St. Peter admits that the rejection of Christ was done through ignorance, but he does not allow that this is a sufficient excuse. Ignorance has many degrees, and may arise from many causes. It may be willful. It may be a consequence of cherished prejudices, and then it is guilty ignorance. "The Jewish multitude were ignorant from want of teaching, their rulers from mental perverseness in looking only on one part of the prophecies concerning the Messiah." For the treatment of the relation of "ignorance" to "guilt," compare St. Paul's teachings in Acts 17:30; 1 Timothy 6:13. The point which St. Peter dwells on in these verses is, that in the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, men appeared to act on their own will and to carry out their own plans; but the deeper fact was that they accomplished the Divine purposes and fulfilled the divinely given prophecies. Scripture writers do not discuss the harmony between Divine sovereignty and man's free-will; but they show us man acting freely, and then draw aside the veil, and show us God's purpose accomplished by that very action that seemed to be so free. And the explanation is this - that all God's plans are formed upon perfect consideration of all that will occur; and this includes the Divine knowledge of how men will act, in their free will, in particular circumstances. To him who knows man altogether, the precise way in which every man will act, under every set of possible circumstances, must be fully anticipated. On this we may further dwell, and gain some apprehension of the Divine order.

I. MAN IS FREE TO ACT ON VARIOUS MOTIVES. He does act by motive. He may be moved by differing motives. He will act upon that which seems to be strongest. The strength of a motive greatly depends on the disposition and character which it urges. There appear to be a vast multitude of motives. Probably they could be greatly reduced by classification. The complexity and difficulty of knowing how a man will act in given circumstances does not arise from our inability to estimate his motives, but from our inability to judge how particular motives will influence him. We can tell by what considerations the Sadducees, Pharisees, and priests were moved to secure the death of Jesus. It is this acting of men on motive that gives moral character to their acts, and so brings on them the possibility of guilt.

II. ALL HUMAN MOTIVES, CIRCUMSTANCES, AND CHARACTERS ARE KNOWN TO GOD. The circle of motives that can possibly appeal to man's moral nature God completely spans. The precise circumstances under which motives urge in any given case, he fully knows and accurately weighs. The force which, under every set of circumstances, every motive will gain on every particular character and disposition, he perfectly estimates. And, though it is an almost impossible conception, we must conceive of God as looking down the long "stream of time," leaving his creatures free to act in all situations, and yet knowing beforehand the decision of every free will in every conceivable case. This is the marvel of the Divine foreknowledge.

III. ALL DIVINE PLANS ARE FORMED UPON THIS PERFECT ESTIMATE. Especially apply to the redemptive plan. In view of what would happen, and what men would do, the plan of redemption in the slain Lamb was formed before the foundation of the world. Man worked out his own prejudice and passion in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, and God worked out his plan of saving the race by the sacrifice of his only begotten Son. That we might know of this overruling, the prophecies of Messiah were given. So we see how man's guilt remains in his freedom to act on motive; and yet God's purposes remain unchanged by all men's willfulness, since the willfulness wan all foreknown and estimated. - R.T.

Faith in the name of Jesus is faith in Himself. The result of its exercise here was a manifest continuance of what Jesus "began to do" in the way of healing, and on the same condition.

I. FAITH MOVED PETER TO SEEK THE POOR MAN'S GOOD. Faith had united the apostle to the Saviour, and brought him into sympathy with His benevolent designs. The love of "Christ still constrains those who enjoy it by faith" with like results.

II. FAITH ENABLED PETER TO PRONOUNCE THE MAN'S CURE. Peter believed the promise, "The works that I do shall ye do also"; that Jesus, though out of sight, was able and willing to cure the cripple; and, acting under a gracious impulse which that faith secured, he bade the man be whole. It was faith that made this conduct consistent; but without faith it would have been an act of presumption, and even of blasphemy. When God is taken at His word and fully trusted, there is exercised a confidence which enables its possessor to defy all adverse power. This is the faith which overcomes.

III. FAITH FURNISHED AN EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY WHICH EVEN ITS ADVERSARIES WERE OBLIGED TO ADMIT. The cripple had been seen and known, and his cure had taken place in the presence of all. The faith exercised, being invisible, might have been talked of long without becoming the means of any one's full persuasion; but here was an outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace. What could be said against such an evidence? And what can be said at this day against the evidence presented in conversions and holy lives? But to some even this evidence is as nothing. They love not the Lord; they have no sympathy with His gracious purposes; and they lack that spiritual discernment which can come only in connection with the faith which is the evidence of things not seen.

(W. Hudson.)

While infidelity is boastful, it is refreshing to note such facts as these: Eighty years ago, William Carey wrote from Bengal: "The people here hate the very name of Christ, and will not listen when His name is mentioned." To-day the Rev. W. R. James writes from Serampore: "By all means see to it that the name of Christ is plainly printed on the title-page of every book or tract that we print. We have now arrived at that point of time in the history of Christian missions in Bengal, when the name of Christ is more of a recommendation to a book than otherwise. Very often have I heard natives ask for a 'Life of Jesus Christ' in preference to any other book."

Two men are wandering over the mountains in Nevada. They find curious veins running through the rocks One of them studies these veins with the interest of a geologist, and chisels out a few specimens for his cabinet. The other, who is an expert in ores, believes that he has found a silver mine of great richness. When his companion has passed on with his specimens in his pocket, he returns and stakes out a claim. He perfects his title to that claim. He works it, and becomes a millionaire. Now was it the mine that enriched this man or his faith in the mine? Evidently his faith. And so it is the world over. It is not enough to know of a good thing and to be able to grasp it. We must believe in it and take possession of it. There is, of course, no value in faith, if what we believe is worthless, A lunatic, whom we knew years ago, imagined that he was a millionaire. He would take you into his little chamber, and after carefully locking the door, would open drawers full of bits of paper on which he had written figures for various amounts. He would say, "Here are bills and bonds worth millions of dollars." When asked why he did not use them to buy what he needed, he would reply, "No, no, they are too precious." That man's faith was great, but it was baseless. It was like the faith of worldly men in material things. They are heaping up riches that are as worthless for the soul as his bits of paper were for the wants of this life. "Jesus"; — The old Greek orators, when they saw their audiences inattentive and slumbering, had one word with which they would rouse them up to the greatest enthusiasm. In the midst of their orations they would stop and cry out, "Marathon!" and the people's enthusiasm would be unbounded. My hearers, though you may have been borne down with sin, and though trouble, and trial, and temptation may have come upon you, and you feel hardly like looking up, methinks there is one grand, royal, imperial word that ought to rouse your soul to infinite rejoicing, and that word is Jesus.

When John Howard wanted to visit the prisons of Russia he sought an interview with the Czar. He explained his object, and the Czar gave him permission to visit any prison in his empire. It was a long and weary journey; he knew how jealously the prisoners were guarded, and how averse the gaolers were to permit any one to visit them. But he set out in perfect confidence. When he arrived at a prison he would make his application, and was prepared for the refusal which invariably came. Then he produced the Czar's mandate, and the prison doors were immediately opened to him. He had faith in that name, and it was justified by the results.

The apostle seems to say, "Ye have rejected Christ, and this is a great evil; ye know not the privilege of faith in Him, and therefore your loss is great; but still do not despair." In order to reassure his hearers he —

I. REMINDED THEM OF THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. God had shown what the prophets had set forth; the prophets as with one mouth had declared the mind of God; and of every part of revealed truth it was to be remembered that "the mouth of the Lord had spoken it." This, in the judgment of a Jew, was a firm, foundation, and this foundation remains to this day. But what was now to be built upon it?

II. INDICATED THE KEY-NOTE TO WHICH ALL THE PROPHETIC HARMONIES HAD BEEN TUNED. It was "that Christ should suffer." Then it would become evident that salvation through the death of Jesus was not a new doctrine invented by His disciples. One who began to apprehend this would quickly discern new meaning in the leading events of the last few months.

III. AFFIRMED THAT GOD HAD ACCOMPLISHED HIS OWN WORD IN REGARD TO JESUS BY UNCONSCIOUS AGENTS. They bad ignorantly pursued Him to the Cross. This was some mitigation of their guilt, though not an excuse for their sin. But in all their error and evil conduct God was bringing His own purpose to pass. The Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, and His death and resurrection made and declared the way of life open to all who should repent and believe. Wicked men had not meant to accomplish this, but God had wrought His sovereign will. Peter's hearers must now feel that God had been infinitely better to them than they had been to themselves.

IV. TENDERLY HINTED THAT THOSE WHO, WHILE DOING WICKEDLY, HAD UNCONSCIOUSLY FULFILLED THE WILL OF GOD WERE STILL OBJECTS OF BENEVOLENT CONCERN. Being of the stock of Abraham, they were the children of the covenant. Peter's endearing word "brethren" contained the suggestion of great blessing. There are still those who need encouragement, and this can best be obtained from the Word of God, which sets forth the Saviour of men accessible to all penitent, inquirers.

(W. Hudson.)

1. An act of cruelty excites both compassion for the sufferer and indignation at the actor, and perhaps the latter feeling is the stronger. Your sympathy with the martyr is almost lost in your anger at the persecutor, because, perhaps, you do not make sufficient allowance for him. He may have been acting under a mistaken sense of duty. "Whosoever," says our Lord, "killeth you shall think he doeth God service." Much, too, may have to be attributed to the temper of the times. Many a man who now only argues against heresy would have been for the stake when the rights of conscience were less understood. Men are apt to condemn the Jews — and very justly — for their crimes, but Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," and here St. Peter corroborates this. He did not hesitate to charge on them the crime of having "killed the Prince of Life," but, as though he feared driving them to despair, he used words which seem in a measure to extenuate their crime. But we shall find that this plea of ignorance does not apply to modern unbelief.

2. What right had Peter to make this allowance? He must be understood to mean that the Jews were not acquainted with the character and dignity of Christ. They did not crucify Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, but as a blasphemous pretender. But were they innocent in that their ignorance was involuntary and unavoidable, arising from the insufficiency of the evidence, or from feebleness of understanding? St. Peter did not imply this, otherwise he had impeached the whole of Christ's ministry, and represented His miracles as defective credentials. Undoubtedly the ignorance was blameworthy. They might and ought to have known that Jesus was the Christ, and ignorance is only excusable when we do not wilfully neglect the means of obtaining information or cherish prejudices which bar out the truth. Yet it is probable that we use the Jews too harshly in respect of the crucifixion. It was not in that, but in rejecting the final evidence afforded by the descent and miracles of the Holy Spirit, that they committed the unpardonable sin.

3. It may be strange to us that, though He did so many mighty works, Jesus was rejected by His countrymen. But we do not sufficiently consider their powerful prejudice in favour of a Messiah attended with all the pomp of earthly dominion. It is true they were to blame for cherishing this prejudice, since due search into prophecy would have dispersed it; but it is also true that it was contracted not through shutting their eyes altogether against prophecy, but through fixing them so intently on one part that they overlooked all others. They associated with Christ's first coming the characteristics of the second. So, then, the Jew had not sinned against all the evidence that Christ meant to afford — he had sinned against a suffering Redeemer, but not against a triumphant; and so the sin was something that admitted of extenuation — a sin against evidence as yet incomplete. The ignorance was not excusable; it was only not unpardonable.

4. Here comes in the case of modern ignorance and unbelief — the sin of those who, by rejecting Christ, "crucify the Son of God afresh." Can the plea of Peter be urged in favour of modern infidels and of those who nominally believe in Christ without the consent of the heart? Remember that the Jew had not the whole of the evidence before him; but we have the whole before us. The Jew crucified Christ whilst His appearance was that of an ordinary man; we crucify Him afresh now that He has assumed His Divine glory. Christ had not then given the most touching proof of His love, nor was it understood even by the apostles that His death was a propitiation; but now the whole plan of redemption is set forth, and we who reject Him crucify afresh a loving Saviour, and one who sends down His Spirit to persuade us to be reconciled. What did the Jew in comparison with this? And how absurd to plead an extenuating ignorance! How can anything be known if this is not? Or, if the ignorance be not impossible — besotted as men are by the cares of the world, or the pleasures of sin — men might, if they would, know what they do. Ignorant they may be, but unavoidably and innocently ignorant they cannot be. Therefore "he that believeth not shall be damned."

(H. Melvill, B. D.)

In the New Testament special potency is attributed to the utterance of a name, especially the name of Jesus. Some of these I will enumerate. Jesus .promises that He will be with every two or three who assemble in His name (Matthew 18:20). He promises to help those who pray in His name (John 14:13, 14; John 15:16; John 16:23, 24, 26). It appears, also, that devils were cast out by the use of the name of Christ. This, at first sight, seems like magic. For magic is essentially this, a power obtained over the supernatural world by the use of charms and talismans. In the story of the "Forty Thieves," the door of the cave opened by enchantment to whoever used the right word, and said, "Open Sesame," whether it was said by the robbers or by the good man. If, therefore, we believe that by merely putting the word "Christ" at the beginning or end of our prayer, we shall obtain some blessing from God which He would not otherwise bestow, we degrade Christianity to the level of a magical process and demoralise it. Now, I think it quite clear that the whole spirit of Christianity and teaching of Jesus is utterly opposed to any such magical notions. According to Jesus, men were saved, not by the use of His name as an outward formula, but by obeying His precepts and doing good actions. In the Sermon on the Mount He distinctly rejects any such merely outward use of His name (Matthew 7:22, 23). Elsewhere He says, "Many deceivers shall come in My name." "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord! shall enter," etc. What, then, does He mean when He says that God will hear us and help us if we pray "in His name"? To answer this question we must understand the peculiar way in which the Jews regarded the name of any person. A name with us is an arbitrary appendage, having no relation to a man's character. But to the Jew a name carried a mysterious power, expressive of what was deepest in the parent's heart, and capable of influencing the child's destiny. If the man or woman appeared to develop new qualities, the name was changed. So Jesus added to Simon's name that of Peter — a rock: and Saul's name, which meant "a destroyer," was changed to Paul, which means "a worker." Thus it happened that to come in the name of any one meant to come in his spirit. So John the Baptist was said by Jesus to be the Elijah that was to come, because he came in the spirit and power of Elijah. When the Lord said to Moses, "Thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name," it means that the Lord knew his character, and that it was equal to his work. Whenever trust "in God's name" is spoken of, it means trust in His wisdom, or His love, or His providence. When it is said that "a good name is better than riches," it means a good character. When Jesus says that "he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward," it signifies that he who is in sympathy with the spirit of the prophet, and helps the prophet on that account, shall have the reward of being himself filled with the same prophetic spirit. And so when He tells them to "pray in His name," He means to tell them to pray in His Spirit; to "cast out devils in His name" is to cast them out by the power of a Christian spirit. There are a great many devils in the world — devils of pride, of vanity, of lust, of dishonesty, of falsehood, of cruelty. Now, if we attack these devils in the name of the devil we can do nothing If we meet pride with pride, falsehood with cunning, selfishness with self-will — if we try to put down evil with evil, we shall never succeed. We must cast out devils in the name of Christ — that is, "overcome evil with good." There is a wonderful power which belongs to him who allies himself to truth and right. When we "overcome evil by good," then only do we cast out devils in the name of Christ. And so, to pray "in the name of Christ" does not mean to put the name of Christ at the end of our prayer, and say, "We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord"; but it means when we pray to be in Christ's Spirit; to forget our vanity, selfishness, egotism; to desire the good of others; the coming of God's kingdom of love. If we pray thus, we may ask what we will and it shall be done unto us, for we shall ask only what God wills. To meet together "in the name of Christ" means to meet for the purpose of doing good and getting good. Where the spirit of Christianity is there is the coming of Christ. Therefore, when Peter said to the lame man, "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise and walk," he did not utter these words as a charm. But he thus openly avowed his faith in the Master he had denied a few weeks before, and the man was healed, not by the magic of words, but by the wonderful power which attends a sincere faith in God. Not the word of Jesus, but the faith in Jesus cured him. Not the word, but the thing, makes the power of Christianity. When I see a man walking the road of duty, faithful to every obligation; true and just, when those around him are false; when I see him hold his principles of honesty, though the world grows dishonest, standing by his purity, no matter what comes; then I say that this man is casting out devils "in Christ's name." And when I see a youth, beset by temptations from without and within, making a brave struggle to be true to his mother's counsels and his father's honour, and saying to the Satan who tempts him to go astray, "Get thee behind me," I say that this boy also is fighting devils "in Christ's name." And when I see a young girl in the midst of a happy home, surrounded by love, called to leave life and all its hopes, and go to meet the great mystery, and going tranquilly, peacefully, trustingly, comforting all around her with the comfort wherewith she herself has been comforted by God, I say that she is going to heaven in the strength "of Christ's name." The name of Christ stands for immortality, for He is the Resurrection and the Life. The name of Jesus Christ means Saviour and King. Jesus means Saviour, Christ means King, and the whole means that He who saves men is the King of men. It means that love is to conquer hatred, that truth is mightier than falsehood, life than death, eternity than time.

(J. Freeman Clarke.)

Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, John, Peter, Pilate, Samuel, SolomonBeautiful Gate, Nazareth, Solomon's ColonnadeActed, Brethren, Brothers, Case, Conscious, Ignorance, Leaders, Rulers, Wot1. Peter preaching to the people that came to see a lame man restored to his feet,
12. professes the cure to have been wrought by God, and his son Jesus;
13. withal reprehending them for crucifying Jesus;
17. which because they did it through ignorance,
18. and that thereby were fulfilled God's determinate counsel, and the Scriptures,
19. he exhorts them by repentance and faith to seek remission of their sins through Jesus.

Acts 3:17

     5661   brothers
     6021   sin, nature of

Acts 3:1-26

     7469   temple, Herod's

Acts 3:11-26

     7755   preaching, importance

Acts 3:17-18

     5597   victory, act of God
     8702   agnosticism

Acts 3:17-19

     5052   responsibility, to God

Acts 3:17-20

     2425   gospel, requirements
     6173   guilt, and God
     6183   ignorance, of God

March 19 Morning
God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in the turning away every one of you from his iniquities.--ACTS 3:26. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercies hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.--Saved by his life. Our Saviour Jesus Christ . . . who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.--As …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Healing Power of the Name
'And His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.' --ACTS iii. 16. Peter said, 'Why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?' eagerly disclaiming being anything else than a medium through which Another's power operated. Jesus Christ said, 'That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Servant of the Lord
'Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, In turning away every one of you from his iniquities.' --ACTS iii. 26. So ended Peter's bold address to the wondering crowd gathered in the Temple courts around him, with his companion John and the lame man whom they had healed. A glance at his words will show how extraordinarily outspoken and courageous they are. He charges home on his hearers the guilt of Christ's death, unfalteringly proclaims His Messiahship, bears witness …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

'Then Shall the Lame Man Leap as an Hart'
'Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3. Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms. 4. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, Look on us. 5. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

'The Prince of Life'
'But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15. And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.' --ACTS iii. 14, 15. This early sermon of Peter's, to the people, is marked by a comparative absence of the highest view of Christ's person and work. It is open to us to take one of two explanations of that fact. We may either say that the Apostle was but learning the full significance of the marvellous events that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Watching the Horizon
"Thy Kingdom Come." "Thou art coming! We are waiting With a hope that cannot fail; Asking not the day or hour, Resting on Thy word of power, Anchored safe within the veil. Time appointed may be long, But the vision must be sure: Certainty shall make us strong, Joyful patience must endure. "O the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honour, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord! Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned! …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 1 "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: And when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: For they shall be comforted." Matt. 5:1-4. 1. Our Lord had now "gone about all Galilee," (Matt. 4:23, ) beginning at the time "when John was cast into prison," (Matt. 4:12, ) not only "teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Apostolic Exhortation
It is noteworthy that Peter, in addressing this crowd, came at once to the very essence and bowels of his message. He did not beat the bush; he did not shoot his arrow far afield, but he hit the very centre of the target. He preached not merely the gospel of good news, but Christ, the person of Christ; Christ crucified--crucified by them, Christ risen, Christ glorified of his Father. Depend upon it, this is the very strength of the Christian ministry, when it is saturated with the name and person …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 14: 1868

Gladden -- the Prince of Life
Washington Gladden, Congregational divine, was born at Pottsgrove, Pa., in 1836. After graduating at Williams College he was ordained pastor, and occupied pulpits in Brooklyn, Morrisania, N.Y., and Springfield, Mass., until 1882, when he assumed charge of the First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio. He has also occupied editorial positions, and has published many books on social and civil reform and the practical application of Christian truth to popular and common life. His style, whether …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 8

That the Christian Miracles are not Recited, or Appealed To, by Early Christian Writers Themselves So Fully or Frequently as Might have Been Expected.
I shall consider this objection, first, as it applies to the letters of the apostles preserved in the New Testament; and secondly, as it applies to the remaining writings of other early Christians. The epistles of the apostles are either hortatory or argumentative. So far as they were occupied in delivering lessons of duty, rules of public order, admonitions against certain prevailing corruptions, against vice, or any particular species of it, or in fortifying and encouraging the constancy of the …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Thoughts Upon Worldly Riches. Sect. I.
HE that seriously considers the Constitution of the Christian Religion, observing the Excellency of its Doctrines, the Clearness of its Precepts, the Severity of its Threatnings, together with the Faithfulness of its Promises, and the Certainty of its Principles to trust to; such a one may justly be astonished, and admire what should be the reason that they who profess this not only the most excellent, but only true Religion in the World, should notwithstanding be generally as wicked, debauched and …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Whether Christ's Resurrection Ought to have Been Manifested to All?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's Resurrection ought to have been manifested to all. For just as a public penalty is due for public sin, according to 1 Tim. 5:20: "Them that sin reprove before all," so is a public reward due for public merit. But, as Augustine says (Tract. civ in Joan.), "the glory of the Resurrection is the reward of the humility of the Passion." Therefore, since Christ's Passion was manifested to all while He suffered in public, it seems that the glory of the Resurrection …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Christ's Persecutors Knew who He Was?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's persecutors did know who He was. For it is written (Mat. 21:38) that the husbandmen seeing the son said within themselves: "This is the heir; come, let us kill him." On this Jerome remarks: "Our Lord proves most manifestly by these words that the rulers of the Jews crucified the Son of God, not from ignorance, but out of envy: for they understood that it was He to whom the Father says by the Prophet: 'Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance.'" …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Christ Rightly and Properly Said to have Merited Grace and Salvation for Us.
1. Christ not only the minister, but also the author and prince of salvation. Divine grace not obscured by this mode of expression. The merit of Christ not opposed to the mercy of God, but depends upon it. 2. The compatibility of the two proved by various passages of Scripture. 3. Christ by his obedience truly merited divine grace for us. 4. This grace obtained by the shedding of Christ's blood, and his obedience even unto death. 5. In this way he paid our ransom. 6. The presumptuous manner in which …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

An Ox in the Congregation
Friday, July 10.--I rode to London and preached at Short's Gardens on "the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth" [Acts 3:6]. Sunday, 12. While I was showing, at Charles' Square, what it is "to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God" [see Micah 6:8], a great shout began. Many of the rabble had brought an ox, which they were vehemently laboring to drive among the people. But their labor was in vain; for in spite of them all, he ran round and round, one way and the other, and at length …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

Christ Teaching by Miracles
We have seen how many valuable lessons our Saviour taught while on earth by the parables which he used. But we teach by our lives, as well as by our lips. It has passed into a proverb, and we all admit the truth of it, that "Actions speak louder than words." If our words and our actions contradict each other, people will believe our actions sooner than our words. But when both agree together, then the effect is very great. This was true with our blessed Lord. There was an entire agreement between …
Richard Newton—The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young

The "Times of Restitution" Can be Ushered in Only by the Second Advent of Christ.
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the Times of Refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the Times of Restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21). The "Times of Restitution" here promised to Israel on the condition of their national repentance is one of the names …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Christ and Pilate: the True King and his Counterfeit
'And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2. And Pilate asked Him, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. 3. And the chief priests accused Him of many things: but He answered nothing. 4. And Pilate asked Him again, saying, Answerest Thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against Thee. 6. But Jesus yet …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Essay which Brings up the Rear in this Very Guilty Volume is from The...
The Essay which brings up the rear in this very guilty volume is from the pen of the "Rev. Benjamin Jowett, M.A., [Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, and] Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford,"--"a gentleman whose high personal character and general respectability seem to give a weight to his words, which assuredly they do not carry of themselves [143] ." His performance is entitled "On the Interpretation of Scripture:" being, in reality, nothing else but a laborious denial of …
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

Some Surprising Results of the Break.
The Surprised Jew: a clash of wills--thousands of believing Jews--the church displacing kingdom--two-fold division of men formerly--now three-fold--church different in organization from kingdom--the Baptist puzzled--Jesus did not fill out Hebrew prophecy--two characteristics, personal and official--personal details fulfilled--official not because of rejection--out of situation grew four gospels--Mark--Matthew's the gap gospel--Paul's audiences--Luke's gospel--these three tell of rejection mainly--John's …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Wilt Thou be Made Whole?
"Jesus saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool. Jesus saith unto him, Rise and walk. Immediately the man was made whole, and walked."--JOHN v. 6-9. "Peter said, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.... The faith which is by Him hath given this man this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."--ACTS iii. 6, 16. "Peter said, AEneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise. And he arose immediately."--ACTS …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Disciple, -- Master, what is the Real Meaning of Service? is it that We...
The Disciple,--Master, what is the real meaning of service? Is it that we serve the Creator and then His creatures for His sake? Is the help of man, who is after all but a mere worm, of any value to God in caring for His great family, or does God stand in need of the help of man in protecting or preserving any of His creatures? The Master,--1. Service means the activity of the spiritual life and is the natural offering prompted by love. God, who is Love, is ever active in the care of His creation, …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

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