Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 3:12

"And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk?" — Acts 3:12 (ASV)

Why look ye so earnestly on us?—The verb is the same as that in Acts 3:4. The pronoun stands emphatically at the beginning of the verse—Why is it on us that you gaze?

As though by our own... holiness...—Better, purity, or devotion. The words refer to what may be called the popular theory of miracles, that if a man were devout, i.e., “a worshipper of God,” God would hear him (John 9:31). That theory might be true in itself generally, but the Apostle disclaims it in this special instance. No purity of his own would have availed, but for the Name, i.e., the power, of Jesus of Nazareth.