Bible Commentaries
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3,811 commentary entries
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible
Peter's Address after Healing the Cripple
PETER'S ADDRESS AFTER HEALING THE CRIPPLE. We have here the sermon which Peter preached after he had cured the lame man. When Peter saw it. 1. When he saw the people got together in a crowd, he took that opportunity to…
Peter and John Imprisoned
PETER AND JOHN IMPRISONED. We have here the interests of the kingdom of heaven successfully carried on, and the powers of darkness appearing against them to put a stop to them. let Christ's servants be ever so resolute,…
Peter and John Examined before the Sanhedrim
PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM. We have here the trial of Peter and John before the judges of the ecclesiastical court, for preaching a sermon concerning Jesus Christ, and working a miracle in his name. Th…
The Resolution of Peter and John
THE RESOLUTION OF PETER AND JOHN. We have here the issue of the trial of Peter and John before the council. They came off now with flying colours, because they must be trained up to sufferings by degrees, and by less tr…
The Apostles Return to Their Company; The Devout Appeal of the Apostles
THE APOSTLES RETURN TO THEIR COMPANY; THE DEVOUT APPEAL OF THE APOSTLES. We hear no more at present of the chief priests, what they did when they had dismissed Peter and John, but are to attend those two witnesses. And…
The Prosperity of the Church; The Liberality of the Disciples
THE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH; THE LIBERALITY OF THE DISCIPLES. We have a general idea given us in these verses, and it is a very beautiful one, of the spirit and state of this truly primitive church; it is conspectus sæ…
The Case of Ananias and Sapphira
THE CASE OF ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. The chapter begins with a melancholy but, which puts a stop to the pleasant and agreeable prospect of things which we had in the foregoing chapters; as every man, so every church, in it…
The Progress of the Gospel
THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. We have here an account of the progress of the gospel, notwithstanding this terrible judgment inflicted upon two hypocrites. I. Here is a general account of the miracles which the apostles wr…
The Apostles Imprisoned; The Apostles Released by an Angel; The Disappointment of the Council
THE APOSTLES IMPRISONED; THE APOSTLES RELEASED BY AN ANGEL; THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE COUNCIL. Never did any good work go on with any hope of success, but it met with opposition; those that are bent to do mischief canno…
The Seizing of the Apostles; The Examination of the Apostles; The Advice of Gamaliel
THE SEIZING OF THE APOSTLES; THE EXAMINATION OF THE APOSTLES; THE ADVICE OF GAMALIEL. We are not told what it was that the apostles preached to the people; no doubt it was according to the direction of the angel—the wor…
The Appointment of Deacons
THE APPOINTMENT OF DEACONS. Having seen the church's struggles with her enemies, and triumphed with her in her victories, we now come to take a view of the administration of her affairs at home; and here we have, I. An…
Stephen's Address
STEPHEN'S ADDRESS. Stephen, no doubt was diligent and faithful in the discharge of his office as distributor of the church's charity, and laid out himself to put that affair in a good method, which he did to universal s…
Stephen's Address
STEPHEN'S ADDRESS. Stephen is now at the bar before the great council of the nation, indicted for blasphemy: what the witnesses swore against him we had an account of in the foregoing chapter, that he spoke blasphemous…
Stephen's Address
STEPHEN'S ADDRESS. Stephen here goes on to relate, I. The wonderful increase of the people of Israel in Egypt; it was by a wonder of providence that in a little time they advanced from a family into a nation. 1. It was…
Stephen's Address
STEPHEN'S ADDRESS. Stephen here proceeds in his story of Moses; and let any one judge whether these are the words of one that was a blasphemer of Moses or no; nothing could be spoken more honourably of him. Here is, I.…
Stephen's Address
STEPHEN'S ADDRESS. Two things we have in these verses:— I. Stephen upbraids them with the idolatry of their fathers, which God gave them up to, as a punishment for their early forsaking him in worshipping the golden cal…
Stephen's Address
STEPHEN'S ADDRESS. Stephen was going on in his discourse (as it should seem by the thread of it) to show that, as the temple, so the temple-service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to t…
Stephen's Martyrdom; Stephen's Dying Prayer
STEPHEN'S MARTYRDOM; STEPHEN'S DYING PRAYER. We have here the death of the first martyr of the Christian church, and there is in this story a lively instance of the outrage and fury of the persecutors (such as we may ex…
Persecution of the Church
PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH. In these verses we have, I. Something more concerning Stephen and his death; how people stood affected to it—variously, as generally in such cases, according to men's different sentiments of t…
The Spreading of the Gospel; Philip's Success
THE SPREADING OF THE GOSPEL; PHILIP'S SUCCESS. Samson's riddle is here again unriddled: Out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness. The persecution that was designed to extirpate the church was b…
The Account of Simon Magus
THE ACCOUNT OF SIMON MAGUS. God had wonderfully owned Philip in his work as an evangelist at Samaria, but he could do no more than an evangelist; there were some peculiar powers reserved to the apostles, for the keeping…
Philip and the Ethiopian
PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN. We have here the story of the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch to the faith of Christ, by whom, we have reason to think, the knowledge of Christ was sent into that country where he lived, and…
Saul's Conversion
SAUL'S CONVERSION. We found mention made of Saul twice or thrice in the story of Stephen, for the sacred penman longed to come to his story; and now we are come to it, not quite taking leave of Peter but from henceforwa…
Ananias Sent to Saul; Ananias Restores Saul's Sight; Saul Associates with the Disciples; Saul Preaches Christ at Damascus
ANANIAS SENT TO SAUL; ANANIAS RESTORES SAUL'S SIGHT; SAUL ASSOCIATES WITH THE DISCIPLES; SAUL PREACHES CHRIST AT DAMASCUS. As for God, his work is perfect; if he begin, he will make an end: a good work was begun in Saul…