The commentaries of M. John Calvin upon the Acts of the Apostles, faithfully translated…The commentaries of M. Iohn Caluin vpon the Actes of the Apostles, faithfully translated…

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man showed towards you of God, by powers and wonders, and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as you your selves know: 23 Him, I say, have ye taken, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, by the hands of wicked men, and have slain him, having fastened him to the cross. 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of death, forasmuch as it was unpossible that he should be holden of it.

22 Yee men of Israel, heare these wordes: Iesus of Nazareth, a man shewed towards you of God, by powers and wonders, and signes which God did by him in the midst of you, as you your selues know: 23 Him, I say, haue yee taken, being deliuered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, by the hands of wicked men, and haue slaine him, hauing fastned him to the crosse. 24 Whom God hath raised vp, hauing loosed the sorrowes of death, forasmuch as it was vnpossible that he should be holden of it.

22 Jesus of Nazareth. Now doth Peter apply unto his purpose the prophecy of Joel: namely, that the Jews may thereby know that the time of restoring was present: and that Christ was given them for this purpose. For this promise was no otherwise to be fulfilled, save only by the coming of the mediator. And this is the right use of all those gifts which we have by Christ, whiles that they bring us unto Christ, as unto a fountain. But he cometh hither by little and little. For he doth not by and by in the beginning affirm that Jesus was Christ: but he sayeth, only that he was a man, sent of God: and that doth he prove by his miracles. Afterward he addeth, that he rose from death, when he was slain. Whereby it appeareth more certainly and more fully, that he was not some one of the Prophets, but the very son of God, who was promised to be the repairer of all things. Let this therefore be the first member, that Jesus of Nazareth was a man approved of God by manifest testimonies, so that he could not be despised, as some base and obscure person. The old interpreter did not evil translate hupodhedheigmenon, Approved. And Erasmus is deceived, who thinketh that he did read it otherwise. And he himself did not express Luke his mind, when as he translateth it Given. For seeing that word doeth signify among the Grecians to show: whereupon the Mathematicians also call those arguments whereby they set a thing as it were before a mans eyes apodexeis, or demonstrations: Luke meant to say that Jesus came not unknown, and without any testimony or approbation: but that those miracles which God showed by him, served to this end, that he might be famous and excellent. Therefore he saith, that he was showed toward the Jews: because God would have his son to be accounted excellent and great amongst them. As if he should say, that miracles were not appointed for other nations, but for the Jews: that they might know that Jesus was sent unto them of God.