ACTS
CHAPTER 4:1-22, “Peter And John Arrested For Preaching”
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our study this week we will look at the first persecution of the
church from the book of Acts
1.1.1.
This story of the people in Acts chapter 4
responding to persecution by being fearless and confident, and then always
praying for more boldness for their preaching and testimony before men, ought
to encourage all of us Christians to do likewise in our lives, for if they can
be bold and confident, not fearing persecution, so can we, for we have the same
Holy Spirit who can fill and empower us and gives this tremendous power.
1.1.1.1.Prov. 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,
But the righteous are bold as a lion”.
1.1.1.2.Paul exhorted timid Timothy
to be bold in 2 Tim. 1:7, “7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity,
but of power and love and discipline”.
1.1.1.3.Paul wrote in Eph. 3:12
concerning Christ in the Christian’s life:
“12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in
Him”.
1.1.1.4.In Ezekiel 3:8-9, the Lord
exhorted Ezekiel not to be afraid of the house of Israel but to go and boldly
deliver the prophetic message to them that He would give to him, “8 “Behold,
I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as
their foreheads. 9 “Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do
not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious
house””.
1.1.2. We will see in this study
how that persecution for our faith in Christ can strengthen our walk with the
Lord
1.1.3. We will also see in this
study how that persecution is used by the Lord in our lives to refine and
purify our faith
2.
VS 4:1-2 - “Acts 4:1-2 1 And as they were speaking to the people, the
priests and the captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they
were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. (NASB)” - The
priests, captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees come upon Peter and John
preaching
2.1.
As in the
first sermon which Peter preached, this sermon ended abruptly. However, this time it ended because Peter and
John were being arrested.
2.2.
This is the
first record of the apostles and of the gospel itself being persecuted.
2.3.
The Sadducees
were now the ruling party in
2.3.1.
Persecution
from this time on came through the Sadducees almost exclusively.
2.3.2.
All of the
wealthy were Sadducees, and all of the Sadducees were wealthy.
2.3.3.
Their party
was the party of culture and affluence. They
believed that the here and now was all that really existed or mattered.
2.3.4.
They were
materialistic in their thinking primarily, and thus they rejected anything of
the supernatural. Even though they
believed in God, they did not believe in the afterlife or in angels.
2.4.
The Sadducees
were ‘greatly disturbed’ by what the apostles were saying to the people, but
what bothered them the most was that the apostles were preaching to the people
that Jesus had raised from the dead, that there could be a resurrection of all
the dead, and that these men attributed the phenomena surrounding them to the
Holy Spirit’s influence.
1.
VS
4:3 - “Acts 4:3 3 And they laid hands on them, and
put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. (NASB)” - Peter and John
are thrown into jail
1.1.
The arrest of
Jesus violated the law of the Jews in every way, however these Sadducees
arrested the apostles according to the law.
As the law stated, they were placed in jail until the next day, since
they were arrested in the evening.
2.
VS 4:4 - “Acts 4:4 4 But many
of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to
be about five thousand. (NASB)” - Many
people were saved as a result of the preaching of Peter
2.1.
Even though
Peter’s message was again abrupt and cut short, the Holy Spirit was so working
through his life in power, that there was tremendous fruit as a result of this
preaching.
2.2.
This verse
says either that another 5,000 believed, or that in addition to the 3,000 who
believed on the day of Pentecost, another 2,000 believed in Jesus on this
day.
2.3.
It says that
the number of the ‘men’ was 5,000, however this probably refers not to men
only, but rather to people in general.
3.
VS 4:5-7 - “Acts 4:5-7
5 And
it came about on the next day, that their rulers and elders and scribes were
gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of
high-priestly descent. 7 And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power,
or in what name, have you done this?" (NASB)” - The rulers
ask Peter and John by what power they have performed this miracle
3.1.
This meeting
was comprised of the Sanhedrin, the central ruling body in
3.2.
It is ironic
that there was really no discussion amongst this group about whether a
legitimate miracle had occurred, for concerning this all would agree.
3.2.1.
What the
council wanted to know was how it was possible that Peter and John could have
done such a thing?
3.2.2.
They wanted
to know by ‘what power source’ or ‘in what name’ they had performed this
miracle?
3.2.3.
They rejected
what Peter said to the multitude about this healing being done by their hands
through “the name of Jesus Christ”, and they wanted to know what was the ‘real
reason’ that the man was healed.
4.
VS 4:8-9 - “Acts 4:8-9 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on
trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made
well, (NASB)” - Peter in this his third sermon begins by
being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’
4.1.
It is of
utmost importance here to note that in verse 8 it is written that Peter had a
sudden filling of the Holy Spirit, for it is only because of this sovereign
work of the Holy Spirit falling upon Peter that he is suddenly given such great
courage and boldness to speak God’s Word clearly, concisely, and with great
conviction.
4.1.1.
If in
obedience to God’s commission of us to preach the gospel to the whole world, we
Christians will ask the Lord for boldness so that we can preach the gospel to
the lost people in our life, then He will mightily fill us as He did Peter and
John. Then, we too will boldly preach
the gospel and be used mightily by the Lord.
4.2.
Addressing
this group of religious professionals, Peter speaks out much in the same way as
Jesus used to speak to people.
Sarcastically, Peter asks the rulers if he and John were on trial for ‘a
benefit done to a sick man’. How could
they be arresting him for a wonderful work performed upon a very needy man?
4.3.
For
application’s sake I have to ask you a question, ‘If someone asks you why it is
that your life is so different than other peoples’, will you stand up boldly
and courageously and tell them that the reason your different is because you’re
a Christian and Christ is living through your life?
5.
VS 4:10 - “Acts 4:10 10 let it be known to all of you,
and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-- by this name this man stands here before you in
good health. (NASB)” - Peter boldly tells the authorities who are
questioning him that it is by ‘the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene’ that the
man was healed
5.1.
Peter says an
awful lot in this one verse.
5.1.1.
Peter says
that it was the name of ‘Jesus’ (Jehovah-savior) the ‘Christ’ (the Messiah to
the Jews) the Nazarene (most people knew of this man Jesus who was from the
city of
5.1.2.
Peter again
points the blame for their Messiah’s death directly upon them by saying that
this man is the One whom they had crucified.
5.1.3.
Peter tells
the people that though they had crucified the Jewish Messiah, that God had
raised Him from the dead. This is the
heart of the gospel or “good news”.
5.1.4.
By the ‘Name’ of Jesus this man was standing
before them in good health, made completely well.
6.
VS 4:11 - “Acts 4:11 11 "He is the stone which was
rejected by you, the builders, but which
became the very corner stone. (NASB)” - Peter tells
the people that Jesus was the ‘very corner stone’ of God’s building and plans
but He was rejected by they the builders
6.1.
Peter quoted
from Psalm 118:22 and Is. 28:16 as he defended he and John’s
actions before the Sanhedrin. These
writers prophesied about the Messiah being a “chief corner stone” which would
be rejected by the Jewish leaders. The
corner stone in a building is the key stone which is used, and scripture
teaches that Jesus holds the keys to heaven and hell, but the Jewish religionists
had rejected Him who was their own Messiah.
6.1.1. Isaiah wrote in Is. 28:16, “16 Therefore
thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested
stone, A costly cornerstone for the
foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in
it will not be disturbed”.
6.1.2. The Psalmist wrote in Ps. 118:22, “22 The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”
6.2.
The New Bible
Dictionary tells us where the New Testament draws its references from the Old
Testament for Christ being the ‘CORNERSTONE’ in God’s building:
6.2.1. It says in effect that this
concept comes from three Old Testament passages, the two quoted here by Peter,
Isaiah 28:16, and Psalm 118:22, but also from Isaiah 8:14
6.2.1.1.Isaiah 8:14 says, “14
“Then He shall become a sanctuary; But
to both the houses of
6.2.2. The New Bible Dictionary has the following explanation
for the meaning of this concept of Christ being the ‘cornerstone’ of God’s
building, “The phrase ‘head of the
corner’ can indicate one of the large stones near the foundations of a
building which by their sheer size bind together two or more rows of stones,
but it is more likely to refer to the final stone which completes an arch or is
laid at the top corner of a building (so Jeremiah).
6.2.3. The New Bible Dictionary goes on to say, “This idea underlies Eph. 2:20 (Gk.
akrogoµniaios, sc. lithos), where
Paul pictures the stones of the new temple as joined together by Christ who as
the cornerstone gives the building completeness and unity. Christ is elsewhere
described as the church’s *foundation, but Eph. 2:20 reverses the figure and
regards the first-generation apostles and prophets as the foundation, with
Christ as the summit and consummation”
7.
VS 4:12 - “Acts 4:12 12 "And there is salvation in
no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among
men, by which we must be saved." (NASB)” - Peter tells
the people there that a person can only be saved through the name of Jesus
7.1.
Peter’s
boldness, which is attributed only to the filling of the Holy Spirit, is
blatantly obvious as he speaks the gospel message so confidently, and clearly
before these wealthy religious leaders.
7.2.
Peter tells
them that ‘salvation’ comes only through Jesus Christ. There is no other source from which a man or
woman may be forgiven their sins and inherit eternal life except through
Him.
7.3.
Peter tells
these men that the ‘name of Jesus’ has another significance, in that only
through His name can people receive salvation.
There is no other possibility for salvation ‘under heaven’, or ‘on the
earth’.
7.4.
I
have to put the question before you since it has now come up, have you had the
experience of being ‘saved’ as this verse talks about? Do you know without a doubt that if you died
tonight that you would spend eternity with God in heaven? If you do not have this assurance, you can be
saved from your sins and receive eternal life through the name of Jesus Christ
if you repent and believe in Jesus as you personal Lord and savior...
8.
VS 4:13 - “Acts 4:13 13 Now as they observed the
confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and
untrained men, they were marveling, and began
to recognize them as having been with Jesus. (NASB)” - The leaders
marveled at the confidence of Peter and John and they recognized that these men
had been with Jesus
8.1.
The men of
the Sanhedrin were puzzled that a person could have such confidence or knowledge
of God and truth not having been properly schooled by their teachers.
8.1.1.
The Sadducees
in this council marveled at Peter and John because of the confidence which they
possessed as witnesses for Jesus Christ.
8.1.2.
These men
thought that Peter and John had merely been trained and inspired by Jesus’
confidence and example while He was still alive.
8.2.
Jesus spoke
with this same confidence and boldness throughout His ministry, even in that
gospel account when at the age of 12 he was speaking with the scribes in the temple.
8.3.
These leaders
were almost correct in their assertion that they knew that Peter and John had
been with Jesus, the fact is though that in the Spirit ‘Peter and John were
presently in fellowship with Jesus’.
It was Jesus who was actually giving them this confidence and clarity of
speech.
8.3.1.
These men
refused to admit the possibility that Jesus may still be alive, or that He had
been raised from the dead, so they did not know how to explain what the men had
done in healing the lame man.
9.
VS 4:14 - “Acts
4:14 14 And
seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say
in reply. (NASB)” - The leaders were dumbfounded and didn’t know
what to say to Peter and John since the man who had been healed was standing
there with them
9.1.
The greatest
testimony today of the living Christ amongst His church is the lives of people
who have been healed by Jesus spiritually and otherwise.
9.2.
We in the
church must pray for the Lord to perform great works of healing and restoration
in the lives of our fellow church members so that the testimony of Christ in
the church can be as powerful as it was on this day in
10.
VS 4:15-17 - “Acts
4:15-17 15 But
when they had ordered them to go aside out of the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying,
"What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle
has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in
10.1.
These
Sadducees on the Sanhedrin had a predicament upon their hands, one to which
they knew they must respond in a pragmatic way.
10.1.1.They knew that it was common knowledge and nothing to
be denied, that a noteworthy miracle had occurred to this man who had been born
lame.
10.1.2.These men had voted to have Jesus murdered, however at
this time they feared the multitude if they were to murder or imprison these
apostles who were testifying about their experience with Jesus.
10.1.3.They decide that really all that they can do to try to
curb this open preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ was to warn Peter and
John not to preach anymore in Jesus’ name.
10.2.
These men
underestimated the power of Jesus Christ within Peter and John and the rest of
the apostles, for there was no way that they could permanently thwart what the
Lord was doing in His church.
10.3.
Persecution
has always helped the testimony of Christ to go out, and has not significantly
hindered it. It has also resulted in a
purification of the church.
10.4.
It is sad to
see the response of the Sanhedrin
10.4.1.Never once did these men make any attempt to consider
what it really meant that this wonderful healing had occurred through the name
of Jesus Christ. If only they had
thought a little more about all the events that had occurred, and then asked
the Lord for wisdom or understanding as to what had actually occurred, and as
to what they should do about it.
10.4.2.They never allowed themselves to consider even for a
minute whether or not Jesus might really be the living ‘Messiah’.
11.
VS 4:18-20 - “Acts 4:18-20 18 And when they had summoned them,
they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter
and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of
God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we
cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard. " (NASB)” - When
commanded to quit preaching or speaking in the name of Jesus Peter and John
tell the council that they cannot do this
11.1.
What incredible boldness and courage was given to Peter and John through
the Holy Spirit
11.1.1.Peter and John boldly told them that it was the rulers
job to determine if they were violating their law in proclaiming the gospel,
however they themselves were unwilling for a moment to stop speaking out of the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
11.1.2.Peter and John politely and respectfully disobeyed the
authority placed over them in this incident when they are commanded not to
preach or teach any longer ‘in the name of Jesus’, for they knew that when
obeying man’s laws would cause them to break one of God’s commandments they
must obey God and not man.
11.1.3.Peter and John had been commanded by Jesus in His
Great Commission to preach the gospel to all creation, and therefore they knew
that they must obey God rather than man in disobeying this command by the
Sanhedrin to cease speaking out the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
11.1.3.1.As Peter and John and the rest of this multitude of
believers, we Christians must occasionally disobey our governing authorities
because the authority and commandments of God are preemptory. Especially when it comes to the preaching of
the gospel, we must obey God and preach the gospel even if doing so means that
we shall suffer persecution.
11.2.
If we
Christians will but ask God in faith for the filling of the Holy Spirit so that
we can confidently and effectively share the gospel message as He has
commissioned us, then He will likewise give boldness for ministry as He did to
Peter and John. We too will have
boldness in the face even of our fiercest opponents.
12.
VS 4:21-22 - “Acts 4:21-22 21 And when they had threatened them
further, they let them go finding no basis on which they might punish them on
account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had
happened; 22 for
the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been
performed. (NASB)” - The Sanhedrin threaten Peter and John and
release them since they really had no charges which they could bring against
them
12.1.
The reason
for the Sadducees not severely punishing Peter and John was primarily because
there were now so many people who were believing the gospel message as preached
by Peter.
12.2.
The people of
that day believed that if a person was over forty years old, that there really
was no hope for him to be healed or to have any different station than that
which he presently held, and therefore the Pharisees couldn’t discount the
miracle performed at the hand of Peter and John.
13.
In conclusion
I’d like to use the example of a young man named Gideon, who learned what it
meant to be bold and courageous in His faith and to trust in His God. He was a young man who decided to take a
stand for the Lord regardless of the consequences. In Judges 7:1-18, we see Gideon obeying the
Lord and coming to fight against a much superior army than his army of 32,000. The Lord told Gideon to strip down the army
to a mere 300 men in order to conquer the Midianites, and the method which the
Lord told Gideon to use was totally unconventional. However, God gave a great victory to Gideon
as He does to all of us who will trust in Him and ask God for the boldness to
go out and fight the battles that the Lord wants us to fight: Judges 7:1-18: “7:1 Then
Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early
and camped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north
side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. 2 And the Lord
said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian
into their hands, lest