But, happening to meet with Barnabas, and informing. him of the circumstances of his conversion, he communicated them to the rest, and thus procured him admittance into their company. Paul tells us, however, in the passage before referred to in the Epistle to the Galatians, that he only saw Peter and James: "other of the apostles," says he, " saw I none. They might possibly be absent from Jerusalem. After he had seen them, he was received by the brethren in general.

28. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

29. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians:

These are supposed to be proselytes to the Jewish religion from the heathens of Asia, who were in general called Greeks or Grecians; and they seemed to have possessed the genuine zeal of proselytes, by the account here given of them*.

But they went about to slay him.

30. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Casarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

Tarsus was the chief city of Cilicia, and Paul's native place. Here he had not been since he went up to Jerusalem, to study the law under Gamaliel. He probably travelled hither by land; for he tells us that after his visit to Jerusalem he went into the parts of Syria and Ciliciat. In this journey he probably met with some of those dangers which he describes in his epistles, and of which we have no account in this history. The Cæsarea here spoken of was not the maritime town of that name, so often mentioned in the

Lardner, Vol. vi. pp. 262, 264, Note. + Doddridge.

book of Acts, but Cæsarea Philippi, which lay to the north of Judæa, and which must be in his way to Tarsus by land.

31. Then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified, that is, "increased," and, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.

This period of peace is said, with great probability, to have been occasioned by an order given by Caligula to Petronius, governor of Syria, to set up a statue of the emperor in the temple of Jerusalem, in order to have divine honours paid to it; which was deemed so great a profanation, and was so highly offensive to the Jews, as to divert their attention from the persecution of Christians to a concern for the security of their own religion. The Christians increased in numbers during the late persecution, as appears from the churches which were established in different parts of the country, and they continued to increase during this period of rest, and enjoyed at the same time great comfort from the miraculous powers which they possessed, and from the knowledge of true religion which they acquired.

REFLECTIONS.

1. We have here decisive and satisfactory proof of the sincerity of Paul's conversion to the Christian faith. He is not satisfied with the bare profession of Christianity, but resolves to teach it to others. He

• Lardner and Doddridge.

undertakes the office of an apostle in this cause, not hastily, not in a moment of rashness, but after due deliberation and reflection; not in a foreign country, where his history was not known, but in the very place where he had before persecuted the church, or where he intended to persecute, where he had reason to suppose that the story of his conversion would be well known, and where it was most likely to be controverted and exploded if a forgery; and where he might probably have been confronted with the companions of his journey. These were the places which the apostle chose for the first scene of his ministry; a scene where he must expect to encounter the bitter reproaches and violent animosity of his former associates and patrons, and where his life would be perpetually in danger. Would he have exposed himself to so much suffering for the sake of a falsehood? If he were not fully convinced of the truth of what he related, would he have published it in a place where the falsehood was most likely to be detected and exposed?

2. We see also a striking proof of his benevolence. He was conscious, no doubt, that his former conduct had done much harm, not only to those who were the objects of his persecution, but also to their enemies, by inflaming their zeal and confirming their prejudices. He is resolved, therefore, to proclaim the truth in the very place where his errors had been made public, that he may thus prevent, or at least lessen, the mischief which his former conduct was calculated to produce; that those may be benefited by his recantation who had been injured by his mistakes. He, no doubt, thought, and there was good reason to believe, that his appearance at Jerusalem as a Christian, where he had once been so zealous an opposer of Christianity, would attract the attention of other zealots, lead them to inquire into the ground of the change, and, at least, damp their zeal, if not produce a similar change. To accomplish so important an object, therefore, he is willing to appear in the humiliating character of a rash and mistaken man, among his former acquaintance and friends, and to risk the dangers which

might arise from the same zeal by which he was once animated.

3. We see that the gospel of Christ spreads under all circumstances; which is a plain proof that it is founded in truth. Persecution proved favourable to its advancement, by dispersing into various distant places the professors of this religion, who carried it with them where it was not before known. And when tranquillity returned, the fortitude and patience of the first Christians, in the profession of the truth in the hour of danger, could not fail to make a strong impression in its favour on the minds of those who had been spectators of their conduct, and induce great numbers to embrace the Christian religion, when the danger arising thence was removed. They reasoned then, as we do now, that facts in support of which so many hazard their lives must be believed, and, if believed, be true.

Acts ix. 32. to the end.

32. And it came to pass as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.

As Christians were no longer molested by their enemies, but allowed a free intercourse with each other, Peter took advantage of this season of tranquillity, to visit every place in which there were any brethren, in order to encourage and animate them, in the profes sion of their new religion, by his presence and exhortations. Christians are here called saints, not with any reference to their moral character, as if they had better claims to sanctity than other men, but merely on account of their being members of the Christian com munity. The term was first applied to those who lived under the Mosaic dispensation, because the re

velation of the divine will and other privileges which they enjoyed, consecrated them, as it were, to God, and was afterwards applied to Christians, because they were consecrated in a similar manner.

33. And there he found a certain man named Æneas, who had kept his bed eight years, being ill of the palsy. 34. And Peter said unto him, Æneas, Jesus Christ Jesus Christ maketh maketh thee whole: arise and make thy bed, or, "Arise and spread thy house thyself," i. e. for the reception of guests; and he arose immediately.

From the common translation of this verse we might be led to suppose that Æneas was directed by Peter to rise and make his bed, that he might lie down upon it again immediately; but what occasion for lying down again, if he was really cured of his malady? We cannot suppose that the cure was temporary, and only continued for a few hours; for then it would differ from all the other miracles of the same nature mentioned in the gospels; or, if it should be imagined that he was directed to make his bed for the following night, this, it is observed, does not correspond with the usage in Eastern countries, where beds are nothing more than mats laid upon the floor, which are taken up and laid aside in the morning, and spread again at night. It seems much more probable, therefore, that Æneas was directed by Peter, who might intend to eat bread with him, to spread couches or carpets for his guests himself, in order to prove to all that he was perfectly recovered. To spread rooms for entertainments in this manner, is perfectly agreeable to the modern practice of the East, and was probably the ancient custom of the country. For we find an allusion to it in our Lord's time, who tells his