Sermon Tone Analysis

PRAY

INTRO: Recall that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and caused all of them to praise God in the native tongues of various Jews from their dispersed birth places, and Peter preached the first Christian sermon to the people gathered.

It resulted in God adding 3000 believing souls to the 120 original disciples.

Now, following another healing miracle by the Holy Spirit through Peter and John to heal a man lame from birth, another crowd had gathered to them, and Peter proclaimed Jesus as Lord yet again from Solomon’s portico at the temple.

But there comes at this point an interruption to this proclamation and invitation.

And just so, the opposition which targeted Jesus is now transferred to his Apostles.

But rising opposition isn’t the only result.

Vv. 1-4 reveal…

The Two Results From Proclaiming Christ (vv.

1-4)

Some respond with hostility.

Others respond with humility.

Some oppose the gospel because they remain willfully blind, hardhearted, and arrogant.

Others receive Jesus with glad hearts because God graciously humbles them, granting them repentance and faith.

Who are the opponents?

The priests would have been those from the line of Aaron of the tribe of Levi, whom God had set apart to serve him in leading the worship and sacrifices, as intermediaries between God and the people.

(These are undoubtedly the ones on duty at the time.)

The commotion caused by the miracle and the preaching is likely the reason the priests involve the captain (or chief) of the temple.

He was second in command only to the high priest, was charged with keeping order and peace at the temple and in its proceedings, and would have had temple guards at his disposal.

The third group named by Luke are representatives from the Sadducees, who were one of the three main schools involved in Jewish religious practice and politics.

At this time it appears that the Sadducees were well-connected to the Jewish aristocracy and therefore many of those in power in social and civil ranks.

They were also the ones who opposed teaching the resurrection of the dead (Ac 23:8), which makes perfect sense in this context.

(which leads to another question to answer here…)

What do they oppose?

What is it that causes them to be “greatly annoyed”?

(irked, greatly irritated)

The first thing they seem to have a problem with is that the Apostles are teaching many people, and they don’t have any training or sanctioning from the religious or temple authorities to be doing so.

(The temple leaders are coming to realize the previous hullabaloo wasn’t a one-off.

These guys are at it again and undoubtedly gathering a following.)

Secondly, they’re not just teaching the same thing the Pharisees would have taught, that their is a future resurrection of the dead in the eschaton, the last days.

They are proclaiming that the resurrection to life is only made possible by the very real resurrection that Jesus already experienced.

‘Oh boy, we thought we were done with this Jesus when we made sure the Romans put him on a cross, and we know he was confirmed as dead and placed in a tomb.

But then that tomb turned up empty, and we’ve been crossing our fingers, knowing we might have a problem.’

How do they handle those whom they oppose?

This is the M.O.

(modus operandi) of all who cling to their power and authority: First, use your position to intimidate and threaten.

(As they do in this section of Acts with the believers, first see if you can shut them up by throwing your weight around.

‘You’re a smart car.

We’re a semi-truck.

Get out of our way.’)

Next, spread lies about them.

If that doesn’t work, try to manipulate the situation as to have something legitimate-sounding to bring your opponent down.

And finally, if all else fails, make sure they stop breathing.

But these people are literally eye-witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus.

A bit of threatening, lying, and manipulation won’t work.

Even killing some of us won’t work.

We know where we’re going, and we know whose side we’re on.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is gonna keep building his church.

If death could not hold him, no opposition can hold him down.

So as a bit of application inserted here, we as believers must take a biblical view of such opposition to the gospel.

Opposition is confirming.

Opposition creates opportunity.

Opposition is in God’s control.

-My mind often goes quickly to 2 Tim.

3:12 (“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”), as a reminder that opposition is inevitable.

But it is not only inevitable, it is in fact confirming.

Consider these passages also:

Opposition for the sake of Christ is a confirmation that you are in fact on God’s side!

Here’s another:

Again, here is confirmation that you belong to your Master, Jesus.

Secondly, here is confirmation that persecutors are opposing God ultimately, not us.

And finally, there is confirmation that God is drawing his own to himself through the message that we proclaim, in spite of opposition.

-So too, here are some quick examples that opposition creates opportunity for gospel advance: In the very next verses Peter gets to preach the gospel to the whole Sanhedrin, the highest level of religious leadership in all of Israel.

Soon in Acts we’ll observe that it is persecution that brings about the gospel’s spread beyond Jerusalem, as Jesus promised.

Toward the end of Acts, we’ll see the fulfilment of Paul’s desire to preach Christ in Rome, but that such opportunity finally arises when he is carried there under duress, awaiting trial before Caesar.

-My third thought here about opposition is one of comfort, because we know that God is in control.

He is sovereign.

God is providentially controlling both the opposition we face as well as continuing to make disciples of Jesus.

Opposition confirms our standing in Christ, opposition creates opportunities for gospel advance (and spiritual growth), and we can have comfort when opposition arises because we trust God’s control of all things.

What we see in v. 4 of our text is that very thing:

While opposition commences against the Apostles, what is God doing?

God is bringing people to saving faith in Jesus.

- How has God chosen to accomplish this?

He does so through the message of Jesus declared by his followers in the power of the Holy Spirit.

What is “the word” that they hear?

Jesus is Lord and Christ, through whom God offers forgiveness to those who repent and believe, but also through whom God will judge those who reject grace and insist on self-righteousness.

And by God’s grace, some do believe.

In this case, many (a large number) believe; the total count of Jesus’ disciples rises to 5000 men (making the actual total, including women and children, probably over 10,000).

Here’s one more thing that really intrigues me in this summary statement from Luke in v. 4: Do you notice that it is precisely while Peter and John are being hauled off to be intimidated that many more people are responding in belief?

I’m just picturing this in my mind, and I love it.

The two most prominent Apostles are arrested and put in custody (eg., jailed overnight), but the rest of the Apostles and disciples are still there.

No doubt they are answering questions, clarifying, teaching, and explaining to the new believers what the next steps are for being involved and connected to the new community in Christ.

Meanwhile, what’s going on with Peter and John?

Wow, that reply is truly astonishing, and compelling.

How does it come about that Peter is able to give such…

A Bold Answer Under Pressure (vv.

5-12)

Boldness is important not just in this section of Acts, but conceptually critical in all of Acts.

Before we get to where this boldness comes from and what that empowering emboldens us to answer, we need to first look at vv. 5&6 to see who the group is who does the interrogating and what their primary question is which creates the opportunity for Peter’s answer.

Who gathers for this high-pressure interrogation?

The “rulers and elders and scribes” is almost certainly a reference to the Sanhedrin, the 71-member ruling body that served as the highest Jewish court in the land.

(This same “council” is referenced in verse 15, another indication that this is the Sanhedrin.

All or most of its members would likely have been present.)

- Imagine being questioned before the supreme court.

Those mentioned in verse 6 are those of the high priestly household (“all who were of the high priestly family”).

Although Caiaphas was the official high priest at this time, his father-in-law Annas was the former high priest who was still highly influential and apparently retained the title after leaving office.

(much like our presidents of the United States… but more than that, he seems to be the controlling personality) The other two figures are completely unknown to us, John and Alexander, unless this John is the same as Jonathan who becomes the next high priest in AD 37.

What else is there to say about this band of leaders?

These are the very same ones who only months earlier had arrested Jesus, tried him before the Sanhedrin, and then delivered him up to Pilate and demanded that he be executed.

Are Peter and John aware of this?

You know they are.

The situation is intimidating, and potentially life-threatening.