Chapter 4 of The Acts of the Apostles. Ready to dig in?
We pick up where chapter 3 left off, with Peter at the temple preaching about Jesus after the beggar was healed. The crowd caused a stir which attracted the captain of temple guard along with the temple police.
V.3, because it was evening, they put Peter and John in jail, closed the temple doors and postponed all official business till the next day. Temple sacrifices ended at 4:00 P.M. The miracle healing and Peter’s message about Christ’s resurrection resonated with another 5,000 (v.4) who converted to accept Jesus as Messiah, Lord and Savior.
Temple priests had oversight over the temple guards. The Sadducees did not believe in a physical resurrection; the Pharisees did. Sadducees also rejected spirits and angels. They were of the upper social and economic class and were responsible for maintenance of the temple including appointing the temple guard. They rejected Oral Law but observed the written Torah as sole authority. They did not believe that the soul was immortal, nor did they believe in an afterlife. Peter’s preaching was an affront to the Sadducees’ leadership, prestige, authority, and even their pride.
Layout shows where Sanhedrin met, which was also the place where they put Jesus on trial leading to His crucifixion. And now Peter and John stood trial before the Sanhedrin in that same location.
Room where the Sanhedrin met was in the temple complex as indicated, which we will explore further in the next slide.
Photo shows a scale model of the Jerusalem Temple. Arrow points to temple gate called Beautiful where the beggar sat daily (v.3:2).
V.5 tells us there were 3 groups in the Sanhedrin—rulers, elders and scribes (i.e., teachers of the law) that constituted the Jewish religious council. V.7 Instead of seeing the miracle as something good, they instead asked “by what power did you do this?”—cure the lame man; which they meant as an accusation. Annas was high priest for 10 yrs. Caiaphas was the one that organized the plot to kill Jesus. He was appointed in AD 18 by the Roman Prefect (governor)—who preceded Pontius Pilate. Caiaphas was Annas’ son-in-law. They kept power within their own family. Sound familiar, even today? Those listed in these verses constituted what might be called the “executive committee”. All teaching had to be approved by them and Peter’s profession of Christ’s resurrection was an affront to them.
Peter’s comments (v.10) was a direct affront to them, that the healing of the beggar was by the name of Jesus Christ, whom they killed. Once again Peter emphasized Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Like Peter, we too came to Christ in faith, and also filled with the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
The term “Capstone” is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. We can be certain the Sanhedrin didn’t take kindly to Peter’s words. In v.11 “capstone” is equivalent to “cornerstone”. God chose Jesus to be the “living stone”; the true cornerstone of what they professed as religious leaders, but in rejecting Jesus, they also cast aside the cornerstone of the faith that was handed down to them in the O.T. Scriptures.
The apostles were uneducated, yet, their manner of speech and conviction awed the Jewish leadership. They also took note that they were associated with Jesus—and would have loved to convict them of something, but the cured beggar standing with them was a testimony to the miracle, and the Sanhedrin were cautious not to insight outrage with the people who were praising Peter and John for healing the beggar.
They had Peter and John removed from the chamber so they could confer (or conspire) on what to do with them. It was tricky because of their miracle; word of healing of the lame man was spreading widely. There was no legitimate charge they could bring against them. So all they could do was warn them not to preach about Jesus.
After the Sanhedrin’s command not to speak or teach anything about Jesus, (v.19) Peter and John, being empowered by the Holy Spirit stood firm on God’s Word. Remember when Peter denied knowing Jesus, out of fear (Matt. 26:69-75). Pentecost was the turning point where courage in Jesus’ name replaced fear for his own safety. Fearful of angering the people, like true politicians, the Sanhedrin felt compelled to let them go as we see in the following verses.
They were religious leaders, but also very skilled politicians who again, did not want to provoke the people who were praising the apostles for curing the lame beggar, many of whom now professed Jesus as the Messiah, which the Sanhedrin were still not aware of.
The whole scene was intended to intimidate, just being in the temple chambers and facing the Sanhedrin, would have been intimidating for anyone, yet Peter and John remained bold through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Upon their release they reported everything to the other apostles and disciples. Instead of fear, they all praised God.
V.24-31 shows the boldness of the apostles and disciples in prayer and willingness to profess Jesus Christ before both Jews and Gentiles as the Lord’s Anointed One, as had been prophesied by King David.
They continue proclaiming how King Herod and Pontius Pilate together conspired against Jesus, yet, as stated in v.28, it was all in accordance with God’s will and His preordained plan of salvation. Their prayer in v.29 was that they may preach the name of Jesus, not just with boldness, but with great boldness.
V.31 the Holy Spirit manifested Himself, not with tongues, but with a mild earthquake to reveal His presence.
Their collective burst of joy was manifested in charitable giving. There was a time when charity was almost exclusively by the Church, until the government took over that role with President Johnson’s Great Society. Then the church and individual Christians stepped back and took a much smaller role since the government had filled the larger void. The bottom line, those early Christians had a rock-solid faith and mission to spread the Word.
The tribe of Levi (the Levites) could not own land in Israel/Judah. Since Joseph was from Cyprus, perhaps he had latitude to own land, which he sold to donate to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, who were viewed as outsiders by orthodox Jews, with a corresponding loss of income.
The widow and her mite had greater value before God, because it was all she had. The size of the gift is measured by one’s heart in giving.
Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on."
There is much to learn from Acts, as the Church. Only 24 more chapters to go.
We are the Church—the Body of Christ—collectively and individually, young and old alike, being of one heart and one mind, like the disciples in v.32
Having a rock-solid faith is essential if the church is to be effective in sharing the Gospel with those around us. Adrian Rogers sermon points us in that direction.
Adrian Rogers 36-minute sermon: How to Have a Rock-Solid Faith
https://youtu.be/jEVWBFkWw30
(copy and paste in your web browser)
Pray for our Pastor, his family and our church, as well as wisdom for the American people in choosing their elected representatives.
2 Chron 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
It’s been way too long. Time to get back together. Hope everyone shows up. We are studying the Book of Acts on the blog, but there will be a different study in Heritage Lounge. I believe coffee will be available. Hope to see you there. Yes, I will continue our study of Acts on the blog.
End of
The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 4
