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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 11:27-30

When our Lord Jesus ascended on high he gave gifts unto men, not only apostles and evangelists, but prophets, who were enabled by the Spirit to foresee and foretel things to come, which not only served for a confirmation of the truth of Christianity (for all that these prophets foretold came to pass, which proved that they were sent of God, Deut. 18:22; Jer. 28:9), but was also of great use to the church, and served very much for its guidance. Now here we have, I. A visit which some of these... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 11:27-30

11:27-30 In these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them called Agabus stood up and, through the Holy Spirit, gave a sign that a great famine was to come upon the whole land. This happened in the reign of Claudius. But each of the disciples, in proportion to his resources, fixed upon an amount for a relief fund to send to the brethren who lived in Judaea. This they did and despatched it to the elders through the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Here the prophets come... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 11:28

And there stood up one of them named Agabus ,.... The same name with Hagaba in Nehemiah 7:48 and with Hagabah, or Hagab in Ezra 2:45 and which the Septuagint there call Agaba and Agab. The name signifies a "grasshopper", Leviticus 11:22 or "a locust", 2 Chronicles 7:13 . In a book that goes under the name of Jerom F18 De nominibus Hebraicis, fol. 101. H. , it is interpreted, "a messenger of tribulation"; respecting, it may be, not the true signification of the word, as the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 11:29

Then the disciples ,.... That were at Antioch, every man according to his ability ; whether rich or poor, master or servant, everyone according to the substance he was possessed of; whether more or less, which was a good rule to go by: determined to send relief to the brethren which dwelt in Judea ; either because that Agabus might have suggested, that the famine would be the severest in those parts; or because that the Christians there had parted with their substance already, in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 11:28

Agabus - This prophet, of whom we know nothing, is once more mentioned, Acts 21:10 . He was probably a Jew, but whether converted now to Christianity we cannot tell. Great dearth throughout all the world - The words εφ ' ὁλην την οικουμενην probably here mean the land of Judea; though sometimes by this phrase the whole Roman empire is intended. In the former sense the disciples appear to have understood it, as the next verse informs us; for they determined to send relief to their... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 11:29

Then the disciples - determined to send relief - These were probably Gentile converts; and as they considered themselves receiving the spiritual blessings, which they now so happily enjoyed, through the means of the Christians in Judea, they resolved to communicate to them a portion of their temporal goods; and every man did this according to his ability, i.e. he gave a certain proportion of the property with which the providence of God had entrusted him. The community of goods had for some... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 11:28

Verse 28 28.He signified by the Spirit. Luke doth plainly express that the Spirit of God was the author of this prophecy, that we may know that it was not a conjecture taken by the stars, or some other natural causes; again, that Agabus did not play the philosopher after the manner of men, but he uttered that which God had appointed by the secret inspiration of the Spirit. Barrenness may indeed be sometimes foretold by the disposition of the stars, but there is no certainty in such... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 11:29

Verse 29 29.But here ariseth a question, seeing that the misery was common to all, why ought they rather to have succored one people than all the rest? I answer, that forasmuch as Judea was impoverished with great destructions of wars and other miseries, the men of Antioch were not without cause more moved with the miseries of the brethren which were there; secondly, the greater the rage of the enemies was, the more wretched was the estate of the brethren. Finally, Paul doth sufficiently... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 11:1-28

The mystery. The beginning and the close of this chapter refer to events of precisely similar character, which took place almost simultaneously, at all events without any concert or communication, in Palestine and in Syria; the reception of the Word of God by Gentiles, and their admission into the Church of God. It is difficult for us, after the lapse of eighteen centuries and a half, during which this has been the rule of the kingdom of heaven, to realize the startling strangeness of such... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 11:27-30

God's bounty and our well-being. The reference, in these verses, to "a great dearth throughout all the world" ( Acts 11:28 ), and to the sending of relief by the disciples, according to their several ability, to the brethren in Judaea ( Acts 11:29 ), may suggest to us thoughts concerning the provision which God has made for us in his Divine goodness and also in his Divine wisdom. We look at— I. HIS PROVISION FOR OUR TEMPORAL WELL - BEING . The great multitudes of... read more

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