Reading: Acts chapter 5 verses 17-42.
We looked last week at verses 1-11:
• The story of Ananias and Sapphira.
• How they presumed upon God and were dishonest.
Ill:
Being honest is not always easy.
• The children in a prominent family decided to give their father a book of the family’s history for a birthday present.
• They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work, carefully warning him of the family’s ‘black sheep’ problem: Uncle George.
• Uncle George had been executed in the electric chair for murder. ‘I can handle that situation so that there will be no embarrassment,’ the biographer assured the children.
‘I’ll merely say that Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important Government Institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest ties and his death came as a real shock.’
Verses 1-11: Show to us a problem, opposition to a healthy Church, (opposition that was within the Church).
Verses 12-34: Opposition outside the church.
Acts chapter 5 is a series of places:
• Scan through the passage with me and see the variety of places,
• Where Christ uses these apostles:
Verse 12: The Colonnade.
• Solomon’s colonnade was becoming a regular gathering place for Christians to meet.
• Verse 12: “All the believers used to meet there”.
• Don’t forget, Church buildings had not yet been invented,
• So the Christians needed somewhere big enough to house 5,000 men plus women & kids(ch 4:4).
• Solomon's Colonnade would have resembled a long porch:
• Stretching along, the eastern side of the temple courtyard.
It was full of:
• The sick and feeble, the diseased, the afflicted and the disabled.
• Full of beggars, the poor and unfortunates of society.
• Instead of it representing a dignified religious sight:
• It looked like a cross between, Card-board city and a General Hospital.
(So the first place mentioned is a porch, a colonnade).
The second place mentioned is found in Verse 18:
• The last two words in the verse,
• "Public Jail".
• What a contrast to Solomon's Colonnade; which was full of opportunities,
• There they were useful, they could do something, achieve something.
• But now they are confined, limited, someone has put the brakes on their mission!
• Or have they? Even though they are confined in a public jail, God's will shall be done!
The third place mentioned is found in verse 21:
• "The Temple Courts".
• From jail to the temple.
• Only this time they return with renewed fervour,
• After all they had just experienced the power of God first hand.
• So they returned full of joy, full of confidence,
• I would imagine shouting the Christian message.
The fourth place is found in verse 27:
• Although it is not mentioned by name,
• We do know where they were by that key word 'Sanhedrin':
• The 'Sanhedrin', was the highest authority in Jewish affairs,
• It met in the COURT ROOM in Jerusalem.
• At the time of Jesus the Sanhedrin was at its most powerful and influential peak,
• This court wrote the final word concerning civil and religious law,
• It could order arrests by its officers,
• But they had limited powers, e.g. they could not kill a man (capitol punishment).
The fifth place mentioned is contained in verse 42:
- 'From house to house',
- In this verse they are on the streets.
NOTE: The point I wish to make is this:
• Everywhere the Apostles found themselves,
• They made it count for Christ!!!
For them it mattered not, WHERE they were,
• They reacted no differently whatever their surroundings,
• In prison and therefore in hardships, or in the temple or in somebody's houses.
WHERE they were was not important:
• But WHO was with them, i.e. The Lord was with them! (That's what counted)
• In their changing circumstances, they had an unchanging God.
That is the stirring lesson of this chapter:
• The apostles were persecuted, imprisoned & beaten,
• For no other reason than teaching the gospel.
• But through Christ, the Great Shepherd,
• They overwhelmingly conquered the situations & circumstances they were in.
4 situations where God was at work:
Verse 11: “Great fear had gripped the whole Church and all who heard about these events”.
Question: What events?
Answer: The supernatural death of Ananias & Sapphira.
(A). Power on the Porch (Verse 12-16).
Verse 12: “The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people”.
Verses 15.
"As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by".
These miracles divided the people into two groups:
• Verse 13: People who approved of Christians but who were scared to join them.
• Verse 14: Others “Believed in the Lord and added to their number”.
Peter and the other apostles are the agents of the miraculous, they had the gift of healing:
• And verse 16 informs us:
• "...bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed".
Wow!!! what a sight it must have been, Solomon's Porch full to overflowing:
• People coming not just by the dozens, but in their hundreds,
• And the sick were healed, given a new life and a hope and deliverance.
It was a marvellous sight, except............... to the religious group:
• Religious people hate it, when you break with THEIR creed,
• THEIR way of doing things.
• Religious people always want to maintain the status quo,
• That's Latin for, "The mess were in".
• Maintain the Status quo:
• Don't ripple the water, just keep things as they are.
So when the apostles start creating major ripples in their pond:
There is trouble,
Especially when they can do things the religious people can't!!!
Notice how they react in verse 17&18:
"Then the High Priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of Sadducees were filled with jealously".
Question: Why were they jealous?
Quote Shalus in his book 'The change agent':
Talks about 3 different kinds of people who bring change:
(1) Is the revolutionary: who says abolish all the old, bring in all the new.
ill:
Easier to give birth than to raise the dead (New life not warm up corpses).
(2). The reformer - who says keep the old, but build it new on the inside.
ill;
That's what happened in the 17th century. Luther never left the Church,
He stayed within and said redo it!
(2) The innovator - who is not against the old, but who is constantly looking for;
• Fresh new ways to present it and to preserve.
• To build on the foundation laid, not be buried, weighted down by it.
These apostles seem to be all three of those things rolled up into one:
• So when the apostles start creating major ripples in the religious pond:
• There is going to be big trouble.
Read verse 17:
"Then the High Priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of Sadducees were filled with jealously"
There's the motive, Jealousy!
Verse 17b: "They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail".
• Last time they were arrested in chapter 4, only Peter & John were arrested,
• This time all the apostles are arrested too.
• So they put the apostles in jail with the common thieves and criminals,
• A night in a prison with these sort of characters was not an attractive prospect.
• A bit of physical and mental abuse would soften them up;
• For the religious leaders it was problem solved, or so they thought!
ill:
Just like the true story, of a missionary:
• Who showed a tribe the cause of their illness, was the water they where drinking.
• To illustrate this he used a microscope to show the germs in the water:
• That night while he was sleeping, hey broke into his house and destroyed the microscope,
• For them it was the end of the problem!!!
• You and I know:
• That answers nothing, it just removes the evidence.
In Acts chapter 5 the religious leaders were about to realise that:
• The same God who was at work outside the jail,
• Could do exactly the same inside the jail.
(B). Verses 17-20: Joy in Jail.
Read verses 19:
"But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.
"Go stand in the temple courts", he said".
Notice: All though the chapter in every impossible situation you will see God intervene.
• With the sick,
• God brings healing.
• When they locked up in jail, with no way to break their chains and open the door:
• God intervenes and brings to them freedom, courtesy of an angel.
• Angels are spiritual beings, messengers & agents of God,
• The angel instructs them to go back to the temple precient and preach.
• Note the phrase in verse 20: “the full message”.
• They were not to tone things down or miss out the controversial bits.
Quote Stephen Gaukroger:
“So much of this account …… contrasts with Church life today. They were bold, direct, rude and produced a commotion wherever they went.
We are often timid, evasive, overly polite and produce a stifled yawn wherever we go”.
Verses 23-24 tells us not even the guards who were there had a clue what happened:
They had them securely locked up.
Then......... the next moment their gone.
Question: Where have they gone?
Answer: Verse 25: "In the temple courts teaching the people".
(C). Teaching in the Temple (verse 21)
• They have gone to where the angel of the Lord told them to go in verse 20:
• "Go stand in the temple courts, and tell the people the full message of this new life".
Verses 21-25 Teaching in the temple.
• The apostles returned to the temple, full of enthusiasm:
• Having just seen and experienced Christ's power,
• They courageously shout Christ's message,
• To anyone who will listen.
Meanwhile......................... verses 21b-24:
• The “full” council are getting ready for business,
• The top religouse heavey weights are gathered together.
Ill;
House of commons on t.v.
• Sometimes, if it’s a minor bill or debate, the house is half empty,
• Other times if it’s an important bill or debate it’s full to overflowing (this is one of those times).
Not realising that the apostles are no longer in jail, the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel:
• They send for the prisoners, and wait.
• Instead of the prisoners coming before them, an officer brings a message, verse 23:
The jail was securely locked, we opened it, but there was no one there".
ill:
Twilight Zone.
Verse 24 records their reaction:
• They were left puzzled, totally perplexed.
• Why? Because the human mind cannot fathom out the workings of God,
• They just don't make sense,
• And that's what has happened here.
And as if to rub salt into their wounds, just then a messenger arrived with some embarrassing news:
• Verse 25b.
• "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people".
This section would make a good t.v. situation comedy:
• The temple police are confused (no sign of a break out).
• The chief priests are ‘puzzled’ (no idea what is going on).
• The Sanhedrin are emabarressed, trying to have a hearing when there is no-one to hear!
• Everyone has got egg on their faces.
Finally the riddle is solved;
Verse 25:”Someone”, walks straight by them on their way to the temple and spots them.
(D). Verse 27 'Courage before the court':
• As the apostles are brought before the Sanhedrin, into the courtrooms.
• You can bet that this was not a public meeting, it was held behind closed doors,
• The Sanhedrin are desparate to hush the whole thing up,
• Not only were the apostles a threat to their popularity.
• Their biggest fear is that the Romans, who the Sanhedrin collaborated with;
• Wwill hear that a disturbance has taken place.
• And the one thing the Romans would not tolarate,
• Was a public disturbance.
Verse 27: The apostles are brought before the Court and cross-examined:
• Verse 28a: Informs us of the Pharisee's charge.
• "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name".
• Notice their language: “This name”.
• They are unable or unwilling to acknowledge the name of Jesus.
Verse 28b: The Sanhedrin inform the apostles of their twofold disobedience:
• “You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching”;
• That is: they kept on telling out the message of Jesus.
• “You are making us guilty of this mans blood”
• That is: keep blaming us for the death of Jesus.
This is very much dejarvue for the apostles:
• Acts chapter 4 verses 18 & 21.
• They had completely ignored the instructions of the Sanhedrin.
Verse 29: Peter and the apostles reply to the Sanhedrin’s question (the same answer as the last time they were brought before them Ch 4: 19);
"We must obey God rather than men!"
• Peter tells the Sanhedrin that they are only following orders,
• They are men on a mission (Chapter 4 verse 19).
Peter gave the Sanhedrin an answer they did not want to hear:
• He and the apostles would disobey civil and religious law,
• If they thought it clashed with God’s law.
That word translated 'obey':
• Is a rare word in the New Testament,
• In fact it only occurs four times altogether.
• It means: 'exclusive obedience',
• Literally: 'absolute, unquestioning submission'.
You have to admire Peter's courage:
• Having nailed his colours to the mask,
• Peter then presents the good news concerning Jesus:
In verses 30-32: He affirms 3 things concerning God:
• Notice how he describes God; “The God of OUR fathers”.
• Peter is saying his God is their God, they are not preaching new truth but old truth!
• “The God of OUR fathers” has done three things for Jesus.
• The inplication beining Jesus was God’s Messiah, and therefore their Messiah!
• (1). God raised Jesus from the dead.
• (2). God exalted Jesus to his right hand.
• (3). God has given his Spirit.
From that exaulted position in verse 31b: He (Jesus) is able to give two things, both of which were the gifts of God:
• “Repentance”.
• “Forgiveness of sins”.
Verse 32: Peter really sets the cat amoung the pigeons by saying:
• We are witnesses of these things (we saw it happen, and we are testifiers of these events).
• And so is God’s Holy Spirit (He saw it happen, and He testifiers of these events).
Verse 33 records the reaction of the Sanhedrin:
• Peter has now touched one raw nerve too many!
• His words of triumph and defiance, caused a furious reaction by the Council.
"They were furious and wanted to execute them".
Most of the Sanhedrin wanted to put the apostles to death:
• And I think they would have,
• If hadn't been for one man called Gamaliel verse 34:
• Once again when the apostles are in an impossible situation,
• When they are cornered, with no way out.......... God steps in!
He steps in by working through this unbeliever called Gamaliel.
• Gamaliel was a Pharisee,
• He was a very respected teacher, an outstanding expert on the law.
• In fact Acts chapter 22 verse 3 tells us,
• The apostle Paul studied under him,
• He was a kindly man, with a far wider tolerance than his fellow Pharisees.
• And he had the respect of the council, and they listened to him.
In verse 34 he diffuses the situation in two ways:
• First: he removes the offending item, i.e. the apostles from view,
• Secondly: he uses reason not emotion,
Gamaliel uses as his argument:
• Two individuals called;
• Theudas & Judas (verse 35-37).
• In those days Palestine had a quick succession of fire brand leaders:
• Who set themselves up, as the deliverers of their country, even as the Messiah
• These individuals:
• Came into prominence, and soon faded away,
The point of Gamaliel's argument is verses 38-39:
"If their purpose is of human origin, it will fail.
• But if it if from God, you will not be able to stop these men;
• You will only find yourselves fighting against God".
Notice verse 40:
• His speech spared the apostles lives,
• But they were still called in whipped, perhaps 39 lashes! (Duet 25:3).
ill:
Concern you that we have it all to easy????
Verse 41 & 42 are incredible verses:
Instead of dampering the apostles spirits, and putting out the fervour
It had the opposite effect and they were even more joyous and eager to share.
ill:
Winston Churchill was asked by his old Harrow school:
• To go back and address the school boys,
• He was at this time 75 years old.
The head master of Harrow school told the students;
"Be ready with your pen and papers, because you will hear things that you will never hear from anybody else, what a speaker".
When the time came:
• They were all eagerly perched on the edge of their seats, pens and paper at the ready,
• Churchill stood up unbuttoned his jacket:
• Slid his glasses to the end of his nose,
• Placed his thumbs in his waistcoat pocket.
• And this was his speech; "Never give up, never give up, never, never, never give up".
• And then he sat down!!!!!
That's the massage of Acts chapter 5.
• It is so easy to look within at our circumstances:
• To sit there licking our wounds,
• To feel sorry for the rough deal we have been given,
• We can easily get overwhelmed by the situation.
The way to conquer, 2 points:
1). Opposition, may mean your in God's will not out of it.
The apostles experienced opposition:
• Not because they were disobedient,
• But because they were in the centre of God's will.
As well as opposition they also experienced two types of deliverance:
• Verse 19: Supernatural (An angel).
• Verse 34: Natural (Gamaliel).
But don't forget:
• Although God rescued the apostles in Acts chapter 5,
• He allowed Stephen to be killed in Acts chapter 6.
Opposition, may mean your in God's will not out of it:
• Remember there is no joy, when we suffer for doing wrong.
• There is no joy when we suffer, as a result of our own foolishness.
• But there is great joy,
• When we participate in the sufferings of Christ.
Quote:
"Never give up, never give up, never, never, never give up".
• Look upwards,
• Not inwards.
2). Determination will mean you'll have to stand against man's opinion,
rather than with it.
Verse 29: "We must obey God rather than men!"
• Every word in that little statement:
• Needs emphasis, in order to find the profound significance of it:
"We must OBEY God rather than men":
• Not; we must consider Him, or patronise him, or hold theories concerning him.
• But "We must obey God".
Tough question: Do we obey God?
If we are honest we pick & choose;
ill: Breaking of Bread never talk to their neighbour.
Quote G. Campbell Morgan:
"Whenever men say "We must obey God", and mean it,
they safe guard themselves against the power of the opposition, the peril of patronage,
and the paralysis of compromise".
The great danger of the church:
• Has never been persecution,
• But has always been compromise.
You and I may not face too much persecution:
• But we will face a daily battle to compromise,
• Remember, "We must obey God!!!!!".
• And if that means at times, standing against men's opinion,
• So be it!
(3). They shared Christ whenever and where ever they were.
Ill:
Evangelism DVD clip from SermonSpice.com
