These words are intended to show, that he deserved the evils which befel him, which are mentioned in the twentieth verse. Forasmuch as he was as regularly chosen to the office of an apostle, as the rest, his guilt in betraying his Master and deserting his post, was the more aggravated. 18. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and, falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem, insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, "in their own dialect," Aceldama, that is to say, the field of blood. It is evident that what these verses contain, could not be the words of Peter, although they are introduced into his discourse. For Peter could have no inducement to mention the circumstances which attended the death of Judas to the apostles and other disciples, who were as well acquainted with them as himself; the transactions having taken place but a few days before, and in the city of Jerusalem where they now were. Much less can it be supposed, that Peter would inform his countrymen, that in their proper dialect, the field in which Judas died was called Aceldama, that is to say, the field of blood. Such an explanation is evidently the language of a man who is instructing foreigners in the meaning of an unknown term, and not that of a native, addressing the inhabitants of a country in which he lives. If these two verses, therefore, are a genuine part of the text, they must be regarded as the words of Luke the writer of the Acts. But there is strong reason to suspect, that they come neither from Luke nor Peter, and that they are an interpolation, or an addition to the text, which, by some means has been introduced into it; for this account is very different from, if not absolutely inconsistent with, that given by Matthew. I will read the words of the evangelist, and leave you to judge, whether they can be reconciled. He says, that Judas, having repented of what he had done, cast down the pieces of silver. in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself; and the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood; and they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in; wherefore that field was called the field of blood unto this day. Matt. xxvii. 3, &c. Hence, you perceive, that the two accounts differ from each other in several material circumstances. According to Matthew, Judas died by his own hands, by hanging himself. According to this account, he fell headlong, and burst asunder. According to Matthew, the chief priests bought the field; here we are told, that Judas purchased it himself. One says, that it was called the field of blood, because bought with the price of blood; whereas it is intimated by the other, that it was so called, because Judas died there. I cannot conceive that two such contra dictory accounts could come from the pens of persons so well informed as Matthew and Luke were, respecting every thing which related to so remarkable a personage as the traitor. If the account of Matthew, therefore, be genuine, which there is every reason to suppose, that given us in the Acts cannot have been written by Luke, but by some other person, who contrived to insert it in the early copies, whence it has been transmitted down to us. It seems to confirm this supposition, that if the story be entirely removed, no chasm is made in the history. This story is not necessary to account for any thing which precedes or follows; and the want of it is not perceived: for the seventeenth verse connects very well with the twentieth. The supposition now made does not, I acknowledge, correspond with the opinion of the majority of the commentators upon the passage; but I am glad to find it supported by so sagacious a commentator as Bishop Pearce, who says, "these seem not to be the words of Peter, and perhaps they were not the words of Luke, the writer of the Acts of the Apostles." I know, indeed, that attempts have been made by other ingenious men to reconcile the differences; but they are such as would enable us to reconcile the most contradictory narratives. Where a real difficulty occurs it is much better to admit it in its full force, than, by evading it, to incur the charge of disingenuousness. 20. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein; and his bishoprick, "his office," let another take. In this verse there is a reference to two Psalms of David; the former is Psalm lxix. 25. Let their habitation be desolate, and let none, dwell in their tents; where you see that David speaks of his enemies in the plural number; whereas Peter applies his words to an individual; but the change is a matter of little consequence, as the apostle uses the words of the Psalmist only in the way of accommodation, and not as a real prophecy. The latter is Psalm cix. 8. Let his days be few, and let another take his office; where David imprecates the divine vengeance upon an individual, some one of his own enemies, or those of Israel, which the apostle Peter applies to Judas, in the same way of accommodation as he does the preceding passage. 21. Wherefore, of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us; 22. Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained, to be a witness with us of his resurrection. Besides the twelve apostles, there were other disciples of Jesus who constantly attended him from the beginning of his ministry; namely, from his baptism by John, at which time he received the Holy Spirit, to the time when it closed, when he was taken up from them. How many they were in number, we are not told; but Luke mentions seventy who were sent out to preach. The whole number was probably much greater. Of these persons Peter proposed, that one should be chosen, to supply the place of Judas, in order that he might, with them, communicate to the world the knowledge of all that Christ had said or done during his ministry, and likewise of his resurrection. We see hence, what the apostle Peter thought requisite to constitute a man a disciple of Jesus: it was the belief of those things concerning Christ which took place from the commencement of his ministry to the close of it. Respecting those transactions which took place prior to his public appearance, the apostle is silent, they were either unknown, or to communicate the knowledge of them was no part of the business of an apostle. In correspondence with this language, two of the evangelists, Mark and John, begin their history of Jesus with the time of his baptism : and although the two others appear to commence their account at an early period, and relate many wonderful things respecting his birth and infancy, many persons have seen reason to doubt whether this part of the history were really written by Matthew and Luke. 23. And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, whose surname was Justus, and Matthias: 24. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whither of these two thou hast chosen. In Jeremiah xvii. 10, the prophet represents God as saying, "I, the Lord, search the heart." It is to this, probably, that the apostles allude, when they intreat God to choose him whom he knew to be the best qualified for the office for which they designed him. 25. That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas, by transgression fell, "which he left," or, "from which he departed," that he might go to his own place. By his own place, some understand his original occupation, to which he returned after being an apostle. Others suppose, that the phrase means the place of the damned, or punished. But it seems most probable, that by his own place is meant the grave, the place which he now occupied. 26. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. REFLECTIONS. 1. THE passage of Scripture which we have been reading, shows us the strength of the ground on which our faith in the Christian religion is built. It is erected on the testimony of men who were eye and ear-witnesses of the facts which they relate ; who accompanied their Master during the whole of his ministry, had access to his person at all times, conversed with him in the most familiar manner, were well assured of his death, and saw him after his resurrection from the dead. That so many persons, who had such opportunities of being well informed, should all be mistaken or deceived, is impossible; and it is also impossible, that they should all unite in propagating a known falsehood. Their testimony is so far from being destroyed by the apostacy of a solitary individual, that it is greatly strengthened and confirmed thereby. For that individual has no frauds to discover, no impostures to disclose, in order to justify his desertion; on the contrary, the voluntary death which he inflicted upon himself for having betrayed his Master, is a striking confirmation of the testimony given by the rest to the innocence and excellence of his character. On evidence of this nature, founded on the testimony of friends, and confirmed by the conduct of enemies, we may rely with the utmost confidence. It stands upon a rock, which nothing will be able to shake. 2. The apostles and first disciples justly regarded every event, however little decided by human agency, even the issue of a lot, as under the direction of Divine Providence, and prayed to God for a favourable issue. In the same light let us learn to regard those occurrences of life in which we cannot readily discern the hand of intelligence the joy or sorrow which they bring with them is not the effect of chance, but of design. They are no less a part of the plan of infinite wisdom respecting the world than the regular and uniform operations of nature, and demand, no less, our grateful acknowledgments and humble submission. SECTION III. Effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. ACTS ii. 1-47. 1. AND when the day* of Pentecost was fully come, was arrived," they were all, i. e. the apostles, with one accord in one place. Pearce prefers nupas, days, which is the reading of most of the ancient versions. Griesbach, 2nd edit. VOL. III. Pentecost is a Greek name for a Jewish festival, which was observed fifty days after the passover. It is sometimes called the feast of weeks, because it was seven weeks, or a week of weeks, from the feast of unleavened bread ;* sometimes, the feast of harvest, because the first fruits of wheat-harvest were offered to God on that day.t This day seems to have been fixed upon for the miracle, because Jerualem being then crowded with people who came to observe the festival, there would be the more witnesses of the event. 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind; and it filled all the house," the whole room," where they were sitting. This sound, which resembled that of a great wind, seemed at first to be external, and to come from the sky, but afterwards it was internal, and heard in every part of the room where they were sitting. The design of it seems to have been no more than to announce the presence of the Deity, and to direct the attention to the cause of what was about to take place. Similar examples are to be found in the Old Testament, of the approach of the Deity to produce some miraculous effect, being preceded by a great noise. 3. And they saw like tongues of fire, distributing themselves, and settling upon each of them. I adopt this translation, which is Mr. Wakefield's,|| because it appears to me to correspond better with the meaning of the original than the old translation. Flames of fire, which Luke compares to tongues, supposing, probably, that they had an allusion to the gift of tongues, appeared in the room, and were distributed upon the heads of the apostles, over whom they continued to hover. Fire, as well as wind, is well known to have been employed under the Old Testament dispensation, to announce the presence of the Deity. Thus we find, that fire appeared to Moses in the bush; to the children of Israel in the cloud, and to the giver of the law upon Mount Sinai. And it is generally supposed, that a light appeared over Christ at his baptism. In like manner, the fire in the present instance was intended, as well as the mighty wind, to announce the presence of the Deity about to produce a miraculous effect. What the miracle was we are informed in the next verse. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, "languages," as the Spirit gave them utterance. By their being filled with the Holy Spirit no more can be meant than that they abounded with miraculous powers, which manifested themselves in various ways, as if the persons from whom they came * Exodus xxiv. 22. + Exodus xxiii. 16. |