Acts 4, Page 1
Acts 4
Acts 4:1-37
(1) And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
(2) Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
- The Sadducees were sad: The priesthood was mainly made up of Sadducees, and it is kind of “sad, you see” because they were the spiritual leaders of their day. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, in angels, or in spirits, which is the reason they were so upset that Peter and John were preaching the resurrection in the name of Jesus Christ. This was the main thing that caused the problem. Why is that? Well, this argument had been going on a long time before Peter and John came along. This argument was of a theological nature between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, in spirits, and in angels, but the Sadducees believed in none of these. We will see a humorous story later in the book of Acts (Acts 23) when the Apostle Paul is arrested. He uses this same argument about the resurrection to cause a tumult within the council to get himself set free. As you can see, the Sadducees were pretty upset and came upon Peter and John and were grieved because through Jesus Christ, they were preaching the resurrection of the dead.
(3) And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
- Eventide: This ruckus started around 3:00 in the afternoon. Peter and John were thrown in jail overnight.
(4) Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
- Many who heard believed: Five thousand men. That, my friends, is quite an evangelistic service! The church is growing exponentially, even in the face of persecution. It is important to remember that wherever there is great opportunity, there will always be great opposition. Who was opposing them? It was the “religious men” of their day. It was their own spiritual leaders who did not want to see the people come to the knowledge of the truth.
- Response to a challenge: It is important to understand that when we read, “. . . many of the people who heard the word believed . . . ” that they were responding to a challenge that Peter had given. It’s not that they had just heard the Word of God, a simple quote from a text from which Peter may have been quoting, but it was in response to Peter preaching the Word, which he used to draw out his points about Jesus Christ, and the resurrection, and the people’s own guilt in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He then tells them to repent. Thus, all those who heard the Word and believed repented; that is, they changed their minds about who Jesus was. “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
- Evangelistic pattern: Once again, I stress that you need to look at the pattern. Peter preaches the Word, pointing to Jesus Christ; he establishes the guilt of the people in the crucifixion of Christ; he then establishes the validity of everything that Jesus had both said and done by witnessing the resurrection; last of all, Peter then issues the challenge of repentance. There are many preachers and pastors today who would do well to learn from Peter.
Today, there are so many pulpits filled with non-useful information. Today, many pastors never see any response to their preaching, but I would tell them that most of the time it is because they do not challenge people to do so. Why not?
I believe the reason that they do not challenge the people is because they are afraid of offending the people, or they are assuming that those sitting in the pews are already born again, or it is a combination of both.
Illustration: One time I was preaching at a church where I said something that upset a few people because I challenged them on something they believed was not correct. Their pastor told me after the service that I had made a mistake because I wasn’t aware of to whom I was preaching. I just smiled. What he didn’t understand was that I hadn’t even considered to whom I was speaking because I was speaking the truth. I would later find out that this same pastor in his entire career had nary led anyone to Jesus. Why is that? I would suggest it was because he considered too much to whom he was speaking. Thus, his preaching was ineffective, lacked passion, but above all, it lacked power. You will notice in our text that after Peter preached, it says thatmany believed, which indicates that there were some that did not. I do not concern myself with those who reject the truth, and neither should you. I am only concerned with those who receive it.
(5) And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
(6) 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.
(7) And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?
IV.Same council: Notice here that these are all the same men that are mentioned in the Gospel who sat in judgment of Jesus Christ, himself. So, here they are again with Peter and John and the lame man, trying to, once more, get to the bottom of this miracle that everyone was talking about. Evidently, one of their own lawyers asked the question, “By what power, or by what name, have you done this?” The reason that this was asked is because of what is written in Deuteronomy 13: If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams was to do a sign or a wonder and the people were amazed by it and if that person by doing a sign or a wonder was trying to lead you away from Jehovah God, then he would be declared a false prophet and would be the recipient of capital punishment. But when asked this provocative question, Peter doesn’t shy away; he doesn’t try to sugar coat or to deflect the question. On the contrary, he takes this opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, Peter says,
(8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
(9) If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
(10) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
- Filled with the Spirit: It is important to note that when Peter begins to speak, and especially after hearing the bluntness of his words, he was speaking by the Spirit. Right from the get-go in Verse 8, we are told, “. . . Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them . . . .” It is so easy sometimes to dismiss certain men of God because of the way that they preach: if they are too straightforward, or too blunt, or come across as harsh. I understand this, but I would caution anyone: Listen for the Spirit, even if you don’t like the delivery or what’s being said. Listen for the Spirit of God.
- No good deed goes unpunished: In verse 9, Peter is pointing out the ridiculousness of the situation in which he and John found themselves. These men had been arrested and are now being examined because a lame man, who had been born that way and who they all knew, was now standing on his own two feet and had been made perfectly whole. By golly, they wanted to get to the bottom of it. I have to believe they weren’t upset that the man was made whole; they were upset by the method by which the man was made whole. More specifically, they were upset because he had been made whole by the calling upon of the name of Jesus Christ, a man they had crucified and who they had accused of being a blasphemer.
- Staying on target: Once again, Peter cannot be dissuaded from his target. No matter to whom he is speaking, first the 5,000 men who wound up believing and now the rulers of Israel, the religious leaders of their day, Peter always brings it to the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and keeps their feet to the fire by reminding them that it was they who had crucified Him. The fact that this lame man was now made whole in the name of the One whom they crucified was an evident token that they had been wrong about Jesus Christ, and they better change their mind, or repent.
(11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
- You builders: In Verse 11, Peter begins to quote Psalm 118, which they all knew was a Messianic Psalm. The religious leaders knew it, and the people knew it. In fact, this Psalm is part of the Hallel. They all knew what Peter was talking about. In Psalm 118, it says, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Verse 22). Peter not only tells them that they had crucified the Lord of Glory but also tells the religious leaders of his day that the Messianic Psalm (118),which spoke of the builders who had set at nought the chief cornerstone, was, in fact, them! And then he goes on,
(12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- Peter utters heresy: I’m sure the statement that Peter makes in Verse 12 rocked these religious leaders to their core for what Peter was speaking at this moment was outright heresy in their eyes. You see, the Jewish leaders of their day believed and taught that salvation only came through the sacrifices that were made. Even today, the Jews believe that there is salvation only through thegood works that they do. Peter leaves no room for speculation about what he meant, for here he proclaims it loudly and concisely when he said, “Neither is there salvation in any other . . . .” Underline that, highlight it; get this one down in your soul. We are living in a day when the church is under such pressure to become more liberal in our thinking; being accused of being insensitive, being bigoted, and narrow minded.
The Bible says, “Neither is there salvation in any other . . . .” There is only one Way to heaven. In fact, Jesus said it Himself when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
(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.
- Boldness: The Greek word is “par-rhay-see′-ah,” which means “all out spoken-ness; that is, frankness, bluntness, confidence, and, by implication, assurance.” I think it’s amazing when it says that Peter spoke with boldness. You must remember that many in this crowd were some of the same ones that were gathered outside when Jesus was brought before Caiaphas the high priest. You remember the story when Peter drew himself to the crowd and began to warm himself by the fire. There was a young woman there who said, “Aren’t you one of His disciples?” Of course, Peter denied it and told her, “You must be mistaken.” Later, another maid saw Peter and said, “This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.” Peter, again, said, “No, no, not me.” About that time, someone that was near Peter said, “Oh, yea, you are one of His. I can tell by your Galilean accent.” You remember in the story that this is when Peter began to swear and to curse saying, “I don’t know the man!”
What a difference! One thing you can say for Peter is that he is consistent in that whatever he sets out to proclaim, he proclaims it with vehemence. First, he vehemently denied even knowing the Lord, and now, in Verse 13, he is boldly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do you explain that kind of change?
Back in Verse 8 we were told that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, but to get the whole picture, you have to go back to Verse 8 of Chapter 1 where Jesus says, “You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Here you have Peter being a witness to the power of Christ before the Sanhedrin and all the rulers and elders of Israel, speaking very boldly, very bluntly, and with great confidence that they had made a grievous error in crucifying the Lord of Glory.
Once again, Peter started off vehemently denying the Lord Jesus Christ in order to save his own life, but here, after having been baptized by and filled with the Spirit, he is boldly proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ with total disregard for his own life.
- They perceived:
(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.
I always found this verse amazing that those religious leaders of their day, seeing the boldness of Peter and John, “perceived” that they were “. . . unlearned and ignorant men . . . .” Peter and John may have been many things, but unlearned and ignorant men they were not. Their perception was wrong. What they meant was that these men did not have any degrees from the noted Hebrew colleges of their day and were not of their alma mater. Therefore, they gave Peter and John no respect for their intellect. I would beg to differ with their perception about these two men.
For one, these men had received private instruction for the space of three years by the greatest teacher that had ever lived. Far from being ignorant and unlearned, they were probably the most scholarly of the entire gathering that day. Not only did these men know the Word of God, but they had great command of it, and their comprehension of it was unsurpassed. Because of that, we are told that the rulers marveled and took knowledge that they had been with Jesus.
- Always with Jesus: Here’s one more thing that the Sanhedrin got wrong. They had taken
“. . . knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” The fact is that Jesus was still with them.
John 14:23
(23) Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Mark 13:11
(11) But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
You see, my friends, the Lord is always with us because He said, “. . . I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
(14) And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.
- Hard to deny the facts: I think it’s funny that these rulers so desperately wanted to condemn Peter and John, but here was this lame man whom those present knew to be crippled all his life, standing before them, totally healed and praising God. They could say nothing against him.
Not unlike you and me, so many of us were lame in this life, crippled in one way or another by our sin, and that, also, from our birth. Crippled by drugs, addictions of one kind or another, sex and the such like, but totally restored and healed in Jesus’ name. When you stand in front of the people whom you knew before, some of them will want to say something against it, but how can they? It is extremely hard to deny the work of the Lord in the life of a believer.
Once your life was consumed with sin; the next thing you know, you totally renounced and turned your back on all those things that kept you lame in this life, and not just that, but now you are proclaiming with boldness the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s hard to deny, my friends.