THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Peter and John on Trial
(Acts 4:1- )
For the past few lessons we've focused on the kingdom of God and the relationshihp of Jesus to that kingdom as the Messiah God anointed with His Spirit to usher in that kingdom. Although Jesus has been exalted to God's right hand as the universal Lord and Messiah, when we look at the results of promoting Jesus as Lord, we see that not everybody has submitted to His lordship. To be sure so many have submitted themselves to His lordship that this affirms His universal lordship; however, the sad truth remains that many do not and will never submit to His lordship voluntarily. One of the primary reasons this is true is that when the kingdom of God enters into the world, it does not enter into a vacuum. In other words, there was already a kingdom existing here on earth when Christ came to usher in God's kingdom, that kingdom being the kingdom of Satan. Although when it is all said and done Satan's kingdom is no match for the kingdom of God, Satan nevertheless puts up a tremendous fight to preserve his kingdom.
Although Satan is a spiritual being, his primary weapons in his struggle with God are men under his control. Jesus calls the entire sum of people under Satan's "the world." Jesus is not referring to the physical world but rather to that portion of mankind hostile to God and under the leadership of Satan. This can go to such an extreme that some in the world fall into demon possession (Acts 19:13-17). In the Gospels the primary players in "the world" are the chief priests, Pharisees, and other Jewish religious leaders. They are assisted in their efforts to destroy Jesus by a godless government, the Roman empire. Not all religious leaders and not all governmental authorities are "in the world." In Jesus' situation and in the situation of the apostles though these were the ones who made up the world. Starting in Acts 3 and running throughout the rest of the book, we will see the kingdom of God consistently coming into conflict with the kingdom of Satan and of this world.
PETER AND JOHN ON TRIAL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (4:1- )
While Peter and John are preaching to the people, a contingent of the Sanhedrin converges upon them and arrests them. Although the Sanhedrin was composed of both Pharisees and Sadducees, this contingent is made up of only Sadducees. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, the coming of the Messiah, angels, and the transformation of the universe. Since they believed that this present world situation was all there is to life, they guarded zealously their position in the world as rulers and landed gentry. All this talk about the Messiah bringing about the resurrection would naturally cause political and social unrest which would threaten their position. As a result, the priests, the captain of the Temple guard (second only to the high priest in authority), and the Sadducees came upon them and arrested them. Since Peter had begun his sermon no earlier than 3 p.m., it was already getting late. The temple police, therefore, simply lock them up for the night so that they can interrogate them on the next day.
Although it appears at first as an aside, the comment "the number of those in the church added up to 5,000" is really significant. First, the word translated "men" here literally means "males" and not the generic sense of "men and women." If 5,000 men were coming to faith in Christ, then it is most likely that 20,000-30,000 people total were coming to faith in Christ (including the wives and children). Second, it demonstrates once more the truth that Jesus is universal Lord. If the universe was not coming to Jesus, then there might be some problem with this claim. The fact that Christianity grew and continues to grow supports that claim.
On the next morning an impressive array of religious leaders assembled to investigate this situation. Prominent in this group were Annas (the father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas and the real power behind the throne), Caiaphas the legal high priest, and 2 more priests: Ananias and Jonathan. The trial would have taken place in the headquarters of the Sanhedrin, either the traditional hall which ran along the southern colonnade of the Temple compound or the newly-built hall just to the west of the Temple. When the apostle and the healed man arrive, they are placed in the center of the court. They are asked by what power and by what authority (name) they have accomplished this miracle.
First, note that before Peter speaks, he is filled with God's Spirit. This fulfilled Jesus' words of comfort to His disciples that even though they would suffer persecution, they would not be alone during these times. Instead the Spirit Himself would be with them giving them the words to say in the defense of Christianity. Notice that Jesus does not say that the Spirit would deliver His people during the time of persecution. Many times Christians do die while being persecuted. Jesus' primary concern (and our primary concern) should be that we defend Christ and our faith in Him. He gives us the Spirit so that this will occur.
Peter and John reply that this miracle has taken place in the authority of power of Jesus. Peter though does not stop here. Unlike his first 2 sermons Peter deals with the role the Jewish religious leaders played in Jesus' crucifixion. He informs them first that they are diametrically opposed to God because whereas they crucified Jesus, God raised Him from the dead. In other words, their problem was not with Jesus alone but with God also. Next their actions fulled the OT prediction about the leadership of Israel rejecting the Man God sent to save His people: "The stone (Jesus) which the builders (the religious leaders) rejected, this became the very cornerstone," the cornerstone being the most important part of the building God is constructing, the kingdom of God.
Peter concludes this talk (Luke has probably abbreviated it) by informing them that salvation comes exclusively through Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus is the exalted Messiah, the only person who can give out the Spirit who gives us salvation. No one else can dispense the Spirit. Only Jesus can; therefore, salvation comes only by responding positively to Jesus, the Giver of the Spirit..
THE DELIBERATIONS OF THE SANHEDRIN (4: ).
At this point the Sanhedrin dismisses the 2 apostles and the lame man. They have recognized that these 2 apostles had been with Jesus and except for the training He had given them, they were basically untrained. In other words, these 2 apostles had not been brought up through the rabbinical schools. The Sanhedrin though is at a loss about what to do with these 2 men. A noteworthy miracle has taken place which they cannot deny. They had probably even seen the lame man from time to time as they surveyed the Temple compound. Even if they had not, the crowd had definitely claimed to have seen him in his helpless condition before the disciples healed him.
One of my greatest prayers is that my life and the life of First Baptist Church be such that it is only a result of a miracle which is so powerful that nobody can deny it. Too often our churches function like any other organization in town, infighting and jealousy. Sometimes our churches act worse than community organizations. Many times Christians live lives no different from the lives non-Christians live. That’s the reason non-Christians are not attracted to the church. By acting this way, Christians are communicating to the world that they have absolutely nothing to offer non-Christians. The world does not need another meeting to attend.
What then is the Sanhedrin to do? If Jesus had not risen from the dead, they could have looked for His body and publicly displayed it, thereby, disproving the apostles’ claims about Jesus and the resurrection. The fact that they did not even attempt to look for the body shows that they knew that Jesus had risen from the dead, deny it as strongly as they did. Second, since they can’t find the body and since they can’t disprove what the disciples are preaching, they do the next best thing—they try to silence them. They threaten them not to continue preaching in Jesus’ name. (The use of intimidation always indicates that the bullies have no leg to stand on in the debate.)
At this point Peter comes back with a classic response: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than God, you be the Judge for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.” The first part of Peter’s retort is facetious. Anybody should know, especially religious leaders, that people should obey God rather than man. That was a no-brainer. The second part though is downright defiant. When it comes to choosing between conscience and comfort, Peter is going to choose conscience. Jesus had told His disciples that they should fear the One who could destroy the soul, not the ones who could destroy the body. Having no just cause to detain them any further, the Sanhedrin sets the apostles free. By commanding them to stop speaking in Jesus’ name though, they are laying the groundwork for later so that when the apostles once more preach about Jesus, they will have something they can use to prosecute the disciples.
RESPONSE OF THE CHURCH TO PERSECUTION (4: )
When Peter and John return to the church, they report all that had transpired. At this point the church breaks out in prayer. Notice first of all what they do not pray for. They do not pray that God keep them from persecution. The only way for the kingdom of God to avoid persecution from the world is to withdraw from the world. That is unacceptable because it would keep the world from bringing the universe of mankind beneath the lordship of Jesus. Rather, the church prays that God grant her to speak the Word of God with all boldness and confidence.
Look at how the church arrives at this request. First, the church put the situation into perspective. This struggle does not hang in the balance. The 2 main players here are God and Satan. There is really no contest between the 2. Why is this true? Because as this passage affirms, the God we worship, the Father of Jesus Christ, is the God of creation. When you reflect upon the vastness of creation and upon how much God loves and cares for His creation, especially us, then we should be ready to face any persecution dealt out to us. Look at the ones who are persecuting us: Satan and people. Our antagonists are nothing more than mere creatures. For this reason there is no real contest between God and our opponents. Whenever we recognize this, then we can put our situation into perspective.
Next, the early church appealed to David's prophecy by the Holy Spirit concerning the conflict between the Messiah (Christ Jesus) and the nations energized by Satan. "Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples devise futile things?" The church does not answer that question because it is entirely rhetorical. It does not make sense for this world (Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Jews, and the Romans in this case) to take on God and His Anointed One, Jesus. Yet that is exactly what they have done, and they shall ultimately fail in this struggle.
Next, notice the label the church applies to itself--"grant that Thy servants . . ." David is called "servant" (4:25) as is Jesus (313, 27; 4:27, 30). David and the church are servants because they follow God's Servant Jesus. As Jesus the Servant suffered, then it only makes sense that His servants suffer. The label actually "servant" implies that we too suffer. Paul says that it would be illogical for Christians not to suffer. If heaven was purchased by the sufferings of Christ, then it would be unjust for us to enter that heaven without suffering (2 Thess. 1:5, 6).