Sermon Tone Analysis

Facing Off Without Falling Apart \\ Mark Mitchell – Acts: The Rest of the Story – No. 2

Seven principles for proclaiming the gospel in hostile territory

 

Introduction

In Acts 4, we witness an epic battle between a David-like underdog and a giant.

In one corner you have two unschooled, unimpressive Galilean fishermen named Peter and John.

In the other corner you have all the power and authority of 2,000 years of religious tradition.

This was the first such clash in the history of the Christian church, and it all took place in the temple precinct.

Earlier in the day, Peter and John had been on their way to the temple to pray, when they stumbled upon a middle-aged man, who had been lame from birth, begging alms.

Peter looked at the man and said he didn't have any money, but in the name of Jesus Christ he commanded him to walk.

Immediately, Luke tells us, the man lept to his feet and began walking and praising God.

He followed Peter and John into the temple, so that by the time they left, there was quite a crowd.

Everyone was amazed, because they recognized this man as the one who always sat and begged in the same spot.

Peter seized the opportunity to tell the crowd that this miracle was not done because of his own power or piety, but through faith in the name of Jesus.

Because they had raised such a commotion, the religious authorities in charge of the temple arrested Peter and John.

This is the first of many times in Acts when the early Christians clashed with the Jewish rulers.

Luke writes this account in such a way as to impress upon us the array of rulers the Christians were facing off against.

In Acts 4:1–6, Luke lists no fewer than ten different individuals or groups who opposed Peter and John.

There were the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees (verse 1); the rulers, elders, and scribes (verse 5); and four individuals: Annas and Caiaphas, John and Alexander (verse 6).

These are all the heavyweights lined up against these two measly fishermen—one of whom has already denied Christ three times.

As a follower of Jesus, when you look at the opposition, do you ever feel small?

Do you ever feel small intellectually?

America has great centers of learning like Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton at which intricate arguments are articulated that seem to refute the credibility of the Bible.

They tell us God could not have created human beings; rather, we're just the result of natural selection.

We feel small morally, as we deal with the daily onslaught of immorality from our culture.

Just try to suggest the idea intimacy ought to be reserved for marriage, and you'll be viewed as a nut case.

We even feel small religiously.

We live in a world in which countries with enormous populations have very few Christians; where Christian workers are refused visas; where Bibles are banned.

How can we say that salvation is found only in Christ when there are so many who may never really hear of Christ except in connection with an American flag?

As we read Acts 4, let's ask ourselves what this passage teaches about living in a world in which we feel small.

What can we learn about this clash between the messengers of Christ and those opposed to Christ?

I want to offer seven principles.

We should expect a clash

Luke records in Acts 4:2 that the Jewish leaders were "greatly disturbed" that Peter and John were preaching about the resurrection of the dead through Jesus.

The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection; they didn't believe in life after death at all.

In the same way, we can expect the world to be greatly disturbed by the gospel today.

It isn't clear in our English translation, but the phrase in verse 1 that describes how the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees "came up to them" carries the idea that they came upon them suddenly.

They didn't just meander up to Peter and John and say, "Hey, we need to talk about this."

One moment Peter and John were preaching, and the next moment they were ambushed by soldiers.

The captain of the temple guard—the official in charge of the temple police—threw them in jail for the night.

He didn't have to do that; he could have simply ordered them to court the next morning.

Instead, he decided letting them spend a night in jail would dampen their spirits.

But it didn't work.

The next day, Peter and John stood firm before the Sanhedrin.

So the authorities took their intimidation a step further (4:21).

When they told them "to not teach or speak in the name of Jesus" they added: if you do, we'll beat the tar out of you.

When we speak boldly about the gospel, we shouldn't be surprised when we get this kind of reaction.

This is one of the reasons we often shrink away from talking about it.

In our culture, we won't be thrown in jail, but we may be laughed at.

We may be left off the invitation list.

If you're a student and you speak up about the gospel in the classroom of a secular university, you might risk receiving a lower grade.

If you talk about it on your application, you might not even get into the school.

These are just a few ways the world tries to intimidate us into keeping our faith to ourselves.

You can confine the messengers, but you can't confine the message

There is great irony in verses 3 and 4. The religious rulers were trying to intimidate Peter and John by interrupting their preaching and throwing them in jail.

But immediately in verse 4, Luke writes that those who heard the message and believed numbered about 5,000!

Remember that 3,000 believed after Peter's first sermon; now there are 2,000 more.

Peter and John didn't even get to the altar call, but 2,000 people came to Christ anyway.

Do you see the point?

You can confine the messengers, but you can't confine the message.

I have a Turkish friend named Ziya, who grew up in a secular Muslim family.

When he was 17, he went to an Anglican church with ten friends because of an article he read about the church in a local newspaper.

The newspaper claimed the church lured young people to become Christians by offering them wine, $100 US every Sunday, and the possibility of marrying a young British woman (which implied a chance to live in the United Kingdom).

Ziya became a Christian that morning, despite the fact that the church didn't give him or his friends any money, didn't allow them to drink the Communion wine, and provided no prospects of a lovely British wife.

His family disowned him for converting, and his life has been difficult since.

He wrote me recently to say, "I'm still broke, sober, and single after all these years, but that's how I first met with Jesus."

You can't confine the message.

Even after his family disowned him, Ziya still follows Christ.

Sometimes we wonder how we would respond in a situation like that.

The Spirit will give us words to speak

It would be a huge mistake to believe that this story is all about what courageous men Peter and John were.

It would be a huge mistake to overlook what Luke says in verse 8: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them … " It would be a huge mistake to forget the promise Jesus made to his disciples when he said, "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say" (Luke 12:11–12).

Right when we need him the most—not before or after—he will give us what we need.

I heard a story about missionaries in Africa who were translating the Bible into a tribal language.

They were finding it difficult to translate the word Jesus used for the Holy Spirit: /paraclete/.

One day the translators came across a group of porters in the bush carrying bundles on their heads.

They noticed there was always one person among the porters who didn't carry anything, and they assumed he was a supervisor, there to make sure everyone did their work.

But they soon found out he had a special job.

He was there in case anyone fell over with exhaustion; he would come and pick up the man's load and carry it for him.

The word they used to designate this porter meant "the one who falls down beside us."

The missionaries decided to use that word to translate /paraclete/.

That's an excellent way to understand the Holy Spirit.

At the moment we fall—when we have no idea what to say—he comes beside us to fill and empower us.

Peter had already been filled with the Spirit in chapter 2. In Acts 4, however, we witness a special filling at a specific time, which allowed him to speak in the face of danger.

The Spirit will do the same for us.

Sometimes we'll say something we didn't think much about at the time only to discover later that it had a special impact.

The Holy Spirit will give us just what we need when we need it most.

We must not compromise the message

Peter's message in 4:8–12 is so pointed and clear.

Initially, he addresses the religious leaders with a measure of respect; he calls them "rulers and elders of the people" instead of "you brood of vipers."

Then he employs a little irony: Hey, are we on trial here for helping this lame man?

Is it a crime to make someone well?

Then he gets more pointed.

He tells them this man is able to walk by the power of Jesus Christ "whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead."

Then he continues: And by the way, salvation is found in no one else.

That's not a very popular thing to say these days.

It's okay to have your own beliefs.

People aren't all that offended by our believing in Jesus.

But if you want to get a reaction, then tell someone there is no other way to be saved.

Tell someone that because no one else did what Jesus did—no one else lived a sinless life, offered his life to take away the sin of the world, was raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven—there is no other way to find salvation.

People don't like that.