Here is one of the splendid instances of that great cumnlus of evidence upon which the certitude of the Christian Faith rests.
They command the two Apostles to go aside out of the council, and then they confer among themselves, saying: “What shall we do with these men? For that indeed a notable miracle hath been wrought through them, is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem and we cannot deny it”. And in no other is there salvation: For neither is there any other name under Heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” The members of the council were brought face to face with the most positive evidence of the truth of the Christian religion. He is the stone which was set at naught by you the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And when they had set Peter and John in the midst they inquired: “By what power, or in what name have ye done this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, answering gave utterance to one of the most sublime professions of the Christian faith ever made by man: “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in this name doth this man stand here before you whole. And they laid hands on them, and put them in prison unto the morrow.” On the morrow Peter and John are summoned before rulers, elders, and scribes, among whom were present Annas, the High- Priest, Caiphas, and as many as were of the kindred of the High Priest. But now “the priests, and the prefect of the Temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being sorely troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. “And many of them that heard the word believed”, and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. Peter again preaches Jesus Christ, asserting that by faith in the name of Jesus the lame man had been made strong. The people are filled with wonder and amazement at the miracle and run together unto Peter and John in the portico that was called Solomon‘s. “And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved.” Peter and John heal a man, lame from his mother’s womb, at the door of the Temple which is called Beautiful. This was the beginning of the Judaeo- Christian Church. By that great discourse many were converted to the religion of Christ and were baptized, “and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls”. Peter explains the great miracle, proving that it is the power of Jesus Christ that is operating. On Pentecost the Holy Ghost descends on the Apostles, and confers on them the gift of tongues. Peter advises that a successor be chosen in the place of Judas Iscariot, and Matthias is chosen by lot. The promise of the Holy Ghost and the Ascension of Christ are then briefly recorded. It opens with a brief notice of the forty days succeeding the Resurrection of Christ, during which He appeared to the Apostles, “speaking the things concerning the Kingdom of God“.
In fact, the name, Acts of the Apostles, does not precisely convey the idea of the contents of the book and such a title would scarcely be given to the work by the author himself.ĬONTENT.-The book does not contain the Acts of all the Apostles, neither does it contain all the acts of any Apostle. It seems far more probable, however, that the name was subsequently attached to the book just as the headings of the several Gospels were affixed to them.
This is the opinion of Comely in his “Introduction to the Books of the New Testament” (second edition, page 315).
Some have thought that the title of the book was affixed by the author himself. Acts of the Apostles.-NAME.-In the accepted order of the books of the New Testament the fifth book is called The Acts of the Apostles ( Prakseis ‘Apostolon).
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