The Reaction of the Jerusalem Church to the First
Arrest
Acts 4:23-37
23 And
being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief
priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that,
they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art
God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and
the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up,
and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of
Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold
their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may
speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that
signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word
of God with boldness. 32 And the multitude of them that believed
were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the
things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34 Neither was there any
among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold
them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35 And
laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man
according as he had need. 36 And Joses, who by the apostles was
surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a
Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37 Having land, sold it, and
brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Introduction:
Reminder: Title(s) of Acts?
The Acts of the
Ascended Christ through the Holy Spirit by His Apostles
Review 4:1-22
Overview/Introduction of Chapter 4:
Patterns:
1. miracles → witness
2. preaching to the Jews → Gospel rejected by the Jews → preaching to the Gentiles
3. Jewish opposition to the Gospel and
persecution of the Christians →
the spread of the Christians and the Gospel
Significant events - Between the
first two “Pentecosts” (Jewish in Acts 2, and Samaritan in Acts 8), and
following the birth of the Church in Acts 2
Significant persons - Peter is
at the forefront here, later Paul’s ministry will be the focus
Geographical movement - still in
Jerusalem (Acts 1:8), soon to move to Judea and Samaria prior to the journeys
to “the ends of the earth”
Outline:
I. The Prayer to the Sovereign God (4:23-30)
II. The Power of a Shaken House
(4:31)
III. The Practice of a Sharing Congregation
(4:32-37)
I. The Prayer
to the Sovereign God (4:23-30)
23 And
being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief
priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that,
they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art
God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and
the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up,
and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of
Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and
thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold
their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they
may speak thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and
that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
What would the anxiety level have been like for the
saints after Peter and John were arrested, while they waited overnight for the outcome? What sort of questions would have been
assaulting their minds? How much uncertainty, fears and doubting were they
dealing with? Remember this was the first arrest after that of Christ Himself!
This is the first inspired record of the words of a
corporate prayer of the infant Church
but cp. pre-Pentecost - 1:14; 1:24-25; and post-Pentecost
prior to this - 2:42; 3:1.
Acts 1:14, 24-25
- 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the
women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren….24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord,
which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast
chosen,
25 That he may
take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression
fell, that he might go to his own place.
Acts 2:42 - And they continued stedfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 3:1 - Now Peter and John went up together into the
temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
The prayers in Acts and elsewhere in Scripture are worthy
of study for our own profit as models.
This is an inspired record in a historical narrative serving
as an example of corporate prayer.
Notice the elements of this prayer:
1. Who God is
(4:24d-i) - Lord,
thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in
them is
2. What God said
(4:25) - Who
by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the
people imagine vain things?
3. What recently
happened (4:26-28) - 26 The
kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the
Lord, and against his Christ. 27 For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For
to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
This is the
largest part of this prayer.
The absolute sovereignty of God - Cp. 4:28 to Acts
2:22-24 -
22 Ye men of
Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye
yourselves also know:
23
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised
up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he
should be holden of it.
4. Request #1 -
Observe what just happened (4:29a-c) - And now, Lord, behold their
threatenings
5: Request #2 -
Embolden us to proclaim your truth by continuing to demonstrate your power
(4:29d-30) - and
grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30
By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done
by the name of thy holy child Jesus
II. The Power
of a Shaken House (4:31)
And when they had prayed, the
place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
They received an immediate answer! A very clear indication that their prayer had
been heard!
Has this ever happened to you? Has God ever done something that stood out as
a clear and undeniable answer to prayer immediately after you prayed?
shaken - “For shaking
phenomena signifying the presence of God, see Isa 6:4; Exod 19:18; 4 Ezra 6:15,
29. Elijah’s experience was not to find God in the usual expressions of
theophany—wind, fire, and earthquake (1 Kgs 19:11–12).”
J. B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary (Nashville:
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), pg. 150, note 70.
Contrast:
1 Kgs. 19:11-12 - 11
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold,
the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake
in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and
after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And
after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the
fire a still small voice.
Compare:
Ex. 19:18 - And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
Ps. 77:18 - The
voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the
earth trembled and shook.
Ps. 114 - 1 When
Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
2 Judah was his
sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. 3 The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was
driven back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like
lambs. 5 What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that
thou wast driven back? 6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little
hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, thou earth, at
the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;
8 Which turned the rock into a standing water, the
flint into a fountain of waters.
Is. 6:4 - And the
posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was
filled with smoke.
Contrast the lack of any shaking
mentioned during the “Jewish Pentecost” in Acts 2:2 - And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting.
Compare
the shaking of the prison in Acts
16:25-26 - 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto
God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great
earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately
all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
In this case an earthquake is mentioned, but that is not
the case in Acts 4. In either case,
whether an earthquake is mentioned or not, the shaking is the Lord’s.
Might this not be considered as bearing an eschatological
significance? Compare Heb. 12:25-29 - 25
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him
that speaketh from heaven: 26
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath
promised, saying,
Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth
the removing of those things that are shaken,
as of things that are made,
that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we
receiving
a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
God knows how to
shake us up, and to show us what is really important!
“This was not a “second Pentecost.” They had already
received the Spirit. The Spirit had helped Peter and John in a mighty way
before the Sanhedrin. It was a fresh filling, a renewed awareness of the
Spirit’s power and presence in their life and witness. This was not an
ephemeral ecstatic manifestation but a fresh endowment of power for witness
that would continue (cf. 4:33).”
Polhill, op.
cit., pg. 150.
III. The
Practice of a Sharing Congregation (4:32-37)
32 And
the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither
said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but
they had all things common. 33 And with great power gave the
apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was
upon them all. 34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for
as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices
of the things that were sold, 35 And laid them down at the apostles’
feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36
And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being
interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37
Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Cp. 2:42-47 - 42 And they continued stedfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the
apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man
had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and
singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Did you ever think of this as part of the answer to the prayer
request in 4:30?
·
Is greed and selfishness healed by the love and
the unity of the brethren displayed here?
·
Is this not a sign of the Holy Spirit’s
operations and power over sinful human nature in regeneration and
sanctification displaying His gifts (Gal. 5)?
·
Is not this a truly wonderful thing to observe?
On these questions see the following:
"...the same wonder-working power of the Spirit which made a lame man walk in the preceding section has enabled a man named Barnabas to sell his field and to give the proceeds to the apostles, who made distribution of such gifts to those in need (cf. Deut. 15:4-5)....The power which broke the bonds of death on Easter, shattered the divisions of speech at Pentecost, and empowered one who was lame now releases the tight grip of private property."
William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), pg. 53.
"The activity of God's grace was seen not merely in the preaching, but also in the way in which the members of the church were freed from material need."
I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint), pg. 115.
"The sharing of material blessings among believers is portrayed as a particular sign of the grace of God at work in the community."
David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), pg. 203.
"The willingness to regard one's own possessions as being at the disposal of the community if needy members needed help is the result of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit."
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), pg. 270.
"The "great power"....that is connected with the teaching of the apostles and the "great grace"...that is present among the believers describe the fundamental reality and the cause of the life of the community, in which believers are united in faith and purpose and in a willingness to share their possessions."
Schnabel, op. cit., pp. 270-271.
"The "power"...is the power of the Holy Spirit, who grants the apostles the boldness to continue to teach about Jesus (vv. 8, 13, 29-31), the power through which healings and signs and wonders happen (v. 30), and also, certainly in the context of vv. 32, 34-35, the power that transforms the lives of the believers from being egocentric to being willing to share with others."
Schnabel, op. cit., pg. 271.
These practices set up the events recorded by Luke in the
next chapter!
This supernatural answer to prayer, this Holy Spirit
empowered exhibition of unity and love, stands as a sign and as a wonder in the
history of the human race!
Willimon confronts us with an interesting aspect of witnessing bearing: "When you think about it, the quality of the church's life together is evidence for the truthfulness of the resurrection....a group of people whose life together is so radically different, so completely changed from the way the world builds a community, that there can be no explanation other than that something decisive has happened in history. The tough task of interpreting the reality of a truth like the resurrection is not so much the scientific or historical, "How could such a thing like that happen?" but the ecclesiastical and communal, "Why don't you people look more resurrected?" Op. cit., pp. 51-52.
Such would not be consistently practiced even in the
churches planted by the Apostles in the first century. If someone says that they want to go back to
the first century church, or to that pattern, they need to be asked, “Which
one?” The 7 churches of Asia addressed
by Christ in Revelation 2-3 were all in the first century, and the Corinthian
Church planted by the Apostle Paul had to hear from him, “Now in this that I
declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better,
but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I
hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must
be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest
among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat
the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper:
and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and
to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not?
What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.” (1 Cor.
11:17-22).
Conclusion:
I. The Prayer to the Sovereign God (4:23-30)
II. The Power of a Shaken House
(4:31)
III. The Practice of a Sharing Congregation
(4:32-37)
[Sermon preached 25
AUG 2013 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown,
PA.]
Resources:
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.
Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W.
Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007)
F. F. Bruce, The
Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd
ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).
I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And
Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New
Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).
David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentaries,
gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed.
David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).
William H. Willimon, Acts,
in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for
Teaching and Preaching, series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed.
Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).
