Acts 4

Acts 4 (New International Version)


Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
1The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. 7They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then 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. 11He is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.' 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

13When 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. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 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. 17But 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."

18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

21After 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. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

The Believers' Prayer
23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When 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. 25You 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?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.' 27Indeed 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. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
31After 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.

The Believers Share Their Possessions
32All 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. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.




Interesting points of Discussion:

• [See v.2] 'greatly disturbed'- the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection or an afterlife
  
• [See v.3] 'seized'- as Peter and John teach at the temple about the resurrection of the dead through Jesus Christ, the "police force" of the temple precincts, priests and Sadducees come together to arrest them
  
• [See v.5] 'many who heard the message believed'- despite the opposition against the spreading of the Gospel, the church continues to grow in large numbers, jumping from 3,000 in Acts 2 to 5,000 in Acts 4- all started by a group of just 12 apostles transformed by the Holy Spirit to be bold and confident in speaking the words of truth
  
• [See v.5-7] 'the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met...had Peter and John brought before them'- this was no small mob of an opposition that Peter and John faced; they were brought to stand before the highest Jewish civil and religious court of the land
  
• These were the same people who had rejected Jesus and put him on trial, convincing the crowd that Jesus was a fraud so that they would cry out for his crucifixion; we wonder if Peter and John also might expect to be crucified
  
• In today's Western world, why is it that Christians face very little or no persecution at all?
  
• If our faith was exhibited in clear and powerful ways, persecution should be the natural result; the world takes notice and the works of God's kingdom are offensive to the world, which was true for every prophet, including the greatest prophet Jesus Christ
  
• We are not called to be accepted, to have social status and to build empires as many Western Christians seem to cling to as their Christian identity; we are called to glorify God just as Peter and John have deomonstrated- they didn't sit around caught up in the daily matters of life conforming to the fashions of the day because they were afraid the world would be hostile if they proclaimed the basic, essential Christian moral or religious teaching
  
• Today's world regards the only sin as being intolerant of any kind of religion or lifestyle practice; you will be ridiculed and frowned upon if you say that there is one way or one truth in such a pluralistic world
  
• But this is exactly what each Christian is called to believe, proclaim and defend even when you know that you will be socially ostracized, denied promotions and lose your job
  
• In a survey where the question asked to non-Christians in America was: why don't you want to become a Christian? The most common answer was "Look at Christians and the way they live."
  
• Why did the Jewish leaders persecute Peter and John? Shouldn't they have been happy and excited about this amazing healing?
  
• And yet they seemed afraid and worried, so much so that they opposed Peter and John with their most powerful civil and political body
  
• They knew that if the people knew about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they would be proved dead wrong besides the fact that they already had failed to explain the empty tomb of Jesus and the healing of the lame man
  
• To them, it was about power, more specifically, their right to teach the people on their own turf (temple) with their own teachings and their approval; they clearly saw Peter and John as a threat to their ability to control the masses
  
• Maybe they wanted to find out how they could do it themselves or they simply couldn't rationalize how such a miracle might occur and thus did so to protect their own ideals?
  
• On a bigger scale they may have been afraid of political upheaval or the start of a social revolution that would greatly disturb the religious climate of the time; after all they were under the authority of the Roman government who they feared
  
• The resurrection of Jesus Christ made everything possible but these people want to keep everything the same and the way it has been, fearing change and caring more about their security
  
• [See v.7] 'By what power or what name'- to them, power comes from the name, which gives you that special privilege or status that they recognize; it explains why they wouldn't recognize Jesus or his authority for fear of losing their own position and authority
  
• [See v.9] 'If we are being called to account'- as Peter boldly preaches in the Spirit cutting directly to the heart of the matter, he challenges the court's absurd charges 'for an act of kindness' and shows absolutely no fear of the court's possible ruling against him
  
• [See v.12] 'Salvation is found in no one else'- Peter can't make it clear enough, repeating twice that there is only one way to salvation and that is through Jesus Christ
  
• In today's world of freedom to choose between many different options, this would be offensive to many; there are some out there who believe they can get to heaven without knowing or accepting Jesus but by worshipping God alone or some combination of other faiths and works
  
• [See v.13] 'unschooled, ordinary men'- Peter and John were fishermen from Galilee but they didn't need a formal education to have the 'courage' to do ministry; their only requirement was to have been with Jesus
  
• It seems as if being with Jesus makes us shine as if Jesus was in us and those who see this will be able to see plainly Jesus in us; many people won't go to Jesus directly and it becomes the duty of Christians to show who Jesus is through our example
  
• We shine because this is how Jesus glorifies the weak, humble and the lowly
  
• 'took note'- all the sudden, it dawns upon them that Peter and John remind them of Jesus and they remember "those two" who had been with Jesus before; the problem that they thought they resolved has come back to haunt them as the Holy Spirit has transformed the apostles to continue Jesus' teachings and miracles
  
• [See v.17] 'we must warn these men'- out of fear and self-interests, the leaders try to cover up this "Jesus mess" by trying to stop Peter and John from preaching the Gospel
  
• [See v.19] 'Judge for yourselves'- Peter appeals to them telling them that they should know better than to listen to man over God; the apostles are obeying Jesus' teachings to testify as witnesses about what they 'have seen and heard'
  
• [See v.21] 'could not decide how to punish them...because all the people were praising God'- despite seeing and hearing about the miracle, the leaders still choose to listen to the people's opinion and not God's opinion
  
• It is clear overall that God has worked through this seemingly troubling situation for the apostles to: spread the gospel to the non-believers in growing the church and to have Peter and John preach to the Jewish leaders continuing to enlarge their confidence and boldness all the more while confusing His enemies making them powerless to even lock up Peter and John, all to His glory
  
• [See v.23] 'reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them'- upon their release by the perplexed and handcuffed Jewish leaders, Peter and John almost can't believe what had just happened as if they had just been under the supernatural hand of God, preaching the Gospel to some of the most powerful people of the time and actually having them listen to them seriously instead of being taken for fools or kicked off the doorstep before they could even get in
  
• [See v.24] 'raised their voices'- the apostles acknowledge God not in silent prayer but out loud and 'together' in unity; praying out loud can be more effective because it is easier to focus your thoughts and praying together allows everyone to have the same mind about what they're praying about, being in agreement with each other about everything that is lifted up to the heavens
  
• They begin their prayer with 'Sovereign Lord', reminding themselves of who God is- the Lord of all creation, the God of all power, the one who is in control and not us; our prayers have power when we know who we are praying to and not just some imaginary God we pretend to know or make up names for
  
• Furthermore, their prayers are in light of the Scriptures as they identify their own current circumstances being persecuted by the Jewish leaders with God's spoken word through David in the Old Testament; God's word speaks into our situations all the time
  
• When we recognize that even the most wicked acts of man don't fall outside of God's control- His enemies could only do what His 'power and will had decided beforehand should happen' [v.28], it gives us great peace to know that God will not allow our enemies to do whatever they want
  
• [See v.29] 'enable your servants to speak your word'- instead of thanking the Lord for what they have done so far and being satisfied with their accomplishments, the apostles take hold of God's cause and glory, asking for something that might lead to more confrontation; aren't they supposed to be asking for less?!
  
• They don't pray "I stretch out my hand to receive the power to heal" but rather 'Stretch out your hand' [v.30]; they are not asking to do the miracles themselves and to take pride in themselves being chosen to do such things, they are delighting in the power of God because it is through Jesus and his hand that healing is done
  
• [See v.31] 'place where they were meeting was shaken'- God answers their prayers loudly and clearly in the form of an earthquake
  
• 'they were all filled with the Holy Spirit'- this sounds like the first time during Pentecost when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit and yet it seems to be happening for a second time; there seems to be a special emphasis on continually being filled with the Holy Spirit all the time and not just when you are baptized for the first time
  
• [See v.32] 'one in heart and mind...shared everything'- because the believers were unified in heart and mind, being in agreement with each other, they came to regard each other as more important than things or possessions which belonged to God
  
• Some people may think this is Communism but there is a clear difference: in Communism, they take what is yours, not share what is yours
  
• [See v.33] 'With great power...much grace was upon them all'- as a result of the apostles putting God and each other above things and material possessions, they were given greater power to preach and spread the Gospel, not to mention that everywhere they went, God's favor was evident as if the heavens were smiling down on them
  
• [See v.34-36] We see this picture of early Christians and the overwhelming generosity and eagerness to give to those who had need; no one waited around for someone else to give as 'those who owned lands or houses sold them'
  
• This was necessary in order for the church to grow as rapidly as it did since many of these Christians came from abroad as refugees with little money and no housing
  
• Once again the importance of money here is not just giving it to the needy but so that they may be able to join the church and community; they are literally being offered a new life and not just to improve or to sustain their old life, like saying "Hey come here and join us" and not "Here's a couple bucks, have a nice life"