Acts, Chapter 4

Please read the chapter in your Bible..

Verses 1, 2: “The priests and the captain of the temple-guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.”

Not surprisingly these men were greatly disturbed.

Imagine, this Jesus of Nazareth, He had been telling the people to love their enemies. To love those hated dogs, the Roman soldiers, who did not care one hoot about Jewish Law and order, both of which had been ordained by the God of Israel.

The priests thought they had well and truly disposed of Him, had Him safely dead and buried. And now, there were these simple fishermen. No training, certainly no theological training, and they were preaching! Preaching ‘in Jesus the resurrection from the dead’.

They could not bear those simpletons and would soon put a stop to their undermining of priestly authority. Their preaching must stop.

Verse 3: “They seized Peter and John and because it was evening they put them in jail until the next day.”

Well? Peter? How about it? They will not listen! And they do have their power over you. And behind you the door is shut. Are you in the way of the Lord? And John? What do you think? After all, a day fishing is miles better than a day preaching.. Those priests, ‘until the next day’, yes, that’s what they thought, but . . . God!

Verse 4: “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.”

The next day brought the rulers, elders and teachers had a rude experience.

Verse 5: “The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the Law met in Jerusalem.”

Verse 7: “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’

Verse 8: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ’Rulers and elders of the people!’ “

‘Filled with the Holy Spirit’.

That cannot be unless a person is empty. Empty of all of self. In that moment all of ‘I, myself and me’ in Peter, had given way to God the Holy Spirit. He was addressing the rulers and elders of the people.

= 19 =

Verse 9: “ ‘If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed

Verse 10: then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified but Whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.’ “

‘Jesus Christ of Nazareth’.

Verse 11: “HE IS the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.”

Some Bile translations call it ‘the corner stone’, a most important foundation stone. The capstone was the final stone in the roof. There cannot be any argument about this! Jesus Christ of Nazareth was and is both.

Verse 12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Take note! Hundreds of different denomination-name-tags; as many human religions, none of them can save anyone from hell into Heaven.

“There is no other Name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved.”

Verse 13: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

‘The courage of Peter and John’.

Wrong! Indeed, they were unschooled, ordinary men! But . . . GOD! These two servants of God were filled with the Holy Spirit and being used by Him. The priests and rulers did not have to deal with Peter and John. It was God, the Holy Spirit, dealing with recalcitrant, obstinate priests and rulers. They must ‘take note that these men had been with Jesus’. They were granted to see the evidence of that.

Verse 14: “But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”

‘There was nothing they could say’.

But their thinking went into over-time.

Verse 15: “So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.”

In their conference they did not want to talk about their most compelling problem. It was the man who had been healed. According to a couple of unschooled, ordinary men healed by the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. Blatantly the apostles blamed the rulers and priests ‘You crucified Him’. But . . .God did raise Him from the dead.

Verse 16: “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle and we cannot deny it.”

‘An outstanding miracle’.

Today a world without God no longer sees the daily ‘outstanding’ miracles. But those people, who do walk with God, may rest assured of ‘daily’ outstanding miracles, because between every sun up and sun down and during our nights, humans are being saved from the most deadly disease. Its name is SIN. All are being saved by grace and by faith in the Name and Person of Jesus.

Verse 17: “But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this Name.”

‘To stop this thing from spreading’.

Yes, oh yes. That was a good conference solution. ‘To speak no longer to anyone in this Name’

Yes, a good suggestion. BUT . . . GOD! Now, 2000 years later, the servants of the Lord are still speaking and the Name is still spreading..

Verse 18: “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the Name of Jesus.”

Verse 19: “But Peter and John replied: ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’ s sight to obey you rather than God.”

‘Judge for yourselves’.

In other words, you have your own intelligence! Use it! We will use ours!

Verse 20: “For we cannot help speaking about what WE have SEEN and HEARD.”

Today, in 2010, there are millions of people who praise God because the early followers of Jesus, the apostles He has chosen, could ‘not help speaking about all they had seen and heard’. More than that, other followers of Jesus, did translate, did have it printed, all that Jesus has done and spoken, first for Israel, and also to bless the world. The hymns of praise to God began in the days of Peter and John, have never stopped and will reverberate in heaven’s eternity.

Verse 21: “After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.

Yes, yes, two guys had to spend a night in jail (4:3) because the priests and rulers were obnoxious, yes that’s what they were.

Verse 22: “For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.”

‘Over forty years old!’

Why, why?? Do you hear a mother’s weeping? Why? Do you see a father’s sighing? Why? Caring for a baby-boy who would never walk. Helping him as a teen-age-boy, because he could not walk, like all the other boys. You know how difficult it can be to agree with the foreknowledge and wisdom of God? Over forty years the fellow needed waiting for the day that was always on the mind of God, for the glory of His beloved Son, Jesus. Yes, here also, it was ‘but . . . God!’

Verse 23: “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.”

Verse 24: “When they heard this they raised their voices together in prayer to God.

‘Sovereign Lord’ they said ‘You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them’ ”.

Dear reader, do you see what these early Christians did? They did not begin their prayers with their needs, problems or question marks. They began with the wisdom, the power, and greatness of God. Wholeheartedly they first acknowledged the glory of God! And remembered His Word Sovereign Lord !

Verse 25: “You spoke by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of Your servant, our father David:

‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?”

Verse 26: “The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His anointed One.” (Psalm 2:1,2.

Yes, yes, that’s what kings and rulers did in David’s days. That’s what they did in the days of Jesus and His chosen apostles. What they are doing in 2010. But , , , the Lord and His anointed. Surely kings and rulers are mistaken. The mistakes are not with the Lord and His Anointed.

Verse 27: “Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, in this city, to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed

Verse 28: “They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

God’s power and will did not beforehand decide the conduct and sinfulness of Herod, Pilate and their subjects. They will answer for their own behaviour.

Before He created, and before sin ever entered this world, God’s power and will decided beforehand what should happen to His dear Son, our Savior of sinners (1 Peter 1 18-20).

Verse 29: “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness.”

They asked the Lord for two things: First Lord, YOU consider THEIR threats. They had it correct. The Lord Almighty and Eternal, against the threats of puny priests and politicians, who, every one of them, finished up in a grave, the dust of death.

Secondly they prayed:

Verse 30: “Stretch out YOUR hand to heal and perform miraculous sings and wonders through the Name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Weren’t they asking a bit too much? No, no, oh no! They prayed because they were EXPECTING much! What about you and I? Can we ever ask too much? Can we ever trust our Lord too much? Trust His love, His wisdom and fore knowledge too much?

Never! Never ever! After they prayed God said His ‘Amen’.

Verse 31: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly.”

In them there was no room for fear, doubts or trepidation or anything else. There was filling room only for God, the Holy Spirit. In and through them He could speak the Word of God boldly.

Now there must be a dot on the ‘i’.

Verse 32:”All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one clamed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”

Verse 33: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”

At this stage, it becomes essential for all Christians to know that this time in Bible history, which we, just now, are writing and reading about, has never

been and will never be repeated. While it was true in reality, it was a time of transition. At that time God was still issuing His appeal to an existing section in His Kingdom by the name of Israel, At the same time He had also commenced a new section, by the name of The Church of the Lord Jesus. His appeal to Israel was about to finish, while the building of the Church had already begun. Soon, and for the time being, Israel would not be at the centre of God’s dealings. The Church would take that place, until the Church is complete and in Heaven with the Lord. After that God will again deal with Israel and the nations.

Verse 34,35 “There were no needy persons among them. From time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”

As soon as that money was out of their pockets it was back into God’s care. He had given it to them in the first place.

Verses 36,37: “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas, (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

What did the Lord Jesus teach? “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Before we get into chapter 5, for a moment let’s turn back to chapter 4:31 “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly.

Verse 32: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”

Why? How could they? Why would they? It happened because God granted them to be empty of self. Amongst them there was no self-interest. No self-protection. No self-inclination. Amongst them, through them, God still and again, desired the people and leaders of Israel to see the character of Jesus of Nazareth, that is HIS self-emptiness, HIS self-sacrifice.

There was one weak spot in the fellowship and preaching of the Christian Jews. They did not know it. God did! One weak link that made a strong chain vulnerable and for the sake of His glory and that of His dear Son, God took care of it. He removed that link.