God Working Through & Watching Over His Church

PRAY: Gracious God, you have existed in triunity from before time. You created all things. Everything is from you and for you. Thank you for making us in your image, to enjoy and exercise dominion over your creation. Because of our sin nature and ongoing rebellion, we thank you for the gift of new birth to saving faith in Jesus Christ, who is Messiah and Lord. We worship you because you alone are worthy, and because you have seen fit to favor us with your great love and mercy. - Teach our hearts today to fear you and to worship you more. Amen.

INTRO: Does it ever feel like God is distant? Do you ever doubt whether God is really in control of everything? Does God truly care for you, and does he really answer prayer? Will God really work out all things according to his perfect plan?

The reason God has given us the Bible is so that we may have written proof, which we can turn to again and again, to know for certain that God is active and accessible (through humble faith in Jesus Christ). …Proof that God is faithful and providentially working in all things, proof that he cares for you and watches over his people, and proof that he wants to use surrendered hearts to spread the message of his glory and goodness.

As we return to our study in Acts, we find God at work through and on behalf of the Apostles and the growing Church in Jerusalem. He has not left them alone. He is answering their prayer to be used by him to draw attention to the gospel and empowering them to boldly and clearly proclaim that Jesus is the Christ. And he is providentially working even through opposition and persecution, teaching the believers to trust him more.

We pick up where we left off in Acts chapter 5, just after God dealt swiftly and severely with the first internal threat to the unity and mission of the church—the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. That ended with a second statement that “great fear came upon the whole church and all who heard of these things.” From there we continue at v. 12.

Acts 5:12–16 ESV

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

As we said, this section provides a direct answer to their prayers in 4:29&30. [read there, then continue…] In fact, the whole section we’re looking at today serves to reveal God answering these two requests they prayed according to his will: for boldness under pressure (which will come at vv. 17ff) and for God to stretch out his hand to perform miracles to draw attention to the message of repentance and forgiveness in Jesus. Notice that God stretches out his hand in this case by working through the hands of the Apostles. While our experiences of it will not always be so dramatic, it is still the case that…

God is working through his people by the power of the Holy Spirit. (vv. 12-16)

We must take the balance of Scripture and not presume the ministry of the Apostles in Acts to be normative for all stages of our Lord’s development of his church. However, we also shouldn’t assume that God can’t or doesn’t perform miracles at times when he sees fit to do so in answer to the prayers of his saints.

But here in the early chapters of Acts, God was performing through the Apostles what amounted to very public healing miracles. The church continues gathering at Solomon’s Portico, which was a portion of the roofed colonnade around the outer courts of the temple, a very prominent and public location. Vv. 15&16 note the degree to which news of this has spread: People are bringing their sick and demon-possessed from towns all around Jerusalem, and they are being healed. They’re even laying the sick on cots and mats in the streets to see if just Peter’s shadow might touch and heal them. (Though this is probably an explanation of how things rose to the level of superstition because of how prominent all this had become, it is possible that the Lord healed these people because of their faith that God had given Peter such power to heal.)

Recognition of God’s Presence & Power Leads to Different Reactions among the people: After what happens with Ananias and Sapphira, some are afraid and keep their distance, even though they have high respect for the Apostles and growing church (v. 13). Even so, some are becoming true believers, in large numbers (“multitudes of both men and women”), as God enables them to get past this fear and are being “added to the Lord” (v. 14).

Still, those are not the only reactions. The Apostles are also met with anger and jealousy from among the religious establishment, which we see in the following section.

Acts 5:17–26 ESV

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

What is taking place is that those who hold religious power in Israel, which at this time was the party of the Sadducees, are particularly angered and threatened by the rising popularity and influence of the followers of Jesus. (of whom the high priest was one, which could refer here to either Annas, former high priest, or his son-in-law Caiaphas, current high priest) They are therefore seeking to suppress the impact of this new movement.

But Luke reveals not only their motivation of jealousy, but also that they on the wrong side, because…

God is watching over his people at all times, including times of persecution. (vv. 17-26)

The first arrest was only Peter and John, but now all the Apostles are evidently imprisoned, so this is an escalation. But so they are not discouraged and silenced, God sends an angelic messenger to release them from their imprisonment that very night, and to tell them to go right back where they were in the temple and to “speak to all the people the words of this Life”… which clearly references the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the only way of salvation and means to eternal life.

They enter the temple at daybreak and do exactly as they were told—they teach.

And now the situation becomes humorous. I wish we could see the invisible angelic scene here. While angels are not omnipresent like God, the Bible does seem to indicate that they are able to observe the affairs of men. Can you not imagine this angelic messenger telling some of the the others, “Guys, who have to watch this now. They’re sending for their prisoners to be brought to them.”

The high priest has already gathered all the leaders, the whole council (Sanhedrin) and possibly some additional community leaders in society (unless both words refer to the same group, the Sanhedrin). Anyway, the officers go to the prison and come back with this report: “Uh, we discovered the prison doors and prison guards to be in good working order, but the, uh, prisoners themselves were nowhere to be found.”

As we say, the captain of the temple and chief priests were left scratching their heads trying to figure out what could possibly have happened. Just then, another person comes and tells them where to find their missing prisoners: “standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

When they send for them again, they are smart enough (selfishly) to not take them by force because they fear an uprising from the people that might lead to their own stoning (which must mean they just ask them to come, and the Apostles comply). But they are too hardhearted to realize the miraculous empty jail should give them a hint about whose side God is on. God is directing and protecting these Apostles. Only the prominent rabbi and Pharisee Gamaliel will be wise enough to at least consider the possibility, as we shall see near the end of the chapter.

What we should take away from this paragraph is that we know God is watching over us at all times, and he is able to deliver us from any and every situation as he sees fit. So we receive whatever comes as his will for us, accepting his timing and his ways.

As we continue, we see the Apostles continue to do this very thing, entrusting themselves to God and obeying him to be bold and clear with the gospel.

Acts 5:27–32 ESV

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

From the example of the Apostles, we learn that…

God wants his people to trust and obey him, proclaiming the gospel with clarity. (vv. 27-32)

And this they do under serious threat to their very lives.

The high priest begins with, “We warned you guys to stop teaching in the name of Jesus, but instead of that slowing you down, you’ve filled the whole city with it. Add to this that in your teaching we come off as being guilty of his death.”

Man, Peter sure has grown in sanctification with the presence of the Holy Spirit, because he is both self-controlled and bold in his answer. (And the other Apostles must give assent to what he says here or repeat something very similar when asked if they are all in agreement.)

Last time Peter and John said, ch. 4:19&20 [read]. This answer is similar, but they emphasize obedience to God and the gospel. Additionally, Peter calls Jesus the Prince & Savior.

Leader/Prince - (Can mean initiator or founder, but here likely meaning) Ruler of highest authority.

Savior - The very one whom you sought to kill, God raised to life and exalted, so that his death and resurrection would in fact provide opportunity for repentance and forgiveness of sin. And Peter mentions Israel specifically probably to highlight that, rather than this preaching being a threat to Israel, Jesus is in fact means of true restoration and obedience to God which would in fact bring blessing to the whole nation. He is speaking to the nation’s leaders, after all.

In fact, the miraculous things that are happening is because the power of the Holy Spirit is testifying to the truth of this message, and is coming through us precisely because we ourselves are personal witnesses to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and because we are obeying God by continuing to declare the truth about him.

We will see it and say it again and again in Acts, we too have been given the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus, and we too are commissioned to proclaim the gospel boldly and clearly. By that very obedience the power of God is displayed in us.

Because everything that Peter says is true, and the leaders remain hardhearted, we are not surprised by their response.

Acts 5:33–40 ESV

When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

In spite of their frantic anger and murderous desire, God intervenes through the wisdom he provides to one member among them. I believe Luke includes the details of this to show that, although Gamaliel speaks even truer than he knows, …

God is on the side of His church, and His will is sure to prevail. (vv. 33-40)

Like his grandfather Hillel, Gamaliel is a well-known and influential rabbi from the party of the Pharisees, who are not currently holding the primary power, but are more well-liked by the people because their piety seems much more sincere, and probably is. Gamaliel’s most infamous student becomes Saul of Tarsus—infamous to us when he is persecuting the church, and no doubt infamous to them when he is converted by Christ and becomes a bold witness for Jesus not only to the Jews but especially among the Gentiles.

Gamaliel clearly exercises wisdom, and even though he himself is not ready to submit to this teaching concerning Jesus, that doesn’t change that God is the source of wisdom.

Proverbs 2:6 ESV

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

The wise point of view looks like this (back in our text in Acts 5), which Luke would argue is appropriate for anyone looking upon the church as a threat: Other rebellious movements die out shortly after their leader dies because they were not truly from God and their followers scatter. Gamaliel gives a couple of historical examples of this in vv. 36&37. So He recommends that in the present case they should leave the Jesus followers alone and not resort to killing them (and risk a greater uprising among the people), because if this movement is merely rebellious and not from God, it will die out on its own because Jesus is gone. But if this thing is in fact from God, you won’t be able to succeed in overthrowing it, and you’ll find yourselves opposing God!

What Luke wants his reader to see is that Gamaliel is absolutely right, and that the latter is the case because Jesus isn’t dead but is alive and reigning just as Peter and the Apostles say. He is in fact Lord and Messiah, and nothing will be able to stop the spread of this movement, because it is God’s will. That’s the exact reason we are gathering in the name of Jesus nearly 2,000 years later… because this gospel is from God, and Christ is building his church, and the will of God is sure to prevail.

God uses this bit of wisdom from Gamaliel to deliver the Apostles at this time, but not without a beating first, a scourging. The text doesn’t say whether this was the maximum sentence of stripes, which was commonly ‘40 lashes less one’ (39), bc Deut 25:3 prevented them from going over 40, so it was custom to stick with 39 to be safe. “The lashing consisted of striking the victim’s bare skin with a tripled strip of calf’s hide. The victim received two blows to the back, then one to the chest.” (ESV Study Bible note) Really, no matter how many the number was, it was severe and intended to strongly discourage any further disobedience to their command. It didn’t work.

Acts 5:41–42 ESV

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Doesn’t this passage overall just encourage you to trust God more? And doesn’t this ending in particular challenge you to rejoice in the Lord and desire to obey him by declaring his goodness to others?

When we rest in God’s work, his watchful care, and his will, we can rejoice in suffering like Christ, becoming only more emboldened in gospel proclamation. (vv. 41-42)

To be whipped for wrongdoing by the highest Jewish religious court in the land would normally be cause for shame, for dishonor. But that dishonorable treatment, when viewed as clear evidence of rightly following Jesus and telling the truth about who he is, as being counted as worthy/honorable in the sight of God, is cause for great joy.

So rather than being shamed into submission, they are in fact only more motivated to be faithful in teaching and preaching that Jesus is the Christ, both publicly at the temple and from house to house.

Rather than cowering in fear when oppressed for following and obeying Jesus, we instead pray and plan to continue to obey God’s command to teach Christ in public and in private, leaving the care and the consequences in the hands of a God who is sure to deliver us in the way that counts most. They may even kill this body, but our souls (which will live on eternally) belong to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

PRAY: Triune God, you alone are perfect in your essence and perfect in power. So we trust in you, we love you, and we commit ourselves again to obeying you. Thank you for your watchful care over your church, and thank you for working in us and through us to draw attention to our Savior Jesus Christ. Because of our confidence that your perfect plan is sure to prevail, help us to rejoice in our trials and suffering, looking to Jesus as our model of contentment and trust in you, and as our model of sacrificial love and commitment to the mission of knowing you more and making you known. We trust you to do this in us by your grace and for your own glory, Amen.