[The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team:
REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]
Acts IV : 32-37
[32] And the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul: neither did any one say that aught of the things which he possessed, was his own; but all things were common unto them.
[33] And with great power did the apostles give testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord; and great grace was in them all.
[34] For neither was there any one needy among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the price of the things they sold,
[35] And laid it down before the feet of the apostles. And distribution was made to every one, according as he had need.
[36] And Joseph, who, by the apostles, was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, by interpretation, The son of consolation,) a Levite, a Cyprian born,
[37] Having land, sold it, and brought the price, and laid it at the feet of the apostles.
[32] Multitudinis autem credentium erat cor unum, et anima una : nec quisquam eorum quae possidebat, aliquid suum esse dicebat, sed erant illis omnia communia. [33] Et virtute magna reddebant Apostoli testimonium resurrectionis Jesu Christi Domini nostri : et gratia magna erat in omnibus illis. [34] Neque enim quisquam egens erat inter illos. Quotquot enim possessores agrorum aut domorum erant, vendentes afferebant pretia eorum quae vendebant, [35] et ponebant ante pedes Apostolorum. Dividebatur autem singulis prout cuique opus erat. [36] Joseph autem, qui cognominatus est Barnabas ab Apostolis ( quod est interpretatum Filius consolationis), Levites, Cyprius genere, [37] cum haberet agrum, vendidit eum, et attulit pretium, et posuit ante pedes Apostolorum.
Notes
32. the multitude of believers. Either five thousand or eight thousand, according to the view we take of verse 4. St Luke now passes from the public life and trials of the Church to the private life of the disciples, which is characterized by (a) prayer ; (b) community of goods, which was the fruit of charity. “ Even the word own was discarded.”
one heart and one soul. Their common faith was their bond of union, and their life of detachment was the result of their ardent charity. Between the children of the Church, the spirit of Christian fellowship should always exist ; and though we are called to do good to all, those of the “ household of faith” have a prior claim to our services. The expression “ one heart and one soul” is a Hebrew idiom. Cf. The rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king (1 Para. xii. 38).
did any one say, etc. The R.V. renders this better, “Not one of them said.” Thus the words of our Lord were realised : By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another (St John xiii. 35). On the community of goods see Annot. on ii. 44-45.
33. great power. (δυναμαι) The word employed may refer to miracles as well as to preaching, (See Annot. on i. 8, p. 62.)
give testimony of the resurrection, etc. This explains verse 31 ; They spoke the word with confidence. The original has the imperfect, “ went on giving testimony ” (ἀπεδιδουν το μαρτυριον).
great grace. A few commentators take this as meaning that they found favour with the people, but the greater number consider it has reference to the grace of God, since the word employed (χαρις ) is oftener used with reference to God, and the conjunction “for” (γαρ) connects this statement with what follows and shews how this “ grace ” enabled them to sacrifice their worldly possessions for the good oi their poorer brethren. The word “ grace,” i.e. of God, is a favourite one with St Paul.
It occurs also iu ch. vi. 8 : Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders, etc. When St Luke applies the word to human favour (ii. 47), he qualifies it by the phrase “ with all the people;” here there is no such limitation.
in them all. Better, “ upon them all ” (ἐπι παντας αὐτους)
34. brought. The tense in the Greek shews that these actions were continually being performed, either as fresh converts joined the Church, or as earlier disciples sold one thing after another as need arose.
36. Joseph. The name is given thus in A, B, D, E, but other MSS. give “ Joses.” This is the first mention of St Barnabas.
which is by interpretation, The son of consolation. An explanation for Theophihis and other Gentile readers.
“ The interpretation of the name itself, however, is not easy. “ Bar ” means son, and Nabas may be connected with the Hebrew Nebi (prophet), or the Aramaic “ Nevahah ” (refreshment). Deissniann thinks it a Hebrew form of Barnebous (son of Nebo), a name which has been found in a Syrian inscription. The difficulty, which occurs with several of the names in the Acts, is really due to our ignorance of the vernacular ; and we must fall back upon St Luke, our best authority, who interprets it as son of paraclesis, “ Paraclesis ” was a spiritual gift, closely akin to, but distinct from, prophecy and teaching. Its meaning is shewn by the work of the Holy Spirit, who is the Paraclete. A paraclete is one whom we call to our side to help us by his advocacy or otherwise. And so paraclesis denotes the spiritual help which Christians render to one another. At one time it may take the form of exhortation, at another of comfort or consolation. The best equivalent, which will cover both elements, is “ encouragement ” (Rackham, Acts of the Apost., p. 63).
a Levite, One of the tribe of Levi, which was set apart to minister to the priests in the Temple as a reward for their zeal in repressing idolatry.
The Israelites had made a golden calf, and were worshipping it when Moses came down from Mount Sinai after having received the two tables of the testimony. Seeing the people still persisted in their idolatry Moses said: If any man be on the Lord's side let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him .... And Moses said : You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord, every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you (Ex. xxxii. 26, 29).
St Barnabas is the first Levite whose conversion to Christianity is recorded.
a Cyprian born. Cyprus is an important and fertile island of the Mediterranean, lying south of Cilicia and west of Syria.
Three times we find a reference to a man’s native city, and each time the statement is made of a Jew. The other passages are —
(a) Aquila, born in Pontus (xviii. 2).(b) Apollo, born at Alexandria (xviii. 24).
37. Having land. Better, ‘‘a field” ( ἀγρον). The Levites as a tribe were not allowed a given portion of Palestine like the other tribes. They received tithes instead.
This, however, does not appear to have been always strictly observed even in Palestine, and still less elsewhere, for Jeremias, who was a Levite, bought the field of Hanameel his cousin for seven staters and ten pieces of silver (Jer. xxxii. 9). Josephus, also a Levite, held lands near Jerusalem (Vita, 76). Hence we may conclude that, after the Captivity, the prohibition concerning the Levites possessing lands by inheritance was practically a dead letter, while there seems to have been no restriction as regards the right of a Levite to purchase land.
laid it at the feet of the apostles. It is an Oriental custom to lay gifts at the feet of a person. The apostles probably sat on raised seats, like the elders in the synagogue. St Barnabas voluntarily gave the whole price of the field, thus showing his generosity.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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