of old, hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath " (xv. 21).

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JOSHUA: Stephen mentions him as leading the people into the promised land. He is called Jesus in the A.V. (vii. 45).

PHARAOH. The Pharaoh who promoted Joseph is mentioned by Stephen (vii. 10, 13). He also mentions the Pharaoh of the Exodus (21).

SAMUEL: Peter mentions him as the first of the prophets who bore witness to Christ (iii. 24).

† Paul says at Pisidian Antioch that God "gave them judges until Samuel the prophet" (xiii. 20).

† SAUL: King of Israel, mentioned by Paul in his speech in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (xiii. 21). SOLOMON: Stephen mentions that Solomon built the temple for God, but that “the most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands" (vii. 47-48).

(ii) Persons connected with the History of the Church. ENEAS: Healed of the palsy by Peter at Lydda (ix. 33-35).

AGABUS: A prophet of Jerusalem, who went to Antioch. He foretold the famine in the days of the Emperor Claudius (xi. 28). †In c. xxi. 10 he was at Cæsarea, and foretold Paul's imprisonment in Jerusalem by binding his own hands and feet with Paul's girdle.

ANANIAS OF JERUSALEM : The man who, with his wife Sapphira, sold their land for the benefit of the church; but lied about the price, and fell dead at St. Peter's feet (v. 1).

ANANIAS OF DAMASCUS: A Disciple who baptized Paul, after being sent to him by God (ix. 10 ff.). + BAR-JESUS=ELYMAS: A Jew of Cyprus, a sorcerer; smitten with blindness by Paul for trying to turn the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, from the faith (xiii. 7 ff.).

BARSABAS: Joseph Barsabas, surnamed Justus. One of the two chosen by the Disciples, but not elected to the Apostleship in the place of Judas (1. 23).

† BARSABAS: Judas Barsabas, sent by the council of Jerusalem to carry the decision to the church at Antioch (xv. 22, 33).

BLASTUS: Chamberlain to Herod Agrippa I.; friend to the people of Tyre (xii. 20).

a

CORNELIUS: The first Gentile convert admitted into the church without being circumcised (x.).

JAMES, THE LORD'S BROTHER: Peter sent a message to him when he had escaped from prison (xii. 17). † James also presided at the council at Jerusalem, and summed up the discussion (xv. 13 ff.). JOHN THE BAPTIST :

(i.) Our Lord reminds the Disciples of the difference

between his baptism and John's; "John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence (i. 5).

(ii.) St. Peter refers to his work in his speech in the house of Cornelius (x. 37); and recalls the words of Jesus when telling the Disciples at Jerusalem about Cornelius (xi. 16).

† (iii.) St. Paul refers to the Baptist's work in his sermon in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, especially to his witness to Jesus (xiii. 24-25).

JOHN MARK :

(i.) His home was at Jerusalem (xii. 12).

(ii.) His cousin Barnabas, and Paul took him back with them to Antioch when they visited Jerusalem to take money from the Christians of Antioch (xii. 25).

† (iii.) He went with them on their first missionary journey to act as their "attendant"; but left them at Perga, and returned to Jerusalem (xiii. 4, 13).

† (iv.) He was the cause of the separation of Paul and Barnabas, and Barnabas took him to Cyprus with him (xv. 37-39).

JUDAS ISCARIOT: His death is described in c. i. ; and the filling up of his place.

JUDAS OF DAMASCUS: The man at whose house Saul stayed in the street called Straight (ix. 11).

† LUCIUS OF CYRENE : One of the teachers in the church at Antioch (xiii. 1).

† MANAEN: Called the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch," and one of the teachers at Antioch (xiii. 1).

† SILAS: Chosen with Justus to take the letter from the council to Antioch; afterwards St. Paul's travelling companion on the second missionary journey (xv. 22 ff.). He was imprisoned at Philippi with Paul (xvi. 19 ff.).

SIMON, THE TANNER: A man of Joppa, at whose house Peter was staying when he had the vision of the clean and unclean animals (ix. 43 ff.).

SIMON MAGUS : A sorcerer of Samaria, much thought of by the people of Samaria, who said of him : "This man is that power of God which is called great. He was baptized by Philip; but when he tried to buy the power of giving the Holy Ghost with money, Peter told him he had neither part nor lot in the matter, for his heart was not right before God (viii. 9–13, 18–24). † SYMEON: Called Niger, one of the teachers at Antioch (xiii. 1).

† TIMOTHY OF DERBE: St. Paul's companion on the second missionary journey; Paul circumcised him so as not to offend the Jews, because though his father was a Greek yet his mother was a Jewess (xvi. I-3).

(iii.) Jewish Rulers.

SADDUCEES: Annas is described as high priest in the first part of the Acts; and Caiaphas, John, and

Alexander are mentioned as associated with him in opposing the work of the Apostles (iv. 6).

PHARISEES: Only one is mentioned by name in these chapters, Gamaliel, "a doctor of the law, had in honour of all the people" (v. 33-39). Later on we learn that Paul was one of his pupils (xxii. 3).

(iv.) Men connected with Jewish History.

THEUDAS and JUDAS of GALILEE. These two men are mentioned by Gamaliel as popular leaders whose work, being "of men," had been overthrown.

Theudas is described as giving himself out to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nought (v. 36).

Judas of Galilee was a man who "in the days of the enrolment . . . drew away some of the people after him he also perished; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad " (v. 37).

For the fuller history of these men see the Larger Manual.

(v.) Roman Emperors and Officials.

CLAUDIUS, the Emperor, is mentioned in xi. 28. In his reign the great famine occurred.

PONTIUS PILATE, procurator of Judæa (A.D. 26–36), is mentioned three times as having put the Lord to death although against his will (iii. 13; iv. 27; xiii. 28).

† SERGIUS PAULUS, the proconsul, of Cyprus. He gave to Paul and Barnabas an official hearing, and a Jew, described as a sorcerer, named Bar-Jesus, tried to prevent the proconsul from hearing them.

(For other offices see p. viii).

(vi.) Women.

CANDACE : Queen of Ethiopia, mentioned in connection with the eunuch (viii. 27).

† LYDIA: A seller of purple at Philippi, converted by Paul (xvi. 14, 40).

MARY, the mother of the Lord: Mentioned as with the Eleven in Jerusalem after the Ascension (i. 14).

MARY, the mother of John Mark: Peter goes to her house after his escape from prison (xii. 12 ff.).

RHODA: The servant of Mary, the mother of Mark; she let Peter in (xii. 13).

SAPPHIRA: Fell dead after lying to Peter about the price of the land she and her husband had sold (v. 1–10). TABITHA = DORCAS: Raised from the dead by

Peter, at Joppa (ix. 36-41).

(vii.) The Herods.

HEROD ANTIPAS, who tried our Lord: Mentioned in iv. 27 in an allusion to the trial. Luke alone in his Gospel tells us of this part of Jesus' trial. See Luke xxiii. 7-11.

Manaen, one of the teachers in the church at Antioch, is called his foster-brother (xiii. 1).

HEROD THE KING: This man was the son of Aristobulus, and therefore grandson of Mariamne (the Asmonean). He reigned at first over the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias; afterwards he received the tetrarchy of Antipas, and finally Judæa and Samaria. Thus from 41-44 he ruled over the whole of Palestine. He slew James, the brother of John, and put Peter in prison. He himself died of a terrible disease soon after his speech to the people of Tyre, who said he was a god (xii.).

To the Jews.

THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES.

In the first twelve chapters the teaching is given almost entirely to Jews. The one exception is Cornelius; and he is a man who has already believed in the God of Israel.

The term used for the teaching in the Acts is "the Word" (iv. 4; vi. 4; viii. 4; x. 44; xi. 19; xiv. 25; xvi. 6; xvii. 11), or the "Word of God." This word means the teaching they gave about Jesus. There was no need to teach the Jews about the unity of God, as we shall see Paul has to teach the Lystrians and the men of Athens; the Jews had their Old Testament, and learnt it. The message which the Apostles had for the Jew was that Jesus was the Messiah, whom the prophets had foretold in the Old Testament; thus their "Word " was the word about Jesus. In c. i.-xii. there are five speeches given, they are all about Jesus being the Messiah. They are St. Peter's speech on the Day of Pentecost (c. ii.); his speech in Solomon's Porch after healing the lame man (c. iii.); his speech to Cornelius (c. x.); St. Stephen's speech (c. vii.); and Philip's speech to the Ethiopian eunuch (c. viii.).

JESUS, THE MESSIAH, CRUCIFIED.

The Jews had long looked for their Messiah, but they had not recognised him in Jesus, whom they had crucified; and it made it the more difficult to convince them, because they had rejected him.

The Apostles teach that the death of Jesus was foretold by the prophets, as Philip did to the eunuch, who was reading Isa. liii.: Jesus was the one who was led as a sheep to the slaughter (viii. 32-35). They

tell the Jews that this was part of God's plan for saving the world (ii. 23; iii. 18; iv. 28; xiii. 27). The Jew believed that God was the Sovereign Lord of the world, and that nothing could happen in it unless He permitted it.

But although God permitted His Son to be crucified, yet the rulers had done it in ignorance, not believing Jesus was the Messiah (iii. 17; xiii. 27).

JESUS THE MESSIAH RAISED AND GLORIFIED. But how did the Apostles know that Jesus was the true Messiah? Because God had raised Him from the tomb, and they had seen Him ascend to heaven. "This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses " (ii. 32; iii. 15; iv. 10). He had been exalted by God to his right hand, and received the gift of the Holy Spirit to give to men (ii. 33).

JESUS, THE MESSIAH, WOULD RETURN.

Peter tells the people in Solomon's Porch that God will send "the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things" (iii. 21).

JESUS THE OLD TESTAMENT MESSIAH.

means

It was the prophets of the Old Testament who taught the Jews to expect a Messiah. The word "anointed : " kings, prophets, and priests were anointed in the Old Testament; but God had promised them a greater king than David to sit on the throne of Israel (ii. 30); a prophet like unto Moses, whom they should obey (iii. 22), and he would be the Anointed."

His titles in the Old Testament are very many, and nearly all of these are used of Jesus by the Apostles in their teaching :

In c. ii.-Peter calls him The Christ ; Lord and Christ."

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c. iii.-Peter here calls him "His Servant"; The Holy and Righteous One"; The Prince of Life." Peter calls him The Stone."

c. iv.
c. iv. 27. The disciples call him Thy Holy Servant,

Jesus."

"

c. v. Peter tells the rulers that God has exalted Jesus to his right hand to be A Prince and a Saviour." c. vii.-Stephen uses the title, The Righteous One," and The Son of Man."

Their favourite phrase is "Jesus Christ," which really is Jesus, Messiah; the word "Christ" is the Greek for the Hebrew

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Messiah."

Thus they show that Jesus is the Prophet foretold by