say) he stands before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which has become the head of the corner, and there is no salvation through any other. For neither is there any other name given among men under heaven by which we must be saved. And seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and having discovered that they were unlettered and private men, they were marveling, and were recognizing them, that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it."

"Princes of the people," according to the dignity of the common multitude. "Elders of Israel," according to the didactic and cohesive ability for a people who are being raised from earthly to more divine things. For he divided the throng of listeners into two ^C, as if those who are not equally able to understand what is being said, but to some, the things being spoken are listened to only superficially, while others store up what is announced in their souls more deeply and effectively. Since, therefore, as if bearing the care of the office to which you have been elected, you have sought to examine us today, who have bestowed a benefit upon an infirm man, and have not rather out of the very work bestowed veneration along with admiration upon Him by whose name such a good thing was wrought—since, I say, you have fallen into such a great error, what else is there to do than for us to rouse you from a deep sleep, saying to both you and the populace that it is by this name that we have done it? ^D By "name" he refers in this place to the opinion which is held of Him and the glory, just as also the Psalmist does when he says: "How wonderful is Your name in all the earth!" Which opinion has been rendered so base among you, that not only has He not been judged worthy of veneration, but you have also subjected Him who bears such a name to the death of evildoers. He calls Him a Nazarene from the place in which they suspected Him to have been born; and here, too, he dwells on those things concerning Christ which are in the humbler vein, so that he might more clearly show that the lowliness which is among men contributes nothing to true glory, if only the one who views it has keen sight. Wherefore, even to their shame, toward whom he...

manner, if there be any who perceives the matter more acutely. ^A For this reason, too, in the confusion of those to whom the discourse was directed, when he had said, "You crucified," he immediately adds, "He raised from the dead." Who raised him? God. For since you envied his reputation and glory, and it pleased you to abolish with an abominable death the glory that was growing for him from his miracles (for which reason they said: "What are we to do? For this man does many signs"), he opposed your cross with the resurrection. Who? God, who raised him up. For he attributes the resurrection to the Father, since every divine work is common, except for those that designate the persons of the life-giving Trinity; and he does this to show that they were, even by this, fighting against God. For the occasion of the time did not yet allow him to say so nakedly that he rose by his own power, especially among men who were striving to establish their own [righteousness], and therefore were not subject to the justice of God ^B. "By this name, therefore," says Peter, "this man stands here whole." By the word "stands," he implies "he is raised up." And what he says: "This is the stone," refers not to the lame man, but to Jesus Christ, by whose name the lame man was strengthened. Which stone, although rejected by you who were organizing the building, has become the head of the corner in the building of faith, joining together both walls, namely the Jewish people and the Gentiles, into the harmony of a single faith. Observe also that what follows, "In no other is there salvation," is an account of the Psalm-verse, "This has been done by the Lord," as a link and a saving connection, indicating that every man has been made by none other than the cornerstone alone. Because "neither is there any other name," that is, venerable glory, except for this faith alone in Christ the cornerstone, which has the power to obscure all other faiths, as in it alone is salvation given.

CAPUT V.

IV, 15-23. "¶ ^C When, however, they had commanded them to depart from the council, they conferred with one another, saying: 'What shall we do to these men? For a conspicuous sign has indeed been done through them, manifest to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we are unable to deny it. But so that it may not spread further among the people, let us threaten them ^D that they no longer speak to any man about this name.' And having called them, they commanded them not to speak at all nor to teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John, answering, said to them: 'Whether it is just in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.' But they, having added threats, dismissed them, not finding how

^A they might punish them on account of the people, because all were glorifying God for what had occurred. For the man was more than forty years old, in whom this sign of healing had been wrought. And having been dismissed, they went to their own.»

Since the apostles had not yet recovered from their previous trials, by a certain dispensation they fell into others. For first, they were all mocked as being drunk, with suspicion entertained because of the efficacy of languages unknown to them. Second, they fall into dangers. Yet these do not follow immediately; rather, first, having been acclaimed by their public addresses, and having been as it were trained for boldness through the miracle of the lame man, with God especially permitting it, from this point they are touched by struggles. ^B You, however, consider for me from this the craftiness and evil contrivances of the Jews. For in the case of Christ, they sought someone who would betray him, but here they lay hands upon him themselves, having become more bold and audacious henceforth after the cross. From this state they even used the commander of the temple for their bold act, twisting what had happened into a public crime, not a private one, as was their custom. Nor did they immediately proceed to attack the apostles, since evening was approaching; this indeed favored the Jews, so that they were assisted by the interval of time for their wicked attempts, casting the apostles into fear through imprisonment, and thinking to soften them by this means; but for the apostles, the delay was ordained by the dispensation of God so that they might become more bold. ^C Furthermore, that they should bind them in the presence of the multitude, but examine them in secret, was of the utmost deceit; for they wished to terrify them—being bound before the multitude and examined as if they were criminals under a tribunal—while separately, they wished to prevent the spectators from choosing what was better, and from feeling awe at the miracle of those being examined, due to the freedom of speech [of the apostles]. With what power, then, though they know, do they ask (for how could they be ignorant, they who held them because they were proclaiming the resurrection of Christ?), thinking that they would deny it through the fear of the tribunal, and that the whole matter would thus succeed for them as they asked. “By what power,” they say, meaning, By what power have you done this, as if it were by their own power, not the power of Christ, that the act had been performed. But they did not even name the lame man; ^D for they were so distressed by this that they did not even wish to name the cure. Therefore Peter answered, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified,” mentioning together with the lowly country, both his passion and his resurrection. We preach the humble things, he says, boasting through the pre-eminent power of the resurrection. When, however, he had pricked them with these words, he adds also those things which are from the Scripture, saying the cornerstone, and whatever else has been discussed by us concerning this matter beforehand. Consider, indeed, that where it is opportune to teach, they even bring forward prophecies, as in the former address; but when it is solely a time to speak freely, they deliver their verdict. For there is not, he says, any other name that has been given. And what this is, it has been said

^A already. But they do not lead the apostles to Pilate as they did Christ, but they judge them themselves, being affected by shame and blushing for their previous actions, and fearing lest they might be accused by these men regarding Him as well.

IV, 23-25. "And they reported whatever the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And those who heard them, with one mind lifted up their voice to God and said" (it is not out of a desire for praise that they recount these things, but to show the signs of Christ's grace): "Master, You are God, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and everything that is in them, who through the mouth of David Your servant said."

See how absolute this prayer of theirs is, and how suited to the occasions of the times. For when they desired that one worthy of the apostolate be shown to them, they said in their prayer, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all," for there was a need for foreknowledge there. ^B But here, since it was necessary to stop the mouths of the adversaries, they cry aloud, "Master." And as though demanding faithfulness to a covenant from Him, they bring the prophecy into the middle, at the same time also comforting themselves, because the enemies are laboring in vain and without cause against them.

Consider also their modesty. For they do not desire to tear them apart or destroy them, but, "Look," they say, "to their threats, and grant to Your servants that they may speak Your word with all boldness, by extending Your hand," that is, by fostering and protecting us with Your inexpugnable power. For the "hand" signifies this here. For He wishes to signify His inexpugnable power, as in the case of, "Your hand destroyed the nations." But with regard to the words above, "Your hand and Your counsel predetermined," the hand signifies that all things are carried out by God decently and with reason, since the only composite and rational nature, which is no other than man, is wont to accomplish what is most useful with the hand. ^C

"Why did the nations rage, and the peoples meditate on empty things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. For they were gathered indeed in truth against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, Herod as well as Pontius Pilate."

Which nations raged against Christ? Those of the Jews, clearly. For even if they were all Jews, they nevertheless came from the various nations among which they were scattered. ^D "To do whatever Your hand" — that is, they could not have done it themselves, but You are the one who permitted the whole matter and brought it to an end, being prudent and wise. For they indeed gathered together as enemies and with a murderous intent, but they were doing what You willed.

"With the nations and the peoples of Israel." In Jerusalem, the Hebrews with Caiphas and Annas, the peoples with Pilate.

^A "To do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel had predetermined to come to pass." Hand and counsel signify the same thing. For where power is present, there is no need of deliberation. Therefore, whatever You ordained from the beginning has come to pass. The prayer of the apostles was not for the removal of difficulties, but for the success of the evangelical preaching. For they did not say, "Deliver us," but, "Grant to Thy servants, that they may speak with boldness." ^B "And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to Thy servants to speak Thy word with all boldness, by Thy stretching forth Thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be performed through the name of Thy holy child Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and were speaking the word of God with boldness. The earthquake was a sign that their prayer had been heard; though sometimes it happens to be a sign of wrath. To be filled with the Holy Spirit signifies that they were entirely given over to the operation of the divine Spirit granted to them, and were in small measure turning away from carnal things; or that they were kindled, and the gift was burning within them, because of which they spoke with boldness, ignoring bodily dangers. From this also, the heart and soul, as it were, were moved by intellectual stirrings. For heart now signifies this, as it is the primary source of animal subsistence, which also sustains the vital functions. These things are pointed out through heart and soul, which come together into one composite. But the fact that "was" is said signifies the accessibility of God in order to preserve the soul. For it is a proof of understanding to despise dangers, but an indication of a lively spirit to have a perfect temperance regarding bodily things—namely, that some few things, as far as are necessary for living, should suffice for the possessor, but that he should have the greatest care that those in need might be provided for. Furthermore, concerning the fact that the place was shaken, one must also understand that the earthquake occurred in order to terrify the unbelievers and those making threats, but to bring boldness to the apostles, since it was the beginning and there was a need for such signs for them to be strengthened. ^{C D} "And of the multitude of them that believed, the heart and soul were one: and not one of them said that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but all things were common unto them." Mutual love was present among them also from the command of their Teacher, Christ, when He said: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Therefore, everyone, regarding his neighbor as himself, kept nothing of what he possessed by claiming it as his own, but offered it for common utility. Whence he also says that great grace came to them from this mutual love: for from the fact that no one claimed anything for himself...

this was an imitation of that Davidic saying: “Thou openest Thy hand and fillest every animal.” ^A

“And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. For there was not any needy person among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses would sell them and bring the prices of the things sold.”

The expression, “were giving,” signifies as if something had been entrusted to them, and he says this as if regarding a debt. For through divine signs they were proving the divine power of Him who had risen from the dead.

“And they would lay them at the apostles’ feet. And distribution was made to each as anyone had need.”

To lay the proceeds at the feet of the apostles, and not at their hands, indicates the great honor and reverence of those who were bringing them. That they did not dare to give them into the hands meant making them lords and stewards, so that they might consume from common storehouses, and not as if from their own through their hands. Furthermore, the expression “at the feet” also added veneration to them ^B and relieved the poverty of those being fed of shame. And they were giving as if being dispensed from common storehouses.

“Joses, however, who was called Barnabas by the apostles, which is, Son of Consolation, a Levite, a Cypriot by birth, having a field, sold it and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

First he mentions the one who had acted rightly, namely Joses himself, for the greater refutation of Ananias, because, with so many acting in this way, and with such great signs and such great grace, he was corrected by none of them. But the very name Joses, bestowed by the Apostles, was a testimony to a virtue of soul inclined towards the poor. Being a Levite, he was called a Cypriot, because the Law was now being dissolved and they were migrating from Judea wherever anyone wished. The name Barnabas, translated from the Hebrew tongue ^C into Greek, denotes “son of consolation,” that is, of compassion and pity. This is a prelude to the story of the destruction of Ananias and Sapphira. For this man also, by the imitation of Joses, having sold his field, did not use [his wealth] in a manner corresponding to the beginning and the end, and he failed to realize that he was contriving his own destruction.

“But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a possession and kept back some of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

He was completely full of Satanic ^D frenzy, for although he had chosen what is good of his own accord and not of necessity or by force, at the same time as the beginning...

^A of his action, he lost the whole sum. Three signs were then manifested regarding him: cognition of hidden things, the drying up of the spirit’s life, and after this, removal by commandment.

“But Peter said: Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart, so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and defraud Him of the price of the piece of land? While it remained, did it not remain yours, and when sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you put this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, and carrying him out, they buried him.” ^B

“Ananias, why has he filled,” etc. For we do not drag you unwilling, do we? But when you have chosen of your own free will to offer a sacrifice to God, to spend it again for your own needs is undoubtedly sacrilege. Therefore, they were also struck with the penalty of sacrilegious persons. With what? With death; for this is what “breathed his last” signfies—that he was, as it were, dried up, that is, deprived of vital moisture. Therefore, among the ancients, that which is living was also called *dieros*, which signifies the same as *hygros*, that is to say, humid. ^C

“And there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in. And Peter answered her: Tell me, did you sell the field for so much? She said: Yes, for so much. And Peter said to her: Why has it been agreed between you to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

See that Peter did not call her, but waited for her to enter when she herself wished, giving her the power both to repent and not to enter impudently. She entered, however, not knowing what had happened to her husband, because no one dared to reveal it to her out of fear and reverence for the teacher. And yet, an interval of three hours was sufficient for it to be spread among many, but their fear held them back. For the Evangelist Luke, admiring this, puts both things: both the interval of hours and the woman’s ignorance. By asking for how much they had sold the field, he was offering her an opportunity for forgiveness, as if the power to sell and keep back part of the price ^D lay not with her, but with her husband. And since he found her in the intent conforming to the deceit of her husband, he condemned her with a similar penalty. For the contempt of divine things knows how to kindle into anger even Him who is alien to anger. The tradition under Moses, the most gentle, that he who had gathered wood on the Sabbath should be stoned to death, also bears witness to these words. And there indeed the transgression appeared in things that were proper, but here it is sacrilege; for what had been dedicated to God for the nourishment of the poor, they themselves consumed for their own superfluous needs,

For it was sufficient for their needs to supply their poverty from those things which were stored in the common treasury. Consider, however, this too: how intensely they were disposed toward their own kin. For they were unwilling that those who had once been counted worthy of spiritual grace, and who had enjoyed fellowship with them, should be thieves and temple-robbers. Yet toward strangers they did not use punishment, lest they should seem to be coercing men, even against their will, through the fear of punishment to approach the faith. But if Satan, having filled the heart of Ananias, performed the whole thing, why was there such severity against Ananias? Yet it was not in vain, but justly, since he had made himself so entirely receptive to Satan. ^A

V. 10, 11. “And immediately she fell at his feet and expired. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard these things.”

How “at his feet”? Because she was standing near him; and Peter had stationed her near him, so that if she wished to repent and confess, she would not be ashamed of the others as though they were listening. The fear on the part of the most prudent Peter toward those who had fallen is not of arrogance, but of a prognostic pedagogy which anticipated many of men's sins. For then, when the seeds of the Gospel had begun to be sown, and they had immediately seen tares springing up, they wisely rooted them out at once. Thus also Moses, at the beginning of the Law, commanded the transgressor in even a small sin to be stoned, saying that God had passed that sentence. The same thing also happened in the case of the first-created, who were condemned so severely for the tasting of the tree; for, according to the sacred proverb, when the pestilent is scourged, the simple one becomes wiser. Thus even in these cases the vengeance resulted in profit for those who were present and saw what was happening. Although, with other signs that had preceded, some fear was arising, yet it was not so great. Thus the Lord is known as one who executes judgments: for in the works of his hands, when the sinner is caught, a saving fear arises in others from the event that happens to him. Just as also in the punishment of Oza; for his punishment served as a fear to many, as to those observing that things reserved to God must remain inaccessible and intangible to the profane. Here, indeed, it must be considered, from the removal of the corpses of Ananias and his wife by those who were carrying out the dead, that the law was disregarded. For those who had touched the corpse of Ananias did not remain unclean until evening, but they themselves also performed the service for the funeral of his wife. ^D

V. 12-16. “And signs and many wonders were wrought among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico. And of the rest, no one dared to join themselves to them, but the people mag-

among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico. And of the rest, no one dared to join themselves to them, but the people mag^Anified them. And those believing in the Lord were added all the more, a multitude of men and women, so that they carried out the sick into the streets, and placed them on beds and pallets, so that when Peter came, even his shadow might overshadow some of them. And the multitude of the neighboring cities to Jerusalem also gathered together, bringing the sick and those vexed by unclean spirits, who were healed all.

You, however, observe for me how the life of the apostles proceeded. First, sadness occurred on account of the Assumption, then joy on account of the descent of the Holy Spirit; then again sadness on account of the mockers, then joy on account of the faithful and the miracle performed; to these, sadness because they were held, then joy on account of the response. Again, here, joy from the signs and the light, but sadness from the high priest and those who ^B arrested them. One could find the very same thing among the ancients, whosoever lived according to God's commandments. Do not wonder, he says, how, departing from their own homes, they spent their time in the temple by Solomon's portico, and how they were permitted to do so. For they were already a terror to all on account of the multitude of signs performed by them. For he wishes to signify this also by the fact that he says, "And by the hands of the apostles were signs and many wonders done among the people," and immediately adds, "But of the others no one dared to join himself to them"; that is to say, no one even dared to approach them. "But the people magnified them." Which people? The Jewish. Whom? The apostles. And what was the magnification? That they assented to the faith of Christ. Furthermore, also that the citizens carried their sick into the streets and squares of the city on beds and pallets, so that they ^C might attain salvation through the shadow of Peter as it lengthened—which did not happen with Christ, but this was the work of Him who had promised and said: "He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do." Thus, these things also, from the promising Christ, befell the apostles, both towards those who believed and towards those who were healed and around those who were punished, as was Ananias. For even if the apostles, feeling modestly about themselves, referred the operations of miracles to the Precentor, performing these in His name: yet their life and virtue, being truly evangelical, was worthy of being greatly praised, and would attain a great reward ^D among those who had chosen to live in such a way.

CHAPTER VI

V, 17-26. "And the high priest rising up, and all those who were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, were filled with zeal"

^A and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in a public prison. But an angel of the Lord by night opened the doors of the prison, and leading them out, said: Go, and standing speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And they having heard this, entered early in the morning into the temple and were teaching. But the high priest coming, and those who were with him, called together the council and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison that they might be brought. But the ministers having arrived, did not find them in the prison. Returning they reported, saying: The prison indeed we found shut with all diligence, and the guards standing before the doors. And having opened them, inside we found no one. But when the priest ^B and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were perplexed about them, what this might be. But one coming reported to them: Behold, the men whom you put in prison are in the temple standing and teaching the people. Then the captain went with the ministers, and brought them without violence."

These things having been accomplished by the apostles, whereby a multitude was being added to the preaching, and the number of the faithful now became equal to the sand of the sea by their daily increase, the high priest, it says, rising up—that is, aroused and moved by what was happening—attacks them more vehemently, especially since the Sadducees were inflaming him more inhumanly when they saw the apostles moving every stone to prove the resurrection, which they themselves opposed. ^C For as they preached that Christ had risen, they were also shown to be performing miracles in the name of the One who had risen for the confirmation of the resurrection; which would by no means have happened if the affair were subservient to a lie. Thus, therefore, having been rendered bestial and prepared for the murder of the apostles, they meanwhile hold them in the security of the prison, not immediately bringing them to judgment, but cunningly seeking in that interval to draw out by fear their repentance for the prison. And they indeed were so afflicted. But God, by the delay that was intended for an evil attempt, put them to shame because they had acted maliciously in vain, while He strengthened the apostles all the more by their removal from prison through the divine angel, and taught them in what things and where it was necessary to persevere in their efforts. ^D When the ignorance of the angelic intervention had intercepted these bloodthirsty men at the time when they had delayed presenting the apostles for judgment—not out of mercy (for how could those who were more stirred to wrath than vipers be moved to mercy?), but so that first, those who thought they could fulfill their own will through their detention, and who had fortified themselves with this, and then, having missed the mark of their designs through the divine visitation, the very helplessness of the council regarding what they had decreed might teach them that the power of the angel was divine: for the removal from the prison was to the apostles a consolation, but to the Jews, it was established for their benefit. It took hold of the Jews, so that first, as I said, having fallen into perplexity

if they willed, they ^A themselves might have attained understanding and been taught, and perceived that the power was divine. But they were so hardened that they did not even dare to drag the apostles, whom they loathed most of all, away from the temple by force. From which it is also manifest that the common crowd was wiser than the Jewish rulers, and swifter than those ignorant men—these experts in the law—in drawing the salvation from the divine signs. Therefore, the experts in the law, having much knowledge and certainty of the divine signs, ask: "Did we not strictly warn you not to speak?" And yet, if it were only a matter of an order, what was the need for the guard and the great security? For besides imprisonment, guards were sitting by the prison, of whom ^B no mention is made in connection with hiding the angelic miracle. But it is possible to say: if your order had been joined by our agreement to observe it, the present examinations and charges for transgressing it would be reasonable. But if there was nothing of the sort, these present calls to account for disobedience are the acts of madmen.

V, 26, 27. "For they were fearing the people, lest they be stoned. And when they brought them, they set them in the council, and the high priest questioned them."

Oh, the madness of these men! They had recognized the wisdom of the crowd through their underlying fear, and similarly the wisdom of God, who always openly snatched his own from their hands like birds, yet they did not desire to adopt it for even an hour!

V, 28: "Did we not strictly warn you not to teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching."

The shameless, insolent, and foolish man asked them, "Did we not warn you?" and so forth. That the warning is full of folly has been said already, and they weary themselves by repeating the same things about the same matters.

V, 28, 29. "And do you wish to bring upon us the blood of this man? But Simon Peter and the apostles, answering, said."

He still appeared to them as a mere man. But in order to show that the charge was necessary, and to provide for their own safety, and to stir up the multitude against them, they said these things.

V, 29-31. "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you laid hands on, hanging him on a tree. Him God has exalted by his right hand as Prince and Savior."

Look at the great gentleness of those being examined. For they do not answer with ferocity. For they were teachers, and they were not angry, ^D but pitied them, and they were aiming at how they might deliver them from their error. For they did not contend against them, nor, puffed up by the gift of the signs performed by God through them, did they answer them insultingly, teaching them not to kick against the pricks. But first, they say that obedience to God is more to be preferred than [obedience] to men, more secretively instructing them

^A regarding the actions performed by God on their behalf, they were subsequently accused—more subtly—of being disdainful of them, by the fact that they called Him whom they deemed a mere man both Savior and one cared for by God, such that He even raised Him from the dead. For to claim that He rose by His own power was not yet safe to say, lest He be thought of by this man as contrary to God. But he urges them to consider, as if rousing them from a deep sleep, to how great a condemnation they are subject for having destroyed, by the death of the cross, Him whom God had exalted.

« To give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. » ^B Having thus elevated the account of the cross, and having presented the condemnation as inexpiable for those who had persisted in that same frenzy against Christ—devising this as a kind of relief from so great a burden—he says: “But He, having been insulted by you, but exalted by God, has given a spirit of repentance to Israel, and remission of sins,” so that the debauchery committed against Him by means of the cross cannot effect His turning away from you, for He who has been exalted by God is forgetful of injuries toward those who, through obedience, have acknowledged Him. Observe, too, how the Jews, being instructed through both works and words, did not heed, and therefore their condemnation is just. Through works, in that God permits the apostles to be led into prisons, ^C but delivers them in an admirable way. Through words, so that the Jews, and indeed all people, might be instructed by the message of the apostles. Indeed, the apostles themselves are anointed to speak boldly. Some, therefore, were pricked to the heart and became sharers in the apostles' words through obedience; but the chief priests and the rulers were cut to the quick against the apostles, thirsting for their blood, since their madness against Christ was now displayed more openly, not as something just, but as something inciting them to a similar murder out of envy. Therefore they say: “Do you wish to bring the blood of this man upon us?” calling the murder “blood,” just as God said to Cain: “The voice of your brother’s blood,” ^D meaning the murder. The Jews were saying these things, stirring up the multitude against the apostles, as if they were merely seeking to spare their own salvation.

« And we are witnesses of these words. » Of what words? That He promised remission, that He promised repentance. For the resurrection was by then already confessed.

« And also the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him. But hearing this, they were cut to the quick, and took counsel to kill them. »

That He grants remission, we are witnesses, and so is the Holy Spirit, who would not have come down if sins had not first been forgiven. Such language is of a humble mind. For it is not said that He has been granted exclusively to us who love Him, but it has been put forth in a common statement to all who obey Him. So if

^A regarding the law, they might not be deprived of his grace, because of the transgression committed for the sake of the cross.

« V. 34-36. Rising in the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, commanded the apostles to depart outside for a little while, and said to the others: Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves regarding these men, what you intend to do. For before these days Theudas arose, saying he was someone; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, attached themselves. He was killed, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed and came to nothing. »

This Gamaliel was the teacher of Paul. For one who was his teacher and approved in the judgments of the law, not to believe—even if he did not fully understand—was of the utmost madness. And it is manifest from his words, which sufficiently show that he excelled in prudence. Moreover, it is also evident from his deeds. For by ordering the apostles to be cast out of the council, so as to strike them with terror, he ^B also freed himself from the suspicion of being thought to speak in their favor, as if he were of the same mind as they. Therefore, he did not use much vehemence, but says, as though to those intoxicated with rage: « Take heed to yourselves what you intend to do, » as if he would say: Do not be carried away rashly. Then he brings forward examples of those who had acted unwisely in such matters and to their own disadvantage, namely Theudas and Judas the Galilean, who did not reach the end they had auspiciously begun. He does not bring forward old examples, but recent ones, of which many of them had been eyewitnesses, so that experience might guard them, lest they fall into a similar outcome to these examples. Then, having softened the audience with this discourse, he tries to turn them away from inflicting harm upon the apostles, saying that we should not, in case those things which have God as their helper come to a conclusion without any hindrance, imprudently resist God and kill these men; and thus, we might be armed not against them, but against our own selves. For he who attempts to oppose a matter approved by God is accustomed to fight against himself. For if it is of human counsel, indignation against them is superfluous, for its end and removal from the midst will proceed similarly to the beginning, as the examples indicate. He did not, however, say ^C plainly whether the work of the apostles was set in motion by God or by human counsel, but spoke ambiguously. For if he had said it was from God, they would have immediately contradicted him; but if from men, he would have again made them ready against the apostles. For this reason, having wisely managed the speech, he commands them to await the end and not to be rashly carried away against a matter that is unknown. For he who fights against that which is pleasing to God does not destroy that, but destroys himself. For if it is human, he says, why is there need for you to make trouble? But if it is divine, you will not be able to dissolve it even by inflicting hardships; and thus, it does not seem right to proceed rashly against things which are ignored.

^A « V. 37, 38. After him arose Judas the Galilean in the days of the census, and drew away much people after him. He also perished, and as many as obeyed him were dispersed. And as for the present matters, I say to you. »

It is probable that the Galileans had been stirred to sedition in the times of Pilate, following the tenets of Judas the Galilean. The tenet of Judas, as Josephus also showed in the final books of the *Jewish Antiquities*, exhibited a great deal of ambition on account of the rigor of their religion. For he said that one ought not to call even a person "Master" (Dominus), not even for the sake of any honor or kindness, and thus not even him who held the kingdom. And many of them, because they would not call Caesar "Master," suffered the most miserable punishments. They also taught that no victims other than those assigned in the Law of Moses ought to be offered to God, and therefore they prevented those rites handed down by the senate and the people to be performed for the safety of the king and the Roman nation. It is likely, therefore, that Pilate, being indignant at these things against the Galileans, ordered them to be put to death among the sacrifices which they appeared to be offering according to the law: so that at that time the blood of those being seized was mixed with the offered victims, just as is even reported in the Gospel according to Luke. ^B

« V. 38-42. Refrain from these men, and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. » And they were persuaded by him. ^C And when they had called the apostles, they beat them, and commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. »

He did not say that it was "of God," but neither did he say it was a "human work." For had he said that it was of God, they would have immediately contradicted him; but if he had said it was of men, he would have rendered them more bold against the apostles. See, therefore, the prudence of the man who wisely guided his speech. He orders them to await the outcome. Nor did he say, "And if ye do not overthrow it, know that it is of God," but, "If it is of God, it will not be overthrown." For the former would have been yielded to their savagery, but the latter to divine power. ^D They were persuaded, however, since these things were not said in the presence of the apostles, but when they had been cast out, and then also because he who was examining the matter along with them feared the outcome of the affair, as to whether it would succeed in this way or that, just as he also suggested to them. Furthermore, the gentleness of his words, along with their fairness, were of aid to him in persuading them. But if they were persuaded, how did they beat them? They were persuaded to refrain from slaughter. For they were raging with madness. But they beat them so as not to appear to have rushed forward foolishly and against those who could not be overthrown. And it was...

slaughter. For they were raging with madness. But they beat them so as not to appear to have rushed forward foolishly and against those who could not be overthrown. ^A And in truth it so happened that the cruelty of those men was dissolved by the virtue of the counselor, while the beating of the apostles was the madness of those persuaded by a foolish spirit. Observe also the progress of the apostles toward better things. For through the afflictions by which they were hoped to be overcome, they were the more exercised, so as to proceed to a more effective and more fearless teaching, so that they might proclaim Christ not in hiding, but straightway in the temple also, from whence they had been seized, and everywhere else too, demonstrating to the hearers the vanity of those who had brought violence upon them.

CHAPTER VII

Not in the same days, but in some that followed. But according to the custom of Scripture, which is about to lay the foundation of a narrative, it proceeds in this way also now. ^B It calls "Greeks" not those who are Greek by religion, but those speaking Greek. Through the murmuring, however, it narrates another kind of temptation, not arisen from external sources, but from those who were within. For this demonstrates the integrity of the apostles, who were attacked on all sides, both from within and without, but on all sides bore away the palm of victory. For when the twelve had called the multitude together—those, indeed, who were to receive the benefit of the leadership of those who were to be appointed—they permitted the election to them, judging themselves unworthy to be occupied with the preparation of tables, having neglected the word of God. Hence, they created the elected [men] as deacons, not according to the rank that exists now in the Church, but—that is to say—as ministers: so that with all diligence, and not carelessly, they might distribute to the widows and orphans alike those things that had been stored up for sustenance; and this [was done] especially for the widows and orphans, for whose sake the murmuring had chiefly arisen. ^C He calls the "daily ministration" alms, as it is something that serves as medicine for those who perform it, and honors those affected by the benefit. It was not out of malice that the widows were neglected, but out of the laziness of many. Thus, when it seemed proper that care should be taken, the grief of mind was settled. Or [the name] also signifies public administration. For the term *diakonia* wishes to signify this. Indeed, the Greeks call the public treasury *leitourgia*, because everyone goes in haste to it, and is well-provided to contribute generously to it for common expense that abounds for them.

VI, 3-7. « Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the ^D saying pleased

in the presence of the whole multitude. ^A And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch; whom they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

The testimony of the apostles requires that those who are to be elected should be filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom. For it is not for just anyone to bear the railing of orphans and widows, any more than that of those who consume and devour them. Even if a man be no thief, yet should he be slothful and destroy all things by his own negligence, or reckless and overturn whatever comes his way, he brings no utility to the administration, nor does he possess the tolerance for babblers, which is the greatest proof of wisdom. He says, furthermore, that the word of God increased with such a descent, showing how great is the power of alms, so that even the assembly of the priests did not miss the mark in being gathered in at the same time.

CHAPTER VIII.

The insurrection and calumny of the Jews against Stephen, and his discourse concerning the covenant of God with Abraham, and concerning the twelve patriarchs. In which is also contained that which relates to the famine, the trial, and the recognition of the sons of Jacob, and concerning the birth of Moses, and the divine appearance that occurred to him at Mount Sinai. Concerning the exodus and the making of the calf of Israel down to the times of Solomon and the construction of the temple. The confession of the supercelestial glory of Jesus Christ revealed to Stephen, during which the same Stephen, having been stoned, piously fell asleep.

“But Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.”

Although the appointment of the seven was common to all, this man drew down upon himself more abundant grace, according to greater fitness for the election. For he who before his election performed no wonders, as one who was not sufficiently known, once he was made known through the election, then also the gift that followed the election was displayed, so that it might be manifest that grace alone does not suffice, but that it is necessary also for the election to be added for the increase of grace, according to the distinction of those who are received out of readiness.

VI, 9-12. “But there arose certain of the synagogue which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them that were of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes.”

Again he calls their exacerbation and impulse an insurrection, not only from themselves, but also from another multitude, which perhaps for disputing and philosophizing

^A was suited, namely the Libertines and Alexandrians, and Cyrenians, and Cilicians, and Asians. And just as through one multitude there is a disputation, so also through others is an accusation, and the manner of those weaving deceits and of the desperate. For, having been obstructed by Gamaliel from attempting anything against the apostles, and having nothing against them of which to accuse them, they now attack Stephen with calumny, having missed the mark of the debate through the chatterboxes.

He says that the Libertines were perhaps called Romans, having named themselves after Libya, the wife of Augustus, because the woman was also illustrious, and on account of her virtue was loved exceptionally by Augustus; to whom, indeed, she herself also made return, and remained enduringly by the tomb of Augustus.

Alternatively: the Libertines and Cyrenians from beyond Alexandria, as they were those possessing force and glory in sophistry among the Hebrews. And there were various synagogues in Jerusalem ^B according to the nations of those sojourning. Therefore they had synagogues, that is, places set apart for the reading of the laws of Moses. For many of those who came for the sake of worship to Jerusalem, especially at the time of the Passover, which it was not permitted to celebrate outside Jerusalem, stayed on in it. For, so that they might not be forced to keep traveling from their ancestral lands by attending Jerusalem, they resided there. Now they called those who had been manumitted by the Romans 'Libertines.'

Therefore, since Stephen considered it unworthy to converse with them, as they were blinded in heart, they, trusting in their own vanity, proceeded to dispute with him. And they went to him alone, and not to another; partly on account of envy of the signs being performed by him, as though they might in this way bring him to a state of impasse and cover him with shame, as one having no grasp of the things delegated to him; and partly so that, by the distraction of the dispute with them, they might be the cause for him to have leisure away from [the performance of] signs.

Since, therefore, they were pressing him for these reasons and, in addition to these, were maliciously driving him to say something against the Law, to which even their entire zeal was tending, he, having anticipated their malice, does this: at the beginning, he attacks more competitively that which was their primary concern, and by the power of the divine Spirit and wisdom that was in him, he stops their mouths. Then also, regarding the things which they were discerning, he brings forth certain things in their midst, more obscurely than they were able to understand. Because of this, they themselves were already proceeding secretly, and he afterwards proposed to them most openly what was in his mind. What was it? Surely the cessation of the Law, which he was not stating, but hinting at. For if he had stated it manifestly, they would not have had need of false witnesses, which for him was the desired end, for them, however, it prepared perdition. ^C

“And rising up they grabbed him, and brought him into the council.”

Everywhere they embark upon furtive attacks: they apprehended Christ through murderous men carrying swords, with the aid of lamps and torches at night. Peter and the rest of the apostles they seized from the temple, and now Stephen... ^D

^A they snatch from the place of doctrine to the council to be judged.

"And they set up false witnesses, saying: This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us." They suborned men, saying: "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God." And what are these words? "That this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place." And yet Stephen did say this, although not so openly. How then are these suborned, and how are they false witnesses? It is because they did not recount it as they heard it, but whereas they had heard it in one way, they were now presenting it in another; thus they are deservedly reported as false witnesses. For just as in the case of Christ, the claim that he could destroy the temple was false testimony (for Christ did not say, "I will destroy," but, "Destroy,"—not attributing the resolution to himself, but to them, which is why they are false), ^B so also now they are false, who claim that Stephen attributes the destruction of the law and the place to the Nazarene, and that the Nazarene would do this with his own hands, and not God through the Roman armies. Moses’ institutions, however, God himself manifestly transformed for the better through His disciples and apostles. But "the Nazarene" was spoken as an insult. For Stephen never called Christ a Nazarene; the Hebrew leaders did that. He always spoke of Christ as venerable, righteous, proclaimed by the prophets, and always present with God—as is also manifest from his aforementioned words, with which he departed from this life, released from this wicked one. "He shall destroy this place." For great was their concern regarding the temple, seeing as they would even change their place of habitation for its sake. The accusation was twofold: that he was about to change the customs and introduce others in their place. And everywhere Moses was put forward, since the things of God were not as much a concern to them as the things of Moses. Thus they lived entirely for the glory of the multitude alone.

"And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. Then said the high priest, Are these things so? But he said."

"They saw his face." It so happens that even one in a lower ^C rank is seen to be gracious and splendid. Therefore, so that they might be struck by what he was about to say, he begins with the astonishment caused by his face, so that his words might the more easily be received.

"Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken."

Observe how he does not thrust himself into teaching, but is compelled by those who seek him. And since he was prevailing with his word and his signs, he was ^D intolerable to them.

^A For the false testimony of the hired ones was introduced, so that the matter might not appear to be an act of violence. For they did not fear God, but looked toward the glory of men. But the preface is truly wise and full of greatness of soul. For by the propriety of the names he intends to demonstrate that it is not the act of a prudent man to introduce anything injurious or bringing damage against brothers and fathers. But to bring forward what he knows will produce both glory and gain—this is the mark of a man who is perfect by nature, and who speaks healthfully to those among whom the discourse is held. "But concerning you," he says, "nothing of the kind can be thought." For as to the invocation of brothers and fathers that has been mentioned to me, the act has been the opposite of this, since I observe you proceeding as if forgetful of our common nature, through an indiscriminate hatred toward us, which leads you to overstep ^B even those things which are referred to divine power. For, not to mention other things, I suggest to your memory these things which do not reach their end without divine power—I mean the signs and wonders performed through us, of which you yourselves are witnesses, which would not have met with a prosperous result in any other way. But after we have found Stephen obscurely designating these things through the appellation of brothers and fathers: let us now also consider those things which are added to these, not in a common way, but with greatness of heaven-inspired wisdom.

VII, 25. "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him: Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land, in which ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, ^C not so much as to set his foot on."

See also here how he immediately from the beginning takes away their glory, referring the glory not to the temple nor to the nation, but to God alone. For what he says, "The God of glory," is the same as if it were said, "The glorified God." This glorified God, however, is such because He who makes beneficial and easy things out of perplexing and difficult ones, and renders those who are without glory glorious, will make us such as well. For He who through His immense wisdom commanded men from the beginning, the same now willed to bring to ease those things that seemed impossible to them. And that this might be credible, Abraham and his history are brought into the midst, who not in a temple, nor through sacrifices, obtained ^D the apparition of God when he was in Mesopotamia. These things, however, he brings forward, as it has already been said, demonstrating that the glorious God, what He did in those cases, is able to do also in us, and to constitute the occult as manifest. And although many nations and kings deviously gathered against Abraham and his seed, they were reduced to nothing, while that which was humbler became more sublime. If, therefore, the God of glory ordained it thus in those cases, he says, it is necessary to consider that such things might happen in us as well. — Otherwise: See how he leads them away from bodily things, and for the time being from the place, bestowing the glory upon God, and not upon the place,

^A for He himself is the fountain of glory, not needing the glory from you, as he says, through the temple. But since the Scripture says that Terah, the father of Abraham, was stirred to depart from the land of the Chaldeans, how does Stephen now attribute this oracle to Abraham? To this it may be said that, although the oracle was given to Abraham himself, the Scripture attributes it to his father because he did not contradict what was from the divine oracle at his son's counsel, even though he was the father, thereby exposing by this example the disobedience of those present. For are they not convicted of being disobedient, when Terah did not contradict the counsel of his son, while they, even after the experience of divine signs, not only remain incredulous, but also, out of envy, persist in hostility, moving toward the murder of those who deserve to be glorified by reason of divine signs?

^B «And He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when he had no child. But God spoke in this way: that his seed would be a sojourner in a foreign land, and they would enslave it and mistreat it for four hundred years. And the nation to whom they shall be enslaved, I will judge, says God. And after these things they shall go out and serve Me in this place. And He gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so he begot Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. And God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him grace and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. ^C And he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. But a famine came upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers did not find food. But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent our fathers the first time. And the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. But Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob and all his kindred, seventy-five souls. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, himself and our fathers, and they were translated into Shechem and were placed in the tomb ^D which Abraham bought for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor the son of Shechem. And as the time of the promise drew near, which God swore to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until another king arose, who did not know Joseph.»

From many things through the present speech, the blessed Stephen convicts both his own benevolence toward the Jews and their savagery toward him. For by directing his speech as to brothers and fathers, what else is shown by these names than that he bears himself toward them according to the dignity of kindred? But the Jews, paying little heed to this, but rather being cruelly disposed against the signs performed through him, therefore—

^A Stephen is caught dealing more outspokenly with their native depravity. And he shows that the promise which was made to the fathers, on account of which they boasted so greatly, took place before the land, before circumcision, before sacrifice, before the temple. And that these men did not even receive circumcision or the law because they were worthy, but the land was solely the reward of their obedience alone. And not even upon the giving of circumcision is the promise fulfilled, and that these things were types. But consider that, if the father Terah did not participate in the pilgrimage with his son Abraham because he was unworthy, much more so were his children, even if they had traveled a great part of the journey. Abraham, therefore, was so obedient that ^B he left both his kin and his country, moved only by the divine utterance. But if he was like this, how shall those who are found to be disobedient in all things be reckoned as children of Abraham? For it is not the birth of the flesh, but the imitation of his ways that brings about sonship. Since, otherwise, the legitimate and natural status could be attributed to those born out of wedlock—the monstrous. In this way, although the series of his discourse does not proceed continuously, the understanding of the abbreviated sermon progresses mightily, and exposing their shamelessness even up to the passion of Christ, he suffered what it was likely that one who reproves evil men should suffer. "And he promised to give it to him." ^C Henceforth, the history of Abraham proceeds, which tells of the entire endurance of the patriarch until the outcome of the promises. For he shows that Abraham and his descendants, who were long-suffering concerning the divine promises, were most renowned, while the negligent—like those who were his hearers at that time—will themselves also immediately meet with the same misfortunes as them, with the good things which they were hoping for being snatched from their hands.

Yet all these things are small if they are measured against the ultimate audacity against Christ. Therefore they are also called "stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears." Because of which they are also convicted of being murderers of the prophets and of Christ himself, who will also requite them with destruction and their final dispersion. So great are those things which it is possible to see in this ^D abbreviated sermon of Stephen’s, who was endowed with divine wisdom, the understanding of which—as far as our own meager capacity allowed—we have gathered together up to this point, connecting the end with the beginning in the very sermon from which this divinely-flowing stream originated, and finding delight in it. But now it will be useful also to interpret part by part those things which require more time, according to our ability. For it was not in vain that the history of Abraham and his subsequent descendants was taken up for the strengthening of the preacher, but in order that there might be shown both the easy obedience of the ancestors toward what is divine, and the disobedience of their descendants because of their wicked ways. And first of all, an example is brought forward from Abraham, that one ought not to hasten those things which are granted by divine promises; for neither did Abraham hasten the departure of his descendants from Egypt, though the possession of them for four hundred years had—

^A been manifested to him, a duration to be extended with much affliction and subjection into slavery—and not just any subjection, but one that was intolerable, since they were treated not as slaves, but as enemies. And certainly, no request is offered by Abraham to shorten the time, but only a small thing was granted for their refreshment, namely, an avenging retribution against those who oppressed them, from Him who promised that He would judge those who hostilely killed them, while they had done them no injury. Furthermore, how great is the confidence in God—which persuades one to wait for the promises from Persia to Palestine, and not to twist the promise into an impossibility because of the long delay and the magnitude of the matter, because the whole thing is placed in the power of Him who promises! In addition, the envy of the brothers against Joseph is set forth, and his oblivion of the injuries, in that, when he could have done so, he did not take vengeance on those who had afflicted him, but rather repaid them with benefits. After these things follows the rebuke of those who were openly and furiously moved against Christ and His disciples.

^B V, 19. « This one, circumvening our race, afflicted our fathers, so that they should expose their infants, so that they might not be kept alive. »

"Circumvening," that is, craftily scheming how he might get the better of them. For a "sophism" is a forced interpretation. Wherefore the emphasis here says that he set upon them violently, clearly; whence they also call those who play the sorcerer "sophists," as they hide the truth through deceit and sophistry. After the things said concerning Abraham, he shows through the divine oracle the misery endured by his descendants at the hands of the Egyptians. And of this, there is also a counter-balancing, refreshing recompense: the destruction of the Egyptians, which was signified as hanging over them from God Himself at the Red Sea, so that by the pressure of the things that were coming upon them, despair of the saving things might not provide an occasion for slipping into infidelity. Consider also what the guarantee of the faith of those promised things is. What is it, you ask? Namely, that the circumcision of the genital parts, given to them alone and not to others, was a mark for those who had not experienced it. From all these things, then, behold the persuasiveness of those who received the oracles. But even at the time when the exodus of those who were being afflicted was drawing near, the injury of those who were afflicting them progressed more, which admonished the midwives to the destruction of the males. Yet in the other afflictions, the opposite happened, namely, that the afflicted were multiplied all the more; but here, besides the fact that their wickedness was frustrated in its evil designs, it also saved Moses, who was destined to destroy them, beyond expectation, and deemed him worthy of royal upbringing and care. And to what end was this taken up? To indicate that it is not to be denied that even now, similar things happen to those who arm themselves against Christ and His disciples, as they are caught in the works of their own hands. And ^D the sign of circumcision in the genital parts wishes to signify this, namely, the covering with which our first parents covered themselves in

^A paradise, born from the envy of the serpent, who is the beginning and head of evils; from which also the habitual state of faith was held to be more worthy than God regarding the eating of the tree. Circumcision exhorted him to cast this aside, changing his life according to God, in accordance with the legislation of Moses, prescribing the amputation of those parts which are accustomed to be amputated by nature. Furthermore, it also designates the time of the coming of Christ, at which all shadowy and figurative things are transferred to the evangelical truth. Whence, he describes those who do not endure to be corrected in this way as "stiff-necked and uncircumcised": stiff-necked indeed, regarding submission to the divine Spirit; but uncircumcised in heart and ears, as not enduring to perform their duties appropriately to the times. But if that which is to be marveled at in Joseph is that he was sold by his brothers, and yet the one sold saved them, this is more worthy of admiration: that the king nourished him who was to subvert his ^B own rule. Moreover, by causing the infants to be exposed, he shows that he did not wish for them to be openly put to death. And see how the devil, through those things by which he attempted to destroy the promise of God, increased it. Moses is banished into exile, but in his exile he is deemed worthy of that vision, and the leadership of the people is entrusted to him. Thus, he also makes the sold slave to rule where he was held to be a slave. And Christ himself, in death, demonstrated his power and his might; so wise is God, and incomprehensible is his providence.

VII, 20-24. "At which time Moses was born, and was pleasing to God, who was nourished three months in his father’s house; and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and educated him for herself as a son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was ^C powerful in works and in words. And when the time of forty years was fulfilled to him, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And when he saw one being wronged, he defended him, and avenged him who was being afflicted."

At that time, therefore, he says, Moses was born, and was pleasing to God, that is, acceptable, or beloved of God. Or, properly, it means he was irreprehensible in his puerile age regarding his body. But when Pharaoh's daughter had taken him who had been exposed, she taught him all the wisdom of the Egyptians. From this it is manifest that all erudition of external writing is not to be cast away entirely. Since it is said by way of encomium that Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. It is also said of the three children and Daniel that they excelled all in the wisdom of the Chaldeans and in other sciences. ^D However, it is necessary for

index: entries preserved

« Percusso Ægyptio. » ^A Moses slew the Egyptian, not yielding to fury, nor moved by anger, but by zeal. Everything that is done according to the word of God is piety, and even if it be a killing, since it is done with respect to God, it is no longer a killing. Certainly, when Phinehas slew two with one hand, he heard: “Phinehas stood up and made atonement, and the plague was stayed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” For the intention of a murderer and of one who practices piety is different, even if the work performed is one and the same. The act, therefore, performed through Moses was a sign that God was about to slay the Egyptians through Moses, but to save those called Israelites. And such is the case with the things concerning Moses. But this discourse will again weave for us the dispensation of a higher contemplation, which was in Christ. For when God found that the Israelites were enduring an unworthy violence (for Satan had leaped upon them as if crushing and devouring them), having had pity, He took thought to deliver them. And having in a certain way slain him who had wrought the injury, he hid him in the earth, which is to say, he locked him up in the underworld (Hades). Having, therefore, as it were, locked Satan into Hades, the Savior appeared as a dispenser of justice to those from Israel. But they, for whom they ought to have been grateful, said: “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” ^B For this reason also, He migrated from Judea into Galilee, just as Moses was translated to the land of Midian, and He called the gathering of the Gentiles.

VII, 23-29. « But he supposed that his brethren understood that God was giving them salvation by his hand; but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling, and brought them into peace, saying: Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another? But he who was wronging his neighbor pushed him away, saying: Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you wish to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? And Moses fled at this word, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. » ^C

Consider, he says, and from this point trace the ingratitude and the treacherous nature of the Jews toward their benefactors. For Moses, who had slain with anger him who was wronging his fellow countryman, now demeans himself gently toward the one who is wronging. But the man who uses ancestral wantonness against his benefactors pushed him away, rather maligned him, and hunted for the destruction of Moses, who had brought a salutary death to the Egyptian upon his fellow countryman. In which manner also they behaved against Christ, plotting the death of the benefactor on account of his good deeds. Therefore they also say: “What are we doing, because this man does many signs?” ^D

VII, 32. « And when forty years were fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. But Moses, seeing it, marvabeled...

marvelled ^A at the sight. And as he drew near to understand, the voice of the Lord came to him: "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." »

He now calls the Son of God an angel, just as he elsewhere calls Him a man. For He is indeed the angel of great counsel. Therefore, a little later, he shows Him saying to the blessed Moses: « I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. » But He is manifested in the flame of a burning bush. For God is also displayed in the form of fire and on Mount Sinai, when giving the law. What, then, is the reason? Holy Scripture likens the divine nature to fire because of its omnipotence and because it consumes all things, while it likens man to wood and grass. For it says somewhere: « God is a consuming fire, » and again: « As for man, his days are as grass. » But just as fire is intolerable to thorns, so too is divinity to humanity. Yet in Christ they met, and it became tolerable, as if something were veiling the pure approach of the fire of His own nature, so that it could be received within Him, just as fire is in thorns. Moreover, that He renders His own flesh better by its death, the fire in the bush—which preserved the wood entirely incorrupt—can enigmatically manifest. For humanity became capable of containing divinity, and this mystery was accomplished in Christ.

VII, 32-36. ^B « But trembling, Moses dared not look. And the Lord said to him: "Loose the sandal of your feet; for the place where you stand is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, and I will send you into Egypt." This Moses, whom they denied, saying, "Who made you a ruler and a judge?"—him God sent as a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out, having wrought wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years. »

Although the expressions do not appear in the same words in Exodus ^C, they are nonetheless set down with the same meaning. For "trembling" and "being afraid" do not differ much. These things are said about the fearful vision concerning the bush, while fearing that he himself might remain unconsumed. Similarly, in the narrative concerning Mount Sinai, Moses said to God: « I am afraid and trembling, » using the words alternately and in parallel. Therefore, having been struck with amazement by the vision, the blessed Moses added what follows, saying elsewhere to himself: « I will go over and see this great sight, why it is that the bush is not burned. » But the Lord immediately forbids him, saying: "Do not draw near here," and commands him to loose the sandal of his foot. Behold, He whom he called an angel a little before, he now shows to be Lord and God ^D.

For He is Himself the Angel of the great counsel and the Son of God. What, then, is the enigma signified by the sandal? It is necessary to say that the sandal is a sign of mortality and corruption. Certainly, every sandal is the remnant of an already dead animal. Therefore, the mind that ^A endeavors to ascend to divine contemplations and to understand the mystery of Christ must be loosed from every dead and carnal imagination, as if from certain sandals. Thus, they cannot approach Christ through the law and the ministerial worship (for Moses bore the persona of the law), unless they first cast off the defilement contracted from sin, and the worship which is still in types and shadows. But if they desire to be freed from the aforementioned sandal, then they approach Christ, acknowledging the worship which is in Spirit and truth. ^B

VII, 37. "Hic est Moses, qui dixit filiis Israel: Prophetam suscitabit vobis Dominus Deus vester de fratribus vestris, similem mei."

Blessed Stephen added this, hinting to them the mystery which has been fulfilled in Christ, and showing that Moses also spoke to them about Him. For God and Father again foretells the incarnation of His own Son through the all-wise Moses, as one who was to be designated for us as a second legislator; who, indeed, had spoken the law to those of old through angels, but in the last times was revealed as the worker ^C himself unto us, and functioned as the angel of the new covenant, the angel of the great counsel of the Father. And this is what is meant by the words, "Like me," that is to say, a legislator. He calls the Lord of the prophets a prophet because of His humanity. "Like me," [that is, although one who was] despised by those by whom He ought to have been honored. Each gave a law, having first performed signs; but not even so did they wish to obey either one of them.

VII, 37-42. "Ipsum audietis. Hic est, qui fuit in congregatione in ^D deserto in monte Sina, cum angelo ei loquente in monte Sina, et cum patribus nostris, qui accepit verbum vivens dare nobis, cui noluerunt obedientes esse patres nostri: sed repulerunt et conversi sunt corde suo in Aegyptum, dicentes ad Aaron: Fac nobis deos, qui præcedant nos: Moses enim hic, qui eduxit nos de terra Aegypti, nescimus quid acciderit ei. Et fecerunt vitulum in diebus illis, et obtulerunt hostiam idolo, ac lætabantur super operibus manuum suarum. Convertit se autem Deus et tradidit eos, ut colerent militiam cœli, sicut scriptum est in libro Prophetarum: Numquid victimas et hostias obtulistis mihi quadraginta annis in deserto, domus Israel?"

Consider that he first introduces them as offering sacrifices, and then as offering them to idols. For before this, the name of sacrifices is nowhere found, but living commandments, and

^A show that there was no need for sacrifices, in saying: “Did you offer to me victims and sacrifices,” and so forth. This is as if to say, you cannot claim that you were sacrificing these things to God, but rather that you sacrificed them first to these [idols], and that in the desert, where I was especially presiding over you. See, then, the whole discourse, how powerfully and without bitterness it persists in the whole accusation against them, almost saying: “Even if I have said that the temple will be destroyed, and ordinances and sacrifices changed, I have said nothing strange.” For Moses, in whom you pride yourselves so greatly, for forty years neither offered sacrifices nor erected a temple. Nor did David, nor any of the others in between, even though the land had already been given to you by lot and divided. Moreover, the prophets also speak about these things as if they were not necessary. Yet how do you now pretend to vindicate Moses, whom both your fathers and you yourselves rejected? In a word, through the entire discourse, one can see how wisely, moderately, and sharply their accusation is dissolved. ^B

VII, 43. “And you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the figures which you made to worship them. And I will translate you beyond Babylon.”

Moloch is also called Molchom. This was an idol of the Moabites, having a transparent and precious stone in the manner of a morning star on the extreme part of its forehead. Rephan, however, is a species of darkness. For when Moses had ascended the mountain, they fashioned a calf and fell into the worship of the stars, and having made a tabernacle, they set up the idol, which they called Moloch. ^C Moloch, if one interprets it, means “king of them,” and Rephan means “darkness” or “blindness.” And so, “You took up the tabernacle of Moloch,” that is, of your king. And who is this? The star of your god Rephan, which has also become for you a cause of blindness. For your hearts were darkened. And since you have filled up the madness of the Moabites, which is a region neighboring Damascus, for this reason you shall go beyond Damascus, that is, into Babylon. And if the prophet truly said “beyond Damascus” (for so the translation of the Seventy has it), yet the blessed Stephen says “beyond Babylon,” following the edition of the Hebrews, or because Babylon is the boundary of the region of the Damascenes and the Syrians. ^D

VII, 44-46. “The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the desert, as He had ordered them, speaking to Moses, to make it according to the form which he had seen. Which also our fathers brought in, who succeeded with Jesus into the possession of the nations, whom God cast out from before the face of our fathers, until the days of David; who found grace before God, and asked to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.”

The tabernacle of the testimony, that is, of the commandments of God, which tabernacle was [shown] to Moses on Mount Sinai by...

God, was said to be [such] because it was ordained by God, so that they might have God as a witness that its delineation had taken place on the mountain, and that He Himself had prescribed it to Moses.

“VII, 50. Solomon, however, built Him a house. But the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, just as the prophet says: Heaven is My throne, and earth the footstool of My feet. What house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Did not My hand make all these things?”

In the four hundred and eightieth year of the exodus of the sons of Israel from Egypt, Solomon began to build the temple in Jerusalem, as the third book of Kings teaches. ^B And the reason the temple was built so long after the ascent of Israel from Egypt was so that, after they had labored by wandering through the mountains, they might cherish one place, which was in Jerusalem, which God had held in honor. But they, being slow in understanding and unskilled in the words concerning God, and thinking Jerusalem to be the city of God, said that He dwelt in it alone. Therefore, God convicts them for glorifying Him in a limited way and says: What house will you build for Me, who have heaven as a throne and earth as the footstool of My feet? For it was necessary to demonstrate clearly to those who supposed His nature to be contracted and confined to places, that He is everywhere and nothing is capable of containing Him, but rather He Himself passes through all things, and heaven is full of Him, and the earth is full. ^C

“VII, 51. Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.”

For what reason, having preached gently until now, does he use harsh language here? Because he saw that they were not paying attention in their minds to the things being said.

“You always resist the Holy Spirit.”

He did not say, “You resist God,” but, “the Holy Spirit,” so that he recognizes no difference between these, since the Spirit is also God, even if He does not appear to be so to those who do not worship God. You, therefore, he says, always resist God. For when He wanted there to be sacrifices, you did not sacrifice to Him; and when He does not want them, you sacrifice. When the temple stood, you revered idols. When He wants to be worshipped without a temple, you do the opposite, acting similarly to your fathers. ^D

“As your fathers, so also you.”

He shows the evil descending upon them from above. Christ did this as well, since they were always boasting greatly about their fathers.

“Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?”

We know that the blessed Stephen, when making these assertions, was telling the truth, as one who was speaking through the Holy Spirit. He demonstrates, however, from the Old Testament, how he accuses...

the fathers of those who disbelieved in Jesus, in that they persecuted the prophets and killed them; this cannot be done from the books of the New Testament. If, therefore, he says, you killed those who foretold his coming, it is no wonder if I too, preaching the one who was foretold, should be killed by you. However, he was not unaware that he was about to be killed by them, since he was full of the Holy Spirit; and therefore he used freedom of speech without hesitation. ^A

VII, 52, 53. "And they killed those who foretold of the coming of that Just One, of whom you now have become betrayers and murderers, who have received the law according to the dispositions of angels and have not kept it."

"Of the Just One," he says, showing that if that man was just, those who killed him were exceedingly wicked. He calls him Just, a thing which even they could not deny. For although they were extremely headstrong and rebellious, they accused him of injustice in nothing; for how could they have done this, when he did not even have a house? He calls Jesus Just, wishing to draw them in. He calls these men his betrayers and murderers, because they were participants with those who had crucified him, and this, he says, when they had received the law containing ordinances, which would enable those who performed it in deed to maintain a polity similar to that of the angels. For this is what it means: "You who have received the law according to the dispositions of angels." But some also say that by this he means that it was ordained by angels and handed down through an angel to Moses, who appeared to him in the bush. "According to the dispositions," that is, in accordance with the dispositions, just as those who appeared to Moses in the bush and on the mount had ordained the dispositions. ^B

VII, 54, 55. "When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, looking intently into heaven, he saw the glory of God."

If they wanted to kill him, why did they not kill him straight away? Because they wanted to pretend there was a plausible occasion for the crime. For the insult against them was not a reasonable pretext for execution, but perhaps for expulsion or for scourging, but for killing it was not a sufficient cause. Otherwise, it was not his insult, but the prophet's accusation against them, and they did not want to appear to be killing him on account of their own insults, just as they did not want to kill Christ. For they were not content to commit murder, but they also strove to harm his glory. For they were afraid that if he were killed on account of the insult offered to them, he might become more celebrated. ^C

"And Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

Blessed Stephen saw Jesus standing and not sitting, so that Christ might display his protection and grant his athlete great alacrity. ^D

is displayed the posture of one who aids. Moreover, ^A since it would have been burdensome for them to hear that He was sitting, he said He was standing for the time being, hinting at His resurrection. But that He does not stand, but sits, Paul also showed, saying that He raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places at His right hand.

“And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears, and rushed together upon him. And having cast him out of the city, they stoned him.” ^B They stopped their ears—those who bore false witness against the saint.

“And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, named Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon and saying.” He says “witnesses”—those whom they had suborned to bear false witness against him. And he shows that those who were seen as witnesses were more prompt for the murder, since they even laid aside their garments so that they might be more agile and light for throwing the stones. Yet he also says that he who was later to be the preacher of the habitable world was himself also cooperating in the murder at that time, showing that his conversion, which occurred after these things, was something divine and wondrous and not according to man. Now, the words, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” were those of one demonstrating and teaching that one who dies does not perish.

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” From this it is shown that the souls of the just, when released from their bodies, no longer go down into Hades, as was formerly the case, ^C but are instead transmitted into the hands of the living God through Christ, the Savior of us all.

“And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And having said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was consenting to his death.” Now, since he prayed that his death might not be held against them as a sin, it is worthy to inquire whether the sin was forgiven them. And we say that, to those who repented, it was forgiven. For indeed, Paul, who struck him with countless hands and persecuted the Church, became the defender of the Church.

CAPUT IX. Concerning the persecution of the Church and the burial of Stephen: in which there is also an account of Philip the apostle, who healed many in Samaria.

VIII, 1-4. “And on that day a great persecution arose ^D against the Church which was in Jerusalem; and all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men buried Stephen, and made a great lamentation over him. Saul, however, was devastating the Church, entering house by house, and dragging off men and women, he delivered them into custody. Those, therefore, who were scattered went about preaching the word of God.”

See how God brings the snares of enemies against Christ to a good end. For those dispersed caught many more in the evangelical net than before the persecution. But the apostles were not dispersed; they remained in Jerusalem. For where the conflict was fiercest, there the leading soldiers had to stand in battle array, and be set before the others as an example of courage and boldness. But if those who buried Stephen were religious, how did they make lamentation? It is either because they were not yet perfect, or because they lamented being deprived of such a leader, such patronage, such doctrine, and such signs, and because they saw that mild and benign man dead, crushed by stones.

VIII, 4-9. "And Philip went down to a city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the crowds paid attention to those things which were said by Philip, hearing and seeing together the signs which he performed. For many of those having unclean spirits, ^B crying out with a loud voice, went out. And many paralytics and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city."

This is not Philip the apostle, who is numbered among the twelve, but one of the seven who had been chosen with Stephen for the administration of the widows. That this is the truth is manifest from this: as the apostles alone were left in Jerusalem, and the rest of the disciples had been scattered here and there, as has already been said, all were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Among these dispersed ones was this Philip, who also instructed Simon in Samaria, and after baptizing the Eunuch ^C according to a divine oracle, was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord to Azotus, and went to Caesarea, which was his home. For when he had been tested in the persecution that occurred in Stephen’s time, and had feared that he might himself become a partaker in similar dangers, he returned home. Furthermore, if he were one of the apostles, when he baptized in Samaria, he would surely have had the authority of the gift of the Spirit; and Peter and John would not have descended from Jerusalem to them to impart the grace of the Spirit. This man, therefore, only baptizes as a disciple, but the apostles complete the grace, to whom the authority of such a gift had been granted.

CAPUT X.

VIII, 15. "But a certain man named Simon, who ^D beforehand in that city practiced magical art and had bewildered the nation of Samaria, saying that he was some great one, to whom they all listened from the least to the greatest, saying: This is the power of God, which is called great. But they listened to him because for a long time he had bewildered them with magical arts. But when they believed

^A Philip as he preached the gospel concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women were baptized. Simon himself also believed, and when he was baptized he remained with Philip, and seeing the powers and signs which were taking place, he was amazed. But when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. It must be noted that one should not approach sorcerers. But if anyone, being deceived, has approached them, let him depart quickly. For persistence in these things brings about a stupor of the mind, so that one is not able to understand or judge. This Simon therefore, who was a sorcerer and used flattery toward the apostles, and who, like the others, had been baptized by Philip, one of the seven, along with many, did not, however, receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of the hands of the apostles. What then? Did those who were baptized by Philip not receive the Holy Spirit? They had indeed received the Holy Spirit for the remission of sins, but they had not received [the Spirit] as regards the bringing forth of signs. Whence Simon, seeing that It is given through the laying on of hands, approached the apostles, having taken the boldness to seek to purchase it for himself. For before seeing others receiving the Spirit for the working of signs, he did not dare to ask. How, then, did Philip baptize such a man? In the same way that Christ chose Judas. How, then, did Peter not kill him as he did Ananias? Because in the Old Testament also, one man was put to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath ^B for the correction of others, yet no other suffered this. It is possible, however, to understand that in the giving of the Holy Spirit, some perceptible wondrous event was occurring; for Simon would not have come forward to ask unless he had seen this. How, then, not seeing the apostles doing this for money, did he dare to offer money? Because he was not acting out of error, but by way of temptation. For this reason also Peter said, "Your heart is not right," showing that even the things plotted in his mind did not escape him. Observe also the shamelessness of Simon. For whereas it was fitting for him to ask to receive the Holy Spirit, since he did not care about this, he asked that he might give It to others. For he wished to seem more illustrious ^C than Philip, because Philip, being one of the seven and a deacon, did not have the authority to give the Holy Spirit through the laying on of his hands. And that this is true, that he had not received the Spirit for the working of signs, see how he says that seeing the powers and signs which were happening, he was amazed, and it was to obtain this that he drew near. ^D "For It had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit." It is manifest that those who were baptized by Philip in Samaria

baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit." It is manifest that those who were baptized by Philip in Samaria had not yet received the Holy Spirit, because he did not possess such a gift; for this man, as we have said, was one of the seven. For although these men had received the power to perform signs, it was not given to them to bestow the Spirit upon others as well; for this prerogative was reserved for the apostles. Furthermore, Philip did not cause the Spirit to descend upon those baptized by him, ^A by which he surely honored the apostles. It was not because he was base or unworthy (since it is recorded that he himself performed signs in the healing of sicknesses and the casting out of demons), but because he did not pray that this might happen to them, as they were not yet prepared for the reception of the Spirit; especially since even Simon, who had been baptized by him, still minding the things of the flesh, asked the apostles for the authority, by the giving of money, to be able to bestow the Holy Spirit upon whomever he wished by the laying on of hands.

VIII, 18, 19. "Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me also this power, that any one on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'"

This wicked Simon, in offering money, was not seeking this for the sake of faith, but wishing for this to happen so that it might become a source of gain and an opportunity for money for him. For he approached them so that, having received such a grace, he might grow rich through signs, just as he had previously performed things using only the imaginary help of demons, or perhaps he was doing this to test the apostles, wishing to find occasion for accusation against them. For this reason, he also hears: "You have no part or lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to God, if perhaps the sin may be forgiven you." For Peter foresaw that he would not turn to repentance. Therefore he says, "If perhaps it may be forgiven you." That which he adds, "Pray you," he said not for the sake of true repentance and conversion, but only as a pretext for formal cleansing; for where are the tears and the confession? This shows that the matter is difficult to correct, and that it requires much repentance for those who sin against that divine thing itself, as Simon also sinned, by thinking that the Holy Spirit obeys money ^C for the efficacy of His working.

CHAPTER XI

VIII, 19-23. "But Peter said to him, 'May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to God, if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.'"

seeing you to be. Simon, answering, said: ^A “Pray you for me to the Lord, that none [α] of these things which you have spoken may come upon me.” They, then, having testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

“Your money be with you.” These are not the words of one cursing, but of one reproving, as if someone were to say: May your money perish with you along with such an intention. Peter does not punish Simon now as he earlier did Ananias, in order to show that faith is not a matter of necessity or compulsion, but so that he might lead him rather to the things that pertain to repentance. For it is sufficient for correction to have rebuked him and to have spoken of the things that were in his heart, and for him to have confessed that he was caught. For to say, “Pray you for me,” is the act of one confessing, even if it was not said from an upright and fervent disposition. ^B

CHAPTER XII.

That God grants prosperous success for the common salvation of the holy and faithful is evident from the account concerning the eunuch.

“An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise, and go toward the south [α] to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza; this is desert. And rising, he went. And behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a powerful official [β] of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her Gaza, had come to worship in Jerusalem; and he was returning, and sitting on his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near and join yourself to this [γ] chariot. And Philip, having run up, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said: Do you indeed understand what you are reading? But he said: How indeed could I, unless someone guides me? And he requested Philip to come up and sit with him. The passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this.” ^C

For what reason does the angel not appear to the eunuch and lead him to Philip? Because perhaps he would not have been convinced, but rather would have been terrified. For this man was not like Cornelius. “Toward the south.” He was not traveling toward the south from Jerusalem, but toward the north; but from Samaria, where Philip, one of the seven, was then staying and teaching, the road is toward the south. And he said, “This is desert,” so that he would not fear the ruling power of the Jews. Women ruled that Ethiopia, one of whom was Candace by succession; the eunuch was the chamberlain of her royal treasuries. It must be known that the Ethiopians call every mother of a king Candace, since the Ethiopians do not account for a father, but pass them down as being sons of the sun; and they call the mother of each one Candace. ^D

“As a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb [α] before his shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away; and who shall recount his generation? Because…”

…” ^A “Because his life is taken from the earth.” ^B And the eunuch answering Philip, said: “I beseech you, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of some other?” And Philip opening his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. And as they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said: “See, here is water; what hinders me to be baptized?”

Hence is signified the spontaneous will of Christ in approaching those things which were ordained. For as a sheep, which is led to the slaughter, or a lamb before the shearer (who, being compelled by no necessity, has not even the impulse to bleat), so He, suffering of His own will, was silent. Moreover, what follows, “In his humiliation his judgment was taken away,” signifies the unjust judgment brought against Him, the truth being hidden. Again, by inferring, “Who shall recount his generation?” He shows Him to be without generation, namely, that the origin of His birth ^C cannot be given. For He was both without generation as God, and yet, as if enrolled, was born according to the flesh. Or, who shall be able to express in speech that glory which came to Him after the resurrection, and His noble dignity, which the experience of ordained events manifested? since He was indeed subject to death, but all men were vivified and redeemed by faith through His grace. Then he says, “Because his life is taken from the earth.” That is, His life, namely His conversation, is lifted up and is more sublime than those things which are on earth. But His life is lifted up in another way, and is above all, that is, the substance of the Only-Begotten, when it is understood apart from the flesh, and before coming down to us. For when He had descended spontaneously to death, His life was lifted up from the earth and was raised high, and ascended above the heavens, because He was the King of glory, and His life was natural, and He was the Lord of hosts: although, on account of the economy for our sake and His spontaneous emptying, He endured contumely and ignominy in His passion during the suffering, the flesh—which was personally and inseparably united to Him, and around which the affliction and consequently the contumely occurred—reasonably giving this to Him. For while men dared to attack God incarnate, they were yet not able to touch the impassible One, for that was impossible. Philip therefore announces to the eunuch that this is Jesus, and that this Scripture is fulfilled in Him: to whom also he was obedient, and being immediately baptized, was sent to the region of Ethiopia, to preach that which he himself had believed: that God is one, as preached through the prophets, but that the Son of this God had already come and been made known according to humanity, and that He had been led as a sheep to the slaughter, and the rest of the things which the prophets say concerning Him. And here the prophecy is fulfilled which says, “Ethiopia shall present her hand to God.” ^D “See here is water, what hinders me to be baptized?” And he said

^A Philippus: If you believe with all your heart, it is permitted. He answering, said: I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God: and he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

It must be noted how great a zeal those who were becoming perfect Christians had regarding the sensible baptism. For since it was given in a twofold manner, namely by water, and in the Holy Spirit and fire, they did not, on account of the excellence of the baptism which was in the Spirit, despise that which was more corporeal. For this also contributes to salvation and the resurrection of the body.

^B VIII, 39, 40. When they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more. For he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through, he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

The Spirit profitably took away Philip, since the eunuch would certainly have wished to accompany him, and Philip by refusing and denying—since the time was not yet—would surely have saddened him. Philip himself also gained much, seeing fulfilled in his own person what he had heard regarding Ezekiel and Habakkuk. It is also shown that he had traveled a long road if he was found at Azotus. For there the Spirit set him down, where it was necessary for him to preach henceforth, and from there to depart to his own country, Caesarea.

CHAPTER XIII

IX, 1-9. And Saul as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked of him, letters to Damascus, to the synagogues: that if he found any men and women of this way, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he went on his journey, it came to pass that he drew nigh to Damascus; and suddenly a light from heaven shined round about him: and falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Who said: Who art thou, Lord? And he said: I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the goad. And he trembling ^D and astonished, said: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said to him: Arise, and go into the city, and there it shall be told thee what thou must do. Now the men who journeyed in company, stood amazed, hearing indeed the voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. But they leading him by the hands, brought him to Damascus. And he was there three days, without sight.

"Of this way." They called the faith the way.

^A into our true God, which the apostles preached; and very rightly so. For through it, and not through any other, do we enter into the kingdom of heaven. But in a more truthful sense, by the "way" must be understood conduct, as in Isaiah: "Why have you made us err from your way?" that is, from the conduct according to you. Thus here too he called the conduct according to Christ the "way," and in other places where he mentions the way, he signifies the preaching according to Christ and the conduct according to him. Perhaps they even called them this as a way of belittling and disparaging them. For they are accustomed to calling an obscure or ignoble person "a man from the street." ^B He did not, however, seek authority to punish them there, but to bring them to Jerusalem, because he wanted these things to be done with greater authority. But the vision did not occur in the city, but on the road in quiet, so that it might not be permitted to others to relate what had happened to him in another manner, but that he himself, who had seen the vision and suffered the event, might be worthy of belief in recounting it. He does not strike all of them blind, but only Paul, so that the affliction might not be considered common and as having occurred by chance, but by divine providence. And why did those who were with him not believe? So that they might be trustworthy witnesses of what happened to Paul. For if they had believed, they would have been seen as testifying out of favor. "Hearing indeed the voice." Those who were with Paul did not hear the voice that had descended from above, but Paul's voice. And they saw no one to whom he was answering, but Paul alone [heard] the one from above. For in the following [verses] he introduces Paul himself saying: "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me." For if they had heard that voice, they would in no way have remained incredulous. But seeing Paul answering, they were amazed. And this was not done from the beginning so that it might be shown that Christ truly had risen. For he who was casting him out and, disbelieving in his resurrection, was even persecuting his disciples, from where would he have believed, if the power of his resurrection had not been great? "And he did neither eat nor drink." For what reason? Because he judged himself in a marvelous way worthy of punishment for the persecution of the Church, and sorrowful, he besought God that it might be remitted to him. ^C

Chapter XIII

^A seeing that he was not to be led by men, but by Christ Himself? For He taught him nothing, but only baptized him. For as soon as he was enlightened, he was to receive a great grace of the Spirit from his zeal and readiness of mind. From this, it is to be noted that those dreams ought to be told which are of common utility and contribute to piety—those that have the presence of the Lord or of angels. There are also private things in dreams which ought not to be spoken of. Yet, even if Saul’s benefit was private, the salvation that occurred was surely admirable, and it recalls the man again to divine worship; and for this reason, it had to be spoken of as being of common utility.

"Arise and go."

"And he saw in a vision."

"Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many'"

^A as it were scales, and he received his sight and arose and was baptized. And when he had taken food he was strengthened. And Saul was with the disciples at Damascus for some days. »

"Who appeared to you." But Christ did not say to him, "I have appeared to you," but he learned this through the Holy Spirit. And yet he was not seen. Indeed, through his deeds and his operation he was seen and appeared. Moreover, he did not say, "He who blinded you," avoiding the reproach, but, "Who appeared to you." Now the scales fall off, demonstrating the intensity of the blindness and the certainty of the healing.

IX, 20-25. « And immediately he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all who heard him were amazed, and said: Is this not he who destroyed those in Jerusalem who called upon this name? And had come hither for this purpose, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul was strengthened more and more, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus, ^B proving that this is the Christ. And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel together to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night that they might kill him. But the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. »

« He preached Christ in the synagogues. » Naturally, since he had learned the Law, he silenced them and would not let them speak, but proved the contrary from the Scriptures. "Proving," that is, teaching with gentleness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. But they plotted to kill him; yet he was let down from the wall by the disciples in a basket, and was preserved by flight. Consider that he had already gained disciples, and was so entirely afire and perfected in his preaching; and that very thing which made him come late [to the faith] made him more eager. For although he might have desired his departure from here, yet he also loved the salvation of men; because of which he also frequently contrived such things, ^C keeping himself for the preaching; and he did not refuse to use human devices, when the occasion of the time demanded it.

IX, 26-28. « And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples: and all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and told them how he had seen the Lord on the way and that he had spoken to him: and how at Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. and he was with them going in and out at Jerusalem, and speaking with confidence in the name of the Lord Jesus. »

It is worth posing a difficulty here: how in the Epistle to the Galatians he says that he did not go away to Jerusalem, but to Arabia and again to Damascus, and after three years to Jerusalem to see Peter and that ^D

I did not see any of the apostles. But here he says the contrary, that Barnabas brought him to the apostles. ^A He says this, then, in the Epistle to the Galatians, that he did not go away in order to consult them. For he says, "Neither did I consult, nor did I go away to Jerusalem." Or if this does not please, it is manifest that the plot in Damascus did not occur immediately after he believed, but after he had returned from Arabia after three years. Or if this does not please either, that he himself did not go to the apostles, but tried to join himself to the other disciples, being modest in his own estimation, since he was a teacher and not a student. But Barnabas brings him to the apostles, and relates both what he had seen and how he had spoken boldly. "For this reason," he says, "I went away, in order to come to the apostles who were before me; at any rate, I learned nothing from them." Or interpret this journey in such a way that it happened as follows: that he went to Arabia, then came to Damascus, then to Jerusalem, then to Syria. Or if this does not satisfy either, that he went up to Jerusalem again, then was sent to Damascus, then to Arabia, then to Damascus again, then to Cæsarea. And then, after fourteen years, he went up again to Jerusalem—perhaps when he brought the brethren with Barnabas. Or if this is not the case, he refers to a different time. For the historiographer abbreviates much, and compresses many times. It seems to me, however, that Barnabas was a friend to him even before this. He was a man ^B gentle and very kind; therefore he was fittingly called a "son of consolation," whence he was also accessible to the man.

IX. 29. 30. "And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists; but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren learned of this, they brought him down to Cæsarea and sent him away to Tarsus." He calls those who spoke Greek Hellenists, and very wisely too. For the others, that is to say, the strictly Hebrew ones, did not even want to look at him.

IX. 31. "Then the churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and were edified and walked in the fear of the Lord, and were multiplied by the consolation of the Holy Spirit." ^C "Then the churches." He is about to say that Peter came down from there; therefore, so that you might not suppose this was from fear, he foretold that the churches had peace. For when the peak of the war was here, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem; but when there was peace, they preached to others as well.

CHAPTER XIV.

IX, 32. ^D "Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts, that he came down also to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. And he found there a certain man named Æneas, who had been lying on a bed for eight years,

^A and saying to him, Peter said: Æneas, Jesus Christ heals thee. Rise and make thy bed for thyself. And he arose immediately. And all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.”

He did not wait for the man’s faith, nor did he ask whether he wished to be healed; for as yet no proofs of his own power had been experienced there: with good reason, therefore, faith was not required of the man, just as they had not required it of the lame man. For this miracle contributed especially to the consolation of many, for he was a man of note. Just as Christ, therefore, when He began to perform signs, did not require faith, so neither did these men. In Jerusalem, indeed, their faith had rightly preceded, so that when Peter came, even his shadow might overshadow some of them. For many signs had been performed there, but here this was the first occurrence; signs, therefore, were performed partly that others might be attracted to the faith, and partly that the believers might be consoled.

^B “Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and alms which she did. And it came to pass in those days that, being afflicted with an illness, she died. And when they had washed her, they put her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was near to Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was in it, sent unto him, begging him that he would not grow weary of coming unto them. And Peter arising came with them. And when he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood round about him weeping, and showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. And Peter, having cast everyone out, kneeling down ^C prayed, and turning to the body, said: Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. And giving her his hand, he raised her up; and having called the saints and the widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

“By the name Tabitha,” etc. It is shown that this woman was, as her name implies, vigilant and sober, just as a gazelle is. For many names are also applied by providence, signifying in their efficacy the designation which follows. “And it came to pass that, being afflicted with an illness, she died. And when they had washed her,” they did all the things ^D that are accustomed to be done to the dead. And only then did they send for Peter. They did not do this before she died, counting it unworthy to trouble the disciples with such things and to pull them away from their preaching. For this is also why it says that the place was near. For they were asking this as a secondary task; for she was a disciple. “While Dorcas was with them.” The fact that it says “with them” signifies her humility, in that she lived and associated with the widows as if she were one of the common people. What then does Peter do? He casts everyone out, so that he might not be disturbed by the tumult of tears; and having knelt down, he prayed. For not all things are with the same prayer

performed the signs with the same ease. Then, having called out and given her his hand, he raised her up, by his word bestowing life upon her, and by his hand providing strength. It must be noted, however, that signs were performed ^A dispensatorily, not only for the unbelievers, but also for the saints, so that others might believe. For behold, after this sign many again believed, as the signs were again presented to the unbelievers. For they would not have believed otherwise, unless they had seen signs again, since the saints believed even without a sign that he was able to raise her; for how else would they have sent for him? "And it came to pass that he remained for many days in Joppa with a certain Simon a tanner." Peter does not stay with any other of the prominent people, but with a tanner, leading us in all things to modesty of soul, neither allowing the lowly to be overwhelmed with shame, nor the great to be lifted up. For those who, because of the signs, had believed in ^B God, in Jesus Christ, who was preached by him, were in need of his teaching.

CAPUT XV.

X, 1-6. "And there was a certain man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of the cohort which is called the Italian, religious and fearing God with all his household, ^C performing many alms to the people, and praying to God always. He saw in a vision manifestly, almost at the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God entering unto him and saying to him: Cornelius. And he, looking intently at him and being seized with fear, said: What is it, Lord? And he said to him: Thy prayers and thy alms have ascended into a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon who is called Peter. He is being entertained by one Simon a tanner."

Neither the Ethiopian nor Cornelius are mentioned because they were established in dignity, but because, on account of their riches and prestige, they were not hindered from living in piety. ^D For this man is not a Jew, nor of those who were under the Law, but he had already assumed our own mode of life. The eye of piety, seeing this man—that his works were indeed good, yet dead, since he did not yet have faith—sends an angel to direct his works and to acquire a reward for them, namely to crown the good struggle through faith, and that at the ninth hour, when he was released from his cares and was in quiet and compunction. For this reason, the author makes the man distinguished and well-known, so that no one might say he is lying, and for this reason he also indicated his rank, adding:

^A *Of the band which is called Italian.* And a "band" is what we now call a [i]numerus[/i].

X, 6. 7. *Whose house is by the sea-side. He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.* And when the angel who was speaking to Cornelius had departed, calling two of his servants and a religious soldier of them that were subject to him, ^B the apostles used to seek out places separated from cities, being friends of solitude and quiet. But what if it happened that there was another Simon? Behold, he gives a sign: that he dwells by the sea. He did not say why, that he might not weaken him, but left him in a state of desire and longing to hear.

X, 10. *And when he had declared all things to them, he sent them to Joppe. And on the next day, whilst they were going on their journey, and drawing nigh to the city, Peter went up to the higher parts of the house to pray, about the sixth hour. And he was very hungry, and would have tasted; and as they were preparing.* ^C Behold his lack of vanity. For he did not say, "Call Peter to me," for he did not think it right to summon him by virtue of his own rank. For this reason he recounted everything, so as to persuade him. Such a modest man was he. And yet, nothing great could be imagined of a man lodging with a tanner.

X, 10-13. *There fell upon him an ecstasy, and he saw the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending to him, as it were a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down from heaven to the earth, wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him.*

Ecstasy signifies both the astonishment that occurs in admiration, and when a person, having been taken out of sensible things, is guided to spiritual things. From this, therefore, it is manifest that a spiritual vision of some sort happened to him, his soul having—if one may say—departed from his body. *And he saw.* That sheet is a supreme symbol of the whole inhabited world. And the four corners signify the four elements. The vessel that appeared designates the coarser world. And the various animals are symbols of the condition of men. Or, to speak more clearly, the shroud is the Church. And the beasts that were in it are the nations. He saw the Church, therefore, bound by the four Gospels, in which were all the nations. ^D

X, 13-29. *Arise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said: Far be it, Lord, for I never did eat any thing that is common and unclean. And the voice spoke to him again the second time: That which God hath cleansed, do not thou call common. And this was done thrice; and presently the vessel was taken up into heaven. Now while Peter was doubting within himself what the vision should mean, behold, the men who were sent from Cornelius, inquiring after Simon’s house, stood at the gate, and calling, they asked if Simon, who is surnamed Peter, were lodging there. And as Peter was thinking of the vision, the Spirit said to him: [Behold men seeking thee; but arise, get thee down, and go with them,---]

nothing doubting, for I have sent them.” And Peter, going down to the men sent by Cornelius to him, said: “Behold, I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause for which ye are present?” And they said: “Cornelius the centurion, a man just and fearing God, and having testimony from the whole nation of the Jews, received an oracle from a holy angel to summon thee into his house, and to hear words from thee.” Having therefore invited them in, he provided them hospitality. ^B And on the morrow Peter went forth with them, and certain of the brethren who were from Joppe accompanied him. And the next day they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius was expecting them, having called together his kinsmen and necessary friends. And when it happened that Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshipped him. But Peter raised him up, saying: “Arise, I myself also am a man.” And speaking with him, he entered and finds many gathered together, and he said to them: “Ye know how it is unlawful for a man who is a Jew to join or come unto one of another nation. But God has shown me to call no man common or unclean; therefore also I came without gainsaying when I was sent for.”

The sheet is indeed the earth, and the beasts which were in it are the Gentiles. And that saying, “Kill and eat,” implies that it is necessary for them also to draw near. And this happening three times signifies baptism. And as Peter was doubting, the men arrived opportunely to solve the doubt. For the soul easily receives the solution. Yet he was first in ambiguity, just as Joseph was also permitted to be troubled before the angel came. “And calling out they inquired,” that is, they inquired not from the neighbors. Great is the authority of the Spirit, who says: “I have sent them.” And Peter, going down, asks the cause for which they came, so that if there were an immediate necessity, he would go forth at once, or if not, that he might receive them into the house to offer hospitality. ^C That some of the brethren from Joppe went forth with Peter ^D was done in a providential manner, so that there should not afterward be lacking witnesses for Peter, when he had to answer to the brethren, because he had been forbidden that he should make any judgment. Peter is commanded to slay the savage and irrational type of men, so that they being purified, that which remains might be edible. The word of piety is delivered nakedly, the divine voice not once saying that what God has purified is not common, but three times: so that we may learn with the first voice that God the Father is He who purifies, and with the second that God the Only-begotten also is He who purifies, and with the third, moreover, the Holy Spirit. Perhaps he had seen the vision while bowed on his knees. For this reason also the voice says to him: “Arise, Peter, kill and eat.” It is shown, moreover, that it was divine, both that he saw from above, and that he came to be in an ecstasy

^A and that the voice came from thence, and that it confessed three times that those things were unclean. And that it came from thence, and that it was drawn up again to that place, is a great proof of purity. This happens for the sake of those to whom he is about to speak afterward. Since he himself had heard: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles.” But the voice happening three times shows him the truth of the vision. It is evident that he did not wish his words to go beyond all foods, by saying: “I have never eaten anything common or unclean,” as if oxen and goats and sheep and birds were called common by him, since Peter originated from the Jews. For the Jews eat meat, and the eating of meat is not forbidden among them. Since, therefore, he himself had eaten from the beginning, or at least until he had come to the Savior, it is manifest certainly that he did not pronounce it universally, saying: “Common and unclean,” but concerning those which the law called common and unclean. And yet, when Peter was speaking about these things, which were common and unclean in the law, God, who had handed down the symbol of the holy Church of Christ, considered nothing common to it, for all things are clean to it [“which are taken with thanksgiving and the blessing of God.”] But even if the riddle was concerning the calling of the Gentiles, so that he might not think those in uncircumcision common or unclean, yet the word of Peter did not have ^B its emphasis on people, but on those things forbidden in the law, as has been demonstrated.

“I ask, therefore, for what reason you have sent for me.”

Already Peter had heard the whole matter even from the soldiers; but he wishes first that they confess it, and be made debtors to the faith.

X, 30. “And Cornelius said: From the fourth day until this hour I was fasting, and at the ninth hour I was praying in my house.”

He seems to have set for himself a more austere way of living, and that on certain days. For he said: “From the fourth day.” When, therefore, the angel appears to him, this is one day; and another is that on which those sent by Cornelius departed; the third, on which they arrived; and on the fourth he appeared, about the third hour, after he had prayed. See, therefore, the magnitude of prayer: when he gave himself over to piety, then the angel appears to him.

^C “And behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing (he says a man and not an angel, he was so humble), and says: Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter: he is lodging in the house of Simon a tanner by the sea, who when he comes will speak to you. Immediately, therefore, I sent to you; and you have done well that you have come. Now, therefore, all we are present before God, to hear ^D all things commanded you by God. Opening his mouth, Peter said: ...

"In truth I understand that God is not a respecter of persons; but in every nation he who fears Him and works justice is acceptable to Him." "Justice," that is, every virtue.

"The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ, this is Lord of all. You yourselves know the thing which happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, Jesus of Nazareth."

He says these things on account of those who were present, so that he might draw them also to the faith; yet he gives to the sons of Israel that which is preeminent, so that they might not think themselves to be in the rank of the rejected. "This is," he says, "Lord of all."

^B "How God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the region of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they also killed, hanging Him on a tree. God raised Him up on the third day, and gave Him to appear, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen beforehand by God, namely to us."

That Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit by God must be understood according to His humanity. For since He emptied Himself and, drawing near to us, participated in blood and flesh, these things which He has by nature, as God, He is said to receive on account of His humanity. For He receives them, not for Himself, according to which He is God the Word (for they were His own property), but for us, as in the first fruits through Himself.

"Who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He charged us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead."

Hence he confirms the resurrection of Christ from the fact that they ate with Him after the resurrection. For He did not perform some sign *after* the resurrection; for this resurrection itself was a great sign. But of this, there was no sign such as the eating and drinking.

^C "To Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him shall receive forgiveness of sins."

As many, he says, as are the prophets who spoke about the forgiveness of sins, they said that they were to be remitted through this Jesus. Thus also Isaiah, assuming His person, says: "I am He who blots out your iniquities, and your sins."

"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were hearing the word; and those of the circumcision ^D were amazed..."

« those from the circumcision, as many as had accompanied Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking with tongues and magnifying God. Then Peter answered: Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days. »

When they believed that through baptism there is complete remission of sins, then the Spirit descended upon them. This happened by God’s preordaining, for the great defense of Peter. And the Spirit did not supervene in an ordinary way, but they spoke in tongues, which threw into astonishment those who had been his companions; because of which Peter also immediately ordered them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. And he did not say: What need is there of water, when the Holy Spirit has fallen upon them? For he knew that divine signs are accomplished in it, namely burial and mortification, resurrection and life. For just as it is easy for us to be baptized and emerge, so it is easy for God to bury the old man and show forth the new. Moreover, this happens three times, so that we may know that this is accomplished by the power of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Some say, however, that it is to show the three-day resurrection of Christ, which brings this about in us. ^B

CAPUT XVI.

How Peter subsequently recounts even the individual details of the things that were done to the apostles who were arguing against him. At that time, however, they sent Barnabas ^C to the brothers who were at Antioch.

XI, 1-20. « But the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter had returned to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision argued against him, saying: You went in to men having uncircumcision and ate with them. But Peter, having repeated the matter from the beginning, set forth the order to them, saying: I was in the city of Joppa praying, and I saw in a trance a vision, a vessel descending like a great sheet, let down by four corners from heaven, and it came even to me. Into which, when I had fixed my eyes, I looked, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, and the beasts, and the creeping things, and the birds of the heaven. I heard also a voice saying to me: Arise, Peter, kill and eat. But I said: Not so, ^D Lord, because nothing common or unclean ever entered my mouth. And a voice answered me a second time from heaven: What God has cleansed, you must not call common. This, however, happened three times. And again all things were drawn up into heaven. And behold, suddenly three men were standing at the house in which I was, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit said to me to go with them, hesitating at nothing. And these six brethren also accompanied me, and we entered into the house of the man. And he reported to us how he had seen an angel in his house standing and saying to him: Send men to Joppa and summon

^A Simon, who is called Peter, who shall speak words to you, by which you shall be saved, you and all your house. And when I had begun to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as also upon us in the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, as he said: John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit. If, therefore, God gave them the equal gift as also to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God? ^A When they heard these things, they were silent, and glorified God, saying: Therefore, God has also granted repentance to the Gentiles unto life. And they indeed who were scattered ^B from the affliction that arose over Stephen, passed through as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one, except only to the Jews. And there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrenians.

Peter shows through his defense that he himself was nowhere the cause, but God was everywhere. For, he says, He Himself placed me in a trance; He Himself pointed out the vessel; I even contradicted; and again He Himself spoke, and not even thus did I obey. The Spirit commanded me to go, and having gone, not even thus did I run forward. I said that God sent [me], and not even thus did I baptize, but again God Himself wrought the whole thing. God Himself baptized, not I. For while I was still speaking to them, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, and they spoke in tongues, and magnified God, just as we did.

^C Who, when they had entered into Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them. And a great number having believed turned to the Lord. And the word was heard into the ears of the Church that was in Jerusalem concerning them; and they sent out Barnabas to pass through as far as Antioch. Who, having arrived, and having seen the grace of God, rejoiced, and exhorted all to remain with the Lord in the purpose of their heart.

"To the Hellenists." Perhaps because they could not speak Hebrew, they called them Hellenes. Therefore they also spoke to them, preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and all believed, since, he says, the hand of the Lord was with them; that is, they were working signs. For on account of this, the necessity for signs occurred, so that they might believe.

^D For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a considerable crowd was added to the Lord. And Barnabas went out to Tarsus to seek Saul; and having found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came to pass for them to be gathered with the whole church for a whole year, and to teach a considerable crowd.

Why do they not write to Paul, but send Barnabas? Because they did not yet know the virtue of the man. And the saying, "There is no one good except God alone," does not conflict with this. For it is not the same thing for God to be alone good

that God alone is good, and that a man is a good man. For He indeed is good by nature, being the beginning and the source of all good things; but a man is not good by nature, but possesses the state of being good through the acquisition of virtue. For he is not called simply good, but a good man. ^A In this sense, therefore, that passage is also understood: "A good man," and "Well done, good and faithful servant," and other things similar to these.

"And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

This achievement of Paul also deserves to be exalted to such a height as to be considered a sign. For though there were so many in Judea who had believed, no such thing happened, but there faith in Christ was called "the Way." It must be noted, however, that Antioch was held worthy of the ^B pontifical see most of all for this reason, because there the disciples were first determined to be named Christians. This name, moreover, is opposed to the multitude of gods and the various divinities among them.

CHAPTER XVII.

XI, 27-30. "And in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem unto Antioch: and one of them named Agabus stood up and signified by the Spirit that a great famine was about to ^C come upon all the world, which also came to pass under Claudius Caesar. And the disciples, according to what each was able, determined everyone to send for the relief of the brethren who lived in Judea: which also they did, sending to the presbyters by the hand of Barnabas and Saul."

There is nothing contrary to this in what was said by the Lord: "The law and the prophets" up to John. For He said this concerning those prophets who had foretold His advent. Lest, therefore, they should think that the famine had occurred because Christianity had entered, the Holy Spirit predicts it. But Christ also had predicted this; not that it was necessary for this to happen from the beginning, but on account of ^D the evils that were being committed against the apostles. God was indeed long-suffering; but when they pressed too hard, a great famine resulted, signifying the evils that were to come upon the Jews. But if it had been on account of them, the famine itself ought to have ceased. For they ought rather to have been praised, who were doing what was their own work, namely, killing, punishing, tormenting, and persecuting everywhere. Therefore this plague occurred, although the wretches did not understand; and the Christians in this matter felt compassion for them. It should be noted that the apostles also held the dignity of presbyters. In other chapters, too, it has been indicated that they held the rank of deacons and bishops.

on for them. It should be noted that the apostles also held the dignity of presbyters. In other chapters, too, it has been indicated that they held the rank of deacons and bishops.

CHAPTER XVIII

XII, 1. “Eodem autem tempore injecit Herodes rex manus, ut affligeret quosdam de Ecclesia.” This refers to the time under Claudius Caesar. Caius, emperor of the Romans, appointed Agrippa king of Judea, having sent Herod into exile to Lugdunum in Gaul, along with his wife Herodias, on account of the depravity of his life. This is the one who was reigning at the time of the Lord’s passion, as Josephus writes in the eighteenth book of the History of Antiquities, and Eusebius in the second book of Ecclesiastical History. Therefore, either there is a dissonance of name in this place, such that Herod is put for Agrippa and it happened through the lapse of the writer, as is likely; or he spoke according to the doubling of the name, since the time and actions show him to be the same Agrippa under Claudius Caesar, who became emperor after Caius.

XII, 2-4. “Occidit autem Jacobum fratrem Joannis gladio. Videns autem quod gratum esset Judaeis, processit apprehendens et Petrum. Erat autem dies azymorum. Quem etiam apprehensum posuit in carcerem.” ^C For no one should say that they therefore exposed themselves to death without danger and without fear, seeing that God snatched them away, and he therefore allows even the leaders to be killed: proving them to be murderers, because not even these things call them away or deter them.

XII, 4-8. “Tradens quatuor quaternionibus militum asservandum: volens post Pascha producere eum populo. Petrus itaque servabatur in carcere: cæterum precatio fiebat sine intermissione ab Ecclesia ad Deum pro eo. Cum autem producturus esset eum Herodes, in ipsa nocte dormiebat Petrus inter duos milites vinctus catenis duabus et custodes ante ostium custodiebant carcerem. Et ecce angelus Domini astitit, et lumen refulsit in habitaculo: percussoque latere Petri excitavit eum, dicens: Surge velociter. Et exciderunt ejus catenæ de manibus. Dixitque angelus ad eum: Præcingere et subliga soleas tuas. Et fecit sic.”

“Quatuor quaternionibus,” that is, sixteen: since four times four constitute sixteen. Perhaps so that in each watch, that is, in every three hours, there were four guards. ^D There are, moreover, four guards disposed for every three hours, called a watch: so that in the whole night, namely in the space of twelve hours, there are four watches: in which, with four soldiers keeping guard in turn, the total number is sixteen. He was not in anxiety nor in fear;

custodia appellati: ut sint universa nocte, nempe duodecim horarum spatio quatuor custodiæ: in quibus, servantibus vicissim quatuor militibus, ^A all form the number of sixteen. Peter was not in distress or fear, but was sleeping, having cast his every concern upon the Lord. He says that a light shone, so that Peter might both see and hear, and not think it an apparition. As for the words “in haste,” they do not indicate someone in a tumult, but someone persuading him not to delay. Observe how the Jews act in this way during the days of Unleavened Bread.

XII, 11. “And he said to him: Cast your mantle around you and follow me. And departing he followed him. And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was true, but thought he was seeing a vision. And having passed the first and second watch, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them of its own accord. And having gone out, they proceeded one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And Peter, having come to himself, said: Now I know truly that the Lord has sent his angel and has snatched me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”

When the Lord said to the disciples: “Do not acquire gold or silver, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a belt, nor a staff,” how was Peter going against the command of the Lord by having garments and a belt and sandals? ^B Furthermore, when Paul also, writing to Timothy, commanded: “The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, bring when you come,” behold, he had a cloak, and no one could say that he did not have another which he was wearing. Did he therefore disobey Christ? What then is to be said? Those precepts were given to be kept for a time, and not for always. And that this is true, Luke the evangelist testifies. For he says that Christ said to the disciples: “When I sent you out *without money-bag and knapsack and belt and sandals, did you lack anything?” They say to him: “Nothing.” And he says to them: “Therefore, from now on, acquire [them].” But for what reason did he command this then? Wishing to show forth His power. ^C If, therefore, Paul ought to have had but one tunic, if it happened that he needed to wash it, would it have been necessary for him to sit naked at home, or to go about naked and conduct himself unbecomingly when necessity called? It was not necessary, therefore, for Paul, who was going around the world on account of so many illustrious deeds, to stay at home on account of a lack of a mantle, and to be impeded by such things. Furthermore, what if a vehement cold pressed upon him? If a great rain also had descended upon him, how could the tunic he was wearing have been dried, or would it be necessary for him to sit naked again? Furthermore, what if cold had prostrated his body, would he have to waste away and speak no more? And what could be more miserable than this? For bodies of adamant were not given to them. What then? Should they have perished? By no means. But this, as it has been said, He commanded then, wishing to show forth His power, that they would lack nothing necessary for life. ^D

XII, 15. “And when he had realized it, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John who was called Mark, where many were gathered and praying.”

^A And when Peter had knocked at the door of the vestibule, a girl came to answer, named Rhoda; and recognizing Peter’s voice, for joy she did not open the vestibule, but running in, she reported that Peter was standing before the vestibule. And they said to her, “You are mad!” But she insisted that it was so.

What is meant by, “when he had realized it”? It means that one ought not to depart in any random way, but rather to repay the benefactor. “Who was called Mark.” That you may know that he is not speaking of the mother of that John who was always in their company, he added his mark, for he says: “Who was called Mark.” This was the man who also wrote the Gospel according to Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, concerning whom Paul writes to Timothy: “Take Mark and bring him with you; for he is very useful to me for ministry.”

^B “But they kept saying, ‘It is his angel.’” But Peter persisted in knocking. And having opened, they saw him, and were amazed. But having signaled with his hand for them to be silent, he recounted to them how the Lord had led him out of prison, and said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” And having gone out, he departed to another place. And when it was day, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. And Herod, having searched for him and not found him, after examining the guards, ordered them to be led away; and going down from Judea to Caesarea, he stayed there. And Herod was at enmity with the Tyrians and Sidonians. But they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, who was over the king’s bedchamber, they asked for peace, because their country was fed by the royal provisions.

“It is his angel.” From this it is clear that each of us has an angel. They, however, supposed this from the occasion of the time. For He says: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” And where Christ is, it is necessary for the angels and all the powers to be there also. “And having gone out, Peter departed to another place.” For he was not tempting God. It would have been possible for God to rescue the guards as well, but if that had been done, the matter would have been judged to be a flight. But it distressed him more that he had been mocked, just as in the time of the Magi it caused the king’s grandfather more grief to be cut asunder ^C because he had been held up to ridicule. [And why are the guards not also punished? Both were indeed deserving of punishment. But since this is not the time for judgment, the one most responsible is punished.]

“On an appointed day, Herod, having put on royal apparel and sat upon the throne, was delivering a speech to them. And the people were crying out, ‘The voice of God, and not of man!’ Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God; and having become eaten by worms, he breathed his last. But the word of God grew and mul- ^D tiplied. Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, having fulfilled the...

Saulus reversi sunt Jerusalem expleto ministerio, assumpto et Joanne, qui cognominabatur Marcus.» ^A «Populus vero acclamabat.» Et what is this to him if they cried out? Because he accepted the voice, in that he deemed himself worthy of such flattery. But if this man, because he heard, "The voice of God and not of man," although he said nothing, suffered such things, how much more would Christ, if He had not been God, have suffered—He who always said, "These words are not mine," and, "Angels minister to me." At this time, in the third year of his reign, Agrippa came to Caesarea, which was previously called Strato's Tower. There he was celebrating ^B *theoria*, that is, spectacles in honor of Caesar, knowing this to be a certain festival. On the second day of the spectacles, clothed in a garment woven entirely of silver so that the texture appeared wonderful, he entered the theater at the beginning of the day; where, as the first rays of the sun struck it, the silver shone marvelously, casting forth a certain brilliance and awe for those who fixed their eyes upon him. And immediately the flatterers from one side and another cried out voices, saluting him as a god and asserting that he was gracious. "Even if until now," they said, "we have feared you as a man, yet from henceforth we acknowledge you to be greater than that nature." But the king did not rebuke them, nor did he turn away from the impious flattery. Looking up, therefore, a little later, he saw an owl sitting above his head upon a certain rope: he immediately understood this to be an evil angel and by no means a messenger of good things. He felt, therefore, a pain around his heart, and a sudden, violent pain of the abdomen seized him. Looking around, therefore, at his friends, he said: "I, who am held by you as a god, am now compelled to bring my life to an end, this event refuting the false voices which were just now uttered concerning me; and I, who was called immortal by you, am now being hurried to death." But why are the flatterers not also punished? Truly both were worthy of punishment, but since it is not yet the time of judgment, he who is most guilty of the crime is punished.

XIII, 1. «Erant autem quidam in Ecclesia quæ erat Antiochiæ prophetæ ac doctores: nempe Barnabas et Simon qui vocabatur Niger, Luciusque Cyrenensis, et Manahen Herodis tetrarchæ collactaneus et Saulus.» ^C Behold the way of life of each one, and that it is not primary training from childhood that saves; for see with whom Manahen was raised, who nevertheless was counted worthy of the gift of prophecy. ^D

Chapter XIX.

XIII, 2. «Cum itaque ministrarent illi Domino ac jejunarent, dixit Spiritus sanctus: Segregate mihi Barnabam et Saulum in opus ad quod advocavi eos. Cumque jejunassent et orassent, imposuissentque eis manus, dimiserunt.

^A They, having been sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus; and when they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had also John as a servant. Having passed through the island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. This man, having called for Barnabas and Saul, sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician—for so his name is interpreted—withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

What is meant by "ministering"? That is, preaching. "Separate to me for the work." That is, for the apostolate. By whom are they ordained? By Lucius and Manaen, or rather by the Spirit. They are ordained so that they may preach with authority. In Seleucia, they did not linger at all, knowing that they would reap great profit from the neighboring city.

^B "But Saul, who is also Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said: O you who are full of all guile and of all craftiness, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the straight ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, when he saw what had happened, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. "And Paul and his company set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia."

^C "But Saul, who is also Paul." So that Paul might not in this respect have less than the apostles, God changes his name; though he was called Saul, He named him Paul, so that what the prince of the apostles had as a special distinction, he also might acquire, and gain a basis for greater familiarity. He also prefaced it by saying, "filled with the Holy Spirit," in order to show that the words which Paul spoke to Elymas the magician were not from anger. For these were not the words of one punishing, but of one striving to convert. For if they had been the words of one punishing, he would have made him blind forever; ^D but now he does not do this, but only "for a time," that he might bring the proconsul to his own opinion. Indeed, by saying "for a time," he set a limit for the mind, giving it the capacity to receive its light back again within itself, that it might change its ways for the better; for by the same sign by which he himself was led, he also endeavored to lead this one. Therefore, it was not a punishment, but a healing.

"But John, having departed from them, returned to Jerusalem. And they, passing through various places, came to Antioch of Pisidia, and entering into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath, they sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, say-

[Beginning of the chain]

^A crier: "Men, brethren, if there is in you a word of exhortation for the people, speak out."

"But John having departed." ^B This is John who was also called Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, who indeed wrote the Gospel according to Mark, and was a disciple of Peter, the chief of the apostles, of whom he says in his Epistle: "Mark my son greets you." This man, therefore, just as Paul and his companions were being sent on a longer journey, separates himself from them, although he was a minister, because he could not bear the labors and dangers.

CAPUT XX.

The flowering doctrine of Paul leading to Christ, both from the Law and subsequently from the Prophets; it is historical and evangelical, and it is at once gathering and ratiocinating. On the transfer of the preaching to the Gentiles, and their persecution there, and their departure to Iconium.

XIII, 16-19. "Then Paul, standing up and motioning with his hand, said: 'Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they were sojourners in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it. And for a period of about forty years He endured their manners in the wilderness. And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan.'"

At Antioch in Pisidia, Paul was preaching. They entered into the synagogues in the manner of the Jews, so that they might not be driven out, and so they set the whole matter right. "Seven nations," namely the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, ^C and Jebusites.

XIII, 19-24. "He distributed their land to them by lot. And after these things, which were for about four hundred and fifty years, He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. And from then they requested a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And having removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony, saying: 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.' Of this man’s seed, according to the promise, God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, John having preached before the face of His entrance the baptism of repentance to Israel."

"I have found David," etc. It is to be noted that these words are by no means contained in the same series of expressions in the Book of Kings, but were said prophetically by Samuel to Saul in this manner: "And now thy kingdom shall not continue; and the Lord will seek for Himself a man after His own heart, and will command the Lord to him that he shall be prince over His people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord thy God commanded thee." And hence Paul, taking this up, said thus: "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will." ^D "Before the face of His entrance." He calls the entrance the incarnation.

^A XIII, 25-29. "And as John was fulfilling his course, he said: 'Who do you suppose me to be? I am not he; but behold, there comes after me one whose sandal of his feet I am not worthy to loose. Men, brothers, sons of the race of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.' For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilling them by judging Him; and finding no cause of death, they asked Pilate that He be put to death. And when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, taking Him down from the tree, they laid Him in a tomb."

John bears witness, not in a common way, but by rejecting the very glory which they were bringing to him. For it is not the same thing to reject glory when no one offers it, as when many grant it. But the phrase, "To you is the word," indicates the nobility of the Jews. He mentions Pilate, that he might accuse them more sharply, as those who had handed Him over to a stranger. And what he adds, "They asked," he says, they received a gift, as if he were unwilling; which Peter also says more clearly: "When he had judged Him to be released."

XIII, 30-33. "But God raised Him from the dead, who was seen for many days by those who had come up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Who are His witnesses to the people. And we announce to you the promise which was made to our fathers, that God has fulfilled this to their children, for us."

Nothing is absurd in Jesus being said to have been raised by God. For if Jesus is none other than the Word incarnate, and this is the power of the Father, through whom He works all things, according to the text, "Christ the power of God," He will be understood to have raised Himself, even though He is said to have been raised by the Father, to whom, as to an unoriginate principle and cause, all things are referred. Since He Himself also says: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ^B

"Having raised up Jesus, as also it is written in the first Psalm: 'You are My Son, this day I have begotten You.'" ^C Since some take the name Jesus poorly—as applying only to the man—and he had previously said that the Word was placed in the tomb, lest anyone suspect that he had spoken of the Word without flesh, he calls Him Jesus again, nowhere granting any separation to the incarnate Word after the union has once been made, everywhere stopping the mouths of the impious. "You are My Son." These words from the Psalm fit the incarnation of Christ, which had a temporal arrival. For "Today" and "Tomorrow" are indicative of days. But insofar as He is the Word, He is begotten of the Father intemporally. ^D

^A XIII, 34-37. "And that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he said thus: I will give to you the holy things of David, the faithful ones. Therefore also in another place he says: You will not suffer your holy one to see corruption. For David, having served in his own generation by the counsel of God, fell asleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised up did not see corruption."

It must be noted, therefore, that one should not confess the body of our Savior and God Jesus Christ to have been mortal after the resurrection, or subject to passion, nor impassible—that is, incorruptible and immortal—before the resurrection. For that incorruption which arises from the fact that He is not liable to sin, it is clear that He possessed from the very time of the incarnation.

XIII, 38, 39. "Be it known therefore unto you, men and brethren, that through this man the remission of sins is announced to you, and of all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses, in this man every one that believes is justified."

Why did he not add the testimony by which they might be persuaded that the remission of sins comes through Him? Because it was his concern, for the moment, to demonstrate that He had risen. This being granted, that was undoubted. ^B For it was a matter of great astonishment how Israel, which was called the firstborn son, on account of whom Egypt perished, had been delivered to enemy Babylonians in sword and captivity and servitude.

XIII, 40-42. "Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets: Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, which you shall not believe, though someone should declare it unto you. And when they were gone out of the synagogue of the Jews, the Gentiles besought them that on the next sabbath these words might be spoken to them."

When the prophet Habakkuk had cried out against unjust judgment and the excessive tolerance of God, and had said: "Why have you showed me labors and troubles? Since judgment is done against me, and the judge accepts bribes, and the impious oppresses the just, and judgment is not brought to an end or perfection"—God answers, ^C foretelling the future calamities for the unrighteous. He calls them "wondrous" because they are about to befall them. And these things, he says, are so great and of such magnitude that they would not be believed even if one were to tell them to you. Furthermore, he called the future and next sabbath "between," as he declares below.

XIII, 43-49. "Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God; and the next sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and contradicted those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and..." ^D

blaspheming. Then, having taken courage, Paul and ^A Barnabas said: “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the nations. For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you to be a light to the nations, that you should be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.’” And the nations, hearing this, were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spread abroad throughout all the region.

Here and as he proceeds, he calls those "religious" who were fervent and burning concerning their own worship, and more zealous than others. For such [people] also accepted the faith in Christ sooner than others, inasmuch as they were able to discern its excellence and greatness, and [did so] not by human passion, but by a sense of truth and a love of piety, and they were established as zealous for the worship which they had previously received. But again, on the other hand, those who were such were more irritated and enraged against the disciples and the preaching, as they showed that they had a more vehement zeal for their own worship than the rest. Or he specifically calls the proselytes "religious." For when he was preaching in the preceding [section] and saying, "Men of Israel, and you that fear God," he was calling the proselytes those who fear God, honoring the former by their lineage and calling them Israelites, but [calling] these [latter ones] this, because he could not say that, and putting them on an equal level by religion. Lest anyone should think it was a matter of shame and modesty, that which is said, "you judge yourselves unworthy," for this reason he prefaced it: "You reject it," and then adds: "We turn to the nations." He did not say, however, "We abandon you," but [implies] that it might be possible that we might turn [to you] again here, he says. ^C

XIII, 52. “But the Jews incited the religious and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas: and cast them out of their borders. But they, shaking off the dust of their feet against them, came to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.”

Here they fulfill what the Lord commanded them, saying: “If any man will not receive you, shake off the dust of your feet.” These, however, not only did not receive them, but even cast them out of their borders, ^D which is worse. For the Lord does not wish the disciples to have dust clinging to their feet from the land of impious men, so that by this they might show that they carried away nothing from the unbelievers. Moreover, the dust is a sign of the labor which they endured on their behalf.

CHAPTER XXI.

XIV, 16. “And it came to pass in Iconium, that they entered together”

« they entered the synagogue, and spoke in such a way that a great multitude of Jews and Greeks believed. But the disbelieving Jews stirred up and corrupted the minds of the Gentiles against the brethren. ^A They remained there therefore for a long time, acting boldly by the Lord, who bore witness to the word of His grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city was divided: and some sided with the Jews, but others with the apostles. When an assault was made by the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to offer violence and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region, and there they were preaching the Gospel. »

« They fled. » Let it be noted here that we ought not to throw ourselves into dangers, but if necessary, even to flee for a time, since the leaders of the Church have done this, as if wishing to extend the preaching, and for it to be increased all the more by persecutions.

CHAPTER XXII.

XIV, 7-21. « And a certain man was sitting at Lystra, disabled in his feet: who, being lame from his mother’s womb, had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking, ^C who, looking at him, and seeing that he had faith that he could be saved, said with a loud voice: Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped up and walked. And the crowds, when they had seen what Paul had done, raised their voice in the Lycaonian language, saying: The gods, having become like men, have descended to us. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter, and Paul, Mercury, because he was the leader of the discourse. But the priest of Jupiter, who was in front of their city, bringing bulls and garlands to the gates, wanted to sacrifice with the crowds. Which, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard, they tore their garments, and rushed into the crowd, crying out and saying: Men, why do you do these things? We also are men of like passions and evils as you, ^D preaching that you should turn from these vanities to the living God, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them: who in past generations allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Although He did not leave Himself without witness, while He bestowed benefits, giving us from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. And saying these things they with difficulty restrained the crowds so that they would not sacrifice to them. But there came Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who when they had persuaded the crowds, and had stoned Paul, dragged him out of the city, thinking him to be dead. But as the disciples stood around him, he rose and entered the city: and on the next day he set out

...with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached throughout that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. ^B

"Rending their garments." It was the custom among the Jews to rend their garments at such blasphemies against God. And thus, when Christ said that He was the Son of God, Caiaphas rent his garment, crying out and saying that He had spoken blasphemy. 10 The divine disciples Barnabas and Paul did this as well, when they were taken for gods in that place, turning away with the disposition of their souls from the things being done, and making signs of mourning. For it would truly have been a mourning if the result had followed that they were considered gods and introduced the idolatry that they had come to destroy. ^C

"And when they had ordained for them presbyters in every Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in whom they believed. And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia, and thence sailed to Miletus, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they had come and had gathered the Church together, they related what God had done with them, and that he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And they abode there no little time with the disciples."

Why did the apostles not appoint presbyters in Cyprus or in Samaria, but did so here? Because those regions were near to Jerusalem and the apostles, and in Antioch itself the word was already strong; but in this place they were in need of much consolation, and especially the Gentiles, who required to be taught much. It should be noted that those around Paul and Barnabas had the rank of bishops, from which they ordained not only deacons, but also presbyters; and that the disciples performed the ordinations with fastings and prayers. Note also this, that it was at Miletus that those around Barnabas and Paul were ordained, although I found another copy that had "in Antioch" instead of "Miletus"; and that is more probable. ^D

CHAPTER XXIII

That those from the Gentiles who believe should not be circumcised, by the decree and judgment of the apostles; in which is placed the mission of the apostles to those from the Gentiles regarding what things must be observed; the altercation of Paul against Barnabas on account of Mark.

"And certain who had come down from Judea taught the brethren: Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. When therefore there had risen a not small sedition and disputation to Paul and Barnabas against them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to the apostles and presbyters at Jeru-

-^Asalem concerning this question. ^A They therefore, being brought on their way by the church, passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the presbyters, and they announced to them all things that God had done with them. But there arose some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, saying that it was necessary to circumcise them and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.»

How is it that in the Epistle to the Galatians it says, "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, nor did I confer the Gospel which I preach among the gentiles," while here it says that they ordained Paul and Barnabas to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the presbyters? We say that, first, he did not go up of his own accord, but was sent by others. Second, that he did not come to be instructed, but to persuade others. For he himself from the beginning held this opinion, which the apostles later confirmed, that it was not necessary to be circumcised. But since he did not seem trustworthy to them at that time, and they clung to those who were at Jerusalem, he went up, not that he might be persuaded of anything further himself, but that he might persuade those who were contradicting, that even those who were at Jerusalem were in agreement with these things. ^B It was not the believers from the gentiles, but those from the Jews who demanded that the believers should be circumcised and perform other carnal things of the law; whom, because they wished to circumcise the believers for their own glory, the disciples did not receive, although they themselves were of the circumcision. For they did not seek their own things, but the common usefulness and salvation of the world. ^C

XV, 6-9. «And the apostles and presbyters came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them: Men and brethren, you know that from ancient days God chose in us, that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe. And God, who knows the hearts, bore witness to them, giving unto them the Holy Spirit just as to us, and distinguished nothing between us and them, having purified their hearts by faith.»

^D Perhaps those who had accused him formerly in the case of Cornelius were present, and those who had gone with him, wherefore he brings them forward as witnesses. And what is that which follows, «He chose in us»? That is, in Palestine, while we were present. «And He distinguished nothing, he says, between us and them, giving unto them the Holy Spirit just as to us, having purified their hearts by faith,» that is, having made a purification of sins from the heart.

^A This purification is similar to circumcision, and in place of the circumcision that is in the flesh, there is given the circumcision in the spirit, purifying by faith those things which are hidden in Christ. That fleshly circumcision does not serve the common good is shown by the fact that it was given only to the male. But in Christ Jesus, by true faith, «there is neither male nor female, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither Greek nor Barbarian, but we all are one.»

XV, 10-12. «Now therefore why do you tempt God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we believe that we shall be saved, even as they. And all the multitude kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul relating what signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. And after they had held their peace.» ^B

«Why do you tempt God?» That is, why do you not believe in God, as if he were unable to save by faith those who come to him? It should be noted that one ought not to impose on others those difficult precepts of the flesh, such as extreme fasting, or nakedness, or silence, unless someone imposes these things upon himself. For even if they are difficult, they are not yet noble accomplishments, though they have been practiced by many and are still practiced. «But through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we believe that we shall be saved.» For just as of old the law saved those who observed the things said in it, so now grace also saves through faith, without the observation of the law. ^C

XV, 13. «And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying: Men and brethren, listen to me.»

This James, having been appointed bishop of Jerusalem by the Lord, was the son of Joseph the carpenter, and brother according to the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ. He confirms the discourse learnedly, both from recent and ancient prophets. For he could not point to any [such] occurrence, as Peter and Paul certainly could. It is well ordered that these things should be done through those who would not delay long in Jerusalem. But he who teaches them would be liable to no blame, nor would he be thought corrupt in mind. ^D

XV, 14. «Simeon has related how God first visited to take out of the Gentiles a people for his name.»

Some say that this is Simeon who prophesied in Luke: «Now you dismiss your servant, O Lord.»

XV, 15-18. «And to this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written: After this I will return, and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and I will rebuild the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, and the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my

these things. Known unto God from eternity are all his works. Wherefore I judge, not to trouble them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” ^A

The Jews indeed have understood this as referring to the building of the temple in Jerusalem after the captivity. But this is not correct: for even after this it was often destroyed; whereas the prophecy promises a perpetual building. And those who assert that it was spoken of Zerubbabel, as one (they say) who derived his lineage from David, have not understood it well, nor is this correct. For Zerubbabel, after having governed for a short time, met the end of death; but the prophecy contains a promise of eternal goods, and of the acknowledgment of God by all nations, none of which things do we find to have happened to those who were under Zerubbabel. It is therefore manifest that we shall understand this to have been spoken of our Lord Jesus Christ. For our Lord, deriving his lineage according to the flesh from David, fulfilled the promise which was made to David. “For the Word was made flesh, and dwelt,” or pitched his tent [tabernaculum], among us (for this is taken ^B from the tent or tabernacle of David). Justly, therefore, does the prophetic word say that the tabernacle of David itself shall be built again, and it speaks of this not for a short time, but for all the days of the age. And the gift of divine knowledge is promised to the Gentiles, that is, to those who from among the Gentiles have been converted to Christ, and called by the name of Christ.

Others, however, say that this was spoken concerning his resurrection from the dead. For when God, who is Father, had raised up his tabernacle which had fallen into death, that is, that which was of flesh, from the earth, then he restored the whole human race to its ancient form; and all things of ours which had been ruined were raised up into a new appearance: for we have arisen together with Christ. For death indeed destroyed the tabernacles of all, but God and Father through Christ built and restored them. For our nature could not have been raised in any other way, unless he who had formed it from the beginning had reached forth his hand, ^C and fashioned it from above by the regeneration which is through water and the Spirit. For it had truly fallen in an incurable ruin, and was in need of that mighty hand. And this, he says, will exist for us not for a short time, but for the days of the age: for the good of immortality will be unlosable in us. “Then,” he says, “also the residue of men,” after those who of Israel had believed, “they have known him who is truly and by nature God,” having abandoned their ancient error. And all will be called— ^D

he says, and upon them shall be my name, upon those whom from the beginning it has been invoked. “For whom he foreknew, he also predestined,” he says. ^A

XV, 22-36. “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church, having chosen men from among themselves, to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, Judas called Barsabas, and Silas, men who were leaders among the brothers, having written by their hand these things: The apostles, and the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greeting. Since we have heard that certain ones who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying that you must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we did not give ^B instruction, it seemed good to us, being gathered together with one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have given up their souls for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves also will report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication, from which keeping yourselves you will do well. Farewell.” So they, having been ^C sent off, came to Antioch, and having gathered the multitude, they delivered the letter. And having read it, they rejoiced at the encouragement. Judas and Silas, being also prophets themselves, with many words encouraged the brothers and strengthened them. And having spent some time, they were dismissed with peace from the brothers to the apostles. But it seemed good to Silas to remain there. Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch teaching and preaching with many others the word of the Lord. And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit our brothers in every city in which we have proclaimed the word of the Lord, how they are fare.” ^D

“Having chosen men from among themselves to send.” It was necessary that the letter not be present alone, lest they say that they had snatched it, or written one thing instead of another, but so that the matter might also have more credibility, they send some of their own, so that Paul and Barnabas might not be objects of suspicion. But lest suspicion be thought to exist regarding Paul and Barnabas, because they were the ones sent, they praise them: “Men,” they say, “who have given up their souls for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “It seemed,” they say, “good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” For Christ nowhere spoke about these things, but these men speak these things from the law. Therefore, that it might not appear to be a human ordinance, they attribute it to the Holy Spirit. And that they might teach that they themselves also accept it, although they were in circumcision, they add: “And to us.” For they could have also

^A declared these things without letters, but because of the suspicion and so that they might wish these things to be done as by written law, they write the epistle. Again, so that they might be persuaded by the law, and having forbidden these four things to be done, they granted the rest of the customs to them. What are these things? “To abstain,” they say, “from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.” And by forbidding things strangled, they restrain murder.

XV, 37, 38. “Barnabas however was counseling to take along also John surnamed Mark. But Paul was judging that he who had departed from them from Pamphylia, and had not gone with them into the work, ought not to be taken along.”

John surnamed Mark had been a companion to them for the evangelical course, from Palestine as far as Pamphylia. Then, as the apostles were using a strenuous course and were arming their souls against struggles, Mark, as a man being sluggish and not strong enough for such a course and for the struggles and dangers which were emerging in every city, renouncing the course of the apostles, returned to Palestine—not denying Christ, but avoiding the long and heavy course. But Paul and Barnabas, ^B being full of the fruits of piety and preaching the Gospel even to the Jerusalem Church, decided by no means to avoid labors. When, therefore, all the Gentiles were extolling Paul and Barnabas with praises for their noble deeds, Mark was saddened and pricked in his soul, and perhaps mused, saying: “If I had been a participant in the labors, I would now also be a participant in the praises.” And he decided to go out with the apostles for the preaching. Barnabas, therefore, accepted him as he was led by penitence; but Paul contended and said: “It is not expedient to take along at the same time him who did not go with us into the work of the Lord.” The dissension therefore was of justice, and not of anger. For Paul was seeking what is just, but Barnabas what is kind and humane. Mark, therefore, was staying with Barnabas, acting and traveling industriously; but Paul was commanding in the congregations that Mark should not be received—not that he might grieve him, but that he might make him more studious. But when Paul ^C perceived Mark having anticipated the zeal and having vindicated himself through latter deeds, he begins to commend him, and says: “Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, greets you, concerning whom you received commands: if he comes to you, receive him.”

XV, 39-41. “And there occurred an exasperation so that one was separated from the other, and Barnabas indeed having taken Mark sailed away to Cyprus: but Paul having chosen Silas went out, being delivered to the grace of God by the brethren. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia confirming the churches.”

Exasperation, he says, occurred, not hatred, nor strife. But the exasperation had so much power that it separated ^D

to separate from one another; and with good reason, because what each supposed to be profitable, he proved this afterward through his communion with him. It seems, moreover, that this separation occurred with prudence, and that they said to one another, "Since I wish this, and you do not wish it, lest we quarrel, let us divide the regions." Thus, greatly yielding to one another, they did this. For Barnabas ^A wished to stand by Paul’s opinion, for which reason he also withdrew. Nevertheless, we find this even among the prophets, having differing opinions and different characters; such as Elijah, who was austere, while Moses was meek; so indeed, in this place also, Paul is more vehement than Barnabas. But this struggle was of great benefit to Mark. For Paul’s terror turned him, while Barnabas’s kindness caused him to no longer be left behind. So that although they contended, toward one end the profit ^B hastened. For seeing Paul choosing rather to depart than to take him, he was much afraid and condemned himself; but seeing Barnabas so clinging to him, he loved him vehemently, and the disciple was corrected by the contention of his teachers, so far was he from taking offense at it. For when he saw himself thus rejected by Paul on account of his sloth, he hastened with zeal in his second course to cover his former negligence, being greatly helped by the sharpness of Paul. What then? Did they depart as enemies? ^C Far from it! That no enmity occurred between the apostles is shown everywhere thereafter, when Barnabas is praised with many encomiums by Paul in his epistles.

CHAPTER XXIV

Of the instruction of Timothy, and of Paul’s arrival in Macedonia according to revelation: in which is narrated the faith and salvation of a certain woman, Lydia; the salvation of the girl having a spirit of divination, on account of whom the masters ^D shut Paul in prison. Of the earthquake and miracle that happened there, and how the jailer, having believed in that very night, was suddenly baptized with his entire family, and that the apostles, being asked, then left the prison.

XVI, 1-5. "And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, son of a certain Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, of whom the brothers who were in Lystra and Iconium bore good testimony. Paul wanted him to go forth with him, and taking him, he circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places: for they all knew that his father was a Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep that had been ordained by the apostles and presbyters who were in Jerusalem. The churches therefore were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily."

"Decrees" he calls the abstinence from things sacrificed to idols, from fornication, and blood, and things strangled; which looks to the formulation of a canonical life. For these

regulate a prudent life and are appropriate for rational human beings.

XVI, 6-8. "And when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas."

In Asia and Bithynia, the Spirit forbids the apostles to preach the word, foreknowing that the heresy of those who impugn the Spirit would hold sway over those who sojourned there.

^A XVI, 8. "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us."

He is not instructed through an angel, as were Philip and Cornelius, but more humanely by a vision. For where persuasion was easier, it was by a more human manner; but where much force was required, it was done in a more divine way. Since he was only being invited to preach, it appears to him through a dream. But when he was not allowed to preach, the Holy Spirit is revealed for this purpose. For it says: passing through Mysia, they assayed to go also into Bithynia, and the Spirit suffered them not. For the Spirit was not then working through what was easy, but a dream was sufficient for this. ^B

XVI, 9. "And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days."

It must be noted that Luke was also together with Paul in these cities, as is apparent from those things in which he includes his own person, saying: "We endeavoured," "we came with a straight course," and similar things. ^C

XVI, 13-15. "And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us." ^D

Not only where there was a synagogue did they pray, but also outside, as if separating some place for this, specifically because the Jews were too much given to bodily things. Or rather, because there was no synagogue there due to the scarcity, they secretly gathered by the river outside the city—they, the supposedly devout.

He calls Neapolis what is now called Christopolis. ^A

« XVI, 16-25. And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. » ^B

It is said that this Pythia was a woman who used to sit upon the tripod of Apollo, spreading her legs; and then, in this manner, an evil spirit ascending from below, and passing through her genital parts, filled the woman with madness; and, with her hair loosened, she would then rave, and emit foam from her mouth, and thus, being in a state of debauchery, she would utter the words of her madness. But why did the demon say these things? It wanted to make its own testimony worthy of belief for the future. For if Paul had accepted its testimony, it would have deceived many of the believers as well, as if it had been accepted by him. Therefore, it suffers those things to be said which act against it, in order to establish its own position, and it uses that very humiliation for the perdition of others. Paul, therefore, did not admit it at the beginning, but despised it, not wishing to rush rashly into signs. But when she persisted in doing this, and was causing him trouble, then he commanded it to depart. For "being grieved," he says—that is, moved and affected with annoyance, ^C he stopped the mouth even of one speaking the truth, and commanded the demon to depart from her, teaching us that we should not, under the pretext of bringing patronage to the truth, accept demons, but should block every path of fraud against them, and stop our ears to all things that belong to them. ^D

« Repente vero terræmotus factus est magnus, adeo ut concuterentur fundamenta carceris; aperiebantur...

^A and immediately all the doors were opened, and the bonds of all were loosed.” A great earthquake occurred, so that the jailer was awakened; but the doors were opened, so that he might wonder at what had happened and believe; for these things were not done for display, but for salvation. But the prisoners did not see these things, for otherwise they all would have fled.

XVI, 27-30. “And the jailer awaking, and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, imagining that the prisoners had fled. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.’ And having asked for lights, he rushed in, and trembling fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas; and having brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, and to all who were in his house. And taking them in that hour of the night, he washed their wounds, and he and all his were baptized immediately. And having brought them up into his house, he set a table, and rejoiced, having believed in God with all his house. But when it was day, the magistrates sent the lictors, saying, ‘Release those men.’ And the jailer reported these words to Paul, that the magistrates have sent that you should be released. Now therefore, go out and depart in peace.”

“The jailer awaking.” This is the Stephanus whom Paul mentions ^B in his first Epistle to the Corinthians.

XVI, 37-40. “But Paul said to them, ‘They have beaten us publicly uncondemned, being Roman citizens, and they have thrown us into prison, and now do they cast us out secretly? Not so, indeed, but let them come themselves and bring us out.’ And the lictors reported these words to the magistrates. And they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. And coming, they entreated them, and having brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city. And having come out of the prison, they entered into the house of Lydia, and having seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.”

“Having beaten us publicly.” He shows a double ^C accusation, when he says: “Having beaten us therefore publicly,” and the rest, because they were both Romans, and uncondemned, and it was done publicly. For he employed human considerations frequently for the sake of some dispensation, so that he might not appear to be released as though condemned by verdict or as one who had done wrong, and so that the matter might not be attributed to their own favor. Knowing also that it is necessary to be subject to rulers and authorities, he called himself a Roman. For perhaps the Roman emperor held sway over ^D the whole earth, and Judea itself as well. For they themselves also paid tribute to Caesar, not casting off the Roman rule and sovereignty, just as those remaining

r held sway over the whole earth, and Judea itself as well. For they themselves also paid tribute to Caesar, not casting off the Roman rule and sovereignty, just as those remaining ^A self-deceived, who said that God alone was their proper King and not a man: yet in reality they were subject and paid tribute as though they were serfs; denying it in name, but in deed they were subject; and Vespasian devastated them as those who were not submissive.

CHAPTER XXV.

XVII, 1-3. "And when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to his custom Paul entered among them: and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, opening and citing testimonies, ^B proving that it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus is the Christ, whom I, he says, announce unto you."

Since these men were opposed to the signs, slandering them as if they were seducers and jugglers, here he persuades them from the Scriptures, so that in this way no such suspicion could be held.

XVII, 4-10. "And some of them believed and were joined to Paul and Silas, and a great multitude of devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women. But the unbelieving Jews, moved with zeal, and taking to themselves some wicked men from the marketplace, and making a mob, they threw the city into an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people. And when they had not ^C found them, they dragged Jason and certain brethren to the rulers of the city, crying: These who have turned the world upside down have come here also, whom Jason has secretly received, and they all act against the decrees of Caesar, saying another king is Jesus. And they disturbed the crowd and the rulers of the city hearing these things. And having received satisfaction from Jason and the others, they let them go. But the brethren immediately by night sent away Paul and Silas to Beroea. Who, having arrived, went into the synagogue of the Jews."

He calls those "devout Greeks" who were indeed from the Jews, yet spoke Greek; they were "devout" because they observed the law; or else they were proselytes of the Jews who were from the Greeks.

XVII, 11-13. "But these were more noble than those who dwelt in Thessalonica, ^D who received the word with all readiness of mind, searching the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. And many indeed of them believed, and of the Grecian women of noble estate and men not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul even at Beroea, they came there also stirring up the crowds."

"But these were more noble." By the word "more noble," he means more equitable. But these indeed, not as unbelievers...

incredulous were inquiring or searching the Scriptures (for they had already believed), but as those lacking the tradition of the ancient prophets, and therefore they became more robust in faith when they searched the Scriptures and found that the works of the Lord's dispensation in the flesh were in harmony with the words of the ancients. ^A

XVII, 14, 15. "And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul, to go as it were to the sea. But Silas and Timotheus remained there. And they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and having received a commandment to Silas and Timotheus, that they should come to him with all speed, they departed."

By a certain dispensation the Apostle fled here, not seized by fear, but wishing both to increase the preaching and laboring to extinguish their fury. ^B

CHAPTER XXVI

XVII, 16, 17. "And whilst Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred within him, seeing the city wholly given to idolatry. He disputed therefore in the synagogue with the Jews, and with them that served God, and in the marketplace every day with them that were there."

"His spirit was stirred." He does not mean wrath here, nor indignation; for grace is far from wrath and indignation. What then is "stirred"? It is instead, he was agitated, he could not bear it, but was pining away: just as he says elsewhere: "And there arose a dissension between them, etc." ^C

XVII, 18. "And certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics disputed with him, and some said: What is it that this word-sower would say? But others: He seemeth to be a setter forth of new gods, because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection."

The Epicureans indeed imagined that the universe was composed casually and from indivisible atoms; the Stoics, however, that it was a body and a conflagration. Therefore, certain ones among them, priding themselves on their knowledge, foolishly mocking divine Paul, said: "What would this word-sower say?" (For since the *spermologos* is a small and vile bird, fit neither for food nor for any pleasure, and accustomed to gather seeds scattered in the crossroads, they called vile men and those unworthy of consideration *spermologoi* [word-sowers]); and they claimed him to be a teacher of new demons, because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. For they even supposed the resurrection to be some kind of god, as they were also accustomed to worship female [deities]; for they called their gods demons. ^D

XVII, 19–21. "And taking him, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying: May we know what this new doctrine is, which thou speakest of? For thou bringest in certain new things to our ears. We would know therefore what these things mean. Now all the Athenians and the strangers residing there had no time for anything else, unless to tell or to hear"

"> something new.

« And they brought him, it says, to the Areopagus, » not so that they might learn something, but so that he might be punished where criminal cases were conducted. The Areopagus was a place so named because there Mars, as they say, paid the penalty for adultery. ^A *Pagos* is an elevated place; for that place of judgment was on a certain hill. Hence also, among some, the leaders of places or villages are called *pagarchs*.

« And Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus, » he said, « Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in all things more religious. For passing through and contemplating your objects of worship, I found also an altar on which it was inscribed, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, Him I announce to ^B you. »

They relate two causes for there being inscribed at Athens to the altar, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. For some say that the Athenians sent Philippides to the Lacedaemonians concerning an alliance, when the Persians were leading an army into Greece. To whose messengers near Mount Parthenium a phantom of Pan appeared, accusing the Athenians because, while neglecting him, they worshiped other gods, and promised to help. When therefore they had obtained victory, they erected a temple to him and built an altar. And as if taking precaution lest the same thing or something else similar should happen to them ^C if they passed over any god unknown to them, they erected that altar, inscribing upon it, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD, saying this: that if any other god is still ignored by us, let this altar be erected by us in his honor, so that he may be propitious to us, even if, being ignored, he is not worshiped. But others say that a plague once broke out at Athens, and scorched them to such a degree that they could not even endure the finest linens. Therefore, worshiping those who were considered gods among them, they felt no relief. Thinking therefore that perhaps there is a god whom they had left unhonored, who had sent the plague, they built a new altar ^D and inscribed it, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD, and having sacrificed, they were immediately cured. Paul says therefore that this is the God of all, Christ Jesus, whom he also said he was announcing to them. The entire inscription of the altar is like this: *To the gods of Asia and Europe and Libya, to an unknown and foreign god.*

XVII, 24-26. « God who made the world and all things that are in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is he worshiped by the hands of men, needing anything, since he himself gives life and breath to all things; and he made from one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth. »

Lest they should think He is one of the many gods, he treats all things as for divinities, even stone and wood and spirit.

^A Him who is preached by Him, he corrects, adding: « He does not dwell in temples made with hands. » For He does dwell in temples, but not in these, but in the human soul. For He is not said to dwell even in the temple of Jerusalem, but to work there. Nor was He worshipped among the Jews by the hands of men, but by the mind; since He did not seek even those things as if He were in need. For He says, « Shall I eat the flesh of bulls? or shall I drink the blood of goats? » and so forth.

XVII, 26-29. « And has determined the times ordained and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from every one of us. For in Him we live and move and are, as some also of your own poets have said: For we are also His offspring. For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like to gold or silver or stone, graven by art and man’s device. »

« And has determined the times ordained. » He determined, he says, that they should seek God: yet he did not determine this for all time, but at appointed times; showing that now, when they have sought, they have found. For since they did not find Him when they sought, he shows that He was so manifest, as if something were being felt after in the midst; for the heaven was not here, and not elsewhere. Nor was He in this time, and not in another: so that at every time and at every boundary it was possible to find Him; for he had so disposed it ^B that He should be restricted by neither place nor time. For this very thing was of the greatest aid to them, that God is everywhere and endures in all time. And this is what he says: « Although He is not far from every one of us. » For He is near all those who are anywhere in the world; and He is so near, that without Him there is no life. « For in Him we live and move and are. » Just as in a bodily example, as it is impossible to be unaware of the air which is diffused everywhere, and is not far from every one of us, but rather is even within us, so indeed we cannot be unaware of God, the Creator of all things. For from Him we have our being, our acting, and our not perishing. Then he even introduces for them the prophecy of Aratus, a certain poet among those who were among them, for the confirmation of his own discourse: « For we are also His offspring, » he says. And here he indeed takes this concerning the Creator Himself, although they say this to have been spoken of Jove: ^C not saying that he applied it to him, but that it could rightly be applied to Him. For some sayings are also correctly applied to Him, although the Greeks do not know it, but have referred them to another; just as also is that, « To the Unknown God, » and certain others. Paul says that we are the offspring of God: not as they say, but with another meaning; that is, as familiars, as those nearest; as one might say, members of the household or neighbors.

XVII, 30-34. « The times of this ignorance God therefore having winked at, now commandeth all ^D men everywhere to repent. Because He has appointed a day, in which »

to all men, that they should everywhere repent, because ^A he has appointed a day in which he is about to judge the world in righteousness, by the man whom he has determined, having provided faith to all, having raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, "We will hear you again about this." And thus Paul went out from among them. But certain men, cleaving to him, believed; among whom were also Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

"The times of ignorance, therefore," and what follows. He does not say this meaning that none of them is punished, but that none of those who wish to repent is. For he does not say this concerning those who have died, but concerning those to whom he now proclaims. He does not demand, he says, an account of you for the former years of your ignorance. Nor did he say "overlooked" or "permitted," but ^B "overlooked" [or literally, "disregarded"]; that is, he does not demand punishment, although they are worthy of punishment.

CHAPTER XXVII

XVIII, 1-8. "After these things, Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth; and finding a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome, he ^C approached them; and because he was of the same craft, he stayed with them and worked. For they were tentmakers by trade. He would dispute in the synagogue every Sabbath, and would persuade the Jews and the Greeks. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained in his spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But as they contradicted and blasphemed, having shaken out his garments, he said to them: Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean, from now on I will go to the gentiles. And departing from there, he entered into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was contiguous to the synagogue. And Crispus, the archisynagogue, believed in the Lord with his whole house; and many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized."

"Your blood be upon your own heads." Paul says this, having shaken out his garments, so that he might strike terror into them not by word alone, but also by deed; and therefore, having ^D uttered this more vehemently, "Your blood be upon your own heads," he departs from them. But what he says is as if he were to say: Each one of those who depart from Christ, who is life, judges himself to kill himself, passing from life to death, in a manner shedding his own blood per

^A by the slaughter which he brings upon himself. He says this, therefore: Inasmuch as you kill yourselves through unbelief, bear the punishment for this fact yourselves, while I am innocent. From this it is possible to perceive that he who slaughters himself is punished as a murderer before God.

"And the Lord said by a vision in the night to Paul: Do not fear, but speak and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one shall attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city." And he remained a year and six months, teaching them the word of God. "But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one accord against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, saying: Against the law he persuades men to worship God." And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews: "If it were a matter of some wrong or a wicked crime, O Jews, I would have justly endured you. But if it is a question about the word and names and the law that is among you, you yourselves shall see to it; for I do not wish to be a judge of these things." And he drove them away from the tribunal.

"By a vision in the night." It should be noted that Paul saw the Lord Jesus in a dream. Because of this, he himself also used to say: Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Whether he saw Jesus through a dream or while awake, there is no difference; however, He also appeared to him in the daytime.

"And all the Greeks, taking hold of Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, beat him before the tribunal, and Gallio cared for none of these things." Either they beat Sosthenes because he himself was ^B more inclined toward Paul, as was also Crispus the ruler of the synagogue; or they had been driven to such a point of madness that, having been frustrated in their own intent when they were about to beat Paul, they beat Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue; or they beat him for this reason, because they had planned entirely to kill Paul, and Sosthenes had prevented them.

"But Paul, having remained there yet many days, having bid the brothers farewell, sailed for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shaved his head in Cenchreae; for he had a vow." ^C Again Paul goes down to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shaved, he says, his head. Now to shave the head according to a vow was a Jewish custom. And it was required that a sacrifice should be made, which had not yet been done after the beating of Sosthenes; for the law was already being dissolved, since they were restrained by conscience.

"And he arrived at Ephesus, and left them there. But he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews." But when they asked him to remain for a longer time with them, he did not consent, but bid them farewell, saying: It is absolutely

must by all means keep this coming feast at ^A Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus.

He left the company of Aquila, he says, at Ephesus; and he did this reasonably, as they were teachers. For having spent so much time with him, they had learned much. And yet, he had not yet been able to lead them away from the Jewish custom. Why, for what reason, being a prophet, did Paul, knowing that he was to return, not simply promise to return, but add, "God willing"? He is teaching us to promise nothing concerning future events without saying, "God willing." For no one knows what the coming day will bring forth.

XVIII, 22-28. "And when he had landed at Caesarea, and had gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. And after spending some time there, he departed and went from place to place through the Galatian country and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, being mighty in the Scriptures. He was ^B instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and set forth to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to cross to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had arrived, he helped through grace those who had believed; for he powerfully confuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus."

Some say that this Apollos is the same as Apelles, the bishop of the Corinthians, of whom he says elsewhere: "I planted, Apollos watered." The man was therefore of two names, or else one of the names was changed to the one he had later. "Knowing only the baptism of John." It is worth inquiring how, if he knew only the baptism of John, he was so fervent in the Spirit. For the Spirit was not given in that way. Furthermore, if others had need of Christ's baptism after receiving the baptism of John, much more would he have had need of it. What, then, is to be said? For he did not put both ^C things in sequence without reason. It seems, therefore, that this man was one of the one hundred and twenty who were baptized with the Spirit along with the apostles. Or if this does not please, that which happened in the case of Cornelius happened also in his case. But he is not baptized. If this is examined precisely, it appears that this is not the case, because it was necessary for him to be baptized, too. Since the other twelve, who follow immediately, knew nothing accurately, not even the things concerning Jesus. It is likely, however, that he too was baptized. For if those who were disciples of John, when they came to the faith, even if they had received the baptism [of John], were re-baptized, it was fitting for ^D the disciples to do the same.

f those who were disciples of John, when they came to the faith, even if they had received the baptism [of John], were re-baptized, it was fitting for the disciples to do the same.

CHAPTER XXVIII

XIX, 1-3. "And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism."

Whence did they, while dwelling at Ephesus, possess the baptism of John? Perhaps they had previously journeyed to Jerusalem and had approached John and been baptized, and they did not know Jesus; therefore he does not say to them, "Do you believe in Jesus?" but "Have you received the Spirit?" He knew that they did not have it, but he wishes them to say this, so that when they learn what they lack, they might immediately seek it.

XIX, 8. "And Paul said, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God."

He prophesies from the baptism of John, and leads them [to understand] that this is what the baptism of John intended. ^C Then it is shown that the baptism of John was of little moment. For he did not say it was of remission, but of repentance. Afterward, he says that those baptized in the name of the Lord immediately received the Spirit under the hands of Paul. Moreover, they did not see this, for it is invisible, but grace provided a sensible proof of that working. And one spoke straightway in the language of the Persians, another in that of the Romans, a third in that of the Indians, and another similarly in yet another; and this made manifest to those without that the Spirit was in him who spoke, God showing that this is of the highest power.

XIX, 9, 10. "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks."

"Speaking evil of that way." He calls Christ, or ^D

^A the true faith, the way; for this is the way that leads to the kingdom of heaven. From this, he teaches us that those who believe in the Son of God should separate themselves from those who speak evil of Him.

"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them."

"Handkerchiefs and aprons." I believe both to be of linen; however, the handkerchiefs are placed upon the head, while the aprons are held in the hands by those who cannot carry towels, such as those who wear consular stoles or garments for wiping the humors from the face, namely sweat, saliva, tears, and the like. ^B

"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."

"Jews, exorcists." This expression shows that the exorcists were not adjuring the unclean spirits in the name of the Lord as those who believed in Jesus, but as those making trial. Wherefore, ^C since they were not believers, as the unclean spirit says, they paid the penalty for their rashness in a short time. For the spirit, moved by anger, convicted them and made their fraud entirely manifest; just as if a man placed in extreme danger should be cross-examined by some enemy, and should wish to pour out all his fury upon him.

"And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, ^D to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season. And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen."

rather his doctrine, "the way." ^A Since he [Demetrius] was causing no small gain for the craftsmen, having gathered these and those who were of similar trades, he said: "Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth; and you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great multitude, saying that they are no gods which are made with hands. And not only is this part of ours coming into danger of being rejected, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis is in danger of being regarded as nothing, and the majesty of her whom all Asia and the world worship is about to be destroyed." Having heard these things, they were filled with wrath and cried out, saying: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" And the whole city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s companions in travel. And when Paul wanted to enter in unto the people, the disciples did not suffer him. And certain of the Asiarchs, who were his friends, sent unto him and besought him that he would not adventure himself into the theater. Some therefore cried one thing and some another; for the assembly was confused, and the more part knew not wherefore they had come together. And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. ^B And Alexander, beckoning with his hand, would have made his defense unto the people. But when they perceived that he was a Jew, one voice arose from all, as for about two hours they cried out, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

"Confessing and declaring their deeds." Every faithful person ought to confess his sins and humble himself by self-reproach, so that he may no longer commit the same, that he may be justified according to that which was said: "You tell your sins first, that you may be justified." It is to be noted also in what follows, that although their magical books ^C were very precious, as containing the most beautiful of those things which were done in life, those who believed in Christ did not sell them, but burned them; even though others were present there who wished to acquire those books for themselves. First, indeed, so that none might become a participant in the soul-destroying corruption that proceeded from them; and then, that they might not acquire anything from the price of such a crime. For just as it was forbidden that profit born from fornication should be offered to God, so they judged that the money from such a crime was neither just to be placed at the feet of the apostles nor easy to be accepted. ^D

XIX, 40. "And when the town clerk had appeased the multitude, he said: You men of Ephesus, for what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is a temple-keeper of the great goddess Artemis and of the [image] fallen from Jupiter? Since, therefore, no one contradicts these things, it is necessary for you to be quiet and to do nothing rashly. For you have brought these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess."

of your own. If, therefore, Demetrius and the ^A craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another. But if you seek anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. For we are in danger of being accused of sedition regarding today, there being no cause, concerning which we will be able to give an account of this gathering. And having said these things, he dismissed the assembly.”

The historian shows the great superstition of the Ephesians, both from the adorning of the temple of Diana and from the honoring of her idol, which they also called *Diopetes* [Jove-fallen], as having fallen from Zeus. For they all said that that shard was *Diopetes*, sent from heaven by Zeus, or rather an image that had flown down and come from heaven, or the Palladium, just as the Greeks used to fable for the astonishment of the more simple-minded, which they thought had been fashioned from above by Zeus, and not by men. Or *Diopetous*, of the temple of Zeus, that is, the round one. Or perhaps another temple was so called among them. And by *neokoron* [temple-warden], he means ^B instead of temple-slave. For *korēma* is the sweeping, from which also *neokoros*, he who cleans and sweeps the temple. “The courts are open” and so forth: the *agoraioi* were a class of minor judges in Asia, who used to judge for the poor and for people who occupied the marketplace; for which reason they were also called *agoraioi* [market-men]. Just as there are *ekdikoi* [advocates/defenders] in some cities; but the proconsuls heard the trials of the rich or of criminal cases. And those who are skilled in pleading are also called *agoraioi*, named from *agoreuein*, which is to address the assembly [demēgorein]. ^C

CHAPTER XXIX.

“And after the tumult had ceased, Paul called to him the ^D disciples, and having embraced them, departed to go to Macedonia. And having gone through those regions, and exhorted them with much speech, he came to Greece. And having spent three months, a plot having been made against him by the Jews as he was about to sail to Syria, he resolved to return through Macedonia. And there accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Beroea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius and Derbaeus and Timothy. And of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These having gone ahead waited for us at Troas. But we sailed away after the days of Unleavened Bread from Philippi, and came to them at Troas within five days, where we stayed seven days. And on one of the Sabbaths, when the disciples had gathered to break bread, Paul was reasoning with them, being about

^A to depart on the morrow. And he extended his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered. A certain young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and as he was weighed down with deep sleep while Paul was talking at length, overcome ^B by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and taking him in his arms, said, "Do not be troubled; for his soul is in him." And when he had gone up and broken bread and eaten, and had spoken for a long while until dawn, he thus departed. And they brought the boy alive, and they were not a little comforted. But we, having gone ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take on Paul; for so he had arranged, intending himself to travel by land. And when he joined us at Assos, having taken him on board, we came to Mitylene, and sailing from there, the next day we came opposite Chios. The next day we put in at Samos, and having stayed at Trogyllium, on the following day we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia. For he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem ^C on the day of Pentecost."

"Caius of Derbe and Timothy." Regarding the others, he mentions their homelands, whence they came, thereby making them better known; but in the case of Timothy, he was content only with his name, because he had within himself, from his own character and virtue, sufficient proof for being known; and also because he had already made mention of his homeland when he said, "He arrived at Derbe and Lystra, and behold, there was a certain disciple there named Timothy." But if "of Derbe" is now a gentilic name and not a proper one, then perhaps in this passage he also made mention of his homeland.

XX, 17-21. "From Miletus, having sent messengers to Ephesus, he summoned the presbyters of the Church. And when they came to him, he said to them: 'You know from the first day since I set foot in Asia, how I have been with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility ^D and many tears and trials that befell me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not hold back anything that was profitable to you, but announced it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus.'"

Since many are ignorant of this manner of speaking, especially that of the New Testament, which calls bishops presbyters and presbyters bishops, this should be noted from here, as well as from the Epistle to Titus, and also to the Philippians, and from the first to Timothy. From this passage of the Acts, therefore, one can have a sure persuasion about this matter; for it is written thus: "From Miletus, having sent messengers to Ephesus, he summoned the presbyters of the Church," and he did not say "the bishops."

^A Then he adds: "In which the Holy Spirit has set you as bishops to shepherd the Church of God." And from the Epistle to Titus: "You shall appoint presbyters in every city, as I instructed you." And from the Epistle to the Philippians: "To those who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons." I think, moreover, that this can also be understood by inference from the first Epistle to Timothy: "For if anyone," he says, "aspires to the episcopate, he desires a good work. It is necessary, therefore, for the bishop to be irreproachable." And after a few words: "Let a widow be enrolled who is not less than sixty years old." For it is a rule of the Church, describing what sort of person one who is of this kind ought to be. "With all humility and many tears." In this place he demonstrates a character of teaching, namely, to be free from vanity and sloth, and to be compassionate. For he suffered for those who were perishing, and for those who were causing them to perish. And also his humility—and not just any kind, but "with all," he says, "humility"; for there are many kinds of humility—in speech, in action, ^B towards those in authority, towards those who are ruled. "Of those things which were profitable for you." For there were things which it was not expedient to learn. Just as it is given to envy to hide certain things, so, on the other hand, to disclose everything to them is a mark of foolishness. And therefore he added: "Of those things which were profitable," meaning not only to say them, but also to teach them.

XX. 22-24. "And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I count my life nothing, nor even dear to myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I bear witness to you this day, that I am clean from the blood of all. For I have not shrunk from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."

A sub-punctuation should be placed in this place after the word "bound," so that the meaning is as follows: "I am going to Jerusalem, knowing beforehand through the Spirit the things that are to happen to me; however, I am going as one who is bound." Then, so that no one might think of a chain or compulsion, and to show that he goes of his own will, he says, "In every city bonds and afflictions await me." "I am clean from the blood of all," if, being asleep, you are killed by the murderer of souls; for6 ^C I have done what pertains to the teacher, by declaring to you the counsel of God. Therefore, he who does not speak is guilty of their blood, that is, of their slaughter. He shows, therefore, that they too, if they do not do these things, will be guilty of their own blood; on account of which he even terrifies them: "Take heed, therefore, to yourselves and to all the flock, in..."

^A which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the Church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure grievous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among yourselves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you, brethren, to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build up and give you an inheritance among all the sanctified."

The teacher prescribes two things to be done. For neither is it profitable only to correct others, nor only to take care of oneself; for such a person is a lover of self. It should be noted, however, that those whom he calls presbyters above, he here calls overseers [bishops], ^B either because it is necessary for presbyters to be on the watch over the rational flocks of the Church, lest anyone be weak in faith, lest anyone be hungry or thirsty, or whether anyone might be in need of rebuke and correction. Or he calls those who are truly overseers, overseers here.

XX, 33-38. "I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel: but you yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. I have shown you all things, that so laboring it behooves us to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had said these things, ^C kneeling down, he prayed with them all. And there was a great weeping of all: and falling upon Paul's neck, they kissed him, sorrowing mainly for the word which he had said, that they should see his face no more. And they brought him on his way to the ship."

"Silver or gold," etc. He removes the root of evils, that is, avarice. For he does not say simply, "I did not receive," but, "Neither did I covet." Then he shows that true almsgiving ought to be done to the needy from one's own labors, since it is not honorable to give from the property of others. Afterward, for the confirmation of this, he asserts that a prophecy was uttered by the voice of the Lord which is not now found in Scripture; and perhaps the apostles handed it down without writing. ^D Or because anyone might, by reasoning, be able to hold that the saying was uttered in other words signifying the same thing. However, he does not say that it is evil to receive and thus to distribute, but that it is better not to receive. For this is a matter of compassion toward the weak. For giving from the property of others is not even honorable. There is, therefore, a first degree: to cast away one's own goods; a second, to provide what is necessary for oneself; a third, to provide also for others; a fourth, for one who preaches, and thus has the power to receive, not to receive. Thus, this person is much better than the destitute.

XX, 14. "And when it came to pass that, having been torn away from them, we set sail, we came with a straight course to Cos, and

^A “the next day we came to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail. When Cyprus began to appear to us, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed toward Syria, and were brought down to Tyre: for there the ship was to unload its cargo. And having found the disciples, we stayed there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem.”

What he says is this: Since we were not finding a ship going to Caesarea, but to Phoenicia, we boarded it; and we let Cyprus and Syria pass. For what he says, “leaving it on the left hand,” is not said without purpose, but because they were not even eager to get near to Syria. They came, therefore, into Lycia, and leaving Cyprus behind, they sailed down to Tyre: for there the ship unloaded its cargo. “Who said through the Spirit.” He does not mean that the exhortation was made through the Spirit, but that they knew through the Spirit. For they were not simply foretelling the dangers to him, but ^B saying that it was not fitting to go up, being moved by compassion for him.

“And when we had completed the days, we went out and traveled, with everyone accompanying us, along with their wives and children, until we were outside the city. And kneeling on the beach, we prayed. And greeting one another, we boarded the ship; and they returned to their own homes. And we, having completed the voyage from Tyre, arrived at Ptolemais, and having greeted the brothers, we stayed one day with them. On the next day, we who were with Paul departed and came to Caesarea. And entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. And this man had four virgin daughters who were prophesying.”

“To complete the days.” He uses the word *exartisei* to mean “to fulfill.” For after fulfilling the appointed days, that is to say after the days of unleavened bread, we came to Troas in five days. It must be noted that these were the daughters of Philip the deacon, so that it is permissible for even one who has shared in marriage to serve [as a deacon]. Note, moreover, that his daughter prophetesses were virgins, and that they practiced this because of piety, so that they were even deemed worthy of prophecy. Thus it is evident that virginity was a matter of great diligence ^D among them. For if it were not a matter of great diligence, for which one should strive, the writer would by no means have added that they were also virgins.

CAPUT XXX. Agabus’s prophecy concerning what was to happen to Paul in Jerusalem.

“And as we were staying there for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And when he came to us, and taking Paul’s belt, and binding his own hands and feet, he said: Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man to whom this belt belongs, thus will the Jews bind ^D

of God, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. When we had heard these things, we and they of that place requested that he would not go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered and said: What do you, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying: The will of the Lord be done. ^A

CHAPTER XXXI.

"After these days... we went up to Jerusalem. And there went with us also some of the disciples from Cæsarea, bringing with them one Mnason, an old disciple of Cyprus, with whom we should lodge. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following, Paul went in with us unto James, and all the ancients were assembled. And when he had saluted them, he related particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. But they, hearing it, glorified God, and said to him: Thou seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews that have believed. And they are all zealous for the law. Now they have heard of thee that thou teachest those Jews, who are among the Gentiles, to depart from Moses: saying, that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor walk according to the custom. What is it therefore? It is necessary that a multitude come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do thou therefore this that we say to thee. We have four men, who have a vow on them. Take these, and sanctify thyself with them: and bestow on them, that they may shave their heads: and all will know that the things which they have heard of thee, are nothing: but that thou thyself also walkest keeping the law. But as touching the Gentiles that believe, we have written, decreeing that they should only refrain themselves from that which has been offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication." ^{B C}

"Having prepared" — that is, when we had taken those things which were necessary for the journey. "Thou seest, brother, how many thousands." James and those who were with him give counsel to him, and do not command; for which reason they also persuade him. For that condescension was an act of dispensatory economy, not of legislation. Therefore, there was no stumbling block or impediment to the preaching, but a dispensation. For those who had believed from among the Jews at Jerusalem still wished to keep the legal observances. "Taking these, sanctify thyself with them." They advise him to perform his defense by deed, not by word. Therefore they say this: Do thou provide the sacrifices which are offered for them according to the law, that thou mayest resolve the suspicion, and show that thou not only dost not teach things contrary to the law, but that thou thyself also keepest those things which are commanded in the law. But so that he might not say: If the Gentiles learn this, they will suffer an occasion of stumbling thereby, he adds further: "But as touching those who have believed—" ^D

we have written to the nations, he says, that they should observe nothing of this sort. As we have therefore commanded these things to them, even though we preach to the Jews, so you also, who preach to the nations, assist us. For this is a condescension; do not suspect anything. And to do this at Jerusalem is also tolerable. Do this, therefore, here, so that it may be permitted for you to do that outside. Then he was persuaded by them, and he was shaved, and he performed all the Jewish requirements.

CHAPTER XXXII

XXI, 26-38. "Then Paul, taking the men, on the following day, having been purified with them, entered into the temple, announcing the completion of the days of purification, until an offering should be brought for each one of them. But when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews who were from Asia, when they had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole people and laid hands upon him, crying out: 'Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and furthermore, he has brought Greeks also into the temple, and has profaned ^Dthis holy place.' For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. And the whole city was moved, and there was a rush of the people; and laying hold of Paul, they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were closed. And as they were seeking to kill him, a report went up to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He, immediately taking soldiers and centurions, ran down to them. But they, when they had seen the tribune and the soldiers, ceased beating Paul. Then the tribune coming near, laid hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he might be, and what he had done. And some cried one thing, and some another in the crowd. And since he could determine nothing certain because of the tumult, he ordered him to be led into the camp. And when he had come to the stairs, it happened that he was carried by the soldiers due to the violence of the crowd. For a multitude of the people followed, crying, 'Tolle eum'—away with him. And when Paul had begun to be led into the camp, he says to the tribune: 'Is it permitted for me to speak to you?' And he said, 'Do you know Greek? Are you not that Egyptian who before these days stirred up a tumult and led out into the desert four thousand men of the Sicarii?'"

"Away with him." It was the custom for the Jews to speak this phrase against the just: just as also against

the Lord, "Take him away," that is, take him from the living. ^A Others, however, say it is what is said among us by Roman usage: "Cast him among the standards." "Art thou not then that Egyptian?" This Egyptian was a man studious of revolution, a deceiver, and a juggler. And the devil, wishing to make Paul a participant in the crimes that suited him—just as he did at that time under Christ—incited him to perform wonders among the Jews. But because the tribune says, "Art thou not that Egyptian?" he immediately cast off this suspicion from himself by declaring his lineage and religion. For indeed elsewhere he calls himself a legitimate worshiper of Christ. "Sicarii" are called robbers ^B who use a kind of sword whose size is closest to that which the Persians call *acinacae*, but in its curve and bend they are similar to what the Romans call *sicae*, from which those practicing robbery received their name. Others, however, said they were a certain sect among the Jews. For there were three general sects among the Jews: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. These led a more austere life, being loving to one another and quite temperate; for this reason they were called "Essenes," that is, "holy ones"; others called them "Sicarii," that is, "zealots."

XXI, 39; XXII, 1-29. "And Paul said: I am indeed a man, a Jew of Tarsus, a citizen of no obscure city of Cilicia. I beseech you, permit me to speak to the people." And when he had permitted it, Paul, standing on the steps, signaled with his hand to the people. ^C And when great silence was made, he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, saying: "Men, brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now speak to you." And when they heard that he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, they kept the more silence, and he said: "I am indeed a man, a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strictness of the law of the fathers, being a zealot for God, as you all are this day; who persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women; as also the high priest bears me witness and all the council of the elders; from whom also I received letters to the brethren, and was going to Damascus to bring those who were there bound to Jerusalem that they might be punished. ^D And it came to pass that as I went and drew near to Damascus at midday, suddenly a great light from heaven shone round about me, and I fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me: 'Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?' And I answered: 'Who art thou, Lord?' And he said to me: 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.' And they that were with me saw indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me. And I said: 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me: 'Arise and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things that are ordained for thee to do.' And when I could not see for the

^A brightness and glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came to Damascus. And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having testimony from all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me and, standing by, said to me: 'Brother Saul, recover thy sight.' And I in the same hour recovered my sight and saw him. And he said: 'The God of our fathers hath prepared thee that 160 thou mightest know his will, and see the Just One, and shouldst hear the voice from his mouth: for thou shalt be his witness to all men of those things which thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.' ^B And it came to pass when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was caught outside myself, and I saw him saying to me: 'Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.' And I said: 'Lord, they know that I was imprisoning and beating in every synagogue those that believed in thee. And when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by and consenting to his death, and kept the garments of those who killed him.' And he said to me: 'Go, for I will send thee afar off to the Gentiles.' And they heard him until this word, and lifted up their voices, saying: 'Away with such a man from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live.' And as they cried out and threw away their garments and cast dust into the air, the tribune commanded him to be brought into the camp, and gave orders that he should be examined by scourging, ^C that he might know for what cause they cried so against him. And when he had tied him up with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by: 'Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?' Which being heard, the centurion went to the tribune and told him, saying: 'Consider what thou art about to do, for this man is a Roman.' And the tribune coming, said to him: 'Tell me, art thou a Roman?' But he said: 'Yea.' And the tribune answered: 'I obtained the freedom of this city with a great sum.' But Paul said: 'But I was even born so.' Immediately therefore they departed from him that were about to examine him. The tribune also was afraid after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. » ^D How does Paul say, "I am a man, a Jew of Tarsus, a citizen of no mean city of Cilicia," and after a little while: "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?" and the rest? How, then, having said these things, not at another time, but at that very time in which he said these things and before the same hearers, does he say: "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?" And when the tribune asked: "Art thou a Roman?" he confirmed that he was a Roman, and not simply saying this, but also saying: "But I was even born so"? From this very thing, therefore, it is most of all manifest that he was speaking the truth. For if at some other time Tarsus [original-script column: see facsimile]

Tarsian, and at another ^A a Roman, or had said this to some listeners and that to others, it would be plausible for some to say that he was perhaps feigning being a Roman, thinking to hide from those who were present that he was a Tarsian. But had he not himself, in saying he was a Tarsian, been most especially conscious that he was speaking the truth, he would never have had the audacity at that same time—standing, as he was, to be beaten—to tell the very same people that he was a Roman. For it is clear that for him to lie would not only not have freed him from the blows but would have brought upon him a more savage punishment. Moreover, it would have established as believable the calumnies of the Jews against him, that he was an impostor, a liar, and a conjurer: all of which Paul was struggling mightily to dispel. Furthermore, if the tribune had not been firmly convinced that he was a Roman, he would not have desisted from beating him; he would not have so diligently rescued him from the plots of the Jews; he would not have written to Felix on his behalf that he was a Roman, and that he had rescued him from the plots of the Jews as a Roman. Nor would the Jews, who were fabricating even non-existent charges against him, have passed that over: ^B if he had been lying when he called himself a Roman, they would have begun their accusation from that very point, and they would have seemed to be speaking the truth even about the other charges.

But how is it possible to be both a Tarsian and a Roman? Hear, then, the Philippians, when they dragged Paul and Silas to the magistrates in the marketplace, because the girl had been set free from the Python—that is, from the divining spirit—what they say: "These men, being Jews, are throwing our city into confusion, and are advocating customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to follow, seeing that we are Romans." Do you see that the Philippians call themselves Romans? Thus, therefore, nothing hinders Paul from being both a Tarsian and a Roman. And indeed, since it seemed honorable to be called a Roman, and he who was called by such a title was thought to have acquired something more of glory than others, many, both in whole cities at once and individually, were eager to secure this title for themselves. And each was named according to his fatherland ^C as it happened, indicating the place of his birth. On the other hand, he was called a "Roman" as though attributing this title to his dignity. So, therefore, Paul too, when they were about to insult him and scourge him, brought forward this designation, intimidating them and driving them off from their intended crime.

But they say: Let these things be so. How, however, is it possible that Paul was born both in Tarsus and in Rome? If it has been shown that there is no contradiction in his being born in Tarsus and being called a Roman, because he had acquired that title for himself later on account of some honor, yet how is it possible to have been born both in Tarsus and in Rome? And where does Paul say that he was born in Rome? He says it, indeed. For after the tribune said, "I obtained this citizenship at a great price," Paul says: "But I was even born so." And what is this? For he did not say, "I was born in Rome," but what does he say? From this it ^D is manifest: for when the tribune had spoken of the right of citizenship, and not of Rome, but of Roman citizenship, he replied: "But I was even born so."

that you have acquired? Nay, not that you have acquired—for the tribune did not say this, but that I have purchased it for a great sum—but in the Roman citizenship and honor, just as he also spoke of having acquired it. How then was he born into Roman citizenship, if he was not born in Rome? Because his father had acquired this honor and was held in high regard and glory by it, he himself was born into it. When, therefore, he says, "But I was even born [a citizen]," he means that while you have the honor recently, having acquired it yourself, I carry the glory as a fatherly inheritance, one which was born with me. For this reason he says, "But I was even born [a citizen]." ^A

Otherwise: Paul did not lie by calling himself a Roman, even though he was a Jew, as he himself had said a little earlier. For from the time of Adrian it came to pass that all were Romans. For they had great regard then for those who were judged worthy to be called so. He says these things so that, if he were scourged, he might not be held in contempt. For if they had scourged him, they might have overturned the whole matter and even killed him. But as it is, if for no other reason, yet for this alone, they not only did not scourge him, but even released him. Paul shows, therefore, that his father was a Roman. For before Paul was born, Cilicia being subject to the Romans, it was necessary that he also, as being subject to them, be a Roman. In the meantime, however, according to the prophecy, he was bound in Jerusalem. What then happens as a result of this? He released him and led him down to the Jews. He was not, therefore, a liar. For the tribune, he says, was afraid when he learned that he was a Roman, that is, of noble and distinguished lineage. ^{B C}

Chapter XXXIII

Concerning what Paul suffered descending into the council, and what he did while rightly consulting his own interests.

XXII, 30; XXIII, 1-5. "And on the morrow, desiring to know what was the certain truth of why he was accused by the Jews, he loosed him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to come together: and bringing down Paul, he set him before them." And Paul, looking intently at the council, said: "Men, brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him: "God shall strike thee, thou whited wall. And sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and contrary to the law commandest me to be struck?" And they that stood by said: "Revilest thou God’s high priest?" And Paul said: "I knew not, brethren, that he is the high priest. For it is written: Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." ^D

"God shall strike thee, thou whited wall." It is worthy to inquire how he who in another place said, "Being reviled, we bless; being defamed, we entreat," here, on the contrary, not only reviles, but...

^A also curses? And we say that these words are rather those of one speaking with boldness than of anger or an agitated mind. For he did not wish it to be thought by the tribune that he was easily despised. For if he had spared him from being scourged, and if, after he was led out to the Jews, it came to pass that he was beaten by the ministers, this act would have rendered the tribune more bold. This, however, is not, as some say, directed at the minister, but at him who had ordered it, on account of what he answers immediately. For knowing that he must also suppress righteous anger and hide righteous indignation, as if moved to repentance he says: "I knew not that he was the high priest." And yet he did know, for he had said, "And thou sittest judging me according to the law." But he feigns ignorance—an ignorance which harms no one, but is ^B dispensatory. For it happens that one uses a more serious dispensation of free speech. For frequently, untimely freedom of speech has harmed the truth, whereas a timely use of it has set right what was proposed. "I knew not, brethren," and the rest. Some say he did not know he was the high priest because of the long interval of time in which he had not been among the Jews, and because he saw him in the midst of many others; for the high priest was no longer clearly distinguishable, there being many and various people present. Wherefore, as one who did not know, he reasonably makes his defense as though a charge were being brought, and adds: "Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people."

^C XXIII, 6-7. "But Paul, knowing that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out in the council: Men brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am judged. And when he had said this, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided."

Again, he reasons in a human manner, and does not everywhere enjoy the benefit of grace. And at this time, as after these things, he wished to divide the multitude which was in concord against him. And he does not lie in this place either, since he was a Pharisee from his ancestors.

XXIII, 8, 9. "For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit. But the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great clamor. And when the scribes of the Pharisees' part had risen, they fought, saying: We find no evil in this man."

The Sadducees, being somewhat thick-headed, perhaps do not even know God, whence they do not even wish to believe that there is a resurrection. "But the Pharisees confess both." And yet there are three. How then does he say ^D "both"? Either because he says spirit and angel are one thing, or because the word is not only used concerning two, which it properly signifies, but also concerning three. Thus it is not necessary to judge the writings of simple and unlettered fishermen by an external and exact search for strict definitions.

XXIII, 9-11. "If a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel, let us not fight against God. And when there arose a great dissension, the tribune, fearing that Paul might be torn

of them, he commanded the soldiers to go down and snatch him from their midst, and to bring him into the barracks. And the following night, the Lord standing by him, said: "Take courage, Paul. For as you have testified concerning me in Jerusalem, so must you also testify in Rome." ^B

"If then a spirit has spoken to him." This saying may be understood in two ways. Either something is missing for the completion of the sense, so that it should be said: "If indeed a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, it is uncertain," he says; or the word should be taken as if from the Pharisees: "If a spirit or an angel has spoken to him," that is, behold, it is manifest that he speaks about the resurrection; it is clear that he is instructed in the doctrine of the resurrection either by the Holy Spirit or by an angel. ^C

CAPUT XXXIV. Regarding the ambush plotted by the Jews against Paul, and the report of it to Lysias; in which it is narrated that Paul was sent to Caesarea to the governor with soldiers and scribes.

XXIII, 12-35. "And when it was day, some of the Jews gathered together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. And there were more than forty men who had made this conspiracy. They came to the chief priests and the elders and said: We have bound ourselves by a curse that we will taste nothing until we kill Paul. Now therefore do you signify to the tribune and the council, that he bring him down to us tomorrow, as if we would inquire more accurately concerning him. But before he draws near, we are prepared to kill him." Now the son of Paul's sister heard of the ambush; he came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. And Paul, calling one of the centurions to him, said: "Lead this young man to the tribune, for he has something to report to him." And he indeed took him and led him to the tribune, and said: "Paul, the prisoner, called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you." And the tribune, taking him by the hand, withdrew with him privately and inquired of him: "What is it that you have to report to me?" But he said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, ^D as if they were going to inquire something more accurately about him. But do not be persuaded by them. For more than forty men from among them are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse that they will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for your promise." The tribune therefore dismissed the young man, having commanded him: "Tell no one that you have reported these things to me." And having called two of the centurions, he said: "Prepare two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen from the third hour of the night; and provide mounts, that they may take Paul safely and bring him to Felix

to go as far as Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen from the third hour of the night; and provide mounts, that they may take Paul safely and bring him to Felix, having written a letter containing this form: ^A “Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix, greeting. Having seized this man by the Jews and being about to be killed by them, I came upon them with the army and rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman. And wishing to know the cause for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. Whom I found being accused concerning questions of their law, but having no charge worthy of death or chains. And an ambush having been revealed to me against the man, about to be from the Jews, I immediately sent to you, having also commanded those accusing to speak the things against him before you. Farewell.” The soldiers therefore, according to what was commanded to them, having taken Paul, brought him through the night to Antipatris. On the next day, having let the horsemen go with him, they returned to the barracks, who having entered into Caesarea, and having delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. And the governor having read it, and having asked from what province he is, and having learned that he is from Cilicia, “I will hear you,” he said, “when also your accusers arrive,” and he ordered him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium. ^B

“They devoted themselves,” that is, they said they were outside of the faith toward God unless they did what they had determined. Therefore, whether they were frustrated in their promise, as indeed they were frustrated, they were anathema; or even if it had happened to them to kill, again as murderers they made themselves anathema, or else God did, even if the high priests were silent about it. Since then the anathema is understood in two ways, one as inaccessible to all or many, and reserved for God alone; the other as untouched by every creature and holy power, and alien from God, as if reserved for the devil, on account of the alienation unmixed with good; and to such an anathema do these now subject themselves. But we think that this is often said by epitasis, that is, for emphasis, ^C as "rejected": for that which is of this kind is not reserved or deposited, but is rejected, subject to the devil at the same time, and condemned along with him.

CAPUT XXXV. Tertullus's accusation against Paul, and his own defense to the governor.

24:1-21. “And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with the elders and with a certain orator, Tertullus, who appeared before the governor against Paul, and Paul being cited, Tertullus began to accuse, saying: ‘Since we experience much peace through you, and many things are rightly done for this nation through your foresight, we altogether and everywhere acknowledge it, most excellent Felix, with all thanksgiving. But that I may not hinder you longer, I pray you to hear us briefly for your kindness. ^D For we have found this man pe-

a pestilence and causing seditions among all the Jews throughout the world, and a leader of the heresy of the Nazarenes, who even attempted to profane the temple, whom we apprehended and wished to judge according to our law. But Lysias the tribune coming upon us with great force took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come to you; from whom you yourself, by making inquiry, may be able to learn about all these things of which we accuse him. The Jews also assented, saying that these things were so. ^A Paul, however, after the governor had beckoned to him to speak, answered: "Knowing you to have been a judge over this nation for many years, I answer for myself with a more cheerful mind, as you can know that there are not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any one or making a gathering of the people, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city; nor can they prove the things of which they accuse me. But I confess this to you, that according to the way which they call a heresy, so I worship the ancestral God, believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets, having hope in God, which these also themselves look for, that there is going to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. ^B In this I myself study to have a conscience void of offense toward God and men always. Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation and offerings, in which they found me purified in the temple, not with a crowd, nor with a tumult. But certain Jews from Asia, who ought to be present before you and to accuse, if they had anything against me; or let these men themselves say if they found any injustice in me when I stood before the council, except for this one voice which I cried out standing among them: 'Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am judged by you today.'" ^C

"According to the way which they call a heresy, so I worship the ancestral God." By saying that he worships the ancestral God after his calling to be an apostle of Christ, he shows that He is the one God of the Old and New Testament, whom the law and the prophets announced; whom Paul preached, saying that he believed in all things written in the law and the prophets. Now he implicitly brings in Christ also here, but for the present he occupies himself with the discourse concerning the resurrection, which these people were battling from the beginning. For this being shown, that which concerns Christ—namely, that He rose—could also be easily introduced thereafter. ^D

XXIV, 22-27. "Now having heard these things, Felix delayed them, knowing more accurately the things concerning the Way, saying: 'When Lysias the tribune shall come down, I will fully know your cause.' And he ordered the centurion to keep Paul and to allow him some liberty, and that he should forbid none of his own people to minister to him or to come to him. And after certain days, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. As he was discoursing...

with his wife, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard from him about the faith which is in Christ. And as he discoursed of righteousness and temperance and the judgment to come, Felix, being terrified, answered: Go thy way for this time, and when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee; hoping at the same time that money would be given him by Paul, that he might loose him: for which reason he sent for him more frequently and spoke with him. ^A “Having heard these things, Felix.” It should be observed that Felix knew the faith, being diligently instructed from the Old Testament in those things which concern Christ, and he did not release Paul, out of favor to the Jews, or perhaps for the sake of bribery, as the subsequent discourse shows. He also knew these things because he had a Jewish wife, from whom he heard them continually. This woman was joined to him contrary to the law, being a Jewess joined to a Greek. Or perhaps she was indeed a Jewess, but had married him when she was a Greek; for which reason she also told him of her own faith, persuading her husband also to change and leave idolatry.

CHAPTER XXXVI

Acts XXIV, 27; XXV, 1-12. “And after two years were completed, Felix received as his successor Porcius Festus. And willing to show the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul bound.” Festus, therefore, having taken over the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from the city of Caesarea. And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews informed him against Paul, and they besought him, asking a favor against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait to kill him on the way. ^C But Festus answered that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly. “Let therefore those who are powerful among you,” he said, “go down with me, and if there is any crime in the man, let them accuse him.” And having stayed among them not more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea, and on the next day sat on the judgment seat, and commanded Paul to be brought. And when he was brought, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and heavy accusations against Paul, which they could not prove, ^D while Paul answered for himself, that neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar had he offended anything. But Festus, willing to gratify the Jews, answering Paul, said: “Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?” But Paul said: “I stand at the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as thou also knowest better. For if I have done wrong, or have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is nothing of those things whereof these accuse me, no man can deliver me to them. I appeal unto Caesar.” Then Festus with the council

having consulted with the council, he answered: "You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go." ^A

"I stand at Caesar’s tribunal," says Paul, wishing to escape the hands of the Jews, that is, I wish to depart to Rome to the emperor, and there be judged. "I appeal to you," he says. For the name Caesar, in the Roman tongue, signifies king or emperor, so that by a common name all the emperors of the Romans are called Caesars, just as if you were to say kings or emperors. Yet these were not their proper names. For at the birth of Christ, he who was then reigning was called Caesar Augustus; but he suffered under Tiberius Caesar. And the blessed Paul was put to death in Rome under Nero Caesar. CAPUT XXXVII. The arrival of Agrippa and Bernice, and the inquiries concerning the matters that concerned Paul: in which is also recounted Paul’s response to these things, concerning his lawful worship and his calling to the Gospel: that Agrippa said to Festus that Paul had in nothing done injury to the Jews. ^B

XXV, 13-27. "And when some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice came down to Caesarea, to greet Festus. And when they had stayed there for several days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying: 'There is a certain man left behind by Felix as a prisoner, about whom, when I came to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for a sentence against him. To whom I answered, that it is not the custom for Romans to give up any man to destruction before he who is accused has his accusers present, and has received an opportunity to make his defense regarding the charge. When, therefore, they had gathered here, without any delay, on the next day, I sat ^C on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in. Concerning whom, when the accusers stood, they brought no charge of the things I had suspected, but they had certain questions against him about their own superstition, and about a certain Jesus who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. Being perplexed, therefore, concerning the inquiry into this matter, I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem, and there be judged concerning these things. But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the decision of the Augustus, I ordered him to be kept until I send him to Caesar.' Agrippa then said to Festus: 'I myself also wished to hear the man.' 'Tomorrow,' he said, 'you shall hear him.' On the next day, therefore, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great display, and had entered into the auditorium with the tribunes and the principal men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought out. And Festus says: 'King Agrippa, and all you men who are present with us, you see this man, regarding whom all the multitude of the Jews petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, crying out that he should not live any longer. I, for my part, found that he had committed ^D nothing worthy of death. But since he himself has appealed to the Augustus, I have decided to send him: of whom I have nothing certain to write to my lord. That

I have brought him before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without also signaling the charges against him. ^A

« King Agrippa. » Either Agrippa had descended into the provinces with the title of king, and for this reason was also called king, or perhaps he himself was also king of the eastern parts, while Nero ruled the western, and was resident in Rome. ^B « For the examination of the Augustus. » He uses the term "Augustus" improperly for king or emperor, just as he does "Caesar," whom he also calls "lord" further down, saying: « Of whom I have nothing certain to write to my lord. »

XXVI, 1. 11. « But Agrippa said to Paul: It is permitted to you to speak for yourself. Then Paul, stretching out his hand, began to speak for himself: Concerning all things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I think myself happy, being about to make my defense before you today, especially since you are a most expert judge of all the customs and questions which are among the Jews. Wherefore I beseech you to hear me patiently. My life, therefore, which I led from my youth, which was from the beginning in my nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know, who knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the most strict sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. And now for the hope of the promise which was made by God to our fathers, I stand subject to judgment, to which our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, ^C hope to come: for which hope I am accused, O King Agrippa, by the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible by you that God should raise the dead? And I indeed thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which I also did at Jerusalem: and many of the saints I shut up in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were killed, I brought my vote against them. And punishing them often in all the synagogues, I compelled them to blaspheme; and being yet more mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. »

« Why should it be thought a thing incredible by you that God should raise the dead? » He poses two arguments regarding the resurrection: one from the prophets—yet he does not bring forth a prophet, but the very common opinion of the Jews—and another, stronger one, which is from the facts themselves, since it has been proven by the fact that Christ has risen from the dead; and he confirms this one also with logical reasons. ^D The first reason: « Why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead? » Likewise another: Was this not the kind of doctrine, and the very dogmas in which they had been educated? Who, then, would not have accepted the statement which he brought forward? Concerning this, he says, by decree as if concerning a heresy ac-

- ^A cusor; since among them nothing is held to be more ancient than this opinion, on account of this they boast, and on account of this they worship God, that they might attain it. And this I announce.

XXVI, 12-18. "In these things, while I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and permission of the chief priests, at midday, O king, I saw on the road a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who were traveling with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language: 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' I said: 'Who are you, Lord?' He said: 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things ^B in which I will appear to you, delivering you from the people and the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'"

"Above the brightness of the sun." Bringing into the middle that which is most luminous among sensible things, and since he could not equate the light of Jesus to that—which is far greater—so that he might speak in a way that human hearing could receive, he says that that light surpasses the splendor of the sun.

XXVI, 19. "Wherefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." A vision is a pure sight which surpasses human nature, of a thing which no one can see, while he is in the flesh, unless his own eyes are divinely revealed.

XXVI, 20-23. "But to those who are in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem, and to all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, I was announcing that they should repent, and turn to God, performing works worthy of repentance. Because of these things, the Jews having seized me in the temple, attempted to kill me. Therefore, having obtained help from God, I stand until this very day, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing else than what the prophets said would come to pass, and Moses, whether the Christ would suffer, whether he is the first from the resurrection of the dead ^D to proclaim light to the people and to the Gentiles."

"Saying nothing else than what the prophets said." Lest he be considered the teacher of this matter, he brings forward the prophets and Moses saying "whether the Christ would suffer, whether he is the first from the resurrection of the dead," and the rest. The "whether" is taken for "that," that is, "that it is." Moses, he says, said that Christ would suffer, [and be] the first from the resurrection. For he was the first to rise, and no longer dies. For those who were raised through him, or through the disciples, and those through the prophets, died again, awaiting the universal resurrection.

^A XXVI, 24-32. "And as he was thus making his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, 'Paul, you are mad; your great learning is turning you to madness.' But Paul said, 'I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.' And Agrippa said to Paul, 'In a short time you think to make me a Christian!' And Paul said, 'I would to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.' Then the king rose, and the governor, and Bernice and those who were sitting with them; and [having withdrawn] they talked to one another, saying, 'This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.' And Agrippa said to Festus, 'This man could have been set at liberty if he had not appealed to Caesar.'"

On "In a Little"

Since he was always directing his words to the king, Festus was somewhat moved, and seeing his boldness, from agitation and anger [he] said, "You are mad." But Paul explains the reason why he directed his speech toward the king. Then, showing that this doctrine is spread throughout the whole world, he adds, "For this was not done in a corner," speaking of the cross and resurrection of Christ. ^B "In a little," that is, in few words, in brief discourse, in little instruction, without great labor or continuous debate. For this reason, Paul also says to him in turn and quite fittingly, "I would to God, both in a little and in much," as if to say: "This is truly my endeavor, that all might become Christians, and this is my prayer before God." Indeed, I am prepared to preach the faith in Christ with many words and with few, and with much labor and trial, and that immediately. For I would by no means consider labor or trial to be present in teaching and preaching; rather, it is all the same to me whether I am worn out or not worn out, whether I spend much time or little, provided I see some turning to God. ^C He said these things at once demonstrating his own readiness and fervor, and at the same time provoking him, so that if he wished to hear more and enjoy fuller teaching, he would not only not hesitate, but would be so ready and prepared to show himself eager that he would even make that work his own desire, provided he attained the goal. Agrippa, for his part, had taken it to mean that a little effort was needed, or that success was near. But Paul, who was most prudent and shrewd in both divine and human matters, perhaps more than anyone else, used the expression offered, or added the meaning that was expedient for his own words, as if he had said: "By a small struggle of words, or if need be, even by a greater one, I would wish you to become a Christian." ^D I am entirely ready to do everything for your salvation, not yours only, but also that of those present.

ria, not of yours only, but also of those who are present. ^A “Except for these bonds.” ^B He said this not as one cursing the bonds for himself, nor as one ashamed of them; for this was to him, if anything else, worthy of glory and a source of boasting. Rather, he was looking toward their estimation of him and stooping to their weakness. May it befall all these, he says, to be as I am, except for these bonds.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

The voyage of Paul toward Rome, filled with very many and very great perils, in which is also narrated Paul's exhortation to those who were with him concerning the hope of salvation. The shipwreck of Paul, and how they escaped safely to the island of Melite, and what miracles Paul performed therein. ^C

XXVII, 1-20. “Now after it was decreed that we should sail for Italy, they delivered both Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan cohort. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, about to sail to the regions of Asia, we set sail, Aristarchus the Macedonian of Thessalonica remaining with us. And on the next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius, treating Paul humanely, permitted him to go to his friends and obtain care. And setting sail from there, we drifted under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were against us. And having sailed across the sea which is against Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra of Lycia; and there the centurion, having found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy, put us onto it. And as we were sailing slowly for many days and had with difficulty arrived off Cnidus, the wind not allowing us further, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off ^D Salmone. And with difficulty sailing past it, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. And a significant amount of time having passed, and the voyage already being dangerous because the time of the fast had already passed, Paul warned them, saying: 'Men, I perceive that with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our own lives, the voyage is going to be.' But the centurion was persuaded more by the pilot and the shipowner than by the things being said by Paul. And the harbor being unsuitable for wintering, the majority formed a plan to set sail from there, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there, a harbor of Crete facing toward the southwest and toward the northwest. And a south wind having started to blow, thinking they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and were sailing along Crete. But not long after, a typhoon-like wind, which is called the Euraquilo, struck against it. And the ship being caught, and not being able to face the wind, we gave way and were being carried along. And having run under a certain small island called Clauda, we were with difficulty able to secure the skiff. Having raised which, they made use of supports, undergirding the ship; and fearing lest they fall into the Syrtis, having lowered the gear, thus they were being carried. And as we were being violently storm-tossed, the next day they threw out cargo, and on the third day with our own hands

we threw out the ship's gear. And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay upon us, all hope of our being saved was now being taken away.”

“*Since the time of the fast had also already passed.*” By the fast here, he speaks of that of the Jews. For after Pentecost he departed from there a long time afterward, so as to reach the parts of Crete at about the very season of winter. Behold, now too Paul prophesies, telling them that they would suffer shipwreck. Even if for them the shipwreck did not occur with loss of life according to his word, this would have happened so far as the nature of the matter goes, had not God saved them. For it was for his sake that He caused them also to be saved. The shipwreck, then, came from the season, since the storm was great; but the miracle is greater, that at such a time they were saved from the midst of dangers, both the Apostle himself and the others on his account. Thus, he was not proven false.

“*But the centurion was being persuaded by the pilot and the captain.*” The centurion does not give heed to the things said by Paul, believing those who were experienced in sailing more than a passenger inexperienced in nautical matters. And from this he teaches that the mistake belongs to choice (judgment) and not to luck. For that it is in accordance with nature to escape danger, experience itself teaches, so that no one should cast himself down when a matter brings clear danger, and for luck and fate to be asleep regarding what is foreseen—or even if they were awake, they would have no power to act against the will and choice of men, by which they guide and carry the matters concerning themselves however they wish; just as even those who were traveling with Paul did. For they were acting so much according to their choice that, having immediately chanced upon a favorable wind, they were continuing their voyage rejoicing. We must know, however, that the word ^A *antophthalmein* (which we metaphorically translate as "to press on against," but which properly signifies "to look from the opposite side") in the propriety of the term is not said of a ship, but it is fit only for a human being. Thus, one ought not to require Scripture to always use words in their proper sense. ^B

XXVII, 21-41 “*But when there was much abstinence, then Paul stood in their midst and said, 'It was proper, O men, having obeyed me, not to set sail from Crete, and to acquire this injury and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good courage. For there shall be no loss of life among you, except the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of God, of whom I am and whom I worship, saying: Do not fear, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you. Therefore be of good courage, men. For I believe God, that it shall be exactly as it has been spoken to me. But we must be cast upon a certain island.' And when the fourteenth night had arrived, as we were being driven about in the Adria, around the middle of the night, the sailors surmised ^D that some land was appearing to them. And having let down the lead, they found twenty fathoms. And having gone a short distance, and having cast the line again, they found fifteen fathoms.*”

^A And fearing lest they might fall into rough places, having cast four anchors from the stern, they prayed for day to come. And as the sailors were seeking to flee from the ship, and had lowered the skiff into the sea, under the pretext as though they were about to extend the anchors from the prow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers: "Unless these remain in the ship, you cannot be saved." Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff, and allowed it to fall away. And until the day was about to dawn, Paul exhorted everyone to partake of food, saying: "Today is the fourteenth day that, awaiting, you have continued fasting, taking nothing. For which reason I implore you to take food. For this pertains to your safety: for not a hair of the head of any of you will fall." And having said these things and having taken bread, he gave thanks to God before all; and having broken it, he began to eat. And with all having become of heartened spirit, they themselves also took food. And we were in the ship, two hundred and seventy-six souls in all. And having been satisfied with food, they were lightening the ship, casting the grain into the sea. And when day came, they did not recognize the land: but they were discerning a certain bay having a beach, into which they decided, if it were possible, to drive the ship. And having taken off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time having loosened the lashings of the rudders, and having raised the foresail to the blowing wind, they held toward the beach. And having fallen into a place with two seas, they ran the ship aground. And the prow, having struck, remained immovable, but the stern was being broken by the force of the waves.

^B “And behold, God has granted to you.” From this is demonstrated the falsity of the discourse concerning fate or chance. For behold, if they had not been saved through Paul, all those who were in the ship had to have perished, but God granted this for the honor of the just man. And here, indeed, the ungodly are saved through the just man; but there are times when the opposite happens, and the ungodly perishes before his time because of his own wickedness, according to that which was said: “Do not be ungodly overmuch, and do not become hard, lest you die in a time not your own.” And regarding the, “Unless these remain in the ship, you cannot be saved,” Paul spoke ^C economically so that he might hold them back, and so that the prophecy might not fail. So when they saw that their own poor counsel had exposed them to danger, then they began to obey him. For if they had believed in fate, although being heathens, having despised the counsel of the holy man, they would have allowed the sailors to depart. “For which reason I implore you to partake of food.” Paul encourages them to partake of food, and he himself is the first to partake, persuading not by word only but by deed. “For this,” he says, “pertains to your safety,” that is, taking food, lest you be destroyed by famine. For they had no concern for food, ^D since the danger did not allow them to be occupied with ordinary matters. But whence did the number of those who were sailing together become manifest to him?

^A “And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose. And he commanded those who could swim to throw themselves overboard first and get to the land; and the rest, some on planks, and some on pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass that they all escaped safe to the land. And when they had escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarians showed us no small kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said among themselves, 'No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet Justice does not allow to live.' He however, having shaken off the creature into the fire, suffered no harm. But they expected that he was about to swell, or fall down dead suddenly. But after they had waited a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. And in the parts about that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of fevers and a bloody flux. To whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also who had diseases in the island came and were healed; who also honored us with many honors; and when we were sailing, they put on board such things as were necessary.”

^B “And the soldiers' counsel was,” etc. Again, it is shown from this that they were spared because of Paul; for although they wished to kill some, the centurion did not allow them to be killed, so that the prophecy of Paul might not fail, in order to save Paul. “A viper came out because of the heat.” The viper, having fastened its teeth upon the apostle’s hand, and not having found the softness ^C of sin, immediately leaped back and jumped into the fire, as if inflicting punishment upon itself because it had attacked a body that was in no way fitting for it. But we fear wild beasts, because we do not have the armor of the virtues. The barbarians, therefore, seeing this, and that he had escaped certain death, thought him to be a god, as it was their custom to consider anyone who did any glorious work a god; just as they also used to name the ancient gods, either because they did something beyond the strength of their own peers or their contemporaries, ^D such as was Hercules; or because they carried away those who beheld them into admiration by sorcery, such as was Simon in Samaria.

CHAPTER XXXIX

XXVIII, 11-17. "And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli: Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and The Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage. And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him."

"Whose sign was Castor and Pollux." It is a perpetual custom, especially in Alexandrian ships, to have such paintings at the prow, on the right and on the left. Since, however, it is likely that, idolatry holding sway at that time, Castor and Pollux were painted on the ship, it follows also that we should understand it to have been a ship of the Gentiles—that is, of idolaters—of whom Isaiah says: *They shall fly in the ships of the Gentiles, and they shall plunder the sea together.*

"As far as Appii Forum and The Three Taverns." He indicates certain places before the entrance to Rome; the former indeed having the statue of Appius, as is likely, and hence called his *forum*, just as to this day the images of kings or emperors are called *fora* among the Romans. But the places of the *tabernae* imply the use of certain inns or taverns, which are called by such names in the Roman tongue. ^{B C}

CHAPTER XL

XXVIII, 17-24. "And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against." And when ^D

they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. ^A

Knowing that it was absurd for Paul to contend in judgment, especially before unbelievers, he prepared a defense for both parties, so that their ears might not be prejudiced. "For this cause," he says, "did I desire to see you," that no one might be allowed to accuse me. And he sets forth the circumstances, namely: Wishing to escape their hands, I was compelled to appeal unto Caesar, not that I might bring evil upon others, but that I myself might avoid evil. "For as concerning this sect," etc. Before Paul reached Rome, the Jews had been warned not to receive the preaching concerning Christ, and not they alone, but those scattered everywhere throughout the earth. But by what means can this be made manifest? We have found in the commentaries of the ancients how the priests and scribes and elders who inhabit Jerusalem drew up letters, which they sent to the Jews among all nations, wherever they might be scattered, slandering the doctrine of Christ as being alien to God; and they warned them by these epistles not to receive it. And it seems that the prophecy of Isaiah indicates this very thing when it says: "Woe to the land, the wings of ships, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, which sendeth ambassadors over the sea, and papyrus letters upon the waters." ^B By this he signifies that even beyond the regions of the Ethiopians and the uttermost parts of the earth, the sound of the malice of those who inhabit Judea went forth through certain, as it were, flying ships; and their "apostles," bringing papyrus letters, and sailing upon the waters, and filling the sea itself, ran through every part of the earth, slandering the words concerning our Savior. It is the custom for the Jews even now to call those who distribute daily letters from their rulers, "apostles." ^C

"And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word: Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. ^D And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came

^A unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

"The Holy Spirit spake by Esaias the prophet," etc. Paul strikes a lethal blow against those who say that the Holy Spirit is a minister of the Father. For him whom Esaias saw as the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, he calls the Holy Spirit in this place. For he is of the same substance as the Father and the Son, and possesses equal power. And he affirms that this statement was uttered by the prophet divinely concerning Jesus: for the people heard the words of Jesus and understood not, and though they saw the wonders worked by Him, they perceived not. For, by directing the statement to the future time, he manifests the reference of the things spoken in the prophecy to the future time. Consider, moreover, the exactness of the Spirit. He did not say, "And ye shall not see," but, "Ye shall see, and shall not perceive." Nor did He say, "Ye shall not hear," but, "Ye shall hear, and shall not understand." They were an obstacle unto themselves ^B first, by stopping their ears, closing their eyes, and making their heart heavy. For not only did they not hear, but they heard with difficulty. They did this, he says, "lest they should be converted and I should heal them," speaking of their wickedness and aversion as something studied and intense. And he says this while drawing and inciting them, showing that if they were to be converted, He would still heal them.

It is to be noted that up to this point Luke records the events concerning blessed Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, having written the book at that time and knowing nothing at all of what was to happen thereafter, nor did he include his martyrdom in this book. For Luke and Aristarchus left him there and departed. But Eusebius has recorded the subsequent times accurately: that at that time, when Paul had made his defense, he was sent again to the ministry of preaching, having been acquitted by Caesar, and preached the Gospel for another ten years. When Nero had reached the height of madness, ^C he proceeded to the slaughter of the apostles. For, having sent for Paul in the thirty-sixth year after the saving Passion, and the thirteenth of his own reign, he caused him to be martyred by having his head cut off with a sword.

The entire time is, therefore, from the nineteenth year of Tiberius Caesar—the second year after the saving Passion, from which he began to preach the Gospel—until the twenty-second year of the same Tiberius, four years. And in like manner four years of Gaius. Again, fourteen years of Claudius, whom Nero, who succeeded him, followed in the thirteenth year of his reign, and did away with the Apostle. The whole time of Paul's preaching is therefore twenty-one years, and another two years which he spent in the prison at Caesarea. ^D In addition to these, again, the first two years in Rome, and the final ten years, so that all the years from his calling until his completion are thirty and five. And from the saving Passion, thirty-six. For after the Lord's Ascension, after a few days, [he...]