Expositions of Holy Scripture: the Acts

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EXPOSITIONS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE

ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D., Litt. D.


THE ACTS



EXPOSITIONS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE

ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D., Litt. D.


THE ACTS

_Chaps. I to XII_ VERSE 17.



CONTENTS

THE ASCENSION (Acts i. 1-14)

THE THEME OF ACTS (Acts i. 1, 2; xxviii. 30, 31)

THE FORTY DAYS (Acts i. 3)

THE UNKNOWN TO-MORROW (Acts i. 7)

THE APOSTOLIC WITNESSES (Acts i. 21, 22)

THE ABIDING GIFT AND ITS TRANSITORY ACCOMPANIMENTS (Acts ii. 1-13)

THE FOURFOLD SYMBOLS OF THE SPIRIT (Acts ii. 2, 3, 17; 1 John ii. 20)

PETER'S FIRST SERMON (Acts ii. 32-47)

THE NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME (Acts ii. 36)

A FOURFOLD CORD (Acts ii. 42)

A PURE CHURCH AN INCREASING CHURCH (Acts ii. 47)

'THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP AS AN HART' (Acts iii. 1-16)

'THE PRINCE OF LIFE' (Acts iii. 14, 15)

THE HEALING POWER OF THE NAME (Acts iii. 16)

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD (Acts iii. 26)

THE FIRST BLAST OF TEMPEST (Acts iv. 1-14)

WITH AND LIKE CHRIST (Acts iv. 13)

OBEDIENT DISOBEDIENCE (Acts iv. 19-31)

IMPOSSIBLE SILENCE (Acts iv. 20)

THE SERVANT AND THE SLAVES (Acts iv. 25, 27, 29)

THE WHEAT AND THE TARES (Acts iv. 32; v. 11)

WHOM TO OBEY,--ANNAS OR ANGEL? (Acts v. 17-32)

OUR CAPTAIN (Acts v. 31)

GAMALIEL'S COUNSEL (Acts v. 38, 39)

FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT (Acts vi. 3, 5, 8)

STEPHEN'S VISION (Acts vii. 56)

THE YOUNG SAUL AND THE AGED PAUL (Acts vii. 58; Philemon 9)

THE DEATH OF THE MASTER AND THE DEATH OF THE SERVANT (Acts vii. 59, 60)

SEED SCATTERED AND TAKING ROOT (Acts viii. 1-17)

SIMON THE SORCERER (Acts viii. 21)

A MEETING IN THE DESERT (Acts viii. 26-40)

PHILIP THE EVANGELIST (Acts viii. 40)

GRACE TRIUMPHANT (Acts ix. 1-12; 17-20)

'THIS WAY' (Acts ix. 2)

A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE EARLY CHURCH (Acts ix. 31)

COPIES OF CHRIST'S MANNER (Acts ix. 34, 40)

WHAT GOD HATH CLEANSED (Acts x. 1-20)

'GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS' (Acts x. 30-44)

PETER'S APOLOGIA (Acts xi. 1-18)

THE FIRST PREACHING AT ANTIOCH (Acts xi. 20, 21)

THE EXHORTATION OF BARNABAS (Acts xi. 23)

WHAT A GOOD MAN IS, AND HOW HE BECOMES SO (Acts xi. 24)

A NICKNAME ACCEPTED (Acts xi. 26)

THE MARTYRDOM OF JAMES (Acts xii. 2)

PETER'S DELIVERANCE FROM PRISON (Acts xii. 5, R.V.)

THE ANGEL'S TOUCH (Acts xii. 7, 23)

'SOBER CERTAINTY' (Acts xii. 11)

RHODA (Acts xii. 13)

PETER AFTER HIS ESCAPE (Acts xii. 17)



THE ASCENSION

'The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach, 2. Until the day in which He was taken up, after
that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles
whom He had chosen: 3. To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His
passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4. And, being
assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
saith He, ye have heard of Me. 5. For John truly baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying,
Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7.
And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. 8. But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9. And when He had
spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud
received Him out of their sight. 10. And while they looked stedfastly
toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white
apparel; 11. Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. 12.
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which
is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. 13. And when they were come
in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James,
and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of
James. 14. These all continued with one accord in prayer and
supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with
His brethren.'--ACTS i. 1-14.

The Ascension is twice narrated by Luke. The life begun by the
supernatural birth ends with the supernatural Ascension, which sets the
seal of Heaven on Christ's claims and work. Therefore the Gospel ends
with it. But it is also the starting-point of the Christ's heavenly
activity, of which the growth of His Church, as recorded in the Acts,
is the issue.