Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ

by David Francis Bacon

This wonderful event took place in the chamber of the temple, which they had used as a place of worship ever since their Lord’s departure. As the whole temple was now constantly thronged with worshipers, who were making their offerings on this great feast day, this room in which the followers of Jesus were devoutly employed, must, as well as all the others, have been visited by new comers: for the mere prior occupation of the room by the disciples, could not entitle them to exclude from a public place of that kind any person who might choose to enter. The multitude of devotees who filled all parts of the temple, soon heard of what was going on in this apartment, and came together to see and hear for themselves. When the inquiring crowds reached the spot, they found the followers of Christ breaking out in loud expressions of praise to God, and of exhortation, each in such a language as best suited his powers of expression, not confining themselves to the Hebrew, which in all places of public worship, and especially in Jerusalem on the great festivals, was the only language of devotion. Among the crowds that thronged to the place of this strange occurrence, were Jews from many distant regions, whose language or dialects were as widely various as the national names which they bore. Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites,——those who dwelt in Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and Africa, and some even from distant Rome, were all among those who heard the spirit-moving language of the disciples. Some of the more scrupulous among these foreign Jews, were probably, notwithstanding their amazement, somewhat offended at this profanation of worship, in the public use of these heathen languages for the purposes of devotion; and with a mixture of wonder and displeasure they asked, “Are not all these men who are talking in these various languages, Galileans? How then are they able to show such an immense diversity of expression, so that all of us, even those from the most distant countries, hear them in our various languages, setting forth the praises of God?” And they were all surprised and perplexed, and said one to another, “What will this come to?” But to some who were present, the whole proceeding was so little impressive, and had so little appearance of anything miraculous, that they were moved only to expressions of contempt, and said, in a tone of ridicule, “These men are drunk on sweet wine.” This seems to show that to them there was no conclusive evidence of Divine agency in this speaking in various languages; and they, no doubt, supposed that among these Galileans were foreigners also from many other parts of the world, who, mingling with Christ’s disciples, had joined in their devotions, and caught their enthusiasm. Seeing this assembly thus made up, now occupied in speaking violently and confusedly in these various languages, they at once concluded that they were under the influence of some artificial exhilarant, and supposed that during this great festal occasion they had been betrayed into some unseasonable jollity, and were now under the excitement of hard drinking. Such as took this cool view of the matter, therefore, immediately explained the whole by charging the excited speakers with drunkenness. But Peter, on hearing this scandalous charge, rose up, as the leader and defender of these objects of public notice, and repelled the contemptuous suggestion that he and his companions had been abusing the occasion of rational religious enjoyment, to the purposes of intemperate and riotous merriment. Calling on all present for their attention, both foreign Jews and those settled in Jerusalem, he told them that the violent emotions which had excited their surprise could not be caused by wine, as it was then but nine o’clock in the morning, and as they well knew, it was contrary to all common habits of life to suppose that before that early hour, these men could have been exposed to any such temptation. They knew that the universal fashion of the devout Jews was to take no food whatever on the great days of public worship, until after their return from morning prayers in the temple. How then could these men, thus devoutly occupied since rising, have found opportunity to indulge in intoxicating drinks?

Peter then proceeded to refer them for a more just explanation of this strange occurrence, to the long recorded testimonies of the ancient prophets, which most distinctly announced such powerful displays of religious zeal and knowledge, as about to happen in those later days, of which the present moment seemed the beginning. He quoted to them a passage from Joel, which pointedly set forth these and many other wonders with the distinctness of reality, and showed them how all these striking words were connected with the fate of that Jesus whom they had so lately sacrificed. He now, for the first time, publicly declared to them, that this Jesus, whom they had vainly subjected to a disgraceful death, had by the power of God been raised from the grave to a glorious and immortal life. Of this fact he assured them that all the disciples were the witnesses, having seen him with their own eyes after his return to life. He now showed them in what manner the resurrection of Jesus might be explained and illustrated by the words of David, and how the psalm itself might be made to appear in a new light, by interpreting it in accordance with these recent events. He concluded this high-toned and forcible appeal to scripture and to fact, by calling them imperatively to learn and believe. “Let all the house of Israel know, then, that God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” This declaration, thus solemnly made and powerfully supported, in connection with the surprising circumstances which had just occurred, had a most striking and convincing effect on the hearers, and almost the whole multitude giving way to their feelings of awe and compunction, being stung with the remembrance of the share they had had in the murder of Jesus, cried out, as with one voice, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter’s instant reply was, “Change your mind, and be each one of you baptized to the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That same divine influence, whose in-workings had just been so wonderfully displayed before their eyes, was now promised to them, as the seal of Christ’s acceptance of the offer of themselves in the preliminary sign of baptism. To them and to their children, upon whom, fifty days before, they had solemnly invoked the curse of the murdered Redeemer’s blood, was this benignant promise of pardoning love now made; and not only to them, but to all, however far off in place or in feeling, whom their common Lord and God should call to him. Inspired with the glorious prospect of success now opening to him, and moved to new earnestness by their devout and alarmed attention, Peter zealously went on, and spoke to them many other words, of which the sacred historian has given us only the brief but powerful concluding exhortation,——“Suffer yourselves to be saved from this perverse generation,”——from those who had involved themselves and their race in the evils resulting to them from their wicked rejection of the truth offered by Jesus. The whole Jewish nation stood at that time charged with the guilt of rejecting the Messiah; nor could any individual be cleared from his share of responsibility for the crime, except by coming out and distinctly professing his faith in Christ.

THE CHURCH’S INCREASE.

The success which followed Peter’s first effort in preaching the gospel of his murdered and risen Lord, was most cheering. Those who heard him on this occasion, gladly receiving his words, were baptized, and on that same day converts to the number of three thousand were added to the disciples. How must these glorious results, and all the events of the day, have lifted up the hearts of the apostles, and moved them to new and still bolder efforts in their great cause! They now knew and felt the true force of their Master’s promise, that they should “be indued with power from on high;” for what less than such power could in one day have wrought such a change in the hearts of the haughty Jews, as to make them submissive hearers of the followers of the lately crucified Nazarene, and bring over such immense numbers of converts to the new faith, as to swell the small and feeble band of disciples to more than twenty times its former size? Nor did the impression made on this multitude prove to be a mere transient excitement; for we are assured that “they held steadily to the doctrine taught by the apostles, and kept company with them in all their daily religious duties and social enjoyments.” So permanent and complete was this change, as to cause universal astonishment among those who had not been made the subjects of it; and the number of those who heard the amazing story, must have been so much the greater at that time, as there was then at Jerusalem so large an assemblage of Jews from almost every part of the civilized world. On this account, it seems to have been most wisely ordered that this first public preaching of the Christian faith, and this great manifestation of its power over the hearts of men, should take place on this festal occasion, when its influence might at once more widely and quickly spread than by any other human means. The foreign Jews then at Jerusalem, being witnesses of these wonderful things, would not fail, on their return home, to give the whole affair a prominent place in their account of their pilgrimage, when they recounted their various adventures and observations to their inquiring friends. Among these visitors, too, were probably some who were themselves on this occasion converted to the new faith, and each one of these would be a sort of missionary, preaching Christ crucified to his countrymen in his distant home, and telling them of a way to God, which their fathers had not known. The many miracles wrought by the apostles, as signs of their authority, served to swell the fame of the Christian cause, and added new incidents to the fast-traveling and far-spreading story, which, wherever it went, prepared the people to hear the apostles with interest and respect, when, in obedience to their Lord’s last charge, they should go forth to distant lands, preaching the gospel.

PETER’S PROMINENCE.

This vast addition to the assembly of the disciples at Jerusalem, made it necessary for the apostles to complete some farther arrangements, to suit their enlarged circumstances; and at this period the first church of Christ in the world seems to have so far perfected its organization as to answer very nearly to the modern idea of a permanent religious community. The church of Jerusalem was an individual worshiping assembly, that at this time met daily for prayer and exhortation, with twelve ministers who officiated as occasion needed, without any order of service, as far as we know, except such as depended on their individual weight of character, their natural abilities or their knowledge of the doctrines of their Lord. Among these, the three most favored by Christ’s private instructions would have a natural pre-eminence, and above all, he who had been especially named as the rock on which the church should be built, and as the keeper of the keys of the kingdom, and had been solemnly and repeatedly commissioned as the pastor and leader of the flock, would now maintain an undisputed pre-eminence, unless he should by some actual misconduct prove himself unworthy of the rank. Such a pre-eminence it is unquestionable that Peter always did maintain among the apostles; and so decidedly too, that on every occasion when any thing was to be said or done by them as a body, Peter invariably stands out alone, as the undisputed representative and head of the whole community. Indeed the whole history of the apostles, after the ascension, gives but a single instance in which the words of any one of the twelve besides Peter are recorded, or where any one of them, except in that single case, is named as having said any thing whatever. On every occasion of this sort, the matters referred to were no more the concern of Peter than of any other of the twelve, yet they all seem to have been perfectly satisfied with quietly giving up the expression of their views to him. One instance, indeed, occurs, in which some persons attempted to blame his conduct when on a private mission, but even then his explanation of his behavior hushed all complaint. Often, when he was publicly engaged in the company of John, the most beloved of Jesus, and his faithful witness, it would seem that if there was any assumption by Peter of more than due importance, this distinguished son of Zebedee or his equally honored brother would have taken such a share in speaking and doing, as would have secured them an equal prominence. But no such low jealousies ever appear to have arisen among the apostles; not one seems to have had a thought about making himself an object of public notice, but their common and unanimous care was to advance their great Master’s cause, without reference to individual distinctions. Peter’s natural force of character and high place in his Master’s confidence, justified the ascendency which he on all public occasions claimed as his indisputable right, in which the rest acquiesced without a murmur.

THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY.

In the constitution of the first church of Christ, there seems to have been no other noticeable peculiarity, than the number of its ministers, and even this in reality amounted to nothing; for the decided pre-eminence and superior qualifications of Peter were such as, in effect, to make him the sole pastor and preacher for a long time, while the other apostles do not seem to have performed any duty much higher than that of mere assistants to him, or exhorters, and perhaps teachers. Still, not a day could pass when every one of them would not be required to labor in some way for the gospel; and indeed the sacred historian uniformly speaks of them in the plural number, as laboring together and alike in the common cause. Thus they went on quietly and humbly laboring, with a pure zeal which was as indifferent to fame and earthly honor, as to the acquisition or preservation of earthly wealth. They are said to have held all things common, which is to be understood, however, not as implying literally that the rich renounced all individual right to what they owned, but that they stood ready to provide for the needy to the full extent of their property, and in that sense, all these pecuniary resources were made as common as if they were formally thrown into one public stock, out of which every man drew as suited his own needs. To an ordinary reader, this passage, taken by itself, might seem to convey fully the latter meaning; but a reference to other passages, and to the whole history of the primitive Christians, shows clearly, that a real and literal community of goods was totally unknown to them, but that in the bold and free language of the age and country, they are said to have “had all things in common,” just as among us, a man may say to his friend, “My house is yours;——consider every thing I have as your own property;” and yet no one would ever construe this into a surrender of his individual rights of possession. So the wealthy converts to the Christian faith sold their estates and goods, as occasion required, for the sake of having ready money to relieve the wants of those who had no means of support. Thus provided for, the apostles steadily pursued their great work, passing the greater part of every day in the temple; but taking their food at home, they ate what was so freely and generously provided, with thankful and unanxious hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. In these happy and useful employments they continued, every day finding new sources of enjoyment and new encouragement, in the accession of redeemed ones to their blessed community.

Taking their food at home.——This is my interpretation of κλωντες κατ’ οἶκον αρτον, (klontes kat’ oikon arton.) Acts ii. 46, commonly translated “breaking bread from house to house,” a version which is still supported by many names of high authority; but the attendant circumstances here seem to justify this variation from them. A reference to the passage will show that the historian is speaking of their regular unanimous attendance in the temple, and says, “they attended every day with one accord in the temple,” that is, during the regular hours of daily worship, but as they would not suffer untimely devotion to interfere with their reasonable conveniences, he adds, “they broke bread,” (a Hebraistic form of expression for simply “taking food,”) “at home, and partook of their food in humility and thankfulness.” This seems to me, to require a sort of opposition in sense between ἱερον, (hieron,) “temple,” and οικος, (oikos,) “house” or “home,” for it seems as if the writer of the Acts wished in these few words, to give a complete account of the manner in which they occupied themselves, devoting all their time to public devotion in the temple except that, as was most seemly, they returned to their houses to take their [♦]necessary food, which they did humbly and joyfully. But the distributive force which some wish to put upon κατ’ οἶκον, by translating it “from house to house,” is one which does not seem to be required at all by any thing in the connection, and one which needs a vast deal of speculation and explanation to make it appear why they should go “from house to house,” about so simple a matter of fact as that of eating their victuals, which every man could certainly do to best advantage at one steady boarding-place. That the expression, κατ’ οἶκον, most commonly means “at home,” is abundantly proved by standard common Greek usage, as shown in the best Lexicons. But κατα, in connexion with a singular noun, has the distributive force only when the noun itself is of such a character and connection in the sentence as to require this meaning. Thus κατα μηνα, would hardly ever be suspected of any other meaning than “monthly,” or “every month,” or “from month to month;”——so κατα πολεις means “from city to city,” but the singular κατα πολιν, almost uniformly means “in a city,” without any distributive application, except where the other words in the sentence imply this idea. (Acts xv. 21: xx. 23.) But here the simple common meaning of the preposition κατα, when governing the accusative, (that is, the meaning of “at” or “in” a place,) is not merely allowed, but required by the other words in the connection, in order to give a meaning which requires no other explanation, and which corresponds to the word “temple” in the other clause; for the whole account seems to require an opposition in these words, as describing the two places where the disciples passed their time.

[♦] “neeessary” replaced with “necessary”