John Chrysostom

"And your sons shall prophesy." And yet, he says, not yours this achievement, this distinction; the gift has passed over to your children. Himself and his company he calls their sons, and those whom he is addressing he calls his and their fathers. "And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy." So far he shows that he and his have found favor, in that they had received the Spirit; not so they whom he is addressing; for that they had crucified the Lord. So Christ also, willing to mitigate their wrath, said, "By whom do your sons cast out devils?" He did not say, My disciples; for indeed it seemed a flattering mode of expression. And so Peter also did not say, "They are not drunk, but speak by the Spirit:" but he takes refuge with the prophet, and under shelter of him, so speaks. As for the accusation of drunkenness, he cleared himself of that by his own assertion; but for the grace, he fetches the prophet as witness.

"I will pour out," etc. And then, that he may not seem to limit the privilege to the sons only, he subjoins, "And your old men shall dream dreams." Mark the sequence. First sons; just as David said, "Instead of thy fathers, were begotten thy sons." And again Malachi; "They shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. And on my handmaidens, and on my servants." This also is a token of excellence, for we have become His servants, by being freed from sin. And great is the gift, since the grace passes over to the other sex also, not as of old, it was limited to just one or two individuals, as Deborah and Huldah.