While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
the...portico of Solomon - A colonnade running the length of the E side of the outer court of the Temple.
"The outer court of the temple,' the Court of the Gentiles', was surrounded by porticoes, of which those on the north, west, and east formed double cloisters, with two rows of white marble monolithic columns supporting a roof of carved cedar. Of these porticoes or cloisters, that on the east, as Josephus tells us, was called 'Solomon's porch'. He attributes it to the time of Solomon, but we are rather to understand that it was the work of Herod, the name of Solomon being attached to it for traditional reasons unknown to us. It was a place of common resort for frequenters of the temple, and it is interesting to remember that our Lord delivered there His beautiful discourse about the Good Shepherd (John 10:23). The 'sheep of His pasture' are now going to use it as a place of gathering (ch. v. 12)." (Walker)
His servant - i.e., the 'servant' of Isa 42:1-9; 49:1-13; 52:13-53:12
"The word 'servant' is a designation of the Messiah, as found in Isa. 42:1-4 and following chapters (cf. Matt 12:17-21). This special usage of the word is peculiar to the Acts (5:26; 4:27, 30). It implies the teaching about the sufferings of Christ as contained in Is chs. 1-53, where the 'Servant of the Lord' is spoken of. He was to be God's 'salvation unto the ends of the earth'. In Him were perfectly exemplified all those attributes of obedience, devotion, earnestness, and diligence which go to make up ideal service." (Walker)
Pilate - "Pontius Pilate was the fifth Roman procurator of Judea, which he administered from A>D> 26 for ten years. He was then recalled to Rome to answer complaints brought against him by the Samaritans, and forthwith disappears from authentic history. His part in the condemnation of our Saviour is sufficiently narrated in the four Gospels." (Walker)
the Prince of life - i.e., the originator of leader of life
on the basis of faith - i.e., through the apostles' faith or possibly the lame man's faith
"Every word Peter utters, inbreathed by the Holy Spirit, shows the national Jewish character of the address. The Apostle does not speak of God as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, but as the God of Abraham, and of Isaac and Jacob. This is God's Name in connection with His covenant people. In vain do we look for this name of God in the rest of the New Testament. For us, as believers, God's Name is revealed as 'Our God and our Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Then of the Lord, Peter speaks as 'His Servant Jesus.' The authorized version has 'son' instead of servant; but that is wrong. Peter, indeed, knew the Lord as the Son of the living God, for he had confessed Him thus at Caesarea Philippi. The Spirit of God, however, did not suffer him to use the word Son here. It was reserved for another Apostle to make known the full Glory and Sonship, both eternal and by resurrection from the dead, that is, through the Apostle Paul. The first time we find the Lord Jesus Christ preached as Son of God is in Acts 9:20, and the converted Saul of Tarsus is the preacher. Acts 8:30, where Philip asks the Eunuch if he believes in the Son of God is an interpolation and must be omitted. In connection with the earth and His people Israel, the Lord is 'the servant of God.' As such He was predicted and described by Isaiah (chapter 42) and other prophets. 'That servant had been in the midst of His people and Jesus, the Nazarene, was that servant. The God of their Fathers had witnessed to it by healing the lame man; in it God had glorified His servant Jesus." (Gaebelein)
"And think of the folly of setting a murderer free and killing the Prince of life, releasing the killer and killing the One who alone can give life! And that Christ truly was the Prince of life, Peter was here to prove, declaring: 'We are witnesses and here is the evidence' (See Vers. 15-16).
"What an indictment! How calculated to strike deep conviction into their hearts!
"But why does Peter thus hold Israel to account for the crucifixion, when the Lord Himself prayed that they might be forgiven? Is he ignorant of the Lord's dying petition: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do?'
"The explanation is that before forgiveness can be applied it must be accepted. To tell an offender that you have forgiven him, when he does not feel he has wronged you, will not bring him one step closer to you; it may even insult him and drive him farther away. He must first be brought to see his guilt and to realize his need of forgiveness.
...It is true, of course, that today God offers men more than forgiveness. He offers them grace. Rather than charge them with the death of Christ or the sins which brought that death about, He assures them that He is 'not imputing their trespasses unto them,' praying and beseeching them to be reconciled to Himself, explaining that He made Christ to be sin for them, that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:19-21).
"But this marvelous manifestation of grace is nevertheless based upon the fact that man has already been historically proven guilty. Even today, when God offers reconciliation to His enemies by grace through faith alone, no man will be inclined to accept that offer who is not first convicted by the Holy Spirit of his guilt. And those who do not accept the offer of God's grace will surely find that their sins will be imputed to them when they stand before the great white throne.
"Prior to the raising up of Paul the fullness of grace was not yet manifested. God was still demonstrating historically the guilt of man and his need of divine grace. Hence Peter's offer of forgiveness was preceded by a charge of wrongdoing, for while God had indeed forgiven Israel, as far as His attitude toward them was concerned, it was still necessary to bring them to an acknowledgement of their guilt if this forgiveness was to be realized by them. All this on the simple premise that to offer forgiveness to one who feels he has done no wrong is like sending a cancelled bill to one who denies that he owes you anything." (Stam)
the...portico of Solomon - A colonnade running the length of the E side of the outer court of the Temple.
"The outer court of the temple,' the Court of the Gentiles', was surrounded by porticoes, of which those on the north, west, and east formed double cloisters, with two rows of white marble monolithic columns supporting a roof of carved cedar. Of these porticoes or cloisters, that on the east, as Josephus tells us, was called 'Solomon's porch'. He attributes it to the time of Solomon, but we are rather to understand that it was the work of Herod, the name of Solomon being attached to it for traditional reasons unknown to us. It was a place of common resort for frequenters of the temple, and it is interesting to remember that our Lord delivered there His beautiful discourse about the Good Shepherd (John 10:23). The 'sheep of His pasture' are now going to use it as a place of gathering (ch. v. 12)." (Walker)
His servant - i.e., the 'servant' of Isa 42:1-9; 49:1-13; 52:13-53:12
"The word 'servant' is a designation of the Messiah, as found in Isa. 42:1-4 and following chapters (cf. Matt 12:17-21). This special usage of the word is peculiar to the Acts (5:26; 4:27, 30). It implies the teaching about the sufferings of Christ as contained in Is chs. 1-53, where the 'Servant of the Lord' is spoken of. He was to be God's 'salvation unto the ends of the earth'. In Him were perfectly exemplified all those attributes of obedience, devotion, earnestness, and diligence which go to make up ideal service." (Walker)
Pilate - "Pontius Pilate was the fifth Roman procurator of Judea, which he administered from A>D> 26 for ten years. He was then recalled to Rome to answer complaints brought against him by the Samaritans, and forthwith disappears from authentic history. His part in the condemnation of our Saviour is sufficiently narrated in the four Gospels." (Walker)
the Prince of life - i.e., the originator of leader of life
on the basis of faith - i.e., through the apostles' faith or possibly the lame man's faith
"Every word Peter utters, inbreathed by the Holy Spirit, shows the national Jewish character of the address. The Apostle does not speak of God as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, but as the God of Abraham, and of Isaac and Jacob. This is God's Name in connection with His covenant people. In vain do we look for this name of God in the rest of the New Testament. For us, as believers, God's Name is revealed as 'Our God and our Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Then of the Lord, Peter speaks as 'His Servant Jesus.' The authorized version has 'son' instead of servant; but that is wrong. Peter, indeed, knew the Lord as the Son of the living God, for he had confessed Him thus at Caesarea Philippi. The Spirit of God, however, did not suffer him to use the word Son here. It was reserved for another Apostle to make known the full Glory and Sonship, both eternal and by resurrection from the dead, that is, through the Apostle Paul. The first time we find the Lord Jesus Christ preached as Son of God is in Acts 9:20, and the converted Saul of Tarsus is the preacher. Acts 8:30, where Philip asks the Eunuch if he believes in the Son of God is an interpolation and must be omitted. In connection with the earth and His people Israel, the Lord is 'the servant of God.' As such He was predicted and described by Isaiah (chapter 42) and other prophets. 'That servant had been in the midst of His people and Jesus, the Nazarene, was that servant. The God of their Fathers had witnessed to it by healing the lame man; in it God had glorified His servant Jesus." (Gaebelein)
"And think of the folly of setting a murderer free and killing the Prince of life, releasing the killer and killing the One who alone can give life! And that Christ truly was the Prince of life, Peter was here to prove, declaring: 'We are witnesses and here is the evidence' (See Vers. 15-16).
"What an indictment! How calculated to strike deep conviction into their hearts!
"But why does Peter thus hold Israel to account for the crucifixion, when the Lord Himself prayed that they might be forgiven? Is he ignorant of the Lord's dying petition: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do?'
"The explanation is that before forgiveness can be applied it must be accepted. To tell an offender that you have forgiven him, when he does not feel he has wronged you, will not bring him one step closer to you; it may even insult him and drive him farther away. He must first be brought to see his guilt and to realize his need of forgiveness.
...It is true, of course, that today God offers men more than forgiveness. He offers them grace. Rather than charge them with the death of Christ or the sins which brought that death about, He assures them that He is 'not imputing their trespasses unto them,' praying and beseeching them to be reconciled to Himself, explaining that He made Christ to be sin for them, that they might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:19-21).
"But this marvelous manifestation of grace is nevertheless based upon the fact that man has already been historically proven guilty. Even today, when God offers reconciliation to His enemies by grace through faith alone, no man will be inclined to accept that offer who is not first convicted by the Holy Spirit of his guilt. And those who do not accept the offer of God's grace will surely find that their sins will be imputed to them when they stand before the great white throne.
"Prior to the raising up of Paul the fullness of grace was not yet manifested. God was still demonstrating historically the guilt of man and his need of divine grace. Hence Peter's offer of forgiveness was preceded by a charge of wrongdoing, for while God had indeed forgiven Israel, as far as His attitude toward them was concerned, it was still necessary to bring them to an acknowledgement of their guilt if this forgiveness was to be realized by them. All this on the simple premise that to offer forgiveness to one who feels he has done no wrong is like sending a cancelled bill to one who denies that he owes you anything." (Stam)
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