Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Acts 24:15
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And have hope towards God, etc.] Of an interest in him, and of enjoying eternal life and happiness with him in a future state: which they themselves also allow; that is, some of the Jews, not the Sadducees, for they denied what is afterwards asserted; but the Pharisees, who believed the immortality of the soul, and its existence in a future state: and that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust; agreeably to the doctrine of Christ in (<430528>John 5:28,29). In this article the Pharisees of those times were sounder than the modern Jews; for though the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is one of their thirteen articles of faith, and is a fundamental one, which he that does not believe, cannot be said to be of the Jewish religion; yet they limit it entirely to the righteous f1194, and will not allow that the wicked shall rise again: and this notion obtained also very early; for in their Talmud f1195 it is reported, as the saying of R. Abhu, that “the day of rain is greater than the resurrection of the dead; the resurrection of the dead is µyqydxl, for the righteous, but the rain is both for the righteous, and the wicked.” Though Abarbinel f1196 says, that the sense of this expression is not, that they that are not just shall have no part in the resurrection, but that hereby is declared the benefit and reward to be enjoyed at the resurrection; that that is not like rain, from whence both just and unjust equally receive advantage; whereas only the reward is for the righteous, but not for the ungodly: moreover, he observes, that this saying was not received and approved of by all the wise men, particularly that R. Joseph dissented, and others agreed with him; and as for himself, he openly declares, that that assertion, that the just among the Israelites only shall rise again, is foreign from truth, since the Scripture affirms, (<271202>Daniel 12:2) “that many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake”; but if there should be no other than the righteous in the resurrection, they would without doubt be very few; besides it is said, “some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt”; and Isaiah says, (<236624>Isaiah 66:24) “and they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me”; which shows, that the ungodly shall rise again, to receive their due punishment: and Manasseh ben Israel f1197, in the last century, argued for the resurrection of both the godly and ungodly, from the same passages of Scripture; and yet he was not of opinion, that the resurrection would be general and common to all men, only that some of all sorts, good, and bad, and middling, would rise again, and which he supposed was the sense of the ancients. It is certain the Jews are divided in their sentiments about this matter; some of them utterly deny that any other shall rise but the just; yea, they affirm f1198, that only the just among the Israelites, and not any of the nations of the world shall rise; others say that all shall rise at the resurrection of the dead, excepting the generation of the flood f1199; and others f1200 think, that only they that have been very bad, or very good, shall rise, but not those that are between both; but certain it is, as the apostle affirms, that all shall rise, both just and unjust: the just are they who are made so by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, and who being created anew unto righteousness and true holiness, live…
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