Bible Strands
Acts 5:15
As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative records a moment in Jerusalem where crowds bring the sick into the streets to be laid on cots and mats so Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he passes. The author presents this event as the direct result of the growing number of believers being brought to the Lord.
The words — The Greek conjunction ὥστε (hōste) carries the literal sense "so as" or "so that," establishing the causal link between the crowd's actions and the preceding increase of faith. The verb ἐκφέρειν (ekpherein) means "to bring out," describing how the sick were carried from their homes into the public squares.
The thread — This pattern of physical proximity to a God-anointed figure producing healing appears in Matthew 14:36, where people beg to touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak, and in Acts 19:11, where God performs extraordinary miracles through Paul’s hands. John 14:12 provides the broader theological framework that believers will do the works their leader does.
Why it lands — The text states that people were laid on cots and mats so Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he passed. This requires the reader to acknowledge that God’s healing power was actively channeled through a physical object and an appointed messenger without diminishing the source of the miracle.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
Cross-references
- Matthew 14:36 and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
- Acts 19:11 God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
- John 14:12 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
- Matthew 9:21 She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”