Acts 3:1-11 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.… The union of the two brings the narratives of the Gospels into an interesting connection with the Acts. They were probably about the same age (the idea that Peter was some years older than John rests mainly on the pictures which artists have drawn from their imagination, and has no evidence in Scripture), and had been friends from their youth upward. They had been partners as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:10). They had been sharers in looking for the consolation of Israel, and had together received the baptism of John (John 1:41). John and Andrew had striven which should be the first to tell Peter that they had found the Christ (John 1:41). The two had been sent together to prepare for the Passover (Luke 22:8). John takes Peter into the palace of the high priest (John 18:16), and though he must have witnessed his denials, is not estranged from him. It is to John that Peter turns for comfort after his fall, and with him he comes to the sepulchre on the morning of the resurrection (John 20:6). The eager affection which, now more strongly than ever, bound the two together is seen in Peter's question, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" (John 21:21); and now they are again sharers in action and in heart, in teaching and in worship. Passing rivalries there may have been, disputes which was the greatest, prayers for places on the right hand and the left (Matthew 20:20; Mark 10:35); but the idea maintained by Renan, that St. John wrote his Gospel to exalt himself at the expense of Peter, must take its place among the delirantium somnia; the morbid imaginations, of inventive interpretation. They appear in company again in the mission to Samaria (Romans 8:14), and in recognising the work that had been done by Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles (Galatians 2:9). When it was that they parted never to meet again, we have no record. (Dean Plumptre.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.WEB: Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. |
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