So, the Pharisees also asked him again how his sight was restored. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes; I washed [myself], and [now] I can see."

This was the Mary who had poured the perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair [See Matt. 26:6-13], whose brother Lazarus was sick.

But if he walks at night he [might] stumble, because there is no light [to see by]. [Note: These words have a figurative meaning as Jesus is speaking about His mission in life].

So, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went [out to the edge of town. See verse 30] to meet Him, but Mary [just] sat at home [i.e., probably grief-stricken].

(Now Jesus had not yet arrived in town, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him [i.e., probably on the road near the edge of town]).

There Mary and Martha prepared a meal for Jesus. Martha served it while Lazarus was among those who reclined at the table with Him. [Note: See Matt. 23:6].

But the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus also,

[So], they took branches from palm trees and went out to meet Him, shouting, "Hosanna [Note: See Matt. 21:9 for the meaning of this word], may He, the King of Israel, be praised, for He comes in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord!"

But the crowd that went out to meet Jesus [i.e., as He entered Jerusalem] did so because they had heard about Him performing this [miraculous] sign [i.e., of raising Lazarus].

[Then] Judas (not the betrayer) [Note: This was the son of James, See Luke 6:16. He is also called Thaddaeus, See Matt. 10:3], said to Jesus, "Lord, what has happened [i.e., to your original plans to be seen by everyone when you came. See Luke 21:27], that you will reveal yourself to us apostles [only] and not to the [whole] world?"

Now Judas, who [was soon to] turn Jesus over [to the Jewish authorities] also knew where this place was, for Jesus had frequently met there with His disciples.

Now the [head priest's] slaves and the [Temple] guards were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to warm themselves by, because it was cold. And Peter was also warming himself with them.

Now standing near Jesus' cross were His mother; His mother's sister [i.e., Salome, the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:40]; Mary the wife of Clopas [i.e., the mother of James and Joseph. See Matt. 27:55]; and Mary, from Magdala.

Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not ascended to the Father yet [Note: Apparently Jesus was discouraging Mary from embracing Him in worship as was done in Matt. 28:9, and thereby causing a delay of when the rest of the disciples would learn of His resurrection], but go to my brothers and tell them [I said] 'I am [about] to ascend to my Father and to your Father, and to my God and your God.'"

So, Mary from Magdala went and told the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her. [See Matt. 28:7-10].

This was then the third time that Jesus was made known to His disciples after He arose from the dead.

For [Jesus had said, Matt. 3:11], "John immersed you [men] in water but [this time] you will be immersed in the Holy Spirit, and [it will happen] in just a few more days."

These men continued in united prayer [for the kingdom to come? See 1:6; Matt. 6:10] along with [certain] women, Mary the mother of Jesus and His [half-] brothers.

(Now this man [Judas] paid for [in a sense] a [burial] field with the reward money he had received for his sinful act [of betraying Jesus, See Matt. 27:3-10]. [Then, some time after Judas hanged himself, See Matt. 27:5] he fell down headlong, [his swollen body] bursting so that his intestines gushed out.

But others made fun of them, saying, "Oh, they are just drunk [i.e., full of new wine]."

[In that day] the sun will become dark and the moon will [appear] as blood. [This will all happen] before the great and wonderful day when the Lord comes. [Note: Some view these last two verses as a reference to events occurring at the end of time. See Matt. 24:29-30].

You have made known to me what life is all about. You will make me completely happy by your very presence.'

Therefore, let all those who make up the household of Israel [i.e., God's people] know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ."

And every day they continued to meet together in the Temple [i.e., for teaching and worship]. They were enjoying their meals and the close fellowship they shared in the various homes, and were

[On their way] they met a certain man who had been crippled from birth. Every day he had been carried [by friends] and placed at the "Beautiful Gate" [as it was called] of the Temple [enclosure] where he begged for money from those entering the Temple.

You people are descendants of these prophets and [recipients] of the Agreement God made with your forefathers when He said to Abraham [Gen. 12:3], 'And through your seed [i.e., your descendant Jesus] all the people of the earth will receive the blessings [of God].'

if we are being questioned today concerning how this man with a serious handicap was made completely well,

we want you men and all the people of Israel to know that this man was made completely well through the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. [He is the One] whom you people put to death on the cross, but God raised from the dead.

He is that [Psa. 118:22], 'stone that was rejected by you builders but was made the principal stone by which the entire building is aligned.'

But when the Council [of Jewish leaders] made Peter and John leave [the meeting], they discussed the matter among themselves,

And when the disciples heard this report they united their voices to God in prayer [saying]: "O, Lord, You made the heaven, the earth, the sea and everything in them.

[Immediately] the captain, with his officers, went [to the Temple] and brought the apostles back again, but did not use any violence because they feared that the people might stone them.

But several men from the synagogue, made up of freed slaves from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, began arguing with Stephen.

and rescued him from all his troubles and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him a governor over Egypt and his [i.e., the king's] household.

On their second trip Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Pharaoh was made aware of his origins.

"But as the time when [the fulfillment of] the promise [God had made] to Abraham approached, the number of people [i.e., Hebrews] in Egypt grew

"Then after [another] forty years passed, an angel appeared to him [one day] out of a flaming bush in the wilderness near Mt. Sinai.

But the Hebrews refused [to acknowledge Moses as their leader], saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge [over us]?' [Nevertheless], God sent him [to Egypt] to be both a ruler and liberator [of the people] through the direction of [His] angel who appeared [to Moses] from the bush.

This is the man who was with our forefathers and with the assembly [of Hebrews] in the wilderness [after] the angel had spoken to him at Mt. Sinai. He [is the one] who received the living messages [from God at Mt. Sinai] and gave them to us.

However, the Highest [i.e., God] does not live in a house made by human beings, as the prophet said [Isaiah 66:1ff],

Now the passage of Scripture he was reading said [Isa. 53:7ff], "He was led out to be slaughtered as a sheep; He made no sound, just like a lamb when it was being sheared.

So, Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived they took him to the upstairs room [where Dorcas' body lay]. All the widows [i.e., her friends] stood near Peter, crying and showing [him] the coats and [other] clothing which Dorcas had made when she was alive.

So, the voice spoke again, saying, "What God has made [ceremonially] acceptable, you must not consider ordinary [and therefore defiled]."

When Peter entered [the house] Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet [and attempted] to worship him.

However, God raised Him up the third day and made it possible for Him to appear [following His resurrection],

Then the voice spoke from the sky again, saying, 'Do not consider something [to be] ordinary that God has made acceptable.'

Now about that time King Herod began a persecution of certain people in the [Jerusalem] church. [Note: This man was the grandson of Herod the Great. See Matt. 2:1].

When they had traveled across the whole island they came to Paphos [a town on the island of Cyprus]; [there] they met a certain magician named Bar-Jesus, who was a Jewish false prophet.

The God of Israel chose our forefathers [to be His people] and made them a great people when they lived in Egypt, and with His mighty power He led them out of it.

For the people living in Jerusalem, together with their ruling officials, did not understand [that Jesus was the Messiah] or what the message of the prophets, which is read every Sabbath day, really meant. So, [because of this] they [actually] made these Scripture predictions come true by condemning Jesus.

And we bring you good news concerning the promise [God] made to our forefathers

and [it is] by Him that every believer is made right with God in every way that he could not have been made right by [observing the requirements of] the law of Moses.

At Lystra they met a certain man sitting [on the street] who had a crippling handicap in his feet which he had suffered since birth. [It was so severe] he was never able to walk.

So, the apostles and elders [of the Jerusalem church] met together to discuss this problem.

When Paul came to Derbe and [then] to Lystra, he met a certain disciple named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek [i.e., Gentile].

After seeing [the man in] the vision, we immediately made every effort to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news [about Jesus] to the people there. [Note: This is first use of "we" and "us" in the book of Acts and indicates that Luke, the writer of Acts, joined the party at this point. See 1:1 with Luke 1:1-3].

At a later time, when we were going to that [same] place of prayer, we met a certain young woman who was dominated by an [evil] spirit, [claiming to be] able to tell people's fortunes. This [claimed] power was the source of considerable income for the girl's slave-owner.

And when they brought them before the city officials, they made this charge [against them]: "These Jewish men are causing too much trouble in our city,

They made Jason and the others post bail, then released them.

So, he debated in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing people [i.e., Gentile proselytes], as well as in the open shopping market with others who met with him there.

The God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in hand-made temples.

He made every race of people living throughout the earth from one [family] and determined when [they would rise in history] and where they would live.

He wanted these people to search for God in hope that, by groping for Him, they might [eventually] find Him, even though He is not [really] very far from [any of] us.

Now God made allowance for the times when people were still uninformed [about His complete will], but now [in the Gospel age] He requires all people everywhere to repent [i.e., change their hearts and lives].

Now when the people heard about the resurrection from the dead, some of them made fun of it, but others said, "We would like to hear [more] from you about this again."

There he met a certain Jewish man named Aquila, a native of Pontus, [in northern Asia Minor] who, with his wife Priscilla, had recently come from Rome, because Claudius [the Roman Emperor] had ordered all Jews out of that city. Paul met this couple

for I will be with you [See Matt. 28:20] and no one will attack you or hurt you, for I have many people in this city [i.e., who will be converted]."

[Here is what happened]: A certain manufacturer of silver objects named Demetrius, who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis [i.e., a Greek goddess], brought much business to his workmen.

He called a meeting of his men and others involved in the same work and said to them, "Fellows, you know that we have made a good living from this work [of making temple replicas].

And now you have seen and heard, not only here in Ephesus, but throughout almost all of [the province of] Asia, that this Paul has been convincing people, [even] to the point of turning many away [from idol worship]. [He is] saying that hand-made gods [like we make] are not real [gods at all].

[It appears that] Alexander was appointed out of the crowd by the Jews [i.e., to be their spokesman in defending them from the charges being made against Paul]. He motioned with his hand [to get attention] and attempted to speak to the assembly in defense [of the Jewish viewpoint].

When he met us at Assos, we took him on board, then [together] we went to Mitylene [i.e., a town on a nearby island].

So, pay close attention to your [own] lives, and to all [members] of the flock [i.e., the congregation] of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [i.e., elders, shepherds or pastors]. Provide [spiritual] food for the church of the Lord which He purchased by [shedding] His own blood.

When he met with us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet [with it], and said, "The Holy Spirit has revealed [to me] that the man who owns this belt will be tied up like this by the Jews in Jerusalem and will be turned over to the Gentiles."

So, here is what we would like you to do: We have four men who have made a vow [i.e., a special promise to God].

And when a serious debate broke out, the commander was afraid that Paul might [virtually] be torn apart by the mob, so he ordered his soldiers to go down [to the Council meeting] and forcibly remove Paul and take him to the battalion headquarters.

There were more than forty men who made this pact.

However, this one point, which I made when I stood among them [could have been objectionable]: I shouted, 'The reason I am being charged before you today is [my preaching of] the resurrection of the dead.' "

After a number of days King Agrippa [Note: This man was the great grandson of Herod the Great. See Matt. 2:1] and [his wife] Bernice arrived at Caesarea and came to greet Festus.

I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to turn over any person [for sentencing] before he is faced by his accusers and has had the opportunity to defend himself against the charges made against him.

As Paul made his defense in this way, Festus said to him loudly, "Paul, you are crazy. All your education is driving you insane."

Paul replied, "I wish to God that, whether it would take a little or a lot, not only you, but all those who hear me today, might become [Christians] like me, except [not] with these chains."

The next day we stopped at Sidon [i.e., a seaport on the northwest coast of Palestine]. Julius treated Paul with kindness, [even] giving him the opportunity to meet his friends [there] and receive help [from them].

Landing where two [strong] currents met, the ship ran aground, its bow lodging [in the sand] while its stern began to break up from the driving surf.

The natives [there] showed us uncommon kindness. It had begun to rain and was [getting] cold, so they built a fire and made us feel welcome.

[So], hearing that we were coming, the brothers [from Rome] traveled from there as far [south] as "The Market of Appius" and "The Three Inns" to meet us. When Paul saw them he thanked God and was [very] encouraged.

And it happened after three days that Paul called together those who were the leading Jews, and when they assembled he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against the [Jewish] people or the customs of our forefathers, yet I was made a prisoner at Jerusalem, being placed in the custody of the Romans [while there].

For the Gospel reveals how a person can be made right with God. It is through faith [in Jesus], from beginning to end, just as it is written [Hab. 2:4], "The righteous person will [obtain] life by [his] faith [in God]."

For what is known about God is plain to these people [i.e., to the Gentiles], because God has made it clear to them.

For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities of eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, [capable of] being perceived through the things that He has made. So, these people have no excuse [i.e., for not believing in Him].

You say that a person should not commit adultery [i.e., sexual unfaithfulness to their mate], [but] do you commit adultery? You [claim to] hate idols, [but] do you rob [their] temples? [Note: It is difficult to determine how the Jews were doing this. Perhaps they were guilty of the "spirit" of idolatry by devoting their efforts and affections to material things instead of to God].

Now the practice of circumcision [i.e., the Jewish rite of identity, signifying the responsibility to observe the law of Moses] is worthwhile, providing you obey [the rest of] the law of Moses. But if you disobey the law, you might as well have never been circumcised.

But now [i.e., under the Gospel age], a way of being considered right with God apart from [any] law has been made known. [The writings of] the law [i.e., the Pentateuch] and the prophets bear witness to this.

But people are made right with Him as a free gift by His unearned favor, through being bought back [from Satan] by Christ Jesus.

For we conclude that a person is made right with God by faith [in Christ], apart from [obedience to] the requirements of a law [or, the law of Moses, See verse 20].

For if Abraham had been made right with God by doing good deeds he would have had something to boast about, but not in God's presence.

For it was not through [obedience to] law [See 3:31] that the promise to Abraham or his descendants of inheriting [the best of] the world [was made], but through their being considered righteous because of faith [in God].

For this reason, the promise [i.e., of being made right with God] comes through faith [in God], according to His unearned favor, so that it may be [given] with certainty to all of Abraham's descendants. The promise is given not only to those [who live] under the law [i.e., the Jews], but also to [all] those [who live] by faith, like Abraham. Abraham is the [spiritual] father of all of us [believers],

just as it is written [Gen. 17:5], "I [i.e., God] have made you [i.e., Abraham] forefather of many nations." He received this promise in the presence of God, in whom he believed, and who gives life [back] to dead people and who refers to things [promised] as though they were [already] fulfilled.

Abraham hoped for what he believed [God had promised], even when there seemed little hope [of it happening], so this made him forefather of many nations, according to the words spoken to him [Gen. 15:5], "Your descendants will be many."