And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple came up to them. Before they even had time to catch their breath after their first trials, they immediately enter into others. And notice how the events are arranged. First, they were all mocked together; this was no small trial. Second, they enter into dangers. And these two things do not happen one right after the other. Only after the Apostles have first won admiration by their two speeches, and then performed a remarkable miracle, and have grown bold, do they enter the arena, by God's arrangement. But I want you to consider how the very same people who, in Christ's case, had to look for someone to hand Him over to them, now arrest the Apostles with their own hands, having become more audacious and more brazen since the Crucifixion. In truth, while sin is still struggling to be born, it comes with some sense of shame; but once it is fully born, it makes those who practice it more shameless. And the captain of the temple, it says. The aim, again, was to brand what was being done as a public crime, and not to prosecute it as the act of private individuals: that, in fact, was always their way of proceeding. Being disturbed that they were teaching the people. Not merely because they were teaching, but because they declared not only that Christ Himself had risen from the dead, but also that we rise again through Him. Because they were teaching the people, and proclaiming through Jesus the resurrection of the dead. So mighty was His Resurrection that He is the cause of resurrection for others as well. And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. What impudence! They did not fear the crowd; that is also why the captain of the temple was with them. Their hands were still reeking with the blood of the former victim. For it was already evening, it says. Those men did this, and kept them under guard, because they wanted to dampen their spirit; but the delay only made the Apostles more fearless. And consider who the men being arrested are. They are the leaders of the Apostles, who have now become a pattern for the rest, so that they would no longer crave each other's support or need to be together. However, many of those who had heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to about five thousand. How did this happen? Did they see them honored? Did they not see them put in chains? How, then, did they believe? Do you see how plainly the power was at work? And yet even those who already believed might well have grown weaker. But no, that is no longer the case: for Peter's sermon had planted the seed deep within them and had taken hold of their minds. That is why [their enemies] were enraged: because these people did not fear them, because they made nothing of their present troubles. For, they say, if He who was crucified accomplishes such great things and makes the lame walk, we do not fear these men either. This, again, is God's arrangement. For those who now believed were more numerous than the earlier ones. That is why they bound the Apostles in their presence: to make them more fearful too. But the opposite happened. And they examine them not in front of the people but in private, so that the hearers would not profit from their boldness. And on the next day their rulers, elders, and scribes, and Annas the High Priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and all who belonged to the High Priest's family, gathered together in Jerusalem. (v. 5-6.) For now, along with the other evils (of the times), the Law was no longer being observed. And again they dressed the business up in the form of a tribunal, so as to make them guilty by their unjust sentence. And when they had set them in the middle, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have you done this? And yet they knew perfectly well; for it was because they were disturbed that they were proclaiming through Jesus the resurrection that they arrested them. Then why do they question them? They expected that the large number of people present would make them recant, and thought that this way they would set everything right again. Notice, then, what they say: And by what name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them. And now, please, remember Christ's saying: When they hand you over to the synagogues, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. So it was a mighty Power that they had. What, then, does Peter say? You rulers of the people and elders of Israel. Notice the Christian wisdom of the man, how full of confidence it is: he does not say a single insulting word, but speaks respectfully: You rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we are being called to account today for a good deed done to a crippled man. He takes them on very bravely; with the opening of his speech he exposes them and reminds them of their past actions: that it is for an act of kindness that they are calling them to account. It is as if he had said, In all fairness we should have been crowned for this deed and proclaimed benefactors; but since we are actually being put on trial for a good deed done to a crippled man — not a rich man, not a powerful one, not a man of noble birth — and yet who would feel envy in a case like this? It is a very forceful (ἀπαγγελια, al. ἐπαγγελία) way of putting the case; and he shows that they are piercing themselves:— By what means this man has been made well: let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth:— this is what would vex them most. For this was what Christ had told the disciples: What you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.— That in the name of Jesus Christ, he says, of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, it is by Him that this man stands here before you well. Acts 4:10. Do not think, he says, that we hide where He came from or what kind of death He died. Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, it is by Him that this man stands before you well. Again the death, again the resurrection. This is the stone, he says, which was despised by you builders, which has become the head of the corner. He also reminds them of a saying that was enough to frighten them. For it had been said, Whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Matthew 21:44— Neither is there salvation in any other, Peter says. What wounds, do you think, these words must have inflicted on them! For there is no other name, he continues, under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Here he also speaks lofty words. For when the aim is not to win some point by argument but only to show boldness, he does not hold back; for he was not afraid of striking too deep. Nor does he simply say, By another; but, Neither is there salvation in any other: that is, He is able to save us. In this way he subdued their threats. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. The two uneducated men beat down both them and the chief priests with their eloquence. For it was not they who spoke, but the grace of the Spirit. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it. The man showed great boldness, in that even in the courtroom he did not leave them. For if they had denied the fact, there he was to refute them. But when they had ordered them to leave the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What are we to do with these men? See the difficulty they are in, and how fear of people once again drives everything. Just as in Christ's case they were not able (as the saying is) to undo what had been done, or to cast it into the shade, but for all their efforts to hinder it, the Faith only gained ground all the more, so it was now. What shall we do? What folly! To suppose that those who had already tasted the conflict would now be frightened by it! To expect, when their efforts had proved powerless at the beginning, to accomplish something new, after such a display of eloquence as had just been given! The more they wanted to hinder it, the more the matter grew on their hands. But what do they say? For that a remarkable miracle has indeed been done through them is obvious to everyone who lives in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us sternly threaten them not to speak to anyone in this name from now on. And they called them and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. See what effrontery these men show, and what greatness of mind the Apostles show. But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you be the judges. For we cannot help speaking about the things we have seen and heard. So when they had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people. The miracles shut their mouths: they would not even let them finish their speech, but cut them off in the middle, most insolently. For everyone was glorifying God for what had been done. For the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old. But let us look over what has been said from the beginning. And as they were speaking to the people, etc. Being disturbed that they were teaching the people, and proclaiming through Jesus the resurrection of the dead. (Recapitulation, v. 1, 2.) So at first they did everything for the sake of human opinion (or glory); but now another motive was added: that they should not be thought guilty of murder, as they said later, Do you want to bring this man's blood on us? What folly! Convinced that He had risen, and having received this proof of it, they expected that He Whom death could not hold could be cast into the shade by their schemes! What could match the folly of this? Such is the nature of wickedness: it has no eyes for anything, but is thrown into confusion at every turn. Finding themselves overpowered, they felt like people who have been outwitted, as happens to those who have been outmaneuvered and made fools of in some matter. And yet they declared everywhere that it was God who raised Him; but it was in the Name of Jesus that they spoke, showing that Jesus had risen. Through Jesus, the resurrection of the dead: for they themselves also held to a resurrection — a cold and childish doctrine, to be sure, but still they held it. Why, was this alone not enough to persuade them to do nothing to them — I mean, the fact that the disciples conducted themselves as they did, with such boldness? Tell me, Jew, why do you disbelieve? You should have paid attention to the sign that was done and to the words, not to the evil disposition of the many. Because they were teaching the people. For they already had a bad reputation with the people because of what they had done to Christ, so they were only adding to their own disgrace. And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. In Christ's case, however, they did not do this; instead, having seized Him at midnight, they immediately led Him away and made no delay, because they were extremely afraid of the crowd; whereas here, in the case of the Apostles, they were bold. And they no longer take them to Pilate, being ashamed and blushing at the thought of the earlier affair, for fear that they might be taken to task for that as well. And on the next day their rulers, elders, and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem. Again in Jerusalem — and it is there that men's blood is shed; they had no reverence for their own city either. And Annas, and Caiaphas, etc. And Annas, it says, and Caiaphas. It was his female servant who questioned Peter, and he could not bear up under it; it was in his house that Peter made his denial, while Another was in chains there: but now, when he has come into the middle of them all, see how he speaks! By what name have you done this? Why do you not say it outright, what it is, instead of keeping it out of sight? By what name have you done this? And yet he declared, It was not we who did it. You rulers of the people, etc. Notice his wisdom: he does not say outright, In the Name of Jesus we did it, but how does he put it? In His Name this man — he does not say, was made well by us, but — stands here before you well. And again, If we are being examined concerning the good deed done to the crippled man. He hits them hard for always making a crime of such acts, finding fault with acts of kindness done to people; and he reminds them of their past conduct: that they rush to commit murder, and not only that, but make a crime of doing good deeds. Do you notice, too (in point of rhetoric), with what dignity they express themselves? Even in their use of words they were becoming skilled through practice, and from then on they could no longer be beaten down. Let it be known to all of you, etc. By this he shows them that, in spite of themselves, they are actually preaching Christ; that they themselves are exalting the doctrine by their examining and questioning. What extraordinary boldness — Whom you crucified! Whom God raised up — this is bolder still! Do not think that we hide what there is to be ashamed of. He says this almost tauntingly; and he does not merely say it, but dwells on the matter. This, he says, is the Stone which was despised by you builders; and then he goes on to teach them, adding, Which has become the head of the corner Acts 4:11; that is to say, the Stone has in fact been approved! Great was the boldness they now had as a result of the miracle. And when there was need to teach, notice how they speak and cite many prophecies; but when the point was to speak boldly, then they simply make peremptory statements. Thus he says: Neither is there any other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. It is obvious to everyone, he says, because that Name was not given to us alone; he even cites them as witnesses. For since they asked, In what name did you do it? In Christ's, he says: there is no other name. How can you even ask? On every side this is obvious. For there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. This is the language of a soul that has renounced (κατεγνωκυίας) this present life. His extraordinary outspokenness here proves that when he speaks of Christ in humble terms, he does so not out of fear but out of wise forbearance (συγκαταβαίνων); but now that it was the right time, he does not speak in humble terms, intending by this very thing to strike dismay into them. Look: another miracle, no less than the former. And seeing the boldness of Peter and John, etc. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. The Evangelist did not set down this passage without reason; in saying, they recognized that they had been with Jesus, he means in His Passion: for only these were [with Him] at that time, and back then they had indeed seen them humbled and dejected; and this was what surprised them most: the greatness of the change. For in fact Annas and Caiaphas and their company were there, and they too had been standing near Him then, and the Apostles' boldness now amazed them. And seeing the boldness. For not only their words but their very bearing showed it: that they should stand there so fearlessly to be tried in such a case, with the gravest danger hanging over them! Not only by their words, but also by their gestures, their look, and their voice — in short, by everything about them — they displayed the boldness with which they faced the people. From the things they said, perhaps, they were amazed that they were uneducated and ordinary men: for a person may be uneducated and yet not an ordinary private person, and an ordinary person and yet not uneducated. Having perceived, it says. From what? From what they said? Peter does not draw out long speeches, but by his very manner and method (τἥς ἀπαγγελίας καὶ τἥς συνθήκης) he declares his confidence. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. This circumstance made them believe that it was from Him that they had learned these things, and that they did everything as His disciples. But no less than the voice of these men, the miracle spoke with a voice of its own: that sign itself shut their mouths. [And beholding the man, etc.] So they would have dealt peremptorily (ἐπέσκηψαν) with them if the man had not been with them. We cannot deny it. So they would have denied it if the thing had not been so — if the testimony had not been that of the people in general. But so that it spreads no further among the people. And yet it was obvious to everyone! But such is the nature of wickedness: everywhere it is put to shame. Let us sternly threaten them. What are you saying? Threaten? And do you expect to stop the preaching? And yet all beginnings are hard and difficult. You killed the Master and did not stop it; and now, if you threaten, do you expect to turn us back? The imprisonment did not succeed in making us speak submissively, and will you succeed? And they called them, and commanded them, etc. (v. 18, 19.) It would have been much better for them to let them go. And Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you be the judges. When the terror had subsided (for that command amounted to their being dismissed), then the Apostles too speak more mildly — so far were they from mere bravado: Whether it is right, he says; and We cannot [but speak]. Whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you rather than God. Here [by God] they mean Christ, for He was the one who had commanded them. And once more they confirm the fact of His Resurrection. For we cannot help speaking about the things we have seen and heard: so we are witnesses who deserve to be believed. So when they had threatened them further. Again they threatened in vain. They let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people: for everyone was glorifying God for what had been done. So the people glorified God, but these men tried to destroy them: that is how much they fought against God! By this they made them more prominent and more renowned. For My strength, it is said, is made perfect in weakness. These men have already borne testimony as martyrs: set in battle against everyone, they said, We cannot help speaking about the things we have seen and heard. If what we say is false, refute it; if it is true, why do you hinder us? Such is philosophy! Those men are perplexed, these are glad; those are covered with great shame, these do everything boldly; those are afraid, these are confident. For who, I ask, were the frightened ones? Those who said, So that it spreads no further among the people, or these who said, We cannot help speaking about the things we have seen and heard? And these had a delight, a freedom of speech, a joy surpassing everything; those had despondency, shame, fear; for they were afraid of the people. But these were not afraid of those; on the contrary, while these said what they wanted, those did not get to do what they wanted. Which ones were in chains and in danger? Was it not the latter? Let us, then, hold fast to virtue; let these words not end merely in pleasure and in a certain lifting of the spirits. This is not the theater, with its singers (κιθαρώδων), tragedians, and musicians (κιθαριστὥν), where the only fruit is enjoyment, and where the enjoyment itself passes away with the passing day. No — if only it were enjoyment alone, and not harm along with the enjoyment! But that is how it is: each man carries home with him much of what he has seen there, clinging to him like the infection of a plague. One of the younger ones, having picked up here and there whatever snatches of song from those satanic plays he could fix in his memory, goes around the house singing them; while another, an older man, supposedly too dignified for such frivolity, does not do this, but remembers everything that is said there, both the proclamations and the very words; and yet another remembers some filthy and absurd song. But from this place you leave taking nothing with you.— We have laid down a law — no, not we: God forbid! For it is said, Call no one your master on earth Matthew 23:8; Christ has laid down a law that no one should swear. Now tell me, what has been done about this law? For I will not stop speaking about it, for fear that, as the Apostle says, if I come again, I will have to be unsparing. I ask, then: have you taken the matter to heart? Have you thought about it seriously? Have you been in earnest about it, or must we take up the same subject again? No — rather, whether you have or not, we will take it up again, so that you may think about it seriously, or, if you have taken it to heart, may do so again even more firmly, and urge others to do so too. With what, then, I ask you, with what shall we begin? Shall it be with the Old Testament? For indeed this too is to our shame: that we do not even keep the precepts of the Law at that level, when we ought to surpass them! For we should not be hearing things like these: these are precepts suited to the poor Jewish level (τἥς ᾿Ιουδαἲκἥς εὐτελείας); we should be hearing those counsels of perfection: Throw away your property, stand courageously, and give up your life for the Gospel; scorn all the goods of the earth; have nothing in common with this present life; if anyone wrongs you, do him good; if anyone defrauds you, bless him; if anyone reviles you, show him honor; rise above everything. (S. Ambros. de Off. i. 2.) These, and things like these, are what we should be hearing. But here we are discussing swearing; and our situation is just as if someone who ought to be a philosopher were taken away from the great masters and set to spelling out syllables letter by letter! Just think what a disgrace it would be for a man with a flowing beard, staff in hand and cope on his shoulders, to go to school with children and be given the same lessons as they are: would it not be ridiculous beyond measure? And yet the ridicule that belongs to us is even greater. For the difference between the Jewish way of life and ours is not like the difference between philosophy and a spelling lesson — no indeed, but like the difference between angels and men. Tell me, if someone could bring an angel down from heaven and tell him to stand here and listen to our preaching, as one whose duty it was to conform himself to it, would it not be shameful and absurd? But if it is ridiculous still to be under instruction about these things like children, what must it be not even to pay attention to them? How great the condemnation, how great the shame! To be Christians, and still have to learn that it is not right to swear! However, let us put up with that, so that we do not incur even worse ridicule. Well, then, let us speak to you today from the Old Testament. What does it tell us? Do not accustom your mouth to swearing, and do not make a habit of naming the Holy One. And why? For as a servant who is continually beaten will not be without a bruise, so is the one who swears.⁠a See the discernment of this wise man. He did not say, Do not accustom your mind to swearing, but your mouth; because it is entirely a matter of the mouth, and so it is easily remedied. For in the end it becomes a habit without any intention behind it; for instance, there are many who, as soon as they have stepped over the threshold of the public baths, cross themselves (σφραγίζονται) (Hom. in 1 Cor. xi. 7). The hand has learned to do this without anyone telling it to, by force of habit. Again, when a candle is lit, often while the mind is intent on something else, the hand makes the sign. In the same way the mouth, too, without the mind's involvement, pronounces the word from mere habit, and the whole thing is in the tongue. Do not make a habit, he says, of naming the Holy One. For as a servant who is continually beaten will not be without a bruise, so is the one who swears. He is not speaking here of false oaths; he cuts down all oaths, and assigns punishment to them as well. So, then, swearing is a sin. For such, in truth, is the soul: full of all these sores, all these scars. But you do not see them? Yes, this is the trouble with it; and yet you could see them if you wanted to, for God has given you eyes. With eyes of this kind the Prophet saw when he said, My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness. We have despised God, we have hated that good Name, we have trampled Christ underfoot, we have lost all reverence; no one names the Name of God with honor. Yet if you love someone, you jump to your feet even at his name; but God you invoke constantly in this way, and think nothing of it. Call on Him for the good of your enemy; call on Him for the salvation of your own soul; then He will be present, then you will delight Him; whereas now you provoke Him to anger. Call on Him as Stephen did: Lord, he said, do not lay this sin to their charge. Call on Him as the wife of Elkanah did, with tears and sobs and prayers. I do not stop you; on the contrary, I earnestly urge you to do it. Call on Him as Moses called on Him — indeed, cried out to Him — interceding for those who had driven him into exile. To mention any person of standing casually is taken as an insult; and do you toss God around in your talk, in season and out of season? I do not want to keep you from having God always in your mind; no, this I even desire and pray for — only that you do it in a way that honors Him. It would have done us great good if we had called on God only when we should, and for what we should. And why, I ask, were such miracles worked in the Apostles' times and not in ours? And yet it is the same God, the same Name. But no, the situation is not the same. For then they called on Him only for the purposes I have mentioned; whereas we call on Him not for these, but for quite other purposes.— If someone refuses to believe you, and that is why you swear, say to him, Believe me; but if you absolutely must take an oath, swear by yourself. I say this not to set up a law against Christ's law — God forbid! For it is said, Let your yes be yes, and your no, no Matthew 5:37 — but by way of coming down to your present level, so that I may more easily lead you to practice this commandment and draw you away from this tyrannical habit. How many people who have done well in other respects have been ruined by these practices! Shall I tell you why the ancients were permitted to take oaths? (For they were not permitted to take false oaths either.) Because they swore by idols. But are you not ashamed to settle for laws by which they, in their weakness, were led on to something better? It is true that when I take a Gentile in hand, I do not immediately lay this command on him, but first I urge him to know Christ; but if the believer, who has both come to know Him and heard Him, must ask for the same indulgence as the Gentile, what is the use, what is the gain (of his Christianity?)— But the habit is strong, and you cannot break free of it? Well, then, since the tyranny of habit is so great, redirect it into another channel. And how is this to be done? you will ask. What I have said often, I say now too: have many people keeping watch (λογισταὶ), many examining and correcting you (ἐξετασταὶ, δοκιμασταί). Tell me: if you happen to put on your cloak inside out, you let your servant correct your mistake, and you are ashamed to be taught by him, although there is much to be ashamed of in this; and here, when you are being harmed in your soul, are you ashamed to be taught better by someone else? You let your servant put your clothes in order and fasten your shoes, and will you not put up with someone who would put your soul in order? Let even your servant, your child, your wife, your friend, your relative, your neighbor be your teachers on this point. For just as a wild animal hunted down from all sides cannot possibly escape, so the person who has so many watching him, so many reproving him, and who is open to attack from all sides, cannot help being on his guard. The first day he will find it hard to bear, and the second, and the third; but after that it will come more easily, and once the fourth day has passed there will not even be anything left to do. Try it, if you doubt me; give it some thought, I beg you. Getting this wrong or right matters a great deal; either way the consequences are great, for evil or for good. May the good be accomplished, through the grace and loving mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, and honor, now and always, forever and ever. Amen.