Acts 3:13

13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus, whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he had judged to let him go.

Acts 3:13 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 3:13

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob
These titles and epithets of God, which are used in the Old Testament, ( Exodus 3:6 Exodus 3:15 Exodus 3:16 ) ( 4:5 ) the apostle chooses to retain, partly to distinguish him from the gods of the Gentiles, and partly to show his regard to the God of Israel, the one, only true, and living God; and that, though he and his fellow apostles were preachers of Christ, yet they were not setters forth of another, or a strange God, but believed in the same God their forefathers did, and to whom they ascribe the glory of this miracle: the God hath glorified his Son Jesus;
by raising him from the dead, setting him at his own right hand, and giving him the gifts of the Spirit for men; which he having bestowed on the apostles, by virtue of this they wrought this miracle, which was a means of setting forth the glory of Christ, and of putting men upon glorifying him, or ascribing honour and glory to him. And in order to awaken their minds, to convict them of their sin, ingratitude, and folly, the apostle adds, whom ye delivered up;
to Pilate, the Roman governor; having first seized him as a thief, bound him as a malefactor, and arraigned, and condemned him to death in the high priest's palace as a blasphemer: and denied him in the presence of Pilate;
or "to", or "against the face of Pilate"; contrary to his sense of things, who more than once called him the King of the Jews, and wrote this as the superscription over him, when they denied him to be their King Messiah, and the Son of God, saying, they had no king but Caesar: when he was determined to let him go;
or release him; that is, "when he judged it right that he should be released", as the Syriac version renders it; for he never came to a point, to a resolution to let him go; though he thought it was but just and equitable that he should be dismissed, being, in his apprehension, an innocent man; and therefore pressed it on the people to agree to release him, to which he was himself strongly inclined.

Acts 3:13 In-Context

11 And as the lame man who was healed held onto Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own virtue or godliness we had made this man walk?

13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus, whom ye delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he had judged to let him go.

14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you

15 and killed the Author of life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.