Acts Chapter 4
Notes
Transcript
Peter and John under the Looking Glass....
Peter and John under the Looking Glass....
Good morning my friends, I trust you’ve had a good week.
And lets consider something, is it our ability to accomplish a lot or to be free from trouble that makes the week good.
But the freedom from these things is not what makes the week good or bad.. Jesus does.
I believe our days are their best when we go through the entire week allowing Jesus to be first.
When Jesus is our focus and priority we do better, we have more peace and hope regardless of the weekly schedule.
So what is the plan, Stop trying to bring yourself peace and hope. Let Jesus do this as we keep Him in the driver’s seat so to speak.
The early church had many external pressures but they navigated them with Jesus at the lead. He was their focal point and they handled everything with grace.
Now today we come to Acts chapter 4, and with it remember what has led up to this point.
Acts chapter 3, Peter and John were coming up to the temple to pray and worship, at the time of evening prayer.
They are moving up the large staircase into the temple mount, via the gate called beautiful. It was there they encounter a man who the Scriptures tell us no name but was lame from birth.
And while begging alms from those entering the temple, Peter and John give him something so much better.
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
And immediately he was healed and he entered the Temple area, walking leaping and praising God for his healing.
Now as we saw last week, people were amazed, “Isn’t this the man born lame who begged daily out by the gate?
The men crowded around to hear an answer and Peter gave them Jesus. But now, things are getting the attention of some new people and they are not necessarily happy about the words Peter is sharing...
And this brings us to our text today, lets look at the first 4 verses
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
So lets begin with this one thought today my friends...
1. Apostles Arrested....
When you read this, we might think, they were arrested, really? They were just teaching about Jesus…
Yet, the reality is this, yes, they were arrested.
Remember as I said earlier, when those men around the temple mount saw this lame man now healed, praising and worshiping God they were astonished.
And they came to them and began to inquire how this man was healed and Peter speaks to them. Peter is giving them Jesus. We saw this last week in verses 11-22 in chapter 3.
Peter is telling them that the same Jesus they crucified, even in ignorance was the one who rose from the dead and now by His authority and power, He has healed this beggar, and this man is now whole and restored.
Peter shares Jesus with those men and calls for them to repent that their sins may be blotted out.
And while all this is happening, the religious leaders show up.
The Scriptures say they were greatly annoyed at them because they preached Jesus. They didn’t like hearing about Jesus still, they thought that was over...
My friends the world has always been intolerant toward Christianity, do you know why? The world is always afraid that the message and power of Jesus will rock the boat and disrupt their power and authority.
The message of Jesus sets captives free, it restores lives and aligns people to the will of the living God.
Here the Sadducees were clearly those in power here. They do not want their political and spiritual power of their office disrupted.
The Priest, most likely those on duty during the afternoon prayers. The Captain of the Temple is a priest himself and most likely the one the Mishna refers to as the Sagan. He is the assistant to the priests, helps them with their offerings from what we know, is mostly likely one who will be appointed High Priest in the future
And here are Peter and John telling about Jesus and bearing witness to His resurrection and those religious leaders do not like it.
So verse 3 says they arrested them and will hold them in jail till the following morning.
Since it was already the time of the evening prayer, everything is shutting down for the day. There is no way to legally bring them to an investigation or trial of sorts until the next day.
But the truth remains, they preached Jesus and the religious leaders are turning very tired of hearing about Jesus.
But there is one thing I want you to take note off in verse 4.
4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
This day many more believed, and 5000 men came to the faith. So the church has grown to over 8000 people is a short amount of time.
You know why? They were looking and longing for God, they had been so oppressed under the law and now they had found rest....
Now lets move over to my second thought..
2. Apostles Defense....
The Apostles, Peter and John sit in jail through the night following their arrest.
But mind you, the very next morning they have a meeting with the high priest and others there in Jerusalem.
Lets look at verses 5-7 Acts 4:5-7
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
Now consider this, Peter and John are brought before several notable people and the council.
This council (called the Sanhedrin) is the same council that tried Jesus and here is Peter and John in front of them.
Here is an interesting little side note for you to see, do you remember the night of Jesus arrest, members of the council and the high Priest met at night to try Jesus. When Peter was around there trying to find out what was happening, people accused Peter of being one of those with Jesus, but he denied it.
Yet here Peter stands proudly for Jesus in front of the very same people.
So here are Peter and John and the Sanhedrin, and then we are told of some other leading people. Annas and Caiaphas, who were the high priests along with some very notable leaders named John and Alexander who were part of the leading priestly families.
And this morning in the text, they bring Peter and John to trial wondering under whose authority they healed this man.
The leaders were testing the basis of this healing, its rather foolish to me… They are asking by what authority.... Only God does good! Ok, It’s not like they had to buy a permit for the healing at the temple. Man, God was at work, stop and give him the glory.
But Peter gets busy speaking here… lets look at the text.
Now look with me at verses 8-10 Acts 4:8-10
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
Remember what I said last week.... When God presents an opportunity, Peter doesn’t waste it..
Peter knew the intense presence of the Holy Spirit was there and upon him, and he speaks…
Remember with me, if you look back to Luke 12, we find that Jesus tells his disciples that they don’t need to be anxious or worried about how to defend themselves when persecuted… He tells them in verses 11 and 12 in Luke 12, that the Holy Spirit will teach them what to say.
So Peter preaches Jesus.
This lame man was healed by the name of Jesus and if the Sanhedrin wanted to know about that name, he would tell them...
Is man was healed in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, by Him and only Him is this man standing before you well and whole.
But then Peter says something very unique for them to hear...
Look with me at verses 11 and 12 Acts 4:11-12
11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Wow… and to help these leaders understand their rejection of Jesus, Peter alludes to Psalm 118:22
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
When Peter declares that Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected.... he is reminding them they are indeed the builders.
They had approached Jesus before they crucified Him asking Jesus by whose authority did he work and heal (Luke 20:2)…
But they didn’t heed Jesus teachings and they rushed in blind rage to fulfill the prophecy.
Peter declares to theses builders, the Sanhedrin that they rejected the stone who was Jesus and now he has become the cornerstone. The very stone that sets the entire foundation of the building itself.
Peter said since Jesus is the essential stone of the building, as such, He is the only way to the Father, Salvation is only found in Him. You see every time Peter preaches, it all falls back to this one point, Jesus is the focal point.
For there is no other name under heaven whereby men and women may be saved.
My friends, the world is rejecting Jesus, they are rejecting true life every day because their eyes are blinded.
But you have Jesus and when we preach Jesus, when we tell other about Jesus I want you to know the Holy Spirit is there to push back the darkness so that the light came been clearly seen.
Jesus is the light, The apostles defense was in Jesus.
If someone asked you today about the hope that is found in you, would you be able to tell them about Jesus.
3. A Stern Warning…And a Holy Prayer
As Peter presented Jesus to the religious leaders, they understood these men had been with Jesus. They were bold and unrelenting in their effort. They could only talk about Jesus.
Friends, if there is anything that could every be said about you, if someone would say you had clearly been in fellowship with Jesus.... How wonderful.
So the religious leaders were at a point of decision. On one page,
Let’s look at verses 13-14 Acts 4:13-14
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.
Couple of things to notice here.....
First; They noticed these men were common laborers, they were uneducated men, meaning they were not religious leaders, they were not scholarly men, No these were just common men, but they knew they had been with Jesus.
Second, They had a man who was totally healed in front of them and this healing was one they could not dispute or cast any doubts upon.
So what would they do… Peter and John were bold in their faith and a man stood healed ....
Look at what they come up with in verses 16-17
16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
They told them not to preach Jesus… Don’t you dare talk about him and your faith any longer...
Are you kidding me...
Peter says whether or not it is right in the sight of God to listen to you or not, We cannot stop, we cannot stop sharing what we have seen and heard.
It is a burning message that must be told.....
And they keep admonishing them to be quiet and not to preach Jesus any longer..
And all the while, as Peter and John are being held and warned, the very last thing I want you to see my friends is this...
The church's response to the warning was that they went to their knees in prayer
One of the most beautiful things we see is how the church responded to the events surrounding Peter and John.
Peter and John have been arrested, what are we are doing to do.... We are going to circle the wagon friends and pray..
And now that they have been released, knowing they have been warned not to preach… the church prayed for boldness to keep on, keeping on.
We see them praying in verses 24 - 30, but listen to verses 29-31 Acts 4:29-31
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
They prayed for boldness to keep on telling and preaching the name of Jesus.
I love this, Lord, look upon their threats and grant us boldness.
What are they saying? Lord, you know they are threatening us but it’s ok....Give us Boldness to keep on..
And look at what happened, The place they were gathered shook under the power of the Lord and they were filled with the Spirit and the continued to speak the word of boldness.
My friends God will give you strength and support every time you want to carry the Message of His Son to the nations...
You want to serve God, you want to be a witness for God, you want to be an intercessor for others, whatever it is, Ask HIm. Won’t He do it!
If you are fully commited the Lord, He will empower you!
They wanted to keep on preaching, sharing and lifting up Jesus and God helped them do that....
Wow...
Let me ask you,
Will you stand for God regardless of what the law says, regardless of what the leaders are doing?
Will you stand with God when its unpopular?
Will you help push back again the darkness?
Will you!
Lets us pray