Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people
They were not delivered out of prison, in order to go and secure
themselves from danger; but to go about the work they were called
to, to preach the Gospel "in the temple", the place of worship;
and a proper place to meet with persons to preach to, being a
public place, whither the Jews always resorted; and there they
were to stand, and continue with courage and intrepidity, not
fearing the reproach and wrath of men, seeing they had both
Christ and truth on their side; and there declare it "to the
people", the common people, the multitude, even all that came to
hear: the Gospel is to be preached to all; the Spirit of God
makes it effectual to some, and others are rendered inexcusable:
the substance of what they were to speak follows,
all the words of this life;
all the doctrines of the Gospel; none of them are to be dropped
or concealed, but to be spoken out, fully, freely, and
faithfully, with all boldness and constancy; though they cannot
be comprehended by reason, and are rejected by learned men, and
the majority of the people; though charged with novelty and
licentiousness, and attended with reproach and persecution: and
these may be called, "the words of life", even of eternal life,
as in ( John 6:68
) because they show the nature of it, and point out the way unto
it; not by the law, and obedience to that, but by Christ and his
righteousness; and are the means of quickening dead sinners, of
reviving drooping saints, and of nourishing them up unto eternal
life: and also the words of "this" life; not of this present
frail, mortal, and sinful life; but of life by Christ, which is
begun to be enjoyed now, and will be perfectly enjoyed hereafter:
and particularly the doctrine of the resurrection unto life may
be intended; in opposition to the Sadducees, who denied it, and
were the men that, being filled with indignation against them for
preaching it, had seized them, and put them into prison; and
being now delivered from prison, they are bid to go and preach
this same doctrine again, in the most public manner: though some
think there is an hypallage in the words; and so the Syriac
version renders them, "all these words of life"; and the Ethiopic
version, "this word of life"; meaning the Gospel, and the
doctrines of it, they had in commission to preach, and for which
they were reproached and persecuted.