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The Book of Acts
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BIBLE STUDY ACTS 4:1-37 REVIEW: Chapter 3 began by noting that Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer. They, and all the first Christians, saw themselves as being a part of Judaism. They healed a man who had been lame from birth. Needless to say, this created quite a sensation among the people. Peter used this as an opportunity to proclaim the good news of Jesus. As Pastor Josh noted, Peter proclaims to his listeners that a connection is to be made between the lame man’s healing and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (whom he calls “the Author of Life”). Jesus’ resurrection is bringing a new power into the world! Peter then expanded his message by noting that this power will also wipe out sin, “so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” Jesus’ role, as the “appointed Messiah”, is to usher in “the time of universal restoration” that God promised long ago through his holy prophets, from Moses on. Through Jesus, the promise that God made to Abraham that “in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed” is being fulfilled! CHAPTER 4:1-4 “Peter and John Arrested” “While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand.” This marks the first conflict with the Jewish authorities in Acts. In this account, Luke continues a theme that had been stressed throughout his gospel – that the leaders opposed God’s message while the ordinary people heard it gladly (see Lk. 19:47-48; Lk. 20:19; Lk. 12:38-22:2). The Pharisees were not involved in this first conflict. Luke stresses that the apostle’s adversaries were the official temple leaders – including the priests, the “captain” of the temple (literally, the Sagan – the High Priest’s “executive officer”), and the Sadducees. The supposed reason for their annoyance was that Peter and John were teaching and proclaiming not only about Jesus specifically, but also about the resurrection of the dead – which the Sadducees did not believe in. More to the point, what obviously upset them was many of the people were listening to the apostles and believing in Jesus. This certainly was a threat to their status and authority. They also may have been afraid that of what could happen if this was allowed to go on – perhaps riots and civil disorder might result. Be that as it may, Luke stresses that the number of believers continued to grow even in the face of opposition – that by now they were about five thousand of them. CHAPTER 4:5-22 “Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin” “The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. They said, “What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot kept from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.” The court before which Peter and John were brought was the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews. The Sanhedrin had seventy-one members – and the high priest was the ex officio president. In the Sanhedrin were priests (most of whom were Sadducees – who wanted to preserve the status quo); the scribes (experts in the Law); and Pharisees (fanatics for observing the Law); and elders (respected men in the community). The “high-priestly family” included those who had served as high priest. In ancient days it was a hereditary office for life, but in Roman times the office had become subject to political intrigue, bribery, and corruption. 28 different persons had served in this office between 37 B.C. and 67 A.D. Annas had served as the high priest from 6-14 A.D. – 5 of his sons had followed him in this office – and his son-in-law Caiaphas was actually serving as the current high priest. Annas, however, was still “the power behind the throne” – which is why Luke mentions him and Caiaphas together (Lk. 3:2; and here in Acts 4:6). We do not know any details about John and Alexander. The reason why Luke goes into such detail about the composition of this council is to set the stage for an issue that he will be dealing with in the next chapters: who are the legitimate leaders of Israel – God’s people? By rejecting God’s prophets again and again (see Acts 4:1-22; 5:17-41; 7:1-8:1), Luke shows that the council is no longer the true leadership body of God’s people. Instead, that office will now be fulfilled by the Twelve – as Jesus had foretold in Lk. 22:30 (“you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”) Luke describes Peter as being “filled with the Holy Spirit” to emphasize that he is speaking as a prophet. Perhaps the key statement of Peter’s speech is when he says; “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” When focusing upon this, we need to understand the full dimensions of what this means. For Luke, “salvation” means more than just a spiritual deliverance from sin and hell. It also means physical healing (the Greek word translated as “healed” in vs. 9 and “saved” in vs. 12 is the same) and social justice. In other words, “salvation” means the restoration of God’s creation to what it was intended to be at the beginning before the Fall. Peter’s point is that all of this finds its fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What are we to make of this? It sounds terribly exclusive and intolerant of other religions. But Peter’s statement here was not intended to be used in the way many use it today. It is simply his conviction that only in Jesus has he and anyone else ever fully experienced the saving and transforming love and power of God. His statement is not to “put down” others, but to “lift up” Jesus as being the One through whom God is accomplishing “salvation” for the world. The reaction of the council was to reject this proclamation. They could not deny that the lame man had been healed, but refused to acknowledge that it was because of the name (power) of Jesus. Their preconceived theology made it impossible to acknowledge the reality that was staring them in the face – and therefore they ordered Peter and John not to speak or teach in Jesus’ name. Peter and John, however, answer that they must speak about they have seen and heard. So it is for us! We are not to witness about “theology” or “religious beliefs” – but rather we are called upon to speak of “what we have seen and heard” – to share with others about our own experiences of receiving God’s salvation in our lives through our trust in Jesus. CHAPTER 4:34-31 “A New Outpouring of the Holy Spirit” “After they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, it is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant: ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’ For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” In this passage we have the reaction of the Christian Church in their hour of danger. Instead of being cowed and discouraged, they asked for God’s help. As William Barclay notes in his Daily Study Bible commentary, the one thing that never occurred to them was to obey the Sanhedrin’s command to speak no more about Jesus. As they prayed, certain great convictions came into their midst. As Barclay notes:
CHAPTER 4:32-37 “All Things in Common” “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” In one sense, this passage is simply a reaffirmation of how those in the early Jerusalem Church shared with each other – as described earlier in Acts 2:43-47. It is another illustration of the new kind of life that they had through Jesus Christ – instead of being selfish, they were willing to share and care for each other in the same way that Jesus had done in his ministry. Their new life was not just different “spiritually”, but also in a “practical” way! But this passage also stresses the authority of the apostles in this church. Luke twice emphasizes that people would bring the proceeds of what they sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet. The spiritual authority of the apostles is thus joined to their “practical” authority as well. Only later in Acts 6:1-7 will the apostles give their “practical authority” to others. This passage also has the first mention of Barnabas, who later became a key figure in the early Christian church. It was he who later became Saul’s (Paul’s) sponsor (Acts 9:26-27) and then was Paul’s companion on his first missionary journey (Acts 13-15). -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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