“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. which: or, Herod's foster brother”
Manahen … foster-brother to Herod, or nursed with the same milk. (Witham) — It would appear from his having been brought up with Herod, that he was of noble parentage. He is likewise believed to have been one of the seventy-two disciples. The Latins keep his feast on the 24th of May. (Calmet)
“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
As they were ministering to the Lord.[1] Mr. N. and some others translate, offering up sacrifice. There are indeed good grounds to take this to be the true sense, as the Rhemish translators observed, who notwithstanding only put ministering, lest, (said they) we should seem to turn it in favour of our own cause, since neither the Latin nor Greek word signifies of itself to sacrifice, but any public ministry in the service of God; so the St. Chrysostom says, when they were preaching. (Witham) — Separate me. Though Paul and Barnabas are here chosen by the Holy Ghost for the ministry, yet they were to be ordained, consecrated, and admitted by men; which loudly condemns all those modish and disordered spirits, that challenge and usurp the office of preaching, and other sacred and ecclesiastical functions, without any appointment from the Church. (Bristow) — Consider, says St. Chrysostom, by whom they are ordained: by Lucius, of Cyrene, and Manahen, rather than by the Spirit. The less honourable these persons are, the more signal is the grace of God.”
“And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
Fasting and prayer, imposing their hands upon them. By which is clearly expressed, the manner in which the ministers of God were, and are still ordained bishops, priests, deacons in the Church. (Witham) — Interpreters are much divided in opinion, whether this imposition of hands be a mere deputation to a certain employment, or the sacramental ceremony, by which orders are conferred. Sts. Chrysostom, Leo, &c. are of the latter opinion; nor does it any where appear that St. Paul was bishop before this. Arator, sub-deacon of the Church of Rome, who dedicated in the year 544 his version of the Acts of the Apostles into heroic verse to Pope Virgilius, attributes this imposition of hands to St. Peter:
“And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.”
In the synagogues of the Jews, preaching first the gospel to them. (Witham)
“And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:”
A magician … whose name was Bar-jesu, son of Jesus, or Josue. In Arabic, Elymas is the same as magician. This man did all he could to dissuade the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, from embracing the Christian faith. (Witham) — Salamina was the capital of the island of Cyprus, and at the eastern extremity, as Paphos was at the western. A. D. 45.
“Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,”
Then Saul, who also is Paul. This is the first time we find the apostle called Paul. Some, therefore, think it was given him when he converted this proconsul, Sergius Paulus. Others, that Saul being a Hebrew word, the Greeks, or rather the Romans, turned it into Paul. (Witham) — This is the first place in which this apostle is called Paul. He took this name out of respect to the illustrious convert he had made in the person of the proconsul, the governor of the island. (Menochius) — Or, more probably, his former name, by a small change, was modelled into Paulus, which was a sound more adapted to a Roman ear. He begins to bear this name only, when he enters on his mission to the Gentiles. (Calmet)
“And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Son of the devil. Sharp language, when grounded on truth, may be used against those who hinder the conversion of others. St. Chrysostom says, he was struck with this blindness only for a time, to make him enter into himself, and be converted. (Witham)
“But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.”
Antioch. Many cities in Asia Minor bore this name. It is related that Seleucus Nicanor built many, and called them by this name, in honour of his father Antiochus. (Tirinus) — Pamphylia and Pisidia were two provinces in Asia Minor. — The sabbath-day. Some not only understand, but even translate, the first day of the week: but here is rather meant the Jewish sabbath, as St. Paul went into their synagogues. And in this his first sermon to them, which St. Luke has set down, he speaks nothing that could offend or exasperate the Jews, but honourably of them, to gain them to the Christian faith; he commends in particular David, whose Son they knew the Messias was to be: and of whom he tells them, that God had given them their Saviour, Jesus. He mentions this high eulogium, which God gave of David, Psalm lxxxviii. 21. that he was a man according to God’s heart, who in all things should fulfil his will, that is, as to the true worship of God; though he fell into some sins, of which he repented, and did penance. (Witham)
“And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.”
These seven nations are the Chanaanites, the Hethites, the Hevites, the Pherezites, the Gergesites, the Jebusites, and the Amorrhites. (Josue iii. 10. and alibi.)
“And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.”
Chronology only gives about 350 years from the entrance into the land of promise to the end of Samuel’s judicial government, who was the last of the judges. (Bible de Vence)
“When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.”
, &c. He then brings the testimony, which John the Baptist gave of Jesus, as it is likely many of them had heard of John, and of the great esteem that all the people had of his virtue and sanctity. He tells them that salvation was offered and sent them by Jesus, against whom the chief of the Jews at Jerusalem obtained of Pilate a sentence, that he should be crucified; but that God raised him up from the dead the third day. And we, says he, publish to you this promise, the Messias, promised to our forefathers.
“God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”
He then shews them that Jesus was their Messias, and the Son of God, begotten of his Father from eternity, who rose from the dead, and he applies these words, (Psalm ii. 7.) to prove Christ’s resurrection, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. It is true, these words regard chiefly the eternal generation of Christ, as they are applied by St. Paul, (Hebrews v. 5.) but the resurrection was a necessary consequence of his divinity, since death could have no power over him. St. Paul here also proves Christ’s resurrection by the following predictions. (Witham) — Second psalm. The oldest copy reads, first psalm. The difference is merely in words; for the division of the psalter at present is very different from what it formerly was: sometimes a single psalm of ours being divided into many, and many of our divisions making only one, according to the Hebrews. The latter are not even now agreed among themselves on the same division of the psalms. (Calmet) — Some suppose, that what we call the first psalm was originally looked upon as a preface to the psalter; others, that our first and second psalms united in one. (Mat. Polus.)
“And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. mercies: Gr. holy, or just things: which word the Septuagint in many places, uses for that which is in the Hebrew, mercies”
I will give you the holy things of David sure. These are the words of the prophet Isaias, lv. ver. 3. According to the Septuagint the sense is, I will faithfully fulfil the promises I made to David. (Challoner)
“Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”
In another place also he saith, (Psalm xv. 10.) thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption. That is, Christ’s body to be corrupted in the grave. See the words of St. Peter, Acts chap. ii. 27. (Witham)
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: after: or, after he had in his own age served the will of God”
After he had served in his generation. That is, in his life-time, saw corruption, or was corrupted in the grave. (Witham)
“But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.”
Justified. That your sins being forgiven by the merits of Christ, you may be truly just in the sight of God. (Witham)
“And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
The law of Moses was then imperfect. I shew you its completion, by preaching to you Christ, whom it foretold. You would violate the law of Moses by opposing the new law, to which he leads you. (Tirinus)
“Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;”
See then that you reject not this divine Saviour, lest what has been denounced by the prophets fall upon your incredulous heads: I will abandon the holy place which I entrusted to you; I will cease to look upon you as my people; I will transfer my kingdom to the Gentiles. (Bible de Vence)
“Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.”
Ye despisers[2] of the favours offered you, behold, wonder, &c. This citation is out of Habacuc, (chap. i. ver. 5.) according to the Septuagint. The prophet, by these words, foretold to the Jews in his time the evils that would come upon them in their captivity in Chaldea, but St. Paul here applies them at least to the miseries that the incredulous Jews would incur, if they obstinately refused to believe in Christ. (Witham)
“And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”
The whole city. Not only Jews, but a great many Gentiles, which exasperated the envious Jews. (Witham)
“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
As many as were pre-ordained to eternal life,[3] by the free election, and special mercies, and providence of God. (Witham) — Some understand this as if it meant, predisposed by their docility, to receive the word of life. But the Fathers unanimously understand it literally of predestination, which is defined by St. Thomas Aquinas, serm. i. qu. 23. a. 1. “The disposition of God, by which he prepares, what he will himself perform, according to his infallible foreknowledge.” In other words, it is the manner in which God conducts a reasonable creature to its proper destiny, which is eternal life. In this mystery of the Catholic faith, which cannot be clearly explained to human understanding, because it is a mystery, there are nevertheless several points, which we know for certain. 1st. Though it is certain, that this decree of the Almighty is infallible, and must have its effect, yet it is far removed from the blasphemy of Calvinists, who pretend that it destroys free-will, and therefore removes all motives of exertion to good works. 2nd. For it is a point of Catholic faith, that this foreknowledge of the Almighty no ways interferes with man’s liberty, but leaves him still a perfectly free agent, and therefore responsible for his actions. 3rd. It is likewise decreed by the Council of Trent, that no one can certainly know that he is of the number of the predestined, without a special revelation to that effect. These are the most essential points, which it concerns us to know of this doctrine. As to the consequences which may be drawn from these positions, it were better for us to submit our understandings to the obedience of faith, than entangle ourselves in a maze of abstruse errors, far removed from our comprehension. Would that this sober line of conduct were pursued by many moderns, who at present talk and write so much on this subject, and to such little purpose. How excellently well does the great genius of the Latin Church, St. Augustine, say: Melius est dubitare de occultis, quam litigare de occultis! How much wiser and better is it to confess our ignorance on mysteries, than idly to dispute on mysteries! (lib. viii. de Gen. ad litt. chap. 5.)
“But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium.”
Shaking off the dust, &c. See the Annotations, Matthew x. 14.