The ripple effect
Notes
Transcript
Acts 3 begins with an awesome healing… the lame beggar was healed by the power of Jesus Christ. God used Peter and John but they were very clear that it was the power of Jesus that this man was healed … this same Jesus who was crucified days earlier.
This compelled the crowd to receive Jesus as the Messiah and more then 5000 were added to the church that day.
Well, needless to say, this miracle got the attention of the religious elites. The same religious elites who sought to destroy, arrest and crucify Jesus just days earlier. So saying that Jesus is alive was not received well by the same people who killed Jesus so Peter and John ended up spending the night in jail.
So in Acts 4, the next day they met with the Sanhedrin.
How can things go from encountering something so unbelievably awesome to ending up in jail?
This is the first of many times throughout the Book of Acts where the Jewish religious authority opposed the message of Jesus. This wasn’t anything new but the apostles were bold because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit.
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.
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?” 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. 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.”
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.
PRAY
This message is exclusive, it is full of power and bold because it was led by the Holy Spirit.
We don’t have to defend the message of Jesus we have to declare the message of Jesus.
But when we declare it, others will be annoyed. but when we are led by the Holy Spirit and speak what God tells us to speak, it’s always worth the opposition.
Here Peter and John were not surprised or intimidated but they simply allowed God to speak through them even though it rubbed some people the wrong way.
The religious elites were annoyed by Jesus
The religious elites were annoyed by Jesus
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.
These same religious elites were annoyed with Jesus during HIS earthly ministry and they were annoyed with the apostles because they couldn’t stop talking about Jesus as if HE was alive.
When a mighty miracle took place… A great thing took place… a man was healed and the religious leaders were annoyed because it was done in the Name of Jesus who they killed but now they claim to be alive.
The Sadducees were the ones who were annoyed - The Sadducees were members of a small but powerful Jewish religious sect who believed that the first 5 books of the OT, the Pentateuch alone represented God’s Word. Because they could find no evidence of resurrection in those writings, they refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead.
Whenever the early church talked about Jesus, they strongly emphasized his resurrection. The religious leaders thought they put there leader to death, so it annoyed them to find Jesus’ followers teaching the people in the temple.
So they locked up Peter and John until the next morning when they had an opportunity to talk with them.
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?”
The rulers, elders, and teachers of religious law made up the Sanhedrin, or Jewish council—the same Council that had condemned Jesus to death.
This Council acted as the ruling government of Israel. They handled the local problems and religious questions but had to work under Rome’s supervision.
These men were the “who’s who” of the most powerful and prominent religious leaders of Israel.
These men knew the Old Testament Scriptures in detail. They were completely immersed in a world of religious ritual. They could argue theology for hours on end. The only problem was, they were spiritually lost!
God, in the person of Jesus Christ, had been in their very presence, and they had missed him. Worse than that, they had killed him! Now they were trying to silence the messengers of Jesus.
Knowing about God is not enough we can have all the religious knowledge in the world but until we know HIM, until we encounter God personally, through the love of Jesus, by humbly receive HIS grace and HIS forgiveness, all our religious acts count for nothing.
Then they asked the question, “By what power or what name did you do this?”
“By what name” refers to exorcism practices. They wanted to know what formula Peter and John had used to heal this man. Their concern was more about the apostles’ teaching.
The religious elites opposed the Apostles teaching about Jesus but they were unwilling to stop.
The Holy Spirit will give us boldness to speak the truth about Jesus.
The Holy Spirit will give us boldness to speak the truth about Jesus.
When we stand up and speak boldly for Jesus there will be some who oppose HIS message.
When we speak this message it isn’t ment to be controversial… or create buzz or shock value… this message is never intended to be judgmental and full of hatred.
This is the message, the Good News of salvation is for all who surrender to the name of Jesus Christ.
This message is very clear, Jesus is only way, the truth and the life. Jesus is our firm foundation and Jesus is now alive so we can be alive through Christ.
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.
Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak with supernatural boldness but he was respectful toward his opponents (rulers and elders of the people);
What is ironic is that Peter and John went to prison for performing an act of kindness.
They called attention to this same man who used to be lame… this same man they attributed his healing to the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…
The same man whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.
Jesus told HIS disciples…
18 You will even be brought before governors and kings because of me, to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you are to speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, 20 because it isn’t you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.
Peter, the rough ex-fisherman, stood before a room of disapproving, scowling faces and, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak.
There are two kinds of courage:
reckless courage that is unaware of the dangers it faces,
and the courage that knows the peril and yet is undaunted.
Peter’s boldness knew the peril and yet was undaunted because Jesus warned them about these things.
11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
Peter quoted a familiar Old Testament passage—Psalm 118:22—and invested it with new meaning. Most Jews regarded their nation, Israel, as the stone chosen by God but rejected by the nations.
Here Peter, remembering Christ’s own teachings, identified Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the chief cornerstone.
Throughout the NT, this cornerstone reference was one that was used to establish the supremacy of Christ in apostolic times. Jesus had referred to himself as the stone which was rejected by the builders.
The cornerstone was the most important stone in a building, used as the standard to make sure that the other stones of the building were straight and level.
Israel’s leadership, like the builders looking for an appropriate cornerstone, would toss Jesus aside because HE didn’t seem to have the right qualifications. They wanted a political king, not a spiritual one. Yet God’s plans will not be thwarted.
One day the rejected stone will indeed become the chief cornerstone, with all the right qualifications, for Jesus will come as King to establish HIS unending kingdom. He already had begun a spiritual kingdom as the cornerstone of a brand-new “building,” the church.
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
Peter’s argument reached a climax. The resurrected Jesus had healed the crippled man physically. That same Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, can heal all people spiritually.
Peter did not compromise or soft-pedal his answer. Salvation does not come from being a descendant of Abraham (Luke 3:8) or by following the law of Moses (John 6:32–33). The clear gospel teaching is that there is salvation in no one else but Jesus.
How, then, are people saved? By calling on the name of Jesus… It’s that simple.
Many people react negatively to the claim that salvation is found in Christ alone (“There is salvation in no one else!”).
They think “How narrow-minded, exclusive, and arrogant!” is the common charge leveled against Christianity.
But two facts are worth remembering:
First, this is not something the church arbitrarily decided; it is the specific teaching of Jesus himself. John14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Second, people get stuck on the phrase, “in no one else,” instead of focusing on the wonderful promise, “There is salvation.”
That is the good news of the gospel! God has provided a way for sinners to be forgiven and granted entrance into eternal life!
To be sure, it is a narrow way but it is a way nonetheless.
If your cruise ship is sinking, it is foolish to remain on deck criticizing the emergency evacuation plan. The wiser course of action is to take a seat in the nearest lifeboat!
The more time we spend with Jesus, the more others will notice.
The more time we spend with Jesus, the more others will notice.
13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Take Away:
Do others recognize that we have been with Jesus?
Are we being quenched by the fear of man or are we led by the love for Jesus?
Are we so stuck in our religious mindset that we see Jesus as an obstacle that must be removed?