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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Acts 1:15-26

The sin of Judas was not only his shame and ruin, but it made a vacancy in the college of the apostles. They were ordained twelve, with an eye to the twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve patriarchs; they were the twelve stars that make up the church's crown (Rev. 12:1), and for them twelve thrones were designated, Matt. 19:28. Now being twelve when they were learners, if they were but eleven when they were to be teachers, it would occasion every one to enquire what had become of... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Acts 1:21-26

1:21-26 "So then, of the men who were with us during all the time our Lord went in and out amongst us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us--of these we must choose one to be a witness of the resurrection along with us." So they selected two, Joseph, who was called Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "O Lord. who knowest the hearts of all, do thou show us which of these two thou hast chosen to take his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 1:25

That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship ,.... Of the ministry of the apostles, or of the apostolical ministration; which lay in preaching the Gospel, administering ordinances, planting churches, and working miracles; and which part, lot, or inheritance, Judas had; see Acts 1:17 . And from which Judas by transgression fell ; by betraying his Lord, whose apostle he was, he was turned out of his office, and had no longer part in the apostolical ministry: that he might go... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 1:25

That he may take part of this ministry, etc. - Instead of τον κληρον , the lot, which we translate part, τον τοπον , the place, is the reading of ABC*, Coptic, Vulgate, and the Itala in the Codex Bezae, and from them the verse may be read thus, That he may take the place of this ministry and apostleship, (from which Judas fell) and go to his own place; but instead of ιδιον , own, the Codex Alexandrinus, and one of Matthai's MSS., read δικαιον , just - that he might go to his just or... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 1:25

Verse 25 25.(75) Of the ministry and apostleship. Because the word ministry was base, he addeth apostleship, wherein there is greater dignity; although the sense shall be more plain if you expound it, “the ministry of the apostleship.” For the figure hypallage is common in the Scriptures. Assuredly Luke meant to join with the burden the excellency of the office, that it might have the greater reverence and authority; and yet this was his intent also, to declare that the apostles are called unto... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:12-26

The interval between the Ascension and Pentecost. I. THE SCENE IN THE UPPER ROOM . Obedient to the Lord's command, the disciples return to Jerusalem. A certain upper chamber, probably in a private dwelling, became the first Christian Church. Epiphanius says that when Hadrian came to Jerusalem, he found the temple desolate and but few houses standing. This "little church of God," however, remained; and Nicephorus says that the Empress Helena enclosed it in her larger church.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:15-26

The rewards of iniquity. The physical laws by which the material world is governed are not more fixed and certain than the moral laws which secure to iniquity its just reward. Nor has the patient and honest inquirer more difficulty in ascertaining those laws than the physicist has in ascertaining the laws of nature by observation and experiment. Neither is it peculiar to Holy Scripture to set forth the sequences of cause and effect which occur under those moral laws; the history of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:15-26

The path of sin and the way of the righteous. The passage treats of the miserable end of the traitor apostle and of the elevation of Matthias to the office from which "Judas by transgression fell." We are reminded of— I. THE PATH OF SIN . ( Acts 1:16-20 .) This is a gradual descent. "No one ever became most vile all at once," wrote the Roman; and he was right. Some men descend much more rapidly than others the path of folly and of sin, but no one leaps at once from the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:15-26

The Church's first corporate action. I. A GLIMPSE INTO PRIMITIVE CHURCH LIFE , showing: 1. Its purity and simplicity. No pomp, no complicated organization, appeal to the body of the Church. 2. Its separation from the world. " The names " were recorded in some way, and numbered; probably a written record kept from this time in the upper room. They were all regarded as "brethren." 3. Its reverence for Scripture. The quotation of the Apostle Peter is not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 1:16-25

Judas, his opportunity and his treatment of it. "Concerning Judas, which was guide … might go to his own place." The treason of Judas is related by every one of the evangelists; but his subsequent history no one of them as such even alludes to, except St. Matthew. The Evangelist St. Luke, however, here gives it, in his capacity of historian of the" Acts of the Apostles. " What he reports St. Peter as saying is not in verbal harmony with what St. Matthew says. But there is not the... read more

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