John Gill Commentary Acts 3

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple
These two disciples were intimate companions, and great lovers of each other; they were often together: they are thought, by some, to have been together in the high priest's palace at the trial of Christ; and they ran together to his sepulchre, (John 18:15John 18:16) (20:2-4) and they now went together to the temple, not to attend the daily sacrifice, which was now abolished by the sacrifice of Christ, but to attend to the duty of prayer, which was still in force, and that they might have an opportunity of preaching Christ, where there was a number of people together:

at the hour of prayer; being the ninth hour ,
or three o'clock in the afternoon. This was one of their hours of prayer; it was customary with the Jews to pray three times a day, (Daniel 6:10) which, according to the Psalmist in (Psalms 55:17) were evening, morning, and at noon; to which seems to answer the three times that are taken notice of by Luke in this history: that in the morning was at the third hour, as in (Acts 2:15) or nine o'clock in the morning; that at noon was at the sixth hour, as in (Acts 10:9) or twelve o'clock at noon; and that in the evening at the ninth hour, as here, or three o'clock in the afternoon. Not that these were times of divine appointment. The Jews

``there is no number of prayers from the law, and there is no repetition of this or that prayer from the law, and there is no (ewbq Nmz) , "fixed time" for prayer from the law.''

But according to the traditions of the elders, ``the morning prayer was to the end of the fourth hour, which is the third part of the day--the prayer of the "Minchah", (or evening prayer,) they fixed the time of it to answer to the evening daily sacrifice; and because the daily sacrifice was offered up every day from the ninth hour and a half, they ordered the time of it to be from the ninth hour and a half, and it is called the lesser "Minchah";

and because in the evening of the passover, which falls upon the evening of the sabbath, they slay the daily sacrifice at the sixth hour and a half, they say, that he that prays after the sixth hour and a half is excused; and after this time is come, the time to which he is obliged is come, and this is called the great "Minchah"---lo, you learn, that the time of the great "Minchah" is from the sixth hour and a half, to the ninth hour and a half; and the time of the lesser "Minchah" is from the ninth hour and a half, until there remains of the day an hour and a quarter; and it is lawful to pray it until the sun sets.''

So that it was at the time of the lesser "Minchah" that Peter and John went up to the temple; which seems to be not on the same day of Pentecost, but on some day, or days after; it may be the sabbath following, when there was a great number of people got together.

FOOTNOTES:

• F15: Maimon. Hilch. Tephilla, c. 1. sect. 1. Ib. c. 3. sect. 1, 2, 4. Vid. T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 26. 2.

And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb
He was born so; his lameness came not through any disease or fall, or any external hurt, but from a defect in nature, in one of his limbs, or more; which made the after miracle the more extraordinary: and he was so lame that he

was carried ;
he could not walk of himself, or go, being led, but they were obliged to carry him:

whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple ;
it had been a common usage, it may be, for years past, to bring him every day, at prayer time, and lay him at the gate of the temple where the people went in; hence he was well known by the people, and to have been of a long time lame, even ever since he was born; so that there could be no imposture in this case: and it was at the gate of the temple he lay,

which is called beautiful ;
which some think was the gate Shushan, which was the eastern gate of the mountain of the house, or the outmost wall, and was so called, because Shushan, the metropolis of Persia, was portrayed upon it ^F17 , which made it look very beautiful. The reason commonly given by the Jewish commentators ^F18 why this was done, is this; when the Jews returned from captivity, the king of Persia commanded that they should make a figure of the palace of Shushan upon one of the gates of the temple, that they might fear the king, and not rebel against him; and accordingly they drew one upon the eastern gate: but some say ^F19 , that the children of the captivity did this (upon their return) that they might remember the wonder of Purim, (their deliverance from Haman,) which was done in Shushan; moreover, it might be so called from the word Shushan, which signifies joy and gladness: but this does not bid so fair to be the gate here meant, since it was lower than all the rest; for as the eastern wall was lower than the rest of the walls, that when the high priest burnt the red heifer on the top of Mount Olivet, he might see the gate of the temple at the time of the sprinkling of the blood; so the gate itself was four cubits lower than the others ^F20 , and therefore could not look so grand and beautiful as the rest. Indeed, concerning this eastern gate of the mountain of the house, it is said ^F21, ``in the time when the sanctuary stood, when they prayed on the mountain of the house, they went in by the way of the eastern gate.'' And as this was now the hour of prayer, and the people were going to the temple to pray, whose entrance was at the east gate; here it might be thought, in all probability, was laid the lame man: though it seems rather to be the eastern gate of the court of the women, which was made of Corinthian brass, and looked brighter than gold itself; of which Josephus <sup>F23</sup> thus speaks: ``nine of the gates were covered all over with gold and silver, likewise the side posts and lintels; but there was one, without the temple, of Corinthian brass, which in dignity greatly exceeded the silver and golden ones.'' And since at this gate was the greatest frequency of persons, both men and women entering here; it is most likely, that here lay the lame man a begging: this is thought, by some, to be the higher gate of the house of the Lord; said to be built by Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, (2 Kings 15:35) upon which text, a Jewish commentator of great note ^F24 has this remark, ``observe it is said of Jotham, that he built it, because he made a building on it, (lwdgw dbkn) "more glorious and great" than it had been:'' and this is also called the new gate of the house of the Lord, (Jeremiah 26:10) and which both the Targum and Kimchi on the place say is the eastern gate.

To ask alms of them that entered into the temple ;
who going to religious exercises, might be thought to be more disposed to acts of liberality and charity: and besides, these were known to be Jews, of whom only alms were to be asked and taken; for so run their canons ^F25, ``it is forbidden to take alms of Gentiles publicly, except a man cannot live by the alms of Israelites; and if a king, or a prince of the Gentiles, should send money to an Israelite for alms, he must not return it, because of the peace of the kingdom, but must take it of him, and give it to the poor of the Gentiles secretly, that the king may not hear.''

FOOTNOTES:

• F17: Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 3.
• F18: Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. ib.
• F19: Vid. Juchasin, fol. 65. 2.
• F20: Misn. Middot, c. 2. sect. 4. Maimon. Hilchot Beth Habechirah, c. 6. sect. 5.
• F21: Gloss. in T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 15. 2. Vid. Maimon. Hilch. Taanith, c. 4. sect. 15.
• F23: De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 3.
• F24: Abarbinel in loc.
• F25: Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. Affirm. 162.

Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple
Just as they were entering through the gate at which he lay, he looked at them; and though they were strangers to him, he concluded they were Israelites by their going into the temple at that time:

asked an alms ;
of them; prayed them to give him something for his relief and support.

And Peter fastening his eyes upon him
Or looking very wistly and intently at him, being, no doubt, under some uncommon impulse of the Spirit of God to take notice of him, and cure him of his disease:

with John ;
who was also under a like impulse at the same time; and who was equally concerned in this cure, as appears by the notice the man, when healed, took of the one, as well as the other; and by Peter's declaration, (Acts 3:11Acts 3:12) as also by the following words:

said, look on us ;
which was said to raise his attention to them, to put him upon observing what manner of men they were, and how unlikely to perform the following cure, and to take notice of the manner in which it would be done. The Jews speak of a supernatural cure effected in such a manner, using such words; and which perhaps is told, with a view to lessen the glory of this ^F26 .

``Elias appeared to one in the likeness of R. Chiyah Rabbah; he said to him, how does my Lord do? he replied to him, a certain tooth distresses me; he said to him, (yl ymx) , "look on me"; and he looked on him, and put his finger on it, and he was well.''

FOOTNOTES:

• F26: T. Hieros. Cetubot, fol. 35. 1.

And he gave heed unto them
Or "he looked at them", as the Syriac version renders it, as they bid him: he was not only attentive to them in his mind, but he directed his eyes towards them, and looked wistly at them. This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version.

Expecting to receive something of them ;
not a cure for his lameness, which he little thought of, but some money, as an alms.