Acts Chapter 4
From chapter 4 onwards, we see the start of persecution of the believers in the early Church, and would you believe it, mostly from the Jewish religious leaders...
☆ Acts 4:1...
"And as they spoke unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them..."
As Peter, John continued to preach and teach the people about Jesus and the healing of the lame man, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them... came against them... opposed them.
☆ Acts 4:2...
"Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead."
These religious leaders were upset and offended with them because they taught the people and preached about the resurrection from the dead using Jesus as the example.
Which is obvious because they were witnesses to Jesus's resurrection.
The Sadducees were strongly opposed to the resurrection... that's why they were 'sad you see.' Get it? Sorry!
Christ Jesus proved that the resurrection is a truth... by His own resurrection and... His resurrecting of Lazarus.
The Sadducees' minds were set... they didn't want to believe in the resurrection full stop... and so they made every effort to suppress Christ's resurrection.
Who do you think was behind their belief system??
☆ Acts 4:3...
"And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold (prison) unto the next day: for it was now eventide."
These religious guys seized the disciples forcibly and put them in prison until the next day, because it was eventide. It was not convenient to assemble the council at night. This was, moreover, the time for the evening prayer or sacrifice, and it was not usual to assemble the Sanhedrin at that hour.
☆ Acts 4:4...
"Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand."
But, many of the people who heard Peter and John preach and teach the Word... believed.
The word would have been the simple Gospel... Christ crucified for our sins... Christ resurrected three days later.
Preaching the Gospel does this. It's the power of God that is able save.
The number of believers now totalling 5 000.
☆ Acts 4:5-6...
"And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem."
The following day, there was a great meeting of religious leaders (scribes, rulers, elders)... including big wigs like Annas the high priest and Caiaphas... and even members of the high priest's families.
Luke distinctly mentions all these, to show how formidable the enemies were against whom the infant Church of Christ had to contend.
These were gathered together at Jerusalem where the great council only sat.
☆ Acts 4:7...
"And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have you done this?"
The disciples were placed in the midst of these leaders... who asked them two questions:
□ by what power... and/or
□ by what name (authority)... had they performed this miracle?
☆ Acts 4:8-10...
"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
Be it known unto you all, 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, even by Him does this man stand here before you whole."
Peter, filled with and moved upon by the Holy Ghost, said to the rulers of the people and the elders of Israel...
"If today we are being scrutinised or examined for the good deed done to this crippled man and by what means he has been made whole... then let it be known to you all, including all the people of Israel...that it was by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Messiah, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead... even by Him does this man stand before you totally healed."
Peter didn't miss a chance to preach the Gospel. He didn't miss a chance to dig in the spurs and remind them that they were responsible for crucifying Jesus.
I reckon those hot shot leaders would have been foaming at the mouth, ready to string up Peter and John.
☆ Acts 4:11...
"This is the Stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner."
Peter goes on to say that Jesus the Messiah is the one referred to in the Scriptures when they speak of a 'stone discarded by the builders which became the capstone of the arch.'
By their rejection and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, they have fulfilled one of their own prophecies, ☆ Psalm 118:22 and, as one part of this prophecy is now so literally fulfilled, they may be rest assured, so shall the other. This rejected Stone shall speedily become the head corner stone.
Christ Jesus is the chief corner Stone, that adorns, strengthens, knits, and keeps together, the whole building... in which Jews and Gentiles, saints in all ages and places, even all the elect of God, are united together.
☆ Acts 4:12...
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Now Peter speaks forth a very profound truth...
He tells these religious leaders straight... that...
"There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be or can be saved."
Jesus Christ is the only Way!
He is the only Truth!
He is the only Life!
This Truth is for all people in all time periods.
☆ Acts 4:13...
"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
Now when these leaders, rulers and scribes saw the boldness of Peter and John, and could see that they were unlearned, ignorant men (untrained as a Pharisee or Sadducee... and fishermen at that), they were amazed... and... they recognised that they had been with Jesus.
Wouldn't it be awesome if the unbelievers around us said the same of you and I... that our actions, our words, our lives showed that we had been with Jesus.
Food for thought?
☆ Acts 4:14...
"And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it."
And seeing the man who was healed of his lameness standing with them, they couldn't say a thing against it.
He was the living proof of the miracle that took place.
☆ Acts 4:15-17...
"But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,
Saying, What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name."
Peter and John were commanded to go outside of the council, while they discussed the situation among themselves... saying... "What are we going to do to these two guys? Indeed a very notable miracle has been done by these two disciples of Jesus and... it has been made known to all that live in Jerusalem."
"This is something we cannot deny nor sweep under the carpet!" They continued.
"So... in order that this doesn't go any further among the people, let us threaten them... that from now on they are to speak no more to anyone else about this name."
They couldn't and wouldn't do otherwise for fear of the people.
☆ Acts 4:18...
"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus."
The disciples were called in and they were told in no uncertain terms, not to speak about nor to teach in the name of Jesus again.
☆ Acts 4:19-20...
"But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge you.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
Peter didn't stop there.
He wasn't going to let them have the last word.
And so Peter and John answered and said...
"Whether it's right in the sight of God for us to take more notice of you than God... you be the judge.
We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we saw Jesus do and heard Him say."
These leaders didn't have a come back on that answer. They knew that in the sight of God all men must be obedient to God more than anyone else.
A very clever rebound by so called unlearned, ignorant disciples.
☆ Acts 4:21-22...
So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.
For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was showed.
After more threats, they let Peter and John go. They could find no way of punishing them because of the people... who glorified God for the miracle that was done.
I mean... do you punish someone for doing good?
No way! And they knew it.
The miracle man was over 40 years of age.
To my way of thinking, if there were any unlearned or ignorant men, it would have to be the religious leaders.
All they could do was resort to threats, punishments and bullying tactics.
This shows how insecure "in ministry" these men were.
☆ Acts 4:23...
"And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them."
After being released, Peter and John returned to their own company of believers and told them everything that the rulers, elders and scribes had said.
How did they react to this injustice by the rulers and elders?
☆ Acts 4:24-28...
"And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, 'Lord, You are God, which has made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
Who by the mouth of thy servant David has said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ.
For of a truth against Your holy child Jesus, Whom You have anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
For to do whatsoever Your hand and Your counsel determined before to be done.' "
When the other believers heard everything Peter and John shared, they all with one accord and with one voice, prayed to God saying...
"You are the LORD Who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.
You spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying, 'Why do the heathen rage against the Lord, and the foolish nations plan their little plots against Almighty God?
The kings of the earth unite to fight against Him and against the anointed Son of God!
That is exactly what is happening here in this city today! For Herod the king, and Pontius Pilate the governor, and all the Romans... as well as the people of Israel... are united against Jesus, Your anointed Son, Your holy servant.
For to do whatsoever Your hand and Your counsel determined before to be done' "...
Instead of retribution and being angry... they committed the situation to God the Father in prayer.
And once again we see their common unity... one voice... one accord.
The following phrase that they ended the prayer with, is rather interesting and shows a lot of insight...
"For to do whatsoever Your hand and Your counsel determined before to be done"...
Bible expositor Gill explains this phrase very well...
"God's decrees are from eternity. There is nothing comes to pass in time but what He has beforetime determined should be done, either by effecting it Himself, or doing it by others, or suffering it to be done, as in the case here.
Whatever was done to Christ, either by Jews or Gentiles, by Herod or Pontius Pilate, was according to the secret will of God, the covenant He made with Christ, and the council of peace that was between them both.
What they wickedly did, God designed for good, and hereby brought about the redemption and salvation of His people.
This neither makes God the author of sin, nor excuses the sinful actions of men, or infringes the liberty of their wills in acting."
☆ Acts 4:29-30...
"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Your servants...
that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
By stretching forth Your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Your holy child Jesus."
And winding up with their prayer...
"LORD, please take note of their threats and all the things they say against us... and give to us Your humble servants great boldness to continue to speak, preach and teach Your Word.
Stretch forth Your mighty hand to heal the sick and that great signs and amazing wonders will be done in the name of Your holy Son, Jesus Christ."
Signs, wonders, miracles and healing all work together with anointed preaching of the Gospel.
People come to God when they hear the simple Gospel preached and see accompanying miracles.
The Gospel of Christ is powerful.
☆ Romans 1:16... "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
☆ Acts 4:31...
"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness."
God heard their united prayer. He answered immediately.
The place where they were praying together was shaken... and... they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
The result of that "in filling"?
They spoke the Word of God with boldness. Which was exactly what they prayed for.
"Boldness" in the Greek is 'parrhesia'... meaning...
□ free and fearless confidence,
□ cheerful courage,
□ assurance.
People hearing the Word spoken with this "kind" of boldness can do naught but respond.
And... note what happens when believers pray in "one accord"?
God commands a blessing... they were all filled with the Holy Spririt.
☆ Acts 4:32...
"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."
And again we have it... the multitude of them that believed... were in complete unity with one another... they had one purpose in Christ.
They were of ONE HEART!
They were of ONE SOUL!
And there was a multitude of them. That in itself is amazing.
I love it. That is so super special.
I don't think I have ever read anything like this other than here in the book of Acts... the saints being of one heart and one soul.
Commentary by Gill puts it this way...
"There was an entire consent and agreement in doctrine, in matters of faith... they were all of one mind and judgment, and there was a perfect harmony in their practice. They all performed the same duties, and observed the same commands and ordinances and all pursued the same interest, and had the same ends and views. There was a strict union of their affections to each other.
Their souls were knit to one another."
Not only that...
The things that they possessed they did not consider their own... instead they had all things common... all their things were shared.
I see total surrender here.
In our very materialistic world today, that sort of mind set doesn't happen.
It's a case of that's yours... this is mine... don't cross the line.
☆ Acts 4:33...
"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."
The apostles gave witness, gave testimony of Christ's resurrection with great power.
They were eyewitnesses of His resurrection and were chosen to be witnesses which is a fundamental article of the Gospel. It was also what the Sadducees (don't believe in the resurrection) were particularly disturbed about, and on account of which they forbade them to preach any more in Christ's name.
What "great power?"
What did Jesus say before He left?...
☆ Acts 1:8...
"... you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto Me..."
"And great grace was upon them all..." This was not only upon the apostles and ministers, but upon the whole church...
It could have been...
□ the large gifts of the Spirit of God, which were poured out upon them, and plentifully bestowed on them...
□ of the gracious protection of God over them, preserving them from the rage and malice of men...
□ of that grace and favour which they had among the people in common... or...
□ of that charity, liberality and beneficence, which were among them.
This is confirmed by what follows...
☆ Acts 4:34-35...
"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."
None of the believers lacked in anything.
Why was this so?
Those that did possess houses and land sold them and brought the proceeds of the sale to and laid them at the feet of the apostles.
A portion of the proceeds was distributed to every person according to their need.
Materialism was not in the vocabulary of those in the early church.
I think that is another strong reason why God was able to move so mightily and perform miracles among them.
Interestingly, people in third world countries (usually very poor and simple minded) often see the power of God move in a tremendous way when the Gospel is preached.
This is not really happening in the western world where we have so much... perhaps even too much.
☆ Acts 4:36-37...
And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
We are given a specific example of this generosity.
Joses, who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas (meaning... the son of consolation), a Levite and came from Cyprus... had a portion of land which he sold and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet.
I wonder whether Barnabas was one of the Jewish visitors in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured upon the 120... heard the 120 speaking in tongues... heard Peter preach... and was saved among the 3 000?
Barnabas is to become an important figure in the book of Acts.
To lay it at the apostle's feet, was to show how cordially and entirely they parted with their goods.
And... they entrusted the management of the whole to those men to whom they found God had entrusted the gifts of His Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven.
**************
Selah!
So... think about and discuss...
□ Would you liked to have been part of the early church? Why? Why not?
□ What is it about the believers in the early church that has stood out for you?
□ What are they doing that we perhaps have missed the mark on?
□ How would you fare selling your property and/or house and laying the proceeds at the apostle's feet for distribution among the needy?
□ How would you have reacted to Peter and John's ordeal with those religious leaders?